For those of you who read Thieves of Hearts Too you may remember that I asked which fic people would like to read first so I could devote my time towards that idea. Well this fic is the AE AU idea I talked about. I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: If I owned Yugioh all the pointless story arcs they did in the anime would not exist and the show would revolve around Ryou and Bakura.

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Precious Treasure

Chapter 1

"My Pharaoh your guests have arrived," announced a servant.

"Excellent; send them in," the Pharaoh ordered.

The servant bowed and left the throne room. He soon returned accompanied by two males – Pharaoh Yami's guests. They both lowered themselves onto one knee when they neared the throne.

"Rise," Yami commanded.

Both males got to their feet and waited for their next instruction. Yami smiled at the serious looks on their faces. It was a pity that they had to act so formal in court. Yami would've loved to embrace them and ask how their trip had gone.

One of the males had brown hair and cold blue eyes that matched his icy outer appearance. His name was Seto and was one of Yami's cousins. They had known each other since they were little and had developed an inner bond.

The other male had long white hair, emerald green eyes and unusually pale skin. His name was Ryou and he was Seto's adopted brother. Seto had found him on one of his trips and had taken him in hoping to fill the gap in his heart that his younger brother Mokuba's death had made.

"Was your mission a success?" Yami asked. "Were you able to gather information about the newly discovered land to the south?"

"Yes Pharaoh, I was successful," Seto replied, bowing his head.

"Then report it," the Pharaoh ordered.

And so Seto began his report. Yami looked over at Ryou and saw that the teen had closed his eyes. Yami sighed. That could only mean that this was going to be a very long and boring report.

An hour later Seto was still droning on about how the people farmed and how many people there were in the cities and who ruled etcetera, etcetera.

Ryou was staring off into space, occasionally moving his weight from one foot to the other. Yami was leaning on his arm, fighting hard to keep his eyes open.

Seto suddenly stopped speaking. "Am I boring you my king?" he asked.

It took Yami a few minutes to realize that he had been asked a question. He looked at his scowling cousin sheepishly. "Err, could you repeat the question?"

Seto sighed. He really didn't know why he bothered. He then reminded himself that the reason he bothered was so that he could travel and learn new things. Seto had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

The only downside to his travels was that he had to report everything to Yami who didn't really care and would ignore him and then make him repeat himself over and over again until he was blue in the face. "I asked if you would prefer it if we discussed this over dinner."

Yami perked up. Was he being offered the chance to escape listening to Seto's ramblings about agriculture and currency? "Yes I would like that."

Yami stood and motioned for Seto and Ryou to follow. They made their way towards the Pharaoh's personal quarters.

When they arrived Ryou automatically collapsed onto a couch. "My feet hurt," he complained.

"Not my problem," Seto said as he sat down in a more dignified manner.

"You always say that," Ryou said, his eyes closing.

Yami smiled and sat down. "Long trip?" he asked.

Seto nodded. "Our supplies ran out quicker than we had anticipated. We had to go a day longer than planned to restock."

Yami gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sure you're tired. You can stay here and catch a few hours sleep while the servants prepare your rooms. I'll come wake you when it is time to eat."

Yami left, leaving the two teens alone. A small smile crept onto Seto's face when he saw that his brother was curled up on the couch and fast asleep. Seto then leaned back in his chair, deciding to take Yami's advice and sleep.

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It was late and Jou had only just started his shift. He was one of the few soldiers who was trusted enough to patrol the royal hallways at night. It was an honour to be so highly trusted by the Pharaoh but it was also a pain if you weren't nocturnal.

Jou was particularly tired that night and didn't realize that he wasn't alone until he rounded a corner and bumped into someone. They both fell back onto the floor with a thud.

"Watch where you're going," the other person growled.

Jou recognized the voice and looked over to confirm his suspicions. "Seto," Jou said, a hint of loathing in his voice.

Seto looked up and sneered. "I should have known it would be the mutt who would be so careless."

Jou grit his teeth, trying to hold back the insults. It wasn't smart to anger the Pharaoh's cousin. "I thought you had left the country," Jou ground out.

Seto stood up and brushed himself off. "I was merely exploring and doing the Pharaoh's bidding. I have now returned to report what I have found."

Jou also got up and brushed himself off. "And you'll be leaving soon?" he asked.

Seto glared at him. "That is none of your business. I do not need to tell a mere servant of my activities," Seto said venomously.

Jou was about to say something else but he was interrupted by someone he had not noticed up until that point. "Seto, I want to go to sleep. Can't you two argue later?" Ryou asked.

"We weren't arguing Ryou. I was merely putting the puppy in his place," Seto said before he strode off down the corridor.

Ryou gave Jou an apologetic smile before he ran after his brother. Jou sighed as he watched the two disappear.

It seemed like he and Seto had always been enemies. When Seto had first left on his travels Jou had been delighted. No more spoilt brats left to call him names.

It took Jou awhile to notice that he missed Seto. Life stopped being so exciting when Jou no longer had to wonder if he was going to meet the bastard around the next bend. He no longer needed to spend time thinking up insults and comebacks since he'd never get to use them.

When he'd asked Seto if he was going to be leaving again he hadn't necessarily meant it in a bad way. He was just wondering how many arguments he needed to prepare himself for.

Jou stopped his musings and continued his patrol of the halls.

Meanwhile, Seto was ranting about disobedient puppies. Ryou sighed and thanked the gods (and servants) for giving them separate rooms. His brother could rant about Jou for hours if he really wanted to, not caring if he repeated himself.

If Ryou hadn't known any better he'd think Seto was in love. The thought made Ryou smile. If only his brother wasn't so stubborn. Then again, the thought of his brother down on one knee presenting Jou with Egyptian lilies and telling him how wonderful he was, was quite disturbing.

They arrived at their rooms and Ryou said a hurried goodnight before barricading himself in his room. He was tired and didn't want to be kept up by Seto's ranting.

On the other side of the door Seto was irritated by his brother's hurry to leave him. He stormed into his room and slammed the door.

The stupid puppy was already making his life hell.

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A week later the verbal war between Seto and Jou had once again restarted. Seto, with his educated upbringing, seemed to be winning. But Jou wasn't one to give up so easily and tried with all his might to best Seto.

Little did they know that the next night they would be given a real reason to fight when a precious treasure would nearly be stolen from right under their noses…

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