CHAPTER SIX
For the entire following week, Yuugi made no attempt to speak with Yami at all. Yami easily made friends with half the school, falling inevitably into the most popular crowd of students. Of course, they occasionally spoke a word or two during Yami's work hours, but they secretly watched each other for the most part, Yuugi turning away timidly every time their eyes accidentally met.
"This new guy sure is popular," Jounouchi stated simply during lunch. "You think he would teach me a trick or two if I asked?"
Yuugi giggled. "You're charming enough, Jounouchi. You don't need tips."
"Of course, he doesn't," Honda said. He stuck his nose in the air in a false imitation of his blond friend. "I'm Jounouchi. I'm beautiful. I'm intelligent. I'm athletic. And all the girls dig me."
"Honda! That isn't very nice!" a soft voice cut in. It was Ryou, the shy boy who reminded Yuugi very much of himself. The snowy-haired boy sat down at their table next to Yuugi and across from the two bickering clowns. "Good morning, Yuugi. I haven't spoken to you in a while."
Yuugi smiled. "Yeah, it's nice that you're back with us, today. What happened between you and Bakura?"
A small laugh escaped Ryou's lips. "Oh, nothing. He and Ohama, along with several other guys, decided to go for a drink at the bar down the block for lunch. He asked if I wanted to come, but you know I don't approve of alcohol, and neither does the school."
Yuugi nodded in understanding. Yami? Drinking? He could definitely picture it: Yami sitting in one of those bar stools, wearing tight black leather, smoking a cigarette and ordering a vodka. Suddenly, alcohol didn't sound so bad to him. He imagined going into a bar and sitting down next to Yami, who would then take a sip from his glass and glance at him suggestively with those beautiful exotic eyes, shielded by long dark lashes. Just the mere thought sent shivers down his spine.
"Yuugi? Are you okay?" Ryou asked, interrupting his reverie.
"Huh?" Yuugi looked up to find three pairs of concerned eyes on him before realizing he had just dozed off. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, grinning sheepishly. "I was just thinking about something."
"Well, it must've been important," Jounouchi said. "Because some seventh grade girl just came up to you and told you she had the biggest crush on you, and you didn't even say anything."
Yuugi's eyes widened in shock. "What?"
Jounouchi chuckled. "Just kidding. You need to stop caring so much about other people. Relax, man."
"Speaking of girls," Honda said, "here comes one now."
He was right. It was Miho, one of the more popular girls in the class. She came up to them, swaggering around in her little skirt. "Hey, sweetie," she whispered, gently touching Yuugi's nose with her finger.
"Hi, Miho."
"Do you think you could walk me to your grandfather's game shop today? I'd really like to see what it looks like, and maybe I can visit your room, too?" Miho gave him a flirtatious smile, trailing her fingers down Yuugi's cheek. For some strange reason, all the girls loved touching him, especially Miho and several others.
"Sure," Yuugi replied. Almost the entire school knew Yami worked there every afternoon, and his grandpa was pleased to have so many customers. But Yuugi knew Miho was one of the few girls who probably wasn't going for Yami. She wanted something else.
"It's a date, then," she said, giving him a wink and turning to leave. "I'll meet you at the school gate after class."
Jounouchi shook his head after she was gone. "Do you even like her?"
"Not really," Yuugi admitted. "But she's okay. She's not a mean person or anything."
"That girl just wants a nice long fuck-session with you," Honda declared. "You should really watch out, Yuugi."
Ryou gently patted him on the back.
Yuugi lowered his eyes, averting their gaze. "Thanks, guys."
- - -
Yami narrowed his eyes as Yuugi and a girl from their class entered the shop. As attracted to Yuugi as he was, he had to say that boy was quite promiscuous when it came to clingy girls like Anzu and Miho. For whatever personal reason it was, Yami didn't know, but it bothered him. He couldn't understand how someone so pure and kindhearted could have a different girl on his arm every few days.
Miho was now giggling as Yuugi took her hand and led her to the stairs to his room. For a moment, Yami almost wished Grandpa was here, but the old man was out shopping for weekly groceries. His heart dropped as he watched the couple disappear upstairs. Yuugi… If only you could receive the love you deserve. Desperately, he wanted to be alone, but there were too many flirting customers to tend to. He was almost too glad to see Mai walk in through the door at that exact moment.
"Wow," she said. "Hey, girls, give the man some breathing space."
Almost automatically, the girls moved aside for her. Several stuck around, but most of them immediately left the shop.
Mai looked around. "Am I that unwelcome here?"
"Oh, no, you're very welcome," Yami replied, a little too enthusiastic to be healthy. "Thank you for coming. As much as I hate to admit this, you saved my ass this time."
"No problem."
Suddenly, Miho came running back down the stairs with her backpack, headed for the main entrance. She didn't even glance at Mai or Yami as she made her way to the door.
Yami grabbed her by her book bag, flinging her back and into the glass counter. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"
Miho was crying now, her tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't know what happened!" she shrieked. "I swear, I didn't do anything! Let me go home! Please!"
The remaining customers stared in horror, fighting to leave the shop. In less than seconds, there was not one customer left.
Clenching his fists, Yami slowly advanced toward the frightened girl. "You will tell me what you did to him," he growled, "or you will not leave this shop in one piece. Now, spit it out! What did you do to Yuugi?"
"Stop it, Yami," Mai interrupted. "Maybe the poor girl didn't do anything."
Yami shook his head helplessly. "Make sure she doesn't run away," he said, before dashing up the stairs to find Yuugi.
Fortunately, the door was unlocked. Yami cautiously pushed it open, the limp body on the bed immediately catching his attention. Oh, gods. He slowly approached the bed and found Yuugi lying half naked with his pants completely unzipped, apparently unconscious.
"Yuugi?" he murmured, sitting down on the bed and gently tapping the bare shoulder. "Wake up, Yuugi. Your girlfriend left."
Yuugi didn't budge.
Yami grabbed his arm and felt for a pulse, relieved to find the boy still alive. The small hand was cold and clammy, and the color appeared to have drained from the boy's skin. Without hesitating, Yami took the hand in his own, gently rubbing their skin together to create enough warmth for the boy. With his other hand, he pulled the comforters around the naked body and tucked Yuugi in.
For a moment, Yuugi looked so lovely, so angelic, Yami wanted to lean over and capture the parted pale lips in a kiss.
"Is he okay?" Mai asked softly. Miho stood outside the door behind her, staring guiltily at the carpet.
"I think so," Yami replied, giving the delicate hand a small squeeze before lifting the blanket to cover Yuugi arm. He gently massaged the curve of Yuugi's waist through the comforters, hoping to give the boy at least the slightest amount of warmth. "What happened? What did Miho do to him?"
"She says she was touching him, and he just sort of turned pale. Then, he fainted."
Yami waved Miho off before turning his attention back to Yuugi's motionless form. "You can leave. I think I can figure out the rest."
The girl gave him and Yuugi one last glance before rushing down the stairs. The jingling of the front door could be heard as she left.
Mai came and sat down next to him. "By the time that girl gets home, the whole city is going to think you have a thing for Yuugi. You should have seen that expression on your face earlier when you were tucking the cutie-pie in. Admit it, Yami. You're in love."
Yami said nothing as he continued to run his hand up and down Yuugi's side.
"Say something, kid."
"Did you leave the shop unattended?" he asked.
A harsh laugh escaped Mai's lips. "Do you think I'm that careless? I locked the doors from the outside and flipped the 'Open' sign. Don't worry about it. Everything is under control."
Yami sighed. "Thank you," he muttered. "You're right. I have a thing for him, but I don't think it's love. It's more like… a desire to protect him. Yuugi is such a sweet person. He deserves so much more."
Mai nodded in agreement. "Definitely. Maybe you can give him what he deserves."
"No, I can't give him that. I'm not capable of it."
"Maybe you can," Mai repeated. "I swear, there's some strange connection between the two of you. I don't know what it is, but it's something. I'll leave you two alone for now. Think about it." She left, the sound of her clicking heels disappearing down the steps.
A familiar bundle of leather above Yuugi's pillow caught Yami's eye. He smiled at the thought of Yuugi sleeping with his jacket every night. Did the jacket really mean so much to the boy that he would keep it folded so neatly next to his pillow?
Yami gently brushed aside a strand of blond hair from Yuugi's doll-like face. He gingerly leaned forward and closed his eyes, allowing his lips to linger against the smooth cold cheek for a moment. I will protect you with my life, little one. At least I will be doing something worthwhile. He wanted to take the boy into his arms and bury his face into the soft skin, but he knew that would be taking advantage of Yuugi's unconscious state. He had sworn to never harm another for his own pleasures again, and he wasn't about to break his own promise, especially not with this beautiful compassionate creature.
"My heart belongs to you, Yuugi," he whispered to the sleeping boy, taking Yuugi's frail hand and pressing it to his chest, curling the slender fingers in with his thumb. "Please don't break it."
And little did Yuugi know what he had just taken.
- - -
Note: Hey, it's some background information on Yami! Yay! Don't you love him, even though I made him sound like some sex-crazed dude? Anyway, you have to pity him. Everything will be revealed in one chapter, sometime later in the story. I'm posting this a bit later than I intended because as you guys know, some freak named "crapper" hacked into my account. Don't worry. I already wrote the chapter after this one! Whee!
Oh, yes, to respond to the reviews that got deleted: YOU GUYS ARE MAKING ME SO GUILTY! WAAAAAAH! I really want to tell you what's wrong with Yuugi, but I don't want to spoil everything. Here's a hint: Now I feel bad about whatever I'm doing to Yuugi because of your reviews. Hehehe. It's too late to change the story now, but I hope you guys will keep reading, even if something bad does happen. *sweatdrop* I have to say this is the angstiest fanfic I have ever written, and that's saying a lot.
Yami: I don't think I want to know what happens next.
Yuugi: *cries in the corner* I wish I could tell you, Yami, but I can't.
Lanlan: Gah! Enough with the drama!
Please review. Your encouraging reviews make me very very happy. Even if you don't like my fic, it's nice to know someone is willing to take the time to tell me what they don't like. So um… help me improve this ficcie. =]