Hola hola! What is up guys? Sorry, I was trying to have this one up sooner but once again my good intentions failed.
Lanlan: yo. (grin) don't worry about it. Ff.net is always screwy at one point or another. lol. It's not degrading! It's enough to have you saying the descriptions are great and that you enjoy reading it! But I won't forgive you because there isn't anything to forgive! So instead, I'll thank you for your awesome review that made me blush cherry red from my toes to the top of my head. (huggles back)
Nameless Reviewer: Hey!! Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!. Ah. 's okay. Bluntness is sometimes necessary. I understand the impatientness stuff. I can get like that too. I'm hoping that this chapter will be completed faster than the two previous ones, but I can't guarantee anything. However, since your point that I don't update as often as I should is aimed at the fact that you're anxious to read the next chapter, I'm actually kind of flattered. lol. So I'll do my best, and I hope you'll be back to read again if it is at all possible
yamis grl: YAY! You liiiiiiiive! What's this about Yami being a hobo? (you're right he's very hot, but you never know. The nomadic appearance can be appealing sometimes...) thanks for reviewing! Glad to see you're back!
Hiei Dragon Girl: yeah I saw your chaps. Very nice. The pacifier is still confusing me though. lol! thanks for your review!! (jumps around)
Millennium: oh Millie. Yet again you have managed to make my mouth fall off its hinges as I surveyed the long list of words you have provided. (hugs) I do not deserve it! I know, I think Yami throwing a tantrum would be hysterical! Hehehe. Thank you over and over for all your help!! Hope you find this chapter just as good as the last one. : )
Jedi Spiderfan: YAY! Thanks, it means a lot that you don't care how long it was. (sigh) oh man! I have to find a new symbol to put around actions don't I? Argh. -- anyway, thank you so much for reviewing and thus sending an email alert to my inbox, and thus making me squeal with delight! :D
Caks: lol! I know! That is exactly what I was thinking about when I wrote it! But I had to kind of merge them so it wasn't stealing the idea. But I think it fits so. ( Yes. Hehe. Glad you read!
Alright! (my new symbol for when we have actions going on is....well in A/N it's going to have to be parentheses. If anyone finds it really confusing, and they actually care about what the A/N say, then please tell me, and I'll change it to something you suggest. YAY!) (cracks knuckles) and we're off!
Chapter 6 (I got 6 reviews for the last chapter! Wait no seven. Oh well. ()
The sun set. Across the sandy plains night swept swiftly through the desert land claiming the remaining hours for its own. From a marble window, high in a marble building, a young man stood. His arms were resting on the window ledge, elbows nearly brushing the frame. Dark brown hair fell carelessly into deep blue eyes as a sigh escaped his shadowed lips.
"Annu Seto[1]." The man turned from the window slowly, his eyes stopping on middle aged woman standing in the door, her shadow cascading onto the floor. She smiled at him. "Per-a'a has retired[2]." Seto turned back to the window, a small smile spreading across his own face.
"My thanks Leala," he said softly still facing the night sky. The woman in the doorway heard him and nodded respectfully before turning and withdrawing from the chamber. Seto glanced up at the stars and listened quietly before he turned sharply and shut the thick wooden door, barricading himself inside. Wasting no time, he threw off his priests' robes and exchanged them for a simple tunic, over which he wrapped a dark cloak. Dousing the flames of burning incense littering the room, he strode purposefully to the window. Taking one last look over his shoulder at the door, Seto swung himself over the sill, and out into the crisp night air.
Yami watched from the shadows as many figures gradually congregated under a small thatched stall on the outskirts of the city. He could tell the gamblers apart from the wealthy hounds by their hands. Those men who came to try their favor of the gods had deft, agile hands that flew across the dies and cards. The greedy ones however, were slow in their movements, but the most obvious trait was that they adorned their fingers with precious gems, a mistake a thief would never make.
He waited silently, fingering the drawstring of a small pouch of coins tied to his waist. 'Win back a life every day.' Yami sat straight up when he saw a new man stride into the circle. It was nothing unusual to see new faces, traders came and went quickly, but this man was a native Egyptian; that much was clear by his appearance alone. But something, the way he walked or the tilt of his head, seemed all too familiar. The man settled himself on the ground in the circle of men who hovered around a large, dark snake. Yami watched interested as each man took his chance, trying to see who could pick up the snake without getting bitten. As he looked on, Yami noticed gold shining out from beneath the new man's cloak. He narrowed his eyes, peering closer at the hidden object. As the light shifted, Yami saw a golden rod looped through the man's belt. On the top was a golden sphere with a shining eye peering out from the shadows. A golden eye...
Yami leaned back again as he watched the snake slither up the man's arm and wrap around his wrist. Crimson eyes narrowed as a smirk spread across his lips. 'Well, well. Seems I've found a worthy opponent.'
Seto laughed softly to himself as he collected the small pile of coins on the ground. As strange as it seemed, he didn't gamble for the money. He did it because it was his escape from the formality of palace life, a way to unlock the shackles of society and for once, to simply breathe. It wasn't as though he would keep the gold either. It would end up back in the hands of other gamblers, even if he had to purposely lose to get it there. Placing the last of the coins into his pocket, Seto paused. Suddenly the air seemed too heavy, silence threatening to envelop him.
Seto raised his eyes slowly, and brought them up to meet a pair of blood red orbs glaring out from an abyss of black. He leaned back instinctively, startled as he realized a new man sat across from him. A soft hissing came from his right and Seto glanced down, remembering the snake encircling his forearm. Slowly lowering his arm to the ground so the snake could slide off, Seto glanced back up at the man with the scarlet eyes.
He was sitting with his back to the light so his face couldn't be seen. Not that it would have been visible had the light been shining in his eyes, as a black mask covered his face. Fighting down the urge to call for his personal guard outside the shelter, the prince straightened meeting the luminous eyes squarely.
"Who are you?" Seto asked, his voice firm disguising his uneasiness. The man smiled slowly, and pulled down his hood. A wild head of hair sprang out into the air, sharp angles rimmed in red reaching up to the stars. Seto silently drew in a breath. He had heard of this man.
Yami pulled out his bag of coins and tossed them into the center of the circle. He realized now who the man across from him was. It was the pharaoh's son. Strange that the young man thought his face would not be recognized in a city whose citizens lived to worship his family. Nonetheless, Yami found himself wanting to match his talent against the future pharaoh's. Propping his head up on his hands Yami motioned for the prince to start any task he wanted.
Seto watched his opponent closely before dumping the contents of his pockets into the pile of gold as well. Several other gamblers eyeing the gold between the two men joined them, interested in what challenge would await such generous winnings. Seto looked around the small crowd and began to explain the game. It was a simple one really, a face off between two people looking into each other's eyes. The first one to break contact would lose. The other men scoffed. They had been expecting something spectacular not a standard staring contest. But each one sat down facing another, their eyes continuously straying to the pile of coins.
Yami smirked as he found himself seated across from a balding man with small nervous eyes. He raised his hand into the air, and snapped loudly, signaling the beginning. Yami slowly yet deliberately lifted his eyes to the man adjacent him and watched satisfied as he pulled back almost instantaneously, his eyes clenched shut.
The minutes skipped by slowly, accompanied by stinging eyes and leering grins of triumph until only two pairs remained. At the sudden conclusion of both matches, the victors turned to face each other, both knowing who they would see. Two pairs of fingers snapped in unison as eyelids flew apart.
Seto and Yami, the first living in the other's rightful place faced off against each other, forcing their gazes to remain locked. The prince felt himself become engulfed in a blazing inferno. Flames licked at his skin, searing away the disguise to reveal the royal garb beneath it. Upon the fine robes being revealed the fire seemed to grow angrier, its heat charring the cloth to ashes within moments. Swallowed up by the dancing tongues of flame, Seto stared hard at the wall of fire.
'Without this title,' he wondered looking down at the charred remnants of his attire, 'who am I?' Something glinted from within the soot and Seto stooped to pull it out. However, as his hand connected with the gold and he pulled it out, he realized that what he held was not his millennium item but a relic that he had believed lost long ago; A symbol of the pharaoh.
Yami gazed lazily into blue orbs filled with struggling emotions. What was happening to this man that caused him to have such internal conflict? Looking hard into azure eyes the shadowed figure searched for answers. Cold enveloped him but he pushed it away searching, searching...
A frozen river lay before him, bright lights glinting from beneath its solid surface. Yami watched thoughtfully as two small figures chased one another, the second falling clumsily every few steps. Without a sound, the two shining figures shrank and twisted into two pulsing shaped. A short winged staff and an upside down pyramid burned into Yami's eyes. He drew back and the cold wrapped around him lovingly, freezing him into surrender.
Four eyes pulled away from the opposite call at the same moment. Two young men sat across from one another, both panting slightly. Seto looked up confused as a bronzed hand made its way suddenly into his line of vision. Looking up he saw the red-eyed man holding out his hand in a sign of agreement. Neither one of them had won the battle, but none had lost either. A challenge had lain waiting in each of them, and it had just been answered. Hands clasped...and parted.
Standing beside Seto's bodyguard stood another man, silently watching the two princes. "So you have met again at last," he murmured. "Equally matched. mw xr xt[3]." He shook his head in wonder, the golden ring around his neck rocking slightly. "We will meet again, Per-a'a[2]," he promised and faded into the brightening dawn.
[1] High Priest. Right, now Seto is actually studying with the high priests, but he still has the millenium rod, so everyone regards him as one. And he's a prince too so he can have various titles. [2] Pharaoh. That's self-explanatory right? Thanks to Millie for translations. [3] mw xr xt-water and fire, like Seto and Yami. Opposites, but not without certain similarities whether they like it or not.
Hehe. Yes. That is the lovely original confrontation. Sorry about the lameness of this chapter. Blegh.
Yami: You made me draw? Against him?
Ente: uh....yeah.
Bakura: That's low, even for you.
Ente: (sigh) I don't have the energy to argue right now. Hope it was acceptable at least.
Yami: Review and tell her she has to repost and make me win!
Ente: Right Yami. Anyway, please review! If I get ten for this chapter then I'll have the next one up by Wednesday! Wooooot! Bye all!