Chapter title: Festival
Word count: 3.755
Chapter: 9/?
Chapter summary: Yami takes Juudai to a festival. Juudai strikes again.
Chapter warnings: -
Pairings: YamixYuugi
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
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Chapter 9 : Festival
It was Saturday and Yami was taking Juudai to the card game shop like he had promised. He was off on the weekends and had plenty of time to spend with Juudai. The kid was doing very well. He caught up with most school subjects quite quickly. Anzu had been very impressed. He had grown closer with Bakura Ryou as well. Not only were they working a lot more together on the project, along with Honda, their children had become best friends as well. Yami had hoped that Juudai would be good friends with Omote as well, but they acted more like acquaintances rather than friends.
Oh well, he couldn't force it. Yuugi had mentioned that Omote was shy around people he didn't know, so maybe the miniature Yuugi would open up eventually. He was already glad that Juudai had made friends in kindergarten.
There was one game shop Yami wanted to visit. For various reasons.
"Welcom- Yami? What a pleasant surprise!"
"Good afternoon Yuugi." Yami greeted back. Yuugi was standing behind the cash register of the small and humble shop. It wasn't big, and they didn't have much, but it felt really homey. There were shelves on either side of the store, and a shelf on the back of the register. That was where the more valuable products were displayed. Under the counter there was a glass case where the most valuable cards they had were sold separately. Yami didn't have much knowledge of the game, but they had a lot of stars at the top so he figured they were strong.
"Good afternoon." Yuugi greeted back, briefly hugging Yami. Fortunately to the both of them, this gesture went unnoticed by the little boy. Juudai had his face attached to the glass display of the counter. "How can I help you?" He asked after he let go.
Yami smiled down at Yuugi. "I promised Juudai some playing cards if he was good. Mazaki-san was very happy about him the first week." Yami told, looking at the little boy. Juudai still had his face pressed against the glass and had put his hands on it too.
"Juudai, take your hands and face off the glass. It'll get dirty." He scolded. Juudai looked at his dad and listened, running over to his new daddy and hugging his arm.
"I picked out the cards I want!" He cheered, dragging Yami with him to the counter. Yami chuckled and let himself be dragged. Yuugi smiled and walked to the counter, getting behind it."
"So, how can I help you?" He asked the little kid nicely. Juudai was too distracted to remember that he hated Yuugi.
"I want that one, and that one, and that one too!" He said as he pointed out card after card. However, Yuugi did not grab them. He looked at Yami instead.
"Yami, these are all quite expensive… some of them alone are already 4.000 yen." Yuugi said. Yami's eyes widened. That much for just one card? Ridiculous.
"Juudai." He said a little harshly, more than he intended. The boy was in such concentration that he got startled and jumped, looking up at Yami with big doe eyes. He tilted his head in confusion and question after he saw that his father was not angry at him.
"Those cards are too expensive. I'm sorry but I can't afford that."
"Oh…." It was obvious that Juudai was disheartened. His whole posture had sagged. Yami once again felt guilty for upsetting the kid. He never knew that having a child came with so much guilt.
Yami pleadingly looked at Yuugi. He knew the other man played as well. Yuugi would sometimes quite enthusiastically talk about it. Yami would just nod along, not understanding a word the other man was saying. Yuugi understood the plea.
"Juudai. Do you already have a deck?" he asked, leaning over the counter. The boy looked up at Yuugi and shook his head. "Well then, you have two options." He turned and grabbed off a couple stuff from the shelves behind the counter. "You can buy a starter deck, which you can immediately play with, or you can buy booster packs and build your own deck. However, if you haven't played before, you should get the starter deck and get used to the cards." Yuugi explained.
Juudai pouted, did Yuugi think he was stupid? Of course he knew the cards! At the orphanage they had a few cards that you could use to play. But the older children never left any good cards for him. His sole problem was that he couldn't read the effects most monsters had. He was sure he could've beaten them if he had been able read it. He would just ask Yami to decipher the effects of the monsters and memorize them to play. He couldn't wait to play against Johan next school day! He turned to Yami and hugged the man's middle.
"Daddy can I get six booster packs?" He asked really nicely.
"Isn't six a little too much?" Yami asked, ruffling the boy's hair slightly.
"Actually, that is perfect to build up a deck." Yuugi said with a big smile. Yami rolled his eyes. His wallet would be lighter and Yuugi's would be heavier. But then again, it was his decision to come to Yuugi's shop.
"Okay." He said with a small sigh, taking out his wallet. Juudai jumped up and down and chose the series he wanted. Yami handed the money to Yuugi. Pressing a few buttons, the cash register opened and Yuugi handed Yami back his change. Trusting Yuugi to give back the correct amount of change, he looked behind the man instead.
"What is that?" He asked, pointing at the small poster on a bulletin board behind the counter. Yuugi looked behind him as well.
"Oh that. There is a festival tomorrow at the shrine in town. It's for parents and children." Yuugi explained, handing the small package with the booster packs to the little boy. Juudai was ready to rip it all open. Yami noticed so he snatched the package out of the little boy's hands. Juudai voiced his complaints but those fell on deaf ears.
"Are you going?" Yami asked, holding the bag up high so Juudai couldn't reach it. This however, didn't stop Juudai from still trying. He jumped up and down to try and get it. Despite Yami's shorter than average stature, he still couldn't reach it.
"I don't know yet." Yuugi answered with a small sigh. "Mom doesn't like going, cause of all the happy couples you know." Yami nodded in understanding. "But 'Mote's been dropping hints that he really wants to go, so I might take him instead of my bastard father who decided to go fuck a young slu-"
"Yuugi!" Yami almost snapped.
Yuugi's eyes widened, his hands covering his mouth. Yami had placed his hands on top of Juudai's ears. The little boy looked so confused, it was actually kind of cute. "I am so sorry Yami! I just… I lost it for a moment." His hands went from his mouth to cover up his whole face.
"It's okay Yuugi… I know it's hard for you." Yami said before taking his hands off of Juudai's ears. He cleared his throat. "Juudai, would you like to go to the festival?" He asked to change the tense atmosphere.
The little boy's whole face brightened up. "Yes!" He cheered, jumping into Yami's arms.
"Well then, that's settled." Placing his hands on the shoulders of the little boy, Yami gave a light squeeze. "We'll go to the festival tonight." He glanced at the poster again. The parents and child were all wearing yukata's. Yami didn't own one, neither did Juudai. "Any idea where we can get a yukata?"He asked, Yuugi.
"Yeah, there is a discount shop pretty close to here. Just go straight when you leave the shop and go right at the third intersection." Yuugi explained, pointing to the direction he told.
"Thanks." Yami said, smiling at the young man. He held out his hand to Juudai. "Shall we go then?" The little boy jumped into the air with a cheer and grabbed the hand of his foster father, dragging him out the shop. Yuugi smiled as he watched the duo leave. The pure bliss on the face of the child made him feel like taking Omote too. He would do anything to make the little kid happy.
-o-o-o-o-o-
As the evening came, the festival started. Lanterns were hung everywhere, stands of all kinds were set up in neat lines. Juudai was standing in the middle of it all, taking it all in. Food stands, candy stands, game stands, they were all so bright! He couldn't wait to try it all out! Yami was standing behind him, holding his hand with his right and holding a paper with his left. It was the pamphlet of the festival he was reading.
Juudai saw a small pool and ran over to it, Yami following. It was a small makeshift pond with orange and black goldfish swimming in it. A few people with hunched at the edge, a small net made out of rice paper in their hand. Juudai watched with an open mouth as he watched a young woman scoop up a goldfish. It started flailing the moment it reached the surface, tearing the tender paper. The fish fell through and back into the water, swimming away from the woman.
She pouted, making her male companion laugh awkwardly. He handed the stand owner some money and got a new net. He tried scooping up a smaller goldfish and caught it without the net breaking. The stand owner put it in a bag and handed it to him. The woman squealed and hugged me man's arm, making him blush.
"Daddy! I wanna try that too!" Juudai said, pointing at the pond and tugging at Yami's sleeve. Yami finally looked up from the pamphlet and at the pond. A reminiscent smile formed on his lips as he remembered his goldfish scooping with his father. He had never won one though. The rice paper was incredibly fragile.
"Sure, you can try it." Yami said, handing some money over to the man. It was cheap, one net was 100 yen. The man probably made tons of money. Goldfish weren't expensive, and there were quite a few determined people. He handed the net to Juudai, watching as the kid squatted near the edge, surveying the goldfish.
He placed the net into the water, making it wet instantly. A goldfish swam right through it, breaking the net. Juudai took it out, looking through the hole. He turned to look at Yami, with sad puppy eyes. Yami bit his lip, trying to resist the eyes. If Juudai wanted a goldfish, he could get it at the pet store for cheap. As the eyes started to water, he caved and handed the man some more money. This time he hunched down besides Juudai.
"Don't plunge the net in completely, it'll break faster if it's completely wet. Just put the tip of the net in water and scoop up a goldfish when it passes." He explained. Juudai nodded and did as his father told him. He managed to scoop up a fish, but it was fat and the weight broke the net as it flailed. Juudai looked at Yami again with those big, twinkling eyes. Again he could not resist. Handing the money over to the man again, he sighed and hunched down next to Juudai again. The boy tried out the same tactic as before, but this time chose a slimmer fish.
Third time's the charm. Juudai caught a fish. It was an orange goldfish with white specks on the body and fins. He took the bag with the fish in it from the man with a huge smile. "Well done Juudai, I never managed to catch one whenever I tried it." Yami complemented, patting the boy on the head. Juudai smiled brightly as he held the plastic bag close to his face, watching the little fish swimming in circles.
"What are you going to name him?" Yami asked, taking the kid's hand and walking through the crowd. Juudai hummed as he followed Yami.
"Yuki!" He suddenly shouted. Yami stopped and looked at the kid in slight confusion. "I'm going to name him Yuki." Juudai said, holding up the bag. Yami chuckled, feeling silly having forgotten the fish already. Then again, he should remember to buy a bowl… and fish fodder. Great, more expenses. He knew that having a child was going to be costly, but Juudai was getting more expensive with the day. Also, he didn't expect Juudai to be able to clean the bowl, so that was another thing to add to his chores. He would probably also forget to feed it, so one more thing to add.
A small sigh escaped his lips as Yami thought about all this. Tugging at his sleeve brought him back to reality. "Papa? Is something wrong?" Papa? Well that was new.
"No, I was just thinking. So why did you chose Yuki?" He asked, continuing to walk through the festival.
"He has snowflakes on him." The boy explained, pointing at the white spots on the body of the goldfish. Yami laughed.
"That's a very clever name Juudai." He complimented, petting the boy's head. "So, what do you want to do next?" Juudai looked around. There were a few more games to play, food to eat and other things to do. His mouth watered as he saw the stand with chocolate covered bananas. He had seen them on TV and wanted to eat them ever since.
"I want one of those!" He said, pointing at the stand.
"Then let's get some." Yami chuckled. The chocolate covered bananas looked very good indeed. After the tasty snack, they played a few more games and took a picture together at a photo boot. They were standing in the queue for some takoyaki. It had gotten pretty late and all the activity had made them hungry.
"Yami?"
"Yuugi!" Yami couldn't help but shout as he saw the object of his desire out of the line with his little brother holding his hand. Yuugi was wearing a simple light blue yukata while Omote wore a peach colored one. "You made it!" Yami cheered, almost getting out of the line. If Juudai hadn't pulled him back, he would've lost his spot. And it was almost his turn too.
"Could you wait a little for us?" Yami asked, gesturing at the stand. Yuugi smiled his ever charming smile and nodded, standing off to the side so he wouldn't block the way for other people. As Yami waited in line, no one but Omote noticed the glare shot at them. Juudai was holding onto Yami's clothes as he peered at the two. Yuugi was checking his phone while Omote was hiding behind his older brother. He feared the other boy after what had transpired during recess at kindergarten.
Yami bought some extra dumplings in case Yuugi and Omote were hungry. This also gave him a chance to spend more time with him. Yuugi accepted the octopus dumplings after Yami insisted. Yuugi tried to feed Omote one but the child absolutely refused. Yuugi noticed that he was even more silent than usual.
After eating the dumplings, the four just walked around, enjoying the view and the company. Yuugi had noticed that Omote was awfully quiet. It was true that the boy was shy around new people but he should know Juudai by now and he met Yami at the Kindergarten.
"Omote." Yuugi started. "Is there something wrong? You was so excited to come here." They had stopped walking to rest up a little.
"Do you not like walking with us?" Yami asked, kneeling down to Omote's level. All it did was make the kid even more shy and completely hide behind Yuugi. Juudai didn't like it, Yami was forgetting all about him again. Why did they have to come and steal Yami from him? This festival was the perfect opportunity to bond with Yami and everything was going perfectly until Yuugi showed up!
"Too shy huh? Actually, why did you come, Yuugi? Not that I'm unhappy you're here but I thought you didn't want to come."
"Omote said he really wanted to go. When you came here earlier and told Juudai you were going, his happy face convinced me to go. I thought Omote would be happy too, but I guess I was wrong." Yuugi sighed.
"Daddy I'm tired! Lift me up!" Juudai demanded. He stretched out his arms to be picked up. Yami slightly glared at the child for demanding instead of asking.
"What did you say?" He asked sternly. Juudai gulped.
"I'm tired, can I please ride on your shoulders?" He asked really sweetly. Yami rolled his eyes but complied.
"Fine, but do not talk to me like that ever again." Juudai nodded, knowing he had passed the boundaries. Since Yami was already kneeled down, Juudai could easily climb onto the shoulders of his father. Yami stood back up, holding tightly unto Juudai's legs.
"I wanna go home." Omote said softly from behind Yuugi. The small man sighed, looking apologetically at Yami.
"Sorry I couldn't spend that much time with you today Yami. I really did enjoy it though." Yuugi said with a hint of a blush on his cheeks. Yami smiled brightly.
"So did I."
The two leaned in to hug each other goodbye. Juudai huffed as Yami wouldn't let go of Yuugi. They were losing precious festival time here! Yami was seriously so lost in the scent that was Yuugi, that he forgot to let go. It wasn't until he heard Yuugi gasp that he let go. Looking at him, Yami saw that Yuugi was very rigid and would twitch from time to time.
"Yuugi?" Yuugi did not answer but gasped again, before making a spastic movement. Yami quickly grabbed Yuugi and dragged him off to an isolated area. "What's wrong?" Yami asked Yuugi, slightly shaking him, away from prying eyes.
"T-there something in my y-yukata… Oh my it's moving!" Yuugi started shuddering and wiggling to get away from the thing in his clothes. "Take it out!" Yuugi shrieked. Yami extended his hand to unwrap the obi around his waist but hesitated. Yukatas were usually worn without any undergarments. He was sure that Yuugi wouldn't appreciate it if he saw him naked. Omote had started crying behind Yuugi at his brother's discomfort while Juudai had plopped down on the ground with a small huff.
Yami grabbed the front of the robe and reached out to the back, untying the cloth that kept the robe together. As it fell apart, Yuugi grabbed it. Still, it slid down and exposed his shoulders, and a little bit of his torso, too. A small thud attracted their attention to short grass.
"A fish?" Yami questioned. Upon closer inspection, the fish seemed very familiar. It was orange and had white spots…. This was Yuki! The poor creature weakly floundered, before becoming motionless. "Juudai!" Yami roared, swirling around to face the child. "Did you do this?" He screamed. Juudai was startled to the point where he just fell back on his butt while sitting. He had not expected to be yelled at.
"Y-yeah…." The little kid said uncertainly.
"Why?!" Yami yelled.
Juudai had to swallow. "I-it seemed funny…." He said, head downcast, playing with his fingers. While Yami and Yuugi were hugging, he saw that there was a small opening at the collar of the back of Yuugi's neck. He had counted on Yuki to take revenge on Yuugi for ruining the festival evening with Yami.
Yami just growled and muttered incoherent things under his breath as he tried to control himself. He wanted to yell so badly, but even though it was a desolate area, other people could still come if they heard the screams, not to mention that Omote was still crying and Yuugi was still almost bare.
Yuugi! He quickly ran over to the petite male who was trying his best to cover himself up. As he pulled up one part, the other side just slid back down from the movements. Yami helped Yuugi to cover up again and tied the obi around his waist. It wasn't as neat as before but at least it covered Yuugi again.
"Thanks." Yuugi muttered silently. Yami could clearly see that he was holding back tears. This was the second time that meeting up had turned out disastrous. He really hoped their relationship wouldn't suffer under this. Yuugi had picked up his brother and shushed the child by cuddling him and whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Yami silently watched. He knew that Yuugi and Omote were really close since they only had each other, but to be honest, he was slightly jealous. He slowly approached them, gently putting his hand on Yuugi's shoulder.
"Shall I take you two home?" He asked, thinking that maybe Yuugi was flustered and wanted his support. But Yuugi shook his head.
"Thank you, but it's not necessary. I can go home by myself, I'm okay now." Yuugi said with a small smile, petting Omote's hair. Yami nodded and walked back to Juudai. He roughly yanked up the child to his feet.
"We're going home." Yami said in an authoritative voice. Juudai gulped and fell into steps with Yami as the man pulled him.
"Yami!" The man stopped walked, turning back to look at Yuugi. His eyes were pleading at him. "Please don't be too hard on him… it was just a prank. Kids pull pranks all the time."
Yami sighed, looking down at Juudai who was on the verge of tears. Then he nodded. "I promise Yuugi, the next time we go out, it will be just the two of us." With a quick goodbye, Yami continued to walk. But this time, Juudai stopped him.
"We are forgetting Yuki!" He screamed, pulling at Yami's sleeve to return to where the fish had fallen out. Yami yanked his sleeve free and firmly gripped the wrist of the boy.
"Yuki is dead."
Juudai had lost the will to fight back and get the fish. This whole evening had turned out to be horrible. He hated Yuugi even more than ever before. He had ruined his festival, he had killed Yuki and now Yami was mad at him.
He would get rid of Yuugi one way or another.
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Author Notes: Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again please don't hate Juudai! He's just a little kid ;-;
Sorry this took so long to update! My beta had done this chapter already and I just now got the strength and will to open up my laptop. Since I got a job recently, I haven't had much will to do anything at all. The job is fun and all, working in a sushi kitchen, but my body isn't used to physical labor. I prefer my little job behind a desk, so I'm still searching till I find something better.
I am also working on a one-shot that may become a two-shot or a three-shot right now. After this one, I will continue working on Sharing is Caring! I have written till chapter 11 so I need to hurry up before I am out of chapters to update D:
Thank you for the new favorites, follows and reviews, love you all! Next chapter: Confession