The Future of
the Past
A Yu-GI-Oh! Fanfiction V2.0
By: Sanjuno Shori
Rating: R
Pairings: Seto/Jounouchi, Yami/Yugi
Warnings: AU, YAOI, slight skewing of minor details, blatant disregard of
others, violence, abuse, hints of non-con, PastLife!Everybody
Disclaimers: Not mine so don’t sue. Take my fic and die.
Recap:
A thin sigh that ended in a bloody gurgle slid from the mans lips as he toppled
over onto the sand, the slightly damaged, but still whole card fluttering to the
ground after him. Jounouchi removed his knife from between the dead mans ribs,
slicing once across the neck to make certain of death before wiping the knife
clean on the thief’s cloak.
Standing up with a slight wobble the blond turned gold eyes to where the card
lay face up on the loosely packed sand. A presence behind him, the feeling of
eyes on his back made him turn around. Slowly, almost against his will,
Jounouchi’s eyes were drawn to where the great beast crouched.
The sight of the monster filled his vision as he looked up...
And stared deep into the dark blue eyes of the dragon.
Tsuzuku…
=^-^=
The Future of the Past
Chapter 2: Gratitude, Lives Lived by Chance
=^-^=
‘Oh Gods, now what the hell am I going to I do? Stupid to run out like
that, but little idiot me can’t just let the monster be destroyed.’
The Blue-Eyes rumbled deep in it chest as it lowered its head to look at Jono,
cocking its head to one side as if trying to figure the small human out.(1)
Jono squeaked, then cleared his throat and tried again.
“Are you... all right? I mean, are you in any danger or pain from the rip? I
would feel very bad if you were. Hurting that is. Do you need to be taken to
some sort of special craftsman to have your card repaired or anything? I could
do that! Take you to a craftsman I mean, but what sort of craftsmen could repair
a monster card? I’ve never heard about any that could do that. But if you
could tell me where to go I’m good at following directions! I could… But if
I did take you anywhere I’d have to make sure I don’t get caught. Because
then I’d have to explain what I was doing out here, and where I was going,
and...”(2)
Jono clamped his mouth shut to prevent further babbling, dark visions of the
consequences of being caught dancing in macabre glee through his mind. He stared
up in trepidation at the shining behemoth; he was aware it could reduce him to a
Jono-cinder in about three seconds.
Another rumble emitted from the Blue-Eyes as it spoke. +And... what, little
human? Tell me what it is you will not say. I am curious.+
Jono flinched, seeming to shrink into himself. His voice was harsh with
repressed emotion; anger, sadness, resignation... and fear. “And... I would
likely be killed or beaten so hard I would wish I were dead.”
+You are a slave.+
“Yes, is it that obvious?” Jono asked rhetorically in a cold, dry voice.
A rumble of a different was produced this time, and Jono realized that the
dragon was laughing. He grew angry that a monster, a being as much a slave as he
was, would find humour in his misery. His gold eyes flashed with suppressed
feeling as anger and hurt pride fuelled and re-energized his spirit. The blond
slave tried again. “Do you want me to return you to your owner? I think I
could find a way to do that much at least.”
The white dragon growled. It was a lost, hurting sound. It was strange to hear
it coming from so formidable a creature. +My former master is dead. I was to
be sold to some other noble when that worthless lump of flesh stole me.+
The great head motioned to the cooling corpse that Jono was still standing
beside. The blond teen made a face and moved away, placing both the knife and
card beside the now extinguished torch. Turning back to the Blue-Eyes he asked,
“So you aren’t one of the High Priest's dragons then?”
+No.+
“Well, that explains why you were able to be stolen in the first place, and
why you were able to attack the one who summoned you. What did he think he was
doing anyway? Everyone knows that the thief who stole them cannot use stolen
cards. He would have been better off selling you and then buying you back after
a little while. From the look of things he was either really stupid or a
foreigner.”
+So it would seem.+ The large dragon seemed to have lost some of his
amusement at the mention of his theft. Jono felt some of his anger slip away. He
could sympathize with the creature. It wasn’t much fun to be property with no
control over your own destiny.
Jono let go of the rest of his hurt feelings, reminded of
the large, uncontrolled destructive force he was currently talking with. He
started to fiddle with the heavy collar around his neck in a nervous
gesture.“So, that means you’re the fourth Blue Eyes White Dragon, um... What
do you want me to do with you?”
The dragon ignored Jono’s
question in favour of asking one of it’s own. +What are those? I do not
recall seeing other slaves wearing such things.+
“These?” Jono cast a disgusted look at his restraints, choosing to ignore
the deliberate change of subject for now. “I’m not surprised. Most slaves
would never need them. These are to keep me from calling up my monsters.”
+You have a deck? I thought slaves were forbidden such things.+ The
dragon sounded downright surprised at the idea of property having property.
“They, I mean we, aren’t.”Jono corrected himself, silently cursing the
slip.“But I wasn’t always a slave, you know. When I was younger I was free,
and that’s when I got my deck. It isn’t really powerful like the nobles, but
it’s mine.”
+I see. What is your name, little human?+
It was his turn to be surprised. Jono looked up at the gleaming silver monster.
“My name? It’s Jonotemra, but everyone just calls me Jono. It’s shorter,
and easier to yell.”
+Very well then, I shall make you deck more powerful, Master Jono.+
He gaped at the Blue-Eyes with complete and utter confusion. It was a while
before Jono could gather enough of his scattered wits to speak. “What? Me?
Your Master? Why?!”
The dragon rumbled out its strange laugh again. +Because you endangered you
life to preserve my existence, risking everything on the chance that you might
be able to incapacitate the thief on the first blow. You did not assume that
because you had won, I automatically belonged to you as spoils. Because I can
see, you care. Because I can see your strength, Master Jono, you have earned my
ownership. And most of all, because you know what it means to be owned. You know
the value of freedom.+
Awed and completely humbled, the slave scuffed at the dirt. “I’m not
anything great. It just wasn’t right to let him destroy you because he was a
coward.” He looked up, eyes shimmering suspiciously in the light of the torch.
“Are you sure you want me? I mean, there are stronger people out there to
belong to.”
+They do not deserve me. They do not need me. You do. They have not earned my
loyalty as you have.+ The white dragon curled up on the sand, watching as
the shining gold eyes of the slave boy continued to regard him in a daze of
shock.
“I- I... alright, have it your way.” Jono shook his head in disbelief.
“But don’t say that I never gave you a chance to change your mind!”
The Blue-Eyes nodded its large head, glimmers of light dancing playfully along
the white scales. +Very well, Master Jono, I shall remember. I am named
Cobalt.+
“Cobalt... when I pick up that card again, you’ll be forced back to the
Shadow Realm. Can I... would you mind if...”
The desire and loneliness were easily read on the
blonde’s face, and the newly adopted monster heard the echo of his master’s
thoughts, and the feeling of a raw, painful void, directed towards him from
along the forming bond. Silently, the giant wings were rearranged as the dragon
shifted, bringing Jono into the centre of its loose coil. The teen curled up
against the silver scales, feeling the closeness of a bond that had been missing
for nearly five years, and he cried. Under the light of the desert night sky,
tucked beneath the wings of a dragon, he sobbed as the great beast crooned,
attempting to comfort the young teen. The pain of the past five years spilled
from him, and only the great bulk of solid warmth kept him from losing it
completely.
When the flow of tears stopped, Jono sniffled and wiped his eyes, hugging the
area of the serpentine neck just behind Cobalt’s head. “Thank you,” Jono
whispered against the great neck as he rested his cheek against the scales.
+It was my pleasure, Master Jono.+
Smiling again, for what felt like the first time in decades, the blond slave
pushed off and slid towards the ground. Looking up at the sky, Jono cursed, it
was later than he had thought. Bitter disappointment filled him as he quickly
did what had to be done. “Cobalt, could you get rid of the body, please? I
really need to get back before they find me gone.”
+Of course.+
The rush of flame lasted until there was nothing but a scorched mark on the
ground. Jono turned back to his new Dragon, his newest friend. Tears pricked his
gold eyes as he hugged the dragon’s neck again and dropped a daring kiss
between its dark blue eyes.
“Goodbye,” he whispered softly into the lightening dark, and picked up the
card. The rush filled the air again, and he did not bother to look at where the
dragon had been. Instead he ran. With tears blurring his vision, Jono ran the
entire way back to his master’s home.
It was hard to deal with being alone again, the pain of the void in his life all
more the sharp for having been relieved for a few scant hours. His emotional
pain was so distracting, Jono almost welcomed the beating he received for
sneaking out.
=^-^=
-= Three Months Later…=-
Humming quietly to himself, Jono wandered around the
sleeping city. It was three moons since he had saved Cobalt from the thief, and
he had managed to mostly escape his new master’s notice. It was the busy
season right after the floods, and everyone was too busy with the planting to
care much about one little house slave.
Sighing and stretching his arms out, the blond savoured the feeling of being
without pain, glad for once to have been sold again. As he rounded a corner, he
was suddenly made aware of the sound of running feet - mainly because the owner
of said feet had just crashed full-tilt into his chest.
A double ‘Oof!’, and they both landed in a tangle on the street. The person
who had just crashed into Jono was smaller than the blond himself was, and was
currently struggling frantically to escape the tangle.
“Hey, hey! Calm down!”
Finally getting loose from each other, the two boys were startled by the sound
of more running feet, heavier than their own. A panicked look placed itself
firmly on the other boy’s face as he registered the sound. “We have to get
out of here! If they catch up to me then we’re both as good as dead!”
Jono found his wrist grabbed and without further prompting, they were racing
together down the shadowed streets.
Gasping in an attempt to get air into his burning lungs ,the strange boy
continued to pull Jono down the streets. Both
the other boy's fatigue and the fact that he really did not seem to know where
he was going encouraged Jono to take the lead.
“Follow me!”
Once he was certain that they had lost their pursuers, Jono ducked into a small
alley through a crack in the wall and up to the space under the roof of an old
storage building. Together, they collapsed onto the dusty floor, panting for
breath.
Once the spots in front of his eyes had faded, Jono sat up and looked at his
companion. Large purple eyes, gold bangs, black hair tipped with red, pale
skin... a sinking feeling made itself known in the blonds stomach when he saw
the delicate ornamental gold slave collar around the other boys neck.
“Hey you, why were we running from those guys?”
Sitting upright and turning to face the other slave, the smaller boy answered
Jono’s question in a slightly shaky voice. “They stole me from my master’s
home. I-I don’t know what they wanted with me, but if... if they’d caught us
I sure they would have killed you just for seeing me.”
Relieved not to be caught up in anything more disastrous than a foiled theft,
Jono sighed. “So you weren’t trying to run away from your owner, then.”
The already wide violet eyes grew even more in shock at the suggestion. “No!
I’d never dream of leaving him!”
'Oh, wonderful, he’s loyal to his master. Hope whoever he is deserves it.'
Jono chuckled without humour. “That’s great to hear. I really don’t feel
like getting beaten for attempted theft tonight thank you very much.” The
taller boy sighed again and ran a hand through his blond hair.
“So where exactly is your master’s place? We should try to get you back
there so we can avoid running another marathon.”
The smaller slave giggled. “That sounds like a plan to me! I live at the
palace, so it should be easy to find.”
“The palace?!” Jono goggled, jaw flapping, totally blind-sided by the
revelation made by the delicate slave beside him. “I was wondering who was
important enough for someone to want to steal his slave! Your master must be
pretty high up there, especially if you live in the Palace.”
The other slave boy blushed fetchingly. “Yeah, I suppose you could say
that.”
“Well, now that we’ve settled that, we’d better get a move on before I’m
missed back at my master's place. My name’s Jonotemra, by the way, but
everybody who gives a shit calls me Jono.”
Blinking a little at the language, the other slave clasped Jono’s hand firmly.
Very firmly for a slightly built personal slave, which was what he was if Jono
was to make a guess.
“I’m Yugi. It’s nice to meet you, Jono.”
Snorting, Jono released Yugi’s hand. “Awful polite for a slave, just how old
are you Yugi?”
Violet eyes blinked in a perfect picture of innocence. Jono had to wonder how
much of it was real.
“I’m ten and four floods.”
Jono fell over rather theatrically in shock. “No way! You’re the same age as
I am? You look so much younger!”
Yugi flushed and managed to direct a small glare at the sprawled teen that
grinned up at him through dishevelled blonde bangs. “Yes, I know I’m short,
but I’m not a child.”
Laughing the glare off, Jono cautiously eased his head out of their hiding place
to take a look around. He looked down at the streets around them and listened
carefully. Finally satisfied, he turned back to the other slave and waved him
over.
“We should be able to get outta here now, just remember to stay quiet. I think
that the rooftops are probably our safest bet. Can you handle it?”
He nodded at the other boy to show he understood. Donning a determined
expression, Yugi climbed out from under the roof after Jono. They were as quick
and silent as they could be, keeping an eye out for anybody watching them. They
had made it a good distance without incident when Yugi suddenly pulled on the
back of Jono’s shirt.
Puzzled, he turned around, noticing that the other boy was looking away from
him. “Yugi? Is there something wrong?”
Yugi shook his head, then he pointed at a group of palace guards that appeared
to be lead by two nobles. “No, look down there! That’s my master!”
Blinking at the smaller teen's obvious excitement, Jono wondered what it was
like to have a master you wanted to come looking for you, and what sort of
person Yugi was to be this devoted. 'Stop that!' Jono shook his head. 'Those
kinds of thoughts are dangerous. Hope and daydreams can get you killed.' He
stopped looking at the group walking below them when Yugi started climbing down
the side of the building they were standing on.
Following after his new friend, Jono finally thought to ask the other boy which
one of the nobles was his master.
“The one in red.” Yugi’s voice was distracted as he looked for a new
handhold.
The shorter of the two nobles was the one wearing red. The other was taller and
dressed in blue. Once they had made it to the ground Yugi rushed out of the
alley. “Master Atemu!”
Whirling around at the sound of the shout, the red-clad noble caught Yugi in
mid-leap. Hanging back, Jono stuck to the shadows of the alley. Watching how
Yugi’s master was fussing over him, Jono felt a pang of something like
jealousy, and then he noticed the startling resemblance between the two.
Yugi’s master, Atemu, was taller, more muscular, built along stronger, more
masculine lines, and his slanted eyes were red, but the hair and superficial
features were the same. As Jono was trying to find more differences and
similarities between the two, he noticed the gold gleam coming from between
them.
'Great Ra...'
Every living thing in Egypt knew what that was. The
Millennium Puzzle. It belonged to the Pharaoh. That meant that Yugi was the
Pharaoh’s slave. He’d been running around with royal property. Jono laughed
at himself. 'Well, I suppose it’s a good thing to have friends in high
places, and you don’t get much higher than the Pharaoh’s bed!'
Moving his gaze to the other noble, the one who was wearing blue, Jono felt a
shock run through him as he looked into eyes of azure fire. Gold and sapphire
met with a frightening intensity, and Jono found himself unable to look away
from the tall, brown-haired teen.
Amber eyes took in the well-muscled form, the intent, predatory set of his
features, and the gold rod that hung from his belt. Fuck, I’m gaping at the
High Priest like an idiot! Jono felt like reality had crashed to a
screeching halt all around him, as he drowned in blue flame that reached deep
inside to bathe his soul.
The Pharaoh said something to the High Priest, who nodded without taking his
eyes from Jono’s. Then the blue-eyed teen took a step forward. Jono could
physically feel it as the tension holding him in one place grew tighter, fierce,
it scared him with its intensity. So he did the only thing he could think of...
He ran.
At which point things start to get really interesting.
Tsuzuku…
Finished: 2002-09-07
Revised: 2006-03-13
Betaed: 3/13/06