Author: Junko the Lost
Title: Rising From the Ash
Chapter Title: Going home . . .
Summary: After the events of Yu-Gi-Oh! have come to pass, Atem finds himself sinking into depression. Who can save him from his self-enforced despair?
Warnings: Shounen-Ai
AN: Welcome to Chapter two, I suppose if you have made it thus far, you at least partially enjoyed the first chapter. Do come inside, it's chilly out. Yes, it is a bit dusty in here, but you'll have to forgive me, I had not the time while I was writing this to clean. Please take a seat by the fireplace. No, those dogs will not harm you, they just watch out for flamers. Yes, they do have sharp teeth and red eyes, don't they? Cocoa?
Review responses:
Shadows of chaos61: Thanks for reviewing, you are the greatest!
i-love-bakura1489: Yes, it is so KAWAII! Thanks for your review!
Atem and Mokuba made a small dinner, Atem lacking the knowledge to work either the oven or the microwave, and fearful of letting Mokuba work either item. Their oh-so-gourmet dinner consisted of potato chips, ham sandwiches and soda. Afterwards, Mokuba took it into his head to teach Atem how to play the very simple card game of War.
After much pleading and hoarding of Aces, Atem was pronounced victorious. It was a short-lived victory, though, as Mokuba brought up how he'd whipped Atem's butt at video games.
And then, it was on.
For no one can insult the Pharaoh's pride and come away unscathed, certainly no wimpy twelve-year-old who probably couldn't name every single Duel Monster, or recite all the Pharaohs in order and tell what they did for Egypt. Didn't think so.
And so, it was begun that the two would duel, but this would be no ordinary duel. This would be a duel OF DOOM! And of course, this moment would be accompanied by melodramatic music and a high cackling laughter.
They would play a video game in which Mokuba would of course have the advantage, a card game, where Atem would be in his element, and a chess game, which was undetermined who would prevail. Best two out of three gets to ask the loser any number of questions and receive the truth, with of course, an hour time limit to ask the very many questions in.
As the video game, Mokuba challenged Atem to a game of Soul Caliber II. Mokuba, of course, won spectacularly with his knowledge of combos. Following that, they played a simple, or not-so-simple, game of Egyptian Rat Screw. Atem took the upper hand early on, and after many insults were traded, came out triumphant.
Then, they came to the deciding game of chess. Mokuba had learned every trick he knew from Seto himself, but Atem was an excellent strategist and was able to defend every single one of Mokuba's attacks.
But as in some games, one move decides it all, and when Mokuba absentmindedly lost his queen to Atem's knight, he laid the way for his own death. Just when it seemed, though, that Atem would win it all, Mokuba managed to penetrate Atem's defenses and move into Checkmate in a few short moves.
Atem was then subjected to an hour's worth of any questions Mokuba wished to ask of him. Not only that but also an everlasting humiliation for years to come. Mokuba asked every question he could think of from Atem's feelings about politics, to which boy band he preferred.
As the end of the hour drew closer, and Atem almost felt safe, Mokuba asked the $64,000 question.
"What do you think of Seto?" he asked; a deceivingly innocent look on his face. Atem blushed, and Mokuba smiled, turning to the clock. "It's okay. I think I got my answer. Besides, time's almost up." It was true, a second later; it was seven o'clock and the end of the hour of HORRORS.
Atem relaxed into the couch and sighed, dead tired. Mokuba insisted he had to do homework and went into his room to finish it. Atem yawned, closing his eyes before opening them when he heard a key in the door.
Seto walked in, dripping wet from head to toe. He looked unperturbed, though, and a small smile informed Atem that though it was raining, he was glad to be home.
"Where's the munchkin?" he asked, taking off his soaked coat.
"In his room, doing homework," Atem replied, sitting up and stretching. "Jeez, I didn't even realize it was raining," he admitted. Seto went into the kitchen and began to make what Atem could only conclude was hot cocoa.
"Yeah, I wouldn't have gotten that wet if it weren't for the fact that I had to park my car a few minutes from my building."
"Don't you have a reserved parking spot?" Atem asked inquisitively.
"I do, but we had a conference with Sony today, and the parking lot was full, so I let their president take my spot, figuring that a few minute walk wouldn't hurt." He chuckled. "I was wrong." He brought two cups of steaming hot cocoa into the room. "I hope Mouto-san won't mind you staying the night," he said, handing one to Atem.
"Why would I stay the night?" Atem asked, thoroughly confused.
"It's storming out, loud thunder and massive amounts of lighting, hailing the size of golf balls, and they're issuing flood warnings. I don't know about you, but I'm too smart to go out in that weather."
"Oh," Atem said in understanding, taking a sip of his own cocoa, "I guess I should call him then." Seto nodded.
"Phone's on the kitchen counter," he informed Atem, pointing.
Atem walked into the kitchen, picking up the phone, top-of-the-line cordless with caller ID, of course, and dialed Yuugi's phone number.
"Moshi moshi," Yuugi answered.
"Hey, aibou, I think I'm going to have to stay over here tonight."
Yuugi chuckled, "Yeah, I think so. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"See you tomorrow."
"Good night."
"Night." Atem hung up and picked up his cocoa, sitting back down on the couch.
"I'm going to go get changed and check on Mokuba," Seto commented, setting down his cocoa, and standing up. Atem was left sitting on the couch, bored out of his mind, all the while very aware that a dripping wet Seto was in the next room changing. Pulling out a notebook in an attempt to get his mind off of the events in Seto's bedroom, he began to write a poem, one of his favorite things to do when he was bored and alone at Yuugi's house.
All alone
In the dark of the night
I cry out
Searching for the light
My heart beats slower
And death draws near
Feeding on my pain
Breathing in my fear
My blood flows out
Of unseen wounds
Brought upon me
Unwittingly, by you
The harsh words you spoke
Have weakened my heart
And everything you do
Has torn me apart
"That's really amazing," he heard from over his shoulder. Seto was standing behind the couch, reading the poem Atem had just written.
"T-thanks," Atem replied, fighting to keep the blush from his face.
"Do you mind if I use this?" Seto asked, holding out his hand to take the notebook. "It's really good, and I have a character in my game which this would fit perfectly. I'll give you credit, of course."
Atem handed him the notebook. He blushed as he became aware of Seto leafing through his other poems.
"I take that back," he said, and Atem's heart stopped for a second as Seto looked him in the eyes and grinned, "Can I use all of these? The music director for my game would have a field day putting music to these." He handed the notebook back to Atem. "In fact, you can be part of the team. No offense to my music director, but he hasn't been able to write lyrics that really match the game. You two working together would be an awesome team."
"R-really?" Atem asked, amazed Seto felt so strongly about his lyrics being good.
"Absolutely. Hey, I have an Egyptian character, do you ever write poetry in Egyptian?" Seto asked, eyes sparkling with interest. Atem was amazed at the fervor Seto put into his game. "Even if the players won't be able to understand it, I want it to fit the character."
Atem opened to a page with hieroglyphs written on it. Seto chuckled. "I can't read it, but I'm sure it's perfect." Atem blushed.
"W-why?" he asked, confused as to why Seto would trust him to help make his game, which he obviously loved very much, a success.
"Why what?" Seto responded, obviously confused.
"The poems aren't very good, and you probably have a whole set of professionals to help you do the job better than I ever could," Atem said, looking at his hands dejectedly. Seto came around the couch to sit next to him.
"Because I can't trust a single on of them to do their best, but with you, I know you'll give your very best effort in everything you do. I don't know if anyone else I hired could ever measure up to that," Seto told him, smiling kindly. Atem nearly cried for happiness at the warmth he saw beneath the icy exterior of those eyes.
Finally, he would be doing something besides sitting around all day watching whatever crap was on TV and being a drain on society's resources.
Seto must have seen the joy in Atem's eyes, for his grin widened as well. "Now that that's settled, I have work to do." He brought out his laptop and began to boot it up effectively ending the conversation before Atem could make any other excuses about his incompetence.
At nine o'clock, Mokuba said good night to the two boys who sat up late. One was writing diligently away in his notebook, while the other furiously typed away on his laptop. At ten, Atem gave up writing, yawning with exhaustion.
"What are you working on?" he asked, looking at the lines of code Seto was typing away on. Seto seemed to come out of a trance.
"What?" he asked, looking up at Atem, startled before realizing what he'd asked. "Oh, what time is it?"
"Nearing quarter after ten," he replied.
Seto seemed to be relieved. "Good, I was afraid I'd stayed up until five am like I did a few weeks ago. Um . . . I working on the random number generator that will determine the amount of experience the player will get from each monster."
Atem nodded, even though he didn't quite understand. He continued to ask questions of Seto while he worked until around midnight, when he fell asleep, head resting on Seto's shoulder. Seto smiled fondly and turned off his laptop.
Gently he stood up and lowered Atem's head to the couch. Tip-toeing away, he brought back a down comforter to keep him warm. Looking out the window, he smiled slightly. The rain had stopped and the clouds had parted slightly, leaving the full moon shining brightly down on the sleeping angel's face.
Unfortunately, the rain started back up in the morning, keeping all people safely holed up in their homes until one of the largest storms Domino had experienced in a few years passed over. School was cancelled on account of the hail and the fact that the temperature had dropped, freezing water on the streets, and bound to widen cracks as soon as the temperature returned to normal.
Atem woke up to the sound of the Weather Channel warning people to stay indoors and Mokuba jumping for glee at the fact that schools were cancelled.
He smiled at the noise before sitting up. It felt right to be here. It felt like he'd finally gone home.
Seto was standing in the kitchen, wearing only PJ bottoms and slippers, leaving his upper half utterly bare. Mokuba was dancing around the living room, praising the weather for sending him a day of rest.
Atem smiled at Seto, who grinned in return, rolling his eyes at Mokuba. Yes, it felt exactly like coming home.
End Chapter 2
On your way out, be sure to leave a message informing me of how you liked this chapter. It doesn't have to be long, and may even be insulting, but please, if you do choose to leave a flame, direct it away from the floor. I just got the hard-wood floors done I don't want them singed the first week I've had them. Thank you for attending, and I hope to see you in the next chapter of Rising From the Ash. Once again, welcome to the Mad House.