Chapter LXXVIII: Strength

"You look like a dragon we housed about four years ago."

The wry comment was full of amusement. Yami blinked and tilted his head, studying the human for a moment.

"How did you know?" he finally asked, flustered. He'd looked at his reflection for hours, making sure he appeared perfectly human and didn't have even the smallest semblance of his true species. He'd been unable to change the hair or the eyes, but he'd been sure the rest of him looked entirely ordinary, from the dull nails to the skinny fingers to the lack of a tail or wings.

"I'm trained to know a dragon when I see one," the old woman laughed, smiling warmly. "And I've only ever seen Yugi wear hair like that. It was always defiant of gravity, always lustrous and shiny. The bangs were always fluffy. But you…your eyes are something completely different even from his. Your…second father perhaps?"

"Atem is as much my first as Yugi," he snapped before he could stop himself.

The woman blinked, eyes stretching wide as she processed the words. "The God?" she breathed. "You are the son of a God?"

Yami wondered if he'd made a mistake saying anything. It hadn't occurred to him perhaps he should watch his words and keep his mouth shut around humans. They'd seemed so secluded, restrained within their own little realm of an area. It had never seemed as if they so much as cared unless the dragons interacted with them.

"And yet you're…Yugi's son as well."

Yami didn't blink, watching her intently now. He could kill her if he had to. He knew he could. He could easily change back and rip her throat out. He'd do it if it meant Yugi and Atem were okay. He fought a shiver and tried not to snarl with fear. He'd never so much as bared his teeth at a human before. What if she had further magic he didn't know anything about? Yugi had never mentioned magic. He'd only said they'd housed him and he'd shadowed them to learn how to use a net.

"I am."

He searched her face. She seemed so amazed and startled. She didn't look like a threat at all. Yami tilted his head, considering her keenly and wondering at her expression.

What else was there to say? He was their son. He knew exactly who he was and how impossible his existence was. There was no room for denial, nor would he have ever bothered.

What was there to be ashamed of? The impossible happened. All it meant was his parents were more important than they'd expected—better than they'd thought. He was sure Yugi thought that of Atem. He wondered if the sentiment was shared. The thought faded when she moved a step closer.

"When were you born?" she asked abruptly, then eyed him and searched his face. Her face lit with a huge grin. "During the eclipse? The eclipse heralded you?"

He almost stepped back, startled. He fought the urge to snarl and flee. Why did she know that? What kind of magic did she have? Had Yugi not known they had magic all their own or had he simply never thought about it? It didn't make sense. They seemed so…harmless until he stood before them like this.

What else did she know?

"Knowing the sum of your parents does not mean you know who you are. That means you know what you are. The son of a God Dragon and a Gandora."

"I am Yami." He watched her as she reached a hand forward to touch him. The impulse came to step away, but it died when she did not make contact.

"Are your scales smoky black like Yugi's?"

Yami looked down at her hand for a moment. "No. They're red as Atem's."

She furrowed her brows and dropped her hand away. He blinked and tilted his head. Humans had such strange faces, small and mostly bald. Their eyes were weak and their lifespans were short. He couldn't imagine why Atem feared them so much when they seemed so easily taken care of. He thought a strike of his paw could crush her…

"Do not say his name so freely. Names have power."

Yami locked eyes with her. "His name is my birthright. I have more right to it than any of you." He paused. "But what power do you think a mere name holds?"

"He's always heard us when his name is spoken. We've used it only during ceremony, when we seek his Blessing for a bountiful year." She paused. "We sought his help to chase a herd of boars from the village once, and he answered us within a few days' time. They were gone and chased away soon after."

Yami blinked, trying to remember if Atem had ever mentioned it before. But he didn't recall. He'd ask Atem when he saw him again. There wouldn't be any reason not to. He might not answer him, but then he might if he pressed hard enough. It wasn't as if Atem hid things from him. He just didn't enjoy the topic of humans or anything related to them.

"I see."

"What of your name, dragon? What significance does it bare if not for your scales?"

Yami fell quiet for a moment, thinking. There had been a couple reasons, though one was false and the other real. He still thought there was more to it as well, but the third reason he often kept to himself. There was no reason to remind anyone of his birth.

"Yugi chose it because the name is a combination of letters in your written language that matches both his and…my father's." He studied her curious expression. "I never did get to see what they looked like written, but Yugi promised he would show us both at some point. He was very proud of the fact my name was a combination of theirs, despite the meaning behind it."

She chuckled. "Yugi was always the strangest dragon I ever crossed paths with. He was so sweet, despite his species. I've never met another Fire Dragon so kind or gentle."

Yami nodded slightly, for a split second wanting to correct her on Yugi's species but deciding against it at the last moment. It wasn't worth it. He had no reason to bother telling her he was a hybrid. It didn't explain how he'd been conceived or anything of that nature, so what did it matter?

"And what are you?"

Yami blinked. "Pardon?"

"What is the species whose features you mimic? I've seen them before, but the name escapes me."

He considered her. She knew exactly what he was. She wanted him to say it, however, for some odd inexplicable reason. "The Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. I look almost exactly like one, but for the dark markings on my face and the stripes behind my jaw and along my chest."

"Ironic you should so closely resemble a pure Fire Dragon."

The strongest Fire Dragon in existence, Yami thought sourly. Jonouchi had made sure to make him aware of that fact. He'd told him repeatedly he looked almost exactly like the strongest Fire Dragon species to exist. He'd said a Gandora and a Slifer had weaknesses, but a Uria was unafraid of anything and didn't care enough to show exhaustion or pain no matter how battle ridden. He'd said he'd seen one get up after its head had been crushed by a blow and it hadn't cared, shaking it off and killing its opponent. Yami hadn't wanted the association, but it seemed impossible to shake it. If everyone assumed he was vicious, however, it could work in his favor.

It would keep them from opposing him in any manner, but he was sure the loneliness would eat away at his soul.

Jonouchi had given him a wide breadth, as if terrified of him. He didn't know if it was because of Atem being his father or if it was simply that Jonouchi remembered Urias far too well. Either was upsetting in the fact that it had so clearly caused division between then.

He'd hoped just the fact he was Yugi's son would have closed some of the gap between them, but it hadn't. In fact, if anything, it had almost seemed to aggravate the entire situation. Jonouchi had seemed that much more afraid of him.

It didn't matter, he decided derisively. Anyone who came to know he was Atem's son would be afraid no matter what happened, especially when they remembered Atem's species. Being a Sky Dragon made it clear he would not have sought a female, and anyone who thought he'd adopt an egg from a nest Yugi produced was foolish. He knew Atem would have had it come to that, but he wouldn't have resembled Atem in the slightest.

"Do you know the lore surrounding the species you resemble?"

Yami blinked and studied her a moment. "No," he finally muttered. "All I know is it's destructive and powerful and it strikes fear into many dragons."

Including Atem.

He smothered the thought. Atem had every right to be scared of them.

Yami was just lucky he hadn't chased him off the moment he realized what he was. He'd had every right to grow upset and chase him until he fled. Yami had been terrified he might when he'd killed Bakura, but Atem wasn't such a coward. He never had been.

It was the only reason Atem had looked at him and chosen to let him remain.

If he'd decided otherwise there would have been no force in Paradise or Purgatory to save him. Atem would have killed him before Yugi could have even blinked. If he'd decided to chase him out and let him suffer on his own, Yami wouldn't have blamed him for it.

The assault on Atem's senses when he'd finally understood the fear in his bones whenever he was too close to Yami for extended periods of time had been enough to scare Yami as well.

He would have chased someone away.

Atem had chosen to remove himself and think it over.

He still didn't know why Atem had chosen to let him live. It hadn't been for Yugi. He knew that. It hadn't been for Yami. He knew it was for Atem himself, but Yami still didn't understand that strength.

He could have so easily killed him. The heartache would have been minimal then, nothing measured against what would come later.

Yami exhaled slowly. "What is there to know about the Uria?"

She smiled slightly. "Are you afraid, dragon?"

"My name is Yami."

"We don't speak the name of the divine here." She chuckled at his startled expression. "You are related to the God Dragon. You are divine. Your name is better left unspoken just as your father's is."

He tilted his head. "Oh." He paused. "But if you have my permission—"

"No, child."

Yami blinked and watched her. "Okay."

"Do you know the story of Alexander and Amun? It was one of Yugi's favorites to listen to."

Yami raised his head slightly. "Yes. The two went to war, leading humans and dragons. It raged until Amun gave Alexander his heart when he was killed in their long fight. Later he was killed for saving Alexander." He paused, confused as he looked her over. "But what does that have to do with the Uria species? Amun was a Sky Dragon."

She snorted. "Every species of dragon came from the fire. It is the most destructive yet regenerative element in the world. They came from there, as the humans came from the ice." She searched his face and smiled a little wider. "The dragons did not have definitive species at that time for us. We knew them as dragons and we gave them names as they displayed traits. There was never a definitive creature to measure against another as you suggest."

Yami tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "I don't… Why would Yugi say he was a Sky Dragon if he wasn't?"

She laughed softly. "Because we tell the story according to the God Dragon of this region. Amun changes species as the story is told. He is a Sky Dragon now, but years ago before I was born he was a Wind Dragon. But, in fact, he was and always has been a Uria. He was the first of his species and the most powerful because of it. No other dragon could have waged war for so long and failed to slow. Even your father must take his rest. Amun did not. He was felled finally with a blade to the heart as he killed Alexander. When he woke, he decided the bloodshed had to stop."

Yami blinked. "What does that have to do with me? I'm not a Uria. I'm a hybrid. I'm a Divine Dragon, born of the God Dragon of the East and a Dragon of Destruction. I may look like a Uria, but I am far from one."

"No. You are limited in what you think you know."

Yami stared at her until his eyes began to hurt. He blinked and wondered why human eyes were so sensitive. It didn't make sense. How were they so powerful and yet so delicate all at once? Blinking was almost utterly necessary, whereas for a dragon it was only truly meant to clear debris.

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to for now. You'll understand later when the time comes for it."

He smiled slightly. "Oh? Is that how it goes? I have to be older?" he snickered, sighing softly and shaking his head. "I have to wait for my answers?"

"You're not strong enough yet. When you are, my prodigy will explain it to you."

His smile slipped. "Prodigy?" he mumbled, then frowned. "Do you mean to say you will be dead when I discover the meaning?"

She chuckled. "You're far smarter than your years would imply."

Yami furrowed his brows, unfamiliar with the sensation but finding it oddly fitting. Humans were still so strange. He could barely wrap his mind around more than half of their habits and words, but all the same. "You mark my birth by the eclipse," he murmured, "so you know I am only two years of age. But this human form…it's older. What age is it?"

"Young in your years, but a third into ours. You look to be sixteen summers. Yugi wore the same skin. I'm sure your father would mirror it if he were to share this form." She smiled slightly. "You are a healer, yes? That is one of your gifts?"

Yami blinked and nodded. "Yes. But I don't know what good it does me if I'm hiding forever." He paused. "I can't hide forever. I know that much. I'm already beyond the desire to. Forever is too long to remain hidden in the dark and watching the world around me crumble and rot without my interference."

"Is that what will happen?"

"Eventually." Yami tilted his head and smiled wryly. "But it could be a long time to go before it happens. I don't know anymore. I think maybe it's just because I'm tired of hiding like this. I miss my fathers. I miss Timaeus. I miss…other dragons, even if a few in particular wish me dead."

She considered him for a long time. "Are you destined to die?"

Yami laughed. "Not for now. Maybe later." He tilted his head. "But everyone has to die, right? And that's why you're entertaining me now. Because you're afraid to die alone."

Her eyes flickered almost guiltily. Yami hummed as he glanced around the hut. Its wooden inside smelled of fresh bark and ice as if it had enveloped winter and sought to impose it upon any visitors. The fire of the torches scattered about made the air crackle as if with voices and the shadows across the floor looked almost like fish dancing beneath the water.

"I don't mind it," he said, turning to her. She was watching him intently, as if she expected him to flee. "I'll stay here with you until you pass. But then what? Who is there to tell?"

"You won't have to."

"No? Will your second know?" he commented curiously, watching her a moment before moving closer. How she was still standing when she stunk so clearly of rot bewildered him. She should have collapsed long before. He didn't even know why she wasn't labored in breathing or wavering on her feet. She stood so easily, as if she refused to die laying down.

It made him think of Atem, of how easily the Sky Dragon refused to let himself be bested by suitor, foe, or fellow deities. He stood even when he felt weak, and he showed no weakness even when he was hurt. He still remembered him, startled and frantic when he'd killed Bakura, but thinking and forcing himself to consider. He'd told him to find Yugi, stalling the kill blow he could have inflicted had Yami gotten any closer.

He almost laughed. Everything reminded him of his father at the moment, though the quiet strength this woman possessed was the most vivid. Atem had that same regal stance even in the face of bloodshed or danger. He didn't waver when he stared an opponent in the face. He did not even blink as he and Jaden traded threats and stood feet away, capable of immense damage but stilled for the moment.

He thought then of Yugi, telling him how Atem sometimes woke with night terrors and paced the den. He remembered watching him, seeing Atem whip around and stalk back and forth to ease the tension in his bones and chase whatever phantom haunted him.

He thought of how endless Yugi's patience was, how easily he accepted sometimes he couldn't help Atem besides just being there.

They were two different displays of strength, but they were equal. Yugi knew better than to try to soothe Atem's every ache and pain, and Atem refused to allow anyone to step on his paws and suppress his will.

Determination ran deep in both of them.

Yami wondered why cowardice seemed his solely.