Shitsumon: Yeah... talented... there ya go... ^^;; *nervous laughter* And
Anzu is talented too: she managed to avoid getting burned! Whoo!
Yami no Katya: Okay, okay, I see your point. Hmf.
Thanks for everybody's support! ^_^
Onwards!
~~
"K... Konnichi wa, Bakura-san."
"Yuugi!" The elder Bakura smiled, pulling the door wide open. "This is a surprise. I haven't seen you since..." Here, he paused, considering.
"Since the memorial?" Yuugi supplied helpfully.
"...Yeah." The smile was gone now, replaced by weary sadness. "Yeah, since the memorial. Kami-sama, I can't believe I've lost them all. First my wife... then Amane... and now Ryou too..."
"I'm sorry."
"Well, it's not your fault."
Yuugi blanched at this, and suddenly found the railing on the stairway quite interesting. It was a dark mahogany color, starting a few feet from the doorway and slanting up. Some of it was blocked out by the top of the doorframe, but Yuugi could still see carpeted steps. He began counting the steps silently, trying not to burst into tears or audible self-reproval.
"...I'm glad you were such a good friend to Ryou," Bakura was saying, patting Yuugi on the shoulder.
Twenty-two... twenty-three...
Desperately, Yuugi glanced around, trying to change the subject. "Oh, you have a cat." It was a stupid thing to say, especially since Yuugi had been to the Bakura residence several times, and had seen the cat during each visit. "I, I mean, she must be good company, now that... I mean..." Did everything revolve around Ryou's death here? Is that why the topic just wouldn't go away? Luckily, Bakura took the hint, though he seemed to be having trouble keeping the normally relaxed look on his face.
"Yeah, you've met Ashita, right?"
"Not exactly. I've seen her. Ashita's her name?"
"Yeah... Amane named her."
"So, you've had her for a long time?" The only response was a nod. Some part of Yuugi cried at that, really not wanting to say what he'd come here to say. Buy time. How to buy time... "Why Ashita?"
"Amane always said that tomorrow was a new day, that we needed to have hope that tomorrow would be better." Wistfully, Bakura smiled, and then seemed to notice something. "Oh, I'm sorry for being rude. Please, come in."
"N-no, that's okay. I just wanted to tell you something..."
"Oh?"
"Yeah..." It was now or never, Yuugi supposed, heartbeat quickening. Ashita ran a few steps and jumped on the railing. She tipped slightly, tail lashing out, before her claws clicked on the wood, firmly securing her grasp. "I know where... I mean, if you wanted to have a... proper funeral and everything because you really couldn't before... I mean..."
"Yuugi, what is it?" At the word funeral, Bakura's face had gone stern. Now, even his words were stern, the effect augmented by the contrast from his normally easygoing nature.
"I... I know where his body is..."
~~
Funerals were depressing business, but Yuugi went to all of them, and Sugoroku felt it his duty to accompany his grandson, only dissuaded by Yuugi himself. This sudden discovery of Yuugi's friends' bodies caused their respective parents to have sudden breakdowns, and then each of them decided that a funeral was in order.
Ryou's second funeral was a tiresome affair, and actually the last of all of them. Feeling melancholy after watching so many of his friends buried, Yuugi couldn't help but just want to go back to the hotel room and sleep. Seeing all those starched ties and solemn faces, knowing that half the people there didn't even know Ryou made Yuugi want to cry yet again, but he sat through the ceremonies and watched as the dirt hit coffin again and again and again.
It was a closed casket ceremony, of course. Nobody wanted to see the gaping, infected holes that littered Ryou's skinny frame.
Yuugi was the second last to leave. He stood quietly by the grave, and finally placed a small yellow flower on top of the rest of the flowers, muttering a few words of goodbye. Soon, most of the flowers would wilt, and the petals would fall off. But today at least, all the flowers were vibrant and fresh.
Ryou had always liked flowers.
~~
Yuugi's original plan was to stay in their old house for the duration of all the funerals, but as soon as he took a step into it, he knew it wouldn't work. Slightly nauseous, he hurried back out, and Sugoroku, always understanding, had rented a hotel room.
On the way back to the hotel, Yuugi stopped at another cemetery.
At each funeral, Yuugi felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind. He knew that he would never be able to come back to Tokyo, as surely as he knew that he would never be able to set foot in the house he used to share with his dad.
And speaking of his dad, Yuugi's otousan was the only one he'd really known in this city that hadn't been laid to rest within the past week. Yuugi had gone to the funeral the day before he left for Domino, and yet he had never known what had happened, never understood why his father was suddenly gone, and never was able to let it go.
But he felt that if he just had one last chance to talk to his father before he left the city, it would all be okay...
He started to push open the little black gate, but stopped. There was somebody else already standing over the grave. She was talking quickly but quietly, occasionally making animated gestures with her arms and head. Finally, she paused and brushed her strawberry blonde hair back with a finger. How many times had he seen that motion? Plenty enough to figure out who she was, even by just looking at the back of her head.
Quietly, he eased the gate shut again. Yuugi could always return another day. There was no way he was going to disturb this moment. Not when his parents were finally making peace with each other.
~Owari~
Yami no Katya: Okay, okay, I see your point. Hmf.
Thanks for everybody's support! ^_^
Onwards!
~~
"K... Konnichi wa, Bakura-san."
"Yuugi!" The elder Bakura smiled, pulling the door wide open. "This is a surprise. I haven't seen you since..." Here, he paused, considering.
"Since the memorial?" Yuugi supplied helpfully.
"...Yeah." The smile was gone now, replaced by weary sadness. "Yeah, since the memorial. Kami-sama, I can't believe I've lost them all. First my wife... then Amane... and now Ryou too..."
"I'm sorry."
"Well, it's not your fault."
Yuugi blanched at this, and suddenly found the railing on the stairway quite interesting. It was a dark mahogany color, starting a few feet from the doorway and slanting up. Some of it was blocked out by the top of the doorframe, but Yuugi could still see carpeted steps. He began counting the steps silently, trying not to burst into tears or audible self-reproval.
"...I'm glad you were such a good friend to Ryou," Bakura was saying, patting Yuugi on the shoulder.
Twenty-two... twenty-three...
Desperately, Yuugi glanced around, trying to change the subject. "Oh, you have a cat." It was a stupid thing to say, especially since Yuugi had been to the Bakura residence several times, and had seen the cat during each visit. "I, I mean, she must be good company, now that... I mean..." Did everything revolve around Ryou's death here? Is that why the topic just wouldn't go away? Luckily, Bakura took the hint, though he seemed to be having trouble keeping the normally relaxed look on his face.
"Yeah, you've met Ashita, right?"
"Not exactly. I've seen her. Ashita's her name?"
"Yeah... Amane named her."
"So, you've had her for a long time?" The only response was a nod. Some part of Yuugi cried at that, really not wanting to say what he'd come here to say. Buy time. How to buy time... "Why Ashita?"
"Amane always said that tomorrow was a new day, that we needed to have hope that tomorrow would be better." Wistfully, Bakura smiled, and then seemed to notice something. "Oh, I'm sorry for being rude. Please, come in."
"N-no, that's okay. I just wanted to tell you something..."
"Oh?"
"Yeah..." It was now or never, Yuugi supposed, heartbeat quickening. Ashita ran a few steps and jumped on the railing. She tipped slightly, tail lashing out, before her claws clicked on the wood, firmly securing her grasp. "I know where... I mean, if you wanted to have a... proper funeral and everything because you really couldn't before... I mean..."
"Yuugi, what is it?" At the word funeral, Bakura's face had gone stern. Now, even his words were stern, the effect augmented by the contrast from his normally easygoing nature.
"I... I know where his body is..."
~~
Funerals were depressing business, but Yuugi went to all of them, and Sugoroku felt it his duty to accompany his grandson, only dissuaded by Yuugi himself. This sudden discovery of Yuugi's friends' bodies caused their respective parents to have sudden breakdowns, and then each of them decided that a funeral was in order.
Ryou's second funeral was a tiresome affair, and actually the last of all of them. Feeling melancholy after watching so many of his friends buried, Yuugi couldn't help but just want to go back to the hotel room and sleep. Seeing all those starched ties and solemn faces, knowing that half the people there didn't even know Ryou made Yuugi want to cry yet again, but he sat through the ceremonies and watched as the dirt hit coffin again and again and again.
It was a closed casket ceremony, of course. Nobody wanted to see the gaping, infected holes that littered Ryou's skinny frame.
Yuugi was the second last to leave. He stood quietly by the grave, and finally placed a small yellow flower on top of the rest of the flowers, muttering a few words of goodbye. Soon, most of the flowers would wilt, and the petals would fall off. But today at least, all the flowers were vibrant and fresh.
Ryou had always liked flowers.
~~
Yuugi's original plan was to stay in their old house for the duration of all the funerals, but as soon as he took a step into it, he knew it wouldn't work. Slightly nauseous, he hurried back out, and Sugoroku, always understanding, had rented a hotel room.
On the way back to the hotel, Yuugi stopped at another cemetery.
At each funeral, Yuugi felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind. He knew that he would never be able to come back to Tokyo, as surely as he knew that he would never be able to set foot in the house he used to share with his dad.
And speaking of his dad, Yuugi's otousan was the only one he'd really known in this city that hadn't been laid to rest within the past week. Yuugi had gone to the funeral the day before he left for Domino, and yet he had never known what had happened, never understood why his father was suddenly gone, and never was able to let it go.
But he felt that if he just had one last chance to talk to his father before he left the city, it would all be okay...
He started to push open the little black gate, but stopped. There was somebody else already standing over the grave. She was talking quickly but quietly, occasionally making animated gestures with her arms and head. Finally, she paused and brushed her strawberry blonde hair back with a finger. How many times had he seen that motion? Plenty enough to figure out who she was, even by just looking at the back of her head.
Quietly, he eased the gate shut again. Yuugi could always return another day. There was no way he was going to disturb this moment. Not when his parents were finally making peace with each other.
~Owari~