Paint Me a Sea of Love
By: Hitokiri Musei
Rated: T
Summary: YamiYugi, YAOI! Yugi, a reclusive artist who dreams of the ocean. Atem, a young merman who is the reluctant and rebellious Prince of Atlantica. What happens when these two meet in a pure accident, and Yugi realizes that Atem is the one that he's been dreaming about?
Warnings and Disclaimer: Extreme AU. Not only is it not following the anime/manga at ALL, Atem and Yugi will probably be pretty OC. I know this is probably an overdone subject, Atem the merman and Yugi meeting him for instant love, but I just had this plotbunny, and my muses begged me to write it by bribing me with chocolate. Damn muses… Anywho, please enjoy!
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, I merely borrow the characters for my own crooked uses.
Chapter 1
Paint Me Pretty
"Prince! Prince, where are you!.?"
Atem frowned, sliding farther down the stone behind him, trying to melt into it's surface. He could hear the voices of the searchers getting closer, and there was no way in the seven seas that he wanted to be caught, not now. He knew that his father was going to be furious, but he really didn't want to deal with this.
After a few moments there was a soft squeaking sound near him, and he whirled, heart pounding in fear. He glared an instant later. "Meela! You scared me to death!"
There was a squeal of laughter, and the bright blue eyes of the young dolphin near him closed in happiness. Atem folded his arms, his black fins twitching in his irritation. Meela nudged him with her bottlenose, nearly thrusting the young Prince back into the rock face he was hiding against.
Atem smiled, patting her smooth gray flesh gently. Meela smiled a dolphin grin at her friend. Did you outsmart them?
Atem grinned wider, the smile turning into a mischievous one. "Sure did. They didn't catch me this time. I really don't want to be part of this celebration."
Even though it's your own seventeenth birthday? Meela questioned, tilting her head slightly.
Atem glared, swishing his black-silver tail in order to propel himself forward. His tail was very special, a two-tone of silver fading into black about halfway down. Only royalty had two-tone tails, his father's was a mixture of red and black. The webbed fin that stretched down the back of his tail shimmered silvery; the fins at the end of his tail the same color, shining as he fanned his tail through the water.
Besides his special tail, Atem had striking crimson eyes, a rare color among merfolk, and his exotic tri-colored hair stood in wild spikes off his head colored black and tipped in crimson, a few golden blond bangs framing his sharp features. His skin was a sun-kissed tan, even though he rarely saw the sun, his skin smooth and stretched tight over taunt and toned muscles. All in all, the young Prince was quite the sight, an exotic and rare looking merman.
"I don't want to be a part of this because they always dress me all up like some kind of mermaid. I don't want to be a doll, and I'm tired of them treating me like I'm made out of parchment." Atem said firmly.
Meela sighed slightly, a few bubbles drifting from her blowhole. I understand that, young prince, but you can't just swim away from your protectors and father. They will worry.
Atem sighed, settling down against Meela's side as the dolphin moved closer to him. He petted her gray flesh gently. "I know… And I hate to make Father worry like that… but I just don't want to deal with it right now."
King Aknamkanon will not be pleased with you. No doubt he will keep you in your bedchambers for some time. Meela pointed out, swimming in circles around the young prince as he slid off her back.
Atem groaned. "Don't remind me, please. I just barely got out of my room."
Meela's squeaky laughter echoed. And yet here you are defying your father once again! I don't think I will ever understand you, Atem.
Atem chuckled, looking upwards in thought. The shine of the surface just barely came into sight, and Atem blinked as he spotted something. A dark spot glided over the water, and Atem nodded to himself. 'A ship…' The ocean hummed around him in agreement, it's magic flowing through his body.
"Well, well, what have we here?"
Atem let out a small shriek of surprise, his crimson eyes wide as he whirled around. "S-Seth!! Where did you come from?.!" The Prince swallowed slightly. 'Why didn't the ocean's magic warn me of him?'
The blue-eyed merman frowned. "That's not important. You know very well that you are supposed to be at the palace right now, Prince! The celebrations for your seventeenth birthday are due to begin!"
Atem frowned, folding his arms and facing away from his personal bodyguard. "I don't care. I don't want to go." His shimmering black-silver tail twitched in his anger, swishing through the water.
Seth sighed, kicking his sky blue tail to swim in front of his young charge. "Prince, I understand what you feel, but you must understand, the King only wants your safety, and for you to be happy."
Atem glared. "Then he should stop pampering me! I'm not made of glass; I won't break if you handle me roughly!"
Seth had no response for that one, but shook his head instead. "Come, Prince. We need to get you back to the palace. The King will be wondering where you are."
Atem gnawed his lip, but Meela butted the end of her nose in the small of his back, propelling him forward. Seth wrapped his hand around the Prince's upper arm near the golden band that signified his Princehood, pulling the younger along with him. Atem fought for a moment, beating his black tail against Seth's blue one, but the bigger merman was stronger, and the Prince gave up after a moment.
"Let me go, I can swim on my own!" Atem growled, wrenching at his arm. Seth released him, instead swimming peaceably along beside him. Atem glared the entire way, but he followed nonetheless.
'Well, back to the palace where they're going to make me up like a damn little girl's doll…' The Prince sighed. 'But I can't escape my title… I need to stay here, for my people, and the ocean…'
He looked back up to the surface, where the black of the ship was just beginning to go out of sight. The ocean's magic sang inside him, and he blinked, but soon dismissed it, looking back to where the palace of Atlantica loomed before him. He kicked his silvery fins once more, catching up to Seth as the brunette merman swam ahead. 'I'm just imagining things…'
Yugi Moto sighed, leaning over the edge of his best friend's ship. Joey Wheeler looked down from the helm, watching his friend with concerned honey-colored eyes. 'Yug's been acting a little strange lately… I wonder what's buggin' him…'
Yugi frowned as he looked down into the shimmering blue-green water, squinting his brilliant violet eyes. As a young artist, Yugi was always looking for inspiration, and usually the sea helped, but for once it was revealing nothing for him. He sighed again, straightening back up and going to where he had set up his easel near the stern of Joey's small ship.
Yugi had been living here on the coast for about two months now, staying with Joey in his small home on the beach. Joey's parents had owned the place, but had gotten lost in a storm a while ago and were never seen again. Joey, lonely, had offered Yugi the spare bedroom after he graduated from high school, and the newly turned 17 year old happily accepted.
His own family was gone, his grandfather was currently on a trip in Egypt, and would probably not be back for another couple months. Normally Yugi lived nearly the heart of the city, but he had a passion for the sea, as well as for painting.
Yugi had painted all through his high school years, and had decided that it was where his passion lay. His love for the ocean had inspired many of his paintings, especially his most recent one, a portrait of a pod of dolphins playing in the surf. But since that painting, he hadn't been able to get any inspiration.
Yugi frowned, nibbling on the end of his paintbrush and running a hand through his golden blond bangs. His hair was in wild spikes, black with crimson tips, making him stand out a little more than he cared too. Yugi was a reclusive person by nature; he liked to keep to himself, though he did enjoy making new friends. His hair made him stand out on its own, but his deep violet eyes and small stature didn't help. Yugi was very small for his age, and a lot of people mistook him for a young boy rather than the seventeen year old he really was. Sometimes it bothered him, but by now he was quite used to the treatment.
Looking over the side of the ship again, Yugi allowed his paintbrush to wander over the canvas, subconsciously painting as he stared into the watery depths. He wasn't really aware of what he was painting; he simply looked down into the water as his brush glided across the white canvas, painting an interesting picture.
Joey blinked slightly, watching what Yugi was doing. As he watched he saw his friend look up at the canvas in front of him, and then gasp in shock, dropping the brush to the deck. Concerned, Joey locked the wheel so the ship would continue straight on its own, running down the stairs to stand next to his friend. "What is it Yug?"
"J-Joey, look!"
Joey blinked once more, and then looked at the canvas resting on the easel in front of them. His honey-colored eyes widened as he did, his mouth dropping open a little.
The painting was beautiful, blues and greens and grays encompassing the outer edges. Seaweed was visible swaying across the canvas, as though swishing with the underwater ocean currents. But in the middle of the plants and water there was a patch of black, concealing whatever it held, but revealing one thing.
A pair of eyes stared out of that darkness. They were sharp-lined, deep and knowing, a beautiful crimson color. Joey felt as though he was looking through glass at some other person, as though there actually was someone in that deep abyss staring out of the sea. Those eyes were amazing, staring right into his very soul.
"W-What is this Yug?"
Yugi blinked, his throat suddenly very dry. He swallowed thickly. "I… I don't know Joey."
Well, here it is, my own attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh! merman story! I hope you enjoyed it, and please review for me!