Nina- Once again, I should be writing Damn Bakura but this plot bunny has been chasin after me like the energizer bunny for 3 weeks now. So I wrote it. I'm sorry. Next chapter of DB out soon, promise!
Note- Okay for this the family dynamics are kinda weird. I took Ryou's dad and made him Jounouchi's dad. I then made Ryou and Bakura brothers. They're actually twins but Bakura's older by 15 minutes so he makes sure Ryou knows hes the younger brother. They were abused and put into an orphanage and Jou's family adopted them. So yeah.
Chapter 1- The Firey
It was a simply gorgeous fall afternoon. It was fairly hot, reminiscent of the departing summer and the colored leaves desperately latched on to the trees, trying not to let go. Children flocked from school in droves, chattering happily now that they were free from their confines. Overall, the day screamed cheer and happiness, and it infected everyone who was near. Everyone except for a certain albino high school student.
Jounouchi Bakura scowled irritably at the joy the day seemed to emanate. Why should everyone else be happy when he, himself, was beyond miserable. He stalked home alone, just like the friendless losers that haunted the halls of the school. He was never overly popular or anything, but he was never truly alone, even when he wanted to be. Ryou was his best annoyance, and his only little brother. His presence was constant, so much so that he found himself incredibly loney without his little brother. Stupid sewing club needed Ryou to help them with some sort of project, and his brother had never learned to say no.
He didn't have his elder brother for company either. Jounouchi Katsuya, his adopted older brother, was much like Ryou in the fact that neither of them would allow him to be alone for too long. He was incredibly nosy, and loved to tease both him and Ryou every chance he got, but he was accepted by Bakura none the less. Even his teasing company would be better than being alone. Jou, however, had to work today so walking home with his little brothers wasn't an option. Strange, he used to desire not having either of his family members hanging on him all the time.
He sulked home, trying to saturate the very air around him with his misery. He stormed into the three story house wondering what on earth he was going to do. He refused to clean. Cleaning was an evil chore best left for Ryou, who seemed to enjoy such horrid tasks. Cooking was another thing he didn't touch. Ryou could cook, but Jou was the best one of them when it came to that. Last time Bakura tried, he almost burned the house down. He didn't have anyone to annoy either. Causing destruction is never as fun when there is no one to appreciate it.
Well, Ryou had asked if either he or Jou could clean the basement. It was the one place Ryou refused to clean. He said the place made him feel lightheaded and twitchy. Well, its not like he had anything better to do. With a sigh, he trooped to the basement.
He opened the basement door and flicked the dim overhead light on. Bakura peered in the doorway, watching the large black shadows. He knew those shadows were boxes. Boxes filled with hold things of his and Ryou's and Jou's, but that made it no less exciting eerie to look at. With the exception of the shadowy boxes, he could see little else, not even the steps he would have to climb down to reach those boxes. He turned back and grabbed a flashlight. Armed with that, he headed down the stairs and into the basement. Layers of dust covered everything, absorbing the light from both the over head and his tiny flashlight. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, dust clinging to the thin strands making them thicker than they actually were. Bakura wondered what the spiders survived off of, there weren't any other bugs down here to eat and no food to attract them.
He walked further into the basement, heading for the back. If he could organize it first, the rest should be easier. He had just taken the first dust laden box off the stack when he felt the compulsion. He didn't really want to clean, especially not this stuff. What he really wanted to do was explore the bookshelf on the other side of the room. When had it even gotten there; he wondered. It wasn't really that important but he still wanted to know. Leaving the box there unopened and unexplored, he went over to the bookshelf. He actually detested books and reading, but something made him want to go over there.
Instinctively, he followed that impulse over to the bookcase. It wasn't as filthy as the rest of the basement. The dust particles created soft swirling patterns instead of torrent clouds like the rest of the room. The undying urge to sneeze calmed. The light of the flashlight reflected off of something, its shiny light catching his attention. The glinting gold trim of the book was completely clean. As if it had been polished and put back a few minutes ago instead of a few decades. It was snuggled between to huge leather bound tomes almost as squeaky clean as it was.
Logically, he knew that as a member of the family, he at least partially owned everything down here, his kleptomaniac nature wanted him to just take the book and get the hell out of the basement. He ignored it, but he did pull the book off the shelf and held it in his hand. It was surprising light for its thickness, as if the pages within were no more substantial than air. It also had an aura of magic. It wasn't malicious, but a playful sort, like a mischievous six year old. No wonder Ryou didn't want to go down here. He had always been amazingly sensitive to that sort of stuff. He sensed magic as intuitively as Jou sensed ghost. Infact, his elder brother sensed them so well he could talk to them.
He was curious; he could admit that. Their father had come across many magical items in his digs but they weren't quite as active as this. He inspected the book intuitively, rubbing his fingers along the gold trimmings and red cover. It remained docile in his hands. Bakura inspected the lock. It looked amazingly simplistic, but didn't budge when he tried to pick it.
"The Clow." He read the title aloud, not for any particular reason other than the desire to. He felt the magic of it slink out and taste the skin of his wrist, then the lock clicked open. Perhaps 'taste' wasn't quite the right word, but there wasn't a better one for it. The magic just slipped out and touched his wrist, leaving the invisible sticky residue on him. It felt like a dog just licked him to see if it liked him.
That solidified his decision. Bakura shut the book and took it upstairs to his room. Once there, he checked the time. 4:23. Perfect. Ryou said he wouldn't be home until five, and Jou never came back before 7. He had enough time.
"The Clow." Bakura spoke again, hoping that it worked the way it had last time. The lock clicked open easily and he opened the book. A golden ball of light slowly emerged from the opened pages. Bakura froze, stunned. He knew magic existed, had felt its touch on him before, but it was mostly little things like how his inner magic helped his tarot cards work. This was way stronger.
The ball dimmed and revealed a curled up figure. With a sleepy yawn, the creature unrolled itself. 'It' was a blond girl wearing a white dress and holding a heart. She had one angel wing and one devil. Half of her appeared constantly in shadow.
Noting that the creature seemed harmless, Bakura glanced back down at the book. Cards. Red and gold cards. Dissappointed but still curious, he picked them up and flipped the first one over.
It was a picture of a small boy with straight bangs and wild hair. Large wings were wrapped around his thin frame and fire curled around him. Framing the picture of the boy was a picture of a sun and a moon. The card was labeled 'Firey'. Strange, very strange.
"The-" Bakura started, his tone one of confusion.
He could barely hear the girl's scream, "No!" before he continued.
"Firey?" The second the word tumbled from his mouth, the room began to heat. Bakura opened the window to let in some air, but it was as if the small wind was feeding an invisible fire. Slowly the wind began to get stronger as the room got even hotter. He was no stranger to heat, but the room was making him feel dizzy and lightheaded as sweat dripped down his temple. His fingers were starting to hurt. It was a sharp blinding pain. He looked down. The Firey card was glowing red, burning his fingers, but he couldn't let go. He could only barely see the other cards fleeing the book before he slipped into a faint.
Nina- So what do you think? Bad? Good? I'd love to have some feedback. It's not complete and will probably eventually turn into some long chaptered thing but this is all I have for now. Please review and give a starving author inspiration to write!