Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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The Kaiba Corporation Grand Prix was to be held in the United States in the state of Florida. The Grand Prix was being hosted on a sprawling theme park, roughly a venture between KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions. After all, Kaiba was using Industrial Illusions monsters for the theme of his park. Not that it wasn't considered a little odd that the owner of one company would adore another company's product to 'this' extreme degree.

Sure KaibaCorp was about making games, but that they went so far to make what amounted to as accessories for this childrens' card game. Elevating it to 3D graphics. What video game company 'didn't' want the ability to make completely immersive three dimension environments for their players?

So this event was going to be on multiple levels an expose of sorts. Revealing the level of technology that KaibaCorp had already achieved, structured in an exciting duel of some of the worlds top duelists!

Kaiba instructed his staff to not to let Yugi on the plane.

Kaiba told Mahaado not to teleport Yugi to the hotel...

So Mahaado, ever faithful and not willing to make waves between two gods, did 'not' in fact teleport Yugi to the hotel.

He teleported Yugi to the airport where Yugi stood waiting with a 'welcome to Florida' sign and dressed like a limo driver. So much so that he had twisted his hair up to hide it under the limo cap and had airplane pilot shades on to hide his lavender colored eyes. If it weren't for the aura of GOD literally in that spot Kaiba might not have realized who it was.

Behind Yugi was a mostly empty waiting area, this particular part of the airport eternally reserved for the elite. There were no hard plastic seats, or open hallways for the masses to stomp their way through. Just a kiosk where flight attendants stood waiting to assist the newly arrived.

Mokuba readily walked up to Mahaado easily, and was already sizing up how Yugi had opted to dress the magician up. Chatting even from this distance about it being great to see Mahaado 'out like this'. Unspoken was the awareness that Mahaado generally refrained from being visible. Often times excusing his manner of dress and recognizing that his robes would be out of place in a time when men normally wore pants.

Despite wearing pants for three thousand years as a sealed soul in a tablet, but that was neither here nor there.

But his pants in his true form was skin tight, and the time that Kaiba got him in slacks was rather entertaining. Allowing for Kaibas' own memory of physical sensation coupled with them being in his dreams had meant Mahaado had been confronted with something he hadn't experienced in ages.

True physical contact.

Like right now, when Kaiba wanted to fairly choke Mahaado and yell at the magician for bringing Yugi here.

But he couldn't even do 'that' without Yugi's smug sing song smile reminding him that doing so would give the 'we're a couple' vibe. Sure this part of the airport was mostly empty, but there were still the flight attendants, and he couldn't really chase them out.

Mahaado wasn't dressed as a limo driver, obviously there was only one needed. Instead he was standing there, poised and anxious due to the role reversal. He wore the same colors as his robes, clean almost butter milk white, in suit format, appearing more as a host for Kaiba, someone of similar standing.

Yet he was a little more relaxed with Mokuba willing to take charge of their conversation. Welcoming Mahaado and Yugi like he didn't know they 'were not supposed to be here, YUGI', but that was just Mokuba's way. But if Yugi was here...

Kaiba began looking around for any 'more' of Yugi's little nerd group, scanning the waiting area with laser like precision.

"They're not here yet, I believe they're going to show up..." Yugi began then bit down on his lip, a frown forming on his face. 'Let them choose, don't dictate', he thought to himself and Kaiba seemed fairly aware of his reason for sudden silence.

"I told you to stay home Yugi..." Kaiba growled only for Yugi to raise the sign in his hands higher and the fractured smile to grow bigger. So he turned his irritated gaze onto Mahaado and addressed the magician next. "And I told you that he needed to stay there, and don't give me that 'Its not the hotel' retort."

"But... that leaves him with nothing to say Big Brother," Mokuba pointed out with a big grin on his face as he settled back on his heels. The airport was spacious and while Mokuba had been here several times it felt different now. Probably because it was with Yugi and Mahaado, so it wasn't just responsible Big Brother! More over Mahaado was sustaining a solid form so Mokuba could feel Mahaado stiffen at Kaiba's discipline tone.

"Regardless we should go! I haven't seen the on site hotel at the park yet and I want to show you guys around!" Mokuba announced before his eyes swept across a clock on the wall, deflating his eagerness. "Its.. that early huh... We have to wait a few hours before everything is open and..."

"The fun of dealing with time differences?" Yugi offered warmly as he glanced out to the runway and the predawn light. It was still dark outside, but there was this faint shade of light that reflected off the planes and the runways. The lights were still on outside, guiding the predawn flights as they rode in and if he went to the windows he would see the airport staff working outside.

"Yeah, my advice is to take a nap, if you want to do something today. Otherwise go to bed early tonight, cuz tomorrows the big dinner event."

"As though I would allow Yugi to attend it," Kaiba retorted as he walked past, the trio following in his wake.

"Why can't Yugi attend?" Mokuba asked, even if he hadn't already seen the constant arguing between the pair regarding this event now.

"Mokuba, people don't come back from the dead normally. I don't need to put him out in public outside of Japan if I can afford to," Kaiba replied evenly. "And he's still learning to not speak his mind anymore."

Yugi nodded quietly as he folded the welcome sign and tucked it under his arm, while the trio walked through the airport. The elegantly appointed waiting area was quiet while beyond it, the rest of the airport was fairly bustling even at this hour. Not that everyone was 'awake', but they 'were' present. There was a variety of seats that were occupied with people, some were even sprawled across several seats with their heads propped up on their luggage.

Clothes was mixed between business casual and out right comfy casual. While some people were forcing themselves to be awake by being online with their laptops. Off into the distance they could hear the wail of a baby who was 'not' happy to be awake at this hour. There were screens reporting on weather from various airports across the world as well as the time.

Yugi dipped away from the others and disappeared into a family restroom area. Mokuba watching as he reappeared with a brown teddy bear tucked into his arm. Wordlessly Yugi rejoined them with only a mysterious smile on his lips, whatever expression he had in his eyes was hidden by the sunglasses he wore.

"Remember Big brothers? We were in Canada then traveled to Japan the last time we were all on this side of the world... well outside of that immediate trip to Colorado..." Mokuba noted thoughtfully.

"And your brother washed the whole area of demonic activity. Sparkles still really," Yugi noted with a knowing smirk.

"Can we 'not'?" Kaiba snapped with a glare at Yugi who just smiled at him. "And if you want to give it back you can take it to one of the kiosks why go directly?"

"Why not?" Yugi replied simply while Mokubas' gaze ping ponged between the two...

"What?" reaching up Mokuba tugged on Mahaado's sleeve, "ok what happened?"

"I suspect it involves the owners of that bear." Mahaado replied and got a glare from Kaiba.

"'God' here wants to personally deliver the bear back to the owners before they board their next flight."

Yugi fairly beamed as Kaiba startled growling low in his throat, 'damn it Yugi. I don't have to use any idiotic 'divine power' to know what you would do.'

"Its weird to hear Big brother get called that," Mokuba noted sounding sour. "There's enough stories about what happens when Gods live among people. Yugi is Yugi."

The wail of the baby intensified down the large hallway. Off to the right there was a small family, a disheveled man was holding a baby in his arms, bouncing it as he tried to soothe its fitful wail. Sitting on the chair while a woman was sitting in one of those hard plastic seats. Bent over and digging through something they couldn't see.

Comically she shot back up, her motions quick and frustrated before she leaned over. Standing up she ruffled with the baby blanket and the mans' clothes to produce something in her hand. The baby was suddenly quieted as the desired pacifier was popped into the little one's mouth. Not that the little ones' noise could bother her big brother who was currently conked out. Tilted over and his head rested sleepily on the stiff travel bag.

Yugi paused long enough to press the toy bear against the childs' chest. Instinctively the child immediately open his arms and hugged his teddy bear.

"Oh crap. Sorry! Thanks for finding it!" the man answered even as his frazzled wife turned to look behind her.

She, herself, didn't look that great either. A little too pale, making the fatigue around her eyes stand out more, the smile a little more wane.

"It was no trouble," Yugi replied with polite formality. His words stilted in that manner of having been picked out and selected. Letting his Japanese accent enforce the perception that he didn't speak English as his first language. Granted the Kaibas' understood it easily, Yugi prior to the shooting would have understood it. Albeit with a bit of pause to finish translating the words. His pilot sized sunglasses hid his eyes so he could hide his grief at the sorrow and weariness in the couple.

His smile was warm, but felt stilted, pasted to his face. Normal would be a sympathetic smile for a crying baby. 'Yugi' wouldn't know that Chucks' sister had just miscarried while his family was in transit visiting. He wouldn't know that Patty had been stuck with both children opting to not hurt Carolina with the presence of what she had now lost. Hiding his own gut twisting grief as he felt their loss and pain. Then by proxy, the connection to Carolina as she tilted between grief and numbness.

'Give no more, let them be, let them find their path to helping her and live their lives...' he thought to himself. But it wasn't just them, it was 'everyone'. Everyone in the airport, disconnected with exhaustion, sleepy, or wide awake and working, different lives all of them. 'Seto was right about not coming, but I need to go through this sooner or later...'

Sooner was going to be the Grand Prix.

Granted everyone was going to be mostly geared to excitement and more positive emotions, but that didn't stop this moment from happening... Then it stopped, as sudden as a fortified wall between himself and the world around him. Suddenly the world was hazy as though he was looking at it through a dark stormy day. So Yugi smiled and walked on as Setos' own power began trying to cut him off from the world around them. Letting Mokuba's innocent voice help him drift his thoughts away from the pain of what he was walking away from...

"Dark Magician?"

It was a testament to how many children talked to their cards. That Mahaado, whose 'title' was translated in various ways, could 'still' respond to that name regardless. Hearing that name even in a language he didn't know and he readily turned his head, as obedient as ever.

And here came the kids!

Bright eyed, wired, and excited as they 'recognized' this tan skin stranger as their favorite Magician!

Hearing their excited cries as Mahaado was left quickly surrounded by such children was turning into a much needed bit of candy comfort. The parents were quickly after their run away children, some leaving spouses encumbered with luggage. Others dragging the luggage with them as they traveled without their spouses or lovers.

Though to Yugi they could have been running through storm clouds or rain showers thanks to Seto's attempt at easing him back.

The children paused in their eager chatter to looked up at Yugi before looking back at Mahaado who just stood there fairly awkwardly. His hands pinned down by numerous little hands gripping at his fingers, his wrists. Oh this poor Magician.

"Yugi," Kaiba began only to pause and realize just what he had done. Yugi 'as a name' might not have meant much to him.

But for the children at Mahaado's side? He could almost see the light bulbs going off as the kids whipped around in mounting excitement as they look at Yugi. There was clearly 'some' question as to Yugi's height and the hat that still hid his mane of hair... somehow...

"Yugi? Where?" Yugi asked going as far as to turn around and look behind him...

"I'm so sorry..." the parents had finally arrived, collecting their children with stern words about running off. Important words that the kids needed to learn, but it brought to mind once more their trip in Canada. The days they spent in the woods escaping the kidnapping and being found at that one small restaurant.

While Kuriboh was kuriboh, so small, so fluffy, so weak that almost no one noticed his invisible presence as he floated among the children. His tiny green paws reaching for Mahaado's spellbook. Gimme, gimme, gimme!

"You just 'had' to say my name right then," Yugi noted shaking his head as the kids were dragged away. Still asking if he was 'The Yugi'.

"That was entertaining though," Kaiba pointed out with a smug grin on his face as Yugi sighed sounding almost forlorn in tone. Yugi turned to look at him, whatever his eyes were saying was lost behind the glasses.

Mokuba sighed, folding his arms across his chest with a posture similar to his brother. "You two need to behave."

"He has a point, you are drawing so much attention to yourselves," Mahaado chided gently as he studied the pair while gently rebuffing Kuriboh from his spellbook.

"You both aren't even supposed to 'be' here," Kaiba pointed out smartly as they resumed their walk. "And besides, how 'are' we getting to the hotel? I doubt Yugi actually willed a limo into existence and drove it, no you may not!" Kaiba began only to cut himself off with a sharp glance at Yugi.

Beyond them was where the luggage had been transported to while Mahaado easily explained teleporting the pair over. Illusions of a limo to drive up and park at the parking lot of the airport to hide the fact that they just appeared.

"How? You have to pay for a spot in the parking lot, and I'm not rolling my bags to some..."

Flustered into silence he glared at Mahaado who merely shrugged. "An illusion yes, and hypnotizing the nice lady at the booth. Another illusion placed so the camera would see nothing at all so she need not accept payment or move from her spot. While providing a 'place' if you will for us to walk out of..." Mahaado answered easily. "I must thank you for teaching me so much of this modern world, it makes these situations all the easier to deal with."

"Maha so smart," Yugi chuckled, cranking up his pitch to a child like tone. Impishly smiling as Kaiba turned to glare at him in indignation. But even Mokuba had to grin at that as he pulled out his own travel bags.

'This is going to be fun!' Mokuba decided as he found his own bag and pulled it out. 'Hopefully nothings' going to ruin it either. Like that stupid shooting, or demon summoning, or school bullies...'