Hey guys! No, I have not forgotten about this story! Sorry for the delay. My attention has been divided between college, family, friends, holidays, and a new story at the moment. So sorry about that! But I'm back! And I do plan to complete this story somewhere in the near future. There's only a few chapters left after all!

Anyways, sorry again! Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 12

He could barely believe what was happening. It just didn't make any sense to him; there wasn't one ounce of logic behind it whatsoever. How on earth then, did it make sense to his cousin? At what point in time, he wondered, did Yami's brain stop functioning and abandon reason on the side of the road? Kaiba shook his head with an irritable sigh. For something like this to happen in his family -- well, that was just unbelievable. Not to mention unacceptable. That's why he was here though. He needed to protect his family and rid his cousin of the accusations brought against him. It was a long-shot, he knew that. But it didn't stop him from trying. Nothing ever did.

With a few strides, he made his way over to the bookcase pressed up against the side wall of the chamber, and skimmed the tip of his index finger across the surfaces, outlining the titles of each text. Each book contained a story entirely of its own, and he had to admit that he didn't know the ending to most of them. But that's just it. You never know the end to a story, but if you fought hard enough, you could write your own. And that's exactly what he intended to do.

"Your Honor, kidnapping involves the movement of a body," he said aloud, just partly listening to the conversation at hand.

"Exactly," Malik chimed from his standing position opposite of the Judge's desk. "Mr. Atemu brought Mr. Motou from the garden to his house."

Kaiba turned from the bookcase to look at the Judge -- a stout man, with dark hair and even darker eyes -- and ignored Malik's presence all together. "Opposing counsel forgets that Mr. Motou consented."

"But he is under the age of consent," Malik cut in.

"Under age to consent to sex, yes," Kaiba said. "My client invited Mr. Motou to his apartment, in which the latter consented. Where in a law book is that defined as kidnapping? This is a mockery, Your Honor."

"Mr. Motou was not old enough to fully comprehend what he was agreeing to, and the defendant knew that," the prosecutor said firmly.

"Nice try, Counselor," the Judge quipped. "But Mr. Motou is seventeen. I think he knew what he was agreeing to. That being said, I am going to grant Mr. Kaiba's motion to dimiss the kidnapping indictment."

Kaiba nodded, a pull of his lips lifting them into a defined smirk. "Thank you, Your Honor." His cobalt eyes flickered to Malik, then back to the Judge. "I would also like to request that the remaining two charges be dropped. There's no formal complaint from the alleged victim in this case which -- "

"Don't push your luck," the Judge said. "Mr. Motou is underage. He doesn't have to be the one making the complaint, and you know as well as I do that once that complaint is made, then it's the city's job to move forward with or without Mr. Motou's say so. This is a serious charge given the defendant's occupation."

"I understand that, Your Honor, but if the sexual acts never occured -- "

"Well, if they never occurred," Malik spoke suddenly, eyeing Kaiba steadily, "then I suppose you'll have no trouble putting Mr. Motou on the stand. I mean, we all know that someone with such high regard, such as yourself, would not condone perjury."

The brunet attorney gritted his teeth. "Whether I put Mr. Motou on the stand or not is of no importance to you."

"On the contrary," Malik said. "It is very important. But I can assure you that I can win this case without his testimony."

"If this case ends up like any of your previous three cases, then I highly doubt that, Ishtar. Your batting average has been kind of low lately."

"Enough, Counselors." The Judge leaned back in his leather seat and narrowed his eyes at the two attorneys. "Trial's in two weeks. I expect you both to be in court at eight o'clock sharp." He waved his hand towards the door. "Now get out."

Kaiba didn't exactly appreciate being talked to in such a tone, but years as an attorney had taught him that it was not beneficial in any way to his case to argue with the Judge. It actually tended to make things harder for him. So, instead he just grabbed his briefcase and walked out of the chambers, closing the door shut behind him. He wasn't at all surprised that Malik was waiting for him in the hall. "Ishtar," he said, wearily. "That kidnapping accusation was going to be thrown out, and you knew it. I wouldn't typically expect that from you."

The lavander-eyed man gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Not my idea. The D.A. practically forced me to charge Mr. Atemu with it. He plans on making an example out of this case, you know."

Kaiba chuckled humorlessly. "Is it re-election time already?"

"Don't know, don't care, Kaiba. What I do know though, is that the chances of you winning this case are slim to none. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, but when has that ever stopped me?"

"It hasn't," Malik assented. "However, to save you and your client further embarrassment, I am willing to cut a deal."

Kaiba lifted an eyebrow. "And what are the terms of this deal?" he asked.

"Mr. Atemu pleads guilty and serves two years in jail. He will also have to register as a sex offender and agree to a five-year probation period."

The defense attorney snorted. "You make it sound as if you're doing me a favor."

"I am," Malik said simply.

"You really believe that I am going to send my client to prison for two years just because he -- "

" -- slept with one of his students? Yes."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you then."

Malik seemed surprised by this. "You mean, you'd rather go to court and risk the chance of the jury sentencing him to four years in prison?"

"My client will not be sentenced to four years for statutory rape, Ishtar."

"It was with one of his students for Christ's sake, Kaiba! It's a felony."

"I know that, but there are mitigating circumstances."

"Such as?"

"Well, for starters, Mr. Motou's obvious consent -- regardless of his age. I don't have to put him on the stand for the jury to realize how much Mr. Motou adores my client. Also, the fact that my client returns these feelings and has never had so much as a scratch in his record prior to this. This is simply a case of two people falling in love at the wrong time and place. The jury will be lenient; even possibly sympathetic. He'll serve a year maximum. "

"Well then," Malik said with a smirk. He took out his small umbrella from his briefcase and nodded at the brunet. "I guess I'll see you in court, Kaiba."

Kaiba watched the other walk off, then turned to look outside at the dark, burly clouds. A moment later, it began to rain. "See you then," he said to himself.

--

It was raining so hard, he could barely see what was going on outside the windows. He was surprised the bus driver hadn't crashed yet. Surely, the man couldn't drive in such a downpour.

Part of Yuugi wouldn't have mind if the bus did get in an accident. Maybe he would stop feeling this way if it did. Maybe, just maybe, he would get a concussion and be sent to the hosipital, and when he woke up, Yami would be there, sitting in the chair beside his bed, waiting for him. It was a beautiful daydream, but Yuugi didn't let himself fall for it for even a second. That way, when the bus finally did get to his stop, he wasn't all that disappointed.

It had been two, long, excruciating weeks since Yami's arraignment and, according to what Kaiba had told him this morning when he spoke to him on the phone, it would be another two weeks until the actual trial.

To put it simply, life was absolute hell since Yami's arrest. He had finally gotten the courage to go back to school last week, and not even Jou, Honda, and Anzu's comforting words could block out all the whispers around him. It was unbearable, and every day was the same. Over the past two weeks, he had spoken to Yami once for a grand total of five minutes, in which time he completely broke down and cried, leaving Yami to coax him back into reality as much as he could, before the elder was forced to get off the phone.

To say he blamed himself for everything that had happened was an understatement. He knew he should have listened to Yami. He should have waited. He shouldn't have pursued his feelings for the other. He should have just...suffered in silence. And then Yami would still be here, and he wouldn't have to go through every day in a misery so dark and deep, that not even his friends could pull him out of it.

He stepped off of the bus platform onto the sidewalk, umbrella already over his head, and trudged towards the blue mailbox in the center of the town square. He stuck his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope then, before he could change his mind, stuffed it in the small entrance. With a soft sigh, he raked his fingers through his hair and looked out at all the people around him, running through the rain with umbrellas and hoods and coats over their heads.

He had to wonder -- why were they allowed to go on freely like they didn't have a care in the world, when every second, he felt like he was dying inside?

--

"He doesn't understand."

"Huh?"

"Yuugi." Yami leaned back into the couch, using his fingers to massage his throbbing temples. With each passing day, his headaches were becoming more frequent and a lot more painful. "Every time I tell him that we shouldn't continue this, he thinks it's a personal attack on him."

Laughter resonated from the room connecting to his own, and a man with styled silver hair poked his head in to grin at him. "Hey, I'm still having a hard time believing that you're shackin' up with a seventeen-year-old."

Yami didn't even acknowledge the intruding presence, not wanting to give his roommate the satisfaction. Ryou, on the other hand, had no problem confronting his boyfriend.

"Bakura, you're opinion is neither needed nor wanted," Ryou said, tossing his older look-a-like a glare. "And for your information, Yami is not 'shackin' up' with Yuugi." He glanced at Yami curiously, ignoring Bakura's muttered insults as the man disappeared back into his room. "You're not, are you?" he inquired.

Yami looked at him blankly. "No."

His voice was so tight that Ryou shrunk back into his chair, just in case it might snap. He eyed Yami, his friend's head bent over the back of the chair as he let out another frustrated growl, his eyes closed as he continued to ease his oncoming headache into submission.

"Well, in any case," Ryou said after a moment, "though he may be rude and blunt about it, Bakura does have a point. Yuugi is seventeen."

Yami snapped his eyes open, irritation etching onto his face. He kept his gaze on the ceiling as he spoke, "Don't you think I'm aware of that, Ryou."

Ryou shrugged, looking down at the steam still radiating from his mug of coffee. He blew on it lightly. "Well, since you are 'aware', I guess I don't even have to mention how much trouble you could get into."

"No, you don't."

Ryou sighed, placing his mug on Yami's nightstand. He turned his full attention to Yami's languid form. This was something new for him, something he wasn't used to. Since he had moved in, Ryou had become accustomed to a lot of things whether that be Bakura and Yami's constant disagreements -- however they survived this long as friends was beyond him -- or having to fight for the television or anything else that came with living with two polar opposite people. However, this -- this current conversation was one that he never expected to hear, nevermind engage in.

Yami had never been one to get himself caught in a web, especially one as tangled and twisted as this one. But then again, Ryou never thought he'd see the day where someone would be able to demolish Yami's usually cool and calm facade.

"Why don't you just wait until he graduates and turns eighteen?" Ryou suggested to his sullen roommate.

Yami raised his head to look at him. "I'm trying but it's not exactly easy, Ryou," he sighed. "I mean, he's such an incredible person. He's smart, friendly, beautiful, and stubborn as all hell."

Ryou laughed. "It sounds like he has you real good."

"You have no idea."

"Well," Ryou said, crossing his legs, "if you don't think you can stay away from him with him around you all the time, why don't you transfer schools for a year? At least until he graduates."

Yami visibly tensed, and soon his glare was back with a vegence. "I can't leave him, Ryou," he growled. "I can't."

"Well, what do you want me to say, Yami?"

"I don't know, Ryou!" Yami put his head in his hands. "I don't know," he said, quieter.

Ryou sighed, picking up his mug. "Well, I'll give you some time to think." He stood to his feet and made his way to the door. For a second, he hesitated and turned his head around to look at Yami. "And if it makes you feel better, it's obvious that Yuugi means something to you." He shrugged. "Maybe he's worth all the trouble."

Yami waited until Ryou was out of the room to let loose another sigh. He thought about his roommate's words for a few minutes, before a tiny smile danced across his face. "Maybe, he is."

--

"Yami, wake up!"

At the loud, intruding voice, Yami jumped up in his bed, his eyes snapping open to glare at the guard on the other side of his cell. "What is it?" he asked, slightly agitated.

The blond guard grunted. "You got a letter," he said, tossing the envelope inside the cell and onto the floor.

Yami blinked in surprise and leaned down from his bed to pick it up. His eyes scanned over the front of the envelope, which had been very clearly ripped open. "You opened it?"

"Well, duh," the guard spat. "Can't have your loverboy slipping you things past surveillance."

The blood deep inside of him began to boil. "You read it?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes even further.

He was given a loose shrug in reply. "Guess I was bored." He popped a piece of gum in his mouth and looked at him. "Dinner's in an hour."

"I'm not hungry," Yami snapped, his voice a lot lower than before.

The guard chuckled a bit at him. "Suit yourself, fag."

Yami ignored him -- he was already used to the nicknames, and he didn't let them get to him. No good would come from it if he did. Instead, he focused his attention on the envelope in his hands and proceeded to take out the two slips of paper from its confines. Then he opened the papers at the crease and let his eyes glide over the beautifully written cursive.

I never got the chance to give this to you. I miss you more than you'll ever realize. I love you so much.

~Yuugi

If a heart could literally split in half, then he would have sworn he felt his do just that. He sighed and laid his head back against the wall. Oh, Yuugi...

He slowly closed his eyes and breathed out deeply. His skin tingled at the memories that resurfaced and washed over his mind. At that moment, it was almost as if he could still feel Yuugi's skin under his fingertips as he searched and mapped out the boy's lithe body. He could still hear Yuugi's panting against the shell of his ear, and the boy's voice as he repeated his name. He could remember every feeling he felt that night -- the last night he had spent with Yuugi -- and it only made everything worse.

It wasn't like he didn't think about Yuugi every day -- hell, he thought about him every second. But seeing his handwriting, and knowing that he still loved him...well, it certainly didn't make being away from Yuugi any easier.

He had wanted to see Yuugi, since he was allowed visitors, but Kaiba forbade it. He said it would only make everything harder on the two of them.

He was right. It would. Yami knew that, but it didn't make him feel any better. He didn't think anything would.

Suddenly, something clicked in the back of Yami's head, and he opened his eyes to look down at the papers. He removed the first page and put it on his bed, then glanced back at the one still in his hands and began to read.

I miss the sound of your voice
And I miss the rush of your skin
And I miss the still of the silence
As you breathe out and I breathe in

If I could walk on water
If I could tell you what's next
I'd make you believe
I'd make you forget

So come on, get higher, loosen my lips
Faith and desire and the swing of your hips
Just pull me down hard
And drown me, drown me in love

It's all wrong, it's so right
So come on and get higher
'Cause everything works, love
Everything works in your arms.

If possible, his heart broke even more.

It was Yuugi's poem. The one he had assigned in class.

Yami leaned back against the wall and covered his eyes with his hand. He blatantly ignored the stinging in his eyes and the way his shoulders began to tremble. It had only been two weeks, and they were both falling apart without each other. According to Seto, he was facing up to four years and, though his cousin had assured him that he would not spend more than a year in jail, the possibility was still there. He put his head in his hands and choked on a sob. Oh, God.

To Be Continued...

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