Author's Note: This chapter was written on paper first, and it took seven different pens to accomplish. I usually go through about a pen a week but this chapter was just determined to eat up all my pens. It made my writing very colorful, though. It's funny how it goes from grey to black to green to red to purple to orange and then back to black. Pity you can't see how pretty it is…
Sorry for the wait. Things started getting pretty crazy because I happen to be moving perhaps very soon, and it has made things pretty hectic. Oh, and the week after next is finals week. TT_TT
Well, here you are! You thought it was over? Pttf, very from it. There is plenty of more left; there's no need to worry. Enjoy the chap!
Chapter 28
Yugi had been told that the pond lady was, in fact, no pond lady at all. It was her- or rather, a purer form of her. As Yugi looked down into the silver water, she could find no faults in this stranger, no proof that she had ever suffered any grief or sorrow. Sure, there were dark circles resting under her enormous amethyst eyes, and her blonde bangs were wet and sticky from sweat. But still, the reflection seemed nothing short of pure perfection.
Yugi looked past her own doppelganger for a moment, seeing that the lavender sky behind her was also being mirrored. Diamond stars lined the sky as if placed there by a skillful artist. When she had first received her eyesight, Yugi had wondered briefly why no one had ever tried to describe the marvels of the world. But she soon came to realize that there weren't enough adjectives in the world to name the world's majesty. She would have gotten lost in its glory if she'd ever attempted to try.
Suddenly, a white apparition joined her side in the silver pond.
"Couldn't sleep?" Ryou inquired in a hushed tone, talking to the younger Motou's reflection in the water.
Yugi nodded as she examined what Ryou's double looked like in the pool.
He looked nearly the same as he did when away from the water dimension, as innocent as a lamb. His face rose a million questions and no answers, just as it always did when he willed it to.
Yugi sensed Atem approaching and watched him in the pond as he did.
The water was kinder to Atem's sharp features, his eyes not as crimson and his stature not as intimidating in the ripples.
"Yugi," he began, soft concern evident in his tone, "Why are you up so early? Aren't you tired?"
"Not at all," Yugi lied simply to calm Atem's frayed nerves. "And I'm waiting for something," Yugi disclosed, not taking her eyes off the glistening liquid below her.
"What are you waiting for?"
Seto walked up behind Yugi, letting his question travel across the water.
Seto's dominant height compared to everyone else's was easy to see in their reflection. But oddly enough, his personality appeared weakest in the water, as the brunette kept most of his thoughts hidden deep inside him.
Yugi suddenly turned around and pointed at the entrance of the palace, announcing, "That."
The Prince's, priest's, and spy's eyes followed her arm and saw that, directly where she pointed, her brother was waiting for the guards to open the sturdy stone gates.
"Yugi, how did you—"
But she was already flying towards the gates. The three young men tried to catch up, but only Ryou was fast enough to do so. He cut her off and held her back by her shoulders.
"Please let me see him," she begged, struggling to squirm out of Ryou's firm grip.
"The Pharaoh had to banish him, Yugi; you know that. He told Yami in secret to leave during the middle of the night for fear of a heartbreaking goodbye between you two." Ryou looked pained to admit this but continued, "Do you wish to go through with it?"
"Yes," Yugi answered strongly.
Ryou sighed. "Then there is nothing I can do to stop you." Slowly, his fingers released Yugi's shoulders, and she was flying again towards the palace gates.
"Ryou… Why… why didn't you stop her?" Atem panted, catching up to Ryou only, as Yugi was already way ahead by the time he had reached him.
"I believe Yami was right when he said him and Yugi wouldn't or perhaps couldn't be separated for long," Ryou revealed, "But it might be some time before then, and I didn't want her to resent us for making a decision that should have been hers to begin with."
"That's… very wise… Ryou," Seto told the spy as he caught his breath next to the two other men.
Atem nodded in agreement as he gazed down the corridor and watched Yugi finally reach her brother.
Yami's expression was hard to read, but Atem saw some words leave his mouth very slowly, like they were fatigued greatly.
These words made Yugi pull back, astonished. But her shock didn't stop some of her own words for piercing the crisp morning air. Atem couldn't hear these words, but he knew they were powerful by just watching Yami's expression shift gradually.
For a moment, Yami's eyes appeared shiny with tears, but it could have been a trick of the light.
Yugi's tears, on the other hand, were almost too apparent. Witnessing the sadness in Yugi's eyes was practically the same as feeling the sadness yourself. And it made Atem all that more anxious to make himself and Yugi as close as Yugi was with her beloved brother.
"You'll be that close with Lady Yugi sooner than you think, Prince Atem."
Atem glanced momentarily at Ryou. "You didn't aquire the ability to read minds while you were gone, did you, Ryou?"
The white-haired man chuckled briefly. "No, just the ability to predict people's thoughts and actions. But if you squint at that sentence and the definition of mind-reading, you'll find very little differences."
Atem shook his head and turned his attention back to the Motou siblings across from the trio.
Yami was talking now, probably trying to make up an excuse that would lessen the burden of Yugi's heart. Yugi stood very still and was very quiet throughout it, taking in every word carefully like she was collecting precious gems.
And finally, Yami's explanation wound down to a few tired words, like a leak that hadn't been patched up proficiently and was still letting stray water leak slowly from its basin.
Yugi seemed to accept this excuse, swallowing it like a sick child did with bitter medicine. Her face was wet, and it was difficult to tell whether the tears had stopped or were just flowing tiredly like Yami's words. She stood up straighter with Yami's last word, her face emotionless.
But, as Yugi grew stronger, Yami grew weaker, and his tough barrier seemed to collapse without warning. He pulled his sister into a hug, and fresh tears stained the stone beneath them.
And then, Atem watched as they reluctantly released each other, two souls separating for what seemed forever more.
Yami almost seemed to crawl away from Yugi, facing the stone gates and slowly walking into the early morning light.
"Are you all right, Yugi?"
Atem had unknowingly conquered the space between him and Yugi, now only a few inches separating them.
Yugi still faced the gate as she nodded a yes, her hands clasped and resting on her chest. But it didn't last long as she soon found herself folding into Atem's arms on instinct, like two puzzle pieces fitting together in a mutual hug perfectly. Atem rested his chin on Yugi's forehead and closed his eyes, only focusing on the warmth increasing between them.
Ryou was completely right when he said Atem and Yugi would grow as close as her and her brother was before he knew it. In that one embrace, that gap had been bridged. Now they had to cross some other bridges, some even more treacherous than this one.
-transition-
"Motou?"
One name, and the thieves camping out a little beyond the palace were ablaze with childish whispers and shameless gossip.
Yami walked past them without even a single glance to any of them. But he didn't need to waste his energy. The crowd parted like the Red Sea. People dove out of the way dramatically. They were all too familiar with the look in Yami's eyes.
He was beyond livid.
Yami made his way straight to Bakura's tent, pulling back the fabric with overexerted force.
"Where is he?" Yami snarled, locking his poisonous glare on Marik, Bakura's right hand man.
"Don't look at me," Marik told the Motou nonchalantly. The golden-haired boy was messily writing hieroglyphs down, inscribing another character, examining it, and then moving onto the next when he was assured that it was legible. He could feel the dangerous gaze on him but didn't address its intensity and chose to ignore it rather than ask what had caused Yami so much rage.
Yami growled low in his throat. "I'm serious, Marik."
"I'm sure you are," Marik mumbled while he pulled out another piece of parchment, swinging his legs back and forth with a content sigh.
Marik suddenly felt himself being dragged up, a death grip on his wrist.
"Where, Marik, where?" Yami's tone did not implore but demanded an answer.
"He's meeting reinforcements in the desert," Marik finally divulged, quickly and yet still somehow casually. "Now release my wrist; you're giving me a bruise."
Yami practically threw him to the side, Marik left to rub his wrist until he was assured the grasp would not leave a permanent mark on his tan skin. Yami was cursed under his breath as he absorbed the report, realizing there wasn't much time to waste. He left the tent with the news tossed back into the recesses of his mind.
-transition-
"So we're leaving?" Yugi asked gently.
"Yes," Akunumkanon continued, "It'll take your mind off everything if we join you and Atem in marriage as soon as possible. You two will depart for Yugi's home village immediately tomorrow morning to retrieve her possessions."
"You're not going, Father?" Atem inquired, detecting the unspoken.
"Believe it or not, this kingdom doesn't govern itself, so yes, I'll be staying," the Pharaoh teased. "But I'll be having Ryou go with you for safety and Seto go with you for navigation. Also, I believe you all have some catching up to do."
Yugi and Atem nodded, agreeing fully.
"It'll be sad, though, going back and seeing my family's manor abandoned…" Yugi took a deep breath. "But I think it'll be better this way." She added as an afterthought just to herself: Besides, I have some things I must do before I reside in the palace.
The Pharaoh smiled at her reassuringly and dismissed the couple from the courtroom. They walked out, hands intertwined.
Akunumkanon sighed as the door closed, running a hand over his face.
"Is the excitement officially over?" Shimon asked from beside him.
"We'll see," the King mumbled. "Yami promised me a favor before he left, and I hope I don't have false hope in believing he'll complete it."
"The boy looked sincere and swore on his life. Does that not reassure you, Pharaoh?" Shimon questioned.
Akunumkanon ran his fingers over his temples and confessed, "That's what I'm most worried about, Shimon."
-transition-
Yami rode out to the desert as quickly as he could. He knew he had to reach Bakura before he returned to his ragtag team to thieves and lawbreakers.
Not long after his horse's hooves began to sink in the unstable sand, he spotted Bakura on the horizon. The Thief King was also bearing a horse, a midnight black one with an uneven but reliable stride.
"Bakura!" Yami roared, pulling back on his own horse's reins and making the horse release a terrifying whinny.
When Bakura saw Yami ahead, his face twisted into amusement. The white-haired thief didn't quicken his horse's pace to meet up with Yami faster but instead continued his slow trek across to him, smiling broadly the entire time.
At last, Bakura halted in front of Yami and liberated his thoughts into the desert sky.
"Ah, Motou! A surprise to say the least!" Bakura dismounted his horse. "I thought maybe the Court had grown fond of you and were going to keep you as the palace pet."
"Don't patronize me," Yami snapped, dismounting his own horse as well so that the two men's gazes could be evened.
Bakura blinked thoughtfully at this. "Something tells me you're a little upset. It must have been something good by the looks of it…"
"Take them away," Yami ordered sharply.
"Whoever could you mean?" Bakura feigned innocence.
"Marik, Kisara, everyone. Take your thieves and sorcerers away from the palace," Yami commanded.
Bakura chuckled darkly. "Has the Court brainwashed you, Motou? You're not exactly acting like yourself…"
"That's where you're wrong, Bakura. I am acting like myself for the first time actually," Yami argued, not missing a beat. "Maybe you should act like yourself."
"I love being the bearer of bad news, Yami-" Bakura dropped his mockingly formal demeanor. "-So I am pleased to inform you that this is myself. Always has been, always will be."
"I assumed as much." Yami sighed. "So are you going to take your pathetic little supporters and go bother someone else? Or do I have to force your hand?"
"Oh, Yami! Your tone is so hurtful!" Bakura sniffled obnoxiously. "Hurtful indeed. You act like you don't want us here."
"That's because I don't."
At this, Bakura unexpectedly released his theatrical act and asked, "Then perhaps a shadow game could solve our difference of opinion, hmm?"
"I don't feel like games," Yami growled.
"No games! Now I'm convinced you are not the real Yami and just a look-alike." Bakura's DiaDhank moved into position as he flashed a sly smirk. "Care to prove me wrong?"
"I said no games."
"Oh!" Bakura acted like he was just catching on. "We're dealing with 'serious business Yami'. I see…" The Thief King mumbled "serious business Yami" under his breath a few more times for good measure before proposing: "Then I suppose 'fight to the death' sounds more appealing to you, yes?"
Yami crossed his arms but didn't say a word to counteract Bakura's question or confirm it.
"Right. I should have known…" Bakura's eyes far away, as if reliving the past. "I should have killed you the first time I saw you as a child. Those eyes of yours… They held so much blind determination." The word "blind" was emphasized for a reason that made Yami cringe. "Silly me, though. I always had a soft spot for the weak and malleable, better known as children.
"The first time I looked at you, I meant to look past you, but your aura made me think twice about disregarding you. You know what your aura is, Yami? No, of course you don't know. People can't see their own aura because the energy rests on their back. Only other people can see the colors and only if they get close enough to the subject without being detected. Fortunately, I am one of the people who can do this almost effortlessly.
"Yami, your aura is a bright, fiery red. So much fury in one boy- too much I once thought. But you proved to be more than capable of handling this powerful and rather dangerous aura. But now, Yami, now aura is a deep purple, very strange indeed. It means that you became very downtrodden after a sad occurrence, which would normally make your aura turn into a lonely blue. But the depressing blue you were supposed to accept and the scorching red you already possessed clashed and fought for dominance inside you. It seems there was no clear victor in this internal battle, because now you remain purple, a combination of the both.
"But, I warn you, purple is a temporary state, Yami. You can't stay this way forever. For now, both you sadness and fury have been neutralized by each other, but I do not lie when I say that, soon, one of those overwhelming emotions will take over, and you will forever be a sad little boy trapped in a dark room of your own self-loathing or a corrupted monster in a world that will never understand you."
"Give me one reason why I should believe even one of these words," Yami didn't hesitate to challenge, though it was clear that something Bakura had said had shaken his core.
Bakura smirked cruelly, obviously enjoying toying with the older Motou's mind. "Because, somewhere deep behind that deceitfully calm expression of yours, you know it's true. Don't you, Yami?"
Author's Note: I promised myself I wouldn't eat a candycane until I finished this chapter. Chapter done, so it's candycane time! Merry Christmas! (And how's that for a cliffhanger? O_O)
Reviews are always deeply appreciated.