This one took a hot minute, but I hope you enjoy ^.^
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to travel with an angel? What about a winged demon? Cause I would have thought they'd fly you around everywhere, or you'd blink and suddenly be somewhere else. But the reality of that is that most people aren't too accustomed to seeing that kind of thing.
So how else might one travel? If you guessed sticking them into a car, you'd be right.
Have you ever put two angry cats together in a small space? They hiss and howl and glare and swatt and argue and for a while there you contemplate if they're actually going to kill one another. Do you separate them or do you let them piss it out?
Yeah. That's my life right now.
It took a great deal of turmoil to talk them into shutting the hell up but eventually we got there. Atem is sitting right behind me as I drive while Tea is sitting as far as she can on the other side. Both sitting crankily and stubborn and the only thing keeping them quiet is my threat of banishing them, which thankfully Tea hadn't figured out is an outright lie.
"You know it's unlikely we'll be allowed to just 'pop in'. He's the CEO of Kaiba Corp. He's not just a business manager but the head of a major conglomerate." I groan as we turn the last corner. Ahead I see the beginnings of what looks like is the most expensive property in the city. Tall trees and hedges block my view but the road is smooth and we practically glide along it. The lawns are manicured, the street is clean. I have no business driving here that's for sure. But what choice did I have? He wasn't at work and Tea seems sure he's here.
"We'll be fine so long as you let me do the talking." Tea said cockily.
"We're better of seducing his security than listening to the pretty words of an angel." Atem grumbles behind me.
"According to the both of you…" I cut in before another cat fight can break out. "I'm an angel."
"No offence to you." Atem mutters quietly. Amazing. 5000 years and he can be such a child.
"Besides. We'd rather the security not succumb to sin." Tea sneers.
"Oh because it's so hard. Please spare me. According to your religion any over the age of 4 is going to hell simply for something they can't control. I hardly think feeling a little hot and bothered is going to hurt their chances." Atem scoffs sarcastically and I chew my lip to stop from laughing.
"You of all creatures should know that not one religion determines who is spared to heaven and what dregs are sent to hell. You especially, being an unsent."
Unsent? What is that?
I open my mouth to ask this but all of a sudden my car starts to sputter and all power is lost. No one is behind me but this is weird. My car shouldn't stall like this.
But then I hear Tea make a curious hmph noise and when I look in the mirror I see only she is in the back-seat. I turn in my chair but he's not there. At all. His seat belt is still clipped but he's not here at all.
"Atem?" I ask the air around us but of course I get no response.
"He decided it's just us it seems." Tea huffed without a care in the world.
"What did you do?" I ask her sharply but all she does is shrug her shoulders.
"Hit a nerve?"
"You didn't kill him?" I ask, a warning in my voice and fear close behind.
She gives me an incredulous, insulted look but I don't back down. If she hurt him… I don't know how angels kill but if she …
"Relax. I didn't kill your pet. He simply didn't like what I had to say." She huffed, folding her arms angrily.
I don't like this. If he's really just disappeared fine but I want to know if he's safe at least. I didn't even know he could just disappear like that. Where did he go?
"You may want to restart your car though."
I blink and the next moment I jump back because in that second she appeared beside me in the passenger side seat. Her seatbelt back there is still clipped, much like Atem's only now she's beside me.
"Je… would you warn me if you're gonna be jumping around my car please?" I shake my head and scramble with the keys to get it to start.
We follow the road slowly. Partially because I'm unfamiliar with this area but also I'm looking out for a certain black feathered demon. I feel kind of bad leaving him back there but for all I know he's gone back to hell or something.
Ahead the hedges curve gently and the road follows onto an orange brick driveway. A large white iron gate guarded by security stops us. I roll down my window to the guard approaching and smile warmly at him. It's hard to tell his mood with the black sunglasses but based on his scowl he's not a talkative fellow.
"Hi, my name is Yugi Moto. I'm here to visit Mr. Kaiba."
"Mr. Kaiba isn't expecting any visitors today." He says gruffly, ducking his head to inspect the car.
"Uh no. I'm a friend. Thought I'd surprise him." I say happily. This is not going to work.
"Nor does he want any visitors."
"Um excuse me." Tea leans over me to wave happily at the man who does not look patient in the slightest. "I think you'll find it is in your best interest to let us see him, see we're private doctors. Mr. Kaiba wanted to keep this private, he must have neglected to tell you."
"What are you doing?" I hiss at her quietly and she growls at me to be quiet. This won't work.
"I understand. Mr. Kaiba has been rather absent of late." He … says? What?
"Do not worry. Your boss is in good hands. But it seems to me you are needed elsewhere. Why don't you let us in and you go to your wife. She needs you today, does she not?"
"Y-yes… she's due any day now."
I look between them in complete confusion. What the hell is happening right now?
Tea smiles and then the gate before us slides open. The guard bows, beckoning for us to drive on through.
"Please, go on through. I shan't keep you waiting any longer." He says.
I look at her and then smile awkwardly at him before inching forward.
The driveway is long, and the mansion it leads to is massive. I feel so out of my element here. Not only did we somehow lie our way here but this is not the place for a mid income game store supervisor from the hills. What am I doing here?
"Are you okay?" Tea asks me all of a sudden. I glance at her, chewing my lip uncomfortably and readjusting my grip on the wheel. Am I okay, she asks. Really? Let's revise. This is the first real day I could have had to spend with my first real boyfriend, but instead I find out my childhood friend is actually an angel who also served as my guardian who's protected me my whole life, and she doesn't get along with my distinctly missing boyfriend, and now I'm trespassing on rich property to speak to a rich CEO who more than likely does not want to speak to me. Yes. I'm fine.
"Just… wrapping my head around everything. What did you do back there?" I ask her as we creep along closer to the oversized house.
"Simple influence. It's fine." She says nonchalantly.
"Right, cause it looked like mind controlling." I grumble and she laughs.
"Oh no, I can't do that. That is too advanced for me. I simply used the power of suggestion to persuade his decision making."
"Won't he get fired?" I ask, unimpressed.
"Not after we make Kaiba feel better."
"Yeah, about that. What exactly are we doing?"
"Kaiba is currently feeling intense feelings of heartbreak and despair due to an unmet connection. We're here to mend the loss that wasn't filled."
"Annnnnd how do we do that exactly?" I ask. I'm not even gonna bother hiding how annoyed I feel right now.
"You will understand." She says cryptically.
I'm sure she thinks she's wise, but damn it if I don't deserve some real explanations.
We pull to a stop right outside a grand staircase leading to a massive double door with glass patterns of white dragons on it. Leave it to Kaiba to have his house dragon themed too. I thought it was a rumour but it looks like it was true.
I feel anxious and fidgety as we climb the stairs and ring the doorbell, which amusingly is the sound of a blue eyes as well… I feel like I dodged a bullet here. I love duel monsters as much as the next guy but I probably wouldn't program my doorbell to sound like a Kuriboh… maybe.
We're greeted by Roland who I think is Kaiba's personal assistant or something. I've seen him around him whenever Kaiba's in public and he's always announced the tournaments with such fun and flamboyancy. I like him, though I have no idea why he works for Kaiba. I suppose they compliment each other though.
"Mr. Moto? What are… how did… I was not told we would be expecting you, sir." Roland stammers but finally bows. This might be easier than I thought.
I notice Tea open her mouth but I don't want her controlling him like she did the guard, so I hold my hand to silence her.
"He isn't, but we can help. We know he's been rather down of late." I say quickly.
"Uh… I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Mr. Kaiba has simply been too busy recently."
"Roland. Kaiba and I used to talk a lot, we got pretty close until we went out that time. I think I can help." I say gently.
"I don't know… who is your friend?"
"This is Tea. She's…"
"A doctor. I can help." She smiles warmly. I don't approve of the lie but fine…
"Well… in either case. Mr. Kaiba has specifically requested solitude." Roland says though he sounds hesitant and regretful.
"Roland? Who's at the door?"
I look around him at the young voice and smile when I see the curious eyes of the younger Kaiba: Mokuba Kaiba. He's a great kid and we've always gotten along at the tournaments. With his help this will be easy!
***
Mokuba gave us a tour of their mansion on our way to finding his brother. Their house is just so … intimidating. I never thought you could be so impressed with something that you lost all awe for it. The ceilings are so high, the paintings are gloriously lavish, the tiles are pristine and every piece of furniture looks more expensive than two months of my rent.
I feel like a small ant in a sand castle rather than the nest I'm used to. Except the sandcastle is a massive marble mansion with the occasional blue eyes white dragon something or other.
I am so relieved when we do find Kaiba hiding away in his personal sanctuary. It's smaller than I expected, darker and cut off from the outside. The only lights are coming from his mass of screens, making this look more like a hackers den than a sanctuary, but I'm not going to judge.
Kaiba is sitting at a desk in the middle of the room fiddling with something mechanical. It looks like he's tweaking something but I don't know what it is. He scowls at us though as we enter and sighs.
"I thought I said no visitors." He grumbles, turning back to his little device.
It's strange to see him in pajamas too. He didn't even bother getting dressed it seems.
"Sorry bro, but Yugi's here to chat." Mokuba says cheerfully beside me.
"I don't chat." Kaiba mutters quietly. It's not a no, or a get out. That's good.
"Seto. What's wrong?" I ask kindly, bravely stepping into his sanctuary and being mindful of the chords all over the ground like thin, long snakes.
"I'm working."
"What are you working on?" I ask happily. He looks at me, as if determining if I'm a danger or not but he eventually relaxes and sets his tools down.
"Why are you here, Yugi?"
Straight to the chase then. Okay.
"I heard you've been a bit down recently and I wanted to help. I feel bad for being so distant since our date and it didn't occur to me that you might need a friend. So, I'm here to be that someone, if you like."
He hmphs and looks away crankily. "I don't need any friends Yugi. I'm a CEO of the largest gaming company in the world. Friends will only hold me back. I got here witho-"
He stopped all of a sudden and I wait for him. He looks as if a thought occurred to him… but after 30 seconds… 40… I realise he's not moving at all. Like at all.
I look over to Mokuba and Tea but Mokuba isn't moving either. Tea looks at me proudly but I don't understand. Why have they stopped? This is freaky!
"I have temporarily taken this room out of time." Tea explains as if that makes perfect sense.
"What? Why?" I ask her quickly. I wave my hand over Kaiba's eyes but yep, no movement at all. This is so weird.
"Because we're not here to play councillor, we're here to mend his heart." She says, coming forward to stand beside Kaiba.
"Can you see anything about him?"
"I see him sitting there looking bored and lonely but stubborn and guarded." I shrug and she shakes her head.
"You do not see an aura about him?"
"I see the glow of monitors?" I ask. I really don't know what she expects of me.
"Hmm. The mark on you might still be too strong. I can weaken it so you can see …"
"Can't we just help Kaiba? Isn't that why we're here? I don't want to use him to further my own apparent abilities. He needs help right?"
She looks surprised but eventually smiles. "Yes we are here to help him. But we are also here to help you too. This is the perfect chance to introduce you into this world."
"Who says I want in this world?" I ask impatiently.
She stands on one hip, her arms crossed over her chest and smirks at me. "So long as you're mating with that demon you are striding into this world. It's only a matter of time your mark will fade now."
… I guess she knows more about it than I do. I don't exactly want to change but maybe it's best to know more.
"Fine. What do we do?"
She comes around the table and stands before me. She smiles kindly but I don't feel very safe. What if this hurts? What if I turn into an angel and get wings? I don't want that. I like what I am.
"This won't hurt. I need you to close your eyes and try to relax."
I hesitate but do as she says, though it's asking a lot to ask me to relax. How does she know what's going to happen? Surely this mark or whatever isn't like a valve you can just slightly turn -
"Done. Open them."
Already?
Slowly I peak through, half expecting heaven and half expecting nothing. I got nothing. We're still in Kaiba's room and nothing seems to have changed. I look around, turning, but nothing has changed. I look at her and she smiles and nods.
"Look at Kaiba."
I do… he's just as he was. Did it not work? Do I tell her… wait. He's glowing blue but it might not be from the screens.
"Do you see? It should look like a pale blue aura just off his skin."
"Is it not the screens?" I ask.
Suddenly the screens turn off and we're cloaked in darkness, save for Kaiba who emits his own blue glow. It's so soft and barely visible, but its there.
"Do you see?"
"It's … how do I know this isn't a trick?" I ask and she sighs.
"You were never this sceptical. The blue aura is his soul. A soul resides deep in our core but usually it spreads throughout the body, resting just under the surface. A soul is normally white or black, depending on virtue and sin, but blue shows deep heartbreak."
"So what do we do?" I ask her. I walk over to him and crouch down a little. He looks normal… just glowing. This is his soul? Am I going to see people like this from now on?
She stands beside me and offers me her hand. I guess words are too hard. I take her hand and she touches Kaiba's forehead. All of a sudden I feel a burst of pressure in my mind and when I open my eyes we are somewhere else. We're in a room of some kind. It's brighter in here but the edges are blurred by a dark cloud, as if a shadowy smog is trying to black out the light of the room.
The room itself is fairly large but empty. There's a blue eyes plushy, a sandpit, a discarded necklace with a duel monsters card on it and money falls from a ceiling I can't see but it never lands on the floor, instead it fades into non-existence.
In the center of the room is a boy… Kaiba. He's crying and huddled in on himself.
"This is a room within Kaiba's soul. There will be many but this is his core. He seems to be a lonely kid, doesn't he?" Tea says softly, sadly.
I suppose she's right. He does look lonely. Kaiba is a rich CEO though… but I guess that makes it hard to have real friends.
"Everything in this room represents something important to him." Tea explains.
I must admit I don't know much about Kaiba. I know he's adopted so I guess that makes sense there's no portraits of his family or something. But what about Mokuba? What does that sandpit mean?
"This room is rather empty. It seems Kaiba doesn't put a lot of stock in material wealth. Clearly he is focused and ambitious but his success hasn't brought him happiness. He seeks to fill the void with something else….I would say that is why he was looking for love. Often the presence of others can fill the space within ourselves."
"So how do we cheer him up? We can't just spawn in a lover, can we?" I ask quietly. I don't like how repressingly silent it is in here. She laughs sweetly though.
"No. The shadow there represents that which is too far for him to reach." She waves her hand and the smog reluctantly clears away to reveal a man.
He stands tall, slim and proud. But I recognise him. I immediately recognise him. I almost want to run to him but there's something hollow about him. Something not magical at all.
"Oh! Interesting. It seems your demon is a popular creature." Tea coos and all I can do is grimace.
I knew it. I was right. Kaiba did fall in love that day. Atem said it was lust but I've seen love enough times to recognise it.
But I didn't know it could cause such a deep depression. I mean it makes sense but it's never happened to me. Everyone I meet always finds their true love. But if Atem loves me then what do we do with Kaiba? This doesn't feel like it's my choice to make, but Atem's. And feeling the bruise on my neck I think he's made his choice.
"So what do we do?" I ask sadly.
"Normally in this situation we would arrange a second chance." Tea shrugs and I look at her sharply. I don't like that idea one bit. She can sense this as she holds her hands up in defence. "But I can see the thread between you is strong. Don't worry, this isn't uncommon."
She frowns at the boy behind us. "Your demon has clearly chosen you. That aside I can't in good conscience allow a relationship between a demon and a human continue anyway. It is best to cut his losses so he might find happiness elsewhere."
"How do we do that? Make him forget him? What if he sees him again? They both live in the city."
She smiles at me and between us a bright, blue thread floats connecting Kaiba junior to the image of Atem.
"This is the connection that formed when Seto Kaiba saw your demon. There are hundreds and thousands of threads like this within us, weaving in such a way that it creates the tapestry that us. But our most recent or most meaningful connections are in rooms such as this."
"What do we do with it?" I ask, bending low to get a look at it. It floats gracefully in mid-air, like a typical magical stream in any game I've ever played.
"We remove the negative feelings associated with the thread." She explains, standing opposite me on the other side of the thread. I stand to meet her and ask her how.
"Delicately. Hover your hand over the thread and focus on feeling it, but do not touch it."
"What happens if I touch it?"
"You could break it and this might do some harm we aren't prepared for."
Right. Don't touch it. Okay.
I do as she says, holding my hand over it as instructed. I feel an energy from it, like a hot fire warming my skin. Except it feels … gross. Like it feels poisonous and unwelcome. I want to pull my hand away but I think I have to feel this.
"Do you feel its energy?"
"I feel heat, but it's not pleasant."
"You should feel heat, but the unpleasant feeling is what is causing the thread to be blue. It's an unmet feeling. Depression, rejection, loneliness, all manner of negative emotions. What you need to do is imagine yourself as a siphon. Draw in that unpleasant feeling unto yourself, leaving only heat and peace in its wake."
"Sounds complicated." I say quietly. I close my eyes to try and focus on this. I feel the poison and as much as I want to focus on the heat instead I focus on it.
It feels… horrible. Like I'm filling myself in negativity. I suppose that is what I'm doing. It feels violating and disgusting, but I'm doing this for Kaiba. I'm doing this to be kind. No one deserves to feel this way, and if it means that he'll stop secretly pining for my boyfriend then great, then I can enjoy him in peace.
"Open your eyes." She whispers. I hesitate but do so and see the thread has changed colour. To my left is still blue but to my right it is a bright gold. The blue seems to be floating up to kiss my hand though, like a separate stream leaving the bright sunlight to continue on towards Kaiba.
Incredible… so it's working. But that means… that they're right. I mean they have to be, right? None of this would be happening if I were human. Being inside his mind is one thing but to actually be cleansing this thread… I'm…
"Focus." She whispers.
Right. I let slip a little there. If I'm to do this right then I need to keep absorbing this negativity for him. Until it's all gone. Kaiba should feel no romantic attraction to him after this. There might be some rejection but it won't fester like this. It will be more like a closed scar. How the hell do I know this? I don't have a clue.
I close my eyes once more and double my efforts. I can almost taste it now. Like a sour tang I want to throw up. I can feel this taint leaking into my core, weaving into my blood and curling around my soul, but it cannot hurt me. It burns as soon as it gets too close. I can feel it enter my body only to be purged a moment later. Soon I feel a more invigorating sensation coursing through me than a horrid one and no more is being drained from the thread. It is warmer now, healthy and fresh and clean.
I have done it. Any negativity Kaiba has felt born from this thread will no longer harm him. It won't stop him from feeling this way again but any harm caused by the date we had will no longer affect him.
I take my hand back and Tea beams at me proudly. "You did so well. How do you feel?"
"Fine… I didn't like it at first but now I feel more … invigorated than I expected."
"Good. That invigoration is a fresh burst of spiritual energy. As your mark weakens you'll feel more of that."
I see… I could get used to feeling like this. It feels like I've just been detoxed.
"What now?"
"We can leave. But first look around."
I do so and see the dark shadowy smog has cleared. I can see Atem standing where he was but other people are here now too. Roland, Mokuba, many others I don't know. They're not being obscured now and in fact standing beside Atem, none of them stand-up save for Mokuba who is closest to us than the others. Young Kaiba is still on the ground huddled up but he seems to be resting now.
"Seto Kaiba will need a few days to feel the effects of what you have done, but he is no longer blue and can now feel the support of those around him. He'll recover and we can leave knowing we have succeeded." Tea says happily.
Good. I feel accomplished. We did great today. I take her hand and I feel the weight of the world slam up from under me so hard I almost fall over. Thankfully his desk is before me and I don't knock anything over when I grab it.
"Are you okay?" Kaiba asks me and I jump. I didn't expect to hear his voice. He's looking at me strangely and I look back at Tea and Mokuba… time has resumed… and he has no idea.
"Yeah… just tripped." I laugh but he's not amused.
"Be careful. I'll be very annoyed if you disrupt my work." He says gruffly.
"Right. You know, we can see you're busy. Why don't we come back later." Tea says happily. I eagerly join her, though I am curious to know if it really worked or not.
"You're leaving?" Mokuba asks us.
"Y-yes… I think Kaiba's going to be just fine. But, um… try not to be a stranger okay? I miss our conversations." I say happily to him. He smirks and hides into his work.
"Duel me some time." He says humbly. How can I say no? If a friendship is what he needs well I'm always happy to make more of those. I'll just keep Atem away from him.
"Sure. Sounds fun!" I smile happily.
We leave him be quietly and I hear Mokuba running to catch up. We don't say anything until we've reached the front door. My car is still happily parked where I left it and sadly there's no demon waiting for me. I swear to every God that exists if anything has happened to him…
"Hey so what happened?" He asks us.
"Your brother just needed a reminder that he wasn't alone. He'll be fine in a few days." Tea says to him kindly. I'm sure he won't buy that but what else can we say? In his mind we just entered the room and left.
"If you're sure." He says slowly.
"Dont worry Mokuba. Your brother's tough. He'll be just fine. And if he's not you can call me." I cheerfully say and he thinks about it, smiles and nods.
"Okay. Then, thanks guys."
"No problem. See ya later Mokuba."
With that we climb into my car and I carefully take us out. Only when we pass through the large white gates, wave at the guards and leave do I finally relax.
"You did really well." She says happily. I flush at the compliment but now that that's over with I can focus on everything else.
"He's going to be okay? We did it?"
"You did. And yes he'll be fine. Like I said it will take a few days but he'll be the same Kaiba you knew before."
I don't have any reason to doubt her so I guess I just have to trust her.
"Okay. So how do I know if Atem is okay?"
She sighs in frustration but I don't care. If he's moping somewhere fine, but I want to know if he's okay.
"Your demon is fine. He's just being a baby."
"How do I know that?"
"Just call him. He's got a phone, doesn't he?"
… I'm driving. But I suppose she's right. I could call him. If he doesn't answer then I can hound her.
"You really care about that thing don't you?" She asks and I take offence to the way she addresses him.
"I do. And he's not a thing. He's Atem. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you haven't used his name yet."
She falls silent. Good. I love her but her prejudice is really disappointing. She was always so kind and open minded as a kid. I've never known her to hate anything. Now I see her after all these years and she despises my boyfriend without even knowing him.
And what's worse is that I think she really hurt his feelings with that comment. He's so much more sensitive than he lets on. I know this because as much of a sex hound as he is he's actually really self conscious.
"What's an unsent?" I ask suddenly. It's good to be back on familiar roads again. I don't know where we're going though. I guess home is a good option. Do I need anything?
"He hasn't told you?"
"No. Should he have?"
"I see…" She says quietly. God I am so annoyed at this. Why don't they tell me everything?
"Well I don't."
She sighs again, this time sadly? "Yugi. Look if you want me to respect him then it isn't my place to explain it. Ask him and if he doesn't then I'll tell you. But it's really personal, so it's best he does it. I can tell you anything else about being an angel, but when it comes the personal affairs of demons… its best if he trusts you with it."
Typical. Fine. I guess I'll have to wait until I see him.
"I'm sorry." She says quietly, taking me by surprise.
"What for?" I ask suspiciously.
"I sense I've upset you. I've rushed back into your life with all this overwhelming information and you've hardly the time to comprehend it. How long have you known about being an angel?" She asks me.
"Honestly? I found out yesterday." I admit shyly.
"Only yesterday?" She gasps exasperatedly and I nod in response. "I see. You must feel very overwhelmed."
…"It's not easy…" I assent quietly.
"Well, I know a lot has changed for you and for what it is worth I am here to help you through this. Anything you need, all you need to do is ask."
I'll take her up on that I'm sure but right now all I want to know is where my boyfriend is and if he's okay.
Tea decided it would be best to leave me after we got home. She inspected my house, seemed somewhat annoyed at the markings Atem had left but otherwise commended his thought to protect me. Though she likened it to a beast protecting his property and while she seems disapproving of that I actually quite like it.
So now I'm here alone, standing on my couch to get a better look at the intricate carvings he made while waiting for a call back from him. Tea insists he's okay but I just can't shake this feeling. I haven't known him for long but it worries me how touchy he seemed to be the entire time Tea was with us.
Finally my phone rings and I jump off to answer it as quickly as possible. I'm so excited to see the words [Hot stranger] come up on my screen that I almost forget how worried I am.
"Hi! Are you okay? What happened? Why'd you leave so suddenly? I've been worried about you. I thought she hurt you, or worse. You're not hurt are you? Atem?"
I might have thrown all that at him too suddenly but I eagerly and impatiently wait for him to tell me he's okay. Because he's okay, right?
"I'm not hurt, and I'm relieved you sound safe. She didn't touch me. I'm okay. I'm sorry I worried you."
He sounds sad. Why is he sad?
"Are you really okay? You don't sound okay?" I press, trying to hear more as if that will somehow tell me everything I need to know.
"I'll be okay. Listen, I'm sorry. You should learn all you can from her. I need some time to figure things out. Just be really careful okay?"
"Wait what are you saying? What's wrong?" I ask quickly. I know this flag. It's an angst flag. They use this in dating sims and JRPGs all the time to let the players know they're gonna disappear for a bit. Last time he left for a month!
"It's alright. I just have a few things I need to get through."
"Then let's get through them together. We're a couple now, right? Trust me, lean on me. I can help." I'm panicking. I know I am but I don't want him to go.
"You can't help me right now. I'll be alright. It's you you should be thinking about. With her there -"
"She's not here right now."
"Yugi. With her there you'll be learning all kinds of things about who you are. I assume your visit to Kaiba's went well?"
…"Yes?"
"You have more pressing things you need to be focused on. I'll be around but I need to tend to a few things. I love you."
I hate this. I love those words and hearing them feels like my heart has just wrapped them up and selfishly hoarded whatever feelings comes with them, but it hurts this time. He needs space? We just started dating!
"Please don't go." I sound pathetic asking this of him, but I really want him to stay with me. I just got him back and now he's leaving again?
"I'll make it up to you, I promise. Just please stay safe."
"No! You stay safe!" I'm clearly too upset and argumentative for this but I don't care. I'm crying now and all I want is for him to come over, sweep me off me feet and hold me, apologise for saying these things and promise me he'll never leave.
"I will. I'll see you soon."
The phone makes a deep beeping sound and I check to see the screen showing the call has ended.
He's not breaking up with me… but this hurts so much. What does he have to think about that he can't trust me with? The hell am I going to do with anything he could tell me? If he thinks I'm gonna leave him well its a bit late for that!
I gave him everything and not even a day later he needs space? Why? Did I do something wrong? Is being friends with Tea too much for him? Because I didn't know she was an angel either.
Maybe he's rethinking the whole thing. Maybe he realises what this could mean, dating an angel. He's a demon, we're supposed to hate each other. He hates Tea, she hates him… what if he thinks I'll hate him too… or what if he's trying not to be disgusted by me? He let some stunted angel touch him.
This is getting me no where fast. I could call him back… but he said he needs space. What do I do? He's the first boyfriend I've ever had. I've heard of couples needing space before but never after 1 day. That's a red flag isn't it? But it would be my fault wouldn't it? He needs space from me, why? What can I do to make this better? Did I miss a checkpoint? Was I supposed to defend him in the car, or not go at all? Was that the wrong path? Is this gonna lead to a bad ending!?
Okay, Yugi. Calm down. Stop using game references for this, this isn't a game. He said he needs space… just give him space…
I'm gonna call Ryou. He might know what to do.