Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
"This is talking"
'These are thoughts'
Yugi pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, praying that the images in his mind would disappear. But they wouldn't. The image of Joey lying motionless in the middle of a destroyed kitchen, surrounded in a pool of his own blood, kept the tears in Yugi's eyes reforming long after they began to burn with pain.
He removed his hands from his eyes and insteed lay them on his chest, over his heart, pressing hard to try and rid himself of some of the aching pain there. His heart hurt, and not for the first time he understood what someone meant when they said the loss of a loved one would break your heart. He felt it when he lost his grandfather, and now again when Joey was taken from him.
He had felt this way when Yami betrayed them.
Demon or not, Yami had been with Yugi through some of the most difficult points in his life, from the bullying he went through at school to the battles he faced to save the word, Yami was always there for him.
"I believe in you Yugi."
That's what he'd said when Yugi had begun to doubt himself. As Yugi held the puzzle, speaking to the spirit openly of his fear of losing his other half, the spirit had placed his translucent hands over Yugi's and said those words. Yugi had felt so much stronger after that; he felt more confident and determined to fulfill his duty of protecting the world. But now the enemy was the very person he had trusted and confided in all these years. The one who made him feel strong, who gave him the courage he needed; he was now the complete opposite to how Yugi had seen him.
But how had he been so convincing? Whether he was a good actor or not, when Yugi looked in Yami's eyes he had seen how much the spirit cared about him. He had spoken like a father would a son, and as much as Yugi hated Yami right now, he couldn't destroy that small spark inside him that still admired the spirit. Even through all this, a small part of Yugi still looked up to his 'darker half' with undying respect.
And that little part of Yugi made him hate himself.
How could he still feel that way after everything Yami had done to him and his friends? His world was being destroyed by this race of creatures, humans hunted and some even devoured by the more viscious demons, and yet he still looked to the leader as if he expected him to help. Well, he wouldn't. Yugi would just have so accept that fact and forget everything yami had ever done for him.
"Yami's not coming back Yugi..." he told himself, folding his arms across his chest and gripping his shaking shoulders in a protective posture, fresh tears streaming his face. "He's gone... Yami's gone..."
But he was scared, alone and afraid. He still needed his yami.
"S-Seto? Seto, please wake up..." Mokuba sobbed, gripping his brother's shoulders as shaking him lightly. He had run, as he brother had ordered, but couldn't leave his older brother out of fear and worry. He had returned a few minutes after Demica had left, and had since been trying to wake Seto up, but the elder Kaiba hadn't stirred. Gripping his shoulders tighter, eyes filling with tears, Mokuba yelled in desperation, "Seto wake up!"
Still Seto refused to wake up. Mokuba blinked free few tears and swallowed hard, coughing heavily as he shuffled to his limp brother's side. He gently lifted Seto's limp arm and sat right beside him, wrapping his brother's arm around his shoulders as he curled into him. He let go of Seto's wrist and wrapped his arms around taller boy's stomach, burying his tear-stained face in his brother's side. "Please wake up... I won't leave you..."
A mere few feet away, Yami stood watching the two Kaiba's from the shadows, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed in anger. He could not shake the filling of guilt inside him, and it wasn't something he should be struggling with. Instead of worrying for the humans' satefy he should be trying to think of the most painfully slow way to finish them both off, possibly wake Kaiba to witness the death of his younger brother. But he wasn't planning such things, and the thoughts actually sickened him.
He placed his hand on his head again and sighed. "What am I going to do?" he wondered as he turned and began to leave. "This compassionate side of me is not leaving... First I was worried about Yugi and now the Kaibas... Not to mention the fact I'm out here searching for Joey, even though he's dead! What is wrong with me?"
The demon decided he wouldn't help the brothers, but he wasn't going to hurt them either, so he turned and let them be. Again, that feeling. That little sting of guilt as he turned his back to the injured humans. "Stop it!" one voice inside his head scolded, while at the same time another voice urged him, "Go back! They need help!"
Shaking his head to rid himself of the voices, he quickened his pace down the destroyed street, following the very faint trail of blood, which would have been almost invisable to human eyes. The trail consisted of a small amount of Yugi's blood that had dripped from his ankle, leaving a trail back to the house the Kaibas had found him in. It was the same way Demica must have found Yugi in the first place.
The air in the house yami entered caused him to swallow hard. The smeel off blood would have been noticable to a human, but to a demon it was almost overpowering. Unfortunately for Yami, he didn't feel the same rush of excitment and satisfaction as he had all those years ago in Egypt as the scent. Taking a deep breath he continued on, through the hall and towards the room where the scent was coming from.
Nothing but a pool of blood awaited him in the kitchen where Joey had been attacked.
Confused, Yami walked towards the pool of blood and knelt on one knee beside it, raising his hand and placing it in the centre of the liquid. It was still warm; whoever or whatever had moved Joey's body hadn't been gone long, and by the blood's temperature, Joey had somehow still been alive when he was moved.
But hadn't Yugi said he was dead?
Maybe this blood wasn't Joey's, maybe it was someone elses. If it was, he didn't see the need to go running around looking for a complete stranger. Then again, he didn't know why he was looking for Joey either. Still, he needed to know if this was the blood of Yugi's friend. Slowly, hesitantly, he raised his hand away from the puddle and lifted it in front of his face, examining it.
A demon has an unusual ability to identify victum by examining their blood, but it's in a very unusal manor, in which they can see some of the victums memories. Talking a deep breath, Yami placed his hand inside his mouth, tasting the blood off his fingers. A number of images flashed through his mind, including a few of himself dueling at Battle City. Then the last image; Joey's attack from a demon, then black.
"This is definately Joey's blood..." Yami thought to himself, taking his fingers out of his mouth and pushing himself to his feet. He narrowed his eyes at the blood and his wings stretched subconciously. "But with that injury he shouldn't have been able to move... what happened to him?"
"Joey?"
"I still don't see why you didn't just leave him there."
"Because like it or not he's my friend. Besides, we're all on the same side now."
"Hmph..."
Joey didn't want to pull out of the darkness. This deep unconciousness was comforting, separate from the world he belonged too, and away from the pain. Unfortunately, the voices and his curiousity were tempting him out of this place, and the pain in his chest was begining to come back. He didn't want to wake up, and in many ways he couldn't. His eyes wouldn't open and his mind wouldn't (or couldn't) register the voices he knew were familier. But with the few images in his head of his younger friend, injured and burning from a fever, he had to know if Yugi was ok.
"Hey, your friend doesn't look too good."
"Joey?"
Joey clenched his teeth hard together, trying to surpress the pain in his chest and his growing headache. "Yu...gi..." he managed to force out, though his voice was very strained.
"Don't pressure yourself Joey-"
"Where's... Yugi..." he forced out again. He didn't get a reply, but he could hear some sort of conversation going on, and he assumed the two people around him were whispering something to each other. A hand was placed on his forehead and a warm feeling spread over him, as well as a black cloud that seemed to almost suffocate his mind, blocking out all sound and feelings until his mind retreated into unconciousness.
"Sorry Joey... but I can't have you getting worked up in this condition..."
Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Yugi placed his hand on his burning forehead and groaned, pulling himself to his feet but keeping off his injured ankle. His vision darkened when he did stand and he swayed slightly, leaning against the windows of what used to be Seto's office. "What is wrong with me? he wondered, closing his eyes as he felt his warm skin under his hand, "Is it from using the Millennium Puzzle?"
He didn't have much time to ponder on the subject, as his fever suddenly overpowered him and his vision darkened. Dizzy, he stumbled painfully back to the couch he had been lying on earlier, collapsing on it and pressing his hand to his head.
"This is no work of the Millennium Puzzle, and it's not a normal fever... What's going on with me? Am I dying?" he thought fearfully, subconciously hugging the Millennium Puzzle to his chest and ignoring the pain he felt from the corners pressing into him.
The image of the office swam before his eyes, so he shut them tight, only realising it was tears that obscured his vision when he felt the warm liquid run down his face. He lay on his side and took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm so scared..." he hugged the puzzle tighter, curling his aching and burning body into a ball as his only form of defence. "Yami..."
Hmm, longer then I thought XD Welp, theres one chappy done! Wonder if anyone read it -ponders-. Welp, I guess I won't bother ranting, please review!
Bay Bay!
Bayleef