Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Flames Will Burn ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

 

The tearful eyes moved slightly in the direction of the fair-skinned speaker. Swallowing hard, he struggled to find a voice to speak with. He felt so weak. He couldn't stand any longer.

 

“...Atemu!”

 

The fair-skinned boy ran over and grabbed Atemu around the waist; hoisting him back up. “Atemu,” he whispered, tears gathering at the corner of his own dark brown orbs. “Atemu...”

 

Atemu coughed, spitting up blood. “M-Mosw-wen...” he took in a wheezing breath and his eyes traveled over to the gun laying innocently on the floor. “I...I killed him. I killed that man.”

 

 

Yami bolted upright in his bed, half expecting to still being in his cell at the Domino Penitentiary. Seeing that he was, instead, laying in the cushiony bed of the Kaiba Mansion's pool house, he sighed in relief and settled down. Closing his eyes, he pulled the covers back over his head and closed his eyes.

 

“Why did I dream of it?” he wondered aloud. “I haven't thought about that night since the day I was arrested. So why now?”

 

A knock on the door interrupted him. Yami managed to shake the sleep from his brain in order to drag himself over to the door and let whoever was knocking inside.

 

It was Yugi who stood at the door. The teenaged boy was fully dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a light purple shirt. Yami blinked groggily, hugging the quilt from his bed tighter around himself.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Yugi raised an eyebrow at his brother's disheveled appearance. “Why are you still asleep? I thought you were going to house-hunt today.”

 

Yami yawned. “I am; don't worry. I just thought that I might sleep in a little since, you know, I've had to get up at sunrise for the past four years.”

 

The younger brother rolled his eyes. “Well it's almost noon, so I think you've slept in enough.” He walked past his sibling and into the house. “Jeez, you've only been here one night and already you've managed to turn this place into a dump!”

 

“I plan on cleaning it up.”

 

“Yeah, well do it quickly. I have a friend coming over soon, and I don't want her to see this mess.”

 

“Oh, company?” Yami asked, delighted to hear the news. Yugi mentally kicked himself. “A she, you say? Is she your girlfriend, little brother?”

 

Yugi's face flushed. “Well no, not technically. But...I do hope to change that. So please don't do anything to screw up my chances!” He clasped his hands together. “Don't mention anything about you having been in jail. Just pretend you were with mom and dad to help with charity work.”

 

Yami's expression turned to one of anger. “What? Why the hell would I have been helping them with their stupid charity work?”

 

“Because that's where I told her you've been for the past four years,” the short teen explained.

 

The ex-convict snorted, but didn't say anything. The back door of the house opened and Mokuba came outside, followed a few seconds later by a pretty brown-haired girl.

 

“Yugi, Téa's here!”

 

The girl, Téa, waved at the tri-haired boy and came over. Yugi blushed and waved back in greeting. Then he turned to his older brother, his eyes round and pleading. Yami groaned and ran a hand through his long, sleep-tousled hair. “Fine,” he mumbled. Then he pushed Yugi outside and closed the door.

 

Yugi let out a sigh of relief. Then he turned back to his friend. “Hi Téa. How are you today?”

 

“I'm okay,” Téa replied with a smile. “Was that your brother in there?” she asked, cocking her head slightly to get a better look inside the glass pool house. From her spot she could see a tri-haired man walking slowly into the kitchen, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and trailing behind him on the floor like a cape.

 

“Yeah,” the teenaged boy answered. “He just got up and isn't really in the best of moods.”

 

The brunette nodded in understanding. “It probably runs in your family...you're not much of a morning person either, Yugi.” She stuck her tongue out jokingly.

 

Yugi laughed; his cheeks tingeing pink slightly. Looking up at his friend, he asked her what she'd like to do.

 

“Hm...” Téa thought a moment, tapping her fingers against her chin. “I don't really know. Shizuka called me up last night after I got off the phone with you and asked if you and I could join her and her brother at the mall later today. I'd like to go, and I'd love it if you could come along. You're much better company that that oaf Katsuya.”

 

Yugi smiled. “I'd love to go.” Pursing his lips, he looked back towards the pool house. “Do you think they'd be okay if I brought Yami along with us? He desperately needs new clothes.”

 

“I don't think they'll mind. The more the merrier, as Shizuka always says.”

 

OOOOOOO

 

Two hours later, after a nice lunch at the Kaiba Mansion, Yugi and Téa were on their way to meet up with their friends at the Domino City mall. Yami was with them, now awake and dressed in a pair of old blue jeans and a black, short-sleeved shirt.

 

Yugi had been slightly nervous about introducing his brother to his blue-eyed friend, but he was quite surprised to find that Yami was nothing but polite to her. Téa seemed quite impressed when Yami began mentioning some things he had done with his parents while in the Middle-East, and Yugi was slightly relieved at that; he was even slightly awed at how his elder sibling could make up such believable lies.

 

When arriving at the mall, the three immediately met up with Shizuka and her brother, who were waiting for them at the north entrance. Téa and Shizuka immediately began gossiping after greeting everyone else, and Yugi re-introduced Yami to Jounouchi.

 

Jounouchi nodded in recognition. “Oh yeah, I remember. How've you been, man? How was pris-” he stopped quickly when seeing the glare his short best friend sent him.

 

Yami rolled his eyes. Obviously, Jounouchi was just as forgetful as ever. Yugi must have told him to keep the whole prison thing hush-hush in front of the brown-haired girl. “It was fine, Jou. I'm just glad to be back.”

 

Shizuka and Téa turned back to the three boys, waving them over.

 

“Come on you guys, hurry up. There's a sale over at NYC Fashions,” Shizuka said with a small giggle. Then she and the brunette went inside without them.

 

“Eh, let's get this over with,” the blond said with a groan, following his sister's path into the mall.

 

OOOOO

 

Yami sighed, looking over a rack of sunglasses and watches. They had been shopping almost two whole hours, going into every store that sold feminine clothing just to please the two teenaged girls. Now the group of five was in a new store, one that sold male clothes, which made Yugi and Jounouchi happy.

 

Yugi came rushing up to Yami. “Which one is better?” he asked, holding up two shirts. One was solid navy blue button-up, and the other was a pink and red striped polo shirt. “Which one do you think Téa would like better?”

 

The older brother honestly didn't care. In his opinion, they were both ugly shirts. He pointed at the blue one, only because he couldn't see his sibling wearing anything with pink in it. The kid was feminine-looking enough as it was.

 

Yugi smiled in thanks. “What are you getting?” he questioned.

 

Yami pointed at the bag sitting next to his feet. “I already got what I'm needed, so I'm just looking now at things I don't have enough money left to buy.” He turned his attention back to the rack and picked up a shiny wristwatch, putting it on and checking to see if it looked right on him.

 

The tri-haired teen shrugged and then went back to the sales rack on the other side of the room. Yami watched him go, and then looked back at the watch in his hands. It had looked too small on his wrist, but the watch would have probably suited his brother.

 

Smiling to himself, he walked towards the cash register and flipped the tag of the wristwatch over to see the price. The grin immediately fell from his face, being replaced by an angered frown. He didn't have enough money left to buy it. Maybe he could ask Seto for some extra money and then come back for the watch. Nodding to himself, he placed the expensive watch down on a shelf that was holding up several T-shirts. Then he went to leave the store and wait for the others.

 

Before he could exit, however, one of the store's staff members came up and grabbed him by the upper arm. Yami whirled around, a scowl on his face. “What?” he snapped.

 

The middle-aged employee ignored the tone. He looked down at the bag in the shopper's hands and then back into the annoyed crimson orbs of the other. “I'm going to have to check your bag before you can leave.”

 

Yami's lips curled upward in a sneer. “And why is that?” he wanted to know.

 

“Store policy, sir,” was the reply.

 

The tri-haired young man snorted. “Store policy? Bullshit.” He didn't try to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

 

“Just let me check your bag and then you can be on your way.”

 

“No, I will not let you search my bag. I have bought everything in here. Would you like to see the receipt?”

 

The store employee shook his head. “That will not be necessary, sir. Now please, give me your bag.”

 

By this time, Téa and Yugi had come over, each with bags of their own in each of their hands. Yami growled. “Why don't you check their bags?” he asked.

 

“Because, I already asked you for yours.”

 

Téa and Yugi glanced at each other, both looking equally confused. The brunette took a step forward. “What's going on?” she questioned.

 

The middle-aged man pointed at Yami. “I am merely asking to check his bag, and he is refusing to let me. He clearly doesn't seem to understand that this is a store policy.”

 

“If it's a store policy,” Yami began, “then check their bags. I will be more than happy to give you my bag after you search theirs.”

 

The employee sighed. “I do not have time for this, sir. Now either give me that bag or I'll call security.”

 

Yami's eye twitched slightly. “It's not that this is a store policy, you just don't trust me. I recognize you; you were staring at me while I was looking at those watches. What? Do you think I stole them or something? Well, you can believe me when I say that I didn't take any watches.”

 

“I'm sure that you didn't, sir. Now please let me check your-”

 

The crimson-eyed man used his free hand to punch the employee in the face. “You know, I don't like when people don't trust me,” he explained, bringing his arm back for another punch.

 

Yugi dropped his bag and grabbed his brother's arm, keeping him from swinging. “Yami, stop it! What the heck do you think you're doing?”

 

Yami wrenched his arm free of Yugi's grasp. “Get off of me,” he yelled, pushing his brother aside. Crumbling his bag of clothes that he had bought, he shoved it in the staff member's face. “There! There's my bag. Are you happy now?” Turning quickly, he stormed out of the store.

 

Téa quickly apologized to the store clerk and then followed Yugi outside to where Yami was now pacing back and forth in front of a large gumball machine. Shizuka and Katsuya came out a few moments later, each looking curious.

 

Yugi, furious that his brother would behave so atrociously while in public and with his friends, grabbed his brother's arm and jerked him around so that they were face-to-face. “Just what the hell was that about?” he hissed.

 

Yami kicked the gumball machine in front of him. It wobbled slightly. “I'm sorry,” he snapped. Sighing loudly, he looked back over at his younger sibling. “I'm sorry,” he repeated, sounding more sincere this time.

 

“Why do you always have to act this way?” The tri-haired teen asked in a hushed voice, making sure that Téa didn't overhear them. He looked up at the older with wide violet eyes. “The old you that used to get away with breaking the rules and beating people up has got to disappear. That can't be you anymore...Unless, that is, you want to get arrested again,” he added as an afterthought.

 

Yami looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He didn't say anything. Truthfully, he didn't know what to say. He felt awful for causing a scene like that, especially when his brother was going through so much to help him. And really, he did want to change. He didn't want to be the person he was before. He wanted to be better than that...because Yugi deserved an older brother that he could look up to.

 

“I'm sorry, Yugi,” he apologized again. “I want to change. I really do.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the black boots covering his feet. “It's just hard, you know? I'm not used to controlling my temper.”

 

“Well you better get used to it, Yami, or else something bad might happen. And after all the trouble Seto and I have gone through to bail you out and give you a place to stay, it would be pretty awful if you screwed it up. Especially for Seto. I mean, he's putting his reputation on the line just so you won't have to go back to living on the streets.”

 

Yugi bit his lower lip, hoping that he didn't sound too harsh. Though he did want Yami to learn a lesson, he didn't want to sound rude. He loved his brother very much, and didn't want him to think that he hated him or anything. Because that was very far from the truth. He wanted to help Yami start a new life and become a better person.

 

Jounouchi came forward. “Eh, let's get out of here. All this shopping is making me hungry.”

 

Téa agreed. “I could go for some pizza right about now. What do you think?”

 

Yugi shook his head. “No, I think I should be getting home before Yami gets himself into even more trouble.”

 

Yami glared down at Yugi. Then, smirking, he walked over to Téa and placed an arm around her shoulder. “Well you can go home, Yugi. I, on the other hand, would love to go and get a pizza.”

 

Téa's cheeks turned slightly red and she glanced up at the tri-haired man, seeing the sparkle of laughter in his crimson orbs. From this position, he looked even more handsome than when staring him straight in the eyes. She blushed again. “O-okay. Anyone else?”

 

The younger of the two brothers pouted. “Well, I guess I can go too.”

 

They turned to the two others. Jounouchi grinned and pointed to himself. “If there's food involved, you know I'm there. And Shizuka can't leave without me, anyways. So we're in.”

 

Yami grinned. “Great, let's go.”

 

OOOO

 

“So, Téa,” Yami began conversationally. He waited for her to wipe her face off with a napkin and look up at him before continuing. “You don't sound like you're from Japan. Where'd you move here from?”

 

Téa blinked, surprised that the elder Mutou could tell that she was from a different country after just a few hours. “America. My mother and I moved to Domino from New York.”

 

Yami nodded, taking a large bite out of his pepperoni pizza. “Why Domino?”

 

“My mother is originally from here. She moved to New York to study dance when she was eighteen, and that's when she met my father and had me.” The brunette paused for a moment, looking away. “Things between my parents were really bad...they'd fight constantly. Finally they thought it would be best if they spent as much time away from each other as they could. So they got a divorce. Mom took custody of me, and moved us back here to Domino.”

 

“Oh...well, I'm sorry that things didn't work out between them.”

 

“Its better this way,” Téa decided.

 

Yugi took a seat next to his brunette friend, and Jounouchi plopped down next to him. The blonde looked curiously around the now silent table. “What were you guys talking about?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

 

Yami shrugged his shoulders. “Téa was just telling me why she moved to Domino.”

 

Téa gave a small smile and took another bite of her pizza. Shizuka giggled at her best friend, munching on her salad. She kicked the brunette's leg gently from underneath the table and motioned her head towards Yami, causing the other girl to blush deeply. Shizuka then stood up, grabbing Téa's hand.

 

“What are you doing?” Téa questioned, allowing herself to be pulled away.

 

“Girl conference,” Shizuka declared.

 

Jounouchi, Yugi, and Yami watched the two run off with blank expressions on their faces. Yugi pursed his lips, remembering the blush that had stained his best friend's face when she had been talking with his older brother. The tri-haired teen gulped down some of his soda, wondering if Téa could, perhaps, have a crush on Yami.

 

`That would be horrible,' Yugi thought sadly. `I mean, all these years I've tried to get her to go out with me. And now that I'm so close, with the Spring Formal right around the corner, she's going and getting all flushed around Yami after just meeting him. No!' He glared down at his food. `I can't let that happen. I can't. I've worked too hard to get Téa to like me. Besides,' he looked over at his brother, who was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. `Yami's not good enough for Téa. She deserves much better than an ex-gang member.'

 

The violet-eyed boy frowned. He couldn't believe he just thought something so low about his own brother. But...it was the truth. Yami was an ex-gang member; a cut below the average member of society. Téa did deserve better than that. And Yugi was going to make sure she got better than that.

 

OOOO

 

Téa sighed, leaning against the door of a bathroom stall. “What is this about, Shizuka?” she wanted to know, placing her hands on her hips.

 

The auburn-haired girl smirked. “Don't play dumb. I saw that look on your face when you were talking to Yami...” her hazel eyes twinkled slightly. “You like him don't you?”

 

The brunette's cheeks reddened. “Well...I wouldn't say that. I mean, I just met him. I hardly know anything about him besides his name and age. And speaking of age, he's twenty...too old for me.”

 

Shizuka scoffed. “Two years doesn't exactly qualify as too old. Remember Hiroto? He was four years older than me and we dated for such a long time.” She sighed. “Too bad he had to move. We're still friends though.” She shook her head. “The point is, sometimes its better to date an older man. They're more understanding and less immature.”

 

Téa shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose. But I'm not going to ask Yami out. It'd be too weird, what with him being Yugi's older brother and all. I just want to be his friend...and maybe, if things progress further, and Yugi is okay with it, we can have a relationship. Oh, what am I saying?” she rolled her eyes dramatically. “I just want to be Yami's friend, just like I'm Yugi's friend. And that's all.”

 

The younger girl nodded. “If you're sure. Let's go back out, the guy's are all probably worried.”

 

“Or worse, Jounouchi could have finished our lunches for us!”

 

The two friends giggled and went back over to rejoin their friends at the restaurant's booth.