Hey, here's the next chapter. I know I said I would be busy this weekend, but inspiration struck me last weekend after I posted chapter three and I did manage to get this edited. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh

Chapter 4

"Man, it's hot," Yugi groaned as he lay sprawled across the couch. The air conditioner had broken down yesterday, and the temperature was currently approaching ninety-five degrees.

"It's not that bad Yugi," Atem replied, looking perplexed.

"Easy for you to say," Yugi groaned with a vain attempt to wipe away the sweat. "You grew up in Egypt, where it's always this hot. Around here, we like it cooler."

Atem shrugged, not arguing the point. "I heard it's supposed to cool down this weekend."

"Atem, that's three days away. In the meantime, it's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I'm sure your father will repair the air conditioning soon."

Yugi frowned. "Atem, he's your dad too." Throughout the whole summer, Atem had shown signs of conflict when referred to as a member of the family (those signs were fleeting, but Yugi still noticed), and Yugi decided he was going to get to the bottom of it right then. Why did Atem have such trouble accepting that?

Atem sighed, knowing he couldn't put off the discussion. "Yugi, that's not entirely true—"

"No, it is entirely true." Yugi protested. "Even if we technically don't share the same blood, we're still brothers. And I know Mom and Dad think of you as their son. Are you saying you don't think of them as your parents?"

"Yugi, it's not that simple. I…" he trailed off, pressing one hand to his forehead in frustration.

Yugi's confusion faded to concern. "What's wrong? You seemed perfectly okay with being part of the family when you first met Mom and Dad back at the park after the KC Grand Championship."

Atem looked Yugi square in the eye. "Don't misunderstand me Yugi." His voice was gentle, asking Yugi to listen. "I care greatly for your parents, and I want to think of them that way. I do, mostly, but…"

"But what?" Yugi prompted, his voice soft.

Atem sighed. "I also remember my parents back in Egypt." Yugi ohhhed in comprehension as Atem continued. "My mother died when I was around ten and my father a few years later. But even though I lost them at a young age, they are still my parents, and I love them, and it's strange for me to call anyone else that. And sometimes, I wonder if they would feel betrayed if I called your parents Mother and Father."

Yugi started to protest they wouldn't, but stopped. What did he know about Atem's parents in Ancient Egypt? And if Yugi ever had to go live with another family, how did he know he wouldn't feel uncomfortable calling someone else 'Mom and Dad.' It would be extremely awkward, to say the least.

He wanted to help Atem make the adjustment, to at least make him feel more comfortable with it. Maybe he could.

But then again, what could he do? Maybe it was best to just wait and see how things turned out. Besides, his instincts told him this was something Atem needed to work out on his own.

Atem shifted in his chair, hesitant when he looked at Yugi again. "Yugi, please understand. I love your parents, and I am honored and grateful that they think of me as another son. But…"

Yugi smiled compassionately. "I understand. You loved your other parents a lot, so it's not easy to call someone else that. I guess I can't say I wouldn't feel that way too. Take your time," he assured Atem. In the meantime, Yugi would do what he could to make it less awkward.

Atem smiled in relief. Then he shot a quick glance toward the door to make sure no one else had been listening in. "Would you mind keeping this conversation between us?"

"Sure. Whenever you're ready," he promised.

Atem relaxed, loosening his shoulders. "Thank you."

"Yugi! Atem!" Hidekazu called as he returned from running errands with Momose.

"Hey Dad, what's up?" Yugi greeted as Atem flashed a smile, hiding the conflict he'd just confessed to Yugi.

"How do you two feel about a week long camping vacation?"

Yugi and Atem stared. Discounting Duelist Kingdom, Yugi had never camped before, and neither had Atem.

"It's in a national park, and they've got a lot of activities," explained Momose. "It's also really beautiful."

Atem glanced at Yugi, who shrugged. Outdoors usually wasn't Yugi's forte, but he'd be willing to give it a shot. And Atem, he'd probably never been modern day camping.

"All right, sure."

"Sweet! Pack your bags, we'll be leaving in two days."


The four-hour car ride there proved mostly uneventful. Atem and Yugi mostly played card games and discussed different Duel Monsters strategies.

"Hey boys," called Momose.

"Yeah?" they replied.

"You should take a look out the window," she said, grinning.

Yugi shrugged and turned as Atem put away the cards. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Atem, you've got to take a look!" Atem glanced up and turned to look out his own window.

He almost forgot to breathe. On either side of the road mountains surrounded them in different shades of blue, purple, green, and gray. The ground was covered with dark green pine trees. The sun rested halfway behind a mountain, casting shadows and painting the sky in many shades of pink, purple, red, yellow, orange, and blue.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" asked Hidekazu, smirking at the sudden silence.

Neither Yugi nor Atem could answer, still awestruck by the sight before them.

After arriving at the campsite, Yugi thought setting up the tent was an adventure in itself. Atem struggled with the concept of each pole belonging to a separate part of the tent and mixed up the pole that held up the center with one that belonged on the side. He took the teasing with good humor though, and Yugi was grateful.

What surprised Yugi was that Atem turned out to be a pro at roasting marshmallows. "Are you sure you've never roasted them before?" he asked as Atem pulled out golden brown marshmallow and bit half of it off, revealing the gooey center. Hidekazu and Momose had retreated to the tent to set up their sleeping bags.

"No, I haven't. They didn't make marshmallows like this back in Ancient Egypt, Yugi," Atem replied, popping the other half into his mouth.

"Then how are you so good at?"

Atem shrugged.

They roasted their marshmallows in silence for a few minutes before Yugi gasped. "Wait a second. You said they didn't make marshmallows like this in Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt didn't have marshmallows at all."

"On the contrary Yugi, marshmallows actually exist in Ancient Egypt. I remember eating them. Granted, they weren't exactly the same as the ones today, but still."

"Are you sure?"

"When you were talking about roasting marshmallows, I was looking on the computer for opinions on whether burned or light brown was better. Just out of curiosity," he replied to Yugi's questioning stare. "Then I found a website that said they came from Ancient Egypt, and I recognized them immediately."

"Whoa."

"Hey boys!" called Hidekazu.

"Yeah," Yugi replied.

"It's getting late, so I think we should start turning in. Atem, could you extinguish the fire? There's a bucket of water over by the picnic table."

"I see it," said Atem, grabbing the bucket and dousing the fire. He coughed a little at the resulting smoke.

Momose shone a flashlight outside so Yugi and Atem wouldn't trip over poles or stakes. "Make sure you two take off your shoes before getting in. I'd rather not get grass or dirt in here."

"Okay Mom," said Yugi as he and Atem slipped out of their shoes and crawled inside.

Yugi chuckled slightly as Atem struggled to crawl into his sleeping bag, unused to it. But eventually he got situated.

"Good night Atem. Good night Yugi," said Hidekazu.

"Good night," they replied.


"So, what do you guys think?" asked Hidekazu as they stood outside the miniature amusement park in the small town outside the national park the next morning. Inside the amusement park, they could see a climbing wall, bumper cars, mini-golf, and other assorted attractions. "We'll do something a little closer to nature later. I just thought this place would be a good start." He smirked. "Don't worry, I've got something special planned for this afternoon."

Yugi grinned and dragged Atem off to the bumper cars.

Though he initially struggled to steer the things at first, allowing Yugi ample opportunities to ram him, when Atem figured out the secret, he paid Yugi back ten-fold as both of them laughed. Atem had never known bumper cars were that fun.

Both of them enjoyed several rounds of mini-golf, scoring a number of holes in one and leaving Hidekazu and Momose in the dust. Yugi enjoyed the hole with the windmill while Atem liked it when he needed to finesse the ball around certain obstacles, and both smirked when he managed a hole in one. Yugi burst out laughing when Atem sent his golf ball into the nearby pond in the first round and had to get another one. In retaliation, Atem knocked one of Yugi's balls further away from the hole when it was in his ball's way.

Neither spent much time on the climbing wall. Climbing up the wall reminded Atem a little too much of the time Thief King Bakura knocked him down a cliff, and Yugi didn't enjoy climbing in general.

Finally, after a lunch of greasy amusement park junk food, Hidekazu drove everyone to the other end of town. "Where is this?" asked Atem.

Hidekazu grinned and pointed at the sign.

Manning Underground Family Maze:

Covering Over Four Acres and Featuring Three Miles of Pathways—Underground And In The Dark—Navigate It If You Can!

Yugi and Atem stared.

"What do you two think?" asked Hidekazu, smiling. "Momose and I aren't really into mazes, so we'll wait in the visitor center." He handed them each a ticket. "I bought one for each of you, so you can go in whenever—"

Yugi and Atem leaped out of the car and raced for the entrance.

"…you want," finished Hidekazu, laughing. He'd half expected that.

Momose laughed along with him. "How long do you think it'll take them to get through?"

"A couple hours. And it's what, three o' clock now?"

"Yeah. We had a late lunch."

"And it took us an hour to get to the town. So we should get back to the campsite around six, which is what I was hoping for. Sounds like a great time to get back and just relax until we're hungry enough for dinner."

"What's on the agenda for tomorrow? I know we're touring caves in the morning, but that ends at eleven. What about the afternoon?"

Hidekazu grinned.


"Whitewater rafting?" asked Atem.

"Yup," Yugi replied as he struggled to pull on his wetsuit. "Dad's been wanting to take the family whitewater rafting for years. It's actually how he and Mom met."

"They met while rafting down a river?"

"Mom just worked at the desk," Yugi corrected. "Dad was the one who took people down the rivers. They went on dates after their shifts ended." He snickered as he watched Atem. "Need help with your wetsuit?"

"Yugi, please remind me why we have to wear these things," replied Atem as he finally managed to pull on his wetsuit.

"Your clothes will get soaked if you don't," said Momose, already in her own wetsuit. "The section of the river we're rafting is a class two to three, with one class four obstacle at the end. Trust me, we're going to get wet."

"Class?" asked Atem.

"They'll explain everything when we get on the boat, Atem," said Hidekazu. "Don't worry. This is going to be fun."

Atem nodded uncertainly as he fingered the helmet.


Half an hour later, the raft floated leisurely down the river and Atem wondered why this was called a thrill trip. The guide had shown them how to turn right and left, how to slow down and move forward, the whole nine yards. But so far, Atem saw no reason for it.

"All right everyone, we've got a couple miles before we hit the rapids. Anyone wants to jump off and swim last minute, now's the time."

Yugi grinned from his spot behind Atem, handed his oar to Momose, who was sitting behind him, and slid off the raft into the water along with a few other preteen kids.

"This feels awesome!" he exclaimed. Then he turned back to the boat. "Come on Atem, the water's fine."

Atem tried to protest, but the rest of the teens called encouragement too, along with a few of the adults still in the raft. He sighed in amusement and handed his oar to Hidekazu, who was sitting in front of him, before jumping in.

The water was cold, and absolutely invigorating. He grinned as he floated next to Yugi, splashing him just for the heck of it.

"Hey!" Yugi protested as he splashed Atem back, accidentally catching another kid who looked about twelve. The kid grinned at the challenge and splashed back, sparking a no-holds barred water war which occasionally reached the adults still in the raft.

"All right, everyone back in," the guide ordered a few minutes later.

One minute after the adults had heaved the kids back in, Atem heard a distant roaring as the water started turning whiter with visible rapids. He wondered if this was what Hidekazu had been looking forward to. They didn't look that dangerous from here, he thought as they approached the first small dip.

Splash!

Atem jerked backwards as a wave of water swept over the raft, soaking the occupants. That dip had felt steeper than it looked, and as he glanced ahead, he saw more rocks protruding from the water causing the guide shouting directions, and rapids as far as the eye could see.

He grinned in anticipation, matching Yugi's expression.

Waves splashed over the raft, soaking entire party as they rode further and further along the rapids. They maneuvered around boulders and crashed into one of them, constantly paddling according to the guide's direction.

Atem's favorite part was riding the dips and crests of waves. They would ride straight up one and the former Pharaoh would feel a brief sensation of weightlessness until the raft slammed into the water again, soaking the occupants, just in time to catch the next one. And the guide said they had a few miles of this. He laughed and whooped during the whole trip, and grinned as Yugi did the same.

Finally, the river calmed down slightly, though Atem, Yugi, and everyone else could still hear a distant roar. "All right everyone!" the guide yelled. "We're approaching that class four obstacle I told you about. It's a waterfall that's roughly six feet tall. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but it is straight drop down. Be prepared!"

Atem grinned in anticipation as they rounded a bend and could see the waterfall. The guide shouted last minute directions.

All of sudden, they were plunging, dropping straight down into the churning water below. The raft landed with a massive Ooomph! Atem was launched from his seat by the impact, and only Yugi's quick reflexes stopped Atem from taking an unplanned dive, by snagging Atem by the back of his lifejacket.

"Everybody okay?" the guide asked. When everyone nodded the affirmative, he smiled. "Okay, around that next bend is where we disembark. Hope you all had a great time, and thank you. You've been a great group."

Yugi and Atem grinned at each other as they jumped off the raft and helped pull it to shore once they reached the drop-off point.

"So, what did you guys think?" asked Hidekazu as they headed for the bus.

"That was awesome!" Yugi beamed, still high from the adrenaline rush.

Atem nodded. That had been one of the most exciting, not-fighting-for-your-soul, and fun events in his life. He was really glad the Eye had decided he could stay in the present.


So what did you guys think? I hope you liked it. By the way, the thing about marshmallows existing in Ancient Egypt-I didn't make that up. No, seriously (call me nuts if you want to, but I actually did look up degrees of roasting marshmallows to see if golden brown was the best, and I stumbled onto the fact. I know, I'm crazy). Egyptians extracted the sap to make it, and maybe the pith too (the stuff under the stem). But marshmallows were a sweet in Ancient Egypt. Just thought you'd be interested to know that.

I'm having a bit of trouble with the next chapter, as it's when Atem first goes to school with the others. I'm trying to make it longer and good, but I'm struggling with ideas and inspiration. I'll try my best to have it up this weekend, if it's not, I'm sorry. Please review.