The bright sun beamed down from the sky, not a cloud was in sight, as it was another beautiful day in Domino.
Well, almost.
"Stop thief!" a palace guard with brown hair and tiny brown eyes, named Rex, shouted as he raced after a young man ran through the marketplace. The young man they were chasing was a slightly tanned skin, tri-colored hair, amethyst eyed, dressed in pretty ragged clothes, and stood only at about 5' tall.
"I'll have your hands for a trophy, street rat!" the head guard, a man with silver hair and eyes named Pegasus, yelled after the orphan teen.
Trying to outrun the group of royal place guards, Yugi knew the consequences of his actions if he was caught, but the growling of his stomach needed to be silenced once and for all. He hadn't eaten in almost a week. Stealing was the only way a poor boy like him could survive in a place like this, and at the moment his luck was running out.
"All of this for a loaf bread?" he said to himself running in the opposite direction of where the guards were going. He was running as fast as his feet could carry him, but being really short wasn't helping at the moment.
A sigh escaped his lips as ran onto the roof top of a three story building and jumped off the edge as the guards climbed the access ladder to the roof. Landing in a laundry cart, Yugi took the top article of clothing off. To his luck it was an old cloak, not a women's dress like last time.
"There he is!" Yugi looked up at the shout to see a guard with red hair and grey eyes. If Yugi caught his name right, he was Alister.
"Next time you won't get away so easy!" Pegasus glared down the three story building at the 16 year old boy.
"He thinks that was easy?" Yugi shook his head in disbelief.
"If you get away from him, then yes." Johan, the cart puller said. Johan was a friend of Yugi's who felt that he owed him a debt for looking after his crops while his wife was ill.
"Morning Johan." Yugi said to the cart carrier as he pulled the cloak on. "Here's the dress back."
"You two, over that way," Yugi heard Pegasus giving orders, "and you, with me. We'll find him."
"You're getting into trouble a little early today," Johan smirked, "aren't you, Yugi?"
"Trouble?" Yugi asked as he tucked the bread into the waistband of his belt. "No way. You're only in trouble if you get caught."
"Gotcha!" Pegasus shouted as he grabbed Yugi's shoulder, effectively tearing his disguise off.
"I'm in trouble!" Yugi mumbled, desperately looking around for a friendly face.
"And this time-" Pegasus cut off a golden monkey pulled his head covering over his eyes. The monkey did a little dance on Pegasus's head as Yugi laughed.
"Perfect timing Joey." Yugi said as he gave his monkey friend a salute. "As usual."
"Hello!" Joey greeted in monkey talk. It wasn't known to many, but Joey was a shifter. He could only change into a monkey, but it sure came in handy. Like right now.
"Come on," Yugi slipped past Pegasus, who was still struggling with is head cover, as more guards appeared. "Let's get outta here!"
"Come back here you no good rotten thief!" Rex shouted.
"You know," Yugi commented, "we steal what we can't afford. But that's everything."
"You're going to pay for your crimes!" Pegasus shouted as he raced after the teen with the monkey.
"How can I do that?" Yugi called over his shoulder. "You guys don't appreciate the fact that I'm broke!
"You riffraff!" Alister shouted.
"Street rat!" added Valon, a guard with brown hair and blue eyes.
"Scoundrel!" a guard with blond hair and blue eyes named Raphael sneered.
"Come on." Yugi called back as he ran onto a platform. "Just a little snack guys?"
"No!" all of the guards lunged for him as he jumped onto a rope that was hanging on the other side of the street, thanks to Joey.
"I can take a hint." Yugi mumbled. "Face the facts. You're my only friend, Joey."
For a brief moment, the world around him disappeared as he remembered the day he and Joey had met.
Flashback
A 10 year old orphan Yugi ran from the palace guards again. He only wanted something to eat. Quickly hoping in to a barrel, he pulled the lid over and waited as the guards ran past. Climbing out, Yugi dusted himself off, but stopped when he heard a voice.
"I hope you learned your lesson monkey boy." One of the guards in training, Rex? said.
Peaking around the corner, Yugi saw a blond haired boy on the ground, bruised. The brown haired trainee looked pleased with himself.
"I'd better make sure that you don't try anything again, monkey boy." Rex said as he cracked his knuckles. For only 10 years old, he sure did like violence.
As Rex brought his fist down, Yugi found himself running, towards the hurt boy.
"Stop!" Yugi shouted as he planted himself in front of the injured boy and took the blow.
"What?" Rex snarled. "You've got to be kidding me? A midget? Well, if you really want it."
That day, Yugi and Joey became friends. Since Yugi stood up for Joey, Joey helped patch Yugi up once Rex was finished with his beating. Since then, they worked together to get the food and other things they needed to survive.
Yugi also became very adept at decoding Joey's monkey talk.
End Flashback
"Focus!" Joey screeched at him in monkey as he hopped onto Yugi's shoulder.
Yugi glanced around to see the guards closing in again. Thinking fast, Yugi placed his arms on their shoulders, like they were all buddy-buddy.
"Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat." Yugi shrugged. "Otherwise we'd get along."
"Wrong!" Pegasus snapped and lunged at Yugi, who successfully dodged again.
"You're quick," Yugi admitted as he ran into a tall house, "but I'm much faster, despite being shorter."
"We've got you now." Alister grinned as they backed Yugi to a window.
"Maybe." Yugi replied as he picked up a carpet on the floor. "Wish me happy landing, cause all I gotta do is jump!"
Yugi jumped out the window, the carpet carrying him and Joey to safety. The guards, however, went straight down to the street, and land in a pile of camel dung, with a sign that reads "Crazy Hakim's Discount Fertilizer."
Making the carpet into a parachute, Yugi landed safely, and Joey scampered down from his shoulder as they swapped high fives.
"And now esteemed effendi," Yugi said as he pulled the bread out from his belt and broke it in half, "we feast!"
"All right!" Joey cheered as he changed back to his human form. Joey was a dirty blond haired boy with hazel-brown eyes and a slight tan. He stood about 10" taller than Yugi. Joey would normally eat as a human, and then change back into a monkey. It saved more energy and he needed to eat less than Yugi did that way.
Just as Yugi was about to take his first bite, he glanced up to see two young children, a sister and brother, rummaging through the garbage for food. As the two kids noticed their unexpected guest, they dropped their findings and try to hide.
Yugi felt his heart move with pity as he looked at them. Then his stomach rumbled, reminding him of the bread in his hand. He looked at the bread, and then at Joey, who had already taken a bite, having not seen the kids yet.
"Joey." Yugi whispered and nudged his friend.
"What?" Joey looked over with his mouth full.
Yugi jerked his head in the direction of the kids. Joey looked up to see the kids, swallowed what was in his mouth, and looked down guiltily. Taking a deep breath, Yugi stood up and walked over to the children. The girl pulled her brother back as Yugi got closer, thinking he would strike them like so many others had.
"Here," Yugi held out his piece of bread. "Go on. Take it."
The children giggled with delight as they took the bread from Yugi's offered hand. They had good food to eat.
As Yugi walked past Joey, the shifter made up his mind. Glancing around quickly, he grabbed the carpet he and Yugi had used to escape. It could also be used as a blanket. Picking it up, he took it, and his piece of bread, to the kids. Not taking no for an answer, he left them with food and warmth.
As Yugi walked out of the alley, he was met with a large crowd. Joey ran after Yugi, who was now standing on tiptoe to see over the crowd. Finding some crates, Joey hoisted Yugi up so he could see before watching himself.
A parade was passing by, and it appeared to be a princess from another country. The princess had black hair, and brown eyes. Her skin was pale, compared to the people ofEgypt.
"On her way to the palace, I suppose." Someone in front of Yugi and Joey spoke.
"Another suitor for the prince." The man next to him agreed.
"Princess Vivian," one of her guards spoke, "we shall be at the palace momentarily."
As Yugi hopped down from the crates, the young boy and girl he and Joey had given their bread to, came running out of the alley at top speed, chasing what was left of the loaf. But the kids didn't notice the procession of people, until they startled the princess's horse, that is.
"Out of my way," Princess Vivian screeched, "you filthy brats! Whip them and get them out of my sight!"
As the guards moved to carry out the princess's orders, Yugi felt his anger rise. Usually he was shy and didn't draw attention to himself. But if there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was the innocent being punished. Pushing out of the crowd, Yugi managed to jump in front of the kids and catch the whip as it was being brought down, yanking it out of the guard's hands.
"Hey!" Yugi glared at the princess. "If I were as rich as you, maybe I could afford some manners."
"Oh!" Princess Vivian gasped, offended that someone of such low rank would speak to her. "I teach you some manners!"
With an unseen signal, one of her guards pushed Yugi back into the mud. The entire crowd laughed at him as Joey and the children he protected helped him up.
"Look at that, Yugi." Joey jerked his head to the procession that was entering threw the palace gates. "It's not every day you see a ass with two rear ends!" (Alverna: Ass meaning a wild donkey, pretty common back in Ancient Egypt. VB20: Oohhh! Take that Vivian!)
The princess stopped her horse and looked back over her shoulder.
"You both are worthless street rats." Vivian said as she looked down at them. "You were born street rats, you'll die street rats. Only your fleas will mourn you."
Yugi and Joey angrily rushed towards the princess, but the doors to the palace slam shut in their faces.
"We're not worthless." Yugi snapped to the doors.
"And we don't have fleas." Joey added scratching his hair, only to pull his hand away to see that the snotty princess was right.
"Come on Joey." Yugi sighed "Let's go home."
The two walked back into a part of the city that had no other people in it. A plague had swept threw some years back, claiming the lives of Joey's mother and sister, as well as Yugi's parents. His grandfather had left on business earlier in the year and had never returned. Even now nobody else wanted to live there, not even the guards went there, so Yugi and Joey made themselves at home.
Joey changed back into a monkey as Yugi climbed the ladder to where they lived. He began to sing softly. It was just his way of expressing things he just couldn't talk about.
"Riffraff, street rat.
I don't buy that.
If only they'd look closer."
As he entered the house, Joey scampered to his bed area and fell asleep as Yugi tucked him in.
"Would they see a poor boy? No siree.
They'd find out, there's so much more to me."
"Someday Joey," Yugi said, pulling back a curtain to reveal a lovely view of the palace. "Things are gonna change. We'll be rich, live in a palace, and never have anymore problems."