~~~~~~~~~~~Just One Man~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~~~
AUGH!! *ducks thrown dueling cards while everyone tries to imitate Kaiba* HAH! YOU MISSED! I'm making Yami and Seto separate anyway cuz I'm evil and this story needs a good twist. :-p In reality, though, I'm the type of person who gets really impatient at this type of thing cuz I just want fluff and everyone to be happy so I often either don't read stories that are ALL separation or angst and just read the happy ending. Heh heh...(I DO hate Anzu; I'm just so much like her sometimes that its scary... ^_^)
1. OMG I LOVE YOU GUYS! I was practically sobbing when I came back from my vacation (went diving and got stun by Fire Coral -_-* Hurt like hell!) cuz of all your reviews! Wow, do you guys really like it that much? ^_^ *sniffle* THANK YOU!!
2. Er, there was a typo in the last chapter; I DO *NOT* OWN ANY COPIES (except the translated first volume) OF THE REAL MANGA. First of all, I haven't finished reading the ancient Egypt part (its 20-30 some odd chapters) and I'm utterly clueless about any other part of it (like present time), so this is why there's all these wrong guesses. Thanks to all those that told me the truth; wow, Kaiba doesn't KNOW that he's related to Yami? O_o Yikes, what's his reaction gunna be? I frankly prefer them both as known cousins, but that's definitely an interesting idea... Didn't read that part, that's why I didn't. I kinda assumed it cuz I read one chapter near the end of ancient Egyptian part of it (after Yami's 'death'; I started reading backwards by accident -_-*) and it showed Akunadin and Akunamunkano as brothers, and Akunadin telling little Kaiba that they'll never be king and what not. :-/ Gee. I should finish the thing... Hope that websites up!
3. Sorry, I would give you guys the manga website but I'm pretty sure the webmistress doesn't want to break any copyright laws or anything. SORRY! *sniffle* Its really not that hard to find one by yourself though; just type in Yu-Gi-Oh! translated manga or something in google or yahoo or wutever and a few good ones should come up (keep looking if they don't). :-p Good hunting! And yes, it really is worth it. *drools over Yami*
4. Wow, Seth attempting to rape Horus? O_o That's odd, I never found any evidence of any man-man relationship in ancient Egypt (save a hint about Akhenaten, but he's just plain weird) whereas there's definite gay men in ancient Greek and Rome. Hm... I kinda assumed this sort of thing would happen between them though, cuz Seth has done some pretty weird things to Horus. Yeah, I knew the whole Seth/Horus deal, and I always pitied Horus cuz he's the young nephew and all and he keeps losing limbs and eyes. :-/ But rape? Er, as sick as that sounds, that actually fits pretty well with this new idea I'm toying around with (see some note in the middle of the chapter) where Mahado is Anubis and Yami is Horus (heh, I swear it'll all make sense once u read the story, if I ever get it up) and all that.
5. Hm, about the Horus the Elder (Greek name; Haroeris) and Horus the Child (Greek name; Harpocrates) thing, I'm pretty sure they're both still the same god, Horus. Though they're both worshipped separately sometimes, and resemble different values, ages, time and stuff, I still think they both refer to Horus in general, the son of Isis and Osirius and the falcon king of the Living. I never heard of another Horus as a god; there's Re-Harakhty, which combines Re/Ra and Horus and is shown as a falcon-headed man with a sun disk, but I've never seen another falcon deity (there was a lot) named Horus besides the one that we all know. Hm...
Once again, I do not own Sailor Moon nor Moulin Rouge cuz there's quotes/ideas from both in this chapter.
~~~~~~
Satine:
I'm dying....
I was a fool to believe,
a fool to believe....
It all ends today,
yes, it all ends today...
Zidler:
Send Christian away;
only you can save him...!
Satine:
He'll fight for me!
Zidler:
Yes, unless he believes you don't love him...
Satine:
What?!
Zidler
You're a great actress, Satine...
Make him believe you don't love him!
Satine:
...No!
Zidler:
Use your talent to save him!
Hurt him, hurt him to save him!
There is no other way...
(AN: excerpt from Moulin Rouge that --along with Sailor Moon R episodes-- inspired this double chapter)
Yami woke up the next morning feeling warm, awkward, pained, pleased, tired, confused, thirsty, giddy and sore all at the same time, most of which were completely new feelings to him. Surprisingly, he didn't really mind any of them... save the painful pounding behind his eyes. Ra, he had a hell of a hangover. Oh, but it was worth it! He got Kaiba in to his arms, after all, and it wasn't even that hard, on his part!
In fact, the said young priest was now curled up beside Yami, hugging the Pharaoh like a child might do for a favorite doll. Kaiba's proud face was resting --actually, smashed-- against the crook of Yami's neck, warm and rhythmic breathing tickling the violet-ebony strands that rested there. Kaiba's fingers were entangled with Yami's own, their limbs entwined together under the cool silk sheet that one of them --it was hard to remember who-- managed to pull on before they fell asleep.
Yami fought a foolish grin; he should get drunk more often. 'Things go a lot easier when you didn't have logic to back them up.' He let out a tired laugh, fondly gazing down at the wonderful being he held in his arms as he gently ran a hand through Kaiba's sweaty chestnut hair. 'Damn, if only I remembered...'
He DID, however, recall a surprised scream in the chamber --it sounded like Ishizu-- right before dawn, the time he usually got up and prepared for meetings and stuff. Yami painfully strained his neck to glance over the wings of the falcon at their heads so he could catch a glimpse of his balcony. The veils sparkled gold; Ra was already very bright. It was clearly far after dawn, so how many people have Ishizu told already?
'Aw, hell, it was one of *those* days...' Yami let out a muffled groan as he sank his face in Kaiba's hair. Ra, he couldn't get up if he wanted to. His back and his rear burned with intense pain that wasn't nearly as welcomed as it might have been last night. His neck, too, was horribly stiff for he had slept in an awkward position without his headrest. [1]
Kaiba shifted and stirred under him, but fell asleep once again after he buried his face in Yami's chest and latched firmly on to the slender man's waist.
'Well, there goes any last hope that I'm going to get up today,' thought Yami rather happily, snuggling into Kaiba's awkward pose as well as he could.
Unfortunately, fate had other ideas.
Now, Yami may be Pharaoh, and a well-respected and a well-feared one at that, but, even with both parents long dead, he was still subject to family hierarchies. And Akunadin, being decades his senior and the direct lineage from Yami's grandfather, had all the rights to bother him.
Yami's mind barely even DREAMED about going back to sleep before he heard Akunadin's soft, slow steps come in through his Chamber entrance. For a moment, he feigned sleep, hoping that the elderly priest would just go away.
No such luck. Akunadin, having the Eye, knew perfectly well he was awake, and let out a loud cough enough to startle the silence yet not awake Kaiba.
"Uncle, PLEASE go away..." pleaded Yami irritably, pulling the sheet over his head and praying that he wasn't suffocating Kaiba in the process.
"Ah, my dear young nephew, I have no intention of doing so," chuckled Akunadin, pulling the sheet down and patting Yami cheek in a way only a fond uncle --whether if be of a king nor not-- could.
Yami squeezed his eyes shut; here he was, a PHARAOH of all people, naked and at the mercy of his unpredictable uncle, who's son he had just slept with in the first place and was happily asleep, offering no help. (AN: was that sentence grammarly correct? O_o) Oh, this was not a fun, nor any bit SANE, situation to be in. His head swam with all the possibilities of just WHAT was going on in Akunadin's mind, and even worse, what the old man was going to do about it.
However, after a few minutes of awkward silence, the Pharaoh peeked open one eye.
Akunadin looked as serene and wise as always, dressed in another version of his silver robes. His remaining gray eye twinkled with mirth, and though his face was stern, it showed signs that he was trying very hard not to smile. He peered down over Yami at a respectable --though still much too close for comfort-- distance from above, sheet in one hand and the other drifting upward toward his white bread, rubbing it as if deep in thought.
"Well, I would say that it would be just a tad pointless for me to ask if 'you slept well', hmm...?" murmured Akunadin with a twitch of the side of his lips. He raised an eyebrow when Yami only stared. "Well, are you getting up or not? There is a kingdom awaiting your wise rule, young one, no matter how tempting--" He glanced at his sleeping son and seemed to sigh and chuckle at the same time, "--staying in bed might be."
Yami would have throttled his uncle right then and there if his back wasn't killing him. The pain brought a sudden wave of giddy stubbornness through him. "I can't," he stated flatly.
Akunadin's gray eyebrows rose upward toward the heavens. "Oh?"
Yami flushed. "I *can't*," he repeated simply, softer this time, praying that he didn't have to SPELL it out.
Akunadin DID laugh this time. Kaiba stirred again, but still did not awaken. The eldest High Priest affectionally ruffled Yami's hair as he often did in the young man's youth; the action only bewildered the one receiving it.
'Bloody hell, is he incredibly happy that I screwed his son!?!?' demanded the baffled Pharaoh to himself.
Akunadin's lips were still twitching upward when he settled his gaze upon Yami, now with an amused sternness within them. "I'm sorry, young one; I would normally allow you to stay in bed, especially if you are in such pain, but please *do* recall what today is, hmm?"
Yami wracked his brain desperately, hoping it wasn't one of those blasted 'worship the Pharaoh!' kind of days when citizens of the city were allowed into the Palace just so they could see him upon his balcony or something. Though barely able to focus on anything but the pounding of his temples, Yami eyed the Chamber door warily, expecting a crowd of deranged peasants to run in with possibly Shadi or Ishizu hot on their heels.
"The Horus celebration is not yet finished, Yami," murmured Akunadin finally, when Yami's hangover seemed to deem it impossible to recover any logical memories, "You are still needed to pray the Temples."
Yami let out a very and heavy groan that he very rarely showed vocally. "I'll... nngh... be there," he mumbled finally, detaching himself slowly and painfully from Kaiba's limbs, amazingly still not awakening the sleeping man.
When he finally managed a sitting position propped up on his elbows, Yami glared at Akunadin with his best living-Horus-and-don't-you-forget-it! kind of look that never seemed to work too well on this particular old man. "Um..." The Pharaoh blushed again, something very rarely seen to the public, "Do you mind...?"
Akunadin sighed and rolled his remaining eye, "Yami, I have bathed you and clothed you as if you were my own son, regardless of the presence of servants. Countless times have I seen your--"
"Uncle!"
"Fine, fine," chuckled Akunadin, leaving the room briefly to come back with Yami's 'divine' attire, now freshly cleaned and --along with the headdress-- thankfully picked up from the ground. Seeing Yami's horrified glance at the door, he laughed. "No, no, I will not allow any servants or gaurds to come in, not while you're in this particular...state..." Chuckling, Akunadin dumped the clothing unceremonially in Yami's lap and turned his back to the bed, proceeding to count the seconds it took for Yami to change; no doubt it would be a while.
Still eyeing the door and grumbling, Yami gingerly swung his legs over the side of the gold bed. The movement, however carefully he performed it, still drew a hiss of pain. For a moment, Yami considered whacking Kaiba, but decided against it and let the poor man sleep. It took him a few more agonizing seconds to stand before, shivering in the cool morning mist, he eyed his clothing with a helpless expression.
Akunadin managed to catch a few stray thoughts from the disgruntled young Pharaoh, and fought laughter again. "Do you need help, my young nephew?"
"Would you believe me if I said 'no'?" demanded Yami's rather pained but sheepish tone.
Needless to say, once Akunadin took that as a 'yes', dressing Yami went much faster. Though the Pharaoh protested and blushed the whole way, his experienced uncle quickly adorned him with every inch of his cape, kilt, and jewelry --there was a brief lecture about tossing the Rod and Puzzle around-- perfectly in place. The old High Priest then rushed out of the room to get some makeup, too, demanding that Yami sit --the Pharaoh had no complaints about this particular request-- until he returned. Though Yami insisted that he could put on his own kohl lines and eyeshadow, he was utterly powerless when Akunadin returned and glared at him with the paternal look that all sons knew and feared.
"There," said Akunadin finally, stepping back to admire his work.
Yami had to admit; his uncle was skilled in being a mother hen. The squirming Pharaoh looked as if he had just stepped out from the Throne Chamber last night without any essence of alcohol, intoxication or any other... activities... of the previous night.
"People won't see the difference in you," assured Akunadin as Yami looked himself over in surprise.
"Yeah, until I walk," shot back Yami, rubbing his pounding temples and fighting the urge to do the same to his rear.
Akunadin eyed Kaiba with a rather odd, almost accusing look at this comment. "I can't help you there, I'm afraid. You're going to have to do your best; it'll look suspicious if I helped you all the way to the Temple. But you hurry along now," he said with the hand gesture of an elder ushering a little child, "...I'll handle my son when he wakes up."
Yami wasn't sure if this was a good thing, judging by the surprisingly evil glint in Akunadin's eyes.
But the young king finally sighed and, glancing longingly at the empty space within Kaiba's arms, mumbled a thanks to his uncle. He gingerly took a few painful steps toward the doorway --Akunadin eyeing him with both mirth and worry the whole way-- and managed to hide his expression of intense agony on the fourth step. There was still a slight grimace upon his face, but Yami prayed that people wouldn't notice. Now, how to deal with Ishizu --that is, if she hadn't told TOO many people-- was beyond him. He flushed with the thought.
"Too late, your majesty," called Akunadin from behind him, "Karimu's having a delightful time spreading it around the Palace."
Yami groaned. 'Ra, it's going to be a LONG day.'
~*~*~*~*~*~
The walk to the Temple of Horus was agonizing and excruciatingly long, considering half the servants were snickering and the other half wouldn't leave Yami alone and would NOT understand why he wanted to walk --obviously in pain-- without help.
Thankfully, Ishizu, who's guilt was starting to eat away at her, stepped in, shooed away everyone else and --with Karimu's unhelpful comments along the way-- half-dragged, half-carried Yami to his destination. The woman then proceeded in booting out any priests or early-worshippers out to leave Yami in respectable peace to pray.
Yami didn't know whether to thank her or strangle her; in the end he ended up telling her to make sure that Akunadin wasn't doing anything irrational --like giving The Talk-- to poor Kaiba.
Ishizu bowed and quickly rushed off, her sandals echoing against the cold marble ground.
Yami instantly felt that ordering her disappearance was a mistake. Something was... different... The huge basalt statue of Horus, who sat down upon the Egyptian throne with his mighty falcon-head lifted up high, towered over Yami as if it might just move an inch and step on him like a bug. The looming statue was half hidden in shadow, for the normally colorful and gold-lined room was now dim with smoking, dying torches. There were organized baskets of food and lotus blossoms scattered about the feet of the deity, along with vases of sacred water, but they not bring enough beauty for comfort. There seemed to be whispers carried in the air, though they were so quiet and inaudible that Yami dismissed it as just paranoia. But still, it was extraordinarily *cold* --even for a morning-- in the chamber, even *with* warmth of the torches and the sweet smell of incense and fragrant flowers. Just then, a tiny breeze from nowhere washed over the Pharaoh, making the weak light of the torches flicker dangerously. The hair on the back of his neck rising, Yami eyed the shadows with a wary gaze before he dismissed it as his overactive imagination.
Slowly and with difficulty, his pounding head not helping one bit, the Pharaoh pulled up a pillow and sank his knees in it, tucking his feet under his sore rear and stiffly facing the long shins of Horus's legs. The young sovereign then took a deep breath, settled his hands casually at the ends of his knees, and closed his eyes.
It was hard to get all his thoughts out of his mind. Kaiba's face and taste and smell and murmurs kept leaping back into mind. Yami furrowed his brow and fought the temptation to fantasize away, and was relieved to find that, in his sleepy, tired state, he could find inner peace rather well, despite his headache. (AN: Uh, I sound like some psycho yoga person. O_o Not that I MIND yoga or anything...)
Praying, by definition, was not something everyone could do CORRECTLY. Most peasants just look up at the gods and beg, but the ones with certain magical capabilities did it much different. Praying included meditation, relaxation, astro-projection, and telepathy, or an insane mix of all four. Speaking the deities face to face was something reserved for the Pharaoh and the High Priests only --symbolic of their titles and their whole purpose on Earth-- but very few of THOSE selected few ever managed it either.
Yami, like most Pharaohs, got nothing but a vague, peaceful feeling. Nothing else. He really didn't expect anything different this time; besides, he was in mood to talk to Hathor about last night anyway.
But the moment he felt the familiar, oceanic feeling of meditation settle over him, the Yami felt himself being mentally pulled down a deep, dark abyss, nearly tobbling into it. There was a split second of panic where he struggled instinctively to pull himself out of the trance, but to no avail, for he found himself falling down a spinning vortex of both blinding colors and icy darkness.
For a moment, he saw in and around every object around him without even opening his eyes; he saw Kaiba and Akunadin all the way across the Palace; miles away, he saw Karimu irritably scanning one of the Temples for a lost scroll; he saw both the sky and the ground as if he was standing on both at the same time; he saw huge, dragon-like monsters with teeth and claws fighting for survival in prehistoric Earth; he saw a brave Theban prince fighting his army against fellow Egyptians; he saw his father as young child, and then happily married; he saw himself as a child, laughing in his father's arms; he saw a sad Egyptian queen toying with the poisonous Egyptian asp; he saw the collapse of Egypt's proud obelisks, and in a blink of an eye, cities of metal rise around the aging Giza pyramids; he saw himself, a tad transparent, wearing an odd attire of tight blue leather and now laughing with a short boy that looked exactly like him, wearing the exact same thing and wearing HIS Puzzle...
Ra, he was seeing through the farthest reaches of space; through the very impossibilities of time; through and around and over and under the very fabrics and incomprehensible complications of existence itself...
And all this in a flash.
Yami's attempt to scream only escaped from his physical body as a small gasp, before the said body crumbled to the ground.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Ishizu stopped by the twin goddesses at the Royal Chamber's entrance and debated with herself. To go in, or not to go in? 'Yami said to just check on Akunadin and Kaiba... That didn't involve going IN, right?' After all, judging by a few nervous servant boys holding bundles of clothing that looked suspiciously like Kaiba's, Yami's new lover could still be naked, if not still asleep.
Just then... Akunadin's stern, yet amused, voice came through the open doorway. "Seto? Seto, rise and shine! SETO!"
Ishizu fought a grin and stationed herself calmly by the entrance; this might prove to be interesting.
Meanwhile, inside the Chamber...
"Ungh..." Kaiba absent-mindedly batted away his father's hand and pulled the sheet from Akunadin's hands, curling up and burying his head somewhere under it. "Papa... G-go away...!" he whined, clearly with the mentality of his childhood years.
Akunadin fought a broad smile.
Both Kaiba and Yami usually awoke very early --at some 'unholy hour', commented Karimu once-- for they both needed very little sleep. But HOW they felt couldn't be more different. Yami always rose peacefully and silently, rising at pre-dawn and calmly dressing himself, for many of his servants weren't awake when he was. He would then cheerfully --or as cheerfully as he could-- enter the Throne Chamber with the aura of one so calm, so alert and so in control that it made those few that WERE awake at the time ashamed to even yawn. KAIBA, on the other hand, was NOT a morning person. The moment HE awoke, he would bark crankily for some servants to bring clothes and food, and therefore spend most of the morning cursing off just about everything and basically biting off everyone's heads for no apparent reason.
But Ra, Akunadin couldn't WAIT until Kaiba got up; maybe then the young man will realize that he was naked, not in the right bedroom, and CAUGHT by his FATHER after SLEEPING with the PHARAOH. (AN: caps are fun!)
"Seto..." Akunadin kept his voice utterly even and gave another half-hearted shake to the oddly-curled form of his full-grown --though not mentally, as of the moment-- son. "Seto, Ra is already very high. You've slept long enough."
"No, I haven't," corrected Kaiba in the mist of slumber.
Akunadin pondered this comment for a moment and shuddered, deciding that he didn't want to know. He grabbed the ends of the sheets and pulled hard, yanking it straight off the bed. (AN: *wails and blubbers* MY MOM DOES THIS ALL THE TIME!! *sob*)
There was an unearthly mix of a whine and a groan from --very naked and exposed-- Kaiba, who was comically wrapped up around himself in a desperate attempt to keep himself warm without having to open his eyes or even relatively awaken. He let out a sleepy mumble of an excuse to 'Papa' on the lines of 'but I dun WANNA go to the training today! Those priests are old and mean!'. "But Papa, its too comfortable...!"
Akunadin raised an amused eyebrow and stroked his beard. "Even without Yami?"
The name seemed to ignite Kaiba's life force, and suddenly one of his arms shot out to touch the empty space beside him. In a flash, the priest was up in a sitting position, hair disheveled and sleepy eyes wide with panic. "Yami!" He looked around, rubbing his pounding forehead. "W-Where's..." Confused sapphire eyes focused on Akunadin after a moment of mad shuffling.
It took a moment, but a reaction finally came. All blood drained from the young priest's face, leaving a very pale and very shaken Kaiba who looked ready to bolt for the door. The cold, brave, and wholly proud High Priest that everyone else knew fled out the window that exact moment.
'Ah, I believe the situation just hit him...' though Akunadin, grinning.
"F-father!" cried Kaiba, snatching the silk sheet out of Akunadin's hand in a desperate attempt to hide his nakedness. "I...uh... This isn't what it... I mean, it IS, but..."
Coolly avoiding the same conversations and explanations he had with Yami, Akunadin went straight to the point, using his Eye of answer every one of Kaiba's frantic mental questions. "One; Yami's precense was mandatory at Horus's Temple. Two; yes, I *do* know what you did. Three; its near midday. Four; yes, you will have clothes. Five; yes, this is not your Chamber. Six; yes, practically all of Egypt knows. Seven; I have *NOT*, for the love of RA, looked into your mind for any parts of last night. And eight..." Here the elderly man paused, face expressionless with only a hint of mirth. "Eight; no, I am not angry."
For a second, there was stunned silence as Kaiba, who's mind was suffering from just as bad of a hangover as Yami's, thought this over. Slowly, a look of hopeful relief crossed his youthful face.
"No, I'm not entirely pleased, either," answered Akunadin flatly.
Kaiba's face fell. He winced meekly and opened his mouth to reply, though nothing but a wheeze came out. Shyly avoiding his father's gaze, he cleared his throat, though unsuccessfully. He decided to avoid where his father as going. "H-he called me 'Seto'," he croaked instead, saying the first thing that came to mind.
Akunadin caught off guard by the comment. Frowning, he raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"He called me 'Seto'," repeated Kaiba, amazement within his voice. That was the only clear memory from last night; in the mist of unbearable pleasure, Yami had called him 'Seto', over and over again in place of incoherent moans and cries. At first, Kaiba thought he heard wrong, but after Yami SCREAMED it, there was no doubt about it.
But... Yami never called him that. Not since... the death of the Queen.
The Great Queen's health had never been very well since Yami came into the world. There were complications in pregnancy and giving birth that nearly killed her, but she somehow managed to hang on for a few years to watch her baby son grow into a bustling young boy. Though it was no surprise when she finally died, little Yami had been absolutely heartbroken. (AN: this is random, but Egyptians --like all the people in the ancient world-- didn't live very long. 30 years was the average, even for Pharaohs, though Ramses II and Pepy II lived to about 80 and 100 years old, respectively. Both of them had the longest reign --about 60 and 90 yrs-- in the WORLD, modern time included. ^_^)
Akunamunkano, who had been expecting his lovely wife's death for years, found Yami by his mother's body the hour she had died, her son having had been with her to the end. Though the Pharaoh wept like a child beside his son, Yami did not utter one single word nor move an inch until his father's servants tried to carry the body away.
It was said that Yami turned into Seth himself right there; Akunadin, who came as soon as he heard the news, was there to witness the transformation. "It was horrible," the priest told his own son one day, "You've never seen such screaming, such weeping, nor such strength, from such a young boy. His sanity seemed to flee the moment his mother's body was carried away." Akunadin and a few other priests had held Yami back when Akunamunkano and a few servants carried away the Queen, but it was said that Yami fought like a madman. Six grown priests alone could barely hold his thrashing, sobbing, angry little 7-year-old body. (AN: ha, I gotta tell you my own personal story; I am DEATHLY afraid of needles, so when I was about 5-years-old, it took six nurses and two doctors to hold me down for ONE shot. O_o* True story, I swear to you...)
Kaiba himself remembered it well. Due to all the commotion suddenly raging through the Palace, the young priest-apprentice went to the Royal Chambers in search for the source of such chaos. He passed the procession carrying the Queen's body and had felt his heart sink as he gazed upon his uncle's heartbroken face. Breaking into a run toward the Royal Chamber, he had found Akunadin and a few other men practically wrestling a screaming Yami to the ground.... and losing badly.
It was then that Yami somehow managed to wrestle himself away and flung himself at his startled cousin, burying his little body into the preteen's arms. "Oh, Seto, she's gone!!" he had sobbed, squishing the air out of Kaiba's chest with his little arms. "Mama's gone!"
Kaiba, stunned, had awkwardly held his little cousin in his arms for a while, all too aware of his own tears falling on to Yami's thick hair. Twice, he tried to speak, but no words, save a little sob, came out of his mouth. For a moment, Akunadin observed, all anger and competition between the two disappeared, and Kaiba and Yami just held each other and cried like blood brothers.
"Seto, w-what do I do?" Yami had whispered helplessly somewhere in the depth of Kaiba's chest, trembling violently. "What do I do?"
That was the first time 'Seto' ever graced Yami's lips.
The second was when Kaiba's own mother, who became Yami's surrogate mother through those hard years after his parents' deaths, died quietly in her sleep, for unknown reasons. Both of the children were older then; Yami was already Pharaoh, though he was barely twelve. Kaiba was already well into his teenage years, already sixteen, but he could not hide his pain, despite how hard he tried. Yami, upon blessing the body, caught sight of Kaiba's angry and confused tears and, breaking years of tradition, broke his incantations to embrace his heartbroken cousin. He had whispered in Kaiba's ears; "Seto, it's okay to cry." Kaiba recalled bursting into tears then and crying his heart out on the young king's shoulder, dignity and age be damned. He was embarrassed as hell after, but though he was arguing and screaming at Yami by the next day, he never quite forgot that tender moment.
That was the second time Yami called him by his true name.
And last night was the third.
Akunadin, who caught flashes of these memories, managed a wispy smile. "Well, I would like for you to keep last night out of your mind in my presence. It's not good for an old man to see such graphic... scenes."
Grinning at the red tint in Kaiba's cheeks, Akunadin called for a servant.
They both --well, the Eye gave Akunadin a hint-- got a rather nasty surprise when Ishizu, not a servant, stepped through the doors with Kaiba's outfit in her arms.
Kaiba let out an undignified, very un-Kaiba-like shriek. "ISHIZU!!" He threw the silk sheet over himself in a rather awkward attempt to hide his private parts.
Ishizu only laughed, and was joined by Akunadin after a few seconds. "Oh, stop whining, you big baby!" she scolded as she came forward with his clothes--
--and froze in her steps.
Before the men's very eyes, all blood seemed to drain from her skin, leaving her pale as a sheet. Her sapphire eyes suddenly glazed over and her smile disappeared in a flash, replaced by a dazed, expressionless expression. Her body went stiff as stone, and her delicate fingers clutched Kaiba's clothing so hard that her knuckles and arms turned white from the effort. The Necklace upon her neck began to vibrate and glow faintly, lifting the strands of her hair as if there was a suddenly a strong gale upon her. The very air in the Chamber suddenly became very still and very thick, almost to the point of suffocation.
This all happened in a second.
Then, with a choked gasp, the moment shattered and Ishizu collapsed to her knees, wheezing.
Akunadin rushed to her side. "Ra, what did you see?"
His Eye could not read the visions that the Necklace saw, but it COULD read Ishizu's reactions to them. And right now Ishizu was dangerously close to tears.
Just in time, Shadi came running through the doorway, panting and not giving Kaiba any more then a glance. "Quickly! You must all come to the Temple of Horus!"
"What's wrong?" demanded Kaiba and Akunadin at the same moment.
Shadi looked paler then normal, gray eyes wide. "Its Yami."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile...
Yami was terrified and yet utterly calm at the same time. He stood, from what he could 'see', in the mist of cold white fog, and yet he heard and saw everything. Yes, EVERYTHING. He heard both the rapids of the Nile cataract and the crashing of the sea waves, both hundreds of leagues away from each other. Before his eyes, Yami saw his own birth at the same time he saw his father's, and he saw the pyramids crumble at the same time that he saw them rise. He smelled the sweet scent of fresh lotus blossoms by the Nile banks, and the burning of a fire many miles away in the desert. And in a flash, he was watching Bakura, wearing the Ring and fighting wearily through a sandstorm, face flushed with fever and pain. Yami felt the windy sand hitting his own skin, and he was so close that he could have reached out and touched Bakura's shoulder... But when he went to do so, all he could see and touch was fog. He never left the white world...and yet...
Needless to say, this was all a bit distracting, if not utterly impossible.
Shivering in both the chill and the incredibility of it all, Yami glanced at himself and found that his feet dangled in air. Blinking madly in disbelief, Yami raised his eyes warily and wrapped his floating cape around himself, more for reassurance then for warmth. "Ra, this can't be real...! I'm dreaming. Surely, I'm dreaming. Meditation can go wrong, after all..." Somehow, he highly doubted this. 'Great, so how do I get out of *this* mess?'
Just then...
//Welcome, your majesty...// The voice was silky and impossibly beautiful; the very 'sound' of it made Yami shiver.
The said young man jumped and spun around violently. He saw no one, and was met at every turn by stubborn white mist. A shudder ran up the young Pharaoh's spine as he floated about aimlessly. "Who are you? Show yourself!" he bellowed into the fog, but his voice failed to sound confident.
//As you wish...// Slowly, from within the mist, came a warm, hazy glow that swirled within itself in the dreariness of this cold, foggy world.
Yami found himself inexplicably drawn to the radiance, eyes wide and locked upon the utter beauty of the light show. With his sheer will, his body began to float to it, as if it, too, was being pulled by invisible arms. A soft, gentle breeze stirred his bangs before enveloping his body, playing happily with his cape and making his robes flutter about. And all of the sudden, Yami felt warm, relaxed and unexpectedly calm. 'This is too weird...' he recalled thinking, but his mind was sluggish and hazy, hypnotized by this newcomer. Even the bombardment of the very essences of lands so far away seem to fade from thought...
And suddenly, a darkened silhouette, small at first but growing larger, began to form inside the cloud of light. Yami squinted somewhat; the form was definitely humanoid. It had a large amount of spiky hair, he could tell, and wore a long cape that hid its body from view. A few more moments and the newcomer was close enough so that Yami could make out long, slim legs, a winged tiara of gold, a silver...tunic... and a pair of...bright...scarlet...eyes.
"Ra!" shrieked Yami impulsively, flying backwards so fast that he would have fallen on his rear if there was ground to fall on in the first place.
The glowing creature calmly stepped out into the fog, raising an elegant eyebrow at him from above and eyeing him with amused, twinkling crimson eyes. Its body still glowed somewhat, its beauty radiant and utterly...*perfect*. It was unnatural.
"M-me!? You're...ME...!!" stammered Yami, alarmed and startled beyond reason. 'Impossible! Ra, impossible!' Never in his young life has he met anyone that dared to impersonate *him*; first of all, it was downright hard, and two, as Pharaoh, he would never allow it so. Besides, no one would imitate his hair.
But this being could. It smiled a brilliant, classically-Yami smirk, 'the Look' never leaving its fair face. //In body only. I have chosen a form that I had hoped would not alarm you; apparently, I am mistaken.// The being creature was unreadable.
Yami fought the urge to gape like a fish. And suddenly, he felt overly giddy. Here he was, flying in mist, looking at an identical copy of himself and, at the same time, sensing little parts of the real world in uncountable, impossible ways. If he wasn't so young, he might have had a heart attack right there.
//I apologize, my Pharaoh...// sighed the second Yami, bowing somewhat. And, in a flash of light, morphed into a certain blue-eyed priest that the real Yami knew *very* well.
Yami suppressed a scream of half-disgust and half-surprise. Oh, he really wasn't expecting that, as if he had expected any of this in the first place. That flash of light apparently wasn't 'blinding' enough, for he could see 'his' body practically melting and twisting in impossible forms to change into Kaiba's, adorned with flowing robes of white. True, the outcome was *very* nice, but Yami was absolutely sure that the half-Yami, half-Kaiba freak that this shape shifter was --even if it was for less then a second-- was forever scorched into his mind. 'Wonderful. New nightmares. I would really prefer Kaiba and I shared just a *bed*, thank you very much...'
'Kaiba' sent the Pharaoh was painfully handsome grin that made Yami's heart skip a beat. //I assume you like this form better?// it teased warmly.
Yami blushed as red as his eyes. "W-who... WHAT are you?" he whispered fearfully, kingly dignity be damned.
'Kaiba' smiled again, floating just a little closer. And for the first time, Yami noticed that the being spoke without using its lips, its telepathic voice echoing in the very essence of Yami's mind. //To you mortals, I am known as Thoth, guardian of the ibises.//
"Thoth... Thoth as in the *god* Thoth? The god of wisdom, the god that gave us hieroglyphics, the god that healed Horus, the god that helped reconstruct Osirius... THAT god Thoth?"
Beautiful blue eyes twinkled and the god nodded a little, completely and utterly un-Kaiba-ishly serene.
Yami felt as if his mind was about to overload, if not short circuit. "I... *Thoth*...!" He fell slowly to his knees, half in shock and half in an awkward attempt to bow, which he's never done before in the first place.
//No, please rise!// the god murmured, gently pulling the stunned Pharaoh back into a standing position without ever using his hands. //Oh, 'tis I that should bow to you...//
Yami furrowed his brow at the mirror image of his lover. "I... What? I-I am but a mortal, and you, a god...! Certainly not even Pharaohs are--"
'Kaiba' silence him with a noble-raised hand and a warm, gentle smile. //Oh, but you are not just a Pharaoh, young one.// the god seemed to sigh a long, heavy sigh, //Please, allow me to tell you a story...//
Utterly baffled and feeling just a tad awkward about this whole deal, Yami managed a nod.
'Kaiba' seemed pleased. //Many years ago, when Ra still ruled on Earth... there came a prophecy about mighty young god that would be born from Ra's descendents and banish all evils from Egypt. So be it; from the body of the Queen Isis, conceived by the dead King Osirius, came Horus the falcon...//
Yami flinched at the name.
//With his loyal followers, Horus avenged his father's death by reclaiming the throne of Egypt and keeping Seth at bay. Thus, he became both feared and loved. Loved by mortals and the loyal followers of Ra, and feared by demons, followers of Seth. But for all of eternity, Horus was doomed to a cursed life, a life of wounds that would never heal, of battles that would never end, of pains that would never be forgotten... Even after he gave the throne to mortal hands, Horus was forever haunted by Seth; locked in eternal war, they were good and evil, light and dark, hope and despair, love and hate... They could win a battle, then loose the next, but never could they kill each other, never could they die...// Thoth shook Kaiba's head, as if ashamed, //Most of their disputes revolved around the mortals, whom --having been Pharaoh over them and loving them dearly-- Horus always tried to protect and Seth always tried to destroy.//
Here, the god paused, as if debating whether to continue. He finally decided to go on, though quietly, //Horus... He had always been rather protective of the mortals; I must admit, I never understood why. But then... from this love, sprouted another, a passion so great that not even death or Osirius himself could tear Horus away from one young mortal... A priest, if you will... The 'dragon-tamer', as we called him.//
Yami's throat constricted painfully.
//However, to love a mortal... is a forbidden sin.// Thoth sighed. //But Horus didn't care, didn't listen... We gods were torn then; half of us, Hathor and Osirius included, protected Horus's forsaken love. The other half of us... forbad it.//
Yami frowned. "War, then? War between the gods themselves? War that Horus started?"
//No... there was no time nor reason for war; we all cared for Horus too dearly.// Thoth's sapphire eyes seemed to smile, though painfully. //But Seth saw all this; he saw our weakened state, and he knew that this love of a mortal --and of all mortals-- was Horus's one, single weakness... So, the god used all of his power to tear apart the Egyptian people, to put them against each other as the gods were. At first, this was nothing; wars happened all the time... but then Seth--// Here the god paused, almost fearfully.
Yami felt a deep sadness well up within him. "What happened...?"
Thoth closed his eyes briefly, as if agonized. //Seth had secretly wanted Horus as a lover. But when Horus refused and was found to be utterly devoted to the mortal dragon-tamer, Seth both tricked and... killed his nephew's lover.//
Yami inhaled sharply.
The god went on, slowly, //Being a mortal, however powerful in what you call 'shadow powers', the dragon-tamer stood no chance. Alerted by his followers, Horus arrived a moment too late... Ultimately, he was driven mad by grief. He and Seth battled madly, from the mountains to the valleys, from the river to the desert, from the land to the sky, from fire to ice, from the day to the night...//
Thoth shuddered. //It was horrible, apocalyptic. So many were caught in their crossfire... Mortals died, livestock buried, mountains exploded, storms blew, rivers flooded, lightening stuck... The ending was catastrophic, involving many more then just Seth, Horus and their followers. In the end, Horus managed a tight victory, though for this battle only. Osirius took pity upon his son and pleaded before the other gods for mercy and pity. With their permission, Osirius asked the Horus to choose; love and death with mortality, or war and eternity with immortality.//
Yami shook his head in disbelief, stomach sinking with the incredibility of it all. "H-he chose mortality, didn't he? Horus chose..." he whispered fearfully.
Thoth nodded, miserably. //It was his choice; none of us could stop him, though we tried.// 'Kaiba' took a shuddering, pained breath. //Horus was willing --oh so bravely willing-- to give up his very immortality to stop the war in Egypt, stop the war in the heavens, and live with his lover, even if it was only for a few short years. And in the end, we could do nothing. Anubis, who was very fond of Horus, opted to go with him. So, we could only watch helplessly as the two threw themselves into Urnes, sacrificing their immortality to the power of the water. [2] The river then carried their life force with its rapids, past the kingdom of the dead, into the kingdom of the living...//
Here Thoth paused one more, solemn and weary. //We watched from afar as the three were reborn, reunited, and struggled with mortal life. None of them remembered us, not even Anubis or Horus, for they were given new identities, new memories....new lives. Anubis; he was reborn as a dark protector, forever loyal to Horus. And Horus himself...//
Thoth stopped for the final time, this time fully silent.
Yami was getting a very bad sinking feeling in his heart. "And...?" he whispered. "Horus was reborn as what?"
Thoth locked gazes with Yami in an amazingly accurate Kaiba-like stare. Those sapphire eyes spoke more words then ever verbally possible. The god gave Yami a somewhat pitying smile before he continued, //Horus was reborn as the son of a good, but aging Pharaoh, in the mist of an age of darkness, chaos and civil war.//
For a moment, Yami experienced something not too unlike a mind blank. 'That's odd... *I* was born in the middle of a war...'
And then it hit him. Hard.
"Me..." he croaked, blood running cold. "Are you saying that...Horus is *me*?!"
'Kaiba' said nothing. His gaze was unreadable.
Yami would have hyperventilated had he been able to under the soothing force of Thoth. "No, no, you've got it all wrong..." he started quietly, strangely calm, "I am not a god. I am not Horus. I *can't* be!"
Thoth managed a pained smile. //Oh, is that what you believe? Or is that just what you mortals call 'wishful thinking'?//
The question made Yami shudder violently. "You don't understand," he cried. "Its not possible!"
//Then why do you suppose your shadow powers so strong? Why are you so brilliant in subjects that you've never heard of in your life? What are the chances that a mortal boy of your age can rule a whole kingdom so well? How is it possible that you can understand animals --particularly falcons-- so well whereas your mortal companions are utterly clueless? Why is it that you never get ill, or that you heal from wounds faster then any other person? How can it be that you can survive extreme circumstances whereas others fail? And why... WHY do you love a priest, particularity one that owns and trains the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon?//
Yami WAS hyperventilating by now, mind reeling madly. 'Ra, it all makes SENSE... It all FITS... B-but its IMPOSSIBLE...!'
'Kaiba' went on, mercilessly. //You can rule Egypt so well because you've done it before, many years ago. You are brilliant and perspective because you have the wisdom of a god that has lived many eons. You interact with untamable creatures because they can sense and fear your very past. You love falcons because they are, in essence, extensions of your very soul, your very being. You do not get ill nor hurt because traces of immortality are still left within your body. You are limitlessly powerful because Horus willed it so; he wanted to have the power to rule his people, to stop the bloodshed, to stop the war... And you love a priest because High Priest Kaiba was the same lover that a falcon-deity once loved, and once died to save, many years ago.//
Silence.
"Ra..." whispered Yami, eyes wide, body stiff.
//Would you like more proof?// continued Thoth casually, //Whereas his immortality was lost to Urnes, Horus's powers were not. He kept some of it within him; thus your shadow strength. But the rest of it was separated with his rebirth, shattered into seven parts, then sucked into the forms of seven magical, gold objects, one a Puzzle, another a Ring, another...//
"The Millennium Items..." whispered Yami, dazed. "They were made when I was born, fifteen years ago... Father ordered them made, to stop the war..."
Thoth seemed to smile. //Yes... Though the being we know of as Horus has been replaced by 'Yami', the gods essence and power still survives. His last will was carried out; war ended, peace restored, love found, powers activated...// (AN: okay, long note; this whole thing was actually another, completely SEPARATE idea for a story I had; it's a good idea in my POV, and it explains a lot of things by tying in YGO and mythology and stuff, but now that I tied that whole thing into this story, I might as well make it is a far prequel, if I ever get to write it. ^_^ Feel free to drop by a title; I REALLY NEED A TITLE!)
A thousand thoughts flew through Yami's mind, and yet it drew a painful blank. Half of him was soaking up the information, the other half pushing it away. He wanted to accept it; it sounded so true, so RIGHT... But he almost didn't want to, too fearful of the consequences... 'This is too much... I... I can't...!'
//But its all true, my king...// whispered Thoth, gently. //I cannot lie...//
"Anubis..." cried Yami, consumed by confusion and disbelief. "I... I know no Anubis!"
//Ah, that is what *you* believe...// Kaiba's blue eyes twinkled. //Of course, 'Anubis' is not what he is now known as, nor what he now looks like. Tell me, my king... Do you not have a dark protector, a loyal friend, perhaps, one so faithful that he was willing to *die* for you, though he did not deserve death?//
"M-Mahado..." the name came out as a fearful whisper before Yami even thought about it. "Mahado! Ra, his powers... so powerful... Then the Magician... Holy...!"
Thoth only nodded, silently.
"But Seto...'dragon-tamer'... He was reborn, you say, with me...? To *be* with me...?"
Though it was awkward to BE the priest that was being talked about, 'Kaiba' nodded.
Somehow, throughout his bewilderment and confusion over this whole thing, Yami felt suddenly very relieved, as if a warm wave had cascaded through him from his head to his toes. Instantly, he felt extremely giddy, as if everything in life was right and he wasn't having to worry about the consequences of being a reincarnated god. (AN: I've had these moments --not about the god thing-- and they feel very nice... but then the evils of the world all comes back to you. -_-*) Despite the incredibility he felt from this new, confusing information, a huge weight lifted off his shoulder. No more worry of rejection, nor more arguing, nor more pain... 'My gods, I could die happy right here...!' Loving Kaiba was fate, destiny, predetermined... Not to be regretted, as if he regretted it in the first place. He couldn't have escaped this all if he wanted to, which he didn't. Ra, no wonder being in Kaiba's arms felt so RIGHT, so PERFECT...!
Thoth broke into Yami's musings by settling an glowing hand upon the young man's shoulder, looking every inch the beautiful man of Yami's fantasy. //So, do you still deny who you are?// he asked quietly.
The question was innocent enough, but it seemed to be some heavy seal, an unavoidable contract, that Yami must sign and acknowledge lest some horrible death come upon him if he did not.
The young Pharaoh lifted his exquisite scarlet eyes and gave the bravest gaze the god has ever seen from a mortal.
"Do I have a choice?" Yami asked softly, finally.
Thoth laughed, a wonderful, twinkling sound that made Yami wish that the real Kaiba would laugh like that. //No, I suppose not.// The god suddenly became dead serious, blue eyes narrowing in an aloof way that was all too familiar upon Kaiba's visage. //Then you must listen to me; there is not much time. I came to warn you, Horus.//
"Warn me?"
//Yes... For your whole mortal life, you were indirectly protected from Seth by the very forces of existence; though you were mortal and vulnerable, you still hold the life force of Horus's end of the balance, and thus, Seth cannot touch you.//
Yami shuddered.
//But even that cannot protect you completely. Indirectly, Seth has been plotting your destruction, as well as that of your precious people. Thus, as you know, your country is now on the verge of war, war that you, as Horus, tried to prevent many years ago.//
Yami heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes, I know..."
//This is no ordinary war. 'Tis not Egyptians against Egyptians this time, as your mortal father had faced; it is now Egyptians against the very evils of shadow and darkness, the free monsters of the Shadow Realm... Seth has planned this; because he could not directly harm you nor Anubis nor the dragon-tamer, he possessed a tomb robber, took the Ring from Anubis, killed off Anubis's mortal form, and proceeded to starting a war that he knew would spin out of control.//
Yami was a bit surprised to find that he had already guessed all this in the back of his mind. Dread rose like bile in his throat. "I-I know..." he repeated shakily.
Thoth shook his head. //No, you do not know. Seth wants to collect the Items because he wants Horus's powers, the next best thing to Horus himself. If he succeeds in collecting all seven Millennium Items, which I am glad he has not done so far, then he will possess more power then Ra himself, shattering the delicate balance of power between light and dark... If it ever comes to that, then all is doomed. *All*.//
"Ra himself..." echoed Yami, mind spinning and heart racing with the mere thought of an apocalypse attacking his land, his priests, himself.... "Why can't he do something about all this?" he demanded.
Thoth sighed deeply. //The Shadow Games and the Shadow Realm was formed many years ago by Ra, as a mere game for his sons and daughters to play with the mortals... but it has now gotten out of hands, spinning beyond even the normal power of the other gods. Your world, your people, your ways... stand on the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and all is doomed... [4] If the mortal realm is destroyed, we gods go with it. Seth cares not; his whole purpose is to kill and destroy, and to completely shred existence itself is fine with him, regardless of his own destruction... This is the only way to shatter the balance and distance between you and Seth, killing off you for good; Seth himself knows this... He knows it only too well.//
Yami shook his head a little, fearfully. "I... do not understand."
Thoth looked at him for a long time, and suddenly, Yami was no longer floating serenely in mist before him; instead, images now flashed before his mind, impossibly fast yet impossibly slow.
Memphis, burning. The beautiful White City was now engulfed in flames, its once-proud fortresses crumbling to the ground. Egyptians screamed in horror, abandoning homes, livestock, work, lives. A small girl dressed in a torn white dress screamed for her mother, trapped in the corner of a burning hurt, choking on smoke. An old man cried out in pain as rubble fell upon him, burying him. A loyal dog struggled to pull his master --already dead and dripping blood from his mouth-- away from the growing flames of red and gold.
"Ra..."
Then, the Palace itself, , shrouded in smoke, surrounded by fire, collapsing, gaurds missing, priests dying, temples destroyed, rooms a mess... The proud obelisks and pillars began to tobble to the ground, shattering upon impact. Centuries of hieroglyphics and paintings and artifacts went up in flame before Yami's very eyes as priceless jewels fell to the ground in disarray and were soon lost forever. Then, the Temple of Tablets, practically melting to the ground and carrying the spirits of all of Yami's monsters to certain doom. And in the mist of the burning flames and the shattering tablets stood one final plate, a survivor bearing the engraved form of a proud Magician. Then, it too, shuddered and surrendered, crumbling as if fell on the burning rubble around it.
"Mahado...! NO!!"
Then, the Nile, once a smooth dark blue now a neon crimson, overflowing with the blood of its people, sadly carrying floating bodies down its banks. Lotus blossoms and papyrus reeds at its banks were covered in blood, bend over, wilting... The ancient pyramids crumbling to the ground, no longer beautiful, no longer strong, collapsing and crumbling... Egyptian animals of all kinds fled from foreign hunters, but they were all shot down and gutted, some for food, some for fun, some for fur. An Egyptian asp bit madly at its attackers, fighting to the end, but it, too, was cut into bits. Palace cats and dogs were chased out into the streets, their furs matted with blood, now with no one to feed or love them. And finally, Yami saw his own falcon, Horus, flying through all the destruction, large eyes weeping for his fellow creatures and friends but powerless to stop it all. Then, a stray arrow pierced his shoulder, showering the surrounding feathers --already burnt and in disarray-- with bright crimson. With an unearthly, rememberable shriek of pain, the falcon began to fall from its flight, proud wings limp, never to fly again... And through it all, torrential rain fell as wind screamed among bolts of lightening; it was as if Egypt herself was mourning her losses.
"Stop it...!"
Strange men dressed in all kinds of foreign clothing ran about madly, some looting the fallen Temples, some throwing torches into the once grand tombs of Pharaohs, others stabbing whole Egyptian families and hysterical women clutching screaming babies to their breasts. All kinds of people; Greek, Syrian, Hittite, Nubian, Libyans, littered the once proud cities of Egypt, laughing and destroying everything and everyone they saw. They were murdering Egypt, torching her homes, polluting her river, killing her people, bringing down her temples, insulting her gods, stealing her riches, erasing her proud history...
"Please, stop it!"
And then, finally, Yami saw himself in the burning, smoky ruins of his own Palace, kneeling in the mist of the crumbling throne room with a fallen man in his arms, other bodies strewn all around him, clearly from the result of a fight. The king in the vision was in pain, his clothing torn, his hair burnt, his skin cut and bleeding... On his tiara-less forehead, the once-proud third Eye of Ra flickered briefly and died, despite the desperate mental calls of its master to reawaken, to call upon the faithful Magician that was now currently burning with what was left with the Temple of Tablets. And then, there were those other bodies... Akunamunkano's mummy, its head detached from its body, its linen coverings burnt off and revealing a shriveled corpse within. Beside it laid the prone figure of Ishizu, her Necklace lost, her stomach practically gutted, her beautiful dress torn into pieces. Karimu, his bloody body hidden under boulders of rubble, his wig burning beside him, his Scale gone. Akunadin, clothing on fire, lay close to the fire, his the Eye torn out and leaving his face in a bloody mess. Shimon laid beside him, stout body covered in grim, blood and ash. Shadi seemed to have one of his legs violently broken, but he had fallen upon the mass rubble that killed Karimu, bloodied hand still clutching the rocks as if he had attempted to free his fellow priest in his last moments.
But the Yami in the vision did not seem to notice any of this; he was busy screaming and weeping for all he was worth, his hands stained with another's blood as he clutched the bloody man in his arms tightly to his chest. The dead man's identity was hard to make out, for his robes were covered in dark, soggy crimson and his skin burned beyond recognization, but there was a rather familiar mop of chestnut hair on his head and some odd purple and white colors upon his torn uniform...
Yami screamed. And screamed. And kept on screaming. "STOP!!" he sobbed, falling to his knees and clutching his head, freed tears raining from his shut eyes as he continued to hear the screams and pleas of his own people. "I beg of you..." he whispered, "Stop..."
And suddenly, he realized that they were back in the world of white fog, Thoth still in Kaiba's body, facing him with a solemn, unreadable gaze. Yami found himself curled at Thoth's feet, clutching himself tightly and sobbing like a child. It was like they never left this misty world... and no time had passed...
//Oh, old friend...// Warm, angelic arms pulled Yami into a strong embrace. //I am sorry...//
Yami, dignity forgotten, clung to the mirror image of his lover that he had seen die seconds ago, sobbing into the familiar shoulder. All of what he had learned and believed just moments ago fled from his mind, leaving him as a hysterical, innocent young king who had just witness the destruction of his kingdom, his people, and his friends. (AN: hey, I'd be hysterical too)
Suddenly, the Pharaoh drew away and held Thoth at arm distance by his shoulders, grip almost painful if the one being gripped not been a god. 'Kaiba' only gazed at him with serene blue eyes, flawless skin faintly glowing, giving a beautiful, ethereal, untouchable feeling to him. Yami was beyond awed; he was now no longer fooled.
"Tell me that is not the future..." growled Yami through clenched teeth, tearful eyes furious. "Tell me its not true! TELL ME!"
The god did not wince under his tone, nor under the painful hold of his shoulders. //What if it is...? //
Yami's anger suddenly dissipated, replaced by instant uncertainly and a child-like innocence. His grip faltered and his hands trembled upon Thoth's shoulders. "T-then..." he lowered his gaze, holding a deep breath, "...tell me how to prevent it." His voice was as soft and shaky as a little boy's.
Across Thoth's copied eyes came a brief flash of anguish so deep, so human-like, that it tore at Yami's heart. //Why?// It was not a taunting word, just merely curious, and all the while agonized.
Yami took a deep, shuddering breath, suddenly unsure. But heavy, honorable words came to his lips as if, somewhere deep within him, mighty Horus wished to speak them. "Egypt is my kingdom, my queen, my home, my heritage, my duty, my family... Should she shall fall, it will not be during my reign!" Yami was a bit baffled by those words, but he had to admit that, whoever said them --whether it be him and his past self-- he totally agreed. He wasn't letting any other country loot *his* country, nor kill *his* people... at least now while his memory lived. (AN: arg, this is so corny... but it's fun to write. :-p)
Thoth solemnly looked into Yami's wide crimson eyes and smiled at the fierce bravery he found there. //You have not changed one bit, old friend... Even in reincarnation, you still wish to save the mortals, with no thought of your own well fare... My, Horus, you continue to surprise me, even after all these years.// Thoth shook his head, as if in disbelief. The god sighed and helped Yami up gently, holding him back at arms length.
Yami watched him with dread, and yet a part of him bravely lifted his head. "What must I do?" His voice was strong, steady, and wholly not his.
Thoth sighed. //Directly? You can do nothing. Only the power of Ra can prevent the destruction of your world, and thus ours. But--//
"But what?"
//--Ra is not easily persuaded. He is the ultimate king, able to kill every god below him with just a wave of his hand. Thus, in fear that he might use this power incorrectly, he has vowed passively follow fate, and not interfere with us lower gods, nor with the mortal realm. But, being Pharaoh, you must know that there are certain... ways... that could make Ra willing to help.//
Yami spoke before he even realized it. "Sacrifices. Ra always requires sacrifices."
Thoth looked at him with a pained expression. //Yes... Blood sacrifices. Life sacrifices. Ra feels that every time someone sacrifices a life for him, he feels like he must prevent more bloodshed by giving in to the wish of the sacrificer.// Thoth laughed, somewhat bitterly. //True, its a childish belief, but our king sticks with it; sometimes I believe he is too kind for his own good. But thus, to prevent more deaths, Ra is practically at the mercy of anyone capable of stomping on a flower. //
"What are you saying?" asked Yami carefully, slowly.
Thoth looked him dead in the eye, so calmly and placidly that it made the Pharaoh shiver with the wisdom and the power behind those piercing sapphire depths. //Think about it. Is not the death of a Pharaoh worthy of a huge amount of power and pity from Ra?//
And suddenly, before his eyes, Yami saw himself, dressed in Horus's sacred clothing, standing upon his balcony, tears in his eyes. He looked up at the sun with a dagger in both hands, held high above his head with blade pointed down. Then, in a flash of a gold cape and bronzed limbs, the blade stabbed downward, ripping right through the soft tissue of Yami's skin and embedding itself deep within his abdomen. Immediately, the blade and the skin around it was suddenly stained with gushing scarlet liquid. F The vision Yami let out a choked gasp and collapsed weakly to his knees, stiffly clutching the blade within the wound, eyes suddenly vacant with pain. Blood poured from between his fingers, staining his legs, his rings and the marble beneath him. As the fallen Pharaoh gasps gave way to forced silence, his body grew taunt as a tiny amount of blood crept out from the corner of his mouth down his proud jaw, falling like a red raindrop to the ground. And still, that Yami managed a smile, for at that moment, his Puzzle quivered and began to glow, great beams of pure white pouring forth from the cracks in its pieces. Then, light from six other sources joined that one, enveloping the wounded king in blinding, iridescent luminosity.
And suddenly, everything happened at once, in flashes of images and sounds that did not linger long enough to be fully comprehended. The alarmed cries of Pharaoh's companions. The anguished cries of the Egyptian people. The pained wheezes of a fallen king. The roars and shrieks of wild shadow monsters. A dark vortex, surrounded by seven golden objects, sucking in all darkness, all monsters... And then, blinding, beautiful, angelic figures descending down from the heavens. A golden king upon a solar throne. Then, Mahado, in spirit only and dressed in black, standing beside his wounded friend, eyes sad and weeping.
And suddenly, all sounds faded, leaving Yami to stare dazedly as a lone falcon flapped its way upward toward the glory of the sun.
Yami cried out and jolted out of the vision with his heart pounding, his breathing erratic, and his body stiff. He looked around in bewilderment and found himself, once again, gazing upon a serene Thoth gone Kaiba floating upon a whirling mist of light. It took the stunned Pharaoh a moment before he found his voice, though it was dreadfully hard to do so.
"My life..." he choked out. "You need my life...?" He shook his head, once steady and unwavering pride now shaking like a child's, "I am but one man; how can I...?!"
//You are anything *but* a normal man, Horus...// Thoth corrected quietly. //Still, not even the life force of a Pharaoh is enough to persuade Ra to lock away the dangers of the Shadow Games, the Shadow Monsters and the Shadow Realm.//
Yami looked up, almost hopefully. As selfish as the thought was, perhaps his life *wasn't* what the gods were looking for...
//But... But sacrificing the life of a reincarnated *god*...// continued Thoth quietly, Kaiba's eyes gleaming, //...is truly worthy of stopping Armageddon itself.//
Yami stopped breathing.
Thoth shook his head sadly. //That is, if you are willing... In my opinion, you have been through enough, and have given up more then enough. You deserve to return to us peacefully, through a natural death...//
"No." Yami was pulled out of his stunned, panicked state by the sound of his own voice talking without him. "No," he repeated, firmly, determinedly, "If I was to die naturally, Egypt will fall and innocents will die. I cannot allow that to happen."
Thoth seemed even more worried now. For a long moment, he watched Yami silently from behind Kaiba's furrowed brow.
Then, finally, he sighed, closing his eyes in grief. //Then so be it...// He locked gazes with Yami, defeated. //Seven days then... We'll give you seven days... and when Ra rises the seventh morning, meet me by your balcony, facing the Nile.//
Yami would have nodded, at least, had he suddenly not felt an overwhelming wave of dizziness and suddenly found himself flying through the odd world of impossible thoughts, pitch darkness, flashing lights, and multidimensional sights.
He let out another scream.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ra, I think he's coming too!"
"Shadi, go get water!"
"Right!"
'Voices... So far away...' Feeling and awareness returned, at first, very slowly to Yami's body. The voices were muffled, distant, as if heard through howling wind. His eyelids were heavy and refused to open, as if weighed down by leadd. His body was cold, as if it had been soaked in chilly water and then left to dry. 'I'm tired...So tired...' was the only realization Yami's disorientated, spinning mind managed.
Then, slowly, his senses began to work; gradually at first, then exponentially faster and faster by the second.
Someone was holding his hand, holding him close, giving him some distant, comforting warmth. The same person was massaging his throat with demanding, though still gentle, fingers. The king could feel that he was laying down, somehow, half on that certain someone and half on something hard and cold. There were people nearby, for Yami could make out their shuffling feet; MANY people, actually. His growing hearing caught on to more and more voices, most of them panicked and worried, a few calm and solemn.
"Yami?"
Someone was calling him. Yami tried to pull himself out of his dazed state, but barely succeeded in understanding that simple word. Oh, it was so hard to focus!
"Yami, c'mon, come back to us!"
'I'm TRYING...!' Yami wanted to scream, but he felt sluggish, slow...sleepy. 'Ra, so tired... so cold...' Still, more and more feeling returned to him; on top of his senses, his limbs began to tingle, first at his joints, then at the tips of his fingers and toes. It was uncomfortable but still a relief to regain such feeling, though control was still something beyond Yami's grasp.
"Yami, please!" pleaded the voice, pushing harder on his throat, shaking his limp body.
'Breathing...' realized Yami as full feeling of his body began to return, sending him suffocating signals from his chest. 'I'm not *breathing*...!"
That was the last step. With a painful mental crash, complete feeling and control of his body returned. He could hear, see, touch, taste, and smell, which he assumed he hadn't been able to just moments ago. Stimulation and color and sounds and smells bombarded him, overwhelming his returning senses. Yami's eyes flew open, blurred and tearing. His coaxed throat drew in painful wheeze after wheeze of air into his tortured lungs, filling them so fast and so suddenly that it made him gasp and choke. His body spasmed on its own, warmth cascading painfully down his limbs, both tensing and soothing the muscles.
Someone held him close as he gasped and foundered, fingers never stopping to coax more and more air into his burning throat.
"I'm taking that means he's breathing...?" came a relieved voice off to the side.
Eyes tearing against his will, Yami forced his body still and waited impatiently until his breathing was somewhat better, though still erratic and rather painful. (AN: I swim; therefore, I know what if feels to drown. Simple enough, eh? Don't worry, I swim rather well; you get used to the sense of water up your nose after a while. :-p) A warm hand pressed his head against a broad chest dressed loosely in a bedrobe. Impulsively, Yami's trembling hands reached up and latched on to that said hand and chest, inhaling the sweet scent of someone very familiar.
"Ra, Yami, you had me beyond worried..." came a deep voice from above.
Wheezing, Yami glanced up form the safe comfort of the embrace and found his tearing vision focusing on a flawlessly masculine face with startlingly sapphire eyes and a mop of brown hair. 'Gods, I've never seen anything so beautiful..."
"Well, Yami, welcome back to the land of the living!" chirped an unholy-cheerful voice from the sarcastic speaker.
'Gee, thanks...' Yami tried to say, but his throat was painfully dry and nothing came out save another cough. Instead, mind bewildered and drawing a huge blank, he settled for burying his face in Kaiba's chest and simply catching his breath. Then, with the help of his lover's warm, soothing hands, Yami decided to try again. "W-What happened?" His voice was choked, dry and an octave too high, but at least it *worked*.
All those present --Shadi, Akunadin, Karimu, a dozen guards, four lesser priests, two dozen servants, and quite a lot of healers-- fell silent, including Kaiba, who's large hands never stopped rubbing soothing circles upon Yami's body, as if afraid he might stop breathing again.
Karimu, who was the source of the sarcastic remarks, smirked dryly. "Well, actually, we were hoping you could tell us. Shadi walked in on you and you were laying on the ground, half-dead."
In a vain effort to prove that he was well, Yami struggled to move, but his lead-like body didn't even twitch. He took a few shaky breaths, clinging to Kaiba. There was something... something that bothered him... but his memory was failing him, and he barely remembered even walking into this Temple... "H-how long has it been?" he gasped out.
"Half an hour; you were breathing normally in the beginning, but you got worse and worse as the minutes went by... Ra, we thought you were dying, or already dead..." whispered Kaiba, voice tight with emotion.
'Thirty minutes...' repeated Yami to himself, blinking. 'It felt like hours...!' And in that half an hour, Kaiba had obviously not left his side; he must have rushed out of bed, judging by his messy hair and the thin cloak he managed to toss on. Yami felt touched. Truly touched.
The priest seemed to have caught this thought and cracked a very sheepish grin, and for the first time Yami noticed that there were tears of relief in Kaiba's eyes.
'Ra... those eyes...' And suddenly, memories slammed into the young Pharaoh faster then he could see them before his eyes. Waking up. Leaving Kaiba. Talking to Akunadin. Helped by Ishizu. Temple of Horus. Thoth. Egypt dying. KAIBA dying. HIMSELF dying. Instant, burning tears fought their way up to Yami's eyes before he even managed to absorb what he remembered. Though staring up at Kaiba's loving eyes made thinking rather hard, but one thought popped into mind so clearly that it made Yami mentally jump.
'I can't let him be hurt by this...' He couldn't stand to see Kaiba weeping over his grave, nor the look on the brunette's face when he heard what Yami must do. He couldn't!
Pain stabbed into Yami's heart. Again and again. It hurt so much that Yami wanted to weep even more then he already was. But even as he forced his gaze to stay steady, one of his trembling fingers brushed Kaiba's cheek, trailing down to those sensual lips that had driven the Pharaoh mad last night. He loved every part of Kaiba; his body, his soul, his very being... It was no surprise, really, that Yami had fallen for this man in their past lives. Not even a god could resist such a perfect creature...
'I love you, neb-maatra. [5] I'm sorry...' Yami's heart continued to tear even as he tore his hand away, shut his eyes tightly, and allowed his lips to say those dreaded words. "Kaiba... L-Last night was a mistake."
~*~*~*~*~*~
[1] - Egyptian beds were basically these hard boards with these horrible headrests that would probably cut off circulation to your head in the first place. -_-* Check out a pic in an ancient Egypt book and you'll see what I mean.
[2] - Duat is the Egyptian name for Underworld; technically, is the whole cursed land where the dead spirits have to fight there way past all these monsters (and in some versions, Seth himself) to get to the Judgement of the Hearts. Duat has a river (or more, I'm not too sure) called Urnes. There's this one creature called 'Turn-Face' (a faceless man, really) that drives spirits across the river before they go before the kingdom of Osirius. But the whole thing about taking away a god's immortality and reborning them is COMPLETELY made up on my part.
[3] - Everyone knows about Horus's eye being ripped out by Seth and becoming the Eye of Horus, right? That's plain and simple, but THIS confuses me a lot; Thoth was said to be the god of the moon (as well as wisdom and all that) and obviously Ra is the sun (w/ his sunboat and stuff) but a lot of the time the moon (and sometimes the sun, too) is/are Horus's eye(s). I don't see how that's possible, for both the moon and the sun aren't even under Horus's powers, but it's a nice idea. ^_^ Horus was said to have once asked/challenged Ra cuz he wanted to be more powerful then the king of gods. But Ra tricked Horus into looking at a black boar sacred to Seth, which caused one of Horus's eyes to burn out in flame, which somehow Ra repaired and even gave gifts to. O_o Nice family relationship, eh? Yeah, speaking of that, Ra was said to be the only god that didn't want Horus on the Egyptian throne; he wanted the younger god to prove that he was 'stronger and fiercer' then Seth first. Hm... makes me wonder how nice our dear old Ra is...
[4] - Yes, this quote is from the Lord of the Rings, said by Galadriel, Lothlorien Queen of the Elves.
[5] - I'm pretty sure I'm using this incorrectly; 'neb-maatra' means 'beloved' in the language of the ancient Egyptians, but I think it has something more to do with the gods then with love. ^_^* O well!
~~~~~AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~~~
SORRY! *sob* I HAD TO DO THAT!! But at least it shows that Yami really does love Kaiba, eh? Wow, I wrote most of this chapter in one day when I wasn't even trying. Arg, I'm not too proud of this chapter thought. It really bothers me. The whole Thoth thing is corny, I know, but I was stuck on that whole vision part for so long I just decided to do a crappy job and get it over with. See, I've been stuck on it for at least four days before I left for my vacation, and then three days after I came back, but when I was listening to music everything just CAME to me. :-p Hope you don't mind the whole fantasy twist I tossed in there (no, its not based off the manga) but do you like the whole gods thing? I'm working on that story right now. ^_^ I think I got a tad carried away though about that whole deal though, cuz this chapter came out really really stupid (but I was too lazy to rewrite it). I like what I did to get Yami awake though. -_-*
Hm, you guys want some really good Yami/Seto stories? ^_^ Well, first thanks to all you reviewers that gave me some when I asked. :-p I would have to say that most of these stories I've found just randomly going from the profile of a fave story to its author to that author's fave stories to THAT story's author and so on (because of this, I almost never pay attention to who the author is, cuz I get too lost O_o). By the way, you can find some of these stories on my fave story list, so just check my profile!
Some great stories (uke Yami)
are;
~KA (great drama)
~Happy Anniversary (angsty T_T; I swear, you will CRY!)
~I Wish I May, I Wish I Might
~Sweet Surrender (Jou bashing)
~Meteor Garden (HALARIOUS)
~Jesse James
~Just an Ordinary Day (Mahado and Kaiba fight over Yami!)
~Newton's Third
~Playtime (dancing! :-p)
Some great dominant-submissive twisting (or I just can't tell) stories:
~Tell Tale Dreams
~Eien No Battoru
~Forbidden Kiss
Some great Yami dominant ones;
~all stories by OrangeGirlExplosion (I THINK that's her name ^_^*)
~Catching Yami (very funny :-p)
+++PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER+++: none, I gave enough hints already :-p
Note: I currently have nothing written after this, and I have yet to get my ideas in order, so updating is going to be *very* irregular after this. Some chapters might be up in a week, others in two or something. -_-* Sorry, I'm trying my best! Meanwhile, go catch some of those good stories I mentioned. I hope there's enough for you guys!