Dreams?

They sat in silence in the waiting room at the hospital. They hadn't been able to find any life in Yugi except his heart and breathing. Bakura had tried to carefully drop some water down his throat, and Yugi had actually coughed it up, but nothing more. And he hadn't reacted at the vinegar under his nose.

The older albino held his brother's trembling form close. The younger was so tense and his eyes were wide open and filled with grief and fear, though he could not see what was in front of him. He was unable to even think of what had, and what could happen. He simply didn't dare to. Because if he did, maybe he would realize something he didn't want to know.

Bakura knew why Ryou cared so much for Yugi. His brother had always been weak, and Bakura had protected him from bullies all his life. But because of that Ryou was left outside with no one to be with. That was when Yugi and Yami moved to town and was placed in the kindergarten with them. Yami had quickly made many friends, but Yugi was shy and not as confident around people. But he was a pure hearted and kind child. He had walked straight up to Ryou the day he started and given him the teddy bear he had brought along. Ryou didn't dare to ask Yugi to play with him, but Yugi did even if no words were shared between them.

The days went past and Ryou still hadn't talked to Yugi though they were playing a lot together. They were left alone since Bakura always was watching over them to make sure his baby brother was okay. Then one day Ryou started talking to Yugi, telling him his name. Yugi had smiled and hugged him, telling him Ryou was his best friend. Since that day Ryou hadn't talked about anything else than Yugi when he came home. Their parents had been laughing at him for being so hyper about Yugi, and at the same time happy to see how Ryou looked when his smiles was true. That was why Bakura had played with the younger Atemu when his brother was sick. For the sake of his brother. But he hadn't liked it when his baby brother mistook Yami for Yugi a few times. That was just one reason he didn't like the older Atemu. But it was mostly because of his arrogance.

The corner of Bakura's mouth went up briefly at the thought of Ryou still having that teddy in his bed. The younger couldn't sleep without it.

So what would happen if Yugi wasn't to wake up. Ryou would be in despair and misery for years. Bakura just knew that. Yugi meant so much to him. Without the shorter friend Ryou would lose a part of his heart.

Yami was pacing back and forth slowly, biting his nails and praying. He had never seen his brother unconscious, and was out of his mind with fear for the younger to leave him. Of cause he had friends that could comfort and encourage him, but that wouldn't give his brother back. Without Yugi he would be alone. Friends or not, Yugi was a part of him. He couldn't even imagine the little one's body lifeless. He had seen him sleeping deeply, now unconscious… but dead. The thought just seemed so… impossible.

'I know you won't be around forever. But please don't do this to me,' Yami prayed with his entire being. 'You can't pass away before me. You are too young. You have your whole life lying in front of you. You can't just leave it lying there like a forgotten path. Please Yugi, I beg you. Don't leave me.'

Seto didn't know what to think. He didn't even know why he had come with to the hospital. He hated hospitals. His sister had died at one just three years old. But now he was here, once again having that black feeling of emptiness filling his heart. But why was beyond his understanding. For how long had he known the younger Atemu? Two days? He had come in on his life within two days! The thought of him befriending anyone so fast seemed to him impossible. Yet, he was scared out of his mind. He didn't want Yugi do pass away as little as the others did. Still it creped him out what for.

She sat in her new room and watched the color of the sky shift swiftly. From the innocent baby blue to red, orange, pink and gold, to the ink blue color of night. She had seen it hundreds of times, but tonight is was prettier than ever. She didn't notice the presence of another in the room.

"The sunset is truly pretty tonight," the princess said softly, startling her out of her shoes. "I did not mean to scare you Kyoko," Yuniko said tenderly with the smile of someone whose heart held nothing but love.

She was sure the princess could hear her wildly beating heart. Heat rose to her face and she blushed heavily, not daring to replay.

"You should not fear me Kyoko. There is no reason. But there is many things you wish to ask me. I can see it in your eyes. So ask, ask whatever you wish. I can answer them all."

She looked up into bright sapphire blue eyes, right now they also reflected the red light of the sunset which turned them almost into amethyst. She quickly looked down at the edge of the princess's dress, feeling unworthy to even look at such a beauty, such purity.

"I… Your highness, can you please tell me why… you offered me and my sister own rooms on your… your highness's level?"

"Father is furious about it, but the day he can say no to me is yet to come. Your mother, her name is Hannah, isn't it?"

"Yes… your highness."

"Please call me by my name. When we are alone like this there is no need for formality."

"Yes… my princess."

She couldn't help it. The word that was the princess's name just wouldn't leave her throat.

"I guess you need time to adjust to this new order of life. But to answer your question, it was because you and I share something, something that I lost at young age and you just recently."

"My princess, I don't understand. I…I am…"

She fell down from the chair to her knees in front of the princess. Tears of confusion and misunderstanding fell from her eyes. She couldn't hold them back anymore. She didn't know what was going on, and she hated it more than anything. The princess, she was too nice and her beauty… she herself had always been considered as the whorehouse's highest beauty. But she felt so dirty, black with mud and sin, beside the pure princess.

"Princess, I am a child of a whore. I am lower than dirt. I should never even draw your eyes upon me. I do not deserve it. Princess, I am so dirty, so ugly. Looking at me will hurt your eyes."

What happened next made her stiff like a statue. The princess bent down and hugged her tightly to her chest. She could hear the princess's heart's calm beating through the fabric of her white dress.

"You claim yourself to be dirty because you are a child of a whore. But if so, I am just as dirty as you. Because what we share, what we have both lost, is our mother. Your mother is mine. That is why I ordered you and Ryouko to live at my level. You would be princesses like me, but I can not do that to you. It is far too much responsibility that should rest on my shoulders alone. So please do not consider yourself as dirty anymore, because you are not."

Seto blinked as the image of the memory flashed through his mind within a heartbeat. The princess, she was a splitting image of Yugi, with blue eyes as deep as heaven itself. Her warm body, the feeling of being dirty and unworthy, the long saved tears. The princess was a reason to live. To always be there and protect her. But what it had to do with Seto he wasn't sure of.

Malik was on the edge of panic, though he hid it better than anything. His insides were jumping around like crazy rabbits and he was so stiff he couldn't move. He felt it like he was loosing himself into a void of something he didn't want to know. He realized, as sudden as a flash strikes, that he cared more for the young Atemu than he believed he could.

'Yugi accepted me and was my friend from the very beginning. He didn't judge me for being an outsider. I don't want that to end just like that. Please Yugi, you can't just come and give me hope just to take it back like this.'

Malik was Egyptian from the beginning. He had moved to Japan with his family at the age of three to flee from the Egyptian police for reasons unknown to him. Here he had quickly picked up the Japanese, though he still talked his native tongue at home. But he had been bullied all his life. His sister didn't care about him, and he couldn't help but envy Yugi and Ryou for having such protective and loving brothers. His father worked at an international corporation and had his office in Paris. He only came home once a year to check if everything was fine. His mother had a small company on her own and traveled throughout Japan, Russia and China to sell her products. And after being alone for his whole life and to suddenly be accepted in a group of friends… it was like a dream.

'Yugi, you didn't come close to me out of sympathy, did you? You shone through my walls of darkness. Please, please don't leave it like that.'

Dr. Lou, who had taken care of Yugi, came into the room. He had dealt with this kind of situation before, felt the heavy aura of anxiousness in the air. But he had never felt anything like the atmosphere that currently occupied the waiting room. He could deal with everything from mischief, grief and sorrow to relief and all it meant. But what he felt in the waiting room and saw in the youths' eyes… it was fear and a close to inhuman hopelessness.

"How is he?" the one standing in the middle, who the doc guessed from his features was the little one's brother, whispered with his eyes wide open and his voice cracked.

"You can come with me and take a look for yourself," Doctor Lou said quietly, wondering just how important the kid was to these people.

Yuniko woke up slowly. It was still early, but she suddenly wasn't tired. She had dreamt she was somewhere else.

Looking over at her mother's bed she found it empty. It was strange for the queen to leave the chamber before the little girl had awoken.

Realization hit in like a flash when she noticed herself in a mirror. She wasn't supposed to look like that. She was supposed to be a boy, a sixteen year old boy. But she wasn't, she was a six year young girl.

She shook her head as the thoughts made their way through her young mind. Her name was Yuniko, princess Yuniko. But he was named Yugi Atemu.

Blinking her thoughts away the very young princess got up from bed and dressed in a short dress her own mother had sewed to her. She was nervous for where her mother was. The queen loved her two children. The six year old Yuniko as well as the ten year older prince Atemu.

The guards weren't outside the door either. That was even stranger. Considering of how protective her parents as well as her brother were about her she was almost never without a guard or family member around.

Feeling something really out of place Yuniko ran down the corridor towards the throne room. If something was out of place something often happened there and it almost always attracted the whole castle.

She was right. Peeking into the huge room she saw everyone there, almost. It was still so early just the morning guards, a few servants and the royal couple were there. But the strange thing was that the queen was currently kneeling before the king, who seemed very angry.

"Woman, my queen. I can not believe you were able to try something like that."

"She is my daughter," the queen said with solidity. Not fearing what her husband would do to her. "You have no right to force such responsibility upon her at her mare age. She is just a little child."

"Silence! Since when did the queen have the right to scold me, the king? I understand more than anyone you love our daughter. But to try to take her away from her home… Where would you go? What life can you offer her outside the castle?"

The queen looked up into the king's eyes, calm and safe, like she had always been. She knew the king loved her, as she knew very well what he was capable of to do, even with her.

"A life," she said.

The fury was written all over the king's face. He lifted his hand and slapped his wife hard across her beautiful face. Yuniko gasped sharply. She didn't understand what was going on, but her father wasn't supposed to ever raise a finger against his queen.

"Guards, take her to the cells and execute her at sunset," the king ordered and turned his back to the still kneeling woman.

The guards moved forward to grab the former queen, but something suddenly rushed between their legs and stood between them and the woman.

"Princess? What are you doing here? You aren't supposed to…"

"Father!" was all the princess yelled and moved her flashing crystalline eyes to the king.

His fury melted away with the silent tear that ran down his daughter's innocent face. He couldn't finish his punishment now, not when she was against it. But he also couldn't set his wife free.

"Samuel, escort the princess to the prince's chamber and make sure she stays there."

Samuel was a young man with crème colored hair and a son two years older than the princess. He was good with children and the princess was a good friend to his son. He took a step closer to the princess, but she ignored him.

"Father," she said again, lower this time. The king was actually wrapped around her small finger, almost.

"I won't hurt your mother. But her crime needs punishment. Now, follow Samuel to your brother's chamber."

The princess gave Samuel a hard glare when he stepped closer to her. She turned to her mother, who was watching her with all the love only a mother held to her child.

"Do not worry about me, precious. I will come back to you," the former queen said and caressed her daughter's cheeks lovingly.

Yuniko curtsied to her mother before she strode past the soldier on her way to her brother's room. She was born in this castle. She didn't need anyone to hold her hand. Samuel sighed silently at the princess's stubbornness and followed her in her tracks.

Atemu had never his door locked for reasons only he knew. Samuel knocked on the door, but Yuniko went straight in, climbed up onto the bend and crawled over to her awakening brother.

"Yuniko? What are you doing here?"

The princess didn't replay as she hid her face in his bare chest, silent tears rolling down her sweet face.

The prince was instantly wide awake and embraced his sister tightly. He looked up at Samuel with angry questioning in his eyes.

"Your majesty, the queen has committed a very serious crime and the princess saved her life," Samuel explained quietly and bowed for the prince.

With a gesture of his head Atemu ordered the guard out of his room. He knew better than anyone his sister was wise for her age. She knew her mother wouldn't be there anymore.

"Sister, tell me what happened?"

Yuniko shook her head and moved up so she could place her small arms around her brother's neck and hide her face there as well.

Atemu sighed and lay back down, drawing his sister down with him and let her weep.

Yami followed the doc and had to remind himself to breath. Bakura more or less carried Ryou with him as the younger could hardly stand up on his own. Malik was so tense he had a hard time moving. His bones cracked when he did and when he finally stood up he walked like a robot. Seto was like a shadow. An empty body that just followed the winds.

Yugi lay motionless on the bed. His face was neutral and a machine beeped out his calm and steady heartbeat.

"Could you please tell me again what happened?" Lou said turning to a ghostly pale Ryou.

First the words failed him. His throat was so dry it would hardly let air down. Bakura fetched a glass of water and forced it down his brother's throat, knowing perfectly well what he was doing. Lou let him be. The older albino seemed to be the only one calm enough to act.

"We were working on a project for school," Ryou started with a hoarse voice that didn't really carry. "I read a text aloud, that told us her name. He was fine before I started to read. But then… when I stopped… he was… zoned out. I tried to get him out of it. He stared at me… like he didn't know me… then… he…"

Ryou's eyes landed on Yugi's still form, unable to talk anymore.

"Has this happened before?" Lou asked looking from one to another.

"No," Yami voiced almost inaudible, shaking his head slightly. "He has always been so alive. Only in sleep he is motionless, but still alive. Not like this. Not… unable to wake up again."

Lou nodded in understanding. Yugi's condition was very confusing even for him. It was like he was just… shut down. But he wasn't. There was a life in him that was just out of reach. It couldn't be considered as a coma. A coma was a real shut down of mind.

"I can't say I am sure of this. But apparently the boy is dreaming," Lou said thoughtfully while eyeing through his notes. He took out some pictures and handed them to Bakura, since Yami seemed unable to let go of his own hands. "Take a look at these."

Bakura couldn't say he understood all of the pictures. They were some X-ray pictures and normal photographs of the little one's body parts. But something was really off with the X-ray pictures. He wasn't too used to this kind of thing, but it didn't seem usual.

"We haven't taken any blood test yet for different reasons. There is nothing on his body that spill that a nerve has been pulled or anything. But his body sure has an interesting edification. We will keep you informed, but before you go. You are his brother, aren't you?" Lou asked Yami. The older Atemu just nodded his head yes. "I need a blood test from you as well as I need you to fill a formula…"

"Yugi?"

At Ryou's small voice they all turned to the boy on the bed and found silent tears falling from his closed eyes. But otherwise he was as still and neutral as before.

"As I said. We believe him to be dreaming."

"But if he is, why can't you wake him up?" Malik asked, even his jaws cracked as stiff as he was.

"We don't know… yet."