Thank you to Pysche for beta-ing

Chapter 17

"EVERYONE FREEZE!"

The chaos that erupted after the police forced their way in was enough for Yami to shake free from his stunned captor. He raced forward, totally oblivious to the bullets and scuffles that broke out around him or the fact that Taro also had been stunned by the presence of the cops to finish his would-be lethal blow. All Yami knew was that he had to get Taro away from Seto as quickly as possible, away from danger, the need to protect overshadowing his own safety.

Using the fact that Taro was slow to recover from his shock, Yami crashed his smaller body into the bigger man, knocking him off balance, causing them both to crash to the floor. All Yami knew next were angry shouts, arms, knees and feet landing blows to either body as Yami tried to wrestle the knife away from the man.

He never noticed that Bakura and some of his fellow cops had apprehended the others in the room and had already turned to help Seto when he caught a glimpse of metal a few feet away from him. Landing a rather hard punch to Taro's gut, he deftly avoided the knife swinging in his direction, taking advantage of Taro's stunned daze to remove himself from the other's body and scrambling on his hands and knees to reach the discarded weapon that lay innocently on the dirty floor. Wrapping his tanned fingers around the revolver, he whirled around on his knees, cocking the gun and aiming it at the now stunned Taro.

His hands were shaking with barely controlled rage as he spoke. "You will no longer threaten the ones I love. This ends here and now."

He slowly rose to his feet, making sure to keep his eyes on his target, inwardly smirking at the wide – almost fearful – eyes of the other. Bringing his other hand up to the gun to steady it better, Yami began to squeeze the trigger.

"Yami!"

"Don't!"

Both Bakura's and Seto's voices halted him in his movements causing another sudden surge of anger to course through him. How dare they try to stop him from ridding himself of this killer?

"Don't either of you try to stop me! I can kill him then he can never come after anyone again. And, I'll be free." His teeth clenched tightly as he glared hard at Taro's unmoving form.

"Yami." The teen suppressed the desire to close his eyes when he felt a familiar hand rest gently on his shoulder. Seto's voice sounded tired and weak, barely above a whisper. "I admit he deserves this more than anyone, but if you kill him, you will be no better than him."

"So?"

"What would Yugi think?"

Yami's hands started to shake; his eyes went wide as his mind pictured his brother's face looking at him. He knew it wouldn't be with disgust or horror but out of concern, pity, and self-loathing, knowing that his older brother had killed someone for him.

"I…he…"

"You know if you shoot him, there is no way to get a reduced sentence. It will either be life in prison or death. And even if he deserves it, you don't." Seto gently squeezed Yami's shoulder with his good hand. "Please, don't do this."

The wait seemed like forever as everyone in the room watched the crimson-eyed man carefully, Bakura and Seto were on either side of Yami and several cops held the other suspects while the rest waited to take down both Taro – who miraculously still hadn't moved – and Yami. But then, to Seto's great relief, Yami slowly lowered the gun, placing the safety back on before switching the weapon from one hand to the other, holding it by the muzzle as he handed it over to Bakura.

Nodding his head in gratitude and understanding, Bakura tucked the gun in his waistband, watching Yami intently as the few other cops took Taro under custody and ushered him out the door, reading him his rights as they made their way back to the waiting squad cars. At the moment, he didn't know whether to be elated or upset about the recent turn of events…or the outcome of the future ones.

Yami kept his head down, eyes fixed on the floor as Bakura walked up behind him, whispering apologies before he pulled the teen's hands back and gently placed handcuffs around his wrists, making sure that they weren't too tight so they wouldn't rub the delicate skin.

"Bakura, you think…"

The white-haired cop gave Seto a slight smile, "Sure, I'll just step over here but you need to be quick. You still need to go to the hospital."

Yami's head snapped up, finally taking the time to look over Seto's body and biting his lip at all the obvious injuries the other had that he had forgotten about until now. How the hell could he have let that slip his mind? Sapphire blue caught his eyes briefly before shame filled him and he let his head drop back down. "Sorry."

"Why?"

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been pulled into this mess…my mess. You're hurt because of me, you had to quit your job because of me. You had too…" He was silenced by a slim finger lightly on his lips.

"Yami, I'm not sorry for anything."

Wide, unblinking eyes looked back at Seto, disbelief shining in his eyes. "After all this? After... you know what will happen to me now, do you….still love me?"

The ex-cop smiled gently, his hand tracing the sharp features of the smaller man's face. "Even more so, Yami."

"Then, do you think, you could...possibly…grow to love Atemu as well?" He leaned forward, letting his head rest against Seto's broad chest, his fingers nervously working at the metal around his wrists. "I don't want to be him anymore."

Wrapping his one good arm around the slender body, pulling them as close as possible, he buried his face in dark locks. "Don't have to grow to love him, he was always there, whether you knew it or not."

The trial was long and drawn out and more than emotionally exhausting for Yami – who now only went by Atemu, much to the delight of his brother – as he sat in the holding cell awaiting the verdict of his trial. He bit his bottom lip, the ball of his foot bouncing slightly in nervousness causing the handcuffs and chains on his ankles he was wearing to jingle.

He had to admit though, he had never been so scared in his life. This could not even begin to compare to anything - even his first kill. This decided his future for once and not his brother's. And he was simply terrified.

But, he smiled as he thought back, he had also been amazed at the show of loyalty he had received all through the tedious process. Yugi had stood before a group of authority figures and complete strangers and told his side of the story, even begging with teary eyes to go easy on his older brother. Saying that Atemu had only done what he thought was best for him – Yugi – and he couldn't be faulted for that, that Yugi didn't hold it against him and no one else should either.

Bakura also had taken the stand, throwing his job on the line, fighting for him also, with so much devotion that Atemu was hard pressed not to cry in the middle of the courtroom. The white haired cop had talked about him like a father talked about his beloved son, and something stirred inside the criminal that had been long dead.

And his beloved Seto…he too took the stand, telling everyone of how much good he had seen in the wayward teen, how Atemu had risked his life to come to his aid, stating that a cold-blooded killer would not have done something so unselfish. Even going as far as to tell the jury how he had fallen for the boy against his lawyer's better judgment.

But God, did it feel good to hear that.

He sighed, willing his foot and leg to be still as he stared out past the bars of the cell, his eyes distant. The one highlight of the trail that went in his favor was the stash of tapes the cops had found later. Video after video – visual records – of every single torture done by Taro was there for everyone to see. Hard evidence of the things the deranged man did to get his 'employees' to do as he told them was hard to dispute. And they even had the tape to the 'punishment room' of the night he himself was beaten and scarred for the rest of his life. The treats were loud and clear also. And best of all, they had a tape of all the conversation that went on during Seto's beating and the brief moments before the cops swarmed in. His lawyers were extremely happy about that.

"Atemu."

He snapped out of his daze, his eyes focusing on the owner's voice only to smile when he realized Seto was standing on the other side of the cell's door.

"Seto," he whispered as he stood up, the ankle chains restricting his movements somewhat as he made his way over to the bars. "How did you get back here?"

Seto smirked, his cast-free hand reaching between the metal taking a hold of tanned hands, squeezing them gently. "I still have some pull around here." Blue eyes traveled slowly up and down the male before him. "Orange jumpsuits aren't very befitting of you."

Atemu smiled weakly, "Too bad it's what I'm going to have to get used to for a long time to come.

Pale fingers released his hands, reaching up to caress the smooth skin of Atemu's cheek, "You don't know that. They found some hard evidence…"

He shook his head, crimson eyes looking hard. "I did horrible things, things I could have walked away from in the beginning. But instead I stayed with it, making sure the money kept coming in." He laughed bitterly, "I'm never going to get out."

"Shh," he soothed, his hand going back down to grasp Atemu's. "We'll get through this. And no matter how long it takes, I'll be waiting for you when you're free again."

"And if I get a lifetime or death sentence?"

"I'll still be waiting."

"Seto…I…"

Seto shook his head, his eyes softening gently. "I love you too much, baby, to give up now." He brought their joined hands up to the bars and placed a kiss on the bound digits. "I need to go now, they told me I couldn't stay long."

Atemu nodded his head, letting the hand go as he stepped back and watched the taller man start to walk down the tiled floor.

"Hey Rookie," he called as he pressed himself against the bars, turning his head to get a good look at the other.

The ex-cop turned around, a dark eyebrow raised, "Yes?"

"I…."

Seto's lips quirked, "Love you too, Hellcat."

Atemu snorted as Seto walked away, but no one could mistake the smile that played on his lips.

Atemu stood as the judge entered the courtroom. His eyes were fixed on the man as he took his seat in his chair, calling the session back to order. He held his head proudly, even if his heart started beating faster as his sentence would soon be voiced and recorded for him and everyone else in the room to hear. He could feel the eyes of the three most important people in the world on him, waiting and watching, just as helpless as he was when it came to the outcome.

"Have you reached a decision?"

A woman in her mid forties stood up, paper in her hands and all eyes fixed on her, "We have, Your Honor."

"Proceed."

Atemu's breath caught in his throat, his eyes closed as the female voiced filled the room.

"We the jury, find the defendant….guilty."

Dragon: 2 more chapters to go