Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Find Me ❯ Not The Same ( Chapter 23 )

Yuri: HI GUYS! Little excited today for no particular reason. So here's the next chapter! Please enjoy guys! See you at the bottom!

…Not The Same…

Standing in the ocean-cold water waist-deep, Yami reached out his hand as his and Yugi's fingers intertwined with each other.

“Why does it have to be this way?” Yugi said sadly. His face was forced up when Yami cupped his chin. Yami slowly began to stroke Yugi's cheeks and smiled sadly when Yugi purred into the touch.

“I will always love you, Yugi,” Yami said and then bent forward to kiss the small boy. Yami's heart broke when he felt tears run down Yugi's cheeks.

“Please don't cry,” Yami whispered out as tears began to fall down his cheeks as well. Yami embraced Yugi as tightly as he could. He never wanted to let go. Neither of them did. As Yugi leaned his head on Yami's shoulders, he looked over at Jou and Seto, who were also waist-deep in water. Jou looked as if he was struggling to keep from crying. He never wanted to let down that tough guy persona of his. But given the situation, Yugi would understand if he did.

“So…” Jou said slowly as he stared at the ocean water below him. It was easier to look Seto in the eye through his reflection rather then face to face. Seto's face, like Jou's, was twisted with emotion. It looked as if Seto almost didn't believe that all of this was happening. As if he couldn't comprehend what was going on.

“Don't look so sad,” Seto finally said. Jou looked surprised by the brunet's remark.

“We'll still see each other everyday,” Seto quickly finished.

Jou just sighed. “It's not the same. You know that as well as I do,” Jou said as he leaned onto Seto's chest. Seto took this opportunity to brush his fingers through Jou's soft sandy-blonde hair.

“Will you think about me?” Jou added softly.

Seto smiled and said: “Everyday.”

Meanwhile, Bakura sat on the edge of the shore with his arms resting gently on his knees. The evening wind blew through his hair, which highlighted the conflicting emotions in his face. He looked down and smirked when he saw Ryou poking his head out of the water. The silence between them wasn't filled with tension as usual but instead it had a comforting sense to it.

“Thank you,” Ryou said suddenly.

“For what?” Bakura questioned.

Ryou blushed a little and said: “For trying to save me.”

“Trying?” Bakura said in an amusing tone. “I did save you.”

Ryou smiled. “Well technically, Yami saved me and then I saved you by swimming you back up to the surface before you drowned but I appreciate the effort.”

Bakura laughed and then splashed a little water towards Ryou, which caused the boy to giggle. After that, it got silent again but it didn't have the same comforting feeling that it did before.

“I'm…sorry,” Ryou said after a few minutes.

Bakura raised an eyebrow as he beckoned for Ryou to continue.

“For…you know,” Ryou said, his cheeks turning a dark rose red. “But I don't regret it…” he added.

Bakura nodded his head when he figured out what Ryou was talking about.

“You know,” Bakura began, “I've been thinking about what you did for a long time now and, honestly, I didn't know if I wanted to kill you or to kiss you back. I actually didn't know until the exact moment when I saw you in that cage. The thought that you might die and that I would never get a chance to see you again made a strong, sharp pain flow throughout my chest. So now I know…”

“Know what?” Ryou said. The small albino was taken aback when Bakura bent over and placed a kiss on his lips.

“That I didn't regret you doing it either,” Bakura said but then added bitterly: “It's ironic that the one person that I actually give a damn about, is the same person who I can't even really be with.”

All Ryou could do was nod. For a moment, excitement and happiness filled into the crevices of his facial features, but by the end of Bakura's remark, his expression had changed into pain and sadness.

Malik and Marik could not continue to watch all of their friends pour out their souls to each other so instead they swam out of sight from the others. The water around them was warm and the crisp breeze was refreshing.

“So, I bet you're happy to be your old self again, even though no one else seems to be,” Marik said nonchalantly.

“Can you blame them?” Malik said sympathetically. He never felt so bad in his life. It broke his heart to see all of his friends' hearts breaking.

“I guess not, ” Marik said shrugging his shoulders. “You going to miss me?” he added playfully.

Malik scoffed. “Ha! In your dreams!”

”Whatever, you've kind of just been a pain in my ass anyways,” Marik said.

“Excuse me!?” said Malik tilting his head to the side.

“You heard me!” said Marik with a smirk.

“You're an asshole!”

“You're a brat!”

“I hate you!”

“I hate you more!”

“I hope you rot in hell!” Malik replied angrily.

“I hope you get caught in a net!” Marik shot back.

Malik gasped. “You take that back!”

“Make me!” Marik said closing the space between them.

“Well, maybe if you weren't such an idiot, then you could have seen that I really liked you!” Malik yelled.

“Well, maybe if you weren't so stubborn, then you could have seen that I really liked you too!” Marik said and then he reached his hand out and grabbed Malik by his small, purple shirt.

“Do you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you?!” the taller of the two yelled.

“Of course I do,” Malik said as Marik's lips came over his. The kiss was passionate as long awaited emotions were released. The latent feelings that both of them had had during their first kiss awakened. Before long, they both had to break apart for air. After he took a second to realize what had happens, Malik pushed Marik away but in vain since Marik had wrapped his arms around the smaller Egyptian's waist.

“Why do you keep pushing me away Malik?”

“Because…” Malik said looking down. “I don't want to hurt. I mean, you see what they're going through,” he said referring to his heartbroken friends. “I don't want to go through that. Why fall…in love if there's no way we can be together?”

Marik nodded. He understood where Malik was coming from. There was no point in loving somebody that you could never truly be with. So, I guess that was it then.

“Let's get back. They're probably waiting for you,” Marik said with a sigh.

“No,” Malik said sadly. “They'll never be done saying goodbye.”

…

“So then, I guess I'll just see you tomorrow,” Yami said softly. Yugi nodded with a sad smile.

Yami gave Yugi one last hug and kiss before letting Yugi swim away far enough so that he was able to call out to his friends. Jou looked over at Yugi when he heard his name and gave his small friend a look that said `do we really have to go?' Yugi nodded in response to Jou's silent question and then watched the blonde exchange his goodbyes with Seto. Not that long after, Jou was standing directly next to Yugi as was Malik and Ryou.

Yami, Seto, and Marik walked up next to Bakura on the shore and all together waved goodbye to their partners.

Yugi, Jou, Ryou, and Malik did the same before turning around and all diving one by one into the ocean-blue depth, their silky, green fins shining beautifully in the luminescent light of the large, full moon.

And like that, they were gone. The four humans remained on the shore for a few minutes in silence and then, slowly, they disappeared into the large mansion. It seemed lifeless and so, so quiet without their other halves.

Under the sea, Yugi and his friends swam depressingly to the palace. Yugi couldn't wait to see the punishment his grandfather had in store for him this time. Note the sarcasm.

Yugi had invited his friends to stay with him tonight since he was well aware that none of them wanted to be alone. The small, amethyst-eyed mermaid actually didn't know why he was so sad. I mean, he would still be able to see Yami everyday but…he didn't know…it wasn't the same. They could never sleep together in the same bed, get married…start a family…

When Yugi approached the palace doors, he sent his friends up to his room and told them to wait there for him. He then made his way to the throne room. He stopped in front of the large, wooden doors and held his breath. Without enough time to reconsider confronting his grandfather tonight, Yugi turned the knob and opened the doors…

…TBC…

Yuri: BACK! BACK YOU SAVAGES!

(Readers stop throwing flames)

Yuri: Okay, now listen, I don't do sad endings so please don't try to kill me. Trust me guys! You will all be happy! And I know that technically they are `mermen' but I like mermaid better so it doesn't really matter. Same thing. Now please review! Love you all!