Rejected.
Chapter 1: Valley of the Kings.
It all happened so fast and so abrupt that Yugi really had no idea what was going on.
He and his grandpa were just tidying up to open the pub. Since it was the new Pharaoh's coronation, things were bound to get rowdy with everyone celebrating. And they also just had gotten supplies from the palace, also the courtesy of the new Pharaoh, before one of the six High Priests barged to their still-closed pub.
"Oh, oh! Seth-sama!" Solomon said as both he and Yugi kneeled. The older man then stood up and bowed. "What can I help you with?" Grandpa had said.
Yugi kept his gaze low on the ground. He didn't like this man's domineering aura, it made him shiver. And it was hard enough for he and his family to be here since they got white skin for not being a native Egyptian.
Mutou Family once consisted of Solomon Mutou, Kaze Mutou, Hitomi Mutou, and he, Yugi Mutou. But after a boat ride gone wrong, his parents died and the remaining Mutou men was drifted ashore to Egypt.
At first, nobody liked them. They scorned them, jeered at them, and threw rocks at them. But Yugi and his grandfather persevered, always showing kindness to whoever needs them, and eventually, the townsmen accepted them. There was no one in town that didn't know the Mutou Pub since it was so cheap and fun there.
High Priest Seth looked around the store, probably trying to find faults in it. When he found none, he took a deep breath and spoke. "You there," his tone was directed the small boy, nobody else. "Stand up and rise your head." Yugi quivered. But he did as ordered by standing up shakily, fearing the man's gaze.
Yugi bit his lowered lip and let his head up, directly facing the tall Egyptian man's face. Blue eyes peered down coldly at his small and fragile stature. "He has pale skin and he's also smaller, but it's there nonetheless…" Seth mumbled to himself. "U-um, what is wrong with my grandson?" Solomon put both his hands on top of Yugi's shoulders, grasping it worryingly.
"Capture him!" About like five men came in and restrained Yugi, blinding him and gagging him as he tried to ask why this was happening. "WHY? Why is this happening? YUGI!" His grandpa was shouting. He could feel chains on his hands as he heard a voice of something being knocked down.
"Your grandson has the same face as the Pharaoh, we can't risk his existence. He might be an imposter." With that, he was taken away.
And now, here he was, in the middle of nowhere with nothing but himself.
Yugi walked and walked and walked and walked. But there was nothing, nothing at all, he was scared. It was then that the heat got to him and he tumbled down. As his consciousness drifted away, he could hear a voice on top of him.
"A new exile? Hell yes!"
"You know, Marik, it is a rule in this town that every exile had to have a life partner!" Ishizu sighed at her youngest sibling. Unlike Malik who already found his life partner (Odion obviously) Marik hadn't.
Life partner: it was included in the only letter that arrived from the palace to their village. It said that the Pharaoh already knew the existence of the exile village and if they want to survive, they will have to establish a rule where everyone had to had a life partner to share their pain and suffering. And Pharaoh himself will come once a year to check if it was maintained.
Some of them considered this a blessing; some of them felt like it were a curse.
The truth was, there was a sinister nature of this rule. If during the yearly visits, Pharaoh liked one of the pairs, they will be taken to the palace as slaves. It could be anything, labor slaves, or pleasure slaves. And the most horrible one was if the pair was forced to make love for viewing pleasures. It sickened her, but she had no choice but to enforce it, as the current Matriarch of the town.
"That rule is so useless, most honorable sister (1)." Marik sighed. He threw away his face as the blue-eyed woman tattled on him. "It's not useless! You see how Odion and Malik are, right?" Ishizu rambled. The younger boy clicked his tongue. "Even if I do want a life partner, who wants me as their life partner? Besides, Kisara hadn't found her life partner and you don't tattle at her."
"Kisara is a different case! Unlike us, the one she wanted as a life partner would also be her husband so she needed to choose carefully." The woman knew that these arguments were useless against Marik, who knew the true nature of life partnering.
Every year, a pair of partners from their village would be the one who served the Pharaoh on his yearly visits. Everyone considered it as an honor, and if the Pharaoh liked the pair, they would be taken to the palace to be servants there. But Marik knew the truth; in fact, he was the only one besides Ishizu who knew. And he also found out that once the pair bored the Pharaoh, they would be killed as a criminal. That was why nobody ever returned.
"Ugh, Marik, I want you to go and find a life partner! Or anyone who would be a suitable candidate in a week! If not, I will assign your life partner for you." Marik seethed. "Most honorable sister, I-"
"No excuses!"
Marik threw the refreshments on the table and left the room in anger. He bumped into Malik, who greeted him, but he only grunt in return and left the house in sheer anger.
He hated the Pharaoh for exiling his family just because Ishizu looked like one of the High Priests. And he pretty much hated everyone that feared him. Okay so he got violent outbursts at times, but he couldn't help it. That was just how he was. The only people he actually liked were Ishizu, Malik (but he loathed Odion, because that bastard always looked at him like he was a pitiful person), and Kisara. The others in the village were dead afraid of him. How could he find a life partner in a week in those circumstances?
"Damn it!" He shouted, and he forgot that he was in the middle of the village. His face twisted in sheer displeasure as everyone looked terrified of him. Damn damn damn damn! He ran away as fast as he could.
When he actually felt tired, he was already a few miles away from the town. He always had a good stamina. But he never tried running away from the town before. "Fuck I ran too much." He scratched the back of his head. His hands were sweating as he touched his own messy hair.
Suddenly he felt a shadow casted upon him. There was a person… walking towards him. But then, the person fell down to the ground.
Marik was many things, but kind was definitely not one of them. But he was curious so he walked closer to the person.
The person was a young one, and his extremely weird hair features multiple layers including long blond crooked, pointy locks for his fringe, the rest features a set of five large spikes and two smaller spikes colored black with a magenta sheen along the edges, it was so fucking weird. And yet it was beautiful. The boy's skin was pearly white, much like Kisara's own. Did this guy get exiled for the same reason as Kisara? For having a weird colored skin?
It never ceased to amaze him how much of an asshole the Pharaoh was.
A new exile…? OH YES! He got an answer to his problem. He'd just ask this guy to be his life partner and then live their separate lives. That way, Ishizu won't be tittle-tattle and scold him all the time. Besides, life partnering isn't that special, it's only having a matching tattoo with someone else, so Marik's life shouldn't be too bothered by that. In fact, he could get someone from town to do it if it weren't for the fact that they've ran away first before he could say anything.
"A new exile? Hell yes!" He exclaimed in excitement as he slumped the boy, who was unexpectedly light, on his shoulder and brought him home.
"He's waking up…" A voice said gently.
"Thank you for stating the obvious, most honorable sister." A voice said sarcastically.
Yugi woke up and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus his gaze. "Are you feeling better?" A woman asked him as she put a wet cloth on his forehead. "U-Uhn," he nodded. The lady had blue eyes, tanned skin, and jet-black hair. And it also has two locks wrapped with golden beads. She had a smile on her face. "You have a sunstroke, um-"
"Yugi," he supplied. "…Yugi," she nodded. "I reckon you're a new a exile? Welcome to our village. Those who are exiled by the Pharaoh lives here." Yugi tilted his head. "Is this the outcast village near the Valley of the Kings?" He asked.
"The Valley of the Kings is just a few meters away from here, you will be able to see it later." She answered gently. "How do you know about our village?" It was her turn to ask. "My grandpa told me when I was little." Yugi answered weakly. The sun really got into him. "Your grandpa? What's his name?"
"Mutou… Solomon Mutou…"
"Hmm, I've never heard of him…"
"Look, can you stop chitchatting? I have something to say to him here." Suddenly, the sarcastic voice Yugi heard earlier joined their conversation. "Oh, right. I apologize, Marik." The lady stood up and smiled. "Welcome to our family, Yugi." She petted his hair and left the room.
Yugi directed his violet gaze to the man who leaned beside the door. He had lavender eyes, tanned skin, and white hair that pointed to every directions. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and khaki pants. He looked extremely intimidating, but weirdly intoxicating as well.
"I have a problem." He said as he approached the bed. "You see, in this village, everyone has to have a life partner and I don't have anyone who could help me with that." Yugi didn't understand. What's a life partner? And why didn't he have anyone to help him?
The man, Marik, Ishizu-san called him earlier, sat on the bed and moved his face in close proximity to Yugi's own. "That's why I brought you here. I want you to make a deal with me."
"W-what's a life partner?" Yugi asked nervously. "Candidacy to be Pharaoh's slave." Marik shot back. He didn't know if it was sarcasm or not. "It's nothing much. You see, life partner's supposed to be someone to share your pain and suffering with." The man shook his head.
"Why don't you have anyone to help you?" Yugi asked again, he was genuinely curious. "Because everyone's fucking afraid of me! Okay? You son of a bitch, why do you ask so much question?" Marik raged. Yugi flinched, but he didn't cower. Those lavender eyes… despite the veins on his face, it reflected loneliness. And he didn't want to see that.
"I'm sorry…" Yugi apologized. Marik's eyes widened and he looked surprised. "Anyways, being life partner's not that much of work. You only to need to get matching tattoo with me and then that's pretty much it. That time when Ishizu took a guy as her life partner, he didn't have family here, so she made him a part of our family and he lived with us until he went to priesthood. That's pretty much what I'm going to do with you."
"Here's the deal, as an exchange for saving you out there, you have to be my life partner. You're not allowed to refuse." Marik stood up and stared down at Yugi, crossing his arms.
"I wasn't going to refuse…" Yugi mumbled. How could he refuse such a sweet deal? To get a free life under a nice house with a very nice lady as his family with only a tattoo as a payment, and he also get to repay his savior's kindness! This deal had no downside. "I accept your offer, Marik-san." He smiled and offered his hand, as if he was just in the pub, receiving money after his service.
The lavender-eyed man looked at his hand like it was an apparition. He was shocked and confused at the offered hand. "C'mon, if you got a deal, you do handshakes, right?" Yugi said, almost mischievously. The man silently took his hand, and Yugi noticed that it was warmer than most hands he ever touched.
"Um, thanks? Thank you-" The smaller teen smiled at the confused Egyptian. "Yugi." He smiled wider.
Marik looked really hesitant, like Yugi just showed him something really shocking. But nevertheless…
"Thanks, Yugi."
"It is already that time of the year, Pharaoh."
"That time already, Shimon? The coronation's not a long time ago."
"I'm afraid so, my lord. It's time for you to visit the Valley of the Kings… and the village of the exiles."
(1) - In the Japanese anime, Marik calls Ishizu with o-aneue-sama an extremely polite form of sister. So polite that it's like he's mocking her. But I liked the way he said that, so I made it 'the most honorable sister'.
I watch both English and Japanese version. I found that I love the Japanese better, but I like their names better in English. Yeah I can do that because screw the rules I'm the author. And yes, you just read an abridged reference.