KT: (strangely aglow) I have an annoucement.
Juni: What?
KT: I'm having a baby.
Taku/Juni: What!
KT: It's true. My baby girl is seven months along. I can keep a secret, can't I?
Taku: Uh, hell yeah.
KT: Anyway, to commemorate it for the first time (on the web, at least) I give you the final chapter of The Forbidden Forest.
Juni: For the last time here,Maru-chan glomps Yana5, DarkNileStallion, frogger666, DaakuKitsune, Dark Angel Of Fire Ice, Atemu Yugi Lover34, MikosWish, Masami Mistress of Fire, kingleby, ailisa d. frieson, Zaleone, and Crazyb1tch85 for reviewing.
11: Another Visit
Yugi felt kind of cold. And he could hear running water. A moment later, he realized he was near the river. How did I get back in the forest? he wondered. His neck hurt, not very much, but just a little. It suddenly registered in his mind that he wasn't alone. Someone was with him, and was holding him in their arms.
There was a heavy sigh above him, and a hand touched his face. "Please wake up soon, Yugi," Yami's familiar voice said.
It's Yami, Yugi realized. Yami's with me. He tried to open his eyes, but it seemed as though he didn't have the strength to do so. He felt like he couldn't even control his body and was lying there as if he were dead.
But he knew he wasn't dead. He just had to find the strength to open his eyes.
There was a sigh above him. "This is all my fault," he heard Yami say. "I should never have dragged Yugi into this mess. Yugi, if you don't recover, I...I..." Yami didn't seem to be able to finish. Yugi could feel Yami's arms trembling. He's really upset, Yugi realized. He thinks he killed me. I have to open my eyes so he knows I'm all right.
Yugi summoned up what strength he could find and channeled it all into raising his eyelids. He succeeded, and his eyes opened ever so slowly.
"Yugi?" Yami's hopeful voice came.
Yugi tried to look up, but he couldn't find the strength to do that either. His head was resting on Yami's chest, face pointed downwards. Yami carefully lifted the boy's chin so they could look at one another. He had a relieved smile on his face, and it looked as though there were tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Yugi, you had me worried," Yami said softly. "You've been unconscious all day."
Yugi blinked slowly and stretched a little to relieve the stiffness in his arms. "What happened to Kaiba, Yami?"
"I killed the bastard."
"Oh." Yugi rubbed an eye, ignoring the coldness on his finger. He then noticed the bandage wrapped around Yami's shoulder. There were spots of dried blood on it. "But...you're okay, right?"
Yami nodded. "I'm all right."
Yugi noticed Yami's grave expression. "What is it?"
Yami sighed, shifting his position a little. "I just...feel bad that I dragged you into such a mess, and you were nearly killed for it," he admitted. "I don't know what I would've done if you had been lost, Yugi. I would have missed you so much."
Yugi looked down. What would have happened if he had died? He would never see Yami again. Or his friends. The sudden thought of his friends made him frown. Tea had willingly let him go back to the forest to be with Yami--but wouldn't she still miss him? And what if Grandpa and Joey hadn't agreed with his decision? They might even be mad that he had left without even saying goodbye.
"Yugi? What's wrong?" Yami asked, noticing the worried expression on Yugi's face.
"I was just thinking about some things," Yugi assured him, not looking at him. An expectant silence followed, so he sighed and continued. "I was thinking about my friends again. I wonder if they miss me." Suddenly he perked up, looking excited. "Yami! Why don't we visit them?"
"Why don't we what?" Yami stared at Yugi. "Are you serious?"
"Yes!" Yugi turned to face Yami and make his case. "You're not a bad guy, so there's no reason for them to dislike you. We should do it!"
Yami sighed. "Besides today, I don't know when's the last time I left this forest."
"Then you need to get out more often!" Yugi insisted. "Come on, pleeeeeeeeease?"
Yami sighed. "Oh, all right."
"Yes!" Yugi pumped a fist in jubilation. "You'll love them, Yami, and they'll love you! This is going to be great!"
So, after a few days to recover, Yami and Yugi, dressed for a cold evening, left the forest and headed for town. Yami couldn't believe he let Yugi talk him into meeting more humans. It's just the way he said it, Yami thought, frowning. I couldn't resist.
"Land on that roof," Yugi instructed, pointing. Yami obliged and landed soundlessly on the roof Yugi indicated. He let Yugi slide off of his back and straightened his jacket as Yugi headed for a skylight and peeked in.
"The room's dark," Yugi reported. "Let's open this window."
"Yugi," Yami protested. "As much as I know about freaking people out, if we open that window and come creeping up on them they'll be spooked."
Yugi considered. "Then I'll go find them and bring them to you," he said, not to be discouraged. He lifted the skylight and quietly jumped into the room. He wasn't so quiet, however, when he landed on the floor with a thud and an "Oof!"
Yami peeked into the room. "Yugi, are you all right?"
Yugi stood up. "Yes, I'm okay," he said. He turned to the door when he heard footsteps coming his way. Yami, who had just jumped noiselessly into the room, instinctively hid himself in the shadows.
There was a muffled voice on the other side of the door. "Joey? Are you out of the shower?"
It was Tea. Yugi walked to the door and opened it. He then stood face to face with a surprised Tea Gardner.
"Yugi?" Tea said in disbelief. Then she smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you guys," Yugi said. "Are Joey and Grandpa here?"
Tea nodded. "Grandpa's downstairs. I guess Joey's with him." She frowned. "By the way, how did you get in here? And why didn't you come to the front door?"
"Oh!" Yugi said. "I almost forgot!" He turned to where Yami was still hidden in the darkness, looking pensive. "Yami brought me here." He motioned for Yami to come out of hiding. "Come on, Yami, she's not poisonous."
Yami slowly came into the moonlight that shone from the skylight. "Tea, this is Yami," Yugi said. "Yami, this is my friend Tea."
Tea looked at Yami in a scrutinizing manner. "So you're Yami," she finally said. Surprisingly, she smiled again. "I'm glad you took care of Yugi when he got lost in the forest. That was very nice of you."
Yami blinked in surprise. Yugi hadn't told them what really happened at first. "Certainly," he replied slowly.
"You look a lot like Yugi," Tea observed. She put her hands on her hips. "If Yugi is going to stay with you, I expect you to take good care of him."
"...Of course," Yami answered.
Yugi was watching them both with a big smile on his face. "Come on, Yami," he interrupted. "I want you to meet my Grandpa, and Joey. I'm sure they'll like you too."
Yami landed on one of the bordering trees of his forest and headed inside. Yugi was asleep on his back. I don't blame him, Yami thought. He's had a hell of a week.
Yami frowned as he thought about their visit to Yugi's house. The humans had been nice enough, even if they were a little suspicious. The Tea girl seemed to be most accepting of him. "If Yugi is going to stay with you, I expect you to take good care of him." Yami shook his head. That sounded almost like a threat. Didn't she realize that he had been the strongest one there? But he guessed that she was simply protective of Yugi, and wanted to be sure that he would be all right.
Now that Seto is dead, and we visited his friends, we should be able to live in peace, Yami thought. He glanced back at Yugi as they made it to the clearing. Yami carefully slid the teenager off of his back and onto the bed. Taking off his jacket, socks, and shoes, Yami tucked Yugi in.
Suddenly, Yugi's eyes opened. "Did I fall asleep?" he asked with a yawn.
Yami nodded. "Yes, you did. I didn't want to wake you up."
Yugi sat up. "Now that Seto Kaiba is dead, what happens to us next?"
Yami smiled at him. "We'll stay here together."
"Forever?"
Yami nodded. "Forever."
Yugi smiled at this. He rested his head on Yami's chest. "I love you."
"I love you too."
They sat there for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts. "Yugi," Yami finally said, "I want to know if you would be all right with me still drinking your blood sometimes."
"Of course," Yugi said. "I mean, as long as I'm okay with it, it doesn't hurt, right?"
Yami smiled. He then frowned suddenly, thinking of just how open he should be with Yugi now. Sure, they were in love, but what if Yugi asked about his past one of these days? What would Yami say? Maybe the whole thing could simply be avoided. But if Yugi ever asked and Yami was less than truthful, would that jeopardize their relationship?
This is too damn hard, Yami said, sighing. He might as well tell Yugi now, and then they could move past it and get on with their lives.
"Yugi," Yami began slowly, mentally planning out his speech, and replies to anything Yugi might say, "I have to be honest. There's something I want to tell you about me, and I don't know if this will hurt our relationship or not, but I feel I should be honest with you, and maybe we can get past it." He took a deep breath and looked down to gauge Yugi's reaction.
Yugi was asleep.
Yami blinked in surprise. You mean I was about to spill my guts to someone who isn't even listening? He sighed, and then smiled as Yugi shifted positions on his chest. Well, I guess it can wait. For now, we can focus on settling down. And I can prepare for the day when he asks.
Juni: It's over?
KT: Yep.
Taku: That didn't seem like a very vampiric end...And weren't you promising them some citrusy fruit that I now detest?
KT: Yeah, but I'm still working on lemons. (best drafts currently suck) If they want some action, they'll have to wait for the sequel.
Taku/Juni: Sequel?
Juni: No, I can't take much more of this.
KT: Quiet. Anyway, my lovely readers, yes, there is a sequel, but I am not trying to force you to tune in. So please let me know if you would be interested in a sequel.
Taku: I hacked into Maruka's personal computer and found the summary for the sequel. Shall I post it--
KT: No. I'll do it. This is the potential plot for the sequel. Sound interesting? If so, please let me know you're interested, and I will get right on it.
The Family Tree
After Seto's death, Yami and Yugi prepare to live happily ever after in their forest. But when Yami's sister comes hunting after him, they learn that Yami's mother is in dire need of help to defeat a new enemy--one who knows more about Yami than he himself might know. (AU M Action/Adventure; Horror)