Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Prophecy ❯ Dreams ( Prologue )

It's an AU- (Alternate Universe for newbies) so even though (hopefully) all of them will be here. Expect quite a few differences.

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Joey and Serenity brightly replied “Hi dad,” to their father's “I'm home,”

Their mother came out of the kitchen to give their father a kiss and said, “How was your day, honey?”

“Pretty good, I'll be busy tonight though,”

Their mother sighed and the two children just nodded their heads, their father being a busy police officer he usually was unavailable at most times. They had come to accept it. “So did you all sleep well last night?” he asked shedding his coat and relaxing in the easy chair, which was always kept aside for him.

Serenity's mouth was too full so she just nodded an assent. Joey just stopped his hand midway to his mouth and was lost in a flood of memories. `When did it start? The dreams…last week, but I seem to know him too well. I feel like I've known him forever. Or perhaps they are just dreams? But they seem so real, the first one… '

He closed his eyes and remembered it

I was walking around on the beach wondering where I was. Last thing I remembered I had been tucked up safely in his bed but, `We're definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto,' I thought. Then I frowned, the wind brought to me the sounds of sobs. I looked around me, left, right, even down and up but I couldn't place the direction the sound was coming from. I decided to call out, “Hello? Who's there?” the noise abruptly stopped after that.

I scanned the surrounding area, just a clump of trees, they looked like they might broaden into a forest so I carefully went over and I immediately saw him. He was sobbing again but silently, I could just barely see what he looked like, I couldn't see anything specific, like the color of his eyes or hair, the shadows hugged him too close; I suspected then that the shadows held me in their grasp too but I didn't really care. He was really tall and quite thin. Too thin for comfort, so to say, and very vulnerable.

`That was when I wanted to hold him and promise that all his troubles would go away'

The midnight blue water matched the sky above and made soft soothing noises as it lapped up onto the shore. I called out an awkward hello. The boy looked up and started to talk, “Who are you? I thought I was the only one who could come here!” I was starting to get irritated when the shape hugged itself I replied instead “Hi, I'm Joey. I've no idea how I came here really, do you?”

`That was when I wanted to lay him to sleep and stay beside him to warm him for always.'

The shape peered at him, probably a boy, I decided from his voice. He hesitantly answered, “It probably has something to do with our dreams, did you come here while you thought you were sleeping?”

I nodded, he seemed satisfied that his theory was right, “What's your name?” I asked

“What's it to you?” the boy asked immediately mistrustful

“Whoa, don't blow up in my face man, just asking,” I replied stepping back with my hands in front of me as if to show that I had no weapons.

The boy shook his head, “You don't need to know,”

I had gotten slightly annoyed and muttered, “I should call you a mule then, you certainly seem to have the characteristics,”

The boy blushed, “Alright, I'm sorry. Call me Adofo,” he sounded apologetic and the guard from before had seemed more of a reflex.

`That was when I simply pitied him,'

I questioned him, “Your name's Adofo?”

He answered amusedly, “Nope, I just asked you to call me that,” he then patted the place next to him as an invitation for me to sit down.

“Good answer,” I shrugged it off with a smile and went and sat beside him. I picked some strawberries and pears that were growing; it occurred to me a moment later that they shouldn't have been found here. I asked him about it, he said, “Apparently neither season nor climate matters in this place. Often enough time doesn't either.

“ Sometimes when I've wanted to be in a sunny place I've come here in the night and seen myself wandering in the day.”

After that I picked a lot of those fruits and some more as well. I was hungry.

We talked for a long time (mostly about me. Every time I asked him a question he clammed up or was deliberately vague) until he started yawning, I asked him whether he knew how to go back. He shook his head sleepily and said, “I just go to sleep here and when I'm awake I'm back in the house” I noted the use of `the house' instead of `my house' but I didn't comment.

At some following time he snuggled up to me and fell asleep in my lap, I pushed his bangs of hair away from his eyes and stroked his forehead, just waiting for sleep to overtake me.

`That was when I truly started caring for him,'

“Joey!” he finally heard his dad's yell and jumped up, “Who died? Shall I get an ambulance?” he demanded as soon as he came back from his self-induced trance.

He saw his mother and his sister giggling at his deliberate joke and his dad just shaking his head and muttering something though Joey seriously doubted that his dad meant anything by it. “Wild Racers is on bro!” Serenity chirped

Joey mentally rolled his eyes, `I've seen that thing so many times I can quote every word that Joseph says in any episode, and probably Rob's too. I just want to go to sleep and see him; because of him nowadays I want to go to sleep early. My friends would think I'm crazy if I told them.'

Aloud he said, “I think I'll just go to bed, Soccer Club really took it out of me.”

Both his parents and his sister mock-gasped in horror, “Are you alright, my son?” his mother demanded, “Are you sure that you haven't come down with something?” his dad asked at the same time

His sister asked with mock horror, “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

He smiled slightly, “No, seriously now, Mother, Dad, Serenity. I'm going to bed. Good Night.” Saying which he firmly stepped to the stairs. He heard a chorus of “Good Night!” from downstairs when he was about midway up and he smiled fondly. `Where would I be without my family?'

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Seto sighed in pure bliss as he collapsed on to the sofa. The movers had not done very badly, only two sofa's had gotten damaged and one bookcase. “So how was your day, big bro?” Mokuba enquired with a smile

“One word- terrible!” replied Seto

“That's three words,” shot back Mokuba falling into their little verbal fight with ease

“Who's counting?” Seto asked in an exaggeratedly tired voice

Mokuba sighed in an exaggeratedly exasperated voice “You've just been having too much chocolate in coffee lately,”

“Do you have some? Oh goody” Seto said when Mokuba handed him a cup

“Mind you, that things got…” Mokuba started to say when he realized that Seto had already found out what it had, or rather didn't have.

“Are you trying to poison me?” spluttered Seto with coffee all over him, “You know I never have coffee without sugar!”

“Yes, I do know that you're a sugar junkie, Seto…” Mokuba was once again not allowed to finish his sentence

“Who said I'm a sugar junkie? I just like sugar that's all…” Seto's voice trailed off

“I believe you,” Mokuba replied in that special tone reserved to mean, `I'm just humoring you,'

Seto shook his head and smiled, “How did your day go?”

Mokuba shrugged, “It was okay if you count out that I didn't have a single piece of furniture to sit on…otherwise everything was all hunky dory”

Seto mock-winced, “Now you're giving sarcasm a bad name,”

“Who says I was being sarcastic?” Mokuba countered with a too-innocent look

Seto smiled again and hugged Mokuba. Mokuba returned the hug fully but after a moment Seto broke away with a regretful sigh and said, “You should go to bed Mokuba, I have some work to finish before I can sleep,”

Mokuba shook his head vehemently, “I'll sleep over here then, but I still think you should take an early night today, you're going to be driving both of us over a thousand miles tomorrow.”

“I know, I just need half-an-hour to fix everything up,” replied Seto just barely suppressing a yawn

While Mokuba noted it he didn't comment on it, he just said “Goodnight” and taking a blanket from the small pile of things that hadn't been taken by the movers the day before he snuggled up to his brother on the sofa and pretended to fall asleep. In truth however, his mind was in too much of turmoil for him to go to sleep.

Gozaboru, Mokuba grimaced just at the thought of his name; before that monster had died he knew his brother had had to do a lot of things to protect him though he did not know exactly what they were. Now that he was dead they were moving to some small town called Domino.

For some obscure reason the heading company of Kaiba Corps. was situated there but Mokuba suspected that his brother's motivations for going there, `or rather leaving here' he thought; were far from that simple.

Seto's fingers fidgeted on top of the keyboard of his laptop, his blue eyes gazing unseeingly at the screen. It was true that he had a lot of work to do but; Seto sighed, `How can I work when all I can think about is that? Those dreams seemed a boon at first…I thought that Joey coming would spoil it all but he's just too nice. And innocent,' his mind added for him.

`He told me his name though he doesn't know me from Adam. And I actually like him; he always takes care of me when I'm crying which is every other day. Not that he has a reason to, after all most of the time I can't even give a proper reason for my tears. I know Gozaboru's dead, he can't hurt me anymore, never again!'

But in his heart Seto couldn't really believe that, he still woke up every day in dread, `But every night when I meet him he gives me a little more hope… like the third time, when I was still wary of him…' he closed off a part of his mind which was working mechanically on the paperwork he had to do and with the rest of his mind he remembered

I was poking around cautiously; there was no sign of the clown with the bottomless black hole he had christened his stomach. Curiously enough I was slightly disappointed, just slightly because I knew that I would have the whole place to myself again, “So how are ya?” or maybe not…I answered him, “I'm in one piece, if that's what you are asking,” somehow he always brings forward this defensive mechanism of mine that makes me very sarcastic. He also destroys it pretty easily, like he demonstrated on the first day of our meeting. He casually threw off his jacket and shirt because the night was pretty hot, I supposed.

“That's good isn't it? Cheer up!” he said cheerfully, I am always awed by his thick-skinned ways.

Maybe I forgot to mention it before but he can also make me feel pretty uncomfortable with the nasty things I say to him; making me more disposed to be nice, I sighed and mentally prepared for a migraine, “How are you?” I asked willing myself to be cool.

“Ah! Life's looking good,” he answered with his trademark smile. Somehow I can always see what he's doing but I can't really see him. I wondered whether this was some problem with me or he saw it too, and as usual being so (too) eager to analyze things as I am, I asked him.

His brow furrowed, “Oh, so it ain't just me then? That's nice to know,”

I tried, I really tried to resist the urge to correct his grammar but I couldn't, “There's no such word as `ain't',” I informed him, “You can use `isn't' or use two words with no apostrophe; you shouldn't use `am not' in that context anyway.”

He grinned sheepishly, “O.K. Prof,”

I got mad then, I may be a little overbearing sometimes, all right- a lot overbearing but wasn't Prof going a bit too far? I started to give him a piece of my mind. I swear, I even thought he was listening!

Until he rolled his eyes and picking me up, dropped me straight into the sea. I nearly screamed in terror and I did splash around a lot but I kept my head and tried to swim back in. In spite of that the tide was against me and I could only tread water for so long.

I was surprised when I felt him grab me by the waist and tell me, “Just hang on, understood? I'll get us back to the beach,” he had some strange authority in his voice at the time and I had to listen to him. He got us both back into shore but I felt so cold, my hands and feet were nearly numb; I felt so wretched- because of the forest we couldn't even light a fire.

I ignored it and instead asked him how I had gotten so far out because it had been a good ten minutes, I was sure, before he had gotten us back in. He motioned for me to sit down, which I did, and said, “You were hitting out pretty hard when I dropped you in; you got confused, I think, and started swimming in the wrong direction. You swam out to sea instead of coming back in.” he sighed, “I'm really very sorry, I shouldn't ha…”

Well, I couldn't just let him apologize like that, could I? Sure, he was the one who had dropped me in but I was the one stupid enough to swim in the wrong direction and he had saved me. “It's fine,” I told him. Only I don't think I quite managed, my teeth were chattering way too hard. He screwed up his eyes and looked at me.

“You're wet through,” he informed me as if I didn't know

My turn to roll my eyes, “In case you didn't notice,” I began but I never ended. He had picked up his shirt and jacket from where he had dropped it before and draped it over me; I was surprised and touched. I began again, “You don't have to…” but he didn't let me finish that either. “Nonsense,” he said and hugged me close, to share body heat maybe. I didn't know and I didn't care, he felt so warm and the crook of his neck was so cozy.

The third time I'd met him, the second time I'd fallen asleep practically in his lap. Not a bad record for someone who has the `intense pleasure' of being known as the school antisocial.

Seto noticed with some surprise and gratefulness that his work was finished. He painstakingly proofread it and then sent it off. He couldn't get up and get a blanket because his brother was supported by him and would wake up if he got up `Even so,' Seto thought with a mental smile, `I don't think I'll be cold tonight,'

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