Alright! here we go for another fanfic! Once upon a time, a friend wanted more Thoth/Yui fanfic. and I said I'd write one. Months later, I actually post it online! Wouhou! Hope you will all like it!

It mostly follows the story, as in I stick to it, with a few differences, such as characters that aren't there staying. Anyway, you'll see if you read it! I really hope you guys like it :)

Chapter 1
The Girl's Dream

This is it. This was her chance. If it didn't work this time, if they didn't allow her to go look for the Shepherd's Journal in Iceland, she would quit her job and everything, sell her home and go alone on this journey. She knew this is what she was meant to do. It was her dream, the one she shared with her long lost friend.

Yui Kusanagi was a young woman in her thirties, although she looked younger. She was a linguist and had studied languages for years, decrypting the language of the Atlanteans. She was quite clever and learned languages quickly. She was considered one of the most talented linguists to this day. With a doctorate in Linguistic Theory and Dead Languages, as well as minor degrees such as Chemistry, Literature, Art history, Sociology and Anthropology, she was proven to be extremely qualified. Yui was also tutored by her old friend, Thor Megingyoruzu. With him, she learnt about Cartography, Drafting, Navigation, Astronomy, Archeology as well as Antique restoration techniques. Yet, here she was, stuck under the museum, taking care of the boilers. Such talent wasted, and she couldn't do more than that because of her gender.

As the young woman paced through the room, waiting for the time of her meeting with her boss to come, reviewing everything in her head, and where she would try one ultimate time to get financial support for an expedition to find the Shepherd's Journal, a message came through the tube, surprising her. She ran toward it, almost tripping on her dress as she reached for it. Putting on her glasses, she opened the tube and quickly read the message.

The meeting with her superiors had been advanced to 3:30 pm instead of 4:30 pm. She glanced quickly at the clock. It was currently 3:45! Slightly panicking, she started gathering her stuff, so she could run and leave immediately, and try to still meet with her boss. As she hurried toward the door, another message came in. She was struggling to stay calm. This time, the message read that since she hadn't come to the meeting on time, it had been cancelled.

"Oh no they can't do this! No, no, no!" she muttered as she gathered the things she had dropped when the message came in. It was all her stuff to explain yet once more what the expedition to Iceland to find the Shepherd's journal would consist in, and why they should finance her.

With things stuck under her arms, she ran upstairs and to her bosses' office. She couldn't let her chance go. She had to hurry, otherwise she would never be able to accomplish her and Thor's dream. It was the one thing that kept her in America. She had been home sick for years, but her best chances to find a team of people for an expedition as big as this one was in the United States of America.

As she finally reached the first floor of the museum, she saw her superiors in the hallway. Some started running frantically in different direction when they saw Yui arrive, paper and maps and language analyses stuck in her arms. They were entering offices and locking themselves in, in the hope Yui wouldn't see them. They were saved as the only one left was the Director of the museum, Mr. Fenton Harcourt, Yui's direct boss.

She finally reached him, panting heavily after the long run. She was determined to still do her presentation, despite everything those old, rich white man tried to do to stop her. "Mr. Harcourt! You must let me explain myself!" she said.

The small man looked at her, a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry Miss Kusanagi. We cannot do anything for you."

"But- I have proofs! I swear I can find it! Just- just give me a chance! Please!"

"Oh my dear Miss Kusanagi… Even if I wanted, how would people react? You are a woman, and not even an American one. This is not your place. I suggest you start looking for a man instead of running after such impossible dreams" Mr. Harcourt sighed. "The museum only funds expeditions that are based on facts, Miss Kusanagi, not just simple folklore. We cannot do anything for you, I'm afraid."

As he started walking toward the exit, Yui didn't give up. She walked behind him, insisting.

"My gender or my origins don't have anything to do with this! I am qualified! I am very qualified for this and you know it! Please, Mr. Harcourt! Give me my chance."

She followed him out of the museum and toward his waiting carriage.

"I said no. Give up, Miss Kusanagi, this is getting ridiculous. Don't throw your career away like Mr. Megingyoruzu did. No one will want to fund such an expedition. He died trying to do this. You don't want to follow him in death, do you?"

"Then I will… I will quit! I will quit my job at the museum! Help me or I'm quitting!" she said to him as he sat down in his carriage. "You can't run the museum if there is no heating!"

"Well then, it's been a pleasure meeting you. Remember that no one is irreplaceable." Mr. Harcourt sighed as he urged his chauffeur to leave, leaving Yui alone in the street as rain started pouring on her.

She ran back to the museum, went straight for the basement, gathered her things and hastily left for her small apartment. She was a bit lost, as it didn't quite go as she expected it would. She thought that Mr. Harcourt would give her a chance, but alas he did not, and now she didn't even have a job anymore. Oh how much of an idiot she felt… No amount of degrees or diplomas and what not could even chase that feeling away. She was useless in this world governed by white, rich and old man such as Mr. Harcourt and his friends.

She opened the door to her apartment, dropping her bags to the floor. "I'm home, Melissa" she said with a sigh, looking for her cat in the darkness.

Instead of finding the feline, she saw a dark figure standing in front of her window, hidden by the shadows of the apartment. It was impossible to distinguish any features on this person's face, as they were in contrast with the lightning flashes.

Instantly, she grabbed her umbrella and pointed it at the person. "How did you get in? Who are you?!" she said in what was meant to be a confident tone, yet her voice had quavered.

"I came down the chimney, ho ho ho" the person said.

Despite the feminine silhouette of the person, a rather deep voice answered her. She swallowed with difficulty as her grasp on the umbrella tightened.

"My name is Akira Totsuka" the man said as he sat down in a chair, crossing his legs and looking seductively at Yui. "I was sent by my master to invite you to his manor. He has some business for you"

"Why should I follow you? I don't know you! What tells me you're not going to- to- to rape me!"

"It's not like you have anything better to do anyway, and the likes of you don't interest me. Come on, follow me"

The man named Akira stood up and went for the door, just passing in front of Yui. Not quite knowing what to do, the young girl stood in her apartment for a few minutes before deciding on following the stranger. I'm so going to regret this, she thought to herself as she closed her apartment's door.

She climbed in the carriage, sitting down the opposite side of Akira, her heart trying to get out of her ribcage. She had no idea where she was heading to. They left the city and drove for a while in the country side, the forest looking dark and lonely in the wind and rain. Lightning illuminated the landscape once in a while, throwing strange shadows over the road.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they arrived in front of a huge gate that led to an immense manor on a hill. Yui was absolutely astonished by the place. It was enormous. It reminded her of the castles she saw in textbooks at university. The person must have been really rich. She wondered who it was, and why they had asked her to come. She wasn't really special, just very good at what she did, which was kind of normal as she loved it. Isn't it the usual thing, to be good at what you like? And yet, that had proven to not be enough to get her money to start an expedition.

The car came to a stop in front of the manor and Yui slowly got out, taking in the beauty of the place. It really was a beautiful house, and it appeared to be richly decorated, both the interior and the exterior.

Akira walked pass her as Yui looked around, walking straight for the elevator. The man started making recommendation.

"Only address Mr. Hringhorni as such, or only Mr. or Sir. Be extremely polite and don't make him lose his time. He is granting you a favor so be grateful you made it this far" He said as he climbed into the elevator, only to realize Yui was still staring at all the artifacts on the walls. "Please hurry Miss Kusanagi, you are losing time uselessly. Exactly what I told you not to do." He said as he grabbed her arm to force her to enter the elevator.

They started the ascension, which lasted a few minutes. It stopped on the library floor. The door opened and Akira had to gently push her out of it.

Yui couldn't believe her eyes. The library was just as richly decorated as the rest of the house, with an aquarium to a side, and a portrait hanged over the chimney. As she stared at it, she recognized Thor, standing next to a blond man.

"October 1896. You were still very young back then, but Thor admired you greatly already. Such a talented child you are." A voice coming from behind her spoke, making Yui jump.

Yui spun around on her heels and found herself face to face with a tall, blond man, the same one that appeared on the portrait of her old mentor. She tripped on her feet and fell, only to be caught at the last minute by the man.

"Ah are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't want to frighten you. I am Balder Hringhorni, an old friend of your legal guardian, Thor. I've heard a lot about you, I must say" the man smiled as he took Yui's hand and left a gentle kiss on the back on it.

"I-I-I- It's a pleasure, M-Mr. Hringhorni" Yui stuttered as her face quickly became hot, bowing in front of him. "I must s-say Thor never mentioned you, I'm afraid."

Balder started laughing "I bet he hasn't. He wasn't much of a talker anyway. And when he did speak, it was mostly to brag about your progress in school. He must have wanted to protect you from following in his footstep, but I guess that didn't work."

He let go of Yui and walked toward a cupboard further in the room, next to the shelves, serving himself a glass of alcohol. The man was dressed in white, clean clothes, with only a blue bow-tie. He had long, silky blond hair and dark blue eyes. He looked quite stunning actually. A very handsome, rich man.

As she found herself staring, the young woman blushed some more and looked away to a table set next to the aquarium. On it was resting a little package, with a note written on a paper:

To: Yui
From: Thor
May you succeed where I have failed

As she stared at the package, Yui tried to process what this could be. Balder walked toward her with a glass of alcohol he had prepared for her, and his own.

"He wanted you to have this, but didn't want to give it to you too soon. He wanted you to be ready. Now- aren't you going to open it?" he took a sip of his wine, staring at the young woman.

With shaky hands, Yui picked the package and ripped the paper. She found in it a book, a very, very special book. She put down the paper and stared, wide eyed at the book: The Shepherd's journal.

"This- This is!" she beamed as she looked up at Balder, who was smiling back "How? When did he get it? I can't believe it!"

"A few years ago. Although, I do question why he wanted you to have it. You're still young, and a woman nonetheless. A Japanese woman, that is. I wonder how you could find the Atlantis by yourself"

Yui lost her smile and became serious. Mixed emotions filled her. She felt happy and grateful to Thor, and she missed him. But now, this man was making her infuriated. She was tired of all this racism and sexism, saying that she, a Japanese woman, wasn't allowed to be as good, or even better than a man in a specific field. She was tired to be reduced to only the role of the poor old girl who still wasn't married. She was tired of this reputation of her preferring books to anything else. And at this point, they were right. Books weren't as mean to her as human had been. They actually helped her, unlike men, who desperately tried to stop her. But she was done. She was done being considered like just a woman. She was Yui Kusagani, Linguist and specialist of Dead languages. No one could stop her anymore.

With a frown, she growled back at the man "This is the key to Atlantis! I can very much find it! I can- I can read the language! This is the key to the greatest discovery in a long time! Look at this!"

"This is but gibberish to me" Balder shrugged.

She opened the book and put it in Balder's face. "Sir, do you have any idea how much this is worth? It's priceless! With this I can- I can find the Atlantis! I am an expert in gibberish, as you so kindly put it. I will find it, I will find the Atlantis, with or without your help, or- or anyone else's help!"

"Alright, alright" Balder laughed as he sat down at his desk, an amused smile floating on his lips. He liked that girl. "I was just testing you. I know now, you really are ready. Thor was right: you will succeed in finding the lost empire." He pressed a button and a model of a submarine came out from under a trap on the table.

Yui's eyes widened some more. What exactly was going on right now?!What had just… happened?

"Wait- you mean you're going to fund the expedition?"

"More than that! I organized it. Everything is ready. We were just missing one last detail: A Linguist specialised in gibberish, and who could read Atlantean more specifically."

"But- but we need specialists!" she added, thinking fast, her brain not processing what was going on.

"Taken care of. We picked the best!" Balder opened a folder with pictures of people from everywhere around the world.

"I have to quit my job!"

"May I remind you that that has already been taken care of by you, earlier today?"

"What about my apartment? I can't leave like that!"

"It has been taken care of, do not worry. Everything you own has been packed and brought to my manor already."

"What about my cat?!"

She heard Melissa meowing on her shoulder. Gently, she took him in her arm and started petting him as she assimilated everything that had happened. She was going on an expedition to find the Atlantis aboard a huge submarine with a big crew, and the best people in different fields. She started grinning uncontrollably as she realized what this all really meant, tears of joy filling up her eyes. She was going to find the Atlantis. She was going to pursue her and Thor's dream. Finally, after years of trying, she was going to do it.

"So are you in?" Balder asked, taking a sip from his wine.

"Yes! I mean, it would be my pleasure, Mr. Hringhorni, to be part of this expedition!"

"Then it is settled. You will stay here for the night. The ship departs tomorrow. I suggest you have a nice rest because I have a feeling you won't sleep much in the next days."

"Oh thank you so much Mr. Hringhorni!" Yui bowed, smiling from an ear to another.

"Feel free to call me Balder. Akira will show you to your room, if you will follow him"

She bowed again, and half ran to the elevator, tripping on the bottom of her dress a few times, holding Melissa close against her chest, despite him meowing in discontentment. She was lead to a room on the third floor of the manor, where she found her ownings. Too excited to go to bed, she put Melissa down on her bed and started packing a bag for the next day. Her heart was pounding strongly in her chest in contentment. This day had started on the wrong foot, but oh god did it end perfectly! Quitting her job and holding head to that horrible Mr. Harcourt was the best move she had done.

In her bag, she put a few clothes for changing, her picture of her as a child with Thor, the Shepherd's Journal, which was pretty much the most important thing on this expedition, and Melissa's food as there was no way in all heaven she was leaving her cat behind.

She sat down on her bed, smiling like an idiot for a moment. This happened all so quickly! How could it even be possible? Finally, she would embark on the journey to find the lost continent of Atlantis. This was what she had dreamed of, what Thor, her dearest guardian and mentor, and also her best friend, had dreamed of way before she was even born. She took the photograph of her and Thor out from her bag and looked at it fondly.

"I'm going to find it, I promise. I will make you proud of me, Thor" she spoke to it as her cat settled down next to her to sleep.

Yui then proceeded to change into more comfortable clothes to sleep in. She wouldn't be wearing dresses for quite a while, as the skirts would get in her way during the expedition. For this reason she had mostly packed some trousers she owned and tank tops. She was planning on taking her trench coat with her, since she didn't know what the weather would be like on both the boat and Atlantis, once they reached it. In the submarine, it wasn't much of a problem, but as they were going to be underwater, it would still get cold.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she laid down on her bed, Melissa snuggled up against her. It was a very comfortable bed, but Yui was glad she'd only sleep one night in it. She didn't want to get used to the comfort of this room, as she wouldn't have any in the next days. The submarines cabin weren't going to be the most comfortable, especially since they had a big crew. She would have to share her cabin with other people.

With a smile on her lips, Yui fell asleep, already imagining how the next days, months or even years would go, as they searched for the lost empire of Atlantis.