Elemental Magick
By: Neko-chan
A/N: Wheee~!!! *happy hyper genki dance* Anyway, I'm really glad that everyone likes this so far! And I know that it's a little bit confusing right now, but I promise that everything will become clearer later on. 'Kay? 'Kay. Also--for those of you who read "Youth of the Nation" and "What Is Forever?"...upcoming update will be next Wednesday, Feb. 19. So keep your eyes open for it! ^_~
WARNING: Will contain shounen-ai! Main pairing is Yami Yuugi/Yuugi. And, since enough people asked for it--the other pairing will be Yami Bakura/Ryou. Hee. ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Oh, Black Magiciaaaaaaaan...
BM: *pouts* Why am _I_ always the one who ends up doing your disclaimers???
... ^_^
BM: -.-;; Neko-chan doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. She does own seasons one and two (for all of those who asked, she got them at ). Luckily for us, Neko-chan DOESN'T own Yu-Gi-Oh!. From the types of stories she writes, she would completely ruin it and humiliate her favorite characters while she was at it. So, rejoice.
... _
Chapter Three
"A... A dream?" Yuugi repeated, staring about himself with wide, violet eyes. The experience that he had just went through seemed too real to be a dream, but... If no one was here now, and there was no book, then it HAD to have been a dream...right? Shaking his head slightly to clear it, he put his hand down onto the floor to push himself up. And his fingers encountered old, crackling leather.
Yuugi's already wide eyes widened further and he slowly looked down, already knowing what he was about to see. The title "Elemental Magick" seemed to scream up at him. Yelping slightly, the small boy scooted backwards on his behind, trying to get as far away from the book as possible. "Iie!" he wailed. "Iie! It HAD to have been a dream! It HAD to be!!!"
But the book stayed where it was, looking as innocent as any other book in the library. The only thing that made it differ from all of the others was its apparent age--whole pieces of it peeling away with mildew and the passage of years.
However, Yuugi knew better. The book wasn't innocent--not at all.
Shivering slightly, he crawled forward and held out a shaking hand, reaching for the book. Wincing slightly, he touched the cover. And nothing happened. Smiling slightly in relief, Yuugi picked up the book and stood up, at once making his way towards the nearest bookshelf. Finding at empty slot, the young boy slid the book onto the bookshelf.
"Gomen nasai," he whispered to the leather binding. Whether he was talking to the book or to himself, he didn't know for sure. "Gomen ne. I... I just can't. You picked the wrong person to come to. I'm not strong and I don't know anything about magick. Like I said, you picked the wrong person. I... I am sorry. ...you were a dream. From this point on, you _were_ a dream. Good-bye."
That said, Yuugi turned around and practically ran out of the library, desperate to reach home and the Game Shop--places that were comfortable to him and that he had grown up in. He just had to get _away_. And so he ran.
What he didn't notice was the dark figure leaning against the bookshelf, watching Yuugi as he ran. Once the boy was out of sight, the figure righted himself and looked at the book. "Well," he said and gestured idly to the book. It slid out of its slot and made its way towards him, bobbing a little bit in the air as it did so. "So what do you think of him?" The book flapped its pages angrily. The figure laughed. "Hai, true--very true. But you can't blame him, can you? You thrust this upon him and now he's dealing with this as any other teenager would...he's running away. And now it's time to make amends. So, shall we?" The book seemed to hesitate for a moment, then disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
The figure smiled slightly and followed the book's example--but his light was black.
~ * ~
"Ji-chan! I'm home now!" Yuugi yelled into the silent house as he stepped through the doorway. Smelling dinner cooking, he grinned happily and slipped out of his shoes, tossing his backpack down next to them. Still hearing no answer, Yuugi tried again. "Ji-chan! I'm home!"
"Hai, hai, Yuugi! I'm in the Game Shop! Come over here, we got some new cards in today. And I know you'll especially like this one!" his Ji-chan called back, his voice muffled by the closed doorway that separated the Game Shop from their house.
"Nani, Ji-chan?" Yuugi asked as he popped his head through the doorway. His Ji-chan smiled broadly at him and waggled his eyebrows.
"Weeell... I don't know if I should give this to you," Ji-chan mused aloud, stroking his chin in thought as he looked at Yuugi out of the corner of his eyes. Grinning mischievously to himself, he pulled Black Magician out of his pants pocket.
And Yuugi's eyes practically bugged out of his head. "Nani?! You HAVE to give me Black Magician, Ji-chan! You _know_ that it's my favorite card! Onegai? Onegaaaaaai??"
Ji-chan finally burst out laughing. "Hai, Yuugi. It's all yours. But first..."
Instantly, the smaller boy became suspicious. "Hai, Ji-chan?" Ji-chan NEVER gave away anything without getting anything in return. And since Yuugi had no money, that only meant one thing... Ji-chan wanted Yuugi to do chores. Chores that he probably hated. And that meant that he would be doing either gardening, dishes, or house-cleaning if he wanted that Black Magician.
"Well, Yuugi... It's all yours if you agree to do dishes for a month," Ji-chan finally replied, his grin broadening further. He did know how much Yuugi hated doing dishes--and that was the fun of it all.
Upon hearing his...DOOM...Yuugi's jaw dropped. "A MONTH, Ji-chan?! Anything but a month! Two weeks??" Ji-chan shook his head, still grinning broadly. Sighing in defeat, Yuugi continued: "Alright, alright. I'll do the dishes for a month. ...can I have Black Magician now?"
Ji-chan seemed to pause for a moment more--and Yuugi was almost bouncing up and down in his excitement. Then, sighing as if it was the most difficult decision of his life...Ji-chan handed the Black Magician card to Yuugi.
"YATTA!" he exclaimed and quickly ran out of the room to go upstairs. He had just been given a rare, powerful, and--of course--his most favorite card. He was going to do what any other card-obsessed (but otherwise sane) teenager would have done...he was going to add it to his already existing deck. "DOMO ARIGATOU!!!" he called down the stairs before he shut the door to his room.
Ji-chan stared up after Yuugi. "Aaah... To be young again," he said, smiling. Then he went back to running the shop, the grin still fixed onto his face.
"Wai, wai, wai, wai, wai, wai~!!!" Yuugi chortled happily as he made his way across the room to his desk, where he kept his cards. And then he paused, staring at the bed with wide eyes. "...nani? What are _you_ doing here?"
Yami stood up from his lounging position, his smile just a tad bit mocking. "You bonded me to you, Yuugi. There is no possible way for you to get ride of me. You're stuck with me. ...and with the book, also. It chose you to be its new master." He shrugged. "It won't be very easy to get rid of it. Just look in your card drawer."
Yuugi shot Yami a dark look, then edged towards the drawer, his hands trembling slightly as he reached out to open the drawer. And there the book lay, looking innocent as it rested next to his cards. The boy nearly burst into tears.
"What are you doing here? I thought I was able to get rid of you... I... I don't want any of this..." he whispered down to the leather-bound volume.
"And I told you that it isn't that easy to get rid of the two of us," Yami spoke up once again. "For better or for worse, we're yours now."
"I just don't want to have to fight..." Yuugi whispered softly, reaching down to trail a pale finger down the cover of the book. Once his finger touched the book, it lit up with a bright, flashing light. The boy yelped in surprise and fell backwards, landing on his behind for the second time that day. When the light finally faded away...
...Black Magician stood in front of him.
"What... What is this?" the violet-eyed voice managed to gasp out while he stared up at the imposing figure above him. Just as suddenly, Yami appeared next to the Black Magician. He tilted his head to one side and stared down at Yuugi with shaded ruby eyes.
"Like I said, Yuugi. You had enough magickal power to call the book to you. You had enough power to summon me. Not only that, but you had enough power to bond me to you. We are yours...forever. The book sensed your love and your loyalty to Black Magician and decided to summon him for you. This is one of the book's powers. Making inanimate objects animate. Calling the spirits--spirits control various aspects of nature, but aren't Elementals themselves. You'll be able to do all of this and more. But only if you chose to accept this."
"I... I just can't..." was Yuugi's reply.
Yami didn't answer him. He just continued to stare at Yuugi with those intense ruby eyes of his. Finally, he smiled slightly and stepped to one side. In the spot where he had just been standing, the magick book floated, making its way closer to the scared boy. "Open it, Yuugi," Yami commanded. Without thinking, Yuugi did so. And instead of the Gaelic writing that he had expected, the book had managed to change its writing into Japanese. "Read."
Yuugi read.
~To the one person who has managed to call my book to you: I greet you. My name is Arashi Kenji. I am the authoress of this book and I am the person who had managed to seal Yami away before I died. I know that this sounds strange to you, but I put a little bit of my spirit into this book before I died. I wanted to look after it for a time because it means so much to me.
When I was about to die, I finally decided upon a successor. I didn't want one of my descendants--they would have become bloated with magickal power and greed, caring only for themselves and to gain more magick. Instead, I wanted a successor who had a pure heart, a strong magickal talent, and who wasn't jaded by the world. I wanted someone pure. The criteria to meet sounds hard to do so, right? Well, you would be correct. But that's why my successor is so important. It's because it's you.
This all seems to strange to you--I know that it does so you need not explain anything to me. This would have probably been the first time you've ever encountered magick, right? And yet... That's not true, is it? Think of all the weird feelings, the strange dreams, deja vu, the knowing certain things before they happened... Haven't you ever wondered about all of these things, Heir? You must have.
The reason why my successor is so important is because I wanted someone who would love the magick as much as I did. Someone who would cherish it and the many other things that came along with it--familiars included. When I say familiar, I mean... Well, something that means the most to you. Most of the time it's an animal. But for you I sense that your familiar will be something different. Say... A card that becomes animate, perhaps? (You can close your mouth right about now. Flies will go in if you're not careful. And it's not that hard to see into the future. You'll learn very soon, this I can promise.)
Upcoming events will be very hard for you. I've given you a difficult path. But I know that you will try your hardest, whether you win or lose. Maybe... Maybe that's why I finally decided upon you as my successor. Maybe... But that's not important right now. I have faith in you, Mutou Yuugi. And I know that everything will turn out alright in the end. Good luck to you, my Successor. Good luck.
Merry met, merry part, and merry meet again.~
Yuugi blinked and slowly closed the book. He looked up at the animated card and at Darkness himself...and he said the very first thing that came to his mind: "Black Magician is my _familiar_???"