Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, have the intelligence to own anything as worthwhile as Yu-Gi-Oh!, so buzz off.
Warning: I have no idea where the story is going, but this WILL have SLASH! Yugi is a bit depressed, there may be a few inappropriate things, and of course, violence. I doubt I own a story without any of the above...
A/N: Sorry this took so long; I really do appreciate all the new reviews I'm getting! I'll try to update again soon, because this is definitely one of my better fics!
Chapter 5: Recovery
Last Time…
"I still know how to do that spell, you know. And I'm sure it can be adjusted to annoying yamis'." Marik tackled him again and wrestling resumed; Yugi smiling contentedly at the pair as he fell asleep feeling safe for the first time in what seemed like forever.
*
"C'mon Yugi, you have to eat more than that!" said Malik, exasperated, as the tiny hikari stubbornly warded off his attempts to stuff a third helping into him. Marik smirked from the couch.
"Malik, really. If you feed him anymore he'll explode."
"But he's so light!"
"And he's also almost two whole feet shorter than you. Unless, of course, you don't mind him blowing up and leaving a mess - "
"Mar~ik!" Malik whined. Yugi took advantage of the opportunity and fled back to the guest bedroom. The blonde hikari glared after him and pouted in Marik's direction. "Now look what you've done!"
"What I've done?! What do you mean, you pathetic excuse of a fat-assed - "
Yugi closed the door and grinned before moving to the bed. He had been living with the two (formerly) insane look-alikes for an entire week, and it had been one of the best recoveries in his short memory. Of course, it would have been nicer had it been Seto who rescued him, but really, that was expecting a bit much …
Contemplating the tall, brown-haired teen, Yugi sighed, his eyes fluttering shut as he fantasized the elder Kaiba admitting his undying love to the spiky-haired hikari. It was his greatest wish, and over the past month or so, Yugi's crush had turned to something close to love, even if Seto didn't notice him. Oh how he wished though, that Seto liked him. Mokuba was an added bonus, admittedly, as he was one of the few people Yugi knew loved him for who he was, and would never betray him except to perhaps save the life of his elder brother, and Yugi would sympathize with him in that case.
Idly wondering what Seto was doing at the moment, Yugi was startled when the doorbell rang. Remembering the drill (in case the caller was Yami), he dove under the bed, tugging down hard on his hair as he heard Malik move to answer. The door creaked open.
"Ryou!" came Malik's surprised voice. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"I came to see if Yugi was alright - "
"Yugi? Oh, no, he's not here. What, he's not at the Pharaoh's? I thought he was just out sick…" Yugi was very impressed with the other teen's blatant lies. Another voice interrupted his mental cheers though, and made him cringe back in shock and fear.
"Don't be so foolish, child," growled the voice of Yami Bakura. "You two have made Ryou upset; we followed the Millennium Ring to the Puzzle, and it led us straight here." Malik could be heard cursing as Marik emerged to confront his rival (and friend).
"My hikari is not to be spoken to so insolently, Tomb Robber," he warned, but Malik cut him off.
"What exactly do you want with Yugi?" he asked, and the aforementioned hikari could picture his menacing yet defensive posture, and was glad the other was on his side.
"We merely want to know where he's been. He hasn't been in school in over a week, as of yesterday," said Ryou soothingly. "I was worried about him." There was a moment of silence before Malik sighed.
"Very well. Come on in." He came over to the bedroom as Marik led the two white-haired youths into the kitchen. "Yugi?" The boy crawled out and stood with an anxious look.
"Yami's not with them, is he?"
"No. Come on, I guess you should at least let Ryou know that you're alright, or Bakura won't be getting any for a while, and that'd make him even crankier." Yugi grinned tiredly and followed his host. "Are you okay?" asked Malik as they left. The shorter boy nodded, yawning.
"I still haven't caught up to that healing the Rod did on me, I guess. Is it supposed to last this long?" Malik frowned.
"I don't know. That was the first I even knew I could do that, much less how the aftereffects go - " he cut off as they too entered the kitchen to find the other three waiting. Ryou stood with a relieved smile.
"Yugi! You're here!"
"Well, Malik said he was, didn't he?" snapped Marik. Ryou rolled his eyes as his yami took offense at Marik's tone and the two began to argue. Yugi blinked.
"Hey Ryou … Bakura." The Tomb Robber ignored him, but Ryou walked over … and started frowning.
"Yugi, you don't look so good. What happened?"
"See?" crowed Malik. "I told you he had to eat more!"
"That's definitely part of it," agreed Ryou. "But his bruises - "
"Didn't you notice he was getting picked on again?" asked Malik incredulously. "Oh wait, I forgot, you were with your dad, right?" Ryou nodded, and Yugi sighed.
"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Ryou. "Or, like, Yami or somebody - " Again, Malik interrupted.
"Yami? Yami's the one who went around spreading that stupid rumor that Yugi went evil, don't you remember?"
"Ryou was out sick that day," said Bakura defensively, "and I … forgot to tell him."
"It's okay," said Yugi softly, diffusing the rising tension. "I'm easy to miss, if you're not actively looking for me."
"But still …" protested Ryou. "And that cut the day you returned my yami's whip?" Yugi wandered over to the rack of cookbooks on the counter.
"Yami."
"What?!" yelled the normally soft-spoken Ryou. Bakura just looked shocked, before his face darkened.
"Stupid, lousy, arrogant bastard Pharaoh," he began. Marik shushed him frantically.
"Not in front of the hikaris!" he hissed. "You'll corrupt them …"
"Yours is already using that language regularly," sniped the fair-haired teen, but he desisted after considering Ryou and Yugi. The latter smirked slightly.
"Don't worry; it's nothing I haven't heard before. I promise I won't repeat it too often …" He rolled his eyes at the collective stare of surprise he was receiving. "Honestly, you'd think I was five or something …" he sighed to the air. He turned back to Ryou seriously.
"Yes, Yami. I think he was in the Puzzle one Millennium too long, because really, he's losing it. Don't worry; it should be fine once we can find a way to – to …"
"Send him to the Shadow Realm?" asked Marik, surprisingly gentle. The amber-eyed teen nodded sadly, sniffing.
"I can't … he can't be allowed to roam; he's just too … dangerous."
"But Yugi, can't he change?" asked Ryou. "I mean; look at my yami; he's - "
"No," whispered Yugi. "My yami doesn't regret what he does, and he tricked me into trusting him from the beginning. He's after the Game Shop, and … me. He wants what Grandpa left to me in his will."
"Wow. Is it really worth that much? I mean; it's just a Game Shop …" Yugi shook his head.
"It's far more than that. Grandpa was allowed to keep what he found on his best dig ever. I stand to inherit – in three years – over 300 million US dollars, not including the several hundred thousand we made off the Shop. So, you see, Yami stands to make a lot if he can get me to hand it over …" Looks of dawning comprehension.
"Ooo …" winced Ryou. Yugi nodded sadly.
"I just – he cannot be let loose on the world with that much money and still believing himself to be what he once was – a Pharaoh of Egypt!"
``````````````````````````````````````````
Yami paced the room angrily; Tea watching him.
"Where is that little asshole?" he snarled. "Something's blocking the Millennium Puzzle … Yugi, you little shit, you are in so much trouble!" Tea sighed, resigned.
"What if it isn't him blocking the signal?" she offered. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that that last lesson you gave him still has him shuddering; what if one of the other Millennium Item holders found him? Could they block you?" Yami stopped in surprise.
"Tea," he murmured, "I am willing to bet that's it. How could it not be? Obviously the wife of a Pharaoh would be smarter than your average woman." He kissed her thoroughly. "Now let's find if Shadi, Isis, or the assorted fags has my slave kept hidden from my view …"
*
A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Review!
Okei, I keep getting asked why Yami's evil. He's evil b/c I wanted a Seto/Yugi pairing and for Yugi to be beaten up, but if Yami was nice, I'd probably end up with it S/Y/YY, so … here you are!