Ancient Magics

By Silverdust

Chap 5. Modern Destiny-Adjusting

***

            Sekhmet groaned and thrust her head under her pillow as the knocking on her door continued. Finally came a voice. "Sekhmet!!!! Wake up or you're going to make me late for school!!!"

            "Fine, coming, coming," she shouted back.

            She managed to drag herself out of bed. Kiiraa was sitting on the desk, licking her paws. "Mornin' Rip Van Winkle."

            "Shut up. The only reason your not tired is because you slept all day yesterday."

            "Well, you wouldn't have been this tired if you hadn't of played video games all night with Mokuba."

            Sekhmet opened her mouth to say an insult but couldn't think of any, so she just went to take a shower. After about five minutes she got out, shivering. "That water is so damn cold!"

            "Did you turn on the hot water tap?"

            "What hot water tap?"

            Kiiraa sighed in disgust. "You. Are. Hopeless. Come on, you've got ten minutes to get dressed."

            "Okay! Don't rush me kit-kat."

            "Don't call me that!"

            Sekhmet ignored her feline companion, humming to herself as she put on her school uniform. "Oh Ra, these skirts are way too short!"

            "Deal with it sister."

            "Have you been watching late night movies again, or did you go on a spree with that coffee creamer?"

            "Hey! Drop it! That was fifty years ago and you still don't let me get over it!"

            She clasped on her charm bracelet and her earrings, just on a whim, then raced downstairs.

***

            Kaiba was sitting at the breakfast table, you guessed it, on his laptop. A cup of coffee sat across from him, half empty, or half full, depending on what kind of person you are. Sekhmet glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she poured herself a cup. "Do you ever get off that thing?"

            "Why?"

            "Just curious."

            "None of your business."

            "Fine, touchy."

            Mokuba skidded in through the doorway, almost banging into the counter. "Morning everyone!"

            "Hey Mokuba!' said Sekhmet. "I won last night so you-"

            "Have to help with the dishes, I know, I know."

            Sekhmet smiled mischievously. "Yeah you get the picture don't you kiddo?"

            Mokuba stuck his tongue out at her impishly. She laughed and shot a cheerio at him. Kaiba glared at them from over his laptop. "Don't you dare make a mess."

            "Hai," Sekhmet sighed, halfheartedly. Jerk, she thought. Mokuba glanced at her, then crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. She giggled.

            Kaiba glanced at the clock, and closed his laptop. "C'mon, we have to go if we want to be on time."

            Sekhmet mumbled something and she and Mokuba got up. Kaiba led the way to the limo, waiting as usual. They dropped Mokuba off first. Sekhmet waved as the limo drove away, until the school drifted out of sight. Then she sat back in the seat. She would have really liked to get some sleep, but the clicking sounds from Kaiba's laptop kept her awake. She contented herself with daydreaming about Egypt until they pulled up in front of the high-school. She got out, followed by Kaiba.

            A new day about to begin.

***

            "Hey Sekhmet!"

            "Oh hi Yugi!"

            Sekhmet ran over and pulled up a seat by her friends. After an exchange of greetings the conversation turned to more trivial topics, like the upcoming dance, the new cheerleader tryouts, Mr. Jukiara's new wig…

            "So Ryou," said Yugi, leaning back in his chair. "Is Malik coming today?"

            "I don't know," Ryou said, tipping his head to one side in traditional bishie style. "He always keeps to himself."

            "He's skipped for almost the whole week," said Tea, frowning. "If he misses anymore days he could get suspended."

            "I bet it's what he's aimin' for," said Joey, airily.

            "Who's Malik?" asked Sekhmet.

            Yugi opened his mouth to explain when the door flew open and a blond, dark-skinned Egyptian teenager walked in. His violet eyes surveyed the room, rested briefly on Yugi and co., then went to other aspects. He sat down in the nearest desk, looking down at the desktop. Yugi sighed. "That's Malik."

            "Oh, friend of yours?"

            "Kinda. Long story short, he tried to kill me once."

            "Woah."          

            "Yeah, something I don't like to brag about."

            Sekhmet glanced over at the boy. Suddenly, that same shockwave she felt with Ryou and Yugi hit her. Another Millennium Item? But this one didn't have a spirit in it, thank Ra! She furrowed her eyes a bit, trying to get a glance on what the Item was. Millennium Rod, no doubt about it. Yikes.

            She turned her attention back to Yugi. "So, if he tried to kill you, why is he in school?"

            "Got off from the police on a plea of insanity. He's on probation."

            "Right. Yugi, you've got some interesting acquaintances…"

            Yugi sweatdropped. "Sure. Oh well, the bell's about to ring."

***

            Sekhmet glanced at the clock, pleading with her eyes for time to hurry up. She had no idea how boring  human schools were. Almost like that one council meeting about the Sahara…she bit down the urge to scream and tear out her hair.

            A note landed on her desk suddenly. She unraveled it, glancing up at the teacher to see if he was watching. Nope, to wrapped up on the history of toilets. She glanced down at the note. 'How was your first night with Kaiba? Tristan'

            She grabbed the pencil she had been chewing on and wrote. 'He gave me 200 bucks to go shopping. Took Mokuba. Cooked spaghetti. Played Sonic the Hedgehog till 12 am. Beat Mokuba. Went to bed. Really nice guest room. Sekhmet'

            She glanced around to see how Tristan had gotten it to her. She eventually got the picture, and handed it to Otogi next to her, who passed it to Tea diagonal from him, who passed it to Ryou behind her, who passed it to Tristan across from him.

            Soon another note came, two of them actually.

            '200?!?!? Tristan'

            'What was the guest room like? Ryou'

            She scribbled down two more notes and passed them. Thus the Inter-School Communication Line was discovered.

***

            During lunch Yugi and hid friends gave her the grand tour of Domino High. Soon she knew the school like the back of her hand. Then they went to have lunch in the usual place, a picnic table near the cafeteria.

            Sekhmet bought her own lunch today, using some money left over from her shopping spree. Ryou wasn't joining them today, he had gone to talk to Malik. Sekhmet found it a wonder that Ryou felt comfortable talking to a former assassin.

            "So you like Domino City so far?" asked Tea, stirring her out of her thoughts.

            "Yeah," she said, taking another bite of her pizza. "It's cool."

            "So, what's it like living with Kaiba?" asked Tristan. Joey grumbled something incoherently and tore into his burger with new vigor.

            "The service is nice, Mokuba's really sweet, but the man himself is a jerk."

            "Well that's to be expected," said Otogi, grinning. "But it's better than nothing eh?"

            "Yeah, I guess," Sekhmet sighed. "But now I owe him two hundred bucks, I think I'll go job-hunting after school."

            "No problem," said Otogi. "I've already taken care of it. We're short one cashier, pays pretty good. What do you say?"

            "Deal," Sekhmet said, relieved. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys! When do I start?"

            "How about…tomorrow?"

            "Oh, that'll be fine. Thanks a bundle guys, I think I owe you more than two-hundred bucks, for all you've done for me."

            Yugi smiled. "What are friends for?"

            Ryou came up then. "Hello guys."

            "Hey Ryou, what's the deal with Malik?"

            "Oh, he just wasn't ready to go into public. Says it took Isis about an hour to get him out of his room. She eventually had to get Rishid to break down the door."

            Joey whistled. "Dang. That determined?"

            "You know Malik…"

            "I guess."

            Tristan looked at his watch. "We have about ten minutes of lunch left. What do you want to do?"

            "Duel monsters?" suggested Joey. Tea sighed.

            "What else?"

            "Sekhmet hasn't played before, but she's got a deck, we can show her."

            "Alright," said Joey. "Me and Yugi will give you a demo duel!"

            "Cool," agreed Sekhmet, eagerly. Maybe I can get a hang of this, I wonder if it's the same as the Shadow Game?

            She watched as the duel progressed. Yugi was gaining the upper hand quickly, but Joey was keeping a pretty good defense. Yugi eventually won with his trademark card, the Dark Magician. Sekhmet clapped. "Wow, that was impressive!"

            "Your turn then," said Yugi. "Since you're a beginner, you can take Joey. He's pretty easy."

            "Hey! Your looking at the second place champion on Duelist Island!" said Joey, pointing to himself with a smug look on his face. "I just let Yugi win."

            "Yeah right," said Tea. "And I'm a supermodel."

            "Okay, I'll duel," Sekhmet sighed. She sat down across from Joey and shuffled her deck, placing it on the required place. Opposite her, Joey did the same.

            "Let's duel!"

            Joey put down one card face down. He also placed Flame Swordsman in attack mode. Power 1800. "Go Flame Swordsman!"

            Sekhmet studied the move. Then she laid one card face down, and then Serpent Night Dragon in attack mode. Power 2350. "Serpent Night Dragon, attack Flame Swordsman with Nightmare Sonic Blast. There Joey you lose 550 life points!"

            Joey glowered at his 1450 life points left, than grinned. "You walked right into my trap! Go Magic Card Oozaki!"

            "Reverse trap!"

            "What 650 life points left! And you're just a beginner!"

            "Live with it Joey."

            "Fine then. I summon my ultimate dragon! Red Eyes Black Dragon! And I power it up with Metal Claws! Its attack is now 3000, destroy Serpent Night Dragon!"

            Sekhmet glanced at her remaining 1650 life points. Better put up my defenses, and she lay down a card in defense mode, and another face down. "I end my turn."

            "Red Eyes! Attack the face down card in defense mode."

            Sekhmet picked up her Mystical Sand and put it in the graveyard. Then she flipped over her other card placing it in attack mode. "Go Dark Sage! Activate Shield and Sword Magic! Now, attack Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

            Joey sighed as he discarded his dragon. "Fine! So I lost 200 life points, I can still win!"

            He placed two cards in defense mode. "Might as well put up my defenses till I think of a comeback strategy."

            "Raigeki."

            "What!? Oh yeah, Dark Sage's special effect, one magic card per turn, I see. Yug, a little help here?"

            "Sorry Joey, I can't interfere with a match."

            "Fine then, uh, I uh, oh screw!"

            He placed his hand over his deck. Sekhmet looked confused. "What does that mean?"

            "It means he surrenders," said Tristan. "A duel well-played for a beginner. You sure you haven't played before?"

            "Absolutely. Just a game similar."

            She sighed. I miss Egypt already…how will I ever get used to it?

***

            She met Kaiba at the usual place, in front of the bell tower. The teenager was in his usual grumpy, solitary mood. She decided not to even bother to talk to him this time. But soon, the silence was getting on her nerves. "I got a job at Otogi's shop. I'll get some money soon."

            "The sooner the better. I don't really have the time for a house guest."

            He's such an ass, she thought, before turning back to the roadway. After a while, the limo pulled up. They got in, though Sekhmet found it more boring than yesterday. None of the new modern day things interested her anymore. What she wouldn't give to just see a papyrus scroll and a reed pen!

            They pulled up in front of Mokuba's school. The young boy jumped in eagerly, once again, and gave his usual greetings. Sekhmet was relieved to have someone to talk to after awhile. The typing from the computer was starting to drive her insane, and she had begun to ponder how good it would feel to set it on fire. Her and Mokuba talked about school and video games and stuff. Kaiba tuned them out like a bad radio song, lost in his little electronic world.

            When they got to the mansion, Sekhmet had to use the utter forces of her self control to keep from leaping out and kissing the ground. She stretched and then ran up the stairs to her room as the brothers departed their different ways. After twisting and turning down several hallways, she reached her room. Kiiraa was on the computer, surprisingly. Her paws weren't exactly cat paws, more like spread claws, easy for clicking the mouse to shoot the little meteors. "Hey."

            "Hi. Phew, you stink."

            "Well aren't you just a nice little kitty-cat."

            She pulled of her school uniform, dropping it down the laundry chute. Then she put on denim flares and a black t-shirt, letting her hair loose from its ponytail. "That's better."

            "No, take a shower."

            "Shut up kit-kat."

            "Stop that! Ra, where did you get that?"

            "Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat Bar!"

            "Infomercials? You have got to be kidding me…"

            "So what you do all day?"

            "Played on the computer."

            "Play? Kiiraa are you sick?"

            "Can't I have a little fun once in a while? Or do you expect all my time to be spent worrying about your butt?"

            "Tou-chy. Jeez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

            "Someone woke up OFF the bed thanks to your constant moving."

            "Hmph. Well, I'm going out."

            She walked downstairs. "Hey Mokuba, I'm going to the park, and to buy pizza for dinner. Wanna' come?"

            "Sure! Can we go to the arcade to?"

            "Sorry, but we only have enough money for pizza!"

            "okay, whatever. Let's go!"

            "Last one to the car's a rotten egg!"

            "You're on!"

***

            Sekhmet tossed and turned on the bed, frivolously trying to get some sleep. Nah, she couldn't. She got up, careful not to disturb Kiiraa, and went downstairs.

            Kaiba's mansion was kinda' creepy after midnight. But it didn't bother her, she didn't exactly have a phobia for the dark. She walked into the kitchen for a late night snack. Opening the fridge, she saw that there was plenty of left over pizza. Kaiba hadn't come to eat again. Sighing, she put two pieces on a plate and popped it in the microwave. Well, he didn't want it, shouldn't let it go to waste.

            While she waited, she began looking over Mokuba's papers from school. There were some worksheets, a report card, parent/teacher conference notice, and at the bottom of the pile, a book titled Ancient Egypt: The People and Culture.

***

            Kaiba yawned and stretched. His back was getting cramped from sitting so long, and his eyes hurt from the glare of the computer screen. Might as well get something to eat now, he'd finish later.

            He got up and went upstairs. Something smelled good, pizza maybe? Had Sekhmet gone out to get food? He looked at the clock. 10 p.m.

            He topped the stairs and walked into the kitchen. And almost had a heart attack in surprise when he saw Sekhmet sitting at the table. He regained his composure quickly, and was about to ask what the hell she was doing up when he noticed the expression on her face. Her eyes had that far away look, and tears glistened within them. She was wearing a large bathrobe, dwarfing her size. It made her look, small, helpless, alone. Lying open in front of her was Mokuba's book for his project on Ancient Egypt. It was opened to the section about the gods of the people.

            "Sekhmet?"

            The girl was startled out of her silence. She swiveled her head, saw him, and then quickly wiped her eyes. "Oh, uh, hi."

            "Are you…alright?"

            "Yeah, just uh, little homesick."

            "Hm."

            He opened the microwave, seeing the pizza. "This yours?"

            "Nah, you can have it. I think I'll go to bed anyways," she started to turn away.

            "Thanks for taking care of Mokuba while I was busy."

            Well, that was unexpected. "Your welcome."

            There was an awkward silence. Neither knew what to say to the other. Sekhmet started to walk away again. She stopped, and turned. "Don't tell anyone you saw me cry."

            "I won't. I know how it feels."

            "Well, um, thanks. For everything."

            She turned and ran upstairs. Kaiba watched her go, then bit into the pizza. It burned. "Damn! This is hot!"

***

            Sekhmet lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe, he wasn't such a jerk. She rolled over and smiled. Yeah, now I think I can sleep.

***

SilverD: Finally done! I know it took me a long time. It was the hardest chapter to crank out so far, 'cause it started out without a real idea how it was going to get. It was supposed to be about Sekhmet adjusting to modern life. I think it was to sappy at the end. My brother had to help me out with a duel scene, I hope I'm not making her too much like a Mary-Sue. Please R&R!!!!!!