Dream Prince

Chapter 13

I'll Make a Man Out of You

The sun had barely risen to the sky when the soldiers in the camp were roused awake by a loud note from a horn. Yugi had still been half asleep when he wrestled himself into a simple tunic and tripped his way out of his tent. Bakura was already waiting outside and gave Yugi an amused look before moving past the boy and shuffling through the items that had been strewn around the small tent. Yugi had managed to rub the sleep out of his eyes by the time Bakura straightened up and handed his short sword to him.

"Oh, thanks", Yugi murmured as he took the sword and sheath and attached them to the belt around his waist. It would have been very embarrassing if he had showed up to the first gathering without his sword.

The two arrived outside the camp way before the last groggy trooper stumbled into the row of men. In front of them all stood Prince Atemu, looking impressive and perfectly awake. On his right side stood Seto with his usual stony appearance and on the prince's left stood Lord Odji, who yawned widely behind his hand.

"Alright then", Atemu's booming voice started and Yugi felt his heart jump at the authoritative tone. "Today, the real work is going to start. I hope you all didn't think yesterday was the worst you were going to go through, because then you're going to be severely disappointed."

Yugi did not like the sound of that. He still remembered the way he had made a complete fool out of himself the previous day. How was he going to handle anything even more challenging? It was especially worrisome now that Yugi knew that his success would matter the most out of the entire group of recruits.

"First off we're going to do some duelling", Atemu continued and Yugi felt even worse. "I want each of you to pair off with someone else and do try not to decapitate your partner."

There was some murmuring all around, as people looked around for a good partner. It was not very loud, however, just in case the prince was still going to say something. Because of that everyone could hear it clearly when running footsteps approached from the camp.

A new person appeared into the row a couple of places to Yugi's left and the boy noticed with dread that it was Jono. The blond's normally messy mop of hair was even more askew than usually and he had not even managed to tie his sheath to his waist yet.

Yugi shot a quick glance to Atemu to see that the prince's attention was fully on Jono now. Atemu did not look too pleased as he spoke: "Jono. You appear to be a willing participant in a little demonstration."

That did not sound too good, Yugi decided. Jono, however, did not seem too bothered as he spoke an affirmative (it was not like he had another choice) and unsheathed his sword. The sheath fell to the sand as the blond walked forth.

Shooting a quick glance to Seto and Odji to look out for any hints of where this might lead, Yugi saw a clearly uninterested look on Odji's face while Seto remained the epitome of calmness. Yugi suspected that this meant that Jono would be up against a very skilled opponent, since the two seemed to be certain of how this was going to end.

"It seems that Jono wasn't kidding when he said that he draws in trouble", Bakura commented from beside Yugi and Yugi looked up at the albino to see the other cross his arms. "I hardly doubt he'll be able to match up against the prince of Egypt, no matter how much he has trained."

Bakura had a point. Naturally Atemu would be a well-trained swordsman. After all, the pharaoh was always expected to be a skilled warrior and a good military leader. That was a yet another feature about Atemu that made him Yugi's complete opposite.

Suddenly Bakura snorted and Yugi looked back at the thief to see him smirking as his eyes stayed locked ahead.

"Apparently Jono does know how to use a sword", Bakura commented and Yugi turned his gaze to the same direction. "Though I have to wonder where he learned to hold his sword like that."

Yugi could easily see what Bakura meant. While both males held their weapons in both hands, Atemu held his long sword in front of him whereas Jono's sword was held by his hip, the tip pointing to the side. It was a defensive position, Yugi noticed, one he would not have expected someone like Jono to choose, not to mention the pose Jono had taken was very similar to the ones Yugi had seen the palace guard use during the training sessions he had sneaked out to watch.

In the next instant Atemu moved forward, slashing quickly with his sword. It was a straight strike, easy to block, and Yugi realized that Atemu was counting on Jono to try and deflect it. The blow had so much strength behind it that it was more than likely to send Jono's sword flying out of his grip. It would bring a very swift victory to Atemu if everything went according to plan.

Jono brought his sword in front of himself into a sideways position and the blond grit his teeth together in concentration when Atemu's blow landed, metal striking against metal. Jono held his sword tightly, and it seemed that it was tightly enough, for the blond's weapon remained in his grip while Atemu stepped back from the recoil of the impact.

Taking advantage of the lapse in his opponent's defence, Jono took his turn to aim a hit at the prince. The blond's blade slashed through the air to his side, after which he swung the sword forward and upward.

Atemu saw the attack coming and his own sword struck down, clanging against the assaulting blade with an echoing resonance. At the same time Atemu stepped to the side, easily avoiding Jono's attack now that it had been directed to the side. Yugi could see a smirk on the prince's lips, a clear sign of Atemu recognising Jono's worth as an opponent. Yugi decided that he would ask Jono to teach him to handle his sword like that.

When Atemu quickly brought his sword up again, ready to attack once more, Jono ran to the right to bring himself away from the range of Atemu's sword while he brought his own weapon back to position. Atemu was not going to give his opponent any more time to recover and rushed forward again, striking out very similarly to the first time, only this time he swung his sword forward from his right side.

It was a good move, Yugi noted. That was the same side Jono kept his curved sword on, so the blond would have difficulties with positioning his weapon into a proper block. Jono clearly realized this as well as the blond's steely, concentrated expression flickered briefly before the blond took a step to the left, turning slightly around in the process.

The purpose of the movement became apparent when Jono lifted the sword into a vertical position and deflected Atemu's latest attack. A clang resonated and Jono staggered backwards. Atemu continued his assault, swinging his blade to the opposite direction this time.

Unfortunately to the prince, the new angle made it easier for Jono to block the attack and this time Atemu lost his balance for the briefest of moments. While Atemu was open for attack, Jono held his sword to his side, much to Yugi's surprise, and then suddenly kicked out, his heel planting itself firmly against Atemu's chest.

Yugi grimaced at how painful the blow looked and wondered if Atemu was going to be needing healing after that. But then there was a shift, almost like a ripple in the mood and air, and Atemu merely staggered backwards and regained his balance instead of falling into the sand. The prince brought his hand to his chest, where the hit had landed, and looked amazed for the briefest of moments. Yugi was surprised when he did not see any sign of pain on Atemu's face. It was like the blow had not caused any damage to him at all.

But the hit had certainly affected the audience. All around Yugi heard people murmur about Jono's accomplishment of not only measuring up to the prince, but actually gaining the upper hand. Some of the voices actually rose so high that Yugi was certain the two competitors heard them. This was what Yugi believed when he saw the determined look that came over Atemu's face a moment before the prince attacked again, this time with much more intensity than before.

A clang not unlike the others before reached Yugi's ears, but there was still a change. This time around there was a thumb following the sound, caused by Jono's lost sword hitting the ground. Atemu stood straight while Jono sunk to his knees on the sand, both fighters breathing heavily.

Relief came to Yugi at Atemu's victory and Yugi felt a bit bad for not rooting for his friend but what could he do? Atemu was, after all, his fiancée, even if a former one. Yugi was glad that Atemu had come through as the victor and had obviously just not taken Jono seriously before almost losing.

1.

"You're a skilled warrior, Jono", Atemu spoke, his pride stopping him from showing his exhaustion in anything but his quickened breathing. Jono's eyes stayed on the ground below, as was proper, and the blond breathed out: "Thank you."

Atemu smirked then, the exhilaration of the short but challenging battle getting the better of him, and said: "You'll need just a bit more training and you'll really match up against me." The prince could not let anyone know that he had truly been close to losing. He had taken Jono seriously the instant the blond had blocked his first attack successfully. He hated to think that Jono might actually be the most skilled swordfighter he had ever encountered. It would make him look ridiculous in front of Odji to lose to anyone.

There were only two options: either Jono had been disturbed by the crowd suddenly starting to make a ruckus, or then the blond had let Atemu win on purpose. And then there had been that kick. It should have hurt, Atemu was sure he had felt the beginning of a terrible pain, but then it had stopped like the injury had vanished, like it had not happened at all.

"That is what I want to see from the rest of you as well", Atemu declared to the men that had a moment before been his audience. "Pair off and show me what you can do. I will be giving instructions to anyone I deem to need them." The prince clapped his hands together. "Let's get started."

In an instant the crowd began to dissipate as each pair spread out from the main group to get more room to fight. From the corner of his eye Atemu saw Jono also vanish among the crowd, in search for a sparring partner. Atemu wondered if anyone would be willing to go against the blond after the previous performance. Atemu had actually aimed to embarrass the blond as punishment for being late, but apparently Jono was simply too skilled for that.

"He's amazing", a voice suddenly murmured and Atemu whirled around to see Seto staring off into space, probably at a memory of the golden-haired youth. Atemu could not help a smirk as he questioned: "What was that, Seto?"

Instantly the blue eyes widened and Seto turned his gaze at Atemu. Apparently the brunet had merely been talking to himself and had not intended to be overheard.

"I didn't say anything", Seto insisted and Atemu rolled his eyes. "You're merely hearing things, cousin."

Atemu decided to let the matter side. There was no arguing with Seto when he was so set on denying everything. Instead the prince changed the topic by saying: "I'll circle around from the right. You should go left and see if you have anything to teach these kids." Seto was reasonably skilled with the use of a sword. The brunet was the type to not rely solely on his magical capabilities, something that set him apart from the other priests. Seto's motto during his training had been: "You never know when things go wrong with magic. A swing of a sword always has the same result regardless of slight changes in conditions."

The two cousins split up to go through the soldiers and Atemu shot a quick glance behind himself to see Odji make his way to Ryou. The healer had just arrived on the scene, apparently convinced that the novices would be unable to avoid hurting each other, or themselves.

"What are you? A bunch of girls posing as men?" Seto's voice suddenly rang out. "Surely you can do better than that!"

Even though he felt very sorry for the poor souls on the receiving end of Seto's ire, Atemu could not help the amused upturn of his lips. There was really nothing more entertaining than Seto on a roll. The brunet would likely make a lot better general than Atemu would; it was a pity that Atemu was stuck with the job.

"I've never seen a bunch of more pathetic soldiers!" Seto's shout echoed again. The long pause that had allowed Atemu his moment of thought indicated that the brunet had actually stopped spitting out his insults long enough to show the soldiers how to really fight. The new yelling in turn was a sign that they were not getting it.

That was when Atemu saw Rasui. The boy was matched up against Akefia, something Atemu did not agree on. The short boy was clearly expecting his friend to go easy on him, but that way he was not going to be learning anything. Atemu directed his stride towards the two, determined that by the time they were through with this session, Rasui would have learned a thing or two.

2.

That day Odji was not feeling nearly as confident as he had during the previous one. That Jono character was good. He was more than good, actually, he was amazing. It made Odji wonder how many fighters like that was in the camp. If there were many skilled ones, then it was only a matter of time before that Rasui improved as well.

So Odji watched the people sparring around him very carefully and noticed to his relief that no one else stood out the same way as Jono had. Still, he did not feel too much triumph over this, because there were still quite a few people who were clearly used to holding a sword.

It was hard to keep his cocky attitude when his plan was not working out too well at all. He could see Seto instructing a pair of soldiers a short distance away, and even though the brunet was letting out some very amusing insults at every mistake he spotted, Odji did not find it all that amusing. The more merciless Seto was, the more the soldiers would listen to him, even if it was only because of fear.

"Heh", Odji uttered, hoping to sound convincing to Ryou, who was standing beside him. "Seto has these guys scared to death. I wonder if they'll be able to hold their swords with the way their hands are shaking."

"Fear is a powerful motivator", was all Ryou replied and Odji grit his teeth in displeasure. The white-haired healer was absolutely right. His only hope was that Rasui was just as hopeless as he had predicted.

3.

"Keep the sword higher", Bakura snapped at Yugi for what had to be the tenth time already. "You have no hope of landing a successful hit or blocking anything if your sword is that low."

"I'm trying", Yugi snapped back, growing very annoyed with the other getting on his case when he was clearly doing the best he could. "It's too heavy."

"Keep a distance between your hands", a new voice spoke out then, its tremor calm and soothing. "Once your grip and stance are balanced, there's nothing keeping your from success."

Yugi felt himself shiver when he felt Atemu step closer and listened carefully what the prince was telling him. Every little piece of information would make a difference at this point.

"Your pose indicates that you're completely clueless as to what to do with yourself", Atemu spoke and Yugi grimaced at the criticism. "You look completely spineless, straighten your shoulders." The prince released an irritated growl suddenly. "And, damn it, stop looking at your feet! It's your opponent you should be looking at!"

In the next instant Yugi's head snapped up, more from the tone of voice than the actually command to do so. Yugi simply could not help but feel exposed as he looked up. He knew he looked nothing like his own self but if Atemu loved him so much, then surely the prince could recognise him even like this. It was only logical, right?

Yeah, in Yugi's dreams it was possible and even then it was only maybe. Atemu would not be able to see right through his disguise to his true self. Real life did not work like that.

"Now, let's try this again and try to remember everything I told you", Atemu spoke and Yugi nodded his head mutely. He frowned in concentration and focused his gaze on Bakura, who was facing him in a relaxed manner. Clearly the albino was not expecting him to succeed.

Trying to remember how Jono and Atemu had fought during the demonstration, Yugi swung his sword to the side and then took a couple of steps towards Bakura. He moved without anything that could be called grace and then clumsily swung his sword at Bakura.

The albino was not impressed. Bakura tilted his sword the slightest bit and suddenly Yugi's hands shook with recoil, his sword falling from his hands without any real effort from Bakura.

Feeling the burn of shame, Yugi lowered his gaze to the ground. He did not want to face Atemu's disappointed eyes, especially now that he knew how much his performance would affect Atemu's future in addition to his own.

"That was a lot better", Atemu spoke and Yugi lifted his head again to stare at the prince in surprise. Atemu was looking thoughtful but Yugi could see he was being sincere as he continued. "Before you can even hope to improve more, you're going to have to gain more strength into your arms. I think it would do some good for everyone." With that the Egyptian turned around and walked off to watch over the other soldiers. Yugi, on the other hand, stayed still and stared after him with an overjoyed smile and a quickly beating heart. Atemu was not disappointed in him! He was even considering Yugi's needs in future training!

"You do realize that he's doing that in order to get us sent to war and not for your sake, right? He has no idea that Rasui is really Yugi." Bakura's voice spoke, snapping Yugi out of his pink-shaded la-la-land. Yugi shot the taller male a glare as he growled: "Yes, I realize that. I was just trying to enjoy the moment."

"Well, enjoy it some other time", Bakura said then and handed Yugi his discarded sword. "Right now I'm going to try and coach you a bit."

"You just want to whack me around for your own sick pleasure", Yugi grumbled with displeasure. Bakura laughed at the comment before replying: "One way or the other, you're still going to learn something." The albino paused. "At least I hope you'll learn something."

4.

Perhaps it was hopeless, Atemu mused as he gave some absent-minded advice to a couple of soldiers. Maybe there was no point in hoping he could make his father proud on the battlefield or wishing that he could rescue Yugi. With the way things were at the moment, it did not seem that Atemu was going to be marching into war before the war ended. And it was all because of that weakling Rasui. What the heck was the boy doing in the army in the first place? And why did he have to end up as Atemu's problem of all the possible options out there? The boy was clearly unsuited for war. It would be wise to just tell the boy to pack up and go home. It would save Atemu a lot of trouble and time.

Atemu shook his head furiously. No. He refused to give up. This situation was not Rasui's fault; it was Odji's for exploiting every single weakness he saw for his own gain. It would take a lot of effort and Atemu would have to invest a lot of time to the boy, but he was going to succeed. He was going to make the boy into a respectable soldier even if it killed him. He was going to make Rasui into a man.

To be continued...

Ending Notes: Wow, it really has been ages since I last wrote a sword fight. At any matter, that's probably the reason it's not really all that good. I did try my best and I hope it was even remotely entertaining.

And, if you pay attention to some of the things the characters say or Atemu thinks, you will see that they are very similar to the lyrics of the song in Mulan "Make a Man", which brings us to an additional disclaimer: I do not own the music or lyrics of the song "Make a Man" and so on.

Man! It took me ages to get this update finished! But, the chapter is a bit of a monster… I hope you liked it.

Also, Jono the Swordmaster came into existence because I want Yugi to lear to fight like his people, and Jono was more likely to know the style than Bakura, for reasons that will be explained in two or three chapters.