Small Note

Sakura: I'm sorry if I made some readers feel bad about not reviewing. I just enjoy knowing who all is reading my story and how many people are enjoying it. I'm glad I got more reviews for the last chapter and I hope they keep coming. No matter how long or short the reviews are I love seeing what my readers think. Anyway this chapter is where finally some action comes in!

Chapter Nine

Cold Winter Night

A party the people will never forget

The Winter Ball was in full swing as vampires and humans mingle with both each other and their own kind. Some humans had migrated to the human only room, while some vampires went to the vampire only room. Food was served not long after the part had begun, so an hour into the party everyone was talking, dancing, and partying the night away with full stomachs. It was a sight that always bought a smile to both the King and his mate.

At the time Yuugi was currently on the dance floor with little Chan. She was holding on to both of Yuugi's hands as they twirled around and danced to the music without a care in the world. As always Yami was not far as he stood on the edge of the floor to keep an eye on both his child and lover. It's not like Yuugi needed protection, but with the clothes he was wearing, Yami had taken notice of many hunger looks from other vampires. Many knew not to touch the mate of the King, but that would not stop both male and female vampires and humans from trying to ask Yuugi to dance. As long as Yami, the children, or their friends were near Yuugi, he would not be asked.

Once the song ended Chan hugged her papa before skipping off to somewhere else. Yami then quickly stepped in and put his arms around Yuugi as the next song started up. Yuugi smiled up at him as he put his arms around Yami's neck to pull him close.

"Being a little overprotective dear?" Yuugi teased as they swayed to the slow song that was being played.

"I just don't like the looks you are getting," Yami answered with full honesty.

Yuugi reached up and gave Yami a peck on the cheek. "That's sweet, but you know I can handle myself. Most are probably too scared to ask since they know you are not far from me. Besides if you and the kids would let me dress myself you would not have to worry about me getting stared at."

"Ah, you got me there, I might have to consider letting you pick your own outfit next year." Yami said as he knew Yuugi did have a point. Every year he or his children pick the outfit Yuugi would wear and every year Yami would be his same overprotective self.

Yuugi chuckled. "Darling, I will believe that when it does happen." He moved his hand down to grab one of Yami's and then led him off the dance floor. When they were away from most of the crowd, he leaned against the nearest wall with a sigh of relief. "So when is the fashion show supposed to happen?"

Yami shrugged as he moved to lean against the wall next to Yuugi. "Yumi is supposed to come find me when they are ready so I can announce it to everyone else. We probably have another hour or hour and a half before it happens."

"Alright, well give me a minute to catch my breath and then we can go find our friends. I hear Ryou, Malik, and Kisara are going to be judges in the fashion show and I would like to talk with them before that happens." Yuugi explained to his husband as he scanned the crowd for at least one of their friends. It was surprising how crowed the place looked compared to last year. There were defiantly more people who had entered the city and less that probably wanted to leave for the holidays.

"What do you need to talk to them about?" Yami asked.

"It's nothing really, I just haven't seen them all day and since the party started. Normally we get together for a few minutes just to talk. There is nothing wrong with that is there?" Yuugi said with a grin up at his husband.

Yami smirked down at his partner and lean in close to his face. "What if there is?" He teased back.

Yuugi stuck his tongue out at Yami and pushed off the wall. "Then I would say you are sleeping on the floor tonight." He said with a smirk of his own as he started to walk away.

The King paled at the thought of not sharing his bed with Yuugi, even though he knew the younger was just messing with him. "You really shouldn't say things like that…" He said as he hurried after his mate. If anyone had the King wrapped around their finger it was Yuugi Mutou.

It was as if Yami was a mind reader, when within another hour, Yumi managed to track her brother down to let him know the fashion show was ready. All models were getting ready behind the stage either fixing their clothes or changing into something else. Yumi had gathered all the extra clothes she could from local stores since the fashion show had been last minute to give those who wanted to be in the show, but did not like their outfit something to wear.

Both Yuugi and Yami sat on their thrones watching as both vampires and humans gathered near the stage to see the show and the judges took their place at the table that was set up for them. Ethan and Jason were the only two of the King's children who were not in the show, so they stood on the other side of Yuugi's throne so they would have good seats. Yumi had tried to talk Yuugi into being in the show, once she saw his outfit, but Yuugi refused to go up on stage looking the way he did. It was no surprise when Yami agreed with Yuugi and quickly sent his sister away from his partner.

It was not long before the lights dimmed a little and Yumi walked up on stage. The room became silence as she began to speak. "Welcome to the first annual Winter Ball Fashion Show!" There was applause all around which put a smile on Yumi's face. "I'm glad everyone is excited. I wanted to let everyone know if this show is a big hit, we will try and make every winter ball more exciting than the next. You may leave your comments in a comment box when you leave tonight at the front gate."

The crowed clapped for Yumi again before it died down as she started to speak again. "Now the contests will be judged by three members of our King's council. They will judge each group and the winner of each group will win a ribbon, so there will be many winners tonight! First group up is the children and teen group!" She announced before hurrying off stage as the first of the group started to come up to show what they were wearing.

Every child and teen that came up on stage got cheers from the crowd and Yuugi knew there would be no boos since all the children and teens looked adorable. He looked to his husband when Chan and Kotaro walked out together like they were some cute couple. "I have a feeling Chan and Kotaro would have grown up to be models if they had been given the chance to grow up a little more."

Yami had to agree with Yuugi. "Although they already make good children models, I wouldn't be surprised if after tonight most of these children do not get phones calls from stores downtown wanting them to model their clothes."

"I think this show may have just started up a new business for the city." Yuugi said with a chuckle.

As the children and teen group ended, the second group which was women started to come across the stage. It was about half way through those that Sakura ran up to the throne and grabbed Yuugi's hand. "Chan needs to see you a minute."

Yuugi instantly became concerned at his daughter's name. "What's wrong?"

Sakura just offered a smile. "It's nothing serious she just really wants you to be with her."

"Go on Yuugi, she probably just got nervous after being on stage." Yami assured his partner. Out of all the children Chan had become extremely close to Yuugi. She was the first out of all of them to call Yuugi papa.

Yuugi nodded and quickly followed Sakura. Ethan watched them leave before turning to his father. "Do you really think Chan wanted Yuugi?"

Yami shook his head. "No, I still think Yumi is trying to pull something to get Yuugi on that stage, but I'm sure Yuugi can handle himself."

"You just want to see Yuugi up on stage so you can flaunt what you have and others don't." Ethan said with a smirk to his father. Sometimes the man had sneaky ways of showing the people just how beautiful his mate truly was.

The King simply smiled as he watched the last of the contests walk across the stage. The men group was small since most did not want to be part of a fashion show. There were only about ten guys who signed up including the King's son, Taylor. Judging by Ethan's frown, Taylor just wanted to get up on stage to show off or to get the ladies attention to make Ethan jealous. Their relationship was weird, but Yami knew they cared and loved each other. They both had their own ways of trying to get the others attention. Taylor's ways just led him to sleeping on the couch most nights.

It wasn't long after the men's group was done that Yumi came back on stage. "So what did everyone think?" By the applause she received the show had been a big success. "I'm glad to hear everyone had a good time, now before we return to the party we must announce our winners! I present to everyone our very own King Yuugi to hand out the ribbons to our winners."

Yami knew Yumi had something up her sleeve as he watched his husband walk out on stage to stand next to her. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere, but there at the moment. The King was certainly enjoying the view until a guard hurried up to him and whispered something to him so Ethan and Jason could not hear.

When the guard was finished, Yami whispered something back to him, before the guard took off again and Yami stood up. He turned to his sons and said, "I have something that needs my attention at the moment. Please let Yuugi know to keep the partying going until the scheduled time it is to end." He left with hurried steps before they could question him.

Jason looked to his older brother with a frown. "What was that about?"

Ethan shrugged, "A fight probably broke out or something. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Those words were not enough to calm Jason's worry, but he let it go, knowing his father could handle it.

The city was quiet expect for one part of the vampire side of town. When Yami arrived at the scene with Bakura and Marik, he found two fire trucks putting out the burning blaze of two houses. It was a surprising scene to behold, but thankfully with the Winter Ball going on there were not many people around. There were also two ambulances on the scene one had a young girl sitting in the back, while the other was empty.

"Bakura, go find out what happened from the young lady and Marik go help the firefighters so we can get this blaze out before more houses go up." The two nodded to their King before they took off. Yami was able to quickly locate the Fire Chief, who was watching his men put out the blaze.

The King approached him and asked, "What happened here?"

"We will not know sir until we put out the blaze. The only thing we do know is that the family next door called us saying there was a fire at their neighbor's house. Sadly we could not get here in time to stop their house from also catching on fire. The family was able to get out and their neighbor's daughter is in the ambulance over there, but according to her, her father is still trapped inside their house." The Fire Chief explained to his King. "We have been fighting this fire for over an hour. If my unit cannot put it out alone, I need your permission to allow firefighters from the human's unit to come to our aid."

Yami looked toward the fire and could tell this vampire unit could handle it. They had already put the fire out on one house and the other looked about ready to be put out also. "I have faith they can put out the blaze on their own. Once it is safe I want an investigation on what was the cause of the fire." He left without another word and made his way over to where Bakura and the young lady were at sitting in the back of the ambulance.

Bakura saw him approach, so he patted the young lady on the shoulder, before walking toward his King. "She's very upset at the moment. I think she's too shock at what happened to really tell us anything."

"I hate to admit it, but you are not the best when talking to women," Yami said as he walked passed Bakura, who growled at him. While Yami went to talk to the girl, Bakura went to find Marik and help him out.

The young lady had a look of surprise when Yami sat down beside her and offered her a gentle smile. She quickly wiped at her eyes so she did not look like a mess in front of her King. "I'm sor…" She was not able to finish her sentence as Yami held up his hand to silence her.

"There's no need to be sorry. You have every right to be upset over what has happened. I hear that your father was trapped in the blaze?"

The young lady nodded as she blew her nose on a tissue. "Yeah, I believe the fire started in his room. I had been asleep in my room when I sensed something was wrong and woke up to smoke coming into my room. When I opened the door to my room, I found the hallway filled with smoke and fire leading from my father's room. There was so much fire I knew it was unsafe so I went downstairs to search hoping he had still been downstairs watching TV…" She stopped for a moment to wipe more tears away as they started to fall faster. "I couldn't find him anywhere and that's when I knew the worst must have happened to him."

Yami put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's not dwell on the negative until we are completely sure. Would you mind if I asked what your name is?"

"Lilith and my father's name is Kyo. We have lived in this city as vampires for over thirty years and nothing like this has ever happened to us."

"Sometimes things happen, but I assure you that you will be well taken care of. Do you have anyone you can stay with?" Yami asked since there was plenty of room in the palace if she had nowhere else to go. He also still had to speak to the other family to see if they needed a place to stay for the night until repairs could be done to the homes or find the families new housing.

Lilith nodded. "I may not look it, but I was over thirty when I was changed. I came here with my father and soon married a vampire who changed me, before I then changed my father so he could continue to live with me. My husband went to the winter ball with his family while I choose to stay with my father. Every holiday we normally get together but my father did not wish to go to the ball so I stayed behind with him. This was my father's house that has sadly burned down. I wish I had talked him into coming over to my house instead."

The King could feel the pain Lilith was going through. She may have lost a father that night when it was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Something happened to cause that fire and he was determined to figure it out so Lilith could have some peace of mind. He dreaded his next question but it was important for him to know. "Lilith, I really hate to ask, but what was your father's weakness?"

That simple question caused a whole new dam of tears to fall down her face. She sobbed into her hands and just with that reaction Yami knew it without her having to say it, but he needed to confirm it with words. It was faster to find out from the daughter than travel all the way back to the palace and look in the records. The King gently rubbed her back to try and calm her down. It was at that moment he noticed the bandages wrapped around her whole left arm. Any other vampire, who suffered an injury, would have began to heal immediately and there would be no need for medical attention. However he had been a witness to many non-healing wounds and they could only mean one thing.

"Both you and your father are weak against fire, correct?"

Lilith looked up in shock. "How did you know?"

Yami moved his hand and placed it gently on her arm. He could still feel the heat from the burn marks he knew where underneath the bandages. "Simply from your wounds, if you had not been weak against fire than any burns you got from the fire would already be healing. It appears you will have a good while before those wounds heal up."

The young lady looked down at her arm and placed her other hand on top the King's hand. "That is why I believe my father is no longer with me. Our whole life we did everything we could to protect ourselves and our home from ever catching on fire, but it seems we were unlucky tonight."

There was defiantly something strange going on, Yami could feel it. Vampires who are weak against fire, protect their homes with extreme care and Yami makes sure that everything electrical is up to date. It was uncommon for a home that held a vampire weak against fire to go up in flames. There had to be an investigation no matter what, because for some reason this did not feel like a simple accident.

The King was pulled from his thoughts when Marik and Bakura ran up to him. They quickly informed him that the fires had been put out and the Fire Chief wished to see him. Yami made sure Lilith would be alright by herself, before he hurried toward the homes with his friends behind him.

When he entered the once home of Lilith's father, he noticed all the firefighters already starting the investigation by looking around for clues in what was left of the home. The house was still standing, but everything had been damaged by the flames. The stairs were in no condition to climb for normal humans, but vampires could be light on their feet. Bakura and Marik lead their King to the second floor and down the hall to where the fire was believed to have started.

The Fire Chief was already looking around, but stopped when Yami entered the room. "Sir, we cannot be sure yet, but the fire may have started in here. Judging by the amount of damage done to this room compared to the others, the fire was trapped in here first before making its way through the rest of the house." He made his way over to the bed where only a burnt mattress laid with ashes covering the top. "If the girl's father had been trapped in his room, these could be his ashes but we cannot be sure."

Yami walked closer and took a look. He gently took a handful of the ashes in his hand and held them up closer to his face. "I've seen burned vampires many of times. These are ashes from a vampire," he said gravely as he gently put the ashes back on the mattress. "I'll need someone to collect them so we may give Lilith's father a proper burial." He really hated giving bad news to family members and he really hated giving funerals.

"Yami, this may have been the starting point of the fire," Bakura said calling Yami over to come and look.

The King hurried over to the window to the far side of the room. The curtains were gone if there had been any and the window had been blackened by the smoke. The only items that remained were a burnt metal trash can with trash inside. Bakura reached into the trash can and pulled out a lighter along with a group of used cigarettes.

"This area around the window has it the worst and judging by the bar across the window there may have been a curtain here. The girl's father could have taken a smoke before bed, but did not put the cigarette out completely and the curtain could have caught fire if it had been resting in the trash can. That or he threw the lighter away and it still had some juice causing a spark if it hit something." Bakura explained acting like an ace detective. If there was anything Bakura and Marik knew it was crimes and accidents. They could find clues no one else can.

"You have a point there Bakura, but I see something wrong with that theory of yours." Yami said as he snatched the lighter away from the white hair vampire. "I found out from Lilith that this family had a weakness against fire. So my question to you is why would a man, who is weak against fire smoke cigarettes and have a lighter in his home?" He questioned as he used the lighter which came to life with a strong flame proving it was still a good working lighter.

"He wouldn't, since it would mean endangering himself and his family." Marik spoke for all of them.

Yami nodded. "This lighter may have been the cause of the fire along with those cigarettes. The only thing we need to do now is find out who wanted this family dead." He tossed the lighter back to Bakura, before starting to make his leave.

There was complete proof that someone else started the fire, but the questions remained were who started the fire and why did they want both Lilith and her father dead. Most of his people had been at the Winter Ball, but it would not have been hard for anyone to sneak away. There were also those who did not attend the event and choose to stay home. He could rule out humans since they were not allowed in the vampire district and there were cameras at the front gate to the area to make sure of that. However with the last war that broke out in the city, he knew it was not smart to rule them out. He knew it would be best to check those cameras before ruling the humans out and looking at only vampires. The whole thing was a complete mystery, but Yami trusted both Bakura and Marik to help him solve it to stop it from happening again. It was rare for a vampire to be killed on purpose and Yami did not want it happening again whether this was a one time attack or not. The killer had to be bought forth for their crimes.

Sakura: I think I just made things much more interesting for my readers as we really start to get into the plot. I also want to mention that Lilith was a one time character just for this chapter and she will not be seen again, I just felt the need to give her a name so I did not have to call her lady and girl in almost every sentence.

Yumi: Review!