Mijikai: I'm bored and I can't think of any new ideas for other fanfiction…which I will finish…someday…year...
Yami: (Cough, cough) In 2050! (Cough. Cough)
Mijikai: I hate you.
Yami: XP
Mijikai: For that, you're not in the fanfiction! XP
Yami: So?
Mijikai: In fact, I found a replacement for you.
Yami: So…WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY REPLACEMENT! I'M YAMI, THE KING OF GAMES! ATEMU THE PHARAOH OF ANCIENT EGYPT! I'M…
Mijikai: And he goes on…and on…
Judai: Hey everyone, (peace sign) I'm Judai Yuki and I'm the star of the show, with my sidekick and best pal Sho!
Sho: (Cough) Ummm…hi.
Mijikai: SHO! (Hugs him tightly)
Sho: (Blushes)
Judai: Hey! (Grabs Sho) He's my buddy! Get your own!
Mijikai: Fine! (Grabs Yugi) My YUGI-KUN!
Yugi: …
Yami: FURTHER MOR-GET AWAY FROM MY AIBOU! (Makes a grab but Mijikai steps to the left and Yami misses)
Mijikai: Sheesh, mine, mine, mine, not only are you the King of Games, you're the King of Hogs.
Yugi: Mijikai doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX…
Mijikai: If I did, it would be shonen ai with Judai and Sho. Although the author is doing a really good job in making the pairing more and more possible! (Either that or I'm just a crazy fan girl)
Yami: (Cough, cough) Crazy fan girl.
Mijikai: (Slaps tape on Yami's mouth) URUSAI! ANATA NO BAKA DESU!
Notes:
This is a sequel to A Flower in a Desert, so if you haven't read that first, go read it! But if you don't want to that's okay too. The story shouldn't be too confusing if you don't read the prequel to this.
2. If you decide to read this story first let me make a couple of clarifications. I am using Yu-Gi-Oh GX Japanese names. So Ryo is not Ryo Bakura but Sho's brother Ryo. And Heba is Egyptian for Game which in Japanese is Yugi.
II:II
A city that had been blessed by the gods. A place where the God Ra had spread his rays of life that touched the very ends of the city Kemet.
Kemet…a prosperous land where you can hear the singing of birds, and the laughter of children…the unity of the people.
But the most wondrous sight that the people of Kemet would always gaze upon with wonder and awe was the palace of the Pharaoh.
Built by the whitest stone, it had the appearance of a sacred pure temple that could only be touched by the gods and for all to see, that was placed with such care and loyalty, was the statue of the beloved Pharaoh Atemu.
The young Pharaoh was said to be the greatest ruler of them all. He was known to be a powerful duelist who sacrificed his life and soul to protect his people and the home he loved so much from, what is now known, as the reincarnation of Seth.
At the young Pharaohs passing, the crown had then been passed onto the closest of kin, who was the High Priest Seito. And this is where the story of Kemet begins.
II:II
I Reach For the Sun
Chapter One
The sun was unusually warm, and sweat dribbled constantly from the child's brow.
In frustration, the boy furiously scrubbed the sweat away only to be replaced immediately with more.
"Wahhh…I hate the sun, it's making me all sticky and wet!" the boy complained.
Glaring at the sun, the boy stood up from his place by the pool, where he had previously been soaking his feet in, and grimaced as his shenti (Egyptian skirt) was already damp.
"Ick, I'm going to go change," the boy grumbled and hurried into the palace.
His pattering footsteps were the only warning the passing servants received before they were almost bowled over by the boy.
"Oops, sorry. Wah, coming through, sorry…heh,heh, sorry. Ahhh look out!" the boy shouted and collided with another.
Both stumbled onto the floor and landed in a heap of tangled clothing.
"Prince!" came a shout, and the boy grinned sheepishly up at the High Priest Amas. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to run through the halls? You could have broken my hip!"
"Sorry, I wanted to change my shenti…"
"Is that all? Well, I would like a nice cold tank of hnqt (beer) but do you see me running through the halls! Do you!" Amas shouted, and the boy coward, covering his head.
"Wah! I'm sorry," the boy cried.
"That is enough," came a quiet voice and both the Prince and High Priest looked up, and the High Priest immediately scrambled to his knees and bowed so his brow touched the ground.
"Hm-f (Your majesty)!" High Priest Amas groveled. "It is a surprise to see you here…"
"Continue with your duties. I will talk to my sA (son)."
"Tou, pr-aA (Yes, pharaoh)," Amas said and gave the boy one last glare before gathering up his robes and continuing down the hall.
The boy stuck his tongue out at Amas's back.
"Judai."
The boy immediately pulled his tongue back in and shyly looked up at his I't (father).
"Ii (Come)," Pr-aA said quietly, and Judai followed.
"I't, I didn't mean to run into Amas…"
"High Priest Amas," Pr-aA (Pharaoh) corrected sharply.
Judai made a face.
"High Priest Amas…I really didn't mean too…" Judai protested, and tensed as his I't through him a glance.
"SA (Son)," Pr-aA said sternly. "You are seven and you still act the age of four. This is not the behavior of an heir."
Judai lowered his head, clasping his hands behind his back and finding the marble under his feet quite fascinating at the moment.
"Running down the halls…is that anyway a Prince should act?"
"No," Judai said quietly, his eyes starting to tear.
All he wanted to do was change his soaked shenti. He never meant to displease his I't.
"I hate the sun," Judai mumbled under his breath.
If the sun wasn't so hot today, he wouldn't be sweating that caused his shenti to become wet and he wouldn't have had the misfortune in running into the pamiu (old tom cat) Amas. The old High Priest was always strict and always seemed to find an excuse to mock Judai and complain about every wrong thing the young Prince did to his I't (Father).
"Judai!" Pr-aA said sharply, and grabbed his son's chin and made him look towards the sun. "That is our god, Ra. That is the one thing that gives life to us all, and you say you hate it? After the sun gave you life, food, warmth, and you repay it with hate!"
"But if weren't for the sun, I wouldn't have…"
"If you weren't running in the halls, you wouldn't have run into anybody," Pr-aA said fiercely.
Judai fell silent and bowed his head. He knew his I't was right.
I't was always right.
The disapproval Judai knew was in his I't's eyes hurt. He never liked disappointing his I't, and he knew he had insulted him greatly.
Tears started rising in his brown eyes, and he furiously scrubbed them, but they kept leaking through his fingers.
"What are these tears? Are you weak?"
"No…" Judai mumbled.
"Are you," the pharaoh asked sharply.
"No!" Judai shouted.
A hand was placed upon his head, and the boy flinched.
"Good. You are my heir Judai, and I want you to do well. See the sun?" he asked as he pointed.
"Yes."
"Never hate the sun. It is your greatest ally. If everyone turns on you, the sun will be with you, always."
Judai nodded, wiping the rest of his tears away.
"Think of what I've told you, sA (Son). And apologize properly to High Priest Amas when next you meet him."
"Tou, I't (Yes father)," Judai said quietly.
Nodding in satisfaction, the Pr-aA turned and disappeared down the hall.
Sniffing, Judai continued his own way down the hall.
But instead of going back to his own room, he went to visit another; the urge to change his shenti forgotten.
I:I
It was a small room that was located in the upper chambers to the right of the Pr-aA's room, since it housed the most trusted advisor in the palace. He, who also, just so happened to be Judai's closest friend.
Wiping away another stray tear, Judai knocked. There was a moments silence and Judai worried that maybe he wasn't there, when, to his relief, the door opened.
"My Prince? Oh dear, you've been crying," came a soft voice and unusually light skinned fingers rubbed away a few remaining stains upon the boy's face.
"Heba, can I come in?"
The young Priest smiled as he opened the door widely and Judai could feel most of his misery melt as he looked into the face of the High Priest Heba.
Heba was a very young priest, only being twenty one with a soft thin face with large amethyst eyes. His hair matched the previous Pharaoh's perfectly as it stuck up towards the ceiling, black as the kohl under Judai's eyes and outlined as red as blood. Blonde bangs hung in the priest's face and Judai, ever since he was a baby, loved tugging on the small one just in the middle of Heba's forehead.
"Of course."
Judai hurried into the room, and immediately dived into the neatly made bed, with its crème white sheets folded neatly. The familiar smell of lotus with a hint of some kind of spicy scent filled his senses a he buried his nose into the soft sheets
…He always loved that scent.
"What is wrong my Prince?" Heba asked as he sat upon his stool.
Judai looked up from his sprawled position on the bed and sighed.
"Heba, is it so wrong to hate the sun?"
"Well…" Heba said slowly. "I wouldn't say it's wrong, although it doesn't make much sense either. The sun is our source of…"
"Life, food, and light," Judai said and sunk into Heba's pillow. "I't told me."
"Did Seito…"
"I tried not to cry but…he was scaring me…" Judai said quietly.
Heba pursed his lips tightly as he drummed his fingers loudly on his desk.
"I told I't that I hated the sun and he became angry…"
Slowly, Heba rose from his seat and sat upon the edge of the bed and placed a hand upon Judai's head of brown hair.
"My Prince…the sun holds a special significance to your father. It would be best that you do not insult it when he is around."
"But why? I hear people say they hate it too, but when I say it he gets angry."
Heba raised an eyebrow.
"So if everybody jumped in the Nile, would you?"
"Yes."
"…Let me rephrase that. If everyone were to climb up on the top of the pyramid and jump off, would you?"
"No."
"My point exactly."
"…I liked the Nile phrase better," Judai grumbled and Heba ruffled the boy's hair.
"That's because you look for loopholes," Heba snorted as he got up and sat back down at his desk.
Judai raised his head a little more from the pillow as the sound of the pen scribbling on the papyrus paper filled the room. Slowly, he scrambled from the bed and threw his arms around Heba's neck, resting his little chin on the Priest's shoulder.
"Does the sun hold any significance to you?" Judai asked curiously.
"Yes. It reminds me of someone very special to me," Heba said and a smile appeared on his lips as he looked up at the little boy, his brown eyes wide with confusion. "Don't worry, my Prince, someday you will understand in what I say."
"Does this mean that I't still likes me?"
"Now, what put that silly idea in your head?" Heba asked.
"I've never seen him so mad before…"
"He's your I't, Judai. Seito is a kind of man that doesn't show love so simply. But he does care about you very much."
Judai only buried his face into Heba's shoulder and the Priest patted the boy on the head before continuing with his papers.
"What are you doing?" Judai asked suddenly.
"Writing an invitation to a King."
"Why?"
"Because your I't is going to have a dinner celebration next week and he would like to invite a couple of the King's."
"But why do you have to write them?"
"Your I't is far to busy to bother with small things like invitations."
"When I become Pr-aA (Pharaoh) will you do the same thing for me?"
"If that is what my Prince wishes."
"Will you be writing all my invitations?"
"If that is your wish."
"So, when I'm Pr-aA (Pharaoh) then you'll do what ever I wish?"
"…Clarify on "what ever" is."
"So if I tell you to go out in the middle of the desert without anything on…"
"Now if one of your commands has anything to do with me being stripped naked somewhere in the desert then the answer is definitely no."
"Hee, hee, but you said what ever my wish is your command," Judai said with a grin.
Heba poked him in the forehead.
"Excluding wishes that are not relevant to your throne."
"So I can't ask you too…"
"No."
"But I didn't even finish!" Judai whined as Heba laughed.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door before it opened.
Judai thought this a bit rude since he was taught to always wait until the owner of the room opened the door.
"High Priest Heba I need…what are you doing here!" Amas shouted as he pointed at Judai.
The Prince stuck his tongue at Amas, but quickly pulled it back in when Heba gave him a warning look.
"Greeting's High Priest Amas. How may I be of service?" Heba asked as he gently untangled Judai's arms from around his neck and stood up.
"I need these documents looked over and I have a list that would need your approval and would need you to sign."
"Just leave it on my desk and it will be done tomorrow."
Amas looked horrified.
"Tomorrow? Oh no, no, no High Priest Heba. These are important documents that need to be done right away," Amas said as he handed them to Heba.
Judai watched with a bored expression as he sat cross-legged in Heba's chair, propping his head up with a fist.
He wanted Amas to go away quickly, so he wouldn't have to apologize like his I't asked him too.
"I'm sure tomorrow will not make any difference," Heba said calmly as he looked over them. "But if you are really worried about them getting done, they'll be ready at dawn."
"Very well," Amas said stiffly and turned to leave, but at the last minute spun around to Judai. "Don't you have something to say to me?"
Judai made a face but the promise he made to his I't buzzed in the back of his mind and he slid off the stool and bowed.
"I apologize High Priest Amas for being careless and bumping into you."
"Apology accepted," Amas said a bit smugly as he went out the door.
When he was gone, Judai stuck his tongue out at the door.
"Judai," Heba said warningly.
"I don't like him," Judai pouted.
"I admit, I'm not fond of him much either but you don't see me sticking my tongue out at his back."
"…You should…" Judai muttered and Heba shook his head, but was smiling.
"I think you've had enough time inside. Why don't you go outside?"
"It's too hot! And I was just outside already and my shenti got all soaked."
"…How about…" Heba said slowly, trying to think of somewhere the Prince could keep himself occupied without getting himself into trouble with Amas or his I't when something small and fury tacked Judai.
"Wha!" Judai shouted as he was knocked off balance, but started laughing as something soft snuggled against his cheek.
"Kuribo!" Heba said. "Why don't you go and play with him, Judai. He's been cooped up in my room all day and I bet he'd like to play with his favorite play mate…wouldn't you?"
"Kuriii!" Kuribo said happily.
"Okay!" Judai said and hugged the Kuribo tightly. "We'll be back after dinner."
"Make sure he doesn't stay in the sun too long. You know what happens when he gets all sweaty."
"He stinks," Judai said wrinkling his nose and the Kuribo pouted.
"And his fur gets matted."
"We'll be careful," Judai said and waved before rushing out of the room.
"What shall we do first Kuribo?" Judai asked as the little duel monster now floated level with Judai's head.
"Kuriii, kuriii!" Kuribo said, bouncing slightly up and down.
"Okay, tag you're it!" Judai said and started running down the halls.
Both raced down the halls, bounding into passing servants and Priests. Unfortunately, the two seemed oblivious to everyone except themselves.
"Hahaha! Can't catch me!" Judai shouted.
"Kuriiiii!"
Judai looked behind him to see Kuribo close behind.
"You have to be faster then that in order to catch me!" Judai said with a grin as he turned the corner.
Suddenly, he felt something hard collide into him and landed on his back with an "oof". For a moment, he couldn't breath and stared dizzily at the ceiling before Kuribo appeared in his vision looking down at him with concern.
"Kurriii, kuriii?"
"Yeah, but that hurt," Judai groaned as he sat up.
"Sure did, you need to be more careful where you're going," came another groan and Judai started.
Sitting up, rubbing his head was a boy, which was pretty rare for Judai to see around the palace. He was short and thin with wide gray eyes, and he had the wildest blue hair that Judai ever saw. He wore the same white clothing as Judai did and scrolls were sprawled around the boy.
"I'm sorry," Judai said as he picked some up. "I was having so much fun I didn't see where I was going."
"At least none of the scrolls were damaged," the boy said as he inspected every one of them as they came back into his arms.
In curiosity, Judai opened one and his eyes widened. Upon the surface of the papyrus paper was a drawing of an odd device that the Prince had never seen before.
"What's this?" he asked, showing the boy the odd drawing.
The boy squinted at the picture before taking it into his own hand and pulling it closer to his eyes.
"Oh!" the boy said, his cheeks turning red. "How did this get in here?"
"What is it?" Judai asked again.
"It's…nothing," the boy said as he rolled it up and hurriedly stood up.
"But I've never seen it before. Was it some kind of storage house?" Judai asked as he followed the boy from behind.
"No," he murmured. "…Why are you following me?"
"I want to know what that drawing was," Judai said simply.
"…It's a drawing of a water irrigation system."
"Oh," Judai said, and then paused. "What's that?"
"You don't know what a water irrigation system is?" the boy asked curiously. "Didn't your master ever tell you?"
"Master?"
"Yes. Who's the Priest you apprentice under?" the boy asked curiously.
"Ummm…" Judai said thinking.
'What does he mean by apprentice under?' Judai thought curiously. 'Maybe he means teacher…yeah…that makes sense…'
"Heba!" Judai said with a smile.
The boy stopped and stared.
"High Priest Heba!" the boy shouted and stared at Judai with wonder. "Wow, I never knew he took apprentices."
"Why wouldn't he?"
"My Sn (Brother) told me that High Priest Heba was a bit…closed off."
"Heba? No! He seems pretty friendly to me."
"Really?" the boy asked curiously. "You're lucky."
"Why?"
"I'd really like to meet High Priest Heba," the boy said. "I heard he was the greatest High Priest in all of Kemet!"
"Who do you apprentice under?" Judai asked.
"My Sn (brother) High Priest Ryo."
"You mean the serious man who never seems to smile?" Judai asked.
The boy sighed and to Judai's amusement, the boy's blue hair seemed to wilt with the boy's sad expression.
"Yeah, my Sn (Brother) doesn't give of a very happy impression."
"But you do!" Judai said.
The boy stopped and turned to look at the smiling Prince.
"You think so?" the boy asked, surprised.
"Sure!"
"…"
Judai laughed and grabbed the boy's arm.
"Let's go play outside with Kuribo!"
"What! But…I can't…I have to deliver these to Sn (brother)."
"You can do that later!"
"But…but…"
Judai pouted as he saw that the boy really was worried if he didn't make his delivery and reluctantly let the boy's arm go. This was the first time Judai found a child his age at the palace, and he was a bit disappointed he couldn't play with him.
"Fine…" he said reluctantly, but then planted a fist on his hip and wagged his finger in the startled boy's face. "But when I see you again you have to play with me!"
The boy's startled expression almost caused Judai to lose his stern expression.
"Ummm…okay," the boy said. "Next time."
"Good," Judai said. "Oh, I'm Judai."
"Sho."
Judai nodded and turned to leave, but looked over his shoulder at Sho, who stood there with his scrolls hugged to his small chest.
"Remember, next time!" Judai shouted before running around the corner with Kuribo right behind him.
II:II
Mijikai: Chapter One Done! Yay!
Judai: Cool, I get to be a Prince!
Sho:…I'm an Apprentice?
Mijikai: Trust me, your part's going to become much bigger Sho.
Yugi: Yami's not in here.
Mijikai: Well…he was in the prologue.
Yami: I was dead!
Mijikai:…Sort of.
Yami: (Growls)
Mijikai: Heh…by the way, just to let you all know. I don't think glasses were invented in Egyptian Time so I gave Sho no glasses. That's why he's has to squint to see something. He's got bad vision.
Sho: (Sigh) My brother has perfect vision. BUT I HAVE THE LOOKS IN THE FAMILY!
Ryo: Keep telling yourself that.
Sho: I will!
Ryo:…
Mijikai: Review…PLEEEEEEAAAASSSEEEEEEE!
Yami: No don't! I'm not even in this story!
Mijikai: I thought you hated my stories.
Yami: How am I supposed to protect my aibou if you cut me out of your stories!
Mijikai:..I rather not deal with you right now.