Ohayo! Here's a chapter that I couldn't wait to happen. WHO'S EXCITED FOR HP 7 PART 2? I KNOW I AM!

Hikari!

Oops, sound's like the Yami is ticked. Gotta go. Hope you enjoy!

Yami Twitterpated: Twitter-hikari doesn't want to own Yu-Gi-Oh. Which is a shame, because I would love to send some lawyers to the Shadows.
And thanks to Youngbountygirl and vampiregirl 31 for the reviews. Twitter is so excited.

∫~Eleven~∫

The wind caught at Yugi's hair and tugged at the coat he was wearing. His bare feet were cold on the deck, but he took little notice. Today he was 14. He smiled into the wind for just an instant.

Yami had been out of the cabin early, so Yugi took his time getting dressed. He now took a careful inventory of his body. His thighs were still as straight as they had been ten weeks ago when he had first stepped onto the ship, and there was no definition between his waist and hips.

It was so clear now why Amaru had wanted him to accept his body. She had known the truth. Yugi tried to accustom himself to the fact, but it was hard. He took a moment and realized that body shapes and features could run in families.

"If only I could see a picture of her, just for an instant, then I might know some rest."

"See who?"

Yami was suddenly at his side, Yugi's shoes in hand. He shot a long-suffering look at them and bent to put them on.

Yami watched as Yugi slipped into them, then smiled at his flushed face. Yugi didn't blush very often, and he wondered what thoughts he had interrupted.

"Would you like to be alone?"

"Not really," he spoke as the embarrassment faded. "I was just thinking about my mother."

Yami nodded. "Anything in particular?"

"I was wondering what she looked like," he told the elder softly, looking younger than his 14 years.

"She was a beautiful woman, with hair the colour of yours. Her eyes were a dark blue, and people would say that her smile was the warmest one in England."

Yugi smiled at the picture, but was still troubled. Yami had said nothing of her frame. He looked out to sea with a troubled heart as he debated whether to ask the question.

In Egypt, or rather, the Pharaoh's palace, a person's body was a thing of beauty. Yugi was starting to see that this was not so in England, or at least, not on this ship. Whenever Yugi came out of his room in only his undergarments, Yami would tell him to go get dressed. the clothes were covering far more of his person then what he had worn in Egypt, but to this English sea captain, it was not enough.

And he had never seen Yami's unclothed body; Not that particularly wanted to. But he seemed to go out of the way to keep him from seeing something that he was all too familiar with. Almost from day one at the palace, he had been wandering in and out of the servants chambers and Papa's rooms.

Then of course, he lived on the edge of a harem, where nudity was not only commonplace, but expected. Most of the women and Ukes were very proud of their bodies, and would have been highly amused at the English way of covering oneself.

"Something is troubling you," Yami commented softly. "Can you tell me what it is?"

"I want to ask you a question, but I'm afraid that you'll be angry with me."

Yami's brows rose at this. "I'm sure that you would agree that I don't anger easily."

"That's true," Yugi agreed with a small smile, thinking of all the time he should have disciplined him with a monster or two. "But this is personal. This is not something the English talk about, and I know that you want me to be English."

"You are English Yugi, and you are going to be living in England, but I'm not trying to force you to completely divorce your past. If there is something I can tell you, I will."

Yugi glanced out at the sea and then turned back to Yami. He watched as Yugi crossed his arms over his chest as though trying to protect himself.

"I want to know about my mother's body." It was said in a great rush, as though he was afraid of not getting them 's face gave away nothing, but on the inside he was calling himself every kind of fool for not assuring Yugi's doubts over his body sooner.

"Your mother was fairly tall, and her figure was lovely. She carried herself with grace and confidence."

Yugi's disappointment was clearly evident. Yami hesitated, not wanting to embarrass either of them, but knew that Yugi needed to hear more.

"Your mother had womanly curves, Yugi, but she was not heavy." He tried again.

Yugi turned his head back to Yami, eyes alight with yearning. "You mean she was not fat?"

"Yes, I do, but I also mean that she was not overly endowed."

Yami saw in an instant that he had lost Yugi, and found himself wishing that Mai was here. He knew that if Yugi wanted him to be more specific, that he would be blushing like a little girl.

"What is this 'endowed'?"

Yami gave it up as a lost cause. "She was neither big-breasted or full-hipped."

To my credit, I did not blush, Yami thought to himself, watching as Yugi's face cleared instantly. Such simple words had put him at ease.

"Amaru was heavily...endowed." He struggled with the word for a moment. "She had very full breasts and hips." Yugi went on, gazing out at the sea again. "Were you to see her, you would see that it was not very hard for Papa to marry her."

Suddenly all Yami's embarrassment evaporated. "Spouses are supposed to enjoy each other in every way, but it is not how a woman or Uke looks is not as important as how they treat their duel spirits."

"That may be the case in England, but in Egypt, a Seme wants beautiful daughters and Ukes so he can find husbands for them."

"How do the women and Ukes feel about this?"

"It doesn't matter how they feel," Yugi stated in surprise. "They have no choice. No woman or Uke has monsters or money of their own, and without a Seme, they are sure to die." Yugi sighed. "I find myself wishing that I had monster cards."

"Why?" Yami asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.

"So I can stay single. I never want to be controlled by a Seme."

Yami found himself thanking Syrus for cluing him on Yugi's views of dueling and marriage. "you don't think that you will find a Seme who'll cherish and love you enough not to dominate you?"

Yugi shrugged. "He would still have the money and the cards, and thus, the power."

Yami debated whether to tell Yugi what was on his mind, and swiftly reasoned that he would be told soon in any event.

"You have spirits and money of your own."

Yugi turned slowly and stepped away from the railing, closer to Yami. His hands took the front of the taller man's cloak. He searched his face, looking for any signs of teasing and found none. Yami went on in a soft voice.

"I believe I told you that Your Grand-papa Moto never believed the news of your death, ergo, he never changed his will, leaving you with more than half of his wealth. If you're careful, you have more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life."

Yugi closed his eyes and a small smile of rapture broke over his face.

"Do you have a birthday present for me Yami?"

"Yes."

"I won't need it. What you have just given me is the last gift I will ever need - freedom. Now my body needn't worry."

Yami left him then. He was pleased at the state of peace that Yugi had achieved, but prayed that it would not last.

Mana shimmered into view on Yami's shoulder. Yami smiled, knowing that she had heard what had transpired between himself and his charge. "I don't want the money to be enough, Mana. He needs to find the peace that comes with bonding to a special spirit. Please, give, him a special restlessness until he reaches for that bond."

Mana smiled and patted his ear, the highest part of him she could reach. "All will be well, Yami."

Yami leaned into the touch, wishing that their journey might be over.

Yugi's birthday dinner was later that evening with Yami, First Mate Timaeus and the ship's bosun, Hermos, were to join them. Decked out in their finest togs, both men arrived as Yami stood critically eying the dining room with it's dark mahogany furniture. He wanted everything to be perfect before going to claim his young charge.

Neither man spoke as Yami shifted a chair here or moved a candlestick there. He was on his way out the door before he seemed to notice them. His cerise eyes pinned them in place as he assessed their clothing. Upon inspection and after a nod, Yami moved out the door and too his cabin. He would have laughed at his own seriousness had he seen the grins on the men's faces at his departure.

Yugi peered into the mirror and reached for the hairbrush for at least the tenth time. The long blond bangs that hung into his eyes would not lay right. He fussed a bit more and then heard the cabin door open. After a quick look down the front of his dress, Yugi moved to the doorway of his room.

Yami, looking taller then ever in a resplendent, all-black ensemble save for a snow white shirt and cravat, was waiting patiently for him to be done. He smiled in genuine pleasure at the sight of Yugi in a dark burgundy gown. The collars and cuffs were only a shade or two lighter then the gown itself, and Yami thought that he looked adorable.

Yugi didn't feel adorable, he felt confused. Why had he never noticed how good looking Yami was? He realized that Yami had been dressed this way the first time they had met, but he'd been too taken with the ship to notice.

"I realize that you don't want any presents," Yami teased him, "but I hope that you will still honor me by having dinner with me and a couple of my men."

Yugi's eyes widened in surprise over both comments, and realized two things. One, they had never before eaten with anyone else, and two, how rude he must have sounded earlier today.

"Yami, I'm so sorry-" he was cut off as Yami approached him.

Yugi's eyes closed as Yami's arms went around his small frame. His hugs always made Yugi feel like the most cherished Uke on the Earth. He held the smaller close, then kissed him on the forehead.

"I was only teasing," he spoke with laughter evident in his voice. "Of course you'll get your gifts as soon as we eat."

Yugi sat on his bunk contemplating the wonderful dinner he'd had. First he had been given his gifts, and then they sat down to eat.

Yugi was approached first by Hermos, who produced a star, made from fine, white rope, so intricately knotted that it was only three inches across. He pointed to the center.

"I tried to get 15 knots in the center here, seein' 's you're 15, but o'ly 14 would fit.

Yugi blushed as he recalled the happiness he'd felt when Hermos said that he thought that Yugi was 15. Then Timaeus handed him a slim book of poetry. Yugi was ecstatic over the gift, and Timaeus left, flushing as though it was his gift. They had eaten then, enjoying the tales that Hermos and Timaeus had of their travels. After they had finished dining, Yami had given Yugi another slim volume. When he had looked, the pages were blank.

"As you can see, the pages are blank," Yami said. "That's because it's a journal."

Yugi was yawning widely by that point of the evening, and Yami took notice of it. He quickly made his excuses and hustled the Uke to bed. That was up to this point in time.

Yugi stood and made his way to the doorway. "Yami," he called softly. The captain looked up from where he had been perusing some papers. "Could you brush my hair?" Yugi blushed at his childish query, but Yami nodded and moved over by the area that had been designated as the hair brushing area.

After a while Yami spoke. "Your family had little time to gather their wits when they first heard that you were alive. I'm sure by now that they wish they had thought of sending gifts with me, but this will have to do for now."

Yami opened his hand. Lying in the center of his palm were two things: the first was a gold ring set with a large amethyst. The second was a small rectangle of paper, outlined in gold with a picture of a small, brown ball of fur in it. He held them out to Yugi, and the boy took reverently.

"They belonged to your Grandfather Yugi, and he wanted you to have them. Ryou remembered them just before I left."

The ring was far too large for Yugi's slim fingers, and then Yami showed him the chain. "I thought that it might not fit, so I picked this up in Sierra Leon."

Yugi accepted it gratefully. "What is the card?"

Yami smiled. "This is Kuriboh. He was your grandfather Moto's favorite companion." Yami could see that he had lost Yugi and smiled. "Why don't you go to bed now Yugi? Everything will be here in the morning."

Yugi nodded and stumbled to his room with a bleary look in his eyes.

Yami watched his charge go and then moved back to the dining cabin. Timaeus nodded as Yami sank back into his empty seat.

"Another month, I say, before we reach London."

Hermos snorted. "More like three weeks. What think you, captain?" Yami thought for a moment.

"I'm leaning more towards a month." Timaeus crowed softly, not wanting to wake the boy next door. Hermos leaned forward.

"Might I give you a bit of advice, Cap'n? Keep an eye on that young lad there. Lovely as he is now, someday he'll be a priceless treasure. When that day come, you mark my words, he's goin' ta lead some poor chap on a long, merry chase, and he wouldn' even need ta try."

Well? Yugi is finally 14! Whee! Gack-!

Yami Twitterpated: Do excuse Twitter-hikari. She has been this way since three this morning.

Not my fault that you insist on sleeping in the same bed as me-urk!

Yami Twitterpated: *rolls eyes* Something about Harry Potter 7 part two. She's gonna be posting again today, and wants all of you to know that she is very grateful for all the nice reviews. We are at 24. Question of personal interest to YoungBountyGirl. What was interesting about last chapter? The conversation with Syrus and Yami?

*Gasp!* Yami, it's not okay to duct tape me to the bed!

Anywho, thanks for your thoughts and I hope to see you all again real soon! Eek!

Yami Twitterpated: Finally, silence...oh.

Ja ne!

Twitterpated