Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh
Chapter 3 Pride Comes Before The Fall
Yugi was once again up bright and early. Last night after he had talked to Ryou he had watched back the footage he had managed to film. He did get some nice shots of the wolves playing around but it would have been so much better if he had been able to get a little bit closer. Hopefully today he would be able to do just that.
Yugi took a quick shower before getting dressed double checking he had everything he needed in his backpack. Once Yugi was satisfied he slung his backpack up over his shoulder and headed out of the room and down to the dining area to grab some much needed breakfast. Once Yugi had eaten his fill he headed into the lobby where he saw Mai manning the front desk. Yugi headed over to Mai, figuring she would be a good person to ask about getting a map of Yellowstone.
"Good morning Mai." Yugi greeted as he approached the counter.
Mai smiled brightly back at Yugi, "Good morning...Yugi, is it?" Mai asked hesitantly.
Yugi grinned, "You got it Mai." Yugi confirmed.
"Right, well what's on the agenda for today hun?" Mai asked.
Yugi shrugged, "A bit of sightseeing and maybe some more hiking. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get a map of the park since I don't have my own personal tour guide today." Yugi said.
Mai chuckled as she reached under the counter and pulled out a map of the park that she handed to Yugi, "I forgot, Atemu spoiled you yesterday with the guided hike. That map should be able to help you get around to pretty much any of the major landmarks here in Yellowstone." Mai said.
Yugi gratefully took the map and stowed it in his bag. "Thank you very much Mai. This will be very helpful." Yugi said.
"No problem hun. It's what we're here for after all, to help our guests." Mai replied.
Yugi smiled at Mai once more before he headed out the door and over to his own vehicle. He tossed his backpack into the passenger seat before he pulled out Mai's map to consult. He wanted to get back to the canyon area from Old Faithful Lodge. According to this map the best way to do that was to take 191 over to 20 and then up 14 to the canyon. See, this isn't going to be that difficult. Yugi thought to himself before he stowed his map once more and pulled out of the parking lot heading south on route 191.
It was definitely going to be another gorgeous day here in Yellowstone. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and it looked like there was actually an Eagle flying. As Yugi drove down route 191 he slowed down slightly just so he could enjoy the breathtaking sight of a heard of bison walking along the side of the road, only about fifteen feet from his car.
Once Yugi had made it past the heard of Bison he drove a little ways further before he turned onto route 20 over by the West Thumb Geyser basin. Maybe once I finish filming the wolves I'll still have time to do all the normal tourist type stuff like check out the Geysers. Yugi thought to himself.
Yugi followed route 20 along the edge of Yellowstone lake until he came to a fork in the road and turned onto route 14 heading up towards the canyon. Yugi had to come to a stop only route 14 because there were a few Elk crossing the road holding up traffic. Only in Yellowstone. Yugi mused as he watched the Elk leisurely make their way across the world, without a care in the world.
Once the Elk had finally cleared the road Yugi was able to continue on his way up to the canyon. Yugi could not remember exactly where along the side of the road Atemu had stopped, so Yugi ended up parking in the visitor parking by the canyon itself. He climbed out of his car and slung his backpack back over his shoulder before beginning to walk away from the canyon itself and over towards the trees where Yugi vaguely remembered Atemu leading him the day before. See, this will show Mr. I know everything that I am perfectly capable of tracking down the wolves all on my own. I'm not a child that needs to have his hand held the entire time. Yugi thought to himself as he made his way through the trees.
Yugi walked for what seemed like forever before he finally spotted a group of Gray Wolves up ahead, probably about 250 feet away. Yugi carefully pulled his camera out of his bag and turned it own, resting it comfortably on his shoulder as he continued to slowly approach the Gray Wolves. There were more wolves today then he'd seen on his hike with Atemu yesterday, this time there were twelve.
Yugi continued to slowly approach the wolves, which were now probably less than a hundred feet away from him. Only problem was there was a massive tree blocking Yugi from having the perfect view of the pack. Yugi edged around the tree to the left, leaving his view of the wolves clear.
"Woah." Yugi shouted as he stumbled on the unexpectedly uneven ground to the left of the tree. Yugi lost his footing, actually dropping his camera as the wolves up ahead scattered at his shout. Shit. Yugi thought to himself as his hands missed the tree he'd reached out to in the hopes of steadying himself and he fell backwards, rolling down the slanted incline picking up speed.
Things went from bad to worst when after rolling about six feet the ground literally dropped out from under Yugi and he fell off the edge of a cliff into the canyon.
"Shiiiiit!" Yugi shouted as he plummeted ten feet onto a rocky shelf, his leg snapping sounded like a gun shot as Yugi lay flat on his back on the narrow shelf that had literally saved him from taking a 1200 foot drop to his death.
Problem was, he was injured and left with no way to contact anyone for help. He was too far from the tourist point that he shouts wouldn't be heard by anyone. Maybe landing on this shelf wasn't such a good thing after all? At least falling 1200 feet would have been an instant death, instead of dying of dehydration here on this shelf. Yugi thought to himself as he attempted to move his broken leg. White hot agony was all that he could feel and Yugi completely abandoned his foolhardy attempt to stand.
Yugi just lay there for what seemed like an eternity, the unrelenting heat from the sun beating down on him was making Yugi feel like he was going to pass out.
"Someone! Anyone! Help!" Yugi shouted as loud as he could. He knew it was futile but he had to try.
Up above Yugi, he saw a massive Gray Wolf standing on the top of the cliff starring down at him. Well, that would have been a really cool shot if only I still had my camera. Yugi thought to himself as his vision began to go black and his consciousness fled.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Yugi scrunched up his eyes as his awareness slowly began to return to him. Someone, or something was poking him. "Go away Ryou." Yugi muttered. Only Ryou would do something that annoying and this early in the morning to. God does Ryou not have any sense of common decency. Normal people like to sleep in the morning.
The sound of giggling reached his ears, making Yugi frown. Who the hell would be giggling. It certainly doesn't sound like Ryou. Yugi thought to himself as he tried to think back to the last thing he remembered. He remembered going on a hike in Yellowstone and finding the wolves. Then he remembered falling before passing out on the rock shelf in the canyon. So, that must mean...Yugi thought to himself before he slowly blinked open his eyes. The only explanation would be that he had died on that shelf and he was in some kind of after life, getting poked and giggled at.
Yugi opened his eyes and frowned as he looked around what appeared to be a log cabin of some sort. The room he was in was plain, with nothing adorning the walls. He glanced over to see the source of the poking to see a young boy and girl crouched down by the side of his bed. The young boy reached out his hand, clearly intending to poke him again making the girl giggle. The boy was had short dark hair which looked like it had some subtle red highlights accently his tanned skin and narrow violet-grey eyes. The little girl had long straight black hair which extended down past her shoulders, her eyes were a bit rounder than, presumably, her brother's were and were a brilliant rose red.
"W-where am I? Who are you? What happened?" Yugi asked, his voice coming out slighty horse and his throat was dry. Shifting his leg caused white hot pain to once more shoot through his body making him groan.
"Natosi! Komorkis! I told you to leave our guest alone." A voice shouted from outside the room. Yugi frowned, that voice sounded vaguely familiar to him. But where had he heard it before.
"Awww, but daddy we wanted to wake him up." The little boy replied.
"Natosi, I told you no. Now get out here. You too Komorkis." The voice shouted once more.
Natosi pouted before he slowly got to his feet. Komorkis smiled at Yugi once more before she too got up and left the room. If Yugi had to guess he would say the children were four, maybe five years old. Where the hell am I? Yugi thought to himself as he tried to shift slightly and find a comfortable position to lie in.
Yugi heard footsteps walking into the room and glanced up just in time to see Atemu walk into the room. Yugi was both confused and elated as he locked gazes with Atemu's almost emotionless face as he leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his muscular chest. "Apparently you were not intelligent enough to follow my advice and not go wandering the woods on your own. I believe I told you that tomorrow a friend of mine would have been able to take you on another hike." Atemu said sharply, his tone colored with clear disapproval. Yugi bowed his head slightly in shame as Atemu spoke. It almost felt like his grandfather when he had found out he and Ryou had skipped school to play Monster World at Ryou's house instead.
"I'm sorry." Yugi mumbled.
Atemu snorted, "You don't sound particularly sorry to me. If anything what you are sorry for is that you got into trouble. Your sorry because I am scolding you like a child." Atemu snapped.
Yugi clenched his fists at his side before he glanced back up to lock gazes with Atemu, "I'm not a child Atemu! I am almost 22 years old and yes I will admit I made a poor decision but I will not sit here and let you scold me like a disobedient ten year old!" Yugi snapped back.
Atemu rolled his eyes as he pushed off the door frame, "If you are no happy listening to me berate you for your poor decision. A decision that very well could have cost you your life then by all means feel free to get up and walk out of my house. And if you don't want me to treat you like a child then it would be in your best interest to stop acting like one." Atemu said.
Yugi opened his mouth to argue with Atemu further but could not find the words to justify his actions to the park ranger. Perhaps I should just change the subject. That always used to sort of work with my grandfather. "What happened?" Yugi asked.
Atemu rose a brow at the abrupt change of subject but did not comment on it. "You tell me. All I can tell you is what I've managed to piece together, which isn't much, is you weren't aware of where you were in relation to the edge of the canyon and you fell off the edge. Whatever divinity you serve must have been watching out for you because you landed on a narrow shelf on the side of the canyon instead of plummeting to you death." Atemu said.
Yugi shook his head, "No, I know that part. I meant afterwards. The last thing I really remember is passing out on that shelf expecting to die and then waking up here. Perhaps you could fill in the gaps in my memory. How did I get out of the canyon? How did I get here? Did anyone grab my camera?" Yugi asked.
"You got out of the canyon because myself and several other park rangers went down and got you. Something that I assure you was neither easy nor fun. As for how you got here Ranger Wheeler and myself drove you here because my cabin was closer than any of the ranger stations would be. As for your camera, no one grabbed it to my knowledge. We had far more pressing matters to be worrying about, like saving your life, than looking for your camera." Atemu said.
Yugi frowned, "Thank you for saving me. Really. Just, I guess I'm kind of confused. How did you know I was even in trouble? Let alone where to go look for me?" Yugi asked. His mind briefly drifted back to the wolf starring at him from the edge of the canyon before he completely dismissed the idea. That, just wasn't possible.
Atemu shrugged, "Mai called me concerned because you hadn't come back to the lodge. She mentioned that you were planning on going hiking to find the wolves again which meant I knew where to start looking for you at least." Atemu replied, and for the first time in this conversation Atemu looked away from Yugi as he spoke.
"Mai called you?" Yugi repeated as his frown deepened. That, was very sweet of her if it was true but left Yugi with more questions than answers. Mai manned the desk at a massive lodge which also acted as a tourist attraction. People were constantly coming in and out and it would have been very easy for Mai to have missed seeing him come in, even with his wild hair. Plus, there was also always the chance that Mai's shift would have ended before Yugi would have even been back to the Lodge. Would it have even made sense for her to call Atemu that early? Yellowstone was huge and Yugi could have been out sightseeing or in the middle of filming the wolves and just lost track of time.
Atemu nodded before he turned and started to head out of the room, "You should get some rest. I'll come in and get you when dinner is ready." Atemu called back out over his shoulder.
Yugi frowned, "Wait! Atemu, come back I still have more questions." Yugi called out. But Atemu ignored him and left Yugi alone once more.
Yugi ended up drifting back off to a fitful sleep more from boredom than anything else. He really wanted Atemu to come back and tell him what was going on. He was still so confused.
Yugi woke up to see the sun was beginning to set outside the small window in his room. It was a very pretty sunset, filled with bright golden yellows, fiery oranges and reds as well as deep purples. For some reason the beautiful sunset seemed to be even more striking to Yugi this time, since earlier today or was it yesterday? I don't even know what day it is. Yugi very well could have died. Died and never been able to see another sunset.
There was a light knock on the door and Yugi turned his attention away from the window and onto who was expecting to be Atemu. Yugi frowned when the person standing in the doorway was a complete stranger to him. It was a man about Atemu's height, which sadly meant he was still taller than Yugi by at least a few inches. He had spiky tri-colored hair not unlike Yugi and Atemu's own, although his was tipped with violet instead of crismon like Atemu's. He also had an angular face, although the features were slightly less sharp than Atemu's. His tan also wasn't nearly as dark and there was something...really effeminate about him that Yugi could not put his finger on.
He smiled at Yugi and held up the bowl slightly, "Atemu decided to take the kids out for a walk to burn off some of their energy before bed tonight. Which left me to bring you your dinner. I hope that is alright." The man said.
Yugi nodded, "That's fine. Thank you. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know your name." Yugi said.
The man smiled once more, "For some reason that does not surprise me. My name is Yami. Yami Iiniiwa, Atemu's husband."
"Oh." Yugi said as his mind seemed to race. Atemu's husband! Since when does he have a husband? And, if he is to be believed than those kids...those are actually Atemu's biological children and not just ones he took in?
Yami chuckled as he walked further into the room carrying the bowl of stew which he then set on the end table beside Yugi's bed. "I hope you like Venison stew because that's what I made for dinner tonight." Yami said.
"And I'm sure it tastes delicious." Yugi replied somewhat awkwardly. To be perfectly honest Yugi had no idea what venison even was. And quite frankly he was almost afraid to ask. In the background Yugi was able to hear what sounded like a door opened followed by the musical sound of children laughing as they ran into the house.
"Dinner smells delicious mom." Natosi called out.
Yami smiled as he shook his head fondly, "Sorry to leave you alone again but I need to go and feed my little ravenous monsters their dinner before they resort to eating the table cloth." Yami said.
"Mom are you coming? We're starving." Komorkis called out.
"Yes, I'm coming my little sun and moon. Please just be patient. I wanted to make sure our guest had his dinner first." Yami called out as he finally exited the room leaving Yugi once again on his own.
Yugi picked up his bowl of stew and began to moodily stir his food around with his spoon as his mind contemplated his terrible predicament. He was currently lying in Ranger Iiniiwa's cabin with a broken leg. Not to mention his camera was gone giving him no chance at all to finish filming his nature documentary for his senior seminar. There goes any chance of graduating at the end of the semester. Without my final film I won't get credit for my senior seminar. Yugi moodily thought to himself.
This was without question the absolute lowest point of Yugi's entire life. In the background he heard the door open once more, signaling Atemu's return to the cabin.
"Welcome back dear. Dinner is ready." Yami greeted Atemu as the two kids chattered away. Yugi scowled as he mentally pictured Yami giving Atemu a kiss in greeting as he turned home to his perfect family and his seemingly perfect life.
And what did Yugi have? Nothing. Yugi had absolutely nothing. His parents were long gone. His father ran out on his mother when Yugi had still been a child leaving him and his mother to move back in with his grandfather. Apparently adventure was way more important than being saddled with a family. Yugi and his mother only would have held him back. Or at least, that is the way Yugi came to understand why his father left.
His mother, well she didn't handle having to live with her father nearly as well as she had hoped she would. After having spent almost eight years out on her own moving back in with her father and having to listen to all of his rules and do things his way she understandably snapped about a year later. To deal with her frustration she had turned to drinking. Drinking and then one night she made the drunken decision that Yugi needed milk to go with his breakfast in the morning, so she grabbed her keys and drove down to the corner market for a jug of milk. She never made it back, her car slammed into a light post, killing her instantly.
Which left just him and his grandfather. Don't get him wrong Grandpa Motou loved Yugi dearly. Yugi knew that, there was no doubt. The problem came with the way his elderly grandfather chose to display that emotion. With rules, rules and more rules. And his seemingly never ending disapproval of the choices Yugi made in life. Most recent of which was his choice in career and his plan to achieve his own dreams. No matter how solid Yugi's plan was it was never good enough for Solomon Motou, the elder always had a critic, always an opinion about how Yugi should instead be looking for a real job.
And to make matters worse laying here in this bed moodily stirring his cooling bowl of mystery meat stew while listening to the happy family out in the dining room eating dinner together Yugi couldn't help but think maybe his grandfather might have had a point after all. Maybe he had made a bad decision wanting to become a documentarian. Maybe deciding to come out to Yellowstone to film a nature documentary was a bad idea. Maybe he wasn't cut out to be a documentarian.
Maybe...Yugi thought to himself as he swiped his hand across his eyes to wipe away the pathetic tears that had gathered there. Maybe it would have been for the best if I had died on that shelf. Or missed the shelf all together. Maybe it would be better for everyone if I had died today. Then maybe I wouldn't have to listen to my grandfather say 'I told you so'.
Yugi moodily set his untouched bowl of stew back on the end table before he turned his attention to once more gazing out the window as the sun finished setting. For some reason this time the sight wasn't anywhere near as beautiful to him. Now, it seemed like the world was just trying to mock him for the failure his life had become.
Yugi had no idea how long he starred out the window, although it was certainly long enough to watch as the sun did finally sink below the horizon and stars began to cover the night sky. He was drawn from his musings with another light knock on the edge of the door which Yugi chose to ignore. He wasn't in the mood to socialize.
"You certainly don't look or sound like you're sleeping. Sleeping people don't usually have their muscles that tense." Atemu said.
"Go away." Yugi muttered. He just wanted to be left alone to his misery. Couldn't Atemu understand that. His life was practically over now.
Atemu snorted, "Pretty arrogant of you to think you can order me around in my own home." Atemu replied.
"Look. All I want is to be left to mope in peace. Are you going to deny me even that right?" Yugi hissed.
"Actually after talking with Yami early he mentioned something that had not really occurred to me. I'm sure you have family that you would want to get in touch with to let know what happened. If you could tell me their number I would be more than happy to call them for you." Atemu suggested.
"Thanks but no thanks." Yugi muttered.
For a moment all was silent before Atemu walked further into the room and picked up Yugi's bowl off the end table. "Was the meal my husband prepared not up to your standards?" Atemu growled, almost like he was daring Yugi to reply.
"I'm sure his mystery meat stew was fine. I just wasn't hungry. Why are you going to lecture me about that too?" Yugi snapped.
Atemu sighed, "You really should eat something. You need the fuel to help your body to recover from your injuries." Atemu said, although his tone was softer than Yugi had expected more like Atemu was just stating a general fact instead of trying to lecture Yugi.
"Yeah, well I guess there is no big rush in recovering. That fall cost me everything." Yugi moodily replied.
This time Yugi could actually hear the frustration in Atemu's sigh although he hadn't yet responded to what Yugi had said.
"Atemu, darling are you coming?" Yami called out and Yugi couldn't help but look away from the window to see Yami leaning casually against the door frame.
Atemu sighed, "I'll be along in a minute dear. I need to try and talk some sense into this idiot." Atemu muttered.
Yami rolled his eyes as he pushed off the door frame and walked further into the room to take the dish from Atemu's hands. "Dear, as sweet and admirable as it is that you want to help this young man, what you have to understand is that he is not your child, nor a member of your family or even one of your coworkers. He is just a stranger that you briefly met. It is not your responsibility to force him to see what you believe to be reason. I'm sure eventually our guest will come to his own understanding. Right now, undoubtedly things are hard for him. From what you told me he had quite a close brush with death. Why don't you let him sleep and perhaps you can speak with him tomorrow once you are done with work for the day. Deal?" Yami said.
Atemu sighed but nodded, "Deal." Atemu replied.
Yami smiled, "Good, now tell our guest good night. I've got both the kids in bed already and I would enjoy having some quality time with you before bed tonight. Maybe, spend some time cuddling up under the stars." Yami suggested.
Atemu smiled before he lightly kissed his husband on the cheek, "I love you. Something you never seem to let me forget. I will be out on the deck to join you in a moment."
Yami smiled, squeezing Atemu's hand briefly before he headed back out of the room leaving Atemu and Yugi on their own once more. Yugi really could have done without seeing the look of happiness that was on Atemu's face as he watched his husband walk out of the room and out of his line of sight. If there was ever a clearer signal that Atemu was off the market Yugi honestly couldn't think of one.
Atemu then turned his attention briefly back onto Yugi, "If that is what you want, then I guess I will leave you to your misery. If you change your mind let either me or Yami know and we will help you get in touch with your family." Atemu said, choosing not to comment further on what Yugi had said.
A tiny almost vindictive part of Yugi thought about having Atemu call his grandfather just so he could deprive Yami of Atemu's time out on the deck. Would keeping Atemu and Yami apart, as futile as that might be, be worth having his grandfather chew him out over the phone? At the moment Yugi honestly wasn't sure if the pro was worth the con.
Atemu then turned to leave. And Yugi spoke without thinking, "Atemu, wait."
Atemu paused for a moment turning back to face Yugi, "Yes?" His tone although not necessarily exasperated wasn't overly pleased that Yugi had called him back.
Yugi sighed, "I just, I've got a lot on my mind right now. But you are right, having a lot of stuff on my mind does not give me the right to be rude to my hosts." Yugi said.
Atemu nodded, "You are forgiven. Just try not to make a habit of it." Atemu replied before he once more turned to head out the door.
"Wait, Atemu I wasn't finished quite yet." Yugi called out once more.
Again, Atemu paused just inside the doorway, as he waited somewhat impatiently for Yugi to say what he wanted to get off his chest. Yugi awkwardly patted the edge of the bed, indicating for Atemu to come sit down. "I was actually kind of hoping that you and I could talk about the stuff on my mind. Maybe talking to you could help me figure some things out before I contact my family." Yugi said.
Atemu turned once more to head out the door, "Perhaps, it would be for the best that you instead sleep on matters. A clouded mind is like a murky lake. Sometimes only the calm of sleep will allow the sediment to settle leaving the water clear once more. If you still wish to discuss matters with me I will make time to talk to you tomorrow evening." Atemu said as he strode out of the room without giving Yugi a chance to respond again.
Yugi groaned in pure frustration as Atemu walked away leaving Yugi all alone once more.