Chibi: Ok, here's the deal for those who I managed to confuse, which
believe me, happens more than you'd believe! ^_^ Yami and Stan are
basically playing a balancing game. If you can imagine standing on a post
that's barely big enough for both feet over a body of water, you
essentially have the concept. There's only two tricks to this game. The
first is that the players get to take turns pushing each other to try and
knock their opponent off. The second is that both players have many heavy
rocks shoved in their pockets and tied around them...why did they do this?
Well, to tell you would be giving away a big part of the fic ^_^ So, I hope
this helped to clarify everything up at least a little bit. Enjoy!
Also, this chapter is a little on the darker side. I try to keep Yami's character much like the manga, so he's less inhibited by his emotions. AKA, there is a death in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own.
~*~*~*~*~
Slowly, as if walking down the green mile, Yami and Stan made their way to the end of the boardwalk. In one swift move, Yami jumped up onto his post and spun around, testing his balance. Stan followed Yami's actions, but in a less professional way and stumbled onto his post.
The unsteady rocking of the boardwalk shocked both of them. Because the end of the boardwalk was held afloat by buoys, instead of reaching to the bottom of the lake, it felt as if they were balancing on a ball.
Once both were up, Yami stared at Stan as he fumbled to keep his balance. Irritated by his clumsiness and frustration of the whole situation, Stan glared at Yami and shouted.
"All-right already!!! Let's start this damn game!!!"
"As you wish. You may have the first move. Game start!!"
Stan smirked as he reached the short distance over to Yami. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize just how far away Yami really was. The boardwalk tilted in the direction that Stan leaned into and after a near fall, he quickly caught his balance and looked at Yami only to find him smirking back. With his temper quickly rising, Stan judged the distance between the two of them and was able to reach over, more carefully this time, and gave Yami a small push.
'Humm,' Yami thought to himself, 'He's testing his boundaries. Instead of pushing with all of his might on the first try, he gave only a small push to test the distance between us. Maybe he has learned some patience from the last time we encountered each other.'
"My turn." Yami stated as he quickly reached over, giving caution to the unsteady 'floor,' and also gave a small push to test his boundaries.
Yami watched amusedly as Stan wobbled back and forth trying to keep his balance. Stan gasped as he felt himself falling backwards. It was more difficult than he thought to pull himself back up when there were heavy rock weighing him down. After regaining his balance Stan came to the decision to get this over with ASAP.
"My turn" Without hesitation, and fueled with frustration, Stan shoved Yami with much more force than his first try.
Time seemed to slow down as the scene played out before them. Yami had tried to buckle down for the push, but wasn't prepared for as much force as he felt. Instinct wanted him to lean forward to keep from falling, yet logic kept him from doing that. Instead, he bent at the knees with cat- like grace and waited till he, and the boardwalk, balanced out. Slowly, he stood back up with a shocked look upon his face. He wasn't expecting Stan to use that much force.
'I suppose,' Yami thought, 'he hasn't gained as much patience as I thought. This will definitely shift the game in my favor. Now I just have to find away to use this against him.'
Stan stood proudly with his arms crossed over his chest. He knew he almost pushed Yami off. Now all he had to do was push Yami with just a little more force on his next turn, that is, if he manages to stay on after Yami's turn.
Without warning, Stan was quickly brought out of his thoughts as Yami reached over and pushed him.
'Huh?' Stan thought, 'What was that? I barely felt that push!' He smirked as Yami's arm returned to his side. 'This game is as good as mine!'
Yami mentally smiled. 'That should do it. Now I just have to wait for his ego to take over.'
"You'll regret that lame-ass shove boy!"
"Will I?"
"Damn it! You and your cocky attitude! I'm ending this now!"
Once again, the scene before them unfolded in a painstakingly slow motion. Stan's arms pulled back in attempt to push Yami with all his might. During this, Yami noticed that the boardwalk lightly tilted in Stan's direction. With all his might, and as fast as he could, Stan forced his arms in Yami's direction. Finally, Stan's hands impacted with Yami's chest with all his might. Yami once again buckled down, yet couldn't bend his knees. Stan's hands remained on his chest and continued to push him.
'What's he doing?!' Yami frantically thought. 'He's still trying to push me off!'
Stan laughed after he saw Yami's face. 'Clueless bastard! Like I'd just give one wimpy push and..huh?! What's going on?!?!'
Stan's thoughts were quickly averted from Yami as he realized that he was beginning to fall forward. In attempt to continue to shove Yami off, he ended up leaning forward too much. Now, instead of Yami falling off, he was slowly falling into the water. Before he hit the surface, his mind quickly planed out his next moves.
'No problem,' he continued to think, 'I'll fall in and quickly swim back up. By then the brat would probably be beaming with pride and not be paying attention to me. All I'll have to do is yell out to Kyuo and Shigere to attack him and watch. Then, we'll see who's won!'
Like a mad man, Stan laughed as he fell into the water. After his body became completely submerged he brought his feet beneath him to kick to the surface. There was only one problem. Try as he might, he couldn't swim back up. His body kept sinking.
'What the Hell?!?!' Bubbles escaped his mouth as he let out silenced cry of shock. Suddenly, it hit him. 'The rocks!' he thought as he looked down to his weighed down pockets. Stan tried to empty his pockets, 'The rocks are weighing me down!,' but this was only making his situation worse. As he sinked deeper, further away from the surface, what little light the moon provided grew dimmer.
Indeed, the heavy rocks were pulling Stan down into the dark abyss. During the dead of night, the once crystal clear lake transformed into the foreboding darkness that nightmares are made from.
Stan looked beneath him into the consuming darkness, his eyes widening in horror. The truth of the situation dawned upon him and felt like a thousand knives stabbing into his chest. As the last of his air escaped his burning lungs, he let out a blood-curdling scream that bubbled to the surface
Yami watched with an emotionless face as the last of the bubbles popped on the surface. 'Your evil has now left this world.' He thought as he slowly turned around.
"Stop right there!!"
The shout brought Yami out of his thoughts as he looked at the scene before him. Kyuo and Shigere had now untied Anzu and held her between them. In one swift movement, Kyuo grabbed Anzu and held her to his chest and placed his knife at her throat.
"Did'ya think we were just gonna sit back and watch after ya kill our boss?" Shigere laughed. "Think again."
"Let her go." Yami said quietly, yet sternly.
Anzu's eyes remained glued on Yami. She had watched the 'game' with dazed eyes. This whole night has been one big blur to her. First leaving the hospital, then running into Yami and spending time with him, and now being attacked, yet again, by the same person who attacked her before. This had to be some kind of nightmare. Anzu was close to convincing herself that if she were to close her eyes, she'd open them and be in her room. But she couldn't. She knew this was real, that she and Yami were in serious danger. 'Oh god,' she thought as she felt the tears she didn't even know she was crying slide down her face. 'Just let this end. Why don't these guys just leave us alone?'
Yami's heart broke in half as he saw Anzu's tears. "I'm giving you one last chance. Leave now and I will not have to harm you."
The two attackers laughed at this. "Really now? You? Harm us?" Kyuo said as he pulled Anzu closer to him. "I think it's more likely that we'll harm you. Like this!" Kyuo lifted up Anzu's neck and exposed his throat. He repositioned his knife at one side of her throat and prepared to slice it open.
~*~*~*~*~
Chibi: OMG! I finally got this chapter posted! I know this took a while, but I've been very busy! Really-really-REALLY busy! I was gonna post this yesterday, but I ended up going home for the day to help my sister move into her new apartment. Well, as always, please review and I'll try to post sooner next time. Ja ne minna!
Also, this chapter is a little on the darker side. I try to keep Yami's character much like the manga, so he's less inhibited by his emotions. AKA, there is a death in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own.
~*~*~*~*~
Slowly, as if walking down the green mile, Yami and Stan made their way to the end of the boardwalk. In one swift move, Yami jumped up onto his post and spun around, testing his balance. Stan followed Yami's actions, but in a less professional way and stumbled onto his post.
The unsteady rocking of the boardwalk shocked both of them. Because the end of the boardwalk was held afloat by buoys, instead of reaching to the bottom of the lake, it felt as if they were balancing on a ball.
Once both were up, Yami stared at Stan as he fumbled to keep his balance. Irritated by his clumsiness and frustration of the whole situation, Stan glared at Yami and shouted.
"All-right already!!! Let's start this damn game!!!"
"As you wish. You may have the first move. Game start!!"
Stan smirked as he reached the short distance over to Yami. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize just how far away Yami really was. The boardwalk tilted in the direction that Stan leaned into and after a near fall, he quickly caught his balance and looked at Yami only to find him smirking back. With his temper quickly rising, Stan judged the distance between the two of them and was able to reach over, more carefully this time, and gave Yami a small push.
'Humm,' Yami thought to himself, 'He's testing his boundaries. Instead of pushing with all of his might on the first try, he gave only a small push to test the distance between us. Maybe he has learned some patience from the last time we encountered each other.'
"My turn." Yami stated as he quickly reached over, giving caution to the unsteady 'floor,' and also gave a small push to test his boundaries.
Yami watched amusedly as Stan wobbled back and forth trying to keep his balance. Stan gasped as he felt himself falling backwards. It was more difficult than he thought to pull himself back up when there were heavy rock weighing him down. After regaining his balance Stan came to the decision to get this over with ASAP.
"My turn" Without hesitation, and fueled with frustration, Stan shoved Yami with much more force than his first try.
Time seemed to slow down as the scene played out before them. Yami had tried to buckle down for the push, but wasn't prepared for as much force as he felt. Instinct wanted him to lean forward to keep from falling, yet logic kept him from doing that. Instead, he bent at the knees with cat- like grace and waited till he, and the boardwalk, balanced out. Slowly, he stood back up with a shocked look upon his face. He wasn't expecting Stan to use that much force.
'I suppose,' Yami thought, 'he hasn't gained as much patience as I thought. This will definitely shift the game in my favor. Now I just have to find away to use this against him.'
Stan stood proudly with his arms crossed over his chest. He knew he almost pushed Yami off. Now all he had to do was push Yami with just a little more force on his next turn, that is, if he manages to stay on after Yami's turn.
Without warning, Stan was quickly brought out of his thoughts as Yami reached over and pushed him.
'Huh?' Stan thought, 'What was that? I barely felt that push!' He smirked as Yami's arm returned to his side. 'This game is as good as mine!'
Yami mentally smiled. 'That should do it. Now I just have to wait for his ego to take over.'
"You'll regret that lame-ass shove boy!"
"Will I?"
"Damn it! You and your cocky attitude! I'm ending this now!"
Once again, the scene before them unfolded in a painstakingly slow motion. Stan's arms pulled back in attempt to push Yami with all his might. During this, Yami noticed that the boardwalk lightly tilted in Stan's direction. With all his might, and as fast as he could, Stan forced his arms in Yami's direction. Finally, Stan's hands impacted with Yami's chest with all his might. Yami once again buckled down, yet couldn't bend his knees. Stan's hands remained on his chest and continued to push him.
'What's he doing?!' Yami frantically thought. 'He's still trying to push me off!'
Stan laughed after he saw Yami's face. 'Clueless bastard! Like I'd just give one wimpy push and..huh?! What's going on?!?!'
Stan's thoughts were quickly averted from Yami as he realized that he was beginning to fall forward. In attempt to continue to shove Yami off, he ended up leaning forward too much. Now, instead of Yami falling off, he was slowly falling into the water. Before he hit the surface, his mind quickly planed out his next moves.
'No problem,' he continued to think, 'I'll fall in and quickly swim back up. By then the brat would probably be beaming with pride and not be paying attention to me. All I'll have to do is yell out to Kyuo and Shigere to attack him and watch. Then, we'll see who's won!'
Like a mad man, Stan laughed as he fell into the water. After his body became completely submerged he brought his feet beneath him to kick to the surface. There was only one problem. Try as he might, he couldn't swim back up. His body kept sinking.
'What the Hell?!?!' Bubbles escaped his mouth as he let out silenced cry of shock. Suddenly, it hit him. 'The rocks!' he thought as he looked down to his weighed down pockets. Stan tried to empty his pockets, 'The rocks are weighing me down!,' but this was only making his situation worse. As he sinked deeper, further away from the surface, what little light the moon provided grew dimmer.
Indeed, the heavy rocks were pulling Stan down into the dark abyss. During the dead of night, the once crystal clear lake transformed into the foreboding darkness that nightmares are made from.
Stan looked beneath him into the consuming darkness, his eyes widening in horror. The truth of the situation dawned upon him and felt like a thousand knives stabbing into his chest. As the last of his air escaped his burning lungs, he let out a blood-curdling scream that bubbled to the surface
Yami watched with an emotionless face as the last of the bubbles popped on the surface. 'Your evil has now left this world.' He thought as he slowly turned around.
"Stop right there!!"
The shout brought Yami out of his thoughts as he looked at the scene before him. Kyuo and Shigere had now untied Anzu and held her between them. In one swift movement, Kyuo grabbed Anzu and held her to his chest and placed his knife at her throat.
"Did'ya think we were just gonna sit back and watch after ya kill our boss?" Shigere laughed. "Think again."
"Let her go." Yami said quietly, yet sternly.
Anzu's eyes remained glued on Yami. She had watched the 'game' with dazed eyes. This whole night has been one big blur to her. First leaving the hospital, then running into Yami and spending time with him, and now being attacked, yet again, by the same person who attacked her before. This had to be some kind of nightmare. Anzu was close to convincing herself that if she were to close her eyes, she'd open them and be in her room. But she couldn't. She knew this was real, that she and Yami were in serious danger. 'Oh god,' she thought as she felt the tears she didn't even know she was crying slide down her face. 'Just let this end. Why don't these guys just leave us alone?'
Yami's heart broke in half as he saw Anzu's tears. "I'm giving you one last chance. Leave now and I will not have to harm you."
The two attackers laughed at this. "Really now? You? Harm us?" Kyuo said as he pulled Anzu closer to him. "I think it's more likely that we'll harm you. Like this!" Kyuo lifted up Anzu's neck and exposed his throat. He repositioned his knife at one side of her throat and prepared to slice it open.
~*~*~*~*~
Chibi: OMG! I finally got this chapter posted! I know this took a while, but I've been very busy! Really-really-REALLY busy! I was gonna post this yesterday, but I ended up going home for the day to help my sister move into her new apartment. Well, as always, please review and I'll try to post sooner next time. Ja ne minna!