Author's Note: Another one of the cliché challenges also inspired by history. I got this idea from reading someone's LJ as they did a huge post about the mythology behind Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds and it gave me ideas. So as a little quick rundown, there was a tribe of people around the same time as the Nazcas who had a cult of gods that were more into human sacrifice than peaceful existence and one of them was based on Killer Whales and Sharks because they thought they were priests of the underworld or something like that. Long story short, kids were sacrificed to these whales by being tossed into the sea so that the tribe could have a good year. Actually, this is part of the reason that they died out, apparently, too many kids thrown into the sea.

The following is my version of events. Once again, many apologies if the history is off in some places, I tried my best but some parts had to be distorted for the sake of the plot. As always, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh…sadly.

Thanks to Esprit Hikari and Shamise for their help with this. Dedicated to all the people at the Best Puzzleshipping Story Contest Forum.

Into the Water

"Yugi!" The little boy looked up with a pout, pushing his blonde bangs out of his face, forgetting about the mud that was on his hands, smearing it over his face. He glared in the direction of the call before deciding to ignore his mother and go back to playing with his best friend. The two little boys laughed as they piled the mud into buildings, smiling at each other as they worked to build their own empire. He squealed as his friend reached out to place a dab of mud on the tip of his nose.

"Yami!" He writhed, jumping up and trying to get away from the other boy, chased around until the other boy pined him to the ground, smearing mud over his face. Yugi laughed and struggled to push Yami off of him, retaliating by smearing mud over his friend when he couldn't get up. "Yami, stop."

"Alright." Yami pushed away, sitting back on the ground and trying to wipe some of the mud away. Yugi rocked back up so he was sitting, smiling at his friend before looking at the series of mud houses that they had built.

He was about to suggest improvements when his mother came running over, Yugi pouting as he was picked up. "I called you, why didn't you come?"

"I was playing, Mommy."

"You come when I call." Yugi's mother sighed, holding him tighter than normal. Yugi squirmed in the hold, looking down at Yami, who was standing up slowly with a look of confusion on his face. Yugi's mother looked down at him before sighing and motioning for Yami to follow them as well. "You should come along too."

Yugi clung to his mother as they walked through the village, staring wide eyed at the people who were walking mournfully from their houses, heading to the sea. Yugi tipped his head to the side, shivering as the priests came out of their huddle, joining the slow flow of people towards the beach. He scowled and tugged as his mother's dress, waiting impatiently as she sighed and turned to look at him. "What are we doing?"

"The priests said that we need a sacrifice."

Yugi shuddered, wanting to hide. He hated the sacrifices, hated the smell of blood and people screaming. He didn't like it when a sacrifice was called, because it usually meant children were killed. They were supposed to help bring the fish back, but it hadn't helped for a long while. And they had turned to children in their own tribe, hoping that everything would go back to normal. He had already lost most of his other playmates, Joey and Seto being the last of the ones to go, and he had been forced to watch those and listen to them scream.

He whimpered, clinging more tightly to his mother as they approached the shore, the sound of waves lapping at the sand doing nothing to help him calm down. He didn't want to be here for this.

"Yugi-" He looked down to see what Yami wanted, both of them jumping as one of the priests spoke.

"Chacu Callua has ignored our pleas, so we must beg for his attention again. We must ask for the return of the good weather, fishing and that our enemies will not come to attack us again. Today, we plead to him directly." The priest pointed out to the sea, Yugi squinting before letting out a squeak of fright. He recognized the long fins that moved through the water, he had seen the creatures before when the baby sea lions were on the beaches. He never walked on the beach close to the water because of the whales. He was afraid that he would get snatched up by them.

His attention was drawn away from the whales as the priest spoke again. "For the return of the rains and the fish, we offer to him a child. Bring the orphan forward."

Yugi looked down at Yami, only then realizing that his friend was clinging to Yugi's mother. Yami had lost his parents in the last attack, both of them killed. He gasped, trying to struggle out of his mother's arms, even as she backed away from Yami. "No! Mommy, let me go! Let me go!"

"No, Yugi," his mother's voice shook, "I don't want to. I can't."

"They're going to take, Yami! He's my friend!" Yugi looked up at his mother, tears running down his face. "He's my friend!"

Yami struggled as the priests came to get him, unable to run as the villagers kept him in one place. The young boy lashed out, trying to escape from the people who were holding him. He turned to look at Yugi, the frantic look in his friend's eyes making Yugi struggle more. "Please, Mommy, please! He's the only friend I have left! They've taken the others!"

"I'm sorry Yugi. I'm sorry." His mother was crying along with him. Yugi shook his head and wriggled out of her arms, managing to take one step before he was caught again, his mother kneeling on the ground and holding him close.

Yugi screamed and fought against the hold, his vision blurred from his tears. He could hear Yami screaming for him as well, struggling to get free of the priests as they hauled him into the waves. There, he was picked up easily, carried to the leader of the priests who walked out as far into the water as he could. Yugi could barely see Yami now through his tears, watching as the priest held the struggling boy up before throwing him into the water, Yami screaming before the sound was cut off by a splash.

Yugi went limp at the sound, sagging in his mother's hold. Yami didn't reappear above the waves, and the pod of whales was moving closer. The sacrifice had been accepted, and now Yugi was alone. He gave a weak sniffle, allowing his mother to gather him up in her arms and begin to take him back to the village, barely watching the rest of the people follow.

Now he was alone, all alone with no one to play with. He sniffled and curled closer to his mother. She sighed and patted his back. "Don't worry, Yugi, you'll make new friends."

"No." He rested his head on her shoulder, reaching up one hand to wipe at his eyes.

Yami clamped his mouth shut as he hit the water, holding his breath as he sunk. He tried not to panic, losing the battle quickly. He couldn't swim and there were things out here that would eat him. Yami looked up, seeing the faint sparkle of the surface before attempting to swim up to it, his clothes pulling him down. His throat hurt and his lungs felt like they were going to burst. He had to breathe.

"Calm yourself, little one." Yami turned at the deep voice, squinting to see through the salt water. A shape moved towards him, menacing in its slowness. He glanced up at the surface before trying to swim up again, his lungs burning for air. Yami checked to see if the thing was any closer, gasping as he watched the whale swim close to him, water rushing into his mouth. He tried to cough, succeeding in drawing more water into his mouth, holding onto his throat. He didn't notice the dark tendrils that moved through the water, closing in around him before gently brushing over him.

Yami's hands dropped away from his neck, his whole body going limp in the water as his eyes slid shut. He began to drift down to the bottom, barely aware that the whale had stopped him and was nudging him up to the surface, the shadows still wrapped around his legs. One tendril strayed into his open mouth just before they hit the surface, Yami gulping down a breath of air before flipping onto his stomach and coughing.

His throat burned as he coughed the water out of his lungs, collapsing onto the whale that held him above the water the next moment, groaning as his head pounded. He heard the whale chuckle, glancing and the black rubbery skin that he was lying on. Some part of him screamed for him to move, but Yami was just too tired to. He groaned and shifted, finding a more comfortable position. "That's right, little one, just relax. We'll take you to your pod."

Yami gave a happy hum, his eyes starting to fall closed. They opened quickly when he felt the whale begin to move again, pushing himself up so he could stare at the beach, yelping when he realized that they were moving away from it. "No! No, take me back!"

"I'm sorry, little one." The whale actually sounded sorry, something that Yami wasn't expecting. "I cannot."

"I want to go home! Take me home!" Yami felt tears come to his eyes, sliding towards the edge of the whale. He would swim back if he had to, or at least try. The only family that he had was back there. And, maybe, if he came back, they wouldn't try to sacrifice him again.

"Little one." Yami paused at the serious tone that the whale used, looking down at the creature as it continued towards the pod of whales. He shuddered as they approached the creatures, wanting nothing more than to get away. "I cannot return you to your original pod, they gave you up to me and they were wrong in doing so. I have saved you in the only way that I can and I am sorry."

Yami trembled as the other whales surrounded him, curiosity in their brown eyes. He looked at all of them before pressing himself against the whale that he was on at the moment, starting when he was gently bucked off the whale, landing in the water and sinking. He went to kick back up to the surface, surprised when his legs responded with a powerful thrust. He bobbed back up to the surface, sputtering and finding it easer to keep afloat.

He blinked, glancing down into the water and squeaking as he spied the tail that started at his waist. He ducked under the water, cautiously running his hands over the rubbery skin, hoping that it would be a nightmare. But it wasn't.

Yami pushed himself back to the surface, blinking in confusion before turning to look back at the whale that had brought him here, realizing that the whale was much larger than the others who waited behind him. It gave him a sorrowful look with its dark brown eyes. "I have already apologized, little one, but it was the only thing that I could do to help you. There are laws that I must abide by, but they will keep you safe and they will care for you."

"No. I want to go home." He raised a hand to wipe the tears from his cheeks, looking back towards the beach. He was too far away now to see anything, but he guessed that everyone had left already. And that thought made more tears come to his eyes. Yami ducked his head, wrapping his arms around himself. "I wanna go home."

He gasped as something moved up and nudged him in the back, trying to turn and ending up falling underwater. Yami gasped, inhaling water before flailing with his tail, breaking to the surface and coughing up the water, whimpering miserably. His gaze fell on the whale that had nudged him, watching as she rose out of the water. She tipped a bit in the water, exposing one eye to look at him better. "You will be safe with us, little one, that we promise.'

Yami shook his head, rubbing his arms. "But…but-"

The whale sunk beneath the surface, returning a moment later. "You will miss your family?"

"I…I don't have one." Yami wrapped his arms around his bare chest, shivering and feeling tears come to his eyes. He looked down at the water, watching his own black and white tail flick back and forth, working on keeping him above the surface. When he looked back up, he started, staring at the whale that had moved closer to him. She nudged him with her nose before pressing her head against his side.

"Then we will take care of you, little one. We promise."

"No. No, I-I…" He gave a sob and nearly fell over again, finding himself being supported by the whale. Yami suddenly didn't care that it was a whale, clinging to the female as he sobbed. He wasn't sure if the whale made any comforting sound, but he kept hanging onto her, repeating his request to go back home.

He didn't want to be here, stuck far away from the tribe that had become his family. And he was scared, so scared about what was going to happen to him. Before, he had always had someone looking after him and now he was on his own. He didn't even have Yugi to play with or be around. And, for some reason, that made him cry harder.

Through his tears, he heard the whale god speak. "I will leave to their care then."

Yami turned to reach out for his savior as the whale began to swim away, disappearing under the waves before disappearing altogether. Now he was truly stuck here. He would have done anything to be able to go home, anything to get him back to safety. He curled back towards the female whale, sniffling as he clung to her. Yami felt the whale tip slightly, glancing down at her. "What is your name, little one?"

"Yami." He wiped some more tears off his face, attempting to speak without his voice shaking. "My name is Yami."

"Welcome home then, Yami."

"Hurry up, Yami!" Yugi laughed as he tugged at his friend's hand, the two of them laughing as they sprinted towards the beach. Now Yugi's mother would have to work to find them. For some reason, that was almost as important as keeping Yami close, it was one of the two things on his mind. Keep Yami close and stay away from his mother, his mother couldn't find them or it would be bad. His laughter stalled out at that moment, the sound of Yami running to catch up bringing the smile back to his face.

That didn't matter right now. Right now, they were going to find a nice spot to play, away from the others who would try and call them away to do chores.

"Where are we going, Yugi?"

"To the beach!" Yugi gave a happy skip step before slowing down, smiling back at Yami. "We'll play in the sand and build our empire there! No one can stop us!"

Yami laughed and ruffled Yugi's hair before rushing off, Yugi giggling and trying to keep up with the slightly taller child. "Hey, Yami, wait up. No fair!"

The two of them raced down the beach, Yami always dodging away from Yugi as the younger tried to tag him. Yugi gave a playful groan before throwing himself at Yami, the two of them tumbling into the sand and laughing as they rolled. Yugi hummed happily and then curled up against Yami, poking him in the side. "You cheated."

"Did not. I'm just faster."

"No, you cheated."

Yami laughed and rolled away from Yugi's poking. "I told you I didn't."

Yugi conceded defeat with that, sitting up and staring at the waves crashing against the shore. He smiled to himself, glancing over as Yami got up and began to wander towards the caves that dotted the cliffs. "What are you doing?"

"Exploring." Yami smiled. "I want to see what's there."

Yugi nodded, part of him wondering why he didn't follow after Yami, but he was too busy watching the sea. He slowly relaxed with the sound of the crashing waves, closing his eyes and falling backwards. He waved his arms and legs against the sand, smiling as he made a shape in the dry sand, only to have the grains trickle back in. Yugi sighed and stood up, pouting as his shape was filled in.

He shook the sand out of his hair, sometimes roughly brushing it out with his hand. Yugi glanced up to where Yami had disappeared to, ambling towards his friend. A smile lit up his face and he broke into a fast jog, laughing when Yami waved at him.

Baby seals surrounded him, some bumping against his legs. Yami leaned down to pet a few of them, the seals making their strange barking noise before flailing about. Yugi hurried up, motioning for Yami to wait for him. They would go exploring the caves together. It was more fun with two people. Besides, his mother always scolded him for doing dangerous things on his own. She said it was safer with two people.

And, if he had Yami around, he was guaranteed to be safe. Yami was the one person that he trusted above all else.

Yami nodded, Yugi slowing down a bit now that he was sure that Yami would wait for him. Absently, he glanced towards the ocean again, freezing as he noticed a single large fin cutting through the water. He stared at the straight, black fin, his mouth falling open. He knew what that fin meant at it scared him.

"Yami!" He rushed forward, but Yami was suddenly too far away and he was too slow.

Yugi watched as the beast crashed through the surf, the sun sparkling on the water that spotted its black and white skin. The creature opened its maw, white teeth set in a curve around its jaw, all sharp. Yugi was sure he screamed as the creature pushed up onto the beach, snapping at the baby seals. The seals floundered on the land, some getting away.

He dodged through the mass of seals, falling to the ground as he twisted to avoid one. Yugi coughed as he hit the ground, pushing up from the sand to look at the creature, which was retreating back towards the ocean with something caught in its mouth.

"Yugi! Help!"

"Yami!" He scrambled up from the ground, rushing for where Yami clawed at the sand, trying to get a good hold so that he could pull himself away from the creature. Yugi lunged for one of his hands, their fingers brushing against each other before Yami was pulled back into the ocean.

"No! Yami!" Yugi scrambled to keep up, beginning to cry as he continued to miss his friend's hand, finally falling onto his stomach on the wet sand as the creature and Yami disappearing beneath the waves. Yugi pushed up from the sand, whimpering and hugging his knees to his chest, the tears falling faster as he watched red bloom from under the surface of the water. He rocked himself, resting his forehead on his knees. "Come back, please. Come back"

"Yugi?"

"Please, please come back. Don't go!"

"Yugi, wake up, Yugi."

"Why?!"

Yugi woke himself up with is own scream, panting as he looked around his small home. He was aware of his mother gently holding onto his shoulder, staring at the walls of his home before finally realizing what he was waiting for. Usually, since his parents had died, Yami had stayed with them because Yugi had begged his mother to allow it. And, if Yugi had a nightmare, it was usually Yami that woke him up. But Yami wasn't here for some reason, a reason that Yugi couldn't quite remember at the moment.

"Are you alright?" He looked at his mother, his stomach dropping before he rolled onto his side, the move forcing her hand off his shoulder.

They had killed his last friend today, his best friend.

"No."

Yugi tried to scrub the paint of his face as he ran, stumbling over his own feet as he tried to get away. He wasn't going to let them do this. He glared at the red paint on his hand before looking over his shoulder at his pursuers, scowling. They had tried to force him into the priesthood, to sacrifice him to the gods as well, and his own mother had helped! She had drugged him so that he wouldn't be able to fight back. Fortunately, he had woken up on time.

He hissed as his bare feet scraped across rocks, not daring to stop and look back. He would not go to the gods that way, not after everything that they and the tribe had done to him. The tribe had stolen away all his friends to try and bring back the fish at the request of the gods, which had left him to grow up in complete solitude for fourteen years. That was not something that could just be forgotten.

"Please, Yugi, try to understand!" He ignored the shout from his mother, taking a sharp turn and racing for the beach. There were plenty of caves there, many of which were small enough for him to hide in. He would lose them in there and then try to make his way alone. He had been doing well so far, he didn't need this tribe that was trying to end his life.

He stumbled as he hit the sand, cursing as he was forced to slow down. Now they would catch him. Before he had small head start, but his short legs would fail him now. Yugi flailed as he stumbled, trying not to fall. If he fell, then it would be all over; he would be dragged back into the village and sacrificed to the gods.

Yugi ducked around a small dune, panting for breath and trying to hear the pursuit. Hopefully, he could work his way around to the caves before they spotted him. No sane person would try and shove themselves into small holes in the ground, but Yugi knew that he could fit. He and Yami had done it all the time back when they were young, escaping from the rest of the tribe to play among the caves. They had once tried to sleep out there, but the strange sounds from the ocean had driven them back to the village.

He shook his head at the memory; it still hurt after all those years. But the memory of all of the friends that he had once had still hurt. He could remember trying to catch Joey while playing tag, arguing with Seto and hiding behind Tristan when the arguments got out of hand. All of them imprinted forever in his mind, but he was the only one left.

Yugi glanced out from behind his dune, taking off at a run. He heard shouts behind him, too close for comfort. Swallowing nervously, Yugi changed his plan, if he could somehow climb up the cliffs…

He yelped as he was grabbed, twisting to glare at the priest that held him. He tried to bite the priest, freezing as the others caught up to them. Yugi glared at his mother, wanting to demand to know why she was crying. She had given him up without a struggle before, why was it so hard now? She had watched all those other children die, knowing that they were important to him, why now? Didn't she understand that her son had died years ago when the last of his friends had been taken away?

And, even now, she wasn't going to do anything.

"You have rejected the gods with this move." Yugi turned to glare at the priest who was speaking, trying to draw himself up in his captor's hold.

"I rejected them long before this."

The priest stared at him for a long time before waving to the one that was holding Yugi. "Take him back, finish the sacrifice."

"No!" Yugi wriggled out of the hold, stumbling out into the ocean and backing up, hoping that the priests wouldn't come after him. He moved back as one of the priests inched forward, feeling the water rise from around his legs to his waist, glaring at the priest. Would they dare to come into the water after him? They were all afraid of the ocean, afraid that they would be taken by the god. They all hoped to live. Yugi narrowed his eyes and pointed at them as he took another step back. "Keep away from me! You can't do thi-"

He was yanked under suddenly, water flowing into his mouth. Yugi found himself pulled against something solid, turning his head to see a knife fall into the water where he had been moments before. Yugi barely had time to think about this before he was struggling to breath, the thing that had grabbed him letting go. He turned to swim for the surface, stopping as he saw something looming out of the water, forgetting about his need to breathe for a moment.

The whale came into view, larger than Yugi had imagined any whale to be. He stared at it, unaware of the black tendrils that floated out towards him. The next moment, he was trembling in the water; he had stayed under too long.

Yugi felt arms wrap around him, pushing him towards the surface. They stopped when the whale spoke, the arms still supporting Yugi. "He belongs to the ocean now."

"No!" His rescuer went to move, but was stopped by something. Yugi drifted limply in his rescuer's arms, barely paying attention to the conversation. "I saved him from death. He's free to live!"

"They have painted him for me. He was meant for the ocean anyway." His rescuer stilled, a shudder running through its body a moment later. "I am sorry, little one, but it must be done. Quickly, before he dies."

Yugi felt his rescuer let go of him, allowing him to drift free in the ocean. Weakly, he opened his eyes and found himself gazing at the whale. It must have been a trick of his mind because he thought he saw the whale smile. "My apologies to you, little one, but this must be done. Although, I think you will be happier here. Yes, happier and safer."

He gasped as he felt the shadowy tendrils wrap around his legs, clawing at his throat at his tried to breathe. His rescuer quickly grabbed him again and moved up to the surface, Yugi gasping for air and hanging onto the arms that encircled his waist. He coughed feebly a few times, finally slumping in the hold. Something nudged him, making Yugi groan and go to shove it out of his way, suddenly realizing that the thing kept moving against him. He was about to turn and look at it when he saw the huge whale rise to the surface.

"And there you are, little one. I'm sure that you will make it back to your pod safely." The whale sunk beneath the surface, disappearing from sight. Yugi stared at the spot, coming out of his daze when he heard his rescuer sigh, letting go of him.

"Come on, they'll be waiting for us."

"But…" Yugi looked down, staring at the tail that had replaced his legs. Cautiously, he ran his hand over the rubbery skin, a confused smile crossing his face. Chacu Callua hadn't eaten him. The great whale god hadn't taken his soul to be part of his priesthood. He had survived the encounter, which made him smile. Let those priests take that into account. Let them watch him walk right out of the sea and demand to know why they had chosen him.

Then he remembered the tail, the tail that kept brushing up against his rescuer as he tried to keep himself afloat, the motion clumsy. He was tied to the sea, which meant that he never had to go back there. He never had to go back and watch any more of those horrors. He was free.

Yugi gave a whoop of joy, falling backwards into the water. He let himself sink for a moment before using his tail, albeit awkwardly to propel himself back to the surface, leaping out of the water before splashing back in. He burst to the surface again, laughing and pushing his bangs out of his face, turning to look at his rescuer.

His mouth dropped open in shock, staring at the man before him. He hadn't seen his friend in fourteen years, but he would recognize the messy tri-colored hair anywhere, that and the crimson eyes that looked back at him. "Y-Yami?"

Yami smiled, the expression seeming a bit reluctant. "Hello Yugi."

"Yami!" He launched himself at his old friend, Yami catching him. The two nearly fell backwards into the water, Yugi not caring as he tried to get as close as possible to Yami. "I can't believe it."

"Yugi?"

"I thought you were gone. But you're not." Yugi pulled away with a smile on his face. "And now we can be safe out here, right?"

Yami stared at him a long time, seemingly confused, before he nodded, a genuine smile crossing his face this time. He reached down to take Yugi's hand. "Right."

Yugi hummed happily, holding Yami's hand tightly before sidling up to him again, pulling him into a hug. He missed the blush that crossed Yami's face with the move, almost nuzzling the other teenager's collarbone as he tried to get close to his best friend. "Missed you."

"M-missed you too, Yugi." He felt Yami hesitate before wrapping an arm around Yugi and pulling him into a hug, Yugi finding the move weird because it made their tails bump against each other. But that might have been his awkward attempts to keep afloat.

Yami pulled away quickly, staring down at the water, coughing before he looked up. "We'd better get back. They'll worry about me."

Yugi tipped his head to the side, considering something before deciding not to ask. Instead, he looked down at his tail, biting his lip as Yami moved away from him, suddenly realizing how much he had depended on that support. He sunk a bit in the water, having to work harder to keep himself above the surface. Yugi looked up to see Yami swimming away, the teenager pausing and looking back at him. "Yugi?"

"I…um…I don't know how…"

He thought he saw Yami smile before he swam back over, diving under the water. Yugi blinked, yelping as he felt a tail brush against his before Yami suddenly appeared back at the surface, really close to his face. Yugi yelped, forcing himself not to fail or push away as Yami supported his chest with one arm, lazily floating on his back. "Watch. Your tail moves up and down, never side to side."

Yugi watched the white underside to Yami's tail rise out of the water before falling back in, the motion repeated again before Yami looked at him. "It's like using both feet to kick, except you'll go farther with this. Easy."

"Really?" Yugi raised and eyebrow before trying the motion, managing to splash more than he moved. Yami laughed, shaking his head.

"Good try, but not so much effort, you'll tire yourself out." Yugi bit his lip and concentrated, slowly moving his tail up and down. They moved forward a bit, Yugi gradually getting the hang of it until there was less splashing involved. "Good, Yugi!"

Yami flipped over to his back again, a smile on his face as he pointed towards where Yugi saw straight fins surfacing. He shrunk back close to Yami, the other catching him and pulling him into a hug, clinging to him in fear. He felt Yami wince as he dug his nails into Yami's skin for a moment, quickly easing up on the pressure with a soft apology. "It's alright, they won't hurt you."

"R-really?"

"Yeah." He looked back up to see Yami nodding, carefully letting go of his own grip before cautiously venturing towards the pod of whales on his own, coming to a quick stop as he realized that he was on his own. Yugi shivered and sunk in the water, turning to look at Yami with a nervous smile. "Yami?"

The other smiled and took his hand, Yugi surprised by the move, glancing down at their hands before Yami pulled him forward. Yugi took a deep breath, diving under the water after Yami, struggling to establish a good rhythm with his tail, often looking back to make sure that it was even moving. He glanced over at Yami, noticing that the other was patiently taking his time, letting Yugi figure out his new appendage. Yugi blushed and focused on moving ahead, biting his lip as he concentrated on the up and down motion, trying to figure out which muscles were moving and committing the order to memory.

There was a brief tug on his hand, Yami pulling him up to the surface. The two of them took a breath of air, Yami shaking the bangs out of his face before smiling at Yugi. "Don't think about it so much. Let it come naturally."

"But I'm slowing you down."

"No you're not." Yami tipped his head to the side with a smile before looking back at the pod, raising his free hand out of the water to wave before looking back at Yugi. "Last chance."

"For what?"

"To say good-bye to everyone. We're on the move."

Yugi bit his lip, glancing back at the beach before shaking his head slowly. He felt Yami squeeze his hand, concern in Yami's red eyes. He shook his head again, a smile crossing his face. "No. I've said enough good-byes."

"Yugi…"

"I'm good, Yami." Yugi laughed and tugged on Yami's hand, looking toward the pod of whales. "You're the only family that I have left. Everyone else let me down."

Confusion flickered across Yami's face for a moment before he sighed and nodded, beginning to swim back for the pod of whales. Yugi smiled and kept a tight hold on Yami's hand, trying to keep up with him.

Yami watched as Yugi played with the calves of the pod, the younger boy splashing around in the water with them. Yami tipped his head to the side and gave a soft hum, his own tail breaking the surface every once and a while as he leaned carefully on a bit of reef.

"So that's your friend." Yami turned, watching as the old female whale moved up beside him, avoiding the reef. He nodded, turning back to watch Yugi avoiding the gaze of the whale that had basically raised him. She tipped her head from side to side, getting a look at Yugi from both eye before looking at him straight on. "He's cute. Oh if I were younger…"

"Hey!" Yami laughed and went to hit the whale, the female easily moving out of his way. She laughed as well, splashing him with water before going back to watching Yugi.

"But, you may be happier now."

"I was happy before."

"Yes, but I said happier." She gave him a sideways look. "You missed him."

"He was my best friend, of course I did."

"So, what are you waiting around here for?" Yami stared at her for a long time, not quite understanding what she was getting at. The whale bobbed her head in Yugi's direction. "Go and be with him. You've been a serious adult for too long now. Live for a bit."

Yami pushed away from the reef, looking between the whale and Yugi. "I…I just feel like he should be back with his real family, because he has one, I don't. If I haven't had saved him…"

"He would have ended up here anyway." The old female gave him a nudge in the direction of the frolicking youngsters. "Stop worrying and live in the moment. For once, don't worry about the future, leave that to your elders."

Yami looked back at her before shrugging and diving into the water, quickly swimming to where Yugi and the others were, surprising his friend by pulling him underwater for a moment. He smiled at Yugi before letting go and darting away. Yami broke the surface, taking a deep breath before diving under again, Yugi chasing after them. The two chased each other through the ocean, never straying far from the group of whales that made up their new family.

Yami sucked in a breath as he felt Yugi touch his stomach, the muscles fluttering as Yugi traced something with a finger, Yami closing his eyes a biting his lip to keep from making a sound. His tail slapped against the water, Yugi jumping at the sound and looking down at Yami's tail before looking up at his friend. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Yami slowly let out the breath that he was holding, sighing and settling to a more comfortable position. "What were you doing?"

"Just looking at something." Yugi shifted, leaving his place on the sand to brush his fingers across Yami's stomach again. "Your skin is lighter here, like the marking on the whales."

"Really?" Yami blinked before shrugging, watching the incoming waves lap at his hips. "Never noticed that."

"I probably have that too." Yugi glanced down at his own stomach before shivering, Yami looking up at Yugi in worry. He was never cold out of the water, adjusting easily to the new temperature. But Yugi had only been in this body for less than a day, he might have not as adjusted as well as Yami had; if crying minutes after he woke up for the first week could be called adjusting. Yami blushed and looked away, tapping his fingers in the wet sand. He was so focused on his thoughts that he jumped when Yugi suddenly hugged him.

"Yugi?" Yami fought the darkening blush on his face, glad that Yugi wasn't paying attention to it.

"I thought-I thought you were dead." Yami blinked at the confession before wrapping his arms around Yugi, wondering why the teenager hadn't broken down like this earlier. "I thought that Chacu Callua had eaten you. And then nothing happened!"

"Hm?"

"It was like you didn't matter at all, because nothing changed." Yugi held him closer, Yami feeling tears fall onto his collarbone. "The weather didn't shift, the fish didn't come back and our enemies were still attacking us. The world went on without you and it wasn't fair!"

"Yugi…" Yami rolled to his side, pulling Yugi into a hug from that position, feeling Yugi rest his forehead in the crook of his neck. He sighed and held Yugi close. "It's alright, I'm here."

"But you weren't! And it was horrible!" Yami held him tighter, curling as best he could around Yugi as the other continued to sob. "I-I was the only one left and I was so afraid, afraid that they would come for me at any moment."

Yami tensed at that, his breath catching. Yugi had been the only child left to the tribe, the only one that they could sacrifice if things got worse. He shivered, ducking his head to rest it against Yugi's shoulder. He could still see them sacrificing Seto and Joey, still hear their screams and see the blood running off the knife and the alter. And Yugi could have been another one of those, Yugi could have been lost to him forever. "Oh Yugi…"

Yugi nodded, pressing closer. "They still did try to kill me; they painted me up to become a priest of Chacu Callua. My own mother helped!" Yugi pulled Yami away from his shoulder to look at him. "She helped them Yami!"

He stared at his best friend for a moment before pulling him back into a hug, feeling Yugi scrambling to pull him closer before the younger teenager relaxed with a long sigh. "They almost killed me, Yami."

"I know. I know. But you're safe now, I promise."

Yugi nodded, sniffing. Yami hummed and rubbed a hand down Yugi's back, feeling the other relax even more until Yugi was almost hanging limp in Yami's arms. Yami smiled as Yugi shifted slightly. "Thank you."

"Welcome."

Yami held still as Yugi shifted around in his arms, finding a comfortable spot before finally settling down with a long sigh. They lay on the beach in silence, Yami resting his cheek against Yugi's head, watching the waves rush in and out, keeping a close eye on the tide. They could get off the beach easier than the other whales, but it would still be uncomfortable and slow going to get back to the ocean.

"Yami?" He was startled from his thoughts by Yugi's question, looking back down at the teenager. "What happened to you?"

"The same thing that-"

"No." Yugi blushed at interrupting him, but still shook his head. "What did you do? Why did you never come back?"

"Yugi." Yami sighed and rolled on to his back, surprised when Yugi ended up draped halfway over his chest. "I couldn't go back, not like this. I would have been killed. And besides, I wouldn't have been able to find you."

"I guess not." Yami frowned at the disappointment in Yugi's voice, ruffling the younger teenager's hair.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Alright? Besides," Yami chuckled, watching Yugi shoot him an odd look for that sound, "I couldn't have had adventures without my best friend around, now could I?"

Yugi broke out into a smile. "Of course not. Now, what adventures didn't you have?"

"Oh, just swam up and down the coast, the pod tends to stay in one place." Yami shook his head, looking up at the stars. "But the things I've seen…"

"What things?" Yami found himself staring up at Yugi. The smaller teenager had pulled himself onto Yami, staring down at him in curiosity. Yami cleared his throat, afraid to speak because his voice might crack.

"Uh, just things. Cool things."

"Not helping." Yugi pouted.

"I don't want to spoil them for you, Yugi. Besides, this time, it will be an adventure."

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