Invisible Me

Author’s Note – For those who have been waiting so anxiously for chapter eight, you have my most abject and humble apologies. I can only say life has gotten in the way, and so many problems have come up that it’s made things creatively dead around here. I haven’t had the energy to write poetry, much less get my act together to update my stories. And again, computer seems to be my worst adversary these days. Thank you for being so patient!

Hugs and love to my heart sisters – Silvershadowfire, DracOnyx, and shy. You three are the best! Lots of hugs to my friends. Thank you for being so patient with me.

Disclaimer – I do not own YuGiOh, unfortunately. I wish I did!

Chapter Eight – Pulling Together

Due to Bakura and Marik’s insistence, the group formed a protective buffer around Yugi all day, sheltering him from any form of contact that would make his emotional condition even worse. The hikaris could only wonder what the yamis were planning but said nothing, not wanting to tip off their fellow hikari to the fact that plotting had been going on.

The small duelist went through the day in a pain filled haze that the group had difficulty reaching him through. It was as if Yugi was running on auto-pilot, all conscious thought locked on the troubles that had been plaguing him. The more sensitive teachers seemed to realize the teenager’s mood as well and didn’t call on him, allowing him to sit undisturbed through their classes.

What concerned the group of friends even more was that Yugi hadn’t even dragged out his sketchbook. Usually, when he was worried or upset, he’d bury himself into that little book. That he wasn’t told them that the emotional turmoil had finally blocked out the creative muse that typically enabled him to take his frustrations out on paper.

Ryou took extra care while taking his notes, knowing that Yugi would need them once he came out of the daze he’d been in all morning. A part of his mind kept working over the problems at hand, trying to form some sort of dialogue that would reach his friend once they could find a place to talk to him. In order for Yugi to capture his heart’s desire, the artist would have to start actively pursuing what he wanted. The conversation the group had shared about this replayed in the white haired teenager’s mind, and it was difficult to come up with a way to broach this subject with Yugi.

School seemed to drag by at an excruciatingly slow pace as the group kept a close eye on the little hikari. Each of them knew they’d have to take Yugi someplace to talk once the final bell rang, hoping that the conversation that would follow would be able to break through the suffering and give him hope.

Once that bell rang and signaled the end of the torture commonly known as algebra class, Ryou hurried to put his books into his bag, hoping to catch up with Yugi before he left the building. The tri-colored haired duelist was usually fairly quick to leave school once the final bell rang.

Fortunately, it seemed as if someone else had plans for Yugi and had kept him from leaving the school grounds. Ryou hurried to catch up, pleased to find that Joey had stopped Yugi.

Amber eyes met chocolate as the white haired teenager approached, and the question in the golden depths reassured Ryou that Yugi’s heartache had been spotted. He nodded once, indicating that he’d talk to Joey about the problem later. Joey gave Ryou a look that told him that he’d better explain or there’d be a lot of problems once he caught up with him again.

“Yugi, I’d hoped to see you today. Seto’s working late on a project with Mokuba, and I thought maybe we could get together and hang out some. I haven’t seen you in a while. How about it?”

Despite his inner pain, Yugi couldn’t disappoint his friend, especially with the eager look on the face that was looking down at him. His voice was soft as he responded to the question.

“Sounds good, Joey. What do you want to do?”

Joey smiled at his friend, excited to be able to share this invitation. Surprisingly, it hadn’t taken him long to get permission to do so as his lover seemed very much inclined to try and make him happy.

“Seto said we could use his game room today to hang out and have some fun. What do you say, Yugi? Interested?”

For a long moment, Ryou was afraid his friend would turn down the invitation because of the hesitant silence before an answer was given. Apparently, Yugi was unwilling to cause any concern as he nodded in agreement.

“Sounds good, Joey. Who’s all coming?”

“Well, Tristan’s busy with Duke so if Ryou and Malik don’t have any plans, it’d be us and them.”

The white haired hikari smiled as he answered his blond haired friend. This looked to be working out well, much to his relief.

“I have no plans, and Malik should be out in a moment to ask. I’d be happy to come, Joey. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Hey, you’re welcome. What’re friends for, right?”

Malik bounded out of the building at that time and quickly agreed to the invitation, knowing this would be a good opportunity to bring Joey up to speed on what was going on as well as talking to Yugi about the difficulties he was having with Yami.

The group made their way to Seto’s spacious home and followed Joey to the game room, awed by the state of the art equipment that had been designated for their use.

“This is awesome, Joey.”

The amber eyed blond grinned at the lavender eyed one as he picked up a sandwich, demolishing it in a few bites.

“No kidding. I’m glad Seto agreed to let us hang out here. The games are awesome, and I knew you guys would enjoy it.”

Listening to the chatter in silence, Yugi put his backpack neatly to one side and sank onto a chair. He simply couldn’t seem to build up the enthusiasm for the games as he once could. His lack of reaction to everything drew another frown from the amber gold eyes and before he could even make a sound, the small duelist found himself sitting on his best friend’s lap.

“All right, bud, it’s time to talk. You’re not acting like your usual self.”

Joey could read the protest in Yugi’s eyes and continued, heading off the words of denial before they could come. Outside of Tea, he’d been Yugi’s friend the longest and usually could read the little guy like a book. Something was definitely wrong, and it was serious enough to kill the light that usually glowed from the amethyst eyes.

“Don’t tell me it’s nothing, Yugi. I’m your best friend. I know you better than that. Now tell me what’s going on.”

For a long moment, there was a silence and Ryou and Malik feared that Yugi wouldn’t share his problems with Joey. But then the words began to flow, slowly at first and then building up speed as the small duelist shared the reason for his heartbreak.

Joey listened to Yugi in silence, absorbing everything he was told, and cradled his friend in his arms as the tears began to pour down pale cheeks. When the emotional storm hit, he simply held him and let him cry out the chaos that had tormented him for so long.

While he let Yugi cry himself out, Joey thought about the recent events going on at school and suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place. There was simply no way Sachi could have had all that bad luck happen to her at once without some type of influence. Knowing what the yamis were capable of, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on.

Lavender and chocolate eyes widened when a determined expression settled across the face of their friend, and Malik grinned when the silent message of support was given to them.

Once the storm calmed, Joey gently wiped the tears away from his friend’s face and addressed him gently.

“Yugi, sometimes the smartest of men aren’t the most bright when it comes to love and relationships. I mean, look at how long it took for me and Seto to get together. It didn't happen overnight, and it was a very bumpy road. Remember?”

Yugi nodded, listening to his friend’s words. Ryou had a feeling Joey was about to address something that he and Malik had been talking about. This was one step to the plan of getting the two together, and it seemed Joey had figured out what was needed without having to be brought into the loop.

“Do you really think you love Yami, bud?”

The duelist’s voice was soft and harsh due to the tears he’d shed moments ago.

“He’s my soulmate, Joey. He’s the first thing on my mind when I wake and the last thing I think about before I sleep. I’d do anything for him.”

Reminiscing on it, the other hikaris knew just how much Yugi had done for the former pharaoh and seeing the look on Joey’s face, it was obvious he was thinking the same thing.

“You have it as bad as I do, bud. All right, then you’re going to have to stop how you’re handling this and start thinking like the duelist you are. However, your opponents aren’t the lovers Yami keeps bringing in but Yami himself. It’s time to change your game strategy.”

Judging from the look in Yugi’s eyes, Joey knew he had his friend’s full attention.

“The thing is, Yami’s got to see you for what you are. He can’t be allowed to consider you as a potential boyfriend or lover. No, he’s got to see you as a future mate and life partner. That means you’re going to have to draw his attention and get him interested in chasing you. It’s going to be difficult, Yugi, because you’re going to want to give in to him.”

Amethyst eyes hardened slightly as he pondered over what Joey was telling him. He could see the agreement on his friends’ faces and knew that his best friend was right.

“I have to get him to see that I’m different from the others and worth pursuing. If I give him what he wants too soon without knowing he loves me, I could become another notch on his belt.”

Ryou spoke up then, sharing the concerns the group had discussed.

“Exactly, Yugi. Being his hikari is going to be a huge help to you. You’re going to know when the words and emotions are genuine. He won’t be able to hide that from you. I don’t know why he’s going through so many partners, but you’re going to have to show him that you’re different and that difference is what he needs.”

White teeth clamped onto the tender lower lip as he thought for a moment before breaking his silence.

“I hear what you guys are saying. I’m just not sure I can do it. Look at me, I’m not exactly noticeable. I’m not sexy like you guys are. Hell, I don’t know how to flirt and stuff like that. How’s he supposed to see me when there’s so many out there to draw his attention?”

Lavender eyes gleamed for a moment, somewhat unsettling the other hikari. When Malik got that look in his eyes, it usually meant he was plotting something.

“We’ll just have to make you noticeable, won’t we?”

Ryou tilted his head slightly, staring at his friend.

“You’re up to something, Malik. Spill.”

The blond Egyptian grinned, and his answer made Joey laugh while Yugi cringed.

“I think it’s time we taught our friend how to flirt and got him the right equipment to flaunt what he has. Shopping time.”

“Sounds good to me. Let me call Seto and tell him about the change in plans. Yugi, you might want to let Gramps know you’re going to be home late. Malik, do you think the three of us can help with this make over or do we need a bit more experience along with us?”

Muffling his groan, Yugi buried his face in his hands when his three friends answered the question in unison.

“We need Duke.”

The group scrambled to make their calls or inform their darker halves of what was going on. Yugi’s grandfather hadn’t been worried at all and just insisted that Yugi call if he was going to be running extremely late. The small teenager reassured his grandfather that he would do so and promised to try to have fun.

After hanging up the phone, he waited for his friends to come back to the room and wondered what the hell he’d gotten himself into.

Author’s End Note – Not bad for a kick start chapter, I think. This is starting to pick up a bit more. Now we’ve got Yugi trying to push himself into the limelight. There will be more to follow on how Yugi’s going to get the confidence necessary to attract Yami’s attention and keep it. We’ll also need to see what our missing characters are going to do about Sachi. A lot more fun coming in the future! If you have any ideas or comments, please let me know. I’d love to know what my readers think of this so far! Thanks for sticking with me, and I’ll see you guys soon!