Yuugi rolled over on his side, letting out a very content sound, rumbling in his throat. Atemu hadn't commented on him skipping class or forgetting his lunchbox; almost everything seemed futile in the light of the good news. We're going to be parents, Yuugi thought, looking over his shoulder. Atemu was dozing, his breathing too light to be completely asleep. The tangled mess of sheets and other bed linen only covered his right leg, and he had propped his hands under the pillow. Yuugi smiled. Parents. It wouldn't be easy, it wouldn't be all fun and games- but it would be their responsibility, their family, their child. It was like a wish come true...and life suddenly just seemed perfect. A wonderful boyfriend and lover, a loving family, a roof over his head, and now their very own daughter.
Yuugi leaned into Atemu and kissed him on the cheek, receiving a low mutter in return. His hair was a mess and he felt a little sweaty- time for a shower. He jumped out of the bed, scrambling for a pair of sweatpants, socks and an oversized t-shirt; towels would be plentiful in the bathroom. Leaving their bedroom, Yuugi made his way down the stairs, sticking his nose in the air and sniffing; he could smell delicious, rich and spicy food- his mother truly was preparing a very special dinner. He rubbed his hands- this was more than a perfect day, it was mega perfect! As he passed his grandfather's room, he suddenly heard a noise, and halted.
"Yuugi?"
He'd heard it right. Carefully, Yuugi pushed the door open.
"Jii-chan?"
"Yuugi," the elderly man repeated, making a movement with his hand, indicating for Yuugi to come in. He pouted a little, not wanting his grandfather to see him this disheveled- but he wasn't about to object.
"Jii-chan, have you heard the news already?"
"Of course I have," he said, patting on the covers of his bed. Mutou Suguroku hadn't changed much over the years appearance-wise; he had taken his health problems in stride, but wasn't all too happy about being bed-ridden. Next to his bed were large boxes of second-hand Duel Monsters cards; he'd been sorting through them for future sales, and to keep him busy.
"It's great news, Yuugi. Soon, you'll be having your very own child," he said, an amused look on his face. "My very own great-grandchild! I'm so very happy for both of you."
"Thank you, jii-chan," Yuugi said while he sat down on the thick covers. "We waited for three years, but it's all worth it, that's for sure!"
"Certainly," he nodded. "Yuugi, now it's the time to talk."
"Now?"
"Yes. I had the same talk with Atemu, and heaven forbid him being a little less stubborn than he usually is."
"What are you talking about, jii-chan?" Yuugi asked a little worried.
The elderly man heaved a sigh. "Yuugi...I'm an old man. I'm going to be seventy-eight in a few days, and my health is declining slowly but steadily."
"Jii-chan..."
"Let me finish, Yuugi, please." He looked up, determined. "This is about your future, the future you're creating for yourself. You're about to form a family of your own with Atemu as your significant other and soon a child will join you as your daughter. I'm sure she's not going to be your only child." He lifted up his hand when he saw that Yuugi wanted to speak again.
"I want to see you happy,both of you. You deserve it, Yuugi- you and Atemu, after all you've been through. I want you to live your life to the fullest, doing what you want to do, doing what you like best, what you see fit. Nothing is more stressing in life when you burden yourself with obligations that aren't obligations at all..."
"I don't understand it, jii-chan," Yuugi interjected when the elderly man took a deep breath.
"I'm talking about the Game Shop, Yuugi. You don't have to keep the store up and running because of some silly thought or self-imposed obligation that it's something that I wanted to see, something that I wanted to be it that way."
"Jii-chan, of course we don't abandon the Game Shop!"
"That's what I meant, Yuugi," Suguroku said. "It's all right. You don't have to keep the store as some kind of memento to me. I'm not physically around to enjoy it anyway, and do you really think it'll make me happy when you're doing something you don't really like, just out of some sort of obligation that I would've liked it?"
"Jii-chan..."
"Atemu isn't the kind of person to run a game store for the rest of his life, Yuugi. He was, and still is a Pharaoh, in every way. Being a store clerk isn't what he's cut out to do, even though you have to hold him at gunpoint and still he'll deny it, claiming that he doesn't mind the work and that he's happy to do it for you or for me. I don't want his or your days to be boring and slaving if there's something else he or you want to do, something you both would enjoy more."
"I...I don't know what to say," Yuugi whispered, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. His grandfather was discussing things his death, something he didn't really want to think about. Yuugi felt ashamed for never having given it a thought before, assuming that everything would always remain the same. "Jii-chan..."
"It's alright, Yuugi. These are the kind of things no one likes to discuss. Believe me, I wish I could postpone this kind of discussion to years later...but we have to keep reality in check. I know your interests don't lie with the shop or with doing business in general, and I don't want Atemu to look back at his life years later and hate me or himself for doing work that he never really enjoyed. I don't own a lot of money, Yuugi, or I would've given it already to you to build your own house, follow your dreams..."
"Jii-chan, don't be silly! I don't want any money..."
The elderly man coughed a little before he continued, interrupting Yuugi again. "I haven't invented in technology to keep the store up-to-date, Yuugi. I think we're the only one in Domino City who don't accept plastic money. I haven't ordered the newest game consoles and systems either, to slowly but steadily reduce the store's stock."
"That wasn't necessary..."
"Yes, it was. It is. I may be an old man, but I'm not a fool, neither am I blind. I don't want you to be weighed down by the responsibilities and obligations of a store, especially if it's something you never really fancied yourself. Your future is for you to decide, Yuugi. You and Atemu and your children, together."
Yuugi smiled, fingers curling around the bed cover and pulling them slightly up. "Thank you, jii-chan. I promise I talk to mou hitori no boku about this, alright? You better rest up now for dinner."
"I'm not a baby either," Suguroku protested faintly, and wriggled a little when lying down. Yuugi smiled when tucking in his grandfather, the man who taught him how to duel, how to envision a strategy, the man who had done more for him than his own father who was always away for business...and he had to swallow, his lips a little quivering. If his grandfather saw it, he didn't comment on it, and after Yuugi had wished him a good rest the man closed his eyes, fatigue already claiming him. He didn't cry, not even when he was in the shower- but his heart felt heavy, and his mind was troubled.
Time went by, and despite his promise, Yuugi didn't bring up the topic he and his grandfather discussed about with Atemu. The elderly man's health seemed to stabilize, and his seventy-eighth birthday was celebrated, the family gathered together around his bed. For a moment, Yuugi thought his grandfather was going to hold a similar speech when they were eating the birthday cake and looking at the greeting cards Suguroku had received, but he never did say a word about it. Yuugi knew he had to talk about this to Atemu, knowing that the former Pharaoh had discussed this with grandfather as well- and he felt ashamed for not daring to touch the subject. He simply didn't want to think about it, wanting everything to remain the same- and his grandfather to be alive for decades to come.
He buried himself in university assignments, working together with Otogi on the DDM handheld game which was about to be taken into production, and spending his free time to help Atemu with the redecoration of the guest room. He was fairly amused by the colors his other self had chosen- sandy and sunny colors, a variety of camel brown and warm yellow. They probably could re-do the entire decoration thing if their daughter wanted to have sparkly pink princess wallpaper and accessories in the future, though he wasn't really looking forward to that. While the days went by, they managed to find nice second-hand furniture; all painted with a yellowish white that gave a very antique, ancient impression. They bought the complete set of bed, cupboard, dresser, nightstand and a small table with two chairs- the table could serve as a desk later, and was adjustable in height, just like the chairs.
Yuugi's mother donated a lot of clothes and toys obtained via her friends, who knew others with kids who outgrew their clothing or toys- Yuugi never had imagined that there was such a lively second-hand market, and that people were so friendly and willingly to share. Their friends- Anzu, Otogi, Jounouchi, Honda, Bakura and others they knew-, were also quite ecstatic about the upcoming expansion of the family, mostly giving them more luxury gifts. Anzu had even send a present, a beautiful lamp in the form of a ballerina, holding the bulb and light shade in her carefully sculptured hands, all the way from the United States.
Yuugi was very glad and grateful for everything he received, praising himself lucky with such caring friends and family. Buying everything new would've been a severe drain on their savings, and paying for his tuition with the very small profits of the store was sometimes hard enough. He'd earned himself prize money when he still was participating in tournaments, but Atemu was in charge of the finances. Yuugi had never exactly asked how they got by- the fact that Atemu never complained or never said anything about any monetary predicaments was proof enough for him that everything was still fine and dandy.
The long-anticipated call arrived at a Wednesday afternoon; Yuugi was upstairs studying for one of his end-of-semester exams after having spend an hour playing Go with his grandfather. He heard Atemu coming up the stairs- he had a far heavier footstep than Yuugi's mother, so that was easy to distinguish- and he closed his book, having heard the phone ring just a few minutes before.
"We can go see her this Friday, and if everything goes all right we can take her immediately home with us," Atemu said, a warm smile gracing his face.
"That's wonderful!" Yuugi cheered, throwing his arms around Atemu and hugging him. The pictures the agency had send were grainy and low quality- they wondered exactly why, didn't anyone there dispose over a digital camera?- and they both loved to meet their daughter in the flesh. "We're finally going to see her!"
"We are finally going to see her," Atemu repeated, kissing him lightly on the lips. "We have waited for so long..."
"And done so much work...well, actually you did most of the work," Yuugi said. "It must have been so tiring for you, mou hitori no boku, to have gone through all those tests and procedures."
"I would do so immediately again," Atemu answered, smiling at Yuugi. "With a reward such like this, how could I not?"
"Tzuziko-chan will love it here," Yuugi said, nuzzling his other self. He couldn't get enough of those arms around him, feeling loved, protected and safe.
"I am sure of it..."
"Oh...what am I going to wear when we're going to pick her up?"
"I think we have to leave the leather pants at home, aibou."
"Darn!"
One of the main reasons Yuugi was glad that Atemu had gone through the whole procedure was because of the agency itself. Ooshimuru, despite its good and renowned reputation, was nothing short of a clinic to Yuugi - cold, emotionless, super hygienic, a sterile office, out of place concidering the work they did here. It didn't help that the receptionist, hair painfully pulled back into a tight bun, large, black-framed glasses on her nose, didn't radiate any friendliness at all, as well as the number they had been assigned from some weird ticketing machine.
Yuugi sat down in the waiting room, after greeting the two other couples already present, and stared at the printed number in his hands.
"We're nothing but a number," he muttered, but it was loud enough for the other couple to overhear. The man of the couple threw him a compassionate, almost pitiful look- people knew here how stressing and difficult an adoption procedure was, especially with the emotions involved- emotions this particular agency barely seemed to recognize.
"Tanaka-san will soon call for us," Atemu said, only nodding with his head towards the others in the waiting room, ignoring the quaint looks he received- most people would give the both of them a rather surprised look, seeing their similar appearance.
He sat down next to Yuugi, studying the number. There was a stack of very old magazines on the plastic table next to them, but Yuugi didn't feel much for reading them. He hoped that their caseworker would call for them soon; he was extremely nervous. Time seemed to crawl in this particular room, and his hopes went up when a woman came into the waiting room- but called for the other couple. Atemu patted him on the knee, as to console him.
"Have patience, Yuugi," he said, and grimaced- they thought it was for the better to refer to each other with their ordinary names in public. After all, it wouldn't do them very good to call each other 'aibou' and 'mou hitori no boku' in front of their caseworker, now would it? Yuugi hated hearing his name from Atemu; it just didn't feel right. He sunk away in dark, almost depressive and irritated thoughts when the door of the waiting room opened again.
"Mutou-san," the woman said, clutching a clipboard to her chest. She had a friendly face, but didn't show real sympathy or compassion- Yuugi didn't really like her at first sight, but showed her a warm smile. This was the woman who decided over their daughter...he'd better be at his best behavior. It hardly dawned to him that they had been waiting for two hours; he'd been so completely lost in his thoughts that he had lost track of time.
She led them to her room, a small office that contained a desk with computer, two chairs, a file cabinet and a sidetable. There was only some kind of painting on the wall for decoration- Yuugi couldn't make heads or tails out of it and didn't want to take the risk by offending the woman by commenting on it.
They both sat down, while she immediately started talking- about the supervision they would have to endure for at least six months, that the baby could be taken away again when they failed to meet certain standards and progress, and her words quickly went into one ear and out the other. While Yuugi maintained a neutral face, he wished the woman would be more positive and stressing the good things instead of all the bad things that might happen. After a long time hearing her drone on about things- he'd ask Atemu later about what she'd been saying- the woman rose from her chair.
"I'll have Kihito-san bring your daughter," she said, and -finally!- showed a genuine, friendly smile. "One moment, Mutou-san, in the meantime you can sign the last of the paperwork."
Both Atemu and Yuugi thanked her before she left, and the former Pharaoh shoved the papers towards Yuugi.
"Here you are, aibou- you should do the official signing."
He made a non-committal noise, but took the cap of the pen and started signing. "I almost feel like someone working for the government. Sign this, sign that..."
Atemu laughed softly. "You know why we do this all for, aibou..."
"I know, mou hitori no boku. I can't wait!" Yuugi signed the papers quickly, looking at them briefly, even though these were the official papers that made him the parent of little Tzuziko- Tzuziko Anekh, as was stated everywhere. Apparently, none of the involved authorities had seen a problem with the two names, for which he was glad. "Mou hitori no boku, we..."
He was interrupted as the door opened, and two women stepped in- one holding the baby, a little girl with her sleek hair tied into a small, rather sloppy braid. She was wearing a light green dress which was clearly too big for her; the hem was torn here and there. She wore socks, no shoes, and a small bracelet on her left wrist.
"Say hello, Tzuziko-chan," the co-worker said, bouncing the baby a little, as she had pressed her face against her chest, not looking up or around. "Your father is here..!"
"She's beautiful," Yuugi whispered, rising from his chair to take a better look. "Hello Tzuziko-chan!"
The little girl ducked away, all but trying to crawl into the chest of the co-worker. Her eyes were wide, and even though she didn't show fear, her hand in the co-worker's blouse tightened its grip.
"This was with her," the other woman said, showing Atemu and Yuugi a rag doll that looked extremely dirty. "We usually recommend to let the child keep something familiar...it's already hard enough for them."
"Thank you, Tanaka-san, Kihito-san," Atemu said, taking the rag doll from her. The caseworker went back to her desk, noticing the papers being signed and started to file them.
"Don't forget, Mutou-san, that you can always call our agency in case you have questions, run into trouble or if something isn't clear. We're here to help you, and to help Tzuziko-chan, of course."
"Of course," Yuugi repeated, eyes focused on the baby. The co-worker leaned a little into him, handing the baby over.
She didn't cry- just simply stared at him, with that strange, wide-eyed look. If Yuugi didn't know any better, he thought that she was examining him, looking through him into the very core of his soul. He didn't understand why she wasn't crying- she had let go of the co-worker's blouse without a problem, and her silence baffled him. Still, she was lying in his arms, a few seconds before he mimicked the posture of the co-worker, holding the girl on his arm, the other hand on her back, her face against his chest.
"Thank you," he whispered to no one in particular. He knew Atemu was standing next to him, patiently waiting for his turn to hold her and he felt extremely selfish- but he couldn't let go of her, not now. The co-worker smiled, while the caseworker expressed a little annoyance; she was probably thinking of all the other work that was waiting for her, and more than probably irritated that they hadn't left her office yet.
"I'll show you outside," the co-worker finally said, turning around to hold the door open for them. Yuugi continued to carry Tzuziko while Atemu gathered the copies of their signed documents along with a few other informative booklets. It felt a little unreal as they were walking, leaving the building- if it wasn't for the weight on his arm, Yuugi could barely believe he finally was going home with his daughter- their daughter.
Noticing that Yuugi didn't want to give the baby to him yet, Atemu was the one to drive home, where Yusuke would be anxiously waiting for them with tea and cake to celebrate the homecoming of her granddaughter. Suguroku had insisted on getting out of bed and making his way to the living room, where he comfortably settled himself in the corner of the couch, a blanket draped over him.
Yuugi talked all the way home to the baby, who was still silent, turning her head around as to take in everything around her. She uttered a few nonsense sounds, every one of them with an underlying questioning tone.
"I think she's asking where we're going," Yuugi said amusedly. "We're going home, Tzuziko-chan... we're going home. Your home, our home...and no one's going to pass you around anymore."
He grimaced slightly as he remembered what Atemu had told him about the baby's past- so young, and already with a past...a past of being born to a mother who couldn't take care of her, and instead of receiving help or support, was forced to give her baby to someone else in the family, who passed the baby to someone else and again and again, just as long as it took before finally someone decided to give her up for adoption. The unwillingness of people, family, to even help out one of their own, was astounding to Yuugi. He couldn't imagine being alone like that, being without help, being at the end of his wits...and once again he praised himself lucky and fortunate.
"We are here," Atemu announced, parking the car in the driveway. It wasn't really smart of the both of them to let him drive- Atemu didn't have a driver's license and in the case of being pulled over, they could face a hefty fine. None of them were thinking about that at the moment, and Atemu helped Yuugi out of the car before locking it.
"Is there any chance I get to hold her today?" He asked, and Yuugi blushed furiously.
"I'm sorry, mou hitori no boku! I..."
"It is all right, aibou...you have the honour of carrying her over the threshold."
"Thank you," Yuugi beamed at him, reminding himself to make it up to him later...preferably at night. "I love you..."
"I love you too, aibou..."
Before they could kiss, Yusuke had already opened the door, enthusiastically waving.
"Don't keep standing outside! Come in, come in!"
Yuugi threw Atemu an apologetic smile and moved towards the door, where his mother clasped her hands.
"Let me see her...let me see little Tzuziko-chan..."
"Kaa-san, let's go inside," Yuugi reminded her, as his mother started to touch the baby, who immediately ducked against Yuugi, her small fist tightening its grip on his shirt.
"Yes, yes, you're right. I have tea and cake... oh, and grandfather is up, he's waiting for you in the living room."
"Jii-chan is up? The doctor told him to stay in bed..!"
"Please, Yuugi-kun... it's just for this occasion."
He frowned, but refrained from commenting. His grandfather wasn't invalid, but since the latest visit of the doctor Suguroku had stayed in bed, without as much as a single word of protest.
"Why don't you go see him, aibou," Atemu suggested, slipping into the house sandals. "He especially got up to see our daughter."
"Yes yes," Yuugi said, nodding with his head. "As long as he doesn't overexert himself!"
With the baby on his arm, Yuugi quickly went to the living room, searching out his grandfather.
"Jii-chan, what are you doing up?"
The elderly man turned his head towards Yuugi, showing a similar apologetic smile. "I didn't want to keep vegetating in my bed when my great granddaughter's arriving," he said.
"We would've come to your room to show her to you," Yuugi said, but it didn't sound chiding in the least.
Suguroku answered by simply holding up his hands and Yuugi leaned into him, handing Tzuziko over. The moment she left his arms, she started crying- her lip had been quivering as Yuugi had carried her through the house, and now she was wailing at full capacity.
"Oooh, you poor little girl," Suguroku said while leaning comfortably back against the couch cushions. "You make much more noise than your father..."
Yuugi chuckled."You should know, jii-chan!" He suppressed his thoughts about his own father immediately, like he usually did. He was sure that his grandfather had held him much more often when he was a baby then his own father; it never failed to make some bile rise up in his throat.
"It's been a while," Yusuke sighed while carrying the tray with tea cups into the living room. "It's been a while since baby sounds and cries were heard in this house."
"You'll be hearing much more of it," Yuugi remarked dryly. "She was so silent all the way home, but now...it seems like some kind of dam has broken."
Atemu leaned over Yuugi, placing his hands on his shoulders. "It has been a tiring day for her, aibou. So many impressions, so many changes of sceneries, so many other people surrounding her now...that is hard to deal with, especially for an infant her age. She needs to rest."
Yuugi tilted his head, looking back at Atemu. "May jii-chan hold her for a little longer, please?"
"Not too long," Atemu answered, though Tzuziko seemed to calm down slightly; large tears dribbling over her cheeks. Suguroku rocked her a little, trying to hush her by keeping his voice calm and soothing. The only sounds were by him, Tzuziko still wailing, and Yuugi's mother passing around the tea cups and cake.
"Atemu is right," Suguroku said between the wailing sobs. "She has gone through a lot of impressions today, and every sound, every noise, is strange to her. It's for the better if she's brought to bed soon."
"The tea will still be warm," Yusuke said encouragingly, looking at the both of them with a warm, content smile on her face.
"All right," Yuugi agreed, standing up again to take Tzuziko back from his grandfather. The girl kept crying, though substantially toned down as soon as Yuugi held her once again in his arms. "We'll be back in a minute."
"Take your time, dear," Yusuke said while taking a sip from her tea; mirth and joy visible in her eyes. She knew it wouldn't take the baby long to fall asleep, as exhausted as the little girl was, it would probably take Yuugi and Atemu much longer to tear themselves away from her. That's why she didn't comment when they both returned to the living room more than an hour later, and went back to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of tea.
Another day of the week, another day at the university. Yuugi had been wearing a wide, goofy grin on his face for the past few weeks- being a father had really changed his demeanor! A- very high quality- picture of Tzuziko was stuck onto his notebook, so he could take a look at his daughter whenever he wanted to. Every day Atemu text messaged or called him as usual, but now always included an update about their baby girl. Something she did, something she achieved...it was great to see that Tzuziko was feeling at ease around them. She responded with her observing, examining eyes to everyone else that came to see her, but to the Mutou family members she lost her shyness pretty quickly, much to their relief. Tzuziko enjoyed the stories Suguroku told her- including making sounds and clapping with his hands, which she tried to imitate immediately-, and she liked being around Yusuke, who helped bathing and changing here. With every passing day, the little girl was coming more and more out of her shell, and Atemu was the first one to tell Yuugi proudly about her progress.
Everything went so well, and that was why Yuugi didn't understand why he was feeling restless and rather moody today. Tzuziko was doing fine, she slept the whole night, though she was a difficult eater, a real nitpicker. Seeing his other self busy with her was...too cute for words. Yuugi usually snickered at the thought of the memory cards from their digital camera he still had to transfer to the computer- every card holding lots of pictures of the both of them busy with the baby. Atemu had started talking Arabic to her, even repeating the hieroglyphic alphabet when bringing her to bed, much to Yuugi's hilarity.
"She is a genius, I am mere stimulating her development!" Atemu had told him, and Yuugi had countered that the girl needed to be exactly what she was: a baby, to be cuddled and caressed, not subjected to linguistics. It wasn't important enough to get them into a fight or hold irritation over it- they were both so happy with Tzuziko that any quarrel over her upbringing was simply kissed away- for now.
It's Thursday, he reminded himself. Thursdays were his favorite day of the week, except for the weekends of course. What's your problem, Mutou? He'd been fiddling with his pen all morning, not paying attention to the -otherwise very interesting- lecture earlier, held by one of his favorite teachers. Frowning, he stared at his lunchbox as if the answer to his restlessness was inside the plastic object.
"I don't think it did anything to you, Yuugi-kun, so why are you looking at it like you want to kill it?"
Yuugi almost gave a startled yelp, not having heard Otogi or his fan girls approach.
"Sorry about that, Otogi-kun!" He sheepishly apologized.
"That's okay..." Otogi took his usual seat opposite of him, putting his lunch tray on the table. "Something bothering you, Yuugi-kun?"
"Mmm, not really," Yuugi said, "I don't know. I haven't been able to concentrate all day and I just don't feel...at ease. A little restless."
"Everyone has an off-day once in a while," Otogi shrugged, while picking up his chopsticks. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Yeah, you're right," Yuugi answered him. He opened his lunchbox again to take out his sandwich, looking at it as if it were something vile. His appetite had taken an off-day as well apparently; he'd hardly had anything for breakfast either. Otogi didn't keep up his usual banter with him, sensing that Yuugi really wasn't in the mood for it.
Yuugi wanted to take a bite from his sandwich, but dropped it back into his lunchbox, poking at the food once again.
Otogi looked up from his bowl of ramen. "Yuugi-kun, are you sure you're all right? I've never seen you like this before."
Then it suddenly dawned to him. They were halfway through lunch period and Atemu hadn't called or text messaged yet. Was this the first time that the former Pharaoh would forget about it? Otogi was about to comment, when Yuugi suddenly said: "I'm sorry for ruining lunch, Otogi-kun, but I'm going home."
"You haven't ruined anything," Otogi reassured him, and considered suggesting that Yuugi couls send a text message or call first, if that was really bothering him. Yuugi started packing his bag, throwing his untouched sandwich back into the lunchbox, tossing it on top of the pile of books.
"I'm sorry," he said again, "I'll give you a call later, okay?"
"Sure, let me know what's going on," Otogi replied- he wasn't sure if Atemu not calling Yuugi had upset him, and he doubted that only that could've made Yuugi feel so restless.
Strange how everything and every one around him was so calm, chattering about nonsensical things, discussing trivia, while he had the feeling that something wasn't right, something was off. Yuugi wished for the subway to travel faster, though it was strictly on time as usual- every minute seemed to multiply indefintely in his head. He could've called home to ask if everyone was all right. He could've called...and somehow he couldn't work up the courage to do so. Atemu would probably say that everything was all right, to keep him from worrying- but Atemu hadn't called, not even send him a tiny text message, and it was disconcerting. He felt slight relief when the Game Shop came into sight- looking to the second floor, he spotted laundry hanging from the clothes lines. If there was laundry, everything was all right, right? It was an extremely silly thought, and still he clung to it as he crossed the street, all but running.
Yuugi wanted to enter through the Game Shop, and found the door closed- in the middle of the day, without as much as a sign? Befuddled, he went past the building to the front door of the house and opened it. He climbed up the stairs, feeling uncomfortable because of the odd silence. It wasn't like there was always noise in the house, but this...this was definitely a different kind of silence.
Yuugi reached the kitchen, smelling coffee, and noticed his mother sitting at the kitchen table, looking pale, dabbing with a damp handkerchief at her puffy, red eyes. Atemu was behind her, hands on the chair, and he turned to look at Yuugi.
"Aibou..."
"Mou hitori no boku...what's going on? Kaa-san?"
"Aibou, today the gods have called for jii-chan. He went with them, aibou."
He dumped his backpack on the floor. "No...no..!"
Atemu let go of the chair, closing the distance between them and pulling Yuugi into an embrace.
"I am sorry, aibou. The gods have called for him in his sleep, and he has answered them."
"That's...that can't be," Yuugi stammered, voice hitching. He'd assumed his grandfather had been still asleep when he was leaving for university early this morning. He heard his mother softly sobbing in the background, and he tightened his grip on Atemu.
"Where...where's Tzuziko-chan?" he asked.
"Taking her afternoon nap. I decided it was the best for her to continue the same, daily routine as usual. She is too young to understand, aibou."
"It's not fair...why couldn't he enjoy more of life? Why couldn't he spend more time with his great granddaughter?"
"Your grandfather reached a very respectable age, aibou," Atemu said, patting him on the back. "He has lived a great deal of time, bringing each and every one of us hope and joy, telling us about his adventures, taking care of us..."
"He brought you to me," Yuugi started to cry, "if it weren't for him going to Egypt and discover the Sennen Puzzle, we never would've been together..!"
"I know, aibou, I know...the loss is great," Atemu said, holding Yuugi close, moving his hand in massaging circles on his back. "We will all miss him, but never forget him."
"No, we'll never forget..."
"Aibou...why don't you lie down for a minute," Atemu lowered his voice, speaking with a soothing tone. "The news is very hard to take."
"I don't want to be alone right now," Yuugi bawled, gripping Atemu so tightly that a surprised gasp escaped him. His mother's sobs were heard in the background, and he couldn't stop crying.
"Jii-chan," he said, "jii-chan..."
Atemu remained silent, keeping his hand on Yuugi's back, burying his other hand in his hair, stroking the strands. They stood there for a long time, Yuugi not even knowing or realizing for how long, until Atemu brought him to the living room and sat him on the couch, tucking the ever-present blanket around him. Yuugi felt numb, muted, and he allowed himself to be tucked in as a baby, while tears kept falling, silently, expressing his grief.