In which the Pharaoh runs into some trouble by changing his name...
Now that the Pharaoh, his servant, and Jorak had separated from Nowaje and Seto, we will be content to leave the boy with Dima for the time being, the center of attention in that part of the market, and move with the Pharaoh as he walked through the streets. It is, of course, quite obvious that the Pharaoh, in order to go along with his plan, must change his identity. True indeed, there are many people who are named Kai, but there are not so many who had three hair colors, and none of them shared the Pharaoh's height. So Jorak called himself Malik, the servant called himself Osus, and Kai called himself Bakura.
It need not be mentioned that a real Malik and Bakura was introduced earlier with Seto, and no doubt, to the respectable readers, their behavior and speech are not those of an honorable class. Since the town was close to the Pyramids of Giza, it can be assumed that they are tomb robbers, as they are definetely robbers for those who are familiar with their current history. It also need not be said, that although their characteristics are not so that they attracted public attention during their acquaintance with Seto, they are, needless to say, very much wanted by the local guards.
Back to the Pharaoh, or Bakura, for the time being, who was strolling down the market when he felt weary and tired. Not to mention, after walking for hours under a hot sun when he was accustomed to walking for only two minutes in a shady palace, he was especially hungry. Therefore, the trio decided to stop at a small restaurant which provided plenty of food for weary travelers.
" So far it seems depressing." Jorak said after a while, having finished his lunch first.
" It does." Kai answered. " Pity I could never see these things as a..." He trailed off.
" So...Osus," Jorak began. " What do you think of it so far?"
" Nice products, too many beggars though." The servant replied. " But it's just the market. We
haven't covered the entire town yet."
" Yet the market is where all must gather, the poor or the wealthy." Kai answered. " Where do you
think Nowaje and Seto went off to?"
" I don't know. Last I saw him, he was looking at the birds." Jorak answered.
Kai nodded and drank from a mug. " At least the businesses are running properly."
" Aye, you won't have to worry about the economy." Jorak laughed.
" Yeah." The servant laughed. " Alright. I'm full. Where to...Bakura?"
Suddenly, someone started from the table beside them.
" Bakura?" He suddenly squeaked. " Bakura is here? And this must be Malik! They say that Malik
has blonde hair! And Bakura has red eyes! Good Ra!"
Suddenly, the restaurant's owner rushed in.
" Lock all doors!" She cried.
" Pardon," Kai was puzzled, " But what is the trouble? Who are you talking about?"
" Don't try to fool me!" She answered, frightened. " I know who you are. This person called you
Bakura. And you share the same eyes too. You ain't gonna steal nothin from this place!"
" Steal!" Kai blinked, shocked. " Who speaks of stealing?"
" Oh, lookie here," Said another man, rough looking and big. " Shrewd midget, eh? Trying to get
away with it by pretending he ain't Bakura! Well!"
" Didn't Bakura have white hair?" Asked a young, gaunt looking man.
" Who cares? Not everyone has red eyes neither, except the Pharaoh, who don't come here often.
When he does, they clear the streets, wipe all scum off so that the place looks nice and pretty. Bah!"
He spat. " The guards will get you three, you traitors! Murderers! Scoundrels!"
Kai and the two others were beginning to feel nervous.
" I honestly...we just came to town...right Malik?" He said hopefully.
" Malik! I knew it!" The owner screeched. " 'ts Bakura and Malik! Call the guards! Call the
governor!"
" But..." Kai was nervous. Suddenly, one strong looking man picked a table up and began to throw
it at him. Kai struck his right hand into the man's neck and the man fell backwards, chair clattering.
That was it. Everyone started picking up knives, forks, spoons and wooden handles, and started coming towards the trio. Kai was skilled at martial arts and so was Jorak, and they put up a big fight. The servant was captured rather easily and both the Pharaoh and the general repeatedly had to rescue him.
There were around twenty to twenty seven people in that restaurant and none escaped without bruises and cuts. The trio, except for the servant, who was bruised on the nose, were not hurt at all, but that served to be of little importance because the guards came and they were skilled fighters.
So many a pot were broken, along with dishes and bowls and wooden floors. Chairs were made to be never used again, tables had splinters and cracks, and worst of all were the guards, who finally dragged the trio away, some with missing hair, others groaning at how much their arms hurted, some muttering about how they had cut themselves, others simply fainting.
Needless to say, the trio was captured.
Several hours later, two men, students, walked down the street. They stopped as a group of
soldiers dragged three criminals down the block. One of them gasped.
" The Pharaoh!" He cried.
" What Pharaoh?" His friend scoffed. " A Pharaoh, here?"
" He is the Pharaoh! I know he is!" Cried the first, insistent.
" Hmph." Said the other. " The Pharaoh, arrested by his own guards!"
" But that-"
" Sheesh." The second man turned away. The first man squinted as the group retreated, completely
puzzled. Then he shook his head. " I must be seeing things."
That night Kai enjoyed a prisoner's meal and a prisoner's bed. Jorak was awfully cross with
the guards. That, of course, was to be expected. The guards simply laughed at them.
" Serves ye right," Said one of them, " Aftuh stealin so much of the Pharaoh's goods. Think ye can
git away with it all, eh? Well!" They laughed.
" What are they talking about?" Kai asked Jorak.
" We ain't tomb robbers you idiots!" Jorak shouted.
" Apparently," The servant said miserably, with a bruised nose and cut lip, " They think we're
criminals. Just our luck you chose the very names!"
" You mean Osus isn't a criminal?" Kai blinked. " There's a Bakura and a Malik? Good heavens!
And I don't have a crown! How are we to get out of this mess?"
" Yer should've thought about that before yer started stealin." Said an old prisoner. " I made that
m'stake m'self."
Kai blinked. Odd, the way they talk.
" We never stole anythin," Jorak blinked. " What are you talkin about?"
" Yer never stole? Well, p'haps yer killed someone then."
" Killed?"
" Who are ye three?"
" I'm...Bakura. This is Malik and Osus."
The prisoner started laughing. Kai blinked in surprise.
" Bad names for unlucky fellers," The old man laughed. " There's another Malik and Bakura in this
town-they ain't like ye, short and plump or tall and lanky." At this, Kai and Jorak looked
uncomfortable. " I met Bakura m'self. Got red eyes like ye, 'xcept he's got white hair. He's an
albino. Tells ye how stupid the government is these days. And Malik? He's got blonde hair like you,
but he has green eyes, and a lot shorter and fatter than ye, believe me. There ain't no Osus. Don'
know why they brought ye here." He said, eyeing the servant. " Poor fellers!" He closed his eyes
and would have nothing to do with them anymore.
Kai looked at the others. They backed from the prisoner's hearing.
" Well! I daresay, the next time I pick a new name, if I ever pick a new name, I'll pick one of the
servants' names from the palace!" Jorak looked unhappy. " What a wonderful state we're in!"
" Seems more than mere luck." Kai looked around the cell. " But we don't look like the robbers.
How could they arrest us?"
They asked the prisoner.
" Yer know these days." He answered. " Whoever has the name of the criminals was condemned. Poor fellers!"
The three looked at each other. They knew that they were in serious trouble.
Now that we've followed the trio to jail, let us leave them for a moment, and return to where
Seto and Dima were playing a spectacle. It was, of course, not long before Dima felt uncomfortable
being watched by so many people, and did not hesitate in telling Seto so. The two of them made
their way out of the crowd with great difficulty. They finally made it to the edge of the town, losing
their audience-as well as Nowaje.
Having searched for the child for over five hours, the poor priest was dirty and exhausted. He sat down by a building to rest for a while, unable to find a restaurant to stay in. Suddenly, one person came up to him, followed by many others.
" What'reye sittin there for?!" He shouted. " Git up! The Governor's soldiers are comin!"
Throwing him a long wooden pole, the man rushed off. Another man, young looking, but
rather strong, stared at him as he got up, completely confused.
" There's the army!" He tugged Nowaje by the sleeve.
" Wait!" Nowaje cried, suddenly having pieced everything together. He was fighting the
government! But he is the government!
" Come on! What's wrong with you, man?" Asked the youth, tugging him along. Suddenly, Nowaje caught sight of the soldiers. Then a big fight started.
Nowaje, being naturally unept for battle, was made captive with many bruises.
The two men previously spoken of went out of a lodging and into the streets to go home.
Outside there was great chaos and shoutings. A band of soldiers dragged several men along with
them.
" Hurry up, you lame scoundrels!" They shouted.
" The High Priest!" Cried one of the two men.
" The High Priest? Here?" The other scoffed. " First the Pharaoh, now the High Priest. I swear
you're going mad."
" But he looked exactly like a High Priest!"
" With clothes like that? And getting arrested?" The other turned around and left.
The first man squinted at the retreating band before shaking his head and following his comrade.
" In the name of Ra! Where is Seto?" Kai cried in distress as Nowaje was unceremoniously
dumped into the same cell with them.
" I searched for him for quite some time." Nowaje was greatly unhappy. " Then I was forced by
several workers to attack the soldiers. Ugh! Hopefully the child is in a better state, but how can he
survive now?"
" He survived for some time without us." Kai pointed out. " But it seems there's a band of robbers
in this town, and what if Seto meets them? Poor child!"
" Poor us!" Cried the servant. " How are we to get out of here?"
" Nowaje just got arrested by the soldiers." Seto blinked. " That's odd. But I guess I'll have to get
him out then. But what about the Pharaoh, Dima?"
The tiger didn't answer. She didn't know.
Seto frowned to himself, then decided to wait until the sun rose. It was around midnight by that time. Since they were surrounded by wilderness, Seto curled up against Dima on the ground and fell asleep.
The next day the young child asked around for a band of travelers; one short with three hair
colors, another tall and lanky, dressed like a soldier. He was told they were arrested, because they
were thought to be tomb robbers.
" Justice these days ain't too good." Said one person he asked.
" What a wonderful state we're in!" Seto said despairingly to Dima. " Not only did I just lose my
best human friends, they're in jail! And if I'm correct, they'll be tried at noon. How am I to help
them? They helped me, certainly."
Dima decided to attend the trial will be the best thing, just to make sure the four did not come to any harm.
" How can we make sure?" Seto asked. " If they do come to great harm, we can't do anything."
Dima and Seto discussed quietly for a few minutes before they rushed with the crowd to where the trial was taking place.
" I swear, we're not tomb robbers!" Jorak was shouting, although it didn't do them much good. "
We were travelers, you idiots! We just came here! Just because we have their names doesn't mean
we steal!"
Seto heard some insults coming from the crowd. There were other people there, with Nowaje, shouting back at the audience.
" We were being exploited!" They shouted. " The government is the one that steals! Revolt! Revolt! Revolt!"
Seto dimly wished Dima came back to town with him, but knew that he will cause a bigger problem then right now. So he waited in silence, wondering what to do.
" Witnesses?" The governor called. One man stood up.
" That guy attacked me!" He shouted, pointing towards Kai, while rubbing his throat. Seto blinked.
Kai muttered under his breath. That man forgot to mention that he was attacking him with a chair.
Several more witnesses went up. Seto listened to them with distaste. It had to be lies. They had to be lying. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He raised his hand.
" Witness?" The governor blinked. " Come forth, boy. State what you saw."
Kai jerked back as he recognized the boy. He bit back his tongue, hoping whatever the boy had in mind will work.
" What is your name?" The governor asked.
" Seto. Seto Katshi."
" Where were you when you saw them?"
" I was in a nearby town."
" What were they doing?"
" They...that short one over there," Seto bit back a chuckle, " He's a friend of the Pharaoh's. The
Pharaoh was talking to them."
There were murmurs in the crowd.
" Then...how can you explain the claims of the other witnesses?"
" Either they're lying or they misunderstood." The child answered boldly.
The governor frowned. " Since this is a child, he must be right." He said softly to himself.Then he turned to the trio. " You are free."
Kai rubbed his wrists as the soldiers released him. He was in a bad mood, but was very
grateful towards the child. As the trio joined up with Seto, the child burst into laughter.
" What in the name of Ra did you all get yourselves into?" He laughed.
Kai had to laugh. " We were unnaturally unlucky with names." He said.
" That was clever, kid." Jorak said admiringly. " Thanks a lot!"
" No problem! You're the one that rescued me from the streets." Seto smiled sweetly. " But that was
so funny!"
But they weren't done yet. Nowaje, along with several other rebels, was brought before the governor.
" He is innocent too!" Seto suddenly shouted. " He got caught up in it." He had no idea what he was talking about, but it somehow fitted the situation.
" That will be harder to prove." The governor said after a moment.
" I'll duel for them." Seto blurted, before he had a chance to stop himself.
Oh dear! Kai thought in frenzy.
Oh no, Nowaje thought. This has got to be the worst-
" Do you know how to play the Shadow Games?" The governor asked.
" Y-yeah," Seto suddenly realized what he got himself into. By Ra...
Kai and the servant rushed through the streets. They had to hurry, or else Seto would be in
big trouble.
The two men walked out of the court room as the recess began. One of them stared at the two figures running down the street.
" The Pharaoh!"
" Oh Ra! There you go again!" Cried the other. " Didn't you see him on trial?"
" No. I was too short. But he looks like the Pharaoh..."
" You didn't see his face! And what kind of Pharaoh runs like that?"
The first man sighed. " I'm losing it."
By the time the Pharaoh had returned with Dima, the duel was halfway through, and to most
of the people's surprise, Seto was doing really well. Dima growled in annoyance at the Pharaoh, and
proceeded to scare everyone else with her fangs.
In the end, of course, Seto won, and Nowaje got out. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much of history to tell here. They got out.
To imagine, all this trouble because of name picking!