AN: Yes the title is the title of a Secondhand Serenade song. I heavily encourage you to give it a listen every now and then through your reading.
Okay, I am assuming that this new Yugioh movie coming out in April of 2016 is current time for the characters. Like the show is set six months after the dawn of the duel arc, and Kaiba is barely 19, so this chapter starts out when Seto is ten. I realize that Yugioh never gives an accurate time frame except when in ancient Egypt but for the sake of this story this is the time frame that I have decided to use.
I own nothing in any way related to Yugioh sadly, but I do hold my OC Aliyah whom you will learn a great deal about in the next few chapters.
Hear me Now: Prologue
Seto's POV
August 14th, 2006
I watched Mokuba as he twirled around the grassy hill just a few feet in front of me while I leaned against the trunk of a young tree. It didn't provide me very much shade, but it had a clear view of my little brother. He was carrying a magnifying glass and searching for ant hills to burn.
I thought back to a time that I didn't have to continually keep such a sharp eye on him and didn't need to worry about responsibilities. Sometimes I felt much older, at ten I wanted to burn ant hills like my five-year-old brother, but I forced myself to refrain from such behavior because ever since our parents died, I knew that I would never forgive myself if something happened to him. Mokuba was all I had left, and I was determined to protect him at all costs, even if it cost my own childhood.
I saw a movement at the edge of the tree line that circled the back yard of the orphanage and quickly snapped a sharp eye towards the possible threat. There at the edge of the clearing stood a startling sight. I small girl who was older than Mokuba but not quite as old as myself stood frozen. I could see her small frame trembling as she looked up at me.
When our gazes locked, I stared into her sad tear-filled eyes though I only caught a glimpse as her head turned and she began to run away. I jerked away from the tree I was leaning against and glanced at Mokuba quickly. He had turned around to face me and was looking at my rigid stance in confusion.
"Mokuba go inside." I barked and began running after this strange girl. I didn't really have a rational reason that I was chasing her. I knew I had never seen her at the orphanage before, but it was clear from the few seconds that I had to stare at her that she was utterly alone. Her clothes were dirty and tattered. Her hair had been tangled as if flowed in the light breeze and she had been crying.
There wasn't much that I held onto from my life before the orphanage besides my baby brother but one thing that I remembered clearly almost as if it were yesterday was my father looking down at me with a soft smile as he explained that a girl should never cry.
"Seto, it's a man's job to make sure that a lady never has to cry. If you see a sad girl, you should do whatever it takes to bring a smile back to her face."
With this thought, I forced my feet to carry me faster just as I reached the tree line. I looked almost frantically around before I caught sight of her as she turned around a large oak tree.
"Wait! I want to help..." I yelled out as I lost sight of her for a moment behind the tree. But then I heard a crash and a small whimper come from her direction. As I reached the tree and rounded it, I saw her face first on the leaf covered ground. It looked like she had tripped, and her shoulders shook with silent sobs. I knelt down next to her and placed a hand on the dirty surface of her shoulder. This only caused her to cry harder, and I bit my lip and frowned.
"Hey, hey it's okay," I said awkwardly as I shifted so that I was sitting on the ground next to her. She lifted herself up slowly, and I could see she was still trembling. I shook myself out of the sweater I was wearing over my long sleeved button up shirt and shoved it out to her. She eyed it suspiciously for a moment before taking it and pulling the fabric over her dirty white dress.
I waited patiently, and partially because I had no idea what to say to a girl while she dried her eyes and fidgeted with the hem of my sweater.
"My name is..." I finally said, and she raised her eyes up to mine. I had to actually force back the gasp that attempted to escape at the sight of her eyes and cut my sentence short. Crimson met Cerulean as we stared at each other and it felt like an eternity as I tried to sort through the odd thoughts that surfaced at sight. For some reason her Ruby eyes made me think of the desert though I was sure in my ten years I had never seen it before.
"Seto." She said solemnly, and my eyes widened. How could she know my name if we had never met? She shook her head as if she wasn't going to answer the question I hadn't even asked before she shifted to lean against the giant oak tree we were behind.
"My name is Aliyah," she whispered as she closed her eyes and I found myself able to think straight again. I watched her as she rested her head. Now that I was closer to her I could see details I couldn't before, like what looked like one blonde streak of hair that swooped over her face while the rest of her hair was black but with the afternoon light playing through the leaves of the trees I could see violet and red highlights.
Mud was caked to the side of her face and dirt covered most of her body. She was, and I found myself wondering how someone so small could survive out in the woods like this. While I was staring at her, a tear slipped through her thick lashes and trailed its way down her cheek.
"Are you okay?" I asked awkwardly. 'Real smart Seto, of course, she isn't okay.' I thought as her eyes snapped open and wiped her face. She shot me a sad smile and shook her head.
"Where are your parents?" I asked hoping not to cause her to cry anymore. Her face grew grim, and she clenched her jaw tightly and balled her fists.
"They're dead." she spat and then began to stand up. I followed suit and stood next to her while she chewed on her bottom lip. I touched her shoulder softly, so she was an orphan just like me.
"Mine too," I admitted, and she looked at me surprised.
"But you didn't kill them," she stated, and I took a step back to reexamine this strange girl. Surely someone so small and innocent looking couldn't have killed her own parents. The thought crossed my head that maybe I shouldn't have chased after a stranger, even if she looked so sad it broke my heart.
I laughed awkwardly because I just didn't know how to react to something so absurd. She turned her face from me then and began to take off my sweater only for me to grab her hand to stop her.
"You're cold. Keep it." I said as I pulled my arm back and watched her. She shifted nervously, and she looked like she was on the brink of breaking down.
"Why don't you come back to the orphanage with me. It's not the best place in the world but their a bed and some hot food." I suggested, but she didn't even budge.
"I don't belong around people." She finally stated in a flat voice, and I frowned. How long had she been out in the woods like this?
"Sure you do, you're just a little girl," I said, and she shot me a vicious glare that even though it came from a kid younger than me sent chills down to my core. She had so much anger behind her blood-colored eyes that I gulped and took a step back.
"You don't know anything, I'm a monster!" she wailed and though I could tell she was trying to hold her fierce anger tears began to flow like two little rivers down her face. She glared at me for a second longer before she broke down into complete hysterics and dropped down to her knees and hugged herself. She began sobbing, and I started to panic. The only person I ever dealt with while crying was Mokuba, why in the hell did I follow this girl out here?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and crouched down next to her so that I was on her level before I placed a hand on her shoulder, this only made her cry harder and I cit my lip. This was making me uncomfortable, and I considered leaving just to escape such a strange situation, but my father's words echoed through my head.
"I don't think you're a monster at all," I whispered making her jerk her tear stained face up to look at me in surprise. A variety of emotions played across her face and in this moment she looked years older than myself, though I thought her to be around eight or nine the determination and sheer power for lack of a better word, that was being oppressed by such an intricate sorrow, and overwhelming fear made her look old. Like she had lived thousands of years more than me.
"I killed my mother," she whispered and though I felt my eyes widening I kept my hand firmly pressed against the warm fabric of my blue sweater. I didn't need to say anything, as she began to tell her story with a desperation that clearly said she had to tell someone, anyone and it just so happened to be me.
"It was an accident, I swear! I didn't know… I was so scared Seto..." she began with a shaking voice and lowered her gaze to her feet causing her bangs to cover her eyes.
"My mother got married two years ago to a man named Matthew, I hate him. He was mean to me from the start, and it just got worse and worse. One day he stopped hitting me and started...I couldn't… I didn't want..." She gasped and if possible hung her head even lower, and I realized what she was telling me. I may only be a kid, but for the last nine months I had a lot more responsibility thrust upon my shoulders, and I saw the world in a different light. I knew what she was telling me and it made me sick to my stomach.
"I killed him, I didn't mean to I just don't know how to control it. When I'm scared..." She trailed off again. I got the feeling she was trying to edit her tale, she was obviously trying to hide something.
"What do you mean, what can't you control?" I asked trying to understand, she raised her head and was so sad I was lost in her crimson eyes for a moment as she collected her thoughts.
"I have this.. stuff. It's like magic," she said with wide eyes, and I snorted. The immediate hurt that clouded her eyes was all I needed to understand why she was trying to edit her story even if I thought it was total crap, it clearly devastated her that I didn't believe what she said. I frowned and lowered my hand from her shoulder as I raised a brow at her in question.
"Magic really, I'm not stupid," I said as I started to raise myself up to leave slightly insulted. She grabbed my hand as I turned and I looked back at her.
"Please wait, Seto! I can show you," she said as she glanced around nervously. I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at her but otherwise waited to see what proof she had. She looked around though I wasn't sure what she was looking for until she jumped up and clasped her hands gently around a butterfly that was passing by.
She gently closed her hands around it so that there was space for the butterfly to sit inside her cupped hands safely. I watched as she closed her eyes and her palm began to glow softly. My jaw dropped a little, but I quickly recovered before she opened her eyes again. I noticed that her face had a tiny little bit more color and she looked lighter. She took three steps forward until we were only a half a foot away from each other and opened her hands. The butterfly was dead and looked like it had all the life sucked out of it.
"That proves nothing! you suffocated it..." I tried to rationalize though I was more than a little baffled. She frowned and made me meet her gaze before she spoke.
"I was adopted from birth, My mother was an archeologist. She was in Egypt when she found me. She said that while she was digging, she heard a baby crying. At first, she thought she must be crazy, but before too long she began to look for the sound.
She said she found me screaming and half baked by the desert sun. I was wrapped in a red blanket at the feet of a statue of a tremendous nameless Pharaoh. She took me to the hospital where they saved my life and told her it was a miracle I was alive.
She believed that it was the gods that brought me to her so when it came time for me to be adopted she took me in and named me after the pharaoh's sister at the tomb I was found near." She pulled at a little side bag that was around her shoulders and hung at her hip and unzipped it. She pulled out a red blanket that had a golden eye embroidered in the middle. I was just about to ask a string of questions when she started talking again.
"When Mathew tried to hurt me the last time something inside of me snapped. I hated him, and I was so afraid, I would rather die than let him touch me one more time and grabbed his face and squeezed. I remember my sight went red and I screamed. When I woke up he was dead, he looked hollow like he was all empty inside..." She glanced down at the butterfly, and I watched her closely as her jaw trembled. After a moment she took a deep breath and continued.
"About this time my mother came home. She found me crying in a corner trying to hide from Mathew where he was still on the floor. She screamed and then pointed at me. 'You did this, you freak. You're a monster.'" I clenched my mouth as I listened to her as her voice changed to emphasize what I assumed were her mother's words. I thought back to my own parents, they were loving and patient and understanding. Surely they would not have reacted in such a way.
"I tried to tell her what he had done but it was pointless, she already saw what I was capable of. She already saw that I am a monster. She locked herself in her room for two days. I ate what I had available in the fridge, I thought maybe she would come back out and love me again, and everything would be okay you know? But when she did come out, she looked scared. She put me in this dress and told me to go upstairs that she had drawn me a bath. I thought that everything was okay, but I was so wrong..." She began to shake and once again lowered her head to hide her face from me.
"She told me to get in still wearing my dress. I thought that was weird, but I just wanted her to be happy. She started praying and then she pushed me under the water and held me down. I tried to fight and kick, but I couldn't breathe. I didn't mean to hurt her Seto! I didn't mean for any of this to happen… when I came up from the water, she was dead too...So I ran away." She looked up at me then with the most pathetic, sad, helpless look that all I could do was smile even though I was more than baffled at her story. I still had more questions than answers, and I wasn't even sure that I wanted to know, but I was sure about one thing at least. Aliyah wasn't smiling yet, so I had to help her.
"Well, you got lucky," I said as I pulled her forward into what I hoped was a reassuring hug. She stiffened and balled her fists up against the collar of my shirt. She was so tense that I thought she must be terrified.
"Lucky? Are you crazy?" She hissed and pushed me away from her swiftly and shot me a death glare that I made sure to commit to memory for later usage. I smiled at her even as she crossed her arms and gave a petulant grunting noise.
"There's an orphanage, you saw my brother and me by it before. It might not be the best place on the planet, but there are food and a bed. Also a hot bath, you look like you could use a bath." I grinned as she rolled her eyes. She stretched out her arm and opened her palm to reveal the 'suffocated' butterfly. I stared in shock as her palm began to glow a soft pink and slowly the butterfly began to twitch as it started plumping back out and returning its color. With one graceful swoop, the insect flapped its colorful wings and flew away. I looked closely at Aliyah's face as she frowned and shed the last tears I would ever see her cry.
"I didn't know I could bring them back until it was too late." She murmured so quietly I wouldn't have heard her if I hadn't taken several steps forward to watch the butterfly as it flew away as nothing had ever happened. 'So maybe she didn't suffocate it…' I thought as we strolled back to the orphanage.
Aliyah's POV
December 21st, 2006
"MOKUBA! I yelled as I dashed through the edge of the trees that surrounded my home, the orphanage that Seto had brought me too months ago when he first found me. I listened for a reply as I searched the back part of the grounds while Seto searched the front. I didn't think that Mokuba would go too deep into the woods so close to night time especially since he was so afraid of the dark.
I shivered as I pulled Seto's oversized blue sweater around myself tightly. I still hadn't given it back to him, though he hadn't asked for it again either. It wasn't like I had an abundance of clothes anyways. Counting the patched up purple dress I was wearing and the dress that I came here in, that I would never wear again.
"Mokie where are you?" I shouted again as I made the executive decision to dark deeper into the woods. I wasn't even thirty feet inside when it started getting really dark, I squinted my eyes to try and see and slowed down. It was then when I wasn't making half as much noise as I had been before when I was running that I heard muffled shouting and a startled cry.
"Seto, I think I found him!" I yelled out hoping he heard me since it was clear that everyone else out here with me had.
"What was that?" One of the boys asked, and I immediately recognized him, Charlie Nipper, a twelve-year-old ass hat with a big mouth and a bad attitude.
"Mokuba! Charlie call off your boys!" I yelled as I ran into a little clearing, the same clearing from the night Seto chased me out here. I shook my head as I counted my options. Charlie was accompanied by his usual crew, Josh a Ten-year-old and Mosby a Fifteen-year-old. These were the oldest kids at the orphanage, followed by Seto who had just turned Eleven in October and then myself who would be turning ten in January.
Josh was holding Mokuba from behind as he squirmed, with a hand covering his mouth. Mosby was tossing rocks at Mokuba, or he had been until I interrupted. Charlie laughed and stepped forward with a nasty grin on his chubby face freckled face. I glared at him darkly and balled my fists as I squared my feet and straightened my back to try and reach his height. He still hovered at least a foot above me.
"What are you going to do about it, Aliyah. You're all alone, outnumbered. Think you can take us all on? Ha!" he said as he pushed me on the chest. I held myself to keep from losing my balance and spat in his face.
"I'll whoop your ass any time in a fair fight. I proved that already, whats with the boys Charlie you scared of a little girl?" I asked and cocked a brow at him questionably. He wiped his face with one hand as he grabbed my shirt with the other lifting me to his level. I held still instead of kicking or trying to free myself. I could hear Mokuba whimpering and the sound of Mosby as he dropped his pebbles and stared at Charlie in shock.
"You know what bitch, I'm going to teach you a lesson." He sneered as he locked eyes with me. I forced myself to keep an impassive face through his threat struck a cord. I could remember a time those exact words were uttered to me… a different voice, a different place I had to remember that or I would lose control.
"Shut up you worm." I hissed as I reared my head back and slammed my four head against his own. He dropped me, and I fell on my butt with a thud. By this point, Josh had released Mokuba who had ran behind me, though that did him little good. I tried to force myself to get up, but when I looked up at Charlie, I didn't see curly red hair or a pale-faced teen. No, I saw dark skin and brown hair, eyes like coal and dead inside. I shivered and closed my eyes, 'A different time, a different place.' I chanted as I took a deep breath.
"Oh did I hurt your feelings? Too bad get up." He grunted as he grabbed my arm too hard and tried to pull me up. I cried out completely afraid and opened my eyes hoping to clear the visions from my head. I looked up in terror hoping to see Charlie's pale blue eyes, to see Seto's Eyes that were like the sky… to see the ruby eyes of the boy I dreamed about. Anything but hard black pits that held my frightened gaze. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear desperate mumbling and Mokuba yelling my name, but I couldn't focus on that.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Mathew, no Charlie asked in disgust as I was flung back onto the dirt. Everything was turning red, and I grabbed my head to make it stop. I had to get control, to make the buzzing stop before I hurt someone else. I didn't want to run away anymore.
Beside me, there was a blur of white and brown, and it drew my attention away from the vision of my dead stepfather long enough to clear the red haze and the awful buzzing. I blinked as Charlie's face was snapped to the side, I followed the fist attached to his face all the way up the arm to see Seto. In the half second, it took for Charlie to fall hard on the ground and for Seto to wipe off his fist and look at Josh and Mosby they both took several steps back.
Seto turned to me since it didn't seem that there was a threat anymore with Charlie passed out and his boys abandoning him. He held out his hand, but I sat completely still. I couldn't move, I was always so scared even if I realized that there wasn't anything to be afraid of.
"Ally what language were you speaking just now?" Seto asked me as he lowered himself down to my level. I shook my head as I listened to the sound of my own pulse racing in my ears. I hadn't said anything that wasn't in English.
"I've never heard anything like that. Are you sure you don't know?" He persisted as he reached a hand out to brush some mud off my face. I flinched away from him and then pushed myself quickly off the ground.
"I said I don't know okay drop it!" I snapped as I brushed myself off. Mokuba ran up to his brother and clutched his waist tightly.
"Ally, what happened? You've whooped Charlie's ass twice it didn't look like Josh or Mosby wanted to get caught up in another fight, you could have taken him." Seto stated with a smirk. I shook my head again, this time I didn't have an answer. So far I've only been haunted in the night, in my dreams by the ghost of my past. I have never had a panic attack like that around other people. I mean Seto has seen me freak out, I never cry, but it's like I scream or fight. He says sometimes I even shut down completely like I'm on auto-pilot or something like that.
"Ally..." he sighed and tried to put a hand on my shoulder only for me to push it away and storm off. I needed to be alone, I didn't want Seto to see me cry. I refused to show anyone my weakness, this was just something I had to do alone.
March 12th, 2007
Seto's POV
I leaned my head against the hard bark of the big oak tree behind the orphanage and sighed. Up above me, Aliyah was perched in a low hanging branch reminding me oddly of a cat as she watched Mokuba run around and try to catch butterfly's in a net. In the seven months since she came to live at the orphanage with us, we had gotten pretty close, and she had grown ridiculously protective over Mokuba, almost as overprotective as I was.
"Hey," I said as I looked at her, she tilted her head down to me and smirked as she jumped down. She sat down next to me as I passed an apple that I had taken from the kitchen down to her. She gladly took a bite before handing it back to me to do the same. We sat there quietly for a while munching on the apple until nothing but a core was left that I threw behind us.
She threw herself dramatically to the ground and rolled on her back before she crossed her arms under her head and closed her eyes. I watched her while she lounged, the afternoon sun made bright streaks of hair stand out in contrast to the soft blond of her bangs. Though the hairstyle was odd, it was pretty like this. Suddenly her bright crimson eyes opened, and she eyes me skeptically.
"What are you looking at?" she demanded and I shrugged and shifted my eyes back on Mokuba trying to pretend I didn't feel my face warming up at being caught. She grumbled under her breath and closed her eyes again.
"Hey," I said in another lame attempt to try and bring up what was bothering me. This time she took the hint as she sat up slowly and gave me 'the look' that said wheres the poop Seto. I frowned as I tried to put my thoughts into words.
"Are you happy?" I slowly asked as I finally managed to form a coherent sentence. She raised one delicate brow at me and laughed. It was a dark chuckle, and I knew that it was complete sarcasm.
"I'm serious!" I said as I tried to glare at her like she always was towards me, towards everyone really. Her smirk fell, and she looked me in the eyes for a moment. Long enough for me to see just an ounce of the pain that existed there.
"What's there to be happy about. My parents are dead. I am a freak. We're orphans. You have Mokuba, I have no one." She spoke slowly as if she was having just as much trouble expressing these thoughts as I had been. I frowned and reached out and grabbed her hand. Hoping that she wouldn't punch me for it, I laced my fingers with hers before I spoke.
"You have me, Ally," I said softly hoping that for just a moment that she would smile. I had never really seen her smile before, I mean there were times I was sure that she was happy. For small moments, and I knew she liked my brother and me otherwise why would she still stick with us after all this time? But I also knew she was suffering, more than I was for sure. I barely remember my mother, even less the older I get, and my father was a good man, and he loved Mokuba and me. More than I could say for Aliyah's parents, And I did have Mokuba at the end of each day. I needed her to understand that I counted her as a family.
"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep Seto." She threatened, but she didn't remove her hand from mine. I squeezed lightly causing her to give me another look to which I grinned and rolled my eyes.
July 18th, 2008
Aliyah's POV
"Happy Birthday Mokie!" I said as I handed him a little square box that had reused wrapping paper from My birthday. He grabbed it greedily and opened it up tearing the paper to shreds. He pulled the top off to reveal a drawing I made of the three of us. At eleven and a half, I was a pretty good artist if I do say so myself. I mean I was beyond stick figures and compared to the other kids that were leaps and bounds ahead.
"Ahh, I love it Ally! Thank you so much!" He shrieked as he hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and let a tiny ghost of a smile touch my lips for half a second before I pulled back and wiped my face of the grin. I saw Seto smiling a huge smile as he walked over to us. He had given Mokuba his gift earlier this morning, Seeing how we were orphans we couldn't afford much at all but it was the thought that counts right?
"Thank you, Ally." He said as he stood next to me. I looked out the window to not have to look at his overly cheerful face. I didn't like to get mushy even with Seto who was my best friend. He knew that, and I swear he made a point to make me uncomfortable because he sure never bugged any of the other kids.
"Well you know, I love the kid," I grunted as I touched the cold glass and watched the rain pour down outside. Mokuba complained that it always rained on his birthday and Seto agreed that it had rained every year, He told Mokuba that it was their mother's way of telling him happy birthday because she loved the rain. It made Mokuba happy, but the thought made me sad. I didn't have a mother, I mean I had an adoptive mother who I killed in self-defense, but I was abandoned before that. Whoever my mother has left me as a helpless baby in the middle of the desert to die. Who does that?
"I know, we're pretty fond of you too," he said as he nudged me lightly and I growled as I glared at him. He laughed good naturally and backed off, though he was getting braver. He knew just how to push my buttons but also only when to shut up before I punched him.
"Yea well yea…" I said awkwardly and walked off as he started to laugh at me.
October 25th, 2009
"Did you have a good day big brother?" Mokuba asked as he tugged on Seto's sleeve with a huge grin plastered on his face. Seto smiled down at him and ruffled his raven locks affectionately.
"Sure did." He said, and Mokuba beamed at him before he ran off to play with some of the younger kids. Seto watched him for a moment before turning his attention back to me and sighing. I frowned at him and walked to stand closer, I didn't like it when he was sad. Besides today was suppose to be a happy day, it was his birthday after all.
"Seto?" I asked as I looked into his cerulean eyes. He grabbed my hand, a habit he was getting way to comfortable with and squeezed my hand making my face heat up.
"I'm thirteen. Another year older, another year without finding a home for me you and Mokuba." He whispered and his voice sounded so sad that I squeezed back just to make him happy again.
"Seto, are you happy?" I asked him throwing his question from last year back at him. His eyes widened a little bit as he looked at me honestly and I watched as a beautiful smile lit up his face. He reached up and swept the back of his hand over my face to brush my hair from my eyes before he answered me making me blush even more and freeze.
"Yes. I absolutely am. I have my baby brother, and I have you. I alive and well, and we will find a home. I promise." When he said it, he said it with such confidence as he genuinely believed it to be true. I found myself smiling too. Somehow it was infectious, his happiness. Maybe I was because I wanted him to be happy, and it made me happy.
We were both lost in this little moment, Just smiling at each other when he broke the spell. He chuckled as he pulled back and I realized for the first time just how close we were.
"Best birthday gift. You should smile more often Ally." He said making me turn seven shades of scarlet as he chuckled and walked away. I wanted to hit him, to hurt his stupid smug face but another smaller part of me was happy that he thought so much of something so simple as a smile.
January 27th, 2010
Seto's POV
Aliyah didn't come out of her room all day. The nuns said she was sick and they wouldn't let me go in and see her. Somehow I got the feeling that it was more than that. Over the last few weeks, she was getting more and more withdrawn. It took years for me to gain her trust enough that we could share intimate details about our pasts. I knew it was her birthday and If I remembered right, she was sick last year too, but never ill any other part of the year. Even when Mokuba and I got the flu, she was fine.
"Seto, do you think that Ally is okay?" Mokie asked catching my attention, I smiled down at him and nodded. I ruffled his hair and told him to go play with some of the kids, and he rushed off to grab a board game. He was getting good at chess, but he would never be as good as it as I was.
I waited until none of the grown-ups were paying attention before I snuck into her room. I was sure to be caught but not before I made sure that she knew that I was here for her. She was huddled in her bed, being so quiet I realized she was asleep.
"Atem… Please no… Atem." She mumbled as she rolled over and gripped the sheets. I frowned, I had heard her mention that name before. A couple of time in her sleep over the years and once or twice when she didn't know I was paying attention to her. This was a part of her past she kept hidden, and I never understood why. The one time I asked her about it, she nearly had a panic attack, and then when she calmed down, she told me that he didn't know.
I watched her for a while as she slept, her brow covered in a sheen of sweat and her long hair tangled. She was a mess, no wonder the nuns didn't want me to see her. She really looked sick.
"Ra, please… SETO." She suddenly shouted as she sprang up in bed her eyes wild and afraid. I wasted no time climbing into the bed next to her so that I could wrap my arms around her and try and calm her down. She was burning up, and I knew as soon as I touched her that I needed to get one of the nuns, she needed medicine or something to break her fever.
"Shh, its okay Aliyah. I'm here." I whispered, and she shook her head back and forth.
"No, you're dead. Seto, you're dead... and my brother is dead... all of Egypt is deal...My mother oh god I killed her!" She babbled as she clutched my shirt and wept dry tearless sobs. She was obviously delirious, and I knew that she needed help, she had never said anything about a brother, and what did Egypt have to do with anything?
"Mother Lisa! Come quickly Ally needs help!" I screamed to get the attention of the head nun. This caused Ally to cry out and flinch back. I lowered her head down on her pillow, and she whimpered as she started to mutter 'Atem.' over and over again.
Mother Lisa came running in with a few other nuns and quickly ushered me out of the way through no one thought to remove me from the room. Everyone knew how close we were, we were almost inseparable.
I watched as the adults quickly decided that Ally needed to go to the hospital. Her fever was obviously very high. I was shuffled back into the living room area where Mokuba promptly grabbed my hand and started to cry. I scooped him up quickly and hushed him.
"Don't worry buddy, when she gets to the hospital they will give her medicine that will help her fever go down. She will be fine, I promise." I said as he wiped his eyes.
"Alright children, we're going to call it an early night. Everyone go start getting ready for bed." Mother Lisa commanded as several kids groaned. I frowned, like hell I would be able to sleep. I walked up to the blonde nun who was directing several of the other nuns to prepare the van so that they could take Ally to the hospital.
"Yes, Seto?" She asked in an overly kind voice as she looked down at me. I stared right back up at her and frowned.
"Will you tell me when she gets back if she is okay," I asked nervously not wanting to admit that she could not be okay. Mother Lisa smiled down at me kindly and nodded.
"Of course Seto you sweet boy." She said as she turned and I was left standing in the now emptying room as everyone went to bed.
April 3rd, 2010
Aliyah's POV
I woke up slowly as I rubbed my eyes and stretched. I was the last one up, I usually was lately. The nuns let it slide because the medicine I was taking made me sleepy. Thought they never let me sleep past ten in the morning most of the other children were awake by seven.
I had been having to take medicine regularly since I went to the hospital this winter. I had the flu they said, but that's not what the medication was for. The doctors noticed a few things while I was there since I had to stay a little over two weeks.
They made me see a counselor twice a week now since I was depressed. That's what they called it and gave me medicine to make me 'happy' though it didn't really work. The doctors saw the scars on my back, the ones 'he' left there and the old broken rib that was apparently set wrong since I never saw a doctor when it happened. They made me talk about the 'abuse' and told me it was healthy to talk about it. But somehow it only made the nightmares worse, so they gave me sleeping medicine.
It seemed like; lately, I was a zombie, I was either tired, or I was just blah. I didn't could any of this as happy though. Seto was worried about me, I had told him a little bit about what happened. How the doctors found out I was hurt. How they found out how he beat me, and how I was continuing to cut myself. I don't think he understands though, it just makes him sad.
As I walked out into the living room area and into the dining room, I found Seto sitting at the table writing. He smiled at me, and I nodded back at him just as Mother Lisa brought a bowl of cereal out to me.
"Sorry dear that there's no eggs and bacon left. But eat up, and then I will bring you your medicine." She said softly as she gave me my food. I nodded thankfully at her. This would be the only mean of the day I would be hungry for because once I took medicine I would completely lose my appetite.
I began eating quietly and tried to ignore Seto as he watched me. Finally, I had enough and I stealthy flicked a spoonful of my cereal in his face. He stared at me shocked before he broke out into laughter. This made me smile a little, which of course made Seto grin like a mad man as he wiped off the milk from his face. He didn't even seem crazy that I just got him dirty.
"Okay, children I have an announcement. Next week a significant visitor is coming. His name is Mr. Kaiba, and he will be donating to the orphanage. I expect everyone to be on their best behavior." Mother Lisa said after she cleared her throat. Everyone snapped to attention immediately, including Seto and Mokuba who was playing Capsule monsters with a six-year-old girl. But I continued eating pretending to be uninterested, though I was listening. I was just too hungry to care too much about what the nun was saying.
All the kids began to chatter excitedly, even Seto smiled as he made a fist. I tried to ignore it all, what hope was there for me to be adopted anyways. No one wants used good right? Seto began to watch me then, surely noticing that I was so quiet. He didn't speak at first, just watched me before he narrowed his eyes and jumped up from the table and walked around it to grab my hand and pull me out of my chair and away from my almost empty bowl of cereal.
"Hey! Seto, my food..." I wailed as he tugged me along. I jerked my arm from his grasp after he had almost drug me entirely outside. I stormed up to Mother Lisa as she was already picking my bowl up and realizing that my meal and my mood was ruined. I held out my hand. The aging nun eyes me for a moment before she chuckled and reached into her robes pulling out the little prescription bottle that had 'Aliyah Williams' written across the front.
"Here you go, dear. You know it wouldn't hurt for you to ask politely next time." She chastised as she handed me my anti-depressant. If I had to take these for the rest of my life to be normal, happy then by the time I was an adult, I would have made four thousand three hundred and eighty just by the time I turned eighteen since I took two pills a day. One for depression and one to sleep.
When I turned around I saw Seto's face, he looked so god damn sad for a split second before he smiled and reached a hand out to touch me I flinched a little but didn't draw away. I hated that he was so nurturing sometimes, it was cute when he took care of Mokuba, but I knew enough about how the world worked to take care of myself. He took note of the sour look on my face and slowly dropped his hand not even trying to hide his crestfallen expression. A wave of guilt hit me like a brick wall but I was so far in my own head I didn't move or say a word. After a minute he shook his head and slowly walked off to talk to his brother who was jumping up and down excitedly. The eight-year-old smiled brightly unaware of Seto's almost angry face before he too smiled and began singing as he waved his arms about.
'What are they so excited about? Something about a loaded businessman, probably looking to adopt. This could be their ticket out of here.' I dared not even think that there was an option to get out of this place myself. Seto was obviously the best option, he was brilliant for his age. He could run faster than anyone else, and it wasn't just because he was almost the oldest kid here. Mokuba was adorable, as a packaged deal it was the obvious choice. At least the way I saw it.
I walked towards the back door and into the back yard. So early in the morning on a Sunday, not very many kids had ventured outside. There was a nun with pretty brown hair standing at the edge of the building watching a group of four and five-year-old kids playing in the sandbox.
I walked up to the swing putting both hangs on the thick chains and began to idly push my feet as I stared into the green woods. I felt the cool breeze on my face as I swung and closed my eyes taking pleasure in a small moment of relative solitude. It was Seto really he was terrific, it was crazy that he cared so much. That he considered me family, that would make him and Mokuba the only family I had in the world. Besides perhaps a mother on the other side of the world that had abandoned me. No, it wasn't Seto, it was me.
The breeze picked up, and the strangest thing happened. It began to get warmer and warmer until my skin felt almost sun-kissed. I opened my eyes confused and realized immediately that I was hallucinating. That's what the counselor said at least.
The landscape before me was sand as fast as the eye could see, but suddenly I could hear the sound of rushing water. I blinked to clear this unwanted vision from my sight only for everything to shift as soon as I opened them again. Now I was in a poorly lit room, I had seen this before in some of my better dreams. I took a step forward shocked that my feet were firmly on a stone floor and I wasn't holding the chains of the swing anymore.
I looked at the grand throne that sat front and center in this massive room. The ceilings were higher than I thought possible, but the roof was open to the brilliant night sky. Had I ever seen that many stars before? I looked at the beautiful artwork etched into the stone walls.
I knew this room, I had walked these floors before I was sure of it.
"Alya my sister why have you ventured out into the night?" I darted my head at the soft chuckles coming from the man behind me. I say man, but as soon as I got a closer look at his face I realized he was my age… No wait he was a teenager, but why was I the same height? Then I realized that my proportions were off, no longer was a tiny girl with rough knuckles. My fingers were long and slim, almost dainty looking. I also noticed the soft Lavender colored robes that draped delicately around my arm. Underneath just barely showing were golden bands.
I directed my focus back on the boy next to me. He was maybe sixteen, so I judged my own age around that. I had seen him before, and I smiled even though the action felt somehow not my own.
"Atem… Pharaoh I'm sorry I couldn't sleep." I said as I slowly bowed my head. Okay it was official I had no control over any of my actions, it was like I was just watching from the eyes of another me. It was a weird feeling, never before had my fantasy's taken such a turn. Usually, it was just bad stuff, when I had a panic attack. This moment now was more like a dream, or a memory that I couldn't snap out of.
"Alya please not you too… It's bad enough that Seto is acting so proper now. None of that Pharaoh nonsense from you-you're still my baby sister."My attention snapped to Seto's name as he ruffled my hair affectionately. I found myself swatting his hand away as I chuckled.
"Sorry, it's strange that you're Pharaoh now. Strange that father has joined mother in the afterlife." I admitted as I shifted my feel awkwardly hearing the sand ground against the stone. He frowned and nodded but said nothing as he looked at the throne. I followed his line of sight and thought about what this strange vision meant. The longer I spent in this spell, the more I was thinking of myself as this girl who belonged to this fairy tale. That was the sad part about these dreams, sometimes it was so happy that it was somehow worse than the nightmares. This kind of happiness wasn't meant for me, the monsters of my past had made sure of that.
"How have you and Seto been?" He asked after a moment changing the topic. I smiled for a second as I raised my head to observe the brilliant array of stars scattered across the midnight sky. A soft, warm breeze moved the fabric of my robes around my feet, and I closed my eyes.
"We are well, he is overprotective as always. He will not stop asking me if I am okay or trying to take care of me. I'm not made of glass, and I must admit that I am beginning to get frustrated." I sighed as I brushed my golden bangs out of my face. Something me and this man, my brother shared. Though his hair was wild, he still had the same golden bangs angled sharply around his face and the same dark black with reddish violet streaks running through. He even had my eyes, or maybe I had his I didn't even know how I felt about this dream anymore.
"You know he only means the best. Don't be too harsh on him, he loves you to the moon and back." Atem said as he smiled encouragingly at me. I nodded feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. I was always pushing him away, wasn't I?
"Aliyah!" I jerked my eyes open as I felt my shoulders shaking. Blue flooded my vision as I stared into Seto's worried eyes. I felt my eyes widen. 'Seto…' I lunged forward so quickly it knocked him back a little as I threw my arms around his midsection in a tight hug. He stumbled a bit as he wrapped his arms around me.
"I love you," I whispered as feelings from my strange daydream flooded me. Realizing what I said I quickly pushed him away and faced his bewildered look. His cheeks lit up a little as he took an awkward step back though he kept his hand on my shoulder and shot me a goofy grin.
"I'm sorry, I can be a jerk I know, it's just this medicine makes me get in my head so bad sometimes it is hard to come out. Please don't be mad at me." I exclaimed in a rush as then looked at my hands, now short and boney. I didn't eat much, so I was tiny for my age. Seto stood almost a foot ahead of me, and it wasn't that much older.
"I'm not mad at you Ally. I just wish you would let me in, I will always be here for you. But I can't help you if you don't let me." He sighed as he pulled me into a hug once more. I allowed it even though it put my stomach in uncomfortable knots. I let my head rest against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. This moment was still somehow sad, almost like it was coming to an end.
Monday, April 11th, 2010
Seto's POV
I shifted in the stuffy suit as I tried to change the tie to ease the pressure on my throat. Mokuba was nearly vibrating beside me as he bounced in utter happiness. This made me smile as I held his hand tightly. I gazed around the other kids and nuns that surrounded us but didn't see Aliyah anywhere. 'Where is she, I haven't seen her since she tripped over Mr. Kaiba's Briefcase.' I thought as I kept looking for her. It was weird for her to be clumsy like that, she was always careful.
"Excuse me I think I forgot something inside," I muttered with my head bowed down. The adults were busy with the final paperwork to finalize mine and Mokuba's adoption. I had to find Aliyah, I had to say goodbye.
I found her inside standing by the glass window. She quickly turned her head so that I couldn't see her face behind her thick black and violet hair. I touched her shoulder softly, and she didn't even flinch, but she also made no move or sound to acknowledge me.
"I'm sorry Aliyah, I have to find Mokuba a home," I whispered guiltily. She still said nothing, so I turned her around by pulling on her shoulder. I thought for a second I caught a glimpse of tears caught in her eyes, I hadn't seen her cry since the day we met but before I could be sure her hand slapped me hard across the cheek. My eyes widened as she turned her back to me once more.
"You promised me. We were family, you are all I had. When you're gone there won't be a reason to wake up." She whispered as her shoulders shook. I rubbed my stinging cheek as I watched her, sure that she was crying, but even after all this time together she refused to let me see her pain. 'Of course not, you are abandoning her after all…'
"Seto get out here you brat we're leaving." The voice of my adoptive father sounded behind me, and I frowned. I didn't know what to say to her, I didn't know how to explain the choice I had to make. This was Mokuba's only chance at a normal life, if it had been only me, I would stay in this hell hole with her forever. But I had a whole other experience that I was responsible for. I had tried to get her adopted with us, wanted to say she was my sister, but Gozoboroh Had made it clear that I won the rights to the only mine and Mokuba's futures and I could take it or leave it.
"Yes, Sir..." I said as I turned sadly away from the girl I thought I loved. I was too young to know what to do so I took the cowards route and decided to leave her behind.
"Seto, promise me one thing...Make sure that you are happy." She said, and I whipped my head back around to see her walking away. She spared me lo last glances, but the soft tone of her previous whispered request made my heartbreak. I took a deep breath and then followed my new father outside and into the shiny black limo that awaited me. I climbed in next to Mokuba who was touching the leather seat.
"Have you ever seen a car so nice big brother?" He asked me as he looked up into my eyes. I stared into his round Grey eyes as he took note of my sadness.
"I am going to miss her too." He said with a suddenly serious look. Sometimes it surprised me how perceptive he could be. But after just a second he was bouncing back to the window to wave to the other kids. I looked out of my window back at the large window that I knew Aliyah was standing on the other side of and made a promise to myself. When I turn eighteen, I would come back to the orphanage and track her down.
October 25th, 2013
Aliyah's POV
"Happy birthday," I whispered as I stared out of the kitchen window at the night sky. I touched the glass before I turned around to find Mason standing right behind me. Out of all my foster siblings, he was probably my favorite. Two years ago I was moved into the foster program since there had been an influx of younger kids over the years and the orphanage needed the extra room.
"It's not your birthday." He said as he sat down at the small little table at the end of the kitchen that was more of a sitting table. The oversized dining room table was in the dining room. This was my favorite place to eat since it wasn't crowded and I still hadn't warmed up to most of the other foster kids here.
"No, it isn't" I replied as I took a bite of the B.L.T. on the plate in front of me. I had to eat before I made my sleeping medicine, and since I had skipped dinner and it was getting late, that meant I needed to eat before I went to bed. Mason eyed me suspiciously as he snatched a piece of bacon off of my plate.
"Who's birthday then?" He asked as he ate the crispy strip. I rolled my eyes at his invasive nature and pushed the half eaten plate at him since I was full anyway. Then I pulled out the bottle of pills from my pocket and took one. I hated this part of my day, but I had to admit over the years that the medication made it easier to control my hidden powers since they seemed to be based on my emotions. I had had a few slips up though. Now three foster homes later I was getting better.
I walked into the living room quietly and stood behind the couch where most of the family was gathered. Matt, who I hated because he reminded me of my step-father and Nicole sat in the floor playing on their phones and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson sat on the couch. As I glanced at the TV my eyes nearly bulged out of my head at sight.
"Turn that up!" I all but shouted startling everyone in the room. I seldom yelled and was usually as quiet as a mouse. Mr. Nelson turned it up even as Nicole grumbled about me getting my way.
"Live footage of the electric duel between the former world champion Seto Kaiba as he tries to earn back his title from the King of games himself Yugi Mouto." I walked around the TV and actually sat down on the floor next to my foster siblings. Something I had never done before and I had been in this home for over a year now.
"I know him," I whispered to myself as I leaned towards the screen. How funny he was dueling on his birthday. I smiled softly as I watched the footage of him summoning blue eyes white dragon. I was actually pretty interested in duel monster, but it wasn't as popular here in America as it was in Japan. Did that mean that Seto was in Japan then?
"Yea right loser." Nicole jabbed as she stood up and left the room. Mason took her place next to me, and I saw him wipe mayo off the corner of his mouth.
"Don't listen to her. Hey, that guy kind of looks like you huh?" he asked as he pointed to the other boy in the duel. Yugi Mouto. I audibly gasped as I say his hair and the crimson tint to his eyes.
'My god…' I thought as the room started to go dark. I shivered and looked around realizing I wasn't in the living room anymore. Everything was dark, but somehow this darkness was familiar. I was long since used to these strange vision, and for the most part, I understood that they weren't hallucinations. I wasn't crazy, I lived that life and I remembered every detail, but I never thought I would see Atem again.
I felt something hot in my right hand. So hot that it almost burned me, and I looked down to see that I was holding a golden rod that was in the shape of a rose with thin, delicate golden petals that surrounded the eye of Ra which I reconsigned from my dreams and the Egyptian books I checked out from the library. Golden thorns ran up the handle, but my hand fit perfectly between them. As soon as I was aware that I had the millennium rose, I was surer than I ever had been.
"Princess it is good to see you." Said a feminine voice and I looked up to see a pure white wolf with red marking on her face. She sat down merely a foot in front of me and lowered her head so that I could see the sky blue piercing eyes.
"Amaterasu..." I spoke softly as the name came to me from memory, this was my spirit guide in my past life. She nodded her head, and I bowed my own head down to her in a show of respect.
"You know why I have brought you here?" She asked softly, and her voice sounded like bells it was so pure and clear through this thick darkness that I realized was the shadow realm. How was it now, at fifteen I realized why I had spent my life struggling with these powers I didn't understand. I looked at the Rose, knowing that it was part of why everything was so clear to me now.
"I have to find my brother," I said positively as I gripped the metal tightly. She nodded as she reached a paw out closer to me.
"Your bother is in grave danger Princess, without all of the item wielders together the world will surely perish in the years to come." She said, and I grit my teeth together hard making a grinding noise. How was I suppose to be expected to do anything to help anyone when I couldn't help myself? But the thought of seeing Seto again and having the chance to apologize and the chance to meet my brother and help him remember the past I knew was as real as the blood pumping through my veins was so tempting that I found myself forgetting that I wasn't capable of doing anything unusual.
"Have more faith in yourself child, you are the key to a world full of happiness. You just have to believe in your own power." Amaterasu said as she shook her head and her silvery white hair glimmered in the darkness though there was no light to shine from anywhere I could see.
"How do I control my power?" I asked feeling the fear that had always gnawed at me in the back of my head. I was petrified of hurting people. I knew what I was capable of and it scared the living shit out of me to see that I could crush a human being. I could take a life, and the fact that I could also heal was overshadowed by the fact that I had never once done any good with my powers.
"You must find the priest, He will show you the way back into the light." She whispered, and I saw her form began to shimmer as she started fading away. I cried out as she disappeared. But as soon as she was gone, I was back in the living room, and it was as if no time at all had passed while I was gone.
"Mason you have a point son, He does look strikingly like Aliyah. Same hair and eyes, how strange." Mrs. Nelson agreed as she glanced up from her magazine." I didn't remove my eyes from the screen as I tightened my hands around the rose that was still with me. I stood up suddenly and walked swiftly out of the room so that no one would see this new object and went into my room. I had to plan, I had a mission. One way or another I was going to go to Japan, and I was going to find my brother. Then I was going to see Seto and tell him how sorry I was for that awful day.
AN: So that is chapter one, and if anyone has seen something similar to this out there that's because I had an old account years ago where I originally wrote a story pretty similar to this and this is just me rewriting it and changing things now that I am a much better writer. I sincerely apologize for this giant chapter. I will try to keep the following sections a little shorter, but this prologue had to cover such a significant amount of time over the years. I know that my timeline is kinda shaky, but I made it to where in 2015 (current time) Seto would be 18 Mokuba will be thirteen Aliyah will be 17 and Yugi will be 17 making Atem 18
IMPORTANT NOTE! I am giving Atem his own body, the back story is that after the duel between Yugi and Yami that the pharaoh won but for his bravery and saving the world several times he will get to keep his own body instead of returning to the puzzle. He has most of his memories back but not all. Most will come with time. This is where the current day will leave off in the next chapter.
Please read and review my wonderful readers :)