Not good, you guys are catching up with my done chapters. Once that happens...updates probably won't be happening every week. I'm trying to stay ahead of you guys, but it's easier said than done. Right then, I do not own Yugioh, Safe and sound by Taylor Swift, Hakuna Matata by Lion King's Disney, I swear by Boyz II Men, My endless love by Lionel Richie ft. Diana Ross, and I will survive by Gloria Gaynor. Whoo, that's a lot of disclaim, enjoy! [YUGI, YAMI, and ATEM]
Chapter 27
"No, I guess I'm just surprised that you brought him, is all." Seth whispered.
"We just feel more comfortable with him in our eyesight, especially after last month's incident." Atem whispered back.
"I still can't believe he tried that." Marik whispered.
"Tried what?" Malik asked.
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Marik said quickly.
"Well, I'm going to worry about it! Yugi is my friend and I have the right to worry about him." Malik said his voice rising in volume.
"He's awake." Atem said in a normal voice.
"Oh, oops." Malik said like he was grimacing.
"No, don't worry about it. He's been slowly waking up since Seth mentioned us bringing him." Atem said brushing some his bangs out of the way.
BAM!
Yugi jumped to attention in Yami's arms. Oh, so it must have been him brushing his bangs out of the way. Ryou stood in the doorway breathing heavily. He looked very angry, and looked as if he was on a mission of sorts.
"Malik, I'm sleeping at your place tonight." Ryou ground out.
"Actually, I'm sleeping h-here, in this room." Malik sort of stuttered at Ryou's infuriated and scathing look.
"Yugi, I'm staying over." Ryou said turning his attention onto him.
"O-okay! We'll have a sleepover! I'll invite Jou and we can all sleep in the Ruby room together!" Yugi said getting excited.
"Never mind Marik, I'm sleeping in the Ruby room tonight." Malik said grinning as Yugi whipped out his phone.
"That's fine I'll just sleep in the room next door with the King and Queen." Marik said offhandedly.
"I'm sorry, you'll what?" Yami asked blinking at him.
"I'm sleeping with you guys, clean out your ears woman!" Marik said in a teasing voice. Yami deposited Yugi on the ground, and started to chase Marik around the room.
"I am not a woman!" he shouted along with some other obscene words.
"You sure acted like one the first couple of years of being that guy's mate!" Marik teased back pointing in Atem's general direction.
"Yug'! Yug'! Yugi!"
"Huh? Oh, right! Hey Jou!" Yugi said looking away from the show, err scene, in front of him. Atem snickered at his thought.
"What's up?" he asked.
"We're throwing a four person slumber party in the Ruby room tonight. You're showing up, no excuses!" Yugi said making plans for him.
"I am?" Jou asked.
"Yes, because I know Ryou and Malik would very disappointed if you didn't come." Yugi stated like it was obvious.
"Okay, hold on a second. HEY, SETO HAVE FUN ON THE DATE TONIGHT WITH SETH! OTHER PLANS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR ME IN THE FORM OF MY BEST FRIENDS!" Jou shouted into the phone making Yugi pull it away from his own ear.
"Jou, we've talked about this. Yell after you've pulled the phone away from your own ear." Yugi said after he cautiously put the phone back to his ear.
"Right sorry, he doesn't look too happy. He'll get over it, so what time?" Jou asked excitedly.
"Ummmmmm, five o'clock!" Yugi said pointing to the ceiling like he was claiming a victory.
"See you then!" he said before hanging up.
Yugi looked back towards Marik and Yami and promptly burst out laughing. Yami had Marik in a head lock, and Atem was trying to get him to release the vampire. Yami was refusing of course, but one had to give Atem his props for trying. At that moment Akeifa walked in, in his wolf form. All black and noble looking, even with that little white stripe on his nose. He looked around before spotting Ryou duck behind Seth, as if he was hiding from Akeifa.
"Whoa, what are you doing here, Akeifa?" Yami asked releasing Marik who fell to the ground. Malik snapped a picture before he could get up.
"Another graceful moment to add to our book." He practically sang.
"What book?" Marik asked as Akeifa shook his head and crawled over to where Ryou was.
He practically bowed to Ryou as he whined at him. Ryou crossed his arms and turned his head away. Akeifa reached up and tugged on his jacket slightly, still whining. Ryou took it off and turned his back to the wolf. Akeifa dropped the jacket, and nudged his head into Ryou's side, as he gave out a low whine.
"No!" Ryou snapped at him. Akeifa turned onto his back, and showed Ryou his belly, giving him a wolf's apology.
"I don't care! I am not forgiving you for this, and that is final! You can't whine your way out of this one." Ryou said turning his back on the wolf again. He half transformed, something Yugi had only seen Kaiba do before, his top half was human, while his bottom half remained wolf.
"Come on Ryou, I'm sorry, please, please come back to the caves." Akeifa begged.
"I said, no, and I mean no!" Ryou said marching out of the room and into the bathroom slamming the door.
"Ryouuuuuuu." Akeifa whined, dragging out his name as he walked over to the bathroom door and gently knocked on it.
"And he says we create a scene." Yugi muttered as he sat down on the bed with Malik.
"You do, but I think we all create scenes when we're upset." Malik said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. So when will you and Marik make one?" Yugi asked grinning at his friend.
"Funny, but he hasn't given me any reason to be upset with him…yet." Malik said giving him a light push before tapping his chin in thought. Yugi laughed into his hand, before going back to watching Akeifa trying to coax Ryou out of the bathroom.
"But he didn't mean it. You know how moody Bakura can get sometimes. He feels really bad, and would have come himself, if he wasn't so big and heavy." Akeifa was arguing with whatever it was that Ryou had just said.
"Pfft! That's a very poor excuse. I'm pregnant, so I should just be able to get away with being an ass all the time." Ryou said in a mimicking voice. Everyone was muffling their laughter into their hands.
"Now, you know that's not what I meant." Akeifa said in frustration.
"But it's true." Ryou said.
"That's not the point, please, just come out of the bathroom, Ryou?" Akeifa begged again.
"Never thought I'd see a day where the Alpha of a pack would be begging and pleading with a human." Atem commented quietly. A comment that Akeifa apparently heard.
"Shut up, vampire, this has nothing to do with you!" Akeifa said pointing back at Seth who looked highly offended at being blamed for his King's words.
"Uh, don't you guys have a meeting?" Malik asked looking down at his watch.
"I swear to every God known to man that when I find those vampires, I'm going to wring their necks!" Isis's voice was heard walking past their room heading towards Atem's, Yugi's, and Yami's.
"They sent Isis?" Marik squeaked.
"They mean to kill us." Yami said shaking his head.
"Don't worry, I'll avenge you 'Tem and 'Ami." Yugi said from the bed batting his eyelashes at them.
"Come on." Yami said grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm bringing mine!" Marik said grabbing Malik and throwing him over his shoulder as well.
"Uh, we're leaving Ryou, but I imagine we'll be back later." Yugi shouted towards the bathroom.
"What!?" Ryou shouted opening the bathroom door.
"Gotcha!" Akeifa said grabbing his arm.
"Just don't have sex on my bed please. I want it to be pure for when I finally get to take Malik." Marik said before he left the room making the brightest blush Yugi had ever seen spread across Malik's tan face.
"I shall respect that." Akeifa's voice was heard saying before they turned the corner and out of sight.
"So, what's this meeting about?" Yugi asked.
"You, being quiet." Atem said.
"I don't need to be reminded." Yugi said with a slight pout.
"Don't worry, I'll keep Malik over by me so they won't talk." Marik assured as he slipped into the room first.
"I know, not a peep." Yugi said before they entered as well with Seth right behind them.
Atem and Yami walked straight up to the head of the table and deposited Yugi into his usual spot. They turned back around and suggested that they wait for Isis, since she wanted to be late. Several of the vampires snickered at this, which turned into muffled laughter when Yugi stood up and smacked them both upside the head.
What was that for?
You're the one who's late, not her.
Yugi plopped back down in his seat; swung a leg up over the armrest, and resting his back against the other. He was going for a confident, in charge; sort of look, but from his mate's faces he had to assume that he had only managed a sort of lewd look on the chair. They licked their lips again, before turning away from him as he took his leg back down off the armrest.
"I said no, and I mean no! Now go home you stubborn wolf!" Ryou said bursting into the room and occupying Isis's vacant chair.
"Psst, Ryou!" Malik said in a loud whisper.
"What?" Ryou asked back in just as loud of a whisper.
"If you're going to be here, you have to be quiet." Malik whispered.
"Okay." Ryou whispered back nodding.
"I can't find them anywhere, and I found this wolf pacing outside the door!" Isis exclaimed coming into the room.
"Great, now that everyone is here, let's begin the meeting." Atem said in a brisk voice.
Isis looked as if she wanted to strangle him. She walked over to her seat to find it already taken. After pushing Ryou out of it, she sat down. Yugi and Malik muffled their laughter in their hands at Ryou's surprised look while Akeifa raised his hackles at Isis. Ryou simply huffed and sat in the throne with Yugi.
"Your face, priceless." Yugi said through his laughter to Ryou.
"Shhhh, we're supposed to be quiet." Ryou whispered back.
"Sit Akeifa! There shall be no growling during this meeting! If you're going to be here, then be quiet!" Yami ordered of the wolf who gave him a look of great loathing before sitting down very slowly.
"Begin Mahad, before we have any more interruptions." Atem commanded.
"Right, this emergency meeting is being held due to the number of rouges that somehow got into the city undetected yesterday. So far we have at least three theories of how this came about…" Yugi started to tune him out. This meeting was going to be a long one, and boring to boot. He contemplated starting up a conversation with Ryou, but one look from Atem silenced that thought process quickly. So he went back to looking at the glamorous ceiling, and counting down the hours before this meeting was over.
[Time skip]
Atem.
What Yugi? The words were snapped over the mind link.
Uh, I think everyone could do with a break, you've been at this for five hours now, and well-
GRRRRRGLLLL!
Ryou's hungry, that's the third time his stomach has growled in the past five minutes. Atem and Yami shared a look of disbelief before turning it on Yugi.
He is, can't you hear his stomach growling at you? Yugi pointed at Ryou who shot him a confused look.
Ryou's hungry?
Yes, of course he is.
And you're…not?
Hey, I have complete control of my hunger. My stomach doesn't tell me when I'm eating, I tell it. He leaned back in the chair crossing his arms over his chest confidently, for about five seconds.
GRRRRGLLLLLL!
"We are having an hour long break, I expect everyone back here by then." Atem said smirking as a steady blush crept up over Yugi's cheeks.
"Finally." Was the word that was heard around the table the most as people got up and left.
"Seth, Mahad, Marik, stay put!" Atem said sharply.
"But!" they all protested at once. Atem gave them a look that demanded obedience.
"Yes, Pharaoh." They all said simultaneously bowing their heads.
"Err, my King!" Seth corrected himself.
"Yeah, that's what I meant too, King." Marik said scrambling to correct his mistake.
"Me too." Mahad said nodding. Atem rolled his eyes as he grabbed Marik by his collar and strode out of the room. Malik slipped off his lap and onto the floor.
Malik got up and dusted off the invisible dust off his pants, before walking over to where Yugi and Ryou were and lying across their laps. Yugi had a feeling he was doing this mostly to annoy a certain vampire in the room, but also because he wanted to be close to them. Yugi smirked, and ran a hand through his hair, getting an angry noise out of Yami.
"Can we skip the second half of this meeting? Please?" Malik asked.
"I think that would be wise." Yugi said nodding.
"We can explore the Palace!" Ryou suggested shoving Malik off of them.
"Hey!" he shouted in protest from the floor.
"Oh yeah, I can show you guys the library!" Yugi said excitedly.
"You have a library?" Malik asked in surprise sitting up.
"Yeah, I discovered it…recently." Yugi started to tell them when he had discovered it but backtracked quickly and replaced the story with a single word.
"Let's go find it right now!" Ryou said shooting to his feet.
"Wait, if we're not here when Atem gets back, he'll be upset." Yugi said grabbing his wrist.
"Especially, with how hungry Ryou is right, Yugi?" Yami asked his eyes slanted in amusement.
"Ha ha, right." Yugi said looking away and letting go of Ryou.
"Oh, that's what you were talking about when you were pointing to me. But Yugi, it was your stomach making noise, not mine." Ryou said frowning and scratching his head in confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Yugi said a blush creeping onto his face slowly.
"Little liar." Yami whispered in his ear, making Yugi jump and look up at him. In doing so though, he connected lips with Yami, and Yami was quick to take advantage.
He kissed him slow and gentle, coaxing, as if he was trying to find something. Just like…just like how he used to, before things became complicated. Yugi ran his hands up his chest and to his shoulders, kissing him back in that same slow and gentle way. Yami cupped the side of his neck, rubbing his thumb along the juncture between his neck and shoulder. He moved over him more, pulling away, tilting his head in the opposite direction and re-connecting their lips. Yugi moved his hands up further, and tangled them into the hair at the nape of Yami's neck. Kami, he was enjoying this kiss.
"Ahem."
And he really despised the person who was interrupting. Yugi pulled away from Yami to see Atem standing their looking less than amused. Now, Yugi knew he could hear his thoughts as clearly as Yami could, so why was interrupting something so good? Atem rolled his eyes and pointed to an all too familiar tray behind him. His order was clear enough without words to Yugi. Eat. Sighing, Yugi slipped out of the chair and Yami's slacked embrace to sit next to Ryou so he could eat his meal.
What's your problem?
I don't have a problem.
Yes, you do. What's with the cold attitude?
Stop it.
No, not until you tell me what is wrong.
Listen here you ungrateful little-
Atem? Both heads snapped towards him, and Yugi quickly returned his eyes to his plate.
Yes, Yugi?
Are you upset with me, and just taking it out on Yami?
Sigh, no Yugi. I'm upset with myself and taking it out on Yami.
That's…not very nice.
No, it's not. Please eat.
I am.
Oh, right, mind link. You can eat and talk at the same time.
Uh huh.
Yugi, I want you three to head back to our room for the rest of the day.
Actually, we were going to go to the library.
Fine, just stay there until we come for you.
"Akeifa!" Yami shouted across the room. He looked up at him.
"You'll be going with Ryou of course? And his friends too?" Yami asked. The wolf nodded before going back to his raw steak.
"Well, that's settled." Atem said walking over to Yugi.
"Yes?" Yugi asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.
"Keep yourself safe, please." Atem said kissing his hair.
"Always, to the best of my abilities." Yugi said looking up at them feeling a strange emotion bubble up inside of him. Atem's eyes widened at him slightly, before turning sharply and heading back to Yami. He whispered something in his ear, and Yami's eyes widened before looking over at Yugi. Yugi blinked back twice, and Yami shook his head turning away and saying something back to Atem. Atem nodded, and sat down in his throne pulling Yami into his lap.
You know, most people talk about others after they've left the room. Yugi looked away shutting his eyes in slight annoyance.
As such, he failed to notice the twin like smirks on his mates faces. They were planning something, that much was obvious. Their smirks turned into grins when Yugi's eyes shot open as he suddenly found himself sitting in both of their laps. This was only made possible by the fact that both of them were sitting halfway on the chair.
Aww, are we being rude? Yami placed his chin on Yugi's shoulder grinning up at him.
Very. Yugi turned his head away.
Surely there's a way we can make this up to you?Atem's hands started to travel further south. Yugi yelped and shot out of the chair ending up in a surprised Ryou's lap.
"I'm trying to eat, Yugi." Ryou complained eating some more of his mashed yams around him.
"Yeah, well they're being inappropriate." Yugi said pointing to his mates.
"Not my problem." Ryou said rolling his eyes.
"If you want, Yugi, it can be my problem." Malik volunteered.
"No." Marik shot down.
"Marik is mean." Yugi said pouting.
"He is mean." Malik said before slipping out of his lap and popping up on the other side of the table. Yugi grinned and did the same. Ryou must have felt lonely surrounded by vampires, because he was popping up on the opposite side too.
"Pass me my tray, 'Tem." Yugi said. Atem rolled his eyes and slid it over to him. Marik and Yami did the same for Malik and Ryou, as Yami slipped into Ryou's vacated chair.
Just because you're over there, doesn't mean we can't get to you.
But I thought I needed to eat?
Cheeky little imp.
Only around you two.
"If you wanted to flirt with them, why not just stay over there?!" Akeifa shouted making everyone jump at its suddenness.
"I'm not flirting." Yugi grumbled.
"Like hell you're not. Come Ryou, we're leaving." Akeifa said in a commanding voice.
"I'm not a part of your pack, Akeifa. You can't just order me around and expect me to obey." Ryou said in an icy voice that Yugi had only heard him use once or twice in his lifetime.
"Uh, library?" Yugi asked Malik by looking around Ryou's angry form.
"Sounds good to me." Malik said nodding.
"No, you're not done eating yet." Atem said sternly pointing at his plate. Yugi grabbed a handful of cranberries and shoved them in his mouth before getting up.
"Whes gwo." He said grabbing Ryou's arm, and Malik grabbed the other they dragged their friend away from the now growling Akeifa. As Yugi closed the door behind them, he caught a glimpse of Atem restraining Akeifa, and motioning for Mahad to follow them.
"Come on, this way." Yugi said starting to lead them down the hall.
"What's going on, Ryou?" Malik asked him putting an arm around his shoulders as Mahad hovered a good distance behind them, but following none the less.
"Yugi first, what happened last month?" Ryou asked drilling his eyes into the back of his head.
"I'll tell you tonight when Jou's here." Yugi sighed as he turned down another hallway.
"Then so will I." Ryou said in a haughty voice.
"Fine, but you will tell us." Yugi said as he opened the door to the library.
"Whoa, this is bigger than Domino's." Malik said letting go of Ryou to move into the room.
"So will you, Yugi." Ryou stated firmly coming to stand beside him.
"Of course, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from you guys forever anyway. It probably would have come pouring out of my mouth when I was drunk sometime." Yugi said shrugging as they watched Malik run between the shelves.
"Yugi, is your sister coming to the Christmas Eve ball?" Mahad asked suddenly from behind in a quiet voice making both him and Ryou jump.
"Um, I don't know." Yugi said turning around to look at him.
"Well, if you don't who is supposed to?" Mahad asked standing up straight.
"Uh, Atem? Yami?" Yugi suggested like it was obvious.
"No, I could never ask them." Mahad mumbled looking away.
"Why?" Yugi asked.
"It's your job to find out then." Mahad said like that made it final before ushering them into the library since the three of them were standing in the threshold.
"Look, they seem to have a book on every subject here. I found one on Greece!" Malik said excitedly shoving the book in their faces as soon as they had found sitting in the middle of an aisle.
"Uh, yeah, just don't try to leave with them." Yugi said scratching the back of his head.
"Why?" Malik asked lowering the book to look at him.
"Because some of them spark some kind of a barrier in the door and literally throw you back into the library." Yugi said avoiding eye contact and shuffling his feet slightly.
"I'm here, you may go vampire." Akeifa said, walking up to them, in a surprisingly calm voice.
"No, my King gave me an order I cannot disobey." Mahad said folding his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, well he told me to tell you to get your ass back there, only I think he said it more nicely." Akeifa said with a jerk of his thumb. How on earth was he managing to stay half and half for so long?
"Pfft! I don't believe you." Mahad said looking away.
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Just-
Yugi opened his phone, and waited for Atem and Yami to realize the same. He could hear them talking to each other over the line. Now, they just needed to realize that he could hear them too. He thought that last thought a little mockingly, and it seemed to have the desired effect as the talking ceased.
"Did we really need to listen to the whole thing?" Atem asked.
"Yes, it's a new ring tone." Yugi said nodding even though he knew they couldn't see him.
"And why have you changed the ring tone?" Yami asked in a lazy voice.
"Because it was fitting for yesterday." Yugi responded shrugging.
"Well, tell Mahad to get back to the meeting, please." Atem said sounding as if he was pinching the bridge of his nose.
"But…he won't listen to me, I'm not his King." Yugi said turning away.
"Doesn't matter, we've told all residence within the Palace to follow your orders as they would Yami's and mine." Atem said.
"Really?" Yugi asked his eyes lighting up with excitement as he turned back towards Mahad. Mahad was wearing an expression that said 'oh, crap'.
"Yes, now send him this way." Yami said before hanging up.
"Okay Mahad, you're to get back to the meeting now." Yugi said seriously. Mahad sighed in relief, nodded, and started to walk out.
"By the way, you're to skip the entire way there." Yugi added as he reached the open door. He glowered back at Yugi over his shoulder before he started to skip down the hallway.
"Have him sing Mary had a little lamb." Malik whispered in his ear.
"Oh, and sing Mary had a little lamb, too! You can stop when you reach your seat and sit down!" Yugi shouted after him. He stumbled in mid skip, before starting to sing Mary had a little lamb, and continuing to skip. Yugi and Malik hung onto each other as they laughed at the image making its way around the corner.
"We should invite Jou over now." Ryou suggested.
"He's right; this just isn't the same without him." Malik said coming down from his laughter slightly.
YUGI!
What? You can't tell me that you didn't find it amusing.
That's not the point. You shouldn't abuse power.
But it was amusing, yes?
Yes, it was amusing, and slightly disturbing. Don't do it again.
I make no guarantees.
Oh, you're a handful, like usual.
You wouldn't love me if I was anything else.
He certainly does make life more interesting.
Whatever, everyone's back now, so we'll talk to you later.
Bye.
Love you.
"Okay, he's coming over!" Ryou said closing his phone.
"We should meet him at the door." Malik suggested.
"Yeah, since he doesn't know where the library is." Yugi said nodding.
"Come on 'Keifa! We're leaving!" Ryou said passing him. Yugi and Malik followed. Akeifa sighed before changing back into his wolf form, and following them out.
"Wait, why am I leading? I don't know how to get to the front doors from here." Ryou said stopping to look back at Yugi and Malik.
"Come on, this way." Yugi said laughing before taking the lead and leading them towards the front doors.
After many twists and turns through the hallways, they made it there. Yugi wondered briefly if he should let his mates know. Nah, they were in a meeting, and didn't like to be disturbed during them. He could feel slight annoyance and an immense amount of curiosity through the link. Should he sate it? Nah, they had made it very clear to him that they did not like to be disturbed during meetings over the past couple of months. So he would just wait to tell them what they were up to now. Atem sent him an image of Yami banging his head on the table, with everyone looking on in concern. Yugi burst out in laughter, earning him looks from his friends; just as a shaggy beige wolf came trotting up to them. This wolf was twice the size of Akeifa, and was also the reason for why he wasn't a part of the pack.
Akeifa barked and growled at the approaching wolf. The beige wolf growled and barked back. Akeifa turned his head away in what could only be considered as shame. The beige wolf snorted slightly before sitting down. Yugi, Malik, and Ryou shook their heads as the wolf turned to look at them with giddy golden brown eyes. They swarmed it instantly.
"Hey, Jou." They said petting, scratching and rubbing him in the places he liked to be, but only when he was a wolf. They had learned that rather quickly, that he only tolerated being treated like a petting zoo animal when he was in his wolf form. When he was human, it was unacceptable.
"See? Jou, doesn't mind." Ryou said giving Akeifa a pointed look. The wolf in question snorted at him, before making his way down the steps. Jou tensed beneath their hands, a low growl sounding in the back of his throat. Akeifa gave a sharp bark, and Jou relaxed. Jou shook his head, as if trying to shake away water, before changing back into a human.
"Okay, so what are we doing?" Jou asked standing up.
Unlike Akeifa, he could keep his clothes on when he transformed, so he wasn't nude. Ryou had asked him about that once, and Akeifa had told him that when you were a part of a pack, you're clothes were ripped to shreds when you transformed, you were more wolf like. However, when you didn't belong to one, you could keep your clothes on, because you still had human instinct, even when transformed, and your clothes sort of became like a second skin. They had all nodded, eagerly taking in the information.
"Well, first, Ryou's going to tell us why he's so upset with Bakura and Akeifa." Yugi said turning to his friend.
"Fine." He said giving him a slight glare. It was silent as Yugi and Ryou had a glaring contest.
"Well?" Malik prompted.
"Right, well, this morning I woke up in my usual position between my lovely two wolfs. Only something was different as I felt a slight movement against my back, so I reached down, until I felt it against my hand. When I turned around, I realized that it was the pups moving in Bakura's womb, so I squealed, I was happy. Likewise they woke up, and when Bakura saw where my hand was, he started to growl at me. I removed my hand instantly, but he didn't stop. He snapped at me, and I jerked back. He chased me right of the cave, and would have continued to chase me out of the territory if Akeifa hadn't cut him off. Still the message was very clear, I wasn't welcome there. I get that he's pregnant, but he doesn't have to be such an ass all the time." Ryou said getting angrier and angrier as he continued his story until he was shouting it at them.
"You're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like to stay." Yugi said like a good gracious host.
"Thanks, Yugi. Now, what did you do last month that has Atem and Yami practically gluing you to their sides?" Ryou then asked and asked.
"Uh, I jumped off the tower above our bedrooms?" Yugi asked more than said.
"That's what we get when you keep your emotions bottled up." Malik said sighing. Wow, they were taking this much better than he thought they would. Then again, it wasn't exactly the first time he had tried something like this either.
"Remember what that vampire therapist said?" Jou asked.
"Yeah, those who keep everything bottled up are more likely to commit attempted suicide, than those who let it all out. Even if it is at some random stranger, it's much better to let it out than to bottle it all up." Yugi chanted as he had a thousand times before.
"Exactly, so next time you feel that low, come and scream at me. Then I'll go and chew up your mates." Jou proposed.
"You will not." Yugi said giving him a light shove while smiling.
"Okay, morbid time is over, what are we doing next?" Ryou said attempting to change the mood.
"We could explore the Palace some more. I know even I haven't discovered every room this place has to hold yet." Yugi suggested.
"Let's do it!" Jou said pumping his fist into the air.
"Come on, let's get lost!" Malik suggested running back inside with the rest of them on his heels. Akeifa sighed, shook his head, before not following them, but leaving the Palace grounds. He'd been away from his pregnant mate for too long, and needed to get back to him. Besides they had Jou, they were just fine in his care; he of all people knew that well enough.
Malik led them through the hallways before they were hopelessly lost. Then they all started opening random doors, until they opened a familiar one, the one that they were trapped in the day after Halloween. They looked at the door to see a plaque that said The Queen's Study, enter at your own risk. They all grinned, they loved taking risks, and gladly entered.
Hey Yami, we're investigating your study, since we didn't find all the nook and crannies the first time we were in here.
Oh great, just…don't make a mess this time.
Yugi just laughed back over the mind link, and he could feel the dread coming from Yami in response. They started out looking at all the books on the book case and left them in neat little piles all over the study. Next they started to press all the buttons on the desk. The first three, a green, orange, and blue button appeared to do nothing. It was when they pressed the black button that something actually happened. It was deep rumbling sort of sound, before one of the walls shifted, to reveal a dark rocky cavern. They walked towards it cautiously, before they pushed Yugi to go first, because he lived here. Yugi rolled his eyes, before venturing cautiously into the enveloping darkness.
As soon as he took three steps in, a sudden small blue orb of light appeared overhead, showing that the tunnel's roof reached higher than even this little light could reach up to. Still, at least he could see now. The walls were shiny, and when he touched them, discovered them to be slightly damp, but smooth. His feet echoed every time he took a step, he glanced back to see his friends apprehensive faces watching him.
"Come on you cowards, let's find out where this tunnel leads." Yugi said before walking forward.
The tunnel went straight for some time, before it made a sharp turn and went, up, and up, and up, and up some more. It dipped down for a little bit before it started to go up again. It seemed to be an endless climb upwards, until they were sent into a downwards spiral that had them running in relief. Yugi reached the end first, and skidded to a stop, just short of going over a jagged cliff. He fell back onto the heels of his feet and breathed in relief for a moment before the sounds of his friends approaching at a fast pace behind him arrived at his ears.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Yugi said spinning around and throwing out his hands towards them. They slowed to a stop making him breath in relief.
"Come slowly." He said motioning them forward. They walked towards him and looked down at the water crashing against the cliff face below.
"Whoa." Malik said looking down at the steep distance to what would have been their demise.
"Is that Domino over there?" Ryou asked pointing to a shiny city nearby. They followed his line of sight. Off in the distance, just visible in the sunlight, you could see the Kaiba Corp Tower. Their jaws dropped, as Jou glanced over his shoulder, then back at the Tower.
"We left the city?" Malik asked what they were all thinking.
"We should get back. We're easy targets out in the open like this." Jou said unnaturally wise grabbing their arms and pushing them back into the tunnel. He took up the rear, transforming into a wolf, as they made their way back.
They were, well they guessed that they were, halfway through the tunnels when echoing cries of their names reached them. They paused as they tried to locate where the reverberating sounds were coming from. It was impossible though, the sounds echoing against one another too frequently to be able to tell their source.
"YUGI-I-I-I-I-I!" he did recognize that voice though, as well as the body like form that came around the bend. He launched himself at it.
"Atem!"
"Oof!"
He sent them both to the ground, and Atem wrapped his arms around him as he held him close. Yugi had a distorted image of Seth and Marik running past them to get at their boyfriends. Only Ryou was left out, but that was fixed by Yami who kissed Yugi briefly on the forehead, when he arrived, before wrapping up Ryou in a hug. It wasn't loving, it was friendly, and full of relief.
"Yugi, promise me you will never come down this tunnel without us again." Atem said seriously holding his face between his hands.
"Why? What's so bad about it?" Yugi asked.
"It's an access point into the Palace, and to you. You scared us, when we found the secret passage open, and the five of you gone, you scared us." Atem explained softly before kissing his forehead. It made Yugi feel sort of like a child.
"Uh, five?" Yugi asked uneasily.
"Atem, I don't see or hear Akeifa anywhere." Yami said at that moment.
"Where is he?" Atem asked looking down at Yugi.
"Uh, we think he went home to be with his pregnant mate?" Yugi asked more than said.
"That's an understandable excuse." Seth said.
"It is?" Atem asked.
"Yes, it is. If even the slightest thing goes wrong during the pregnancy you could lose the babe, or worse the Mother." Seth said pulling Jou's wolf form even closer to his body as he glared at Atem. Atem stood up, still holding Yugi, and Yugi saw a flashing image of Jou, in the past, a grayish white tint to his skin as he was covered with a sheet. Yugi stumbled back from him, his eyes wide.
"No." Yugi whispered.
"Yugi." Yami said calmly.
"No!" he screamed at them.
"Seriously, Yug', why are you screaming?" Jou asked in gruff voice.
"Uh, nothing, just something Atem said." Yugi said.
"What did he say?" Jou asked.
"I'll tell you later." Yugi said.
"Alright." Jou said.
"It talks." Yami said in surprise.
"He's not part of a pack, so he keeps some of his humanity when he transforms." Ryou explained letting go of Yami.
"You're not? But, with your size you could be of a great asset to Akeifa." Atem said.
"And a threat." Jou added.
"Eh, yeah, I suppose it wouldn't be good for Akeifa to be smaller than one of his pack members." Marik reasoned holding Malik toddler style, and not looking as if he was going to let go anytime soon. Yugi stood up and climbed up on Jou's back, who looked over his shoulder at him with a look of 'what are you doing?'.
"Oh, I wanna ride on the wolfy!" Ryou said climbing on too.
"Oh, oh! Put me down! Put me down!" Malik said squirming in Marik's hold leaving him with no choice but to put him down. He ran over climbing on behind Ryou.
"Do I look like a horse to you?" Jou asked in annoyance as he turned around and started to walk down the tunnel.
"Of course not, you look like a big friendly wolf." Yugi said.
"Oh, and by the way, you guys do know that you're cleaning up my study right? As in putting all those books back where you found them?" Yami asked suddenly beside them.
"But you know where they go better than we do." Yugi pointed out as he embedded his hands into Jou's fur. He looked over his shoulder and winked. They winked back, as Ryou wrapped his hands around Yugi's waist, and Malik around Ryou's.
"I don't care, you're putting them back." Yami said sternly.
"But Yami, today is supposed to be all about fun. You know, like Hakuna Matata." Yugi said grinning and letting go of Jou's fur.
"Hakuna what?" Yami asked raising his eyebrows at him.
"Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase. Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze. It means no worries, for the rest of your days. It's our problem free, philosophy, Hakuna Matata." Yugi started to sing a huge grin forming on his face.
"You're still putting the books back." Yami said crossing his arms.
"Gonna have to catch us first." Yugi whispered embedding his hands back into Jou's fur as the light from Yami's study came back into view.
"What was that?" Yami asked leaning forward.
"Now, Jou!" Yugi ordered. Jou followed as he took off running with his three human passengers. Atem, Marik, and Seth could be heard laughing in the background of Yami's complaints of get back here, and mess to clean up.
Get back here, Yugi!
Come on Habibi, we'll help you clean up their mess.
But, Atem!
Come on, we'll get him for this later. Don't forget to eat dinner, Yugi.
We won't!
"So, what are we going to do now?" Jou asked slowing down to a walk. They were receiving a lot of odd looks from passing vampires, well, Jou was more than them.
"Arcade?" Malik suggested.
"Yeah, we haven't gone there for awhile, but first, picture opportunity! Hey, you vampire, take a picture of the four us!" Ryou said pointing at the ceiling before throwing his ever handy camera at a random vampire. The vampire fumbled with it for a second, before getting a good grip on it and snapping a picture of them. He walked over and handed the camera back before walking off.
Wait, a thought just occurred to me. By letting me out of your sight, does that mean you trust me again?
Not a chance, but Jou is huge. Besides, if anything were to happen to you we'd just kill him, it's really that simple.
Noooooo, he's my friend! You can't! Yugi leaned down and wrapped his arms around Jou's neck.
"Yug', get off!" Jou said shrugging his shoulders.
"You can't let anything happen to us." Yugi cried.
"Alright, I won't." Jou said seriously as he tried to dislodge him.
Yugi, he's teasing, he's not serious. Yami's voice drifted over the mind link nervously.
Yes I was.
Yugi made a high pitched noise both in his head and out loud. Jou shook his body trying to dislodge him from his back. Ryou and Malik ended up pulling him off of Jou.
"Geez, what's wrong with you, Yugi?" Jou asked transforming back into his human self.
"Atem, he's being mean." Yugi said pouting.
"Well, then I'm just gonna go teach him a lesson." Jou said cracking his knuckles and making to go back.
"No, we're going to the arcade, now come on." Yugi said grabbing the back of his shirt and heading in the general direction of where he thought the front doors were.
[Time skip]
"Omk! There they are!" Ryou shouted running up the front doors and kissing them.
"See, I told you we would find them!" Yugi said in an indignant voice.
"Yeah, two hours later." Malik scoffed.
"We still found them." Yugi said in annoyance.
"Come on let's get out of here. They're so many vampires, I need to go to place full of humans to recuperate." Jou said visibly close to a panic attack.
"Come on, let's get this wolf some pleasurable company." Ryou suggested.
"Wait, no, that's not…that's not what I said!" Jou said starting to panic.
"Come on Jou, we know the perfect place." Malik said grinning in a devilish way up at him.
"Wait, guys, no listen, that's not what I meant!" Jou said definitely panicking now.
"Don't worry Jou, we'll cover the tab." Yugi said nodding and starting to help his other two friends drag the wolf out of the Palace.
We're leaving the Palace now, see you later!
YOU'RE WHAT!?
"Guys, that's not what I meant!" Jou panicked all the way down the steps and to where they were taking him for pleasurable company.
[Time skip]
"I hate you guys." Jou grumbled as he chugged his fourth cup of some kind of caffeinated soda.
"Well, we did say we were going to arcade." Yugi said grinning across the table at him.
"And by pleasurable company, we meant ours of course." Ryou said grinning just as widely.
"Really hate you guys." Jou said putting his head down on the table.
"So, I guess this means you don't want to duel me on the duel simulator?" Yugi asked.
"No." Jou said glancing at it and the putting his head back down.
"I'll do a friendly duel with you!" Ryou said cheerfully.
"Awesome!" Yugi said brightly.
Yugi, I'm only going to ask you one more time. Where. Are. You?
I told you already, I'm having fun and will be back later, promise.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!
There's no need to scream like that. I said I would be back later, and I will be, chill.
"Okay, Yugi, let's start this duel!" Ryou said from across the arena, unknown to him that Yugi was getting aggravated and annoyed by his mates', err, mate's attitude.
"Indeed." He said quietly placing his deck on the spot where it was supposed to go and drawing five cards.
[Time skip]
"Yugi! I said friendly! I wanted a friendly duel! This is not friendly!" Ryou shouted across the arena as he stared up at all three God cards.
"I'm annoyed with Atem." Yugi said simply as he drew another card as it was his turn now.
"So don't take it out on me!" Ryou shouted back.
"Hmm, I have to relieve my stress somehow; this seemed the best method of doing so." Yugi said looking at his hand and placing two cards face down before playing hand destruction.
They both got rid of their hands, for Yugi it was four cards, and Ryou two. They both drew a new hand, and Yugi gave Ryou a creepy grin across the arena before playing the card combo multiply and Kuriboh.
"Oh come on! You do not need protection against my Buster Blader!"
"One can never be too prepared."
"I'm gonna kill you, Yugi! With my bare hands, I shall kill you!" Ryou said waving his fist at him.
"Well, that gives me even more incentive to draw this out." Yugi said simply shrugging and ending his turn. Ryou gave out a loan groan, before placing his hand over his deck in surrender.
"Ah, you're no fun!" Yugi pouted as the duel was terminated and the holograms disappeared.
"Fun? Hm, I think that's what that duel was supposed to be." Ryou growled at him.
"So it got a little off track, that's still no reason to forfeit." Yugi said rolling his eyes and hopping off the stand of the arena. Malik and Jou were leaning on each other laughing their heads off.
"Hope you don't mind Ry…but we took a couple of pics…of you looking up at the three God cards in…pure petrified fear. So…funny." Malik said between deeps gasps of breath and laughter.
"In the end of the year…slide show you should put…something about friendly…duel as the caption for the pics." Jou added handing him his camera. Yugi looked over Ryou's shoulder, by standing on his toes, at the screen on the camera. You could see the three God cards looming over him menacingly and Ryou looking up at them in, indeed, petrified fear. Yugi snorted at it, and would have started laughing if he didn't notice a familiar head of tri colored hair out the window.
"They found us, we have to go." Yugi said grabbing his friends and dragging them out the back entrance.
"Where to next?" Jou asked.
"I don't know, where do you guys want to go?" Yugi asked shrugging.
"We could go to the Steel Cage?" Malik suggested.
"Naw, that would just make them angry." Yugi said shoving off the idea of a human and werewolf only club.
"How about the Grillers?" Ryou suggested.
"Yeah, it's been awhile since we've eaten there." Yugi said nodding.
"Let's go then!" Jou said helping them all over the fence before jumping over himself. They took a shortcut way to the restaurant that served foods for only humans, but did serve it so humans who were 'captured' by vampires could eat too. Since Jou ate human food, it wasn't a problem for him to go to the Grillers.
[Time skip]
They laughed as they made their way up the drive towards the stone Palace. After eating at the Grillers they had stopped by Ryou's house, Kaiba's Mansion, and Malik's place to get clothes for the next day and nightwear. Jou was mimicking the annoyed tone of their waiter when they all pulled up short by Atem who was waiting for them in the doorway, hands folded behind his back.
"Mind if we take a walk, Yugi?" he asked his eyes glued upon the person in question.
"I think I'm going to have to pass on that." Yugi said nervously.
"Now, because apparently you need to be reminded as to why we have you constricted to the Palace." Atem said taking slow steps down the steps.
"But I already know why. Dartz is on the loose, and there are vampires everywhere after my blood." Yugi said backing up and hiding behind Jou.
"Give it a rest, Atem. Don't embarrass him in front of us. Wait until tomorrow after we leave, okay?" Jou said reaching out and grabbing his wrist.
"Yes you're right, this can wait." Atem said shaking his head before turning and walking away at the blinding vampire speed.
"Well, I avoided that fight, for now. Thanks Jou!" Yugi sighed in relief before saying cheerfully.
"Come on, let's go crash in the Ruby room was it?" Malik asked looking at Yugi.
"Yeah, that way, if anybody wants to get at us, they'll have to go through a room full of vampires first." Yugi said nodding.
"Makes sense I suppose, but they can just get in through the balcony." Ryou pointed out.
"No they can't, come on, I'll show you Atem's and Yami's latest installment to our rooms after the little jumping incident." Yugi said grimacing before running up the steps.
"Little?" Malik asked.
"Come on!" Jou said pulling them up the steps after their friend.
[Time skip]
"It wasn't meant to be something fun! It was meant to protect you! Now get off right now!" Yami yelled at them.
"Wow, Yugi! Why haven't you brought us up to your new trampoline before?" Jou asked excitedly as they all bounced up and down on the magic spells that Atem and Yami had put up underneath the balcony's and tower.
"Two reasons: the first being that every time you bounced you hit your head against the underside of the balcony, kind of like a bouncy ball, the second being after they fixed that small hiccup, they made it impossible for one to get off. However, now since both have been fixed, the trampoline is now open for use!" Yugi explained as he jumped close to the edge and away again before Yami could grab him and yank him off.
"Don't make me come out there!" Yami threatened.
"Oooo, scary." Malik mocked.
"That's it." Yami said swinging his legs over the railing and hopping onto the trampoline.
He probably would have been successful in grabbing each one of them off, if they weren't playing keep away, or maybe it was monkey in the middle, with him. In any case, it was safe to say he was fighting a battle already long lost, kind of like Sakura, Yugi thought absent mindedly. You see every time he would catch one and put them back in the bedroom, he would go out to get another, and the one he had just put over the railing would hop back onto the trampoline. The smart thing to do would have been to ask for help, but Yami was much too proud to do that.
"Yami give up, you're just tiring yourself out needlessly." Atem said coming over to lean his arms on the balcony railing, as Yami tried and failed to grab Jou, as he was the only one whom he hadn't caught yet.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure they've turned this into a game, of which they're getting much enjoyment out of." Marik added.
"No, they're…getting…off." Yami said breathing heavily making Yugi concerned for him and bouncing slightly closer. He was a vampire, he shouldn't be getting tired just from a little bouncing.
"Are you okay, Yami?" Yugi asked in a concerned voice. Yami made a grab for him and Yugi bounced back and away from the arm.
"Should he be breathing that heavily?" Ryou asked from where he was.
"I don't know, I've never seen them breath heavily, ever. So I'm not sure if it's serious or he's just playing us." Yugi said uneasily.
"Um, hey Marik, is he acting?" Malik asked pointing to Yami who was glaring at Yugi.
"Yami, come here." Atem called quietly. Surprisingly, Yami turned and took one step towards him, and promptly collapsed against the magical barrier.
"YAMI!" Yugi screamed bouncing towards him, even more shocking that he reached him before Atem. Yugi turned him over, and looked down at his seemingly peaceful face. Yugi started to search for a pulse, before remembering that he was vampire and didn't have one. So instead he straddled his waist and held his face between his hands.
"Speak to me, Yami." Yugi said dramatically. Yami opened an eye, and reached up pulling Yugi down against his chest.
"Gotch ya." Yami whispered his breathing shaky.
"Come on, we need to get him into a bed, he's over exerted himself. Something that's very hard to do to a vampire, you four should feel so proud." Atem said glaring at them, as he picked up both Yami and Yugi.
"Awesome!" Malik and Jou cheered giving each other high fives. Ryou shook his head at them.
"Whoa, hey, no put me down, Atem." Yugi protested from his awkward position.
"Here take them." Atem said ignoring him and handing them to Marik. Jumping over the railing, he pulled Yugi off of Yami, and set him on the ground. Then he re-took Yami into his own arms, and carried him over to the bed, as Yugi watched him tuck him in like a small child.
"Is he going to be okay?" Yugi asked cautiously as moved to edge of the end of the bed.
"He'll be fine after a few hours of rest." Atem said rolling his eyes.
"Um, okay, guys come in; we still have other activities to do." Yugi said looking behind him to see all of his friends with one leg already over the railing.
"Wait, hold that pose!" Yugi said grinning as he rushed into the ruby room to get Ryou's camera and coming back out with it. He snapped a picture, and then they finished climbing over and back into the room.
"I can already see the title for this one, busted!" Ryou said grinning and taking his camera back from Yugi.
"Hey, you know what we should do this week?" Yugi asked as the idea suddenly occurred to him.
"What?" Malik asked.
"Fill out College applications. I mean we have the entire week, and if we don't do it soon then we'll lose out on important things like applying for grants, scholarships, financial aid." Yugi answered.
"All that's great and all, but do you even know the address of this place?" Jou asked.
"Uh…" Yugi said stumped.
"That's what I thought." Jou said nodding.
"So, what are we doing now?" Ryou asked.
"Bed." Atem answered for them.
"Did he say snack time?" Jou asked.
"That's what I heard." Malik said grinning as the four made their way into the Ruby room and shut the door.
"They're not going to listen to us, are they?" Marik asked.
"It would appear not." Atem growled out.
Jou and Malik pulled the snacks, which they had grabbed from their houses, out of their bags. They had marshmallows, chips, candy bars, pixie sticks, and other assortments of goodies. Yugi grabbed a handful of mini marshmallows that were in the FBR-18 bag and threw them in his mouth. He swallowed them and turned to say something to Ryou when he felt something drip out of his nose and onto his lap. Looking down he found it to be a spot of red, reaching up to his nose and wiping at it he pulled his hand away to find his finger coated in blood.
"Yug'?" Jou questioned reaching out to ouch his shoulder as more drops of blood fell out of his nose and onto his lap. Yugi shot up and grabbed a couple of Kleenexes from the box and pressed them to his face, they were soaked with blood in seconds as the blood started to pour out of his nose at an alarming rate. Yugi dropped the bloody Kleenexes on the ground, and burst back into the Amethyst room, scaring all the vampires within.
"Help, it's not stopping." Yugi choked out his voice filled with fear.
Atem was in front of him grasping his shoulders before swinging him up into his arms. He grabbed some Kleenexes and shoved them under his nose, but they were drenched in his blood faster than the first ones. Atem made a noise of disbelief and stumbled into the bathroom to grab a towel instead and press that against his nose. It took a little longer than the Kleenexes but soon it too was drenched in Yugi's blood.
"I'm scared, Atem." Yugi whispered. Those words seem to put a little fear into him as well, as Yugi could feel it pulsing through the link. He grabbed Yugi, and a larger towel, holding it to his nose as fled the room and ran with him towards Isis's chambers.
"ISIS! COME QUICKLY!" Atem shouted busting through her doors.
"Why do I smell so much blood?" Isis said rushing out and looking at the two of them.
"Help, it won't stop, his nose won't stop bleeding." Atem said setting Yugi down on the bed and throwing the nearly soaked with blood hand towel across the room. He was starting to get dizzy from so much blood loss; this couldn't be good for him.
"Yugi, what have you eaten within the last two minutes or so?" Isis asked seriously.
"Mini marshmallows." Yugi said in a whisper he was losing consciousness slowly.
"I thought so. Alright, there's only one way to fix this side effect, and I'm afraid it's disgusting on both ends. Atem, you have to stick your tongue up his nose and swirl it around twice, and then repeat the steps to the other nostril, and the bleeding will stop. Out of all the side effects, this is the most dangerous one, this one has killed many humans." Isis explained.
Atem grimaced before getting down on one knee and tilting Yugi's head up, shoved his tongue up his nose, and doing as Isis had instructed him to. To Yugi all he felt was something wet, slimy, and uncomfortable being shoved up his nose, it wasn't a very good feeling. Then it was gone, and then back again, up the other side of his nose. He wanted to pull away from it, but as soon as he thought this it was gone again.
"ISIS!" Marik yelled bursting into the room holding a bleeding Malik. Isis sighed and made her way over to them explain to Marik what she had just said to Atem. Since Isis was busy, Atem checked for anymore signs of bleeding himself, finding none, he sighed in relief and held Yugi close.
"No more marshmallows for you." Atem whispered in his ear.
"I will definitely agree to that." Yugi whispered back his eyes lids heavy. Atem picked him up and carried him back up to the room, to find Yami sitting up wide awake.
"What did I miss?" he asked.
"A side effect, a scary side effect." Atem answered him simply carrying Yugi into the bathroom to clean him up.
"Atem, why does the room smell of Yugi's and Malik's blood?" Yami asked.
"No more marshmallows." Yugi said firmly.
"Atem?" Yami asked again.
"Their noses were bleeding." Atem said in sigh washing Yugi's face.
"How much?" Yami asked his voice holding fear in it.
"I don't know, but he will definitely need a helping of broccoli tomorrow." Atem said sighing and throwing the washcloth across the room, before leaning against the counter, his head bowed.
"You took away my patient before I was finished with him." Isis growled from the doorway.
"Oh, ah, sorry, I thought he was finished." Atem said standing up straight.
"Does he look finished?" Isis asked pointing to him.
"Uh…"
"Don't answer that. Here, eat this, Yugi." Isis said placing a blood replacer gummy up to his mouth. Yugi crinkled his nose and leaned away from it.
"Come on, you need to eat it or you're never going to get better." Isis coaxed gently.
"Can that small gummy really replace all the blood he loss?" Yami asked.
"Come on Yugi, eat it." Isis said ignoring him. Yugi very unwilling opened his mouth and Isis threw the gummy in. He quickly chewed and swallowed it, making disgusted faces after it was gone.
"There, now the rest of the side effect can happen." Isis said calmly.
"The rest?" Atem asked in disbelief.
"Yes, the duplication process. Broccoli and blood transfusion given to the humans within the first 24 hours had no effect in the blood replacement process. The only one scientists found working was the one with the actual name blood replacer in it, otherwise the blood would just come right out of their noses again. Look, already he's less pale, well less pale than normal." Isis explained. Atem and Yami looked over at him, and he looked down at his hand to see that he was indeed getting more color back.
"Well, that settles that. Thanks for sticking your tongue up my nose, Atem." Yugi said hopping off the edge of the bathtub and leaning up on his tippy toes to kiss Atem on the cheek.
"I'm sorry we wore you out, Yami." He said pausing in the doorway to kiss him on the cheek too. He walked back into the Ruby room to see Ryou and Jou looking bored on the bed. Malik came up behind him.
"Face it Yugi, you love them." he whispered.
"No, not yet, it's not strong enough yet." Yugi said immediately.
"Whatever." He said pushing past him into the room. Yugi glanced over his shoulder to see his mates looking at him with a confused expression on their faces. He grabbed the door and quickly shut it. He let out a deep breath before grabbing the bag of marshmallows and throwing them out window. It didn't have the effect that he wanted, instead of falling to the ground, because he didn't think the weight would be heavy enough to trigger the spell, they just bounced on floating in the air.
"Maybe it's a standing spell, and not one that activates because of weight." Malik suggested.
"That's how it would appear." Yugi said frowning and lowering the bag.
He was suddenly hit over the head with a soft object. Whipping around he saw Malik grabbing a pillow as Jou attacked him. Ryou was the one whom had hit him. Dodging around him, and consequently getting smacked a few more times, Yugi grabbed the last pillow off the bed and started to whack him back. They turned on Jou and Malik and started to hit them, making them turn on them and hit them. It was loads of fun, fun that ended up bursting into the Amethyst room, when they got tired of just hitting each other, and decided that hitting the vampires would be more fun.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Yami yelled as he was pummeled by Yugi. The attack didn't cease giving Yami no choice but to attack back, gently. Marik was being attacked by Malik, and Atem, Ryou and Jou. An all out pillow fight war commenced until feathers were bursting from pillows and flying everywhere. Yugi fell laughing on to the floor, along with Malik.
"Hey Yugi, look, a feather angel." Malik said spreading his legs and arms across the floor.
"Come on guys, we still have to play truth and dare." Ryou said pulling them both up and pushing them into the Ruby room.
"But don't we need a bottle for that?" Yugi asked.
"Don't worry I brought one!" Jou said excitedly as he shut the door.
"They come, they mess, they leave." Atem said looking around at the feather disaster of a room that they now had.
"That's an Uke for you." Marik said.
"I'll get a maid." Yami sighed.
"Alright, let's get this game started." Jou said setting the bottle down in the middle and spinning it. It landed on Yugi.
"Before you ask, dare, of course." Yugi answered as Jou opened his mouth.
"Fine, I dare you to kiss Malik." Jou said.
"Whatever, it's not like I haven't in the past." Yugi said leaning towards him. The moment their lips touched though, Yugi felt an intense burning sensation fill his lips making him jerk back.
"That's not a kiss, that's a simple brush of lips upon lips." Jou complained as Yugi shot to his feet. It was what his instincts were telling him to do, they were telling him to confess his wrong doing and the pain was going away. The same pain that was still present and filling his eyes with tears. He threw open the door and stepped into the room.
"Yugi, what's wrong, why are you crying?" Yami asked immediately jumping to action.
"I have a confession to make. Jou just dared me to kiss Malik and when I tried his lips burned mine." Yugi said sniffing.
"They did?" Malik asked from behind him.
"Oh, you poor thing." Yami cooed brushing a bang away from his face.
"My instincts said the pain would go away if I confessed. Why isn't the pain gone?" Yugi whined his bottom lip wobbling slightly.
"That's a good question, Atem?" Yami said looking behind him a strange twinkle in his eyes.
"It's simple, because neither one of us have forgiven you for this transgression." Atem said cupping his cheek with his hand.
"But i-it's a game." Yugi stuttered as more tears started to well in his eyes.
"Chill, Yugi." Atem commanded softly before swiftly placing his lips over his. It was an instant relief, like he had doused his lips in ice cold water, the burning sensation faded away until it was a small pin prick and then nothing. Atem pulled away caressing his face with his thumbs.
"Whoa, that felt cool, let's do it again!" Yugi said in an excited voice.
"No! No." Atem said grabbing his wrist and keeping him where he was.
"Aww, why not?" Yugi asked.
"Do you really want to feel the pain of lips burning just so Yami or I can heal them with our own lips?" Atem asked bluntly. Yugi shook his head.
"That's why we're not doing it again." Yami said giving him a small push back towards his friends.
"So no more kissing dares for you, huh?" Jou asked as he shut the door and sat back down.
"I can still kiss my mates." Yugi pointed out spinning the bottle.
"Good point." Jou said nodding as the bottle landed on Ryou.
"Dare." Ryou said before Yugi could ask. Yugi grinned at him.
"I dare you to go streaking through the Palace." Yugi said smirking. Malik and Jou snorted in laughter.
"I hate you." Ryou said as he stood and started to discard his clothes. Once they were all in a neat folded pile he opened the doors and proceeded to run through the Amethyst room and down the steps and out the door with Yugi, Malik, and Jou hot on his heels. Poor, poor vampires, a naked Ryou was something they were never going to get out of their heads as he ran through the halls before back tracking and going back to the room.
Ryou and Jou managed to make it back to the Ruby room, Malik and Yugi weren't so lucky. They had been grabbed by their boyfriends. Jou used his supernatural abilities to avoid capture.
"What does Ryou think he's doing?" Atem asked in strange voice.
"Playing truth or dare, silly." Yugi said jerking himself out of his grasp, grabbing Malik, and retreating into the Ruby room.
"Alright, you better hope this doesn't land on you, Yugi, otherwise payback is coming early this year." Ryou growled as he wrapped a blanket around himself. It was getting kind of chilly in the room. He spun the bottle and it landed on himself. He spun it again and it landed on Jou.
"Dare."
"Transform into a wolf and go beg for attention for five minutes." Ryou said pointing to the door. Jou just glared at Ryou as he transformed and went into the next room, annoying the hell out of the vampires' for the next five minutes. Yugi, Malik, and Ryou howled with laughter as Jou kept getting into their faces and whining, licking their faces, and lying across them. He even went to the point of tugging on their clothes and pulling them off the bed. Jou seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he had been begging for attention for ten minutes instead of five before he stopped and came trotting back to them.
"I will have payback for that." Jou said as he transformed back. He spun the bottle and it landed on…Ryou, again.
"Truth." Ryou said not even taking a chance at dare.
"Fine, when do you plan on forgiving Bakura?" Jou asked.
"Probably tomorrow or the next day." Ryou said shrugging. He spun the bottle and it landed on Yugi.
"Dare, cause I'm not a coward." Yugi said sticking out his tongue at Ryou.
"I dare you to eat a small box of raisins and serenade love songs to your mates." Ryou said grinning. Yugi's jaw dropped to the floor as noises of protest slipped out of it. He mouthed words at Ryou, whilst pointing at him threateningly as he spun the bottle to have it land on Malik.
"Dare."
"I dare you to dance to every song I sing." Yugi said getting up and walking into the Amethyst room.
"Hey! Don't pull me down with you!" Malik shouted after him.
"Where are you going?" Yami asked as Yugi stormed past them angrily.
"To the kitchen to get food." Yugi grumbled in an annoyed voice.
"Oh, we can get it for you." Atem said sitting up.
"NO!" he screamed at them throwing his hand out. They jerked back surprised.
"Uh, I just mean, I can get it myself, really it's no big deal." Yugi said nervously as he slipped out the door. He ran to the kitchen where he had a short argument with Eliza about allowing him raisins. She finally agreed he could have them only if she could watch the serenade. He agreed, not like he had a choice and received a small bowl of raisins which he ate quickly, before heading back up with her. It took ten to twenty minutes for it to show up last time and as such had a hard time keeping his mouth shut as he walked past them and into his closet to grab his iPod. Thank you Sakura, for filling up half of it with nothing but love songs, which Ryou was well aware of. He put the headphones in his ears and jumped on the bed, immediately jumping into the first one on the play list, his face lighting up in embarrassment as he realized which one it was. Malik grumbled as he started to dance it out.
I swear by the moon and the star in the sky
And I swear like the shadow that's by your side
I see the questions in your eyes
I know what's weighing on your mind
You can be sure I know my part
Cause I'll stand beside you through the years
You'll only cry those happy tears
And though I'll make mistakes
I'll never break your heart
"Yugi, what are you doing?" Yami asked his face taking on a pink tint to it as Yugi continued singing not even gracing him with an answer.
And I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there
For better or worse till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
And I'll swear
Uhh, uuh, uhh
"Yugi, answer him, this isn't funny. Are you proposing or telling us you love us?" Atem asked annoyed.
I'll give you everything I can
I'll build your dreams with these two hands
We'll hang some memories on the walls
And when just the three of us are there
You won't have to ask if I still care
Cause as the time turns the page
My love won't age at all
I was dared to serenade you two, deal with it.
And I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear
Like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there
For better or worse, till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
I swear
Oh, Ra.
I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear
Like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there
For better or worse, till death do us part
I'll love you with every single beat of my heart
I swear, uhh
I, I, I swear
"Are you done?" Yami asked hopefully and too soon as he jumped into the next song.
My love, there's only you in my life
The only thing that's bright
My first love, you're every breath that I take
You're every step I make
Yugi's face became beat red as he recognized this song too. He was going to strangle Ryou in his sleep, and looking over his shoulder it looked like when he was done Malik would be doing the same to him. Malik was glaring daggers into the back of his head as he danced to his song.
And I, I want to share
All my love with you
No one else will do
And your eyes, your eyes, your eyes
They tell me how much you care
Oh yes, you will always be
My endless love
Two hearts, two hearts that beat as one
Our lives have just begun
Forever, I'll hold you close in my arms
I can't resist your charms
And love, oh love
I'll be a fool for you, I'm sure
You know I don't mind
Oh, you know I don't mind
Atem and Yami were becoming redder by the minute, something Yugi was taking joy in, and started to sing with more flourish. He heard a couple of snaps behind him and could only assume that Ryou had noticed too and was taking pictures. This was going to be a long side effect, he just knew it. But hey if it could get a blush that rivaled his own, out of his mates, well then, why not enjoy it?
'Cause you, you mean the world to me
Oh, I know, I know
I've found, I've found in you
My endless love
Ohh, and love, oh, love
I'll be that fool for you, I'm sure
You know I don't mind
Oh, you know I don't mind
And yes, you'll be the only one
'Cause no one can deny
This love I have inside
And I'll give it all to you
My love, my love, my love
My endless love
[Time skip]
"Yugi! That's not a love song!" Ryou shouted at him as he felt the effects of the side effect coming to an end.
…And so you're back
from outer space
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid lock
I should have made you leave your key
If I had known for just one second you'd be back to bother me
Go on now go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
Do you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no not I. I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive
I will survive! Hey, Hey!
"First he loves us, and now he's kicking us out." Atem said shaking his head as he watched Malik dancing behind Yugi and actually looking like he was having fun.
"Ryou's right, this is not a love song." Yami said nodding.
It took all the strength I had not to fall apart
Kept trying' hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart
And I spent oh so many nights
Just feeling sorry for myself, I used to cry
But now I hold my head up high
And you see me, somebody new
I'm not that chained up little boy who's still in love with you
And so you felt like dropping in
And just expect me to be free
Now I'm saving all my love for someone who's loving me
Go on now go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to crush me with goodbye
Do you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no not I. I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive
I will survive, Oh
Go on now go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to crush me with goodbye
Do you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no not I. I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive
I will survive,
Go on now go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to crush me with goodbye
Do you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no, not I. I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give and I will survive
I will survive.
"And done!" Yugi said flopping to lie down on the bed.
"Thank Kami!" Malik agreed falling down on Marik who caught him easily.
"You guys are done playing this truth or dare game." Yami ordered as he tried to get his blush under control, it was still a very prominent red on his face.
"No, Ryou, Malik, and Jou still have to do a dare and then we can be done." Yugi said climbing off the bed and helping Jou pick Malik up off of Marik and half carry half drag him back into the room.
"Malik, it's your turn." Yugi sighed. He spun and it landed on himself.
"I dare myself to take a nap." He said climbing on the bed and falling asleep.
"Can we do that?" Ryou asked.
"No." Jou answered.
"I think we should allow it just this once, he's already out cold." Yugi said poking Malik and not even getting a twitch out of him.
"Fine, I'll spin." Jou said it landed on Ryou.
"I dare you to take this can of whip cream and feather and prank Malik." Jou said handing him the objects. Ryou snorted before getting up and spraying some whip cream in his hand before tickling him with the feather. By the time he was done Malik was covered by the entire can of the creamy treat and Yugi was complaining about how it was such a waste.
Ryou sat down and spun, it landed on Yugi. He spun it landed on Ryou. Ryou spun and it landed on Malik's empty spot. So he spun again and it landed on Jou.
"I dare you to put ice down your pants and dance to the song Everything is Awesome." Ryou said crossing his arms. Jou shook his head as he stood up and left the room.
"Now where are you going?" they heard Yami ask.
"Don't worry about it vampire." Was Jou's grouchy response.
"You know Yug', you really should tell them that you love them, now, before it's too late." Ryou said to fill the silence.
"But I don't." Yugi said confused as to why he was bringing it up.
"Yes, you do. Everyone can tell, everyone but you, can tell that you're head over heels for those two. What's holding you back? And what the heck is all over me?" Malik's voice spoke up.
"Whip cream." Ryou said smiling at him.
"Nothing!" Yugi said curling into a ball and placing his hands over his ears.
"Well something is." Malik sighed starting to wipe the stuff off and fling it onto the floor.
"Yugi, I get it, falling in love is a scary thing, especially for you. The last time you fell in love, your love tried to kill you. You need to let that go, they're not going to hurt you, not like that anyway. Yugi, you're still letting him control you." Ryou said as gently as possible.
"No, I-I rid him of my system, he no longer has control over me. I'm my own person, I'm free." Yugi said looking up at Ryou with crystalline tears falling down his cheeks.
"Stop kidding yourself. You won't be free until you allow yourself to love them freely and openly." Malik said shaking his head at him.
"Yugi, your Mom once said that your heart was like crystal, more pure than gold. Sarugaki is like a blood stain on that hunk of crystal, staining it and dulling its shine. You need to wipe it clean, let it shine brilliantly again, with the power of true love, love for your mates." Ryou said wiping a tear away.
"I don't know if I can. To trust someone like that so freely again, what if I get hurt again?" Yugi asked breaking down in tears.
"Can you try?" Malik asked sinking to the floor.
"Yes, yes I can." Yugi said standing up and wiping his tears away. He walked out into the Amethyst room just as Jou re-entered it.
"Atem, Yami?" Yugi asked.
"Yes?" They asked turning to him their faces quickly taking on concern at his tear streaked one.
"What's wrong?" Yami asked with wide eyes.
"My name is Yugi Rida Mutou." Yugi said firmly before grabbing Jou and his bags of ice and making a quick retreat.
Yugi.
It was a sound of awe. He knew that they told him once that him not telling them his name meant he didn't trust them completely, hopefully this broke down that barrier. And maybe with some hope, he could break down the rest surrounding his heart.
"I'm not sure what happened while I was gone, but can someone help me with this ice?" Jou asked uneasily.
"Yeah, but first we need to rubber band the hem of your pants so the ice can't come out until the end of the song." Ryou said grinning and producing the rubber bands from his jeans pocket.
"Oh, come on!" Jou whined.
"A dares a dare!" Ryou sang as he opened one of the bags of ice.
[Time skip]
Yugi slept more peacefully that night then he had in a long time. He dreamt of Sarugaki being a small ant and him a giant and trying to squash him. His pitiful cries of 'help me' bringing joy to Yugi the giant who was finally able to squash the insect. Yugi turned and saw his mates with smiles and open arms to him, and Yugi smiled back running towards them. He jumped to spring into their arms, only to land face first into a crystal wall. He rubbed his nose as he stared up at it. He watched in fascination, as one of the red blotches on it seemed to be cleaning itself away, leaving only two behind. It was shinier though, without that third red blotch, it was shinier, more see through. On the other side he could see them waiting patiently, arms open and smiling. Yugi bit his lip and touched the other two marks, he had to erase them, like Ryou said, he needed to let go of Sarugaki, completely. It really was the only way he was ever going to be able to open his heart to them freely. He walked around the wall to see them still staring straight ahead, arms open and waiting, smiles still on their faces. Looking back up at the wall, he already knew what those other two marks signified, and he knew how to remove them too. It wasn't going to be easy, but he was going to try to love again.
Thank you all so much for your dare ideas, even though I used only a few of them. I appreciated the help with this chapter. I would also like to thank my work place for playing nothing but love, country, and country love songs all day long. Got a bit of inspiration from them too. Seriously though, that's all they play. Also, thank you to Kearitona Sjachraelgil for the crystal heart idea, it was brilliant. Alrighty then, thank you tot everyone who are/have following/favorited this story. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed Guest and User alike. Please review. Midnight ;p