A/N: Hey everyone!! Guess what? I LIIIVE!!! ^___^ With bare scrapes of B's in Euro and Math, but still…
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS AND SUPPORT!!! ^___^ Really? You think this idea's original? I'm soooo glad people want me to continue this, which of course I shall!! Call me corny but reviews are motivation for me. ^^;; Especially when I'm loaded down until midnight each day with HW, even on the weekends! ;___; *sniff*
And I'm sorry, but there won't be any fun authoress notes in this story. I wanna keep these AN's short so I can type up each chapter more quickly. ^^;; But AiD will have them, so hopefully that's good enough. I think I should have chapter 23 done by the end of this upcoming winter vacation, even with 3 major projects due on the day we get back. @_@
By the way, my website's still up. And yes, I do have a website. I just took it off my profile page because my friend found my penname, but I somehow managed to convince her that this penname isn't mine (cuz she doesn't like yaoi and she'd probably freak out if she knew what I was writing ;_;). If she found my website, she'd immediately recognize my drawings -__-. But it's still there and I've finally started updating again. ^^
The URL is: www(dot)geocities(dot)com(slash)yuginyami(slash)warning(dot)html or just simply replace "warning" with "yugioh" to skip to the main page. Just replace the (dot)s with periods and (slash)es with slashes. Be warned, it's a Y/Y shrine! ^^
Also, Merry Christmas everyone!! (If you celebrate it.) I'm getting YGO episodes up to episode 171 for Christmas!! ^____^ Finally, I'll get to know what happens in this arc with Dartz and Raphael and people!! *happily fiddles with Yami necklace* Yes, my friend got me a heart shaped locket with a picture of Yami inside for my birthday. #^.^# I luvvvv it!!!!
Disclaimer and Info: Not mine. T_T (But Shimichi is mine!! Mwahahahahaha!! My friends and I are working on our own manga just for kicks. ^^) Very AU and Yami/Yugi schtuff here too! Once again, don't like-don't read. ^^;
Thank you and here's chapter 1!
~*~*~*
Frozen Flames
Chapter 1: Wounded
Snowflakes drifted down from the puffy clouds above, enveloping the ground below in thick sheets of white. The frozen grounds below bustled with activity, though, amidst the cold chill that hung in the air, for the inhabitants there were used to it. It had always been the same—the grounds were always caked with snow and ice, and the sky was always a cold, grayish blue.
A boy walked down the frost bitten path amongst the many ice huts that littered the area, carrying a white basket in his arms. He had vivid black hair tipped with red and fringed with rich golden yellow bangs which contrasted greatly with the paleness of his skin. He wore an attire made entirely of ice shards that clung together smoothly like cloth and glittered in the reflecting sunlight like crystals. It covered the expanse of his chest and hips, leaving his arms, legs, and a small portion of his stomach bare. From the back of the outfit sprouted wings of pure white which shimmered like ice but looked and felt impressively like silk. His bright violet eyes shimmered with happiness as he hummed one of his favorite tunes. This boy, Yugi, was currently out to gather winterberries for the feast that was soon approaching.
On and on he walked until he reached deep into the snowy mountains. His view of the village was obscured by thick trees, but thankfully it wasn't snowing so he had no trouble keeping his bearings. Upon finally reaching a grove of winterberry bushes, Yugi started to bend down and pick them when he caught a glimpse of red. Blinking curiously at such a bright color in the middle of the rather pale mountains, he paused in his picking to spread apart the leaves of the bush that were blocking his view.
He gasped at the sight that met his eyes. Strewn in a row of frosty winterberry bushes was a boy around his age. And not just any boy, for Yugi immediately took notice of the striking tri-colored hairdo, almost identical to his own. But that wasn't what really attracted his attention; it was the fact that the stranger was from a completely different species! The red and black clothing along with the caramel skin tone and the tiniest hints of flames clinging to the still body indicated he was definitely NOT from this world.
Yugi spent a few more minutes just staring before his common sense returned and he noticed the other boy seemed to be in great pain. It was then that he noticed the blue tinge of the stranger's lips and the goosebumps that clearly indicated it was much too cold for comfort. Yugi wracked his brain, trying to recall the many stories—which he thought weren't true until now—his grandpa had told him and first attempting to identify this fascinating creature.
"Of course! He must be from Netsyu, the land of fire!" he said out loud to no one in particular. He shifted his gaze back to Yami and noted with immediate worry how small the flames around his arms and on his pants were. He remembered that his race, being cold and icy, could not touch those from Netsyu for fear of getting burned, but he saw no other way he could help his stranger.
He knelt down beside the still figure and gingerly brought a finger to Yami's head. He immediately jerked it back, but not because it was hot, but because it was an icy, clammy cold. In addition, frost was gathering around the edges of the face and limbs. He found himself wincing just thinking about it. What it must have felt like for this half-frozen fiery creature was probably the same as Yugi plunging himself into scorching flames.
Violet eyes darted around until they spotted a small cave almost hidden under the snow. After a few more tentative touches to Yami's skin, Yugi mustered up his strength and took the other by the arms, being careful to avoid the armbands which still had wisps of fire on them. He gently dragged the unconscious boy through the snow since he hadn't fully developed the muscles needed to lift very heavy objects yet. When he finally reached the mouth of the cave, he sighed in relief to see it was relatively dry and snow-free inside.
He set Yami against one of the large stone slabs and took a minute to just look at him. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw there weren't any physical wounds or bruises. The stranger hadn't moved at all since Yugi had found him, but he definitely knew he was still alive, for the flames on him hadn't completely gone out. Another one of the advantages of having an eccentric grandpa, for he wouldn't have known that little fact if the old man hadn't always been telling him stories.
Still, that didn't mean the other's health wasn't in serious condition. And Yugi couldn't see any other way to help him other than build a fire. "Build a fire…" He repeated to himself. Those words were so foreign to him that he surprised himself by still knowing them. But it would do wonders to warm up the mysterious boy and hopefully bring him back to consciousness. With that in mind, Yugi went back to the winterberry patch and retrieved his basket, also gathering lots of sticks, grass, and two sharp stones beneath all the snow.
He set the materials down next to Yami. Carefully, the violet-eyed boy broke apart his basket, piling the pieces and splinters until he got a generous mound of material that would hopefully fuel the fire he was going to attempt to make. He took the two stones and felt their icyness in his palms, wondering how in the world he would able to generate heat from them. But he knew it was possible. He had seen the people in the movies do it all the time [2].
Clicking and scraping sounds echoed in the cave as Yugi tried again and again to get the vital spark needed. All he got was sound and flakes of rock as they crumbled from the constant friction. Yugi winced as he felt the heat growing in the stones as they were starting to burn his hands. The pain almost became unbearable, and he was just about to give up when he took another look at his "patient."
His eyes widened in horror. Yami had definitely fallen into an even more critical condition than before even though it didn't seem possible. His flames, which had already shrunken so that they were barely visible, were flickering dangerously. The caramel color had given way to a light bluish tint, the only parts remaining tan were the ones close to the flickering flames.
"His flames are almost out…" Yugi's voice hitched to a panicky tone. He gripped the stones in his hands even though they were hurting him in frustration. But then it hit him. "The flames!!"
In a flash, Yugi had dropped the stones and took the longest stick he could and held the end to one of Yami's armbands. The flame eagerly spread onto the new fodder and burned into a bright mass on the end of the stick. Yugi could feel the sweltering heat, but he gritted his teeth and didn't let go. As soon as he brought the flame to the pile of wood he made, the whole thing ignited into a big, bright fire.
The small boy immediately shifted as far away from the heat source as he could and wrapped his wings around himself as a partial shield. Even at a distance the heat was unbearable, and his whole body felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles. It was a completely new experience to him. Sure he had seen fires on the screen and in books, but it was completely different to actually have one right in front of him. It was a beautiful thing, too. The swirls of red, orange, and yellow danced and melded together, the tips licking at the air hungrily.
He was so entranced by the phenomenon (to him) that he almost forgot why he had made it in the first place. He finally looked over anxiously at Yami, whose flames had thankfully had stopped flickering and were visibly beginning to grow in size. Warm relief flooded the small boy. Why he cared so much about this stranger's survival he didn't know why but he assumed it was because of the mystery and excitement of finding someone of a completely different race from himself.
He frowned when he saw that the flames reached a certain point and stopped growing. The heat must have only been able to do so much, considering that the leather-clad boy had been literally frozen for Ra knew how long. Yugi was just able to try something else when he saw the fire he built start to diminish. He hastily grabbed a few more sticks lying around in the cave and threw them into the fire though some of them didn't go directly into the fire because he was throwing them from a distance.
The boy froze when one haphazardly thrown stick caused the fire to spread onto Yami's still unmoving body. It mingled with those framing the leather pants and spread until most of the taller boy was on fire. It took several seconds for Yugi to register that this was a good thing and so he stopped adding twigs and just sat back to watch anxiously.
It was then that Yami took his first breath in a long, long time.
Yugi rubbed his eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on him, but they weren't. He really had seen the other's chest rise and fall! Forgetting the pain from the heat, he crawled a little closer to watch in fascination. Not long after, the same thing happened again. And again. Soon enough, there was a steady, continuous series of inhales and exhales.
And then, eyelids opened to reveal striking crimson orbs.
Yami's head spun as he opened his eyes. Everything appeared blurry, but he couldn't see anything except the blackness of the cave's ceiling at the moment anyway. There was still a horrible ringing sound in his ears and his whole body ached with fatigue. 'Am I still…alive?' was the first thought that came to mind. He felt like he had all the strength sapped out of him even with the warmth of the flames on his body.
Yugi, who had let his curiosity get the better of him, crawled even closer to the now awake fiery teen. The crimson orbs were staring off into space, as if they couldn't register anything, which caused the smaller boy to frown. He had the overwhelming urge to poke the other for any other sign of life, but he knew better than to stick his finger into the flames.
Yami blinked when he saw a mass of color in front of his view where there had once been blackness. When his vision cleared, he nearly jumped at the sight. An almost exact mirror image of himself was staring down at him. The reflection of his own flames blended in with the amethyst of the other boy's curious eyes making them look even bigger and brighter than normal. "Aah!!"
The sound caused both to jerk a few more inches apart. Yami took a few seconds to calm his rapidly beating heart, taking the time to look around him, or as best as he could with his head still resting against the ground. White puffy stuff filled his vision to one side, and he stared at it with an equally incredulous expression. Then he looked to the other and found the strange lookalike of himself staring back at him, looking slightly bewildered but at the same time fascinated. Finally he found his voice albeit a very shaky one, completely lacking its normal richness and confidence. "W-Where am I?"
"Kooryu [3]," Yugi responded mechanically.
Yami blinked at the flat tone of voice but was more intent on the word. It was so foreign to him that he couldn't even make the connection even with his superior skills in Japanese [4]. He merely nodded and the silence between the two continued on.
Yugi found himself sweating at the intense yet confused gaze of the other. He wanted to say something, anything, but his mouth wouldn't work after spitting out that one word. It had surprised himself as well, for he normally always spoke with emotion in his voice, yet his instincts had added the iciness, almost as if warning him that he shouldn't be too friendly. 'But why?' he wondered.
Finally a series of choked coughs broke the silence. Neither of the two had noticed at the fire had used up all the wood and had burnt out into a wisp of black smoke. In turn, the flames on Yami's body had diminished until all that remained were the ones naturally found on him, which were still relatively small.
Yami winced as he was hit with the full force of the cold air. His body instinctively tensed as pain pricked his body, then starting shivering due to the cold. It was accompanied by a stinging sensation along his back as well.
"Are you…okay?" Yugi was immediately seized with unexplainable concern once again, some of which showed through in his voice. Reacting quickly, he tore up the remains of his basket, built another pile, and lighted it in a similar fashion he had did before. He frowned when the realization hit him that he would have to keep a fire going all the time if this stranger was to survive.
"…Thanks…" Yami murmured weakly when he felt the pain slowly ebb away as he was shrouded in heat. The contrast of the temperatures still left goosebumps on his skin, though.
"H-here…have some water," Yugi suggested quietly. He took out a small canteen from his waist bag and held it carefully over the renewed fire until steam began to escape from the opening in the top. Then, hoping it was warm enough for Yami's tastes, brought it to the other's lips. He ignored the burning pain that overtook his hand due to the high temperature of the canteen.
Yami automatically gulped down the hot drink in appreciation. It was strangely sweet, so unlike the spicy tang of the lava he was used to drinking, and it refreshed his body immensely. The hot water ran down his cold, dry throat, warming it up enough for his vocal chords to work again. "Thanks," he repeated, feeling a bit stupid for not having anything else to say.
Yugi blinked at the deep, rich tone of voice which was so different from the stranger's first words. He withdrew the now empty canteen, not realizing that Yami was watching him with a mixture of gratefulness and confusion. "You're welcome. What's your name, by the way?" There it was again, the iciness that unintentionally tinged his voice. The small boy bit his lip, hoping he didn't sound too insincere.
Yami had noticed it too, but he ignored it, accepting it as a feature of this spiky-haired stranger. "Yami. Yours?"
The smaller boy couldn't help but smile a bit in reassurance to those questioning crimson orbs. "Yugi."
Yami continued to watch in a sort of daze. As of yet his brain still had not been thawed out so to speak. It was as if he was taking in information for the first time, and all he knew right now was this little violet-eyed savior. His eyes surveyed the other's crystalline wings with interest, his entire outfit actually, for he had seldom seen the color white before. Nor had he seen such light creamy peach. His thoughts were interrupted, though, as the pain across his back return. With a groan, Yami mustered up enough strength to shift onto his side a bit, and allowed one wing to unfold from his back.
Yugi stared at the fiery appendage with wide eyes. He hadn't noticed it had been there at all, but his mind had somehow registered it with no surprise as it was similar to his own in both structure and size. However, he noticed something just a bit…off about its shape. There was a huge strangely shaped opening towards the bottom, as if a chunk had been ripped out [5].
The other noticed as well. With a groan, Yami carefully allowed his wing to splay out alongside his body, already knowing the amount of damage due to the horrified look on Yugi's face. "It's n-nothing," he lied through his teeth, then added bitterly in his mind, 'Guess I'll never be able to fly again…And after all the tricks Shimon taught me…'
Finally something in his mind clicked. All the recent events and occurrences flooded back into him, and it finally dawned on him that position he was in. The first thought that came to mind was that he was supposedly in another world, which wasn't too hard to believe given the strange colors, people, er…person, and unbelievably cold environment. The second was accompanied by a wave of sickness in the pit of his stomach as he remembered the fate of his father. It was quickly replace by a hot fury, though, when he recalled exactly what had caused his first two thoughts.
"Pegasus!!" He spat out the name in disgust and anger, taking the other completely by surprise. Without thinking, he attempted to prop himself up with his arms even though his body was aching, freezing and yet burning at the same time.
Yugi grew even more bewildered when he saw this, for Yami obviously was not in any condition to move considering his broken wing and still not-as-healthy body flames. "Don't! You're not—" He reached out hastily to push the fiery boy back to the ground.
"OWW!!" Both teens yelped in pure agony as each of them experienced the one sensation they were most vulnerable against. Yugi withdrew his hand, which had turned a raw pink and still smoking from the burn he had just received, and Yami fell back against the stone slab, a part of his chest frozen whitish blue.
'Gotta remember never to do that again,' Yugi thought to himself as he plunged his hand into a nearby mound of snow. He was now beginning to understand why his instincts were telling him to keep his distance from a creatures such as Yami. Any kind of contact under normal circumstances would cause great pain to both of them. It was as his grandpa had told him. Some people just weren't meant to mix, and his people and Yami's were an example of such.
The sharp pain helped to calm Yami down, though. As the tri-color-haired boy allowed the frozen part of his body to melt next to the fire, he contemplated what had just happened as well as what he would do about the situation with Pegasus. No doubt the evil man was going to try to take over and possibly enslave his father's, no, his people to do whatever he wanted. And it had been part of his plan to send Yami away so he wouldn't get in the way. Still, Yami wished he would have landed in another world, any other world, other than this. He was certain there could be nothing worse than a place as centered around snow and ice as his homeland was around lava and fire. Already, he had proved vulnerable to the inhabitants here, for even the gentlest of touches sent him reeling in agony. At least he knew it didn't hurt only him, though. It might be helpful to use his own heat as a weapon if Pegasus had any henchmen here as well.
Still, he felt kind of bad he had caused this particular icy inhabitant pain. The boy had more or less saved his life. He owed the very fact that he existed right now to Yugi, who had done so even though they were complete strangers to each other. Why the amethyst-eyed creature was so icy with some of his words was an unexplainable mystery to Yami, and he didn't feel like brooding over it nor how similar they looked. It was unnerving, actually, to have someone who looks almost exactly like you to rescue you from the pit of death. Yami almost thought this was some kind of crazy dream, but the pain, the cold sensation, the goosebumps…they were so real.
His head started to spin from the sheer overload of bizarre events, and he wanted nothing more than to just sleep everything off. His aching body desperately craved rest, and his jittery nerves weren't helping his condition.
"You should get some rest," Yugi's voice floated gently across the room to the crimson-eyed boy. Yami didn't need any persuasion. He closed his eyes, forcing his mind off the still sharp pain in his exposed wing and the dull throb where Yugi's hand had touched him a few moments ago.
Yugi watched him thoughtfully, still tending to his own burn, and found himself wondering what had made the other shout out with such rage. 'It must have had something to do with how he winded up here,' the small boy thought as he threw some more sticks into the fire, now used to the discomfort the heat caused. He yawned, realizing how exhausting the recent turn of events had made him. It was still early and he wasn't expected to be back from the mountains until late afternoon, so he decided he would take a small nap himself. He leaned back against the wall of the cave and curled his wings around himself.
Within minutes, both were fast asleep.
To Be Continued…
~*~*~*
[1] "Netsu" means "heat" in Japanese. See the connection? Hopefully?
[2] Yes, they do have t.v. there. ^^;;
[3] "Koori" means "ice" in Japanese. Yes, these names are corny, but I couldn't think of anything better! .
[4] Yami's world is very detached. They forbid the people from knowing anything about other worlds while it's the other way around where Yugi lives. That's why Yugi has some basic knowledge about Yami's race but Yami doesn't have a clue. ^^ Plus, if Yugi didn't know a thing, he wouldn't have been able to save him as he did. Heehee…
[5] Yes, I realize Yami's wings are made of fire, and fire can't really be torn normally. But in this fic, it can! Why, you ask? Er…just because I said so! ^^;
A/N: -.- Phew, finally done with that. I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!!! And the good fluffy stuff hasn't even gotten started yet. Oh, well, I like to take my time. Yami and Yugi have to meet first, right?? ^^;; Also, I'm really sorry if they're kind of OOC. I'm trying to make a point here, I really am…with the whole iciness instinct and all. Again I think I went overboard with descriptions…Blame my English teacher!! My English teacher, I tell you!! O_O Um…but hopefully this story's getting better?
Now for the thank-yous! I don't wanna fall waaaay behind like in my other fic…
Cherry-San (you're the first reviewer! ^_^ Here's a cookie!), Liona Skycat, SoulDreamer, smiley, Smarty1, Difinity (^^ I'm glad you remember!), mai-san, Koishii no Tenshi, Sorceress MooNBlaDeR, Jane Lee, Crystal Hikari, Fin-Phoenix (thank you! I guess Ra can work for their God), Princess Strawberry (really? Addictive sugar??), Anime-fan Meepa, tenshimagic (*giggles* Mermaids…), AnimeFan13, Yami Hoshiko (hey, you think I like hurting Yami? ;_;), YumeTakato, Authoress-sama, WhiteLightening, Phoenix51, Digimagic, Ragna01 (well, I have no intention of other pairings yet…), Starkiss (gomen ne!), Abi2, Mystic-fox, Mel Gods, Carmen5, Merodi no Yami (all it takes is practice…I guess ^^;), YuugiLover3, Kyuugi, aznsilhouette247, vampirexXx, Diamondelle, Katt26, DaLizzie, DragonMaiden1 (glad this makes you so happy), NekoHitori, DestinyDealer (mwahahahaha!! Thanks for the presents! ^.~), koosei, Goddess Chloe, It'sHardToBelieve, Akuma Malick, and Destiny (um, don't think that's word, but who says you can't use it? ^^)!! @__@
I REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU WHO ARE READING THIS CHAPTER!!! It's been so long since I updated, I really can't blame anyone if they've given up on checking. Thanks again to everyone who've been kind enough to e-mail me to see if I was still alive! ^-^
Thank you! Please R/R!