For Play
By:
fruor
Summary: (AU) All Yugi wanted was to gain his freedom. All Atemu wanted was a good entertainment. All chance wanted was for them to meet and a circus was more than willing to help. YYY.
Rating: T
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairings: (main) YYY, (sub) BR, SJ, MM
Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns YGO.
Note: Finally, the plot's here. Plot because I can't make PWPs. I've tried and I'm too worried about the how's and the why's to actually finish one XS That and the annoying smiling face of my perfectionist English prof haunts my thoughts. I can practically see him laughing his ass off XD
IV. A Thousand Wills
Yugi sat upon the soft cushions, his knees locked together as he tried to exercise as much proper posture as he could remember. He toyed with his fingers, clasping them together tightly then stretching his palms in one soft clap before finally settling with folding them neatly above his knees. He chewed softly on his bottom lip and stared at his lap. Then, with hesitant eyes, he looked up.
"Uhm, excuse me…." He started in a meek voice, "…Yo-yo-your majesty…?" he called, this time with more force in his voice.
The king stood silently beside the neatly tied curtains of the terrace doors. His crimson eyes were focused on what he could see from the small part of the circus that rested upon the palace lawns. He sighed then turned back to the beast master, smirking as the young one quickly turned away when their eyes met.
With proud and elegant steps, he walked towards the beast master, "It's Yugi, isn't it?" he asked and the boy nodded, "Those beasts of yours…what kind of spell do you have on them?" he stopped in front of his younger look-alike, his shadow casting an intimidating shade at the other.
Yugi gulped too audibly for his own liking. Slowly, he looked up and met the sharp crimson of his other self's eyes. He remembered quite well their accidental meeting last night and those eyes were much warmer, less frightening than what it was today. Maybe intimidation is part of being a king? , he thought absent-mindedly.
"Yugi?" Atemu called, raising an eyebrow at the sudden freezing of the beast master.
"Uhm, ye-yes."
Atemu frowned. He liked it better when the beast master knew nothing of his position, like last night. The beast master never stuttered in front of him and even had the gall to knock him off his high horse – achieving so without sounding the least bit stubborn…unlike a certain blue-eyed vizier he knew. He had always expected to feel a sort of animosity towards people who do not pay him respects but he found nothing of the sort for his little look alike.
With a sigh, Atemu placed his hands behind his back and said, "You are not arrested, Yugi. I'm not interrogating you. It was just a question." A question that you're required to answer but at least, I'm not pressuring you, am I? , He moved to a nearby armchair and sat down, leaning forward.
Yugi sighed in relief, his shoulders relaxing with his back, "The circus isn't going to be kicked out of the palace then." He placed a hand over his chest and smiled. Feeling braver and calmer, he looked up, letting his amethyst eyes meet the crimson orbs that he suddenly found not so scary anymore.
"Whatever made you think that?" Atemu laughed, falling back on the soft exterior of the backrest. "First you thought I was arrested by my own vizier and now you believe I'm going to send away your circus when it was I who wanted you to be here in the first place." He rested his elbow on the armrest, chin placed upon an open palm, and said, "You're quite an interesting person, beast master."
Yugi felt his face go red and he frowned as much as he could but only succeeded in pouting. "I was worried." He said as though it was normal to be worried about people he had only met once in his life. "And it's not my circus. Pegasus is our ringmaster. He owns it. Not me."
For a moment, Atemu froze and let the hand his chin was resting upon move so that his fingers covered his mouth. This person…was worried about me? How long has it been since someone said that to me? , he stared blankly at those big lilac orbs, subconsciously leaning to the side as he did.
Atemu was a leader and a hero. He was the one who did the saving; he was the one who worried not the other way around. He frowned. Somehow, he felt a bitter bile of words threaten to leave his mouth. I don't need others to worry about me…but…I guess…it feels kind of…nice. , Then he turned his head away, away from those worried velvet eyes.
"Your majesty?" Yugi called. His other self had suddenly became quiet and Yugi wondered if he had said something wrong, something that caused the other to act like this. Shaking his head, he stood up and crouched in front of the king, "Your majesty? Are you okay?"
Saying your majesty all the time…I wonder if people ever get tired of it. It's as if he doesn't have a name at all. , Yugi pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, feeling a slight distaste at his call for the king. "Are you feeling alright?" again, he asked. He hoped that his other self wouldn't mind if he didn't call him "your majesty" once again.
Atemu snapped out of his little and jerked his head towards the beast master, glaring instinctively at the person.
Yugi stumbled back, startled at the sudden intensity in the other's eyes. "S-so-sorry…your majesty." He moved back to the couch and fell quite loudly onto the cushions. "I was just worried…that you suddenly spaced out…your majesty." He added quite hesitantly.
The crimson-eyed king paused, blinked then broke into a soft smile. "You don't need to worry about me, little one. I'm strong enough on my own." He shook his head, denying himself of the pleasant tug on his chest every time the beast master would worry. "So about those beasts of yours? What kind of spell did you put on them? It's unusual for such creatures to remain obedient to one person alone."
Yugi returned the smile, regaining his previous confidence. "Oh, there's no spell, sir." He flapped a hand, shaking his head in denial, "The animals have always listened to what I say…just as long as I listen to them." He nodded enthusiastically, forgetting, in that second, that he was in presence of the king. "And I'm not the only one they follow. Pegasus also has control over them. After all, he's the one who captured them."
Atemu tilted his head to the side. He remembered the ringmaster well and the annoying whining voice that kept ringing in his ears but he never seemed the type to be able to control such creatures. Then again, Yugi didn't look it either. "Your ringmaster captured your beasts?" he asked for confirmation.
The beast master nodded, "Yes, the beasts have always been mesmerized by him. He's the one who casts a spell on them, I think." He turned his head down, pushing his lips onto his loosely clenched fist, "He always seems to be able to tell what's on our minds – I think he does the same with the animals."
"Reading your minds…?" The king repeated. It sounded vaguely familiar to him. He knew of one object that could grant such powers but it was lost during the war. Maybe there was some other way to gain such abilities, like how this beast master had a natural charm for the animals.
Again, Yugi nodded, "I'm not sure how he does it. I think it has something to do with his other eye, the one hidden beneath his hair." He raised a finger and pointed to his eye. "I've only seen it once though, just barely."
Atemu leaned forward, "Can you describe it?"
Yugi blinked, wondering why the king had suddenly become interested about their ringmaster. "Yes." He said in a confident tone, "It was a golden—"
The loud crash of brass and wood onto stone interrupted the two. Crimson and amethyst orbs turned to the doors, meeting cold steel blue.
- - -
Seto Kaiba strode through the corridors, loud footsteps resonating through the wide halls of the palace. Every servant quickly ducked out of the way, not wanting to meet the intense glare the vizier had in his eyes. If the vizier was walking around in such a bad temper, it could only mean one thing: their king have done something out of the line once again.
Seto couldn't believe it. His cousin had once again achieved to slink into his nerves. A part of him had hoped that the presence of the circus would at least calm his cousin from causing him mental pain but instead, the circus seemed to bring out the worst out of the king.
And now, after nearly being killed by a couple of mutated mutts, the king had the gall to bring the beast master to his room when there were a million places in the palace he could've went to. Seto couldn't understand his cousin at all…not that he tried to in the first place.
"How could somebody like him be the ruler of a country?" Seto murmured to himself. Just one more turn and he could finally view the golden-lined crimson doors of his cousin's bedroom. But then heavens seemed to frown upon him today.
He felt his foot get caught upon something solid yet soft and the next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the ground, tangled with his own robes. Quickly regaining his posture, he stood up and smoothened his robes then glared at the cause of his fall, "What kind of idiot—"
"Hey! That hurt! Watch where you're going!" There, lying stomach first on the carpeted halls of the palace was a blonde young man, peeking at the guards positioned in front of the king's doors from behind the corner. His dirty tunic contrasted greatly against the crimson carpets that looked and smelled brand new.
Seto hissed loudly. He was not in the mood for arguments with low class beings that probably had brains smaller than dogs'. He glared at the mop of blonde hair on the ground, blue eyes meeting with furious chocolate orbs. "Who put this dog on the floor? We don't need talking rags." He looked around for a servant to yell at but found nobody around.
"Oh shut up!" the blonde ordered, dragging the other's robes to the side, "I'm trying to be quiet here, you know! And I'm not a doormat, stupid!" his voice wheezed into a loud whisper. He huddled closer to the wall one of the guards glanced his way.
Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he kicked the blonde roughly on the sides, "This is no place of ruffians like you. The guards should take care of you." He walked forward, intending on calling the attention of the guards but the blonde grabbed his ankle and pulled his back quite forcefully.
"Hey, hey! I'm invited here!" protested the young blonde, "I'm from the circus, you dummy. And I'm crouched down because Yug doesn't look down when he looks around."
"You were not part of the circus that came here." Seto retorted, wondering vaguely why he was arguing with a mutt such as this. "Though a dog like you would fit well within such an absurd group."
The blonde sat up, glaring with all his might at the vizier, "Stop calling me a dog! I have a name you know! It's Jounouchi Katsuya and you better remember that!" he pointed a furious finger at the brunette. He crossed his arms in defiance, puffing his cheeks slightly in anger, "And I am part of the circus! I'm one of the jesters, okay?" he puffed his chest proudly.
Seto raised an eyebrow in question. He did remember seeing one of those clowns sport blonde hair like this one had but with the mask and the painted face, it was hard to tell whether the young man was telling the truth or not. "What? You're one of those clowns? Enjoyed throwing pies at each other's faces?" he sneered.
Jou gasped loudly, eyes burning so furious that they looked like charcoals. He stood up sharply and growled at the other, "I AM NOT A CLOWN!" he shouted, calling the attention of the guards at the door. "It's jester. I do not throw pies!"
"Jesters and clowns are the same." Seto spat back, shaking his head in annoyance. Why was he letting himself be held back by a pathetic mutt like this one?
"Excuse me, vizier? Is there a problem here?" The jingle of armor caught the attention of the two as one of the guards jogged towards them, his spear held securely at one hand.
Seto shook his head and pushed past the guard, "There's no problem here at all. I am here to see his majesty." With one last glance at the furious face of the blonde, he strode towards the crimson doors of the king's chambers. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to soothe that upcoming headache.
"Hey! Come back here! I ain't finished talking with you yet!"
A clang of metal and crash later and Jou was tagging behind the brunette, shouting insults and complaints as he did.
Seto twitched. Why…is this dog…FOLLOWING me! , he refused to turn around and yet his anger was evident with his stomping footsteps and steel blue eyes. He slammed the crimson doors open in such a strong force that he wouldn't be surprised to see a crack or so on the walls the doors had hit.
Crimson and amethyst orbs met his furious eyes. He glanced at the beast master before sending his full glare at his cousin, "What are you doing, Atemu?"
The two had at least a couple feet of space between them and from the looks of it, he had just interrupted a conversation…not that it mattered. After all, whatever the beast master would say could not be more important than his own words.
"Yes?" Atemu said in an annoyed voice, "Yugi and I are simply talking until you came and interrupted us."
"In your chambers? When there's a million different places in the palace to go to?"
Atemu shook his head, rolling his eyes. "A million different places but none of them would give me the privacy I wanted." He stood up, throwing his hands in the air, "The only place that anybody would leave me alone is in my room. Where else would I go for a private conversation?"
Seto sighed, massaging his temple with his fingers, "In the first place, your majesty, you are not supposed to talk to the beast master much less bring him into your room." He turned to the beast master who jumped slightly at the sudden attention, "You are dismissed. And you can take that dog out there with you." He jabbed a finger to his back.
Yugi quickly stood up, nodding vigorously at the vizier. He grabbed a growling Jou and dragged him out of the room, flashing a shy and hesitant smile at the king before leaving the room.
Atemu watched until the beast master was gone, returning the smile given to him with a smirk of his own. "You shouldn't have made Yugi go." He crossed his arms, glaring at his cousin, "He was about to tell me something important."
Seto raised a brow in disbelief. "Like what? How to tame rats and cats?"
The crimson-eyed king frowned, "No." he said sharply, "I think he may know where the millennium—" Atemu stopped. He put a hand over his mouth, eyes clouded in deep thought. "No, it's nothing." He shook his head.
The vizier narrowed his eyes towards his cousin. He heard the king's words quite clearly and he knew it had something to do with the millennium items. All of them have been locked somewhere within the palace…except one, that is. The only item they could not seal away was the millennium eye. "The beast master has it?"
"No, I said it was nothing." Atemu answered sharply. He moved past his cousin, "I was just about to pay him for that ticket he gave me." He said quickly, waving a hand to brush away any other notions.
Seto frowned. If it was something about the millennium items, he had the right to know. After all, he was the wielder of the millennium scales. "Atemu." He called, "Where are you going?"
The king stopped and looked at his cousin over his shoulder. "Aren't you the one who always bothers me with my duties? And now that I'm going out to tend to them, you get that tone. Decide yourself, Kaiba." He smirked then left without another word.
Seto sighed. He would let the king leave for now. What was more important was the millennium items. Surely, if the millennium eye was within the beast master's possession, Atemu would take it away – especially if it poses danger.
But then, not many could handle such powerful items. Was the millennium eye…in a stagnant state? Then, it wouldn't be dangerous, would it?
- - -
"Excuse me? Is Yugi there?"
Ryou turned around, stretching his back slightly as he stood up. He blinked a couple of times then smiled brightly at the mop of black hair that peeked from behind the carriage. "Oh, it's Mokuba, am I right?" he wiped his hands on the front of his trousers and jumped from the carriage steps.
Behind the magician, the palace servants were busy setting up the stage and the miniature version of their circus tent. Malik stood in the middle of the mess, happily ordering around the servants what to do and where to put their things. At the far end of the lawns, Pegasus sat upon a chair, drinking what seemed to be tea with Keith.
Mokuba nodded, looking quite pleased to know that he was recognized. "Yeah, that's right. And you're the magician, right?" he asked enthusiastically.
The albino laughed, "Yes, you can call me that. I take care of the abracadabra part of the show." He walked towards the raven-haired boy, "I'm Ryou Bakura." He extended his hand in friendly manner, smiling his ever soft smile.
Chuckling to himself, Mokuba shook the magician's hand. "Nice to meet you then. Is Yugi there?" he turned to look past the carriage, glimpsing the ringmaster and Keith. Ryou seemed a nice enough person but he preferred to talk to someone whom he could meet at eye level. It's bad enough having a brother who's practically the tallest person around.
Ryou shook his head, "Sorry. He's not here. He was summoned by his majesty." He sighed in worry. Jou had sneaked away to follow the beast master – mostly to escape Pegasus but the jester was capable of watching over their friend. For the meantime, at least.
Mokuba tilted his head to a side. "His majesty? Why? Did something happen?"
"Ah…it was an accident. The hellhounds attacked the king when his majesty tried to approach them." Ryou explained, his shoulders dropping at the memory. "But Yugi came in time to stop them from doing any harm…though I think his majesty was offended."
"Mhmm." Mokuba murmured, "That was why brother was so furious a while ago." The incident between the king and the hellhounds was similar to his encounter with the dragon and it was that event that caused his brother to gain the least bit of trust for the beast master. It should do the same with the king, wouldn't it?
"Hey, Ryou." Called a voice from behind the carriage. Out came the knife thrower, throwing his pale blonde head to the direction of the ringmaster. "The ringmaster's calling you."
Ryou jumped slightly. He passed noticeably fearful eyes towards where the ringmaster sat and Pegasus waved at him, smiling eerily. He shivered in distaste. "I'm sorry, Mokuba. I'll get back to you later." He bowed apologetically at the boy before turning to walk as slowly as possible towards the ringmaster.
Malik turned to Mokuba, raising an eyebrow in question. He grinned widely and walked slowly towards the boy, arms tucked behind him. "So…you must be that Mokuba kid, right?" he cocked his head to the side, making his necklace of daggers jingle like bells.
Mokuba gulped. When seen upon the benches, the knife master looked so amazing and cool, throwing his knives with exact precision at his assistant, the red-haired girl. But in person…Mokuba couldn't help but feel a bit scared, especially with the assortment of knives and daggers the other carried around. He found himself taking a hesitant step backwards.
Much to Mokuba's surprise, the knife master laughed. "I was aiming on scaring you but I didn't think it'd work that well." He leaned on the side of the carriage, watching the boy at the corner of his eyes.
"I'm not scared!" Mokuba frowned and glared at the knife thrower, fists clenched tightly at his sides.
Malik raised a brow, casting a doubting look over the dark-haired boy. He carefully ran a hand through all the knives placed around his waist. With a flick of a wrist, he grabbed one of his daggers and let the blade flash over Mokuba's eyes. He grinned when the boy took another step backwards. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. Yugi told us to be nice." He flipped the knife and offered the hilt the boy.
Mokuba glanced from the knife to the smiling face of the knife master then back to the dagger again. He raised his hand and hesitantly brushed his fingers on the smooth wooden hilt of the blade but before he could get a grip on the dagger, it was swiftly returned to where it came from.
"But letting you play with my knives might just be too nice." Malik laughed when the boy glared at him, pouting like the little boy he was. "My name's Malik Ishtar. And you're Mokuba Kaiba. Now we know each other." He shrugged as though the introduction held no importance to him.
Mokuba frowned. The knife master suddenly lost all glory in his eyes but he figured that it wouldn't hurt to talk to the person, especially when his name had piqued his interest. "You know, there's someone who has the same name as yours. Ishtar. She takes care of the archives but she's away right now, somewhere in the west region."
"Oh. That's nice. I'm sure there's another Kaiba out there as well." Malik replied a bit too cold than he intended. As far as names were concerned, he knew he was the only Ishtar left in the world. His clan had been wiped by the previous war and the only person who could've survived had lost all contact with him long in the middle of the chaos.
The boy must've gotten the names wrong. , With a careless shrug, he turned his lilac eyes towards the ringmaster at the far end of the gardens, quickly spotting the distinct snow-colored head of Ryou.
Malik saw the wizard shake his head and awkwardly turn his gaze away. Ryou jumped slightly then turned back to the ringmaster who seemed to be explaining – or threatening – him…though Malik would go for the latter. The knife master frowned. When the ringmaster wanted to converse with one of them, it definitely meant something bad. He had always found Pegasus annoying and he was sure the ringmaster knew that.
Only when Ryou finally made a move to return to them did Malik turned back to Mokuba. "What?" He asked at the wide-eyed expression the boy was giving him. "Not used to being ignored? Well, you're a spoiled brat."
Mokuba grumbled, scowling at the knife master. He jerked his head away from the lilac gaze and crossed his arms. He decided that, circus or not, this man was one of the most irritating persons he knew.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Ryou said, as he halted his jog in front of the two, "Was Malik annoying you or something? He does that to a lot of people." He glared the knife master who whistled in an attempt to show innocence but only succeeding in doing the opposite. He nudged blonde lightly on the sides, shaking his head because of his companion's silliness.
"Hey! I was nice!" Malik denied, "I even let the kid brush his fingers on one of my knives!" he pointed to the knives attached to the red sash around his waist.
Mokuba raised one of his eyebrows and blinked. He wondered what would happen if he did confirm the knife master's mischief. He was about to tell on the blonde but Ryou's eyes suddenly lit up and he turned to meet Mokuba's own, conveying worry and seriousness within the chocolate orbs.
"…Mokuba…tell me…the palace treasury is well guarded, am I right?" Ryou asked, chewing his bottom lip out of habit.
Surprised at the question, Mokuba turned doubting eyes at the magician. Why is he asking about the treasury? , He shook his head. No, Yugi could be trusted. I'm sure they won't try to steal anything. , He pursed his lips, nodding to himself to assure his decision. "Yeah. The treasury is guarded very well. There's around a dozen guards patrolling and watching over the doors."
Ryou sighed in relief. "I guess that would be okay. I just hope Pegasus and Keith don't do anything too bad." He glanced at the ringmaster, remembering instantly his ability to read minds. "But I'm still worried. Is there any way to make them tighten the security?"
Mokuba blinked. He caught a glimpse of the knife thrower and he looked as clueless as he was. "I'm not sure. Maybe I could talk my brother into it." He said carefully, "As long as there's a good enough reason, I suppose. Why are you asking all these questions?"
Malik nodded, "Was it something Pegasus said?" he said the name with spite, turning for a second to glare at their white-haired ringmaster. The ringmaster flashed a smile and Malik returned a scowl, throwing insults at Pegasus through his mind.
Ryou passed a worried look at both Malik and Mokuba then he nodded slowly. "Pegasus wants to steal something from the palace. I just…I just don't know what."
- - -
Atemu smiled proudly at the open tent of the circus like an artist marveling over his latest and greatest masterpiece. He kept his eyes at the bright lights of the circus that shone brightly under the moonless sky as he walked towards the tent, his envoy of guards and viziers tagging behind him.
He noted vaguely the servants huddling to watch what they could view of the circus from the windows that faced the show's side of the lawns. He smirked and debated whether he should punish these fools for neglecting their duties or let Seto take care of them. Either way, they'd be disciplined.
Right in front of the empty lighted stages, smack in the middle, was a red cushioned arm chair painted in gold. He walked past the wooden benches set for his envoy and elegantly sat upon the special chair.
He looked over his shoulders, scanning the small crowd for his cousin. He was sure that Mokuba would be here since it was the kid who had led the circus to the capital but not his brother. Seto would be caught dead watching such a "wild and childish" show, as the vizier himself put it.
But he couldn't see Mokuba anywhere and he busied himself with trying to spot the vertically challenged young boy.
Vertically challenged. , he laughed softly to himself. If Mokuba was called that, then what would he call the beast master? Vertically failed? He laughed a bit louder, causing a few of the viziers to turn to him – all of which he ignored. He turned back to empty stage. I wonder what Yugi would say about me thinking that.
Thinking back to the beast master, he frowned. He still hadn't given those few coins for the ticket and, to him, it made the king seem poor to not be able to pay a measly circus ticket. And, more importantly, he hadn't told the beast master his name yet. After all, he already had thousands of people calling him "your majesty" and he didn't need another one to do so. He wondered, quite in an irritated mood, if the people who called him such could even remember his name.
A loud bang and a crash later and the king was pulled away from his thoughts. All eyes turned to the stage and Atemu saw, from the corner of his eyes, Mokuba come out from the back with the beast master in tow. The dark-haired boy rushed to the benches while Atemu's twin scuttled into the stage, almost falling to the ground in the process.
Atemu broke into a pleased smile. He rested his chin upon his right hand and watched as the beast master walk to the middle of the stage. The impact the beast master had during last time's show had vanished without the mask and the cloak that completed his dark costume.
To the king, and probably the rest of the audience, Yugi looked nothing like a beast tamer but more like a lost child begging not to be noticed by strangers.
"Uhm…uhm…." Yugi darted his eyes left and right, glancing at the king before turning to the rest of the audience, "L-L-Ladies and gentlemen!" he started, awkwardly spreading his hands into the air. He was used to performing in front of a crowd but in all of his performances, he never once had to actually converse with the audience.
Behind the king, a rush of murmurs and a few laughs was heard but the sudden roar of the red-eyed black dragon caused the audience to be more silent than crickets. The dragon leapt into the air, his sleek black armor shining a deep orange against the circus lights, and landed behind the beast tamer, wings curling almost in a protective embrace over his tamer.
Yugi turned to smile softly at the roaring beast. He pressed his forefinger to his lips and hushed, winking playfully at the ferocious dragon. With a snort, the dragon folded his claws neatly in front of him and rested his head upon them, crimson eyes focused on the viziers and the guards.
Atemu watched the exchange with a bit of amusement twinkling in his crimson eyes but still, he passed a dubious look at the beast master. It was not part of Yugi's role do the introductions. That was something reserved for the ringmaster alone. Was not the ringmaster with them? Or had he known about his conversation with the beast tamer already and had already taken precautions?
But his train of thought was broken once again. This time, not by the circus, but by the distinct high-pitched note that rang through the palace. His eyes grew wide in shock and he stood up, spinning his head towards the source of the noise.
A blinding pillar of light erupted from the far end of the palace and Atemu stood in front of his seat face ash white with shock. He recognized the feel of that pillar of light. It's been five years since he had felt that and he found himself hoping that this was just an illusion, a dream…not reality.
Atemu raised a hand and slowly ran his fingers through his hair. He stood there, watching as the golden trails vanished into the heavens. He didn't know for how long but no one, he knew, would have the gall to touch or talk to him with the intense anger pouring out of his eyes. He knew what the glittering golden light meant: the millenium items, the very treasures he had sealed, had disappeared.
He heard someone shout what had happened ("The chambers have been broken! The items have vanished!") and sent all his viziers, guards and even the servants into panic, trampling each other in an attempt to rush to the scene. All the while the circus stood dumbfounded and still behind the chaos.
For five years, nothing and no one had touched nor affected the millennium chamber. For five years, there had been nothing but stagnant process with those golden items. Until the circus came into town. And suddenly, the millennium items had vanished before his eyes in a pillar of light he couldn't even touch.
Atemu, silent through the whole ordeal, let his hand drop limply at his side. Crimson eyes burning with uncontrolled anger, he walked towards the palace, away from the stupefied and frozen circus. "Arrest them." He said in a cold monotone.
His words cut through the panicked crowd and they all turned to their king, almost falling because of their ruler's anger.
"Arrest them." Again, Atemu repeated. He raised one hand and sharply pointed one finger straight at the beast master, not once bothering to look back at the person he had found interesting. With one salute, all of the guards rushed towards the circus, their sheilds and weapons ready for violence.
And Atemu walked away, not hearing any words but his own furious thoughts. Had he looked back he would've seen Yugi looking at him in such a broken gaze before turning his back to the king just as the king turned his back to him.
Now, there's the plot. Just don't expect something grand, like a war or something near it because I ain't making that happen! XS Fighting scenes are hell to write. So yeah, it'll focus on the millennium items – or rather, retrieving them. Atemu got them arrested! Doesn't that just make you want to punch him? Or maybe you could punch me! XDXDXD
Ah, Seto and Jou finally met here. I really like how they met but the one I love the most would be Ryou and Bakura's – you'll see in around a couple of chapters after this :) It would be…well…unexpected. At least, for me.
Oh, and jesters and clowns really are different. Clowns are usually comic relief and silly (though they're usually the main attraction in a circus) but jesters tend to be wittier, giving amusement through their play of words.
Thanks to: Inami, straitjackit, Angel's Charm, frogger666, Kyo lover with little sanity, SailorSaturnthesilencer, tai'sgirl23, annuket, Sora Kohaku, the Birdster, spidy007, littlekittykat and sarahryoulover4ever
annuket: Oh? Really? That's flattering XS I don't think it's that good but thanks anyway. I think I kinda rushed on posting it. I just wanted to call dibs on the circus thing before someone out there thinks of it XDXDXD Honestly though, I've never been to a circus before. Well, at least not the kind of circus I portray in the story.
littlekittykat: Well, this chapter should answer your question, ne? The millennium items are sort of the center of the fic XP
sarahryoulover4ever: Aww…hope your grandma gets better. I'm just glad I could make you feel better :) But I know what you mean by the spelling and all. Seeing something wrongly spelled is kinda distracting because it ruins the story. Or maybe that's just me O.o;