Masami: (sigh) Yami will you get over it?
Yami: But why didn't Yuugi and I kiss! It was the perfect moment!
Masami: No it wasn't! Besides, you can do it off stage all the time!
Yuugi: (blush)
Yami: . . . Well, I guess you have a point there.
Yuugi: (bigger blush) Yami!
Yami: n.n
Masami: But make sure you videotape it for me . . . and for . . . posterity . . .
Yuugi, Yami: Oo
Damion: Hey Masami! You might want to get going! We have a deadline to meet!
Jou: No you don't. If you did have a deadline, you would have filmed this part of the production.
Damion: yeah I know. We don't really have a deadline. Masami is far too lazy for that. But you know her; she wants to make this whole thing seem important.
Jou: ah.
Masami: Ok! Places! Kaiba, Yami! Get in your booth!
(The two sit down across from each other and sigh.)
Masami: Good . . . now background! . . . and Action! Roll Camera!
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Duel Three: The Illness Of Guilt
Tuesday (continuing from last chapter)
The two sat in a coffee shop, sipping on their favorite drinks.
"All right." Seto began. "So you think you love him, right? Do you know if he loves you?"
Yami shook his head. "No, I don't know. But when I leaned in to kiss him, he leaned in too. Maybe it doesn't mean anything. But I mean . . ."
Seto nodded. "Why would he go to kiss you back if he didn't feel something for you?"
"Exactly. So what do I do?"
Seto paused. "I guess your best option is just to lay low for a bit."
"Huh?"
He sighed. "Damn it. Ok, bad example. What I mean is don't try to kiss him just yet. Yes, he may want to. But it's best for the both of you, if you just try to find out how he feels for you.
If he doesn't love you and the two of you kiss, the next day he could just ignore you. Then you'll just have a broken heart. Besides, kissing without knowing isn't fair for him either."
He blinked. "What do you mean?"
Seto emptied his cup and ordered another. "Think about it this way. You go up to him and kiss him, but you never say that you love him. You don't give him any sign of your feelings because you're waiting to see how he reacts.
At first, that might sound like a good idea. But what if he thinks you only want to get into his pants?"
Yami slammed his fist down on the table. "Never! I would never do-"
"I know that. Just calm down, ok? This is only an example." He sighed before continuing. "If he were to think that, then he wouldn't want to be with you if all you feel for him is lust.
That's why your best bet is to just keep flirting with him. See how he reacts and if he flirts back. Then when you think the two of you are ready, and only then, tell him how you feel."
Yami bit his lip. "But . . . what if he doesn't feel the same?"
The CEO shrugged. "Hey at least you'll know right?"
XxX
Mai lightly rapped on Yuugi's door. "Little brother? Can I come in?"
"No!" Came his slightly muffled answer. "Why won't you let Yami be my friend? I care about him and I want to be with him! I know he cares about me!"
She shook her head in a pitying manner. "Yuugi, you don't know that for sure. For all we know, he could care less about you."
"That's a lie! Yami protected us from Ushio! Why would he even bother if he didn't care?" Yuugi screamed.
"He probably just wanted to get to you before Ushio did."
Yuugi kicked the door. "No! I won't listen to you any more!"
Mai glared and opened the door. "Yuugi, stop being so naïve! You're letting your emotions blind you!"
Yuugi covered his ears. "Stop it!"
"No! Not until you see the truth!" She shouted. "Don't you understand? Yami is no different from the others."
He slammed his fist on the nightstand. "You're wrong! Yami is nothing like them! I know he really cares about me and he would never hurt me!"
"Yeah? Well that's what you said about Keith and look where it got us!"
Mai gasped. 'Oh Kami . . . did I just . . .?'
The pain and sadness in Yuugi's face proved her right.
"Yuugi . . . I'm so . . . I didn't . . ."
Tears spilled out from his eyes. "I'm the reason that we-"
"No!" Mai fell to her knees and embraced Yuugi. She cried tears of regret into his chest. "No Yuugi. It's not your fault! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean it, Yuugi! Please! I didn't mean it!"
Her sobs stopped her from saying anything else. Yuugi said it was all right and forgave her.
They got ready for bed and lay down together. (A/N: no, they don't sleep together as in having sex. They could only afford one bed that they have to share!)
Mai held Yuugi's cheek. "I'm really sorry, Yuugi. I didn't-"
"It's ok, Mai. I'm not mad."
She nodded and said goodnight. After that, she fell asleep. But Yuugi found no rest that night.
He felt as if he were in shock.
'It's my fault. It's all my fault.'
Those words repeated in his head all night long. As the sun rose, he turned his back to Mai so she wouldn't see that he hadn't slept.
XxX
Wednesday
(Yami's POV)
I anxiously looked around the classroom. I was starting to get worried. Yuugi hadn't shown up yet.
Sure there was still half an hour before class started, but-
Oh wait there he is.
I turned around. "Kaiba, that's him. At the entrance."
He looked up from his paper and his eyes became wide. He pointed with his pencil and said,
"That's Yuugi?"
I nod.
"Wow. He looks just like you."
I smiled. "Yeah. But isn't he the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"
Kaiba scanned Yuugi's face thoroughly. "Yeah. He is pretty good looking. Although right now, it kind of looks like he's depressed."
I turn back to Yuugi just in time to see him arrive at his desk and sit down. Kaiba was right. He looked absolutely miserable.
I get out of my desk and kneel beside his. "Yuugi? Are you all right?"
He shook his head.
"What's wrong?"
Yuugi put a hand on his stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick."
I stood up and took his other hand. "Come on. I'll take you to the bathroom."
He leaned against me as we slowly entered the washroom two doors away from the history class.
Entering a stall, Yuugi fell to his knees and gagged a bit.
I put one of my hands on his back and the other on his forehead. I remember my mom telling me once that if someone is throwing up, a hand on their forehead will give them support so it doesn't feel like they're falling into the toilet.
If it makes him feel any better then I would just be glad I could help.
He gripped the sides of the bowl and emptied the contents of his stomach. Most of it was what could have been a half digested breakfast. I waited patiently for Yuugi to finish. All the while, I whispered reassuring words in his ear.
He flushed the toilet, signaling he was done. I picked him up and carried him to see the school nurse.
"Oh my, what happened?"
I laid him down on the empty bed. I explained what happened in the bathroom and told her both our names.
"Ishimaru-san, please can I stay with him?"
She thought about it for a moment before giving me permission.
The nurse put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Motou-san? Can you hear me?"
He weakly nodded.
"Can you tell me where you're in pain?"
Yuugi moaned. I held his hand to assure him that I was here with him. It didn't really seem to help him too much. I was very worried. What was wrong with him?
"M-my stomach hurts. A lot."
Ishimaru-san nodded. "I'm going to take your temperature, all right sweetie?"
He winced painfully. "O-ok."
She took out a thermometer and put it underneath his tongue. We waited for a minute before it beeped.
"Hmm. 98.6. You don't have a fever, so I think it's just an upset stomach." She said. "I can give you something to settle it, but for now, you can just lie down here until you feel better."
Yuugi nodded. "Thank you."
She smiled and left us alone for a moment.
I sat down beside him. "What's wrong, Yuugi? Do you know what made you feel sick?"
He hesitantly shook his head and I could tell he was lying. But I'm not the kind to press matters further if someone won't talk about it.
I stroked his hand with my thumb to calm him. His body had started to shake a bit.
"Hey now, it's ok. I'm right here, Yuugi. You're not alone."
He nodded. "Thank you so much, Yami. I feel better . . . now that you're here."
I smiled and winked at him. His face became red and he giggled.
If he feels better now that I'm here . . . would that classify as flirting back with me? I'd have to ask Kaiba about it.
The bell rang but I didn't make any move to stand up. Yuugi looked at me as if wondering why I hadn't left.
"I'm not going any where, Yuugi. Not until I'm sure you're all right."
He smiled but shied away a bit as his blush deepened.
Ishimaru-san returned and smiled. "All right you two love birds, break it up."
We both blushed.
"Atemu-san, you better get going to class."
I held Yuugi's hand tighter. "But you said I could stay with him."
"I meant for a little while. You have classes to attend to."
I stood up. "But-"
"I'll write a note so you're not marked as late."
Her tone told me there was no point in arguing. I turned to Yuugi.
"I'm sorry, Yuugi. But it looks like I can't stay with you."
He smiled. "It's ok. I'll be fine."
I gave him a one armed hug and took the note from Ishimaru-san. I said goodbye and left the room.
I hoped with all my heart that Yuugi didn't think I was abandoning him. I care about him too much to lose him.
(End Yami's POV)
(Yuugi's POV)
I sighed as my secret crush left the room. I missed him all ready.
But the guilt I felt overwhelmed his absence. I tried not to, but I winced as another wave of nausea washed over me.
The nurse turned her attention to me.
"Are you all right, little one?"
I nod. "What's your name?"
She smiled. "Ishimaru Michiyo. But you can just call me Michiyo. You don't have to be formal with me."
"You have a very nice name."
Michiyo thanked me. "You do as well. Is it all right if I just call you Yuugi?"
I allowed her, saying I wouldn't be offended. 1
"You should know Yuugi is one of my favorite names. I always want to call my son that name when ever I have one."
I smiled. "Are you married?"
Michiyo shook her head. "Not yet. Takumi hasn't proposed yet. I hope he will, but in a way, I don't think we're ready. Oh I'm sorry, Yuugi. I must be boring you."
"Iie, it's all right. I love listening to people talk." She smiled at me.
I smiled back at her.
"Yuugi, do you mind telling me what made you throw up?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "No?"
Again, I shook my head. "Sorry. I wish I was more useful."
"Oh, Yuugi. Don't say that. If you don't know then it can't be helped." She rubbed my arm gently. I smiled a bit and thanked her. I was glad I had so many kind people around me.
(End Yuugi's POV)
XxX
The bell rang freeing Morita-san's students from his History class.
Packing away his things, Yami heard his name being addressed.
"Atemu! Where's Yuugi?"
He turned to see her flaring anger directed towards him.
"Look, I didn't do anything. Yuugi wasn't feeling well so I took him to the bathroom. He threw up then I took him to the nurse's office. Ishimaru-san said he'd be all right."
She gasped. All her anger left and was replaced with worry and shock. "Oh no . . ."
"Don't worry, Mai. Ishimaru-san said he would be all right. He just needs to lie down for a while."
"And you just left him there with some stranger!"
Jou interjected. "Hey! Ishimaru-san isn't a stranger. She's the school nurse and she'll take care of Yuugi."
Mai glared at Jou. "Don't talk about Yuugi like you know him."
"I don't know him. I'm just saying-"
"Well don't!" She yelled. "This doesn't concern you!"
Morita-san stepped in. "Kujaku-san, that's quiet enough. You stirred up enough noise just the other day. Besides, I think it's about time that you and the others leave for your next class."
She grunted and turned to leave.
Jou and Yami walked together down the hall.
"Jeeze! What is her problem? You help Yuugi and she makes it seem like a crime!"
Yami shook his head. "She doesn't have a problem, Jou. She's just . . . protective of him."
"No kidding."
--
At lunch, Yami decided to introduce his friends to Yuugi. Mai got a detention for mouthing off their math teacher, Mrs. Watanabe. At least now it was safe to see him without getting any heat from her.
Yami lightly rapped on the door. "Ishimaru-san? May my friends and I visit Yuugi?"
She opened the door. "Of course, Atemu-san. Please come in."
They entered and Yami led them all to a bed.
Just behind a curtain surrounding the entire bed, Yuugi still lay where Yami had left him. They removed the curtain and Yami smiled at him.
"Hey, Yuugi. How do you feel?"
He smiled right back. "I'm fine, Yami. Thanks again for your help. It means a lot."
"It's no problem." He gestured his friends closer. "Yuugi, I'd like for you to meet my friends. This is Katsuya Jounouchi, but you can just call him Jou. Beside him is his boyfriend, Kaiba Seto. And this is Hiroto Honda."
Yuugi smiled and sat up, with a bit of Yami's help. "It's nice to meet you all. And it's an honor to meet you, Mr. CEO of Kaiba Corp."
Kaiba smirked. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Back in Nagano, I read all about you and how you're the world champion in Duel Monsters." Yuugi smiled. "I always wanted to meet you. Maybe you could help me improve my game a little."
He raised an eyebrow. "You play Duel Monsters?"
Yuugi nodded. "A little bit. But I can't exactly label myself as a pro. I never really had a lot of time to work on any strategies."
"I think all of us can help you there, Yuugi." Honda said.
He blinked. "All of you play?"
Jou nodded. "Yup. Kaiba and Yami are the best out of all of us of course. But Honda and I can give you a few pointers."
Yami smiled. "That's right. If you want to know how to lose, just ask those two."
"Hey!" The two exclaimed.
Yuugi laughed. "Yami be nice! I'm sure they aren't that bad."
"Thank you, Yuugi." Jou glared at Kaiba. "At least someone is defending me."
Seto was silent until he realized Jou was looking at him. "What?"
The blonde sweat dropped. "Baka Kaiba."
Yuugi laughed even harder.
In the back of the room, Michiyo's heart soared. 'Yuugi deserves to be happy. I just hope Yami is the one who can help him.'
Yami smiled. 'Yuugi is so happy now. It looks like Mai was wrong. He does need friends.'
"Hey Yuugi, why don't you join us for lunch tomorrow? Kaiba's buying for all of us." Honda said.
Seto raised an eyebrow. "And why was I not informed of this?"
Yami sighed. "Kaiba, this is why you show up to the meetings."
Yuugi smiled. "I'd love to join you for lunch. But don't worry, Kaiba-san. You won't have to buy anything for me. I just bring my own lunch."
They nodded.
Yuugi bit his lip as if he were unsure of something.
"What's wrong?"
He sighed. "Yami, I know this is kind of rude to ask . . . but do you know if Mai is ok?"
Jou smiled. "Yuugi, it's not rude to ask about your sister."
"Yeah." Honda said.
Yami nodded. "Don't worry about it, Yuugi. Mai is just fine. She's just not here because she got in trouble with one of the teachers and had a lunch detention."
"I'm not surprised. Mai usually is a trouble maker." Yuugi said, laughing.
The teen smiled. "So, do you plan on attending afternoon classes? If you're not there for Social Studies I won't have any one to talk to. Don't let me be all alone." Yami fake whimpered to try and convince him.
The boy sighed. "First of all, you don't have to beg. I was planning on going anyway. And second of all, you're doing it wrong. It's like this."
Yuugi closed his eyes and held his hands together. He scrunched his shoulders up and let his cheek rest against his shoulder. He opened his eyes and everyone gasped.
It looked as if he was about to cry if something didn't happen. They weren't sure what to do: give him a cookie or beat him with a stick because he's so cute.
Everyone (even Seto) tilted their heads and said,
"Aww . . ."
Yuugi smiled and returned to his normal posture. "See? What'd I tell you? Works every time and gets you whatever you want."
Yami gaped. "That's . . . I mean . . ."
Seto shook his head. "That's exactly like Mokuba."
Honda slapped his knee. "Thank you! I couldn't figure out where I knew that from!"
"Who's Mokuba?"
Seto smirked. "He's my little brother. He pulls that look on me all the time."
Yuugi lost his smile. "Oh."
Jou was about to ask him what was wrong when Ishimaru-san cried out and glass objects shattered to the floor.
The four of them jumped up to see if she was all right.
Michiyo had fallen to the floor and dropped a tray of glass jars holding various medical supplies.
"Are you ok, Ishimaru-san?"
She sat up. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just tripped on my shoelace. Could you boys help me clean this up?"
"Sure."
Everyone got on their knees to help. Seto and Jou gathered the shards while Honda and Yami picked up the medicinal provisions.
Michiyo left them to it and went to comfort Yuugi.
"Hey Yami? I think something's up."
Yami looked at him. "What do you mean, Kaiba?"
Everyone stopped cleaning to hear what he had to say. Seto continued just above a whisper.
"Think about it. Ishimaru-san said she tripped on her shoelace but she's wearing high heels."
Yami blinked. 'That's odd. Why would Ishimaru-san lie to us?'
Michiyo returned and smiled. "Thanks for your help boys, but visiting hours are over."
The teen looked down at her feet to see white high heels supporting her feet.
"Why are all of you staring at the floor?"
Honda replied with a quickly thought up lie. "Oh, we were just checking it for germs. But uh . . . seeing as how we can't see them, I guess we're done here."
The others stood up and left the room.
Kaiba looked at Honda disbelievingly. "Checking the floor for germs? Kami, it's a wonder you made it past second grade."
Michiyo sighed. 'I'm sorry everyone. Something just tells me Yuugi wanted you all to leave. Perhaps it's because . . .'
She shook her head and returned to her duties.
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Masami: CUT! Ok that's a wrap! Thank you everyone! I'll see you . . . uhh . . . yeah . . .
Yami: (rolls eyes) Masami-
Yuugi: Come on Yami let's go home (drags him away)
Masami: Have fun, Yuugi-chan!
Jou: Masami? Do Seto and I still have to-
Masami: Yes
Seto: (holds out video camera) (wink)
Jou: -.- (sigh)
Damion: Ok! See you all later! I'm off to the editing room!
Masami: Have fun, Yuugi-chan!...i mean…………….(walks away)
Yuugi, Yami, Seto, Jou: -.-
1 for anyone who doesn't know, calling someone by just their first name and not using an honorific could be very offensive
REVIEW and I'll lend you the tape of Yuugi-chan, Yami, Kaiba and Jou all making out with their respective boyfriends! Trust me it's really hot and nothing blurred out! n.n YAY!