Kaira-chan: here's the next chapter. And at the end is a dream ^_^
Yami Kaira: Only one more chapter to go!!
Kaira-chan: ^___^ Happy happy joy joy.
Yami: It's not that any of us mind this fic, its just that once Kaira-chan's through with it she'll only have 24 ongoing fics and... yeah ^_^;;
Kaira-chan: ^___^ Hope that you enjoy this!!
Pharaoh Yami: and, since, of course, Kaira-chan truly is Kazuki Takahashi... she owns Yu-Gi-Oh... if only I could figure out how to get that mask off...
All other muses: ITS NOT A MASK!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THANK YOU HARPYLADY456 FOR BETA READING THIS CHAPTER!! (And saying I was easy to beta!! That made my day!)
"Mmm...?" Yugi moaned, his eyes easing half open. He felt something shift at his feet, and looked to see Jonouchi at the foot of his bed, kneeling beside it, but his head was resting on the mattress.
Jonouchi's eyes opened slightly, and then shot up when he saw Yugi looking at him. "Yugi! You shouldn't be awake right now," Jonouchi said.
Yugi sighed and closed his mind. "Not you too," Yugi sighed, then turned away from Jonouchi slightly.
"Not me too... you mean... the other you?" Jonouchi blinked slowly, and saw the troubled look on Yugi's face. "What happened?"
"I just noticed how uncaring mou hitori no boku is," Yugi growled lowly. "He, of all people should know how important this is to me, and then he has the nerve to practically say how stupid I am!"
Jonouchi blinked slowly again, digesting all of this. "So, you got angry at him?" Jonouchi asked slowly, and upon seeing the flash of blind anger that crossed his innocent features, he sighed. "Listen, Yugi, what did he say, exactly?"
Yugi glared at Jonouchi. "Great, now I got you on my back as well."
Jonouchi shook his head, and raised his hands in front of his chest, as though he were surrendering. "No, I don't plan to get on your back about anything. I just want to know what the other you said."
"He said..." Yugi brow furrowed, as he tried to recall the conversation. "To forget about getting the money, even though he knows that this is really important to me. I didn't know he could be so - be so..." Yugi was at a loss of words.
Jonouchi sat down in the chair by the bed. "Hey. Do you remember when he and Kaiba were dueling on Pegasus' castle?"
Yugi shuddered. "Don't remind me!"
Jonouchi's face was completely serious, something that rarely occurred, if ever. "Well, back then, he thought he was doing what was best for you. He wanted to help save your grandpa, and to do that, he was willing to win at all costs, remember?"
Yugi nodded hesitantly.
"So, I figure, mostly whatever the other you does, is for you and your benefit, but a lot of the time, he just doesn't know how to do it, or he does it wrong, y'know? Maybe he's not telling you to completely forget about the money, but y'know, just take a little break from raising money so you can rest," Jonouchi said, his voice somewhat soothing.
Yugi, for a second, seemed about to give into Jonouchi's request, before his eyes flashed. "I can't take a break! I don't have time to take a break! I need to get to work!" Yugi sat up quickly, ignoring the wave of dizziness that overcame him.
Jonouchi took him by the shoulders, and forced him to lay down. "Calm down Yugi. I Kaiba called all of your other jobs, and they all understand, and you get a week off."
"You did what?" Yugi growled, attempting to get up again, but in his weakened state, and Jonouchi's gentle, yet firm grip on his shoulders, made his attempts futile.
"Yugi, you couldn't go to work! You still can't. I don't know about your other bosses, but Kaiba is considering this sick leave. You're still getting paid."
Yugi's eyes softened slightly, his brow becoming smooth again. "I don't feel right getting money when I'm not doing anything," Yugi muttered.
"Well, if you get some rest, then you can go work again. Now sleep," Jonouchi insisted. Yugi nodded once and then closed his eyes. Nearly immediately he was asleep again.
Jonouchi sighed, then decided that he should pay Yugi's grandpa a visit. Maybe got some information.
He got up, and walked out of the room, just before Yugi's eyebrows knitted together, and he began tossing his head in his sleep, almost as though he were plagued by a nightmare.
The footsteps were deafening as they echoed throughout the halls.
Clank. Drag.
He tried to ignore the hungry eyes that peered out from behind the bars. Besides the eyes, all the other features of the men - the creatures - were hidden in the shadows of the horribly cold and desolate building.
"Just this way," the monotone voice of the officer who was walking in front of him called. It was the officer's footsteps that were the reason - or part of the reason - of his discomfort.
It seemed thundering, the only other sounds besides it were the slight, scattered coughs of the creatures behind the bars.
He eyed the dying or already lifeless eyes behind the bars, while they watched him suspiciously, glared painted across every one of them.
He shivered when they entered another room, a separate room. It seemed so much darker, so much colder. The air hung oppressively around them, beating down on his shoulders, and he knew automatically that he didn't want to be there. He hated it there. It smelled so strongly, he retched.
"Whose there?" a cold, rasping voice called from the shadows, and his eyes widened, trying to penetrate the curtain of blackness before him.
A face, cheeks sunken in, dead blue eyes, yellowing teeth, and greasy black hair.
"Who are you?" the face asked, the shadows now revealing a well-built body, as though the man it belonged to had nothing better to do then to lift weights.
Who knew, maybe he didn't.
"I - I'm Yugi," he said, suddenly finding the gray, cement floor awfully interesting.
"Yugi?" the man mused, sounding as if he were trying to recall something.
"I'm your son," Yugi stammered, blushing and looking at the ground.
"Oh!" his father exclaimed, then embraced him tightly. Yugi could practically hear his back crack. "Yugi!"
Yugi hesitantly embraced the man also. The man looked at the guard.
"You can go now," he hissed at him.
The guard nodded, and left, closing the door tightly behind him.
Yugi shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at his father.
"Calm down," his father laughed. "They can see everything I do," he waved his hand towards what looked like a mirror on the far wall. "It's one of those two-sided... or one-sided or whatever mirrors."
Yugi nodded.
"So, you never visit me. What possessed you to come today?" his father grinned.
Yugi looked into his father's chest, feeling uncomfortable looking into his dead eyes. "I just thought, that I'd come and meet you. I haven't seen you since I was about, 3, am I right?"
Yugi's father nodded. "Yeah, I remember. You were an adorable little kid. How old are you now? 10? 12?"
Yugi sighed. "I'm 15 dad..."
"Really?" his father looked amazed. "Wow, I didn't know I had been here that long already."
Yugi bit his lip. "Why are you here, anyway?" he had been wanting to ask that since he had found out a month ago, but, now that he was, it seemed so strange.
"That's not important," his father sighed, then a look crossed his face that seemed to scream that he had come up with a brilliant plan. "How about you bail me outta here, sport?"
Yugi shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know, I mean... you were put in prison for a reason, right? So..." he trailed off.
"Yugi, I've changed," his father crooned. "I promise you that. I know what I did was wrong, and I'll promise I'll never do it again. But, please, you've got to get me out of here. It's driving me insane!"
Yugi sighed. "How much is the bail?" he asked reluctantly.
A grin crossed his fathers face, and his eyes flicked to life for a moment. "It's a little steep," he paused for a moment, "one million dollars."
Yugi's eyes widened. "ONE MILLION?!" he shouted. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?"
"What I did isn't important. It's all in the past," his father insisted.
'Yugi, don't do it. I don't trust this guy,' Yami spoke through the mind link.
'Yami, he's my father. Please let me do this?' Yugi pleaded.
'Yugi...'
'If it was your father, what would you do?' Yugi asked. Yami sighed.
'Only if you promise to quit if it gets to be too much for you...'
'I promise.'
"Okay..." Yugi sighed.
His fathers flicked to life. "Great! That's my boy!" his father exclaimed, then embraced his son again.
The darkness whirled around them, seeping into his lungs, suffocating him. His fathers embrace didn't become looser. In fact, it tightened, constricting.
It, with the combined effects of the darkness made his start to see black and white spots in front of his eyes. He couldn't breath.
And then his father morphed, becoming slender and wearing darker clothing. Yugi immediately recognized him as himself. Not Yami, but himself.
He pulled away from himself. Looked into his bloodshot, violet eyes.
"Who are you?" Yugi stuttered.
The other Yugi smirked. "I'm you, don't you recognize me?"
"I - what?" Yugi stammered, unsure how to word his question.
"Who would've thought that your worst enemy was yourself? That you were going to kill you? I bet you not even mou hitori no boku saw that one coming," the other Yugi sneered, putting extra emphasis on the word 'boku.'
The other Yugi drew a blade, and advanced upon Yugi. Right before the blade come down on Yugi, however, it fell from the other Yugi's hand, clattering to the once cement, now pure shadow floor.
Yugi opened his eyes, he hadn't even noticed that he had them pressed tightly closed. In front of him stood Yami, looking proud and arrogant, yet extremely pissed off, his hand outstretched.
"Aibou! Are you okay?!" He demanded, running up to his lighter self.
"I'm – fine..." Yugi insisted, before collapsing.
"Aibou!" Yami exclaimed, then caught his other, lowering the both of them to the ground. He embraced the now unconscious Yugi tightly, yet gently.
"I'm sorry aibou!" Yami sobbed, fighting back the tears that threatened to leak. "I'm sorry that I didn't do my job good enough. I should've stopped you before any of this," he cried, burrowing his face and his newly fallen tears into Yugi's soft hair. "I should've stopped this. I could've stopped this," he whimpered.
Yugi blinked, easing his eyes open. "No, Yami. You couldn't have. I was too stubborn. I should've listened to you. I'm sorry for breaking my promise," Yugi said, his voice weak and quiet. He burrowed his face into the crook of Yami's shoulder, crying now himself, before falling unconscious once again.
~~To be Concluded in the next chapter~~
Kaira-chan: There ^_^ another chapter done!! I'm nearly done the entire fic!! Go me!
Yami Kaira: Blah. Pathetic little fic. What the hell was with that sappy little part at the end?
Yami: You never warned this was going to be a shonen-ai fic.
Kaira-chan: But its not ^_^ That's the beauty of it! That's the actual relationship that Yami and Yugi have, so XP NYAH!!
Pharaoh Yami: You're scaring me now.... please review people...
~~~~REVIEW REPLIES~~~~~~
deranged black kitten of doom:
well, now you've seen ^_^;;
Akkiko:
no worries ^_^ I always continue =P ^__^ I'm glad to know you like the story that much, but you don't have to beg O_o;;
Dagger5:
yay ^_^ Yugi-puppy-eyes... wait... O_O NO!!! NOT THE PUPPY EYES!!! Yay ^_^ fav story and author list ^__^ Thankies *Glomps* and thanks for saying this is a great fic ^_^;;
I luv Kai:
I torment him because I'm evil ^_^ Yugi ignores Yami 'cause he's being stubborn (And slightly OOC).
TitanicBabe:
Hope I updated soon enough.
Red Roses2-chan:
lol, no, I won't kill him. But how it ends depends on the mood I'm in when I write it. If I'm in a good mood (which hasn't been often lately), it'll be a happy ending, if not, it will be an angsty ending, not where Yugi dies but... *Shrugs* I'm really really really sorry for making you feel bad though .
TheElfChaser:
Lol ^-^, yeah... he probably should but *Shrugs*
Mittens no Hikari:
No O_O Yugi puppy eyes twice in two different reviews for the same chapter . You readers are out to get me!
Wolf Keeper 989:
now you know ^_^
Yami-Yugi3:
More!! ^____^
YumeTakato:
Lol, I'm sorry for the short chapter u.u
Violet Wolf:
Of course you do ^___^ You helped me decide =P
Misura:
O_O Yugi Kaiba?? .... Seto Mutou?? O_O Oh Ra!!! Wow... Seto doesn't yell at people... odd... Yeah, perhaps... *Blinks* ^-^;; or you know, a dream...
MysticDreamer673:
I know... poor poor Yami *Glompage*
DarkChao1663:
lol ^-^ nope, Yami's not mad ^_^
Jill:
Yes, that he does/is.
Opal Shadow:
The answer... in the chapter above ^__^ wow... you've heard of Childhood of the Pharaoh O_O That's so... yay!! ^__^ lol.
Shadu:
Lol, you see, it's not hard. I just... stop typing ^_^ lol. O_O;; please don't kill me though...