The Challenge of Life or Death

By MissLadyMinxx

Warning:This fic contains yaoi, vampires, werewolves, blood, gore, possibly lemons in the future and religious statements.

If you feel uncomfortable or easily offended in any way reading this story, please DO NOT READ!

Protection: 06

It was a cold dark night as Yugi quietly sat on one of the swings in the park. It was the same swing set where he and his grandfather played together when he was a young boy. His soft tearing eyes gazed at the ground below him, sadly dwelling on the memories he could hardly remember. He gently rocked himself back and forth on the swing as a cold wind blew through his jacket. Back when he was a child, his grandfather would spend time with him on this very swing if he weren't too busy. He thought about the moment him and his grandfather had on that day.

(Flashback)

"Wee! Push me higher, grandpa!" Yugi cheered happily on the swing. Sugoroku smiled at his grandson as he pushed him higher into the air. "Wee!" Yugi cheered again. "I can almost touch the sky! Higher, Grandpa! Higher!"

Sugoroku chuckled. "I doubt you can go any higher, unless you have wings, my boy." Yugi stopped the motion of the swing to look at his tired grandfather.

"I wish I could…just to see them again." Yugi sadly spoke.

The old man nods. He brings Yugi into his arms and sits down on the swing with his grandson on his lap.

Yugi frowns. "Why did Mommy and Daddy leave me to go stay in the sky? Don't they love me?" He began to cry.

"Yugi, of course they love you. You were their pride and joy." Sugoroku smiled.

Yugi sadly looked up into the morning sky. "I miss them, Grandpa…"

"I'm sure they miss you too. But you must always remember…as long as you keep their love and care in your heart, they're never really gone. Your mother and father will always live inside your heart." Sugoroku smiled as he looked up into the sky with Yugi. "They're always watching you…and they'll always be there for you."

Yugi wiped the tears from his violet orbs and he looked at his grandfather. "You'll never leave me. Right, Grandpa?"

"Of course not. I'll always be there for you. I'll never leave your side. I promise." Sugoroku chuckled as he tickled little Yugi.

Yugi shuts his eyes tight and began to sob uncontrollably. He tightly clinched his fists as tears of resentment streamed from his eyes. His mother, father and now his grandfather; all promised the same and now they are gone. In his mind, he was utterly alone. He felt frustration and anger fill his heart. Stricken with grief, his soul would never seem to recover from the brink of despair.

"You said that you'd always be there for me!" Yugi cried and shouted into the quiet night sky. He fell to his knees and then on all fours. He slams his fist to the ground. "You're not here! Why? What did I do wrong?" He cried. "I need you Grandpa! You left me too soon!"

After a few moments of crying, Yugi arose from the ground. Despite how he was feeling now, he knew he had to get home. He left the house without Yami knowing. He feebly arose from the ground and began the long walk through the park; the road was brightly lit with the light of the lampposts. A light breeze blew, followed by the distant sounds of dragging paper on the pavement and the crinkling sounds of airborne plastic bags. The light breeze turned into a cold gust of wind as dark clouds concealed the moon in its darkness.

"That's weird…" Yugi muttered to himself slightly frightened by the lack of activity around.

The light of the lampposts near him suddenly began to flicker; he jumped and looked at the dying lights.

"It's…probably just a power outage." he told himself and continued walking, but soon all the lights of the lamps went dead and darkness surrounded his every move. He looked from lamp to lamp puzzled and frightened. Despite this he kept walking.

"W-what's going on?" Yugi thought as his heart began to race. He looked around, no one was there, and it was pitch black. Something is wrong.

The cold wind began to blow, numbing his hands and face. He gasped as he could hear a faint chuckle that surrounded him. "Who's there?" Yugi whimpered.

"Yugi…" the voice whispered. Yugi panicked as the voice continued to whisper his name. "S-stop it…!" He said frightened as he started to run through the murky park. Not realizing where he was going, he stopped and leaned against a tree to catch his breath.

A shadowed figure crept silently towards the boy, not a sound of approaching footsteps. Yugi felt someone was watching him, following him. The thought made him very nervous. He felt a chill run down his spine and saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked and saw no one there. With a sigh he turned back around to see a dark figure abruptly in front of him. Startled, Yugi jumped back, startled.

"The key…" said the figure in a whispering voice that made Yugi shiver slightly.

"W-what do you want?" He replied. Yugi looked carefully at the stranger. He was shrouded in a cloak of darkness.

"Excuse me…" Yugi mumbled passing the figure but was quickly stopped by a harsh grip catching his wrist. Yugi yelped as he felt the cold touch of the stranger.

"You cannot escape your death…" The figure smirked. Yugi eyes broaden, capturing the white glint of the fangs.

"Let me go!" Yugi yelled terrified.

"Your blood is tainted with the Eye of Lucifer. You must die…"

"What are you talking about? Let me go!" Yugi screamed.

Without warning, a figure jumped out of the darkness and kicked the stranger away. Yugi was thrown to the ground by the force of the push.

Yami quickly stood after knocking the attacker away from Yugi. He snarled and glared at Yugi's attacker with immense intimidation.

He chuckled. "Why are you protecting the likes of a pathetic human? You're filthy." The shrouded figure growled.

Intensely angered by his comment, Yami snarled and began to circle around the stranger, a sadistic hunger shone in his deep crimson eyes. His eyes shone with bloodlust and challenge. He glared. "You have his foul scent all over you." Yami growled.

The stranger smirked. "There's no use protecting that boy. He will eventually come for him and when that happens, everything will be to his will."

"Let that bastard come. I'll do the same to him what I'm about to do to you." Yami smirked.

"Then what are you waiting for?" The figure began to demean him.

Yami darkly roared with his fangs bared. The stranger hissed at the fierce werewolf as he swiftly charges towards him.

Yugi watched the bloody duel horrified. Globs of blood splattered over the ground, followed by the growls and the sounds of gnashing teeth and swiping claws. Yami snarled as he swiftly dodged every attack thrown at him and quickly pounced on top of the stranger knocking him down. He held him still to keep him from struggling, as he quickly sank his razor claws into the flesh of the man's neck easily tearing the muscle.

Yami backed away from his now weak opponent, glaring down at him as he lay in a pool of his own blood. With his dying breath, he chuckled faintly and spoke, "I…was but a messenger. There will be more…the prophecy will be fulfilled…you…will…f-fail…"

As he breathed his last breath, an instant, his body decomposed into nothing but a frail, mummified-like skeleton. Yami sighed in disgust and slammed his foot onto the skull, crushing it into nothing but dust.

Yugi stared at Yami, aghast as he turned towards his direction. He glared at the small marooned haired boy, blood dripping from his hands. Despite the fact that he was frightened, Yugi couldn't stop staring into those crimson eyes. The clouds slowly parted from above and the light of the moon began to chase away the darkness, revealing Yami standing triumphantly.

Yami took in short panting breaths, somewhat tired from the gruesome battle. He had a few gashes and cuts on his arms, neck and face. He groaned and fell to his knees, weak from massive blood lost.

"You're hurt badly." Yugi he said as he kneeled next to him. Yami growled and pushed Yugi away, refusing his help.

"Don't touch me!" Yami harshly shouted. "Don't…come near me." His eyes narrowed, intimidating the small teen.

Yugi dejectedly backed away. "I…was just trying to help you…"

Yami gradually stood and stared at the faint glow through Yugi's shirt. "Damn it…we have to leave now. It's not safe here." Yami solemnly spoke as they began the journey through the park, leaving Yugi confused about the whole situation.

Glowing eyes in the shadows observed as they departed. There was a slight chuckle in the voice as he said, "Interesting…"

Yugi quietly let himself inside the dark and silent house alongside Yami. The walk home was very awkward and quiet. This was the first time he has seen Yami act this ferociously and the first time he has ever seen something that should have been in some horror flick out of a movie. But this was real. It was hard to believe it was real.

Yugi watched as Yami quietly started up the stairs. After gathering his thoughts he finally gathered the courage to speak, "Yami…?"

Yami stopped dead in his tracks, hearing his name called out from the timid boy behind him. "What?" He harshly asked.

"About tonight…I-"

"You're an idiot!" Yami turned to shout at him. Yugi flinched at the volume of his voice. "I warned you! Did I not tell you that our lives are at stake! Are you really that ignorant of a fool?"

Yugi's clouding orbs stared at the carpeted floor below him. He was right. It was a poor decision to make. But did he have to be so callous about it? "I…I'm sorry…I just needed to be alone. My grandfather, he's...he's dead…" Yugi softly sobbed.

Yami towered over him. "Is that your sorry ass excuse?"

Yugi froze at his cruel remark. He raised his head from the floor and stared into Yami's emotionless eyes, not showing one bit of remorse.

Yami spoke with such intense anger and hatred. "Your grandfather's death doesn't change a damn thing. He's dead! People live and then they die! That is the life of a mortal! Nothing will bring him back! Not your crying, not your 'God', and definitely not your prayers! The people you love and ever cared for will eventually rot in the ground, their bodies nothing but nourishment for maggots! You're lucky that I found you in time. If I hadn't caught your scent I'm sure you would have joined him where he is now."

Yami coldly glared at the tearing boy, not caring about being the cause of his grandfather's death. "One irrelevant loss doesn't mean anything compared to what will be unleashed if you are captured."

"Shut up!" Yugi shouted, even surprising himself when he raised his voice to him. "My grandfather was everything! He was the only thing I had left and he was taken away from me! But how could a being with no soul, a demon with no heart possibly understand that?"

Yami growled. He didn't like to be challenged, especially by a human. Yugi gasped as Yami lunged toward him, cornering him tightly against the wall. Yami pinned his arms on the wall, each on the side of Yugi, blocking him from escaping. He began to feel unease as Yami brought his red glowing eyes to meet the nervous violet orbs of Yugi.

"I know more than you could possibly ever know. It was your kind that forced me to be who I am today. I don't give a damn about your wellbeing, but that isn't up to me. So I advise you to watch your tongue around me, before it's ripped out! Just because I can't kill you, does not mean I can't cause you immense pain." He solemnly spoke.

Yugi started to feel a little awkward due to the closeness of Yami against him. "And now because of your foolish decision, you could be in more danger." He said as he turned away from Yugi.

"From what?" Yugi spoke timidly, who was afraid to ask.

Yami paused for a moment and then quietly spoke. "A being that is neither living nor dead. Some were human that died in mortal form and risen again as creatures of the night. Others born by blood."

"You mean…a vampire?"

Yami was silent and slightly nodded. "Don't mistake them from the ones humans portray on your local TV shows and movies. These are far worse. The one I fought was but a weakling, the lowest of the low; what they call a 'half-breed'. I can tell by the smell. Once human but made by an upper-class vampire, they are stronger. Their lineage traces all the way back to 'The First'.

"'The First'?" Yugi questioned, trying to take all this in.

"The original vampire. He's is not 'Dracula' nor is he 'Nosferatu'. He is something to be very terrified of. He is pure malevolence; conceived from the sinful life-force of the fallen angel you know as Lucifer; born as a monster that nourishes on blood. He is not like the others. He is more powerful and very difficult to kill. If I was not here, he would have come for you himself by now." Yami glances out the nearby window and continues to speak.

"He is in this vicinity. I do not know why he is hesitant. Most likely he is just toying with us."

"But I don't understand. What would a vampire want with me?" Yugi asked.

"Beside the fact to feed, that vampire wanted you because you're the key to bringing everlasting darkness on earth and ending the existence of life and I cannot have that."

"Why? You don't seem like the caring for humanity type." Yugi said.

Yami sneered at Yugi. "I don't! But if humanity and life is gone, what am I to feed on? My kind cannot feed on vampires. Their flesh is dead, thus no nourishment. Do not ever mistake me for caring about you or your kind!"

Yugi cowered under Yami's tone of voice. He didn't doubt about him being cold-hearted, but there was something else behind his motive that Yami was keeping to himself. Yugi hoped that over time, maybe he could find out more about Yami's past.

"So then it's taken care of, right? You killed the vampire that was after me."

Yami casually leaned against the edge of the couch. "Wrong. That was but one vampire. The insignia draws every vampire to you, because it was created by his blood; the blood of Lucifer, thus the blood of 'The First'. It calls to them ever so often so it's impossible to hide; they are always looking for you because they are drawn to it. The Eye of Lucifer wants you to be found. But until the rise of the red moon is over, you cannot be sacrificed or we all will cease to exist. The only reason I care is that the extinction of life means the extinction of me."

Yugi was deep in thought. How can all this be possible? How did a 15-year-old boy become the solution to the destruction of existence? First his grandfather's death and now this. He hoped this was all a nightmare and he would wake up and everything would be like the way it was before he met Yami, but he couldn't lie to himself. Unfortunately, this was reality.

'I wish this was a nightmare…' Yugi thought to himself.

"It's only a matter of time until he comes for you himself. He always gets what he wants…" Yami said quietly.

Yugi glanced at the young man and was astonished. His eyes seemed to be filled with human emotion, the feeling of sadness and pain. Yugi could feel it in the room. Is it possible that he does have a heart?

"By the strength of the glow on the insignia, he's close, which is why I must be around you in order to keep constant watch." Yami spoke.

"You're already living with me. What more could you possibly do?" Yugi sadly spoke as he started to remember the loss of his grandfather.

"Your school. I must pose as a student and attend your school." Yami grunted. He hated being around humans, especially children. But what choice did he have? Keeping an eye out for Yugi meant keeping an eye out for any possible danger that may find its way to him.

"What? You can't! It's too much trouble and attention! You can't control your temper and not to mention your bloodlust when you're angry!"

"We have no choice! It's our lives on the line and your death will be painful. At least you have a fighting chance when I'm around."

Yugi let out an aggravated sigh. He was right. Yugi just hoped everything would turn out all right. "You can attend school with me. Just try not to lose your temper and you must act like a normal teenager as much as possible."

Yugi shut the door to his locker and turned to see Yami shuffling his books about. Yugi watched as Yami's World History book fell to the ground. It fell with a loud smacking sound that caused many eyes to turn and look at them. Yami sort of growled and bent down to pick it up.

"I don't know why I suggested this." Yami said casting a look at a freshmen girl walking by. She made a wide swerve to avoid getting too close to him. Yugi couldn't blame her. Yami's appearance was intimidating. The fact that his features mimicked Yugi's already drew enough attention.

"It's okay. Just be cool." Yugi whispered to his irritated look alike.

Suddenly, a loud bell shrieked through the school, signaling all students to go to their first class of the day. Yami has been to school, but nothing like this. Yugi sighed and turned to his right and headed toward his first class. Behind him he could hear Yami growling at people and shoving them aside. Yugi sighed, looking up at the numbers above the classrooms.

"246…247…248…yes, 249." Yugi made sure Yami received the same classes as sophomores so he could keep an eye on him to make sure the school doesn't end up on the breaking news. He trembled at the thought of Yami causing harm to other students or worse.

Yugi opened to door and walked in, followed by Yami. He turned to Yami to see his face slightly showing displeasure as he observed the class. Some girls were crowded in a corner, gossiping with one another. In another corner were a bunch of guys whispering and looking at the girls' bottoms. This was just disgusting for Yami. Being surrounded by human beings was what he hated most. The scent of human odor of the small classroom filled his nose. His lust to kill was beginning to rise, but calmed himself because he knew he would blow his cover if he did something out of the ordinary. Despite his feelings, his willpower was a lot stronger.

"I don't know how I let myself talk me into this. Being around degrading creatures is the last thing I need." Yami whispered a growl to Yugi.

"Just calm down and don't lose your temper." Yugi smiled and whispered back to the angry wolf.

Away from everyone else in a separate corner was a small group of three people crowded around two desks. Yugi spotted one head immediately. It was Anzu Mazaki. She was one of the nicer girls of his grade, always talking about how it was important to be nice to everyone though that can get annoying after a few hundred times. Her eyebrows were sort of scrunched together as she watched the other two people who were busy doing something on the desk. One head was blonde while the other was brown. The blonde head sort of sat up, in doing so revealing its face. It was Jou. He grinned at the brown headed boy.

"Looks like I won again Honda. Let's see ya beat that!" Jou said laughing.

The brown head shot up and was now standing. It was Honda Hiroto. He didn't look happy.

"You cheated!" Honda said glaring at Jou. "You cheated and I want a rematch!"

"I won fair and square, Honda! Face it!"

Suddenly, Anzu looked up from the two boys in front of her and spotted Yugi. She waved him over very enthusiastically. Yami, however, was far less joyful about going over. However, Yugi took the invitation in stride, walking over. He glanced back to Yami, telling him to follow through his eyes. Yami slowly followed, cautious of the people in the room.

"Hey, Yugi." Anzu spoke sadly. "We, umm…we all heard…about your grandfather. I'm so sorry. We all are."

All of his friends were silent as they agreed with Anzu. Yugi's grandfather was like a grandfather to them all. "Thank you…" Yugi quietly said.

"The teacher did give you some time off to mourn, Yugi. You don't have to be here." Anzu said concerned when she saw Yugi's quiet manner.

Yugi quickly snapped out of his daze when he heard Anzu's voice. "I-I know…but I'll be okay. Really…"

Anzu continued to look at Yugi with concern. She was one of Yugi's longtime friends. She wasn't so sure. "Well, okay then…" she said.

Jou, being the happy-go-lucky guy that he was, leaped up and placed and arm around Yugi's neck, grinning, trying to break the tense and gloomy atmosphere.

"You just missed it, Yug!" Jou said happily. "I killed Honda. Bam! He didn't know what hit him!"

"Luck of the draw. It won't happen again." Honda said with a scowl.

"Not luck of the draw." Jou said, "Just my mad skills." Honda couldn't help but grin.

"Mad skills? The only 'mad skills' you have is at eating 10 slices of pizza in under 5 minutes." Honda then laughed.

"You guys are playing Duel Monsters, right?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah." said Anzu. "They're both really good."

"Hey, Yugi, who's the clone?" asked Honda, eyeing Yami. Jou on the other hand wasn't happy to see Yami remembering their last encounter.

"Err, this is Yami, my cousin." Yugi said nervously. "He's staying with me."

Honda and Anzu cocked their heads to the side for a moment. "You ever noticed he looks just like you?" Honda asked.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, weird, huh?"

"Well, nice to meet you." said Honda. He jumped up and offered Yami his hand. Yami stared at it for a moment with a cold glare and then glanced over to Yugi whose eyes begged him to be nice. Yami growled in defeat and then took the hand shake. Honda shook Yami's hand with a grin.

"Say Yugi, you hear about that new teen club that just opened up?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, I heard of it. Why?" Yugi said.

"Well, we were going to check it out on Friday. Wanna come?"

Yami gave Jou an angry look. He wasn't a fan of Jou and didn't want Yugi out by himself anyway. It was dangerous and too risky. "If Yugi's going, I'm coming too." Yami angrily spoke out suddenly. Yugi mentally slapped his face. 'Yami, watch your temper.' Yugi thought.

Jou caught the angry look on Yami's face. "Look, Yami, I'm sorry about us getting off on the wrong foot last time we met. But you don't have to worry about Yugi. He'll be with me so you got nothin' to worry about."

Yami eyes narrowed. Worry about him? What's that supposed to mean? "I could care less."

"Whateva…you could come too if you're so worried about him." Jou chuckled.

Yami gave a sneer look at Jou.

"So, will the two of ya come?" Jou asked.

Yugi shrugged. "Sure."

The bell rang again for them to take their seats. Everyone around them scrambled to get to their seats, not wanting to start of the week with a detention.

"Friday at 10. See ya there!" Jou called to them over the sea of students.

Yugi quickly made his way to the nearest pair of open seats. He sat in a chair by the window while Yami sat beside him to his right. As the class settled down a large man sort of waddled into the room. He was dressed in baggy blue jeans and a coffee colored sweater.

"Good morning class." The teacher said unenthusiastically.

"Good morning, Akira-sensei!" called the class.

"Open your books to page 88. We have to finish the chapters on the World War." The teacher said.

Yami's POV

I staggered after Yugi down the hallway, my mind completely smashed. I cannot explain learning about stuff that I haven't even remembered in hundreds years. It's brutal. That instructor decided to 'discover my boundaries' and question me on the basics of the World War. Too bad I didn't remember a damn thing. The idea of humans killing each other in a pointless feud is asinine. Now he's assigned me to do a 4-page essay on it to 'get me up to speed.' The rest of the day hadn't been any better. Geometry was brutal and Chemistry…well, don't ask.

"I'm sure tomorrow will be better." Yugi said with a nervous grin. "Thanks for not losing your temper, especially when meeting Jou again. I can sense you two don't get along very well."

"Whatever." I said with a snarl as I reached my new metal box that was called a locker. I opened it roughly and yanked out the books I would need.

"Well, we're going to that club on Friday." Yugi said as he shut his own locker and waited for me. "That's something to look forward to."

"It's not a good idea to be in such a public place." I warned him as we walked out the hallway of the school and onto the path that led outside.

The trees around us swayed as their golden leaves fell upon us. Seeing a leaf fall on Yugi I casually brushed a few from his hair without him knowing. It's not like I cared or anything. It was just annoying.

"Yami, I understand the danger that I am in, but my grandfather always thought me never to live my life in fear. It would be too suspicious if I never go out anyway. Besides…" Yugi brought his school books close to his chest, hiding a smile from Yami. "I have you to protect me."

I shrugged at the small boy's sudden coy manner. Despite my dislike for him, he was right. I was now his protector. We both needed each other to live.

To Be Continued…