Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Horcrux ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

 

Three thousand years later

 

Pawn shops were useful places to find stuff, and there weren't many in Japan. So when Ryou Bakura passed one while taking a new short cut home from the library, he stopped long enough to step inside and see what it had to offer.

 

The young white-haired man lived by himself, and he was often short on money, so he couldn't resist the opportunity to pick up anything he might need at a low price. Others might have made fun of him if they saw him in such a place, but that didn't bother him. Practicality was better than popularity, he thought, and he didn't have many friends anyways.

 

But like most pawn shops, most of what it had to offer was junk, and more than half of that was broken. With a sigh, Ryou turned back to the door, but as he headed there, he passed a long jewelry case, and something tugged his head to the side. At the same time, he felt his Sennen Ring stir, two of the points rising under the cover of his shirt to point at the case.

 

Slowing down, he took a closer look at the jewelry within, and one piece in particular jumped out at him. He knew it was special, but not for any reasons that he could voice to anyone else he knew.

 

Ryou Bakura was a wizard, though he chose to live in the Muggle world, and the locket that had caught his attention was a magical item. Of course the shopkeeper would never believe him if he said that, and the Japanese Ministry of Magic would come down on his head if he tried to demonstrate his point. Not that he would in the first place; Ryou was a timid young man, more prone to jumping at his own shadow than displays of magical might.

 

“Excuse me,” he called to the pawn broker. “How much for this?” He pointed at the pendant.

 

“For what?” the heavyset man grunted, ambling over.

 

“This locket,” Ryou clarified. “The large one, with the golden S. And where did you get it from?”

 

The pawnbroker shrugged. “5000 yen, and someone traded it in,” he answered vaguely.

 

Ryou hid a smile as he handed over the money. Meaning someone from the black market shoved it on you, he figured. I wonder if it's cursed… He really couldn't afford it, but his curiosity was piqued, and more than that, he could feel the interest of his darker self. Even if he didn't pay for it now, his other self would steal it later, and he didn't want that.

 

That dark spirit, who had long held Ryou Bakura enslaved in his own mind, had supposedly been beaten for good by another ancient spirit, a Pharaoh, just last year and forced to leave this world forever. But Ryou knew better than to think that, even as he had woken up to his friends' smiling faces, hearing them tell him that he didn't have to worry, that the tomb robber was gone for good this time.

 

The magic that tied his other half to this world was a magic darker than that of the Pharaoh, and deeper. Yugi could survive without the Pharaoh, but Ryou would die without the tomb robber. He didn't know how he knew this; he was only certain that his darker self would return. And he was right; barely a month had passed when he began feeling that stir in the back of his mind, when his blackouts began again.

 

Yami no Bakura had returned, but Ryou wasn't so sure that was a bad thing. Maybe his darker half mistreated him, but he somehow felt safer, more complete, when he was around. So he told the darker half all that had happened, that after his defeat, the Pharaoh had gone on to fight his own host, Yugi Mutou. Yugi had defeated him, and the Pharaoh had departed from the living world for good. There was no response, but Ryou knew his darker half had heard him.

 

Now, almost a year later, he walked home through a chilly, cloud-covered October day, trying his best to pry open his new possession to no avail. The locket wouldn't open, no matter what he tried, and he couldn't use magic. With a sigh, he shoved in his pocket. He could worry about it later. For now, he had to focus on getting home before the rain caught up to him.

 

* * *

 

Night had fallen on the town, and only the dim glow of the streetlamps and the brief flashes of lightning lit the rain-beaten road. Thunder crashed as a fork of lightning came down, and with it came a quite unrelated crack as someone appeared out of thin air in front of the pawn shop. The teenage boy, dressed in jeans and a dark hooded jacket, looked normal, but anyone who would have seen him appear in the middle of the road would know he wasn't.

 

He was a wizard, given a mission and trying his best to carry it out. Squinting at the closed pawn shop through rain-fogged glasses, he pulled his hood lower, as much to hide his face as to keep the rain away. It wouldn't do for the Muggle law enforcement to catch him. He had too much to do.

 

“Alohomora,” he whispered, pointing a thin wooden wand at the pawn shop door. The door swung open as easily as if it had been pushed open, though it had been locked tight just a second earlier. The boy hissed in relief as no burglar alarm sounded and stepped through the door.

 

He had to find that locket. All his hopes rested on it.

 

* * *

 

The next day was also a rainy one, the kind that was meant to be spent indoors. It was also a Monday, which meant Ryou had no choice but to spend it indoors. Yet as he sat in class, staring out the window as the teacher droned on about the cell structure of plants, he wished he was at home. The mystery of the pendant called to him, and he wanted to find out what was magical about it. He sensed it was a powerful magic, and he was beginning to worry more about it being cursed. His mother had been an accomplished witch, but she had died several years ago. Surely she would have known how to open the locket and find out its secrets. Suddenly, Ryou began to miss her more than ever.

 

The bell rang, and Ryou jumped, having completely lost track of time. “Class dismissed,” the teacher said, and the students around him began to gather their books and filter out. Ryou sighed as he copied their movements. Three more classes, and then he could go home.

 

“Hey, Bakura-kun!” called a cheerful voice as he stepped into the hall. He turned to find Yugi dodging people until he reached him, a big smile on his face. “Ready for that quiz Yamashita-sensei is giving this period?”

 

Outwardly, Ryou smiled and nodded, but he felt like slapping himself. He had forgotten all about that quiz in his sudden obsession with the locket. But he couldn't tell Yugi that; the younger boy wasn't a true wizard, and he had no idea how common magic truly was.

 

Yugi kept babbling as they headed to the next class, but Ryou didn't pay attention to him. Underneath his school uniform, the Ring was stirring again, one of the pointers trying to rise up. He pushed it down gently, trying to look inconspicuous, and quickened his pace. There was someone else in the area. Another wizard.

 

“Hey, where are you going?” Yugi called as the white-haired boy trotted right past their classroom.

 

“Sorry,” he called over his shoulder. “There's something I have to do.”

 

It wasn't much of an excuse, but the tomb robber didn't care. As soon as the thought of another wizard had crossed Ryou's mind, the ancient spirit had taken over. He didn't care if his other self was written up for skipping school; he didn't care much for modern life in the first place. This was far more important, and Ryou would only screw it up if he were in control.

 

Without a thought to the rain, he ripped the front of the uniform open, freeing the Ring so that it was free to point in the direction of the wizard. One golden point lifted up and to the left, glowing faintly as it did, and the tomb robber smirked as he started in that direction at a trot. Yugi and the others believed that all the magic had gone out of the Sennen Items, and maybe that was for the other six. But the Ring was special. As long he had it, as long as his soul was stored in it, it would hold on to its magic.

 

The Ring led him into an alley, and then across a street and through a deserted lot. Keeping his gaze more on its points than on the road ahead, he ran along, passing through an unfamiliar section of Domino City and then entering more familiar areas, even passing by the library. As he did, another pointer lifted to join the first, and the tomb robber arched an eyebrow. So…there were two strange wizards in town today.

 

He hadn't gone but ten paces when a third pointer rose, and he slowed to a cautious walk. He was close now, and there were three potentially dangerous people close by. Getting into a fight was not what he wanted at the moment, though he was confident he could defeat them.

 

A shout from ahead reached his ears, and he stepped back into the shadows of a nearby alley, peering through the rain as a hooded form ran towards him. The figure turned almost at a right angle and darted into the same alley, seeming to take no notice of the tomb robber. One of the Ring's pointers followed him around, still pointing at him as he hastily hid behind a dumpster. Two other figures ran past a few seconds later, both wearing cloaks as well as hoods, and the other two pointers followed them as they left, disappearing through the curtain of rain without a second's hesitation at the alley.

 

“Bakamono,” he snorted. “Kurooku ni kite iru…”

 

The boy behind the dumpster jumped, apparently noticing him for the first time. “I-I'm sorry, sir,” he said, coming out from hiding place. “I don't understand you.”

 

The tomb robber lifted an eyebrow at him, puzzled by the British accent. “I called them fools,” he explained in English. “For wearing cloaks. It's not normal clothing for non-wizards.”

 

The boy's eyes widened as he studied the tomb robber. “You're a wizard?” he gasped.

 

“No, I'm Santa Claus.”

 

The boy scowled at the retort but otherwise ignored it. “Then maybe you can help me. My name's Harry Potter, and I'm looking for an item. A locket, more specifically.”

 

The tomb robber studied him intently. He recognized the name; any wizard would. Most admired him for stopping an evil wizard, but the tomb robber was more interest in a different facet of that tale. “You're the boy who survived an Avada Kedavra?”

 

Harry's face hardened a little more, but he nodded once.

 

“How?”

 

“I don't know! Look, if you can't help me, I have to go. Those Death Eaters will be back soon, and I have to find that locket before they do.” He turned away to start down the alley.

 

“What's so special about this locket?” the tomb robber asked.

 

Harry paused and turned back with a hopeful look. “You'll help me?”

 

“I didn't say that. I asked what was so special about the locket.”

 

The boy paused, an inner conflict visible in his eyes. But his need to find the locket overrode any voice of caution, and he explained, “It used to belong to a very powerful wizard named Salazar Slytherin. It was passed down through his family, and his last remaining descendant turned it into a Horcrux.” He hesitated there. “Do you…do you know what a Horcrux is?”

 

The tomb robber smirked, running a thumb along the curve of his Ring. “Yes, I know what a Horcrux is. So you want to kill this descendant of Slytherin, ne?”

 

The boy stiffened. “I don't want to,” he snapped. “But…but I have to. Voldemort had done so much already…he has to be stopped.”

 

“Voldemort?” A note of glee entered the tomb robber's voice, but Harry didn't notice as he continued.

 

“This locket is only a piece of the puzzle. Voldemort created six Horcruxes so that his soul would be in seven parts, the wizard's lucky number. Two have already been destroyed, and I spent all summer and half of autumn tracking down this locket. I have three more to find after this, and time is running out. Please, help me!”

 

The tomb robber chuckled, a low, evil sound that made the boy step back in apprehension. “Imagine that,” he said. “I hold the soul of the supposed most powerful wizard on Earth.” He grinned at Harry. “You think I'd give that up, boy? You're asking the wrong person for help!”

 

Still chuckling, he turned and left the alley, leaving behind a frustrated and half-frightened young man. The rain poured down even harder as he walked along the street, directing his footsteps towards home. He wouldn't be able to find the school again from here, and it would probably already be over by the time he reached it anyways.

 

The two cloaked figures from before appeared through the rain in front of him, coming his direction. “You!” one said in a rough, low-pitched woman's voice as she stopped in front of him, blocking his path. “Have you seen a boy pass through here?”

 

“Can't say I have,” the tomb robber replied nonchalantly, stepping to the side to pass her.

 

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him back, pointing her wand at him as she did. “Don't play with me, boy,” she snarled. “There's no one else out today in this godforsaken town. You must have seen him!”

 

“You don't play with me,” he snapped, now thoroughly irritated. “Don't think I'll be intimidated by a stick; I'm not going to tell you anything. You annoy me too much.”

 

The woman's face paled in fury under its cowl, and she raised the wand a little higher. “Cru—“

 

Before she could finish, the tomb robber activated the magic of the Ring. With just a thought, he grabbed their minds and shoved them back. Both cloaked figures collapsed into unconsciousness, and the tomb robber continued on his way without another thought to them.

 

He had to get home and get dry before his landlord got sick.

 

* * *

 

Like? Don't like? Leave a review, please! This fic is gonna be rather short, and I'd like some feedback. See ya next time!