Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and the plot.
Not Their Day
Seto Kiaba was most definitely not in a good mood when he left work that evening. He liked to consider himself a man that could take whatever was thrown at him without flinching but such had not been the case today. Rika had thrown him a curve, striking him out before he'd even seen it coming. All during the meetings and the paperwork he'd faced after she'd left his office had faded to the back of his mind, thoughts of her getting in the way every time. It had taken extreme effort on his part to get through the rest of the day and it was not going to happen again. Walking towards his limo Seto was already making plans, a dark look on his hard face. Sliding into the seat Seto ignored the driver closing his door as he stared straight ahead, his mind working a mile a minute. Formulating then dropping ideas Seto knew that there was really only one course to take, however annoying it might be at the moment. As soon as the driver slide into the vehicle Seto ordered him to take him to Isis's museum, perhaps she could shed some light on what was going on.
Leaning back in the seat Seto closed his eyes but didn't slip into slumber, his mind working too much to even consider it. What was it about these dreams that made him think that they were actually memories Seto wondered as he stared into the darkness. Was it possible that he'd known Rika in a former life, was she Yami's half sister? Yami had never mentioned any siblings but it was entirely possibly, in that time and given that Yami's father would have been likely to have had several wives. Yami might even have had several wives back then though in Seto's dreams Yami had had none. There only real resemblances were their eyes and their personalities, which were too many similarities for his peace of mind. Of course Yami's had more red in his eyes but that was really only when he was battling and Seto had never seen Rika's eyes in a fight. Her eyes had been darker after they'd kissed though. Pushing that treacherous thought out of his head with lightning speed Seto made other comparisons in his head as he ignored everything else. Rika and Yami were strong, intelligent, and fierce, with an underlying hint of goodness that was there though hidden. They both played the game of cards though their fields were different; Ri had played Duel Monsters too. It was very possibly that they were siblings and if that was true then there was fate working once again which Seto didn't like or need.
"We're here Mr. Kiaba, would you like me to wait here?" The driver asked through the intercom as he pulled up outside the museum, hoping that he hadn't interrupted his boss's work, Kiaba was notorious for the dangers involved in bothering him during his work.
"No, I'll call you when I need you, Yamato. There's several restaurants and diners a few blocks ahead, go get something to eat." Seto said absently, his mind elsewhere. Normally he would have made the man wait outside here until he was done but Rika's charity must be spilling out. Even going so far as to open the door for himself Seto stepped out and slamming the door behind him walked past the sidewalk to stand in front of the museum, hearing his ride drive away from behind him. Looking up at the sky Seto noticed the dark clouds and presumed that for once the weathermen might be right in their prediction of a coming storm. Not really caring overly Seto looked down at his watch and hoped that this wouldn't take long, he had things he needed to get done. Moving towards the steps Seto's gaze was caught by four men making there way towards the old museum as well. In surprise Seto recognized them as men he'd gone to high school with and wondered what the morons were doing here of all places, there lack of intelligence had been obvious in school. Raising an eyebrow he watched them and then the sight of another figure walking up the stairs caught his attention, answering his question of why. Even from the distance he recognized the figure as female and it was obviously that the group had come to admire her ass as oppose to the museum's treasures. Shaking his head at the typical moronic behaviour Seto followed them up the stairs, eyes narrowing as he watched one of the men practically jump in front of the woman to get her attention. The moron, she could have fallen backward Seto thought as he watched the man speak to the woman while she appeared to be trying to get past him. About to lend a hand Seto stopped when her voice lifted to his ears.
"Listen you asshole, do I have to write it out for you in simple sentences for you to get the fact that I'm not interested? Why don't you go find yourself someone else to bug because if you don't get out of my way I'm going to move you and given the mood I'm in you really don't want me to have to do that." Rika said in a tone that was pure ice and badass. This was definitely a day for the books and if this moron didn't get out of her way she was not only going to move him but make painfully sure that he never bred anymore of himself.
"Ah come on Baby, let's have some fun." The guy said and Rika suppose that he thought the look he was sending her was sexy but all it said to her was that he was looking for something she had no interest in giving and anyone who would to this moron needed her head checked.
"I said to get lost, I won't ask you again." Rika said with a dark look, giving him her best I am one badass bitch look. "Now beat it."
"No one turns me down." The man said, making a move to grab her wrist, which was stopped as a hand came out of nowhere to wrap around the man's wrist, imprisoning it in an iron grip.
"She told you to get lost, you should have listened." The owner of the hand clamping down on the jerk's wrist said in the most spine-chilling voice Rika had ever heard. Looking over Rika stared at Kiaba who had an expression she'd never seen on his face before. He looked terrifyingly angry; the coldness in his eyes even more frightening then his voice. Looking down at the wrist Kiaba was holding Rika saw that the jerk's hand was going white from lack of oxygen, the arm going a bright red as Kiaba cut off the blood vessels that would have taken the blood to the guy's hand.
"Hey Kiaba, let him go man." One of the guys who'd come with the jerk said and seeing him about to step forward to interfere Rika sent him a look that promised severe harm if he even thought of interfering.
"Kiaba, you need to let him go before you do permanent damage." Rika said softly, meeting his eyes, which stared back at her, a deep blue as they concentrated on her for a moment before looking down at the wrist he held. Letting it go Rika and Kiaba watched with cool eyes as the man stared down at his limp hand in horror before running back down the stairs, cradling his lifeless hand with his other, his friends at his heels. "In another life you would have made one hell of a warlord, Kiaba." Rika said as she turned back to him, watching him watch the men leave with a small smile of satisfaction.
"Are you alright?" Seto asked carefully as he looked over to her, finally taking his eyes off the coward's retreating form. When he'd realized that it was Rika it had been like his brain had turned off and what had turned on was something Seto had never experienced before. It had been like his blood had simply run cold and binders had been put over his eyes so that all he could see was someone threatening her. It had been like watching a movie, he'd seen everything happen but hadn't clued in that it was he who was doing it. He was clueing in now.
"I'm fine, thanks for the help." Rika said with a small smile, deciding now would not be the time to state her deep hatred for anyone that interfered or tried to fight her fights for her. Something told her that Kiaba wouldn't really care about that anyway. "We're you headed for the museum too?"
"Yes, I need to speak to someone who works there." Seto said calmly, slowly getting a hold of himself. It had felt good to scare the hell out of the jerk and Seto nearly wished that the guy would return so that they could go another round. Especially if it would continue to make Rika look at him the way she was now. He hadn't scared her one bit Seto marvelled as he looked into her purple eyes; she was looking at him with admiration and something else that she hid to well for him to understand. This day was really one for the books.
"Oh, that's nice. I'm here for the Egyptian exhibit, I was here to see it a while ago but it was really crowded and I figured I'd be able to get a better viewing now." Rika said as she indicated her watch when she lifted her wrist.
"Then you should be heading in, the museum will be closing in an hour and you wouldn't want to miss anything." Seto said with a nod, thinking that her love of Ancient Egypt was just one more reason to question his dreams and visions. Motioning with his hand the two finished the walk up the stairs side by side, neither speaking, the only sound their feet upon the stone steps. "So were you here during my tournament?" Seto asked, referring to the tournament he'd held to flush out the Egyptian God Cards. The tournament had taken place the same year Isis had opened the Egyptian Exhibit at the museum. She'd been back twice to display the treasures of Egypt and Seto wondered if it was only coincidence that the exhibit was on once again.
"Yes, but I wasn't here for long, only to watch my cousin play a few rounds before I had to head home for my summer job." Rika said with a smile as Kiaba held the door open for her. "It was really packed because of the relation to the tournament so it was hard to get a feel for it. The other times it was here the timing was bad, I'm really glad that it's here this summer."
"Some of the pieces are quite extraordinary." Seto agreed as they walked to the ticket booth. He watched Rika pay her ticket then moved in front of the booth with Rika off to the side. "I'm here to see Isis, is she in?"
"Yes but I believe she's in a meeting with the museum's heads." The ticket master said with a gulp, recognizing the notorious Seto Kiaba. "I'll call up and see if she's available to speak with you, Mr. Kiaba." Standing slightly away from the booth Seto watched the man speak into the phone, exchange a few words and then hang it up. "She says that she'll be at least a half an hour Mr. Kiaba, she suggests that you take a stroll through the museum until she's available or make an appointment."
"She does, does she." Seto said in an annoyed voice, time was money, his money. "Fine then, I'll take a ticket and tour around until she can spare me the time." He said in his usual cold voice as he pulled out his wallet, paid the fee and walked over to Rika who'd been watching to see this Isis, curious about the woman who was responsible for the exhibit. "Mind if I join you?" Seto asked as he came to a stop in front of her, annoyance still on his face.
"Of course not." Rika said with a pasted on smile, "Let's go."
Rika figured she could point that she knew most of the stuff Kiaba was telling her about the different Egyptian artefacts but decided not to, it was nice to listen to him talk about them. Plus he did make the information about them more interesting because he genuinely liked what he was talking about. Letting her mind wander a bit Rika looked at some pots and other household items found in a dig and wondered about the people who'd once used them, made them by hand with love and care.
"Seto Kiaba, to what do I owe the pleasure?" A woman's voice asked from behind them and Rika turned around to see a stunning woman walking towards them. She was obviously of Egyptian descent with her dark colouring and brownish gold skin. She was shorter then Rika and more delicately built with a natural grace as she walked towards them with a smile on her face.
"Isis." Seto acknowledged with a nod of his head, not surprised to see her wearing her typical Egyptian styled clothing as usual.
"I'll leave you two to your discussion, thank you for the tour." Rika said with a smile before walking off to look at the next exhibit, which featured several tapestries that were imitations of what could be found in the times of Pharaohs and pyramids.
"A friend of yours? I have the strangest feeling we've met before." Isis said as she looked from the girl who'd been walking with Seto to the man himself. Now what would have brought you to me Isis wondered curiously, knowing that it must be something related to Egypt or his former life. Though still friendly Isis knew this would not be a social visit.
"A business associate. Its possible you've met before, she's been here to see this exhibit before and-she might also be familiar from someplace else." Seto said not knowing how else to put it. This was damn awkward and he had a feeling that this was only going to continue to go downhill from here on in.
"You believe its possible that we might have met in a former life?" Isis said curiously as she looked over towards Rika who was looking at the displays. "Why do you believe this?"
With a sigh Seto looked over at Rika before turning back to Isis. "It all started when I got the necklace……"
Rika turned her head to look at the two talking then figuring it was none of her business headed for the piece du restance, the large tablet that had been found detailing a great battle. It hadn't been open to the public when she'd been here for the first time so Rika wanted to see it above all else. Walking around the corner Rika came to an abrupt halt as she stared at the sight before her. Walking closer Rika gazed at the piece of art and was simply blown away at the thought that something like this could be created. Walking to stand a few feet away from its protective glass Rika looked at the lettering and got another shock of her life, she could read the writing. Looking up at the tope her eyes landed on the two figures battling, then everything blurred.
Blinking, knowing without looking what she would see Rika found herself once again in her vision world as she'' come to call it. Hearing the voices of two men calling out to each other Rika turned around to see a Duel Monster battle of old being fought. Looking first to the right Rika recognized the one player as Yami, the one she called her brother in her dreams who's monster she didn't recognize, a fusion and his Dark Magician. To the left was Seto, the High Priest with his Red eyes at the ready. The battle was almost over she thought, knowing somehow that her brother was about to deliver the punishing blow. On cue the Dark Magician was called and delivered the killing blow, the Red Eyes destroyed with the game over. Clapping despite herself Rika moved away from her spot where she'd been observing and walked over to Yami who looked very pleased with himself though he was trying to hide it.
"Not a bad match, my sister. It took me longer then I estimated to win that one." Yami said with a smile and Rika smiled back automatically. "Learn anything?"
"That no matter how much you practice on our High Priest you will still have difficulty beating me." Rika replied before she could think about it. "Congratulations on your win, Brother." She added as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "A victory well deserved."
"Well aren't you feeling humble today." Yami said with a smirk. "Since the game is over I must head to the council to discuss the problems to the south, we'll have to battle later." He added as he headed off toward the door, his men following close behind. Looking back over her shoulder Rika saw Seto about to leave and with a feeling of mischief walked towards him.
"A match well played High Priest." Rika said when she was close enough for him to hear her. For some reason she'd come to enjoy baiting him and see how long it took before he let his true feelings show. She annoyed the hell out of him but it took much to get him to show it. "Had you been able to survive the attack your next would have likely ended it." Rika added, knowing his strategy well.
"I lost but it was a good match." Seto agreed, looking at her through blank blue eyes.
"None the less a game well played. Well done, Dragon Master." Rika said and before she or he knew what she was about to do she got up on tippy toes and placed a kiss upon his cheek. 'Next time you might want to trust in the Heart of the Cards as oppose to simply your own mind." She whispered then giving him a wink turned around, the scenery and everything around her changing so that everything was back to normal and as it once had been. Looking around her she saw no one and thinking that the writings might pose a clue began to read the tale of a mighty pharaoh.
"So do you believe I could be right about it being memories as oppose to delusions?" Seto asked as he looked at Isis carefully, looking for any sign she might give away as to her beliefs on this particular matter. "I cannot contact Yami yet but even that might not be for certain as he doesn't remember everything either so he might not know either."
"It is most likely that Yami had siblings that he cannot remember, given the time period its quite likely though there are no records of them other then the younger brother who ruled after him, Rameses. However as she was female that is no surprise. As I know you well Seto I doubt very much that these are simply daydreams and that you could be quite right about them being memories. Whether Rika is a reincarnation of Ri is questionable, you might have simply put her face on Ri's but there is always the chance that Ri and Rika might be the same person. I haven't seen her leave the main room, let's find her so that I can get a better impression of her." Motioning him forward the two walked over to where Rika had gone and Isis was surprised to see that the girl was still there, wait a minute-she was reading the writing. Eyes wide with shock Isis listened to the girl softly read the text out loud to herself, correctly.
"Rika?" Seto said in surprise when he realized that Rika was reading the text as well. That language was from thousands of years ago, the language virtually lost to all those but a few. Where had she learned to read it?
"Oh, hello." Rika said moving away from the tablet to look at them with a weak smile. She was reading the tablet for the second time and her heart was falling rapidly. There was no doubt in her head that the two figures battling it out on the top of the drawing were the Pharaoh and the Dragon Master. But how could that be and why did she have the strangest feeling of sadness and grief when she looked at it?
"You can read it?" Isis asked as she looked at the girl curiously. She had no obvious Egyptian features except for the look in her eyes that suggested a combination between scholar and hunter.
"Most of it." Rika said with a smile then as casually as possibly looked down at her watch. "And the museum is going to be closing in ten minutes, I better head back. This is a great exhibit, you should be very proud of it." Rika added as she nodded at Isis who gave her the feeling that they'd met and yet Rika couldn't place where.
"I hope you'll come back another time to see what you've missed." Isis said with a smile, getting the feeling that Rika was more then she let on or possibly even knew she was.
"Count on it." Rika said with a nod as her eyes went to the drawings and carvings before smiling at both of them. "Good evening to you both." She added and with a quick nod strolled off towards the exit; suddenly eager to get away from them and process everything she'd learned in such a small time.
"Has she said anything about have similar feelings of having met before?" Isis asked as she turned back to Seto, noting that his eyes were following Rika as she exited the building. Now that was an interesting piece to add to the pot Isis thought with a small smile. Seto didn't look at women but he looked at this one and could it be possible that he felt something for her-and if she was Yami's sister-how interesting.
"No, she hasn't mentioned anything. Let me know if you find out anything." Seto said before walking away, heading towards the exit Rika had gone through before coming to a stop in front of a large painting Isis had had hung until the painting that was suppose to be going there arrived. With a start Isis realized that she might be witnessing Seto about to have one of his visions.
Seto blinked at the painting and in that instance the picture of the land of Egypt became real scenery and he was on the balcony overlooking the Nile in all its beauty. Staring out at the gorgeous sight Seto couldn't tear his eyes away to even care as his mind told him that he was once again taken over by one of his visions.
"Beautiful isn't it?" A voice said from behind him and Seto continued to look out as she moved from behind him to stand beside him, Ri's face bathed in moonlight, silently enjoyed the view provided by the golden balcony they stood on.
"Very." Seto agreed, refusing to look at her. He still couldn't believed she'd kissed him on the cheek after the battle, of all the things she'd done to him in the past the kiss definitely topped them all in the shocking and annoying area. How dare she kiss him and then walk away as if she'd had the right to do so. Someone needed to put her in her place and Seto hoped that Yami would realize this very shortly.
"You want to wring my neck, don't you?" Ri said with a laugh in her voice and Seto turned his head to see her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "I must say High Priest, it must be testing you sorely that you can't dare to."
"I could strangle you if I wanted to, Ri." Seto said with a dark look, angry at her for annoying him and at himself for letting her. "By the time anyone got here you'd already be dead."
"Well then why don't you do it, oh mighty Dragon Master?" Ri said moving into his personal space, looking up at him with mischief and dare clear in her eyes. "Ring my neck, or try, I can't promise I won't put up a fight."
Looking into her eyes Seto wanted very much to do so but he wanted to do something else just as much, both of his desires could get him dead but the latter might just be worth it Seto thought. He leaned closer; looking her straight in the eyes as her eyes reflected her knowledge of what was about to come.
"Seto, are you all right?" Isis asked when Seto suddenly jerked from under the hand she'd placed on his shoulder when he'd gone off into the trance, confirming that he wasn't just imagining things or hallucinating.
"No, I'm not." Seto said shortly, his breath coming out in short breaths. 'That's the third time today that she's done this to me and its getting damn annoying."