Youth of the Nation
By: Neko-chan
A/N: Heh heh heh heh...
Bakura: O_O;; I don't like the sound of that...
Yami: For once, Tomb Robber, I agree with you.
Yatta! For this chapter, we have two guest stars! Sarah and Digimagic! *evil grin* So be nice yamis and say hello---behave (for once) in your quasi-state-of-life---OR ELSE. D
Yami and Bakura: ... -.-;; ...
Sarah: Hello! It's nice to be here! ^_^
Digimagic: -.-;; You're way too perky.
Heh. That's because I gave Sarah some of my Pixy Stix. We're both on a sugar high. ^_^;;
Yami, Bakura, and Digimagic: O______________O;;
Sarah and Neko-chan: ^___________________^ *flying tackle glomp* Wheee~!!!
Sarah: Now on with chapter fourteen! ^_______^
Which also happens to be dedicated to Jack V. Briefs. Hope you like it, minna-san! ^_~ I had a LOT of fun writing in. *evil smirk* Which means: Good for you; bad for yamis everywhere.
DISCLAIMER: Blaaaaaackie!!!
Black Magician: Don't ever call me that ever again.
...nanda?
BM: Because I WILL 'Black Magic' you and not feel a twinge of sorrow or regret. *nods* That's why. Anyway, Neko-chan doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. If she did, she would be this mega-rich manga typhoon living in Japan with an unbelievably huge collection of manga, doujinshi, and anime. Knowing her, she'd also be married to Gackt.
... ^_____^
BM: But that isn't ever gonna happen.
... -.-;;
BM: SO---The moral or theme or lesson---whatever you want to call it---of this story is this. Neko-chan doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh !; she never has owned Yu-Gi-Oh!; and she never WILL own Yu-Gi-Oh!. ...or get married to Gackt. D
... _
Chapter Fourteen
Yuugi smiled happily---still asleep and dreaming---and burrowed deeper under his blankets, hugging his pillow possessively. Still dreaming, he tilted his face up and puckered his lips up for a kiss, his cheeks faintly glowing red with a blush. But that kiss---whether it was real or dreamed---never came because Yuugi was jolted awake.
"CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES! THIS IS MY LAST RESORT! SUFFOCATION! NO BREATHING! DON'T GIVE A---"
Shrieking in surprise, Yuugi's eyes shot open and he fell out of bed, landing on the hardwood flooring with a brain-jarring 'thud.' Just then, Yami ran into the room, clad only in a pair of black silk boxers, his hair in disarray, and a wild look in his eyes. But before either of them could say anything, the heavy metal music was shut off...and the banshee made herself (or, in this case, HIMSELF) known.
"BAKURA! How could you? YOU KNEW THAT YAMI AND YUUGI WERE STILL SLEEPING! WE ARE _GUESTS_ IN THIS HOUSE AND SHOULD ACT LIKE THEM, BAKURA!"
An annoyed rumble was Ryou's answer. Yami and Yuugi blinked at each other and then stared at Yuugi's open doorway. To go out or not to go out---that WAS the question. The question, indeed.
Right just then, crashings and thuds were heard and Ryou screamed---whether it was in terror, fury, or frustration, Yuugi and Yami didn't know because as that was happening, a huge explosion spread through the house, rocking it on its foundation. Once again, Yuugi and Yami blinked, each still not saying a word, as dry wall and plaster powdered down to rain in their hair. Yet another blink.
"Oh. My. Ra---I mean, Kami. WHAT DID YOU _DO_, BAKURA?! ... STOVE? What do you _mean_, stove?! ... And the MICROWAVE?! I swear, if you tell me that you broke the washing machine as well, I'll throttle you right here and now." With each sentence, Ryou's shrieks got louder and louder---and higher pitched, as well. There was a moment of silence, then a soft mumble of an answer. "YOU DID WHAT?!"
Yuugi stared at his doorway for a moment longer, then did what he thought was the smartest decision of his life: He picked up his blanket and plopped back into bed, pulling the covers over his head. He paused for a moment, finally remembering that Yami was still there. He peeked his head out and asked, "Wanna hop in, too?"
Another explosion from below. Yami winced and made up his mind: If he was going to die at the hands of Yami Bakura and his hikari, then at least he would die a very, very happy spirit. He hopped in and pulled the covers over his own head.
And so the two remained, hiding from the world and hoping---praying, was more like it---that their house would still be there when they finally decided to brave the world once again. But why did the yami and hikari pair have a niggling feeling that the house WOULDN'T be there in the end? At this thought, Yami and Yuugi whimpered.
"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKUUUUUUUUUURAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
~ * ~
Several hours later, Yuugi and Yami finally decided to brave the elements and slowly made their way downstairs. Of course, they were dressed for war. Yuugi was wearing a bicycle helmet and kitchen pot on his head for protection (Yami had insisted), both were wearing army fatigues, both had kitchen pot lids as 'shields,' and Yami was brandishing a toilet plunger as if it was the world's sharpest and most dangerous weapon. But... _Yuugi's_ weapon really WAS the most dangerous of them all, though. The chibi puppy sparkly eyes.
'Bring. It. On,' Yami thought, baring his teeth ferally and tightening his grip on the wooden handle. This wasn't just a fight. This really was WAR. No mercy and no prisoners.
Yuugi rolled his eyes, catching the last bit of Yami's thoughts. 'Oh, Kami...' Sighing, he asked: "Yami, don't you think that you've gone at least a _little_ bit overboard? Think about it. Just for a moment. Onegai?"
Yami snarled in response. "Stay behind me, aibou. You don't know where the enemy is lurking around here. They could be anywhere. They could be anything. They are the ultimate disguise master... You saw yourself how easily mislead and deceived you were..."
'And he seems to keep on forgetting that he, too, was mislead by Yami Bakura,' Yuugi thought, rolling his eyes and sighing once again. Besides all that, he _wanted_ to take the kitchen pot off of his head. But Yami wouldn't let him until the enemy was found, eliminated, and the perimeter searched.
"No more James Bond movies for you," Yuugi grumbled as he followed along behind his yami. This was bad. REALLY bad. Worse than a B-rated action/adventure film. This was a D- action film...if it was even that lucky. More like F, though.
Another explosion shook the house. Finally giving up on his yami ('Maybe he and Yami Malik spent too much time together... After all, Yami HAS been acting stranger lately. Oi...'), Yuugi sat down on the couch to wait this all out. Ryou joined him soon after.
"Do you have any clue what he's doing?"
"Iie. I don't. I have a question for you, though---Just what were you and Bakura doing in the kitchen? It sounded like you were blowing stuff up." Hearing this, Ryou winced and nibbled on his lower lip, deep in thought.
"Yuugi... A lot of the stuff here is under insurance, ne?" A nod was his answer. "Well, good, because Bakura had decided that he wanted to make breakfast for all of us. Or, at least for me. Gomen nasai."
"Iie. Continue, onegai, Ryou."
"Ano... Well, you don't have a stove or a microwave anymore, Yuugi. Demo... I think that the washing machine is salvageable. At least, I hope so. I pray so." The white-haired boy winced yet again and licked the pancake dough off of his upper lip. 'Oooh! Cinnamon!' he thought to himself, smiling happily.
Just right then, a battle cry pierced the air and the two hikaris looked up to see that Yami and Bakura were 'going at it.' Yami was waving around the toilet bowl plunger while Bakura had managed to get his hands on a mop. Both were wearing kitchen pots as helmets and had kitchen pot lids as shields.
Yuugi and Ryou blinked, looked at each other, and blinked again. "Ne, Yuugi, seen any good movies or shows lately?"
The tri-colored haired boy smiled broadly. "Hai, I have. In fact, it should be on right now. Have you ever heard of this one show, Ryou? It's on right now." That said, he reached forward and grabbed the television remote control, turning it on and flipping rapidly through various channels. "Saaa... It's this one. It's called Yu-Gi-Oh!. Wanna watch?"
"Hai."
And so the two boys began to watch TV, ignoring the screams of fury in the background. Each thud was ignored and each crash was overlooked--they were used to it by now. And they had a feeling that these 'temper tantrums' (as Yami liked to put it--all the while sticking his tongue out at Bakura, of course) would only be increasing in number.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
~ * ~
"... Ano... ..."
Bakura looked up from his sandwich and cocked a pale eyebrow at the younger boy. Ryou and Yami had volunteered to look after the shop--which meant that Yuugi and Bakura had to clean up the mess that Bakura had created in the kitchen, and the fight between him and Yami.
...but that had been four hours ago. At that moment, they were taking a mid-afternoon break (a.k.a. the lunch that they had missed) until finally going back to cleaning. Needless to say, both were trying to drag lunch out as long as possible. So far, their current time was forty-five minutes. And that was still too soon for them. _Much_ too soon.
Bakura's other eyebrow joined the first and he continued to stare at Yuugi with those unnerving red-tinged eyes of his. "Nani?" he finally answered.
"...ano... Bakura, I don't know who else to ask but you. And I know that you won't really like my question, demo... What was Yami really like back in ancient Egypt? I know that you keep on calling him spoiled, rotten, and stupid... But was he really like that? He couldn't have been...could he? Don't lie to me, Bakura. Onegai?"
The yami of the Sennen Ring looked thoughtful for a moment and took another bite from his sandwich. "Ne... Most of what I say is just to annoy the hell outta Yami," the white-haired boy responded. He grinned, showing off his sharpened canines. "Yami was actually pretty decent--as Pharaohs go. He tried to improve the lives of the commoners." A nonchalant shrug. "But one man can't possibly change the tradition of thousands of years. Ne?"
"Hai..."
"Well, anyway. He was really powerful, even back then. He's grown stronger since he was alive; but, then again, Pharaoh no Bakamono was always strong. Personally, I think that he had one major flaw in his character...and still carries it today. He feels too much. He cares about people too much. If he continues to do that, he'll eventually fade away."
Yuugi started in surprise and leaned forward. "NANDA?!" he yelped, his violet eyes wide with shock and disbelief. 'What... What Bakura is saying can't be true...can it? It can't! It just can't!'
Bakura smirked. "Iie, iie. Not in the way that you're thinking, hikari-twerp." Hearing this, Yuugi scowled darkly. "What I meant was the fact that people begin to care about so many others that they stretch themselves thin...and, in a way, lose themselves. As our _'wonderful'_ Drama teacher would say: 'Hamartia. A character flaw that is such a GREAT character flaw...it eventually leads to the downfall of the character.'" Bakura snorted and took another bite of his sandwich. "A pity, really. It's a weakness."
Yuugi's scowl darkened. "Well, _I_ don't think of it as a weakness. It's a character strength. To be able to feel so deeply for the ones that you love... Shouldn't that ability be respected and not sneered upon?"
The yami shrugged in answer. "I'm not the one you should be asking that, hikari-twerp. I think of it as a weakness 'cause it is. Besides, I don't have emotions any longer...so what would I know, ne?" An elegant white eyebrow raised further.
The small hikari tilted his head to one side and blinked innocently. "Oh? Well, what about Ryou, Bakura? Hmmm?" Bakura blinked and raised a hand to brush his fingertips against his lips. He looked somewhat shaken--but that moment was soon over and he was back to his usual insane, mocking, and sadistic self.
"...urusei."
Yuugi grinned happily. 'Saaa... There's only a set amount of time that you can lie to yourself, Bakura,' he thought as he nibbled on a corner of his sandwich. 'And that time is almost all up. What will you do then?'
~ * ~
Yami blinked and stood up from where he had been assembling the Duel Monsters card packs on the bottom shelf of the glass display case. Frowning slightly to himself, he looked off towards the house portion of the shop. 'I feel funny...' he thought to himself and bit his lip in thought. Everything was quiet... TOO quiet.
"Yami? What's wrong? Do you sense anything?" Ryou asked from his spot behind the cash register. A weird feeling had been niggling at him all day--but what that feeling was, he didn't know.
"Iie... I don't sense anything. Demo, do you sense anything funny? Anything weird or strange?" the Pharaoh responded, still staring at the house portion with narrowed crimson eyes. Ryou's chocolate brown eyes widened and he slowly shook his head 'yes.' "It's quiet. Too quiet..."
Slowly, they made their way through the open doorway and around the house, finally stopping in front of Yuugi's door. From the inside, Ryou and Yami could hear muffled giggles. Exchanging a glance, they pushed open a door.
"See, the thing is," they heard Bakura begin, "Yami didn't particularly like wearing the baggy pants that were really popular back then. He preferred wearing the ancient dress styles. Nowadays, I guess you would call it either a dress or a kilt. Anyway, when he was asked why he liked wearing it so much over the pants he answered, 'Because I feel more free in it.' Ya know, like he could _breathe_..."**
Yuugi practically fell off the bed, he was laughing so hard. Managing to right himself once again, he tried to take a breath. True, he was successful, but because he immediately bowled over with laughter once again... It didn't really matter.
Yami took a step into the room, his crimson eyes glowing dangerously. Bakura blinked and looked up from his lotus story-telling position...and his eyes widened in horror. The Eye of Horus gleamed on Yami's forehead.
"Tomb Robber no Baka..." Yami growled. "Omae. O. Korosu."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A/N: Well, that's done now! *happy dance* Hee, I LOVED writing about the Yami vs. Bakura clashes. Trust me, they ain't done yet. *evil smirk*
Sarah: *giggles* They're so silly!
...and dorky. Can't forget that one. ^_~
Sarah: Yup! ^______^
Digimagic: ... -.-;;
Anyway, I know that I said that chapter fourteen would be up and the next chapter of "What Is Forever?" today...but I didn't have enough time for "What Is Forever?" However, it WILL be updated within the next several days. I promise. *pinky promises* Also--DOMO ARIGATOU to everyone who's reviewed "Elemental Magick." Thank you so much, you guys! You're all great. ^_~ BTW--I had uploaded chapter three before ff.net had shut down. Hope you like it, minna-san! *glomps*
**I blame Jack V. Briefs. Yup, all her fault. I take NO blame whatsoever in that part. D
Yami: LIKE HELL YOU WILL!! _
Thank-Yous:
Vera, Lil' Cherry Blossom, Digimagic (and Sarah! ^_~), Wolfspeaker, Cyberkat, DracownyGirl, Jack V. Briefs (I hoped you liked it!), candy, Kugi Ra Muto, Akaisurayasha, molten-amber (I know that this sounds really silly, but my little sister's name is Amber and whenever I see your pen name, I'm reminded of her. ^_^), MaidenoftheMoon, Labannya, Yami Krissy, Aznsilhouette247, Gin Ryu-chan, Slice, Akro, Princess Strawberry, Fate, Difinity, SilverLily, Rakuen, moonnymph, Bob D. Girl, Promise, Betrayal, agentpudge, YuugiLover3, Kirby, Soulwindow, Tenshi no Miko (ACK! Gomen nasai--when I said that the relationship was gonna snap, I meant that the tension--both emotional and sexual---between Yuugi and Yami is going to have to eventually snap; and when that happens, someone is going to have to make the first move. Trust me on this--HAPPY story.), Seventh Sage, Yamis Girlfriend, Jadesaber, OtakuChild, nightingale, AngelicMouseGirl, Buka2000, thockie, Shenya, Kyra Windwood, Songwind, Burning-Yami-Rain, Rogue Agent, LadyMiaka, DragonWings (LOL! I may be sadistic, but even I'm not THAT sadistic!), Spark-gurl, Brit-chan (POCKY! *tackle glomps* Domo arigatou!!!), Naturi (*drags over a box of fluff* All for ya! ^_~), Dracou Malfouy, Saia No Hito Mokushi, Sadira-Black, soulafyre, PriestessOfTheMoon, firedraygon97, fifth grade freak, Sammy-Chann, Lena, Ame Tenshi, DogsruleW, Yo Xi Wang (Nani? I am SO not the queen of fluff! YOU are! ;-p), Mero-chan, Yami/Yugi, KawaiiShinigami, Aisha, Amethyst Sin, and Alana!
~~~Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews! I don't think I could ever possibly express how much each and every one means to me. Sooo... I guess all I can say is: Domo arigatou. BTW--I finally decided when Yami is going to tell Yuugi that he loves him. Good news is that you'll all love it. Bad news is...it's not for a while. ^_^;; And I'm also thinking about making a sequel after I'm completely and totally done with this. Votes? Yea or Nay!
