Ok, I had to upload this chapter a little sooner than I had planned. I was gonna wait, but I felt the last chapter was a little too short. So here you go! We are back in present times. I loved writing about Egypt, and I'm sorry it had to end, but that's what all good things do. Anyway, this is going to pick up from where the modern times left off. Battle City is going to start soon, and my beta-reader Black-Rose-of-Death will be previewing all of my duels for me. Glomps her Yea for beta-readers! Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Does anyone else find this tiring?
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Yugi sat on his bed watching the transparent spirit look out the window. He sat in the chair at Yugi's desk in his regal position. His arms and legs were crossed and he had a stern expression that caused lines to form in his beautiful face. It was quiet for a few minutes. Yugi did not know whether he should start talking, or wait for Yami to jump in. By the looks of it, Yami was struggling with conversations with himself. He was probably weighing out the different questions and probabilities. After watching him, Yugi finally could not be silent any longer.
"Yami, do you think what she said is true?," he asked. The shadow stirred, and looked over at him as if only just realizing he was sitting there.
"My logic wants to condemn it, but there was something familiar about what she said. Then again there is something familiar about her," he replied.
"So you believe her?," Yugi asked.
Yami sat for a moment not knowing how to exactly reply, "Yes."
"I don't know why she would say all that, or know so much about the millennium puzzle if it wasn't true, Yami," he got up and walked over to his shadow, "I wonder why it didn't help you remember anything."
"I don't know," he said solemnly, "but it didn't help. Did you see how upset she was when she finished? She tried to hide it, but I could see it, even sense it from her."
"Why do you think she is so bitter?," Yugi asked cautiously.
"5000 years of waiting only to find out that what you have waited for. . .," Yami replied closing his eyes, "Yugi, you had better get some sleep. You have school tomorrow."
Yugi reluctantly crawled under the sheets of his bed and closed his eyes. He wanted to help Yami and Aida. He did not know what part she played in helping Yami save the world like Ishizu had prophesized, but one more person could always help.
Aida stood by the window, gazing out at the silent streets below. Reliving everything that had happened so many years ago had not been easy. It had reminded her of everything she had been fighting for all those years. She was fighting to find him again. She was fighting to see him one more time, but why had he not remembered? Why was it, that she eventually remembered everything, especially if she came across something from the past. But even as she stood before him, relived everything, and even when she had kissed him when they first met up once more, he did not remember anything. Why after 5000 years of living, dying, fighting, and being condemned to lives of struggling for what seems so familiar, but it just out of reach. Why after all of that did she have to find that he remembered nothing? Once again her hopes were dashed, and she was shown how she would never truly be happy. It all showed her for payment of sins against the Pharaoh, she was to be taunted with his memory for all of eternity. She did not know if this were to be the last time he would grace the earth with his heavenly presence, but she knew that it would not end that sweetly for her. Just as fate and the gods had stripped Yami of all his memories for her to writhe in her sorrow without him, she would continue on to live again and again in that world until the fires of hell swallowed it up in a sweet, fiery death of flame and ash. She prayed for the day. She prayed for the day that her final death would come. Whether it would be easier or more painful than anything she had ever known, she did not care. All she wanted was for it all to end. Even if it meant she would be eternally trapped in the chasms of hell, being haunted by everything in her life that went astray and everything that she could never see or touch again, it would be better than roaming the earth wondering when Ra would make his final descent to earth to smite her in her everlasting misery.
"I still must keep promises," she said to an empty room. She promised all those thousands of years ago that she would always watch over and protect him, and she was going to keep that promise even if it meant being so close to something she could no longer have. Even if it meant she would have to be stung by those beautiful, amethyst depths time and time again, she had made a promise, and she was not going to break it.
Yugi was sitting in his class, dazing off into space thinking about the conversation he had with Yami. He told the others about it when he got to school that morning. They had the same shocked reaction he and Yami did after hearing the whole thing, but they too believed it. He was contemplating what to say to Aida when he got home when a quick rap at the door jolted him to his senses. The door opened and a student he had never seen before walked into the room. The new student handed a paper to the teacher, and then looked down at the ground. He had night-black hair that fell into his sharp, moon colored eyes. It had a spiky look to it, yet it fell like unkempt hair. He had the usual school uniform on, but he also had on a pair of black boots that looked deadly. The girls in the class instantly came to attention at the view of such an obviously attractive new guy. Anzu rolled her eyes at them while Jonouchi scowled at the newcomer.
The teacher said walking up to the front of the classroom, "This is our new student, Midayan. I'm sure you will be happy to welcome him to Domino High. Do you go by any other aliases, or do you use your full first name?"
"Dayan," he said quietly in a rather deep voice. The girls in the class practically had to wipe the drool from their desks as they leaned in to hear him answer.
"I don't like this guy," Jonouchi whispered to Yugi, "Something doesn't seem right about him."
"Jonouchi, you don't like any guy that is popular with girls," Anzu giggled, "Besides, you haven't even met him yet. He could be really nice."
"I can tell these things about people," he replied crossing his arms and pouting, "He is no good."
"I don't know," Yugi said cocking his head to the side as if it would reveal some hidden truth about Dayan, "There is something familiar about him."
"You can sit in the last seat of this row," the teacher said pointing to a seat a few places back from Yugi. Jonouchi glared at him the whole time he made his way to his seat, but Dayan did not look up once. He merely watched the floor pass in front of him, and when he sat down, he seemed to find his desktop interesting enough to stare at. Through the rest of class, Dayan continued to stare at his desk only looking up on a rare occasion to write down a note or two. He remained absolutely silent much to the dismay of the girls in the class. They all continued to glance around at him when the teacher's back was turned, and whisper to each other excitedly every time he looked up at the board.
"Did you see his eyes?!"
"They are so gorgeous!"
"Do you think he has a girlfriend?"
Jonouchi continued to steam as the whispers hissed around the classroom, but he tried to occupy himself with the clock. A recess break was coming closer, but the closer it got the clouds outside became darker. Hearts in the room started to sink as they realized going outside would not be possible that day. Mournful glances out at the sky flecked the classroom every minute that passed.
"Well, Yugi," Jonouchi whispered, "I guess this means we are dueling today."
This was the first time that Dayan's head inclined to look up for more than a few moments. He stared as Jonouchi brought his dueling deck from his pocket and laid it out on his desk. He then saw the guy Jonouchi was talking to reach into his own bag and pull out his own deck. Dayan's eyes widened, and he fought to keep a gasp from escaping him as he saw just a few feet from him was the King of Games himself. He knew that Yugi went to Domino High, but he did not think he would actually be in one of his classes with him.
"Yeah, I guess so," Yugi replied to Jonouchi as he set his deck on the desk, "But that is always fun. You want to play, Anzu?"
"No," she said resting her head in her hands, "I think I will just watch today."
The bell rang and Yugi and Jonouchi put their desks together and started to shuffle their decks. Anzu and Honda pulled up seats to watch. They drew their cards and Jonouchi was about to make his first move when he heard a high-pitched voice almost squeal with delight.
"So you're the new guy, huh?!," one of the girls in the class said to Dayan as she scooted a chair next to him. Most of the girls were sitting next to him, or pulling their seats closer.
"Yeah," he replied giving the squeaky girl a confused look, "I just moved here." A hint of a Scottish accent glazed his speech and almost sent the girls into seizures.
"Where are you from?," the squeaky girl asked.
"England," he replied wondering what could possibly make someone's voice so irritating.
"Wow," she said acting like she was really into what he was saying. He looked uneasily around at the girls that seemed to be drawing themselves closer to him by the second.
"So do you play any sports?," another asked him absent-mindedly running her hand through her hair trying to make it look wind-swept.
"No," he answered her, "I don't like sports."
"I bet you would be really good at them," another girl chimed in, "We are part of Domino High's cheerleading squad."
"Ok," he replied wondering what they wanted from him.
"If you ever need any help finding your way around the school, we would be happy to help," another said.
"That's ok," he said inching his way from a particularly close one, "I was already shown where all my classes are."
"That's too bad," she replied looking disappointed, "I hope you are in all my classes. Wouldn't that just be too awesome?"
"I guess," he said secretly praying that her classes were on the opposite side of the school from his, "Would you excuse me?" He got up much to the disappointment of the girls who all saw him out to the door. As soon as it shut behind him, they all went to their seats squealing and talking excitedly.
"Did you hear that accent?!"
"Why didn't anyone tell me my hair needed to be up?"
"Where do you think he lives?"
"My hair looked horrible down!"
"Do you think we can get his phone number?"
"He'll never like me now! Look at my hair!"
Anzu was giving the girls an annoyed look while Jonouchi was glaring angrily at the door.
"Jonouchi, are you going to move or what?," Yugi asked him as Jonouchi's stare was burning a hole through the door.
"What?," he said turning to see where the voice addressing him was coming from, "Oh, yeah. Here." He put down a weak monster in attack mode, and then turned back to the door. He moved around in his seat to get a better view of the hallway outside searching for the invader.
"Jonouchi, would you forget about him?," Anzu said seeing the horrid move he had just played, "You're getting angry over nothing." He ignored her as Yugi shrugged his shoulders and took out Jonouchi's monster and a hunk of his life points.
Jonouchi lost quickly, and did not even seem to mind. Yugi tried to get him to talk as they walked down the hallways after the recess, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts. They simply ignored him. It was only when Yugi suggested they go to the game shop to check out new cards that he seemed to perk up. He did not even notice that they passed Dayan, which was exactly the plan Yugi had in mind. Jonouchi immediately started talking about the cards he hoped he could find as they passed him. He was leaning against his locker with a solemn look on his face. Yet none of them noticed his gaze immediately follow them as they walked out the front doors of the school.
They all walked into the game shop to find a few people from school browsing around. One of whom was Ryou Bakura. He had become close friends of theirs during Duelist Kingdom. He looked up, and a smile spread across his face.
"Hey, Ryou!," Yugi said as he shut the door behind them.
"Hey, Yugi," he replied cheerfully, "I came to see if your Grandfather had any good cards for my deck."
"Yeah, that's what I'm here for," Jonouchi said as he rubbed his hands together and charged into the store examining the cards in the cases very carefully one by one. He was almost drooling on the glass between him and the cards he desperately wanted.
"So, Yugi," Ryou continued, "Are you going to enter the Battle City tournament?"
"Oh, yeah," Yugi said blushing a bit from forgetting about it completely, "We signed up already." Jonouchi beamed as he heard Yugi talk about him entering the tournament. He looked over the cards even more carefully. He had to prepare his deck for the tournament. He vowed to Yugi that he would help him, and nothing was going to stop him, but first he needed to start on perfecting his deck.
"I wonder why Kaiba decided to throw the tournament," Bakura wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Jonouchi replied, "But I'm gonna win and show up that rich, stuck-up prick!" Anzu started to denounce Jonouchi, but they heard a sharp gasp and breaking glass come from the doorway to the living room. They all turned to see Aida with a look of horror on her face standing above a broken glass of water. She had dropped it when she gasped. She did not move at all to even clean up the mess. She merely stood there, eyes wide with shock, staring at Ryou.
"Aida, are you all right?," Yugi asked wondering why she was looking at Ryou like that.
"Bakura," she barely mouthed, but Yugi could read her lips. She could not believe what she was seeing. She merely went for a drink, and when she came into the game shop to greet Yugi, there before her stood a version of the Tomb Robber. His features seemed softer, and he did not look as strong, but when she said those words, she saw something in his eyes flicker.
"Aida?," Anzu now said trying to snap her out of her trance.
She blinked a few times, and looked down at the broken glass and splattered water on the floor. "I. . .I'm sorry," she said bending down to pick up the shards of glass.
"Don't worry about that," Solomon said pulling her to her feet and going to get a broom.
"You just looked familiar for a moment," she said looking at Ryou. She quickly grabbed her bag and started toward the door, "I had better get going. I have got some things to do. I will catch you guys later." She then bolted out the door.
"What was that all about?," Jonouchi asked looking out the door at Aida's retreating back.
"I don't know," Yugi said then looked over at Ryou, "Have you guys met before?"
"No," he replied looking very puzzled, "Who is she?"
"That was Aida," Anzu replied, but she stopped looking over at Yugi. How was she to explain exactly who she was?
"She is a friend," Solomon replied, "She is just visiting while her apartment is renovated." Yugi smiled over at his grandpa in thanks for making it easier.
"Oh," he replied, "I see."
"Anyway," Jonouchi said ignoring the awkward silence, "I found some cards I. . ." But then they heard the bell on the door ring, and someone he was not happy to see walked in the door.
Dayan quietly walked in not looking at any of them. He no longer had his school uniform on. He had apparently changed, and he looked entirely different. If it was possible, he was more attractive than before. He had three hoop earrings in each ear, a black tank top with dyed black jeans, and some dangerous looking spikes on some bracelets around his wrists. The only thing that seemed out of place on him, was a small silver necklace around his neck. It looked like a woman's necklace, and certainly looked out of place among the rest of his apparel. He did not seem to care, and seemed to wear it proudly. He merely walked up to one of the cases and started to look at all the cards. Jonouchi's eyes narrowed immediately.
"Can I help you find anything?," Yugi's Grandpa asked Dayan as he looked up shocked that someone was addressing him.
"Just looking," he said.
"Hey, Dayan," Ryou said with a large smile on his face. Dayan looked around and seemed surprised to see Ryou standing there.
"You two know each other?," Jonouchi asked Ryou the anger in his face subsiding.
"Yes," he replied, "He was my best friend back in England. He's living with me and my family now."
"You're Yugi Motou," Dayan suddenly said. They all looked shocked that he actually spoke out first, "I read all about you back in England."
Yugi blushed, "Wow, people know about me from that far?"
"The Duelist Kingdom tournament was big news, but the defeat of Maximillion Pegasus was even bigger," he said with a shadow of a smile barely gracing his face.
"Well, then you must have heard about the second place winner in the tournament," Jonouchi said in a very cocky voice as if showing Dayan up.
"You must be Jonouchi Wheeler," he said quietly.
"That's right," Jonouchi said beaming.
"I heard you put quite an upset on Ryuzaki," Dayan said, "It would take quiet a duelist to take his Red Eyes Black Dragon."
"You heard about that?," Jonouchi asked slightly shocked, but then became cocky once again, "Then you must have also heard about Bandit Keith."
"Yes, I did," he said, "I read all about that duel. They published the finals card for card in a local game shop back in England. That was quite a duel."
"Thank you very much," Jonouchi said crossing his arms and leaning against the glass case of cards as if the defeat of Bandit Keith was nothing.
"So are you into duel monsters too?," Yugi asked with a big smile on his face. He was happy that Jonouchi was getting some recognition for how hard he worked at Duelist Kingdom.
"Yeah," he said turning back to Yugi, "I play a little. Maybe we could play each other sometime."
"That's cool," Jonouchi said in his cocky tone once again, "But I hate to say you don't have a chance of winning."
"I wouldn't be so confident, Jonouchi," Ryou said quietly grinning while looking at Dayan.
"What?," he asked.
Before Ryou could respond Dayan said, "Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I had better get going. See you guys later." They all said goodbye as they watched him walk out the door.
"Ryou, why did Dayan come to school today, when we are break now?," Anzu asked him curiously.
"He was going to come for a while, but I guess he just got the chance at the wrong time," Ryou replied. Anzu nodded her head, but she did not understand.
"Well, you guys," he said walking to the door, "I guess I had better be going too. I'll come by tomorrow with my deck, and maybe we will play a game."
"Alright," Yugi said smiling. Ryou walked out the door.
As he walked down the sidewalk toward his house, he suddenly was not himself. He slowly changed into a form of the Tomb Robber. A small, dark laugh escaped his lips as he calmly walked on. He knew why Dayan had come at that time in the year. He had felt her. He felt the presence of the empress when she awoke. Bakura felt it too, but he knew Dayan did not know what it was. He just came with no knowledge of what was in store for him. "I knew it," Bakura said to himself as he continued down the sidewalk, "First I find Mitonen, and now I find my old enemy. It is quite amusing how everything is falling into place perfectly. Things are about to change." He stopped in front of a building as his millennium ring that emerged from beneath his shirt started to glow. He smiled, "Prepare yourself, dear Ateyda, for the fight is coming for you again."
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I hope you guys liked that! Read and Review please!
