Greetings!
I'm happy to announce that my computer is fixed. . . YAY! No more borrowing computer time or writing by hand (though I did think that was rather enjoyable). Anyway, here's the next chapter. I do have a couple of corrections on the last chapter. The name of the young kid in Tokyo is Jomei not Jamei. Also, the attack strength of Celtic Guardian is 1400 not 2400. ARGH! I can't believe I missed those, since I'm usually more careful. Thanks to Lavender Wonder, lizzy9046, Jadesaber and Menolly for pointing those out!
Replies: Since I didn't do any replies last chapter, I'm not exactly sure where I left off. If I miss anyone, please forgive me. I didn't do it on purpose.
TZ: There, there *pats TZ on the back as well* It's okay. . . everything's okay.
LW: Hmmm. . . you're ahead of the game! Suspense is good, right?
ShadowRika: Angst is good. . . we all love angst! I'm glad that you liked the flashbacks. I always hate writing those, because I'm afraid they're going to look bad.
Lizzy9046: His royal pain (Yami)? I actually like that! Actually, there is a reason for the fact that he hasn't come out of the puzzle. That'll be explained in Part 7 or 8, I'm not sure yet. Thanks for the good wishes too. My computer finally cooperated.
SilverFang: Thanks!
Amariel: Wow. I'm very flattered, thank you very much! *blushes* I'm very glad to know that this has become one of your favorite fics.
Dark Magician Girl: Glad to know you're enjoying the fic! I'm definitely going to continue. Slowly, but surely I say :o)
Jadesaber: Is this soon enough? :o)
Menolly: Thanks! You've got good eyes!
Woodelf193: I'm so happy that you liked the Kaiba brothers part! No one else mentioned it, but I really liked it too. They're just way too cute together.
MusicMaid: Computer crashes are a pain. I was without mine for 3 weeks (an eternity, if you ask me). Thanks for the review!
Again, if I missed anyone, I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional!
I'll shut up now and let you get to the good stuff. Enjoy! Just remember, we established last time that this was angsty and that angst was good. . . right? Right.
**~~**
Part 6: If Only Tears Could Bring You Back
"Okay, Grampa, how do you play?"
Solomon Moto beamed at his six year old grandson.
Yugi was sitting on top of one of the counters in the game shop waiting for his mother to come pick him up, and had just grabbed a pack of Duel Monsters cards from one of the displays. The little boy had immediately become fascinated by the bright, vivid pictures on the cards when he'd first seen them, and had insisted on knowing everything about them. Once Solomon had opened up several packs and built Yugi a starter deck, he'd explained what the cards were. Now, Yugi was demanding, as only six year olds can, to be taught how to play.
"Yugi, your mother is going to be here any minute and I have to run my shop, so I can't teach you how to play right now. But I'll be glad to teach you the next time you come over to visit."
Yugi pouted, and Solomon smiled despite his best efforts to be stern. "But I won't be back until next week, Grampa. I really want to learn how to play."
At that moment, a customer came in and Solomon diverted his attention from his grandson to the man and woman that had entered the shop. When he was finished taking care of them, he turned back to find that Yugi had a good deal of his cards spread out on the counter top. He was quietly murmuring to himself as he arranged the cards in different ways.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm studying the cards, Grampa. See, they have these numbers at the bottom, which you said meant how strong they were. I'm grouping the ones that are stronger together and the ones that are weaker together. That way, I'll know where to get one when I need it." Yugi enthusiastically grouped the cards until he had gone through the entire deck.
"What about these over here?" Solomon asked, pointing to a third stack Yugi had made. "Oh, those. You said they were magic cards, right? So those are supposed to help the monsters."
Solomon nodded, amazed that Yugi had been able to pick up some rules of the game just from learning about the different cards.
"Grampa, do you want to see my favorite card?"
Solomon nodded, causing Yugi to giggle in delight.
"This one! I think he's the best monster of them all."
Solomon grinned as Yugi held out the Dark Magician. He'd put the card in the deck because he'd had a feeling that Yugi might like the card. He was glad that he'd been right. The Dark Magician was one of the rarest cards in the game, and not many were in circulation. The one he'd given to Yugi was the only one in his possession, but he had no doubt that his grandson would take good care of it.
"The Dark Magician, huh? I think that's a good choice, Yugi. I have no doubt that he'll get you out of a bad spot."
At that moment, the door to the shop opened and his daughter in law walked in. She smiled brightly at him as she walked closer.
"Hi, Dad. I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic is horrible out there."
"It's okay, dear. You know that I love having Yugi here."
"Hi mom! Look what Grampa gave me," the little boy said, holding out the deck of cards. "He's going to teach me to play Duel Monsters."
Yugi's mom smiled. "That's wonderful, sweetie. You and Grampa can have a lot of fun with that. Now come on, let's get your things together and go home."
Solomon watched Yugi's smile falter a bit, but then he brightened. "Mom, can I stay with Grampa? I don't have to go to school tomorrow, since it's Saturday."
"Honey, I'm sure your grandfather has his own things to worry about without having to stay home to watch you. I'll bring you back next Friday."
"I don't mind," Solomon said. "I'm not going out of town this weekend, and I'd love to have Yugi here."
He never minded when Yugi stayed overnight, or through the weekend. He liked spending time with his grandson and took every opportunity he could to do so. Even though Yugi didn't live very far from him, his parents were always busy and didn't have time to bring him over more than once a week.
"Are you sure, dad? He can be quite a handful."
Solomon laughed. Yugi was a handful in the way that he was curious, bright and energetic, not a troublemaker.
"His kind of handful I can definitely handle."
"See, mom, grandpa says it's okay. I want to stay."
Solomon already knew how this would turn out. When Yugi was determined to get something, he got it.
"Okay. I'll bring you some more clothes tonight before dinner."
"Alright! Grandpa and I are going to have so much fun, aren't we Grandpa?"
Solomon couldn't help but grin. "Yes, Yugi, we sure are."
**** Solomon Moto opened his eyes, a wide smile still on his face. He turned over and nestled down into the covers in preparation of going back to sleep, when his eyes landed on the picture of his grandson that rested on his night table. Yugi was no longer the bright six year old that he'd been in the dream. Instead, he was a bright fourteen year old. It was amazing that with everything that had happened to him in his young life, Yugi still retained that sense of hope and brightness.
Solomon quickly sat up on his bed and looked for his alarm clock. He didn't want to oversleep and miss waking Yugi up for school. He turned on the lamp next to his bed and frowned when he saw that his room was different. He looked around, wondering what had happened.
All of a sudden, the events of the last six months came crashing down on him. He was downstairs because he could no longer walk up the stairs, and his grandson had been missing for the last six months. That feeling of complete loss and helplessness wrapped itself around his heart again, and Solomon felt the tears pooling in his eyes. Every once in a while, he would dream of Yugi and wake up thinking that his grandson was just upstairs, only to be hit with the harsh reality that Yugi was gone. He didn't know how much longer he could keep doing this. It seemed that every day that passed became a day that he got closer and closer to his grave.
How will I start
Tomorrow without you here
Who's heart will guide me
When all the answers disappear
Is it too late
Are you too far gone to stay
Best friends forever
Should never have to go away
What will I do
You know I'm only half without you
How will I make it through
He didn't want to believe that Yugi was dead. He couldn't do that. But if Yugi was still alive, where was he? What had those people that took him done to him? Had they hurt him? Had they abused him? Where was he now? Was he okay? Was he getting enough to eat? Did he have a roof over his head?
Solomon put his hands on either side of his head and squeezed, desperate to stop the questions from completely overwhelming him. This happened to him every time he thought about his grandson. The uncertainty of not knowing anything about Yugi was about to drive him insane. He wanted to hope that his grandson was alive, but what if that meant that Yugi was being mistreated or hurt on a daily basis? What if Yugi's life was now nothing more than a painful shadow of what it had once been? Would death be preferable then?
"No, no!"
Solomon shouted the negation with force, ashamed that he could ever think that his grandson was better off dead. He wanted nothing more than to know for certain, but no one seemed willing to give him answers. He and Joey continued to hope, but could do nothing to find the answers.
"Oh, Joey."
Solomon was grateful to the young man for moving in and taking care of him. Joey wasn't a substitute for Yugi, because that was never possible. However, Solomon had been around Joey's house a few times and he'd seen and heard Joey's father mistreat him. He'd known then that Joey was better off somewhere else, and hadn't discouraged the teen from moving in with him when he'd expressed the desire to do so. Solomon knew that Yugi's disappearance was taking a hard toll on Joey as well, and this was probably the best place for him to be.
When his spinning thoughts were somewhat under control, Solomon maneuvered himself so that he was sitting on the side of the bed. He reached out and tenderly picked up the photograph of Yugi on the table and looked at it, his heart breaking at the reminder of his failure.
"I'm sorry, Yugi. I'm so sorry," Solomon whispered, finally letting the tears fall freely down his cheeks.
If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me
**~~**
I'd cry you an ocean
If you'd sail on home again
Waves of emotion
Will carry you, I know they can
Tea Gardner stopped in her tracks, shocked. She slowly pulled the white piece of paper out of the outer pocket of her backpack and looked at it as if it had grown wings. She let the bag drop to the ground and sat on the edge of her bed, clutching the paper as if it were made gold.
Just let love guide you
And your heart will chart the course
Soon you'll be drifting
Into the arms of your true north
She'd been getting ready for school and had wanted to take some calligraphy paper for a project, but hadn't had room for it in her backpack. She'd opened the outer pocket of the bag, which she rarely used, and had found the paper. It was addressed to her, but seeing her name scrawled on the front of it in that familiar handwriting had taken her breath away. With shaking hands, she unfolded the paper. After taking a few deep breaths, she began to read.
**
Hey, Tea! I'm sitting in history class bored out of my mind, so I started writing this. It's stupid, I know, and I'll probably never give it to you, but at least writing this is passing the time. Did you see what Duke was doing this morning? It still amazes me how he can charm the girls with merely a wink and a few dice tricks. Better yet, did you see the look on Joey's face? It was priceless! Maybe I should ask Duke to teach me some of those dice tricks. Do you think girls will think I'm charming if I learn to do that?
**
Tea choked on a sob. She closed her eyes as another finally managed to escape. He'd never known what kind of effect he'd had on the girls. He'd always been too introverted to notice. He hadn't needed cheap dice tricks to impress people. His personality and kindness had done that for him. She reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes before continuing to read.
**
Anyway, Joey hates it when Duke does that, and you know Duke, he just does it more. It's kind of like Kaiba and the whole 'Chihuahua' thing. I bet he only calls Joey that because he knows Joey hates it.
Uh, oh. . . I think Mrs. Rich is on to me now. Yikes! She's heading this way and I don't think I like the look on her face. I gotta hide this in Tristan's jacket quick, before she gets it. Later!
Yugi
**
Tea stared at the scrawled signature for so long that the name began to blur. Tears were streaming down her cheeks at the carefree note Yugi had written. She remembered Tristan giving it to her. He'd said something about finding it in his jacket, and she'd put it in her front bag pocket and forgot about it, until now. What she wouldn't give to be able to walk to Yugi's house and tell him that she'd finally read the note.
She missed him so much. She never told anyone, but she did. She'd gotten so used to Yugi being around every day, to walking to school and then home with him, that she hadn't been able to fully accept that fact that he was gone. She still half expected him to be waiting for her in front of his house when she went by there. She didn't even see Mr. Moto out anymore. The house had become a silent, gloomy shadow of what it used to be.
"I miss you, Yugi. I miss you so much."
Look in my eyes
You'll see a million tears have gone by
And still they're not dry
She clutched the note to her chest and let herself cry. She couldn't explain it, but losing Yugi had been devastating. She hadn't realized that she'd depended on him for so much, depended on his being there for her until he wasn't around anymore. She wished that she'd had the opportunity to tell him what he'd meant to her and how much she appreciated what he'd done for her before he'd disappeared.
If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me
**~~**
Joey put the Millennium Puzzle in his jacket pocket where it would be safe and made his way out of Yugi's room. He was early for school, but he didn't care. He hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before and hadn't wanted to lie in bed anymore. He quickly made his way downstairs and was about to head into the kitchen to get some fruit when he heard the sobbing coming from Mr. Moto's room. Joey's throat immediately tightened as he heard the heartbreaking sobs coming from the older man.
Without thinking, Joey made his way to the door and opened it to find Mr. Moto sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he cried. Joey walked to the bed and sat in front of Mr. Moto. After a few minutes, Yugi's grandfather looked up at him, his eyes red and swollen from crying.
"I miss him, Joey. I really miss him."
Joey took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. "I know Gramps, I miss him too."
Mr. Moto reached out and embraced him. Joey hugged him back tightly, wanting to give comfort as much as he wanted to receive it. He slowly stroked the older man's back wanting the pain to go away but knowing that it never would.
I'd hold you close
And shout the words I only whispered before
For one more chance, for one last dance
There's not a thing that I would not endure
The two men sat there for a long while, taking comfort in the fact that they both grieved for the same thing. Mr. Moto patted Joey on the back and then released him, wiping his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Joey. You don't need to put up with any of this."
"We both miss him, Gramps. There's no crime in admitting it," Joey replied, wiping his own tears. "If we can't talk to each other, who are we going to talk to?"
Mr. Moto nodded. "I know. I just can't help but think about where he is, how he is. If he's hurt, there's no one there to take care of him. If he's hungry, there's no one there to feed him. I just don't know what else to do."
"All we can do is keep our faith in him, Gramps. Everyone else thinks he's dead, but we can't do that. He's out there somewhere, and we're going to find him. Okay?"
Mr. Moto nodded, dislodging the last of his tears from his eyes. "We'll find him."
If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me
**~~**
"You're late, kid."
Jomei winced. He knew he was late; he knew he should have come straight to work, but he hadn't done it. Fearfully, he looked up to see how mad Alex was, but found that the tall American was smiling at him instead.
"You went by that school down the block again, didn't you?"
Sheepishly, Jomei nodded at his immediate supervisor.
Alex was a good man. He'd always been kind to Jomei, to the point where Jomei had started to talk about himself a little. Alex was a great listener and seemed to hate the fact that Jomei had no say in his own life. Alex had met Jomei's guardian once and had immediately disliked the older man. Ever since then, the American had made it his mission to get Jomei out of that situation and away from what he called his 'abusive guardian'.
"Why do you keep doing that to yourself, Jomei? Asami is never going to let you go, much less pay for it."
Alex put his hand on Jomei's shoulder and led him to one of the stools that lined the kitchen. The restaurant was not open yet, but the cooks were already busy preparing for the day. Jomei and Alex tried to stay out of their way as they talked.
"I don't know why, Alex. It just seems right for me to be there and not here. When I stand there, looking at those kids my age, I feel like I should be with them."
Alex sighed. "You should be in school. There's no way a bright kid like you was too dumb for school, but there isn't much you can do about it now. Don't lose hope, though. Maybe someday, you'll get there."
Jomei smiled. "You're right. Maybe someday I will."
He didn't feel very hopeful about the fact, though. Asami would never pay for his education, and since the man took all of his money, Jomei wouldn't be able to pay for it himself either. He had to face it, he was stuck cleaning this restaurant for the foreseeable future. He sighed and stook all thoughts of school out of his head.
"So, what's the agenda for today?" Jomei asked.
Alex got up from the stool he'd sat on and again patted Jomei on the shoulder. "There's a school group coming in tonight and we're in charge of getting the party room ready for them. It's a group of about 30, so we have our work cut out for us."
Jomei nodded, resigned to what life had in store for him.
"Let's go."
**~~**
Joey ran into school just as the second bell rang.
"Damn!" he exclaimed as he ran towards his first class. He quickly made his way inside, which made Mrs. Minami look up from her papers to glare at him. He smiled at her and quickly made his way to his desk.
"What's the matter, little doggie forgot to set his alarm clock this morning?"
Joey only glared at Seto Kaiba, because he didn't want to get into further trouble with the teacher. He took his seat, got his notebooks out to take notes, and looked up at the teacher, who was still examining the papers in her hand. Tea, who sat besides Joey, gave him a questioning glance, which he ignored. He'd talk to her after class.
"Okay, students. As you all know, today is the day we take our field trip to the Tokyo National Museum. After the museum, we have a room reserved for us at an Italian restaurant nearby. We'll head home right after dinner and should be back close to midnight. If you forgot to tell your parents about the outing today, you will get a chance to do so shortly."
Joey frowned. He'd forgotten about the trip to the museum. He really didn't want to go. He didn't care for museums and wasn't in a mood to socialize with anyone. He wondered if he were to fake an illness the teacher would let him go home. He looked around him and saw a lot of smiling faces. They'd all be missing the day of school, which was enough to make anyone happy.
"Now on the trip there," the teacher continued, "you will have assigned seats on the bus that's taking us. In addition, you'll be responsible for your partner during the entire trip. Pay attention, because you will have to adhere to the assignment. First up: Tea Gardner and Tristan Taylor."
Joey heard Tea groan beside him and couldn't suppress a smile. Tristan, who sat in front of Tea, grinned.
"Joseph Wheeler and Yugi Moto."
Joey's head immediately turned to face the teacher. Yugi had really been looking forward to going to the museum, because he liked places like that. One of the only reasons Joey had signed up for the trip was because Yugi had asked him to go. He felt his throat tighten suddenly and he looked down at his desk.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wheeler," Mrs. Minami said, her tone genuinely regretful. "I must not have changed my assignments after. . ." here she trailed off. She cleared her throat. "Mr. Wheeler, you and Seto Kaiba will sit together."
Joey closed his eyes. 'Great, now I'll have to put up with Kaiba for the entire day.'
He shook his head and signed resignedly. Could this day get any worse?
The teacher finished reading her assignments and allowed them to go call their parents if they'd forgotten to tell them about the trip. Joey got up and headed outside to call Gramps. Halfway across the room, Tea stopped him.
"Are you okay, Joey?"
"I'm fine Tea, just fine," he said, and walked away from her.
This was going to be a long day.
**~~**
Song credit: If Only Tears Could Bring You Back, preformed by Midnight Sons. Next up: Well, I think I'll leave it up to you all to decide what's coming up!
I'm happy to announce that my computer is fixed. . . YAY! No more borrowing computer time or writing by hand (though I did think that was rather enjoyable). Anyway, here's the next chapter. I do have a couple of corrections on the last chapter. The name of the young kid in Tokyo is Jomei not Jamei. Also, the attack strength of Celtic Guardian is 1400 not 2400. ARGH! I can't believe I missed those, since I'm usually more careful. Thanks to Lavender Wonder, lizzy9046, Jadesaber and Menolly for pointing those out!
Replies: Since I didn't do any replies last chapter, I'm not exactly sure where I left off. If I miss anyone, please forgive me. I didn't do it on purpose.
TZ: There, there *pats TZ on the back as well* It's okay. . . everything's okay.
LW: Hmmm. . . you're ahead of the game! Suspense is good, right?
ShadowRika: Angst is good. . . we all love angst! I'm glad that you liked the flashbacks. I always hate writing those, because I'm afraid they're going to look bad.
Lizzy9046: His royal pain (Yami)? I actually like that! Actually, there is a reason for the fact that he hasn't come out of the puzzle. That'll be explained in Part 7 or 8, I'm not sure yet. Thanks for the good wishes too. My computer finally cooperated.
SilverFang: Thanks!
Amariel: Wow. I'm very flattered, thank you very much! *blushes* I'm very glad to know that this has become one of your favorite fics.
Dark Magician Girl: Glad to know you're enjoying the fic! I'm definitely going to continue. Slowly, but surely I say :o)
Jadesaber: Is this soon enough? :o)
Menolly: Thanks! You've got good eyes!
Woodelf193: I'm so happy that you liked the Kaiba brothers part! No one else mentioned it, but I really liked it too. They're just way too cute together.
MusicMaid: Computer crashes are a pain. I was without mine for 3 weeks (an eternity, if you ask me). Thanks for the review!
Again, if I missed anyone, I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional!
I'll shut up now and let you get to the good stuff. Enjoy! Just remember, we established last time that this was angsty and that angst was good. . . right? Right.
**~~**
Part 6: If Only Tears Could Bring You Back
"Okay, Grampa, how do you play?"
Solomon Moto beamed at his six year old grandson.
Yugi was sitting on top of one of the counters in the game shop waiting for his mother to come pick him up, and had just grabbed a pack of Duel Monsters cards from one of the displays. The little boy had immediately become fascinated by the bright, vivid pictures on the cards when he'd first seen them, and had insisted on knowing everything about them. Once Solomon had opened up several packs and built Yugi a starter deck, he'd explained what the cards were. Now, Yugi was demanding, as only six year olds can, to be taught how to play.
"Yugi, your mother is going to be here any minute and I have to run my shop, so I can't teach you how to play right now. But I'll be glad to teach you the next time you come over to visit."
Yugi pouted, and Solomon smiled despite his best efforts to be stern. "But I won't be back until next week, Grampa. I really want to learn how to play."
At that moment, a customer came in and Solomon diverted his attention from his grandson to the man and woman that had entered the shop. When he was finished taking care of them, he turned back to find that Yugi had a good deal of his cards spread out on the counter top. He was quietly murmuring to himself as he arranged the cards in different ways.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm studying the cards, Grampa. See, they have these numbers at the bottom, which you said meant how strong they were. I'm grouping the ones that are stronger together and the ones that are weaker together. That way, I'll know where to get one when I need it." Yugi enthusiastically grouped the cards until he had gone through the entire deck.
"What about these over here?" Solomon asked, pointing to a third stack Yugi had made. "Oh, those. You said they were magic cards, right? So those are supposed to help the monsters."
Solomon nodded, amazed that Yugi had been able to pick up some rules of the game just from learning about the different cards.
"Grampa, do you want to see my favorite card?"
Solomon nodded, causing Yugi to giggle in delight.
"This one! I think he's the best monster of them all."
Solomon grinned as Yugi held out the Dark Magician. He'd put the card in the deck because he'd had a feeling that Yugi might like the card. He was glad that he'd been right. The Dark Magician was one of the rarest cards in the game, and not many were in circulation. The one he'd given to Yugi was the only one in his possession, but he had no doubt that his grandson would take good care of it.
"The Dark Magician, huh? I think that's a good choice, Yugi. I have no doubt that he'll get you out of a bad spot."
At that moment, the door to the shop opened and his daughter in law walked in. She smiled brightly at him as she walked closer.
"Hi, Dad. I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic is horrible out there."
"It's okay, dear. You know that I love having Yugi here."
"Hi mom! Look what Grampa gave me," the little boy said, holding out the deck of cards. "He's going to teach me to play Duel Monsters."
Yugi's mom smiled. "That's wonderful, sweetie. You and Grampa can have a lot of fun with that. Now come on, let's get your things together and go home."
Solomon watched Yugi's smile falter a bit, but then he brightened. "Mom, can I stay with Grampa? I don't have to go to school tomorrow, since it's Saturday."
"Honey, I'm sure your grandfather has his own things to worry about without having to stay home to watch you. I'll bring you back next Friday."
"I don't mind," Solomon said. "I'm not going out of town this weekend, and I'd love to have Yugi here."
He never minded when Yugi stayed overnight, or through the weekend. He liked spending time with his grandson and took every opportunity he could to do so. Even though Yugi didn't live very far from him, his parents were always busy and didn't have time to bring him over more than once a week.
"Are you sure, dad? He can be quite a handful."
Solomon laughed. Yugi was a handful in the way that he was curious, bright and energetic, not a troublemaker.
"His kind of handful I can definitely handle."
"See, mom, grandpa says it's okay. I want to stay."
Solomon already knew how this would turn out. When Yugi was determined to get something, he got it.
"Okay. I'll bring you some more clothes tonight before dinner."
"Alright! Grandpa and I are going to have so much fun, aren't we Grandpa?"
Solomon couldn't help but grin. "Yes, Yugi, we sure are."
**** Solomon Moto opened his eyes, a wide smile still on his face. He turned over and nestled down into the covers in preparation of going back to sleep, when his eyes landed on the picture of his grandson that rested on his night table. Yugi was no longer the bright six year old that he'd been in the dream. Instead, he was a bright fourteen year old. It was amazing that with everything that had happened to him in his young life, Yugi still retained that sense of hope and brightness.
Solomon quickly sat up on his bed and looked for his alarm clock. He didn't want to oversleep and miss waking Yugi up for school. He turned on the lamp next to his bed and frowned when he saw that his room was different. He looked around, wondering what had happened.
All of a sudden, the events of the last six months came crashing down on him. He was downstairs because he could no longer walk up the stairs, and his grandson had been missing for the last six months. That feeling of complete loss and helplessness wrapped itself around his heart again, and Solomon felt the tears pooling in his eyes. Every once in a while, he would dream of Yugi and wake up thinking that his grandson was just upstairs, only to be hit with the harsh reality that Yugi was gone. He didn't know how much longer he could keep doing this. It seemed that every day that passed became a day that he got closer and closer to his grave.
How will I start
Tomorrow without you here
Who's heart will guide me
When all the answers disappear
Is it too late
Are you too far gone to stay
Best friends forever
Should never have to go away
What will I do
You know I'm only half without you
How will I make it through
He didn't want to believe that Yugi was dead. He couldn't do that. But if Yugi was still alive, where was he? What had those people that took him done to him? Had they hurt him? Had they abused him? Where was he now? Was he okay? Was he getting enough to eat? Did he have a roof over his head?
Solomon put his hands on either side of his head and squeezed, desperate to stop the questions from completely overwhelming him. This happened to him every time he thought about his grandson. The uncertainty of not knowing anything about Yugi was about to drive him insane. He wanted to hope that his grandson was alive, but what if that meant that Yugi was being mistreated or hurt on a daily basis? What if Yugi's life was now nothing more than a painful shadow of what it had once been? Would death be preferable then?
"No, no!"
Solomon shouted the negation with force, ashamed that he could ever think that his grandson was better off dead. He wanted nothing more than to know for certain, but no one seemed willing to give him answers. He and Joey continued to hope, but could do nothing to find the answers.
"Oh, Joey."
Solomon was grateful to the young man for moving in and taking care of him. Joey wasn't a substitute for Yugi, because that was never possible. However, Solomon had been around Joey's house a few times and he'd seen and heard Joey's father mistreat him. He'd known then that Joey was better off somewhere else, and hadn't discouraged the teen from moving in with him when he'd expressed the desire to do so. Solomon knew that Yugi's disappearance was taking a hard toll on Joey as well, and this was probably the best place for him to be.
When his spinning thoughts were somewhat under control, Solomon maneuvered himself so that he was sitting on the side of the bed. He reached out and tenderly picked up the photograph of Yugi on the table and looked at it, his heart breaking at the reminder of his failure.
"I'm sorry, Yugi. I'm so sorry," Solomon whispered, finally letting the tears fall freely down his cheeks.
If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me
**~~**
I'd cry you an ocean
If you'd sail on home again
Waves of emotion
Will carry you, I know they can
Tea Gardner stopped in her tracks, shocked. She slowly pulled the white piece of paper out of the outer pocket of her backpack and looked at it as if it had grown wings. She let the bag drop to the ground and sat on the edge of her bed, clutching the paper as if it were made gold.
Just let love guide you
And your heart will chart the course
Soon you'll be drifting
Into the arms of your true north
She'd been getting ready for school and had wanted to take some calligraphy paper for a project, but hadn't had room for it in her backpack. She'd opened the outer pocket of the bag, which she rarely used, and had found the paper. It was addressed to her, but seeing her name scrawled on the front of it in that familiar handwriting had taken her breath away. With shaking hands, she unfolded the paper. After taking a few deep breaths, she began to read.
**
Hey, Tea! I'm sitting in history class bored out of my mind, so I started writing this. It's stupid, I know, and I'll probably never give it to you, but at least writing this is passing the time. Did you see what Duke was doing this morning? It still amazes me how he can charm the girls with merely a wink and a few dice tricks. Better yet, did you see the look on Joey's face? It was priceless! Maybe I should ask Duke to teach me some of those dice tricks. Do you think girls will think I'm charming if I learn to do that?
**
Tea choked on a sob. She closed her eyes as another finally managed to escape. He'd never known what kind of effect he'd had on the girls. He'd always been too introverted to notice. He hadn't needed cheap dice tricks to impress people. His personality and kindness had done that for him. She reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes before continuing to read.
**
Anyway, Joey hates it when Duke does that, and you know Duke, he just does it more. It's kind of like Kaiba and the whole 'Chihuahua' thing. I bet he only calls Joey that because he knows Joey hates it.
Uh, oh. . . I think Mrs. Rich is on to me now. Yikes! She's heading this way and I don't think I like the look on her face. I gotta hide this in Tristan's jacket quick, before she gets it. Later!
Yugi
**
Tea stared at the scrawled signature for so long that the name began to blur. Tears were streaming down her cheeks at the carefree note Yugi had written. She remembered Tristan giving it to her. He'd said something about finding it in his jacket, and she'd put it in her front bag pocket and forgot about it, until now. What she wouldn't give to be able to walk to Yugi's house and tell him that she'd finally read the note.
She missed him so much. She never told anyone, but she did. She'd gotten so used to Yugi being around every day, to walking to school and then home with him, that she hadn't been able to fully accept that fact that he was gone. She still half expected him to be waiting for her in front of his house when she went by there. She didn't even see Mr. Moto out anymore. The house had become a silent, gloomy shadow of what it used to be.
"I miss you, Yugi. I miss you so much."
Look in my eyes
You'll see a million tears have gone by
And still they're not dry
She clutched the note to her chest and let herself cry. She couldn't explain it, but losing Yugi had been devastating. She hadn't realized that she'd depended on him for so much, depended on his being there for her until he wasn't around anymore. She wished that she'd had the opportunity to tell him what he'd meant to her and how much she appreciated what he'd done for her before he'd disappeared.
If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me
**~~**
Joey put the Millennium Puzzle in his jacket pocket where it would be safe and made his way out of Yugi's room. He was early for school, but he didn't care. He hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before and hadn't wanted to lie in bed anymore. He quickly made his way downstairs and was about to head into the kitchen to get some fruit when he heard the sobbing coming from Mr. Moto's room. Joey's throat immediately tightened as he heard the heartbreaking sobs coming from the older man.
Without thinking, Joey made his way to the door and opened it to find Mr. Moto sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he cried. Joey walked to the bed and sat in front of Mr. Moto. After a few minutes, Yugi's grandfather looked up at him, his eyes red and swollen from crying.
"I miss him, Joey. I really miss him."
Joey took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. "I know Gramps, I miss him too."
Mr. Moto reached out and embraced him. Joey hugged him back tightly, wanting to give comfort as much as he wanted to receive it. He slowly stroked the older man's back wanting the pain to go away but knowing that it never would.
I'd hold you close
And shout the words I only whispered before
For one more chance, for one last dance
There's not a thing that I would not endure
The two men sat there for a long while, taking comfort in the fact that they both grieved for the same thing. Mr. Moto patted Joey on the back and then released him, wiping his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Joey. You don't need to put up with any of this."
"We both miss him, Gramps. There's no crime in admitting it," Joey replied, wiping his own tears. "If we can't talk to each other, who are we going to talk to?"
Mr. Moto nodded. "I know. I just can't help but think about where he is, how he is. If he's hurt, there's no one there to take care of him. If he's hungry, there's no one there to feed him. I just don't know what else to do."
"All we can do is keep our faith in him, Gramps. Everyone else thinks he's dead, but we can't do that. He's out there somewhere, and we're going to find him. Okay?"
Mr. Moto nodded, dislodging the last of his tears from his eyes. "We'll find him."
If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me
**~~**
"You're late, kid."
Jomei winced. He knew he was late; he knew he should have come straight to work, but he hadn't done it. Fearfully, he looked up to see how mad Alex was, but found that the tall American was smiling at him instead.
"You went by that school down the block again, didn't you?"
Sheepishly, Jomei nodded at his immediate supervisor.
Alex was a good man. He'd always been kind to Jomei, to the point where Jomei had started to talk about himself a little. Alex was a great listener and seemed to hate the fact that Jomei had no say in his own life. Alex had met Jomei's guardian once and had immediately disliked the older man. Ever since then, the American had made it his mission to get Jomei out of that situation and away from what he called his 'abusive guardian'.
"Why do you keep doing that to yourself, Jomei? Asami is never going to let you go, much less pay for it."
Alex put his hand on Jomei's shoulder and led him to one of the stools that lined the kitchen. The restaurant was not open yet, but the cooks were already busy preparing for the day. Jomei and Alex tried to stay out of their way as they talked.
"I don't know why, Alex. It just seems right for me to be there and not here. When I stand there, looking at those kids my age, I feel like I should be with them."
Alex sighed. "You should be in school. There's no way a bright kid like you was too dumb for school, but there isn't much you can do about it now. Don't lose hope, though. Maybe someday, you'll get there."
Jomei smiled. "You're right. Maybe someday I will."
He didn't feel very hopeful about the fact, though. Asami would never pay for his education, and since the man took all of his money, Jomei wouldn't be able to pay for it himself either. He had to face it, he was stuck cleaning this restaurant for the foreseeable future. He sighed and stook all thoughts of school out of his head.
"So, what's the agenda for today?" Jomei asked.
Alex got up from the stool he'd sat on and again patted Jomei on the shoulder. "There's a school group coming in tonight and we're in charge of getting the party room ready for them. It's a group of about 30, so we have our work cut out for us."
Jomei nodded, resigned to what life had in store for him.
"Let's go."
**~~**
Joey ran into school just as the second bell rang.
"Damn!" he exclaimed as he ran towards his first class. He quickly made his way inside, which made Mrs. Minami look up from her papers to glare at him. He smiled at her and quickly made his way to his desk.
"What's the matter, little doggie forgot to set his alarm clock this morning?"
Joey only glared at Seto Kaiba, because he didn't want to get into further trouble with the teacher. He took his seat, got his notebooks out to take notes, and looked up at the teacher, who was still examining the papers in her hand. Tea, who sat besides Joey, gave him a questioning glance, which he ignored. He'd talk to her after class.
"Okay, students. As you all know, today is the day we take our field trip to the Tokyo National Museum. After the museum, we have a room reserved for us at an Italian restaurant nearby. We'll head home right after dinner and should be back close to midnight. If you forgot to tell your parents about the outing today, you will get a chance to do so shortly."
Joey frowned. He'd forgotten about the trip to the museum. He really didn't want to go. He didn't care for museums and wasn't in a mood to socialize with anyone. He wondered if he were to fake an illness the teacher would let him go home. He looked around him and saw a lot of smiling faces. They'd all be missing the day of school, which was enough to make anyone happy.
"Now on the trip there," the teacher continued, "you will have assigned seats on the bus that's taking us. In addition, you'll be responsible for your partner during the entire trip. Pay attention, because you will have to adhere to the assignment. First up: Tea Gardner and Tristan Taylor."
Joey heard Tea groan beside him and couldn't suppress a smile. Tristan, who sat in front of Tea, grinned.
"Joseph Wheeler and Yugi Moto."
Joey's head immediately turned to face the teacher. Yugi had really been looking forward to going to the museum, because he liked places like that. One of the only reasons Joey had signed up for the trip was because Yugi had asked him to go. He felt his throat tighten suddenly and he looked down at his desk.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wheeler," Mrs. Minami said, her tone genuinely regretful. "I must not have changed my assignments after. . ." here she trailed off. She cleared her throat. "Mr. Wheeler, you and Seto Kaiba will sit together."
Joey closed his eyes. 'Great, now I'll have to put up with Kaiba for the entire day.'
He shook his head and signed resignedly. Could this day get any worse?
The teacher finished reading her assignments and allowed them to go call their parents if they'd forgotten to tell them about the trip. Joey got up and headed outside to call Gramps. Halfway across the room, Tea stopped him.
"Are you okay, Joey?"
"I'm fine Tea, just fine," he said, and walked away from her.
This was going to be a long day.
**~~**
Song credit: If Only Tears Could Bring You Back, preformed by Midnight Sons. Next up: Well, I think I'll leave it up to you all to decide what's coming up!