A/N: I've been toying around with this idea for a while, and with the whole of summer vacation ahead of me I've finally decided to write it. I am well aware that I have other dying, neglected fanfics, mainly Fullmetal Warrior: Bright Dawn, that need some attention, and I will get to those in due time. Until then, here's my newest creation: Come Fourth, Pharaoh Girl. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Disclaimer: Come Fourth, Pharaoh Girl is a fanfiction and is purely fan-made.I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its plot, characters, or icons, and I am not receiving any profit for this piece of writing.
"Yes, good girl. See, the Millennium Jigsaw, for example, houses my spirit. Other items, such as the Millennium Talisman, hold the spirits of other past people. In the Talisman's case, that would be the Bandit Mistress Sakura."
"The Millennium Ankh allows its user to enter other's minds, where their soul rests, right?" Yuki interrupted. "And the Millennium Weight is the strongest of the Millennium items, right, Kage-Sama?"
Kage nodded at her apprentice, smiling, but her smile lessened at the mention of the Millennium Weight's power.
"Any item can by strong, Yuki-Chan, with the right wielder. The Weight is only strong if its master's intentions are pure."
"Right, right." Yuki laughed nervously. "Sorry, Sensei. I'll remember that." Kage's smile, however weak, remained, and she shook her head with a light chuckle.
"There's no need for formal titles, Yuki. You forget that we are equals."
"Sorry, Sense-er, Kage-Sama." Yuki giggled, fiddling with the Millennium Jigsaw around her neck. Kage nodded decisively.
"Back to the subject at hand, Yuki-Chan, I have fear the human race has discovered something I had hoped would stay hidden; the legendary Millennium Door. I was sure I properly secured it back then, but I must have overlooked something..." Kage lowered her head in shame, blushing.
"Millennium…Portal?" Yuki squeaked, intrigued.
"Yes." the spirit girl replied. "Yuki-Chan…" her tone of voice changed suddenly, startling the smaller. Her words were quiet, barely audible. And rushed, one could say. Her speech came out fast, excited, and almost seemed forlorn. The hidden dread in the older girl's voice scared Yuki, and tears sprang to her violet eyes. Never had she doubted her Kage-Sama before. But now, when the latter seemed so uncertain, Yuki felt completely alone, even as Kage's ghostly spirit hands firmly squeezed her right shoulder, holding her in an awkward, gentle embrace.
"Have you ever wondered if there are worlds out there? Worlds other than your own?"
"I…I guess so…" Yuki murmured doubtfully.
"There are." Kage's voice had been reduced to a faint whisper, one that caused Yuki to sniffle loudly.
"Kage-Sama…"
"There are other worlds…" Yuki's dark counterpart continued. She suddenly snapped out of her trance, smiling sadly down at Yuki and running a hand through the smaller girl's hair in a sisterly gesture, pulling her into a hug. Yuki buried her face in the fabric of Kage's shirt, then squirmed out of Kage's hold with a squeal of indignation. Kage laughed, shaking her head to clear away the fog. Strength poured into her voice, and she continued gravely. "There are millions of worlds, Yuki-Chan. Some are almost identical to our own, and others are horribly corrupt. For example, there is an alternate reality somewhere where we ate lunch five minutes late. It may or may not affect the rest of the day, but it still exists. My own home-that is, a time several thousand years ago, is a world in its own. 'Another world' is merely a gap in either time or space, or both. What happened this morning is a different world than that which we are currently in, and whatever happens in an hour is also it's own portion of time. However, somewhere there is a world where you never had friends. There is a universe where you live in Europe, and one where you were never born at all. But, these aren't just time gaps. You can't go back in time to witness something that never was. You have to leave your own timeline, and travel to one parallel to our world, one with a timeline that is forbidden to intersect that of our own. Do you understand so far, Yuki?"
Yuki thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Yes…yes! For a moment there…I got it!"
"Good. Now, normally, jumping to another universe or even another point in time is near impossible. However the Millennium Door allowed any person to time warp or space jump, with no limits on who could use it or restrictions on how many times it could be used. Makes sense?"
"I think."
"Well, it did, at the time. The only problem was that the user had no control over where or when the Portal cast them. On top of that, the user needed to find an alternate Millennium Portal to return to their own world. If you were transported to a world either before the Portal's creation or in which the Portal never existed, you couldn't return home. And even then there was only a fifty-fifty chance of a successful return; users often returned injured, or maddened, or aged beyond belief. If that portal is used by the wrong person…Yuki, do you understand what we have to do?"
"I…" Yuki replied uncertainly. "I'm sorry, Kage-Sama, I don't quite follow." Kage shook her head, suppressing an exasperated sigh. She met Yuki's apologetic violet gaze with her own disapproving eyes, then shook her head.
"Yuki…we have to destroy the Millennium Portal. To do that, we need to venture inside and seek help. But in the process…Yuki-Chan, we'll endanger our own lives." Yuki nodded slowly, a numb, automatic movement, stiffly brushing a lock of red and black hair out of her eyes.
"I…I understand…" she mumbled something else, biting her lip.
"Huh?" Kage asked. "I didn't quite catch that last part."
"I said I understand." she didn't add anything else, just agreed, automatically, and matter-of-factly.
Kage nodded slowly. "I'm surprised at your willingness, Yuki. Life is a precious thing, which is exactly why we have to do this." the spirit turned to leave, but Yuki tugged urgently on her sleeve.
"Yuki?" Kage asked, quickly turning around. "What's wrong?" she demanded.
"Um…Kage…" muttered softly, nervously gripping the cuffs of her pink jacket. "What I meant to say was…well…" she inhaled deeply, burying her blushing face in her sleeves. "I meant to say…'I understand, Onee-San.' You… I've always thought of you as a sister…Kage-Sama…um, s-sorry…" Kage smiled, placing a hand on Yuki's shoulder.
"Don't be stupid, Yuki-Chan. I'm not going to be mad at you. Sisters don't hurt each other."
So there's chapter one! As much as I would like to use the Japanese names, the English ones, however crappy, seem to be more widely accepted, so I will use those. R&R, if you have the time.
Next Chapter: Yugi comes face to face with yet another alternate self. Who is this girl who calls herself Yuki, and why do the shadows cling to her like frost?
Until next chapter!
~Tempest
