Chapter one - Salar's point of view
It was just one of those days, you know? I didn't see why this one would be any different then any of the others. It was raining, I hate the rain. I used to like it, as I had spent my past life in Egypt, but when two months a year were mostly rain, I came to hate it. The fact that the band practiced almost every day of those two months didn't help. Don't get me wrong, I like the band, they're good, but I also like quiet, and when it's raining, you can't exactly make just go outside for a few hours, so I was stuck inside, while my brother, my light, and two of their friends played with their instruments. It was only two weeks into the wet season and already I had a never ending head ache forming. Mother fuck. "Well aren't we looking homicidal this afternoon"
I looked up to see Khanna leaning in the doorway smirking. Let me explain this now, Khanna, Dark, and myself are all things close to Yamis, but none of us have millennium items, and as such we all share one light, and all have our own bodies. Dark and I don't get along, what can I say? I still hold a grudge for her serving me my first and only defeat back in Egypt (Only because she killed me while she was at it, stupid bimbo). Khanna manages to get along just fine with both of us (And when need be get us to play nice together) "G'day" I said as pleasantly as I could manage.
"Not particularly" he said sitting down beside me. "You know, there's this wonderful thing called an umbrella" he said after a moment. I gave him a dark look, he smiled cheerfully. "Come on now luv" he said stretching "It really isn't that bad"
"Easy for you to say" I said moodily "You get cranky if you go too long without music, the more of it the better, I can only take so much before I loose what little sanity and patience I have left…"
"Why don't you pull a Nam and crash at some one else house for a few days then?" asked Khanna "Rina is always eager for visitors" I gave him another flat look. "What?" he asked, mildly defensively.
"Khan" I said as kindly as I could "I don't like most people. All the people I do like who I wouldn't mind spending a few days with very little alone time with live here, I would move out but some one needs to keep an eye on my idiot brother, and I don't have the money to, and even if I did, not like there's a convenient nearby apartment building" Khanna laughed.
"Why do you need to keep an eye on Talin? He's a grown up, or at least, legally he is… And it's only a fifteen minute drive to town, I'm sure you could find an apartment in that general area if you really wanted to. But truth be told I don't think you do. Despite the fact that you don't like people you do like some of us, and you said so your self, the ones you like all live here, you'd get lonely" I let out a bark of a laugh even though there was some truth in those words. "Why don't you try getting a job, some where quiet, that you won't have to deal with a lot of people?"
"I refuse to become a librarian out of moral protest" I said in the most serious tone I could manage. He laughed and I allowed myself a slight smile. "Sounds good but where could I work that's quiet and doesn't make me interact with other people? I don't exactly have a wide skill set…"
Khanna paused a moment "Well, most jobs make you deal with people…. Hm, I dunno, talk to Justin, maybe he'll be able to help you out, or at least give you a good reference"
It took me about a day to shove my ego far enough into a corner to talk to Justin. Justin Rhyn owns the house that we all live in, and is the CEO of a chain of very popular clubs. He's a well grounded, practical, and extremely kind business man. But don't count on his big heart coming through to save the day, as if need be he can be very ruthless. Justin is the kind of guy who seems harmless, blond haired, blue eyed, friendly, with an easy going smile and laugh, but if you know the sharp mind that lay behind those eyes he could be very intimidating. He looked at me, peering over his square framed glasses "You want to get a job?" he repeated it as a question.
"Ideally one that's quiet and I don't have to deal with a lot of people" I added on.
"When dealing with you m'dear that's implied" said Justin with a slight grin. "Well, anything I could get you would involve working one of the clubs and those things tend to be noisy and full of people" I felt my heart sink an inch. "But would you mind secretary work?"
"I thought you had a secretary" I said, he laughed. "What?" I asked, rather irritably.
"I didn't mean for you to be my secretary, you're not nice enough or trendy enough to work with clubs. No harm meant by that statement, just being honest" he tilted his swivel chair back "You remember Mr. Kaiba, correct?"
"Mhm, next to him I felt like a warm bundle of love" I said dryly, Justin laughed.
"He is rather cold I admit but he isn't an all around bad guy once you get to know him… But he's been looking for a secretary that can keep her mouth shut, smile and be pretty when she needs to be and tell people to screw off in the nicest way possible, or in a way that they don't realize that they're being treated badly. You will have to deal with some creepy old men leering at you, but I know for a fact that you'd rather creepy old men then gossipy woman or flirty young men" I couldn't help but smile at the accuracy of the statement. "I know for a fact that you have immaculate hand writing, very good phone skills and all those things"
"Except I'm not a people person Justin" I said trying not to sound desperate "There's no way in hell I'd make a half decent secretary" Justin smiled and shook his head.
"To most people true but I think you'd be the perfect secretary for Seto Kaiba." I looked at him doubtfully "How about this, I'll call him, see if he's willing to interview you, and if he does, then if he's willing to hire you for a three month testing period, after that you can keep the job if he wants to keep you on, and if he doesn't then you'll have some good money until you develop slightly better people skills and can find something else" Justin smiled "Sound good to you?"
"Sure, why not?" the fact that he was the reincarnation of the man who had, as Talin so eloquently put it 'turned me to the dark side' and had been my first (and, sadly enough) only lover. But hey, he was a different man now (literally), and he likes pale blue eyed blonds with an IQ of two. So I'm safe. Right? Gods I hope so.
Kaiba's point of view
I should be at home, sleeping. It was, I glanced at the clock on my desk and tried not to groan, 2:00 am. Greaaat. If I step out of the door I'd have to deal with the press, my last secretary had "accidentally" told a reporter that I was seeing some one, so now all sorts of celebrities tabloids were lined up begging me for her name, address, pictures… Maybe I could sneak out of the window…. Or jump out of it, either way. I sighed and shook my head, saving what I had been working on and putting my papers away. I need to install a secret get away passage… Or perhaps one of those classic tunnels that comic book heroes have that shoots them out of their secret base to where ever they need to go. Note to self, design one of those.
I pulled on my coat, took a deep breath and headed out. At 2:00 am you'd think people would being to stop caring about who's dating who, they don't. God I hate humanity. I managed to make it to my car with out having to beat any reporters up, which I always have mixed feelings about. I stepped into the dark house, hearing the fuzz of the TV in the other room. I couldn't help but smile a bit as I saw Mokuba curled up on the couch, cuddling a pillow. "You tried to wait up for me again, huh?" I asked picking him up off the couch. "You're getting too big for this" I grunted as I headed up the steps. He was twelve now. Don't twelve year olds manage to stay up until 2:00 am? I put Mokuba to bed and then went to my own room to see the little light on my answering machine blinked. Which was odd, virtually no one had my home number, or at least, no one who would leave a message.
I pressed the button "You have one new message. To hear this message press one" hit "Hey Seto" I nearly laughed. Justin Rhyn, of course. "Been meaning to harass you for a while now but haven't had a buyable excuse to"
"Do you ever?" I asked myself with a slight smirk. I like Rhyn, he's intelligent and a tolerable man. Despite his abundance of friendliness….
"Right, to the point now, I heard about your last secretary's little mistake, so I'm presuming you're looking for a new one. I'd like the job" I choked back a coughed "Ha ha, I kid I kid. I do however have a candidate that matches your image for the job…." The message wasn't that long, although he finished with "Get back to me when I can, and yes 2:00 am is okay. I have a pregnant wife and a three year old daughter who's going through a monster under the bed phase, I'm not sleeping either way"
I eyed the clock beside his table. 2:15 am. Should I call…? Three minutes were spent contemplating it before I picked up the damned phone. Justin got it on the second ring "Rhyn" he answered in a disgruntled voice.
"Hello Justin" I said "Did I call at a bad time?" trying my best to sound innocent as possible.
"No actually, Sandy just ran in here so you're timing was actually pretty good, giving me an excuse to escape for a minute, I think I get to sleep in her room tonight anyway"
"You are now" came his wife's voice. He laughed.
"Of course love, sleep well girls" he headed out and let out a sigh after I heard the door click shut "I'm starting to grow afraid of the monsters under the bed myself" he said wearily. I couldn't help but smiled a bit "Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter, but, geh! Right, so are you interested in interviewing her for the job?"
"Well, although I don't always understand your logic, it normally works out pretty well so I'm willing to interview her, although I must ask…"
"What in the seven hells I was talking about when I said I thought she suited your image?" he cut in "I mean this in the nicest way, but, she's a bitch. She's tough, and you need a secretary who's willing to tell the press to go shove a roll of duct tape up their ass, in those exact words" I choked back a laugh "Okay, not those exact words but you get my point"
"Alright, I'll have my secretary clear some time on Thursday and I'll call you back then"
"You're having your secretary schedule time for an interview to replace her?" asked Justin sounding far too amused. It took me a moment to get the irony of it.
Justin's point of view
As odd as this sounds, I never really slept alone. As a kid since I was about two I shared a room with Nam (most people seem scandalized when they hear I shared a room with a female who I wasn't related to by blood, but blood is the only thing keeping Nam and I from being true sister and brother) and besides, it's not like we shared a bed. We had bunk beds. So as I lay on the pretty pink little girls bed, staring up at the unicorn canopy I said a silent prayer of thanks that Nam always had been, and always will be, a total Tom boy. It felt weird, not having some one in the room with me, when I went to university I lived in a two person dorm room, or rather, two person box. I graduated, worked for T (the previous owner of the chains I currently own) and traveled a lot (meaning I didn't sleep much either way) some where in there I got engaged (so we shared a bed for a while) she got killed (long story) then Nam seldom let me out of her sight, I saned up some, ended up taking on a house full of eccentric youths (Much as T before me had done) inherited the chain, got engaged again, married, and since then slept on my own very little. Actually, I slept very little period.
I blame T entirely for this. Although I thank him for the lack of a pink canopied bed. And Nam, while I'm at it. I rolled over with a sigh, my feet went a good foot off the bed. I heard a soft knock at the door before Nam poked her head in. "G'day mate" she said mocking my sometimes apparent Australian accent. "Booted out of your own bed again?"
"Stupid monsters" I muttered darkly. She laughed and walked in, sitting at the foot of the bed, she gave my leg a pat. "So what brings you into the lair of pinkness?" I asked sitting up.
"I figured you were about to get sent in here, my spider senses tingled, so I figured I'd come and harass you" most woman may get mad at Nam. Most people would, actually. But most people don't get the relationship we have. They see a man and a woman, and it makes no difference that we grew up together, if anything that further ensures the fact that we're meant to fornicate. But we were raised by the same man, practically as sister and brother, when I say blood is the only thing that keep us from being siblings, I really do mean it.
"Does this mean sleep over time?" I asked in mock excitement. She laughed and nodded "Score! We haven't done one of these since… Graduation? No, that can't be it…"
"Two years ago I believe" said Nam plopping down in the window seat, which was big enough for her to at least attempt sleeping in "And only because Emi was out of town and the tent was pre-pitched by Danny" I laughed as I remembered it.
"We drank piss warm root beer and roasted marshmallows over candles" I said with a grin. It was a fond memory, and something we had done since we were kids at least once a summer if we could. "We need to start doing that again" I said laying back down but facing the window.
"We do" she agreed with a nod "Although you're hitched and with a kid, soon to be two, gods help you, so it does become harder" she said in my own defence. "Plus my whole lack of a penis does make it a bit weird for poor Emi. She really has been great about, everything. You working so much, taking in so many strays" by strays she meant teenagers "Everything, I hope you've been spoiling her as much as you're capable of"
"Well, I don't want her to get too spoiled but I have been doing a pretty good job of it if I do say so myself" I said with a grin. Nam threw a unicorn at me with a laugh.
"Have I called you a moron lately?" she asked after I threw the unicorn back at her. This is why I kept Nam around, she kept me grounded.
"Just yesterday" I replied casually "So I presume there's another reason for this sleepover then just pity on lil ol me, what is it?" I asked, shifting the pillows to a more comfortable position.
"Glad you asked" she said "I do hate having to bring it up myself" a slight British accent this time "You remember that Kaiba kid you've been working with, right?" she tucked her knees under her chin, a movement few people knew she ever made.
"No, I've suddenly developed amnesias and can only remember five people at a time" I said dryly, not bothering to call her on the kid "What about him?" I asked after dodging a flying pillow.
"You know how when we were kids I always had those dreams, right?" I rolled my eyes. It's hard to forget when you're five and your room mate wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. Almost every night. "Stupid question, sorry" she said holding her hands up in surrender. "Well, I had one about Kaiba" I waited for her to go on, because I knew she would. She flipped her long blue braid over her shoulder "Right, he was humping Sal" I choked back a laugh.
It was her turn to wait for me to explain because she knew I would. It's funny, Nam is an extremely impatient woman, but I can (apparently) "bring out a side in her that actually has a fuse". I stretched "You know Salra and Talin and all the others have already lived once, right?" her turn to roll her eyes "Stupid question I know I know. Well, Kaiba's a reincarnation of the Pharaoh's high priest who fell out of power and turned dark side. He's the one who brought Salra and Julian over to a life of evil, and he and Salra were…" lovers didn't seem the right word, but neither did hump buddies.
"In a messed up relationship of some sort that involved sex" finished Nam for me. Ah the advantages of mind reading.
"Right, so you probably just got a flash of them at it" she looked sceptical and I suddenly had a bad feeling about setting up an interview with them "They weren't doing it on the floor of his office, were they?" I asked, Nam broke out laughing. "That's a no"
"Kaiba doesn't strike me as that passionate" she said shaking her head "Or Salra that slutty" she said as an afterthought. "No, there was a bed involved but it didn't seem…. Old. I dunno" she stretched "After the humping it moved forward to Dark laying in the sand, bleeding, a lot, and looking rather surprised, and there was Salra, with her own blade out, bleeding a lot, looking just as surprised, but standing" I frowned and could feel the thinking lines in-between my eyebrows forming. "I don't know much about what happened before but I know it was Dark that killed Salra right after Talin died to save Dark. So even if I was seeing right before she was about to finish Dark, she wouldn't of looked surprised, nor would Dark. That's the odd part, that and…" she gave her head a shake "He was there"
I knew who he was, and just uttering his name caused Nam's eyes to darken and her heart to sink a few feet, and it took about a week for her to recover, so if I could let her avoid saying his name, I would. "Huh. Do you think maybe that was more of a premonition, a warning, but not for scratch, ya know what I mean?" Nam nodded, only she would know what those oh so precise terms would mean sarcasm. "Symbolism in there…?"
"I dunno, maybe. I try to ignore these as much as possible but I felt I should mention this one to you" she shrugged "So there ya go" she then stretched out "So what else is new?"
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Yay! End of chapter one, I hope you all liked it and I apologise for using my own characters so much…. You'll see more of the actual YGO cast in the next chapter, promise! Also, some of the stuff may not make sense to you, as these are my own characters that I've had developed for ages, so I'll try to get rid of some of the big stuff. Salra is Talin's older sister, and back in AE (before she became evil) she and Dark were actually friends, and Dark and Talin were married. Salra became evil, started terrorizing the countryside with the help of Seth and Dark was sent to stop her. Salra was about to kill Dark, but Talin got in the way getting his ass killed. Dark then killed Salra and went on to become the Pharaoh's champion. Khan, who will be more important later on, was the Pharaoh's cheif advisor.
T was Nam's uncle who raised her and Justin after Justin's parents died and Nam's got neglectful. Nam when she was very little had prophetic dreams but they happened less as she got older, or she just ignored them. T also owned a chain of clubs an an electronics buissness, Nam legally should of gotten it the clubs while his aprentice the electronics but Nam didn't want it, so Justin got it.
Oh, I don't own YGO or any related things, but I do own the plot (Well, we'll see) and my own characters. DO NOT STEAL MY BABIES WITH OUT ASKING FIRST! Sorry, right, please review