To all readers: Yaoi, violence, and sort of death here! (He doesn't really die, but you don't find that out in this chappie.)
To people who find life funny sometimes: My world history teacher announced a notebook check. Unfortunately, a week ago, I decided to draw in the margin of my notebook, and there, right above my notes on the Magna Carta, are Yami and Yugi kissing. I'm going to have to do something about that….
To all Bakura fans: I am a fan of Bakura too and he does have a reason for being so bloody evil here; I'm not just making him completely heartless to fit the storyline.
To all yaoi lemon/lime fans: PLEASE GO READ MY OTHER FIC! This fic was written firstly because the idea wouldn't leave me alone, and secondly because I wanted to practice for the citrus-y stuff I want to put in here. REVIEW to make me a better writer!
To all reviewers:
: Yes. Thankfully, he is, otherwise the whole YYxY bit in this fic would…die. Literally.
Kian: Thanks! Answers to your questions in this chapter. I'm glad you think it makes sense…even I wasn't quite sure what I was doing there (sweat drop) but now the plot is all nice and worked out in my head.
Ohkami Majin: Yay a new reviewer! Thanks for saying its original. Here's your update!
Kristen89: Sorry. I will write more! Thanks for reviewing!
Samurai Angel: Thanks for answering my question. I hate cliffies, but I can't stand waiting endlessly either. I hope you have an awesome day or night too lol!
Ryou's Twin Sister (a.k.a. tainted hikari): Yeah! Welcome to the club lol. Yes…the yaoi is coming up! I'm glad you liked the plot twist. And that is the first time anyone has called me an authoress…kind of like that lol! Hmmm…not a bad idea with that rope….
SoulDreamer: Here's your update…and a description of WTF Yami is doing lol.
Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian: Yay I'm good at something (sweat drop). Thanks for answering my question and the lemon help—please go read my other fic and review it. Wow…you even printed it off…(is super happy). Thanks!
AngelFalls: I agree with you completely. I will lol!
Chelly Angel: (can't write character death) Rest assured, Yugi lives. A lot of my ideas seem to be coming from somewhere way, way out in left field lately…. A little Bakura/Ryou will be in the fic, but not for awhile.
Kurai Ai: Are you killing Bakura? Yugi doesn't die, don't worry .
Silverwolf-Bakura13: No, wasn't kidding. XD Both the author and the readers are addicted to this lol. Your sis isn't addicted…well…that okay…but I cannot understand…YYxY forever. Yes…certain people would kill me too if they found out. Most of my ideas are coming from left field (or farther out) lately…lol. Thanks!
ladywolfTerri: Thank you for assuring me my life will continue until I finish the fic, no matter how many evil cliffies I leave behind. Thanks, and I'm glad Bakura isn't too badly cast as the necromancer. Here's your update!
SPUW Commander: Don't panic! Here's the update!
Pharohs-slave: Yami is not insane, but will receive some strong words from Yugi for being so awful. I had to put a(nother) major stumbling block in their relationship…curse you, plot bunny. Here is the cliffy fix! (Your pen name is a career I could definitely like…lol.)
TwinSanity: Lol. Of course Yami has a plan, and here it is!
Eve-Of-Misery: Yes…in fact…that did happen. But yes…there is a trick. Here's the update XD.
Kameeko: (edges away from Kamoray and pokes update in your direction) Here…thanks for reviewing…heh heh heh….
On With The Fic Already:
Last time:
"You have no business with me and you're just going to kill him?"
Bakura's voice was oddly strained when he growled a "Yes." He lifted Yugi off the ground and tightened his grip on Yugi's neck.
I put my hands in my pockets.
"You want to kill him? Go ahead."
Dead & Dying
Ninth
Yugi's View
Air…breath…can't…! Bakura's hand was constricting my throat, cold fingers digging in painfully.
Yet far more painful was Yami's cold indifference. I don't know if it was the shock or the lack of oxygen that kept me from processing this.
"Go ahead."
Yami…! A cold, emotional pain stabbed into my heart, slicing my growing affection for Yami to shreds. Why should I struggle against Bakura, when my reason for living couldn't stand me?
Suddenly, shadows burst from Yami's fingers and coalesced into a dagger. "Your fight is with me, Bakura-san!" Yami shouted, plunging the blade through Bakura's neck.
Bakura screamed and fell to his knees, letting go of me. I crumpled to my knees.
Yami wrenched his blade out of Bakura's neck. Bakura, seeming to focus on something only he could see, cried, "ANGEL! NO! Don't—don't come for me…." He stopped, slowly closed his eyes, and sprawled on the tiled floor of the ruined restaurant.
A breeze of cold grey magic blew over Bakura's lifeless form. His body slowly became a shining black mist that rose to the sky.
Gone. He's gone. It's alright…Bakura-san is gone.
I knelt in the rubble, shaking and covering my face with my hands. Each breath tore through my throat, painful and renewing all at once.
The crunch of Yami's boots through the rubble moved away from me, and then across the room, circling the edges of the shambles.
Away. He's leaving you.
My eyes were blurry and wet, but I didn't seem to know why. My right hand left my face, questing outward for—
I cut my finger on a sharp, twisted bit of metal. The pain and pleasure from the accidental cut brought memories flooding back to me in a furious deluge. Closing my eyes, I focused on one thing.
I want to bleed.
I closed my fingers over the piece of rubble and drew it toward me, hoping to slice my wrist deeply, only to have my wrist seized by a cold, brutal hand.
"Don't you dare," Yami seethed, breathless words right by my ear. I didn't open my eyes.
"Drop it," commanded Yami. At this, I whirled to face him and opened my eyes.
"Why should I?" I sounded insolent.
"Because," said Yami, dangerously, "I won't bite you again if you do." His grip on my wrist tightened.
"And why should I care? You were going to let him kill me! Why should I trust you!" I yelled.
Clearly shocked, Yami let go of my wrist and just stared at me. Abruptly, he dropped his gaze. There was a slit on his cheek—not bleeding, but obviously broken and painful. He was dusty and tired, and the spikes of his hair seemed to droop. His hands were folded loosely in his lap, one hand bearing a smooth burn across the palm. Kneeling in the rubble, Yami seemed smaller and more real. It was silent for a minute, and when Yami spoke again, it was soft and full of pain.
"You shouldn't trust me."
This was completely different that what I had expected, though I'm not sure what I expected in the first place. "Y—Yami?"
He sounded desperate. "I nearly killed you, the first night we were roommates." Yami refused to look at me. "You were sound asleep, and it would have been—should have been—so easy to kill you. I could have drunk every sweet drop of blood you possess; I could have turned you into a soulless creature like myself."
Yami paused. "No. You shouldn't trust me." He looked up at me, a sad smile gracing his lips and filling his eyes with pain. "The only reason that kept me just sane enough not to kill you was—I—I care for you."
My world stopped.
"I thought Bakura-san was going to kill you. It was only the thought of you that kept me from going mad and reducing the room to nothing. I had to bluff. If he thought you meant anything to me, he would have killed you just to see the look on my face." Yami looked down, unable to face me.
Wordlessly, I held out my hand and made to drop the makeshift knife. Yami put up a hand.
"Don't. I have no right to tell you what to do. I want to protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you—Bakura, other necromancers, vampires, even yourself." Yami smiled that painful smile again, the one I couldn't bear to see on his face. "But how can I hope to do that when I can't even protect you from myself?"
Yami stood, back to me, and called upon his shadowed wings. "I can hardly keep myself from bending down and licking all the crimson off your fingers right now." He clenched his hands into fists.
I looked at my fingers, really looked, for the first time. The accidental cut I'd made was bleeding freely, spilling scarlet liquid across my palm and dripping onto the floor.
Yami stretched his wings and snapped them closed. "I'll—I'll take you wherever you want to go. I'll give you back your luggage—and—and then I'll leave." Yami's voice sounded shaky.
"I care for you."
My life had been worthless before I went to Menoma's Haven. It was still nearly worthless, but for the first time, someone had truly cared for me—and even said it to my face. In a twisted, painful way, he'd saved my life.
And now, he was leaving.
I was worth something when he was around. Whatever it took, I wanted to stay with him.
I raised my wounded hand towards Yami. He started shaking, fists clenching spasmodically. "Yugi—stop—I can't take it—don't," he pleaded.
"Please…turn around."
"You don't know—what you're doing—." Yami sounded as though he had a bit of a hiss in his voice. His fangs had sprouted, impeding his speech.
"You're thirsty. I want you to stay with me. If you tasting my blood is the only way, go on and have as much as you want."
"Yugi—what you're doing—to me—." This last was forced out through clenched teeth—clenched fangs. His wings vanished—Yami didn't have the willpower to keep them there.
"You can't kill me," I said, standing up and holding my bloody hand even closer to Yami. He shook even more. "So go on."
Yami whipped around and pinned me to the nearby wall with his right arm, seizing my right hand with his left. His fangs made the predatory smile on his face all the more dangerous; the mad, vampiric glint in his eyes told me he had let all pretense of control go.
His tongue slipped in between my bloody fingers and I pushed my hand towards him, having recovered from the momentary shock. Yami responded by letting my fingers in his mouth and pinning me harder against the wall—with his body as well as his arm. The contact nearly made me gasp aloud.
Finished licking my fingers clean, Yami entwined his fingers through mine and chilled my hand. I knew that cold feeling without looking—shadows had healed my hand.
Yami didn't stop there, though. He closed his eyes, slid my hand around his waist and, once he was sure I'd leave it there, slipped the hand that wasn't pinning me under the edge of my shirt. Cold fingers met warm skin and this time I did gasp.
Yami ignored my sharp intake of breath and let his hand roam farther upward under my shirt. "Y—Yami?"
He opened his eyes, now deep crimson and very predatory, and held my slightly fearful gaze. "I'm not done, Yugi," he whispered threateningly. I swallowed, but reached nervous hands up to my collar, undoing buttons without thinking.
Still pinning me with his body, Yami yanked my collar aside and tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. I leaned my head to the side and forward onto his shoulder. Yami held me like that, making sure I wouldn't—couldn't—move. I knew what was coming—the sharp pain, the slow pleasure—
Yami opened his mouth and leaned down, biting down slow and hard. I clenched my hands into fists and bit my lip to keep from crying out.
Hot, burning satisfaction marked the place between my shoulder and neck. Yami drank deeply, making short work of the remaining buttons on my shirt. His hand splayed across my chest.
Yami's fangs sunk in even deeper, sending an overwhelming wave of pleasure to my mind that far outweighed the one of pain. I pushed towards Yami, who pushed me back against the wall with his body, as if saying, "Stop that."
I quit moving and Yami moved his hand from my chest south, slipping two fingers under my belt.
I don't know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that I heard a cough right then, as my mind was unable to comprehend anything but Yami's touch.
"Yami-kun?"
Fangs lifted from my shoulder. "Auru-kun," greeted Yami coldly, putting his arms loosely around my waist in a gesture that clearly broadcast MINE. His fangs and chin were bloody and he seemed reinvigorated. Yami licked his fangs off, still piercing Auru with a murderous glare.
"Whoa, Yami-kun. I already have my reflection. Chill," said Auru, hands up in a casual surrender. He hadn't helped Yami fight Bakura for one obvious reason—I was Yami's. It was Yami's business, not his. I didn't understand what Auru meant about his reflection, but I was beginning to understand more about why vampires acted like they did.
That still didn't change the fact that I stood shirtless in Yami's arms. Mortified, I hastily began buttoning. Yami blinked. The predatory glint in his eyes was gone. He stopped me at the top button.
Auru smirked, but didn't say anything, as Yami brushed his lips over my wound, leaving cold, unblemished skin.
"Rino! It's PG now," Auru called. Rino stepped through the gaping hole in the back of the restaurant carefully. He blinked at Yami and me, probably because Yami still refused to let go of me, and went to stand by Auru. Auru's black curls were in disarray; he was wearing a navy blue jacket and black pants. He slipped an arm around Rino, who was wearing a fuzzy cream sweater. His bright red hair and cheeks stood out.
"Are we leaving now?" Rino asked.
"Yes," answered Yami curtly. He sprouted shadowed wings and snapped them irritably. He turned around knelt so I could get on his back.
Once comfortably situated, Yami put his arms under my legs and led the way out of the shambles that was once a restaurant. Auru sprouted wings and Rino hopped up onto his back, apparently more experienced at that than I.
Rino's hands flashed white, casting invisibility over the lot of us. Yami and Auru ran a few paces and flapped powerful wings, launching us into the sky.
Yami kept his hands under my legs and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Once, during the flight, he turned to me and whispered, "Mine."
This isn't the end! Bakura isn't dead, first of all! It seemed like an ending to me…maybe because it wasn't a cliffie (ack! don't pummel me!).
The story will not get any limier than that without the section being put in a separate chapter.
This chapter felt daunting to write at first, but it seemed to flow so easily I wrote three pages before I'd even realized!
You know the drill! Click that button and make me smile!