by Tat Claire Kokoro and Rhapsody Moonschild
DISCLAIMER: We disclaim that Yu-Gi-Oh! is not our property. It belongs to Takahashi- sama.
CHAPTER TWO (by Rhapsody)
Yami's POV
I half-shut my eyes like a cat and lift my head to the sun. It is so warm and beautiful out here… I take a deep breath of the clean air and think about the person walking next to me, his white hair shining in the sunlight.
I was wandering around the park feeling alone when I saw him. Yugi was with Anzu, Joun with his sister, and Honda with his new girlfriend Toyota. I don't really know anyone else…
But there he was, the branches of the tree casting strange shadows over his face. He was absolutely focused on his book, and… he looked like he might start crying any moment.
I knew that look from nights when I couldn't sleep and got up to stare into the bathroom mirror. It was a look of pure loneliness.
Immediately my heart had gone out to him. Banishing the darkness from my mind, I had approached him and asked him to walk with me.
"What are you thinking about, Yami?" he asks me suddenly.
Caught off guard, my only reply is, "Why?"
"I just wondered… You had a strange expression on your face," he says with a shrug.
"Nice out here, isn't it?" I reply, changing the subject.
He smiles. "Hard to be unhappy on such a pretty day."
"Yeah," I agree. "You come here often?"
"I sit under that tree and read. Too much," he says wryly. I laugh.
"Very much so. Don't you play any sports, an instrument, something?"
"Not really…"
"You should," I scold teasingly and poke him in the side. "Those books are going to give you ideas."
The last word is layered with a sultry meaning. He protests immediately.
"They do not! And you don't play a sport, Yami."
I lace my voice with an icy dignity, still teasing. "Pharaohs don't have time for games."
He pokes me this time, right in my ticklish spot. I jump sideways ungracefully and nearly trip on a rock.
"You're not a pharaoh anymore, Yami. Gasp! You have to join the ranks of the common people," he smiles.
"No more Son of Ra?" I pout.
He takes one look at my face and bursts out laughing. I laugh too--on this sort of day it is infectious. Finally we stop. He gasps for breath and then speaks, pointing to a fenced concrete area. It has a strange net in the middle.
"Ever played tennis?"
"Ten-nis," I try the word out. "No, never heard of it."
He grins. "Well, it's about time you do. Come on, we'll try this sport."
I shrug. When he starts running I follow. Tennis… It can't be too bad.