A/N: Okay, so it's been almost two years since I've been on here, and now has a fancy new feature that shows you what country the hits on your stories are coming from, and I just want to know… Who is it from United Arab Emirates that's been dropping in? Just curious… I hope you enjoy.

Roar of Thunder

Chapter 2

Yugi stared out his window toward the eastern horizon, praying that the sun would rise so that he could get up and go back to the hatching grounds. He had tried for hours to sleep, knowing that if he could the night would go by faster, but he eventually abandoned any hope of sleep and settled for watching the horizon for the first sign of light.

The first three days of the hatching had progressed in much the same way as every other hatching that Yugi had been to. Not that he didn't enjoy it, of course; it was his favorite event of the year. But, that wonderfully mysterious black egg remained still. It was almost poetic that it would hatch on the last day. Of course, eggs had been known to occasionally show false signs and were brought out to hatch when they were, in fact, not ready at all.

Yugi shook his head. It had to hatch today; it just had to! Suddenly, Yugi bolted upright and strained his eyes. There was a faint light on the horizon. Yugi jumped out of bed and minutes later was fully dressed and knocking on his grandfather's door.

"Yugi… we went through this yesterday. The hatching doesn't start this early."

"But Grandpa!"

Sugoroku heaved a deep sigh. "Okay, okay…"

The rumbling heartbeats had noticeably lessened as Yugi and his grandfather entered the hatching chamber for the third time. Some eggs still remained, but Yugi's eyes were drawn to that mysterious black egg. It seemed that everyone else had their eyes on it, too; there were more people crowded into the chamber than there had been on any other day. Yugi rapped his quill impatiently against the side of his seat as a councilman made the traditional speech, and then the remaining eligibles were brought in.

Few by few, the colorful eggs shook and cracked and small, awkward creatures stumbled out and clambered over to their stunned and overjoyed partners. Yugi didn't bother sketching; he couldn't concentrate, his eyes flicking over to the pulsating yet unmoving gold-splotched egg.

Eggs continued hatching, dragons emerged and the empty shells were cleared away… until there was only one egg left. There was still a small group of eligibles shuffling their feet nervously at the edge of the warm sand. After several moments of silence Yugi glanced around; he could see several of the council members whispering to each other. Was it possible that the egg had shown false signs?

Yugi, along with several other observers, jumped as there was a sudden crack. The egg shook back and forth for a few moments, a thin split visible on the rough, dark surface. There was another crack and part of the shell fell open. Its former occupant tumbled out onto the sandy surface, shook itself and raised its head. It had a long narrow skull, like a silver dragon, but with a larger frame. In the morning light the dragon's new, tender scales shone black with long, thin trails of dark gold coursing from its head down its neck and back. Its tail was unusually long and whipping about as the dragon shakily stood. Yugi stared in awe; any type of golden dragon was thought to be extinct, if not entirely mythical. It was several moments before Yugi noticed that none of the eligibles had come forward to make connection. He felt his grandfather shift next to him; nervous energy grew in the room until it was nearly palpable. Something was wrong…

The energy suddenly snapped as the dragon let out a wail. The council members were shouting at the guards to send messengers out as quickly as possible to summon any other possible eligibles. The group of confused eligibles was ushered away from the sand to make way, but as the chamber doors opened more guards pushed in to see what was wrong. Councilmen and guards rushed forward, trying to shout down those outside that were trying to come in. The frenzied activity froze for a single moment as the dragon gave another cry of despair. Yugi leapt to his feet in response, feeling as though he should do something, and was promptly pushed back into his seat as people swirled around him in a panic. He vaguely heard his grandfather telling him that they should leave before they get trampled. Yugi tried to follow, but he didn't want to leave; he turned to look back at the crying dragon sitting in the sand, and suddenly he was knocked from his feet.

Yugi froze in surprise as he found that his landing was rather soft, then realized that he had fallen on the sand of the hatching ground. He looked up to see who had knocked him over, but instead looked up into red crystal eyes. There was no longer any shouting, any footsteps or even any people; there was just him and the dragon.

Yugi lay where he had fallen, staring openly and unsure of what to do, until he felt a slow warmth, as if something had nestled against his chest. The warmth grew, spreading over and under his skin until it became a presence within and without him, and then the warmth was him with no separation. He could feel it resting comfortably in the corners of his mind, gently supporting and strangely familiar.

Hello, Yugi. He jumped as the voice spoke, and he nearly looked around to see who was talking, but he knew where the voice had come from.

"Y-you know my name?" Yugi replied haltingly, his voice merely a whisper, but the dragon understood.

Yes, the voice said, I have been waiting for you. I am Yami.

Finally having the presence of mind to move, Yugi clumsily sat up. The little golden-black creature staggered over to him and settled in Yugi's lap. He yawned, then rested his head against Yugi's chest and began purring softly as Yugi stroked his new, soft skin. Yugi smiled down at the sleepy dragon, amazed, overjoyed and overwhelmed. However, he was brought out of his rapturous daze as he was roughly grabbed by the shoulder and pulled halfway to his feet.

"No one is to be near the dragon until its partner has been found!" a guard ordered sternly, then he yelped in pain as Yami sank his teeth into his hand. With the guard no longer holding him, Yugi stumbled backwards and once again landed in the sand, Yami still in his arms and growling fiercely. The guard stared at the dragon, his bleeding hand nearly forgotten in shock. The chamber suddenly became very quiet as everyone noticed that the dragon was in a human's arms.

Yugi instinctively pulled the dragon closer to him, and he had to suppress a nervous grin as Yami nuzzled his neck and settled against his chest again.

"What have you done?" a young councilman cried, finally breaking the silence. Yugi searched the crowd of faces until he found his grandfather, who was also staring in amazement. "His name is Yami," Yugi said, his voice seeming much too loud in the echoing chamber. "And he says he's hungry."

A/N: Yes, Yami is the dragon, and no, this will most likely not turn into yaoi later on by virtue of having Yami turn human at some point. I don't think I'll have Yugi romantically involved with anyone else, though; I'd like to get it across that deep, intimate relationships can exist without having a sexual component. Lofty goals for a fanfic? Perhaps, but I work with what I have. Review, please!