QoH: hehe i FINALLY saw YGO:TM! :D Yugi was so great in it too… 0 figuring out the prophecy and saving everybody just in time, etc… hehe but yeah, as to answering some of the reviews, I know it seems like im holding off on punishing those two, but I wanna save the "final comeuppance" for after Serenity gets back not that theyll be scot-free in the meantime of course hehe
ps: feh --() technology hates me… i need a new pc again! ive lost track of how many ive had in the past year. im savin up for a laptop (i hear theyre much easier to use cuz they don't run "hot," or something) but i dont even wanna think about how long long thats gonna take me… not to mention my disk has gone kaput again and I had to transfer everything --() oh, and youll see changes with the mental convos, as ffn doesnt seem to like symbols anymore lol
Chapter 23: Loss Of Loved Ones
Naraku fidgetted rather nervously as his wary gaze switched back and forth between his girlfriend and the rest. He considered himself to be a man who didn't scare easily, let alone allow others to see it, but what'd happened a few moments ago was most decidely beyond the realm of the "norm." Sure, he'd seen some weird things, especially since he'd started going out with Tea, but to actually experience some of it first-hand was quite a shock. What are these punks? Especially that runt… He started to scoot away in minute bits under the guise of more twitching.
Tea, on the other hand, didn't seem inclined to run. Actually, she was fuming mad, if the normally summer sky color of her eyes darkening to the equivalent of a violent hurricane and her face scrunching up into a rather nasty scowl were any indication. She took an aggressive step toward him, "Who said I even wanted your pitiful 'forgiveness,' anyway? I'm happy just the way it is."
"Yeah, ya look it." Joey commented drolly, though he still looked like he wanted to beat her within a millimeter of her life as he stepped protectively between her and his best friend. His tone lost all traces of humor as he narrowed his eyes at her, "Now, back off."
Mai smirked in amusement, watching Tea's face go red in extreme frustration and anger at being thwarted at every turn, "I guess that old saying really is true. 'Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more.'"
DJ, who'd been keeping a silent watch on Naraku the whole time from the corner of his eye, finally spoke up, "And where do you think you're going?"
The gang leader froze like the proverbial deer in headlights a few feet away and tried his best to look innocent. "I wasn't going anywhere." He failed miserably at this task, of course.
Seeing that her boyfriend/partner-in-crime had obviously tried to ditch her so that she'd face whatever consequences where to come alone, Tea turned her rage on him. She marched over to him and got up in his face as best she could, considering that he was really quite tall, and she…. well, wasn't. Still, she managed to make enough of an intimidating picture, since he shrunk away from her like she had the plague. Or, maybe it was just the fact that he was inherently a coward shining through. They argued about things for a while in low, heated voices Yugi looked on with sad eyes. I don't know what to do anymore, Yami. She was all I ever wanted, since before I can remember. Ever since we were kids, I thought I saw something special in her. How could I be so wrong?
The spirit sighed from the forefront of his mind, watching the scene through those same windows. :I understand, Yugi. At least, you now know the truth about her. I've truly been worried over how you would take this news for months, as was Serenity.:
Serenity knew about this? His eyes widened slightly in shock, but as it began to sink in, so many things started making sense. Wait… this is what you talked about that day she came over, isn't it? You both knew all this time and you kept me in the dark about it? Why? The more he thought about it, the more insecure he felt about himself as he let out a silent, hopeless sigh. You didn't think I could handle it, did you?
Yami took him by the shoulders firmly and looked him dead in the face as they stood in the shadowed hall of Yugi's soul. :On the contrary, I knew you could. Allow me take you back to that day, and you will understand.:
Flashback
"Well, why haven't you said anything?" she glared at him accusingly, "You should've told him!"
He smiled faintly, "I understand your anger, truly, I do. But there is more at stake here than a mere relationship."
Confused now, but clearly still a little angry, she wondered skeptically, "How so?"
"I don't want Yugi hurt," he replied simply.
"Neither do I, but don't you think it'll be worse if he finds out on his own? Each day could make it all build until..." Her voice trailed off, and he saw her shudder.
"As much as I wish it otherwise, that's true. It is unavoidable that he knows someday." Yami sighed sadly, then glanced up fiercely, "But it will not be me who tells him!"
"Why? You, of all people, should be able to keep him calm and everything."
"It's not his being 'calm' that worries me. It's the effect such news will have on his heart. On the outside, he will most likely put up a mask that won't show the pain beneath. Trust me, Serenity, I know my hikari. Whatever he feels inside, especially when it's bad, he will keep it there."
A Few Minutes Later
"Do you understand now, why I won't tell him?"
"Yes, I think so," she frowned thoughtfully, "You're afraid that his very personality will be destroyed, aren't you?"
"Not 'destroyed,' precisely, but something to that effect." Yami glanced down at the Puzzle, an unreadable expression in his slanted eyes, "He really is much stronger than he gives himself credit for. He'd survive, but he'd never be the same. You see, Yugi is the type of person who loves with all his being, and without question. If anything ever happened to violate that, the results could be disastrous. Though he would believe me, as he might not anyone else besides Tea, I just can't do that to him. When I took over, I even put up a mind barrier, something I've never done to him before, so that he doesn't hear us."
"And if he finds out on his own?"
"I only pray to the gods it doesn't come to that."
End Flashback
Touched at the display of just how deep his friends' feelings for him ran, Yugi smiled a little and nodded gratefully at his partner. Thank you for showing me that, Yami… He blinked when he realized that a significant piece of the conversation had been removed and he eyed him, slightly wary of more secrets. Hold on, why did you do that little "fast forward" trick before? Is there something else you're not telling me?
Yami laughed and shook his head, putting his arm over Yugi's shoulders in a reassuring manner. :Not to worry, aibou. It is not my secret to reveal, but I assure you that it is completely harmless.: His eyes narrowed as he looked off into the shadows pensively. :In fact, with time, I believe it will help you to heal.:
Curious as he was to know what this new mystery had in store for him, he knew better than to try and pry information from the ex-pharaoh. Instead, he just filed it away for later pondering as he turned his attention back to the outside world. Glancing quickly, painfully, over to the still-arguing Tea and her… he choked involuntarily on the word, wishing still that it was him, in spite of it all.
"Yug…" Joey said in a low voice at his side. Mai, DJ and Tristan seemed to be crowded around something several feet away, passing it between them on occasion.
I wonder what they're up to. "Yeah?" he turned and gave the blonde a tired sort of smile, wanting nothing more than to go home and sleep for two weeks straight. His brain was still reeling from everything that'd happened recently, even though he knew it was far from over. There was still the matter of getting Serenity back from wherever the spirit of the Ring had taken her, and he supposed he would probably also have to testify at Tea and Naraku's trial somewhere down the road… One thing at a time.
"Talkin' to Yami, weren't ya?" he asked, a troubled cast to his nut-brown gaze as Yugi nodded. He continued somewhat hesitantly, "I know you're goin' through a lotta stuff right now, but… how're we gonna find my sister?"
"I'm not sure, Joey. That clue in the note does narrow down the field quite a bit," he shook his head and shrugged, feeling rather powerless at the moment, "but the Nile is a very long river. She could be anywhere from the mountains to the delta, for all we know. I think we're going to need some help with this one."
"Yeah, I guess…" Joey dug the nearly illegible scrap of paper from his pocket to study again and wrinkled his nose in annoyed distaste, as though it were some long and complicated algebra problem, "What's he mean, 'long forgotten crime?' He's da one with da rap sheet a few thousand years long."
"I guess we'll have to ask him that when we get there." Yugi tilted his head back and smiled just slightly, noting that the stars were really starting to show themselves now, as clear a night as it was. He wondered if Serenity could see the stars from where she was being held. Granted, it most likely still had a good bit of daylight there, being practically on the other side of the globe, but it was a nice thought all the same. His gaze shifted to focus on one specific point of light closer to the horizon, immediately identifying the yellowish dot as Venus. Remembering the philosophical discussion he'd had with her on the subject, he put his hands in his pockets and sighed pensively as he waited for his friends to finish up whatever they were doing so they could get going.
Flashback
"See that one over there?" Yugi smiled, pointing out the planet as they lay back on the gentle slope of the hill, "That's my favorite: Venus."
"Why that one? I hear it's poisonous beneath all that atmosphere."
"So they say," he laughed a little and traced the outline of the dot with his finger, as though he could reach out and touch it, "I don't know why, but I've always been pretty attached to it."
Serenity followed his direction with troubled eyes and replied quietly, "Maybe it has something to do with Greek and Roman myths. Venus, or Aphrodite, was supposed to be the goddess of love and beauty, though I never was very fond of her, personally."
Putting his arm in its previous position behind his head, he looked at her in frank curiosity, "Why not? Sorry, I never really got into much mythology before I met up with Yami. I'm just more of a game person."
"She wasn't exactly what one would call 'deep,' I guess," she shrugged and twirled a daisy he'd picked for her earlier between her thumb and forefinger, watching the revolutions of the little flower pensively, "She was gorgeous, of course, and could be nice when she felt like it. But by most accounts, she was a very vain, selfish and thoughtless being. There's one story where she actually tried to get a mortal killed because she didn't want competition for beauty."
"Kind of like in 'Snow White.'" Yugi comented thoughtfully, his gaze drifting back to the speck of color in the darkness, "How did it end?"
"Her son, Eros, and the girl, Psyche, fell in love with each other and lived happily ever after," she grinned whimsically to match her answer.
He laughed softly and smiled a bit to himself, thinking of Tea, "Just like that, huh?"
She leaned up on an elbow and studied him for a moment, a fire burning deep in her eyes that surprised him somewhat. When she spoke, Yugi felt like she knew from personal experience, "No, they came together to defeat her. Only then were they able to be together."
End Flashback
His eyes on his former girlfriend, who seemed to have calmed down somewhat, Yugi wondered now if Serenity had been trying to warn him. She'd also mentioned that, despite the fact that the goddess had been married to the god of fire, she'd had numerous affairs without sparing so much as a thought for her devoted husband, Hephaestus. She happened to have left out, however, that said spouse was also crippled and deformed, and that affairs were nothing new to these particular celestial beings, which he'd found out when he'd read up on the ancient culture.
:Please do not tell me you are making excuses for her. You truly think that she was justified in what she did to you?: Yami spoke up suddenly, having easily spotted the parallels his partner drew.
Why not? He shrugged uncomfortably as the lot of them started for the police station a block or so away. It'd been decided somewhere along the way that it'd be best not to split up the group, and since Mai had absolutely refused to take their captives anywhere in her car (not that they'd all fit in the little convertible, anyway), it had fallen to the world's oldest mode of transportation: feet. She shouldn't be forced to be with someone who can't make her happy, right?
The spirit was silent for a few minutes, though Yugi had the distinct impression that he was coming up with some sort of hideous curse to put on Tea, considering the waves of anger that rolled from him. :I doubt that creature could ever be happy without hurting someone else.:
You don't know that, he replied on a sigh, both mental and physical, earning himself a worried glance from Joey. Yugi shook his head slightly and smiled reassuringly at his friend as they neared their destination, turning his attention back to the conversation in his head. I know you don't want to hear this, but please don't do anything to her. I still love her, after all. I don't know if I could stand it if she got hurt.
:And what about you?: he asked in frustrated helplessness, stewing over the fact that the girl had effectively crushed the hard-won confidence that his hikari had acquired over the years. :You expect me to let it go like all the other times? I'm sorry, but I really cannot do that.:
Yami… He frowned and eyed the ex-pharaoh warningly, keeping a watch on how things were progressing in the outside world. Currently his friends were turning their prisoners over to a couple detectives and talking to a man in a fancy suit, most likely a lawyer. I guess that answers the question of what they were doing before: calling that guy.
:Yugi, why are you letting the matter drop like this? I don't understand.: Yami said tightly and began walking around his soul room in an attempt to rein in his temper. Both knew full well that the spirit would do nothing without his partner's consent, according to the promise he'd made during the finals match with Mai in Duelist Kingdom. It was times like these that he wished he'd put conditions into that agreement. :Mortal confinement is far too lenient for her, and quite easy to escape if you know how.:
Who's to say that Tea knows? Besides, what good would it do to hold a grudge? Smiling faintly, he leaned his head back to look up at the white-paneled ceiling as he scooted deeper into a chair against the wall, away from the rest. Joey remained stuck to his side like glue, however. Yugi was glad for this.
The former bully, clearly near to bursting with anxiety over the whole situation, fidgeted and kept shifting his gaze between the door, his best friend and the group a few feet away. During the fifth repetition of this circuit, he got up and started pacing, "D'ya think they'll be long, Yug?"
Eyes drifting back down to watch his friend wear a hole in the wooden floor, he lifted his head and sighed a bit, "I have no idea. But, we should start planning for what's next, don't you think? Like how we're going to get to Egypt and get Serenity back…" he trailed off, thinking of the last time he'd seen her. Just before my world fell apart. What it must have been like for her to keep something like that a secret from me. No wonder she ran off. "I should probably thank you for handing me…" he frowned as the note the spirit of the Ring had left came back to him, then gasped when he finally realized what those words meant. This… is all my fault. She was captured because she was trying to hold back on not telling me about Tea!
Joey, noting the alarmed expression on his face, took a break from his impatient circling of the nearby sergeant's desk (much to the relief of the harried officer, who'd been trying to get him to stop for some time) and flopped down in the chair beside him, "What's up, bud?"
Yugi hung his head, unable to bear looking him in the face right then, and answered in a low, guilt-ridden tone, "It's my fault that Serenity was taken, Joey." He then proceeded to explain why he thought this, despite Yami's vehement disagreements in his mind.
"What?" blinking, the lanky blonde mulled over this for a second, then shook his head and half-smiled, "Naw, ya got it all wrong, pal. I don't think dat's why she left."
"What else could it be?" he gestured helplessly, shoving a hand through his spiked hair and slumped back against the chair cushion.
"Sure, it's probably got a lil to do with it, but I know my lil sis. I know she wouldn't run just 'cause of dat. There's somethin' bigger goin' on," he glanced toward where Tea and Naraku were being off, presumably to be booked, and smirked in a satisfied sort of way.
Sensing he was hinting at yet another secret, something he was really beginning to detest, Yugi eyed him a bit wearily as the rest of the gang started for them, "What do you mean, Joey?"
He grinned and held up his hands as he got to his feet, "Uh-uh, sorry, can't tell ya that one, Yug. Serenity would kick my butt!"
"Why would she do that?" Mai wondered, a brow raised in curiosity as they entered the conversation. DJ and Tristan looked equally eager to know. Joey considered things for a moment, then reached over and tugged his girlfriend close, whispering something in her ear. Lavender eyes went wide in understanding, gaining an impish gleam as a smile spread across her face. Her gaze shifted to Yugi, exclaiming happily, "That's perfect!" She was immediately shushed by Joey and turned to grin sheepishly at him.
"I think I know what's going on." Tristan crossed his arms and looked out the door with a resigned expression, "Guess I'm outta luck huh, bro?"
His "bro" stepped forward to clap him on the shoulder with a half amused, half sympathetic smirk, "Sorry man, but ya know ya never had a chance anyway."
Evidently catching on almost as quickly, despite never actually having met the current topic of discussion, DJ jumped in before another brawl could ensue between the two, "Well, don't we have get going? We still need to figure out how to get her away from that maniac."
Yugi, who was already waiting in the doorway by this time, looked back at them determinedly, "I say we find Kaiba. He's the only one we know that can get us to Egypt so fast." I'll have to figure out what they mean about Serenity later. Right now, I have to save her. Another faint memory flickered through his brain in which she was holding tight to him, one that felt further ahead in time than that happy morning. How is that possible, Yami? That was the last time we saw her… wasn't it?
The spirit, however, remained silent, trusting that his partner's heart would give him the answers he sought when they were most needed.
xxxx
Serenity fought against the chain around her ankle in her attempts to get at Yami Bakura, so furious with him that she could hardly speak, Why you-! You won't get away with this!"
Her captor replied in a bored tone from a foot or so out of her reach, as this had been going on for the past half-hour, "Don't you realize that you couldn't touch me even if you were unshackled? You're a mere mortal; what chance could you possibly have against me?"
Panting slightly from the futile struggle with her restraint, she glared at him with her hands curled in tight balls at her sides, "Why don't you come and find out, coward?"
Not having taken kindly to the insult, the thief closed the distance between them and gripped her roughly around the throat, lifting her a few inches off the ground. "You want out so badly? Fine, I'll grant your wish."
There was a flash and he dropped a limp Serenity to the dirt and stalked off into the shadows, ignoring his host's frantic attempts to take control and undo his actions.
xxxx
"What?!" Joey, probably the most anti-fan of said billionaire to ever exist, went off like an atomic bomb and practically teleported from where he'd been struggling to put Tristan in a headlock to the door, "Are ya outta ya mind, Yugi?! Why in da heck should we ask dat creep?! Da only thing he cares about is himself! He wouldn't help us in a million-!" But then, in mid-tirade, he froze and fell to his knees with a stricken, hopeless look around at his friends, "Serenity… she's gone!"
Yugi felt like the bottom of his stomach had dropped out, knowing that it was true as the others started freaking out around them. He closed his eyes against a wave of nausea and swore on all that he held sacred that he would get her back from the Shadow Realm, even if it cost him his life. I will not lose Serenity, too!
QoH: hehe long chapter wasn't it? eh, hope it was worth the wait. now then, a couple questions to answer. 1) that lil flashback of Yami's was from chapter 7, in case ya don't remember (it was quite some time ago after all XD) i had to tweak it a bit, so itd be from his point of view instead of Serenity's. 2) and shes not staying in the SR long at all hehe shes gonna get some help from a certain duel monster any ideas as to who?