Blackwater Is Dust

by koobre

With the old King dead and Yami now on the throne, the city of Lelania is in more of a tempest than ever; however, it's the demons inside a person that can leave the world scared. Yuugi tries to hide his hallucinations from Yami and his friends, but when his control begins to slip, what can the others do to help him? What if he is already too far gone to save? (Sequal to BW Is Red)

9. Chapter 9

Ch 9 Two Birds and a Stone

It was rainy.

The pitter patter of rain on the window was gentle, yet hollow, and the constant drawl from the downpour was white noise to his ears. The room was dark, but not threatening. The sound was steady, but not irritating. Everything felt real, but it was all empty.

Yuugi slowly creaked his eyes open to take in the dark surroundings. The room looked bland. Blue walls, small, square, simple furniture, with a thin, pale blanket covering himself and the twin-sized bed. The smell was off as though his mind was fighting with his nose. The room held a crispness akin to water that didn't match the musky visual aspects of the room; moreover, the room felt cold. Instead of the warm inviting feeling that the room was supposed to have, it felt cold and foreign.

Turning his eyes to the single window -a skylight on his slanted roof- he could see the rush of water on its smooth surface. Never before had the phenomenon looked so dead and grey.

"Yuugi? Honey, if you don't wake up, you're going to be late." His mother's soft voice drifted into the room.

Yuugi groaned and went to roll out of bed when a shooting pain forced him to stop. It stemmed from his legs and shot like bolts of lightning through the rest of his body. After a few seconds of lying still, the pain subsided, but his breathing was still heavy. The door to his room creaked open.

"Yuugi, is something wrong?"

Yuugi took a deep breath, "I don't know why, but my legs really hurt. I-I don't think I can go to school today."

His mother dismissed him with a wave of her hand, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure with some painkillers and Jonouchi's help, you'll be able to get around."

She placed her hand in front of his face and Yuugi noticed two pills resting in her palm. He swallowed the medicine dry without question and immediately felt their effects. Hesitantly, Yuugi tested his legs. Numbed pain still set his limbs on fire, but it was barely at a good enough level that he could handle, albeit, not for long.

Offering up a weak nod and a shallow smile, Yuugi crawled out of the cotton sheets and tried to stand. His knees buckled and he ended up falling to the floor: a dulled pain throbbed through his legs. Yuugi took a few breaths to calm himself before he tried to stand once more only to end up with the same results. Biting his lip as some of the pain peaked through the pill's relief, Yuugi decided that it would just be better to crawl if he wanted to move; however, before he could leave his room, a hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Jonouchi smiled.

Yuugi offered a half-smile as he tried to ignore his own discomfort, "It's just my legs. Do you think you can help me get around school?"

With little effort, Jonouchi turned and knelt on the floor so Yuugi could crawl on to his back, "No problem."

Yuugi smiled as his blonde friend led them out of the room and began to walk down the hall. As they were walking, Yuugi noticed that Jonouchi was hugging the left side of the hall, almost to the point that they were touching it, but discarded the thought. Who was he to judge if his friend wanted to spice things up a bit?

Yuugi could hear muffling in the walls. It was quiet at first, as though it were being filtered through water, but the longer they walked, the clearer the voices became. Hiding his face in his friend's neck, Yuugi closed his eyes and focused on whoever was speaking behind the walls.

"There isn't another way."

"Are you fucking kidding me? All of the books and nothing mentions a cure."

"This is the only cure that we can give him. It would be best to just end his suffering now before he kills himself."

"No! I won't!"

The distressed voices sunk in his stomach like a heavy weight. He didn't recognize the voices, nor did he fully understand what they were talking about, but it brought a grim cloud over him nonetheless. He didn't want to listen to those voices anymore. They made his heart ache.

Looking up from his hiding spot, Yuugi noticed that they were in the school building, but it looked off. All the students that passed by looked fuzzy. None of the lines were crisp and clean and the colors began to blend together at the edges. Despite the merging colors, Yuugi could make out the shape of his female friend by the lockers.

"Hi, Anzu," Yuugi greeted as soon as they were close enough.

"Hi, Yuugi," her face dropped when she noticed their positions, "What are you doing?"

Jonouchi was the one to answer, "His legs were hurting so I decided to help him get around today. You know, kind of like how Valon helped you walk around after you two banged."

"Jonouchi!" both Anzu and Yuugi exclaimed, their faces going red as a cherry.

Ther blonde friend snickered, "You two are easy to mess with."

"It's not something that you should just start talking about," Anzu snapped as her blush tamed.

Honey-eyes widened in mock offense, "What? Everyone else does it, heck, I'm sure those two are heading to the closet right now," he added a nod of his head to somewhere down the hall.

Following the inclination, amethyst eyes landed on a boyfriend and girlfriend making-out against some of the lockers. Slowly, but surely, they were inching their way along the wall, down towards where the infamous janitor's closet was. Yuugi's nose wrinkled up at the thought all while a warm feeling bloomed in his stomach.

He knew what they were doing, and he knew it felt good, but how did he know? It's wasn't as though he had had sex with anyone before. The longer he thought on it, the stronger the feeling grew until he could feel something tugging at his brain. It was soft but persistent, like a name that wanted to be known but kept slipping away like smoke. He gave up on the thought when pain pulsed through his skull.

Sometime in his thoughts, Jonouchi began to strut over to class, once again keeping precariously close to the lockers. He and Anzu were chatting about Valon and, assuming from the furious blush across Anzu's nose, she wasn't too keen on it. Yuugi rolled his eyes and listened to their banter, content with his two friends presence. That was until they passed by a classroom door, Yuugi caught wind of another conversation.

"You can't keep letting this happen."

"..."

"He deserves better than this and you know it."

"..."

"... I've thought of a way that-"

"Don't."

"It's a simple method-"

"Stop."

"It won't hurt him-"

"Shut up!"

Before Yuugi could hear any more, Jonouchi had sat him down in a chair and the class started. He wasn't paying attention to anything that the teacher said, no matter how hard he tried. It was as if his mind was jumbled and he couldn't focus on any of the words that were spoken. All syllables were muffled and the words were so light that they flew in one ear and out the other. It didn't matter, though, he had other problems to worry about.

There was something tickling the back of his mind and it stole all of his attention. Like an itch you can't scratch, or a reminder you can't remember, it bugged Yuugi like a pesky mosquito. Did he forget to open the shop? No, it was a weekday so the shop was closed. Maybe Mr. Kai was going to come over today. No, he never paid any of his mother's boyfriends any mind. Maybe Anzu invited him to hang out that afternoon. That could be it: she always did like to seize a perfect day.

A clap of thunder brought his attention to the pouring rain outside. That was right: it was raining. If that was so, then Anzu always preferred to watch a movie with her boyfriend, so it couldn't have been her.

The pattering of rain along the window was the only sound that could soothe an oncoming headache. Truly, the melodic sound was a beautiful lullaby that could wash away all of his worries; that was, however, if there wasn't that underlying discord amongst the thunder.

Albeit subtle, the haunting presence that lingered in the rain was enough to keep him on edge, reaping him from true relaxation. This rain wasn't normal: it wasn't as alive as it should have been. Each drop didn't hold the drip of life that water was supposed to hold, nor did it carry the healing abilities of water; instead, it was plain, ordinary, vacant. It no longer held substance and it could be easily blown away as if it were dust in the wind.

A dull ring sounded in his ear which grew louder and louder. Soon, the incessant noise was just loud enough to drown out the rain and steal his attention. It was then, hidden in the ringing, that he heard the voices again.

"You can't keep him like this."

"I won't: we'll heal him."

"Yami, I implore you to see reason, not as a Royal Champion, but as your friend. You need to put him out of this misery."

"You want to end him without giving him a chance."

"He has no chance! This is incurable and you know it. The longer he stays like this the more likely he is to hurt himself and others"

Yuugi shivered and put his hands over his ears to try and stop the ringing. His legs were starting to throb and his head pulsed in pain. Something wanted to get out and become known, but he repressed it back into his thoughts. Whatever it was brought a chill colder than death and with it an onslaught of agony that wanted to consume his body. If knowing the truth behind the thought would cause him so much pain, then he didn't want to know.

There was a tap on his shoulder and the ringing stopped, "Are you okay, Yuugi?"

When Yuugi opened his eyes, he came face to face with concerned azure. Anzu stood beside his desk, a hand on his shoulder, and her brows furrowed in worry. Behind her stood Valon and Jonouchi, but their concern was on chatting with each other.

He lowered his shaking hands and put up his best smile, "Yeah, my head just hurts a bit."

Her face held firm in its concern, "There's something else isn't there?"

Yuugi looked back at his hands, "It's nothing important," when he looked back up at her, they were in the lunch room. It was crowded, just like he remembered and his face showed his displeasure. Had it not been raining, he was sure that they would have eaten outside.

"You can talk to me, you know. You don't have to hide it," Anzu prompted.

Yuugi shook his head and his face fell as he stared down at his shaking hands, "It's more that… I don't know what the problem is," forcing a smile, Yuugi turned to his friend, "If I figure it out, I'll tell you."

That seemed to be enough of an answer because Anzu nodded her head and turned to Valon who was finished with his argument with Jonouchi. The blonde huffed and moved to sit on the other side of Yuugi who was staring at his cat-shaped bento box. Beside him, Jonouchi began chatting, but Yuugi wasn't paying attention; instead, he began to eat his lunch, consumed by his own thoughts.

The nagging feeling that something was missing was beginning to knaw on his nerves the longer he tried to suppress it. Part of him wanted to figure it out, but every time he lingered on the thought, he swore that the shadows would darken and slink closer. The room would turn bitter and cold as though one had unleashed a winter wind. It wouldn't be until he dismissed the thought that everything would go back to normal and the pain would dumb down.

Everyone was moving around in a whirl of color and a kaleidoscope of movement. It was dizzying to watch, so Yuugi kept his head down through his classes. Jonouchi would carry him to the next room as his legs still refused to work, but no one seemed to bother them about it. In fact, the only weird thing that kept happening was that his blonde friend would still walk in weird patterns; for example, they would be traveling down a long hallway when his friend would abruptly turn, cross to the other side, and walk so close to the wall that they were always in contact.

Yuugi would question him about it only for the other to brush it off with a simple 'I feel like it'. He would have stopped wondering about it had it not been for the fact that Yuugi had reached out his hand once out of curiosity and hit an invisible wall. There were no people, rooms, or walls in the way that could block his hand, yet no matter how hard he pushed against the force, his arm could not fully extend.

What was more peculiar was that it happened in more than one area. He would reach out his hand when they were walking to class and he would run into more resistance. Sometimes, if he followed it, the resistance would turn or disappear and he was allowed to move where he couldn't before, but it was unpredictable.

Along with the invisible walls and the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something, Yuugi was beginning to hear his name called only to have no one there. The calls were panicked, desperate to get his attention, but no matter how hard he looked, he could never find its source. Every time he asked Anzu and Jonouchi, they would shrug their shoulders and say they hadn't heard anything. He would have followed their lead had the insistent voices given up, but they didn't. Sometimes they were a whisper and sometimes they were a yell. Some were male, other's were female. Some were terrified, desperate, grieving, tearful, angry, hopeless, and the longer they went on, the more they sat in his stomach like rocks in a well.

Yuugi was a mess by the time the last class came around. Everything, for the most part, looked normal and felt like it should be normal, yet nothing was. The students and teachers acted the same, but the energy felt off. The rain looked the same, but the feeling and sound were off. The halls and classrooms had invisible barriers and omnipotent voices seemed to linger around every corner. Time seemed to slip by without him even realizing it and he was too caught up in his thoughts, pushing and fighting against this nagging feeling, to even bother dealing with the normalities of school. All he wanted to do was go home, sleep, and forget it all happened.

He was busy tapping his pencil on the desk, watching the melancholy rain when it happened.

A pain more severe than anything he had ever felt before tore his soul.

Ripped his brain.

Scarred his body.

Tortured his mind.

Left him helpless.

Yuugi doubled over in the sensation that took over his body. It was all he could focus on and nothing else; not the rain outside, the hands on his person, or the flurry of people around him could tear his mind away from the scorching pain. What was worse was that the longer he thought on it, the worse it became. He was fighting against it, doing anything in his power to make it stop, but that only made it worse. Oh so much worse.

There was screaming around him, but he couldn't tell from where. Desperate pleas and cries sounded like sirens in his ears, their desperation and fear saturated his mind, yet the words were muffled and lost in the throws of pain that wracked his body.

There were even more voices that assaulted his overwhelmed senses. They were less frantic and more steady than the mournful cries in the distant, but they were still blurred in his ears.

There were hands on him, shifting him out of the chair and making his skin burn at the contact. Whimpers and cries of pain left Yuugi as each movement was a fresh stab at his flesh.

The sound of thundering feet mingled with the chorus of voices and aided in the pounding against Yuugi's skull. Whatever was inside him, whatever he had been repressing, was banging against his conscious now and fought tooth and nail to be remembered. This pain… it was so familiar; however, he didn't want to know from where, so he fought against its thrashing.

Through the pain, Yuugi fought against whatever tried to get out. He pushed down the thoughts that bashed on his skull and tore at his brain. The familiarity, the screams, the anguish, the pain, the sting, the cries, he fought against them all. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to know!

As if it heard him, the pain began to diminish. Slowly, yet in the blink of an eye, all the pain, voices, and torment was gone, leaving him a heaving, sweaty mess atop a grey cotton sheet. The room was silent save for the hushed voices outside of the door. It gave him a chance to breathe.

Taking a shuddering breath Yuugi turned his head and his cheek met the firm, white pillow. As he looked about the room, he took in the plain walls, the standard medical equipment, the other empty bed, medical posters, and sanitized scent in the air: he was in the nurse's office.

He didn't have to wait long until the wooden door opened.

"Yuugi!" Anzu burst through the door and raced over to his bed. The speed of her movement was enough to make Yuugi dizzy, and he was thankful when she didn't touch him or sit down, "Are you okay?"

It seemed like he was being asked that a lot. Was he okay? Could he hear them? Did he know what was going on? Did he hurt? Was something wrong? When would he tell them that he didn't know any of those answers?

"Hey, you really freaked us out back there. You turned white and started crying," Jonouchi explained as he stood beside Anzu, "We tried to ask what happened, but you wouldn't answer."

Yuugi squeezed his eyes shut against the harsh school lights, "I-I don't…."

There was still another person in the room. The click of her heels echoed harshly in his ears as she neared the bed, " Mr. Motou, the school is going to call your mother so that she can come pick you up. It would not be wise for you to go back to class in your condition," the nurse explained before clicking her way over to her chair and sat down, " Ms. Myzaki, Mr. Katsuya, it would be best if you both went back to class. I will watch over Mr. Motou now."

"But-" Jonouchi started to refute, but Anzu cut him off.

"Alright Mrs. Inam," her blue eyes glanced back at Yuugi and he could see her hesitance. She didn't want to leave until he was better, but neither would be able to stay. She finally turned her head towards the door, "Come on, Jonouchi."

The blonde refused at first, but he didn't fight back when Anzu grabbed his wrist and dragged him out. Yuugi watched with sorrow as his friends left him alone in the room. Even the nurse followed soon after them, presumably to do the next bit of her work. Being left in the room, Yuugi couldn't help the sense of abandonment that overcame him.

Should he have asked for his friends to stay? Would they have been able to? Why did the nurse leave? Did she think he was faking his pain? Why was there no one else here? When would his mother arrive? Would she come? Would her boyfriend be with her?

Each question felt like a cold jab to his heart. He didn't want to be left alone in this room without anyone who cared for him. He was already so confused about the things happening to him -what this pain was, what the voices were, why he couldn't go to some places- Yuugi wasn't sure if he would be able to handle them on his own.

The thundering storm brought his attention over to the window where the raindrops were covering the glass in a wavering waterfall. The grey image of the buildings and trees outside was obscured and warped through the filter of rain, and even though he could see the lights of distant windows and colorful blobs as car and people walked by, there was only one word that came to mind as he watched it all.

Dead.

Dead.

DEAD.

Yuugi jumped at the knock on the door. Whoever it was didn't wait for him to call as they opened the door anyway and wandered inside.

"Yuugi, sweety," his mother greeted as she shut the door and scurried to his side. A wave of warmth washed over Yuugi as she laid a hand on his forehead, "The nurse said that you were escorted from class because you were in pain."

Yuugi hummed at the comfort that her presence brought. He cracked a small smile, "Hi, mom."

She looked flustered for a second, "Honey, this is serious. I'm worried about you. If this was all a joke-"

"No, mom!" Yuugi interrupted and she drew back her hand. Amethyst eyes ducked out of her gaze, "I don't quite know what happened. One minute I was fine, but the next," his words caught in his throat.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," She took a seat on the bed and offered a gentle smile. The two fell into a soft silence as they gazed into each other's eyes. Yuugi enjoyed the warmth and comfort that washed over him by being in his mother's presence; however, the longer she looked, the less Yuugi thought she felt the same. Her smile turned sour and the light in her eyes dulled. The mask on her face was held on by a thread while her thoughts raced through her eyes, too fast for him to decipher.

She opened her mouth only to close it. Then she sighed, "Yuugi, what's wrong?"

Amethyst eyes blinked, "Mom, I told you that I don't know."

She shook her head, "I'm not talking about what happened in class. Ever since this morning you've been," she took a second to sort her words, "different."

Yuugi's brows furrowed, "I don't feel different."

Her smile dropped and the mask she wore fell, but only for a second, "You have only ever lied to keep everyone else safe; however, I don't think you realize how much that hurts you in return."

Yuugi snapped his eyes away from his mother, "There have been… things that have happened today that are weird, but it's just an off day. Everyone has those," he tried to reason. Doubt was already settling in his heart.

Her smile was bittersweet, "Why don't you tell me about your day? It's always nice to tell someone else."

Yuugi took a deep breath and released it with a heavy sigh, "Alright," he closed his eyes, "It started this morning. I woke up and it was as if I woke up in a hotel. You know that feeling you get that you aren't home? That's what if felt like. Then, I couldn't move my legs. They hurt so much, and I still can't remember what I did to make them hurt so bad. It was fine for a while until…"

"Until?" his mother prodded.

Yuugi opened his eyes with a shuddering breath but he refused to look at his mother, "Until I heard the voices. They were okay at first, but then they became so angry and desperate," his throat tightened, "They sounded so hopeless and broken." Memories of the snippets of conversations floated into his memory. Their feelings were fresh as though he were hearing them for the first time and the words were crispt, not a single word was lost into obscurity. The voices stung his heart and eyes while his words caught in his throat.

Yuugi shook his head, pushing the memories away and cleared his throat, "I thought Jonouchi had been walking weird today, but then I noticed that I couldn't walk everywhere like there was an invisible wall. He would walk in random patterns, yet when I reached my hand out I would run into this boundary. He didn't seem to notice, but I couldn't stop wondering about it. Finally, I had that strange pain in class and I ended up here."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Yuugi."

The teen bit his lip and fiddled with the cotton blanket, keeping his eyes anywhere except his mother, "There has been this feeling, like I've been trying to remember something; however, everytime it gets close, everytime it's on the tip of my tongue, I just feel this wave of pain and sadness, so I just push it away," Yugi shrugged and hoped that his mother didn't hear how his voice rose in pitch.

He felt the weight of his mother shift before humming in thought, "I've never known you to give up on curiosity: don't you want to know what that is?"

Yuugi shook his head weakly, "Not if knowing is going to bring me all that pain. I would rather just not know. Ignorance is bliss."

"Now that doesn't sound like the Yuugi I know," she commented with a raised brow before sighing, "I have to admit, that is sometimes a great motto to live by, but it's never good to shy away from something because it will cause pain or because you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid," Yuugi defended.

"You're afraid of getting hurt," his mother countered. When Yuugi didn't respond, she sighed, "Why don't you tell me more about those voices you heard."

Pale hands gripped the comforter until his knuckles were white, "It sounded like they were having a pretty serious conversation and not a happy one. It was always the same two people that were talking: one of them sounded like they were trying to solve the situation while the other seemed to be in denial," Yuugi bit his lip as his next words stuck in his throat. His neck became tight and his efforts to mouth the words resulted in broken squeaks, "I think-" pressure behind his eye warned him of the oncoming tears, "I think someone is going to die."

His mother was silent, "Is that so bad?"

Yuugi choked as he finally turned to look at his mother and noticed she had her head bowed, "Of course it's bad! They both cared for this person, so much so that they were fighting over him! Something precious is going to be taken from them and there is nothing that can stop that!"

His mother lifted her head.

Yuugi felt tears slip down his cheeks.

Staring back at him were the broken, purple eyes of his mother, "I know, Honey. I, too, have felt that loss before."

Yuugi hiccuped, "But I don't want to know that loss, mom," he wiped away one of his tears with his sleeve, but more came, "I felt that pain in their voices and that pain in remembering. Isn't it better to just ignore it?"

His mother let out a bitter laugh, "Oh, Sweety," she reached out and cupped his face, "I don't think this is something that you can ignore."

"Sure I can," Yuugi took a second to breathe when his voice closed up. It hurt to look at her, "I can stay here. Then the pain will just go away."

"It's one thing to lie to those who love you," she shook his face gently as desperation shone in her eyes, "It's another to lie to yourself."

"Mom…" Yuugi begged. The pain was creeping back into his mind as more tears feel past amethyst eyes. He could hear the voices, muffled and distant, but filled with pain and fear. The rain outside thundered in his ears and soaked his soul in dread. His body felt heavy.

"Yuugi, my sweet, beautiful Yuugi," she kissed his forehead before pulling away completely. He tried to follow when all the heat left his body as she retreated. Each step she took towards the door felt like a drop in temperature until she had a hand on the handle and was a shivering mess on the bed.

"M-mom, w-w-where a-re y-y-you-"

She smiled, "Don't be afraid, Yuugi. No matter how much it hurts to find out, it's worse to never know at all," she twisted the knob and began to walk out. Yuugi called after her and begged for her return. Over and over, he reached, called, cried, begged for her to come back, to stay by his side, yet she ignored him. It was only when he fell out of bed that she stopped and looked at him with tear filled eyes. She smiled, but it was filled with sorrow, "I'll see you again, Yuugi. Just wait for me."

As the door clicked shut, the pain and the voices numbed. His eyes shifted from the bed behind him to the door in front of him. Every glance at the bed made the pain numb and his thoughts began to clear; on the other hand, every glance at the door brought forth the pain and voices that called out in desperation.

He could go back: he could lay in that bed, fall asleep, and pretend that this day never happened or, he could follow the voices, follow the pain, and find the truth. While his mother encouraged him to find the truth, he shied away from the torment that the truth brought. He didn't have to know, nor did he want to know, what the truth was. Some things are better left unsaid, and this was one of those times. It was okay not to know everything and it was okay to live his own peaceful life. There was nothing wrong with that. Absolutely nothing.

Yuugi began to drag himself towards the bed until he was able to grasp its cotton sheets. It would be so easy; the voices were only whispers. And yet….

Torn, amethyst eyes glanced back tot he door. Someone was crying. People were yelling. His heart ached for their broken hearts. Would it be bad if he found out? No. Would it hurt? Yes. He had already felt a similar loss but was lucky that his father left before his memory could preserve every detail. They had plenty of great times and the memories he had of his father were happy and untarnished by his passing. These people, these poor, grieving souls, they didn't get that liberty. They would remember every detail. Every smile, every fight, every laugh, every tear, every moment that they shared together before they were ripped away from each other. They would have no one to lean on except each other and their own broken, sobbing shoulders.

Maybe… maybe if he was there then he could shoulder some of that pain. Maybe… if they had someone new, they would have a distraction. Maybe… he could help them despite his own pain.

Yuugi's hand dropped from the bed as he turned back to the door. Then he began to crawl towards it.

The pain began to grow. At first, it was just the voices, louder and louder they grew, but their words were still frantic and jumbled. Their raw emotion was enough to make Yuugi think twice on his decision, but his mother's words rung in his ears.

"Don't be afraid, Yuugi. No matter how much it hurts to find out, it's worse to never know at all."

Along with the voices, the rain increased in volume until it was on him, pounding onto his skin and drenching his already heavy body. His arms felt like lead and his legs were dead weight behind him. Worst of all, the smooth tile floors warped and became rugged, stone. Each inch he progressed scrapped his skin through the fabric until he swore he felt blood.

"Yuugi!"

"Yuugi where are you?!"

"Yuugi please come back!"

The voices. They were coming from the door. They were just behind the door.

"He's up here!"

"Yuugi!"

"Yuugi, say something please!"

His hand was on the cold, wet doorknob and his body radiated pain. Tears coursed like a river down his cheeks, but the salty liquid mixed with the dull rain from above. He couldn't turn back now. He turned the handle.

"Hurry!"

"Yuugi?"

"YUUGI!"

The ground was gone. He couldn't feel it. All he could feel was the stabbing pain fading away like fog and the colors around him swirl. The bright lights of the school turned blue. The white halls where black, the sick smell of bleach and books was now sweet like syrup yet crisp as rain.

For a split second, that one split second, his body felt weightless and all his pain was gone. It was just him and the falling rain. Nothing else.

Then something caught his leg.

Gravity dragged his body down.

His aching limbs hit the black stone of the castle walls.

Frantic, gasping voices shouted orders.

He saw the ground already so far, far away disappear over the edge of a stone floor.

He was brought away from the edge and into shaking arms.

They were rocking.

"Yuugi, Yuugi, I'm so sorry. Great Goddess Mira, please don't take him. Don't take my Yuugi. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Even through the cold, heavy rain, Yuugi could feel the warm tears of the other teen soaking into his hair. Yuugi blinked before his own eyes began to water with fresh tears. Slowly, so not to scare the already shaken man, Yuugi wrapped one arm around Yami's neck.

"It's okay, Yami. I'm here."

Yami didn't say anything, and when the king began to cry harder, Yuugi knew that he couldn't. His uneven breathing became hysterical and his wails and apologizes echoed over the pouring rain. Yuugi chanced a look around the tower. Yusei and Mana were there. They looked exhausted, shaken, and defeated as Mana bawled her own eyes out and Yusei watched with pure disdain.

Yuugi couldn't look at them anymore; instead, he buried his face in Yami's neck and clung to his lover for dear life. Quietly, so only Yami could hear, Yuugi whispered into his lover's ear.

The prince cried a heart-wrenching wail that all Lelanians heard.

"It's time to let me go."