Whee! I'm starting a new fanfic! Okay, before I start, there are a couple things you should know. Because this takes place in Ancient Rome, I'm going to spell the some of the characters' names differently. For instance, there is no "y" in the Roman alphabet, nor is there a "soft c." The names are pronounced like they'd normally be, but they're spelt differently.

Eugi – Yugi

Iami – Yami Yugi

Gionoci – Jounouchi / Joey

Bacura – Yami Bakura

Riou – Ryou Bakura

Ounda – Honda

Anxou – Anzu

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Now, on with the fanfic!

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Eugi shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. It was surprisingly cold for a summer night in Italy, but the rags that served as clothing hardly kept him warm anyways. He glanced over at his friend of ten years, a tall, gangly blonde whose matted hair and unshaven face made him resemble a beast more than a man. Blond hair was unusual for the area, but it was known that Gionoci had Celtic lineage in his family.

The cart hit a bump in the road, and the six men sitting quietly were jolted from their thoughts. Ounda turned to look at Eugi and Gionoci, pain written across his face. Eugi wasn't surprised- his entire family had been slaughtered before his eyes, and there had been nothing he could do to stop the mighty legions of Rome from massacring the tiny village they'd all lived in. Gionoci sighed loudly, receiving a slap across the forehead from the slave-dealer for making noise.

"Tacitum*!" The man shouted, and everything became silent once more. Eugi's lavender eyes burned with a surprising vengeance, his hatred for the Empire of Rome growing as he saw more and more of what they were capable of. Now they were not even prisoners of war- they were no better than slaves, and would most likely be sold as such. Gionoci rubbed the side of his face ruefully, but hung his head and tried to sleep through the shaking of the cart and the clopping of the horses' hooves. The sun had fallen many hours ago, but still they travelled on. Both man and animal were pushed to their limits, sparing no exhaust to get to the city of Pompeii before sunrise.

The next day the sun shone relentlessly, beating down on the backs of the Pompeians as they worked to earn their money and wine. The many slaves were lined up, their wrists bound tightly by frayed and scratching rope. A guard stood here or there, watching for any fights or outbursts from the crowd of prisoners.

The slave-master greeted the many civilians that came seeking a good servant with cries of "Salve*, my friend Caecilius!" and "Greetings, Quintus! How is the wife?" His emerald eyes sparkled as he did what he enjoyed most- playing the character the people wanted, in order to make a sale. Eugi and Gionoci watched as their friend Ounda was sold off to a rich-man in elaborate robes with promises of an intelligent, obedient slave. Gionoci was limited in his understanding of Latin, and most certainly couldn't write, but Ounda perhaps stood a chance of learning from this more civilized culture. Perhaps he even stood a chance of becoming a freedman one day, although it was just as likely as it was not.

Eugi's eyes rose to watch as a strange man approached, his garments fairly plain but his feature incredibly outlandish. The tall man boasted a deep tan and, strangely, hair so blonde it looked at first glance to be white. A slave dressed surprisingly well, who he seemed meek and timid next to the impressive sight of his master, attended him. With a knowing smirk, the strange man greeted the slave-dealer.

"Hello, Otogi, you sly trickster." The addressed slave-dealer grinned, his green eyes flashing in recognition of who this man was.

"Looking for more students, Bacura?" At the mention of the word 'students' Gionoci's face fell visibly. At this rate, he would never be out of the hellhole known as the slave-pit. "I have real Gladiator quality in this bunch- no lies!" The man crossed his arms, smirking wickedly.

"Ita vero*? Show me then." Otogi nodded, approaching Gionoci quickly.

"This one's a Celt- you see his hair?- he's born to fight. He was still fighting when the last of his village was in flames and he was up against the army of Rome." Bacura's smirk grew.

"He's a brave fool, then. But is he strong?" Eugi had difficulty keeping at straight face while enduring the insulting casualty of their chat about his village's suffering. For once he was glad that Gionoci's vocabulary was limited- he wouldn't want to ruin his only chance at being taken to somewhere where he wouldn't be overworked and maltreated.

"Is he strong?" Otogi repeated, gesturing for the strange man to come nearer. "Feel the muscle on him! He may be a bit thin, but I'm sure if anyone can fix that, you can!" Bacura smiled quietly to himself. 'Otogi certainly knows his way with words.'

He took Otogi's comment as an offer to see for himself, putting a hand to Gionoci's arm and giving it a veritable shake. He wasn't surprised that there was no lack of muscle, but it was loose, untrained muscle. Still, he could work with it.

"Very well. Pay the man, Riou." He released Gionoci and turned, motioning for the slave to count out the money for Otogi. "Hopefully he shall do a better job of protecting my reputation as a Gladiator Trainer than he did of protecting the pathetic village that he called his home." Eugi's eyes burned with rage, and he ran at the man suddenly.

"You bastard! Take that back!" Bacura turned just in time to dodge Eugi, the guards quickly pinning the outraged slave to the ground. He laughed at Eugi's struggles, his dark eyes glinting with interest.

"Feisty one, isn't he?" Eugi snarled at him from where he laid, his face in the dirt and his arms pinned at his sides. Bacura turned once more, waving absently to his slave. "I want that one too. Give Otogi his hard-earned money, and we shall be off." Eugi panted, looking up at him with frustration and confusion.

'What? He's buying me? After… after I tried to attack him??' The young man was hoisted roughly to his feet, his bonds loosened with haste. Gionoci was likewise freed, and they were both pushed in the direction of their new owner. Eugi frowned, and Gionoci just looked confused, but the slave at Bacura's side turned and shot them a nervous look, then turned back around and continued following his master. The two of them hurried to catch up, keeping close amid the bustle of mid-day in Pompeii, watched carefully by the guards spotted about the area.

At the School of Gladiatorial Training, there were no weak men. The weak were sold or broken- only the strong made it past death and into legend.  Eugi and Gionoci quickly learned this, and were careful to avoid getting into fights. New recruits weren't picked on- but they weren't welcomed either. Training was hard- most hours of every day were spent going over sword strokes, hacking at logs suspended by chains, and running obstacle courses to hone the muscles. There was no lack of social time, however. Whatever leftover time was not spent bathing or arm wresting for sport, the men could meet and talk with one another, in the eating hall or in their personal quarters.

On his second day, Eugi was approached by Bacura's favourite apprentice- Riou. He had smiled at the dinner table, and offered Eugi his cup of water; having seen Eugi's own was drained quickly within the first minute of sitting down.

"It's hard work, isn't it?" Eugi nodded in reply, taking the kind offering. "Eheu*, he does work us all hard. But it only makes us stronger."

"No offence, but you don't seem the type for Gladiatorial combat. How did you end up here?" Riou smiled, shaking his head to indicate that he wasn't offended in the least.

"I'm here of my own free will. I signed a contract for five years at this place- I need to become stronger. Bacura is helping me do that." Eugi nodded, something suddenly striking him.

"Oh, by the way- my name's Eugi. You're… Riou, right?" The paler boy nodded; somewhat surprised that Eugi knew his name. "I heard him call you by name, yesterday when he first bought us." Riou nodded again, a small smile forming on his face.

"Speaking of which, where's your friend, the blonde one?" Eugi looked around, searching for the recognisable mop of sandy hair.

"I'm not sure. He went to get his food a little while ago…" As if on cue, said man appeared at the long table and plopped down, frowning.

"The food here sucks." He declared in his native tongue, too lazy to try and speak Latin when Eugi could understand him perfectly if he simply spoke how he'd spoken all his life. Riou looked on, confused, as the two went off in conversation that he couldn't understand. Gionoci caught Riou's gaze, and shifted uncomfortably.

"Salve*." He greeted awkwardly, trying to be polite. Riou smiled and repeated the salutation; although his accent flowed far better than Gionoci's and it was obvious he'd spoken Latin all his life. Eugi grinned sheepishly, explaining the situation for his friend.

"Gio doesn't speak much Latin. He just started learning but wasn't really that eager of a student." The blond nodded, having recognised a few of his friend's words. Riou smiled, understanding the predicament.

"Don't worry, he'll pick up on it soon enough. It's not like the people around here ever stop talking." He and Eugi snickered, although Gionoci was completely lost.

Despite the language barrier, they were quickly good friends. Gionoci did eventually pick up on the most common words, and was able to carry on a conversation with Riou within a week or two of listening to other people and their banter. Compared to the slavery they had expected, Eugi and Gionoci were surprised by the ease in which a Gladiator in training lived.

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tacitum! – silence!

salve! – hello! greetings! (pronounced SAHL-way)

ita vero – yes, sure (sarcastic)

eheu – alas

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! If you think I should continue, please review and tell me what you thought! I have big plans for this, and Iami will come into the story in a little bit. And yes, there will be some romance thrown into the mix with this story.