Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Two In A Million ❯ The Sacred Key ( Prologue )

Two in a Million ~ The Sacred Key

"Find the thief! Someone has stolen the Sacred Key!"

He ran as quickly as he could through the forest, his long blonde hair whipped behind him. He jumped down the ridge, bare feet landing in the rotted leaves of last fall. If they found him, he would be killed. The sun was just rising; the dragon would be unable to come to his aid. He would not be caught. They were still in the temple, and he was faster than anyone else there. Only the dragons could catch him, and they would not be looking for him. They had bigger problems they had to deal with. "Katsuya!"

He glanced over his shoulder at the angry call, seeing the girl dressed in priestess robes and with blue eyes and long brown hair. In her hand was a recently used long bow. The samurai saw all this in the instant before the arrow embedded itself in his left shoulder. He fell to the ground, watching as the priestess walked steadily to him. "Lady Azuka," he gasped as she stopped next to his fallen form. "Why?"

"You are a traitor to this temple. Now you will die a traitor's death." He could hear loud, angry voices coming closer to them. Cold realization flashed through his eyes as he stared up at her; however, he was too weak to speak. He could feel his life ebbing out of his wound. "Over here! I found the thief!"

"I'm not…" he gasped for breath, "a thief." Lady Azuka smirked down at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Yuki, they have caught the man who dared to steal the Sacred Key. They are bringing him here to be burned," the priestess Dragon told him. Yuki thought the tan pants had suited her brother much better. Her dark blue eyes showed a great pity he did not understand; she seemed saddened by the thief's capture.

"Good. When they return the Key to me, it shall never leave my side again." For centuries the temple and the four dragons had kept the key safe. Now it seemed the Guardian would once again have to wear it and keep it with him always. The only way to protect the Sacred Key. The incident never should have happened in the first place.

"Yuki, there is something you should know." She sounded so serious, and he immediately became concerned. Had one of their own betrayed them? "The thief was found by Lady Azuka. He was shot and is already half-dead." She was dancing around the truth and apprehension grew like a weed within him. He wished she would get to the point. "Yuki, the traitor is -"

"Katsuya is nothing more than a thief and a traitor." Yuki turned towards the Dragon of the North as he marched into the room. His light blue eyes were filled with compassion as they meet Yuki's. Behind him came four of the guard, carrying a stretcher between them where lay the wounded Dragon in silent agony. "I am sorry, Yuki," the Dragon told him in a quiet whisper as he handed the Key over.

"Are you proud of me?" Azuka asked, walking over to grab Yuki's hand. "I managed to catch the betrayer on my own." He did not respond to her; he was still staring disbelievingly at the other Dragon's bloody body as breath came in staccato hitches. She frowned and snapped at the guards. "Get his body ready." The guards began the arduous task of transferring the warrior to the pyre as Yuki's eyes hazed over slightly.

"Serenity, be careful!" The cry brought him back to the present moment. He watched as the blind girl stumbled into the room, immediately followed by her caretaker.

The girl ran into one of the guards, and he steadied her in his arms. "What are you doing to my brother?" she cried, pounding on the guard's chest, and desperately trying to get away. Yuki watched her as she cut herself on one of the guard's weapons; his heart twinged in sympathy.

The girl's caretaker approached her and gently pulled her off the guard, cradling the girl's injured hand. "Serenity, I am still here for you." The warrior's younger sister collapsed into the arms of the woman, sobbing loudly.

The Dragon of the North's younger brother, a kitchen boy of the temple, came to stand next to his brother as the guards piled logs onto the pyre. He tugged at his older brother's sleeve. "Niisan, isn't he still breathing?"

"Yes. They are going to burn the Dragon alive," the priest said. Serenity's caretaker held the girl tighter. "The proper death for a traitor to the Sacred Order. The honor will go to Yuki, Guardian of the Key."

One of the guards passed Yuki a torch, gesturing for him to light the wood surrounding the boy. Yuki stepped closer to the pyre. He looked down upon the boy 's pain, and Katsuya stared up at him through unfocused eyes. "Yuki," he said painfully as a tear rolled free.

Yuki closed his eyes as he reached out to grab the warrior's clasped hands. He slowly let go of them, backing away as he lit the wood. The flames leapt to devour the boy's body, and the stench of burning flesh quickly filled the room. "Goodbye, Katsuya," he whispered as Serenity's cry filled the air, and the kitchen boy clutched at his brother's hand in fear. "Til eternity, I will remember you in my heart."

A loud roar filled the air, causing those gathered to cover their ears, immediately followed by a louder, more distressed one. "The dragon is crying. I am surprised it came this far to mourn for a traitor."

The priest and priestess rushed outside, unable to watch the boy burn, and anxious to make sure the dragon didn't attack.

The dragon of the West sat on the western wall of the temple, gleaming blood-red in the noon sunlight. The dragon reared on its hind legs as they watched, letting out a howl of agony to the sky.

The answering call came from behind them, tormented and painful to the ears. It was the second call they had heard first. The Dragon's turned to the source, gazing up at the dragon of the East. The golden dragon loosed another painful howl, twisting its neck from side to side and thrashing its tail violently. People not quick enough to get out of the way screamed in fear and terror. The dragon of the West took flight, still singing its mournful song as the wind tore at their clothing. The dragon of the East cried again, a mournful cry of loss and agony. The Dragons watched in bewilderment as the golden dragon turned to ashen gray, from the tip of its tail to the crown of his head.

Inside, the Guardian of the Sacred Key watched as the Dragon of the West burned to ashes, unable to turn away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuugi had been having the dream recently too much for his liking. And three nights in a row was just too much. It was late, but it was early. He really needed to talk to someone about his dream, and his family would kill him if he woke any of them up at this hour. So he did the only thing he knew he could safely do at the time. Call Jounouchi. Thankfully, he had a phone right beside his bed, and his friend's number was programmed into speed-dial five.

He expected it to take forever for him to pick up the phone; generally nothing short of a hurricane would wake the other boy. "Moshi moshi." He did not sound happy to have been woken up. Yuugi was just glad he had answered the phone and not his father.

"Jounouchi-kun, I had that dream again," he said, twirling a pen in his free hand. "The one with the dragon swallowing the key." He hoped Jounouchi would have words of wisdom to offer him. The dream was really beginning to disturb him.

"First, I have a question for you. Have you solved any puzzles recently?"

"Well, no," he admitted, dropping the pen. Such an odd question.

"Then I don't think we have anything to worry about." Good point. "I'll make you a deal. We'll talk about it on the bus to the temple."

That was right. They were going on a field trip to the temple. "Okay," he agreed. The temple was at least a half hour away from the school.

"See you in a few hours."

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