Authoress Notes: Here is the brand new chapter one, Transitions. Unlike my previous attempt, I've decided to include a small bit of the events between 2001 (the year of Jou's death) and 2004 (the year the main part of my story takes place). This won't really affect anything that was already written, but I think the plot will be much better for it.
Warning: This chapter contains an OC, shonen ai mentions, and scenes of violence/abuse.
Disclaimer: YGO is not my property. This particular plot and Ayashi-kun (whose full name is revealed in this chapter) do belong to me though, and I would like to be asked before anyone takes them. I am not receiving payment for this, unless you count the happiness reviews give me.
Put him outta my Misery
by Livi {ania}
Transitions
"You cannot change who people were without changing who they are." –the Butterfly Effect
[Ripples of Jou]
(2001-present day)
-bad things happen-
One of your best friends dies, senselessly, and you're left with only questions. Wondering why this happened to someone 'good', or why you didn't see the signs earlier.
You don't always think about how he would've hated if you knew his pain. He might've minded death, but the pain was just a part of him. A part of his father. He never once imagined life without and he never once regretted life with it. It just was.
No matter what side of the coin you view, your best friend is gone.
-and there is nothing you can do-
No matter what happens next, the facts of life don't change. And one of those facts is death.
You have to face it. If you don't, it will drive you crazy. You can't stop just because someone else did.
You can't jump off the bridge for them. Everyone's path is their own.
-except move on-
Life goes on and its current has a mighty undertow. You either keep moving or get pulled under.
Joey-taachi[1], in the end, moved on.
Anzu and Ryou both depressed at first, but slowly warming back up to life. Anzu, who was given a scholarship to ballet school—not in New York as she planned, but to the renowned Joffery Ballet. Moving away from friends, she moved away from grief, and lost herself in dance and passion. She's now an American, in all senses of the word. And Ryou had his yami to help him, guide him out of his grief. After all, what fun is angsty hikari? Bakura had more lively taste.
Tristan Hiroto[2], his closest buddy, had been shocked by Joey's untimely death. He'd certainly seen bruises on his homie[3] before, but he'd also seen the fights Jou got into regularly. After, he figured maybe the fights were a way of hiding the evidence. Hiroto never really knew.
He spent a year, empty and depressed, losing interest in his previous crush Serenity. She was so much like her brother, when it came down to it. Lost in memories of his buddy, his parents moved so he could have a change of scene, forever breaking ties with the gang.
Serenity Kawai[4] went with her mother back to America, scarred by the brief time she had with her brother before her left forever. She didn't return to Japan for two years, where the grief of nostalgia nearly destroyed her when she did return. Her comfort was found with a perceptive soul, one with ties to her past and a hope for the future.
Kaiba Mokuba gave Serenity his love, as his brother had given to Kujaku Mai. He felt scared with her, wondering what it would be like to lose Seto, but also incredibly happy. Both of them had the power to fill the holes in each others' souls.
Yugi separated himself in gaming and his yami, but couldn't stayed sad long. The light always finds ways to shine, even in deepest darkness. Only one side can be dark, and the balance is self-preserving. [5]
[Stagnation of Kat]
(2003-present day)
She lost herself in the world, falling into dreams and shadows. Mind forever searching, body comatose and devoid.
Friends giving up hope, never visiting anymore.
Family encouraging parents to pull the plug.
Mother and Father, desperate, pulling the plug.
With no results.
Even without life support, Ayashi churned on.
They bought a separate residence for her to live with a private nurse, and moved her in.
It was on that day Ayashi Neko woke.
"Isis-?" She asked, voice croaking from long disuse.
The nurse smiled enigmatically, and rubbed the younger girl's forehead reassuringly. "Shh, don't strain your voice. Questions will answer themselves in their own time."
END TRANSITIONS
[1]-taachi is a plural suffix. Joey-taachi is basically Joey and others. I kind of used it to refer to as 'Joey's friends'.
[2]I like Hiroto as a first name, but can't take Honda. It makes me think of my sister's car. I think Tristan Hiroto sounds better than Traylor Hiroto, and he isn't going to be mentioned much anyway.
[3]I can see them calling each other 'homie'.
[4]Kawai Shizuka is the Japanese name, but I utterly adore the name Serenity. Due to her living arrangements, I think the American way of ordering personal and family names fits better.
[5]Notice lack of mentions? Mai and Kaiba will get more later, and Otogi wasn't exactly close to Jou. Malik/Marik have never met him…the Ishtar's only connection is Isis knows Ayashi. That's my basic reasoning.