The Lost Pharaoh
Chapter 2: Return of the Pharaoh
The ground was trembling violently, as the winds howled threateningly. People were screaming and running, some of them not sure why but they all knew the day had come. A beautiful palace still stood in the center of the village and a figure stood outside of it, guarding it. The figure wore long silky purple robes that only covered the lower half of his body. He had no other garments on except for a golden arm bracelet and a necklace that hung around his neck.
"Pharaoh?"
The pharaoh turned as he was addressed to one of his viziers, his most trusted...For the past couple hours all he'd been doing was staring out at the crumbling city.
"What is it?" he asked gravely.
"We've done as you've asked, we sent word to the civilians to make their way here to the palace," the vizier spoke, while he knelt in front of the pharaoh.
"Good, thank you Fadil, you have been most hopeful," he said quietly, turning back to look at the city to await the people.
"My pharaoh...please, I must ask you something. What will you do when the people arrive?" Fadil asked, looking up at the back of his most trusted the pharaoh.
He had been the only pharaoh out of all generations of pharaohs who had helped the city. The others had either pretended to be related to Ra or some other god the people trusted most and had had sacrifices done to the gods. Innocent people had to die, their blood had to be shed for the gods...at least until Yami came along.
Yami was the son of Pharaoh Hamadi, who had been like all the others and was destroyed by his own greed. However, Yami had been different. The people had been upset that they had to give the child, no older than six, the king's throne because he was the only heir to Hamadi. Whether it was because Yami was only half related to Hamadi, since his mother married again, or whether it was because he was the true Pharaoh, the one from the prophecies told long ago who would claim the throne to save the people and even after his death protect the people, he was the best ruler.
He wanted no sacrifices, he didn't believe in the gods of the river, mountains and such, he said it was all a myth. And most of all, he was not greedy, he gave the poor opportunities to earn lots of money and sure enough soon barely anyone was poor. And now it had come down to this. Hamadi had had an affair against Yami's mother, Dalila, and his son wanted revenge for his father's death against Yami, and to take the throne. The son's name was Kontar (which means "only son"), and he planned to take Yami down with the help from the sorcerer Kaiba, who was greatly known for his power. However, Kaiba was not on either side, but for some reason agreed to take on the pharaoh.
Now, Fidil was waiting to see what Yami was planning to do. How would he fight them? Was he planning on fighting? How did he think the people would be saved by leading them to the palace?
"Yami?" he asked again, more firmly.
In the past the pharaohs made their own decisions. They were so relentless and arrogant that they didn't want to be called by their first name. But Yami cared for the people, as did the people for him, so calling him by his first name was a sign of affection.
Finally, Yami turned, his dark crimson eyes glowering sadly at his most trusted vizier. It was the look of sadness or failure, Fidil couldn't quite place it, but Yami had no reason to blame himself. It was all Kontar's fault, and he would not win. There would be justice...there had to be.
"I will protect my people," he answered.
"But...what do you mean?"
Suddenly, the doors opened and two more viziers ran in, gasping for breath. They were Yami's next most trusted viziers: Isis and Malik, brother and sister who had guarded the palace with the pharaoh for years.
"The people are here!" Isis exclaimed.
"It is time," Yami replied, stepping forward and walking out to greet the people.
It was a sad sight, to see the people graveling before the palace, some bleeding, others crying and most of them begging for him to do something. Yami stood up top on the steps looking down upon his people, ready to give them everything he had.
"My people, I feel the earth shake and I fear the destruction of our once peaceful city," Yami spoke strongly to them. "I will do everything in my power to protect you all, which is why I've brought you all here. The enemy, as you might know, Kontar, illegitimate son of my half-father's, is coming in from the entrance to the village. The palace is in the center so it will take him some time to get here. I have never met him but from what I've seen of him he is very destructive. He will destroy almost every house in this village, but it has given time for you all to come here so that I may find the power within me to keep him from claiming any lives."
"Our pharaoh!" an old man said, kneeling down before him. "I speak for the people when I say that we know it's not your fault. We have heard of the cruel ways Kontar has dealt with people...with kings, led only by his greed and want for blood and riches. We will do anything you ask to help you protect our city."
"Yeah!"
"Anything pharaoh!"
The agreeing shouts were made, and Yami closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again.
"My people, you have suffered enough, I ask you to please step inside the walls of the palace and I shall protect you. It is my duty, as pharaoh," Yami said.
"We will help you fight," a woman said, kneeling alongside the old man.
Yami shook his head.
"I am touched greatly by your acts of kindness and admiration toward me, but I cannot allow you to do anything but stay inside the palace. With my power...I will protect you."
"Yami no!" Fidil suddenly blurted out, throwing himself on his knees before the pharaoh. "Y-you can't do that...you'll die!"
The people were all yelling agreements with the vizier, but again Yami shook his head.
"This is what I must do. You have told me you will do anything I ask of you, and as your pharaoh I ask...I demand that you all enter the palace and I will sacrifice my life for you all," Yami announced as if it were any ordinary favor.
"B-but you can't!" Fidil whispered harshly, grabbing onto Yami's robes. "We need you..."
"I must...I'm begging all of you for this," Yami said, looking at all the thousands of people staring up at him expectantly, but with worry. "This what I must do."
"The prophecy," Fidil whispered, not loud enough for Yami to hear.
Suddenly, before another word was spoken, a huge explosion shook the ground, causing the people to scream and hold onto each other. Yami was held by his viziers and bodyguards. He shot his head up and saw that off in the distance that a huge fleet of soldiers dressed in metal armor with double-ended spears, were crashing through the city, destroying house after house hoping to find some blood shed. Yami knew it was only a matter of time before Kontar finally realized that there was no one there to kill.
"Inside, all of you, NOW!" Yami shouted.
The thousands of people, despite how worried they were for their pharaoh, obeyed and ran inside as fast as they could. The palace was big, but not meant for a whole city, so some hundred or so had to stand by the entrance behind the pharaoh and his guards. But Yami knew that it didn't matter, for what he had in store for Kontar would prove to him that there can't be just any pharaoh, there is only one kind of pharaoh to rule Egypt and that would the one who would sacrifice himself for his people.
Just as most of the people got settled inside the palace, many watching out the windows and others huddled together behind Yami, another explosion took out many of the houses only a mile or so from the palace.
"Pharaoh!" Fidil shouted.
Yami wheeled around to face his vizier to ask him what was wrong, until he saw the fleets of armed soldiers with bombs and machine guns approaching from all sides of the palace. He wondered how he could not have sensed them. For once Kontar proved to be more than just a killer after blood and gold, he actually had some smarts, but that would not defeat Yami.
A high cold laughter suddenly broke the silence as all armed soldiers stopped, preparing to attack at any moment. Yami turned and saw behind the armed soldiers in front of him, near the steps of the palace, was Kontar sitting high in a throne atop a holder made from the bark of trees. His "soldiers", or rather personal servants, were holding him up. He wore long robes made of satin and tons of jewelry consisting of mostly gold. The pharaoh Yami had mostly jewels like emeralds and diamonds and rubies, because jewels, he thought, were better riches than gold because they couldn't be melted and made into weapons. His people respected him more for that. The only gold item he held with him was the necklace around his neck, which was in the shape of a mini-sized pyramid...
Yami clutched it tighter to his heart. Most anyone who had challenged him before had thought that the riches were inside his palace, that they would find a great chest full of treasures. But that was not true. That was not what was important to Yami. The emeralds and jewels were kept underground in his tomb for when he died, but the pyramid was not yet built so they were hidden easily. Those were only taken out to be sold by neighboring cities if there was a section of the city that needed to be rebuilt. The real treasure was the golden pyramid around his neck.
He had not asked for it. In fact, he had not asked for anything from the people except their respect and of course a place to live and keep tabs on how the city was going. It had been a gift from the whole city, planned by Fidil. It was on his sixteenth birthday that it had been given to him; a whole year he had worn it not realizing why or for what reason it was given to him. It was only a month or so ago, when the first threats from Kontar started, that Yami realized what the necklace was. He had confronted Fidil about it and had found out it had been made by several high figures: a sorcerer, a priest and a prophet, who had told Fidil the prophecy and that the pharaoh was destined for this necklace, a necklace of more than the people's love and respect for him...but of the power of all those that created it.
It was the true power of the pharaoh. It gave him some control over death and life, so he could heal some wounded, it gave him visions occasionally, like the one of Kontar destroying the village. But most of all, he gave him the ability to protect his people because the power put into it, was the power of the three sacred gods the people cherished.
"Well, well, if it's not the high and mighty pharaoh of Egypt himself," Kontar smirked, raising his fingers to show off the glittering gold and diamond rings on his fingers.
Yami grinded his teeth together, holding down his anger to perform this right. After all, he only had one shot at sacrificing his life.
"You know, it's strange how there's only one pharaoh to rule a whole country...then again, I guess that works out since it'll be easy to overthrow you and have control, wouldn't you say?" he laughed coldly, getting down from his "high-chariot" and taking out a long, golden sword with a ruby encrusted in the handle.
"Come on, pharaoh, fight me like a man and die like a man," Kontar ordered, smiling as if he had all ready claimed Egypt.
But Yami didn't move, in fact, he just stared down at him so stern and unafraid it actually caused Kontar to lower his sword a bit.
"Aren't you going to fight me?" he asked.
"No," Yami answered plainly.
"Well, then I guess this settles it," Kontar smiled, lowering his sword all the way.
"I'm not going to fight you..."
Kontar hesitated to listen and raised his eyebrows as if wondering how else they would solve this dispute.
"...I'm going to show you the power of pharaoh."
"The power of the pharaoh?" Kontar snorted, "Honestly, you should stop bluffing Yami."
Yami finally let a small smile through and he turned around to walk up the rest of the steps and stopped, facing the city. Kontar's men watched curiously, but Kontar looked skeptical, brushing his nails across his garments.
"My people, I need you to believe in me once again so I can do this. Please, do not fear my death, but rather know the enemy will be defeated and your treasures can repair your city. You don't need a pharaoh to rule over you, nor a king, you just need to trust and help each other for mutual benefits," Yami announced, raising his hands.
Slowly, he turned back to Kontar who was still smirking with amusement.
"Now," Yami said softly, "you see that I will protect them...I can protect them and there is no one such as yourself that can defeat such great trust."
"Oh come off it Yami," Kontar laughed loudly.
Just as he started laughing, Yami's hands rose and the pyramid around his neck began to glow. Kontar's laughter soon died out as his soldiers had lowered their weapons in awe. The wind was now blowing fiercely as if surrendering to this awing sight. Yami closed his eyes, praying with every inch of him to protect his people. The wind blew stronger and stronger, until Kontar was holding himself to stand up. He could hear his people screaming for him to stop, some of them telling him not to use his powers, causing Kontar's face to finally show fear, but Yami knew what he had to do. His pyramid glowed inexplicably bright, until every piece of it was practically reflecting flashes of gold on the surrounding watchers.
It was taking all the patience and concentration he could muster, but he could feel the power tearing through his body, feeding off his energy to summon the pharaoh's power.
Yami's eyes snapped open and he rose his arm to the sky, pointing upward.
"SLIFER! God of Osiris, the Sky Dragon...my strength and power, COME FORTH TO PROTECT YOUR CITY!" Yami bellowed.
The sky rumbled as the clouds turned darker by the second. The winds died down a bit as thunder struck through the sky and lightning soon followed.
"Where did this storm come from?" Kontar shouted to one of his men.
His soldier, looking fearful and awed at the same time, pointed toward Yami. Suddenly a bright light flashed across the eyes watching as Yami was surrounded in a powerful aura that reached up to the sky. The ground shook violently as it shifted to make room for something that was coming...
A shadow loomed over the city as a huge, dark figure emerged from the clouds striking lightning. A claw the size of a building fell through the dark sky landing on the ground and shaking the earth. More of the enormous figure slowly was revealed to all of Egypt. Red wings the size of two temples, hard as steel flapped violently, causing another wind storm while the body of a tyrant arose. The head was large with a mouth so big it could swallow half a village, and its teeth, hundreds of them sharper than knives. Atop the mouth was another small mouth...a second mouth with just as sharp of teeth.
But the largest, most astonishing part of this monster was the long, powerful tail that coiled out, a sharp spike at the end of it. It was longer than the body of the beast, so it slithered around the palace, caging it in its grip with its monstrous tail, and its large, beastly form towering over it. The people were hidden behind the tail and the pharaoh; hidden from Kontar's view. A shrill, spine-tingling roar erupted from the sky dragon.
Kontar stood transfixed at the sight of this beast...a creature so powerful it could probably destroy countries in one swipe, and the pharaoh, this mere mortal Yami, had summoned it.
Maybe, just maybe he's not all mortal, Kontar thought as Slifer opened both mouths.
"Attack and destroy!" Yami shouted.
A huge serge of power erupted from the pharaoh as well as the sky dragon as the whole city was showered in a blinding light.
XXXXX
A scream echoed throughout the room as a small figure bolted up in bed, covered in sweat and panting lightly. Soon, he realized it had only been a dream, or a nightmare rather. His heartbeat slowed to a steady rhythm until he was no longer breathing deeply.
Yuugi sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Silently, he listened to make sure that his grandpa hadn't woken from the sound of his scream for the third time. He waited, but there was only silence.
"That dream again," Yuugi whispered to the dark.
He had had that dream since he had received his mysterious gift four days ago. He had shown his grandpa, who had also assumed it was mistakenly given to him but saw Yuugi's name on the package so he let him keep it without further discussion. His grandpa had thought maybe it was a prize won in a contest and they got the names screwed up. Yuugi was willing to let his grandpa believe that since it was the only logical explanation he could think of. He couldn't very well tell his grandpa a pharaoh sent it to him, not any pharaoh but the lost pharaoh, the one who's body was never discovered and the myth lay a mystery about him...the one that died 5000 years ago...
But he had to be careful with it. It wasn't just valuable by cost, but it was priceless to him. He also had to watch out for his grandpa, who was beginning to suspect something about Yuugi, not much but something. Yuugi all ready knew his grandpa suspected a change in him since the day at the dig, and he also suspected why they finally found the pharaoh's tomb empty, which was in a different pyramid than the one Yuugi had found. It was an ordinary tomb that looked like he had almost withered away.
Heaving a sigh, Yuugi gently rested his head on the headboard of his bed. At first, Yuugi thought it was wonderful to have met Yami, and he still did think that of course, but things were becoming much more complicated. It was hard keeping so many secrets from his grandpa and his friends, even trying to explain the necklace when he started wearing it to school. Yuugi had never been one to lie, so it was very hard but Yami meant so much to him. He couldn't lose him just because he couldn't fib for once.
Still...if Yami did send this to me, then where is he? Why would he send me a sign and not come right away? Did he send this to me because he knew he couldn't come back, because he had to stay in Egypt...? No, he wouldn't have done that. Yami promised me we'd see each other again.
Yuugi slowly slid out of bed, looking at his necklace which lie on the bureau beside him. Every day he wore the necklace it almost seemed a bit heavier to wear, and he wasn't sure why or how that was possible, but many things were still unclear to him. Hopefully when Yami came back he could help to clear some unanswered questions Yuugi had. For the moment though, Yuugi was very thirsty from having the same nightmare. He fleetingly wondered if the continuous nightmare was connected to the necklace. He couldn't be sure because he could never remember the nightmare when he woke up.
His feet padded softly on the carpet as he walked out of his room and down the stairs to enter into the room in back of the game shop where the small kitchen and fridge stood. He pulled out a bottle of fresh, cold water and gulped some down before walking out to the game shop room where his grandpa sold Duel Monster cards. Yuugi smiled as he looked at the clearly locked case which held the five most rarest cards being sold that month. Every month it changed to different rare and new cards on display. The one Duel Monster card inside the case that Yuugi noticed was the Mirage of Nightmare and Secret Passage to the Treasures, both fairly new cards.
The Mirage of Nightmare card allowed a player to draw four new cards and discard any four cards, before sending the card to the graveyard, enabling the player to gain a better hand. Then Secret Passage to the Treasures summons any monster of at least 1000 attack points to directly attack the opponents life points. They were two of the few new cards released during the beginning of the school year.
Yuugi sat down at the counter, staring at the cards inside the large glass case that contained all the ones on sale. As he looked over the cards he felt a slight chill behind him, like a window was open. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he gulped, realizing he was in the dark room in the middle of the night...alone. He tried not to tremble as he slowly and quietly got up from the stool he was sitting on, forgetting about the water on the counter, and took a deep breath to try to calm himself down. Finally, he got the nerve to turn around. A dark figure loomed within the doorway, staring directly at him, though there was no sign the door nor window had been opened.
Yuugi jumped back, yelping from fright and tripping over the leg of the stool. He fell to the ground, luckily not injuring himself greatly, only causing a slight pain in his rear end. He groaned praying that he still had the strength to scream if the intruder came closer.
Maybe he'll go away now that he realized I know he's here.
Yuugi heard footsteps approaching causing his heart to pound with fear in his chest. Just as he was about to get up and run, he opened his eyes to see a hand in front of his face. At first, he thought maybe they were planning on hitting him, then he realized that if they were they would've done it all ready.
"Need a hand?"
The sound of the rich voice soothed him, and was all too familiar. Yuugi first thought they were trying to trick him, until he realized to whom that voice belonged to. His eyes widened as he looked up into the familiar kind, crimson eyes that he had waited so long to see again. There, standing before him in the most beautiful royal robes Yuugi had ever seen, was Yami. He was dressed in tight dark burgundy robe that wrapped only around his lower half, flaring out behind him. The clasp that held it together looked like it was a solid ruby, and around it encrusted by a golden frame.
Yami's arms still had the golden bracelets around them, but a new silver bracelet had been added around the calf of his arm and had a gorgeous sapphire gem in the center in the shape of the Eye of Horus. The tattoo remained on his collar bone, the one Yuugi remembered from the first time they met. He wore no shoes, but a silver anklet, much like his new arm piece. He had a golden clasp at the top of both his ears bearing the symbol much like of the pyramid Yuugi had. He wore the familiar crown with the symbol of the pharaoh, only it looked more polished with ruby gems on the ends of the crown that latched into his hair. He was a magnificent sight, so much that Yuugi almost forgot to take his hand and stop staring.
"Y-yami? I...I...thank you...," Yuugi stuttered, taking his hand as he was pulled up once again by the strong, generous hand of the pharaoh.
Yami smiled kindly down at him, "You're very welcome, Yuugi. I'm sorry I startled you. I really didn't think you'd be able to sense me...but of course that could be because of the necklace's power," he muttered the last part.
Yuugi blinked up at him curiously.
"So you did send me the necklace?" Yuugi asked.
Yami looked down at him and smiled and nodded.
"Yes, it was crafted by my best viziers. Do you like it?"
"Yami...I...it's beautiful," Yuugi said softly, smiling up at him.
"I'm glad you like it," Yami answered, taking a seat on the stool Yuugi was sitting on a moment before. "This is a nice place where you live Yuugi, is it a store as well?"
Yuugi pulled up another stool beside him and nodded.
"Yeah, my grandpa sells Duel Monster cards."
"Duel Monster cards?" Yami asked, sitting straight up and staring at Yuugi with a look of surprise and concern.
Yuugi suddenly became aware that Duel Monsters originated in Egypt, as his grandpa had told him, and had been a game based on life or death. The Duel Monsters then were carved from stone and only certain powers could unleash their terror.
"I'm sorry Yami, I forgot about the only Duel Monsters you know about," Yuugi shook his head. "But it's not like in ancient times at all, they're played for fun and they can't hurt us."
Yami's smile soon softened as he understood, "That's good."
Yuugi nodded and took a sip of his water before he bolted up in his seat, leaning across Yami with big eyes.
"So, how was your trip back to Egypt? Did you get your throne back? What did your people say? Why did you send me the necklace and what took you so long?" Yuugi poured out all at once.
Yami laughed a deep, rich laugh that allowed Yuugi to finally take a breath.
"Once question at a time, Yuugi," he smiled as Yuugi anticipated his answers. "My trip back to Egypt wasn't as long as I thought. Once I got there I decided to approach the viziers there, ones that were related to my viziers before and knew all that happened back so long ago. They didn't seem surprised to see me, even in spirit form," Yami explained. "In fact, they said they had waited for my return. I'm still not sure what it means, but apparently no other pharaoh had taken my place."
"For 5000 years?" Yuugi asked, awe-struck.
Yami chuckled softly.
"Yes, for that long. I thought for sure someone would have claimed the throne, but I guess my sacrifice was worth it...," he trailed off.
"Sacrifice?" Yuugi whispered. Suddenly, the vision of his nightmare replayed within a minute through his mind. Yuugi suddenly jumped up, grabbing a hold of Yami's robe.
"Yami! Yami, I had a dream about you in ancient times! How you defeated that...that evil guy and that big dragon-creature came out of the sky!" Yuugi babbled quickly.
Yami blinked astounded at first, but then smiled knowingly.
"I thought that might happen, Yuugi. It's not uncommon for the necklace to give such powers to the keeper of it. It was once my necklace that I used to defeat Kontar, who was trying to overtake Egypt. It had been saved for me all those years after I died, and I have given it to you," Yami said.
Yuugi looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing in concern, "But...don't you need it? Why did you give it to me if it has your power, Yami?"
Slowly, Yami shook his head grasping Yuugi's hand in his.
"That used to be my power, Yuugi, when I was alive. There is no way that I could ever use the necklace because I'm not really alive. I've been reincarnated, which means I have been given life a second time. The necklace was only created for the keeper who was mortal, which means someone who had only been living one life...their present life."
Yami pulled Yuugi closer to him, while wrapping his other hand on top of Yuugi's hand, which was all ready enclosed in his other hand.
"That is why I gave it to you, Yuugi. I cannot wear the necklace myself, even though it contains my power, the power of the pharaoh of Egypt. Without that power, I cannot live because I am real by feeding off its energy source...At least for now. My viziers are trying their best to find a way to bring me back permanently so I may wear the necklace again, or at least so I don't have to rely on it to survive.
"But I've given it to you because you're the one I trust most. It was your heart that guided you to me, that found me and freed me from my eternal sleep; my imprisonment within my own tomb. You are the one person I trust with my life," Yami said, lowering his voice as he stared into Yuugi's eyes, which were shimmering with unshed tears. "With you protecting the necklace and keeping it as a token of our bond of friendship, I will forever remain strong and powerful just like back then, except now, Yuugi...now I'm immortal. As long as the necklace is safe, and you are safe, I cannot die. So I may protect my people without fear of dying or having to sacrifice myself again. You've given me a second chance."
"Yami!" Yuugi exclaimed, throwing his arms around his neck as he buried his face on his shoulder. "T-thank you so much, I promise I'll take care of it."
Yami smiled and wrapped his arms around Yuugi, rubbing his back gently. When they pulled apart, Yami noticed there were tears running down Yuugi's face.
"Yuugi, why are you crying?" Yami asked, wiping them away.
"Y-you...you're going back aren't you? You just came to tell me to take care of the necklace, right?" Yuugi stammered, trying his best not to let any more tears fall.
A small smile graced Yami's face. Carefully, he reached out to stroke Yuugi's cheek affectionately, moving his bangs out of his eyes.
"Do you really think I'd do that to you? After all you've done for me, I would never hurt you like that. I know that you've waited patiently for my return, and you've cherished our bond by having faith in me and in our friendship...that is why Yuugi I also sent to you the necklace. For now, I need the necklace near me...and because I entrusted you with it, I'll need to stay by your side as long as you have it," Yami explained softly.
Yuugi's eyes suddenly filled with more tears, but happy tears. He threw his arms around Yami's neck, pressing their cheeks together.
"Oh Yami, that's wonderful!" Yuugi smiled brightly, letting a few tears fall.
Yami smiled warmly toward him and embraced him back. They finally let go and Yuugi wiped his remaining tears away.
"You know, Yami, if you're going to stay with me you'll have to come to school with me," Yuugi smiled.
"Oh?" Yami blinked, seeing the amusement flash in Yuugi's eyes. "I'm sure I could handle your school."
Yuugi giggled, all ready imagining Yami trying to comprehend a school 5000 years from his time. His friends would ask a lot of questions about the new guest, but he was willing to fib to them one last time and tell them Yami was his cousin.
"Is there anything else?" Yami smiled.
"Actually...yes," Yuugi answered hesitantly, looking him up and down.
Yami blinked and looked down at his attire, wondering what Yuugi was getting at. Yuugi smiled widely, while scratching the back of his head.
"Umm...you really can't wear that to school."
Yami chuckled and nodded, "I see. So, what will I be wearing?"
Yuugi hesitated in thought, "Well, we don't have school uniforms...Wait!" Yuugi jumped up. "It's the weekend, there's no school till Monday!"
"What does that mean?" Yami asked, curious about Yuugi's suddenly excited behavior.
Yuugi suddenly grabbed Yami's hand, holding it tightly while peering at him with wide, shimmering eyes.
"It means that I can take you shopping! There's this really cool new clothes store that has all kinds of clothes, well mostly leather like the kind I wear, but they have everything there! Oh Yami, this will be so much fun! Then I can take you to the movies, oh and you have to try ice cream!" Yuugi was practically bouncing on his feet while he listed what they could do.
Yami beamed at him with soft eyes waiting for Yuugi to finish. Then he laughed lightly as Yuugi had to pant for air.
"Are we doing this all in one day?" Yami asked, still with a big grin on his face.
"Nope, two!" Yuugi grinned. "But it will be so much fun! I guess I'll also have to get you up to date with everything so you're not completely clueless," Yuugi said more to himself.
Yami nodded, "I agree. But...well, where should I put my robes? And my crown too...I must keep them safe."
"Oh, you can keep them in my closet for now, they'll be safe there."
Yami smiled and began undressing.
"W-wait, Yami!" Yuugi stopped him before he could get his robe all the way down. "We don't go shopping until tomorrow."
"Oh," Yami said, blinking with wide eyes, pulling his robe back on.
Yuugi sat back down along on the stool, and Yami followed suit.
"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Yuugi asked.
Yami smiled, "Some water would be nice."
Yuugi nodded and went in the back to get him a bottle. When he brought it out and handed it to Yami, he looked curiously at it, turning it upside down.
"Water is in a plastic container now? Back in Kemet we had a hard time finding clean water. Most of the time we had to boil it before letting it cool."
Yuugi laughed sheepishly, "Yeah...things are definitely different now. There are cars too."
Yami took a sip of his water, his eyes lighting up at the fresh, clean taste and began gulping it down. Yuugi watched with interest as Yami finished the bottle in one breath. Yuugi giggled after Yami set down the empty bottle, and he turned and looked questioningly at him. Yami soon joined him in a soft laughter before a comfortable silence fell upon the two.
"Yuugi?" Yami spoke up, turning to him.
"What is it?" Yuugi asked, wondering why he was looking so determined.
"Is there any way for my people in Egypt to send me news here?"
Yuugi nodded, "Sure, there are lots of ways. There's mail, I'm guessing it's a letter?"
Yami nodded.
"Well they could just send a letter to this house."
Suddenly, Yami's face lit up.
"Ah, I understand now, yes...mail," Yami chuckled at Yuugi's bewildered expression. "I hope you don't mind then if I give them your address."
"Not at all," Yuugi beamed.
It only lasted a minute before Yuugi's smile started to wither away. "Yami...does that mean that you might have to go back to Egypt?"
Yami was still studying the bottle that was now empty before turning to stare at Yuugi seriously.
"There may come a time when they'll need me back there," Yami answered truthfully.
"Oh...," Yuugi's eyes lowered.
He felt a soft, warm hand hold his chin and lift it up so he could look at Yami.
"If that happens hopefully...yes, hopefully by then you can come with me."
Yuugi's eyes widened immensely, "W-with you? To Kemet?!"
Yuugi again threw his arms around Yami, who unfortunately wasn't prepared, and it sent them toppling to the floor with Yuugi on top. Yuugi lifted his eyes sheepishly, a small blush apparent on his smooth, alabaster cheeks.
"I'm sorry Yami," Yuugi said embarrassed, while helping Yami to his feet. "My grandpa has always shown me old photographs of ancient Egypt and the structures that used to be there. I just think it would be fascinating to see your palace with my own eyes..."
Yami brushed Yuugi's bangs back with his fingers, smiling down at him.
"Yes, Yuugi, that is why my viziers are working on a way to open a portal so you can come with me. I came here with my own power, but once they find a way to open a portal, the necklace I gave you will protect you from the shadow realm. Then," Yami said softly, kneeling down till he was looking at Yuugi eye-to-eye, "I can show you my home and show the people who my savior is."
Yuugi blushed, flattered at being called a savior. Excitement ran through his veins at the thought of traveling with Yami to his palace and seeing the people that cared so much for him, the people that made it possible to bring him back. Yuugi was able to cup Yami's face in his small hands.
"Thank you so much, Yami," he whispered.
"You're welcome," Yami whispered back, pulling him into a warm embrace.
When they broke apart Yuugi stifled a yawn. Yami smiled knowingly.
"We should probably get to sleep," Yami voiced.
Yuugi nodded slowly as Yami stood up.
"Where shall I sleep?"
Yuugi's eyes snapped open as he realized that with Yami living with him, he'd have to tell his grandpa sometime.
"Yuugi?"
Yuugi looked up to see Yami staring down at him concerned.
"It's nothing...I guess I'll have to tell grandpa about you. Maybe I could just leave some...things out. That way grandpa can help clear out the office room, where he keeps all his archaeological information and make it a guest room for you!" Yuugi chirped, while Yami smiled down at him. "Until then...I guess you could sleep in my room, if you'd like."
"Of course, Yuugi," Yami smiled, gesturing toward the stairs. "Lead the way."
Yuugi led Yami up to his room, and for about an hour Yami roamed around commenting on different things. Yuugi felt so safe and much happier than he had been with Yami around. He hoped his grandpa wouldn't make a fuss about him staying...though Yuugi wasn't planning on telling him he was a pharaoh. Then tomorrow Yami could have his own room and they could go shopping for a new wardrobe. Yuugi was lying on his bed, his eyes drooping every so slowly down, while Yami undressed, or at least took off all his jewelry.
Yuugi watched as Yami opened the beautifully carved box that had had the necklace inside and put his belongings into that. Then he put it inside the closet out of sight. While Yami continued to undress and get ready for bed, Yuugi fleetingly wondered if he should quickly get up and make Yami a bed on the floor, but soon his exhaustion took over and he fell into a peaceful sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED...