DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh,
Chapter 9 The Smallest One
Three weeks had gone by, and Charles had not heard from Pegasus, this was putting him on edge. Waiting on Charles part was not what he was best at in life, when he had to wait it just made him more edgy. (You were not like this once)'And your point' (I was just saying that you did love her and wanted to spend the rest of your life with her and have a family)'I would still have that family, if it was not for the power thing.' (You knew about the power)'She lied to me; she told me that it would not happen to our children!'(She told you that she did not know)'Yeah, right she did and now she will pay and give me a normal child not a freak like we had the first time.' (You are not the man I knew, you have lost it, and when it comes down to it you will lose)'Then, why are you talking to me?' There was no answer. Charles merely smiled. Later that night Charles paced the room he was in waiting for the phone to ring. 'Damn when is he going to call. I want her back; this waiting is not helping at all.' He looked at the phone as if he could will it to ring. In the end, it just turned out to be dirty looks towards the phone. To Charles surprise, the phone started to ring causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. Walking over to the phone, he picked it up. "Hello?" Quietly he listened to the other person on the other end of the phone. Suddenly an evil grin stole across his face "Yeah, I have that much. Wait a second let me get a pen." He quickly looked around for a pen and paper. "There you are." He said walking back to the phone "Alright I will need the number for the transfer." Then all that could be heard in the room was the scratches of a pen on paper "Yeah, I got it. So when will it happen?" Nodding his head, he said, "Ok, that will work for me. He became quiet again, "Yea, they can drop it off at this address, Taylor Rd. in the mountains, off 45, lodge 13." Nodding his head, he said, "I will wait for the call." Charles hung up the phone. "Now the fun begins!"
He was planning to leave soon, thinking at the same time of all the stuff he would need for fun. "You will be mine again Tea, don't get me wrong. I want my toy back" With that, thought he laid on the bed and fell asleep thinking of all the fun stuff he would need.
Yami came looking for Tea, for he felt he had waited long enough. 'She has been avoiding me since that night, it is time to talk, whether she likes it or not.' Finding Tea down stairs in the laundry room, Yami stopped to take a real good look at her 'She has put a little weight back on, not as pale as she was before. It is now or never.' "Tea, we need to talk." Tea was folding clothes and didn't even turn to look at Yami "About what?" Yami didn't allow her actions to phase him. "Why you really came back, and what you are running from?" Yami stopped at the bottom of the stairs, sat on one of the lower steps, and looked at Tea. Tea froze 'I knew this would come up' "I left because I had to Yami for my son life." Yami knew he was going to hate himself in the morning for what he had to say next "Tea I know you have been running from Charles. He was the one that burned your parent's house down." Yami stopped right there, looking at Tea, he could not see her face, but her body was giving her feelings away. Yami knew what he had to say next was going to hit home.
With a sad sigh, he spoke, "Plus I know you were a sex slave to Charles his toy, and be pretty…"Shaking his head he said, "No, did he break you some where? Something snapped in you. Then you ran with Matthew." Yami did not say anything more, but watched Tea by the washer and dryer. Tea stood still, rock still and the only thing that came to her mind was 'He has known all along.' Then it happened. "So, what." her voice was so dead sounding, that it sent shivers down Yami spine. Tears started to fall down Tea's face, not giving him a chance to say anything at all she whirled around to face him "Yes, Yami I ran from Charles. I thought he loved me." Shaking her head and holding her hand up at him "At first it was love. Then he met this guy. It started to happen" sobs ripped threw Tea's body pushing her to her knees slowly she wrapped her arms around herself in a hug. Yami slowly stood up; Tea's emotions were going wild, 'She built a wall of pain around herself', which even Yami could feel. He could not get close to her; the pain would not let him.
Tears started falling from his own eyes. "Tea" was all he could say. Tea looked up at him, but the person he saw was not her, as if the Tea he knew was gone, the crying that still racked her body did nothing to help her at all. For a second her mind went to her son, the only thing that got through 'He is safe here.' Was the only thing Tea's mind could think of, then she stood up still looking Yami in the eye, she walked past him. What started out as a walk ended up in a run as Tea ran from Yami, her past, all the hurt that had plagued her since she went to New York. Yami seeing Tea start to run shouted "Tea wait!" that was all he got out before Tea sent to him ((Please watch Matthew for me)) then Tea was gone. Yami sat down again on the bottom step trying to figure were he had gone wrong.
Marik saw Tea fly out the door, he turned to walk down the same stairs that Tea had just come up. He saw Yami sitting on the bottom steps with his head in his hands. Marik sat next to Yami, putting his arm around his lover as Yami put his face in Marik's shoulder and cried. Marik sat their holding a sobbing Yami rubbing his back "It will be alright, Yami you will see." Yami started shaking his head "No, Marik it won't be she is so torn that I can even feel the pain." He brought his head up to look Marik in the eye "She is running from her self. The love she thought she had turned to pain. It was good and right at first, than it went down hill with hurt and mistrust." Marik understood for he almost became that person once, but he left that life behind and found love that was true. "Should we go after her?" Just as Marik said that, a clap of thunder rocked the house and rain began to fall outside. Yami dried his tears. "No, we will not be able to find her until she is ready to be found. By the way where is Matthew?" Marik smiled at the second question. "Following Bakura around. Last, I heard he was headed to the store. Matthew begging Buck to take him with him." Yami chuckled at that. "Well get ready for a very upset child who can't find his mother."
Yami stated 'Maybe I should have the house reinforced again.' Marik getting a funny look on his face "Shit it will be a very long night." Yami nodding his head. Walking up the stairs with Marik right behind him. Three hours later, a very grouchy, out of sorts Bakura, along with a very happy Matthew came walking in the house out of the rain. Bakura walked right to the living room falling on the couch, throwing one arm across his eyes. Matthew came up to him, Bakura didn't even look at Matthew standing there "Will you leave me alone Rugrat. Go bug someone else. Or, better yet go play in traffic." With a happy smile on that thought. Marik walked in on the two smiling, just as Matthew answered Bakura. "But, I can't you have to walk me there, and hold my hand Buck." Moving his arm Bakura glanced at Matthew with a growl. Marik raised an eyebrow "What is this?" he asked walking up next to Matthew and looking down at him. Matthew smiled up at Marik "Buck told me to play in traffic."
He started to walk off to go find Tea, and tell her about the shopping trip he had with Buck. Marik started to laugh. "Bakura that was not nice." Moving his arm again "So, what, after my afternoon I don't care." He shifted on the couch and covered his eyes with his arm again. Marik chuckled, and turned to look for Matthew who was walking away. "Matthew would you like some dinner? Ryou is making Mac & Cheese." Matthew stopped going down the hall, turned around and ran toward the kitchen. "Roo, I want to help!" Matthew shouted as he ran into the kitchen. Ryou said, "Ok, Matthew you get the pan, and the box and I will get it started." "Yeah!!" and then it was quite in the kitchen as they looked for all they needed for dinner. Marik looked at Bakura laying on the couch, he sighed. Bakura moved his arm again when he heard him. "Now, what?"
He growled at Marik as he looked at him. "Yami wants to talk to you in his room." Marik walked in to the kitchen to watch dinner being made by the two boys. Bakura sighed got slowly up from the couch feeling tired after his three hours with a 4 year old who never seemed to run out of steam. Walking up to Yami's room he knocked on the door, he heard Yami say "Enter." He opened the door, "You wanted to see me Yami?" Bakura said as he closed the door behind him. Marik along with Yugi who walked in to the kitchen to help, seeing Matthew there, knew Bakura was going to blow a fuse when he heard about Tea. When he did, they could hear him all the way in the kitchen. "SHE DID WHAT!?!" Everyone including Matthew winched at that. Matthew grew wide-eyed for the realization that he had not seen his mother since returning hit him at that moment.
Matthew looked Marik right in the eyes "Arick where is momma?" He looked around at everyone else to see if they could answer his question. Marik knew this would come up sooner than he wanted it to, but he and Yami had talked about what to say to Matthew. "Tea, went for a walk Matthew she should be back soon." Matthew looked very hard at Marik as if looking to see if he was telling him what was right. "You lie!" Matthew ran out of the kitchen calling for Tea. "Momma, where are you?" Fear covered his face as he ran through the house "Momma, Momma!" He called for her. looking in every room in the house. Tears started to fall from his eyes, when he could not find his momma. Matthew ran to Yugi's room to find Puppy.
Finding his only trusted friend, he looked around the room for a place to cry, not seeing one there he ran out of the room to find one. Yami, with anger tight on his face and Bakura came out of the room, just as Matthew ran past them looking for his momma and calling for her at the same time "Momma?" Yami watched Matthew run for Yugi's room, with a heavy heart he glanced at Bakura. Bakura's heart went out to the little boy crying for his mother. "It is going to be a very long night, Bakura." Yami said looking down the hall. "Yeah, Yami a very long night." Replied Bakura walking toward the kitchen. Yami started to walk toward the kitchen also, but something stopped him, turning around he headed to Yugi's room. At the door of the room, Yami stopped listening for the sounds of a crying child. The only sounds to greet his ears however were the sounds of silence. 'Now, where did he go?' He looked first under the bed, and finding nothing he headed to the closet, opened the door, nothing. 'This is not good.' Reaching out with his mind, ((Bakura, Marik, Yugi, Ryou. Matthew is missing. We need to find him fast.)) Getting the message Bakura was coming down the hall he saw Yami walk out of Yugi's room. "What do you mean he is missing?" he growled. Yami looked at all of them standing in the hall "I went to talk to Matthew, when I got there he was not there." Yugi looked in his own room too. "Did you look under the bed, and the closet?" asked Yami as he went to look under his own desk.
Glancing at Yugi looking under the desk "That is where I thought he would be too but he wasn't there." Marik looked down the hall that led to, two sets of stairs. "Did he pass either of you coming back down the hall?" He received a no, from Yami and Bakura at the same time. "Then he either went up or down." He said looking down the hall to the stairs. "So, we should split up to look for him." He looked at Yami and Bakura, "I will go with Yugi and Ryou, head down while you and Bakura go up." They nodded their heads and they spilt up to look for Matthew. Matthew had found the perfect room, to cry in. He opened the door, and slowly closed it behind him, he looked around, and tried at the same time to wipe the tears that kept falling down his young face. His momma was not here like she had always promised she would be.
The room was dusty, but that did not matter to him, as he walked over to an old desk sitting far in the back of the room. He sniffed, but that could not stop the tears from falling, as a sob ripped from his throat "Momma you promised!" Then he climbed under the desk opening. He wrapped his arms around Puppy, then the sobs came to him hard as they racked his little body, crying for his momma to come to him. On a subconscious level, Matthew was putting up a defense wall around him and Puppy. All that could be heard in the empty room was crying with a tearful voice "You promised." over and over again. Bakura had just come out of the last room, as Yami was headed to the attic, the last room to look in. Bakura was not far behind him Yami slowly opened the door listening for anything, then to both of them heard crying along with "Promise." coming from the room somewhere. Yami signaled Bakura, who nodded his head affirming that he too had heard the crying coming from the room. Yami sent to the others looking for Matthew, ((We found him. You had better stay down there. Bakura and I got it covered.)) He received a faint ((ok)), back from everyone else. Walking in the room, they started looking for the little boy crying. Yami went one way and Bakura went the other way to look under the furniture for the child. Just than a hiccup followed by a sob then "Promise" drifted across the room to them. Yami looked at the old desk seeing a small foot sticking out of the shadows.
Slowly he walked to the old desk, but then he had to stop, for because of the wall that Matthew had put up. Yami did not even turn around. "Bakura" he said quietly, making a grunt came from Bakura walked over to the desk too. He watched Yami sit down about two feet away, raising an eyebrow, he silently questioned Yami's actions. ((He put up a wall)), Yami sent to Bakura. Bakura nodded then sat down too. What they both saw tore at their hearts. Matthew was sitting under the desk covered with dust, his face tear covered, with the dust showing the trails of the tears that fell from his sad green eyes, his arms wrapped around a dusty Puppy. Matthew heard them sit down, he looked at their faces and saw the sad expressions they were looking at him with. "Go...Go away." He said between sobs.
Yami shook his head. Bakura shook his head also "We can't do that Rugrat." Bakura said in a sad voice, to the little boy sitting there looking at them. After a while, the sobs stopped coming, but the tears kept falling down his face. Matthew then looked at Yami "Momma promised." was all that he could say to them both. Yami was at a loss as to what to say to that statement, but Bakura knew what Matthew was saying. After spending so much time with the child, he understood what he was talking about. "Yes, Rugrat I know." Bakura said to him. Making Matthew turn to look at him, "Momma did not leave me?" He asked in a quite voice to Bakura. Nodding his head "No, she did not leave you behind. She needed time to think and get some things worked out. She will be back for you. Don't fear Rugrat, your momma loves you very much, and she will not leave without you." He said putting as much truth and understanding as he could into those words. Matthew shacking his head no "No, she went, she gone again and this time not coming back at all."
With sobs wracking his body again, the wall had not come down and neither one could get close to him. Yami felt so bad, for he knew this was his fault. He looked down at the dusty floor, trailed his finger in the dust, and did not look at Matthew "I am sorry Matthew, your momma and I were talking and she ran out on me. I could not stop her."
Guilt covered his voice. Matthew just looked at Yami, then he buried his face into Puppy's head, and sobbed all the harder. Bakura knew that at this rate they were not going to get Matthew out from under the desk at all. For the first time "Matthew.", making him look at Bakura "Your momma will be back soon, I promise. And if she is not back in the morning, I will go look for her and bring her back." Matthew looking at Bakura with a little hope in his eyes on what Bakura was saying to him. "I go too?" is all he put to Bakura. Bakura nodded his head "Yeah, you can come Rugrat."
A small smile came to Matthew's face, and the wall he had put up came down. Matthew crawled out from under the desk and went to Bakura, climbing into his lap, he wrapped one arm around Puppy, with the other grabbing Bakura's shirt, and he would not let go. Matthew slowly fell asleep with on word on his lips "Promise?" "Yeah." Was all that Bakura said, as he picked up Matthew and carried him down the stairs to his bed to sleep the sad night away. Bakura's face said so much more for the child that slept in his arms. Yami stood up with a small smile, 'He found me, he will find Tea," he thought as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.