Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Amalgamation of the Lonely ❯ Chapter 1

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“I'm sorry…”

 

“…”

 

“Please…say something?”

 

Tears streamed down his face as he silently kept his head bowed, watching his fingers play with the hem of his jacket.

 

“Please! I don't care if you yell or cry…just say somethi-”

 

“W-why?…What did I do?” his fingers stopped and laced themselves together, petit hands squeezed tightly, fingernails cutting into delicate flesh and causing just the slightest of blood to slip out. “I did something wrong…w-what was it?”

 

“I told you before…It's nothing you did.” The other reached out and gently placed his hand on the smaller's shoulder, massaging the muscles knotted in sad tension. “It's just…I-”

 

“I'll fix it! Oh gods, I swear to you! I'll do what ever I have to…” he began to sob and flung himself at his other, weeping into the stronger's shoulder and clinging as though life itself depended on being together. “I'll f-fix it!!” his throat burned as he struggled to breathe, eyes squeezed shut and body trembling…it's just a dream, a horrible, horrible dream that he would wake from in a few minutes, protective arms wrapped around his small form and a tender voice telling him it was just a nightmare, that he was there…forever. “P-ple-ease! No!…no…” he cried for what seemed eternity, rocked silently by the other as hot tears trailed down his face and seeped through their clothes.

 

“I still love you…just, just not like that…” the darker version of his voice seemed so tender now, so unlike his normally rough and strong demeanor. The smaller shuddered and nodded; he knew…he had known.

 

He sniffed the last of the tears away, hiccupping as he nestled into the dark's arms to savor the last moments they would share like this. “I love you too…” he whispered, eyes welling up with tears once more, but not spilling a drop of his sorrow.

 

They stayed there, arms laced around the other while they silently said good-bye. There was no need for words, no need to vocalize the pain, no need to make it official. “Are you better, Love?” fingers slipped through silver hair, combing back the strands that hung in the smaller's face.

 

“Y-yes…for now…” he answered sadly, mewing in need when he was squeezed tightly against the other's chest. “C-can I know who…who stole you from me?” he asked bitterly, venom dripping from his pale lips as he swore vengeance on the one who had stolen what was rightfully *his*.

 

The taller sighed, “He didn't steal me from you, I am and always will be yours.” He nuzzled the boy's hair and shifted in the sofa, cradling the smaller in his arms and kissing the top of his head. “I'll tell you…but you have to promise me you won't kill him.” he toyed, stroking the boy's cheek and peering into the soft eyes.

 

He pouted for a moment, was it that clear that he had wished a painful death upon whoever it was that had taken his soul, was it even clearer that he would never be able to go through with murder? “Fine…I'll let him live as long as he loves you as much as I do…” he pulled away just slightly, it was time to start pulling away all together, he had to fight jealously, anger, and sadness on his own if he was to get over losing his other half.

 

A wry grin spread across the other's face “Deal…” he shifted restlessly, unsure if he really wanted to let his hikari know. “It's…well…it's Ishtar…” his dark eyes darted to the ground, suddenly finding the spotless rug fascinating.

 

“Oh…” the smaller was surprised to say the least, he had thought their past would affect any possible feelings beside pure bloodied hatred. “Which one?”

 

The other repositioned the smaller in his lap, entwining their fingers together as he took a deep breath.

 

“Kura? Which one?” his soft brown eyes widened in worry, why was Bakura having such a hard time telling him? Either choice was…well, `fine' wasn't the word, but there was nothing he could do about the decision his dark made.

 

“Ryou…it's…” the yami looked at his light and couldn't help the smile that graced his lips just thinking about it. “It's both…I love Malik, and as insane as it may sound, Marik too.”

 

The hikari blinked in shock “Both?! But how?” Ryou's eyes were very wide, when before he had cried for losing his dark he now felt like crying for his dark's safety. “Bakura! One's bad enough, but both?! They're insane! What if they try to do something to you? What if they want to kill you?! Oh Ra! Kura!” the light clung to his other and received only a silly smile in return.

 

“I can assure you that they will not try to kill me, Love.” Bakura kissed the smaller's nose and grinned with an evil edge that only he could master. “They like it when they're put into their place…and…I like putting them there.” He laughed at his light's slight confusion and then laughed harder when his angel flushed.

 

“Ooooh…well, then I guess it's ok.” Ryou settled back down and looked at his dark, slender fingers tracing the familiar jaw line, retracing features he knew better than those on himself. “Just let me know if they ever hurt you, Kura.” He meekly glanced through his silver lashes and kissed his dark tenderly “Cause I'll go after them and teach them the art of torture…” he sighed and snuggled into the yami's arms, hiding the fact that his lips still twitched downward while his dark chuckled.

 

“Alright, Love, I'll relay that message word for word.” Bakura smirked, stroking his light and turning the boy's face upward with his icy fingers. Worry marred his stoic face and he carefully kissed his hikari before pulling away again, his heart lurched at the boy's pain, he hated to bring this upon the smaller, that's why he had hidden his `affair' with the Egyptian duo for the past few weeks, hurting Ryou was the last thing he had wished to do. Bakura loved his light, he really did, with heart and soul, but he craved something more that the smaller couldn't give him, pure lust hunted passion drenched with blood and sweat that only Marik and Malik could comprehend and dish out. Sure, he did love the tanned youths, but it was the `relationship' kind of love that Ryou had wanted, but couldn't have from Bakura because he was loved as the other half of his soul by the darker. “Ryou, no more tears…please?”

 

The hikari looked up and his lips trembled into a smile “I'm sorry, Kura…it just hurts, I'll get over it…I promise.”

 

Bakura hugged his light tightly “I know it does, but I swear to you, you *will* find someone to love you like that. Hey, you might even be lucky and get two, just like me.” He pulled back and looked into the smaller's eyes “And if they even dare make you sad, I'll teach them the art of death.” He smiled as his light grinned up at him.

 

“Thank you, Kura…” Ryou giggled and gave his dark a quick hug, jumping up and wiping the rest of his tears away. “Let's get something to eat then, or we can stop off at the arcade and see if anyone's there, hmmm?” Bakura nodded and followed his light out the door, they both knew that the pain churning inside of Ryou's heart was there, stinging and gnawing beneath that brilliant smile, but they also knew that the angel was strong enough to survive, as hard as it seemed at the moment.

 

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“Get the fuck out of here, you damn piece of shit!”

 

The crash of glass was heard throughout the house; shards of it lay strewn about the place from past bouts of rage.

 

“I never want to see your Goddamn face here again!”

 

It stank of alcohol, the carpet, clothes, furniture, everything, it all reeked of that same mind jading beverage his father `loved' so much. `Loved', he used that term loosely as the boy had no real understanding of it.

 

“I swear, if you make even the slightest fucking sound… I'll kick your damn ribs in!”

 

Of course, he knew what it meant, he wasn't stupid. He'd just never experienced this thing, `love', not at home anyway. Sure, he loved his friends, but was that really the same thing? He'd do anything to protect, save, heck, even see them right now…he'd be willing to give up his life.

 

“Now shut the hell up and stay here cleaning up this damn mess before you leave!”

 

The boy was thrown onto the ground, head smacking against the hallway's walls; he heard the door slammed shut on the other side of the house. He's gone now, that bastard that was his father. Gone. Good riddance. Off to drink himself dead…hopefully. The blond sighed and began to clean up the shards of bottle around him, fingering the glass and sucking on his fingers when one of them was cut by the sharp edges. He was used to it, the abuse, both physical and emotional. How he managed to hide it from his friends was beyond the boy's comprehension, but somehow, every time they asked one too many questions, he was able to turn the situation around and crack a joke, making them roll their eyes in exasperation and change to a different subject.

 

The phone began to ring; his hazel eyes looked up and saw that it was not in its cradle. He scrambled around, flipping books and furniture over to look for it; who cared about the mess, he'd have to clean it up anyway. Finally, the ringing became quite loud and the boy lifted the phone from amongst a puddle of beer. He winced as the liquid slid down his face, stinging the rather nasty cut across his cheek.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Jou!? Hey, you sound kinda worn out, you ok?” the concerned voice of his best friend was a welcomed sound to the boy's ears.

 

“Yug! Nah, it's nuthin', just got into a fight with the old man is all…” the blond shifted and sat on the ground, picking at the glass in his arm, it was the truth…

 

“Oh…well, I hope you two make up soon.” Yuugi smiled across the line, trying to comfort his friend as best he could, by being optimistic.

 

The blond rolled his eyes, “Yeah, thanks, Yug…” his friend could be so positive it sickened him at times. Jou then felt terrible, this was Yuugi he was complaining about, the small duelist had no idea what the blond went through, so of course he'd want the father son relationship to turn for the better. Jou would like that as well, but he knew it would never happen, and that was what bugged him the most, he couldn't hope for a better future, he just knew it wasn't possible.

 

“Anyway, Yami and I are going to the arcade and then going to have some pizza, you interested in joining us?” Yugi could be heard bouncing in anticipation, having his friends with him made the boy rather happy.

 

“Oh, sure, Yug, I'll- ow! Fucking shit!” Jou nearly dropped the phone as he pulled a long piece of glass from his left arm. It stung like hell and he bit his lip to keep from swearing some more, tears welled up in his eyes and he blinked them back, feeling two or three escape and leave cool trails down his cheek.

 

“J-Jou? A-are you a-alright?” the tricolor duelist was frightened by the sudden outburst, especially from his best friend who was usually such a happy guy.

 

“Y-yeah!” the blond stood up and wobbled over to the bathroom, his head suddenly hurt and he could see that he was crying, blood and tears trickling down his face in small rivers. “Just, erm, stubbed my toe.” He tried to laugh, a forced choked out wheezing came out and only frightened his friend some more.

 

“Jounouchi! Please! What's wrong, you sound…you sound like you're crying…” Yuugi pressed his ear to the receiver, trying to listen and see if perhaps he was wrong. “I'll come over and-”

 

“No!” the blond winced and sat on the toilet despite the fact it had no lid. “Listen, Buddy, I'm fine…jus' not feeling too good, ya know?” his hands shook just slightly. The emotions were beginning to mount; he hated lying to his best friend and hated his life even more. How many times had his father told him to leave? And how many times had Jou tried, only to come back and take it all over again because he had no where to go.

 

“Jou, I-”

 

“Look, I'll meet you and Yami there, ok?” his hazel eyes slid closed as he tried to numb the pain pounding in his skull by mental strength alone. He sniffed and quietly turned the faucet on, splashing some of the cool water on his face and looking up at the mess in the mirror. “I just gotta doll myself up, can't go over and meet that dead sexy yami of yours looking the way I do now.” He smiled, hearing his small friend giggle in response.

 

“Well…ok, but don't show off, I'll have to kill you if you manage to steal him from me!” Yuugi laughed as he gave Yami a thumbs up sign, letting the dark half know their blond friend would be joining them.

 

“Heh, ok, Yug, see ya in a little while…” the blond hung up after Yuugi squeaked out a pleased good bye. Jou placed the phone where it belonged, cleaning up the living room to half decency on his way there. “Oh jeez!” he saw the clock and realized he was fifteen minutes late by the time he was done with only half the house. “I'm never gonna finish this place up in time!” his father would be home in a matter of hours, even if the blond managed to come up with an excuse to leave his friends early, he'd never have the entire place cleaned to the drunkard's want.

 

He sat down on the torn sofa, resting his head in his hands as he whimpered quietly. He was so tired of it all…so tired. Tired of the screaming, the beatings, the stupid, half assed apologies in the morning. “I can't…I can't take it anymore…” he cried, letting his sobs fill the house as he threw over the coffee table, the neatly stacked papers and overdue bills flying through the air and landing everywhere. Jou ran to his room and started throwing things into his backpack, clothes, food, anything he could think of that would give him at least a partial start on his own.

 

The blond slammed his bedroom door shut, kicking and knocking over anything that was in his way as he neared the front door. The phone, it was ringing again. For a moment, a split second, his heart froze and he wanted to crawl away and hide…then he remembered his father never called. Jou picked up the phone, breathing erratically as he waited for whoever it was to say something.

 

“Um…hello? Jou? Are you there? Oh gods…Jou?”

 

It was Yuugi again, did the little guy ever stop worrying? “Yug, what's up?” his voice sounded rather pleased, strung with freedom as he looked over the hellhole he was leaving.

 

“Oh! Jou! Thank Ra! I was worried! Where are you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago! Did you forget?”

 

The blond grinned, “Yug…I'm at home, how else would I pick up the phone?” He heard the embarrassment over the line and continued, “Sorry, I just lost track of time is all…but I'm heading out right now! I'll be there in five minutes, tops!” He hung up just after his friend yelled an `Alright' and threw the phone across the room “See ya, Dad…” he smirked, leaving the front door wide open on his way out. For once in his life, Jou laughed while thinking of his father.

 

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It was automatic now, the typing, the sip of cold coffee, the unblinking stare at the computer screen. He felt like a damn robot, but he had no choice in the matter now did he? Everything had to be perfect, just had to be. It had his name on it after all! His products, his creations, his ideas…his, his, his! He owned it all, the building, the employees, the world. Ok, so not literally, but he came damn close! His challenge to anyone was to find a household on any block without one of his inventions mentioned in their conversation, just one house…on any block…didn't seem too hard, right? Well, then you might be in need of a hearing aid because there wasn't anyone out there who didn't mention his name at least once in their day!

 

He smirked, the first facial movement he'd done all day. He was almost done, almost done…with this project anyway. One of his hands was cramping, the muscles tightening and shooting pain through his wrist, elbow, shoulder. “Arg!” he shook his arm and glanced at his clock, yup, right on time, every three and a half hours his hand would cramp. “Stupid hand…” he muttered, approximately an hours worth of work would be saved if he didn't get those damn cramps. Maybe he should invent something for that too? No, it had nothing to do with his end of the world, his doctors could be concerned about his health, *he* had work to do.

 

The CEO took a rather large gulp of his nasty, cold, settled coffee, and grimaced just as a knock on the door diverted his attention. He knew who it was since only one person in the entire world was allowed to bother him at anytime of the day, even when he had specifically asked for what could be considered self solitary confinement. “Come in, Mokuba.” He sighed, ready to listen to his brother's complaints about the elder being too involved in work and not spending enough time out in the real world.

 

“Hey, Seto!” the raven-haired boy ran over and jumped into his brother's lap, giggling in apology when the other grunted and half glared at him. “How's it going?” he grinned, knowing the answer.

 

“Not good, but better than I expected.” The blue-eyed teen answered dryly, letting his gaze wander over to the screen and sighing, he knew every second his brother distracted him would mean a few more minutes of overtime for himself.

 

“Well…that's good…I guess.” The boy smiled and forced his brother to look at him by waving his hands in front of the icy eyes. “Yo, Seto, I'm here, not in there!” he pouted for a moment before giving the brunette a great big smile.

 

“Oh no…” Seto rolled his eyes and leaned back; Mokuba wanted something and it was going to cost the taller more than just money, his sanity and patience more than likely. “What is it this time, Mokuba?”

 

“What?!” the stormy-eyed boy feigned shock and hurt “Can't I just smile every once in a while. I know you're not used to it, but jeez.” He grinned and blinked his huge eyes a few times in an effort to win over the stern other. “Seto! Please say `yes', before you know what it is! Please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeaaaasssssee?!”

 

Kaiba grunted in annoyance as his brother began to whine and bounce about in his lap. He was going to break; he knew it, Seto never won. “Mokuba! Stop it…Mokuba…No…Mokuba, stop…No…No…Mokuba I said no…stop…stop it…Mokuba, stop! I said no!” his voice had hardened and he sounded far harsher than he had initially intended to be. The smaller looked at his brother for a long time, eyes filling with tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks. “No…Mokuba…please…don't…” the raven-haired boy's lip began to tremble. “Ok! Fine! I'll do it! Just don't cry!”

 

Mokuba whooped and jumped up and off his brother, half dancing as he raced to the door, stopping, and looking back with a giant grin. “Thanks, Seto! I'll be back and then we can head to the arcade!” the boy slipped through the door just as the other was about to growl.

 

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