I hope you liked the little opening, and I hope you like the rest of the story. :D I want to say one thing before we get started though: I said this story is AUish because I took a few liberties, and not just using "Anzu" rather than "Tea." I don't know if they'll qualify as 'alternate universe' but I figured I'd say that just to be safe. Generally I was trying my hardest to fit into the original storyline (completely disregarding GX and that other one...5Ds is it?), so stay tuned and feel free to point out anything that doesn't fit into the original story.
5000 Years
Chapter 1 –The Start of the Rest of Our Lives
"Yugi! Yugi guess what!" Anzu shouted as she bounded along the sidewalk, almost running into the trio of boys as she chased them to school.
"Uhm…" Yugi started.
"Today's the first day of college?" Joey interrupted, his tone betraying his excitement. A few years ago, he never thought he'd stick it out to see the end of the freshman year of high school, and here he was. A college student...
"No, stupid," Anzu growled. "This is far cooler."
"Joey actually graduated from high school?" Tristan laughed.
"No, though that is a miracle." She skipped in front of her friends, turning around and placing one foot behind the other to keep in front of them. "Aubrey Kappel is going to be holding auditions for her new dance team, right here in Domino!"
"Aubrey-whosel?" Joey echoed.
"Aubrey. Kapp-el."
"Are we supposed to know who that is?" Tristan whispered to Yugi, only to get a playful elbow in the stomach.
"Are you going to audition?" their short friend asked.
"I'm sure going to try," she replied.
"That's wonderful news!"
"Yeah, really wonderful!" Joey cheered. "Now, who is she?" In seconds he went from confusion to cowering behind Yugi.
"Who?" Anzu yelled. "Who? Only the most famous dancer of our generation!" With that, she spun on her heels and marched off to school.
"You should have waited until lunch," Yugi whispered. "She wouldn't have been as emotional then."
"Since when are you a woman-expert?" Joey hissed back at his best friend.
"I will never be a woman-expert, but by now we should all be Anzu-experts."
"He's got you there," Tristan chided, making his moves to follow her.
"Who're you to talk?" Joey snapped, launching at his friend and putting him into a headlock.
"Guys!" Yugi couldn't help but laugh. "We're going to be late for our last first day!" On cue, Yugi's watch alarm went off, reminding the boy that his class was starting in five minutes.
…X…X…
Anzu had waited at the top of the stairs for Yugi to catch up. They had their very first class together after all. "First class on the first day…" Anzu whispered.
"Yup."
The four of them had all decided to attend the local college, so Anzu and Yugi at least were staying in the same homes they'd always been in. Joey and Tristan, however, had chosen to move into a dorm. Tristan had made the choice for Joey's sake, really, because Joey had jumped at the chance of moving out of his father's apartment.
"Uhm…excuse me?" a small voice called to them. The girl that was speaking to them wasn't much taller than Yugi, though she couldn't have been more different. Her skin was well tanned, her soft black hair twisted up on her head, and her eyes were as grey as grey could be. Then there was her outfit. She had on old-fashioned tennis shoes, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a lovely maroon skirt to match the scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face.
"Hello," Anzu replied kindly.
"I am sorry, I am new to this country. Could you…help me?"
"Of course! What do you need?" The girl pointed to her classroom number, and a smile crossed Anzu's face.
"That's where we're going. Why don't you come with us?" The girl nodded, and Anzu led the way.
"Hi, I'm Yugi Mouto," the spiky haired boy offered. "This is Anzu."
"Hadiya Almasi…Please call me Hadi." Inside the classroom, Anzu picked a seat so that she could sit between both her old friend and her new one.
Then their new teacher walked in, opening the class with a quick lecture on how different college would be and how he would hold them to the same standards he'd held all his previous students. Then, of course, they dove right into their lessons and were given their first homework assignment of the semester. In-depth Ancient History was an honors class, so they really had expected this.
Anzu and Yugi had both managed to mangle their ways into the class, but of course Tristan and Joey weren't even considered. It was the only honors class Yugi had been interested in, though he knew he should have looked at the others in more depth. He hadn't figured out what his major would be, only that he wanted a degree in something.
"Wow!" he heard Anzu declared as they left the class. "You're in all honors…"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Hadi sounded petrified at the thought of being too out of the ordinary. Yugi couldn't blame her. The really weird ones had harder times making friends. Yugi always tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that the bulk of the world was an opinion-first-meet-later kind of place.
"No, not at all…It's amazing. I wanted to try for an all-honors semester, but it didn't work out. It's certainly harder than basic, but if you ask me, it sounds like a lot more fun. I'd rather be allowed to think than have the teachers talk down to me like I'm some sort of idiot…"
"Anzu, I do not think that you could ever be an idiot." The girls giggled, flowing down the hall as they figured out the campus map together.
…X…X…
Come lunch, it seemed that Hadi had joined the group, a new best friend for the adventures that were to come. By the time their classes let out for the afternoon, they were all running for their homes to gather up their things for a fun afternoon at the pool.
"Oh Yu-gi!" the spiky-haired game-king heard echo up the stairs after him. He slid to a stop in the hall outside his room.
"Yes grandpa?" he called back down.
"A package arrived for you from the Ishtars! I haven't opened it yet but…" Yugi almost laughed at his grandfather's curiosity. He was actually amazed that the package hadn't been opened, as anxious as the old man usually was with most things Egypt. The boy ducked into his room and quickly grabbed his pool bag, already full of everything he'd need, then skipped down the stairs and snatched up the box.
"Gee, it looks important…"
"Anything you get tends to be important." This time a snicker did escape.
"Do you mind if I open it later? I want to be ready in case any video tapes try stealing people's souls or…"
"You want to get to the pool." Yugi hung his head sheepishly. It wasn't that he wasn't curious. He was. But...Anzu was at the pool and she was waiting for him. "Go on, just make sure to be home before dinner."
"I will, I promise!" He nearly flew out of the shop, wondering at his priorities. He always felt a strong duty to Atem and anything Egypt, but Atem was gone now. He lived on inside of everyone, and he would eternally be their friend, but they had to move away from Egypt. They had to have lives that they had to live. And he was really enjoying the life he was living.
"Yug! You're late!" Joey teased, pulling his short friend into a noogie.
"Hey! Joey…" He felt his friend release him, then heard profuse apologizing and excuses. His amethyst eyes lifted to see Anzu scolding the blond. She certainly loved looking out for the smallest of their group. Well, not exactly the smallest anymore. In the last year Yugi had grown a good three inches, now standing taller than his grandfather, or possibly as tall as his grandfather had stood in his own youth.
"Why's everyone standing around out here?" Yugi intervened. "The pool isn't closed, is it?"
"We were waiting for you!" Joey broke out some scolding of his own.
"Hey, you know the game shop is pretty far from here."
"He's got you there!" Tristan joked.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Anzu broke back in. "C'mon Hadi!" She grabbed her new friend and dragged the girl to the ladies' locker rooms.
Nothing could be better than a blissful afternoon of getting half-drowned by one's friends. Well, they swam around too, but Joey and Tristan found great pleasure in splashing and dunking. Hadi hung back from the revelries, splashing her feet at the edge of the water. She wore a black, print-less one-piece, and still yet had a mask covering the lower half of her face, her grey eyes taking everything in with an almost unnerving calculated glance.
"I'm gonna get us something to drink," Anzu laughed as she leapt out of the pool. There were nearby soda machines, but no drinks or snacks were allowed past a certain line around the pool.
"Thanks!" Yugi chimed after her, the only one paying attention enough too. He pulled himself out, sitting beside Hadi while he watched Tristen get the better of Joey. "They're going to get hurt…"
"Then why do they do it?" Hadi whispered. No…that was her voice. She was a quiet girl.
"Huh? Oh, they're just the rough types. Of course the way they act you'd never tell…"
"That they're both nineteen already?" a more grown up voice echoed from behind them. Yugi almost fell back into the pool at it. "They're a couple of idiots if you ask me."
"Mai! What're you doing here?"
"I was in town and I thought I'd cool down. I was hoping there might be some men here, but..." She scowled at Tristan and Joey. This particular pool was a rather special one, only admitting people that were at least sixteen years old, but Mai still had yet to see a real worthwhile man there.
"What're you doing in town?"
"Didn't you know? There's a tournament going on in the area. I figured you'd be in it."
"Ehh…I guess I've just been a little more focused on other things lately. It's our senior year after all."
"That's right. You kids are about to enter the big, bad world." The lady sat down on the other side of Hadi. "Who's your new friend?"
"Oh, right. This is Hadiya Almasi. She's part of the school's study abroad program."
"Hi kid. Name's Mai Valentine." Hadi took the hand that was offered to her. "You're pretty quiet. Not like the rest of these yahoos. It's a nice change." A playful smile played across her lips as Anzu hurried back over.
"Mai!" the girl cheered. "Long time no see!"
"Hey." All four dashed away from the pools edge as Joey and Tristan made splashdown about four feet away.
"Mai!" they chorused, clamoring out of the pool, shaking the water off almost like dogs.
"And you two never change." Her smile turned to the blond. "Hey Joey. Been keeping out of trouble? How's that sister of yours?"
"She's doing great. She's gonna be back in town this weekend if you wanna see her again."
"That sounds great, but I have bigger fish to fry. I'll try to swing by if I can though."
"Mai's in a tournament in the area," Yugi announced.
"A tournament, and they didn't invite me?" Joey huffed.
"Or Yugi?" Tristan added.
"I was invited, but I turned them down," Yugi laughed.
"Nothin' for nothin' Yug, but you haven't played a single duel monsters game in a long time," Joey questioned lightly.
"I've been more focused on my education."
"Yeah, something you two should really pay more attention too," Anzu chided.
"As fun as this is…I came here to swim," Mai yawned.
"Well why didn't you say so? You've been missing out on all the fun!" Joey jested.
"It looked more like drowning rats," Hadi said, pulling all attention to herself. She shied away, hiding behind the soda that Anzu had brought for her.
"She has a sensa humor," Joey blinked. Smiles broke out on everyone's faces, laughter erupting once Hadi returned her drink to the table.
"Anyway, tell us more about this new tournament, Mai," Anzu pried, attempting to change the subject from swimming. She actually wanted to finish her drink before being drowned again.
"Well, I know for a fact that Mako entered it, but other than that none of our other old 'friends' are anywhere near this region. Of course a tournament this small was beneath Kaiba, but it seems he and Pegasus were both invited to watch the final match and award the prizes and what not."
"Why wasn't Yug given that honor?" Joey interrupted. "He's the king."
"But he doesn't have any corporate pull. It's all about show to these guys. This tournament isn't worth much at all, really, after what we've been through in the past. I don't think there will ever be a tournament to rival Battle City."
"You'd win that bet."
"What about the other competition?" Yugi asked. "Any new rising stars?"
"Don't tell me you're worried!" Mai joked. "No one's gonna be taking that crown from you any time soon, except maybe me next time we get to go at it." With a wink, the subject ended. Mai's phone alarm went off, reminding her that her 'downtime' was limited. "I gotta go. Don't wanna be late for the grand opening." With that, she was gone.
"I, too, have places that I need to be." Hadi was on her feet, quietly fidgeting, as though she was afraid to bid them farewell.
"So soon?" Anzu sighed.
"You aren't in that tournament, are ya?" Joey hissed, obviously still a little hot under the collar at not getting an invitation.
"Oh, no, I am not. But I still have to go." A quick bow and she, too, disappeared into the female locker room. As she retreated, Yugi realized that she was only an inch or so taller than him, not counting the hair. Of course, it wasn't as unusual for girls to be on the shorter side as it was for boys.
"I can't believe I didn't get invited…" returned his attention to the 'matter' at hand.
"They only invited a few people you know," Yugi tried appeasing. "Everyone else had to enter on their own."
"But I'm Joey Wheeler! Finalist for the two greatest tournaments of all time! Don't I get any respect?"
"No," Tristan said rather frankly. "You have to be a winner to get respect."
"Why I oughta…"
"Guys!" Yugi cut in. "We came here to swim, not get thrown out." Joey growled as Tristan laughed at the joke.
"If we weren't here I'd…" There was a unanimous jump as the whistles blew, signaling shift changes. Everyone glanced up at the guard tower, and then any tension that had been building melted as the friends laughed their heads off. "Aw, I'll get in the next tournament."
…X…X…
"Did you have a fun time with your friends?" Solomon pried, the brown box still firm in his hands.
"Yes grandpa," Yugi replied as he chowed down on his dinner. It had been set out and waiting for him, and his stomach had been roaring like a lion when he'd returned from the pool. In a matter of minutes the food was gone from the table.
"Here's your package!" his grandfather cheered. It was shoved into Yugi's arms like a child's Christmas present, practically bursting at the seams too, just from the sheer excitement his grandfather had put behind it.
"Alright, alright." Yugi dug into the box, pulling out the Egyptian wrapping paper and slowly peeling it away. "It's…a candleholder?" He held it up, blinking at the shining gold.
"Let me have a look." As the old man's finger ran gently over the object's features, Yugi reached into the box, picking up a single sheet of paper. His eyes quickly glanced over it, only furthering the confusion.
"It says this is supposed to be a birthday present, but my birthday isn't until June…"
"The inscription on this says 'may your future be as bright as the flame.' I wonder…"
"Hey! Check this out!" Yugi held the paper up to his grandfather. "It says here that Atem left instructions with his tomb-keepers to keep it until the time when a boy with a strange name reached his nineteenth year! It's a birthday present from Atem!"
"Well, well, well. I can't say there's anyone else in the world that's favored by a royal court that is five thousand years gone." The two laughed, setting the candleholder in the center of the table. "Though I must say it's one of the strangest presents he could have sent you…" Yugi's eyes trailed over the golden surface.
"Hey, wait! There's two inscriptions!"
"The other is illegible. At least for me. I promise I'll work on getting it translated for you, though."
"Thanks grandpa. Oh! I have to tell Anzu!" The paper dropped back into the box as the young man sprung for the phone, snatching it up and dialing the eternally familiar number. The old man looked over the candleholder a few dozen more times, and as he listened to his grandson chattering in the background, he couldn't help but wonder, 'Why a candleholder? Of all the things a Pharaoh could have left for a friend he'd spent three years sharing a body with, what in the world made him choose something like this?'
"But Yugi, your birthday isn't until…"
"I know. They must have sent it early in case it got lost in the mail or something."
"Still, they have ten months. Oh well. Have you told Joey or Tristan yet?"
"No, I was going to call them next."
"Well, I'd better let you go so you can do that. Goodnight Yugi. Oh, and hey…Happy birthday anyway."
"Thanks. Goodnight Anzu."
…X…X…
After all the locks had been set, all the lights had been turned off, and both of the residents in the home built around the Kame Game Shop had turned in for the night, one mind would not settle down. In a small room that could not be reached by any natural means on Earth, he sat, staring at the blank wall where a door had once resided, and a good friend had once dared to open. "Thank you."