Chapter Four- Continuing Travels
Notes- (Blinks at the reviews she's gotten for the past two chapters) Well, uh... what can I say, other than I wish I'd picked up on this fic sooner? ^^; Please enjoy.
Um... random note. Kaiba's starting to follow me around and call me a worthless *****. And he won't go away. I think he wants to be my muse. O.o Should I be scared?
~*~
"Yugi..."
The young man curled into a tighter ball than before, scrunching his eyes shut. He was warm, and felt safe. Safer than when he woke up. Therefore, he refused to return to the world of consciousness. He would not go back.
"Yugi..."
That darn voice. Why couldn't it go away? At least for a little while... Yugi reached for a pillow to grab and cover his head with. He couldn't find one, but he found something long and thin and decided it was good enough to latch onto.
"Yugi, will you stop that and wake up?!" the voice was now exasperated with him.
Well, fine. Let it be that way. See if he cared. He snuggled closer to the long thin thing, and marveled at how warm it felt. Almost like... human's skin...
He opened his eyes, blinking sleepily. At first, his sight was blurred from his rest, and he couldn't see much. Then he made out a silhouette of a person leaning over him. Apparently, he was latched onto their arm.
Yugi's eyes shot open wide in alarm, and he reached for the first thing he could- his pack- and started hitting the figure with it. "AAAH! Get away from me!"
"What the-?! Ow! Yugi that HURTS, stop that!"
The young man suddenly stopped, blinking as he began to see more clearly. Then he blushed. "Y-Yami?"
The Champion glared at him, nursing his arm. "Indeed. Perhaps next time I shall attempt to wake you with a thirty foot pole instead of my own arm."
"Uh... yes, well, sorry about that."
"It's all right." Yami straightened and gave the younger man a small smile. "How are you feeling?"
Yugi blinked. "I'm actually feeling okay," he said.
"Good. That which you swallowed last night wasn't just a normal treating herb; apparently you grabbed one that can last for over a day."
Yugi nodded. "That's certainly good. I can't afford to feel ill every time something upsetting happens to me."
Yami watched him, his smile fading as he considered the other boy for a moment. Soon he was frowning, his fingers cupping his own chin almost absently.
The younger boy squirmed slightly under the intense gaze. "Um... Yami? What are you doing?"
"Hmm?" Yami blinked. "Oh! I apologize... you need breakfast, don't you? I think I saw some berries around. You'll have to tell me if they're edible, though."
"All right."
Yugi reluctantly put on his pack and left the warm bedding where he'd been resting all night. The two walked a little ways from the camp, and discovered that the berries Yami had found were indeed edible. And not only edible; Yugi nearly made himself sick from eating so many.
Yami, meanwhile, kept a lookout in case any monsters would show up.
Finally, the younger man sat down and smiled broadly. /Wow. I feel so awake today. I wonder where that feeling's coming from!/ He leaned back and looked up at the sky. /Maybe it's because I slept so well last night. Not one cough! Not one sneeze! I don't think I woke up once!/ Then he frowned. /Wait a minute.../
"It's past noon, yes," Yami spoke suddenly.
Yugi jumped. "You read my mind again!" he said.
"Well, yes. You're not that good at building barriers around your mind, are you? Anyone could read you," Yami said.
"Gee, thanks."
"Actually, it is a compliment, Yugi." Yami turned his violet eyes towards his younger companion. "To be able to be so open is a gift. Not so many people are so trusting."
/You mean as readable as a children's book?/ Yugi wondered.
"I meant it in a good way. That is all that matters." Yami looked off to one side, then frowned again. "So do you wish to move on today?"
"Yes. My father is most likely on the lookout for me, and probably has been all night."
"Well let's get a move on. I can hear men moving in the brush a couple miles behind us."
"A few miles?" Yugi tilted his head. "How far did we travel last night?"
"Well, I don't know how far you went on your own, but when I appeared we went for three, perhaps four."
"Oh." It hadn't seemed that far...
"Let's get moving on. Now, do you wish to take a route to another town, or to stay in the wilderness?"
Yugi considered this for a minute. Now that he had a card, which was all he'd been aiming for, he could just head back home. However, how would he explain a champion? And when would he be allowed to leave again, if ever? He had a feeling being stuck in one little town was not something Yami wanted.
And he didn't think it was something he wanted, either, now that he'd had a small taste of safety.
"We have food, but not a lot. I'd like to pop into a nearby town, get some supplies, then stick to the wilderness for a while." He paused to think over this idea for a moment.
Yami nodded. "If there are any monsters that attack us, I shall help you fight them," he assured the younger man.
Yugi blinked. "Help?" he repeated. "I thought you said-"
"I did. But I was thinking about what you said last night." Yami glanced up at the surrounding trees for a moment, as though he was trying to find something in one of the branches. Then he glanced down at Yugi. "Save the fact that you're inexperienced and have an illness of some sort, you're all right with a sword at your age. So I'm going to make a compromise with being your Champion; I'll only do so if you call for me. Understood?"
Yugi stared at the older man, then suddenly felt as though a weight of guilt had been lifted from his shoulders. Even though he would still have a 'champion', he would be the one to call the shots. He would be the one to decide if he couldn't fight something. Which would make his new 'champion' more like a companion.
And that meant a lot.
The younger boy smiled widely at his look-alike. "Thanks for that, Yami. You've no idea how much I appreciate that." He shifted his pack on his shoulder. "Why don't we head to the next town to see what's what there?"
Yami smiled faintly in return. "Yes, why don't we indeed?"
~*~
"Settle yourself, leader of the Motou clan," Seto said coolly. "You will only bring harm to yourself if you keep that up."
Yugi's father had decided, upon realizing that his son was not only not at home but not in town, to go into a rage. Therefore, he had either spent the last few hours beating the local thugs into bloody pulps or ranting about how he let his son run off like that.
Now, the tall, imposing lord turned to glare at Seto. "When YOU have a son who runs off, and YOU are the only one responsible for him, then, and only THEN, can you speak to me of being calmed, Seto son of Kaiba!"
"I merely wish to suggest that perhaps a search party being formed would be more productive than being the cause of our town's population decreasing."
The lord paused to look at the young man. Then he gave a big sigh. "You may be right there. Will you assist me?"
Seto tossed his head. "I would, but I have some very... important matters to attend to at the moment. You understand."
"Very well. I will find some of Yugi's friends and make a search..." With that, Yugi's father turned and left the room.
Seto watched the lord leave the master bedchambers of the Motou house. Then his eyes traveled to the desk, where a few of the lord's cards lay exposed. He snorted. "What a fool."
He strode towards the cards, looking down at them. He snorted again. "Weak. These must be his earlier cards. What use are the weaker cards to a lord, even a low class one as him?"
Then he glanced at a box in the corner of the room, and he allowed a small smirk. "Let's see if it's still here."
He moved over to the box, slowly opening it.
"..."
Then he slowly closed it, turned away, and walked to the doorway. The son of the Kaiba family paused there, then closed his eyes.
"DAMN it. The one day I think it'll be there, the one time I have a CHANCE without that little snot-nosed... where the hell IS IT?!"
~*~
Notes- (Blinks at the reviews she's gotten for the past two chapters) Well, uh... what can I say, other than I wish I'd picked up on this fic sooner? ^^; Please enjoy.
Um... random note. Kaiba's starting to follow me around and call me a worthless *****. And he won't go away. I think he wants to be my muse. O.o Should I be scared?
~*~
"Yugi..."
The young man curled into a tighter ball than before, scrunching his eyes shut. He was warm, and felt safe. Safer than when he woke up. Therefore, he refused to return to the world of consciousness. He would not go back.
"Yugi..."
That darn voice. Why couldn't it go away? At least for a little while... Yugi reached for a pillow to grab and cover his head with. He couldn't find one, but he found something long and thin and decided it was good enough to latch onto.
"Yugi, will you stop that and wake up?!" the voice was now exasperated with him.
Well, fine. Let it be that way. See if he cared. He snuggled closer to the long thin thing, and marveled at how warm it felt. Almost like... human's skin...
He opened his eyes, blinking sleepily. At first, his sight was blurred from his rest, and he couldn't see much. Then he made out a silhouette of a person leaning over him. Apparently, he was latched onto their arm.
Yugi's eyes shot open wide in alarm, and he reached for the first thing he could- his pack- and started hitting the figure with it. "AAAH! Get away from me!"
"What the-?! Ow! Yugi that HURTS, stop that!"
The young man suddenly stopped, blinking as he began to see more clearly. Then he blushed. "Y-Yami?"
The Champion glared at him, nursing his arm. "Indeed. Perhaps next time I shall attempt to wake you with a thirty foot pole instead of my own arm."
"Uh... yes, well, sorry about that."
"It's all right." Yami straightened and gave the younger man a small smile. "How are you feeling?"
Yugi blinked. "I'm actually feeling okay," he said.
"Good. That which you swallowed last night wasn't just a normal treating herb; apparently you grabbed one that can last for over a day."
Yugi nodded. "That's certainly good. I can't afford to feel ill every time something upsetting happens to me."
Yami watched him, his smile fading as he considered the other boy for a moment. Soon he was frowning, his fingers cupping his own chin almost absently.
The younger boy squirmed slightly under the intense gaze. "Um... Yami? What are you doing?"
"Hmm?" Yami blinked. "Oh! I apologize... you need breakfast, don't you? I think I saw some berries around. You'll have to tell me if they're edible, though."
"All right."
Yugi reluctantly put on his pack and left the warm bedding where he'd been resting all night. The two walked a little ways from the camp, and discovered that the berries Yami had found were indeed edible. And not only edible; Yugi nearly made himself sick from eating so many.
Yami, meanwhile, kept a lookout in case any monsters would show up.
Finally, the younger man sat down and smiled broadly. /Wow. I feel so awake today. I wonder where that feeling's coming from!/ He leaned back and looked up at the sky. /Maybe it's because I slept so well last night. Not one cough! Not one sneeze! I don't think I woke up once!/ Then he frowned. /Wait a minute.../
"It's past noon, yes," Yami spoke suddenly.
Yugi jumped. "You read my mind again!" he said.
"Well, yes. You're not that good at building barriers around your mind, are you? Anyone could read you," Yami said.
"Gee, thanks."
"Actually, it is a compliment, Yugi." Yami turned his violet eyes towards his younger companion. "To be able to be so open is a gift. Not so many people are so trusting."
/You mean as readable as a children's book?/ Yugi wondered.
"I meant it in a good way. That is all that matters." Yami looked off to one side, then frowned again. "So do you wish to move on today?"
"Yes. My father is most likely on the lookout for me, and probably has been all night."
"Well let's get a move on. I can hear men moving in the brush a couple miles behind us."
"A few miles?" Yugi tilted his head. "How far did we travel last night?"
"Well, I don't know how far you went on your own, but when I appeared we went for three, perhaps four."
"Oh." It hadn't seemed that far...
"Let's get moving on. Now, do you wish to take a route to another town, or to stay in the wilderness?"
Yugi considered this for a minute. Now that he had a card, which was all he'd been aiming for, he could just head back home. However, how would he explain a champion? And when would he be allowed to leave again, if ever? He had a feeling being stuck in one little town was not something Yami wanted.
And he didn't think it was something he wanted, either, now that he'd had a small taste of safety.
"We have food, but not a lot. I'd like to pop into a nearby town, get some supplies, then stick to the wilderness for a while." He paused to think over this idea for a moment.
Yami nodded. "If there are any monsters that attack us, I shall help you fight them," he assured the younger man.
Yugi blinked. "Help?" he repeated. "I thought you said-"
"I did. But I was thinking about what you said last night." Yami glanced up at the surrounding trees for a moment, as though he was trying to find something in one of the branches. Then he glanced down at Yugi. "Save the fact that you're inexperienced and have an illness of some sort, you're all right with a sword at your age. So I'm going to make a compromise with being your Champion; I'll only do so if you call for me. Understood?"
Yugi stared at the older man, then suddenly felt as though a weight of guilt had been lifted from his shoulders. Even though he would still have a 'champion', he would be the one to call the shots. He would be the one to decide if he couldn't fight something. Which would make his new 'champion' more like a companion.
And that meant a lot.
The younger boy smiled widely at his look-alike. "Thanks for that, Yami. You've no idea how much I appreciate that." He shifted his pack on his shoulder. "Why don't we head to the next town to see what's what there?"
Yami smiled faintly in return. "Yes, why don't we indeed?"
~*~
"Settle yourself, leader of the Motou clan," Seto said coolly. "You will only bring harm to yourself if you keep that up."
Yugi's father had decided, upon realizing that his son was not only not at home but not in town, to go into a rage. Therefore, he had either spent the last few hours beating the local thugs into bloody pulps or ranting about how he let his son run off like that.
Now, the tall, imposing lord turned to glare at Seto. "When YOU have a son who runs off, and YOU are the only one responsible for him, then, and only THEN, can you speak to me of being calmed, Seto son of Kaiba!"
"I merely wish to suggest that perhaps a search party being formed would be more productive than being the cause of our town's population decreasing."
The lord paused to look at the young man. Then he gave a big sigh. "You may be right there. Will you assist me?"
Seto tossed his head. "I would, but I have some very... important matters to attend to at the moment. You understand."
"Very well. I will find some of Yugi's friends and make a search..." With that, Yugi's father turned and left the room.
Seto watched the lord leave the master bedchambers of the Motou house. Then his eyes traveled to the desk, where a few of the lord's cards lay exposed. He snorted. "What a fool."
He strode towards the cards, looking down at them. He snorted again. "Weak. These must be his earlier cards. What use are the weaker cards to a lord, even a low class one as him?"
Then he glanced at a box in the corner of the room, and he allowed a small smirk. "Let's see if it's still here."
He moved over to the box, slowly opening it.
"..."
Then he slowly closed it, turned away, and walked to the doorway. The son of the Kaiba family paused there, then closed his eyes.
"DAMN it. The one day I think it'll be there, the one time I have a CHANCE without that little snot-nosed... where the hell IS IT?!"
~*~