Chapter 18

Domino

Jounouchi and Honda returned a few minutes after the spooked nurse and tech had left. They walked into a room so eerily quiet that Jounouchi had to double-check to make sure they were in the right room. They found Yugi and Anzu no longer touching but sitting quietly together, staring at a piece of paper.

"Whatcha got there, Yug?"

"A picture of my chest X-ray. They're taking out my chest tube."

"Good," Jounouchi said. "Get this, that lady walked in assuming your name, Anzu. She got in here pretending to be you. Said she was Yugi's girlfriend. I don't know how she got your name from Yugi's guest list. Anyway, he knows you now. She shouldn't be able to get back in,"

Anzu was so lost in a daze that she had to ask Jounouchi to repeat himself.

"Oh, really?" she finally said, not completely paying attention.

"What's with you two?" He asked. "You both look like… Wait, what's on that X-ray?"

Yugi handed him the picture.

"What the hell is this?" Honda asked, looking over Jounouchi's shoulder.

"My chest X-ray,"

"No, it isn't. Your ribs look like a damn Christmas tree. What are all these symbols? Are those hieroglyphs?"

"Atem put those there," Anzu said. "Well, we think he did,"

"Atem? When did he get involved with this?" Jounouchi asked. He didn't like the look on their faces. Wasn't the last time Yugi had seen him during that duel with Diva?

"He met me…after, uh," Yugi took a cleansing breath. He hadn't wanted to hash this out again, but it was too late to keep it a secret now. "He met me after I died,"

"Wait," Honda said, putting his hands up. "Wait. What do you mean after you died? Are you saying—

"Yes," Anzu said. "Yugi died, but Atem helped to bring him back. Atem did something to him. Atem carved these into Yugi's ribs,"

"Oh. Well…Shit," Jounouchi said stupidly. He had no idea what to say about this information. Yugi's death had always been at the forefront of his mind. He had been in the dirty alley with Yugi, had tried to staunch the bleeding before the EMTs had picked him up. He had seen what that bastard had done to his best friend. Jounouchi had been elated to hear that Yugi had survived, but he wasn't surprised to hear that Yugi had died. He may have even coded multiple times until he was stable enough. Jounouchi's hand, which was cut from him punching his reflection, started to itch.

"Why would Atem do this to you? Can you feel it?" Jounouchi asked.

"He did it to help me recover, and no, I can't feel it. I have no idea how he did it, but..." Yugi hesitated to share the events in that other place with them. It was so hard to accurately tell what he had experienced. It was like trying to describe color and three-dimensions to someone who only lived in a world that was only two-dimensions and only in black and white.

"But before I woke up here, we talked. He was pissed over what had been done to me,"

"Pfft, get in line," Honda said. "'Course he'd be angry. We're all pissed off. If they ever find this guy, they'll have to put him in protective custody to protect him from us,"

"And," Yugi continued. "We sort of…caught up. He told me about his family,"

"His family?" Jounouchi perked up. "He had someone else besides that Kaiba-look-a-like?"

"He had a wife and a son,"

"Why didn't we see them?" Honda asked.

"When he was making the world of memory before he died, he chose to keep them out of the story. He was protecting them."

"That's beautiful," Anzu said with a smile. A surge of pride in Atem's actions rippled through her.

"And…I learned something about me," Yugi wanted to rub the back of his head, but refrained. He did smile, though. Thinking about his link with Atem, no matter how distant felt comforting. "Atem is my great-great ten times great-grandfather,"

"Wow! Really?" Honda said.

"Yep," Yugi said with a large smile. It felt so good to have a genuine, joyous smile again, not just smiling to make other people feel comfortable.

"Makes sense," Jounouchi said. "You two look so similar,"

"Atem helped to save my life with what he did. One moment he was giving me a hug like a brother, the next thing I knew he punched me in the chest and I woke up in this bed,"

"How do you know that's what these hieroglyphs are for? I'm not doubting you, but this isn't the first time something supernatural has happened to us. Things get messy when weirdness starts." Jounouchi said.

"Well, uh," Yugi said sheepishly.

Anzu stared at him. Anzu realized that she wasn't the only one Yugi hadn't told. It made her feel a little better.

"I can read it," Yugi said. "I've been able to understand hieroglyphs and heretic since Atem walked through the gate to the afterlife,"

"Whoa, it's like you're part of the Matrix," Jounouchi said, bewildered.

Yugi's nurse walked in with the ICU doctor, interrupting their strange conversation. They effectively kicked out Yugi's friends and got to work removing the chest tube. Honda and Jounouchi left soon after that, needing to leave to go to work. Anzu stayed, talking with Yugi about anything and everything, expertly avoiding the topic of Atem and what he'd done to Yugi. They settled into a nice space, falling back into the ease that had once existed between them. At some point, Yugi's mom and grandpa arrived after Yugi's second X-ray had been taken. The healthcare workers had decided to label Yugi's unique X-ray images under the label of 'weird' and chose not to bring it up again.

It was safer that way.

Mrs. Mouto and Sugoroku were overjoyed to see Anzu, giving her hugs and smiles.

"When did you get back?" Sugoroku asked. Kaoru was straightening Yugi's sheets. –"Mom, quit it," – Yugi chided.

"Last night,"

"How long are you going to be in town?" Kaoru asked.

"Um, I don't know," She answered honestly. She couldn't stay for weeks on end. Her schooling would suffer. Mokuba had given her an open ticket back to New York to use whenever she needed it, but she hadn't even thought about going back to America yet.

"As long as I need to be," she said, not having a better answer to give.

"Being here isn't going to hurt you in school, is it?" Yugi asked.

"No, I don't think so," she said. "I informed my professors that I had a family emergency. I have a performance after Thanksgiving, but as long as I keep practicing here, I should be fine."

"What's Thanksgiving?" Yugi asked.

"It's an American holiday. I get a week off from school during that week."

"I feel jipped," Yugi said while laughing. "I don't remember getting weeks off in school."

Laughter filled the room. It was in this moment, Yugi felt that he had experienced the greatest amount of healing he had so far. It wasn't the supernatural intervention he had received from Atem, but it was in the family he had found. He was surrounded by people who loved and wanted the best for him. It reminded him of that other place where he experienced that perfect and all-encompassing love. It wasn't the same, but it was as close as possible as he could get on this side.

He didn't lose the love in that place. It was here, right now. Other things were thrown into the mix that could make it difficult to find or recognize, but Yugi could see glimmers of the wonderous things he had seen and felt.

It wasn't perfect, but for now, he didn't need it to be.

…

When Anzu returned to the boy's apartment, it was cold and dark with clouds that threatened to release ice and snow. The scent of the hours-old morning coffee still lingered in the air. She had seen that Yugi was getting more and more tired the longer he entertained. Trying to remove herself as a burden from him, she had dismissed herself with the excuse that she needed to practice for her impending performance. It wasn't a complete lie, she did need to practice, but seeing Yugi and learning what he had been through had been mentally and emotionally exhausting for her. Looking at the empty apartment, it wasn't enough space to move the way she needed to. Right now, her body was begging for a nap.

She had been shocked to see Yugi covered in bandages and filled with IV lines, tubes, and drains. Looking at his injured hand, she had wanted to hold it, wishing she could somehow erase the evil that had been written in his story.

A heavy tension started to form at the base of her neck that threatened to turn into a bad headache.

Deciding that she needed a shower, she unpacked her toiletries and walked into the one bathroom in the apartment. There was less cleanliness in the bathroom. Boys. She thought, wrinkling her nose, but it was clean enough to shower in.

Feeling the warm water wash over her, she thought of everything Yugi had told her. Even now, Atem was a part of their lives, seemingly watching over them from wherever he was. Learning that they had been related was a surprise, but it shouldn't have been. Jounouchi was right. They looked too similar to not be related, regardless of the generational gap. She wondered who Atem's wife had been and what his son had looked like. She wished they all could talk to him like Yugi could, without the near-death experiences. She missed him and his friendship.

When she finished getting clean, she threw on an old, ugly baggy t-shirt and some sweatpants. Crawling into Yugi's bed, she felt comforted by his sheets and the fading smell of him. Setting an alarm to ensure she didn't oversleep, her head hit the pillow she was passed out within minutes.

She knew she was dreaming, but it was a very good, very vivid dream.

She was dreaming of lying in Yugi's bed, but she wasn't alone.

It was Yugi's room in the apartment, but there were subtle changes from the room she knew now. There were a few trophies, shadow boxes holding rare cards inside, and there were more pictures than she had grown accustomed to that littered the room perfectly.

"This wasn't how I thought I would get you into my bed," Yugi said into her ear. His voice was different, not at all like he sounded now. His voice very nearly replicated Atem's that she had to glance at him to make sure that it was Yugi. Yugi was holding her closely, spooning her from behind. She was assuming his eyes were closed since he was burrowed so deeply into her hair. He was warm and whole, slightly taller than she was, and was wrapped over her like a cocoon. His maimed right hand was holding her stomach, and a few of his fingers were lying strangely as if they couldn't relax. It wasn't bandaged, but she could see the large white scar that made up his new skin in the front and back of his hand. The scar stretched from the base of his thumb up to the point between his middle and ring finger, like a grim and mocking smile.

Her dream-self smiled and tapped the arm that was holding her.

"You pervert," she said, giggling. She found his injured hand and started to hold it in hers. Bringing her other hand up, she started to study his scar, tracing it with her fingers.

Yugi kissed her ear.

"Hmm-hmm," he nodded. "When it comes to you, it's too easy."

She turned around, and he opened one eye to peer at her. She found Yugi shirtless. Seeing six large, ugly, jagged-edged scars on his chest, she started to trace them with her fingers as if following along on a paper map.

"That tickles," He smiled lazily and wiggled a little bit away from her.

"They look better," She said.

"I wish it hadn't taken so long for them to be better."

He pulled her in and kissed her nose, which Anzu tried to teasingly avoid. A deep, canine-ish whining sounded from somewhere behind Yugi. It stopped their playful wrestling match.

"Lady," Yugi said, turning his torso to face the source of the sound.

A large and pretty dog put its enormous paws on the edge of the bed and pressed its large head on Yugi's chest. It whined again. It looked like a large German Shepherd but the muzzle and coloring were slightly off. It was lean and had powerful muscles underneath all of that fur.

"Seriously? Right now?" Yugi asked.

It whined and pushed at him with its nose.

"You're the bossiest, most demanding woman I've ever met," he said to the dog.

Yugi sighed and pulled his side of the blankets off. He was wearing boxer shorts underneath the blankets. Throwing on some jeans that were cast carelessly on the floor he got dressed and threw on a random t-shirt. Reaching for a leash, he kneeled and attached it to the dog's collar.

"Come on, Lady," he said. "Do me a favor and make it quick. It's too hot outside."

Anzu was watching all of this with an amused smile. She propped herself up on her right hand.

"She's a good dog," she said. Anzu's eye caught Lady's collar that read SERVICE DOG in big, bold, red letters in both Japanese and English.

"She's a pain in the ass," Yugi said grinning, scratching Lady behind the ears. "But she's my pain in the ass. Come on, girl," The clinking of Lady's collar against the lead filled the space of Yugi's room.

Yugi leaned over the bed and gave Anzu a quick but affectionate kiss.

"I'll be right back." He murmured.

The scene changed, and Anzu was no longer in Yugi's room. She was in his living room, but alone. The TV was off. A faint drip-drip sound of a leaky faucet echoed in from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Anzu said out loud to no one. In Yugi's bedroom, she had been a passenger in the dream, not in control of herself at all. Participating in the dream had been unconscious, as if she were mindlessly watching a movie. Now, she felt like she was back in the pilot's seat, given full control again.

"It was a possibility," A familiar masculine voice said from behind her.

She whirled to see Atem, decked out in his Pharaonic dress complete with crown and assumed dignity. The presence of Atem in her dreams was not unprecedented. She used to dream about him back when he had been working with Yugi. She had dreamed of him leaving and her and their friends begging for him to stay. She saw now how cruel that request would have been if they had made it.

"A possibility?" She asked dream-Atem.

"An opportunity," he said. "That you both can easily miss if you're not careful. Take it from me, you don't want to miss it. It is worth fighting for."

"Are you really here, Atem? Or is this a dream?"

Atem gave her that cocky grin.

"Yes,"

Anzu woke up to the annoying beep-beep of her phone's alarm. The light streaming in through Yugi's blinds were prickling at her eyes, making her headache worse. Atem's answer had been yes to her question, an answer that nagged at her.

Was Atem there, talking to her in her dreams? It had felt so real. Could people do that from the afterlife? The first part felt like it hadn't been a dream, but a memory. But how could it be a memory if it was something that had never occurred? What had Atem been trying to tell her? Here's a chance to have happiness together, don't miss it?

An annoying drip-drip sound echoed in the empty apartment from the bathroom.

What about the things she and Yugi had said to each other over the summer?

I love you enough to let you go… That was what Yugi had said to her.

Her heart ached.

Did Yugi still love her? Or had he already moved on? Would it be fair to him to say she loved him too? She did love Yugi. She loved all of her close friends. The bonds they had shared were forged in trials and shared victories, they were special.

But the love for Yugi was different.

She had been jealous when that reporter had initially claimed to be Yugi's girlfriend. She had been jealous when she'd found the lip-stained paper in Yugi's drawer. She knew herself well enough to know what jealousy felt like. She hated feeling jealous. It painted an ugly color on her.

There was also the very real obstacle of Yugi's injuries. Was she feeling this way because he had nearly been permanently and violently taken away from her? She felt a little panic in her chest thinking that Yugi had come so close to death.

She started to hyperventilate.

Her body was screaming alarms at her that she needed to move. Grabbing the apartment key, she scouted out her old dance studio. Hoping that her teachers hadn't changed, she prayed that they would do her the favor of dropping in to dance in the studio for free.

Ancient Egypt

"I see that it didn't go well," Mahado said, watching the prince's expression as he strode down the hallway. Atem's face betrayed the level of irritation that he was feeling. Night was settling in, draping the palace in darkness. The torches were already lit, trying to fight against the shadows.

"Gee, what gave it away?" Atem sneered sarcastically. "Your powers of observation are unparalleled."

Mahado made a face.

"My uncle is more stubborn than a bull. He may even be more stubborn than you are. Changing his mind will take some more effort."

"Are you offering any solutions? Or just here to tell me what I already know."

"Your Highness, I am your friend," Mahado reminded him. "Don't take your anger for my uncle out on me."

Some of the anger drained from his face to be replaced by small amounts of shame.

"Fuck!" Atem yelled. He wanted to hit something. Or a specific someone. "That arrogant ass!"

Atem was struggling to keep his temper in check. He had been taught that it was never beneficial to act or react while in the fits of rage. Stupid decisions were always made when done so in anger.

He took a few seconds to breathe. Centering his breath, he calmed down. Mahado was right.

"I'm sorry, Mahado," he said.

Irynefer had left Mana behind in Egypt for years. Dropping in sporadically throughout her childhood to say hello, then flitting off again. Atem had witnessed how lonely Mana had been when Irynefer had left the first time. When she had cried in her bed at night as a small, meager child, it had been he who had crawled into bed with her to bring her some comfort. At the tender age of five, Atem had been the one to hold her hand, lying next to her in her bed as she'd cried, saying that she wanted to go home. He had been the one to sing to her to make her feel better. He had been the one to help pick up the pieces and put them back together. Slowly over time, Mana had needed him less and less until he'd stopped lying next to her at night completely.

Where had Irynefer been then when Mana needed him? Nowhere close by.

And now he was claiming to know what was best for her, claiming that Mana's place was back in Chaldea?

What a fucking joke. Atem thought venomously.

Irynefer had even acknowledged that Mana's choice was to be with Atem. He had accepted the possibility that her home was with him, but had flippantly dismissed the chance for her to stay. Irynefer had been so disrespectful to him, when Atem had been nothing but polite… until the end of the conversation at least, when he had rudely questioned Irynefer's love for his daughter.

"Atem?" Mana whispered. She approached him gently. She'd heard the shouts and had come to investigate. "He said no." She said. She wasn't even asking. She could read the situation plain in front of her.

"I'm not done trying," Atem said. "It's not over until it's over."

She grinned at him, but it lacked its normal luster. She had faith in Atem, and she knew that he would fight for her if necessary. Seeing two men that she loved so dearly butt heads bothered her.

"If anyone can be stubborn enough to fight my father, it's you."

She interlaced her fingers in his and squeezed.

"So what are we going to do?" She asked.

"I am planning on you staying here, in your home," The prince said firmly.

Seeing this public display of affection between them was still new for Mahado. He inwardly bristled at their acts, but forced himself to let it go. He knew prince Aknatem well enough to know that he stood by what he said. Mahado thought to himself that they could go over Irynefer's head. Chaldeans may not be subject to Egyptian law in the same respects that citizens are, but some things go above the law of the land.

The law of the gods, for example.

"I need to try and understand," Atem said. "I need to understand why he is so adamant that you leave. If I knew, I could at least try to understand his perspective and offer a different solution."

"It's a place to start," Mahado said, thinking about his solution. The Pharaoh's word is law because he is seen as divine.

Marriage is sacred in Egypt, as much as it was back in Chaldea. Egyptian and Chaldean marriage covenants and betrothals weren't very different. Marriage was seen as ordained by the gods. If Atem were to announce his betrothal to Mana and if she accepted, they would be formally married even before there was a ceremony. Only a legal divorce would sever that connection. A betrothal could last as long as a year. It lasted as long as it needed to for the bridegroom to have gainful employment and gather resources to provide for a family, but Atem was a future Pharaoh. He could drown in the resources he already had that were necessary to support a family.

Mahado said nothing.

Atem had said it was a decision that only he and Mana could make in their own time, and he had been correct in saying so.

…

Mana had mostly avoided her father over the next several days, and she had made it obvious that she was staying away from him. She had turned down offers for her to sit with him or to dine with him. She was angry with her father, and seeing him ran the risk of her mouthing off to him. Like Atem, she didn't understand why he was so vehemently vying for her to go back to Chaldea.

The few times that she had spoken with him, it had been subdued and awkward.

She loved her father dearly. He was the only one she had.

I just wish I knew why he said no. She thought sadly.

Today, she was alone, sitting by a pond, reading the required assignments given to her by Mahado. It was the same fountain where Atem had seen her get slapped by the fish. She turned the two scrolls, moving from one subject to another.

"Mana?"

Looking up, she saw her father standing there. He had come so close to her so quietly that she hadn't sensed his presence. She nodded her head at him.

"Hello, Father,"

"I wish to treat with you," he said, smiling a hopeful smile, wishing that she wouldn't send him away. "Would you have me?"

She scooted over, making room for him to sit next to her. Immediately accepting the invitation, he sat. She didn't look at him directly, choosing instead to keep her eyes on her scroll.

"I know that you and the prince are angry with me,"

"Yes," she said. There was no point denying it. "We're perplexed."

"Pharaoh is also curious as to my decision. He doesn't understand why I have turned down Prince Aknatem's offer for him to betroth you."

"Most Fathers would be overjoyed to see their only daughter marry a future king."

"Most Fathers do not see what I have seen."

"What is it that has frightened you so?" She asked. "Is Atem—

"I do not doubt that he would make a fine husband. He would provide, he would be good to you, and I have no doubt that he would make a good father someday," Irynefer said. "It is Egypt's future that I have doubts about,"

"Egypt's future?" Mana

"Allow me to show you,"

Taking her hands in his, he willed his heka to blend with hers. In her mind, a picture started to form. In the flash of a second, she was in another place. To her horror, Atem was dying at her feet. He was unable to stand, but lay there, bleeding and suffering. They were surrounded by the rubble of Thebes. Fires were sporadically cast over the devastation. She could smell smoke and death everywhere. What has happened? She thought, panicking. Seti loomed over them. Atem took off his Millennium Puzzle and handed it to Seti, mouthing words to him that she couldn't hear or understand.

Atem coughed, struggling to breathe. He looked like he was in so much pain, but she couldn't see how he was injured.

No. No. No! Not this!

"He will die young," Her father's voice echoed over her. "Thebes will burn,"

The scene changed.

She saw herself standing before Atem's closed tomb. She was weeping, unable to hold herself up. Another image of herself appeared. In this one, Pharaoh Seti was reigning as king, and she bore the Millennium ring as his priestess.

Her face was cast down, no light was left to give her expression life.

"Whether by the sword of an enemy or by disease, Pharaoh Aknatem will die young. He will not be able to bear the weight of his mantle for any length of meaningful time," Irynefer said. "And you, you, my beloved daughter, will mourn him. You will have bound yourself to his fate, chaining your soul in service to him. You will wander, waiting for him to return, dying of grief until your life is gone. Should he return, it will not be as his wife, but as a servant."

She heard some part of herself whisper.

"I wish to help him…One last time…"

Irynefer pulled his heka away from hers. She was back home, sitting on the bench next to her father.

"There is nothing for you here. There is only death for you in Egypt,"

Mana was weeping silently, taking in everything that he had shown her in her mind.

Irynefer's face was littered with concern and sadness.

"Is there any love left for me, dear daughter?"

Mana wept, her voice cracking.

"You have my love, father."

Author's Note: The scene between Irynefer and Mana was inspired by the scene in The Lord of the Rings, between Elrond and Arwen.

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