I in no way shape, shape, or form own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Inuyasha and their respective characters.
I retain all rights to the OC character Darren. Rights to characters Samara and Saidren are shared with Henka-chan.
This story is a stand alone. The only association between this story and Shattered Dream is Darren. Therefore, certain aspects of some characters and situations have been changed to suit the needs of this story.
I in no way gain profit from the production of this story.
This story is rated Mature for adult language and situations. Possibly some sex scenes later on, not sure yet.
Chapter I
"There, I think that's everything we'll need on our trip," Darren said as he closed the last suitcase.
"You sure this time? It's the fifth time you've repacked the luggage," Joey chuckled. Darren was a wonderful lover, and really handy with a lot of domestic tasks around the house, but packing luggage always got the best of him. It was one the little things that endeared the ancient prince to the teen.
Darren looked around the room and checked the bathroom one last time before deciding he had actually gotten everything they needed. As he picked up their suitcases and began carrying them downstairs to where the limo waited to take them to the private airport, Joey decided to ask, "So what are we going to Tokyo for anyway? You never said the other night."
"Oh, sorry about that, I've been so distracted with getting ready. We're going to visit a shrine."
"Wait wait wait, we're going to Tokyo to visit a shrine? We live in Kyoto, nothing but shrines as far as the eye can see."
It was Darren's turn to chuckle as they slid into the limo. "Not just any shrine. The shrines here in Kyoto have no trouble staying open. But elsewhere they are not so lucky. I'm going to this shrine because I was there when it was first built, and have no wish to see it go under. I'm going to give them a large donation and help prove events of historic significance occurred there."
"So what's the name of this shrine that's so important to you?" Joey asked, snuggling up against his lover for the trip.
"The Higurashi shrine."
"Joey, wake up, we're about to land," Darren said, gently nudging his lover in the shoulder and kissing his cheek.
"We're in Tokyo already?" Joey asked, looking out the window. But wait, this wasn't Tokyo. "Hey... What are we doing in Domino?"
Darren smiled. "I thought perhaps this might be a bit more fun for you if we brought along a few guests."
Joey's eyes lit up. "You mean Yugi's coming with us?!"
The prince nodded. "Him and a few others." He laughed when Joey launched himself into Darren's arms and kissed him soundly. "Remind me to let you see Yugi more often," he rumbled against the blond's lips.
Once they landed, Joey leapt from his seat and raced for the cabin door. He bounced from one foot to the other as he impatiently waited for the stairs to be wheeled over. Darren rose slowly and tucked his hands into his pockets as he smiled at the teen's enthusiasm. There were times when he could understand Kaiba's canine comments about the boy. He was like a puppy about to be let out into the yard to play.
The door finally opened and Joey rushed out to embrace his best friend. At a much more leisurely pace, Darren followed, taking note of who had managed to show up. Yugi was there with Yami of course. Ryou Bakura stood off to the side with his two lovers; Yami Bakura the Spirit of the Millenium Ring, and Thief King Bakura an ancient incarnation of Yami Bakura before he'd been tainted by the Shadow Realm. How Thief King Bakura, or TK as he preferred, came into this time and such without Yami Bakura fading was still a bit of a mystery to them all.
"Seems everyone else had prior obligations," Darren mused to himself. Though that didn't bother him in the least, this had been a come if you can invite. It was merely a chance for Joey to see his old friends once more, not that this would be his last chance to do so of course.
"So Joey, do you know why Darren asked us all to meet you guys here? Or why he asked us to bring our luggage along for a few days?" Yami was asking the blond.
"Yeah, he says we're going to Tokyo to visit a shrine he saw erected way back when. He wants to save it from being closed down," Joey explained as the teal haired CEO drew up behind him.
Darren slipped an arm around Joey's waist and smiled as his younger over leaned back against him. It never failed to amaze him that this honey eyed beauty was his to hold, and to love whenever he so desired. He dipped his head down to give Joey a soft kiss on the side of his neck before he shifted his teal gaze to the others before them, smirking with pride at Yugi's blush. "So what do you all say? Care to take a stroll down memory lane with me?" he asked with a rumble that sent a shudder through the teen in his arms.
"I for one always enjoy a trip to anywhere with history to it," Ryou said with his trademark gentle smile and voice. "Father took me on a few of his expeditions to Egypt and I simply fell in love with the past."
"That's putting it mildly," TK chuckled with a smirk. Both he and Yami Bakura were over five thousand years old and their lighter third just couldn't get enough of them most of the time. Ryou blushed a bright red at that, and it amazed his friends just how much color could be brought to that pale face.
"Indeed, our shared hikari is very... enthusiastic about all things ancient," Yami Bakura added in that sinister rasp he called a voice.
"Well, if everything's in order, how about we climb aboard and depart?" Darren said with a smile. "I've already made arrangements at a hotel in Tokyo for us to have the suites occupying the top floors so that we can all have our respective privacies."
"Yeah guys, let's go," Yugi agreed. "This is going to be fun, I just know it."
Without any further preamble, the gang all loaded onto the plane and settled into their seats for the journey to Tokyo and what they all expected to be a nice, quiet trip.
While the plane flight went without incident, save for the three Bakuras locking themselves in the bathroom for most of the flight, everyone was glad to finally disembark and stretch their legs once they landed.
"I still don't get how you guys were comfortable in there for the whole trip," Joey said as they headed towards a waiting limo Darren of course had thought to book ahead of time.
Yami Bakura shrugged. "We were a bit too busy to notice any discomfort," he chuckled. Ryou simply blushed once more and buried his face against TK's massive chest.
"And here I thought the Ishtar boys had trouble keeping it in their pants. You guys couldn't wait at least until we got to the hotel?" Yami queried.
"Of course not. Not every day one gets the chance to join the mile high club," Yami Bakura smirked, earning an embarrassed groan from his hikari.
"Settle down you guys, you're making Ryou upset," TK growled out. While he'd enjoyed his hikari as much as YB, he tended to be the more affectionate of them and often had to be the one to step in when Yami Bakura said things like that. He knew he didn't mean any harm, but the Spirit of the Ring had no filter on that mouth of his.
That got the conversation to die down and Darren nodded his thanks to TK. He'd been a heartbeat of whacking Yami Bakura upside the head for his lack of tact. There were some things you simply didn't say when you had a sensitive hikari.
As they climbed into the limo, Joey perched himself on Darren's lap, running his fingers over the Orichalcos shard necklace the prince had given him just as a random "I love you" gift a few weeks ago. "You know, there were to bathrooms on the plane, maybe we should have..." he suggested with a playful grin.
Darren chuckled at the idea. "You and I are veteran members several times over, beloved."
"I know, but you have to admit, it would have been exciting to do it while our friends were just outside the door."
"You my dear Joey, are incorrigible," Darren smiled, dipping his head to claim the teen's mouth. It was a brief kiss, because Darren knew how quickly they both coud get out of hand.
Yugi cleared his throat and smiled with a mild blush on his cheeks. He was perched on Yami's lap, snuggling back against the pharaoh. "So Joey says you're familiar with the shrine we're going to see?" he asked, giving Darren a welcome distraction from the allure of his lover.
Turning his teal gaze to the diminutive teen, Darren nodded. "That's right. The shrine we will be visiting is the Higurashi shrine. It's been around for centuries, passed down along a bloodline since the beginning. I was there when it first opened and always found it a beautiful place. The current owner is a bit eccentric, but he's a good friend and I've known him since he was a babe."
"He knows you're immortal?" Yami asked with a frown of confusion.
"Oh yes, most of the family does save the younger generations. There's no threat to me with their knowledge though. The family has a long history intertwined with magic and the supernatural."
"So are we going to the hotel first or the shrine?" Joey asked, looking up at his lover.
"I've arranged for us to visit the shrine while our bags are taken ahead to the hotel and placed in our rooms. Given that poor attendance has threatened the closure of the shrine, I felt time was of the essence on this. In fact..." he trailed off, looking out the window. "We're here."
The limo slowed to a stop before a long flight of stairs, a common trait of shrines. The party exited their vehicle and made their way up, everyone grateful they stayed in shape. A the top of the stairs they were greeted by a young woman with long black hair dressed in the uniform of one of the local high schools.
"Hey there, my name is Kagome Higurashi. My grandfather told me he was expecting a visitor and to show them around." She looked around at the gathered party of males and went on, "Which one of you guys is Darren?"
"That would be me," the Atlantean said with a polite smile as he stepped forward. "How is your grandfather these days Kagome?"
"He's doing good for a guy his age, but the threat of losing the shrine is weighing on him a bit. He's in town right now, trying to convince the city council to keep us open by showing off some of the artifacts we keep on the grounds. But I think he only took some of the fake ones."
That brought a warm chuckle from Darren's lips. "That sounds like your grandfather alright. He never did have much of an eye for the genuine article." He glanced around the grounds, noticing how little everything had changed over the years. Save for one thing...
"You've opened the Bone Eater's well?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. He recalled that particluar building to be off limits for as long as he could remember.
"Sort of. It's not open to the public, but we started giving it some maintenance a few years ago," Kagome expained, looking a touch nervous.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at it. I've always been fascinated by the legend of the well."
"What legend?" Yugi asked.
"According to the tales, slain demons were tossed into the well to bind and seal their powers," Darren explained. Before Kagome could stop him, he headed right for the building housing the well, his little entourage in tow. Given their history with supernatural forces, the concept of a demon graveyard type well had their curiosity abuzz.
Please don't let Inuyasha pop up while they're in there, Kagome pleaded mentally to whatever gods might be listening. With a sigh, she followed after them, praying that the hanyou wasn't anywhere near the well right now.
By the time she caught up to them, Darren and the others were gathered around the well itself, gazing down into its dark depths. "Man, that thing's deep," Joey whistled, trying to see the bottom.
"Yeah it goes down pretty far," Kagome said as she joined them. Luckily, they'd reinforced the edges since her first little trip in here when part of the well wall had collapsed and she'd begun her adventures in the feudal era.
As Yami Bakura picked up a small stone and dropped it into the well to see how long it took to hit the bottom, the Orichalcos necklace around Joey's neck began to glow.
"What's going on?" Yugi asked as they all suddenly felt a strange wind pulling at them from inside the well itself.
"I don't know, this has never happened before," Kagome said in a worried tone.
The wind grew stronger and stronger by the second, pulling and yanking on the gathered party. Though they fought to try and pull away, whatever force drove the wind soon grew too strong and collapsed the edges of the well, yanking them down into darkness and what would no doubt be a very painful landing.
But when they should have landed painfully, Darren noticed a strange purple light filling his field of vision. He looked around as they continued to fall, noticing everyone swathed in the light as well, and only Kagome appearing as if the light was nothing to worry about. "What's going on Ms. Higurashi?" he finally managed to ask.
"Don't worry, I've been through this light before, but I don't quite know how to explain what's going to happen next."
As suddenly as it had appeared, the light vanished, and they all landed in a heap at the bottom of the well.
"Hello!" Kagome called out when she managed to extricate herself from the pile of male bodies. "Anyobdy up there?"
"Hey, it sounds like Kagome's back!" a young male voice called out. Moments later a rope ladder was dropped down to where they all lay. "Come on up Kagome!" the young voice said.
"Ummm, since I'm wearing a skirt, could you guys go first?" Kagome said with a mild blush.
"Certainly Ms. Higurashi," Darren said. He for one wanted to find out just what the hell was going on right now. "I'll go up first and let the rest of you know when it's safe to follow, save for you Kagome. Something tells me you'll have a lot of explaining to do when things settle down."
While the teenager nervously chewed her bottom lip, the Atlantean prince began climbing the ladder and soon poked his head over the mouth of the well, coming face to with a white haired, yellow eyed young male with pointed dog ears atop his head.
This odd male growled and narrowed his eyes at Darren. "Who the hell are you?"
Author's Note: Well there you have it folks. A nice sticky situation Yugi and friends have gotten into now. Stay tuned to see what happens next. For those interested in reading more about Darren, see Shattered Dream Part II. As always, please read and feel free to review, but no flames.