Lion Heart

EvilPharaohAtem: I could never keep them angry at each other for long. ‘Sides, they’re not really angry. The minute they both had time to calm down they regretted fighting so yeah. Anyway, have fun with he new chap!

Keara: I LIVE! Though with what’s gonna happen in the fic that probably won’t last long… damn, I need a proper hiding place. Yeah °nods° I’m going off to find that hiding place while you have fun reading! °runs off°

Right_read_time: … Did I mention that i’m blonde? °pouts° And Atemu isn’t acting blonde, he’s just worried Hikari will get hurt to a point where he won’t be able to simply recover. And… I have no idea who you are on ffnet… and I don’t know if you’ve done your punishment yet and reviewed ther so I don’t have much to go on either… oh well. Enjoy the new chap!

Dragonlady222: Tsk, I can’t keep doing cliffie after cliffie. It’s way more fun to make you people think you’re safe and THEN throw in the cliffie! Beware! Moondalian’s coming your way!

Cosmic Tomato: Well you’ll just have to wait and see what I have in store with the story… or get your ass online so you can bug me about it. °gives pointed look back° Thanx for liking my fics so much AND reviewing LH… multiple times XD Have fun with this chap anyway!

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Well, you all seem to think I'm very evil for getting everone into fights... THANX! °grins° i'm so proud of myself now ^^ Anyway have fun with the new chapter and R&R!
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--: 04 :--
In The Open

‘Why can’t anything last forever?’ Yuugi ran as fast as he could to get to where loud explosions could be heard. People screamed around him, trying to run in the opposite direction to get away from the attack. Yuugi mentally cursed every one of those people for slowing him down. He had yet to transform into Hikari, so no one was even paying the slightest bit of attention to him.

He had managed to lose his friends in the large mass of people, but he had a feeling they would come looking for him very soon. With everything that had happened during the last attack, they would most likely suspect something to happen during this one as well.

He cursed once more as he was pushed aside by the many people, deciding he needed a new way. He quickly entered one of the alleys, easily jumping onto the room of one of the buildings with the extra power and agility he possessed even outside of his transformation. Taking a deep breath, he started running once more, jumping from rooftop to rooftop until he’d finally reached the main square.

There were Mariku and Bakura, laughing as they fought Atemu. Atemu was outmatched by the two of them by far, the thief and assassin having learned the meaning of actual teamwork after their last encounter. Yuugi gritted his teeth as he saw his friend being blasted backwards, a pained cry being torn from his lips.

“Yuugi! What the hell are you doing?!” Eyes widening, Yuugi turned around, stopping the transformation he’d just wanted to start. There, running at him through the many alleys were Malik, Jou and Ryou, all eyes fixed on him in wonder and question. They’d probably taken the route through the alleys, not bothering trying to get through the masses, and therefore getting here quite a bit faster than he had. They’d most likely expected to find him in the danger zone after last time.

“Damnit, get out of here!” None of his friends slowed down, running until they were right below the building he was standing on top of. They didn’t seem to plan on leaving until he’d explained what he was doing there. They probably wouldn’t even leave after that until he went with them.

Another pained cry tore his attention back to the battle behind him. He bit his lip as he saw Atemu barely managing to dodge a shadow ball - Mariku was the one hit this time. He needed to help Atemu or he’d be in great danger, but how could he transform without his friends noticing?

“Where’s your pet cat huh? Don’t tell me you two finally got into a fight and he left you?” a brief flash of hurt shot through Atemu’s features before hiding itself again, but Yuugi had noticed it. Atemu really did think he’d left and had no intention of coming to help because of their fight.

“Yuug! C’mon down!” Glancing one more time at his friends below and then back at Atemu, Yuugi took a deep breath and focussed his shadow magic. His secret was important to him, but not nearly as important as Atemu and this war were. If his friends had to find out who he really was so he could save Atemu now, then so be it. He didn’t like the idea one bit, but this there really didn’t seem to be another choice.

He quickly let the sash keeping his clothes in place loose, the clothes dropping to the roof he was standing on. Shadow magic enveloped him as his body changed, fur growing and his body realigning to suit its new form. Hikari ignored the gasps of shock he heard as he opened his eyes after the transformation had ended. He had no time to waste on the shock of his friends right now, Atemu needed him.

With a loud roar he jumped in front of a nearly exhausted Atemu, firing a shadow ball himself to cancel out the attack Bakura had just sent his way. He could feel the Pharaoh behind him tense in surprise at his sudden arrival, before he sensed a great amount of relief in the other’s aura. No anger was anywhere near the other, none aimed at him in any case. Hikari smiled lightly.

“Hikari…” A hand was placed on his back gently and Hikari glanced backwards to see a smile on his friend’s face. Without letting his guard down for attacks he quickly stepped back and nuzzled the hand.

/ Oh come on, I would never leave you alone. What kind of person do you think I am? / Another grateful smile before both turned back to the two now cursing males before them.

“Damned cat. Why do these two always show up to help the other at just the right time?” Mariku shrugged at his partner’s question, before taking aim again, grinning wildly. He quite enjoyed the fights, even if there never seemed to be an obvious winner for the war in it. As long as he could just keep on going like this, he was quite fine.

“I don’t know and I don’t care, let’s just kill them!” Hikari smirked cockily at the two.

/ We’ll see about that. /

Balls and beams of shadow magic flew through the air, aiming to do more than just damage. Hikari easily dodged, leaping forward and tackling Bakura to the ground. Mariku quickly fired a beam at him so he had to leap off the white-haired thief, only to be hit by a beam of shadow magic himself as Atemu fired.

With Bakura and Mariku both tired from already fighting with Atemu, Hikari easily overpowered them with his speed and strength. The fight continued until Bakura and Mariku were forced back to the outskirts of town. Hikari glanced quickly at Atemu to make sure that the other was still alright; grimacing as he noted that the other had near to no shadow magic left and was panting heavily. He was sure the other needed rest and fast, but wouldn’t do so until Mariku and Bakura either got away or were beaten. Beating the two seemed possible for once, but Hikari had been sensing a strange kind of shadow magic gathering below the two and doubted it meant anything good.

Just as Hikari was about to leap forward to give a possibly finishing blow to Mariku, the earth below the thief and assassin covered itself with dark shadows that seemed to come out of nowhere. The lion stopped immediately, staring in shock as both Bakura and Mariku’s eyes blanked as if possessed for a short moment, before being swallowed by the shadows and disappearing.

Atemu walked up to his friend, staring in just as much shock at the place the other two had just vacated, “Well, that was new.”

Hikari nodded numbly before turning his head to the other and surveying the wounds and bruises covering the other’s body. He gave a slight smirk, / Look who’s hurt now huh? Am I allowed to tell you to be more careful now? / Atemu winced slightly at the reminder of their last conversation and sighed, kneeling down and running his hands through the blonde manes of the lion in front of him.

“I suppose so, though I might respond in a similar manner that you did.” He gave a smile and chuckled, “I was that bad huh?”

Hikari nuzzled Atemu’s hand as a sign of peace, before glancing over to where he could sense his friends standing. If he looked hard enough, he could see three sets of eyes glued to his form just from the shadows of some now completely destroyed houses. He mentally grimaced at the idea of them now knowing who he really was, but quickly focused his attention back to Atemu before the Pharaoh could notice he was staring at something.

/ Let’s say neither of us ever start a conversation like that again, and call it quits. I don’t really feel like fighting with you. / Hikari gave a smile before once more glancing over the other’s body, / But I am taking you back to the palace. You’re in no state to be riding a horse, let alone walk. / Atemu chuckled again before nodding, knowing the other was most likely right and not having the energy at the moment to argue. He easily sat down on Hikari’s back like they’d done so often already as the lion’s muscles tensed under him, and they raced off.

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“No. Way.” Malik stared as Yuugi, before their very eyes, transformed into Hikari, the lion that had been protecting their town for quite some time now. The lion jumped off the building and quickly joined the Pharaoh in battle. Malik could do nothing but stare, no other words leaving his mouth. It was one of the few times he had ever been speechless to a point where even his mind had difficulty functioning properly.

“His wounds… Hikari was badly injured during that last fight and so was Yuugi. Why didn’t we see it?” Ryou had a similar wide-eyed look on his face, shock beaming from his very aura.

“Well who’d have thought dat Yuug’d be,” Jou paused in his sentence, rethinking what he’d been about to say. A lot of things about Yuugi made sense like this. His athletic ability, his mysterious disappearances, his never-ending faith that their new Pharaoh would be a good king and not at all like the old ruler – after all, everyone knew that Pharaoh Atemu and Hikari were close friends.

“You think the Pharaoh knows who he really is?” Malik had finally snapped out of his shock and was now staring in wonder at the fight, his eyes following every movement that was being made. “Damn, they’re heading for the edge of the city. We have to follow them!”

“Are you mad?” Jou looked at him in horror, “Usually when dere’s an attack we run, not try ta stay as close as possible!”

“Well up until now we didn’t know our best friend was the one fighting.” Malik gave an annoyed look, “We have to follow so we can make sure he’s okay!”

“It’s not like we can help if he does get hurt. It seems the Pharaoh is the only one that can do that right now.” Ryou curiously looked at the manner of teamwork the Pharaoh and Yuugi displayed; amazed that it seemed so perfect even if their ruler was hurt quite a bit.

“Well I still want to know! I’m going after them; you two do what you want!” And with that, Malik was gone; running in the direction that the four fighting men – or rather three men and lion – had gone. Ryou and Jou glanced at each other briefly, silently considering what to do next, before simultaneously bolting after their friend. After all, they did want to know what would happen to Yuugi. And even if they couldn’t really help, they would jump into the fight if there was any danger of Yuugi getting killed.

They crept around the rubble of the destroyed houses, following the fight while staying out of sight. They reached the outskirts of the city in near to no time, all three impressed at how easy Yuugi and Atemu made it seem to force the other two back. Hiding behind the remains of a destroyed house, they kept watching in awe as the fight continued, until Bakura and Mariku suddenly seemed to disappear into nothingness.

“What the…?” Malik’s shock returned, “Where did they just go?! Yuugi almost had them!”

Jou and Ryou stayed silent, neither knowing the answer and much more inclined to just continue watching the place the fight had just stopped.

“What do you think dey’re talkin’ about? And why’s Yuug lettin’ dat guy pat him like he’s some kinda pet?” Jou scowled, feeling insulted for his friend that he was being treated like nothing more than a mere pet of no real importance.

Ryou merely rolled his eyes in slight exasperation, “They’re too far away so I don’t know what they’re talking about. As for the patting, I’m sure that it’s not meant to be insulting. If you hadn’t noticed, those two are good friends.” He gave Jou a reprimanding look that looked quite a bit more cute than it was meant.

“Well it does explain why Yuugi was always defending the Pharaoh when we talked about him. He didn’t much like the old one though, wonder why this guy’s so different.”

Jou and Ryou shrugged, Jou still with a scowl on his face and Ryou with a mere curious expression. Jou’s scowl only deepened more as Atemu climbed on Hikari’s back before the lion took off towards the palace at top speed.

“What is he, a horse?! Dis is ridiculous!” Malik frowned as well but Ryou just shrugged his shoulders, stretching and glancing in the direction his friend had just taken off in.

“The Pharaoh was hurt, maybe Yuugi just wanted to make sure he got to the palace safe and sound. I really think you two are exaggerating this whole thing. If Yuugi defends him so fiercely, I’m pretty sure the Pharaoh treats him well.” It was a habit of his to always try and see things from the other’s point of view. Drawing conclusions without knowing all the facts was pointless in his opinion, and that often made him a neutral party in arguments. Of course, this didn’t always make him the most popular person around, but it was simply in his nature. He couldn’t help it.

Malik just scowled, crossing his arms, “You don’t know that. No one knows anything about Hikari and barely anything about the relationship between him and the Pharaoh.” He sighed, “Well, let’s just wait until he gets back and let him explain this.”

Ryou nodded. Jou glared in the direction Hikari and Atemu had taken off in, before grumbling what vaguely sounded as his consent and starting to walk away, most likely back to the town square to wait for his friend there, all the while staying in a bad mood.

Malik and Ryou glanced at each other before following, both hoping very hard that no one would get in Jou’s way or the blonde might vent his current frustration in a very aggressive way.

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‘I can do this. They won’t kill me. They’ll just… be angry most likely. Jou will probably want to kill me but Ryou will stop him. Malik will glare and rant, and then I’ll get a chance to explain and… I’m so dead.’ Yuugi sighed as he slowly entered the town square, spotting all three of his friends sitting there as the only people. Jou was glaring, Ryou and Malik were talking. Sadly, Jou was the first to spot him.

“You!” Jou leaped up and rushed over to Yuugi, the younger teen taking a few nervous steps back at the angry face his friend displayed. Ryou and Malik followed not far behind the blonde, Malik’s face divided in the anger Jou displayed and the concern Ryou was showing.

Yuugi smiled nervously up at his three friends, mentally wincing at Jou and Malik’s faces. “Hey guys,” his voice was soft and mirrored the nervousness he felt.

“Dat’s what you’ve been keepin’ from us?! You’re da freakin’ hero of dis country and ya didn’t think ta tell us?!” Jou threw his hands into the air in a form of desperation, “Why for Ra’s sake would you keep somethin’ like dis from us?!”

Ryou tried to shush the ranting blonde but Jou just ignored him, his eyes staying focused on Yuugi in expectance. The younger teen averted his gaze, his eyes closing as he spoke, “If I’d told you and someone had found that out, you would’ve been caught so Bakura and Mariku could find out who Hikari really is. If it had somehow leaked out who I actually am you would’ve been caught to blackmail me into surrendering.” His eyes opened as he gave all three a meaningful look, “Every time I go out there I risk my life to help Atemu. I couldn’t risk yours as well.”

Jou’s mouth opened to say something but closed again without any sound coming out. For a moment he stared at his friend, inwardly calming down as he took in the reasoning Yuugi had used, before sighing and turning his gaze to the ground in shame.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled.” Yuugi glanced at his other two friends to see Malik’s face melting completely into concern and Ryou’s face only deepening with it. He let out a sigh and walked over to one of the stone benches, expecting a long talk and so getting as comfortable as he could for the time being.

“So…” Malik sat down next to him, “How did you even become Hikari? I mean, I’m pretty sure you didn’t just randomly wake up one day to find out you could turn into a lion with magical powers.” Yuugi smiled wryly at that, remembering just how exactly he’d become Hikari.

“Remember all those years ago that you guys found me in the desert with a dead lion on top of me and that I was barely alive?” At the nod of all three of his friends, Yuugi continued, “Well I lied when I said I didn’t know what happened at that moment. I remember exactly…”

Yuugi took a deep breath before starting the story, “I hid behind a rock because we were playing hide and seek, and accidentally overheard Pharaoh Aknunkanon make a deal with some cloaked guy about killing the rebels. After the cloaked guy left I was found out, and Pharaoh Aknunkanon wanted to kill me. His son, Atemu, saved my life at that moment by stopping his father. I ran away, but I the lion that had been roaming Egypt suddenly appeared in front of me.”

Yuugi glanced up to see his friends practically glued to his lips. He smiled a little before continuing. “Pharaoh Aknunkanon caught up to me and just when the lion attacked me, he fired a beam of Shadow Magic. It hit just as the lion reached me. I don’t know exactly how it happens, but somehow that beam of Shadow Magic fused me and the lion to a certain point, as well as giving me Shadow Powers. It’s why I heal much faster than anyone else.”

Ryou’s eyes widened, “So that’s why you suddenly healed so fast from all those wounds!”

Yuugi nodded, “Yeah, it didn’t work before that because I’d completely used up my Shadow Magic in my fight with Bakura and Mariku. Atemu would’ve taken me to the palace for a treatment but since I was about to transform back… I couldn’t take that chance. Atemu can’t know who I really am either.”

Jou scowled a little, “I bet he’d have more respect for ya if he knew who you really were.” More was muttered under the blonde’s breath and Yuugi doubted the dark tone predicted anything good. He frowned at the words. Not only did he think the complete opposite of what Jou had just said, but he couldn’t imagine why Jou would think that the other didn’t have respect for him now.

“Atemu has respect for me, what would make you think he doesn’t?” He cocked his head, looking from one friend to the other. Jou continued to mutter darkly under his breath, unwilling to answer the question. Malik rolled his eyes.

“He rode on your back and acted somewhat like you were some kind of pet. Jou might be exaggerating but I do agree to a lesser degree…” Malik gave him an apologetic look. “I get that you owe him for saving your life when we were kids and that’s why you’re so determined to help him, but isn’t that going a bit too far?”

Yuugi gave him a strange look before shaking his head as he chuckled lightly, “Atemu has more respect for me than you guys do, probably. I told him to ride on my back because he was hurt and couldn’t get back to the palace on his own.” He smiled, his mind wandering to the person who had somehow managed to become a better friend to him than the three sitting around him right now, “I started helping him because he saved me that day, but now I do it because he’s my friend. I’d do anything for him.”

Ryou stared at him for a second, Yuugi giving the white-haired boy a curious look at such an intense stare, before Ryou’s face turned knowing. “You like him.”

Yuugi’s eyes widened, a flush coming up as he tried to stutter out a denial, “I don’t- I mean, he’s my friend and- uhm…” He flushed even more as both Malik and Jou stared at him, both with an evil glint in their eyes. ‘Shit.’

Malik smirked at him, “Aw, little Yuugi’s in love with the big Pharaoh! How cute.” Jou snickered, his earlier opinion apparently forgotten after being reassured that Atemu didn’t think lowly of his friend.

Yuugi just groaned and hid his face in his hands, “Stop guys, please.” Jou and Malik just laughed, Ryou smiling in amusement at him. Yuugi groaned again, wishing he’d never spoken of Atemu. Well, at least his friends now knew everything that he’d tried to keep hidden in his life.

His friends’ laughter increased the more he tried to duck away, ‘A bit too much probably.’

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See? I can be... somewhat nice. At least Atemu and Hikari aren't fighting anymore ne? Teasing is just fornal so you can't say I'm evil for that! Well you can and I'd greatly love it but it isn't the type of evil I usually live up to. Hmm... I´ve started ranting havne´t I? Damn, I'll stop now. Hope you all enjoyed the chap and Review folks!