The Perfect Stranger The Revised Edition

by Princess Jadykins

Yami is a half vampire/ half human guy on the run from his vampire family, however once he meets Tea Gardner he risks the chance of falling in love, which places them both in grave danger. Warning: Lemons and disturbing plots! CHAPTER 21 FINALLY UP

11. Chapter 11

[Sneaks out into the open]

Hey guys! I am so, so, so, so totally sorry for the lengthy update, but I suffered many complications, because this chapter was so frikin hard to write. Seriously!

A little glimpse behind the scenes of the writing of this story: It took 28 DAYS! To write! Of those, 3 to be edited. It was rewritten three times, much to my annoyance and at the same time – joy! (Ironic aint it?) And last but not least, it is definitely the longest chapter of the story and has the longest flashback in fanfiction history! You are also treated to three chapters in one – yep I combined them!

So any way guys, I really do apologize for taking such a long time, but it wasn't because I was lazy or anything, I put my heart into it! (Whoa…Yami/Atem…Pharaoh, has definitely influenced me!)

Anyway, before I allow you guys to start reading I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for sticking by me! Especially my reviewers, without you guys I would never have had the motivation to continue writing this story. You guys are the drive behind every word and every effort made to create this story and make it what it is. I am so thankful to you guys, because as long as I know that you all have my back, I'll never give up on writing it – even if I'm on a short supply of coffee and chocolate!

So I dedicate this fan fiction, The Perfect Strangers to….. Drkmagiciangrl125 (previously known as Star-fairy if I'm not correct), Peaches, RazzBerrieCharm, Koragirl, Sasusakuhiwatari (I hope I spelt that correctly pal) and last but not least Toxicinity! Thanks a bunch you guys, this one is for you!

PS: Introducing the character Razz (RazzBerrieCharm) …Yugi's about to meet his maker!

And before I forget, thanks for the message Peaches, I did get it!

Okay! Okay! I'll get on with the story now!

Disclaimer: Sadly, Seto's 'show' is apparently too rich to be owned by me…whatever that means!

Rating: Rated…yeah rated M (for swearing and implicated…uh…orange XD) And guys I really do mean potty mouth language, I do apologize, but I couldn't avoid it! It was just too tempting.

AN: This LONG chapter should keep you well entertained for a while. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11

Why…? Why in Ra's forsaken name, had he agreed to this?

To his right, a middle-aged, pedophile appearing man, lost his footing while in a drunken dance and stumbled into him, while to his left a huge bulldozer of a man shoved passed, almost knocking him sideways, an all the while, he did his best to shield Tea from the many drunken offenders, which proved far more difficult than he had previously imagined.

The club smelt of alcohol, sweat and cheap imitations of perfume and cologne, among other familiar substances, which grated on his nerves like a phantom itch that you couldn't locate. Clubs like these were a vampire's worst nightmare. The thunderous music was killing his ears and the overwhelming wave of different and horrible scents that invaded his nostrils, made it hard for him to breathe. Not to mention the claustrophobic conditions in which they were crammed into a small space, packed with humans that were all drunk…their blood swimming around him…

Ra damn it!

The first time he came here, these 'niggly' little irritations hadn't bothered him as much as they did now, mostly because now, still practically high on blood, his senses were ten times better, and all the little things he had been able to overlook, were now ten times worse! Something he should have foresaw the moment his idiot brother opened his mouth. Unfortunately, there was no turning back now.

Glancing around the room skillfully, he took in his surroundings.

Across the room there was a small kind of booth looking area in which a group of leather clad men sat, slamming their fists on the table and conversed in what appeared to be a heated argument, while the booth next to them engaged in a drinking competition. In the far end corner, almost out of sight, there was a young girl been held up against the wall with her legs wrapped around a guy's waist, in a steamy make-out session, which Yami knew wasn't as innocent as it seemed. Other than that, there were roughly about forty other people, all drunk or mostly drunk, on the dance floor or at the bar ordering drinks…wonderful.

Battling and squeezing through the crowds determinedly, they finally reached an oddly deserted part of the club, where they gratefully snagged two abandoned seats. Tea, in spite of been saved many times by her agitated protector, from been pushed and shoved out the way by clumsy dancers, felt out of breath.

"Is it always like this?" Yami asked suddenly, wondering why the club seemed so much different than it had since the last time he had been there. It was also the first time he noticed the twin stripper poles and the stage that they were set upon, right in the back…what kind of club was this?

Tea sighed and lazily rolled her eyes, "It's Friday night, the party day of the week, so yeah. This is actually a lot calmer than usual." She bit the inside of her lip as her mind automatically went back to the many weekend shifts she had to work, and lodged between two particular memories of a certain Friday night and early Saturday morning…

James had forced her to work late one Friday night, and been new and naïve to the job, she hadn't thought anything sinister about it and did so without complaint…she always thought herself a fool for that. When the late hours of the night, turned into the early hours of the morning, she ended her shift tiredly and went alone to the tiny locker room in the basement, unsuspecting of the threat that waited for her there. James, drunk and high, as per usual, slithered from the darkness and caught her by surprise, pinning her against the wall. Too numb to move from shock and fear, and stunned by the familiarization of her father…she couldn't fight him off.

That was the first night of many that James raped her, while everyone partied onward in the very next room, completely unaware of what was happening to her. She woke up that Saturday morning, feeling dirty and unclean, left in the corner of the basement, with him nowhere in sight…he just left her there. That had always been the most painful to her, as strange as it was. Although she loathed her body been used for another's desires, she hated been left right after it had happened…as though she were garbage; which is how she felt that morning, like a used piece of garbage.

It was then that she slowly began to doubt herself, suddenly horrified as the realization of what her memories had just told her, settled within her consciousness. She had, up until this point, forgot about what kind of past she had, and the years of been Domino City's finest slut…

"Tea? Is something wrong?" Yami asked her worryingly, noticing her pained expression and sudden quietness. He didn't want to invade her thoughts again, especially since he wanted to start a relationship with her, and therefore allow her, her own privacy…but Ra it was hard.

She battered her eyelids as though awaking from a trance and gave him a small reassuring smile, "Oh, I'm sorry Yami, I was lost in thought for a second there…did you say something?"

He didn't find her smile, or her answer, convincing, but didn't want to push the subject, figuring that she was probably just worried about confronting her manager James. He gave her a small reassuring smile of his own and shook his head. "I was just checking to make sure you were alright…you've been through a lot in the last 42 hours."

She almost gave in to a bitter laugh, but managed to keep wearing her mask of indifference. Her whole life had been, as he put it, a lot, and here he thought that an attempted suicide, the discovery of vampire existence and falling in love with one that was sort of a freak in both worlds…was too much for her? She looked up into his soul piercing eyes, wondering briefly if he really could see through her, before giving him a small grin. "Life's an adventure right?"

He grinned back, though an argumentative appearing glow began to form in his eyes. His mouth opened slightly, as though he were about to say something; something that she was sure would have started a friendly debate between them. She would have liked to imagine that she would have come out victorious, and that they would have laughed through it all, or perhaps discussed it in that playful, serious way that treaded along a flirtatious battleground…but she could only imagine, because Yami wasn't given the chance to voice his thoughts…

"What the fuck! Tina! What the hell do you think you're doing!" James' angry bark, thundered across the room, which caused some curious heads to turn in their direction. Tea's old instincts kicked in, causing her to cower back slightly in fear, but Yami quickly put a defensive arm across her waist, while lifting off his seat to stand in front of her.

The blonde human before him, smelt strongly of alcohol and smoke, and his clumsy movements, left little doubt that he had been drinking long before their arrival. Just by observing the little movements he made, Yami was able to detect certain traits of James' character. He was able to sum James up in three words; drug addict, alcoholic and incredibly violent… Not someone that he wanted anywhere near his…well around Tea.

James seemed taken aback by Yami's defensive motion, though he quickly recovered and instantly became defensive. "Who the fuck are you? Huh? This your new bitch Tea? Huh? Don't look away from me you little whore!"

Yami almost bit through his tongue, as he fought himself against the almost overpowering temptation to break every bone in James' body. He was quickly losing his temper, which was very uncharacteristic of him in situations like these, but he didn't have the time to figure out why, for although Tea didn't particularly like the blonde human, she most certainly didn't want to see his head detached from his shoulders.

"Hey…James is it? Look, if you want to start something, then start it with me," Yami growled, each word forced through clenched teeth, "Leave her out of it."

James' thoughts were too jumbled and sketchy for Yami to get a proper reading, but by his expression and by the incredible, negative vibes that he gave off, Yami didn't need to. For some reason, there was just something about James that Yami detested, though he couldn't place on exactly what. He just sensed something about the man that he hated.

"Fuck you asshole! Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do with 'MY' girl?"

"…Your girl?" Both Yami and Tea said at the same time, though both tones were totally different. Tea's was one of surprise and horror…whereas Yami practically growled each syllable in a very dangerous, scary tone that sent a tiny shiver up her spine. James had no idea how close he was to meeting his maker.

"Yeah shit head! Tina belongs to me! I own her; now get the fuck outta here!" He bellowed loudly, causing bewildered stares to dart around at them from all around the club. 'If this prick thinks he can steal my little fuck toy, he's got another thing coming!'

Yami secretly caught James' vulgar, last thought, and suddenly realized what this man's intentions were. He also wondered just how far this man had gone in the past to hurt Tea…

Quickly sneaking a glance at the girl behind him, he caught a troubled, immensely tragic look in her blue orbs that were widened in fear, which told him everything that he needed to know.

"Tea…" He growled, straining for control over himself, "Doesn't belong to anyone…you insignificant…son of a bitch!" Screw his manners, this meant war! "And she most certainly…doesn't belong to you…and she never will belong to you." He took a dangerous, intimidating step forward toward James, glaring into the blonde's eyes, with true 'bloody' rage that he was glad Tea couldn't see from her position behind him.

He was about to release a well thought up, death threat, when Tea jumped up from her seat. She was disgusted at been called property by the very man who had taken advantage of her for so long, almost as though she weren't a living and breathing person. That had finally been the last straw. "I don't work here anymore James, I quit!" She spat angrily.

Yami mentally smirked at her newfound confidence, proud at her for stepping up boldly to the slug before them. He reached behind him and took her hand as a comforting and encouraging gesture, chilled at the heat of her skin against his.

James laughed loudly, sending gobs of spit flying through the air, which luckily didn't land on either of them…because if it had, then Yami without a doubt, would have 'involuntarily', knocked every single one of James' teeth out, in one swift and 'unfortunate' reflexive motion…

"You can't quit me babe, I own ya!" James growled with a maddening look in his eye. A look that intimidated her slightly, and she found herself backing down and tightening her grip on his hand, whereas Yami responded immediately, completely unfazed by James' darkened transformation.

"Actually James…she just did, and it would be best if you just backed off and let her, because I'll have no problem with removing you myself," Yami threatened darkly, his eyes glowering into James.'

The tension in the room became extremely apparent and there were hushed voices whispering to each other excitedly around the room. They all expected a massive fistfight and were anxiously waiting for it…which made Yami wonder if humans were all that different from vampires.

The effects of alcohol numbed James' instincts, so he didn't quite receive his sensory warnings and continued to remain arrogant and obnoxious.

"Think you're so tough huh?" James growled, thrusting himself forward, to which Yami once again quickly responded to, by grabbing the scruff of his brown-orange shirt and holding him at arm's distance away, in an iron solid grip. He didn't want to start a brawl, especially in front of Tea, so as painful as it was, he did his utmost best to keep things as civilized as he could between them.

James fought and struggled to release himself, but ended up giving in to a choke of surprise, and Yami took note of the sudden sober expression that was slowly taking place on his bewildered face. "Wha-What the hell!"

"Now listen, and listen very carefully. Tea, no longer works here, nor does she want anything to do with you ever again…so I'll say this in the most civil -" Who the hell was he kidding? "And simplest…way I can… Stay – the – fuck – away – from – her… do you understand me? Yes or no?"

Say no – I fucking dare you! Yami mentally threatened the moron before him.

James shoved himself off, backwards, grunting angrily while giving Yami a murderous glare. They glared at each other for a while, neither backing down, until James gave in and finally cowered back, casting one final death-glare at Tea before storming out the room, through the backdoors, almost throwing a young bartender out the way.

Yami watched on, secretly smug at the coward's retreat. He knew that James was far from done and would be back to start more trouble later, but until then, Tea was safe…and that was all that mattered.

He turned to face Tea, who held a look of disbelief, relief and…discomfort, in her eyes, however the moment their eyes met, the turmoil that took place within them turned into a starry look of admiration and awe, as though looking upon an angel for the first time. It made him wonder if anyone had ever stood up for her before.

"Well, now that that's done, what's next?" Yami asked her in a lighter tone, now that the storm had practically settled.

She glanced away from him, a troubled look in her eyes, which alarmed him. "I…I need to go to my locker quick and get my things…"

Yami nodded in understanding, though he had no idea what was wrong, he was about to probe her mind, but thought better of it. "Don't worry about James, I'll keep an eye and ear out for the creep…but if he does manage to sneak passed, just call my name and I'll be there okay? I promise." His words seemed to have a positive effect on her, as her eyes brightened and a small smile curled onto her lips.

"I'll be right back!"

"I'll be waiting."

He watched her retreating form with a fond smile on his lips. The effect she had on him was as strange as it was powerful, but he no longer had the will to fight or even try to understand it. There was still a lot that they needed to learn about each other, and he still had a few more big secrets that had the potential to break them apart…but for now…all he could think about, was the beautiful girl who said that she couldn't live without him, and the way he got electrifying chills whenever she touched him, her beautiful blue eyes that he swore to make glow and radiate with happiness if it was the last thing he did…and that incredibly, seductive, black skirt…

---

Running a hand through his spiky hair, Yugi took a moment to compose himself, before he stepped through the club's doors. He was anew and refreshed from the consumption of the girl's intoxicating blood that flowed delightfully through his system. Since she was clearly 'out of it' before he drank her blood, the walk into the building, was an eventful one. He was not drunk…yet…but because of the giddy effect that the blood brought, as well as the extra, added effect of having it been spiked, before he consumed it… made him tipsy…perhaps a little more than tipsy.

He greeted everyone; great, big, fugly, and small - with a smile, as they passed him, and once even graced one of the more troll looking one's with a wave, before sliding through the entrance way and unsteadily walking onto the dance floor. He glanced around the room with sharp, hunting eyes, in search of his brother and…blood –whor'- girlfriend, finding the task to be utterly fruitless in such an environment. There were too many strong scents and loud noises for him to concentrate, especially with his already, misty, thought capabilities…

He gazed around slowly until his eyes rested on small crowed gathered in the far end of the room. He saw the back of a blonde man's head, who seemed to be ready to start a fight…how exciting!

He hadn't seen any real action for three days and hoped that this one would turn into a real Jerry Springer brawl…minus the bouncers, of course. He saw that the blonde man had a knife tucked away in his back pocket. Awesome! He hadn't seen a knife fight in ages and thought it to be a rather refreshing change for once. By the loud whispers that seemed to spread from corner to corner, he realized that he wasn't the only one, who was egging them on.

But who was his opponent?

Yugi maneuvered his gaze around the blonde man's form, where load and behold, stood Yami…a very pissed off, Yami. Ra…Yugi hadn't seen his brother this angry since…

"…And simplest way I can…stay – the – fuck – away – from – her…do you understand me? Yes or no?" His brother's voice threatened darkly, to which Yugi gasped in amazement. Did his brother really just use the F- word in front of a lady? Did they somehow end up in the twilight dimension or something?

The blonde man stumbled backward and hurried across the room towards the back, which Yugi didn't find surprising at all, if he had been still human, and in that particular human's shoes at that particular time…he would have crapped himself too.

Making his way towards the couple, he noticed Tea had gone in the other direction, whereas Yami stayed put and took a seat on one of the vacant bar stools, staring after her with a warm, gag-wrenching, love struck gaze… For the love of Isis, did he have to do that in public?

He slapped Yami hard on the back, before slumping down onto the bar stool next to him, giving him a cute, friendly smile, before childishly swinging around to face the front, catching sight of Mai's slender figure, bending over, to serve a drunk crowd that seemed to be doing a 'shooter–challenge.' He was enamored with the size of her chest, and liked the fact that her figure hugging tank top left little to his wild imagination, combined with her long, silky legs that stretched on and on, until met with the denim fabric of her mini skirt. He whistled his approval loudly, before turning to face his very disapproving, appearing brother.

"Tell me her name, and I won't make a scene."

"It's a little late for that," Yami muttered dryly, rolling his eyes.

Mai rolled upward slowly from her bent down position, and Yugi's eyes followed the up and down motion of her chest, which heaved upwards before falling down into its regular position.

"Ra damn it, where the hell were you raised," Yami growled lowly, giving Yugi a light shove with his elbow.

"What!" he asked innocently, giving his brother a mischievous smirk, "I was simply admiring the gods art…and you know as well as I that to appreciate true art, you need to not only examine it thoroughly, but also undress every layer, until you reach its core."

Yami glared at him with a distasteful look in his fiery red eyes, "You Yugi, are a very, very…very…sick individual."

Before Yugi could retort something vile, Mai rocked up. "What can I get…you?" Her eyes, widened in surprise, as she laid her sight on the twins, recognizing only Yami at first, and was somewhat stunned into silence.

While Yami hastily read her mind, trying to come up with a good enough explanation that she would actually believe, Yugi once again, managed to cover for them with his ever-smooth charm that once again, painfully refreshed his memory of their somewhat 'lighter' years.

"I didn't know that a dump like this could afford supermodels," Yugi grinned.

Mai's eyebrows rose, as a tiny, but flattered, smile crept onto her lips. "Why…thank you," she responded politely, aware that he was flirting with her, but her attraction was drawn more towards Yami, who chewed on the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from slipping in a few negative retorts that were slowly, but surely piling up.

"Lets have a Russian Vodka," Yugi suggested cheerfully, glancing at Yami expectantly.

Yami gulped in surprise, giving Yugi a curious look before he responded, "Why?"

"When last did we have a Russian Vodka together?" Yugi grinned, giving in to low chuckles, at what Yami was sure, was the memory of their first experience with alcohol.

"No thanks," Yami muttered as he too began to relive that terrible night…even more so, the morning after. If there was one thing, Russian Vodka, did for the drinker, besides get him completely drunk and make him do things he would regret for the rest of his life… it gave him reason, to never drink again, the morning after.

"Suit yourself, can I get one?" He asked Mai with a wink, to which she gladly grinned in response.

"Sure thing Hun," she charmed, breezing off down the isle to get him his drink.

He turned to Yami, who was staring in the direction of the backdoors, in which the blonde haired man had barged through earlier. "Surely there are better things to look at?" he said, nudging his head in Mai's direction with a smirk.

Yami rolled his eyes and ignored him, while continuing to keep an eye out for James, not even taking note when Mai placed a drink down on the counter in front of Yugi. He thanked her with yet another flirtatious quip and nudged Yami in the side, which brought him out of his trance. "What?"

"Good, you didn't hear me," he chuckled, taking a sip of the fiery drink before setting the heavy glass back down onto the counter. He looked at it with a small smile as a feeling of familiarity fell over him. Although Russian Vodka was incredibly strong and brutal on the throat, as well as unfavorable in taste…it would always be his favourite. This was his secret that no one else knew about, something that he had never felt the need to share with anybody. The warmth and brutality of the drink, brought back one of his favourite memories of the past, one that always brought him back to a much happier time…and one that he often wondered if Yami ever thought about, without scorn or regret…

---

(Flashback)

The sun had just set over the towering sand dunes, when Yugi forcefully, dragged his brother out of the eastern hatch, which wasn't easy to do, as Yami proved to be far stronger than he let others believe. "Forget it! I refuse!" he growled, doing his best to put on an angry stubborn face, but his eyes, that sparkled with amusement, deceived him.

They were both fifteen, but Yami was a few inches taller and acted more like an adult, with sensible, logical approaches towards things compared to Yugi…who embraced his immaturity and acted irresponsibly, on a continual basis.

"Come on damn it! I don't wanna drag your sorry ass across the desert, but I will!" Yugi growled back, tugging Yami forward a few steps, before been pulled back.

"That's what you think!" Yami spat in a smug tone, as he successfully pulled Yugi forward, five halting steps, back into the tombs entrance, feeling smug at the sight of sweat beads, dripping down his brother's forehead.

"Come on Yami, what are you afraid of?" Yugi rasped refusing to give up, though he knew it was pointless to use physical force on Yami.

"I'm not afraid-"

"Then come!" He used his full strength to yank Yami right out of the entrance and leapt backwards so that they were several meters away. Unfortunately, the terrain was against him, as his foot got caught in a mini sinkhole, created by the soft sand, which resulted him, in losing his balance and taking his brother down with him. They landed side by side on their backs, and for a moment were stunned into silence, before eventually giving in to loud, bellyaching laughter.

"Ra damn it, I think I broke my back!" Yugi complained through a wide grin.

"Serves you right you idiot," Yami grinned, while rising from the ground and quickly brushed the sand off himself.

The sky turned into a dusty pink as the golden globe retired for the night, casting the last few rays of orange light, before darkness consumed the world. "Let's go!" Yugi commanded, as he rushed forward at inhuman speed, almost leaving Yami behind.

"Yugi wait! We can't!" Yami cried with an outstretched hand, as though trying to grab his brother and pull him back to where it was safe.

"Come on I'll race you there!" Yugi challenged with a wink, before sprinting up the towering sand dune directly ahead of them. It took Yami a moment to think about it, before he finally gave in with a sigh…just like Yugi knew he would. His brother never backed down from a challenge that he knew he could win. Within minutes they were running across the ancient Egyptian desert, side by side, with the hot air breezily brushing through their hair and a cloud of dust covering their tracks behind them, till they reached their desired location.

A large canvassed covered van was their agreed finish line, and both boys put their all, into their final steps, even attempting to playfully shove and pull each other backward, until finally with one last breath of maximum input, Yami thrust himself forward and won. "Loser!" he mocked jokingly with a small chuckle.

"Screw…you," Yugi panted through a grin. Both were exhausted, but not for long. After a short break, they were soon ready for more, though their energy was required for a different use. Peering beneath the truck, they were able to see humans busy with all kinds of different activities, though completely unaware of their presence. They had come to an archaeological excavation, where over a hundred people had been working diligently and ardently for several months, though it hardly looked as though they were getting anywhere…

"Ah for Ra's sake! Why don't they just use a frikin excavator?" Yugi chirped, crouching down lower to get a better view.

"Do you know how hard it is to back you up when you sound so stupid?" Yami muttered irritably, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position. He glanced around at their surroundings, recognizing the farther eastern part of the Valley of the Kings, which was a rather strange location to come to so late in the evening. "Why are we here?"

Yugi grinned mischievously at him, before gesturing him to follow while crawling out from the under the van. Curious, Yami reluctantly followed pursuit, fully aware that what ever it was that they were about to do, he would regret it, but as always, he pushed that knowledge aside and stayed with his brother as they headed further into the camp with their vampiric stealth. They avoided passer-bys, by hiding in the shadows, allowing their senses and abilities to guide them invisibly through the humans, who seemed too engrossed in what they were doing to notice that others were among them.

It was an interesting place to be in, and the more chaos, the more the fun. They both found the human world to be an interesting place, and although neither uttered many words of it…both longed to be a part of it. They had often snuck out during the day and traveled to the more populated areas of Egypt to walk amongst the humans, where Yami, the more intellectual of the pair, preferred the more educational side of humanity and spent his time in libraries and museums, and although Yugi often accompanied him on most of his activities, he preferred the more technical and gaming sides.

They continued towards one particular metal structure that stood forlorn and out of sight, which Yami came to understand was their reason for going to the dig site in the first place, but only Yugi knew what was inside. He led the way expertly, ducking and diving gracefully like some spy in an action movie, an ongoing gag that he and Yami had often concluded was because of their Japanese 'ninja' heritage…not that either of them knew anything about that side of their family.

Once they reached its side, Yugi decided to answer his brother's unspoken questions. "Guess what's inside," he whispered excitedly, lightly tapping on its metal wall.

"Inside that thing?" Yami whispered back, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as he took in its shape and size. "I don't know…probably supplies or something; it looks like a cool room."

Yugi grinned evilly, "Close…"

An image of a wooden crate, filled with bottles of some type of alcohol, flashed in Yami's mind, and at the same time his sharp eyes widened in shock. "Yugi! No!"

"Come on, you know you want to!" Yugi grinned, giving his taller twin a wink before shifting to the opposite side and cocked his head slightly as he listened for any approaching humans, while Yami endured a minor breakdown.

"Bu-b-but, Yugi! Are you insane? Father is already going to kill us for what we've done already! Now you want us to do this too? Have you completely lost your fu-"

Yugi shoved a hand over his mouth to shut him up, while shoving him hard into the metal wall beside them, keeping his eyes solely focused on a wondering human who passed by, luckily, too engrossed on the clipboard he had in hand, to notice the two teens. "Keep ranting like that and we'll both get busted for sure!" he rasped, giving Yami a hard look, before it instantly melted into a childish, tainted innocent look that always got through to him…against his better judgment. "Come on Yami, don't be a coward! How often do we get a chance like this?"

Yami sighed deeply and glanced up at the metal structure with a defeated look, "I didn't even know that they were allowed to keep alcohol at excavation sites."

"Yami, they're American, of course they will!" Yugi chirped, before soundlessly prying open the door and slipping inside. "Hurry up!"

He glanced around himself cautiously, before joining his brother in the darkness, to which his night vision automatically took over, allowing him to see his surroundings more clearly. It was a lot smaller than it looked from the outside, and could fit in a maximum of six people at a time. There were poorly constructed shelves holding up foodstuffs and boxes, along with many wooden crates packed neatly on top of each other and served as the room's dividers. There was also a giant crate that resembled a sarcophagus that was pushed up against the wall, beneath what looked like a window of sorts.

Yugi didn't waste any time in opening one of the boxes, and pulled out a large glass bottle with a black label wrapped around its torso. He read the label silently with a grin, as Yami stood uncomfortably a few paces away, listening for any signs of approaching humans. "Russian Vodka…" Yugi read aloud in amusement, "Sounds hardcore…these guys know how to drink."

"Sounds like trouble and stupidity," Yami commented negatively, glancing around at their surroundings for the second time. Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes as he pulled out a second bottle and shoved it at his brother with an amused smile.

"Lighten up brother, tonight is going to be a night that we'll remember for the rest of our lives," he said with gentle excitement. "Do something crazy for once and stop worrying. You know that I'll always have your back."

Yami forced himself to relax and held up his bottle with a slight bit of interest for once, instead of concern. He had always been the more careful one and wasn't used to diving into the unknown and taking major risks, yet Yugi's words had yet again influenced and inspired him. He returned Yugi's playful gaze with a defeated smile as he gave in to his twin brother's crazy idea and responded with the same gentle, warm tone that Yugi had used, to say the words that he truly meant from the heart, "Likewise little brother."

Their bottles made a light cling as the glass met in their toast, and they idiotically took a long swig from their own, stopping only when they needed air. The burn in their throat was overpowering, reminding Yugi too much of the withdrawals from not drinking enough blood. He literally felt as though his throat had caught on fire and tears were on the verge of pouring from his eyes, but he refused to show weakness and continued to smile confidently as though he felt nothing, though his hand that was clenched tightly around his bottle began to shake.

Both felt the fiery pain and the sting of their faltering pride, while they stared at each other with feigned confidence for three painful minutes. Yami, determined not to look as weak as he secretly felt, took another smaller sip from his bottle, to which Yugi immediately imitated, until eventually; they discovered that drinking eased the pain…

(Later)

Two hours later…describing them as 'drunk' would have been an understatement. Yugi was able to eventually recollect several days later that they weren't drunk…no…they were totally trashed!

Been first time drinkers had left them incredibly vulnerable to the powerful effect of alcohol, but been half vampires had protected their bodies from the harmful effects that usually came with the heavy drinking, such as, alcohol poisoning…and even allowed them to remain awake through it all without passing out or throwing up, which made been a vampire in this incident great…but after having been able to therefore down almost a whole bottle each, the brothers found that their memories were slightly disorganized and incapable of thought.

Yugi whirled his head around slowly as the world spun around him, looking at their dingy surroundings through squinted eyes, unable to recall where his was. Beside him Yami hummed an unfamiliar tune while staring blankly ahead of himself at the sarcophagus appearing crate, giving into a small chuckle every now and again at nothing in particular.

"Ya-miiiiii?" Yugi slurred.

"Wha?" Yami mumbled, turning his whole body around in a jerky motion to face his brother, almost falling over in the process. The floor seemed to be moving beneath him…which was strange to him. Were they on water?

"Where-tha, ffff-uck ar'rre we?" he chuckled, allowing his head to slump down, briefly grateful that the world stopped spinning when he closed his eyes.

Yami squinted his eyes as he tried to concentrate, finding his thoughts to be rather hollow and empty with a kind of starless night's blackness. The only thing that came to mind was a toy monkey that he hadn't seen in three years, since Seto blew it up…

Glancing around the room once more, he made squinting eye contact with his equally dazed brother, and said with much effort, "…I fo-gottt what ya said."

Yugi hiccupped before staring at his brother with annoyance, "I said…hic, hic…I…"

"Whaaaaaaa' ahhhhh shit!" There was a loud crash as he fell onto a pile of boxes, which scattered on impact and knocked down a shelf that rained its contents down onto his badly mangled body, with the almost empty bottle of vodka still in hand and unbroken. A can of baked beans rolled along the floor, making the only noise hearable in the deathlike silence that soon followed, and was also the only thing that was still moving in the shed, until it met up with Yugi's ankle. Then all was completely quiet.

Yugi only really registered that something had happened when he jerkily turned his head around and saw that his brother was no longer standing upright, but lay sprawled out on the ground, beneath food-cans and soup boxes. Yami squirmed and wriggled beneath them until he was free, glancing around him with a lost expression until he finally rested on the only thing he recognized in the shed…the bottle of vodka that he still held in his hand. Struggling with the lid, he managed to flip it off and took one last, wild swig that finished the remaining liquid in the bottle before allowing it to drop from his hand. However, the noise was much louder than it should have been, and made Yugi flinch out of his staring trance.

He shakily grabbed Yami by the shoulder and stared unfocusedly into his eyes, slowly bring his finger up to his lips, "Yami…sssssshhhhhhh!" They burst out laughing, with tears streaming from their eyes and pooling down their cheeks, neither of the knowing why or even what they found funny. It took them ten minutes to able themselves well enough to stand on their own two feet, after swaying and stumbling over objects that weren't even there, falling and tumbling over each other, until Yami was able to reach the door.

He stared at the handle for a long time, as bits and pieces of his memory were collected in order to establish some sort of instruction and indication on how to open the bloody door…until he eventually gripped the handle and began to pull. It rattled and shook, but refused to budge. He frowned at it, before trying again…and again…and again.

"Shit…it wooon't op'en," he said through a snorted chuckle, rattling the door handle again.

"Wha ya mean…hic…that it wooon't open?" Yugi snickered, while draining the last remainders of his vodka from his bottle.

"It'sss ssstuck!" Yami slurred, shoving his shoulder against it, trying to use brute force, which he didn't have, to shove it open.

"Then how'a we going to get out?" he inquired.

Yami swirled around wildly, losing his balance in the process and fell sideways, falling against the wall and slid down to the ground on his ass. He dizzily glanced around him at the room that was spinning out of control and panicked. "Holy shit! This fucking thing is moving!"

Yugi twirled around in alarm, "Shit! Shit! Shit!" he repeated, although he hadn't a clue of what exactly actually was moving.

"We got'a get out-ta here! Yami cried, jumping unsteadily to his feet discovering the window that he had forgotten about. "The window!"

Both boys sprang into action, and climbed on top of the large crate beneath it and forced the glass pane aside. Yami clumsily fell out of it first, landing first on his neck then flat on his back, sending a mini dust cloud, of Egyptian sand to the sides…something that reminded Yugi, who dazedly stared from the window with a tight, wide grin, of a ninja's smoke bomb…

He began to laugh hard; his whole body jerking in time with each gulp of air that he breathed out, which resulted in him losing his balance and falling on top of his brother, knocking the wind out of him and almost knocking him out cold, as well as injuring himself in the process. "Owww! Fuck!"

Meanwhile, after having heard the commotion coming from within the room, a group of Egyptian diggers nervously made their way towards the cold room's door, whispering amongst themselves in Egyptian. The leader, doing his best to mask his fear, grabbed the door handle roughly and thrust it forward, opening the door outward instead of inward…finding the room empty, save for the empty bottles and what appeared to be 'violent' destruction. He began to quiver slightly, as he peered further into the room, closely followed by the other diggers who were just as anxious.

Yugi attempted to stand up, but gravity defied him and he immediately felt his weight fall to the side of the shed, creating a loud bang that startled the diggers, who as of yet saw nothing but empty shadows. He cursed in Egyptian loudly, insulting more than just human creation before falling over again.

"The curse of the pharaoh is reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaallllll!" The digger screamed, springing backwards through the panicked diggers and fled the scene, to which the others soon followed in pursuit.

Yugi's eyes widened in horror, "Shit there's a fucking curse here! Run!" He pulled Yami's barely conscious body with him as they staggered through the darkness, which wasn't as clear as it used to be, and tried to escape the 'so called' curse that had befallen upon them…

"They ran to the nearest vehicle, which gave Yugi an idea. "I'll drive!"

Yami stopped and looked at the van that seemed vaguely familiar, "You…don't know how."

"I'll learn along the way then," Yugi decided, quickly jumping into the front seat.

Yami had to have been drunk then, because he did something that no one, not even he, would believe later, words that were not in his vocabulary flowed from his mouth without a single conscious thought present to stop them, "All right!"

He climbed into the passenger seat, just as Yugi found the keys, and after several attempts to place the key in the ignition, the van's engine roared to life. "Step on it Yugi!" Yami yelled excitedly, to which Yugi instantly complied with, and indeed…stepped on it!

The vehicle jerked and rushed forward, speeding away from the dig site in a zigzag pattern that sent waves of sand to-and-froe before the vehicle practically disappeared from site. Yugi swerved right and left as though he were driving in a V-rally race. The van bounced and slid down sand dunes until it eventually flew off one, and landed hard on a kind of road, making a horrible metallic clink that sounded as though something beneath it had broke.

"Yuuu-g-iii!…slowwwww…doowwwwnnn!" Yami yelled, instinctively gripping onto something to hold himself down.

Yugi couldn't recall where the brakes were, and glanced down at the pedals with a thoughtful gaze, losing focus on the road and didn't see the Nile coming at the same time that Yami did, "Yugi! Look out!"

"Shiiii-"

Smash!

Yugi had only looked up in time to see his brother's dark form fly gracefully through the window screen in slow motion, extending his middle finger in accusation before hitting and bouncing off the water like a skipping stone, until he was eventually sucked beneath the water. The van flipped and rolled over into the water on its back, flinging Yugi out as well, where he too felt like a skipping stone as he bounced along, cursing Ra on each hit, until the invasion of water smothered him. He felt his body been tossed and turned under the waves, giving in to the numbing feeling that was much like he imagined death to be…until he felt a firm grip on the back of his shirt that yanked him to the surface and dragged him to shore.

He didn't have to see Yami's scowling face to know who his rescuer was, but when Yami spoke, his words were that of a stranger…someone he didn't know and regrettably, would never know again after that night. "Yugi…next time…crash somewhere, where there isn't fucking water!"

… …

The brothers walked side by side, soaked to the bone, along the Nile in silence, often colliding with each other's paths and knocking the other to the side. It then so fatefully happened, that they passed a Nile crocodile…

Yugi's eyes widened in surprise as he gripped Yami by the shoulder and held him back, pointing shakily in the beast's direction. "Holy Mother of Ra! A crocodile!"

Yami, who hadn't yet seen the giant reptile, rolled his eyes. "I may be drunk, but I'm not drunk…" (His younger twin brother would later use those words to tease him senseless, but for the time being, Yugi was a little preoccupied by the giant lizard.)

"That is a fucking crocodile!" Yugi insisted.

"There are no crocodiles along the banks anymore idiot! Haven't been for years and years and years!" Yami ranted, swaying to the side as he tried to continue forward, before Yugi tugged him back.

"What is that then!"

"A hallucination!"

Yugi glanced over to the 'hallucination' before turning back to Yami with challenging eyes. "I bet you don't have the guts to put your hand in its mouth."

Yami straightened himself confidently. "Oh really? Is that what you think? Watch this!" he said defiantly, brushing Yugi's hand off his shoulder as he marched towards the, bigger than average, reptile that remained predatorily still, with its large mouth partly open, allowing just enough room for him to slip his hand in…

He staggered fearlessly in front of the beast, and knelt down on one knee, staring directly into its glassy eye, completely unaware of the slight movement of its tail. He gave Yugi a cocky smile, before thrusting his hand into the beast's mouth, gently grazing it on its sharp fangs. "Ha! What do you think of tha- Yeeeeeeeeeooooooowwwww! Oh fuck! Oh shit!" The crocodile's jaws snapped shut in a death grip, pinning his hand and half his forearm down with his pin-like fangs. "Fuck it! Yugi! Ra damn it!"

Yugi acted immediately, stupidly heading straight for the monster's tail.

"What the fuck are you doing! It's got me by the head - not the shit-hole you dumb son of a bitch!" Yami cried out in pain, desperately trying to yank his arm back, but the crocodile refused to leg go and began to rip at it. Yugi made yet another stupid move and released the tail, allowing it to drop to the ground then tried to step over it, but been chemically unbalanced, tripped over the tail and landed on the beast's back. The jolt caused the large reptile to bite down deeper into Yami's arm.

"Owwww you huge son of a bitch!" Yami ranted, throwing a deathblow punch directly in its jaw, causing it to loosen its grip slightly, but not enough for Yami to escape.

It then performed a death roll, taking Yami as well as Yugi for a ride, but too drunk to realize any of it, Yugi remained where he was, and was rolled over to the ground before been rolled on by the incredibly heavy beast. "Sh-iiiiiiiiiiiiii-t!"

Once Yugi was out of the way, the reptile then began to forcefully pull Yami into the water with him, but Yami, being way stronger than the average human, was able to keep his ground, playing an incredibly painful game, of tug of war. Yugi, although crushed and in pain, managed to stumble to his feet and dart over to his endangered brother. He kicked out at the beast's head, which caused it to instinctively release his brother's arm and go for the foot. Luckily it only managed to sink its teeth into his boot and not his flesh, and pulled it right off, causing Yugi to stumble backwards.

"What the Ra!" he raved in horror, as it bit and tore at his prized leather possession. "Son of Set!"

Yami grabbed the back of his arms and yanked him up, practically dragging him along as he sprinted up the bank, "Run!"

But Yugi refused, and halted in his step, glaring angrily at the beast ahead of them. "No! That son of a lizard has my favorite boot!" he yelled, before storming off in its direction like a rogue wild animal. "Give that boot back you green bastard!"

The reptile swerved and snapped at Yugi, intending to either rip off his arm or rip out his throat…either way, it was in kill mode. Yugi tried to yank the battered fabric from out of its mouth, but almost ended up losing his arm in the process. It swished dangerously back and forth, almost too quick for Yugi's drunken mind to process, and eventually succeeded in making him trip over his own feet and land in the perfect position for the croc to subdue him, but before the croc could rip out his throat, or Yami could attempt a rescue…something odd happened.

The oversized – brown – reptile was flung backwards through the air by an invisible force, creating a large splash in the distance that seemed to thunder in the silence of the night. Both boys watched with wide, shocked eyes, stunned into silence. Neither knew of what exactly had happened…neither able to bring their thoughts into words, until Yugi, never one to keep his thoughts to himself for very long, broke it.

"Well that's…not something you see…everyday."

They heard a light thud on the hardened ground behind them…before their numbed senses sobered, allowing them to both sense the eerie presence and power, of a being of their own kind. Although still an eternity away from soberness, Yami still had his natural protective instinct to spin around and face their pursuer while forcefully shoving Yugi behind him, ready to take any threat to his brother's safety…when it became clear whom they were up against. "Oh shit…"

The tall vampire stood before them in his trademark posture…his body, perfectly straight with his arms folded and his piercing blue eyes that glowed like angry lightning bolts, glared at them disapprovingly, with his mouth set in an angry, straight line, and his dark brown hair lightly shifting in the breeze. Yami felt his stance relax slightly at the somewhat… 'Friendly vampire.' Friendly, meaning they were from the same clan. There were other vampire clans in Egypt, but none of them were on good terms with theirs, and were incredibly dangerous, especially for Yami and Yugi, who were the most vulnerable of the clan, having been apparently cursed with a weaker human side in their genetic build up, hence the reason why they weren't allowed to travel out the tomb at night without a fully fledged, vampire escort.

By the look on Seto's face, both Yami and Yugi knew that they were in trouble.

"Cousin!" Yugi greeted cheerfully, "Our tower and pillar of strength!" he mocked, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of their incredibly uptight, blood relative. That was the thing about Seto; he never smiled. Neither Yami nor Yugi, had ever seen their cousin ever shed a single emotion other than anger or disapproval, otherwise he wore an emotionless mask that in the place of everything else. He also hardly ever said a word, and when he did, it was never anything positive, but Yami always had a feeling that there was more to him than the miserable bastard he made himself to be, but Seto was after all a vampire.

Yugi also recognized their cousin as someone not to be messed with…although he never really learnt from his previous encounters; such as the time Seto broke his arm because he wouldn't stop, irritatingly, poking him in the side, or the second time…or the third time…or the time Seto snapped one of his collar bones…

"Evening Seto," Yami grinned amusedly, finding the fact that they were busted to be hilariously funny.

Their cousin, as expected, didn't greet back, but instead continued to glare at them with his obvious, icy disapproval. His lightning bolted gaze, lowered to the gory open wound on Yami's forearm that oozed rivers of dark crimson blood, which was taking a much slower time to heal than what was normal. Been drunk and high on adrenaline for the time being, Yami hadn't noticed any of it, including the pain, and continued to grin stupidly at Seto, wondering what the hell the abominable snowman's problem was.

"Come!" Seto's voice commanded, a very rare occurrence indeed, rarer than a crocodile appearing along the Nile that was for sure, but Yami didn't feel like going anywhere.

For once he wanted to be a rebel, it had always worked for Yugi, so for once he felt that it should have worked for him too…unfortunately, it never occurred to Yami, that they were dealing with someone that not even Yugi had gotten through to yet…but Yugi wasn't about to remind him of that.

"I'm not going anywhere! I'll go where I want to, when I want to!" Yami bellowed defiantly, crossing his arms in a cheap imitation of his taller cousin's posture. Seto cocked an eyebrow and eyed Yami with a look that border-lined surprise.

"If I were you Atem…I'd want to go home then," he said darkly, which was probably the most words he had ever said in his whole life, surprising Yami greatly. He briefly wondered how many languages Seto knew and understood, and if he ever even practiced them.

"Good fucking thing you're not me then huh!" Yami smirked, feeling as though he had won the argument…when in fact he was nowhere close…in fact, he would later discover that Seto never lost an argument…ever.

He was still smirking when the world went black, the last thing he saw been Seto's fist.

When he eventually came around, they were back in the tomb and although the crocs bite hurt like hell, the worst pain came from the headache and swollen right jaw area in which the older, half-fully- fledged vampire's right hook had given him. Dendera, who had once been a nurse during the ancient times, had brushed passed Yugi to treat Yami's wounds. She hardly spared Yugi a second glance, preferring Yami to him as she always did.

"Tsk tsk Prince Atem…you have suffered many painful wounds…what have you been doing?" she breathed seductively in his ear, sending chills through his body. It made Yugi sick to his stomach, but he said nothing. He knew of his brother's dislike for the beautiful seductress from the very beginning, and knew that in this case, it was the alcohol talking.

She trailed light caresses over his body, stimulating him sexually, before she addressed his wounds. Seto leant up against the wall, watching her erotic performance with disinterest. Yugi briefly wondered who his first time had been with and if he had ever slept with her before, but then he suddenly realized that he had never seen or heard Seto with anyone before, though that would have been physically impossible, as vampires suffered the worst sexual frustrations known to man.

"You boys should leave me to my 'work.'" Dendera purred, as her hand traveled downward to where Yami's most sensitive area was located.

"I'm not leaving my brother alone here with you," Yugi stated strongly, crossing his arms over his chest with a determined look on his face, though he didn't have to wait long before Seto yanked him out the door and literally dragged him down the corridor. "What the hell are you doing!" he growled, while thrashing and clawing at Seto in vain.

"Ra damn it, Seto let go of me! Dendera will rape him!"

Seto remained silent and continued to drag Yugi along behind him, heading in the direction of the room that the twins shared. Remembering his thoughts from earlier, he temporarily forgot Yami's predicament and asked Seto the forbidden question, much to his cousin's great annoyance. "Hey cousin, I was wondering…I've never seen you with a slave girl before…are you a virgin? And hey, if you are, don't be embarrassed, Yami is one too!" Yugi had forgotten himself, thanks to the help of Russia's finest, and instead of whispering began to yell out each word, which traveled tremendously far in the solid, wall confinement of the tomb…

Seto ground his teeth together in irritation as Yugi ceased to realize how loud his voice actually was, and continued to babble about pointless crap that meant absolutely nothing to blue eyed man. "Or you know, if you're gay…well you know what, we can live with that you know…I mean our culture forbids it and all…and usually fags get stoned…oh shit, no offence about the name calling…uh I meant to say that, we'll support you okay…I'll even get you a male bondage slave to fuck!"

There were snide remarks and snickers from the other vampires further down the corridor, as Yugi unintentionally humiliated his cousin, who was on the verge of strangling him.

"What do you say Seto?" Yugi asked cheerfully, as they came to a sudden halt. He turned around and gave Yugi the coldest look he had ever given anyone…which was the last thing he saw that night, before Seto knocked him, completely out cold.

(flashback ends)

Of course the next day he had woken up with a blue eye, and fuzzy memories of the night before that didn't make sense at the time, as well as a killer headache that made him truly believe that the end was near. It also didn't help that he had woken up, sprawled out on the cold, hard stone floor that had tiny pools of his own blood, drenched onto its surface, though he was glad that whatever cuts they had come from, had healed in his sleep.

Yugi didn't remember much of what had happened the morning after that night, except that the hangover nearly killed him, having been the most painful experience of his life and of course that Yami had woken up in Dendera's bed…and well…yeah.

He had to snicker at the memory, though he knew it wasn't in good taste.

"What are you laughing about?" Yami grumbled.

"I was wondering…do you remember that night we first tried one of these?" he asked, lifting up the glass as an indication of what he was talking about.

"Yeah, how could I forget the worst mistake of my life," he muttered bitterly.

"Oh come on, it was fun!"

"You didn't wake up the next day with Dendera snuggly curled up in your arms, so of course you thought it was fun," Yami growled, as the image of her pale naked skin wrapped around his form, replayed in Yami's mind, filling him with disgust.

"I meant the fun parts."

"What about them?"

"Well…do you ever think about them?" Yugi asked curiously, unaware of how important it was to him, to hear what Yami had to say.

"No."

Yugi blinked once as a small frown appeared on his forehead, "Why not?"

"Because it was the stupidest thing I have ever done and I ended up making the worst mistakes of my life, and the only thing I am ever able to identify that memory with is pain, nausea and regret…not that you would know anything about that," Yami hissed bitterly, glaring at Yugi with hostile eyes.

Yugi was taken aback by Yami's comment, unsure of how to respond. "You really feel that way?"

Yami laughed without humor, its tone related more to that of someone sad than angry, though only Yugi picked this up. "Some of us…aren't liars."

---

Tea made her way down into the basement that had an old, musty scent that gave her the chills. She hated coming here, but it brought her a tiny amount of comfort in the turmoil of anguish emotions, to know that this would be the last time she ever stood foot in it. There wasn't much in her locker, except for a few odds and ends, and of course the tiny photograph of her mother that she treasured so valuably.

She yanked the locker door open a little more roughly than what she had intended, almost pulling it completely off at its hinges. Damn it! Everything was falling apart again, the door, her life, and her potential fairy tale romance that she was adamant, never stood a chance to begin with. The confrontation with James had proved that she would never be able to run from her past. She would always be reminded of her broken background and bad choices, no matter how hard she tried to change. Yami would never want her now, not after he found out…

She felt something wet on her cheeks, and stroked them with the back of her hand. Tears. Why did life always have to be so damn hard?

She walked over to the tiny, ugly little bathroom that the staff used, and turned on the cold-water tap. It jerked and moaned, before finally allowing the water to pass through, spitting and hissing it out, almost as though shunning her too, just like the rest of society did. She allowed the healing properties of water to wash away her tears, feeling a little calmer and relaxed once its refreshing touch cooled down the heat of her emotional pain.

She knew she had to tell Yami about everything, knowing that it would be worse if he found out from anyone else, which was a guarantee in Domino City. She had to work up the courage…and she had to do it tonight. Yami had risked everything, even sounding insane; to let her in on his secret… it was only fair that she did the same.

Forcing herself away from where she was 'safe,' she made her way up the stairs, back to the club, which seemed to have doubled in size within the five minutes that she had been gone. She could see the side of Yami's handsome face from where she stood, surprised to see that he was frowning and muttering something to Yugi that she was too far to hear. He looked…angry.

She bit her lip, feeling her hardly-existent confidence waver as she made her way over to the boys, who immediately dropped whatever conversation they were having and turned their attention onto her. Yami's face instantly smoothed over into a warm smile as he turned to face her, whereas Yugi simply gave her a mischievous grin and a wink. It was almost as though nothing had happened.

"Hey boys," she greeted, doing her best to level her voice and mask her true feelings. "Did I interrupt something?" She reached up to dust a few chocolate strands out of her eyes at the same time Yami did, causing their skin to brush up against each other, to which he felt her body shudder as a pleasurable chill ran down her spine.

"Na, Yami and I were just…"

'Oh come on you two! Not in a public space, some people only want to suffer a hangover tomorrow when they wake up for Ra's sake!' Yugi's mental voice growled angrily in both their minds, causing Tea to gasp and almost fall off her seat.

Yami reached out and supported Tea, confused at first by what had startled her, until he realized that she was staring at Yugi with bewildered surprise. He immediately glared at his younger twin, who sat laughing at her shocked expression, almost shedding tears. "Yugi! Ra damn it!" he growled. What part had Yugi not understood about introducing things slowly to her?

"It's okay Tea, you've just experienced Yugi's extra ability, telepathy…I was going to explain-"

"I think we should order lime shots!" Yugi suggested randomly, giving Tea a wide grin, deciding to ignore the patronizing stare that Yami gave him. "We're here to party after all aren't we? Leave the important crap for later for when we all have hangovers tomorrow and feel as though the world's going to end anyway."

"Yugi it's already morning," Yami grumbled through tight lips.

"Do you always have to be an asshole?"

Almost as though on cue, Mai suddenly appeared before them, eager to serve and please. "What can I get you guys?" she said in a flirtatious tone, completely ignoring Tea.

"Get my brother a lime shot to brighten his mood, Tea, a pink flamingo and me…well…I wouldn't mind a flaming orgasm," Yugi smirked, giving Mai a seductive wink…That she fell for! Her heart fluttered in excitement as her attraction, that she couldn't help, but feel towards Yugi, grew, and she immediately returned the wink, practically floating away to fill in their order.

"Behave yourself!" Yami growled threateningly, as Tea's cheeks turned pink.

Yugi gave Yami a mocked look of bewilderment, as though he had absolutely no clue what his brother was talking about. "I am behaved!"

Mai brought back their drinks, handing Tea an unfamiliar type without meeting her eyes, though she gave Yami and Yugi and extra friendly smile. They all watched in fascination however, when she set Yugi's drink alight, and cautiously placed it in front of him with a curious glint in her eyes.

Yami widened his eyes slightly…so the flaming orgasm was a real drink after all. Who would have thought?

"Hey Yami, tell me…have you ever had a flaming orgasm before?" Yugi smirked, the double meaning of his words carefully disguised by a semi-innocent tone.

Yami bit his tongue before a nasty retort left his lips.

Tea and Mai watched him curiously as he downed the drink easily, without burning himself and swallowed the fire along with it, whereas Yami just rolled his eyes.

"You should try one of these, they taste really good," Yugi recommended sincerely, gently placing his empty glass down. "Not only is our bartender just about the sexiest in the city, she can also make one hell of a killer drink." He flashed Mai a hot smile, which earned him a flattered chuckle in response.

Tea couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was Mai actually blushing?

She looked down at Yami's untouched drink, and grew concerned. "Are you okay, you haven't touched your drink yet?"

He gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm not much of a drinker…"

'Vampire says what?' Yugi's mental voice cried.

"…alcohol wise." He added, flashing Yugi a brief dirty look, before giving Tea another warm smile.

Her eyes widened in surprise, he gave her yet another reason for her to love him, proving once again how different he was from all the other 'men' she had had in her life. "Really? How come?" without realizing it she had pushed her drink aside, intrigued by the mysterious man who sat opposite to her.

"Let's just say…that I lost the hype of getting trashed a very long time ago, after learning a very valuable lesson about the after effects of alcohol consumption," he said through a smile, to which she eagerly returned.

"So now he pretty much sucks," Yugi chirped dryly, snatching Yami's drink from under him and downed it in one go. 'No pun intended…'

"Slow down Yugi," Yami warned, eyeing the third empty glass that joined the small collection that was slowly starting to form around his brother.

"You're not the boss of me," Yugi grinned, his eyes slowly losing their focus…

Tea giggled, before an odd, random thought came to her. "You guys are so different from each other."

Yami nodded his head once; his face more relaxed than it had been a second before. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Totally! I have personality, charisma, charm and a raw sex appeal…whereas my brother has absolutely no personality at all - and is quite a bore…hey that rhymed! Did anyone notice that that rhymed?"

Yami rolled his eyes as his brother slowly started to head towards a drunkard state. "You forgot to mention that I have height as well." He smirked despite himself, to which Yugi narrowed his eyes in threatening glare.

"I'll bring you down a level."

"Can you reach?" Yami smirked with a cocked eyebrow.

Tea tried to stifle her laughter, but failed. It was good to laugh again, especially now that she had even heavier baggage, weighing down on her shoulders.

"You bet I can!" Yugi boasted cockily, not about to be outdone by his taller brother.

"I meant without a ladder." Yami's grin, turned into a small relaxed smile as Yugi fumed in annoyance. This was so much like how it used to be between them that suddenly Yami was able to forget that Yugi was no longer alive, and mould into the misty reality that the old Yugi was right there by his side and not a cold, undead thing.

Tea's favourite song began to play then and her face immediately lit up, which both boys picked up on, though Yami was the first to figure out why. "Favourite song?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically.

Yugi got up from his seat. "Well then, been the gentleman that I am…Tea? Would you like to dance?"

She grinned playfully at Yugi, "Absolutely!" she said excitedly, before turning to Yami, who grinned back at her, "Would you like to dance?"

Yami laughed. "I'd love to."

"Ouch! The memory of why I act like such a dick just came with a bang!" Yugi muttered in annoyance, though both could tell that he was just as amused as Yami. The young couple flashed him grins before they disappeared onto the dance floor, leaving him alone at the bar. He noticed Tea's untouched drink and pulled it towards him, wondering suddenly why the color looked slightly off. For some reason it seemed fainter than it should have been, though he wasn't sure if he was just imagining things. He decided to overlook it and downed her drink too, finding its taste to be normal enough, though rather weak in comparison to what he had drunk earlier and not nearly as enjoyable as it looked.

He was still sucking on his tongue as the weak after taste settled in, when a girl walked up to the stool beside him. The moment he laid eyes on her, a strange feeling overcame him. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though he couldn't recall ever setting his sight on her before, yet there was something stirring in back of his mind that gave him the feeling that he should have remembered something.

She was a couple of inches taller than him and appeared to be a rather feisty, kick ass type. Her pixie hair cut fascinated him the most, having perfectly straight ebony locks that reached down to the back of her neck, brightly illuminated with wild red highlights. Her dark brown eyes were merciless and hard, and he had no doubt in his mind that the young beauty before him, never took crap from anyone.

"You got a problem?" she hissed without looking at him, obviously sensing his stare more than seeing it. Her muscles were tensed and ready to fight, which made her look sexier, than intimidating in his eyes.

"Yeah actually…I do. A moment ago I thought Domino City was completely devoid of true beauty, but then you just walked in here, and changed my mind," he said flirtatiously, though she didn't seem to buy it.

"Save it for a bimbo that gives a crap," she replied harshly, nodding in Mai's direction for service.

"Wow feisty and beautiful, it's my lucky day," he stated boldly, shamelessly taking in every curve of her petite form, though luckily for him, she didn't notice.

"One paradise kiss," she ordered once Mai came around, giving Yugi a glaring side-glance.

"Make it two Mai," Yugi grinned, to which Mai automatically returned.

"I never accept drinks from shady characters I don't know," the girl stated, her posture stubborn and closed off.

Yugi smiled at her innocently, welcoming the challenge that this girl was unintentionally bringing forth. "Hi, I'm Yugi. I like long walks through cemeteries, interested in human dissection and ancient human sacrificing rituals. I also drink blood on regular occasions and you may hear rumors that I belong to the occult from time to time, but that's only because I can't go out into the sun, without turning to ash, during the day…and now that you know me, you should have no problem with accepting that drink."

"Do you think you're funny?" she asked dryly, in an extremely unimpressed tone.

"Well the drinks help," he stated through a grin.

She hesitantly took hold of the glass, giving him a wary glare, as she took a small sip. "I'm Razz."

Yugi smiled as he won the first round. "A pleasure to meet you Razz," he said politely, secretly hiding his smug smirk. However, he suddenly felt as though his body was floating, even though it was firmly seated on the stool, and his vision began to swim slightly. He shook his head once in an attempt to clear it, before refocusing on the girl before him, who gave him an odd and curious look.

"So do you come here often?" he asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Just…working out my killer strategy," he grinned, slowly but surely losing his sober mindset.

Razz, unaware of the double meaning in his words, slammed down her empty glass, losing whatever little patience she had left, with him, and spun around to glare directly into his ruby red eyes with the exact determined hardness he had seen earlier. "I'd just like you to know that I am a state martial arts champion, from a very long line of martial arts champions…I've taken on guys three times my size and proudly hold five records in my name…so you better hear me when I say that I am not interested."

Taken guys down three times her size! Wow, he was starting to really like this girl more and more.

He whistled in approval. "I wouldn't mind if you took me on," he said suggestively.

She gave him a growl of disgust, "We'll see how you feel when you see your guts sprawled along the pavement!"

"I love a girl that wants to get to know me inside out," Yugi winked, enjoying aggravating her more and more. However, he suddenly became curious. "What kinds of martial arts do you do?"

Razz ground her teeth together in frustration, having had just about as much of him as she could stomach, but found the question he asked to simply be just too tempting to ignore. "What kinds do you think genius?"

Yugi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully; "I'm guessing Judo, Kendo…and no doubt Aikido."

"And karate," she added dryly.

Yugi smiled at her knowingly as though he knew more than he let on, which made her slightly uncomfortable. "Na…there's more to your training than that. You practice other fighting techniques don't you?"

Razz gave him an uncomfortable look. "How would you know?"

"Well…judging by your height, I'd say you'd have to master the Jujutsu techniques, since you're probably going to always be a little shorter than your opponents, and – no offense- being female, you're mostly at a physical disadvantage, so you would often have to use your attacker's force against them."

Razz's eyes widened slightly, though she refused to allow him the satisfaction of knowing that he caught her slightly off guard. "Those methods are covered in judo and aikido too you know."

Yugi grinned at her, "You're not the type to learn snippets of something, and please, they may cover the technique, but you and I both know that it isn't the same, nor as effective."

Razz was startled but impressed, "How do you-"

"Know? Well I can kind of, read people very well," he said as he gave her a seductive wink.

"You sound like you actually know something," Razz responded.

"Ooo, ouch! Yet another strike for the hot girl in red," Yugi chuckled.

"Does pointless flirting ever get you anywhere?" Razz said, while rolling her eyes in the opposite direction.

"On normal, boring girls, yes." He smirked; giving her a playful gaze that he knew would annoy her. He knew that all he had to do was use his mind controlling ability to make Razz his…but for some reason, his ability lost its appeal when he thought how mindless she would be, and he didn't want her to lose that fire that burnt so brightly within her.

"Domino City guys are such creeps," she mumbled under her breath, unaware that she had spoken aloud.

"When did you figure that out?"

"Shortly after arriving."

He gave her a curious look a raised an eyebrow, "Then why stick around?" There were so many other questions that were whirling around in his mind, but for some reason he felt that this particular one was more important.

"I'm looking for someone…" she said after a long pause, her voice low and inaudible to human ears. Yugi watched in fascination as her emotions showed the first sign of vulnerability he had seen all evening, a sign that this wasn't just anyone that she was looking for; it was someone very important to her. She rose from her seat and met his eyes, the hard look returning to them immediately. "Thanks for the drink." She turned to leave, but Yugi couldn't resist one final assault.

"Hey, you aren't going to leave without giving me your phone number or something to remember you by now are you?" He grinned evilly.

She gave him a sweet innocent smile, finally reaching her tolerance level with his vulgar suggestions and remarks. Yugi wondered if she'd either slap him or punch him, placing his best bet on a right hook, though she managed to surprise him. Her hand swiped down and grabbed hold of their neighbor's half finished glass of whiskey and flung it at him, sending a shower of strong smelling liquid down the side of his face. "To remember me by," she added sweetly, before spinning on her heels and walking away.

He stood up unsteadily as the world spun around in a wild dance that almost knocked him over, forcing him to grip onto the table top for support. He grinned after her, admiring her a little more than he should have. "Was that a no?" he called out, to which a response was never received.

He began to chuckle lightly, glancing at his agitated neighbor, before throwing down a twenty. He found that conversation to be rather fun, and temporarily forgot that there was still something about her that he was supposed to acknowledge. He was still too caught up in the moment to take note of the three, tall men that formed a group around him, their eyes hard and dark glaring at him murderously.

He felt their presence and turned to look at them with a cocked eyebrow. "Yo…what's up?"

"You the punk that messed with our boss?" the tallest one asked, with a voice that sounded like thunder.

"It's possible," he grinned, giving into a low chuckle, as his sober mind-state, threw in the towel.

As if on cue they all raised their hands and cracked their knuckles into place…obviously having had watched one too many gangster themed movies during their lonely weekends. Yugi knew that he was in for a fight, but unfortunately for the wannabes before them, he wasn't going to be so easy to defeat.

Bring it on fuckers…

---

Yami walked out through the double doors holding Tea's hand. After a while of dancing she had asked to go out for some fresh air, which he gladly complied with, having had enough of the club's interior. She had also mentioned that there was something important that she had to tell him, though her tone when she had said that had bothered him, as though it sent some silent warning to his subconscious. However, instead of reading her mind, he decided to rather wait for her to say it herself.

The air was cool and refreshing, allowing both to relax simultaneously. It was relatively quieter outside the club, though there seemed to be more people outside than inside, which were taking too great an interest in the couple than Yami would have liked. He eyed them suspiciously while he and Tea walked a little further on, stopping just short of one of the large red windows.

"Thank you for tonight," Tea said in a low voice, her gaze seemingly faraway and remorseful.

"It was my pleasure Tea," he responded warmly, taking hold of her hand.

"Um…Yami…there's something that I -"

Her words were cut off by the loud commotion and hysteria that came from within the building. It sounded as though a war was been fought, with the sounds of roaring, and glass breaking as well as the occasional thud and loud cheering that suddenly rang out.

Both Tea and Yami whirled around to face the window, wide eyed and shocked.

"What the heck is going on in there?" Tea gasped.

They heard shouting and the sound of a table been flung aside and smash into a wall.

"I don't kno-" Yami didn't have time to finish his answer, as a dark figure hurled through the air and smashed through the window, which practically exploded on the impact. He reacted immediately by swinging an arm around Tea's waist and swung her body into him, before shielding her with his own against the shower of glass that rained down on them, while the figure hit the ground hard and rolled onto his back.

"Owwwwww…." The figure moaned in a familiar voice, which caught Yami's attention.

"Yugi!" he gasped in surprise.

Yugi glanced over at Yami dizzily with a wide grin. "Oh there you are!"

"What the hell happened?" Yami cried, loosening his grip on Tea's body, but not letting go.

"I…uh…hehehehehe…I don't…hehehehe," Yugi's body rippled in laughter, which often made him choke.

Yami glanced down at him in concern, which soon turned into suspicion. Usually it was obvious when someone was drunk, but something different was occurring here, though he couldn't place his finger on exactly what. "Yugi, explain to me what happened," he asked irritably.

Yugi gazed up at the broken window, while still lying on his back, his mind blank and empty. "I jumped out the window!"

Yami ground his teeth together, trying to remain calm, "Why?"

"Because I-aaaaaaaaiiiiiii be-lieeeeeeeevvvve I can fl-yyyyyy…hehehehehehehe!"

"Okay, that's it!" Yami growled, yanking his brother up by the back of his neck violently.

"Careful with him Yami, he could be hurt pretty bad …" Tea warned, glancing at Yugi with worry filled eyes.

"Don't worry about him Tea, immortals aren't easy to kill," he muttered bitterly, tugging his brother along down the road.

"Where…we going?" Yugi asked through snorted laughter.

"Home," Yami growled, continuing to drag him along, while Tea stayed close to him on his opposite side. He realized that he couldn't leave Yugi by himself in such a condition, when sunrise was barely just a few hours away. So grudgingly, in spite of the fact that he hated what Yugi had became, and still hurt over the betrayal…he was still his brother. That would never change, no matter how much he wanted it.

"Why-hy-hyhhhyyy-hehehehe?"

"Because you are so totally trashed, you don't even know where you are, and the sun will be up soon!" Yami lectured angrily, tightening his grip around Yugi's neck.

"I am as jober as a sudge!" Yugi choked, before giving in to another fit of laughter, which tea found infectious. She began to giggle, though she desperately tried to stifle them for Yami's sake, who was fuming with anger.

Ra damn it…why the hell had he agreed to this?

---

Tea glanced at her watch, shocked to see that it was nearing 2 a.m. She felt for sure that it was much later than that, especially after everything that had happened. It was much colder now than it had been earlier and dew covered most of everything that was left out in the open, while an eerie quietness took over the sleeping world. Occasionally a shout or two, would break out from somewhere in the distance, but most of the time it was deathly silent, save for the sound of their light footsteps heading in the direction of her apartment. The pair had just dropped Yugi off at Yami's apartment, which took a while longer than expected, because Yugi had decided that he wanted to go swimming in the filthy, unkempt fountain that was situated in front of the building. Tea had never laughed so hard in her life, as Yami had struggled with his shorter twin, eventually dragging him in by the ankles, through the front doors.

She wished she knew what Yami was thinking as he walked close beside her, deep in his own thoughts…or so she thought, and found it to be too soon when they arrived in her neighborhood, mentally sighing at the thought of having to part with him. "You know I still have your jacket."

"Oh yeah…actually, you should keep it…it looks good on you," he said after a few minutes of thought.

She laughed softly under her breath as a light blush burnt on her cheeks. "It's kind of big…"

He grinned, "I noticed…but it still looked good."

She leaned closer to him and almost gasped in surprise when he automatically wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her up against him as they continued toward her apartment complex that had since, appeared in plain view. She was contemplating on inviting him up for a while, willing to do anything to make sure that he stayed with her for just a bit longer, but unsure of how exactly to go about it.

Yami secretly stole a glance at her pondering expression, having heard snippets of a mental argument that he found quite amusing, although he knew that reading her mind was wrong.

As they reached the tall front doors that led into the building, Tea turned to face him shyly; nervously brushing a few chocolate strands out of her eyes, while her mouth twitched to say something, though she couldn't seem to bring, what was been yelled loudly in her mind, into verbal and audible words.

"Do you want me to come up with you?" He asked with an innocent smile, his question catching her off guard.

Her blue sapphire eyes widened in surprise, though sparkled with delight. "Uh…well, yes totally! But not if you're like busy or anything!" She babbled on nervously, ending off with a nervous laugh while her cheeks flamed red. He stifled his laughter with a tight, amused grin, catching her off guard once again when he unconsciously caressed her right cheek that felt warm against his cool skin.

She flinched at the contact, which made him instantly regret the action. "Oh Ra, I'm sorry Tea, I forgot myself there-"

She gripped his hand before he could remove it, holding it in place against her cheek, as tears that she desperately fought back, began to form in her eyes, "No! Don't stop…" Images of her past flashed through her mind as memories of her father ripping her pajamas off savagely during his nightly visits, the many dress up games that he forced her to play, the sick photo shoots and home videos that he directed in the basement, the sick numbing feeling she'd always get when he or anyone else ever touched her, the beatings she received for defying him…everything that had ever made her feel worthless in the past, suddenly exploded within her, and she desperately needed Yami to hold onto.

She flung herself in his arms, scared that she would fall into the despair that her mind had trapped her in and into her father's outstretched claws that threatened to pull her down and claim her once and for all. Yami immediately wrapped his arms around her protectively, worried that her thoughts were once again guarded from him, meaning that she was point blank terrified. He felt her body shudder and tremble within his embrace and tightened his grip. "Shhh, Tea, hey…it's okay, what's wrong? Are you cold?"

"No…Yami…there's something that I've got to tell you…I tried to tell you earlier, but then Yugi…there's something that you have to know about me," she said through small sobs.

He pulled away from her slightly, leveling his gaze with hers before wiping away her tears. "What is it Tea?" he asked softly.

She bit her trembling lip as fresh tears escaped the corners of her eyes. He looked so handsome and strong, a pillar of strength that could have withstood the wrath of a hurricane without collapsing, and made her feel every bit as safe as one would feel in the arms of an angel…the safest she had ever felt her whole life, and yet it now occurred to her that it may be her last. It may have sounded dramatic when she declared that she couldn't live without him, but she had truly meant it, with whatever was left of her broken heart. She had never had anything to truly wake up for and be happy about, when death as easy as it was, offered a much better place. Yami had changed her life, and woke up the little girl inside herself, who once upon a time, fantasized about meeting and marrying a handsome prince and living happily ever after in a world where suffering and hardships didn't exist. Without him…she couldn't go on…she couldn't go back to her old way of life, now that she knew what it felt like to be with him…

He couldn't hear what she was thinking, but more or less sensed her distress. He cupped her face gently, confidently staring into her eyes. "It's okay Tea."

She shook her head slowly from side to side as tears fell from her eyes, "No…No Yami it isn't!"

"Don't be afraid, whatever it is…I'll protect you…I promise," He whispered soothingly, rubbing her wet cheek with his thumb. He had never seen her like this before, and couldn't help but wonder if he had done something to upset her.

"You won't after you hear what I'm about to say…you'll never want to see me again!" she sobbed quietly, tightening her grip on him, savoring every second of what she was sure would be the last time he would ever hold her.

He held onto her a little tighter, breathing in her delicious scent. Had the circumstances been different and he wasn't concerned more about her than anything else, he may have grinned at the wild turn of events that had an ironic flavor to it.

"Tea…the first thing I want to do, the moment I open my eyes, is to gaze upon your lovely, beautiful face. So that assumption of yours my dear, is highly unlikely," he whispered in her ear fondly, tightening his arms around her.

"You'll never forgive me…what lies in my past…" She bit her lip and closed her eyes, desperately gathering strength for her terrible confession.

He sighed as he gently lifted up her chin so that their gazes met and gazed into her heartbreakingly sad eyes that he wanted to banish for eternity. The gods had not made her jewel-like eyes to look so broken and dull, they were meant to be filled with laughter and warmth, something that he swore he would accomplish before he breathed his last breath in this lifetime. "Tea…please, trust me."

"I do Yami…but I'm scared!" she sobbed, lowering her gaze so that she was no longer consumed by his burning coals.

"I swear Tea, there is nothing that you have to be afraid of. I'll always protect you."

"Yes there is…my father…I have to be afraid of my father." She whispered, feeling the temperature drop several degrees as the world froze over in ice, and time itself had seemed to stop.

Those thirteen little words had opened up a floodgate, as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, to which he was finally able to solve. "Your father?" An image of the scowling man in the alley, glaring at him with a familiar set of blue eyes, eyes that he had obviously passed on to his daughter. It all made sense now…

"He's going to kill Yami! He came back…just like he promised he would…he's going to finish what he started!" Although to a wondering ear, her words made no sense at all, but Yami understood them perfectly and patiently listened to the turmoil of thoughts that filled in her verbal gaps, holding onto her more protectively as her feelings intensified.

"Tea! Tea! Shhh…nobody is going to do anything to you, not while I'm here protecting you…I won't allow it," he stroked her hair lovingly, which calmed her down a little and cleared her thoughts, making them easier for him to read. "Tell me…is this the man you were running from that day we first met?"

Gulping back a sob, she slowly nodded her head, blinking her tears away. "He's…a very bad person Yami…he…he…" She shut her eyes, trying to block out the mental image of her father assaulting her with his soulless blue demonic eyes that glared evilly into hers.

"What did he…" His words trailed off at the sudden realization of what she was trying to tell him, hit him hard. "Tea…did he…"

She couldn't meet his eyes, feeling so ashamed.

His arms tightened around her waist solidly as he deepened the embrace. Now it was his turn to desperately need something to hold onto, to focus on her and love her, in order to control the raging temper that was threatening to explode within him. It wasn't impossible for him to find and kill her father before sunrise, in fact it was so realistic that he was actually tempted to do it…but she needed him to be by her side, and by her side he would remain for as long as willed it. "I swear that I'll never let him touch you ever again…or let anyone else ever hurt you in such a way ever again," he whispered darkly, sending pleasurable chills up her spine.

She flung herself out of his arms, releasing new tears as she gazed up remorsefully into his own startled one, before shaking her head. "I'm not worthy," she whispered. "I'm not…"

His eyes widened in shock, "Tea! Don't say-"

She shook her head vigorously, swishing her hair back and forth. "No Yami, its true…I'm unclean and even lower than my father!" she cried, taking a small step away from him, feeling a break in her walled up emotions. "I'm…I'm exactly what James called me! A whore! The whore of Domino City! I have slept with so many guys – guys that are just like my father! Guys that I knew would wake up and leave me in the morning but did it anyway, because I was just that pathetic! Any guy that offered it to me, I took up on…I'm so disgusted with myself even now…I've let guys use me…because I was too weak to fight them off…weak physically and emotionally…you deserve-"

His lips smothered her words as he dashed forward, once again wrapping his powerful and strong arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground as he kissed her with just about everything he had. Her sweet and delicious taste drove him wild with excitement, as did the feeling of her body perfectly molded against his, and the overwhelming rush of need between them intensified. He loved her…and he needed her to know that.

Breaking away from the kiss, he cupped her face gently and stared into her eyes. "Tea?"

"Yes Yami?" She asked in a quiet whisper, still dazed from their electrifying, first kiss.

"Don't ever degrade yourself in such a way ever again," he said warmly, stroking the side of her face tenderly.

"But Yami-"

"Shhh…you are not a whore, or a slut…or whatever the hell it is that people call it nowadays," he said as he wiped away the last remainders of her tears, while still holding her face. "Do you know what I see, when I look at you right now?"

She shook her head slowly, swallowing hard.

He smiled at her tenderly… "I see a beautiful, beautiful girl…who has so much love to give and had received none in return. I see a girl that in the past, has been taken for granted and mishandled by a couple of spineless lowlifes and jerks that had absolutely no idea of what they had… A girl that from the very first minute I laid my eyes on, haunted my mind, and refused to allow me to think of anything else…a girl that I would sell my soul to be with, and should anything happen, to her, my life would cease meaning."

"Yami!" She gasped, feeling his words tug at her heart.

He leant down and eagerly pressed his lips against hers, once again cradling her in his arms as he lifted off the weight of the world from her shoulders. The pair felt an icy cold wind wrap around them as Yami, lifted her from the ground and used his vampiric speed to transport them through the complex's double doors and right up to her front door, without her even realizing it, until he pressed her back up against its rough wood.

She suddenly became aware of the solid backing that she was pressed up against, and opened her eyes, shocked to see that they were inside. She broke the kiss with a small, confused gasp that earned a low chuckle from him. "Sorry about that, but you were still shivering, so I thought I'd bring this inside," he whispered giving her a 'Yugi wink' that proved that they were brothers after all.

She smiled up at him, "I'm impressed…you're pretty fast." He grinned down at her, before gently catching her lips in a gentle kiss.

"Come in…I won't take no for an answer," she whispered huskily, unlocking the door behind her and pulling him inside.

"Guess I have no choice then," he said through a smirk, stepping through the doorway and closing it behind him. She smiled up at him as relief settled over her at the revelation of the darkest part of her past had finally come to light, by someone who she knew she could trust and did with her life.

It was as though she saw him for the first time, taking in, just how mind-blowingly attractive he was, and how he had chosen her, out of all the more beautiful girls in Domino City, he had chosen to be with her…and here they were…all alone…just the two of them… The thought had her heart racing.

He gently brushed a few rebellious strands of hair away from her eyes, and stared down into them with controlled intensity that seemed to burn a hole deep within her soul. It was in that simple, yet powerful moment that she knew that she loved him…a confirmation that was definitely welcomed. His touch sent shivers of arousal coursing through her body, and she suddenly wanted to feel more…

'Take me – just take me,' she silently pleaded to him with her thoughts, the only place she ever dared to say anything intimate or passionate to him. She could have sworn she saw his eyes glow for a short second, before he reluctantly, having heard her thoughts, brought his lips to hers.

Although she had never been a stranger to kisses, she had only read about the explosive sensations that flamed through her the moment their lips touched, taking her completely by surprise. He bit down on her bottom lip gently, sliding his tongue over its surface before suckling on it. He was such a great kisser…

She felt the heat of his passion warm her as she deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue along his, finding him just as delicious as he looked. She pulled herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck a little roughly, feeling her body react positively to his.

Yami struggled for control of his own, as his body screamed for hers. He shuddered as she pressed up against him, feeling his control begin to slip. He had only meant to take things lightly between them, but that was slowly starting to brew into something less than innocent. He could feel his body heating with intensity and swelling in his lower regions as her body continued to mould perfectly into his.

Her skin felt hot against his, and before he knew it, an uncomfortable needy ache that was hard to ignore swelled below his belt line. He hastily broke the kiss, breathing heavily and with much effort pushed himself away from her, though the desire in his eyes was as evident as the fear in them. This was a very dangerous line to cross, though it pained him to resist.

"We shouldn't," he whispered huskily, attracting Tea even further to him. She breathed in heavily as she tried in vain to gain control over her body, which would have crumbled into a pathetic heap if he hadn't held it as securely as he did.

"Why?" She whispered breathlessly, her body both wanting and needing his.

"It's too dangerous," He whispered back softly, but deep down they both knew that no matter what, he wouldn't hurt her. There was no reason for him to hold back, which made it all that much harder to resist.

Something stirred within her then that she had never felt before, a powerful feeling that warmed her from within. She shook her head as a new spark of confidence pulsed through her, allowing her to go further than she had ever dreamed or dared. "Not when I'm with you Yami…"

[AN: Refer to chapter one where the rest of this scene plays out if you wanna ;-) ]

---

Wow you made it! Now how was that for long? Yeah I agree – too long. However, there was a strategy in all this…you see, you're too tired to throw anything at me right now – hahaha! Yeah peeps! I really can fly! LOL.

By the way the flashback originally wasn't going to feature in this chapter, as I thought it to be rather pointless and long, but after much persuasion from a certain sibling of mine, I wrote it in…I hope nobody minded it too much. Oh and one more thing about the flashback, the shed-scene was based on a true story, involving a brother and a sister actually…minus the diggers and desert of course.

I'd like to thank RazzBerrieCharm for allowing me to use her as a character in this chapter, I hope that I didn't offend her in anyway, and was able to catch some sort of essence that she was able to relate to in some way and I sincerely apologize if I didn't meet up to her standards.

I'd also like to thank you all for taking the time to read my hard work, I know that it was a lengthy process and I bow down to all of you! I really hope that you all enjoyed it, and that it wasn't a waste of your time, and I can't wait to hear your opinions.

However, as you all know, I like to involve all my readers with decisions regarding future chapters. So here's the scoop… I need a cute pet name for Yami to give to Tea; so does anyone have any good ideas?

And last but not least, there's going to be some steamy action for a mature audience in the next chapter…but it's a surprise. Mwahahahaha!

I have no idea when I'm going to be able to update again, as Christmas is around the corner. However, I'll do my best to get it to you as soon as possible, and I'd like to wish you all a safe and happy Christmas, till the next time I see you. Lots of loves and kisses… Sav.