all disclaimers apply

author's note: I know I don't say this often, but to those of you who leave me reviews...THANK YOU very much. I do appreciate it when I know my stories are being read and I'm not just wasting my time putting them online. Keep them coming and I promise to keep the fics coming. :)

Also, there is a side story I just started called, "Nobody's Son." It deals with Anhur as well and will give a more in-depth look at Atemu and Anhur's life. But, please note, if you do read this one and that one...the two are NOT linked. Events in this story may not show in that one. They are two separate stories not spin-offs of one another.

"Always one-step ahead." Marik commented to himself as he discovered more about the unusual added being and his biological parents.

"What brother?"

"The Nameless Pharaoh...he's always one-step ahead. It's like he has ESP or something."

"From what I gather, the child was truly within wedlock, but neither he nor the queen had anticipated it. It wasn't planned Marik. The child was a very fortunate accident."

"Oh how I'd like to be a fly on the wall when that was discovered."

"Marik!"

"I'm sorry sis. It's just all my experiences with the Namless Pharaoh so far have given me the impression that he is a very prudent and cautious being. He plans his moves carefully and tactically, therefore eliminating any chance of a mistake or accident."

"In love, accidents can happen, especially back then."

"But the Nameless Pharaoh doesn't strike me as one who would fall madly in love. He was my age or younger when all this happened. I'm certainly not interested in love or marriage right now... though sex strikes me as a fascinating curiousity."

"Brother!"

"Sorry. Can't be helped. But, I AM trying to see this through his eyes...what he may have felt based off what I know of myself." Marik replied with a blush.

"Well obviously, sex was on his mind as well or this child would not have happened. Love does weird things to even the most rational of beings."

"But where'd he have the time!?" Marik joked. He knew of all the events and incidents that had occurred to the Nameless Pharaoh in his short reign as king.

The two spent many more hours within the chambers before finally coming to the conclusion that they had sifted through everything that could be sifted. With newfound information, they headed back towards home. Once home they would prepare how they were going to break the news to Yugi and the pharaoh who couldn't recall any of this.

In Domino City...

Yami, in control of Yugi's body, found himself walking alone towards the Domino Museum. As events continued to unfold, he found himself drawn more and more to the Egyptian artifacts and belongings. He could read the hieroglyphs and scripts that were present in many of the tapestries and carvings though he didn't really know why that and not other memories instead. In a sense, he felt a sort of longing...a desire to be somewhere or with someone, yet he couldn't remember where that somewhere or who that someone was. But, at this moment, he would even settle for a name, be it his own or that of the mysterious woman that haunted his dreams. Sure the woman kept calling him by a name, but was it really his? A pharaoh had many names and a couple in love often made up more of them for themselves. He couldn't be sure if that name he heard in his dreams was his true name or not. It bothered him deeply, though he tried hard to not show that to Yugi or the others. He wanted to remain strong for all of them.

He was staring at an artifact, lost in thought when a stranger, an old man in his seventies approached him.

"You seem intrigued by that tapestry young man."

Yami jumped, unaware that anyone was around him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle ya."

"It's okay. My mind was elsewhere I'm afraid."

"You seem absorbed in that tapestry. What does a youngster such as yourself find fascinating in such ancient things? Most of you youngins would rather be playing video games or that...that Duel Monsters card game. Everywhere I look that card game is there."

Yami smiled despite himself. The old man may be complaining about a game which Yami loved and excelled at, but he also understood what the old man was getting at.
"I happen to enjoy the game Duel Monsters myself. I also have belief that it is tied to ancient Egypt. I wish to learn more about ancient Egyptian culture so I can better understand the game itself." Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie either. Yami thought to himself after giving his reasons to the old man.

"Not you too. What is it with this outrageous belief about this card game and Egypt!?"

Yami raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "You doubt it?"

"Bah, just another gimmick to sell more cards!"

"Really?"

The old man nodded.

Yami smiled. If the man weren't so old, he'd show them a little snipped of the power of the dark games themselves...in a gentle...yet convincing way. But, Yami feared for the man's health so he couldn't prove his theory in that manner.
"But did you not see the exhibit that was on display just a few months ago?"

"That stuff about a priest and a pharaoh and monsters they controlled with their life force? Bah, I saw it! Nice replications of ancient stone, but utterly fake."

"Fake?"

"Museum's way of drawing more people in to see the exhibits and get more donations."

Yami was slighly amused. This old man had an answer to anything...even if the old man was totally on the wrong side of the tracks. Yami wondered if this was what it was like to become senile and hoped that Grandpa Motou never faced such a thing.

"I thank you for your time and this conversation sir, but I must be going now. I have to complete a history assignment afterall. " Yami said politely as he found a proper way of getting the heck away from the old man.

Once out of the museum, Yami called to Yugi to take control of his own body once again. Yami's head was spinning and the old man didn't help it any. He wanted some quiet time and returning to his soul room was the best place for that.

Ancient Egypt...

Ever since that brief meeting with Kashir, Anhur was slightly different. It didn't take long for his ever astute step mother to notice. As Anhur was assisting her with harvesting the grain, she couldn't resist bringing the subject up.

"So Anhur, who is she?"

Anhur, taken completely by surprise, fumbled with his words and tried to avoid eye contact. "What do you mean, who is she? Why would you ask such a thing?"

"For the past few days you have been walking about like you've been lifted to the clouds themselves. Your usual moodiness seems gone and I've even caught you humming to yourself."

"So I'm happy. Why would a female be assumed in the matter?"

"Because I'm not that ignorant Anhur. I never told you, but I grew up with the queen...your real mother. She and I were best friends, practically sisters aside from status. I watched her fall in love with the prince...who later became pharaoh and your father. I also watched young Atemu fall hard and fast. For a young man who seemed very adamant about his bachelorhood, he fell like a rock plummeting down a waterfall. Male or female, the behaviors seem all the same. You're very much like your father, Anhur, in more ways that I wished were so. And, at your age, if you weren't interested in the opposite sex, I'd be very worried."

"So you KNEW my father and mother?"

"Oh yes. It is the reason why I was entrusted with your upbringing. I was close to the royal family, but not close enough to be detected should something befall the family. As the young couple and Atemu's mother feared, strife and death hit their bloodline very soon after your birth. Your father sacraficed his life before you were even a full year old."

Anhur's face saddened upon hearing the demise of his father. "So, he never truly knew me."

"Oh, believe me Anhur, he tried...several times, he tried, even faced gangs and thieves, and other creeps that walk the night in this village in the guise of a peasant, seeking your whereabouts. It was rather amazing to see a young man, a mere teenager as he was,a similar age to yourself, have such a strong paternal instinct. He never once realized that when he went on these dangerous excursions that he put the entire kingdom at risk...all in the name of seeking out his infant son. But, you've dodged the subject about yourself long enough. Who is she?"

Anhur turned his gaze back downward, uncertain of how he should proceed. Should he mention the princess whom he'd only met briefly, who probably meant nothing other than a passing acquaintance?

"A lady I met while working our stand in the marketplace."

"A lady? Not a girl?"

"Mother, she's older than me, but not that much older."

"And she has you spinning on your heels? What do you know of her?"

"She has definite potential."

"That's very ambiguous Anhur. Elaborate please."

Anhur sighed. He wasn't going to be able to pull the same angles on his step mother as he could with ruffians, hoodlums, and palace dolts. "Potential as in she's nice looking, intelligent, and may have a decent future ahead of her."

"So you know her occupation hmm?"

"She works in the palace mother."

"Oh Anhur, that could be dangerous for you. The royal family is already suspicious of you. If you tred upon their very turf, you're simply asking for trouble."

"But mother, as you've always known, trouble follows me whether I avoid it or walk right into it. And...I am fast approaching an age to marry. With the track record of my bloodline, it would be best if luck hit me with it early rather than late in life. As each day, month, and year passes, I look more and more like my true father. Soon, it will become obvious to anyone who'd ever laid eyes upon Pharaoh Atemu, that I am related to him. THAT will make my life dangerous...not this."

Anhur's step mother couldn't help but giggle. "Oh Anhur, that uniqueness was his bane and now yours. His mother always worried about how he'd stand out in a crowd just as his hair did upon his head."

Anhur tried to pat his own hair down in response. While his hair was longer, roughly shoulder-length in attempt to prevent the unusual, defiant spikes from developing...strands still defied gravity and pointed outward or upward. Anhur's bangs were also developing a spikey, lightening shape just as Atemu's had. "Can't be helped. Perhaps it's destiny for him and myself to stand out and away from the majority of peoples."

"Well, it doesn't comfort me any."

"I've grown strong and smart mother. I can handle life's hurdles."

"Atemu said the same thing. Look where he is now."

"I'm not Atemu, mother."

"I wish I could believe that Anhur. But, whether you accept it or not, you are your father's son."

"Don't worry mother. I will be careful. I owe it to you, myself, and my family's bloodline. But I do have a right to love don't I?."

"I know Anhur. I know. You've grown up faster than I wished."

"And you've raised me well. I will not dishonor you by being stupid or careless."

"Just be warned of that instrument between your legs, Anhur. It has corrupted and made a fool of many a man."

Anhur chuckled lightly and blushed. He just got a dose of 'the Talk' from his own step mother! "I will be mindful of such mother."

"Speaking of which, if you get some poor woman pregnant without proper arrangements, so help me Anhur, I will allow my husband to geld you as he does our working animals."

Anhur gulped. He'd seen and even assisted his father in those very processes. "Yes mother. Thank you kindly for that unmerciful warning." he replied as his legs crossed uncomfortably.

Later that evening, when his step parents had retired for the night, Anhur donned his black robes. It was time for the jackal to begin expanding his territory. WIth new information to go on in regards to the prince and a new ladyfriend to develop possible relations with, the jackal had much business to attend to and all of it within the palace walls.

to be continued...