Author's Note: Did you know the pairing between Atem and Yugi is actually called BLINDSHIPPING? I had no idea! Life = made.
Moving on, is it mean to say that enjoy dragging out the tension as long as possible and torturing you guys with suspense? 'Cause I do. XD
I've passed a hundred reviews! I AM SO HAPPY! Thank you, readers, for being totally amazing. And, thanks to DragonFire Princess for being my hundredth review.
I had fun with this chapter… *evil laugh* You'll see what I mean… And, guess what! This thing actually has a plot! *shrugs* Who knew?
Chapter 12
"Are they going to touch me?" Yugi asked nervously. She had been to her fair share of doctors and physicians over the years, and it was never a pleasant experience.
"Maybe," Isis replied truthfully. She was tired of lying to Yugi. From then on, she promised herself, she'd be nothing but honest to the young girl. No matter what, Isis added to her vow.
A shiver raced through Yugi's body at this response.
But, before she could dwell on it any longer, Isis called into the palace's medical clinic, "Mana! Are you here?"
The question echoed into the room, but a different voice didn't follow.
Yugi was a bit curious to who this "Mana" character was, but her dread overpowered her curiosity, and she edged back towards the exit, murmuring, "I guess nobody's here… Let's come back later-"
"HELLO!"
Yugi fell back onto the floor with a surprised yelp at the high-pitched squeal of a greeting that came out of nowhere.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" A hand literally yanked Yugi up from off the floor. "Are you okay?"
"Mana!" Isis reprimanded, "What did I say about popping up out of nowhere? You gave Lady Yugi quite a scare!"
"'Lady Yugi'?" Mana turned her attention back to the girl in question with a perplexed look. "Oh! You're Lady Yugi! My gosh! I'm so sorry!" Mana ran a hand through her brown sugar-tinted mess of hair nervously. "I've been told you're blind, so I must have frightened you a lot, huh?"
"It's- it's okay," Yugi assured, still a bit dazed from the alarm of panic that was still ringing in her ears. She explained quietly, "I just didn't hear you approach…"
"That's because I just popped in like Priestess Isis pointed out."
Yugi tilted her head to the side quizzically. "I'm afraid I don't follow…"
"I'm a magician!" Mana cried in an explosion of perkiness and excitement.
"A… magician?" She thought a moment before clarifying, "You mean a prestidigitator?"
Mana wrinkled her nose. "A prestidigi-what?"
"It's just another term for magician," Isis provided.
"Oh." Mana smiled. "Then, yeah, I'm a prestidigi-whatever-the-rest-is."
Isis and Yugi stifled some giggles.
"Lady Yugi," Isis introduced, "As you've probably already realized, this is Mana, magician in training and one of our physicians here at the palace."
Magician in training? Yugi repeated in her mind. She gulped. She wasn't really sure about having a magician in training examine her…
"Also," Mana piped up, "I'm Prince Atem's best friend-" She shot a playful glare to Yugi. "- So don't get any ideas."
Too late for that, Yugi thought with a skeptical expression. Mana didn't seem like the type to be close friends with Atem. She was too neurotic, too high maintenance. Perhaps they had became friends when they were young, when personalities weren't first priority. And, maybe, their friendship had just stuck all these years. Either way, Yugi was already planning on questioning Atem about Mana later.
"So," Mana changed subjects, "What brings you to my domain? Not bad news, I hope?"
"No," Isis reported, "The Pharaoh just sent us here to have Lady Yugi get examined, being that she fainted earlier."
"Of course, no problem!" Mana motioned behind her to follow, saying, "This way."
Isis and Yugi trailed behind the girl as she skipped further into the palace clinic.
Mana interrogated as she bounced up and down an echoing hallway, "Lady Yugi, why'd you faint? Was it because of the heat? It has been humid this summer…"
Yugi didn't answer right away. But when she did, she settled for, "Something like that."
Mana nodded and thought aloud, "Well, there's not much I can do except give you a thorough look-over… Except for your eyes, of course, because you're blind… You'd kind of fail the eye examine, wouldn't you?"
Yugi could tell that Mana was trying to lighten the mood and was not meaning to be disrespectful. But she had overstepped a thin, invisible line. This girl doesn't believe in boundaries, Yugi noted. But she stayed silent, too nervous to be angry at the moment.
"… I can practice some of my new spells on you! Would that be alright with you, Lady Yugi?"
"I'd prefer not to be an experimental specimen…"
"You don't know how many people have turned me down with that exact same phrase! Seems no one here wants to help me out… Oh well, no offense is taken…"
I can't say the same for me.
"… Then, let's get this examination started!" Mana clapped her hands together, making Yugi jump. "Ready?"
No. "Yes."
"Excellent!" She turned to Isis. "Priestess Isis, if you don't mind…"
"I don't." Isis walked out of the room.
Don't leave me with her, Yugi silently pleaded to Isis's receding footsteps.
"Then, let's go, Lady Yugi." Mana took Yugi's hand, validating the motion with, "So you don't get lost!"
I rather be lost than with this girl… "Of course."
Mana chattered excitedly, "Oh! And we can talk about Prince Atem! Just us girls!"
Why me? "If you'd like."
-transition-
"Then, this is going to be a lot harder than anyone can imagine."
The statement evaporated into the tense still that had settled into the room.
Atem's hands slapped onto the table, and he cried temperamentally, "You're talking in riddles, Father! Just tell us what you mean!"
"Atem, Seto, Mahad," the Pharaoh addressed, giving each a dramatic, individual gaze. At last, he questioned, "Are any of you familiar with a marriage contract?"
"Of course," Seto took it upon himself to explain, "A marriage contract is the legal document signed by the guardians of the two betrothed."
Akunumkanon was silent. After a moment to let that be absorbed, he asked, "Do you see the problem?"
The three young men blinked simultaneously. "No," they answered together.
The Pharaoh facepalmed.
"Please, we need to understand," Mahad urged.
Akunumkanon motioned to Atem, clarifying, "You have me to sign the marriage contract. But who does Lady Yugi have?"
Understanding rested on the three across from the Pharaoh.
Atem swallowed before stating what they all dreaded:
"Her brother."
"And, that's it," Akunumkanon stressed, "Only her brother. My spies have done massive amounts of research, and it seems he's the sole survivor of the Motou family besides Lady Yugi herself."
"I knew some of the Motou family…" Mahad remembered noble parties held at the palace. He had had the pleasure to meet some of the Motou's, and they seemed like wonderful people. "… You mean they have all just disappeared?"
The Pharaoh nodded. "They were a small family and hard to keep track of, but there is plenty of evidence that Lady Yugi's brother personally saw to it that they all vanished so that he could secure his place as the heir to their family."
"So, what your saying is-" Seto pieced together with a horror-stricken expression, "- If Prince Atem wants to marry Lady Yugi, we're going to have to get her brother to sign the marriage contract, otherwise the union will be invalid?"
"Exactly." Akunumkanon heaved a sigh. "If you weren't the Crown Prince of Egypt this would be a different story, but rules are rules in the royal society and that small detail is enough to throw the entire kingdom into anarchy."
"Is Lady Yugi's brother aware of this?" Mahad interrogated.
"Most likely," the Pharaoh replied sullenly, "We don't know for sure because he hasn't responded to my invitation yet, but we're fairly certain." His gaze was dull and icy and yet all knowing as it rested on Atem. "Son, you see, there's a method to my madness. If you don't get Lady Yugi's brother to sign the marriage contract, you can't marry her."
Mahad devised, "I know we'd never do anything to hurt Lady Yugi, but can't we threaten him with her? Obviously, he's left his sister out of his massacre, so she must mean a great deal to him."
"That might have worked a week or so ago," Akunumkanon informed, "But we've already caught some of her brother's spies. It seems he has more influence than we anticipated. He knows of Lady Yugi and Atem's relationship, that much we have learned."
"He's virtually untouchable, and by now he knows it…" Seto's grip tightened and his jaw clenched. "… I just know that he already knows…"
"So, what should we do now?" Mahad questioned.
Akunumkanon commanded, "I need you three to go out as spies yourselves. Mahad, all our secret spies will be interrogated as to their loyalty, and all imposters will be given zero tolerance if found out."
"Yes, my Pharaoh."
"Seto, since you know most about Lady Yugi's brother, you will been given the task of going along with some of my spies to your old hometown to research and ask around about the 'Motou' character he masquerades as. Whatever you find, important or insignificant, report back to me. And on your way out of the palace, remind Isis to account all new visions she receives to me as well."
"Yes, my Pharaoh."
"Atem-"
Atem's crimson gaze was on the floor.
"-You're awfully quiet."
Atem simply nodded.
"Are you all right?"
"I am all right. I'm just not sure if Yugi will be once she hears this news…" Atem's eyes narrowed dangerously. "She's been through enough! Why do more challenges decide to throw themselves at her? It's just not fair!"
The Pharaoh revealed half a smile, his icy gaze shattered as he informed, "And that's why I'm recruiting you to comfort her through all this. You're up for the task, I presume?"
"Of course!" Atem exclaimed willingly.
"Then there's nothing more to do today," Akunumkanon announced, standing up from the table.
The three across followed suit, Mahad and Seto giving a bow before exiting.
Atem followed, but his father stopped him with, "Wait, Atem, one more thing."
"No more surprises I hope…" Atem mumbled, wincing.
The Pharaoh chuckled, assuring, "No, of course not. I just wanted to ask you if you could maybe get Lady Yugi to tell you a bit more about her family and her brother's authority to report to me."
"I can do that," Atem stated with a nonchalant shrug.
"Good." His father's expression hardened. "The less surprises, the better."
-transition-
Yugi sighed. Thankfully, she had survived a whole two hours with Mana. To say that Mana was the clumsiest magician in the entire world was a monumental understatement. The girl was a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, Yugi was able to talk her out of using any spells on her, but the rest of the palace hadn't been so lucky.
She was exhausted. Spending time with Mana was like doing cartwheels for an hour straight on broken glass. Painful as it been, though, Yugi was now intrigued to why this Mana girl and her Atem where friends…
Did I just say "my" Atem? Yugi stopped in her tracks. I did, didn't I? Huh, that has an interesting ring to it… But a thought brought her back to reality. Brother says someone belongs to you when you take care of them… But I can't take care of anybody. So, Atem doesn't really belong to me… Do I belong to him?
Before she could settle on this intriguing question, Yugi heard Atem call, "Yugi? Are you here?"
"Yes!" Yugi called back.
Footsteps approached and Yugi was embraced by Atem, him whispering into her ear, "You're okay, right?"
"Of course, I'm fine," Yugi replied to the hot breath caressing her neck.
"Good."
"Atem, I have a question," Yugi proposed.
Atem nodded, returning, "I'd be happy to answer it. But let's sit down first." He took her hand in his, leading to a seat in the courtyard. "Now," he picked up, "What was your question?"
Yugi thought about how she would word it and finally inquired, "Can people belong to other people?"
Atem thought about this. He played with Yugi's blonde bangs, contemplating out loud, "Well, slaves can belong to people. I'm not sure about others, though… Why do you ask?"
"Well-" Yugi pulled her legs up underneath her. "-I always thought I belonged to my parents. But my brother said I belonged to him because he took care of me…" Atem waited patiently for Yugi to finish. "Is that the definition of ownership? When one takes care of another?"
"That might be one definition," Atem mused aloud, "But I think it's more complicated than that."
"Then, whom do I belong to?" Yugi realized this was the same question she asked her brother not long ago, and yet it seemed like years, like he was millennias away.
"Hmm…" Atem hummed while he considered this. Finally, he decided and declared, "I don't believe you belong to anyone, Yugi, at least not yet."
Yugi couldn't stop herself from asking, "Can I belong to you? And you belong to me?"
Atem smiled excitedly, consenting, "Yes, we'll belong to each other. It'll be a perfect system. You take care of me, and I'll take care of you."
Yugi smiled as well. "Then, it's a trade. Promise?"
"Promise," Atem vowed.
Peace fell on the two, and they quietly soaked up the summer sunlight. That is until-
"So, who's Mana?"
Atem groaned.
Author's Note: Awww! Wasn't that last part adorable? Fluffy goodness! :3
So! The Pharaoh does have a battle plan! Apparently, he's not as crazy as he seems! Hooray!
Well, that's it. anime-on-replay is out for now. Again, thanks for a hundred reviews. Now let's work on more! Lol.
Review please.