Youth of the Nation
By: Neko-chan
A/N: LOL. I know that this has become part of the theme for the past couple of author's notes, but...*tacke glomps readers* *_* You guys are all great and and wonderful and I love you all!! *glomp glomp glomp*
Bakura: *gags on all the happy feelings*
Yami: *wants to do that same, but doesn't want to copy that stupid Tomb Robber*
And...and...and that isn't ALL!! *jumps up and down and turns chibi* Takeru Yoshizuki and Wanita want to BOTH do pictures for my story. *glomps both* [And, remember: If you guys need to contact me for _any_ reason at all, please feel free to email me at: LadyDarkSith@aol.com 'Kay?]
Yami: Are you done _yet_???
Ummm...nope. I still have a couple more things to say. Okay, about the whole either wait a couple more chapters for the dance scene or to wait a little bit because the next chapter would be long... It's basically unanimous. Everyone wants me to update regularly. So...no more dance scene for a couple more chapters!
Bakura: You don't seem that upset.
Well...like I told everyone, I was going to let them vote on it. And that's how the voting turned out. Now...*drums fingertips together and cackles evilly* The reader that manages to guess who I'm putting Jyou with gets to pick a fluffy scene for whatever couple they want (but it has to be one of the couples that I'm doing, onegai!!) and I'll write it---as long as it isn't a lemon. And, to give a hint, it's NOT Jyou/Seto. *cackles some more*
Disclaimer: Once again, let me ask you this: Does Bakura walk around shirtless and Yami in his skimpy Pharaoh's outfit? No. Does this mean that Neko-chan has managed to get her grubby little hands on Yu-Gi-Oh!? Only in her dreams.
WARNING: This story will contain SHOUNEN-AI and YAOI. If you don't like either, please don't read this story. I've put a warning on every single chapter, so you _should_ be warned by now. Thanks. ^_^
Chapter Seven
Yuugi sighed and turned over once again, staring around his dark room. Glancing at the digital clock out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that the face read 1:35 in neon blue. He flopped over again and glared up at the ceiling high above his head.
It wasn't just the fact that he couldn't get in a comfortable position. Events from that day continuously ran around in his head, becoming more and more jumbled the more he thought about them. It was too late to call Ryou. What would Bakura or Ryou's Otousaan say if they answered the phone instead? Bakura would curse and yell his head off. Ryou's Otousaan didn't really worry Yuugi that much because he was hardly ever home.
But still... Better not take that chance. So Yuugi scowled into the darkness, rolling up onto his side. He fluffed up his pillow, but that didn't seem to do anything at all. He pounded the pillow---didn't work, either. Finally Yuugi sighed and flopped back onto his back, glaring up at the ceiling once more.
And he was cold.
The heater didn't work that well because it was getting old AND it had to heat up the Game Shop and the house that was connected to it. It didn't help much that it was still autumn and the nights were getting colder. A LOT colder. Yuugi couldn't feel his toes; in fact, he hadn't been able to feel his toes for a couple of hours.
There was only one thing to do. He didn't _want_ to do it---okay, he did, but he was scared of what would happen if he actually gathered his courage and got up out of bed. But he was cold. And Yuugi _hated_ the cold. It was...cold.
Rolling out of bed and gathering the bedsheets around his small body, Yuugi silently padded down the hallway, headed for a bedroom that was at the very end. Pausing outside the doorway, Yuugi gathered his courage and then slowly pushed open the door.
"Yami?" Yuugi whispered softly into the darkness.
"Mmmm," was the Pharaoh's reply. Yuugi made his way deeper into the room and giggled when he saw that Yami was sleeping sprawled all over his bed, his head buried under the snow-white pillow.
"Yami?" Yuugi whispered again.
The pillow shifted and Yuugi saw a sleep-clouded crimson eye peek out from underneath the pillow. Yami blinked and pushed the pillow off of the bed. He sat up and yawned, blinking blearily at his hikari once again. It was then that Yuugi noticed that Yami slept only in a pair of black boxers. He looked down at blushed.
"What's wrong, aibou?" Yami asked softly, cocking his head slightly as he stared at his lighter self. Something seemed a little...off...about Yuugi, but Yami couldn't understand what it was he sensed.
"I'm cold, Yami. I can't get warm no matter _what_ I try. And...I can't get to sleep. I've been thinking about a lot of things and I have no one to talk to them about. I'm know that I'm waking you, but..." Yuugi trailed off, not knowing what to say.
Yami smiled softly and scooted over, patting the bed next to him. Smiling gratefully, Yuugi shed his many layers and hopped into bed next to his yami, burrowing under the covers once he was settled. Once Yuugi was comfortable, Yami lay down next to him, spooned against him. They fit perfectly.
"Aibou, what were you thinking about that kept up up all night?" Yami asked, resting his chin on Yuugi's head while his arm snaked around his light's waist. Yuugi sighed deeply and flipped over so he could burrow his face in his yami's neck.
Finally, he asked: "Yami, why do people have to die?"
Yami blinked. Yuugi had asked this question several times before; but this time, Yami sensed that Yuugi wanted Yami to further explain...something...to him. What that 'something' was, Yami didn't know. But he tried his hardest to put his thoughts and emotions into words.
"Yuugi, people die because it's part of life."
The smaller boy burrowed closer. "But life is living. Dying shouldn't be part of life. Life is full of trials and heartache and different path. But, at least with life, you have a chance to end up happy. With death...you just _die_ and that's IT. There IS nothing else. You're just...gone."
Yami shook his head. "No, aibou. You're wrong. Death isn't just _it_. All religions believe that you experience something else...some more...after you die. Some people believe that you go onto heaven. Others believe that you go on to be judged, like we did back in my time. Or some people believe that you become reincarnated. Death isn't just something final. It's another step on your journey. It's a different part of life. But it's still a part of life, hikari."
"But...Yami...why do _I_ always have to experience death?! First my parents and now grandpa... I miss them. I miss them all so very much. Everyone that I love eventually leaves me, even if I don't want them to. Yami...are you going to leave me?"
The Pharaoh's arms tightened on the younger youth. "No, Yuugi," he finally answered. "I will never leave you. I will _always_ be with you, no matter what. You are my aibou. We can never be separated. Even if everyone else eventually leave you, Yuugi, _I_ will always be here."
A tear fell from Yuugi's eye and he burrowed his face against Yami's bare chest. He didn't want Yami to know how much that had meant to him. That one last sentence... It wasn't an 'I love you,' but Yuugi would accept it just the same. It still meant that Yami cared for him.
Yuugi sighed deeply, hugged Yami tighter for an instant, then reached up and kissed the taller Pharaoh-youth on the cheek---an innocent kiss. "Thank you, Yami," he whispered and turned around, once again spooning himself against his yami's warm body.
Soon after that, Yuugi fell asleep, the burden on his mind finally relieved. He knew that he and Yami would have many more discussions dealing with death; but, even if it was a single moment, he was finally satisfied. Yami always made him feel better, no matter how depressed or sad he had been. This was what made Yami special.
The Pharaoh stayed awake a while longer, listening to Yuugi's deep and even breathing. A kiss---Yuugi had kissed him. It was an innocent kiss and Yuugi had meant it in a brotherly way. Didn't he? Everything was getting so complicated. But, then again, life was complicated. Whoever said that life was just a game was completely and totally wrong.
Yami suddenly laughed. He remembered---He had been the one to say such a thing. It had been many years ago and he had been an arrogant little Pharaoh. But five thousand years stuck in a Puzzle had taught him humility.
He shook his tri-colored head. "I was so stupid when I was alive. So utterly and completely brainless."
* * *
The warm rose light of pre-dawn slowly seeped in through the blinds of Yami's window. It made its way slowly across the floor until it struck the faces of the two young boys sleeping in the same bed. Yami was aleady awake, staring at the window with a curious expression on his face. He moved a hand andthe blinds pulled themselves up.
"Yuugi..." Yami whispered in the smaller boy's ear. "Yuugi, wake up. Aibou, come on, open your eyes." He gently touched the violet-eyed boy's shoulder. Yuugi shifted closer to Yami, then slowly opened his eyes, yawning as he did so.
"What's wrong, Yami? Is it time to wake up?"
"No, not yet, Yuugi. But...there is something that I was to show you. Look out the window, aibou. See it? It's not quite dawn. It's pre-dawn right now. Isn't it beautiful how the different colors light up the sky and makes it dance?"
"Yes, Yami. But---"
"Shhhh, aibou. Just watch. Dawn has always been my favorite time of the day. It always means a new day. A new beginning, a new start, a new understanding. Watch the dawn with me, hikari?"
Yuugi smiled and burrowed closer to Yami. "I will. I will, Yami."
A/N: Well...there goes chapter seven. Yes, I realize that this chapter is pretty short, but I mainly wanted to focus on this particular scene. Like it? Too sappy, too sad, too 'I wanna-bash-their-brains-in-'cause-they-STILL-don't-seem-to-realize-that-they-love-each-other'? Whichever choice you pick, I hope you DID like the chapter. The next one...a whole new day at school. Fun time. ^_^
Bakura: I REALLY don't like the sound of that.
Yami: Me, either.
You should be scared. You should be very scared. D
Translations:
sugoi: cool
wai: wonderful, wow (just stuff like that)
Thank-Yous!
Thank you to: Yo Xi Wang, loanshark, Rogue Agent, Wanita, Silver Dragon, difinity, Wolfchanger, Asian Angel 12, agentpudge, Ilay, Blue diamond, Chisa and Neko, Promise, Sage of Zelda 64, and lily22. You guys are all great! ^_~
