~XI~

3 years later…

The Capital City

"What did you say, you white-haired freak?!" barked an angry Egyptian boy as he held Bakura by his ragged robe.

Bakura, now a twelve-year-old boy, frowned hatefully. "I said you're a low-life cretin," he shot back. The other boy through him to the ground and slammed his foot into his head, keeping him pressed there. Bakura growled and stared up at the other child with fire in his eyes, but he was struggling to stand himself up.

"And you think you're better than me, huh?!" the other boy snapped. "I have a real family! You're just some street rat orphan who's gonna die alone!"

Bakura grabbed the boy's ankle and pulled him down to the floor, bringing his fist as hard as he could into his face. "I don't need a family to protect me," he countered coldly. "I can fight my own battles."

The boy grabbed Bakura's floppy white hair and pulled as hard as he could, but as the pair squabbled, neither of them noticed as Rashan – now a man with few grey hairs – approached. Rashan pulled them apart, but his dark brown eyes locked onto the black-haired Egyptian boy.

"I'm getting a little tired of seeing you around here," he murmured. "Do me a favour and run along home before I do to you what I used to do to kids I fought with in my youth."

With a mild look of worry, the boy stood up and ran without saying anything else, leaving Rashan to turn his attention to Bakura. The white-haired boy was still on the floor, and he was refusing to look towards his Persian guardian. Rashan simply let out a sigh.

"Why do you keep getting into these fights?" he asked. "You're gonna get unwanted attention, you know."

"I'm not afraid of fighting," Bakura rasped viciously. "One day I will be doing more than fighting in the streets, Rashan."

"I get that you wanna get tougher," Rashan understood, "but you're gonna get us all in trouble if you make yourself too well-known."

"Hmph," Bakura huffed as he stood himself up while also dusting off the sand coating is rags. "If I get into trouble, it's my problem. Not yours. I can't rely on others, so stop trying to protect me." With that said, the white-haired boy stormed off into the busy market street and disappeared easily from view. Rashan only sighed and didn't even try to give chase, but as he stood there, Darius walked to his side, having witnessed the minor conflict.

"He's a growing boy," the long-haired man noted. "He wants his independence. I'd say we taught him well."

"I can't lie, Darius," Rashan said. His sentence followed with a sigh. "If I must be honest, I do worry about him."

"Worrying about him is our job," Darius pointed out, "but he'll be ready to live his own life in the near future."

"That's the problem," Rashan responded. "When he's on his own, he's going to do something stupid."

"Of course, he will," Darius nodded. "He's Bakura. We've been looking after him for seven years." His dark green eyes seemed to soften slightly. "All we can hope for is that when he does something foolish, it ends in his favour." The aging man then started to walk back in the direction he had come from. "We should return home and leave Bakura to himself for a while; Caspar should be back shortly with more food."

Rashan nodded, but let out a small sigh just before following his friend. Over the years, he had admittedly grown even softer because of Bakura being in the life of him and the other two Persians. His age also wasn't helping, since the trio had all aged quite a bit since they first arrived in Egypt, although he didn't really see anything to be concerned about overall. Not for themselves, at least. The main concern was Bakura – the young boy who wanted to do extreme things.

As the two men left the streets, Bakura had continued to wander, but he noticed people standing aside for something. When seeing some guards walking in line, he immediately frowned, for he knew that this was some royal or High Priest, but when the young boy caught sight of a head of long blue hair, he decided to stop strolling and fixed his eyes onto the small royal unit.

Nefertari, the orphaned High Priestess and spellcaster trainee, walked with an expression of firmness. She looked hardened, compared to three years ago when she only ever worse expressions of either sadness, anger or pure naivety. She strode boldly in a long white gown with golden trimmings, and her tanned arm linked tightly with Mahad's. Mahad hadn't changed too much, aside from having grown a little taller.

Leading the two spellcaster children was Kamuzu, the aging holder of the Millennium Rod, along with Akhenaden, the holder of the Millennium Eye. Nobody seemed too disturbed by the royal presence, though some commoners did stop to see what was going on.

"You know, you look really pretty in white," Mahad whispered shyly. It looked as if he was just trying to get some kind of smile out of Nefertari, or at least take away the hardness in her expression. His compliment didn't work.

"We're not supposed to be talking," she muttered back to him, maintaining her focus on the trek. Mahad sighed and didn't say another word.

The troop headed through the streets and towards the sandy banks of the Nile river, and that's where they finally came to a halt. Bakura curiously followed, although he deliberately kept his distance and remained out of sight. The other civilians didn't seem as intrigued with the situation, since the High Priests often came through the city's streets, although the two spellcaster children definitely became a sudden topic of discussion among the people.

Kamuzu turned to face the young duo, and he held out two golden disks of some kind. They looked identical to the ones traditionally warn by the High Priests, but Bakura was yet to understand what these items actually did. They must have been more than just uniform.

"Nefertari, daughter of the late High Priest Masudah and the late Amunet, you have trained hard to control your mind, body and your spirit," Kamuzu began. "Within you resides the very embodiment of your spirit – your Ka – and with this DiaDhank, you will be able to call it to your side. Not only will you be able to summon your Ka, but you will also be able to summon the beasts trapped within your sacred sanctuary."

The young girl took the disk – the DiaDhank – and clipped it around her wrist, examining it thoughtfully as Kamuzu then turned to his son.

"Mahad," he started, "son of my own, you have proven yourself to be a strong spellcaster. You are not only ready to call forth your Ka, but you are also ready to control multiple monsters. This will be an important skill to have in the future – these beasts will be used to protect the Pharaoh and the kingdom when you become High Priests."

Mahad placed the DiaDhank on his wrist and examined it with awe, much like how Nefertari had done, but both children looked back at Kamuzu when he began speaking again.

"The two of you will first attempt to call forth your Ka," the High Priest explained. "Once you have successfully done that, you will attempt to summon a second beast, and then finally a third. If we get that far, then you can be taught about Ba – your life energy which goes into your Ka."

"Do you want to go first, Neffy?" Mahad asked as he glanced at Nefertari.

"No," the girl answered sternly.

"Then I guess that means I must go first," Mahad concluded, taking a step closer to the Nile for some space. He held out his arm and closed his eyes, letting out a long breath as he spent a few seconds focusing on what to do. When his eyes reopened, he held up his arm and called out, "Illusion Magician! Come forth!"

Mahad's DiaDhank began to glow, and a beam shot out from it. This caught the attention of nearby civilians, and Bakura could only watch with some form of amazement. After a few moments, a purple humanoid beast dressed in strange mage-like clothing appeared by Mahad's side, looking ready for commands. Mahad stared at the magician with shock and wonder, and maybe even with a hint of fear.

Kamuzu chuckled slightly. "A magician," he commented. "How fitting that is for you."

Mahad turned to look at Nefertari almost excitably. "Look, Neffy, isn't it cool?" he asked his friend.

"I suppose," Nefertari admitted while staring at the Illusion Magician. "It… definitely suits you."

"Nefertari, now you must try," Kamuzu then instructed.

Nefertari confidently stepped forward, and Bakura watched from his distance while hiding the fact that he wanted to grin. He knew that she was already capable of summoning her Ka, with or without a DiaDhank. He watched as she, like Mahad had done, held out her arm and called forth the beast which resided within her, only something was… different.

"Vennominaga, come forth!" she had shouted. Bakura had expected to see that same snake from three years ago, but instead, a large, purple snake, with three eyes and a second head upon its tail, appeared.

"A venomous snake?" Mahad reacted. "I never thought a snake would be your Ka."

"Snakes are ever-changing creatures," Kamuzu informed. "Perhaps you will grow into an ever-changing young woman, Nefertari, or perhaps you have the power to bring change to the land."

"What about me?" Mahad questioned. "What does my Ka symbolise?"

"Your magic," answered Kamuzu. "You will no doubt grow into a powerful spellcaster, Mahad, since you are one of the few natural-born spellcasters left after the war. Your magic is something that will protect this kingdom."

Mahad smiled proudly, while Nefertari simply admired her own beast. Her purple eyes reflected nothing but surprise. This snake had definitely changed from when she was younger, and no doubt it would change again in the future.

"Anyway, it's time for you two to proceed with summoning a second beast," Kamuzu continued. "You won't know the names of the beasts in your sanctuaries, so I will simply tell you them now; Mahad, you will call forth a beast known as Shadow Ghoul, and Nefertari, you will summon Dark Necrofear."

"They both sound kinda… evil," Mahad responded somewhat nervously.

"That's because they come from the hearts of evil people," Kamuzu clarified. "If someone does bad, then a bad Ka forms inside them. It grows stronger and stronger, forcing the host to do bad things, and can only be stopped if us High Priests remove it from them. But once they've been removed and sealed away, they are safe to be used."

"I don't think using the Ka of other people is right," Nefertari admitted. "It just sounds… wrong."

"Nefertari, we do not have time for your disagreements," Akhenaden snapped from where he was standing. "Do as High Priest Kamuzu commands."

An irritated huff came from Nefertari, but she once again held out her wrist and did what she had done with her own beast, but instead she called out the name of Dark Necrofear. Appearing by her side was a dark figurine-like humanoid which glowed in a purple aura.

"That definitely looks evil," Mahad commented, staring up at Dark Necrofear with wide eyes.

"It shouldn't be mine," Nefertari murmured under her breath.

Kamuzu paid no attention to Nefertari's comment and turned to Mahad. "Now it's your turn," he stated. "Call forth Shadow Ghoul."

Mahad did the exact same small ritual as Nefertari, and a green beast with many red eyes materialised at his side. Now the two spellcaster children stood with two monsters beside them.

"Good," Kamuzu nodded. "Since you two both had no problems with those tasks, I think I can teach you about Ba. Look at you DiaDhanks; do you see the glowing eye there?"

"Yes," both children said in unison.

"That is your Ba," Kamuzu explained. "Ba is your life energy, and when you summon monsters, you must sacrifice some of it. If your monsters are destroyed, you lose even more, and if the bar becomes empty, then you will die."

"That sounds serious," Mahad gulped.

"It is," Kamuzu confirmed, "but situations where someone loses all of their life are rare. Now, then, we shall call it a day there; you two shouldn't risk attempting a duel when you're still so young."

"When will be ready to train for duels?" Mahad asked.

"In a few years," Kamuzu answered, taking back the DiaDhanks. "Let us return to the palace; you two definitely deserve a break after today."

The group began to make their way back through the streets, though Akhenaden seemed disturbed. He had sensed a growing evil in the crowd, but when he turned to look, the evil had gone.

Bakura had quickly made his way down a backstreet to avoid being seen, but Nefertari had caught sight of him. That white hair of his was still so distinctive, even after three years. Without putting much thought into her next choice, Nefertari slipped out of sight to follow the boy.

"Nefertari!" Akhenaden called after her.

"She'll be fine, Akhenaden," Kamuzu assured. "She's just looking for an alternate way back to the palace. She's been like this for some time now."

"That's not the point," Akhenaden replied sharply. "I sensed evil within the crowd, and when it vanished, Nefertari ran exactly where I had sensed it."

"How severe was the evil?" Kamuzu queried.

"It felt… small," Akhenaden admitted.

Mahad was the one to speak up. "She'll be alright," he told the adults. "She's tougher than she looks. I should know."

Kamuzu looked down at his son while walking, and trusted the look in his expression. "Very well," he sighed. "But if she's out for too long, then we'll have to search for her."

"She'll be back before the sun goes down," Mahad guaranteed. "Trust me."

Meanwhile, Bakura was now sitting upon a rooftop. He stared down at the palace group as they left, but raised a brow when seeing that Nefertari wasn't there. Before his thoughts could remain on the subject for too long, he heard someone climb up behind him. The boy jumped to his feet and raised his fists, only to widen his eyes upon seeing that Nefertari had come to join him.

"You," he reacted strangely. "Why are you up here?"

"Is that really how you say "hello" to me?" the girl countered.

"Yes," Bakura responded. "So, answer my question.

Nefertari didn't seem too surprised at Bakura's attitude, so simply walked over and took a seat beside him, speaking once he sat down, too. "I saw you in the crowd," she told him. "You must have watched the training we did."

"Yeah," Bakura confirmed. "You and that spellcaster friend of yours. Mahad, was it?"

"Yes."

"Stupid name."

Nefertari sighed and shook her head, only to then laugh quietly. "You haven't changed too much," she commented.

"Well, maybe I'm not an "ever-changing snake" like you apparently are," Bakura retorted easily.

"Knowing you, you're Ka is probably something really annoying," Nefertari mocked. Bakura just laughed at her attempt at an insult, but then his laugh faded.

"I noticed that your Ka changed," he pointed out. "When I last saw it, it was a little snake with stripes. Now it's bigger, and it has two heads."

"A Ka can evolve and change," Nefertari told him. "Mine must be changing more noticeably because… I think I'm changing."

"How so?" Bakura queried curiously. Nefertari looked nervous, hugging her knees close to her chest.

"I don't feel like I belong there," she confessed. "They don't… like me."

"And?" Bakura reacted, not too impressed with the confession.

"All I do is disagree with them about everything," Nefertari explained to the boy. "Everything they do bothers me. And now that I'm getting older, they want me to be a certain way. They want me to set an example for the common people, and they expect me to protect prince Atem when he becomes Pharaoh."

"So, you don't wanna do any of that, huh?" Bakura questioned.

"I don't want to be a part of them," Nefertari affirmed. "I want to make my own choices. They're making every decision for me and I hate it."

Bakura shrugged his shoulders. "You don't need to do whatever they tell you to," he told her. "When you're older, you can do whatever you want."

"I'll be a High Priestess by then," Nefertari reminded him. "It'll be a crime for me to betray the palace."

"Well, I don't know what to tell ya, princess," Bakura shrugged.

"Stop calling me that," Nefertari grumbled, but she let Bakura continue speaking.

"If you don't wanna be a High Priestess, then refuse when you're a little older. If that's a problem for them, then who cares? Leave the palace and start a new life somewhere, I dunno, just do something that'll stop you from complaining."

Nefertari was quiet, but then she started to laugh under her breath. It was a sad laugh, but also a warm one. "It's weird," she chuckled. "We're not really friends. We barely see each other at all, but I feel like I can talk to you more than I can talk to them."

"You probably like talking to me because you think nothing will happen," Bakura theorised. "You think that because I'm a common boy, nobody will even listen to me if I tried to spread rumours about you. And if I tried to hurt you for saying something I didn't like, then you think your guards would have me killed." Nefertari shook her head.

"I like talking to you because you don't try to be perfect," she corrected. "My only other real friends are Haku and Mahad. Haku is always trying so hard to make everyone around him happy, always keeping the peace, and Mahad wants to grow into the man everyone believes he'll become. They'd both be terrified of their images being ruined if I were to tell them the things on my mind, but you don't even care."

"Because I have nothing to do with that weird royal family," Bakura pointed out while waving a hand dismissively. "You can complain and cower about whatever you want, I just find it annoying more than anything."

"I figured," Nefertari sighed.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Well, there's no need to be all sad," he grunted. "I'm not your friend, so stop expecting me to be soft with you."

"You're right," Nefertari then said, standing up. "I shouldn't be complaining. I just… wanted to get that off my chest. Three years being surrounded by everyone in the palace hasn't been fun."

"Sounds like torture," Bakura scoffed sarcastically.

Nefertari smiled slightly. "It is torture," she joked, "but someday, things are going to change for me."

"Things will change for everyone here," Bakura replied, a dark glint in his eyes. His plans for taking the items may have been on hold, but it was still in his mind. Although, as he said those words, he felt a slight nervousness. Maybe it was because he was growing up, and therefore he was getting closer to being of an age where he could put his plan into action, or maybe it was because of Nefertari. Three years ago, he imagined her being his ally. He saw her as his ticket to the Millennium Items. Right now, she certainly seemed to be going down a traitorous path, but something just didn't feel right to him.

"Go home, princess," the boy then instructed. "I'm sure this ain't gonna be the last time we meet."

Nefertari glanced at him thoughtfully. "I wish we could hang out," she admitted. "Properly. Every time, I've had to run away in secret. If we could just meet each other like normal children, I think we'd be friends."

"Hmph," Bakura huffed. "Well, that's not how things are. Go on, now; I'd rather not have you come crying to me about how the priests punished you for going home late."

"Right," Nefertari responded. "I'll see you whenever, then." The blue-haired girl climbed down from the rooftop and onto the ground, and Bakura watched as she slipped through the streets swiftly. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself quietly; he hated to admit it, but he did like talking to her again. At least she was rebelling against the royal family while remaining as a high-ranking member, so no doubt in the future, she would choose his side over theirs.

The only problem would be if something happened before the two of them were old enough to take any action.

~End of Chapter~