Chapter 41
Life's Calling
Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.
My apologies for those who got an earlier alert: I posted this chapter before finishing it.
When a sentence is **like this**, it's sign language. When a sentence is ~like this~, it's phoenix speech.
Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.
A month came and went. One day, Tima woke up to find herself alone. Looking around the guest room, she saw Atem working on Tiki's old laptop. Getting up and stretching, she went up to him and hugged him from behind. "You're up early."
Atem chuckled. "I couldn't really sleep last night."
Tima looked at the screen. "So what are you looking at?"
Atem sighed and looked at the screen. On it was a job application site. "After getting Kaiba's help to stay in Japan…" He paused and chuckled. "I still can't believe Kaiba went with that angle."
Wanting to look at the papers again, Tima took them out from the desk and looked over them. Using his power and influence, Kaiba gave them new identities and backstories. Atem was now Atem Muto from Egypt and Tima became Tima Eliana from Israel. The story was that they met and fell in love at boarding school in Egypt and came to Japan to live with the Mutous under the right of asylum. Reading the reasoning given for why they left Egypt, Tima wanted to comment on it when Atem sighed. "I'm glad Yugi and Tiki helped us pass the GED. But now…we need jobs."
Tima agreed. "Tell me about it. I think I lost count of how many job applications I've sent out."
Atem nodded. He then pulled up another website. It was a college website. "I also want to go to college and find a career. But…I have no idea what to study. While I want to stay here and go to Domino University, I don't want to apply until I have a path before me."
Tima could understand his reasoning. Seeing how frustrated he was, she smiled and stroked his hair, getting his attention. "How about you and I go out on a date? We've been so busy this past month, we've barely had time to ourselves."
Atem smiled and nodded. "Good idea. Where do you want to go?"
Tima just smiled. "You'll see."
An hour later, they found themselves in front of Domino Museum. Confused, Atem looked at Tima. "Why here?"
Tima smiled and took his hand. "This place gave us a path before, when we first saw the Millennium Tablet. So, since you're looking for a new path, I thought this place might inspire you again."
Atem's confusion turned to a smile. Pulling her forward, he kissed his forehead before heading inside. To their surprised delight, there was a new Egyptian exhibit. Seeing a pamphlet about the exhibit, she got one and smiled with delight. "Atem! This is our time period! And Professor Hawkins is in charge! You think he's here?"
Atem looked at the pamphlet and grinned. "If he is, I bet he'll be just as surprised to see us as Kaiba was."
Tima pointed out, "If Grandpa hasn't already told him."
The two chuckled and went to the wing with the exhibit. There were a lot of artifact, tapestries, and other objects. They recognized a lot of them and enjoyed the nostalgic feeling everything gave them. Coming up to a vase, Tima looked at it and, not recognizing it, started to move on. But she noticed that Atem was staring intently at it. "Atem? You okay?"
Atem continued to stare at the vase. "No…this isn't right."
Curious, Tima went back to the vase. Before taking a closer look, they heard Arthur Hawkins behind them. "Ah, Yugi, Tiki. Nice to see you."
Atem smirked. "Just the man I need to see."
He turned around, shocking the old man. "How…? I can't believe it."
Tima tilted her head. "Grandpa didn't tell you?"
Arthur was too shocked to answer at first. She chuckled and waved her hand in front of his face. Blinking out of his trance, he became professional but his eyes were still shining with surprise. "I'm sorry. Solomon did tell us but…seeing is different from hearing." Taking another breath, he looked at Atem. "You said you wanted to see me…um…?"
Atem reminded, "Atem. And this vase is mistranslated. I should know: this was made when Tima and I ruled Egypt."
His surprise redirected, Arthur joined Atem's side. "Are you sure?"
Atem nodded. "It's about offerings, not the harvest."
Pulling out the magnifying glass from his jacket, Arthur looked at the vase and then the translation. "I can't believe it…"
Atem shrugged, wanting to give the translator the benefit of the doubt. "I'm sure it was an accident."
Arthur was not as sure. "Would you two mind coming with me?"
Off their nods, he started to lead them throughout the exhibit. He had look at scrolls, a few pictures of hieroglyphs, and a few more vases; there was even a couple of scrolls with Hebrew texts. Tima confirmed that there were only a couple of errors in the Hebrew texts, mainly because a lot of symbols looked extremely similar. Atem, however, found more mistranslations that were more mistakes than misreading. Arthur shook his head. "This is a disaster. I can't believe my assistant got all these wrong. I'll need to find another one."
As he started to leave, Tima got an idea and turned to Atem. "This is the perfect opportunity for you. Maybe you can be the new assistant."
Atem blinked in surprise. "Really?"
Tima nodded and pushed him gently. "Go! Before he gets away!"
Teasingly annoyed by her push, Atem went up to Arthur. Hoping things would go well for him, Tima looked at the Hebrew texts. But she was more curious about how the conversation between Atem and Arthur so she looked over her shoulder at them. Almost immediately as she looked, Arthur nodded and Atem smiled brightly. Bowing to Arthur, Atem went back to Tima. She grinned. "So…?"
Atem pulled her into a kiss. "The professor is staying in Japan for a year…and I'll be starting as his new assistant next week. Not only that, he said he's going to put in a good word when I apply for Domino University."
Tima smiled brightly and hugged him tightly. "That's wonderful, Atem!"
Atem hugged her back. "Thank you, Tima, for pushing me."
"Of course, my love. But now the question is: you said you didn't want to apply until you had a path. Do you know what you want to study now?"
Taking a moment, Atem looked around at all the artifacts. "I think…I have some idea."
Tima looked around and smiled, understanding. "What better person to work with Ancient Egypt than someone who used to rule it?"
Atem smiled in amusement as they continued to go through the museum.
Two weeks later, Tiki came home from having a date with Kaiba. Going up to the living room area, she found Atem on her old computer and Tima looking through the paper. Tiki greeted them and went next to Tima. "What are you looking at?"
Tima set down the paper on her lap and sighed, frustrated. "Apartment rentals."
Tiki looked at the laptop and saw he was looking at the same thing. "Can't find anything?"
Atem sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately…"
Tima ran her hands through her hair. "Most are way out of our budget; any we find that we can afford are too far from Domino University for Atem and from my circle of job applications for me. I'm starting to think it's hopeless…"
Atem looked at Tima. "Tima…"
Tima shook her head. "I know…I know you want us to be positive…but this is reality."
Tiki rubbed her friend's back. "Something will come along. I know it."
Tima looked at the paper. "I hope so. Right now, we can't even afford the cheapest studio apartment."
Tiki's face morphed into a smirk. "Well…I have an apartment for you."
The couple looked at her in surprise. While wanting to be optimistic, Atem still said, "This is no time for jokes, Tiki."
Tiki could not help but giggle. "This isn't a joke. I got Seto to agree to let you two rent an apartment at the complex he owns." She then let out one more giggle. "Remember the morning after the graduation party? When you two were talking about living arrangements and I tried to say something when Seto silenced me? That complex is actually what I was trying to bring up."
Atem chuckled. "So did he silence you because he didn't want to help me?"
The two young women laughed. Tiki shook her head and explained, "The complex is for workers at his company, for warehouse workers and customer services representatives. If someone who works for him can't afford regular housing, they live there and have their rent taken out of their paychecks."
Tima smiled. "That's really nice of him. More companies need to do that." She then asked, "Will we be able to afford it? Especially since we don't work for him."
Tiki nodded. "He will charge you $400 a month. That's how much he takes out of the worker's paychecks."
Tima was still a little worried. "Is that still affordable?"
Before Tiki could answer, Atem pointed out, "I can ask him to pay me when I test out the virtual reality technology."
Tiki smirked. "I will make sure you get something. No way are you going to work for free."
Tima felt better and did remember, "I am going for an interview at a movie theater in a couple days so, if I get that, that'll get us some money."
Atem perked up. "I know you're going to get it, Tima."
Tima smiled appreciatively at him. Tiki grinned, "If you're interested, we can go tomorrow."
Atem held up his finger and asked, "First things first: where is it?"
Tiki went to the computer and put in the address. "Well, it's about 15 minutes from KaibaCorp so…"
Atem pulled back in the map and saw, "25 minutes from Domino University…20 minutes from the museum…perfect."
The next day, Tiki took Atem and Tima to the apartment complex. It had four floors and was simple in design. The couple looked the building up and down. Atem asked, "What floor are we on?"
Tiki looked in her purse and found the key. "Third floor. Let's go!"
She led her friends up to the third floor and found the correct apartment. She unlocked the door and let them inside. Tima and Atem's eyes lit up. It was a decently-sized apartment that started with an open concept with the living room and kitchen. There was a simple couch, table, and a corner TV. The kitchen had a fridge and a rice maker. A couple of doors led to the bathroom and toilet. A further door led to the bedroom with a bed on the floor. There was even a small balcony, overlooking the city. Tima's eyes shone. "It's perfect!"
Atem nodded. Tiki giggled. "I'm glad you two love it!"
Looking at the living room, Tima asked, "Did you ask him to furnish the place for us too?"
Tiki shook her head with a smile. "No, this is standard for all the apartments. If you want more furniture, you'll have to get them yourself; you'll also have to fill the fridge if you want something other than rice."
Atem looked in the bedroom. "We'll figure something out for that."
Tiki got an idea. "If you want, I can take you grocery shopping tomorrow."
Tima lit up. "Tiki, you are too kind to us. We can't thank you and Kaiba enough."
Tiki hugged her friend. "It's the least I could do after everything you two have done for my family and friends." She then held up the key. "So do you two want to spend the night? We can get your stuff from the guest room when we go grocery shopping tomorrow."
Tima and Atem looked at each other and smiled with a nod. Seeing this, Tiki left with a smile. Once alone, Tima's smile widened as she looked around. "Our own apartment…"
Atem looked around as well. "I know…this is surreal."
Tima looked at Atem. "You know…we don't have anything to do until tomorrow…so…"
Atem knew what she was hinting at and chuckled, a glint in his eye.
Within days, Tima got a part-time job at the movie theater and Atem was accepted to Domino University.
After some time, Tima came home from working. Finding herself alone, she sat on the couch and flip through a couple of wedding magazines she had. She remembered that they agreed to wait until Atem was established in his career before having a wedding. Looking at the dresses, she smiled. "It'll be worth the wait."
Her eyes, however, zoomed in on the prices. Seeing the amount made her think of her job. She sighed. "Atem found his path…but mine is hidden. Am I suited for being a housewife?"
As she got up to do the laundry, she thought of her time as being Atem's queen. 'I don't mind if that's what I do. It'll be like it was in Ancient Egypt…but with no royal duties.'
She gathered the clothes; in doing so, she found Atem's notebook and pen on the floor.
Tima was working on breakfast, listening to Atem run around the apartment. "I told you to set your alarm, Atem!" she teased.
Atem said nothing as he headed for the door. Turning to say goodbye, she saw his notebook and pen sticking out from under his pajama shirt. "Atem, your notebook!"
As he ran out the door, he called, "No need! Got everything in my head! See you tonight!"
She chuckled at the memory and went down to the communal laundry room, deciding to leave the notebook on the floor. Once back from putting in a load, she went to the notebook and read the notes Atem had taken. It was for his Egypt class, which told her why he did not grab it when he was running late that morning. Sitting down at the table, she skimmed the pages until she reached a blank page. Before she knew it, she had pulled out the pen and started to write. She wrote for an hour before her watch beeped, telling her it was time to put the clothes in the dryer. She quickly left, leaving the notebook open.
Coming back from putting the clothes in the dryer, she found Atem reading his notebook. She teased, "I thought you had everything in your head."
Without looking up, Atem smirked. "I do. I'm reading what you wrote."
Tima blushed. "It's just a scrawl…"
Atem looked up. "It's the day we met…when you were that woman's slave. I thought my memory was clear of that day but your descriptions paint an even more vivid picture." Getting an idea, he got up and went to her. "Why not expand on this? It would appear you have talent as a writer; you should use it."
Tima blushed a little deeper. "I…expanding…it's a lot of work…what if my writing isn't good enough."
Atem pulled her into a hug. He whispered in her ear, "Don't give up when you haven't tried." He pulled back to look at her. "Have faith in yourself, Tima. Use that faith we had when we were hiding our relationship."
Tima smiled softly. "Atem…"
"How about this? Write the first chapter. If you're not satisfied, you tried; if you are…keep going."
Tima nodded. "Okay…I'll do that…after I get the laundry out of the dryer."
Finally finished with his homework, Atem stretched his back. "Ow…it's so tough looking at my history pretending like I have no idea."
Tima did not answer; she was engrossed in her writing. He smiled. "How about I make dinner?"
She nodded, still not looking up. He chuckled. "I am going to need to hear you eventually."
She grinned, still writing. "Sorry. I just got hit with inspiration. I don't want to stop until I've ridden this wave out."
Atem understood and went to work.
Atem laid down in the bed and saw Tima still writing. "You're going to make me lonely in here."
Tima smiled and got up, bringing the notebook with her. "I'm coming. I'm too tired to work anymore."
Once she was close enough, Atem took the notebook and found ten pages written. "So how did the first chapter come out?"
Tima chuckled a little. "Oh…there's three chapters in there." Seeing Atem's impressed look, she smiled. "Thank you for giving me the push. I want to see this story moving forward."
"Well, am I allowed to read or do I have to wait until you're published?"
Tima's smile became a grin. "Go ahead."
She left to get ready for bed. She thought about the three chapters she had and could already feel her muse poking her with other ideas. 'Let me sleep tonight; we'll get together tomorrow.'
Feeling her muse quiet, she did her nightly routine and came back out. Atem was reading and looked engrossed in the story. "Do you like it?"
Atem finished the last page and nodded. "Very good. Your descriptions help me see everything clearly."
Tima laid down next to him and teased, "I would hope so; it's our memories."
Atem smirked. "You know what I mean. If anyone else were to read it, they would see everything clearly. I can't wait for the rest."
A few days later, however, Tima was hit with a major case of writer's block. She made an outline of the story and noticed that most of the events had the Millennium Items and Kas involved. She wanted to try and not include them but her brain could not figure out how to rewrite their history without them. She tried multiple times to write but kept ripping up the pages. Finally, after ripping up her 20th page, she threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in her pillow. She was so stressed, she was on the verge of tears. "I can't…I can't make…an original story…what am I going to do?"
She cried out of stress until she felt a hand on her back. Looking up, she saw Atem looking at her, looking very concerned. "What's wrong?"
Sniffling, she sat up and wiped her eyes. "Major writer's block…"
Atem asked, "Having trouble remembering certain things? Can I help with that?"
Tima shook her head. "No…not that. It's just…I don't think the Millennium Items or the Kas should be involved. But…I can't think of something new to replace them."
Atem blinked, a little confused. "As for the Items, why not just give them a new name? They are legendary items, to the point where only certain people believe they really existed. Even my professor thinks they were legends."
Hearing that, Tima felt a little better. "I suppose…"
"And why not include the Kas? They were a big part of our lives."
Tima shrugged. "People might think I'm copying Duel Monsters."
Atem gave her a look. "Duel Monsters are a huge part of this world. And let's not forget: Pegasus was the one who gave them their current names. Use descriptions or their original names and none will be the wiser."
Tima listened to him and thought. She finally nodded, making him smile and kiss her forehead. "Stop worrying yourself. Just enjoy the process."
Tima smiled and rubbed her eyes. "Thank you. I'm sorry for being a drama queen."
Atem smirked. "You're not. You're a queen but not a drama queen."
Tima could not help but smile, which made Atem smile again. "And there she is. This is how my beloved should always be: with a smile on her face."
Tima's smile widened. "I love you, Atem."
Atem leaned in and kissed her. "I love you. How about I make dinner and you keep writing? If you want."
Tima nodded. "Sounds good."
As Atem got to work, he could hear her scribbling away. He smiled, glad she had found her own path.
