I was tempted to go easy on Yugi this chapter, but then I said to myself: Why on Earth would I do that?
Sage: Because it would make you a good person…?
Hmmm…No. I'm afraid that's not it. I can't go easy on Yugi because it's just too much fun to torture him!
Sage: Well played, dear hikairi…well played indeed.
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Joey found himself having to face the inevitable. Yugi was no longer in Domino. He had given consideration to this thought before, but somewhere he had always hoped that the younger teen had remained in his home town. He knew now that he would have to face the reality of the situation and would need to expand his search into the neighboring cities. Joey prayed with all his heart that Yugi had not strayed any further than that. His hand slipped down into his shoe and he pulled out a small photograph of Yugi, one that Mister Motou had given him.
Joey could tell the photo was from freshman year just by looking at Yugi. Even though Yugi was still short for his age, he had been affected by puberty some. From the picture he had, he could tell how angular Yugi's face became over that past summer, and how some of the baby fat had been eaten away. Joey was thankful that he had kept the picture in his shoe, instead of in his pants pocket, which will still damp from his evening swim. Joey walked slowly along the streets of Domino, keeping the photo clenched in his hands. His eyelids felt heavy and he had to fight to stay awake. The past few months of exchanging hours of sleep for scaling the entire city, looking for Yugi, were now starting to catch up with him. Joey wanted to just lie down, close his eyes, and sleep for a year.
Joey came to a bus stop. He knew that the buses wouldn't be running for another six hours, at least, but he just needed to rest. Just for a minute, he told himself. He sat down on the bench and put the picture of Yugi back in his shoe, then he stretched out on the bench, letting his body feel the sturdiness of the wood beneath him. He felt something else in the bench too. Deep in his heart, he knew it and didn't have to be told.
Yugi had been lying on this bench too.
In an instant, Joey knew that this was the bus stop Yugi had waited at the night he left town. It should've been unnerving, but it wasn't. Instead, Joey found it calming. He found it calming because this was the closet to Yugi he had ever been and it was a warming sensation. He stuck his hand into his pant pocket and pulled out the puzzle piece he had retrieved from the waters. The gold was cold to the touch and Joey tightened his grip on it as he studied it. He had no idea what this thing was, but he knew it was more than just a puzzle piece. He could only wonder what this piece really was.
Sighing, Joey pocketed it again and his eyelids heavy, closed them just for a moment.
He woke up to the sound of a roaring engine; the sun was just rising over the horizon. Joey sat up straight and rubbed his sore head. He let out a small groan of pain before turning his head in the direction of the engine. A bus was idling in front of the stop, the door open, waiting for Joey. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the bus as best he could. His legs had fallen asleep and felt like jelly underneath him as he walked. But, he made it to the door of the bus and went up the steps.
The driver grunted and pointed to a small box hanging beside his right arm.
"Uh, yeah. Give me a minute." Joey said as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. It was damp from his midnight swim and he mentally groaned. He was glad he didn't have any paper bills with him. He pulled out the necessary amount of coins for the fare and dropped them into the box.
The driver tipped his hat. "Thank you, kid. Where to?"
Joey paused for a moment, staring at the wet picture he had of his sister. The color had been almost completely washed away and Joey was afraid to touch it for fear of it falling apart. "Can you take me to Tokyo?" He said quietly.
"That's out of my jurisdiction, kid." He paused for a moment. "I can take you to the city line."
"That's fine with me." Joey said and he went to take a seat. He was the only occupant on the bus and he stared mindlessly out the window, watching as all the trees and buildings blurred into one. He was mentally berating himself for being so stupid.
'I should've taken my wallet out of my pants!' He screamed inside his head. 'Now the only picture I have of Serenity is ruined!' Joey hadn't seen his sister in almost eight years. The picture he had of her she had been six, but it was the only one he had managed to get his hands on before his father thrashed them all. Warm, salty tears threatened to slip out of his eyes, but he managed to stop them. He wasn't going to cry. Serenity wouldn't want him to cry.
The last time he had seen Serenity, she could barely see him. Her eyesight had never been the best as a young child, but it was obvious by her fifth birthday that it was more extreme than anyone had ever thought. She had a tumor in her eye that was pressing on her optic nerve, making it nearly impossible for her to see. The operation to remove it would have been more than the Wheeler's could ever afford and that was one of the main reasons they divorced.
'Stop it!' Joey mentally yelled at himself. 'Stop thinking about Serenity!' He hated it when he thought of his little sister and all the struggles she would have to go through. So, he did what made the problem go away and leave him alone. He stopped thinking about it. And instantly it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
During this time the bus had not stopped once to pick up other passengers, so Joey was drawn out of his thoughts when the bus did stop. He looked out the window and saw the green sign that read 'Domino City Line'.
The bus was placed into park and the driver opened the door. He looked up at Joey through his rear view mirror. "This is as far as I can take ya, kid." He said in his rough voice.
Joey nodded and stood, walking to the door of the bus. "Thank you." He murmured and he stepped off the bus and turned to watch it drive away. With a sigh, he turned back to the sign that was beckoning him to pass it; beckoning him to cross the invisible line that marked what area was Domino and what area was Tokyo. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose and released it through his mouth. Somewhere over that line, was Yugi. Joey had no idea where he might be in that big city, but he was somewhere and Joey was determined not to leave until he had Yugi.
It wouldn't matter if it took him a few hours to find the lost boy or if it took weeks. He was not going to leave until he had Yugi following behind him. Joey clenched his fists tight until he could feel the veins in his palm throbbing. The blood flooded into his head, making him nauseated. He was afraid of what lay behind that invisible line. He was afraid of what condition he would find Yugi in—he was going to find Yugi, of that he had no doubt—but he was afraid of how damaged or scared the younger teen would be.
"I guess there's only one way to find out." Joey said aloud. He moved his right foot forward and stepped over the invisible line, crossing into Tokyo territory, leaving Domino.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
He could feel his temples throbbing. He tried to open his eyes, but the task was just too difficult. At the movement of the skin around his face, something cracked and a warm liquid ran down his cheek, dripping onto his chest. The familiar feel of the leather beneath him was registered in his mind and Yugi knew that he was back inside the car. He could feel the rising sun beating down on his face, warming his cheeks.
He craned his head, listening for the sounds of the other three boys, but none came. A thought registered in his head: Was he alone?
A small ball of hope rose up in Yugi's chest. If he was alone then maybe he could escape. He could break free of his bonds, grab his backpack (still safely under the seat of the first car, he hoped) and run as far as his feet could take him. He would ignore the pain any part of his body brought him and he would just run.
He squinted his eyes, (the swelling had finally gone down on the one) the blurry images and colors were before his eyes, but he couldn't place them together. He tried to move his legs into a more comfortable position, but they had gone numb and lame on him; his body had them pressed to hardly into the leather of the couch the entire time he was unconscious. Yugi let out a small groan of frustration, opening his eyes a little wider. He saw the familiar sight of the roof of the car above him and nothing else. But, if this was his chance to escape, he was going to take it.
He rubbed his wrists together, ignoring the pain it brought him. He tried moving them in all directions, trying to loosen the wires enough that he could slip his hands through. He could feel them loosening some and the hope in Yugi rose even more. He worked on it for about five more minutes; the wires had become slack. Yugi had almost broken free of his bonds, he was almost free, he was—
"What do you think you're doing?" A voice came and all hope in Yugi died. The three boys hadn't left the abandoned car lot. They had been there the entire time. Yugi's eyes fell and he stared at the floor of the car, examining the missing brake pedal, the rainbow of wires sticking out of the ground.
"Nothing." Yugi murmur med, his voice dead with defeat. "Nothing at all."
Bruno grunted, pleased but yet uninterested by the answer he was given. "You sure? For a moment it looked like you were trying to escape. That wouldn't be the case, now, would it?"
Yugi shook his head, fighting back the tears that threatened to leave his eyes. "No Master," he voice cracked with the use of his words. He swallowed a large lump that had grown in his throat and he inhaled a deep breath through his nose. "I would never think of doing that."
Bruno smiled and patted Yugi's head, the younger flinching at the touch. "That's what I like to hear, now." He took his hand and brushed it across Yugi's jawline, starting at the temple all the way down to his chin. He did it slowly, dragging out to the process and making it as painful for Yugi as possible.
"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, now." His dark voice dropped into a whisper, one that was malicious and seductive at the same time. Yugi hated that voice. "You're going to stay here with us forever. You're a part of this family now."
'The pet.' Yugi thought, fear paralyzing his body. This was probably the most Bruno had ever spoken to him at once and he seemed different somehow. Yugi couldn't place it until his nostrils caught the scent of something unusual. Yugi recognized almost instantly. It was a something he had smelled at school a few times, when some of the jocks decided that the boy's bathroom was a good place to experiment with such stuff.
Bruno was drunk.
Yugi knew the dangers of hanging around a drunk. Images of his parents flashed before his eyes. He remembered what they were like when drunk and it was not fun. They would be loving and showering him with affection one moment, then hostile and rejecting the next. Bruno was obviously in the loving stage, but Yugi didn't want to see what he was like when he reached the hostility stage. Yugi knew what he was like when he was sober and coherent. He couldn't imagine what the older boy would be like in his current state.
"We'll be a family forever." His deep voice purred, his hands petting Yugi's matted hair.
"Forever?"
"Forever and ever."
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Damn it!" Joey cried, throwing his arms up in the air. He was beyond pissed. He had been searching the city for Yugi for the entire day, the sun now starting to set behind him, and yet he had only managed to reach a few square miles. Tokyo was massive, and at the rate he was going, it would take weeks to search all of it. He sighed and bowed his head, wrapping his hands around it. The sun had started to set, marking the twelfth hour he had spent searching.
He groaned and continued to walk down the road, shoving his way past the floods of people walking home from work. He had to turn sideways to get by the groups of people, which consisted mostly of middle aged men and women giving him glares. Joey continued to walk, his mind empty of all thoughts, when his stomach growled. Joey brought his hand to it and grimaced. The last thing to fill his stomach was the tea from Mister Motou. And that had been nearly twenty-four hours ago. Joey sighed and reached for his wallet, now dry and felt that he still had some coins left. Perhaps he had enough to buy himself a small snack. He reached down and pulled the picture he had of Yugi out of his shoe and placed it inside his wallet, right beside the faded picture of his sister. He looked up and saw that he was outside a small café and was barely empty.
Joey walked inside; the small toiling of a bell was heard. There was a young woman standing behind the counter, her attention was seized by the television above her head. Apparently it was supposed to rain tonight.
Joey approached the counter and he waited for the woman to notice him. Her eyes turned towards him and she gave a small smile. "Good evening, sir." She began, her fingers ready to type his order into the register, "what can I get you?"
"Um.." Joey looked up at the menu, searching for an item would be in his budget. He clenched his eyes tightly for a moment. "Can I get a muffin?" It was the only item he could purchase with the few yen he had in his wallet.
"Coming right up." Her eyes examined him up and down, falling on his blue blazer. Then, they faltered. Joey noticed this and he found it suspicious.
"Is something wrong?" He asked his voice stern.
"Your uniform…it's a Domino High School one, right?" The girl's voice had become quiet and fearful.
Joey nodded, unsure of what to make of the question. "Yeah…is there a problem?"
She shook her head rapidly, "No, no. I was just…curious."
Joey frowned, but an idea came to him. He pulled out the picture he had of Yugi and placed it on the counter, showing it to the woman behind the counter. "Have you seen him?" Joey asked.
The woman took the picture and her eyes began to water.
"I'll take that as a yes." Joey mumbled.
She handed him back the picture. "My name is Amy." She said softly. "Yugi..he came in here for the first time about two months ago and he would come in a few days a week. I would give him whatever food I could without my manager getting suspicious. The last time he came in…" Amy paused and swallowed a lump in her throat. "I was angry at him for having stayed in this foreign city so long. He was dirty and tired and hungry, and I told him that if he didn't go home I would," she paused again, crystal tears falling out of her eyes, "I told him I would call the police and have them take him home."
Joey felt hope rise up in his chest. He had a lead to where Yugi might be. He now knew that Yugi hung out around in this area, which made him even happier to know that he wasn't searching in the wrong places. "When was that last time he came in?"
"It would be about a week now." She sniffed, but then her eyes turned angry. She looked up at Joey, the red flash showing in her eyes. "Who are you? Why are you concerned about him?"
"My name is Joey Wheeler and I—"
"Wait." She interrupted. "Joey Wheeler?"
Joey grinned sheepishly. "I take it you've heard of me?"
Amy scoffed and pointed an accusing finger towards Joey. "I know what you did. You're the reason Yugi ran away!"
"I know." Joey said, ashamed.
"You're the reason-." She paused in midsentence. "Wait, you do?"
"Yes." Joey hung his head. "I cannot explain how awful I felt when I learned Yugi ran away. I spent the past two months searching Domino for him. It didn't occur to me until a few days ago that he had left the city. Please, Amy. I know I've some shitty things to him in the past, but I really am sorry. And I know it doesn't mean a damn thing after all this time, but I thought that if I found him, I could at least make-up for some of the stuff I did."
Amy was silent and stiff, absorbing all the information she had been given. After a moment of silence, she sighed. "Alright. I believe you. Wait right here." She turned around and went into the kitchen, coming out with a muffin wrapped up in a plastic bag. "Here." She handed Joey the muffin he had ordered.
The blonde teen nodded and reached out to pay her the money but she stopped him. "Don't worry about it." She said. "Just find Yugi. That's payment enough."
Joey nodded. "I intend too." Then, he took his food and exited the café without saying another word to Amy. The bell toiled once more and the woman behind the counter never spoke another word to him.
The streets were less crowded now; it was the time between Tokyo's day life and its night life. Joey noticed that most of the clubs and bars were beginning to turn on their neon 'Open' sign. He walked with joy in his step, glad to have a lead onto where Yugi may be.
He walked for about a mile, nibbling on his pastry until it was gone, when out of nowhere he stopped. Joey turned his head to his right and saw that he was outside the fence of an abandoned car lot. Normally, he would've continued walking; completely ignoring the desolate piece of land, but something was drawing him towards like, as though it were a magnet. It was though the voice of God was inside his head, commanding him to go into the old car lot.
Joey took his first step into the lot and then took another. He walked in a straight line and when he saw the three sleeping figures, thought nothing of it. Instead, his eyes were locked on the image of an abandoned car in front of him. He could see a dark silhouette of a smaller figure in an awkward position. Joey moved closer to the car, careful of his footing as to not wake the sleeping trio. Once he got up to the car, he had to stifle a gasp.
Lying in the car in front of him was a battered Yugi Motou. The young teen was in an uncomfortable sleep, a pained frown plastering his face. He was dirty and bruised and one side of his face was covered in dried blood. His hands were tied above his hand with an old car wire, pressing into the thin skin on his wrists.
Joey felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes. He never imagined Yugi would get into trouble this deep. "Oh, God…" He whispered so quietly, even he barely heard his voice. "Yugi, what have they done to you?"
At once Joey began to untie Yugi's bindings, tugging at them, shaking Yugi's wrists. At the movement, Yugi slowly began to wake, his eyes cracking open. He saw the blurred image of a familiar face working at untying him. The figure became clearer and Yugi let out a small cry once he realized who it was.
"Joey?" He said aloud. "Joey Wheel—" The blonde's hand came down and covered Yugi's mouth. He brought a finger to his lip.
"Quiet!" He whispered sternly, his brown eyes going over to the sleeping trio. "Don't wake them." He removed his hand and started back to untying Yugi, cursing under his breath and the tightness of the wires. They had to be embedded into the younger's skin!
"What are you doing here?" Yugi whispered, watching Joey work at his bindings.
"I'm here to take you home. Look, before you say anything, I feel awful about what I did to you. It's not just what I said to you that day. I'm sorry about everything I've ever done. I've spent every night for the last two months searching for you and I swore to myself I wouldn't stop until I found you." The bindings finally snapped and Yugi at once began to rub them.
"I guess I can stop searching now." He tried to joke. "Come with me, before the Three Stooges wake up." He helped Yugi sit up and to his feet, but Yugi's numb legs buckled and he fell on top of them.
"My legs…" He moaned.
Without another word Joey bent down and scooped Yugi up in his arms and began to carry him, despite a groan of protest from the smaller teen. "I'm not waiting here until your legs wake up." The blonde was appalled by how easy it was for him to carry the smaller teen. He was aware that Yugi was a good foot and a half shorter than him, but he shouldn't weigh this little.
He began to make his way out of the car lot; Yugi rose and fell in his arms with each step. He wasn't watching his footing and tripped over an empty can, nearly falling to the ground. He cursed, louder than he had intended and it echoed in the night sky.
He then became silent. His profanity was no longer the only thing filling in the sky. He had another noise, and when the voice of the other man reached his ears, he nearly fainted.
"And just where do you think you're going, Little Shit?"
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Oh dear. I just help myself!
Sage: And I'm the yami?
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Till next time, adios!