Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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"Hi Yugi," Anzu greeted as she walked into the hospital room. Her tone expected a reply, her heart accepted there wasn't going to be one. Yet. Looking up her eyes went straight to the television playing on the opposite side of the bed. A game show was playing before clicking over to a children's show without physical prompting. A message from the Spirits that they were still on duty and that no one had interfered 'in' the room.
She nodded her thanks before she moved over to his bedside, dragging a chair to the side with her. "I don't know how long you're planning to stay this way... So... Well!" She forced her voice to hold a little more cheer. "School hasn't changed, as far as we can tell. No new students showing up to be 'friends' with us. Its been pretty calm and quiet on that front. Miho's family got a pet kitten, cute little guy, gray and black stripes. Super adorable."
Anzu took his right hand into hers, feeling the slight chill that came from lack of movement and began to rub it gently. "Everyone has been doing their best to look after you and Kaiba.. And I think we've made some progress with Kaiba. He doesn't think he's a Pharaoh anymore!" She beamed slightly as she recalled yesterday.
"Remember how I mentioned that we had Isis and Rashid teach us some of the basics in prayers? Well, it seems to work! Funny enough they said we just had to figure out what Kaiba was in charge of and go from there." Anzu explained with a faintly awkward tone. "Its strange to think we have to pray to him.. But if it helps sure what ever, and you know what! He's trying to come back I think..."
The door to the dining room opened, and Anzu had expected to see Rashid motioning to Isis to come over. After all 'Pharaoh Set' had returned and been particularly clingy towards the pair, in an incredibly passive aggressive manner.
Instead it was... well Kaiba. He walked into the room and leaned against the door, with a complete lack of... spirit? He was in his business attire and he leaned against the door as though it was the only thing keeping him standing. Kaiba looked from face to face scanning each person in the room with a weary resignation before focusing on Mokuba.
The proud stride was absent, as he pushed himself to move to the table they all sat around, even as Isis stood up. Rashid was at the door entering it with his eyes wide and Anzu couldn't fathom what the pair were 'saying' in their silence. Jounouchi, who had been sitting across from Anzu, was even quiet. But there were eggshells in the room and everyone was walking on them.
When Kaiba finally reached them, he picked up a sheet of Mokuba's homework, looked it over and....
"Its... Its like he's just too tired to speak. I guess he's fighting the trauma that caused the flip over, but its taking everything he has. School he's Kaiba, work he's Kaiba... but home... since yesterday he was still Kaiba. He just folds in like a house of cards really. Its all he can do to interact with Mokuba. So any hope of him calling Mahaado out isn't happening either, we all doubt he has it in him." Anzu reported, while her eyes studied Yugi's features, before moving along to the screens and machines in the room.
"Malik thinks that its possible that Set didn't 'take over'. Rather it was a reflex of Kaiba himself, that it was a physical reflex of a limb that was missing. Only for the limb to still 'be' there and he convinced himself it was gone. Maybe the prayers were enough to convince him that he wasn't alone in looking after you." Anzu noted thoughtfully as she recalled how the prayers were manifesting, "oh and if you're wondering... Its Blue Eyes, the dragon has begun manifesting. I don't know if anyone else can see it, but we can... Faded imprints, shadows that look a bit like the dragon with a hint of blue where the eyes would be. If that's the answer to our prayers... Well... You got one fairly gliding along the surface of the hospital at the moment."
"We had to give Ryou a break though... I know you meant well and you're right. Ryou's actually pretty good as a leader but.." her lips tightened as she lifted up Yugi's hand and pressed her face against it. Feeling the smooth skin and the firm skeletal structure under that skin. "Come back to us soon Yugi. I think seeing his Pharaoh awake would help Kaiba, even if he doesn't admit it. Ryou also needs you... Gods, he's terrified that if he screws up he's going to damn the whole village and umm."
Words faded, minutes passed, and Anzu was left with no one to talk to. Not with Jounouchi at work and it being his turn to visit with her. "Your dad's personal assistant called, said your father understood the situation. But he's angry so you might want to be prepared for that conversation when it happens. He's kinda an odd guy that assistant actually, I mean he was professional and all. But I felt like he was angry and not in the 'this distracts from my duties' way. He wanted to know if you were 'really' ok, kept poking and prodding like..." She sighed and shrugged helplessly.
"When I talked to Ryou, he agreed, that it sounds more like the man knows you and is concerned for your well being. But you know your dad better than I, and if you know this 'assistant' I sure don't. I mean, 'is' he an assistant? He's not Japanese, but he could still be family I guess. Only there's no one left alive here to ask..." Anzu added before glancing at her watch. Pressed against the pulse of her inner wrist, she could see the hour was approaching for staff visits. So any 'personal' talk had to stop.
So she had to, again, swap topics... "Oh! I talked to Mai, she's going to the GrandPrix in Florida that Kaiba is hosting!" She announced with an enthusiasm she wished she had, "I haven't told her about how much you've grown. She's got a 'male friend' now, but he travels with her so maybe its more than that? She saw the shooting and was a little confused how you didn't get a bullet in the head. But beyond that... Its nice talking to her, having a woman who isn't being pulled away by duties..."
There was a knock on the door before it opened, allowing in a middle aged nurse to walk into the room. Blue Eyes flew ahead of her, the shadow of the dragon, small enough to rest on an arm as it slipped along the door to the wall. All the while the nurse was oblivious to its presence. There was some sense of recognition for Anzu, as the nurse entered unperturbed by the presence of another person. Even if Anzu didn't remember clearly, the woman apparently did as she gave a polite smile, "Back again eh little Anzu?"
"Yes, ahh..." then the memory slipped into place. "Mrs. Mizu."
"Has Little Yugi shown any sign of waking up?" The nurse asked as she moved to check on the read out on the systems keeping tabs on Yugi's vitals.
"No, I'm afraid not," Anzu answered, and despite understanding 'why' he was in a self induced coma, she couldn't keep the regret out of her voice.
"Well.. hopefully he'll wake up soon! His evaluations all say he's still quite responsive to physical exercise. No signs of joints locking up, honestly its like he's taking the best, deepest nap ever so... Don't give up ok?" Mrs. Mizu replied, upbeat and supportive as any auntie as she spoke. Her hair was up in a bun, and her slightly stocky body gave her a grounded feeling. Her gait was that of experience and she effortlessly moved to check over Yugi and his paperwork without any fuss.
"Really? I'm glad," Anzu replied, grateful to have the nurses explain what was going on. The ghosts couldn't after all, the most they could tell Ryou was born of their own observations. While that trip the Scotland always came up as a reference for Anzu. 'That group killed an innocent guy and stuffed him in a coffin...'
It was a terrible random thought that sprung up from the back of her mind. Something that was maybe a hold over from the stories she had heard. Misty, Honda's favorite nurse, had not returned to the hospital and her last conversation with him had him worried about her. Mrs. Santiago listed as being 'in a coma' when in fact her soul was being kept out of her body.
'Last year was the kids game, now its real thing isn't it?' she wondered as she kept the smile on her face to the best of her ability. 'Once graduation hits, I don't know if we can stick around long enough to help Yugi. We need to, but can we?' she questioned, as her eyes drifted up to the children show where a commercial was ending. But for a moment she was captivated by a vivid red stone on a card.
Sages' Stone.
'Wait... that card can be used by Dark Magician Girl to summon Dark Magician!' Anzu thought, but somehow the thought didn't inspire the level of hope she would have expected.
"Sage's stone is nice..." She could hear Yugi telling her. "It allows Dark Magician Girl to call her master to the field. But..."
'But we can't call her to start with. Even if we tried to use the Duel Disks and their real names, it doesn't mean it will help. If we can't even handle and sustain Mana, how are we going to sustain Mahaado?' she thought in frustration. Her gaze swept the room and for a moment she saw the silhouette of the shadow of Blue Eyes sitting on Mrs. Mizu's head.
A reassuring sight that as always, a sign that Anzu decided meant that Mrs. Mizu was a good person.
"Mrs. Mizu... may I ask you something?" Anzu asked, earning a questioning glance from the nurse. "What will it be like when he wakes up? I know you said that people have been working with his muscles but... Well?"
"Oh well," Mrs. Mizu replied, giving an understanding nod before turning to face Anzu. "Well to start with..."
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"Well if I'm awake when the Grand Prix takes place, I'll be sure to enjoy her shock," Yugi noted with amusement. Observing the memories of 'dreaming' was about as enjoyable as it sounded, thus allowing Yugi to listen more to the conversations going on around him in the waking world. Before him was a mirror with the black surface one expected from the inside of one's own eyelids.
Leaving Yugi sitting on a soft couch waiting while he laid stretched out on his side. His head was propped up by one hand, the other was holding a small blue and green ball no bigger than a marble. "And perhaps you're right, Set might just want someone to watch over me. Heh, still a helpless brat in his eyes aren't I?" Yugi mused with a half smile.
He rolled over to get on his knees before reaching out seemingly into thin air. Plucking out a book of his past and began flipping through the pages. "So Horakhty was the original form of the Three Gods..." Musing along, he popped the small ball into his mouth as he began reading about the three Gods.
'Interesting, seems the three have begun adjusting their requirements to being summoned and how... Obelisk is still open to being summoned by people... But Osiris and Ra have upped their restrictions...'
"Or rather I have," Yugi noted aloud after rolling the ball to his cheek. He turned around, the soft yet weighted clinking sound of his gold jewelry and the slithering of skin on fabric the only sound. Behind the couch and with their eyes ever fixed on him were three other 'hims'. All dark skin, all with the same hair and hair style and same ancient clothes. But Obelisk wore deep blues with cloth wrapped around his arms.
Osiris was in deep reds and had a strip of cloth that covered his mouth. Behind it, as Yugi was startled to learn, was a pair of mouths the way Osiris' dragon form had. The third, Ra, was in gold, with the fabric holding a very feathered feeling to its design. While the hands and feet were tipped in golden claws. 'My dead serious Ka Beasts... my soul...' Yugi thought as he stared at the three while they stared back at him.
"hmmm..."
Yugi blinked before turning to the mirror where the world began to appear. Blurry at first, but it would clear up soon. "Well back to 'this is your life...'" he mused before flipping book to the first clear page he found then pulling out a pen in much the same way.
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"Well.. I'm sorry, could you explain why you're interested in that site?" Dr. Bakura asked as he sat back in his suite over looking a rather delicious dinner. A modest fare to some, but for a man who spent most of his meals on dig sites. The thick slice of steak and potatoes were positively a gods send. The salad bowl had already been polished off with a sweet dressing and dessert was a decadent slice of cake.
"Well my company is looking to do some construction in the area. It may involve some excavation for foundation setting and I was told you had some experience with..." There was a pause and the sound of papers ruffling. "'Caverns under the desert'?"
"Ahh yes, well they were right to warn you. There is a large underground structure in that area. But there is nothing of archaeological relevance there anymore. I can send you a map of what you can expect to find though." Dr. Bakura answered as he speared a potato cube.
"That would be a big help, as hard as it is just to get machinery into place any bit of help would be a Godsend." The voice on the other end replied in relief, "though you're saying 'nothing of relevance' has me a bit concerned. What 'was' there before? If you're allowed to tell me..."
"Oh sure, it was not one close to any of the palaces of note to Pharaohs of the time period it was built. However; it was about over 9 meters squared, with a small rise of steps that lead up to nothing that I could find. Whatever had been there had been removed some time fairly recent compared to the room given the amount of accumulated dust. No signs of someone walking in or out, but whatever was there suddenly 'stopped' being there. The dust that had rested against it, tumbled down once it left."
"So what was there? A statue? Uh... I mean, things disappearing sounds worrisome, could it have been airlifted? Damaging the ceiling?" The man asked with a frown in his tone.
"No, it was more in the shape of a 2x4 wooden beam style only larger. As for its removal? I honestly can not tell, the ceiling was untouched as was all the walls and doorway. The only thing I can think of is that it got lifted up and carried out, because the door 'is' big enough to afford that. But again, the dust on the floor was undisturbed for a greater length of time than the missing relic that was moved." Dr. Bakura explained as he continued nibbling through his dinner.
"Hmm, I see, well... So long as that's the only thing my superiors need to worry about... So unless there's more of these rooms.."
"Well there's rumors that there 'are' a vast number of tunnels in the area, but I've never seen them. Supposedly Pegasus found a number of tunnels during his trip through Egypt from what I heard. So keep that in mind," Dr. Bakura warned as he swirled the wine in its glass.
"You're making this sound more and more like a bad idea. Not going to lie!" The man replied with a resigned sigh.
"Well its better you be warned now, than you try to dig and have some large equipment crash into a tunnel," Dr. Bakura replied smartly before taking a sip. "People often forget that Egypt is a 'desert' and that what once rested above ground can end up 'under' ground with enough sand."
"Right, right, yeah this just looks, after all the money spent on getting these permits and if we end up having wasted... Wait... 'Pegasus'? Isn't he that dead game maker?"
"Yes, I totally understand the problem of funding, mine is not a cheap or easy undertaking profession. And yes, Pegasus spent some time in Egypt, stories say he found something of what he was looking for. But beyond that, well he made a game that my son's friends play so..."
"Well, thank you for your time, I have to break some bad news to my bosses."
"My pleasure in aiding you, my condolences that it is going to cause you problems," when the pleasantries were done, Dr. Bakura hung up and looked over his dinner. "This is a top notch meal, I'm sure Ryou will love this..." He announced to the table as his mind calculated when his son's birthday came up and the chances of getting his son out to visit. Before Ryou came up with a profession of his own and started working towards that.
