Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Aida, there is someone here to see you," Yugi's grandpa said as he opened the door.
"What?," she asked as she turned to Yugi, "Who would come to see me?" She got up and went downstairs. When she opened the front door, she saw a rather short, stubby man push his way into the closed game shop. Yugi came up behind her to see who it was. Yugi's grandfather let out a small gasp. "Do you know who that is?," she heard Yugi ask his grandfather. He slowly shook his head with an angry look in his eye.
"What do you want?," she asked the man before her.
"My boss wants a word with you," he said in a rather raspy voice.
"Why did he not come to the door himself?," she asked not liking the situation that was at hand.
"He would like to have a private conversation," the odd man replied and motioned her to a limo parked right outside the door.
She started to make her way toward it when she felt Yugi hold her back. "I don't trust them," Yugi said pulling her back, "It could be dangerous."
"Don't worry about it," she replied shrugging off his hand, "I can handle this." She walked out to the car, and the short, odd man opened the door for her. She sat down and found herself opposite Seto Kaiba. She gasped and turned to get out, but the door locked. She pulled the handle, then tried to find the latch to unlock it, but there was no way to unlock the door from the inside. She saw Yugi come running out, but the man outside pushed him back inside.
"Hey! Stop that!," she yelled through the glass. She turned to Kaiba, "What do you want?!"
"Having barely met you today, I wanted to have a longer conversation," he began.
"Is that what this is about?!," she started to get angry.
"I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you," he said very sternly, "I want you to come stay with me. Yugi Motou is a geek and a loser. I could make you a lot more comfortable than he ever could."
"You don't even know me!," she said. She started to worry. She had to get away from him before everything that happened so many years ago repeated itself.
"I know what I want," he said simply, "and I always get what I want."
"I'm sorry if this is your first let down," she said getting what looked like a pen from her pocket and shoving it against the glass, "but I am going to have to decline the invitation." She hit the button and the staff shot through the glass. She kicked the excess and got out of the car as quickly as she could. The strange man that had shoved Yugi tried to push her back towards the car, but she assaulted him with her staff. She heard a car door shut behind her. She turned to see Kaiba standing on the curb.
"Impressive," he said, but there was no expression on his face except anger, "I will be seeing you soon." With that he got into the car, and it drove off out of sight.
"Are you all right, Aida?," Yugi asked. He came up behind her.
"I'm fine," she replied with a cold stare following the path the car took, "are you alright? That guy didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No, I'm fine," he said, "Let's go inside."
Yugi suggested that they go ahead to bed, and they would talk in the morning. They had the whole weekend to talk. Yami was getting anxious to talk to her. He wanted to know what she knew. He wanted to know why every time he saw her something inside ached for her. His lust burned for her. He had to know.
The next morning Yugi woke up early. He went downstairs, ate some breakfast, and then sat on the couch watching TV. As he was flipping through the channels, his grandfather came into the room. "Yugi," he said, "there is something you need to see."
He handed Yugi an old magazine. Yugi turned to the page that was marked and let out a cry of amazement. There, above a small column, was a picture of Aida. The column heading read "Young Woman Found Brutally Murdered." They heard a sound come from the stairs. Aida came into the living room. "What's going on?," she asked at the looks on their faces. Yugi held up the magazine. The look on her face was neither of shock nor fear. It was solemnity.
Yugi changed to Yami, "What is this, Aida?," he asked standing up and taking the magazine over to her.
She took it from him, examined it, and looked into his eyes, "I guess it is time you found out everything."
She walked around the couch and sat down. Yami and Grandpa took their seats closely listening. "I don't think I know where to start," she said still staring at the magazine article below, "The first time I was awoken 5000 years ago, I could not understand what happened. I knew that I had died, but somehow I was back," she looked up and saw their puzzled looks. She then continued, "I have been dying and being reborn over and over for 5000 years. When I die, I am instantly reborn. Where and to whom, I never know. I don't have my past memories until my body turns about twenty. Then my memories and past lives are awoken within me. It is usually not long after that I am killed. It is always the same. I realize the Pharaoh has not returned, and I feel someone coming for me. Soon I know my death will come, and the rebirth will begin again."
"Why does this happen?," Yami asked barely believing what he was hearing.
"Because I am searching for him," she said looking up into his eyes, "I have been searching for the one I let down so many years ago."
"Who is that?," Yami said now leaning in close dying for her to tell him everything that she kept in her mind.
"The Pharaoh," she stated very plainly, but it echoed in their heads, "I have been searching for you for 5000 years. I have been living and dying, roaming this earth, awaiting your return. I made a vow that I must keep."
"What vow?," he asked.
"To protect the Pharaoh," she said, "the one whose life was shared with me."
"What are you talking about?," he asked. What did she mean? He now needed to know everything.
"This brings me to tell you of what happened in Egypt," she said sitting closer to him and taking his hand. His heart started to race at her touch. Maybe she could give him the explanation of why he reacted this way around her, "I don't exactly know all of the details, because I was not around when the millennium items were forged. I guess I will start, however, with how we first met."
Aida heard her teacher come through the door. She could not see him through the blindfold he had placed on her. She stood ready and waiting for him to strike. The room was silent. She used every sense she had to predict where he was and where he would attack. He walked slow circles around her watching her turn her head toward him with every step he took. He then quickly and forcefully lunged at her. She blocked it with ease. With every blow he tried to make, she countered it and then quickly hit him. He then knew she had finished her training.
She had walked home that afternoon with a smile on her face. She knew she was making her way up in the ranks of fighters in the kingdom, but her teacher had told her she would conquer the rest with ease. She had no aspirations to become the best fighter no matter what; she just found joy in releasing her emotions and having that being worth great honor.
"It looks as if someone is happy this day," her father said coming from the bedroom, "how went your practice?"
"I finished," she said smiling, she felt so happy to bring pride upon her family.
"I cannot wait to present you to the others tonight," he gleamed happily, but this comment turned Aida's stomach.
"I will not go to that group of mutinists," she said in a calm and collected voice, "You know I cannot."
"You will go," he said straightening himself to look more prominent, "I will not hear more about this. The Pharaoh knows nothing; he is nothing. We will make sure of that. Now that I know you are ready, I will present you tonight, and you will become the leader of our minions. It has already been discussed. You are the best fighter out of any, and the most suited. Even Kaiba agrees."
"I do not care what Kaiba thinks," she said her voice growing icy, "I will not lead this charade of treachery. You know where my faith lies, and it will not waiver."
"We shall see where your faith lies," he said turning away from her, "Kaiba has asked to speak with me tonight, and if it is about what I think, you will be changing your mind very soon."
Aida loved her family dearly, but she hated their deceitfulness. Her entire family was filled with conspirators against the Pharaoh, she being the only one to lay her faith in him. They knew it, and hated it. It brought them shame at the thought, but she brought too much pride everywhere else for them to shun her. She knew they were conspiring something against her. She felt sympathy for the Pharaoh, for they were committing the same crime against her.
A few days later, she came home from a walk to find a surprise in her wake. Her parents had thrown a party. She walked through the door surprised as everyone stared at her with smiles. "Here she is! My daughter!," her father chauvinistically presented her, "The future Mrs. Seto Kaiba!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Review Please!
