Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Rivaled Love ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

Damn! Dammit! Ra help me. Why is this happening? Yami quietly made his way out of the house, careful not to disturb Sugoroku. He didn't want to have to explain his whereabouts, and grampa did seem to worry an awful lot. Yami closed off his link to his hikari. Refusing even the slightest contact, for fear it would drive him over the edge. His emotions were just too close to the surface right now, and the dark one didn't want to lose control.

The slim spiky-haired youth slid into the shadows of the late evening night. He made his way to the park, not wanting to go anywhere their friends may be. The park was large enough to get lost in safely.

It was all just too much. How could the Gods possibly be this cruel? It wouldn't have been so bad if Seto had only looked like his lost love, but they were almost identical. They both had the same icy demeanor, the same eyes, hair, way of talking. Even the same expressions. And then there was his brother Mokuba. Even though the boy was only ten there were strong resemblances to the man he was to become. Rumak. The ever faithful younger brother of his beloved Amoset. My Set.

And then there was his obsession with his dragons.

No. There was simply too much coincidence to be shrugged aside.

But why now, why now when he had lost his heart to his young hikari. The light in his darkness. He was happy, he had been content to wait until Yugi was slightly older, old enough to understand for himself what Yami felt. Until Kaiba kissed him.

Have I lost him? Yami didn't notice the tears beginning to slip down his face. And Kaiba. Why does he affect me like that?

In all honesty, wanting to rescue Yugi's grampa had only been one of the reasons he'd been willing to take the risk that Kaiba could have died. It's not right. He'd been so desperate not to lose Yugi, and yet he had already felt the pangs of heartache every time he looked upon his dueling nemesis. He and Yugi were too similar inside, where they loved. Yami had known that if was possible for him to have loved Amoset so unreservedly then Yugi had the same capability towards Kaiba. Yami and Yugi had both started off as rivals towards the blue-eyed teen, in both reincarnations, and just as Yami had lost his heart, he knew it was possible that Yugi would do so as well.

And now he has. I've lost him. Yami stopped and looked around trying to get his bearings. He wiped his eyes with trembling hands, stifling the sob threatening to break out. Oh my precious light.

Yami walked along to the small lake that was popular during the day. This late in the evening it was deserted, the dropping temperature making people seek out other entertainment, for which the distressed pharaoh was grateful.

The dark water rippled gently in the moonlight, barely a hint of a breeze was in the air. Yami walked up to the man-made stone-laid edging that framed the water. He sat down by the water's edge, idly trailing a hand in it's cool depths. Looking down, Yami caught sight of his reflection, His black crown of hair with it's blood-red spike tips and sharp golden bangs seemed muted in the dark surface.

Yami thought about them. He knew his light half often thought that Yami looked so much like his counterpart because of the puzzle and because they shared part of their soul, but Yami knew different. It was odd how no-one seemed to question the fact that the spikes were natural, soft and silky, not in the least bit stiff. But in this day and age no-one really questioned it. But Yami knew differently. Yami didn't so much resemble Yugi, as Yugi resembled Yami.

In a way it was comforting. Yami knew that Yugi had been destined to become his hikari from the moment he was born, simply because of his hair. Just as Ryou was destined to become hikari to Bakura.

There was no real coincidence when it came to the Millennium Items. Fate had her plans, and she didn't seem to mind who got caught in the crossfire. There was once a time when the fates had loved him. His life had been perfect. But like all perfection, it couldn't last. He had lost everything dear to him. Everyone he loved. He had failed his people, his land and his Gods. It was one of the reasons he'd been successful in sealing the shadow realm as Pharaoh. He had willingly given his life to ensure his spells' success.

And look where that got me? Yami thought deprecatingly. Yami had thought that when he sacrificed his life he would be reunited with his love in the afterlife. But instead he had become trapped inside his very own spell, inside the puzzle which would one day lead him to his little light. And his reborn lover.

Most of the past five millennia had not been too bad. He had existed inside the puzzle with no memory of anything, not even himself. He had had barely any self-awareness, content to roam the secrets of the puzzle and live in seclusion. Drifting. Until Yugi had solved the puzzle.

When Yami had merged with his young light he'd started to regain his memory. Only in small flashes until the day he'd helped Yugi to defeat Kaiba. After he'd won the duel with Yugi, Yami had made his.....well, mistake isn't quite the right word, it was more of a necessary catalyst. When he'd opened Kaiba's mind he'd been sent snatches of memory of which the young brunette teen himself was unaware. Images of when he was in Egypt. When his name was not Seto, but Amoset.

It had shocked the spirit of the pharaoh. He knew the teen was somehow familiar, but to see himself in the youth's mind, older somehow, happy, he couldn't believe it. Then when he'd remembered. When he realised that the blue-eyed billionaire was his dead love. He didn't know what to do. He had already fallen in love with his young hikari. Yami knew that there were no guarantees that Kaiba would be the same towards Yugi as he had been towards Yami in this past life.

Then the rivalry started. And the similarities between the events of the past and the present began to almost mirror themselves. Even Pegasus had to show up. Even if his name had changed. But the events of the past and the future had become so similar they had shaken the crimson-eyed pharaoh.

Yami could clearly remember when Kaiba had been his beloved Set, when he had been the High Priest of Egypt. The Master of Dragons, when his precious Blue-Eyes were alive and well, roaming the skies. Their blue-white colour was a symbol of life back then. Their colour the same as the pure, clear water which sustained the dry, arid land. When they died, the land turned red, cracking and parched. The end of his reign. The end of everything. When his Set had...No! I won't remember. I can't, can't ever live through the memories again.

The small pharaoh rubbed his eyes, willing the tears threatening to fall back into his eyes. Yami felt a sharp tug down his bond with Yugi. He ignored it. Tightening his fists to keep from screaming out in pain and frustration. A few more tugs, then a soft nudge and the sensation stopped. He could almost hear Yugi's forlorn sigh.

I'm sorry aibou. Yami thought to himself. But I can't deal with this yet. Not right now.

Yami stared down, watching as the pale moonlight reflected down into the murky water. He heard footsteps, then a crackling noise as someone stood out from the bushes behind him. Yami turned.

"Jounouchi??"

"Yami??"

They stared. Jounouchi looked almost as bad as Yami felt.

"Whatcha doin' out here anyways?" The honey blond asked, brushing back his shaggy mane uncomfortably. He looked around. "Where's Yugi?"

Yami turned back to the water, not wanting the other boy to see the pain that flashed through his eyes. "At home." The crimson-eyed youth stated.

He heard Jounouchi settle down next to him. "I thought you two were joined at the hip." He threw out. Skipping a stone along the surface of the dark lake.

They sat in a wary silence. Yami shook the water off his hand, leaning back to look at the starry sky.

"What's wrong with you?" Yami asked after sitting in an uncharacteristic silence with the taller boy. Normally by now Jounouchi would have been chattering away at a mile a minute, not really caring if the other person actually wanted to hear what he was saying. But he had been silent for far too long.

Jounouchi gave a weak laugh. "What makes ya think there's anything wrong?"

Yami raised a brow at him.

The blond sighed. "There's no gettin' past you, is there?" He said wryly. He settled down next to Yami, hands behind his head like a pillow. He stared at the stars, not really seeing them.

"It's Ryou......and Bakura." He said finally.

Yami waited, knowing he would continue when he found the words. Jounouchi shot a quick look at Yami. Shrugging when the older boy simply watched him. Jounouchi felt like he'd known the small pharaoh for years. Which made it easy to talk to him. Must be 'cause he looks so much like Yugi. He thought.

The caramel-eyed boy took a deep breath. "It's kinda weird. But I think I love them." Jounouchi paused. "Can you love two people?" He mused out loud. He turned to look at Yami, jumping when the other boy shot upright. Yami visibly froze, then gave a small shudder. Jounouchi watched as the shuddering got stronger until he realised the smaller pharaoh wasn't shuddering, he was trembling.

"Uh..Yami? Buddy? You okay?" Jounouchi asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He was worried. The other boy was usually so strong, collected. He got passionate about what he believed in, but nothing had ever phased him this badly.

Shit? Do I call Yugi? What's wrong with him?? Jounouchi tried again. "Yami??" He shook the other boy gently, starting when he raised agony-filled garnet eyes on him. He looked past Jounouchi, not really seeing. "Can you love two people?" He whispered, almost to himself. Jounouchi heard.

With more tact than people would normally have given the tawny-eyed youth credit for, Jounouchi wrapped his arms around the distraught pharaoh and simply held him, letting the smaller youth let it all out. He didn't say a word, not wanting to make things worse.

I wonder who he means? Jounouchi thought as he held the smaller boy. Yugi has to be one of them......but I've never seen Yugi or Yami like anyone else like that. Jounouchi frowned. Have I been ignoring them? He thought about this. No. But they haven't met anyone else. And I can't see them with Honda, or Anzu...and we haven't seen Mai or Ryujii in ages.

Jounouchi stroked the tri-coloured locks, amazed at how downy they were. They bounced back up as his hand trailed over them and he wondered absently if Ryou's, and Bakura's were the same. He sighed. Seems like I'm not the only one with love troubles.

Jounouchi waited until the sobs dried out into hitched breaths. Giving the smaller youth time to compose himself. He gave the pharaoh time to dry his eyes, giving him one last hug. "Feeling better?" He asked gently.

Yami gave him a small smile. Glad that no-one else had witnessed his tears.

"Thank you." Yami whispered softly, moving back to sit on the grass. He tucked his head on his arms, pulling his knees up to his chest.

Jounouchi shrugged. "Hey, it's what friends are for, ne?"

Yami grinned, although the effect was slightly skewed by the tear tracks on his face. Jou pulled out a packet of pocket tissues, handing them to the crimson-eyed youth. "Here."

Yami took them gratefully, wiping the evidence of his loss of control from his face. "Arigato."

"C'mon, I'll walk ya home." Jounouchi offered. "We'll take the long way back. That should give you time to sort yourself out." He brushed off the grass from his stonewashed jeans. Frowning when he realised the pale blue material had a few grass streaks. "Damn. Looks like I may as well go home too." He started onto the paved path, waiting while Yami threw the tissues he'd used away into a landscaped bin.

They walked out of the park in silence, taking the long way out as Jounouchi had suggested. It wasn't an awkward quiet, it felt right not talking. Just walking and thinking.

"Well....guess I'll see you and Yugi tomorrow then."

Yami looked up in surprise. They'd walked all the way to the game shop without him noticing. Yami gave the blond an encouraging smile. "Good luck with Ryou.....and that old grave robber." He said softly. "And thanks for, well, you know..." He trailed off awkwardly.

Jounouchi gave him a cheeky grin, making Yami glad to see him part-way back to his old self. "S'okay, it's what friends are for." He gave the smaller boy a wink. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. Deal?"

Yami nodded. "Deal."

Jounouchi gave him one last grin before waving and walking away, quickly disappearing into the shadows. Yami watched him go. You always were a loyal friend. The dark spirit froze. Where did that come from. Did...? Was Jounouchi part of my past? I don't dare recover all my memories. Yami wrapped his arms around his chest, a classical defensive move, had anyone been there to see it. I'm not ready. It hurts too much. Rubbing his eyes tiredly Yami put aside the thought, staring at the shadows which had swallowed up his friend. Yami waited a moment before opening the door silently. He crept up the stairs after locking up again, careful not to draw any attention to himself.

He slid into his hikari's room, noticing that he'd left the desk light on. He made his way to Yugi's bed. The small teen was fast asleep, still dressed, and it looked as though he'd fallen asleep sitting up, only to slide down into a ball on top of the covers. Yami grimaced and pulled the duvet over the sleeping boy. He looks so peaceful, innocent. Maybe this is for the best. Kaiba is from his world, not some old relic. What can I offer the boy? What could I offer either of them?

He brushed back some of Yugi's soft golden bangs from his face, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. My little light. My love. Sleep well. Yami switched off the desk light, blanketing the room in darkness. He retired back into his soul room, sealing himself off from his hikari. The once cosy room dulled and went dark, leaving the spirit alone in his misery.

~*~*~

The sounds of birds chirping happily woke Yugi up. He sat up groggily, wondering why he was still dressed, before the memories of the previous night came flooding back. His eyes widened. Yami!!

Yugi immediately gave a tug down the mind-link, stopping when he realised that although Yami had returned to the puzzle there seemed to be a barrier in the way. /Yami?? Are you okay? I need to talk to you. Please. Yami?/

There was no answer. No response. /YAMI????/ Nothing. Not even the echo of a response. Yugi sighed. Maybe he's asleep. He thought about that for a second and just as swiftly discarded the idea. He'd always been able to call on his yami, regardless. This was more like a deliberate attempt to block him out.

The small violet eyed boy frowned, looking at the clock. The alarm wasn't due to ring for a good half hour, and Yugi didn't want to go back to sleep. He thought back to the night before as he made his way to the shower. After his talk with Kaiba he'd tried to contact his dark half, feeling the lack of response. He'd figured his yami simply need some time to think, but if he was still being ignored. Did I hurt him that badly? Yugi wondered, feeling guilty for the way he'd pushed the small pharaoh.

Kaiba had offered to look for his dark, but Yugi had declined, if Yami needed to think things through then Yugi would give him the space he needed. No matter how much it hurt. And hurt it did.

Yugi pushed the thought from his mind and concentrated on getting ready for school. His grampa would already be up, he liked to check things through before opening the shop and they'd had a new shipment of gaming supplies the previous morning. Sugoroku would be hovering over the shelves making sure everything was perfect for the day to come. He really cared about his shop.

I could always help. It would probably take my mind off things. He finished his cereal and carried his bag down the stairs, dumping it behind the counter. Sugoroku turned at the noise, giving his grandson a huge smile.

"You're up early." He called out, stacking up some small game boxes.

Yugi came over and started passing them to his grampa. "I wasn't tired."

"Ah." Yugi fought the urge to scowl. Somehow his grampa could fit a whole world of meaning into that simple word. "Did it happen to have something with that little visit you had from Seto Kaiba by any chance?" He asked, not bothering to hide his curiosity.

"Honestly Grampa. Don't you have anything better to do?" Yugi questioned playfully, rolling his eyes at the smirk on his grampa's face.

"Sure." Sugoroku said. "But nothing quite as interesting."

Yugi snorted. "I bet."

"Hush now. You should show respect to your elders." Sugoroku scolded, his pale lavender eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Yes Grampa." Yugi smiled. Before both of them cracked up. Sugoroku stepped down from the step-stool he'd been using and folded the slightly smaller boy into a hug. He hadn't missed the shadows which had lingered in the boy's eyes.

"I love you Grampa." Yugi whispered against his grampa's old weathered cheek. He got a small sigh in return. "I know you do Yugi. I love you too."

He let go of the boy and shooed him away. "Go on." He pointed at the clock. "You may as well get a head start to school." Sugoroku gave his grandson a smug grin. "Maybe there's someone you want to meet, ne?"

Yugi flushed. "Jiichan....." He picked up his bag and waved goodbye to his grampa, blinking at the bright morning sunshine.

Yugi walked quickly, wanting to get to the school before most of the other pupils showed. Maybe Seto will be there. I'll have to tell him about Yami. He might know what to do. Yugi was almost at the school gates when a large beefy hand pulled him down a side alley. He was propelled forward until his backpack came into solid contact with the wall behind him. He gasped in shock.

Gathering his wits together from where his mind had been wandering, Yugi looked up at his attacker, or in this case, attackers. There were six youths surrounding him. The one who'd pulled him into the darkened alley was the largest, clearly a head over the rest. Four of them were wearing the same uniform as Yugi, but the other two, including the man Yugi was staring at frightfully, wore street clothes.

"Is this the one?" The big one asked one of the youths in uniform.

"Yeah. Can't forget that hair." The blonde youth answered, stepping forward so Yugi could see the cruel gleam which lit up his pale blue eyes.

"W-what do you want with me?" Yugi couldn't stop the quaver in his voice.

The blue-eyed youth stepped forward. His attitude making Yugi realise that he was the one in charge. "Oh we don't want anything with you little Mutou." He paused and smirked. "We want something to do with your boyfriend."

"What??! What boyfriend?" Yugi yelped before he could stop himself.

"Don't be coy with us. We saw that kiss you gave Kaiba behind the school." He licked his lips and leant down towards the frozen boy. "Very.....enlightening."

Yugi's eyes narrowed. Threats to himself he could take. But this creep was threatening one of his loves. "What are you planning on doing?" He asked flatly, crossing his arms in defiance.

The youth made a small motion with his hands and the others in the alley stepped forward.

"You see. It goes like this." He started ticki ng points off on his fingers. "One, we send a message to Kaiba. Something like....oh I don't know..." He paused, pretending to think. "Oh yes, I know, how about, he pays us off, and we let you live. Or two, he refuses and we beat you up then go after your grampa."

Yugi paled.

"Yes...we did some checking up on you. Very interesting, all those visits you've been getting from Kaiba." He clucked his tongue at the smaller boy. "The way we see it, Kaiba can afford to be generous."

"He won't fall for it." Yugi stated.

The tall blonde youth sneered at the trapped boy. "He will once you deliver our message." He stood back, making room for the rest of his gang. The intent was clear in their eyes.

Shit! Yugi sent a desperate blast down the mind-link. There was still no response. Then the blows started.

~*~*~

Tbc...

~*~*~

Aaargh! Gomen. Gomen nasai. Sheesh, everyone must think I hate Yugi the way I treat him. *sweatdrop* I don't! Honest! I just think that Yugi has an inner core of steel. So when I play with him he isn't likely to break.

The next chapters will probably take me a bit longer to churn out. This one *really* did me in. Whew! It will get lighter in the next chapters thought, this fic isn't as bad as the rest.

Thanx to everyone who reviewed. You guys make it worth the time and effort it took to write this thing.

Sweet-lil-Amychan

Hazelnut a.k.a. Lia-chan

ExBobble06

Learza

S. Wing

Ex-Angel, Dice, and Bakura

Blue September

lupusdragon

Chibi-chan

Special thanks to Sweet-lil-Amychan. I wrote this after I read your story 'Agony of the Defeated'. I had never thought of ever writing something with Yami's and Kaiba's pasts in them, but after I read your story my mind kept running through 'What if...' scenario's. One of those what if's spawned this, and has inspired it's sequals, which are in the works. I would never have started writing if it hadn't been for you.

*respectful bow* Domo arigato Amychan.