Chapter 11

He was trying to walk with what he thought was purpose rather than haste, but if he was honest with himself he wasn't quite convinced he was pulling it off. As he made his way past the various tents which led up to where the pits were a few people turned to look at him with varying expressions on their faces. The most common expression was that of curiosity, most wondered where could Solomon Muto's grandson be off to in such a hurry. Yugi didn't turn to look at anyone he past, instead he kept his eyes peeled for the person he was in search of. But when he arrived at the pits he found Grandpa was nowhere to be seen. Biting his lip he turned to walk back the way he'd came but almost immediately bumped into someone.

"Yugi, you ok?"

Looking up he saw Tea looking at him, with Elijah only a couple of steps behind her. Managing to suppress the raging beast inside him he nodded.

"Yeah... I'm just looking for Grandpa. Have you seen him at all?"

Tea face twisted in concern, "No I haven't recently, not since you and Atem left. Is he ok? I saw him holding his hand as if he hurt it."

"Yeah he's ok, well he has hurt his hand but he'll be fine." Yugi replied, he wasn't looking at Tea instead gazing around still searching for his grandfather, "I just have to find Gramps, if you find him before I do can you tell him I'm looking for him?"

Tea nodded again, "Sure, I can do that but are you sure everything is ok?"

Yugi hurried past her, calling over his shoulder, "It's fine I promise, I just really have to find Gramps."

Tea called after him again, but he was too far away to hear. Heading the way he'd just come he kept looking from left to right, his pace was somewhere between a walk and a jog. But after passing a fair number of tents he suddenly spotted an elderly gentleman emerging from one and walking away from where Yugi was.

"Grandpa!"

He broke into a run as Grandpa turned to see his grandson hurrying towards him.

"I've been looking for you." Yugi said, upon reaching his grandfather's side.

"Well your timing is perfect, I was just coming to look for the both of you. I saw you leave with Atem, is he ok? Looked like he'd hurt himself."

"Yeah he's ok, he's cut his hand but that's not important."

Grandpa blinked at him, clearly thinking that a cut to the hand was in fact important. He opened his mouth to speak but Yugi grabbed his arm and pulled him inside an empty nearby tent. The circular tent held nothing but a few tables with various boxes on them. What the boxes actually contained Yugi didn't know and frankly he didn't care. He just needed somewhere quiet to talk to his grandfather.

"That ring you found," He said quietly, "Where is it now?"

"I believe Marcus has it, he's putting it in with the most valuable items we've found."

Yugi sighed, glancing at the entrance to the tent, ensuring the conversation was still private.

"That ring belonged to Atem's father, he's just told me."

Grandpa stared at him for a moment, clearly taking in what he'd just been told. After a few moments he too looked to the tent entrance before returning his gaze to Yugi.

"Does he want to see it?"

Yugi bit his lip, glancing upwards for a moment, "He said it's fine but it's clearly not Gramps. I think he should see it."

Grandpa nodded, "Where is he now?"

"He's in our trailer."

"Let's talk to him. He needs to decide what he wants to do with it."

Yugi nodded before leading the way out of the tent and towards the trailers, Grandpa following close behind him. They didn't speak to one another as they walked, as much as both of them wanted to run it would draw to many eyes. The last thing they wanted was lots of questions, they needed to act naturally.

When they finally made it back to the trailers Yugi led the way into the one he shared with the former Pharaoh. Inside they found Atem pacing up and down at the other end looking completely lost in thought. He was holding his injured hand in the other, his fingers massaging the wrist absentmindedly. Yugi watched in concern as he paced for a few more moments before realising he was no longer alone. His eyes moved between the pair of them before he spoke.

"Yugi, I told you it's alright."

Yugi shook his head, "I know you did but I'm not sure it really is."

Atem gaze locked with his, he knew what Atem was thinking simply through the look in his eye. A sympathetic smile made its way onto his face, but the former Pharaoh turned away hating all the attention at that moment.

"Yugi it is fine. I am fine." He said finally, "I will not deny the discovery took me by surprise, but it is not my place to intrude on what is decided for it."

"But it is." Solomon said, stepping forwards, "Atem you have every right to decide what happens now with it. It was your father's, it would be wrong of us to make the decision for you."

Atem crossed his arms, his gaze on the nearby window. His guard was up. The other two looked at each other. Solomon carefully moved forwards again. The former Pharaoh made no movement, he simply kept his gaze on the window.

"I can't begin to imagine what you must be thinking right now." Solomon said, "The last thing I ever expected was to find something so personal to you."

Yugi noticed Atem move ever so slightly, something Grandpa had said had struck him.

"I know you would rather keep quiet and not make a fuss but you have every right to be heard." Solomon continued.

There was a pause as they waited for the former Pharaoh to speak. The pause stretched for a while before Atem finally looked away from the window, turning to face them.

"Why is it here?" He asked, a slight look of confusion etching its way onto his face. "It should be with him, in his tomb. How could it turn up here?"

Another brief paused followed as each pondered that question, it was a very good point. Pharaohs were entombed with everything they would need in the next life and this ring would have surely been part of that. Yugi glanced at his grandfather, who looked deep in thought, before moving slightly looking at the once King, a sudden thought had crossed his mind.

"Could… could Bakura have taken it when he… you know…"

He trailed off, not exactly sure how to finish his sentence. How do you ask someone to remember the moment their parent's body had been dragged before them? Atem held his gaze for a moment, he had picked up on what Yugi meant. He could see it in his eyes. He seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding slightly.

"I suppose it is possible. There was quite a lot of commotion so perhaps it was simply missed."

"That would explain why it's here and miles away from the tombs." Grandpa remarked, not that he really needed too.

Atem took a breath, his gaze wondering back towards the window. He wasn't exactly sure how to react to the current situation. He'd be lying to himself if the sight of his father's ring had not affected him but now, now he wasn't quite sure what to do. Part of him wanted to see it, to hold it and feel the metal which would inevitably be so familiar to him. But there was another part which was weary, and he couldn't quite place a finger on why he felt that way. It was quite rare for him to feel this way and he didn't like it. He was always so collected, ready for anything yet right now he did not feel that way. As he gazed out the window his head pounded uncomfortably. A grimace crossed his face without his permission, something he knew Yugi would have picked up on. He attempted to pass the moment off by rubbing his face with his uninjured hand. Turning back to the other two he found them still watching him carefully, obviously they weren't entirely sure how he was going to react.

"What do you think I should do?" He asked them.

It wasn't very often he'd ask a question like that but in that moment the question had escaped him before he'd really thought about it. The other two exchanged a glance before Yugi spoke.

"That's up to you. We can't make this decision for you, but we'll support what you decide to do."

The former Pharaoh sighed internally, that wasn't really a helpful answer. This was turning into a very rare moment where he just wanted to be told what to do not be the one making the decision. His head pounded again and he closed his eyes, rubbing his temples to attempt to ease the pain he was feeling. With his eyes closed, memories of his father came to him. One in particular where he'd stolen the very ring they'd found from his father, who proceeded to playfully chase him around the palace to retrieve it. The echoes of their laughter once he'd been caught resounded in his ears and he opened his eyes. The decision was made.

"I want to see it."

Solomon nodded slowly at him, "Ok, you leave that to me. I'll find a way to bring it here to you, I can't promise it will be today but I'll get it for you."

Atem smiled a grateful smile, nodding. In return Solomon smiled before excusing himself from the trailer. With it now being just him and Yugi in the trailer he allowed his wall to crumble. Sitting rather heavily in a nearby chair he put his head in his hands, massaging his temples. His injured hand made its displeasure known but he stubbornly ignored it. He heard Yugi take up the seat nearby, allowing him the time he needed but also offering his support in the most appropriate way. Sometimes simply being there could offer more than words ever could, which was something Yugi knew about all too well. For a long while Atem did not move, he took comfort from Yugi's presence but said nothing. Honestly, he didn't want to talk about it any further. Quite a long period of past silence before Atem finally looked up. Yugi was sat opposite him, patiently waiting for him. When their eyes met Yugi smiled at him, sympathy in his eyes. But the former Pharaoh found that he couldn't quite return the smile.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked quietly.

Atem nodded, "I'm fine."

It was Yugi's turn to nodded, he didn't quite believe that Atem really was fine but respected his pride. Standing and moving to their mini kitchen he made a couple of drinks before handing one of them to the former Pharaoh and retaking his seat. There was a few more moments of silence before Yugi successfully managed to distract the former Pharaoh from his thoughts. They ended up talking for hours until the sun had begun to set and their friends arrived to drag them to the canteen for dinner.

They had quite an amusing dinner as it turned out. No one could quite say how the fork ripped a hole in the tent's ceiling, but they all blamed it on Joey. As they retired for the night Yugi had a smile on his face, despite his grandfather informing him that he couldn't quite get the ring to Atem that night the former Pharaoh seemed happier. An amusing dinner with their friends had done the trick and cheered him up. Climbing into his bed Yugi gazed up at the window above him, the curtains were shut but the moonlight was creeping its way under the fabric. As his mind slowly processed the day's events his blinks became heavier before finally sending him off into the realm of sleep. His dream that night was a rather strange one, the dark magician was doing a tap dance. The problem was it turned out the dark magician wasn't very good at tap dancing. His long, lanky legs did nothing to help him at all. In fact, it just made the whole thing look even more awkward. Yugi found that as hard as he tried he couldn't tear his eyes from the sight. This was an issue because he really wanted to look away. Behind him he could hear slight mumbling. There must be other people behind him commenting on the bad dancing they were being forced to witness. In front of him the dark magician continued dancing with Yugi still being forced to watch. But suddenly the dream was shattered by a shout from nearby.

Yugi sat bolt upright, turning immediately to the bed across from his. The former Pharaoh was also sat up, but he had his head in his hands rubbing his temples once again. Looking at him for a brief moment Yugi made to move but Atem held up a hand.

"I'm alright, I'm sorry for waking you."

Yugi stared at him for a moment before speaking, "A-are you ok? What happened?"

A breath, "Just a dream that's all."

Concern swelled within him as he watched his closest friend stand and move into the kitchen area, clearly getting some water for himself. He didn't miss the way Atem held tightly to the countertop, as if grounding himself to something.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" He asked, his gaze not leaving to former Pharaoh.

Atem turned to face Yugi, from the distance between them and the darkness of the night it was difficult to work out what he was thinking.

"No it's alright Yugi, I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

Yugi protested for a moment but eventually he reluctantly he lay back down, listening to the sounds of his friend moving around before sleep managed to claim him again. The former Pharaoh, having waited for Yugi to fall back to sleep, placed the glass he was holding on the counter before bracing himself against the counter and hung his head. The images of what he'd just seen flashed before his eyes again forcing him to open them. His head was pounding, as if something was trying to break out of it. Moving his elbows to the counter he rubbed his temples once again, trying to relieve some of the pain. But that did nothing, if anything it made it worse. Straightening himself he turned, thinking to try and lie back down. Perhaps sleep would claim him? But as he turned there was something, a whisper. But there was no one in the trailer besides himself and Yugi. He gazed around for a moment but heard nothing. However, when he felt a breeze from the nearby open window he heard it again, a whisper on the wind. He couldn't make out what the whisper was saying, perhaps he wasn't hearing anything at all. Maybe it was just a whistling sound that the air made as it passed through the small gap of the open window. Atem sighed, moving back towards his bed. Maybe all of this was a sign that it was finally happening, he was losing his mind. Resettling himself under the covers, he heard the whisper again but tried not to. He didn't want this, strange things were always happening to him and he'd had enough now. Closing his eyes against the whisper he tried to encourage the dark comforting arms of sleep. It took a fair amount of time, and various revisits to that dream he'd just had. But eventually, the comforting arms of dreamless sleep claimed him.