D.H. A.N.: I hope you like this new chapter of Rite of Heritage. It gives you a really good look at repented Marik. That's what I like most about it. Hope you like the whole thing.
Chapter Three: A Savior In The Shadows
Something told Keimo that Mhera wasn't too keen on going to the museum alone. It wasn't in her tone, words, or actions. It was just this inner feeling he had. He never felt this feeling before. He sighed, resolutely shaking his head. She knew me, she expected me to say no. Why…did she not persist? He grimaced, "Why do I feel like I owe this to her?"
He was not expecting an answer, but one came. "Because,…" a familiar voice paused as they contemplated their response, "Because… you do owe her something. You owe her the same thing I do."
"And that would be?" Keimo asked as he turned to the speaker, arching his eyebrow, only to find his father giving him a reproachful gaze, Keimo assumed, for attempting to start an argument, which went no further than the staring contest it was becoming.
Marik sighed, thankful that they had both somewhat matured to a certain degree to where they could hold their tongues, thus preventing the arguments that were ten years gone, as well as preventing new ones from arising. He then answered his son's question with one simple word. "Gratitude."
He then took Keimo aside, whispering in his ear, "I want you to follow your sister to the museum, to appease both our worries. Once she is there, please stay outside and stay hidden, but stay close by in case she needs help."
"Isn't she old enough to handle herself?" Keimo asked. Without an answer from his father, Keimo continued to barrage him with evidence. "You told me that, out of all the people you enlisted through the years, she was one of your most trusted. If my words speak false, tell me so. "
"She was my most trusted, but did she ever tell you what I did to ensure the trust?" Keimo did not answer, so Marik continued, regret evident in his voice, "I had her followed everywhere she went, and she hated me for it when she finally realized it."
"So you want to go back to your old ways by having me follow her, and possibly shatter the fragile bond that she has with both of us? I've done some things to her that I'm not proud of, as well. If you have another reason that makes sense, I'll do it, but I'm not going to destroy our familial relationship." Keimo looked his father straight in the eyes, ending his monologue with a soft "You know that is what will happen if your reasons are not in her best interest, if I am seen, or if I tell her that you asked me to do this with your motives lying somewhere else. Need I go on about the huge risk we take here?" He waited for his father's answer, walking away slowly.
"I just have a bad feeling about this. While she is able to take care of herself, I won't let anyone attempt to harm her the same way I did." His tone was rueful beyond words.
Keimo stopped on a heartbeat. "Psychologically, or physically?" Keimo asked, turning to his father intently.
"My methods were more psyche oriented, but I cannot deny the notion that I physically harmed her, though indirectly, the fault is still mine." Marik turned away from Keimo, with a rueful sigh.
"I'll go." Keimo sighed, seeing how it was not possible to stop his father's slight agitation that would be increased if he refused. Keimo then slid his arms into his black jacket, and left, hoping that Mhera didn't have too much of a head start on him.
It wasn't that long of a distance to the Museum, but even so, Mhera and Lina ran to it; encountering another obstacle wasn't something either of the girls wanted to do twice. "Why was that guy after you?" Mhera panted after they entered the glass doors of the museum .
"Because he spoke the truth. I am a Seer. An important factor in the Silent War, which is still raging today under our noses, under society's entire scope." Lina sighed. " I'm the only Seer in three centuries of generations of the Tarun family, which holds its ties to Egypt firmly. I only came to deliver this letter to an Egyptian Family that recently moved here. I was told that a member of that family was involved in the Egyptian exhibit here."
Ishizu has just left for Egypt to get another artifact for the exhibit, and we just moved here…could she be talking about us? Mhera questioned silently. But her thoughts were interrupted as seven men in black robes swept into the museum. Her hand instinctively went to her hip, where her dagger usually was at the ready, but as she was not expecting this, she'd left the blade at home. She sighed to Lina. "This isn't your day either, is it?" A look from Lina told her that it wasn't "Stay back behind me!" She stood still, knowing that she was really outnumbered. She was having one of those déjà vu moments again, those weren't her favorite moments to experience twice. I need help. She looked at the seven men again, Yep, definitely going to need help.
Keimo sprinted to the museum, that same feeling he had felt earlier that morning coursing through him incessantly. Please say it's all in my head, Mhera will be fine, and that those cloaked creeps who just went in aren't looking for her. His gut told him that his hopes were just that, hopes.
He walked in, hiding behind a conveniently placed statue, emerald eyes catching the only two things he needed to see: The seven men, and his sister backed against a tablet. They should think twice before coming in droves, someone could follow them. He smirked at the last four words.
Mhera caught a glint of emerald green, My brother . She thought. Her suspicions were confirmed as she saw the glint vanish and reappear, as if it were winking. But both siblings knew better than to expose themselves before their adversaries made a move.
One man in the center advanced two steps growling, "Step away from the Seer and you will not be harmed." Mhera did not move, knowing that people like this, never follow through.
"Make me." Mhera took a fighting pose, ready for the advance. "Keimo, now would be nice!" She mentally shrieked at her unseen accompanist. Silently as a shadow, Keimo knocked out two of the flanking figures, to reach his sister.
"Okay, odds are five to three, favoring the opponent, do you think we'll make it?" He asked as if it weren't a life threatening situation. He was silenced as the central figure advanced followed by the four that flanked him with two on either side.
"Give us the girl!" He shouted. Only then did Keimo notice Lina.
"I'm not one to run, but I think in this circumstance it would be best if we retreated. Hold my hand; Mhera I need you to grab the other girl's hand, it's her who they are after. This is our only way out." The two girls quickly obliged as Keimo touched an object around his neck. It glowed, and the trio vanished in a flash of warm night black.
They then reappeared right by the apartment. Both Mhera and Lina panted, as two rotten experiences in one day was not a great thing. "Come on," Keimo panted, as the fear from the girls had gotten to him; and beckoned them inside, which was the best thing that happened all morning. She heard her father breathe a sigh of relief when they came in.
She sighed, knowing that her father had sent Keimo after her, but now she didn't care. This was different. His action, which would have filled her with doubt weeks ago, filled her with relief now. He had unknowingly saved two lives with his caution. "Thank you." Mhera sighed softly into her father's shirt, panting still. He stroked her hair softly, eying the letter in her pocket.
"I should have told you this before you left, but we got a message concerning the girl and the letter. She was sent here for protection, and apparently you're going to need it as well. That letter is an invite for a tournament taking place in Egypt. In reality, the Seer is a great duelist gifted with both natural skill and a strategic mind. You fit these requirements as well. The Seer is very beneficial to which ever side gets them."
"So you want me to pose as the Seer while you keep her here?" Mhera asked coolly.
"That is basically it, but there is another reason I know you are the one who can pull this off. You qualified for the Finals, but yet I held you back, and… I've always had a desire to see your skills publicly recognized, a desire that should have been fulfilled at Battle City." He paused, a sure sign of sincerity of his words. "Along with the fact that you have an idea of what force you are dealing with." His last words were delicate.
"You mean…that there are people gifted with the power of mind control without the Rod?" Mhera asked perplexedly. Her father only nodded in response.
"Therefore, you must step lightly while you try and thwart this madman's plans." Marik said cautiously, "Think about it as a second chance." He chuckled almost darkly.
"Hey wait a minute! How do you know about the Seer?" Mhera eyed hum cautiously.
"Remember what I said about the fact of the Seer being a great duelist gifted with both natural skill and a strategic mind?" He smirked, an expression that made Mhera think about her father's previous agenda. "I was after the best duelists I could find, remember?"
Mhera only nodded. "And Lina has agreed to this?"
Marik shuffled his feet. "I've… I think…I need you to tell her." He arched an eyebrow, "How did you find her, by the by?"
"She was almost caught by someone. I beat the creep in a duel, and…there is a reason I asked you about the whole mind control thing."
"I figured you asked for a reason, Mheralo." The realization of his daughter's words hit him instantly. "You mean there was an instance of mind control?" His eyes showed the closest thing to fear Mhera had ever seen in her father.
"I'll go tell Lina." Mhera proceeded out of the doorway, where they had been for a while.
"There's another problem we must deal with after The Seer approves." Marik sighed
Mhera stopped dead in her tracks, "And that would be?"
" I'll need to brief you on a minor issue…"
" You make it sound much greater than a minor issue." Mhera said slowly "What is the problem?"
"They believe the Seer to be male, and therefore have made a rule that only males can compete."
"So why don't you participate?" Mhera asked, almost sarcastically .
"I'm not in tournament condition, and your brother has no tournament experience. You on the other hand, are in tournament condition, and have experience."
"You know, there would have been an easier way to tell me that." Mhera sighed
"I wasn't concerned with easy!" He almost bellowed. He sighed, words having a bit of ice to them, "I gave you easy when you were my huntress, and that kind of action almost got you killed on several occasions, one of which I was directly responsible for, and the one I regret most. But… go on, tell me what you thought would be the easy way to tell you all this."
"I think, "You may want to try and remember Arlomhe Sharti, and rely on the cover it can provide you.", would have sufficed, sir." She smiled, "But don't go back to the easy way on me now."
"You better talk to Lina, is it, about the plan. We need her absolute cooperation on this." Marik smiled at Mhera softly as she left.
DH: Sorry for the overabundance of father daughter fluff, but it just hit me. Next Chapter: Lina tells some more about her past, and Mhera needs to be a quick study. Prep for a flight to Egypt in Chapter Four: A Seer Revealed.
Also keep an eye out for a new story, A Jeweler's Perfect Combination, that explains how Marik & Filiron met, and fell for each other head over heels.There's a minor mention of the story idea in my other Fic, Healing Presence. But before you go and read that one, please leave a review for this chapter.