Merodi no Yami:  Hello everyone!  Your wonderful authoress here, hoping to entertain you with a fresh new story!  I'd introduce you to my yami and muse, but he's sleeping right now and I really don't need him causing havoc around here.  Fact, you can meet him in the next chapter, seeing as I am going to make him one of the characters – his name is Naito.  If you really want to meet him, go read my authoress page, but he'll be here later.

Well, enough talking – read!  (And do not fear, this is NOT a Mary-Sue.)

Disclaimer: I do not, and can never own Yu-Gi-Oh or their characters, aside from some of their merchandise, because I am a music major at college.  Music Major = No Job = POOR, so please don't sue me for anything.  I do, however, own Merodi – she is my character, no take!!  Grr!!  And no, this is NOT a Mary-Sue fic!

[ blah blah blah ] – thinking

/blah blah blah/ - Yugi talking

//blah blah blah// - Yami talking

Destinies of the Past – Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

********************Flashback*******************

"I wish we knew more about our new enemy.  He said he was…familiar with the power of a Millennium Item.  …I bet he has one!"

"That must be how he controls people's minds.  It also seems he has knowledge of the ancient customs.  Our foe is somehow connected to the past."

"But who is he?"

"I don't know."

"Then how can we stop him?!?"

Yami looked up at this sudden outburst, surprised.  Too late.  He had looked into those sparkling violet pools that had captivated him so long ago.  Yami could do nothing except stand there for a moment, wondering at the beauty of the creature in front of him – with the moonlight draping itself across Yugi's gentle form, and innocent eyes wide with apprehension, Yami's heart stopped – well, his heart would have stopped, if he had one, he thought wistfully.  Finally, he spoke up.

"Don't worry, we can defeat this evil together."

Yugi let a slight breath of relief escape his lips.  However, he was obviously still fearful.  Yami continued to reassure the young teenager.

"As long as we stay connected, you and I can face anything."

"Maybe.  But what if I…fail again?  How do I know that I won't lose you?"

Yami smiled and looked down at Yugi.  Outside, Yami was calm, collected, and confident.  But on the inside, Yami's emotions were flying every which way from Yugi's last words.  [He cares deeply about me, but how far does it go?  Am I simply a protector and friend?  Or perhaps a brother?]  He couldn't bring himself to think that their relationship could go any farther than that – he didn't know if his soul could take the rejection of someone so deeply bonded with himself.  He wanted to reach out to the boy, hug him, kiss him, and tell him that he would never leave him, ever.  Instead, he simply took his ghostly hands and cupped them around Yugi's, holding the Millennium Puzzle.

"I believe in you, Yugi."

**************End Flashback****************

Yami sighed and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, reflecting on the past.  Yes, for once he finally had a past to look back to – after that discussion Yugi and his friends participated in Kaiba's tournament, where after days of dueling and several near death experiences, they had finally retrieved the three God Cards.  And with them, he was transported back to his ancient past – as pharaoh.  That last little fact surprised him still.  [I was a mighty, all-powerful ruler, able to bend people to my will by fear of punishment or death – and yet Yugi can make me quake in submission just by looking at me with those eyes of his.... ]  Yami smirked, and looked up at the creamy-colored ceiling of the living room in Grandpa's game shop. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yami, Grandpa!  I'm home!"

Yami looked up from his reverie to see Yugi and Merodi walk through the door.  They had been at school for most of the day, but had decided to stop by the market and buy some things to restock the refrigerator with.  Yami got up and walked over to the kitchen, where the two high-schoolers had dropped off their bags and begun to put things away.  Seeing Yugi about to pick one particularly heavy bag off the floor, Yami quickly grabbed it and pulled it out of his reach, receiving one of Yugi's infamous pouts in return.  Yami chuckled, put the bag on the counter, and quickly proceeded to grab Yugi around the waist, picking him up and carrying him under one arm like a piece of luggage as he walked towards the living room.  Yugi laughed, sending happy chills down Yami's spine.

"Yami!  Let go!!  I can walk, I'm not paralyzed!!"

"Your point?"

"Yami!!!!  Merodi, stop that and get over here and help me!!"

Merodi was on the ground laughing – she had known Yugi and Yami for a while now, but she never ceased to be amazed at their antics.  She stopped long enough to breathe, shaking her head as she replied, "Uh-uh, Muoto, you're on your own!"  She burst out laughing again as Yugi glared at her.

"Oh, I get it now," he yelled, "let's all gang up on the short people, it's fun!  Thanks a lot!" 

"Hey, I'm short too!  And short people are awesome!"  Merodi replied.

"Then why don't you help me?"

"Hmmm.  Good question."

"MERODI!!  YAMI!!!"

The two chuckled.  Yami reached the sofa, grabbed Yugi and sat him down.  He then fell back to sit next to his aibou, sinking into the cushion as he put his arm around the boy in a comforting gesture.

"Aww, poor Aibou."

"Shut up," Yugi said, still a little perturbed by the incident previous.  However, he really couldn't stay mad at the spirit – wait, not spirit, human.  After Yami had been taken to his ancient past and come back to present day, he had been reborn and gained a body of his own.  Not that Yugi was complaining.  His cheeks turned a slight pink when he realized that Yami had forgotten that his arm was still around Yugi's shoulders.  Yami noticed this, unfortunately for the shorter boy.

"Yugi?  Are you ok?  Your face seems a little red.  You're not sick again, are you?"

"Oh, no Yami," Yugi stated quickly, trying to mentally rid himself of the color in his face.  "It's just pretty cold outside, with the wind blowing every-which way."

Suddenly, to Yugi's rescue, Merodi stepped in with a dish of snacks.  She sat them on the table, and picked a cushioned chair across from the pair to sit in.  She was still chuckling from the previous incident.  "Are you sure that it's ok that I stay over here while school's out for the next week?  I really don't want to bother you at all."

Yugi raised a hand in reassurance.  "Please, don't worry about it.  We're more than glad to have you around – it'll be fun!  Besides, we wouldn't want you staying at home all by yourself during vacation, while your parents were out on that business trip."  He stopped talking for a little bit, his face looking thoughtful.  "Hey, speaking of, Yami, where's Grandpa?  I didn't see him when we walked in."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," Yami said as he rose from his seat, removing his arm from Yugi's shoulder as he went into the kitchen again.  Merodi noticed her classmate looking forlorn in the absence of his guardian, his eyes following Yami's movements.  She chuckled a little more to herself.  Yugi turned around and gave her a quizzical look.

"Oh, it's nothing Yugi," she said, putting his curiosities at bay.  [Those two,] she thought, [If they could just 'fess up to each other, it would make everyone's lives so much easier.  But boys will be boys, I suppose.]  She looked up and saw Yami as he walked back into the room, a piece of paper in his hand.  He handed it to Yugi.

After a few minutes, Yugi stated, "So Grandpa is also going to be gone next week, at a Duel Monsters Convention?  Wonder why the late notice.  Oh well, I'm sure he'll call home when he gets there, just to make sure everything's alright."  He looked up, with a grin on his face.  "Guess that means the place is all to ourselves during vacation!"

"Awesome!  No parental supervision, just think of all the trouble we can get into in just one week!"  Merodi giggled.  A very malicious, evil-sounding giggle, but it was a giggle all the same.  "So what do we do today?"

"Beats me.  Anyone have any suggestions?"  Yugi asked.  "Maybe we could stay away from the arcade, just for today.  No offense to anyone, but my brain is fried and I really don't want to stare at a video screen for the next couple of hours.  What about you, Yami?"

Yami looked up and thought for a moment, before replying.  "Well, why don't we just go down to the pier for a while?  I know it doesn't sound like much, but if you're looking to relax, Hikari, it just might do the trick."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun!"  Merodi said, turning to Yugi.  "And after we watch the sunset go down, we can hang out and push Yami into the water!"  Yugi laughed, while Yami just attempted to stare her down, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Oh?  And you really think you're a match for me?"  His eyes widened as Merodi jumped up, and started to come towards him as if she was going to strike him where he stood.  Instead, she simply tried to stare him down for a little while, before poking him in the stomach and yelling, "YOU'RE IT!" as she started running from the house.  Taking the cue from his friend, Yugi swiftly left the couch and went running after her, as Yami stood there dazed for a second before he turned and began in hot pursuit of his two victims, pausing just a few seconds to lock the door behind him as they all raced towards downtown Domino. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"GET BACK HERE, YOU FOOLISH MORTALS!!!"

The local residents of Domino looked up as they saw three figures chasing each other through the crowds.  A boy and girl were running hand in hand, laughing their heads off, as a tall spiky-headed boy, who looked remarkably like one of the teens he was after, ran after them with a huge smirk across his face.  Suddenly, he stopped and let out a command in a booming, baritone voice.

"YUGI MOUTO, STOP RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

The two chase-ees stopped dead in their tracks, turning around fearfully.  Yami stormed up to them, the humor gone from his face.  Yugi stared as his crush stopped in front of him.  His eyes gleamed, and suddenly he pushed between Yugi and Merodi, stating, "Foolish mortals.  Don't you know that, as Pharaoh, I always go before you?  You are not to go anywhere without MY permission, got that?  Now," he paused to brush something off his coat, "Follow me."

Yugi gaped as Yami strutted past them, grinning proudly from ear to ear, his head held up incredibly high, his nose in the air.  He let out a low growl.  Merodi, however, had another idea in mind.  She stood up straight, and yelled to the rest of the town, "That's right!  Back off, you worthless people!  Make way for his majesty, his royal highness, PHAROAH FERN HEAD!!"  This sent many people nearby into hysterics, while the former king of Egypt turned around, shock evident in his face as he stood, gaping at what he had just been called.  Taking advantage of Yami's temporary incapacity, Yugi ran straight for him, tackling him and pinning him to the ground.  As the two laughed their heads off, along with Merodi and many of the others watching this drama unfold, Yami opened his eyes to look at the smiling figure above him.  What he saw took his breath away.  [He's like an angel,] he thought.  [He's so…so….]

//Beautiful.//

Yugi turned to look down into Yami's shocked face.  /Yami?  I'm sorry, I was laughing so much I couldn't hear you.  What did you say? / 

//….//

/Yami?  Something wrong? /

//…huh?  Oh, Yugi, no, nothing's wrong.  Uh, you mind getting off me now? // [Not that I mind,] he said to himself.

Yugi looked down.  After tackling Yami, he was sitting on his stomach, his short legs straddling Yami's body.  Realizing the awkward position, he scrambled off the troubled teen, blushing furiously.

Suddenly, Merodi came running up to the two boys, rescuing them from any further embarrassment.  She was still laughing as she said, "Oh my God, you guys - that was so funny.  You've got the whole town up in hysterics!"

"Well, I'm sure it wouldn't have been nearly half as hilarious if it wasn't for that 'flattering' nick-name you gave me."  Yami shot back, grinning.

"Ah, well, I'll admit I can't really take credit for that stroke of genius – I heard it from Jou."

"Jounochi!  Oooh, he's a dead man now!"  Yugi said, smiling.  "Come on, you guys, let's head for the dock, we're almost there."

"Sure, you guys.  Actually, do you mind going on ahead?  I need to stop in the museum here and go to the bathroom, if you don't mind."

"Not at all.  Right, Aibou?"  Yami looked down at Yugi.  "Right.  Just make sure you get out here in time, the sun's starting to go down!  You don't want to miss the show, right?"

Merodi chuckled.  "Of course, Yugi.  I won't - don't worry!"  She smiled, and with that she started climbing the stairs that led to the Museum's entrance.

Yami turned back to Yugi after watching Merodi enter the building.  "Well, Hikari, come on.  Like you said, we don't want to miss this, do we?" He said as he put an arm around his aibou in a friendly gesture.  Yugi smiled back up at him.  "Lead the way, almighty Pharaoh."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merodi no Yami: Well, you like?  Please let me know, this is my first attempt at writing a Yu-Gi-Oh fic, let alone a Shonen ai one!  Obviously, the pairing is Y/Y, but there will also be an OC/OC straight pairing.  I know it sounds weird, just bear with me here!  Oh, and as for the Pharaoh Fern Head comment, I don't know whose idea it was originally, I just picked it up from one of the stories.  Whoever came up with it can let me know, and I'll credit it them for it.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! SEE THAT LITTLE BUTTON BELOW? THE ONE THAT SAYS "GO"? No, the one on your left…your OTHER left... -_-' *sigh* Yeah, that one...PRESS IT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!! …No, about the story I just wrote…yeah…ok… *SIGH*