Gemini

Yugioh walked gracefully down the halls of the palace, a limp body draped regally in his arms. It was late now, most of the villagers gone home, or with the healers. Many of his guards, too, were having their wounds tended to. One thing was for certain, the Egyptians were ruthless in a fight.

Some of the more cautious guards, like the ones that wanted the favor of their pharaoh, stood watch down the halls, making sure that everything else was in order. That is, of course, as far as order could go for that evening.

Curious eyes followed the ruler as he made his way down the hall. Some fell on Yugioh himself, and his obvious attentiveness towards this strange boy that seemed to have fallen from a different world right into their laps. Others were looking at the boy.

In all respects, the boy who had called himself Yuugi was beautiful to behold. Pale skin did not exist in Egypt, nor his overtly-petite frame and cherubic face.

What worried the pharaoh was just how ashen the boy looked, just how light he felt.

'Could the journey from wherever it was he came from be that long? Where had he come from? How did he know that he would be so needed here? Is he really my ka? Did I really lose half of my soul? Whoever he is, I'll take care of him. I don't really care where he came from, he's mine. His smiles are for me now.'

Perhaps he was being a bit greedy, but the boy had run up to him, of all people. The boy had controlled the puzzle, of all objects. And he had also smiled at the pharaoh, something none other had done, and claimed his own ownership over the Morning Star of Egypt.

Beautiful darkness, mine. . .

He seemed to know so little words. Beautiful, darkness, mine. . .pharaoh. . .

'It's like he's known me for so long now. If I truly am his Ba, his darkness, these seem like words that a lover would translate. . . or a soul mate. . .'

In the morning, the pharaoh promised, he would try to learn more. Of this he was certain.

"My Lord! Wait!"

Yugioh stopped abruptly and turned around, glaring at whoever it was that had interrupted his pondering.

"What," he snapped.

It was a guard. He stuttered for a moment, eyes falling from Yugioh to the boy in his arms. Instinctively, the pharaoh held him tighter, his entire stance and aura screaming 'MINE!'

"W-we just wanted to let you know that there would be extra security placed around your room tonight." He paused for a moment. "Is the ah. . .light. . .staying with you this evening my Lord?"

Crimson eyes became murderous, and the poor guard was immediately sorry for asking anything. "Where else would he be," Yugioh hissed.

The guard's face paled. "Forgive me, Pharaoh, we were not sure if another room should be prepared."

"No," was the abrupt answer. Yugioh's blood was boiling. The very thought that he would place the boy in a different room made him feel almost sick. Yuugi was his. Why would he place something that belonged to him in another area? Where he could not readily reach it? Absolutely preposterous.

"Leave me." The pharaoh's voice sounded deadly.

With a hasty bow the guard was gone, and Yugioh was stalking off to his room again.

The oaken doors of the royal chambers creaked open in greeting, and the pharaoh walked in quietly, gently laying the fragile body on the large, feather stuffed bed. Curiously, he studied the face of the boy for a while, wiping away some of the dirt staining his delicate face.

'It looks like tear stains running down his cheeks, as if he had never bothered to wipe them away. What could have possible made him so sad? Is that why he looks so starved? Refusal of food? Just what has he gone through?'

Again, another thing to find out in the morning, when the boy woke up, and had enough energy replenished to divulge some more information.

Kissing Yuugi's forehead sweetly, Yugioh climbed into bed himself, pulling the covers on top of both of them. He knew that he was acting out of character with this boy, but in all actuality, he really didn't care.

'I wander what Seth will think of you, pretty one. He just might very well be jealous,' was the last thought that the pharaoh had, quite smugly, as he drifted off to sleep.

*******************

Sugoroku made his way up the stairs of his home, intent of checking on his grandson again. He had made a pact with himself this time that, no matter what, he would get Yuugi up, get him moving, and get some food into his system. Even if he had to throw Yuugi in the back of the car and drive him to the hospital due to malnutrition.

'Please, let him be alive.'

Out of habit, the old man knocked on the door. "Yuugi, are you up at all?" Slowly, he turned the knob and opened to door.

Sugoroku's heart almost stopped. Yuugi wasn't in his bed. He wasn't at his desk, he wasn't in his closet, and he wasn't on the floor.

The bathroom, he must be in the bathroom.

And so he ran down the hall, pushing the door open. Yuugi wasn't at the toilet, he wasn't at the sink, and he wasn't in the shower.

My room? To the end of the house he ran. Yuugi wasn't on his grandfather's bed, crying his eyes out. He wasn't at the window, looking at the birds go by, he didn't seem to be anywhere.

Frantically, Sugoroku searched the whole house, up and down and in every corner.

Nothing.

He called Jonouchi, who hadn't seen him. He called Honda and Anzu and they hadn't seen him. Next he called the police, who said that he couldn't file a missing person report until the person had been missing for a full twenty-four hours.

This, of course, made him furious. What if Yuugi was dead by then? He was so weak, he hadn't eaten anything in days!

He ran outside, looking around the yard.

Nothing.

"Mr. Motou?"

The frazzled old man turned around at the sound of a curious voice, and saw none other than Ryou Bakura starring at him.

"Mr. Motou, what's wrong?"

"Ryou, right?" A nod. "Have you seen my grandson, Yuugi? He-he's missing. I'm really worried about him."

Ryou smiled good-naturedly. "Oh, don't worry about him. His yami will make sure he's all right."

"You didn't hear?"

Ryou frowned slightly. "Hear what?"

"Shadii sent Yami back to ancient Egypt, and Yuugi went into a depression." The aged man's purple eyes looked so forlorn and empty.

"W-what?! When?"

"Four days ago."

A gold flash of light blinded their vision momentarily, and in an instant Ryou's yami was standing next to him. He himself had changed a lot after Battle City, greatly surprising Yuugi and his friends. "I never did like that Shadii person, myself. But he split them up? Does he want the pharaoh to completely destroy our history? The pharaoh-no-Baka will go nuts!"

"It sounds like Yuugi's already on his way there," Ryou deduced.

"And I can't find Yuugi anywhere. I fear that he's suicidal. He won't eat anything, he won't get up and go to the bathroom or take a shower. He looked so dead last I saw him, and that was last night before I went to bed. And now he's gone."

"Where could he have gone?" Ryou's yami asked.

"The only place he'd want to go is with his yami. Otherwise, I don't know."

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*Yawns* Hmm. . .so tired. Must go and update other stories. . . .*snores*