Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Repay You ❯ Repay You ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Notes: My first Yu-Gi-Oh! fic, woo!

Warnings: There is a small dose of shounen-ai in this fic. For those of you who don't know what that mean, to put it plainly, shounen-ai is guy/guy romanticism. Now, small-minded people, cower in fear of the mighty Shounen-ai Queen! ^^'

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own any part of Yu-Gi-Oh!--the actual game or the anime. If I did, not only would I be incredible rich, but a lot more people would know what the term yaoi refers to.

Now, on with the ficlet.

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"Say goodbye to your soul, Pharaoh. Eatos, destroy his monsters and the rest of his life points!"

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"Yugi! What are you doing here?"

"The Orichalcos only needs to take one of us, so I'm letting it take me instead."

--

The pharaoh leaned against the wall of the small corridor, head in his hands. "How could I have been so selfish?"

The anger in his voice turned to something more like agony as he slid down the wall and said quietly, "Now I've lost him forever." A pause, and he hugged his knees to his chest. "Yugi, I'm so sorry." His voice broke, and tears slid down his face. With this, Yami laid his head on his arms and soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, Yami was in the same position as before. The only change was that he could no longer sense the train's movement along the track. He lifted his head and saw that he was no longer on the train at all, but in one of the many twisted corridors of his mind.

"A dream, then?" he thought aloud.

The sound of light footsteps prompted him to turn around. There was a quickening in the rhythm of his heart as he laid eyes upon the small figure rounding the corner.

"No, Yami. Not exactly." Yugi made an effort to smile at him.

"Y-Yugi?" Yami stammered. "But how? You were--your soul…" His heart sank as realization hit him. "Oh. You're just part of the dream."

Yugi walked closer, shortening the distance between them to a few feet. His smile didn't falter.

"Didn't you hear? I know I shouldn't be, but I think I really am here."

Yami shook his head. "I don't understand. Your soul was… taken by the Orichalcos."

"I don't really understand why, either. I mean, a minute ago I was here--no, a place like this, but darker, colder… I was walking and walking, then I heard your voice. I…" Yugi shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad to see you. There for a while, I didn't think I was ever going to see anyone again." He stared at the former pharaoh for a few uncertain moments before jumping up and hugging him tightly.

Looking down at the slight boy, Yami found the notion of Yugi standing on his tip-toes just to get his arms around his neck almost… endearing. He returned the embrace without a second thought, though he wondered, how could this young boy make him feel so calm? So at ease in the very midst of chaos? Yami knew not the answer, but as he held Yugi in the firm embrace, he felt the warmth of the other boy's body penetrate his own, and began to believe that this Yugi was not simply a figment of his imagination.

Yugi sniffled, and Yami pushed him back gently, looked into his eyes.

"Yugi?"

He avoided Yami's intense gaze, looking at his hands, the ground. "I was so afraid, Pharaoh." Yami flinched at the use of the more impersonal name. "I didn't want you to lose that duel. But…" Yugi finally lifted his gaze to meet Yami's, and the pharaoh knew he was fighting to hold back tears that were only a breath away. "But I wasn't going to let them take your soul; that's exactly what those evil men wanted."

"I know, and you should have let them! Just look at what I've done to you, Yugi! Rafael was right; I must have been an evil ruler to have done something so horrible…" He trailed off, looking away from Yugi.

Yami was trembling slightly when Yugi placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Yami, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have won without the Seal of Orichalcos."

"Then I should have forfeit before it was played!" Yami was shouting, and Yugi took a step back.

"Yami…"

"No, Yugi! You can't forgive me for this!" He turned away, hugging himself. "No one can. I'll go to Rafael--without Joey, Tristan, or Tea. I'll tell him to set you free, to take my soul instead. That's the way it should have happened. That's the only way to make things right." Yami finished just above a whisper, the anguish and guilt in his voice more obvious now than ever.

Yugi stared at his back in shock. What is he saying? As he watched him, Yami's shoulders began to shake almost impercieveably. Yugi acted without thought, silently closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around Yami's waist from behind. He laid his head against Yami's back, and Yami stiffened immediately.

Yugi said softly, "Just go along with Joey and the others for now. I'll be fine until you come for me."

Yami turned in Yugi's grasp, and found himself staring into deep amethyst eyes. "But, Yugi, I… it's all my fault…" Yami felt tears pricking at his eyes, yet he refused to let them fall.

Yugi smiled gently, speaking only slightly above a whisper. "I forgive you, Yami."

"You can't!" His voice broke as a tear escaped and slid down his face.

"I already have."

Yami was helpless now to stop the flow of his tears, and he pulled Yugi to him tightly. He felt the strength of his anger leave his body, and the two of them sank to the floor. Yugi sat on his knees and continued to hold Yami, letting the pharaoh cry into his shoulder. "Shh…" he murmured, lightly stroking Yami's back. "It's alright, Yami. Everything will be fine."

Long minutes passed before Yami finally quieted, lifting his head to gaze into Yugi's eyes. "Thank you, Yugi."

Yugi frowned. "What for?"

Yami bowed his head. "For everything. You're always there, whenever I need someone to reassure me. Every time I've done something wrong, you give me the courage to make it right again. I may not know how I was in the past, but I know regardless that I never deserved a friend like you. You can't begin to know how much you've changed me... I don't know how I can ever repay you."

He watched Yugi for his reaction. When the smaller boy only continued to stare, speechless, Yami reached out, traced a tear's path on Yugi's face. A whisper of a sigh escaped Yugi's lips, and he closed his eyes. Yami's words echoed in his mind: …never deserved… you've changed me… repay you. He wondered how Yami could be so oblivious to the fact that he felt the same about the former pharaoh. How he had relied on Yami's strength to help him through the many dangerous situations they had found themselves in. Repay me?

Yami's hand remained, cupping Yugi's pale face. He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the boy's lips, lingering for only a moment--long enough for startled amethyst to meet darkened crimson. Yami pulled back, looking away as a dusting of rose appeared on his cheeks.

Yugi laughed softly, drawing Yami's attention back to him. "Well, Pharaoh, that's a start." He laughed again when the rose turned to crimson on Yami's face, and he met the simple kiss with one of his own, this one longer and sweeter than the first. Instead of pulling away, he hugged the pharaoh close, whispered in his ear, "Hold on to that, and come find me soon. I don't want to be waiting around for you forever."

Without another word, before Yami could do more than shudder at the sensation of Yugi's soft breath, he vanished. Yami was left with only his thoughts, the lingering warmth of his twin's body, and a new determination to rescue his hikari.

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A/N: Please review with any comments or critiques. Thanks for reading!