This chapter is where things get a little bit more revealing and emotional. I bet most of you know what's gonna happen next. That's right! The falling blocks of doom! I won't reveal the best part yet since there are those that haven't read the manga. This is one of my favorite parts of Death-T. Review please!
Everyone sat back to back in a circle to wait for the next game to begin. So far, there was nothing happening. Just a group of six kids trapped in an empty white room with no ceiling and an open vent. There was no sound, except from the six kids and no screen to reveal Seto Kaiba's face like Death-T 2. Everyone just sat there waiting and waiting for nothing.
Jouji instantly fell asleep due to being tired of boredom. There was nothing to do besides twiddling his thumbs. He instantly fell asleep in Tea's arms.
"Knocked out like a light," Tea muttered.
"So... I guess it ends here huh?" Tristan asked himself as Atem sighed.
"I'm sorry for getting you involved in his," Atem apologized to his friends.
"Don't buddy! We're friends, we're together through thick and thin," Joey said, trying to cheer his friend up.
"I know this sounds stupid, but I feel like this whole thing is my fault, because I'm always weak and can't be good enough for anything," Hanaski admitted.
"What makes you say that, Hanaski?" Tea asked with surprise in her eyes.
"Because," Hanaski muttered as he squeezed his eyes. This voice then blurted aloud, "I'VE NEVER BEEN GOOD FOR ANYTHING EXCEPT COLLECTING ZOMBIRE STUFF! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A NERD MY WHOLE LIFE AND TOO WEAK TO BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT!"
Something inside Atem snapped as he grabbed Hanaski by the collar of his shirt and put the boy up to his face. His violet eyes showed so much hints of anger and frustration. Hanaski had never seen this inside Atem his whole life. Only now does Hanaski face Atem's furious anger.
"Say... that... again!" Atem dared seething through his teeth. "Say it!"
"Atem, calm down!" Joey warned, grabbing his friend on the shoulder, but was shoved away.
"Hanaski, why do you have to call yourself weak? Ever since we've been friends, you've shown more strength than anyone I know!" Atem glared as Hanaski looked at his friend with gleaming eyes.
"Atem," Hanaski muttered.
"Geez dude. You can calm down now. You're not a bully anymore," Tristan smirked with folded arms. Atem sighed and put down Hanaski.
"Hmmm," Atem moaned while clutching his legs and staring down at the white floor. "We were pretty selfish jerks back then huh?"
"Sure were," Joey agreed. "Even Tristan."
"Parents that have neglected me and my sister our whole lives. We lived in a world where there were no morals or rules. We lived by our own," Tristan revealed. A smile appeared on his face. "That's why Jouji knows how to curse at a young age. His mom curses in front of his face twenty-four-seven."
"Poor kid," Tea pitied Jouji.
"I lived in a family almost just as bad," Joey revealed. He sighed deeply while staring at the floor. "After my folks divorced, I chose to stay with Dad to keep close contacts with Atem. Though... my life in hell had only begun. My father beat me, raped me, even threw me out the window two stories high."
"I remember," Atem said. He looked at Joey. "He rapped me too."
"He... raped both of you?" Tea asked in shock. The boys nodded.
"And ten years old too. Good number," Atem joked with half a smile. He sighed and stared at the floor again. "I'd be going to Joey's house, so he wouldn't have to face his old man alone. Finally, he decided to stay at my place. This was before we joined that gang."
"We also have been working two jobs to make money for my sister's operation. If she doesn't get the money, she'll go blind," Joey revealed.
"I don't remember you guys ever mentioning this. Let alone Joey having a sister," Tea said.
"Serenity's a doll," Atem said with a small smile. He sighed again. "Yet, we took our frustrations out on drugs and alcohol. I would relieve my stress through sex too. I just felt so much pressure and didn't know how to deal with it. I kept things from my folks and said things I shouldn't have said."
"And I thought my life sucked," Hanaski thought.
"I may've not been involved in what you both have been in, but... people have been taken from me," Tea admitted. Tears were falling from her cheeks. "First my mother, then my grandparents, my uncles, aunts, cousins, they all died from some sort of sickness or accident. Now, I only have my father to take care of me and no siblings."
"That's sad," Atem said. "My father died when I was young. I know what that's like to lose a loved one."
"But I've always been strong with you guys with me," Tea mentioned.
"Same here," Atem admitted. He looked directly at Hanaski. "Since you've become my friend, you've shown me that real strength doesn't have to come from fighting back. It can be by being there for one another. I used to hate myself before meeting you."
"You did?" Hanaski asked in shock.
"I did too," Tristan admitted.
"Same here," Joey admitted too.
"It's seems we've come a long ways since last year," Tea said with a smile on her face. "It seems like yesterday, we hated each other. I kinda like you now."
"You're still a bitch," Atem smirked.
"I know and you're an asshole, but I still like you."
"I like you too, Tea. You're a bitch, but you're my bitch."
"Our bitch," Joey translated.
"Hm," Tea thought with a hum. A smile creeped on her face and turned to everyone. "It seems that we're surrounded by white walls where we can write about ourselves and our friends. If we only reveal about ourselves, we only have our names."
"What are you getting at with this?" Atem asked.
"Put out your hands," Tea told everyone. They all cocked their eyebrows, but put five hands out front. The girl took out her perminate marker and drew out a star with Joey's hand and a smiley face on Hanaski's and Atem's hand. She and Tristan had little dots at the end of their fingers to show the freakles for the star. Everyone looked at the star-piece of their hand that would reveal a smiley-faced star when together. "My dad did this with me after Mom died. Though, it was a heart with a smiley face. Each piece is like a puzzle, when together, we're all one. Kinda like... how do I put it? I'm not good at friendship speeches."
"I think what Tea's saying is that we're friends and we stick together till the end," Hanaski translated as everyone gave glances, and then smiles. "When we're together, we're stronger."
"As much as I hate lame speeches, you bring out a good point. So... who wants to be in charge of lame friendship speeches?" Atem teased as everyone laughed aloud.
"NOT ME!" Tea claimed with crossed arms and an annoyed glare. "As much as I refuse to be a cheerleader. I'll go with being Atem's bitch."
"Sounds more like it," Atem smirked. He glanced at the drawing Tea made on his hand. "Besides, we don't need friendship speeches to prove that ours makes us stronger. We show it by being there for each other." Everyone smirked and showed a nod. "And being asses."
Everyone gawked up laughing aloud before hearing a loud bang from the right. It was a huge block the size of a cabinet door. Atem glanced up and noticed another block coming toward them.
"LOOK OUT!" Atem warned everyone as they ran out of the way. Tea carried Jouji in her arms, since he was fast asleep.
"What now?" Hanaski asked.
"RUUUNNNN!" Tristan replied in panic as everyone started running around away from the falling blocks.
Hanaski climbed on one of the blocks to prevent himself from getting hit by another block. He peered behind him to glance at his friends who were trying to copy him. Even Atem was in the process of climbing on top of a block to avoid getting hit.
"Stay away from the walls!" Atem warned before a block slammed beside him, which made him jump.
"The blocks are leading us up to the vent," Tristan pointed out while pointing to the vent over top of him.
As Tea was hopping from one block to another, she realized something. She shouted, "WAIT! There's some sort of pattern. It's like a dance step!"
"That's right!" Hanaski grinned. He looked at Tea. "That's why you're into dancing. You can detect rhythm. The computer has to go by some sort of pattern in order for this game to function."
"Great! So, where's the next block gonna land?" Atem asked with two eyebrows raised.
Tea closed her eyes and imaged the rhythm in her head. She shot her eyes up and pointed to an area on the right. She shouted, "THERE!" The block landed on the area she pointed.
"Nice work!" Joey smirked.
"Watch out!" Tea warned as Joey stepped back and saw a block land on top of the block next to him.
"Now we can detect which area the blocks will end up next!" Tristan said joyfuly.
Tea continually pointed out which area the blocks would land on next. The blocks were leading to the vent, which would lead to their escape. It was finally high enough to reach the vent. First, Jouji went inside, then Joey. Atem, Tea, and Tristan were in the process of leading everyone into the vent. As Tea was crawling inside the vent, she noticed a block heading for the direction next to Tristan.
"TRISTAN!" Tea warned Tristan as he gasped and the block landed behind him. He sighed in relief, but noticed something was wrong. "The rhythem is going faster. We have to hurry!"
"ATEM! YOU GO IN!" Tristan shouted.
"You can go first!" Atem said while he climbed to the top of the block.
"It's okay!" Tristan promised as he snatched Atem from the back of his collar, which he hated someone doing, and handed him to Joey like picking up a puppy dog by the back of the neck. Atem was giving Tristan a death glare filled with hatred the whole time.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Atem shouted in frustration and anger over someone treating him like a midget, just because he was shorter than his friends. Technically, him and Hanaski were the smallest since they were the same size.
"This is as far as I go," Tristan admitted, revealing his shirt and coat being stuck between two blocks. Atem's anger left him and his temperature dropped.
"TRISTAN!" Joey shouted in horror as Tristan put a thumbs up before the last block covered the vent.
"TRIIIIISTAAAAAAN!" Joey cried in horror before slamming his fists against the block covering the vent.
Atem stared in shock, before noticing Yugi shaking in terror and tears streaming from his eyes. He was in shock at this point and Atem wasn't sure what to do. He kept his eyes on Yugi who was trembling and crying at the same time.
"Tristan... Tristan... because of me, Tristan is..." Yugi muttered as tears came trembling down. Atem crawled over to his brother, wondering how to calm him down. Something was sparking inside him. "Everyone is being stolen from me. DAMN YOU SETO!"
'Yugi, calm down!' Atem warned in concern.
"NO! EVERYONE'S BEING TAKEN FROM ME!" Yugi cried before throwing fists at the block blocking the vent. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?"
"YUUUUUGIIIII!" Atem cried, much to everyone's surprise since they had not heard Yugi's comments and two, never even new of Yugi's existence. Atem pinned Yugi on the floor as he kicked and screamed.
"I'LL KILL SETO FOR THIS! I'LL KILL HIM! LET GO OF ME, ATEM!" Yugi screamed. This was the first time he called Atem by his name.
"SHUT THE F*** UP!" Atem shouted before being kicked across the vent, waking Jouji up.
"What the... GET OFF ME YOU F*** BITCH!" Jouji shouted grumpily. Atem wasn't paying attention to the kid or the staring eyes coming from his friends.
Yugi got up and started trying to take control of Atem's body, but Atem was fighting it since his brother wasn't thinking clearly. Yugi's spirit was shot back from Atem's heart.
"STOP THIS, YUGI!" Atem shouted, clutching the puzzle.
"Atem, what's going on! Are you okay? You're acting really freaky," Joey said in a voice that sounded like he was dealing with a guy with a strait jacket.
"I'm..." Atem was about to answer before feeling Yugi trying to take control again.
Atem clutched onto this puzzle again that pierced his chest like a knife almost. His eyes were turning hollow and showed a tent of red. Sweat was racing on his face and his heart was pumping while breathing in and out as if he took poison. Atem's whole body was trembling as if he was fighting something on the inside, and he was. Everyone started panicking and trying to help Atem snap back to reality.
"Atem! Common man! Snap out of it!" Joey cried, but no avail. Hanaski and Tea were worried more about Yugi. It seemed that he wasn't taking Tristan being gone very well and Atem was trying to calm him down. "ATEM! SPEAK TO ME!" Joey slammed Atem against the wall of the vent, but the red tent in his eyes glowed brighter. "UGGGGH! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"
"YUGI! CALM DOWN! YOU'RE HURTING ATEM!" Hanaski cried before Atem's eyes changed back to normal and his breath returned. His trembling stopped and fear swept through him.
Atem stared at Yugi in horror who was staining with tears, realizing what he had just done. His arms hugged around himself as his eyes closed and new tears came out. He disappeared into the puzzle until he was sure that he was calmed down. Atem was trying to hold a huge lump in his throat that had been held for sometime since the beginning of this game. He was scared for Yugi, for Seto, and for his friends.
"Are you okay?" Hanaski asked as Atem nodded.
"I... think so," Atem muttered, loosely hugging himself.
"Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?" Joey demanded, staring at his best friend with concern. Why did Hanaski say Yugi as if he was a different person from Atem? Wasn't Yugi Atem's nickname? Was he... not? "Like why my best friend was acting like a complete lunatic?"
Atem trembled a little and stared at the floor of the vent. His lump was growing and getting heavier. His eyes were starting to twitch and felt as if something was about to come out anytime soon. Joey kept staring at his friend and could sense so much fear throughout this whole event.
"Joey," Atem muttered in a shaking voice. "There's something I should've told you long ago." Joey stared at his friend with raised eyebrows. "Yugi isn't my nickname that Hanaski calls me. He's a spirit that lives inside my puzzle. Ever since I solved the puzzle, we've been taking turns in living each other's lives. It's easy to tell if it's him since he's the cheery one that acts like a little child."
"Are you telling me that some sort of ghost lives inside you?" Joey asked like his friend was going nuts.
"I... I don't know," Atem replied, his voice getting shakier, eyes watering. "But I've always felt ashamed of having him!"
Hanaski and Tea were more surprised by this reaction. Atem was ashamed of Yugi? It didn't make any sense. Atem loved and adored Yugi. What would there be to be ashamed of? Their mouths were gaping open as Atem clutched onto the puzzle around his neck and his arms started shaking.
"Why are you ashamed of Yugi?" Hanaski said.
"It's not Yugi," Atem glared before he clutched his eyelids to prevent water from pouring out, but they ended up leaking through. "IT'S MEEEE!" Atem covered his face as all of his hot pouring tears burst out of his eyes that were filled with everything that brought him down. Seto's shame in being friends with Atem, Yugi being part of Yami, Joey's reaction to all this, and everything. It came pouring down on Atem. "WHEN YUGI CAME INTO MY LIFE, I WANTED TO HIDE HIM FROM THE WORLD, BECAUSE HE WOULD EMBARRASS ME EVERYTIME I SAW HIM RUNNING WITH HANASKI LIKE A LITTLE IDIOT! YOU GUYS, JOEY AND TRISTAN, WERE ALWAYS ASKING ME WHY I WAS ACTING LIKE A COMPLETE MORON AND I FELT ASHAMED!" It became clear to Joey that him and Tristan did ask Atem about his behavior. This Yugi kid seemed to be acting childish, so much that it was changing Atem's tough guy reputation. It took away all of his pride just so Yugi could live a life. Atem wiped his tears, and then looked down on the floor. "And then after a while, I became attached to Yugi and he was like the brother I never had. I felt ashamed of being embarrassed by him. I felt ashamed of keeping him from all of you. Tea and Hanaski knew because they saw how Yugi and I are different people. Yugi told Tea and Hanaski saw the shadow game Yugi had with Trudge." Joey nodded in seriousness as his friend continued. "The truth is, I love Yugi and adore him with my whole heart. His like my twin brother almost. I just... I just wish I wasn't so ashamed of him. He's changed my life more than I can count and he's the only one who can find the soft spot... the loving part of me and have me reveal it without even knowing. Nobody else can do that. Not even Mom and Grandpa."
Hanaski scooted next to Atem and held him close. He felt new tears forming as he clutched onto Hanaski like a life preserver. Hanaski said happily, "I can tell." Tea, Joey, and Jouji, who was watching in boredom. "Yugi's taught you to show love in more ways than one. You never used to do this five months ago."
"Has it been that long?" Atem asked while wiping his tears.
"It has," Tea replied before giving Atem a warm hug. "There's nothing wrong in showing love. I think Yugi has given you the power to show love toward everyone you care about."
Tea and Hanaski stared at Joey before he realized what they were trying to get him to do. He said, "No way! Uh-uh. I am not gonna hug..."
"STOP BEING SUCH A BIG BABY!" Tea glared before pulling Joey by the back of the collar.
"OW! ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!" Joey finally gave in. He took a deep breath and held his friend close to a friendly hug. They parted and the blond had to admit, it actually felt okay. "Hm, not too bad."
"Thanks," Atem thanked before wiping the last of his tears. "So, you're okay with me having a ghost inside me?"
"As long as he can help us kick Kaiba's ass," Joey shrugged as everyone laughed in response.
Atem and his friends got up and ran on their way to the next game. Jouji was so bored by the waterworks, that he never paid attention to any of the things that had been occuring. He never even noticed Tea hugging Atem. Jouji did, however, follow everyone after it was finally over. At the end, were double doors opening like the doors to an elevator where a crowd of people were surrounding a, what looked to be like, a duel box to play Capsule Monsters.
Mokuba stood at the very end with his arms crossed and a smirk up his face. He wore a fur coat like he was a king or something. He noticed Atem standing there and not Yugi. He promised to duel Mokuba instead of Atem. Atem remembered this and knew what he had to do.
"I see you've made it!" Mokuba smirked. He pointed at Atem. "You! I need Yugi to keep his promise!"
"Hm," Atem nodded as a smirk appeared. "and he will. He was... having issues after we lost Tristan."
"Understandable," Mokuba nodded before turning and entering the box.
"We'll come too," Tea said.
"No, we're going alone," Atem announced, referring "we're" to him and Yugi. He turned his head with a small smile appearing on his lips. "I'll be fine. I'm not afraid of this game and I'm not afraid to face Seto. I'll bring him back and I'll have you guys to give us courage."
Everyone smirked and showed a nod. Atem turned faced his friends, looking at Joey and saying, "Joey."
"Yeah?" Joey replied.
"I'm not ashamed of Yugi anymore. I... I love him for who he is," Atem said while his eyes closed and cradling the puzzle with one hand. It suddenly glowed with brilliance as Atem's facial expressions twitched and started changing into a childish face that was filled with fighting spirit. Joey gasped as he saw the smile that once gave him the creeps, but now actually seemed cute on this one. "I'll win this game, you can count on me!"
Joey and Jouji gasped. Jouji was beyond freaked out, and then remembered something that Atem said about having another person inside him. Was this the Yugi he was talking about? He seemed so childish like himself! Jouji knew this much, this was DEFINETLY not Atem.
"We believe in you, Yugi!" Tea said before giving Yugi a tight hug and a kiss on his cheek, which made Jouji's head boil. Yugi blushed cherry red.
"I love you, Tea and you bet I will win this game," Yugi smirked before running toward the duel box.
Joey's eyes were widened by the sight. He then asked, "are you and Yugi..."
"Yeah! So?" Tea glared.
"No wonder Atem was embarrassed," Joey muttered.
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Uh nothing... nothing at all," Joey replied with nervous sweat pouring down his face.
"Hm," Jouji humphed while crossing his arms.