Youth of the Nation

By: Neko-chan



A/N: *blink blink* Whoa...lookit all the pretty readers... o.o;;

Yami: I think she's in shock.

Bakura: Probably.

Yami: Does that mean we get to cause mischief and mayhem?

Bakura: And madness! You can't forget the madness!

Yami: *nods* Of course. How could I have forgotten the madness? *shakes head sadly*

*blink blink* Whoa...lookit all the pretty readers! ...o.o;;

Bakura: You know, Pharaoh, you aren't as bad as I thought you were.

Yami: O.O;; *is now in shock, also*

Bakura: *cackles* They're all a bunch of bakas...D



Disclaimer: STOP MAKING ME SAY THIS!!! I DON'T OWN YU-GI-OH!!! ;_;

Lavender-Monkey-Sama-Who-Writes-Neko-chan's-Stories: AND I OWN THE PLOT!!! *cackles evilly*

...;_; No one loves Neko-chan...she's left all alone, huddled in a corner while a cold, cold wind whips by her in this harsh, cruel world. *wails*

Bakura: Urusei, baka.

*glares* I'll be remembering this in upcoming chapters, BAKU-chan.

Bakura: *chokes*



WARNING: This story WILL contain yaoi. It won't be right now (after all, Yami does love Yuugi, but he won't ever admit to it 'cause he's a huge chicken [Yami: HEY!!!] and so on and so forth...). But there WILL be yaoi and shounen-ai in later chapters. It probably won't be for a while, though, 'cause 1) I'm extremely lazy; and 2) I want this to seem as real and as plausible as possible. And yes, an OOC Yami doesn't help much. -.-;; But there IS a reason for it! *nods* Yes, yes there is! [LOL! Gomen nasai, but to those of you who don't know, OOC means 'out of character.' Even _I_ didn't know that when I first started writing. ^_^] Right now, the main pairing is going to be Yami/Yuugi. All standard characters WILL be appearing (and A PAIRING!!! *snorts happily at her own little pun* [Bakura: You're such an imbecile...]) in later chapters. Ja ne!

Also, (sorry for having such a long author's note!!!) Yami is Yami Yuugi. Yuugi is just...well, Yuugi. Bakura is actually Yami Bakura. Ryou is his aibou. I'll probably be using the Japanese names--unless I don't know their Japanese names. *growls about stupid Weevil and how she's gonna make him pay for making her Yuugi-chan sad* . Oh...and I love Seto Kaiba to bits. I just wanted to bring that to attention, especially since I bashed him all throughout the second chapter. You'll notice that, with me, I'll be bashing all my favorite characters the most. ^_^;; Gomen nasai...*cackles evilly* D ^________^

Yami, Bakura, Yuugi, Ryou, Kaiba: IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!! *sob*

*ignores Bishounen* I'll also be doing a Japanese translation thingie at the end of each chapter. I'm sorry for not doing it before! ;_; I'm just so laaaaaaaa~aaaaaaaaazy...





Chapter Three

Yami snorted and raised the 'Dignified Eyebrow' once again. "I know you wouldn't do such a thing, aibou. You ARE my hikari for a reason. _I_ would probably do such a thing; Bakura would most definitely do such a thing. Kaiba might do such a thing. You?" He snorted again. "I just cannot, for the life of me, see you doing such a thing, Yuugi."

Yuugi's smile just broadened. For the very first time since he had first met Yuugi, Yami began to become scared of his hikari. "...Yuugi?"

Yuugi giggled and plopped another piece of broccoli into his mouth. He chewed for a bit and looked thoughtful. Finally, he swallowed. "Don't worry, Yami-chan. I wouldn't do something like that. Well, maybe I would, but not because you threw a piece of that nasty Kung Pao Chicken at me. I'll just bide my time..." He giggled again and his smile broadened even more.

Yami blinked. 'Did he just call me Yami-chan? He's never called me that before...' Aloud, he asked: "Yuugi...have you been hanging around Bakura lately?"

The smaller man looked at Yami innocently and picked up a glass of milk, sipping it slowly. But, behind the glass, Yami could tell that Yuugi was smiling a secret, 'cat-got-the-canary' smile. "Well...yes," Yuugi finally answered. "Ryou and I have been going shopping a lot lately; remember, I was telling you about what I've been getting. Anyway, some of the bullies from school have found out that we've been going shopping. In one of the stores, they backed us into a corner and were threatening to hurt us. Bakura heard this and he came out of the Ring." Yuugi seemed to giggle a bit. "He hasn't left Ryou's side since."

'What does he know that I don't?' Yami asked himself while examining Yuugi closely. 'It isn't a bad secret--he would have told me about that; I know that for sure. He usually only gets this way around... Oh, dear Ra. He only gets this way around matchmaking.' Finally figuring it out, Yami unconsciously swallowed a whole piece of chicken and started to choke.

"Yami!! Are you alright?!" Yuugi exclaimed and jumped up out of his seat and made his way closer to his yami.

"I'm...alright...hikari..." Yami managed to wheeze out between fits of coughing. He coughed a bit more, then finally asked: "Why did you call Bakura and not me? You know that I would do anything to protect you, Yuugi."

Yuugi smiled at his aibou. "I know that, Yami. You're always there for me. No matter what happens--you're there. But...this time it was different. These bullies meant...more. If you had come, I'm scared of what you might have done. Bakura is harsh and cruel, Yami; but, sometimes, I think that you're worse."

"What do you mean by that, hikari?"

To answer him, Yuugi rolled up his sleeve and showed Yami a scar that he had gotten about a year ago. Once he saw the scar, Yami's eyes darkened to black and his expression turned more sinister. "I remember that," he answered. Even his voice had changed--it was rougher, harsher. "Those boys aren't ever going to hurt you ever again."

"I don't think they're going to be hurting _anyone_, Yami. Susaki just got out of the hospital last week. The doctors don't know why, but he continuously relapsed."

"So?"

Yuugi sighed. "Please don't play these games with me, Yami. You and I both know that it was Susaki who gave me the scar."

Yami shrugged. "So?" he asked again. "Aibou, you and I both know that I'm here to protect you. It is my duty and one that I accept willingly and that I _enjoy_. I will not let anyone hurt you, Yuugi. Not now. Not ever."

'There are some things that can't help but get hurt. There are some things even _you_ can't protect, Yami. Like my heart. After all, the one that I care for the most hurts it every single day. You can't protect me from yourself,' Yuugi thought while he smiled wistfully. "Anyway, that's the reason why I let Ryou call Bakura. Bakura would make the bullies regret ever picking on us, but he wouldn't practically kill them...I think."

Yami sighed and his eyes bled back to their normal crimson color. Looking at Yuugi, he raised the 'Dignified Eyebrow' once again. "Are you sure that that's the ONLY reason why you allowed Ryou to call Bakura, aibou? Isn't there something else you aren't telling me?"

Yuugi choked on his milk and had the grace to blush. "Ummm...no?"

"Aibou..." Yami began warningly.

The smaller man sighed. "Alright, alright. Apparently you've already guessed that I've been trying to set them up. I know that Ryou loves Bakura--I don't really understand why, but he does--and I have the feeling that Bakura feels the same way."

It was Yami's turn to choke on his drink. "What makes you say something like that, Yuugi? I mean...it's Bakura."

Yuugi leaned back in his chair and brought the two front legs off of the floor. "Well...I think that Bakura isn't a very emotional person. Having you tell me about his past confirms this. He's experienced violence and hate all of his life--both physical and spiritual. I think the reason why he hurts Ryou so much is because Ryou is the very first person to show him kindness and love. Bakura doesn't necessarily think that Ryou is weak; he calls Ryou a weakling because he doesn't know what else to say. He hurts Ryou because he doesn't know what to DO. He's inexperienced in all of this. And so he lashes out at the person he cares for the most. Ryou."

"Are you sure that Bakura isn't just being his normal, abusive self, aibou?"

"Nope," Yuugi answered. "I just have a...feeling about all of this, Yami. And besides, who's taking the AP Psychology classes over at the University?"

Yami just rolled his eyes at his aibou and ate some more Kung Pao Chicken. 'Ever since he's started taking those damn classes, he's been analyzing anyone he knows. I DO love him dearly, but sometimes I just want to duct tape his mouth shut.' "And speaking of classes, aibou, shouldn't you be getting ready for school tomorrow? You've been telling--well, COMPLAINING--all weekend that you have a test in practically ever class."

Yuugi sighed and stuck out his tongue, succumbing to a childish impulse. "You just HAD to remind me of that, didn't you, Yami? I'd like to see YOU take about seven tests in a row and then also deal with all the long-term projects and homework that the teachers give out." Grabbing a fluffy white towel, Yuugi made his way upstairs to go and take a shower.

'Aibou DOES have a point...but one he never meant to make. He's been getting hurt at school lately. Yuugi doesn't want to tell me, but Ryou, Honda, and Jyou do. And Bakura does in his own strange way.' Thinking this, Bakura's voice rang in his mind, a snippet of a memory: "You stupid Pharaoh! Your aibou is continuously getting beaten up at school and you do NOTHING?! What kind of yami are you, anyway?! A true yami would have dealt with the enemies by now. You are a fool." 'He does have a point. Yuugi will never tell me about getting hurt. Not since...last time. The only way to protect him is to be there with him. But how...?'

An idea slowly formed in his mind.

'Ah, yes. Perfect. Yuugi won't be able to do anything until it's too late. And, besides, no one ever comes by the Game Shop during the day. It won't matter if I'm gone. Lately I've also wanted something to challenge my mind--and this is a perfect way to do so.'





A/N: Yay! It's done! And, yes...it's shorter than the last chapter. But the NEXT chapter is going to be REALLY good, I promise! *nod nod nod* Anyway, I'm really glad that everyone is enjoying this so far! I'm having a TON of fun writing it! *huggles story, characters, and readers* *_* I love you all!

Bakura: *gags* -.-;;

Yami:...*sighs and deals with the 'huggles,' hoping Neko-chan will finish soon* x.x;;

Oh! And before I forget, I'm reeeeeeeally sorry, Blue Diamond! I'm really and truly not mocking the English culture! In fact, I love English people! (*thought bubble* Orlando Bloom and Sean Biggerstaff...*_*...) I was only making fun of the fact that in the dub, Ryou has an English accent...and he isn't English! That's all I was doing. *gives Blue Diamond Pixy Stixs to make up for her accidently English people slight* Forgive me? ;_;

Anyway, see you all in the next chapter! *glomps*



Translation:

hikari: light

yami: dark

wai: cool (I'm not so sure about this one, but I'm _almost_ positive it means 'cool.')

hai: yes

arigatou: 'Thank you.'

kawaii: cute, adorable, squealable-over (You get the picture... ^_^;;...)

-chan: kinda like an endearment. (LOL!! Baku-chan...^_^ [Bakura: . STOP THAT!!])

glomp: it's like a hug...but more! you actually jump ON the person! (Think fangirl...)

baka: fool, idiot, etc. etc. etc.

gomen nasai: 'I'm very sorry.'

urusei: 'Shut up!'

nani: 'What?'

iie: no





And if you want more OOC--but not for long...;_;...--Yami, review! C'mon, I know you all love how Yami is being all flirty and adorable.

Yami: ^_~

...KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *_*