Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Differences Don't Matter ❯ Diaries of the Past ( Chapter 12 )

Just fixing some errors that were annoying me ^_^

 

 

 

Blue skies. A fresh breeze. Colors bursting from every direction.

 

“Yami, you have to see this,” Yugi shouted excitedly from the balcony window.

 

The crimson-eyed teen walked into the room, a towel hooked around his hips and another hanging loosely off his head. Yugi gave him a wide smile and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the window and pointing with a thin, pale finger.

 

“Look at all the flowers, Yami,” the elf pointed towards the field.

 

Yami smiled, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to ruin the rarity of the moment.

 

Yugi had steadily been getting better over the time he's spent with Yami. He spoke sometimes, but not very often and never before with such enthusiasm or large a smile. Yami had feared that the incident with the prior month would make it difficult to get close to Yugi, but it hadn't seemed to phase the elf at all. For that, he was grateful.

 

Color had filled out on the elf's cheeks once more and no longer were his ribs showing like an iron fence for a small child to walk with a stick tapping against the bars. His eyes showed more life, but didn't shine as much as they used to and probably never with the childlike innocence Yami admired so much. Also, as Yugi's attitude began changing, so did the season.

 

Winter and the grey-colored clouds with it had finally gone and in its wake the field of flowers behind the mansion had, at last, erupted into vibrant colors. With the warming sun and blue skies came a better sight of the castle a short distance from the city, almost a mile's walk. The grayish color of the insolvent castle tended to blend in with the winter skies and vanished to a mere black outline in the fog.

 

Yami liked to stare off at the ancient castle. He didn't know any true stories or the purpose for the castle before it had fallen apart, but he felt connected to it somehow; even more so when Yugi would stare at it with him late at night. He remembered when he was younger his mother would point to the building and tell him a story about a brave knight and a blue dragon with mysterious white eyes; each tale would be different. On some rare occasion, his mother would add two extra heads to the dragon when she could tell Yami needed to take his mind off something. The three headed dragon made more of an appearance the closer his mother's death came. The castle was a reason, unknown to his father, that partially made him first move into his current bedroom.

 

Looking back over at Yugi, the crimson-eyed teen smiled. “Yes, it's very beautiful,” he whispered in a soothing voice, a voice Yugi had grown accustomed to falling peacefully asleep to every night. “It's my favorite time of the year when all the flowers finally come back to life.”

 

Yugi looked down sadly and Yami feared that he'd misunderstood what the elf had been talking about. His worry was for naught though as Yugi mumbled, “This is my first time getting to see such extraordinary beauty.”

 

Have you ever looked in a mirror Yami had wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut so he wouldn't startle Yugi. “How come? They've always been here for as long as I can remember,” he commented instead.

 

“Yes,” Yugi muttered, tugging nervously at his pointed ears, “but as an elf it's forbidden to leave the forest. It's a rule the elders made long before I was even born, but even then…if that wasn't a problem, I still couldn't have come to see them.”

 

Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi tenderly, silently asking him to continue.

 

“My parents….they were protective - overly protective - of me and rarely let me leave the house. I had to be with one of them and covered thoroughly if I did have to leave the house for some reason.”

 

“That doesn't sound very fair,” Yami mused, inwardly flabbergasted by the confession and not at all surprised Yugi turned out as timid as he did.

 

It was silent for a while, both enjoying the scenery and the peacefulness of the day.

 

Yugi glanced carefully at Yami. Nervously, still tugging at one of his ears, he asked, “Could we….go down…?”

 

The crimson-eyed teen had never gotten dressed faster. With a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Yami took Yugi's hand and pulled him along after him out the door. Joy swelling in his heart, something Yami'd long given up hope of ever having happen again after his mother died, he knew he'd be willing to do anything the self-conscious elf asked. Yugi was finally starting to behave like normal. Yami pulled the elf around corners and through nearly forgotten about hallways and arrived at a back door that servants used to get into the house. He hadn't used it for years and Yami was somewhat amazed that he hadn't missed a beat getting to it.

 

It would seem strange though he told himself as he slowed his pace once he saw the doorway. To get lost in my own house…I don't think I'd be able to look at Yugi if he thought that I'd gotten lost.

 

The door, obviously more used than the front entrance, was an old, brown color with chipped paint and scratches in random places. There were even dark patches of brown where someone apparently tried to cover up the worst of the spots. The hinges were cracked and colored a dry, rusty bronze and the handle was in the same condition. Yami recalled Tea once asking his father to fix the door since sometimes the door wouldn't close properly, but the old man was having one of his frequently seen bad days and yelled inappropriately at her.

 

Yami had tried opening the door and wished he'd had one of his good days when Tea had asked instead: the door was stuck and hadn't even budged. After hitting and bruising his shoulder against the obnoxious entryway a few times, it gave way though. It didn't lead directly to the back of the house, but it was better than walking through the front door, going all the way to the front gate and then around the city to the back. This way he didn't have to pick the lock of the small fence in between his house and the neighbors'. He kicked the loose board of the fence next to the door and let Yugi go through first before slipping through, scratching his arms against the wood as he did.

 

Rubbing at his arms, he led the anxious elf the rest of the way towards the back of the house to the few trees closest to the barrier surrounding the entire town (minus the front gate) and gestured Yugi over.

 

“My mom had these trees planted a few weeks before she got sick. She wanted to build a tree house for me to play in with a swing coming off the branches but it was never finished. After she passed away and I became more secluded I found a different use for them.”

 

Yugi was paying attention, but looking around the backyard at the same time. He hadn't known what to expect, but he supposed it was better than no yard at all like Shigure's place. When Yami gestured him over, he was given a boost up to one of the branches. Yami showed him the easiest way to maneuver across the wooden limbs to the concrete barrier before jumping over to land in a dirt patch at the bottom. The elf had almost slipped entirely off the wall, however, when he actually saw just how close he was to the colorful meadow. He ended up scratching the back of one of his legs, but when Yami said they should get it patched up first Yugi refused and ended up using the tie Yami had in his pocket.

 

“Why do you keep that in your pocket? I've seen you wear it outside, but…”

 

“My dad says a man should never leave the house without looking his best. As a result of the habit he forced me to get into when I was younger I always pick up a tie when I get dressed, but I've forced myself out of putting it on unless I go through the city.”

 

Yami and Yugi strolled through the flowers carefully, not wanting to crush any of the fragile plants. The time was spent mostly in silence, but they occasionally said little things to each other.

 

The two were sitting in a grassy patch, enjoying the warm breeze caressing their faces and playing with their hair like mischievous fairies to lost travelers in a forest. Yugi stood, looking around at the flowers, dirt stuck to the back of his shirt unknowingly, and looked around.

 

“Hey, Yami,” Yugi looked down, brow wrinkled with confusion. “What's that,” he pointed.

 

The teen looked over in the cited direction and smiled. “That's the castle where my evil King Father locked me in at the tallest tower and am still waiting to be rescued from,” he told the elf, using the story his mother told him one night when his father had yelled at him for something he hadn't done. Yugi giggled with amusement.

 

“Yami, that's not true,” he grinned extensively, plopping down next to him again and clinging to his tanned arm, a habit both had also grown accustomed to during their time together.

 

“It is too true,” Yami argued, continuing to play with him.

 

Yugi bounced up and started running towards the castle. He stopped a short distance though and turned back around to face the still sitting teen, a broad smile still plastered on his face. “Let's go rescue you then,” he yelled. Rolling his eyes playfully, Yami stood and chased after Yugi. He caught him around the waist and spun him around in front of the stone building.

 

“It looks really old,” Yugi noted, running his fingers along the rugged, grey bricks. “Are we allowed to go in,” he asked curiously.

 

Yami shrugged. “I suppose so. No one has before because they're afraid it'll be a Humpty Dumpty and no one will put it back together again.”

 

Yugi laughed and tugged at Yami's hand. “I want to go in. Please?”

 

With wide, violet eyes and innocent smile grinning so broadly, and cheeks rosy with color there was no way Yami could resist such a sight. He held out his hand for the elf and they walked in together, Yugi clinging excitedly off of Yami.

 

“Spiders don't seem to have any problem with the state of things,” Yugi joked, admiring a rather large spider's web. “Look at this one, Yami. It's so beautiful.”

 

“I think you're the only person who would say that about a web,” Yami laughed, but looked at the mentioned web. “It does look very nice though. I like the pattern.”

 

The inside of the broken down castle was mostly covered in spider webs and a thick blanket of dust and little insects. There was a bird's nest near the entrance, but it didn't look like anything lived in it for very long. A few hallways were blocked off from a caved in floor along with some doorways, but there were a few rooms that looked accessible.

 

After becoming disinterested in the web, Yugi hurried over to one door that was falling off its crooked hinges and peeked inside. “This one looks like it used to be a library,” Yugi said. “There're still books in there.”

 

“Is it safe to go in,” Yami asked cautiously, peering over the elf's shoulder into the dusty room.

 

“It looks pretty safe.” Yugi pushed gently on the door and the single hinge it was on squeaked loudly before it cracked. Gasping, the elf clutched fearfully onto Yami as the door crashed deafeningly to the stone floor and exploded a thick cloud of dust.

 

“You didn't think my nasty father would let things be easy for you, did you,” Yami joked, still holding Yugi in his arms.

 

Yugi looked up and shook his head slowly. “No, I suppose not.” It took him a second to understand what Yami was talking about. “But I don't think I could get upstairs. If the door did that, think of what the stairs might do.”

 

“That's true. I guess I'll be stuck in that tower forever then.”

 

The two of them chuckled as they stepped into the abandoned library. Dust swirled around them with each step they took and their noses were assaulted by the musky scent of rotting wood and moldy tome. There were at least half a dozen old books scattered haphazardly on the floor and Yugi rushed over to one at the foot of a termite-eaten bookcase that had fallen open.

 

“Yami, I can't read this,” he whined, mouth set in a pout.

 

The crimson-eyed teen walked next to the elf and shook his head. “I wouldn't doubt the rest of these books are the same way. They're too old so the ink's faded away.”

 

Slumping down on the stone floor, using the bookcase as a backrest, Yugi crossed his arms and glared cutely at the stone bricks like it was their fault. “Well, that doesn't seem very fair,” he mused.

 

Yami's eyes wandered around the room to land on a particular book with faded blue binding and one of the covers about to fall off. With a small quirk in the corner of his mouth, he tapped Yugi gently on the shoulder. “Yugi, look,” he gestured. “That one you can still read the title.”

 

The elf sprang up and hurried over to the mentioned tome. Jumping from one foot to another excitedly he looked at it. “Yami, what's it say, what's it say,” he asked. With a shake of his head in amusement at his smaller friend, the teen knelt down, resting his hands on his knees for balance, and looked over the title.

 

Wiping the dust off it, Yami read, “Greatest Recipes of the 1700s.”

 

“So it's like a cook book,” Yugi asked curiously.

 

With a nod, Yami straightened up and looked back around. “It doesn't look like any of these books are any better,” he said. Not missing a beat, Yugi rushed out the door, almost tripping over the handle of the fallen door, and started looking around for another room that was safe to go in. By the time Yami stepped into the entrance hall Yugi was coming out of a different room.

 

“That one's just a kitchen,” he said, gesturing behind him. “Even with all the bugs though it looks a lot better than Shigure's.”

 

Yami quirked a small grin and watched as the elf hurried down one hall that was free of debris blocking the way. The teen followed at a much brisker pace.

 

Just as another circle of rooms became visible, Yugi jumped out of a hidden alley and tugged eagerly at Yami's hand arm hurriedly. “Yami, Yami, this way; I found another book!” He pulled Yami through the narrow alley and through a curtained door that looked to be a shadow against the stone bricks.

 

The room was circular and only housed a few chairs that sat up along the perimeter of the room. In the center of the room sat a pedestal with a large, dusty tome sitting on top of it. The single window set halfway up the wall spread a beam of light that illuminated all the dust floating in the air in its path and over the cover of the book. Yami stepped up to the raised base and looked down on the cover. There was nothing written there, but an indiscernible picture clouded with dirt and other grime. Using the sleeve of his shirt, the teen wiped it off and saw a beautifully drawn castle surrounded by houses and apartments of the kingdom. A flag waved proudly from the top of each of the four towers of the castle that pictured the form of an upside down, golden pyramid against a white background.

 

“Can you read it, Yami,” Yugi asked eagerly, breaking Yami from the trance he'd gotten into at staring at the design.

 

The cover creaked open and revealed a black feather pen, the tip of it stained black with hundred year old ink. Written in a faded, black calligraphy hidden somewhat underneath the quill was written “Historical Diaries” and underneath that in a smaller print “By the High Priest under King Yamises' rule, Seth Hikairoth.” There was also a date on the corner in a fine print, but it was too smudged to read. Yami said it out loud in a whispered voice as his eyes skimmed over the words. “This wording looks like Middle English,” he added.

 

“Historical diaries,” Yugi repeated, thinking over the words. “I wonder what kinds of things are in it.”

 

Yami turned the page and then another since the next page was blank and looked over the words. Once again the date (only this time at the top of the page) was smudged along with the first few lines written underneath it. He read what he could out loud again, still in the same quietly awed voice.

 

The first page told about how a young boy, Yamises, had been named ruler of the kingdom at the age of five when his parents both had died, his mother murdered and father from a broken heart.

 

“Murdered by whom,” Yugi interrupted.

 

“It doesn't say,” Yami answered before continuing, intrigued by the old document.

 

The scripture went on to explain what sorts of duties Yamises was able to do and which ones would be withheld from him until he was taught how to do it. It talked about a few odd things that had been happening, which Yami skipped over most of it, until the middle of the book (most of the pages before that had been smudged beyond recognition) one word stuck out and caught his gazing red eyes.

 

“Why'd you stop,” the elf asked after a minute.

 

No answer.

 

Yugi waved a hand in front of Yami's and broke the shock the teen was in. “What's the matter, Yami? Do your eyes hurt?”

 

“Wha…No,” Yami said, slightly disoriented. He rubbed at his eyes for a second before pointing to a word a quarter down the right page, “Yugi, look at this word. Do you know what it says?” The elf shook his head, peering over Yami's shoulder. “It says `elf',” Yami explained.

 

“Really,” Yugi said with great intrigue and eyes wide with curiosity. “What's it say,” he grabbed onto Yami's shoulders to read along as the tanned finger moved underneath the word he was reading, even though he couldn't understand the human writing.

 

Yami was silent for a minute before looking back at Yugi. “Basically, it says that a human with strangely pointed ears and erotic blue hair wandered in the town and rose up a ruckus in the whole place. When brought before the chief of the guard it was discovered that the strange human was an elf that had been exiled from the forest because of something that isn't written here. Curiosity broke out among everyone in the kingdom and they traveled inside the woods to find the elfin village.”

 

“Blue hair and exiled,” Yugi closed his eyes in concentration, tapping at his chin. “I think I heard of such a person: Weevle the Wanderer people called him a long time ago, after he'd been kicked out. I don't know why he was kicked out though.”

 

Focusing back on the words, Yami's brow wrinkled. “I like these people better than the current ones,” Yami mused sarcastically. “When the King, apparently around our age now, met with the Elder of the elves one day, a few months after the first elf was seen in the town, they came to a misunderstanding when one of the soldiers guarding the king attacked an elf that apparently got too close to the king himself.”

 

“Bet that didn't go well,” the elf looked down.

 

“Nope, the elder went berserk and arguments broke out. People from the kingdom terrorized the elves and elves returned with full force. War eventually broke out, but the rest is hard to read.”

 

Joyful mood broken, Yugi tugged at Yami's sleeve insistently. “Can we go home,” he asked in a mumbled tone. “I don't want to hear anymore.”

 

Yami didn't want to go. He wanted to stay a while longer and read the rest of what happened, but he also knew Yugi would go back on his own and he didn't want the elf to be caught wandering around and have his father catch him.

 

As they walked out of the castle and through the flower field, sky darker and sun setting behind the distant hills, Yugi paused. “Yami…what you said before about the king being our age…what makes you think I'm the same age as you,” he asked curiously.

 

The teen froze mid-step and stared at Yugi over his shoulder. “A-aren't you,” he stumbled. “You don't even look older than twelve.”

 

Yugi giggled behind his hand and raced ahead of Yugi. “If you think that,” he called, “then maybe it could be true!”

 

Irritation rose inside of Yami, annoyed that he hadn't realized for himself that elves aged differently than humans, he chased after the elf. He caught up with him at the barricade behind his and his father's mansion. Yugi was leaning casually against the wall with his hands innocently crossed behind his back. They didn't say anything to each other, Yami wordlessly giving a boost for the elf to get up. It wasn't until Yugi held a hand down for Yami that the elf quirked a curious smile, “You're two-hundred moons, right.”

 

“Moons?”

 

“Full moons.”

 

“How many years is that,” Yami pulled himself onto the wall and settled next to Yugi.

 

“Years? Eighteen, of course,” Yugi answered after jumping down from the brick in the backyard behind the mansion, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 

“Oh,” Yami said dumbly, wanting to hit himself in the face, “Yeah, I'm eighteen.”

 

Yugi looked behind him with a smile lingering on his lips. “Your birthday is…”

 

“June.”

 

“The sixth month, right?”

 

Yami nodded, following Yugi down the hallway and up the stairs.

 

“I'm only two moons younger than you.”

 

“Two moons? So that would make you sixteen?”

 

“Seventeen,” Yugi explained, “The full moon, one for every month.”

 

“So you're two months younger than me,” Yami asked, making sure he understood.

 

With a nod, Yugi bounced onto the bed they shared in Yami's room and kicked his shoes off before hugging his knees closely to him. “Thank you for taking me to the castle,” he said quietly.”

 

Looking at Yugi with such a content expression painted gently on his face, Yami nodded. He knew it would be hard to refuse Yugi much of anything if he continued to behave in such an adorable manner.

 

If this is Yugi just getting out of throes of his nightmare, I can't wait to see the Yugi fully healed…Yami secretly hoped.