Yeah, baby! Big 2-0! WH00T WH00T!

...Okay, that was kinda random.

But seriously, folks--I can't beleive that I'm at chapter 20 already! To everyone who's ever reviewed; thanks! If it weren't for you guys, I never would have gotten this far! THANK YOU!

Memory Lane, Part I
Back to the Past

/Your name is Kimiru. Right?

/Right.

/You know Yami. Right?

/Right.

/How?

/We were both in ancient Egypt.

I rolled my eyes, flopping down onto the couch. I was getting absolutely nowhere with my questioning.

Yuugi, who had stepped into the living room on his way to the kitchen, gave me a lopsided grin. "Difficulties?"

I grimaced. "She's talking in circles—it's so frustrating! I can't get anywhere with her!"

"Maybe you should try going somewhere a little quieter and actually going to her?"

I gulped a little. "You mean—going to her Soul Room?"

"Yep."

"But—I don't know how!"

Yuugi grinned a little. "Try getting somewhere quiet, anyway. Maybe it'll just…" He held up his arms, shrugging. "…I dunno, come to you."

I rolled my eyes. "That only happens in fairy tales and anime."

Yuugi's grin widened. "Hello real world, meet YuGiOh main character. Come on—just try it and see what happens."

I sighed, rising to my feet. "Whatevs." I headed for the hall, went to my room, and flopped on my bed.

"I sure hope this works," I muttered, closing my eyes. I tried to completely relax—to open up my mind, like in the show—but it just didn't work. Apparently, I had no reachable Soul Corridor.

/Hmph. You're just trying too hard.

I growled a little. /Be quiet, woman. You aren't helping.

/Oh, aren't I?

/No, you aren't! You may think you are, but it's not working, so just shut up!

Silence answered me. I felt a little guilty—after all, I couldn't blame her for being a little snappish. She had, after all, just had a run-in with a sister she absolutely hated.

/And therein lies the problem.

I nearly raised my eyebrows. Kimiru's voice was tinged with regret. /Problem? The only problem I see here is that you two hate each other's guts.

/But I don't hate her.

I sat up, eyes snapping open. /What! You mean that whole show of being her arch-rival was just that—a show!

/No. What I mean is that I wish I didn't have to put on the guise of hating her. It only happened after the attack.

I shook my head. /This is too confusing.

/Then let me show you.

Three little girls, only about four or five, scampered through the palace. All three had about the same color hair. The first's was gold with light brown highlights, tied back with a strip of leather; the second's was dirty blond, and hanging free; the third's was also free, and was sandy yellow with a few black streaks. They ran on all fours, like kittens—and, indeed, they had ears and tails. The first's were white; the second's black; and the third's silver-gray.

I could see everything as if I was an invisible spectator on the sidelines; Kimiru was standing next to me, watching with narrowed eyes. "Our past," was all she said. "Watch."

The first skidded to a stop and looked around, silvery blue eyes gleaming with caution. "Wait, guys," she whispered. "We have to be careful—we don't know if we're supposed to be in here."

The second elbowed her. "C'mon, Kimiru! Don't be such a spoil-sport! We're hungry, and they're bound to have food in here!"

The third looked around, a little nervously. "I dunno, Derama…are you sure? What if we get caught?"

Derama rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kemisi! You sound like Kimi! All we're doing is getting some food, and then we're outta here!"

Kemisi glanced uncertainly at her. "If you're sure…"

Kimiru crossed her arms. "It's still wrong!" she whispered fiercely.

Derama made a face at her. "It's just a little food. They're rich people—they won't notice it's gone."

Kimiru sighed. "All right…but only cuz I'm hungry."

The three of them scampered on, sticking to the shadows, avoiding the palace guards.

Kimiru followed them, and I followed her. It was surprisingly easy to keep up—I wasn't even tired, and let's just say I'm not the most athletic of girls.

Derama, who was running ahead of her sisters, stopped and skipped back a little. "Hide!" she hissed. "Someone's coming!" The three of them ducked into the shadows and stood still as statues.

The sound of sobbing reached their ears, and a small boy of about their age ran around the corner. His clothes were very fine—soft fabric sewn with gold. His hair was oddly spiked, and in three different colors He had his face in his hands while he ran—so it was no small wonder that he tripped over one of the cobbles near where the girls were hiding and fell flat on his face. He lay there, shivering, crying.

"Momma!" he sobbed. "Why? Why!"

Sympathy was etched across Kimiru's face. "Let's help him!" she whispered.

Derama grabbed her arm. "No, Kimi! He'll tell on us!"

"But—but—"

"Dera's right," Kemisi whispered. "We can't get caught!"

Suddenly, the boy looked up. "Who's there?" he asked sharply, crimson eyes darting from shadow to shadow. "I can hear you!"

Derama rolled her eyes. "Too late."

"Show yourselves, or I'll call the guards!" he called imperiously. "I'm the Prince of Egypt!"

The three sisters stared at each other. They'd had no idea that the palace they'd snuck into had been the palace!

Kimiru stepped out of the shadows. "I'm sorry we snuck in," she said quickly. "It wasn't very nice, but we were hungry!"

The boy stared at her. "You look like a cat!"

Kimiru grinned a little. "So do my sisters." At that, Kemisi and Derama scampered out from the shadows to stand next to her.

The boy smiled a little. "Hi. My name's Atem. What're yours?"

"I'm Kimiru—this is Kemisi and Derama." Each sister nodded at her name.

Atem looked around. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"We came to steal some food," Kemisi admitted glumly. "We haven't had anything good to eat for ages."

Atem pulled himself to his feet. "I can lead you to the kitchens—but we have to go the long way, so I don't have to go past…m-my mom's…room."

At the three girls' curious expressions, Atem hung his head. "My momma just died," he said softly. "I ran away from the room."

On impulse, Kimiru hugged him. "It's okay. We never knew our momma—you're luckier than us."

Derama rolled her eyes. "Okay, enough with the mushy stuff—I want something to eat!"

Atem laughed. "This way!

The scene blackened—and then changed. Now the three girls were about twelve, and sitting in one of the courtyards, talking.

Derama sighed, switching her tail back and forth. "You know, I haven't seen Atem in almost a week!"

"He's much too busy being forced to study," Kimiru sighed, idly tapping her fingers on the sandstone. "Too bad for him—it's a quite lovely day out here."

Kemisi nodded in agreement, lazily stretching out on her back. "I can't believe the stuff that they're making him learn—all because he's a prince! It's just unfair!"

Kimiru made a face. "Unfair, yes, but it is necessary. After all, without proper education, what kind of pharaoh would he be? Not a very good one, that's for sure!"

Derama nodded. "And where would he be without us to help him memorize stuff?"

"Not far!" Kemisi laughed. She sighed. "But still—it's just so boring. He's such a great runner—I'd like to race him again!"

Kimiru grinned. "What, are you still sore over the defeat he handed you the other day?"

Kemisi made a face at her. "Yes."

Derama rolled her eyes. She leaned back, and looked longingly at the sky. "You know…ever get the feeling that there's something more to life than living in the palace?"

Kimiru stared at her, horrified. "Derama! We had enough of 'outside life' when we were younger! Do you not remember living on the streets? How difficult it was?"

"But we're going stale, waiting around in here for something to happen!" Derama protested. "I mean—listen to you, Kimi! You're starting to talk in formalities more often than not!"

"So?"

"So, it's about time we get back out there and do something!"

Kemisi looked over at Derama. "There's only one problem with that," she said quietly.

"And what would that be?"

"Atem needs us."

Derama stared at her. "Okay, you've lost me."

Kemisi shook her head. "Think about it, Dera. Who does Atem come to when he needs help with a private problem?"

"Us…"

"Who does he talk to when he feels like no one else would understand?"

"Us…"

"Who does he sometimes even let that emotion shield down and cry for around?"

"Us…"

"Exactly."

Derama looked at Kimiru. "What do you think, Kimi?"

Kimiru looked over towards the archway that led to the throne room. "Atem needs all the help he can get," she said quietly.

Derama rolled her eyes. "Fine, it looks like I'm outnumbered. I guess we're staying."

Suddenly, she smirked. "I know why you want to stay, Kemi! It's priest Seto, isn't it?"

Kemisi blushed. "No!" she said sharply. "Are you kidding! I hate him!"

Derama smirked. "Riiiight."

Once again, the scene faded to black.

"You three seem really close," I said to Kimiru. "What happened?"

Kimiru bowed her head. "Derama began to get into trouble. Things around the palace simply disappeared—and turned up in her room, or in one of her usual haunts. She skipped classes and training—sometimes she convinced Kemisi to do the same. And then…the day of Bakura's attack came, and…" She closed her eyes. "You will see."

I would have finished the whole thing, but it was getting just a bit too long...anyway, review, please! Sugar cookies all around!