Blissful oblivion

Chapter 11

   "Are you willing to talk to me yet?" Yugi whispers through the darkness as he lies in his bed, blindly staring at the ceiling. "It's been two days Yami."
   "You act as if telling me how long it has been should mean anything to me," I murmur in response from my position in the farthest corner of the room. My slender legs are crossed as I lean against the wall trying desperately to keep my eyes from staring at Yugi in his bed. It seems that no matter how hard I try they still continue to wander in his direction. My resistance is futile in this instance.
   "I was hoping we could talk about it." He says with a soft sigh. "You've been giving me the cold shoulder ever since that day and it's been driving me crazy."
   "Good to know," I grumble bitterly. "It wasn't meant to be a pleasurable experience for you."
   "Well at least you're talking to me now."
   "If you can even consider this to be a conversation."
   "I didn't mean to anger you," Yugi says sitting up suddenly, his hair slightly disheveled from resting on his pillow. "It wasn't my intention to offend you, or not show you any gratitude...this is all just...a bit strange to me."
   "I am sure that being beaten to a bloody pulp is a strange experience for you."
   "Yami be serious with me." He says with a frown.
   "I'm never anything but serious." I glare at him but my heart isn't in it. I can't bring myself to expose the full range of my anger and aggravation at this boy, so I do the most pathetic thing I have ever done in my life. I sigh and drop my gaze.
   "I truly am sorry."
   "I don't care about that."
   "Yes you do." Yugi pushes. "If you didn't we wouldn't be in this situation."
   "Be serious with me Yugi," I imitate with an almost mocking sound to my voice, the tone wasn't intentional but it seems that I have lost all control. "Why did you allow for this relationship between you and Ushio to go on for as long as it did? If your friend is so willing and ready to protect you why didn't he put an end to it?"
   "He would have if I let him." He mumbles.
   "So you're telling me that you stopped him form helping you." I answer slowly, the words dripping from my lips like venomous ambrosia, sweet but deadly.
   "No!" He shouts before his eyes go wide in surprise and he lowers his voice to a whisper. "I didn't want him to get hurt so...so I didn't tell him about it."
   I stare at him for a moment with a blank expression. The innocent gleam in his eyes that reflect in the moonlight almost makes me want to drop this subject entirely but I cannot. Something deep down won't allow me to forgive myself if I drop this topic now.
   "You believe that he had no idea that this was going on?"
   "He didn't." Yugi says with a slight sigh of relief.
   "You poor boy," I can't help but murmur with sympathy. "You actually believe that he had no idea." I uncross my legs and allow the heels of my black leather boots to click against the wooden floor harshly. "Your friend knew Yugi, he knew all too well what was going on."
   "You can't possibly  know that." He whispers softly, his eyes trained firmly on his lap. "He didn't know."
   "He's a lot smarter than he lets on." I say as I rise to my feet. "I could tell just from looking in his eyes that he was aware of everything that has happened to you when it came to Ushio. He knew Yugi." My heels click against the wood floor until I am standing at the foot of Yugi's bed.
   "Well I suppose that it doesn't matter now." He murmurs without looking up at me, his small hands trembling slightly in his lap. "Joey didn't get hurt in an attempt to protect me, so mission accomplished."
   "I wouldn't consider it as such."
   "Ofcourse you wouldn't." Yugi says with a slight note of disdain in his voice. "Everything I do is weak and pathetic or wrong in your opinion, so it really shouldn't surprise me that you wouldn't consider my sacrifice to be a success."
   "That right there is why I don't consider it to he a success." I say with a small smirk as I slowly make my way to the side of the bed. Yugi watches me with curious and wary eyes as I come to stand beside him. As soon as I pause he scoots a little farther away from me but I can't really bring myself to care at the moment. "The fact that you called it a sacrifice, that's where you failed in my eyes."
   "I... I don't understand."
   "Allow me to enlighten you." I say as I take a seat on the edge of the bed. Yugi hurriedly shuffles away from me but I grab his wrist and pull him back. "You should never sacrifice your own well being for the happiness of someone else." I bring my face dangerously close to his, our electric blonde bangs clashing against one another. "Your sacrifice would have been meaningless to begin with."
   "You don't know what you are talking about!" He snaps in protest.
   "Joey is only happy because he believes you to be happy." I answer, completely ignoring his previous statement. "He would have helped you if you had merely asked him for the help, but you chose to take it in silence. Perhaps it was because you thought you were thinking of your friends wellbeing but in reality," our foreheads bump slightly and Yugi's eyes go wide as he stares into my crimson eyes, darker than any amount of blood. "You only took the bearings because you believed that you deserved it."
   There is a tense moment of silence that passes before Yugi even dares to breathe. His face has gone pale and his hand is trembling but I can't bring myself to release my grip on him. A part of me never wants to let go.
   "How... How do you know all of this?" Yugi whispers through trembling lips. "It's impossible that you should know all of that."
   "I understand you far better than anyone else ever could Yugi." I murmur softly, my voice quiet. "You and I are a lot alike."
   "Is that why you hate me?" Yugi whispers his voice breathy and soft. I blink in surprise before releasing him. We stare at one another for a brief moment before I turn away.
   "You should sleep now Yugi."
   "I don't think I can."
   "You should still try." I murmur. "I will sit in the corner over there if it will help."
   "No," he whispers. "Could you sit at the foot of the bed?"  I turn back to look at him with a look of surprise. "Please?"
   "As you wish." I answer softly as I take a seat at the foot of the bed, my back leaning against the plush fabric. Silence surrounds us and I can't help but wonder just what is happening here, this is nothing like the outcome I had expected after our little standoff.
   "Goodnight Yami," Yugi whispers softly. "I hope you have pleasant dreams."
   "Go to sleep Yugi." I respond. I rest my face in my hands and whisper the two words I have never said to anyone. "Pleasant dreams."