Only one more chapter after this. I'm sorta glad because I can't wait to get started on my next story. For those of you who read my blog, you already know what that is.
Sage: Yeah. You're going to need all the time you can get to finish that story.
Yes, yes I will. Well, here is what you guys have been waiting for: The dramatic (not really) suspenseful (not at all) fight between Joey and Bruno! (If you can even call it a fight).
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At the sound of the older boy's voice, Joey turned around, Yugi still in his arms. The older boy was shorter than Joey, but not by much. His eyes were dark and hard and he was scowling. He seemed to blend into the backdrop of the nighttime sky and Joey had to squint to make out an outline of him. Not too far away, he could make out the shapes of the other two boys waking up and standing, but neither said a word.
The older boy walked up to Joey, his arms crossed around his chest.
"Where are you going with him?" His voice was dark and cruel and Joey felt shivers crawl up his spine, but he did not let it show.
"I'm taking him home." Joey said, letting an angry tone come to his voice, in hopes of intimidating the older boy.
He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, letting a sort of sadistic smile come to his face. "But, he is home."
Joey growled quietly. He didn't like the feeling this guy gave him, and he was only reminded that Yugi had been held captive by this manic. He carefully set Yugi down on the ground and began to walk towards the older man, his two comrades were now fully awake and standing by his side.
"Joey…" Yugi said, the fear was evident in his voice.
"Relax, Yuge." Joey said, trying to conceal his own fear. "This guy doesn't look so tough."
"If you feel that way," Bruno said, revealing his top row of yellow teeth, "then you shouldn't have any problem taking on all three of us."
"That's not fair!" Yugi cried in the distant.
"Shut up, you!" Jack yelled.
Joey pulled back his fist and made contact with Jack's face in less than a second, knocking the boy on his butt. "Don't talk to him like that." Joey growled, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath as adrenaline began to run through his body.
Jack brought a hand up to his nose and touched the crimson liquid that was coming out of each nostril. He brought it down and examined his pointer and index finger which were now covered in the substance. All was quiet for a moment. Then, Jack growled and stood to his feet.
"You're going to pay for that, punk." He spat. He crouched back like a football player and then ran towards Joey, preparing for the tackle. Joey was much taller than Jack and he outstretched his arm. Jack didn't have time to stop and he ended up clotheslining himself, being knocked to the ground. He coughed and sputtered and his neck began to bruise and throb.
Seeing his companion on the ground, Rusty took charge. He ran up to Joey and punched him in the side. Joey grunted and bent over, leaving him vulnerable to the next attack. Rusty took his elbow and hammered it into the back of Joey's neck, sending the taller boy to the ground with a loud grunt. Joey felt two pairs of feet starting to kick him in the head and side. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. He clamped his eyes shut and blindly stuck out a hand, grabbing onto Rusty's ankle and pulled him down.
Rusty hit his head hard on the ground and let out a scream of agony, followed by a curse. Then, Joey reached up with his arm and grabbed Jack by his shirt and pulled him down. Joey flipped Jack over his body and the smaller boy slammed into the ground hard on his back, his head re-bounded and then smacked onto the ground. Joey could feel the ground underneath him becoming moist in blood.
He sucked in a breath of the cold, night air and shakily stood to his feet. The two boys were unconscious by his feet; blood seeped out from behind their heads. Joey panted; the adrenaline of fighting made his heart beat two times faster than normal. His headed pounded as blood was traveling through his body at record speeds. His shoulders rose and fell with each ragged breath he took. He loved every minute of it. He savored every last drop of adrenaline in his system. He loved the way his palms began to sweat when he clenched them into a fist. He loved fighting so much.
"Joey…"
The soft whimper brought Joey out of his thoughts. He spun around and saw Yugi behind held above the ground by Bruno. The larger boy had one arm across Yugi's chest. The other was right on top of his neck.
Joey cursed. He had completely forgotten about the third boy. And this one was the biggest and most muscular of them all. He saw the fear in Yugi's eyes, and the way the boy was fighting back his tears. It angered Joey. He growled and clenched his fists and slowly began to walk towards the last boy.
"Put him down." Joey demanded, his voice was laced with anger.
Bruno smirked and his grip around Yugi's neck tightened. Yugi let out a small whimper.
"I can easily break his neck." Bruno said with a smile. "I believe you are in no position to be making demands."
"Joey," Yugi cried, struggling for air, "just go."
"No. I ain't leaving without you, Yuge."
Yugi was about to object, but Bruno moved his hand away from Yugi's neck and over his mouth, silencing the youngest boy. Yugi struggled against his assailant; he kicked his feet wildly, he bit as hard as he could at the hand covering his mouth, but it was all in vain. Bruno did not budge.
Joey seethed and walked slowly up to Bruno. He dared not run for fear of Yugi's safety. He was about half a foot away from Bruno when he stopped and look the older boy straight in the eyes. Joey was using everything he had to intimidate his foe, but he knew that it was going to take a lot to scare this man.
"Put him down." Joey repeated, trying to avoid looking into Yugi's pleading eyes. He need all of his composure, and seeing Yugi helpless and scared was only going to break that. "This is between you and me."
"You just knocked out my two comrades, and you're telling me that this is between only you and me?" Bruno chuckled darkly. "Hypocrisy suits no one, kid. Especially little punks like you."
Joey inhaled a deep breath through his nose and clenched his fists. He had to do something to save Yugi, but with him being in the arms of a psychopath, his options were limited. He considered trying to take out his foe, and do his best to avoid Yugi, but it was risky. If the angle of his fist hit the older boy wrong, Yugi would be sent to the ground and he would end up like the two boys behind Joey. Joey wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to risk, but it may be his only option to save Yugi.
"You're one to talk about little punks." Joey said quietly, but his tone was dark and menacing. "You've been making Yugi's life hell. Why don't you pick on someone…more your level?"
"Fine. I'll fight you. I'm sure it'll be fun having two pets."
Joey ignored the comment and pointed to Yugi, who was still struggling to break free from Bruno's grip. "Put him down."
Bruno released his hand from over Yugi's mouth and the younger boy coughed. He placed Yugi down on the ground beside him like he was nothing more than a bag of garbage and then he walked up to Joey. Joey was taller so Bruno had to crane his neck back in order to look Joey in the eyes. He cracked his knuckles, and then his neck. He placed the palms his hands onto Joey's chest and shoved the taller boy backwards.
Joey ran at Bruno and punched him the face. Bruno stepped back a bit and licked away the blood that was running out his mouth. He chuckled. Then, he ran towards Joey, tackling him to the ground. Joey hit his head on the ground, a small thump echoed in the night.
Groaning, Joey sat up and spat. He got to his feet with mild difficulty. He was not aware, but Bruno came at him again, and this time both boys went to the ground. They wrestled each other, constantly rolling on top of one another to deliver a blow or to scratch to his foe. Joey was doing poorly. Blood was spilling from his face and he had accumulated several bruises already. His opponent still had the one busted lip Joey gave him earlier, with a few bruises here and there, but ultimately he was in much better shape than Joey.
Yugi struggled with watching the fight. He barely knew Joey. He knew that Joey was the boy who made his school life hell for the past five years. He knew it was Joey who told him to go away. So, why was he here now, fighting to save him? It didn't make sense, and Yugi wasn't sure on how to approach the situation.
Yugi bit his lip and turned his head. He couldn't watch the two older boys fight. It made his stomach churn.
Joey had apologized, but Yugi wasn't sure if he should believe or not. He couldn't imagine why Joey would come all this way for him to end up playing a practical joke on him. He sounded really sincere, Yugi thought. But yet there was that small part of him that didn't want to trust Joey for fear of getting hurt again. Joey had only hurt him in the past; why would he suddenly have a change of heart? Was he really sorry for all that he had done?
He could hear Joey grunting and crying out in pain as he fought Bruno. An incredible amount of guilt washed over Yugi. Joey was fighting Bruno for him. Joey was suffering all this pain for him. Joey had come into a foreign city searching for him. There could be no way that Joey was enduring all of this just so he could end up pranking Yugi. He must've really meant what he said.
With his new found knowledge, Yugi knew he couldn't let Joey suffer alone. He had to help them. He turned his eyes back to the two fighting boys. They were back on their feet now. Joey had blood dripping out of his nose, and his breathing was becoming labored. Yugi could see the struggle Joey was putting up to win this fight against Bruno, and by the looks of it, if he continued, he wouldn't win. He was tired and injured, while Bruno was still pumped and barely had any scratches on him. Yugi could see the glaze in Joey's eyes as he became disorientated and Yugi knew it was only a matter of time until the older boy collapsed, which would be a death sentence for them both.
Before he knew what had come over him, Yugi found that he was on his now awake feet, running towards Bruno who had his back turned to him. He was just a few feet behind Bruno and then he jumped and latched his arms around Bruno's neck.
"Yugi?" Joey cried, obviously stunned.
Yugi ignored Joey and locked his arms tight around Bruno's neck, securing himself. Bruno screamed and tried to shake Yugi off of him, but the younger boy had his arms locked tight. He tried to pry Yugi's arms apart, but the younger boy only tightened his grip. He was being shaken around fiercely, as though he were on a roller coaster.
"Now Joey!" He cried, hoping that his distraction would work.
Joey seemed to have understood for Yugi saw out of the corner of his eye the blonde's fist coming into contact with Bruno's face. Bruno tumbled backwards, and then fell to the ground, taking Yugi with him. He felt his grip around Bruno's neck being pried and he was thrown away. He let out a small gasp before his head collided with the ground.
Joey stood, panting, his shoulders rising up and down. Bruno was on the ground, not making any movements except for the rising and falling of his chest. He was out like a light, and Joey felt a sense of pride wash over him in the knowledge that he had been able to beat the older boy.
"Of course I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help, Yuge." He said with a small laugh, acknowledging the help the younger boy had given him.
But he was met with no answer.
"Yugi?" Joey called, raising his head. He scanned his eyes and saw Yugi on the ground, about ten feet from the larger boy. His face was in the dirt and he wasn't moving.
Joey felt his heart drop in his stomach. "Yugi!" He cried and he ran over to the smaller boy. Joey fell to his knees inches before Yugi and he turned the younger boy onto his back. Yugi's face was stained with dirt, and a bruise was forming on his cheek. A small amount of blood fell from a scrap at the top of his head.
"Yugi, wake up." Joey whispered, shaking the younger teen. "Come on, man. Let's go. We have to go before they all come too."
Yugi remained motionless.
"Yugi, please. I promised your grandfather I would take you home. Don't make me break that promise."
Then, Yugi let out a soft groan. Joey mentally cheered when he saw the young teen's eyelids flicker, revealing his amethyst eyes. He blinked a few times to let his eyesight adjust to the dark. His eyes moved to his right, seeing the form beside him.
"J….Joey?"
"Yeah, Yuge. It's me." He smiled, knowing that everything was going to be okay. He would take Yugi home and everything would be okay. Even if Yugi never forgave him for the deeds he had done, (and Joey didn't blame him if he didn't), he knew that he could live his life knowing that he had saved Yugi and that he had brought the younger teen home.
Somewhere in the distant, a crack of thunder was heard.
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Wow. That was terrible.
Sage: It was written by you; of course it was terrible!
This chapter was hard to write. I'm bad with fight scenes, so that explains why this chapter is much shorter than some of my others. But, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.
To my friends in the US, Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your turkey, stuffing, corn, and whatever else you may have! And remember to be thankful for what you have, for you could have it much worse.
God Bless!