Yami soshite Hikari Ch. 3 - "Hotondo aru Kisu"
By Shawna
Clouds were rolling in over the sun as the school day wore on. It was lunch, and Yugi was sitting with Kizuna at a table, playing Duel Monsters. Interspersed throughout their game were Kizuna's pop quiz questions over Yugi's school subjects. Midterm finals were still a few weeks away, but Kizuna had already started drilling Yugi on information and test taking strategies.
"I'll sacrifice the Hysteric Angel and Kiseitei to bring out my Wingweaver," Kizuna said, putting the two cards into her graveyard and laying the new card on the field. "And attack and destroy your Winged Dragon. What's a polypeptide?"
"A polymer of many amino acids," Yugi said, moving the dragon to his graveyard and drawing a card.
"And what kind of chemical bond holds polypeptides together?"
"Peptide bonds," Yugi said. "I'll play Fissure to destroy your Wingweaver." Kizuna groaned, and Yugi smiled and continued. "And bring out my Ancient Elf."
A fat drop of rain hit the table next to Yugi's newly placed card. He started, instinctively covering the card with his hand to protect it. Kizuna cast a glance at the sky.
"I think we had better go inside and just start a new game," she said. "The clouds are thick now, and really dark. This could be a downpour."
Yugi nodded in assent and began gathering up his cards. We were winning, too, Yami said, obviously upset.
It's not that big of a deal, Yami, Yugi told him. It's not like I've never beaten Komori at Duel Monsters before.
This was very true, as Yugi could remember only one time that Komori had beaten him, and that had been by a stroke of chance. She was not bad at the game; she was quite good really. Beating Jounouchi was no problem for Kizuna, but that was not saying much, as beating Jounouchi was no problem for pretty much anyone.
They began their game again inside, with Yugi eventually achieving a rather easy victory. Kizuna sighed, frustrated, as her life points reached zero.
"You always win, Motou," she said, exasperated. "I don't know why I bother."
"You've beaten me before," he insisted. "And you did pretty well that time."
Kizuna grinned faintly. "Well, you're only saying it to make me stop whining, but thanks."
Yugi smiled warmly at her. Outside, rain drops began to fall with growing frequency, until, as Kizuna had predicted, it had become a downpour. Kizuna eyed the sky.
"You better let me drive you home today, Motou," she said. "You'll catch your death in this weather."
"Yeah," he said. "Thanks, Komori."
Excellent, Yami said, but Yugi chose to ignore him and he said nothing more.
When the school day ended, Yugi stood under an awning, waiting for Kizuna as other students rushed past him, running through the rain to their cars. Kizuna was among them, running up behind Yugi so fast he was startled.
"Sorry Motou," she said, running a hand through her already drenched hair. Her keys hung, jingling, from her hand. "Let's make a run for my car, so we won't get too wet."
Yugi nodded his assent and they both took off, across the parking lot towards Kizuna's small white car. She fumbled with her keys in the pouring rain, but got the car unlocked quickly. Dropping into the seat next to her, soaked, Yugi began to shiver. As she waited for a chance to back out, he tried to conceal his shaking from Kizuna, who had already turned the heater up to full blast.
It was not a very long drive to Yugi's house from the school, but Kizuna had to go slow due to the weather, and so it was taking longer than usual. The car was very warm by this point, but he still could not stop shivering. They rode in silence.
Kizuna had just parked in front of Yugi's house when he sneezed, and she instantly turned on him, concerned.
"Motou," she said, "Are you getting sick?"
Yugi sniffled. "I don't think so," he said quickly.
Kizuna leaned over him, pressing her hand to his forehead, and then both hands to his cheeks. "You feel a little warm," she said. "You better go inside, take a shower, and have a nap. You don't want to miss any school."
Yami sounded a bit frenzied when he spoke into Yugi's mind. Holy shit, she is like, two inches from our face! Kiss her, Yugi.
What?! I can't just kiss her! She'd freak!
He was so busy being shocked at Yami's boldness, that he at first did not notice the way Kizuna was staring at him. He stopped speaking to Yami, who likewise fell silent. Excitement, apprehension, lust rushed up in him. Both of Kizuna's hands were still on his cheeks, her breath was warm on his lips. He leaned forward, could almost feel her lips touching his...
"Yugi!"
Kizuna started, pulling back from Yugi so fast her back thumped against her seat. Soguroku was standing in the doorway to the shop, waving his arms like a maniac and yelling.
"Yugi! Hurry and come inside, it's pouring!"
"You better go," Kizuna said, obviously embarrassed.
"Yeah," Yugi said, flustered. "Yeah. Uh, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," she said, not looking at him. "Bye."
Yugi opened the car door, braced himself and jumped out into the rain. Kizuna waited until he was inside the house before taking off. He heard her car move away and sighed. He had been so close to kissing her, he could almost taste how he imagined it would have been.
"Your tutor's cute," Soguroku was commenting. "Too bad she's so much older than you."
"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "Too bad."
What's too bad is that you didn't kiss her.
Yugi sighed, trudging up to his room. I tried! I would have if Sofu hadn't called me!
"Excuses," Yami said, appearing next to Yugi as he reached the door to his room. "You just pussied out."
"I did not," Yugi said, swallowing his anger and keeping his voice low until he had closed the door behind him. "It wasn't my fault."
"She wanted you to kiss her. That's what she was waiting for. She apparently wants a man who can take control of the situation and sweep her off her feet. I guess you'll just have to step aside, Yugi, because she obviously wants someone more like me."
"Thanks for your support."
"Anytime."
With a sigh, Yugi flopped down onto his bed, crossing his hands over his chest. Yami followed suit, falling next to Yugi and likewise sighing.
"At your pace, we're never going to get any," Yami said sadly.
"Don't you care about anything else?" Yugi asked bitterly.
Yami flipped over onto his side, facing Yugi. "Of course," he said, as if shocked by the idea that sex might be all he cared about. "I care about finding all the details of my past, about Duel Monsters, and," he reached out his hand and traced his fingertips across one of Yugi's cheekbones. "I care about you."
Yugi stared up at Yami, feeling blood running to his cheeks, knowing he was blushing. Yami leaned down slowly, not taking his eyes from Yugi's, and pressed his lips to Yugi's other cheek, while his hand slid down Yugi's neck, along his collarbones. Yugi's chest rose sharply beneath Yami's hand.
Abruptly, Yugi pushed Yami's hands away and turned over onto his side, putting his back to Yami. Yami was startled, he put his hand on Yugi's back.
"Yugi? What's wrong?"
Yugi shook off Yami's hand. "Just don't touch me, Yami," he said. "Leave me alone right now."
Yami was obviously hurt. He hesitated; his hand wavered just above Yugi's back, and then he drew back, off the bed, back to the puzzle, confused by Yugi's behavior, but at the same time understanding it.
Yugi took deep, quiet breaths, trying to calm himself down. He did not want to acknowledge the way he had responded to Yami's touch.
Yami and I share a body! Yugi thought, glad that Yami was separated from him right now so his thoughts could remain his own. It would be way too weird for us to do anything, especially when he's all ghostlike, like he is now…And more than that, he's a guy! I like girls! I like Kizuna…
But he had responded to Yami, quickly, passionately, and this frightened, embarrassed, and excited him all at once. He did not know what it said about him, that he would become so aroused by a boy. This thought brought him a fresh wave of embarrassment and he buried his face in his pillow, feeling the burn of a deep blush in his cheeks.
Sitting quietly on the other side of the room, Yami watched Yugi clutch his pillow, and understood. He had scared his young Omote, who had never before had any sexual contact. More than that, it certainly upset Yugi because Yami was male, like him, and in the world Yugi was living in, homosexuality was not something that came naturally to all the boys and was perfectly normal and acceptable, like Yami knew it had been in his day. Odd that he should remember this one detail about the past, when so many other important things were lost.
Yami left Yugi alone for the rest of the day and that night, disappearing into the puzzle, leaving the younger boy to his thoughts, which he was content to keep sole company with. The rain continued to come down in torrents, through the night and into the morning, where the phone rang as Yugi was about to head out the door. Soguroku was still asleep, so Yugi dutifully answered the call.
"Motou?"
It was Kizuna. Yugi took a deep breath.
"Yes?"
"Do you want me to give you a ride to school this morning? It's raining really hard."
"That would be nice."
"Okay. Then get out here," there was a slight laugh in Kizuna's voice. "I'm sitting right outside your house."
Yugi laughed, Kizuna joined him, and then he hung up the phone and raced out the door, through the pouring rain. Kizuna opened the door for him as he reached the car, and he jumped in, shaking water from his hair.
"Watch it," Kizuna said with a smile. "You're flinging water everywhere, shaking off like a dog."
Yugi bit his lip. "Sorry."
Kizuna laughed. "Don't act so terrified, like I'm going to kill you for it! It doesn't matter that much, my car is a piece of crap anyway. I'm glad you're not sick."
This reminded Yugi of what had happened the day before and he blushed a bit. "No, I'm fine," he said awkwardly.
Kizuna ran her hand fondly through Yugi's hair, feeling silly as she did so, wondering what Yugi must think of her, his tutor, his senior, shamelessly flirting with him like this.
Yugi did not mind her flirting at all, of course. Young and naive as he was, though, he did not always recognize her flirtation as such, and did not know how serious she might be, if she was just being nice or perhaps just teasing him. He had no way of knowing, and this made him too nervous to make any sort of move.
"I should give you a ride home, too, because this is supposed to keep up all day," Kizuna said, glancing out her window at the clouds. "Can you believe this storm? It's crazy."
"Yeah," Yugi said. "Weird. Thanks for the rides, though, Komori."
She smiled brightly at him. "No problem, Motou. I enjoy your company. Don't forget that I'm giving you a ride today," she added this last part as they were pulling into the school's student parking lot. "Meet me at the same place as yesterday."
Yugi nodded as he was getting out of the car. "Sure."
Kizuna locked the doors behind her, said goodbye to Yugi, and turned and dashed for the school building. For a moment, Yugi just stood in the pouring rain, watching Kizuna run, her wet hair flying behind her. She looked at him over her shoulder, waved, he waved back, and then she disappeared inside.
Well, let's not just stand in the rain, Yami said gently. You'll see her right after school.
Yeah, Yugi agreed, beginning to walk towards the buildings. Right after school. He went inside, shaking water from his hair again, without thinking about. The rain roared, unabated, outside.
*To Be Continued*
