I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, there would be a lot more angst!!!

I do own a frozen Mounds bar though, and I'm not afraid to use it as a weapon!!! So Review at the end of the story!!!!


The Sealing of a Soul

Chapter 4

Pained Hearts


"Dad! DAD!!!!" Shinta shouted, running through the empty rooms, leaving Yugi standing at the shops door. Yugi watched and listened, his nerves jumpy. Although he did not know his hikari's dad very well, it was still important that he be all right, the odd tingling in Yugi's mind sparking once more, setting Yugi even further on edge.

The door swung open with a grunt, and Yugi twirled to meet the encroaching danger, his hands spread, a dark power surging through his system.

With inhuman accuracy, Yugi let the darkness flow out, his eyes fading into a deep crimson as the power was released.

Yami merely took the impact, his chest now very sore, and he was very much surprised. He had had no idea that his aibou had been able to summon such intense power.

"Dad!" Shinta cried, running toward his father, knocking the grocery bags from his arms with a bear hug. Yami smiled, and hugged his son back, stroking his hair as he slipped to his knees, the door closed behind him as Yugi began to pick up the fallen groceries, and kind smile now on his face, replacing the cold strength that had been there moments before. Yami repressed a shudder, wondering where his little hikari had gained such dark power.

"Shinta, what's wrong? Has something happened?" Yami asked, wiping the tears from his young sons face. Shinta smiled, and hiccuped.

"The shop was closed, and I was afraid that something had happened!!" Shinta hiccuped again, burying his face in Yami's white work shirt. "Just like something had happened to Mama...." Yami sighed, picked up his son, and smiled.

"No, I decided to close the shop for a day, and prepare some things for Yugi. I should have told you, I'm sorry. I'll at least leave a note next time." Yami smiled, watching as Yugi carried the groceries from the room, and sighed. No matter what Yugi was, the dark half or the light half, his personality had certainly not changed.

"'Kay!! What's for snack!!?" Shinta giggled, squirming out of his fathers grasp, and running for the kitchen, the sound of crashing soon followed, and two boys scampering out the back door. Yami sighed, and headed toward what he knew would surely be a disaster zone. Tomato sauce had, for some unknown reason, come to coat the kitchen floor, along with a bottle of vinegar, and Yami's tiny stash of sake......


//Aibou, maybe we should have stayed and cleaned up the mess....// Yugi thought as the two panting boys arrived at the park, and bag of cookies held under Shinta's arm. Shinta stopped, gasping for breath, and shook his head.

/Nah, Dad'll understand. Besides, it's his fault. He's the one who put the cookies so high up!/ Shinta insisted, and Yugi sighed, heading toward the swings, Shinta tossing him the cookies.

//Okay, but it's not my fault if we get in trouble....// Yugi stopped in his tracks, staring at the scene in front of him. Memories flashed briefly in his mine, throwing him to the ground, clutching his head, screaming in pain.

Shinta, much to his horror, was unable to contact his yami through their mental link, pain, confusion, and intense sorrow overwhelming the short red head, darkness filling his vision.....


Yugi's eyes blinked open, his mind muddy, the room a blaring white. There was a beeping somewhere to his left, and an odd smell to the air. It was faintly familiar, but so distant that he ignored it, trying to sit up.

"Shhh, you shouldn't move." Yami whispered, gently forcing Yugi to lay down once more. Yugi's violet eyes begged for an explanation.

"Where's Shinta? Is he all right!?" Yugi demanded suddenly, trying to sit up again, his eyes flashing crimson. Yami smiled, and nodded.

"He's fine. He's sleeping. It's you that I'm worried about. What happened? All Shinta can say is that you collapsed, screaming." Yami whispered, staring at his hikari. Yugi looked at his hands, resting his back against the bed board, wondering briefly over what words to use.

"I'm not quite sure. I saw the playground, and it was like I had been there before. And then, then so much flashed through my mind, so fast..... There was nothing I could do, it hurt so much....." Yugi sobbed, burying his face in his hands, Yami rubbing his back soothingly, quite aware of what had happened now.

But, he knew that he couldn't just blurt out the answer to Yugi. So many years had passed, and a lot had changed. Not to mention the fact that to face all of it, including the how of why Yugi was sealed, might prove too painful for the sensitive blonde boy. It may even prove fatal, if anything even nearly intense as today's flashing memories had proven to be.

"It's okay, Yugi. Everything is going to be fine. The doctors say your mind is simply over stressed. You just have to rest a little, and take it easy." Yami explained, wondering how he would be able, if he would ever be able, to explain the truth to the young boy.

A nurse opened the hospital door softy, and looked at Yami. The blonde man nodded, and stood up, smiling reassuringly at Yugi, patting his head softly. Yugi looked up, a tear escaping his wide, innocent eyes.

"Don't worry, everything will be just fine. Now rest." Yami smiled, and left, turning out the lights as he closed the door. Yugi lay back in the bed, staring up into the familiar darkness......


"Yay!!! You're back!!! You're lucky, the teachers say you don't have to do the make-up homework!! And all the girls in school are asking about you!!" Shinta sniggered at the last comment as Yugi's blush deepened to a tomato red. Yami sighed, and rolled his eyes. Some things never changed, and little boys were among them.

"Yes, well, no homework or not, Yugi still has to attend school tomorrow. And for that, he needs his rest. Come on Shinta, it's time for you to be in bed as well..." Yami trailed off, and Shinta sighed, goose stepping from the room. Yugi smiled, and closed his eyes, the lights going off around him once more as Yami shut the bedroom door.

/Yugi?/ Shinta asked nervously, afraid that he would meet the painful emotions of Yugi's breakdown once more. Yugi smiled.

//Yes, hikari?//

/Are you really all right? When I tried to contact you.... it was so painful./ Shinta whispered, and Yugi bit his lip silently, fading his form into his spirit room, walking over to Shinta's domain. He found it easier to explain when face to face with people, even if only in a mental representation.

"Yugi?" Shinta looked up, startled. His soul room was much as Yugi's had been, before he had been sealed. Toys were spread everywhere, and Yugi had to pick his way carefully through, just to reach his aibou.

"Hi, Shinta. I thought it would be easier to talk face to face." Yugi smiled. Shinta nodded enthusiastically.

"This is sooooo cool!!!" Yugi smiled, sitting down on the bed next to his hikari, who was clutching a karibo plushie.

"Is there something wrong?" Yugi asked, sensing something askew with Shinta, who was a tad paler than natural, his lips a tinted blue. Shinta shook his head nervously.

"No, nothing at all. Everything's fine! You said you were going to tell me what happened, remember?" Shinta insisted, clutching the karibo to his chest. Yugi frowned, quit sure of his sense. His eyes darkened, and stared at his aibou.

"Hikari, I can't help if you don't tell me.... You really must trust you, I'll never hurt you." Yugi said, and Shinta stared at the karibo nervously.

"Do you promise not to tell? Not anyone, especially not Dad!" Shinta said, staring intently at his yami. Yugi sighed and, against his better judgment, nodded.

"I promise, hikari. Please, tell me what's troubling you."

"It...... it started a few months ago. The pain. It throbs at my heart a lot." Shinta whispered. Yugi's eyes went wide.

"You have to tell someone, aibou!! This is serious!!" Yugi shouted frantically. Shinta shook his head, tears dripping down his face, soaking into his karibo.

"No, I can't. The same thing happened to Mama, and then Dad took her to the doctors, and the hospital, and she died. She died, Yugi!!! The doctors killed her!! And I'm all Dad has left. If I go to the hospital, Dad will be all alone. I can't leave him all alone Yugi!" Shinta sobbed, and Yugi pulled him into an embrace, rubbing his back as he let his hikari sob himself to sleep, tears roaming down his own cheeks as he wondered what he was going to do.....


Sorry that it took me so long to update, I had a bit of a writers block!!

Okay, so it was more like a mountain, but I did update!!

R&R please, people!!! I refuse to put the next chapter up until I get 35 reviews!!!