Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Life is Overrated ❯ The Worst Day Ever ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: The Worst Day Ever

 

NOTE: … Author notes/ my chat with the characters.

(…) Stuff that isn't anyone talking and part of the actual story

`…' Thinking

“…” Talking

Time/scene change those grayish line things

\\\…/ Flashbacks

Italics Emphasized words

`Blah' Quotes songs, poems, things some famous dead people said…

It was snowing. A snowflake landed on Yugi's nose and lingered there for a moment before melting. More came down, landing on his cheeks and now outstretched tongue. Suddenly the snow came down harder and the wind picked up speed. It whipped Yugi's hair into his face and stung his eyes. He turned his back to the wind, the numbing air hitting his cold, bleeding, unprotected body.

 

He stopped for a brief moment to look back at his house before turning the corner. Yugi shook his head as he gazed upon the sad excuse for a house he had. The white paint was almost all the way chipped off, showing the pale-green color underneath. Some of the green had peeled off too and under that there was a dark brownish-red color. All of the bushes were scraggly and the weight of the snow made them sink to the ground in a messy heap. Half of the snow in the front yard was blood red and the large window in the front was broken, the glass strewn about the lawn.

 

Sighing, Yugi turned away and continued to walk down the street and hopefully to a home away from home. He crossed to the right side of the main street, the opposite side of his avenue. Unfortunately, this meant that his left side got the majority of the wind blowing his way. He shivered and whimpered a bit; it was so cold.

 

`Shit!' he thought. `I never knew how cold it could get out here.'

 

Yugi pressed on until he felt he could go no longer. He was panting and his body felt numb from head to toe. He stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, for fear if he moved an inch, he would faint from being numb or from sheer exhaustion. The fact that he was still bleeding profusely didn't help much either.

 

As Yugi stood there he thought, `This isn't what I wanted. Okay, so before I said that if I freeze I freeze, but I realize now that I want to live. Was I really expecting someone with a kind enough heart to take in a homeless boy on his birthday? Yes. Now, we don't always get what we want do we? No. Especially not me. Everything about my life has been one big run-on sentence. Sadly enough, that sentence will end before I know it. I just wanted to have a normal, happy life, away from my father. But does anyone care? No. Will anyone ever care? No. No one cares about me, not anymore…' he finished, a tear leaking out the corner of his eye.

 

Yugi looked back in the direction of his house again. No, he couldn't call it his house, more like a place he once lived. More tears came as he ran as fast as he could with his limp away from that hellhole that held his memories.

 

The snow was slowly starting to form into hail crystals. They were about the size of grapes. Whizzing through the air, they pelted mercilessly on Yugi's body as he tried to run. He lost his balance and fell into the frigid, raw snow. He couldn't move and the impending darkness soon fell over him as he subjected himself to his almost certain death.

A lone leather-clad figure was briskly walking along the sidewalk, aimlessly kicking a pebble as he went. Sure, it was a stupid thing to do, but what else was there? He went to kick the pebble again and instead, it went under his shoe. The ground was a bit icy so he went down on the ground face-first with the pebble a few inches away.

 

Now Yami was pissed. Pissed at the pebble, at the board of directors of his company and at his life. Especially at his life. He brushed himself off, picked up the poor pebble and threw it to god knows where. Not long after, he tripped on another pebble.

 

Yami hated getting embarrassed so he looked around to see if anyone was there. Then he shouted, “Goddam fucking pebble!” and tossed it down the nearest sewer hole.

 

Once relieved of his anger, Yami growled in frustration. This was definitely the highlight of his day. It all started when the eighteen year old had to get up at around 2:30 in the morning to make it to a business meeting. The meeting was at 8:30. The only problem with that, was that it was in the city and he lives five hours away from the city. Hell, he lives five hours away from everything.

 

Now, when you make an eighteen year old wake up at 2:30 in the morning, what do you think will happen? Yami isn't a morning person at all, so the first thing he did when he got out of bed was walk right into the doorframe. Then he turned the water in the shower on too hot and nearly burned his back. He jumped out of the shower and hit his head on the medicine cabinet.

 

Yami fiddled with the small gauze square on his forehead and gently pulled the square off. Breakfast was a total disaster. He was in a rush to finish and wasn't watching where he was going. The coffee got knocked onto the plate of bacon, toast and eggs and the plate got knocked into him. He tried to clean himself the best he could, but in the end he had to change, deciding to skip the suit. I don't think I could imagine Yami in a suit…

 

Then it was a long, boring car ride into the city. He just barely made it to the meeting on time and it turned out to be nothing important. That was another ten hours he could have been sleeping. Yami sighed. Five more hours, depending on traffic and he was home to dinner and an early sleep.

 

`I swear, if anyone wakes me up tomorrow, I'll have their head and start a collection.' He thought bitterly. He didn't really want to do anything of the sort, but if it meant no disturbances…

 

It had started to snow about an hour ago. Yami wondered if everyone was all right back at the mansion. Then he remembered that he never had time to clean Summer's stall.

 

Summer was his favorite horse out of the many he had. He named her Summer because she was born in the summer, was a light golden color and loved to spend time in the sun. He would have someone else take care of her, if he wanted someone easily killed. Summer hated everyone but him and he was the only one that could get within ten feet of her. The other horses were okay with other people, but he liked taking care of them as well. He felt at peace when he was with his horses, and not many things gave him that feeling anymore.

 

That was Yami's day. He absolutely hated getting up early, especially when he didn't have school or it was Christmas. Yes, today was Christmas, of all days.

 

`Of all the goddam days for a meeting, they just had to pick today! There are 364 other perfectly good days to get work done. But does the board listen to me? No. Do they listen to the person who holds their life at his fingertips? No. The fucking board said I had to fucking come for no fucking reason! I can't even remember the last time my Christmas dinner wasn't more than a sandwich. And I never get to spend any time with my friends anymore because I'm always too busy. Speaking of friends, Kaiba Corp isn't too far from here. I'll pay a visit to Seto and Mokuba to wish them a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I won't have another chance and I'll have to call my other friends later when I get the chance. I just hope they'll understand…' Yami finished the thought with a snort.

 

"Merry Christmas. Happy New Years. What a waste of time. What a bunch of shit." He muttered under his breath.

 

As he was sauntering along, it started to snow harder and the hailstones increased in size. They were now about an inch in diameter. Anyone not moving in this weather would be frozen solid sooner or later. Why did he make his driver, Rosa, park five long, San Francisco blocks away from the building?

 

'Maybe when I get to Seto's mansion he'll allow me to stay overnight. He knows better than anyone does what it's like to run your own company and all the hassles that come with it.' Yami made a mental note to ask.

 

Yami couldn't really see where he was going and was completely caught off guard when he nearly tripped over something soft and then stepped on some sort of box. One of the pieces in the box jabbed his foot in the side. It hurt a bit, but it hurt even more when he slipped on said piece and landed on his back in the snow.

 

He was lying on his back for a good fifteen minutes, panting, before he was actually able to get up again. 'That's the second time today!' His mind screamed at him.

 

He picked up the piece and was about to throw it. At that moment, the piece caught a ray of the little sunlight that there was, revealing it to be solid gold.

 

`If there's anything I need, money definitely isn't it.' Yami thought, turning the piece in his hand. `I need someone to relate to. Sure, Seto can relate to me company-wise, but he doesn't understand what I've been through. No one does. The only other people that even know the faintest about my past are Seto, Marik and Bakura. And I haven't really told them anything in detail. When I try to tell them, I choke on memories and end up making some lame excuse to get away.

 

`There's still Summer I can talk to; I know she won't tell a soul what I relayed to her. I feel connected to her, but she's just a horse. Even though it seems like she always understands what I'm saying, it's not the same as having a person to talk to.

 

`I've tried keeping it all to myself but after a while it just becomes too overwhelming and I loose it. Oh well, something good has to come out of this day…' Yami trailed off, thinking some more.

 

The sun started peeking through the holes in the clouds and the snow let up a bit though it was still coming down hard. When the rays hit the ground, the other pieces, unbeknownst to Yami, reflected the light creating golden shimmers that seemed to dance as the sun went past. The glint caught Yami's eye, mixing with the iris to make an even deeper reddish hue.

 

He looked at the snow-covered cement only to find that there were more pieces strewn about the area. He pocketed the piece he already had and proceeded to collect the rest. Doing so, he noted that all the pieces had relatively the same size and shape, yet none were the same. All of the pieces looked like they would fit into any other one, but none fit together at all. Only three pieces held any sign of significance. One was shaped like a pyramid, probably the overall shape of the puzzle, the next was flat and had sort of jagged edges with a loop on top and the last one was also flat and had the Eye of Horus engraved on it. If it isn't the Eye of Horus, it is now.

 

As he was about to pick up the last piece, Yami's hand brushed against something soft, but cold. Out of curiosity, he touched the figure again and kept his hand there for a moment. It seemed frozen and dead at first, but when he was about to remove his hand, he noticed that it was breathing.

 

After a few moments, Yami registered what was going on. “Holy shit! This person is alive!” He only shouted it because he knew no one was around to hear him.

 

Yami was warm enough, but this person was as cold as ice. His skin was semi blue and if he was conscious, he wouldn't even be able to feel Yami touching his skin to try to warm him. He immediately took off his jacket and put it around the other one's shoulders. The build of the person was relatively small, so he guessed him to be a boy of about ten or so.

 

`Poor kid. I wonder what happened to him. I mean, why is he out here? On Christmas none the less? Shouldn't his family have been looking for him and found him by now? He must have been out here for at least a few hours, judging by how cold he is.' The thought shocked Yami, and one thing ran through his mind: Why?

 

Yami took the boy into his arms to keep both of them warm. It was only then that he noticed that he was a mess. His pants were covered in blood and his blonde bangs were splotched with blood and dirt. He had a few open cuts, many healing ones and probably about a hundred bruises all over his body. What had happened to him?

 

`Wait a minute, blonde bangs?' Yami lifted the boy's head up only to find that he looked remotely similar to Yami himself. `That's interesting. It's not every day you find someone that looks similar to me. You know, I wonder what color his eyes are. I can't picture him with a common eye color. Mine have a blood red hue. Though everyone says that they're crimson. When I look, I see myself with irises a lot deeper than crimson. And besides, blood red fits me better.

 

`I can't picture this boy with my eye color though either.' Yami was brought out of his thoughts when he felt his shirt was wet. `Apparently this kid is worse off than I thought. He's pouring blood in buckets. I can feel him getting weaker in my arms; he might die.' Yami looked somewhat fondly at his little look-alike and smiled. A rare, genuine smile.

 

He wanted to know more about this boy, find out what happened to him. He wanted to repay the assholes that did this to him, a complete stranger. Why, he had no idea. If he had gotten attacked by a gang and gotten hurt, Yami would finally have someone to relate to. Maybe that's why.

 

Whatever had happened, all Yami knew was that this boy needed help. `But I have to wait for him to wake up. I'm sure he wouldn't want someone he doesn't know taking him to his or her home. I don't think his family would appreciate him waking up in my mansion either.'

 

So he waited. He waited for what seemed like hours before there was even a single movement of the other one. At first there was just a twitch like he was cold. Then, a few moments later he stirred and weakly opened his eyes. He surveyed his surroundings only to find he was sitting up on something on the sidewalk. But what exactly was he sitting on? And why was it so soft and warm?

 

He started frantically darting his eyes back and forth. Then he realized whatever was holding him was behind him. He swiftly spun around to meet with fiery eyes and an equally burning pain in his side. He clutched it and hissed, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

 

“Hey kid, are you all right? You don't look so good.” Yami stated.

 

The other boy tore his gaze away from his wounded side, shocked. No one had ever asked that before. `He cares about me? But why?'

 

“Why would you care?” He snapped at Yami. He cast his eyes downward, fiddling with his fingers as he looked anywhere but at the stranger. He felt somewhat guilty for what he said. Or at least in the way he said it.

 

Yami understood. If he really was just in a fight and was left out here, then why should the boy trust anyone? “Let's just say that I'm a nice guy. And I won't hurt you. I promise.” He finished with a nod as a confirmation.

 

“Who are you?” There was a bit more happiness evident in his voice and some fear died down, though it was still present.

 

“My name is Yami. What's yours, little one?”

 

For the first time, the boy looked up into Yami's eyes and said, “My name is Yugi.”

 

`Violet! So that's it. But something's wrong. They look so dull and lifeless. Not only that, but he seems to be afraid, confused and in immense pain.' Now Yami spoke. “Well Yugi, let me ask again. Are you all right?”

 

`Should I tell him about my dad? What if he hates me? I can't really say we're friends, but I still don't want Yami to hate me. Wait, are we friends?' “Yea, I'm okay. My side just hurts a bit. It's nothing to worry about.”

 

Yugi could tell Yami wasn't buying it. “Tell me, why are you lying? Friends shouldn't lie to each other. None of my other friends do.”

 

“You think we're friends? Why would you want someone like me to be your friend?” Yugi hung his head thinking that Yami never meant what he said.

 

“Yes, and why not? You never answered my question, Yugi.” He went to lift Yugi's head but Yugi pulled away. Then he got up and faced Yami with cold, darkened eyes. Yami was taken aback. How could someone so young hold so much negative emotion?

 

“If you had any idea what my life has been like, you wouldn't want anything to do with me!” Yami tried to refute, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise. “Everyone knows everything about me and they all hate me for it! The kids in school make fun of me and they beat me up even more than I am at home; even the teachers view me as lesser than the other kids!” Yugi hadn't realized what he said until after he said it. He fell to his knees knowing that Yami would walk away disgusted and he'd lose his only friend. All because of what he blurted out on accident.

 

He took the jacket off and threw it at where he supposed Yami to be. Yami was stunned. Had what Yugi said been true? `No wonder his family never came looking for him! I am such an idiot. I should have been able to put two and two together long before this. Great, now Yugi's crying because he thinks I'll become an enemy as well. I'll have to prove him wrong.' Yami walked over to where Yugi was kneeling.

 

He replaced the jacket on him and said, “I promise I won't leave you. Please tell me if what you said before is true or not.”

 

Yugi sniffed. He looked up at Yami with watery eyes and tear stained cheeks. “I-it's true, all of it. My dad beats me a-and he laughs at me and calls me worthless.” Yugi tried to wipe the tears away but they wouldn't stop falling.

 

Yami brought the crying boy into his arms. For some reason it felt right. The two fit together like the golden pieces in Yami's pockets. “How long has this been going on?” He asked.

 

Yugi lifted his head up to respond. “Ev-ever since I was f-four years old. I-it's been twelve years to date.”

 

`He's sixteen?' Yami brought Yugi's head to his chest and started stroking his hair. “It's all right now. Let it all out and cry. It will make you feel better.“ Yami was almost ready to cry himself. He felt terrible for what happened to his younger friend.

 

They stayed together for a while as Yugi cried his little heart out. When he finished he was still shaking and a tear would escape his eyes every now and then. “Maybe you should leave because I don't want you to get hurt when my dad comes back to get me. He won't be alone this time and you're only another obstacle to keep him from getting to me.”

 

Yami shook his head. He set Yugi on the ground beside him and stood up. “I'd be as heartless as your father if I left a friend behind.” He paused to extend a hand out to Yugi. “And if you want, I can let you stay with me. I mean, only if you really want to, that is.” Yami couldn't figure out why, but something was pulling him towards Yugi. It felt like his heart was dragging Yami down a path of concern, sorrow and something else. `But what else? What's going on?'

 

After listening to Yami's words, Yugi felt happier. Happier than he had ever felt in his life. He took his right hand and latched it onto Yami's left. “Umm, do you think you could pull me up? See, my arm is kinda broken and-” he stopped speaking when he saw Yami walk behind him. “Yami what are you-”

 

Yami wrapped two strong arms around Yugi's tiny waist and pulled him up. Yugi suddenly looked tired and it didn't seem as if he could walk very far without collapsing. Yami picked him up again so he could carry him bridal style.

 

“You can put me down, you know. I can walk to wherever we're going. I could probably walk to your house too, Yami.” Yugi stifled a yawn. He was tired, but he didn't want to admit it. The steady rhythm of Yami's walk and his chest rising and falling weren't helping any. Neither was the fact that he had lost a lot of blood and was probably still bleeding. He rested his head on Yam's chest and started to nod off. His eyes were drooping slightly and a contented look spread across his features.

 

“Sleep if need be, little one. I'll wake you when we get there.” Yugi closed his eyes in response. “Or if something happens.” Yami whispered to himself.

 

A few minutes later, as if on cue, a bullet whizzed by and created a miniature crater a couple of feet in front of them on the sidewalk. Even more came speeding past, all aimed terribly off. Whoever was behind him didn't want to hit him, they only wanted him to get distracted. Two came at him from the left and right sides. While dodging the one on the right, (because that was where Yugi's head was) the one on the left grazed his upper arm.

 

Yami started to run, hissing as another one hit him full on just below the graze mark. It was bleeding badly and he was losing the feeling in his arm. It wouldn't be much longer before he would have to stop and wake up Yugi. The firing was becoming more frequent and soon the sidewalk was too rocky to move on.

 

Yugi awakened slowly from the noises and Yami's ragged breathing. “What's going on? What's that noise?” He asked sleepily. Only a muffled “Oh thank God.” Was heard.

 

Yami stopped short. The only way out of this situation was to bolt across the street and hopefully make it to the other side in one piece. In a blur of mainly black he moved to the side street with ease. Once he was almost at the end he dropped to his knees, panting heavily. Yugi climbed out from his protective embrace and one-handedly gave Yami a hug around his neck.

 

“Are you all right?” He got a slow nod. “Are you sure?” He unwound his hand from Yami's neck and shakily stood. He took one look at Yami's arm and gasped. “You're hurt! You've been shot!” He tore off the bottom of one of his pants legs and wrapped it around the wound.

 

Yami held his breath and shut his eyes tight. There was pain evident on his face before he turned away to look behind him. Five shadowed figures were rounding the corner. They were pissed, Yami could tell that much. Three stayed at the corner and two came jogging down the street.

 

`Why are these guys following us?' He thought. He started to panic. What were they going to do? `We have to hide somewhere.'

 

“I'm all done now. That looks good. It should slow the bleeding until-” Yami clamped a hand over his mouth.

 

He tried to ignore the muffled cries and backed them into the space between the last house and the end of the block. Before he unclamped his hand he whispered, “You have to be very, very quiet. Until I figure out what's going on here, stay out of sight and don't make a sound. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, but I can't help it if you don't keep quiet. Understand?”

 

Yugi nodded, relieved to have the hand taken away. There were five men with guns chasing them. He saw them when he was bandaging Yami's arm, but pretended not to notice. The one in the front was his dad. There was no doubt about it. He must've come home and seen that he wasn't there. `He's probably been following me the whole way unnoticed.' Yugi paled. `That means he knows that I told Yami that he hits me! I have to say something.'

 

Yugi tugged on his good arm and Yami looked at him. “What's the matter?” He whispered.

 

“I know who those guys are. The one in front is my dad and the rest of them are his friends. He went out to get them so he could get me back for not cooperating with him this morning. He saw I was gone and must've come looking for me. And now he's after you too because you know what he does to me.” He whispered back. “It's all my fault!” He whispered a little louder that time. He started to cry. Yugi looked at Yami then buried his face in his shirt to stifle the sobs.

 

Yami held him closer and put his head on top of Yugi's. He rubbed small circles on his back in a soothing manner and murmured words that had no meaning. The words didn't have to mean anything, as long as they were there. To Yugi that meant Yami was there and that calmed him down more than anything did.

 

When Yugi stopped he looked up at Yami and smiled. “I think I'll be all right now.” He whispered. He pushed himself off of his friend and proceeded to the mouth of the alley.

 

He looked back at Yami and bit his lip. He was going to surrender himself in return for Yami's safety. He wasn't going to let anything happen to his new found friend.

 

Yugi took off Yami's jacket and handed it back to him. “If anything happens to me then I know you would want your jacket. So here, take it. I'm going to go out there and face him. You stay here, out of danger.”

 

“If anything ever happened to you I wouldn't care about the goddam jacket. I'll do as you say, but promise you'll call if you need me for anything. Promise me that one thing, please?”

 

“I promise, Yami. Oh, and put the jacket on. If they see the bandage, they'll gain a little bit more confidence knowing that they actually hit someone with the little skills they have.”

 

Yami chuckled a bit at the comment. “Tell me where you live, in case anything does happen. This way I have an idea of where to find you if we get separated.”

 

“I think it's two or three blocks from here. Umm, the name of the street is Black Forest Avenue. It's a narrow street with houses on one side. My house has no number and it should be the second or third house in from the corner.”

 

“What does your house look like? If I knew that I wouldn't need a house number or anything like that to find it.”

 

“All the houses pretty much look the same on the street. I guess some things you should know is that the front lawn is bloody and the big double window in the front of it is broken with a hole about my size on it. The window pane is bent outward and there's no fence. Something you have to be careful of is that there's a Great Dane in the front yard that hates everyone but me. If you get too close she will bite you.”

 

“Wait a minute, he didn't throw you out the window, did he? Does your house have two stories? Where does the bloody lawn fit in with all this? What happened? And what do I do about the dog?”

 

“First of all, I broke the window so I could get out. Hence, the bloody lawn. And second of all, try to stay away from her. If she sees you and thinks you're a threat, she'll chase you.”

 

“What would I do if she starts chasing me?”

 

“Call her name, Snapper. If that doesn't work, run.”

 

“Oh. Well, please be careful when you're out there. You may think you know him, but he probably has some new kind of trick up his sleeve.” Yami stood and put the jacket on, hugging Yugi as a way to say I'm here for you.

 

Yugi walked out of the alleyway without a look back. If he saw how saddened and pained Yami's face was, he wouldn't be able to go out and do what he knew he had to do.

 

As soon as he stepped into the light he was grabbed and roughly pulled to the side. “Glad to see you finally came around and decided to go with us.” A familiar voice said.

 

“The only thing I've decided on doing is being rid of you once and for all. I can't stand this anymore, so why don't you just leave me alone!” This was going against his original plan, but then again so had the whole day.

 

“The only reason I came out here was to get you, you piece of shit, and I ain't going home `till that's done.” He lifted up his son's chin and glared at him. “You've been an asshole to me today and that can't go unpunished.”

 

Yugi spit in his face. That wasn't such a good idea, and certainly not the best one he'd made today. His dad threw him into one of the brick houses. He didn't come off unscathed, but he'd been in worse scenarios than this.

 

Yugi quickly scrambled to his feet. He saw that his dad's back was facing him and got a hopefully brilliant idea. `What have I got to lose?' With that thought running through his head, Yugi sprinted towards his dad and jumped on his back, covering both his eyes with his right arm.

 

His dad staggered a few inches back, caught totally off guard. The last he remembered, he had thrown Yugi against one of the houses and turned his back to him. He hadn't turned since then, only moved. He smirked and backed up into the house as fast as he could.

 

The wind was knocked out of Yugi and he slid off of his dad's shoulders. He fell to the ground, silent. He didn't move or make a sound. Based on his actions, there was no proof that he was even still alive. Not until one shallow breath escaped his pained body.

 

His dad quickly whirled around and pushed Yugi forward into the ground. Yugi was more awake now and he was panting heavily. He had little idea of what was going on and even less of an idea of why there was a sharp pain in the small of his back. He strained to lift his head and peered over his shoulder. He saw his dad sitting on him, making his legs go numb so he couldn't move.

 

`What am I going to do?' He wondered weakly. `Wait, I know!' Yugi took as deep a breath as he could with the constricting concrete under him and shouted, “YA-” He was suddenly cut off when his dad's rolled up red and black bandana was shoved into his mouth and tied securely behind his head.

 

His dad jerked his head back and let it fall onto the ground again. He repeated this, each time making the jerk more violent. When he finally stopped, Yugi made choking sounds, trying to get some air before he passed out. His dad shoved his head back onto the cement and held it there.

 

Yugi tried to struggle. He tried to get away. Unfortunately, the harder he tried to break free, the harder he was pushed into the cement and the more weight was put onto the small of his back.

 

His dad's friends were laughing at him, calling him worthless. They were saying that the only thing he was good for was something to beat the shit out of and toss away. No one cares about someone like him. No one ever did and no one ever will.

 

Hot tears slowly made their way down his cheeks. Yugi tried to convince himself that it wasn't true and they were lying. He knew he had to keep fighting, because the moment he gave up, he belonged to them. He also knew that he was failing miserably. Their words were getting to him and there wouldn't be much time before his spirit was broken. Soon he would become something only to be used and then thrown away.

 

The tears streamed down faster and they wouldn't cease falling. They stained the ground not so far below his crushed body and made a small puddle. He couldn't even get his hand out from underneath him to wipe them away. The thing he was most worried about now though was the fact that Yami hadn't come yet, even though he called. Or almost did, anyway.

 

`Where is he? D-did he leave? What if what they're saying is true? Could Yami really think I'm worthless? Does he hate me because I'm weak and give up too easily? Oh, Yami, where are you!' Yugi cried out in his mind.

 

Yugi looked somewhat fondly at the entrance to the alleyway where Yami hopefully was waiting for him to call. The side of his head suddenly connected with the cement again.

 

“Don't even think of trying to get away. There's no where to go. And besides, what my friends over there said is completely wrong. You aren't totally useless. You're gonna be a great in bed, you'll see!” Before he had time to think about what his dad had just said, Yugi was hit on the back of the head and he blacked out.

 

His dad finally got off Yugi and slung him over one of his shoulders. “Well boys, let's go back to my place and finish what I started. It'll be fun and you'll all get to take a crack at `im.” They turned away and were about to leave when a voice that sounded way beyond pissed rang in their ears. They were all scared stiff as they dared to turn around. Heh. A bunch of forty-something year old guys being scared of an eighteen-year-old.

 

Yami was standing there with his fists clenched and a menacing glare set on his face. He had heard the whole conversation and wasn't about to let anything happen to Yugi. “I don't think so. You five assholes will have to get past me if you're going anywhere with Yugi.” Yami snapped. And he thought his day was bad before. Well that was nothing compared to this. His newest friend was about to get severely hurt and Yami wasn't going to let that happen without a fight. This was definitely the worst day ever, without a doubt.

 

“And you.” He turned to Yugi's dad. His eyes darkened deeper than the reddest of blood hues, almost black. Yami slowly started moving closer, making sure they kept eye contact. He smirked. Before they had time to think, he was right up in their faces, too close for them to get away. “You bastard, how dare you call yourself a father! You don't deserve to live after what you've done to him!” Yami grabbed him roughly by the shirt collar and pulled him in close. “I'll make sure that you die before you get a chance to go near him again.” He hissed dangerously.

 

“I think you're too late for that.” Yugi's dad retorted.

 

“What do you mean by I'm too late?” Yami had never seen Yugi slung over his dad's shoulder and didn't know he was there. He was focusing on the face of the man he held by the collar and didn't bother to look elsewhere.

 

“What I mean is, I got the kid and you're about to be killed. You two! Get on it and meet the rest of us back home.” He grabbed Yami's hand and flung him off into the two of the five guys that were waiting for him.

 

“Kendo, what do ya want us to do to this guy?” One of them asked. The other one was in the alleyway looking for something. A clang was heard and a couple of sparks flew out from the mouth of the space.

 

“I don't care what the fuck you do to him! Just make it so that he can't come after us and try to save the kid. I've got big plans for the pile of shit on my shoulder, here.” He motioned for the other two to follow and they casually walked off around the corner and back the way they came.

 

“Well, the boss said we can do anything to you we like. So what's it gonna be?” The man paused to listen to another clang and see some more sparks. “Will you hurry it up in there, dammit? I want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can get a share of the fun over at Kendo's place. I don't want to go chasing him all over San Francisco, either. And we can't leave him out here.”

 

“All right, all right, jeez! I'll be out in a sec. An' besides, as long as you're holding him, he can't get away.” Yami heard this and blinked a few times out of confusion. He was, in fact being held and he hadn't even realized it.

 

`This is going to be tougher than I thought. A lot tougher.' Yami was snapped back to reality when he was forcefully shoved out of the man's grasp and fell to the ground.

 

He would have been hit harder if not for the fact that the lead pipe made a loud whizzing noise when it slashed through the air. He moved to the left an inch or so and the sharpened end of the pipe sunk into his shoulder.

 

Yami watched as the blood dripped out of the newly formed abrasion. He growled, then rolled to the side as a chain descended down upon him. The chain narrowly missed Yami's head and instead took a chunk out of the asphalt. He sprang up onto his feet, ready to fight.

 

Yami was always quicker and more agile when on his feet. He could move around easier and use his arms as a defensive mechanism. If he was on the ground for too long dodging chains and pipes, he would lose that edge and not be able to gain it back fast enough to win against the two guys that got him into this in the first place.

 

The chain came at him again. Yami held up his arm and let the metal links wind around it. What he never noticed was that there was a hook on the end of the chain. The hook dug into his skin through his jacket and ran across it, slicing the top of his forearm.

 

He glanced at the wound for a brief second. It didn't hurt that much, and besides, he had a more important thing to worry about. `Yugi… this is for you!' Yami took the chain in both hands and pulled. He yanked it right out of the other man's hands and flung it back at him with twice the force, hitting him square on the head.

 

The other fell to the ground unconscious in front of Yami's feet. Yami snorted. That's what they got for messing with him and the other one was next. He felt another presence behind him and whirled, just in time to catch the blow. The pipe hit him again and again all over his body unmercifully until he dropped to the ground, blood leaking all over the small side street.

 

The man stared at Yami for a moment before he ran to his fallen companion and shook him awake. “I did it. It took six or seven times, but I did it. If he isn't dead now then he'll go soon. There ain't no way he's gonna get up again after what I did to him.”

 

“Well good. That should make the boss happy. Now we better get out of here before someone sees us. We'd get in some deep fuckin' trouble with the cops for this.”

 

“No need to worry. There's only one house on this street and they're away. See? No cars are in the driveway.”

 

The formerly unconscious man cautiously stepped over to Yami as if he would spring up any second. He heard an exasperated sigh in the background. “I'm going to get the chain offa him. You should get the pipe too so we can show them as proof that we did our job.” He unwound the chain down to the hook. It was still embedded deep in Yami's flesh. He made a sickened face as he pulled it out making the blood come out faster.

 

“Come on already, let's go! Let's get back to the rest of the guys and pick up where we left off.” The one with the pipe was already at the corner, walking away from the scene and not bothering to wait for the other guy to follow.

 

They walked around the corner and down the road a ways. It was a good while before they came upon Kendo and the other two. They were laughing and joking about how much fun this was going to be.

 

Yugi was still unconscious and remained like that almost the whole way back to the house. The sky darkened and thunder rolled over the land. Lightning could be seen in the distance by anyone who was willing to see it. Two prone figures, one on a deserted side street, the other slung over his abusive father's shoulder, were the only ones oblivious to this. The lightning came closer and grew brighter while the thunder rumbled increasingly closer to the flashes.

 

Then the rain came. This was no ordinary rain. This was a sheet of freezing water pelting the bodies of anyone who dare come outside and mock Mother Nature. There were no indications of where one raindrop ended and the next began.

 

Then there was the cold. The cold… the cold was so inviting to Yugi. So inviting that he slowly opened his eyes half way. He was fully awake but was aware that he was still in danger. If his dad and his friends thought he was still out, they would think nothing of him. That was what he was aiming for. Until Yami came, he would try to avoid anything that might have been planned for him.

 

When his street was finally in view, Yugi was dropped to the ground. He had fallen asleep; something he hadn't been able to do in ages. He groggily opened his eyes and sat up. He was then kicked in the side.

 

His dad literally ripped the bandana from around his mouth. Then he threw it on the street in front “Get up. You're walking the rest of the way.” Kendo spat. “I don't want to be burdened with you any longer.”

 

Yugi just snorted and turned away, refusing to get up. “I'm content where I am, right here, on the ground.” He motioned to the spot he was sitting on to emphasize his point.

 

“I'm getting really pissed off at you. So get your fucking skinny ass over here before I give you your punishment a whole hell of a lot earlier than expected!”

 

Yugi backed away a bit, but other than that showed no emotion. He saw the glare of five sadistic lunatics upon him and decided to listen or else he would be dead sooner than he thought. He shakily stood and began to walk towards the house when he was grabbed from behind. Yugi was jerked to the ground and when he opened his eyes again he saw all five of them standing around him in a circle. There was no way out.

 

The rain came down even harder washing his cuts and clothes almost clean. His hair got plastered to his face. It kept getting in his eyes and irritating the various slash marks on his face.

 

He got up again only to be pushed back into the ground face first. He gagged as some of the muddy water that had pooled on the street entered his mouth. `I have definitely gotten myself into deep shit.' He thought bitterly.

 

Even though the house was less than a block away it seemed like hours before the circle actually turned onto the street. Through the arms of one of his dad's friends Yugi saw Ms. McAlister Old gym teacher… in her bright lime green raincoat and, as always, her three-foot long hair in a ponytail. She was getting the afternoon mail as she always does.

 

She had no children of her own and often came next door to see Yugi. He told her everything and talked to her like a child would to his mother. She was the mother he wishes he still had. Whenever his dad would leave, he would run over to her house for comfort.

 

Sometimes she would bandage him up, even though he told her not too. If his dad ever found out that she cared he would threaten to kill her. Yugi envisioned the scene that might have occurred.

 

`My dad threatens her and ends up killing her anyway. Then he will beat me harder then he ever has. That'll be the second person that cared about me in the smallest degree dead. Speaking of caring, I wonder if Yami's okay. He hasn't been following and I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe something did happen to him…'

 

Yugi peered in the direction of Ms. McCalister just in time to see tears well up in her pale green eyes. She hastily grabbed the mail and dashed back into her quaint little house, her autumn gold hair streaming behind. The burgundy front door slammed shut. For a moment Yugi thought she had abandoned him when he probably needed her most. Then he saw a pair of pale green eyes peek through a sliver in the matching burgundy and gold weave curtains.

 

Her house is like a cape cod. You know the ones you see when you go to Pennsylvania or up state. Her house is the only one on the block that doesn't look run-down and like it's about to crumble. A glimmer of hope appeared on his face. `Maybe I'll make it through this after all.' Yugi dreamed, looking back the way he had come for a split second.

 

Yugi was shaken from his thoughts when he was thrown through the window he broke and landed on the wall with a thud. Something was about to happen; something bad. The five men advanced on him. Two of them held up bloody weapons.

 

Yugi's gaze hardened. “There's no way you'll ever get away with this. Yami promised he'd never let anything happen to me. He'll be here before you can lay a finger on me!”

 

“Oh, you really think so, don't you? You think he'd still want to come and try to save you after what we did to him?”

 

“Yami is my friend! He promised he'd always be there for me! He promised…”

 

“That friend of yours won't be here today, he won't be here tomorrow either. He's never coming back after what happened on the side street. Where do you think the blood came from?”

 

A look of pure horror came over Yugi's face. “Th-that's his. That's Ya-ami's blood?” He got two nods in response. “What did you do to him! What have you done!”

 

“Nothing special. We just stopped him from getting to you, that's all. It was hard, but we did it. We killed him. Your friend is dead.”

 

CLIFFIE!

Yugi: You are very evil.

 

Soulless: Why thank you.

 

Yugi: Is Yami going to be okay?

 

Soulless: …

 

Yami: And what's going to happen to Yugi?

 

Soulless: …

 

Yami/sigh/ Anyway, didn't you have something to tell everyone?

 

Soulless: Huh? Oh, right. I wanted to thank the people who reviewed for the first chapter. Namely: Kat1132, Otaro Ruiyen and kkwyDragonflame. And I also wanted to say that I'm sorry the little stars around the actions in my other notes didn't show up; I'll try to fix it so it shows up from now on. Maybe I'll do little dashes or the vertical lines or something. Yeah. That'll work. And then I can fill little wicker baskets with that smelly stuff that girls like and…

 

Yugi/sweatdrop/ He's rambling again…

 

Yami: I told you last chapter, Yugi, he needs to be gagged. And we never should have taken the straight jacket off…

 

Soulless: So the milk chocolate bunnies and I can take over the world, along with Marik and Bakura if they want, and then everybody will be forced to eat chocolate until they EXPLODE! Or die if hives…

 

Yugi: Is he high, or something? I mean he's worse than you are when you're drunk!

 

Yami: I don't get drunk, alcohol just doesn't sit well with me.

 

Soulless: But of course the pink peeps will be burned like they deserve, but the yellow and blue and white ones can stay in my pantry. And we can all eat little peanut butter fudge balls that I made from the chocolate bunnies. Then we can live happily ever after and…

 

Yugi: But the pink ones are my favorite!

 

Yami: Your favorite color is pink?

 

Yugi: No! My favorite color is dark blue! It's just that the pink ones are easiest to torment…

 

Soulless: YES! Burn all the pink peeps!

 

Yugi: No, dammit! You can't burn them without letting me do it too!

 

Yami/sweatdrop/ Everybody is going crazy… /thinking/ And I still can't get this collar off…

 

So, yea. That's chapter two. And I realize that I never put a disclaimer at the beginning of the chapter so here it is now:

 

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything, including: Yu-Gi-Oh! and/or any characters from said show, peeps, or the little fudge ball things that my friend told me about that they sell in Lowes Foods also don't own. And who the hell names a grocery store Lowes? Glad I don't live in the south no offense to the people who do. And I also don't own the idea of burning the pink peeps. My friend thought of that.

 

Okay, that's all I can think of for right now. I'm tired for no apparent reason and I just feel really shitty. Well, there's one thing I can think of: I'm going on vacation this Thursday through next Tuesday, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get chapter three out before then. Probably not. So you're gonna hafta wait for it a little longer than usual.

 

Anyway, that's it for now. So until next chapter, I'm out. 7-18-05