Unbreak My Heart

Author’s Note: Well, here we go again with another chapter. I was beginning to wonder if my muses would allow me to continue or not, but it seems that they’re being kind enough to inspire today. Also, I recently posted a new story and hope that you will check it out. It’s called “Ray of Sunshine” and deals with Yami in a different light.

For those who reviewed, thank you so much for your support! It really helps a writer when the readers leave feedback. This is how we know that you enjoyed it and/or if there are problems that need fixing. A big thank you goes out to – anubiset, aspiker (I don’t have a beta. I’m an English major and can usually pick up on my own little errors. Thanks for the compliment!), DracOnyx (couldn’t do it without you!), Silvershadowfire, and Shinigami24.

Disclaimer: I don’t own YuGiOh! Truly wish I did though because I can think of a lot of fun things I could do, especially with my favorite characters!!!

Chapter Six – Trying To Move On

Two teens stopped at the door and waited as the small figure finished putting on his shoes. They hid a wince at the softly spoken farewell to his grandfather and equally quiet greeting to them, not comfortable with the sadness that was etched on the cherubic face and gentle voice.

“Hey, Yugi!”

Yugi shouldered the backpack and answered his friend. There was almost no life to the usually bubbly tone, and their friend’s voice brought chills to them.

“Hey, Joey.”

“Téa and the others are going to meet us at school. Kaiba picked Marik up this morning to make sure everything is set up for him.”

Yugi nodded, but Joey and Tristan could tell that he wasn’t completely focused on them. Hazel eyes met brown for a moment, exchanging mutual expressions of concern. Obviously, their friend was still not doing well and they could only wonder how Marik and Ryou were doing.

The walk to school seemed to take longer than usual. Yugi barely talked to anyone, and the conversation ground to a halt long before they reached their destination.

When they joined the group at their lockers, Tristan noticed that Ryou and Marik had the same listless expression on their faces that Yugi had. The hikaris were not doing well at all, and that realization made his concern double.

During the classes he shared with any of the hikaris, Tristan found himself watching them, hoping to find any sign that their grief was lessening. That hope was brutally dashed throughout the first few periods and the tall teenager knew that, if anything, their grief was steadily intensifying.

Lunch was an ordeal as he and the others firmly kept reminding the trio to eat, wanting to ensure that they would not be allowed to miss any meals. Yugi, Marik, and Ryou had diminished appetites and if they weren’t monitored, it was obvious that food would be forgotten.

Unable to contain his emotions, Tristan put his tray up and left the cafeteria, knowing that he needed some time to vent. Once he was far enough away, he punched a tree, trying to push all of his anger and pain into it. As he swung a second time, a hand stopped him and he angrily turned to find the emerald green eyes of Duke watching him.

“Hurting yourself isn’t going to do them or yourself any good, Tristan.”

“I know. It’s just that I can’t stand it anymore! Of all of us, they deserve a happy life and I know they’re not going to have it. They won’t be happy without their others. It’s just not fair!”

Duke didn’t say anything, knowing that his friend needed a chance to vocalize his own emotions before they erupted into something violent and painful.

“It hurts seeing them like that, Duke. Yugi used to be a little ball of sunshine, smiling and laughing his way through the day. Now it’s like someone snuffed out all of that light and left a shadow in its place. I know his grandpa is worried. Hell, I’m worried and it’s frustrating because I can’t do anything to bring them back.”

The green eyed teenager’s voice was quiet and soothing as he finally broke his silence to answer the grieving Tristan.

“The only ones who can truly bring back the light in their souls are their yamis and unless the gods are willing, there’s no chance of that happening. Ryou, Yugi, and Marik understood the risks and despite the pain, they let them go on to the afterlife. After all this time being imprisoned in the Millennium items, they’ve earned a chance for happiness.”

“Yeah, but who’s to say that they wouldn’t be happy with their hikaris?”

“That’s a question only Malik, Yami, and Bakura can answer, Tristan. We don’t know if they even care about them in that kind of way or vice versa. To be honest, Téa seems to be the only one who thinks that Ryou has some sort of feelings for Bakura. I’ve never heard any of them comment about their yamis in a romantic sort of way. For all we know, this is best for all six of them.”

Tristan shook his head, unable to agree with Duke’s words. He knew his friends well enough to know that they wouldn’t mourn the yamis like this if their feelings simply extended to friendship and love held for a guardian. It just didn’t make sense to him at all.

“Maybe they don’t know how they feel towards the yamis and just know that something is missing. Maybe Téa is right and they love them but aren’t aware of it yet. I don’t know. I was never good at this emotional stuff.”

“You’re better at it than you think you are, Tristan. Don’t sell yourself short like that.”

Hazel eyes stared at his companion with a confused expression in their depths. He hadn’t heard Duke talk like that before, and it only raised the confusion level he was already dealing with.

“Come on, it’s almost time for the bell and I’m sure the others are wondering where we’ve disappeared to.”

Quietly, he walked with Duke back into the school and went to his locker to retrieve his books. He didn’t have any of his friends in his literature class and for the first time, he was rather glad of it. His emotions were very unsettled and had only been riled up a bit more by the words and actions of his friend.

Tristan stared at his right hand, noting absently that he’d bruised the knuckles with that first swing. He could almost feel Duke’s hand as it had stopped the second swing, something that was slightly unnerving him.

His thoughts continued to race throughout the rest of the school day, and more confusion was added when the emerald eyed duelist caught him at his lockers at the end of school.

“I’m a bit worried about you, Tristan. You’ve been spending a lot of time worrying about the hikaris and school. You need some time to relax and get away from it all. Why don’t you come over to my house Friday night? I’ll treat you to some good Irish cuisine. How about that?”

“If you’re sure about that?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t, Tristan. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I don’t know.”

“I promise I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”

That statement, so like his friend to make, made Tristan laugh for the first time since the trip to Egypt. The chuckles surprised him, and he had to admit that it felt damn good to laugh again.

“Ah, I see a smile. I’ve done something right then. So, shall we call it a date? My house after school?”

The word date caught Tristan’s attention, and it was a struggle to keep his voice calm. Obviously Duke didn’t mean anything by that term.

“Sure. Should I bring anything?”

“Nope, just yourself and a big appetite. I’m anxious to break out some of my da’s recipes. It’s been a while since I’ve had company over to cook for. It’s usually Ryou who does the cooking for our group gatherings.”

“It sounds good. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Tristan. I think it’ll be fun and do you a world of good.”

Tristan nodded and headed for home. His mind was stuck on two different tracks, locked on continual replay. One part of him was constantly thinking about the hikaris and what could be done to help them. The other part kept replaying the various conversations with Duke, and the hazel eyed teen could only wonder at himself for thinking so much about the absent dark haired young man.

Later that night, he lay in his darkened room and struggled to calm his thoughts down so he could get some rest. He couldn’t get the day out of his head and, with a groan, Tristan turned over and buried his face into his pillow. He couldn’t believe he was obsessing over simple conversations. It just wasn’t like him to do that!

When sleep finally claimed him, his dreams were haunted by a pair of green eyes and an almost lilting voice.

The next morning, Tristan wearily waved at his friends and Joey, ever tactful, eyed his oldest friend for a long moment before commenting on his appearance.

“Man, Tris, you look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Duke, having heard the conversation, leaned around Tristan and stared up at his face. The shorter teen looked back at Joey, answering him with a playful tone of voice.

“I don’t know, Joey. How could you look at that face and tell him he looks like shit? I think something’s wrong with your eyesight, my friend. He looks just as scrumptious as ever.”

That comment surprised a bark of laughter out of Seto Kaiba, who had been standing near the group. The dice master’s words had amused the CEO, but Tristan’s expression made it all the more priceless. There was a look of stunned bafflement on his face, telling Kaiba that he had no idea what Duke meant by his words and was extremely confused by what was going on.

“Keep that up and you’ll frighten him away, Devlin. You don’t want to wear out that Irish charm before it has a chance to work.”

Duke grinned at the CEO with a mischievous light dancing in his green eyes.

“So you admit that I’m charming?”

Kaiba wasn’t taken aback by the question and played along with Duke, knowing that the hikaris were watching the scene with interest. Tristan was also watching, although the confused expression hadn’t abated at all.

“I’ll admit that you have your moments, although they’re few and far between.”

Duke held a hand against his heart, his eyes sparkling even more. He knew what Seto was up to and was willing to keep things rolling.

“You wound me, Seto! Here I was thinking that you liked my charm. You certainly haven’t said much against it before.”

For a long moment, the sapphire eyed teenager didn’t say a word, making all of them wonder how he was going to respond to that.

“I’ve learned that you’re like most Irishmen, full of blarney. However, being half, you must be compensating for that and demonstrate that you’ve kissed the Blarney Stone more than you should have. We have to take you with a whole shaker of salt instead of a grain of it.”

The answer surprised laughter out of everyone, including the hikaris. The soft giggles brought hope to their friends’ hearts, making them believe that, eventually, there would be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Author’s Note – Another chapter finished and more to go on both stories. DracOnyx has been nagging me to get this finished and update both stories soon. Otherwise, she might send Bakura after me! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will be kind enough to leave a review! See you soon!