Look After You

Yuugi gasped for breath as his feet hit the dusty street beneath him, thrusting him forward as quickly as his short legs were capable of.

He had no idea where he was going, or even where he was. The foreign city spread out before him like an unfamiliar maze, and without a better view he didn't know how to navigate it. It seemed like hours now that he'd been running, or hiding, trying desperately to escape his pursuers, and for all he knew he could run for hours more and never reach the city's edge. He kept at it, though, stubbornly ignoring the burning in his lungs. There'd be time to come up with a plan once he lost the men chasing him. For now, he had to survive.

Only when Yuugi could no longer hear the telltale thumps of feet beating the earth behind him did he allow his pace to flag. Panting, he ducked into a small alleyway and leaned against the wall, eyes flicking nervously around as he tried to catch his breath. Through the small gap between buildings, he could see a row of open-air shops, advertising their wares with brightly painted pictures. It would have been a lively sight, and a good place to lose himself in, if it hadn't been empty of people.

That was the most disconcerting thing about this place. Every street he'd gone down was completely, eerily deserted. For all Yuugi knew, he and his pursuers were the only ones left in this city.

A wave of panic rose up in his throat, and he forced it down. He'd find a way out of here eventually. Until then…

Yuugi was just about to start running once more when the smell of grilling meat made him pause. Hesitating for just a moment, he looked cautiously around before darting down the alley, following the scent. He wasn't hungry, though he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten, but food meant people. If he could only find someone who would listen to him without shoving a spear in his face, maybe they could help.

That little bubble of hope died when the market he emerged onto was as abandoned as it had seemed from a distance. Shoulders slumped in disappointment, Yuugi wandered the shops slowly, noticing little details that had escaped him as he was running. Sticks of meat abandoned over live coals were only slightly charred, and an overturned wineskin he passed still dripped slowly from its mouth, staining the dirt beneath it red. Now that he looked closer, everything pointed to this place being only recently abandoned. Why had everyone left so suddenly?

"There he is! Halt!"

Jumping, Yuugi ran forward once more, furious that he'd allowed himself to be distracted. That had been his best chance to hide, and he'd blown it.

Risking a glance backward, Yuugi's eyes widened at the sight of sharpened spears in their hands, and he whipped back around.

"This… can't be real," he huffed to himself desperately. "It's… got to be… some sort of… virtual…"

Out of breath, he gave up speaking and focused on running faster. The weapons those soldiers were brandishing looked real enough. He'd rather not find out the hard way whether they were or not.

Reaching an intersection, Yuugi banked sharply to the left, emerging abruptly onto a wide, open plaza. His heart dropped. There was no way for him to cross without being spotted. The men would be on top of him any second now… unless…

An abandoned pottery shop caught Yuugi's eye, and he didn't hesitate. Bolting forward, he vaulted into an enormous urn, flattening his hair with one hand so it wouldn't stick out and crouching down as low as he could. It was probably the most obvious hiding place he could have picked, and Yuugi berated himself silently for his rash decision, but it was too late to change his mind. Already he could hear the metal clank of armor approaching.

"What are you doing?"

Yuugi almost gasped at the unfamiliar voice. Somebody else was out there?

"Please don't give me away," he whispered frantically. "Please…"

"Spread out and search everywhere!" a commanding voice called. "The thief can't have run far!"

Terrified, Yuugi tried to silence his breath, but the task was nearly impossible. His muscles shook uncontrollably from effort and adrenaline. Was the person who had spoken one of his pursuers? If so, Yuugi was already doomed.

For the first time, he considered giving himself up. He'd be captured, but if he came willingly, they might not kill him right away. Maybe he'd get the chance to explain… though he wasn't sure what he'd say. He still didn't know why they were chasing him, or what they thought he'd stolen.

Before he could decide, the mysterious person spoke again.

"You're wasting your time."

Yuugi froze. The soldier snorted.

"You dare address me, usurper? What makes you think I would listen to filth like you?"

"Because I have been sitting here all morning, and I watched the thief run through." The man's voice was rough and weary, though it held a subtle regal tone that suggested confidence. He spoke patiently, as if he hadn't just been hurled with insults.

"Do not poison me with your lies," the soldier snarled. "I do not need your help to capture a child."

As he spoke, the sound of approaching footsteps caught Yuugi's ear. He clenched his eyes shut, making himself even smaller.

Please, somebody, do something…

"Can you afford to reject even my help?" the stranger asked sharply. "What the child stole must be important, yes? This is why the streets have been emptied and the people forced into their homes."

"None of your business!" the soldier snapped, though the footsteps had stopped. "Maybe what I should do is take you in for questioning. He looks a lot like you. For all I know, you're working together."

"And let the thief run free?" the man asked dryly. "What would my brother do if he learned that a troop of palace guards allowed a mere boy to escape their grasp?"

The soldier didn't reply, and the stranger spoke again. "The thief escaped east, towards the river. If what I speak is false, come back and question me. You can trust that I will be right where you left me."

There was a dry humor to the man's last statement, though Yuugi didn't understand it. He felt lightheaded. Had the city really been emptied just to find him?

"If you're lying…" the soldier muttered under his breath. Then, in a voice that carried, he shouted, "Guards, move east! We'll cut him off before he reaches the city's exits."

Footsteps sounded again, moving away this time, and within moments the plaza was left silent aside from the distant sounds of shouting. Still, Yuugi didn't dare to move. Were they really all gone? What if one had stayed behind?

"Child?" The voice of his rescuer was gentle. "You are safe to come out now. They will not return for many minutes."

"I'm not a child," Yuugi said, then bit his lip regretfully. After a nervous pause, he eventually poked his head out of his hiding spot, searching for whoever had saved him. "Who are y—"

He cut off with a gasp. A stark, ugly cage with metal bars hung suspended a few feet off the ground by a wooden frame, situated in the middle of the plaza. Yuugi wondered how he had missed it before when the very sight of it made him sick. Trapped within was a short, thin teenage boy, who looked somehow younger than his voice had suggested. Although the cage was cramped and tiny, the imprisoned boy sat up straight, surveying his surroundings calmly as if he sat there by choice. Every bit of him was filthy, including his matted hair and the once-white loincloth wrapped around his waist, but his brilliant red eyes shone clearly, piercing through the dirt. At the moment, that unsettling gaze was focused squarely on Yuugi, considering him.

"You are not a child," he agreed, bowing his head as Yuugi scrambled out of the vase, tripping over his own legs in his haste. "Forgive me. I only caught a quick glance as you ran in."

"No, it's fine," Yuugi said distractedly. "I get that all the time, it's… Who did this to you?" he asked, limping forward on buzzing legs. In the cramped confinement of the urn, they had started to fall asleep. "Are you okay?

The stranger stared back at him, not answering. Feeling self-conscious, Yuugi looked away. It was a stupid question.

"Just hang on. I'm going to get you out of here," he said finally when the boy remained silent, avoiding his gaze as he inspected the cage. He could already see that some sort of lock held it in place, but maybe he could break it or… or something.

"You do look like me," the boy said suddenly, and Yuugi glanced up in surprise. He couldn't honestly say that he saw the resemblance, but it was hard to tell anything about the other's appearance under the layers of matted filth. "Would you really release me?"

"Of course. You saved my life." Yuugi considered trying to pick the lock, but he didn't know how, and those guards could realize they'd been misled at any moment. "Do you think a rock would break it open?"

The other boy laughed humorlessly. "Many stones have been cast this way, but a rock struck with intention might do the trick."

"…What?" Looking around, Yuugi finally noticed the rocks littering the ground around them. Turning sharply back to the imprisoned boy, his eyes took in the welts and cuts covering his skin, many of which had scabbed over, but some of which still bled sluggishly. "Who would do this kind of thing?" he asked, horrified. "Why?"

"For daring to raise myself above others, I am now brought down to the dust." The calm in the stranger's voice was unnerving. "My fate has been left to the people for these past two weeks. Only when I am sufficiently humbled by them will my true fate be decided." For the first time, a hint of restrained sadness entered his voice. "They have been all too eager to punish a false god with their own hands."

"That's…" Yuugi shook his head in disgust, unable to continue. "This place is awful," he muttered. "We have to get out of here. Tell me this is just like… a virtual environment or something."

All he received in return was a blank stare. It had been a long shot, anyway. Even Kaiba's most advanced technology couldn't create anything this believable.

That still left the question of where he was and how he'd gotten here… but Yuugi ignored it for now, setting it firmly to the side. If he stopped to think, he might break down entirely.

"I'm gonna try to break this. Hold still." Grabbing a large rock off the ground, Yuugi steadied it over the lock before striking down forcefully. Nothing happened. Biting his lip, Yuugi tried again, desperate to at least make a dent. Not for the first time, he wished he wasn't so useless at all things physical.

"You look foreign," the boy observed as he worked, taking in his light skin and dark clothing, both of which were unsuited for this hot environment. "You must be recently arrived to not know who I am. What is your name?"

"I guess you could say that," he muttered. "It's Yuugi."

"Yuugi." The stranger repeated it awkwardly. "We are well met. I had many names, once, if only for a few days. Now you may call me Atem."

"It's… nice to meet you, Atem," Yuugi replied, bemused at how normal this conversation was, considering its bizarre setting. At last, his efforts seemed to be making a difference. Wiping sweat from his face with a shaking hand, Yuugi paused to peel his school jacket off, tossing it aside. He didn't notice the other stiffen in surprise.

"That's a relief," he sighed, attacking the lock with renewed vigor. "Didn't have time to do that with those guys chasing me."

After a few more moments of work, Yuugi finally heard a crack. Heart leaping, he fumbled with the lock, forcing it apart. "Yes!"

Yuugi grinned triumphantly, but the expression quickly faded when he saw the look on the other boy's face. Atem didn't seem to notice that he had been freed. His eyes were fixed on Yuugi's chest.

"Um, what—"

"You stole the god pendant." His words cut like a razor, and Yuugi flinched. "How did you… do you even comprehend what you have done? They will execute you for this!"

Yuugi followed his gaze down. "What, you mean my puzzle?" He vaguely remembered stuffing it under his jacket as he ran, though he was still not quite sure how it had ended up around his neck in the first place. The last real memory he had before he'd woken up here was the triumph he'd felt as he pushed the last piece into place. Then… nothing. "I didn't steal this. This is mine."

"Do you take me for a fool?" Atem hissed angrily. "Tell me who managed to solve it! When last I saw that pendant, it was in pieces."

"I did," Yuugi said stiffly, glaring when the other snorted in disbelief.

"Impossible," he said dismissively. "You speak of what you do not understand. Tell me who you stole it from, and—"

Yuugi's anger surged, amplified by all the fear and uncertainty that had been building up inside of him since he first started running.

"I'm not a thief!" he yelled, and a shot of warm energy surged up through his chest, settling around his forehead. The puzzle around his neck flashed brightly, and Yuugi yelped, looking down in startled disbelief. The glow faded as quickly as his anger, muting to its normal golden sheen, but there was no denying that it had happened. What was that?

Atem stared, apparently too stunned for speech.

"I'm not a thief," Yuugi repeated softly, subdued. "I solved the puzzle. It's mine." Still, Atem said nothing. Yuugi looked around nervously, ears pricked for any sign that his pursuers had returned.

"Look, you're free," he said impatiently. "Are you going to escape or not? I really don't want to stick around here much longer."

"It does belong to you," Atem murmured, so softly that Yuugi almost didn't hear him. Shaking his head, the boy surveyed Yuugi once more as if seeing him in a whole new light. He wasn't at all sure that he liked it.

"I cannot escape, Yuugi." he sighed. "I have been kept in this cage for two weeks. My limbs will not move as they should."

Yuugi stared at him incredulously. "You couldn't have mentioned this earlier?"

"Forgive me." Atem said almost wistfully. "I simply wished to speak with you… as one human speaks to another. But I was selfish in my desires, and now I have stolen your precious time. I did not realize that… well." The look he gave Yuugi was unfathomable.

"But…" Biting his lip, Yuugi considered his options. He couldn't just leave him here. Once the soldiers realized Atem had lied to them, he'd be in serious trouble.

"Go," Atem urged gently. "Your kindness was a light that will not be forgotten, but you must leave now if you wish to escape. May the gods be more merciful to you than they were to me."

Red eyes fluttered closed in solemn resignation, but flew open again in shock as small arms wrapped around him.

"What are you—"

"Shut up," Yuugi grunted, lifting him out of the cage. Anyone else would have been impossible for him to carry, but Atem was as short as he was, and scarily thin. The other boy groaned sharply as his muscles were forced to move, but there was no helping it. "We're getting out together, or not at all."

"B-but—" Atem floundered, and Yuugi had the distinct impression that the other boy was not used to being at such a loss for words. "Surely you cannot run like this for long!"

"Then tell me where to hide," Yuugi said grimly. In the distance, he could hear men approaching. Their time was almost up. "This is your city, not mine. I'm going off of instinct here."

"But…" At the look Yuugi shot him, Atem's protests finally died. "I know a place," he said reluctantly. "Someone who owes me a favor. They might let us in, as long as we don't bring the guards straight to their door…"

Yuugi nodded, a strange, manic grin blooming on his face that he refused to analyze.

"It's better than nothing," he said. "Which way do I go?"

Atem returned his smile grimly. "Forward," he ordered, and Yuugi took off, stumbling under the added weight. The shouts behind them grew louder, and both boys looked back nervously.

"And quickly."

A/N: My first multi-chapter Yu-Gi-Oh! story! This will probably end up as mild blindshipping, though the rating will stay at T. A bit of self-promotion here - if you like blindshipping, check out the story I'm writing with The Naked King called Sympathetic Magic, posted to her account. It's pretty good ;)

Sorry if updates on this story are sporadic. I'm working full-time and going to school part-time, so… XP