A/N

Note: CHAPTER REPOSTED! Just cleaned up some grammar and spelling errors, and random nonsense that I don't remember writing.

If you still have any questions, why don't you send them to me in a review? Oh, and anyone recognize my little tribute to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Good readings!

Dedicated to Angeliz for reminding me that I've got a fic to write.

DARK PASSIONS

Chapter 12: Didn't You Know?

"You know, I still can't believe that you're a vampire," Yuugi remarked lightly, his head still spinning slightly after the ride Yami had put him on. "You don't quite look it…Until you smile, that is."

They'd taken to walking the nearer to the main streets they were, and Yami was currently leading them through the small alleys and hidden turns that he knew so they could get to their destination faster.

"What's wrong with my smile?" Yami asked curiously.

"Your teeth-- or should I say fangs?" Yuugi said simply. "Besides that, why don't you look more...like a vampire?"

Yami shrugged. "Because it's not practical."

Yuugi looked confused.

"In a city like this one, it takes only one human to find out, or even guess, and our reputations are ruined. And vampires are more dependent on what we can or cannot do than we let on." Yami put a hand to his temple and rubbed. "Why am I even telling you this?"

Yuugi ignored him. "But what does that have to do with your reputations? Don't you just take what you want by force anyway?"

They quieted for a moment as a rowdy pair crossed the opening of the alley, unsteady but jolly. When the sounds of their drunken songs had faded away, Yami sighed and turned to look at his human half. "And that's where all the negatives come in full force. From your books, dear human. If it weren't for them, how else would you have known about our kind?"

Yuugi had nothing to say, but his mind automatically played back all the times he'd referred to fiction in dealing with the vampire.

"I don't think, in all my centuries on this earth, I've seen a book that portrayed us in a good light. Or had facts that were entirely true. 'Course, one of us would just as well as kill you after sharing so it comes as no surprise. But still..."

Yami suddenly remembered where he was and whom he was talking to. But Yuugi just walked silently beside him, listening, his eyes on the ground.

"And no," Yami added. "We don't take what we want by excess force. What we take is what we need-- unless you're Bakura and have an obsession with shiny things. Or Ryou, shall I add? -- That's why a reputation is important: It gives us easy access to what we need and no one suffers as consequence."

And they spoke no more, both lost in the thoughts of the division between their races, a divide almost to the point of ridiculous.

'So far divided that they've almost become a myth to us,' Yuugi thought sadly. 'Who else have we feuded with to the point where we refuse to acknowledge their existence?'

'And to think, once we were equals,' Yami pondered, ignoring the slight twinge of exertion he felt in his mind.

Yuugi froze at his side, jolted into immobility. Then he rounded on the vampire, "I thought I told you not to do that anymore!"

"Do what?" Yami asked unfazed, by now used to Yuugi's temper. Not bothering to wonder where the phrase floating through his mind "More bark than bite" came from, Yami backtracked and tried to determine what 'that' was.

"What's wrong with having a little privacy?" Yuugi's voice rose almost to a whine. "Why won't you just stay out of my mind? I don't want to hear yours either!"

"You mean..." Yami blinked. "You heard my thoughts?"

"Yes!" The human dragged out the word and swept a hand over his face. "Your thoughts just crept into my mind, like some little...something! Did no one ever teach you common courtesy?"

"You can't seriously be suggesting that I was unconsciously broadcasting?" Yami asked even as he suddenly realized he'd heard the human's own thoughts.

Yuugi just gave a half-hearted shrug.

The vampire paused for a moment, then gave a snort and laughed incredulously. "That would mean I'd let my control slip and my guard down. And I haven't done that in over five hundred years!"

Everything else the vampire said was lost in his mutterings.

"How old did you say you were?" Yuugi asked, light-headed, while his mind tried to force itself to put the vampire's years into a real timeline. Yami didn't answer, occupied with his own questions at the moment.

They continued this way for a time, neither aware of how long exactly. Yami was still muttering and Yuugi held onto his arm unconsciously, his own mind still out of it as they passed three more darkened streets.

Suddenly, Yami gave an exclamation, startling Yuugi out of his own strange contemplations.

"I knew there was something else to it," Yami said smugly. He stopped abruptly and glanced at the human out of the corner of his eye, not noticing that they had linked arms. A nervous giggle, very unlike the vampire, followed. "I, uh, haven't Marked anyone before. Meaning, I don't really know all that much about the effects of being one of the Marked."

Yuugi knew he was supposed to be angry at this point, but all of his energy and will seemed to have gone away at the moment. So he just nodded, encouraging Yami to continue, who did so in surprise.

"I do know how it is done, and that it grants you safety while with the one who marked you. But other than that...Well, it's a good thing we're going to see the Vraza 'Domin in any case, isn't it?"

'Vraza 'Domin?' Yuugi asked himself.

"Spell Witch," Yami answered him absently, steering them into the next alley—not even noticing that Yuugi hadn't said that out loud.

"So why are you telling me this now when you could have gotten away with it?" Yuugi spoke again, his voice echoing off the walls on either side of them. He, too, hadn't noticed the anomaly.

"No, I couldn't have," Yami admitted again, pausing to check the street they were coming into before stepping out, pulling Yuugi after. "That's what I was getting to."

He momentarily winced, though Yuugi wouldn't know that it was at his own impulsive nature. "The reason we've, uh, been able to read each other's thoughts is because...we-have-a-mind-link-now."

He finished the last part in a rush and shook loose of Yuugi's hold, walking ahead to hopefully get out of his line of fire.

Yuugi stopped, his brow furrowing as he tried to replay what Yami had said at a slower pace, still feeling slightly disoriented and out of his depth. Ahead of him, Yami carefully kept his head facing forward and mind blank.

'Mind,' floated through Yuugi's brain, a thought unconnected and unrelated to anything else. A moment later, 'link' followed it and he just watched passively as the two words did a dance around each other, connecting but not quite.

Ten seconds later, Yuugi had his fists in Yami's jacket and was shaking him back in forth, the vampire too surprised to do anything.

"WHAT?" Yuugi shouted, his blind panic overshadowing everything else. "You mean...You mean I'm connected to you? With my MIND?"

Abruptly, he let go. Yami took a deep breath and was about to justify his actions when Yuugi came back, full-force. "Didn't I just FINISH telling you that I LIKE my PRIVACY? What..."

He trailed off again and put his hands over his face, Yami just stood in front of him with his own face to the sky.

"Is that even possible?" Yuugi finally asked dejectedly, peeking out from between his fingers.

The vampire took a hesitant breath. "It's not a solid link yet-- and not like the half-link we had before either-- because your Mark is too fresh, and I gave you a bit of my blood when I Marked you and it hasn't had a chance to fully circulate through your system...But yes, I'm afraid it is possible...Yuugi? Are you alright?"

Yuugi still hadn't removed his hands from his face, and his voice sounded muffled from in between his hands.

"I don't want to talk about this right now. All I want...Is to get whatever 'protection' I need from that Spell Witch for whatever 'power' I seem to have," His hands moved to the sides of his face but still stayed attached to his head. "Frankly, I have no idea how I got dragged into this mess in the first place-- But by God, Yami, you will help me finish this thing if it's the last thing I do."

Yami just stood there, speechless and mouth agape while Yuugi heaved a breath. "Now, for the moment, let's pretend the last ten minutes never happened. Okay? Good."

Abruptly, Yuugi's demeanor changed and he smiled. "Shall we find that Spell Witch, then?" He extended a hand towards Yami, who took it after realizing the human wanted him to, and they continued down the street, arm-in-arm.

Yami filed away a reminder to not bring up topics that would evoke such a reaction from him again; it was...frightening, to say the least. Faintly, he heard a thought, which he would correctly identify as Yuugi's later, saying something about 'planning it all along' before the vampire brought all of his concentration back to locating the calling card of their Spell Witch.

"Hello?" Yami called out, though the silence was all that greeted him. He moved aside as Yuugi nudged him from behind. "Is anyone here?"

Not hearing any answer, they moved further in and took in their surroundings. Yuugi kept blinking, waiting for his eyesight to adjust to the dim interiors. When everything came into focus, he suddenly realized that they were in what looked to be an antique book store, judging by the state of the books and amount of dust everywhere. He bent over to look closer at the nearest stand, consisting of a number of interesting-looking books and a globe of the world.

Abruptly, he let out a loud sneeze as dust decided to explore his nose. Yami immediately shushed him and came over to look at what had caught his attention. Yuugi nudged him as a way of asking his opinion, but the vampire only gave a noncommittal noise in response to which Yuugi replied by rolling his eyes.

'Vampires…' He thought exasperated.

'Yes?' Yami replied, catching the thought. He couldn't resist; so what if he'd already broken the semi-promise he'd made? But Yuugi chose to ignore him rather than start something yet again. Instead, he picked up the nearest book and opened it, his fingers already coated with a thick layer of dust. Yami moved over to read over his shoulder.

"Back here!"

The sudden shout startled both vampire and human, though the only one to curse inwardly at the lowered guard was the former. Yuugi turned first and stopped short, confused. His eyes moved to Yami for clarification.

The vampire turned to see not a Spell Witch in front of him, but rather someone else.

"You are…Vraza 'Domin?" Yami asked, his voice catching slightly in his throat, while his mind spun in circles. What...?

"That I am, sonny," Was the cheerful response.

Yuugi caught his breath as his mind finally processed what was going on. The Spell Witch…was actually a Spell Wizard? "What…?" He asked faintly, looking to Yami.

"Seto gave me the impression that you were female," Yami told him, his shock still very evident in his voice.

The Spell Wizard just chuckled, "Well, he has yet to visit me, in any case. How much in a hole to you guys have to be before you visit me? Can't you see I'm lonely?" He pulled a long face, and then smiled again. "But Bakura did stop by."

"Bakura?" Yuugi couldn't help but ask, and immediately flushed.

The wizard turned to him and gave him a friendly wink. "Yes he did, although I don't think I'm supposed to tell you what for-- Oops, there goes my mouth again. Let's pretend I didn't say anything, shall we?"

Yuugi nodded slightly in agreement, opening his mouth again. "If you don't mind, er, Vraza 'Dom...Domin, is it? But...Do you have an easier name, or a shorter one?"

The Spell Wizard laughed again. "Oh drat, I did it again! Call me Zed, won't you? That old mumbo jumbo is getting quite tedious, don't you think so?" He gave another wink and then turned in a swirl of robes before Yami could speak again.

"Come on in," He called over his shoulder and disappeared around a corner.

As soon as he was lost from sight, Yami gave a growl. "Damn wizards."

Yuugi just blinked and looked up at him, the grin fading from his face. "What do you mean? I thought he was nice!"

Yami looked at him. "There's no doubt that he wants a price for the information we need. Be wary: witches are hard to deal with; wizards are harder."

"Oh," Was all Yuugi could manage. He followed closely behind Yami as they followed where Zed had gone moments before.

"So what can I help you with?" Zed asked from his seat on one side of the round glass table. "Other humans? Other vampires? Life?" He snickered at his own private joke, not bothering to hide his mirth.

Yuugi couldn't help the grin on his face, the old wizard's amusement was contagious but his code of conduct was even more comical. If this was a businessman of Yami's world, then Yuugi was going to enjoy this. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Yami and his grin widened to see the normally composed vampire sporting a rather unbecoming twitch.

The wizard's switch from playful to knowing was so fast that Yuugi almost missed it, jerking in surprise at the knowing glint in Zed's eyes. "You want protection."

Yuugi's marked arm jerked again. Second time tonight, he noted, before forcefully controlling it. He turned his head slightly to see Yami's expression better.

The vampire had shown no signs of surprise; he'd not been taken in by the wizard's antics. Now he stood with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Very nicely done. I was wondering when we'd get around to it."

"Terribly sorry to keep you waiting," Zed replied wryly, although a trace of his humor remained. "Formalities and all, you know. Can't start business on my doorstep, now can we?"

"I don't see a problem with that," Yami remarked, taking Yuugi by the elbow and seating them both at the table. Yuugi chose to remain quiet, more curious as to how things were done. "Makes everything go much faster, wouldn't you say?"

"But then you miss out on all the fun," Zed rebutted and for the first time, used his hand to summon a tray of tea from some other room. Yuugi's eyes bulged and he grabbed Yami's knee under the table in sudden shock-- for that was the first time he'd seen magic outside of books and movies. Naturally, the vampire jumped slightly in his own surprise at the contact, but managed to hide it by shifting his arms on the table and clearing his throat. Both human and vampire missed the knowing glance that Zed shot them out of the corner of his eye.

"Tea, anyone?" Zed offered after the tray had deposited the cups and the teapot had put everything in order. "There's no harm in enjoying a cup, is there?"

Yuugi found it very hard to be annoyed; in fact, he was quite amused by the vampire's agitation as Yami's thought suddenly drifted into his mind. 'Bloody English'.

Another quick glance over told him that Yami was trying very hard not to clench his fists on the table while the leg he'd crossed over the other was tapping the air. Yuugi couldn't resist; letting the staring contest pass over his head, he concentrated on sending a thought to Yami. What had he said? This would get easier or something like that, right? 'Maybe, it wouldn't be so bad', he thought. 'To be linked with him. After all, it could be worse...He still tricked me into it, though.'

Yami had finally figured out why he'd been dreading coming here. Wizards were about the only thing that drove him up the wall. Well, them and Yuugi, of course, Yuugi corrected with a slight smile. But still, Zed was on his last nerve, and the vampire didn't know what he'd do after that.

'My, my, my...Aren't we the impatient one today?'

Yuugi's voice cut through Yami's thoughts in his surprise. Hesitantly, the vampire reached back with his mind, his eyes still locked on Zed's glittering gaze.

'I wouldn't have to be if someone hadn't gone and unleashed a legendary power almost unknown in this day and age.' He answered and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. 'I'm surprised that you're not making a big deal out of your power as you have everything else.'

There was a slight buzzing under what Yami had said, that Yuugi thought sounded remarkably like static, and he closed one eye until it passed. 'I would,' He replied with a glance in the wizard's direction. 'If I knew what it actually means to have the 'power of Eclipse'. That's your department, remember?'

'Why we're here, Yuugi,' Yami told him; his hand began drumming on the table. 'You look quite funny like that, did you know?'

'Bite me,' Yuugi answered sweetly, and their tentative link broke as he turned his attention to Zed. "Zed? What do you know about Eclipse?"

Zed started and apparently lost whatever contest he'd been having with the vampire, if the nudge he gave Yuugi was any indication. "I beg your pardon, Yuugi! But did you just say...Eclipse?" His voice was just above a whisper on the last word.

"Yes," Yuugi replied blankly, then jerked a finger at Yami. "He won't tell me."

The wizard managed to regain his composure while Yami sputtered indignantly. "I wonder..." His eyes glittered knowingly again. "You wouldn't have been the cause of that massive output of energy the other night, would you?"

Flat silence greeted him, but Zed didn't seem to notice. "What Dawn are you, Yami?"

Yuugi had been on the point of realizing that neither he nor Yami had actually told Zed their names directly, but was ripped away from that thought by Zed's question. "Dawn?" He repeated.

"Yes," The old wizard blinked at him. "That's the way vampire's tell their age, you see-- Yami what have you been telling him? Nothing?-- They live longer than Da'sara, so to remember their ages better, the Dawn system was invented by one of the converted philosophers-- go figure. Basically, the Dawn you were born under is determined by what your culture's beliefs regarding the sun and/or the creation of the world was at the time of your conversion. "

He paused to take a sip from his tea while Yuugi turned his questioning gaze in Yami's direction.

"So what Dawn are you, Yami?"

"I, uh," The vampire shifted uncomfortably. "..I was converted in the Dawn of Nu and Atum-Ra."

"Atum-Ra?" Yuugi repeated, tilting his head to one side. "Nu? Isn't that Egyptian Mythology-- Wait a minute, you're THAT old? But it's been five thousand years!--"

"My dear boy," Zed tried to deflect the anger coming Yami's way. "I don't think he's quite that old; I'd say he was converted towards the end of their civilization's life span. But surely you didn't think him young and still able to wield the power he has over those of his kind, did you?"

Yuugi paused. "Well, I would know if someone had told me." The last mark was, of course, directed at the vampire, who was once again, at a loss for words.

"Yami, you should be familiar with your Egyptian beliefs," Zed nodded towards the vampire. "Would you be so kind as to inform Yuugi here? Hmmm?"

"Uh huh," Yami replied, all eyes on the steaming human seated next to him. He was being notably cautious not to make any sudden movements, for fear of Yuugi's reaction because through their link, undependable as it was, it felt like he was almost sizzling.

And then Yuugi was calm again, the intense emotion that Yami had felt from him now gone. Not bothering to question Yuugi's motives, he turned himself in his chair. "I hope you realize this won't be done in words, right?"

Yuugi paused and lifted his eyes to the vampire's. Whatever he found there must have reassured him for then he nodded and turned in his own chair, only vaguely aware that Zed had leaned back out of range of Yami's Broadcast. The lights dimmed around him.

And then...

He was falling. The sensation spread outward from his chest, traveling up and down his legs and through his arms. Dissipating from his fingertips. What was this? This was entirely unlike when Yami had allowed him to see memories of that other vampire, Jou. Right now, he felt like he was being dragged backwards across...A distance? Time? What did it matter?

Abruptly, he stopped falling, the air around his body molding to his shape. 'Am I hanging in the air?' He was bewildered, his mind bending over backwards to understand what was going on. It was all too much. Yuugi just gave up making sense of the things around him right then.

Colors appeared out of the darkness around him and twisted together until Yuugi could make out Yami's face and then body. No words were exchanged between them, but Yuugi could feel the incredible reluctance that the vampire was feeling. And Yuugi found himself wondering why more intensely than he could ever remembered feeling anything.

And then he didn't have time to think or want or question anything, for he was thrust into a tunnel of light brighter than his eyes could take; he squeezed them shut as hard as he could and yet, he still felt it. Or was it light?

'Then what-?' No, it wasn't light at all! It was...information? Yuugi cracked one eye open slightly and braced himself for the light. But this time, it didn't blind him like it did before; now, it just flowed into his eyes, to his mind. He could feel the knowledge connecting with his own thoughts, his own memories.

Then, Yuugi's eyes widened as he finally understood what the wizard had been talking about. 'He's a--'

Special thankies to JK Fie'r for Beta-ing this chapter