Binding Circles

Binding Circles

Author: Shamise

Chapter 9

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Someone was screaming. The long-winded wail piercing the sound barrier with heart wrenching emotions. Pain. Loss. Fear. Yuugi’s chest ached at the sound, stealing his breath away and stabbing needles through his heart. His body felt super-electrified and every muscle hurt.

“Yuugi! Yuugi, please calm down!” Atem yelled above the screaming. It faltered for a second before resuming its high-pitched keen. Make it stop! Yuugi pleaded. His lungs hurt so much that they felt like they were going to explode! He was so confused! What was going on!

Abruptly, there was a mouth covering his. The screaming was suddenly muffled and air was being pushed into his lings. His mind scrambled for some kind of footing and (for some weird reason) focused on the kiss. The pressure was soft and insistent, inviting Yuugi to relax and succumb.

In light of the turbulent and violent images lurking in his head, he gladly gave in to the pleasant feelings. His muscles instantly lost their control and he fell limp. Familiar arms prevented him from falling away and they held him up close to another’s body.

His mind grew foggy as the contact continued. He felt like he was floating, to be honest; which was weird because kissing had never caused this sort of feeling before.

A pitiful whimper escaped his throat when the kiss was broken. He was hugged tightly to Atem’s chest, one arm snugly wrapped around his waist and the other supporting his neck. His lungs shuddered and the screaming finally faded away from his head. His muscles felt like he had just ran too many miles with no breaks uphill; they were twitchy and refused to obey his commands.

“It’s alright now, Yuugi. You’re safe now.” Atem whispered into his ear. His body trembled as his mind fought to catch up.

“W-wh-?” What had happened? He remembered seeing Atem’s city, and then there was so much violence. He shivered in Atem’s arms as those images resurfaced in his mind. There was so much fear, so much anger.

“Shh,” Atem whispered soothingly. “It’s alright now.” Water pushed gently against his skin and the slight pressure against his lungs told him he was under water. It was strangely comforting to be here instead of on land and Yuugi wondered if the bond was beginning to affect his mentality.

“In all my years, I never would have guessed that I would bond to a Seer.” Atem murmured absently, gently trailing his fingers through Yuugi’s hair. Yuugi sighed, letting his body relax into Atem. Under Atem's gently administrations the terror of his vision lessened. “Tell me, what did you see?”

“It was horrible,” Yuugi murmured detachedly as his bracelet began to glimmer. “Everybody was fighting and there was blood everywhere.” His hands held tightly onto Atem’s arm. “I-…there were people who I knew, but had never even seen before dying. Something had me, and was dragging me away.” Yuugi’s voice chocked under the attack of his resurfacing emotions, “You were there too! You were fighting and trying to get to me…”

Atem held Yuugi close as he voice trailed off. His eyebrows angled downwards as he thought about what Yuugi had said. A battle? He and Yuugi would be separated?

How can this happen? Atem thought as he calmed Yuugi back down. It is nigh impossible to separate a Kroshi-bonded pair, yet if Yuugi’s vision is true…. He would have to investigate the possibilities. The elders would know how to prevent this, but to do that he would have to leave Yuugi here. What if that’s how they got separated?

Yuugi seemed to be regaining coherent thought because even though he wasn’t actively trying to get away, he had started squirming. He had been slowly getting used to physical contact with Atem, but it was still embarrassing for him with how tenderly he was being held. Atem loosened his grip slightly, however, it wasn’t enough for Yuugi to float free.

“Atem?” once he got the merman’s attention he continued. “What happened?” Atem’s hand moved from his hair to encircle the wrist that bore Yuugi’s bracelet. Yuugi shivered when his finger pads gently caressed the skin there. Did Atem know what he was doing to him?

“It is a rare gift among my people,” Atem spoke softly. “And I do not believe that a human mate has ever been recorded with it. It’s a brand of future seeing that is activated by the strength of the Kroshi.” The bracelet twinkled in the submerged light as Atem mentioned them. “We still are not sure what causes these visions, but we do know that they only show things that will effect the viewer.”

Yuugi tensed in Atem’s hold. If his vision were to come true, then there would be no escaping those horrible feelings of pain and fear that accompanied it. He didn’t want to go through that again!

As if sensing what Yuugi was thinking, Atem rested his forehead against Yuugi’s. Yuugi could feel the beginnings of calm and comfort appear in his mind, but this time he knew that it was the bond through the bracelets that was causing it, not his own feelings. “These visions do not always come true; sometimes the complete opposite happens. There is an elder in Zynlok who has a mate with this ability, and she has always described the vision’s meaning to be ‘fickle.’ It could be a literal or abstract vision of what could happen.” A little fish swam by a few feet away, keeping close to the coral garden on the seafloor. Atem followed it with his eyes and the emotional influence faltered as his attention was divided. “The Muer’in are most likely the people who you saw us fighting. Our species have been enemies for such a long time that no one even knows why we are fighting anymore. A battle would be dangerous thing against them.”

“Stop that.”

Atem jerked abruptly at his response. Yuugi looked up to glare at the merman’s confused expression. Don’t play dumb. Yuugi thought to himself as he grabbed Atem by the forearms and used this leverage to disentangle himself from the embrace. The emotional influence fluctuated, a little more strongly than when the fish had distracted Atem, but Yuugi could still feel it.

“Pardon?” The merman asked and his obvious confusion only made Yuugi more irritated.

“Stop that. Whatever you’re doing to my head.” Yuugi huffed, letting go of Atem’s arms to float free. He had dealt very well with being kidnapped and bonded against his will, but it was just too much if he couldn’t even trust his own emotions. He didn’t like to be controlled, especially like that.

Realization at what Yuugi was talking about finally dawned on Atem’s face. “Ah, sorry.” The strange calm finally vanished and Yuugi could think completely clearly. “I honestly didn’t realize that I was doing it.” Atem admitted rather sheepishly. At Yuugi’s continued glare, he felt compelled to explain his actions. “It’s a instinctual reaction thing.”

It’s instinct for them to control people’s emotions? Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into? “I don’t like to be controlled.” Yuugi murmured. He wrapped his arms across his chest and kicked his feet. Did Atem really think that was normal?

“Oh no, Aibou! That’s not my intention at all!” Atem exclaimed suddenly, surprising Yuugi with the understanding in his voice. “It is not the instinct to control that urges us to do so, but the instinct to protect and comfort.” Atem gestured with his hands as he tried to convey the meaning of what he meant. “The bond created by the Kroshi is a strong one, and it effects us in many ways.”

Yuugi wasn’t quite sure if he was convinced of Atem’s innocence, but he didn’t sound as if he was lying. A stray thought skirted around in his head. Could he influence Atem’s emotions? Atem seemed a little surprised when he voiced his question.

“Of course, Aibou. The bond works both ways.” Yuugi looked suspicious at Atem’s seemingly honest answer. “It’s not meant to be an advantage over the other partner, each bonded can effect or deny the other’s influence.”

“Then why can’t I?” Yuugi pressed forth, trying to find a flaw in Atem’s reasoning.

“You can.” Atem insisted. “You just don’t know how yet because you were born human.”

Yuugi hummed in thought. ‘Because I was born human?’ Is it a way of thinking then? He has to change even the way he thought? He looked up at the ceiling of the water and the blurry shapes that hovered up there.

“Will you teach me?” Yuugi asked before he could talk himself out of it. In retrospect, he was actually surprised with how bluntly he had reacted earlier. The only person he really ever spoke his mind to was Anzu, and they’ve known each other since elementary school.

Anzu…. Yuugi’s mood dampened at the thought of his childhood friend. How had she reacted to his disappearance? Did she even know that he was missing? Yuugi shook his head at the thought. Of course she wouldn’t forget about him! She was probably tearing up the town looking for him, right?

“Ouch!” Yuugi exclaimed, flinging his hands to cover his forehead. He glared balefully at Atem and his outstretched hand. “What was that for!”

“You were starting to panic.” Atem answered as if that explained everything. “You didn’t want me ‘affecting your emotions’ so I had to get your attention some how.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to flick me.” Yuugi mumbled.

“What is on your mind?” Atem asked after a moment of silence. Yuugi watched as the merman stretched nonchalantly. Deceptively hidden muscles were exposed when he arched his arms high above his head. He held the position for about a second, then let his arms fall back to his sides.

“…A friend from back on land.” At Atem’s inquiring eyebrow, he continued. “I was wondering how she reacted to me being gone…” Yuugi missed the spark of jealous that flashed through Atem’s eyes and continued. “or if she even noticed I was gone at all.”

Honestly, why did he think that Anzu would be so worried about him? They hadn’t been hanging out as much as they used to, and even if they did have fun that day in his cove that didn’t mean that she would be truly upset. He wasn’t friends with anyone else in town, he knew who people were and could carry a conversation but that was about it.

Suddenly, Atem’s arms surrounded him, hugging him up to the merman’s chest. Yuugi squirmed (not to the point of outright flailing but close enough) in Atem’s grasp, but like the many other times that Atem held him, he couldn’t escape. He sighed, thoroughly fed up with even trying. If no one was waiting for him back home then why was he still resenting his kidnapper?

“No stop that.” Yuugi blinked at Atem’s tone; was he being chastised? Yuugi squeaked as he was squashed in the merman’s arms, and Atem didn’t seem to notice. “I’m sure that if this friend is as close as you feel, then she wouldn’t, couldn’t, forget you.”

Wait…was Atem jealous?

He couldn’t help himself and he had a good laugh at Atem’s expense. The merman jerked back, completely caught off-guard, and his grip loosened. Yuugi could feel the surprise turn into a sulk, and he imagined that Atem was actually trying very hard not to over-react.

“Sorry, sorry.” Yuugi said in between laughs. Atem huffed indignantly, sounding rather affronted that he had been laughed at when he was trying to look past his jealousy. Yuugi grabbed his arms when he was about to let go and kept them in their place around him. “It’s just, I never thought that anyone would be jealous because of me.” He relaxed into Atem’s hold; letting his hands coax the merman’s arms into relaxation. “Anzu is a childhood friend, she’s the only one who tried to consistently hang out with me. She is…like a sister to me.” Tears did not fall, but Yuugi knew his emotions were getting close to it.

Atem was quiet for a moment, most likely thinking about what Yuugi had said. He had to restrain himself from drawing upon the Kroshi to soothe Yuugi’s hurt, but Yuugi had said that (not in so many words) that it had scared him. Instead, he held Yuugi tighter, trying to convey with actions that same things he could convey with emotions.

“I think that you don’t give yourself enough credit.” Yuugi blinked at Atem’s response. “If she has been your friend since childhood, then I doubt that she could just forget you the moment you’re not there. The things you’ve done together have each shaped something unique that would most likely not have happened if you two had never met.” Atem gently lifted a hand and swept Yuugi’s bangs out of his face. “Never doubt those ties.”

Impulsively, Yuugi spun around in Atem’s grasp and buried his face in the merman’s shoulder. He refused to cry, not again, but his body did shudder. How on earth could Atem know exactly what to say! He knew the merman wasn’t psychic, but he sure did come pretty darn close!

“Honestly,” Atem began to speak again as he righted his grip around Yuugi. “I’m glad that she is your friend. If not, I wouldn’t be holding you right now.”

That’s right! Yuugi thought suddenly. If Anzu hadn’t had come over that day, I wouldn’t have gotten into the water and Atem couldn’t have gotten to me! This epiphany caused mixed emotions to well up in Yuugi. If that hadn’t of happened, then he would still be living on land and going about his life like normal. However, since it did happen, he was kidnapped and got to meet Atem.

Oh geez, I just don’t know how I should feel about this. So, he decided not to think about it at all. It wasn’t like he could change the past anyway; so dwelling on it would only sour his mood more. He sighed forcefully, trying to expel the emotions as he let his mind wander.

“Shall I teach you now?”

“What?” Yuugi was caught off guard. Teach him what?

“How to use the Kroshi.” Atem explained patiently. He released Yuugi and let him float on his own. Atem began to swim a little ways off, leaving Yuugi to follow. They had been in the same spot for too long and the sunspots had moved to other locations.

“Of course!” Yuugi answered. The sooner he learned how to do this, the sooner he could keep Atem from doing it to him.

Atem settled down on a sunny patch of sand and motioned for Yuugi to join him. Yuugi had trouble getting his body to sink that low without letting air out (and he didn’t exactly have anything to weigh him down either) and he let out a squeak when one of Atem’s tentacles wrapped around him ankle. He pouted as he was pulled down to the sandy floor. The tentacle stayed wrapped around his ankle even after he got situated, that way he didn’t start floating up again.

“I’m not quite sure if humans actually think any differently from us, but I’m told that they don’t believe anything unless they can see it.” Atem looked to Yuugi for confirmation.

“I guess that’s true. I mean, no one believes that people like you exist except for some crazy people.” Yuugi stretched out on the sandy floor, much in the same way Atem had earlier. He looked back to Atem (who looked rather surprised at Yuugi answer) with inquiring eyes.

“It might be difficult then for you to understand how this works.” Maroon eyes blinked lazily and Atem made himself comfortable. “The Kroshi works basically on emotion and the thoughts of the bearer. Tapping into that source is something we are taught from birth and it allows us to find the metal destined to be used in its making.” He rested one hand on his own Kroshi. “These stones manifest during the creating process.”

“The source,” Atem continued “of this energy lies inside us. It rests close to the heart, which circulates it throughout the body and inevitably brings two bonded together. You could feel it when I used the Kroshi to calm you down.” Yuugi nodded in understanding. “Can you try to recreate that feeling?”

Yuugi hummed in thought. He imagined that it would rather be like listening for his own heartbeat (which is actually pretty hard, he quickly found out), but if he went still enough perhaps he could hear it.

Silence stretched on for minutes as Yuugi tried to find his heartbeat. The water pressed in all around him, clouding his ears. The tentacle around his leg was distracting but not overly so, and Yuugi soon forgot it was even there. His eyebrow twitched as his heartbeat stayed silent.

“Gah!” Yuugi finally exclaimed, getting impatient and fed up with what was impossible. He flailed shortly (his own version of a temper tantrum) before folding his arms over his chest and pouting while Atem laughed.

“You’re thinking too much about it.” Yuugi rolled his eyes as Atem’s comment. “Come here, I may be able to help.” At Atem’s outstretched hand, Yuugi paused suspiciously. What if humans couldn’t actually use the Kroshi and the merman was just stringing him along? Shaking his head of such thoughts, Yuugi reached out to grasp Atem’s hand. Atem wouldn’t do such a thing.

Atem didn’t do anything at first, just sat there holding Yuugi’s hand, and Yuugi forced himself to exhibit some patience. Then he was pulled forward to sit closer to Atem, almost to the point where they were touching. “Relax.” Atem said, smiling gently. Yuugi took a deep breath, gathering up any impatience and sour things left over from earlier, and expelled it in a long rush of air.

“Now try and imagine the things that you like, memories that make you happy.” Atem hummed, settling back down in the sand. His pose was lazy relaxation, and it calmed Yuugi more than if the merman had remained sitting up next to him.

Humming, Yuugi closed his eyes and tried to think back. What did he like most? Diving came to mind, and he let himself wander back to the feelings that it had always caused in him. The gently detachment from the world above, the way the ocean would sway and swell around him, it was all so very special to him.

Ba-Bump.

He thought about the person who supported his diving and, surprisingly, the thought of his Grandpa did not bring pain. He remembered the joy he had felt when Grandpa had first taken him out to the beach, and when he had been signed up for diving lessons for the first time. Humble supper times and picnics on the beach and collecting sea glass, all of these things were some of his most cherished memories.

Ba-Bump.

Yuugi did not notice when Atem sat up beside him. He did not notice when the merman’s gently drew Yuugi into his arms. He did notice, however, when something inside of him felt a little different. His heart gradually felt warmer, a little softer and not so much as just a solid mass in his chest. It didn’t feel like when Atem’s had been influencing his emotions, but it felt close.

Other feelings soon became known. Warm and gentle, like his own heart, but a little fluttery and different. It was bolder and a slight bit scary in the foreignness of its pattern, but Yuugi couldn’t find it in himself to recoil from it. A sigh escaped someone’s lips and Yuugi found his eyes opening reflexively.

The first thing he noticed was that Atem was holding him. However, instead of flailing like he normally did, Yuugi found that it was rather comforting. The thing that really caught his attention though, was that Atem’s bracelet was glowing. Yuugi had only ever seen his own glow before, never Atem’s.

As his thoughts came back out of the memories, Atem’s bracelet stopped glowing. The merman’s body seemed extremely relaxed, like he had just gotten a massage or something. Yuugi blinked in confusion.

“Was that it? That’s how you do it?” Yuugi asked, more to himself than anyone else. That was rather…simple if he thought about it. Did he only have to think about good things? Why did that sound too much like a Disney movie idea?

“Yes,” Atem whispered, apparently coming out of whatever he had been thinking. “that’s the beginning of it.” He rested his hand underneath Yuugi’s. “As we get older, the Kroshi bond will develop further and it won’t have to take as much concentration.”

“Huh.” Yuugi blinked, trying not to think too much about the ‘as we get older’ part. “Why do I feel like I’ve just gotten done running?”

Atem laughed, a clearer sound than before. Did everything seem sharper, more defined than before? “That is only a side effect. There is a little energy lost when you use the Kroshi, and you’re not used to it yet so the effect might weigh more on you. Let’s just sit here for a few more minutes and you’ll be fine again.”

“How come things look different now?” Yuugi leaned back into Atem’s hold, his mind racing despite his body’s tiredness. “I can even see farther.”

“Also a side effect.” Atem answered brightly. Yuugi guessed that this Kroshi bond stuff must have affected him differently. “You body is adjusting to the environment that it’s in. It’ll change back if you go on land for a while.” Yuugi wasn’t quite sure if he liked the sound of that. He would rather not start mutating.

Conversation stilled after that, and, strangely, Yuugi felt no need (or want) to do anything else except for sitting there relaxed in Atem’s arms.

~(*)~

Atem glided silently through the clear water, sticking close to the side of the reef. His passage scared off a majority of the resident fish life, though there were the few bold ones who watched him warily. The absence of the fish did not overly worry him; he did hunt here regularly so they had a reason to stay away from him.

He frowned in thought as he disregarded the fish. The words of the Second Elder had left him confused and concerned for Yuugi’s well being. He had left his bonded a while ago with the purpose to get him some food. Under any other circumstances, he would not have left Yuugi alone after that vision, but he didn’t want to starve him because he was paranoid. It also helped his conscious that the ciralen was protected against things that could harm a human.

“Danger lurks on the horizon and you young bonded’s fate is tied within it.”

He knew better than to disregard the Seer’s warning and it was agreed that Yuugi would be safest in the Zynlok. Atem wasn’t quite sure how well the human would react to it. It had taken a few tide rises before he was comfortable with Atem, and a sudden, total immersion into his new culture might just be a little too much.

Atem sighed. How was he supposed to tell Yuugi? They had just recently formed a bond of trust and teaching Yuugi today how to use the Kroshi was a giant step.

I’ll just have to be blunt. Yuugi wouldn’t take anything less than his full honesty. He’ll adjust eventually he’s strong willed. Atem’s reasoning wasn’t going to make it any easier though.

Atem also knew that Yuugi wouldn’t react well to being submerged under water all the time either. He had been making progress but the human continuously sought to be on land, especially when he ate. Atem adjusted the bag on his shoulders into amore comfortable position.

The elders had suggested putting him to sleep until he arrived at the Zynlok, and Atem felt more inclined to follow their advice. However, after the disproval Yuugi had shown to the effect of the Kroshi Atem didn’t think it would be in their best interests. Whatever trust he had gained today may just be destroyed no matter what he did now.

Damn those Muer’in! Atem cursed in his head If it wasn’t for their aggression and Yuugi’s vision, he wouldn’t be having this problem!

Scowling, Atem swept past the edge of the coral reef, sinking down to swim above the seafloor. Whatever happened next wasn’t going to be easy, and it churned unpleasantly in his stomach.

A sudden surge in the water around him caused him to instinctively roll to the side, just barely missing a knife that had been aimed at him. Not missing a beat, he shot away from whatever had attacked him. Snorts of surprise followed him as he was chased.

Atem glanced over his shoulder at his pursuers and growled. Three Muer’in males, just barely out of their teens, swam just a few feet away. They were wearing the traditional sash around their waist and one even had and arm band decorated with sapphires: a noble’s son and his lackeys.

He spared a moment longer to view their glittering fish tails. The build and design was rather like a dolphin’s, clearly built for speed. While Atem was rather fast for more of his people, he was no match for a speeding Muer’in.

However, he was stronger.

Stopping short, Atem ducked. The three Muer’in sailed over his head as he took off in the other direction. He needed to get back towards the coral reef where he could better hide and protect himself. His people were built to be ambush predators, and they could easily disappear into the background. He needed to get the tactical advantage. He couldn’t fight all three of them in the open water; they would have too much mobility.

He just barely made it back to the reef before the Muer’in caught up. He struck out with a tentacle, connecting with one of the Muer’in’s (the blond lackey) arms. He wrapped around the other’s bicep and yanked hard, bringing the Muer’in face to face with some fire coral. The youth screamed in pain as the imitation coral stitched painful laceration on his face and upper body. Atem smirked sadistically, that one would have scars for life.

The other two raced for him and Atem has no time to bask in the other’s pain. He weaved in among the reef, diving between crevices and leading them toward other fire coral. The two remaining Muer’in were becoming more confident when all he did was keep running away and they started yelling.

“Quit running you jellyfish!” The remaining lackey called after him, almost coming close enough to nick Atem with his knife. “Coward!”

Atem scoffed at the childish accusations. Only a novice would rise to those insults. It wouldn’t be long before he would lose his two pursuers, and then he could get back to Yuugi.

“I’m not surprised he’s such a coward.” The noble’s brat commented as he chased. “His human didn’t put up that good of a fight either.”

That got Atem’s full attention.

Roaring, Atem turned and crashed into the noble’s brat. Powerful tentacles wrapped around the Muer’in’s tail and waist with a crushing grip and Atem’s hand struck at the one holding the knife. The weapon fell uselessly from the surprised brat’s hand and he cried out. Atem’s hands lunged for the pale throat, enclosing it in a deadly embrace.

“What have you done?!” Atem roared, his whole body weight converging upon the other to subdue the desperate struggles. The constrictor hold gave little room for his prey to even move so he could do nothing but cry as Atem ground his back into the sharp coral below.

He snarled and glared at the lackey as he tried to come forward to help the brat, tightening his choke hold in warning. “What have you done with Yuugi?!” He growled. Atem smashed the brat’s back into the coral when no one answered him.

“I-it was the Council’s idea!” Lackey number two exclaimed, swimming nervously from side to side. Atem suddenly flung the brat right into the lackey, causing both of them to tumble into a fire coral patch. A giant mass of black ink burst into being, clouding the Muer’in’s eyes and covering Atem’s frantic escape. He had to get back to Yuugi! He had to be all right!

Council. The word made Atem’s heart beat frantically, anything that had to do with the Muer’in’s Council spelled disaster for everyone.

And Yuugi was stuck right in the middle of it.

~(*)~End Chapter~(*)~