In the few days following his mother's death, Yugi grew more worried about his sister. She felt different, like she was uncomfortable all of the time. He had tried to explain it to his friends, but they all chalked the difference up to grief. It made sense, Yugi supposed, and he hoped they were right, but he could not shake the feeling that there was more at work. As the days turned to weeks, Yugi's feeling of unease only grew. Umi had barely called him and Grandpa had even had trouble contacting their mother's lawyer to figure out what would happen now. So many things needed to be taken care of, but no one was talking to anyone, and Yugi felt powerless in the face of Umi's disconnection.

Yugi sat, his brow furrowed and lost in thought at lunch one day when he felt Umi call to him. His friends were chatting as usual, but he tuned them out as he turned his attention inward. He leaned against the chain link fence and closed his eyes. His Other Self was quick to join with him, acting as an anchor as he stretched his consciousness toward his twin. What he felt when he touched her consciousness was far from the grief that had overwhelmed him previously. He felt an undercurrent of fear, anger, and resignation overlayed with a dizzy arousal.

"Partner." His Other Self called to him as he felt himself dragged toward her thoughts. He heard two voices within her mind—Umi and someone else, a woman. His Other Self held tightly to his waist in an effort to keep him from slipping away.

"Use my memories, Umi. You can endure this if you let them comfort you." The woman's voice echoed as if from a great distance. Yugi and his Other Self was buffeted then with a warm wave. It made Yugi think of how Umi had tried to describe Egypt to him when they were younger. Blue eyes that reminded him vaguely of Kaiba's flashed briefly in his mind before they were replaced with familiar deep red-violet ones. Words he could not understand echoed through his mind in a voice that seemed so familiar it made him gasp. He felt Umi's desire break over him like a wave. His eyes flew open and he was back in the school yard. His friends were calling to him, their faces filled with concern. Yugi was breathing heavy and his heart raced. His entire body was shaking and he felt flushed as her emotions slammed through him.

"Yugi? Are you alright?" Tea asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. Her touch sent a shock through him that erupted from his lips in a gasp. He met her eyes and felt a rush of desire—a lingering effect from Umi's release. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to steady his breathing and slow his heart.

"I need a moment." He said tightly, pushing his way out of the tight circle his friends had formed around him. He interlaced his fingers at the back on his neck and looked up at the cloudy sky. He slowly regained a feeling of control over himself as his Other Self helped to settle his physical ailments.

"What was that, My Other Self?" he asked softly, not caring if anyone heard him, though the corner from which he looked out over the school yard was empty. He could feel the uneasiness within the spirit that echoed what he felt in himself.

"I think we both know what that was, Partner…" Yugi thought if the spirit could blush that he would have. He sighed and leaned against the fence.

"But who were those people? That woman?" The spirit was silent on the matter. "One of them reminded me of Kaiba, which makes sense given Umi's fascination with him since they kissed last year. The other one though…" he trailed off as he tried to recall the image. "It reminded me of you, Other Me. It even sounded like you."

"I do not know why."

"Could you understand what he said? The one that looked like you?"

"No."

"And why would Umi think about you? You didn't meet without telling me, did you?"

"No, Partner." The spirit's voice rippled in amusement. Yugi crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

"The woman's voice said 'Use my memories'. But it didn't seem like she was very happy about it."

"Your sister could probably explain more."

"If she would call me back."

"Perhaps you need to seek her out."

"How am I supposed to get to America, Other Me?"

The bell rang to announce the end of the lunch period. Yugi rejoined his friends, but could not let go of his worry.

"Yugi, everything good?" Joey asked as he passed by.

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now."

Umi awoke with a headache in the middle of the night. Her arm was stretched over her head and tied to an unfamiliar headboard. It was starting to go numb so she fumbled around with the knot as she tried to free herself. The room was strange to her, and she could not quite remember how she ended up there, much less how she ended up naked and tied to the bed. A noise from the bathroom startled her and Umi tried to hurry. The knot held fast. She could hear a man singing to himself from behind the cracked door. A stream of light from the crack fell along the carpet. She tried to look around, but what she could see of the bedroom was unfamiliar. The room itself had a distinctly masculine air about it. There were none of the hallmarks that she had always associated with a woman's touch even if she did not employ them in her own space.

She fumbled with the knot once more. The door creaked as it opened and Umi froze. Derek walked out of the bathroom in a similar state of undress as her own. Umi tried to pull a sheet over her naked body.

"Awake are you?" he said, his voice sultry and suggestive as he pulled the sheet from her grasp. "You seem to have forgotten out deal." He pressed his body against hers. Umi's mind raced.

"What deal?"

He pulled her legs against his chest before forcing his way inside her.

"The deal where you do whatever I say and I help you stay here." He leaned over to the bedside table and hung a official looking letter in front of her face. The words blurred together as he started thrusting into her. She gasped at the force of it and grabbed for the letter with her free hand. He quickly pulled it away as he continued forcing himself upon her.

"Later." he grunted. She glared at him. Hot, angry tears flowed down her face as his hands danced over her body. She pulled her knees toward her chest and placed her feet against him. She pushed as hard as she could, forcing her will upon him and thrusting him away and out of her. He yelled incoherently as he recovered and grabbed her free hand. He slipped the loosened binding over it and pulled it tight against her wrist.

"You do that again, bitch and you'll get more than just tied up." he said in a harsh whisper against her ear. He straddled her chest. His hairy legs and crotch rubbed roughly against her skin. He rubbed his erection against her lips. She looked up at him with fire in her eyes. The fire turned to fear as he settled his weight against her small form, compressing her chest and making it difficult to breath.

"You gonna be a good girl now?"

The tears flowed constantly as she gasped for air. The salty tip of his cock slid across her lips and cheek as she nodded.

"Prove it." He thrust his cock between her lips and back to her throat. She knew what he wanted and she wept as she gave it to him. Her tongue stroked the length of him as she sucked and teased. He thrust lightly but quickly into her. Her lips and nose were tickled by the forest of hair at the base of his dick and the pressure of its tip at the back of her throat made her gag. She wanted to throw up. She felt her belly clench as her bile rose, but he would not give her the freedom to do even that. He thrust and she sucked until he groaned and a sticky, salty fluid coated the back of her throat. She swallowed instinctively as he pulled his now limp cock from between her lips.

"Good girl." he patted her head and wiped the side of her mouth before kissing her deeply, his tongue exploring where his cock had just been. She tried to bite down on it as it danced along her own, but a pressure at her crotch made her gasp. He pulled back from the kiss and stuck three fingers in her mouth. They were shiny and slick with fluid that she realized had come from her.

"You're so wet, Umi. You must like it rough." He stood and stretched, leaving her wrists firmly secured to the headboard. She glared at his back and her cheeks flushed with anger. She hated him but she also hated the fact that he was at least partially right. What he had done had aroused her. She desperately wished that it had not, that she could look at him right now with nothing but the anger and hatred that he had given her. But she desperately wanted release, and he was withholding it from her. She could not even provide it for herself with her bindings, which only made her more furious. She watched as he dressed himself.

"You know what's good about today, Umi?"

She refused to answer him.

"It's Sunday. Know what that means?" He hovered his face very close to hers. His brown eyes stared triumphantly into her green ones. Still, she refused to answer.

"It means I get you all to myself. No school, no work. Just you doing whatever I want." Umi tried to shrink back from his malicious grin. He flicked her nipples with his fingertips which sent a wave of desire through her. She glared at him.

"Maybe I'll even let you cum." he laughed at her reaction as he turned away from her.

"Derek." she spat, finding her voice. He raised an eyebrow as he turned back to her.

"I need to go to the bathroom." She blushed as she averted her eyes from him. He sighed as he reluctantly pulled the bindings loose against her wrists.

"I guess you earned some free time today."

She pushed herself up and rubbed her right wrist. Her right arm was sore as she moved it.

"How long was I?" She could not bring herself to finish the question. She swung her legs off of the bed.

"Oh, you were tied up all night. After Josh brought you back from the dance, you were so drunk you couldn't keep you hands off him."

"Josh?" Her face was a mask of skepticism. She remembered the dance. It was the winter formal and her friend Christa had pressured her into going with a date. She had not been too keen on the idea in the first place, but Josh was a friend and they had vowed that even though they were going together, that it was not actually a date. Umi knew that Josh had wanted to date her, but she thought his feelings for her had passed after Seto Kaiba had so effective trounced him to win a kiss from her. Josh knew that Umi only had eyes for the young head of Kaiba Corporation from that day, or so she had been led to believe.

The dance was school sponsored so she was skeptical that she could have gotten drunk there. She did not even like the taste of the alcoholic drinks she had tried before. She certainly was not going to seek out such a drink.

"Yeah, well. you didn't look like you had much fun at the dance, so we started our own little party here."

"But I was supposed to spend the night at Christa's." She came to the conclusion that it was Derek who had gotten her drunk during their 'after-party'.

"I paid Josh to make sure you got home. Well, I guess you actually paid him, since what he wanted was to fuck you."

Umi could feel anger rising within her once more. She stood and strode towards the small bathroom. She moved too quickly through the unfamiliar space. She swooned and nearly fell. She caught herself on the edge of the dresser. Steadying herself, she continued to the bathroom. As she relieved herself, she was overcome by rage and shame and sadness. A familiar feeling washed over her as the spirit within-her constant companion, Neferet, opened the doors to her memories.

She stood next to her husband, dressed in all of the regalia of a queen. She had ruled by his side for the last few months since their father died and they were now overseeing the old pharaoh's interment and the sealing of his tomb. With the formal passing on their father into Abydos, her husband-brother was now Pharaoh and she was his Queen. She had finally achieved everything her mother had planned for her. She was the most powerful woman in the world, but she felt an ache, and emptiness that she could not fill. The jackal-headed priests spoke their enchantments and she stepped forward to give her own blessing as God's Wife. The workers moved a large coverstone into place and a seal was set upon it. Her husband-brother stood apart from the proceedings, regarding them with the watchful but aloof eye of the Pharaoh. As the tomb was sealed, she returned to his side. She could see in his face the deep grief that he felt. She slipped her hand within his and squeezed. The jewels in his crown sparkled in the desert sunlight as he turned to her. His eyes were wide with shock at her open display of affection. They remained hand in hand as they processed through the gathered crowd. Neferet knew that she would give him comfort this night, but she was uncertain what form that comfort would take. She also knew that the need to produce an heir was weighing heavily upon them both. She would pray to Taweret today in hopes that she would conceive tonight. She looked up at him, noting the darkness that had settled around his eyes. Maybe tonight she would simply be his shoulder to cry upon, she thought. An heir can wait. She turned her face back to the crowd, the bells in her hair jingling with the motion. She felt his eyes on her briefly before a jolt shot through her heart. The emptiness within her had suddenly filled and it left her breathless. She looked out into the crowd. A pair of intense blue eyes had locked on her. She met them with reckless abandon. Her breath came more quickly as she approached him, her Seto. He looked different. His hair was longer and partially obscured his face. He was dressed as a commoner rather than the high-born priest she knew him to be. But still she felt herself drawn to him. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she contented herself with watching him as she walked passed. Her heart, her body cried out for him, but she kept walking, her hand firmly gripped in her husband's.

He had vanished the day after she had married. Her husband had told her that he chose to leave. He had volunteered to serve in a distant village, far from the capital, far from her. She was not sure how much she believed of the story she had been told. For days, she grieved for him. Her husband had known them to be friends, but even he was surprised at how keenly she felt the loss. She had appreciated the efforts he made to help her forget, but Seto was a part of her in a way she did not fully understand. He was the Geb to her Nut, the Osiris to her Isis. Their work together in the temple-and the affair that had developed had tied them together. But the connection was far more deep than anyone had imagined. She would have lost herself to the grief for much longer, but the duties of her station were demanding and she quickly lost herself to her work. Now she felt the longing rise within her once more.

It was not long before he resumed his role as priest within the capitol. They were together, working, every day, but Neferet pined for time alone with him. She could see in his eyes that he also longed for her. But she also saw flashes of confusion when he did not realize she was looking at him, like there was something about her that he did not understand. She needed to see him alone, but her duties kept interfering with her desire. It was not until a few months after the tomb sealing that Neferet had her opportunity. Her husband-brother had been given a gift by a visiting dignitary-the daughter of a distant chieftain looking to appease the most powerful man in the world. Neferet supposed she was pretty enough, but she had none of the royal bearing required of a queen. Still, her husband-brother had become quite taken with the exotic young woman. She also seemed eager to please the Pharaoh. Neferet looked on with quiet disdain at the pair's courtship. Once she had been presented at the court, the young woman quickly dominated the Pharaoh's attention. the flirtation continued through dinner and Neferet grew more and more frustrated as she looked on.

She entered the harem in a huff and her mother, growing frail as her sun began to set, recognized her daughter's frustration.

"You knew this would happen, my dear one." the former queen said. "All Pharaohs think that the world is theirs and that everyone in it belongs to them."

Neferet yelled in anger. She collapsed in her mother's waiting arms, sobbing and screaming.

"It's not his interest in the insipid little snot." she whimpered. "Well, it is, but it's not only that."

"You're worried."

"Yes! What if she gives him what I have been trying to since our wedding night?"

Her mother smoothed her hair.

"What if I can't give him the heir we need? What if I can't have children?" Her voice grew quiet, fearful.

"Nonsense, Neferet. You will have a child. The oracles have forseen it, and the old seers as well."

"But I pray and pray to Taweret, and still nothing, Mother."

Her mother held her tightly as they sat in silence. Neferet knew from the way her mother's arms wrapped around her that the old woman was thinking, scheming. She was always looking for a way to place her family first.

"Just be patient, my dear." She said at last. Neferet sat alone as her mother walked to a chest. The old woman returned with a small vial which she pressed into Neferet's hands. "This will help."

Neferet looked at the pale green liquid in the tiny crystal container. It seemed to glow in the dimmly lit room.

"Give that to him. It should help him desire you and only you. at least for a while. But be sure to use it when the time is right."

"And how will I know when the time is right?" She turned the vial around in her fingers.

"You will know. But it is not tonight. As much as it hurts, Neferet, you must let him play with his new toy."

Neferet sighed in frustration. She hated to admit it, but the thought of her husband-brother bedding the young princess filled her with jealousy that she could not contain.

"There's something else, Mother. Seto has returned."

"So I have heard. But, Neferet, you must not give in to your feelings for him. You are queen now. As much as you may want him, your duty is to your family and the Pharaoh."

"But Mother, I know that you had lovers."

"Yes. After I gave the Pharaoh an heir."

Neferet sighed again and made her way to her chambers within the harem. She lay on her bed, her hair splayed around her and the cool night air prickling her skin. It would be soon enough, she thought, that he would grow tired of her. His favor would wane, she would join the harem and Neferet would once more be by his side. An oil lamp cast the room in a golden glow as she twisted the vial between her fingers. Despite her mother's warning to be patient, she felt desire building within her. She closed her eyes, trying to recall her husband-brother's face, but her heart kept bringing her back to her Seto. She placed the vial onto a small table as she began pacing. She could not deny how much she wanted him. She recalled what her mother had said, and the look her husband-brother had given her on their wedding night, how he said that she was his forever. She knew they were right, but she could not stop her feet as they carried her from the palace.

The streets were quiet as she strode purposefully through the night. In the past, she had skulked from shadow to shadow, but tonight she did not care who might see her. The trip to the temple was shorter than she remembered, but then she was no longer used to walking with her own feet through the city, and the palanquin always moved at a snail's pace. The hypostyle hall was flooded with torch light as some of the young acolytes re-enacted Ra's fight with Apophis, and Order's triumph over Chaos. She passed through them without comment, though she felt the weight of their gaze as she turned toward the priests' living quarters. Neferet was shrouded in darkness as she stepped into the dark corridor. She moved by instinct to a rough hewn wooden door with a thin strip of light seeping from underneath. She knocked, now hesitant as her mind and her heart fell into step with each other.

He stood in the open doorway, bare-chested, his long hair falling into his eyes and over his shoulder. The light radiating behind him reminded her of the sun disk and added to his otherworldly appearance. She had always felt within him the power of creation, but looking at him now, she was struck breathless by his divinity. This is the man who should have been Pharaoh, she thought as he fixed her with his gaze. His blue eyes were as intense as ever as they stared at her in surprise.

"Neferet." he sounded as breathless as she felt. She lay her bejeweled hands upon his chest and pushed her way into the small room. He pulled her against him as he closed the door behind her.

The banging on the door startled Umi from the memories. She looked around the strange bathroom from the corner of the shower stall. The tile was cold against her skin making her goose pimple as she tried to push herself further into the corner. Her own memories came rushing back to her-memories of anger and fear, shame and sadness. Derek yelled at her through the closed door.

"Just how long are you going to stay in there?"

She heard him mutter something else that she could not make out. Neferet's presence wrapped her like a blanket, giving her a strength and confidence she could not find within herself.

"You must learn what is going on, Umi." the spirit within said. "If I can endure and escape my dark prison, then you can overcome this." Umi took a deep breath as she stood and opened the door. The man who looked to be a few years older than her mother had been looked at her angrily as she met him with defiant eyes.

"Planning to spend all day in there were you?"

She noticed that he had a habit of talking in questions. Even statements he made were asked as questions to which he knew the answer. She walked passed him, carrying herself like a queen as much as she could. She retrieved the letter he had shown her earlier. Scanning the contents, she felt a sense of dread wash over her.

"How long have you had this?" she asked accusingly. The letter was dated several weeks ago, shortly after her mother's death.

"What does it matter? They're going to send you back to Japan soon if you don't get help to fight them."

She scanned the letter again, noting the dates presented within it. She had hoped to finish out the school year, but it seemed now that she would have to make her case to an immigration court to do so. He was right, she thought. She had no way of fixing this on her own. She needed help if she was going to get what she wanted. He sat next to her, his hand resting on her bare thigh.

"I can help you. I've got friends who can make this go away." He waved at the paper with his one hand as the other slid between her legs. "All you have to do is fulfill your end of the deal."

She kept her eyes on the paper. She was frozen, but her heart was threatening to jump out of her chest.

"What was the deal? I'm assuming we made it last night while I was drunk."

"I fix this problem so you can stay here to finish school, and maybe even get you into the college you want. All you have to do is."

"Whatever you want me to do." She turned to meet his brown eyes. His salt and pepper hair was cropped close and deep lines formed around his eyes and mouth. He looked like a less attractive, creepier version of George Clooney.

"Exactly." He leered at her.

"Will I still be able to do robotics?"

"Sure. We wouldn't want anyone to think anything is wrong, now would we?" he stroked her sex, which left her gasping. "Still wet I see." He whispered to her, his breath was hot on her flesh. "I'd even let you keep your little boyfriend." He nibbled at her neck as he pulled her onto his lap.

"Josh is not my boyfriend." Her voice was breathy, betraying her mind as her body responded to his calculated touch. He smirked as he pulled her closer, her legs straddling him.

"Do we have a deal?"

She tried to pull back, to weigh her options. Going to Poly had been a dream of hers since she was little, and she knew her options in Japan would be limited since she had spent so much time in America. And being able to finish school with her friends had been her goal since her mother died. Part of her wanted to go back and live with her brother, but she felt it would be so much more difficult there. She sighed as he pulled at her hips, inching her closer to him.

"If we don't have a deal, those friends that I have could make all of this go much faster than you could imagine." he waved the letter at her. She nodded her head. "Perfect." He pulled her into a sloppy kiss. She felt herself go rigid as his lips danced over her skin. "Now, let's see what you know." He threw her onto the bed, face down and pulled her hips back to him. She felt tears well in her eyes as he thrust himself into her once more.