Crystal: Hey all. Sorry about the long wait, but once I got Kris under control I had to study for finals.
Kris: So to make it up to you, Crystal's posting two chapters this time.
Crystal: First I want to thank silver swan and Adelianna for the reinforcements. Yami Lara and Millennium Tooth were a great help.
Kris: Yeah sorry about that, but I didn't want anything bad to happen to my aibou. *glomps me*
Crystal: I only own my OCs, so on to the fic.
Kris: We'll see you at the end of the next chapter and don't forget to review both chapters please.
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"Blah" = speaking
[Blah] = thoughts
//Blah// = yami to hikari
/Blah/ = hikari to yami
Chapter Five: Links to the Past
Crystal sat high amongst the branches of a sakura tree in the middle of the park. Her silent sobs racked her body as what Jono said repeated in her mind. Seto was not as cruel and cold as the others said he was. Crystal wondered if anyone else knew that a cruel man had adopted Seto, and the kindness was all, but beaten out of him. Seto and Mokuba never told Crystal what Gozaburo had done to them, and she never asked although it would explain why Seto had become so cold.
"There you are." Mokuba's voice called in relief, "Crystal come down from up there. Seto is looking around for you franticly."
"Coming, Mokuba." Crystal said, carefully climbing down the tree.
"Are you okay, Neko-chan?" Seto asked, suddenly beside Mokuba.
"No, Jono hurt me far worse than I thought he could." Crystal replied, not meeting her friend's cold gaze.
"I'll make sure that Inu-baka leaves you alone." Seto said in a reassuring voice.
"I'll give you the baka part, but I'm no mutt." Jono said, coming closer to the group.
"Jono, you'd better leave, before Seto decides that you need to be punished." Mokuba said, as his older brother glared at the lone blond.
"I'll go when I'm through." Jono replied, before turning to Crystal, "Look, I'm sorry about what I said about you at Burger World. You know that Kaiba, and I don't get along. I should have known better than to bring you into the argument."
"We also want to know if you'll forgive us for treating you badly." Honda said walking up behind Jono, "We were acting like jerks, but if you give us the chance we'd like to become your friends."
"Don't do it Crystal. They're not worth it, especially after how they've been treating you." Seto said coldly.
"They are being sincere." Crystal said softly, looking at Jono, and then Honda, "You were the one who said that I can judge people by their eyes. Jono, Honda, I forgive you, and I hope we can become better friends."
"Arigato, Crystal." Jono said, as he and Honda walked back the way they came.
"I can't believe you did that Neko-chan." Seto sighed, "Then again, you always do follow your instincts."
During the next week, Crystal became a part of Yugi's group of friends. This was a pretty good thing, considering during a project on Ancient Egypt, Crystal was grouped with Jono, Ryou, and Yugi. Being a part of the circle of friends would make working on the project easier and more enjoyable. It was Friday, and the group was meeting at Yugi's place for the first group session. They were trying to figure out what they wanted their report and presentation to be about.
"Let's do the Pharaohs." Yugi suggested, receiving a mental smile from Yami.
"Nah, let's do something about food." Jono retorted.
"How about the lives of the poor or slaves?" Ryou asked.
While each of the boys continued to insist on his idea, Crystal stared off into space and sighed softly. She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, Crystal was in the middle of a vast desert. She could see a massive ebony Pyramid in the distance, and felt the wind pushing her towards it. She walked onward, feeling neither the heat of the sun, nor fatigue. She was nearly at the entrance of the Pyramid when a voice broke through to her mind.
"I said you got anything Crystal?" Jono asked, snapping the girl out of her daze.
"You okay, Crystal?" Yugi asked in concern.
"Yeah, just thinking." Crystal replied.
"About what?" Ryou prompted.
"A massive Pyramid." Crystal softly, "I don't know why, but I was thinking about a huge Pyramid."
"Hey, that's what we can do our presentation on, the building and uses of pyramids." Jono exclaimed, "We can build a model and make a report."
"We could e-mail my father and talk to Yugi's Grandfather." Ryou said, the excitement building within him, "They've both seen them up-close."
"Great idea, Jono. What do you say Crystal?" Yugi said, smiling brightly.
"Sounds good to me. We can work at my place." Crystal said with a nod, "If Seto has any problem he'll have to take them up with me or deal with them."
"Then it's settled." Yugi said with a nod.
"If that's everything, I need to head home." Crystal said with a smile, "Ja ne."
"Ja mata." Jono called as Crystal walked out the door.
"Wait a second." Ryou called, "Can I walk with you?"
"Sure, Ryou." Crystal replied.
Crystal unlocked her bike and placed her bag in the basket. Crystal wheeled her bike between herself and the road. Ryou walked on her left side silently, wondering why his yami had told him to walk with Crystal. Unfortunately, his thoughts signaled to Bakura that the two of them were alone. Ryou felt his connection to the outside world break as his yami took over his body. However this time, Bakura allowed Ryou the ability to hear and see what was happening.
//The only reason I'm doing it this way is so that you won't pummel her with questions when I give you back control. Now keep quiet or I'll cut you off completely.//
/Hai, Bakura-san./
"Hello there, girl." Bakura snickered, causing the girl beside him to freeze in shock, "Keep walking."
"Hai, Bakura-san." Crystal choked out, starting to walk again.
"So you saw a pyramid in your mind." Bakura said, "I watched as you debated with your teacher over the beliefs. What is your connection to Egypt?"
"My mother was half-Egyptian." Crystal replied, "I studied everything I could about Egypt, because I wanted to know about that part of my heritage."
"So your are a quarter Egyptian." Bakura smirked, "That explains why you look somewhat familiar to me."
"Is there anything else that you would like to know?" Crystal asked hesitantly.
"Why are you staying with Kaiba?" Bakura asked, narrowing his eyes.
"He was a childhood friend, and my mother wanted him to take care of me after she died." Crystal replied softly, choking back tears.
/Bakura, please./
//Fine, I'll give you back control.//
"Crystal, are you okay?" Ryou asked, once his yami relinquished control.
Crystal took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears, and shook her head. Ryou placed a comforting hand on Crystal's shoulder, causing her to shake with grief. She lost hold of her bike, and it clattered to the ground. Then Crystal fell to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably. Ryou knelt down beside his friend, gently rubbing her back as she continued to weep. Suddenly Ryou felt the same emotion from when he first met Crystal seep through Bakura's end of mind link, and this time Ryou recognized it as empathy.
/Do you want to take over, Bakura?/
//No, you are the one she needs right now. Make sure she gets home safely.//
With those words, Ryou felt Bakura close off the mind link. Ryou was shocked by what had happened and wondered why Bakura would give back control so freely. Once Crystal's sobs died down, Ryou helped her to rise to her feet. Crystal picked up her bike, and the two of them continued on to Kaiba Manor in silence. At the gates, Ryou said good-bye to Crystal, and she walked up to the large house. Crystal went straight to her room, where her large four-poster bed looked very welcoming.
Crystal dropped her bag beside her bed and lay down. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer into her pillows. She felt overwhelmingly tired and needed to rest before doing anything else. Crystal suddenly found herself back in the desert from earlier, but this time it was night, making it harder for her to see. She made her way towards the Pyramid again, wondering what was inside. This time she made it to the entrance, before Seto's voice awoke her.
"Crystal, wake up please." Seto said shaking her, "Neko-chan, open your eyes."
"I'm awake, Seto-kun." Crystal replied, sitting up, "What time is it?"
"It's about eight thirty." Seto replied, "Now come on."
"How did it get so late?" Crystal asked, "I just went to sleep."
"You were sleeping very deeply." Seto chuckled, "Mokuba tried to wake you, but you were too far gone."
"You and I both need to eat." Seto said, "I had a meeting with the museum's new curator who's running the new Ancient Egyptian display." (A/N: Okay that was worded funny, huh?)
"When does that open?" Crystal asked eagerly.
"Tomorrow morning. I'll take you." Seto replied with a slight smile, "Now, we need to eat."
The next morning, Seto and Crystal headed down to the museum. Seto dropped Crystal off, letting her know to just call for a ride. Crystal nodded and walked into the almost empty building. She slowly made her way back to the Ancient Egyptian display. As Crystal examined the artifacts, she became so enthralled that she didn't notice anyone coming up behind her. Then she suddenly bumped into someone as she turned around. It was an Egyptian woman with startling indigo eyes.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." Crystal said, her ears turning pink, "I didn't realize anyone was behind me."
"So you are Crystal Hikari." The woman smiled, "Seto told me about you."
"You're the curator." Crystal said, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"My name is Isis Ishtar." The woman said, "I see you are very interested in Ancient Egypt."
"I've always wanted to know more about my Egyptian heritage." Crystal replied absentmindedly, "My Japanese heritage is easy to follow, but my Egyptian one is almost impossible."
"Just out of curiosity, what is your middle name?" Isis asked, "Please tell me."
"Sanura. It means kitten in Egyptian." Crystal replied.
"You are the one I've been searching for." Isis said in awe, "Follow me."
Isis led Crystal to a closed off part of the museum. Once there, Isis showed Crystal the same two stone tablets that Seto had seen the night before. Isis could only hope that Crystal would believe her story. Crystal stared at the stone carvings in awe, moving her lips slightly. As she read Crystal's lips, Isis realized that the young girl was reading the tablets. She was actually reading the ancient writings.
"So that's Seto, and that's...the guy that stole Yugi's puzzle." Crystal said in shock after Isis told her the same tale that Seto had heard the night before, "I thought it was Yugi at first, but it's not."
"Who you saw that day was the Pharaoh Yami." Isis explained, "His spirit is sealed within the Millennium Puzzle. What you saw was him using Yugi's body to hold a corporal form."
"How do you know all this?" Crystal asked cautiously.
"With my Millennium Tauk." Isis replied, pointing to her necklace, "It shows me visions of the past and future."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Crystal asked in confusion.
"This third tablet will explain." Isis said, pulling aside a small curtain, "Understand that this may affect your emotions."
Crystal stared at the stone tablet, feeling her mouth go dry. On it was a girl who looked a lot like Crystal, along with the High Priest, who looked like he was weeping. Then Crystal started to read the story that surrounded the picture. It told of how the High Priest's sister was kidnapped and then killed by a fellow priest. The tablet continued to read that her brother vowed revenge against the Pharaoh for ignoring the danger that the girl's life had been in.
"Oh, Ra. The poor girl." Crystal said, covering her mouth.
"Her name was Sanura, and she was High Priest Seth's younger sister." Isis explained, "I believe you are her reincarnation, as Seto is Seth's reincarnation."
"That would explain why we are so close." Crystal said with a thoughtful nod.
"Now, we will go back to see Sanura shortly before her death." Isis said, placing her hands on either side of her Tauk.
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