Thanks sooooooooooo much for the wonderful reviews!!!!!! They made me feel better after having a bad day! Ok, now about this chapter. This is really, REALLY, REALLY long and it's, well, really sad, just to warn you. Warning of character death. Sorry it took so long to post! Alright, now on with the story!!!
***** Japan, 2 years later. *****
Second grade wasn't all that bad! 7 year old Yugi was getting the hang of this reading thing, and he was almost top in his class, second only to Kaiba.
But Yugi did have a problem. Everyone was growing taller than him! His parents and grandpa said that it would be alright. He would catch up with them eventually. But it still bothered him.
And it also made the kids older than him pick on him more. Yeah, they already did because his hair stood strait up in the air, but now being short made it even worse, especially at recess.
"Give that back!!!!!!" Yugi shouted as he desperately jumped up to try to get his book bag. Some bigger kids had taken it and were now throwing it around; laughing at Yugi's failing attempts to get it back.
"I don't think so!" one of the boys shouted back, throwing the bag to one of his friends.
"Yeah Porcupine Head!" the friend said, "Hey Kaiba! Catch!"
"What?" Kaiba said. The small bag landed on top of a few books he was carrying. "What's this?" he said, examining it.
Yugi ran over to him. "Kaiba, could you give me my bag back?"
Kaiba looked at the small boy and smiled. "I don't think I will," he said slyly.
"Why?" Yugi asked.
Kaiba only smiled back at him. The real reason was because he couldn't stand the kid! Nothing really against Yugi, but Kaiba's parents really liked him. They worked with Yugi's parents and would come home from visiting them and tell Kaiba all about how nice and polite Yugi was. It drove him crazy!
"No reason," Kaiba eventually said as he hung the book bag on his shoulder and started to walk away.
"Give it back!!!!" Yugi screamed in anger, surprising everyone, including Yugi.
"Why?" asked Kaiba, turning back to Yugi, looking strait into his eyes, "What are you going to do about it?"
Yugi froze. Not only was Kaiba the smartest kid in class, but he also had a reputation for being the toughest kid in his grade!
"FIGHT!!!!!!!" one of the original boys shouted. Students from all over the playground ran over to surround the two boys.
Kaiba stood there, his eyes daring Yugi to make the first move. But then...
"Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba, come to the main office," a speaker said.
The rest of the kids ran away, giggling. "You're in trouble now!" one of them shouted back.
Yugi and Kaiba arrived quickly in the office, heads hung low. They had to be in a lot of trouble to be called down to the office. The principal was there and he looked very upset. But then Yugi saw his grandpa was there too.
"Grandpa? What are you doing here?" Yugi asked.
Grandpa turned to face him, eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Grandpa what's wrong!?!!"
"Yugi, I'm sorry but..." He paused, unsure of how to say this. "Yugi, Seto," Grandpa started again, "Your parents...they were in a car accident and..." he stopped again, unable to continue.
"Are they...are they alright?" Yugi asked, surprised and very scared.
"No," his grandpa said in a barely audible voice.
"They can't be..." Kaiba said, eyes wide in fear, realizing what happened.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!" Yugi screamed, falling to his knees, crying. Kaiba just stood there, dropping his books and Yugi's bag to the ground.
"There was one survivor, two hopefully," the principal said, speaking for the first time, "Your mother Kaiba."
"What!?" Kaiba said. He shifted his brain from death to life, and realized why the principal had said two.
"THE BABY!!!!!!" Kaiba shouted, "Are they OK!?!?!?!?! Where are they!?!?!?!?!!"
"The accident caused your mother to go into labor. She's in the hospital right now and they are trying to save them both. There is a ride waiting for you," the principal said sadly.
The principal led Kaiba, who could hardly move his own legs, outside. Kaiba got into the car and it took off towards the hospital.
(AN- Thank you darkdragonofthenever for this idea!)
Little Kaiba waited outside of the hospital room. Children are not normally allowed to visit their parents in the hospital. They are told that they are full of germs that could make the people their sicker than they already are. But this was an emergency!
Kaiba was silent and serious, which was unusual for a boy his age. The nurses and doctors whispered about this behind him. He ignored them. His focus was only on his mother and the very soon to be born child. He held back tears as he hoped and prayed that they would both survive.
One of the nurses came out of the room and leaned against the wall. "You can come in now Seto," she said.
Kaiba slowly walked in. His mother was attached to several machines and IVs. It upset Kaiba to see how weak and tired she looked. But in her pale arms she held a baby boy. She smiled weakly as Kaiba finally walked in. The nurse walked out to leave the two alone.
"Seto, you're a big brother now," his mother said, her voice shaking.
"What's his name?" Kaiba asked quietly. He looked down at the new born, black hair already starting to grow on his head.
"Mokuba," his mother answered softly.
Then his mother, from exhaustion, then slowly slipped into sleep. Kaiba could not take his eyes off of his new baby brother.
Machines and monitors started to ring and alarms went off. Kaiba was quickly carted out of the room.
"MOM!!!" he shouted as the door was slammed in his face.
"You can't go back in there," a nurse said, "I'm sorry."
Kaiba turned away defeated. 'I'll do everything that is in my power to protect them,' he vowed, 'Both mother...and Mokuba."
(AN- Back over to Yugi now. This is happening at the same time.)
When the principal came back into the school, Grandpa was holding Yugi in his arms. Yugi was still crying, over his grandpa's shoulder.
"I'm going to take Yugi home now," he said.
"Right," the principal said, watching them walk out. He thought she saw something shining on the little boy's forehead, but quickly dismissed it as his eyes playing tricks on him.
When they got home, Yugi had passed out from exhaustion. His grandpa laid him down in his bed, a few of his own tears falling on the boy. Then Grandpa walked out of the room; leaving Yugi, with only his dreams to try and comfort him.
***** Ancient Egypt, 7 years after the birth of Prince Yugioh. *****
The queen was standing on her balcony in the palace overlooking the great city. She played with a piece of her black hair and her violet eyes revealed her anxiousness and then her relief when she saw the long caravan that was returning to the palace.
'Thank Ra they are safe,' she thought. She walked quickly out of her room and towards the Main Entry. When she arrived, she saw another woman standing by the door. She bowed to the queen, her shoulder length black hair falling over her face.
The queen laughed. "Stand my old friend! They have returned!" Her violet eyes glowed with excitement.
"Yes my queen," the woman said, and then laughed herself, "And don't call me old! We are the same age!" Her dark blue dress rustled as she stood up again. When the queen could see her face, her blue eyes were filled with amusement. They both started laughing again.
They were quite happy. It is always a good thing when the caravan returns from its travels.
A servant opened the large doors and the women heard the head guard shout, "Egypt rejoice!! Your Pharaoh has returned!!!"
Many of the people who lived in the city had come out of there houses and cheered, happy to see their Pharaoh again. The Pharaoh rode in his Royal Chariot through the center of town towards the palace. He smiled and nodded at his subjects. His crimson eyes were drooping and his head kept dropping down. He was extremely tired from his travels and was happy to be home.
The Pharaoh was followed closely by two 7 year old boys, ridding horses that were gifts from a neighboring country. One of the boys was Yami. He was smirking and kept looking over at the other, one with brown hair, who only scowled back at him. Yami tried his hardest not to laugh, knowing that the priests would have a fit if he laughed at such an important event.
Yami had matured very quickly, with knowledge and understanding much greater than anyone his age. Even with all of the extra pressure on Yami, he was still very carefree, not to mention independent. He also had a pretty good sense of humor, which is why the boy with the brown hair was angry.
That boy, named Seto, had a dark blue robe on, that matched his eyes. His ceremonial hat rested on his head, which he had to wear, being Heishin's student, which was a great privilege, considering that he was the son of a lower priest. He was his apprentice only because he was considered to have a gift. But Seto was upset because the prince had made a fool out of him, and he happily reminded him of the incident the entire way back to Egypt.
The only time Yami could actually stand the other boy was when they were in Duel Monsters class. The boys loved that game and would play it constantly. Not with the actual monsters, of course, but with cards of them; they were made from precious paper called Papyrus. (Only high priests and the Pharaoh himself could summon the real monsters, other than Yami's guardian.)
The rest of the caravan followed the boys, carrying the many other gifts from countries and kingdoms around the known world. The purpose of the caravan was to make friends and peace with the many countries by trading with them.
When they finally arrived at the palace, the Pharaoh stepped off of the chariot and walked over to his wife.
"I'm glad you are home," she said.
"I'm glad to be home," he said, and then he kissed her on her forehead.
The boys quickly dismounted their horses and bowed to the two royals.
Addressing the crowd, the Pharaoh announced, "Egypt can sleep soundly tonight for its Pharaoh has returned!"
The Pharaoh was then joined by Heishin and they walked off, discussing apparently important matters of what had occurred while the Pharaoh was gone. Servants closed the doors and the boys walked to their mothers.
"What has happened Yugi?" the queen asked Yami, calling him by her own nickname for him, as she walked him back to his room.
"Nothing," he answered back, trying his hardest to keep a strait face.
"Judging by the look on Seto's face, that isn't true. Now tell me Prince of Egypt, what has happened." She spoke calmly but the little boy knew she was mad. She only called him that when she was mad.
"All I did was make a joke about Seto's hat. It does look strange after all. But then Seto got kind of angry with me," Yami said, remembering the moment. Seto had shouted some pretty, um, shall we say rude things at him, for which he was severely rebuked for by the priests that had come with them. Yami thought this was quite funny.
"Well you should go to bed now anyway," she said. She waited at his door until he was in his bed. "Goodnight Yugi."
"Goodnight mother," Yami answered as he closed his eyes. But as soon as the door closed, his eyes flew open and he quickly changed into an older looking robe, a black cloak with a hood to cover his head, and he removed his crown that he was wearing.
"What are you doing Yami?" someone said.
Yami froze, but then let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only the Dark Magician. He should have guessed since his mother was the only other one whom it could be, and she always called him Yugi.
"I'm going out again," he answered.
"You really shouldn't do this," the Dark Magician said, "Sneaking out of palace, pretending to be a street urchin."
"I'll be careful," the 7 year old said, "Cover for me?"
The Dark Magician sighed. "As always," he answered and then he left.
Yami grabbed his dueling deck that he had bought at the card shop in town (these ones carved out of small, thin pieces of stone) and snuck out of his window and out into the main town again. Not everyone had gone to sleep. There was even a festival going on in the Town Plaza to celebrate his father's return. But the only place he wanted to go to was the Dueling Grounds. No doubt that his other friends would be there.
As he ran through the crowded streets towards the Dueling Grounds, he looked up at the Shrine, the building where the Priests had retreated to pray, the ones who weren't at the festival that is. Yami wondered if Seto was still mad at him. But he dismissed the thought as he arrived at his destination and decided that he would apologize in the morning.
"Hey Yami!" a girl called, "Over here!"
He ran over to his friend Teana, who was the daughter of the keeper of the Dueling Grounds, a low ranking job, but that didn't matter to Yami. She was beautiful as far as he was concerned. She had brown hair that was cut to just above her shoulders and beautiful crimson eyes. She always wore a long white dress with a pink cape that went down to her ankles. He was really happy to see her.
"Hi Teana!" he said when he stopped in front of her. Then he had to regain his breath from running all the way to the Dueling Grounds and then running over to Teana. Then he looked around for his other friend. "Where's Jono?"
Jono was the son of a trader and had traveled all over Egypt and other countries many times before. He had blond hair, which was rare in Egypt, deep brown eyes, and wore the white clothes that a trader should wear. He was the first person Yami met when he snuck out of the palace. And that was a good thing too, because Jono was a great person and showed Yami the ropes: where things were, short cuts, how to act around certain places, and other helpful things. He would even tell Yami about all of the exciting adventures he had been on and new people he had met on his travels. In return, Yami would help Jono out with his dueling skills. Jono was actually quite good at Duel Monsters, but Yami could still beat him, every game they played.
"Oh he's over at the Town Plaza," Teana answered, "There's a festival going on over there because the Pharaoh has returned! I wish I could have seen him arrive, but I was here. Others said that the Prince Yugioh was there also! I wish I could have seen him too!"
Yami only smiled and rubbed the back of his head. The only reason this worked was because the common people have rarely ever seen him. If he were ever recognized, he would be in BIG trouble!
"Do you want to go to the festival?" Teana asked.
"Sure!" Yami answered. There shouldn't really be anyone there that would recognize him, other than the priests but he could easily avoid them. And it would be fun to see what this festival thing was all about.
They traveled through the festival, taking in all of the special games, food, and entertainment, until they came to a Duel Monsters Battle. It seemed to have just ended and the winner had pushed the loser down to the ground. The loser was actually Jono and the winner was none other than Seto.
"Waste of my time, dueling a street rat," Seto snarled. He WAS still angry about Yami's joke and was taking it out on Jono.
That made Yami REALLY mad. Before he could stop himself, he shouted, "Then I challenge you to a duel!"
Seto looked at the small boy wrapped in a black cloak and had the strange feeling that he had seen him some where before. But his anger quickly returned from the thought of being challenged by another commoner. "Why should I waste more of my precious time on YOU!?" he shouted.
"Because I'm better than you," Yami replied.
"Um Yami," Teana whispered to him, "I know that you are the best Duelist at the Dueling Grounds but don't you think it's going a little too far challenging a priest's apprentice to duel with you."
Yami only smiled back at Teana. Seto was a great duelist, but he knew he could beat him.
Intrigued by the statement, Seto's eagerness to prove him wrong overpowered his pride. "I accept!" he shouted, "But not here. Meet me at the Dueling grounds in a half an hour and we shall see who is the best!" And with that he stormed off.
"Alright, I appreciate it Yami, but I really don't think ya should of done that," Jono said, "I mean, you're really good at Duel Monsters and all, but this guy's an actual priest! He cleaned my clock without even breakin a sweat! He must of been trained by some of the best Duelists ever!"
"Don't worry Jono," Yami said, "I know I can beat him. He's one of those people who like to pick on those who are weaker than himself."
"Thanks Yami," Jono said sarcastically.
"Come on Jono," Teana said, "We all know that your dueling does need some work."
"All it needs is a little fine tuning," Yami agreed.
"I guess I can't argue with that," Jono said smiling and rubbed the back of his head.
"But what will we do?" asked Teana.
"We will go to the Dueling Grounds and wait for him to come," Yami answered.
(AN- Thank you sm-candy for this idea!)
When the festival was over, Seto went to the Dueling Grounds. By the time he arrived, a crowd had gathered. Many people heard about Yami's challenge and were anxious to see how the best Duelist in the Dueling Grounds could hold up against the famous priest's apprentice. Seto inwardly cursed himself for actually accepting the challenge and he knew he would be punished later. But beating this commoner would teach them all to not challenge the authority of the Priests.
Seto saw his opponent waiting across the room for him, near a grey stone cube that came up to his waist that served as a table. The playing board was carved out of the top of it. He still felt that he somehow knew strange boy, but quickly dismissed the thought when he saw the girl standing next to him. It was the same girl that was with him at the festival, but then Seto was too angry to notice how beautiful she was!
'Wow!' he thought.
Yami watched Seto's expression change from one of arrogance and amusement to one of surprise and wonder. For a second he thought that Seto recognized him, but then he noticed that Seto wasn't looking at him but behind him. He turned to see Teana standing there.
Teana saw Yami's head move to look at her and she looked back over at him and winked. She would stay and support him during the duel. That's what friends do.
Smiling, Yami turned back towards Seto's upset face. 'No you don't Seto.'
Seto was upset by the wink, but he quickly reminded himself that he was here to beat this boy in a duel. "Ready to loss street rat?" he asked.
"We will see who will win and who's the rat!" Yami answered.
The surrounding crowd didn't laugh at the answer as much as the look that it caused to come from the priest in training.
"Lets duel," Seto said.
Yami pulled out his stone carved cards and Seto, his paper ones, and they both set them in the Draw pile. Then they both drew five cards.
(AN- Ok, I have tried over and over to write an actual duel, asking several people for help, and I still couldn't do it! So, to get on with the story, I have skipped the duel. I would like to thank all of the people who tried to help, but I still failed. I hope no one feels bad about it. *mob appears, holding torches* "There she is! The girl who skipped the duel!" *start chasing me* UM yeah! On with the story!!! *runs away* Don't kill me!)
"And my Dark Magician defeats your Judge Man, meaning I win the duel," Yami announced.
The surrounding crowd cheered. A normal boy had showed this cocky priest in training up!
Seto was stunned. How could he lose to a COMMONER!?!?!!?!
"That was great Yami!!!!!!!!" Jono shouted.
Seto was instantly shaken back into reality. "What!?!?!?! YAMI!?!??!?!?!" Seto looked into the wide, scared crimson eyes of the prince.
Yami was caught!!!!!
"Do you know him Yami?" Teana asked, confused.
"I have to go," Yami said in response. Then he turned and ran.
Seto was furious!!!!! "Oh no you don't Prince Yugioh!!!!!!!!!!" And then he took chase after him.
"PRINCE YUGIOH!!?!!?!!?!!?!!" shouted the surrounding crowd. They were all amazed, but no one more then Jono and Teana!
Seto lost the prince in the crowd of people that were still there. Infuriated even more, he made his way back to the palace.
"You're back later than you were supposed to be Seto," his mother said, "What took you so long?"
"Prince Yugioh was IN THE CITY!!!!!" Seto shouted.
"WHAT!?!?!?!" both Seto's mother and father shouted.
"Shouldn't we tell the Pharaoh!?!?!?" his mother asked.
"Yes, right away!!!" his father answered.
"Seto, stay here and watch your baby brother!" his mother said.
"But mom..."
"No buts son. Stay here!" his father said. They rushed out of the room, not noticing Heishin standing behind the door, smiling to himself.
Yami snuck out of the crowd and headed back to the palace. No doubt Seto would tell that he was in the city and he would be in more trouble than he had ever been in in his life!!
He was somehow able to sneak back into his room unnoticed. Maybe he could just deny what Seto said! That was the best he could think of, but maybe he could pull it off.
"MY PRINCE!!!!" shouted a young woman that had run into the room. It was Yami's nursemaid. She helped his parents take care of him.
Yami knew that something was wrong! If he was going to get in trouble then his parents themselves would have come to yell at him! But his nursemaid was extremely upset!
"WHAT???? What is it!?!?!?!"
"The Pharaoh!!!!!!! HE'S..." Her eyes got wide and she fell to the ground.
Yami rushed over to her and shook her. She didn't move. Then he saw Heishin standing in his doorway.
"Stupid girl! This will be harder now than I originally planned! Oh well." Heishin shrugged his shoulders then returned his gaze back to the little prince.
"What did you do!?!?!" Yami shouted, "You didn't..."
"No she's not dead. She just won't be waking up for a while." Heishin smiled evilly. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the royals."
Yami was frozen to his spot, realizing what Heishin just said. His parents were...dead...and he was now staring at their murderer!!!
"Too bad Seto's parents walked in or they might have lived as well," Heishin thought out loud.
Still silence. Heishin got angry. "Boy!" he spat, "The only reason you are still alive is because I need to know where the Millennium Items are!!! Now WHERE ARE THEY!!!?!!!!!!!"
'The Millennium Items?' Yami thought. \Dark Magician?!\ Yami asked through their mental Bond, voice shaking.
No answer.
\DARK MAGICIAN!!!!!\ he shouted.
\.....Yami...\ came a weak reply, \.....I can't move...I...I tried to protect the Pharaoh but...I couldn't..Yami...you can't let Heishin get the Millennium Items...especially the Puzzle...If he does...nothing will be able to stop him...\ The Dark Magician sounded as if he was having trouble breathing between each phrase.
\What am I supposed to do!?!\
\Use...the power...of...the Pharaoh...\ the Dark Magician answered.
\The what!?!\
Suddenly Yami was filled with a strange sensation. As if he were standing in the middle of the River Nile during a storm and trying to hold it back. It flowed in, around, and through him. It was too strong for his small body and Yami blacked out.
Heishin was surprised to see the 7 year old slowly rise to stand strait up, eyes closed, head down. He felt some strange energy radiating from him. This startled the High Mage. But what made him jump was when the young prince raised his head, golden eye shining brightly on his forehead. Then the little boy opened his eyes. Instead of the bright crimson, they were pure gold, shining with some intense inner light.
With a voice that wasn't his own, Yami proclaimed, "You are not worthy of the afterlife."
Heishin was pushed into the ground by some unseen force.
Yami held out his hand, palm inches away from Heishin's face. "I, the Pharaoh, BANISH YOU TO THE SHADOW REALM!!!!!!"
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Heishin screamed in terror. Then he was gone.
Yami's eyes returned to crimson and rolled back into his head as he collapsed to the floor.
Ok that's the end of this chapter. For people who have read Yami's Memories, yes that is the chapter that I posted before and I changed it and continued it. Thanks to everyone who helped out with this story, especially Sm-candy and Darkdragonofthenever! Well, please review and tell me what you think! I will try to write and post the next chapter soon! Until then, bye now!