There was no
knock on her door before it was opened; the burly guard was
announcement enough for the one who was entering. Mana quickly rose
from her chair, silently thanking the Gods for giving her the insight
not to study Mahaado’s scriptures today; she doubted Atemu
would appreciate seeing the writings of her former teacher strewn out
all over her desk.
“My
Pharaoh,” she said and bowed for him.
“Mana,”
he returned, his voice warmer than before, and with a smile on her
lips, she looked up at him. His eyes didn’t reflect the
warmth in his voice and she quickly hid the disappointment she felt. It
was too much to ask for.
He lifted up his hand to stroke her cheek. His touch was gentle and she
found herself leaning into it, believing for one moment this all could
be honestly real. Someone who cared for her, someone who loved her and
had interest in her, and saw her differently than she really was: Mana,
not the Priestess, not the former apprentice, just…Mana.
“Why
did you leave my Court so hastily, Mana?”
She shivered
slightly when his hand slipped from her cheek to her bare shoulder. Her
linen shenti was tied together in front just above
her breasts, a golden jewel representing the holy scarab holding it
into place. She knew it was his favorite kind of dress, and her cheeks
colored darkly. Even now, after everything that had happened, she still
wanted to please him, wanted to have his approval, while she lowered
herself to nothing but a tool in his hands. She knew she
wasn’t the friend to him that she used to be. Not because of
her, but of how much he had changed…and still she longed for
his touch, longed to feel his fingers on her skin…
“My
Pharaoh…”
“In
our private quarters, you are allowed to use my name, Mana.”
She shivered
again. It wasn’t as much as a reminder as a command, and she
had difficulties addressing him with his first name - it created
distance to her.
“A-Atemu…”
“Yes?”
“That
poor man…”
“He
dared enter a holy sanctuary,” Atemu said, and he all but
shrugged. “We cannot allow anyone to trespass into our
ancestors’ tombs, Mana. Those who dare know of the risk they
take.”
“He
didn’t need to die,” Mana objected, and leaned a
little forward so their cheeks touched. He smiled softly, his other
hand taking hers and gently stroking her fingers.
“Habeeba,”
he said, lowering his voice. “Do you really think I would be
merciful to anyone who dares enter the royal tombs? My
father’s resting place has already been desecrated once. I
will not stand for a second time.”
“The
King of Thieves is dead,” Mana replied, standing still as his
hand trailed over her collarbone. “He no longer walks among
us. I understand, Pha…Atemu…how you feel.
Please...show mercy to those fools who think they can walk in his
footsteps. Show them the errors of their ways, instead of sentencing
them to death. You are the Pharaoh, the ruler of this nation - it is
your duty to be merciful…”
“I
will not stand for it,” Atemu interrupted her, repeating his
words. His other hand slid over her arm and shoulder, tracing her
smooth skin. “I will not allow these thieves to roam free and
think they can rob tombs unpunished.”
“Atemu…”
He
didn’t answer and tilted his head a little instead, brushing
his lips over her cheek.
“Mana…”
Hesitantly,
her arm came to rest over his shoulders, knowing that the curve of her
breasts would adjust itself accordingly, creating the desired cleavage.
Soon enough, she would feel his hands on them, stroking through the
fabric of her dress until he got impatient and would rip it from her,
exposing her to the light, exposing her vulnerability, and she hated
herself for it…but she couldn’t live without his
touch, live without him so close to her. She would live for the thought
that she could make things right, that she could bring back the old
Atemu she adored, the boy who believed in justice and fairness without
showing off power or intimidation.
“Ah,”
she gasped, as the Puzzle suddenly pressed painfully in her abdomen.
Without another word, he pulled away from her, hands tugging at the cord to take the heavy Item off. As usual, he put it on her desk, the piece of furniture easy to spot from every corner of her room. Mana bit her lip. She knew she had to feel proud and honored that he trusted her, that he felt at ease enough in her company to take off his ultimate symbol of power: the Sennen Puzzle. It wouldn’t take long before he would put it on again, though. This weight, this symbol that had been put on his shoulders far too early, was something he couldn’t live without. It made her feel sick to her stomach, how he couldn’t be separated from the Item, that he placed it so that he could keep an eye on it from wherever he was. He would still steal glances at it, even when his hands were all over her, his body pressing hers down on the bed. He would look at it when he touched her between her legs, making her squirm and arch her back to lean into his ministrations - he would look away from her. She felt like crying as he laid her down on the bed, large golden earrings resting upon her skin as he kissed her all over. Crying from happiness because she liked, no, loved the physical sensations, crying from the feelings of hatred because she abhorred the physical sensations at the same time, crying from the powerlessness she felt…but her body was already responding eagerly, so willing, and her mind went blank. As she surrendered completely to him, she only cried one more time for the loss of her teacher, the loss of her innocence, and the loss of her hope.
Timeline
II, Alternate Universe: Domino City, Japan
Jounouchi
Katsuya rolled over in his bed, pulling the pillow under his head
closer to him, snuggling into it. He shivered - it was cold in his
room. Damn winter,
he thought, smacking his lips. It was a school day, and his alarm clock
would go off any minute; until he heard the loud buzzing sound, he was
going to doze a little. The sound of breaking glass made him cringe and
he pressed his head deeper into the pillow, as if to shut the noise
out. I guess dad is up early this morning too. He
groaned.
The second his
alarm clock started buzzing, Jounouchi swatted at it, almost shoving it
off the small nightstand. He hated getting up so early, but school was
the only place where he could relatively be, or feel, at ease. There
was nothing his father or his environment could offer him here but
empty cupboards, no heating, a slap to the face or a beer bottle to his
head…
Yawning, he
threw the blankets off, shivering forcefully. Would there be warm water
today? Jounouchi got out of bed, traipsing through his small bedroom to
gather a towel and a bar of soap. It brought a small smile to his face
- Shizuka had bought him the soap, as she would often buy small things
for him. She didn’t mind that he’d put up a show of
not being willing to accept it, that she really didn’t need
to buy him things, but they both knew he needed it
- his father didn’t care about a thing, and his job as a
paperboy wasn’t very lucrative.
He opened the
door of his bedroom and peeked through the opening; his father
wasn’t in the hallway. Probably not in the bathroom either -
the man hadn’t taken a proper shower since forever, and he
didn’t want to come across him in just his pajamas. Hell, he
didn’t want to come across his father fully clothed. He was
an asshole, a drunken jerk. Jounouchi squelched the train of thought.
He wasn’t going to ruin his own day - it
was a Wednesday, which meant that he got to see Shizuka later this
afternoon!
He forced
himself to whistle all through the icy cold shower - darling father
probably hadn’t paid any bills, as the lights
weren’t working either; he would have to take a look into it
later - and brushed his teeth, squeezing out the very last bit of the
toothpaste. Damn. Jounouchi tried to fix his messy
blond hair, gave up on it and spend a few minutes getting dressed,
grabbing his schoolbooks and leaving before his father noticed that he
was up in the first place. He didn’t feel like a
confrontation, not today.
Jounouchi
slung his book bag over his shoulder. With a bit of luck,
he’d brought the right books for today; he always stuffed a
few without giving it a second thought into his bag. For his schedule,
he depended on his best friend Honda Hiroto - when he wasn’t
obsessing over Miho, the airhead of their class. Despite everything,
Jounouchi smiled again. He may not be every teacher’s pet,
but he didn’t loathe school. He liked the PE and the arts and
craft lessons, he always liked working with his hands. The boring
biology lectures, the monotonous history classes, not to mention
linguistics and math…he shivered. Coming across a certain
corner, Jounouchi slowed down, listening to the sounds. The Hirutani
gang was notorious for hanging around here, and even though he was a
member of the gang himself, he didn’t feel like a
confrontation with them either. He wasn’t exactly proud of
being a gang member, but found it difficult to leave - with most gangs,
it was easier getting in than getting out. He usually kept away from
the fights and the petty shoplifting, not wanting to build up a police
record. After all, he did want a job later in life,
unlike the other gang members. Jounouchi might be dumb sometimes, but
he wasn’t stupid. He knew the importance of a steady
job…especially for his sister Shizuka. He was the one who
was going to take care of her; that was the least he could do.
“Jounouchi!
Wait up, man!”
He
didn’t cringe when recognizing the voice - it was Honda, not
one of the gang members. Honda had always kept away from the gang, but
he wasn’t exactly ‘innocent’ either -
they both picked on younger students, especially the shy ones, in their
own class. Jounouchi hit him in a friendly manner on the shoulder, by
way of greeting him.
“Hey
man, what’s up for today?”
“Bah,
some chemistry test…Takahana-sensei really knows how to
search out the most stupid assignments.”
“Really?”
Jounouchi couldn’t remember what the last chapter was about,
let alone the most recent assignments.
“Oh
wait,” Honda suddenly recalled, “there’s
supposed to be a transfer student coming in today.”
“This
late in the semester?” He groaned.
Honda
shrugged. “Yeah, obviously. The name’s Bakura or
something. I heard Sukimoto-sensei talk about it.”
Jounouchi
huffed. “School’s boring.”
“Hey,
are you going to see your sister this afternoon?”
“Of
course!”
Honda fell
silent after that, and Jounouchi shot him an impatient glare. He was
very protective of his sister, and he didn’t need his best
friend to go after her. Besides, didn’t he have Miho to make
calf eyes at? It was tough enough already to keep the local playboy,
Otogi Ryuuji, away from Shizuka. He all but gasped when Honda elbowed
him.
“Hey,
it’s Mazaki.”
Jounouchi
groaned again. He didn’t dislike the girl, but to say that he
did like her was an exaggeration - she was a bit
pushy, that was all…and she’d been best friends
with that Mutou kid. He snorted in remembrance. Mutou Yuugi
had been one wimpy, whiny boy, with his constant babbling about puzzles
and games. He’d been the perfect victim for bullying, though
- he always kept to himself, he was small and had the freakiest looking
hair Jounouchi had ever seen. Yes, a perfect and easy
victim…too perfect, as he’d left school
permanently a few weeks ago, and Jounouchi was very certain their
constant bullying had something to do with it. Not that he cared much;
he cared only for himself and Shizuka.
“Jounouchi,
Honda,” the girl greeted them when she caught up with them,
her uniform prim and proper, book bag slung over her shoulder as well.
“Morning,
Mazaki,” Honda grumbled, but she wasn’t one to be
deterred.
“I
trust you two to have studied extensively for
Takahana-sensei’s test, hmm?” she all but
sing-songed, both their disastrous grades a public secret.
“Chemistry’s
stupid,” Jounouchi answered intelligently, stuffing his hands
in his pockets.
“There’s
supposed to be a transfer student coming in today,” Anzu
said. “In our class!”
“It’s
not that big of a deal,” he said, kicking
a pebble away. “What’s with the enthusiasm? There
are more exciting things I know of.”
“Yes,
like hanging out with your gang friends,” Anzu snorted,
shaking her head. “Or spending all your time picking on
younger students. You leave this new student alone, do you hear
me?”
“Who
died and made you class president?” Honda asked as they
walked through the large gates, entering school property. Anzu glared
at him, but didn’t answer and suddenly waved. Honda blushed
furiously; Nosaka Miho returned the wave and Jounouchi chuckled,
knowing that Honda imagined she was waving especially to
him.
He stifled a
yawn. School was so boring; he’d welcome
any distraction by now, even the much-anticipated arrival of the
transfer student. He knew he failed the chemistry test already, so
there was no use of pretending to be interested in the rest of the
chapters. Finally, just as he was about to start whistling out loud or
annoying the rest of his classmates by tapping against his chair, the
door opened and Nagobana-sensei entered, followed by a young,
effeminate looking boy. At least, Jounouchi thought it was a boy,
though his long, flowing hair was telling him otherwise at first sight.
He was wearing the boy’s school uniform
and not a skirt, so…
“Class,
please welcome Bakura Ryou,” Nagobana said, and the class
rose obediently to bow before their new fellow student. The class
president, Jounouchi always forgot his name, delivered a short
welcoming speech to the white-haired boy who didn’t seem to
be nervous, but not exactly at ease either. He grinned to himself. Yes,
this Bakura Ryou was the perfect next victim to pick on.
“Tell
us about yourself, Bakura-san,” the class president said,
smiling pleasantly. That startled the young man a bit, but he returned
the smile quickly, if a little flatly.
“My
father works in the archaeological field,” he said, his voice
soft. “He travels all around the world, but mostly to Africa,
and Egypt in particular. He even brought me a pendant from one of his
travels. Because he’s so often away, I live on my
own.”
A faint blush
colored his cheeks, as if he was embarrassed to talk about himself.
“Welcome,
Bakura-san,” the teacher said again.
“Now…let’s see where you can sit. Ah,
there’s a desk free next to Jounouchi,” he pointed
out.
It raised a
storm of protest from the girls, who already had set their sights on
the polite and friendly new classmate, but he simply walked forward and
took his seat next to Jounouchi.
“Hello,
Jounouchi-kun,” he said.
“Welcome,
Bakura-kun,” Jounouchi answered, showing him a lopsided grin.
The teacher called for the girls to stop their indignant chattering and
tried to bring the attention of the class back to the new chapter from
the chemistry textbook. Bakura opened his book, using his pencil to
take notes, each and every movement calm and composed. What a
nerd.
Jounouchi didn’t stop to wonder why the new student
wasn’t seated at the spot where Yuugi used to sit.
“Class, class, that’s enough,” the teacher said out loud again and turned around to write something on the chalkboard. Jounouchi exchanged looks with Honda, who was very amused that Bakura had been seated next to his best friend. It wouldn’t do Jounouchi’s social status much good if such a sissy would be associated with him. He almost rubbed his hands in anticipated glee, mentally going over their bullying methods.
After lunch,
Jounouchi skipped the rest of his classes, even though the prospect of
cornering and bullying Bakura tempted him to stay. It was still
Wednesday, and Wednesday afternoons were holy to him. Jounouchi took
the bus downtown; he was saving his money for driving lessons, but his
job didn’t enable him to save much. He usually bought
something small for Shizuka as well; she was his sister, she deserved
to be spoiled a little. Life was hard enough for her already. Jounouchi
bit his lip. The disease that had taken away her eyesight had been so
rare and difficult that only a very expensive operation had been the
resolution - money that no one of the Jounouchi family had. Their
parents had divorced when they were still little kids, and Jounouchi
would never forget the moment that they’d been separated. The
car driving off with his little sister crying on the backseat was a
reoccurring nightmare. It had only been a year since they’d
re-established contact; mostly because Shizuka had managed to reach
Jounouchi without their mother knowing. Even though their parents
didn’t want to talk to each other anymore, that
didn’t mean their children wanted to cease all communication
too.
He got off at
the right stop; from here it would only take him ten minutes to the
gates of the institute where Shizuka would be waiting. Jounouchi hated
the word ‘institute’. It was a school for disabled
children, not for the mentally ill. Shizuka never used the word
‘institute’ either, simply referring to it as
‘school’. She’d wait for him every
Wednesday afternoon at the gates so they could spend some sibling time
together. Jounouchi suddenly halted, and turned around.
Behind him
walked an elderly couple, too engrossed in their own conversation to
even notice him. He frowned. He had the feeling he was being followed.
Could it be that someone from Domino High was skulking after him to
keep track of his whereabouts? The school could expel him if he cut too
many classes… but the guidance counselor he recently talked
to about his behavior in class - the man hadn’t a clue what
he was talking about, with his morals and family values -
hadn’t mentioned anything about him skipping school. Great.
If you end up being paranoid, who’s going to look after your
sister, huh?
Jounouchi
eliminated that train of thought and quickly resumed walking - he
wouldn’t want to keep Shizuka waiting. Ah, there she was;
standing outside the gate as she did every Wednesday afternoon.
“Shizuka!”
“Onii-chan!”
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, a wonderful wide smile gracing
her lips.
Jounouchi
hugged her firmly, lifting her up from the ground in his
enthusiasm. “Onii-chan! Put me down!” She
giggled, wrapping her arms around him to return the hug.
“You’re so strong! Have you been working
out?”
“Hard
work only,” Jounouchi teased her back. He hated gyms with a
passion - he got exercise enough from his job and running around at
school. Besides, he had a fast metabolism; he wouldn’t get
fat anytime soon.
“What
did you have in mind for today?” He looked at her face as
usual, and got hit by grief and sadness, as he did every time he saw
her. Shizuka’s eyes were so vibrant, so lively, such a
beautiful color of hazelnut brown…they were sparkling with
enthusiasm and excitement, and yet they saw nothing. It’s
not fair! Her eyes simply stared into nothingness, and
she’d seen the colors of the sky, of the ground, of his hair,
of her own hair, of everything before…and he
hadn’t been able to do a thing to stop the regressive disease
from taking her eyesight. Shizuka never complained, never blamed him
for anything. If only they had money…he would’ve
sold his soul to pay for the operation.
“I
want to do a little shopping,” she said in return, her hand
lifting up the tell-tale white cane with the red stripes.
“And eat a little bit; I didn’t have lunch
yet.”
“I’ll
buy you a sandwich,” he immediately said. He loathed the
sight of the cane, but there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe,
in the not so far future, if he had a job and enough money saved, he
could look into the possibilities by then. Technology and medical
science moved so fast nowadays, it could be very well possible that in
five or ten years from now, there was an operation technique available
that could give his sister back her eyesight. Until then, he was simply
going to be the best brother he…
“What,
onii-chan?” Shizuka asked, startled as he suddenly pulled her
to the right.
“Sorry,”
he muttered. Jounouchi looked over his shoulder. A woman was walking
behind him, dressed in a dark blue business suit, juggling a cell
phone, her purse and a notebook she was scrawling something into. For a
moment, he thought she’d been a younger girl with chestnut
hair, dressed in a dark cloak, walking far closer to him. That’s
it. No more video games or watching horror movies before I go to bed.
“Onii-chan?”
“Let’s
go,” Jounouchi said, cheerful. “We can’t
keep the sandwiches waiting!”
“You
and your food,” she giggled happily. “I keep
telling everyone that you’re a bottomless pit, and no one
wants to believe me.”
“You’re
establishing quite the reputation for me…” he
said, though he chuckled as well. Shizuka moved her cane, her other arm
hooked into Jounouchi’s, the ticking telling her where to
walk.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 3