I had an idea that no one else seemed to want to do. Phantom Thief Dark and King of Thieves Bakura: just who is the better thief? This story idea seemed to have potential to go far, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

A Tribute to Thieves What if the Hikari clan heard about the Millennium Items and decided to create artwork as a tribute: in other words, unofficial Millennium Items? An innocent trip to Azumano for Ryou Bakura turns into a race between two thieves for magical art. YGOxDNAngel crossover

Prologue

Shiguru Hikari gazed around himself at the vast desert. Here he was in Egypt, the Valley of the Kings to be exact, to make an artwork in recognition of the ancient Pharaohs. He carried under his arm a sketchpad and a few pencils. Lately he was devoid of any inspiration to create any art for the museums back home. He had come here for a new perspective, another brilliant idea for his "family business". He was a Hikari, after all. He knew he'd come up with something amazing, as usual.

As Shiguru trudged on, he spotted the team of archaeologists that he had arrived with. Among them was an old friend of his, Peter Starks, whom was an American. Peter was born an American, but had moved to Japan in his childhood. He had gone back to America for an archaic business trip recently. Normally, one won't find a Japanese artist among American archaeologists, but Peter had invited Shiguru to come with him on the dig, despite the fact that he lived on the other side of the world. Shiguru had written to Peter about his dilemma involving his fountain of ideas running dry, and Peter suggested he come with him to see the Valley.

Shiguru ran a hand through his chin-length blue hair and took a sip from his canteen. He walked over to Peter, who looked up excited. "You have to see this!" Peter said, grinning. "We've found something you may find useable for your work. This is also pretty big for us. We've found a tomb that was buried under the sand, until now, that is."

Shiguru widened his eyes in surprise ever so slightly. "A tomb? What's in it that could be so great for my work, though?"

Peter picked up his flashlight and canteen, motioning for him to follow. He then headed over to a young man writing down notes. "John," he called.

The man, John, answered without looking up from his work. "Yeah?"

"We need another person to come into the tomb with us."

John's head snapped up. "Really! I've been wanting to go down there for a while, and at this point, I thought no one was going to let me go in!" He put down his notes and stood up. "Let's go!"

As the three walked down the hallway, Shiguru noticed the hieroglyphics on the walls and found that he was some what amazed at this tomb. I thought that this wouldn't work for me as an artist. I guess I was wrong. But there was something else he could tell he was going to find here too. This place was full of magical energies. Yes, he would definitely come out of this tomb with new ideas. But then he realized, Perhaps, no, I'm sure of it, these artworks will have magical properties, and, he frowned, Dark will be after them. That half of the Black Wings was such a nuisance to the Hikaris. Phantom Thief Dark always seemed to slip out of his grasp when he was a teen, and once Dark returned, the next Hikari may not be able to handle him. Dark disappears for years then comes back, so Shiguru wouldn't have another chance to get him. Shiguru frowned again at the thought.

A few minutes later, the trio walked into a large room with giant stone tablets in front and to the sides of them. John was jumping around the room like a little kid on Christmas morning, Peter was smiling with pride, and Shiguru walked around the room in amazement, looking at each tablet. "Amazing," he breathed, and pulled out his sketchbook. John pulled out his camera and began to take pictures of the walls. There were tablets depicting monsters, magicians and things Shiguru didn't understand. Peter walked up to him, still smiling. He pointed to a tablet.

"These stone slabs depict the story of an ancient war. That tablet there depicts ancient monsters that lived in the hearts of humans. These monsters, called 'ka', were summoned to do the bidding of the humans they lived in." He pointed to the next tablet. "This tablet shows the monsters being used in a war, by Priests of the Pharaoh's court, to defend the country. These Priests wielded seven magical totems that allowed them to bring forth the monsters in their hearts and in the hearts of others. Very few could summon their ka on command. They are shown on this tablet," he said, pointing to the next tablet.

Shiguru was in awe. On the stone slab were a rod, a necklace, a pair of scales, an ankh, an eye, a ring, and an upside down pyramid. He could tell that they were full of a very powerful magic. He wondered what the eye symbol on them meant. As if reading Shiguru's mind, Peter said, "These items all have on them the Eye of Horus, so we believe them to be a set. The totems were supposed to be able to extract ka, weigh hearts, see into people's minds and souls, as well as the future, seal ka, and even," he paused for dramatic tension, "summon gods. Also the Pr-" he stopped seeing Shiguru sketching for a base to use back home. "See, I told you wouldn't leave unsatisfied."

"And you were right my friend. These are amazing. When I get back to Japan I'm going to make my own Items for the museum."

Peter laughed as John took pictures of the centermost slab. "Don't expect any monsters to jump out of the shadows, then." Just then his watch beeped. Peter frowned and turned off his alarm. "Well, it's time to head back. Come on, John!" he called to his colleague.

"Just a minute," John called back. He was just finishing taking pictures of the three monsters surrounding the upside down pyramid from earlier. As he put his camera into his bag and ran to catch up to the other two, he didn't notice the ghostly image of a man in a turban and cloak holding a pair of scales with an ankh on a rope around his neck appear, frowning at the three. He then looked behind himself at the Tablet of the Nameless Pharaoh and vanished, having not been seen by the three men in the hall.

A few weeks later, Shiguru finished his works "Tribute to the Nameless Pharaoh" and the "Millennium Mask". He donated these two works to the Azumano Art Museum. Shortly after, he received some grim news. John was dead. His neighbors described the night he died as a dark and stormy one. There was much lightning, but no thunder. There was one instance when they did hear thunder, which oddly sounded more like the roar of a great and powerful beast than thunder though. Then, the next morning, when John didn't come out to see his garden, they knew something was wrong. They found him dead in his chair, holding the pictures of the three monsters on the main slab in the tomb, eyes wide in fright and mouth open. They couldn't find any evidence of his death. It was as though he was scared to death…

Almost half a century later, Maximillion Pegasus would be led to the same tomb, and create the Egyptian God Cards. Strange coincidence, huh? Or was it fate that led Peter and his team to these ruins? And what of Shiguru Hikari? For him, the story is over, but for Ryou Bakura and Daisuke Niwa, the story has just begun.

So, that's all for now. Review, and suggestions are most welcome; if you have a good idea for this story, feel free to let me know. I'm all ears.

-Gamma Sage