Lion Heart

EvilPharaohAtem: Hmm… maybe I’ll kill off Malik and Ryou just so I can get Yuugi all pissed again… I kinda like him all pissed off °muses° Well, i guess you’ll have to wait and see XD And PLEASE don’t thow rocks at me anymore? *pouts* theyhurt…


KinkouChan: Holy crap a dutch person! °gasps in shock° and here I was thinking I already knew all the yaoi-loving dutch people around (which is a total of what, 3?! My god the Netherlands need to get some taste…). Yup, I’m utterly dutch though since I write in English so much, I now actually THINK in English, and it actually takes effort to type in dutch… thus, I shall not even attempt that. Yes, I’m just that lazy °grins° Anyway, I’m glad you like the story and yes, the vampire thing is rather overdone. I don’t think I’ll ever go there cuz there’s simply nothing left that hasn’t been done yet. I like to keep at least SOME originality to my work. And don’t worry, I don’t plan on quiting the YGO yaoi fandom any time soon either. I’ve already got a new fic in the works after this XD I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Dragonlady222: Meeting really was awesome, and I do hope it’ll happenagain someday. Who knows ne? XD Have fun with the new chap!

Cosmit Tomato: Hey Ryou’s in love. Cut the guy some slack ne? And I purposefully made Yuugi out of character, so I could make Atemu point it out and get Yuugi to break down… Yuugi might need some anger management classes though… Note to self: Look into that.

Tavi: Yes, yes she will °laughs evilly° I’ll make sure of that!

DemonGodess061: Kindly get the fuck off my case. I’ve changed the disclaimer to say I don’t own or earn money off this, so it’s fine. The fact that I managed to insult you people in it at the same time is just my sarcastic side trying to point something rather obvious out, as well as me venting my exasperation. Excuse the bad-sighted person for not running over to read a long-ass post about the specifics of a the disclaimer because it’ll freaking tire her eyes out. Either tell me exactly what you want me to change, or deal with the current disclaimer. Honestly, I think my disclaimer is actually quite nice compared to what I could’ve come up with.

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Okay, starting off I’d like to say that I’m pissed off with the staff at AFF.net. Their current pestering of the disclaimer rules is beyond annoying. Not only am I in general against disclaimers plinaly because I find them rather redundant because OBVIOUSLY I don’t own YGO or make money out of this, but going as far as to block stories that only have half a disclaimer or attempt to be funny while still conveying the obvious is plainly getting me beyond pissed off. As such, this will probably be my last story on this site. Because I hate to leave stories unfinished I will of course continue this until the end, and even keep an eye on the retards that call themselves the staff around here. For those of you who enjoy my fanfics and still want to read more after this, I’m also a writer for ff.net, where I actually post far more then I do here because I find that site more pleasant to work with. I’d ask you all to join me… but I know that’s rather pointless since only a few of you actually read my fic, let alone the A/N, let alone listen to me.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, we can actually get to the fic itself. You better all love me after this particular chapter! *huffs* And you’ll see why at the end, so get to reading ne? *grins* Have fun and R&R!

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--: 12 :--
Time For Action

Yuugi groaned as sleep left him and a splitting headache made itself known. Not only that, but his entire body was hurting like he’d been in a hard fight with both Bakura and Mariku only seconds ago. Even worse was that his Shadow Magic wasn’t doing anything to heal whatever injury was causing the pain.

He felt something comforting tighten around him and he snuggled into the warmth he was lying on, for a moment a content sigh escaping his mouth, until he realized that none of the pillows or mattresses or anything he’d ever lain on before was as warm as this. He frowned for a moment before everything that had happened before he fell asleep rushed back to him.

Yuugi’s eyes snapped open, emotions flooding back into him and his Shadow Magic even now flaring slightly against the sudden amount of feelings. It barely registered through the pain his body was already in though, so Yuugi easily ignored it.

He looked up into concerned rubies, noting that he was lying in Atemu’s arms and had been lying there for quite some time because Ra had moved quite a bit in the sky. He blushed slightly, but refused to move even an inch in his current state. He might be able to move, but it would hurt like Hell.

“Are you okay?” Yuugi looked away from the other’s face, guilt once more washing over him in large amounts.

“I let them down. I was supposed to protect them and I didn’t.” There was a pause for a moment before he felt a finger under his chin, lifting his face up so he had no choice but to look at Atemu again.

“It was their choice to stay and not run, Yuugi. You tried to save them but you simply couldn’t. Can you honestly say that you didn’t give it your all at that moment to try and stop Bakura and Mariku from taking your friends?”

Yuugi stayed silent for a second, the memory of that day flooding back to him. He bit his lip before shaking his head. No, he’d tried with all his might to get out of Mariku’s grip. The other’s Shadow Magic had barely been strong enough to keep him down so he knew he’d been putting up quite a fight. His all simply hadn’t been enough.

As if reading the other’s mind, Atemu interrupted Yuugi’s train of thought before he could even voice it, “You aren’t weak either. I think a lot of people would’ve given up on their friends the very moment they were taken. You’re a true friend for still trying to find them.” He paused for a moment in thought before continuing, “Who told you Malik and Ryou had been killed?”

Yuugi leaned into the hand that had been previously holding his chin up and was now gently stroking his cheek in a soothing way, “One of the people I came across. He said Mariku’s ‘toys’ usually don’t last longer than a few days.” He closed his eyes, trying to hold back more tears.

Atemu frowned, “I doubt it’s actually true. Bakura would never let Mariku kill those two off for fun; they need them alive if they want to force you into anything.”

The voice that had been saying the same thing but had been too soft to hear before when he’d first heard the news now came back with a vengeance, practically yelling at him that he should’ve listened. Yuugi attempted to ignore it, but it was yelling so loud it was actually making his headache worse, “Still… it could not be true but-“

“No ‘but’s, Yuugi. Yes, it could be true but the odds of that being the case are slim. Bakura is smarter than that.” Atemu gave a light smirk, “Mariku might be stupid enough to do that, but not Bakura.”

Yuugi chuckled slightly despite himself and looked at the other again, only now seeing how close they actually were. Their faces were mere inches apart, Atemu’s hand still caressing his cheek gently. For the slightest of moments Yuugi considered just leaning forward and damning the consequences his action might have. To - for once - not bottle everything up inside and to act on impulse. To, as strange as it sounded, be more like Teana and be more forward. The moment passed before Yuugi could even consider actually going through with it, the consequences that one movement could have crashing down on him.

Atemu noted the brief flash of emotion though, their faces so close that it was hard to miss it actually. The spark of hope that had been lit a few days ago grew, his ability to read Yuugi like an open book making it a lot easier to see what that brief flash had actually been; desire. And if he was right about that, then he really did have a chance with Yuugi.

A pretty big one at that.

Even with the knowledge that Yuugi had just gone through an emotional breakdown and that it was probably wrong to take advantage of him now in case he had misread the other, Atemu leaned forward and pressed his lips to Yuugi’s gently, giving the other a clear opportunity to get away from him. Yuugi’s eyes widened for a moment before closing, lips pressing back against his firmly. Atemu’s eyes closed instantly as well, deepening the kiss further.

Tongues fought, hands wandered, and only now did Yuugi fully realize that he had no clothes on. He couldn’t care less about it right now though and if there had been any good time not to be wearing clothes; it would’ve probably been at that moment. He pressed himself closer to Atemu, soft purrs and moans escaping him as he melted into the kiss.

Atemu didn’t pull back until several minutes later, his breathing now harsh and a smirk on his features. Yuugi took a moment longer to snap back to reality, though he blushed brightly when he finally did and his mind fully understood what had just happened.

“Well,” Atemu’s smirk widened, “I’d say Teana can go home now.”

Yuugi chuckled at the comment and grinned, “About time. I won ages back but she still hasn’t given up.”

Atemu gave a slight mocking pout, “I still don’t know how I feel about being used as something you challenged her over.”

Yuugi grinned innocently, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

Before another thing could be said, Yuugi hopped off the bed and walked over the mountain of pillows, the pain shooting through his body somehow less than it had been before and now bearable. Atemu blinked at the sudden action. “Yuugi?”

Yuugi disappeared behind the mountain before answering in a sheepish tone, “I want to get some clothes on since I ripped the ones I was wearing…”

Atemu pouted for real this time; he had been quite enjoying his view.

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There were few good things in Jou’s life really. His dad tended to try and make his life as miserable as possible so his home situation wasn’t great. It sucked, really. It was the reason why he spent as much time as possible outside of his house with his friends. His friends were one of those few things that made his life worthwhile, and even though things had definitely improved for him since he’d come to live in the palace, he still couldn’t stand the idea of one of his friends getting hurt. Sadly that had already happened to two of them, but the solution to that problem was a work in progress. Still there was still one of his friends left and he’d rather die than do nothing as the other got hurt.

So when Seth came to him when he’d managed to sneak out and told him that Yuugi had rushed into the palace completely freaked out he freaked himself.

“What’s wrong with him? Was he hurt? What happened?” Jou instantly turned to walk into the direction of Atemu’s room where he knew he would find his friend but was stopped by Seth pulling him back. He glared at the High Priest, not in the mood for one of their usual arguments, even though he enjoyed those greatly.

“Atemu is with him and his shadow magic has stopped lashing out at everything so he should be fine. Leave them.” Jou slapped the hand that was holding him back away, glaring defiantly at the other. Yes, he had to admit that Seth was handsome, their arguments were fun, and that when the other so choose to show his soft side he’d kill to be the other’s lover, but right now he really needed to see his friend to make sure the other was okay.

“Look, I don’t expect you ta get dat I wanna make sure for myself dat he’s okay, but at least try ta stay outta it.” He turned once again to leave only to be stopped again. He turned once more to glare into calm sapphires, the other’s calmness only sparking his temper more.

“Let me spell this out for you since you don’t quite seem to understand this yet. Those two are very obviously in love and the more we leave them alone, the more chances they get to actually get together. I’m sick of having a love-sick Atemu daydreaming the entire day and since Yuugi’s aura feels fine, you really don’t need to go check. Now stay put and be happy I even bothered to tell you this.” Jou stared for a moment before finally snapping, a lot of pent up anger towards everything that had gone wrong in his entire life coming out at the same time even though Seth couldn’t do anything about most of it.

“You think you know everythin’ and are so much better than me just ‘cause you’re a priest and have powers and I’m just a commoner and can do nothin’? I’ve known Yuug way longer than Atemu has so I have da right to check up on him if somethin’ happens! Somethin’ happened so I get ta check! You can’t stop me just ‘cause you’re of a higher class and you’re better than me ‘cause you’re not! I’m just as good as you are so get off my case! You’re always judging me, criticizing me, puttin’ me down and damn it, I’m sick and tired of it! Just leave me alone for once or get a life!”

Seth was rendered speechless for a moment, never having expected an outburst like that from the other. Had he really been that bad to the other just to try and get rid of his feelings? Something that he failed miserably at even. The part of him that had been yelling at him for being such a jerk only screamed louder.

There was silence as Jou glared fiercely and Seth merely stared in something that Jou vaguely recognized as shock, though the brunette was doing quite a good job at hiding it. The shock disappeared from the other’s face. Jou half expected to be punched or at least yelled at but instead Seth simply stepped closer, the grip he still had on Jou tightening to make sure he wouldn’t run off. Jou’s anger briefly disappeared to make room for confusion at such a strange reaction, only to have that replaced by shock as soon as he felt Seth kiss him.

Before he had even processed what had happened fully, Seth pulled away and looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t kiss people I think are below me. Leave Yuugi and Atemu alone for a while; you’ll see him later.”

Without another word Seth let go and turned around, walking away as if nothing had just happened. Jou stared, still frozen in shock. Seth, the person who he had been arguing with for over two weeks now and had seemed closer to hating him than anything else, had just kissed him. Sure, there had been those moments where Seth had gotten him out of trouble if he did something wrong and where he had been surprisingly nice, but most of the time they just argued. And now the other was walking away like nothing had happened?

Snapping out of his shock, Jou quickly rushed after the High Priest to catch up. “Hey! You don’t just kiss a guy and den walk away! Especially not you since you’re not da type to kiss anyone!” Jou grabbed the other’s shoulder to stop him this time.

Seth turned, mentally kicking himself for his action. Spur of the moment actions really weren’t his thing and he made a mental note never to do it again. “What do you want?” He mentally winced at the coldness of his own tone. He really should work on that too.

Jou scowled at him, “You kiss me and you just expect ta walk away like dat? What da hell did you even bother kissin’ me for den?”

Seth sighed in frustration, rubbing his temple and trying to avert the headache that was no doubt coming. He was not the type for showing emotions but this whole situation with Jou was getting to him. Two weeks of bottling his feelings for the others up while he had no experience with this in the first place really wasn’t something he’d enjoyed, but now that he had actually acted on his emotions he had a feeling it was only going to get worse for him.

“Well?” Seth scowled back the impatient blonde in front of him. Really, what was he supposed to say in a situation like this? The blonde might be a bit dense, but the fact that he’d kissed him really should’ve said more than enough.

“I would’ve thought I’d just made it obvious. Are you really even dumber than even I thought?” Both teens’ scowls turned to glares at that, Jou because he was already annoyed and had just been insulted again, and Seth because he plainly wasn’t comfortable with this situation and was trying to hide it behind his usual façade.

“I just yelled at you about what a jerk you’ve been all dis time and den you kiss me outta da blue and I’m supposed ta get what possessed you to do dat?! Do I look psychic to you?! ‘Cause lemme tell you, I-“

Before Jou’s rant could continue, Seth once more crushed his lips to the blonde’s, more forceful this time as he pushed the other against a wall. Jou’s eyes widened in shock once more, staring in utter disbelief for a moment, before finally just giving up on trying to figure the brunette out and closing his eyes, responding to the kiss as he wrapped his arms around the other’s neck. Seth would no doubt always be a mystery to him, but right now he really didn’t care much.

It was several long moments before Seth pulled away, his mind slightly dazed since Jou had actually responded to the kiss and was currently clinging to him like there would be no tomorrow if he ever let go. Impulses, he decided, weren’t always bad. Not if they led to this anyway. He just hoped Jou would finally put one and one together now.

Jou took a second to gather his thoughts again before looking into Seth’s eyes with a mock glare, “Y’know, tellin’ me ya liked me would’ve been easier.”

Seth rolled his eyes at the statement, “After two weeks you should know me better than that.”

Jou grinned sheepishly, still not letting go of the other, “True, but I’ve just decided ta stop tryin’ to figure you out ‘cause it’s impossible.”

Seth smirked and a silence fell, neither really knowing what to say or do now. Jou suddenly grinned up at the other, Seth instantly becoming more apprehensive, though he crushed the urge to run as far away for the other as possible.

Jou simply ignored the sudden apprehensive look on the brunette’s face and smiled innocently, “Seth?”

Seth’s apprehensiveness only grew, “What?”

Jou’s innocent look changed to the infamous puppy-dog eyes Seth had heard Hikari talk about in the past, though until now he’d had no idea that the friend Hikari had referred to on those occasions had been Jou, “Can I please go see Yuug now?”

Seth stared blankly for a moment, having completely forgotten about that and trying his best to ignore the begging eyes looking at him. It only lasted a few seconds before he caved, mentally swearing that nothing in existence could ever resist those eyes.

“Fine.”

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Shimon was a patient man in most cases. He had all the patience in the world when it came to the meetings he and the rest of the council had to sit through. He didn’t snap when someone made a mistake and in case that was a servant, he would usually take the time to explain what was wrong, how it could be solved, and how it could be prevented from happening again.

Now however, his patience was running thin. Atemu had always been someone who would keep things to himself, and Shimon respected that. This time it involved Egypt though, and Atemu keeping things to himself when it came to the country was a very bad thing.

It had of course all started when Hikari had shown up. Shimon was immensely grateful for all the help the lion had offered them and from those times he had actually spoken to Hikari, he liked the other a lot. Atemu had just taken such a liking to him that he talked to Hikari more than with his own council. Something he wouldn’t mind that much if Atemu just told the rest of them what he told Hikari as well, but Shimon had a feeling that Hikari knew far more of the current situation than he did.

Over the last week it had gotten even worse – something he hadn’t thought possible. Hikari had spent several days at the palace recovering from some sort of injury, but when Atemu was asked what was wrong with the other, Atemu simply brushed it off, saying it was nothing and Hikari would be okay in no time.

Also, Atemu had started spending every second he was free with the other instead of with Teana. Now Shimon knew Atemu had no feelings for the brunette princess, but treating her the way he was could lead to serious complications between Libya and Egypt if the girl ever got enough of it and would go back to her father to complain. He didn’t care much for the girl – she really was quite annoying – but another war would be disastrous to put it lightly.

The only good thing that had happened over the last week was that Atemu had stopped daydreaming so much. He paid more attention to what was going on around him and seemed pretty much his old self again. Shimon couldn’t prove it of course, but the extensive amount of time Atemu suddenly demanded to spend with Hikari and the distinct sounds that could sometimes be heard coming from his room definitely implied that Atemu knew who Hikari was in his human form, and was enjoying that form quite a bit. Yet another thing Atemu wouldn’t say a thing about, but that was his business really. Shimon didn’t really care what happened in Atemu’s love life as long as the other was happy and still ruled Egypt like he was supposed to.

The weirdest thing that had happened over the last week had to have been Seth’s surprisingly content and – for lack of a better term – happy behaviour. Shimon was pretty sure he too had finally found someone though for the life of him he didn’t know who.

Or wanted to know, quite frankly. He just felt very sorry for the person since Seth could be quite temperamental.

The worst thing that had happened were the reports of troops most likely belonging to Bakura and Mariku gathering in several town known for harbouring criminals. He was just very happy that Hikari had found out about the upcoming attack so early, or they might’ve missed the slight signs of that attack. Now they were prepared themselves and although he was very sure Bakura and Mariku were also keeping a close eye on them, they were ready for a battle as soon as it came. And it could come any time now. It had been almost two weeks now since Hikari had warned them of the attack and he knew that the two desert inhabitants were either ready to attack or close to it. For all he knew it could happen at that very instant, but he was praying with all his might that it would be another few days. They might be ready, but a bit more preparation was never a bad thing in a situations like this.

He really should’ve been praying harder.

“You’re Majesty!” A soldier burst into the meeting room Shimon and the rest of the council were debating tactics in. Everyone’s attention instantly snapped to the frantic looking man, none bothering to comment on his entrance and all worrying about why the man had burst in so suddenly.

“What is it?” Atemu rose from his seat, a worried look in his eyes as he feared the worst possible news.

The soldier tried to bow in respect as quickly as possible without wasting too much time, before looking up at his ruler, “The attack, my Lord. It’s happening!”

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There! They’re all together! HAPPY?!?!?! I mean, I only took me 12 chapters y’know… 13 if you count the prologue, which I’m not… *coughs* Anyway, Hope you all enjoyed and Review!

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Preview:

The feeling that something was glaring at him furiously washed over Bakura, and he was wise enough to know it was probably real and not just his mind playing tricks on him. He was angry and glaring at him right now.

“Use them.”

Bakura rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “I’ve already told you that I’m not going to use those two to blackmail Atemu and that damned cat into anything. Stop whining about it.”

A particular hard stab followed his statement, but Bakura refused to show it had hurt. He remained impassive as if he hadn’t just been stabbed by shadow magic.