The Past is Present
Tenshi: Okay, I'm really excited about this thing so I've decided to post the first chapter up soon. I've been really busy lately, so this might end up being kind of short, but I'm gonna try my best! I'm still taking votes on the Seto Kabia thing, so please review! I love reviews! The more reviews, the better the chapters. But, anyway, please enjoy the first chapter! ^_^
Chapter One: A Boy's Pain
~Dream~
Save me.
Who are you? Why do you haunt me every night?
Save me.
I can't even see your face. I don't even know who you are! But . I want to save you. I really do. But I can't. I can't even save myself.
Only you can help me.
How can that be? I'm just a boy, that's too small to do anything right. How can I help you?
Please. Please help me.
I would. I do want to help you. I don't know why but every night I hear you cry in pain and my heart shatters. But then again, my heart breaks every day. No one cares about me. I have nothing left. If, somehow, I can and do save you, can you be the one to save me?
Yugi, aibou, only your innocent soul can set me free.
~End Dream~
Freezing and wet was how Yugi woke up. Spluttering and coughing, Yugi pushed his wet bangs aside and tried to gather himself. There was a whole bunch of moaning and groaning from the other slaves as each dragged themselves from sleep and into reality. Wringing the water from his wild hair, Yugi got to his feet quickly. He knew too well the punishment for those lagging behind.
"What's going on?" a tired voice asked from behind him.
A boy about Yugi's age walked up to him, rubbing the sleep from his brown eyes. The boy was taller then Yugi, but had just as strange hair. For he had long, white hair that stood out wherever the boy went. "Is it time to wake up already?" the boy looked down at his friend.
"Afraid so, Ryou," Yugi nodded. "So, you better get in you place in line or Sir will throw a fit." Watching his friend go fearfully to his place in the roll call, Yugi straightened himself and tried to make sure that he wasn't pushed to the ground. Sighing, Yugi thought about that dream he had had. He had always had the same dream in which someone was calling out to him, for him to help them. Rapidly shaking his head, Yugi berated himself. He couldn't save his family or himself. How was he to save a total stranger?
After roll call, the slaves were divided up and sent to do their duties. Ryou's group did the dusting and cleaning the windows. Yugi was sent with a few others to the stable to care for the horses. Though their jobs often wore them out, none dared to make a complaint. For if one word reached the ears of Sir, the overseer, the punishment was a beating that none wanted to go through.
Out of all the jobs that Yugi had been "tested" on, the stables was the one he liked best. It didn't require a lot of strength he didn't have, or height which he definitely didn't have, but rather a mountain of patience and the loss of smell.
"And at least you like me," Yugi added, greeting one of his favorite horses named Spirit. Pouring in his bucket of oats into the horse's feeder, Yugi wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. The stables might have been one of Yugi's favorite places to be, but work was work and it was always exhausting.
Looking back at the tall, golden stallion, who was happily munching the special treat, Yugi smiled. "I'm going to do the other horses first," he explained, motioning his thumb in the general direction. "Then I'll come back and do you." Seeing the horse put on a sort of pout, Yugi added, with a laugh, "You know why don't you? You are so vain that it takes hours to finally get your coat just right." His fellow slaves thought it was silly to talk to the horses, but Yugi, who never really got a kind word out of a human being, was glad to finally have conversation with something that didn't snap back.
Picking up the now empty bucket of oats, Yugi went along with the rest of the stable chores. There was cleaning the stables, which for all its bad odor, was actually an okay job. Some of the horses just ignored the boy with the unusual black hair with red outlines and golden bangs, but most horses gave some sign of hello which was always returned. Besides cleaning out the stalls, feeding, and, occasionally, grooming the horses, Yugi had very little to do inside the stable. Sir had figured Yugi too small to do any job fast enough, so if Yugi rushed with the usual jobs, he would find himself with the rest of the day off.
As it was Yugi was exhausted when work was finished, so after giving Spirit that hour-long grooming that had been promised, Yugi made sure the coast was clear and plopped down in the open stall with Spirit. The horse, now used to the boy in his stall, ignored him not that his coat was shiny and went off to sleep. A nap was sounding pretty good to Yugi, but there was always the chance that Sir would come barging in and then there would be hell to pay. It was best to keep awake. So, Yugi took out his dueling deck.
It was the one thing that he had left of his grandfather and it was one of his most sacred treasures. However, it was essential that only Yugi knew of it's existence.
After the three hundredth year of the Kaiba family's rule, Duel Monsters had been banned and were only to be used by the royal family and those with special permission. For a peasant to be caught with one Duel Monster card meant a harsh beating from the guards, who were more commonly known as members of Osiris's Group, and a slight chance of living. For a slave to be caught with a whole deck meant a fate worse then death.
But still, the deck served as a memoir of his grandfather and for some reason Yugi just couldn't bring himself to get rid of the cards. Somehow, he felt attached to each card and to get rid of even one was like to get rid of his own hand.
Shifting through each card, he finally got to his favorite- the Dark Magician. Something about the card comforted. Once more, a sense of wishful thinking filled Yugi. He wished that he could have been taught, no matter the risks, of how to summon a monster into the real world. Maybe then he would have someone to take care of him. Maybe even help him find that person in his dreams.
Suddenly, Spirit squirmed and sent out a warning call. Quick as a flask, the deck was back in Yugi's pocket. And just in time too.
Yugi cried out in pain as he got boxed on the ear and was suddenly taken hold by his shoulders. The hands were big and tough and they squeezed Yugi's shoulders painfully before sending the poor teen flying to the floor.
Giving a yelp of pain, Yugi looked up to see Sir. A very, very angry Sir.
"You," Sir spat, pointing an accusing finger. He was practically shaking with rage. "You think that you could just take a snoozer while the rest of us are working our asses off? Well, do you?"
Yugi didn't answer and received a box on the other ear and a black eye. The three other stable slaves had instantly stopped moving and just stood there gawking at the scene. Sir stomped over to him and kicked the boy in the ribs.
Giving another cry of pain, Yugi backed up and got another kick in the ribs. Darn. Any more of this and he'd have cracked ribs at least. He kept backing up, narrowly missing some more sharp kicks, until he had his back against the stable wall. His eyes widened in fear as he realized that he was trapped.
Grinning at the sight of his victim in fear, Sir gave a swift kick to the boy's stomach. Hunching over, Yugi tried to get as close to wall as possible not that helped any. The kicks kept coming, along with plenty of colorful language, and they were getting narrowly close to Yugi's head.
'Someone help!' Yugi thought desperately. 'This man means to kill me!'
"Yugi!" a voice called.
Opening his eyes weakly, Yugi saw, to his suprise and horror, that Ryou had just rushed into the stables and was trying desperately to get to his friend, only to be held back by the other slaves. They knew that if Sir went on the rampage with two slaves chances were that more would fall to the same fate. "Yugi!"
"Stay over there, prissy!" Sir growled a warning. "Don't worry. I'll get to you next just as soon as I finish off the runt here."
Picking back his foot for another kick, Sir showed no sign of hesitation in finishing off the boy before him. Yugi's thoughts swirled together and his instincts for survival kept clashing.
Then, just as the kick was about to make contact, Yugi made one last effort to dodge just one blow. Sir's foot hit the wall, hard, knocking over a lamp that had been steadily moving closer to the edge with the vibrations. The glass broke open and the flame instantly caught the dry grass.
"Shit" Sir cussed, nursing his foot before turning to the star-struck slaves. The flame had gotten bigger and was already out of control. Yugi laying forgotten at his feet, Sir called out to the other slaves, "Don't just stand there! Get the horses out of here! And you there! Go get the others and bring as many buckets of water as you can! Now move!" The slaves instantly scattered and Sir calmly walked away leaving Yugi trapped in the now roaring flames.
"Ah!" Yugi jumped to his feet, trying not to wince at the pain that lingered in his middle. How was he going to get out of this?
A shrill shreik instantly caught Yugi's attention. Spirit! Spirit was trapped in the flames unable to get out.
Forgetting to get himself out, Yugi quickly rushed into the stall and grabbed the stallion's mane, trying to calm down the rearing horse.
"Yugi!" a voice called, coughing through the smoke. "Yugi!" A coughing, teary-eyed Ryou wandered through the smoke to his friend's side.
"Yugi!" he was relieved to find the boy alive. "Yugi, are you okay?"
"I am now, but in ten minutes the three of us will be history!" Yugi was starting to cough as well. The smoke was getting too thick. Either they would be consumed by flames or, most likely, suffocate from the smoke.
Suddenly, Yugi had an idea. Glancing behind him, Yugi could barely make out the outline of the weakened side of the stables. Normally, it would take two very strong men to push it out of place. But, maybe, the force of a full gown stallion, could do it.
:"Ryou!" he called, then ended up coughing because of all the smoke. "Get on the horse!"
"What?"
"Just trust me!"
To his credit, Ryou got on the panicky stallion. Getting in front of his white haired friend, Yugi grabbed Stallion's and, amazingly well for someone who hadn't ridden before, guided the stallion full gallop toward the weakened wall.
Eyes watering and throats soar from all the smoke, the two boys prayed that this would work.
It did.
The wall collapsed like toothpicks and, if the boys had bothered to look back and stop,. they would have seen that the entire stable had just been engulfed. Of course, neither the two boys or the stallion stopped. The stallion was galloping as hard as he could toward the exit of the estate. Still coughing hard, the two boy's didn't even notice what was happening. All they heard was a couple of shouts and threats, but between gulping fresh air and clinging to a run-a-way horse, the two didn't really notice. The next thing they knew was that they were out the gate and galloping off into the sunset.
Little did they know, they were going into a world of danger and destiny.
Fin*
Tenshi: Well, there you go! Please don't hate me for what I did to Yugi! *dodges flying vegetables from Yugi fans* I kind of had to put it in there for the sake of the story. So don't hate me! *still ducks* Anyway, this was a little longer then I thought it would be. ^_^" And, also, I've kinda already decided what I'm going to do about Seto Kaiba while I was writing this story. But I still want to hear what you guys think! Also, warning, there will be romance in this fanfic, but (sorry) nobody's with Yugi and Yami. Forgive me. -_- Anyway, please read and review folks! Until next time, C'ya!
Yugi: And remember, 2 reviews = new chapter! ^_^ So PLEASE review! *uses puppy eyes* PLEASE!!
Tenshi: Okay, I'm really excited about this thing so I've decided to post the first chapter up soon. I've been really busy lately, so this might end up being kind of short, but I'm gonna try my best! I'm still taking votes on the Seto Kabia thing, so please review! I love reviews! The more reviews, the better the chapters. But, anyway, please enjoy the first chapter! ^_^
Chapter One: A Boy's Pain
~Dream~
Save me.
Who are you? Why do you haunt me every night?
Save me.
I can't even see your face. I don't even know who you are! But . I want to save you. I really do. But I can't. I can't even save myself.
Only you can help me.
How can that be? I'm just a boy, that's too small to do anything right. How can I help you?
Please. Please help me.
I would. I do want to help you. I don't know why but every night I hear you cry in pain and my heart shatters. But then again, my heart breaks every day. No one cares about me. I have nothing left. If, somehow, I can and do save you, can you be the one to save me?
Yugi, aibou, only your innocent soul can set me free.
~End Dream~
Freezing and wet was how Yugi woke up. Spluttering and coughing, Yugi pushed his wet bangs aside and tried to gather himself. There was a whole bunch of moaning and groaning from the other slaves as each dragged themselves from sleep and into reality. Wringing the water from his wild hair, Yugi got to his feet quickly. He knew too well the punishment for those lagging behind.
"What's going on?" a tired voice asked from behind him.
A boy about Yugi's age walked up to him, rubbing the sleep from his brown eyes. The boy was taller then Yugi, but had just as strange hair. For he had long, white hair that stood out wherever the boy went. "Is it time to wake up already?" the boy looked down at his friend.
"Afraid so, Ryou," Yugi nodded. "So, you better get in you place in line or Sir will throw a fit." Watching his friend go fearfully to his place in the roll call, Yugi straightened himself and tried to make sure that he wasn't pushed to the ground. Sighing, Yugi thought about that dream he had had. He had always had the same dream in which someone was calling out to him, for him to help them. Rapidly shaking his head, Yugi berated himself. He couldn't save his family or himself. How was he to save a total stranger?
After roll call, the slaves were divided up and sent to do their duties. Ryou's group did the dusting and cleaning the windows. Yugi was sent with a few others to the stable to care for the horses. Though their jobs often wore them out, none dared to make a complaint. For if one word reached the ears of Sir, the overseer, the punishment was a beating that none wanted to go through.
Out of all the jobs that Yugi had been "tested" on, the stables was the one he liked best. It didn't require a lot of strength he didn't have, or height which he definitely didn't have, but rather a mountain of patience and the loss of smell.
"And at least you like me," Yugi added, greeting one of his favorite horses named Spirit. Pouring in his bucket of oats into the horse's feeder, Yugi wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. The stables might have been one of Yugi's favorite places to be, but work was work and it was always exhausting.
Looking back at the tall, golden stallion, who was happily munching the special treat, Yugi smiled. "I'm going to do the other horses first," he explained, motioning his thumb in the general direction. "Then I'll come back and do you." Seeing the horse put on a sort of pout, Yugi added, with a laugh, "You know why don't you? You are so vain that it takes hours to finally get your coat just right." His fellow slaves thought it was silly to talk to the horses, but Yugi, who never really got a kind word out of a human being, was glad to finally have conversation with something that didn't snap back.
Picking up the now empty bucket of oats, Yugi went along with the rest of the stable chores. There was cleaning the stables, which for all its bad odor, was actually an okay job. Some of the horses just ignored the boy with the unusual black hair with red outlines and golden bangs, but most horses gave some sign of hello which was always returned. Besides cleaning out the stalls, feeding, and, occasionally, grooming the horses, Yugi had very little to do inside the stable. Sir had figured Yugi too small to do any job fast enough, so if Yugi rushed with the usual jobs, he would find himself with the rest of the day off.
As it was Yugi was exhausted when work was finished, so after giving Spirit that hour-long grooming that had been promised, Yugi made sure the coast was clear and plopped down in the open stall with Spirit. The horse, now used to the boy in his stall, ignored him not that his coat was shiny and went off to sleep. A nap was sounding pretty good to Yugi, but there was always the chance that Sir would come barging in and then there would be hell to pay. It was best to keep awake. So, Yugi took out his dueling deck.
It was the one thing that he had left of his grandfather and it was one of his most sacred treasures. However, it was essential that only Yugi knew of it's existence.
After the three hundredth year of the Kaiba family's rule, Duel Monsters had been banned and were only to be used by the royal family and those with special permission. For a peasant to be caught with one Duel Monster card meant a harsh beating from the guards, who were more commonly known as members of Osiris's Group, and a slight chance of living. For a slave to be caught with a whole deck meant a fate worse then death.
But still, the deck served as a memoir of his grandfather and for some reason Yugi just couldn't bring himself to get rid of the cards. Somehow, he felt attached to each card and to get rid of even one was like to get rid of his own hand.
Shifting through each card, he finally got to his favorite- the Dark Magician. Something about the card comforted. Once more, a sense of wishful thinking filled Yugi. He wished that he could have been taught, no matter the risks, of how to summon a monster into the real world. Maybe then he would have someone to take care of him. Maybe even help him find that person in his dreams.
Suddenly, Spirit squirmed and sent out a warning call. Quick as a flask, the deck was back in Yugi's pocket. And just in time too.
Yugi cried out in pain as he got boxed on the ear and was suddenly taken hold by his shoulders. The hands were big and tough and they squeezed Yugi's shoulders painfully before sending the poor teen flying to the floor.
Giving a yelp of pain, Yugi looked up to see Sir. A very, very angry Sir.
"You," Sir spat, pointing an accusing finger. He was practically shaking with rage. "You think that you could just take a snoozer while the rest of us are working our asses off? Well, do you?"
Yugi didn't answer and received a box on the other ear and a black eye. The three other stable slaves had instantly stopped moving and just stood there gawking at the scene. Sir stomped over to him and kicked the boy in the ribs.
Giving another cry of pain, Yugi backed up and got another kick in the ribs. Darn. Any more of this and he'd have cracked ribs at least. He kept backing up, narrowly missing some more sharp kicks, until he had his back against the stable wall. His eyes widened in fear as he realized that he was trapped.
Grinning at the sight of his victim in fear, Sir gave a swift kick to the boy's stomach. Hunching over, Yugi tried to get as close to wall as possible not that helped any. The kicks kept coming, along with plenty of colorful language, and they were getting narrowly close to Yugi's head.
'Someone help!' Yugi thought desperately. 'This man means to kill me!'
"Yugi!" a voice called.
Opening his eyes weakly, Yugi saw, to his suprise and horror, that Ryou had just rushed into the stables and was trying desperately to get to his friend, only to be held back by the other slaves. They knew that if Sir went on the rampage with two slaves chances were that more would fall to the same fate. "Yugi!"
"Stay over there, prissy!" Sir growled a warning. "Don't worry. I'll get to you next just as soon as I finish off the runt here."
Picking back his foot for another kick, Sir showed no sign of hesitation in finishing off the boy before him. Yugi's thoughts swirled together and his instincts for survival kept clashing.
Then, just as the kick was about to make contact, Yugi made one last effort to dodge just one blow. Sir's foot hit the wall, hard, knocking over a lamp that had been steadily moving closer to the edge with the vibrations. The glass broke open and the flame instantly caught the dry grass.
"Shit" Sir cussed, nursing his foot before turning to the star-struck slaves. The flame had gotten bigger and was already out of control. Yugi laying forgotten at his feet, Sir called out to the other slaves, "Don't just stand there! Get the horses out of here! And you there! Go get the others and bring as many buckets of water as you can! Now move!" The slaves instantly scattered and Sir calmly walked away leaving Yugi trapped in the now roaring flames.
"Ah!" Yugi jumped to his feet, trying not to wince at the pain that lingered in his middle. How was he going to get out of this?
A shrill shreik instantly caught Yugi's attention. Spirit! Spirit was trapped in the flames unable to get out.
Forgetting to get himself out, Yugi quickly rushed into the stall and grabbed the stallion's mane, trying to calm down the rearing horse.
"Yugi!" a voice called, coughing through the smoke. "Yugi!" A coughing, teary-eyed Ryou wandered through the smoke to his friend's side.
"Yugi!" he was relieved to find the boy alive. "Yugi, are you okay?"
"I am now, but in ten minutes the three of us will be history!" Yugi was starting to cough as well. The smoke was getting too thick. Either they would be consumed by flames or, most likely, suffocate from the smoke.
Suddenly, Yugi had an idea. Glancing behind him, Yugi could barely make out the outline of the weakened side of the stables. Normally, it would take two very strong men to push it out of place. But, maybe, the force of a full gown stallion, could do it.
:"Ryou!" he called, then ended up coughing because of all the smoke. "Get on the horse!"
"What?"
"Just trust me!"
To his credit, Ryou got on the panicky stallion. Getting in front of his white haired friend, Yugi grabbed Stallion's and, amazingly well for someone who hadn't ridden before, guided the stallion full gallop toward the weakened wall.
Eyes watering and throats soar from all the smoke, the two boys prayed that this would work.
It did.
The wall collapsed like toothpicks and, if the boys had bothered to look back and stop,. they would have seen that the entire stable had just been engulfed. Of course, neither the two boys or the stallion stopped. The stallion was galloping as hard as he could toward the exit of the estate. Still coughing hard, the two boy's didn't even notice what was happening. All they heard was a couple of shouts and threats, but between gulping fresh air and clinging to a run-a-way horse, the two didn't really notice. The next thing they knew was that they were out the gate and galloping off into the sunset.
Little did they know, they were going into a world of danger and destiny.
Fin*
Tenshi: Well, there you go! Please don't hate me for what I did to Yugi! *dodges flying vegetables from Yugi fans* I kind of had to put it in there for the sake of the story. So don't hate me! *still ducks* Anyway, this was a little longer then I thought it would be. ^_^" And, also, I've kinda already decided what I'm going to do about Seto Kaiba while I was writing this story. But I still want to hear what you guys think! Also, warning, there will be romance in this fanfic, but (sorry) nobody's with Yugi and Yami. Forgive me. -_- Anyway, please read and review folks! Until next time, C'ya!
Yugi: And remember, 2 reviews = new chapter! ^_^ So PLEASE review! *uses puppy eyes* PLEASE!!