------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yami hoisted himself and the other two up off the ground as they cried on his shoulders Yugi clutching his little angel plushie. Yami started to walk he needed to get to the closest phone possible when a bullet whizzed by he turned to see a man in fatigues holding a small pistol with a silencer on it. Yami's eyes widened and he turned to run he saw another bullet whiz by he picked up speed he just had to get around the next corner
--Yami put me down-- he heard Ryou say in his head
"No way" he said still running
--I can fly you can't and Yugi's too scared to-- Ryou tried to convince him
"All right when I set you down find Jou, remember that balcony you crashed into find it" he said slowing down just enough to let Ryou down. Ryou launched himself pushing him self off the ground and into the sky, watching as Yami as he ran around a corner before he flew off toward Jou's. He heard a final shot fired at him missing by inches he turned in mid air and focused in on the man
-- MISSED ME! -- He screamed as loud as possible at him adding a loud raspberry at the end snickering as the man held his head and started running in the opposite direction he winged his way towards Jou's home.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryou arrived at Jou's apartment landing extremely hard on the balcony unable to slow down he got up and started pounding on the glass door Jou came to the door sliding it open sleepily. Ryou shot in
"Ryou?" he said surprised as Ryou grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the front door
"Yami... gun... trouble..." he panted still pulling
"Yami's in trouble?!" Jou yelled he finally started walking with Ryou towards the door. Ryou suddenly collapsed next to him curling up and holding his side Jou bent down and looked at him he carefully pried Ryou's hand away from his side to see a small wound where what looked like a bullet had just grazed the skin, that last bullet hadn't missed after all. Jou picked him up easily and laid him out on the couch
"You stay here, tell me where Yami is" he said brushing Ryou's white bangs out of his eyes. Ryou looked up into Jou's brown eyes, seeing his reflection, he sent Jou his memory of Yami running away from the rubble that was his old home and diving around the corner, with Yugi in his arms, as he was shot at; Ryou blocked out the rest. Jou shook his head and stood to leave
"Yugi" he heard Ryou say
"It's okay Yugi will be here soon, I promise" he said running out the door.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A tall figure stood from his chair behind his desk his eyes focused on the man before him
"What do you mean they got away?" he said coldly
"Well sir, um... they are, well..." he stuttered nervously
"You imbecile if anyone else finds out about those two do you know what could happen!" he spat
"years of research down the drain because an idiot like you couldn't shoot a pair of lab experiments and their little 'friend'" he yelled his voice booming in the huge room his palms flat on his desk suddenly his eyes widened then narrowed back down grinning as he looked at the man cowering before him
"tell you what I'll give you one more chance you will go back there and capture their 'friend' don't kill him just capture him ruff him up if you wish, leave a little blood behind if you know what I mean something to lead them by and bring him back here to me" he told waving the man off. Once he was gone he sat back down in his chair he picked up a picture off his desk he grinned at it; it was a picture him holding a baby in his arms a few feathers poked out of the blanket the baby was wrapped in and it looked like it had the beginnings of black red and blond hair in it's head. He tilted his head back in his chair and started to mumble
"Hush little baby don't you cry, papa's gonna sing you a lullaby" and started laughing sadistically.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yami sat there on the sidewalk gently stroking Yugi's back as he cried into his shoulder
"Shhh, it's going to be all right your safe now" he whispered hugging Yugi's small body to him Yugi had been traumatized he wanted Ryou there he want someone that could comfort him Yami remembered the noise Yugi had made when he had first met Ryou and decided to try it he started to hum and try to roll the noise to make it sound similar. He must have done something right when he felt every muscle relax under his hands and he felt Yugi trying to burry his head closer to Yami's throat where the sound was resonating from.
"Yami?!" he looked up to see Jou running towards him he smiled up at him from the sidewalk
"Yami, are you all right?" he said holding out his hand to help him up
"We're fine Yugi's a little shook up about it but we're just fine, where is Ryou?" he said taking the offered hand
"Back at my place he had anoder rough landing on my back step; so where's dat joik who was shootin atcha" he said punching his fist into his hand making Yugi flinch and whimper
"Jou, he's gone, Ryou scared him off for us" he said calming Yugi down.
"Can we stay with you for a while?" he asked
"Since I no longer have a home"
"Sure my home is yours" he said slapping Yami on the back and leading him off towards his apartment.
They arrived as it was getting dark Jou started to unlock the door when he heard a squeak from behind it and a small hiss. Jou and Yami peeked around the door to see what was wrong, both noises had come from Ryou Serenity was sitting next to him with a bottle of antiseptic in one hand and a Band-Aid in the other Ryou was hissing quietly as she treated the small bullet wound Ryou turned his head to look at the door and smiled weakly at them
"Yugi?" when he saw Yami next to Jou. Yugi was asleep on Yami's shoulder
"No, Yami" he replied coming all the way in he gently laid Yugi down in a chair with his plushie
"Are you all right?" he asked Ryou who was already trying to sit up
-- I got too cocky-- he responded making a motion with his hands with one out flat and his other hit it and skidded. "Crashed again huh?" Ryou nodded "we'll just have to help that" he said patting him on the head Ryou wrapped his arms around his neck hugging him sniffling. Yami put his hands on Ryou's back, holding him, when he realized that he was shivering his skin was freezing cold he was hanging onto Yami for warmth too. Ryou looked up to see Jou standing there with an expression that pretty much screamed 'poor kid'
-- Thank you -- he whispered to Jou then he absently started crying
-- Cold, so cold -- into Yami's head and gripping tighter onto him.
"Jou do you have any spare blankets around here?" Yami asked pulling Ryou away from him reluctantly
"Yeah I'll getcha one" he replied signaling Serenity to come with him. Once they were in the hallway Jou crouched down next to her and broke the news to her
"Serenity, Yami, Yugi and Ryou are gonna be livin wid us for a while, okay?" her eyes lit up when she heard that
"Really!" she said happily
"Yeah now be nice and get them some food Ryou looks almost starved, I'll be there in a second" Jou said pushing her off towards the kitchen. He got a few blankets for them and returned
"here ya go" he said smiling Yami had taken a place next to Ryou on the couch and Yugi was still out cold in his chair Yami took the blankets and draped one over Ryou and himself and the other went to Yugi, who snuggled down into it until all you could see was his hair. Jou left to help Serenity with dinner;
"Ryou, you okay?" Yami said
-- Yes -- he said huddling down lower
"How did you get away anyway?" he asked curious, he felt Ryou shiver next to him
"It okay you don't have to answer" Yami said
-- N-n-no I want to tell -- he said hurriedly
--It just hurt so much; I was half way under anesthetic they were about to, well you know what they normally use that stuff for-- Yami nodded
--I went nuts for some reason my body reacted before my mind I took a scalpel and ran they cornered me and I struck out at the closest person and I stabbed him; I stabbed master, father, boss, I don't care who they call him I got him in the arm. -- Yami heard an evil little cackle added to that though that sent shivers up his spine
--I ran past him but he knocked me down and held me on the floor with the heel of his boot he almost crushed my back -- he sent Yami and image of him landing on the floor and a loud scream of pain
--he went to pick me up and I bit him I remember running then breaking through a window and something cold and my wings took over and before I knew what was happening I hit Jou's back porch I got up and came in here and I fainted when the anesthetic set in -- he finish snuggling down closer to Yami
"Ryou, you said you actually saw the man that started all this did you ever hear his real name?" Ryou shook his head
"Oh" there was an uneasy silence
"Yugi told us that you are his little brother,"
-- Yeah I know I don't look like it, I'm not really a brother that's just what Yugi calls us -- he laughed a little
-- I'm no more his brother than you are my dad --
"I'd like to be" Yami thought out loud Ryou heard him and smiled
-- Me too -- he thought back Jou came in
"Dinner's ready, you want some?"
"Um, sure what is it?"
"Well we don't know what you eat sooo we ended up just making instant ramen" Jou replied bashfully
"Well these two will anything that tastes good to you or me" Yami said getting up and leaving the blanket on Ryou he walked over to Yugi and tapped him on the head
"Yugi wake up food's here" Yugi shifted and went back to sleep
"Oh well he'll wake up when he's hungry" Yami said following Jou and getting a bowl of food for him and Ryou. Ryou looked at the bowl of noodles Yami had given him
"What's this?" he asked
"This is ramen, noodles" Yami said slurping a long string of the stuff
"So this is what Ramen is" he said
"Never actually seen the stuff I used to eat fruit and vegetables never had meat or bread before" he said trying some
"No wonder you're so thin," Yami said smirking as Ryou tried to get some from the bowl to his mouth on the chopsticks. Yugi woke up sniffing trying to figure out where the food was Yami looked up to see Yugi staring at him curiously
"Food?" Yugi said cutely
"Coming right up" Yami gave him a bowl and started helping Yugi handle a pair of chopsticks but in the end he ended up giving him a fork anyway. Jou returned with Serenity
"We're going to bed" he said trying to suppress a yawn
"Where are we supposed to sleep?" Yami asked
"The couch folds out into a pretty big bed you three should fit just fine" he said pulling up one of the couch cushions to show the folded bed.
"Well, good night, the blankets are in the closet go down the hall and it's on the right" he said walking off towards his bedroom. Yami set up the couch after they were done and started laying out the blankets across it when Yugi and Ryou both dived on top of it and started play wrestling with each other in a big flurry of feathers Yugi dragged Yami into it all and the entire thing ended in a big tickle fight with them all sprawled out on the unfinished bed. They all got up and started helping to put them back on Yami took of his and Yugi's leather shirt before he flopped down on the bed; Yugi and Ryou followed him they laid down on either side of Yami curling themselves up next to him and wrapping their arms around him resting their heads on his shoulders
"Night Yugi, night Ryou" he said happily
"Night Yami" the two echoed back, slowly falling into sleep.
---Dream sequence---
Yami awoke to darkness nothing but pitch black darkness Yami fumbled around in the dark for a light not that he didn't like it. Then a light flickered on an orange light he stared around and blinked he wasn't standing he was floating he had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth he started to struggle get out when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. he turned and stared at him, the man had large lavender eyes and spiky blond hair he was saying something; Yami's hand reached out to touch but his hand came in contact with glass he looked at his hand and then back at the man in front of him he was now grinning showing slightly sharpened canines. Everything went black again he awoke again gasping for breath coughing up some of the orange liquid he saw a blurry figure fighting on the ground with the man from before with on final punch to the face the other figure knocked him out and rushed up to him bringing him into focus he gasped in shock it looked like a blond Yugi with red eyes he said something
"Ryou! Ryou!" Yami's eyes widened and it felt like his soul was being dropped back into a pit and everything went dark again.
---Dream end---
Yami woke up with a gasp he felt Yugi and Ryou shifting in their sleep next to him; Yami eased himself out from under the angel's grips and made his way towards the kitchen holding his head he had seen what Ryou had seen that was Ryou's dream and he'd seen 'him' he sat down in one of the chairs at the table his breathing evened out as he sat there rubbing his temples trying to blink the images away. He heard someone shuffling around the corner he looked up to see Ryou standing in the doorway rubbing his eye
"You saw it too?" he asked Yami nodded slightly
"I have that effect on people" he said coming closer he touched Yami on the spot were he'd been rubbing
"Pain right there, right?" he said sounding like a doctor trying to make an accurate diagnosis
"Yeah" he said wincing as Ryou pressed down Ryou removed his hand quickly
"I'm sorry" he said sounding guilty
"It's all right you didn't mean to"
-- This is why they kept me in solitary -- he heard Ryou interrupt
"What do you mean?" Yami said confused
"When ever I slept they would keep me in solitary confinement"
"Why?"
"Yami you got just a simple headache from that last dream, you do know what was going on don't you?" Yami nodded, it had been another memory of his birth
"I've had worse, true, full-blown nightmares, and the first time I had one it just about killed the guard at my cage" he said looking down at the floor his wings drooping a little
Yami lifted Ryou's chin to look at him
"Its okay Ryou the guy deserved it and your safe here, no more pain, no more tests, no more master" he said reassuringly
"You must have some good memories? Or you wouldn't be sleeping well at all" Ryou held up one finger and said
"One"
"What was it?"
"The first time I met Yugi" he said sadly
"Well you'll have more now that you're with me" he said ruffling Ryou's hairs
"Now let's get some sleep" Ryou looked at him startled
"But what about-"
"Don't worry about it" He said leading Ryou back in to the living room Yugi was still there his entire body was tensing and relaxing with small whimpers his fingers gripping where Yami had been. Yami got back in bed with him and Yugi's fingers instinctively curled around Yami's arm, Yami pulled Ryou down with him. Ryou didn't relax though he was wide awake under the blanket
--Can't sleep, can't sleep -- Ryou accidentally let slip
"Ryou how did you get to sleep before when you had nightmares?" he whispered
--Sedatives -- Ryou responded bluntly
"How about a story?"
"A story?"
"Yeah my mom and dad told me stories to get me to sleep when I was little"
"Okay" Ryou whispered back
"All right, this is a story about a little angel who fell out of heaven" he heard Ryou gasp
"Don't worry this is a happily-ever-after story"
-- Happily-ever-after? --
"It means the story has a happy ending" Yami continued on with the story half way through he started hearing a light snoring next to him as Ryou had finally fallen asleep
"Night guys" he whispered before slipping back to sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gruzzee: poor dudes