Star Crossed Lovers
Chapter 9 Reuniting and ExplanationsWorry and concern were all that filled Atem as he gazed down at the still sleeping beauty lying down on the medical bed. Isis, a young priestess and the new guardian of the Millennium Necklace, was in charge of the medical wing because of her extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs and medicine and had been monitoring the nameless girl sense she was brought in. Despite her assurances that, with the exception of a few cuts and bruises, the sleeping wonder would be fine, it did little to help the young prince's disposition.
She was quite a wonder to look at, this young woman who fell from the sky. Judging by her skin tone, which was far lighter than the native darker tones of the people of Egypt, she had to be foreign. The softness of it reminded him of silk. Her hair had him mystified; reminding him of the night sky with its mixture of black and blue, and yet it sparkled in the light like stars. He realized that he wanted very much to run his hands through her hair, just to see if it felt as good as it looked.
Reaching out, he hesitantly ran a hand through her hair. It was just as he thought, even better in fact. It felt like one running their hands through a stream, smooth with only a slight resistance. Before he could think to stop himself, he was touching her face; caressing her cheek with his fingers. It amazed him how soft her skin was. Most people of Egypt, because of the harsh sun's ray, had much dryer skin. But hers felt like that of a newborn baby. His fingers went to her lips, plump yet dry. He wanted to kiss them. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't bring himself to stop. He was already there, may as well go for it.
Leaning down he watched as her face got closer and closer. Soon he could feel her breath on his face until he felt his lips reach hers. Light, almost like a feather, he stilled there, as if testing the waters. Growing bolder, he pressed his lips more firmly on hers and became whisked away at the feeling of it. It felt wonderful. All good feelings came to an end though when he felt the body underneath his stiffen. He abruptly pulled back and caught violet met shocked blue.
He tried explaining to her his actions, he really. Through his stuttering and broken sentences he realized she couldn't understand a word he was saying. Reaching her breaking point, she shut her eyes and screamed out a word he didn't understand. What in Ra's name was a 'Hentai?' He was shocked again when her hand collided with cheek, knocking him onto the ground. Yet as he lie there, rubbing his bruised cheek in shock and even Mahad come in and demand explanations from him, he couldn't help but notice how even more beautiful she looked angry and yelling with her seducing foreign tongue.
All and all, totally worth it.
When she opened her eyes everything was fuzzy. She knew she was in Yugi's room. Looking out his window, as things came into focus; she figured out that it was night time. God she must've been out for hours, how embarrassing! It didn't seem like she had been out that long, or did it? She had a brief dream recalling the first time she had met the young Pharaoh. She giggled to herself recalling the Kodak moment of his embarrassment at being caught kissing her while she had slept. While it wasn't amusing at the time, now she wished she had had a camera.
The more she looked around the room in her dreamy haze she remembered why she had passed out in the first place and bolted upright.
'That's right!' she thought in confused shock. 'He's here. How the hell did he get here? And why the hell am I still in here?!'
She got up and noticed her school jacket, bowtie, and shoes were off before going to the door.
'Must have been Yugi's mom….or maybe even him. He always did like me in less clothing,' she thought, slightly blushing at her dirty thought before opening the door quietly and peering out into the hallway. She couldn't hear anything but then again she was upstairs. Looking downstairs she saw the light was on in the living room through the open door. The more she went down the louder she could hear voices. She stepped into the light and held onto the doorframe, the sudden brightness made her squint her eyes. When everything in the room was clear her eyes traveled to where everyone was gathered on the couches. Yugi's grandpa and mother were on one side. Yugi's grandpa had just asked a question. And on the other were Yugi…and Atem. With his regal look and posture, Atem always seemed to ooze superiority. She leaned against the doorframe and stared at him as he spoke. She always loved his voice. It could be so soothing and comforting; or strong and aggressive, and all without it raising an octave.
She didn't know how long she was there staring at him. A part of her wanted to run to him, crying as she threw herself into his arms; to hear his smooth voice chuckle at her actions as he stroked her hair, but she couldn't seem to find the courage.
Yugi fixed that problem when he noticed her and nudged Atem and nodded in her direction. Kagome blushed when she found that all conversation has seized and she now had their full attention. She locked eyes with Atem. She noticed something though as she looked at him. Something was off. The strong familiarity that they shared together was there, but it wasn't all there. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it put her immediately on edge.
"Would you care to join us?" Atem asked, breaking the silence and her resolve.
That simple question put her into panic mode. She didn't want to go in and have all eyes be on her and him forever. She tried figuring out quickly what to do.
'Run?' her mind suggested.
'Run where?'
'I don't know! Anywhere but here.'
She could see Atem's eyes fill with concern and worry when she didn't answer. When he slowly got up and started to make his way over to her, she got even more nervous.
'Yugi's room?'
'Good idea. Now run.'
'Now?'
'Yes! Run foo!'
Before he could reach her she bolted; dashing back up the stairs and into Yugi's room. Shutting the door, she looked around for a place to hide. She started to make her way to the bed before she found it was hollow with no place to hide.
'Darn it Yugi! Who has a bed like that, I mean really?! Beds are essential when it comes to hiding; that and closets. OH, the closet!'
She ran into his closet and shut the door and waited.
Atem eyes followed her and she ran from him in almost hurt. He didn't want her running from him. To him, yes he welcomed it, but from? He felt like he had done something wrong.
When he saw her earlier that day he was blown away by how beautiful she was. His memory was slowly coming back to him, but images can't replace reality. All he wanted to do was kiss her like he had wanted to do since back in the spirit world. When she had collapsed he didn't want to leave her side. Yugi's mother urged him to wait and have her come to him when she was ready. She had been through a lot and it was better it break it to her gently; especially since he eventually had to tell her about his memory problem. It bugged him that he didn't know what to do and looked back on the others for guidance.
"She probably panicked being put on the spot. Go to her and talk things out alone. It's probably what she wants anyway," Yugi's mother offered.
Atem nodded in agreement and made his way up the stairs and into Yugi's room. He was mildly shocked that she didn't lock the door, but then that only seemed to confirm Yugi's mother's statement about wanting to talk to him alone. He glanced around the room for her hiding spot before settling on the closet door. Squinting, he could see movement on the other side through the cut out wood panels. He raised his eyebrow as he smirked and swaggered his way over to the closet. He opened the door, putting both his elbows on the door frame and gave an amused, yet affectionate smile to a very cornered Kagome.
"Hello," he said after a moment.
"Hi," she answered, giving him a cute sheepish smile beforehand.
"You ran away," he said, stating the obvious.
Even in the dark he could see her blushing. It made her even more adorable.
"Heh…yeah sorry. I don't like being put on the spot like that."
Score one for Momma Yugi.
"Well now that we're alone, would you like to come out so we could actually talk? We can even stay in here if you'd like," he offered, noticing her stiffen when she thought they'd have to go back downstairs.
She blushed even harder when he reached a hand out to her. She hesitated and looked up at him. Even in the darkness of Yugi's room, his warm red-violet eyes seemed to bore into her own, willing her to take his hand and come into the safety of his presence. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled when she finally toke his hand and looked back up at him with a small smile of her own. They stood there for another moment, both of Kagome's hands wrapped around Atem's; his thumb stroking the back of one of her hands in a soothing notion. His eyes got softer at the nostalgia of it all before he turned and led them to Yugi's bed and sat down.
Silence seemed to stretch on and it made Kagome nervous. She had so many questions and didn't know which to ask first. She stared down at their hands and Atem's soothing thumb continuously making circles. She could feel his eyes on her and knew that it was now or never and turned to face him. However when she finally looked at him, really looked at him, she couldn't help the tears that came from her eyes and she ended up doing what she wanted to do earlier and flung herself into his arms and cried into his chest.
"I've missed you so much!" she sobbed, her voice muffled by her crying and her face in his chest. His arms went immediately around her waist, pulling her even closer and resting his back against the wall. He put his head on top of hers; silently comforting her while she composed herself. After a few moments she quieted down and his arms loosened their grip and she looked up at him.
God she was beautiful.
The moon shone through the window and hit her face or, more precisely, her eyes which seemed to make her grayish-blue orbs glow in the darkness along with the rest of her skin. One of his arms left her waist and a hand reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes, with each eye closing in the most adorable way as he did so before cupping her cheek. She leaned into his touch and they stared into each other's eyes. Even in the short amount of time he'd been near her, he could see how he might have fallen in love with her. While he couldn't fully remember her personality, what he had seen he liked, and her beauty alone was enough to capture his attention for a lifetime. The urge to kiss her came back and this time he'd make sure he did it
Leaning in, he slowly closed his eyes as he saw her moving in as well and caught her lips in a tender kiss. It was better than he had imagined. Her lips were just the right size and she tasted amazing. He pulled her closer to get a better angle as their tongues became reacquainted with each other. His hand moved up and down her back and sides to reaffirm her body to his touch. Her soft mewls at his actions stroked his pride and he became more dominant in claiming her mouth.
God she'd forgotten what an amazing kisser he was. She was putty in his hands and, even now, he knew exactly where she liked to be touched. Soon the need to breath was too much and she reluctantly pulled away and stared at him with half-lidded eyes.
"How are you here?" she asked quietly.
His eyes, which mirrored her own with lust, returned to normal and he stared at her with contemplation. It was as if he was trying to find the right was to say something.
"A priestess named Midoriko came to me in the afterlife and offered me a chance at a new life. She said that something was going to happen, that you would need my help."
"Midoriko?" Kagome thought aloud with a quizzical expression. Soon a wave of sadness and bitterness entered her and she found herself angry and confused. She sat up to the point where she was sitting in-between Atem's legs.
"Midoriko?!" she said again with anger filling her tone and expression. She felt like she was going to cry again but for a whole different reason.
"Midoriko is the reason why I was in Egypt in the first place. She put me there to help you, and then toke me away without any regard to how I felt! How I wanted so badly to stay! How badly I wanted to be with you! Why would she all the sudden decide to bless me with changing her mind?!"
Despite his surprise at her sudden outburst, he felt a pain in his heart at seeing her confused and hurt expression. What surprised him even more however, was how…ill-informed she was. It dawned on him that she had no idea about what went on behind the scenes or how Midoriko truly felt about the whole situation.
"Kagome," he called out calmly, trying to soothe her while taking a selfish moment to enjoy the taste of her name on his tongue. He realized this was the first time he had said it aloud. She had such a beautiful name. When she stopped and looked at him with slight surprise, he continued.
"Unfortunately, I think your anger is misplaced when it comes to Midoriko. I spoke to her. She told everyone that led to this point. I'm sorry but it was not Midoriko who decided your fate till now, but rather a higher power. And, while I detest the fact that you had to be taken away from me, after she explained it to me….I understood."
When he saw that his words put her on the defense, he quickly elaborated.
"Time Kagome." He emphasized. "Time seems to be the center of all your travels. And, while you may not think about it at the time, your actions in the past do shape the future. The decision was made, not just on your side but on mine as well that you be brought back here. History had already been written and it would have changed drastically if you had stayed. Midoriko said that your destiny lies here; in the modern world. It is here you will be needed most and that wouldn't have happened if you had stayed with me, no matter how much we both had wanted it."
She felt like she was a hot air balloon that had been popped. She…she knew he was right. She was so worried about what she was doing in the past that she had never stopped to think how it would affect the future. While she was still angry, it wasn't as bad as before. A thought struck her though as she recalled his words.
"If Midoriko wasn't the one pulling the strings, who was it? Did she say?" she asked looking at Atem, desperately seeking answers from his face alone.
Before he could answer her, a voice resonated in his head, Midoriko's to be exact.
'Not yet…' she whispered.
'Why?! She has a right to know! She's been in the dark for so long.'
'I know and believe me all will be made clear soon, but she won't understand if you tell her now. It'll only give her more questions. Please…'
'…Very well.'
Atem looked at Kagome's pleading face and felt guilt and regret already fill his soul.
"No," he said with as much normality as he could muster. "All she said was that there was a higher power in play. She didn't elaborate."
Seeing her hang head in disappointment made the guilt increase. This wasn't the way he wanted to start with her. Lying was never the way to start any type of relationship, with anyone!
He was so distracted by his thoughts he almost missed her next question.
"Did you miss me?"
He turned back to her and found her looking at him with uncertainty and self-consciousness. She looked so vulnerable that he just wanted to take her back in his arms and hold her till she melted into his body. But, that wasn't what she wanted. Unfortunately, she wanted the truth, and he knew he couldn't hide his secret any longer. He began to fill with dread as he prepared himself to tell her the awful truth.
"What I'm about to tell you needs to be heard in its entirety. Do you understand?"
Why would he answer with that? That wasn't the answer she was looking for. Had he married someone other than her?! OH GOD, had he had kids?! Her body began to shake with anxiety.
"Kagome," she heard his voice call out to her as his hand reached out and grasped her chin, pulling her to face him with a comforting smile.
"Let me start by saying that after you left I never married. I left this world with no heir."
He chuckled softly when she let out a relieved breath and gave him a small smile. He knew that smile wouldn't last.
"Unfortunately this is where things get complicated. You see, the gods predicted that when they would take you from me that I would lose the will to go on, that I would be unable to fulfill my destiny in Egypt and would be consumed by my grief of losing you. They would probably be right… So to avoid this problem altogether…. Midoriko and the gods decided that when they did indeed send you back, my memories of you would go with it."
…..She felt like she couldn't breathe; like her entire body had gone numb. She wasn't whether or not this was worse than if he had married after she'd left. This was what she had felt when he looked at her in the living room; like he didn't completely recognize her. She was so confused.
"You…you don't remember me?! How…how is that possible?! I mean, you remember my nickname, my name…"
This is what he was afraid would happen; she was shutting down. He quickly moved to calm her.
"I do remember you."
"But you just said—."
"I don't remember all of you. In the afterlife I felt like something was missing. Even though you had been wiped away, my mind remembered you being there and was trying so hard to bring those memories back."
He grasped her face with both of his hands and made her look at him.
"It is because I wanted you so badly that Midoriko appeared to me and gave me this chance again. She saw that even in death you had a strong grip on my heart and soul. However, she wanted to make sure that our love was true. She refused to give me back all my memories at once, but rather piece them out. The more time I am here with you, the more I will remember. She wanted to make sure that even after all the experiences that I went through after you left; you were the only one I would truly love. She felt you deserved that all-consuming love, and I do as well. I don't want to love you because I feel I have to due to our past together. I want to love you because you're the one for me, the only one I'll ever need to love and be loved in return," he finished, feeling his own tears come to his eyes as they continued to stare at each other.
By the end of his explanation Kagome had tears streaming down her face. No one…EVER , had made her feel the way this man makes her feel. Her heart still hurt knowing that he didn't fully remember their time together, but knowing that it would all come back to him, how all he wanted was to make sure she got everything he felt was due to her, the pain wasn't as bad. She would help him get his memories back; and then they would live the rest of their lives together. She didn't care about this future threat he was supposed to help her out with. She knew she could do it with him by her side.
She gave him a small smile and he returned it with a relieved one of his own before kissing her again. This one wasn't like before; no tongue, no lust, just a means of release for the two of them. After he pulled away he rested his forehead on hers and they sat there in contentment before a final absent-minded thought occurred to Kagome that she shocked herself by not thinking of it earlier.
"Atem…" she called quietly.
"Hmm?"
She sat up and looked at him with curiosity while he gazed back with exhausted bliss.
"How do you know Yugi?"
He froze at her question. How the hell did he forget to explain the connection between him and Yugi?! It became such a sense of normalcy to know him he forgot that Kagome had no idea about the connection between the two. Well, he was sure she could take a guess, but he knew she would guess the full extent of it. After taking a very deep breath, Atem answered her.
"My connection with Yugi is another reason why Midoriko chose not to give me back all of my memories. Now this is a long tale Kagome, though not as sad as the one before, but don't expect to sleep much tonight," Atem started and began his tale of adventure fused with the schoolboy duelist Yugi Moto.
…hi! Ok yes I know that explanations are very much due so let me start by saying that it is only semi-not-my-fault. As you all know, my original computer died around my last update. It was a good computer, but it had run its course. My parents' computer is a piece of crap as well always shutting down what not. Originally, this was supposed to be chapter 10. I was 75% of the way done with the chapter told from Atem's point of view where it told of his journey back to Domino and just kind of made things that now I will have to take extra time explaining make more sense. I had all my stuff saved on an external hardrive and I was typing it on my parents' computer. Anyone else see where this is going? Yes, for whatever reason when the computer expectantly shut down, what I had saved did not transfer over correctly; the only thing that saved was the flashback that I continued to use for this chapter. Needless to say it crushed my spirit, my motivation, and my inspiration to continue on with this story. It came back shortly after Black Friday where I purchased another computer and began working on this chapter and I wanted to make it so everything fell into place in just the right way.
Then, in January, this brand new computer that I barely had for two months lost its sound and with it started to completely begin screwing up; so I toke it back and started to save for an even better computer. I now have a Sony Vaio and it's just been a dream, but I've only had it for about a week. Believe me, your reviews and the fact that you guys have stuck to this story for so long has really touched me so I've spent every moment I can spare writing this chapter and making it as perfect as I can and making it the longest chapter I've put out yet.
Also one last thing then I'm uploading this puppy lol. I know I've said this before, but after rereading some chapters as a refresher, I realized just how many mistakes I've made with grammar and wording and stuff and it's rather depressing. I'm 21 years old and making all these grammatical mistakes. This is not 50 Shades of Grey (for anyone else who noticed, like I did, especially in Shades Darker, just how many errors this woman made. And with it published with those errors is just bad editing. So I will be reuploading revised chapters. Nothing will change story wise but it's been bugging me so if you guys see any please let me know in a private message.
FYI Next chapter Kagome will obviously now know about all the things that happened with Atem and Yugi and the others. Things will be explained on what will happen next and Tea will see and find out about Kagome and Atem. ;} Wickedness. And as with almost every chapter I pose a question that I want you all to answer. As we all know at one point before reclaiming his name, Atem was called Yami. Now I'm sorry but I love the name Yami much more than Atem and for this story I want him to have a name change for this timeline from Atem to Yami and eventually go by only name. New life fresh start kinda outlook. So my question to you all is which do you like better? Atem or Yami for a name. Please answer in your reviews and the most will decide. Okyday?
Ok thank you I love you buh-bye (Mindy from Animaniacs ;}