Invisible Me

Invisible Me


Author’s Note: I must be out of my mind! Two stories on this server to work on, and I’m adding another! However, I read a story by Wicabeth called “My Happy Ending” and was inspired to write this. There are several stories out there where Yami finds love with someone else, usually with Seto, and I wondered what it would be like if our favorite pharaoh was struggling to make his way in his new life and can’t quite seem to find something that will make him happy. I must thank DracOnyx for her input on this. Thanks to her, I’ll be able to keep our favorite thief in character. Also, anything said through the mind link will be off set with a dash, for example: -"Baka Pharaoh."- I couldn't get italics to work!

Disclaimer: I don’t own YuGiOh. But, oh, the trouble I could cause if I did!!!

Chapter One - Observation


Long fingers tapped restlessly against the polished surface of the table, drawing a look of concern from the person sitting across from the small teenager. Noting the blue eyes, the duelist tried to smile, not realizing that it didn’t reach his eyes. This alone told the observer that he was not doing as well as he would like her to believe. Amethyst colored eyes unwillingly returned to the one he had been watching since the group had met up at the restaurant.

“Here’s the next one, Yami.”

The former pharaoh took the brightly wrapped package from Duke, smiling brightly at the blond haired girl sitting beside him. She’d come with him to the small birthday celebration that his friends had arranged, much to Téa’s and Yugi’s dismay. Yami had met Sachi after one of Téa’s dance recitals, and he’d added her to the ever growing list of partners that he’d been accumulating. She’d joined the group of friends several different times and had not endeared herself to several members of the group.

Crimson eyes scanned the tag that had been placed on the group and announced who the present was from.

“This is from Yugi.”

Every muscle in the small teen’s body tensed as he watched his soul partner open his gift. He’d worked long and hard on it, hoping that Yami would like it.

“A book? What kind of gift is that?”

Sachi’s shrill voice broke the silence. Everyone had been wondering what Yugi would get him, knowing that he’d been rather close mouthed about it since the topic of Yami’s birthday had come up.

From his position, Bakura’s keen eyes made out the detail of the pages that rested within the covers of the book as Yami flipped through it. The artist who had drawn the pictures had obviously spent a long time on each drawing, adding each detail with a loving hand. If Yugi had drawn them, he had a talent that was beyond what any of them had thought.

“A book of pictures, no less, and the binding job is horrible. Honestly, what a stupid idea for a gift. Here, sweetie, open mine. I think you’ll find it to be something you really want.”

Yugi’s heart cracked as he watched as the book was carelessly laid aside. He’d spent over a year working on all of those pictures, wanting to make sure each one was perfect before getting them bound. Despite careful saving, he hadn’t had enough money to get the binding he’d wanted and had to be content with a cheaper look.

“Cool!”

At the outcry from Joey, Yugi was pulled from his thoughts and found what Yami’s girlfriend had given him. His soul partner was holding two concert tickets and on the table was a box of extremely rare Duel Monster cards. A gift that his yami obviously appreciated more than what he’d given him.

Unable to take much more, Yugi rose to his feet and absently excused himself, needing to go home and lock himself away before the others returned to his house for cake. He walked away from the table, unaware of the sapphire, brown, and mahogany colored gazes watching him. All three pairs of eyes held an identical look of concern as they watched him walk out of the restaurant.

Solomon Mutou looked up from his book when his grandson walked into the house. Concern immediately filled him as his amethyst colored gaze noted the dejected slump of the delicate shoulders. Yugi’s entire body screamed defeat and pain, and that was something Solomon was not used to seeing.

“Yugi? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, Grandpa. I’ve just got a headache and decided to come home early. The others will be here in a while for cake and ice cream, and I wanted to try and get rid of it before they got here.”

The old man knew it was a lie but said nothing, knowing that Yugi would open up to him once he was ready. The two shared a close relationship, relying on each other for love and support. Yami had also been a part of it but had been drifting away as he went from lover to lover. Solomon wasn’t sure what had the former pharaoh so dissatisfied and hoped that he would find what it was he was missing before the relationship he had with Yugi was irreparably destroyed.

His thoughts were soon interrupted as Malik, Marik, Téa, Joey, Duke, Tristan, Yami, Bakura, Ryou, and Sachi poured into the house. The gifts Yami had received had been laid on the coffee table and the blond haired girl picked up the book that was laying on top. She sneered at it and dropped it onto the table, not caring when it fell onto the floor.

Ryou looked up at the right time to see a pained expression in his best friend’s amethyst gaze. Yugi had entered the living room at the wrong time and had seen what Yami’s girlfriend had done to the book.

-“What a bitch.”-

Startled by his hikari’s comment, Bakura was quick to reply through their link.

-“Ryou?”-

-“She did that on purpose. Three bets she knew Yugi was there and could see it.”-

-“I don’t know why the damned pharaoh is keeping this tramp around so long. He’s usually done with them by the time the third week has gone by.”-

-“I’m not sure what’s better for Yugi in this case. Watching him go through lovers so quickly or watching him with a long term partner. Either way, it’s hurting him.”-

Bakura’s mental voice was grim as he responded to Ryou. Like his partner, he’d also been keenly aware of what the pharaoh’s hikari had been going through. His anger at Yami continued to grow each time he saw the pain in Yugi’s eyes or the way his body seemed to close in on itself each time he was dealt another blow.

-“Yami is a fool for not seeing what’s in front of him. Even though he doesn’t talk about it, all we can do is be there for Yugi and support him as we can.”-

If anyone else had heard that response, they would have questioned their sanity and his. However, Ryou knew that there was a softer side to his yami and after the long period of time that the group had been together, Yugi had managed to worm his way into Bakura’s heart. Although he would deny it to the others, Ryou knew that Bakura thought of the tiny hikari as a brother and often looked out for him when things got too rough at school.

-“I agree, and I think Téa’s thinking the same. She’s worried too. You can see it in her eyes.”-

-“She’s not stupid. She’s known Yugi longer than we have and knows what to look for. She sees the signs just as clearly as we do.”-

Continuing to ignore the others, Ryou picked up the book and opened it, suppressing a gasp of surprise as he took in the detailed artwork.

-“Kura, look at this.”-

Curious, Bakura looked over his hikari’s shoulder to see what the slender young man was looking at. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Each picture was exquisitely drawn and colored, showing that Yugi had spent an incredible amount of time on each one. Some of the drawings were of Egypt, others of their friends, and occasionally, there was a Duel Monster that had been drawn using Yugi’s perspective as to what they were.

Mahogany colored eyes landed on a picture of Joey cradling the head of the Red Eyes Black Dragon, and Bakura could only shake his head in amazement.

-“I never knew Yugi had so much talent.”-

-“I’ve seen some of his sketches but nothing like this. And to think that Yami never really took a look at this. There’s so much of Yugi’s heart here.”-

When Ryou turned the page and found a drawing of Yami, Bakura could only agree with his hikari. It was obvious that the one who had drawn this was very much in love with the subject, given the intricate amount of detail in the picture. Nothing had been left out, showing that Yugi had spent a lot of time observing his yami without being noticed.

-“Absolutely incredible.”-

“Ryou? Bakura?”

The soft voice drew them out of their silent conversation, and they looked up to find Yugi standing in front of them.

“They’re about to serve the cake.”

Ryou climbed to his feet and handed the book to Yugi. Before he could speak, Bakura looked down at the tiny hikari and his gruff voice could only be heard by the two hikaris.

“The pharaoh is a fucking idiot and needs to get his head out of his ass.”

Speechless, Yugi watched as the yami went into the kitchen and then the tri-colored haired duelist turned back to his friend.

“What was that about?”

Ryou shrugged, knowing all too well what was bothering his yami. His voice was soothing as he answered his friend.

“You never know with Bakura. His mind works differently than ours at times. If he wants to be understood, he’ll speak his mind plainly.”

Yugi nodded and followed his white haired friend to the kitchen, hanging back as he watched his friends sing ‘happy birthday’ to his yami. Once Yami blew out the candles, he bit down viciously on his lower lip as he watched Sachi give the taller duelist an enthusiastic kiss.

He quietly wished that it could be him kissing Yami like that, wanting so badly to be able to show him how much he really cared for him. Tears burned his eyes for a long moment and Yugi forced his emotions to quiet, not wanting his soul partner to pick up any of his distress.

His tears had been noted by Bakura and Téa, and the thief was surprised when he heard the feral sounding growl that came from the dancer’s throat. Mahogany eyes met sapphire, and he was quick to notice the look of fury that was making them shine.

“Téa?”

“He’s got such a prize in Yugi, and he can’t see it. That ass is turning out to be dumber than I thought he was. I can’t stand seeing Yugi hurt like this.”

An idea crossed Bakura’s mind and an expression that Ryou was altogether too familiar with settled on his face. The white haired hikari could only wonder what had prompted his yami to smirk like that, and he had to bite back a yelp of surprise when he heard Bakura’s next question.

“We need to talk. What are you doing tomorrow?”

Author’s End Notes – Thank you for reading my new story! I’ll update this and the other two soon! I think my muses are finally cooperating with me right now, and I’m certainly going to take advantage of their cooperation. Now, please, be kind and leave me a review!!!