For that Reason: Chapter Six
Written by: Hikari's Dark Side
Co written by her muse: Yami no Muraii
Disclaimer: Here, I disown both animes: Yu-gi-oh and Rurouni Kenshin. They belong to their respective owners, mentioned in the previous chapters. The characters are also not mine, BUT the plotline and situations do belong to me. I am unable to put this into an official/legal document, so there is absolutely no point in dragging me into a courtroom and suing me on copyright grounds.
Please read and review at the end of the chapter.
Enjoy, NOW
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Storm clouds rolled overhead as the afternoon of that day was drawing to a close. The sky threatened for rain to fall on the numbers of coroners gathering the cold bodies of the gang members. The last streams of summer sunlight peaked through every now and then, but eventually the sky became completely overcast. The gloomy setting of the day was starting to creep into the town below like a noxious fume, but somehow steered away from the dojo close by.
While Ryou and Bakura tended to the injured swordsmen inside, Malik stood gloomily outside of the doors, watching for his lover to come home. His lilac eyes were swimming with unshed tears, but he held them back, not wanting to worry the others. He didn't regret what they had done to those lowlives one bit. He had tried to assure his friend Ryou of this, but the half-albino wouldn't listen to anyone but Bakura.
He spotted Marik off in the distance and walked quickly to greet him. The older blond smiled widely at him, displaying pearly white canines. But the smile slid off, when he didn't feel familiar warmth in his arms. Marik gave him a questioning look, but Malik explained what had happened earlier that day.
Uncharacteristically like him, Marik listened with rapt attention to his depressing story, and began to cry as well. His hands were clenched at his sides, wishing he could've been there to assist his small friend and his rurouni. Malik sighed distractedly and said,
"It's over Marik…Ryou and Bakura are inside, taking care of them."
"Are they going to be alright?"
"I'm one hundred percent sure of it, can you just…?
Without another word, Malik was swept into open arms, and finally he wept for the close encounter with Death his teacher and dear friend had gone through. And it finally began to rain.
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Finishing with the bandaging of Yugi and Atemu's wounds, Ryou straightened up, wiping his brow of any and all perspiration. Bakura watched sadly as Ryou stumbled over to his favorite rocking chair (1). The older half-albino walked slowly over to his Ryou and rubbed his back in a soothing manner. He heard a small inaudible moan issue from his small mouth and continued his administrations.
Ryou pondered why this particular dojo had become a new target for the local gangs, at first excusing it for the rising crime rate across the country. But as Bakura shared his thoughts on the same subject, the young archery teacher couldn't help but wonder…
He turned his attentions to the tri-haired males, now peacefully sleeping off the medical herbs that had been applied to their open wounds. Yugi shifted in his sleep, and reached out for the nearest source of warmth, it turning out to be none other than Atemu's body heat. Atemu also held Yugi close to him, tightening his grip on the small teacher. Their eyes remained shut, but Ryou could sense the two of them sharing an unmistakable exchange of emotions.
The two half-albinos departed from the room as the rurouni and teacher began to awake.
Yugi was the first of the two to wake fully, but he didn't move from his current position in Atemu's arms. He blinked sleepy amethyst eyes at the rurouni, and yawned ever so slightly. The crimson-eyed man nuzzled the younger's hair and neck affectionately, his warm breath tickling Yugi's skin.
"I was really worried about you, Atemu, I thought I lost you…"
"You were worried?"
"Of course, I care about you too much not to worry…"
Yugi realized what he had said, and he clapped his hands over his mouth. He turned his face downwards in embarrassment, but not before Atemu had seen the dark flush on the teacher's face. Yugi straightened up, trying in vain to hide the dark new color of his cheeks.
Atemu pulled Yugi back into his arms, making sure that he didn't irritate both of their wounds. He could feel the smaller male move closer, and felt his breath upon HIS skin. His red eyes glazed over and smoothed the other's hair with one hand.
"Yugi…you've never felt this way before, have you?"
He felt a slight shake of a head, and sighed deeply and contentedly.
"So I'm lucky enough to be your first crush?"
A muffled reply came up to float and rest on the rurouni's ears,
"I guess you are."
"But you're scared because you think you shouldn't swing that way, correct?"
A nod came from him this time.
"Well…you don't have to be, plenty of people in this age love the same sex. It is only those who haven't experienced love at its deepest that are afraid of people like us." (2)
When Yugi had heard this come from Atemu's mouth, he also felt the other's heart speed up through in his chest. He was afraid that Atemu would hear his own heart, as it was thumping rather painfully in his own ears. A sort of understanding for the other came upon them like a cloud of mist. There was no need to explain or clarify their sudden connection…only that it was right.
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For the next couple of weeks, Atemu and Yugi shared fond memories of their past lives with the residents of the school. Marik was not particularly interested in Atemu's tales and adventures, but listened nonetheless. Ryou was very nervous for the upcoming tournament, and was often to be seen at the dojo's practicing area, shooting shaft after shaft of arrows at the numerous targets.
Bakura was constantly at his side, giving him lots of tips that only seemed to improve the young half-albino's skill further. Yugi tried to teach Ryou some techniques, but only Bakura seemed to be able to assist the archer.
Yugi didn't mind this lack of attention from his young friend, but he did miss the company provided by Ryou. After a month and a half of preparation, the day of the tournament dawned over the small town. Breakfast was a rushed and unusual affair, with everyone at the dojo hustling Ryou around, getting him a proper meal and dressed at the same time. The tri-haired teacher noticed the state of confused dizziness the poor half-albino was in, and suggested that he take care of his OWN morning routine.
Bakura nodded understandingly, and refrained from unleashing his wrath upon the small teacher for his sudden outburst. So Ryou took a few deep breaths to calm his heart rate, and began to slowly finish his rice topped with soy sauce. In a matter of a couple hours, the company was ready to leave for town. All but Marik, Seto, and Jou set out from the school, down the steps, over the Gyro, and finally into town. The blond merchant had taken his favored students with him to reserve the company's seats, and Malik was quite glad to reach the arena.
Bakura gulped nervously as the competitors filed out of the tent to line up before the obvious red targets. Ryou's white hair stood out from the line of men like a beacon, and he waved happily to his lover. The older half-albino grinned back, and he sat down to watch the match. To say the tension in that area of the town was thick would have been an understatement. The silence itself was deafening to all within a mile or two. The looks of determination upon the competitors' faces were enough to make everyone squirm uncomfortably in their stadium seats. A whistle (3) blew from somewhere behind the targets and the arrows flew to their respective targets. Ryou was one of the few archers to get a bulls-eye. Immediately the competition was narrowed down to only three people.
Yugi swelled with personal pride at how well his student was doing. Atemu noticed this, and poked him teasingly in his inflated abdominal/stomach. Yugi flushed red, and continued to watch the match. The young half-albino was stringing his last shot and prepared to aim for the last target, standing 100 yards (4) away from said object.
His opponent watched breathlessly as Ryou concentrated on his main goal. The whole stadium seemed to hold its breath as well as Ryou let his arrow fly. The wind whistled through the arena as the arrow quivered and shook for a moment on the dead center mark. And the whole place burst into applause, shocking all within a radius.
Ryou stood shocked as a crying Yugi, a grinning Malik and Atemu, and his lover Bakura fiercely embraced and nearly knocked him over. His confused and happy face was being kissed over and over by the normally calm Bakura. Kaiba's blue eyes spotted a shady figure standing behind the stands, watching their group a little too closely for his liking. They narrowed suspiciously, but widened almost immediately when he recognized that sneer…
"Seto-kun? Is something wrong?"
"No puppy…nothing's wrong."
The company trudged home, with Ryou in the lead, carrying his championship trophy with a huge grin across his face. Kaiba still felt those eyes boring into his, and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise more than necessary. The half-albino didn't need to have his spirits crushed by his overreacting suspicions. So he hurried along in Jou's wake, hoping against what was to come in the future.
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(1) Hard to believe that it is, but I think they were fully capable of making rocking chairs back then. They could in the American pioneering days, so they could in Feudal Japan.
(2) I believe this to the fullest in my heart, a homophobic person can only fear true love.
(3) You guys think they had whistles back then? I would think so...at least in the military.
If you find there were not, please let me know.
(4) The standard measurement…I have NO idea what it was, so I'm going to use metric from here on out, OK?
Review Replies:
Pharaoh Atemu's Angel: Yeah, I really liked that picture you drew for me, I thank you again for that my Pharaoh! No worries, Yugi and Atemu might get hurt only once or twice more, but in a less serious fashion. Perhaps there will be other attacks similar to the ones in the previous chapter, but I'm not too sure at the moment. Thanks for the review!
Padfoot: I'm sorry I scared you! It was all part of the plot, I assure you they won't get killed or seriously hurt in the future. Many thanks for the review and compliment!
PetpetAngel: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, this story getting pretty long, right? I won't call you -sama anymore. My muses, including Raii, might, but I won't. Thanks for the review!
Yana5: More Yami and Yugi in the future, I promise you! Thanks for the review!
S. Chensu and Luff: Nothing happened to Atemu in the flashback…Ryou just heard his scream in his subconscious during the flashback. Sorry to disappoint in that aspect, but that's the truth. Yes, there IS a plot, I'm glad you spotted that! Thanks for the review!
Akira of the twilight: Oh! Why thanks! I'm glad you are a fellow fan of the tendershipping as well as me. And for the complimentary review!
Hikari Skysong: Glad you liked it, and thanks for the splendid review!
Sarah Costa: I'm glad you don't hate me…it's another slight cliffhanger I know. The next chapter will come in due time, please be patient with me. Thanks for the review!
Enjeru: HI! I haven't seen you guys in ages! You like the tendershipping too? I'm glad for that…there will be more of that in upcoming chapters. Maybe I'll put a cat-like Yami/Atemu in other chapters!
Fear of falling: Yeah, they don't die, but they DO get hurt sometime in the future. I won't say anymore, but there's a nasty character coming into the picture. HE has something to do with money and our favorite CEO. Does anyone have a guess?
Puffin: Don't worry; chapter seven will be out sooner than this one took to come out. The tournament took me a LONG time to write out. Keep an eye out for chapter seven, and thanks for the review!
Master Elora Dannan: I guess they should have, but they were taken by surprise, and those dirty bastards snuck up from behind. Luckily Atemu shouted loud enough for Malik, Ryou, and Bakura to come to the rescue, huh? I wrote that song (in English), and got quite a few compliments, there might be more writing in the future, request it if you want!Rin-almighty-yaoi-lover: At my command if I update soon huh? Is this soon enough? It really doesn't matter to me, and Muraii says hi back to you Aury-san!
Yaoishoujo: Aww…I love you SO much! Thanks for the LONG review, and the compliments! Yeah, I guess that pretty bold of him to do in front of everyone, but I thought it was cute, I simply couldn't resist. Flirting at that age…well it is possible, kids at my school flirted even younger than 8. o.o Big shocker, I know. What does Daisuki mean? I'm just curious…
xoxoanime-matchmakerxoxo: NEW REVIEWER! tackleglomp How're you doing?
You don't hate me too? I'm SO happy! Thanks for the review!
Ding Day Partay: Hi Yoko! You still think it's going fast? That's kind of sad, but I'll get over it…hope you liked the chapter! salute ANTIPASTI!REVIEW!