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Domination	By : Borath Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > General Views: 1086 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Domination: Chapter 10
It was noisy in the house. Very noisy. Various shouts, peals of laughter and thuds of movement were just some of the sounds coming from the downstairs floor of the Motou home, and Yami could only relish it. The house had become so quiet recently that it felt good to hear some signs of life. Everyone had been ghosting around as quietly as possible for his sake for weeks, but after his apparently miraculous transformation yesterday, eating a substantial meal for a start (it hnly nly been a bowl of soup, but it was definite progress) -which everyone was putting down to being primarily Kaiba�s doing-, the other residents had relaxed considerably.
And the tension had gotten to a breaking point too. The problems with having three adolescent boys (Yami no longer considered himself adolescent) in the same house were many, and the remote control was one of them. From what he could hear from the room he and Yugi shared, Yami wagered that that was what the out-and-out battle was over at the moment. Sighing to himself, he guessed that now he would have some sort of come-back for when Yugi accused some of his ancestor�s wars of being �petty�.
After hearing what sounded like the coffee table being knocked over, likely taking everything on it with it in the fall, Yami sat up from where he had been lying on the bed. He had planned to try and sleep for a few hours, but with the racket downstairs he decided that that was going to be impossible at the moment. So, placing Mog, whose ear he had been mindlessly twisting and untwig fog for the last half hour, beside him on the bed, Yami glanced about the room for some kind of inspiration as to what to do now.
There wasn�t a lot he could do though. The few possessions that he did own were in his room, and his room had become an unspoken out-of-bounds area, so fetching them was out of the question. A large plastic sheet had been nailed over the gaping hole in the wall as a temporary barrier to the elements, but the debris, blood and vomit all remained untouched. There was simply a bad ambience clinging to the room since Yami Malik and Bakura left, and no one had really gone in there since. Closing his eyes with a sigh, Yami decided that he didn�t want to be the one to change that.
Opening his eyes again, Yami glanced about the room once more and spotted Yugi�s deck stacked on the cabinet next to him. He hesitated only a moment before reaching out and taking it, bringing it carefully into his lap. He flicked through the slightly worn cards slowly, taking in each creature before moving on just as carefully to the next.
He hadn�t looked at his deck in a while. He didn�t even carry it around with him anymore, which was a huge development in itself. He had a special pouch for it, one that rested comfortably against his hip, barely moving as he walked and staying secure when he ran.
When times were at their worst it had held too many reminders though, too maonneonnections to that which he felt he had lost and couldn�t live up to anymore. He wasn�t entirely sure where his deck was anymore. Probably in a drawer in his room, or maybe Yugi had put it somewhere safe. He didn�t know.
His was merely a replica though. Yugi�s deck was the real one. Like the Puzzle, he had simply created a duplicate of the cards to keep with him. That way, he had access to them all the time, with or without Yugi, and he used to find that reassuring. Now, with little faith in himself let alone his abilities in duelling, he could no longer feel a connection with his cards. With the heart of the cards no longer working with him in a duel, so there was no point in carrying the damn ts ars around.
Despite being only halfway through the deck, Yami replaced the cards atop each other and placed them back on the cabinet next to the cooling bowl of soup. Almost rolling his eyes at the bowl, Yami forced himself to pick it up anyway, bringing it over to him and lifting the spoon to poke at the viscous liquid�s surface, causing the skin that had formed to crinkle about the end of the utensil.
At two in the afternoon, this was his first meal of the day, and judging from how queasy he felt having only managed to eat half of it, it was probably going to be his last of the day as well. Yami couldn�t quite decide if it was from under-use or simple depression, but his digestive gm hem had become pitiful recently. He had to actually take rest-breaks when the swelling nausea became overwhelming, eating too much too fast actually making him physically sick. He was getting steadily better though, something that he was quite pleased with. He wanted to regsomesome of his strength, sedate Yugi and everyone else�s worries and then carry on trying to put himself back together again. It was hard though. Very hard. But he had found things to drive him to it.
One reafor for him to �encourage� himself to eat was his Hikari. It had taken Yami quite a long time to realise it, but by getting by on the amount of sustenance that he had been on meant that he mostly drew energy from the Puzzle, coming to rely on it greatly. However, this had begun to affect Yugi in that Yami began to indirectly leach off of his energy. Yugi had never mentioned it, so Yami tried to pin it down to Yugi simply believing that his fatigue was down to him not sleeping enough due to worry. However, another part of him knew that Yugi had known about it, and was simply remaining quiet about it for his sake. Either way, it was another reason to eat. Kaiba�s talk had given him the mood to begin, and Mog, Yugi and everything else was encouraging him to carry on.
Staring at the half-eaten soup now though, cool and peculiar in consistency, was almost enough to put him off his meal. Taking a small amount up on the spoon, Yami grimaced at the taste of it and set the utensil back in the bowl. Swallowing heavily, Yami put the bowl back on the cabinet and crossed his arms. He could always have supper later. Picking up Mog again and running his thumb along the smooth fur on his head, Yami tipped his head to the side as he noticed that it was completely silent downstairs now.
Eyes widening as he listened intently, he felt his stomach tighten uncomfortably as he fell perfectly still. The change from such noise to utter silence had seemed too sudden to be unnatural, and that was causing some very dark thoughts to seep through Yami�s mind. After a few long moments, he was certain that he could footsteps coming up the stairs, and likely to this room. Trying to calm down, he reassured himself that it was simply someone coming up from downstairs. But then why had it gone so quiet? With everything that had been happening recently, Yami felt quite within his rights to feel paranoid.
Finally, there was a firm tapping against the door. Still frozen by his own irrational fears, Yami couldn�t make any response to that. As he was watching, the door slowly opened. It was just enough to allow the visitor�s head to peer in, and Joey glanced about the room until his eyes rested on Yami, grinning when he did so. The impossibly unruly hair obscuring a good deal of his face was evidence of the battle that had just occurred. �Is it okay if I come in?�
Nodding with a sigh of relief, Yami felt the earlier tension that had tightened every muscle in his body disappear. Shoving himself backwards so that he was sat against the wall atop the pillows, he brought his legs closer to himself to give Joey room to sit on the bed as well. The blond, however, remained standing, his hands in his pockets as he looked out the window for a moment.
�Yugi just left with Ryou to go to his house. We dunno what Bakura did with the tape and we can�t just leave it there so they�ve, ah, gone to get it back,� Joey said awkwardly, not looking at Yami although it was obvious that he was trying to. Instead, his eyes kept skirting the bedspread before going to the window again. He was clearly feeling very anxious talking about the tape, given Yami�s association with it.
Forcing down any reaction that Joey undoubtedly feared he would display, Yami kept his voice steady as he questioned why Yugi accompanied Ryou. It didn�t make a lot of sense to him, although it did please him that Yugi had left him with Joey alone for a bit. That certainly showed some confidence. However, the moment that Yami acknowledged that, he felt a light touch against his mind as Yugi established a delicate link that would let him keep tabs on him. He could easily shield against it, but that was the last thing he wanted to do. Still, he found the link irritating.
Joey finally met Yami�s eyes as he answered his question, shrugging a little as he did so. �None of us really know what Bakura did to protect it. Safer for two to go over than one, and since Yuug is more in touch with magic and stuff, you�re left with my good company.� Sitting down at last a few inches from Yami�s feet, he faced the spirit with a grin. �And hey, you should be pleased that Yuug isn�t keeping a constant watch on you.�
Scowling despite himself, Yami tapped his temple in answer to that. The grin faded into something of a bitter smile, but Joey didn�t say anything. They both knew that it would be a while before Yami was well enough for Yugi not to feel almost constantly worried about him. That was just something that Yami had to accept and live with for now.
A mutual silence fell between them, and Joey cleared his throat after a few moments to break it. �Mai�s doing good,� he announced. At Yami�s confused look, Joey continued. �In the new tournament. Yeah, she�s through to the quarterfinals now, Mako too. Odds are on Kaiba mostly, of course, but there�s this new girl that no one�s even heard of,� he rattled on nonchalantly, seemingly pleased to be talking about the contest.
Yami frowned a little. Although fairly reliant on luck, Joey�s duelling skills were still quite impressive. He�d have mentioned if he�d gotten through to the quarterfinals, and it was unlikely that he would have been knocked out of the tournament entirely at an early stage. The only thing Yami could think of was that he�d never actively taken part in it. �I thought you had entered that tournament? You registered for it.�
Joey shook his head with a smile. �I couldn�t go through with it. There was way too much going on and I�d be away practically all the time. I couldn�t just up and leave all my friends, could I? Especially you. Besides, I�m duelling �through� Mai and Mako, and that�s good enough for me. I�d rather be here, not that I haven�t kept tabs on everyone.
�Weevil got his ass kicked in his second match, and Rex only fell out recently. He asked how you were when I last saw him, which was kinda weird. Actually quite a lot of duellists talked to me even though I wasn�t entering. Wanted to know why you weren�t thrashing them and you�re not listening to a word I�m saying, are ya?� he finished with a raised brow, having noted some time ago that Yami�s gaze had started wandering about the bed-sheets, his attention clearly elsewhere.
Yami seemed to blink in surprise before his mouth quirked in a small, guilty smile. The mention of Rex had reminded him of the peculiar look he had been given months ago in the registration office; the one that Yami later learned had been down to Rex knowing what had happened to him. Joey didn�t know about that, or about the fact that the tape of his abuse and later suicide attempt had been put up on display for the world to see. Yami hadn�t wanted to give everyone a new excuse to show him copious levels of concern; he�d grown tired of that very quickly the last time. But it had been a long time since he talked to Joey and he deserved to be kept in the loop about everything, especially considering how much the bond had helped him in the past.
Yami revealed this piece of information with a lot less hesitation than he had expected of himself. Apparently he was still just as at ease with Joey as before; he could tell him anything. He had no fear of being judged by him, unlike the other duellists. That was, as he explained, one of the reasons he was afraid of facthemthem. He had built a reputation through Duellist Kingdom and Battle City, and although he was perfectly aware that it had been bruised heavily now, he still didn�t want to have that knowledge shoved into his face.
Joey remained quiet the entire time that Yami spoke, nodding absently at the end before staring down at his clasped hands. A frown narrowed his eyes as he absorbed all that, turned over the implications in his mind. He knew that Yami didn�t need to hear his thoughts on it all; from the sounds of it, the spirit had had more than enough time to agonize over the situation enough. What he needed now, as well as support, were words of encouragement, assurance that there was in fact light at the end of this very long and dark tunnel, and that it would get larger and all encompassing eventually.
Inhaling deeply as he did so, almost as if preparing himself, Joey tipped his head to face Yami who had been watching him mulling in trepid silence. Brown eyes flickering to the side briefly as his mind attempted to snatch the correct words to begin with, Joey unclasped his hands so as to illustrate his words with his usual energy.
�They ain�t gonna think less of ya. Hell, you�ve got to be one of the strongest people I know to go through all this crap and still come out standing! A lot more people look up to you than you seem to think. Heck, I couldn�t turn a corner the other day without some duellist pestering me about ya!�
Yami glanced down to the two fingers that were picking at the material of his trousers on his knee, smiling a little. �What did you say to them?�
Joey shrugged nonchalantly, a grin appearing. �That you�d be back in action in a while. That things will be pretty much the same as before when you�re feeling better and getting back into it all.�
With a sigh, a sound mingled from self-pity and a touch of self-loathing, Yami admitted something that had been plaguing him for some time. �Perhaps, but I won�t be the same. I may be able to stomach going through the motions, duelling to fit my title, but it won�t be the same. I�ll� I feel like I�ve been damaged, that I can�t live up to my title. The Heart of the Cards has become little more than a myth to me now, and I�m afraid that it�s always going to be like this.�
�Hey,� Joey cut in when Yami took a breath, hoping to cut off this rant before Yami really got into it and simply upset himself. That and the fact that he hated to hear the spirit talking like this. It pained him. He cared about ttherther too much for it not to, and so he took it upon himself to try and help in any way that he could.
�I didn�t say that *you�d* be the same, just that things in general would get back to normal. I don�t know what normal is yet, whatever you want I suppose, but yeah, you�ve changed. I dunno how to explain this, but ah, well, the last year, this whole experience, has changed you. It�s had a big impact on who you are and how you think, so you�ll never be �xactly the same as you used to be. It�s like you�re more �developed�, for lack of a better word. I bet in a year or so, you�ll be more� resistant to this sort of stuff, because you�ve learnt stuff this time. That, an� you can work off all this.
�You don�t wanna feel this way forever and so, with you being you, you�ll make damn sure you don�t. You won�t give in, you�ll keep trying. It�ll be sorta a driving force for ya when it gets rough. I know you pretty well, Yami, and I know that you�re a damn good person to be around. All of this is, coming through all of this, is just going to make ya better in the long run. Life is all about experiences, and without that we don�t really have a lot. By going through this shit, you�ve got more extreme experiences than most people, ones that you can only learn by going through them. And it�ll make you stronger. It�s not like you�ve had an arm cut off; you�ll get better. You are better. You�ve gotten set back for a bit but you�ll bounce back, jus� like you always do. I have a lot of faith in ya, Yami, and I�ll keep on standing by you through all this, just like I did before.�
Yami�s expression had tightened at some point during that speech, his mouth a thin line and the muscles about his eyes taut and trembling as he stared at the blond. Smirking, Joey slowly reached out to Yami unconsciously waiting for a reaction. Grabbing his shoulder when none came, he pulled Yami forward into his side, wrapping the arm about his waist solidly as the spirit placed a hand lightly on his back.
�What would I do without you?� Yami mumbled with a shake of his head into Joey�s chest.
�Chain up Bakura in the corner with a keg?� Joey suggested lightly, recalling all the things that Yugi had told him about the spirit�s most unusual relationship. Stepping aside when Bakura had partially asked, partially ordered him to, so as to allow the two to �bond�, had felt risky at the time, but talking to Yami now after so long, he knew it had been the right decision. Bakura had had a good impact on Yami, so much so that some small part of him hoped that the missing thief was okay.
His face still smothered against Joey�s shirt, Yami spoke again after a short period of contemplative silence. �I can only hope that the other duellists are as understanding as you have been when I face them.�
�You make it sound like you�re going up against a firing squad,� Joey commented wryly before shaking his head a little, loosening the grip he had about the smaller teen in case Yami wanted to move. �And of course they�ll understand. You won�t get any stick off anyone, and if some idiot says anything, I�ll pound them. Sound good?�
Yami gave no reply to that, simply listening to Joey speak, the thudding of his heartbeat, and roaring noise of his breathing and the rustling of the material shifting against his ear as he did so.
Sighing, and in doing so dragging out that roaring sound, Joey looked down into the jutting strands of hair sympathetically. �The mind is an organ just like any other organ in your body. It needs caring for, simple as. No one would say anything if you had liver damage and said that your stomach hurt. It�s just that most people have trouble accepting the fact that the mind ain�t some all-powerful thing that's above damage. But, it�s a helluvalot harder to treat than the liver is.�
Yami smiled into the shirt at that, clenching his eyes against the tears of relief and Ra-knows-what-else and taking a steadying breath. Several minutes later, when he felt that his eyes weren�t so damp anymore, he sat upright and eyed Joey directly. Joey grinned and Yami couldn�t help but smile back. He couldn�t remember the last time that he�d felt like this; relaxed and a little hopeful.
�Can I ask...? How�d you know about all this Internet stuff? �S�not like you have access to it really,� Joey asked after a period of silence, lifting his legs up onto the bed and leaning forward with his weight on them, his forearms resting across his knees.
Thumbing Mog again, Yami�s smiled remained in place. �Kaiba told me, before he gave me this,� he stated, lifting the small toy marginally. �He took apart the film and made it so that it won�t return, told me not to worry about that any more, and then lent me Mog. Apparently it used to be Mokuba�s, some sort of comfort item.�
�Like a security blanket?�
�I suppose. I�m supposed to return it when I�m �done� with it, undamaged no less,� Yami added, his smile broadening. The gesture had been uncannily good-natured of Kaiba, and certainly very thoughtful, but looking back the idea of the ruthless CEO with a stuffed toy in his briefcase seemed absurd. It was a funny world.
Joey grinned unrestrainedly at that, laughing outright. �Jeez! Who�da thought? Kaiba with a toy cat. Aw, if he hadn�t given it to you I�d be ripping him about this for years. I guess deep, deep, really deep down, he does have a soft spot. Doubt we�ll be hearing from it again this century though��
He seemed to trail off a bit awkwardly, his gaze drifting from Yami uncomfortably and giving him the sense that he was hiding something. After a few moments during which Yami simply waited expectantly for him to come out with it, Joey rubbed at the back of his neck with a nervous smile.
�Kaiba called here a couple of times, wanting to talk to ya. We all just told him where to stick it, figuring that he just wanted to challenge you to a rematch or try and piss you off. I didn�t want to tell ya in case you got upset, but if I�d known that he�d have such a good effect of ya I would have invited him over sooner. Whatever else he said to you did a lot of good, Yami.�
Yami shook his head slowly, blinking slowly in a gesture of forgiveness. �It�s okay Joey, you were simply looking out for me, and I appreciate that. I always appreciated that.�
Joey grinned before beginning to fidget again, crossing a leg beneath himself this time and clasping both hands about his one raised . �. �Y�know, I�ve missed talking to ya like this. It�s been a while, and now I�ve gotta admit that it feels good. I�m glad I can start helping you again, like before.�
Nodding, Yami bit his bottom lip for a moment, as his eyes feel downcast. �I�m sorry for pushing you away as I have. When, all this first began, I wanted help because I didn�t know what to do or how to cope, but for the past few months I�ve just felt like I needed to deal with everything on my own, that I shouldn�t burden others with my problems. I�ve been stubborn, I know, but I�m accepting whatever I can get right now. I remember the state I was in before, and I know how much worse I could have been had you not been there for me. I don�t want to end up like that. I won�t.�
Joey nodded slowly, solemnly. �I get ya Yami, �cause I remember too.�
****
It had been only a day since it had happened, a day since Kresha had torn him apart physically and mentally, not to mention emotionally. Everything hurt despite his efforts to will the pain away, but he wasn�t going to let Joey know that. Telling the blond what had transpired had been hard enough; he didn�t want to be suffocated by pity. So far staying in his company had been fine; he had his space, they talked, he tried to sleep, he choked down the damn pills he�d been given after an examination he�d much rather forget.
They�d wanted some of his blood too to test, but he felt violated enough as it was. He wanted his blood to stay where it belonged for the moment; in his body. They couldn�t make him so they hadn�t forced the issue, merely telling him that he should definitely get tested soon. He hadn�t bothered inquiring as to what he was supposed to be getting tested for at the time; his mind had been too much a cyclonic mess.
A day since it had happened and his mind was still in such a state. He felt torn, hollow and cold. He drifted, not moved, was touched rather than touched; it was as if he was no longer a solid part of theld. ld. He wanted to break down but his pride wouldn�t allow it and so he felt like he was going to explode. Joey�s presence didn�t help that feeling. His pride dictated that no one see him shatter into an emotional mess, that no one see him so weakened. And so he didn�t let him see. After his breakdown after retelling the day�s events, he had sealed up. He pred hed himself he would not allow himself to fall into such a pathetic state again.
His body didn�t happen to agree.
He�d gone upstairs for an early night and left Joey downstairs, hoping that sleep would help to clear his mind and soothe away some of the pain. The Puzzle seemed to be working slowly, but he�d pinned that down to the fact that it was cleaning up the internal damage before taking away the pain. The healing itself also hurt at times and fibres sealed with blood had to be snapped apart and fused properly again. It all hurt. Lying down hurt, even on his side.
His mind refused to shut down, spiralling in more and more agonizing circles about what had happened, his chest felt tight and uncomfortable, and pain radiated from his lower body so that it felt like it encompassed him totally. The scratches and bruises everywhere else throbbed and burnt with it, pitching into the concerto of pain his body seemed to have become.
Clenching his eyes tightly against the pain, everything, he brought his hands up to his face, shielding himself. It wasn�t working, and his thoughts and feelings were just getting more and more erratic. Feeling desperately frustrated, he focussed now on calming himself down, but it was too late for that. His chest shuddering as his breaths became faster and shallower, heaving but not taking in enough air and less with each inhalation, he was becoming light-headed. The sensation combined with everything else frightened him and he wanted to stop whatever was happening to him, get his breathing back to normal and stop the hot tears that had suddenly started streaming out of his eyes.
But it wouldn�t stop. He couldn�t make it, not on his own at least. Curling into himself, gasping breathlessly at the flash of pain the movement elicited, his eyes snapping open once more. The world was blurry and at a strange angle, swaying in and out of focus sickeningly. Closing his eyes again, his fingertips and lips now beginning to tingle, he made some internal decision to get to Joey. He couldn�t fix whatever this attack was himself. He needed help. Pride forgotten, he managed to get himself to roll over, intending to get his feet to the floor.
His muscles had turned rigid though, and he ended up dropping to the floor with a loud bang. The shock on the impact sent his breathing even more out of control and now, too light-headed to care, Yami simply ran with it.
Moments later he vaguely heard footsteps, then something big was with him. His thoughts in shambles now, Yami barely registered the presence, not even sure if it was there or not. The hands that went onto his arm and shoulder were all too real and he jolted against it, teeth gritted so hard his jaw ached along with everything else and his breathing jumped violently despite it�s already ragged state.
The contact had been too much, too obtrusive. He was too wrapped up in his mind to want to have any contact with anything outside of it. It was if he was struggling desperately to keep everything balanced; inside and outside of his head, thought and sensation, faintness and breathing. He had been focussing so intently on the internal that Joey�s touch had thrown the balance he had been trying to create off completely. Everything seemed to explode then.
Joey had snatched back his hands at the violent reaction he had received, but he felt helpless just watching this. He�d never seen anyone in this state before, and he had absolutely no idea of what to do now. He wanted to comfort Yami, definitely calm him down, get his dangerously fast breathing slowed and get the whipcord muscles to stop straining so much against his skin. He didn�t have any experience to go off as to how to do all that, but physical contact seemed to work for most things. Perhaps he�d simply been too sudden about it?
Moving around behind Yami to fit into the space between his shuddering body and the bed, he laid down so that he was almost spooning the smaller spirit. Desperate to stop that awful shaking and the sounds of Yami�s confused lungs trying to take in air too quickly, he wrapped an arm about Yami�s waist and shifted his own body to lie in direct contact with his. Again, Yami jerked, but only once. He didn�t fight off the contact. After a few moments the shuddering lessened to a tremble, however the ragged breathing remained the same.
Joey considered speaking to him, trying to soothe him, but gave up on that idea when he realized he had no idea of what to say, let alone whether or not Yami�s jumbled mind would understand a word of it. So he settled for holding him, breathing slowly and deliberately in the hopes that Yami would mimic him and making gentle circles with his fingers against his body.
After several minutes Yami seemed to exhaust himself and his breathing finally slowed, becoming deeper and more relaxed. Disconcertingly, although his body seemed to have relaxed a little, the trembling still remained. His muscles were still in spasm, and Joey couldn�t begin to speculate on the sort of damage that would do if he left it to go on for too long.
Cautiously releasing his charge, Joey shifted back to see if the loss of contact made any difference. None. Scrubbing a hand through hair,air, Joey thought furiously as to what he should do. On a whim, he stood and rapidly went to the bathroom, warming a washcloth under the tap before returning with it dripping. Kneeling down in front of Yami now, and seeing for the first time the unsettlingly lifeless, wide-eyed stare that he seemed to be frozen in, Joey tentatively brought the washcloth to his cheek. Intending at first to simply wash away the tears and sweat on the spirit�s face, it took him a few minutes to notice that the easy motions of the wet cloth had relaxed Yami�s expression significantly. His eyes were still lifeless, but no longer staring, merely seeing something that he couldn�t, something that was through him.
Feeling encouraged, Joey continued these motions, moving all about Yami�s face, down his throat, up the lengths of his forearms, keeping his movements slow and rhythmical. When he was done the trembling had stopped and Yami�s eyes were closed, his breathing laborious again but now sounding like it was due to tiredness more than anything.
The washcloth cold now, Joey placed it on the floor beside him. Nervous but far more comfortable with this relaxed state Yami had drifted into, Joey moved around so that he was back in his original position behind Yami, spooning his gently once again. After a few minutes of listening to Yami�s breathing, he heard a shift in its pattern before a barely audible �thank you� was breathed. Smiling to himself, he held the spirit more firmly and murmured �you�re welcome�.
****
That had been Yami�s first anxiety attack, the first of many that were to follow over those few days. It was also the most severe, and both remembered it, although Joey with more clarity as Yami�s mind was in no real condition to record events. That attack seemed so long ago now, that event partially buried with recent troubles.
Nodding a little to bring himself out of his reverie, Yami looked up once again to see Joey doing the same. �Thing are better now, at least� he stated flatly.
�Much better,� Joey agreed. Glancing about himself as he began to feel restless again, he moved to stand, looking back down to Yami as he then began to stretch out the kinks in his back. �I, uh, told Yugi that I�d have downstairs straightened out before he got back. I hadn�t expected to be up here for so long.�
Smiling wryly, Yami moved to get up as well, placing Mog gently on the pillow as he did so. �Come on, we�ll sort it out together.�
As they walked towards the door, Yami watched as Joey pulled the remote control out from his back pocket so as to walk easier. Quirking a brow with a smirk, he watched as the blond switched the object into his other hand to grasp the banister as they went downstairs.
�You won the fight earlier, I presume?�
Joey paused a moment halfway down the stairs and glanced at the remote, chuckling to himself for a moment before confirming that he was, indeed, the victor of the earlier battle. As they stepped into the living room, Yami found himself hanging back in the doorway as he surveyed the damage tiredly. How they managed to turn the sofa that way he�d never know. It looked like they�d had a go at turning it into a fort of some sort.
On his knees gathering the papers and odd cards that had spilled off when the coffee table had been overturned, Joey spared the spirit a glance. �Sorry about waking ya up earlier, Yami. I didn�t know we were being that loud down here.�
Yami stared at the overturned sofa for a moment be res resigning himself to the fact that with his physical state as it was, there was no way he�d be strong enough to move it. �It�s not a problem. I couldn�t sleep anyway. I was just thinking about things.� Taking the papers that Joey handed him as he turned the table back over, he flicked through them idly waiting for a response.
Joey paused with his hands on his hips as he too regarded the sofa. It had been he who�d turned it over in the first place, so it wouldn�t be a problem to put it right again. It was just that he didn�t really want to. It was not only large but an awkward shape, and he couldn�t really ask Yami to help him with it. He was well aware of the other�s deteriorated state.
Taking hold of one of the arms, he levered it up as Yami began replacing the items on the table. �Still having trouble sleeping? Fair enough. When was the last time you got a decent night?� he asked by means of a distraction from the ache in his right arm as he held the entire weight of the sofa with it and tried to twist it with the other.
Yami gave a sort of facial shrug at the question. �I suppose, a few weeks ago, when Bakura put me out. He worked a spell to make me sleep before he took the tape with him.�
The sofa landing with a loud noise, Joey came around and dropped himself into the cushions intending to rest a moment. Glaring at the cushion that Yami threw into his chest, he shoved it aside before standing again. �I dunno if Bakura told you, but that day when you nearly drowned at the park he had a little chat with me. He dragged me off to one side when you were asleep and basically told me to back off for a bit.�
Yami frowned, handing him another cushion. Bakura had never spoken about anything like that.
Seeing Yami�s expression, Joey quickly continued. �No, I mean he told me in the nicest possible way, for him at least, that I should back off and let him do his thing, that he might be abo heo help you better for now. He told me he�d teach you how to meditate which was kinda weird to hear coming from him, but I just got this feeling that you�d be in good hands with him, and that it was the right thing to do. It was hard, I won�t lie, but I figured that it would be the best thing for your sake. And from the looks of it, I think we were both right.�
The sofa now back as it was, Yami turned his attention to the curtains which were pulled to the far left with the plant on the ledge knocked over. �The meditation exercises were certainly helpful, yes, but I�m not too sure about all the alcohol he insisted I drink. I suppose it did help me to talk to him,� he trailed off, scooping the spilt soil into his hand and dumping it back into the plant pot.
�Yugi told me about the meditation and said that it�d been helping you a lot. Sounds like a good idea, if ya ask me. Um, since Bakura�s gone I kinda thought that you might be having a hard time with it, so I went on the �net and dug up some stuff for ya. I printed off a couple of the exercises; they�re in the kitchen in my bag.�
Yami appeared genuinely touched by that and turned to face Joey with a smile. �Thank you, I appreciate that. I�ll look at them later.�
�You�re welcome. I gotta tell ya, when Bakura said he�d be teaching you to meditate, I couldn�t really believe him. Teaching ya how to fight, yeah sure, but meditating? That was something else. But it would do more good than harm, I figured, so I didn�t worry too much about letting him get on with it. He�d never admit it, but he�s changed a lot since he�s started spending so much time with you. He�s still a bastard, but he�s not quite so rough around the edges now.�
Yami smirked. �I�ll be sure to tell him you said that when he returns.�
Comically, Joey�s eyes actually widened and he raised his hands in a peace-willing manner. �Hey, I wasn�t asking for trouble!� Narrowing his eyes a little, contemplating, he considering wording his next question delicately but settled for just asking outright. He doubted that Yami would appreciate any delicacy. �Just out ofiosiiosity, was there summut going on between the two of you? No problem if there is, he seems to be doing you good, I�m just wondering.�
Yami looked both bemused and exasperated at the same time, his tone coming out quite peculiar as a result. �Everyone seems to be wondering about that. No, I am not in any form of intimate relationship with Bakura, and I highly doubt that I ever will be. The idea of it is just�� He shivered in revulsion at the thought to finish the sentence. It wasn�t out of disgust; he and Bakura had merely become too close as friends for something more to be anything but disturbing.
�I do miss him though, I won�t deny that. With him not here, it feels like I�m not making any progress despite all my efforts. Right now I can�t see how this is every going to get better, or how I�m ever going to get back to normal, whatever that may be now.�
The room now back to how it was an hour ago, Yami slumped down into an armchair and propped his head in his hands. Coming up beside him, Joey took a seat on the arm of the chair and placed a hand on the spirit�s back.
�Things are better now already, we both know that, ands gos going to keep on getting easier, I promise. Like I said earlier, it�ll never be �xactly like it was because you�ve changed, and everyone else for that matter. You�ll be better for it in the long run, just trust in that for now.�
Dropping his hands to his thighs, Yami twisted to regard the raised blond. �I�m never going to be able to thank you enough for all these lectures, am I?�
Joey pathis his shoulder encouragingly. �I don�t mind, and I�m not planning on going anywhere so you�ll always be able to get them. No worries.�
****
Around to the back of the house, Yugi and Ryou had finally returned from attempting to fetch the tape. Yugi sleeves were singed as were his golden bangs and Ryou was walking with a slight limp. Neither of them had the tape.
Having given up enty ony on trying to get the tape and formulating new plans that would never actually work in reality, they had ended up talking about what was happening now. Yami had been improving steadily over the last few days, yes, but he was still distanced, and that was still upsetting Yugi.
�I�m just worried about what all this time apart is going to do to our relationship. We were close before, I could confide in Yami and he could talk to me as well, but now it�s like we�re strangers most of the time. I know he�s trying, I can see it when he does talk to me, but I�m worried that all this stress is going to have lasting damage,� Yugi finished despondently as they reached the back door into the kitchen, finally admitting what he�d been trying to say in too many words for most of the way back. After feeling Yami�s annoyance through their bond earlier, all he could think about was his Dark half. And when they found the tape in the basement of Ryou�s house� Today had been hard to say the least.
Stopping at the door but making no move to enter, Ryou�s soft gaze considered Yugi thoughtfully for long moments. Finally, he sighed as he endeavoured to explain his thoughts with as much difficulty as Yugi seemed to have had, shivering a little despite himself as he unconsciously attempted to dispel the tingling thrumming about his skin. From the way Yugi was rubbing at his arms, it seemed he had the same problem as well.
�Through this, you're both learning things and my belief is that either you would have learned these things eventually, or you wouldn't have and there wouldn't be as much of an understanding between the two of you as you'll end up with,� Ryou said slowly, gesturing tds Yds Yugi as he spoke and watching carefully for a response that would indicate understanding. Yugi looked sceptical, growing doubts and worries that had festered over weeks now not allowing the other teen�s words to sink in.
Exhaling heavily and putting a hand on Yugi�s shoulder, Ryou shifted his weight again to take his weight off his throbbing ankle. �I believe that given a little time, this will strengthen your partnership, not weaken it. You�re talking now which is certainly a step forward, but it�s not all the way yet and there�s still a lot you both need to sort out. This is not going to be easy for either of you, but you'll be together through it, and that�s all that really matters.�
Smiling broadly and feeling the strong urge to embrace the other teen, Yugi decided against that as their skin was still tingling uncomfortably. Nodding in thanks, Ryou smiled back gently before opening the door. Stepping inside, they noted that it was completely silent inside. Steadily making their way through to the living room to see if Joey had made good on his promise to clean the room they had destroyed, they were pleased to see that he had. Not only that, but he and Yami were sat in the armchair talking quietly.
Frowning at the odd sense he was getting, Yami�s head snapped to the side and his brows shot up when he saw Yugi�s singed state. He could also practically taste the magic seeping off of his Hikari in waves. Ryou didn�t seem to be in any better condition.
�What happened?� he asked immediately, rising from the chair to stand in front of Yugi, his hands moving over his face and through his hair, checking for damage. Yugi couldn�t help but smile at the fussing attention he was receiving.
�We went to fetch the tape, but there was some kind of barrier around it.�
�Shadow Magic,� Yami murmured under his breath, his attention now jumping to Ryou. Seeing the way that the teen was standing, he knelt down and encircled his ankle with his hands, barely touching the fabric of his trousers as he felt the heat coming through carefully.
Ryou nodded, staring down at Yami as the spirit seemed to make his own assessment. �It�s specially attuned to my yami�s energy signature, like a lock to a key,� he added helpfully, glancing up again at Joey. �I tried to break through it with the Ring but all that did was make an explosion.�
Yami looked to Yugi in alarm then, demanding an explanation. �Only a small one. It was a warning more than anything else. Bakura was actually nice enough to set one as well as a �lock�.�
�We didn�t want to find out how many warnings Bakura was going to let us have, and we believe that the tape�s perfectly secure right where it is, so we came home,� Ryou finished as Yami rose to his feet again.
Nodding, the spirit crossed his arms loosely across his chest. �I believe you�re right. With Bakura�s kind of defences, we don�t need to worry about it anymore. I think it�s a sprain Ryou; nothing seems broken. The tingling you�re probably feeling will stop soon when the residual traces have gone.�
Nodding with satisfaction, Ryou limped over to the sofa before falling back onto it, adjusting his leg a little with a pained expression. �I must admit, it was a lovely change to be outside again. I was beginning to get cabin fever stuck indoors all day.�
His eyes widened a little as he realised how that had sounded, and he looked to Yami with concern. Yami seemed to be thinking his words over though, his head dipped in thought. Finally, he uncrossed his arms and faced his light. �Ryou is right, Aibou, we do need to go outside at some point. I shouldn�t stay indoors like this if I want things to get well again.�
Yugi�s expression brightened instantly and Joey simply looked pleasantly surprised. �Really? Okay. Uh, how about in two days we go out for a bit? Let you get used to the idea before we leave. The competition ends then, so we can find out who won too. Sound good?�
Nodding firmly and remembering Mog upstairs, Yami clapped a hand onto Yugi�s shoulder. �I think that sounds fine, Aibou. Two days.�

****
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