So, welcome! Glad you decided to check out this fic. This is my first fic for my absolute favorite Yu-Gi-Oh shipping, Puzzleshipping! *runs around throwing confetti and waving a nonexistent flag* This isn't my first fanfic, that one is called "Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole" and is for another anime called HunterXHunter. If you like that fandom, check it out of you want.

Part of the reason I'm posting this is because life has dropped a serious pile of "don't care" on me and I'm up to my eyeballs in it bad because ideas for stories for this fandom are really clogging up my brain. This is my *starts ticking off fingers and muttering to herself* 6th, yes 6th idea for a long running story with this pairing. Not including the numerous one-shot ideas. So, I need to clear it out. :) But, what am I doing rambling on? Here's what you clicked for.

Summary: At the 14th birthday celebration of the crown prince of Egypt, Yami, two lords present the young prince with a gift unlike any other, an amethyst eyed slave boy from the far off land of Japan. The boy, named Yugi, is made into Yami's personal servant and a bond quickly forms. As the years go by, the slave and master fall deeply in love with each other. But nothing is simple for the two lovers; a deadly duo of jealous princess, an uncle turned bitter, and an enemy waiting in the shadows. Can the couple endure the challenges, or will the black reaper of death come to call?*

Warnings: boyxboy pairings (duh, if you don't like it why did you click?), Anzu and Vivien bashing, violence/blood, eventual Mpreg, and a possible lemon (there will be some citrus here in one form or another). So if you have a problem with any of that, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FIC!

Also note that I have split Anzu in two, I guess you could say; the bad one that I'm bashing and the good one that I think is a much more accurate depiction of the character, which I'm going to call by her English name, Tea. So remember, Anzu=evil and Tea=good.

Still here? Good, thanks. I have found the HunterXHunter fandom to be very supportive and I hope this one is too. Let me know if I'm any good at writing romance! Or if you want me to tell you of my other ideas. I have titles and everything. But I'm only likely to start writing another fic if I think my others are doing well. Or by popular demand, which I doubt. After all, this is the first chapter of my first story in this fandom. ^^

*sorry if this sucks or is cheesy, I suck at summaries.

"Egyptian", "Japanese"

Chapter one of my first Puzzleshipping fic! Happy reading! =]


The throne room was decorated lavishly; the stone floors were polished until they shone, silken drapes hung on the walls, and the perfectly positioned torches bathed the room in golden light. There were dancers performing for the guests in the middle of the hall, the lords and ladies of upper and lower Egypt who were all here to celebrate the 14th birthday of the crown prince. It was an opportunity for the lords and ladies to scope out the others, trying to see who was failing and who was succeeding all to find out what move would give them more power. Only a very few among the guests actually cared about the prince who was the reason they were all there.

While the lords and ladies were mingling, trying to find trivial flaws with others, the young crown prince was hiding from his own party. The young boy preferred to be called Yami by his friends and family, even though it was not his real name. Yami's sharp crimson eyes were darting back and forth, hoping to avoid two people in particular. So far, he had been successful with his efforts, in no small part from his closest friends diverting the two she devils away from him. Had they not helped, his wild tricolored hair would have gotten him caught by now. The body of it was black, tipped in the same crimson as his eyes with golden bangs framing his face and shooting up in it as well.

Currently, the young prince was hiding behind some of the drapes near the throne. Unknown to him, there were two figures coming up behind him. One of them shot out a hand to grab the unsuspecting boy's shoulder. Yami cried out in surprise and maybe a little fear. And turned towards the two figures. One of them was laughing hysterically while the other was rolling his eyes at the foolishness of the other.

When Yami saw who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods it's you two. I thought those two bitches found me." The two bitches Yami was referring to were a pair of princesses offered to the young prince as prospective wives and peace offerings from their home countries by the names of Anzu and Vivian. They had only been living at the palace for ten months but had already gained Yami's disgust. The two girls were barely older than 13 but still used every chance they go to try to "seduce" Yami, despite the fact that the had bluntly told them on multiple accounts that he preferred men to women.

"Don't worry Pharaoh, Ryou and I told those two that you were wandering around the gardens. Marik and Malik have quite the surprise for them." The laughing one managed to stop when Ryou elbowed him in the ribs muttering an annoyed, "Bakura" under his breath. At first glance, the two could pass as twins. They shared the same snowy white hair and pale skin, but at a second, the differences between to two became clear. Bakura's hair was noticeably spikyer and he had hard russet eyes while Ryou's were a much softer doe brown.

Yami narrowed his eyes and glared at Bakura. "The diversion is much appreciated, but I've told you before, Theif, I'm not pharaoh yet, nor will I be for a while." Bakura returned the glare, but there was no real malice in either. The two boys had been this way since they were eight years old.

They had first met when they were seven after Yami's father, Aknankanon, had heard that there was a survivor of the one thing he considered his greatest mistake, Kul Elna. At first, the two boys had constantly been at each other's throats, Bakura not accepting that the Pharaoh genuinely regretted what happened to his village and thought that he had only taken him in to keep the angry spirits of his village from coming after his son for revenge.

As a result, for the first few months, both boys despised the other. But the two had been able to see past their differences when both of them were kidnapped together by mercenaries and held for ransom. By working together and even saving each other a few times, they managed to escape and make it back to the palace relatively unscathed. The two had been best friends ever since. The only problem was that they never found out who hired the mercenaries to kidnap them.

"Maybe if you had a personal servant like I do, it would give a hint to them to leave you alone." Bakura said tauntingly as he put his arm around Ryou's shoulder. The shorter boy had a light dusting of blush on his face when Bakura did so. Everyone in their friend group was aware that the two had feelings for the other ever since Bakura found Ryou at a slave auction two years ago and made his smaller look alike his personal servant. Everyone, but them that is.

Yami just rolled his eyes. "As if those two airheads would be capable of taking it. I bet I could scream in their faces that I hated their guts, and they still wouldn't get it."

Ryou, still with the blush, cleared his throat and told Yami, "Your father sent us to tell you that is was time for the guests present gifts."

Inwardly, Yami groaned. He hated this part of his birthday because it was just the lords showing off their wealth and sucking up to him. Yami thanked Bakura and Ryou as he went over to take his place sending by his father's throne. The priests were standing three to each side of it, including his cousin, Seto.

As Yami took his place standing on the right of the throne, the pharaoh Aknankanon gave a formal nod to his son and greeted, "Atem"

Again, Yami inwardly groaned as he returned the nod with an equally formal, "Father" Yami wished that his father would call him by his nickname like he had before his mother died just under four years ago. His mother had an affinity for Japan and it's culture so when she saw her son's fearlessness and fascination the dark, she had affectionately nicknamed the boy 'Yami'.

As his father announced that it was time to present the gifts, Yami felt the familiar dull ache in his heart at how distant the man had been with his one and only heir ever since his mother passed on from a disease. But Yami thought he knew why. He had inherited his mother's lighter skin tone, crimson eyes and tips, along with his golden bangs. Yami had been told multiple times how much he resembled the late queen.

Finally, after accepting meaningless gift after meaningless gift with somewhat curt nods, they were on the last one. It was the only gift that Yami thought that he might actually enjoy; the gift from the only two lords he liked, the brothers Pegasus and Dartz.

The younger Pegasus stood in front of the throne and flamboyantly spread his arms and proudly proclaimed, "My lords, I dare say that the gift my brothers and I have discovered will be the best of the night." This made all the other lords glare venomously at the man; they all knew that he was probably right.

"We found this little gem on our trip to Japan. The moment we saw him, we knew we had to gift him to our prince." Yami's interest was peaked. Pegasus had said 'he' and 'him', which meant that whatever their gift was, it was living. His favorite steed was a gift from them, in fact.

But what, or rather who, he saw Dartz leading forward took Yami's breath away. He was the most beautiful person Yami had ever laid eyes on.

His pale, almost white skin, made it easy to see his Japanese lineage. The boy was small in stature, maybe a head shorter than Yami himself and dressed in plain servants clothes. The most striking thing about his appearance was his star shaped hair much like his own, only an extra lock of golden hair hanging down the middle of his forehead instead of shooting up into it and tipped in amethyst instead of crimson.

All that was enough to capture his attention, but what really drew him in was the fact that the boy looked completely and utterly terrified. His eyes were tightly screwed shut, tears leaking out and streaming down the side of his face while he was trembling where he stood. Yami immediately wanted to pull the little one in his arms and comfort him.

Aknankanon raised his eyebrows. "What is this? The boy looks hardly older than 10 years." The pharaoh had a firm policy that all children were to remain with their parents until their 12th year at least.

"No need to worry, my pharaoh." Dartz said. "The boy is thirteen yea so even though he may not look it."

Aknankanon nodded and gestured for them to go on. Pegasus picked up right where he left off, "My brother and I were searching through the market when we saw a slave auction with the little one being auctioned off. We were aware that the young prince was interested with getting a personal servant and knew he would be perfect for the job. And while we were there, the auctioneer also informed us that this boy is a hikari."

There were gasps and whispers from around the room, including Yami's own. Though 'hikari' was a Japanese term they all knew what it meant; a male able to conceive children like a woman. Yami felt a surge of protectiveness for the little one, especially when he saw that the boy had visibly flinched when Pegasus had said the word. The little one had yet to open his eyes.

Hikaris were rare and highly prized as most were very beautiful. They often made the best attendants with their submissive and obedient nature. Their naturally kind and understanding temperaments also made them ideal mother's and nursemaids. But there were many men who would take advantage of them. The two brothers were gaining even more envious glares, once again, their gift far out shone theirs.

"So we would like to present this precious gift to the crown prince of Egypt." Darts stepped forward so he could hand the rope binding the boy's wrists to Yami. "We hope he serves you well, my prince. Take care of him."

Yami just stood there for a moment, studying the boy's face as his father dismissed the guests. His eyes were still firmly shut and Yami wondered what color his eyes were. Bakura and Ryou came up to him after the guests had gone. They both studied the boy for a moment then Bakura smirked, "So now you have your own. Better take good care of him." And then he left for his own chambers. Ryou whispered "Be gentle." as advice and gave the boy a sympathetic look. After all, he was a hikari too.

Gently, like Ryou suggested, Yami lead the little one back to his chambers. Along the way he spotted his friends Marik and Malik with wild grins in the hall. They both gave him thumbs up and Marik winked. Yami thanked the gods that he didn't encounter Anzu or Vivian, they would only scare the little one even more.

They reached Yami's chamber without incident and Yami lead the boy to the room for his personal servant. When he touched the little one to get his wrists unbound, for the first time his eyes snapped open and he let out a terrified squeak. After taking in his surroundings, he turned to look at Yami.

And Yami was greeted with the most dazzling amethyst gems he had ever seen. Though the fear in them was stark naked, their beauty was undeniable and had the crown prince of Egypt completely spell bound. He suddenly wondered what they'd look like when the little one was laughing.

The spell was broken when once again, eyelids covered those stunning orbs and their owner began pleading, "Please don't hurt me." over and over again.

Yami gently took the little one's chin in his hand and had him look him in the eye. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you." After freeing the boy's hands and putting down the rope, Yami asked, "Do you need anything?"

At the little one's confused and uncertain look, Yami realized that he hay have a very limited knowledge of the Egyptian language. "Do you speak Egyptian?" he asked softly.

"Some." The boy uncertainty muttered.

"Would you prefer if I spoke Japanese?" Yami was suddenly extremely grateful that his mother had taught him to speak Japanese.

The boy's head shot up in surprise. "You speak Japanese?"

"Yes. My mother taught me before she died."

The boy's head shifted to the floor again. "My condolences."

Yami studied the little one and saw that he meant what he said. Most of the time when people said that, it was only because it was proper. "Thank you. Do you need anything?"

The boy shook his head. "No, my prince."

Yami frowned at "my prince". He didn't want the little one to call him that. "What's your name, little one?" Yami was tired of calling him either 'the boy' or 'little one'.

"Yugi, my prince." Yugi blushed slightly at being called 'little one' but it also made him feel safer than he had in months.

Smiling, Yami asked, "Yugi means 'game', doesn't it?" Yugi simply nodded. "Well then, Yugi, you may call me Yami."

Again, Yugi blinked in surprise. "But shouldn't I call you by your title? I'm only a slave." Then another thing hit him, "And why 'yami'? It means darkness." Then realizing what he said, Yugi ducked his head again.

Yami chuckled. "True, you have to call me either 'prince Atem' or 'prince Yami' in public, but Yami will do when we are alone or among friends. I'm well aware what 'yami' means and I like to be called that because it was what my mother called me."

"Okay… Yami." Yugi smiled at the way the name felt in his mouth.

Yami smiled back at Yugi and told him, "We'll work on you Egyptian later. For know we should both get some rest. I'll tell you your duties as my personal servant tomorrow. Until then, I wish you goodnight Yugi."

Yugi bowed slightly to him. "Goodnight Yami. Until tomorrow."

As Yami laid in his bed that night, he pondered his newest gift. There was a feeling deep in his heart that Yugi would be the most precious gift to be ever given to him. With that sweet thought, Yami fell asleep.


So? Love it? Hate it? Anything you have questions on? Well, I know I would love some feedback from any and all who took the time to read this. And if anyone out there has also read my other fanfiction, please let me know you're there! Love you all, until next time! Hope the chapter will be longer next time. ^w^