A Requiem for Innocence
Chapter Eight:

"Las Vegas is very pretty, isn't it?" Yugi asked, looking out the window of the rental car and admiring the lights that had come on as dusk fell. He and Yami were driving back to the hotel after going out for dinner. The tournament was to be held the next day. "Crowded…but pretty all the same, in a city sort of way."

Yami stopped at a red light and looked around, smiling to himself. "Yes…it sure is."

"Too bad I'm underage…it would be fun to try gambling." Yugi mused.

Yami found this highly amusing. "Your dad would have a fit. I don't think proper, young, international-businessmen-in-training gamble."

"Ha ha, very funny." Yugi whapped him lightly on the head. "You and your smart mouth, it's no wonder you and Dad hit it off so badly."

"He's the one that called me a rapist!" Yami protested, still irritated by any mention of the elder Mutou and their first meeting. "He started it!"

"I know, I know." Yugi leaned back in the seat as Yami pulled forward and turned left. "I'm not saying I hold anything against you for it, I'm just saying that I can see why you two will never get along."

"The fact that he hit you might have something to do with it as well." Yami pulled into the hotel parking space and set the emergency brake. "We might have had a chance of civility if he hadn't gone and done that."

"Well, it's too late to worry about it now." Yugi replied as they got out and he walked around the side of the car to stand beside Yami, who was now leaning against the door of it.

"True." Yami agreed, his voice losing some of its happiness. "I just wish there had been…another way. A way where no one had to get hurt. Not me…not your parents…and especially not you."

"I don't think there's ever a way where no one gets hurt." Yugi replied softly. "We all face it eventually."

Yami sighed. "You're right."

Yugi reached out to touch his shoulder. "But Yami…I'm not worried, because if I get hurt, you're here to help me. And when I'm with you…I feel like nothing can go wrong. So it's okay if we get hurt, because we're together no matter what."

Yami looked over at him and smiled, taking his hand. "Thanks."

"No problem." Yugi leaned into him as Yami put his arm around his shoulders, and they stood together in silence for a long time.

"Well, wish me luck in the last round." Yami said as he shuffled his deck the next day in the rec room under the ring where the audience sat. This was a place for the duelists and their guests to hang out till their respective matches. Yugi took a drink of his soda and said,

"Why? I know you'll win no matter what. You're the best in the world."

Yami shrugged cheerfully. "Hey, you never know. I might come up against some sort of genius. I didn't have a chance to watch my opponent's matches. He might be really good."

That was something Yugi really admired about Yami. He might be the obvious best professional duelist in the world, but he never let it go to his head. He dueled with his usual quiet intensity and never with arrogance. Maybe that was why these tournaments still bothered to invite him. When it came to TV coverage, the cameramen and women loved nothing more than to capture those with the best expressions. And when it came to passion, it shone in Yami's eyes more than in anyone else's. His matches got more airtime than any others.

They didn't have to worry much about Yugi's parents seeing them on TV though. According to Yugi, they would rather eat worms than watch a Duel Monsters match, much less a whole tournament. Yami hadn't been so sure, and so Yugi was now wearing a baseball cap, pulled down snuggly over his bushy hair, and he'd used some costume hairspray to dye the red tips of his locks black, in hopes that he wouldn't be as recognizable in the crowd. Yami still worried about it, but Yugi knew his parents, and also knew that they should both be working about this time too, and hopefully nowhere near a TV set. It was all down to fate, now.

"Maybe you're right. But nonetheless, I'm sure you'll win." Yugi replied.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll do my best. And you'd better go take your seat!" Guests got special front-stage seats. Yugi gave Yami a quick hug, waved, and ran off.

The buzzer sounded, and Yami walked out onto the field. He turned back to wave once to Yugi and to the audience, but once cutting his opponent's deck and taking his place at the south end of the arena, he became all business. His opponent was a young man, probably only in his twenties too, but looked tough beyond his years. If his deck was anything like his expression, this person, Akkei Yukimura, (whose family had a slight Japanese bloodline, but looked mostly English), was probably one who favoured powerful monsters, field control, and less complex effects. When built right, that type of deck often won.

But the former pharaoh didn't let that throw him off. Yugi hadn't been wasting words, after all, over what he'd said a few moments before.

And Yami wasn't the world's best duelist for nothing.

The game lasted only six minutes and twenty-nine seconds, according to the scoreboard. Akkei had been a tough fighter and equally tought defender, to be sure, but his strategy was exactly what Yami foresaw, and without an element of surprise, he lost shortly after.

Yami returned his deck to his pocket holster, disengaged his Duel Disk, and walked over to offer his hand to his opponent. "Good game." He said kindly, though he was pretty sure the sentiments would not be shared. They usually weren't.

Akkei glared at him, but didn't dare say anything in front of a crowd. He slapped Yami's palm for a second and walked away. Yami shrugged and turned to face the crowd, and it was only now that he allowed a triumphant smile on his face and he raised his hand again to wave as the crowd's volume roared and the tournament officials presented him with his winnings: a medal and a check for $500,000. And privately he had to admit, it was pretty nice to make a year's earning in one afternoon, doing the things his loved.

Akkei watched from the sidelines with a scowl. Far as he was concerned, he didn't think Yami deserved the money. He lived in a trailer park in Arizona with his deadbeat older brother and junkie parents that were never home, and he thought he deserved the five hundred grand far more than Yami, who was richer than he ought to be anyway and probably didn't have a care in the world. He scowled deeper as younger kids from the audience crowded around Yami to beg for his autograph and to ask questions.

Just look at the guy! How goody-two-shoes can a person get? He thought, annoyed, as instead of pushing them aside, Yami bent down to give every one of them individual attention and encouragement. Most tournament duelists never bothered with the fans like that. It was practically sickening.

Decidedly irritated with the whole turn of events, Akkei went back into the rec room to wait for a good chance to jump the world champ and get a few punches in. The skinny dude might be a strong duelist, but in a fistfight Akkei would surely win. And what he wanted right now was to get a victory off Yami, one way or another.

Unlike some tournament champions, Yami never ignored the youngest fans. It was his opinion that one day, some of those kids might be the new world champions, but they'd never get anywhere if no one encouraged them. So he spent as long as he needed to sign autographs and inform them that he wanted to see as many of them as possible in tournaments in seven or so years.

It was only after this that he headed for the waiting room to see Yugi come running down the hall toward him.

"Yugi!" He called and raised his medal. "I guess you were right, ne?"

"I knew you'd win!" Yugi hugged him, knocking off his hat as he did so, and admired the medal. "It's so shiny."

Yami hugged him back and laughed. "Indeed, there are priorities in life. So long as it's a shiny medal, it's all good."

"You know it! Congratulations on your win. Of course I knew all along you'd make it."

"My opponent was tough. It was your encouragement though that helped."

"You sap…" Yugi leaned up to kiss him. "You know perfectly well that even if I hadn't been here, you would have won."

"I don't know, I think you give me good karma." Yami kissed him back. "You're my inspiration, Yugi."

Yugi smiled shyly and leaned into him.

Meanwhile, from the doorway to the waiting room, Akkei was watching in shock. When he'd first seen Yugi come running down to hall to glomp Yami, he'd assumed they were related. Brothers most likely, by the looks. But when they'd begun kissing, he figured out pretty fast that they probably weren't brothers. Or if they were, that wasn't all they were.

It had been bad enough to be beaten by the guy, but it had been bearable. He could go home, entertain his friends with a long sob story, and they could spend several hours happily abusing the memory of his opponent. It wouldn't make up for the money he'd lost his chance at, but it would have been bearable.

But the idea that not only had he been beaten, but he'd been beaten by a skinny faggot that was possibly committing incest as well, now that was the last straw. How could he lose to a freak like that? Man, if his friends ever found out that some gay duelist had beaten him, they'd never let him live it down.

As it was, Yami and Yugi had no reason to return to the rec room, and instead walked off to go back to the hotel and celebrate the victory by ordering dinner off the room service and by staying up late to watch comedy shows. Akkei stomped out of the room, thoroughly angered now by being denied a chance to beat up his foe too, and so made a vow to himself.

I'll figure out how to getback at himone of these days, I swear it. I'll ruin his life…one way or another, I'll make sure that Yami Atemu never comes to another tournament again.

For a few days after returning, Yugi's parents were thoroughly puzzled as to why Yugi looked extremely cheerful, but fell into pits of depression as well without warning. But how were they supposed to know that Yugi was torn between riding the high off of all the fun the vacation had been, yet missing Yami more than ever now when they weren't together? He'd hung up a calendar and was already marking off the days till he turned eighteen. That would be the magic number. Then he could leave and his parents could say nothing about it. He could go live with Yami and stay with him forever. They could return to Domino and run the Kame Game Shop with his grandpa, and Yami could get that discount he'd been begging for, and they could all live happily ever after.

Problem was, that was still over ten months away. And ten months, in his mind, bore little difference to ten years, or ten millennia. That's how long it sure felt. Every day was sixty hours long. Nights alone lasted years. Weekends lasted centuries. And yet the few hours he could spend with Yami during the week might as well have been seconds. It was awfully unfair.

Yami was always surprised by the change between the atmosphere at the tournaments and that of home, especially now more than ever. At the tournaments, everyone knew him. Back in the apartment complex, no one except Roger even knew he was a duelist, much less was aware of his status. Not that he really cared about that enough to be bothered. And on another hand, it was helpful to be unknown to this crowd.

Except for the fact that apparently his saintly landlord, (whom Yami suspected might be a robot in the form of a human, because the guy was very strange), kept his eye on the sinners and their activities, as a week later he appeared in Yami's door to announce he was being evicted. This was unusual, normally his wife handled the business. She was a gentle person that blessed everyone she met, and was the only person Yami had ever talked to. He had rarely even seen her husband out and about. But he certainly didn't find this visit to be an honour.

"Evicted?" Yami protested, a sickening panic taking him over as he wondered how the landlords had found out about Yugi. "What-what for?"

The man's eyes didn't even flicker and Yami was certain more than ever that he couldn't possibly be completely human. Even his voice, when he finally replied, was so neutral that it was infuriating. "I saw you on TV, playing that pagan game in a tournament in Las Vegas. This complex is not a place for people like you. You have thirty days to move out."

Yami furrowed his brow, relieved that his love life was still a secret, but equally as troubled. Well, that sure put a damper on things. There was no other apartment this close to Yugi's house, and the others that were within decent walking distance were already full-he'd asked around. And he didn't want to go through the trouble to buy a house…though now it looked like he might have to anyway.

"And there's no way to make you reconsider?" he finally asked.

"No." After an abnormally long pause, the man finally blinked. Yami supposed robot-people didn't need to blink very often. "I told you, people like you cannot stay here. We do not invite Satan into our halls. And not only that, but you wear bell-bottomed jeans, order take-out food far too often, and…" Here he paused as if trying to prepare himself to say the final unpardonable thing Yami had done, "…you put up black and purple curtains."

"Well, those are my favourite colours, and I happen to like-"

"The other tenants are becoming concerned for their spiritual safety with you around."

Cripes, exactly what religion are this guy and his apartment complex part of? Yami wondered. Definitely not Christianity! Or anything else I've ever heard of. This must be why his wife doesn't let him talk to many of the tenants…maybe he's a part of the cult of Freakishly Ridiculous Rules?

"I've put up with everything so far, because you are a quiet and well-behaved tenant past those things. But I cannot ignore you playing this…card game."

"You got something against card games?" Yami demanded, somewhat defensively.

"You have thirty days to leave. Good day." The man said in his robotic voice, turned, and left.

Yami closed the door, torn between shock at having to leave; worry about what he'd do for housing near Yugi's place now; and a lingering idea that the owner of this place was not of Earth, and he'd better warn Roger to get out now before he became assimilated in the cult of disturbing rules too.

------

A day later, Yugi knocked on the door after school and let himself inside. He'd been thinking about a lot and for the first time he'd nervously tried to walk slowly on his way, when normally he'd race over from the school. He had an idea he wanted to ask Yami about, but he was afraid he might make Yami mad. Despite the risk, however, he was going to ask anyway. "Yami, I'm here." He announced, dropping his bookbag on the floor by the door and kicking off his shoes.

"In here." Yami called from the living room. Yugi walked in and was immediately presented with the question: "Do you think my curtains look satanic?"

Yugi frowned, knowing how fond Yami was of those curtains. He'd bought them about a week after moving into the complex in a thrift shop a few streets over. He'd practically fallen in love with them and so while Yugi had to admit they gave the apartment a 'dark' sort of look, there was no way he'd break Yami's heart and tell him that. "Uh…no. Who's asking?"

"My landlord." Yami wasn't sure how to broach the subject of his having to move to Yugi. "He doesn't like them."

"Well, that's his problem."

"Yeah, I thought so too. Unfortunately, he's turned his problem into my problem."

"Huh?"

"Yugi…I have to move out." Yami sat down on the couch with a sigh. "They think I'm a hippie Satan inviting myself into their halls with take-out food…or some other type of nonsense. I'm telling you Yug, this is not an average religious housing complex, and my landlord is not from Earth."

Yugi had heard Yami's theories before, and decided not to comment. Instead he replied, "So…you're being kicked out?"

"Yeah. In thirty days."

"Where will you move?" Yugi asked, worried.

"That's the problem. There's no available places within walking distance of your house or the school. Not even houses, I already checked with the real estate people."

"You mean…?" Yugi trailed off. Yami just looked sad. Yugi shook his head violently. "No, no, there's no way! Move wherever you have to Yami, it doesn't matter how far away it is, and I'll…I dunno, I'll take a taxi after school to visit."

"No Yugi, I can't ask you to do that." Yami shook his head now. "It's not fair to you, I can't-"

"Stop being so damned considerate!" Yugi snapped. Yami blinked, surprised. "You're not asking me, I'm telling you. I don't mind paying the fee. I can't just stop seeing you."

Yami couldn't help but smile at Yugi's tone of injustice. He was awfully cute when he got mad, and Yami didn't even mind it when Yugi was mad at him. "No Yugi…at the least, let me give you the money for the fee."

"Okay, if it'll make you feel better-" Yugi cut himself off as he remembered his own idea he'd wanted to mention. "Wait…Yami, there might be another way."

"What's that, build a hidden room into your closet for me after all?" Yami asked, jesting a bit.

"No…run away."

"What?"

Yugi took a deep breath. "Last night, I came up with an idea. We have ten months till I turn eighteen and can get out of here and go back to Japan. So…until then…I've decided I want to leave school and my parents, and run away with you."

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry...I'M SORRY! I swear on everything worth swearing on that I tried to upload this last night, but the site sat there "opening page" for like, twenty minutes, and would not let me get to this screen. So I posted it early today! Please forgive me...!

Akkei Yukimura: His first name means "scheme" or "evil plot" in Japanese. You'll find that this fits him very well. Already he's scheming! He's a villain…and I hope that in time you will all come to hate him as much as I do. I suppose it's wrong to hate my own OC…but hey, this guy's going to become one of the main villains. You'll see. :nod: He's not really Japanese. Well…his heritage on his father's side is, hence the name, but he's more English than Asian, really.

Don't ask where that weird eviction thing came from…I wanted to toss a totally weird religious character into this just for variety and Yami's landlord ended up being that guy. Someone so out there it's unbelievable, yet possible. It's too bad I don't have the space to develop this guy out further. He didn't even get a name! Oh well. Maybe next time!

And what has gotten in Yugi…well, besides an adoration for Yami. I have to say, I'm such a sap. It's 'cause so far I've never had my heart broken in love. So I still believe people their age, (assuming Yami is 24 and not 5024), can meet and stay together forever because they love each other so much. Sometimes I wonder if I ever got my heart broken, if I'd still be able to write about destined true love as a theme for fics. This is something to think about:blinks: But anyway, Yami's already stolen my heart, so it doesn't matter. I suppose I'll just have to be dateless, ne? More time to write fanfics! Woot! xD

While playing and watching duel monsters is exciting, reading about it is most certainly not, and it gets tedious. Thus, I avoided the actual battle scene. Plus, you know what they say about "getting there" not being half the fun at all, but instead being very boring, when it comes to writing. The scene wasn't essential, but the aftermath and the beginning were. Also, understand that this wasn't modeled after a real-world tournament, but after a such one that it might be on the show.

Anyhoo, reply time!

Fallen-Angel-Of-Repression: I miss the coat…He also looked a bit…diminished…without the coat. xD I'm telling you, the coat embodied his personality! He needs the coat back…xD Well, technically, he could. Since they have been sleeping together…I just didn't choose to go into detail for obvious reasons! Aw, it's okay, I tend to repeat myself as well. :niko: Yes, that time move was not the best, not at all. :glance:

Darkyami7: Aww…thanks! That means a lot to me:glomp: Ooh…cross country. I would be very bad at that, seeing that I cannot even run one lap around our football field before I'm gasping and keeling over. I'm rather pathetic, really…but I'm so very glad that I could do something right and make you happy to read the latest chapter! Aww…it's a good thing you read the rest, ne? xD Thanks again!

Yami Yuugi: Yes, I'd say the little guy is being very rebellious indeed! Well, it was bound to happen one day when he found something to become rebellious about. Yes, I've heard that Las Vegas is very fun! Never been there myself…but I'm sure Yugi and Yami had a good time.

Atemu Yugi Lover34: Hmmn, I suppose that's true. I dunno, I think I'd take the hurricane over the tornado, but I can't say for sure till I've lived through the worst of both…and I hope I will never have to do that, so I suppose I'll never know! Ah, a story without suspense is nothing special…suspense is fun!

Spidy007: You're nice too! You say such nice things to me in your reviews. :smile smile: Ack, school:wince: Not fun. Not cool either that they took your stuff! That happened at my preschool once…not that it was that big of a deal, like stealing electronics, but still…it's not cool to steal. Nope nope.

Cherry Romancer: You smell correctly, my friend…because danger always follows smoothness. One of those, "just when you thought it was safe" sort of things. Teehehe.

Serena the Hikari of Love: Ah ha! Well, that explains why Santa is always eating all those cookies and stuff…he had the munchies because of smoking pot! xD Yes indeed, everything is clear to me now! Oh, and thanks for the review, too! xDD You guys are cool.

Marikslildevil: Yes, judging from your penname choice, I had guessed that you were fond of Marik. :wink: My favourite character bounds between…well, too many to count, but Yami always heads the list, followed closely by Yugi. Yami's cool and Yugi's cute and together…they're perfect. xD Aw, it was all I could do not to squeel like a fangirl at Yami's hero-acting in that scene, even if the fact that he was only an astroprojection sort of cut down on the severity of the threat…but then again, I am a fangirl and fangirls squeel at just about everything involving the object of their affections…and besides, I'm just a rather pathetic person. :amused: Ooooh…that would be mad spiffy though, if you could send me eps! I really need a new copy of 207…209 wouldn't hurt either, and I'd need to look up the others to see, but I would definitely like to take you up on that episode offer sometime! I must e-mail you soon to discuss it further. :niko: YES! I have the whole of Series 0 on VCD…they ROCK! Yami's so awesome. As for the fic itself, I'm just glad as ever to hear that you're enjoying it, and I'll see around!

Red Dragon of Egypt: Indeed, that's sort of what I was thinking. I mean…if Harry Potter is bad, surely Yugioh is too. :muttering: Stupid idiotic people…well, anyway, I'm very glad you're enjoying the fic!

GaaraBelongsToMe: Yes yes, stalker Yami…xD How fun! Nah, I don't think it's weird! Naruto is about to come to Toonami, and I was thinking of starting to watch the series, actually, so those links were helpful. And hey, we all have a charrah we just love…so it's cool!

LiNes: Awwww…thanks:huggles: You're so nice…I don't know how I do it either, but I think of combination of having no life, being obsessed with Yugioh, and general adoration for writing might be the answer…well…at least a little! Oh yes, the reincarnation of Louis! I knew that you'd pick up on it. :wink: BTW, his name is Roger, not Robert…although, (and I don't know how you knew this…O.o), Robert was the other name I was thinking of giving him. Oh, that would be fun, letting them all talk. Maybe I will! xD Well…I admit that I have the tendency to talk a bit like Crush every now and then. It's funny. xD

Yami Riyunoa: Hey, it's all good. Like I said at the start, I mean no disrespect to anyone…and anyway, I know not everyone is as uptight as some of these people. Besides…who can resist a good card game, right? O.O Ick ick ick, you will NEVER find me turning this into some sort of pleasure-slave thing. Oh no, I think Yami has too much respect and love for Yugi, as well as too much kindness, to ever do such a thing. Honestly, I can't see it at all. Equals is much better and much more fun to write! Nah, I know in real life the TCG scene is a bit different, but this is a fictional world after all, where everyone loves Duel Monsters, and therefore money is on the line as well. Thanks for the review and for all your kind words!

You Know Us: Oh, I assure you there is…even if a few of them are faking it, ne? But Yami has a cool neighbour, so that's a good thing! Ah yes, there will be fallout…though not of the falling out of a plane sort, which is good, and not of the nuclear sort either…which is also good. xDD But there is always a price for the cute ones to pay when it comes to happiness in my fics…so we'll just see where that goes, won't we:wink: Later!

Sansi: I know what you mean…I'm that same way, always campaigning for angst and drama during the story, but constantly awaiting a happy ending. Well, we're all freaks here, so I guess we all get along! Yami of course would do anything for Yugi, you pegged that one right! He's so caring. I would like to go to Las Vegas myself someday…I've heard it's a lot of fun.

Neko Yoka: Oh boy. If they'd gotten caught…eek! xD I went easy on them in a sense…because everyone seemed to expect that that was where they'd get caught…so I surprised you and let them just have a fun vacation. Of course there's more to it than that…but I can't go around giving away secrets! xD

Lalala…new eppies in less than a half hour! (It's 7:40 as I post this. Tehehe)Woot! I just adored last week's, (Yugi was beyond cute…and I totally share his opinion on public speaking!), and I know I'll adore this week's too, because I'm a fanatic. Teeheehee…well, I hope you all have a good week, and to see you next Friday! (When I promise I'll post the chapter on the right day!)