A/N: this was just a little one-shot song-fic that was stuck in my head!! Please R&R!!
Disclaimer: Song by Three Days Grace. Characters by Kazauki Takahashi.
Just Like You
By, Little Atemu
Yugi stared out his bedroom window. His eyes were dark. Dark like the gray clouds hovering over Domino City. The window was dirty. The room was dirty. Yugi didn't care.
No. All that mattered right now were the four people sitting on the porch. The four traitors daring to even set foot near his house. But it wasn't just his house anymore. Yami lived there too.
Yami. That arrogant, pompous, conceited spirit. Everyone loved him. Everyone wanted to be like him. So cool, so suave, so handsome, so brave. He was what everyone wanted to be. He is what everyone wanted.
Lucky them. They didn't know the real Yami.
The Yami that Yugi knew was very different. He wasn't the friendly, concerned person everyone else loved. He wasn't the man people fought over. He wasn't the compassionate, strong entity that he pretended to be. That was a façade. That was a trick.
But no one seemed to care. The mask worked for them. They loved who Yami pretended to be. They wholeheartedly welcomed him. The fraud. But who really cared? As long as they could be near his awesome presence, no matter how fake it really was, they were happy. They were truly happy.
'Fools. The lot of them.'
I could be mean.
I could be angry.
You know I could be just like you.
Yugi sighed and turned momentarily from the window. His fists clenched together. His knuckles turned white. "Why do they love you?" he asked.
The Light glared down at the Dark, his violet eyes narrowed. He punched the wall. "WHY?!" he yelled. "Why do they LOVE YOU?!" he asked again, this time more harshly.
Yami looked up at his Aibou's window. It was as if he could sense the other's anger. Shrugging, he began talking to his fiends once more. The trademark smirk never left his face. He leaned against the wall of the house, his face emotionless. His aura calm, relaxed. His whole body radiating authority.
And yet...even with his powerful demeanor, he still had the charms to win anyone over. He was such a con artist. He couldn't make friends on his own. Why not take Yugi's? He couldn't start a life since he was technically dead. Why not take Yugi's life?
Yugi chuckled. And the Dark had the nerve to call Dark Bakura a thief.
How pathetic.
Yami acted as if he was so great. Everyone thought he was so great. Well what the hell was so great about a pretender?!
The Spirit was such a hypocrite. He had always told his Light how he despised those who pretended to be what they weren't. Like Malik who had pretended to be their friend. The Pharaoh loathed Malik. He still did, even though the dark influence in the Egyptian boy's mind was banished.
And here was Yami now, pretending to be so great. Pretending to be so nonchalant. Pretending he didn't need Yugi.
I could be fake.
I could be stupid.
You know I could be just like you.
And what would he be without Yugi? He would be nothing! If the Light hadn't come along, the Spirit would still be stuck in that dark abyss of the Shadows. Still be wandering the endless obscurity of his own mind. But Yugi had come. Yugi had freed him.
Yugi had given up part of his mind for Yami. He had given up his energy so Yami could create a physical body. Yugi had given up his life so Yami could live again. So Yami could experience life in a new era.
And for what?!
All Yami had ever done was go back on his word! He had promised. He had sworn on the bond they shared. Sworn on the Sennen Puzzle. Sworn on his own life that he would protect Yugi at all costs.
Lies! All lies! Yami didn't care about Yugi. He only used the Light. He only took advantage of the Light's naivety. Lured him into the darkness and trapped him there just so he could be free. How selfish. How narcissistic. How...just like Dark... that was.
Yami said he would protect Yugi. Said he would give anything to make sure nothing harmed the Light. If he had only known that all along he himself was the one causing the Light pain.
You thought you were sitting beside me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
Everyone thought that Yugi would be like Yami. After all, the two were on in the same. They had shared a body. Shared a mind. Would they, perhaps, share the same personality?
Disappointed they were when they found he was the exact opposite of his Dark. Why wasn't he cool? Why wasn't he handsome? Why wasn't he popular? Why wasn't he like Yami?
Yugi lied down on his bed. Yami thought he could control the way Yugi lived. He had tried to make his Aibou change before. The Dark had said that change was for the best. He had said it was Yugi's own fault if he was bullied. He didn't make himself look tough. He had stayed meek and shy and quiet.
'"The weak get nowhere in life, Yugi. Remember that...."'
Yugi growled, thinking back to when his Dark had said that to him. If the weak got nowhere, why was Yami so loved? Why was Yami so adored? He was by far the weakest person Yugi knew!
His other self had never done anything for himself! He fed off other people. People who were willing to give. People like Yugi. Yami was a parasite. A leech. Even when Yugi had given him enough, he continued to take more.
You thought you were there to guide me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
Yami, after first being freed from the puzzle, had been a complete savage. Oh if only his devotees could have seen him them. Back when he was vengeful. Back when he was bloodthirsty. Back when he was a killer. Back when he had no heart.
Yugi had tamed him. Yugi had taught him manners. In fact, the only reason Yami acted so suave and polite was because the Light taught him how. He truly would be nowhere without Yugi. He would still be that savage. That killer. The one that Yugi was afraid of more than anything.
Yes. He was afraid of that Yami. In fact, that was why he had given Yami so much. That was why he had given up everything for his Dark. So that his other self wouldn't turn back into that murderer.
He only ended up hurting himself more. But at least he wasn't scared. At least he was angry instead of frightened. At least he was full of hate instead of full of terror.
I could be cold.
I could be ruthless.
You know I could be just like you.
Yugi poked his head back out the window. The sky was growing darker. The low rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance. The storm was approaching quickly with the night. He opened the window to let the cool breeze enter the room.
"I don't know why he locks himself up in that room all day. I'd like for him to join us sometime." There was a sigh.
Yami smiled down at her. "Anzu, I can't force him to come out. If he wants to throw his friendships away just to be alone then I cannot stop him. He has to choose his own path. I can't mother him and make decisions for him. He's old enough to choose what he wants."
The brunette girl sighed and placed her head on Yami's shoulder. "He isn't the Yugi I remember...." She looked around the small porch in front of the house. The other two, Jonouchi and Honda, had left already. "If only he were more like you, Yami...."
Yugi growled low in his throat at hearing his former best friend say this. Yami had taken her too. He had taken the one girl the Light had ever loved.
His beloved Anzu, once so sweet and innocent, now a corrupted follower of the Spirit. What had the Dark done?! How could Anzu ever love Him?! How could she love that damned life stealer? That fraud?!
"I've tried to make him change, but he just won't listen to me," the Darkness replied.
Anzu held her hand out as a drop of water splashed down onto it. "We should go in. The storm is here."
Yami nodded and opened the door for her. "You can stay for as long as you like, Anzu," he whispered to her.
She blushed. "How generous of you to offer. I told plan on leaving soon."
I could be weak.
I could be senseless.
You know I could be just like you.
Yugi sat on the stairs, watching his Dark and Anzu enter the house. The shed their coats and went to the living room. The Light tiptoed down the stairwell and into the kitchen. He watched them talk, huddled close together wrapped in a wool blanket. His eyes clouded with envy. With jealousy.
Why did Yami get everything he wanted? Why did Yami take what Yugi should rightfully have? Why did Yami reap all the glory? Why did Yami get what he didn't deserve? Why did Yami get everything?!
Yami was so undeserving. So ungrateful. So unworthy. What had he ever done to get all that he had?! What had he ever really done on his own?!
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Yugi helped him. Yugi made it possible for all of it to happen. They dueled with Yugi's cards. The won duels with Yugi's strategies. Yami never helped. Yami never did anything. And yet... and yet....
And yet Yami was the one praised. Yami was the one glorified. Yami was the one interviewed on TV shows. Yami was the one the girls swooned over. Yami was the one that everyone wanted to be. Yami was the one everyone wanted!
But why?!
The Light's own friends believed that Yami was better. They all joined the dark. They left Yugi all alone! What had the Light done to deserve that?! He had helped them all! He had single handedly saved the world from destruction! He had regained the Pharaoh's lost memories. He had found the Darkness's lost name!
And now one even showed him a hint of gratitude for it. Not once did Yugi receive a simple "Thank you, Aibou," from his Yami. Not once.
You thought you were sitting beside me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
Yugi could have been so much more. Put his efforts towards something that benefited himself for once. But he was helping Yami. He was doing everything for Yami. And this was how he was repaid.
Being alone and unwanted was his repayment for serving the other half of his soul. He should never have solved the Sennen Puzzle.
Closing his eyes and turning to leave the room, Yugi lost his balance and slipped on the wet tile. He grabbed the cloth covering table and it fell with him, the glass flowerpot on top of it smashing to the floor and shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.
"What was that?!" Anzu asked, startled.
Yami let out what sounded like an irritated sigh. "Yugi," he ground out. He marched into the kitchen, seeing his Hikari lying on the floor, pieces of the glass vase broken on the floor and in the boy's skin. Blood poured from his arms in rivers. "Aibou, what did you do now?"
Yugi shook, tears in his eyes. He winced and looked at his arms and legs. Glass was stuck in his creamy skin. Rivulets of red fluid cascading from the wounds. Amethyst orbs shut tightly in pain.
You thought you were there to guide me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
There were glass fragments all around him. He could move from the circle of shattered vase pieces. He would cut his feet if he tried to move. He was injured enough already.
"Yami...help me...please...." the Light whispered, still shaking.
The Dark scowled. "You did this yourself, Aibou. Now clean up this mess. Grandfather will be home soon and I know he won't appreciate seeing his kitchen a complete wreck." He sighed and sauntered back into the sitting room.
Yugi looked at Yami's retreating form pleadingly. "Yami..." he tried again. "Mou Hitori No Boku!" he cried. Slumping back to the floor in defeat, his small body shook with sobs.
What did he expect from Yami? The Spirit had never once helped him before. Why help him now?
"Mou Hitori No Boku!"
You thought you were there to guide me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
Anzu looked down at her childhood friend. Pity filled her cerulean eyes. Those eyes...once so bright and innocent...now showed how corrupt she had become by choosing to follow the Dark.
She sighed and shook her head at the small figure shuddering on the ground. "Honestly, Yugi. Pull yourself together." She turned away from him and stared at Yami who was sitting back on the couch, his hands rubbing his temples in frustration.
The brunette turned back to Yugi. "Wake up to reality, Yugi."
She thought a moment, staring at the petite boy. "I guess you're just too immature to understand that life isn't like your little fairy tale games." She took in a deep breath. "If only...if only you were more mature like your Other Self....If only you were strong like Yami. If only...you were more like Yami...maybe you'd have more friends. Maybe you wouldn't reduce yourself to this pathetic whimpering thing."
Yugi's eyes opened again to watch the girl walk away from him. His heart broke after hearing her say those words. 'Reduced...to this...pathetic...whimpering...thing...' Is that was Anzu really thought of him? As a pathetic whimpering thing?
'Anzu...w-what has he done to you? Why has he taken to a-away from me?' He looked back to the floor. 'H-how could you f-follow him?'
"I just have no more hope left for him," said Yami exasperatedly in the other room.
Yugi's hands fisted tightly together at his sides. That was it. He couldn't take it anymore! Now he knew what Anzu thought of him. Now he knew what Yami thought of him. Now he knew that his Dark had no hope left for him.
He couldn't stay there any longer. Not in this house. Not in this city. Not so close to Yami. Never so close to his so-called friends. No....not now. He had to get out. Needed to get away. Now.
On my own, cause I can't taken living with you.
I'm alone, so I won't turn out
Like you want me to.
The Light hastily stood up, not caring anymore if his feet got cut, and raced out of the kitchen. He hissed as the glass cut into his bare feet. Blood pooled on the floor and trailed behind him, marking his path. Tears leaked from his eyes and fell down his cheeks, mixing with the blood from a cut on his face before plopping down on the messy floor.
'I just need to get out. I have to get away from them,' He thought desolately.
Yugi ran out the door, slamming it behind him. He didn't care where he went from there. He just needed to go somewhere where they wouldn't find him. Somewhere he wouldn't have to be near Yami again. Somewhere he could live his own life for once.
"Aibou!? Where do you think you are going?!"
"Yugi! Come back! It's raining, you'll catch cold!"
The Light snorted. Why would they care? Oh, that's right. Yami was held responsible for him while Grandfather Muto was out. If something were to happen to the little one....
'—I hope they don't find me. Then they'll see Yami's true colors. They'll see what a horrible guardian Yami really is!'
You thought you were sitting beside me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
Anzu clutched onto Yami's arm. The two stood outside the Kame Game Shop, staring in the direction that Yugi had disappeared. She turned to the Dark, azure eyes full of concern. "Y-Yami, we must go after him! He cannot fend for himself!"
The Spirit stared at the street. The rain pounded mercilessly on the ground in heavy sheets. His Yugi...his Aibou was out there in the rain. It was his entire fault. How could he let the Light run off like that? How could he let Yugi get away?
'"Namonaki Pharaoh...you are a cursed soul..."
"Cursed soul? Dartz, what do you mean by this?!"
The former ruler of Atlantis chuckled. "Don't you see? All the pain and hatred on this plant, Namonaki Pharaoh, is caused...by you...."
Yami's eyes widened. "W-what?!" All the pain...all the pain on this planet. Was he the source?
"You are the foundation of darkness on this Earth. As long as you exist...as long as you exist to taint a single soul...the humans of this world will become corrupt. But do you see it, Namonaki Pharaoh? That is your destiny. Your fate is to cause the destruction of the Earth! To corrupt everything until the point of destruction!"
Dartz began laughing as he played a card face down. It appeared on the field before them. He turned back to the Sennen Spirit. "That is why your soul has been reborn."
"Lies! I don't believe any of it!" Yami screamed, raising his hands to cover his ears.
"Do not listen if you are a fool. But I tell you now, Namonaki Pharaoh...you are the Darkness. You are the human form of abhorrence and corruption—"
"Lies! All of it is just lies!" Yami took a step back. "My turn! Draw!" He drew a card and looked up at Dartz. Could he be telling the truth?
Dartz chuckled and flipped a white bang out of his face. "Don't deny it, Namonaki Pharaoh. You will not rest until all the Light in this world has been banished! You will destroy the Light with your very hands!"'
Yami placed a hand over the Sennen Puzzle. Had Dartz been right? What he had said during their duel...had it been the truth? Did he really chase away the Light? Would Yugi be destroyed because of him?
"Aibou...."
Anzu tugged on the sleeve of his arm! "Yami! Hurry, we must find him!"
Yami nodded. "Hn."
The two started running in the direction they last saw the little one.
You thought you were there to guide me.
You were only in my way.
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you.
Yugi collapsed on the ground in front of the city park. His hair was matted and hung to his shoulders. Golden bangs plastered to his face and in his eyes.
Why did he come here? This is the place he used to come before he had solved the Puzzle. Before he had met his friends. Before...before Yami ever existed.
Would he take it back? Would he want to give up the friendships? The duels...would he rather have never fought them? Would he rather take back the deep bond that he and the Dark had shared?
No. He wouldn't want to give all that up. Even though Yami had taken his friends and his fame...the time that the bond between Light and Dark had still been strong were the happiest days of Yugi's life. If he gave that up...what would he be? He'd be nothing. He'd have no memories of friendships. No memories of late night talks with the Spirit. He'd have no memories of anything. He'd be that same lonely, scared little boy that he had been before solving the Sennen Puzzle.
But...either way...that is what he would become in the end. If he had never gotten the Puzzle from his grandfather, he'd still be sad and lonely. But, if that had been the case, he would never have met all the friends he got from dueling.
Malik Ishtar... Rishid... Ryou Bakura... Rebecca Hopkins. All those people that still remained loyal. All those people that loved him and not Yami.
Maybe something good had come out of Yami's being there. He had met real friends. And even though he never got to see them, he knew they still cared.
Malik and Rishid sent Yugi letters from Egypt from time to time. Rebecca still proclaimed to be his true love whenever she'd visit from America. Ryou was always touring countries with his father...but they'd hang out whenever he was home in Domino. Even Dark Bakura didn't mind Yugi so much. He didn't even try to steal his Sennen Puzzle anymore.
But...there still came the fact that the people he'd loved with his entire heart had betrayed him. Jonouchi...Anzu...Yami... how could they have done this to him? How could they have stripped him of his dignity like that? Taken away everything? Did they do it on purpose? Did they even care? Did they?!
"Aibou! Aibou!"
Yugi ignored the calling. It baffled him why the Dark would still call him partner. When was the last time Yami ever helped him?
"Aibou! Please wait!" The Light stopped and the former Pharaoh ran up, Anzu following close behind. The Dark embraced his other soul tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you this far. I didn't mean to make you run away."
The small boy stepped away. "Please...leave me alone. You've taken enough from me." He looked down at the Sennen Puzzle that hung around his neck. "I have nothing left to give."
"We don't want you to give anything, Yugi," Anzu explained, hugging her younger friend. "We want you to come back. You worried us when you ran off. And-and you're bleeding still!"
Yugi looked at the wounds from the glass. "I got cut." He looked up at the two faces. "I know," he whispered, "if only I had been more like Yami...this never...never would have happened." He freed himself from the girl's embrace and walked away silently.
"Aibou!" Yami called after him. "You don't have to be like me!"
"Everyone wants me to be you though. And I could be you if I wanted to, Mou Hitori No Boku. But I'm sorry," The Light turned one last time to look at the two. The rain still fell heavily around them. Lightning struck in the distance.
I could be mean.
I could be angry.
You know I could be just like you.
"I refuse to become that fake."
And then he left. The Dark stared after his Hikari, holding a hand to the Puzzle.
'"Don't deny it, Namonaki Pharaoh. You will not rest until all the Light in this world has been banished! You will destroy the Light with your very hands!"'
Yami shook his head and fell to the floor. What had he done?!
END
A/N: Hehe...[holds up little box] reviews for the authoress?