Greetings!
I'm a day late in posting, because I didn't have Internet connectivity last night, but I hope no one minds. I'm not going to reply to reviews today, because its way late and I need to get to bed. To MysticSaturn: Thank you for posting a link to this fic and I'm glad others are enjoying reading it as well. To those of you who are new to replying to the story: thank you so much! I hope to hear from you again. To those who have replied before: thanks!! I couldn't keep writing without you. **cyber hugs for everyone**
Okay, now I have a little rant, if you'd care to read it.
*Start rant*
They say that copying is the best form of flattery, but I'm not very flattered. This morning, when I was checking to see what new stories had been posted, I came across one whose title sounded interesting (yes, story titles are what draw my attention. Weird, isn't it?) Anyway, I clicked on it and as I began to read, I realized that the first chapter of that story was almost exactly like the first chapter of my other fic, Intruders. The scenes were the same, the same characters were used for every scene, and the plot was the same. By the end of the chapter, my mouth was hanging open. Out of sheer curiosity, I clicked on the second chapter. Thankfully, it wasn't like my second chapter. I think the person finally decided to change things, even though the plot is still almost the same as mine. Last week, I found a story that began very similar to the way No Kinen Ni does. This particular author, however, at least had the decency to change her scenes around so they didn't match mine, even if the plot was still the same as mine.
The reason this bugs me is this: I realize that with so many of us writing, things are bound to get duplicated. In the end, we're all borrowing characters and situations that don't belong to us. That's one thing. Story plots, scenes, chapters, and so on, do belong to the author and do not need to be borrowed. I pride myself in original ideas and have been complimented by my readers for such. I don't update very often, so the other stories have been updated much faster than mine. I'd hate for someone to read those stories first then come to mine and think "she copied from so and so".
A lot of you guys that review my stories are writers too. How would you feel if this happened to you? Have any of you had this happen? I don't think I'm overreacting, but I guess it is possible. Anyway, I just wanted to get it off my chest. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far)!
*End rant*
Thanks again for all the reviews. You guys rock!! Enjoy! Oh, and please forgive any and all mistakes. It's late and I tend to get careless when I've had no sleep. ^_^
Warning: This chapter is rated R. That's right, I finally wrote something to merit the rating. yay! The R is for, let's say, inappropriate conduct. It's the last scene, so be warned.
**~~**
Part 17: Dark Recesses of the Heart
"We have been running this organization for much too long to let one kid ruin it for us."
Shadow stood in front of a clean, mahogany desk and calmly stared at a spot directly over his employer's left shoulder. From the light from the desk lamp, he could tell that the paint on the wall was chipping ever so slightly. Not enough to cause a dent in the otherwise perfect décor, but enough for it to be noticed.
He was expected to listen to the man's rant without a comment, as he had done ever since he'd been promoted to the position he now held. Shadow had taken to starting at inanimate objects to keep himself from losing control and telling his boss just what he really thought of him.
"What happened in Tokyo?"
Shadow took a deep breath. "We had the kid cornered, with the exception that there was someone else in the room with him when we entered. The other kid took out Jenkins before I took him out."
"There was another kid in there?" the boss interrupted. "Why didn't you bring them both?"
Losing momentary control, Shadow smirked. "If we'd kidnapped Seto Kaiba, the entire country would be looking for him. I did shoot him though."
The boss' eyebrows rose in surprise. "Seto Kaiba? He's involved with the Moto kid?"
Shadow shrugged. "It would seem so. I didn't want to take a chance in kidnapping both, so I left them."
Shadow neglected to tell the boss the real reason he hadn't kidnapped either boy. The boss wouldn't believe him even if he told him that soon as he'd gone after Yugi, he'd hit an invisible barrier that had made him feel as if his nerves were on fire. He also wouldn't tell that he'd heard a voice telling him to leave the kids alone. That was something that would die with him.
"That was probably the safest move, if not the wisest. Now there are two witnesses, not to mention a dead body. Even if the two kids can't identify you and Jenkins, they'll more than likely have talked to the police, which means that an investigation has been launched by now.
Shadow shrugged. "That doesn't matter. We've paid the police off before, we can do it again.
The boss looked him in the eye and nodded, before returning his attention to the top of his desk.
"Our organization has spent years collecting young boys to sell to clients who need extra 'labor' for their businesses, or who are simply too lazy to work and would rather have their 'charges' do the work for them. We erase their memories, using a drug that you, yourself, created, to delete all traces of their identity. Up until this point, we have had no problems. We are not going to start having them now. I will not let one teenage boy bring down my entire operation."
Shadow took a deep breath and slowly released it. He remembered the day Jenkins had brought the Moto boy in and how shocked he'd been at how much older the kid had actually been. Shadow hadn't thought the kid would be a problem. Then again, in the years he'd been in this business, he'd never had one of his victims found. It had been sheer coincidence that Yugi Moto's friends happened to be in the same place as he was. It didn't matter anymore, however. All Shadow cared about now was fixing the problem, before his employer decided to get rid of him.
"Of course not, sir. I will take care of it," Shadow replied, still not looking at his boss in the eye.
"Exactly how are you going to take care of it?"
Shadow nodded. "He was a risk I was unwilling to leave behind, sir. I took care of it."
His employer nodded. "Asami always had great things to say about little Yugi Moto. It seems the kid is very pliable and hard working. I think we could make some more money out of him."
Shadow raised one eyebrow and finally met his employer's eyes. This was not what he'd been expecting.
"You'd like me to kidnap Yugi Moto again?"
The other man laughed. "What, did you think I was going to ask you to kill him?"
"Frankly, yes. The kid is a witness to our operation, not to mention that he's seen both Jenkins and me. If he were to ever regain his memories, he'd be very harmful to all of us."
His employer laughed again. "What's the matter, Shadow? Are you afraid that your drug isn't as effective as you'd like me to believe?"
Shadow's jaw tightened in anger. His boss noticed the motion, but said nothing.
"The drug is not 100 percent effective, sir. I never claimed that it was. There is always that small chance that it will not work properly."
His employer simply shrugged.
"Then give him another dose when you kidnap him again. It'll erase his memories one more time, so he'd be moldable once again."
Shadow swallowed. Keeping Yugi Moto alive was not a good idea, but neither was injecting him with the drug again. After a moment's contemplation, a slight smirk entered Shadow's face. Maybe he'd be able to get what he wanted after all.
"Very well, sir. I will bring Yugi Moto in once again and erase his memories."
"Good. Make sure that you do that, Shadow."
Shadow nodded and made his way out of the room, neglecting to tell his employer that one more shot of the drug could destroy a young mind like Yugi's.
'What he doesn't know won't hurt him, and it'll help me.'
**~~**
Yami stood in the backyard, staring at the night sky. Yugi was in the kitchen with Joey and Mr. Moto, cleaning up, so Yami wasn't very far from the puzzle. Everyone else had already gone home, leaving them to finish out their evening in peace.
He could still remember the last time he'd come out here, a little over six months ago, desperate to get to Yugi. He'd been halted in his tracks at the same spot he stood now when the puzzle had reclaimed him, and Yami would never see that moment as anything but his greatest failure. If he'd been able to get to Yugi then, none of what had happened tonight would ever have happened.
After Bakura's outburst, Yami had remained outside of the puzzle. He'd stayed in the living room while everyone else had dinner, but he'd kept tabs on everyone. He'd noticed that Yugi had been quiet and distanced. He'd hardly eaten anything at dinner, despite Mr. Moto's gentle prodding. He'd barely spoken to anyone, nor had he looked at anyone in the eye. It was almost as if Yugi were ashamed or embarrassed to be around them. To Yami, it seemed as if Yugi was trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible, so everyone would leave him alone. It hadn't really worked like Yugi had planned, because everyone, especially Joey and Tea, had repeatedly tried to get him to talk to them. Yugi had made polite conversation when prodded, but had then lapsed into silence again.
It had pained Yami to see his aibou act the way he had, because he knew that Yugi was not like that. It had also pained him to see the sad look in Mr. Moto's eyes. He wanted things to go back to the way they'd been before, but he had no idea how to get them there.
"You look like your favorite cat was just killed."
Yami whirled around to find Bakura standing to one side of him. Yami glared, before turning away.
"If that were the case, I am sure you would be responsible for the death."
Bakura snickered. "My, what a welcome. And here I thought you might actually want someone to talk to."
Yami chuckled humorlessly. "Don't tell me you came back just to make sure I had someone to talk to. I would be more likely to believe you if you told me the sky were green."
Yami refused to turn to look at Bakura. He wasn't about to fall into whatever game the tomb robber was playing.
"Is that so hard to believe? Ryou cares about you and that wimp of a host of yours, so what if I'm here on his behalf?
Yami turned to Bakura then, his eyes icy. "Ryou would have come himself if that were the case. Would it not save us both time and effort if you just admit that you came to gloat?"
Yami's jaw tightened when Bakura's lips curled ever so slightly into a smile. He'd wanted to physically harm the other spirit when he'd made those comments about Yugi, and it angered him even more now that Bakura had come back to continue with his inappropriate behavior.
"I would not dream of gloating, except that this time, I was right. You and everyone else are just too deluded to admit it."
"How exactly were you right, Bakura? All your comments did was push Yugi back into the shell he has built around himself. He was just beginning to get comfortable around us, until you opened your big mouth!"
Yami winced at the sound of his own, angry, voice and took several deep breaths to calm himself. Bakura appraised him, apparently enjoying his lack of control.
"Can't you see that he's not Yugi anymore? As much as it pains Ryou to admit it, at least he has, which is a lot more than I can say for you," Bakura paused, and then walked the rest of the way until he was standing next to Yami. "You can't expect that kid in there to live up to your expectations, because he's never going to. The more you do, the further away you're going to push him until he's not going to want to be around any of you anymore."
Yami shook his head and was about to reply when Bakura's features softened and Yami found himself looking at a slightly confused Ryou.
"I'm sorry, Yami. I couldn't keep him from coming."
Yami sighed, his anger all of a sudden forgotten. He felt drained and worn out.
"It's alright, Ryou."
Yami paused, examining the teenager in front of him.
"Have you really given up on Yugi?" he asked.
Ryou shook his head. "I'll never give up on Yugi. That doesn't change the fact that Jomei isn't Yugi, and he may never be again. Would you rather spend your time hoping hat the old Yugi comes back, or getting to know the new Yugi?"
Yami opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had no answer.
What would he rather do? He wanted Yugi back, of that there was no doubt. Was that enough for him to turn away from the person that had come back in Yugi's place? Could he learn to love and respect Jomei as much as he'd loved and respected Yugi?
"I don't know, Ryou. I really don't know."
**~~**
****If you haven't read the warning at the beginning of the chapter, go read it now!!****
Jomei closed the door to his room and stumbled over to the bed. He took off the Millennium Puzzle and placed it on the desk, not bothering to change into pajamas, before flopping down onto the soft covers.
Dinner had been a horrible idea. He was emotionally and physically tired and wanted to crawl into a small, dark hole and stay there until this whole mess passed him by.
He'd known that he wasn't ready to meet Yugi's friends, and that Bakura guy hadn't made it any easier. Besides, it was clear to Jomei that everyone, with the exception of maybe Seto Kaiba, looked at him and didn't really see him. They saw their old friend and nothing more.
Jomei sighed as he got into a comfortable position on the bed. He supposed he couldn't blame them. He did look like Yugi; he sounded like him and in a way, acted like him. But he didn't have any of Yugi's memories, emotions, or life experiences. He didn't have what they were looking for.
Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he quickly stopped them. Crying wasn't going to do him any good. It never had before. He closed his eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
****
Jomei stirred as he felt something cold on his thigh. He moved his leg, attempting to dislodge the bug that had probably crawled onto him from the floor and managed to get rid of the feeling. After a few moments, however, it was back. This time, it traveled upwards, dangerously close to his waist.
Jomei moved his hand to swat at the persistent bug, but found that he couldn't. He snapped his eyes open to find darkness. He felt something heavy on top of him, something moving that was blocking the light which would normally stream in from his small window. He tried to move his arms again, but found that they'd been pinned underneath him. As soon as he'd opened his mouth to ask what was going on, a large, beefy hand settled over it, preventing him from speaking.
His heart racing, Jomei felt the sliver of fear grow in his gut until it enveloped him. It was as if ice water had been spilled all over him. He moved his body to get whatever it was off of him, but found that he could do nothing.
"Hush, now, Jomei," a male voice said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He immediately recognized the voice as that of Kano, one of the other kids Asami had guardianship over. Kano moved slightly, which allowed Jomei to see his window. The moonlight shone on Kano's face, making it look eerie and sinister. Kano's hand slipped underneath the shorts Jomei was wearing and began to fondle him.
Jomei tried to move away, but Kano was much bigger than he was and the older boy's weight pinned him to the small cot he was lying on. Jomei whimpered, which caused Kano to tighten the hand that was clamped over his mouth.
"Oh, come on now, Jomei! You can't tell me you're not enjoying this," Kano whispered. "You're a good looking young man, you know that? I've wanted to do this ever since you were brought here."
Jomei's eyes widened as Kano's hand continued to roam over his lower body. He decided to stop fighting and lay still, in hopes that Kano would get discouraged and let him go. What would Asami think if he saw this? What would he do? As if reading his thoughts, Kano chuckled.
"Don't even think about going to Asami about this. You've only been here for three weeks, while I've been here for years. He won't believe you."
Jomei had no doubt Kano was right. Asami tended not to pay attention to him half of the time.
"See, I told you that you'd enjoy this," Kano said when he noticed that Jomei had stopped struggling. "For that, you get a reward."
Kano removed his hand from Jomei's mouth, only to replace it with his own mouth. Jomei tried to turn away, but a strong hand held his head in place. A demanding tongue parted his lips, moaning in response to the sensations.
'Stop it, stop it!' Jomei cried in his head as he resumed his struggle to get Kano off of him. 'Leave me alone!'
His whole body shook with fear and desperation. His arms had gone numb and his eyes saw nothing but blackness from Kano's hair. His body was reacting to Kano's ministrations, which immediately made him feel ashamed. Tears streamed down the side of his face, pooling on his pillow. He felt helpless to do anything. He fought with all he had, but it accomplished nothing.
Kano ended the kiss and lifted his head, looking at Jomei with a mixture of awe and appreciation.
"Wow," he said.
"Please, don't do this anymore," Jomei sobbed as he looked at the older boy. "I don't want to do that."
Kano didn't get a chance to reply.
"Kano, where the hell are you, you useless excuse for a human being?"
Asami's voice caused both boys to jerk slightly. Kano's eyes narrowed, before focusing once again on Jomei.
"I'll be back to finish what I started, Jomei. Remember, Asami isn't going to believe you if you tell."
Kano got up from the cot and left Jomei's small room in a hurry. Jomei heard him slip into his own room next door, before he heard Asami yelling at him. Jomei couldn't make out the words, nor did he care. All he could do was lay there, tears still streaming down the side of his face.
He could still feel every spot where Kano had touched; he could feel the boy's lips on his own, the tongue in his mouth. Jomei felt like he had to throw up, but he didn't want to get up. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, didn't want Kano to come after him again.
****
Jomei jerked up in bed, disoriented. He immediately searched for his small window, wanting to take some comfort in the scenery below him, but instead found a wall.
'Where am I?' he thought.
He looked around some more, finally noting the large skylight above the desk. He was at the Moto's house in Domino; he wasn't with Asami anymore.
Jomei sat on the bed and hugged his knees to his chest. He could still feel where Kano had touched; he remembered what the boy had almost done. It shamed him to think that he hadn't said or done a thing to stop it. He had just laid there and let it happen. Jomei closed his eyes, fighting off tears. He felt nauseous, but he didn't want to go to the bathroom because he'd probably wake Joey up, which would lead to more questions. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, least of all someone whom he didn't really know.
Jomei took a deep breath, willing the memory to go away. Kano had never returned to his room. Asami had sent him away the next day under the pretense that he'd gotten too used to being pampered and had to be reminded of what it was like to work for a living. Secretly, Jomei wondered if Asami had known about what Kano had tried to do. Jomei had never told anyone, least of all Asami, but what if the man had heard something? It didn't really matter to Jomei. All that mattered was that Kano had never gotten the chance to finish what he'd started. That fact didn't lessen the feeling of fear, guilt, and shame Jomei felt, however. He'd still let it happen.
"You think I'd do something good for you?"
Jomei snapped his head up from his knees at the sound of the voice that had haunted him his entire life. His eyes widened when he saw Asami standing by the foot of the bed. His eyes shone with the moonlight, and Jomei could tell that his hands were clenched into fists.
"After everything I did to you, you still turned out to be an ungrateful little brat, Jomei!" Asami continued. "Weren't you happy with what I gave you? Why wasn't what I gave you enough?"
Jomei scooted back on the bed until his butt hit the headboard. He sat there, trembling, as he watched Asami's face contort in rage. This couldn't be happening. Asami was dead; the police in Tokyo had said so!
"You got me here, Jomei. You do realize that, right? I'm dead because of you. You killed me!"
"No! I didn't do anything!" Jomei tried to yell, but all that came out was a strangled whisper.
"Yes, you did! You killed me. How do you think your new 'family'", Asami said, smirking at the word 'family', would feel about you when they find out you're a killer. Better yet, how do you think they'll feel when they find out that you're a little whore?"
Jomei winced at the truth in the words. Is that what he really was? Is that how everyone would see him if they found out?
"You think I didn't know about that? Of course I knew. I saw Kano go into your room. I knew what he was going to do. I just didn't think you'd let him!" Asami paused, and then began to walk forward. "I'd leave if I were you. Get out now while you still have a choice. Get out before they kick you out."
Jomei shook his head. He couldn't speak. He wanted to shout to Asami that he was wrong, but nothing came out. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to regain his breath. When he opened them, Asami was gone. Jomei looked around the room, but found no traces of his 'guardian'.
"What if he's right," Jomei whispered to himself. "What if they'll want to throw me out after they find out about Kano? What will I do then?"
A single tear finally made its way down Jomei's cheek.
"I won't let them do that. I'm on my own now, which means that I determine where I go. I won't be on anyone's mercy anymore!"
Jomei got up from the bed and went to the closet. He picked up a jacket and then walked to the window. His gaze landed on the Millennium Puzzle as he passed the desk, and he reached out to take it, but then stopped himself.
"The puzzle is Yugi's, not mine. I have no right to take it."
He turned away from the room, slid open the window, and let himself out onto the ledge. He spotted a tree a few feet away and carefully made his way to it. Fortunately, its branches were close enough for him to grab onto, so Jomei used them to slowly make his way to the ground.
With one last look at the house, he ran away.
**~~**
Sniff, sniff **grabs tissues from under desk, swatting away wayward plot bunnies. Holds out tissues to reviewers, who glare murderously** The muse made me do it, I swear! ^__^
Next up: Jomei wanders the streets and runs into a gang (ohh, action!). Joey gets an unexpected call. There's something else, but I can't spoil it! Until next time!
I'm a day late in posting, because I didn't have Internet connectivity last night, but I hope no one minds. I'm not going to reply to reviews today, because its way late and I need to get to bed. To MysticSaturn: Thank you for posting a link to this fic and I'm glad others are enjoying reading it as well. To those of you who are new to replying to the story: thank you so much! I hope to hear from you again. To those who have replied before: thanks!! I couldn't keep writing without you. **cyber hugs for everyone**
Okay, now I have a little rant, if you'd care to read it.
*Start rant*
They say that copying is the best form of flattery, but I'm not very flattered. This morning, when I was checking to see what new stories had been posted, I came across one whose title sounded interesting (yes, story titles are what draw my attention. Weird, isn't it?) Anyway, I clicked on it and as I began to read, I realized that the first chapter of that story was almost exactly like the first chapter of my other fic, Intruders. The scenes were the same, the same characters were used for every scene, and the plot was the same. By the end of the chapter, my mouth was hanging open. Out of sheer curiosity, I clicked on the second chapter. Thankfully, it wasn't like my second chapter. I think the person finally decided to change things, even though the plot is still almost the same as mine. Last week, I found a story that began very similar to the way No Kinen Ni does. This particular author, however, at least had the decency to change her scenes around so they didn't match mine, even if the plot was still the same as mine.
The reason this bugs me is this: I realize that with so many of us writing, things are bound to get duplicated. In the end, we're all borrowing characters and situations that don't belong to us. That's one thing. Story plots, scenes, chapters, and so on, do belong to the author and do not need to be borrowed. I pride myself in original ideas and have been complimented by my readers for such. I don't update very often, so the other stories have been updated much faster than mine. I'd hate for someone to read those stories first then come to mine and think "she copied from so and so".
A lot of you guys that review my stories are writers too. How would you feel if this happened to you? Have any of you had this happen? I don't think I'm overreacting, but I guess it is possible. Anyway, I just wanted to get it off my chest. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far)!
*End rant*
Thanks again for all the reviews. You guys rock!! Enjoy! Oh, and please forgive any and all mistakes. It's late and I tend to get careless when I've had no sleep. ^_^
Warning: This chapter is rated R. That's right, I finally wrote something to merit the rating. yay! The R is for, let's say, inappropriate conduct. It's the last scene, so be warned.
**~~**
Part 17: Dark Recesses of the Heart
"We have been running this organization for much too long to let one kid ruin it for us."
Shadow stood in front of a clean, mahogany desk and calmly stared at a spot directly over his employer's left shoulder. From the light from the desk lamp, he could tell that the paint on the wall was chipping ever so slightly. Not enough to cause a dent in the otherwise perfect décor, but enough for it to be noticed.
He was expected to listen to the man's rant without a comment, as he had done ever since he'd been promoted to the position he now held. Shadow had taken to starting at inanimate objects to keep himself from losing control and telling his boss just what he really thought of him.
"What happened in Tokyo?"
Shadow took a deep breath. "We had the kid cornered, with the exception that there was someone else in the room with him when we entered. The other kid took out Jenkins before I took him out."
"There was another kid in there?" the boss interrupted. "Why didn't you bring them both?"
Losing momentary control, Shadow smirked. "If we'd kidnapped Seto Kaiba, the entire country would be looking for him. I did shoot him though."
The boss' eyebrows rose in surprise. "Seto Kaiba? He's involved with the Moto kid?"
Shadow shrugged. "It would seem so. I didn't want to take a chance in kidnapping both, so I left them."
Shadow neglected to tell the boss the real reason he hadn't kidnapped either boy. The boss wouldn't believe him even if he told him that soon as he'd gone after Yugi, he'd hit an invisible barrier that had made him feel as if his nerves were on fire. He also wouldn't tell that he'd heard a voice telling him to leave the kids alone. That was something that would die with him.
"That was probably the safest move, if not the wisest. Now there are two witnesses, not to mention a dead body. Even if the two kids can't identify you and Jenkins, they'll more than likely have talked to the police, which means that an investigation has been launched by now.
Shadow shrugged. "That doesn't matter. We've paid the police off before, we can do it again.
The boss looked him in the eye and nodded, before returning his attention to the top of his desk.
"Our organization has spent years collecting young boys to sell to clients who need extra 'labor' for their businesses, or who are simply too lazy to work and would rather have their 'charges' do the work for them. We erase their memories, using a drug that you, yourself, created, to delete all traces of their identity. Up until this point, we have had no problems. We are not going to start having them now. I will not let one teenage boy bring down my entire operation."
Shadow took a deep breath and slowly released it. He remembered the day Jenkins had brought the Moto boy in and how shocked he'd been at how much older the kid had actually been. Shadow hadn't thought the kid would be a problem. Then again, in the years he'd been in this business, he'd never had one of his victims found. It had been sheer coincidence that Yugi Moto's friends happened to be in the same place as he was. It didn't matter anymore, however. All Shadow cared about now was fixing the problem, before his employer decided to get rid of him.
"Of course not, sir. I will take care of it," Shadow replied, still not looking at his boss in the eye.
"Exactly how are you going to take care of it?"
Shadow nodded. "He was a risk I was unwilling to leave behind, sir. I took care of it."
His employer nodded. "Asami always had great things to say about little Yugi Moto. It seems the kid is very pliable and hard working. I think we could make some more money out of him."
Shadow raised one eyebrow and finally met his employer's eyes. This was not what he'd been expecting.
"You'd like me to kidnap Yugi Moto again?"
The other man laughed. "What, did you think I was going to ask you to kill him?"
"Frankly, yes. The kid is a witness to our operation, not to mention that he's seen both Jenkins and me. If he were to ever regain his memories, he'd be very harmful to all of us."
His employer laughed again. "What's the matter, Shadow? Are you afraid that your drug isn't as effective as you'd like me to believe?"
Shadow's jaw tightened in anger. His boss noticed the motion, but said nothing.
"The drug is not 100 percent effective, sir. I never claimed that it was. There is always that small chance that it will not work properly."
His employer simply shrugged.
"Then give him another dose when you kidnap him again. It'll erase his memories one more time, so he'd be moldable once again."
Shadow swallowed. Keeping Yugi Moto alive was not a good idea, but neither was injecting him with the drug again. After a moment's contemplation, a slight smirk entered Shadow's face. Maybe he'd be able to get what he wanted after all.
"Very well, sir. I will bring Yugi Moto in once again and erase his memories."
"Good. Make sure that you do that, Shadow."
Shadow nodded and made his way out of the room, neglecting to tell his employer that one more shot of the drug could destroy a young mind like Yugi's.
'What he doesn't know won't hurt him, and it'll help me.'
**~~**
Yami stood in the backyard, staring at the night sky. Yugi was in the kitchen with Joey and Mr. Moto, cleaning up, so Yami wasn't very far from the puzzle. Everyone else had already gone home, leaving them to finish out their evening in peace.
He could still remember the last time he'd come out here, a little over six months ago, desperate to get to Yugi. He'd been halted in his tracks at the same spot he stood now when the puzzle had reclaimed him, and Yami would never see that moment as anything but his greatest failure. If he'd been able to get to Yugi then, none of what had happened tonight would ever have happened.
After Bakura's outburst, Yami had remained outside of the puzzle. He'd stayed in the living room while everyone else had dinner, but he'd kept tabs on everyone. He'd noticed that Yugi had been quiet and distanced. He'd hardly eaten anything at dinner, despite Mr. Moto's gentle prodding. He'd barely spoken to anyone, nor had he looked at anyone in the eye. It was almost as if Yugi were ashamed or embarrassed to be around them. To Yami, it seemed as if Yugi was trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible, so everyone would leave him alone. It hadn't really worked like Yugi had planned, because everyone, especially Joey and Tea, had repeatedly tried to get him to talk to them. Yugi had made polite conversation when prodded, but had then lapsed into silence again.
It had pained Yami to see his aibou act the way he had, because he knew that Yugi was not like that. It had also pained him to see the sad look in Mr. Moto's eyes. He wanted things to go back to the way they'd been before, but he had no idea how to get them there.
"You look like your favorite cat was just killed."
Yami whirled around to find Bakura standing to one side of him. Yami glared, before turning away.
"If that were the case, I am sure you would be responsible for the death."
Bakura snickered. "My, what a welcome. And here I thought you might actually want someone to talk to."
Yami chuckled humorlessly. "Don't tell me you came back just to make sure I had someone to talk to. I would be more likely to believe you if you told me the sky were green."
Yami refused to turn to look at Bakura. He wasn't about to fall into whatever game the tomb robber was playing.
"Is that so hard to believe? Ryou cares about you and that wimp of a host of yours, so what if I'm here on his behalf?
Yami turned to Bakura then, his eyes icy. "Ryou would have come himself if that were the case. Would it not save us both time and effort if you just admit that you came to gloat?"
Yami's jaw tightened when Bakura's lips curled ever so slightly into a smile. He'd wanted to physically harm the other spirit when he'd made those comments about Yugi, and it angered him even more now that Bakura had come back to continue with his inappropriate behavior.
"I would not dream of gloating, except that this time, I was right. You and everyone else are just too deluded to admit it."
"How exactly were you right, Bakura? All your comments did was push Yugi back into the shell he has built around himself. He was just beginning to get comfortable around us, until you opened your big mouth!"
Yami winced at the sound of his own, angry, voice and took several deep breaths to calm himself. Bakura appraised him, apparently enjoying his lack of control.
"Can't you see that he's not Yugi anymore? As much as it pains Ryou to admit it, at least he has, which is a lot more than I can say for you," Bakura paused, and then walked the rest of the way until he was standing next to Yami. "You can't expect that kid in there to live up to your expectations, because he's never going to. The more you do, the further away you're going to push him until he's not going to want to be around any of you anymore."
Yami shook his head and was about to reply when Bakura's features softened and Yami found himself looking at a slightly confused Ryou.
"I'm sorry, Yami. I couldn't keep him from coming."
Yami sighed, his anger all of a sudden forgotten. He felt drained and worn out.
"It's alright, Ryou."
Yami paused, examining the teenager in front of him.
"Have you really given up on Yugi?" he asked.
Ryou shook his head. "I'll never give up on Yugi. That doesn't change the fact that Jomei isn't Yugi, and he may never be again. Would you rather spend your time hoping hat the old Yugi comes back, or getting to know the new Yugi?"
Yami opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had no answer.
What would he rather do? He wanted Yugi back, of that there was no doubt. Was that enough for him to turn away from the person that had come back in Yugi's place? Could he learn to love and respect Jomei as much as he'd loved and respected Yugi?
"I don't know, Ryou. I really don't know."
**~~**
****If you haven't read the warning at the beginning of the chapter, go read it now!!****
Jomei closed the door to his room and stumbled over to the bed. He took off the Millennium Puzzle and placed it on the desk, not bothering to change into pajamas, before flopping down onto the soft covers.
Dinner had been a horrible idea. He was emotionally and physically tired and wanted to crawl into a small, dark hole and stay there until this whole mess passed him by.
He'd known that he wasn't ready to meet Yugi's friends, and that Bakura guy hadn't made it any easier. Besides, it was clear to Jomei that everyone, with the exception of maybe Seto Kaiba, looked at him and didn't really see him. They saw their old friend and nothing more.
Jomei sighed as he got into a comfortable position on the bed. He supposed he couldn't blame them. He did look like Yugi; he sounded like him and in a way, acted like him. But he didn't have any of Yugi's memories, emotions, or life experiences. He didn't have what they were looking for.
Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he quickly stopped them. Crying wasn't going to do him any good. It never had before. He closed his eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
****
Jomei stirred as he felt something cold on his thigh. He moved his leg, attempting to dislodge the bug that had probably crawled onto him from the floor and managed to get rid of the feeling. After a few moments, however, it was back. This time, it traveled upwards, dangerously close to his waist.
Jomei moved his hand to swat at the persistent bug, but found that he couldn't. He snapped his eyes open to find darkness. He felt something heavy on top of him, something moving that was blocking the light which would normally stream in from his small window. He tried to move his arms again, but found that they'd been pinned underneath him. As soon as he'd opened his mouth to ask what was going on, a large, beefy hand settled over it, preventing him from speaking.
His heart racing, Jomei felt the sliver of fear grow in his gut until it enveloped him. It was as if ice water had been spilled all over him. He moved his body to get whatever it was off of him, but found that he could do nothing.
"Hush, now, Jomei," a male voice said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He immediately recognized the voice as that of Kano, one of the other kids Asami had guardianship over. Kano moved slightly, which allowed Jomei to see his window. The moonlight shone on Kano's face, making it look eerie and sinister. Kano's hand slipped underneath the shorts Jomei was wearing and began to fondle him.
Jomei tried to move away, but Kano was much bigger than he was and the older boy's weight pinned him to the small cot he was lying on. Jomei whimpered, which caused Kano to tighten the hand that was clamped over his mouth.
"Oh, come on now, Jomei! You can't tell me you're not enjoying this," Kano whispered. "You're a good looking young man, you know that? I've wanted to do this ever since you were brought here."
Jomei's eyes widened as Kano's hand continued to roam over his lower body. He decided to stop fighting and lay still, in hopes that Kano would get discouraged and let him go. What would Asami think if he saw this? What would he do? As if reading his thoughts, Kano chuckled.
"Don't even think about going to Asami about this. You've only been here for three weeks, while I've been here for years. He won't believe you."
Jomei had no doubt Kano was right. Asami tended not to pay attention to him half of the time.
"See, I told you that you'd enjoy this," Kano said when he noticed that Jomei had stopped struggling. "For that, you get a reward."
Kano removed his hand from Jomei's mouth, only to replace it with his own mouth. Jomei tried to turn away, but a strong hand held his head in place. A demanding tongue parted his lips, moaning in response to the sensations.
'Stop it, stop it!' Jomei cried in his head as he resumed his struggle to get Kano off of him. 'Leave me alone!'
His whole body shook with fear and desperation. His arms had gone numb and his eyes saw nothing but blackness from Kano's hair. His body was reacting to Kano's ministrations, which immediately made him feel ashamed. Tears streamed down the side of his face, pooling on his pillow. He felt helpless to do anything. He fought with all he had, but it accomplished nothing.
Kano ended the kiss and lifted his head, looking at Jomei with a mixture of awe and appreciation.
"Wow," he said.
"Please, don't do this anymore," Jomei sobbed as he looked at the older boy. "I don't want to do that."
Kano didn't get a chance to reply.
"Kano, where the hell are you, you useless excuse for a human being?"
Asami's voice caused both boys to jerk slightly. Kano's eyes narrowed, before focusing once again on Jomei.
"I'll be back to finish what I started, Jomei. Remember, Asami isn't going to believe you if you tell."
Kano got up from the cot and left Jomei's small room in a hurry. Jomei heard him slip into his own room next door, before he heard Asami yelling at him. Jomei couldn't make out the words, nor did he care. All he could do was lay there, tears still streaming down the side of his face.
He could still feel every spot where Kano had touched; he could feel the boy's lips on his own, the tongue in his mouth. Jomei felt like he had to throw up, but he didn't want to get up. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, didn't want Kano to come after him again.
****
Jomei jerked up in bed, disoriented. He immediately searched for his small window, wanting to take some comfort in the scenery below him, but instead found a wall.
'Where am I?' he thought.
He looked around some more, finally noting the large skylight above the desk. He was at the Moto's house in Domino; he wasn't with Asami anymore.
Jomei sat on the bed and hugged his knees to his chest. He could still feel where Kano had touched; he remembered what the boy had almost done. It shamed him to think that he hadn't said or done a thing to stop it. He had just laid there and let it happen. Jomei closed his eyes, fighting off tears. He felt nauseous, but he didn't want to go to the bathroom because he'd probably wake Joey up, which would lead to more questions. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, least of all someone whom he didn't really know.
Jomei took a deep breath, willing the memory to go away. Kano had never returned to his room. Asami had sent him away the next day under the pretense that he'd gotten too used to being pampered and had to be reminded of what it was like to work for a living. Secretly, Jomei wondered if Asami had known about what Kano had tried to do. Jomei had never told anyone, least of all Asami, but what if the man had heard something? It didn't really matter to Jomei. All that mattered was that Kano had never gotten the chance to finish what he'd started. That fact didn't lessen the feeling of fear, guilt, and shame Jomei felt, however. He'd still let it happen.
"You think I'd do something good for you?"
Jomei snapped his head up from his knees at the sound of the voice that had haunted him his entire life. His eyes widened when he saw Asami standing by the foot of the bed. His eyes shone with the moonlight, and Jomei could tell that his hands were clenched into fists.
"After everything I did to you, you still turned out to be an ungrateful little brat, Jomei!" Asami continued. "Weren't you happy with what I gave you? Why wasn't what I gave you enough?"
Jomei scooted back on the bed until his butt hit the headboard. He sat there, trembling, as he watched Asami's face contort in rage. This couldn't be happening. Asami was dead; the police in Tokyo had said so!
"You got me here, Jomei. You do realize that, right? I'm dead because of you. You killed me!"
"No! I didn't do anything!" Jomei tried to yell, but all that came out was a strangled whisper.
"Yes, you did! You killed me. How do you think your new 'family'", Asami said, smirking at the word 'family', would feel about you when they find out you're a killer. Better yet, how do you think they'll feel when they find out that you're a little whore?"
Jomei winced at the truth in the words. Is that what he really was? Is that how everyone would see him if they found out?
"You think I didn't know about that? Of course I knew. I saw Kano go into your room. I knew what he was going to do. I just didn't think you'd let him!" Asami paused, and then began to walk forward. "I'd leave if I were you. Get out now while you still have a choice. Get out before they kick you out."
Jomei shook his head. He couldn't speak. He wanted to shout to Asami that he was wrong, but nothing came out. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to regain his breath. When he opened them, Asami was gone. Jomei looked around the room, but found no traces of his 'guardian'.
"What if he's right," Jomei whispered to himself. "What if they'll want to throw me out after they find out about Kano? What will I do then?"
A single tear finally made its way down Jomei's cheek.
"I won't let them do that. I'm on my own now, which means that I determine where I go. I won't be on anyone's mercy anymore!"
Jomei got up from the bed and went to the closet. He picked up a jacket and then walked to the window. His gaze landed on the Millennium Puzzle as he passed the desk, and he reached out to take it, but then stopped himself.
"The puzzle is Yugi's, not mine. I have no right to take it."
He turned away from the room, slid open the window, and let himself out onto the ledge. He spotted a tree a few feet away and carefully made his way to it. Fortunately, its branches were close enough for him to grab onto, so Jomei used them to slowly make his way to the ground.
With one last look at the house, he ran away.
**~~**
Sniff, sniff **grabs tissues from under desk, swatting away wayward plot bunnies. Holds out tissues to reviewers, who glare murderously** The muse made me do it, I swear! ^__^
Next up: Jomei wanders the streets and runs into a gang (ohh, action!). Joey gets an unexpected call. There's something else, but I can't spoil it! Until next time!