KT: Hello again, my beloved readers. It's me, here with another chapter from the beautiful island of Maui. It's pretty warm here (grin) but in a week I'll be headed back to chilly old US.
Taku: (is sipping on tropical punch)
KT: Anyway, big thanks to ladywolfTerri, Pharaoh Atemu's Angel, Yana5, Atemu Yugi Lover34, JitsaruJakara, pyromaniacgrl, xamosy, UsagiLovesDuochan, LilAznSp0nge, Mizu, Dudette person thingy girl, and Higuchimon for reviewing, and a double-sized thanks to JitsaruJakara, Atemu Yugi Lover34, and card captor purin for putting me on your favorite authors list. I'm so happy because my story is so much more popular than I thought it would be! It makes me so happy.
Juni: Can we get to the chapter, please?
KT: Oh, sorry. Sure.
4: Is It Me?
The sunlight shining into the clearing was getting dimmer when Yugi heard a step to his left. He looked up, seeing Yami's red eyes at the edge of the clearing once again. But now he had a face to put with them, even though he currently couldn't see it.
"Come here," Yami said. This time, instead of waiting for the tree to fall, Yugi got up and walked out of the clearing and to Yami.
"What happened?" Yugi asked. "Where did Seto Kaiba go?"
"He ran out of bullets," Yami said with a smirk. "And I broke his leg. He thinks he's going to come back."
"He stopped and talked to me before he went after you," Yugi said. "When you left me in the clearing. He said something about me being lucky it was so late in the day, but I didn't know what he meant."
Yami snorted. "The bastard is half-vampire," he said. "He can be out during the day, but not when the sun is high in the sky, during the afternoon." He narrowed his eyes. "He has an annoying habit of murdering anyone connected to me, in order to catch me off-guard. It was probably his intent to do the same to you."
Yugi shivered. Then he was most happy that Yami had left him in the clearing, so Seto couldn't get to him and kill him. "No wonder he seemed so evil," he said to himself. "He's half vampire." He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Yami staring at him. "Oh, um, sorry," he said quickly, lowering his head.
"I don't mind," Yami replied, "especially if it's true." That spurred an evil chuckle from him. Yugi found himself thinking that he had a nice laugh. He mentally smacked himself. Are you nuts? This dude is not someone to be admired for any trait!
"I have something for you," Yami said. Yugi looked up, suddenly nervous. "It's not poisonous, if that's what you were wondering," he went on. Something underneath his eyes glinted.
Yugi's eyes were drawn to the silver sparkle. "What is it?" he asked.
"A present." He could sense that Yami was close to his face, and then he felt something wrap around his wrist. There was a click at the base of his wrist, were Yami's fingers rested.
An identification item, Yugi thought immediately. Like I'm some pet. "What is it for?" he asked aloud.
"Something to remind you who you belong to," Yami replied. One of his hands left Yugi's wrist, and a moment later Yugi felt fingers touching his cheek. "And that would be me."
Yugi's mind was suddenly drawn back to when Yami had bitten him, and he shivered at the feeling of Yami touching him again. But he also felt a strange sensation because of it, as if he liked it that Yami had touched his face. But that's ridiculous, Yugi told himself. Why would I want him touching me? He didn't know what to think.
Before another moment could pass, Yugi suddenly felt a sharp pain flare up in his left leg. He winced and nearly fell over. But he couldn't stop himself from falling down on one knee. The pain started to spread up to his hip. "Oh my...gosh... what's wrong with me?"
Yami came down with him. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"My leg...something's up," Yugi said, gritting his teeth as the pain intensified.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Yami said, as if to himself. Yugi felt him pull up the hem of his pant leg, and then he heard an intake of air. "I thought so. That asshole was one step ahead of me." His red eyes turned back to Yugi. "I'm going to have to knock you out."
Yugi gasped. "Knock me out! Why?" he exclaimed.
"I'll tell you later," Yami said. Yugi felt him touch the back of his head, and, once again, he lost consciousness.
Yugi returned to reality slowly. His left leg, the one that had been hurting, was stiff and numb. His head was in someone's lap. There was a strange metallic scent in the air, and somewhere nearby, Yugi heard running water.
Must not be heaven, Yugi thought. He was about to try and get up, but then he heard Yami's voice. It was close enough for Yugi to realize that his head was in Yami's lap. For some reason, he felt himself starting to blush. Is it me, or am I acting like a total weirdo for some reason? But in the back of his mind, there was an annoying little something that told him he knew exactly why he was acting the way he was. But the rest of his mind told him that that was completely impossible.
"You wouldn't believe how lonely it's been here," Yami said. Then he laughed, but it was a laugh with no humor in it. "I assumed I needed no one. Perhaps I was...wrong."
Yugi stayed still, hoping to hear more, and at the same time wondering why he even cared.
"I don't know why I even kept you," Yami spoke again. "I should have killed you, like any other pathetic human. But for some reason, I didn't. I couldn't. And that's ridiculous. There is only one reason I can think of that would stop me from doing what's instinct, but it's impossible." There was a heavy sigh. "And even if I did love you, you would never love me back."
Yugi was shocked out of his skin. It was impossible! Was Yami actually attracted to him by some degree? The thought was almost laughable. He was an evil vampire, and Yugi was a defenseless human. It was the worst possible couple in the entire universe.
But could it be possible? Could it be true that the feelings he was trying to suppress were feelings for Yami?
How could I possibly care in any way about him? Yugi thought. I mean, he took me away from the only life I've ever known and declared me his slave. He hasn't been all that nice to me. Why would I like him at all?
He considered. If he was completely honest with himself, if he refused to try and hide any thoughts, no matter how ridiculous they seemed, he had to admit...maybe he was attracted to Yami to some extent. Yugi heaved a sigh and slowly sat up, pretending he had just become conscious again.
"I see you're awake," Yami said.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Yugi said, still wondering about what he had heard and what he had confessed to himself. "Why did you have to knock me out?"
"If I had left you conscious, you would have done a lot of screaming from pain," Yami replied.
Yugi blinked. "Oh." He considered for a moment. "What did Seto Kaiba hit me with?"
"It was a bullet filled with shadow poison," Yami answered. "It grazed your leg, so you didn't get a lethal dose, but it was bad enough. I had to purge your system with my own shadows."
"Um, I don't get it," Yugi said. "What shadows are you talking about?"
"Both Kaiba and I have command and control over a good percentage of the shadows around us," Yami explained. "It's one of the ways I keep my forest so dark in order to protect myself. At times the shadows can even be used as weapons, as I explained earlier. It's one of the perks of being a vampire." Yami smirked, and then he stood up.
"Oh," Yugi said. That sounds kinda weird. He suddenly noticed that Yami was leaving. "Hey, where are you going?"
"I have some...business to attend to," Yami offered as he continued to walk away. Yugi realized that he could actually see Yami's silhouette and the silhouettes of close trees now, instead of just nothing but darkness in front of his face.
"Business?" Yugi repeated, watching him go. "But what do I do then?"
Yami didn't reply. He seemed to be too far away. Yugi watched him until his silhouette was no longer distinguishable from the surrounding darkness.
Yugi sighed and sat back down. "Well, now what?" he asked himself, pulling his legs into a crosslegged position and resting his arms on his knees. "Just sit here and wait for him?"
Silence. Yugi didn't expect an answer anyway. He rested his chin in his hands and glanced around disinterestedly. His mind wasn't really on the minimal amount of items he could see, anyway. Rather, it was on what he had heard Yami say.
Is it really possible that Yami's interested in me? Yugi wondered. And is it possible I feel the same way about him? It just seems so...so...impossible! I mean, me! Interested in him! It just can't be. It's-it's not going to happen.
Yugi sat silently for a while, eyes unfocused. It was strange how there weren't any animal noises in the forest. Maybe they were all afraid of Yami, or maybe he was using his magical shadows powers-however they worked-to keep them out. Yugi heard a rumbling noise suddenly and patted his empty stomach as if to make up for the lack of food. "I know, tummy. I'm hungry too," he said with a sigh.
KT: And the romance begins.
Taku: I hate romance.
Juni: Of course you do. You're a stupid male.
Taku: Did you just say stupid...? (pissed)
KT: Guys, cut it out.
ladywolfTerri: I am so glad an update excites you so! Poor Yugi's so confused about how he feels about Yami. What will our adorable hero do? It's up to me...ahem, but I won't abuse that power or anything.
Pharaoh Atemu's Angel: I'm glad you like it so much. Perfect...what a killer compliment. I plan to enjoy my final week in Hawaii (does three seconds hula dance)
Yana5: No, I don't think so, I really don't like any Yaoi pairs except Yami/Yugi. Besides, looking over the content of a later chapter, I don't think that could work. I'm sorry if that disappoints you.
Atemu Yugi Lover34: Seto trying to kill Yami...yes, quite lovely indeed. Especially when my sick mind conjures up the fight scenes (grin) Thank you VERY much for adding me to your favorites list, too.
JitsaruJakara: Hahaha, indeed. (grin)
pyromaniacgrl: You were right about Seto. Good intuition. Nope, never read Helsing. If this Alucard person is anything like Seto in this story, then I wouldn't want to meet the guy at any time of day.
xamosy: Haha, fast. This is the longest it's taken for me to update. (grin) Seto and his mysterious ways. I have enjoyed myself thoroughly, which is why this chapter contains no blood. (sweatdrop)
UsagiLovesDuochan: Wow, what a long review. (happy grin) But I don't mind! It looks like the Yami/Yugi starts in this chapter. Yeah, poor Joey and Tea. Joey must feel like an ass now. We'll see what the later chapters hold in store for them...
Yes, I will continue with this story. I have no plans to drop off the face of the earth anytime soon. I hate it when authors suddenly disappear, too. Fortunately, none of my really favorite stories have that problem, at least as of yet. So, yeah, don't worry. If there ever are good reasons for me to have a long pause between chapters, I usually give my lovely reviewers a heads up.
Oh, yes, why thank you for asking. I actually hopped online yesterday and joined. Yes, I joined. The address didn't show up in the review, so I looked in your URL. I spent half the night looking at the pictures, though (grin)
Hope you enjoy the chapter.
LilAznSp0nge: You're welcome (grin) Yep, Yugi and torture are very fun to watch. Even more fun to read. Poor thing, suffering for our enjoyment... (bigger grin)
Mizu: Missed ya last chapter. Glad to see you enjoyed the chapter.
Dudette person thingy girl: Catchy name. I'm glad you like my story. Don't rush me now, or you'll get a misspelled one-liner for a chapter. (grin)
Higuchimon: Is your penname a Digimon? Just curious.
I'm glad you think you like it. It's true, a lot of people seem to like bashing Tea/Anzu. I don't really see why, though. It's not like she's a bad character or anything. I personally have nothing against her.
I'm sorry about Joey's accent. I would have done it very lightly or not at all, but I watched an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh with closed captioning a couple of days before posting the prologue, and, well, the rest is history. I can fix it, though. No worries.
