Ahaha! this is chapter NINE! Woohoo! the ending to the story! actually, there's one more short chappy
after this...
Joey: she's hyper. Or something.
Well, it's what you wanted! Tata~
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Chapter Nine: Glimpse of Heaven
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Jonouchi stood there, leaning over, his hands on Yugi's arm, staring at the wall.
There was a now a hole in the kitchen wall.
The revolver lay on the floor where Jonouchi hit it, Yugi unharmed - but surprised and terrified. Amane peeped up at them, her eyes widening, her jaw dropping. Yugi was alive.
"Oh my...." she whispered, unable to finish her sentence. Jonouchi and Yugi both stayed in the same position for what seemed an eternity, staring at the gun. Jonouchi recovered first, however, and kicked at the gun.
It connected with his foot, skidding across the floor. It hit the wall with a thud, laying harmless on the tile.
Yugi recovered next. He hit his knees and fell to the floor, staring at the gun with wide eyes. He was perfectly fine, perfectly alive. He stared at the gun for a few more moments, breathing as if he had run a marathon. Jonouchi glanced down at him, then turned to the gun. It still lay there. He in turn stared down at his hands, wondering how the hell he -
If you feel a strong enough emotion, you can have physical contact with a person or thing.
He had felt terror. Fear. Pain.
All very strong emotions.
Amane stood up slowly, staring at Jonouchi. Yugi was still kneeling on the floor, his face white, when -
He collapsed into a faint. He hit the floor with a thud, making Jonouchi jump. Not sure what to do, Jonouchi looked around, then reached out and tapped Yugi's shoulder. He tipped the boy onto his side, his breathing slow and paced. Amane made her way across the room, her eyes locked on the gun. The steel barrel and the flickering, dying light etching off of it made it look more foreboding then before. She shivered and squatted down beside Yugi's head, carefully moving it to her lap.
"Yugi-kun," she whispered, gently brushing the hair off of his forehead. Yugi moaned a little, then opened his eyes. They settled gently on Jonouchi, widening slightly.
"Jou.... Jou-kun," he whispered, attempting to push away from him. He stopped moving as he hit Amane's lap, turning around and seeing her. Yugi cast his eyes on the revolver, then back at Jonouchi, who was kneeling before him. "How -- ?"
"Yugi," Jonouchi started, "I...."
"Jounouchi," he whispered, staring at him. He shook his head, a smile spreading over his face. "You're.... You're here. Wait..." he looked around, then averted his eyes to Jonouchi. "Am I dead?"
"Thank God no," Jonouchi said, reaching out to Yugi. He attempted to place his hand on Yugi's shoulder, but felt the transition as he fell through the boy's shoulder. Jonouchi then pulled his hand back, staring at the floor.
"What...?" Yugi shook his head, still confused. Amane was making motions to Jonouchi. She
was trying to mouth something to him...
'He thinks he's dreaming,' Amane mouthed, pointing to Yugi. Jonouchi scrunched up his face in confusion, wondering what she was saying. A sudden understanding washed over his body as he realized what she was saying.
Yugi thought he was dreaming.
"Yugi," Jonouchi started, "There was no way I was going to watch you die again."
"...Again.....?" Yugi asked, shaking. "What do you mean, Jou-kun?" Jonouchi sighed.
"I've seen you die once, and I'm not doing it again," he explained slowly. "It's... hard to explain, but it's the damn truth and I'm not letting you die." Yugi looked at the floor.
"She would have killed me anyway...." he muttered. Jonouchi rolled his eyes.
"You have evidence, Yugi. Things written in her handwriting! First hand accounts! More can be investigated!"
"It's not enough," Yugi whispered, tears welling in his eyes. "It's not enough..." His tears seemed endless as they started. Yugi covered his face with his hands, tears falling through his fingertips, shaking terribly, proving he had given up hope. Jonouchi bowed his head in shame.
"...Try it for me, if not for yourself," he whispered. Yugi brought his head up a bit and sniffed. "...Please...? I'll never get to heaven if you don't...." Yugi sniffed, then laid back into Amane's comforting arms. She gasped, surprised and confused. Yugi moaned, then trembled a bit, tears rolling down his face.
"...Itai..." he whispered. It was barely audible. Jonouchi leaned forwards, gripping Yugi's shoulders.
"Yugi! Yugi, what happened?" he cried, shaking his head. Amane looked down at Yugi's arms, noticing a blood trail.
One of his cuts had re-opened.
"Oh my fucking God," Amane whispered, gripping his wrist. It was right below the vein that was bleeding. The blood trailed down his arm, and a pool of it had formed on the floor.
How long had he been bleeding? How did they not notice it?
Amane looked around frantically. She couldn't figure out how they didn't notice it before. It made no sense. She looked down, then at Jonouchi. She reeled back as she saw the look of horror on Jonouchi's face as he stared at the floor. Amane's eyes traveled to where he was looking, her eyes widening in horror as well.
A switch blade was on the floor, the knife open, dark, thick blood staining the edge.
Yugi had cut himself once more...
"I don't get it," Jonouchi muttered. "When -- How -- When did he do that?!" Amane nodded in slow understanding as the scene she had seen so many times re-played in her mind.
"....When we turned away, and he pulled something out of the drawer...." she muttered. Yugi was breathing loudly, his shoulders heaving. He seemed to have lost a lot of blood from such a small cut. Jonouchi looked back at his wrist, wondering why he had lost so much.... He lifted Yugi's wrist, the hand flopping back. Jonouchi stared for a moment, then lowered it beside Yugi's body.
He had cut himself there the most. It was very, very deep...
"...The reason he got the gun was because of the paper and his failed attempt," Amane said, looking up.
"What?"
"Yugi attempted to slit his vein and die," she said, making Jonouchi shiver at the thought. She looked down at him. "...But he found the note and his suspicions came true.... And he got the revolver and attempted to kill himself again...." Jonouchi shook his head.
"Why didn't we notice?"
"Because he did it while we were turned away," she explained. "In the vision... And since we didn't notice it there, we didn't notice it in real life, either." Jonouchi shook his head slowly, his shoulders shaking.
"...So he's going to die...?" Amane nodded, lowering her head. She was kicking herself in her mind for not noticing.
I mean, I know he has a hunch, she thought, but just one piece of paper isn't a good reason to
kill yourself...
Wait.
Jonouchi lifted his head, still crying, but smiling.
"Amane," he said, gripping her hand, "his mother knows about the cuts."
"...And...?" Amane asked, her lower lip quivering.
"She didn't do anything about it.... And that's against the law. It's a form of child abuse!" he said, biting his lower lip. "Neglect! If Yugi testifies that she did, in fact, know about his cutting, he could be taken from her care and instead go to another home!" Amane smiled, then her smile faded, her hair falling over her shoulder. She looked down at Yugi's still body. The only way you could tell he was alive was from his short breaths...
"...Stress.... Depression... Cutting... All factors in his death...." Jonouchi shook his head.
"No, Yugi isn't going to die! I refuse to allow him to die!" And with that, Jonouchi jumped up, and ran to the phone. Amane carefully picked up the switchblade, glad for once she couldn't leave fingerprints, and placed it on the counter for evidence. Jonouchi, meanwhile, was talking to an operator, telling them to get an ambulance down to the Kame Game Shop.
.....But they might not make it....
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Yugi opened his eyes slowly, the scene swimming before him. He could vaguely remember hearing faint sirens, seeing someone pick him up, his body being lifted. Cool rain hit his body, people's worried voices... He seemed to fade in and out, in and out, as if watching this on a blurry, faded television. He remembered seeing a man before him, running, looking down at him and saying "It'll be okay, it'll be okay...."
He remembered the loud siren, a fast moving vehicle, and feeling a cool hand clamped in his...
He remembered opening his eyes and seeing Jonouchi beside him, smiling while crying, a kind look in his eyes...
Then everything went dark.
It was hours later when Yugi woke up to see the high ceiling before him, a soft beeping in his ears. He was lying in a soft, comfortable bed, the blanket pulled to his chest. His right arm was bandaged all the way to his elbow, with an IV tube leading into his wrist. He stared at it momentarily, waiting until his eyesight adjusted. He turned his head and saw a window with the curtain drawn.
He then realized that there was a mask over his mouth and nose, letting him breathe cool, fresh air. He closed his eyes once more and listened to the soft beep of the EKG above his bed. He opened his eyes and they fell on the doorway, the door slightly ajar. People were moving around outside, voices drifting in, phones ringing, people running and yelling down the hall.
Loud footsteps could be heard coming towards his door. Interested to see how they would react, he closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.
Rietta pushed the door a bit, peering inside. Her eyes fell on Yugi, who she thought to be unconscious. He lay very still, breathing slowly, as if asleep. She walked over, her socks making soft padded sounds on the floor. She checked the machines briefly, then looked down at his arm. All his cuttings had been bandaged all the way to his elbow...
"Please, Yugi," she whispered, leaning forwards, "Wake up. You have to testify. Without you...." she closed her eyes, her shoulders shook, "...my sister might not get the repercussion she deserves.... She might not lose you." She touched his arm softly, Yugi listening intently.
This woman is my mother's sister....? He thought. Then that means she's my aunt...
....Testify?!
Yugi's eyes opened. Rietta jumped, surprised. He looked at her, smiling.
"....Yugi...." she whispered, shaking her head and smiling. "You're awake..."
"What do you mean, testify?" Yugi asked hoarsely. Rietta was taken aback.
"You were listening?" she said, sighing. "Well, I guess I was rather loud..."
"Actually, I was conscious," Yugi explained, shifting his position. "But, what do you mean, testify?"
"Did my sis-- Your mother," she said, correcting herself, "know about what you were doing to your arm?"
"I think so," Yugi said softly. "I mean, she's seen it plenty of times. Once she grabbed my arm, turned it and stared at it for a good five minutes." He closed his eyes momentarily. He felt so tired... The air he was receiving through the mask made him feel drowsy...
"...Oh," Rietta said, looking back down at his arm. "Because that's a form of child abuse."
"It is?" Yugi said, turning to her. "Really?"
"Yes," she explained, smiling. "It's called neglect. She didn't do anything about your cutting, and with your word, she can be arrested." Yugi's face fell.
"What will happen?" he asked slowly. Rietta shrugged.
"If she's convicted, you'll be taken away, to a better home," she explained slowly. She stared down at Yugi's face, as if recording it in her mind. "....You look like him so much...."
"Who?" Yugi asked, curious.
"...And Rachel.... You have the same manner she once possessed," Rietta said, ignoring Yugi.
"Who do I look like?" Yugi asked again.
"Jonah."
Yugi faltered.
Jonah was his father's name.
"...My.... my father?" she asked slowly. Reitta nodded.
"I remember him well, Yugi. He was a very, er, colorful person..." she laughed at herself. Yugi smiled softly.
"And you're..."
"Your mother's younger sister, Rietta Kyuuei," she explained, smiling at Yugi's reaction to his own mother's maiden name. "I haven't seen you since...." she looked away. Yugi blinked, confused.
"Since.... when.....?" he asked slowly. He was feeling so sleepy...
"Since your father's death," she explained in a small voice. "When you were only two." Yugi relaxed his shoulders. "And, according to what they said, if anything happened to them... I would take over as your guardian..." Yugi nodded, smiling, slowly falling back into a deep sleep. The gases in the air he was being given were to sedate him, so he wouldn't have any emotional breakdowns.
Rietta stayed beside him until she was sure he was asleep, then left the room, closing the door behind her.
She turned and saw Jonouchi standing before her.
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To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.~ Karen Sunde
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Rietta gasped, surprised to see someone right behind her.
She didn't recognize him as the boy she found in the Jonouchi's apartment almost a month before.
"Oh," she said, smiling. "Hello. Are you here to see Yugi?" Jonouchi looked confused, his face contorting into one of confusion.
"You... Never mind," he said, waving his hand. Amane ran up beside him, staring up at Rietta.
"How's Yugi?" she quipped, her hands folded. Rietta smiled.
"He just woke up," she explained. "I told him what's happening."
"....His mother was convicted, right?" Jonouchi said slowly. Rietta shrugged.
"She was taken away, just because of Yugi's suicide attempts, and illegal gun possession," she explained. "But, according to Yugi, she knew about the cutting."
"Neglect," Jonouchi said, shaking his head. Rietta squinted at Jonouchi, making a reassuring sound.
"You're... Are you the boy who called the police?" she asked slowly. "The one who told them that he was abuse?"
"Yes, I'm a friend," he said, shrugging. Amane nodded.
"Well, you may go see him, although he just fell asleep," she said to them. Jonouchi shook his head.
"No, we just wanted to know..." Jonouchi and Amane waved to Rietta and disappeared. Right before her eyes.
She blinked and stared ahead of her, slowly turning around to see if they were behind her.
They weren't.
"What the...." she murmured. She turned back to the front, completely dumbstruck on how they just disappeared. "They.... But.... How....?" She crossed her arms in front of her in frustration. She stood there, deep in thought, and began walking down the hallway. She was trying to remember where she had seen Jonouchi before...
She stopped and gasped.
That was Jonouchi Katsuya! She spun around again, surprising a passing doctor. She couldn't believe it. She shook her head, a smile playing on her face.
"I'm losing it," she surmised, walking forwards. "Jonouchi Katsuya... and Bakura Amane! Right in front of me! Two victims of abuse! And they said they were friends of Yugi.... A third!" She threw her hands into the air.
"I think I need to lie down...."
*
Jonouchi was staring out at the sea, standing on the docks at the ports. With his hands in his pockets, he allowed the breeze to blow through his transparent body, didn't mind that no one could see him...
He was dead.
No one could change that.
"...You ready....?" Amane asked slowly, standing beside him. He didn't answer. He was staring out at the sea, trying to take it all in before he left.
"...You're sure Yugi's going to be okay?" he asked, turning to her. "And the others?"
"Yes," Amane said, nodding to him. "They will all be alright. No matter what," she said, giggling. She opened her eyes to see Jonouchi had turned to the ocean, tears running down his face. "Eh? Jonouchi?"
"I miss them," he whispered. He bowed his head in frustration. "I love them so much..." Amane placed her hand on Jonouchi's shoulder.
"I think they'll be happy," she said softly to him, "That they have an angel watching them." With that, the two were whisked away in a flash of light, a blow of wind.
They were returning to the cemetery...
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this made me cry so hard... i really thought about what would happen if one of my friend's died, and I cried for what seemed like hours. typing this helped me relieve the pain of what is happening now in my life. I hope it doesnt come to this.
Dont go, there's another chap after this one. Jou and Amane actually get to heaven...
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Next chap~~
Jonouchi and Amane return to the cemetery, ready to leave. They go over some things, Jonouchi realizing the real reason he stayed for so long. And... on the way to heaven...
...They make one last goodbye....
Chapter Ten: the Angel in the Cemetery
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Shibby-One
;_;
