Summer Days by Ashford2ashford – Part Two

Disclaimers: Don't…own…. yu…gi…ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Rating(s): Aaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr… no. Seriously. R.

Paring(s): sighs I dunno. If any it's Yugi/Seto/Jou…but it's not much of a pairing, as it is a friendship…

Genre: shrugs drama/romance?

Other Notes: Well the first chapter got good press, so here's my attempt at a second!

…

…

"No one would listen
No one but her
Heard as the outcast hears.

Shamed into solitude
Shunned by the multitude
I learned to listen
In my dark, my heart heard music

I long to teach the world
Rise up and reach the world
No one would listen
I alone could hear the music

Then, at last, a voice in the gloom
Seemed to cry "I hear you"
I hear your fears
Your torment and your tears

She saw my loneliness
Shared in my emptiness
No one would listen
No one but her
Heard as the outcast hears

No one would listen
No one but her
Heard as the outcast hears..."

Phantom of the Opera – No One Would Listen (deleted song)

…

…

Chapter Two – Innocent Eyes

…

…

The tears had long dried on the beautiful face, the cheeks blushing red with the rawness of their previous tears, the eyes a mixture of red and lavender. Sore throat. Choking sobs had wracked it again and again, coughing, spluttering…and crying out. Once soft spiky hair was now drawn down over the reddened face, sticky with tears, wet and drying stiffly.
Lavender eyes stared down at the clenched fists that were gripping the fluffy carpet gently; knuckles white with the steel vice-like grip. The backs of the hands were raw with tears, no feeling in them anymore.

No feeling.

No feeling anywhere in the soft young body…

Didn't hear the soft knock at the door…couldn't hear it…refused to hear it. The door opened.

"Yugi-kun?"
It was Jounouchi.

He seemed to be so far away in Yugi's mind…yet he was now standing right there, closing the door lightly behind him, a shy and trembling smile on his face. Creeping forwards with the hesitance one might show a wild animal, he knelt before Yugi and offered a tissue with one hand; a pained smile on his face – one that told of him forcing himself to smile behind his pain.

"Here."

Yugi gripped the tissue in one cold wet hand and then blew into it gently, his eyes wide and puffy, his soft sniffles the only audible noise in the room.

The silence broke both their hearts…

"Jou-kun?"
"Yugi-kun?"
"Jou-kun…help…me…"

Jounouchi closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face, his smile frozen in place, his position much like that of a statue…cold and unmoving.

"Yugi-kun…Kaiba-san says…that you can only help yourself…"
"I'm not strong enough Jou-kun."
"Don't say that! Kaiba-san says – "
"I DON'T CARE WHAT KAIBA-SAN SAYS! I…I won't do this…I can't…I'm not strong enough without…him…"
"Atemu-sama…"

The name rang in the air like a dead toll of a bell, the final stroke of midnight…and the only thing that rang true in Yugi's ears at the time.

"Atemu-kun…"
Yugi huddled tighter on the floor and cried into his arms, his eyes squeezing shut with the pain inside. Jounouchi shivered and then sighed; drawing the smaller one into a tight embrace, trying hard to stay strong…it was for Yugi's sake.

"Yugi-kun…" Jounouchi bowed his head and grimaced at the sight, his heart wrenching more so, "Seto-sama is doing this for your own good…he…he thinks that by duelin', you'll learn t' be yourself again. An'…an' I only want the best for ya, Yugi…so please…Yugi-kun…please…be strong…"

A shiver passed through Yugi and two gentle hurt lavender eyes gazed up at the blonde teen.

"Jou-kun…I'm not as strong as I used to be."

Jounouchi broke eye contact and grit his teeth, "I know…but for all our sakes…please…"

And then Yugi was alone…

…

…

"How did it go?"

"Seto-sama…why are we doing this?"

"Why do you think, mutt? We have to do this. We can't tolerate his whining. The Yugi I know would never back down from a challenge."

"Atemu…"

"Pardon?"

"It wasn't Yugi who accepted the challenges. It was Atemu."

"…"

"Atemu was the one who nearly ended your life in Duelist Kingdom…and it was Atemu who fought against God, Man, and Beast to get to where he is now."

"He fought all that to become a rotting corpse?"

"What?"

"Hm. Think about it. He's dead and gone now by our standards. He lived out his rule, passed on the baton to someone else and then died happily. Sooner or later, someone's going to break into his tomb and drag his rotting mummy out for all to see."

"Seto! Y-y' should say such –"

"And why not? It's true isn't it? Someone will find the tombs of all the Priests too! And how long until those stone slabs are discovered? I can see it now…a new Egypt Exhibition in London…the nameless Pharaoh…oh wait…Pharaoh Atemu, the Dark Prince!"

"Seto!"

"If you like puppy, I could buy his mummy back for little Yugi to play with!"

"STOP IT SETO!"

There was a thick silence surrounding the pair, threatening to suffocate them, until Seto narrowed his cold blue eyes and stood; taller than Jounouchi, strong, and with a commanding air to him. His clothing made a soft swish noise as he silently stalked across the room like a cat, catching Jounouchi by the collar and bringing Jounouchi up so that they were face to face, nearly choking the blonde boy.

"Stop what? Telling you the truth? What my point is, puppy, is that Yugi had better learn not to dwell on rotting Egyptian corpses OR Pharaohs that wouldn't think twice about his good health, but rather what his body can offer! It's pathetic! You've seen the way he talks about Atemu! The only way he's going to get Atemu now, is by stealing his rotting corpse!"

Seto allowed Jounouchi to drop and then dusted off his hands and coat, sighing and shaking his head, bitterness in the tone of his voice, "I don't like hurting him more than you do. That little shrimp in there taught me respect, and kindness. The only thing that's going to help him now is hurting him. We have to make him learn to stand on his own two feet. To be perfectly honest, the Pharaoh practically had him wrapped up in cotton wool! He was treated like a child by that Egyptian scum!"

"Seto…"

"Well guess what, Jounouchi? I won't wrap him up in cotton wool! I won't tell him it'll be okay! Reality hurts. It hurts like hell! As a businessman, I've seen what it can do. It can give and take lives. It can remodel the future or destroy it completely. It's about time Yugi got out of his Egyptian fantasy and woke up!"

Jounouchi hung his head. Seto was right.

"And I…" Finished Kaiba, "…I intend to give him the duel of the century…"

…

…

To be continued in: Chapter Three – Yami no Game