"More? How can there be more?" Yami was starting to feel as though he had grossly neglected his promise to protect Yugi. Yugi caught on quick. "Yami, this all happened…uh, before we even met. There is no way you could have done anything. Besides, what is past cannot be undone. Therefore, you need to stop worrying about it. The present and future are far more important to us in the current conditions."
Seto looked surprised. Yugi looked surprised back. Maybe the crash had affected Seto's brain or something, he kept reacting.
"You realize how much you sounded like me just then, don't you?" Seto said. "You remember, my forget the past stance." Yugi shrugged. "I'm not saying to forget it. I'm just saying to not let it worry you. If I let it get to me, I'd never get anything done. Maybe that's why I'm so good at forgiving people; I can let go far easier than most."
The room was silent for a moment, as if the cave itself had to soak in the information. Mokuba came running into the room, effectively ending the conversation. For now, anyway.
Yami and Seto both insisted on moving under their own steam, and after several fierce glare wars, Eliana let them go. Yugi explained the situation.
"It's day. It's too dangerous to go out, so we stay hidden. This is one of the little shelters we have. Actually, this one is more like our second headquarters. We've got a lot of supplies here." He caught Seto eyeing the 'lot' with disdain. "Hey, it's better than what we started with: zilch." Moving on, he introduced the other occupants of the cave.
"Let me introduce Cole, Eliana's older brother, Dmitri, and Leanna is on guard duty right now, so you'll have to meet her later. The kids are Aden, Lochlann, and his little sister Willow," he said, the latter two children being the one's they had seen earlier getting medical attention. The kids shied away, Aden and Lochlann staying by Yugi's side, and Lochlann pushing Willow behind him protectively.
The children eyed the newcomers with suspicion.
Mokuba ran to Seto, giving him a fierce hug. Seto, decidedly still unbalanced from hitting his head, Yugi had decided, patted Mokuba's affectionately and smiled. This put the kids at ease, and soon they were playing quietly with a few hand carved wooden toys. Yugi sat down in a little niche, apparently his private spot, and finished a little wooden medallion.
Stringing it with leather, he walked over to Willow and gave it to her, fishing a carved, wooden bear out of his pocket for her brother. Both smiled charmingly. Yugi beamed back. Willow hugged him quickly, then ran to the mirror to put it on. Yugi looked like he had won a million bucks.
"They have a chance," he said to himself softly. Lochlann and Aden were comparing the animals Yugi had given them, a bear versus a dog.
Seto was supervising Mokuba, and Yami sat next to Yugi. There was silence between them for a minute, before Yugi broke it saying:
"All three lost their parents in the war. Aden's older brother was captured by soldiers. Probably joined them or dead by now. His younger brother…didn't make it." Silence reigned again. There were so many questions that Yami wanted to ask, and he wasn't sure where to even start.
"Is Kaiba ok? He's acting…strange…" Yami asked. Yugi smirked (wait, WHAT?) and replied softly, "he might be a little…woozy from pain killers…" Yami bit back a shout of laughter. "So he'll be back to normal eventually then, correct?" Yugi nodded. "Yes. Right back to his stoic, sarcastic self."
Yugi knew Yami was brimming over with questions. Yugi was holding his end of the link closed though. Too many emotions were running through him. He had always meant to tell Yami eventually, but he had hoped that it would be on his own time, not forced because a stupid plane crashed. Waiting until everyone else was occupied, he had Yami follow him through the tunnels into what looked like a small store-room. Pushing a plank of wood over the entry, Yugi sat against a crate.
"We can talk now. No one comes back here except me and Eliana, and she's about to go on guard duty. I know you've got questions."