Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, the millennium items, or pretty much anything. HOWEVER, I do own a really cool picture I drew of Egyptian Seto. If you want it people, you can e-mail me and I'll send it to you. I swear it's a really good drawing! ^__^'
AnimeFan: Yeah! This is a totally new idea I came up with! Ready to hear it out! Well, this story is about Seto's true life in ancient egypt! Who he was, what he did, how he lived, and how he took part in a battle fought between a pharaoh and high priest over the world! Whatever you know that Isis has told you in the show before Battle City began...is about to be fully explained, by me! ^_^ Aren't you excited?
People Reading: Yay...
AnimeFan: All right, since your all so unenthusiastic, here's the stories basics...
Title: Seto's True Past
Rating: R for some violent scenes, abuse, implied rape, language, and suggestive themes.
Pairings: (This revolves around shounen ai which is boy/boy fluffy love!) Yagami/Setna and Jono/Kale (Seme/Uke)
AnimeFan: K, so now that that's done with, let me state one thing again. This story is based on SHOUNEN AI!!! BOY/BOY fluff love!! So expect GAY relationships, but no lemon. Sorry, I suck at writing lemons and I don't want to lose my account or my story's reviews. ^_^
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Chapter One: Running Blindly
How much more pain? How much more must he suffer at the cruel hands of his father, the man that had brought him into the world?
WORTHLESS! Completely worthless! You're good for nothing more then sex, boy! Pharaoh Kai spat down at his only son.
The boy winced and balled up into a protective ball, hands grasping to his brown hair to wait for the pain he knew all to well was going to come and possibly shield himself from it.
Pathetic, you're no son of mine! Curling up into a ball like a submissive slut!
The man brought the back of his hand down across the boy, knocking him a good three feet with a powerful strike. Every muscle and bone in his body aching painfully, the young prince could do nothing more then lay there on the floor and await his father's wrath as tears stained his beautiful blue eyes. He hesitantly looked up to his father, a fat man with short black hair and menacing gray eyes that pierced down at him with the utmost distaste. The prince immediately regretted his action, as the sight of his tears only helped to piss the pharaoh off even more.
Are you CRYING, Kaito! Crying!! You pathetic, worthless, weak-ass whore!
Kaito cringed as his father kicked him in the side, forcing him to role over onto his back and bite his lip to keep from crying out. His father looked him over, surveying his work on the boy. Kaito wanted to cry, or better, just die there where he lay. His body was now covered in bruises and cuts from head to toe, his mouth trickling blood, and his lower back burning with a searing pain. He felt dirty and sore all over, and just wanted the man to be done.
Hah! And this is my one and only son, heir to the throne of Higher Egypt!? If that is so, our people are truly doomed!
With that one last verbal abuse thrown at the shaking boy, the pharaoh finally left. Kaito continued to lay where he was, finally allowing himself to cry as hard as his twelve-year-old body would allow after such harsh treatment. Tonight had been, by far, the most painful and longest night of his whole miserable life. Finally, he pulled himself to his feet. Nearly collapsing from the pain that shot up his back, he struggled over to his private bath and opened the flap to allow a stream of water to come rushing down through a hollowed-out wood pipe. The water was cold, very cold since it was night and the sun had not yet risen to cover the land in Ra's warmth.
Kaito lowered himself painfully under the shower and sat on the floor, allowing the freezing water to beat down on him...washing away the dirt and grime on his body. He was momentarily lost in the chill able to completely forget his pain, the constant dirty feeling he had, the insults, and the tears. But soon his body grew used to the water's temperature and everything came flooding back. Kaito pulled his knees up against his chest, ignoring the all but family pain and cried against his knees. He just wanted it to stop, just wanted to get away. He could always kill himself, but that would just prove him a complete coward and Set held no love for those who ended their own life in such a way.
A small leaf escaped through the water shaft and fell down to the prince's feet, dancing about in the water. Kaito watched it in fascination as the small green leaf twirled around and around before escaping through the hole in the wall that sent the water out into the Nile River below the palace. He painfully crawled to the hole, wanting to watch the leaf float down below. It was rare to see such green leaves in his kingdom. Here the Egyptian people thrived off of trading silk and minerals, rather then plants and spices. So the site of the leaf was a truly extroidanary thing.
Kaito caught sight of the leaf, dancing on the wind now as it softly drifted down into the alcove that would take it to the Nile. Kaito traced the Nile with his eyes, freezing as he spotted something that gave him an idea. There, about a few yards from the outer walls of the palace, floated a slave ship. Dark figures were slightly illuminated by torch light as they loaded the ship up. It was obvious that the ship was planning to head out tomorrow. His small mind immediately began turning. He could slip through the water shaft and slide down the pipes that carried the water up to his bathhouse. From those pipes he'd land in the water below and then he could swim for the slave ship.
Kaito new what he was thinking, he knew what would happen. He'd pass himself off as one of the new slaves to be sent off to be bought. Was he really that desperate to escape his life with his father that he'd turn over royalty for eternal slavery? He could possibly end up with a crueler person then his father, and slaves were given no mercy. He'd no doubt be forced to slave the rest of his life away! Did he really want that? The prince new the answer without evening needing to second think it. Any life, even one of servitude, could not possibly be worse that his life in this palace with that man who called himself his father.
So quickly Kaito limped out of the shower and two his wardrobe, finding the most ugly and ragged clothes he could find and dressed in them. Then he messed up his hair to look like he was a stray off the street and needn't bother making him look like he had been beaten. He already looked liked that. Preparations set, Kaito snuck into the bathhouse again and limped to the water latch. When he opened it a small flood of water poured out but it was nothing like before, since it hadn't been given enough time to refill properly. The prince crawled up and into the opening, fitting through easily thanks to his malnuritoused body. Once in the pipes he tried to steady himself but slipped and went sliding feet first and on his stomach down the entire pipe, being blasted out from the opening at the end into the stream below.
A minute later Kaito's head burst out from under the water, and he coughed and gasped for air. Suddenly the pain in his body became even more obvious and he cried out, eyes scrunched tightly with stinging tears fighting to escape down his face. Oh, Set, it hurt so much! The prince began to struggle to swim towards the boat, trying his best to ignore the pain. But it grew with each stroke in the water, and then all of a sudden Kaito's world went black.
When sense returned to him, he was vaguely aware of shouting and someone caring him over the shoulder. Kaito tried to pry his eyes open, but he somehow couldn't. Panicking, Kaito desperately struggled to wake up but in the end it was no good. His mind was conscious...but his body had yet to recover. So he quit struggling with himself and instead listened, trying to decide where he was now.
"Boss, I found this one floating along in the water. He still seems to be alive sir, " A strict military voice shouted in the same dull monotone voice soldiers had.
"Really...let me see him. Lay him here."
He could here the sound of papyrus, scrolls, and goblets being moved about then he felt himself lifted off the man's shoulder and laid down on a flat surface. Then rough hands began inspecting the cuts and bruises that covered his body, the muscles in his arms, and opening his mouth to look at the throat and teeth. Kaito felt like a mule being checked before bought, but didn't bother struggling. He couldn't even wake up so how could he struggle anyway? That and he prayed to Set that the man was of the slave boat and would take him far from his father's kingdom.
"He's thin, not very muscular, and those bruises need mending. Whoever this boy is he was well taken care of and not overly worked, but severally beaten," The man who was inspecting him spoke.
"You think he may be a runaway sir?" The soldier respectfully questioned.
"No. He's probably the son of a noble going bankrupt. His parents probably threw him in the river so as to not have to pay for him any longer. He's lucky the crocodiles didn't get to him before we did."
"So what should we do with him, sir?"
"Take him to the stock holds and have a healer mend up those wounds. We'll put him to work at the palace, I think they were needing a water boy."
Kaito felt himself being lifted again, but this time he was struggling with every ounce of his strength to wake up and find a way free. No! He didn't want to go back to the palace! His father would surely recognize him and then he'd get a beating far worse then anyone has ever had!!! Set, please protect him. Please don't let them take him back to the palace!!
The man who was carrying him walked for some time before his footsteps started echoing so that Kaito knew they were below the boat. After a few more deafening black minutes, he felt himself being laid down again, this time on a bed that felt much like fish netting. Probably those hammocks he say once that slaves slept in. The soldier's footsteps left and someone else entered, softer footsteps then that of a soldier. Kaito felt two hands rest on his chest and heard the new person begin to chant a healing spell. His body became filled with warmth and all the pain in him vanished as the wounds disappeared. Then the healer left and the prince was alone in a room he could not see, facing a beating when his father found him.
After what seemed like hours a bustle of footsteps that sounded like children's footsteps entered his room. A small hand clamped down on his shoulder, and Kaito felt himself being shook by the other. He groaned and struggled to open his eyes, but failed. They just wouldn't open. Or were they already open...could he be blind?! No! Kaito began to panic and sat up, feeling his eyes frantically. His eyelids were closed, so why could he not open them?!
"Hey, hey! Calm down, kid. You've got a jinx put on you," The other kid said and shook the prince to bring him out of his frantic fit.
Then the kid placed a hand over Kaito's eyes and spoke a few words. Suddenly he opened his blue eyes wide and looked about him, breathing heavily and trying to calm down. He was below the boat and in the slave quarters. He looked, then, at the youth who had helped him. A silver haired, pale-skinned boy smiled back at him with shimmering green eyes. The boy was shorter then him and his hair longer and spiky, but he had a certain aura about him that made Kaito feel like this kid wasn't scared to take on the world.
"Hi! My name's Kaleth, but just call me Kale." The boy smiled at him, looking more confident then the prince.
Kaito blushed as he realized he was acting like a fool and smiled at the youth, "T-thank you. I'm Kai--er--Setna. My name's Setna."
The boy smirked and nodded, letting himself sit down on the prince's hammock. Setna sighed, glad he had realized his mistake before it was to soon. If he had told the boy that his name was Kaito, then the child would have recognized him as Pharaoh Kai's son. The name Setna would just have to do from now on. Kale swung his legs about, humming to a tune Setna didn't know.
"So! You're the pharaoh's son," Kale smirked, then gave the terrified prince a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Why you on a slave ship dressed as a slave, though?"
Setna sighed, willing himself to trust the boy, "Running away...anything out there has to be better then the life I've lived."
Kale frowned at him, puzzled, "Don't know why you'd think that! Life in a palace! Come on, it beats the life of slavery any day."
"Not my life in the palace," Setna sighed, then told Kale all about his life and his father. When he was done the white haired youth looked disgusted and shocked.
"And here I thought my life sucked!! You poor guy. I swear on Set I won't speak of your real identity my prince," Kale swore and traced an x on his chest in the manner of an oath.
Setna smiled sadly at his new found friend, "Unfortunately it won't matter. As soon as we're in the palace my father will recognize me."
Kale blinked at him, then burst out into a fit of laughter, "We're not being taken to the Upper Kingdom, my prince! We're going to Lower Egypt! To the kingdom of Ra's children!"
Setna blinked at him, then smiled for the first true time. He wasn't going to his dad's palace! He was going to the palace of the other pharaoh of Egypt! Lower Egypt was at least a month of walking away from his dad's place. Sure the distance between the two kingdoms could be traveled in a day by ship, but only slave traders and merchants bothered to move back and forth! Which meant he'd be far away and safe from his father finding him. Oh Set, thank you so much for blessing your loyal servant with such luck! Kale smiled at him, eyes still shining with laughter.
"You should smile more often, my prince. You're stunningly beautiful when you do!"
Setna blushed and smiled for his friend again, "So should you, Kale."
Both boys smiled and laughed, a little to happy compared to most slaves on a slave ship. But neither had any idea what life as a slave was like. More children arrived, some older and some younger then Setna. They weren't happy however, they were terrified. When Setna and Kale questioned them about this, the answered that they were terrified of the Lower Kingdom's Pharaoh.
"Don't you know! He's cold-hearted, merciless, and cruel!"
"Yeah, I overheard the soldiers talking about how the pharaoh rapes men and women, then kills them and baths in the blood. That's why his black hair is tinged crimson on the edges and his eyes are so blood red."
"I heard that too, and that he then eats the corpses of the people he's killed!!"
"I heard that anyone who is taken to his chambers never come out again!"
"He can turn you into stone by just looking at you with those eyes of death!!And he can stab you straight in the heart with his deathly sharp hair!!!!"
"He's a master of the Shadow Games, and he's never been beaten! If he has, then nobody ever heard about it because everyone whose ever dueled him has been killed there after."
Needless to say, near the end of the trip Kale and Setna were no longer feeling happy. They were far from it, they were now terrified. Setna was truly the most afraid, wondering if he should have staid with his father. At least his dad didn't bath in people's blood or have hair that can slice you in two. Setna was hiding under a moth eaten blanket when he felt the boat hit the sand banks and stop. Soon a group of soldiers came down and gathered the slaves, including Setna who came willingly but fearfully. They were all led out of the boat and onto the sand bank where a few men in robes stood in wait. After being instructed to stand side by side the robed men went about and looked the slaves up and down, sending each slave to stand at a certain spot on the bank depending on the life they were to be living from this day forth.
Setna watched as one of the robed men inspected Kale, before instructing the white haired youth to join the group of children who would be working in the palace kitchens. Kale mouthed him a goodbye and Setna sadly watched his friend being taken away. Finally his turn came and the cloaked man looked him up and down, inspecting his muscles and teeth again.
"This one isn't built like most slaves," The inspector commented.
"We believe him to be born of a noble family going bankrupt or something. The boss thought he'd make a good water boy for the palace," A guard spoke to the inspector, his voice the same as the one of the soldier that had carried him in the boat.
"Yes, we do need a new water boy. Quite, he'll do fine. Within a few weeks his body should tone up a bit. All right, boy. Stand over their with the children who'll be working with the builders."
Setna obeyed and rushed over to where he had been assigned, visibly shaking all over. He glanced over and caught eyes with Kale. Kale smiled reassuringly and Setna relaxed a little, smiling back. He was going to miss Kale. The boy knew how to calm him down and make him smile. He would remember him, so when the day that his father dies and he can claim the throne and return to the Higher Kingdom comes he could repay Kale for his friendship. Till then he had to survive a life as a water boy, whatever that title meant.
He watched as the inspectors paid the slave trader and his guards for the batch of slaves, then each inspector walked over to a group of slaves and the guards that were watching each group starting herding them forward, towards the palace. Soon the groups went in different directions, Kale's grouping being led towards the cooking quarters while Setna's group was led away from the palace to a place that was jammed packed with slaves working on building a temple. They were stopped, then the guards led the group down into the mud pits where slaves were stomping around to mix the mud, straw, and dirt that would be heated into clay blocks for building. A guard held Setna back, however, and instead led the prince to a well a bit away from the mud pits.
The guard then turned Setna around to look at him, "This is where you'll start your work, water boy. You have three duties to carry out. You'll be in charge of delivering buckets of water to the men over near the mud pits so it may be spilled into the mud to keep it from drying in the sun. You'll also be in charge of bringing the soldiers water every two hours and the slaves water in the morning, afternoon, and evening. When not delivering water you may rest and have a drink yourself, but I'd better not catch you loafing about slave! You here me?"
Setna nodded obediently. The guard seemed satisfied with this, then cracked his whip at the prince, "Now get to work! Use that tool over there to carry the water buckets!"
Setna scurried over to the well and placed a bucket on the latch, lowering it down into the well and then bringing it back up filled with water. He did this for the other bucket then rushed over to a wooden shaped tool that was curved for his neck with a hook at each end for the buckets of water to hang down from. He placed the heavy object on his shoulders and trudged back over, lowering himself down to hook the two buckets to each end and then stood up. However his legs collapsed at the tramendous weight and he fell, spilling the buckets of water. The guard wasn't to happy with this and lashed his whip across Setna's back, leaving a long gash that began to bleed and sting. Setna bit back a pained cry and forced himself back to his feat. He proceeded with filling the buckets and latching them to the wooden object again, this time swaying but managing to remain standing. He then trudged towards the men near the mud pits, sweating and red-faced from the strain of the weight on his shoulders. He did this for the rest of the day, collapsing every now and then only to get yelled and and whipped with the lash.
Could he really keep doing this for the rest of his life? Would he be able to survive long enough till his father's death and his claim to the throne could be made? Setna ignored the tears that slid down his face and forced himself once again to his feet, balancing the buckets of water latched to the wooden object. He would rather die then run back to the palace and to his father...
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AnimeFan: Ooooo, this is great! ^o^ I loved how this chapter came out so well. Now for chapter two, where we continue to watch Setna as he keeps struggling to surviving his life. This is not a Kale/Setna story, remember, they just friends. I always imagined Seto and Bakura would make good friends, so often they are in my stories. ^____^ Yeah, I got the idea from this story when Seto told Isis quite firmly before Battle City started that the priest she showed him that was dueling the pharaoh wasn't him. I also adopted the thought of Seto being a pharaoh in his past life and the idea of living as a slave from some other stories. Thus I've brought you the first chapter of the true story of Seto's past life in Egypt.
Bye the Way: I don't know what that wooden object they used to carry two buckets of water with is called. So I'm referring to it as the wooden object or tool. Pharaoh Kai is Gozubora, if you're wondering. And also; Setna is 12, Kale is 14, Jono is 17, and Yagami is 18. That's just for later reference. ^.^'