Chapter LXXIV: Leaving

"Does Atem know?"

"He can't know." Yami bristled and turned to him, fear coursing down his spine. "It'll destroy things as they are. His abilities are what could tip the balance. Jaden is right to be afraid of him."

Yugi stared back at him for a long time, blinking. He searched his face until he couldn't any longer, turning to watch Atem throw a fish through the air once more. He watched it as it sailed, then landed at his paws. This one did not disappear immediately but rather thrashed about at his claws, scales flashing like blood and rainbow.

Yami shifted his weight and pressed forward a step. "Yugi."

His father looked away from the fish at his paws with a tilted head, watching his face. "Why do you look so…?" Yugi seemed to struggle for words for a long moment before shaking his head. "Yami, what's wrong?"

Yami hesitated, watching Yugi before slowly lowering his head. "I can't stay here any longer."

"What? What are you talking about?" Yugi snapped, voice bordering pure rage. "What in the name of Paradise are you talking about? Of course you'll stay here. Where else would you go? Why would you leave? That doesn't make any sense, Yami."

Yami looked up again, shaking his head again. "If I stay here, Jaden will come sooner. And if that happens, Atem is going to get hurt."

"Atem?" Yugi stopped short of snapping his teeth at him, blinking slowly and studying intently. He looked as if he wanted to tell him otherwise, but whatever he saw in Yami's expression stopped him short. "Why do you assume Atem is going to get hurt if you…don't leave?"

Yami locked eyes with him. "I don't assume. I know it." He huffed a breath. "Jaden is going to come after me again. And when he does, he's going to lead Seto's son inadvertently. Atem and Seto's son will fight and Seto's son will manage to kill him before you'll get to him. You'll both fight, and he'll rip your throat out before Atem will recover enough to kill him."

Yugi stared back uncertainly. "Atem… No. Atem is stronger than that."

"He is," Yami agreed, flustered, "but he's not infallible. He'd fight Jaden before and the wounds would slow him."

"What wounds? Atem's never been slowed down like that."

"You witnessed Jaden slow him down when he caught fire and burned the neighboring trees. It wouldn't be so hard for him to hurt Atem and then burn him badly enough in that open wound," Yami said with a snarl. He charged forward a few steps, scowling. "You can't tell me Atem is immune to everything. I saw him. He was beginning to slow. He started to wheeze. It was a matter of time before he began panting and struggling to breathe."

Yugi stared at him for a long moment. "Where do you propose you go?" he asked slowly. "You're telling me you need to leave…immediately, and yet you have not spoken of where you would have to go."

Yami drew a deep breath, both relieved and anxious that he'd managed to get through to him. But Yugi was doing it for Atem, and Yami was sure if he'd had to approach Atem and said it would save Yugi, it would have wielded similar results. It seemed almost cruel to say that, even if it was true.

I just want you both to survive.

"I look like a Uria," he said finally, "and Bakura said when he went to the desert for a moon, it enhanced his scales and made him stronger. He was more resistant to heat and everything like that. He bragged about it. He had tougher scales than Atem was ready for."

Yugi blinked and tilted his head. "Jonouchi."

"Yes. I…I think Jonouchi would be the best to seek shelter with. Jaden won't come looking for me in the Badlands. And he doesn't think much of Jonouchi so perhaps…" Yami searched his face, then steeled his resolve. "It has to be Jonouchi."

His dad stared at him for a long minute. "And what am I to tell Atem? That you just…ran away on your own in the middle of the night?" he scoffed, shaking his head. "He'll go to the ends of the earth to find you."

"That's why he has to think I'm dead."

Yugi blinked once, long and slow, and bristled as his voice sharpened. "Explain."

Yami raised his head and tried not to let his wings quiver. Everything felt suffocating now, his wings pressed into his sides so forcefully he was almost dizzy. "We're going to say Jaden got to me. All we need is some blood, some flesh and fire."

"You want…me to…?" Yugi laughed incredulously. Atem's constant fishing stopped behind him. There was no movement any longer. Yami saw the river fade even, and slowly the ground beneath his paws became nothing but darkness. Yami blinked slowly, stunned by the shadows that seemed to try to swallow them. Yugi seemed unsurprised, as if the change was nothing new to him. Yami risked a glance around them, amazed and horrified all at once. "You startled me. I lost focus."

And abruptly the world opened into color again. The sand beneath his paws was soft and warm. A fish flew through the air and landed beside his claws. Yami twitched his tail and considered Yugi more closely. He tilted his head, flexing his claws and watching his reflection in his father's eyes.

"How do you plan to pull this off?"

"I'll…I'll cut my paw open. And then I'll take a chunk off my leg or shoulder or…something. We need enough evidence that it seems truthful when you show it to him." Yami faltered, studying him. Yugi looked as if Yami had struck him. He looked unsure, insulted even, and fearful as if he expected somehow Atem might waken and realize. "It'll work. Immediately after, we'll staunch the bleeding with mud and berry paste, though it won't be too terrible regardless."

Yugi shook his head slowly. "I don't… Yami, I'm not doing this."

"Not even for Atem?" he asked softly. "His life is the main one hanging in the balance, Yugi."

The Gandora stared at him for a long time, then shook his head sharply. "Prove it. I'm sorry, Yami, but I'm not going to hurt you and then lie to him because you…you're convinced something is going to go wrong. I can't do that to him."

Yami looked away. "There's no other option, Yugi. There are only two choices. If I stay here, you and he will both die. If I leave now, while I still have time to…learn and focus on my abilities, I can save you."

"This will destroy him, Yami."

"No. He'll have you." Yami searched his face. "Ironheart said he had long shadows in his path, promising pain and anguish. He said change was going to happen and Atem would have to weather through it as he always did."

"What do I care what a pale-scaled Water Dragon had to say to him?" Yugi spat. "All I care about is your safety alongside Atem's."

"Then help me. I can save him. I can save you."

"I'm not afraid of dying. I don't need saving."

"Father will die if you do. You know that."

Yugi paused for a moment, watching him as if he did not know what to say. Then he tilted his head slowly to the side and bore his teeth minutely. "You swear to me you saw something worth the hurt," he hissed, "or I swear Jaden won't be the only one hunting your hide when he realizes."

Yami blinked and smiled slightly, then came forward. When their beaks touched, Yami saw the brilliant flash of the image. Jaden was hurtled through the air. Atem stood hunched, panting for air and bleeding. Dimitri stood with a huge grin, mouth opened hideously into a smirk that threatened to swallow his face. He launched himself at Atem, who knocked him backwards with his wings and snarled softly. He watched Dimitri with burning eyes as the hatchling shook himself out and rushed forward again. Atem went to block him again, but blood dropped from his shoulder like rainfall and his paw slipped in the puddle. He couldn't catch himself before Dimitri caught his jugular, seeming almost to drink his blood as if it were water. Yugi launched himself forward, and Atem's jugular sprayed blood as Dimitri jerked back to face him. The Alternative Dragon slammed into him full force, claws clinging to his shoulders and teeth digging into his skull.

"That's not possible," Yugi snapped, shaking his head and backing away. "Atem is too good for that. That couldn't happen."

Yami stepped back to give him more space. "It doesn't matter that he's too good for that. It's what will happen if I stay. If I leave, I can change it."

Yugi scowled. "Is that so?" he scoffed. But he focused again, and the ache that swelled in his expression was tempered by slow acceptance. He looked away and shook his head slowly, shivering. "This will save Atem? You swear to me, Yami?"

Yami nodded. "I pledge my life on it."

"And what about you?"

"I'll be fine." He didn't know how true that was. But he knew Jonouchi wasn't going to let anything happen to him when Yugi asked him to take him in. There was no way the Red-Eyes would falter in protecting him later if Yugi pled with him to. They may have fought and lived in different regions now, but they still had a deep enough friendship that it could weather the problem. "Just…watch out for Atem and Timaeus for me."

Yugi watched him for a long time, doubtful but resigned. "You really think there's no other way?"

Yami shook his head. "There's not."

"How do you plan to pull this off?" Yugi asked finally. "They're going to wake up."

"No. I'm going to walk their dreams and I'm going to make sure they sleep long enough for me to do it. It's easier to manipulate them when they're dreaming. I'll just make their sleep deeper and then they'll keep dreaming for a while longer. It should give us the time we'll need."

Yugi watched him for a long time. "What would you have done if I'd refused?"

Yami shook his head. "You wouldn't. Atem's at stake."

His father narrowed his eyes and studied him, scowling. "And what about later? Are you going to come back?" he snapped. "Are you going to come back and see Atem? What happens then?"

He tilted his head. "I'll come back when I have answers. I just need time and the grounds to do what I must." Yami searched his face. "But for now, I have to go."

"He's never going to trust me again."

He looked away. "He will…eventually. It's just going to take time. You waited before. Can you wait again?"

"I'd wait forever. But this isn't the same, Yami. He had no reason to distrust me or hate me before. And now he will." Yugi shook his head. "You're asking for so much and I don't even know the degree of damage this is going to cause."

"Whatever damage caused can be reversed."

"He's already suffered so much. I don't want to add to it." Yugi hesitated. "What if this breaks him? And what about me?"

Yami shook his head. "Remember what he's already gone through. He recovered from that almost entirely on his own. He can come back from this as well."

"And what am I supposed to do? Ignore his pain and pretend I have no idea?"

Yami searched his face. "Yes." He sighed. "Comfort him where you can, but…remember your lies. Don't get caught in them. He's too smart not to figure it out if you overdo it. And just…give him time. He's always just needed time."

Yugi bristled, baring his teeth. "And when you have answers and all you're looking for, what happens then?" he spat. "You come back? Is that it?"

"I'm doing this to stop either of you losing your lives. When I come back, I'll have a solution."

"Is that so? And what solution is that?"

Yami faltered. "I…I don't know yet."

"So, I place all this faith in you, hoping against everything that it doesn't destroy Atem and you'll be okay, and then in return…you find answers." Yugi laughed softly, sardonically, and Yami felt as if his heart were going to explode. "That's…just so much."

"I know."

Yugi sniffed Atem's cheek and shook himself out. Yami stumbled to his paws and stretched his limbs, watching him. Yugi exhaled against his skin and Atem cooed, unmoving but for his sides rising and falling. The Gandora looked over with a grimace.

"This…is going to be the last time I see him happy."

Yami blinked and shook his head. "No. You make him happy."

"He fell in love with you first."

"No. He loved you before me. He just never said it."

Yugi looked at him incredulously for a moment, then licked Atem's forehead. When he turned back he seemed hollowed out and small, as if someone had scooped away his willpower. "Promise me this is for the best. If I do this, and he suffers for it just because…"

Yami moved to his side and rubbed beaks with Atem, then turned and raised his head to stare at Yugi. "I love you both."

It was all he had to say. Yugi looked at Atem again, rubbed against him for a moment, and then slowly stood and glanced at Timaeus. "Are you going to say goodbye?"

Yami looked over. "No. I'll be back. I'm not going to say farewell unless it's permanent." He turned to Atem and rubbed beaks with him again. When he straightened, his stomach was in knots and his heart threatened to burst in his chest again. It would have been so much easier to ignore it all and hide with them as he already was. But how much longer could they get away with it? And how soon would things topple? He had a time frame, but it wasn't solid. Things could accelerate. They could slow.

He wasn't so powerful he could provide the answer.

"Let's go…before I over think this and start second-guessing."

Yami nodded and trotted past him, glancing back over his shoulder. Yugi stood a moment longer staring down at Atem, then hurried after him. Yami hesitated at the entrance, then forced himself to leap out and onto the rock cliff beneath. His entire body tingled with guilt and dismay to have to leave, but there was also a strange sense of excitement and relief. The relief he knew came only from Yugi believing in him and the hope he could change what path had been predicted.

The excitement was unavoidable, but still it made him feel betrayed.

How could he feel elated like this to leave and face such problems?

He was leaving his parents and even Timaeus. There was nothing about the situation that should have brought excitement. He was almost horrified by the feeling. It shouldn't have been there and it made his stomach roll with uncertainty. The more they walked, the harder it became to focus. Fear crept in as the seconds passed and he almost turned tail to snuggle into Atem's side and hide.

I'm doing this for Father.

He steeled himself and turned to Yugi. "We'll do it over here," he announced, picking a place closer to where Jaden had initially attacked. "If he asks, I ventured here to think things over."

Yugi eyed him. "If?"

"He won't ask when he sees the proof. When he sees and smells blood and flesh he won't ask. He's going to assume Jaden got to me." Yami could say that much with absolute certainty. Atem would accept that grim truth before he would do anything else. "Especially when you say you don't know what happened."

Yugi visibly flinched, glancing back toward the den. "I've never lied to him maliciously before. This just seems so…disgusting." He shivered and turned back. "But if it means you both come out of this okay, then…"

Yami nodded slightly and glanced around again. "It will." He picked his way around one of the bushes and turned back. Yugi would freak out if he watched him hurt himself. He'd snarled at Atem when he'd tested whether his scales were slippery upon Yami's request. He'd panic now.

"Can you get the berries and mud ready? I can handle the majority of this."

Yugi stared at him as if he'd struck him. He bristled faintly, shivering, and then looked quickly away again. "I… Okay, yeah, I…I can do that."

Yami watched him turn tail and looked around again. Yugi was going to have to use his fire breath again on the spot he did this. But all the same it should have offered the illusion of an attack no matter if Yugi did it or he did. He moved toward one of the most badly scorched spots in the clearing, shaking himself out, and pictured the angle Jaden would have come from. If it was aerial, he needed to make the blood splatter backwards as if he'd been tossed. If it was from a ground position, he needed it to spray forward. Then there was the method of—

He was overdoing it.

He already knew Atem would take one look, see the damage, and return to the den. He'd be unable to shake the image from his mind but he wouldn't bother to double check or second guess the situation. He'd think Yami was dead and that was the point. If he was dead, Atem didn't have to figure out how or why, especially when they'd just crossed paths with Jaden that day.

Timaeus would be the one who would try to cause fights over it. He'd be the one upset and angry enough to demand answers. He'd be the one to try to push them to find out how and why.

Yami shook his head and circled again, considering one final time. Then he looked around to make sure Yugi wasn't present, and turned his teeth onto his shoulder. The initial sting of his own teeth puncturing his flesh made him almost yelp. Blood rushed over his tongue and he almost stopped and ran. It was disturbing no matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise.

Even if it meant saving Atem and Yugi, self-mutilation was overwhelming.

He forced himself through it, however, spitting blood out of his mouth in an arc and hissing as his shoulder burned with pain. He dropped the hunk of flesh he'd managed to dislodge and shivered, staring down at it pitifully. It leaked blood in a steady stream, forming a large pool around it. He looked over at his shoulder and swallowed back bile.

When he turned around, Yugi was staring at him, eyes huge as saucers and mouth half-opened. He stepped back abruptly, flinching, but came forward again after a moment.

"You said you would heal it."

"I will. I just…didn't realize it would look like that," he whispered, overwhelmed again. "I thought… I don't know what I thought."

Yugi nodded slightly, coming closer and then hesitating. "What am I to do?"

Yami looked back, blinking, and forced himself not to flinch at the lost expression in Yugi's eyes. "I need you to…" He faltered a moment, studying him. "I need you to use your fire breath and make it look as if I got attacked."

Yugi blinked a few times as if he couldn't understand what Yami had just said to him. He stared a moment longer, considering, and then looked away. "You need to fix your shoulder first. You'll bleed no matter where you move otherwise."

Yami looked at it again, hesitating. His blood tasted heavy and disgusting on his tongue and his mouth almost ached with the thought of cleaning the wound. He shivered, but it had to be done. He had to do this. It was no longer a matter of whether he could. It was a matter of how quickly.

He suppressed another shiver, flicking his tongue. The wound seared with pain, burning from the bristles lining the muscle, and he barely stopped himself yelping. He could see Yugi flinch in his peripheral, as if he'd been struck somehow. Yami forced himself to continue, licking at the damaged muscle and blood despite the dizziness it invoked. His stomach rolled again, but he kept going until the bleeding had stopped. He shook himself out, willing the wound to close, and his entire body tingled. Every nerve danced with energy and his mouth tasted like dried flesh for a long minute. His wings quivered at his sides and his toes wriggled.

Yugi looked as if he wanted to puke, but there was fascination in his expression as well. "I didn't think it would heal so fast."

Yami hadn't known if it would or not. He was just happy it had. He'd expected worse, in truth, and the fact that it'd happened so quickly was somehow comforting. In the smallest, most nonsensical way it almost made him feel as if it were a sign he was doing the right thing.

All it really meant was he was developing his abilities well, but the comfort was like a wave of warmth through his bones and he didn't want to dispute it.

"I guess I'm stronger than I thought."

He meant for it to be jovial, but Yugi grimaced rather than smiling.

Yami almost flinched but fought the impulse again. He looked away and shook his head, staring down at the ground and avoiding Yugi's eye. He moved a few feet aside the blood puddle and didn't have to ask Yugi to open his mouth and spew flame. The crackling made his head spin and the burst of heat made him look up. The flame was bright red and yellow, not nearly the same as the one he'd produced in the den when they'd gotten so cold Yami could have froze.

He watched the puddle evaporate in certain spots but boil in others. The meat turned blackened and crisp, sizzling even when Yugi stopped breathing fire. The Gandora watched it for a long time, then turned to him.

"This is for Atem," Yugi mumbled, though Yami didn't think he was supposed to be able to hear him. The Gandora straightened and shook himself out, studying him intently once more. "All right. Now what?"

Yami's chest felt fit to burst with affection. Despite everything, Yugi was going to help him. It wasn't the same unwavering faith he'd always placed in Atem, but it mirrored it despite the sorrow and disbelief he felt coming from him in waves like this.

"Now…we go to Jonouchi."

Yugi was silent for a moment, then laughed softly in disbelief. "Right. Now I…shove my one and only son off to Jonouchi." He huffed. "Tell me you have a backup in case this doesn't work."

"I don't need one. It will."

Yugi barked a laugh, shaking his head. "Whatever you say."