"What Is Forever?"
By: Neko-chan
A/N: Anyway, I was paging through my Japanese/English dictionary--I finally found it! And--
Bakura: Neko-chan you do realize WHY you finally found that stupid book, don't you?
...*coughs*... Because I finally started cleaning my room? ^_^;; ANYway, that's not what we were talking about! When I was looking in my dictionary, I looked up Japan just to make sure that I got it right. And--Japan is either Nippon (which I used) or Nihon. [Thank you, Yuki-chan, for making me go back and double-check it!]
Bakura: And what has this got to do with your story?
Nothing! I just thought that it was interesting and I wanted to share it with everybody! ^_^
Bakura: Oi. Stupid fanfiction authors...
WARNING: This story will contain YAOI. If you don't like, then please don't read. Pairings are as follow: Yami/Yuugi, Bakura/Ryou, Otogi/Honda, Kaiba/Jyou. Enjoy!
FYI: This story deals a lot with flashbacks and Yuugi's past. Because it ended up being so long, I had to divide it into two chapters. (Maybe even three!) And--Pikachumaniac: Don't worry. When everything goes back to normal time line, you'll get more of your Otogi/Honda. I DID promise to make them an official yaoi couple, after all! ^_^
Chapter Six
It was dark and it was cold--it was nearing on midnight and the land had yet to become even colder. Yami sat on his windowsill, staring out over the palace grounds and over the cities's buildings. Yes, it was cold. But the colder it was, the sharper the stars seemed to be. And the closer the pyramids in the distance seemed to become. That was why he enjoyed nights like this. That was why he often stayed awake at night, thinking, just letting his mind wander...
An anguished scream echoed throughout the palace corridors and Yami smiled slightly. Someone wasn't having a good time. Someone was finally learning what it meant to stand up against the Pharaoh of Egypt. Even if that person was an Emperor of a far-off land. It didn't matter. No one stood up against Yami. No one.
At least...no one stood up against Yami and lived.
~ * ~ * ~
"Ji-sama! Ji-sama!" a very young Heir to the Throne of Nippon called as he ran as fast as he was able to into the throne room. It was hard to run because of the court robes holding and weighing him down so. The fact that he was so short also didn't help in his hast, either. But he was still determined to reach his Grandfather as quick as he was able to.
Sugoroku smiled softly and bent down, picking up his grandson easily. Though Sugoroku was old and was just beginning to show the signs of frailty, Yuugi was small and light enough for him to pick up and hold in his arms. His normally expressionless eyes warmed and he smiled down at his favorite grandson. "Hai, Yuugi? Why are you in such a rush to come to me? Nothing bad has happened, has it?" he asked, gasping in mock fright.
For the most part, Sugoroku was warm and compassionate around only two people. His firstborn daughter--who had died after giving birth to Yuugi; she had caught a strange disease and no one could do anything about it because they knew _nothing_ about it--and his favorite grandchild. Yuugi.
The violet-eyed boy giggled happily. "No, Ji-sama! Nothing bad could ever happen here! After all, if something did happen, you would stop it right away, wouldn't you, Ji-sama?"
Sugoroku smiled. "Of course I would, Yuugi. Now, tell me what has gotten you so excited. It isn't an everyday occurrence to see you run into the throne room as if the Imperial Dragon was snipping at your heels."
The Prince pictured this in his mind and giggled. "Iie, Ji-sama! Iie! The fair has finally come to the capital! It's been so long since the last one! I was wandering around in the gardens and I smelled something really delicious--"
"You didn't climb the castle walls again, did you, grandchild?"
Yuugi blinked large, innocent eyes. "Iie, Ji-sama! I would _never_ do such a thing after you told me not to do so!" He giggled and hid a smile behind a child-like hand. He was lying, but he thought that he was clever enough for Sugoroku not to find out. But, of course, his grandfather already knew. Most children could not lie; and, if they were able to, Sugoroku pitied them. No child should know how to lie at such an early age. It told another about the type of life they had been leading, the experiences they already had to go through, and what prospects they had in the future.
"Ah. Of _course_ you didn't climb the castle walls and peek over the edge," Sugoroku agreed gravelly, shaking a silvered head. Yuugi giggled again. "So, my little Hikari, what did you see over the edge?"
At hearing his chance to continue, Yuugi's eyes lit up. "Ji-sama! I-I saw that the people were setting up for the fair! Different people were cooking while others were putting up tents and bringing out animals to show off! And...and Ji-sama! I saw that animal that you were telling me about! Remember? You said that it was a cat, but bigger than the cat that the Emperor of Siam gave to us. The people who traveled with the fair were talking about it--it came from a place called 'Tibet' and is called a 'snow leopard.' Isn't that just wonderful, Ji-sama?!" Yuugi paused momentarily and stared up at his grandfather with his best watery, chibi-eyed expression. "Ji-sama, can you please take me to go to the fair? We can take Shiosuke, Sakura, Touyama, and Tsukino with us!"
Sugoroku paused and if he hadn't been holding Yuugi in his arms, he would have probably stroked his beard thoughtfully--all the while dragging out Yuugi's anxiousness, teasing his grandchild gently. "Hmmm... I don't know, Yuugi..." he began, trailing off mid-thought. "I've been very busy with the peace talks lately and I don't know on what terms I can agree to set our contract with the Mongols. I need more information on them and I won't be able to obtain that information without sending out people. And how can I send out people if I'm not here, in residence?" Yuugi's reply was to continue to look up at his grandfather beseechingly. "Though... I'm sure that the peace treaty can be put off at _least_ one day longer. After all, what can it hurt? So, go and get your sister and brothers and tell them that I'll be taking you to the fair today, along with the royal samurai-lords."
"Hai, Ji-sama!" Yuugi squealed happily and practically jumped out of his grandfather's arms, running as fast as he could to the nursery that belonged to the Princes and Princesses. He had grown up there and, until just about five months ago, had lived there. Since he was the oldest, he was the only one out of the nursery. All the others still considered the nursery their home.
"Sakura! Shiosuke! Touyama, and Tsukino! Ji-sama is going to take us to the fair today! You have to hurry and get ready or he won't take us _at all_!" Yuugi's siblings looked up briefly, then returned to what they had been doing as if Yuugi hadn't spoken at all. "Sister? Brothers?" was his plaintive question.
"Go AWAY, big brother," Touyama shot back, not even looking up from the calligraphy that he was currently engaged in. The Japanese people considered calligraphy a high art form. Even at his age, Touyama showed a huge talent for the difficult-to-master art. Yuugi's other brothers and his sister didn't even bother to raise their heads this time.
In public, it was almost impossible to spot, but here--in the privacy of their own nursery--it was apparent that the younger children didn't like Yuugi at all and often were jealous of him being their Ji-sama's favorite child. He was going to be the future Emperor and they were jealous of that, too. So, if any of them had a chance to ignore him or exclude him from something, they almost always leapt at that chance.
"H-Hai..." Yuugi mumbled and slowly backed away from the room, meandering his way down the corridors. It... It didn't matter that his brothers and sister didn't want to go to the fair with him and Ji-sama. It just left more time for him and Ji-sama to talk about stuff that a normal boy never had to think about. Responsibility. Honor. Duty. Love for a station, a country, and its people.
Quickly arriving at his room, Yuugi's personal servant quickly stripped off his Imperial robes and dressed the young Prince in more 'everyday' clothing. Yes, most people would be able to tell at a glance that the young boy was the Prince of Nippon, but at least the clothing was more comfortable than his usual court robes. And that was all that Yuugi cared about.
The violet-eyed boy was about to leave his rooms when he remembered something--his favorite toy and the perfect image of his guardian protector. The young Prince had several--but this was his favorite of all. Yuugi grabbed a stuffed Dark Magician toy, clothed in the finest silks and gems, then quickly ran down the corridors, not giving a thought to what his disheveled appearance would do to the more conservative lords and ladies.
"Ji-sama! I'm ready! I'm ready, Ji-sama!" he caroled as he slowed down his pace and practically skipped into the throne room. Sugoroku looked up from his paperwork and smiled at his grandson.
"Good. I was just about ready to give up on you, Yuugi. And here you were, saying that you wanted to go to the fair with your old Ji-sama! But...Yuugi...where are your sister and brothers?"
Yuugi looked down and bit his pale bottom lip. "They didn't want to come with us, Ji-sama. They didn't want to come with _me._"
The elderly man smiled softly and reached down, clasping Yuugi's hand in his own. "Well, no worries. It'll just be me and you and the royal guards all day today. We'll have fun on our own, now won't we? Ne, Yuugi?"
Prince Yuugi giggled and nodded his head, grabbing onto the old man's hand tighter. "Hai, Ji-sama! We'll have a lot of fun together--just you and me!" Another giggle and Yuugi tugged on Sugoroku's hand, skipping ahead with a carefree heart. "Ji-sama! Hurry up! Onegai?! You're being so _slow_, Ji-sama! I bet Tsunami-san could move faster than you!"
The emperor raised an eyebrow and looked down at the boy who was tugging demandingly on his hand. "Yuugi...you do remember that Tsunami-san is a TURTLE?"
Yuugi giggled and blinked innocently up at his grandfather. "...hai, Ji-sama. I remembered. And Tsunami-san STILL moves faster than you do! I want to go and see what new things the fair has this new, Ji-sama! The Cherry Blossom Festival has always been my favorite, so hurry up before everyone else plays the games before we can! Onegai, Ji-sama!"
Yuugi giggled happily and Sugoroku joined him, their laughs joining together and seeming to dance over the cool spring hair. It was unusually warm for early spring and everyone that _could_ take advantage of the wonderful day _was_ taking advantage of it. People of all ranks filled the streets, all heading for the same destination: The Cherry Blossom Festival.
A cloud slowly drifted across the sky, obscuring the sun momentarily. And it was then that Yuugi saw red. Red filled his eyes. Red filled his mouth, his nose, his ears, his eyes. Red was all he could see, touch, taste, and hear. Red was all he could understand.
A/N: Yeah, yeah, yeah... Somewhat of a cliffhanger. Gomen nasai! Next chapter will MORE than make up for it, though! Sooo...um, yeah. Read, review, make Neko-chan a happy authoress! Ne...by the way, I DO have another shounen-ai/yaoi fic that I'm currently writing. It's called "Youth of the Nation." If you get a chance, go and read it. Hopefully, you'll like it. Anyway, ja ne and see you in chapter seven!