Turnabout

1/?

By: Seraphic Wings

Pairings: Y/Y, J/S, R/B, M/M

Standard disclaimers apply.

Warnings: Character ooc-ness, cross-dressing, vague mentioning of sexual situations, slight vulgarity, plot holes (well, it's a fanfic and I'm the author; anything can happen. Besides, I'm sleep deprived and the only thing keeping me awake is sheer willpower along with the occasional sips of caffeine), and an author who can't stick with one tense (past or present) to save her life. (Yaoi has to wait until the next chapter (if I decide to continue) because I'm in my introduction stage right now.)

Summary: [Yaoi- Y/Y] They say that honesty is the best policy, and Yugi wholeheartedly agrees. However, his grandpa manages to pressure him into retrieving a family heirloom- one that was stolen. This leads him to the pharaoh's palace. In order to get in, he must pose as one of the pharaoh's consorts. But how long can he hold the masquerade up, when he must do the unthinkable, and dress as a woman? The pharaoh isn't helping either, since he can't seem to keep his hands to himself.

A.N.: Well, I'm starting a fic, yet again, which I hope I will actually finish. This fic is unedited, so I apologize for any grammatical errors. (My English teacher would skin me alive, as trite as it may sound, if she saw how many mistakes there are in a single sentence. *shudders*)

~*~*~*

There are times when things get so frustrating that you just want to bang your head against a wall and possibly forget the source that caused the irritation in the first place. And there were times when banging you head against the wall a good few hundred times would not put you out of your misery. Such was the case with Yugi Motou.

"Just bow and smile. Just bow and smile. Just bow and smile," he repeated to himself in a litany, stuffing a few choice articles of clothing brusquely into a small bag. "Just bow an-"

"You'll be fine, Yugi! Stop worrying so much!"

Yugi sighed, paused in his packing, and ran a hand through his tri-colored hair, which stuck up in all directions. "I just can't help it Anzu." He turned and eyed his best friend warily. "I mean, if you were in my place, wouldn't you be worrying? This isn't just some hoax, this- I'm trying to fool the pharaoh! How am I not supposed to be worried? If he catches me, not only will I be persecuted, but everyone I know who had a hand in this will be, too! I can't just let you throw away your life, or grandpa's just because of some masquerade."

Anzu Mazaki shook her head slightly, wisps of shoulder-length, brown tresses flapping against her fair face. "All you have to do is go in, get the heirloom that your grandfather was talking about, and get out. It's as simple as that." She smiled reassuringly at him. "Besides, I have faith in you, and you should, too."

Yugi pressed his lips together before he spoke, "But it's not that simple. I have to dress up as a woman, and not just any woman, but the pharaoh's new consort. I'll be clothed scantily, revealing certain parts that I lack that all women have. I also won't be able to…you know…take a shower with other women… If that's not enough of an incentive for someone to suspect me, I don't know what is. Besides, we all know that the pharaoh has a libido large enough to supply for an entire army. …Surely he will try to…" He blushed.

"You really do worry too much, you know that?" She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes peacefully.

He looked at her incredulously. "How can I not? And when I decide to leave, the pharaoh will not just take any excuse I make lying down. I know that you've heard of how possessive he is of things he considers his."

"I really don't know what has gotten into you, Yugi. You've never lost hope in anything or anyone, for that matter, no matter how bad the situation was. Since when have you become the resident pessimist?" Her eyes flitted open, assessing him with a gentle look. "You make it sound as if you're going out to kill somebody and not retrieve a stolen item that rightfully belongs to your family."

Yugi frowned, his amethyst eyes clouded with worry. "I may as well be trying to fly in a box than to raise my hopes in believing that I can actually pull this off."

Anzu's smile turned grim as she pushed herself from the wall to stand before him. She did look intimidating, since she was younger, but taller than himself, Yugi noted absentmindedly. "Yugi Motou, I am sick and tired of your attitude. You have been moping and sulking around your room for days. How do you expect to accomplish this mission if you don't even try? I don't even know why your grandfather chose you to go. I'd have been a better choice compared to your present self. I can't believe that I've spent my time talking to you when it's obvious that I won't make a difference. I don't even know why I'm trying," the brunette spat. She was genuinely angry and in the heat of the moment, turned to leave but was stopped by her friend's voice.

"I-Anzu, I-I'm sorry. It's just that I'm," his voice cracked, "scared." She pivoted around at his admission, slightly shocked at seeing Yugi's eyes glisten with unshed tears. "I've never been put in this type of situation before, and I'm trying, I really am- but it's so hard."

Anzu immediately went to comfort her friend, taking him into her arms and rubbing his back in a consoling fashion. "Shh…I know that it's hard, but you have to try and be brave, Yugi. Not only for your grandfather but for yourself also. Now," she backed up to look him in the eye, "promise me that you'll give it your all."

Yugi sniffed and nodded. "All right… Thank you Anzu."

"Ah, don't worry about it Yugi. That's what friends are for, right?" She smiled brightly.

He peered up at her, his eyes searching hers. Upon finding that her eyes held no love besides friendship for him, he grimaced, but then returned her grin. "…Yes."

"When you get back, you'll have to tell me what it's like being in the presence of the pharaoh. Oh, and there's going to be a man picking you up. I believe his name was Jounouchi or something along those lines." She paused under his expectant gaze before continuing, "Well, I'll take my leave now so you can finish packing, okay?" He nodded and moved out of her warm embrace. As she shuffled out of the room she gave him one last look. "No regrets," she asked, although it wasn't as if he could do anything if he did have any.

"No regrets," Yugi replied quickly.

Except for one.

~*~*~*

"Is she here yet?"

Ryou Bakura, a seemingly frail boy, looked up from his post in surprise but then immediately averted his gaze upon realizing that the taller pharaoh was addressing him. "N-No, not yet, Yami-sama," he said as calmly as he could, trying not to shrink under the pharaoh's scrutiny.

Said pharaoh snarled grumpily. Blood red eyes glittered darkly, a complete contrast to fairly tanned skin. "What the hell," he spoke through gritted teeth, "is taking so long?"

The light-haired boy tugged at his shoulder-length silver locks, trying desperately not to run away screaming bloody murder. No, that wouldn't do- not at all. The pharaoh was a usually fair man, but when he was in a foul mood, Ra bless the soul with whom he decides to take his anger out on. "I-I…Jounouchi has already gone to fetch her." He paused when the pharaoh emphatically muttered a caustic, "obviously." Ryou continued, though, after he peered up at his master through his long bangs. "S-she should be here in a few minutes." The scrawny boy wrung his albino-like hands meekly when the pharaoh glared darkly at him before he pivoted around, rich colored robes fluttering, and left with fast-paced strides.

Ryou let out a breath that he hadn't even know he held. The pharaoh frightened him. Being the youngest man to claim the throne at the age of 16, he was still adjusting to this new title ever since he defeated Seto Kaiba, his elder brother and leading champion of shadow monsters, in a duel and became the emperor one summer back. Many were awed that the tri-colored haired teenager had beaten his pragmatic brother. The ruby-eyed man was a force to be reckoned with when he was irate; he brooked no defiance. The teen really wasn't temperamental, but when he was annoyed, he usually acted involuntarily upon his first impulse. For this reason, both arrogant and proud men have found themselves awake the next day, separated from the real world with a barrier which consisted of many meters of dirt. Ryou shuddered. Hopefully, Jou would get here soon with Mai before both he and Jou joined those men.

~*~*~*

"No."

"B-But-"

"I said no, Anzu." Amethyst eyes stared crossly at the brunette who stood before him. "As much as the idea of dressing as a woman appeals to me," the boy began sarcastically, "I refuse to let go of my last shred of dignity and wear…that."

"Oh, Yugi! It's only a-"

Yugi sighed before he crossed his arms. "Anzu," he interrupted, "I'm sure that you've noticed that that thing is going to make me look…buxom."

Anzu waved her hands around ardently, her eyes looked at him furtively. "But that's the point! It'll make you look…appealing."

"Appealing to whom, exactly?" Yugi looked at her cautiously. Another chance glance at the article of clothing- that his friend flung around as if everyone pranced around in it in the pharaoh's palace- caused him to blush. "I-I just think that it's too…scandalous…for my tastes."

"Aw, come on! If you're going to try and sneak in and replace the pharaoh's consort's place, you might as well do it in style! Really, who's going to believe that you're the foreign consort that the pharaoh bought if you don't even look the part? True, you have a feminine profile, but I doubt you can fool anyone looking as…flat…as you do. You should make it well worth the time that you put into bribing that voluptuous girl- I think her name was Mai- into agreeing to trade places with you. Besides," she added as an after thought, her words spoken in a clandestine way, "what you're wearing will certainly conceal any 'defects,' so to speak. Now, what do you say we start working on getting your multi-colored locks to stay down?" Her alacrity was contagious and he found himself slightly agreeing with her.

"All right then…if you say so." He waved his arm threateningly, but only managed to provoke her into grinning at how cute he looked doing so, "But if that heinous pharaoh tries something on me because of this-"

The blonde boy's statement was cut off, however, when his best friend burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh, Yugi," she clutched at her sides, "It's great that you have such high confidence in yourself and all, but don't you think it's a bit much that you think he's going to ravage you on the spot?"

Yugi was nettled by the comment, and much to his chagrin, his face colored further. "Mou…"

~*~*~*

Somewhere left of the said location, piercing chocolate eyes squinted at the insupportably bright sun. It was horrendously hot, even for winter in Egypt. The solitary figure, a man, stood and rubbed his burning arms furiously in an attempt to soothe them of the ache that they were in. Sandy blonde tendrils of hair that usually framed a chiseled, angular face swayed slightly as a result of the action. The man, dressed in a clinging white robe, was small in stature compared to others of his age; he stood only a head and a half higher than the abnormally short pharaoh. He wasn't particularly brawny, as the rest of the pharaoh's army was, and wasn't exceptionally smart, like his sweet sister, Serenity. But he had something that made up for what he lacked in built and intellect-

Glaring at the endless mounds of gently sweeping sand, he cursed.

-and that was an uncanny ability to lose his way.

"Aw, hell, I'm lost again."

~*~*~*

Yugi glanced at his reflection dubiously from above the shallow water. When Anzu had told him that she was going to "fix him up," he certainly hadn't expected this.

Gone was the surprisingly light skinned, humble, spiky haired boy, in his place, a comely, strangely haughty, unorthodox looking woman. Painted cherry red lips and distinctive charcoal marked eyelids helped to accentuate his picturesque appearance. His hands brushed lightly across his hair which was held up by a single neatly tied crimson ribbon, as other methods of taming his unruly, unmanageable hair were fruitless and ended in complete disaster. Although the make-up turned out wonderful, his dress was a whole different matter. It wasn't that the kimono he wore was hideously dyed a royal blue, a few cherry blossoms dotting the creases of the sleeves, but, rather, it was the upper part of the ensemble. Yes, he agreed to himself, the light blue sash that was tied about him in an confining manner was the only thing that held his 'bosom' up- and himself, too, for that matter. He was sure that he would've fallen down- chest first- from the unusual weights that were bound to his front, had he not felt that he would've had a heat stroke first.

There were many layers to this monstrous thing the Japanese called a kimono. The bottom layer was made of a white cloth that, for the life of him, he didn't know what it was called. The second layer was a thin material that was soft and comfortable, much like his own usual clothing. The last layer was the worst of all; it was heavily embroidered and was thick and felt coarse beneath his fingers.

And to top it all off, there were his shoes. Yes, his shoes. The wooden stick that he wore that was stuck to two smaller blocks of wood was passed as footwear. How did one walk on them, anyway? He didn't know, and he certainly didn't want to make a fool of himself by tripping- as if he didn't spend enough time on the floor already. At least I can pass it off as fatigue, Yugi thought to himself morosely.

His worries didn't end there, though. Sadly, he had chosen to impersonate a woman, a Japanese woman to be exact…

…And he didn't speak a single word of Japanese.

Oh well, he would have to make do with what he did know.

"Konnichiwa," Yugi murmured tentatively, the foreign word rolling off his tongue in a slightly odd accent. He turned and began to walk away from the small puddle that lay in the middle of the town towards the hotel he resided in for the current time; the unaccustomed word was chanted in a litany beneath his breath.

~*~*~*

The guard haggardly trudged forward towards the cement building. "This has got to be where the pharaoh's consort is resting at."

He stumbled on the sand and cursed once more when he landed on his bare arms.

"Need help?"

He looked up to see a hand held out expectantly before him. As his eyes roamed up the outstretched arm, he realized that it happened to belong to a very beautiful woman- one with violet eyes.

"Thanks," he replied, took her hand, and righted himself. "The name's Jounouchi Katsuya."

"Yugi Motou."

He raised an eyebrow. "But Yugi is a boy's name…"

The beauty before him blinked her eyes before realization sunk in and she answered with a slightly coquettish smile. "Ah, that is my brother's name. Sometimes I miss him so much that everything I say somehow comes back to him." She colored and giggled in such a way that, had he not been so enamored by her beauty, would have seemed suspicious. "You said that your name was Katsuya?" At his nodd, she continued in a high-pitched squeaky voice, her eyelids drooping in a diffident fashion, "Well, I guess I'll be traveling with you. As you can probably tell by now, my name is Mai… Mai Motou- the pharaoh's new consort."

~*~*~*

A.N.: Saa… So how was it? Terrible? Worse than awful? Please tell me what you think. Criticism is the best reward that I can receive. (It really helps to know what I should improve, which, I'm sure, is a lot.) I've only seen two episodes of the dubbed YGO before I nearly choked on myself at how appallingly bad it was, so I'm truly sorry if all of the characters thus far are ooc. (The original Jap. Version is undeniably better. I felt like crying after I witnessed how they butchered the anime in English.)