RESPONSES
Ann
Mena: Yay! You likes! Here's he next chappie and thanks for reviewing!
Masami, Mistress Of Fire
Toli: Don't cry, Masami! Things will get better!...Or at least they should.
Mena: (waves) Hi, Damie-chan! Glad you like me--I mean it! Hope you enjoy the next chapter! Oh, and you too, Masami!
(Toli winks at Masami)
Moses-the-little-gurl
Mena: Awesome! Glad u like! Hope you enjoy and thanks for the review!
Kit
Toli: HAHAHAH! I MAKE YAMI SO EVIL SO OFTEN!
Mena: Toli! Please! Glad you like the story, despite Evil Yami. Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy the chappie!
Jesselda: Wow, Toli. You were right about cliffhangers.
Toli: See? Toldja!
Mena: And now the continuation!
Twins: Yay!
Jesselda: They still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If they said they did, they'd have a massive lawsuit on their hands, and they can't afford to go to court. They can't even afford to pay tithes.
Mena: (in background) Not funny!
Jesselda: Says you.
THREE: Yugi's Memories
Previously...
"That's not good enough," he told Yugi flatly. He saw the immediate change. Yugi drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his face in his arms. He was shaking violently now, and an occasional whimper could be heard. He obviously feared for his life. Atemu felt a stronger pang of guilt but pushed it away. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. "If you're not going to tell me the truth, then I'll just have to view it firsthand," he said, reaching out his hand towards Yugi. "I'm going to find out what you two are hiding, like it or not."
"No!" Ishizu burst out, rushing towards them. If he tries to unlock Yugi's memories, he could emotionally destroy him!
Atemu's hand had touched Yugi's head, and summoning up the proper dose of magic, he injected his mind's eye into Yugi's. What are you hiding from me? Flashes of light temporarily blinded his mind's eye, and then he found the doors which Yugi's memories hid behind. He threw open the door, determined to find the truth.
Atemu's eyes widened as he was exposed to what was buried in Yugi's mind.
The Continuation...
In his mind's eye, Atemu found himself flying down a tunnel of blue lights. All around him were pictures holding images of Yugi's past. He looked around for the one he desired. His outstretched arm accidentally hit an image, and it flooded the tunnel.
"Who are you?" Yugi asked.
The young man smirked down at the little boy beneath him. "I'm a refined thief."
"A thief?" The boy's eyes widened in astonishment. "Then you have adventures? You fight off the Pharaoh's guards and steal precious jewels that don't belong to him?"
The thief seemed pleased at Yugi's reaction. "Mostly, squirt," he said. "You seem excited about it."
Yugi nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes. I never have anything exciting happen to me, so I imagine great adventures with people nobody likes as the hero. Nobody likes thieves, so I think about them all the time. I even share my adventures with my little sister. She likes my stories. Have you ever gotten caught?"
"Nope," the thief said proudly. "I'm too good for the Pharaoh's idiot guards to catch me."
"Wow," Yugi said in wonder.
"Yugi! Where are you? It's time to go!"
Yugi pouted cutely. "Aww," he said. He turned to reenter the crowd of the marketplace, then turned back. "Before I go, what's your name? I want to tell my sister I met a real live thief."
The thief actually ruffled Yugi's unusual hair. "The name's Bakura, squirt," he said. "Don't forget it."
"Oh, I won't!" Yugi declared vehemently, his face aglow with excitement. He turned to get back to his mother's side.
In a flash the scene faded back to a square and flew along with the rest of the images back in the tunnel. Atemu shook his head to clear the dots in front of his eyes and looked around again. He reached out to a memory that looked promising, and when his hand touched it, it expanded all around him like the first one.
"Please, don't do this," Mia begged.
Tears filled Yugi's eyes. "Why not? I've never been so hurt in my life!" The sting of his new master's whip was still present on his back. "I don't want to live like this. I don't!"
"This isn't the way to solve it!" Mia told him. "There are other ways to get freedom."
The knife lowered a little. "What ways?"
"There are plenty of them, but if you just kill yourself now, you'll never find them!" she said. "Please Yugi. We can make it through if we stick together."
The knife dropped from Yugi's hand onto the sand. Yugi sank to his knees, the tears breaking and sliding down his face. Mia crawled closer and wrapped her arms around him. "I promise you, we can do this if we stick together and watch each other's backs."
"Okay," Yugi whispered, his tears dripping onto her shoulder. "I trust you."
The image shrank back to a square. Atemu looked around for something else and tried touching something that looked a little more recent. The picture flooded the tunnel like before.
"Slave!" the frightening voice yelled. "Where have you been? And where is my water?"
Yugi gulped and looked down. "Um, I-I accidentally broke the pitcher, Master."
"You WHAT?" The master loomed over Yugi, looking angry. "You broke my water jug? You worthless, stupid--!" He suddenly slapped Yugi hard across the face, knocking him to the ground. "I don't know why I even bother with you! It seems like you can't do anything right at all!" He grabbed his coiled whip off the peg. "It looks like you need to be taught a lesson in clumsiness!"
Yugi trembled on the ground as he held a hand over the cut on his cheek. His squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the fall of the whip.
"Next time, you had better watch yourself!" the master yelled, bringing the whip down so fast it whistled. Yugi felt the first lash, and it tore across his back like fire. The second brought an equal amount of pain to the table. Then the third. Then the fourth. Then again and again. Yugi could feel tears squeezing past his tightly closed eyelids in spite of himself, but he did not make any noise at all. That would simply get him an even longer punishment. Now the lashes just felt like a numbing sheet of pain spreading all over his back. It seemed as though the master was particularly angry this time. Yugi thought he felt the lash stop falling, and tried to breathe again. It hurt.
Suddenly, the lash began to fall again. Yugi was totally unprepared and almost cried out. The new wave of pain added to the first made it nearly unbearable. Yugi had to clamp down on his lower lip to keep from making noise. The whip stopped for a few seconds, and then started again. Yugi's tears were flowing, even though his eyes were shut, and he had to bite harder on his lip. He felt a strange crawling darkness at the corners of his mind, almost as if he were sleepy, but he couldn't be sleepy at a time like this. The darkness began to take over his consciousness, and he found that the more of the darkness he sensed, the less pain he felt. So he freely let the darkness take over, to escape the terrible burning pain that had been tripled. He gladly welcomed the escape from the realm of the conscious and slipped into a dark sleep.
The image turned black and shrank back to a square. Atemu accidentally bumped his elbow into another image, and it encompassed the tunnel.
Yugi stood over his mother's lifeless body. Her own blood was pooled under her and spreading. The ominous-looking knife that protruded from her chest caught the flickering reflections of the small fire behind him. Her eyes were open, and their sparkle was gone. He couldn't bear the sight any longer. He turned away.
Yugi's six-years-younger sister was holding onto his arm for dear life. Tears were streaming out of her blue eyes as her gaze swept over their mother's dead body. "She's dead," she whispered, as if she couldn't believe it without saying it.
"It's okay, Reikena," Yugi said, holding her hand and turning to face her. "We've still got each other."
Reikena looked up into her older brother's eyes and nodded. They hugged tightly, afraid to let go.
There was the sound of something crashing. "The woman was right--there's nothing of value in here," a gruff voice said.
"Except the children," a second voice said. "We can sell them to the highest bidder. The going price for an able young body is incredibly high these days."
"True." Yugi heard footsteps coming towards them and kept his arms wrapped protectively around his sister. The two turned to face the people who had broken into their home.
"Good news, brats," the first man said with a sneer. "The two of you are going to make us a whole lot wealthier." He reached out and snatched Yugi's sister right out of the boy's arms.
"Reikena!" Yugi yelled. He ran at the man. The second guy reached out to grab him, but he dodged the hands and tackled the first man with everything in him. The man grunted as they all fell to the floor in a heap. "Get him of me!"
Yugi reached for Reikena, and she reached back. They managed to grab hands before the second man wrapped a huge arm around Yugi's neck, nearly cutting of his air supply, and pulled him away. The first man growled and stood up with Reikena kicking and screaming under one arm. "Hoto, get some rope out of the--ow!"
Reikena sank her teeth into the man's hand. He threw her to the ground and clutched his attacked hand. Yugi's sister had bitten hard enough to draw blood. "You damn brat! I've got something for you!" From his satchel he pulled another knife. Yugi gasped and tried to struggle out of Hoto's grip before--before--
"NOOO!" Yugi cried as the knife plunged. One scream was all his sister could manage. Hoto released him for some reason. He felt tears sliding down his cheeks as he backed away. Not his sister. Not after he had just seen his mother's body. This couldn't be happening!
Yugi sank to his knees, the evil laughter around him fading in his ears. "Please no," he whispered. "I can't take this. Please no..."
Suddenly, Atemu was shoved from the memory, shoved from the tunnel, shoved out of Yugi's mind and back into his own. Yugi's panicked scream echoed in his skull as he tried to recover from what he'd seen.
A couple of feet away from the bed, Ishizu stood stock-still, fearing the worst as she saw Atemu sever his connection to Yugi's mind. Her eyes were on the boy, who was staring up at Yami with the most horrible glassy-eyed expression, and tears were already running down his cheeks.
"Come back," Yugi whispered, before his eyes closed and he slumped over. Ishizu rushed to the bedside, surprised that Atemu had actually caught the boy. She stopped beside the bed, noticing how Atemu stared down at the boy in his arms. It looked as though he were trying to speak. Finally he managed some words, but not a lot. "He lost his sister...only minutes after losing his mother...how did he cope with that?" He didn't seem to want an answer from the only other conscious person in the room.
"Atemu, I told you that you did not know what you were doing," Ishizu said, and she truly meant it. But not the way Atemu might have thought. Perhaps I was right after all.
Atemu could only stare down at Yugi. Somehow, seeing those memories had restored the guilt, only ten times stronger and ten times harder to ignore. Through invading Yugi's mind, he had discovered that Yugi and Mia had been telling the truth, among other things. He's been through so much, Atemu thought. Ishizu must be right. He IS on the verge of a breakdown. Do I want to be what causes it? He looked down at Yugi's unconscious form and then and there made a decision that was so completely unexpected, so weird, and so spontaneous, that if he had been told five minutes earlier that he would do it, he would have laughed in that person's face and then sent them to prison.
He looked up at Ishizu, who was standing silently by the bed. "What do I do?" he asked.
Ishizu didn't seem surprised by his sudden change of attitude, though he was. "You should let him rest," she said. "Your sudden intrusion in his mind has completely exhausted him, and if you are to have a chance to reach him, you had better not do that again any time soon."
Atemu laid Yugi back down on the bed and covered him up.
"With his old master, one of the raiders, he was physically abused often, as well as mentally and emotionally abused," Ishizu went on. "He has obviously been taught that it is dangerous to trust or let anyone near him. His first experience with you may take months to reverse, if you try."
"I want to try," Atemu found himself saying. "He's suffered so much. I...I don't want to make him suffer anymore."
"Then you will release Mia, let me treat her injuries, and let her see Yugi again. If you can manage to do that, we'll work on the more important things," Ishizu told him. "Now you should leave. Don't come back to see him for the rest of today. I'll work on him and try to get him to open up more, and you can visit him tomorrow morning, at the earliest." She was acting like a mother times two.
Atemu nodded. He left without another word. As he exited the room, he saw Tea going by. He called her over. "Send word to Marik: the prisoner we were interrogating is to be released to Ishizu."
Tea bowed. "Yes, my Pharaoh," she said, hurrying off.
Yugi's eyes opened. Where was he? He looked around, confused. He didn't recognize his surroundings. Then, suddenly, the Pharaoh's interrogation came back to him, and he jolted upright in bed. Where was the Pharaoh? Was he coming back? Had he gone to get some punishing instrument?
"I see you're awake," Yugi heard on the side he wasn't facing. Slowly, dreadfully, he turned to see who it was, and relaxed slightly when he saw it was Miss Ishizu. His eyes darted around to see if he could spot the Pharaoh.
"The Pharaoh is gone," Miss Ishizu said. "He won't be coming back today. But Mia is coming."
Yugi looked back at her. "M-Mia?" he ventured hopefully.
Miss Ishizu nodded. "Yes. You don't need to fear us anymore, Yugi. The Pharaoh is sorry for what he did to you and Mia and he wishes to help you."
Yugi shrank back. "H-Help me? He-He hurt Mia."
"I know," Miss Ishizu said. "He didn't truly understand what he was putting you through. The Pharaoh does not really want to be mean, you see. He only wants those under his reign to respect him. He is very young, only eighteen, and he is not responsible enough to properly control a kingdom."
Yugi found himself getting interested, despite his fear. "He isn't?" he asked.
"No. He hurt you and Mia only to try and get you to respect him. He went about it all wrong, of course, and now he knows that and he wants to help you."
Yugi wasn't sure he understood. His face mirrored how he felt.
"Don't worry, Yugi, it's all right now. He won't hurt you or Mia anymore."
"He...won't?" Yugi questioned timidly.
Miss Ishizu shook her head. "No."
Despite what she said, Yugi couldn't be sure. He could remember someone who had said they wouldn't hurt him, and then they had gone and hurt both him and his sister in the worst way, even though Reikena wasn't around long enough to be as hurt. Yugi shuddered in recollection. He laid his hands in his lap, tugging on one of his fingers.
(NFT: P.O.V. switch again)
Ishizu could tell that Yugi didn't truly believe her. She wasn't surprised. After what he had obviously been through, why would he believe anyone? She knew it would be a long and arduous task if Atemu truly wanted to help the boy, which it seemed that he did. She hoped that there was still a chance to reach them both.
"Yugi," Ishizu said suddenly, "how old are you?"
Yugi glanced up at her, and then looked back down. "Fifteen," he answered quietly.
So he was older than he looked. Ishizu nodded absently, and then stood up.
"Wait here," she said. "I will be back momentarily, and then I am going to go and get Mia for you." She left the room.
Yugi watched her go, fear still flashing in his eyes.
Mia watched the floor sullenly. Her head still ached from the Pharaoh's attack on her brain earlier. Her heart ached as well, with thoughts of what that cruel Pharaoh could be doing to poor Yugi. Ever since she had known the boy, he had been so fragile, so easily hurt. He was like her exact opposite, gender and all. She was known to have a temper and a rebellious streak. She had no problem punching anybody's lights out, even the Pharaoh's, as she had almost demonstrated. She could get in your face with no hesitation. And she had sworn to stay with Yugi and protect him for as long as she could the day she had stopped him from committing suicide. It hurt her so badly to not be with him now. Even the pain of the lash marks on her arms, and the throbbing in her head, didn't compare to the grief in her heart.
Oh, Yugi, I hope that you're okay.
The sound of the door to the interrogation chamber opening brought her head up for a second. Then she let it hang again; she didn't care who it was. Footsteps--more than one person's--approached her. When they got close, they stopped. There was silence. Mia couldn't see because her hair was hanging in her face. Then, a woman's voice spoke, calm and soft. "Remove the shackles, Jou."
"Yes, ma'am," said a familiar voice. Mia tensed; she recognized it. It was the voice of that mean guard who had pulled her and Yugi apart. Oh, how she wanted to give him a good one. And by good, she meant bad.
Mia felt the manacles around her wrists being loosened, and then they fell off completely. She almost collapsed to the floor from the pain of being forced to stand up for so long, but she kept her feet, determined not to be caught off guard. She rubbed the red skin on her wrists and threw her head back, effectively clearing her hair out of her face, so she could see who had released her.
The Guard and an unfamiliar woman greeted her eyes. The guard she had already identified; she noticed with satisfaction the shiner underneath his left eye. The woman Mia thought she may have seen once; straight black hair just below her shoulders, evenly tanned skin, and solemn blue eyes. She had on clothes that signified her to be a part of the Pharaoh's private staff.
"Who are you?" Mia demanded.
"My name is Ishizu," the woman said. "I am the Pharaoh's personal physician. I have come to escort you to one of my healing rooms so that I may treat your injuries."
Mia drew back, cautious but ready to attack if need be. "Why?" she asked warily.
"I would prefer if Yugi did not see you in your present condition. It would trouble him further."
Mia gasped. "Yugi?" she exclaimed. "Is he all right? What has the Pharaoh done to him?"
"Do not worry," Ishizu assured her. "Yugi is safe and unharmed. The Pharaoh was...misguided about his earlier ways of treating you. I have convinced him to change his ways, and he has allowed me to see to your treatment and visiting Yugi."
Mia's reflexively clenched fists loosened. She wasn't sure about the Pharaoh's "misguidedness" but she would cooperate, at least for a while, if she would get to see Yugi.
Ishizu nodded. "Come then, and follow me," she said, turning and walking towards the door. Mia came after her, followed closely by The Guard.
The Guard tapped her on the shoulder. When she glanced over her shoulder to glare at him, he said, "Listen. I wanted to say I'm sorry for pullin' you and your friend apart. I really didn't wanna do it, but there's no disobeying the Pharaoh."
Mia's eyebrows raised. "You're apologizing?" she said incredulously.
The Guard--or Jou--nodded. "I felt real bad about it afterwards. It kept eatin' at me."
Mia was surprised--and unsure what to do with her anger now. "Oh, well, um, all right," she said uncertainly.
Jou looked relieved at her half-acceptance of his apology.
"Mia," Ishizu said, calling Mia's attention to her, "I thought you would like to know what your position will be here. I spoke to the Pharaoh before I arrived the retrieve you, and once you are finished healing, you will be employed as a servant here in the palace. You will receive two meals a day and sleep in the female servants' quarters."
Mia grimaced. Even though it would probably be better than what she had endured back with the raiders, she still didn't want to be a servant. "Just a regular servant?" Mia questioned as they went up a flight of stone stairs. "Just cleaning up after important people and stuff like that?"
"Yes," Ishizu said. Mia ignored the puzzled look Jou gave her. "Unless you have some special talent which could be employed."
"None that I can think of," Mia said.
Yugi was watching a fly. It was a stupid fly; it kept trying to land somewhere on his face. Eventually he got tired of watching it and killed it.
I wonder if Miss Ishizu will be back with Mia, Yugi thought as he shifted on the bed. He still didn't trust the woman, but he did feel like she didn't mean him any harm. At least not yet. She had taken him away from the Pharaoh after the incident down in the interrogation chamber, and had refused to let the Pharaoh in to see him.
Why does she want to help me? Yugi wondered, sitting back down on his bed. Is someone maybe making her help me?
Thedoor opened, and Yugi looked up in surprise. Automatically he pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his folded arms on them, his defensive position. He watched with fear rising as an unfamiliar girl entered the room. Who is she, and what does she want?
Whoever she was, she didn't look too comfortable herself. She was dressed in servant's attire, and carried a plate of food and a cup of water. She pushed the door closed with her foot as she timidly approached the bed. Her long red hair was pulled back into a braid and covered up with a scarf, like she wanted nobody to see it, but some of it was still visible. Very carefully, she set the food and water down on the table beside the bed and looked up at him again. Her green eyes mirrored the fear in Yugi's.
She's scared too.
"Why are you scared?" Yugi found himself asking.
The girl looked startled, as if being addressed was something bad. Then she lowered her eyes to the ground. "Well...you are a stranger," she said.
"I scare you?" The thought was purely fascinating. "You scared me."
"I did?" Apparently it was fascinating to her too. She looked up. Both of them watched each other with a kind of innocent curiosity, the thought of each being afraid of the other somehow canceling out their fear. The same thought was running through their minds: If you're afraid of me, and I'm afraid of you, neither of us will hurt the other, right?
"My name is Shizuka," the girl ventured bravely. She held her breath, hoping that he wasn't going to yell at her for something she had done wrong.
Yugi blinked. After a pause, he answered, "I'm Yugi." They watched each other again. Shizuka appeared to be about to say something else to Yugi. They were both curious about the other.
Then the door opened. The fear rose up in both of them again, and Shizuka turned and darted for the door as Yugi's eyes flew to his lap. He heard some conversation from behind the door, but couldn't quite make it out.
Miss Ishizu walked over to Yugi's bedside. "Yugi, it's me," she said softly. Yugi dared to look up at her, and his eyes lit up when he saw who was standing beside her.
"Yugi!" Mia exclaimed. She bent down and grabbed him in a hug.
"Mia," Yugi breathed, wrapping his arms around her neck. Miss Ishizu hadn't lied. She had brought Mia back. He felt tears rising and spilling as his only friend in the whole world sat down next to him on the bed and lifted him into her lap.
"It's okay, Yugi, I'm here," Mia said, rubbing Yugi's back. "And I'm never leaving you again."
END CHAPTER
Atemu/Yami
Hiroto/Honda/Tristan Taylor
Jou/Jounouchi/Joey Wheeler
Mia/Mai Valentine
Shizuka/Serenity Wheeler
Reikena/Rebecca Hawkins
Mena: KAWAII! Is it not? Is it not?
(Toli is banging her head on the desk)
Jesselda: What does "kawaii" mean?
Mena: It's means cute in Japanese!!
Jesselda: Oh. Then, yeah, I guess it's kawaii.
Toli: (sits up) I thought I mentioned how much fluff drives me nuts.
Mena: But kawaii-ness is never a bad thing! Especially in a story that's going to get sadder later when Yugi--
(Jesselda clamps a hand over Mena's mouth)
Toli: Please read, review, and come back next time!
