Ah yes. It's been a whole year since I've worked at all on this story. I've re-worked all the chapters. Hope you like!
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
It was a still and silent night. Not a single breeze blew through the streets. The moon was hidden by dark clouds, and no stars dared to shine when the moon wasn't out. The city was quiet. It was late, and all were asleep, getting ready for daylight.
All except a young child that stalked through the shadows of the night.
The child was around ten years old. His long, white, spiked hair hid his face from view. As he walked, he made not a sound, for fear of detection. He kept all his senses sharp, ready to flee should anyone see him.
This was Bakura, the young homeless child who would one day become one of the most well-known criminals of his time.
But the boy with the weary gaze did not know what the future had in store for him. He was only concerned about now, for he was very hungry after not having eaten for the past two days.
He paused as his nose detected something. Food! Within a minute, he tracked down and devoured the moldy loaf of bread. Grinning triumphantly, his hunger satisfied for now, he headed for the alleys in search of a place to rest for the night.
He blended into the shadows expertly as he wandered around. He loved the alleys. They were a good place to hide, and they were always dim. The sun never brightened the narrow passageways. He headed for a niche he had found a couple days ago, hoping that it was unoccupied.
Suddenly, a noise caught his attention. He froze, flattening himself against the wall, while he strained his ears to decipher what the sound was. It sounded like… crying?
Bakura blinked, debating rather or not to go check it out. Finally, curiosity won over and he changed course, heading in the direction the sound was coming from.
He didn't have to go far. His eyes, used to seeing in the dark, quickly spotted a not-very-well-hidden figure sitting on the ground. It looked like a boy even younger and smaller than himself. The kid was huddled, head on his knees, and shivering. His upper torso was bare, save for some gold jewelry. Bakura's eyes lit up with interest. Those things looked like they could bring a fortune…
The little boy was obviously not paying any attention to what was around him, for Bakura was able to walk right up without his noticing. Only when the white-haired youth cleared his throat did the child on the ground look up.
When he spotted Bakura, his eyes went wide. With a small whimper, he backed up against the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Bakura hesitated. He couldn't rob someone who looked so…pathetic. Besides, he had a soft spot for little children smaller than himself, though he would never admit it to anybody. This kid looked well off, judging from the gold he was wearing. Bakura wanted to know why he was here.
Kneeling down in front of the terrified child, Bakura spoke, trying to make his voice as gentle as he could. "I'm not gonna hurt you, k? It's alright. C'mon, let me take a look at you."
The younger boy looked uncertain for a moment, before timidly crawling forward, stopping about two feet away from Bakura. He avoided the bigger boy's eyes, instead staring at the ground as though it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.
Bakura studied the child intently. The thing that first caught his attention was the boy's hair. You don't see spiky, muti-colored hair every day. For the first time, he noticed the many bruises and the cuts on the boy's slightly tanned skin. Some looked very recent, and some looked years old.
Bakura frowned. The boy was so small. What kind of person could hurt someone like him? Of course, Bakura thought with a sigh, I know only too well that such people do exist…
"Look up, kid," Bakura commanded.
The boy let out a small, fearful noise, but had to obey. He slowly lifted his head until his eyes met Bakura's.
The white-haired youth gasped slightly. His eyes…were crimson! But, that couldn't be! It wasn't natural. The only person in all of Egypt to have such colored eyes...
"What's your name!" Bakura snapped harshly, backing away a few steps. He seriously hoped this wasn't who he thought it was.
"A-Atemu," the child whispered.
Oh, hell, no. Bakura thought. "The prince? The high prince of Egypt?"
The little boy nodded mutely.
"Why are you here?" Bakura asked, while fear started to flood his veins. If he was found with the prince looking like this…well, he was dead for sure. He really ought to run. But he couldn't. He couldn't leave a child alone like this.
"I-I'm not 'sposed ta tell," Atemu whimpered.
Bakura started at him. "Look, um, did you think you could stand up?" he asked. If felt very uncomfortable to have the prince of Egypt on his knees in front of him.
The young prince sighed, and slowly stood. Even at full height, he barely reached Bakura's chest, he was so small.
Bakura stood also. "Look, d'you want to come with me? I – you won't be safe alone here."
Atemu nodded gratefully. "Thank you. It's awfully dark out here…"
A while later, they settled into the small niche Bakura had been looking for. It was, thankfully, unoccupied. Bakura had expected the prince, whom he assumed had been pampered all his life, to refuse to enter into such a place. But Atemu made no compliant. Instead, he went to the farthest corner of the little hole and sat down.
Bakura followed him, and sat down across form the child. "Would you like me to clean you up a bit?"
Atemu shook his head. "He'd wanta know who did it for me, 'cause he knows I don't know howta do it by myself. It'll get you in trouble."
Bakura blinked. "Who's 'he'? The one who did this to you?"
The prince nodded.
"You can tell me who it is. I promise I won't tell nobody else." Bakura was burning with curiosity to find out who would do this to the prince of Egypt. His fear was long forgotten. He'd decided Atemu was ok for a rich kid.
"You won't tell no-one? I'll get in trouble again. I can't tell anybody, he said."
"I won't tell no-one, I promise!" the white-haired child said eagerly.
Atemu leaned forward. "It was father," he said in a voice so soft that Bakura, who was less than a foot away, had to strain to hear.
"What!" the young thief yelled.
"Shh!" Atemu said hurriedly. "Quite!"
Bakura obeyed. His mind was racing. The Pharaoh. The ruler of Egypt did this to his own son! It didn't make sense. "Why?"
"Because he was teaching me to be a man," Atemu muttered. "He always does it. But this time, it was real bad, and I started to cry." The child hung his head. "He said I was a disgrace, I was too old to cry. I should learn how to bear pain, 'cause then nobody could touch me. He told me to get out of the palace and don't come back until daylight. I'm scared. I've never been outta the palace before."
Bakura gazed at the child in front of him. It did look like the beating had been real bad. "Does anyone know? About this?"
"No. And it's gonna stay way, right?" the young prince demanded, staring straight into Bakura's eyes.
"Yeah. I said I wouldn't tell no-one, and I don't break my promises."
"Good." Atemu sighed. He leaned against the wall, eyes starting to close. 'What's your name, anyway?"
"Bakura," the older boy replied.
"Thanks, Bakura. I was really scared back there. And cold. Are you all alone? How do you stand it out here?"
Bakura shrugged. "I just do. My parents were murdered years ago, and I've learned to survive by myself."
"Is it tough?" Atemu asked curiously.
"Well sure. But you get used to it. I useta think being the prince would be the best. But I think you've got it worse than me. At least when Daddy was alive, he loved me."
"Father doesn't hate me, he's just making me grow up right," the youger boy stated defensively.
Bakura snorted. "Whatddaever." Then his expression softened. "If you ever come need me again, just go back to that place. I pass there every day. I'll look for you, but don't you look for me. It's dangerous."
The small boy's face lit up. "Really? Thanks, Bakura."
Bakura rolled his eyes, but smiled lightly. "You've gotta be freezing, right? It's warmer if we sleep together."
Atemu blinked, then smiled. "How do I know you won't rob me?" he asked teasingly.
"Dummy. If I'd wanted to rob you, I'd have done so ages ago," Bakura growled.
Atemu laughed softly, and crawled into the bigger boy's lap and curled up. Bakura leaned against the wall, the young boy's warmth starting to lull him to sleep.
"G'night, Prince Atemu," the bigger boy muttered, eyes closed.
"Yami. Call me Yami, please. All my close friends do," the prince murmured in reply.
The young thief looked down, surprised. He opened his mouth to speak, but the younger child had already fallen asleep.
Bakura smiled softly, and closed his eyes once again. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly when he realized that he, a homeless thief, was sleeping with the High Prince of Egypt on his lap.
Well, miracles do happen.
Umm…in case anyone's wondering, Yami's about seven in this story.
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