Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Tell Everybody I'm On My Way ❯ Regret ( Chapter 3 )

“You'd better call Gramps.” Joey said. “Tell `im what you did.”

“What I did?” Yami retorted.

“Just call him.” Mai said, successfully preventing a fight. “Come on Serenity. We'd better get going.”

“Huh? Why are we leaving Mai?”

“Because the guys are going to have to settle this on their own.”

“Wait! What about me?” Tea asked, standing up.

“You were a big part of this, so you have to stay. Later.” Mai and Serenity left. They all heard the car pull away. Tea sulked.

“I guess I can't put this off.” Yami mumbled, picking up the phone and dialing.

“Hello?”

“Hi Gramps.”

“Oh, Yami, it's you. Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, something's wrong.”

“What? What happened!?”

“Yugi ran away.”

“Yugi ran…oh no. I'll call you back Yami. I need to think about this.” He hung up

“He said he'd call back. I think he needs to let it sink in.” Yami said quietly.

“Yeah, and yer gonna be in trouble when he gets back.” Joey commented.

“Oh? And why am I in trouble?”

“Hey, he's your hikari. Aren't you the one who's supposed to protect `im? It certainly wasn't my fault he left.”

“Don't be so sure about that. You're the one who promised to always be there for him. You and Tristan.” Tea pointed out.

“Don't go pinning this on me!” Tristan yelled indignantly. “You're at fault too! You knew him first! You tried to protect him! You flirted with him, and then dumped him when Yami showed up! It's your fault he left!”

“My fault? I'll show you who's fault it is!” Tea leaped at Tristan. Marik, Malik, Ryou, and Bakura sat and watched.

“Y'know, now I'm really glad we've been so busy `Kura.” Ryou commented.

“I know what you mean.” Malik agreed. “Ouch. Tea's using her nails!”

“You think we should break it up?” Marik asked.

“No. They'll get over it.” Bakura said. Quickly, he pulled his feet up off the floor as Joey and Yami rolled by, punching for all they were worth. “Actually, I take that back. Let's break it up.” The four young men dove into the fray, each picking someone and pinning them, or otherwise preventing them from getting anywhere near anyone else. Then they escorted those who lived elsewhere home, leaving Yami alone.

 

/Later that Night/ Tea sat on her bed, holding a photo album in her lap. She flipped through it, and then realized something. Yugi was absent from all the pictures that were taken after Yami had arrived. She turned to one certain page. It showed Joey, Tristan, Yami, essentially the founders of their little group, minus Yugi, together at the park. Joey was hanging from a tree. Mai wasn't there either, Tea realized. She had been with Ryou, Marik, and their yami's. And where were they, you ask? With Yugi

Yugi had, Tea recalled, been stuck at home with a nasty stomach flu. There was a time that everyone would have showed up at the Game Shop to cheer him up. But not this time. Instead, they had gone off to goof around at the park and left Yugi alone and miserable at home. He'd begged for someone, anyone, to stay with him, but they had all walked out.

Ryou, Marik, Mai, and the yami's had originally come with the others to the park, but had left. They had gone back to Yugi. Mai had headed for the school to pick up Yugi's homework for him shortly after, while the other four remained there. As a result, the four of them had, in turn, come down with Yugi's flu. Yami hadn't stayed with his hikari, and, Tea remembered, she had suggested just leaving.

It's all my fault! Tea thought If I hadn't done all those things…if I had stayed with him all those times he was sick, or depressed! And now he's never coming back!

 

/Tristan's house/ Tristan was curled in a tight ball on his bed. His dog hopped up on the bed and licked his ear. Tristan didn't have the heart to make her get off the bed. A harsh memory floated unbidden into his mind…

/Flashback/ “Hey guys! Wait for me!” Yugi raced after Tristan, Joey, and Yami. Unfortunately, his short legs were no match for the much longer legs of the other three. “Wait!” he got no response from his `friends'.

“Lets see how long he can keep up with us.” Tristan whispered. Joey and Yami laughed, and they picked up their pace. After all, it was Yugi's fault that he hadn't gotten out of class sooner. The poor boy never did catch up. He caught his ankle in a storm drain, fell, and ended up at the hospital with a broken ankle. Again, it was Mai, Serenity, and the four boys who comforted him. Mai was the one who took him home after he got it set. Marik took Yugi back, weeks later, to get the cast off, and then out for ice cream to celebrate the removal of the cast. Tristan hadn't even cared.

Maybe Tristan thought if I'd offered to help him out then, if I hadn't gotten the stupid idea of running ahead of Yugi…if I'd waited for him after school that day…would he be gone now?

Tristan realized that he was crying.

 

/Joey's Apartment/ Joey was sitting on the couch in the living room, staring out at the storm that had enveloped the city. Lightning flashed, and a nasty voice in the back of Joey's head began berating him.

“This is all your fault you know. If you'd stuck by him, like you promised, he might not have left. Aren't you the greatest friend? You leave someone who allowed someone to beat the living daylight out of him just so you wouldn't get hurt. He's saved your life too many times to count. He's the one who got the money to pay for your sister's operation! Without him, Serenity would be blind. He nearly died doing that, remember? It wasn't Yami, it was Yugi. Yugi forced the Red Eyes to attack him so you'd live. He was willing to give up his life so you'd be okay! Not Yami. YUGI!And how did yourepay him? You ignored him, teased him, and made him feel like he was insignificant! You're lucky he didn't kill himself, you heartless jerk! You didn't deserve a friend like him!”

The voice quieted, after a few choice insults that left Joey in a shivering, sobbing ball. For the first time in his life, Joey Wheeler knew the real meaning of defeat. This time, there would be no getting back up and trying again. There would be no comforting encouragements from Yugi, and no support from the tiny duelist who had been a little beam of sunshine in the darkest places. Joey cried.

 

/Back at the Game Shop/ Everyone was long gone. Yami was in bed, asleep, and tortured by horrible nightmares. In them, he heard Yugi's words, both from the letter and those from the Ring, over and over again. The words became actual physical blows; breaking bones and drawing blood. The wounds healed up, but the pain remained, and the worst wasn't anything physical. It couldn't be fixed with a bandage or a cast. It was like a bruise on his heart, a throbbing tightness in his chest that had nothing to do with broken ribs. Yugi appeared before him, wearing a satisfied smile. When he spoke, his voice was full of a smugness that made Yami feel sick inside.

“See Yami? That's what I've been feeling for the past three years. Hurts, doesn't it? Can you feel that tight feeling? Makes it hard to breathe, doesn't it? That's fear, oh great Pharaoh. Can you feel the heaviness? I'll bet you can. That's everything you did to me. Every time you wouldn't help me, you couldn't be bothered. You had more important things to do. Even when my ankle was broken, did you ever bother to help me get up the stairs, or get off the bus? I don't think so. When I was sick, did you offer to get my homework for me? No. You wouldn't even get it for me when I asked, when I begged. My grades dropped. I had to go to school sick because of that, because I couldn't count on you to bring me my work. You didn't care when I was sick, and you were disgusted when I threw up in class. You didn't try to help me. Ryou did, and Marik. They carried me to the nurse's office, and took turns staying with me until after school so Mai could take me home. When I got shoved down the stairs in the Science Wing, who picked me up? It was Malik. He called Bakura, and then took me home while Bakura told my teachers and got my work. Then you came home and told me I should have been more careful. You didn't care that I could have died! Malik got detention for leaving the school without permission. You didn't even care. If I had died, you probably wouldn't even have noticed. You still would've gone out to the movies with your friends.”

Giggling, Yugi walked over to Yami, who found himself unable to move. He drew back his fist. Yami tried to tell him not to do it, tried to say that he was sorry. All that could be heard was a high-pitched whining. Since talking didn't work, Yami tried to reason with Yugi through their mind-link. It was no good. This was the real nightmare: the thought that Yugi would turn against him. Yugi's fist made sudden, painful connection with Yami's stomach. The Game King woke up with a start, leaped out of bed, ran down the hallway to the bathroom, and was sick…

 

 

Somewhere over the ocean, a plane flew. And in that plane, Yugi slept peacefully, with someone watching over him. For the first time in three years, he was happy.