Chapter 2: Preparations
Author's Notes: Hmm... *tallies up votes*
-One non-yaoi
-Two Yami/Yugi
-Two Joey/Yugi
-And one yaoi of any sort...
And then, there're always my votes, two for non-yaoi and one for Joey/Yugi. I actually didn't really want a yaoi too much, but if a lot of people wanted it, I could deal. Now, however, I have a problem. The non-yaoi and Yami/Yugi go down basically the same path, but the Joey/Yugi goes in a whole other direction.
Well, I'll go down the non-yaoi and Yami/Yugi direction, and hope for the best. Cross your fingers, and please keep telling me what you think!
When Yugi reached solid ground again, he slid off his invisibility. At once several men swarmed up to him.
"General! The enemy is approaching."
"General, the scouts..."
"General, three..."
"General, general, general..."
"STOP!" Yugi yelled, feeling a massive headache coming on. "Please state your messages, one at a time."
The arms-master stepped forward. "General, since last count, we've lost or broken seventy-three arrows. If this keeps up, the archers won't have anything to shoot. " Yugi nodded, thinking carefully on the problem. "Take the woodworkers off the extra barracks: we'll worry about surviving this battle first, then we'll worry about tomorrow, well, tomorrow. Put some archers on arrow- making, too. They should know what kind of arrows work the best."
The instant the arms-master left, three more men stepped up to take his place. Even so, it was a woman who spoke. "General, the infirmary can't hold many more people, and I think we'll need to."
"Move the least wounded to the barracks. That'll do for now, until we sort out our current predicament." Yugi paused. "Can I hear news of the enemy?"
"General, the enemy approaches. A rough count shows about half a thousand men, maybe more." Yugi bit his lip, but the bad news continued. "They seem to be very experienced. All the scouts that we've sent have been picked off; obviously, there's no retreat for us that way."
"How long until they get here?"
The man who had spoken seemed to think for a moment. "I'd say about an hour."
Yugi nodded. "Is there any other urgent news? If not, I must think for a while."
A few moments later, only one remained. "Got time for me, *general*?" The blond mockingly put emphasis on the word "general".
Relaxing, Yugi giggled. "I _always_ have time for you, Jou." Yugi reached up to give him a hug. (No, not Jou/Yugi. It's friendly, I swear!)
(Quick author's note: it's really annoying when I'm working on one certain fic, but before I can finish it, I switch to a different one! I do a whole bunch of work, but it never shows. *growls*)
"Did you see the way they all swarmed up to you?" Jou chuckled and did an impression of the woman who'd spoken about the infirmary.
Yugi laughed as well, then stopped abruptly. "That wasn't funny." The look on his face sent Jou into more laughter, until he realized that his friend was being serious. "What's up, Yugi?"
"Jou, we're in a war here. We're faced with a huge army of _trained_ soldiers, much unlike us." Yugi sighed. "I hate to say this, but I don't think we're going to make it out of this battle alive."
"Isn't that pleasant? I'm gonna feed the worms."
"Jou!" Yugi sighed. "I'm serious."
"Well, I'm not. Whether or not we survive, it's all up to fate. I doubt that there's anything we can do except make the best out of it. Now, cheer up! Let's get ready for battle, k?" Jou headed for the stables to get his mare, Serendipity. (Pun!)
Yugi rolled his eyes, but followed suit.
"Okay, men! I want all of you to listen up!" Yugi had adopted a loud voice over his time as a general. "The back way is blocked, but if a great number of you escapes that way, at least a couple will get out alive. If not, we can go down fighting." He pointed to the gate before them. "The enemy awaits. So, make your decision now! I won't hold it against any of you if you flee, even if I'm alive to do so by the time the sun sets tonight."
A few people glanced towards the back, but not one person left.
Yugi smiled grimly. "I want all men with horses to line up behind me in your assigned formation! Eight rows of ten! All foot soldiers behind them, in standard rows! Archers on the fence, shoot when necessary! Two archers prepare to open the gates, and then return to position once we've left! I want you all lined up within the next fifteen minutes."
Yugi stepped away from the men. "Well, Jou." He sucked in a deep breath. "This is it." He smiled tightly, then frowned. "Jou, I'm scared."
Jou patted Yugi on the back. "Don't worry about it. You'll be fine!"
"No, no I won't! I don't belong here! I'll probably get all these men killed... I have no interest for war, you know that!" Yugi gave Jou a frightened look, unable to keep up his mask. Where a brave, if short, general had stood moments before, Yugi was suddenly reduced to the young teenager he was.
"Yugi... You were doing a great job! The men listen to you. Do you think they would without a reason?"
"Yes, they would. If they thought I was someone I'm not." His eyes closed. "Oh, Jou, they think I'm some great military leader, just because they've never been in the army before, either. If they had, they'd realize that half the things that we're doing are pulling them down." He winced at the incident with a smaller battle only days ago.
"C'mon, Yugi. I told you before: don't worry about it. Let come what will."
Yugi let out a sigh. "You're right, Jou. What'll happen will happen. So, let's go!"
The mare, Harmony, shifted slightly. Yugi gently patted her nose, whispering soothing sounds into her ear. Harmony, like Yugi himself, didn't appreciate war. The young general gave her an extra apple before swinging up on her back and riding to the gate.
His men were mostly already assembled, though a few were still racing to get there. Yugi took his place at the head of his army, getting a shock when Serendipity came to a stop beside him.
Upon seeing his questioning look, Jou grinned. "I couldn't letcha do this alone: would kind of friend would I be?"
Yugi opened his mouth to send Jou off, but then thought better of it. "Okay, men, let's move out!"
Author's Notes: Hmm... *tallies up votes*
-One non-yaoi
-Two Yami/Yugi
-Two Joey/Yugi
-And one yaoi of any sort...
And then, there're always my votes, two for non-yaoi and one for Joey/Yugi. I actually didn't really want a yaoi too much, but if a lot of people wanted it, I could deal. Now, however, I have a problem. The non-yaoi and Yami/Yugi go down basically the same path, but the Joey/Yugi goes in a whole other direction.
Well, I'll go down the non-yaoi and Yami/Yugi direction, and hope for the best. Cross your fingers, and please keep telling me what you think!
When Yugi reached solid ground again, he slid off his invisibility. At once several men swarmed up to him.
"General! The enemy is approaching."
"General, the scouts..."
"General, three..."
"General, general, general..."
"STOP!" Yugi yelled, feeling a massive headache coming on. "Please state your messages, one at a time."
The arms-master stepped forward. "General, since last count, we've lost or broken seventy-three arrows. If this keeps up, the archers won't have anything to shoot. " Yugi nodded, thinking carefully on the problem. "Take the woodworkers off the extra barracks: we'll worry about surviving this battle first, then we'll worry about tomorrow, well, tomorrow. Put some archers on arrow- making, too. They should know what kind of arrows work the best."
The instant the arms-master left, three more men stepped up to take his place. Even so, it was a woman who spoke. "General, the infirmary can't hold many more people, and I think we'll need to."
"Move the least wounded to the barracks. That'll do for now, until we sort out our current predicament." Yugi paused. "Can I hear news of the enemy?"
"General, the enemy approaches. A rough count shows about half a thousand men, maybe more." Yugi bit his lip, but the bad news continued. "They seem to be very experienced. All the scouts that we've sent have been picked off; obviously, there's no retreat for us that way."
"How long until they get here?"
The man who had spoken seemed to think for a moment. "I'd say about an hour."
Yugi nodded. "Is there any other urgent news? If not, I must think for a while."
A few moments later, only one remained. "Got time for me, *general*?" The blond mockingly put emphasis on the word "general".
Relaxing, Yugi giggled. "I _always_ have time for you, Jou." Yugi reached up to give him a hug. (No, not Jou/Yugi. It's friendly, I swear!)
(Quick author's note: it's really annoying when I'm working on one certain fic, but before I can finish it, I switch to a different one! I do a whole bunch of work, but it never shows. *growls*)
"Did you see the way they all swarmed up to you?" Jou chuckled and did an impression of the woman who'd spoken about the infirmary.
Yugi laughed as well, then stopped abruptly. "That wasn't funny." The look on his face sent Jou into more laughter, until he realized that his friend was being serious. "What's up, Yugi?"
"Jou, we're in a war here. We're faced with a huge army of _trained_ soldiers, much unlike us." Yugi sighed. "I hate to say this, but I don't think we're going to make it out of this battle alive."
"Isn't that pleasant? I'm gonna feed the worms."
"Jou!" Yugi sighed. "I'm serious."
"Well, I'm not. Whether or not we survive, it's all up to fate. I doubt that there's anything we can do except make the best out of it. Now, cheer up! Let's get ready for battle, k?" Jou headed for the stables to get his mare, Serendipity. (Pun!)
Yugi rolled his eyes, but followed suit.
"Okay, men! I want all of you to listen up!" Yugi had adopted a loud voice over his time as a general. "The back way is blocked, but if a great number of you escapes that way, at least a couple will get out alive. If not, we can go down fighting." He pointed to the gate before them. "The enemy awaits. So, make your decision now! I won't hold it against any of you if you flee, even if I'm alive to do so by the time the sun sets tonight."
A few people glanced towards the back, but not one person left.
Yugi smiled grimly. "I want all men with horses to line up behind me in your assigned formation! Eight rows of ten! All foot soldiers behind them, in standard rows! Archers on the fence, shoot when necessary! Two archers prepare to open the gates, and then return to position once we've left! I want you all lined up within the next fifteen minutes."
Yugi stepped away from the men. "Well, Jou." He sucked in a deep breath. "This is it." He smiled tightly, then frowned. "Jou, I'm scared."
Jou patted Yugi on the back. "Don't worry about it. You'll be fine!"
"No, no I won't! I don't belong here! I'll probably get all these men killed... I have no interest for war, you know that!" Yugi gave Jou a frightened look, unable to keep up his mask. Where a brave, if short, general had stood moments before, Yugi was suddenly reduced to the young teenager he was.
"Yugi... You were doing a great job! The men listen to you. Do you think they would without a reason?"
"Yes, they would. If they thought I was someone I'm not." His eyes closed. "Oh, Jou, they think I'm some great military leader, just because they've never been in the army before, either. If they had, they'd realize that half the things that we're doing are pulling them down." He winced at the incident with a smaller battle only days ago.
"C'mon, Yugi. I told you before: don't worry about it. Let come what will."
Yugi let out a sigh. "You're right, Jou. What'll happen will happen. So, let's go!"
The mare, Harmony, shifted slightly. Yugi gently patted her nose, whispering soothing sounds into her ear. Harmony, like Yugi himself, didn't appreciate war. The young general gave her an extra apple before swinging up on her back and riding to the gate.
His men were mostly already assembled, though a few were still racing to get there. Yugi took his place at the head of his army, getting a shock when Serendipity came to a stop beside him.
Upon seeing his questioning look, Jou grinned. "I couldn't letcha do this alone: would kind of friend would I be?"
Yugi opened his mouth to send Jou off, but then thought better of it. "Okay, men, let's move out!"