The glare and Akeifa's stance did not go unnoticed by Atemu. He snorted and smirked at the thief. "(You really think Bast would try and take Ryou away from you? Your pleasure is her source of entertainment. Although I cannot see why. Aibou and I are far more entertaining.)" He shot a confused glance at Bast before giving Yugi's earlobe a little nibble.

Bast's eyes glowed with amusement and Yugi blushed hard, stepping quickly away and punching Atemu as hard as he could on the shoulder. "This is hardly the time!" That wasn't exactly how he'd wanted to announce to his friends that they were together.

Akeifa fought between a deeper scowl and a smirk. The smirk eventually won out.

Ryou's eyes finally left the beautiful lady standing on one side of the room to look at Yugi and Atemu on the other. They were together? As in having sex?

Well he guessed he shouldn't be surprised since Atemu was here he knew how much Yugi had missed him, but still...

Atemu turned to look at Yugi. "That hurt, Aibou. What did you punch me for? Do you not like it when I nibbled on your ear?"

Yugi's blush deepened and he opened his mouth to speak but Akeifa beat him to it.

"(I've never sought the favor of the gods though it looks like your little midget isn't so willing,)" he said, unable to pass up the opportunity to tease.

Bast nearly doubled over with laughter. Yes, she was definitely glad she had listened to Thoth when he told her where to enter the modern times.

"Oh for the love of . . . Everyone sit down and I'll make us some tea! Bast was supposed to be explaining something important!" Yugi said, more than a little irritated by where the conversation was going.

He looked pointedly at the thief and pointed to one of the chairs. "Hms!" he said and then disappeared into the kitchen. (1)

Ryou was taken aback by the outburst. He was infinitely curious as to what everyone was talking about but since he couldn't understand Ancient Egyptian, he was pretty much left in the dark.

Akeifa grinned, finding himself with a newfound respect for the miniature pharaoh.

Ryou tugged his thief to the chair Yugi had pointed to and gently pushed him into the seat. Oh dear, five people and four chairs. Where in the world was he going to sit.

Bast had crossed the room in a few graceful steps and, just as smoothly, sat down. The fact that they were short one chair had not escaped her attention and she was almost itching to see what would be done about it if Ryou did not find a place to sit.

Akeifa sat willingly, he didn't mind taking an order or two from one who had the pharaoh cowed and Atemu shot the thief a glare as he sat, just daring him to make a comment. He listened to his aibou's wishes and would do anything to make him happy. Was that so wrong?

All the chairs were full, save one, but that was to be occupied by Yugi in a minute. Unwilling to take Yugi's chair, Ryou weighed his options: he could sit on the floor but then that would be uncomfortable and slightly ridiculous, he could sit on the table but that wouldn't do for the same reasons as the floor, or he could sit in Akeifa's lap and risk possibly getting molested in front of his friends and a total stranger.

Akeifa's lap is was, then.

He perched himself on the edge of his thief's knee, hoping the others wouldn't think he was being too forward.

Akeifa threw a triumphant smirk at Atemu and put an arm around Ryou's waist, pulling him back and into a more comfortable position for them both and Atemu scowled at the stupid grin on his face. "(This is hardly the time for that, don't you think? Or can you really not control yourself at all?)" The thief didn't respond, but continued to grin, knowing just how much it was bothering Atemu.

Ryou blushed but allowed himself to be pulled back against Akeifa's chest. That strong, muscled chest that was providing a pleasant warmth to his back. He was getting flustered at the position they were in and how good it felt but tried to focus on what Yugi's said. Something about Bast having information...?

Yugi re-entered the room doing an impressive job of balancing five full mugs and nearly dropped them all when he saw Ryou and Akeifa practically snuggled together. He took in the thief's grin and Atemu's scowl, correctly interpreted the subtext, and rolled his eyes. Great. Just what he needed, to be pulled into the middle of a 'who's other is more affectionate' war. He passed out the mugs and took his to the empty seat, planting himself in it firmly and hoping the 'refusal to play' message was clear.

Atemu nearly growled in frustration. He knew he was being childish, playing this game with Akeifa, but the stupid thief just looked so smug, he had to do something to wipe that grin off his face.

He scooted his chair closer to Yugi in what he hoped was a discreet manner. Yugi couldn't fault him for wanting to protect him from the stupid thief, would he? He just wanted to make sure Akeifa didn't pull a fast one on them while at the same time beating him at whatever game they were playing.

Yugi shot his dark a brief glare and realized that if he didn't say anything, the silly game would continue and they'd never get anything done. He briefly wondered why Ryou was going along with the game so easily . . . and then realized that he probably had no idea what was going on.

"Oh! I just realized we have a language problem. Ryou doesn't speak any Egyptian and Akeifa doesn't know Japanese."

Bast looked at Ryou more closely. They boy didn't know any Egyptian and yet he had still managed to capture the thief king's heart? Love really did overcome all obstacles!

"Well that's easily fixable. If Ryou would come over here for a second..."

Ryou looked completely bewildered. This woman also spoke Japanese? And she was going to teach him how to speak Egyptian in a few seconds? What was she, some kind of god? Then it all clicked. Yugi had called her Bast. Her beauty and dress. Even her eyes. How could he not have seen it before? He hadn't even bowed or knelt or showed her any form of respect.

Scared that she might be offended with his actions, he slowly slid off his comfortable seat and walked over to where the goddess was sitting. Sitting and drinking tea like a normal person. That was a bit hard to grasp.

She smiled softly at him, aware of the fact that he was frightened. "Don't be scared; this won't hurt at all." She gently wrapped one hand around his throat and the other around hers. She began to chant in a low voice, her hand warming up from the magic pulsating through.

Akeifa eyed Bast suspiciously but it drained away quickly as she chanted and the thief watched in awe. Was she doing what he thought she was doing?

And suddenly she let go, the spell in effect and working. "Say something. Turn and talk to your lover. He'll understand you now."

They boy nodded and turned to face his thief, completely unaware that the woman had spoken to him in Egyptian. And that he had understood it.

"Erm...hello, Akeifa. I'm Ryou, the one you've been sleeping with all day." Oh wow, had that really come out of his mouth? Had he lost all sense of decency with the goddesses spell? Oh gods, what must Yugi think of him now?

He blushed a brilliant red but moved closer to his thief, waiting to hear him say something he could finally understand.

Akeifa grinned widely and stood, pulling Ryou into a tight embrace and burying his face in the boy's neck, not caring who was watching. "Greetings Ryou. But I believe you're mistaken, it the entirety of the day has yet to pass, there are still many hours of which we can take advantage," He whispered into his mouse's ear and then gave it a playful nip.

Tears came into Ryou's eyes. They could finally understand each other! It suddenly didn't matter that everyone could hear what they said. "Mmm, yes please." he whispered, tightening his own hold on the man. If only there weren't others in the room at the moment...

Bast sighed in satisfaction. What could be better than bringing two souls who loved each other closer together? The sex they had after would be one. And the thanks she would receive would be another.

Atemu coughed, breaking the moment. He was still a little sore about not being able to touch Yugi and losing the game they were playing. "I believe Bast still has something she needs to tell us."

Yugi smiled at the cute scene and felt his irritation drain away. It was obvious by how the thief was practically draping himself around Ryou that he really cared for him. Which was nice. He liked to see his friends happy and knew that while Ryou hadn't been quite as affected by the loss of his other as he had, that some of the loneliness had still been there. But now things were better. For both of them. He gave Atemu a soft smile and reached out to stroke the side of his hand affectionately.

Atemu in turn took hold of Yugi's hand and returned the smile with one of his own. He kissed his palm and tugged his lover closer to him, shortening the distance between them while still sitting in two separate chairs. He slid an arm around his waist, wanting the physical reminder that he was still there. There was no warmth in either worlds that could warm him the way Yugi's could.

Yugi sighed quietly and moved his chair so that the two were flush together and leaned into Atemu's embrace, leaning the back of his head lazily against his dark's shoulder.

Akeifa purred into Ryou's ear and drew back enough to give him a brief, hard kiss before flopping backwards onto the chair, pulling the boy along with him. They landed in almost the same position they had been in before Ryou got up and the thief wound both arms around him this time, holding him firmly and possessively in place.

And Bast, ever watchful of her boys, inwardly cursed, for the first time, the job she had been given by the other gods. Breaking up a happy scene such as this seemed almost criminal and against her character. She had to, though, time being of the essence and they had wasted so much already. Well, not wasted, but time had definitely gotten away from them.

"I do have something of great importance to talk to you about," she said gravely. "The other gods and I believe that the Day of Awakening is drawing near. Set has been looking for something that will kill Horus and allow him control. And we think he may have found it."

She turned and gave her full attention to the pharaoh and his lover. "Yugi, Atemu, do you remember the box Atemu's puzzle was in?"

Yugi looked at her, questioningly and a bit wide eyed at the severity of her announcement. "It was just a small gold holding box marked with hieroglyphs . . . I'm not sure what they said though. I didn't read Egyptian back then and I haven't looked at it since . . ."

"The Egyptian on it was a spell to hold in anything that was placed inside. Unless opened from the outside, it could not be opened." Atemu's gaze was steady as he said this to Bast. "What does it matter now?"

Bast ignored his question and addressed Yugi. "Do you still have that box?"

"It should still be tucked away in the back of the store . . ." Yugi's voice trailed off and his eyes went wide. He jumped to his feet and practically ran into the shop, yelling an explanation and assuming that the others would follow to hear. "But the shop was broken into a couple weeks ago and we took a full inventory and now that I'm thinking of it, I don't remember seeing it at all and we didn't even realize . . . because it's not on any of the stock lists . . ." He flung open the door to the back storage and began rummaging through some of the boxes in the back, knowing it was useless because everything had been re-arranged and organized after the inventory.

Atemu jumped up and went after him, alarmed at his aibou's outburst. He immediately began to help the search, keeping an eye out for a glimpse of gold that had housed the puzzle and his soul for 3000 years.

Ryou followed as well, pulling Akeifa along with him. He stood in the doorway watching them hunt through box after box for the artifact.

So intent was he on watching that he jumped a little when he heard Bast's voice next to him. "If what you said is true, then you won't find it. It's in Set's hands now. "

Yugi finally gave up and sat on one of the boxes in defeat. "I know, I just thought maybe . . . Why would he want it anyways? It was empty."

She looked away. "Let's return to the kitchen." They did so and Bast waited until they were settled again before speaking again. "Do any of you know the story of Osiris?"

"Of course," Akeifa answered sharply, almost insulted. "It is an old story, one of the oldest and told to children on their parent's knees."

Atemu looked up and spoke just as sharply as the thief had. "What does that have to do with-"

"The box..." Ryou had said it softly, mostly to himself but it had effectively cut the former pharaoh off in the middles of his sentence. He looked up to find all eyes were on him and shrank back into the arms of his thief. Akeifa squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. "Th-the box Osiris was held prisoner in when Set killed him. Is that the same box?"

Bast nodded, her expression grave. "Thoth surprised us all by taking and giving it to Seth after Atemu died as a place to house the pieces of the puzzle. The box became the size it needed to be and we did not tell him what that it really was because we were also hiding it from Set."

Yugi's hand flew to his mouth with the realization of what he had been in possession of.

"But he found it anyways," Akeifa said dryly. "Were you hiding more than just the box itself from him?"

"There is a piece of Osiris still in that box. We think he may be planning on using this part of Osiris as a weapon against Horus but we aren't sure how. We need it back before the final battle and Thoth insisted that you are the only one who can get it."

Akeifa's eyes narrowed and he glared at the goddess for a moment, already not liking the idea of being used as a pawn in anyone's games, let alone those of the gods.

But then he started to grin.

And then to laugh.

This was an opportunity to steal from a god!

He'd be a fool to pass that up.

Still, he had never done a job for free, another thing he wasn't about to start now.

The laughter died away though the grin remained. "And what are you offering in return?"

Bast's eyes glittered as she leaned forward. The gods had known he would ask this question and the answer had been clear though not really welcome. It had been discussed and eventually accepted, though not without some form of objection.

"You will be granted admittance into the afterlife. Your past sins will be wiped clean. More than fair, I think."

Akeifa's grin widened. He decided he liked dealing with gods. Especially when they already knew what he was going to demand, i.e. the chance to continue making trouble in the afterlife.

"You do realize, though," Bast continued lazily. "that while you do have a spot in the afterlife, you can easily be kicked out. Osiris is very strict about the souls that are granted admittance. He'll be keeping an eye on you..."

Akeifa nodded. They could watch all they wanted, he specialized in not getting caught. Another little detail nagged at him to be sorted out before he accepted the deal, however.

"Past sins and future sins?" he asked, making sure to close that loophole. He had never given much thought to how long he would live, though should he live a long life, he didn't want to lose the reserved spot on a technicality.

Bast pursed her lips and sighed. Better compromise or he wouldn't help them.

"Until you enter the afterlife, all your sins, past, present, and future will be wiped clean."

Ryou gave him a little pinch to get his attention. "That does not mean that you can go crazy. Behave orI will punish you." Though to make Akeifa suffer he would have to suffer too. Well, everyone must make some sacrifices some time.

"You shouldn't tempt me like that, little mouse," he replied suggestively, then laughed. "Just making sure." (2)

"Good." She leaned back and relaxed slightly. "So I take it we have a deal?"

Akeifa tore his gaze away from Ryou and thoughts away from punishment at the hands of his little pleasure god, looked at Bast and nodded. "We do. Now where is Set? And do you know where he is keeping the piece of Osiris?"

Bast shook her head, her eyes hardening at the mention of the god. "Only Isis and Thoth know where he lives. Isis knows because she had to marry the guy and Thoth knows everything so that's no surprise." She gave a little eye roll at the last bit of information. "We're assuming that he has the piece with him to personally watch over it. He knows Isis wouldn't tell anyone since her made her swear not to and Thoth doesn't go around spouting secrets. He tells things at his leisure and not anyone else's which can get really annoying." Here she settled down into the chair and gave Akeifa a hard look. "Thoth will be taking you to Set though not because we asked him to.

"It's because Set has sent for you. Set, himself."

"Sent for me?" Akeifa repeated in confusion, not quite sure what to make of the statement.

Atemu let out a hiss and pinned the thief with a deadly glare. "I knew he shouldn't be here!" He was going to kill that thief one day. Doing it now would only piss Bast off- a really hard thing to do unless she was serious which she was now- and nothing would be resolved. He settled for glaring at the man across from him and imagining all the ways he could torture him with the knives he was so fond of.

Yugi put a restraining hand on his dark's arm, moving closer to him, a worried expression across his features and Bast shot the former pharaoh a look, not particularly happy at being interrupted, before refocused her attention back to the white-haired man.

"From what Isis knows of the man and from what Thoth is willing to tell us-" She audibly ground her teeth in frustration. "-it's probably because your body held the spirit of Zorc and he's hoping that maybe there is some residue of his Ba still within you. He would be perfectly capable of magnifying even the smallest power of Zorc until it was enough to significantly help him."

Atemu put an arm around his aibou's shoulders and roughly drew him close. He was not liking this conversation at all.

Ryou grew rigid in his lover's arms as his eyes widened in shock and terror. Could that be true? "But-but we- Yugi and I, that is- think that Akeifa was pulled from sometime before he was taken over by Zorc so he couldn't really still be possessed...could he?" He turned in his seated position to look into Akeifa's eyes as if he could tell just by looking whether or not there was any of the dark spirit in his soul.

Bast leaned forward suddenly in her seat and stared at Yugi intensely. "Are you certain? Are you completely positive?"

Akeifa followed the conversation with difficulty. Past and present and things he hadn't done yet but had . . . It was beginning to make his head hurt.

Yugi met her eye evenly and took a deep breath, trying to sort out how much information to reveal. Atemu really would try to kill the thief if he found out that Akeifa had been robbing his father's tomb at the moment he was displaced.

He simply nodded. "He was . . . pulled forward before the possession, and before the first time he confronted Atemu in the palace but that doesn't mean . . ." He hesitated, realizing how very uncomfortable the conversation was about to get. And how much he was about to hurt one of his best friends. He looked at Ryou apologetically, then moved his gaze to Akeifa and continued. "It depends on when he dealt with Zorc and what deal he made with him exactly."

Akeifa didn't meet his eye and managed to keep his expression neutral but removed his arms from around Ryou to cross them over his own torso, and not in the smug manor he normally portrayed, but almost as an act of self comfort.

He remembered the dark demon's overwhelming presence, the flames that licked at the corners of its eyes and mouth as it alternately enticed and threatened. Its triumph when he agreed to be its vessel. He could still feel its hooks in his soul.

What had seemed such a perfect way of getting revenge at the time had changed. Everything had changed.

Ryou placed his palms on the man's cheeks and gently lifted his face so they could match gazes. He knew his former spirit was evil but he didn't know he had taken a hold of this...well, innocent (at least in this circumstance) man and try to destroy the world. He shook his head slowly, not breaking his gaze, trying not to believe all that he was hearing. It just couldn't be true!

Akeifa met his eyes briefly, then flinched away.

Bast's expression softened the slightest when she saw Ryou's face, his disbelief and hurt but continued anyway. This had to be dealt with now.

"Akeifa!" she practically barked at the man. "Did you make any sort of deal with Zorc before coming here? Do not lie or your soul will be shredded no matter our deal."

The thief's features hardened again. He glared defiance at the woman even as he answered. "A deal was made. The power to take my revenge in exchange for a mortal vessel."

Atemu's arm tightened around Yugi's shoulders.

Bast eyes closed in a resigned and pained expression.

And Ryou...

Ryou let out a sob as tears started to slid down his cheeks. How...? Why...? "No..." It came out as a whisper as his hands fell from the thief's face.

Akeifa flinched again. The loss of contact left him colder than it should have and he expected the boy to continue moving away. He was startled when he didn't.

"He...he isn't completely controlled by Zorc is he? He can still be saved right? His soul isn't lost?" He can still be with me? he added silently. He was terrified, absolutely terrified, of having this man taken away from him permanently. And since they now knew Zorc was living inside of him, that wasn't too slim of a chance of him being taken away right at that very moment.

Bast gave a heavy sight and moved to stand. "I don't know for sure but we were afraid of inaccuracy. After many arguments and discussions, I was given permission and the honor of bringing this." She reached into her pocket and brought out a pure white feather as long as her hand.

Atemu gasped and widened his eyes. "The Feather of Ma'at," he breathed.

Ryou looked away towards the glowing feather in the goddesses hand. "Will that help?"

"Can it break the contract?" Akeifa asked quietly. So much had changed and while his head still spun at having everything he knew turned upside down, he did know that he no longer wanted the demon's power or the touch of it's claws.

She shook her head gravely. "Breaking a contract is something only Ra or Ptah are allowed to do. Trying to use Ma'at's feather for something like that would destroy both Zorc and Akeifa. I am simply going to use this to see how strong he is within you. From there I can put a seal on him until we figure out what to do."

Akeifa nodded and shifted Ryou to the side so that he could stand.

She brought the feather closer until it was almost touching his heart, then began whispering a spell continuously under her breath, not even pausing for air. The feather glowed brighter and brighter until two orbs formed in front of the thief. Bast stopped whispering and let her hand drop to her side, the feather still hanging in the space.

Yugi watched in open fascination.

The one on the right side of the feather glowed pure white. The other on the left was mostly grey, though a small ball glowed pitch black in the very center. Not big enough to really be felt but enough that Set would find it.

"There." Bast pointed to the glowing or on the right. "The one on the right is your Ka, Akeifa. The deal has been made so you are clean. The one on the left is Zorc, or at least his presence in you. He is not so strong that it would normally be felt but since Set is looking for a concentrated mass of pure hate, no matter how small, he would certainly feel that and manipulate it in seconds."

Akeifa shifted uncomfortably. It felt odd to have such essential parts of his being exist outside of himself.

"What are you going to do with it? Can it not be wholly separated from me?"

The black within the orb swirled and pulsed angrily. This came very close to a violation of the contract and it raged against its captor.

"They cannot be that far apart from each other and right now they are at their limit. If I try to send Zorc to Ammit, We will have no choice but to send your soul too. Where ever one goes, the other must follow. I'm sorry."

She reached out and gave Akeifa's Ka a little push and it drifted back into his body. Zorc's began to follow but she reached out and halted its progress.

"I must do this quickly or both souls will be destroyed so please do not break my concentration."

Her golden eyes snapped tightly shut and her lips moved, forming words without sound. Wind began to pick up around the room as the magic level increased and a gold film began to cover the orb in her hand, slowly concealing the Ka inside. The black rolled and twisted violently, not liking at all what was happening, fighting back, and the film stopped its slow trickling over the sides of the orb one long agonizing moment. The orb hung in mid air, half covered and still showing the twisting black mass. Then, as Bast eyes squeezed tighter and her lips increased in their wordless speech, the golden resumed task until it was covered completely.

She let go of the orb and it, too, drifted back into Akeifa's body. She fairly collapsed into her chair as the feather floated gently down to the surface of the table.

Yugi put a tentative hand on her arm. "Are you alright?" he asked, eyes filled with concern.

She gave Yugi a weary smile. "I'm just fine. A little tired is all. Covering up an intensely powerful Ka is extremely hard to do but now, he can't make his presence known or be found. That seal should hold for now."

Akeifa shuddered and crossed his arms over his chest as thought to hold both orbs in and Ryou came up behind him to hesitantly place a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

The thief gave him a small smile, and, when he was convinced he wasn't going to fall apart, slowly straightened and lowered his arms back to his side. "When is this audience with Set."

"Erm...I don't actually know." She had the grace to blush and look away. "Thoth wouldn't tell me," she finished almost bitterly.

"So what happens now?" Atemu was still keeping an eye on Akeifa as if expecting Zorc to break the seal and take over control of the body at any minute.

"I get Akeifa to Ra right away, before Thoth comes to take you to Set."

Akeifa glanced sideways at Ryou. Truth be told, he'd had enough of gods and goddesses and magic that could take him apart, rearrange him and put him back together again. He'd rather be alone with his mouse, especially if there was a possibility that he wouldn't return from his encounter with Set.

"I think not. Thoth will surely know where to find me when it is time and when I meet Set, I shall remember our bargain." And with that, he made for the door.

"Sorry, you guys. I guess we'll be leaving then." Ryou gave Yugi and Atemu a small wave, bowed to Bast, and ran out the door after his thief.

Yugi waved at his retreating friend and quickly closed the door behind him before Atemu or Bast could try and make them come back.

"Akeifa, wait!" Ryou called as he caught up with him. "Why did you leave like that? We need to make sure you're safe from Set."

Akeifa gave Ryou a small smile. "I will be safe enough, besides, I've had enough of gods and goddesses for one night."

Ryou returned the smile with one of his own and reached out to take his hand. It had been an eventful day and he was tired of all the complications. Time by themselves sounded better with each passing thought. They had things to talk about and he really wanted to spend as much time with him before everything started.

Now that it had gotten dark, he was faced with the decision of which route to take home: the faster maze of alleys or the longer, safer neighborhood walk.

Akeifa twined his fingers around Ryou's, delighting in the touch of his mouse.

"Erm...maybe we should go through the neighborhood. The alleys have a lot of gangs in them at night so it's not really that safe..."

The small smile turned into a dangerous smirk. "Neither am I."

The thief fingered the stolen knife at his belt, one from the midget's kitchen this time, and strode purposefully toward the alleyway, pulling Ryou along behind him.


I'm gonna miss that language barrier.

Stuff!

1. Hms - sit down
2. Fantasy.Maker: Can they have smex on the table now? Ryou's ready. I'll make him ready.
Jenivi7: HA!
Fantasy.Maker: Sorry I'm just...My Ryou loves his thief. Especially when he's molesting him
Jenivi7: I think the rest of the company might object! XD
Jenivi7: scratch that, Bast wouldn't
Fantasy.Maker: Pssh… She'd sit back and enjoy the show.
Fantasy.Maker: Maybe get some popcorn…
Fantasy.Maker: Atemu would be all : You cant do that here! Right in front of us! besides you're doing it all wrong. THIS is how you make them scream. (proceeds to molest Yugi)
Jenivi7: And then MuseKisara would break the barrier between rl and story and join Bast to watch.
Jenivi7: Hahahahahahahahaha (dies!)
Fantasy.Maker: and I'd try to follow but Suki would most likely hold me back.
Jenivi7: Yugi's too reserved tho usually. so he'd probably object
Jenivi7: unless we were doing a story w/ a foursome . . .
Jenivi7: (nosebleeds just thinking of it)
Fantasy.Maker: O/O
Jenivi7: Oops, did I just kill us ded again?
Fantasy.Maker: I think so
Fantasy.Maker: But that's not something I mind at all XD