"Atemu..? Is that really you?"
The hooded man gave a small smile, turning his gaze away from Anzu to focus on Yami.
"My sweet little Yami.. I missed you so much.."
Yami whimpered under the tight hug of 'Atemu'. The boy didn't struggle, like Yugi thought he would (it was Yami's nature, after all). Atemu protectively held the other, cooing as if Yami was a young baby.
"Why.." Yami started to cry, Yugi shuffled back anxiously, "Why didn't you come home sooner..?!"
"I'll explain later. For now, I'd like to have a look around, it's been awhile."
Yami looked at the ground, offering to take him to his home.
"Sure."
Yugi hid himself behind Anzu as she woke Miho and Honda up. The two grumbled, rolling away from their uncomfortable position as Anzu pulled them up so they were standing steadily.
"Are you two okay?" Atemu kindly gleamed, releasing Yami and approaching the small cluster of people.
Yugi jumped, he scooted further behind Anzu and appreciated her attempt at hiding him. He knew that she, at first, wasn't purposely hiding him; however after a few gentle nudges she allowed him to peek out from behind her back to cautiously inspect the stranger he was in front of.
Yugi had noticed that the figure had a deep scar on the left side of his face, marking the darkly-toned skin with indicative agony.
"Who's this little friend behind you, Anzu?" Atemu let out a relaxed chuckle. Anzu quietly whispered in Yugi's ear.
"Don't worry. He's super nice, he won't hurt you."
Yugi gave an unsure nod, shuffling slightly away from the secure spot behind Anzu to allow Atemu to see him.
"Don't worry. I can assure you I won't hurt anyone."
The man slowly placed his hand on Yugi's head and petted him like a small kitten, soft, gentle and kind.
He asked for Yugi's name, simpering when Yugi mumbled it.
"It's lovely to meet you, Yugi."
Yugi felt his heart warm a little, he could tell from the man's aura that he was a genuine and kind soul. He watched as Atemu scooped Yami up and fawned over him, asking him to take him around the town and (most importantly) his home.
Yami struggled free, moving away from Atemu and dragging him to the building he called his home. Yugi noticed that the big wheel attached to the side of the structure wasn't spinning - despite the water not being frozen over.
"Miho, Honda, " Yami looked back, a glow in his eyes, "You guys shou' go 'ome and rest."
Despite their hesitance, they did as they were told and left the group of four to their own devices as they entered the bakery.
"Dang! Nothin's changed!" The man chuckled again, looking around excitedly at the shelves full of fluffy bread and the lines of pastries protected by a transparent covering. Yami faced away, "It was so hard without you.. Why.."
"Shh, I said I'll explain later. I have some great news for Mother!"
Yugi felt like he was an intruder in the two's grand reunion. He stuck by Anzu and kept quiet as she walked in as well and called for Yami's Mother from the counter.
The woman ran down the clearly unstable stairs holding a tray with plates balancing on them. She turned the corner and stared blankly.
"Oh? A traveller? How rare!"
"Don't tell me you don't remember your own son!" Atemu laughed heartily, pulling off his hood and revealing his spiked hair.
She dropped the tray, ceramic cracking on the floor as the plates shattered from impact.
The mother quickly jumped over the counter and wrapped her arms around him. She squeezed tightly, tears rolling down her face as she tucked his head under her chin.
"You..Atemu..My baby.."
Aika , as Yugi recalled, was a very tough person. He had never thought that she would show such emotions so openly - as rude as that may seem.
"My son..I thought you would never come back…"
She sweetly offered the group some tea, only letting go of Atemu after he started trying to break free from the tight grasp. They all sat down in the living room, Yugi sticking with Anzu and Yami staying close to his brother.
Atemu searched the bag that was attached to the long strap that tied tightly from his shoulder to his waist. He pulled out a small leather notebook and a bizarre, black box.
Carefully, he flipped the book open and calmly turned to one of the pages.
"Mother, I have some news for you."
"Oh, go ahead!! The tea is almost ready, I can listen from here!"
Atemu looked back at the hob that heated up and boiled water. He went back to looking at his book, preparing to speak.
Yugi had noticed how similar Yami and Atemu looked. They had very similar tones in their hair, the same hairstyle and they were close in height. Atemu was slightly taller and his hair was more well-kept, unlike Yami's which spread out everywhere and was overall more messy.
"I found a way to fully cure Yami."
"Sweetie, I'm so glad you came home but.. If there was a way to cure him, why hadn't we gotten that option?"
Atemu let out a sigh, "It's a rare treatment, and, it's not like they're gonna give you all the options in such a small town."
Yugi had noticed how Atemu started shuffling closer to Yami, soon touching shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Yami had a content expression on his face, simply basking in the attention his brother gave him.
" So, what's the-" The mother stopped, jumping at the sound of the whistling teapot and immediately pouring the boiling water into a set of 4 small mugs that sat nearly in a line on the countertop, "Oh! Tea's ready! Let's finish this conversation later."
Atemu gave a nod, gratefully taking the mug he was handed and sipping the liquid.
Anzu spoke up, "How was it? Y'know, travelling around places?"
Atemu charmingly grinned, "It was amazing! Though it has been tough at times."
He laughed with an awkward tone, taking another sip in sync with Yami. Yugi smiled, they seemed close.
The man continued, "I met a lovely young lass and a good man, we travelled together. The lady is coming by as soon as she is done with some..business."
Yugi was interested in this man, despite him seeming completely normal. The guy had a strange aura around him, kind but interlaced with secrets. Yugi could tell that he had a darker half to him that he didn't show.
"I've been writing my travels down in this book, so I have a new storybook for the kids to read!"
Yugi's eyes shone. He wanted to read it, despite enviously not being one of the 'kids' he was talking about.
Anzu noticed his sudden change in attitude, smiling," Yugi really enjoyed one of your books, wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks! "
"Oh my!" Atemu parted from his brother to kneel in front of Yugi. He petted him gently again, like he had done before, and chuckled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it! You can read my newer one soon, if you'd like!"
Yugi nodded intently. Even though the darker undertones the book had confused and scared Yugi - considering that the book was made for literal children - he still had fun reading the parts he did actually read.
" What's that? " Yami pointed towards the bizarre black box that Yugi was also curious about. Atemu picked up the box and showed it off to his brother.
"It's a communication device! It allows me to talk to my travelling buddy."
"Woah!!"
Yami's eyes glowed, he took the box in his hands and inspected it carefully. He showed it to Yugi, who was also rather excited over it.
Yami pressed a button underneath the set of lines in the box, a loud buzzing emitting from the box. The buzzing soon became a chirpy voice which cheered happily in front of the sounds of rustling leaves and quick breathing.
/ Atemu!! Hii!! /
Atemu rolled his eyes, he took the black box and mumbled sarcastically, "Hi Mana."
The three others stared in amazement. Yugi (as well as Yami and Anzu) couldn't comprehend how Atemu was able to talk to this girl named Mana without her actually being there.
/ Don't give me that!! C'mon~! Put some more joy into it! Y'know, after you jumped off that cliff edge at the West Side, I thought you were a goner! /
Yugi laughed at the response his mother gave, yelling out a loud, "You did what?!" from the other room.
"Nothing Ma'!" Atemu pulled his face closer to the box and grumbled, "Mana, I swear to damned Ra, the next time you mention that I'll kill you."
/ Was that your mother?! You're back home now? Excited to see where the Princey lives!! /
"You're ignoring me.. Hey, wanna say hello to my brother?"
Mana on the other end agreed and received a happy greeting from Yami and Anzu, Yugi choosing to stay quiet.
/ Aren't they sweet! Nay way thanks for calling, but I need to go shake off the 5 armed Capital Guards that are here. Bye 'temu! /
The voice faded, changing back into the loud buzzing. Atemu turned a small dial on the box and let out a heavy sigh once the buzzing stopped.
"Was that your girlfriend?" Yami cheekily smirked, Atemu urgently shaking his head.
"No!! She's just an acquaintance!"
"Hm~?"
Atemu seemed completely embarrassed, laughing it off and saying that she was way too young to even be his girlfriend.
The group remained silent for a while, sipping their tea and letting the clearly flustered Atemu cool off.
"Why don't you four go play outside? I'm going to set up a brilliant meal for you when you get back, Atemu!"
The caring mother called out from the room behind, Atemu nodding and encouraging everyone to go out to their little base - which Yugi was used to hearing about by then.
" Let's call o'er Miho and Honda then!! " Yami declared," Can't leave 'em out!"
The chattering group left ecstatically, walking down the long and winding pathways lined with little growing plants and grass. They stopped at the other two's houses, picking them up and sneaking off to the base - Atemu hiding so that he could spend time with his friends rather than greeting the other children.
They had avoided the school building and as much as possible, cautious of if the blonde and his group were lurking around near the area.
They passed the familiar cluster of trees that stretched out to the cloudy grey sky. Broken and torn scraps of dark-toned bark crumbled onto the floor and stayed unsurely on the dipping, grey grass, crushing some of the tiny flowers that lay beneath its weight.
The bushes uncomfortably scratched Yugi's arm and almost hit his injured hand as he walked, he was careful not to hurt it again as it caused him extreme pain.
Big eyes met with the little shack they called their base. Atemu gleamed, walking up ahead and admiring the state of the building.
"It's the same as it was before! Thank you for looking after it, guys!"
The group proudly ran over to the other, leaving Yugi behind to lurk in their shadows. He felt a feeling of coming dread, even though he was happy a moment prior, there was going to be something that happened in this area.
He was sure of it.
Atemu scrambled inside and pulled out some spare planks. He made a comment about ow clean the inside was, decorated with cutesy curtains an spittle cushions, as well as the broken chair Yugi had remembered from his last visit.
"Miho cleaned!!" Miho exclaimed, "Anzu decorated!"
"That's great! Thank you two!" Atemu gratefully simpered, tugging his hair back and dragging the planks he had found to a big hole in the wall.
He found the hidden box of tools tucked under a crevice that Yugi didn't even notice and slid out a small hammer and nail set.
" May I fix it up a bit?"
"No!" Anzu demanded, "You should rest after such a long time away! Don't just immediately fix it, you should relax for a bit!"
Atemu gave an awkward chuckle. Anzu continued.
"Yugi! Wanna do me a favour?"
Yugi simply nodded, he would pretty much do anything she asked if she asked for it nicely.
"Make sure this idiot doesn't try and fix anything? We want him to chill for a bit after his long travel!"
The boy nodded again, sitting himself on a log and staying silent as Atemu was pushed to sit as well.
Yugi didn't think that making the guy who had been away from home for years sit on a log with a random, quiet stranger was the best form of relaxing. If he was the man, he wouldn't be very happy about having to sit and watch, even though he'd still do it anyway.
Yami bragged to the others about the black box Atemu had on him, which Yugi didn't get because he wasn't the one who owned it.
"Lemme see!" Honda looked amused, inspecting it as Atemu showed it. He didn't let the kids touch it because, as Atemu put it, he didn't want 'her to be worried'.
"Miho doesn't get it.." Miho looked deeply into it, "How does it work?"
"You see," Atemu smirked, "it uss radio waves. Radio waves transport the voice in the form of oscillating electric and magnetic fields, called an EMF!"
"Miho doesn't get it any more now..!"
"Ate'" Yami snickered "I don't think any of us 'ould get that!!"
"Oh. Basically," Atemu pointed towards a mountain nearby that could be seen through the trees, it has a large grey tower on it. "That tower lets me talk to Mana through real funky waves."
The group all looked up at the tower, Anzu asking the question they all had in their minds.
"Why's there a tower like that here? I've never seen these devices before.."
Atemu thought for a moment. He looked around cautiously and lowered his voice, "It's in case a Capital Guard or an IPF comes nearby. There's one in every region, even little places like this."
"I dunno what they are but it sounds scary" Honda sighed, peering away from the tower and focusing on the ground.
Atemu broke up the conversation, worried about something, and suggested, "Why don't we play some hide-and-go-seek! I'm sure the forest's changed a lot, and with us being a tad bit older, it'll be harder!"
"Oh! Sounds fun! Let's do it!"
Anzu told Yugi how to play, took his hand and ran to go hide up in the foliage. They had spent ten minutes hiding sneakily in a large pile of leaves mixed in with broken rubble (which he was told came from an old building that used to be there). Atemu had eventually found them and the group continued to play for another few rounds before they decided to stop to take a break.
Atemu fell back down onto the log he was seated at before. He wiped away a bead of sweat and laughed happily as Yami declared his victory in pride.
After a couple seconds of gloating, Yami slowed down, looking to the grass for a moment.
"You okay?"
"..I'm fine! Just a lil.."
Atemu jumped out of his seat on the log and ran over to him. Just in time to watch Yami fall to the ground.
Just in time to watch his brother bite the dirt where he stood.
"A..te..mu.."