A/N: So my close friend, Dreamer of a Thousand Memories, gave me this story idea and told me to run with it. So I did and this is the result.
WARNING: NOT a Kaiba/Alyssa pairing. So sorry to all my faithful readers of That's Not Love.
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"Brother, you need to get some sleep," her voice floated from the darkness. "You have been worrying for far too long. Let someone else take care of the people."
"Who else has the power to run this kingdom and keep its people safe?" the Pharaoh demanded, his purple eyes flashing in the direction of the dark shadows cast by the dancing torch flames.
A woman stepped from the shadows, her emerald green eyes flashing in the dim light of the flames. The Pharaoh felt his heart stop at the sight of her. She crossed her arms and looked at him with her head held high.
"I do, my brother," the woman said. "The people respect me as they do you. They know of my powers…Let me take care of them while you sleep. I do not want you to tire yourself to the point that you collapse again. Let me help." She placed a hand on his and he remembered the warmth of it against his skin. "For our people…"
"Let me help," Alyssa said, taking the box out of Yami's hands as his mind returned to the task at hand.
Yami watched Alyssa walk away with the box, placing smaller boxes of duel monster cards on the shelves of Yugi's Grandpa's store. He found himself watching her, thinking about how the woman who was dancing around the store was the same woman who had once been his sister in a time long forgotten. She had been called Bastet back then, her real name hidden from the world because it was so powerful that it had to be kept away from the world. No matter how far Yami dug into his memory, he could find no mention of her real name – like he had been unable to find his name at one point. Ishizu had told him that all records of Priestess-Queen Bastet's name had been erased from all of Egypt to protect the people and the great woman herself.
His memories of Bastet were many in number. There were memories of her many pranks on him and her fury at not being named Queen-Pharaoh over the people upon the death of their father. Bastet had made attempts to prove herself to all, including him, her younger brother. There were memories of her unwavering love and kindness towards others. She was everything that Alyssa had grown up to be, only not as strong against her evil as Alyssa had proved to be.
Yami had watched Alyssa go through the darkness of her soul a few times now. The darkness was a permanent fixture in her life, constantly reminding Alyssa of her demons and the crimes she had committed. He did not want to think long on the deaths that had been caused at the hands of his sister-reincarnate. The knowledge of the number of deaths of his real sister was too much to bear as it was. But Alyssa was different. She kept a strong grip on her evil and kept up the fight against it as best as she could. It had been weeks since she had lost her grip on it.
"Next box," she sang, appearing at the counter once more and dropping her empty box on the counter. "Please."
Yami blinked and set down the poster that he had in his hands. "Alyssa, you don't have to be here. This is my job."
"Hey, we're friends," Alyssa told him. "Friends help each other with tedious jobs like sorting through boxes and arranging products for sale." She fished in her purse and pulled out a wad of cash. "But you're right. I deserve a break. Let me buy a dozen boxes of cards."
"Don't you already have every single card in production?" Yami asked, watching her slap down the money.
"Yes, but there are kids I know that want to have some cards and don't have the money to buy them," Alyssa informed him with a warm smile. "I was thinking that maybe I could buy them a few cards to get them started until they can save up some money to buy their own." She looked down at the boxes of cards she had separated from the others. "It wasn't long ago that I was almost sent to the orphanage because of my parents' deaths and I know how the children feel like there is nothing to look forward to in the world. I just want to brighten their days even if it isn't for very long."
Yami smiled and took the money, putting it in the cash register. "The orphans are very lucky to have someone like you in their lives."
Alyssa rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "You think so?"
"Yes."
Alyssa smiled and put the boxes of cards aside and picked up another large box full of duel monster cards. "Thanks."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Yami sat next to Alyssa as they watched the Duel channel on TV. Alyssa's eyes weren't really on the screen as she sorted out piles of duel monster cards, making sure that each child got the same amount of good cards and the basics of the game. Yami couldn't help but glance at her every now and then. Something didn't feel right about this anymore.
"Alyssa?" he asked.
"Hmm?" She didn't look up at him as she sorted out a few more cards.
"Is something wrong?" Yami questioned, turning the TV on mute.
Alyssa's eyes met his for a moment but then she looked away. "Why do you ask?"
"You are being very kind today," Yami pointed out slowly, watching her. "You've helped with the shop. You've done all of Yugi's chores without question. And now you're giving cards to orphans. Alyssa, what is wrong?"
"Can't I do something kind, Yami?" Alyssa asked, her hands falling into her lap when the last card was set down. "Does there have to be a meaning behind everything in the world?"
"There's nothing wrong with doing something kind for someone else. I'm just worried because you seem to be trying too hard to do something nice."
Alyssa looked at him with sad green eyes just as his sister once had. That's when Yami noticed the red tint in her iris. It seemed to be pulsating, trying to grow bigger but always forced to go back to the same confined size.
"Alyssa…"
"I can feel the darkness in me, Yami," Alyssa whispered. "Every day I feel her growing stronger. And I'm finding it harder and harder to keep her at bay. One day, I know she's going to break free again and there will be no stopping her. I'm not strong enough anymore…
"So I do these good things, these kind things for people who need the light in their life. Part of me thinks that if I do enough good in my life before the darkness claims me again, that there may be some hope for me. Maybe I'll go to the right place when I die…And a diminishing part of me thinks that maybe if I keep doing these kinds things for others, that the mistakes of my past will be forgiven and the darkness conquered." She looked at him imploringly. "Yami, you conquered your darkness. Kaiba conquered his with your help. Carrie, she conquered hers. Why can't I conquer mine?"
But Yami hadn't conquered his darkness.
There was still a part of him that called out for death and revenge when his friends were hurt. He still wanted to Mind Crush Kaiba for all the times that his friends had been hurt by him. He could still see Kaiba falling from the ledge at Duelist Kingdom into the ocean in his mind, playing over and over again like the happy ending to a good movie.
No one knew that he hadn't conquered his darkness. Not even Yugi, the boy he shared everything with. He couldn't let them think that he was a loose cannon when they needed a steady rock to rest their problems against. He was so good at helping others that he thought that the darkness would fade, but it was still there, slowly feeding on the light that seemed to keep growing inside of him.
He had never realized how bad Alyssa needed him to be the rock. She had always seemed like the other rock of the group that could help the others on the spot. If there was a problem, she'd be the one to come up with plan after plan to fix it. From a broken arm to Carrie's Mirage issue, Alyssa seemed to help with everything, but at what expense?
"Alyssa," he began but she cut him off.
"Yami, I'm trying. I'm trying to keep the darkness back," Alyssa whispered, turning to face him as she sat on her knees on the couch. "She scares me. She does horrible things. She hates everyone and everything. I don't want to be her again. But it's getting so hard to keep this control up. Is there hope for me, Yami? I don't think there is…"
Yami was startled. "Alyssa, you can't give up. You can't give into her."
"I know Yami, I know, but it's getting harder and harder every day. Kaiba doesn't help. No one can help me." She frowned and cocked her head to one side. "I thought you could help since you conquered your darkness."
"Alyssa, my darkness…was never as great as yours," Yami commented quietly.
Tears shone in Alyssa's eyes. "So you won't help me?"
"Alyssa, I wish I could, but I don't know how to help you," Yami said, wishing that he could say something different.
Alyssa deserved something inspiring, something that would keep her head held high and her strength coming until the day came that she would defeat her darkness. But he had nothing to say, words fled him. Yami had never felt so useless.
Alyssa turned and grabbed the piles of cards, slipping them into different boxes with names of children on them. She didn't look at Yami again as she picked up her purse and walked out the door. She didn't speak, but Yami could hear her silent cries as she left the shop.
Yami couldn't sleep that night. He lay on Yugi's bed, looking up at the ceiling. All of his thoughts raced through his mind, all concerning Alyssa. It had been like this for months, only beginning with a few lingering thoughts about her and growing every time he saw her. She was the only thing that Yami thought about these days. In his opinion, it couldn't be helped because she spent so much time with him and Yugi now.
But there was something else that kept him thinking about Alyssa. It wasn't her looks or how being around her drove him crazy. No, it was the fact that she was so much like him, that kept her on his mind so often.
She was the female that everyone could depend on. She never turned anyone away, never thought anyone wasn't worth her time. Most of the time, she would give out good advice and would do everything in her power to help someone in need. He had lost count of how many charities she had started or supported and all of the volunteer she did. While he was the super hero of the world, she was the everyday hero, unrecognized by the world but not caring about recognition in the first place.
And she battled her darkness every day. She was fighting to keep herself in the light and not give in to the evil spirit that lived within her heart. Alyssa was doing good things to keep the darkness back like Yami was helping everyone he met so that the darkness would be kept back another day.
She was suffering like him and that made him feel closer to her. And with all this thinking about her, Yami was starting to believe that he was falling in love with her.
But isn't that wrong? Yugi asked. She was your sister in the past.
But in this form she is not my sister. She's simply a friend…
A friend that has the spirit of your sister. That's got to be some form of incest, Yami. Besides, we have Carrie. Well, I have Carrie and you don't have a body, so you don't have anyone. I do. And as the owner of the body that you reside in, I say that you can't pursue a relationship with Alyssa.
Then give me another solution to my problems. Tell me something that will make me stop thinking about her all the time. Give me something that will make my heart stop calling for her, stop aching for her. I do not wish to share anyone's pain, but I share hers gladly. It has been a millennia since I have felt for someone in this way, Yugi.
But she's your sister reincarnated! You can't love her. And with my body, you can't love her. The only way you could have her is if you had your own body and you just don't have one.
Yami closed his eyes. Yugi had a point. Carrie was in love with Yugi and always had been. She would not wish to share Yugi's body with Alyssa, no matter how much Yami cared for the older cousin.
But if he had a body of his own, would it still be wrong for him to be with Alyssa? He felt no brotherly feelings towards Alyssa and never had, but did the fact that she had once been his sister make it wrong for him to love her?
And what if she doesn't love me? What if she doesn't feel the same way about me? I have to know Yugi. My heart needs its answers.
Well, get your own body first. You can't take mine.
Very well.
Yami opened his eyes with a golden glow and he appeared next to the bed, staring down at a confused Yugi. Yugi sat up and reached out hesitantly, poking Yami in the stomach. Yami winced and Yugi jumped up.
"You have your own body!" Yugi cried out. "How is that possible?"
"Magic," Yami said in simple explanation before turning and walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Yugi asked.
"To my heart."
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The walk to Alyssa's house didn't take as long as Yami thought it would. Maybe that was because he had run part of the way, in his haste to get the answers from Alyssa. Her windows were dark, but Yami knew that she wasn't asleep.
He climbed the stairs of the little wooden porch and knocked on the door. A moment passed before Alyssa answered the door. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, her hair pulled in a lopsided ponytail. And her eyes, they were so tired and sad.
"Yami, what are you doing here?" she asked, hugging herself. "Yugi called to tell me to expect you…that you had your own body now…Why are you here?"
Yami took a step forward. "I wanted to see you."
"Why?"
He couldn't think of any words to say. All he thought of was an action, a test that would tell him automatically if Alyssa could return his feelings.
Yami crossed over to her and pressed his lips against her. She stiffened for a moment, taken aback by the kiss and then Yami felt her kiss him back. He pulled back and saw that she was blushing.
"Yami, I don't…I don't understand," Alyssa mumbled.
"Alyssa, I don't know how to say this any other way," Yami said, staring into her emerald eyes. "I love you. I love you for your kindness. I love the way that you are like me. We both need a rock in our life and I…I believe I can help you defeat your darkness by being your rock. And I believe you – with your love and kindness – can help me finally conquer mine."
Alyssa stared at him for a moment. "You love me?"
"I can understand if you don't feel the same way about me," Yami stated, looking away. "You have Kaiba and…"
"No," Alyssa whispered, making him look at her once more. "Yami, I don't have Kaiba. I have no one…except for you."
She smiled at him and offered him a hand. Yami took it and followed her into the house, closing the door behind him.
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A/N: And then they went to play video games and watch movies. NOT! We all know what they're going to do, but I can't write that kind of scene, so please forgive me for not giving you what you want. Thanks for reading and here's hoping that you review me! ~Scarlet