Wow.I updated really quick. *eats cookie* I have the next chapter
partially done, and I'll upload it in a day or so.
Also, I just want to say thank you so much to all of my reviewers. Wait,
let me rephrase that. Thank you so much to all except one of my reviewers.
Crazi Girl, Kim, Reyana Draconis, Xaviera, and Kiira, I really appreciated
each and every one of your reviews. This chapter's for you.
And Bored, your review pissed me off, not because you criticized my story,
but because you did so with no valid reason. Check the reviews for this
story because I posted a response there that I hope lets you know just what
I think about you...
Anyway..on with the story...
Disclaimer that I stupidly forgot to do for the last two chapters: I don't own YuGiOh. And if I did I would definitely not have let it fall into the clutches of those dubbing idiots known as 4Kids.
Hathor gurgled happily from her crib. Ishizu frowned at her. "What am I going to do with you?" Ishizu kneaded her forehead in frustration. Linnet was out shopping. Ishizu and Linnet had been very ill-equipped for the baby, and Linnet was going to be gone the whole day, buying clothes and baby equipment for Hathor.
It was three weeks after the birth, and they had gotten on reasonably well, due to the fact that Ishizu had been about eight when Marik was born, which meant she knew something about how to raise a baby. But it wasn't easy. Hathor had colic, and was generally a fussy and temperamental baby, and Ishizu's peaceful dreams were often punctuated by wailing and crying. Ishizu's desperate paucity of sleep was the cause of the fact that she would go to work with deep bags under her eyes and walk around the rest of the day in a sort of haze. Kaiba had asked her, one day with an acerbic smirk, if she'd been smoking hashish. Her temper had flared rather nastily and she remarked venomously that the reason she was so tired was because of the fact that she was raising Kaiba's child. He'd scowled angrily, but hadn't bothered Ishizu since then.
Which led to another problem. Was Hathor even Kaiba's child after all? Ishizu didn't know what to think. Kaiba staunchly denied it again and again, but who knew really? But Linnet could be lying. What proof did she have that it was Kaiba's baby? She had studied Hathor, but at this time Hathor didn't resemble any one but her mother. She was suddenly brought back to the present by a raucous spurt of wailing, as Hathor was feeling neglected. She stared at the baby. She couldn't stay home to take care of the baby. If she missed work, she knew Kaiba would fire her without hesitation, and then all three of them would be out on the street. She didn't know anyone else well enough in Domino to have him or her baby-sit. She finally packed Hathor into her car seat and drove to Marik's.
Bakura answered the door, and looked from Ishizu to Hathor with a slightly bemused expression. Ishizu ignored him.
"I need to speak to Marik please," she said curtly.
"Hey, Bakura, who is that at the door?" Marik suddenly let his sentence trail off as he caught sight of his sister holding a baby. He looked at her and the baby with an air almost of idiocy. "Ishizu, is that your baby?" He finally asked feebly.
"I don't have time to explain. I have to be at work in fifteen minutes." She shoved Hathor and her diaper bag into Marik's arms. "She needs to be fed every four hours, and changed when she starts fussing. Her formula is in the bag; it's to be mixed with four ounces warm water. Hathor usually takes a nap in the early afternoon, don't wake her up, or she'll be fussy the rest of the day. I'll be back at around six to pick her up, and if you have any problems, you can call me at Kaiba Corp." She kissed Hathor and left before Marik could say anything further.
Ishizu worried endlessly the whole day about Hathor. She didn't know whether the mere thought of Marik and Bakura taking care of a baby for a whole day made her want to laugh or worry. Either way, both her brother and Bakura were completely incompetent at taking care of children, and Ishizu prayed fervently that nothing major would happen. She didn't want to end up explaining to Linnet that her daughter was at the hospital because Marik had screwed up royally. When the day was finally over, she practically ran out the door, and hurried to Marik's apartment. She stopped at his door, breathless and almost frantic with worry. On the subway ride there, she had imagined numerous scenarios that could have happened, each more ridiculous than the last. She imagined Hathor being kidnapped by a janitor, Hathor drinking out of a bottle of drain cleaner, Hathor getting stuck in an oven, Hathor locking herself in the bathroom, and Hathor getting struck by a random bolt of lightning. She forgot about the fact that Hathor couldn't even sit up or walk, let alone lock herself in the bathroom or open a cabinet.
She banged on the door and Marik promptly answered it, leading Ishizu to suspect he had been standing at the door waiting for her arrival. He was carrying Hathor in his arms with a frazzled expression on his face. He quickly deposited her in Ishizu's arms and shut the door.
~
Ishizu's skin glowed like polished bronze.
"Where's your Millenium Necklace?" Kaiba asked.
"Hmm?"
"Your Millenium Necklace. I want to see you put it on."
Ishizu opened her nightstand and took out a small bundle wrapped in cloth. It was her Millenium Tauk. Yugi had given it back to her before he started college. He had thanked her for trusting him with it, but explained that he didn't need it anymore, and it would be safe with her. She put it on. She hadn't worn it since Battle City and it felt strange on her skin. She fingered it. It felt cool and smooth.
Kaiba stared at her for a minute. The necklace glistened against her bronzed skin. He traced it with his finger, and then whispered in her ear.
"You look beautiful. You look like some Egyptian moon goddess."
Ishizu froze and looked at him as Kaiba's face morphed into Rishid's.
And at that moment she woke up.
She sat straight up in bed and blinked. She didn't know what to think. She didn't understand why she was dreaming about Kaiba. Or Rishid, for that matter. She bit her lip. These few weeks were the first time she really began to think about Odion since their breakup a few years ago. It wasn't that she'd forgotten about him. It was just too painful. She laid back down on her sheets.
She had liked to think of their love as a fated one, hers and Rishid's. In fact, one might've seen it coming. They had known each other since children, and they were the only true companionship each other knew. They had liked to sneak out at night and sit amid the sand and stone ruins. They would sit and talk, bathed in moonlight, about anything and everything, and sometimes they would talk until the sun rose, and it was necessary to go back in before Ishizu's father caught them. They were very good friends, but it wasn't until Rishid had finally whispered into her ear one night and told her that she was beautiful, and that she resembled some Egyptian moon goddess, that she finally realized the inevitable.
Looking back, Ishizu felt like she wanted to cry as she realized that those idyllic moments with Rishid may have been the happiest moments of her adolescence. She remembered with painful poignancy the nights they spent together surrounded by the silent sands of the desert. What have I done, she asked herself furiously. She was assailed with the feeling that she had ruined something, something irreparable.
At that moment Ishizu finally heard Hathor quietly crying in the next room. Ishizu hurried out the door into Hathor's room. She stopped at the door, confused. Hathor was whimpering, alone in her crib, and Linnet was gone. Linnet's clothes, her suitcase, and all of her things were all gone, her bed was neatly made, and there was a note left on the dresser. Ishizu read it silently. When she was finished, she closed her eyes, crumpled it up and let it fall to the floor. Hathor was still crying.
"Hathor's not your daughter, Kaiba."
"How do you know?"
"Look at her eyes." Ishizu waited for Kaiba to see what had taken her three weeks to finally realize.
"They're brown. So?"
"Think back to what you learned in high school Biology."
Kaiba frowned, and finally it dawned on him several minutes later.
"Two sets of genes for blue eyes will result in a baby with blue eyes."
"Exactly."
"Which means two blue eyed people will have only blue eyed babies. Linnet had blue eyes. Which also means that if Linnet and I had a baby, it would have had to have blue eyes. Hathor has brown eyes. So she can't be mine." Kaiba said quietly.
Ishizu nodded but said nothing. She hadn't even noticed that important fact until she was cradling Hathor in her arms last night, and had stared into her eyes. And she had finally realized what she had missed this whole time. Hathor's brown eyes.
She looked at Kaiba and smiled faintly. "I would have thought you would've been more triumphant at having your good name restored."
Kaiba crossed his arms. "Why? I knew the child wasn't mine the whole time, and I didn't particularly give a damn what everyone else thought."
Ishizu picked up Hathor.
"Wait a minute." Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What happened to whatever her name was?"
Ishizu was somewhat surprised at his astuteness. How did he know something happened?
She finally replied quietly. "She left. I found a note she left. I don't think she plans on returning again anytime soon."
To her surprise, Kaiba's expression softened slightly.
"So what are you planning to do with her?" He gestured at Hathor.
"What else can I do except keep her? She has no mother now. I'm all she has." She stared almost fiercely at him, as if challenging him to ridicule her. But he didn't.
Kaiba puts his hands in his pockets and stared at her with a distant expression in his eyes. "I'm glad you are. You know, both of my parents died by the time I was ten. I lost my mother when she died giving birth to Mokuba. My father died soon after. Mokuba was all I had left, which was why he meant so much to me. But I wonder sometimes what I would've been like if I had been able to have a normal childhood. If both my parents had lived. If I had never been raised by Gozaburo."
He looked back at her, and was suddenly inexplicably angry at having revealed so much about himself to her. Damnit, he thought. And why the hell did I just tell her all that? he asked himself angrily. He turned his attention back to Ishizu, and barked out an order.
"Get back to work, Ishtar."
~
"The progress on the Pharaoh's pyramid was quite satisfactory. The chief engineer estimates it will be finished in about two more years."
Aishizu glances up at the High Priest Seto. He is once more his cold, untouchable self. They had both tacitly agreed to treat each other in a businesslike, impersonal manner in public. They had both also agreed that it was better that they not acknowledge their relationship in front of others, for they both knew in their hearts that theirs was a forbidden love. Aishizu, perhaps more than Seto, knew too well that a liaison between two of the Royal Priests would be disastrous to both their career and reputations. But even as she is telling herself this, deep inside her heart she yearns to hold him, to throw herself into his arms as she did last night.
The high Priest Seto picks up his Sennen Rod. His eyes are cold and calculating as he stares beyond the wall. The torches grow dim, and much of his face is shrouded in darkness.
The Priest Khumet tries to stifle a yawn. "I think we should all retire to our chambers now. It is surely growing late." He glances at Aishizu. He often flirts openly with the priestess, something she formerly found merely irritating, but in Seto's presence it is almost unbearable. His glance does not fail to pass unnoticed. Not to the High Priest, at least. Seto's eyes narrow dangerously as he remarks in a silky voice, "Khumet. Perhaps you can go to bed now. After all, your presence here is anything but necessary."
Priest Khumet shifts in his seat and remarks in a subdued voice that he will stay after all, fingering his Millenium Ankh.
The other priests exchange veiled glances as the High Priest continues on. "The Pharaoh's cousin Tryphaenea is approaching marriageable age. He wishes to marry her to a vizier from the North."
"Aishizu," He suddenly barks out. "You will be in charge of the preparations for the betrothal. The Pharaoh wishes to finish this business before the yearly flood, as he will be busy then." His eyes bear no recognition as he stares down at Aishizu. She inhales and replies in a monotone voice. "As you wish, my priest."
He continues for several more minutes, and the moon is already high in the sky by the time he finishes. The priests gather their scrolls and leave in a group, their sandals slapping slightly against the stone floor.
"Priestess Aishizu," he says, not looking up as he rearranges his papyruses. "If I may have a word with you.." Her heart begins to skip wildly and her hands grow clammy. She forces herself to calm down and slowly walks to the head of the table.
He glances at the doorway to ascertain that the others are out of earshot. He looks down at Aishizu.
"This is madness."
She throws herself down in his chair. "This is something we decided, Seto."
He stands motionless. "Is it always going to be like this, Aishizu? Will we always have to sneak conversations behind the backs of the others? Do we really have to steal out at night just so we can be with each other?"
She doesn't answer him for a few minutes. "You know as well as I do the answer to that question." she finally says dryly.
He comes around to her side and leans against the edge of the table. "Maybe so. But I'm beginning to think I can't take this anymore. Watching that Neanderthal give you lecherous stares. Acting like you're absolutely nothing to me." He crosses his arms and kicks idly at the floor.
Aishizu is silent. How closely his thoughts mirror her own of a few minutes ago. He, too, seems to yearn for a time when they can just lie in each other's arms doing nothing. But she is loath to voice her thoughts. "How shallow you seem to make our relationship sound. As if it can be ruined just because we can't be with each other all the time." She says sardonically.
He looks up at her, as if he has nothing to say. He finally gathers his Sennen Rod and his scrolls, and stoops down to her side before he leaves.
"Someday," he whispers in her ear," I'll be on that throne and you'll be by my side as my queen."
Disclaimer that I stupidly forgot to do for the last two chapters: I don't own YuGiOh. And if I did I would definitely not have let it fall into the clutches of those dubbing idiots known as 4Kids.
Hathor gurgled happily from her crib. Ishizu frowned at her. "What am I going to do with you?" Ishizu kneaded her forehead in frustration. Linnet was out shopping. Ishizu and Linnet had been very ill-equipped for the baby, and Linnet was going to be gone the whole day, buying clothes and baby equipment for Hathor.
It was three weeks after the birth, and they had gotten on reasonably well, due to the fact that Ishizu had been about eight when Marik was born, which meant she knew something about how to raise a baby. But it wasn't easy. Hathor had colic, and was generally a fussy and temperamental baby, and Ishizu's peaceful dreams were often punctuated by wailing and crying. Ishizu's desperate paucity of sleep was the cause of the fact that she would go to work with deep bags under her eyes and walk around the rest of the day in a sort of haze. Kaiba had asked her, one day with an acerbic smirk, if she'd been smoking hashish. Her temper had flared rather nastily and she remarked venomously that the reason she was so tired was because of the fact that she was raising Kaiba's child. He'd scowled angrily, but hadn't bothered Ishizu since then.
Which led to another problem. Was Hathor even Kaiba's child after all? Ishizu didn't know what to think. Kaiba staunchly denied it again and again, but who knew really? But Linnet could be lying. What proof did she have that it was Kaiba's baby? She had studied Hathor, but at this time Hathor didn't resemble any one but her mother. She was suddenly brought back to the present by a raucous spurt of wailing, as Hathor was feeling neglected. She stared at the baby. She couldn't stay home to take care of the baby. If she missed work, she knew Kaiba would fire her without hesitation, and then all three of them would be out on the street. She didn't know anyone else well enough in Domino to have him or her baby-sit. She finally packed Hathor into her car seat and drove to Marik's.
Bakura answered the door, and looked from Ishizu to Hathor with a slightly bemused expression. Ishizu ignored him.
"I need to speak to Marik please," she said curtly.
"Hey, Bakura, who is that at the door?" Marik suddenly let his sentence trail off as he caught sight of his sister holding a baby. He looked at her and the baby with an air almost of idiocy. "Ishizu, is that your baby?" He finally asked feebly.
"I don't have time to explain. I have to be at work in fifteen minutes." She shoved Hathor and her diaper bag into Marik's arms. "She needs to be fed every four hours, and changed when she starts fussing. Her formula is in the bag; it's to be mixed with four ounces warm water. Hathor usually takes a nap in the early afternoon, don't wake her up, or she'll be fussy the rest of the day. I'll be back at around six to pick her up, and if you have any problems, you can call me at Kaiba Corp." She kissed Hathor and left before Marik could say anything further.
Ishizu worried endlessly the whole day about Hathor. She didn't know whether the mere thought of Marik and Bakura taking care of a baby for a whole day made her want to laugh or worry. Either way, both her brother and Bakura were completely incompetent at taking care of children, and Ishizu prayed fervently that nothing major would happen. She didn't want to end up explaining to Linnet that her daughter was at the hospital because Marik had screwed up royally. When the day was finally over, she practically ran out the door, and hurried to Marik's apartment. She stopped at his door, breathless and almost frantic with worry. On the subway ride there, she had imagined numerous scenarios that could have happened, each more ridiculous than the last. She imagined Hathor being kidnapped by a janitor, Hathor drinking out of a bottle of drain cleaner, Hathor getting stuck in an oven, Hathor locking herself in the bathroom, and Hathor getting struck by a random bolt of lightning. She forgot about the fact that Hathor couldn't even sit up or walk, let alone lock herself in the bathroom or open a cabinet.
She banged on the door and Marik promptly answered it, leading Ishizu to suspect he had been standing at the door waiting for her arrival. He was carrying Hathor in his arms with a frazzled expression on his face. He quickly deposited her in Ishizu's arms and shut the door.
~
Ishizu's skin glowed like polished bronze.
"Where's your Millenium Necklace?" Kaiba asked.
"Hmm?"
"Your Millenium Necklace. I want to see you put it on."
Ishizu opened her nightstand and took out a small bundle wrapped in cloth. It was her Millenium Tauk. Yugi had given it back to her before he started college. He had thanked her for trusting him with it, but explained that he didn't need it anymore, and it would be safe with her. She put it on. She hadn't worn it since Battle City and it felt strange on her skin. She fingered it. It felt cool and smooth.
Kaiba stared at her for a minute. The necklace glistened against her bronzed skin. He traced it with his finger, and then whispered in her ear.
"You look beautiful. You look like some Egyptian moon goddess."
Ishizu froze and looked at him as Kaiba's face morphed into Rishid's.
And at that moment she woke up.
She sat straight up in bed and blinked. She didn't know what to think. She didn't understand why she was dreaming about Kaiba. Or Rishid, for that matter. She bit her lip. These few weeks were the first time she really began to think about Odion since their breakup a few years ago. It wasn't that she'd forgotten about him. It was just too painful. She laid back down on her sheets.
She had liked to think of their love as a fated one, hers and Rishid's. In fact, one might've seen it coming. They had known each other since children, and they were the only true companionship each other knew. They had liked to sneak out at night and sit amid the sand and stone ruins. They would sit and talk, bathed in moonlight, about anything and everything, and sometimes they would talk until the sun rose, and it was necessary to go back in before Ishizu's father caught them. They were very good friends, but it wasn't until Rishid had finally whispered into her ear one night and told her that she was beautiful, and that she resembled some Egyptian moon goddess, that she finally realized the inevitable.
Looking back, Ishizu felt like she wanted to cry as she realized that those idyllic moments with Rishid may have been the happiest moments of her adolescence. She remembered with painful poignancy the nights they spent together surrounded by the silent sands of the desert. What have I done, she asked herself furiously. She was assailed with the feeling that she had ruined something, something irreparable.
At that moment Ishizu finally heard Hathor quietly crying in the next room. Ishizu hurried out the door into Hathor's room. She stopped at the door, confused. Hathor was whimpering, alone in her crib, and Linnet was gone. Linnet's clothes, her suitcase, and all of her things were all gone, her bed was neatly made, and there was a note left on the dresser. Ishizu read it silently. When she was finished, she closed her eyes, crumpled it up and let it fall to the floor. Hathor was still crying.
"Hathor's not your daughter, Kaiba."
"How do you know?"
"Look at her eyes." Ishizu waited for Kaiba to see what had taken her three weeks to finally realize.
"They're brown. So?"
"Think back to what you learned in high school Biology."
Kaiba frowned, and finally it dawned on him several minutes later.
"Two sets of genes for blue eyes will result in a baby with blue eyes."
"Exactly."
"Which means two blue eyed people will have only blue eyed babies. Linnet had blue eyes. Which also means that if Linnet and I had a baby, it would have had to have blue eyes. Hathor has brown eyes. So she can't be mine." Kaiba said quietly.
Ishizu nodded but said nothing. She hadn't even noticed that important fact until she was cradling Hathor in her arms last night, and had stared into her eyes. And she had finally realized what she had missed this whole time. Hathor's brown eyes.
She looked at Kaiba and smiled faintly. "I would have thought you would've been more triumphant at having your good name restored."
Kaiba crossed his arms. "Why? I knew the child wasn't mine the whole time, and I didn't particularly give a damn what everyone else thought."
Ishizu picked up Hathor.
"Wait a minute." Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What happened to whatever her name was?"
Ishizu was somewhat surprised at his astuteness. How did he know something happened?
She finally replied quietly. "She left. I found a note she left. I don't think she plans on returning again anytime soon."
To her surprise, Kaiba's expression softened slightly.
"So what are you planning to do with her?" He gestured at Hathor.
"What else can I do except keep her? She has no mother now. I'm all she has." She stared almost fiercely at him, as if challenging him to ridicule her. But he didn't.
Kaiba puts his hands in his pockets and stared at her with a distant expression in his eyes. "I'm glad you are. You know, both of my parents died by the time I was ten. I lost my mother when she died giving birth to Mokuba. My father died soon after. Mokuba was all I had left, which was why he meant so much to me. But I wonder sometimes what I would've been like if I had been able to have a normal childhood. If both my parents had lived. If I had never been raised by Gozaburo."
He looked back at her, and was suddenly inexplicably angry at having revealed so much about himself to her. Damnit, he thought. And why the hell did I just tell her all that? he asked himself angrily. He turned his attention back to Ishizu, and barked out an order.
"Get back to work, Ishtar."
~
"The progress on the Pharaoh's pyramid was quite satisfactory. The chief engineer estimates it will be finished in about two more years."
Aishizu glances up at the High Priest Seto. He is once more his cold, untouchable self. They had both tacitly agreed to treat each other in a businesslike, impersonal manner in public. They had both also agreed that it was better that they not acknowledge their relationship in front of others, for they both knew in their hearts that theirs was a forbidden love. Aishizu, perhaps more than Seto, knew too well that a liaison between two of the Royal Priests would be disastrous to both their career and reputations. But even as she is telling herself this, deep inside her heart she yearns to hold him, to throw herself into his arms as she did last night.
The high Priest Seto picks up his Sennen Rod. His eyes are cold and calculating as he stares beyond the wall. The torches grow dim, and much of his face is shrouded in darkness.
The Priest Khumet tries to stifle a yawn. "I think we should all retire to our chambers now. It is surely growing late." He glances at Aishizu. He often flirts openly with the priestess, something she formerly found merely irritating, but in Seto's presence it is almost unbearable. His glance does not fail to pass unnoticed. Not to the High Priest, at least. Seto's eyes narrow dangerously as he remarks in a silky voice, "Khumet. Perhaps you can go to bed now. After all, your presence here is anything but necessary."
Priest Khumet shifts in his seat and remarks in a subdued voice that he will stay after all, fingering his Millenium Ankh.
The other priests exchange veiled glances as the High Priest continues on. "The Pharaoh's cousin Tryphaenea is approaching marriageable age. He wishes to marry her to a vizier from the North."
"Aishizu," He suddenly barks out. "You will be in charge of the preparations for the betrothal. The Pharaoh wishes to finish this business before the yearly flood, as he will be busy then." His eyes bear no recognition as he stares down at Aishizu. She inhales and replies in a monotone voice. "As you wish, my priest."
He continues for several more minutes, and the moon is already high in the sky by the time he finishes. The priests gather their scrolls and leave in a group, their sandals slapping slightly against the stone floor.
"Priestess Aishizu," he says, not looking up as he rearranges his papyruses. "If I may have a word with you.." Her heart begins to skip wildly and her hands grow clammy. She forces herself to calm down and slowly walks to the head of the table.
He glances at the doorway to ascertain that the others are out of earshot. He looks down at Aishizu.
"This is madness."
She throws herself down in his chair. "This is something we decided, Seto."
He stands motionless. "Is it always going to be like this, Aishizu? Will we always have to sneak conversations behind the backs of the others? Do we really have to steal out at night just so we can be with each other?"
She doesn't answer him for a few minutes. "You know as well as I do the answer to that question." she finally says dryly.
He comes around to her side and leans against the edge of the table. "Maybe so. But I'm beginning to think I can't take this anymore. Watching that Neanderthal give you lecherous stares. Acting like you're absolutely nothing to me." He crosses his arms and kicks idly at the floor.
Aishizu is silent. How closely his thoughts mirror her own of a few minutes ago. He, too, seems to yearn for a time when they can just lie in each other's arms doing nothing. But she is loath to voice her thoughts. "How shallow you seem to make our relationship sound. As if it can be ruined just because we can't be with each other all the time." She says sardonically.
He looks up at her, as if he has nothing to say. He finally gathers his Sennen Rod and his scrolls, and stoops down to her side before he leaves.
"Someday," he whispers in her ear," I'll be on that throne and you'll be by my side as my queen."
