Lion Heart

EvilPharoahAtem: Well I do hope you haven’t died by now *blinks* Cuz that would mean less reviews for me and I don’t really like that thought y’know XD Just kidding. Atemu will find out… at one point or another… yeah, don’t get your hopes up yet for a while ^^ Have fun readingtha chap!

Dragonlady222: Yeah, Atemu will figure it out… just not yet *nods* But you already know that so why am I even bothering to say it? … Oh yeah, keeping up appeareneces. Guess I just broke that huh? XD Well anyway, have fun reading.

Cosmic Tomato: Gee, Why is it that everyone seems to want Atemu to find out who Hikari is? *pouts* what fun would there be if I made that happen right off the bat. That’d just take all my fun away. I need to be able to torment you people! ^^ Have fun with the next chap.

Keara: HOW were you planning on killing me?! I’m in hiding! You can’t find me! It’s impossible! *nods* On a brighter note, here’s the next chap so you won’t even have a reason to kill me… at least not until you’re done reading… there’s a slight chance you’ll wanna kill me then… so g‘luck finding me and enjoy the chap!

J-chan: Don’t worry, Atemu’ll find out… it’ll just take a while longer XD Have fun with the new chap!

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Okay, so I´m a bit late with this… in all truth, I simply forgot to update last night due to the fact that my parents were leaving on vacation today and I had to help em so it just simply slipped my mind. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! *sweatdrops* Anyway, Hope you all enjoy the chap and R&R!

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--: 05 :--
New, Improved, Yet Still The Same

Atemu twitched slightly, his face set in a scowl. He was sitting in the large meeting room, listening as his cousin give a more detailed report of his findings. He’d already gone through hours of arranging people to start rebuilding the nearby city of the latest attack. Many of his priests wondered why he kept trying so hard to keep the city intact when it was a well-known fact that Bakura and Mariku would attack and demolish it as soon as it was rebuild again. Atemu had his reasons though.

For one, he needed to gain the trust of the people. Most assumed he’d be as bad as his father - Seth’s report only confirmed this – and leaving a city that needed help in rubble was not a way to gain the trust he wanted.

For two, he had a nagging suspicion his friend, Hikari lived there. Whenever there was an attack, Hikari was always faster at the scene when it was in the nearby town than anywhere else. It could be a coincidence, but it still seemed to fit too much for that.

Lastly, and definitely the most important reason of all, it simply wasn’t in him to turn down people who needed his help. One of the things from his childhood that he could remember was his mother telling him how important it was to always be kind to people. She had died when he was only 8 from a disease no one had been able to cure, but he had always remembered her words and how much people loved her for her gentle ways and kind heart. No matter what his father had tried to drone into his head, he would never forget that, and he would always take those words to heart.

He bowed his head in thought as Seth ended his report, mulling over all the information his cousin had given him and letting a groan pass his lips. It seemed no matter what he did, nothing helped.

“Pharaoh, maybe it’s time to give up on appeasing all the people of Egypt.” Seth let out a sigh and shook his head, “I know you want nothing more than to be a good ruler to them, but they simply don’t give you much of a chance to prove yourself.”

Atemu grimaced and looked at his cousin, “I know, but I refuse to stop trying.” He let out a wry chuckle, “Besides, most of what I do isn’t just to please the people; it’s actually what I would’ve done in any given situation.”

“Like rebuilding towns that will only be attacked once more the minute they’re done?” Seth raised an eyebrow, “You’re using all the man power we have for tasks such as those when we need them to fight Mariku and Bakura.”

“Seth is right, My Lord.” Isis spoke from a bit further away at the table, concerned blue eyes looking at him intently, “If we wish to beat them, we mustn’t waste our time.”

Atemu, seeing multiple nods around the table, scowled, “It is not a waste of time, and I will not stop my efforts. I’d help rebuild those towns myself if you would give me the chance to slip away.” He twitched, “Sadly though, you all keep a very close eye on me.”

Seth smirked slightly, “That’s because we know you. It’s beneath a Pharaoh to do such labour, no matter how much you want to help. Sorry, Atemu. But your days of sneaking out of the palace ended when you took the throne.”

A chuckle was heard from Mahaad, the priest remembering all the times he’d helped Atemu escape – together with Seth no less – but stopped when he saw the reprimanding look Shimon was giving him. Atemu just gave his old friend a smirk and ignored the look Shimon gave him completely.

“And that, my friends, is why I send out others to rebuild the towns in my place. Is there anything else?” He really wanted to try and get away from his council to try and sneak out behind their backs, even though he knew he would probably fail.

“One more thing.” Isis spoke up, gaining an apprehensive look on her face, “A new princess has arrived to try and become your queen.” Atemu frowned, not liking the news but Isis continued before he could utter a word, “It’s Princess Teana, the girl who used to come to the palace when you were little.”

Atemu’s tanned skin paled dramatically, eyes widening slightly before he quickly looked imploringly at his cousin, “Please tell me I have a very busy schedule and I won’t be able to spend time with her?”

Seth gave him an amused look, “You need to get married, Atemu. You can’t rule alone forever. Your schedule permits you to spend time with her.”

Atemu tried to resist the urge to bang his head on the table, the stone actually softly whispering to him to do so in his mind. He complied with the soft voices, regretting it instantly as a headache immediately formed. This was definitely not going to be a very good period for him.

Some of his priests looked at him curiously, never having met the princess in question and thus not understanding their Pharaoh’s reaction, while Shimon, Seth and Mahaad gained amused looks.

“When will she be arriving?” Atemu asked weakly, raising his head from the table and rubbing his forehead.

“She arrived just before the meeting started. I assigned some servants to bring her to a room. You should probably go meet her.” Isis mentally frowned at the reaction Atemu was giving. Since he’d become Pharaoh, Atemu had always been against marrying for the sake of having a queen and wanted to actually love the person he’d marry. He’d always been apprehensive when princesses came, but never had he shown such a drastic response, “Is something the matter, my Pharaoh?”

Atemu merely grunted in reply, not wanting to talk about his history with Teana. “I’m fine, was that all?”

There were nods and Atemu rose, letting out a long sigh, “Then I suppose I will go greet our guest.” He grimaced at the last word but started out of the room and towards the guest chambers nonetheless. His plans for sneaking out had just been utterly crushed, and knowing Teana’s vigilance, he wouldn’t get a chance to leave any time soon.

When he’d still been little, Teana had often visited to play with him. She’d been one of his only friends since his father didn’t permit that many others to come, and so he had always been quite happy when Teana had visited.

Of course, once he’d grown a bit older he’d quickly understood that it was just an excuse, and that his father really wanted them to get together. He’d obviously hoped it would be easier if they’d spend their childhood together a lot.

Sadly, Teana had caught on to this idea fast as well, and had enthusiastically started flirting with him, even if they were only around 10 at the time and he had no interest in her whatsoever. This had continued for another 6 years. At that time, Teana’s father had fallen ill and she’d had to stay in Libya, her home country, for a long time.

Atemu wasn’t quite sure what had happened to her after that. He knew her father had recovered after a year, but she hadn’t returned after that. Now, a year after that, she suddenly came back? Before she’d started flirting with him they’d been good friends. She was annoying at times, but Atemu hadn’t had much problems with that. Would she continue to flirt with him like the last 6 years of their time together, or could she have possibly gone back to the way she was before that had started happening? Two years could do a lot to people.

Reaching the guest chambers and asking a servant which of the rooms Teana was staying in, he approached the door and stopped, hesitant to knock and meet his childhood friend in case she was going to act like the last 6 years. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited for a response.

“Atemu?” The door was opened and Teana beamed in happiness at him. For a split second Atemu thought he saw his old friend, before the girl’s eyes gained a seductive look and Atemu’s heart fell. She hadn’t changed.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Teana threw herself at him and hugged him, “I’ve missed you so much over the past two years, but I couldn’t leave before now because of my father’s illness and after that he wanted to make sure I was ready to take the throne in case something really did happen to him.” She smiled up at him, “But now we’re together again.”

Atemu resisted the urge to scowl and throw the girl off him. Instead, he gently pried her arms from his neck and took a step back, his stance reserved and not showing much emotion. “It’s nice to see you again too; I hope your father is alright now.”

Teana laughed a bit, waving the comment off and completely ignoring the aura of distance Atemu was trying to give off, “He’s fine, he’s just overreacting. I admit that I was scared that he might die when he first became ill, but he’s as healthy as can be again so I’m not worried.”

Atemu gave a curt nod, trying to think of something else he could say without seeming to eager to leave. It wouldn’t be wise to offend Teana as Libya was a powerful country and a war would not be wise. “Good…” he trailed off, desperate to find something else to say.

“Why don’t we go take a walk through the garden?” Not waiting for a response, Teana closer the door behind her and linked their arms, starting to move towards the garden, “It was always very beautiful there. I hope that hasn’t changed yet.”

Atemu shook his head in response, “No, I made sure it was kept in good condition even though my father didn’t pay much attention to it.” He tried to free his arm discreetly but Teana wouldn’t let go.

“That’s great. I remember how romantic it was there at night…” she gained a dreamy look and Atemu sighed dejectedly, an image of the upcoming days entering his mind.

He’d get up, have breakfast with Teana, deal with the problems his people brought forward, would spend time with Teana – forced on him – would deal with more problems, would maybe be allowed to have dinner without first spending more time with Teana, though the dinner itself would once more be with the female, much more time with Teana after that, deal with his country some more, Teana, his country, Teana…

He cringed at the thought, and a very small voice his head hoped Mariku and Bakura would attack or that Hikari might visit just so he would have a change in the planning that would probably actually happen.

The day passed by like Atemu had imagined to his great displeasure. At the end of the day he was very happy to throw himself onto his bed face down and not move for at least five minutes to calm down after everything he’d gone through.

The walk through the garden hadn’t been too bad until they’d come to one of their favorite hiding spots when they’d only been kids. Suffice to say, Teana had tried to seduce him and had Seth not come to look for him, she probably would’ve managed to at least kiss him. That would’ve in turn led to a very big fight no doubt since Atemu still had no interest in her and would’ve pushed her away.

After being saved by his cousin, Atemu had dealt with the many problems going around in Egypt. He didn’t mind this part much, as he liked helping people who needed it. Sadly though, Teana had insisted on staying with him and had tried many times to decide what would happen instead of Atemu. This had lead to another near-fight, and Atemu was oh-so thankful that Isis had come to retrieve Teana for some ‘girl-time’.

The day had dragged on and by the time dinner came around, Teana was back and fully intended to once more do everything to seduce him. This had continued all the way until he’d finally escaped her for bed.

He really couldn’t imagine lasting long if this kept up. He was sure he’d snap at one point or another.

Sighing and sitting up, Atemu started to get ready for bed. He stood in front of the large window for a while, watching the view and trying to see if the nearby town looked any better now than it had the day before when the attack had been. The town was simply too far away to make out much though, and Atemu turned to go to bed.

He stopped in his tracks just when he’d been about to step into bed, a sudden grin appearing on his face as he glanced back at the window. Casting a quick look at his door and listening if anyone was near, he rushed back to his closet and reached all the way in the back. There, hidden by all his other clothes and jewelry, lay the peasant clothes he’d used to wear when sneaking out so he wouldn’t be recognized. He grinned, knowing that for once the fact that he hadn’t grown much over the last year was going to come in handy.

In less than half an hour he was outside, dressed in the peasant clothes, and had escaped the palace walls. Since he was the one in charge of the guards now, he’d always made sure there was a slight gap at all times that he could escape through. Unless you knew of this gap you could never use it, but he’d memorized it by heart in case he ever did get the chance to get away.

He managed to reach the town without any trouble, and started to look at the damage done himself. He hadn’t been able to see how bad it was the last time since he’d been too tired. If Hikari hadn’t brought him back to the palace, he would’ve had a hard time getting there himself, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the scenery before. Now though, he could look around without any problems.

The damage was more extensive than he’d first thought, and he sighed at the idea that it would take quite a while to rebuild all the destroyed parts again. Although he wanted nothing more than to help people, he knew he also needed to start concentrating on actually beating Mariku and Bakura. He couldn’t have any of his forces rebuilding towns when he did attack.

Which was probably why Mariku and Bakura kept attacking so much. The bastards.

He sighed, the demolition becoming worse as he went further into the town. The town square was one of the worst places, though repairs seemed to be getting underway most there. The entire town was deserted by now, Ra having already set for a while and most people not daring to go out in the dark. Atemu was therefore free to roam around the town, checking how it looked and where the repairs were mostly needed.

A barely noticeable movement in an alley caught his eye and Atemu tensed, looking at the spot intently and ready if anyone or anything attacked him, but nothing came. For a moment he could’ve sworn he’d seen a boy with spiked hair much like his own there, but he supposed he’d only imagined it.

Sitting down for a moment in the town square and just enjoying the peace after the day’s events, he perked up when he felt a small surge of Shadow Magic not too far away. His eyes fixed on the alley he’d thought he’d seen something move in, the magic by now so familiar in feeling to him that he smiled. He really had seen someone in the alley then, and apparently it would’ve probably been better if he’d gone to check.

His eyes followed the form that slowly walked out of the alley, his smile growing as the moonlight shone on the majestic lion coming towards him. The lion gave him a curious look as he stopped right before Atemu.

/ Fancy meeting you here, and in those clothes no less. /

Atemu chuckled, “I see you can recognize me in anything.” He briefly stroked the ebony fur that passed through his fingers like the shadows themselves, “I just had to get away from the palace for a while, rough day.”

Hikari let out a mental chuckle, / Are people bothering you that much? /

Atemu grimaced, “No, but a new girl has shown up to try and become my bride. I know her from when we were both little, but the minute she started flirting with me our friendship ended really. She used to be my best friend but now she’s rather annoying, not to mention shallow.”

A brief flash of amusement as well as something Atemu could not quite place passed through Hikari’s eyes, the amethyst depths reflecting clearly in the moonlight, / Why don’t you send her away then? /

Atemu shook his head, a wry smile appearing on his features, “She is the Princess of Libya. Handling this incorrectly could lead to war, and that is the last thing I want.”

Hikari nodded in understanding, closing his eyes as Atemu once more started to stroke his fur and purring softly in delight. Atemu smiled at the sound. “I do believe though, that this trip has revealed something else to me. You live in this town, don’t you?”

Hikari stayed silent for a while, seemingly not having heard the question before his eyes opened and he looked directly at Atemu, / I guess there’s no way to deny that now, huh? / He smiled a little, / At this rate you might actually find out who I am in real life. /

Atemu grinned before turning his gaze to the moon in the sky, “I do hope so.”

Hikari looked at him a moment longer before also turning his gaze to the sky, simply enjoying the attention Atemu was giving him as they sat there in silence.

Neither male spoke for the rest of the evening, simply sitting there and enjoying each other’s company and the peace around them that was so rare when they were together. Neither had any real clue how long they sat there, but they weren’t willing to leave in the near future.

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There, fluff! I ended on fluff! You guys can’t hate me for putting Anzu in there because I ended on FLUFF! *shifty eyes* I’ll… just go make sure I have enough food in my hideout now… Review!