9. Questions

"Something on your mind?" Yami asked once he noticed that Atemu was staring at him.

"You have a daughter?" Atemu asked. "And how come you were so easily able to talk to them in English?"

"I pick things up fast and Merita gave me a helping hand. That's why I knew she was awake enough to come meet those men," Yami responded. "And I had a daughter."

"What happened to her?" Atemu asked with a tilt of his head. "If you don't mind me asking."

Yami sighed softly. "She was born early and was very sick throughout her short life. I know it sounds awful, but it was a relief when she died. I knew she was no longer suffering. And I know she had suffered a lot in her short life," Yami responded. "Her illness just got the best of her."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," Atemu muttered. "Did you have any other children?"

Yami shook his head. "I had a lot of trouble carrying children. She was the first to be born alive. Didn't help that I didn't have an official partner. Sometimes random spouses. Harems are great."

"Wait… You carried her? You can have kids?!" Atemu asked in shock.

Yami raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes. It's quite common for men to have children," Yami responded. "Isn't it?"

Atemu shook his head. "Not anymore. It's impossible in this day and age."

Yami frowned. "You guys lost everything that was great over the past four millennia," Yami muttered. "Well… Since we can understand each other now… What happened to you?"

Atemu sighed softly, having known this question was coming. "I was in a car accident. A truck didn't stop when it was supposed to and slammed into my car. He slammed into my passenger side and killed my little brother," Atemu answered.

Yami could see that Atemu was feeling very guilty about the accident. But it truly sounded like he wasn't at fault. "I'm so sorry that it happened… But it's not your fault," Yami said, wishing he could get over to the other man. He looked like he needed a hug.

"I was the one who took him out when I was told not to," Atemu protested.

"How were you to know that someone wasn't going to stop?" Yami asked in return.

"I still shouldn't have taken him with me. If I hadn't, he'd still be alive," Atemu responded.

"Life is full of "what ifs". You can't dwell on them. That won't change a thing. All it'll do is bring you down and destroy you from the inside," Yami said.

"What do you know about it?" Atemu growled, glaring at the pale boy.

"I have been responsible for many deaths. Even the death of people who did not deserve it. One of them happened to be my sister," Yami answered.

"How did you kill your sister?" Atemu asked with a frown.

"You know how," Yami muttered.

"No, I don't," Atemu responded.

"She was your wife," Yami replied with a faint blush.

"Your sister was my wife?" Atemu asked in shock. "And I blamed you for her death?"

Yami nodded, his blush darkening. "It was an arranged marriage," Yami explained with a slight shrug.

"Why are you blushing?" Atemu asked with a frown.

"I'm kinda glad you don't know," Yami responded softly, his cheeks bright red.

"Come on, tell me," Atemu said with a smile, sitting up more in his bed. "Don't make me come over there."

"I don't want to tell you," Yami responded, covering a yawn once again.

"Tired?" Atemu asked with a tilt of his head.

Yami nodded his head tiredly. "Where is your family? I haven't seen them the whole time I've been here."

Atemu sighed sadly. "They abandoned me after the accident. They blame me for Heba's death," Atemu responded softly, starting to rub the scar over his face and neck. "And they didn't want the face of their company to have such an obvious deformity."

"They're complete morons if that's their reasoning behind abandoning their son in his time of need. I'd kick their asses back into line if I ever see them," Yami growled.

"You are going to kick their asses? You can't even walk from that bed to me," Atemu responded with a slight smile.

"That won't be for long," Yami replied with a smirk.

"I've heard the prognosis, Yami. They don't expect you to walk again," Atemu pointed out.

"And I've been to the underworld before. Nothing keeps me down. Trust me. I will be back on my feet within a few months," Yami responded.

"You've been to the underworld? What's it like?" Atemu asked curiously.

"Yes, and it's a flaming hell hole full of demons. They take great pleasure in ripping people apart or raping the souls under their control. The demons can kill people a trillion times. The soul will reform back to a living form within a few hours and the torment can start all over again. They can also call upon the shapeshifters to make it seem like loved ones are the ones committing the assault," Yami explained.

"Why were you there?" Atemu asked with frown.

"I was actually saving your pathetic ass. You pissed off the wrong person and was sent to the underworld. Teana begged me to go and save you since she didn't know anyone else who could handle the realm," Yami answered.

"Why would you save me if you didn't like me? Why didn't you like me?" Atemu asked with a frown.

"As a child, you were sweet and kind. But by the time you were old enough to marry Teana, you had turned into a complete jerk. You enjoyed torturing people. Not just sweet jokes you could laugh off. You threw a week-old jug of blood over Teana when you first met her and set your leopard on her. Then got pissed off when I killed your precious cat. For the rest of her mortal life, she had four deep scars down her back from when the cat had scratched her," Yami responded with a slightly cold tone. "I always hated you for that. I kinda thought it was deserved for you to spend a little time in the underworld for your behaviour, but not the rest of your life. And Teana had fallen hard for you at the time and was begging me to help. If I was strong enough to defeat father, I was strong enough to handle the underworld for a short time."

"Who the hell throws blood on someone and then sicks a big cat on someone?" Atemu asked with a frown.

"You do," Yami responded with a frown. "Or did. Teana managed to get you out of that habit. I don't know how she managed that."

Atemu raised an eyebrow. "Did something else happen between us two?"

"I'm still not going to talk to you about it. If you're back, Teana will be back too. Most likely, destiny will arrange for the two of you to meet and get back together again in a more desirable manner. This time you shouldn't have the barrier of an arranged marriage forcing you two together," Yami responded. "You shouldn't need it since your feelings from your past life will still affect your current life."

"I doubt that'll happen," Atemu responded.

"Why?" Yami asked as he laid his bed down again, pulling the covers up.

"I'm gay," Atemu answered.

"Gay? What's gay?" Yami asked.

"It's the term used for someone interested in the same sex. Girls have a second term. They can be called either gay or lesbian. But men are gay," Atemu explained.

"What if you like both?" Yami enquired.

"That's called bisexual," Atemu answered. "If you like the opposite sex, it's heterosexuality or "being straight"."

"That's getting too complicated for me," Yami muttered.

"It gets a lot more confusing. There's a hell of a lot more terms for different sexualities," Atemu responded.

"My time was way simpler," Yami mumbled to himself with a wide yawn. "I'm going for a nap."

"Alright," Atemu muttered, opening his computer. He would browse the internet for a while since he wasn't tired yet and hated being bored. Besides, he had just gotten a lot of information from Yami.

Atemu decided to do some schoolwork for the first time in a few days. He hated online school while in hospital, even if they're just workbooks that needed to be completed. He didn't let himself get behind on his work, but he didn't do anymore than absolutely necessary either. Besides, now that he was an unofficial mentor for the pale boy on the other side of the room, he wanted to keep his knowledge up to date. He had a feeling that Yami would pick everything up a lot faster than he did.

"How long have you been here by the way?" Yami asked, his eyes still closed.

"Four months," Atemu answered, looking at the boy once more.

"How much longer will you be here?" Yami asked.

Atemu shrugged. "Only time will tell. It depends when the physios feel that I am suitable to go home. One of the big issues they have for that though is that I don't have a home. They're probably trying to find somewhere to place me that can handle a disabled person attending physio," Atemu explained.

"What will happen to me?" Yami asked.

Atemu frowned and shook his head. "I have no idea. They'd have to work out some form of ID for you before they can do anything. You can't get anywhere in life without some form of identifying paperwork."

"I don't have any paperwork," Yami muttered.

"That's why the police were here. They were trying to find information that may help them track down your identity. By the sounds of it, their search hadn't found anything. You mustn't have a criminal history and your DNA didn't match anyone in modern time," Atemu responded.

"That's because I'm not from modern time. I'm four thousand years old," Yami pointed out.

"How can you be so calm about realising that you've been asleep for so long?" Atemu asked with a tilt of his head.

"I'm just hoping it's all a bad dream that I'll wake up from any moment," Yami responded.

Atemu couldn't help but chuckle at that response. His amusement slipped from his face when he found an email from his school that seemed rather important. His face fell as he read the email.

"What's wrong?" Yami asked, sensing the falling spirits of the tanned man.

"I have an email from my school. My parents have decided to withdraw me from the school. I cannot re-enrol until I either have a new guardian or somehow get declared as independent and am able to manage my own life," Atemu explained.

"How do you do that?" Yami asked curiously, opening his eyes to look at the other teen.

"I have no idea to be honest," Atemu responded. "I will be declared an adult at 18 but I'm a long way off yet."

"How old are you?" Yami asked.

"Sixteen," Atemu answered with a faint blush. "Or I will be next month."

"Damn. Hopefully you work it out," Yami muttered.

"You hate me but wish the best for me?" Atemu asked with a confused frown, his confusion growing when he saw Yami's smirk widen in response.