OMG!!! I AM SO SO SO SO SO SORRY ABOUT NOT UPDATING IN SO LONG! GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN MINNA-SAN!! Here, to make up. *hands out cupcakes shaped like Yami's head* More refreshments! Enjoy everyone!
Millennium: HEY! Another review! *dances around* yeah your Egyptian translations rock! I'm sorry about the last chapter being short; I'm still kind of having writers' block. My brain just wants to skip to the end. Stupid mind! *bangs head on wall* Ah you think it's sweet! *sniffle* thank you! Oh yes, Kaigo means protection or something along those lines. Yup yup. And I won't tell you what happens to her bwahhahaha ^__^
Lanlan: YAY! thanks for your review! *does victory dance* I dance a lot in these don't I? One would think that with all this practice I'd actually be a semi-decent dancer by now, but no. -_- ah well. Can't wait to see your site when you get it up and running! ^___^
Nadia Kaiba-Silwen Jedi: I will never fear! *throws confetti* thanks for reviewing!
Caks: Here are more refreshments. Happy now? ^.~ hope you'll read more!
yamis grl: oh bad yami being so inattentive! *slaps him again* bwahahaha! Thanks for your review, your encouragement has been accepted and I'm glad to have it! ^__^
Hiei Dragon Girl: YOU'RE BACK! *glomps* ^__^ thank you so much for the reviews! Hope you enjoyed your break!
Hutchy: Glad you approve! I am updating. I AM! *sigh* I'm really slacking on this aren't I? Gomen!
This takes place about eight years after Kaigo adopted Yami. Oh and remember, she's a slave so coincidentally, Yami is treated as a slave as well. Read on faithful reviewers!!
Chapter 4
The hot sun beat down mercilessly on the city, glaring down on the dark heads hurrying throughout the streets, and warming the water of the city's bearer.
Kaigo brushed a strand of matted hair behind her ear as she scratched away in the dry garden, attempting and failing to scrounge up any edible growth that managed to survive in the parched earth. She straightened rubbing her back, sore from the continual stooped position she had been standing in.
"mwt![1]!" She held her hand up above her eyes to block out the sun and peering towards the sound she saw the small figure of a thin boy running towards her. Kaigo smiled as he crashed into her, wrapping two small arms around her waist and burying his face in her dress.
"Look at this!" he cried excitedly pulling something from the front of his tunic. He was holding a string with several shells strung onto it between his hands. Grinning up with a very self-satisfied expression on his face he put the string around his mother's neck and tied it in the back.
"What may I ask is the occasion?" Kaigo inquired fingering a snail shell resting above her collarbone.
"There's going to be a celebration today before sunset!" the boy said his eyes shining in anticipation. "There will be dancers and magicians in the streets so we can see too!" He bounced up and down slightly, trying and failing to act older than eight. "Will you come to watch with me?" he asked grabbing her hand. Kaigo sighed and looked down at the little boy she had raised as her son. He was growing up so fast, even if he still acted young. Her eyes hardened slightly as her thoughts drifted away from his simple question. No matter what happened to him and who he became he would always be her family. 'Damn that magician,' she thought remembering Mahado's words that night many years ago. 'I can't let Yami go. I wouldn't be able to bear watching him disappear.'
She found herself being jolted back to the present by a light tap on the nose from the boy in front of her.
"Well?" he asked again. (A/N: Isn't Yami so kawai? I think I'm making him to Yugi-ish but I'm gonna go with it ^_^) "Please?" he begged looking up at her with big, imploring, crimson eyes. Kaigo sighed. Technically slaves weren't allowed to go to the celebrations even though they all found a way to sneak in. But there was always the danger of a troop of palace guards finding their hiding place and she didn't even want to think about what would happen then.
"Yami," she said softly, "It's risky to go out in the streets…"
"Oh come on mwt!" he laughed poking her in the arm. "Where's the courage you're always telling me to have?" Kaigo placed a tanned hand over her eyes, index finger and thumb resting on opposite temples as she shook her head.
"Alright," she said dropping her hand and throwing out her arms in defeat. "You win."
"YEAH!" he exclaimed jumping up into the air, thrilled with his small victory. Kaigo laughed as he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her in the direction of the city. "Come on!" he cried "We have to get there early if we're going to be able to see decently!" The two of them scampered off Yami leading the way, his ruby eyes fixed on his destination, his challenge.
The festival was in celebration of the pharaoh's son's twelfth birthday, thanking the gods for making the boy strong and healthy. There were dancers waving brightly colored scarves, and musicians moving through the streets in one graceful wave, the rhythm of the song directing their movements. Yami watched with two of his friends from behind a group of potted palms eyeing the scene hungrily, longing to be part of it. Yami, Guu, and Roiyaru, the three boys hidden by the tree's leaves, had wished many times to be a part of the white city, and now that it was at their fingertips, it was that much more painful, knowing that they never could be.
"Look at that!" Guu whispered, excitement glowing in his brown eyes.
"What? Where?" asked Roiyaru brushing his curly auburn hair out of his face. Guu just pointed, and all three boys let their mouths fall open. A huge mountain of fruits and steaming dumplings was approaching on a litter carried by six men. As the smell wafted past their noses the trio felt their mouths water, but they stayed put, fully aware of the danger that lay lurking outside of their leafy hiding place.
"Hey Game King," Roiyaru teased, using the name he had dubbed Yami for his uncanny ability to beat any opponent at any task. "Think you'd be able to steal a mango off that?" Yami looked at his friend mischievously, but was interrupted by Guu before he could take any kind of action.
"Look at all the guards!" Guu exclaimed, a little too loudly and the other two clapped their hands to his mouth.
"Quiet," Yami whispered, nodding at a man dressed in all white carrying a spear. He had been walking past slowly, on patrol, but when Guu had shouted he had stopped, and was now standing staring down at them through the branches of the tree. "Or maybe," Yami continued softly, never breaking eye contact with the man, "We should just RUN!"
The boys scrambled to their feet as the guard leapt for them, darting out from the shade and into the scorching sun.
"xAx[2]!" the guard cried out, running after them and two more similarly white clad men appeared at his side. Yami grit his teeth as his feet slapped rapidly against the stone street, knowing that the men behind them were faster and it was only a matter of time until they caught up. He whirled around. Roiyaru screeched to a halt.
"Yami!" he yelled. "Come on! We can't win against them!"
"Just get out of here!" Yami shouted back, eyes focused on the guards only meters away. He turned to his friend for a fraction of a second. "GO!" Roiyaru shook his head smiling sadly and walked up to stand at Yami's side.
"When will you learn?" he asked squeezing Yami's shoulder in reassurance as Guu took up position on Yami's other side. "We won't desert you, no matter the circumstance." Yami looked at Roiyaru's hand and then at his face.
"Thank you." All three of them turned their attention to the men that were now standing before them, towering high above the boys' heads looking down with obvious amusement.
"Well, well," said the first guard, the one who had spotted them. "What have we here?" None of the boys said anything, only continued glaring up at the men with something very much like hatred written on each upturned face.
"Can't be anyone important," said one of the other guards. "We'll let the pharaoh do what he wants with them, and then when he's finished they're ours." Yami made a soft growling noise deep in the back of his throat. It was so low that only Roiyaru and Guu heard it, and Roiyaru looked sideways at Yami fearing what would happen next.
"Come now," said the first guard again. "One apiece," and he grabbed Guu, knocking his fist against the boy's jaw before slinging the unconscious boy over his broad shoulder. The two soldiers laughed wickedly and one grabbed Roiyaru while the other reached for Yami. Roiyaru went slack looking at Yami with wide eyes. As the crimson ones met his, the boy shook his head and mouthed 'No.' Yami smirked at him, shaking his own head as if to say 'You know I'll never listen to that,' before he snapped back to the man reaching towards him.
Before the large brown hand could close over him and throw him over a shoulder like a sack of grain, Yami darted artfully away from it. The man laughed at the boy's attempts and snatched again. This time Yami hooked the man's leg with his thin one and pulled it out from under him, staring down smugly as the soldier landed in a heap.
The other two guards growled, tying their hostages' hands and feet quickly before coming to aid their comrade.
'Three against one,' Yami thought as he eyed the large men. 'Not good odds, but then again, not too hard for the King of Games.' His smirk widened, only enraging the guards more.
"Get the little brat!" the guard who had been knocked down bellowed. All three dove for the boy, looking so much smaller and weaker than themselves, but were surprised to come down on nothing but air. Spinning around they saw him crouched low on a stall awning, his eyes burning with excitement and with rage. The men shifted on their feet uneasily, tossing their slim swords from hand to hand, waiting for the child's meager assault. But it did not come.
Tired of waiting, one of the soldiers began swung himself up onto the top of the stand. Yami's eyes stayed fixed on the men on the ground, not even acknowledging that there was another human scaling his perch. Only when the man was an arm's length away did he move, the spiky head flicking to the side for a moment before leaping once again into the air a moment before there was a terrible ripping sound and the awning collapsed under the man's weight.
Yami stood straight on the ground in front of the two remaining men, poised to take on the next threat. He was so caught up in the thrill of the battle that he failed to notice the first soldier give a curt nod until a moment to late. He felt the hilt of a sword belonging to a fourth man drive into his temple, even as he ducked to avoid the blow. Yami saw the ground spin as he attempted to keep his balance. However before he could right himself, he felt two strong arms lock around him, one around his skinny shoulders to keep him from struggling, the other around his neck.
Again, a growl sounded deep in Yami's throat, his pupils becoming pinpricks from fury and lack of air. Strengthening his resolve the boy lashed out with his legs, crushing the toes of the man who held him. As the soldier cried out, Yami bit down hard on the arm holding him still. Reaching back, he felt the cool handle of a dagger. As the two men rushed at him, Yami pulled the knife from it's sheath and slashed out at them, the blade whistling as it streaked through the air.
"Come on," he said, beckoning with his free hand to the soldiers standing stiffly in front of him. The guard on the ground coughed but Yami paid him no attention. "Where is your courage now?" he asked mockingly. "ii[3]!"
There was a sudden swishing noise from the ground and Yami glanced at the man whose arm he had maimed. The soldier smiled at him maliciously before bringing his legs up and kicking the boy hard in the back.
'I should have seen that coming,' Yami thought as the pain washed through him and his legs crumpled. The first man stepped forward and placed his sandaled foot on the boy's neck. Yami choked as the foot pressed against his windpipe, cutting off his air for the second time that afternoon. He tried helplessly to pry the man off him, raking his nails across the tanned flesh but to no avail.
Roiyaru watched his friend fighting for his life, his face growing paler, and suddenly knew if no one did anything, Yami wasn't going to be coming home with them, not now, not ever. There would be no more taunting jokes, no more playing pranks on Guu, nothing. It would all end with Yami, because he was the one who had brought them all together and without him, it couldn't stay that way.
Roiyaru struggled to his feet the ropes straining at his ankles, before launching himself at the man whom was killing his friend. He pushed his legs as hard as he could against the street but still came up short. As he felt himself falling towards the ground Roiyaru let out a cry for help.
"KAIGO!"
All heads that had not already been raptly watching the fight between the slave boy and three palace guards turned at the sound of Roiyaru's scream. Kaigo, across the square hidden between rolls of cloth in a merchant's stall, looked up recognizing Roiyaru's voice, her eyes streaking through the crowd to find him. When she saw the boy lying on the ground surrounded by soldiers, her parental instincts took over and she latched onto Yami's small form still suppressed by the largest man.
Fury erased all sensible thought or reason she might have had, and Kaigo rushed towards her son, pushing violently through the crowds in her desperation to reach him.
The guard laughed cruelly as he watched the boy's arms beat futilely against his ankle. He glared down at the child as he clutched his arm, nursing the gashed in the skin, and relishing taking the boy's life for his disrespect.
"GET OFF OF MY SON!"
The man looked up, startled at the sudden yell and saw a small thin slave woman standing in front of him, her feet squarely planted, and her eyes blazing. He motioned with his head towards her to the other guards and they closed in, ready to show another slave their importance. One of the two men grabbed his whip and slashed out at her with it.
Kaigo winced as she felt the leather bite into her arm, but grabbed the end of it with her other hand and yanked as hard as she could manage. The soldier was so startled by her resistance that he let go of his whip and backed away, unsure of what to do. Kaigo grabbed the handle of the torture device and lashed out at the man on top of Yami, oblivious to the struggle next to him. As the whip stung his side the man spun around clutching the gash, and his foot was removed from Yami's neck.
Yami gasped, greedily choking in the warm air, unable to get enough. Kaigo smiled as she saw him moving and threw the whip aside as she rushed over to him, the back of her mind telling her that she had struck a man of higher status, and that would not go unpunished. But she didn't care. All that was important at that moment was Yami, and he was going to be all right. She clutched him tightly, murmuring soothing sounds in his ear as he clung to her, still taking ragged uneven breaths.
Kaigo ran her fingers across the mark on Yami's neck, a bruise already forming under the skin. She kissed his forehead softly and wrapped her arms around him again, until she felt two pairs of hands on her shoulders. Spinning around she saw the two soldiers who had come after her before holding tightly to her arms. As she struggled to pull herself from their grasp they hauled her away from her son, wrenching her arms roughly behind her back. Yami looked up, startled by his mother's abrupt disappearance, just in time to see a guard strike her across the face.
Kaigo grimaced as her hip connected with the hard ground. She opened her eyes to see the soldier tie her legs with a piece of thick rope.
"You aren't ever going to see that boy again," the man laughed as he tied her. "And if you try to fight me, I'll spit him on my sword." Kaigo felt the blood drain from her face as she looked at Yami. She knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the way fast enough if she caused trouble so she let her body go slack and allowed the man to tie her limbs securely.
"Right," said another guard picking up Guu and Roiyaru as the other men slung the unconscious guards onto their backs. "We'd better get this lot to the palace. Someone get him." The man pointed to Yami who had closed his eyes, temporarily oblivious to his surroundings.
Kaigo started. She had thought they were going to leave him alone! Throwing caution to the winds she screamed, desperation and pleading wringing in each syllable.
"Yami! Get up and GET OUT!"
Yami's eyes snapped open and focussed on his mother's distraught face. Then he noticed the guards closing in on him, but wasn't foolish enough to realize that he was in n condition to engage in a game like the one he had battled in before. But he knew he couldn't simply run. There were three people there that needed him, and he needed them as well.
"I can't leave you," he said softly. Kaigo looked at the boy, tears forming in her eyes.
"Please," she whispered. "Go, anx[4]…" Yami glanced at her uncertainly meeting her stare. There was so much hope in her eyes, hope that he could go and be something better than what he was now, and a knowledge that he would be that he stumbled backward. And once he took the first step, he couldn't stop.
Kaigo sighed, and let herself be led back to the prison, smiling even as the sword flew towards her, and peaceful as she departed for the west banks of the Nile.
(uh…if that wasn't clear enough she was executed for being out of rank and attacking men of higher status etc etc.)
Yami sat pressed up against a dirt wall shivering in the evening's cool air. He thought of his friends, his family, and knew he couldn't just wait to see what was happening to them. He had to find out for himself, and he had to help them. The boy slunk across the streets, still crowded with people, as silently as the night's shadows. He darted up to the prison and crept through the door. A soldier was sitting by a small fire in the corner, his hands propped behind his head, eyes closed. Yami quietly grabbed a thin sword off the table and pressed it softly against the man's neck.
The guard's eyes flew open but he didn't move or speak.
"Three slaves were brought here today," Yami hissed. "A woman and two boys. I want to know what happened to them, and I suggest that if you want to breath long enough to feel the morning sun's rays again you tell me." The guard nodded slowly and Yami removed the blade far enough for him to speak.
"They aren't here," the man said. "Actually they aren't in this world or the next one even. Executed several hours ago by the pharaoh's order." Yami blanched. Dead? Just like that? If he had been faster he could have saved them! Remorse washed over the boy as tears filled his eyes as he struggled to repress his grief.
"No burial for trash like that," the man said, not really caring. Yami suddenly lost all sense of reason, and any innocence or pity that he might have retained during his short life in the harsh world was lost, disappearing as though it had never truly existed. He growled and pressed the sword gently into the man's neck smirking as he heard the gasp and felt warm blood trickle over his fingers.
"It won't kill you," he said softly in the man's ear. "Oh no you won't die. But you can share a fraction of the pain I'm feeling, and you can bear the scar with me until everything you know vanishes and there is nothing left at all." The boy removed the blade and threw it aside before her turned sharply on his heel and ran.
Yami rushed through the streets, tears being whipped off is cheeks and into the night air as he ran. He paid no attention to where he was going, only that he had to get as far away as was possible. Suddenly he skidded to a halt, standing at the bank of the Nile. Yami looked at his reflection for a moment until without any warning he dove headfirst into the water, dissipating the image that had been there a moment before.
As the water closed over him Yami let out all the air in his lungs and hugged his knees to his chest. He sunk to the bottom but as he sat there, Yami realized that he did not really want it to end that way. He had promised his mother that he would live, and he would keep it, and hold onto it forever. He pushed his feet against the sandy bottom of the river and burst back into the air. A let the small waves carry his exhausted body back to the shore and lay immobile among the reeds. As he slowly slipped away from consciousness, the last thought that went through his mind was 'I will never fail to protect anyone I love again.'
~~~~~~~~~~~
[1] "Mother" in Egyptian. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong! ^__^
[2] "Hasten" It's the closest thing I could find to hurry. And it was Egyptian again.
[3] "Come" in Egyptian. I was thinking a type of bring it on sort of thing. ^.~
[4] "anx" is live in Egyptian.
So? Whatchya think? I know I was very unoriginal with Kaigo's name for Atemu but I had to make it become Yami somehow right? This was my longest chapter ever! Wow! Anyway, again guys, I am SO SORRY FOR TAKING THIS LONG TO UPDATE!!! *bows down* Everyone who's still reviewing, you ROCK!! *glomps everyone*