Chapter 6: Behind Closed Doors

"Mou hitori no boku!" Yuugi screamed, running through the house, trying to see through the ever growing violet fog. "Mou hitori no boku! Yami no Yuugi, answer me! Onegai!"

Where was he?


FLASHBACK:

"Mou hitori no boku!" Yuugi shouted, running around aimlessly. He was hopelessly lost within the maze of the Millennium Puzzle. He stopped running and sighed.

"I'll never find the Pharaoh at this rate," he said, sliding down the wall and leaning against a cold, hard door. He heard a sound down the dim hallway; the Pharaoh?

And it was! Yami no Yuugi approached, smiling, shaking his head slightly at the sight of Aibou, lost and confused.

"You got lost again, Aibou?" he asked. Yuugi smiled sheepishly and nodded at the Pharaoh. He stood up, smiling.

"The answers to your problems are simple, Aibou." Yami no Yuugi chuckled.

"What's that?" asked Yuugi.

"Every problem is like a door you've never opened. You don't know the solution to it, and you're not sure how to deal with it." Yami no Yuugi explained. "So, that means that the answer to every problem is to leave it behind a closed door."

"So to answer my problems, I leave them behind closed doors…"

END FLASHBACK


Yuugi ran directly into a door frame outside the darkroom in his haste to find the Pharaoh. His vision split sharply; through an eye he saw the entrance to the darkroom; surely the Pharaoh was there. Yet through the other eye, he saw the dim glow of the red bulb from within the darkroom, and the back of the one he saw as Satan turned to him and Jounochi on the…

Jounochi?

But which of this double vision was real?


"I wondered if you would recognize me, Katsuya…" the voice said, an almost insipid tone staining his accent. Jounochi wiped all fear from his face; anger radiated within him, pulsing with the beating of his heart.

"Yeah…" he said, standing tall once more.

"Yami no Bakura."

Yami no Bakura smiled softly, a chuckle escaping his throat. Jounochi felt every hair along his neck prickle with fear, much to his own aversion.

"And what do you think, seeing me here?" he breathed, whipping the knife from beneath his shirt, light glinting over the Millennium Ring that hung so portentously at his chest. "What do you think, knowing that Yami no Yuugi, the oh-so brilliant Pharaoh, is dead? And by my… hand?" Jounochi could barely contain the anger that was ripping his heart to shreds. He voiced everything he could feel, every tear he wanted to sob, every punch he wanted to throw, and every scream he wanted to screech for the world to hear, into three words.

"I… hate… you…" he growled, eyes pooling with sizzling, excruciating tears of detestation and animosity. "I hate you…"

"I HATE YOU!"

"I'm so sorry…"

Jounochi's gaze snapped sharply from the eminent form of Yami no Bakura to the shape that crawled upon hand and knee behind him. Yami no Bakura turned slowly as well, staring at the huddled form in his wake. Yuugi.

"I'm so sorry… Jounochi…" he whispered, standing slowly. "I should have told you long ago…" He looked at Yami no Bakura, giving him the strongest stare that Jounochi had ever seen; he could feel the power that had risen in Yuugi from across the room.

"I'm sorry that Yami no Yuugi… mou hitori no boku… I'm sorry that you never knew." Yuugi said slowly, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry that I didn't try to stop him." Again his eyes rested upon Yami no Bakura; a vicious, sickening smile twitched at his lips.

"And I'm sorry that you had to get involved." Yuugi finished softly. He turned to Jounochi. "But I promise that I won't let him hurt you." Yami no Bakura let a harsh laugh escape his throat. He would let the whelp talk.

For now.

"Yuugi!" Jounochi half screamed, "Get out of here, he's gonna kill…!"

"I know… it's what I deserve" Yuugi breathed, standing tall at last. He locked eyes with Jounochi, a heart wrenching smile upon his innocent, childlike face.

"Yuugi," Jounochi nearly sobbed. "Go, please… please, buddy, go..!" Yuugi shook his head, small tears pooling in his eyes.

"I can't let him hurt my best friend, Jounochi." He said with a slight sigh. Jounochi shook his head, tears trickling down his face. "Just let me die."

"Just let me die."

"With pleasure." Without batting an eye, Yami no Bakura had unsheathed the blade of the murderous dagger; the dagger that had slit his back so many times, the dagger that had so brutally killed the Pharaoh. The blade sliced into Yuugi's stomach, and twisted hard.

"YUUGI!" Jounochi felt himself screaming, but seemed outside of his own body. He couldn't hear his own voice, but could see the flashing of the blade as it drove through the chest of his best friend.

Yuugi smiled lightly at Yami no Bakura, his breathing slowing, but he did not fall.

"I promised." He whispered. "And I wi… will not let you hurt Jounochi…" To Jounochi's horror, Yuugi put his hands around the blade of the knife, and wrenched it from his chest.

"Yuugi…" he choked, staring, mouth gaping, eyes wide. Yuugi's face was pallid and stained with sweat, but his lips remained upturned in the purest of smiles. Yami no Bakura was taken aback by this insane display; his hand clenched the hilt of the dagger, while Yuugi's bloodied hands were wrapped around the menacing, now crimson blade.

"What are you doing, you little whelp!" he couldn't help but exclaim, stunned. Yuugi coughed lightly, a tinge of blood appearing upon his lips.

"I'm doing what I should have done before." He whispered. "I'm not afraid of you anymore…" Yuugi twisted the blade in his hands, the hilt flying from Yami no Bakura's grasp. Yuugi took it into his own hand, and grabbed the thin, ropy cord that held the Millennium Ring at Yami no Bakura's throat, pulling him forward until their foreheads touched, eye to eye.

"This is the answer to my problem." He whispered, "But this time, I'm closing the door… forever." With that, Yuugi closed his violet eyes and thrust the dagger.


A/N: I am having the most conceited moment, dear God, I feel so full of myself. I really do hate that feeling. Let's not go into how I feel at the moment and focus on our chapter, shall we?

I admit, the original idea behind 'closed doors' was better, but then my ending line didn't work, and quite frankly, I liked my ending line to this chapter. That's the conceit kicking in; just hit me if I get too big headed.

Also, please note that although I have absolutely no problem with Yaoi, am even a supporter of many a shipping, muahaha, but this is NOT a Yaoi intended story. I'm sorry if you interpreted it as one, but really, it's not.

Well now, what does innocent little Yuugi do? He's bleeding pretty bad himself, and it's scaring Jounochi to death! (no pun intended). Did Yuugi kill the hideous creature that has slain his friend? Does Jounochi intend to stop the blow? Will Yami no Bakura try to deflect the lunge of the dagger? Or is there something unexpected that lies in wait, that not even Jounochi expected?