It was the wheezing hiss, and the jarring thrust of Yami's chest that inspired the Puzzle to unleash another "gift."
Yami involuntarily yelped at the sharp, shooting pain,as he felt his ribbone collapse and curl against his chest. It was the remnant memory of Seth's vicious blow to his ribs in that long ago attempt to beat him into submission,but the Puzzle knew that wound triggered more helpless fear in Yami than any other sort of injury.
"Not again." Yami cringed and curled his arms around his wounded rib, hunching over himself protectively, as he groaned in renewed pain.
Yugi's head shot up in alarm when he saw Yami attempting to cradle his side with his arms.
"Yami? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"
Yami only whimpered, closed his eyes and shook his head as he wilted.
He heard Yugi's sharp intake of breath, a small noise of alarm and concern. Yami felt small hands shoving him down, forcing him onto his back, as he
felt the broken bone screaming, while he lay, too stunned by the shock and the pain to move. The dark familiar wave of helplessness was washing over him again,
as he felt Yugi's hand tugging at his shirt and forcing it upward. His vision wavered, failed as Yugi's hands brushed aside his arms to see what was wrong.
"Yami? What happened to your chest? Are you alright?" Yami shivered when he felt the protective cloth stripped away from his wounds, leaving his chest exposed, and leaving him feeling even more vulnerable. Yami cringed as the cool air wafted over his bare flesh, and he felt the heat climb to his cheeks once again. It was humiliating to see Yugi's eyes widen with shock as they swept over the scars, the mutilated
dip in his rib, the suprised exhalation of breath. Yami detested having his shirt taken away. With trembling fingers, Yami attempted to pull the corner of his shirt back down to conceal his chest and preserve a precious bit of dignity.
Yugi gave him an annoyed huff, as his insistant fingers only tightened their grip. Yami only shook his head, and braced an arm over the broken rib instinctively, as he tried to push away the unwanted physical contact with the other.
"Yami, if you're hurt, I want to help you! Now get over yourself and let me see!" Yugi's thoughtless retort hurt,but not as much as the complete dismissal of Yami's embarrassment and pain. It was irritating to Yugi to see the Pharoah so concerned about his modesty that he was willing to risk injury to preserve it.
"Yami.."Yugi began in a patient, condensending, and reasoning tone. "I promise, I will not hurt you. But I need to see what's wrong before I can help you and you are obviously in pain. Now are you going to be an adult about this, or do I need to yank that shirt off myself? Don't you trust me?"
Yugi felt the shivering misery that seemed to emerge from Yami's core, as he only stared up at him with pleading eyes, and his arms only curling around his wound tighter.
Somewhere in the foot of distance between the two, the Puzzle chuckled at seeing Yami so tortured by Yugi, however unwittingly.
"Yami? Please, let me help you. I'm not going to hurt you, you know that, right? Let me see."
Yami surrendered, unwillingly releasing his arms from their vise-like grip from his side, and allowed Yugi to
resume unbuttoning the shirt, which he did with extreme gentleness, all the while uttering soothing nonsense to Yami about his bravery, and how much his trust meant to him.
Yami bit his lip to keep from sobbing, as he lay back in helpless waiting, in the futile attempt not to shiver. Yugi gave him a reassuring smile, as he carefully lay an exploritory hand across Yami's trembling side.
Yami flinched from the expected touch, the pain radiating from the bone, as his fingers dug uselessly into his sleeves.
Yami felt the probing hand venturing over his stomach, the flat of Yugi's palm hesitantly across the angry, colorful bruise that went from sternum to back,but even that light touch led to overwhelming pain. He recoiled with a groan, the tears unbidden leaking down his pinched cheeks, slowly trickling down his clenched jaw. "Yugi..my rib..." he mouthed in anguish, not able to force his voice to rise an octive above his shattered breathing. But he could only gasp as a drowning man. Yugi never did hear him, as Yami choked and writhed under Yugi's searching hand that kept hurting so much.
He opened his eyes to see Yugi completely engrossed at the horrible sight of bruised, dented ribcage. Yami's fist clenched in pain, as he
attempted, once again, to draw Yugi's attention with a tug on his sleeve. Yugi gave him a warm smile, a condensending pat on the head. "I know it hurts, Yami, but we'll get you to
a hospital, alright? " Yami shook his head, and moaned. The only thing that would be worse than Yugi's oblivious probing to his wounds would be
to actually move with them.
Yami groaned out a desperate negation, too stricken by the searing pain that radiated from his side to reply. Indeed, the effort it took to draw
breath from his broken rib was almost too much for him to keep breathing.He never knew that a person could hurt so much and live.
It was the choking gurgling sob that scared Yugi,as Yami tensed in tears and tried to inhale enough air to avoid losing consciousness.
In an effort to help Yami breath easier, Yugi heaved him upright.
It was the animalistic scream that tore from Yami's throat that almost made Yugi drop him. Yugi felt Yami's muscles stiffening in alarm, and he convulsed in writhing, instinctive aversion to the breaking sensation that splintered over his rib, and somehow engulfed the rest of his tremoring frame. Yami's jaw flung itself open to wail, his lips drawn back like a trapped beast in its death throes. But it was the terrifying sensation that Yugi felt from Yami's own flesh that scared him the most. Yami's entire frame tensed into a confused coil of warring oblivion, and the fight not to lose consciousness, tighter and tighter with each new onslaught. But in the next instant, Yami's body went slack as water, as Yami fainted. Yugi saw Yami's head lull, the half open eyes glossy from tears, and staring eerily blank at some spot in the ceiling.
"Yami?" Yugi ventured softly, as his eyes grew even wider. "Let me help you. Yami? Please, please answer me!"
Let me help you...for your own good...the echoes of distant voices reverberated through Yami's throbbing skull, as he heard the false promises of
friends through the long forgotten past, now merging with pyschotic clarity in the present. Yami felt his heart clench, snap, waver and die, then grow so torpidly cold as he felt hands, and shackles and power stronger than his own forcing him onto his back, raising his chin for the dagger.
Seth's cackle and Isis's apology, and his father's beatings...the chorus of all those who stood by watching while he bled to death on that stone slab.
He became more aware as he grew colder...what was left of his terrified soul crawling downward into the stony bastians of injured pride, and resolve and bitter, scathing intent to never allow himself to be reduced to the mercy of anybody else.
Yugi was obliviously, but valiently trying to bring some sort of comfort to Yami, as he held his slack hand in one, and cradled the lax form against his shoulder. He could see Yami's eyes spinning beneith the clenched lids, feel his breath quicken and his heart thundering, but there was no response. Yugi glanced around helplessly. He was alone and uncertain, and definitely didn't know enough about first aid to do more than bind the rib, and he wasn't sure that was right, either. If just lifting the injured king provoked this reaction, Yugi was extremely hesitant to try moving him again.
"Yami? Please answer me! You're scaring me!" Carefully, Yugi lay him down, prone, to see if there were any other injuries he could do something about. In desperation, he attempted the mind link, and flinched at the cold distance. There was nothing to indicate that Yami was even there. Helpless tears of futility sprang from Yugi's eyes as he clasped the Pharoah's slender hand between his two and kneeded it, with growing worry.
Yami felt the darkness, familiar and sweet, wafting around him in welcome, as he drove himself deeper away from the cloying pain, and the hands that were so callously probing his wounds. The depths of the Puzzle offered solace, where he could heal, and cry and mull over Yugi's indifference.
Yami was too overwhelmed by the dizzying sensations of both defending himself, leeching the pain from Yugi and then the unbearable strain of
holding back the clawing, hungry rage that Yugi obliviously kept provoking. The physical pain had distracted him from the effort, to the point that his only choices available were yielding the body to the Puzzle in the hope that it would heal it, or lashing out at Yugi with all of his torture. Yami looked down at his hands, pictured Yugi writhing and screaming beneith them as they radiated fire and heat enough to torch that frail, bowed creature into a remnant of ashes. Yami might have recoiled in horror at even contemplating such a thing, but here, in the darkness, where he felt his body still being manhandled, and weakened by the effort to hold back his own fire...it seemed correct. Just and right. Why should he, a Pharoah of Egypt, be bound a slave to serve and cringe and cry at each wound? Why should he be forced to endure so much torment and torture
because he simply refused to retaliate? Yami's lips coiled into a considering, dark smile as he raised his hands in contemplation the bright fire growing stronger in his flesh, and his eyes. With his head bowed in willing surrender, he called forth the shadows, and felt the shackles of pain
leave the pathetic wreck of his body falling away.
Yugi was so startled, he nearly dropped the Pharoah as Yami suddenly jerked back with a loud gasp, and lay quivering in the cradle of Yugi's arms.
"Yami! You're awake!" Yami winced at the high-pitched squeal, and Yugi watched as his eyes slowly opened.
Yugi let out a suprised yelp as he found himself violently belted across the mouth and sprawled out on the floor. He saw a shadow fall over him, the sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth, the deliberate footsteps and the iron grip of a knotted fist on his collar as he was hauled to his feet, and then found himself dangling a few inches in the air. Yugi was even more distressed to see Yami gazing down at him with a cocked head, and a calculating curve on his lips. It was Yami's eyes that scared him the most. They were a mutilated shade of Yugi's own violet eyes, almost consumed with ebony churning, and glittering with a madness and a violent mirth. There was no warm recognition. Even Yami's posture had changed. Where he was bowed, and injured before, he was now standing at full height, the rigid muscles taut with new strength as Yugi felt the fingers closing in on his collar. They stood like that, transfixed by each other, for long, merciful moments, until Yugi quivered in Yami's grip.
He felt an explosion of pain, as Yami rammed him into the wall, splayed his fingers, and pinned Yugi between two fists firmly anchored at his shoulders. Yami stood over him, heaving, that sneer deepening in satisfaction, as he gave a scathing glance over Yugi's body.
"How does it feel, Yugi, to be at the mercy of somebody else? To continue inflicting the pain when they are pleading with you to stop?"
Yugi cringed against the harsh grip, as he craned his neck to peer into Yami's eyes.
He could only manage a squeak as he felt the once kind hands of Yami lace with evil intent into his heaving throat. Fingers arched, nails bared back, clawing into his flesh, til he bled, his last breath a strangled entreaty for Yami to stop.
Yami cocked his head to the side, and offered a broken, sickening smirk. "How did it come to this, Yugi?"
His voice was a bitter whisper, wind across Yugi's ear, a dying breath that felt so cold against his quaking cheek.
"At what point did I change from the role of your slave and toy to the avenger and the punisher? At what point did you revert from being my master to this sniveling child whose neck I could snap without remorse?" Yugi cringed as Yami's fist tightened deeper into his neck in emphasis.
"Yami!" Came the pathetic, pained plea, as Yugi twisted in futile effort for more air. "I don't know what's come over you, Yami, but please, please stop! You're not a monster! You don't hurt people because you enjoy it! It's not you!"
Yami could only chuckle at the irony as he leaned forward, so close that Yugi could feel the snarl, wet and cold against the side of his throat.
"If it's not me who is killing you, then who is it, Yugi?"
"I don't...I don't know! Yami, please stop, you're hurting me! YAMI!" Yugi could only see Yami's pale face rising, all moonlight and spirit and shadow and murder as the fingers tightened without mercy into his throat, into his windpipe, until the last of his air left his body with a strangled grunt. There was a sick sound of gurgled bile from Yugi's throat as he tensed, then went limp. His head bowed in finality, his entreating hands slid bonelessly to his sides to dangle in the gentle sway of Yami's body, as he slowly lowered the small body to the ground, with a sneer.
