Misao: Finally got this chapter done! I am SO sorry for the massive delay. D8 Life gets in the way. And Thief King's POV is so hard for me to get out…. But I did get it out before that deadline of June 23rd I gave myself like, two days ago! … xD -tries to make it all better with lame excuses-

And as noted on my profile… I sorta have a new story in the works - for which I should be shot. Multiple times. BUT it will not come before this or Ana Ohebak, these are my two primary stories and I will not neglect them in favor of that one. But it's going to be my first AU-type story.

And something fresh to work on may just help me out.

On another note, as for those of you who have asked me when the relationships will start, I really don't know. As it is they still just barely tolerate each other, but there is a definite attraction there - especially Atemu towards Bakura. But I really don't want to rush things, so it'll happen when it happens. XD

Warnings: The usual. XD

Pairings: Thief King Bakura x Yami, Pharaoh Atemu x Bakura

Love That Transcends Time

Chapter 09

[Thief King Bakura's / Touzoku's P.O.V]

I don't take kindly to being pushed around - not even by myself - so when my future self grabbed me by the arm and yanked me out of the room forcefully I didn't even bother to hold back a growl. I didn't even get the chance to threaten him when he spoke up.

"Oh quite growling like a damn animal." He mutters. I don't care if he is me. No one tell the Thief King what to do and no one insults my superiority either!

As we reach the bottom of the stairs, I give him a sharp shove and he stumbles, giving me the perfect opportunity to grab him while he's taken by surprise and push his scrawny looking frame into the wall, pinning him there. Seeing as we're back downstairs, it's rather dark but just enough light is shining down the stairs for him to see the feral expression I've fixed him with, face nose to nose with his. "You better watch it little one, I'll have no qualms with breaking your fragile little body."

"Save it for someone who's actually intimated by you." He snorts, and to my irritation he sounds amused. I open my mouth to retort but I'm surprised to find myself staring at the wall where my future self had been no more then a second ago. I blink in confusion…

"Shadow Magic." I hear a voice behind me and I whip around to find the paler version of me standing there, arms crossed and looking smug, "It's the best, isn't it? Now we already have the two high and mighty, oh so-godly offspring's to deal with, do you really want to make an enemy out of me? We are one person, after all."

I glower at him, "I refuse to believe that something as scrawny looking as you can be me."

He looks irked by this, "It isn't as if we had much a choice. This body was replicated from our hikari's. Believe me, I was far from happy about it too, this body is no where near as strong as our original one." he motions to me, "But it's a body none the less, and you'll learn to live with it."

He says it in such a sadistically humor-tainted, but foreshadowing way. I'm well aware this is my future, but until just now - standing face to face with myself, I didn't fully realize how real this future it. Everything here is so foreign and strange to me, it's overwhelming - something which I refuse to outright admit to anyone - and to try and comprehend that this is where I will be eventually is mind baffling.

And…. he… that will be me?

Narrowing my eyes sharply, I scrutinize the slender and pale visage of my supposed future persona. When I was younger - after the destruction of my village - I had always been shunned because of my hair, thought a child of a demon for my unusual looks. But my future self, it was as if he was born from the moon itself - skin without a drop of color. Not even the Pharaoh's future counterpart was so pale. It was unnerving. If the people of Egypt had thought I was a demon, what would they think of him? The thought crossed my mind, as minor a thought as it was.

He raises an eyebrow questioningly at me, before shrugging and continuing towards the… living room was it? He immediately takes notice of the sun box that has been our only source of warmth, and plops down in front of it.

"So, would you like to explain why the Pharaoh is even alive to see Ra grace the skies of this time?" I ask gruffly, crossing my arms over my chest, pinning him with my expectant gaze. And I -do- expect an answer. A good one it had better be… the question that has been clawing away at me. I don't like failure, and I don't like the idea of having failed the goal I'd based my entire existence since childhood around. To kill the Pharaoh and destroy everything he holds dear, as was done to me.

To think my revenge was never fulfilled….I failed my people?

Unforgivable.

His head tilts just slightly, enough for him to throw me a disinterested glance over his shoulder. He doesn't answer at first, opting to get himself comfortable by stretching out across the floor. I cock an eyebrow, both in impatience and very slight amusement as how my future self resembles a cat in the way that he moves. Of course I've been said to have the grace of a feline myself - years of thieving will teach you a thing or two about being sly.

"I thought the Pharaoh explained this to you." He finally speaks.

"He did." My lip curls back in a sneer, "But that doesn't explain why you haven't destroyed him yet. You've obviously had plenty of opportunities."

A shrug. "It's pointless."

I bristle at the response, fists clenching… "Pointless? Have you forgotten what he-"

"I haven't forgotten." He snaps, jerking up into a sitting position and narrowing his icy cold stare on me, which is evenly matched by my own. Save for the obvious difference in the color of our eyes, I can see it in his eyes… the fury, the regret, and the pain… identical to what I'm sure can be found in mine.

I hold my ground though, silently demanding a further explanation. There's no excuse for having not avenged our village after 3000 years. That's more then enough lifetimes to have an opportunity to kill a single person…

Brown eyes speckled with blood red suddenly advert, and he jerks his head to stare at the wall rather then me as he finally continues.. "It would accomplish nothing. We both know he didn't do it." He mutters darkly…

"But his father did." I remind him, and because he chose to go and get murdered by someone other then me means he left his sins on his sons shoulders.

"Exactly. His father did, not him." He responds quietly, voice eerily calm and level…

"Someone has to pay for what he did. Atem himself has wronged us enough to deserve the gruesome death that will come to him." It would be like killing two scarabaeus with one stone. Righting two wrongs in getting revenge for both the death of my family and the tortures I'd been subjected to at the Pharaoh's order.

"Did he really?" He returns in question, bitter…

"Your new body may be flawless, but I still have the scars to prove it." I snarl, outraged. How dare he-

"He doesn't even bloody remember anything!" My future self argues, his own patience and cool exterior slipping away just as fast a my own, "I loathe the prick with just about every fiber of my being for his self-righteous and pompous attitude and what both his father and he had both done to us, but he's not the sadistic bastard he once was, he's not-"

"He murdered Mariku." I nearly scream, glaring daggers at his form which is now coiled with anger and tension. "But from what I've heard you don't care about him anymore, do you? Has death really made you so-"

"FUCK you!" Suddenly he's on me, having launched himself at me from an impressive distance where he'd been sat on the floor. I mentally curse myself for not having been completely on guard enough to see this coming and react immediately. I growl deep in my throat, struggling to remove the surprisingly strong scrawny thing that's sat atop of me where I landed sprawled out on the floor. I feel something cold and sharp press against my throat, which I immediately recognize to be a knife of some sort and it ceases my struggling. I'm not dumb enough to make any regrettable moves while a weapon is being pressed to my throat. I simply sneer at him.

"You know nothing. Just because we're one in the same doesn't mean you know anything about me. I'm not who you are anymore. But I do know you, how you think. I have come to understand things you can't possibly accept right now, I know for a fact. 3000 years gives you a long time to think, a long time to dwell on what has happened. Marik…" His angry expression falters, the fiery crazed look in his eyes die down a bit and I see this as my chance, grabbing the wrist holding the knife and pushing it away, biting back a hiss as it nicks my neck just slightly. I'm too busy taking advantage of my future self's flaw and removing him from atop of me to care.

"Then I guess I'll just have to take matter into my own hands."

If I'm not destined to succeed in my time, I may have to do just that, and take advantage of what being in this time could offer me. A perfect opportunity to destroy the Pharaoh's future, by killing what he will become.

"Be my guest." He hisses, "And let me know what kind of satisfaction you get out of it. Now get off!" He commands, squirming beneath me and making feeble attempts to forcefully push me off. I stay where I am however as I take notice of his waning strength, scrutinizing him more in curiosity then anything now. A few minutes ago he'd had no problem matching my own strength…

He's breathing heavily - no surprise from our little squabble we just had, but what is strange is the light sheen of sweat that's arisen, if it weren't for me being on top of him I wouldn't be able to tell, but he's shivering... Further examining of my future self and I notice his eyes are dilated…

That can't be a good sign.

"Hey…" I call out after a few minutes pass by and he seems to have gone completely limp save for an increase in shivering, heaving breathing having died down to the point it's almost shallow…

He doesn't respond.

So I decide to give him a good slap across the face, which -does- get him to react. He blinks, eyes focusing enough to glare at me and then he's trying to get out from under me again - though his attempts are even more pathetic then before, so I finally get off him and stand.

He grumbles something under his breathe - cursing at me probably - and rolls onto his side. I tilt my head, watching as he tries to push himself up off the floor. It's both sad and amusing that he's failing miserably. I'm about to taunt him a bit about it when he sways a bit… and then collapses completely back onto the floor.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?" I ask, nudging him with my foot.

No response.

I squat down next to his motionless form, reaching a hand out to turn him over only to find him unconscious. I huff to myself. Stupid future self… displaying such weakness, how does he survive? If I let illness or injury put me in such a position, I'd have been long since dead. And yet somehow I manage to survive long enough to see 3000 years pass…

But then again, things are so different in this time…

I rise to stand up straight, nudging the body on the floor with my foot once more just to see if I get any different reaction.

I don't. Something tells me I shouldn't just leave him like this but I really loathe the thought of receiving anymore help from the Pharaoh. It's been humiliating enough having to rely on him as much as I have being in this strange world. And while it wouldn't be directly helping me, by helping my future self that would be indirectly helping me, seeing as we're the same person.

No, that doesn't make it any better.

Grumbling to myself, I stalk towards the staircase in reluctant search of Holy and Holier. It wouldn't do to let myself drop dead, I decide, and unfortunately there's only one person who can do anything….

As I approach the room we'd left the two in, I hear them speaking. I can't really make out what their saying, but from their tones I'd say it was serious. But I don't particularly care much if I'm interrupting some important conversation - and from the look on both their faces as I peer in through the cracked door I'm pretty sure it was - in fact - of some semblance of importance.

I don't much care to know what their talking about, so having no desire to ease drop on them I immediately make my presence known barging into the room, huffing out, "Are you sure we're the same person?" I ask the Pharaoh - the more tolerable of the two anyways - making sure to relay my annoyance through my tone.

He blinks at me, bewildered obviously by my intrusion and random outburst. "Well, yeah…. Why?" He questions me, brows knitting in confusion…

"He passed out. Again." I explain in short, not feeling that I need to go into detail and inform them of our little… disagreement on matters which lead to a bit of roughhousing. My lips quirk up into an amused smirk when the pale version of the Pharaoh sighs loudly - obviously finding this as bothersome as I myself am - even if for two completely different reasons, which I'm positive they are…

"If he would have just let me help him in the first place…" Yami grumbles quietly, running a hand over his face in exasperation. It must not be cause for too much concern if he's reacting like this - but then again he is the Pharaoh, and probably doesn't much care anyhow.

"Obstinacy must be a gene not even thousands of years and being reborn can fix." The words are spoken in that arrogantly snide tone that invokes an immediate rage within me, and I let out a snarl - whipping around sharply enough to give myself whiplash - and make to lunge at the even now smirking form of Atem…

"You son of a jacka-" Only to find myself caught around the waist by skinny arms, holding me back and stopping me just short of tearing the Pharaoh to pieces limb by limb. My every nerve is trembling with the need to hurt something - namely him and now the one holding me back from doing so as well…

"Whoa! Calm down, no need to rip anyone apart…" The other Pharaoh - Yami was it? - who is struggling to keep my anger at bay - says in a vain attempt to diffuse the impending bloodshed. I'm slightly impressed with his ability to foresee my actions and have quick enough reflexes to do something about it. But more then that I'm pissed off that about it.

"Oh there's plenty-" I take hold of his wrists firmly, "Need to rip him apart…" The strength of my grip slowly increasing with the threat of breaking his wrists should he not remove them. He doesn't seem to understand that until it's tight enough that it's on the very verge of doing just that - surely bruised by now - and he lets out a strangled gasp, pulling away and trying to tug his arms from my grip.

Satisfied that he's released me, I let him go, turning cold warning - daring him to interfere again. Both my - and Atem's - future counterparts pale in comparison to us in the department of physical strength, their bodies lithe and fragile looking while even Atem has some muscle to him.

Yami's reaction though, wasn't what I had expected. When I'm at this point of anger, about threatening to break limbs usually a pointed glare does the job to make someone back off..

But of course, this man and Atem are one in the same. I shouldn't be surprised that their both arrogant enough to play with fire…

Rather then cower beneath my pointedly threatening gaze and back off so I could promptly resume my previous attempts to murder Atem in the most painful and gruesome ways I could manage with my bare hands, he simply responds in kind with a glare of his own, amethyst eyes darkening and warning…

His feeble looks of course, don't affect me, and I'm about to ignore him and go threw with my desired plans anyways when his hardened gaze disappears, a sigh passing his lips and his eyes roll at me. That was strange to me, and much to my annoyance the strangeness of it startles a bewildered look out of me, causing me to forget my anger for a split second in favor of curiosity…

My gaze follows him as he waltzes over to his darker counterpart, gives him a look that clearly tells him to keep his mouth shut, and then proceeds to roughly grabs him by the arm and drag him towards the door-

Wait a minute!

Curiosity is gone as I realize that Yami is trying to give Atem a way of escape from me. "What are you-" I growl, only to be blatantly interrupted as Yami speaks right overtop of me- ignoring me and speaking to Atem, which doesn't at all help that swell of anger boiling within me….I am not one to be ignored.

"Why don't you go check on Bakura and make sure he's not dead, hmm?" He suggested, and an equally bewildered Atem gives him an indignant look at being both ordered around and manhandled like he is - no surprise there - and just as he opens his mouth to no doubt protest and reprimand his future self for stepping out of line… well, Yami doesn't exactly give him the opportunity to as he slams the door in his face once he's pushed him through it.

If I wasn't so severely pissed off right now that I'm just itching for violence, I would have been amused by the whole exchange. Unfortunately for him though, he's removed the person I'd been planning on taking this anger out on.

So who does that leave me with?

Only him.

He takes a deep breathe - as if preparing himself to face me and about to say something - turning to face me, but that's the exact moment I snap, - launching forward and taking hold of the front of his shirt - jerking him with a force driven by far too long restrained anger - so that he's face to face with me and even lifted off the ground enough that he's forced to stand on the very tips of his toes….

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart instead." I hiss, voice dropping to a deadly whisper that promised pain if he didn't provide said good reason. My self-control is slipping quite rapidly with the urge to hurt him…

His eyes have widened drastically - staring at me in shock more then anything - and I'm quite irked that I only find a miniscule trace of fear in them. He should be much more afraid of me then he is…. And perhaps within the next few minutes, I'll prove that too him.

"Look…" He begins, voice soft with caution less he utter the wrong words - but spoken with a steady voice none the less, hands coming to lay atop of my own that are still tightly gripping the fabric of his clothes, "Just calm down and-"

I respond to his words with another sharp jerk, baring my incisors in a warning sneer for him to change the direction of those words and make them count….

"Well what do you want me to say!?" He suddenly snaps back, and that barely existent spark of fear is gone in a flash as amethyst eyes narrow and his expression twists into one of frustration. "I couldn't just let you kill him - me!" He huffs, trying to worm his way out of my grasp - to which he fails and eventually gives up after a few more useless struggles, shoulders slumping slightly… "I'm sorry, alright? Is that what you want to hear?"

"Tch." An apology? Like such meaningless words could ever be enough to deter my bloodlust. It's so ridiculous I actually find myself wanting to bash my own head into a wall. "I don't want your useless apologies." I spit out, feeling annoyed now…. So I roughly push him away, sending him stumbling and nearly falling on his ass.

Which seems to be a common thing for him - falling on his ass that is, -I notice with a small quirk of amusement in the very back of my mind. The thought is fleeting though, as is the amusement…

Once he steadies himself, he straightens and looks me dead in the eyes… something that I'm suddenly finding uncomfortable - but I ignore this. "Look, I know why you hate me-" He begins, and I snort again. From what I understand, he doesn't even know the beginning of it… "Well, maybe I don't." He corrects himself quickly, "But I can see what both you and Bakura meant when you spoke so badly of me in my past life…" He sighs, bringing a hand up to run through his usual spiky hair in a manner of frustration as he continues to speak. "I was, well… he is a bit arrogant-"

A bit arrogant is a massive understatement. Pharaoh Atem is the sole most conceited, arrogant, sadistic- … I could go on, but I could go for hours, and instead of voicing these thoughts I stay silent and let him continue, waiting to see if his little speech is actually going anywhere important.

Doubtful.

"… and the way he provokes you is actually rather childish on his part, but he knows he can get under your skin by making those kind of comments. So unless you ignore it, he will continue to do so."

"Why ignore it and let him insult me without consequence?" I sneer at the very thought of simply letting him get away with saying whatever he wants, just because he's Ra on Earth and such… Too many people let him walk all over them, I will never be one of those people. "If given the chance to, I could shut him up really fast-"

"Well until Bakura and I figure out how to get you two back where you belong-" He interrupts me yet again - something that becoming annoying quick. "-We need to keep you two from murdering each other. I promise you, it will bother him plenty if he fails to get a rise out of you."

Narrowing my eyes in thought, I mull over his words. It sounds logical enough, I suppose… Seeing as how my anger only ever seems to satisfy Atem. And then that damned smirk appears on his face and he continues to goad me on, like some sort of game….

Just thinking about it makes me want to break him into tiny, miniscule little pieces for the creatures that roam the desert to feast on.

"Fine, whatever." I snort, crossing my arms over my chest - hoping to relay that I'm done with this conversation and will not be openly agreeing that he may have a good point out loud anytime soon. Or ever, for that matter.

"Thank you…" He replies, sounding a bit relieved - relieved because he gets to live for another day, probably - and his body relaxes slightly as he also takes this as a sign that the threat of bodily harm is at bay for now.

But I'm not making any promises that it'll last long.

"Come on, we should probably go see how Bakura is doing." He suggests, breaking the silence that had fallen between us. "Ryou won't be too happy if he comes home to a dead yami…" He mutters - nodding his head in the direction of the door and - probably assuming I'll follow like some puppy - makes his way out…

Rather then do so, I opt to stay behind for a moment longer. The lingering anger is slowly dwindling down and settling into nothing more a feeling of annoyance. Dealing with one Pharaoh throughout my life has been pain enough, but two…? I feel like I have to constantly be on alert, not only being thrust into a time I know nothing about, but now Atem is in the very same building as me and dead set on driving me to further insanity.

I sigh, slumping back against the wall and allowing my eyes to roam over the sun-light lit room, taking in the strange objects that inhabit it. There were quite a few things in this room that were somewhat familiar, such as small sculptures of the gods, strange realistic looking drawings of crumbling pyramids that have been the victims of time - but nothing other then that is familiar to me…

And I do not like it…

In our time, things are so simple … but I look at the things of this time, and I'm completely at a loss., and I'm loathe to even admit it to myself, that this situation is eating away at my nerves…

I'm a thief - I'm used to being able to roam freely, depend on no one but myself, and get myself out of any predicament I happen to get myself into to. But this… this has left me dumbfounded, and the fact that I have no escape makes panic rise within me whenever I allow myself time to dwell on it. I don't like being in unfamiliar territory, even more so when surrounded by enemies.

Glancing out the window, I tilt my head curiously as I take notice that Ra's light is much brighter then it has been the past few days. Intrigued by this, I stalk across the room to peer out. The sky - which had previously been clouded and dimming the light, was perfectly clear and allowing the rays of the sun god to burn strong, warming me…

I'm not used to this sheer cold either. Desert nights were nothing in comparison to that white stuff that stung you to touch. I've decided I highly dislike it - it had caused us far too many problems… trapped us within this house

And I'm assuming this 'snow' as they called it is also what got my future self. So clearly, it' s dangerous as well.

Speaking of my future self… I wonder how the Pharaoh's are fairing with him. He was unresponsive when I left him, but Atem had been sent out beforehand to tend to him without supervision. I wouldn't put it past the bastard to have tried and rid of him- me…

Tearing my eyes from the mysterious white stuff - which had begun to melt I noted shortly - I decide I might as well make sure they aren't trying to kill my future self in his unconscious state, though I'm not looking forward to being in the same room as Atem again.

I swear to every god our people worship I will hurt him if he so much as looks at me the wrong way…

I repress a shiver as I step out of the sun-warmed room, back into the cold darkness that is the rest of the house - to which I adjust quickly and make my down the stairs and back onto the main floor, heading with ease through the dark towards the candle-lit area where I see the forms of two pointy-haired beings, one of which who seems to be annoyed…

"How stupid can he be!" I can immediately tell the difference in voice - it is Yami who is currently raging, "First he climbs through piles of snow when he's already ill, and now he didn't even bother to change out of sopping wet clothes on top of that! No wonder he'd practically frozen! Does he have a death wish!?"

I manage to go completely un-noticed as I silently approach them, keeping far enough back that the light does not reach me and the darkness keeps me hidden. I take notice of Atem's usual demeanor, arms crossed and stood to the side watching as…

Is the Pharaoh undressing me!?

"What are you doing!?" I shout out - blowing my cover and demanding loudly - earning a startled jump from Yami and nothing more then a glance from Atem - which I ignore in favor of stomping over to loom over the pale Pharaoh who's crouched near the… couch… where my future self has been moved.

"We've been over this, thief..." Atem speaks up, rolling his royal eyes in a demeaning way as if I'm some minor annoyance - like a fly or something similar - that he just can't get rid of.

"Don't start." Yami snaps - at himself - much to my surprise. But I'm sure he knows what will happen if he doesn't keep his other self's mouth from running, already having to keep me from going at it once…

Atem huffs, looking offended at being spoken too in such a way, but says nothing more and looks off to the side - obviously miffed. So at this, Yami turns his attention to me once more. "Look, Bakura is pretty much hypothermic at the moment - meaning he's on the verge of freezing to death. If we don't get him out of these soaking wet clothes, his condition will only worsen. We need to get him warm, and dry." He explains…

I look over at the unconscious form laid out on the couch, taking notice of the way his complexion is unhealthily pale - even more so then what's obviously normal for the people of this place - his face is contoured in pain, lips tinged blue…

"Fine." I agree reluctantly, knowing that even if I don't want to admit it, the Pharaoh knows what he's doing - whereas I have no clue how to deal with an illness such as this. So I'll let him do what he needs to…

But I keep my gaze locked on Yami's every move to make sure they don't roam or touch in ways that they should not.. My future self's body is trembling again as the clothes are removed - leaving his damp skin exposed to the unbearably cold air…

The Pharaoh works quickly, using a clothe to sufficiently dry him off before wrapping many of the thicker blankets around him. I briefly wonder what his reaction will be when he awakens. Though he doesn't seem to be set on killing the pharaoh as he should be - he does still harbor that hatred, and he's bound to not be very happy about this situation….

"Hey, can you help me move him onto the floor?" He asks - and I blink - glancing at Yami now only to realize he's looking at me, which mean I'd been the one he was speaking too.

"Why?" I ask, tilting my head in question. The couch is a much more comfortable place for him to rest then the floor, which is bound to be colder too.

"So he'll be closer to the heater." He answers, tucking the blankets more securely around my paler counterpart before motioning to the box that has been supplying us with a small amount of warmth when we needed it most. He looks at me expectantly.

Deciding his reason was logical enough, I walk forward and bend over, carefully lifting the unconscious form with ease and placing him on the floor in front of the strange sun box - but a distance enough away so that he won't cook to a crisp.

I happen to glance at Atem as I rise, giving him a glare for good measure but he doesn't notice it because he's too busy watching the unconscious one on the floor. And immediately I take notice of the way he's staring at the pale version of me.

I do not like that look in his eyes.

"Back off, Pharaoh." I snarl warningly, catching his attention and forcing him to tear his gaze away and regard me. He raises an eyebrow, as if he doesn't know what he's doing wrong and what I'm growling at him about. "Keep it in your royal garb until you can run back to your little harem."

At this comment, I hear a strangled choking noise to my left. I chance looking away from Atem to Yami only to see that the pale Pharaoh has an ill-expression on his face. I would have questioned it - had Atem not chosen that moment speak.

"I always get what I want, Tomb-" He begins…

"I'M GOING to go find something for us to eat! I'm sure everyone's hungry after all the excitement!" Yami loudly interjects, cutting off whatever words Atem had been about to say that would have surely secured a painful demise for him.

Snatching up a candle, Yami makes a beelines for another room without so much as another word to either of us. I blink it mild surprise at his hurried exit, confused and intrigued by it.

With a sneer in Atem's direction, I choose to follow the other - because it's better then staying in the same room with the all mighty one. Another few seconds and hell might break loose if I don't get away from him… Though I'm not sure how safe my future self is with that pervert eyeing him like a piece of meat…

As I enter the room, Yami glances over his shoulder at me, raising the candle to light up the area so he can see me through the darkness - quirking an eyebrow in silent question as to why I've followed him in here. I, of course, ignore his questioning gaze in favor of nonchalantly looking about the - what did the Pharaoh call it - a kitchen?

I do believe so….

And within moments my eyes come to fall on the glinting metal that's reflecting from the candles flame.

A knife.

"Then I guess I'll just have to take matter into my own hands." Immediately I'm reminded of those words I spoke to my future counterpart earlier… And I realize I've been handed an opportunity like no other to follow through with my words - In this dark room, lit only by the dimming light of a candle with the Pharaoh's back towards me and an easily accessible weapon within my reach.

Without so much as a second thought I find myself snatching the object off the table in a swift and silent motion. My heart is suddenly pounding loudly in my chest -every nerve in my body suddenly tense with anticipation now that the weapon is in my hands, bringing me one step closer to what's been my life long goal…

One step closer out of three - three literal steps, and I'd be close enough to plunge the knife into my completely oblivious target…

It was almost too easy to be true…

I stalk closer, fingers curling tightly around the hilt of the knife and maneuvering it, positioning it so that all I'd need to do is simply… strike.

I pull the knife-wielding hand back, readying it…

Only to be startled into nearly dropping it as light suddenly floods the room, objects coming to life with noise and flashing but despite being taken off guard I have enough sense to quickly drop the hand, hiding the knife beneath my cloak which I'd found earlier and put back on, just as Yami turns around…

"The electricity is bac- woah!" He starts excitedly, but nearly jumps out of his skin when he finds me directly behind him. "Holy Ra!" He puts a hand to his heart, leaning back onto the counter, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

I don't respond, staring at him now with a stoic expression, carefully hiding the thoughts that are floating around in the back of my mind. It would still be so easy, I'm close enough to go through with it… He wouldn't even see it coming.

… So why haven't I done so yet?

"Hey, you okay?" I blink, eyes refocusing as I'm snapped from my contemplative thoughts to see concerned reddish-purple eyes scrutinizing me… "You seem kind of out of it…" He comments, eyes falling to roam over the rest of my form but they stop short at my neck, and his brows furrow slightly… "Your bleeding…"

He turns back to the sink, tearing a piece of some papery cloth from a roll sat next to it, then takes the bottle of water he'd also had sat there and pours some onto it, asking, "How did that happen?" To which of course I don't answer… It's a bit ridiculous to think I did it to myself, in a sense…

He turns back to me, moving closer and I resist the urge to take a step back as he moves well within my personal space. I feel the damp cloth touch my skin and immediately move away, "What do you think your doing?" I snap.

He raises an eyebrow, "Well I was trying clean off the blood on your neck…" He explains.

I narrow my eyes, "I don't need you to baby me." I scoff, "Besides, you wouldn't want to dirty yourself tending to a peasants wounds more then you already have, now would you?" I comment spitefully, remembering Atem's earlier comment. He can tend to my future self all he wants, but I won't be pitied or accept any more help from the Pharaoh's counterpart.

He frowns at my snide remark, hands falling to his sides and studying his expression, if it wasn't completely far fetched I'd say he looks hurt by my rejection of his help.

I snort at the thought. As if the Pharaoh honestly even wanted to help me in the first place. It was purely out of duty and to keep the events of our pasts in order.

He finally lets out a sigh, "Despite what you may think, I'm not like him." He begins quietly, folding his arms across his chest and casting his gaze off to the side, "Though I was him in my past life, I hold no memories of that lifetime, my views on things and my opinions are my own and in no way connected to who I use to be. So you have to realize that we're two completely different people." He pauses in his words for a moment, before adding… "In personalities aspect, anyways…"

"I'm not who you are anymore" My future self had said to me. I suppose the same holds true for the man before me… Though while my changes had occurred differently, the Pharaoh's memories had been wiped clean, leaving him to unknowingly morph himself into a kinder person with far higher morals then that of his past self.

That had been obvious from the beginning, the very fact that I found his presence tolerable proved that - while being near Atem drove me to the point of insanity, Yami didn't provoke that kind of rage from me.

But it doesn't matter. I quickly remind myself before I allow these thoughts to in any way change my resolve. I won't spare him over the revenge of my family… And if I can't get to Atem himself, this one will do just as well…

"Humph." I give him a look of indifference to his speech, "Ignorance and a change of heart doesn't erase the sins of your past." I know this all too well… I think to myself, suddenly feeling bitter and no longer wanting to be in this mans presence.

So without another word I turn on my heels, swiftly leaving the room. I'll keep him alive for now, I decide, only because he's the only one who can properly care for my ill future, It wouldn't do to ruin my own chances for a semblance of a life that's not filled with pain and struggling, a need for revenge…

So that's what I'll do…. I'll destroy him when the time is right, do the dirty work myself so that it's taken care of, and that will leave my future self without the burden of avenging our village on his shoulders any longer and take advantage of this chance at a second life…

And then, when I leave this time, I'll know I'll have a future where I can truly begin to 'live'….

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Misao: OMG FINALLY I GOT THIS DONE. FINALLY. AFTER MONTHS. D8 … But… its better then years, right? Right? -BRICKED- …Yeah, I deserve that. But now that this is done!~ … -skips off to work on AO-

R&R! Reviews fuel my motivation!~