I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter One- Successor

It was another beautiful day at the seaside town. The sky was blue with wispy white clouds, the temperature was warm but comfortable, and the ocean was calm and peaceful. A tanned young man stood at the shoreline, his brown eyes focused on some rocks nearby. His lips moved as he softly chanted. The two rocks he focused on wiggled, rocked side to side, and then rose into the air. They floated there until the young man felt his ability to keep them up falter and then he lowered them back into place.

Mahad panted slightly as he wiped sweat from his forehead. He had studied that spell for days, getting the order of the words right and the pronunciation. He was glad when his hard work paid off. He looked at the rocks, he didn't really see them as he was lost in thought. I wonder…I'm lighter than those rocks. Could I use my powers on myself? I never considered that possibility before. I think I should devote my studies to spells I can practice on myself. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, focused on himself, and chanted. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down to see himself floating above the ground! He smiled in satisfaction as he lowered himself down. It worked! This is great. Is it possible that my magic is getting stronger? Oh, I hope so. I wish to become a royal sorcerer one day. Thrilled at his success, Mahad rushed home to pore over his books.

Atem opened his eyes to filtered, weak sunlight. Seems it will be a beautiful day. He sat up and stretched before getting up, putting on his crown, and left the room, his half-blue, half-purple tail leaving a stream of bubbles in his wake.

"Good morning, pharaoh," one of his advisors, Seto, greeted as Atem entered. Seto's blue tail gleamed; he had polished his scales this morning. Seto deported himself with utter confidence and treated Atem with enormous respect.

"Good morning, pharaoh," echoed his other advisor, Isis.

"Good morning," Atem replied as he took his place. "Anything that needs our attention?"

"None was reported," Isis said.

"I see. Then, let us swim among the citizens and ask about their concerns." Atem rose and headed out the door with his advisors. Atem was different than previous pharaohs; for one thing, he had a tendency to move among his people and hear their concerns with his own ears. Sometimes, Atem settled any disputes that arose during his swim.

Another thing that made Atem different was his somewhat secret fascination with humans. Seto and Isis were the only ones who knew about Atem's interest, but were not sure why he was fascinated by humans. Truthfully, even Atem wasn't sure. Humans simply fascinated him- period. He liked to watch them sail overhead on their huge ships or explore shipwrecks where he examined objects he found on board, some of which had uses at which he could only guess.

"Pharaoh, good morning," greeted, Shada, a basket vendor.

"Good morning." He spied concern in the merman's eyes. "Something is troubling you. What is it?"

"I was gathering supplies," Shada answered, pointing off to the open waters. "And I spied fishing nets being dropped off the side of a ship. I am concerned that they may eventually drop nets above the kingdom."

Atem's brow furrowed. Humans had been dropping nets into the sea for a long time ever since his grandfather had been pharaoh. He had been the one who told the kingdom what nets were and what they were doing as well as assurances that nets could never reach their underwater home. Atem had seen drawings of nets since he was a boy but never seen one for real; the shipwrecks he explored didn't have any nets on them. "Shada," he said at lat. "Let me assure you that the nets will never reach us much less settle above the kingdom. I advise caution when next you gather supplies."

"Thank you, pharaoh. I will take your advice."

Atem nodded as he swam on, his advisors behind him. Isis twitched her pale white and green fins so that she was next to her pharaoh. "My pharaoh, what should we do if nets are appearing in the waters around our home?"

"If I recall my lessons, these nets do not remain where they drop. However, the guards should carry sharpened stones to cut the nets and distribute them to the citizens as well, so if anyone runs into one, they'll be able to easily get loose."

"Yes, naturally." Seto swam up on the other side. "Pharaoh, you are at the age where you will need to name a successor should something happen to you or you decide to move aside."

"Yes. I should choose one but suppose I marry and have children? The one I choose may feel put out that he or she will never rule then."

"Surely your successor would understand that he or she is not guaranteed the throne, that he or she is only a replacement in the event that something happens to you and can take over easily."

"Well said, Seto. It is that view that convinces me that you would be the best merman for the position."

"Me, pharaoh? You want me to be your successor?"

"Yes. You understand our laws and tradition almost as well as I do. I cannot think of anyone else more suited than you."

Seto looked to see Isis nodding. "I agree. Congratulations, Seto."

Seto looked back at Atem and bowed his head. "I am honored, my pharaoh. I accept."

"Good." The trio reached the edge of the kingdom and the open waters beckoned to the young pharaoh. "Seto, Isis. I would like to be alone now. I will pick up any sharp stones I find to give the guards."

"As you wish," Isis said. "We too will look for stones around the kingdom."

Atem nodded as he headed out of the kingdom. He felt free in the open waters and did a couple of corkscrews. It wasn't easy being pharaoh and at times, it was boring. The running of an underwater kingdom seemed so easy and simple that Atem needed to find things to do to occupy his time. He took to solo swims where he would explore nearby shipwrecks; something that was frowned upon by other merpeople but Atem couldn't help it. He found the construction of such vessels intriguing, wondering how humans built them and how they could float on water despite their size, the people, and the treasure they carried.

The treasures to Atem wouldn't be seen as such to humans or merpeople. Most of the items were ones a person would see on a ship and not think anything of them, but to Atem each one was a marvel. Many was the time, Atem would sit for hours examining a single object, trying to understand its purpose. He had come across a cloth pouch once; much like their seaweed ones but seemed sturdier. He had left it in the shipwreck closest to the kingdom and it was here he went to retrieve it so he would have something to hold any stones he found.

He swam in through a porthole and gazed around the room. The treasures of the ship were stored here. He had sought help from some of the creatures of the sea to pull the heavier pieces into the room. This wreck was his favorite one but knew there had to be others wrecks in the sea and had already planned an excursion he would embark on in a couple of days. An excellent time for Seto to practice ruling in my place. My trip will start at the docks at least a day away. I hope to glimpse actual humans. I have heard stories about them. They say humans are like merpeople only with a pair of limbs called legs instead of tails. I'd like to see what these legs look like.

Atem snatched up his pouch, exited the ship, and began scouring the floor. He found several stones that had sharp points or jagged edges. He even broke off some stiff reeds, thinking that maybe they could attach stones to them somehow. Once his pouch was half-filled, he was certain he had collected enough to start with and started home. He thought eagerly of his trip again. He planned to seek out other wrecks and collect any small items he found and take them home with him and place them in his favorite shipwreck. He sighed dreamily. He could hardly wait for his trip.