Grains of Time

READ THE AUTHORS' NOTE BEFORE YOU GO TO THE STORY!! THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT! -.-

Authors' Note:

Sora no Hoshi: My FIRST COLLAB EVAAA! Yeah, anyway, dedicated to those who cared to read this all-so-boring-and-non-essential-authoress'-note. Please enjoy reading. Yue here came up with the idea...I wrote the prologue (thus any mistakes you see, yeah, all mine). : Keep your eyes open!

Yue-eternal: Like what Sora no Hoshi said. Our first joint project ever!! I'm ashamed to say I have no contributions to the story... (only provided the storyline). BUT I hope that you all will read, review and most importantly, ENJOY YOURSELF since the authoress up there spent a long time trying to write this down.

Now..ENJOY :D

Prologue

"Did you find anything?" At the inquiry, a boy looked up from scrutinizing the ancient wall and turned around.

He smiled sheepishly. "Not really, but I do find the letters very interesting…if only they're not so worn to the point where I cannot read them."

Anther voice joined the conversation. "I don't see the point in doing this at all. Why should I waste my time looking for mummies when I could be at home watching TV?" The person who voiced this comment, a female, spoke coldly.

The boy who was scrutinizing the wall turned to her with a smile. "Come on, Anna, it's not that bad." He cooed.

His friend, who was a at least five heads shorter the other five present despite them all being at least eighteen, perked up in support for his best friend. "Yoh-kun has a point, Anna-san. Besides, we're not looking for mummies; we're looking for anything interesting."

The blonde's sending a death glare at the short genius quickly had him shut up. "I don't find any of these interesting."

Before the boys could reason some more, a loud sound of protest sounded from their left, further down the passage they were in.

"What did you say?" A blue-haired boy punched the wall in anger, and some dust fell on the ground.

Another boy, the youngest of the group and apparently the source of the boy's anger, smirked. "I knew you were dumb, but I didn't know you are hopeless to the point that you can't understand what I'm saying."

"THAT'S IT CHINA BOY, YOU'RE GOING DOWN!!" The blunette fumed before proceeding to pounce on the younger boy…or would have, if someone had not held him back by hooking him from under his armpits.

It took the green-haired boy all the strength he has to keep the bluenette from pouncing at the purple-haired boy. "Now, now, Faust-sensei only gave us thirty minutes to do this research; we shouldn't be wasting time fighting."

The group of six people, one fourth of their class of twenty-four, is currently exploring an ancient pyramid that rests right beside the Niles River and near Cairo, the capital of the country they are currently in, namely Egypt.

Their professor, Faust-sensei as everyone calls him, had separated them into four groups, and assigned them each a different assignment, telling them that they'll be switching every half an hour. But of course, this information has nothing to do with a certain Ainu's rage for his purple-haired friend.

The bluenette glared at his British companion. "Let go of me Lyserg! RENNY IS GOING DOWN TODAY! RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

Manta, the one who is never tall enough to ride on big roller coasters, looked at the group anxiously. "Yoh-kun, shouldn't we stop them?"

"Leave them." Anna's cold voice spoke nonchalantly and Manta felt his jaw drop.

Yoh laughed merrily. "They look like they're having fun!"

The blonde sweatdropped. "Yoh-kun, they're fighting."

The said blunette laughed again. "Well, then they can have their fun fighting; I'll go explore further inside."

Manta panicked. "But they're—"

"Just leave them," Anna said again in boredom, "I'm getting out of here; too stuffy." She walked in the opposite direction of Yoh, and they both left, leaving a very sad Manta with a very angry Ainu by the name of Horo Horo, an arrogant Chinese boy named Ren, and a desperately-trying-to-pacify-situation-but-failing English boy whom everyone calls Lyserg. "Don't leave me with them…" The short blond said with tears falling down his face like waterfalls.

X--------------------X

Yoh took out a flashlight that he professionally had in his backpack as he wandered deeper into the mysterious architecture.

He soon came upon a fork, one going up and the other, going down as far as he can see.

Having fervently studied about the pyramids, the young brunette of course knows that there's not much going up. Curious, he took the downward path.

Or would have, had the ground not given out underneath his feet when he took the second step.

"Ah!" He gave out a yelp as the brittle floor broke apart. After what seemed like a twenty-feet fall, he landed in a heap of dust and cobwebs as sand flew around him, making him cough.

"Ow…" He whined as he rubbed his aching bottom on which he landed.

Yoh then stood up and patted the dusts and cobwebs off him.

His back felt light. He looked up and realized, through very dim lighting, that his backpack had gotten hooked on a rock higher up.

Scratching his head, Yoh then fumbled around for his flashlights, often brushing, to his displeasure, cobwebs and even skeleton bones.

Finally, the brunette located the lighting object, and clicked it on. He gave out a sigh of relief to find that it still works. Surveying his surroundings, Yoh found that he is in a tunnel. Hoping to find a way up and with nothing better to do, he made his way into the foreboding darkness.

He observed that the rocks seem less worn out down there, as if never been disturbed by other archaeologists, as opposed to the top. After some minutes of wandering, he came upon an open doorway. The funny thing is, even if he shines toward the open arch, the light won't show what's inside, as if shining on a patch of black paint on a wall.

Curious above all else, Yoh stepped through the open door without reserve. A sound of object whipping through air quickly brought him to attention, and he ducked, just as three sharp arrows embedded themselves in the wall where his head once was.

Yoh gave out a sigh nervously. All those times when Anna threw things at him in one of her bad moods finally paid off.

He dropped the flashlight during the course of his dodging. The brunette quickly picked it up and looked around the room. Various gold and jewels embedded in or lie surrounding a large rectangular box, and masks, necklaces, dream catchers, and various other things adorned the wall. Various pictures are carved into the seemingly-untouched ground. Geometric shapes and other abstract images lie all over the floor, but altogether made no sense…to him at least.

He prudently sauntered around the room, looking at the various carvings, which he recognizes as hieroglyphics, neatly inscribed into the wall.

Now, Yoh is not Egyptian; in fact, far from it. Also, he is not exactly the smartest boy in his class, part of the reason being that he would sleep through many of them. However, he holds extreme fascination in archaeology, and for that reason, he encompasses a vast knowledge in his major (and Syri does not, so many things might be off). He has studied Hieroglyphics and is able to translate the scripture. He looked at a particular phrase, or part of if, under a leaf-adorned dream catcher.

…so the properties of the great leader and well-respected priest (He paused here, trying to pronounce the name in his mind) Maurico lies here, buried with (inscription too blurry to be made out) tomb in which the carcass of the late pharaoh lies…

Okay, so the leader is someone called 'Marico' or 'Mauliko' or something like that. Well, that was tedious. Yoh stood back up and flashed his light around the room, admiring the various beautifully done possessions of this 'Maurico'.

His gaze fell back on the box.

This must be the Pharaoh's tomb.

Blood broiled in his veins in anticipation. He slowly approached the tomb, careful because there might be more traps. When he got next to the tomb, he was mesmerized by the decorations that glowed eerily under the flashlight's illumination.

Yoh brushed the dust off the top of the tomb; he paused when his fingers felt indentations. The brunette shone his flashlight at the particular spot. He almost dropped his lighting tool in surprise.

Ha-o

Weird; he thought the name of the pharaoh was 'Maurico' or at least around there; 'Hao' is not even remotely close. His light then caught more of the letterings that form what seems like a poem under the name. He turned his flashlight a little to look at it. He realized that it is a riddle of some sort:

You who stumble upon my bed;

You who my guard failed to kill;

Learn how others here have bled

As hunger for wealth they tried to fill

Follow to where Phoenix led;

Speak the name that made hearts chill;

If consequences you don't dread

Travel to where Nile stays still

Well now that sounds kind of scary. But, not to be boring, Yoh never believed in curses. It's not like he doesn't believe anything at all out of ordinary; he just doesn't believe the evil ones. The brunette likes to be optimistic.

He stood up from his bent position over the tomb and looked around. Where the heck is he supposed to find a Phoenix? He knows that such creatures only exist in myths and imaginations.

Yoh once again flashed his light around the room, looking for anything that would help solve this riddle. That's when he noticed it: A large picture of a bird-shaped creature, painted red, carved into the wall behind a bunch of blue and white dream catchers. He quickly (but carefully) made way to the said painting. Yep, definitely what a Phoenix is rumored to look like.

Now what is next? The brunette searched his mind for the next passage.

Speak the name that made hearts chill

Okay, so what's the name that made hearts chill? Yoh scratched his head. He doesn't know names that made hearts chill in ancient Egypt! He loves all the mystery and the culture and the artifacts, but history is boring! He falls asleep when it comes to history.

He pulled at his hair in frustration. "Dammit, Hao, why can't you make this so the modern people can understand?"

To his complete and utter surprise, the phoenix carving glowed in a bright red light and the whole section of the wall containing the phoenix, along with the dream catchers, disappeared, and in its place is an arched entryway the leads to a flight of stairs going up.

Okay…that was totally unexpected. The name that made hearts chill…

Hao?

Shrugging, Yoh started onto the steps, his sense of caution making way for his curiosity. The dusty steps seems to go on forever, until ten minutes later, the brunette finally saw a tint of light at the very top. He turned off his flashlight to save electricity in case he needs it later.

Breathing hard after climbing what felt like, or maybe actually is, thirty feet of stairs, he sat down on the floor to rest. Only then did he become aware of where he had arrived.

A green lush land, inconsistent with the rest of this land, spread out before him in a small green patch bounded by various trees in a semicircle. Stilled water that is part of what he assumes to be the Nile River is at the end of the semicircle across from him, unaffected by the current because of the trees. A rectangular box stood on a small dune that came out of the middle of the water. It's another tomb.

Curiosity still won over caution, and disregarding all traps that might have been there, he practically ran to the river and waded to the dune, climbing up beside the tomb. The brunette stood up quickly and looked for the hieroglyphics that he just knows have to be there.

The said tomb did not disappoint him.

You who stumbled upon this grave;

You who dares to eye my gold;

Whether you be foolish or brave

My look I let you behold

Yoh decides to take that as permission for him to open this intricately-designed box. He pushed at the lid.

Nothing. It didn't even budge.

Frowing, Yoh stared at it for a while. Now if that wasn't a permission to open the tomb, then what is it trying to say? Unless—

"Hao."

Sure enough, the lid came open, as if by magic, and the brunette's breath caught in his throat.

Now, Yoh isn't a narcissist, but the peacefully sleeping figure inside who looks so much like him is so…

Beautiful.

Never mind that the pharaoh looks so young and never mind his common sense that the body should have decayed by now but hasn't, Yoh practically ogled the dead. Of course, he wouldn't call himself necrophilia either, even though he has a feeling that his professor is one.

Before he had any chance to do anything, however, a bright light emanated from the sleeping pharaoh, and Yoh couldn't help but close his eyes at the bright light. He suddenly felt nauseous and dizzy. He dared to open eyes, only to see blotches of color that slurred his vision, and after about ten seconds, everything went black.

Exactly five minutes after arriving at the lush land, Yoh vanished from it.