Yu-Gi-Oh (c) Kazuki Takahashi
Yeah, I know. You're saying, "Christmas is over, C.B.!" But I wrote this a few months ago, and since I'm flooding, it's coming out in February.
Winter break had started, and it was dark and snowy outside. Atem was frozen almost constantly, even with the thermostat turned up. Yugi was deep into the Christmas spirit, singing songs and putting up decorations. Although Yugi was never into cooking, he had been baking and roasting ceaselessly since Thanksgiving.
Atem couldn't remember this kind of fanfare last year, or the year before that. Yugi and Grandpa's holiday season had been quiet and reserved while Atem was still living in the puzzle. This year, Yugi was going all out. Yugi pretended that it was just because he was in the mood this year, but Atem knew that it was because he was trying to show Atem a good time in his new life.
"Yugi, what exactly is the point of erecting a dying tree in the middle of the living room?" Atem asked as he helped Yugi put the small pine tree into its stand.
"Well, it's pretty," Yugi said, as he screwed the tree into its base and poured water into it. "When you put lights and ornaments on it, it looks really good. I guess it's a weird tradition, dragging a tree into the house, but it's still a tradition."
Atem looked at the pile of pine needles on the ground and smirked. A weird tradition indeed. Yugi broke out a string of lights and began looping it around the trees branches. "The tree is also where you stash the presents after they're wrapped," Yugi added.
In order to save money on presents, the gang had done something called "Secret Santa". Atem picked Yugi, although he had no idea what he was going to get the boy. Aside from Duel Monsters and the arcade, Yugi had few interests.
"Yugi, I'm going out!" Atem yelled. He needed to find something for Yugi soon, because there was only two weeks until Christmas Day. Atem walked down the cold, snow-dusted street and pondered his predicament. Yugi and Atem had heard each others thoughts for years. Why couldn't Atem imagine anything that Yugi wanted?
Suddenly, Atem heard a whizzing sound. It seemed to be coming from above. It couldn't have been a plane or a helicopter. Atem looked up at the sky and jumped back as a projectile fell right as his feet. A long sword was lodged in the ground, vibrating with the impact.
Atem hesitantly wrapped his fingers around the hilt and removed it from the concrete with effort. It felt good in his hand. It had just enough weight to be steady in his grip, but it wasn't heavy. It seemed to resonate with him. It was beautiful, sharp, and well-forged. This was a quality sword. Then, a hard leather sheath bounced on the ground. Atem picked it up and slid the sword into it. It was a perfect fit.
Instantly, Atem felt as though this sword was meant to be his. It had fallen from the heavens right at his feet, sheath and all. It was perfect for his hand. This sword was his and no one else's. It belonged to him. It belonged with him.
A part of him wanted to keep this secret to himself. No one should know about this. His connection with the sword was nobody's business. But another part of him wanted to show it off to his friends. Having grown up in the modern age, they wouldn't have been able to appreciate the subtle beauty of the sword's tempering. But even a layman would be able to see how cool it was.
Atem rushed back home. Yugi's present could wait—who cared about Christmas? The sword was all that mattered.
"Yugi!" Atem yelled as he reentered the Mutou's home. "Yugi, come and see this."
Yugi walked out into the hallway. "Back so soon?" Yugi asked. He seemed to know that Atem was going to look for a gift for him. Otherwise, Atem would have told him where he was going. But he had only been gone for about ten minutes. No one, no matter how skilled they were, could buy a Christmas present in ten minutes.
Atem felt a little bit of reluctance. With a lot of mental strain, he held out his hand and showed Yugi the sword. "Hey, is that a sword?" Yugi asked. "Where'd you get it?"
"It fell from the sky," Atem said, retracting his hand as quickly as he could. "Right in front of me."
"Weird," Yugi mused. "Maybe it fell out of an airplane. I'm surprised that it's still in one piece. Did you see any other stuff around where it fell?"
"Nothing but the sheath," Atem answered. He was beginning to feel wary of this conversation. Yugi was being curious, far too curious. He would want the sword for himself! "Well, it's interesting. I'm going to keep it, see if I can find out about its history."
"Cool," Yugi said. "Let me know what you find out about it. It's strange that a sword would just fly out of the sky like that."
Yugi walked into the kitchen to continue making Christmas cookies. Atem sighed. Yugi was uninterested. The sword was still his. Leave it to Yugi to overlook something as amazing as the sword. Well, at least it wouldn't cause a rift between them. Atem decided that he would show the sword to no one else.
Atem sat down at Yugi's computer and wondered what to look for. He looked the sword and the sheath up and down to see if there were any distinguishing marks. Then Atem noticed a very small inscription at the base of the blade. "The Sword of Destiny," it said.
Atem typed this into the search engine with slow and inexperienced fingers. He had never learned to type very well. He wasn't a big fan of computers. He came up with quite a few hits. Most of them were useless. He decided to search for images instead. Almost instantly, he recognized his sword. He clicked on the picture and it led him to the website.
The entire page was dedicated to the sword. Atem frowned. So someone else really had possessed the sword before him. That didn't matter, though. It was his now; it had been given to him, and he would never, ever give it up. The sword was his destiny, his power.
Atem read the words on the page quickly. The sword was tied to murder, war, and mayhem all over the world. It was at least two thousand years old, but it could easily have been older. Everyone who possessed it seemed to become mad and obsessed with it. People had murdered each other over it.
"That's not a friendly sword," Yugi muttered. Atem spun around. Yugi was leaning over his shoulder, carrying a plate of green and red sugar cookies.
"Yugi, what are you doing here?" Atem demanded.
Yugi peered at him. "First of all, this is my room," he explained. "Second of all, I wanted to know if you wanted a cookie."
"Right, of course," Atem said shiftily.
"I can tell that you like that sword, Atem, but maybe you shouldn't keep it anymore," Yugi said. "It looks like the sword it the cause of a lot of bloodshed."
"All swords have caused a lot of bloodshed!" Atem exclaimed defensively. "That doesn't mean that you can't appreciate their beauty."
"But Atem, swords weren't designed for their beauty. They were designed to kill people," Yugi replied. "What would you keep that thing for anyway? Who are you planning on murdering?"
"If this sword has been tied to war and death, then that's all the more reason for me to keep it!" Atem said. "I can keep it out of the hands of the wicked. I can make the rest of the sword's history pure."
Yugi sighed. "Maybe those people weren't evil when they got the sword. Maybe getting the sword made them evil."
"Are you saying that this sword is going to turn me into someone like its previous owners?" Atem asked incredulously. "Yugi, don't you trust me? I'm not a murderer!"
"I know that!" Yugi said exasperatedly. "But I've never seen you get this upset about anything before. All I'm saying is that you should be careful. The sword could be dangerous. Pay attention to what you're thinking."
I know exactly what I'm thinking, Atem thought. I know that you're trying to steal the sword away from me to take it for yourself! You pretend not to be interested in it, but even you can feel how powerful it is. Your motives are not pure—you're trying to trick me out of my destiny!
"I will," Atem said calmly. "But I don't feel anything right now. I'm sorry if I snapped at you a little, but I just want you to understand what a sword like this means to someone who was once a swordsman. This is an extraordinary weapon." To prove his sanity to Yugi, he grabbed one of the green cookies and took a bite out of it.
Yugi seemed pleased, and he smiled. Atem smiled back, but the smile was filled to the brim with venom. The backstabbing traitor thought that Atem was fooled, but Atem would always be watching. Yugi would not get his hands on the sword. It would never leave Atem's sight for more than a few minutes.
