Disclaimer: It's still on my Christmas list. If I owned it, I would be able to buy it FROM MYSELF, I'd be so rich. Not happenin' so far. Drat. I feel... unloved... The world is cruel.
Atemu swept the kitchen Saturday night, humming to himself. He had had a very good day. A very very good day. A very very very good day. A fantastic day. A phenomenal...
First he'd gotten to school with plenty of time to spare, beaten Kaiba to homeroom, kicked his butt at a duel, kicked his butt at a do-over, and then proceeded to kick his butt in twelve more duels before the bell rang. Then he'd beaten Kaiba by one point on their science test. Then he'd kicked his butt in no less than seven duels at lunch, then beaten his team at basketball three to two, even though he was a good mile shorter than everyone else. Then he'd beaten him on a math quiz by dumb luck.
Now, normally Atemu didn't hate Kaiba at all. In fact, the two actually regarded each other as semi-friends. But it still felt good to top him in everything for once.
That was why he was humming to himself. That was why he took it so badly when Yugi burst in the front door, panting, and screamed in the tan boy's ear, "I found the perfect Christmas present for Anzu to go with the bracelet I made her! Now she's bound to say yes when I ask her out!"
The short teen had been expecting a smile, support, possibly even a hug from his dark. He had not expected for Atemu to freeze in his sweeping, drop the broom, and stand there for a second in utter silence, then run from the room, biting his lip.
"What did I say?" Yugi asked the broom. When it didn't have an answer for him, he kicked it a few inches across the floor. "Whatever. Maybe he's getting sick or something." He picked up the broom and sighed, continuing Atemu's job of sweeping the floor. Suddenly his grandfather appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Yugi."
"Yes, Jii-chan?"
"Do you know what's wrong with Atemu? He's locked your door."
"Our door has a lock?" That was news to him.
"With shadow magic."
"Oh."
"Do you know what might have bothered him? Did he look sick?"
"Well... I don't know. All I did was come in the door here-" he explained, pointing to where he had entered, "-and he was just sweeping, and humming to himself, and then he just stopped and turned pale when I talked to him, and then he ran upstairs." He was just as confused as his grandfather was.
"What did you say to him?"
"Well..." He blushed furiously. "Well, you know how I'm going to ask Anzu out once Christmas is over?"
"Yes?"
"Well I found this necklace that goes great with that friendship bracelet I made her, and I told him about it, and then he just... went all white, and his eyes got that mean look they get when he's dueling, and then he just ran upstairs-"
"Can you counter shadow magic, Yugi?"
"Well, yes... but not to rival Atemu."
The old man sighed. "I'm going to go talk to him. Could you... stay down here for a while?"
"Um... okay." His expression was a bemused one as his grandfather, for the second time that week, ascended the stairs to go and speak to his yami.
"Atemu! Open this door now!"
"Why should I?"
"How dare you disrespect me like that? Open this door!"
"No."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I want to talk to you." Sogoroku heard a sigh on the other end of the door, a ragged breath, and then the door gave way under his touch, hit by a bit too much power. That wasn't a good thing.
"Don't blow the door up," the elder warned.
"I'M NOT BLOWING THE DOOR UP! I'M OPENING IT!" At that second, the door gave a quake and split straight through the middle, ending inches from Sogoroku's sternly planted feet. The man raised an eyebrow as Atemu blasted said door with shadows, repairing it instantly.
"Control yourself, Atemu."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, CONTROL MYSELF? I WAS DOING PERFECTLY FINE UNTIL YOU CAME UP HERE AND MADE ME BREAK OUR DOOR! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW TIRING IT IS TO FIX THINGS WITH SHADOW MAGIC?" the teen bellowed as the skylight above their heads gave a violent shudder.
"If that window breaks..." but Sogoroku found that he wasn't being listened to. Atemu had closed his eyes and flung around onto his back on his bed. His breath rattled as he fought to control his breathing, blocking all outside activity out in a meditative state. After a few minutes the skylight fell still. The boy took a few more deep breaths, then opened his eyes and turned to his 'grandfather.'
"Okay. It's not going to break. So what were you going to say?"
Sogoroku took a seat in the desk chair, making himself comfortable much to the other's displeasure. He still eyed the window warily, in case of any sudden outbursts from the ancient pharaoh.
"Yugi told me what happened down there."
"I WAS GOING TO BLOW HIM UP BY MISTAKE IF I DIDN'T GET OUT OF THERE!"
"Be rational, Atemu-"
"I WAS BEING RATIONAL! I DIDN'T WANT TO END UP KILLING MY BEST FRIEND!"
"Calm down," his grandfather ordered. Casting the man a whithering look, Atemu closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose for nearly a minute, jagged, wild shadows spraying out about the edges of his aura. But the room only became more insecure in its foundations, and a burst of wind conjured itself out of nowhere, whipping around the room and displacing various stray papers and small items.
"Atemu!"
The boy king growled under his breath as his soul fought to find a tranquil spot somewhere in a thrashing sea of emotions. After several long moments that dragged on cruelly for the two in the room, he finally re-opened his blood eyes. "What?" he whispered hoarsely, referring to the look of horror on his grandfather's face.
"You need to learn to control that better. Someone will end up hurt if this continues in this manner."
"YOU try having shadows as your constant companions, every second of every day," The boy cussed to himself in a few languages as he felt the shadows once again creep into his mind. Come on, stay back! Stay b-
Pain ripped through him as the boys' room was shrouded by a thick curtain of blackness. "WATCH OUT JII-CHAN! LEAVE!" he screamed as the darkness enveloped both of them.
"Atemu-"
"GO! I CAN HANDLE IT, BUT GET AWAY!"
"But-"
"HURRY! I CAN'T HOLD IT BACK MUCH LONGER! JUST GO!"
Venturing one glance back at the writhing boy, Sogoroku fled the room as floods of harsh shadow magic crashed about inside it.
"I hope he knows what he's doing..." he whispered worriedly. "This is not going to work out-"
"Jii-chan!" The man turned to see his shorter grandson bounding up the stairs, though his legs weren't long enough to take them two at a time. "Jii-chan, are you all right? What's going on? I heard a loud sound, like wind- OH MY GOSH!" He pointed a weak finger towards a thick black ooze flowing under the crack of the boys' door. "Is that... shadow magic?"
Sogoroku nodded grimly. "He's having a bit of a control problem."
"But didn't he master the whole control thing ages ago?"
"That's why I'm worried. And if there's something even Atemu can't do..." The man gave an involuntary shudder.
"Will... he be all right?"
This was greeted by silence. Complete, utter silence. Then it dawned on Sogoroku that it was silent, and he tenderly placed a hand on the door of the room, pushing it open. Atemu lay panting on the bed.
Yugi peered around the door frame into the room. "A-Atemu?"
The older boy's eyes shot open, and an unfamiliar look of panic crossed his face and swirled in great whirlpools in his eyes. "Get out of here. Now!" he ordered in a voice that was obviously being sent through a restraining process on its way out the owner's throat.
"YUGI, GO!" Yugi was surprised when Sogoroku shoved him away from the door, out of Atemu's sight. His grandfather led him swiftly down the stairs to the living room and plopped him down on a chair.
"W-What was that for?" the small boy spluttered. It was an unspoken rule in the household not to take advantage of Yugi's height or strength for anything.
"Stay away from him until he cools down. He was just trying to protect you. You would have gotten hurt."
"How?"
"It's not my place to explain the complications of the matter to you, but he'll have to. What I can tell you is that his shadow magic would find a direct path from his heart to you by way of hurt and anger. That's all you need to know."
"I-I hurt him? How?"
"In a way that neither of you can help. It's not how you think, Yugi."
The boy nodded. "So do we just... stay down here until we're sure the place won't get blown up?" He allowed himself a weak smile, which Sogoroku returned.
"You're half correct. You will stay here, and I will go and try to get him to calm down." With that he left for upstairs. Yugi was beginning to get fed up with this. He flipped on the television as Sogoroku ascended the stairs and rapped on the door.
"Yes?" came a slow voice from inside. It was just a bit too far on the calm side, signaling that Atemu was still attempting to keep it within his control.
"Is it safe for me to come in, or do you still need a bit more time alone?"
"No, I-I think it's safe for you. You're alone?"
"Yes."
"All right then."
Sogoroku entered the room quietly, closing the door behind him with a soft snap. Atemu was sitting up against the wall next to his bed with his eyes and mouth closed, breathing steadily through his nose much as he had before.
"Are you all right?"
The boy held up one finger and took a last deep breath before replying. "Yes. I think so. I'm so sorry, Jii-chan. I never lose control like that anymore..." He hung his head, face burning. "That was so stupid. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, just when Yugi came in and said that..." He took another rattling breath and clamped his eyes shut for a few seconds, feeling spare emotion rise inside his chest. He held up his finger once more as he fought the shadows within him for nearly a minute before his expression calmed again.
Sogoroku sat beside his grandson on the bed and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Calm down. I know you didn't mean for anything to happen. Are you all right?"
"I'm... well, it still hurts, but I'm better than I was."
"How far up can you feel it?" Sogoroku dismayed when Atemu placed a shaking hand high on his chest, right under the collar bone. The boy's body began to convulse violently and he writhed about, shaking with the effort to control everything again as he felt the power rise up his neck, making him feel nauseous and sick. He clapped a hand over his mouth and vomited blackness into the air, which quickly disintegrated into nothing. Sogoroku rubbed the boy's stomach as he coughed dryly, exhausted from dealing with the shadows.
"Jii-chan... I think I should sleep downstairs tonight. If I'm still shedding this stuff, I don't want to end up hurting him. I mean, it gets out of control just when I see him..."
He was silenced by his grandfather. "Shh. Just relax. Calm down, it's all right. Yugi knows you don't mean it. Calm down." He pushed Atemu down on the bed with a forceful hand on the boy's chest that Atemu was to weak to fight against.
"But Jii-chan, it isn't even my room. It's Yugi's-"
"Don't worry." Sensing the boy's apprehension and rising feelings, he quickly ordered, "Take a few deep breaths."
Atemu closed his eyes and focused his mind on giving in to the cool, calming feeling of his exhaustion, not realizing that in doing so he caused shadows to completely blacken the room, flying about in masses.
"Atemu!"
He jerked up. "What, Jii-chan?"
Then, seeing what his attempt to calm himself and possibly slip into
sleep had done to his power, he sighed. "This means I can't go to
sleep tonight, doesn't it?" Sogoroku nodded and Atemu propped
himself up against the wall again, growling to himself. It had to be the one
night I really need the sleep.
A breath of darkness rushed through the room then. Sogoroku sighed. "I know it's hard. But you have to stay up."
Suddenly Atemu panicked. "But what if I fall asleep, and end up hurting someone? I mean, I'm exhausted, how am I supposed to do this?" Already the boy's shoulders were beginning to sag and his eyelids were heavy. Sogoroku cringed and held the former pharaoh's hand.
"You're strong, Atemu. You can do this."
"O-okay," he replied, stifling a yawn. "What about Yugi?"
"You need to tell him," Sogoroku replied in barely a whisper.
"WHAT? NO!"
"Atemu..." the elder warned as the younger took a few slow breaths to steady himself.
"But Jii-chan, what if I lose control, like tonight? I... I could kill him easily like that."
"Are your feelings for her really this deep? Answer me truthfully, Atemu."
He blushed furiously and turned away. "Yes..." he mumbled. He expected his grandfather to tease him and make fun playfully, but no harsh words followed his confession. Instead Sogoroku merely heaved a long sigh. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only the intention reached Atemu. They sat in unbroken silence for a minute.
"What can I do, Jii-chan? I don't want to hurt Yugi, but I mean... I can't just stop liking her..." A brilliant flush crept through his cheeks and he felt began to cry, unable to keep it back.
"I know, Atemu. It's all right. You can't help it. But we are going to have to do something."
"What? How?"
"That's the part I don't know about. Think about what you want."
"Well... I want to ask Anzu out... but Yugi likes her and I really shouldn't be here anyway so..."
"Don't think like that. If you're here, Kami and Ra meant for you to be here."
"But still, I don't want to deny Yugi what he wants so badly-"
"Stop worrying about Yugi for a second. Picture Yugi as just another boy, who happens to be in a relationship with her that you envy. How would you handle that? How would you keep your shadow magic under control?"
Atemu was silent. He had no clue.
So? Fluffy? Sappy? Stinky? Downright horrible? I pray not...
And I apologize for not updating sooner! But this was an unusually long one, and it took a long time to write and edit, so please wonderful readers, forgive me. I am not worthy.
Okay, person-without-a-name-of-any-sort... Electric Fire is that you? Inyhoo, I know, I torture poor 'Temu WAY too much... and he's gonna really appreciate that hug and cup of hot chocolate in a few chapters too! You know, I nearly had a spasm when you asked what the world would be without sick-fics! Yeah, Yugi's just a little ball of cute, adorable irresistible fluff when he's jealous! Let's all give poor Yugi a hug! .
I'm glad you like it, norestar-angel-Bows- My stuff is not worthy of you liking it!
Black-Caracal, that might just be why! I LUV little 'Temu! But I love Ryo more... maybe I just couldn't bring myself to torture Ryo, so I went for the second-best, eh?
Doesn't sappy stuff rock, Bradybunch4529? I love sap! I AM a sap! Oh, when Anzu comes into the m mix... duck and cover yourself with a shadow magic-proof blanket, I think... and take along some hot chocolate so you don't starve! .
Yamitea 4eva, he KNOWS he likes her, oh yes. He knows all too well! And when he sees Anzu next he won't just be uncomfortable, he'll be more likely to blow something up! Poor 'Temu... I'm so mean to him... -sniff sniff- But I must be strong! It's for the greater good in fanfiction!
THANKIES WONDERFUL REVIEWERS! NOW ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!