1"Ankh Of Despair"

-

Ah, yet another update. I couldn't find the real translation of the stone tablet, but then I partially remembered it and realized that a true translation wouldn't fit with my story since it was written by priest Seto, to the Pharaoh who had lost his life. . . however, in my story, Seto dies first. . . SO, while I was in my Algebra II class, I wrote up a little version of my own stone tablet. . . I think it is cute and would make sense to the original Yu-Gi-Oh storyline as well. . . you'll see! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

-

Seto gazed upon the giant stone that sat before him, eyes sliding over each and every engraving as though it told his fate. . . and perhaps it did. . . these strange symbols, called hieroglyphs, were so foreign, yet so familiar all at once. He could read them as though they were his own everyday language.

'This is a tribute to the young king, Yami. . .'

Just the first line made some sort of mass lodge in his throat and he felt as though he couldn't breathe. . . though he didn't even think to do it anyways, as his brain was too busy thinking to beg for oxygen. Against his better judgement, he read on. . .

'The boy that was once my childhood friend has now grown to become a young man. . . as well as my eternal rival. . .'

Yes, that made sense, it was all that Isis could talk about. . . the rivalry between Seto and Yami since ancient times. . . but why did he feel so attached to this old chunk of rock? Glancing back at the tablet, he noticed that this was where the words ended. . . but something seemed unfinished. It was then that he realized that a lot of the rock had been worn away by time and that the rest of the script must have been brushed to the ground as though it were of little importance. . . so was that it?

Another wild sensation shook his body, and he fell to the floor, sapphire eyes going blank. . .

-

The priest Seto sat inside the dimly-lit temple, working away at a part of one of the walls. Above his current work, there were illustrations carved in of a dragon and magician, both hovering above the heads of their respective masters. . . he was now adding in a tribute to his cousin, the Pharaoh. . . (This is before their romance began.)

As he chiseled away the old rock, he read the words aloud so he wouldn't lose his place or make a mistake. . .

"This is a tribute to the young king, Yami. . . The boy that was once my childhood friend has now grown to become a young man. . . as well as my eternal rival. . ."

He stopped, glanced over his work with a smile, and returned to it.

"However, we are cousins by blood, and so the bond we share shall remain forever near my heart and shall always be greater than any battle we may fight, and challenge we may face. . . together, with my Blue Eyes White Dragon, and his Dark Magician, we form an unstoppable force. . ."

He then smiled and added the last bit with a large grin and a burst of enthusiasm.

"For there is no strength greater than that which is friendship. . . Long live the king!"

-

Seto's mouth flew open as though he were going to let out a strangled cry. . . yet nothing came. . . only dry air escaped his quivering lips, "N-no. . . n-no. . . no!" Still on his knees, he clutched at his head, pulling at the hair and shutting his eyes tightly. Sure, people could probably hear him, but why would that matter if he was going crazy? "This isn't happening to me. . . oh gods, please don't let this happen to-" He stopped for a moment, sitting on the floor now and dropping his hands to his sides, looking like a lost child who had given up on the search for his mother. . . "Gods. . . have I always made it plural like that?" He thought back for a moment, yet couldn't recall any moments. . . "Hmm. . . perhaps this is just messing with my head. . . this whole thing could just be a scheme by one of my corporate rivals to fool with my head and crash my company. . . but . . ." He looked back to the stone tablet and put a hand to his forehead as he stood, "No one could fool with my mind like that. . ."

"Seto. . ." Isis was instantly behind him. . . Seto mused that someone needed to tie a bell around her neck, "Is everything alright?"

Seto sighed, furrowing his brows. He turned slowly, locking eyes with the Egyptian woman, "Isis. . ." He looked back to the tablet briefly, and Isis could have sworn that she saw confusion flash inside of those sapphire orbs before they returned to their usual, icy stare. . . or did they? No. . . as he turned back to her, there was no longer confusion, but a hint of. . . determination? "Isis. . ." He said again, "The Priest and Pharaoh weren't just rivals. . ." Isis looked curious then. . . "They were. . ." Seto paused, looking at the floor and then smiling, "Heh. . . The Pharaoh and I were friends. . . good friends." He brushed passed the stunned woman, leaving her to her rather-shocked thoughts.

"Seto! Wait! Does this mean-" He was already gone. She sighed, but smiled slightly. 'Perhaps now. . . perhaps now he understands. . . welcome back, my fellow priest. . .'

-

Yami sat in the large, black-leather couch. Mokuba had gone to get some hot tea from the kitchen, and he had nothing else to do but to gaze at his surroundings. From the inside, you wouldn't know that it was the home of a multi-billionaire. There wasn't really anything grand about it. The furniture wasn't anything to be protective over, the paintings weren't known of worldwide, there were no expensive sculptures, not even the oh-so-popular expensive vase that is commonly broken in movies and on television. No, the livingroom of the Kaiba mansion was almost like any other home in Domino. . . almost because it was missing one thing. . . photographs.

Yami may not have visited many homes, but those he had visited were adorned with an abundance of photographs.

The former Pharaoh was shaken from his thoughts as someone fidgeted beside him on the couch.

Bakura and his yami had come in as well, and the kinder boy was seated next to Yami, hands innocently in his lap and eyes locked on them, occasionally darting this way and that, taking in his surroundings and studying expressions without seeming so obvious.

The thief had taken the liberty of draping himself across a large armchair, "So Pharaoh. . ." There was a pause

"What do you want?" Yami asked, though didn't snap it at the white-haired demon.

"I don't really know. I was trying to start a conversation like my hikari does, but I guess that's a talent that you have to be born with."

Bakura giggled and shook his head, "Silly, silly." He turned to the crimson-eyed king and grasped his hands within his own creamy-colored hands, "Yami Yugi, I would like for you to really get to know my yami. He really isn't such a bad guy once you truly get to know him! Honest!" Those large, brown eyes silently pleaded with him.

Before Yami could reply, Mokuba returned, followed by an obedient maid who was carrying a silver tray, complete with four cups of hot tea. The older woman passed the cups out, then left to return to her place in the kitchen.

Mokuba ungracefully plopped down on the couch on the other side of the duel king, "Yami, I'm assuming that my brother will come home soon," He sipped at his tea and noticed a bit of sweat and worry form on Yami's face, "Aw, come on! Don't get so nervous!" He glanced at the Millennium Rod, which the Pharaoh had carelessly laid on the table. "Don't you dare give him that either. . . I won't allow for you to force my brother into something like this." His face was serious now.

Slowly, Yami Bakura slipped off of the chair and onto the floor, sliding towards the glass table with a catlike grace and silence.

"Mokuba. . . I have been thinking about just giving up. . . I mean, I can't ruin Seto's life. He deserves a nice woman to make a good family with."

Yami Bakura peeked up over the table, grinning psychotically at the golden relic that lay right before his piercing, brown eyes.

"Ick! Yami, are you trying to make me throw up!" He called out, playfully grabbing as his stomach and sticking out his tongue as though he were sick, "Really though, can you picture my brother having sex with a woman?" Yami's face went red, as did Bakura's, "Eh, wait. . . don't answer that." Mokuba felt his face heat up as he recalled the dream from a not-so-long ago.

The thief reached his hand up swiftly, snatching the rod off of the table and standing, running out of the room laughing like a crazy person.

Yami jumped up from his place on the sofa, "WHAT THE HELL!" He bolted out of the room, chasing down the thief.

It was a long and winding trail to the front door, and the bandit king was amazed that he had actually found his way on his own. The Pharaoh was at his heels, but once he was outside, it would be easy to lose the crimson-eyed duelist. He thrust the door open, leaping out. . . and slamming into something hard, sending him to the concrete walkway. Yami was able to stop himself before he suffered the same fate.

Yami Bakura glanced up to glare at whatever or whoever had stopped his escape. He was slightly surprised to lock eyes with dark, sapphire orbs, "Heh. . . why hello, priest."

Seto frowned, "Why are you at my house?" He wasn't really expecting to answer, and this was obvious as he turned his eyes to look at the object that has sailed from the thief's grasp and was now laying mock-innocently in the grass. "What do we have here. . ."

"No! Seto! Don't touch it!" Yami flew from the doorway, pouncing onto Seto and pushing him to the ground. The Pharaoh blushed a bit as he noticed the rather compromising position they were now in. But this wasn't right. . . he kneeled beside his past lover and rolled him over, "I'm sorry about that Seto, it's just. . . Seto?" His scarlet eyes were greeted by deep cerulean. This was unlike the usual color of Seto. . . it were as though you could see into them forever. . . whereas with the ice prince, it were as though you were looking at a cold barrier, "Are you alright Seto?"

"Mmm. . . Yami, I will always be alright as long as I am forever by your side."

Yami could have sworn that his heart skipped about ten beats, "What?" He looked back to where the item once was, to find it securely wrapped up in Seto's fingers.

Seto shook his head, "Huh? What the hell. . ."

-

"Hello Seto, my koi, how are you today?"

"Just as perfect as always, love. . . how could I possibly be any worse when I am by your side?"

Both of them laughed lightly. They were in bed with the morning sun filtering through thin drapes, the wind moving through the room with ease. Yami held his lover in his arms protectively while playing with the chestnut hair on the back of his priests neck. Swiftly, the Pharaoh rolled himself on top of Seto and held himself up by placing a hand on either side of the priests head and a knee beside each hip.

Deep, ocean-blue eyes looked up at him, clouded over with pure love for the man that hovered just above him, "Ah, such beauty. . . the Pharaoh is god-like. . ."

"Mmm. . ." Yami nipped at Seto's right ear, licked it, and then seductively whispered, "Then that would make you the lover of a god. . ." He chuckled in a low voice as a crimson blush colored the brunette's cheeks. . .

"Seto. . . Seto. . . Seto. . ."

-

"Seto? Seto?" Yami shook the CEO's arms quickly, yet gently.

"Hm? What?" His eyes had regained their fierce, cold barrier, yet there was still a bit of a dazed look in them.

"Are you alright?" At this time, Yami pulled the rod from cream-colored fingers, "What happened?"

"I. . . was having some strange daydreams. . . that's all Pha- uh, Yami." He stood, visibly shivering, yet only once. He glanced down at the golden item that was in the Pharaoh's possession once more, "That. . . that rod. . ."

"Hm?"

"That was once mine?" He looked in the opposite direction and the wind caught his hair, moving the locks about beautifully. He didn't seem to notice the three pairs of eyes watching from the front door.

Yami was a bit shocked, "Y-yes, it was. . . back in Egypt, when you were a-"

"Priest."

"Huh?" Had Seto just said that? No, surely he wouldn't believe the story now. . . not after so much denial.

"When I was your priest." He turned, facing Yami, his expression just as calm and emotionless as it always was. The duel king was in too much shock to react verbally. Instead, he simply stared with an expression of sheer awe on his face, "Well then," Seto began, making his way toward the front door (Mokuba, Bakura, and the thief all cleared out, running back to the living room to pretend that they hadn't seen anything.), "I think I'll go eat some lunch. Why don't you go home and do the same."

And with that he was gone.

Yami just watched on until the door was shut. . . not slammed, shut, "S-Seto. . ." He held onto his stomach as it let out a growl. How long had he been at the Kaiba house? Of course, he barely ate his breakfast, the most important meal of the day! His head jolted up to look at the front door as it opened. . . however he frowned at the fact that it was not Seto, but Bakura and Yami Bakura instead.

"Alright! You two take care! Bye-bye!" Bakura smiled as he waved to Mokuba and even to Seto (Who wasn't really paying him any mind.) He tilted his head at Yami, who was still kneeling on the grass, "Yami, my yami and I are going down to that new café to get some lunch. . . would you care to join us?" He smiled that trademark smile and held out his hand as though to assist Yami in standing.

With only slight hesitation, the outstretched hand was accepted, and the three went on their way. . .

-

Once again, the Pharaoh found himself barely picking at the food in front of him. He just couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. . . 'Maybe I wanted Seto to touch the rod after all. . . yes, I did. . . there is no "maybe." ' He sighed, 'He apparently saw something when he held it, otherwise why would he have said what he did. . .'

-

"Mmm. . . Yami, I will always be alright as long as I am forever by your side."

-

His lower lip quivered and he glanced at the faces of his two albino companions, for lack of a better word, to see if they would have noticed. Luckily, they were absorbed in a conversation about poltergeists.

'I shouldn't have even gone there today. . . I got my hopes up, just to be left behind again. . . sure, he admitted to being a priest back in the days of ancient Egypt, but he doesn't lov-'

-

"When I was your priest."

-

Yami allowed for his mouth to open slightly as a smile crept to his lips, "Hahaha! He remembers! He remembers! He re-umph!"

Bakura leapt across the table, covering Yami's mouth with cupped hands while the thief held down the Pharaoh's flailing arms. This didn't matter though, nothing could wipe that smile off of the duel kings face. His priest remembered him. . . remembered them. . . what could possibly be better than that?

-

Chapter ends here. . . alright, here's the plan. This fic is going to be 25 chapters long. . . for those of you that don't feel like doing the math, that means two more chapters. I will tell you now that the last chapter will be posted on march 18th. . . exactly one year after this fic began- gets all teary-eyed - How wonderful!

Also, I owe you all an apology! I took so long to write this chapter! That would be because of my recent obsession with two more animes: "Weiss Kreuz: Knight Hunters" and "Fruits Basket." I highly recommend both! (But again, you may not want to watch them around your parents. . . especially not Weiss Kreuz. . . hehehe!) Look for the new chapter soon!