SW: Whee! I'm back!

Yami: Get to the part where we come in!

SW: I never said you did.

Bakura: The summary has the pairings.

SW: Oh yeah…

Thank you to Lazy Gaga (Glad that you liked it enough to review again!), LAURA (I swear it'll get better…soon. I hope.), and yamistar22 (Same thing I said to LAURA)

Enjoy!


Yugi blinked and a town on the edge of the water joined his first sight of the sea. He had heard of it before, but he had never actually seen it. He stared at the roaring waves until they reached the edge of the town, where a large wall surrounded it. From what he could tell the wall went around the entire town, it cut off all view of the ocean and left the inside isolated to the outside world.

They were allowed entrance and the group slowly started to make their way through the town. More tanned men walked around in what Yugi had learned to be called 'shentis', but Yugi caught sight of a few women bustling through town in long linen dresses. Yugi still had to wonder how they survived the winter in that clothing, and thought it was unfortunate that the weather had been so nice for them. The town itself was made up entirely of clay buildings with a few wooden stands where men stood yelling things to those who passed by. He saw a few of his own people trailing behind tanned men with no chains and pleaded with his eyes for help, but they either didn't meet his eyes or looked away when they did.

Yugi was jerked forward and his eyes flicked towards the front of the line, watching as armed men took off the chains around people's bodies and threw them through a door in the wall that surrounded the village. There was no judging how big the room was or what was inside, the area beyond the door was completely black. There were no windows that showed that it was a house, and the wall was completely smooth except for the hole that had a door attached.

Suddenly, one of the village men, Yugi thought his name is Mako, broke away from the group as soon as his chains had been removed. He didn't get far, however, because one of the tanned men raised and notched a bow, calmly releasing it into Mako's back.

The man dropped to the ground and a few of the tanned men clapped the shooter on the back before starting up the process of removing the chains and leading the villagers inside the building again. Ryou let his eyes drift away from the body on the ground and wondered when he had become so used to death that it no longer affected him when someone he knew died. He heard Yugi sniffling and couldn't help but frown, these men took pleasure in weakness, why show it to them?

He focused on breathing in and out as the line moved forward, his entire body hurt, but his lungs hurt the most, and he couldn't stop and rest to get control over them again. Abruptly, Yugi was gone from in front of him and there were men unlocking his ankles and wrists. As soon as the neck bracelet had been removed, Ryou was shoved forward. He tripped in the dimly lit hallway and fell. There wasn't any floor to catch him and suddenly he was falling down stairs, tumbling head over heels until he reached the bottom.

He must have screamed out at some point because a loud voice from the opposite end of wherever he had fallen yelled out, "Quiet! Some people are trying to sleep!"

There was shuffling of bodies and Ryou barely made out Yugi's face in front of him. Yugi pulled him out of the way of the staircase and off to a corner. "Are you alright?" His older brother was whispering, but Ryou could hear him loud and clear.

Ryou turned and watched as more and more people came down the stairs, to fill up the room. He nodded his head and rubbed his sore knees. "Yeah…but I think…my ankles…are infected." The boy hated how wheezy his voice sounded, and he could tell Yugi was looking at him with worry.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Ryou nodded his head, not trusting his voice enough to talk. He was lucky that the journey had been all walking, no matter how long it was, and he didn't want to test his luck by pushing his lungs further until he could breathe right again. Hopefully it would pass. The steady stream of people coming down the stairs finally ended and the door leading to the exit slammed shut, sending those inside into a world of darkness. Ryou was slowly able to breathe again in the stanch air and allowed himself to relax for the moment.

There was more shuffling and a body stopped before them. "Ryou? Yugi? Is that you, my boys?"

"Jii-chan!" The two launched out of their huddle with each other and latched onto their grandfather.

The man grunted and chuckled lightly. "It is good to see you too, my boys, but you must talk quietly, the same rules apply here from our journey."

The two nodded their heads franticly and clung to the older man. "Good." He dropped his voice to a lower whisper and wrapped his arms around his grandchildren. "Now, I want you to listen." Yugi and Ryou leaned into the weary sound of their grandfather's voice. "I won't survive this journey, but-"

"Jii-chan, what are you talking about?" Ryou leaned back to look at his grandfather while Yugi gripped tighter. "Of course you'll survive!" There was a yell from nearby and Ryou quieted down. "We can't lose you, too."

The old man shook his head. "My time has come, I can feel it. But you will survive. You will live and you will learn to be happy again."

"Jii-ch-"

"Hush, Yugi, let me finish." Yugi shut his mouth and nodded his head, never letting go of his grandfather. "I want you to keep these." He handed each of them a sheet of paper, but it was too dark to see the words. "I know that both of you had wanted to become musicians, and these are the two sheets that I was able to keep safe. I hope you two will find some use for them, don't ever lose them, they are your last connection to home." They nodded and slipped the music sheets into the front of their clothing, making sure that the paper laid flat against their chests. Paper was precious and rare where they lived, and they knew not to take the gift for granted. The old man sighed and the two boys could feel his shoulders drop. "It is almost time." Ryou felt tears prick in his eyes, so much for not being affected by death. "Yugi, you've started to learn their language, yes?" The boy nodded his head while his brother stared at him in shock. "Good. Teach all you can to your brother. Look out for each other, you'll be making a long journey across the sea, and you will need your combined strength to make it."

The man relaxed and Ryou felt his breathing slow. "Ji-Jii-chan?" There was no answer. Yugi started to sob and Ryou reached over to pull Yugi into a hug. The two didn't bother to question that Yugi was the older one, they just comforted each other as best they could, ignoring the age difference.


The door opened at the top of the stairs and sunlight streamed in. Yugi was still asleep, but Ryou took the time to take in his surroundings. Jii-chan was still on the floor, Yugi and Ryou had laid him down with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. There were at least two hundred people in the basement, some of them from their village, others from different ones. All of them blinked blearily as food was thrown down the stairs.

"Eat up!" Immediately, everyone launched themselves at the dried fruit and stale bread, fighting to get the best of it. While that was happening two men slipped down the stairs and picked up the bodies of those who had died. Though Ryou made a small sound against it, the two didn't stop at their grandfather, and the boy was too weak to fight anymore.

His stomach growled in protest, but Ryou stayed back with a slowly waking up Yugi, not wanting to risk getting hurt for some food. Once the turmoil had settled down and the two men had taken out the last of those who died in the night, everyone backed off, leaving a few trampled pieces of lettuce and a crumbled body. Shivering at the bloody head he would have to approach, Ryou crept forward and grabbed at the limp lettuce before he retreated, handing half of it to Yugi, who nodded his still sleepy head in thanks.

Someone scooted closer and both boys tensed, before they could make out the figure as a friend.

"Joey-san!" Yugi pushed himself up and rubbed the weariness out of his eyes to hug the boy, happy to see him alive.

"Hey guys, look I saw you couldn't get much to eat, so here." He held out a large piece of bread. "I'm full, so it's not like I'm going to eat it anyway."

Not thinking of how rude it would be, Yugi snatched the bread and tore it in half, holding out the other one to Ryou. When he caught the glances that his brother and friend were giving, he smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, I'm hungry."

Joey nodded his head and watched as Ryou slowly took his piece and started to chew. "It's okay." His voice dropped to a whisper. "How are you guys dealing? I mean with the deaths of Ak-"

"Just fine." Ryou snapped, not wanting to hear his fiancée's name. "We're handling it just fine."

Joey held up his hands in mock defeat and turned to Yugi. "I'm sorry about Jii-chan."

Yugi swallowed thickly against the tears that welled up. "We'r-We'll be okay." Just then, a small patch of light came from the opposite side of the room, and there was screaming and confusion as three men walked down the second set of stairs Yugi hadn't known was there.

Slowly, they walked through the scared pale people, the leader picking out some that were taken by one of the other two up the stairs as another man came down to replace him. Yugi considered trying to make a sprint for the door, but he knew that Ryou wouldn't make it, and it couldn't be anywhere good if tanned men were coming from it.

Many were sobbing and yelling out as they got separated from their families, and Ryou clung to Yugi like a lifeline. Oh, how he wished Akefia was here, he would know what to do.

"You." Ryou had a mini heart attack when he heard that voice, but relaxed after he realized it wasn't him or Yugi the finger was pointing to.

"No!" Yugi yelled out and Ryou tensed when he saw who was being forced to stand.

"Joey!" Ryou's heart clenched as he let go of Yugi to stare at the back of his childhood friend. "You can't leave too!" He didn't know where Joey was being taken, but he did know it wasn't likely he'd return.

Joey looked over his shoulder as he was shoved up the stairs, no longer fighting. "Sorry, Ryou. Maybe we'll meet up again sometime…Later, Yug'" He disappeared into the sunlight and the door slammed down again.

Ryou tuned and sobbed against Yugi, it seemed like he could never stop crying, no matter what happened, there was always something else just around the corner.

Yugi silently let tears fall down his face, and whispered the song his mother used to sing before their parents died. (I got this from I DON'T OWN! It's written by Eugene Field)

Sleep, little pigeon, and fold your wings,—

Little blue pigeon with velvet eyes;

Sleep to the singing of mother-bird swinging—

Swinging the nest where her little one lies.

Eventually, Ryou's crying died down to a whimper, and Yugi's voice got louder, still singing in comforting tones as he let the song flow through him.

Away out yonder I see a star,—

Silvery star with a tinkling song;

To the soft dew falling I hear it calling—

Calling and tinkling the night along.

The entire basement went quiet and listened to the enchanting boy's beautiful voice. Everyone stopped their own crying and let the music take them away from the place they were in.

In through the window a moonbeam comes,—

Little gold moonbeam with misty wings;

All silently creeping, it asks, "Is he sleeping—

Sleeping and dreaming while mother sings?"

Ryou's breathing had evened out, and Yugi allowed himself to take a shaky breath. The basement, others who were comforting as well, picked up the song, lulling everyone else to sleep.

Up from the sea there floats the sob

Of the waves that are breaking upon the shore,

As though they were groaning in anguish, and moaning—

Bemoaning the ship that shall come no more.

Yugi let his eyes drift shut, and guided his and Ryou's body down to the ground. Releasing a sigh, he let the sweet darkness of sleep take him.

But sleep, little pigeon, and fold your wings,—

Little blue pigeon with mournful eyes;

Am I not singing?—see, I am swinging—

Swinging the nest where my darling lies.


The next morning, Ryou awoke to more screaming. After pressing a hand to his kimono to make sure the precious paper was still there, the boy sat up and rubbed away the dried tears that were keeping his eyes shut. Almost immediately after, something gripped his arm and yanked him up.

"Ryou!" Ryou turned to see Yugi still sitting on the floor while he was being shoved to the exit on the opposite end of the room.

"Nii-chan! Yugi! I don't want to go!" He tripped over the first step of the stairs, but was hauled back up, forced to keep climbing.

"No!" Ryou looked over his shoulder one last time to see Yugi kneeling on the floor, sobbing.

Crying tears of his own, Ryou walked up the last step and into the blinding light.


SW: 0.0

Yugi: We aren't even together now!

Ryou: How is this better than before?!
SW: I said it would get better, I never said when.

Yugi/Ryou: I hate you!

Um…review?

(If there were any honorifics that confused you this chapter [I don't think there were that many to begin with] then the link is at the bottom of the last chapter)