Okay, sorry this took so long, but I was in a bit of a block. This chapter is short, sweet, and to the point. Oh, and on a personal note, those of you who begged me like "oh please don't make it a romance!" Oh grow up! I don't do that "brotherly" crap! It's either a romance or father/son for me! Really, I only have one rule when I read a story: Yugi MUST be the main character. Not Yami, YUGI. That's my only rule. No "ifs", "ands", or "buts" about it! I still haven't decided, but if this does become a romance, heh well I guess that's just too damn bad for you, isn't it? Perhaps I'm being a little rude, but when people beg, I hardly ever listen. I'm still deciding, so don't worry about it just yet. I may leave it as a nutral. Oh, before I forget, I know I really don't care about what everyone else thinks so much, but let's make this one a vote. which of the following would you like to read as a new story:
1. Yugi and Yami are together with each other until Yami suddenly ends their relationship so that he can have someone else he has his eyes on and breaks Yugi's heart. After a few weeks of feeling sorry for himself, Yugi literally bumps into the new exchange student at school and begins to fall for her. Yes, HER. This new student is a girl by the name of Alana Martinez. She does not speak English very much, but since Yugi is pretty fluent in Spanish, the two communicate perfectly.
2. Right after Joey is freed from Marik's control, the crazed Millenium Rod holder is still after Yami's power, but goes after Yami's weakness instead ... Yugi. He places Yugi under a mind controling spell and turns the little cutie against his guardian. But no matter what Yugi does, he can not break the spell.
3. Yugi is walking in the park one day when something falls from the sky and lands on his head. When he looks at it, it seems to be a pink cat-like creature with a long tail. This creature is from another world. After a bit of research, he finds out that this creature is called a Mew; a legendary "pokemon" that he nurses back to health for a while.
4. A father/son story where Yami and Yugi are wolves. Yugi is the youngest cub of a litter of 10. One day, while Yami and Yugi go hunting for food, their pack, Yami's mate and nine other cubs are killed. Now they must find a new pack to join so that Yugi can grow up properly.
5. To stop the dark lord, Zorc, there is only one thing that can defeat him: the Star of Light. However, to protect the Star, it must be held in the hands of the Pharaoh. So, with the Star given life, thanks to the DNA of Pharaoh Atem, the Star can be protected until it is needed to save the world from eternal darkness.
So, there are your choices. The one with the most votes will be a Christmas present for you all. Okay, I'm sure you're done hearing me rant so much, so enjoy the chapter!
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With a little help from everyone else, Atem was able to convince Yugi that what he saw the night before was just a strange dream. But to Yugi, that 'dream' felt so real, that he was even more scared then he was before. He refused to come out of his room. The one person he did not want to be around was Atem. That 'dream' left him a bit shaky. Everyone was very worried about Yugi. He still did not show any signs of regaining his memory. It had been a few weeks and only seldom did he leave his room.
"He can't stay up there forever, Solomon." Atem said, pacing back and forth in the living room. Solomon nodded.
"Perhaps, but maybe we should give him a little more time" ---
"No!" Solomon literally jumped a bit. "He's had enough time! He needs to start regaining his memory." The old man sighed in a frustrated manner. He did not like the way Atem had just burst out at him like that.
"You don't get it, do you?" Atem looked a little insulted.
"Get what?"
"Amnesia is different; it can not be dealt with the way it was when you had no memory! If you force an amnesiac person to regain their memory, they could become even more frightened and wander off. It must come back on its own." Atem felt very bad. Yugi was losing himself more and more each day and there was nothing the resurrected Pharaoh could do to help his little charge. He sighed and finally sat down on the couch, after a few laps of pacing while rubbing his face.
"What do you propose we do?" Solomon folded his arms and sat back down in the chair he sprang up from.
"As I said, his memory has to come back on its own, so we do what the doctor said and surround him with familiar things until he's back to normal. End of discussion." Atem reluctantly sighed and nodded.
---
Upstairs in Yugi's small room, he sat on his bed, looking out of his skylight windows on the ceiling, thinking to himself. His condition was not getting any better. He constantly had a headache, his vision blurred from time to time, and he could hardly remember anything that had happened the previous day. He was struggling so hard to keep himself together, but at the end of the day, he just wanted to crawl under the covers of his bed and die. A few tears passed his eyes. "I'm s-s-s-so confused … I really w-w-w-want to go home. This all feels so s-s-s-st-str-strange …" It was still difficult for him to speak without stuttering or slurring. Sometimes he would repeat himself as well. The amnesiac boy looked around the small, clean room in wonder. "Who was I b-be-before I forgot?" He got up and went to his desk. He picked up a small teddy bear that Atem had dug out from the closet on the other side of the room. He had told Yugi that he slept with it every night.
The bear was thin and its right arm looked like it was about to fall off. The left ear had some stuffing coming out of it, but what Yugi was examining was the smile the bear had stitched into its face. "I f-feel as if this ha-ha-has so many m-m-memor-memories … but I can't find them …" He cuddled the bear as a few more tears fell down his rosy cheeks as he sank into his bed and cried into his pillow. Suddenly, there came a knock at the door.
---
Atem felt bad. He really wanted to help Yugi with his memory problem, but he promised Solomon that he would let Yugi's mind find itself. One thing Atem was always known for was his inability to sit still. Even in Egypt when he was sitting on his throne, he would either be squirming or changing positions every ten seconds. He had to get up and do something. So, having the persistence that Yugi once found amusing, now despised, he went upstairs to the small boy's room.
Upstairs, he heard a small mewling sound. Yugi's white kitten, Ezzy was pawing at the door, begging her master to let her in. Atem felt sorry for the baby cat. Ever since Yugi came home, he tried to stay away from her as much as possible, refusing to let her sleep on his bed the way she always did; almost as if he were afraid to even go near the small feline. Luckily for Ezzy, Atem let her sleep in his room while Yugi was in his current condition; which was a little strange, considering that Ezzy did not like Atem very much.
"What's the matter, Ezzy? Yugi won't let you in again?" Ezzy looked at Atem with pleading eyes and mewed. Well, Atem was heading in that direction anyway. He knocked on the door. "Yugi, can I come in?" A small muffle was heard, but that was it. He knew that Yugi still had trouble speaking, and it was hard for him to listen to the little one struggle to even keep up in a conversation. The Pharaoh opened the door, letting the tiny kitten in with the bell on her collar jingling lightly. "How are you, Little,"---- he always had to remind himself. "---Yugi?" As Yugi sat up, Ezzy made her way onto his bed, ready to nuzzle her master and have him pet her head. Unfortunately, Yugi did not want any of it. He backed away into the wall.
"Why d-d-d-do-does this cat always want to be, to be around me?" Ezzy just mewed. Atem put his hand over his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Well, because she's your kitten. She wants you to pet her." Yugi tried to push Ezzy away as she began to paw at his hand. He was beginning to get a little frustrated.
"Well, I d-do-don't want to pet her!" Atem could not stand it any longer. This was too funny. He picked up the kitten, who gave him a groaning sound. He began to pet her white fur and she calmed down.
"You see? She won't hurt you. She loves you." Atem held the small kitten out so that his charge could pet her, but Yugi refused again.
"Th-There are three p-people in this house, w-w-why, why does she choose me!?" While asking this question, Ezzy gave a loud 'put me down' sound as she jumped out of the Pharaoh's arms.
"Because you are the one who saved her." This caught the boy's attention.
"Huh?" Atem sat on Yugi's bed and sighed.
"Ezzy was a stray kitten just a few hours old when you found her. The mother had been killed along with the rest of the litter because some thugs in an ally thought it would be funny to torture them. Then you arrived and threatened to call the police with animal abuse charges if they did not leave them alone. After a while, they left … but you thought you were too late until you heard her crying in the ally. She was very beat up, but you took her home and nursed her to health." Atem smiled as he finished his story. Reluctantly, he had to leave out the part that Yugi's holy aura calmed even the most savage of beasts. Hell, he could even befriend a wild lion if he tried.
"Wow …"
"So you see why she loves you the most? To her, you are her savior." Yugi looked at the small kitten with tears in his eyes. He had no idea that he had been the one to save her.
"I'm so s-s-so-sor-sorry … can you forgive me?" Ezzy buried her head under his hand and purred.
"I think that's a 'yes'." Atem said. Yugi laughed as Ezzy's tiny pink tongue licked his hand. The Pharaoh smiled. That was the first time in weeks that he had heard Yugi's sunshine-filled laugh. "Yugi?" Hearing the name he was used to, Yugi looked at Atem.
"Yeah?"
"Um … how about we take tomorrow to see Domino. Perhaps it will spark a few memories. We'll go to your favorite places and spend some time together." Yugi bit his lip as he thought this over.
"Hmm … I don't know …"
"Oh come now, you need some fresh air. You have been up in this room for nearly a week. Being outside will be good for you."
"But don't I go to s-s-s-school? Shouldn't I be going there?"
"We have decided that you need to recover first, and then you can go back to school."
"Well …" Atem was practically begging him with his eyes. "Okay." The resurrected Pharaoh smiled.
"Good. Well, I'll let you get some sleep. Would it be alright if Ezzy slept in your room tonight?" Yugi was playing with her tiny paws as Atem asked his question.
"Do I let her slee-eep in my room?"
"Yes, all the time. But she's been sleeping in my room for the past few weeks because you seemed to be on pins and needles around her lately. And frankly, she keeps me up all night, meowing at me to let her go back in your room." Yugi had to giggle at that.
"Sure, she can sleep in my room." A smile came upon Atem's lips.
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Yugi."
"Um Atem?" Said Pharaoh cringed slightly as he heard Yugi speak his true name, but turned around with a smile on his face.
"Yes?" Yugi looked down at his lap. He seemed to be confused about something.
"For some reason … I want to thank you." The ancient drama queen cocked his head.
"For what?"
"I … I don't know … I just feel like I need to thank you for something …" Atem watched as Yugi's gentle eyes tried to search his mind for an explanation, but found none. A soft smile formed on the Pharaoh's lips.
"Well, your welcome." As Atem turned to leave again, Yugi whimpered.
"Uh … w-w-wi-wi-will you … tuck me in, tuck me in?" Atem smiled. This was one of the reasons he though of Yugi as the son he never had.
"Of course." He went over to the boy's bed and laid every one of the five blankets that he had on top of him. "There you go. Good night." As Atem walked away, Ezzy made herself comfortable on Yugi's pillow right beside him.
"N-N-Night." Atem smiled once again and turned the light off. Tomorrow he would take Yugi around the city and finally, they would have a chance to try and restore Yugi's memory.
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End of Chapter
