Yugi woke up to find the sunlight blinding. He covered his eyes as best he could before going to get in the shower. He closed the door and left the light off, grateful for the welcoming darkness. He looked in the mirror, and noticed two small wounds on his neck. "Funny.. I don't remember anything happening last night, except..." Yugi trailed off when he remembered letting Yami in his room.
 "Damn... what am I gonna do? What did he do to me?" Forgetting about taking a shower, he got dressed and put his hair in a hastily formed ponytail. He went out and grabbed a pair of sunglasses. "It's a good thing I'm going to have my eyes checked today..."

     Yami watched Yugi from his resting spot a few buildings away. "Beautiful, even moreso in daylight..." Yami muttered to himself before going to spy on Yugi some more.
     As soon as Yugi came near enough, Yami jumped down from the roof of the ten-storey building he was on, and landed in an alleyway. Yugi was passing by at the moment, and was startled when he heard something land in the damp alley. "Hello?" Yugi asked, squinting because of the brightness, even with sunglasses on.
     A rich, deep voice rang out in laughter from the alley before Yami stepped out. "I see that your senses are becoming much sharper, Yugi."
     When Yugi recognized the figure as Yami, he rushed up to him with speed beyond a normal human's, and held him against the wall with strength that would crush a person's bones. "What did you do to me?" Yugi asked in a deadly quiet whisper.
     "I've started a transformation, one that will turn you into something more than human..." Yami answered simply.
     "WHAT---what am I turning into?" Yugi demanded, yelling the first word at the top of his lungs before checking his anger.
     Yami winced at the volume of Yugi's voice. Not only were his senses, strength and speed better than a normal human's already, but his voice had reached it's full volume capabilities. For a vampire, that was extremely loud. "You'll find out when I see you at school on Monday," Yami replied simply.
     "You're going to school?" Yugi asked, the hint of anger in his voice drowning out the slight hopefulness that was there.
     Yami was disappointed. He wanted Yugi to be near him, and definitely did not want to stop the transformation. Doing so would cause Yugi to go through an extremely painful death. He would rather see the young boy on his bed, begging for pleasure. The mere thought made Yami harden, and he attempted to calm himself down.
     Yugi must have sensed that Yami really just wanted to be by him, and leaned against him. "It's just that... everything that you've done to me has happened so suddenly. I want to be near you, but you've changed my life without even asking for permission. If you had let me wait until I knew you better, maybe I would have said that I really wanted this. I'll try to get used to it, but I won't easily forget that you made a decision without asking me first."
     Yami nodded, knowing how suddenly his own life had been changed. He would never forget how horrified he had been, blinded by the Egyptian sun and surrounded by nothing but a barren wasteland and two bodies he himself had killed. The thought made Yami remember how that had happened in every vivid detail.

     "Seth, Ra, no! Seth! Why did you have to do this to me? What could I have done to make you betray me? I wanted nothing more than to be in your arms, but instead, this thirst drove me to your death... Bakura, I've only known you for a brief period of time, and so I'm not sorry for your death. Maat, please give them a second chance and do not weigh their hearts against your damned feather*, but give them a different life... I wish to see them again, even if I am old and dotard and they are only children."
     Yami prayed then for his own life; knowing that without him, Egypt would fall into a state of chaos. He didn't know how he would be able to find his way back to his palace in Thebes, but he would try as hard as he would were Maat's demon after his soul.*

     Yami shook the memories from his mind and turned back to Yugi. "I'll see you on Monday during school, and Tuesday night in your room..." Yami said before seeming to disappear. Yugi wondered why Yami had seemed so sad. "It's none of my business.. he'll tell me if he wants to.." Yugi said before walking off to see the optometrist.

     Yami sat on top of the building, watching Yugi walk off. "I'm sorry, Yugi, but this lonliness is unbearable... I need someone else, someone like you, to be at my side." With that said, Yami rose into the air and tried to forget his troubles as the wind blew over his face. The cold air quickly made his face grow red, and he wondered what it would be like to taste the blood of an innocent, a complete innocent... Yami suddenly hungered with bloodlust, and wanted to drink a child's blood...
     Yami looked around, his senses sharper than usual. His reason and logical mind said that a child would be noticed as missing, but his hunger wanted the sweet innocence of a child. In the end, it was his hunger that won.
     He landed as quietly as a feather, and waited for the grubby little orphan he saw just moments before to walk by. The poor kid never knew what happened, and he was dead before he could even cry out. Yami licked the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth as he willed the child to burn. Bright blue flames turned the body to a fine ash. "Nothing will be noticed..." Yami said as he scattered the ashes, the bloodlust starting to wear off.

     "I hate Mondays..." Yugi grumbled to himself as he got ready for school.
     "Yugi! You'd better hurry, your breakfast is getting cold!" called a feminine voice rarely heard in Yugi's house.
     "Yes, Okaasan, I'll be down in a minute!" Yugi yelled downstairs. He put on his school jacket and ran down the stairs two at a time.
     "Yugi, I'll take you to school today, it's on the way to the airport.." Yugi's mother said while brushing her hair.
     "Demo..." Yugi started to protest.
     "But nothing! I hardly ever get to spend time with you, I'd at least like to talk with you on your way to school."
     Yugi looked disenhearted. He was going to meet up with Jou and Honda on the way to school. "Hai..." Yugi said wearily. His mother and grandfather had spent a lot of money to get contacts for him instead of special glasses, so his mom now had to work overtime just to pay for them. Yugi hated contacts, but he couldn't stand the thought of wearing sunglasses at school.
     Yugi got his backpack and threw it in the back of his mother's car. She was the only person in the family who even needed a car, since trains and busses made her feel claustrophobic. He sat down in the front seat, practically sulking. A slight movement caught his eye, though. He looked, and even squinted to see what it was. Now matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't locate it again.
     Yugi's mom started up the car and headed towards Domino High School. "Well, Yugi, have you made any new friends?" Yugi's mom asked, trying to start a conversation.
     "....."
     "Yugi, talk to me."
     ".... Why?"
     "Yugi, what's wrong?"
     "....."
     "Yugi, please."
     "I'm fine, all right?!" Yugi said loudly, yet still controlling the volume of his voice.
     With that, the conversation between mother and son was ended. "Maybe you wouldn't act like this if your father were still alive, and maybe if he were, I would be able to see you more often..." Yugi's mom said as she pulled up to the school.
     Yugi said nothing as he got his backpack out of the car and slammed the door shut, hoping that his mother wouldn't hear the laughter he knew he was going to get. "Hey, Mommy's boy!" jeered a bully that towered over Yugi.
     Yugi made sure his mother had already driven away before he even replied. "Leave me alone, I'm not in the mood..." Yugi mumbled, trying to get past the bohemoth.
     "Maybe I don't want to..." the bully growled, cracking his knuckles.
     "Leave him alone..." whispered a deathly quiet voice.
     Yugi looked up and saw Yami standing in front of him, protecting him from the bully. --Don't worry, Yugi, you needn't bother with him...-- said Yami's voice, only Yugi didn't physically hear it-the voice was in his head. "Nani?!" Yugi whispered.
     Yami ignored Yugi's surprise for the moment and simply smirked at the bully. This showed one of Yami's slightly elongated and very sharp canine teeth. The simple reaction in the bully was an instinct of fear: the kid ran for his life.
     The crowd that had gathered around the three dissipated; they were eager for a fight. Yugi looked at Yami, in awe that one of the guys that had bothered him so often simply ran away. Yugi smiled at the other. "So you came..." he said, walking over to Yami.
     "Of course. May I ask why you simply hung your head? That guy would've hurt you. If I..."
     "Listen, I'm used to it, okay?"
     "You could've fought back..."
     "I'm not that kind of person."
     "Would you fight back if it meant you would live?"
     "...."
     "What about if it meant a friend or family member would live?"
     "What are you trying to get at?"
     "Answer the question, then I'll tell you."
     "Yes, if it meant my friends or family would live..."
     "So you would fight for friends and family, but not for yourself?"
     "......" Yugi hung his head in shame, he knew he had walked into a trap.
     "How many scars do you have from bullies?" Yami asked gently.
     "I don't know... I never counted..."
     "I'll tell you what, why don't you visit me this weekend? We can spend some time together, and I'll help you get rid of those scars..." Yami smiled at the younger boy.
     "I guess so, sure..."
     "Hey, Yug! What's the deal? I thought you were gonna meet us so we could walk to school," Jounouchi said, running up to Yugi with Honda close behind.
     "Gomen nasai, Jou, but my mom insisted that she bring me to school. I tried to tell her that I had plans, but she wouldn't listen..."
     "Hey, I remember you... You're that kid that Yugi danced with at the school dance..." Honda said, looking at Yami suspiciously.
     Yami simply turned around and walked away. Yugi looked torn between the friends he had always had and his newest friend--and possibly soon-to-be lover. He knew he needed to work out a routine with his two sets of incompatible friends. "Hey, Jou, Honda... You wouldn't mind if I sit with Yami during lunches, would you? I'll still meet with you before and after school, it's just that I know you two and Anzu don't like Yami, and lunch is a fairly long time to spend with him..."
     "No prob, Yug... It's nice that you're respecting how we feel, and we really don't want to pull you away from Yami, do we?" Jou said, elbowing Honda.
     Honda still didn't like Yami, no matter how much Yugi or even Jou trusted him. But, for Yugi's momentary happiness, he agreed with Jou. "Right. We'll meet you after school, then."
     Yugi beamed at his two friends. "Thanks, you really don't know how much this means to me..." Yugi said, just before the warning bell rang.
     Before the other two even realized it, Yugi was gone.

     Yugi sat down on the roof next to Yami, happy they could find such a quiet place to eat. Yami's lunch was a dentist's nightmare: nothing but sweets, candy, and chocolate. In fact, Yami's lunch was more than half chocolate. "Someone has a sweet tooth..." Yugi said teasingly.
     "So? I like chocolate... Honey was the only sweetener in Egypt while I lived there..."
     Yugi immediately perked up. "You've been to Egypt?"
     "Been there? I practically grew up there..." Yami said, taking a drink of something from a silver flask.
     Yugi smelled something that made his mouth water, and it was coming from that flask Yami was drinking out of. "What....what's in there?" Yugi asked tentatively.
     Yami hesitated. "Before I tell you, you must promise not to hurt me..."
     "Why?"
     "Because when I tell you, you will know exactly what you're turning into."
     "Okay...."
     Yami took a deep breath before saying it. "It's a mixture of blood and vodka..."
     Yugi's eyes widened. He knew he could smell alcohol in with the drink, but knowing that it was the scent of blood that made him want the drink suddenly made his stomach turn. Yami must have sensed this, since he put his arm around Yugi's shoulder. "Do you know now what you are turning into?"
     Yugi looked at Yami, all the pieces of a puzzle he didn't understand finally falling into place. The small wounds on his neck, his sensitivity to sunlight, his enhanced strength and speed... "I'm becoming a vampire..." Yugi mumbled.
     "Yes and no..." Yami held up a small cross on a chain. "Look at this... does it scare you? Touch it..."
     Yugi hesitantly touched it, expecting to be burned. When he did touch it, however, it was simply cold from not having been in contact with human skin for a long time. "H...how?" Yugi asked, confused.
     "Let me explain something-I am from ancient Egypt... I was born and ruled as Pharaoh over 5,000 years ago. Then, the cross had no meaning. I was made this way by a spell that was meant to kill me..."

     "Pharaoh, it's time for you to die..." said a cold voice Yami only barely recognized.
     Bakura tied Yami's hands behind his back before the young Pharaoh could even respond. Yami cried out, knowing that no one was there, but hoping someone, maybe even the gods themselves, would hear. "Yelling won't do you any good, Yami..."
     That voice sent chills down Yami's spine. He knew that voice, and trusted it. "Seto, why?" Yami pleaded, hoping his lover would help him in the end.
     "Because you betrayed my trust... It would take a lifetime for you to regain my trust, and unfortunately, you don't have that long..."
     Yami prayed for his life. He knew that when Seto set his mind on something, it was carried through to the end. "Bakura, the khasth and dagger..." Seto commanded.
     Those simple words made Yami truly afraid. There was only one spell that called for the use of the khasth, and that was the blood ritual. Seto knew that the blood ritual had never been performed properly, and never would be... There were too many missing brushstrokes on the hieroglyphics. Unless someone could properly guess the correct words the hieroglyphics spelled out, then the person the ritual was being performed on would die an agonizing death.
     "Well, Pharaoh, looks like you're going to die a painful death..." Bakura sneered.
     "Bakura! Slit his wrists and let it fall into the bowl with the khasth, you hear me?"
     "Yes..." Bakura grumbled, but did as he was told.
     Yami muffled his cry of pain when his wrists were cut, but he couldn't help crying out when he saw the clear potion, the khasth, turn black when his blood mixed with it. "Seto, what could I have done to betray you? Reconsider this, please!"
     Seto ignored Yami's pleading, and started reading the scroll as Bakura forced the black liquid down Yami's throat. "Diero kat phesakh, newidao mefota metry. Lakhtes imae koricha fe teh. Memose hatka aeta moeta verika re. Beba setae kahrichi na he. Jeta havikha oquio te!" Seto said, guessing the words.
     Yami felt the liquid burning his throat, and when Seto stopped reading, Yami fell to the ground, unable to move. Thirst drove him mad, and he tried in vain to find water. And yet... A delicious scent that he knew the liquid it came from would quench his thirst. He struggled towards the scent, the desert sun blinding him. He grasped onto the source of the scent and with all his strength, he bit, clawed, and tore at whatever was keeping him from the delicious liquid...

     "So, all those myths about vampires..." Yugi started.
     "Are false. I am like a human in every way save for a few differences. I need blood as well as food and water to live, I am far stronger and faster than any human, my senses are far more acute, I can read minds, sort of..."
     "And you can fly..." Yugi said, remembering when he let Yami into his room.
     "Let me explain something. I never knew I could fly until I was going on 100. I was faced with either jumping a cliff, or facing people who would burn me alive. Being burned alive is not very pleasant, it hurts like hell to recover from..."
     "So you jumped?"
     "Only to find that with the wish of staying off the ground, I could fly. I'll teach you, one day. You have all eternity. Why do you think I chose you, of all people?"
     "I... I don't know..." Yugi said, taking a bite of his lunch.
     "Because I find you irrisistable..." Yami said, kissing Yugi's cheek lightly.
     Yugi smiled slightly. "Thanks... No one really thinks of me as a possible boyfriend or lover, they all think I look too much like a little kid."
     "That's their problem. Listen, Yugi, eternity is a long time to spend with someone, and an even longer time to spend alone. I've made bad decisions when choosing my companions in the past, and I've had to pay for those mistakes by eliminating every last of my kind. I pray that I won't have to do that with you..." Yami said, looking slightly sad.
     Yugi felt sorry for Yami, and attempted to cheer him up. "Listen, is it all right if I stay with you at your place this weekend? I'd like to get to know you better."
     Yami looked up at Yugi, smiling. It was then that Yugi realized that Yami was wearing contacts-just like he was! "Ano... Yami?" Yugi started, a little bit afraid to ask.
     "Hm?"
     "Would you... mind if I asked how much those contacts cost?"
     "They cost the same as yours did, I'm sure..."
     "H..how were you able to pay for them?"
     "Yugi, I've lived for over 5,000 years, and my first life was as a Pharaoh. Don't you think I would've picked up a few billion dollars along the way?"
     Yugi just looked at Yami, a little bit shamed by the fact that he never even thought about that. But still... "Yami, would it be all right if..."
     "You borrowed a little bit of money? Of course," Yami said, laughing.
     "Arigatou..." Yugi said, a small smile on his face.
     "I'll see you tomorrow?"
     "Hai."

The next night...

     Yugi heard a tapping on his window. He got up and let Yami in, knowing that it could be no one else. "So, what's the deal?" Yugi asked.
     "I need to continue your transformation," Yami said, kissing at Yugi's neck, reopening the wound he had created just a few nights earlier.
     "Yami, that hurts..."
     "Gomen ne, but I have to..." Yami said, starting to drink the blood that flowed from the small puncture wounds in Yugi's neck.
     When Yami had nearly drained Yugi to the point of death, he bit into his wrist and held it to Yugi's mouth. "Drink... You need it to live..." Yami whispered gently.
     Yugi clamped onto the other's wrist, holding Yami's arm unmovable as he drank the thick, crimson liquid that had been offered to him. Yami had to push Yugi away to stop the other from killing him. Yugi yawned and sighed in content as Yami left Yugi to undergo the more serious parts of his transformation...
 

**Maat was an Egyptian god that wieghed your heart against the Feather of Truth after you died. If your heart was heavier, you were eaten by Maat's pet demon. If your heart weighed the same as the feather, your soul was given eternal life.

MR: YAY!! sorry about the flashbacks not being in chronological order, I'm simply putting them down in the order Yami's thinking about them... I'll be working on a much better rewrite of the prequel, which will only be posted after the first installment of P&B is finished... O.O;; oops... I gave too much away about P&B already!! *hits self on head with frying pan* anyway, constructive criticism and happy comments are welcome! FLAMES ARE NOT WELCOME!!! *passes out*
Yami: YAY! She's KO'd! ^__^ She's a tyrant when it comes to acting out her scenes perfectly!!! I loathe her...
Yugi: don't forget who gives us candy, though...
Yami: >.< Yugi! I'm trying to give her a bad image!!
Yugi: why?? ^^
Yami: she's horrible, she's mean, she...
Yugi: made you an entire batch of double chocolate chip cookies! *holds up a plate full of cookies*
Yami: T.T she did that? for me??
MR: *stars floating around her head still* ^_^ Yami's my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! character... *flops over and starts snoring*