Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Back To Ancient Egypt ❯ The Pomegranates and the News ( Chapter 5 )

Priestess: This is the fifth chapter. I got four reviews on Fanfiction.net, and two reviews on Mediaminer.org. *Shrugs* Oh, well.

***

Touzoku Ou perched on the palace roof, peering out at the view as he tried to ignore the uncomfortable rumbling in his belly.

Happy people working in the gardens, chatting. Slaves, servants, and little children who were just running around having fun. Entire families would work on the same plot of land. Everything was happy and beautiful.

He sighed sadly, reclining against a tower. No one would see him from here, and the pain-in-the-ass Pharaoh had demanded Touzoku Ou didn't let himself be seen while he and the Priests were having their discussions. He didn't even have to ask what they were about.

Touzoku Ou sighed again, staring again at the happy families. When was the last time he had been truly happy? Come to think of it, when was the last time he had seen his family?

The spirits of Kuru Eruna resided in many places at once-the depths of Hell, the Millennium Items, and most significantly the ruins of Kuru Eruna itself. And no matter how much they suffered, no matter how much their souls cried out for revenge and justice, the very sight of him returning after those long journeys always made them so happy.

Thanks to the Pharaoh, now even that last shred of happiness the spirits could cling to was gone forever, because Touzoku Ou could never go home.

Though it isn't as if I'll even need a home when I'm dead, he mused bitterly.

But he wanted to see them again. He couldn't tell them he would be all right, since that was a lie, but he could tell them goodbye.

If I don't return soon they'll come looking for me, Touzoku Ou realized. And knowing the Pharaoh, Touzoku Ou would probably be held responsible for any damage they caused-and it would be a lot.

Why me?

***

"Why me?" Atemu muttered.

"Whatever way you look at it, it seems as if no punishment would be fit. I say either kill the damn thief or make him a slave, because he'll starve to death by the time we make a decision!

"Seth, please," Akunadin said. "It is the Pharaoh's decision what we do, not yours. However, I do agree that if we wait much longer he will likely die on his own terms. And I must say, I felt much more comfortable when he was in the prison."

"Akunadin," sighed Atemu. "It took him all of a moment to escape. And it is true, these rules have subtleties. It is quite easy to do what I didn't want him to do while still not disobeying my words. Besides, we had a deal. And frustrating as it is, I will not break my father's law."

"But he's the one who robbed your father's tomb!" cried Shaadi. "Surely you can not believe that the late Pharaoh Akunamukanon-"

"What I cannot believe is that the revered Akunamukanon would want even the worst criminal in the world to be in such an inhumane condition," Aishisu interrupted. "And besides that, it is as Akunadin said King Atemu's decision rather than our own."

"Thank you, Aishisu." Atemu nodded at the High Priestess gratefully before turning to address all six Priests. "But none of that matters. What does matter is that the gods would not have given this to me had they not believed I was capable of using it properly."

His expression became one of determination. "There must be a punishment that is fit, and I will not rest until I find it."

***

"Seth, you have done little more than complain about Touzoku Ou for the last twenty minutes," reproached Atemu. "I hardly think it is a security risk if he hears about a draught happening in a village over a hundred miles away from Annu. Now try to focus."

"Well, does he have to be in the same room as us?" asked Seth, glancing distastefully at Touzoku Ou. The Thief King (or previous Thief King) was sitting in the corner of the room, painting and occasionally casting angry glares at the High Priest for not shutting up.

"Seth," said Aishisu warningly, noticing the unnervingly graceful stroke of Touzoku Ou's paintbrush speeding up and the Tomb-Robber's haunted eyes burning with an alarming ferocity.

Seth took a breath and returned to the discussion-but only for a moment, or two at the most. Then he glanced back at Touzoku Ou. "Ugh. Is all that damn thief ever does is sit around and paint all day?"

Atemu clenched his teeth, wishing Seth would shut up. Personally, he thought it intriguing that the Thief King could do something besides steal and destroy-which was really the only reason he hadn't said a word about Touzoku Ou stealing the paints and papyrus. And he had seen some of the paintings-they were amazingly good, much better than one would expect.

Heedless of both Aishisu and Touzoku Ou, Seth continued in a muttered voice, "Well, I suppose it's difficult for his kind to do much without destroying anything."

Touzoku Ou raised his head and glared pointedly at him, lifting the painting so Seth could see the graphic image of him being slaughtered.

In spite of himself, Seth jumped and covered his eyes. Mariku burst out laughing, Aishisu rolled her eyes, Shaadi stared in horror, Akunadin fainted, and Touzoku Ou smirked and started painting a pomegranate bush.

"Wow, this is really good," remarked Atemu, picking up a painting of what the castle looked like at night from the top of a cliff.

"What the-" Touzoku Ou jumped to his feet, somehow managing not to spill any paint. "Give that back!"

Ignoring his demand, Atemu continued, "Do you have any idea how much paintings like these are worth? Why did you become a thief, with this kind of talent?"

Touzoku Ou growled and stuck out the hand without a bracelet. "This pinkie ring is worth a small kingdom. If I wanted power or wealth, I could have gained it without even having to meet you-ever. That was never what I wanted."

Atemu lifted his eyebrows, truly curious. "Oh? Then what, pray tell, is it that you do want, exactly?"

"I want the damn painting back!" He shouted, trying to grab it. But his bracelet glittered and his hand wouldn't obey. Atemu looked at him with obvious amusement. He pretended to consider it, just for a moment.

"No."

Touzoku Ou clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm his breathing and cursing the stupid bracelet. At last, he barked, "Fine! Take the goddamn painting, take all of them, see if I care!"

He swung up so he was on one of the rafters or whatever you call them up there, crossed his arms, and leaned against a pillow with a scowl.

Mariku and Aishisu glanced at each other, then sprinted forward so fast Mariku's seat fell down (and Aishisu's somehow remained upright.

"I'll give you twenty pomegranates for the painting of Seth," Mariku offered, holding up a basket of fruit that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.

"Deal," Touzoku Ou, who hadn't eaten in over a week, replied automatically, swinging down gracefully to grab the basket then swinging back up without dropping even one of the slightly squashed red orbs.

Seth clenched his fists. "You get rid of that!" he demanded. "One sight's going to give me nightmares for the rest of my life, I don't even want to think about how often I'll have to see it if you have it!"

Touzoku Ou hid a smirk, scanning the paintings to see if he had accidentally made one which had anything to do with Kuru Eruna.

Suddenly the door swung open and a man dashed in. He was panting, eyes wide and fearful. "Sire! Sire! Persia has declared war on Egypt!"

"What?!" roared Atemu, so loudly everybody jumped. Whirling around, he pointed at Touzoku Ou and shouted, "You! Get out! Now!"

Touzoku Ou didn't even blink. With an imperceptible shrug, he turned and swung right out the window, still holding the basket of pomegranates.

Atemu turned back to the man who had dashed in with the horrible news. "Explain yourself this instant."