Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ ...Et Tuus Amor Nego ❯ Phoenix ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"Are you ready for church, Yugi?"

Yugi flushed as his mother smiled down at him pleasantly.

"Uh… Mum, I'm not going."

"Wh-what?" His mother choked.

"I have a… prior engagement. Yami's taking me out to Camden Town."

"…On a Sunday?"

"That's when he usually goes. Besides, the place we're going to is fully open on the weekends, other days… not everything is open…"

"I-Oh, I guess there's no fighting you, is there?" His mother sighed. She reached into her pocket and handed him five £20 notes. "Take that for your trip and call me when you're ready to come home."

"Thanks, Mum!" Yugi hugged his mother. A second later, the doorbell rang. His mother went to check the screen as to who it was.

"…Is that Yami?" She wondered.

"Yami!" Yugi yelled, excitedly, at the same time. He ran to the door and opened it, revealing Yami in all his tall, lanky glory.

Yami tore his eyes away from the little camera lens above the doorbell and turned to Yugi, grinning. "Hey, Yugi." Yugi tackled and hugged him.

"They almost wouldn't let me go," Yugi said. "But then Mum remembered how stubborn I can get."

Yami laughed. Yugi looked him up and down. He was wearing a long black overcoat that obscured most of the rest of his outfit. It looked elegant on him, accenting his smooth but clear-cut facial features. He still wore the reading glasses Yugi had seen him wearing on the day they had met. His hair was tied back into a ponytail, though his bleached-blond bangs still hung in his face.

"Ready?" Yami asked, holding out his hand, which was partially covered in a thick black hand-warmer. Yugi took his hand and stepped outside, waving to his parents. He tucked the money his mum had given him into the pocket of his dark grey jacket.

"How much did she give you?" Yami asked, having noticed this.

"£100… How'd you know it was my mum?"

"Lucky guess," Yami said, shaking his head. They bought All-Day passes for the Underground, and boarded a Jubilee Line train headed for Stratford Station in southwest London. He cleared his throat as they sat down. "Yugi, uh… you… don't have a boy-girlfriend, do you?" His pale face flushed a little. Damn… almost let that slip… if he isn't… well, he'd be insulted, probably…

Yugi laughed. The irony of what Yami had said was too much. "No," He said. He laughed again. "You almost said 'boyfriend', didn't you?"

Yami looked a little nervous. "I-"

Yugi laughed again. "It's okay… I don't date girls, anyway… not that you would've known that, but still…"

Yami blinked. "… Well… I guess 'boyfriend' would've been the better choice of words…"

"And before you ask again, no, I don't have a boyfriend either," Yugi said. "Why are you asking?"

"Curious… is there someone you're interested in…?"

Yugi blushed. "Well… yeah."

Yami's heart sank. Oh no… "Who?" He asked apprehensively. "If… If you don't mind saying, that is…"

"Well… I'll tell you… but first… you have to answer my question," Yugi said, slyly. Wouldn't hurt, would it? Then again, Yami might be offended…

"What's that?" Yami asked.

"Do you date girls?"

"…No," Yami said with a laugh.

Yugi took in a breath. "The guy I like… is you."

Yami was silent for a moment, then he sighed in relief and laughed. "Oh… I was getting worried."

Shocked, Yugi stared at Yami. "Y-You feel the same way?!" His heart pounded. Then… if he does…

Yami smiled at Yugi. "Why do you think I was asking?"

The train arrived at Waterloo Station, and the two disembarked from their train and switched over to the Northern Line (A/N: Trust me when I say that the London Underground is EXTREMELY confusing. o.O I forgot the first station that the Northern and Jubilee lines intersected and had to look it up. Oops.). They sat down again. Yugi gathered his courage and did what he had intended to do since yesterday.

"So, uh… would you go out with me?" He asked, a little embarrassed.

Yami smirked. "Consider this our first date."

Yugi grinned and hugged Yami fiercely. He spent the remainder of the train ride leaning against Yami's shoulder while Yami tried to figure out if they should visit his friend's store before going anywhere else. People did look at them strangely, probably because they were both men, but neither really cared.

When their train arrived at Camden Town Station, the two got off and exited, emerging onto a crowded roadway. Most were headed towards a large green sign that read "The Camden Market" in gold letters. Yami and Yugi made their way in that direction as well, carefully picking their way through the crowds.

"Let's see… his store is in Camden Lock Market, I think," Yami said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"So we're visiting your friend first?"

"Yeah, I promised him that if I met someone I was interested in, I'd introduce them to him."

"Oh. That's why you suggested Camden Market?"

"That and I thought you might enjoy it… All things considered, it's essentially the Camden High Street."

Yugi laughed as they crossed Regents Canal and then Castlehaven Road.

"Here we go… Camden Lock Market. Only open on weekends," Yami said, chuckling. He steered Yugi towards a shop that appeared to be located a little underground. As they entered the shop, the sound of some rather gothic sounding organ music caught Yugi's ears, combined with an odd, Latin-sounding chant in the background of the song. The store was dimly lit, but there was enough light that you could see where you were going.

"This is…" Yugi muttered.

"Gothic merchandise… that's what he sells," Yami whispered back. "Although I'm not sure where-"

"Good afternoon," A voice said, abruptly. Yugi started and clung to Yami's arm.

"Stop that, Ryou," Yami said, not at all shocked.

"No fooling you, is there, Yami?"

A young man who looked no older than 16 or 17 stepped out in front of them. His long, silver-white hair was tied back in a low ponytail. Black eyeshadow lined his chocolate brown eyes, strangely accenting their shape. His outfit-entirely black-somehow made his pale skin stand out. "Brought a friend?" The man asked pleasantly.

"…Boyfriend, actually," Yami said, grinning and winking.

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "That quickly? Must've been love at first sight, eh?"

Yami chuckled. "Something like that."

"I still say you're barmy, but, I guess there's nothing I can do about that."

Yami scowled a bit. "Right… Anyway, Yugi, this is Ryou. He owns this shop."

"A pleasure," Ryou said, holding out a hand. Yugi eyed his long, painted-black fingernails warily before shaking Ryou's hand. Ryou smiled a little, and Yugi thought he caught a glimpse of an abnormally long incisor before Ryou let go of Yugi's hand and turned around.

"He scares me a little," Yugi whispered to Yami.

Yami shook his head. "Don't worry about it. He's actually nice, I just think he's… in a mood… today."

"'In a mood'?"

"He isn't usually that…" Yami's eyes roamed around the shop as he tried to think of a word. "…Evil, for lack of a better word."

Yugi raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more on the subject. He wandered aimlessly around the shop for a bit. As he did, the music playing changed from the gothic organ to a lilting, eerie music box and then to a haunting piano tune.

"Ryou, what've you got playing right now?" Yami asked, seemingly wondering just as Yugi was.

"Nox Arcana," Ryou said absently. "Creepy, right?"

"A little," Yugi said.

"I take it the two of you aren't going to spend all of your time here," Ryou said.

"No, just thought we'd drop by first," Yami said. Ryou smiled and shook his head.

They spent another few minutes in Ryou's shop before heading back out and making their way to the Stables Market, where they got lunch. Yami didn't eat much, but Yugi hadn't had breakfast, so he was rather hungry. After lunch, they investigated the other stores in the Stables Market. Yugi's purchases were mainly music, while Yami had managed to find some items of... interest, to say the least.

Time seemed to pass too quickly for the two. By dusk they had entered Chalk Farm Station and boarded the Northern Line train headed towards Waterloo Station. It had seemed only moments ago that they had entered Camden Market that morning.

Most of their lengthy train ride passed in silence. That is, until Yugi noticed that Yami looked oddly strained. His eyes were squeezed shut, his fist clenched tightly. His hand was even shaking a little from the amount of strength he was exerting on it. His face was paler than it had seemed before, too.

A worried expression crossed Yugi's face. He placed a hand on Yami's clenched fist. "Yami?"

Yami started and opened his eyes. "Hmmm?"

"Are you okay? You looked…" Yugi trailed off. "…Strained…"

"It's nothing… a headache, probably from hunger…"

"Why didn't you eat at the Market?"

"…I wasn't hungry when we had lunch."

Yugi sighed, deciding not to press the matter.

Night had fallen when Yugi and Yami made their way up Yugi's street. Yugi was tired, and Yami looked a little exhausted as well. They stopped under a lamppost about 10 meters away from Yugi's house.

"Have fun?" Yami asked, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks for taking me," Yugi replied, smiling as well.

"Just one last thing…" Yami said as Yugi turned to leave. He took Yugi in his arms and kissed him soundly on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow," He said. Yugi hugged him one last time then headed home.

Yami, meanwhile, headed off towards the high street, pangs erupting in his body. He hadn't eaten in a week, something that certainly wasn't good, even for someone of his nature. He clutched at his forehead and slid down against the wall of the St. John's Wood post office.

"You alright?" A passer-by asked, looking at Yami oddly.

"Yes…" Yami's voice came out hoarsely. When he looked up, his eyes had gained a feral glow, and he leapt at the woman, biting into her neck with inch-long fangs, one clawed hand covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream. When her blood was drained, he dropped her body. "…I'm fine…" His appearance returned to normal, and he disappeared, whispering six words.

"Incendo ad cinis… Ventus spargo cinis…"

The corpse erupted to flame briefly, going out seconds later. The remaining ashes scattered, leaving no evidence of the woman's presence, nor of Yami's.

Incendo ad cinis... ventus spargo cinis... - "Burn to ashes... wind scatter the ashes..." (forgive my shoddy Latin. -sweatdrop-)

Also, for anyone who's wondering, the story's title means "...And Your Love Denied".