Ranko: Why the hell am I so tired?
Yami: Because you've been staying up until five o'clock in the morning watching episodes of Hetalia.
Ranko: …Oh yeah.
Yuugi: Do you want to answer reviews?
Ranko: Do I have too? Alright, but just because I love you guys.
SincerelyChristina: Yay! I love Yami fangirls, they make me happy since Yami doesn't get as much love (okay, that's a lie). Oh, thank you, I like how this story is going as well. I don't think it will Yuugi's friends who rescues Yuugi ;) take that as you will. Please continue to review!
Black Rose of Fire: Hm? Should I kill Yuugi, or should I not? I love Yuugi too, he is my favorite character too ;) Please continue to review.
YinYangMoon Dragon: …Please don't kill me. Keep Yami on a leash and make sure that I am safe, and I will update even quicker. Please and thank you ;) Please continue to review!
Zeladious: Let me first say that I love your penname, mostly because it reminds me of the Legend of Zelda, which should be called Legend of Link (just saying). Anyway, I guess compared to the other Shadow Men, our favorite little villains of this story aren't as bad =3 Please continue to review!
Daemon Luciel: Too super special awesome to die? I know what you mean, Yuugi has become kickass, after all of the crap Yami has put him through, it is no wonder. Yuugi was not messing around with Yami, but then again, I have to say that what he did was too stupid for words (sorry Yuugi, I still love you). Don't worry, Yuugi will punch Yami in the face. I don't think that Yuugi and Yami will team up, unfortunately (every fangirls dream). All of your questions will be answered in time, dear child. Please continue to review!
hikari no senshi17: Bow down to your queen (insert evil laugh here)! Anyway, I don't think Marik or Akefia would ever want to do harm to Yuugi, mostly because they know how much Yuugi means to Yami. Thank you and please continue to review!
YugiFanP3: Oh, thank you so much, you're so nice to me! Please continue to review and making me feel happy inside!
Phantom Luna: In answer to your question, I don't think I would ever be able to write Bakura and Yuugi together, because it would make my shipper heart bleed But yes, I think that Yami would be all possessive of Yuugi, as well as Ryou…one-shot idea! Please continue to review!
CrimsonStawberry17: Yeah, I'm just sneaky like that. Please continue to review!
Cascade00: I'm so happy that you liked my series so much, it always puts a smile on my face when I hear that someone read my whole series in just a few days. Thank you and please continue to review!
lilpopspash: Oh crap, please don't kill me ;) Thank you and please continue to review!
Seth the Inu: Oh, thank you, I'm glad that you appreciate my work so much. I will give that message to Yuugi for you ;) Please continue to review!
Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing!
Ranko: Enjoy!
-/-
Surprisingly, dying was painless.
However, it was also sad. Yuugi couldn't help but think of all the people he was leaving behind. He kept picturing his grandpa, he would be so lonely, and Mai. What would all of his friends do? How would they tell his grandpa? What would Mai do? She would have no more family if Yuugi died.
And then his thoughts drifted to Jounouchi, Malik, and Ryou. He had let them down; he disappointed them. He promised that he would find them and save them, and he failed them. There was no telling what Yami and his brothers would do to his friends after Yuugi died. Would they be trapped here forever? He didn't want to think about that.
Maybe Yami would let them all go; after Yuugi died, he would have no more use for his friends. But then he remembered that Yami was a Shadow Man, he did not feel emotions such as compassion or sympathy. Shadow Men weren't capable of pity.
Instead, Yami just might take his anger out on his friends.
Yuugi desperately wanted to cry out for his friends; he wanted to cry out to Yami, to tell him to leave his friends alone. But he couldn't find the strength to do so. His sadness was fading, he was slowing floating away.
He was dead now, all of that didn't matter anymore.
But something was strange; could a dead person feel pain—physical pain? It felt like he was burning. The bite of the freezing water had stopped hurting for so long, and it was like he had no sense of his own body anymore.
He was trapped in absolute darkness and utter silence, his whole body numb to any sensation until it was almost like he didn't have a body. It was like he was just drifting along in his own scrambled thoughts.
But then the burning started. At first, he tried to ignore it, it was so distant that it was easy to ignore. But it didn't stop; instead, it got worse. He felt nothing but heat. It was a tingling, prickling heat that demanded his attention. And with the heat, it was like he had a body again.
He started to feel different parts of his body, one at a time. First it was his hands, and then his feet. He felt the heat in his face and then he was aware of a vague, fuzzy glow. It was like looking at the light of a lamp through your closed eyelids.
'Open your eyes,' he told himself.
But he couldn't. His eyelids were too heavy, like lead. His whole body hurt and it was just so much easier to just lie there and drift. He just wanted the light to go away.
"Yuugi…Yuugi!"
He heard his name called out in tones of love and desperation. Vaguely, he thought that it was one of his friends. Mai or Jounouchi…maybe even Ryou. It made his heart leap in joy to know that his friends were okay. Then he realized that they needed him, he couldn't give up now. He should go to them, he should fight.
But it hurt so much.
"Yuugi, please; please come back to me, Yuugi."
There was the sound of tears in this person's voice.
'Oh no, please don't cry. I promise that it will be alright,' he thought to whoever was calling for him.
He had to come back; he had to reassure this person that he will be okay. 'Forget the pain, just fight it and go back to that person, because they need me.'
Yuugi concentrated on the fuzzy glow, reaching for it, his body getting warmer and hotter as he got closer. The pain was terrible. His lungs hurt, it was like they were burning and he had a flashback to when he walked through the wall of fire. He almost gave up, the pain was too great, but then he heard the most pitiful sound.
"Yuugi…please don't leave me…"
Yuugi steeled himself and pushed forward. If his lungs were burning then that must mean he had lungs, and if he had lungs that that meant he could breathe. 'Breathe, damn it!'
It still hurt and the darkness was trying to pull him back down.
The person who was calling out for him must have seen his efforts and his struggles to stay alive, because he heard a gasp, and then someone saying, "That's it, Yuugi. Keep fighting!" Someone was rubbing his hands.
Then with a tremendous effort he opened his eyes…
And he saw Yami.
His hazy mind tried to register what he saw. It was Yami who was rubbing his hands, calling out for him with such desperation and fear of loss; the light from a fire reflected off of his unique hair.
Yuugi realized he was dry. He was lying on a bed of soft, white pelts in a cavern that was slightly larger than the one he was in before.
The heat of the fire brought him back to life…Yami brought him back to life.
"Yami…" he said in a hoarse whisper.
Yuugi propped himself on his elbows, his arms shaking. He reached up one of his hands and stroked Yami's face. He could feel Yami's firm jaw under his fingers and a slight dampness on his cheeks, but he didn't recognize that. He was too focused on doing one thing.
Yuugi curled his hand into a fist and punched Yami in the face.
It was a very light and weak punch because he was still so weak, but it still surprised Yami. The older boy just stared at Yuugi, completely shell-shocked. Then he touched his cheek lightly, there wasn't even a mark where Yuugi's fist had been, and Yami let out a watery chuckle.
"I guess I deserved that."
Yuugi noticed that Yami's hands were shaking and his breathing was uneven. His pupils were huge and dilated with emotion. Yami looked so afraid, like a child during a thunderstorm. Yami's face, which had always been molded in arrogance or mockery, was now drawn tight over the bones of his face. There was no trace of that beautiful arrogant smile on his lips.
The most surprising thing of all was that Yami's beautiful ruby red eyes that Yuugi had always admired since the moment he met him were watery from tears.
"I thought you were dead," Yami said in a shaky voice, very quiet and meek, which was very unusual for Yami.
'So did I,' Yuugi thought, but could not find the strength to say it. He couldn't support his weight on his arms anymore and lay back down on the soft, warm pelts.
"Here," Yami said, reaching behind him. "Drink this, it will help." Yami supported Yuugi's head and pressed a steaming cup to his lips. The liquid was sweet and warmed Yuugi's insides. It chased away the remaining pain that was inside of him.
Yuugi found himself lying still, completely relaxed and just absorbing the fire's comforting heat. Yami laid him back down and as relaxed as Yuugi was, this different Yami was unsettling.
Gentle, Yami was being gentle…but Yami was never gentle. He was a being that didn't have gentle emotions. They weren't capable of pity.
Yuugi probably shouldn't be accepting help from Yami, but he looked so lost and frightened that all he wanted to do was take Yami in his arms and comfort him.
"I thought I lost you," Yami said silently, not even looking at Yuugi, but the boy saw Yami's eyes glitter like real rubies from the tears in his eyes.
"Then you didn't send the water?" Yuugi asked, and then wincing. His throat was like sandpaper.
Yami stared at Yuugi as he remembered how he found out that Yuugi was dying. If he was just a few seconds too late, then…he didn't even want to think about it.
"Father! What have you done?" Yami cried in outrage as he stormed around. He saw nothing but red in his vision. He wanted to destroy, he was that outraged. But first he wanted to save Yuugi.
The father of all Shadow Men stood calmly by, watching Yami's anger rise. "Slifer—"
"I told you," Yami snapped. "My name is no longer the name you gave me when I was born. I am not Slifer, my name is Yami."
Father's eyes narrowed. "Slifer," he continued to say. "You're name is Slifer. I and your own brethren did this for your own good. Having feelings of lust towards this human boy will only be your downfall."
"It is not lust!" Yami cried in outrage, suddenly all of the feelings of destruction were going towards the Shadow Man standing right in front of him. "I don't think you realize what Yuugi actually means to me! Then again, you wouldn't know anything about these feelings since you have never felt compassion or love towards anyone!"
"That is right," father said without missing a beat. "I have never felt such useless emotions towards another person or supernatural being. I have no need of such things and neither should you. It will only destroy you. Do you wish to die, Slifer?"
"If it means that Yuugi will continue to live and be happy, then yes, I would happily die," Yami said. He ran towards the mines but he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "And my name is Yami."
Father watched the young Shadow Man go. "Light and love will only be an obstacle in your path to greatness. It is either you destroy it…or I will."
"No, I did not send the water," Yami finally answered.
Yuugi felt like maybe he should say something, like maybe list off everything Yami had done to him in the past, he didn't know why. Maybe to prove a point? But here in this little cavern, surrounded by rocks that seemed to block out the rest of the world, it all seemed so very far away.
Yami didn't seem like a Shadow Man now, he wasn't like a hunter. If he was a predator, he had his prey right in front of him, defenseless and wounded. He could do anything to Yuugi, he would never get a better chance.
But he wasn't doing anything. He gave Yuugi plenty of space and just sat there staring into the fire with dazed eyes.
"You would have cared if I had died," Yuugi said slowly, like he didn't fully believe it yet.
Yami looked up from the fire and into Yuugi eyes. They stared into each others eyes for a moment, all of their defenses down and then Yami furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"You really don't know…do you?"
Yuugi shook his head; what was he supposed to get? He pushed himself up so he was sitting up. He hugged his legs close to his chest for more warmth.
Yami sighed. "Yuugi, I love you."
Yuugi blinked. "Yes, I know but…" Yami had always told Yuugi that he loved him, but Yuugi had never sensed much tenderness in his words. He would have said this to Yami, but it seemed wrong to tell that to someone that looked so lost and defenseless and…human. "I've never understood why."
Yami looked at Yuugi quizzically.
Yuugi shifted his legs and rested his chin on his knees. "It's just…we're so different." Yuugi looked up through his lashes at Yami. Yami was staring at him with complete honesty; there were no defenses, nothing to keep Yuugi from looking into his soul. It scared Yuugi but at the same time made him feel comfortable and safe.
But there was always one question that always bothered Yuugi, ever since he met Yami.
"Why me?" he asked softly.
"Would you like a list?"
Yuugi sat up, shocked by Yami's answer. "What?"
Yami ignored Yuugi's response and continued. "Let us start with your hair. It is strange, but it is also beautiful. It is soft and silky, easy to run your fingers through. And your eyes, I love your eyes. They glitter like gems and they seem to change colors depending on your mood. Your skin glows, it seems like you always have a halo of light around you. Your skin is smooth and the color of moonlight."
Yuugi wanted to protest but Yami continued.
"There are plenty of beautiful girls and handsome boys in the world. But you're different. There is something in your soul that gives you a different kind of beauty than anyone else in the world. You just have this innocence about you. No matter how much I have done to you, it never puts out that glow of light around you. You continue to stand strong. You're still as gentle and sweet as ever. Yet, you have the spirit of a flame."
Yuugi shook his head. "I think that you're wrong."
Yami shook his head. "No, I am right. You are marvelous, Yuugi."
Yuugi didn't know what to say. This Yami was different, possibly even more frightening than the Yami that has been hunting him. Because this Yami causes a new, unfamiliar emotion to bubble up in Yuugi's chest. Yuugi didn't know what it was, but it scared him to learn.
"When I first saw you, there was just a flood of sunshine around you, wherever you went it was always there. I remember that the others wanted to kill you…" Yami's eyes became dazed as he remembered. Yuugi often wondered what that day must have been like through Yami's eyes. "But I wanted to keep you, because you were special; you were like nothing I had ever seen before. They thought I was crazy and they laughed at me…"
'The other Shadow Men…' Yuugi thought.
"But I knew and I watched you. You grew up and blossomed into a wonderful flower that was so bright and beautiful that others feared it. You became even more amazing and more beautiful as you got older. What intrigued me the most was how different you were from anything I had seen in my world. You were light. Warm, bright light. I didn't want to use you up or to kill you like the others did, but I needed you. I craved that love and warmth."
Yami continued to keep his distance, so he wouldn't frighten Yuugi; he continued to stare into the fire, as if he were staring back into his past.
"I couldn't see anything else, couldn't hear anything else. You were my everything. You were always on my mind. I wouldn't let anyone else hurt you…I couldn't let anyone else hurt you. I felt this strange feeling in my chest…" Yami put a hand to his chest. "And it scared me, because I didn't know what it was, but it also comforted me." Yami chuckled. "They said I was crazy in love."
Yuugi stared at Yami, and it was like he was looking at him with a new pair of eyes. Like he had pressed the rewind button and had gone back to that time when he walked through the door to the game store. It was like he had seen Yami for the first time and Yuugi could make his first impression of him again.
He saw Yami small and vulnerable and completely human.
He felt his heart thump widely in his chest and that was shaking his whole body.
He had never even thought about what the other Shadow Men might have said to Yami. Yami was one of the youngest Shadow Men, along with Marik and Akefia, and the others probably don't take him very seriously. He had never thought of what his life might actually be like as a Shadow Man.
"Yami, what's it like being…I mean, uh," Yuugi didn't know what to say.
Yami chuckled. "What's it like being a Shadow Man?" he asked for Yuugi, looking at the boy from the corner of his eye; Yuugi nodded. Yami sighed and spaced off. "You watch from the shadows, looking at a world that is full of light and color and happiness that you know you can never experience for yourself."
Yuugi furrowed his eyebrows together. "But you can make anything you want here, can't you?"
Yami nodded. "Yes, but it's not the same. Things…they fade here; they don't last forever."
"But if you don't like it, you could just leave can't you? You could…" Yuugi thought of his world being overridden by Shadow Men and repressed a shiver. "You could change couldn't you?"
Yami chuckled humorlessly. "I can't change what I am…none of us can. We have already decided our fate. No one else of the rest of the nine worlds wants us. They say our nature is destructive, that all we can do is destroy. We're not welcome anywhere we go. But we will always be close to Earth, just watching from the shadows…forever."
There was a sort of emptiness in Yami's voice that made Yuugi sad.
"Forever? So…you never die?"
Yami shook his head. "No, we do not die. We are born from the destructiveness that once lived in our human hearts."
"What?" Yuugi asked, mouth hanging open.
Yami finally turned towards Yuugi in confusion. "What?"
"You were once human?" Yuugi asked, still slightly shocked.
Yami nodded. "Yes, all Shadow Men were once human. When our human selves die with bitter revenge in our hearts or we feel nothing but anger or destruction, we are reborn as Shadow Men. We make a choice to live as Shadow Men; we subconsciously call upon them when we die and we choose to be reborn, even though we may not realize it at the time. Our names are carved onto a candle and if it is carved out, then we die."
Yuugi thought about this overload of information, trying to absorb it all. "So when you died as a human, you were so full of hate that you called for the Shadow Men and you were reborn as one and somewhere there is a candle with the name Yami carved into it?"
Yami nodded. "Yes, everything you said is true. Except, there is no candle with my name on it."
"What?" Yuugi asked. "Why?"
Yami smiled sadly. "I cannot remember my life before being a Shadow Man."
Yuugi gaped and then covered his mouth with his hand.
"When I was reborn, I had no memory of my life as a human or my real name. Since then I have been called…" he paused for a moment, and then said, "Yami."
Yuugi thought of the Yami he had always known, who seemed so very unreal at this time now that he was staring at the real Yami with all of his defenses down.
The Yami that had lured him into the game store and tempted him into buying the Shadow Game. The Yami that had kidnapped him and his friends and forced them to play that horrible and sick Game; the Game that Ryou died in. Then he showed up again and bullied Yuugi into playing this new Game to win his freedom. He had threatened him, hurt his friends, and done so many other horrible things to him…
But now that he looked at it, that evil Yami seemed like a fake. Like he had been wearing a mask that whole time just so he could hide the scared child that was the real him.
The thought made Yuugi's head spin. He pushed the white furs away from his body and Yami immediately stood up, as if to give Yuugi more space to breathe.
"I—I'm warm now," he said, pushing himself up on shaky legs when suddenly his legs gave out from under him. He saw the rock floor rushing at him fast but Yami was there in an instance, catching Yuugi from face-planting the ground and helping him stand up again.
Yuugi felt the warmth of Yami's skin from the fire and he lifted his head warily, staring into Yami's red eyes. His pupils were still dilated and completely open for Yuugi to stare into, no barriers.
The Yuugi suddenly had a vision that made his heart drop.
He was surrounded by the fresh smell of flowers and the sun that was high in the sky warmed his tanned skin. He tilted his head back and breathed in the fresh air. It truly was a lovely day, simply beautiful. He played with the slave bracelets that were secured tightly around his tiny wrists. It would be even more beautiful if he was free…
He heard the distant murmur of voices and the sound of footsteps coming his way. He squeaked and ran to hide behind a tree; he wasn't supposed to be here.
He peaked out from behind his hiding spot and saw the Pharaoh walking through the garden with his son walking beside him. He stared in awe at the Ruler of the country and the young prince.
The prince was a free years older than he and extremely handsome. His sun-kissed skin was perfect and his royal garb brought out the unique coloring of his eyes.
He couldn't help but admire the prince; he knew that it was forbidden, but he truly loved him.
"Hey, I know you," the young prince said from his perch on the tree branch above him.
He looked up in surprise; what was the Prince of Egypt doing climbing trees?
He realized that it was disrespectful to look the prince in the eye and quickly looked back down at his sandaled feet, feeling very foolish. "How do you know a slave like me, your majesty?"
The prince jumped down and landed right in front of the slave boy. The smaller boy squeaked and blushed bright red; he had never been this close to the prince before.
"Because I have been watching you for a while, you are very beautiful," the prince said with a cheeky smile.
"Hey," the prince said, staring up at the cloudless sky, his own personal slave beside him.
"What is it, your majesty?" the slave asked.
"Can you promise me that we'll be together forever?"
The slave boy giggled. "Forever and ever."
"No!" He saw the fading image of his prince leaning over him. He was crying and desperately calling out for him. His pupils were dilated and he looked like a scared child.
Oh, how he wanted to comfort the young prince and tell him it would all be okay, but he couldn't do that because he was just so tired and his whole body hurt; he couldn't find the energy to do anything for his prince.
"No! You can't die! Please…don't leave me alone!"
Yuugi blacked out.
Yami didn't know if Yuugi saw the same thing that he did but that didn't matter, what did matter was that Yuugi was the key that held everything to his life. He kissed the boy tenderly on the forehead after he passed out; it was too much of shock for the boy.
Yuugi was like a light to Yami; he needed Yuugi, not just for uncovering his past, he needed Yuugi because without him, Yami's heart would surely stop beating. Yami could not help but be attracted to the things that are forbidden. Light is forbidden to Shadow Men but he continued to seek it out.
Yami sighed and picked the boy up; he was so light. He would carry him out of this mine trap and make sure his friends found him safely.
Unfortunately, Yami noticed that the coin he had given Yuugi had fallen from the boy's pocket. He couldn't make up for the coin that Yuugi had lost if he wanted to play the Game fairly and keep Yuugi and his friends alive.
He left a note in Yuugi's pocket that Yuugi would find whenever he woke up and then they would continue their little Game, and they could continue to be like cat and dog.
But for now, Yami would enjoy holding Yuugi this close to him, without any differences between them.
-/-
Ranko: I hope that was enough puzzleshipping for you guys. Two whole chapters devoted to nothing but puzzleshipping, I spoil you guys.
Yami: I like it.
Ranko: Well of course you do! By the way, if a few things were unclear to you in this chapter, please read and review my one-shot that is related to this story/series: "What's In a Name?"
Yuugi: And of course, review and tell Ranko what you thought of this chapter!