Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ With and Without You ❯ Chapter 1

AU YGO

Title: Without You

Imagine Yami without his faithful Dark Magician? Hah, not likely! Still, in another universe, perhaps there are changes made….

Chapter 1

 

It was all Akunadin's fault. A lot of things were the old man's fault. He had created the Sennen Items, after all, and he was… well, how to put it? Power-hungry, he wanted his own son Seto on the throne, but Prince Yami did not know this.

He did know, that when they were still children, Akunadin had sent Mahaado away. Mahaado had been his only friend, a priest-in-training and a magician. But he hadn't been especially good, as he was only eight or nine at that time.

Yami had been six….

But he knew enough to hate his uncle for it.

Now though, it was ten years later. Yami was lonely - he spent most of his time studying magic or with monsters he called up from the shadow realm. It wasn't right, but his Father was not going to stop him. Pharaoh Akunumkanon had more pressing things to worry about…Such as the spate of thievery that had spread like a plague over the land. Rich priests and merchants were found wandering around, dazed and confused, their most valuable artifact - usually something gold and gaudy, missing.

It was always the same thing.

 

Priest Donkor wielded the Millennium Ring, but even the charmed Item was failing to respond to his call - and he'd only had it for six months. For some reason or another, all who tried to wield the Ring usually wound up insane or dead within a year… it was most distressing.

Still, the Items had been made as a set and were supposed to be together for the good of Egypt…

 

It was difficult, but he didn't care. It was dangerous, but he didn't care. If he ran into trouble, there was no one who would save him, but he honestly did not care any more.

Yami's illusions made his hair look black and straight and hid the unnatural ruby of his eyes behind soft brown. In his robes he might as well have been some small child… a teen off for a night of drinking with his friends…

But he had another intent in mind tonight. Priest Donkor had been carried off to the Healers, and no one had bothered to take the Ring. So he had. It was tucked into his satchel, hidden… he could feel darkness rolling off it, not the calm dark of the shadows, but something different, virulent and bloody…

The pointers were all pointing in one direction. Admittedly, Yami had some slight misgivings about entering a brothel, but…

Well, it was for the good of Egypt, right?

 

The woman at the door accepted his coins without question and ushered him into a room. A moment later, a teen entered. Long purple hair fell almost to his waist and his eyes were paler than ice, but Yami could feel dark power lurking beneath…. And an odd sense of almost familiarity…

“What would you like for me to do, my lord?”

Yami flushed uncomfortably. “Um…”

Eyes widened slightly in understanding. “Shh….” And before Yami knew what was happening, he was being kissed, or was he doing the kissing? He wasn't sure, but it felt so right….

And then the situation seemed to slam into his skull. He was about to make out with a male prostitute he didn't even know and he had to get back to the palace soon! Why hadn't he just delivered the Ring?

It was glowing. The other might not have noticed, but Yami did…

Wait a minute…

 

Now that he really thought of it, he could see that things really weren't what they seemed. Everything here was… illusion? It couldn't be! But just in case, he formed the glyphs of the Cancel spell firmly in his mind.

And the building, no, the room, and even the figure sitting across from him all… wavered.

 

Startled dark blue eyes beneath a shock of white-blonde hair met his. “P-Prince…!” Prince? Who would know? Who but…

“M-Mahaado?” He gasped. Well, finding your one time friend in a brothel working as a male prostitute does tend to send one into shock, although if what he'd perceived as true was true… Mahaado hadn't done anything but kiss him, though the way his mind was spinning, it certainly felt like they'd gone all the way and then some.

So Mahaado had been learning magic on his own…

“Prince….” His friend refused to meet his eyes and from the way he seemed to be flickering, Yami sensed a teleport spell. Oh no!

“Kunai with Chain!”
Mahaado gave a surprised cry, but he should have expected it. “P-Prince…”

“Mahaado, please I just want to talk. Nothing else.” Yami said. The older boy looked wary, but finally nodded.

 

Yami took a deep breath and sat back down on the bed. “I never knew why Uncle sent you away… I have so much to ask you…”

Mahaado gave an ironic smile. “We have all the time in the world, Prince.”

It was only then that Yami looked outside the window and noticed that everything outside had stopped. “Even the heavens have gone still… Mahaado, I always thought you had potential, but I never expected…”

“I know. Neither did I.” Mahaado frowned. “Now what's that glowing item? Did you bring it with you?”

Hesitantly, Yami withdrew the Ring… the pointers lit up, jangling madly. Without a word, Mahaado took it from him with trembling fingers, giving an almost audible sigh of relief as he slipped it over his head. Instantly, the clatter stilled.

Perplexing…

 

“Mahaado?”

Mahaado's eyes snapped back to Yami's. “Thank you.” He whispered. They both watched, as the Ring seemed to still its clatter. Mahaado smiled absentmindedly, tracing the golden magic with a smile.

It was beautiful, and he felt like it belonged... felt like it was what he had been missing… how odd, how very strange, but it had a similar feeling to the thief he'd killed years back, oh, so long ago, before the illusions were strong enough.

He could feel dark magic coiling in his blood to match the excited pulse of the Item. How very intriguing…

“Mahaado?”

“I'm sorry, my Prince. My mind wandered.”

“Well, how did you end up doing …this?” Yami finally managed to ask, trying to cover his blushing and stammers, although not very successfully. Mahaado gave a light laugh in response.

“I didn't. It's only an illusion, as you've broken it admirably, though I daresay you still felt some of the effects. I don't sleep with anyone I don't want to, and I haven't ever wanted to sleep with anyone. I've been… well, I suppose you could call it stealing, for after all, I knew enough illusion to make people think I had money… and they pay well for the dreams I spin here…”

Yami nodded. He couldn't exactly fault Mahaado for that.

“And my power got stronger, as I practiced… and my ka… well, that helped too…”

“You managed to summon your ka?”

“Would you like to see?”

Yami nodded. Mahaado concentrated and a tiny figure in black armor holding a little green staff appeared. The Prince choked back his laughter, but something warned him that there was much more than could be seen…

Still, it was a strong soul that could call out their Ka, for although almost everyone had Ka, they just couldn't use or see it, and Mahaado couldn't have possibly learned that much. He had only been a child when he'd left… er, been banished, but that wasn't Yami's fault.

 

There was a sound of footsteps on the stairs. Running footsteps. Yami tensed. It looked like the guards had gotten wind of his escape, and he had cancelled his own illusion spells when Mahaado's illusions had gone down… the fixed positions of the constellations outside might have something to do with it as well though…

The door burst open, and Yami moved, but Mahaado was faster - well, his Ka was already out. Instantly, circles of magic snapped around the waists of the four guards, and, to Yami's surprise, High Priest Seto as well.

Yami blinked. That was definitely Shadow magic, the magic of Ka and monsters, but… it felt slightly different.

“Spell-Binding Circle.” Mahaado said calmly.

 

Seto looked enraged. “Dios!” There was a flash and the sword-wielding… vaguely human-shaped thing with wings appeared. Yami sucked in a breath. Dios was strong, and even though Mahaado was… stronger than he had expected, and definitely stronger than some random passerby off the streets, he was going to lose, wasn't he?

Dios charged. Mahaado smirked. His Magician immediately vanished under four odd headdresses of the strangest dark color.

Glaring, Seto's monster slashed through first one hat, than another, without success. The third hat…

What was revealed was a pool of darkness. The Magician appeared with a sly smile, wagging a finger, though it was a chibi.

And that was when the force of all Seto's attacks came through and hit his Ka, sending it pooling into smoke and nothingness. Seto clutched at his chest in pain, having just lost quite a few life points, dropping his ba gauge.

“Mahaado! Stop that!” Yami said.

The blue eyes that rose to meet his widened, and their owner nodded. “My apologies, my Prince…”

Set took a good look at the person now. He wore a white tunic and short kilt, no jewelry of any kind, but around his neck dangled the Millennium Ring…

Strangely enough, this youth seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had been an opponent in the past?

 

Yami nodded. “Let them go, then.”

Mahaado's Ka glowed green for a second, and then vanished, along with all the spells that had been cast. He inclined his head to Yami.

“And who is this?” Seto asked. “When… we saw what had happened outside the palace, and especially since it was discovered you were missing, Uncle got a little worried about you, dear Cousin…”

“I'm fine.” Yami said, with a bit of an irritated glare. Mahaado certainly wasn't going to spill his secrets with Seto around. They'd never been friends…

Explanations, though, would have to wait until they got back to the palace…

 

End Chapter

Completed 10/17/05