Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters

Claimer: I, chop4tess, own this story, its plot and any and all original characters

Hello and welcome to chapter seven of my story. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter seven: Fight

I couldn't express how glad I was to have Joey back in my life. He had been my best friend for ages and while he had been gone there had been an empty place inside me. As I gazed at his familiar face I felt like everything was going to be alright from now on. We could hang out like we used to and the bullies would leave me alone for once. But then I remembered Yami. I had been so caught up being back with Joey I had almost forgotten about him. For some reason that made me feel bad. As if I shouldn't be placing Joey above Yami. Joey must have noticed my change in mood. He nudged me with an elbow and grinned at me.

"What's wrong bud?" He asked and I smiled at him.

"I made a new friend while you were gone Joey." I said and Joey looked surprised before a wide grin spread over his face.

"So who is he? Does he go to our school?" Joey looked around as if he was expecting someone to pop out of the bushes. I laughed and shook my head.

"His name is Yami." I said with a smile. Joey arched an eyebrow at me.

"Yami, huh that's an unusual name." Joey mused and I laughed again.

"He's a pretty unusual person." I said with a grin, "He has black hair with pink edges and blond bangs."

"Is he a relative or something?" Joey asked glancing at my hair and I shook my head.

"Nope my parents were only children."

"So what is he like?" Joey asked tilting his head to the side. I paused to collect my thoughts before I answered.

"I meet him when Rob and some of his friends were picking on me," I started and I saw Joey's face darken. "Yami stepped in and made them leave me alone; I still don't know how he did it. Anyway, they left and Yami made sure I got home ok. He was really nice to me."

"Sounds like my kinda guy." Joey said his eyes still dark with anger at Rob and his gang.

"He has this strange way of making me feel safe," I said almost to myself as I lost myself in my memories of Yami. "He's always smiling and he seems to have this really innocent view of the world." I giggled despite myself, "it's that view that makes me want to look out for him and make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself." I looked up at the sky watching a cloud shaped like a ship sail past. "I get jealous when other people look at him and I want him to stay with me forever." I shook myself angrily. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Of course I know he'll leave at some point." I laughed but even to my ears it sounded fake and forced. I didn't want Joey to know about my fears of being left alone. I didn't want to make him feel guilty for leaving when he had no choice. Not now he had come back to me.

"Hmm," Joey hummed as he looked at me thoughtfully. I blushed under his heavy stare.

"What?"

"It sounds to me like you have a crush on this Yami guy." Joey said with a grin. I stared at Joey my mouth open in shock. I spluttered in embarrassment as Joey laughed.

"O-of course I don't have a crush on him!" I said shaking my head fiercely.

"Hey I don't care if you have a crush on a guy." Joey said spreading his hands, "love is love regardless of gender." I blinked in shock at my best friend. I had always pictured Joey as the practical joker but here he was being serious and almost philosophical.

"Wow Joey, that's deep." It was Joey's turn to blush as he shoved me gently. "But," I paused to lick my lips, "if I was gay you wouldn't mind?" I asked glancing at Joey hesitantly. I didn't think for a moment Joey would start hitting me but I didn't want to lose his friendship for a second time. Joey looked at me with a gentle smile and reached out to put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yug' I don't care if you are gay, you are still my best bud." I was smiling so big at the end of that sentence it was starting to hurt. "Besides, I think I might be, you know, batting for the other team as it were." Joey shifted in place looking bashful.

"Huh?" I was confused for a moment then I caught on. "Oh! Well that's ok with me." I grinned and Joey grinned shyly back. It was only now I realised that Joey and I had never talked about girls. Not once had which girls we thought were 'pretty' or 'cute' come up in conversation. I had never thought about it before but that was a pretty big clue. Joey was good looking but he had never had a girlfriend. I just never thought about it before. "So is there someone you like?" I asked leaning forward and tilting my head towards Joey. Joey opened his mouth to answer but the bell ringing cut him off.

"Damn, time to go back in I guess." Joey stretched his arms over his head and I nodded with a sigh. "Come on Yug' lets go inside." Joey stood up and held out a hand. I grasped his hand and let him pull me to my feet. We walked into the school building side-by-side just like old times. Although, I felt like we knew each other better than before. There were no secrets between us now and we accepted each other for all that the other was. I wondered if my smile would ever fade or if I would walk around for the rest of my life with a huge grin.

-:-

"Yami? What is your decision?" Seto didn't like to see his rival so broken. Yami was meant to fight him to the end not just give up. It was almost a disappointment. "Will you come back with us or stay here?" Yami sighed and shook his head. Maybe it would be best if he went back to heaven after all. Malik was about to close the viewing globe when Yugi spoke again catching Yami's attention.

"I made a new friend while you were gone Joey." Yami blinked and glanced at the globe along with Malik and Seto. Malik lost his grip on his magic for a moment so the scene blurred and went out of focus for a moment before Malik brought it back.

"I meet him when Rob and some of his friends were picking on me," Yugi said and Yami felt his heart stop in his chest. "Yami stepped in and made them leave me alone; I still don't know how he did it. Anyway, they left and Yami made sure I got home ok. He was really nice to me." Yami blinked wondering why Yugi was telling Joey this. Why would Yugi want to tell his friend about him if he didn't care about him? Yami didn't hear Joey's answer but he leaned forward as Yugi started talking again.

"He has this strange way of making me feel safe. He's always smiling and he seems to have this really innocent view of the world." Yugi giggled and Yami thought it was the most wonderful sound in the world. "It's that view that makes me want to look out for him and make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself." Yami almost wanted to laugh. Yugi wants to look out for me? Yami thought to himself as Yugi titled his head up to look at the sky. "I get jealous when other people look at him and I want him to stay with me forever. Of course I know he'll leave at some point." Yami shook his head suddenly realising what humans meant when they said they wanted to kick themselves. He now knew that Yugi cared about him. It didn't matter that Yugi's old friend was back, Yugi still cared.

"Hmm," The blonde hummed and Yugi blushed.

"What?" Yugi's voice was almost defensive although there was no bite to his words.

"Sounds to me… you have a crush on…Yami." Joey said with a grin. Yami jerked back in surprise and Malik was also so shocked he lost his hold over the globe. The viewing globe vanished in a puff of blue smoke but Yami found himself still staring at the space it used to occupy. Does, could Yugi like me? The thought was so new and different Yami found himself reeling. It was a shame that Malik had lost control of the globe before he heard Yugi's answer.

"Well," Seto cleared his throat, "Yami what do you want to do?" Yami blinked in confusion.

"Do?" Yami echoed. What did he want to do? Yami had no idea what he wanted to do. Part of him wanted to find Yugi and ask him if it was true, did Yugi really like him? How was it even possible for a man to love another man? They could never have a child together. Besides, God always spoke of the love between a man and woman.

"Are you coming back to heaven or are we going to have to drag you there?" Seto snapped loosing his temper. Yami stared at Seto for a long moment. Malik was still recovering from using so much magic at once so he didn't say anything.

"I always pictured heaven as a place you chose to go to," Yami said slowly, "Hell is a place you are dragged to."

"Fine," Seto threw up his hands his wings fluttering, "Are you coming quietly or do we need to persuade you?" Seto put his hands on his hips. Yami looked down at the ground. While Yami remembered nothing of his past there was one thing he remembered being told: follow your heart. Yami glanced up at Seto a smirk curling his lips.

"You're going to have to persuade me."

-:-

I sat up straight as I felt a shiver run through me. Something was wrong. I glanced out of the window frowning. Everything looked normal but I couldn't get rid of this feeling inside my chest that someone I loved was in danger. I was sitting in biology class listening to the teacher ramble on about the heart and its functions when I felt that something wasn't right. My grandpa had always told me to follow my instincts and trust my heart, and now my heart was pounding loudly in my chest.

"What's wrong?" Joey whispered to me out of the corner of his mouth. I glanced at him before shrugging.

"I don't know." I whispered back before sticking my hand up. The teacher paused and glanced at my raised hand with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes Mr. Moto?"

"Please Miss I have a headache can I get something from the nurse?" I asked and the teacher sighed before nodding. I jumped out of my seat and hurried out of the classroom. Since I rarely cut class the teachers were more likely to let me leave the class for something. Instead to going to the nurse's office I went to the main office which had two public telephones hanging on the wall. I picked up the receiver and typed in my home number, making sure to reverse the charges as I had forgotten my money. I twisted the phone cord around my finger biting my lip as I waited for my grandpa to pick up the phone. The phone seemed to ring forever before I heard my grandpa's voice.

"Hello?"

"Grandpa!"

"Yugi? Why are you doing calling me? Shouldn't you be in school?" My grandpa's voice was laced with confusion. I sighed, my grandpa sounded just fine but that feeling that something was wrong hadn't left me.

"I'm using the public phone at school grandpa." I explained, "I just had this feeling that something was wrong and I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Yugi, I am just fine. In fact we've had a great day at the shop today. That new shipment you and Yami picked up has been selling like wildfire." I grinned as I heard the excitement in my Grandpa's voice.

"That's great Grandpa, so are we going to buy more?"

"Most likely but you need to go back to class now young man and don't worry everything is fine." My grandpa scolded me and I smiled even though he couldn't see it.

"Yes grandpa, I'm glad everything is ok. See you after school." I put the phone down and sighed. I was glad that my grandpa was ok but that feeling was still heavy on my chest.

-:-

Yami shot into the air like a feathery bullet as Seto hurled a blue ball of fire at him. Yami snapped his wings open and looked down. Moments before Seto had attacked Yami had stopped cloaking his true form so he could use his wings and his magic to defend himself. In this form humans would be completely unaware of his presence. It was like he was naturally invisible and had to use magic to make himself visible to the mortals.

Seto couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips as he looked up at Yami hovering above him. Yami's white wings almost glowed in the sunlight and Seto knew that was the sign of a healthy angel. Seto wanted Yami to be healthy because that would mean he would put up more of a fight.

Seto jumped into the air after glancing at Malik. Malik was still too weak to fight after using his magic so Seto left him behind. Seto snapped open his wings and after a few wing beats was hovering opposite Yami who was watching him with a glint in his purple eyes.

"Is that the best you've got?" Yami asked and Seto grinned.

"Not even close." Seto formed another ball of blue fire and threw it at Yami. Yami ducked and the ball went over his head. Before Seto could form another ball Yami formed one of his own. Yami's magic was purple in colour and the first ball hit Seto dead in the chest. Seto gasped although he knew that Yami had been holding back.

"Are you sure you want to fight me Seto? I haven't lost a fight yet." Yami stated calmly. Seto growled and formed another ball.

"There is a first time for everything." Seto threw the ball of energy at Yami who only just dodged it. It was about this time when Yugi started to feel that something was wrong but Yami didn't know that.

Malik watched Seto and Yami throw their magic at each other. They were getting faster and faster as they tried to find a weakness. Although Yami had hit Seto already it didn't seem to have weakened the blue eyed angel much. In fact Seto just looked mad.

Yami climbed higher into the sky and launched an attack on Seto from above. He dived downwards the wind screaming in his ears as he tucked his wings into his sides. Seto twisted out of the way as Yami used his increased velocity to increase the speed of his attack. The ball of purple fire only just missed Seto and hit the ground with a loud crash. Yami snapped open his wings and flinched as the feathers caught the air and jerked him upwards. The area that Yami had hit was completely unaffected by his attack although Seto knew that if the attack had landed, it would have done some serious damage to him.

Angelic powers were strange in their design. If an angel wanted to destroy something, like a building, he could with very little trouble depending on his power level. Yet when two angels were focused on only hitting each other, their power had no effect on the surrounding area. Yami or Seto could hit a passing human and they would feel nothing at all. Most angels believed that their power responded to the angel's wishes at the time. Neither Yami nor Seto had any wish to harm humans in their battle.

Seto spun around and dived towards Yami making the smaller angel twist in mid-air to avoid his attack. Seto's attack still grazed Yami's side however and Yami flinched in pain. Seto pushed downwards with his powerful wings and soared into the sky trying to stay above Yami. In all aerial battles the one who was higher than the other had the advantage. Yami also tried to climb but Seto's attacks forced him back. Yami gritted his teeth and called on all his power. He needed to win this battle, he had to! After all, he had some very important questions to ask Yugi.

Seto felt Yami calling on his power and he formed a protective wall in front of himself. Yami began to glow as his power formed a massive shape in front of him. Seto blinked in surprise and opened his mouth to shout but was cut off as the purple fire reached him. It crashed through his protective wall shattering it to pieces. Seto cried out as the fire hit him with enough force to shove him backwards. The fire didn't burn Seto's skin but it did singe his clothes turning them black.

Yami gasped for air as he watched Seto get thrown backwards by his attack. Yami had put everything he had into that attack and it seemed like he had succeeded in preventing Seto from using any more magic without damaging him too badly. Yami didn't want to hurt Seto but he couldn't let the taller angel stop him.

Malik whistled at the display of raw power before unfurling his wings and taking off. Yami was tired and Seto was defeated, time for him to step into the battle. While Yami and Seto hadn't been fighting for long, it was long enough for Malik to recover. Yami didn't see Malik coming up behind him until it was too late. Malik formed a golden coloured energy ball in his hands before throwing it at Yami.

Yami tried to dodge but he was too slow. The energy ball hit him in his left shoulder. Yami cried out in pain as he fell through the sky blinded by the golden light. When other angels said that Malik was powerful they weren't kidding. Malik caught Yami before he hit the ground not wanting Yami to be too beat up. After all, their orders were to bring Yami back to Heaven not to kill him. Malik put Yami on the ground as Seto landed beside him. Seto was unsteady on his feet and breathing hard. Malik smirked at him victoriously and Seto glared back at him, his eyes like two chips of ice.

"Looks like I won this game Seto." Malik said and Seto growled.

"I was winning until you stepped in!"

"No you were getting your butt kicked." Malik sniggered. Seto reached out and grabbed the front of Malik's shirt.

"You shouldn't have interfered." Seto snarled but Malik looked completely unaffected.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Malik taunted. Malik and Seto glared at each other for a few more moments before Seto let go of Malik's shirt.

"Nothing but don't do it again." Seto threatened and Malik snorted. Seto turned to fix his glare on Yami only to see that Yami was gone. "Where is Yami?" Seto asked his voice rising as he looked around. Malik blinked in shock before looking at the ground then up at Seto.

"He's gone."

"Yes genius I had figured that much out for myself!" Seto snapped angrily.

"Wow he recovers fast." Malik said mildly. Seto threw his hands up before pulling the crystal out of his pocket only to discover that it had been smashed in his fight with Yami.

"Damn it!" Seto cursed making Malik raise a shocked eyebrow.

"Mr. Perfect angel Seto is cursing? It must be the end of the world." Malik joked and Seto only just prevented himself from hitting Malik.

"What are we going to do now?" Seto shouted throwing the crystal away. "Yami could be anywhere in this city and we can't find him."

"Let's spilt up and try and find him using good old fashioned detective work." Malik suggested rather liking the idea. "We will be able to sense him if we get close enough." Seto took a deep breath and calmed down. What Malik said made some sense even though it pained him to admit it.

"Fine then, you go that way and I'll go this way." Seto pointed in one direction then the other. Malik nodded and the two angels went their separate ways. Meanwhile, Yami was stumbling down a dim lit street away from Malik and Seto his left shoulder throbbing and his left wing hanging uselessly down his back. The grey concrete buildings rose on both sides of him giving Yami a trapped feeling. Yami wanted to cry frustrated tears of pain but he pushed them away. He had to find somewhere to stay for the night. Pain tore through him and even Yami didn't know what kept him walking. He knew he couldn't go back to his apartment, not now or ever again. He couldn't go to Yugi's house in case he brought Seto or Malik there too.

Yami stumbled and fell hard jarring his injured wing making him cry out. Gritting his teeth Yami dragged himself to his feet and limped away with red blood dripping down his shoulder and on to the pavement below.

*End Chapter*

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