Broken Hero

0o0

Summary: Losing Yuugi to Dartz had scarred Yami more than anyone could have imagined. It changed him, warped him, twisted him—turned him into someone who would lash out at his little one, at his aibou, and shatter his heart. "Yami… Did you just… hit me?" Puzzleshipping.

Warnings:

Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi Mutou pairing (Puzzleshipping)

Yaoi

Mature content: dark themes, violence, language, mentions of rape, and the slight possibility of lemons (lemons are written only if the mood fits)

And a heap load of angst and a fistful of gut-wrenching drama.

0o0

Perhaps his soul really was warped.

Perhaps he really was borne from darkness, and darkness was all he would ever be.

At the back of his mind, he could hear something annoying going off. Without even opening his eyes, Yuugi's hand routinely reached out and slammed on top of the alarm clock, immediately killing that distasteful noise. It was still too early! Still half-asleep, Yuugi sighed happily in his bed, enjoying the welcome silence of early morning. He curled into his blankets, snuggling into his mattress, and slipped into a placid unconsciousness where the laws of time didn't matter and a minute passed by feeling like an hour.

Bliss.

And then he heard the chirping of morning birds and felt sunlight graze his face.

These were a better wake-up call than his alarm clock could ever be, because Yuugi knew the second that he was aware of these things that it really was time to get his lazy ass out of bed.

Yuugi's eyes shot open and he gave a low curse as he hastily stumbled out of his bed, dragging his blanket partially to the floor as he did so. 'Damn it!' he cursed, instantly alert of the time and the fact that he was going to be late for school—again. He ran across his bedroom, grabbing his uniform and shredding his pyjama clothes carelessly onto the floor. He shouldn't have stayed up so late watching that movie. He knew he was going to regret it, and sometimes, Yuugi hated it when he was right.

He frantically put on his uniform, not quite tucking in his shirt, and brushed his teeth as he shoved random books and objects into his school bag. He glanced at his digital clock and almost cursed out loud. He needed to leave—right now!—if he ever hoped to make it on school before they closed the gates.

With that sense of urgency in mind, Yuugi gargled out the foam from his mouth, snatched up his backpack, and exited his room with an unintentional slam of the door, his footsteps heavy as he practically stumbled down the staircase. He all but hollered "Bye, grandpa! Bye, mum!" before he rushed out of the store and into the street, breaking out into a run.

In his haste, however, he forgot one crucial thing.

In his bedroom, on the upper floor of the Kame Game Shop, on his desk next to his bed, rested a golden item with a strange, otherworldly carving of an eye. It was left there, forgotten in the abrupt silence of the room, and it glowed once angrily before the light died down and it became dull.

0o0

Yuugi sighed beneath his breath, nervously scratching the back of his head as he made his journey home. Today wasn't such a good day, although he wasn't really surprised about that. He'd forgotten to bring the Millennium Puzzle, after all, and even a dull school day could become tediously awful without the spirit there to talk to in the quiet moments.

That morning, Yuugi had realised that he'd forgotten the Puzzle the minute he stepped out of the game shop. He noticed the lack of weight around his neck and the usual thud of the pyramid against his torso as he ran; but it was already too late. He was already tight on time and he knew in his gut that he didn't have time to turn back and snatch up the Puzzle. He was proven correct—again—when he arrived at his school the second they were closing the gates. He only just managed to slip through before the grumpy staff could seal the gates with a grim finality, casting Yuugi a withering glare that went unnoticed as the student ran towards the school building.

Still, Yuugi felt horrible about forgetting the Puzzle—about forgetting Yami.

He spent the whole day at school just thinking about it, and the guilt only deepened when his friends asked curiously about the absence of the Puzzle he always wore. Yuugi's shoes scuffed the pavement as he continued to walk, his head bent. He had to apologise to the spirit because he knew that Yami would be upset.

But was it really just Yuugi's fault? Yami had been so quiet—ever since that whole episode with Dartz. The spirit barely initiated conversation with him anymore, more inclined to be by himself in solitude, and it concerned Yuugi greatly. Before, the spirit had also made it his duty to wake Yuugi at the appropriate time for school, and he never did that anymore either—hence why he was frequently late nowadays. He didn't blame the spirit for that, however; he shouldn't rely on him on such trivial tasks. But still. Yami's cold distance bothered Yuugi, and he wasn't quite sure how Yami would react to him for forgetting the Puzzle and leaving him behind.

He supposed he was about to find out soon, though.

"I'm back, grandpa!" was his usual greeting as he entered the game shop. His grandpa, attending the counter, nodded at him with a smile before he continued to chat to one of their customers. Yuugi didn't intrude on them any further and silently went up the stairs. He reached his bedroom and released an audible sigh. He turned the knob of the door and walked inside.

It was late afternoon yet the sun still managed to light his room sufficiently—at least, that's how it usually was. However, when Yuugi entered his bedroom, it was a lot colder than he was used to and a shade darker despite the open window. Yuugi felt a small shiver run down his spine and he dumped his backpack heavily at the foot of his bed. He inwardly gulped. He had no doubt that the uncomfortable tension in the air was caused by the dull, almost eerie object resting on his desk.

Well. Now Yuugi knew that Yami was definitely upset.

"Mou hitori no boku?" he questioned quietly, tentatively walking towards the Puzzle and gingerly lifting it into his hands. "I'm—"

Then the object glowed brightly, and through their link, Yuugi sensed a deep, rolling anger that made him flinch slightly. Then it faded abruptly and left Yuugi's skin pasty with dry sweat. "Yami?" No answer came and the sudden silence and stillness of the room summoned an irrational dread to pool in Yuugi's stomach. "Yami! Please, just come out and talk to me, okay? I'm sorry I left the Puzzle here!"

No response. The Puzzle remained dull in his hands.

'… He's acting so childish,' Yuugi couldn't help but suddenly think. He frowned thoughtfully and willed the panic that accumulated inside of him to die down in its intensity. 'Sure, he has the right to be angry, but does he have to be that angry? This is the first time I've ever done this—and it wasn't like I did it on purpose.'

After calling out to the spirit a few more times with no result, Yuugi huffed and put the Puzzle back on the table. "Fine," he said aloud as he walked back to his backpack. "I don't know what's gotten into you, mou hitori no boku, but I've already apologised. I'm going to get some homework done and then I'm going to bed—will that give you enough time to cool your head a little?"

As he expected, Yami didn't answer him. Still, he was disappointed with the spirit's attitude and a bit more than concerned about his cold shoulder. The spirit never had tantrums like this before and Yuugi was wary about confronting him right now. Or, maybe it was because the spirit was acting so strangely that Yuugi should talk to him now, before any misunderstandings between them could boil over?

Yuugi thought about this as he placed his homework books on his desk. He looked back at the Millennium Puzzle and then back to his exercise books. He scratched his head, exasperated. 'Fine!' he mentally scowled. 'It's not as if I'll be able to concentrate on my studies with Yami like this anyway.'

Plus, he despised doing English homework.

He took off his shoes and socks and his outer jacket, leaving him with his black shirt and blue pants. He collapsed on his bed with a weary sigh and grabbed the Millennium Puzzle from the desk. He held it above his chest carefully. He then closed his eyes and bid the Puzzle, 'Please take me inside.'

Even though his eyes were closed, he could still see the golden glow of the Puzzle through his eyelids. A strange and yet familiar sensation washed over him and he released a shuddering breath, feeling his vision blacken entirely. Then he opened his eyes and realised that he was no longer lying down on his bed. Instead, he was standing in the middle of his own soul room, made homely with all the miscellaneous yet precious toys scattered around the floor and on his bed. The room was brightly-lit, with white walls, and Yuugi couldn't help but smile as he threw the chains attached to the Puzzle around his neck. The familiar weight calmed Yuugi immensely and he knew that this was a good idea.

He didn't want to fight with his mou hitori no boku, and the sooner they smoothed over their problems, the better.

He stepped out into the hallway and was greeted with the looming, intimidating door to Yami's soul room. Yuugi repressed a shiver—that giant eye always made him uneasy, if only a little. He walked over and rapped his knuckles against the door.

"Mou hitori no boku? Can I come in? I want to talk to you."

Silence answered him and Yuugi chose to interpret that as a 'yes'. It definitely wasn't a 'no', so he figured it was okay. He pushed through the doors and was met with the familiar sight of obscure staircases and an uncountable number of doors. He closed the door behind him and clasped his hands behind his back, humming inquisitively beneath his breath. "Mou hitori no boku?"

He sincerely hoped that the other would answer him now. Yuugi wasn't exactly eager to wander around the labyrinth in search of him—who knew where he'd end up? It was a very real possibility that Yuugi would get lost so he wanted to avoid wandering aimlessly around.

"Yami?"

"What are you doing in here, Yuugi?"

The cold, indifferent voice made Yuugi jump slightly. He turned his head and watched as the spirit advanced him from behind one of the staircases. Relief washed over Yuugi at the sight of him—he hadn't seen the spirit in days and only now did he realise how truly worried he was about his well-being. Yuugi walked up to him quickly, meeting him half way. They stopped when they were merely two metres away from each other.

"I came to apologise," Yuugi started, coughing awkwardly into his fist. He glanced away once before he met Yami's impassive stare. "I left the Millennium Puzzle at home while I was at school. I'd forgotten about it without meaning to and I just wanted to say… sorry for leaving you all alone."

Yami didn't say anything in response for a while. He simply stared at him coldly, while Yuugi held his gaze with a sincerely regretful look. Yami's lips remained downturned. "You forgot the Puzzle," he repeated, his tone blunt.

Ashamed, Yuugi nodded.

"You forgot me."

Yuugi flinched at the choice of words and was quick to defend himself. "I didn't forget you, I just… I woke up really late and I needed to get to school before they closed the gates… And even though I remembered when I stepped out of the shop, I couldn't turn back… There wasn't enough time and…"

"That's no excuse!" Yami suddenly roared, making Yuugi jump slightly.

Yuugi frowned. "… Yami?"

Yami's darkened gaze was sharp and furious. "You should never forget about me, Yuugi! You're to have the Puzzle on you at all times! It's foolish to leave it behind, especially when you're going out!"

The younger man's frown deepened even more. He felt a touch of irritation, most likely in response to Yami's own anger. "Yami, you're being unreasonable. I've never forgotten about you—I'll never forget you—and this kind of incident wasn't intentional. I've already said sorry. It won't happen aga—"

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation, Yuugi," Yami interrupted again, which only served to piss Yuugi off more. Yami walked forward until he was able to reach out and grab Yuugi's forearm tightly. "If you leave the Puzzle at home, I can't come to your aid if you're in danger. I need to protect you, Yuugi, and I can't do that if you do something stupid like leave the Puzzle behind."

The strength behind the grip made Yuugi wince. He could feel the spirit's nails digging into him, pinching him. He tried to shrug him off but Yami wouldn't let go of him. "Yami, what's wrong with you?" he snapped. He didn't like what he was seeing. This wasn't the calm, collected, in-control former Pharaoh that he was used to. In fact, he'd only seen him like this when he was facing a despised enemy of theirs who managed to make him snap. So why, for heaven's sake, was Yami glaring at him like he was an enemy?

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?" Yami repeated incredulously. "Yuugi, I'm your protector, I'm meant to be with you everywhere. You're the one who forgot about me, who left me behind, leaving you completely defenceless! How was I supposed to know if you were in danger—how am I supposed to protect you?"

Yuugi heard the hurt in his voice, heard the desperateness and the fear. He heard it, felt it, and he stopped struggling against him. He could see the vulnerability in the spirit's eyes and Yuugi knew—he had to be careful with this. This wasn't the normal Yami. "Yami," he said slowly, articulating every sound as he tried to ease the spirit's hysteria. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave the Puzzle behind. It just slipped my mind. I won't do it again. I want you to be with me, always, remember? I'm not going to leave you." Then, as an afterthought, he added with a playful smile, "And besides, it's probably a good thing that you have some time for yourself, right? I don't need your protection all the time, so you don't need to worry during our more quiet days."

During the first half of his speech, his words seemed to work. Yami's eyes had softened and his grip on Yuugi's arm had loosened into a gentle hold. But then Yuugi's finishing comment—which was only meant to help ease the tension between them—made Yami flare up again. He suddenly grabbed both of Yuugi's forearms and shook him slightly.

"That's not a good attitude to have, Yuugi," he said lowly, darkly, furiously. "You need my protection all the time. You think you're safe during our 'quiet times'? Then what about that time you handed the Puzzle to a complete stranger and almost died in a fire?"

Yuugi flushed. "T-That's—"

"I can't trust you, Yuugi. You can't protect yourself."

His words felt like a brutal punch to Yuugi's stomach and he actually buckled as if he were hit. His breath left him and he stared into Yami's eyes, searching. Yami's gaze didn't waver: those dark lavender eyes were hard, cold, and, to Yuugi, completely and utterly degrading.

With a whole-consuming fury, Yuugi ripped himself away from Yami's grip and took a few steps back. He clenched his hands tightly into fists and looked to the ground, unable to look at the spirit's face. "… You mean that, mou hitori no boku?"

Yami either didn't realise the extent of the younger man's pain, or he actually didn't care, because he answered without hesitation: "Of course. Yuugi, you're weak and easily hurt. I need to be there to keep you safe."

Yuugi bit his bottom lip. He tried to be compassionate. He tried to be understanding. He tried—he really did—to keep calm and patient so that this whole thing could just blow over without any incident.

But Yami's words had hurt.

They had hurt.

Was that all he was to the spirit?

Just some stuttering, stupid weakling that constantly needed his protection? A little kid who couldn't do anything by himself—so useless that he had to rely on a dead Pharaoh for everything?

He mumbled something beneath his breath that Yami didn't catch.

Yami crossed his arms, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "What did you say, Yuugi?"

Yuugi took a deep breath and finally looked up, meeting his eyes with a fiery glare of his own. "You're smothering me."

Yami inwardly flinched at the anger in Yuugi's voice but he didn't back down. "Excuse me?"

"You're. Smothering. Me." He accompanied each word with a harsh poke to the former Pharaoh's chest. "I don't need you watching me all the time—sometimes, I can protect myself."

The harsh bark of laughter that escaped Yami's lips surprised them both. "Right," the spirit said, shaking his head in bitter bemusement.

That only served to infuriate Yuugi even more. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Yami, but you're acting like a complete jackass." Anger and indignation boiled in his veins like hot, white lava, and Yuugi let himself be carried away by these explosive emotions. It was easier to feel these than to feel the hurt, shame, and utter humiliation that Yami's words made him feel. "You give me the cold shoulder for weeks and then you say this to me? I thought we were partners, that we were equals! I don't like the way you're treating me!"

"What else am I supposed to say?" Yami retaliated with a growl. "Yuugi, you're just being stubborn and letting your pride blind you. You can't protect yourself, you need—"

"I can protect myself," Yuugi interrupted with a shout. "I don't need you breathing down my back all the time! I don't need you watching over me like I'm some fragile piece of glass! I don't need you telling me how weak I am when I already know. I know, Yami. I know I'm weak but at the same time, I can give myself more credit than what you're giving me right now! I'm my own person and I know that I'm strong enough to at least—"

SHUT UP!

Yuugi staggered back, his anger dissipating in an instant to make way for complete shock. He raised a shaky hand and gingerly touched his cheek, wincing as the flesh beneath his hand throbbed; the pain, however, was nothing compared to that of his trembling heart. He turned his head slowly to stare unflinchingly into Yami's eyes. "Yami… Did you just… hit me?"

A flash of something passed through those dark eyes. A flash of pain—of regret? Yuugi couldn't tell. Whatever it was, though, it was quickly covered up by an indifferent coldness that made Yuugi shiver.

Why was the spirit looking at him like that?

"I think you've said all you've needed to say, Yuugi," Yami said, his voice tight, his hands fisted. "You've made yourself perfectly clear. Now get out."

"Mou hitori no boku…"

"Get out. GET OUT!"

Yuugi didn't know what to do. He was too shocked—his feet remained planted firmly on the ground. He couldn't move.

Besides. Could he really just…

Leave?

Yami's eyes flashed angrily at him and something began to glow sinisterly on his forehead. Yuugi blinked. No, he wouldn't—

He wouldn't use that on him.

But then again...

Yami had hit him.

Yami had hit him, so…

So—

"GET OUT!"

But even with the ferocity of his voice, even with the threat of a mind crush, Yuugi still couldn't move his legs. He was staring right at Yami, still trying to understand, and when the spirit jarred suddenly towards him—as if to hurt him—Yuugi gave a cry, threw his arms up in defence, and shut his eyes tightly.

Then, he vanished.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in his room lying on his back on the bed. He quickly sat up and let the Puzzle slide out of his hands to land heavily on the floor. It was like deadweight. He didn't look at it. He simply turned his back on it, curled up on himself, and shuddered uncontrollably.

0o0

Days passed.

They were silent days.

Every morning, Yuugi had gotten up at the command of the alarm clock. Every morning, he'd hold the Millennium Puzzle close to his chest and close his eyes. Every morning, he would apologise.

And every morning, Yami remained silent.

Then Yuugi would give up, but he'd slip the Puzzle around his neck anyway. He'd told the spirit that he would never leave him behind again and he kept his promises. Even if the weight of the Puzzle wasn't exactly comfortable anymore.

It was the fourth day now and Yuugi sighed as he walked back home after school. Ever since the confrontation—or whatever it was—Yuugi had been dispirited (no pun intended). His closest friends, of course, had noticed immediately and were very concerned. They didn't buy his fake cheerfulness in the mornings and they wouldn't tolerate the way he would brush off their questions with a shaky laugh. They didn't like the way Yuugi was keeping secrets from them, how he was hiding his pain from them, but the young King of Games was adamant.

This was a problem between him and Yami.

He himself didn't even know what went wrong anyway, so how could he possibly explain the situation to them?

He didn't even know how he felt.

Sure, he was sorry about this whole situation. He wished it never happened. But he was still angry, still a little ticked off, about the way Yami had treated him. He could apologise for forgetting the Puzzle and for losing his temper—but deep down, Yuugi was expecting an apology from the spirit as well. If it came to it, he'd demand one from him.

Yuugi was a generous individual. But he still knew where to draw the line.

(And, even though there was no physical evidence, Yuugi could still feel the sting of his fist on his cheek. He wanted—no, needed an apology for that as well. He needed one badly.)

But as long as the spirit closed himself off from him, barring their mental connection, there really was nothing that Yuugi could do, no matter how much he hated feeling so helpless.

Yuugi scowled to himself. 'What are you waiting for… mou hitori no boku?'

Then a shrill, panicked cry shook him out of his musings. Yuugi snapped his head up, wondering where that distressed sound had come from. He turned his head, finally finding the origin of that cry.

It came from a girl, wearing a high school uniform, in one of the public parks by the local street. There were tears running down her cheeks as she shook her head from side to side. She was backed into one of the playground nets as these two grown men surrounded her. "Stop! Don't come closer!" Yuugi heard her scream. "Somebody! Please! Help!"

Yuugi hastily looked around. It was late afternoon (he had cleaning duty after class that day) and there were only three other people who knew of that girl's situation. It looked like a mother with her two children—a family who had spent the day at the park. She had ushered her children away from the scene and was protecting them hastily with her arms; she looked frightened and indecisive, and Yuugi couldn't blame her. She had two kids to protect and undoubtedly she'd be hesitant to come to the high schooler's aid if it threatened her family.

That only left Yuugi then.

So much for a quiet evening.

The girl shrieked again when one of the big, burly men grabbed her wrist, making her drop her school bag. Yuugi stepped into the park, picked up a moderately-sized rock, and chucked it harshly against the guy's head.

The man gave a loud curse and quickly spun around, instantly spotting Yuugi and sending him a death-glare. By now, the mother had made a decision and decided to flee, dragging the two crying children with her. There was no one else to witness the scene now.

"Hey!" Yuugi called, his heart hammering in his chest. "Leave her alone!"

The two men fixed him with almost identical sneers. The girl gave a relieved sob and tore her hand away, easily doing so because of the distraction. When the two men turned their attentions back to her, intent on capturing her again, Yuugi immediately threw another rock at their direction, his aim true as it hit the same guy's head with a mean thud. The other man continued to chase the girl and Yuugi instinctively rushed forwards, slamming his own body into his with enough force to hurdle them both into the ground.

Yuugi looked up just in time to see the girl staring down at him with a shocked expression, the tears still dripping down her face as her entire body trembled. "Run!" Yuugi demanded, and that was the trigger she needed to turn around and bolt.

Yuugi would have gladly followed her example if he hadn't suddenly been grabbed tightly and dragged up to his feet. "Who do you think you are?" came the shout in his face. "Don't meddle in other people's affairs!"

"Let go of me!" Yuugi shouted, trying to tear his arm away. But the man was strong, with thick, muscular arms, and the glare on his rectangular face showed no intent of letting him go. He towered over him and was intimidating enough to make Yuugi gulp. The man reminded him of an older Ushio. 'I wonder if there's a chance that this matter can be settled with a duel?' Yuugi meekly thought.

No such luck, however.

"Damn it!" cursed the other man, who had just managed to get back on his feet. He gave Yuugi a merciless punch to his stomach, which immediately had the young man winded and buckled over in pain. "I've had my sights on her for days! Who are you to play hero, huh, kid?"

If these two men weren't double his size (and a little bit more), Yuugi would have shown them just how 'heroic' he could be. But alas, this sort of thing wasn't his expertise. He wasn't built to fight back against bullies in a physical match. 'Just get it over with,' he inwardly groaned, mentally going over the menial tasks he'd do at home after this was over in order to block out his current fear and anxiety. He found that helped sometimes.

"Hey, what's this you've got around your neck, huh?"

Yuugi's eyes went wide and the moment he saw one of the men grab his Puzzle, his struggles were renewed with a greater sense of desperateness. "Don't touch that!" he snarled, trying to fight off the guy who was holding him. His free hand went up to grab the chain that his Puzzle hung from, his grip firm even as the other man tried to tug it away from him.

"Brat!"

Yuugi was hit again and the force of the strike sent him to the ground with a painful groan. Then he felt someone grabbing his hair and harshly pulling him up to his knees. Yuugi gave out an unbidden hiss of pain as he instinctively reached up to grab at the man's wrist.

Then the other man walked around him, crouched, and took hold of Yuugi's face roughly. "You cost me a girl tonight, boy," he said lowly, glaring directly into Yuugi's defiant eyes. The man turned Yuugi's face from side to side and, after a moment's contemplation, a sick grin stretched itself across his face. "I guess you'll have to replace her, now won't you? Time to take some responsibility for your actions, brat."

His words dropped like lead in his stomach and Yuugi broke out into a cold sweat. The man behind him cackled and violently pulled him to his feet. They began to drag him away from the park and towards one of the dark alleyways that surrounded it.

"No…" Yuugi whispered, his eyes wide. "Let go of me!"

But he was only struck again at the face to silence him. When they were finally shrouded in the shadows of the alleyway, Yuugi felt the full extent of his fear. It made his skin clammy and made his heart beat at an irregular, painfully fast rate. He could feel himself hyperventilating, his breaths coming out in short, quick pants; his eyes frantically tried to find a way out of this mess to no prevail. He couldn't see how he could escape from this situation by himself.

'Yami!'

He was shoved violently against the alley wall, feeling the bricks rub against the clothes on his back. One man kept a hold of his struggling fists, keeping them above his head, as the other began to punch his ribs and knee his stomach repeatedly.

'Yami! Please!'

Yuugi tried kicking out but the man simply grabbed his knees and harshly spread them apart. He stepped in between them, effectively rendering them useless.

'Mou hitori no boku!'

From the corner of his eyes, he could see a group of people entering the park. The sun was almost down now and he couldn't see their faces; however, he did recognise the high school girl who was leading them. She was pointing frantically around, as if she was looking for something, and in a surge of hope Yuugi wondered if she'd come back to help him. He opened his mouth to shout at her, to yell, but he was silenced by a large, hairy hand that suddenly clamped down over his mouth. The force of the hand snapped Yuugi's head back painfully against the brick wall and he let out a muffled groan of pain.

In despair, he watched as the group of people—along with the girl—hastily left, probably in search of him elsewhere. 'No! Don't leave! I'm right here—right here!'

He renewed his struggles but that only earned him another punch to the gut. He felt himself being dragged deeper into the dark alleyway and before he knew it, his face was slammed against the alley wall. The action caused him to unintentionally bite the insides of his cheeks; furthermore, he felt the skin on his face break into cuts and he gritted his teeth in pain, tears of fear stinging his eyes.

'Yami! Yami, please, I need you—!'

One of the men kept his wrists up and made sure that he didn't move his head away from the wall. When Yuugi heard the sound of a zipper falling, he opened his mouth and released a scream. He felt his hair being pulled and then his head was slammed back against the wall, effectively silencing him. Blood dripped down from his forehead.

'Yami, they're hurting me! They're hurting me! Yami!'

He felt the man harshly groping him until he found Yuugi's belt, which he immediately began to undo. Yuugi's protests came to an abrupt stop as his head, once again, was slammed against the wall in retribution.

'I'm sorry, Yami! I'm sorry! Please, help me! I'm so scared, I'm so scared, I'm so scared—'

He felt his pants and boxers being abruptly pulled down until they pooled around his knees. Yuugi struggled and again he was met with more pain that made him dizzy and delirious. Yet, no amount of pain could bury the raw and scathing fear that had taken over his entire body.

"Don't do this to me," he whispered aloud, squeezing his eyes shut as the tears poured unbidden down his face. "Please don't do this, please don't do this, Yami, please, come save me, Yami…"

He felt rough hands on his hips.

'Yami!'

Their mental connection remained closed.

Yami didn't answer him.

Yuugi's breath hitched painfully, the bile already at the back of his throat.

'Please!'

His Puzzle glowed, but other than that, nothing happened.

Yuugi cried.

'YAMI!'

0o0

Yami gently cradled the younger boy to his chest, his arms wrapped possessively around the shivering form.

"Shh, Yuugi, you're okay now, it's over. It's over."

But Yuugi wasn't listening to him. His eyes were blank and unseeing. He simply sat there, curled into a trembling ball, as he was held by the spirit he once trusted with his life.

"Now you realise, don't you, Yuugi? You need me. You can't protect yourself."

Yami stroked the younger's back soothingly, keeping his chin resting on top of his head. He ignored his surroundings—he ignored the way Yuugi's soul room, once so bright and happy, had crumbled into a bleak ruin of destroyed toys and tarnished walls. He ignored how cold it was, how colourless and grey. He simply continued to rock his host gently as they sat there on the floor.

"It's a lesson you had to learn, Yuugi. I'm your protector, your guardian, and I need you to take me seriously. You can't leave me behind again. You can't."

He heaved a heavy sigh.

"I can't lose you. Not again. I need to be by your side, always. I can't have you deciding things on your own—I can't have you putting yourself in danger."

Yami held Yuugi closer to his chest.

"I mean, look at what's happened. You decided to play hero again, and now look at you. I'm just trying to help you, Yuugi. I'm just trying to protect you."

Yami kissed the crown of Yuugi's head tenderly, lovingly.

"This is a lesson I hope you've learned, little one: I'm the protector, and you're the one that's protected. It's never the other way around. Never. Understand, Yuugi?"

Silence was his answer.

Yami buried his face against Yuugi's neck and shuddered brokenly.

"Never again… play the hero."

0o0

Deep inside his soul room, through a tightly sealed door, sat a figure who had huddled himself into the corner. The room was dark and cold and the shadows danced unbidden inside it. They moved around the figure as if in comfort but if anything, they were just purely sinister.

The young man hugged himself and trembled violently. He rocked on his heels with his hands clasped tightly over his ears. His eyes were squeezed shut and the tears leaked heavily down his cheeks.

"Aibou… Aibou…"

My precious aibou…

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Chapter One: End.

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