Chapter Three
The stranger's eyes had a wrenchingly familiar shape to them. But…they were the wrong color. Dark. Almost black, like the rest of his countrymen. Promising and threatening all at once.
Alluring.
The strange man had come out of the architect's tents with a woman on his arm, making the rounds of the building project without concern.
He was positively bristling with metal plates in gold and bronze, and very little else. A sword hung at his belt, and another was strapped to his back.
Royalty. Or a member of the Royal Guard. Pheh.
Honda turned away before the lash of the whip recaptured his wandering attention.
But the memory of those…wait…no…black eyes…they blurred his vision. Then the whip did come singing down across his shoulders.
Honda yelped, shoulders flexing and skin twitching against some unseen agony. Otogi woke with a start, and this time, loathe to intercede, he simply pillowed his head on his arms and watched in horrified fascination.
But Honda was young and strong, and he took the blow with only a wince, heaving back into line at a curse from his driver. Another block. Another piece of statuary to adorn a pharoah's tomb.
"The bastard…" Honda's lip curled in the half-light. Otogi stared. The grimace on his friend's face was…startling. Defiant, even for someone like Honda, who never passed up a good wallow in righteous anger. Around them, the others slept on, soundly. All but Jounouchi, who lay wide-eyed on the couch, watching the interplay between his best friend and his would-have-been enemy.
Finally, he realized just what it was. He was dreaming again. This was a lucid dream. But the television gurus always said that meant he could move around on his own, once he knew he was dreaming.
Funny, it wasn't like that, now. He was stuck. He was a passenger in the most vivid dream of his life. His head turned against his will as the high-ranking individual passed; heart thudded in fear, breath quickened. The man whose eyes were the wrong color caught him watching. Dismissed his companion and strode in Honda's direction. Raised his hand for the driver to stay his whip, and ordered the line of slaves to stop.
The stranger had looked so much older, far away. Now, he seemed no more than seventeen. A youth. And his eyes were so…familiar…
The glittering youth pointed. At him.
"Where is this one from?"
Honda gasped with recognition at the voice. His eyelids fluttered, head lolled to one side. He muttered something rapidly. A name. A half-heard name.
His friend blinked. Shook his head, and peeked hesitantly over his shoulder at the others. Were they awake? Had they heard? It sounded like he was crying out for Yuugi…or even Jou, to be honest.
What's going on inside you, my friend?
Otogi leaned out, and braced a reassuring hand against Honda's shoulder. The larger, darker boy twitched violently, and slowly relaxed, breathing evenly again.
Jounouchi was at Honda's side in heartbeats. "It was him, wasn't it?" He asked, locking a penetrating brown gaze on Otogi's bright green.
"Yes." Otogi nodded, shortly. There was no doubt, now.
"Is he all right?"
"I hope so."
His dreaming self and his waking self seemed of one mind, both to stare in slack-jawed amazement at the stranger…no…the supreme bodyguard of the pharoah. Guardian of The Son of Ra. The rest of his fellows in the line dropped to their knees in subservience. He stood, staring, until driven to his hands and knees with the butt of a whip to the scalp. The rest of the conversation was sporadic and fuzzy to his ears as his head swam. It faded in and out. Honda watched the sand, dully, fingers flexing in the scorching yellow-brown earth.
"…last…tribe……killed, sir."
They were talking about him. His tribe. His family…Honda felt the tears well up against his cheeks once more. So much blood…
"He's crying!"
Otogi glared.
"You think I don't see that!"
"…how long ago?" The swordsman asked, as though bored.
"Six months."
"Has he been trained?"
"No…but if His…esty…wish…" Had the driver leered? His bleary vision wouldn't let him be sure.
"Not necessary." The stranger waved a hand dismissively.
The roaring and ringing of his ears subsided, and he heaved a sigh of relief, mixed with chagrin. What were they talking about? What had been decided? But the Dream-Honda didn't know the voice, and was too frightened to care. When they advanced on him, he glowered, shoulders taut. If they threatened him, he would act…lash out and escape…
Then his bonds were slashed, and he was secured in new ones before he could draw more than two breaths. Prodded by a pair of new guardians to follow the prince.
Honda knew that voice all too well. He didn't want to know what was being planned for him.
Honda groaned, tore himself into wakefulness, and hoisted onto an elbow as the other hand clapped over his eyes. They were damp. Gritty with sleep and salt. "Damn."
His watchers sat back, and took the extra seconds of time to scramble to their beds.
"Honda?"
The familiar voice drew a jerk of shock from him, and his body tensed again in fear and anger, before realizing where he was. Everything was too raw, too fresh in his memory. He was clean. He wasn't remotely tired, or sore. And yet…
"Honda, are you okay?"
He followed the sound, turning his head to where Jounouchi was sitting up, one arm around his knees, watching with concern. "You were talking in your sleep again," the other boy added in a whisper.
"What was I saying?" Honda asked, suspiciously. Ah, shit.
"I couldn't really tell," Otogi interjected, "it was kind of muddled." He paused. "What were you dreaming about, Honda?"
"Me? Oh. Nothing."
From across the room, Jounouchi handed him a measuring look. He paled. Don't look at me like that. Please…
"You said 'Yu—something.'"
"What?" Honda stiffened.
"You know… 'Yu-something. Like…Yuugi. Were you dreaming about the Tournament again?" Jounouchi said the name of the contest reverently. They all did, with good reason.
"Um. I was…thinking about the pharoah." It wasn't exactly a lie.
The other teen sighed and nodded sympathetically, and inwardly, Honda fought off a wave of self-loathing.
"We all do. I think about him a lot. He left Yuugi a big burden."
As one, they turned back to look at the slumbering blond.
"He promised to come back." Honda said in stalwart defense of the missing Yami. "He wouldn't leave Yuugi or—"
"Just what I was thinking," Otogi reassured him hastily, before he could finish. Honda realized what had nearly slipped out, and shot the other boy a look of gratitude. Or…tried to, rather. He hadn't quite planned to find himself staring; unable to turn away.
On the couch, Jounouchi's eyebrow arched at the exchange. He had no time to react, however; Bakura and Yuugi at last were stirring, and as Jounouchi turned, the connection between Otogi and Honda abruptly dissolved. He blinked, and sighed.
I must have imagined it.