Welcome back.
Once again, I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the ideas in my fic that come
from Inu-Yasha. I don't own Ancient Egypt or any of the treasure therein.
Good news Malik fangirls! Malik will be an important character in my fic for a few chapters here.
**********************************
Months passed while Father and I grieved for Mother's death. Father earns money by selling cloth that he buys from traders. Sometimes he even gets silk from far away China. Eventually father came up to me.
"Baku, I... ever since your mother died I have wanted to ask if you would help me in the shop. I wanted to give you enough time to grieve."
I didn't know what else to say. I was happy to have something to do and I went to work in my father's shop. Sometimes I tended the stall as my father made deals with traders inside our cooler house; mostly I acted as an errand boy. Father gave me a cloak to cover up my snowy hair. I was glad of the covering; it protected my pale skin from the harsh desert sun.
Even with my help life was harder for us now; I never realized how much money Mother had earned from winning in the dark games. Father sold cloth, however he had many competitors. When Mother had been alive she had been able to sew beautiful cloths for high ranking people who paid us well.
Today I was delivering silk from the far away Orient to the royal tailor. I liked silk; it was so smooth and had such pretty colors. This roll had cost a fortune but it would make enough profit to feed me and my father for several weeks.
I was returning home with a sack full of gold, humming a song I'd heard somewhere. As I turned the corner onto the street where Father's shop is I saw a crowd gathering. That was either really good or really bad. If it was good Father's shop was doing a booming business, if it was bad... I quickened my pace.
"What happened?" I asked a man standing near the back of the crowd.
The man didn't even look at me when he replied. "Don't know, these men came in, they got into an argument with the shopkeeper and stabbing him. No one seems to know what the argument is about and the shopkeeper isn't telling."
"He's still alive?" I asked breathlessly.
"Yes, but he won't be for long."
"Let me through!" I cried, pushing my way through the crowd. "He's my father, let me through!"
People in the crowd parted for me and I was soon faced with the horrible reality. Father had a nasty stab wound in his chest, it was clear he wasn't going to survive. "Father, what happened?" I could hear my voice choking up, but I didn't care.
"Baku, I'm glad... your safe." Father motioned for me to lean close to him, he whispered in my ear, so quietly I know no one could hear him except me. "Baku, you have to get away from here. There are some gangs that have started to recruit those who have the ability to play in the dark games. They force the people to play and then take the money they get for winning. I refused to tell them where you were so they decided to kill me, it all happened so quickly I didn't have time to defend myself." Father unhooked his belt knife and pushed it into my hands. It had a blade four inches long, Father had gotten it to intimidate thieves and to protect his family, a lot of good it had done him. "Take my knife and go. You can't depend on anyone anymore; anyone might want to use you to make money." He looked up at me and brushed the lock of silver that had fallen out of my hood. "I'm sorry.Baku." Father died, right there in front of me. I couldn't take it; I got up and ran away.
Tears were running down my face as I ran down the dusty streets. I felt like crying, but my chest felt too tight to cry. Instead I ran. Why are things always this way for me? I have no one now. No one cares about an orphan with yokai blood. My mind flashed to Mother, her face worried as she examined a scrape on my knee, to father, his strong arms holding me as I cried for Mother. I collapsed on the ground and wept, and wished for all the world that there was someone to hold me and comfort me like Mother and Father had done.
............................
I returned later, my skin smudged with dirt. I used the gold that I'd been carrying to pay for Father's funeral. I arranged for Father to be buried in the same mastaba that Mother was buried in. I didn't want them to be lonely in the afterlife. After that I went back home and gathered my things. I took a sack and stuffed it with food, a water skin and some clothing. I also put my favorite doll, Change of Heart into the sack. As I walked out the door I took one last look at the place that had been my home. I couldn't stay there, even if I wanted to with all the memories it held. My home had been in the merchant's district of town, because I had nothing to sell I could not afford to live there.
For a while I wandered, looking for shelter and some way to earn a living. At that time I was not a thief, in fact my parents had taught me that stealing was wrong. At night I slept where I could find shelter, using my pack as a pillow. At night I pulled out Change of Heart. Its golden hair was from Mother, she had dyed it so it would be golden instead of silver. The cloth the doll was made out of was from Father's shop. The Change of Heart doll was all I had left of my parents now. I cried at night, thinking about the past that would never return. My heart hurt, it seemed like I had never truly known suffering until now.
That was how he found me. I was looking for a place to sleep in one of the back alleys when I heard movement behind me.
"So kid," I turned around to look at the speaker, a boy a few years older than me, "you an orphan?"
"You could say that." I didn't particularly like this boy. He talked like someone who is tough; I knew if I answered yes I'd find no sympathy from him.
"Hmm, one of those eh?" Well it's OK, you can come stay with us.
"Who is 'us'?"
"Oh, there's a whole bunch of us, none of us have parents so we help each other out. It's like having a whole lot of brothers."
I knew what this was, it was a gang made of homeless children. If I had any choice I would have refused. Even without what my parents had taught me I had learned to mistrust pure blooded humans. I was hungry and tired and filthy after two weeks of street life, so I accepted. I was lead through the streets; I suspected my guide was taking me the long way to ensure I wouldn't be able to reveal the location of their hideout. I was introduced to a young man who the others called "Boss".
"How long have you been on the streets boy?" Boss asked me.
"About two weeks I guess."
"No wonder you're filthy. Malik, help this boy get cleaned up."
A boy stepped forward; he looked about thirteen, my age. "Come on, the bath is back here." Malik sounded tired, as if life had treated him even worse than it had treated me. I followed him into a little room where there was a small tub and some water. "Next time you take a bath you have to get the water from the river. This is just a perk for new members." Up close I saw that Malik had dark Egyptian skin, but that wasn't what was interesting, what interested me was his hair, it was blond, an even enough blond that I knew it hadn't been bleached by the sun.
"You have blond hair."
"Tell me about it. My hair's caused me nothing but trouble all my life. My parents abandoned me because they thought my hair was a bad omen. I grew up on the streets."
"My hair's brought all my problems too."
"Really?" He looked over at me. "You look perfectly normal to me."
"That's because I'm dirty. My hair is pure white when it's clean, my skin's white too."
Malik went over to the door and listened a moment, then came back. "You had better be quiet about that. Get cleaned up, then I'll figure out what to do with you."
I washed up, I hadn't realized how dirty I'd gotten. I had been covered with so much dirt that my hair was a brownish color and my skin was almost dark enough to pass for normal Egyptian skin. I got out of the tub and took the cloths Malik handed me.
"Well, you really do have white hair. Are you an albino or do you have yokai blood?"
"My Mother was part yokai."
"I see, well when the boss asks you that question answer that you don't know, say that the people who raised you weren't your parents."
"But why?"
"This is a harsh world...what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't say, but it's Baku."
"This is a harsh world Baku. I am a full human, but it didn't save me from being abandoned by my parents. Humans treat those with yokai blood badly, it's because they're afraid. If you're smart you'll hide the truth."
I nodded and we went back into the main hideout.
"Well, boy, it seems you have white hair," observed the boss. "Where do you get it?"
"I don't know, I never knew my real parents."
The boy who had picked me up on the street went over and whispered something into the boss's ear. The boss looked at me. I was very conscious that the eyes of all the boys in the hideout were on me. I didn't like the feeling, after years by myself I prefer to avoid attention.
"Very well then, I shall choose to believe you. However, you cannot simply become a member of our little club because you were brought here. There must be a test, to make sure you are worthy."
"What sort of test?"
"Well, you've heard of the pyramids right?"
"Yes, everyone has, they are where the pharaohs and high priests are buried."
"Well, we just need you to go into one of those pyramids and get some treasure out of it. It's nothing much, we already dug a tunnel into the main passageway. You only have to go in, get some treasure from the crypt and come back, it's that simple."
Malik looked like he was going to protest but the boss silenced him with a look.
"Well, you had better get some sleep while you can, we leave at moonrise."
Malik gestured for me to follow him to a corner. "This is usually where I sleep, but you can sleep here now. You'll get your own nest if you are confirmed as a member. Baku, I've got to warn you about something. That test isn't as innocent as the boss makes it sound, that pyramid has curses and traps all over it, no one that has entered has ever come out alive. Rumor has it they are all changed into gold figurines by some great curse."
"Why would he send me there then?"
"He suspects you have yokai blood. He has heard that someone who has yokai blood can avoid the curses and sense the traps. If you succeed he will send you down to collect more treasure, if you fail it will not worry him. Either way he does not loose."
"What should I do?"
"Just survive, if you can try to wait him out, get away. Other than that I don't have any advice."
*******************************
Oooh, cliffhanger, at least I think it is.
I decided to make Malik a character even though there is no evidence that he's reincarnated from anyone in Ancient Egypt. Of course Malik didn't have a millennium item until his current life so you never know... I guess I've made Yami Bakura suffer so much throughout the fic
Yami Bakura: You certainly have.
That I guess I just wanted him to have a friend. Nothing wrong with that is there?
I guess you can probably guess what Baku finds in the pyramid.
R&R please! Tell me what you think (but if you think the story is bad tell my why, don't just flame me).
Good news Malik fangirls! Malik will be an important character in my fic for a few chapters here.
**********************************
Months passed while Father and I grieved for Mother's death. Father earns money by selling cloth that he buys from traders. Sometimes he even gets silk from far away China. Eventually father came up to me.
"Baku, I... ever since your mother died I have wanted to ask if you would help me in the shop. I wanted to give you enough time to grieve."
I didn't know what else to say. I was happy to have something to do and I went to work in my father's shop. Sometimes I tended the stall as my father made deals with traders inside our cooler house; mostly I acted as an errand boy. Father gave me a cloak to cover up my snowy hair. I was glad of the covering; it protected my pale skin from the harsh desert sun.
Even with my help life was harder for us now; I never realized how much money Mother had earned from winning in the dark games. Father sold cloth, however he had many competitors. When Mother had been alive she had been able to sew beautiful cloths for high ranking people who paid us well.
Today I was delivering silk from the far away Orient to the royal tailor. I liked silk; it was so smooth and had such pretty colors. This roll had cost a fortune but it would make enough profit to feed me and my father for several weeks.
I was returning home with a sack full of gold, humming a song I'd heard somewhere. As I turned the corner onto the street where Father's shop is I saw a crowd gathering. That was either really good or really bad. If it was good Father's shop was doing a booming business, if it was bad... I quickened my pace.
"What happened?" I asked a man standing near the back of the crowd.
The man didn't even look at me when he replied. "Don't know, these men came in, they got into an argument with the shopkeeper and stabbing him. No one seems to know what the argument is about and the shopkeeper isn't telling."
"He's still alive?" I asked breathlessly.
"Yes, but he won't be for long."
"Let me through!" I cried, pushing my way through the crowd. "He's my father, let me through!"
People in the crowd parted for me and I was soon faced with the horrible reality. Father had a nasty stab wound in his chest, it was clear he wasn't going to survive. "Father, what happened?" I could hear my voice choking up, but I didn't care.
"Baku, I'm glad... your safe." Father motioned for me to lean close to him, he whispered in my ear, so quietly I know no one could hear him except me. "Baku, you have to get away from here. There are some gangs that have started to recruit those who have the ability to play in the dark games. They force the people to play and then take the money they get for winning. I refused to tell them where you were so they decided to kill me, it all happened so quickly I didn't have time to defend myself." Father unhooked his belt knife and pushed it into my hands. It had a blade four inches long, Father had gotten it to intimidate thieves and to protect his family, a lot of good it had done him. "Take my knife and go. You can't depend on anyone anymore; anyone might want to use you to make money." He looked up at me and brushed the lock of silver that had fallen out of my hood. "I'm sorry.Baku." Father died, right there in front of me. I couldn't take it; I got up and ran away.
Tears were running down my face as I ran down the dusty streets. I felt like crying, but my chest felt too tight to cry. Instead I ran. Why are things always this way for me? I have no one now. No one cares about an orphan with yokai blood. My mind flashed to Mother, her face worried as she examined a scrape on my knee, to father, his strong arms holding me as I cried for Mother. I collapsed on the ground and wept, and wished for all the world that there was someone to hold me and comfort me like Mother and Father had done.
............................
I returned later, my skin smudged with dirt. I used the gold that I'd been carrying to pay for Father's funeral. I arranged for Father to be buried in the same mastaba that Mother was buried in. I didn't want them to be lonely in the afterlife. After that I went back home and gathered my things. I took a sack and stuffed it with food, a water skin and some clothing. I also put my favorite doll, Change of Heart into the sack. As I walked out the door I took one last look at the place that had been my home. I couldn't stay there, even if I wanted to with all the memories it held. My home had been in the merchant's district of town, because I had nothing to sell I could not afford to live there.
For a while I wandered, looking for shelter and some way to earn a living. At that time I was not a thief, in fact my parents had taught me that stealing was wrong. At night I slept where I could find shelter, using my pack as a pillow. At night I pulled out Change of Heart. Its golden hair was from Mother, she had dyed it so it would be golden instead of silver. The cloth the doll was made out of was from Father's shop. The Change of Heart doll was all I had left of my parents now. I cried at night, thinking about the past that would never return. My heart hurt, it seemed like I had never truly known suffering until now.
That was how he found me. I was looking for a place to sleep in one of the back alleys when I heard movement behind me.
"So kid," I turned around to look at the speaker, a boy a few years older than me, "you an orphan?"
"You could say that." I didn't particularly like this boy. He talked like someone who is tough; I knew if I answered yes I'd find no sympathy from him.
"Hmm, one of those eh?" Well it's OK, you can come stay with us.
"Who is 'us'?"
"Oh, there's a whole bunch of us, none of us have parents so we help each other out. It's like having a whole lot of brothers."
I knew what this was, it was a gang made of homeless children. If I had any choice I would have refused. Even without what my parents had taught me I had learned to mistrust pure blooded humans. I was hungry and tired and filthy after two weeks of street life, so I accepted. I was lead through the streets; I suspected my guide was taking me the long way to ensure I wouldn't be able to reveal the location of their hideout. I was introduced to a young man who the others called "Boss".
"How long have you been on the streets boy?" Boss asked me.
"About two weeks I guess."
"No wonder you're filthy. Malik, help this boy get cleaned up."
A boy stepped forward; he looked about thirteen, my age. "Come on, the bath is back here." Malik sounded tired, as if life had treated him even worse than it had treated me. I followed him into a little room where there was a small tub and some water. "Next time you take a bath you have to get the water from the river. This is just a perk for new members." Up close I saw that Malik had dark Egyptian skin, but that wasn't what was interesting, what interested me was his hair, it was blond, an even enough blond that I knew it hadn't been bleached by the sun.
"You have blond hair."
"Tell me about it. My hair's caused me nothing but trouble all my life. My parents abandoned me because they thought my hair was a bad omen. I grew up on the streets."
"My hair's brought all my problems too."
"Really?" He looked over at me. "You look perfectly normal to me."
"That's because I'm dirty. My hair is pure white when it's clean, my skin's white too."
Malik went over to the door and listened a moment, then came back. "You had better be quiet about that. Get cleaned up, then I'll figure out what to do with you."
I washed up, I hadn't realized how dirty I'd gotten. I had been covered with so much dirt that my hair was a brownish color and my skin was almost dark enough to pass for normal Egyptian skin. I got out of the tub and took the cloths Malik handed me.
"Well, you really do have white hair. Are you an albino or do you have yokai blood?"
"My Mother was part yokai."
"I see, well when the boss asks you that question answer that you don't know, say that the people who raised you weren't your parents."
"But why?"
"This is a harsh world...what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't say, but it's Baku."
"This is a harsh world Baku. I am a full human, but it didn't save me from being abandoned by my parents. Humans treat those with yokai blood badly, it's because they're afraid. If you're smart you'll hide the truth."
I nodded and we went back into the main hideout.
"Well, boy, it seems you have white hair," observed the boss. "Where do you get it?"
"I don't know, I never knew my real parents."
The boy who had picked me up on the street went over and whispered something into the boss's ear. The boss looked at me. I was very conscious that the eyes of all the boys in the hideout were on me. I didn't like the feeling, after years by myself I prefer to avoid attention.
"Very well then, I shall choose to believe you. However, you cannot simply become a member of our little club because you were brought here. There must be a test, to make sure you are worthy."
"What sort of test?"
"Well, you've heard of the pyramids right?"
"Yes, everyone has, they are where the pharaohs and high priests are buried."
"Well, we just need you to go into one of those pyramids and get some treasure out of it. It's nothing much, we already dug a tunnel into the main passageway. You only have to go in, get some treasure from the crypt and come back, it's that simple."
Malik looked like he was going to protest but the boss silenced him with a look.
"Well, you had better get some sleep while you can, we leave at moonrise."
Malik gestured for me to follow him to a corner. "This is usually where I sleep, but you can sleep here now. You'll get your own nest if you are confirmed as a member. Baku, I've got to warn you about something. That test isn't as innocent as the boss makes it sound, that pyramid has curses and traps all over it, no one that has entered has ever come out alive. Rumor has it they are all changed into gold figurines by some great curse."
"Why would he send me there then?"
"He suspects you have yokai blood. He has heard that someone who has yokai blood can avoid the curses and sense the traps. If you succeed he will send you down to collect more treasure, if you fail it will not worry him. Either way he does not loose."
"What should I do?"
"Just survive, if you can try to wait him out, get away. Other than that I don't have any advice."
*******************************
Oooh, cliffhanger, at least I think it is.
I decided to make Malik a character even though there is no evidence that he's reincarnated from anyone in Ancient Egypt. Of course Malik didn't have a millennium item until his current life so you never know... I guess I've made Yami Bakura suffer so much throughout the fic
Yami Bakura: You certainly have.
That I guess I just wanted him to have a friend. Nothing wrong with that is there?
I guess you can probably guess what Baku finds in the pyramid.
R&R please! Tell me what you think (but if you think the story is bad tell my why, don't just flame me).