Chapter Three: No Replacements
"Did you have a good time last night, daddy?" Yugi asked innocently.
"Yep," Yami said cheerfully. Yugi smiled. Yami ruffled his son's hair as he walked behind him. Yugi chuckled.
"Daddy!" he said as quickly put his lunch dishes in the sink and followed his dad to the back porch. Yami sat in a wooden rocking chair he had. Yugi smiled as he stood in front of his dad and raised his arms, signaling he wanted to be picked up. Yami smiled as he put his son into his lap. He kissed Yugi on the cheek. Yugi hugged him. Yami put his arms around his son. Slowly he rocked back and fourth. He felt Yugi relax as he drifted to sleep. Yami softly kissed Yugi's forehead. Often, when Yugi was with Yami while he was running errands, young women would compliment him on how cute Yugi was. Yami smiled at the thought. He held Yugi closer. He stayed like that for a while and continued to watch and rock Yugi. Then he heard the phone rang. He got up slowly and then went to the kitchen. He answered the phone.
"Hello?" he said softly, so he wouldn't wake Yugi.
"Hey!" a familiar voice said. Yami blinked.
"Seigyoku?" he asked confusingly.
"Yeah!" she said.
"How did…" he started.
"You're in the phone book." She said.
"Uhm, okay." Yami said.
"Hi ya!" Seigyoku said. Yami smiled.
"I'm okay." He heard Seigyoku giggle.
"Listen," she said. "I was wondering if you could give me your address and cell…you know since I gave you mine and…yeah." Yami was silent for a few seconds. He smiled to himself as he gave her the information. Yugi then sighed in his sleep, then coughed a few times. Yami immediately looked down at his son. "You okay?" Seigyoku said, thinking it was Yami. Yami blinked, realizing he had never told Seigyoku he had a son.
"Should I tell her now?" he thought. "Or wait and see if the relationship goes any further?"
"Hello!" Seigyoku's voice chimed.
"Sorry," Yami said quickly. "I was in deep thought." Yami was surprised he admitted that.
"Well," Seigyoku started. "I have to go. Bye."
"Bye." Yami said calmly. He hung up the phone, then looked down at Yugi again. Remembering that he had coughed, Yami gently put his hand on Yugi's forehead. It was slightly warm; but that could have been from him holding Yugi closely. He decided to let Yugi rest. He put Yugi in his own bed and went get the thermometer. He stuck it under Yugi's arm. When it started to beep, he took it out and looked at it. 98.9; it wasn't a total fever. He tucked Yugi in and went downstairs. He decided to watch a little TV. Around five p.m., Yugi woke up.
"Daddy?" he said hoarsely. Yami turned. He tried to smile, even though Yugi looked worse than before.
"Hey champ." Yami said.
"My head hurts." Yugi said. Yami walked over to Yugi and picked him up.
"You need to rest, young one." Yugi coughed. Yami hugged him. "Let get you back to bed."
"But dad…" Yugi groaned. Yami chuckled.
"You want to eat first?" he asked his son. Yugi shook his head. Yami sighed. He was running out of options. "How about I come lay down with you?" Yami asked. This made Yugi smile. Yami chuckled. "Okay," he said. "Go change into your pajamas and I'll be right up." Yugi nodded again. Yami put Yugi down and went into the kitchen and decided to fix Yugi some soup to see if he would eat. When the soup was finished, Yami bought it upstairs and found Yugi was already in bed. Yami smiled. "I know you said you weren't hungry, but I fixed something anyways." He said as he sat next to Yugi in bed. Yugi nodded and took the bowl from his father.
"Daddy?" Yugi said between a bite.
"Hm?" Yami asked as he put his arm around Yugi.
"Can you tell me a story?" Yami chuckled.
"About what?" Yugi hesitated. Yami looked down at him. "It's okay," Yami whispered.
"About mom…" Yugi finally said. Yami hesitated. He hugged Yugi with his arm and kissed him on the forehead.
"Let's see," Yami said, thinking of something. "I remember…" As he told the story, he made Yugi laugh and smile. When he was done, he said "Okay, now you need to rest." Yugi frowned, but nodded. Yami smiled and tucked Yugi in. "You'll feel better soon," he whispered. "I promise." Yugi smiled, then yawned. Yami kissed Yugi softly and moved his lighting-bolt bangs out of his face. As he left the room, he turned off the lights and went downstairs. He remembered when Yugi was about three; he had gotten his tonsils out. Yugi was miserable for about a month. Yami hoped this illness wouldn't be a repeat.
Unfortunately, Yugi's sickness got worse as the week went on. On Monday, his fever shot up; of course he didn't go to school. On Tuesday, his cough worsened and his sore throat made him mute. By Thursday, Yami wasn't sure if he would be able to make his date…at least that what he told Seto over the phone. "I'll watch him," Seto offered.
"But," Yami started to protest.
"Yami," Seto continued. "Just send him to bed early; I'll come around seven. You go pick up Sei and come home when the date's done!" Yami thought about it.
"What if he wakes up? He'll freak if I'm not there."
Seto thought about it, then replied "Drug him!" Yami's jaw dropped, but he glared at the phone when he heard Seto laugh after a few seconds.
"Damn you!" Yami said.
After Seto stopped laughing, he said "Seriously! Just give Yugi some Nyquil or something."
"I don't know…" Yami said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Hey!" Seto said. "Do you trust Joey more than me!"
"Not with responsibly no, but as far a having fun with Yugi—."
"What's that suppose to mean!" Joey's voice said. Yami looked at the phone.
"Joey, how long have you been there?" Yami asked.
"The whole conversation!" he said proudly. Yami slapped is forehead and shook his head.
"Fine, fine…" Yami said, giving in. "Seto, are you sure you're not all that busy?"
"Positive, my friend!" he said. Yami said his good-byes and they hung up. He called Seigyoku and said he'd be there at seven.
Yami put on a black overcoat. It was Friday night, six o'clock; so he had one hour to finish up. He had just given Yugi his medication, so he should fall asleep soon. As Yami tried to better himself, the door bell rang. He went downstairs and answered the door. Seto smiled. Yami did the same and let him in. "Lose the overcoat." Seto said as he sat on the couch. "It's hot out like there's not tomorrow." Yami smiled, mostly to hide his nervousness as he took his coat off. He was wearing his long-sleeve white dress shirt and his black suit pants. Also black, polished shoes. Seto smiled at him and asked "Nervous?" Yami crossed his arms and looked away from Seto.
"No, not at all." he said. Seto gave him a look, but said nothing. Yami said goodbye and left. When he started to get close to Seigyoku's house, he realized she lived in the suburbs…or more of the forest. (A/N: This is where the Yugioh/DBZ crossover starts.) Yami finally found the house. It was a funny-looking, dome shape. He blinked and walked over to the door. He knocked gently. A tall, boyish looking man with thick black glasses answered.
"Uhm," Yami said. "Hi, is Seigyoku home?" The man glared at him. Before he could say anything, Seigyoku pushed him into the door.
"Hi ya, Yami!" Seigyoku greeted cheerfully. Yami blinked.
"Hi." Yami said.
"That," she said pointing to the man. "Is my older brother, Gohan." By this time, Gohan was standing normally. Yami offered to shake his hand, but Gohan didn't move.
"Sei," Yami said. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you."
"Fire away!" she said.
"Uh," Yami said. "How old are you?" She opened her mouth to speak.
Gohan spoke first. "Sixteen!" he said. Yami's eyes widened in fear. Seigyoku hit Gohan over the head with her shoe, which was weird because Yami didn't see her take it off. "Okay!" Gohan continued. "She's nineteen!" She hit him twice this time, sending him to the floor. "Alright, alright." He screamed. "She's twenty-three!" Seigyoku smiled. Yami cautiously did the same. She smiled warmly.
"Shall we leave?" Yami said motioning toward his car. She nodded. When she reached the car, she gasped.
"Oh my God!" she said. Yami turned.
"What?" he asked.
"You're car!" Seigyoku said, running over to it. Yami blinked. He didn't get it.
"What about it?" he asked, walking to the driver's side.
"Dude!" she said. "It's a Lamborghini!" He chuckled at her as they go in.
"So," Yami said. "You've never seen a car like this?" He started the car up.
"Only in books." She explained. The seats were very comfortable. Yami smiled at her and drove to the restaurant. "Wow," Seigyoku said as they exited the car. "This place looks great." Yami glanced at Seigyoku. Back at her house, he hadn't been paying attention to what she was wearing. She was in a very dressy shirt and matching pants. The outfit followed her figure well. "Something wrong?" she asked. Yami shook his hand. Offering her his arm they walked inside. The waiter led them to their table. They had casual conversation as they ate their food.
"So," Yami said. "Tell me about yourself." Seigyoku hesitated, gathering her thoughts.
"Well," she said. "I'm pretty energetic; just to warn you." Yami chuckled. She smiled and took a sip of her wine.
"Were you the top student in your class back in school?" Yami asked.
"Kinda," she said. "I was like the third best. Were you?" Yami nodded, somewhat embarrassed. Seigyoku giggled. "Gohan is." She said, rolling her eyes. "The precious star of the family." Yami could hear the sarcasm in her voice.
"Were you ignored often?" Yami asked sympathetically. Seigyoku shook her head.
"No," she said. "Even though I was the middle child, I was the baby because I was the only girl."
"I was an only child." Yami said.
"Lucky!" she said, glaring at him. Yami chuckled again.
"Your brothers were mean to you?" Yami asked.
"Sorta," she continued. "They got a hold of me every now and then, but when they pissed me off…I got them back!" she added quickly.
"I was picked on in school." Yami said.
"Really?" Seigyoku asked. Yami nodded. When they were done eating, Yami took Seigyoku to a romantic movie. During the movie, Yami slipped his arm around Seigyoku. She rested her head lightly on his shoulder. After the movie, Yami asked her if she would like to walk on the beach. Seigyoku said yes and they headed for the beach. Yami parked the car and they got out. "Wow," Seigyoku said. Yami smiled at her.
"You like the moon and ocean?" Yami asked her. She giggled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Kinda," she said. "It's just been a while since I've been here." Yami smiled and they started their walk. Seigyoku kept glancing at the ocean. "It's beautiful, huh?" she asked. Yami looked and her.
"Yes, very." Seigyoku looked at him, then blushed. Yami smiled and took her hand. They walked hand in hand along the beach for a while. When the date was over, they walked back to the car and Yami started to drive Seigyoku home. Halfway there, they saw the flashing lights of police cars.
"What happened?" Seigyoku asked.
"Don't know," Yami said. He pulled over and got out. Seigyoku watched Yami go talk to an officer. He came back about ten minutes later.
"Well?" she asked.
"The officer said there was a car accident and that it was pretty bad." Yami got in the car and started it up. "He won't let me go through." He started to turn around. "Is there another route to your home?" Seigyoku shook her head.
"Not unless you can fly." she said. Yami had to laugh. Seigyoku mentally slapped herself. Yami hand her his cell phone.
"Call your mother." She looked at the cell phone, then took it. Before she started dialing, she looked at Yami.
"How'd you know I lived with my mom?" Yami shrugged.
"I thought since you lived with your brother, your mom might be there too."
"So it was a guess?" she asked as she dialed the number. Yami nodded. She talked on the phone for about ten minutes telling her mother that she was going to stay over a Yami's house. A smile twitched at Yami's lips. When she got off, she sighed.
"Your mother doesn't approve?" Yami asked.
"That's putting it lightly." Seigyoku sighed.
"She's just worried about you." he said.
"I wish she wouldn't," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's annoying." He chuckled. She gave him a look. Yami cleared his throat.
"My parents were pretty strict." Seigyoku blinked. "Could you tell me about yours?" Yami asked politely. Seigyoku sighed.
"My mother is the definition of 'worry', my dad…is 'out of this world', my big bro is perfect, and my little bro is away at college." Yami nodded. When they pulled into Yami's driveway, Seigyoku stared wide-eyed. "Damn!" she said when she saw the house.
"What?" Yami said. "It's only three stories." Seigyoku glared at him. He smiled. They walked inside. "Hey, Seto." Yami whispered. Seto looked up from his novel. He smiled.
"Didn't hear him once." Seto whispered. Yami smiled. Seto noticed and gave a light wave. She did the same. They said their goodbyes and Yami sat down on the sofa. Seigyoku did the same.
"I had a great time." She whispered. Her voice was soft. Yami looked at her.
"Me too." he said. His voice was velvet in her ear. She sat closer to him. He put his arm around her. Accidentally, they both turned at looked directly into each other's eyes. Slowly, as if they were both under the same spell, their faces came together. They moment their lips met, they felt a relaxing sensation. Holding the gentle and warm kiss, they realized that this was their true love. Pulling apart, the passion stayed with them. Little did they know, someone was watching them.
Yugi glared at the woman in his father's arms. He was at the top of the stairs, peering at them through the railing. He had only been awake for about ten minutes, but that was enough. "I don't care who she is," Yugi thought. "She's not gonna replace Mom…unless she can play the game." With that thought, Yugi turned and went back to his room, climbed into bed, and slowly drifted to sleep.