An Eye for an Eye

Chap 4

Beginnings

So sorry for the late update! I hope you'll find this not too disappointing! Sorry for the long wait but I had zero inspiration until just two or three days ago when I started writing like mad. Maybe it's because the school holidays are coming to an end...

Anyways, enjoy and happy holidays! :D

*Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!

It was a peaceful morning at Kannagi Manor. A little too peaceful though. Over the years, the occupants of the Manor had grown accustomed to loud yelps and shouts in the morning, the result of ingenious pranks and tricks played by the Kannagi's resident pranksters – Ren Kannagi and his cousin Tatsuya Kannagi. So, to say that there was actually a quiet morning in the Manor without its usual chaos would indeed be very suspicious.

That particular morning, Ren and Tatsuya were busy showing Yugi all their pranking equipment. Those two were hell-bent on making Yugi the third Kannagi prankster and nothing Yugi said was going to change their minds. It didn't matter that Yugi had never pranked anyone before, they had told him; there was always a first.

Now, the three were in Tatsuya's room, with Ren and Tatsuya discussing Yugi's debut prank while Yugi just looked around the room. Yugi had realised long ago that it was futile to try and change their minds and settled with the option of ignoring them. He cast a glance at Tatsuya's dusty bookshelf and wondered how on Earth his cousin managed to pass all his subjects when his bookshelf looked as though they were a home for spiders.

"You know…" Yugi muttered to his twin, "I think I'll just get some breakfast…" With that, he darted out of the room before his relatives had any time to react.

As he wandered down for breakfast, Yugi stared at the many pictures of his ancestors hung on the walls of Kannagi Mansion. I remember, Yugi thought wistfully, Ren and I would always run through these very same corridors and we would always sneak up and scare some of our uncles or aunts or cousins. It was so much fun! And the person we always used to scare most was…

Yugi's eyes saddened at the thought and his hand immediately reached for his locket, clenching it tightly. After wiping away the potential tears that brimmed in his amethyst eyes, Yugi continued his walk to the dining room, though his hand never left its position around his locket.

"BOO!" Shrieked out a person from behind Yugi.

"Ahhh!" Yugi jumped five feet in the air and landed five centimetres above the ground, wind magic supporting him. His right hand immediately flew to a spot over his left wrist and he panicked upon not seeing a certain object on it. Then, Yugi remembered. He had left his Duel Disk back in his room because he thought he wouldn't need it for now.

"Ren!" Yugi heaved a sigh of relief. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, Yug," Ren smiled at his brother. "I couldn't resist. Tatsuya ran through the other corridor to the dining room. That guy sure can eat."

"He sure can," Yugi muttered, a little sadly as he was reminded of Joey. His ex-friend had an enormous appetite.

Noticing the shift in his twin's mood, Ren suggested, "Let's go eat before Tatsuya wolfs down everything!"

"Okay!" Yugi gave Ren a childish grin and they both started running down the corridor.

All of a sudden, Ren stopped, making Yugi stop as well. What he found was his brother staring at his shoes, his eyes wide with surprise and pain flashing behind the shock. Gaping at Yugi's shoes, Ren looked up to meet with Yugi's eyes.

Violet met with violet as Yugi asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Ren blinked before saying, "Yug, have you been practicing wind magic?"

"No," Yugi answered, "Not after that incident. Why?"

"You're…" Ren looked a little uncertain. "Well, you're hovering."

Yugi blinked before turning his head to looking down. Now that Ren mentioned it, Yugi couldn't really feel that he was actually on the floor. He didn't feel like he was going to fall at all, but his feet couldn't feel the marble of the floor.

"But…how?" Yugi gasped as he confirmed that he was indeed, floating. This hadn't happened in a very, very long time, at least to Yugi's knowledge.

Ren mutely shrug his shoulders and stared at Yugi's hovering form. "May-y-y be…" Ren stuttered.

Yugi tried to calm himself down as the rising panic threatened to overwhelm him. Taking a step forward with his right foot, Yugi forced his right foot down on the floor, and the invisible force that had helped him defy gravity seemed to disappear on the foot as the air felt like it was parting to let Yugi's foot down. Yugi's other foot went down naturally as well, as if Yugi was walking on invisible stairs.

Yugi let out a sigh of relief once he was back on the floor again. Ren's eyes were still wide but he let out a shaky breath. "The last time I saw you do that was before…"

"I know," Yugi whispered. Catching his triplet's eye, Yugi nodded, "Let's just go have breakfast, okay?"

"Kay," Ren muttered as they started running to the dining room again, their minds reeling with memories that simple sight made them recall.

The day passed by pretty quickly, with seven hours worth of studies and lessons. More often than not, Yugi found himself smiling in reminisce as he remembered the time long ago when he was just a little child, sitting on the chairs and listening to his uncles and aunts ramble on and on about magic.

Soon, four o'clock came and went and Yugi was pulled out of the classroom by Ren as his triplet chirped, "Let's go have fun!" Passing by their rooms, Ren tossed their books inside their respective bedrooms. "Let's go to the roof," Ren grinned, his eyes glinting with cheer and energy. Evidently, the day's lessons didn't tire Ren out one bit.

Yugi nodded and let his triplet drag him to a spiral stair in the middle of the mansion. Ascending the stairs with speed that would put an Olympic runner to shame, Ren and Yugi made it to the rooftops in no time. As they settled to sit down on the roof, Yugi cast an eye around the scenery and his eyes widened.

"Wow…" Yugi let out a gasp at the breathtaking view. Tokyo in the evening was absolutely beautiful. Yugi let the strong wind brush pass him and whisper a melody in his ear as he watched the sun set, casting golden shadows over the land. "Beautiful…" Yugi whispered, closing his eyes, drinking in the feeling. He loved the feeling of calm and peace, of safety and security.

There was only one other time he felt this comfortable and relaxed. That was a long time ago. Yugi's memory was rather hazy about it but he could remember the feeling. Yugi closed his eyes and tried to remember.

He remembered. He had been sitting on that very same roof. It had been spring, the cherry blossom trees had been in full bloom. He remembered watching the endless blue sky with someone. Someone who was not his triplet, but as close all the same. Someone with crimson –

Yugi's eyelids shot right open. He didn't want to remember. Yugi felt a shiver crawl up his spine. Was it his imagination or did the wind suddenly turn icy? Yugi's mind was in a whirl, thoughts drifting here and there. Finally, Yugi's mind settled again and one thought shone through: I want to fly again.

That was a surprise. Yugi had stopped flying ever since… Well ever since that day. And he intended to keep it that way. But still, he thought tempted him. He wanted to feel it again – the thrill of flying. It was similar to the thrill of Duel Monsters, but definitely not the same.

"I want to fly," Yugi blurted out loud.

Red stared at him with worried eyes as he said, "You sure? You said you hadn't been practising. What happens if you can't anymore?"

"I'll just have to try," Yugi said, sounding confident, like he was back in a duel again. Ren nodded and just watched silently with wide amethyst eyes as Yugi stood up.

Taking a deep breath, Yugi took a step into the air and the wind seemed to catch him. Soon, Yugi was up in the air. It was easier than Yugi had thought. It had come naturally to him, almost like breathing. Smiling at Ren, Yugi stuck his foot out and it dipped. Soon, Yugi was dropping like a stone to the ground, but his posture remained intact, back straight and shoulders relaxed.

Ren bolted up, screaming as he watched his brother fall to the ground. But Yugi's feet never made contact with the soil as the wind seemed to carry him up, cutting through the air, looking as though he was riding a skateboard made of nothingness along the breeze. Yet, not like riding a skateboard, Yugi never needed to use his foot to push himself through the air. And soon enough, Yugi was well above the roof of the mansion and was higher than the treetops of those in the park nearby. He could clearly see the setting sun was from where he was, and he thought they were breathtaking.

The scene was purely picturesque. As Yugi ascended to the level of the low clouds, he sat on one of the clouds. Altitude, pressure, oxygen and what-not didn't apply to wind magic-users. And I know, the clouds are made of tin water droplets so you couldn't actually sit on one. But wind spirits (spirits are the source of all elemental magic) allowed wind magic-users to sit on them; and besides, Yugi never bothered to question why.

After a while of watching the paranomic scenery below, Yugi descended down to the roof the same way he went up; by air skate-boarding.

"Yugi!" Ren cried as he jumped up to hug his triplet. "You seriously scared me! But it's so cool! You haven't been practicing for years but you looked as though you've been using wind magic for, well, forever."

"It just comes naturally, like fire magic," Yugi told him.

"I guess," Ren muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Nevermind. Let's go and eat dinner before the others come down."

Yugi could only nod his head in reply, his mind filled with the feeling of the wind rushing under his feet, the breeze flowing through his fingers, the air pulsing with a very familiar sensation…

I wish he was still here… Yugi thought of the person he always did whenever he was using wind magic, though he always told himself not to. But he's not, he's never coming back…

Naturally, Yugi's mind then turned to his ex-friends, the ones that had abandoned him. It hurt to think of both topics and he turned his mind over to think of something else. Then, Yugi reminded himself to send a letter to Grandpa, Mai and his friends. He felt bad for not informing Ryou and the others of his situation sooner but the past few days had been a blur and flurry of activities for him.

After a dinner of a variety of traditional Japanese dishes, Yugi wrote letters to Grandpa, Mai and Heba respectively, asking them how they were and everything. He also explained his situation and background to his friends, Ryou, Bakura, Malik and Marik; after discussing with Ren whether to tell them the bit about the magic-users.

But of course, there were things Yugi didn't reveal. No, those were too personal and too painful to bring up. The only ones who truly knew were the members of the Kannagi and Muto family close to Yugi and Ren, including Grandpa, Mai, Ayano and Tatsuya. Heba knew vaguely about what happened but wasn't told the full story. Heba also never asked about it because he could feel the hurt practically radiating off his triplet if the topic was mention (which was a real rarity) and decided it was best not to bring it up.

After finishing the letters with a satisfied smile, Yugi decided to mail them first thing in the morning. Now, I'll just go to sleep... Yugi thought drowsily. I wonder what's for breakfast tomorrow, though…

Meanwhile…

Yami shifted uncomfortably in his plane seat. Even though it had been months since he was released from the puzzle, he and Atem still weren't used to technology in general. Speaking of the puzzle…

For the past few hours since the gang had discovered that Yugi had gone to Tokyo, Yami had been desperately trying to get through his and Yugi's mind link to talk to his hikari. But Yami couldn't sense his light at all and it got him more agitated than usual when on planes. He didn't know if there was a block in the mind link or if Yugi was de–

No! Yami thought violent, punching the airplane window next to him in frustration, though it did little to relieve him of the tension. Yugi is just fine! He has to be!

For the past few hours, all that Yami could think about was Yugi. He was worried about his light and he couldn't risk falling asleep on the plane. When he fell asleep two hours before, he had dreamt of an utter nightmare where Yugi was lying alone in some unknown alley – dead.

Yami shivered at the memory of the nightmare. Yugi had been bleeding badly, the blood marring his skin and his eyes were half open, the usual lively violet orbs were dull and lifeless. Blood flowed from a hole in his chest and onto Yami's hands as he cradled his hikari in his arms. As he raised his hand to touch Yugi's forehead, he heard Yugi's voice repeatedly saying something in his head. His heart wrenching in guilt and sadness, Yami had concluded that those were his hikari's final thoughts.

Yami shivered once more and averted his attention to something else. He looked around and saw his friends lying asleep. The last few hours had really taken its toll on them.

"Brother," Atem muttered softly from in front of Yami.

Yami leaned forward and whispered back, "Yes?"

"How do you think Grandpa will react?"

"I honestly don't know."

The two were quiet for a while before Atem finally broke the silence, "I feel guilty."

"Me too."

"You must feel guiltier than I could ever."

"Yeah. I should've noticed he was becoming more and more distant. I should've cared more." Like what they said, Yami thought.

'They' happened to be Ryou, Bakura, Malik and Marik. After packing quickly and leaving a note for Grandpa, the six friends had walked out to find the four 'Yami Haters' about the knock on the door. The conversation that followed had not been pretty.

"What are you doing here?" Yami asked coldly.

"To see Yugi of course!" Malik said.

"And why's that?" Joey answered.

"And why do you guys care?" Bakura snorted. "You haven't even noticed that the runt even existed. Why start now?"

"That's because we're his friends!" Téa replied angrily.

"Give me a break!" Marik sneered, his eyes flashing accursedly, "You've been neglecting him ever since you the pharaohs had got their own bodies! I don't think that friends just ignore their friends in favour of someone else!"

"Yeah!" Malik said, backing his yami up, "And that's a lot coming from Marik!"

"You wound me, hikari."

"Oh really? Thanks."

Yami felt a pang in his heart as he watched the light banter between Marik and his hikari, wishing desperately for his own light to be by his side again. Outwardly, he glared at the four.

"Move aside," Yami bit back a growl.

"No way, unless you apologise to Yugi," Ryou's brown eyes narrowed in contempt at Yami and the ex-pharaoh was taken aback. Never had he seen Ryou look so angry before. It truly terrified the duelist as Bakura was supposed to be the hateful one but now, Ryou was fixing him with a look that could burn right through him.

"He's not here," Tristan hastily intervened.

The 'Yami Hater's blinked before Ryou questioned, "Why?"

"He apparently went to Tokyo," Atem replied.

"Finally! Thank Ra! I wondered how he could put up with you!" Malik cheered. "But still! He should've invited us to come along! I would love to go on holiday!"

This irked Yami even more. "Aren't you worried for him in the slightest? Weren't you the ones questioning our concern towards him just a few moments ago?"

"We're just glad he's away from you, Pharaoh," Bakura sneered. "You all've done enough damage already. And they say I don't treat my hikari well. Come on, Ryou, Malik, Marik, let's go."

And the four left five fuming teens and a resigned Heba in their wake.

That had officially ticked Yami off and disturbed him at the same time. Had he really been neglecting Yugi that bad? Well, Yami thought, resolution seeping into his tone, I'll just have to find him.

Right, so that's it for now. Please review! It'll encourage me to update more! Any suggestions or feedback are welcome with open arms!

Thanks and once again, sorry for not updating soon.

Latios963