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Rulers and Rogues	By : Khat Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 10587 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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So, I need to apologize to everyone. I skipped a week, I know... Our crafting store had it's grand opening yesterday, so I spent the last week crazy busy painting melamine shelves with latex paint (melamine and latex do not like each other at all), and then stripping the shelves again so we could mactac them... (For anyone who doesn't know, mactac, which goes by a few names depending on brand, is basically a sticky-backed plastic-paper. It's usually used and sold as a shelf lining, but you can use it to cover pretty much anything to make it look nicer.) And then, of course, setting up and stocking the store...
Anyways, here we go. This is mostly a little filler chapter, really, but I intend to get moving next chapter. And welcome to the new readers. It's always nice to hear your kind comments.
******
This blindness thing was a complete nuisance, Prince decided as he stumbled over an unseen bump in the carpet. Yami’s hand was instantly there, catching him and helping him upright again, but that only made him dislike the situation more. He was dependant on the spirit, now, unable to even navigate the halls without being led like a child.
Although, he hadn’t lied when he said it was getting better. There wasn’t much more than patches of light and dark and occasional tints of colour, but last night he hadn’t been able to see anything, so, hopefully it would wear off fully.
:Turn left, Aibou: He obeyed the command without answering and ignored the soothing mind-touch the Pharaoh sent him. Down another hallway, and he could hear the sound of someone in uniform moving. A guard. His other senses seemed to be trying to compensate for the loss, since the sounds wouldn’t have been something he normally would have noticed. Yami’s desert-scent, the same as in his soul room, was clearer as well.
Another left, another hallway, and a right, and he wouldn’t have even been able to guess where they were. Somewhere near the front rooms, it seemed, by the voices.
:Leave them alone, Little One.: Prince dropped his hand from where he had reached up to tug at one of the earrings again. The weight felt heavy, and he kept having the urge to pull at the things. He was fully outfitted again, including new replacements for the cuffs Bakura had ruined. He wasn’t sure about the rest of the jewellery, but the earrings were different ones, at least.
“I don’t see why we don’t just kill them all and be done with it.” Marik was close by, obviously.
“Because I run a fair kingdom, Marik, as you well know.” Yami answered, and Prince scoffed, bumping into his other half, only then realising that he had stopped. The Pharaoh half-turned, probably to scowl at him for the input, but turned back without reprimanding him. “Since I’m not in the mood to deal with you today, you can go find something else productive to do.”
It was Malik’s turn to give his opinion, a short, sarcastic ‘ha’. Prince agreed. The only way Marik would ever do anything productive would be if you needed someone tortured or killed.
“Have fun listening to all their petty little complaints, then, Pharaoh. Come on, Hikari.”
“What did he mean?” Prince asked, after a moment, honestly curious.
“It’s Friday.” Yami answered, as if that should be all the answer he needed. It was nice to know what day it was, but it didn’t really clear anything up.
“Friday is court day.” The pharaoh clarified, after a moment. “Anyone who has a grievance may come to the mansion to seek justice. Most of the problems are handled by clerks, but some are serious enough that we deal with them ourselves.” Prince hadn’t known about that, actually. He had spent so much time and effort fighting against the government that he hadn’t stopped to ask how it was actually being run.
He could feel the movement of air and the soft swish of a door opening, then the voices suddenly became much louder. Not deafening, just enough to tell him that it must be a large room, and crowded.
:Watch the stairs, here.: Prince hung back a moment, but then followed the commands, stepping up three wide steps, cool under his slippered feet. Some kind of stone, he imagined.
“Michael,” Yami called, suddenly, “bring some cushions.”
Prince didn’t pay much attention, just casting a long look around him. It was brighter here, and he could see just a bit better, but it was all still too vague to really make anything out.
“Come and sit, Aibou.” Yami took his arm to pull him forward, and Prince followed, until he realised exactly where the spirit wanted him to sit.
“I’m not going to sit all nice and pretty at your feet.” He protested, pulling back. It wasn’t really a bright move, considering the fact that he was on a set of steps he couldn’t see, but Yami didn’t release him anyway.
“This is neither the time or the place, Yugi.” Yami answered sharply, and the slave was tugged forward suddenly. “Now, SIT!”
Such was the unwavering command in the word that Prince obeyed automatically, landing on a soft pile of cushions, sitting there and blinking blankly a moment, until he felt the soft brush of the Pharaoh’s kilt against his shoulder as he took his own seat.
He was situated just in front and to the side of the chair. Throne, actually, he thought, shifting a bit and feeling the brush of cold metal against his back. He was tempted to get back up, but it wasn’t like he would be able to do much after that point, except fumble around and look like a fool, so he simply sat and fumed silently.
******
Wolf and Kaiba had made an unspoken agreement not to speak of that. Well, more specifically, Wolf refused to speak, or think, about it, and Kaiba, for once, didn’t push the issue. Actually, the brunet had seemed downright congenial towards him after his not-breakdown (Because he was the Wolf, and he didn’t have breakdowns). Well, right up until the fight earlier that morning over the outfit (A dark blue skirt, with close-fitting silver cuffs for his wrists and lower legs, shaped to look like dragons, complete with blue sapphire eyes, and nothing else), and then the new choker collar, and the leash that went with it.
So, by the time the ruler dragged his furious slave into the main hall, any sympathy he had had was burned away by irritation, and Wolf was about ready to take a swing at anyone who looked at him the wrong way, had he been able to. But, besides the collar and chain, the cuffs on his wrists had been locked together behind his back with a very short length of chain. And there was always the rod, too, once again tucked neatly under the bastard’s belt.
Unfortunately for his sense of pride, many of the people in the room turned to look at the newest arrivals. The blond was caught between the urge to beat up the ones who were eyeing him so interestedly and the intense desire to get the hell out of there and save what little dignity remained to him. He halted, there in the doorway, and the collar tightened uncomfortably before Kaiba paused to look back.
“Move it, Mutt.” He hissed, giving a little jerk. Wolf glared at him, but obeyed, reluctantly. He didn’t have much choice, after all.
“Acting up again?” Yami asked as the pair approached the dais, where four carved gilded thrones had been set up, identical except for the colours of the seat cushions. Kaiba just huffed, and Wolf glared. After his first outburst in the hall just outside of their rooms, the asshole had used the rod to forbid him from speaking. He could still make noises, just not intelligent ones, and if Kaiba had heard any of the mental diatribe he sent his way, he hadn’t given any sign of it.
Something else caught Wolf’s attention then, though, and his fury at the CEO was entirely forgotten.
Prince sat on a couple of cushions just at his yami’s feet, not looking any more pleased to be there than Wolf was himself. His face was turned towards them, but it was easy to see that something was wrong. He hadn’t said anything to Wolf, for one, and his oddly-coloured eyes weren’t focusing on either him or Kaiba, instead off to one side a little, staring blankly at nothing.
:What the hell did you do to him now!: The comment was intended to be spoken aloud, but with Kaiba’s command binding him, it came out in mindspeech instead. At the same time, he jerked towards the Pharaoh, wrists yanking at the chain as he tried to reach out and grab him. He couldn’t breathe, he was so furious, and… Oh, the choker. He had forgotten about that in his anger, and it was actually the collar that was choking him. Not for long, though, as his body relaxed without his command, settling itself down by Kaiba’s throne, on cushions that another slave brought. He struggled against the control, fighting uselessly, finally giving a sudden jerk and…
And he was somewhere else.
The room looked like the living room in Jou’s old apartment, though much cleaner than that had ever been. The old couch sat against the wall, and the TV was in its usual place as well, playing some little kiddie show he had used to like but couldn’t remember the name of now. Bright golden sunlight shone in through the windows, giving everything an odd dream-like illumination. He was even dressed like he would have even back then, his favourite jeans and a plain T-shirt.
That was where the similarity ended, though. The walls were two-toned, the bottom half golden brown, the top half cream, a wide border separating the two, grey and brown wolves fighting, playing and running on a green background. A large wolf statue sat in one corner, posed in a howl to a non-existent moon. As he watched, it suddenly shifted to a red-eyes black dragon, mid-attack, before changing back.
The cabinet in one corner was new, though, trophies sitting on its shelves. Duelist trophies, he realised, going closer. There was one for Duelist Kingdom, shaped like Pegasus’s castle, and Battle City, the three god monsters posing together. He had gotten a trophy for neither, of course, but there they were, just the same, with his name and finishing position etched in simple block letters on the name plate. There were others, too, ones he actually had received and more like the first two. A deck of cards sat beside one of the trophies. His old deck, he realised, picking up the top card and turning it over to reveal Baby Dragon. The statue shifted again, staying in the dragon form this time.
A large picture of Shizuka hung on one wall, and others around it, one of Yugi, Anzu and Honda on a picnic in the park, another with Prince and Fox checking out the results of some raid or another, other snapshots of times in his past. There were even a few of Kaiba, the CEO looking smug and arrogant as usual.
“Where the hell am I?”
“This is your soulroom.” Wolf spun at the voice, staring at the brunet who stood in a doorway he hadn’t noticed. At first he thought it was Kaiba, but then he thought it couldn’t be, after a moment. The hair was a slightly different cut, and a bit too light, sun-bleached, maybe. His skin too, was different, a warmer golden tone, and his eyes were a slightly darker shade of blue. His posture wasn’t quite the same, either; this Kaiba seemed more relaxed and open, somehow. He also seemed a little fuzzy around the edges, and there was almost a hint of transparency about him.
“You’re not Kaiba…” Nothing about this was putting him at ease at all.
“No, I am not. Or, rather, I am not who he currently is.” The not-Kaiba took a few steps into the room and Wolf watched him warily, but he seemed uninterested in him for the moment, looking about the room, eyes pausing a moment on the statue (wolf, again). It only took a moment more for the blond to realise who the intruder was.
“You’re the Priest, aren’t you?”
“I was once high priest and cousin of the Pharaoh. I became Pharaoh after him, for a short time. You may simply call me Set, however, since we are Bonded.”
“Not by my choice. I didn’t want to be made soulmates with either of you.”
“Not soulmates.” The Priest came closer and Wolf backed off this time, keeping some distance between them. The taller male didn’t seem to really notice, moving to look over the pictures. “Bonded.”
“There’s a difference?” Wolf snapped.
“Soulmates occur when a soul is split into two parts, to simplify a complicated explanation. Atem and Yugi, Akefia and Ryou. Marik and Malik are an unusual case, but they are still soulmates. Bonded souls happen when two souls become entangled with each other. It is usually unintended. We are the first case that I know of where it was attempted deliberately and succeeded. The end results are similar, of course, but the main difference is that a Bond can be broken without serious harm to the souls.”
“It can be broken? How do you do that?” He tried to keep his tone casual, going over to shuffle through the duel monster cards as if the answer didn’t really interest him. Set turned, giving him a knowing smirk.
“Nothing you could do, Puppy, so you might as well give up that idea.”
“My name is not ‘Puppy’, or ‘Mutt’ or anything else like that. You can call me Jounouchi.” Yes, he generally thought of himself as Wolf, but putting in canine alternatives probably wasn’t the best idea, in this case.
“Not Katsuya?” Whatever else might be different, he had the same better-than-you tone in his voice.
“Only my parents call me that. I sure as hell wouldn’t let you. Or him.”
“And you would stop me how? Puppy…” Wolf let all his fury out, lunging at the brunet. Everything from his rage at seeing what that Egyptian bastard had done to Prince, to his frustration and embarrassment at his current situation with Kaiba.
And the Priest blocked him. However fuzzy he might look, he seemed solid enough. It wasn’t an outright block, though; it was perhaps more accurate to say he redirected the strike. And the one after that, and again.
It was downright frustrating, at first. The brunet didn’t retaliate, didn’t try to stop him, he just simply moved out of the way, or guided each hit away.
After a bit, though, it seemed to become less an attack and more some sort of odd dance, Set and he moving together smoothly, reacting to each other.
He wasn’t sure how long it went on. At some point everything started to blur together. Set did start to fight back, after a bit, but even then it wasn’t really serious, and he never actually landed a hit.
Finally, though, the fight, if it could still be called that, finished, with Set simply sweeping Wolf’s feet out from under him, at the same time catching his shoulders to guide him down more gently, so that the blond ended up down on his back, the Priest leaning over him. Exhausted, but strangely calm, Wolf glanced around, while Set moved to sit on the couch, simply watching him. At some point, they had passed through the door, and into, presumably, Kaiba’s soulroom. It was a replica of his’s office, though, like Wolf’s, there were differences. He didn’t think the CEO would keep a giant blue-eyes white dragon statue there in real life, for one thing, and he wasn’t quite obsessed enough to wallpaper the place in duel monsters cards. Nor was the far corner, shrouded in darkness so thick he couldn’t see what lay within, anything natural.
“The Pharaoh did not harm his little one.” He said, suddenly, and Wolf tilted his head to look over at him. “It was one of the things you were upset about. Yugi was attacked, last night. Atem was quite upset over it. That was why we were gone all night.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time Yami’s actions screwed Prince over.” Wolf answered. The priest frowned disapprovingly at him, but the blond just ignored the expression, closing his eyes.
He thought of something then, and opened them again, intending to ask the priest a question, but the room was gone. Instead he found himself back where he had been before, leaning up against Kaiba’s leg. Two people were arguing loudly in front of the dais, about borders or something.
:Where did you go? I was starting to get worried.: The mindvoice startled him, and he jumped a bit, before giving Kaiba a dirty look.
:I was in my soulroom, or so I was told. And yours, I guess…: The brunet frowned at him a moment, then his face cleared.
“Oh.” He murmured, as if he had just remembered.
:If he’s in there, why isn’t he out here, like the rest of them.: Wolf asked. Kaiba’s expression went very blank. Yami was talking now, glaring down at the two repentant-looking arguers.
:Don’t confuse your strange dreams with reality, Puppy. I, at least, still retain some scrap of my sanity.: Oh, so they were back to the denial thing, again. He’d admit he was the reincarnation of an Egyptian Priest, but he wasn’t willing to consider the thought that the guy might still be around.
:Now, hush and be still. I need to pay attention.: Wolf glanced over at Prince, who seemed to have fallen asleep. Yami was frowning absently at his hikari, since he had managed, accidentally or not, to place himself leaning up against the next throne, either Bakura’s or Marik’s, instead of against the Pharaoh’s own.
Wolf just heaved a bored sigh, which earned him irritated looks from both his captors, and set about trying to get back to that soul room place. At least the Priest wasn’t going to bore him to death…
******
So, I don't know if Set's going to show up again or not. I kind of like that scene, so I might try to fit him in. There's a few people I'd like to get back in there, actually. And I'll try to get the next chapter up at the proper time, next week...
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Rulers and Rogues