Hi everyone. I hope you're all well. Sorry for the tardiness. Turns out I have major issues with the completion of my thesis cause my mentor got sick and I have to sort out a whole bunch of things by myself. It's taking time and energy so again, sorry. It should get better soon though. In the meantime, grab yerself a glass of Diavolo and bottoms up hearties!

Enjoy (this painfully short chapter!)

"Wait, that hurts. Ow!"

He pulls on my arm so roughly the joint of my shoulder is this close to popping. Even more painful than that, is his vice like grip on my upper arm, putting enough pressure on my bone to snap it. Had it been my right arm, I'd be bleeding out by now. My cries of pain don't phase him one bit as he drags me up the wooden stairs and to the quarterdeck. There are fewer pirates there, including Jack still at the helm and of course we catch all of their attention. Atem pulls me to a corner and stops right in front of the stairs leading to the poop deck. There, he propels me forward and I would've crashed into the staircase had he not been holding me. Another rough yank on my arm forces me to whip around and face him.

"You really have no common sense." He's not shouting but his voice is like the growl of a lion and his eyes are throwing daggers at me. "Do you have a death wish?"

An old memory flashes before my eyes, and I see a young Seto, clenching my shoulders, almost crushing them, and staring at me with similar eyes. It's from one of those many times when I went out, forgot about time and came back at nightfall. I know that air of worry camouflaged as anger all too well. Coming from him, it's unsettling in more ways than one.

"O-Of course not," I stutter while trying to free my arm. "Let g—"

"You have no clue what you've done," he interrupts. "I told you to stay away from him for a reason. Then you go and provoke him like he's your equal? How foolish can you be?"

"Exactly," I say, though still struggling. "I can practically smell his bloodlust from here. So I took his attention away from Mokuba. Ow!"

"To shift it all onto you?" His grip tightens even more. My words only serve to irritate him. You idiot!"

The similarity with Seto is frightening. In that moment, I have trouble seeing him do this only to protect his own interest in me. It looks an awful lot like genuine worry. Why? He's made it clear that I'm valuable to him as a Shayee but to this point? I find it confusing and very worrisome. Adding his gentleness from the night before, it's as if I'm discovering a new person. Very different from the man who kidnapped me.

"What use is there scolding me now?" I say, looking to the side, unable to maintain his burning gaze. "Even if you had warned me before, I knew he was the most dangerous one here. I still would have done this."

"You fool!" He shouts this time, making my heart jump in my chest. "Have you no concern for your own life?"

That reproach makes my mind go blank for a moment. Why is he saying that? Why is the man who hurt me, threatened my family and is holding me hostage talking as if he's truly concerned for me? I don't understand. And it's making me so nervous, I can feel my legs shaking.

"Y-You're the one who said Shayee are familial beings," I retort. "I'm protecting my little brother from your monster. What part of this in uncharacteristic of a Shayee? Isn't that the reason you've brought me here? So that I could get in touch with my heritage? That's what you wanted from me."

He says nothing to that, only the anger on his face accentuates. If glares could kill, I'd be six feet under by now. My nervousness peaks and pushes me to spill everything that's weighting on my mind.

"Besides, I've been feeling like a hunted animal ever since you've brought us here. I've never let my guard down once since."

As the words leave my mouth, something heavy falls in my chest and I feel dizzy. Why do my own words hurt me like this? I feel the tears readying behind my eyes but suppress them.

"I already told you," Atem says, his voice quieter than before. "I've no intention of taking your life."

"I can think of a lot of things worst than death that you could do to me," I say, unable to stop myself. "After all, I'm only here for your own personal amusement. Aren't I?"

The weight in my chest doubles. It's similar to what I feel when I regret saying words uncalled for. He still stares at me but I can't read his eyes anymore. They softened but not in a good way. It's not disappointment. I can't bring myself to believe that my words have gotten to him. Quickly, though his stern expression returns and he pulls me closer, until our foreheads nearly touch and I hold my breath.

"That's exactly right," he whispers. "For that precise reason, you shouldn't push your luck with Bakura or myself. Don't forget who's territory you're on, Yugi."

Swallowing takes more effort than it should when I get the impression that his ruby irises are burning bright while staring into my soul. Simultaneously, something overwhelms me from the inside. I feel my body heat up and the sudden urge to shrink and disappear. Yet I'm paralyzed. Why does he look hurt?

"I won't." I reply, struggling to breath again. "I never have."

Finally, the grip on my arm loosens completely and the pirate straightens up before passing a hand over his face and then in his messy black mane. Almost like this conversation has exhausted him. I rub my aching arm, hoping the red hand print will vanish soon. After a few moments of awkward silence, Atem finally releases a long sigh and shakes his head at me.

"You're quite the handful."

With that, he brings two fingers to his mouth and whistles. It's not as loud as when he calls for Jaden or the men working the sails. In fact, I don't even think Jack who's the closest to us heard it. But mere moments later, Joey trots up to the quarterdeck and makes his way to us. I suppose the wolf man's hearing is far better than human's. The usually cheerful first mate has a grave air about him and when his eyes cross mine, he shakes his head at me.

"How's Bakura?" asks the captain when he reaches us.

"Gone far too quiet," replies Joey. "Keeps starin' at nothin' and smilin'. I had him sent back to the cage and Hunter and Reed are watchin' him. He took the bait, Atem."

The captain kisses his teeth in annoyance. "Fantastic."

"Should we go off course to find somethin' for him?" asks Joey.

"No. We don't have time. Besides, delaying the objective any longer than we already have will step on his last nerve. We'll have to wait to reach Beruga."

"And if he looses it before that? He won't hold long in that state."

"Then I'll take care of him."

I have no idea what they're discussing. They're speaking as if Bakura is sick and needs special treatment. The heavy atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. Suddenly, Atem turns back to me but addresses Joey.

"Don't let her out of your sight."

"Aye, aye."

Atem whips around and heads inside his quarters after having thrown me one last unreadable glare. Joey then takes me to the foremast. We climb the tops and he shows me how to tie up the sails and fix defective knots. It occupies us for a couple of hours during which we barely exchange any words. The view from the tops is spectacular and gives me a much larger perspective of the great sea. But the up-above experience would've been much more enjoyable if it weren't for the quartermaster occupying my thoughts.

"If ya keep spacin' out like that, ya're gonna fall off, ya know?" says Joey after an hour of complete silence on my part.

The question escapes me without any warning. "Why does Bakura hate me so much?"

Joey's eyes roll up, as if he's been expecting my question. Putting away his knife, he looks into the distance, the same sad air from earlier about him.

"He ain't just a smartass who likes to pull on his leash," he explains. "He needs to get his hands dirty regularily. Otherwise he goes mental. When ya challenged him, ya basically shook a piece of bloody fresh meat in front of a starving dog."

Hearing the wolf-man comparing someone to a dog is strange enough. The declaration takes me aback. By my standards, all of them were thieves and killers. I come to an uncomfortable conclusion of what it can mean, coming from one of them.

"You said he needs to. You don't mean… that he's a murderer, do you?"

His eyes answer me before his words. He looks down and hesitates for a moment, as if he's debating wether he should say anything to me. Just like the captain earlier, he sighs. Standing up with perfect balance on the yard, he looks up at the sky as if searching for an old memory.

"He was picked up and raised by mercenaries and trained to kill since the time he could walk." He eyes darken. "They broke him in every single way possible to make him into the perfect weapon with no will. They didn't count on his stubbornness. He's had his own blood spilled so many times, he only feels in control when he spills it back. To give ya a perspective, twenty lashes even with the cat o' nine tails is a scratch to him."

Now that I think about it, someone having their skin lacerated like this over and over again should've screamed to the point of tearing their throat open. Yet, I haven't heard a single scream since he'd been locked up. My insides tighten so hard, I almost gag.

"Why do you even have someone like that on your crew?" I ask.

"Cause he's one of us, Yug," he finally says for the first time showing reproach towards me. "He was hurt so bad he left part of his sanity behind. Besides, if we'd left him where he was, he'd have killed a lot more than he does with us."

"How do you control him?"

"We don't. As long as he gets this fill of blood, he'll stay decent. Ya were an unpredictable disturbance and he's at his limit already."

"What do mercenaries have to do with the Kaiba Company?" I ask, intrigued.

"Ever heard of the Black Dogs of Liverand?"

My memory hits me like a horse kick to the face. Seto used to call his father's personal guard the Black Mongrels. He's gotten rid of them to create the Kaiba's private militia. I can't believe this.

"W-What about them?"

"They were the mercenaries who raised Bakura. They were the previous baron's hired guns."

This is too big to be a coincidence. I knew of their existence but I'd never actually seen them. Everything becomes distance as my own mind takes me away to everything I've learned since coming here. So many executives of the company have wronged people. And my former guardian had a band of mercenaries in his service? I try to remember Gozaburo Kaiba. He's always been kind to me. Provided me with a life most people can only dream of. I do remember him being harsh on Seto. Small details swarm my mind. I remember finding Mokuba hiding in the library of the mansion and crying multiple times. Every I'd ask what was wrong, he'd brush it off as if it was nothing. Did he see things I didn't? I also recall Gozaburo asking me about the Shayee, seeing if my memory was returning. I realize that, I know almost nothing next to the man who raised me. He's always had a difficult relationship with Seto. An overwhelming feeling of guilt swarms my whole body. How can I doubt the person who took me in like this? I'm suddenly brought back to reality when Joey grabs my shoulder, keeping my from slipping off the yard.

"Careful!" he says. "Now's no time to have yar head in the clouds, Yug. We're on the mast sail, yard break year neck fallin'."

"Sorry. I was just… distracted."

I refocus to readjust my balance. What if I'm right? What if Gozaburo did know about his executives doings? But if that was the case, Seto would've noticed. He's too observant not to have. I remember the bitterness of our talks whenever Gozaburo came up. Maybe there's a reason behind the constant anger in his eyes whenever I mentioned his step-father. I shake my head, not wanting to dwell on all of this.

"You didn't answer my question from earlier," I tell Joey, desperate for a change of subject. "Does Bakura target us because he can't go after anyone else on the ship?"

"Na, he's on edge cause of the detour we're taking. Got to admit it annoyed a bunch of us but the cap'n orders are orders. It shouldn't delay us more than a day. Since we're takin' it cause of ya, Bakura thinks ya messed with Atem's mind."

I frown. "Hold on. What do you mean 'because of me? Where are we go—"

A sudden and familiar throbbing my chest shakes me to the core so brusquely I cling to the nearest rope to avoid slipping. I haven't felt this particular throb since I embarked on the Blue Eyes a few days ago. But it's different this time. Before, the call like a bright light I couldn't help but look towards. Now, it feels like something's tugging at me, urging me to come along. It can't mean… I stand up on the yard so brusquely that Joey flinches.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

His voice is as distance as his presence. In fact, nothing matters but that tugging sensation. I look in direction of where it's calling from. All I see is the horizon. No that can't be right. Finding a balance unknown to me until then, I hurry to the nearest rope latter and climb as quick as I can all the way up to the crow's nest. Joey calls out to me from behind but my mind refuses to acknowledge anything other than that feeling. Finally I reach the top and look again. This time, at the same distance as the horizon, I see some land. A small Island and immediately I know. This is what's been calling out to me forever. Upon this realization, my hearts hammers in my chest like never before as the urge becomes stronger and stronger. I need to be there. I need to see. There's something for me there.

With my newly found agility, I climb back down the rope latter, still royally ignoring Joey's calls to me. The first mate ends up following me down to the deck. I tun towards the front of the ship, carried away by that urge. I jump on the edge and come to an abrupt stop. What am I doing? I can't leave. There's Moki. There's Bakura. And I'm a hostage. Despite my rational thoughts, the tug is stronger than ever.

'No! No Yugi you can't. They'll see it as an attempt to escape. Don't leave Moki behind. You can't leave him behind!'

I repeat to myself to keep from jumping into the magnificent crystal waves who also seem to be heading in direction of the island. Even from here, I can smell the white sand and the fruited scents the wind of the island carries. Summoning every ounce of my will, I get down from edge and the throbbing in my chest becomes like a knife. 'Come' it tells me, 'come.'

I end up having to mutter my words out loud to reason with myself and picture each of them creating invisible chains all over me to keep myself from jumping overboard. I reluctantly turn away from the horizon just in time to see Joey catching up to me and the pirates around staring confusedly. But my eyes immediately find Atem, standing next to the foremast and looking at me with a small smile, as if he's been expecting me. He makes his way to me and stops a foot away.

"It's unbearable isn't it?" he asks.

I look down and clench my fists, internally cursing him for asking questions he already knows the answer to. It's as if he's brought me here to torture me. Yet for some reason, I nod.

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask, the tension in my voice betraying the turmoil inside.

I hear soft, amused chuckle. I suppose I should've expected that much. How idiotic of me to think my capture could have a ounce of sympathy for me.

"With the current wind, it'll take at least another six hours for the Millennium to reach the island. Be ready by then. I'll be taking you back. Make me wait too long and be ready for consequences for you and the boy."

I hear the words but it takes a few moments of reanalyzing to understand them. When I do, I look up at him, stunned. He's smiling. A genuine, happy and soft smile.

"I-I beg your pardon?" I say, still wondering if I haven't hallucinated.

He points with his chin in direction of the island. That simple gesture shatters all of the chains I've put on myself, freeing me from my invisible self-imposed weight. I can go. I've been granted permission. Nothing holds me. A wave of extreme relief and joy invades my entire body and without any warning, two tears escape my eyes.

Before I know it, I take the step separating us. Grabbing his left hand with both of mine, I bring it to me and lower my head to press my lips on the back of it. I'm not sure what I'm doing but this gesture feels necessary and natural. But I don't let myself reflect on it. Just as quickly, I let him go and run. Carried by my eagerness, I jump on the edge and dive into the currents that will carry me to Shayee island.

So who wants to learn more about what happened to the Shayee and their culture? Warning : Feels, angst and epic clash incoming!

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