Yume *COMPLETED!!*

Deep inside my paradise I see me
sitting surrounded by splendor and beauty
Colors of the surreal are painting my mind
hypnotized by the thoughts of nothing at all

-Imaginary - Annon

(ATEMU'S POV)

Yugi still is recovering from that vicious beating. Even as I watch him from the edge of the door-frame, and he is sitting at the edge of the pool on the balcony over-looking my lotus garden. He is still very pale, and bits of blue, purple, black, yellow, and angry red still mar his fair skin. He is always sad, and always seems to avoid me. Perhaps because of this, or in spite of it - I know not which - Anzu is constantly around me. But then, Yugi goes to even greater lengths to avoid her, I've noticed. It's not a secret that those two don't like each other. Perhaps it is not me he's avoiding. Somehow, that makes me feel better.

Yugi has taken to speaking to himself. I've heard the tongue uttered from time to time, and have gotten the distinct impression that I should be able to understand what he's saying, but I just can't seem to place the words. Why? Why does everything about him remind me of something I can't recall? Why is it that he is always so sad around me? Why won't he tell me? Why did I just ask myself that? He barely knows me! Of course he won't tell me! But... I feel as if he should...

I hate such feelings of uncertainty. Yugi makes me question everything. And he is sooooo enticing to watch when he dances... Why does he confuse me so much? And why hasn't he noticed me!? Yugi's singing again. That same song in that same unknown language I don't know...


"Takaku dono kurai tonde ittara
Haruka tooku no kimi ga mienaku naru no?
Hitomi soraseba raku ni naru kamo shirenai
Demo itsumo dokoka de mitsumete itai
Wasureru koto nante deki wa shinai kara
Nasu sube mo naku, sora wo miageteru dake.
Maru de kago no naka no chiisana tori no you ni
Mado wo sagashite atemo naku, samayotte iru.
Ima sugu ni aitai kimi ga suki dakara
Kizutsuku koto ga kowakute nigetai kedo
Mienai shigarami ni tsubasa torawaretemo
Soredemo kimi wa kanashii hodo taisetsu na hito."(1)


It sounds so sad...

(END ATEMU'S P.O.V.)

I stare down at the pool of water as the sunlight bounces playfully off of it's rippling waves and creating white patterns in the blue reflection on the bottom. I don't touch it. I don't touch anything of Atemu's. It's not my place, as I've been informed by Anzu. And though I don't exactly like submitting to le Bitche de Royale, I don't want another attack like that, and I don't want Atemu to ask any more questions. It's bad enough that I had to suffer through that the first time...

--------FLASHBACK---------

I woke up to crimson eyes staring at me through a curtain of darkness. It was night, and Atemu was at my bedside, worried, and Anzu was next to him glaring at me hatefully. He asked her to leave us, and when she had gone, he turned to me, his face serious, his eyes worried, his tone calm, calculating, and weary at the same time. "Yugi, I will only ask this once, and I need a truthful answer from you. Please tell me who did this to you, and why?"

I blinked, and knew I couldn't lie, not to my Yami, not to my Darker half. I took a breath, and then said, "I can't tell you." That was the truth. I wasn't allowed to after any of Anzu's 'little scruffles' as she called them. Atemu closed his eyes, a frown forming on his face.

"Yugi... Why not?"

I closed my eyes, too and I tried not to think of what had happened. I tried to concentrate on breathing. I couldn't lie. "Because it'll get worse if I do, and then you and I will have a lifelong enemy if you kick them out of here."

Atemu let out an angry sigh. "But Yugi, this is important! It's about your safety!" He said, a little angrily. I shook my head gingerly, aware I shouldn't move much, and was proven right when shots of pain went up and down my back and neck. "This has happened to you before, hasn't it? You're used to these beatings. You've had experience with this in the Tepey Ta.(2) Am I correct in this?" Comprehension had crept into his voice. I sighed, and nodded slightly, just enough so that he could see. He frowned even more deeply when I opened my eyes.

"I suppose you want the entire story behind that?" I asked with some form of resignition in my voice. Atemu nodded, and sat back. I let another long sigh, before starting on some of my most painful memories. The bitter times around when my parents died. "I used to have to deal with that every day since I was at least three. People didn't like me. They thought I was a freak. When my parents died in an accident, I went to live with my Jii-chan - I mean Grandfather. He took me in and taught me about games, the very thing I loved to do, and was aptly named after. For that, and the fact that I can forgive anyone for anything, I was ostracised from everyone, left to my own devices. I was always small, and always looked like a little child, so it left me to be the perfect target for people who pick on others, and I learned at an early age how to deal with them. Avoid them as much as possible, take the beating when it's unavoidable, never try to run away, never speak of what's happened. It wasn't until I turned twelve that I was able to stave them off..."

--------END FLASHBACK---------

I had stopped there, and even though Atemu looked like he wanted to hear more, I refused to say anything more on it. I fell asleep shortly after that. I've been keeping away from both Anzu and Atemu since then, and that had been at least two months ago. I kept hidden some old treasures of mine. They'd just appeared one day when I was getting out of a rather large bath room(3) (We only get to bathe once a week, can you believe it!?) when they landed on my head. And right now, I'm taking them out to look at them again. Two of the items were Duel Monsters Cards. The Dark Magician, and Kuriboh. Yami's and my own favoured cards. I had the Eye Piece of the Millennium Puzzle, which I kept near to me at all times.

And lastly, I had an old photograph of me, looking as small and childish as ever in my overly-large clothes, laughing, Jounochi-kun behind me, a big goofy grin on his face, his arm slung around Honda-kun, who was facing away from the camera, his expression angry, (Jounochi-kun had poked him on the forehead, telling him that his hair was too pointed to have much of a skull under it, so his brain was therefore, mush.) Anzu-san is next to Honda-kun, deceptively sweet as always, Kaiba-kun, ... was Kaiba-kun. His expression is aloof, cold, and he looks bored as hell. He stands behind Mokuba-kun who is next to me, laughing at Jounochi-kun's antics, Jii-chan to the right of Mokuba, looking worriedly at Honda-kun, but chuckling all the same, and right next to me, if you look really closely, was Yami, a rare smile upon his face, crimson eyes glittering happily, an arm around my shoulders, whispering the thing that made me laugh. (He'd said that Honda-kun and Jounochi-kun act like a married couple, and that they should marry to see how it works.)

It was a happy time, one long before we were even aware of the danger of Pegasus.(5)It makes my heart ache to look at this picture. But it also always makes me smile. I trace the spot where Yami stands with my index finger, and gaze upon it wistfully. I miss Yami. Yes, I like Atemu, he technically is Yami, but they're not exactly the same.

"Yami... Ganbou anata wa boku genzaichi yogayonara imaima... Hontoni anata boku wo koishitau..." (4) I sighed, and then stiffened when I heard Atemu's voice say,

"Yugi, what are you looking at?"

I hadn't noticed that he'd come up behind me, and was now looking at the photograph with something akin to amazement. "How in Khement did you get Seth to dress like such, much less paint such a vivid picture of him?"

I laughed. "It's not Seth, Pr-aA. This is one of my friends, Kaiba, Seto." Atemu nodded, staring with deep concentration at the picture. He'd spotted something. And he asked me, pointing to the spot where Yami stood,

"Who is this, then?"

(ATEMU'S POV)

Yugi seemed sad when I pointed to the faint outline of what looked like an older brother of his next to him. He didn't respond for a long time. But he did reply in such a quiet voice that I had to strain to hear it,

"His name was Yami."

Atemu blinked. The name sounded familiar...

"Who was Yami?"

There was a long silence, before Yugi let out a long sigh.

"Pr-aA, I really can't talk about this right n-"

"PR-AA!!!"

Both Yugi and I cringed at the sound of Anzu's voice screeching through the air. Yugi darted out, grabbing all but a small gold piece that he'd dropped, the painting, and bolted away. I picked them both up for later examination. Anzu stopped next to me, her face ecstatic, which meant one of two things: She was the Queen, or she was marrying me. Either thought makes me cringe. She's so... coarse...

I think I'm comparing her to Yugi. Yugi is always soft, always gentle, but willful, and oh so strong... He's beautiful, adorable in some ways, and when I watch him actually smile, it lights up the room. He is a complete opposite of me, and I think I'm in love with him.

And it feels like it's supposed to be this way...

(END ATEMU'S P.O.V.)

--TIME LEAP--

I'm dancing again. Atemu's eyes bore holes into my skin. I think he's wary of me catching a fever from all of the blushing I do. But then again, if you had someone like Yami staring at you all the time like he just wants to jump you, wouldn't you blush too? I wonder if this flush is permanent...

Anzu is gone for the moment, which is very nice. I can relax a bit more. I'm glad she doesn't dance here. If she did, I'd have to run for my life half the time. I'm in the middle of a twisted lilting turn when something crashes behind me. I fall in surprise, land on my almost-healed-completely bruises, wince slightly, and stare at the entrance door to the throne room.

The next thing I see is a blur of white and pale blonde, and suddenly I'm on the ground again, tackled by two people into a strangle-hold-like hug.

"YUGI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And there go my ears...

Atemu's of course, already on his feet, sword in hand, (He always carries one at the waist) and ready to strike, but unmoving, waiting for the two to release me before striking. I blink and suddenly recognised the two people that were now looking at me, grinning like idiots.

"Ryou!? Malik?!"

Said Hikari's(6) grinned even wider, and plopped down next to me. Ryou sat on my left, was still the same shade of ivory, his skin-tone unchanged by the desert sun. He was the same, only a little different in an Egyptian skirt/kilt/whatever they call it in Egypt/thing. It was a little unsettling to see him like that actually. He was always the proper English Gentleman, really. Malik sat on my right, and he too was unchanged, though he looked more normal in the same Egyptian-wear.

Of course, with the Hikari's, came the Yami's. Bakura and Marik both strode in, took one look at the Hikari's, another at Atemu's now very much lowered sword, laughed, and sat down next to their respective Hikari's.

Of course, Ryou chose now to look me over, poke at my dancer's garb, which consisted of very sheer silks of royal purple, periwinkle, and lavender, and saying, "Yugi, what are you wearing!? You look like a-"

I clapped a hand over his mouth and shook my head. "It was the Pr-aA's choice, so don't insult it."

Ryou blinked, then shrugged. "As you like."

Then Malik set to poking my various fabrics, while chattering to me in Japanese what exactly I looked like. (A harem piece, whore, slutty dancer, among other things, but mostly, a girl... I'm still not sure on whether or not to be insulted, since he spoke playfully...)

Ryou blinks, suddenly realizing something. "Yugi, what about Yami? Doesn't he remember? It took Bakura a little while to remember too, and the same with Marik, but they did after a few days..."

I shook my head. I'm glad we were still talking in Japanese. It would have been disastrous for Atemu to hear this. It's not that I don't want him to remember, it's just that he has to do so on his own. Or the Gods will curse me to the worst hell in the world...

"Yami doesn't remember who he is. He doesn't know me, or you, or anything. I'm just a dancer that was the Last One to go to this Afterlife(7), and nothing more."

Ryou and Malik seemed to sadden at this, until Bakura started laughing. Turning to question him, Ryou opened his mouth, but was immediately silenced by Marik sniggering too. Bakura spoke up after he calmed down enough:

"It looks like he likes you anyway, Farrow's Brat." I blinked, and turned, and Atemu was watching the whole thing warily. And kept looking at me, as if to say, are you going to be okay with these people? I turned back around, and shook my head.

"You're really weird, Tomb Robber." We all sniggered at the name, while Bakura huffed and whacked Marik over the head for laughing too. I got up, dusting off myself, and then helped Ryou and Malik up, while they helped Bakura and Marik up. I then turned to Atemu, giving my evilest puppy-dog eyes, and asked, "Pr-aA, can they stay here for a little while?"

(INSERT EVIL THEME MUSIC HERE)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENDING THEME:

Michiyuki - Yui Horie:
Even if you embrace me until it's suffocating,
We will never become one.
In a place deeper than gentleness,
Touching each other is merely pain.
Please bind the two of us.
We will dream no more,
Joining hands in uncertainty;
Walking towards
The cruel dawn.
True words are surely
Somewhere in the true world;
Lurking
In our wordless night.
Surely even now...
Meeting each other in order to know loneliness,
We won't know until we exchange a kiss.
Even so, I am trembling with the joy
Of having met you.
Please support my heart.
We will dream no more,
We can't run to a warm place.
We will surely overcome
The cruel dawn.
The abandoned quietness;
Will surely find
The true words
In order to lovingly hurt each other;
Someday surely...
Even if you embrace me until it's suffocating,
We will never become one.
O cold starts before dawn,
Please light
The path that's just for us.

Notes:

(1) Caged Bird - Miyamoto Shunichi - Translation:
How high would I have to fly
To lose sight of you, so far away?
If I turn my eyes away, I might feel better.
But I want to always be looking at you from somewhere.
Because there's no way I could forget you.
At my wits' end, I simply keep staring up at the sky.
It's almost as if I were like a small bird inside a cage,
Searching for the window, aimlessly wandering around.
I want to see you right away, because I love you,
Even though I want to run away because I'm scared of being hurt.
If this unseen barrier around me should tear away my wings,
Still, you are so precious to me that it makes me sad.

(2) Egyptian: Tepey Ta - First Land (In my meaning, the First Land is the Land of the Living, basically.)

(3)Note: It's literally a room for just a bath. That's it. Not toiletries or anything else like that. Those are in the corner, near a patch of curtains for privacy. Hehe, I'm evil.

(4) Japanese:"Yami... Ganbou anata wa boku genzaichi yogayonara imaima... Hontoni anata boku wo koishitau..." - Yami... I wish you were here... I really miss you...

(5)Note: Before Pegasus, Yugi was on Seto's and Mokuba's good side. I'm changing a little here. It was before Yugi took Seto's title, and Seto was... well as nice as Seto can be toward people. If you say that's not how it goes, of course not, but it's not called FAN-FICTION for nothing.

(6)Note: I've had a few people say that Malik is not a Hikari. To me, he is an honorary Hikari, because he had an evil other half. Plus, again, this is fiction. I get free reign. So Ha! Double Ha!

(7)Note: By this Afterlife, I mean that there are way more than one. Each Pharaoh has their own Afterlife, during the time when they ruled, with the people they grew up with, and rule over in peace it and prosperity with all that they could wish for. In Atemu's case, In the time that he was Yami, he decided he wanted Yugi with him for all time. If you want to know why Anzu's in it, then I'd have to say, for plot reasons. We need her. The Crazy Stalker of a Fuzz-bag...