Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ With the Wind at My Back ❯ Enter the Lord of Dragons ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own anything of Yu-Gi-Oh! Nothing at all. And that hurts. It really does... So much... Excuse me while I go curl up in a corner and cry.

Extra Warning/Disclaimer: I never thought I'd have to say this, but it appears I do. While the characters in this fic are not mine, the concept of this story is. All these scenes that you see? My ideas, folks. Therefore, they belong to me, not you. Do not use my story to create your own. You wanna do a medieval YGO! fic? Fine. Don't use scenes from my story in it, though! Even if you don't copy my story word for word, that's still plagiarism, and it's still illegal. Not to mention cheap.

Author's Notes: Beware falling AU! Medieval AU, at that. How am I going to mix the Egyptian history with Medieval fantasy? You'll see. After all, Takahashi-sensei managed to mix in Egyptian history/mythology with modern day Japan, didn't he? As for people calling Sugoroku "old sir," well, that stems from the fact that everyone calls him, "Jiisan," on the show (except Yugi, who calls him "Jiichan."). I figured, "old sir," is a decent translation for it.

Chapter Five: Enter the Lord of Dragons

Shizuka Jounouchi hadn't been born blind. In fact, it had only been a year and a half ago that she had lost her sight completely. None of the healers in the kingdom, even the best, had been able to help. It was beyond their medical capabilities. At the time, it had angered her older brother and frightened her. But now that her sight was gone completely, she found that it wasn't nearly as horrible as she thought it was going to be. Not so very suffocating.

Shizuka was even pleased to notice how her other senses had made up for her lack of sight. Her hands felt textures that were invisible to her when she could still see them. She could suddenly distinguish what each smell that past under her nose was, pleasant or not. And it took a great effort on anyone's part to sneak up on her, since her hearing had sharpened to such a distinct degree.

So, Shizuka was spending the rest of the evening out in the courtyard of the castle. It didn't much matter to her that the sun was nearly gone. The only thing she took notice of was that it was slightly colder than before. But Honda would arrive soon enough to bring her inside. He was sweet to her like that.

Absently, she reached out a hand, smiling with surprise when a bird settled down on her palm. She had expected them all to have flown off to their nests at this late hour.

"Perhaps," she whispered to the little bird, "you're out late waiting for someone, too."

The bird twittered in response, and flew off.

Shizuka sat alone on the stone bench for a while after that, enjoying the calm solitude. If anyone else had been there, they would've later sworn they only heard the crickets. But there were more layers in the night that the blind girl could see.

"Sir Honda," she smiled, straightening her back.

"Shizuka." Her voice caused the knight to stop on the stone path for only a moment, before continuing towards her. When she had first started to detect people approaching her it had unnerved him. But now Honda found her sensitive hearing to be flattering, in a strange way. It was somehow nice knowing that she knew just how he walked. "You should go in. It's getting cold. And Jounouchi has come back."

To that, she lifted her head. "Big brother?"

"Yeah," Honda nodded. "Just a few minutes ago. With a... Well, forget that."

Shizuka frowned at the unfinished sentence. "With what?"

"It's nothing," he assured her, helping her to her feet. "Nothing to think on."

"Sir Honda," she pleaded, gripping his hand. "Please, tell me. If it has anything to do with my brother-"

"I'm sure it doesn't," Honda said, feeling awful about her sad face.

"-Or Anzu," Shizuka added, "I want to know about it."

"Anzu," he repeated, the idea swirling in his head. "I never thought of that possibility," he admitted.

"Please, tell me, Sir Honda," she nearly begged, tightening her grip on his hand slightly.

Honda could only look at her sorrowful, pleading expression for a few moments before caving. "Jounouchi came back with a Black Forest Witch."

"A what?" Shizuka's blind eyes widened. "Whatever for?"

"I don't know, really," he said. "She's to meet the king, that's all I know."

"How curious," Shizuka jutted her jaw, pondering.

"Come now," Honda said, gently pulling her towards the castle. "Let's go talk to your brother. Maybe he can shed some light on the subject."

The next day was almost painfully bright out. Even so, it was still the cool of early spring, and Anzu was overjoyed to be able to go into a town not too far from the cottage. Yugi had offered to take her in order for her to buy some clothing that would actually fit her, instead of her walking around in clothing obviously made for someone shorter than her lanky figure.

While shopping, somewhere in the back of Anzu's head a little voice told her that she was becoming too comfortable in Yugi's home. That she'd have to leave soon. Usually, such a voice would be heeded, but as she was finally gaining some clothing that fit --including a very pretty shawl that felt so soft that she nearly wept with joy-- Anzu decided to ignore it at the present time.

Folding the last remaining article of new clothing into a basket, Anzu looked up at Yugi, who was currently petting a very happy Kuri. "So, what now?"

"Well, it is near lunch time," Yugi informed her, smiling as Kuri jumped onto his shoulder. "You could always go home to eat. Or stay here. There's quite a few inns that serve nice food here."

"Just me?" Anzu blinked.

"I have to do a job for Grandpa," he explained, suddenly not making eye contact.

"What sort of job?" she asked. When Yugi didn't answer, nor look at her, she frowned. Leaning down so she was at eye level, she repeated, "What sort of job, Yugi?"

Against his better judgment, he looked her in the eye. Instantly, he felt a proverbial rock hit his stomach. How could he lie to her? To those big blue eyes of hers? He sighed. There just wasn't any way around it, he supposed. "I'm supposed to check on Kaiba's three Blue Eyes White Dragons," he whispered.

"Really?" Anzu expression brightened. "Can I come along?"

How did he know she was going to ask that? And how did he know he wouldn't be able to refuse? "I... I suppose. But," Yugi hastily added, "I can't promise that you'll be allowed in the fortress."

"Mm, that's okay," she smiled, straightening up. "It would be interesting just to see the fortress itself."

"All right, then," he relented, giving her a tiny glare when she clapped in victory. "Come on," he turned away. "We're going to have to walk through part of the woods to get there. It's not on a path, so watch your step."

The walk itself through the woods was rather pleasant. When she had run away, Anzu had been so distracted from the rain, Kuri chasing her, and just the excitement of the whole thing that she had not noticed just how pretty the forest was. It wasn't inhabited by the prettier, more feminine monsters that had surrounded her old home that she'd lived in with her mother, but the ones that did pass all seemed very friendly. Some of the smaller ones even went right up to her and Yugi, whining to be pet. Absently, Anzu wondered just where in the forest the Holy Elf lived.

And that thought took her out of her good mood.

She had wanted to leave the castle to escape the confinements of it. Anzu never wanted to stay there forever, and the longer she was there, the more it seemed like she was expected to be there until the end of her days. She had suspected that there was something wrong going on, but she always dismissed it as paranoia. But after what the Holy Elf said, Anzu wondered just what was really happening in the castle that she never saw. What would possibly make her endangered there? And was it a threat to the friends she left behind?

"Anzu... "

Yugi's voice brought her out of her solemn reverie. She looked at him with a slight smile. "What is it, Yugi?"

The short boy said nothing. He merely continued to stare at the tree ahead of him. Unsettled, Anzu followed his line of sight, until she spotted what had caught his attention. On the tree was a sheet of parchment, the edges of it tattered from nature's wear. On the yellow paper, in fading words but still clear enough, was a reward for a missing person. A teenage female, a noble woman at that, with blue eyes and short brown hair. She was suspected to be kidnapped from the castle.

And her name was Anzu.

A shiver ran down Anzu's spine, and she unknowingly clutched at her chest. Sensing his mistress' distress, Kuri leapt from Yugi's shoulder, onto the basket Anzu was holding. With a sympathetic mew, the furry creature made his way up to Anzu's slim shoulders, rubbing himself comfortingly against her cheek. Absently, she reached up and gave Kuri a little scratch on the head.

Hesitantly, she made eye contact with Yugi. His face was neutral, but she could tell that he knew who the parchment meant. He knew, and he was waiting for her to say so. But, she couldn't! She'd tried for so long to get away from there. She couldn't go back now! The thought made her sick to her stomach.

"It... " Her throat tightened and became bone dry. She swallowed hard, flinching at the slight pain it caused. "It must be someone else. It's not me."

It was a weak lie, at best. A pathetic one, to be far more honest. Yugi's face remained unreadable, and Anzu could feel the tears backing up in her eyes. She was afraid of blinking, lest they fall. For what seemed like an eternity they stood there in silence, gauging each other. Yugi with his blank face, and Anzu with her paled one. Finally, Yugi turned away from her, and walked over to the tree. With a quick hand, he snatched the parchment off the bark, and tore the paper to shreds.

"Yugi?" Anzu started, not understanding.

"You're right," Yugi said, opening his hands and allowing the ripped pieces to scatter in the wind. "I'm sure it's someone else, too."

She took a swift breath in, her eyes widening. He wasn't going to take her back to the castle? Even with the reward offered? Anzu forced back the tears that now wanted to fall for a different reason altogether. "Yugi... "

He turned to her, a bright smile on his face. "Let's go. We'll be late if we don't hurry."

She managed to return a shaky smile. "Right."

In his tiny cottage, Sugoroku found himself mending a broken wing of a Petite Dragon. The little guy had been playing in the forest with his siblings, and had accidentally crashed into a tree. Sugoroku had carried him back to his home for care, which had been a chore in of itself.

"You know," the old man told the monster, "you have to be more careful. It's not so easy for me to lug you guys around anymore. Ol' Grandpa Sugoroku's not so spry!"

The Petite Dragon blinked in response.

Sugoroku chuckled, and conspiratorially said, "Next time I'll get my grandson to carry one of you. And hey," his purple eyes brightened, "maybe I'll even have a granddaughter-inlaw to do it soon. Ha! Wouldn't that be nice?" The old man laughed.

The Petite Dragon twitched, relatively sure the old doctor had lost his mind.

A knock on the door interrupted Sugoroku's daydreams of a future extended family. Coughing into his hand, he gathered himself, and walked to the door, opening it just slightly to peek outside. "Yes?"

A white haired young man smiled kindly back. "Good day, old sir."

The door immediately swung completely open, and the young man practically squeaked as he was given a bear hug by Sugoroku. "Bakura, my boy! I haven't seen you around here in ages. Not since your father decided to travel the country."

"We... Moved back for the summer," Bakura gasped, not getting an adequate air supply.

"Did you? That's great!" Sugoroku pulled away, and the boy took a deep gulp of much needed air. "Come in, come in!" the old man waved inside, allowing the boy through. "You have to tell me all about your travels. Did your father come across anything interesting?"

"Oh, a few things," Bakura said. Absently, he patted his shirt, causing a strange, muffled jingle. "Nothing you'd want to hear about, though."

Kaiba Fortress was, to put it mildly, daunting and impressive. The gray stone wall surrounding it stood a good thirty feet, the building itself made of a bluer stone, and reaching as high as any royal castle that Anzu had ever seen. The fortress seemed to cover a massive amount of ground, spanning almost the entire clearing it was in, the trees of the forest brushing here and there against the walls. Anzu idly wondered why no thieves had used the trees to gain entrance, before quickly remembering what they'd run up against if they were unlucky enough to climb the wall.

Yugi, seemingly not as impressed as his female companion, knocked on the large wooden door. The sound echoed in the clearing, leaving a strange, empty, nervous feeling in Anzu's stomach. After a few minutes, the door slowly creaked open. Instead of revealing an adult, a boy appeared. He poked his head out, long black hair falling messily in his blue eyes.

Anzu stared at the boy, wondering if Kaiba was so cruel he made children servants. Maybe the rumors were true, and he was a really an abominable person. She instantly felt sorry for the poor little boy who had to work for such a detestable lord.

The boy looked up at Yugi, recognition lighting his eyes. "Yugi! You're late. Where have you been?"

Yugi grinned. "Sorry, Mokuba. Won't happen again."

Mokuba's focus then switched to Anzu, speculation clouding his features. "...Who's this?"

"Mokuba, this is Anzu," Yugi introduced her. "Anzu, this is Mokuba, Kaiba's little brother."

And the vision Anzu had of Lord Seto Kaiba shattered in an instant. "His... brother?" she blinked.

Yugi nodded. "They're the only ones that live here. Kaiba doesn't like people much."

"It's not that," Mokuba said, defending his brother. "There's just not many people he can trust, that's all."

At that Yugi nodded, smiling. "Mokuba, would it be okay if Anzu came in with me? She's helping Grandpa and I with the monsters now."

Mokuba eyed the tall girl skeptically. "Well, I don't know... Big brother doesn't like it when strangers come inside."

Anzu clasped her hands in front of her, nodding understandingly. "That's all right. I suppose it's rather too forward of me to expect you to let me in, all things considered. I'll just wait out here. All by myself," she added, with a wave of her hands. "Totally unprotected. Completely vulnerable should anyone try to attack me. And considering the size of this wall, you probably won't hear my screams of terror until it's too late."

"All right!" Mokuba cried, guilt ridden. "You can come in. Just don't get in the way of anything. And don't snoop around!"

"Thank you!" Anzu beamed, clapping her hands together. Beside her, Yugi shook his head.

The trio made their way into the unseasonably chilly fortress. Anzu couldn't help but notice the lack of portraits on the walls. Usually in homes of affluent families, paintings of ancestors would be prevalent. However, the walls of Kaiba Fortress were practically bare, save for a few paintings of actual monsters. Those types of paintings were actually rather common among the rich, as well. Still, it made Anzu wonder why Kaiba didn't have anything of his family up.

Kuri, apparently restless from staying on Anzu's shoulder for so long, trilled and leapt off. He stayed by his mistress' side for a bit, blue eyes darting around the corridors, until that was seemingly too boring as well. He skittered past Yugi and Mokuba, who called out for the little monster to halt. However, Kuri's curiosity was not to be denied, and he scurried right out the back doorway.

Anzu had only made three quick steps to retrieve her pet, before Kuri came nearly flying back in, squealing at the top of his tiny lungs. He tried to stop at Anzu's feet, but his momentum made him unable to halt on the stone floor. In desperation he grabbed hold of the hem of Anzu's dress, swinging back and forth from it.

"What's wrong?" Anzu asked, bending down to pick up the shaken monster.

Her answer came when someone stepped into the back door. Backlit by the midday sun, he cast a long shadow against the floor. "Mokuba," the person said in an almost dull tenor, "I thought I told you live snacks were too much trouble to feed the Blue Eyes."

Anzu gripped her pet tightly. "Live snacks?" she repeated, incredulous. In her protective arms, Kuri screeched indignantly at the new arrival.

The tall man in the doorway stepped through, and once in the shadows of the hallway it was easier to make out the brown hair falling in critical blue eyes. The young man's face was handsome, if not cold, and his wiry frame --with his arms now held akimbo-- was dressed in white and black. He let his ice blue eyes rest on Anzu a moment, before finally going to Mokuba.

"Who's she?" he asked the boy.

"That's Yugi's friend, Anzu," Mokuba quickly explained. "I thought it would be okay."

The blue eyed man looked at the girl for a moment again, then dismissed her with barely a shrug. Obviously, he had what he considered more important things on his mind. He turned his cold glare to Yugi. "They're in the back. Be careful," an almost twisted grin appeared on his face. "I haven't fed them yet, and they're rather hungry right now."

Anzu paled considerably at the remark. However, Yugi seemed to take it in stride, smiling and nodding at the taller boy.

"All right, Kaiba." Yugi glanced at Anzu. "Don't go farther than the doorway. They don't know you, so they might snap."

"Snap," Kaiba repeated with a grunted laugh. "They'd swallow her and her Kuribo whole."

Neither the girl nor the Kuribo looked very thrilled by the concept. Kuri screeched his discontent, burying his furry face in Anzu's chest. It would've looked silly, if Kaiba hadn't looked so strangely eager to actually throw the two to his Dragons.

"Kaiba," Yugi frowned a bit, "you're scaring them. Stop joking. He doesn't mean it," he assured Anzu, with a sheepish smile. "Really."

Kaiba smirked at that, leaving Anzu to feel even more nervous. However, the lord of the castle seemed to feel that he had intimidated his new guests enough, for he made no other remarks. Yugi took this silence as a go ahead point, and he made his way to the back door, an anxious Anzu right behind him. While Anzu froze in the doorway, Yugi continued through to the courtyard, where the dirt was ripped up in some places, burnt in others. He wandered over to the far corner, where it was shadowed from the outside by sky scraping trees, their branches overhanging the stone fortress walls.

Stopping only a few feet away from the shadow's edge, Yugi stood perfectly still, to the point where it looked like he had stopped breathing. Unable to help her curiosity, Anzu stuck her head outside to get a better view. Kuri, meanwhile, climbed up to the top of his mistress' head, perching himself there. Slowly, the earth began to quiver ever so slightly. Gradually, the rumbling grew louder and stronger, powerful enough to force Anzu to grip the door frame, but not even enough to be a true earthquake.

And then she found out just what it was; a monster standing up. No, not a monster. Three monsters.

First, just their large, smooth heads were visible, until they stretched out, revealing long, thickly scaled necks. Their sharp, clawed feet stomped out, dagger-like toes digging viciously into the ground. Their bodies were huge, even a bit bulbous, but more than impressive. And their tails swished wildly, like a cat's would when irritated. Every part of them was covered in white, shining scales, so large it looked like a knight's armor. The shadows dancing on their bodies were a light blue, somehow causing the white to seem all the more brilliant. And their eyes, so fiercely focused on the small boy in front of them, were such an intense blue, that Anzu sucked in her breath at the mere sight of them alone.

The three Blue Eyes White Dragons lowered their heads at the stilled Yugi. Leaning forward, they surrounded him, their mouths snapping open and shut, causing their fangs to clack together. The Blue Eyes began to nuzzle the boy with their noses, until they were batting him around between each other, nearly tossing him with their pushes. Through it all, Yugi never once moved on his own.

Anzu's throat went dry. The three Blue Eyes were shoving Yugi around as if he were a rag doll. They were going to kill him! Without realizing what she was doing, she took a step forward. And was immediately yanked back.

"Don't move," Kaiba ordered, his hand gripping his shoulder tightly.

"But Yugi- " she started, eyes wide and desperate.

"Don't move," the lord repeated, coldly. Before adding, "And shut up."

Shivering now, with Kuri cooing in worry, Anzu watched Yugi being nearly thrown around by the large beasts. Just as she thought she was going to scream at the horrible scene, the Blue Eyes stopped their game. With low rumbles in the back of their throats, they placed their heads on the ground. Yugi, for his part, steadied himself, finally moving as he rubbed his bruising arms and chest. With a relieved smile, he reached over and patted each monster, receiving hot aired sighs from all of them.

Anzu let go of a very shaky, loud breath, her hands clenching and unclenching in front of her. Kuri fell off his perch atop Anzu's head, and landed in his mistress' basket of new clothing as he collapsed in a heap from tension.

"It's okay. See?" Mokuba spoke up. "They just needed to make sure Yugi didn't want to hurt them. They always do that to Yugi or the old sir."

Anzu let the information stir in her brain. No wonder Sugoroku had asked Yugi to check the Blue Eyes. She doubted the old man could take such abuse like that anymore.

"Mokuba," Kaiba began, glancing at the small boy, "get our guests some tea to drink. It's impolite not to offer visitors anything."

Mokuba raised a brow at this request. Obviously, this was not usual behavior for the lord of the household. However, the dark haired boy shrugged and nodded. "Okay, big brother." With a wave to Anzu, he jogged away.

Which left the poor, nervous girl alone with the intimidating Kaiba. Anzu had to fight the urge to crawl away by reminding herself that she wasn't really alone; Kuri and Yugi were with her. Of course, Kuri wasn't much of a protector, and while the Blue Eyes seemed to like Yugi, she doubted that they'd be more loyal to him than to their master.

Still, Kaiba seemed content to stand there in silence, which put Anzu slightly more at ease. She refocused her attention to Yugi, who was slowly and carefully climbing onto the back of one of the Blue Eyes. Half way up the smooth monster's back he slipped, and would've surely fallen on his own back and got the wind knocked out of him, if the Blue Eyes hadn't maneuvered its head to catch him. The creature nudged Yugi onto its back, and the boy gave it a grateful pat on its snout in return. His face became very serious then, as he began to look for any signs of bruising or any other discoloration that would indicate the Blue Eyes was sick.

It was rather fascinating to watch Yugi work. He was so gentle and attentive, it was little wonder the monsters he treated instantly trusted him. And he seemed to feel perfectly at home with them in return. The three Blue Eyes that so scared Anzu didn't seem to faze Yugi in the least. In fact, it looked like he was enjoying himself being around them. When one of the Blue Eyes suddenly decided that its brethren had been paid enough of attention by Yugi, it grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt with its teeth, and hauled him over to its own back. Anzu thought she would faint. Yugi just blinked in shock for a moment, before laughing.

"Amazing," remarked Kaiba, softly.

Anzu nodded, eyes still focused on Yugi. "He is."

"No," Kaiba said, his voice tinted with dark amusement. "I find it amazing that you're here."

"Hmm?" She turned to him, finally noticing the almost predatory look in his gaze. She suddenly felt very small and vulnerable.

The tall young man looked away from her, speaking almost casually. "Lady Anzu, you're either very brave or very stupid to walk around in public. Especially now when there's such a large reward offered for you."

Anzu's heart fell to her feet, and her throat tightened to the point where she couldn't breathe. She thought her legs were going to collapse underneath her they began to shake so badly. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a choked gasp.

"Of course," Kaiba continued, "I don't have any need for a reward. And," a sharp smirk etched onto his features, "I'd rather not help Pegasus in any way."

Her eyes widened, and she forced herself to speak. "Y-You're not going to say anything?"

"It wouldn't be in my best interests. For now, anyway," he added, coldly. Kaiba finally turned back to her, his face stoic. He suddenly lashed out, gripping her chin so tight she thought he might break her jaw. "But you better not be so dumb as to just go strolling about like you did today ever again. If you get caught, they'll connect Yugi and the old man to you sooner or later. And then they'll be hanged for kidnapping. Do you want that?"

Anzu's heart sped up at the thought. That idea had crossed her mind before, but she hadn't dwelled on it much, thinking it not really possible. But now with someone else saying so, and the paper announcing her as kidnapped, the possibility increased to a definite. "N-no," she managed to gasp.

"Good," Kaiba said, still holding her chin. He leaned down so they were eye to eye, his gaze boring into hers. "Because if they die my Blue Eyes won't get proper care when they're sick. And that will make me unhappy." His grip tightened. "And you don't want to make me unhappy." He abruptly let her go, and she stumbled back, until she hit the edge of the door frame. "Are we clear?"

Anzu held her throbbing jaw, her mind and heart racing. "Yes," she whispered, terrified.

Kaiba smirked, satisfied.

Mai found her new seat very pleasing. She'd never been able to relax in anything so comfortable, with the cushions having just the right give. Of course, she'd never sat on a throne before. Naturally, any worker for King Pegasus would've been horrified to spot a Black Forest Witch sitting on the king's throne. And it was evenly likely that she would be beheaded for such an insult. However, as Mai held the letter she'd received the day before, she had no doubt she could get away with this, as well as other little things anyone else dared not do.

"Only if you can accomplish what I want," said a smooth voice.

Startled, Mai stood up, violet eyes glancing around. King Pegasus walked slowly in, a strangely pleasant expression on his face. He took a small sip of red wine from the goblet he carried, not at all irritated or intimidated by the powerful witch in his presence. Mai scowled for a moment, before remembering what she was there for. She replaced her irritated look with one of amusement.

"I'm capable of many things, Majesty," Mai cooed, voice dripping with confidence.

"So I've heard," said the king, taking his proper place on the throne. He eyed his goblet, watching the wine as it swirled around. "I'm placing quite a bit of faith in you, I must admit. If you can't accomplish what I ask of you, I can't vouch for your health afterwards."

Mai brushed a stray golden lock away from her face. "If I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't have agreed to accompany that awful knight of yours."

"Jounouchi," Pegasus smiled. "He's one of my best. Loyal. Not loyal to the right people, however. He'll be dealt with soon enough.
"But enough of that," he glanced over at the witch. "You honestly believe you can do it?"

"Of course," she huffed, arms crossed, obviously annoyed that someone would doubt her abilities. "If you have the ingredients I need I can do exactly what you asked."

"Wonderful," Pegasus nodded, elongating the end of the word with relish. "I don't have the girl back yet, but it won't be long now."

"Hm," Mai's lips quirked. "And you're sure no one will notice the change in her?"

"Of course, not," the king replied, smiling ever so slightly. "She's an orphan that I took in. She has a few friends here, but no one that I can't easily dispose of. There's not a soul out there that cares enough for her to do anything to help."

Next Chapter: Hello Again