Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Creature Comforts ❯ Screaming Daisies ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh and the fic challenge was Atarashii's, and the lyrics for the title and ending words are from Bush's "Razorblade Suitcase" album. And I have no idea why Dark Magician and Celtic Guardian are missing from Yugi's deck. Absolutely none whatsoever...*innocent grin*

Author's Notes: This is a response to Atarashii's fic challenge that I couldn't help but make incredibly freaky. Cheerfully Gothic fantasy lover, I am. Completely sane, I am not. o^.^o Beginning and ending words are from "Greedy Fly" by Bush. Lots of italics in this chapter, be warned...

(Updated note: This was written 5/15/02, so forgive me if it doesn't look like my best. I'm keeping the way it was when I wrote it and have no plans on editing it. I hope you enjoy it anyway, and I want to note that there is a sequel, the sequel is finished, and I just have to get around to posting it.)

"talking"

'thinking'

\Yugi\

\\Yami\\

*~~~*

flashback

*---*

scene change

Creature Comforts

Chapter One: Screaming Daisies

Ever been in a situation where 'I'm sorry' simply wasn't enough?

Yugi pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms, letting the salty tears stain the fabric. He hadn't meant to make Joey fall, and now...

*~~~~~~~~~~*

Joey crouched in a tree, leering down at the unsuspecting Tristan with a mischievous grin and a water balloon. Yugi walked around the tree and spied him, grinning before calling out a purely innocent 'BOO!'. Unfortunately, this startled the blond more than he had wanted to and he toppled forward onto the brunette. Time seemed to slow down to a snail's pace and a sickening crack followed shortly by two pained screams were the only sounds. Joey lay whimpering and clutching his injured arm while Tristan yelped as he tried to stand on a broken ankle. Téa ran over quickly and knelt down beside the two boys and glared at Yugi before yelling to Bakura to call an ambulance.

*~~~~~~~~~~*

Yugi was now curled up in the plastic emergency room chair, crying his eyes out and recieving worried stares from passing people. Téa was refusing to speak to him, as was Yami.

*~~~~~~~~~~*

/Yami! Yami, I--/

//I saw, Yugi. That was unkind of you.//

/But I didn't mean to! It was just a joke!/

//Yugi, some of the worst things have happened because someone was just joking.//

/But I--/

//That's enough! I'll not hear another word out of you until you realize exactly what you have done and atone for it.//

/Yami.../

No answer. The door to his Soul Room was locked tightly.

*~~~~~~~~~~*

Why had Yami gotten so angry? He hadn't meant to...

Joey and Tristan had been out of the emergency room for over an hour now and had gone home. One of the bones of Joey's upper arm had snapped cleanly in two and Tristan had a fracture and a torn ligament in his ankle. Yugi remained in the hospital, still curled up in the chair, still crying. He couldn't go home; his grandfather would be too angry with him. He was sure they had called him by then. It would take weeks for the two boys to heal, but it was undetermined when their friendship would mend. The small boy was certain the answer was "never".

"Excuse me..."

Yugi looked up at the doctor who stood before him. The woman had a warm look in her eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"I...yes."

"Are you waiting for someone in there?"

"Yes..." he lied.

"Alright. I hope they feel better soon." She smiled and patted the boy's head gently, making him feel a little better. At least one person cared...He sighed softly and stood up.

'I suppose...I should go home...' the boy thought to himself, straightening his clothes and drying his teary eyes. He glanced at the kind doctor one more time before quietly leaving the hospital.

*----------*

Yugi stared at the wall of his room blankly, his hand resting where the puzzle would have been. It had been half an hour since he came home and he'd gotten quite a fuss when he came through the door of the Game Shop. His grandfather had scolded him for fifteen minutes straight and it had taken the child all the willpower he could muster not to cry. He had tried to talk to Yami once more, but the once pharaoh would not answer him. He then simply took the puzzle off and now it lay on a small stand in the hallway.

Slowly Yugi sat up and reached for his deck of Duel Monster cards, flipping through them almost automatically. Gaia, Kuriboh, De-Spell, Polymerization, Curse of Dragon, Dark Magician....ah, the Dark Magician. His favorite card. He stared at the picture of the purple-clad, ice-eyed mage. If only he could be like that-powerful, handsome, tall-even though his grandfather had told him that boys like him who stayed short for a long time would grow quickly and very, very tall. Joey even had a bet going with him that he would be taller than Tristan one day. That is, he had a bet going before what had happened. Now it and his friendship would probably be cancelled forever. And at the moment, he didn't really care if he shrank a few inches; he simply wanted at least someone to be his friend.

Yugi was beginning to get sleepy. He noticed that it had grown a little chilly in the room and he set his cards aside and snuggled under the covers. What he didn't notice was that the room was getting darker.

Much darker.

~~~Do You Feel The Way You Hate

Do You Hate The Way You Feel?~~~