Light-
The motions of Yugi's hands were automatic. He was not concentrating on washing the dishes, but they were still getting washed. He was used to it by now.
"Are you, going to hover behind me all day?" he asked gently, glancing over his shoulder. The angular man stared at him, slightly surprised. He smiled slightly. Not a smirk. A smile.
"Absolutely," the man replied. Yugi ignored the dread pulsing through him. Something bad was going on.
'And I've gone crazy,' his mind chimed. The man laughed. He'd been doing that at a lot of Yugi's thoughts. It was still scary that the man could hear them, but it only enforced the theory that the man was a hallucination brought on by too many cold nights in the basement. Or, something like that.
THe phone rung, the ceramic slipped from between his fingers, shattered on the floor, the phone rung again, shards of it, soapy water, was flung in all directions. Yugi picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hi, is Yugi Motou there?" a bored secretarial voice asked. Yugi shifted the phone to be cradled between his ear and shoulder as he bent down to pick up the shards.
"Speaking," he muttered, though he spoke politely. The man was smirking again.
"Bet your soul it's the hospital, your Grandfather's better," the man said smugly. Yugi glared up at him, daring him to speak again.
"This is the hospital. We're calling about your Grandfather. He appears to have made a full recovery. We called to inform you we'll be keeping him one more day and if he's still stable he can come home," the lady said, a bit more life in his voice. Yugi didn't even bother to fight the wave of relief.
"Thank you," Yugi said honestly, joy evident. The mechanical motions of his hands had stopped. He was merely crouching there over them. The man's smirk was so fierce it battled Yugi's glee.
"We'll call you again tomorrow. Good bye," the phone said, and then it clicked. Yugi sat there, just basking in his happiness, till the phone started to beep, warning him it was off hook too long.
With a content sigh, he stood and hung it up. Then, for reasons he couldn't count,he turned to the man. "Are you allowed to bet my soul?" Yugi asked slowly.
"Yes. In exchange for friends and your grandfather, I own it," he said. This man was completely serious. The ferocity of the smirk was overpowering.
"And, so... What are you going to do with... me?" Yugi asked, articulating each of his words carefully. The smirk faltered, and then faded away.
"I'm not sure yet," he said simply. He stopped leaning on the fridge. He began to pace circles around Yugi. He looked him up and down.
The man began to hum to himself, an errie and foreign, yet familiar tune. It reminded Yugi of sand and sugar canes and hot nights.
"I believe," said the man, now the one speaking slowly and punctually, "That I wish to keep you as you are. I will, make another deal with you."
"Another deal?" Yugi echoed, watching the man nervously. He nodded his spiked head.
"Yes. I think, we shall be partners. Is that all right?" the man asked. For the second time in five minutes, Yugi was flooded with relief.
"Yes, that would be nice," Yugi said quickly, before the man could change his mind.
"Good," he said, smiling. Yugi paused, uncertainty wavering in his amethyst eyes.
"Partners in what?" he asked hesitantly.
The man smirked again.