From Shadow to Light
Chapter Four
Dream or reality
Malik and Joey rode the horses as fast as they could as they raced toward the palace. Malik looked down worriedly at the small boy that was still trembling in his arms and it reminded him of what Yugi was like after Kento had raped him the first time. Yugi shut himself in his own little world and was afraid of any kind of physical contact, not even wanting the comforting embrace of his best friend.
Maliks flashback
Yugi had been missing for three days and his friends were getting extremely worried. Every night after the lights went out, Malik snuck out of bed and searched as much of the camp as he could but so far he had found no trace of his little brother. It wasn't until the next night of Malik's search, that he finally found his small friend. He came across a door hidden under the sand and decided to see where it led him too. He climbed down the ladder into the darkened room, as he reached the bottom step he noticed a light coming from one of the rooms. He looked inside and was horrified to see his little brother chained to the floor and he rushed over to him. Malik almost cried as he looked over Yugi's body. His little brother had been beaten, burned, raped, whipped, and cut all over his small was not a single spot on the slender form that had been left untouched.. Malik worked as fast as he could and picked the locks, when he finally released his brother he was concerned since Yugi was not responding to him at all and didn't even acknowledge that someone was with him. He took off his shirt and wrapped it carefully around Yugi's clothesless body and carried him back to their tent where he can take care of his injuries.
'It took us months to get Yugi to come back to us,' Malik thought sadly as he looked at Yugi once again, 'hopefully it won't take that long this time since Yugi is away from Kento and with a kinder master like Pharaoh.'
'Kind' and 'Pharaoh' those were two words Malik never would have thought to use together in a sentence, we'll atleast not until the Pharaoh had met his little brother. It absolutely stunned the white haired male on just how much the Mighty Pharaoh had changed in such a short amount of time. And to think, it was his sweet little brother who had caused the changed to happen in the first place. Malik was proud of Yugi. Although the boy did not speak, Malik knew that Yugi cared for all of them.
'Just look at how we all met,' Malik thought grimly, 'He tried to save us from punishment, and instead, he took our place. Endured the pain. The suffering, all so that they would be save, 'And at the time, he didn't even know us.'
For one so small to have so much heart, to care so much about people he didn't even know. He did not deserve the life he had endured. Yugi deserved to be loved. Cared for. Protected.
'Now that we're together, we will NOT be separated again.' Malik nodded his head determindly.
Malik stopped his horse. He could feel the blood from Yugi's wounds soaking into his own clothes, and knew they had to take care of his injuries immediately. The white haired male looked around at their surroundings. When he saw that they were far enough away, Malik turned to Joey, motioning for him to stop as well.
"Joey we have to stop for a minute."
"What?" Joey asked nervously. He glanced behind him and was relieved to see that, so far, they were not being followed, "Why?"
"We have to try and control the bleeding from Yugi's wounds." was Malik's response as he took one more look around them.
"Ok," Joey replied, knowing that Malik was right, he could see the blood soaking through his older brother's clothes, "I'll take Yugi while you get down."
Malik carefully handed the blond their little brother, trying to move the small body as gently as they could so as not to aggrivate the poor boys wounds anymore than they already were.
He quickly got down from his horse, both saddened to see their little brothers struggling only increased once he left his elder brothers arms.
"It's ok Yug." Joey tried to calm the younger boy, but Yugi only fought harder, tears running down his face. He tightened his grip slightly, trying to comfort his brother, but that only caused the younger boy to start trembling, his small arms weakly trying to push the blond away
Joey continued to whisper comforting words to the younger boy, while Malik started to rummage around in their bags for anything they could use to help stop the bleeding. Finding nothing, Joey took off his shirt and wrapped it around the cut on Yugi's leg while Malik did the same with his shirt, wrapping it gently around the small boy, to cover him up and try to stop the bleeding on his back from where he received the whipping. When they had tended to his wounds as best they could with their limited supplies, they once again climbed on their horses and headed back toward the palace and safety.
'Hang on just a little longer, Yugi,' Malik thought tightening his grip as Yugi started to struggle, 'We're almost there.'
Yugi was lifting heavy blocks under the hot Egyptian sun and he fell to the ground in exhaustion. He felt someone grip his arm tightly, forcing him to his feet. Yugi tried to stand but he was so tired that he just fell to the ground again.
"On your feet you worthless runt," the guard yelled whipping the boy. Yugi struggled to get up, but he was unable to. The guard grabbed his arm and forced him to his feet and dragged him off in the direction of the dungeons as Yugi started to cry and struggle.
()()()()()
Yami looked over at Seto and grinned as Kento and his men came closer.
'I will make him pay for what he has done to Yugi,' Yami thought angrily, 'No one touches what is mine and gets away with it.'
Kento and his troops came to a stop a few feet in front of Yami and his small army. He looked around and was angry when he didn't see his little slave.
"Where is he?" Kento bellowed, "what did you do with my slave?"
"He is no longer your slave," Yami sneered, his crimson eyes narrowing dangerously,"and you will never get your filthy hands on him ever again. I would die before I ever let you near him again."
"Well then, once I take care of you, I'll just go and get my slave back and maybe my other two slaves as well."
"You have to get past us first," Yami challenged, a small smile on his face as he thought about what he would like to do to this man, "I guarrentee that we will not go down without a fight."
As they charged Kento and his guards, Yami turned toward Seto, "Kento is mine."
Seto nodded his head as he charged forward along with his friend. After a very gruesome battle, only Yami, Seto and Kento remained.
Kento was panting for breath as he lay on the ground. He didn't even try to ask for mercy because by the look in Pharaoh's eye, he knew he would receive none.
"This is for Yugi." Yami yelled as he ran his sword through Kento's chest. Although there so many thing he wanted to do to prolong this mans death, make it as painful as he could, Yami was too worried about Yugi. He glared at the pathetic male in front of him before turning to his best friend, his crimson eyes changing from hatred to sadness in a flash,"Let's get back to the palace and see how Yugi is doing."
They rode as fast as they could and reached the palace a few hours after the sun had set. Yami ran through the corridors, dodging slaves who were not fast enough to get out of his way in time. He didn't stop until he reached his chambers. Yami was distraught to see that Yugi still refused to let anyone get near him, not even his older brothers. Yugi just sat on the bed staring off into space. His knees were brought up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them as he slowly rocked back and forth, violet eyes distant and unfocused.
'No more,' Yugi chanted as he rocked himself in a hypnotic trance, 'Please Ra, no more.'
Joey sat on the bed next to him and looked worriedly at his friend. He hated that there was absolutely nothing he could do to help his little brother. Anything they had tried so far, had had no affect. The poor boy just sat there, silently rocking back and forth as tears ran down his face. It broke Joeys heart to see his brother in such a condition.
'You've got to pull through this Yugi,' Joey thought sadly, his brown eyes tearing up, 'We need you.'
'I failed you little brother,' Malik thought. He lowered his head as the his guilt overwhelmed him. He was the oldest brother. It was his responsibility to protect his little brothers, 'I should have stayed by you. Made sure that sadistic bastard was gone from the castle. Made sure you were safe'
Malik looked up when he felt a hand touch his arm, his eyes still shimmering with unshed tears.
"It's not your fault," Ryou whispered gently, knowing the guilt his brother felt. He knew that Malik would take full responsibility for Yugi's disappearance, "It's Kento's. He kidnapped Yugi. He beat, raped..." Ryou paused as he chocked back a sob at the condition they had brought Yugi back in. The snow haired boy took a deep breath. He looked deep into his brother's eyes, "None of this is your fault and you know that Yugi will tell you the exact same thing when he comes around."
"There's still no change I see." Yami said sadly as entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
Malik quickly wiped his eyes, shooting his little brother a greatful smile.
"No," Ryou replied softly, returning his elder brother's smile, "He's been like this since he woke up, he won't even let Malik near him. He shut himself down again. He couldn't handle what Kento did to him. He closed himself off, going into his own little world to deal with the pain."
"Its worse this time," Malik commented sadly, "he never fully recovered from what Kento did to him in the past."
"Isn't there anything we can do to help him?" Yami asked, he hated not being able to do anything but just sit here and watch the small boy who was so frightened, so utterly terrified.
"We tried everything that we can think of," Malik said dejectedly, "Nothing is working, it only seems to make things worse."
With nothing left to do, the group decided to go to bed and try again in the morning. Joey, Malik and Ryou were unwilling to leave their friends side so they decided to stay in the room just incase Yugi needed them and slept on the floor along side Yugi's bed.
Kento dragged the small boy around the camp then walked over to his tent. He stormed inside, tossing the boy roughly to the ground. Kento smiled in satisfaction when his young slave cried out as a broken bottle on the ground sliced his already bleeding back.
"Look's like you need to be taught another lesson little runt." Kento smiled sadistically. Now he could punish the child for making a noise, and he knew the perfect way.
Yugi shook his head and started whimpering, as Kento came closer to him he kept crawling backwards until his back hit the wall.
Malik was the first to awaken when he heard Yugi whimpering in his sleep. He got up quickly and sat on the side of Yugi's bed. He picked up the small boy who tensed up immediately when he felt arms wrap around him. He started crying and he struggled to get out of the embrace. Malik just held him tighter and whispered comforting words in the small boys ear. The white haired boy sighed sadly when Yugi's struggling only got worse. Malik placed Yugi back on the bed, not wanting to frighten the younger boy more than he already was.
Once he was back on the bed, Yugi sat up and brought his knees to his chest and he started rocking again. He closed his eyes, shivering as he continued rocking. Obvlious to what was happening around him.
"Oh, Yugi," Malik whispered, tears in his violet eyes, "please come back to us soon."
Malik stayed by Yugi's side until he finally quit rocking and fell asleep. Malik was tempted to lay the boy down so he could sleep more comfortably, but knew that Yugi would only wake up again the moment anyone touched him. Malik didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt small hands push against his chest and he fell off the bed. He looked up and saw Yugi looking at him with a frightened look in his eyes.
"Its okay Yugi," Malik said soothingly, "Its just me, Malik, you're safe now. Kento can never hurt you again."
Yugi didn't respond as he started rocking again, turning his head away, resting it on his arm. Malik sighed again as he stayed on the floor, he looked out the window and saw that the sun was just starting to rise. Malik then looked back at the terrified boy still rocking on the bed. He hated feeling so helpless when his little brother was in so much pain and nothing he was doing was helping.
'He always used to feel so safe around me, would always come to me for comfort when he was afraid,' Malik thought sadly, 'I wish he wouldn't turn away from us when we only want to help him get through this.'
'That sounded like Malik,' Yugi thought he had recognized the voice. He mentally shook his head, 'No, it's just another trick. I'll open my eyes and be back with Master. I couldn't take the pain if this was just another dream. I'll just stay here where its safe. I don't ever want to go back there again.'
Yugi was still rocking, still in his own lost in his own little world when Yami and the others woke up. He still refused to let anyone near him, when they tried, he would start crying and either push them away or struggle to get out of their grip.
Yugi was trapped in a world of nightmares. He didn't see his friends near him, he only saw and heard Kento. He could hear Kento's evil words telling him how worthless and pathetic he was, felt the pain as his Master mercilessly beat him for no reason other than the evil mans own sadistic pleasure. Yugi knew that he shouldn't struggle against his master, but he was so terrified, so afraid that he just didn't care anymore.
Yugi's flashback
Yugi stood chained up and his feet were dangling a few inches off the ground. He cried out when he felt the leather whip strike the back of his legs and he could feel the blood running down his legs.
"You pathetic little nobody," Kento sneered, laughing every time he was able to get Yugi to cry out, "The next time you do your work too slow the punishment will be more severe."
Yugi whimpered as he felt his clothes being ripped from his small, shivering body and he knew what was coming next. Yugi cried harder as he felt something extremely large push into his body, it felt like his insides were being torn apart. He tried to muffle another scream as Kento increased his speed and pounded harder into his fragile body.
'Please god no more.' Yugi thought as he felt the male thrust into him once more.
When Kento was finally done, he left the small boy chained to the wall and left his tent with a smirk on his face.
'What else can I do to him?' he thought evilly when an idea came to him, his smile grew bigger, 'this is going to be fun.'
When Yugi started whimpering, Malik swore softly when he realized that Yugi was trapped in one of his flashbacks, and tried to think quickly of a way to snap him out of it. He knew they had to be careful on how they woke him so they wouldn't frighten him even more than he already was. One idea came to his mind, but he was unsure on how Yugi would react if he tried it. He looked around and saw the worried expressions on his friends faces and smiled sadly.
"Yugi is trapped in another one of his flashbacks, this used to happen a lot when we first met him," Malik explained, "I thought of a way to get him to come out of his trance, but I'm not sure how he's going to react to it."
"What's your idea?" Ryou asked worriedly, willing to try anything to help his distraught friend.
"Unfortunately, the only way to get him out of his trance is to shock his body into reacting," Malik said sadly, "the only problem is, with him being so traumatized, and I don't want to scare him, but we have to make him realize that he is safe and Kento can no longer hurt him."
"Well, what's your idea?" Ryou asked again slightly annoyed that Malik was taking so long to answer.
Malik sighed, "The only thing I can think of to shock him awake is placing him in a tub of cool water, but not ice cold. It worked when I tried it on him once before, but he was not this bad when I did it."
"Well since we really can't think of anything else, we don't have much of a choice." Yami replied sadly, "Ryou can you get the water ready, Malik when everything is ready you can place him in the tub, he might let you get closer to him than the rest of us."
Ryou quickly left the room to get the bath ready for Yugi, as Malik walked over and picked the small boy up. When Malik picked up Yugi, once again, he started struggling and had tears running down his face. It saddened Malik to see his little brother is such a state and desperately hoped that his idea would work. He carried the small boy into the bath house and gently lowered him into the water, but Yugi's struggling only got worse as he remembered what his Master did to him while he bathed. When Malik had Yugi in the water, he sat down by the edge of the tub and held the boy as he waited for Yugi to wake up.
Yugi opened his eyes as he realize that he was being carried, he started to struggle to get out of the cold embrace. He looked up fearfully and saw where Kento had taken him. He started trembling as memories flooded back to his mind. Kento entered the bath house and set the small boy on the floor.
"You move and it will only get worse," Kento yelled scaring Yugi even more. Yugi was both scared and relieved when he saw Joey enter the bath house followed by Kento's favorite guard. Joey ran up to Yugi and held him in his arms while he glared at his master. Kento grinned when he saw the glare and ordered both boys to strip. Joey refused which earned him a punch in the stomach as Yugi started crying.
"I said NOW!." Kento screamed louder and this time both boys obeyed.
When they were both undressed, Kento told Yugi what he wanted him to do and watched with satisfaction when Yugi complied. Yugi had tears in his eyes and he started kissing his way down Joey's body while his lower half rubbed against his best friend, doing exactly as his master asked of him.
'Please don't hate me Joey,' Yugi thought, he started crying harder at the next step that Kento ordered him to do, 'I'd die if you guys ever left me.'
After Kento forced Yugi perform on his best friend, he left the room with a smile on his face and left the two boys in the bath house. Yugi started trembling harder as the memory of what he just did overwhelmed his mentally exhausted mind. He was on the verge of passing out. Yugi jumped slightly when he felt arms wrap around his small body, but then he relaxed into the comforting and loving embrace and then finally let unconsciousness overcome him.
After a few minutes, Malik was just about to take Yugi out of the tub and come up with a different idea, when Yugi suddenly stopped struggling and opened his tear filled eyes.
'Where's Master?' Yugi thought as he looked around the room fearfully until he finally saw Malik sitting next to him with his arms wrapped around him. Yugi started crying again and flinched away closing his eyes when Malik tried to touch his shoulder.
"It's okay Yugi," Malik said softly trying to calm the young boy down, "Kento can't hurt you anymore."
'I'm too scared to open my eyes,' Yugi thought as he started rocking again, not listening to what Malik was saying to him, 'I'm afraid that if I do, I'll find out that this is just a dream and I'm really still with Master.'
Malik just sighed and gently lifted the once again struggling boy out of the tub. He needed Joey's help to dry Yugi off as his thrashing only got worse. He set the small boy on the floor and tried to hold him down but that only made it even worse.
"Joey," Malik said trying to hold the small boy still, "I need your help."
Joey came into the bathroom and saw what Malik trying to hold Yugi so he rushed over to help. He gently picked up the small boy and placed him in his lap as Malik dried him off. Once they had the boy dried, changed and his wounds were redressed, Malik picked him up once again and carried him to his bed. He shook his head sadly at the Pharaoh and Yugi started rocking again.
"He opened his eyes for a second and saw me, but he flinched away when I touched his shoulder," Malik replayed what happened, "I don't know what else to do. I have never seen him this bad before."
As Yami got ready to go to his meetings, he made sure that someone was with the boy at all times and he was never to be left alone for any reason. Yami even ended his meeting early, against the wishes of his counsel, to sit with Yugi when his friends had to leave to do their work. He just sat on the edge of Yugi's bed and looked sadly at the small boy, who was still rocking back and forth with tears streaming down his face. Yami tried, unsuccessfully, to get near Yugi but the small hands would just push him away again. When the sun had set again, Yugi's friends returned to the Pharaoh's chambers to sit with their small friend as he still showed no signs of improvement.
It wasn't until the next morning that Yugi was slowly starting to come out of his shell again and started to respond to his friends.
When Malik sat down on the edge of his bed and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder, Yugi felt the comfort that he craved so badly. The comfort that chased away the darkness. He crawled into Malik's lap and wrapped his arms tightly around the others waist, burying his face in Malik's shirt.
Malik smiled and wrapped his arms around the fragile boy when he felt Yugi's tears soaking his shirt, but he didn't care, he just tightened his embrace on Yugi and continued whispering comforting words in his ear.
Joey picked up his small friend and he left the bathing chambers. Yugi was so exhausted and terrified. He felt someone wrap their arms around him but he was too tired to fight back so he allowed the other person to carry him. Not caring who he was with, or where they were taking him.
Joey carried Yugi back into their room and smiled sadly at Malik who was sitting on the floor. Joey walked over to Malik and placed his small friend in Malik's lap. When Yugi felt the warm and comforting arms of his eldest brother that he missed so much, he leaned into the embrace and rested his head on the others shoulder falling into an emotionally exhausted sleep.
They stayed that way until the others woke up. Joey smiled as he walked up to his friend, but quickly frowned, when Yugi still flinched away from him and tightened his grip on Malik.
'No,' Yugi thought tearfully, 'Please don't make me leave Malik. I want my big brother!'
"He's still slowly coming around and will only let me hold him," Malik replied sadly to his other best friend, "He starts shaking if anyone else tries to get to close to him, Ryou and the Pharaoh already tried and he responded the same way to them also."
"Well at least he'll let you near him," Joey said, a little hurt that Yugi was still afraid of him but he was glad that Yugi was at least comfortable around one of them again, "and I guess that's it's a good place as any to start."
Pharaoh excused Malik from his work so he could stay by his friends side until Yugi got better since he would only let Malik hold him. So for the next week, Malik did nothing except sit in the Pharaoh's chambers with Yugi curled up on his lap. By the end of the week, Yugi's friends were getting extremely worried for their small friend since he was showing no more signs of improvement, he still refused to eat anything and would start shaking if anyone other than Malik got to close to him.
Malik tried to get Yugi to respond to Joey and the others, but nothing he did seemed to work and Yugi showed no more signs of fully coming awake. Yugi seemed to only come to for short period of times and never fully awake before just as quickly, going into his trance once more. Malik wanted to stay with Yugi all the time, but he didn't always have a choice, so when he was gone, it was the Pharaoh that sat with Yugi.
The following week, Yami was once again by Yugi's side and was trying to coax the boy out of his fetal position, but Yugi would only start crying and wrap himself tighter into his ball.
Come here you little slut," Kento yelled, grabbing the small boy and forcing him from his brothers lap. Yugi cried and tried to hold on to Malik, but Kento was too strong for him. He picked up the small boy roughly and carried him back to his tent. When he got inside he threw Yugi on the bed and sat on top of the boy, straddling his hips. Yugi started struggling against his master but he was too weak to move the bigger man. Kento laughed at Yugi's attempts to escape and punched him once to stop his struggling. Yugi stopped at once and looked fearfully at his master, but cringed when he saw the look on his masters face.
"I brought a friend over for you to play with," Kento said evilly, "Now I want you to strip and play nice with my friend or you know what will happen."
Yugi started trembling again and was too afraid to move which seemed to anger his master even more.
Yami glared at the door when he was interrupted by his counsel.
"My Pharaoh," said an elderly man with a dull, monotone voice, "You can't ignore your duties to sit in here with a emotionally unstable, not to mention worthless slave. You should just sell him away and get a slave more worthy of the Pharaoh and his attention."
Yami looked up angrily and his counsel took a step back, "I would never sell him and if you suggest that again I will be looking for new members for my counsel. And I am not ignoring my duties, its my job to look after my people and this little boy needs my help." Yami yelled at the council, disgusted that they would suggest such a thing.
"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER SLAVE!" Kento yelled making Yugi tremble even more, "AND WHEN YOUR MASTER GIVES YOU AN ORDER IT SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!"
Yugi nodded his head sadly and started undressing while his master watched with a sneer on his face. When he was finished, another man entered the tent and Yugi whimpered when he saw who it was. Omoto, Kento's brother, entered the tent and gave Yugi a look that he didn't like. Omoto's eyes had a look of lust in them that Yugi recognized right away. Yugi whimpered as Kento and his brother moved closer to him, he closed his eyes and curled up into a ball trying to shield his body from what the brothers wanted to do to him.
"But Pharaoh," the monotone man started, "he's a nothing slave and not worthy of your time."
Yami was going to yell at his counsel more, when whimpering reached his ears. He glared at his counsel once more before turning his attention back to Yugi who started trembling. He gently put his hand on Yugi's shoulder and was overjoyed when he didn't flinch away this time.
Since Yugi was expecting pain, he was surprised when he suddenly felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. Yugi, not really caring who it was, as long as he felt that comforting presence, moved closer to where the presence was and finally started to feel safe.
Yami smiled as Yugi stopped crying and moved closer to where he was sitting. The Pharaoh moved his hand to Yugi's back and started rubbing it soothingly trying to keep the young boy calm. He was quite surprised when Yugi suddenly crawled into his lap, wrapping his small arms tightly around his waist like he only did for Malik or his friends.
"Pharaoh.." the councilman started but he shut his mouth immediately when the Pharaoh narrowed his eyes angrily.
"I gave you my answer," Pharaoh said sternly, his crimson eyes blazing furiously at his work being questioned, "Now get out of my sight and never bring that up again."
"Yes, My Pharaoh." the councilman said then quickly left the room. When they were finally alone Yami started thinking about Yugi. He couldn't help but wonder what made the small boy suddenly comfortable being so close to him.
'Does he think that I'm Malik?' Yami wondered to himself and he gently rocked the small boy, 'I hope I don't frighten him more when he realizes who I am.'
Yugi felt warmth all around him and he felt safer and more loved than he ever has in his entire life. Omoto and Kento seemed to disappear as Yugi snuggled further into the warmth.
'I finally feel so safe,' Yugi thought snuggling closer to the warmth and comfort that surrounded him, 'please don't let me wake up and find out this is another dream, I couldn't handle it if I was back there again.'
Yami smiled as he heard Yugi's thoughts and tightened his hold on the fragile boy and whispered, "this isn't a dream, little one. You're safe now and no one will ever hurt you again as long as I live."
At first Yugi tensed up as he felt the grip tighten around him, but then he heard the caring words, so he decided to chance it and looked up from his hiding place. He was very surprised to find himself in the Pharaoh's arms, and it was only then that he finally realized where he was and who was really with him.
When Yami felt Yugi move, he looked down and smiled when he saw Yugi's amethyst eyes finally looking at him, "Welcome back, little one," Yami said softly, "You had us worried."
Yugi didn't respond, he just buried his face once again in Yami shirt and tightened his grip around Yami's waist.
'The Pharaoh is where that comforting presence was coming from,' Though Yugi was quite confused, he was still unwilling to let the Pharaoh go, 'I've never felt this safe around anyone...but my friends.'
Ra was directly overhead when when Yugi's friends were finally about to return to the Pharaoh's chambers. As Joey entered the room, he almost dropped the tray in his hands in surprise at the sight before him. Yugi was sitting in Yami's lap. He was no longer shaking. No longer trembling in fear.
Joey walked up to his friend and sat down beside him. He placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. While Joey was happy that his little brother didn't flinch from his touch, he was still saddened greatly that the smaller boy will would not look at them.
"Has he eaten anything yet?" Joey asked the Pharaoh worriedly, his chocolate colored eyes not leaving his little brother's form.
"No, not yet," Pharaoh replied sadly, but then he smiled, "but Yugi finally seems to have come around, he even looked up at me."
"That's great," Malik replied happily sitting beside Yugi, "when did that happen?"
"After my counsel was here," Yami answered, "they wanted me to sell him and I refused, I must have frightened him when I yelled but then he crawled in my lap."
"That's understandable," Malik said, nodding his head, "Yugi doesn't like raised voices. He would always seek one of us out to comfort him, although I am quite surprised that he chose you."
"Why is that?" Pharaoh replied, not knowing wether or not to be offended by that statement.
"No offence Pharaoh, Its just that he never felt safe around his Masters before," Malik answered, "I'm a little hurt that he still won't look at us, but I'm glad that he finally feels safe around someone again."
When the food was set at the table, Yami gently lifted Yugi off his lap and was about to lay him back on the bed when Yugi whimpered at the sudden loss of warmth. Small arms wrapped tightly around his neck, while the slender legs wound around his waist, refusing to let the Pharaoh go.
'No,' Yugi thought as he tightened his hold on the comforting presence, 'Please don't leave me again. I don't want to be alone.'
Yami just sighed sadly and carried Yugi to the table, setting the small boy in his lap. As the rest of the group sat down to eat they were surprised once again when Yami was finally able to coax Yugi to eat something.
"Yugi," Pharaoh whispered softly, "Please, little one, you need to eat something."
Yugi looked up at the soft voice. He just looked at Yami for a moment before he nodded his head and took a small bite of the food offered.
Joey was a bit jealous that Yugi chose the Pharaoh over him, 'that's not fair,' he thought as he watched Pharaoh trying to coax Yugi to eat more, 'its like Yugi took two steps back from me, and one step closer to the Pharaoh.'
Joey felt ashamed at his selfish thoughts. It should be enough that his little brother was finally coming around. Finally eating again. Finally trusting them. That was the most important thing. Not something petty, like the blonds hurt feelings.
As the days went by Yugi slowly started to come out of his shell again. He would even leave the room, but only with Pharaoh or his friends. He admently refused to leave their side. He wouldn't go back into the Throne Room either since it held too many memories he just wasn't ready to face yet. His friends understood and reassured him that they were here with him and they wouldn't let anyone ever hurt him again. Yugi had even started eating again without having to be coaxed and his brothers' were happy that they were getting their Yugi back.
The friends, having finished their work for they day, decided to spend their free time outdoors. They sat in the peaceful gardens, enjoying the warm and sunny day.
Yugi was sitting on Malik's lap, watching Joey and Ryou as they ran around the breathtaking gardens playing tag.
Joey glanced behind him to see how far back Ryou. The blond smirked when he saw his little brother quite aways behind him. Joey jogged backwards, playfully teasing the snow haired boy. He abruptly turned back around, however, when he heard Malik call out to him in warning, "Joey watch out!"
Unfortunately, Joey was unable to stop in time. He ended up crashing right into a large tree in the center of the gardens. Joey sat up rubbing his head when he heard Ryou's laughter. Looking over he saw his younger brother. Ryou was rolling on the ground, holding his sides. He was laughing so hard, his side hurt.
Joey got off the ground. He opened his mouth, ready to complain as he did not appreciate getting laughed at. The blond paused when he saw Yugi. The small boy was still sitting in Malik's lap, but what surprised the blond was the huge smile he saw on Yugi's face. Yugi's face just lit up, his eyes sparkling. Amused by his friends clumsiness.
Joey walked up to him and kneeled down to his level, "So you think that's funny do ya?" he said playfully and he was even more overjoyed when Yugi crawled off Malik's lap and wrapped his arms around his neck. Yugi looked up at Joey smiling and nodded his head to Joey's question.
"Oh yea," Joey said playfully and laughed when Yugi jumped off his lap and took off running. This time, when they resumed their game, Yugi joined them and ran happily along with his friends.
They were so into their game that they failed to notice that they had an audience watching them. Pharaoh and Seto had come into the gardens when they heard laughter and smiled at the scene in front of them. Joey was chasing Yugi, who had a huge smile on his face, while Malik went after Ryou.
"I'm so glad that Yugi's finally back where he was emotionally before this whole mess with Kento started," Seto said, laughing as Malik and Joey collided and fell to the ground. Yugi and Ryou stopped running and went to help their friends get back up again.
"He's not back where he was," Yami replied, earning him a puzzled look from Seto, "He's even better than before. Yugi's not afraid of me anymore and that's the best feeling in the world."
After helping Malik and Joey up, Yugi looked around when he heard laughter. He smiled when he saw Yami and ran to him. He wrapped his arms around Yami's waist and gave him a hug which Yami happily returned.
Seto smiled at the pair before he was suddenly knocked to the ground by a blonde blur that plowed into him. Joey stood up and smiled down at Seto,
"That's for ignoring me." Joey explained, but he started running when he saw the look in Seto's eyes.
"Oh, Yea," Seto mock growled, "Come back here."
They played for the rest of the afternoon . Yami chased Yugi, Seto chased Joey and Malik chased Ryou. The group was having so much fun that they were saddened when they had to stop and go back inside.
As they were heading back to Yami's chamber, they were stopped by Marik.
"Pharaoh, your presence is needed in the Throne Room," Marik said. At the mention of the Throne Room, Yugi started shivering and hid behind Yami.
"What is it this time?" Yami asked, he put his arm comfortingly around Yugi as he saw him starting to tremble.
"I'm not sure exactly," Marik admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "something about a slave trader wanting to talk to you."
Yami turned to Yugi and kneeled down in front of the boy, "Do you want to go back to the room and wait for me?"
Yugi shook his head and tightened his grip on Yami's waist as Joey walked up to his friend and tried to lead him back to Pharaoh's room, "Come on Yugi, lets go back to Pharaoh's chambers."
Yugi shook his head and struggled away from Joey's grip and ran back to Yami. He wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh again crying into his shirt and refusing to let him go. Yami sighed and wrapped his arms around Yugi, "You want to come with me?"
Yugi kept his face hidden but Yami could see him nod, he picked up the small boy and started heading toward the Throne Room, with his friends following right behind him.
"I didn't think Yugi ever wanted to back to the Throne Room again," Joey whispered to Malik
"I think he's more afraid of being away from Pharaoh," Malik replied, "Haven't you noticed that lately Yugi refuses to leave Pharaoh's side, everywhere Pharaoh is, Yugi is right beside him."
"Yea, I did notice," Joey commented, he wanted to say something else, but they reached the Throne Room so he moved away from Malik and took his seat beside Seto.
Yami took his seat also and waited for Yugi, but he was surprise when Yugi crawled into his lap rather than taking his own seat. The council was about to complain, but a glare from Pharaoh made them shut their mouths quickly. Yami just wrapped his arms around Yugi as the smaller boy rested his head on Pharaoh shoulder.
"Why was I called here?" Pharaoh asked annoyed, "this had better be important."
"My Pharaoh, you have a runaway slave living in the palace." The council informed their Pharaoh.
"And he must be dealt with accordingly," another councilman replied
"Who is this runaway you're talking about?" Pharaoh demanded
"The one named Malik," the council replied, "the one you made a guard in training. His former master is here and he wants him back."
"Malik," Pharaoh said turning to the blond boy, "is it true? Are you a runaway?"
Malik nodded his head sadly and refused to look Pharaoh in the eyes, "Yes, it's true. I only meant to runaway briefly only to find my friends, I never meant to stay permanently."
Omoto walked into the Throne Room with a smug look on his face that only broadened when he saw Yugi again, "Well hello again, little runt."
Yugi whimpered quietly, tightening his grip on Yami, hiding his face.
Omoto smiled when he saw Yugi's reaction, then he turned to the Pharaoh, "I'm surprised you kept him, My Pharaoh," he sneered, "I thought you would've brought him back immediately once you realized how worthless he is."
"Yugi is not going anywhere." Pharaoh said sternly. His crimson eyes narrowing dangerously as he wrapped his arms protectively around the small boy in his lap.
"Fine, keep the runt," Omoto sneered,"just give me back my other slave and then I will leave."
Pharaoh knew that since Malik was a runaway he should be returned to his rightful master, but Yami didn't want the boy to go back to such a cruel master and he could tell by Yugi's grip that he didn't want his best friend to go back either.
"I will pay you twice the amount you paid for him," Pharaoh said suddenly, "how does that sound?"
"That sounds fair, My Pharaoh," Omoto replied as his hand slid into his pocket.
Yugi saw the movement and was suddenly worried for Pharaoh. Pharaoh stood up and set Yugi down on the chair ignoring Yugi's whimper as he called one of his guards. Pharaoh turned his attention from Omoto to tell his guard to fetch the money from the treasury. Yugi continued to watch him, untrusting of his former master. When he saw a glimpse of metal, he knew instantly what it was and he looked worriedly at the Pharaoh. Before anyone knew what was happening, Omoto charged at the Pharaoh with his sword drawn.
Yugi opened his mouth, but nothing came out. 'I have to help my Master.' Yugi thought.
Yugi stared to cry as he watched Omoto continued to get closer. The next time he opened his mouth, he screamed as loud as he could the first thing that came to his mind, "Master Yami!"
