Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Simple ❯ The Concert ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
Note: Story will be updated every Wednesday
Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story
Semi-Racist Comment Warning: Yugi makes a comment that could be perceived as racist. Because it kind of is, but it's one of those comments that you ARE going to think at least ONCE in your life because it's one of those things that just HAPPENS. And if you never do, I have to say you're either VERY lucky or lying through your teeth. Either way, it's not meant to be anywhere NEAR offensive. It's more just for a humorous effect.
Homosexual Semi-Discrimination Warning: Some discrimination towards homosexuals is mentioned in fifth part.
Season 0 Yami Warning: Season 0 Yami makes an appearance in the final part of this chapter.
Chapter XIV: The Concert
Yugi got a microphone shoved into his face before he could even blink; a million voices were screaming for his attention, some Japanese and some Arabic, all of them loud and screeching and making his eardrums weak. He let out a strained noise as more of them shot out to his face and he went wide-eyed when one of them snarled, "That's not him! Atem has red eyes."
Red eyes…Atem…Yami…what the fuck was going on?
"Where is he?" another whispered.
The Egyptians all started to pull away while the Japanese reporters remained for a moment longer and then pulled away from him as well; the uproar started twenty minutes later when Yugi yelled, "Yami, run!" as loud as he could.
Bakura, Malik, and Yami all froze and then the reporters started towards the red-eyed teen, acting like magpies; the teen actually started to take his advice and run but new vans of reporters were pulling up and one of them came to a stop right behind him.
His cousins left him to fend for himself, pushing their way through the crowd and into the schoolyard; Yami struggled in a sea of limbs and microphones all shoved at him, eyes wide and desperate, scared out of his mind.
"Atem."
"Atem."
"Atem."
"Atem."
Yami backed up into a newsperson and nearly fell open but just barely managed to keep his own footing; for a moment he looked like he was going to flee and then he straightened his shoulders and stood regally, raising his head slightly.
"Is it true? Are the rumors true?"
Red eyes like crystallized blood froze and narrowed into slits. "You have mistaken rumor for reality," he stated coldly in perfect Arabic, glaring fiercely. "Now move out of my way."
Yugi had to admire him because it was obvious that there was a small gleam of fear in the corner of his eyes that made him sympathize with the red-eyed male in front of him.
"If it's not true then why are you here?"
Yami gestured towards them. "This is reason enough. I did not wish for my privacy to be invaded as you are doing now."
"What about the boy from the photo?" Some of them actually pulled the photo up on their tablets and showed them to him and another actually grabbed Yugi by the arm and pulled him forward.
"What of him?"
Yugi was thrust roughly towards him by a very vicious looking Egyptian woman who put the microphone in his face.
"Is this him?"
Yami glanced at him sideways and then curled his lip back. "The photo is false. There was nothing to it."
"Are you insinuating that you know nothing of this student?"
Yugi frowned and glared at the Japanese woman speaking; why couldn't she be on his side? He was her own damn race. Did that mean nothing to these people?
"I know him, of course. He goes to my school. I was partnered with him for a project," Yami stated in Japanese, hissing softly when one of the microphones got too close for comfort.
"Is that not him and you in that photo?"
"I did not say that," he snapped. "I merely said the photo was fabricated. It is as simple as that. I do not fraternize with males."
"So you are insinuating that you never had relations of sexual nature with this boy?"
"All interactions with him have been completely platonic, I assure you."
"Do you have a girlfriend then? Why have we not heard about you having a–?"
"I–"
Mai slipped through crowd and got to his other side, smiling as she snuggled into his side; Yami gave her a shocked look before smirking and wrapping his arm around her waist. Fury boiled up in the pit of Yugi's stomach but he fought it back in order to remain calm to the cameras that were in their faces.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he whispered, guising it as kissing her cheek.
"Saving your ass," Mai replied, returning the motion.
Yami gave her a somewhat stunned look before kissing her cheek for real. "Thank you."
She pecked him on the lips. "You're welcome."
"Who is this?"
"This is my girlfriend, Mai Valentine."
She waved at them and snuggled further into his side, which was a little awkward considering the size difference between them; Yugi saw a bright flash of red and even tasted it for a second before realizing he had torn his cheek open.
Dear Ra, it would be very nice if you did not fuck me over this time. Please and thank you, withmuchlove, Yami Atem Sennen.

"What the fuck was that?" Joey spat at her as soon as the news reporters finally left them alone and Yami gave her a quick peck on the cheek before starting off; the blond had cornered all three of them. "You're not his girlfriend, Mai."
"Oh, so fucking what, Joey?" she snapped. "I was helping my friend out of a tight situation."
"He's a fucking fag and youkissedhim."
"Your point, Wheeler?"
"So you could have caught something–"
"And you wonder why I don't like you enough to date," she growled, bristling. "You don't know anything about loyalty, do you, Joey? Because Yugi was your friend before all of this and you turned your back on him like he was never important. You don't just do that. And whatever the fuck you have against Yami, you should back off because that 'fucking fag' could kick your goddamned ass if you're not careful."
The blond looked shocked out of his mind while Yami gave her a small grateful smile before turning and heading off into the building after she gave him a small simple wink; as soon as he got inside he was cornered by Yugi who asked, "Are you and Mai…?"
"Fucking?" Yami supplied with a small growl. "No, we are not."
"So then…"
"Who I fuck and who I don't fuck is none of your concern, Yugi. You stated that very clearly on more than one occasion," he spat coldly.
And then he started to realize that the disgust he had shown when Yugi was shoved in front of the others with him, that curl of his lip, the sharp glare, was not fake; hewasdisgusted with him and mad as hell at him.
"Okay, what the fuck did I do this time?"
He really hoped this wasn't about how he accidentally left the seat down when he threw up and so some of his vomit kind of hit the front of it from where he leaned over it…
"What the fuck do youthinkit is about, Yugi?" he snapped.
"I honestly have no fucking–"
"Tell me something, Yugi. Is Ushio one of your fuck buddies too? Did I fuck someone whoUshiohad been inside?" he snarled softly. "Because if I did, I should probably go cut it off now while there is stilltimeto stop the disease that might be festering inside me."
"What the fuck are you–No! Of course he isn't–"
"Really? Hmm. Because you didn't really seem to be fighting him."
"I was tired, Yami. I had to deal with shit before you got there and even more shit when you showed up in class."
"So you're blaming that onme?" he demanded incredulously.
"What the fuck does this even have to do withanything?" he snapped. "You're not making any fucking sense, Yami. So, let me ask again, what the fuck did Idothis time?"
"You know what the fuck you did, Yugi. You speak Arabic and yet you stood there just staring like a dumbass the entire time. You speak Japanese and yet you never once opened your mouth. You never said the photo was fake. You didn't back me up. You just made Mai–my friend sinceninth grade, myfirstfriend, actually–jump in your place to fucking save my ass."
"What the…?" He barked out a laugh. "Oh that'srich,Yami. Honestly, you thought I was going to stick my neck out for you when you won't do the same for me?"
Yami bared his teeth. "That is not the same, Yugi Motou and you fucking know that," he spat, pushing him hard into the locker. "This is my fucking life we're talking about. This could make or breakeverythingfor me! My father was probably watching that. And you stood there like an idiot the entire time. He doesn't fucking believe me when I say that it was fake because he won'tlistenlong enough to hear mesayit. And for fuck's sake, this ishigh school, Yugi! It means nothing in the long run. As soon as high school is over, if I'm not back in Egypt, I'll hit a whole other fucking continent and this place will never cross my mind again."
Yugi flinched and backed up further into the lockers before sneering, "I didn't know that was what you did to someone you claim to love."
The red eyes narrowed into slits before he whispered, growling softly, "Oh, I do, I do love you, Yugi, and I don't know how or why but I sure as fuck know that I don't want to. And I sure as fuck know that if I get the chance to get out of here, I will take it no matter if I have to leave you behind. Because, honestly, you care nothing for me and I don't have the strength to keep pretending we will ever have a chance."
He flinched again, his back hurting as a locker dial dug into his skin.
"I will leave everything behind because I don't have to take it with me. And you? Yugi, you said it yourself. I'm just a quick lay for you. An easy fuck. Fun time. A stress reliever. That's all I am for you. That's all I will everbeto you. I don't care for it anymore. If I get the chance, I will be gone and never once will you cross my mind. You will have no place in my life when high school is over, which is exactly how you wanted it, right? We fool around, we don't get attached. Easy. No strings. You got what you wanted."
He blinked wide eyes but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.
Yami smirked at him cruelly and stepped back. "You're going to get what you want. Have fun with it. And I think maybe you should start looking for a new fuck buddy in the meantime. I don't really see myself under that title much longer."
No, because you want a relationship,Yugi thought with a small shake of his head.And you won't get that with me. So you're going to leave. Just. Like. The. Rest. Of. Them.
But then…Yugi had pushed and pushed some more when Yami got too close. So, in all reality, this was really his fault.

It was really strange when he got the urge to text him. It was two in the morning and he couldn't really see him replying, but he was shocked when the answer toWant to hang out tomorrow?came a few minutes later withI'm sorry, did you just invite me to do something other than fuck you?
Oh, so funny. Yugi rolled his eyes.Yes.
There was a long minute of silence on Yami's end before finally a new text came in.What is it you wanted to do?
He really hadn't thought that far. In all honesty, he just wanted to see if Yami would go somewhere with him; he glanced around for a long minute and then smirked when he saw the tickets he had won from the school auction a few weeks ago. And, oh, look at that, they were for tomorrow.
How strange.
He smirked a little. Probably one of those unconscious things he always did. He would remember a date in the back of his mind and around the time that it came up, he would feel like something important was going on or he wanted company or whatever it involved until it came to mind again.
I won the tickets from the auction last month.
For a minute Yami didn't answer.
I know that. We were all there when you outbid everyone.
Yugi huffed.No reason to get pissy.
I am not pissy. I just don't understand what you want from me involving concert tickets.
Are you going to make me spell it out for you?
Please do, because I'm pretty sure what you're talking about and what I am is not the same.
Yugi rolled his eyes but had to smirk. Smartass.
I'm asking if you want to go to the concert with me.
He actually waited ten minutes for the next response, just as he was about to ask Yami if he should take his silence as a no.
I'm sorry. I had to go dunk my face in a bucket of cold water. Make sure I wasawake.
Yugi smirked.I don't know. Do you dream about me, Yami?
For a long minute there was no response and then suddenly his phone was ringing and he had to laugh when he answered it and Yami spat, "Fuck off bitch" before he could even say anything.
"Geez, I thought to invite you to a concert and this is what I get for my efforts?"
Yami scoffed. "It's two in the morning. What the fuck are you even doing up?"
"I should be asking you that."
"Watching TV."
"Are you drunk?" Yugi asked when Yami's words slurred slightly.
"What? No!" Yami started moving around for a moment and then cleared his throat slightly. "No, I…I just haven't been sleeping right. I'm about to drop in another hour or two but for right now I'm wide awake so please, details, Yugi."
"About the concert?"
"No, about your lifestyle. Yes, the fucking concert, you idiot."
He laughed, "You know, with an attitude like that, I don't even think I want to take you anymore."
"I don't even know which band it is. Honestly, I don't know if I would go anyways."
His words slurred together but if Yami was drunk, he would not be this sharp and witty. No, he was hilarious when he was drunk because he couldn't figure out what the fuck he was doing unless he actuallywasfucking.
"Tokyo Hotel," Yugi stated, looking the tickets over; he'd heard some of their songs but he'd never really bothered to see them before. "I heard they were good."
"You didn't even know them before and you wasted two thousanddollarson the stupid things?" Yami asked incredulously; Yugi could practically see him shaking his head and rubbing his temples.
"Tea liked them."
Yami went silent for a long time and even through the phone the tension seemed thick as ice and hard as rock.
"Oh."
They both stayed quiet for a few minutes.
"What time is it?"
Yugi looked at the tickets and raised an eyebrow. "Ten at night tomorrow."
Neither of them mentioned that this was more like a date than some simple meeting, especially considering they were once meant for Tea.
"Where?"
"Tokyo."
Both of them shared a snicker at the irony.
"So…do you want to go?"
He hated how hesitant he sounded, the way he actually scuffed his shoe nervously on the floor, something he hadn't done inyears, the fact that he actually lowered his eyes to take in the path of his sneaker.
"…I suppose. But is this just for a hookup? Because if it is, then I think you're overdoing it a little, Yugi."
He let out a small laugh. "No, it's not. I mean, I didn't think it would be before you mentioned it…do you want it to be a hookup?"
Yami hung up and Yugi laughed for ten minutes afterwards.

The concert was awesome. The crowd was pumped. They were right in the front because they had great tickets.
And when it ended and Yugi decided that he needed some air, using the guise of going to the restroom, he was unsurprised when Yami did not acknowledge his departure, did not watch him go, did not even turn his head in his direction, and why would he? There were people in the crowd who recognized him–not many, but just enough to be able to make a scene if he were to pay attention to Yugi rather than the lovely self-proclaimed girlfriend Mai Valentine who–admittedly, Yugi was rather semi-glad but frustrated as all hell about this–had been coaxed into coming when Yami called her and asked her if she still had her tickets lying around the house and to bring Vivian with her.
But he was surprised when he could hear them talking as he walked around to the back of the concert hall, away from the crowd and the parking lot, and leaned against the building's stone wall.
He shouldn't have been, but he was surprised when the three of them stopped short a few feet away and just stood around, talking quietly about the band–Yami seemed to think they were okay but not the best but Mai was arguing for her favorite band and Vivian was saying that the boy in the front was fuck-hot and she would ride him if she ever got the chance. And Yugi's blood boiled when Yami said he was okay looking but not as hot as Vivian claimed, laughing that yes, he would fuck him if he was given the chance when the brunette pushed at the matter.
And then they fell silent for a long time.
"The tickets were meant to be for me and you."
"I know."
They juststoodthere, inches apart, justlookingat each other.
"When did you buy them?"
"Months ago."
And Yami only nodded. "Thanks."
Mai didn't respond aside from carefully glancing at Yugi from the corner of her eye; the small teen hurriedly pulled his phone out and pretended to have gotten a text, messing with the screen halfheartedly and keeping the screen lit up by tapping the numbers for his password but not putting it in.
Yugi didn't miss it when Mai looked at Yami and then tilted her head towards him and those red eyes flickered to the ground and he wouldn't look at her or Vivian anymore; he didn't miss it when Mai gave him a small glare that told him that he better not hurt him, and then hugged the red-eyed male tightly.
"I'm sorry, Mai."
"I thought I told you to stop apologizing for stupid things."
Yami was chuckling as he returned it and Yugi bared his teeth behind his lips as their bodies seemed to mash together with the tightness of the embrace. And then they released and he was half-glaring half-blinking when Vivian gave him a hesitant hug and then both girls waved at him in passing before wandering off into the parking lot where they climbed into Mai's dark purple convertible, honking once before speeding out.
Both of them waved as they left but then they were left in perfect silence and a tension so thick it was like ice and granite, wearing them down and making the chill of the winter night that much colder against their skin.
Yugi let his eyes flicker back over to the taller teen who looked back and then finally the two of them moved towards each other, stopping a couple of steps away from each other, staring.
"Mai is just a friend–"
"I didn't ask."
"I want you to know anyways."
"Why?"
Yami didn't answer but the look in his eyes spelled it out and Yugi immediately felt rather stupid for asking that three letter question; hesitantly, the smaller teen took a step forward but it felt strange and for a moment he couldn't make himself do it, but eventually he managed to make another two to follow up his first.
And Yugi could practicallyfeelthe warmth of his body, those dark red eyes never once leaving his face, burning like fire under the dim lighting of the parking lot, dominating as he lowered his eyes in a motion that seemed out of character for the smaller teen, staring at the ground.
For a moment Yami didn't move but then his feet carried him over to the wall where he leaned back, drawing Yugi's attention towards his still form, eyes widening as he took him in, took in the way he crossed his arms over his chest and tipped his head towards the right with his eyes closed.
And Yugi had to admit that Yami looked beautiful and intimidating and fuck-hot all at once. With his head like this, his bangs fell to make his sharp jaw more prominent. The clothes he wore accentuated his lean build, and the colors definitely brought out more of his features than the smaller boy really cared to admit. With a black leather jacket over a dark red shirt, his eyes were made darker and more vibrant, and the dark blue jeans he wore made his legs look slimmer and made him look a little taller, and his red-laced black Converse with the blue symbol on the side made the outfit even more put together. But it was the bracelets that really caught Yugi's attention, because they were just like something he himself would wear. And he had to admit that Yami putting so much effort in for a concert with him, ditching his normal attire of graphic tees and jeans, was kind of hot. And oddly very sweet as no one had made a gesture like that for him before.
When he stopped in front of him–he wasn't even sure when he started walking–Yami's eyes opened into slivers of blood that made his own warm in his veins. They were so dark, with shadows cast from the long lashes that had barely parted in order to give him a glimpse of the color beneath, and it was chilling to stare into them like Yugi was doing, but it warmed his blood further, made his heart beat a little faster.
And when he leaned forward to brush his lips against Yami's–and Yami knew this was what Yugi wanted to do because he wanted it too because his mouth felt like it was burning and Yugi was the oasis meant to put the fire out–it took all his strength to jerk his head away, banging it against the wall hard.
"What do youwantfrom me, Yugi?" he muttered.
"What do I…?" Yugi trailed off, because he didn'tknowwhat he wanted, not really.
Yami's eyes were cold now, staring, glaring, burning beneath a layer of ice.
"Look, Yami, you don'twantto love me, right?" He started out murmuring but ended up whispering and he didn't understand why, but that seemed more suited for the situation than just speaking like he had been before. "You don't fuckingwantto love me. You said it yourself. And you don'twant mebecause I am pretty sure I would know if you did. So why do you claim that you do? Why do you make everything so complicated when it used to be good?"
"I don't think you know me well enough to say that, Yugi," he muttered, shaking his head. "I did say that I don't want to love you, but I do. And I can't change that and neither can you. And no, I don't want you because if I did, I would end up hurting myselfthatmuch worse than I already have so far. I never claimed I wanted you. But I will say that if you were to ask me if I wanted tobe with youI would say yes. As for making everything so complicated, maybe it's because you've made everything so complicated for me and I'm just giving you a taste of that."
Yugi honestly didn't know what to say. Well, no, he did, he knew what he wanted to say, what heshouldsay, but he was scared. And it was strange, because he wasn't scared of leading him on, it was because he was scared he would make Yami run.
And maybe that fear seemed stupid, but with Yami, he felt like he could never be very sure. Because the red-eyed boy's confusion was like a projector–it cast a total mind-fuck over anyone who was in close proximity and made them just as fucking confused as he was.
So he was scared.
And confused.
Just as confused as Yami.
And so he couldn't say anything.
"Fucked up, huh?"
Yugi tilted his head slightly and then said the first thing that came to mind. "Huh?" And he felt so brilliant because his mind was justthatgood under pressure.
Yami raised an eyebrow and then smirked slightly before shaking his head.
And for the first time, for whatever reason, Yugi's eyes flickered to Yami's wrist, blinking a few times when he realized that the brace was off; the red-eyed teen followed his gaze and then lifted it out of his jacket pocket, showing off the golden-bronze flesh of it.
Yugi watched it as he flipped his hand back and forth in the dim light before finally putting it back in his pocket a minute later.
"Tell me something," he suddenly blurted out, making him frown and stare in response. "Do you like her?"
The red gems narrowed into slits, an expression cold and blazing and holding him in place no matter how he fought to break free of the grip it possessed. "Who?"
"You know who."
Yami merely stared and then kicked off the wall, standing straight and watching him. "I love Mai," he replied quietly. "But I can't rewire my brain no matter how hard I try."
Yugi grimaced slightly and watched him closely for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. Everything would be so much easier if they could.
"Then why are you pretending she's your girlfriend? And why would you tell her about us…about you being…?" He trailed off as he watched Yami stare back at him blankly, not once giving away a single clue, before it started to click in his head. Yami wasn't answering not because he didn't deem the question unworthy of one, but because he was ashamed.
"Are you using her to make mejealous?"
Was it really that fucking obvious?
And how sick of a bastard did you have to be to use a girl who had fallen in love with you to try to make an asshole whorefusedto love you jealous?
"Well, if you must know, it is working," Yugi muttered, narrowing his eyes. "I'm so fucking jealous that half the time I want to tear her hair out. Just because she's there with you. And it's rather sickening, because I've never been jealous of anyone before, Yami. Especially not over something as stupid as this."
"So you weren't jealous when Tea used to flirt with me?" Yami questioned, narrowing his eyes, a hard prick of anger in his tone nearly blindsiding the smaller boy. "You never got jealous then?"
"No, I got mad. Because she ignored me. Because she was using me. It wasn't jealousy. Fuck, I used to think I was too. Until I realized I only ever got jealous because ofyou–because of you andMai! No, I got mad because you ignored her like she ignored me and I felt bad for her. And I got mad because you used her and I thought it was to get back at me. And I got mad because I wasjealousof that stupid bitch because you used her." Yugi was spitting and it felt like maybe he was about to foam at the mouth like a rabid canine, but he couldn't stop himself. "And, oh, I was so fucking jealous when you kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear and said she was your girlfriend on television. And I was so fuckingjealousbecause you ignored me in favor of her and I never thought that you would do that. And I was jealous when you said you would hit another continent and I would never cross your mind but that was just because I wanted your attention. You make me so fucking jealous that I don't even know what the fuck I should do with myself."
Yami stayed quiet for a moment. "I know." And he did. Because when he couldn't stop himself from thinking about it, his mind would circulate around how many other fuck buddies Yugi had and the thought of him with them made his skin crawl and his heart hurt and rage boil through his veins. And he knew because the very thought of someone else with the smaller boy made his skin feel like lava. And he knew because he had never experienced this before because he had never had areasonto be jealous and yet this boy–the bad boy, the "slut", the "sex slave"–gave him one.
And it was sickening and wrong and it threw his mind out of balance. It made him do stupid things. It made him fight with a fractured wrist. It made him joke around with his cousins to make sure Yugiknewhe would be okay without him. And it made him want to break Ushio's neck whenever he so much aslookedat Yugi–no matterhow.
It threw his pride back at him and tripled it in size. And it made his heart beat too fast, his mouth water with excess saliva because he stressed out about it, his hands tear at his hair where he knew a patch was shaved and he was using clips to hold some of his hair together to make it look like he wasn't bald there. Hell, he was starting to get irritated with even that now; in all honesty he was a second away from just coloring in his scalp with some Sharpie so that it wouldn't take up so much of his time in the mornings.
He leaned back against the wall again, tipped his head back to stare, once again so that his jaw line was highlighted and his eyes were shadowed with the blackness of his drooped eyelids.
And Yugi wasn't oblivious to the only thought in his head at that moment being the idea of kissing his neck and tasting his skin, nipping at his jaw and nuzzling his ear before sucking on his collarbone.
"You made us wait and made sure I was watching when you greeted Mai."
"I did."
"To make me jealous."
"Yes."
Yugi snickered softly, a snort of a noise, through his noise, shaking his head as he stared at him. "The moment you said she was coming, I should have just fucking left. But I didn't."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I guess I wanted to see how you would greet her without the cameras."
"I didn't mean it. What I said in front of the cameras. You know that. I don't want to be with her, I wantyoubecause it'salwaysyou."
Yugi chewed his cheek.
"I can't fucking do this anymore, Yugi."
His words were like a knife, like he had just stabbed him through the ribs and was cutting upwards slowly so that he could hear his bones breaking and his blood flooding throughwhilefeeling the burn of it.
"What? But you just said you wanted to–"
"I do. I want to be with you but you don't want to be with me. It's driving me crazy.Youare fucking driving me crazy. And I can't do it anymore. I'm tired of it all. I want to sleep without having you in my head. I want to be able to think without you popping up. I want to eat without feeling like you could be there with me. I don't want to want you there constantly anymore. I want to do things on my own, without all of this shit."
Yugi didn't know what to say. No, that was a lie; hedidknow what to say. But terror and panic held him in a vice grip. Because he was so scared that if he said something,anything, Yami would turn away from him. He was scared of eventhinkingabout what Yami had said–what it could mean for him, for them. He was scared of evenhopingthat he could change Yami's mind…that maybe this thing that Yami felt, that Yugi tried to ignore, could actually happen, could actually work.
And then, slowly, he realized that Yami was no longer looking at him, that he hadn't been for a while now, that his eyes were focused on something behind him, that now he stood straight and rigid withaggression. He watched him, watched his dark, barely blinking eyes, his pulsing jaw line, his expressionless face. And he could feel his own muscles preparing to grab him, to pull him back because whatever was behind him…

Yami was too distracted doing the final math test of the semester so he knew for a fact that he was going to fail; he had a vague moment where he wondered why he was bothering. His parents had disowned him. He had told Yugi he loved him and Yugi had practically laughed at him…and with what happened with the concert…why thefuckdid hebother?
He ignored it when a student came in and handed the teacher a note. He bubbled in another letter, leaning dejectedly on his left elbow, staring at the page blankly. He was so fucked…
"Mr. Sennen?"
Yami raised his head, curious and desperate for any kind of distraction from his thoughts, blinking once before stiffening when he caught the concerned eyes of his teacher.
"You are required to go to the principal's office…right away."
He nodded and packed up his things quickly, dropping his barely-touched test on his desk on the way past and wondered if it was a follow up to the paperwork he had signed on his first day back after being released from the hospital and thought guiltily of all the wallowing he had been doing after the concert instead of studying for the make up material they were constantly sending home with him now.
The secretary ushered him in urgently as soon as he opened the door to enter the office and not a second later he froze in place when he saw that Yugi was seated in front of the desk, looking confused and concerned; the smaller teen couldn't remember doing anything recently to get in trouble and he definitely didn't remember hearing aboutYamidoing something. Then again…
"Take a seat, Mr. Sennen."
The red-eyed teen clamped his jaw in an effort to keep from letting the awkwardness make his limbs turn to lead and dropped into his seat, leaning against the armrest furthest from Yugi.
"What's going on?" the blue-violet-eyed boy demanded, pretending that Yami's obvious reluctance to sit down hadn't hurt him. When the principal did not answer right away, it hit both of them that this was not about grades.
"This is a rather sensitive subject and I would appreciate it if we could possibly discuss it like adults. You boys…were seen this past weekend being intimate with each other," he said cautiously; Yami's brain started working at three times its normal rate, a million different thoughts trying to break through the recesses of his mind and become center focus. How could anyone have possibly seen them? They had been careful, hadn't they? His stomach twisted with realization.
The guy who had called his father. The one who had been following him. He had thought maybe that was the car but he hadn't seen the plates so he hadn't been sure. That must have been them. They must have seen everything before he even spotted them…
But they hadn't been doing anything intimate. They had merely gone to a concert. Nothing about it was intimate…unless they heard what they were saying…Yami was about to be sick.
"Now you obviously don't have to tell me anything but there have already been rumors running around this school and I thought it best to discuss it with you both now before things got even more out of hand."
Yami could not find it in himself to speak and Yugi was staring at the principal with a horrified expression.
"The school board feels that on this occasion it may be best for one or both of you to consider moving to a different school for your own safety."
Yami's muscles twitched and contracted against his shoulder blades and he knew without a doubt that if he opened his mouth, all hell would break loose; instead he clenched his jaw so tightly that it hurt and snatched his backpack off the ground, throwing the door open so harshly that it cracked against the plaster on the wall behind it and he heard the hinges creak in protest. He got out the front entrance, ignoring it when several of the staff called out for him to stop, and then got to the gates when Yugi caught up to him, stopping in front of him with a flushed expression, eyes wide and breathing heavily.
"At least…let me at least walk you home because I have to go home and call my grandpa, tell him about this before it gets out…"
Yami shrugged and then walked past him with a glare; Yugi immediately followed after him, hurrying to his side and putting his hands in his pockets. They did not speak until they got to the game shop in which Yugi started for the door and froze when Yami muttered, "He might have a point."
He spun around so fast that the key fell from his hand, eyes widening in surprise. "Huh?"
Yami glared at the ground where the key had fallen, almost as if it had offended him but he looked more tired than anything else. "Domino City isn't very big, so it might be safer if I were to move away for a little while until everything has settled down."
Yugi wanted to shout at him but then settled for glaring and speaking in a low voice. "I don't think that is a great idea. In case you've forgotten, we also have this project to do. Lucky for us he's even extending it until the next half of the semester. How are we supposed to get it done if you are gone–even for a few days? We haven't exactly been working on it."
"I can't ask you to move, Yugi. That's your grandfather's fucking shop. You have to tell him what's going on and I have to talk to Seto about getting transferred," he said firmly.
"No, because half of my grade depends on your ass right now," he snarled, desperation for Yami to take the statement back making his voice sharper than he had hoped. "This is just an idea, Yami, and we have to talk about it before we can do anything about it. Youaren'tthe only one affected by this. Grandpa will be home later today anyways. Why don't I call you and you can come over when he does? He has the right to know what is going on and he could talk with us then about what we are going to do next."
Yami remained silent for a long minute and then nodded almost imperceptibly, voice barely audible and eyes still narrowed into a glare towards that single key on the ground. "Very well."

Yami got to the game shop four hours later, phone in hand and discussing options with his brunet cousin who had gone off the deep end with snarls; Yugi answered the door just as Seto hung up and Yami mentally cursed him a million different ways in Arabic and Japanese. Yugi led him upstairs into the living room and took a seat on the couch after the red-eyed teen had settled into a comfortable position.
"Yami," Solomon greeted him with a smile. "I'm glad you're here."
Yami dipped his head politely in greeting and then murmured, "Mr. Motou, thanks for helping out with this decision." His phone went off a second later and he stared at it in dread for a moment before silencing it.
Yugi leaned over and looked over his shoulder. "Kaiba's calling you."
"Yes, thank you, Yugi, I am aware of that."
Solomon smiled at this exchange and his grandson ignored Yami in persistence of pressing the accept button; the red-eyed teen went from looking at the elder man to jumping a mile when Seto's icy voice snarled into his left ear when Yugi held the phone up to it.
"That was completely reprehensible, he had no right to say anything and if he did want to ask you about your relationship he should have atleasthad a conference with family around for support. Fucking bastard."
Yami groaned and snatched the phone from his look-alike, grimacing as he murmured, "Cousin, I really hope Mokuba is not in the room with you" in Arabic, voice sharp and angry.
"Whatever." There was a pause and Yami distinctively heard him rustling through papers as he leaned back into the couch's backrest and narrowed his eyes. "What's the plan anyways?"
"I figured I would transfer," he said simply.
Both Solomon and Yugi immediately looked at him in alarm and he felt his stomach sink; of course they knew Arabic too. Whywouldn'tthey? Solomon went to Egypt often so it really shouldnothave been a surprise. It was no wonder that he would teach Yugi when he was old enough to learn. But apparently he couldn't read it.
He wondered what the point was of the elderly Motou teaching Yugi to converse in it if he could not read it when it was clearly in his grasp.
Then again, Solomon was not his father and there was no parallel between the two that he could honestly find in order to draw a similarity. The most they had between them was gray hair and even that was different.
"What?Why?" his cousin demanded angrily.
Yami dragged a hand down his face and barked, "I do not have a single mark on my school record, Seto. I pretty much have a very open invitation to any school I wish to go to and my education is going to be funded for me. I can transfer and avoid any further scandal–"
"You cannot transfer, Yami, we discussed this earlier," Yugi snapped at him.
He shifted position, crossing his legs and narrowing his eyes in frustration. "Well I cannot be home schooled, Seto. I just can't. I could do online courses but–"
"You are not throwing away your education!"
"Yugi, shut up."
The smaller teen glared at him spitefully. "No, you shut up. I already told you! You can't get a transfer. The project ishalfour grade. If you don't do your half, I am totally screwed."
For a long time no one spoke and then finally Seto sighed, "When?"
"I don't know," he answered, narrowing his eyes.
"You don't have to do this, cousin. You don't have to go into hiding."
"I am nothiding," Yami snapped viciously, glaring at the ground.
"Well you're not dropping out of school."
"I know that."
"Fine. I'll see you at the fucking conference tomorrow." He paused as if he could sense Yami's finger over the end button. "And don't fucking open your goddamn mouth."
"Love you too, jackass."
Seto snorted into the phone and hung up and Yami got up and walked out of the house without a glance at the two Motou's.

"I would firstly like to express my extremedissatisfactionwith the way my cousin has been treated," Seto started before they even got seated; Yami sunk his nails into his knees and clamped his jaw shut in an effort not to call him out on this fact. His cousin was on a roll–tired or not–and he was going to be on fire all day. "Yami's personal life is of no concern to this school and I would like to know the source of this information you confronted them with yesterday."
Yami watched as their principal paled for a moment and then sighed softly, looking extremely embarrassed. "Mr. Kaiba, I do apologize for any distress caused. One of my faculty witnessed your…cousin and Mr. Motou together on the weekend and were very uncomfortable with the thought of them continuing their relationship while in school for their own protection–they have asked for anonymity in the matter."
"Oh, is it against school policy for two students to be together outside of school hours?" Seto asked in a sickeningly sweet voice that Yami recognized as his "kill voice"; he always got this way before he used some backwards method to catch his prey. "They have committed no crime according to your…source, so far."
"Mr. Kaiba, are you sure you want me to continue?"
He almost told him to fucking surprise him but instead nodded at him curtly.
"Mr. Sennen and Mr. Motou were seen together kissing in public."
Huh? But they hadn't kissed. They had gotten close…Yugi cringed. They must have seen it when hewentto kiss Yami but had not seen him turn away from him at the last second.
"As I am sure you are aware, homosexuality is not a crime."
Yami cringed slightly. Oh Ra…
"No one is accusing them of any crime, Mr. Kaiba. However I have to listen to the concerns of my faculty and think about the boys' safety within the school–"
"Where exactly were you two on the weekend?" Solomon finally asked, turning to them and cutting the principal off.
Yugi couldn't help but grin slightly. "Tokyo."
Yami shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stared at the desk.
"Yami will not attend any further classes at this school for the next two weeks. I am pulling him with immediate effect for the time being. Yugi will be staying here and I am making ityourresponsibility that word of his sexual orientation and relationship status does not become evenmoreof a talking point amongst faculty or students. Donotdoubt my anger on the subject and I will take this as far as I can if I feel he is discriminated against in any way."
"Mr. Motou, do you have anything else you would like to add?"
"No."
"In which case Yugi will be leaving with us this morning but will be back tomorrow. Good day."
Yami immediately got up and followed his cousin who was practically out the door before the other three realized it was the end of the meeting; Yugi and Solomon hurried after them to find Yami and Seto in the parking lot, leaning against his black Mercedes.
"What the fuck was that?" Yami demanded angrily. "I said I was going totransfer!"
"Yeah, well now you're not."
"What thefuck,Seto!"
His cousin ignored his furious glare to look at his phone, pointedly waiting for some kind of voiced gratification. Yami was five seconds from choking him to death when the brunet suddenly leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Think about it for a minute, cousin. You're going to leave Yugi completely defenseless to save your ass? Aren't you tired of running yet? You've been stuck here for two years in order to avoid the stupid crap back in Egypt. Don't you ever get tired of having to move around for others?"
He was playing with his pride and Yami's ego rippled with the blow before unifying and tripling.
"Very well," he agreed through his teeth, glaring at him coldly for a moment. "Two weeks."
Seto barely hid the smirk in his eyes but managed to nod at him while Yami stared at him in complete distaste. The look on his face clearly boasted he had won and Yami wanted to slap it off his face but that was the way they were with each other; their egos flared and grew tenfold when they butted heads and they did it so often it was a wonder that their heads were not twenty times their size.
Yami did hate the fact that Seto would not let this go, however. He would hold it over his head for as long as he wanted. It was what his cousin did. He was so used to being a CEO that outside of the office he did not seem to know how to turn it off. When one gave in to his demands, he would keep it like Yami did his grudges–in the back of the mind, always there to pull back to the center when they had alone time, the focal point of attention for select amounts of time, always nurtured in the darkness.
An argument with Seto over something small and unrelated and his cousin would pull it out like a secret weapon. He would say that he had been the one to suggest the solution and that Yami should be grateful that he had done so. That was how his cousin worked. He took what he won and accomplished and he threw it back in your face when you dared to challenge him.
"I suppose I should thank you."
This time the smirk pulled his mouth up and Yami curled his lip back in distaste, showing off his sharp canines; out of the family, it was only Seto and Mokuba who seemed to not have sharper-than-average teeth.
"You're welcome."
Smug bastard. Yami wanted to punch him but instead fisted his hands in his jacket pockets, eyes blazing with anger while his cousin smirked wider and then got into his car and drove off without a second glance. Yami couldn't help it when he pulled his hands out, middle fingers flying up; he stared in shock when Seto actually stuck his hand out the window and shot him a bird in response.
Well fuck.

"So what do you actually plan on doing?" Yugi wondered as he stepped around the table to face him; Yami ignored him for a moment and then pulled out something from his backpack that gleamed and glistened like gold and left his mouth falling open in shock. Was that what he thought it was?
Yami pushed it away and pulled out a small box before pushing it over with the other thing and then plopped down in a seat, grabbing it and pulling it over his head. "I don't know yet."
"Is that…?"
"The Millennium Puzzle, yes." He looked it over for a moment and then turned away again. "I keep it with me at all times. It's my good luck charm."
"You didn't have it at the concert."
"No, but I had the eye with me." He held the golden upside down pyramid and tapped the center piece, the carving of an eye before putting it down to rest again. "The Puzzle is supposed to grant protection or something. That's the idea, anyways. The pharaoh Atem wore it to protect himself and the rest of Egypt. Imagine how bad it felt to have my father hand it to me to put back together again when I was only three."
Yugi felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"Anyways, back to the matter at hand. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do yet. I have to think it over." He sighed and the Puzzle felt heavy when he leaned forward and put his left elbow on the table, supporting his chin with his palm; idly he reached over and messed with the box that he had put down with it; golden carvings and dark red-black velvet stared back at him. "I'm thinking about just doing online. It would be easiest. Everything would die down before it could start up again."
"Nothing is going to die down if you back out like a coward–what is that box?"
"It held the Millennium Puzzle. It was found in Pharaoh Atem's tomb."
Yugi stared for a moment. His grandfather once told him that he had seen this box but when he had tried to bring it back to Japan with him when Yugi was a toddler–he'd left Professor Hawkins to take care of Yugi that year because he was actually getting paid for this and the money would help out drastically–he had been forced to leave it at the airport. Did Yami's father have something to do with that?
"Can I see it?"
Yami looked at it for the longest time and then slowly pushed it over. "Don't take any of them."
"What?" he muttered, but Yami waved him off dismissively and Yugi peeked inside to go wide-eyed. Sitting there were Duel Monsters cards and the one on the top? Orisis the Sky God. He pulled the deck out and looked it over, gawking when he found Obelisk the Tormentor and the Winged Dragon of Ra right behind the two-mouthed dragon.
"The Egyptian God cards."
"Yep."
Yami didn't sound very enthusiastic. He sounded bored.
Yugi gave him a confused look and then blinked before shrugging and looking the deck over again; he had a lot of these cards–in fact, it looked almost like the deck he had constructed with his grandpa's help when he was younger. Silver Fang, Feral Imp, the Exodia pieces, Summoned Skull, Magical Horn, Enchanted Elf, Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Kuriboh, Multiply, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Gaia the Dragon Champion, Curse of Dragon, the Full Moon card, the Burning Land card, Book of Spells, Magical Hats, Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress, Mammoth Graveyard, Swords of Revealing Light, Monster Reborn, Time Wizard, Baby Dragon, Thousand Year Dragon…but then he also had the rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon, the even rarer Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Toon Town, Relinquished, Red-Eyes Black Skull Dragon…
"Wow, you have a really nice deck."
Yami made a noncommittal noise and Yugi would have snapped at him that it was a compliment not to be ignored, but Yami was busy playing with the golden links of the chain around his neck, tangling his fingers in it subconsciously.
Yami wasn't even there with him.
Yugi rolled his eyes and put the cards back in the box before closing the lid gently and pushing it forward; Yami didn't react to it until a minute had passed and then finally he went to grab it but ended up staring at his fingers which turned red when he didn't untangle them before reaching. Rather than untangling his fingers, he just grabbed it with his other hand.
"You know you're being a coward if you do online, right?"
"Better a coward than a fool."
"In your case you would be a foolish coward."
"I would not."
"Yes you would. Now what the fuck are you going to do? Because you can't just ditch me to do the rest of his project. And if you quit school for online…"
"I wouldn't be ditching you. I would help you finish it. I'm not that cruel, Yugi."
He barked out a laugh. "Um, yes, actually, you kind of are."
Yami gave him a glare and then got up and Yugi could see that the Puzzle's chain was longer than he had initially thought because the pendant itself rested against his stomach when he stood at his full height.
"I'm the cruel one. Right."
"Excuse me? I am not cruel, you asshole. You are."
"Explain to me, how exactly I am the cruel one, Yugi."
"You're the one who is threatening to ditch me completely at school."
Yami opened his mouth to bite back but then slowly closed it and looked at him for a long time. Yugi wasn't worried about the project. Not at all. That was just a lame excuse. No, Yugi was worried about Yami not being in his life anymore. Right now, even as fucked up as it was with how they acted towards one another, Yami was the only constant in his life. And, because of everything that had happened, his only friend.
Yugi wasn't worried about a bad grade at all. He was worried about being left alone completely.
Yami opened his mouth again but the sound of a clicking like the doorknob being twisted made his head snap around, freezing in place for a moment before reaching out for a knife from where it lay a few inches away from the Puzzle's box, left out from when he had dropped it on the table and been too lazy to pick it up again that morning.
Ha, maybe laziness had its perks sometimes.
Yugi didn't notice because he was standing up and staring.
Yami's fingers gripped the handle, slid it silently across the table, grabbing it hard in a grasp like iron and got ready to stab if he had to.
"Yami."
Just like that, he was breathing again, the knife left on the table as he turned his head and looked at his brunet cousin who walked right past Yugi and handed him a stack of papers inside of a black plastic folder with multiple pockets; Yami didn't do the usual of asking what it was and instead peeked inside before putting it down.
"So it's actually going to happen?"
Neither Seto nor Yugi missed the way that his voice came out a little overwhelmed.
"It will be official that you are suing your parents for the physical abuse that you were put through in order to be put in the hospital."
Those red eyes flickered to the folder and regarded it like some kind of snake that might strike out at any moment, turning back to his cousin. "Thank you," he muttered.
"Are you going to look it over?"
"Yes, but when I'm alone." He paused and then gave the taller boy a smile. "Which reminds me, would you take Yugi with you?"
Yugi gawked and Seto gave Yami a petulant look.
Yami waved a hand dismissively and Seto growled softly but then smirked and rolled his eyes, shaking his head before glaring at Yugi who opened and closed his mouth and then finally turned and started walking off; his legs were too long for him to try to fight like he had Yami. Much too tall.
Yugi grimaced, spinning around suddenly. "When are you coming back?"
"Friday after next."
"Oh." He paused and his voice came out horribly hopeful; self-hatred flowed through him at his own words. "Will you be there for all your classes?"
Yami didn't look up and he didn't look pleased with Yugi's question, leaning back slightly and flipping open the black folder to look at the sheets inside before replying with a soft "I don't know yet. I was thinking of skipping my first half of the day and just going for the other half."
Yugi cursed under his breath, too low for Yami to hear; if he did that, it meant that they would not see each other at all. For whatever reason, that thought threw him for a loop and he hated it.

Yami spent the entirety of his two weeks out of school just wandering the house, somehow always finding that folder nearby. The Puzzle would flash with warmth or cold chills when he felt something strong enough, and even though it was alarmingly weird, it made him feel better.
But the dreams it gave him–when he passed out on the couch on his back one night–left him feeling weird and sick, sticky with sweat and panting for air while his throat felt like sandpaper when he swallowed.
It was the same dream almost every time. Sometimes there were background noises and other times there weren't. Sometimes he could hear cries and sometimes he just felt like something was covering him.
Sometimes there was color–deep sunlight, too bright–and sometimes there was just darkness and the sensation of something closing in on him.
But every time, he woke up sweating and feeling sick to his stomach with a scratchy throat and a blank stare to his face.
It was the final day of these two weeks that Yami put the Puzzle in his backpack and took the papers with him to the Kaiba Corp headquarters to speak to his cousin; because he had never truly been there before, the secretary gave him a bland bored look and told him to take a seat, that Seto would be there when he felt like it.
When Yami pointed out being his cousin, she laughed in his face, said they looked nothing alike, played with the computer, and then said that so many people claimed to be his family in order to see him sooner it wasn't even funny. And then she was screaming at him when he knocked on the door twice before throwing it open.
Seto looked up and the secretary started apologizing until she was blue in the face while Yami gave her a disdainful look, turned to his cousin, and said, "I want her fired."
The brunet burst out laughing while she looked terrified. He had to admit that the idea was appealing but she was the only secretary that didn't want to give him a "fun time" and he would rather have her there than the others who had thrown themselves at him. It was really the only reason the clueless redhead was still there because he knew her "work" behind that desk was really just her chatting with her American boyfriend online.
"So, what are you doing here, Yami?"
He pulled the folder from his canvas bag and held it out. "I looked them over." He paused and then gave the secretary–who was still standing there with wide eyes–a sharp look, snapping, "Get the fuck out of here already."
She scurried and then fled behind her desk while he rolled his eyes and closed the door, watching the brunet who opened the folder and looked it over.
"Tell…Rafael, was it?"–Seto nodded without looking up–"that I want to drop the charges."
"What the fuck?" Seto snapped, looked up at him incredulously before glaring coldly. "Yami–"
"I'm going to give my father a chance to back off. If not, then I will take legal actions against him. But I don't want to harm my mom and she would be devastated if I were to do this to him. No, I will drop it only if he agrees to stay out of my life permanently. If he agrees, dismiss it. If he doesn't…sue his ass for all he's worth."

Yami couldn't really even pretend to be surprised by this arrival. He didn't look up when he entered the room and he didn't take a seat either, standing next to the table and writing some things on his homework assignment before letting out a small hum.
"Hello, father."
Ambassador Aknamkanon appraised him darkly for a moment but Yami didn't bother looking up even then, still writing before finally putting his pencil down and straightening to his full height, regarding him coldly.
"Have you come to talk to me about the shame I brought upon the family? Or are you here about the lawsuit? Either one really only spells trouble for you. Have you noticed that?"
He stood rigidly, indifferently, glaring. "You truly are a disgrace."
"I thought we already established that, father. I'm rather tired of these repetitions. I do have things to do. I don't have time to play memory games with you."
"I am your–"
"Father, yes." Yami picked up the knife so fast it sent the ambassador stepping back and dropping his raised hand. "But you're trespassing. I am emancipated. By all law you shouldn't even be here. I could cut you into a million pieces and sprinkle you in the grass and it would be calledself-defense."
Ambassador Aknamkanon glowered. "You don't have it in you."
"I have a lot in me. But you're right. I won't hurt you. Not until you give me reason to. And the last sixteen years don't count. Give me a reason to now and you'll see the monster you turned me into." He pressed the knife's tip into his left index finger, tapping the blade thoughtfully against a small drop of blood that started to bubble up there. "Just one reason. It's that simple. Easy, even.One. Reason."
"You dare to threaten your own father?"
"Call it what you like, but it's a more of a promise."
Ambassador Aknamkanon looked his son over for a moment and then his eyes lingered on the Puzzle. How long had this been completed? Had Yami been granted Atem's powers? As his eyes scraped over him again, he decided that he must have been, because otherwise he would not be standing before him as he was now.
No, before, Yami had cowered like a three-year-old while trying to escape his wrath which he brought upon himself. And now he stood tall and dangerous, a knife in his hand, staring at him darkly, waiting for him to make some kind of move.
And the only difference between the two situations was that single Puzzle.
And the knife–but that was hardly important.
Because even if the knife had been there, Yami would never have turned against him.
It had to be the Puzzle.
"I see you've done at least one thing right with your life."
"Get your filthy eyes off my Puzzle," Yami spat back. "Why are you here?"
"Your mother wished for me to speak some sense into you but I can see you're already too far gone."
"You have yourself to blame for that, father. You're the one who made me into a monster." He spun the knife in his grip lazily, not even flinching when he threw it up in the air and caught it by the blade, tilting his head and looking at him curiously. "You don't think I would use it if you forced my hand? You are a fool."
Ambassador Aknamkanon ignored him for a moment and walked around the table, smirking. "I knew you would never amount to anything. You were born wrong. Too soon. You were meant to be born on the eclipse. Instead you born on the full moon. There was always something wrong with you, Atem."
Yami stared for a moment and then narrowed his eyes. "My name is Yami."
"You were born Atem and that is what I will call you!" he yelled.
"I was born your son but you don't consider me that. Why would you have the right to call me by my birth name if you cannot find it in yourself to call me your son, Aknamkanon?"
He raised a hand but Yami's knife hand was at the ready before he could blink and so he backed off. "Do not call me by that name. You have no right."
"Just as you honestly have no right to call me by either of my names," Yami said with a cruel smirk. "You know, people used to say that the solver of the Puzzle would go crazy. But I think I might have been born with it. I mean…you are my father. It would make so much sense."
"You've broken your mother's heart."
At this Yami went rigid but then narrowed his eyes into slits.
"She has spent her days praying to Ra that you will change your ways so that she may hold you again."
The fingers gripping the knife loosened and then tightened almost imperceptibly.
"She has prayed to every deity that you will become the son that we raised you to be."
"I am a product of my environment," Yami replied. "It matters not who I spend my time with when it is your fault I was born this way."
"You were notbornthis way!" he snarled. "Youbecamea failure. You were not one before you left Egypt! Time spent here has left you weak and stupid."
"Time spent here…" Yami echoed softly, looking at the knife in his hand. "Time spent here…has made me realize just how wrong my childhood was. You don't just do those kinds of things to a child. How old was I when this first started? You said something about two months last time?"
"What?"
"Did I ever mention that I got my memory back?"
"You little bastard."
"You're my father aren't you? Then I'm not a bastard child. Although, you could just go ahead and say that in front of the whole world. It wouldn't really surprise anyone."
He opened his mouth but was cut off when Yami stabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, pulling it out with the blade through its center with a smirk before dropping it on the table and starting to cut it.
"Daddy's little monster. That should be my theme song. Daddy's little monster. A nickname, maybe." He chopped off another piece and scooped it off the blade with his teeth. "Did I ever tell you about my talent, father?"
Dear Ra, his talent…he remembered how his mother wept for him when she found out about it.
"Your mother cried over it."
"Yes, oh how she wept for me," he murmured, grabbing another slice of apple with the blade. "But honestly, father, have you got something to say that I haven't already heard a million times before?"
The door opened and both of them froze and turned their heads towards the noise, Yami going wide-eyed and Aknamkanon staring with a furious gaze.