Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: Ok so I noticed a mistake when I was transcribing a cliffnotes version for future reference so I reuploaded it.
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Ryou was eyeing the window of their hotel room with a near manic gleam in his eyes. Outside, off the grounds, was bound to be a place where he could get himself a stiff drink. He needed something to get his mind off the 'banter' between Mai and Wong like 'now'. Malik was staring at the tv but he was listening to his sister on the phone. So thankfully he wasn't having a good time teasing Ryou forever and a day.
"No, wait what?"
Ryou was sitting at the table, eyeing the window that lead out to the world while his head rested on his folded arms and thought about dinner.
Which had been an amazing offering from steak to seafood, and Ryou had a delicious medium rare steak and scallops combo. Sure the dress code had been pretty above what they had on hand, but they could just easily teleport over to their homes and grab something.
"Let me get Ryou, if Anzu's up I'll grab her too."
The commentary as Mai egged Wong on made him want to go upstairs and kiss Yugi's feet in gratitude that Jounouchi wasn't here too!
"Hey Ryou..."
Maybe he shouldn't have gotten that sip or five of wine.
"Ryou this is important."
Ryou dropped his face into his folded arms and muttered something, but he twisted his body and pulled his head up from his arms.
Maliks' feet were on the floor, and he had his actual serious expression on his face. Ryou sat up and once Malik saw he had Ryou's full attention he reached over and flipped on the speaker option on the phone.
"Phone charges aren't cheap, we can tell her anything after the fact," Ryou pointed out with a frown.
"We are on the boat and charges will not be a problem. But this might be," Isis could be heard from the other side of the phone. "Honda got rushed to the hospital today. I am aware you have questions but allow me to finish," she instructed, cutting into the guys automatic exclamations and flood of questions. "Jounouchi said they saw someone hanging around the game shop's former location. At first they thought it merely one of our tribesmen looking for us and trying to use the shop as a type of point of reference. Which would be understandable. But when Honda tried to contact me for confirmation, Jounouchi said he heard an explosion on the phone from where he was standing. He thought the boat had bombed the way the shop had. We actually received a visit from the local police out of concern for our well being."
Ryou turned to look at Malik, he didn't want to interrupt but there was a clear 'could it be one of yours' question in his eyes. The blond was shaking his head so hard his bangs could have been upside down windshield wipers.
"When we were told of the explosion, the police were quite upset thinking it a prank. However; we explained the boys are close to the Pharaoh's family. Whatever 'explosion' they heard must have upset them into fearing for our safety as well. But we could not answer what this 'explosion' was, at least not to the police."
"However; given the presence of Exodia, your sister and I in private believe this was another message sent to us by the Pharaoh's grandfather." Rashids' voice was a comfort, deep, calm, steady as the pair settled around the phone. It was something solid to rest against as the waves of emotion and thoughts rolled the pair over and dragged them under.
"Where is Jounouchi now?" Ryou asked, as his mind automatically began making a 'dungeon map' of sorts regarding the area around the shop.
"He's at the hospital with Honda. They had to sedate the poor young man and while we are going to go and check on him ourselves. It is for the best you be aware of what happened. When you return, I'm sure Honda will be already released. However; if this is the bomber, and he's here in Domino... Well, Isis and I are not too sure how well the Pharaoh is going to take this." Rashid explained, his words throwing a proverbial bucket over the pair of them as they realized who he was suggesting this stranger was.
And who was residing in a suite above them...
"Thank you for letting us know, once you know how Honda is, please call us." Ryou replied before wiping his face with his hands.
"You have fun, Mai certainly is," Isis replied with a faint half smile in her tone causing Ryou to fan open his fingers so he could stare at the phone as it clicked.
"Tell Kaiba?" Malik suggested, tilting his head to the door. "God or not, he might want to increase security around his home and business."
Ryou nodded as he turned towards the door, "the group might not be doing anything dangerous, but the world keeps turning."
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Kaiba stood there with his arms crossed and an unamused expression on his face as he saw who was standing there. Though granted the thief showing up was a better option than the mutt, given he was a responsible adult. Bakura was still the 'Thief' and he really didn't want his evening bothered by the thief...
"Make it fast." He was still wearing his suit, the tie wasn't even loosen. Giving the impression that Kaiba was ready to go to the office right now.
"Jounouchi and Honda may have seen the person who bombed the Game Shop."
"In."
Kaiba growled the word out before turning just enough to allow the pair to walk into the suite, Mokuba was curled up in a large chair with Kaiba's more common used dueling coat draped over him. The boy could be seen in the distance in the bedroom area of the suite, but disappeared as Kaiba shut the sliding doors. His movements were stiff as he walked over and sat down in one of the thick stuffed chairs. Probably the same way he sat upon the throne of Kemet.
Malik draped himself in a similar chair, while Ryou dropped down in a wooden chair next to the table in the room.
"From what my siblings said, Jounouchi and Honda were out for a walk that took them close to the game shop's location. They saw someone there that they thought might be from my tribe, even thought they might be looking for us. But when Honda tried to call my siblings he heard an explosion. Jounouchi thought the boat had been bombed, and Honda went into some time of traumatized shock. So he's at the hospital being sedated and Jounouchi is with him. My siblings have gone to check on the pair and will call us back when they've talked to Jounouchi properly again."
"We haven't brought it up to Yugi, but I suppose he already knows about the whole thing," Ryou added earning a subtle double take from Malik.
"But he doesn't have to engage with that information if you don't give it to him directly," Kaiba pointed out. 'Its not uncommon for people like that to return to the scene. I suppose they've come regularly but we wouldn't know. Not with Yugi being relocated to my mansion, and everything that's been happening.' Kaiba thought to himself.
'And now that you're awake, there's no point in hiding it,' he mused to both himself and a certain nosy God.
"This is going to be difficult," Ryou admitted with a sigh. "They said it was probably Yugi's grandfather trying to tell them who the person was. So I decided you needed to know, because, well lets face it. You are a god, Yugi is God, but your employees aren't."
"Well you have my appreciation over the thoughtful gesture," Kaiba replied, it wasn't fully scornful. Not like it would have been two years before but there it was, a sliver of the old mortal Kaiba.
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"I don't get it, if Yugi knows why not do something?" Malik grumbled as he dropped back down on the same chair as before.
It was late enough and even if Kaiba was dressed to go to work, the pair were decidedly tired.
"I mean I get in the broad sense of people in general, not smiting everything is fine, but its his grandfather..." Malik explained as he tried to puzzle through this. "Jounouchi and Honda thought this person was from my tribes, Japan is a land of pale skin people, no offense." He turned to look at Ryou long enough to say 'no offense' then resumed.
"So the only possibility is someone from my tribe or from our country is part of the group. I mean if he doesn't want to be 'that' strict with other countries that's fine. But this is Kemet, shouldn't he be free to take his mad out on us?"
Ryou shrugged loosely as he began unbuttoning the cuffs to his shirt. "He's Japanese now, Kemet before, and by that logic well all races were created by him so there is no 'safe from his rage' race."
"If it had been me..." Malik began only for Ryou to crack up and start laughing.
Like seriously laugh.
Talking, 'Bakura is on a blood lust high' laugh.
Ryou was standing there working on the shirt with this tired yet amused expression on his face, even if his bangs hid his eyes a bit. "Scared?"
"What?" Ok that laugh was always scary, but there was something in Ryou's eyes, the man was thinking hard. "How am I scared for wondering why Yugi doesn't just strike everyone in Kemet dead or at least the guy who bombed the shop. For someone to know about Him, and come from our homeland, they 'have' to know what they are messing with in doing that against Yugi... Just makes logical sense to me."
The shirt was open and hanging the white t-shirt under it as Ryou plopped down to remove his shoes. "We've discussed this so many times, we've run the topic in circles at this point. 'Yugi is God so why doesn't He change the world to a better place?' and we've both had the same conclusion. One that got validated no less, by Yugi who doesn't because he lets the living make our own choices. This isn't about Yugi anymore. This is about you."
"Me?" Malik side eyed Ryou growing uneasy with how Ryou's tone was this sort of 'I know better than you'.
"Yes, if you were a God, we know what you would do and it scares you. Because you're 'not' a God so you can make up whatever, but you're the leader of the Tombkeeper tribe. What could be considered a very, very minor god. You have a responsibility to them, and you're afraid of failing them. Its one thing to lead people in an effort to attain godhood, its another to actually lead people good or bad. Yugi, to you, is starting to symbolize the macrocosm of your view of the world and your place in it."
Malik frowned as Ryou leaned back once his feet were free from their sneakers. "Yugi knows our pasts, presents, and futures, He knows the same thing your sisters' gift lets her glimpse at. He can make decisions and know they're right every time and 'you can't do that'. So you're scared. You're running scared this whole time, you can't be perfect and you've 'met' God."
"Its supposed to be this profound change, we're supposed to be blessed by his Grace and become our best selves. But that's what we tell ourselves. We make him into 'our' image because going into 'his' image can be pretty damn scary. We fill our version of Him with our petty vices and virtues, we tell ourselves that we're 'like Him' and that He thinks like we do and feels like we do. Because the reality that He's not can be soul breaking. If you were Him, with every sad, lonely, broken Monte running through your head. You would fix them with a snap of your fingers, you would make a world of perfection because its 'simple'. If everyone thinks its perfect, then no one has expectations of you because you've met their wants and needs. And you 'know' God, and Yugi isn't doing that. We'd all like to save the people like Monte, it makes us feel good about ourselves. So knowing Yugi is upstairs, possibly crying himself to sleep, because he can't help those people without taking their right to choose away. Makes us lesser because we cop out for the easy solution even if it hurts the other in the long run. And in being lesser, it makes you a lesser leader."
Malik frowned, the words were stuck in his throat, the defiance that he was just fine as he was, that he knew what he was doing...
Ryou just continued smiling. "We're not Him Malik, He has chosen to respect our wishes, and judge us after we die. 'We' have to deal with the world as it is, regardless good or bad. You don't have to hold him up as a measuring stick of superior leadership, you just have to be the leader 'you' want to be. Good or bad, and Yugi will let you know after you die."
"I'm doing just fine," Malik snarked without the usual venom he might have used. "I'm not running away either! I can be a perfectly fine leader, I just came to Japan because you're a friend and you were in distress..."
But they were still here, despite Ryou clearly moving past needing help and was pretty much established. Rashid and Isis was happy to have Kaiba back as a friend and be near their 'little prince' so it was just a benefit if they didn't automatically return! Also no one really needed them back at the tribes because no one called...
'I can convince myself of that easily enough... but it doesn't look like Ryou would take the bait.' Malik mentally groused at himself. "So what do you do when you mess up? What am I supposed to do if I make the wrong call? How does that make me look to 'God upstairs' or even how do I live with myself?"
Ryou shrugged slightly before he picked up his shoes and stood up. "You're asking the same questions we all do. Just everyone else accepts God isn't going to answer them so they just need to deal with it on their own. The only difference is you can go up and ask Him for yourself. Just no telling if He's going to answer you."
"I'm a kid in their eyes who murdered my father, they obey because its my title." Malik confessed as his gaze began chewing on the carpet.
"And in time you will either be the man who lets this be a learning experience, grow from it and be better. Or you'll end up a shriveled coward hiding from shadows fearing death and the consequences of his actions. Hard or easy, if its any consolation, its what everyone else faces so you're not alone."
"Thanks Thief," Malik grumbled out only to get a smirk expression as an answer. "Think I'll sit here a little longer before I go back to my suite."
"That's fine, just don't be so hard on yourself, you don't have to 'be' your father. Accountability is fine, but not if you damn yourself to the deepest pits of hell despite trying to change."
"Ok old man."
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"I'm not crying myself to sleep. I'm sitting here enjoying a mocktini because a drunk God is a creative God. Which no one needs to find out what reality would be like if I just opted to turn off gravity for awhile. 'I' know what would happen."
'Yugi go to SLEEP, given what your little stunt with those women is causing me. The least you can do is go to sleep!'
"Yes, mommy."
'I! AM! NOT! THE! MOTHER!'
I gave the night sky a salute with my drink before tossing it back.