Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

'Where is Mahaado?' Kaiba found himself actually distracted by the thought. When Mahaado was walking around posing as him, they had been connected just enough that he...

Mokuba's head snapped up as Kaiba angrily slammed his hand down on his desk, the plastic cover of the pen gave a sharp note. "Big Brother?" Mokuba got up from his seat and walked over beside Kaiba's desk. His brother looked utterly annoyed by something that Mokuba couldn't see, as his brother wasn't even looking at his computer.

"Its nothing..." Kaiba began, barely holding back the same bite he would normally have used for one of his underlings. But this was Mokuba, and the pair had not had really any breathing room to spend time with each other since...

"Big Brother?" Mokuba not trusting that statement was an understatement as he studied his brother more closely. Kaiba looked... rather lonely, the fire that should have been in his eyes when he was angry was absent. Instead there was this quiet emotion that Mokuba only saw rarely when Kaiba was looking out the window, or when he studied the table when they were having dinner with Yugi. "You want to visit Big brother Yugi?"

"If I wanted to see him, he'd be here," Kaiba replied with a sigh as he let his gaze rake across the KaibaLand office. It wasn't a copy of his office back at KaibaCorp, though it had all the generic stuff, coupled with a trio of Blue Eye White Dragon shadows perched in various parts. There was a pair of thick chairs for guests, a computer on his desk. It lacked the usual frivolous pictures or paintings offices were known for. Not that Kaiba had the desire to go shopping for the 'appropriate artwork' for an office.

"So who do you want to be here?" Mokuba asked, looking about the room and trying to stifle this wormy feeling of disappointment.

Kaiba sighed and pushed himself to his feet before walking towards Mokuba. Kneeling down so he was more on Mokubas' eye level, he rested his hands on his brothers' shoulders and gave it a soft squeeze. Hate was a good word for what he felt, resentment, frustration, old emotions that he felt stirred back to life.

"Something is wrong with Mahaado," Kaiba began, earning a surprised look from his semi innocent little brother. "When a person summons a Ka from a tablet, we become connected..." It felt like the words were being held back... Kaiba saw this faint bit of understanding in his brothers' eyes and he wondered briefly if it was Yugi or Mahaado trying to protect the child. "And right now I can sense he's... having a little bit of fun that I can't allow.."

"Is it like the fun he was having at school?" Mokuba asked a frown forming on his face. 'I know Big brother Mahaado can be a bit dangerous, but he's really nice!' "Why would he be dangerous? Who would hurt him so badly to make him do something dangerous?"

Kaiba's failed attempt at assurance twisted his lips into a barely restrained scowl. "One day when you're older I'll tell you a bit of what happened back then. Just know that... I feel it... He's out in the park and he's having some fun..."

"So should I go get him?" Mokuba asked only for his brother to shake his head.

"You wouldn't be able to find him unless he wanted to be found, you've seen some of what he can do."

"Sooo, summon him here?" Mokuba tried and watched his brother look away. "I know you don't like it, and I know that he might affect your personality a little. But if he's behaving that won't be so bad. Well unless you act nice to the staff or something..." Mokuba pointed out earning himself a tight lipped smile from his brother before getting his hair ruffled.

"I just hate summoning him and being reminded of what happened that day. With Blue Eyes, well they're dragons... They don't look like Kisara, just her Ka... But Mahaado..."

Kaiba got back up to his feet, while Mokuba blinked in surprise at the slip, 'Kisara? Blue Eyes White Dragon's a girl named Kisara?' He turned his gaze over to the shadows and found himself even more curious about that. 'Big Brother likes boys and girls? Neat!'

The phone in the office gonged, not rang, not made any sound known to come from a multiline telephone system of the modern world.

It gonged.

Like those massive disks that would be stuck by men who looked like body builders just to hold the hammer. The Kaiba siblings stood there staring at the phone, Mokuba as though it just exploded, Kaiba... Well it was Kaiba.

He fairly ripped the phone off its unit before snarling, "funny Mouto, what?"

"No, let Mahaado have his fun." Yugi's voice came out lazily, while there was an unreasonable amount of 'Kurrs' Kaiba could hear in the background.

Mokuba blinked as his brothers' eyes narrowed as he glared at the wall for the crime of existing.

"What is he doing Yugi."

"Just playing, he's not been given some time to let off stress in... well all his life really. I mean several of his copies have gotten to enjoy themselves. But you wouldn't deny him would you?"

"And this murderous rage?" Kaiba snarled in Ancient Egyptian, since saying 'that' in Japanese or even English was going to upset Mokuba no two ways around it. But that was what it was. Mahaado, who had been petrified since the other day being on the grounds, was now using the permission to 'play' to straight up cut loose! "Do you have any idea..." Kaiba bit the rest of the sentence off, of course Yugi knew. He knew everything, regardless if he did or didn't act on that knowledge.

"He won't kill them, he's just making sure that your event goes off as planned," Yugi answered firmly, if a bit stiff in tone.

"You can't afford to go off on his rage..." Kaiba warned earning a dark chuckle out of Yugi.

"True true, but if I had the universe would already be gone. You shouldn't worry so, I have a room full of lovable Kuriboh's to keep me company!" Yugi answered, there was a Kuriboh sitting on his lap, a Kuriboh that lacked hands but bore a furless tail floating about, Kuribohs of various colors as well floating about.

"Yugi... Why is he so upset?" Kaiba demanded, a question that earned a twisted, sad smile on Yugi's face. One that Kaiba couldn't see, but could still hear.

"That's the choice of the world to explain to you," he answered as his gaze drifted up to the ceiling and the universe beyond.

"Yugi!"

"If 'I' talk about it, I will get angry Set, remember that." Yugi pointed out firmly, as he heard the faint hiss of Kaiba's displeased voice.

Of course he would remember, he never forgot! Little Prince Atem adored his Maha, hurting his Maha 'always' came with a consequence.

From that, Yugi reverted back to Japanese, "Dad doesn't remember the past, he was allowed to be reborn pure. Meaning he has no say over what I can do now."

"Have you seen your father since the dinner? Has he gone to your suite?" Kaiba asked now that the man had been brought to his attention.

"No, he told his boss he was working, so he's been busy working off site in his own room," Yugi explained.

And that he 'explained' his fathers' situation meant that Yugi was in his God view looking around. "So why did he come here of all places? Shouldn't he have gone back to Domino?"

"He heard about the event and my connection to it. Since it was the closer location than going all the way back to Domino, especially if I wasn't going to be there originally." Yugi explained with a grim smile on his face. "We have no way to meet up until after the tournament anyways. Since I'm stuck in here, and he's working... Again..."

Kaiba nodded slowly, "nothing is going to pull him from his work? Sounds like Gozoboro."

"Now now, your uncle may be bad with work focus, but he's working off the debt to our ancestors for the Sennen Items creation." Yugi pointed out as he saw his father's back in his mind. Large, facing down a horde of angry spirits and begging forgiveness. "As I am, I understand now why he works so hard... but before..."

"Big brother Yugi," Mokuba's voice was distant from the phone, but Yugi allowed his senses to hear it with proper clarity. "Who hurt big brother Mahaado so much that he's doing whatever?"

'If Seto won't answer you'll ask me...' Yugi shook his head in amusement. The phone's speaker switched on, while the room muted the sound from leaving the office before he sighed. "A good many people, many of whom inflicted their cruelty before I could protect him with my little princely authority."

"Why? Why do people hurt each other?" Mokuba asked and Kaiba fairly glared at him.

Mokuba could even feel the weight of the room shift, hard, and he wasn't even looking at his brother only the phone.

"There are various reasons really," Yugi began, his tone slow and with a measure of weight usually reserved for duels. "Some do it because they don't know it hurts someone else, others because they lack empathy to care they are hurting others. Some people need to be hurt to understand something they're doing is wrong."

"So where did big brother fall under?" Mokuba asked. 'It makes me think of our birth family... they knew, they had to know tossing us in the orphanage would hurt us. But they didn't care... and the Other Yugi's Penalty game hurt, but it got Big Brother to start changing his ways.'

"He didn't care." Yugi answered and followed it up as he knew what to expect as the next question. "He knew Mahaado had power and wanted it for himself."

"That's enough Mokuba, you shouldn't ask Yugi to tell you about other peoples' pasts like that," Kaiba scolded and while Mokuba didn't look 'completely' defiant, he did look embarrassed.

"I know, I just..." the child shrugged before sighing. "I'll go find him..."

"He's with Anzu, Ryou and Malik, you won't find 'him' but you'll find them. So just ask them for him and he'll be more inclined to manifest for you," Yugi offered with gentle encouragement in his voice.

"Ok," Mokuba hopped out of his seat and left the office with the shadow of a Blue Eyes White Dragon following him, its wings spread over his head.

"He knows better," Kaiba began and that earned him a small chuckle from Yugi.

"He knows 'us', and he's been through a lot. Its a good thing he feels he can talk to us. I mean the whole population of earth 'talks' to me non stop after all. Its nice to be able to respond," Yugi pointed out with a half smirk on his face. "Sure I 'could' just answer their questions but, you see how people get. They stop living their lives and suddenly want me to make all the choices for them so they don't screw up. As a whole, humanity would gladly cheat at the game of life to get their best ending afterlife experience."

"I don't blame us," Kaiba retorted as he returned to his seat and leaned back.

"Of course you don't. You're not responsible for sorting out the dead," Yugi replied back.

"So what is he doing exactly?" Kaiba finally asked idly watching as the two remaining shadows of Blue Eyes White Dragon drifted around the ceiling of the room.

"He's created illusions of course. Showing them images, tormenting them or well giving them enough rope to hang several people."

"And no one is reacting to this?" Kaiba asked as he sat up in mounting alarm.

"Of course not, Seth its 'Maha', they're not even able to interact with the human world anymore. Think of it like he's put them on a stage with props..."

"Yugi, does it not concern you at 'all' that he's doing that for 'fun'? I suppose the Kuriboh's are keeping you calm but they don't affect him!" Kaiba pointed out in growing irritation.

"You weren't there... and even if you were you would have been a baby..." Yugi pointed out gently. "Changing who he is, or how he reacts isn't by ignoring the issues, its addressing them. Besides, he has a very good reason for lashing out like this right now."

Kaiba set his jaw in frustration, Yugi was right of course, but he couldn't stop himself from railing against the injustice of it all.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Bakura was worried.

Mahaado had agreed to 'show' what he was doing to these men, yet what he was seeing... He would glance at Anzu or Malik and the pair appeared as calm as ever. The squealing pig in the booth was probably the largest 'something is wrong RUN YOU IDIOT' moment for Bakura. Only Anzu and Malik continued to look completely oblivious.

Soft patters of water struck as what was apparently the daily rain shower began. Tapping along the large umbrellas that were set up over casual outdoor picnic type tables. This steady rhythm that swept through the area as everyone rushed to the protective shelter of the umbrellas. It was soothing even as it kicked up the heat, heated by the pavement it rose up as a foggy steam.

"Guys, what do you see in the area?" He asked when a bell rang across the intercom system of the park.

"The First dueling stations have been located. Duel to commence in 10 minutes."

The voice was a robotic version of a woman's voice. Lacking warmth, or life it coldly gave the announcement before another bell rang and the system grew quiet. It echoed over the rain while this pair of men they had found...

The trio had come here to check on the other two men, and while Ryou had been noticeable reluctant and quiet... The men were becoming fascinated with something on their hands in this growing alarm that confused the pair.

"Wonder what's bothering them..." Malik asked, the heat from the rain was making him remember Japan's humidity.

"Its raining blood."

Both Malik and Anzu whipped around to look at Bakura with pure shock and disbelief. They looked at the rain, the clear drops of water that splattered peacefully along the ground or slipped down from a roof or wall that had been struck... Nothing liquid was red, the smell was only the delicious smells of the food being cooked.

"You sure?" Malik asked, trying to play it off but it was hard. Instinct wanted him to say 'you're crazy'. But Bakura wasn't crazy, he was positive of that, the soul was older, but Bakura was Bakura. If he said he saw blood then he saw blood. But if he saw 'blood' it meant that Mahaado was 'creating' the effect of blood?

'And they have bad blood between them. Mahaado is civil towards 'Kura cuz of Yugi, but well... he's not really doing anything 'to' 'Kura. We 'did' say we wanted to see what he was doing so maybe he's showing 'Kura everything?' Malik found himself pondering in mounting concern.

"Yes, there's a live pig in that BBQ place being cut apart and cooked, and the rain is blood, just for starters..." Bakura reported as he looked about, while Anzu started turning shades of white out of horror.

"Mahaado. You stop that! I get that you're supposed to have fun with them but why would you do something so horrifying?" Anzu began as she looked about at all the normal happy families and couples. There were those who appeared to be so used to this they just waited, others were clearly griping at the irritation as they were crowded under covers waiting as the mounting steam caused their clothes to stick to their skins.

"They wish to hurt Lady Mai, and this is merely a mild chastisement compared to what could be their punishment. Should they get their chance at her," Mahaado answered easily enough even if they couldn't see him.

"Mild?!" Anzu repeated, "Who hurt you to think this is 'mild'?!" She blurted out in disbelief.

"A good many people actually."