S: Guhh…
Onyx: (raises an eyebrow) Not commenting.
S: Well, that's a first. I swear there's a time-space distortion wrapped around me. Every time I turn around, another freaking week has gone by! How am I supposed to get anything done?
Onyx: It's not like you do anyway…
S: (smacks)
Onyx: (ducks)
S: Roll story!!
Disclaimer see Ch. 1
Warnings: Uhh, angst, yaoi, SPOILERS, general weirdness, the usual.
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Lives to Live
Chapter 12: Returning
The early-fall winds were unpleasantly cool against Yami's face as he stepped out the door of the Game Shop. Frowning, he hunched his shoulders inside his leather jacket and headed towards the park.
Even though he'd known Kaiba was working on a solution – hells, the CEO had stopped by only two days before to say he'd almost fixed the issue – somehow, he'd never expected it to work. Some small part of him – or perhaps some not-so-small part of him – had hoped the monsters would be able to stay.
A nasty little sliver of wind darted down the back of his collar, and the former Pharaoh hissed in aggravation, pulling the leather tighter around his throat and hurried his pace a little. Oh, if only Japan had Egypt's weather!
Then again, he thought, ducking across the street at a break in traffic, how many days in Egypt did I wish for a cool breeze during the high summer?
Everything was a trade-off, after all. At least now he had Yuugi to help keep him warm at night. Chuckling at the thought, he sent a tiny trickle of consciousness down the link he still shared with the boy, brushing against the surface of Yuugi's thoughts.
'Mmmmm… oh, it's too cold for this, but it's so good…'
Yami blinked in confusion and stopped short on the sidewalk, bewildered. What on Earth was his little one doing to have something like that running through his mind? Particularly with the amount of pleasure that accompanied that thought?
'Delicious… I wish Yami were here to share with me…'
It wasn't until a trio of short-legged, long-bodied dogs collided with his legs that Yami snapped out of his trance. Waving off the apologies of the out-of-breath woman trying to keep their leashes untangled while she and the dogs jogged off again, Yami stuffed his chilled hands in his pockets and picked up his pace a little bit more. If Yuugi was enjoying himself that much, Yami felt a distinct obligation to go join in.
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Celtos pushed the door to the bedroom closed with his foot before turning a carefully patient gaze to Kaiba and Damus.
"Well?"
"Well what, Emrys?" Kaiba barked back, startling the Elf so much he nearly dropped the tea tray. Emrys had been his name in Ancient Egypt; even though the monsters' memories had returned when Master Yami's had, most had continued to use the names they had adopted in the meantime.
Kaiba, on the other hand, realized what he had said, swore in the ancient tongue, then cursed again, this time in Japanese and with twice the fervor.
"Issues?" Celtos asked mildly, setting the tray down on the dresser before Kaiba did something else to alarm him.
"Something like that," Damus replied in an undertone. "Love, you remember Kissara, don't you?"
Celtos' eyes darkened slightly. As a Captain in the Pharaoh's Guard, he had seen, but not by any stretch approved of, the actions the priests had taken to steal the monsters from the souls of their bearers. However, despite his protests, he'd been powerless to stop the practice. "Of course. The bearer of the Blue-Eyes."
The bedsprings squeaked sharply as Kaiba leapt off the bed and began pacing, muttering a litany of curses in a variety of languages. Finally, he spun to face Damus, who still sat calmly on the bed.
"Aren't you and the Blue-Eyes supposed to be mortal enemies?"
Damus looked slightly taken aback. "We were, at first. Being pitted against one another so soon after my death left something of a lasting mark on our relationship. After the spirit split, though, I discovered that Krathis was a wise and patient creature, and we eventually became friends."
"Krathis?"
"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon who was a part of Master Yuugi's deck when his grandfather still possessed it. While three of them rested with you, do not forget that we also held one-fourth of Kissara's spirit. However, where there should be four, there are now three and three only. The wisest and most powerful, Krathis, was the one destroyed. The others were weakened considerably as a result." As usual, Damus' tone was level and calm, without blame, censure, or anger, but Kaiba jerked back as though the mage had struck him.
"And you think I don't feel guilty about it? Not a day goes by that I don't regret what I did!"
"It was a regrettable action," Damus agreed calmly, and something in his expressionless face stole the heat from Kaiba's anger.
"They must hate me," the CEO muttered finally, slumping where he stood.
"No," Damus answered mildly. "Most monsters do not have the capability to hate their masters, any more than a whipped cur hates the man who beats it. If they saw you now, they would crawl to you on their bellies to lick your - " Damus was forced to summersault backwards over the bed to avoid Kaiba's fist.
"Don't you dare!" Kaiba hissed, white-faced and shaking. "Don't you dare talk about them like that! They are proud and noble creatures, and they will not abase themselves for anyone!"
"Actually," Celtos spoke up from behind Kaiba, "you're right." And when the duelist spun around to face him, Celtos used a blindingly fast series of movements to sweep Kaiba's feet out from under him, seat him neatly on the bed, and place a cup of tea in his hands.
Damus, meanwhile, popped up from behind the bed, eyes alight with merriment, not bothering to conceal the grin on his face.
Kaiba glanced disbelievingly between Celtos' faint smile and Damus' wide grin before leveling a glare at the mage. "You tricked me."
"Yes, I did." Swinging back across the mattress, Damus tucked his feet comfortably under him and accepted a cup of tea from Celtos. "You see," he began, turning back to face Kaiba, "ever since you destroyed Krathis' card, there have been doubts about your worthiness to be Master of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons."
"Doubts," Celtos added as he sat down between the two of them, cup of tea in his hand, "which you have just put to rest."
There was a long silence while Kaiba digested this. After a few minutes, however, he finally raised his tea to his lips, being sure to keep his head down so that neither of the monsters would see his faint smile.
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The winding concrete paths of the park were slow to lead Yami to his destination, spurred on though he was by his light's bizarre thoughts. The only advantage the half-frozen former Pharaoh could find to scrambling his way over the meandering trails that must have run at least ten times the straight distance, was that he was at least beginning to thaw a little.
When he finally rounded the last corner hiding his Hikari from view, he stopped short in utter amazement.
'Oh, so good…' Yuugi blinked, raising his shocked gaze to meet his other half's crimson eyes. Unapologetically, he licked the traces of thick white liquid from around his mouth, then smiled and beckoned to his dark over.
'Yami, I wasn't expecting to see you here,' Yuugi's mental voice murmured in his head, more private than any whisper. 'Care to join us?'
'That's not the only thing I'd care to do, little light,' Yami answered heatedly, striding towards the boy. 'Do you have any idea what your thoughts sounded like?'
By Yuugi's sudden and ferocious blush, evidently the boy hadn't realized exactly how those thoughts sounded. 'Yami, you're so perverse! All I was doing was eating ice cream!!'
Sprawled on the park bench beside the diminutive duelist, Gaia was looking very much recovered as he bit a large chunk of marshmallow out of his Rocky Road. Amystria, seated more gracefully at the end of the bench, took another dainty lick of her peach ice cream and gave Yami a deferential bow of her head. Yuugi, still fighting down a blush that would have done a stoplight proud, took an overlarge bite of his favorite white-chocolate cherry to cool his flushing face.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Yami turned sideways and went to the ice-cream stand that remained set up in the park until the first snow fell. The attendant, a novice duelist who took occasional lessons at the shop, grinned over the counter at him and scooped out Yami's guilty treat, double-dark chocolate with hot fudge and a cherry.
He passed over the yen without comment; he always got the same thing, and knew the price by heart, but he stuffed a few extra bills in the tip jar when she passed him a bag of Gummi Duel Monsters for free.
"So not that I'm complaining," Yuugi grinned as Yami joined them at the bench, Gaia scooting over to make room, "but what are you doing out here? I thought you'd gone for a nap, since the coffee machine is broken."
"That was my intention," Yami paused long enough to trade cones with his light, a tradition they'd started the first time they'd stopped for ice creams in the park, and took a bite of Yuugi's decadently sweet treat. "But Kaiba stopped by."
"Uh-oh," Yuugi muttered, licking a smear of hot fudge off his upper lip. "Had Cayenne taken the tail - ?"
"No," Yami answered, passing Yuugi's cone back and refusing to laugh too hard at the recollection. "Seto was… quite amused. But that's not it," he added sharply, as Gaia dissolved into laughter and even Mysti and Yuugi started to giggle softly.
"What is it, then? Look out, your fudge is dripping."
Yami caught the wayward bit of chocolate with his tongue and swallowed before speaking. "The Duel Disks are ready."
The laughter stopped instantly.
"We can go back?" Amystria's soft, musical voice was the first thing to break the silence.
"Yes," Yami answered softly, staring blankly at his ice cream as it began to melt. "Kaiba sent Zephyr and Saggi back already. I came to get you while Kaiba spoke to Damus."
"To Damus?" Gaia echoed in confusion. "What does he want with him?"
"I didn't ask," Yami replied, shaking his head slightly before doing damage-control on his delightfully bittersweet treat. How it could be melting in this weather was beyond him, but then, that was simply what ice cream did, wasn't it?
"And given that the coffee machine is broken, you weren't awake enough to think of asking, I bet," Yuugi added impishly.
His mouth occupied, Yami could only shoot the boy a dirty look and a halfhearted mental grumble.
Yuugi just grinned and popped the last of his own cone into his mouth, munching it down and licking the last smears of white off his lips before leaning forward to snag the packet of Gummi Duel Monsters out of Yami's lap.
Gaia noisily crunched down the last of his cone, then sheepishly accepted the napkin that Amystria offered him to wipe the melted chocolate off his own lips and fingers.
"Was Joey really upset about Kaiba seeing him with the ears and tail?" Yuugi asked after a moment's quiet, studying the blue raspberry Winged Dragon before popping it into his mouth.
Yami had to lick a bit more ice cream off his fingers before responding. "Not as angry as I'd expected. Cayenne may have a bit of an earache, though."
"As much as I hate to say it, he does kind of deserve it," Yuugi pointed out, offering the bag of gummis to the two monsters. Gaia fished one out, examining for a moment.
"Disturbing," the Knight finally declared in an undertone, handing the gummi (which happened to be a grape Gaia the Fierce Knight) on to Amystria. She regarded it carefully before popping it carefully into her mouth and sucking on it.
Yami and Yuugi, who had been watching the pair surreptitiously, both tried not to choke. Gaia ignored them both, (which was probably for the best, neither of them exactly wanted to explain what they were laughing at) fished out a black cherry Magician of Black Chaos, and bit down on it with rather more enthusiasm than entirely necessary.
Yami carefully sipped the melted ice cream from the bottom of his cone before slowly chewing the now-slightly-soggy bit of waffle cone. Double-dark chocolate was not something you rushed, no matter what the circumstance – or the temperature! – was.
Yuugi, however, did not have quite the same respect for the concept of savoring ones' food. Catching Yami's wrist with one quick hand, he brought the hard, tan fingers up to his mouth and quickly relieved them of their bittersweet coating.
Yami bit his tongue to keep from groaning; things far more pleasant than the cold had caused the shivers that were now running up and down his spine. By the time Yuugi's nimble tongue had cleaned every trace of ice cream from Yami's hand, the former Pharaoh was definitely feeling more awake.
Parts of him were feeling very awake indeed, and he was uncomfortably reminded of precisely how tight his leather pants were.
Gaia's low, near-horrified moan drew him sharply back to reality. One did not bend one's partner over a park bench simply because he washed your hand for you.
Not at this time of year, anyway. Yuugi might catch a chill.
Guiltily, Yami glanced from Gaia, who looked rather nauseous, to Yuugi, who (attempted to) look innocent, to the ice-cream vendor, who looked about ready to crack a rib with suppressed laughter.
"We should…" Yami frowned slightly as he tried to remember exactly what he had come out her for, other than to be very willingly molested by his light.
"- be getting back, I know," Yuugi finished smoothly, sliding off the bench in a movement absolutely to sensual to be unintentional.
Yami shot a half-grateful, half-chagrined look at the boy; grateful for completing the thought, chagrined for making him lose it in the first place – and stood up as well.
"I'll bet you guys can't wait," Yuugi added to the two monsters as they rose.
"It will be wonderful to be home again," Mysti agreed softly, wiping the last bit of ice-cream from her fingers. She looked oddly leggy in Teá's close-fitting jeans, and despite the knee-length braid swaying down the back of her yellow windbreaker, very… normal. When Gaia's shoulder accidentally bumped hers, their fingers entwined so naturally that Yami barely noticed. Watching the pair move side-by-side down the path, he couldn't help but think they looked like any other young couple in the first days of true love.
Yami hissed under his breath as he felt the cold tension in his chest again, and abruptly wondered if he was doing the right thing by sending them back. The monsters could remain here, live as humans…
Under glamour, away from their friends, their homes, the lives they'd always known? his logic demanded viciously. They've already expressed their happiness at being able to return. Don't make it harder for them.
But the doubt still clouded his mind. The gentle brush of Yuugi's thoughts against his own came as an incredible relief.
'Yami? Why so sad?' Yuugi asked, his warm fingers – sticky warm fingers, Yami noted, although he did not particularly mind – wrapping around Yami's own.
'Just… sorry to see them go,' Yami replied thoughtfully. 'Aren't you?'
'Of course I am! It's been so wonderful having them, but it's just selfish on our parts, wanting to keep them here if they need or want to be somewhere else.'
The weight and wisdom of those words didn't pass Yami's notice. 'This is what you went through when I left for the Afterlife, isn't it?'
A quick nod. 'Yes, but that's another part of the reason I'm not sad. After all, you came back. That means they probably can, too!'
Warmth of the heart, Yami realized, could dispel even the chill of a gloomy day. Wrapping an arm around his hikari's shoulders, he and the boy hurried down the path to catch up with Gaia and Amystria. As he ran, Yami didn't try to keep the smile from his face.
After all, he reasoned, goodbyes are sad – but we're only saying 'until next time.'
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When the four of them returned to the game shop, the almost-oppressive silence sent another stab of fear through Yami's heart. Surely, Kaiba wouldn't have sent the other monsters back already?
Dropping his arm from Yuugi's shoulder, Yami darted through the kitchen and stopped short in the doorway to the living room.
All seven of the remaining monsters were standing in the living room, dressed in their full regalia of armor and weapons. To the far right, Cayenne stood with his arms crossed, looking like an eerie specter, his wild hair flowing and drifting around him despite the still air. At his left, Lustire stood, statue-still, both hands braced against the pommel of his sword, his face and thoughts hidden behind the visor of his helmet. Mirai, just beyond him, was sitting on the arm of the couch, swinging her heavy-booted feet and tapping her wand against her shoulder, bathing her arm in showers of pink-and-gold sparks.
On the other side of the couch, Celtos was the only monster in the room who seemed utterly at ease. He was lounging more than standing, leaning against the back of the sofa with one thigh propped on the overstuffed arm, the same foot braced against the floor. His other knee was cocked, and the flat of his foot rested casually against the edge of the sofa. The fact that Silvis the wolf was reclining nearly across his feet only enhanced his deadly, warrior-of-old calm; an appearance that was decidedly ruined by the fact that Kuri was sitting on his head, little green claws clenched around the steel horns of Celtos' helmet.
To Celtos' left, Damus stood, fully armored save for his helmet, his face expressionless in a manner Yami knew only too well. The mage's cerulean eyes gave away nothing, but the former Pharaoh knew full well how much pain was hiding behind them.
It was the same sadness that echoed in his own heart.
In the midst of all this, Joey lounged casually on the sofa, his shoulder almost against Celtos' back. The two seat-cushions beside him were occupied with folded bundles of cloth and metal in shades of brilliant blue, soft green, and glowing silver; Gaia and Amystria's costumes.
Standing behind the sofa, his face pale but expressionless, Seto Kaiba rested the weight of the Duel Disk against the sofa's back and met Yami's gaze.
"We've been waiting for you."
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Sending the monsters home was not, as Yami had feared, an instantaneous procedure. In fact, it required over an hour of calibration and cursing, and while he wasn't sure the latter was entirely necessary, he wasn't going to argue.
Kaiba, Cayenne, and Celtos had spent the last forty-five minutes in the corner of the living room, the two monsters muttering occasional directions while Kaiba prodded the innards of his Duel Disk with a pair of minute pliers. The swirling, silver-white vortex of mist sitting a few feet away against the wall of the living room had long ago ceased to draw attention, particularly after Cayenne had stuck his head inside for the sixth time.
"Better now?"
"Another twenty degrees to the right," Cayenne answered, yanking his head out of the flowing eddies of mist. "You're going to dump us in the lake."
"I have very fond memories of that lake," Damus muttered from the couch, trying to unknot his fingers from the cats-cradle he'd made of his hair. Braiding it was evidently a nervous habit; the mage's once-perfect purple locks were rapidly turning into purple dreadlocks.
"You might," Gaia grumbled from the floor in front of the loveseat. "But some of us can't swim."
"You can't?" Damus echoed in surprise, then looked taken aback when Lustire raised his hand. "You, either?"
The warrior shook his head and pointed at Cayenne. Or rather, at Cayenne's backside, since the mage was shoulders-deep in the vortex once again.
"Cayenne can't swim?"
Celtos looked up sharply, a light dawning in his amber eyes. "He can't?"
"No," Cayenne answered shortly, withdrawing his head from the porthole again and turning to face them. "Is this really pertinent?"
"Of course it's pertinent," Celtos answered, his eyes gleaming. "It's a safety issue, you know. Ocean duels. Umi Field cards. All monsters should know how to swim." He took a half-step forward, and Cayenne edged backwards slightly. "I can give you swimming lessons, you know. I'm an expert in the water."
"You certainly are," Damus called from across the room, the tone of his voice making it abundantly clear he wasn't talking about swimming.
Celtos ignored him and took another step towards Cayenne. "You see, you've saved Master Yami and Master Yuugi in major duels. Therefore, we all owe you a debt of gratitude," Celtos continued, his voice lowering to a slightly threatening pitch. "I insist on repaying you." He took another step forward.
Cayenne took another step backwards and fell backwards through the porthole with a yelp and a splash that sent water though dimensions and onto Yuugi's carpet.
"Ah." Celtos stuck his head through the porthole, then pulled back to address Kaiba. "Another fifteen degrees, please, and about ten feet lower. Excuse me." And he backed up a half a step and took a picture-perfect dive through the mist.
"Gone to pull Cayenne to shore," Damus informed the room at large, as Gaia and Mysti went over to help Kaiba finish fine-tuning the location of the porthole. "Oh, and before I forget, Masters…"
Yami and Yuugi turned as one to face him, identical questioning expressions on their faces. Damus smiled, his eyes relaxed for the first time since they had returned home, and reached into his helmet. "A small token of our gratitude for showing us this world and your kindness," he said softly, withdrawing a single dueling card. "This should be useful in the tournament."
Yami extended his hand almost automatically, opening his mouth to thank his old friend, beg him to stay, to say something, but Kaiba's voice broke through the air before he could.
"We're ready here."
Damus dropped to his right knee before Yami, taking the duelist's slim, dark hand in both of his own and pressing it to his forehead. "Fare thee well, Devine Pharaoh," he whispered, and turned before Yami could respond to press Yuugi's hand to his forehead as well. His murmured "Fare thee well, Master," was almost lost in the sounds of the other monsters' movements.
Silvis and Kuri bolted through the porthole as soon as Kaiba stepped out of the way, barking and cooing with obvious excitement. Directly behind them, Amystria dropped a deep curtsey to her masters, sweeping her flowing green gown around her. Gaia, standing beside her, bowed deeply to them both, and to Joey, before pulling his helmet on and taking Mysti's hand.
Lustire paused as the pair vanished through the mist, turning back to face the room. "Thank you," he said simply, and the echoes of his deep voice lasted after he had whisked out of sight.
Mirai, bouncing on the balls of her feet, giggled her thanks and goodbyes to her Masters and Kaiba, accepted a hug from Joey and a gentle admonishment to listen to her brother, begged Yuugi to please, please thank Mai for the wonderful clothes next time she was around, then dropped her staff and promptly tripped over it and out of sight.
Damus, waiting patiently at the end of the couch, sighed softly and pressed his thumb and forefinger against his eyelids. "My life," he grumbled, though without any apparent remorse.
Kaiba, sitting crosslegged on the floor near the porthole, glanced up to meet the mage's gaze as he went by. "And welcome back to it."
Damus' smile carried the weight of a thousand words, and Kaiba answered it with a faint quirk of his own lips.
"Thanks, Mage."
"And thank you, Priest," Damus countered, bending to pick up his sister's staff. Rising, he stepped forward, but Yami's voice jerked him around halfway through the porthole.
"Mahado!"
"Master?" The mist swirled around Damus as he turned, muting his purples and indigos into bare shades of grey.
Yami's voice refused to come, so Yuugi asked the question lodged in his darker half's throat. "Will we see you again?"
Damus' chuckle touched them, a soothing balm in the form of sound. "Masters," he said softly as he stepped backwards through the mist, "I am always with you. You will see me again every time you duel."
And with a last swirl of the mists, both he and the porthole were gone.
"Well," Joey's voice broke the silence at last, "now what?"
TO BE CONTINUED IN EPILOGUE
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!! I have low self – esteem and I need reassurance to keep writing!! (grins)