Yami hardly seemed torn between his former lover and the small, determined boy standing in front of him. "Yugi, when I chose you to become immortal, I chose to let go of all past relationships. I have learned from them, and hope to make ours truly last for an eternity. Please don't be jealous of Seth, Yugi."
     Yami motioned at the ankh pendant Yugi was wearing. "The ankh is the Egyptian symbol for eternity, Yugi. Remember that and be proud..." crimson eyes showed true happiness behind their cold demeanor when they gazed into Yugi's deep amethyst ones.
     Down at the bottom of the stairs, Seto seethed, although both his mind and heart told him that it was time to let go of Yami for good. Forcing himself to smile, (but only halfway succeeding) Seto wished Yami and Yugi good luck. "It really seems to me that you two will spend a long time with each other. Unlike with some of your previous trists, I assume, Yami?" Seto said. Even though he knew it was disrespectful, his jealousy wouldn't allow Yami to come off looking completely clean.
     "How many people have you made into kasthi in the past 5,000 years, Yami?" Seto inquired, giving a careful look at Yugi to see his reaction.
     Yugi was confused. "Kasthi?" Yugi looked at Yami questioningly.
     "Vampire to you, Yugi." Yami seemed to ignore Seto completely. He knew Yugi would question later, but his past was a painful subject that both avoided lately.
     Much to Yami's pained surprise, Yugi asked the same question Seto did. Sighing, Yami replied, "I've made several hundred kasthi in the past 5,000 years, if you really want to know."
     "How many of them are still alive, Yami?" Seto asked, smirking.
     "..." Yami didn't want to say, it would break Yugi's heart.
     "Well, Yami? How many are still alive?" Seto pressed on with his question.
     "Yami..." Yugi hugged Yami loosely. "I don't care about your past. I just want you to stay by my side..."
     Yugi's actions made Yami relax. He wouldn't have to reveal right now that none of the khasthi he had made other than Yugi were still alive. Walking away, Yami hoped that Seto would either leave or drop his jealousy. At first, he did neither, but after about a week of staying with Yami, Seto finally did drop his jealousy.

     "Yami, I want to spend lunch with Jou, is that all right with you?" Yugi asked the older boy.
     "Take this with you. And remember that no matter what, you are not to let anyone take it away from you, understood?" Yami handed over a silver flask--the one that he had made specially for Yugi.
     "Hai..." Yugi rolled his eyes. Yami had been holding that flask back from Yugi for nearly a week, reiterating that if someone were to take it, he could well be stuck without the small amounts of blood needed through the day.
     Yugi took the flask and headed off towards the lunch room, where he sat down with Jou. "Hey, Yugi! Been a while since I've seen you at lunch," Jou said, clapping a friendly hand on Yugi's back. Yugi smiled and ate his lunch silently, simply enjoying Jou's unquestioning company.
     That is, until he took a drink from the silver flask. Caught unaware, it was snatched from his hands from his blond friend. "Yugi, what's in here?" Jou asked, his eyes narrowed. His father had a similar flask, and Jou had a sneaky suspicion what was in Yugi's.
     "Jou, it's nothing, now give it back!" Yugi lunged at Jou, trying not to use his preternatural speed or strength.
     A mistake on Yugi's part. Jou had the cap off and could smell the alcohol in the flask. In seconds, he got up and ran to the bathrooms, Yugi not far behind. "Jou!" Yugi cried out in vain, Jou poured the crimson liquid down the sink and rinsed the flask with cold water before handing it back to Yugi. "Gomen, Yug, but I don't wanna see you end up like my dad..." the tall boy said before leaving a dumbstruck Yugi.
     Yugi slumped against the wall. Yami would be furious with him for two reasons. One was for letting Jou get ahold of the flask and pouring it down the drian, the other was for not using his speed and strength to get it back. Yugi curled up into a ball. He wasn't ready for this, then. He needed Yami to tell him everything, to do everything for him...

     "I'm tellin' ya, that Yami is no good. I've been saying it since I first saw him." Honda argued with Jou.
     "I think he's okay, we just really need to give him a chance. Have you noticed how much happier Yugi seems to be just by being around him?" Anzu butted in.
     "I agree with Anzu. We really need to give him a chance to do things on his own for once. We can deal with Yami, we just need to stamp out any bad influence he's had on him. I mean, Yugi looked brokenhearted when I dumped that booze down the drain. We need to break him of bad habits like that, but allow him to still be friends with whoever he wants," Jou said.
     "That's my point! Yugi would never drink, he's seen your dad, and he knows what can happen. I think Yami made him drink that booze. Who knows what else he's done to Yugi?" Honda countered.
     Meanwhile, Yami was passing by and overheard the conversation. The things they were saying... Yami walked up to the three, a calm look on his face.

     Yami wandered the streets of a city late at night before ducking into a pub. The dim candlelight and hazy atmosphere caused by the thick smoke was inviting to his senses. He overheard a group of people talking about the mysterious 'plague' that affected their area. Yami heard a new word in this conversation--
     "I tell yeh, it's them damn vampires doin' this ter our city. Didn' yeh notice the cross on the door? Or maybe yeh don' smell the garlic tha's hangin' all around in 'ere. If yer dumb enough ter not believe tha' our fair city's been overrun by the bloody creatures, yer mad," said a man while he was drinking.
     Yami was curious. Vampires? What were they, and what did garlic and crosses have anything to do with them? Instead of seeming the idiot, he walked over to the table and joined the conversation, using his odd accent to his advantage. "Excuse me, but I've just arrived here, and I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I'm from Egypt, and I was wondering what these 'vampires' you're talking about are..."
     "Yeh haven' heard 'o vampires? They suck the blood righ' from yer body. Got right long fangs, like a wolf, to bite yer neck with. On'y things tha' can stop 'em from hurtin' yeh are garlic and crosses. They can' stand the smell o' garlic. And crosses scare 'em, bein' the holiest symbol an' them bein' creatures 'o the devil an' all."
     Yami laughed inwardly. These people were nearly completely off track. Though he could see why the cross was involved in the legend--it resembled the ankh. When he spoke, however, he added his own part to the legend. "Ah, yes. I know these creatures, but by a different name. They cannot stand the sunlight, its heat burns them to the core. Also, if they are not killed, they can live for an eternity. In Egypt, we use the ankh to repel them, but it can never be guaranteed. Perhaps it is the ankh's resemblance to the cross that acts as a ward. Thank you, gentlemen, for your information, I will be sure to keep in mind that these creatures are here..." With that said, he smiled--showing his slightly elongated canines, and left...

     "I'm sorry, were you saying that I've forced Yugi to do anything? I assure you, you have nothing to worry about while I am with Yugi." Yami smiled, carefully keeping his fangs from showing. The last thing he needed was for Yugi's friends to become even more suspicious of him.
     However, it seemed that Jou was the most suspicious of any of them. "That's bullshit, and you know it! Why'd you give Yugi that booze yesterday?" Jou yelled at the older boy.
     Yami's eyes landed on Jou's. When he spoke, his voice seemed to have a richer timbre than before. "I assure you, I have not made Yugi do anything against his wishes. I would not hurt him even if it meant my own life."
     The truth, but Yami had to sear it into Jou's mind. From now on, Jou would believe that phrase, no matter how much others tried to convince him otherwise.

    "Yugi, aishiteru..." Yami nuzzled Yugi's neck.
    "Yami, if it's sex you want, you're not getting it," Yugi said, intent on his biology homework.
    Yami pouted, sticking out his lower lip playfully. "But Yugi...."
    Yugi laughed. "No, now either help me with my homework or go bug someone else..."
    Yami sat down next to Yugi. "Genetics?" Yami chuckled. "I was one of the people on the committee that reviewed Mendel's work... It's a shame most of his work was burned..."
    Yugi raised an eyebrow. "How many other 'famous' people have you known?"
    Yami shrugged. "Who knows... My favorite person to work around was Johann Sebastian Bach, though."
    "Bach? Wow... what was he like?" Yugi asked, momentarily forgetting his homework.
    "He was a rather funny man, but he had great vision. I was the organist at the church he worked for. Maybe that's why my favorite song is Toccata and Fugue... I was the only person he even trusted with that piece. Hell, when it was time for the service, the ink was still wet on the parchment! Johann said that I performed it as well as he heard the song in his head. I ought to play it for you sometime, Yugi. It's a wonderful piece when it's played on a good pipe organ," Yami gave Yugi a rare smile, showing that the former was at ease talking about music.
    "Maybe you could teach me how to play?" Yugi asked tentatively. He knew the organ was a complicated instrument--it had three keyboards, after all!
    Yami chuckled. "Maybe, but shouldn't we be getting back to your homework?"
    "Oh, hai..." and so the two went back to the dull, boring task of completing homework.

    But someone was watching them, and planning....
 

MR: oooh!! the plot thickens! and yes, to all those who wanted me to update last year, I apologize. ^^; gomen ne! I think you all know who's watching and plot--err... planning... if you don't, well... SPOOT ON YOU!  XP Oh, I had planned on putting the whole Tocatta and Fugue thing in somewhere in the original trilogy, but I decided since I was rewriting the first part, I might as well stick it in now. ^_^ If you don't know Tocatta and Fugue, I suggest you download the organ version NOW! it's about 8 minutes long, so it'll be a large file. Also, to the viewers of the original Fantasia movie, it's the very first song they play! ^_^ but it's so much better when you hear the organ version and KNOW that there's only one person playing it! ah, well... enough of my ramblings, just wait for chapter six! THE KILLINGS WILL BEGIN!!! O.O;; oops... did I just give away a plot spoiler?
Ryou Muse: yes, you did, baka...
MR: >.< oh, well.....