Thanks to…: When you write fics, you can dedicate lots of things to various people… I love writing things "to" people, so for this fic and my other multi-chapter, there will be lots and lots of them for every chapter because the people in this fandom are the best! This is the chapter one, so no dedication. But special thank-you's and hugs to my beta Lomelindi for being so friendly and helpful and fun ;; Darling, if there was a prize for the nicest person in YGO fandom, you'd win it a thousand times over (not to mention, your amazing beta-ing skills put my meager ones to shame). Also Inner Voice- for helping me with the name for our 'Alpha-san', to Pysche and Rekall for coming up with the idea for the death of Yami and Yugi's parents, and for offering me the death-by-hippopotamus idea and information on the connection of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River. To Waxie -such a great friend and LJ buddy- for hounding me to write and just basically being there for me and supporting this fic.
Rhapsody
Chapter One
Yami lounged in the corner in a slick leather chair, watching the residents of the building with hooded eyelids. His lazy glance raked over the room, settling on the door as a group of men walked in. He unconsciously narrowed his eyes as he focused on each individual, his gaze finally settling on what appeared to be the youngest member. He looked tall and young, in his early twenties at the most- and standing in the doorway of Sonata, outlined by silver light and smoke and faint starlight and moonshine, he looked almost ethereal for the slightest moment.
This was the figure that Yami's eyes lingered on; he was, if nothing else, a curiosity. The man was dressed in a white suit that was made silvery by the light of the club, and cut so it showed off his slim, athletic frame. The smooth white of his attire was accented by a blue tie and a pair of slim, tinted shades that rested on the bridge of the man's nose. Yami's quick eyes took in the man's appearance, from the high cheekbones and the delicate, yet strong, features of his face to the graceful and slender hands in the pockets of the man's slacks and the chestnut brown tresses that fell over the man's forehead and brushed his eyebrows. His appearance reminded Yami of silver dragons and proud stallions and chilling velvety winter nights filled with sparkling stars that shimmered like diamonds. A feeling of déjà vu shivered down the boy's spine.
The man looked too young to be with the group; he seemed to be more suited to the high school teens who were sprawled in the leather recliners in the quieter corners of Sonata withtheir arms wrapped possessively around the vivacious blondes and attractive brunettes who worked there, sipping drinks with creative names and sweet, spicy tastes while the night was still young.
Very selective on whom it chose to let in, Sonata was one of the best-known clubs in Domino- a dimly-lit paradise for the denizens. It was located in the southern part of Domino, a section of the city that much resembled a modern-day Yoshiwara 1, maintaining the same air of mystery and refinement but also managed a perfect the art of supplying only the best in everything when it came to enjoyment.
A pretty, raven-haired girl made her way to the front of the club to greet the newcomers, her hips swaying seductively underneath her silky pale-green dress. Yami looked at her in slight disgust. Umeko was the manager's illegitimate daughter, and she could easily live off her father's generosity without exploiting any offers that came her way. She was different from the other waitresses, bartenders, dancers, strippers, and prostitutes; at Sonata, you were either been born into the business or usually had nowhere else to turn to for money to support families. Even the employees who were strictly supposed to be working on drinks and food weren't safe from being taken beyond a few flirtatious looks and kisses by customers. And Sonata's manager was especially critical on who he hired. Even after meeting Domino's high standards for its entertainers, alluring beauty, skill, and seduction were traits that all employees had to perfect before Sonata would hire them, and offer her protection in return for their services.
Yami was at a disadvantage here, he knew. He was one of the only six males hired by the business; out of all six, four of them were bartenders. Currently, Malik was pouring drinks for a group of teenage girls, who all looked entranced with the blonde Egyptian and were giggling and fluttering their eyelashes at him. The only people that ever looked at him with interest and hired Yami were old men over the age of forty that liked to dress in gray business suits, order exquisite and sparkling champagne, and smell of expensive cigars. Most of the younger ones- and the women- preferred Ryuuji, Yami's only true co-employee. Ryuuji was on equal footing on every level with Yami except for that Ryuuji had been here longer and certainly attracted more customers. But at least Yami's own trickle of clients paid well and they always came back.
It was as a bartender that Yami had first looked for work at Sonata, but the manager hadn't been willing to hire him then. But, finally, unable to find work anywhere else and with the pile of bills and the threat of being kicked out of his apartment lurking in the near future, Yami had been driven back to Sonata in desperationWhat he received from his clients differed from person to person, but he always paid a percentage it to Tetsuya Keitaro, the manager, in return for Sonata's reputation, customers, and protection.
Yami could clearly see his first customer- a businessman in his late 40's that only referred to himself as "Alpha" (Yami suspected that he had dramatic tendencies). He wore an expensive gray suit and had silvery-black hair, fierce black eyes, and the a golden ring set with a square-cut sapphire. But maybe the reason Yami could picture 'Alpha-san' so clearly was not because he had excellent memory, but because it appeared that the older man was walking towards him right now.
"Hey, baby," he greeted Yami smoothly as he sauntered over to the chair that Yami was seated in, gently stroking Yami's arm. "Are you free tonight?"
"Alpha-san, it's only nine." Yami replied neutrally, but in a voice with what could be perceived as a teasing edge to it. He had spent nearly a year perfecting this tone- and now it was one of his greatest assets. The older man chuckled lightly, still running his hands along Yami's arm.
"My young friend over there," he nodded to the man in the white suit that Yami had been looking at earlier, "needs to loosen up. You should see how he works- the own president of his company, sure, but he never has any fun. I had to practically drag him here…"
Yami raised an eyebrow in interest- now that was certainly different. All of Alpha-san's friends seemed to be regulars of Sonata or some other club or bar in this part of town.
"If he doesn't want to, you could give him a back massage or something, I suppose," Alpha-san continued with an almost whimsical tone, "but I'm sure one thing will lead to another."
"Who is he?" Yami asked, looking at this customer-to-be from across the room.
The man was sitting leisurely in his chair with a glass held between his fingers, his legs crossed and his mahogany bangs falling over his eyes. The young businessman seemed to be on the fringes of the group, distancing himself from the others and watching their antics with a careful gaze of slightly narrowed cerulean eyes.
In contrast, Yami was dressed in a tight, sleeveless white shirt and black leather pants with a series of thin silver chains looped around his waist. A thick black belt was slung crookedly just above his hips, bold and sharply outlined against the white background of his shirt. With a black blazer haphazardly tossed around his shoulders, Yami was wearing an outfit devoid of color except for the black velvet collar around his neck holding a simple, dangling golden charm with an imitation ruby twinkling on the polished metal. The scarlet-crimson hue of the stone matched his eyes, which were outlined lightly in kohl despite the fact that Yami possessed charcoal-dark lashes naturally, long and thick, and rimmed his slightly narrowed eyes. Compared to the stranger's perfect, pale complexion, Yami's own skin was more of a bronzed tan, and to the man's neat, clean-cut hairstyle, his was a wild mane of ebony and burgundy spikes with golden bangs that framed his face. This man was Yami's complete opposite- it was almost amusing, in a mirthless kind of way.
"You'll see…" Alpha-san replied, and he tightened his hand on Yami's arm, clearly wanting him to rise. Yami brushed the other's grip with the fingertips of his other hand, and the man let his arm go to allow him to put on his jacket. Yami jumped lightly off the chair, and proceeded to follow Alpha-san across the smooth first floor of the building.
The older man suddenly stopped. "Wait here," he commanded, "It might be better if I just bring him over here."
Yami raised a single refined eyebrow that clearly stated 'I'm wondering why, but I'm not going to question it', and stopped. He was right in front of the bar; not too far down on his right, the same teenage girls were chatting animatedly and were watching Malik out of the corner of their eyes.
Alpha-san walked over to the table where his group was seated, and Yami's eyes narrowed as he watched the conversation. The older men were chuckling and giving his customer indulgent looks, while the youngest looked on impassively from underneath half-lidded eyes. Not looking particularly enthusiastic, the young man allowed himself to be dragged over to Yami.
…he was younger than Yami had expected. And even more gorgeous when closer. He had a streamlined figure that distinguished him others, tall and slender without being feminine. He was also smiling… only it was odd, an almost alluringly malicious curve to his lips, and it only added to the perfection of his face. The man's bones were defined with a kind of delicacy and strength; the way his collarbone smoothly jutted out seemed to say that the stranger certainly didn't need anything, much less an insignificant thing like food, to survive. And the man had the most beautiful eyes that Yami had ever seen. Deep, eternal, celestial blue- the azure color of the heavens or the infinite seas, sharp and clear even in the dimmed half-light of the club, rimmed with dark lashes underneath elegantly arched, sable eyebrows.
"There you are, Yami." Alpha-san said, presenting the client with an almost paternal air of affection. A fleeting question about why Alpha-san was acting so oddly tonight (it might have been his drink) passed through Yami's mind, but hequickly turned his attention to the handsome stranger.
Smirking softly, Yami beckoned him closer with his finger and a tilt of his head, while he slid his other hand into his pocket, making sure he still had the master card-key that Umeko had given him earlier.
Silently, Yami led the stranger up a flight of stairs at the back of the club, and slid his fingers into his pocket for the card-key. Sliding it swiftly through the slot with the air of a practiced motion, he stood back as the door slowly swung open. Walking in, he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it into the corner.
"Keep your clothes on," the other snapped icily, before closing the door and deftly flicking on lights. "Don't worry, you'll still get your money, but don't expect to be doing anything."
Yami shot an irritated look at the young man, concealing a brief flicker of surprise. "I was just taking off my jacket… It's warm in here."
The other just made a small scoffing sound at the back of his throat and went to go sit in one of the plush Victorian armchairs that were scattered in the room. The wood was an almost rosy color, and the velvet covering was a scarlet-pink shade- the chair was feminine and romantic, utterly amiss with the person in it. The entire room, in fact, looked like one of Umeko's- done all in cerise and cherry pink. Gauzy scarves were placed over some of the lampshades and haphazardly hung from the simple chandelier on the ceiling, casting the entire room in a sanguine haze. A large, king-sized bed rested in the center of the room, covered in satin sheets of fuchsia that were embroidered with an almost gaudy pattern of golden magnolias and roses. Making his way over to the bed, Yami settled down on it, lying on his back lazily and propping his head up on one of his hands, his elbow supporting his weight. He looked at the other man.
"Who are you, anyway? Alpha-san wouldn't tell me."
The questioned man only looked contemptuously amused at the alias and twisted his lips into a smirk. Yami had never tried to wonder whether he was gay or straight- he had been attracted to girls before, but all of his clients had been older men, and anyone who had eyes could see that this stranger was a perfect image of a strikingly handsome and fierce Adonis.
"You don't need to know that… but if you insist, you can call me Ice."
"And this from someone who thinks that 'Alpha' is ridiculously conceited?" Yami asked, the corner of his mouth quirking slightly.
'Ice' gave him an emotionless look, the emotion (that might have not even existed, Yami considered) in his eyes carefully hidden by an arctic façade. However, Yami felt that the other had meant to dryly express his amusement.
"I sort of know who you are, you know… Alpha-san told me you owned your own company. But if you're that wealthy, I'm sure you would have come into Sonata at least once before."
The other smirked (or it could have been an extremely unusual smile, Yami had no idea of knowing), his mouth twisting into a somewhat bitter feature.
"I don't go around sleeping with random whores, if that's what you're asking. But I can't say I blame you for expecting that- most of my colleagues do so, even if they have enough of their own bitches."
"Not everything's in black and white, you know," Yami said as he scowled slightly, frowning. Admittedly, he didn't like southern Domino (which was the only part of the town that he could call 'his') very much, or much at all. But still, this Ice had just insulted him and most of the people he knew, who, like him, hadn't had much choice in the matter on sleeping around for money.
The other just made another small scoffing noise (Yami couldn't bring himself to call it a snort, that just made it sound too… undignified) and replied humorlessly, "And wouldn't I know that."
Yami just narrowed his eyes and looked at the sight before him. The room, full of its ruby and pink and magenta and ornate designs of bronzed yellow and ivory-white, held two people that looked as if they had been cut from entirely different palettes- one an frostily arctic array of white, silver, and indigo, and another a bold myriad of black and crimson.
"I'm sure you'll find out who I really am tomorrow morning," Ice said slowly, and then he smirked. "And then you'll understand the meaning behind my name. Maybe."
The conversation seemed to drift off after that, and sometimes the only answer Yami could get out of 'Ice' was the monosyllable "Hnnn." Yami could feel himself starting to drift off to sleep as the aroma of incense in his nostrils wafted through the hallways and snuck into their room. The smooth sheets made him feel oddly sensual, and it was only the presence of 'Ice' that kept him awake. His eyelids started fluttering, attempting to get him to fall asleep, but a cutting voice brought him out of his half-stupor.
"Go to sleep."
Yami blinked, looking at 'Ice'. He was sitting in that same chair (tomorrow, Yami was going to have a talk with Umeko about the Valentine-y theme of her rooms… That chair was just calling out to him to throw it violently out of a window) and was staring intently into Yami's eyes.
"…what?"
"Can you not hear properly? I said to go to sleep- you're obviously tired, and it seems like you're going to drift off anyway, so you're not going to be able to stop yourself."
Yami flipped onto his stomach, resting his body's weight on his elbows. "Do you mind? What are you going to do for the rest of tonight, then?"
'Ice' just smirked slightly, drawing up the corners of his mouth and -possibly unknowingly- flipping his bangs lightly so that they fell again over his eyes again with casual elegance.
"Just go to sleep… I'll stay in here for a while, and then I'm going to go back home. I just have to wait for some of my colleagues to disperse from Sonata."
"They're probably going to be here until morning, you realize that, right?"
"I know," 'Ice' smirked again. The movement could have been something else, but that seemed to be one of the only facial expressions that he was capable of making. "I just need to wait until they're out off the main floor."
"It doesn't, not really… but often, it comes to little things like this that alliances and deals are based on."
Yami opened his mouth to ask 'Ice' something else, but then closed it when it appeared that the other was going to refuse to humor him any longer. He stretched languidly, took off his shirt, and tossed it onto one of the chairs. Yami was aware that 'Ice's eyes were fixed on him, but ignoring the penetrating gaze, he pointedly turned his head and settled into the smooth sheets of the bed.
And quickly, he fell asleep in the crimson light of the lamps, and didn't notice when the room's other occupant stood up and turned off the lights before sitting back down to watch the dozing figure.
As soon as he came into the living room of his apartment, Yami collapsed on the couch. Why was he so damn tired anyway? His body had quickly shifted to a nocturnal schedule after he had started working at Sonata, but he had gotten to sleep last night, which was better than usual. Pinching the bridge of his nose, which he had heard apparently helped headaches, Yami groaned out loud and sunk his head deeper into the cushions.
It made him feel old and cankerous and grumpy, but sometimes he detested the friendly people he would occasionally run into on the street. He always felt guilty after these encounters, but it didn't help the fact that he had to pay the monthly rent bill soon… He had literally bumped into a cheerful young brunette woman on his way home from Sonata this morning, and she had been friendly and polite, apologizing first despite the fact she was apparently late for either school or work and that her glasses had been knocked askew.
Morning sunlight filtered through the window of the apartment that he and his younger brother shared, casting the room in a faint morning haze. Dust sparkled against the luminance that the window provided, and Yami half-heartedly grabbed at the sparkles from his laid-out position on the couch, making the particles whirl lazily in a twirling column. Yami sighed rather theatrically and attempted to relax on the ivory-white material of the couch, twisting around so that he was sprawled out and stretched vertically on the piece of furniture. His shirt had ridden up on his stomach, exposing a thin sliver of tanned skin, but Yami left it despite the discomfort. He closed his eyes for a moment, then blinked them back into focus.
It was currently six-thirty in the morning, so Yugi was at school… Tt was a beautiful day outside, the air fresh, crisp, and laced with the scent of crystalline dew, spring flowers, and new blades of viridian grass. It was so different from the musky, spicy-and-sweet aroma that perfumed the first floor of Sonata and provided a clean relief for Yami's senses. Everything was bathed in the soft gold, roseate color of sunrise, and it perfected the colors that resided in Domino.
Perfection. Yami groaned again in frustration. Why did this morning have to be so horrible? There was such spring nice weather, and it was looking like he and Yugi could manage to financially scrape by this month… Didn't he deserve not to have his thoughts brought back to the city that he lived in?
Domino was a representation of everything he hated, because he couldn't have it for himself and for his younger brother, all simply because of his own idiotic mistakes. He hated not having finished his education, despite the fact that he lived in one of the best academic districts in the country. He hated having the worst possible job, one that he had to lie to Yugi about because he could just imagine telling him 'Oh, and by the way, I fuck older, really perverted men to pay the rent each month'. And he hated, most of all, being so utterly and completely trapped.
It was his fault, too. That was what made this life both bearable and unbearable. Regret tasted bitter and metallic on his tongue. The fact that he and Yugi had come to Domino, of all places, with all of Yami's foolish hopes and dreams- it was his doing. He had been so confident, naïve and eager enough for both of them, dragging Yugi along with his plans to get out of the orphanage.
Yami's thoughts drifted, a common habit for when he was alone and without Yugi. He didn't see himself as self-loathing, but he often ran everything again and again in his thoughts, trying to remember if he had perhaps done anything right at all.
He was three years older than his younger brother… a bit taller, more slender and lithe in build. They both had the same hair style, but his was bolder with more streaks of golden-blond. They both shared similarly almond-shaped eyes tinted with violet, although his were narrowed and had crimson hints and Yugi's were wide and purely royal-purple.
He vaguely could remember the day that Yugi had been born- he had been at his grandfather's house, where he had been hastily dropped off by his father. The sky had been a flawless, unblemished blue, and the summer sun had filtered through the trees planted at the back of the house, casting the back porch in emerald light. Star-shaped phlox blossoms bloomed near the wooden steps, and Yami remembered picking at the petals and tossing them into the warm breeze.
He had seen his new younger brother the next day, pinkish and wrinkly and tiny in the hospital bassinet. From the minute Yami had laid eyes on him, he had sworn that he would have done anything to make Yugi happy.
…and he had failed.
His only consolation was that he did not ruin their lives entirely. At least they had ended up here, in Domino, a town with good education and clean living. But if… if only if he had waited a few more years –maybe even months, perhaps- he wouldn't be in his current situation. But he had just been so eager to get out of the orphanage and away from those meager meals and uncomfortable beds that he had never considered the flaws in his plans.
He could remember clearly the day he had been told his parents had died… He had been eleven, Yugi had been nine. Their parents, his zoologist mother and botanist father, had left with their adventurous grandfather and had never come back Tourists, they told him, foolish ones that had startled the creatures that dwelled in the murky depths of the Zambezi River. His family had been traveling to Victoria Falls in a slender, swift boat that had capsized when hippopotamus rammed into it. His father's body had never been found… and his mother's and grandfather's had been brought back to Japan.
Yami could still picture the flowers that had been present at the joint funeral; pink-lavender anemone blossoms with delicate, silky-smooth petals like fairy's wings; beautiful azaleas in different hues, yawning elegantly; deep crimson carnations, ruffled prettily; and viridian vines of ivy. They surrounded the two silver frames that contained portraits of his mother and grandfather, positioned so they were facing outward and inward at the same time. His mother had been so petite and pretty, smiling brightly with her perfectly straight, pearly-white teeth and her pale, creamy complexion. Her auburn hair, in its short, shoulder-length cut, was brushed neatly and fell a little in front of her light brown eyes. 2 In the opposite frame was his grandfather, Sugoroku Motou. His silvery-gray hair framed his round face, the jutting bangs swept aside so they wouldn't interfere with his vision, his hair narrowing into a short, clean-cut beard and a mustache. Sharp and alert, wide violet eyes expressed the warmth that his small, amused smile only hinted at.
The two black coffins, their wood polished and smooth, were surrounded by the small, cloth-covered alter holding the floral arrangements and frames. Candles- smelling of vanilla and sandalwood- burned steadily in their placements throughout the room, and even more flowers, now only a blur of color and memory to Yami, had been set in various locations.
It was odd how Yami could only remember certain things about the day- how he had combed his bangs almost obsessively that morning, how Yugi had first complained about the discomfort of his suit before the solemnity of the day had struck him, and how the sedan they had ridden in had been a dark, forest-green color with a metallic shine to it.
Zoology and botany and gaming did not pay well- there had been hardly enough money to pay off the bills and debts that his parents had left behind, and the little inheritance that they had was to be stored in a bank until Yami reached the age of 18. They had been sent to an orphanage, a large brick building surrounded by sparse bushes with waxy leaves and scarlet berries that the daredevil boys dared each other to eat.
The matrons that had run the facility had sympathized with all of the children placed under their care, but not enough to be intimately friendly with them or to prepare decent meals and provide soft bedding. If Yami had despised it there, Yugi had been even more miserable. Despite Yami's best efforts to protect him, Yugi had been mercilessly picked on by the orphanage's older and larger occupants and politely ignored by most of the staff. Yami hadn't been bothered, mostly- he had made a few friendly acquaintances, and been avoided by most of the bullies and treated fairly enough by the workers.
But he had been desperate…There had been the feeling of being trapped, entirely under another's care and control, of being helpless and literally a no one in society. It hadn't been all to hard to contact someone capable of getting his money out of the bank, and once he had held it in his hands, running away from the orphanage hadn't been overly difficult, either.
He had taken the money and gotten onto the nearest subway to his already-chosen destination of Domino. It was an ideal choice at the time… His parents' closest friend had taken up residence there years before, and Yami had been hoping to find temporary shelter with the generous Honda family. But they had moved to America only months before, and with that, Yami's plans had been cruelly broken apart.
With the need for money increasing steadily, Yami had been desperate for a job, looking everywhere in the town for something that could support Yugi's education, the rent, the cost of food and other necessities. He had found a nice apartment on the border of the south side and the rest of the city, a clean one and with a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and living room. It was enough for the two of them. The walls were painted in an almost ivory-toned white, trimmed with dark wooden cabinets and closet doors that had come with the rent of the living space. The little furniture that they had either bought or found inhabited the area sparsely, and Yami took it upon himself to keep enough food in the house and to do the laundry twice a week. But all of this had cost money- money that they didn't have nearly enough of.
Yugi's education, too, was expensive… Yami's age had let them enroll Yugi into one of the high schools, the least prodigious and high-class of the academies in the city. But all the same, it had taken large amounts of loans to pay to get in. Everything had, and currently still, depended and rested on each other and held each other's fates, like a cautiously balanced device.
Yami despised his job, but they needed the money. No other occupation that he could get would be able to pay for all of their expenses, at least not without a proper education. However, Yami took as few clients as possible, only what he needed to make ends meet. But until Yugi graduated and could find a respectable job, he was stuck. Still, it was his fault for taking them out of the orphanage, and he wanted Yugi to be able to finish school, so he went to either take customers or just sit (the manager insisted he do so) in Sonata every night. Guilt and a feeling of obligation led him there every night, and it partially erased the enormity of the activities that occurred during the night. It was hard to keep such an important piece of information from his sibling, but his sense of duty compelled him to do so, so he told Yugi that he was a bartender (which explained the nocturnal status of the job) and that the tips he received, if he hadn't been lying, accounted for the varying amounts of money he brought home.
Domino was everything Yami loved and hated. He loved it because of the natural perfection, excellence, and beauty of the city… It was the epitome of a high-class town, home to wealthy businessmen, their families, celebrities, and other respectable couples and children that had the fortune to live there.
The business section was home to KaibaCorp, one of the most renowned technological companies in the world, and other prestigious firms and companies and businesses. It was filled with the sleek metallic feel of tall skyscrapers, smooth sidewalks, and large windows and streamlined cars during the day; but at night, bright lights and faint curling wisps of smoke blotted out the stars in the velvety black backdrop of the sky. It smelled faintly of smoke; like cold metal and coarse salt and crushed ice. Peregrine falcons perched on the highest of the towers, swooping on soft gray pigeons and fluttering months during the dusky twilight hours. An occasional flowering tree and gardened blossoms that had been planted along the roads were the only other signs of life besides the human inhabitants in crisp uniforms and elegant heels, and made up in citied refine.
Most of the city, though, was residential 3, with sloping emerald lawns reveling in the warm breezes and sunshine. The streets broke into winding trails through neighborhoods titled fairy-tale names like Whispering Oaks and Silver Lakes. There were large houses and estates, some of the mansions bordered with black iron fences, and all with beautifully landscaped gardens. The houses themselves were almost dreamily perfect. Sunlight cast a bright haze over the flowering trees that seemed to be popular, distinct from the others that boasted foliage of pale beryls and viridian and bright jade on trunks of polished chestnut and dark russet.
Varieties of pear, in elegant shades of white; cherry trees, with their soft fairy-pale pink blossoms; and the juneberry trees' silvery-white color accented their slim, brown trunks and the green grass that surrounded them. The pink and white shades of crabapple trees could be seen every now and then, slightly tucked behind some of the residences. The radiant golds of daffodils and similarly vivid colors of jonquils, lilies, violas, camellias, rosebuds, and ornamental grasses contrasted to the pale tan, brick, and ivory of most of the houses. Blooming bushes of lilac and lavender, white and ivory, magenta and scarlet, and smooth emerald turf added to the scenic array of plants.
Parks, malls, stores- all so perfect. Yami's heart clenched every now and then because he kept on feeling that all this beauty would end and be destroyed one day. For that, he felt sad… despite the fact that he wasn't part of it.
Yami sighed again, drawing himself out of his thoughts. Biting his lower lip, he thought again about the activity that he had planned for today- finding out who 'Ice' was. He had been intrigued by the man, who had, like he said, disappeared and was nowhere to be seen in the morning. Getting up, Yami stretched and grabbed his keys from off the windowsill. Opening the door, he blinked at the change from the soft roseate light to a brighter golden radiance, and then turned to lock up his apartment.
Yes, I know, that has to be the WORST place to end a chapter. But I had no idea at all how to finish it up, so forgive me for that really crappy ending. Hopefully I'll end my other chapters better. And remember- reviews would be appreciated!
1 Yoshiwara was a district of Edo (now Tokyo), which at the time, was the largest and most powerful city in Japan. Called the "floating city", Yoshiwara was the "pleasure" section- where samurai and wealthy noblemen came to be entertained and to relaxIt contained tea houses, which provided snacks and entertainment in the form of ancient Japan's artisan-prostitutes, the geishas. They could range from low-class whores to wealthy women with high-class tastes who lived in luxury. Geishas perfected seduction and flirtation and made it into an art, and took apprentices. They could also have 'official lovers', who were expected to provide for them- in this way, and others too, they could become extremely rich and afford to live in extravagance. Yoshiwara had an air of mystery and beauty surrounding it- master-less samurai (ronin) were not allowed in, and most tea houses only took in wealthy customers. Geishas, as well, were not allowed to leave. (if you want to know more about geishas, I recommend the book Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden)
2 Yugi's mother actually does exist as a very minor character in the Japanese anime (I'm not sure about the manga)… and I described her to the best of my ability. Her hair's actually this purplish-maroon-burgundy color, but I think everything else is pretty much right (or at least, I hope it's all imaginable)…
3 Yes, I realize that in places like Japan and Korea, hardly anyone lives in a house. They all live in apartments (there are really nice ones at that, too). Houses are usually if you're extremely wealthy and can afford a country estate kind of thing, or if you hold some kind of agricultural occupation. The way I'm describing Domino, really, I know, is like a really nice American city. But it's not really that important, so hopefully no one is bothered…?