Title:Hope for Tomorrow
Author: Shadows of Chaos61
Rating: R
Pairing: Seto X Yami
Warnings: language (Yami has a dirty mouth), sexual content, violence, and yaoi.
Disclaimer: Yugioh does not belong to me
Summary: Yami is an 18 year old that has lived on the streets most of his life taking care of his brother, Yugi. Seto is a rookie cop that soon finds himself drawn into Yami's world
Yami scrunched up his nose in effort to keep from gagging at the stench the man in front of him was putting off. He knew that living on the streets kept people like himself from having a regular bathing schedule but this man had a home, shower and could definitely afford soap and shampoo, so what was his problem?
Taking a step back to distance himself he glared at the man named Taro. Yami hated when this man just up and took it upon himself to find him whenever he had a job for him to do. Somehow Taro had found his new 'home' and waltzed in this morning just as Yami was getting back from his other job.
"What is it now?" the crimson-eyed teen asked.
"Got another job for you, one that only you can do."
Yami snorted at the black haired man. "Yeah, sure. You always say that but yet you pay me no more than any of your other flunkies."
Taro grinned showing off his nasty yellow colored teeth. "True. So are you ready for the details?"
Growling Yami replied, "Fuck you Taro, I'm tired of doing your jobs. Every time they get more dangerous and I maybe insane but I'm not stupid. Last job you had for me, I ended up with my back sliced to pieces." He stood there not backing down but rather steeling himself for Taro's wrath. He was known to have a nasty temper when something did not go his way. Rumors spoke of several of his 'employees' losing valuable limbs for upsetting him.
His fingers curled around the switchblade in his hand, thankful he had taken it out of his pocket when he first caught sight of the other entering the building. Luckily Taro had not seen it as of yet so he had an advantage.
Taro's eyes narrowed at Yami as his body tensed in response to what the younger one had said. No one disrespected him and got away with it. His reputation was on the line when it came to these jobs he handed out and he didn't hand them out lightly. True Yami was one of the best, able to get in and out of almost any situation, but that didn't mean he had to put up with the boy's mouth.
Both males reacted at almost the same time. Taro snapped his knife out with quicker reflexes than a man at his age should have. His free left arm came around and grabbed Yami's right one, twisting it behind his back. He had yet to see the switchblade in the crimson-eyed youths left hand. Growling, Taro pulled his right hand up and pressed the blade at Yami's slightly exposed neck, applying enough pressure to let him know that he wouldn't hesitate in slicing his throat.
At the exact moment that Taro grabbed his arm, Yami had released the blade from his knife and easily pressed the tip into the older man's left side just right under the last rib of the man.
Each of them had the other in a deadly embrace, but Yami knew that Taro's threat was more serious than his. He would die quickly from his throat being slashed before Taro would of his stab wound, but he would be damned if he let that show.
Yami glared mercilessly into the other man's eyes as Taro spoke. "You fucking little cock sucker, you dare tell me no? You don't realize just how much your life depends on me."
Snarling he replied in a deadly whisper, "My life is in my own hands, there is nothing you can do or say to scare me. I've seen much worse than you."
To Yami's slight confusion, Taro laughed. "Ah, you may not value your life but I'm sure you value your brother's."
"You can't get him, he's hidden away and well protected, so your threat is wasted."
Taro slowly slid the sharp edge of the blade across his neck, just enough to bring home his point. Yami had to suppress a moan of pain as he felt it slice cleanly through his skin. His neck was warmed slightly as the dark liquid trailed down to his shirt.
"Your brother will not be safe at school when that cop is at work now will he? Don't think I didn't know about your weakness. Now I suggest you take that knife away from my side and prepare for your job tonight."
Defeated by the threat to his brother's life, Yami withdrew the blade and let it fall to the rotting wooden floor. "You fucking touch him and I will hunt you down and rip your fucking dick off and shove it down your throat," he growled out.
Taro's eyes darkened as he leaned forward and ran his tongue over Yami's ear and purred, "You are such a pretty thing when you're pissed."
The teen shuddered in response at the closeness of the man. Sure he sold himself but this man was just disgusting. "Get the fuck off me, I'll do your job."
Taro grinned and let the boy go. "Glad you see it my way."
Moonlight washed the darken streets in its eerie pale light as Yami walked down the street towards his 'job'. He loved the darkness; the shadows that played around the buildings and other objects, it made him feel safe for some reason. This was when he could hide from others and himself. He could relish in it, let it wash over him and protect his fragile heart and soul. That was one of the reasons he had chose it for his new name.
He no longer thought of himself as Atemu, no that person was long dead. His heart and soul were dark, so his name should fit what he was now. He no longer believed in a god or good in this world. No, everything to him was evil, vile, and merciless. The only light he felt was in this hellhole was his brother and he had fought long and heard to maintain that light in him. He sacrificed his own soul to darkness so Yugi's could shine brighter.
He slipped a hand into his older coat checking to make sure his knife was still there. He had decided against wearing his newer coat since this one was black and already messed up. This job could get deadly quick and he didn't want to ruin the newer one just cause his assigned person decided to fight back.
Looking back over his shoulder, making sure he wasn't being watched, he slipped further into the shadows as he found his destination. Glancing up towards the two-story house, he saw the porch light was on. Gritting his teeth, he made his way up the lawn, still hiding in the shadows to try to find away into the house.
Taro wanted him to teach this man a lesson. Make him understand that no one was allowed to go back on a deal without a paying the consequences and he wanted Yami to make sure the man never forgot that.
And Yami was one hell of a teacher.
Making his way around to the back of the house, he smirked when he saw the owner had failed to turn on a light over the back door. Walking up to it, he reached a hand into his other pocket and pulled out a pair of black leather gloves. Slipping them on, he faced the door and looked the lock over. Testing his luck, he reached for the handle and almost laughed when it turned, giving him access to the house.
Quietly, he made his way into the room, holding his knife by his side. He stopped to give his eyes time to adjust and his ears a chance to locate any sound that might give his 'student's' location away.
Soon the sounds of a TV or radio made their way down to him. He glanced up when he realized it was coming from above him. Moving forward, he took his time and walked around the first floor of the house till he found the stairs.
As quietly as possible, he went up the carpeted steps until he reached the second floor. Following his ears, he made his way down the hall to the last room on the left. Seeing the door was closed, he tightened his grip on his knife and pondered his next move.
Deciding on the give-the-guy-a-heart-attack move, he raised his leg up and kicked is foot against the door, affectively slamming the door open to reveal a very pale and frightened man in his mid fifties laying on the bed.
Grinning his most sadistic looking grin, he looked at the man as he walked forward. "You failed to pay Taro back and I'm here to give you the penalty for your crime."
"So you gave him your card huh? And he didn't rip it up? I'm impressed."
Seto looked over at his partner who was driving their unmarked Crown Vic. "Well he didn't while I was there, but who knows after I left."
Glancing over as the brown haired man, he gave him a weak smile. "If Yami didn't do it standing in front of you then I doubt he did it afterwards. The boy's like that. He would rather do something to your face than wait till you leave or turn your back."
Seto nodded his head as he looked out the window. Bakura and him were on their night shift rotation and had done nothing but discuss Yami between giving out speeding tickets and DUIs. Currently, they were riding around on the outskirts of town heading for the rather richer part of the area.
"So did you ever find out why he was brought in the other day?"
"Something stupid. Those morons booked him for jaywalking. Can you believe that? They just wanted to see him spend a night in jail. What they don't realize is that a night in there is like heaven to a kid that lives out on the streets. Warm room, free food, a more comfy place to sleep than a cold floor and they don't have to worry about getting stabbed while sleeping."
"True. So how did Yugi take it when he woke up and saw his brother gone?"
Bakura sighed as they pulled up to a red light. "Not to well. Oh he tried to hide it as always behind that cheerful attitude of his but I know him better than that. Plus he did nothing but carry around a piece of paper in his hand all day long; I think it was something Atemu left him. Of course he wouldn't show it to me so I can't be sure." Pulling off again he turned to his partner, "Say, would you like to stop and get some coffee? I could use a break."
"Fine with me."
Bakura pulled into a vacant parking space and turned the engine off. After both of them got out they walked into a small mom and pop restaurant and took a seat in one of the back booths. Once they had given their order and made idle chitchat with the waitress, Seto asked about Yami again.
"Tell me, why does Atemu insist on being called Yami? Why the name change?"
Bakura studied the man in front of him before he answered, "He says Atemu is dead. He has never given me the real reason but I think it has something to do with the life he leads now. Atemu reminds him of his childhood, and his life before he had to take care of Yugi. I feel like the name Yami is something for him to hide behind."
"Hmm, lots of people have different ways of avoiding things and overcoming things that hurt them mentally and emotionally. I can see why he calls himself that after all I saw in the file."
Their conversation was cut short when the waitress came back with their coffee. Giving his thanks to the girl, Bakura turned back to Seto.
"There's something about him that has you drawn to him."
The blue-eyed officer blanched. "What makes you say that?"
Bakura gave him a knowing grin as he wrapped his fingers around the warm mug. "I can see it in your eyes when you talk about him. I admit there is something about him that makes a person want to get to know the man behind that tough outer shell of his. If you watch the way he is when he thinks he's alone or when his with his brother you see more into the real Atemu. But those chances are few and far between. He's guarded most of the time and trust is something he doesn't give either."
Sighing, Seto looked down into his cup as if he could find some answers there. "Fine, yes he intrigues me. I'm not sure what it is but it's something. Yami is a strong man, one that shows no weakness. Yet, he is also a child with a wounded heart. When I think of him or look at him I want to help heal those scars."
"Don't tell him that and don't pity him. If you do then he will rip you a new one."
He chuckled, "I know that little hellcat would. Fight fire with fire I guess, at least with him that is."
"Well I hope for his sake you can get through, cause I'm afraid his luck is about to run out."
Seto was about to reply when their radios when off reporting a homicide not far from where they were. Placing a few bills to cover their tab on the table, they rushed out to the car. Throwing the blue lights and sirens on they headed off to the scene.
When they arrived, they surveyed the area as they drew their guns and proceeded towards the house and the woman crying on the lawn.
"Miss, are you the one that called?"
The distraught women looked up to Bakura and nodded her head and told them what she had found when she arrived back home. Quickly they told her to sit in the car until they checked the scene over.
Giving the signal, Bakura told Seto to take the back entrance while he took the front.
Seto made his way to the back of the house and frowned when he saw the back door open. Positioning his gun, he walked into the house and checked every room as he proceeded further in. At the bottom of the stairs he met back up with his partner and together they headed up to the second floor.
After a check though most of the rooms they came across the busted door and took up position ready to make an entrance if the killer was still in the room. On command they entered and the sight before them would have made any person lose their lunch.
Lying on the bed was a white male in his fifties in nothing but a pair of boxers. As they went further into the room they realized the damage as they took in the sight of blood on everything. After a quick check of the room they holstered their guns and walked over to the bed.
Bakura pulled out a pair of latex gloves tossed them to Seto as he took out another pair for him self. Gloves on, Seto began to examine the body. He grimaced when he looked at the multitude of gashes, cuts and stab wounds on the man's body. He vaguely heard Bakura call for backup as he went over the details.
From the looks of the stab wounds and cuts it appeared they had been made from a rather small handheld knife. The murder lacked passion but was still gruesome. Although the body was still warm, meaning he hadn't been dead long, his skin was as pale as the sheets had once been.
After a closer look he noticed a strange cut on the man's arm. It had a definite shape to it and reminded Seto of a cross but the line that goes across the other was slanted. Frowning, he called Bakura over to take a look at it.
"Fuck!"
"So you know what that is?"
"Unfortunately yes, it's a rune mark a reversed neid rune to be exact."
"And that means?"
"A reversed neid can mean someone has taken the wrong attitude towards something and they will have to pay the dues because of it. This was a victim of a fucked up loan shark known as the Taro. We know what he goes by but not where he's at, man's been wanted for years now." Pausing, he went over to the other side of the bed and looked at the other arm. "And on this arm we have the punisher's signature."
Seto walked around to Bakura and looked at the place that he pointed out. To him it looked like a crude diamond hanging from an open string. Raising an eyebrow he turned to Bakura. "Do you know who did this one?"
"No, I've seen it before a few times but have never figured out who it belongs to. I know it meaning though. It's a reversed othel rune and it symbolizes that the person will have to face whatever troubles come their way alone. It also means failure in whatever events are coming and that there is no way in avoiding karma."
"So this resembles the person that did the crime?"
"Yep, that's what we think anyways."
Dragon: The runes that are stated here are correct. I got the meanings and symbols from a book I own called The Runes by Horik Svensson. Course the meanings in the book are more detailed, I just shortened them for this story seeing as how the meanings can be rater lengthy and complicated.
I also want to thank all my reviewers. Those simple words you write make me want to write more!