Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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"I hope he doesn't mind when he gets back and finds us here," Anzu noted as she looked about the apartment floor. On the look out for any possible cards she might have missed in the dark.
"He'll know, the Spirits will tell him," Malik confidently replied, as he draped himself on the couch. "So how much do you know about what's been going on?"
"Heh, well, mostly what I know came from a school roof lunch session with the guys... which was 'interesting' to say the least. Or rather, part of an interesting day," confessed with a faint shrug of mild awkwardness. Catching sight of Malik raising a single blond eyebrow she gave a slightly forced laugh. "I take it Ryou hasn't told you anything?"
"Yes and no, honestly he's been so fixed on studying that we don't talk much about anything save when we were in California," Malik admitted with a faint shrug earning a raised eyebrow of his own.
"Don't you get bored though? Just watching Ryou study all the time?" She asked after she made herself a seat on the accent chair across from the couch that Malik had taken over and watched as he raised a semi limp hand of disinterest.
"He had.. California came with some interesting facts that made me feel it was best to be here. What's been going on was upsetting to 'Kura so I figured that I would hang out here and keep an eye on him." Having admitted that and seeing the mounting alarm in Anzu's eyes he shook his head to dispel the alarm. "We, my siblings and I, think he's just become immune but sensitive to demonic energy. He senses it and, its upsetting to him all the same. He gets aggressive and you may or may not see it while we're traveling. But he stops looking like the softest, most defenseless bunny in existence and starts looking like the Spirit."
He ended the sentence with a 'what can you do' shrug, but given what he had just said, she was a little more than just taken aback.
"Well, at least he's not going to hurt us?" She meant it as a statement, but her concern twisted her words into a question instead. One that got her a rolled pair of eyes and a 'yeah' type of head tilt for an answer.
"Dealing with demons is never really easy I guess," Malik commented offhandedly in a faint attempt at helping Anzu to settle down.
"Can't be harder than high school!" she joked, yet her tone with its undercurrent flatness got Malik's attention apparently. She waited as his expression softened a touch and she shook her head, "studying all the time, can't have much of a life while your nose is in a book." She answered the expression with the most airy way she could think of off the top of her head.
But Malik wasn't buying it, his lips straightened and he dropped his arms from the sides of the couch. He didn't cross his chest or legs, he wanted her to know that her thoughts were welcomed. He wasn't going to shut out what she said. "'Kura studies a lot, but I've heard that you've been having a time at school... Granted I don't go to school, but if there's something that can be done to help...?"
Anzu's face twisted into a grimace as she thought back on school life as it was winding down, with Malik giving soft, amazingly for him, gentle words of encouragement. "So, having Yugi as a friend was never really a problem. Given that he never really grew to look more than 10ish age wise, but you know the uproar that's happened since his growth."
Malik nodded, since getting chased through the mall was still something he was experiencing from time to time... He was literally starting to count the days until the mall asked him not to come back because of these 'little jogs'. Yet he also knew that she was trying to avoid the conversation all together, 'maybe she thinks I'll just get impatient and want her to skip it...'
"It wasn't all that bad at first, the girls outside my class got jealous and you get the younger students as well. They'd hide my shoes, trashed a few things that I had to replace, but nothing really bad," she began when Malik cut her off.
"Stealing your things and ruining them is 'not' bad?" He asked amazed and perplexed by how she could think that.
"Bullying is a part of life in school. Jounouchi and Honda used to beat Yugi up before they became friends. You just learn to deal with it," Anzu pointed out only to see the shocked horror on Malik's face. "Well, I mean..."
"Teachers just stand aside and let it happen?" Malik asked with a baffled alarm, 'if they bully the people they don't like what do they do to the people they 'do' like?' he wondered sitting there as Anzu gave a faint 'what can you do' shrug that did nothing to reassure Malik.
"So... you have people tripping going up stairs..." Anzu began when she closed her eyes and forced the words, "And people falling 'down' stairs..."
She had just finished going up the stairs and was heading for her next class, with her books in her arms. Anzu didn't see the girls in question, they were just another bunch of girls in a thinning crowd of students really. There was plenty of room for all of them to make their way down the hallway and they were heading in opposite directions anyways. She checked her watch and in the second that she was distracted, the girls 'bumped' into her, knocking the books out of her arms.
"I turned to yell at them, they kept walking forward and turned to go down the stairs and all five of them fell down the stairs. Literally, one slipped, grabbed her friend and it just domino-ed all the way until they were a pile on the first floor." Anzu held out her hands in a state of quiet frustration, "we know how the spirits act when Yugi gets too close to Ryou... Sure its toned down, but what if they are bothering Ryou? Sure there are girls who adore Ryou, but there are others who he's not their 'flavor' if you will."
"And its not like 'Kura has 'not' told them to lay off on abusing Yugi so they could be trying to make up for it by looking after all of you. In fact he 'does' have a few spirits who are currently monitoring Mokuba just in case..." Malik nodded seeing Anzu's point for her concern. "I admit I'm surprised that they would push people down the stairs though," he confessed as he sat there. Though the cards on the table began wiggling drawing his attention from Anzu down to them.
'No'
It was the first card that was pulled out in the pile and its simple word was easy enough to read from a distance. "No?" Malik read aloud as he leaned forward to pick up the card. "'No' as in 'no we're not doing anything like that in the school'?"
Anzu blinked in surprise and sat up to join Malik on the couch out of curiosity over the cards, now that she wasn't alone. The air 'was' a bit cooler as she moved around the table, while her eyes stayed fixed on the pile of cards that began fluttering as another card, close to the top was pulled free.
'Yes'
"You don't think its the demon do you?" Malik asked as he put the card back on the table so the spirits would have it in their word bank to use.
"Demon? But I thought...! The book?!" Anzu blurted out in shock.
'Didn't Jounouchi tell her anything?' Malik pondered as he looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and decided to ask just that.
Only she shook her head negatively before answering, "afraid not, his dad was home so all he could really openly tell me is that you guys needed my help again."
Maliks' expression smoothed out as he remembered that and he nodded in understanding, "apparently the demon has been active. We learned that the demon can affect things around it while its' trying to escape its imprisonment. The dead uncle and the twins? Apparently on their mothers' side the twins are related to people from Egypt who were charged with defending the book. We don't know where the book 'is' we're actually going to Europe to try and find Josie, the last person on the trip where the book was involved. Because, it would seem they took the book with them on a camping trip, got drunk and lost track of the book since the following day, Uncle killed himself."
"'Got drunk'?" Anzu repeated aghast, "Even if they got drunk during the night, how do you lose a 'book'..."
Malik shrugged, though it did bring up something else that he figured warning her about, "no idea, they didn't remember much of that night. What they 'do' know, and the reason why Josie is apparently in Europe. Is that when they get close to each other, there's a growing sense that they have to get away from each other. Even the twins, who spent their whole lives together, can't spend time near each other before it overwhelms them. Josie realizing she had to be on another land mass all together just to endure the strange feeling that came after that night."
Anzu's face went white with shock as she heard that her eyes shifting to look about the painfully normal living room, before shaking her head in disbelief, "you think the book is in the 'school'?"
"No, but its clear that the demon is getting stronger, apparently there were tablets, granted small ones, in place around the book that the family had. The dragon one, that might look like Blue Eyes, was broken years ago. That may have resulted in an increase in break ins at the family home, which the family assumed it to be because the book was 'trying' to get stolen." Malik finished before adding ruefully, "well maybe, the twins don't believe in real magic so I'm only grasping at straws about what the rest of the family thought."
"But the book in the 'school'?" Anzu repeated only to see Malik shake his head against the idea.
"Not exactly the book, but you guys 'are' there and they clearly want Yugi so the group could be trying things..." Malik offered with a shrug running out of really much else to go with until Bakura got back.
"Well, considering that Mahaado is walking around posing as Kaiba, I would think he'd notice demonic activity, in fact so should Ryou right? So it can't be 'that' bad..." Anzu reflected, thoughtfully earning a small nod from Malik.
"True, I suppose you're right, especially since its possible that Kaiba can cleanse an area on his own.." When he saw Anzu raise an eyebrow he shrugged before elaborating, "we went to the hotel that he stayed at. Kura noticed that the place is cleaned of any demonic activity, in fact from what he could tell there's a lot of demonic activity going on thanks to that book. But the hotel was clean of any sensation, and well... We think it might be because of whatever took out Kaiba." 'Don't mention Gods, Malik', the blond thought to himself as Anzu blinked in surprise.
"But now you got me curious, what made you think that Mahaado was up to something?"
"I've noticed a few things that I find a worrisome," Anzu admitted. "I mean he 'is' in the school so it would be strange if he didn't notice demonic activity even if he can't sense spirits. But honestly before you suggested demons I was starting to worry that if it wasn't the spirits it was Mahaado himself..."
"Wait.. shouldn't we wait until 'Kura is back before you continue if that's the topic?" He asked raising an eyebrow in confusion. 'Mahaado'? The Pharaoh's cherished 'Maha' sending people tumbling down the stairs? "Out of the three of us he's the only real expert we have on hand about Ka after all, short of my siblings. But I'm not sure you want to go to the boat and come all the way back here."
"He's also the one who 'killed' Mahaado and I'm sure you noticed how he all, but squirms when he has to deal with Mahaado directly." Anzu pointed out smartly, causing Malik to wince and nod as he silently agreed.
"Ok, so for now 'Kura is off the table, but what about Mahaado and how does the weird activity involve him, if it's not the demon.?" Malik asked going back to the issue that Anzu begrudgingly was bringing to his attention.
"Well, so..." Anzu grew quiet as she beat her head internally in an effort to think of a way to explain this. 'I can argue with myself since I know what I'm thinking but this sounds...' She rolled her shoulders and attempted to gather her thoughts to the best of her ability before starting. "So I guess at the most basic issue at hand is 'how does summoning a Ka work'? If every person 'has their own Ka and that Ka is a reflection of themselves' than what does that say about each person's inner self? More importantly, what does that do to someone who summons a Ka that isn't 'theirs' to call? Because while you may need some form of affinity with a Ka to get it to awaken from its tablet. It apparently connects to your life essence, and I'm having trouble thinking that there's no deeper link than that."
'So let me just reach over and grab the phone so I can call my sister,' Malik thought as he blinked taken utterly aback by Anzu's thought process. That was beyond what he was expecting, with its level of depth and foresight to even think those things. Especially since for all he could tell, Anzu wasn't close to Mahaado. "I guess its safe to assume your core concern is 'how does calling a Ka from a tablet affect both summoner and summons...?"
Anzu gave a faint shrug as an answer, "pretty much, because.. Ok I'm being bullied, but now that Kaiba is in control of Mahaado I'm starting to seriously worry about Mahaado."
"Mahaado, not Kaiba..." Malik clarified with a raised eyebrow, thrown for yet another curve since it sounded off to be worried about the person being controlled who was merely a spirit lacking a true body. Not the person who was still suffering from anemia and barely able to move about if at all.
"When Yugi is summoning him, Mahaado is the sweetest, kindest, most tolerant person in the world. Its impossible 'not' to fall for a guy like him, honestly if he were alive, he'd be joining you three on your runs through the mall." Anzu began, bringing attention once more to the fact that, hey, running through the mall could and was a thing. "But when its Kaiba..."
She rubbed her arms and looked away, not in fear but she seemed to still be struggling with whatever it was she was dealing with. "Is that an illusion of Kaiba that Mahaado wears like clothes, or does he morph his appearance outright? Since Kaiba 'is' taller than Mahaado though Mahaado has a thicker muscular build than Kaiba. Apparently when Mahaado just casts an illusion he programs it in the way we would a computer program, but he can't see through its eyes to see what its doing. Hence why he has to stay close to it, yet what he's doing right now is different. He can see, he's actively there and Kaiba is actively controlling 'him' the way that he would control the illusion."
"But Kaiba isn't as sweet or kind as Yugi, at least not in any recognizable way," Malik noted watching as Anzu nodded.
"Yet despite that, Kaiba isn't strict with Mahaado surprisingly, I think he's letting Mahaado do as he wants for the most part. Unless it involves the company or directly with people, because Mahaado falls right into step following Yugi around like a bodyguard," Anzu explained with a faint embarrassed smile that slipped into a resigned sigh. "Which Yugi had Mahaado create a laptop so he could just 'take it from Kaiba' forcing 'Kaiba' to follow him around..."
Malik blinked at Anzu's retelling, baffled about what this had to do with anything before adding, "it sounds overly complicated." He watched as she fairly squirmed in her seat before giving an answer that completely blew his mind.
"Apparently Mahaado realized the bullying has been going on and been showing up, as Kaiba, when it starts. I know he means well, but it gives the impression that Kaiba is kinder than he wants people to think of him as," Anzu began squirming.
'Kaiba has a reputation, sure Yugi and the Pharaoh might have gotten Kaiba back in touch with those kinder parts of himself. But if Mahaado is not acting like 'Kaiba' in those instances,' Malik thought.
"And ahh, when the bullying didn't stop, he started escalating his tactics to include altering the environments with his illusions."
'Wait, now I'm starting to see the problem,' Malik thought, shifting his sitting position so that he was leaning forward.
"I get the impression that he doesn't know what bullying looks like in Japan and he started taking notes from how I'm treated," Anzu explained her hands coming together and wiggling a bit in her mounting concern. "He's Mana's teacher after all, and he started off trying to help the bullied students. But he looks like 'Kaiba' and its not something Kaiba would do..."
'Oh... oh wait, she's going to say it...' Malik realized and really needed to call his sister.
"I think he's started using his spells to scare the bullies, school 'accidents' have been increasing rapidly. Nothing broken or fractured, thank goodness... But is this just something Kaiba would do if he could? Or Mahaado himself? He was a victim of straight out abuse after all..."