Dream Prince

Chapter 9

First Friends

When Atemu left, Yugi gazed after the prince for a few moments in sadness and longing, before he finally regained his sense of self and turned to look at Bakura, who refused to clutch at his injured cheek even though he probably wanted to, and also Jono, who was rubbing his left arm with an annoyed expression on his face.

True to his polite nature Yugi made his way to the blond and spoke: "Thank you very much for your help."

"Ah", the taller boy uttered as he looked to the side in an embarrassed manner. Soon enough he met Yugi's gaze, however, and replied: "Don't mention it."

"We should get the both of you to the healer", Yugi said, shooting a glance at Bakura as well, whose head snapped up with a look of outrage on his face as both the white-haired teen and Jono exclaimed indignantly: "I'm fine!"

Releasing a soft laugh Yugi turned back to the blond and said: "I'm Rasui and my companion is called Akefia."

"The name's Jono", the blond replied with a friendly grin. "I take it no harm came to you, Rasui?"

"No", Yugi assured the taller boy. He then grasped the other's arm gently, being careful to avoid gripping his bruises. "Come on now, I won't hear another argument from either of you. We're going to have Ryou take a look at you two and do something about those bruises."

"Alright, alright", Jono spoke in an amused manner as he allowed Yugi to lead him over to Bakura, where the short boy grasped the white-haired thief's arm with his other hand and started dragging the surprisingly unresisting albino along.

When the group arrived at Ryou's tent the healer was not present. The three did not have to wait for long, though, since soon after their arrival Ryou appeared into the tent. The healer did not look too surprised to see them there and spoke: "I figured that the other party in the fight would appear here soon." The healer immediately focused his attention on Yugi as he went over to the shortest boy and questioned: "Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine", Yugi said with an embarrassed laugh. "Akefia and Jono kept me safe."

Believing Yugi's words Ryou turned to the two bruised teens and looked them over, finally speaking out: "Do you have any other injuries in addition to the visible bruises? Does it hurt underneath the skin?"

Both teens insisted that there were no other injuries and Ryou nodded his head before starting to remove the scarves he had wrapped around his head. Yugi immediately understood why the healer did that when the pale skin that would easily burn in the hot sun was revealed for him to see. The healer's hair was the real surprise, however; Ryou's hair was long and pure white and it had been braided so that it could be moved in to and out of his robes easily, as the healer did just then as he pulled the long braid out of the confinements of his clothes and allowed it to drop against his back. Then Ryou turned back to the three of them.

"I'll go get some salve that will fix you two up right away", the healer spoke before scurrying off to the bags at the back of the tent.

1.

"I take it you have those three ruffians restrained now?" Seto questioned when Atemu marched into his tent. The prince only nodded at his cousin, knowing that the brunet had something to say to him. Seto usually did not seek Atemu out for his company when he probably had paperwork to attend to. It was obvious that Seto had something to tell him.

"How did you like Rasui?" Seto questioned and Atemu instantly glared at the brunet as he snapped: "I didn't meet him. I had to take care of those thugs and I only just now got back from the tent I left them in."

Seto was smiling in that typical know-it-all manner of his but it seemed that brunet was not in the mood to flaunt him knowing something that Atemu did not, since he spoke rather soon after Atemu's retort: "Rasui was that timid, black-haired youth that we ran into when you were putting those thugs in their place."

Atemu thought back to the regular looking boy with turquoise eyes that reminded Atemu of someone without being familiar at all. He was rather surprised to hear that the boy in question was the one Ryou had spoken about in such a worried manner.

"No way", Atemu spoke out, effectively voicing his thoughts. "I can't believe he would be a summoner. He certainly doesn't look like one."

"Yes…" Seto commented, frowning as he did so. "It's the perfect disguise if you ask me."

Lifting an eyebrow at the odd comment Atemu questioned: "How so?"

"Well, he looks absolutely normal, that's how", Seto replied simply. Atemu only laughed at his cousin, getting a heated glare from the blue eyes. The prince was rather used to those looks by now, however, and paid the sight of hostility no mind as he spoke out: "You think everyone is suspicious despite what they look like."

"That is because everyone and their family tree is out to get you", Seto snapped. Atemu only smiled in amusement. Seto was always like this: paranoid to a fault. In an effort to at least weaken his cousin's suspicion of Rasui Atemu pointed out: "Ryou already checked him and he did not sense any disguises on him, right?"

"That may be so but there are limitations to our senses", Seto replied as he shook his head in displeasure at the thought. "We aren't aware of the whole world, which is why we must perfect all of our senses and not just the spiritual ones."

"I'll keep that in mind", Atemu commented with distaste and crossed his arms. "I need to work out a brief course to test the troops' strength and skill tomorrow. So, unless you have something important to discuss with me, I'd prefer to be left alone."

"Fine", Seto grumbled as he got up from his seat. He started to walk past Atemu but stopped briefly beside the prince to speak: "Good luck with your work, cousin", before walking out of the tent.

Used to the brunet's seemingly random behaviour after growing up with him, Atemu made his way to the desk positioned against one of the 'walls' of the tent. There the prince pulled up a clear parchment and started planning. He would show Odji how good he truly was at leading.

2.

"Thanks a lot for helping us out, Jono", Yugi said once again while the two of them waited for Ryou to finish with fixing Bakura up. The short boy did not know what reason Jono had for waiting around and Yugi wondered if this meant that the blond would not mind if Yugi attempted to befriend him.

The grin on Jono's face seemed to be stuck as the blond chuckled before speaking out: "You already thanked me, Rasui. But, you're welcome." The tall teen reached out and ruffled Yugi's hair a bit. "There's no need to shower me with hero worship. You heard what that pompous priest said; I'm just trouble."

"Well, I think he was wrong", Yugi said with the slightest hint of a pout. "You're a kind person."

A bright laugh came from Jono then, followed by the blond claiming: "You're a real sap, Rasui, but I think I live you anyway."

The blond's forward manner had Yugi off-balance; the young prince had not encountered another like Jono before. But, Yugi did not really mind the boy's persona; the other's attitude just was unexpected. Also, it seemed that Yugi was capable of making new friends like Bakura had ordered him to do.

"Okay", Ryou spoke out then. "You're all set now."

A mumble followed from Bakura then and Yugi guessed it to be a thank you of sorts when Ryou released a short laugh and replied: "You're welcome." And with that the taller of the two albinos was by Yugi's side, leading the way out of the tent. When Yugi and Jono moved to follow him they heard Ryou's voice call after them: "Just try to make it more than a single day before you stop by to get treated again, Jono. I'm not very keen on the thought of having you become my most frequent patient."

"I'll try. That's all I can promise", Jono called back, laughter evident in his voice. The blond was bound to get into loads of more trouble with an attitude like that and Yugi could not help but worry over the blond that may have or may not have become his first friend in this new place far away from home.

3.

After departing ways with Jono, Yugi and Bakura made their way to their tents. Slipping the cloth open, Yugi turned to give Bakura a smile as he spoke: "Good night, Bakura."

"Whatever", the white-haired thief mumbled back before disappearing inside his tent. Yugi gave a slow shake of his head at the other's antics before slipping into his own tent and making his way to the bedspread. He really hoped that he would fall asleep quickly, since he was planning on trying out his new ability to dream walk. There was someone he wished to visit.

Laying down on the blanket, Yugi closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to even out his breathing. Then he let go of all the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind during the day and allowed the renewed image of crimson eyes to pull him into the land of dreams.

It took Yugi a moment to realize that he had actually fallen asleep, but that he was not dreaming. He suddenly found himself standing in a hall, one that was very similar to the one in the palace he called home. In front of him rose a familiar pair of heavy doors that should have led outside. Somehow Yugi doubted that he would find his home city behind those doors, however.

Glancing around, Yugi noticed that instead of hallways, the large hall was surrounded by what seemed like bedroom doors. For some reason Yugi immediately knew that these doors would each lead to a different subconscious and that they all belonged to people he had been in contact with earlier that day. He made his way to the nearest door, the one that was positioned immediately right of the large pair doors.

Pressing a hand against the wooden surface, Yugi tried to steel his senses into recognizing the mind he was in contact with. He was unsuccessful, most likely because this was his first attempt, and he decided to try an easier approach and to simply pull the door open and have a peek inside. Grabbing the handle, Yugi pulled a couple of times before he was certain that the door was locked. Not sure what that meant, he made his way to the next door.

The new door slipped open without much effort and as Yugi pulled the door almost completely open, he noticed that the room was completely empty. The only logical explanation Yugi could come up with was that the person was still awake, and so he closed the door again and moved to the next one, which also proved to be easy to open.

This time around Yugi was faced with a room full of different items. All the walls and the floor were clothed in beautiful rugs and ornamental items made of valuable metals and gemstones. In the middle of the room rested a pile of plush pillows, presumably meant to be a bed, and in the middle of those pillows rested the familiar form of the prince of Egypt.

"Atemu!" Yugi gasped out, slipping into the room. He had found the person he was looking for and he quickly hurried over to the other teen to glance down at opening crimson eyes that immediately widened upon seeing him.

"Y-Yugi?" Atemu gasped out and immediately sat up straight. "You're alive?"

Yugi realized that his soul must have still held his real from if Atemu was able to recognize him, and he smiled at the prince as he spoke: "I'm alive, Atemu, and I'm right here." He reached out a hand and it was immediately grasped between Atemu's own.

"Oh Yugi, I thought that you were dead for sure. I was certain that the only solace I could grasp was that brought by revenge on the one who took you from me", Atemu spoke passionately, holding on to Yugi's hand like it was the greatest treasure in the world, which really touched Yugi. He had not realized that the Egyptian cared about him so much, not with all the times Atemu had insistently pushed him aside during their courting process. All this time Yugi had thought that his feelings for Atemu had been unrequited and now in the light of this new revelation he could not stop smiling.

"I am very much alive, Atemu, and I will do everything I can to get to you", Yugi assured the other, bringing his free hand to grasp the one holding onto his other one. "We will be together again."

"Don't worry, Yugi", Atemu spoke gently. "I will take care of everything. You just wait for me to come rescue you."

Those words had Yugi staring in indignant shock for a moment. Finally, the prince managed to utter out: "Excuse me?" Had Atemu just told him to wait and let the Egyptian save him like a defenceless princess?

"Of course I will come to your rescue", Atemu spoke in genuine tenderness, clearly misunderstanding the reason for Yugi's shock. "I would not let a bunch of ordinary soldiers do my job of rescuing my fiancée."

"But Atemu", Yugi tried desperately to argue. "I can save myself. We can save Egypt together!"

"I could not endanger you, my dear", Atemu said with a sweet smile that did nothing to ease Yugi's growing anger. "Just leave everything to me. I will save you from whoever has imprisoned you." The hand holding Yugi's own squeezed tighter. "And I will destroy anyone who stands in my way."

Yugi was almost certain that he had seen Atemu's eyes glow red at that last part. And because of how shocking such an experience was, Yugi completely forgot to argue against Atemu's insistence on coming to rescue him. He was already halfway rescued without the pompous prince's help! And by the time Yugi's mind caught on to the situation and his temper flared, his grip on the connection slackened and he woke up back in his tent.

"Aargh!" Yugi groaned as he sat up and grabbed on to his hair in aggravation. "That, that…damned wanna-be hero!" A sigh escaped from Yugi and boy fell back on top of his bedding, his anger passing with that much-needed release. "I'll show him. I'll save both myself and Egypt. I'll show him what I'm capable of, and he will love me for it. I'm not helpless."

4.

Atemu opened his eyes blearily, peering into the darkness of his tent. He had dreamed of something… The dream was fading away already and he could not remember everything that had happened, but he did remember one thing; Yugi had been in it. Atemu had had many dreams of Yugi in the past, right after the boy's disappearance, but they had stopped some time ago. The dreams had stopped eight moons previously, actually, after Atemu had been tormented by visions of his beloved for four months straight. Once the dreams had stopped Atemu had thought that he would not start having them again.

Maybe the return of his dreams was a sign, the prince mused as he stared at the interior of the roof of the tent. Maybe it was a sign of Yugi still being alive. If that was the case, then Atemu would rescue him. That would be his oath from then on; he would either rescue Yugi or find the proof of his death, and may the gods have mercy on any person who attempted to get in his way.

To be continued…

Author's Notes: Someone mentioned wanting to see Yugi and Atemu butting heads over Atemu being such an ass even when he doesn't intend to be one. Here we have a little bit of that and there will probably be more in the future.

Also, I apologise for leaving this story gathering dust. I've been extremely busy with exams for the last month or so and have been unable to focus on being creative. But now Christmas break is here and I'm hoping to catch up with my writing.