Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Corrupted ❯ Aftermath ( Chapter 2 )

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Pegasus' defeat and his subsequent disappearance sent shockwaves through the world. The creator of Duel Monsters had been beaten. By a child, no less.

No matter that size was deceiving, that he'd defeated Seto Kaiba, the former world champion, they could not reconcile his innocence with his title. Even after the whole Dice Monsters debacle, it was not he who set the crowds whispering. It was not he who drew stares like a flame draws moths. Yami possessed the attention of every passer-by. Yami owned the spotlight.

He could have it. More and more, Yuugi relinquished control to his other self, offering the flimsiest of excuses. Yami was too pleased at being able to live and breathe and glare again that he did not notice the declining state of his hikari. None of them did.

Gratefully, Yuugi was able to retreat into himself, spending more time in his soul room, alone with his thoughts and memories. Memories that Yuugi was finding increasingly easy to keep from his other half. He barely needed to strengthen the barrier that was growing between them. Yami would never discover the thoughts that plagued him every second of every day.

Salt crystal tears decorated his soft pyjamas, creating damp spots on the fur of the vaguely familiar toy he held cradled in his arms. Yuugi's violet eyes were dull. Alone, the images his mind could not prevent seeing washed over him unmolested.

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Watching absently as his blond friend steamed in front of a stone-faced Seto Kaiba, Yami paused. A flicker of something, almost a thought, echoed from the deeper regions of his mind.

Yuugi…?

As the silence persisted, Yami dismissed the event with a shrug, tuning back into the conversation in time to intervene before a fight developed.

* * *

Silent and motionless, Yuugi relived that night alone in the steadily darkening room.