…Where has it ever said that Bakura was 'the King of Thieves'? I think that's just a romantic exaggeration on the part of we fans. He said he was 'a thief'. Besides, who said he was telling the truth…? ^_^

I must reiterate: This will not be a Yaoi fic, wither Ryou/Bakura or Yami/Bakura (i.e. Yanami/Bahaku). As much as I like the R/B pairing, there will not be any Yaoi in this fic. Shonen-ai, maybe, if you want to take it that way. However, I do have quite a humorous incident in just a bit…

I am not really happy with the beginning part of this, so don't rat me on it. Please…

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO, nor do I own Bakura, Ryou, Yami, Yugi or anybody else who pops their head in here.

Stories of the Past

Chapter 2: Promises, Promises

"Can you find Bahaku's mother?"

My mouth dropped open. Yanami was asking his father to find my mother?! What on earth had gotten into him?!

Apparently, the Pharaoh thought the same thing. His eyes widened slightly, and he glanced down at me. "Bahaku's…mother?" he asked calmly. I shrank back a bit, closer to Yanami. "Any…particular reason?"

My 'master' didn't even look down, just put a hand on my shoulder to tell me to stay put. The feeling of being a pet echoed again in my mind, but I held my tongue.

"Bahaku cries at night because he misses her." he said pointedly, not taking his eyes off his father. "I don't like it when he cries…It takes the fun out of everything."

I don't think he meant it, but slave owners weren't supposed to care about their slaves and their wants or needs. But his father seamed to understand. His harsh, violet eyes got a bit softer as he gazed into his son's.

The Pharaoh glanced at the two of us a moment, then nodded his consent. "Alright then." he sighed. "We'll look for her."

Yanami's eyes lit up and he looked down at me, excited. I was a bit too shocked to be anything but confused, but that didn't last long. He'd do it. He'd find my mother.

My mother…

~ * ~ * ~

It was sunset before the Pharaoh returned, several guards in tow behind him. Yanami saw them coming before I did and nearly dragged me down to see them. He was so excited, he even left our game of Dogs and Jackals unfinished.

I was excited too, of course. It's just that I was never quite so extroverted as Yanami was. But hope was obvious even in my eyes as we ran to the Pharaoh, looking up at him as he entered the palace.

"Did'ja find her? Did'ja find her?" Yanami asked, bouncing a bit with excitement. "You did, right? Where is she, where is she?"

The Pharaoh's eyes were only half-open, and he looked a bit…perturbed. He glanced down, first at Yanami, then at me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what that look in his eyes meant.

He knelt down so that he was eye-level with the two of us. Now Yanami even felt that something was wrong, his amethyst eyes widening slowly in realization. "You…You did find her…didn't you?"

"…Yes, I did." the Pharaoh sighed gently. "…I managed to track her back to the village…They told me what happened to you…And to your mother…"

I looked up at him, still hopeful, still scared. He sighed again, as though he'd been hoping he wouldn't have to say it. "Bahaku…I'm afraid your mother…is dead."

My blood ran cold. I should've known…I should've known it was true…He explained it to Yanami, about the people who'd come into our home…the ones who'd kidnapped me…the ones who'd held back my mother…beat her…strangled her…left her, bleeding, on the floor…

Yanami's eyes went even wider, and he turned to stare at me. His pitying glance was more than I could take. Tears began to pour from my eyes before I willed them, and I took to my heels from the room.

"Bahaku, come back!" Yanami exclaimed, but I didn't heed. I couldn't.

My mother was dead.

She was dead. Gone…she was gone forever…Tears rushed down my cheeks like water falls. Words began to babble out of my mouth, rants of complete nonsense along the lines of "Mama…mommy…why…?"

Finally, I came to a stop, finding myself out in the sunlight. I'd happened to wind up in a courtyard that opened so that the Nile ran past swiftly and noisily, tall green river-reeds rising above me.

Somehow, the gentle noise of the water was soothing. I dropped to the ground by the bank, dipping my hands into the cool, clean stream, splashing it on my face to try and hide the partially-drying tears, only to have them replaced almost instantly.

The pain of my loss and the exhaustion of the tears was wearing on me, so I lay down next to the great river. The sand of the bank was soft and warm…it caressed my body like my mother's hugs, pulling me close and holding me tight. It was comforting enough that I fell asleep, right there, hidden from view by the reeds.

I awoke hours later to someone calling my name. The sky above me was inky blue-black, dotted with glowing yellow and white stars. I sat up, rubbing my eyes sleepily in the light of a full moon.

"Bahaku!" Yanami gasped, running at me from behind. His eyes were filled with worry and he dropped down next to me. "Are you alright? Ra, I thought you'd run away…"

"I'm fine…" I muttered quietly, rubbing my eyes. "I just fell asleep, that's all…"

Yanami looked at me, still worried, eyes turning a bit sympathetic. "Bahaku…I'm sorry." he sighed, glancing back at the ground. "I didn't think…your mother…"

I sniffled a bit, sighing. I didn't really want to think about my mother anymore…it hurt too much. Yanami sighed as well, looking out into the river. "Listen…Bahaku…I I know this might sound selfish or something but…there's a part of me that's kinda… glad…"

My head snapped up. Glad?! My mother was dead and he was glad?!

"See…I was kinda scared…" he muttered quietly. "I thought…maybe…if we found your mother, you'd leave and…I wouldn't have anybody to play with anymore." Yanami leaned over the bank, dipping his hand into the water. "But…you looked so sad…I didn't want you crying anymore…"

He sighed one more time. "I guess I really blew that one, huh?"

"It's not your fault…" I muttered, feeling the gold armbands on my wrists.

"…Papa says the villagers buried your mother properly." he glanced up at me, a bit of hope in his eyes. "You'll see her again…in the Lands of Osiris."

I smiled, glancing at the moon. I could've sworn Thoth smiled back at me. "You're right…" I muttered. "I will, won't I?"

"But for now…" he turned suddenly, a bright look in his eyes. "Care to finish our game?"

~ * ~ * ~

"…Hey, Bahaku?"

"Yeah?" I was putting away the Dogs & Jackals game, having beaten Yanami by 3 lengths so-to-speak.

Said good loser was sitting cross-legged on his bed, looking thoughtful. "You said your dad was already dead, right?"

"…Right." I muttered. What was he getting at?

"And now your mom…" Yanami seamed to be figuring something. "…Any other family?"

"No…Nobody…" I dropped my voice down. My family was a pretty touchy subject. I shut the trunk, glancing at the floor.

"Well then." he jumped off the bed and ran over to me, something clutched in his fist. "We'll just have to do something about that, won't we?"

He grabbed my right hand and pushed something onto the pointer finger. When he removed his hand, it was revealed to be a thick, gold signet ring, embellished with the same Eye as the Pharaoh's medallion, the same that covered the walls of the palace.

I looked up at him, confused, and he just smiled. "From now on, you're a part of my family!" he exclaimed.

I blinked, swallowing in surprise. "A…A part of…"

"Well, since you've got nowhere else to go…" Yanami sighed off-hand. "Somebody has to take care of you."

I gulped once, then did it again, feeling my throat tighten to the point of being painful. "You…you promise?" I gulped. "You're not gonna…"

"Of course not." Yanami smiled. "Bahaku, you're like a brother to me…from this point on, I'll take care of you…I promise."

~ * ~ * ~

"Things went pretty smoothly after that…for a while, at least." Bakura sighed, leaning back on the bed.

"Whattya mean, 'for a while'?" Ryou asked. "Something happen?"

Bakura lay back against the bed, sighing. "…Not really. I mean, there were a couple of guards who'd pick on me sometimes, but Yanami took care of that…"

~ * ~ * ~

"Cut it out!"

I jumped, trying to grab the rag out of the blonde teenager's grip. I was ten, he was fifteen, a guard-in-training, and twice my height. You do the math.

"Please, give it back! I need to finish!"

"If I recall, slaves aren't supposed to be giving orders." his friend, dark-haired and dark-eyed, gave a low laugh.

"But…But…"

"Quit your bellyaching." they pushed me backwards, crashing into the ground and scattering the water I was supposed to be washing the floor with out of the bucket. I sat there a moment, looking up at them, tears starting to pop up in the corners of my eyes.

"Joiji! Hatanao! Leave Bahaku alone!"

The two gulped just a bit as Yanami came storming up, two inches shorter than I was but with the glare of someone who had authority and knew when to press it. Joiji… the blonde one…dropped the rag into my hands and scowled a bit.

"Jeez, Yanami…" Hatanako muttered. "We were just playin' with him…"

Joiji muttered a sour agreement. Yanami glared at them both. "Let. Bahaku. Finish. His work." he said slowly and evenly. "And, by the way, I think your fathers are looking for you."

Joiji and Hatanako paled, and quickly made themselves scarce.

~ * ~ * ~

Ryou was laughing a bit under his breath. It was a rather interesting picture, a little guy whom, (he assumed) looked just like Yugi, facing down a couple of teenagers that tall and sending them running for cover.

Bakura smiled at his other half. "You know what's really funny? Those two boys would later be reincarnated as Joey and Tristan."

"You're joking!" Ryou's laughter increased.

"You really think that's funny, do ya?" Bakura smirked, holding back laughter. "Wait'll you hear what happened a few years later, when we were fourteen…"

~ * ~ * ~

"But I don't wanna get married!" Yanami whined a bit, glancing at his reflection in the obsidian mirror.

"It isn't that bad." I was currently attempting to hook the two ends of a thick, sash-like tunic together at his right shoulder. "You like Miss Ansatsu, don't you?"

"Of course I do…" Yanami muttered. "It's just that…that…"

He sighed, blushing a deep scarlet. He pulled at the cloth in nervousness and slight distaste. It was made from brand new, clean linen, with the usual knee-length cloth, gold armbands and plain white sandals. But the necklace was gone, replaced with the thick, white sash-tunic, pulled diagonally across his chest and back from the left, pinned above the right shoulder with a gold scarab. Under Yanami's yellow bangs was a gold crown, a simple band of soft gold connected at his forehead with the same Eye of Horus.

I grinned at my 'master's' distress, and he had a reason to be so. At dinner a week before, he had been informed with the rest of the household that he was formally engaged, and would be married by month's end.

The lucky lady was a princess from a familiar country who had visited before. Her name was Ansatsu, and she was about four years older than us, friendly and mothering. She was rather pretty, with pale skin but dark brown hair and eyes, and Yanami had taken a bit of a liking to her, but still…

"It could be worse, you know." I shrugged. "It could be somebody twice your age that you'd never met before in your life."

He glared at me a moment, then sighed in defeat and brushed himself off. "Well…I guess I'm ready to go."

He took a deep breath, held it a moment, then started for the door. I followed him down the corridors and out of the palace, to the Temple of Ra at the highest point from the Nile's banks. Here I broke off from him, using the tricks I'd learned sneaking food late at night to hide in the shadows of the stone pillars.

There were not many people permitted into the ceremony. I counted 5: the head priest, two assistants to aid in the marriage, the priestess of Basset that had accompanied Ansatsu, and, of course, Yanami's father.

The princess was standing by the alter, dressed in traditionally flowing white robes, with a necklace and crown both made of gold. She smiled happy at Yanami and even in the dim candlelight you could see the blush painting his cheeks.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before approaching the front of the temple. At instruction from the high priest, the two of them knelt before the alter, hands in a praying motion at their chest.

The head priest sprinkled holy water from the Nile on both of their heads, chanting gently. Then he took each of them by the hand, Yanami's left and Ansatsu's right, entwining their fingers. Then he chanted slower and louder, asking for the God's blessings in joining the two as one…

Egyptians didn't exchange rings at marriages. Rings showed authority, or, by marking, ownership in one's family. Instead, the two each took a blooming river-lily that was sitting on top of the alter, exchanging them in symbolism.

Then came the kissing the bride part. Yanami's blush rose into his ears when he heard that, looking up at Ansatsu. Even knelling, she was a head taller than he was. He leaned up best he could, but she still had to lean down, containing her giggles. The kiss itself was very quick, which I think was better for the both of them anyway.

~ * ~ * ~

"Aw…" Ryou grinned, voice raising almost into a croon. Feminine as it was, he'd always enjoyed the romantics of old movies, and this was along the same lines. "That's sweet, but what's so funny about it?"

Bakura gave a wide, toothy grin. "Ansatsu was reincarnated as well." he suppressed his snickers to get through his sentence. "She's Tè a."

Ryou stared a moment, then burst out laughing so hard he nearly fell off the bed. "Y-You mean…Yugi…an-and Tè a?!" he stumbled out, eyes watering. "No wonder he always blushes when he looks at her!!"

They had a good laugh over that one, ending finally with Ryou lying with his head in his Yami's lap, holding his stomach. Bakura glanced down at his other half, a slight bit annoyed, but as his Aibou didn't seam to care to move at the moment, he didn't press the issue.

"S-So how did it turn out?" Ryou asked, wiping the water from his eyes.

"Not bad, actually." Bakura smiled a bit at the memory. "Granted, Ansatsu acted more like his mother than his wife for the first few years, but when they were a bit older, they grew pretty close…rather intimate, as they got older."

"Wow." Ryou smiled. "Sounds like things were okay."

"…They were." Bakura admitted, but with a gentle sigh his dark eyes grew sad. "But…That just couldn't last…"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sob sob…they just switch the WB to a channel I don't get…SO I CAN'T SEE YU-GI-OH ANYMORE!!!!!!!! It SAYS I should be getting it…but I don't, all 'cause they switch the DAMN channels! *sob sob sob*