Author's Note: Hello to the person that has just clicked on this story! If the summary didn't make much sense, I'll reveal the plot as the story progresses.
This is my first attempt at writing a Yugioh fic, so sorry if some of the details are wrong. Clearly, it's an alternate storyline and some of the things have been altered but it will follow the basic Yugioh storyline, and the same goes for the Cardcaptor Sakura details.
Please send me any feedback on how to improve, and I hope you enjoy this! :)
CHAPTER I
It was evening, and the sun burned low on the horizon, the sky already beginning to turn black. The glass in the windows of the houses shone like silver and a refreshing breeze swept down the quiet road. A group of four Domino high students rounded the corner of the street, three boys and a girl, chatting and laughing with each other. They came to a stop just outside the game shop.
"Bye, guys!" said the shortest member of the group. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya, Yugi-kun" replied Jounouchi with a grin. "Maybe tomorrow you can teach me some new duelling techniques."
"Sure thing, Jounouchi-kun" Yugi replied with a smile.
"Yeah, you're going to need it," Honda said, playfully grabbing Jounouchi around the neck. "I mean, even Anzu can beat you."
"Even Anzu?" the teenage girl protested.
"Joking, joking!" Honda quickly answered with a sheepish smile, letting go off Jounouchi.
The group of friends said their goodbyes again and waved before walking back down the road, disappearing around the next corner. Yugi watched them go for a long time before he pushed the door open to the game shop, a welcoming bell jingling at his arrival.
"Jii-chan, I'm home!" he called out. When there was no reply, a frown of confusion flickered across the teenager's face. He looked behind the counter where his grandpa was often sat behind, but the seat was empty.
"Maybe he's upstairs" he decided, going through the back door and up the flight of stairs.
"Jii-chan!" he shouted again, but again no one answered his call, his voice filling up empty air.
"Huh," Yugi said to himself, running a hand through his elaborate hair and sitting down on the top step. "I wonder where he is. He wouldn't leave the shop unattended without telling me, and the front door was unlocked; that was kinda careless." A twinge of worry settled upon him.
He sat on the stairs for a moment longer, before he kicked off his shoes and returned back into the shop. He glanced around at the various posters lining the walls and the shelves aligned with a variety of different games. His eyes drifted to the counter and widened when he saw a piece of paper on top with his name on it written in familiar handwriting. He walked over and unfolded the paper, reading the message inscribed on it.
Yugi, I had to leave the shop for a couple of minutes, so if you're wondering where I am, don't worry. I'll be back soon, Grandpa.
That explains it, Yugi thought with a small sense of relief, scrunching up the letter and tossing it into the bin. Though it must be something big if he couldn't wait for me to get back before leaving.
He shrugged his shoulders and turned to go back into the house.
A low murmur shattered the silence.
Yugi froze. What was that noise?
He looked around the shop, but all was calm. He glanced down at his abdomen – no, it wasn't his stomach grumbling. But what was it?
The noise intensified and grew louder. A ripple of fear flashed through him. It's coming from the basement, Yugi realised. Where Jii-chan keeps all his really old stuff.
Hesitantly, he walked through the back door and crept down the corridor, pausing at the entrance to the basement. He closed his eyes and listened harder. It sounded like whispering and moaning, but the words were indistinct. He felt a shudder of anxiety pass over him; it certainly was a creepy noise, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck rigid.
He edged forward and gently pushed the basement door open, the hinges squealing ominously. Yugi looked down the stairs which led into darkness and gulped. I hope there isn't someone down there, like a robber or something. Where's a baseball bat when you need one?
He reached for the light switch and flicked it up. No lights turned on. He tried again but the darkness remained. "Great" he groaned quietly.
He dashed back down the corridor and rummaged in a kitchen cupboard, withdrawing a torch and turning it on. He returned to the basement and shone the torch about, a beam of yellow light carving through the thick gloom. As far as he could see after a few moments' inspection, there was no one there, but he thought he'd better double-check it.
He slowly padded down the stairs, his socks muffling his footsteps. He looked around at all the shelves of faded boxes and yellowing paper; the whispering noise persisted and now it seemed so loud it was as if it was coming from inside his skull.
Yugi rounded a corner of a bookcase and saw one final shelf ahead. It was mainly devoid of objects, except for a big golden box within a puddle of darkness.
There Yugi thought, eyes growing wide with anticipation. He walked towards it and gingerly lifted the box out. As he did so, the murmuring sound ceased abruptly, but Yugi was too entranced by the box that he didn't realise it.
It was quite heavy in his arms and he staggered a little under its weight, so he set it down on the floor. He knelt down and cautiously lifted the lid. He blinked in surprise at the contents.
The box was divided into two separate compartments. One side contained a large, gold pyramid-shaped necklace on a thick rope. The other had a deck of cards that looked rather familiar.
"A Duel Monsters deck?" Yugi wondered out loud, reaching in to pick them up.
He riffled through the deck, amazement and excitement rushing fiercely through him. They were all cards he recognised: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, and whoa, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon! But they weren't like the modern cards he duelled with. No, these cards were old, smelling musty and neglected, their edges a little frayed. And none of the pictures of the monsters were in colour, instead being depicted in varying shades of brown. As Yugi looked through the deck, he realised that it only consisted of Monster cards, with no Trap or Spell cards. It was also a surprisingly small deck: perhaps only between 20 and 30 cards.
Yugi frowned with puzzlement. What a weird deck. It would be completely pointless in a duel. He smiled faintly as he remembered earlier that day he had told Jounouchi the very same thing when examining his deck. Yugi made a mental note to himself to help Jounouchi pick out some Spell and Trap cards tomorrow.
Yugi turned his attention to the strange pyramid pendant. He picked it up and turned it over in his small hands, examining it from each angle.
Is this real gold? he wondered with amazement. This thing must be worth millions! And judging from its design, Yugi guessed it was of Egyptian origin. This sort of thing belonged in a museum, not the basement of his Grandpa's game shop.
He stared at the strange eye symbol on the smooth face of the pyramid and felt a mysterious shudder creep through his bones. Whatever this was, this was no ordinary item. It appeared to shine with a majestic inner light, and yet Yugi felt as though his soul was being drawn into its depths like a ship dragged into a maelstrom's embrace.
I want to try this on.
Yugi blinked in surprise. That though came unbidden into his mind. Though as he glanced back at the pyramid, he realised that he did want to wear it, compelled to even, although he wasn't sure why.
Yugi stood up and shifted the deck of old cards into his left hand. With a heartbeat of hesitation, Yugi lifted the heavy pendant by the rope and slipped it over his head, the weight of it tugging at his neck. Although it weighed quite a lot, it felt quite comfortable there; a welcome presence.
Yugi looked at the deck in his left hand then blinked with alarm when he felt a tingling vibration beneath his finger tips, as if they were stirring into life like living creatures.
"What the…?" he wondered out loud, eyes widening with shock.
A few moments of calm…
Then suddenly Yugi felt a flash of fire course through his veins, and he cried out in pain. The pyramid around his neck began to shudder and emit a high whistling sound before it began to float before him on the rope, held in the air by some mystic force. Out of nowhere a fierce wind stirred and whipped at his hair and tugged at his clothes, sending items tumbling from the shelves and papers soaring high into the air.
The pyramid shivered once again and then exploded with a brilliant golden light that left black spot's dancing before Yugi's eyes. Yugi shielded his face with his arm and grit his teeth as the light intensified and the wind grew stronger and swirled about in a frenzied circle around him. With his eyes closed, Yugi didn't notice the golden symbol that suddenly shone beneath his feet: the Eye of Anubis.
Through the turmoil of noise and light, Yugi clung to the cards in his hands, clutching them to his chest so that the tempest couldn't snatch them away. The fiery pain within him began a sharp jolt, as if something was locking into place within his heart, before it became a distant throbbing ache.
Slowly, the blinding light faded back into the shadows, and the wind stopped screaming and became a still atmosphere, and everything returned to normal. It was as if nothing had happened.
Yugi collapsed to his knees and slumped over, exhaling weakly. His panting was loud in the sudden silence.
"What on earth was that?" Yugi thought, trembling a little with exertion and shock. He looked at the deck grasped tightly in his hands and gasped. There were only 5 cards left!
He glanced about him, searching frantically, but through the clutter of fallen objects and scattered papers around him, there was no sign of any them. Despite his best efforts to hold onto them, the majority of the cards had disappeared.
Yugi sighed and picked up the pyramid in his hand. He could see his pale reflection distorted in its gold surface. "What is this thing? What just happened?" he said to it, almost demanding the object to give him an answer.
He did not expect a reply.
The pendant began to shine once more, and Yugi froze, steeling himself in case light suddenly burst out of it. However, the glow was softer this time, and the yellow illumination swirled out and collected into a pillar a few feet before Yugi. The teenager watched in amazement and curiosity as the pillar of light paled and transformed into a humanoid shape and the room was thrown into semi-darkness again.
Yugi examined the person standing before him with awe. He wasn't that tall, but he had such an air of authority and confidence in the way that he stood with his arms folded over his chest that he didn't need the extra height. He was clad in, surprisingly, a Domino High uniform, but the jacket was a shade darker than the norm. He wore a replica of the golden pyramid around his neck too.
Yugi's gaze travelled up to the man's face, and he choked back a startled yelp.
The man before him opened his eyes – amethyst eyes that were extremely familiar – and smiled softly.
"Hello" the man greeted.
Yugi screamed in fright and shrunk back. He staggered to his feet and took a few steps back, creating a bigger distance between him and, and … his twin.
I know not a lot has happened now and it seems a bit weird, but a lot more is going to happen in the next chapter. Also, I'm going to introduce some Cardcaptor Sakura characters! Reviews would be extremely appreciated :)
