inonebasket | (no subject)

Yami was silent and let Yugi speak his mind, but at the last sentence he couldn't help but groan and cover his face with his hands. It was...it was flattering, yes, that Yugi would go as far as to leave with him, but the last thing he wanted to do was estrange Yugi from his loving family for his sake.

Luckily, Mrs. Mutou didn't seem like she wanted him out of the house that very moment. She gave Yugi a Look, folding her arms. "...so those times when you were behaving strangely...I was speaking to him." She gestured to Yami, then seemed to realize she was being rude and corrected herself. "To you."

"Yes," said Yami, lifting his face and attempting to look as confident and sure as ever. Not in all the duels they'd had, with souls on the line, had he ever been this nervous for himself. For Yugi yes, but not for himself.

"You know," Mrs. Mutou said as she swung around to fix her gaze on Yugi instead, "I could tell something was going on. I never thought it was something like this," and for the first time she sounded unsure of herself, "but I knew it was something. I know how my own son behaves." She touched a hand to her forehead. "...why didn't you tell me before, Yugi? What did you think I would do?"

"Because! Because..."

Why did he keep Yami a secret for that long? From everyone? Sure, people might have thought he was crazy. But he could've trusted his friends, right? At the realization, he sighed and lowered his head, unable to look at his mother anymore.

"Maybe I thought no one would take me seriously. Maybe they'd think I was crazy. But... I think a part of it was just selfishness. It was my secret, and it just... felt nice, thinking of it that way. That I had something special that no one else had.

... I'm sorry."

Yugi's mother, obviously a sucker for her son being adorable, pressed a hand to her mouth before moving forward to wrap him up in a hug and coo. Yami backed away awkwardly to give the mother and son some space, deciding to have a seat next to Sugoroku (who was shaking his head in affectionate exasperation). "Is she like this a lot?" Yami whispered to him, and the man nodded.

"Yugi, you don't have to be ashamed," Mrs. Mutou said, pulling back and holding her son's face. "It must have been very confusing for you, and you kept it all to yourself. If something happens again though, I want you to tell me or your grandfather. Or..." She cast a glance at Yami, still wary but willing to try and accept this bizarre new turn of events, "or someone else you trust. Though I'd prefer you come to me. But don't keep it to yourself, all right sweetheart?"

"Mmfah..." How embarrassing, being hugged like this in front of everyone. But if there's one thing Yugi knew about mothers, it's that they do not care about public embarrassment and will only be hurt by resistance, and so he hung his arms and let her hug and coo (coo, for heaven's sake) over him.

And now she was holding his face in her hands, mothers. But he still listened with a little smile. He probably shouldn't have kept his other self a secret all for himself, one that his friends found out only when it had to be done, but it had become a force of habit now. "Too late for all the secrets now, huh..."

"Okay." Yugi nodded, his smile growing. "I'll try not to keep so many secrets from now on."

It was a bit of a white lie - everyone had secrets. But it wasn't worth it to try and cover it all up with lies and more lies, like he'd often do with anyone asking about Yami, especially during their first few months together.

"So..." He glanced over at Yami, returning the train of thought to the problem at hand. "He can stay?"

Yami was smiling by the time Yugi looked over. I think it's safe to say she's all right with it.

"Yes, he can stay." Taking pity on Yugi Mrs. Mutou straightened and rested her hands on her hips, pivoting on her heel to address both of the boys. Yami stood up and approached Yugi's side hurriedly, so she wouldn't have to switch between looking at the two of them. "You can stay. But I'd like to talk with you -without Yugi- and get some things straightened out. There are rules you'll need to know if you're going to live under our roof, all right?"

Yami nodded. His pride flared up a bit but he firmly squashed it back down with an irritated twinge. There were times to flaunt it and times he shouldn't and now was most certainly not one of those times. Thankfully, over the pride is a swelling sense of relief and excitement. When Yugi's mother drew closer, though, he almost took a step back before reminding himself not to move. She took his chin in her hand and he desperately reigned in the urge to get away from her as she examined his face.

"Hmm. Egyptian, huh? I guess you look like my Yugi because of the whole 'host' thing."

"Yes ma'am."

"What's your name?"

Yami's eyes flicked over to Yugi before meeting hers again. "I don't remember." When her eyes gained a sympathetic light he hastily moved to explain himself. "Yugi calls me 'Yami' as a sort of stand-in name. That's fine with me." The last thing he needed was her fretting over him.

"Well, all right," she conceded -reluctantly- and finally gave him some space. Pointedly ignoring his sigh of relief, she glanced at Yugi. "I need some time to really take all of this in, and Yami is going to need some clothes. I'm going to give you some money, and you two go out and get him some; he can wear something of your father's, I'm sure we have something in my dresser of his. When you get back, you're to help your grandfather with the store and I'll be having a talk with you, Yami. Do both of you understand me?"

The rules of living under this roof, huh? Yugi couldn't help but look away a little to hide the amused smile that threatened to break through. Still, thinking about it... It would be weird. Him in one room and Yami in another - It seemed like a silly thing to linger on, but it'd be the first time that happened ever since he solved the puzzle. Willingly, at least.

Yugi snapped back to attention when he felt his mother's eyes return to him. Again, addressing that they'd be separated. He kept a perfect blank face and shooed away the insecurity that came with such thoughts. Instead, he nodded and replied, "Yes, ma'am." He glanced at Yami, who nodded in kind, and then, wanting to get away from the situation as much as possible, he grabbed onto his other's wrist and started to drag him away. "You can get the money, I'll find some of dad's clothes!" Yugi called behind him, already out the door before Mrs. Mutou could call him back.

Out of ear range, Yugi let out a long, relieved sigh. "We made it..." He murmured, as if he had just run across a war zone.

Yami sighed as Yugi did, so the sound was in stereo. Yugi's mother was a wonderful woman, really, but she made him nervous in ways he didn't ever recall being. It was strange. Whether it was residual feelings from Yugi or just that natural respect a mother demands, Yami didn't know. But she had presence.

A lot of it.

Yami wriggled his wrist in Yugi's grip to hold his hand instead, and let himself be led into the room to find some clothes that would fit him. Unless Yugi got his height from his father -which Yami doubted, considering Sugoroku's appearance- he was going to be swimming in just about anything they found until they could get clothes more appropriate for him. He was bigger than Yugi, yes, but still pretty short for a boy his age.

...what age was he, anyway? The same as Yugi? He wasn't even sure how to measure it. Sometimes he felt like a teenager, and sometimes he felt older than time. It was a fluctuating thing.

Are we going to tell her about our link? Yami asked as Yugi bustled about locating his father's clothes.

Maybe later. Mom might know something about it already. I mean, I have sometimes talked or laughed with you in front of people... Yugi replied as he opened the closet door, then let go of Yami's hand to push some of his mother's clothes aside. There they were... Five shirts in all. When was the last time Yugi had seen the man? More than a year ago, at least. He kept silent as he looked at each one, trying to picture how Yami would look in each of them. His father was rather tall, especially compared to them, so Yami would look ridiculous no matter which one he picked.

Finally, he chose a plain black button up shirt and held it out for Yami to take. "This one will have to do... I, uh, don't think we have any pants."

And even if they did, he'd look even more ridiculous with pants that were much too large for him.

As Yugi sifted through the clothes, Yami folded his arms and leaned against the dresser. Despite all the time he'd spent with his counterpart, he knew next to nothing about Yugi's father...and he suspected that Yugi wasn't much further in the know than he was. Which was depressing, and made Yami resent him a little bit on Yugi's behalf.

A black shirt was tossed his way, and then Yugi broke the news to him none to gently. As Yami shrugged out of the pajama top and slipped on the shirt and left it open -not buttoning it, because he won't be doing that silliness unless he has to- he gave Yugi a rather flat look. "So I'm going to have to go out like this. I suppose there's no way around it."

"Sorry... Just for now. Don't worry, you look nice like that!" But not really. The shirt was close to falling off of Yami's shoulders, and combined with the pajama bottoms... Once he realized that Yami wasn't planning on buttoning up the shirt, Yugi raised an eyebrow and gestured to it as he suggested, "Can't you button that up? It might keep falling off of you if you don't."

No he did not want to.

...but fine. He couldn't help it; he felt much more comfortable with his torso bare and that probably had something to do with his previous life. And who was he to shun his roots? That's right, he wouldn't. Unless Yugi told him to. So reluctantly he obeyed, obviously not pleased about this but recognizing that there was little else he could do and he would look stupid enough in pajama bottoms and a giant tent of a shirt without leaving it wide open as well.

He also knew that he didn't look "nice," but thanks for trying.

"There! Now you look better and ready to go!" No, that was not a chuckle you heard at the last word. Yugi reached out to straighten Yami's collar a bit, and then took his hand again. "Come on, let's go before mom sends grandpa to get us." He gave a quick, encouraged smile, and then started to head out again. But... before he reached the door, he couldn't help but glance back at his father's clothes still hanging in the closet, still visible, yet covered in shadow and well away from his mother's clothing.

With a small sigh, he once again headed out the door, only to nearly walked right into his grandpa. "Here," Sugoroku held out several bills, enough to buy several sets of clothes... Or maybe a few leather things. "A little money from your mother. Now, don't do what I would do and spend it all on games! You know that would not help at all."

Whatever bittersweet feeling Yugi may have been experiencing before, it lifted with that. He laughed and pocketed the money as he responded, "Don't worry! I think I'm more responsible than that, right?"

"More than I." Because -and he was relatively sure that Yugi was aware of this as well- Yami was perfectly content to throw on a bedsheet and call it a toga if that meant he could buy some more cards. In that light, Yugi was more of an adult than he'd ever be.

He had felt that quiet disappointment as they left the room though, and while he wouldn't bring it up he would remember it for later. Yugi maybe needed some cheering up.

Yugi had to chuckle at Yami's input; yes, he knew, and he was glad that he'd be by Yami's side to pull him away from tempting cards. They had plenty to choose from in the card shop, after all. "Thanks, grandpa," Yugi bowed slightly at the waist, and then gave Yami's hand a tug before he led the way down the hallway. "Tell mom I said thanks, too!"

Soon enough (though Yugi had to take a quick detour once he remembered that he was still in his own pajamas), they were outside. Thank goodness; the weather was relatively normal, a wonderful day to be out here... Especially if you were experiencing it for the first time in your own body.

With that thought, Yugi looked up at Yami as he took the lead and inquired curiously, "What's it like? Walking around like this..." With me?

For his part, Yami had been staring at the sky and the world around them as if he'd never seen it before until Yugi spoke to him- and then heard the last bit in his mind. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to make it over to his side, so he politely ignored it for the moment.

"It feels...vibrant. I don't know how else to describe it." It also felt hot, and Yami was already quelling the urge to rip off the shirt dramatically and drape it over his shoulders like some kind of pretentious cape. "Wen I was in control of your body, I could see and hear fine, but now that I'm using my own, it's as if my senses have been honed into something sharper." The breeze lifted their bangs and he closed is eyes against it. "I'd forgotten what it felt like to be like this."

Yugi paid close attention to every word, though he couldn't help shutting his eyes against the breeze as well. There was something about sharing the whole world with someone who'd never seen it like this before, especially if that someone was as close as Yami was to him. It felt as if he was experiencing every sensation and every color with new eyes, with a new appreciation.

The money in his pocket became all too noticeable as Yugi thought of something he could do with it along with buying Yami some clothes. The plan formulated in his mind, and then he opened his eyes and looked up at his other self. "I'm really glad." He brought his attention forward again, if only so that he wouldn't do something stupid like trip on a crack in the sidewalk. "I think you deserve something like this, mou hitori no boku."

Their eyes met at that, but Yami looked away before long. He wasn't sure if he could agree. Before Yugi had begun to change him, he'd done some terrible things with Yugi's own body. Granted, they were punishments to individuals that...pretty much deserved it, but breaking someone's mind just wasn't right. Not now. It wasn't then either, but he knew it wasn't now. So long in the Shadow Realm had twisted whatever morals he'd had while living into something dark and backwards and hypocritical to the core.

What if he was an evil person when he was alive? What if that was why he'd been sealed; because he'd been an evil king? The tablet proclaimed he was brave and that he'd sealed himself away, but why would he do such a thing? It didn't make any sense.

"Aibou," he said after noticing yet another stare from a passerby, "we're going to get asked it we're related many times today, aren't we?"

"We do look a lot alike." He smiled helplessly, hoping to distract from his eyes, which looked worried. He had sensed the insecurity through their link, even if it was fainter than when Yami was a spiritual being. Did he not believe what he'd said? He wouldn't bring it up for now, but he made a mental note of it. He wouldn't let him get away with that line of thought.

"I didn't know he had a brother!" One passerby had stated as they turned to stare after the two of them. Yugi only chuckled lightly; it would be way too complicated to try to turn around and say otherwise. Instead, he turned his head towards Yami, though he kept his eyes on the sidewalk ahead of him. "First," he began and counted off on his fingers, "We're going to get you some clothes. Second, we're going to get us some breakfast. Third... We'll figure it out once we see how much money we have left over."

"We're only supposed to be using that money for clothes," Yami said, but it was spoken more with an air of repeating an order than any actual conviction or intention to do what they were told. That probably wasn't a good start to getting along with Yugi's family.

...but Yugi was the one doing it, so Yami was fine with disobeying provided Yugi did it first.

"Oh, come on," Yugi responded as he reached down to grab Yami's hand, "This is your first day alive! You need to do more than just get some clothes and listen to how you're supposed to live in a house!"

He walked a little faster, which was impressive for one with short legs like him. They hadn't even started their list of things to do, and Yugi was already getting excited.

His enthusiasm was bleeding over and Yami muffled a laugh as he had to jog a bit before he quickened his pace to keep up with Yugi. "Technically this isn't my first day alive, but I concede. Though we shouldn't keep out too long; you need to help with the shop, and we shouldn't keep your mother waiting too long. I don't want to make a bad impression."

Like he hadn't already, by possessing her only child and such. Though she didn't seem too upset about that, but then again she could've been holding back until they were alone. A rock sunk into his gut; would he have to tell her about the things they'd done? Shadow games, soul breaking, all the dangerous things that had happened to Yugi? God, he hoped not.

Yugi had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Really, he was sure his mother would expect this from the both of them, now that the circumstances were explained to her. Still, a good impression was important; especially important in this case, considering what may happen otherwise. And his grandpa did need help, what with the release of new card packs today.

"Oh, all right." He looked ahead - ah, there was the clothing shop already. "We won't stay out for too long."

And then, they were inside. Rows upon rows of clothes! Clothes for all sizes, men, women and children (don't you even dare suggest he try on some children's clothes, Yami)! Yugi took a moment to let Yami absorb this, and then he let go of his hand. Fly, Yami. Fly. Seek out the clothes that were meant to be with you.

Provided they aren't too expensive.

What the fuck is he supposed to do here.

Yami just kind of. Stares at things for a while. Yeah the most he's ever shopped for is cards. And milkshakes. At a cafe. He'd been with Yugi when he'd gone to get clothes once, but he wasn't really paying attention since it was dull as hell and not about card games.

So instead Yami will stand there looking helpless until he kind of...wanders over to a rack aimlessly and pretends to look through it. It's a rack of plus-size pants that would never fit him in a million years.

Oh, Yami... Yugi snickered quietly to himself, then tried to think of a way to bring him elsewhere without ruining his pride. It didn't take him too long, and soon he was grabbing Yami's arm and dragging him away while proclaiming, "I think I see something over here that'd look perfect on you!"

He didn't. But he could, at least, lead him to the shirts and pants that was meant for his size. What to show, what to show- ah, here we are! On the far wall were pants that were supposed to be up to date with the current style, which meant dark and with plenty of chains hanging from the belt loops. And Yugi knew just how much Yami liked his bling.

"How about this?" Yugi took one of them; tight-fitting, but not leather, and held it up. He didn't know Yami's size, and he doubted his other knew either, and it's not like the sizes meant much in the end anyway, so he had to rely purely on guess work.

Yami could practically feel his mind blanking as he stared. He always just wore whatever Yugi was wearing, which was more often than not his school uniform.

"...that's fine." Probably. That probably worked all right. Feeling very much like a fish out of water, he turned to the rack and flipped through a few more things. Could he just grab whatever, make sure they fit and then get out of there?

Though he would prefer shirts without sleeves. God he hated sleeves.