Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Kind of You ❯ Discoveries ( Chapter 12 )

Malik was awake all night, worried for his best friend. He didn't know what to do and he didn't even know where to begin looking for him. All he knew was that Yugi took the train north, but there were many stops that he could've taken after that. Malik was tempted to actually ride the train until he found Yugi, but he knew that no matter how much he got paid as a whore he'd eventually run out and end up stranded somewhere all alone. Plus, he didn't want to worry Marik anymore than he had.

`Actually, I don't want to worry him at all, but with this stupid mental problem that's a little too hard to do. In fact, it's just short of impossible to do most of the time.' He sighed and rolled over, wishing that his lover was with him, but Marik had said he had a lot of work to do catching up on all the phone calls he'd been neglecting.

The Egyptian rolled over once more, pulling his blankets even closer as though he were cold. His eyes landed on a small picture on his desk of him and Yugi along with Ryou all crowded in the hallway. It had been a spur of the moment picture, but all were willing to take it nonetheless. The picture had been given to him after it had been developed and Marik had copied it for Ryou and Yugi afterwards. Ryou had it on his billiard board in his room and Yugi kept his in his wallet.

He was startled when his door creaked open and Marik peaked in. Glancing at his clock, Malik noted it was close to five in the morning and he wondered what Marik was doing up that early.

"Malik, are you up?"

"Yeah," he answered in a false tired voice so Marik would think he got some sleep that night.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was already up."

"Oh," Marik looked away for a second and his lover instantly became worried. The owner of the whorehouse was definitely acting stranger than usual and he couldn't help but think that something was up. "I need to show you something. It's really big."

"Okay," Malik got out of bed, bringing his blanket with him and wrapped it around his shoulders, knowing how cold the place could get early in the morning.

"I was listening to the recordings that I've missed this past week and you wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"What did you find," Malik asked curiously.

"You know Duke, right; Duke Devlin," he asked his lover.

"Yeah, Yugi likes him. What's wrong with that?"

The question wasn't answered as they entered Marik's office and the older sat down gesturing for Malik to take a seat as well. When Malik was settled Marik pushed play on the recorder and the voice of Duke Devlin came on, begging Yugi, anybody, to answer the phone. That wasn't the only message like that either. After that one there were at least ten or so more where Duke begged Yugi to talk to him and let him explain about some girl named Serenity.

"Wait a minute," Malik jumped out of his chair as yet another message of Duke came on. "Yugi asked about some girl named Serenity and if Joey had a sister by that name. That was when he ran out and went for the train station." He ran out of the office and Marik hurried after him.

Before Marik could catch him and try to reason that Joey was asleep with Seto but his lover had already barged in the room, startling the couple awake.

"What's going on," Joey asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he lay against his own lover, looking at Malik curiously.

"This better be good," Seto growled at Marik when he saw the owner come into view.

"Trust me, it is," Malik answered. "Joey, think, you remember when Yugi asked you about your sister, right?"

The blonde was silent for a while before he finally nodded, "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

Malik sighed with relief and asked Joey to explain the conversation back to him. Confused and slightly curious as to where it would lead into them being woken up so early in the morning, Joey began telling the owner's lover how Yugi practically ran over to him and asked about his sister and that he had told his friend that he hadn't spoken to her in a while, but knew she was dating some guy who created his own high-tech game. "Or something like that," Joey finished off, "Does that help any?"

"Definitely," Malik shouted excitedly, running out of the room and heading for his own.

Before Marik could join his lover Seto demanded to know what was going on. Sighing, the owner explained about the phone calls he'd come across and how two-thirds of about twenty or so calls had been Duke trying to explain about a girl named Serenity, all recordings starting on the one night Yugi was supposed to spend the night at his crush's mansion.

When he was finally able to join his young lover again, Malik was halfway down the hall, pulling a jacket on and heading for the main door. Marik hurried over to him and stood between him and the door. "Where do you think you're going, Malik?"

"I'm going to Duke's. This has got to be straightened out and in one of those messages he said something about a note Yugi left him before he ran out of the house that same night. Maybe something in that note might be able to help us." He then shoved Marik out of his way and proceeded out of the whorehouse.

Marik knew there was no way of stopping his lover when he was this worried about one of his closest friends. He knew that Malik wasn't getting any sleep at all unless very little and that he would do anything to find his best friend again. He couldn't blame him though. Had it been one of his best friends whom he loved with everything he had he knew he would do the same thing in an instant.

~~

Ryou startled awake at the sound of a door slamming closed. Groggy eyed he looked up and saw Bakura looking curiously outside the bedroom door. "What's going on," he asked sleepily.

"Don't know," Bakura answered, glancing back at him. "I heard somebody shout and now Malik just left with Marik; he said something about going to Duke's."

The teen was quiet for a while before he jumped up and started throwing on clothes in a hurry.

"Where are you going," Bakura demanded, cranky that he'd been woken up.

"It might be about Yugi," Ryou told him breathlessly, heading for the door. Bakura stared at where his lover disappeared down the hall for a while before sighing in defeat and throwing on a pair of pants and a jacket before going after him hurriedly. He caught up with Ryou a little after he caught up with Malik and Marik, getting the full story from them.

"Really, all those messages? Duke must've been really desperate to talk to him then," Ryou concluded, looking down the street and feeling its harsh chills before Bakura wrapped a possessive arm around him.

~~

Yugi shivered around the tattered blanket that was supposed to warm him against the chilly night air. `This is impossible,' he thought to himself, `How am I supposed to sleep when I'm freezing to death?' He tossed the rag to the ground and put on a small jacket he had with him, `Might as well go for a walk to wake up if I'm not going to get any sleep.'

Carefully, avoiding the squeaky steps, he headed upstairs and out the front door. `I won't be gone that long so I won't bother locking it,' he thought, knowing he could easily get out the windows had he wanted to keep it locked. After all, he knew his parents wouldn't give him a spare key even if he got on his hands and knees and begged for one.

Heading down the overly cracked sidewalk he couldn't help but search his back pocket for his wallet he never took from it. He opened it to the only picture he ever kept in there and couldn't help the spring of tears in his eyes. `I miss you so much, guys. I'm sorry I had to leave.'

He then thought back to Yami and his tears tracked down his face. `What a stupid reason to leave,' He scolded himself, `Sure, Yami could've found a better way of living than using people for sex. The other whores and…and myself should know that better than anyone. We didn't wake up one day and say, `hey, I want to be a whore when I grow up.' No, this was forced on us because we didn't have anywhere else to go. We don't have sex for fun at all, giving up our sacred virginity to filthy people who can't help but get off dominating other people no matter how much they have to pay.'

Looking to the stars he sighed and thought, `Life sucks; I don't know where to turn anymore. I feel so lost now.' Glancing back down at his wallet he noticed he had just enough money left for a ticket back to the city he ran from. `Should I just go back and apologize to Yami for what I said and then keep living with him? If finding the money I need isn't enough than I don't know what is, but,' he paused to look down the street and around the home that he unfortunately grew up in, `but didn't I have a good reason to be mad at him in the first place? He knew how I felt about living in the whorehouse for a living and then he blatantly admitted to using people for sex for fun. Then again,' he glanced around again, more tears coming to his eyes as they slid down his red cheeks, `Then again, he was admitting to me and he even said he wasn't proud of it at all. He even looked ashamed of himself.' Turning back towards his hell hole of a home, wiping his tears as he thought, `Now I really don't what to do. How much more lost can one person get in one night?'

~~

Yami glanced around his apartment, feeling horrible for the umpteenth time since Yugi stormed out on him. He couldn't blame his small look-a-like either. Yugi continuously told him how having sex for a living was horrible and he wished there was anything else for him to do and he still did what he did without ever thinking of the consequences of his actions. He only really ever felt ashamed about when he did when he saw how upset Yugi had gotten with him.

`I'm such a rat,' he admitted to himself, `I'd do anything to get Yugi back though, but I don't know where he went.' Looking around once more he growled to himself, grabbing his jacked, and headed for the door. `I've got to get out of here!'

~~

Malik and friends had been yelling at Duke Devlin's gate for a good fifteen minutes before one of the guards finally came out and threatened to call the police on `you hoodlums' if they hadn't left immediately. Discouraged, Malik promised that he'd be back again and promptly left, heading down the street more determined then ever to find out what happened that night.

"Marik, can we go through the park once, please," he asked, looking up at his lover, "I don't want to go back home just yet."

"Of course, love," Marik answered, "I don't want to either anyway."

Ryou, about to fall asleep on his feet, had Bakura answer for them that they were going to go back then and get his younger lover to bed so they could sleep some.

"Don't worry about any customers tonight, Ryou. I'll hold them off until tomorrow if I can."

Ryou mumbled a near incoherent thank you before being swept off down the street by Bakura, who was holding him tightly in his arms, trying to keep him warm but comfortable at the same time.

~~

Circling the park once had proved to tire Malik out greatly. From his lack of sleep the walk was exactly what he needed for the sleep fairy to pay him a visit at last. He was about to tell Marik he was ready to go back when a familiar head of spiky hair met his eyes and his widened in surprise. "Yugi," he shouted as loud as he could, not caring what hour of the day it was. He ran over shouting Yugi's name as loud as he could, waving his arms around like a maniac.

Yami looked over his shoulder in surprise, thinking Yugi had really come back. When he saw the person shouting heading for him however he froze. The person crashed into him, causing them both to drop to the wet ground, and a large, godly tight hug crushing the life out of the crimson eyed teen.

Marik hurried over and saw Yami's pleading `help me' look and he pulled his lover off, disappointed in himself for having to ruin Malik's sudden rush of happiness. "Love, that isn't Yugi."

"But," tears sprang to Malik's eyes and he shook his head in disbelief, "but I really thought that…"

"I know, love, I know."

"I'm terrible sorry about all this," Yami continually apologized. "I didn't mean to cause harm to either of you."

Something in Marik's memory sparked. He had heard this voice somewhere before, but where?

"I really have to be going now. I am truly sorry."

Just as Yami was leaving Marik shouted, "Wait a minute; have we met somewhere before?"

The crimson eyed teen shook his head, slowly in confusion. "No, I'm sorry. I don't think we have."

Then Marik had it, "No! We have spoken before! You called the whorehouse a short ways from here and demanded a Yugi Motou, didn't you? I could've sworn it was your voice."

Yami was shocked but carefully nodded his head, "Yes, I did that once, a long time ago. Was that you?"

Marik nodded.

"Oh," he looked away, "I apologize, then, I didn't mean to act so rude to you on the phone. You could say I was a bit desperate to see him again."

"You met him before," Malik asked curiously.

"Yes, we were friends. He'd been living with me for a while, but he got into an argument about something and he ran off to the train station to live with his parents again."

"Might I have your number, please," Marik asked suddenly. "I know we just met, but by the way you speak I know you care for him greatly. He's Malik's best friend and he cares for him greatly. I don't know what I'd do if I were to lose Malik forever, but I'll do anything I can to save him."

Yami was skeptical at first, but remembered Yugi once telling him that he had two good friends at the whorehouse and these people definitely seemed nice enough for Yugi to become friends with. He wrote down his number on a piece of stray garbage from the ground and handed it to Marik. "Just in case my dad answers," he warned, "ask for Yami, but the chances of that are highly unlikely. The best time to call would be during the night, but if you need me in a hurry than go to the burger place in the main city," he explained.

Marik nodded and watched turn away. `Finally,' he thought, `It's small, but we've finally made our first step towards getting Yugi back to his true family. I only hope that Yugi will want to come back when we end up finding him…' He looked down at his lover sadly, who was watching with hopeful eyes as Yami walked further and further away, `…if we find him at all.'

GODS PEOPLE!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN THE LONGEST TIME. I HAD THE WORST WRITER'S BLOCK EVER FOR THIS CHAPTER AND I WROTE IT LIKE A MILLION AND ONE TIMES BEFORE I FINALLY CALLED IT QUITS!!! BEFORE I REALIZED IT IT HAD BEEN LIKE TWO MONTHS SINCE THE LAST TIME I UPDATED!!! *BOWS REPEATEDLY TO READERS* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEEEEEEASE FORGIVE ME!!!