Sorry for the long wait, but I have had exams so I had to study. I will be finishing this story soon, so by the end of this week, I should have done at least three chapters, bye and enjoy.
"We're here!"
"Bloo, calm down."
The two figures walked into the charity ball.
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Atem was nervous. Hiding it with his mastered stoicism did not help either because Seth had his hand on the king's shoulder. If Seth knew his anxiety then Atem's usual stance was faulting. They were at the Kaiba Mansion for the charity ball and waiting on Yugi and his guardians. Akefia stood beside him in a red suit with a black shirt underneath. This was strange for the man because he never wore much besides what was decent. Atem dressed in a traditional black and white tuxedo with a jasmine in the black lapel.
Seth stood with Kisara. Both were smartly dressed, Kisara in an aqua marine gown, diamond earrings, and white gloves. Seth wore a black tuxedo with a white shirt and a red carnation on the lapel.
"So, the others won't be joining us?" asked Akefia.
"No, that has been discussed. This dance is…more for couples, not family. Isis and Mahad will see their children another time. Queen Mai decided to save her time, but Prince Noah and Dartz's family are here to accompany us."
Akefia snorted. He was waiting for his Ryou to come through that door; at least here if they danced no one would look.
Atem breathed deeply. He had grace in his gait, but dancing did not suit as well unless it was a fast paced rhythm. These balls never had the type of tune he could move to, he was hoping not to embarrass himself.
The doors opened to reveal seven teens, the girls in nice short dresses, despite the cold, and the boys in trousers and dress shirts with vests.
Atem's mouth gapped open. Yugi had on brown snug corduroys with a purple shirt and golden vest. The King made a beeline for his wife. Yugi saw Atem and blushed hard. The man always was impressive. They embraced without a care of the wary looks strangers gave them. Atem escorted his Little One into the ball. The rest followed with Akefia holding Ryou close.
The decorations were elegant and not overdone. The room was lit dimly with candles lighting around the tables and a crystal chandelier for the rest of the brightness. Hues of blue and white covered the drapery, ornaments, and the ice sculpture was a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Yugi felt like face palming at seeing the card in ice form; he laughed instead and pointed it out to Atem. He chuckled too, and they went to get some drinks.
In the center of the room stood Seto Kaiba, surrounded by colleagues, kiss-ups, and threats. Mokuba sat off to the side playing with his Gameboy.
Yugi could see the siblings from his position at the drinks table and waved. Atem looked up too and gapped again. Kaiba did resemble Seth…perfectly despite the skin color.
Seth?
He waited then heard, Yes,cousin, I see him. The boy was right to scream out his name when he spotted me.
Oh, my, said Kisara, Seth, dear, could…he be the one who possesses your mother's essence.
They went silent.
"Yami, what's wrong?"
"Uh, oh, nothing Little One. The Kaiba boy you spoke of really does look like Seth. It's…strange."
"I know. But, everyone has a twin."
Yugi patted Atem's hair and smiled. Atem took the action and kissed his wife. A few gasps were sounded, however a small glare from the king had the gaspers disperse quickly.
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Dartz sat at a table with Lydia. They had danced a little until Noah started to hog the stage with Kris.
"Your Majesty," said a soft voice. The couple turned to see Ryou and Akefia.
"Master Akefia and Mr. Ryou, nice of you to come greet us," Lydia said sweetly.
Ryou fidgeted with his fingers before speaking again, "We came-erm, well I came to ask to sit with you, if that's not a bother."
"Of course not, come sit, chat."
They sat. Akefia seemed annoyed so did not speak much as Ryou and the Queen of Atlantis chatted about the dance and trifles. The four avoided the question.
Why are you not dancing? Until King Dartz had to ask.
We danced. We ate food and drank. We even kissed. Throughout all that Ryou kept hearing whispers. I heard them too; those fools pretty much think I am some type of child molester and that Ryou is my victim, or, and this is why we're here, My kitten is a prostitute. When I left him at the stupid ice statue, two men approached and asked how much for a goodtime.
Akefia stopped and seethed on his own, crunching the napkin, wringing the necks of those who would accost Ryou.
Dartz nodded. He could understand why people thought the couple looked strange. Akefia looked like an adult whereas Ryou still looked to be a child. Back in the Shadow Realm their people could tell the two were not an odd mix, but here not so; Dartz sighed and watched his daughter dancing with Noah.
They were smiling and catching the attention of the adults, showing off, probably Noah's idea. He grinned, since Kris was born Noah always acted as her big brother and it shined in the way he protected her and played with her.
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In the corner of his eye, Marik watched the prince and princess dance. He also kept a close look on Kaiba; he did not trust the man for his life. The way he looked at Yugi sometimes was unnerving and how he kept a close eye on them was also not up to par with Marik's suspicions. Kaiba stood with his little brother near the ice sculpture eye wandering around the room.
Marik followed his gaze. He saw Kaiba's eyes land on Yugi and the king. With his mind's eye, he honed in on what Kaiba was feeling: jealousy, rage, competition.
He shut it quickly.
My King! My King!
Marik, young one, what is it? asked Atem, irritated; he had told the children not to yell in the mind link so many times.
Marik bit his lip but continued. I think you have a rival for Yugi. That Kaiba jerk, every time I looked into him, has more than friendly feelings for Yugi. It was not clear till now. My King, I don't trust him.
Wait, Marik, let me look into this boy's mind.
Atem did and growled.
That little bastard won't get anywhere near my wife. Marik, I want you and Mana to keep him far away. I'll have Ishizu watch Yugi, understood.
Yes, My King.
Atem turned to Yugi, who was trying the caviar on a cracker with cream cheese. Ishizu came up as Atem saw Mana make a beeline for Kaiba.
"Little One."
"Yes, Yami?"
"Do you mind if I take a break from dancing? Ishizu would like to have a partner."
He gestured to her.
Yugi replied, "You aren't embarrassed, are you?"
Atem blushed, "Wh-what do you mean, Yugi?"
"You were nervous while we danced, and you told me slow dances weren't your thing. I thought you did great."
The King smiled contently, "No, Yugi. I simply need to talk about some things with Seth and Akefia."
Yugi nodded.
He left with Ishizu, feeling odd for dancing with a girl so much taller than him, but that was normal. Atem watched them leave then went to find his cousin. He had seen him wander into the garden and prayed to all that is decent he and Kisara were not in coitus.
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Bloo, a blond short woman, with sapphire eyes, and busty, ate through her third helping of the prawn shrimp and fifth serving of the Beluga caviar. She wore a white spaghetti strap top with a teal sash and teal slippers. Red, her cousin, stood over a foot taller, and wore a black tuxedo with a black tie. He stood next to her on his fifth glass of champagne.
Humans saw them as party guests, and Seto Kaiba knew Red as one of the representatives for a software company.
Both statements were true and wrong.
The two beings could disguise as humans, and if dissected they appeared human. The inhabitants of the Shadow Realm did not sense them and they were glad for that; Red scanned the floor again for the creatures of darkness.
They were, like he and his cousin, here for the party, however like he and Bloo, they had another motive than party crashing. He had a talk with a male harpy, Honda as he introduced himself, who's date was a Halfling beast named Shizuka.
They were there because their friends were good duelists, especially a child named Yugi. Red did not see the aforementioned boy, all he saw was the King of the Shadow Realm dancing with…he was not sure. It was a heavenly being, but he could not pinpoint what exactly; it could have been a saint for all he knew.
"Red, boy-o, I think I see it."
Red turned at his cousin's announcement. There it was again, that being, heading out to the garden with a healer in training. It was male, as Red inspected closer, and had similar hair to the king. He gestured for Bloo to stay put. He had to know what this thing was.
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Yugi and Ishizu went out to see the snow covered garden. It was refreshing after three hours of being in a stuffy room. Outside the sparkling snow blanketed the green patches and the water in the fountain was frozen; the scene was ethereal. Walking through, they saw Noah and Kris making snow soldiers and Seth kissing Kisara. They ran when the Head Councilman heard them giggle.
A few others were outside taking in the cold or smoking.
Yugi and Ishizu stopped at a bench and sat. The boy looked at the healer.
He asked, "Ishizu?"
"Hmm."
"Umm…I was wondering, you and Marik are adopted right?"
"Yes, but we are related to Isis."
"Beg your pardon."
"You see," Ishizu started looking at her feet, "our mother was Isis's aunt, and she was old when Marik was born. The fact she had him was a miracle, but then I came along. She was fine, my birth did not hurt her, but our dad had left us by then, and our mother had to take care of us alone. She did…" Ishizu trailed off. She wanted to cry. Yugi patted her hand and held it. "She was killed, by one of the Followers. I was still an infant, and Marik…that's when he lost his voice. He used his power too soon and lost it because he had to protect us from being killed too. A kind man, as Marik told me, took us to the palace. There we were taken in by Isis, who has been our mother."
Yugi squeezed Ishizu's hand.
"Come on, let's go back in."
Yugi pumped into a wall in a tuxedo. He looked up into shining eyes of a tall, dark man with sandy blonde hair. He was foreign as far as Yugi could tell. The man smiled down at Yugi. Ishizu this whole time had her hand on her dagger; the nightmare's motives were unpredictable.
"H-he-hello," Yugi stuttered.
"Ah," the man looked to have an epiphany, "I know what you are; although, you aren't fully one yet."
His accent was foreign. Yugi gave the man a confused look. The man then changed, in Yugi's eyes, into a large red fur creature. His knees bent backwards, his ears were long and pointed, and he had a lion's tail.
Ishizu tried to drag Yugi away, not trusting the man, but she saw a determined glazed look in the human's eye. She stopped and put her dagger away.
"Who are you?"
The creature smirked, "I am Red."
"You," Yugi shivered, "haven't changed have you?"
"No," Red lifted his brow, "Can you see me?"
Yugi nodded.
"Well, Angel, I am a nightmare or imaginary friend as people call us."
"Angel?"
Red was baffled. The angel in front of him had to know what he was. The angel was young and still had to choose its sex, but it should know a nightmare.
"Red," Yugi said calmly, "I am not an Angel."
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Let the poor kid alone Atem, said Seth.
Sorry to say, but I agree. So what if Yugi has other admirers, he loves you.
Atem gave Akefia a half-hearted glare before saying, I know, but Yugi can still cling on to the human world. His training show signs of difficulty with the magic, and his body sometimes rejects using the shades. Seth you have told me that he might not be able to perform any magic.
Seth nodded.
And while that is fine with me our people won't appreciate a ruler who can't defend with magic if need be. Yugi is a half-human, he can choose to stay here, and if Motou-sama requests it, our marriage could be annulled.
Atem shuddered at the thought; Akefia and Seth gave each other a look. They knew Yugi was scared, despite his good nature the boy had the option to leave, Atem did not.
The quiet tenseness of the table was interrupted by Hiroto fast walking to them and blurting out, "We have a problem."
He told of the conversation with Red, and how he did not realize what he had been talking to until he saw the man outside with Yugi and Ishizu. He told them nothing had happened, but it was still urgent that Yugi get away from the nightmare.
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By the time they did, Dartz had arrived with Noah at his side. The other guardians were still canvasing Kaiba and Atem thought a small group would be fine.
Nothing happened, just Yugi talking to the nightmare in human guise.
"Please leave," Yugi said frightened.
Red was still confused, "Why Angel? I was invited and if I know my little cousin, she is dancing twelve pounds of shrimp off on the dance floor."
"No," he lost his balance, but Ishizu caught him. "Leave."
Red reached out for Yugi.
"Be still!"
He turned to see two of the Shadow Realm's Leaders, and a few more creatures. Red went back to Yugi.
It hit him to what Yugi was, from the smell of blood and heart-beat he could sense the true form of the being in front of him.
"I will see you soon, Angel."
He jumped up and vanished. Two minutes later, a flash of blue and white came out and joined Red.