Chapter CVII: Reasons

Yami was unsure at first what possessed him to linger in the southern region. He'd left the caverns and wandered for an hour by paw, glancing about the red sand as if it might somehow hold answers. He'd felt the warmth the sun baked in it now that the night had passed while he'd spent time in Yubel's memories. It was soft and glistening beneath his paws, but he couldn't help but miss the gentle cushion river sand graced him with and he longed for a moment to hear the roar and trickle of the large body of water as it surged by. He wondered if Atem had summoned snow yet, if they'd moved to the valley to accommodate Yugi, and ached.

He knew every time winter came Atem thought back to the first snowfall he'd ever spent with Yugi. The fact that Yugi had nearly died for him during that trip always tugged at his heart, and he knew Atem couldn't banish the memory as easily as he did the rest.

Sometimes he wondered if it was by choice, a reminder of what he couldn't bear to do with Yugi, or if it was a personal punishment.

Yami shook his head, because sometimes he didn't truly know what to think of it. He wished he could tell himself Atem didn't do such things, but he knew for a fact the Sky Dragon felt guilty for a million and one things that he'd never been able to help or stop.

Dimitri and Keith would be yet another weight Atem added to his shoulders, and that hurt more than Yami wanted to admit.

He glanced at the sky, wondering for a moment at the hour of day, but the sun wasn't in the center yet so it wasn't even noon. He wondered how early but it didn't matter. He'd leave soon and go to see Atem and Yugi, to tell them what he knew. He wished he had the words to explain what would come for himself, but the thought made him recoil.

How long could he bear to lie to them?

How long before he had to face Dimitri and they tore each other apart?

He'd lost hope the longer he'd spent in Yubel's head. She had shown him so many things, and only two seemed impossible. Yugi was not a deity and Atem had no reason to kill Yami. Those two paths were closed off and nonexistent. There was no access to either, nor would there ever be.

But the rest…

No matter what changed, he'd seen himself and Dimitri die. He'd watched their deaths and he'd sampled them. The manners of death shifted. But the end was the same. The results never changed. He'd die alongside him, no matter what he chose to do.

Hiding was no longer an option.

Jaden knew he was alive.

Dimitri knew he was alive and would hunt him to the ends of the earth for the chance to devour his heart.

Atem was the only pawn in this game that Yami thought might be able to overtake the destiny set before them. But he didn't know whether he could trust in his abilities so much, nor did it seem fair to set such responsibility or suffering on him.

Yami shook his head slightly.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he was expected to die so soon. He was only two, on the cusp of three. He was Divine, yes, but he'd never wanted anything of this magnitude. He'd never wished for something so cruel and terrible as what seemed to inevitably await him. His heart hurt to think about it, but what was there to argue with any longer?

Unless he truly relied so solely upon Atem as to essentially destroy himself, it wasn't feasible to expect anything more.

But he supposed it was as honest a situation as it could get.

He was not owed a life, just because Atem had granted him one and protected it prior. He was not owed more than what he'd already experienced, no matter how young he was. The world would not change its course just because his fate seemed so cruel and unusual.

I'm older than Sartorius, and so much younger than Keith, he thought, tilting his head and watching the smallest tendril of a cloud drift across the blinding blue of the sky. He lowered his eyes after a moment, moving slower than he had before as the thought refused to budge and leave him. His scales crawled along his muscles as he shook his head and turned to the sand, studying the prints his paws left when he placed one and pressed his weight into it.

It was barely there, composed mostly of jagged lines to make up the bulk of his large claws. He wondered if Atem had ever looked at his own tracks and thought it was almost as if he didn't exist.

The wind shifted the sand enough to bury his print almost immediately and he trudged forward again, head lowered and eyes upon the horizon. The sun beat down on him, but the heat did nothing to bother him. His wings did not even feel heavy as he continued, and he wondered once more at the contrast between himself and Atem.

His father would have struggled and grown sluggish beneath the weight of the heat. Yugi's Fire Dragon genes prevented anything of that manner, protecting him so perfectly that heat merely warmed him. His species was nocturnal, but it was only because the desert came to life at night. Atem absorbed sunlight when he lay upon his slab of stone by the river, but the mountains were not blinding and monotonous in color. The sand reflected light, but not to the same degree, and so the heat was barely ever unbearable for him.

He wondered how Bakura had managed to live and thrive there for a moon as he'd claimed. Was it pure anger and resentment toward his youngest brother that had empowered him so much? He couldn't imagine being a Sky Dragon and wishing to be in such a place. It was such an extreme contrast to the territory they should have inhabited.

But then where did he fit into it?

Atem knew where he belonged, and Yugi had chosen against his nature to become what Atem needed of him. They had no qualms compromising where it was necessary, and most times it seemed almost as easy as breathing for them both.

Yami didn't even have that.

Where did Urias usually reside?

And where did a Sky Dragon Gandora hybrid reside?

He shook the thought off, blinking, as he saw what looked to be Jaden taking off in the opposite direction. Yami tilted his head, glancing about. He hadn't sensed Jaden nearby. And he knew his signature. He'd known it since he was four moons, when Atem had shown it to him through memory. He'd taught him each of the God Dragons' signatures—even his own in case something should have happened; Yami had always assumed he meant if they got separated for some reason—so he could hide the moment he realized they were close.

That…was not Jaden.

It was nowhere near the immensity or the vibrancy the God Dragon possessed. This seemed weaker, but colder and darker and maybe somehow stronger at the same time. It was like a cold snap in the midst of summer, startling enough to warrant attention but not enough to smother the sweat from overbearing heat.

Yami glanced around again, then took off in a sprint. Where had he come from? Where had he truly come from? He'd been close enough Yami could identify the shape he'd taken. That meant Jesse couldn't be too far…


Atem was studying the sky when Yugi got to his side, dropping the deer haunch at his paws. His mate didn't look over, focused so intently on the clouds it was if the world had ceased existence around him. Yugi frowned and looked up, wondering at what he could be searching for, and puzzled briefly if he meant to find Yami somehow. But the thought passed and his eyes flickered to Atem's as the God Dragon turned to him abruptly.

"I need to summon snow before the sun rises all the way," he announced, getting to his paws and ignoring the food Yugi had brought him. He looked over his shoulder toward Timaeus where the Knight Dragon was seated watching them. Yugi frowned and hurried forward to cut him off from his leap.

"Can I watch?" he blurted, desperate somehow to make Atem stay. The deity faltered his leap, blinking at him in bewilderment, and tilted his head. Yugi suppressed a flinch, searching his face. Atem looked so confused it almost made his skin crawl. But he'd only been allowed to witness it the one time and not again because of what had happened when Yami's egg had been laid.

He'd pushed too hard to stay in the mountain den, hoping Yami would hatch there. He'd argued and fought with Atem to stay longer than they should have, and he'd felt the consequences of his denial immediately after. His paws had gone numb and he'd slammed into Atem when he couldn't stop himself moving down the hill. They'd tumbled over the side of a cliff, tearing Atem's claw off and ripping his wings in the midst of it, and Yugi had been unconscious before he'd even hit the snow.

Atem had never once even made mention of summoning snow since then, for fear Yugi would ask to watch he was sure. But he'd been so distracted and closed off that he'd said it without meaning to. Now he looked as if Yugi had threatened to bite his paw off.

Atem glanced at Timaeus and back slowly, bristling uneasily, and then huffed, "If you so desire. But we leave for the valley den immediately after, as usual. Understood?"

Yugi blinked, relief surging through him, and nodded. "Understood," he agreed, and Atem gave him a critical look before leaping into the air and taking off. Yugi gave chase immediately, following him to the outcrops they had used as a rendezvous point with Yami. He'd only been allowed to go as far as that point by himself and should he, he kept to the shadows and crept as low on his belly as he could. He'd never argued against it even once, though he'd rarely wandered out on his own as it was. He'd only ever done so the once in order to speak to Atem when he'd returned from visiting his siblings.

He followed diligently as Atem pounced atop one of the ledges and glanced over. He was beside him immediately after, relieved when Atem did not look as if he might back down or argue he shouldn't accompany him.

"Do you remember the way up?"

Yugi blinked. "I… Yes."

Atem tilted his head. "Then why have you not pressed your wing to the ledge to keep your balance?" he asked, and Yugi would have expected it to be scathing had it been anyone else. But his voice was quiet and soft, curious and mild, and Yugi's hearts warmed.

"Right." He pressed his left wing into the rock beside him to keep his balance, then flattened his tail behind his paws to make it his grounding point. "Okay."

Atem nodded and turned away, picking his way along quickly but pausing to look over his shoulder frequently. The task of climbing was a lot easier this time around. Yugi's claws had sharpened to dig through stone and making his own ledges among the rock made navigation much easier. Atem climbed effortlessly, his longer frame and lighter body not the least bit weighted by the change of altitude. Yugi felt the pressure of the change so firmly it almost made his muscles lock in surprise. It hadn't felt gradual as it had before, and for the first time he wondered how long ago Atem should have actually summoned snow.

How long had he held off and why?

"Still okay?" Atem asked, peeking over the edge of the topmost ledge and tilting his head. Yugi wondered if he'd slowed down or if Atem was just conscious of how much pressure the change in atmosphere had to have put on him.

"I'm good!" he promised, rushing forward and springing atop beside him. The stone had turned into a plateau here, even and just wide enough for about four dragons to stand atop it. He glanced around, surprised by the frost which came from his own breath when he exhaled. "Atem…"

The God Dragon glanced over.

"You waited too long."

Atem nodded and turned away. "I didn't know if Yami could survive cold weather as well as he can hot," he muttered after a moment, lashing his tail. He was looking up at the clouds again, and Yugi wondered if he was waiting for a particular formation of them or if he was manipulating them to come together. "And I thought if he was coming here to see us, I wouldn't summon snow just yet."

Yugi blinked. "Oh."

The God Dragon shook himself out, circled restlessly for a moment, and then moved toward the far side of the ledge adjacent Yugi. He glanced at the clouds again, then breathed in slowly. Yugi didn't see him exhale until Atem had pressed his right paw forward, claws braced into the ground, and lowered his head. He exhaled slowly, then more forcefully. A deafening silence came over the clearing, so firm Yugi could not even hear himself breathing. Then came a brilliant and booming burst of noise, like thunder but rippling and clapping as if a wave had ripped through the air.

It was brilliant white and silver, laced with blue, and surged forth like mist from Atem's mouth. It shimmered and swirled, contained, in the center of the clearing. Atem straightened after a moment, raising his head, and leaped into the air. The ice breath scattered like a blanket of mist about him for a brief second before they both disappeared among the clouds overhead.

Yugi heard the crackle of energy as it bounced about and localized within each cloud, until it dissipated entirely and became noiseless once more. Atem landed a moment later and the first flake surged down, heavy and drenching, like a layer of feathers. Atem looked at them for a moment, flicking his tail, and Yugi suppressed the shiver that raced up his spine at the temperature drop.

"We'll meet Timaeus back in the clearing and then go to the valley den," Atem announced, shaking himself out again. Yugi nodded and turned to follow him when he took off.

He couldn't remember why, but something about this summoning seemed different from before. Maybe it was just the circumstances from which Atem had summoned it prior, or the difference in the magnitude of tension between them now.


"Aki."

She whipped around so quickly Yusei flinched at her startled expression. The Black Rose Dragon bristled for a split second, then relaxed enough to lose the tension in her limbs. But her eyes glittered like diamonds and her expression was cold and cautious.

He stepped forward and she raised a paw, claws flexed. He didn't know if she intended to lash out, but he would have accepted that just as quickly as he would have her dismissal. He ignored the potential threat and came forward again. She didn't move but for narrowing her eyes.

He exhaled slowly, roughly, and stopped where he stood. They were on the outskirts of the territory, he noted, nearest Timaeus's old den site. He wondered if she'd come with a patrol and they had all split up or if she'd come there alone for some reason. But, more than even that, he wondered if Atem was close by, if Timaeus still took to his old territory and would appear if they waited too long.

The two of them stared at each other and his hearts threatened to burst. He wanted nothing more than to run forward, to lick her and nuzzle her and settle against her side. But the impulse died slowly and he found himself tempered by the anger and bitterness in her eyes.

"I don't know if you're aware, but Atem's territory is south of here."

He almost laughed at the spiteful tone. She'd always been so prickly, guarded but gentle when he'd broken through the various defenses. "I know where his territory is," he answered, almost breathless and amazed despite himself. She was so healthy, as if their time apart had never done more than caused momentary sadness. "I didn't come to find him. I wanted to speak to you."

She lashed her tail. Her paw rose and he barely dodged back from a blow aimed for his eye. He laughed as he jumped away, though he stopped when he saw her furious expression. "Are Jaden and Leviathan hiding somewhere? Waiting to come out when I nearly rip your throat out?" she sneered, looking around and scowling. When she failed to see anything out of the ordinary she turned back and narrowed her eyes. "You're brave and stupid, huh?"

Yusei snorted. "Stupid, yes, but brave? No. I've never been," he whispered, watching her intently. "But I wished to speak to you. I wished to… I have so much I wanted to say to you, and yet none of it matters."

It didn't. It couldn't.

She blinked and scowled, peeling her lips back to show her brilliant thorn-like teeth. Yusei ignored the flash of hurt and frustration in her eyes.

"I came because… War is going to break out soon. Jaden…will come for Atem soon," he murmured. He shook his head and she blinked at him coolly, eyes flashing like glaciers. "He's convinced if he stops him now, he can cripple Yami and from there he can kill Dimitri."

Aki studied him. But even as the shadows moved behind her eyes and she tried to work out what he was saying, the words seemed to stutter and stop. After a moment she asked, "Yami? Who is…?"

He faltered, blinking in surprise. "You…don't know about Yami?"

"No." She sounded annoyed now. "What connection do they have to Atem and why should Jaden wish them dead?"

Yusei raised his head and looked toward the mountain peaks beyond, where he could see the brilliant white clouds scattered about their rocky tops. No doubt Atem had summoned snow. It was long overdue, in truth, and he had to wonder at the delay.

"Yami is…Atem's son," he announced, turning to her. She stiffened and bristled, eyes sharpening like claws as she considered him intently. Yusei shivered and for the first time he wondered if perhaps he shouldn't have said as much. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but rather that he knew he was betraying Atem's trust in doing so. "He was born during the eclipse…"

Aki blinked at him as if she didn't understand the words he'd said. Then she snorted and glanced at the mountains. For a moment she looked as if she meant to mock him, to remind him of how impossible it was, and then she blinked again.

"He insisted war would come his way, that Jaden would come for him when he realized something had happened upon leaving the Lightning Clan's camp," she muttered, and Yusei was surprised by how quiet and resigned she sounded rather than surprised or even frustrated. Usually her temper was quick to rise and she bristled and spat when she was given the worst of news. She turned to him and his stomach knotted as he saw the glimmer in her eyes. "What abilities does he have?"

"What?"

"Yami. What abilities does he have?" she repeated slowly, as if he were a stupid and lamed wildebeest waiting for her to strike him down. He blinked and tilted his head. "He is Divine, is he not?"

Yusei bristled faintly. She said the word with such abandon, as if it were not one of the worst titles to be spoke of in almost a millennia. "He's… I don't know the full extent of them," he admitted, and his hearts began to race. Why was she so curious? Why did she not hiss and spit and snarl with irritation? "Aki…"

She huffed. "You're useless," she hissed after a moment, and her eyes shot once more to the mountains. Yusei glanced over as well, fear prickling through him, and wondered if perhaps he were speaking to Dimitri. Had he killed her and taken her form? It was clearly simple for him to do so. It couldn't have been hard to sink his claws into someone and assume their identities for however long he wished…

"Aki," he said, voice almost breaking. Her head whipped around, eyes glittering with curiosity and bewilderment. But her eyes flickered away again toward the mountain and back. His hearts hammered. "Do you remember what I told you?"

Her head snapped back to him. After a moment she stiffened and lashed her tail, eyes narrowing. "No," she snapped. "You can't be serious. There's no way."

Yusei felt relief trickle through him, and then dread. "I've only ever been this serious once," he mumbled, and his hearts ached as she scowled at him. Her head snapped back toward the mountain range and he could see the scales along her spine rising into a nervous bristle.

"Atem heralded that vision?" she demanded, turning back to him. "Atem, the dragon which hid in his territory and refused a mate for a hundred years? The God Dragon of the East who ignored all suitors but for challenges? You mean to tell me he is the reason this war is going to split the world apart?"

Yusei shivered. "Do you find him so even-mannered?"

She blinked and huffed. "It is not as if he has given me reason to doubt him," she growled. "He's always been courteous of borders and refused to encroach upon territory. Every story I've heard, he's refused homage from those within his mountains and always protected them when things have gone badly. I have no reason to judge him as anything but even-mannered and level-tempered. Perhaps you have seen another side to him."

Yusei tried to think of an instance where he hadn't been. But Atem hadn't so much as raised a claw toward them without provocation. He'd seen him lose his temper when Jaden had entered the territory without permission the day Yami was born. He'd seen him fight the Fire Dragon to save his mate and hatchling. But Atem had also argued to save Keith's offspring and he'd never turned on them, even when they irritated him so much as to justify it.

"That's what I assumed," Aki sneered, turning back to look toward the mountains. "I've never seen him act unjust. I'd be amazed if you had. And he doesn't seem the type to show multiple sides to others, unless it should be Yugi and Timaeus…and Yami. But those outside of his tiny circle? No. He's not the type to wear multiple faces."

Yusei nodded slightly, almost ashamed of himself for thinking otherwise even for a moment. He looked away and shifted his weight, flexing his claws and glancing toward the mountains as well.

Atem was nothing if not steady and constant. It was a wonder Jaden feared him so much at times, though he'd shown exactly why the ends of his claws were so dangerous more than once. But his temperament was almost unwavering and Yusei wondered for a moment at the strength it must have taken him to be so easy around the edges despite his usual cold nature.

He wondered then, as he stared at her, what might come about in this war. Would Atem kill Jaden? It seemed unlikely he'd spare him. There was no reason he should have to. Jaden had pushed and fought, until Atem had turned back and lashed out. If Atem were to declare war on him so fully, who would come to his aid? Who would see to it to hide away? Who would see to Atem's death?

He looked at Aki slowly. "You would take Atem's side if war broke out."

She lashed her tail and turned to him. "Why shouldn't I? I have no reason to fight against him. He's never done anything against me. Of the four of you, he has done me the least amount of harm—if any. And he brought his friend to me at the cost of an allegiance to which he shall answer me in his debt. So what do you have to offer that he cannot give me in that single moment when I call his name and he should appear?"

Yusei blinked and bristled, unnerved. "He…is indebted to you?"

"I took care of Timaeus when he asked, after he was struck down."

He shivered. "Did Atem tell you who by?"

"No. I assumed he did not know or he did not care to share. I could have called upon my debt then for answers, but how foolish would that have been when eventually every secret comes to light?" She lashed her tail. "But Yami… I wonder what he can do."

"Aki, you know better than to mess with the Divine."

"I also know better than to listen to you," she roared, spinning on him with bared teeth and burning eyes. "You have no grounds to speak to me as if I'm a hatchling, Yusei. I know how to handle myself and which way to ally myself or how to call upon favors with a deity. And if Atem and Jaden go to war, you understand Atem will win, yes?"

Yusei bristled faintly. He'd seen it firsthand. Atem had almost killed him almost four times in front of them. He'd tossed him around like a toy. He'd knocked him about and…prepared to sever his head. Yusei still had no idea how Atem managed it. All he knew was Yami had begged and pled that he didn't and Atem had agreed he'd been planning to. All he knew was that strange clicking noise that came when Atem was preparing a death blow, and he still didn't know what produced that…

"I don't know it'll be so easy, Aki. Jaden hasn't taken the threat of two Divines lightly and he's been training until his paws have bled. It'd be close, if there ever was an end to the bloodshed between them."

"Then I suggest you and Leviathan aid him, because that's the only way he'll have a chance. I'll stand by him, as will the rest of my Clan. And I'm sure should the dragons all come to declare allegiance, Atem will have the most. He's done none of the disgusting things the three of you have."

Yusei looked away, stung, and glanced at the mountains once more. She was right. Atem hadn't gone on the warpath constantly. He didn't hunt dragons down by species. He didn't go about monitoring Clans or declaring edicts against hatchlings. He had done none of the things Jaden had, what he and Leviathan had so easily followed and backed him in…

"You realize he can't keep you safe if Jaden comes for the Clans directly?"

She gave him a scornful look. "I'll be damned before I lose a heart to that pathetic little bastard. And what of you? Do you plan to hide in Jaden's shadow as you always have? Do you plan to brandish your claws at his will, you spineless little serpent?"

He fought a flinch. "Aki, I can't fight him."

"You love him so much? How pathetic. All he's ever done is forced you to drown in blood and hide in the shade when things calm," she spat. "I feel sorry for you."

Yusei shook his head. "No. I… I… Aki, I'm not immune to him. I never was. I can't fight him."

She blinked and turned to him. "You've also never tried."

He considered her, almost startled by the venom but somehow warmed to it as well. Even as his bones felt like ice, his chest felt as if it were burning with live flames. He looked away again. "No," he admitted, "because there was never a reason."

"Right. Never a reason." Aki bore her teeth. "And you removed yourself from the only way you would have wound up in his direct line of fire, because you're too much of a coward to fight him."

"I did it for you," he spat, almost overwhelmed with frustration. "Ice and Wind Dragons can still breed. You know that! He was so…panicked over whatever Sartorius showed him that he was going to kill any cross-species parents alongside their nests. It didn't matter that we weren't Fire and Wind, just that we weren't the same species. I—"

"You hid, because that's what's easiest for you. That's all you do. You hide when things get harder than you want to admit. It's all a matter of whether or not you can that puts you in a battlefield, you stupid coward." She shook her head violently, scowling. "I didn't understand back then why you were so spineless, just as I don't now. But it doesn't matter. I don't need you to protect me. And I'm sure Atem can keep the majority of us safe."

Yusei bristled faintly. "Aki, you're taking a huge chance—"

"He fought Jaden twice and wasn't slowed. I don't care what you have to say about it. If I face you in battle, be prepared for me to rip your throat out."