Dreams of Angels

Pan: Youkai and Tenshi plushie for S.Chensu and Luff too - Don't have anything more to say right now, apart from 'I don't like ff.net's QuickEdit thing much'. On with the words!

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"Yami! The Karyuudo command you! Destroy the demon!" Kahi said, with a sick kind of joy in her voice.

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Yami walked stiffly towards Youkai. "If you are going to do it, do it now." Youkai said loudly. It seemed like a request for a quick demise, though it was actually the signal to Bakura and Ryou to spring from their hiding places. Two flashes of white hair jumped from the roof of a small boating shed, and seized Kahi. "Good evening!" Bakura said as he held Kahi's arms tight behind her.

Yami continued his slow executioner's pace towards Youkai, stopping immediately in front of the dark creature. He raised the dagger, to bring it down into Youkai's heart, but it stopped halfway through its lethal journey.

A pair of bright, amethyst eyes were looking up at him. Yami stopped, confused; the demon had gone, but gone where? "Yami, I hope this works." Yugi said. He flung the chain of the Puzzle, which had been behind him, over Yami's head. There was a moment of silence, as nothing happened. Yugi held his breath, pleading to all the Gods he could think of that this would work.

Yami's shriek broke the still. The two magics, one from the white binding, one from the Puzzle clashed inside his mind, causing his body to shake violently, and him to drop the dagger.. The binding magic was surprisingly strong in comparison to the Puzzle.

"Kill him!" Kahi yelled. In one moment, the binding regained control, and Yami took up the dagger once again, but now commanded to use it on Yugi. Kahi's laugh rang out over the tense silence. "I've won! What does the death of one lighter matter to the destruction of a demon? Kill, kill!" she cried, almost maniacally. Bakura and Ryou released her, admitting defeat. They had lost.

Yami froze.

The dagger was inches from Yugi's chest. Yugi looked up, and saw a brief glimmer return to his koi's eyes.

Yami turned to face Kahi. Realisation dawned on her, and Bakura, as he quickly clapped his hand over her mouth to stop her from uttering another order.

She had changed the command. Instead of 'Kill him', it was now simply 'Kill'.

The loss of a single word had given Yami a short moment of choice.

He walked steadily towards Kahi to carry out her final order, but instead of raising the dagger, to drive it into her heart, he placed his hand on her chest. A small burst of magic from the Puzzle obliterated her soul in one painless flash. Her body crumpled, and fell to the floor, soulless and dead.

Yami stood still, dagger clattering to the ground as he released it.

"Yami! Yami!" Yugi cried joyfully, running forward to wrap his arms about his koi's waist. He looked up in surprise as the young Pharaoh didn't respond. "What's wrong?" Yugi asked, looking at Bakura. "Why is he still like this?!"

"The white binding magic still holds him." Bakura answered quietly. "It can't be broken by the death of the one who cast it." "How can it be broken?" Yugi asked quickly. "Remove the white!" Bakura said. "Come on, Yugi, I thought you were cleverer than that!" Yugi half-scowled, but turned eagerly to the task of removing the white robes from Yami's form (not an easy task, as Yugi was still shorter than him.).

Finally, Yugi threw the robes away, where they landed in the water, and were dragged out to sea, and under the dark waters. He looked up at Yami's face.

Yami suddenly blinked away the blank look in his eyes, then without warning, bent down, and kissed Yugi passionately on the lips. Ryou giggled quietly, and got a smack from Bakura. "You're getting as bad as me." the tomb robber murmured. "Not that I care."

Yugi smiled up at his koi as they broke apart. Yami mouthed the words 'Thank you', and winked reassuringly as he began to fade from view. Yugi nodded, turned, and sprinted down the pier as fast as he could.

Ryou watched him go. "I don't understand." he said simply. Bakura looked down at him. "Only Yami's soul was captured." he explained. "The white binding was all that gave him physical existence and a voice. His soul's now returning to his body, which is back at Yugi's house, under Tenshi's guard." Ryou sighed. "Oh. Why don't people tell me these things sooner?" he said sorrowfully. Bakura rolled his eyes. "Because Panseru wrote it that way. Come on!" he said, running off after Yugi. Ryou shrugged, and followed.

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"Imouto?" A voice echoed through the dark past midnight. Footsteps sounded down the pier, walking towards Kahi's crumpled, soulless body. A black- cloaked figure with the familiar 'YK' blazoned on the dark material. They knelt beside Kahi, and laid a hand on her forehead. "Imouto. You were too weak after all." The figure stood up, and muttered something, passing a hand through the air above Kahi's corpse. The still form glowed, and shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. "May the Light have pity on you." the figure murmured, walking away. "But the demon still lives. Failure never is, never was an option in the Youkai Karyuudo." They sneered. "Now I have to restore our bloodline pride for your failure, imouto."

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"Atama ga itai..." Yami murmured, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be quiet then." Tenshi said from within his mind. "Tenshi?" Yami inquired. "What are you doing there? Where are Yugi and Youkai?" "Don't you remember?" Tenshi said in a surprised voice. Yami sighed. "Sort of... but it's all a bit fuzzy. My head hurts." he said quietly. "Where exactly am I?" "You're on your bed. In your room. At home. I expect Yugi and Youkai will be back soon, so will Bakura and Ryou." Tenshi said matter-of-factly.

At that moment, the sound of the front door opening downstairs, and someone rushing up the stairs came through the silence. Yami stood up slowly, and began to walk to the door, but it burst open before he reached it. Yugi threw his arms around Yami's waist and hugged him tightly. "You're OK, you're back!" he said happily. "I missed you, Ya-chan!" Yami hugged him back. "And I, you, my little one." he replied.

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While this went on, Tenshi and Youkai went back to their proper places again, exchanging a brief kiss in the corridor between the two rooms. "It's not over, is it?" Tenshi whispered. Youkai shook his head in reply.