This is only half of the original chapter but you guys have waited long enough for it so I'm posting it as it is. Again sorry for the constant delays. It's not really a great time for me and I desperately need my christmas break. Anyways, I hope you still enjoy it, hearties!

Something wet and cold presses against my forehead, slowly pulling me out of my darkness. I'm confused. What happened? Was I asleep? Why? Slowly, my mind clears and by the time I open my eyes I vaguely remember. I almost… The word doesn't even want to form in my mind. I don't recognize the wooden ceiling I'm staring out. But I turn my head and a familiar face then pops into my field of vision. He's changed clothes and attached his hair, here's no mistaking that long black mane. Most of all, he looks unharmed.

"Moki," I exclaim, sitting up on my bed.

I meant to shout but my voice comes out like a squeaking violin. Still my call makes him, dropping the wet cloth he was holding over a bowl filled with water. A smile of relief soon erases the startled look on his face.

"Yugi, you're awake," he says.

As soon as he's in range, I throw my arms around him, holding him close. My arm hurts but I don't care. I need to hold him. My memory is still foggy but knowing he's safe is the one thing that matters over all. I sense hesitancy when he hugs back. This alarms me. I let him go and grab him by the shoulders. His eyes avoid and come back to me multiple times. My insides tighten. What happened? He opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off.

"Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?"

"Yugi…" he says, his eyes still glancing past me.

"Were you in here the whole time?" I ask, quickly looking at the room which I assume is the infirmary. "What did they make you do?"

"Yugi!" he snaps.

I freeze when I realize how tense he is. He looks passed me again and points a finger in the same direction. I turn around and wish I hadn't. Atem is there, leaning against the door arms crossed on his chest. A chuckle escapes him as he straightens up.

"No one seeing you now would mistake you for a boy, I assure you," he said, that insufferable grin on his face. "To answer your question, the boy's been patching up some of my sailors very obediently. He's given me no reason to deserve mistreatment. Besides, there's nothing more foolish than harming your own medic."

He steps away from the wall to approach. I sit up completely but I wince at the pressure it puts on my arm. My sleeve has been completely cut off and it looks like Moki changed my pseudo bandage for the real thing this time. Still, I retreat back as far as the bed allows me. That seems to amuse him.

"No need for the suspicious glare. You've done what I told you, I have no reason to deal out punishment to either of you."

"So I haven't bored you?" I ask, refusing to drop my guard.

"Not yet, you haven't."

So watching me get strangled to unconsciousness was the kind of entertainment he spoke of. This man is a monster in more ways than one. I flinch when he steps closer and reaches for me. With a single finger, he pushed my chin up to get a better look at my neck. I hold my breath. He seems irritated and after a few moments, releases me.

"That bastard really doesn't know how hold back. A moment longer and he might've crushed your larynx. It'll fade eventually," he says.

I bring a hand to my throat to feel it out. The slightest pressure hurts. Mokuba grabs a small, round-shaped mirror from the nightstand and hands it to me. The moment I see the nearly perfect handprint-shaped bruise, my hand starts shaking and I feel nauseous. Even swallowing hurts. I know for certain now. He really would've killed me.

The captain snaps me out of my daze when he takes the mirror away. For once, he's not looking at me with that smug smile. The soul piercing glare he gives me is focused and feels like it's taking everything in. A shiver of discomfort shoots through me when he sits on the edge of the bed.

"Your resourcefulness impresses me," he states in admiration. "It seems that the Shayee in you hasn't completely faded."

"W-What do you mean?"

"However, entertaining as it was to see you duel from the outside, I must admit that you disappoint me. You fight like a navy cadet in training."

I frown. Of course I would fight like that. That's how I've been trained. I don't understand what he's getting at.

"I don't understand."

"Though I did want to see how you handle yourself against average swordsmen, the purpose of letting you fight Bakura had two objectives. The first was to teach you your first lesson."

Lessons? The quartermaster has mentioned something like that while he was beating me to a bloody pulp. Most of it has already left my mind but there is one I can't forget.

"Never discard death…" I mutter unintentionally.

"It's said that pain is the best of teachers. Though I disagree with the saying, it seems to have worked."

"Why did you want me to learn that?"

"As you've probably noticed, dueling is a primal form of bargaining for us, gentleman of fortune. And rules are meant to be broken. You knew that, you're no fool."

It is just as I'd initially thought; the real point is to find loopholes around the rules set.

"However," continues Atem, "under the pretense that this was only training, you disregarded death. Something no pirate would ever do, no matter how innocent a confrontation seems."

It hits me. "You're teaching me about dueling because you're expecting me to fight again."

His smug smile returns. "I knew you were sharp. That brings me to my second reason; I wanted to see how much of your heritage was left in you."

The more he talks, the more confused I am. He's not making any sense. What does me being a Shayee and fighting have to do with anything? I open my mouth to ask, but the look in his eye stops me. He's still smiling but an air of sadness and disappointment lingers in his ruby irises. He brings a hand to my face again. Only this time, he passes it on my cheek before gripping the hair on the back of my head.

"Just thinking about how your guardian tried to make you one of them is infuriating. Tell me, how unbearable was it? To hear the call and not being able to respond to it? No matter how much you regret it now, you must've been delighted when you stepped on that merchant ship."

My heart throbs painfully at the question. How does he know about this? The only one I ever told was Seto and I'm fairly certain he thought of it as a metaphor. This man, this monster… I can tell he knows exactly what it is. Somehow, it's alarming.

"How do you know about the call?" I ask.

The strange look in his eyes vanishes and his full on smug face takes over. "I know a lot of things. Perhaps I've met others before you. Or perhaps, I was there, twelve years ago."

I can tell it's a taunt. Which means it's most likely a lie as well. But still, my insides tighten in fear. It's a common rumor that pirates were responsible for the Shayee massacre. I'm sure he knows this too. The face I make makes him chuckle.

"I jest," he says, taking his hand back. "Though I am a pirate, I had nothing to do with your people's unfortunate disappearance. Stories and legends travel fast on the sea. See enough places and you'll hear just about anything."

"What do you want from me?"

"You are a living legend, love. But from what I've seen, you've been made to bury your true nature for all these years deep within and replace it with a mask of falsehood and lies. That is what is disappointing." He threw a reproachful glare at Mokuba. "You're guardians are the ones to blame for this."

Moki and I exchange blank expressions. What he's saying makes sense. I've always felt that something was off being raised like I was. It never truly felt like home. The sea always called out to me. Every chance I got, I went out to swim, the climb trees, to listen to the waves…And many times, I had fight the urge to just swim away as far as I could to find my homeland, my place of birth. Seto tried to make me forget and make me a part of his world. Yet I always knew I was never going to be.

"As for what I want from you, that's for me to know. All you have to do is as you're told," He stand back up and looks at the both of us. "For now, let me be clear about your positions on my ship. The rule I set still applies; if one of you does step out of line, the punishment will go to the other. And don't expect me to be lenient because you're a child and a woman."

"So you're going to use me for more of your 'entertainment' until you're satisfied?"

He laughs again. "You will be entertaining me but not that way, love. I have many more things in mind for you and I do plan for all of them to be a real treat. For me at least."

My face burns as the blood rushes through it. What is lurking in that sadistic devil's head? It can't be anything good. He's already butchered my arm and let the quartermaster nearly kill me. His reasoning for it makes no sense, I don't even understand why he bothered explaining it to me. Actually, it did make sense. Incomprehension is a strong factor of fear, which he's been trying to set into us since the beginning.

"Your face is priceless, love. I'd pay gold to see what kind of thoughts lurk in there."

If they weren't before, they definitely are now. Dear lord, it's so hot I feel like the flesh is going to melt off my face. Unable to stand his gaze any longer, I look down.

"Is that all you wanted to tell us?"

A silence follows and I knew I should've been quiet. I might as well have told him to get lost. Pushing my luck like this is the worst possible thing I could've done.

"Seems that tongue of yours needs some discipline. If you don't do it yourself, I'll gladly take care of it for you. Or perhaps I should cut off the boy's tongue instead."

Purely impulsively, I extend my good arm in front of Moki as I shout. "No! I-I'm sorry."

His smile remains, but again his eyes seem to change. For a moment, she could've sworn they'd softened. "I suppose having at least that spark in your eyes is something. We shall awaken your true self yet."

His words still meant nothing to me but I don't get the time to reflect on them.

"You two are to stay here until told otherwise. I'll have food brought to you. I suggest you rest up before this evening. You're going to need it."

"What's happening this evening?"

"I'll introduce you to my collection. Mostly, introduce you to them."

With that he turned around and made his way back to the exit. But he paused after opening the door and turned back one more time.

"One more thing; though most of my crew isn't stupid enough to try anything, do avoid finding yourself alone with Bakura."

He doesn't elaborate on the warning but judging from the look in his eyes, it was genuine. Without adding anything, he leaves and I wait to hear the lock click from the other side to turn back to Mokuba. He lets out a breath he's been holding in since I woke up. He looked at me like he is on the verge of tears but none show. Still, it breaks my heart to see him so terrified. Pushing myself to a sitting position on the edge, I wrap my arms around him.

"Are you alright?"

I'm aware how strange this question is in our situation. But I don't know what else I can say. He hummed affirmatively in response. I let him go and he sits next to me.

"Did they hurt you?"

He shakes his head. "Some of them made fun of me, but Jaden told them off."

"What did they make you do?"

"Just like he said," explains the twelve year old. "I bandaged some of their wounds and made some herbal infusion for others who were sick. A lot of them have fevers and small infections, but they won't rest up. Then they brought you here."

I look at his new attire. It definitely changes from his fancy school uniform. He really looks like an average matey. Black trousers, old white shirt, hair attached in a rough ponytail… At least they'd allowed him to keep his shoes.

"Jaden showed me their medical supplies. You wouldn't believe the stuff they have here," he says. "Turquoise seaweeds, laconit, heveldice, dry kedge leaves, jayah-saa… I've never seen so much rare herbs anywhere, not even at Doctor Donen's pharmacy."

Rare herbs? These pirates are definitely targeting specific ships. Jayah-saa can only be found in Asia, so either they made the trip or they knew who to attack to get their hands on it. According to Seto, pirates usually operate in pre-selected territories. And if they're using the herbs for themselves, then they know how precious these things are. Too educated. That's what they are. At least, Atem is.

"Yugi," he says after a long moment of silence. "What do we do now?"

I don't know. No matter what we try, if we get caught, we might just die. The safest thing to do is really to behave, do what we're told and wait for Seto. I clench my fists in frustration. We can't just sit here doing nothing like caged animals. I glance at the door and lower my voice to make sure no one can hear us.

"Moki, they're probably going to keep us separated as much as they can. If you get an opportunity to run, take it."

"What? But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. He clearly wants to keep me alive for some reason. They won't kill me."

"They can still hurt you."

"If you get back to Seto, it's a cheap price."

He stares at me, hesitant. Quickly enough though, he frowns at me and stands up to look down at me.

"No. I'm not leaving you alone."

"Moki," I snap, standing, "this isn't something to joke about. I'm serious. If at least one of us can make it out…"

"You're the Kaiba family's ward," he interrupts pointing a finger in my face. "That means when Seto's not here, you're my responsibility. I'm not leaving you and that's that."

Even as he says that, voice filled with determination, I can see his legs shaking. Just like me. A strange exhaustion comes over me and anguish grips my insides. He's a sharp boy, I've always known this. He understands the situation perfectly. He's almost as tall as me now. Old memories of the two of us playing in the mansion's yard without a care in the world flood my mind. The thought of anything happening to him are unbearable. But he's as stubborn as Seto. It doesn't matter what I tell him. I sit back down and bring my hand to my neck again. It takes all my will to keep the tears behind my eyes from coming out.

"There's something else I have to tell you," he says. "It's about your arm…"

The look of worry on his face makes me frown. "What is it?"

"It was bleeding so I bandaged you properly this time but it was starting to get infected. I cleaned it with salt water and soap but it's really deep. It might not have done the trick. If it gets infected again, you might need to…"

"No," I cut him off, finally understanding.

"But if it gets worse, you'll get sick," he insisted. "I know it'll hurt but burning it will eliminate the risk of…

"I said no!" He jumps at my sudden shout and I immediately regret it. "It won't come to that. If I clean it regularly and thoroughly, it'll heal properly. I just have to be mindful."

For the first time in twelve years, it's as if the scars on my back ache again.

Hmm... I wonder what Seto's doing.

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