Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: So as to why the teens baby Mokuba a bit, despite there's been 'some' time between the shooting and this. Mokuba is 'still' a child, and there will be times they tend to treat him 'younger' than he is to offset his tendency to act 'older' cuz of his position... And crap well that's the end of this song need a new one for the rest of this arc... Thankfully after this arc all the Fillers from the series are covered and I can just start 'book 2' by using generic chapter 1, chapter 2 stuff...
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At the end of the hallway, a door cracked open before Yugi walked out. Faux leather pants, for Mahaado's peace of mind, and a button on white shirt that wasn't buttoned or tucked. It was clearly 'torture Anzu' day in Florida because his hair was mussed up enough that he looked more like a model standing at the hallway, laid back and calm.
Tall as he was, his hair spilled down over his shoulders in this silky dusky red to dark tones. His bangs, those eternally strangely blond and shaped framed. And when his eyes fell on her she suddenly remembered. 'Gods know what mortals were thinking...'
The smile was amused and apologetic even as he looked away. Perhaps to give her a chance to think for herself?
'God why me?' was a question she wanted to ask. Outside light was streaming through the windows. But western windows were tinted, and it had a humanizing effect on Yugi, making him feel more grounded, here.
But if Yugi was 'God', and he 'answered'...
Mahaado materialized once more in his high priest robes all the way to the head dress and lower face mask. Already kneeling by Yugi's side and gave him a once over, "Pharaoh unless you wish to inspire fertility, which by the way, is the wrong season for this area..."
'Why?!' Anzu's mind wailed.
"Fertility? Yugi's presence makes people hot and bothered, or 'seeing' Yugi is going to make people hot and bothered?" Mokuba asked, "Cuz there is that one duelist..."
"What?" Ryou wasn't really 'asking', because he had the fun of spirits. Spirits taking out security cameras which probably wasn't going to make Kaiba happy.
"There's a Wong, Vivian, rumors say she's a bit of a gold digger. Jumps into whatever can net her money or a man with money. Modeling, a bit of acting, can't sing but she can dance, and she accepted the invite so she's going to be here for the tournament."
"How old is she?" Malik asked, 'Is this going to be like when I go to their school?' He glanced up at Kaiba while thoughts on how the weather could possibly go south, again. For a completely different reason that what was becoming his new 'normal'.
"25, but she isn't adverse to preying on high schoolers," Kaiba explained with a long suffering sigh. Arms crossed and just waiting for what he knew was coming.
"Asking me and having me 'answer' will only make it happen," Yugi warned, his eyes fixating onto Malik as he opened his mouth.
Malik sighed before looking back up at Kaiba. "Think there's a chance she's gunning for the two of you? Seeing that one of you is rich as hell and the other is God on Earth?"
"I don't have time for her nonsense, though..." Kaiba began to smirk as he stared at Yugi.
"She has the freedom to choose her actions. As do you, if you want this tournament to be the least bit interesting..." The King of Games expression became mirthless as he leaned back against the door of his suite.
"Yugi?" Anzu asked, the expression was so sudden a hard shift that she walked over out of worry.
He watched her with a sad smile before looking from her back to Seto. "Explain it," he ordered and Kaiba stiffened in response.
Everyone turned their gaze to Kaiba save Mahaado who was finally standing up.
A sour sounding sigh escaped Kaiba, "he's a 'God' you think he can play this game 'fairly'? He can change a deck composition with a thought. He doesn't even 'need' to want it, just 'this would be a good move', his Will can influence the deck and the duelist."
The group blinked before turning to look at Yugi, slowly with a growing sympathy.
"I need to retire the title, there's no... I can't... Its not fair..." Yugi's head lowered, his eyes shut in growing frustration. Turning he left the hallway and without further word went back into his suite without looking back.
"But Yugi loves playing games, its what his name 'means'." Anzu pointed out uselessly to the others in the hallway.
"What fun can he have if he can't even enjoy that simple thing?" Ryou mused aloud.
"So much about games are about socializing right? That must be lonely," Malik added in agreement. His memories going back to his childhood. Sure his siblings were always there to play and support him. But they were far older than he was, and his position among the tribes meant he was pretty alone as well. 'Probably why I could bring myself to treat Rashid badly for so long...' Shame and guilt colored the thoughts as pangs of sympathy stirred his heart.
Meanwhile, Yugi sat on the floor on the other side of the door with his back and head pressed against it. Taking slow measured breaths he fought down the urge to cry as frustration bubbled up inside his chest. Ryou was 'right there' and he had the background to do it. Just say the thing that would allow Yugi to just...
"Pharaoh? I realize you wish to grant us our freedom, but you are suffering. Can you not? Just this once?" Mahaado asked, "or rather twice since you did order Seth..."
"I can, but I will not..." Yugi answered as the tears started to roll down his cheeks.
Outside the suite the others continued their conversation, Mokuba, now nervous about disturbing Yugi offered to take Anzu to get a nice outfit. For the dinner of course, because he was extending the invitations to the banquet. Seto wasn't going to. Malik was curious about shopping and Ryou was resigned to joining in.
Slamming down around him a sudden metaphorical storm enveloped his senses, as Seto once more tried to shield Yugi.
"Pharaoh, you are to attend the feast yes? How will you keep them from forcing Words of Power from you?" Mahaado asked, growing worried over how his Pharaoh sat. The tears alone were distressing enough and while he could...
"I don't need a stand in, I can eat up here," Yugi answered before sighing a resigned, "yes I can eat up here."
He watched as the spirit of Ryou's dead mother drifted into the room. She stopped as she saw he was looking directly at her and that pause was almost amusing. "Go ahead, make your petition Haqikah."
"Pharaoh?" Mahaado looked about the room yet it was empty?
She froze in shock as he spoke her name with such ease, and felt the strength leave her limbs. 'A God, oh Heavens truly a God!' panic consumed her before she threw herself at Yugi's feet.
All the while Yugi waited patiently for her to decide on which of the multitude of questions in her head, that she would ask.
"Please oh Divine God! I know I am unworthy, but my question is on behalf of my friend who I have wronged so. If You could just speak to Great and Kind Anubis and ask of Him about her son. She never got to see him again, all I ask is to know if he grew up? Or was he slain by the monster who stole him from my sweet, kind friend, Maibe?"
Yugi turned his gaze to Mahaado who was utterly lost by the exchange, "Is... this one of the Tomb Robbers spirits?"
Yugi smiled nodding slightly in answer before turning slightly to address the prostrated woman. "He lived seventeen summers in my service."
He felt her relief and joy. A place at the side of the Prince and Pharaoh was a celebrated place caught between a modern politician and movie star really.
"Who? Forgive me, is there something you desire Pharaoh?" Mahaado asked, shaking away the confusion of the conversation he was only hearing half of. If the Pharaoh showed a willingness to listen to the tomb robbers he wasn't going to scold!
"I'll wait up here until such time as I'm needed, or freed to walk about," Yugi smiled. "There won't be any harm coming to me, the group won't be coming here to disrupt this event." 'Go spend time with the others, have some fun' was on the tip of his tongue. Even as just a Pharaoh he could say it and send Mahaado away. Only now it wasn't an option and in anguish he just sat there in silence.
Leaving Mahaado to watch as his Pharaoh sat there, head turned down slightly while a multitude of thoughts swam before His Divine Eyes. A stray thought though started tugging at his mind, the mention of this 'gold digger'? For which Mahaado was left curious, a woman who wished to exploit the Pharaoh was not to be tolerated of course. But the others were so flippant about it...
"There's nothing wrong with learning about the modern world," Yugi said a faint smile crossing his face as he leaned back and looked over at Mahaado. A pale imitation of amusement in those lavender hued eyes.
Which gave Mahaado a reason to sigh in quiet resignation before fading out of sight.
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When evening fell, the lights got up.
Mai found herself looking about the banquet hall with a cool eye. Trying to take a look at her competition, she could see all four walls of the banquet hall. A large number of tables and a multitude of media heads and reporters milling about. The tables were all covered in crisp white table clothes, the floor a solid wood she didn't recognize beyond 'dark wood'. While the air hung heavy with the scent of cologne. The eternal signal that there was a great deal more men then women.
Of course there were.
But carried on the air between the heads of people and the well lit lights of the room was talk of Kaiba. Yet while there was a few snatches of conversation she could make out about his age and talent as a CEO...
'I shouldn't have been surprised', she found herself ruminating on as she moved into the room. Tight skirt, tight corset top with a light jacket in the colors of her favorite Cyber Harpy. As close as she was to getting cliché that she ever was going to go for. 'Poor kid though, that whole thing at the hospital, hell Yugi getting shot. He hasn't got a lot of friends, and even if he doesn't say they're his friends. Well they care for the stone cold CEO and they wouldn't if there wasn't something there...'
And that was kind of the thing.
"You know Mai. Ok I get that Kaiba went and saved Yugi and everyone in the hospital and that's great. But don't that take away from this whole event? Is anyone going to really care about the tournament anymore? Or they just coming now to see the second coming of Christ and his Lazarus man?" Valon had asked as he worked on leaned against the table. A towel wrapped around his waist as he dried his hair with another towel. "I understand what this tournament and this whole park is for and it just reeks that it might not get the focus it deserves."
A point that Mai couldn't dispute then, and what was proving to be a fact now. Most people were talking rumors, she could hear discussions about the sick and infirm walking after Kaiba's stunt. Not that she could follow 'all' the conversations, there was a limit to her linguistic capabilities after all. But his and Yugi's names were often coming up regardless of languages..
'Maybe I should find Kaiba and say 'hi',' She mused while glancing behind her annnnd she lost Valon.
How did she lose a guy with hair like Yugi? No idea, but she did!
But in his defense, he hadn't eaten and while dinner was yet to be served there 'was' a server with a plate of light finger foods for guests and he had followed his nose. So amid the sea of guests and reporters Mai continued her walk until she spied him.
'I'm glad this place is so active that the void can't get me.' She thought to herself as she began following the spikes of his hair... until she saw a distinct hair style and a very familiar face... "ANZU!"
The girl stiffened, looking about quickly. Mai saw as Anzu got on her tip toes to try and find the voice. Allowing the older woman to confirm it 'was' Anzu and momentarily forget her hunt for Valon as she walked over to greet the soon to be graduated from high schooler.
"Mai! How have you been?" Anzu asked when they finally got through the crowd and could hear each other properly.
"Oh you know, tournaments and traveling, saw Otogi, saw other things that make me think of you guys on a grander scale," Mai shrugged with amusement. "Oh and picked up a friend of my own. Valons' here somewhere I used to think Yugi was one of a kind with his hair, then I met Valon, apparently its just super rare."
'She has no idea,' Anzu thought, even as the realization that she was actually getting to hang out with another woman on this trip. 'I don't have to be one of the guys', the elation started to make her giddy. "Oh that sounds kind of nice, traveling around and having a companion..." And then she remembered how they arrived and she quickly got on her toes again to 'look' for this guy in hopes to hide any potential blushing. 'Please never know, please never know...'
"Yeah, nice guy, likes riding bikes, its how he's supporting himself on this trip. Not that he can do it for half as long as I can." Mai explained catching the questioning expression on Anzu's face. "He goes up to a garage and works for a bit for some under the table cash. But that doesn't mean he finds willing places in all our stops..."
"Oooh yeah... well if you ever get bored you could try talking to Yugi..." Anzu offered off the top of her head. At Mai's own confusion she 'did' blush, "well Yugi wants to reopen the shop and keep it running, but he's gotta go to school. Just a thought, one day you could settle down there and help with that, if you ever get the feeling of running a shop..."
Which... was an offer that got Mai's eyebrow raised even as Anzu shook her head and began apologizing for such a wild idea.
"Its not a bad idea Anzu, especially just off the top of your head and it has merits..." Mai agreed readily, "This is never a good life for a woman duelist, its sexualized like a lot of other things and once you reach a certain age... Well," she amended as she let her eyes drift over the sea of men some younger than her some much older. "Maybe this would be a nice way to start the change in that?"
That was when she saw a pair of buns moving about, hair done up and a very familiar face cruising among the guests. "Hide your men, Vivian is on the prowl."
"Huh? Who?" Anzu asked and while Mai had some height compared to Anzu she didn't want to make it look like she was staring... But Mokuba and Kaiba's assessments of the woman did start echoing in the back of her head.
"Vivian, she's the only other woman duelist in this tournament that had the points for Kaiba to invite." Mai explained, Vivian was wearing a beautiful form fitting gold and white chinese dress, there if she was mistaken those were emerald gemstones holding the buns up. "Looks like she's talking to one of the business men here, but she usually pursues flashy and rich not stuffy and rich..."
It was that word 'flashy' that kept Anzu's attention and now she 'had' to look around. Yet it wasn't the aforementioned 'gold digger' that Anzu spied first, and felt her stomach fall into her shoes. She did 'see' Vivian and yes, the woman was beautiful, with this haughty posture that brought to mind Mai when the gang first met the Cyber Harpy duelist back in Duelist kingdom.
Rather it was the man with her that got her attention.
"Oh no..."
"What? Ok come on Yugi isn't so simple as to fall for that..." Mai began when Anzu cut her off with this slightly panicked voice.
"That's not the problem, I see her but I see who she's talking 'too'." Anzu began and felt this crawling need to run screaming out of the room and to the elevator in a growing panic. Maybe grab Kaiba if she came across him in her panic.
"So what is?" Mai, now utterly perplexed started studying the older man that Vivian was talking to.
"That man is Yugi's dad."
