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Shadow Wars	By : Silvershadowfire Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1081 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh or any characters within. I am making no money from this work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 1-Shadow Wars
- 2-Chapter 1
- 1
- 2
Shadow Wars

By: Silvershadowfire

Rating: R (Adult concepts and language)

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not
make money from it. Characters from YuGiOh aren't mine: everyone else
is. The plot is mine and the AU world in which it's set.

Author's Note on Japanese usage: I am keeping
certain words and terms in Japanese rather than translating them;
primarily proper terms of address and terms such as honorifics that
have subtleties lost when you translate them into English.

Chapter
1 ~ Light in the Darkness

The clouds scuttled across the waxing moon, the
air chill and crisp with autumn's touch. Footsteps splashed through
puddles left by the storms, the wind cutting through the air. Yuugi
Mutou dashed around the corner, feet beating an irregular tattoo on
the pavement. It was already after midnight; his mother was going to
be furious. But her scolding would be worth it; one hand patted the
safe inner pocket that held his prize. If he could get back to his
home without being mugged...

Yuugi glanced either way before he slowed to
catch his breath. Though he was short, barely hitting 5'2” and
looked like a 10 year old, the 15 year old was in very good shape.
Having to run from bullies helped, though the bullies weren't nearly
as bad as the gangs. Water dripped from a fire escape onto his wild,
spiked black hair, sliding down the golden bangs that half obscured
his brown eyes and softly rounded features. He shook it away, ears
cocked. In this part of Domino, the streets were quiet so late; the
moon-washed streets gave the illusion that he was the only person
alive in the world. Quiet.. the world was so quiet. It was a strange
feeling in crowded Japan.

His harsh breathing had eased and his heart no
longer beat so wildly, so Yuugi straightened and started walking
briskly towards his home. The lull wouldn't last long, and he was
late enough as it was. Good thing tomorrow was Saturday; he'd never
get his homework done on time otherwise.

He slowed a moment, listening, and then picked
up his pace when he heard footsteps. Almost home... he could see the
dim lights of the Game Shop and the street light outside of it. This
wasn't the best part of town, and with his grandfather's little shop
being blackballed by Kaiba Corp. the chances of them being able to
move to a better part of town were slim and getting slimmer. Damn
Kaiba Seto; the teenage billionaire might be in his class, but that
didn't make any difference to his plans for the Kame Game Shop. In
his ice-cold mind, you were either exclusively KC or you were shut
down.

Shaking his head so that his blonde bangs swung
almost violently, Yuugi covered the last few yards to his home and
slipped to the back door, opening it as quietly as he could. Not to
sneak in, but to keep from waking his grandfather. Jiichan worked
long and hard to keep the shop going, far harder than a man his age
should have to. Closing the door behind him, Yuugi slipped off his
boots and toed on slippers, taking his prize from the inner pocket of
his jacket before hanging it up in the closet. The air was a little
chilly even inside, the heat turned down to husband energy.

Another sin to lay at Kaiba's door, Yuugi
suspected though of course nothing could be proven; his father worked
overseas in America, for a big oil company as a geologist. Then he
had been 'downsized'; he'd managed to find another position, but the
money was less than half of what he'd earned before and so he had
almost nothing to send home to support his wife and son. Hard
times... but times were hard all around in Domino, and in most of
Japan after the economic collapse. Only Kaiba Corp and it's ruthless
teen-aged CEO seemed to be thriving.

“Yuugi-chan?”
The lights in the living room were on, and silhouetted in the doorway
stood his mother. Tall and slender, dressed in a simple shirt and
skirt, she was still an attractive woman, funny and tender.

“Kaa-chan.”
He smiled up at her tiredly. “I'm home... sorry to be so late.”

Worry and concern chased themselves over her
features as she paced over to hug him. “I was worried sick. Do
you know what time it is?”

“Mmhmm.”
Weary, he closed his eyes and leaned against her. “I'm sorry,
but it was worth it. I got it.”

“Got...”
She stroked her son's spiky hair, making a sound of displeasure as
her fingers crackled through layers of gel. “What did you get?”

“Enough
to pay the mortgage this month, and the electrical too.” Yuugi
held up the crumpled ball of yen. “I know gambling's illegal,
but I couldn't let the shop close down. Tou-san said I was supposed
to take care of you.”

“Oh
Yuugi-chan... that was so dangerous.” Soft hands held him
close. “What if they had decided to kill you for taking their
money? I'm glad you're okay, but promise me you won't do that again.”

Yuugi pulled back slightly, looking up at her,
and opened his mouth. She must have read his features, because her
finger came to rest on his lips. “Promise me. I don't want you
putting yourself in danger, and Jii-chan would have had a heart
attack if he knew where you were. You know his health isn't the
best.”

“That's
why I had to do it.” Following Jounouchi and Honda had been a
gamble in itself, but he knew the two gang-bangers in his class would
lead him to where he needed to go. “He's working too hard.”

The money was gently taken from his hand. “He
is. But he would not want you to put yourself in danger.”

“I
wasn't going to tell him.” Yuugi hugged her again. “There's
no jobs out there for adults, Kaa-chan. At least this doesn't hurt
anyone who can't spare the money.” Illegal yes, but not
criminal. A fine definition and probably not one to impress the cops
if he were ever caught. Still, since most of the money came from
drugs, weapons and extortion it could and would be put to a better
use in his hands. No one could afford to be proud right now.

A sigh and his mother closed her eyes, holding
him tightly. “Promise me at least you won't do this often. I
know you're good with games and puzzles, but...”

“I
won't.” Yuugi murmured and hugged her again. “I should
get to sleep. Jiichan will want help in the shop tomorrow.”

“Rest
well, and try to sleep in.” His mother laid a kiss on his
forehead. “And take a shower, you reek of cigarettes.”

“Yes'm.”
He smiled and reached up on tiptoe to kiss her cheek before turning
and heading up to his room. He really hated making her worry.
Nevertheless, he knew that he would continue to do so if he had to.

With a sigh Yuugi pushed open the door and
stepped inside, turning on the lamp by the door. His attic room held
only two small lamps for night time, one here and one by his bed.
Most of the light came from the skylights in the tilted ceiling
during the day. Games stacked neatly in one corner, puzzles in
another, and several posters covered the soft green paint of the
walls. He stretched and slipped out of his red T shirt, throwing it
into the pile of dirty clothes in one corner as he toed off his white
socks and buried bare feet into the thick dark green pile carpet.
Dark bruises showed on the pale skin of his torso, most of them
already greening with age. Sometimes he wasn't quick enough... at
least no broken bones this time.

Grabbing pyjamas and clean underwear, the
teenager slipped to the bathroom and peeled out of his black jeans.
He hadn't dared to wear his school uniform out gambling; it would be
child's play for the people whose money he had won to track him down
and 'ask' for it back if he had.

Turning on the hot water, Yuugi stepped into the
shower and ducked his head under the stream, shampoo and busy fingers
washing the gel out of his long hair. He'd worn it spiked up tonight
to further disguise himself; normally it hung thick and full around
his cherubic features.

That done, he scrubbed his body carefully,
looking for signs that he might actually be hitting puberty sometime
this decade. It really was terribly annoying to be mistaken for an
elementary school student all the time. Fingers brushed over a fresh
bruise and he hissed under his breath; that one was more tender than
usual. He must have gotten hit there twice or something.

The water dripped as he turned it off, sluicing
the excess off with his hands before stepping from the tub and
scrubbing dry. Now that he was warm fatigue fogged his brain and drew
a jaw cracking yawn from him. He didn't want to think any more, he
just wanted to sleep. His thick warm pyjamas felt wonderful over
clean damp skin, and the soft scent of the fabric softener made him
yawn. Taking two ibuprofen, the teen stumbled from the bathroom to
his room, barely managing to pull the covers over himself before
sleep carried him far away.

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The distant sound of ocean waves crashing into
rocks broke the silence of the castle where it's owner sat on a wide
stone deck, breeze playing in his shoulder-length silver hair and
ruffling the pages of his book. One hand held a glass of fine red
wine and the other ran fingers along the symbols etched into ancient
papyrus. Darker blue than the sea crashing below, his right eye
squinted closed against the glare of bright sunlight on the magically
preserved surface. But then he didn't need that one to read the
secrets hidden within. In the left socket a glowing golden artefact
shimmered with more than reflected light, the eldrich glow seeming to
emanate a spectral wind that pushed silver strands of hair out of his
way. Pegasus J. Crawford, the American multimillionaire owner of
Industrial Illusions, sipped his wine and allowed the meaning of the
symbols in the tome to come to his mind through the magic of his
Millennium Eye. It was written not in a true language to be
translated, which was why everyone else had failed. Somewhere between
a cypher and a vast riddle that could drown the reader in confusion
and darkness, this book, like the fictional tome of the Neverending
Story, was not meant for the weak of mind or heart. This book was not
'safe'.

He had been through this before... all of this.
There was nothing new here, no matter how often he scanned the
ancient book. No idea who the Chosen One would be, no clue to where
or when he or she would be born. Setting the glass down on the side
table with a quiet clink, Pegasus leaned back and opened his human
eye, letting the power of the artefact embedded in his skull die
down.

Fifteen people. Fifteen people had won the
contests he'd set up around the world, hoping for anyone with the
skill to solve the unsolvable puzzle. Genius wasn't enough; it was
only an indicator. It took a special kind of genius, indomitable will
and vast power of spirit to bond with the soul of the Nameless
Pharaoh.

Fifteen people had tried, all unknowing. Fifteen
people were now dead or insane, their souls consumed by the endless
power of the Pharaoh and the Puzzle that was his symbol and his
prison. Fifteen souls for which Pegasus knew he would have to answer,
someday. If not to the Pharaoh who he sought, then to the gods who
ruled the next world, no matter what shape they took.

The sun shimmered in the warm blue of the sky,
gentle here as it never was in Egypt, that harsh land of deserts and
forgotten gods. He could still feel the breeze over the green Delta,
hear the din and reek of Cairo. Pegasus still remembered the day that
he found the key to the curse that bound his beloved Cyndia into a
deathlike trance. Not alive, not dead, her soul lost in the endless
darkness where monsters lurked.

One hand came up, touching the golden weight of
the Eye. Almost as heavy and dark as the guilt which burdens his
spirit, the grief that never left his heart. It still ached, after
all these years.

Pushing aside the tome with his memories,
Pegasus rose to his feet and paced inside, his slippered feet making
little slapping noises on the stone. Nubbed silk pants and a burgundy
smoking jacket guarded him from the omnipresent chill of the castle's
walls. It was no wonder really that people had died of lung
infections in these things... even the heated pipes built into the
walls and floors only kept the atmosphere bearable. Still, Pegasus
felt the affectation worth it, since the island and it's stone
fortress gave him the absolute privacy he needed for his experiments
and trials. If the media got wind of this... With a shake of his long
hair, the American paced through his bedroom to the guarded room
beyond, the Eye flashing as he waved his hand to remove the illusion
that turned the door into simple stone. It creaked open under his
hands and the lights inside flared up of their own accord; cantrips,
really, once he'd mastered the power of the Millennium Eye. Still for
all it's power he could only see that which was denied him.

One hand reached down, touching the delicate
features of his beloved wife. Fair Cyndia, more beautiful than the
sun and moon, her laughter bright and joy incarnate. His muse, and
the love of his life. “Ah... you would not be happy with me,
would you my darling?” he asked of the body trapped in her hell
of half life. Eyes closed, arms arranged delicately at her side, lips
parted... like the Sleeping Beauty of the tales she seemed only to
need her true love's kiss to wake. His fingers slid through the
masses of her blonde hair, like Rapunzel's endless waves of gold. “I
cannot ask you to forgive me, my rose.” he murmured. “I
do this for you... only and always for you. If I can see your eyes
again, like shining, living sapphire, then I would be content even in
Hell.” His hand drifted to the gold band on her delicate
finger, the one that matched his own. Only a week married... only a
week before the curse had struck her down.

His good eye closed, a single tear sliding down
his cheek. Five years it had been, five years of hunting and seeking,
five years until he had found the man who had cast his power on her
after she spurned his bed. Pegasus regretted still his actions that
day; in his naivety he thought that killing him would break the
spell. Only then did he seek to find out the cause of the curse; an
ancient one formed of hatred and jealously and twisted ancient
Egyptian magic. So to Egypt he had gone to find the cure... and had
found Shadi.

“Damn
the man.” he murmured, the closest to profanity he would utter
in Cyndia's presence. To give him the power to see her soul trapped
in the shadows and yet never to touch her... Pegasus both hated and
blessed that vision. It kept him going, when he thought he would go
mad...

“Forgive
me, my rose.” he murmured, kneeling by her bower like the
prince from the tales. “I wish I could find the door for you.
Please hold on, my sweet. Your Pegasus is coming for you.”
Raising her cold hand he pressed his lips to it, and then bowed his
head to bury it in her golden tresses.

“Master
Pegasus?”

The voice of his trusted manservant
broke through the weight of Pegasus' grief slowly. “What is it
Croquet?”

The man stepped closer, his shoes
hard on the stone. “There is a new winner.”

A sound escaped as he lifted his
head. Only Croquet was permitted in here, and only he knew the man
that lay behind the façade he showed the world. “Where?”

“Domino,
Japan. A high school student named Yuugi Mutou.”

Pegasus' hands clenched in Cyndia's
hair. A child... a teenager. No older perhaps than he had been when
he had determined to marry his lover. Would his be another life
destroyed, another soul to bear with him to his judgement, or would
this be the one, the chosen one who would finally solve the
unsolvable puzzle? Could he bear it if a youth died in his quest for
love?

He turned to look at Cyndia's face,
peaceful in repose. “Forgive me.” he whispered again, and
rose to face Croquet. Only the tracks of tears from his good eye
betrayed his emotions as he met the other man's sunglass-shrouded
gaze and nodded. “Then send him the Puzzle.”

Maybe this time he would win.

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School. The rain poured down on
Domino as though it could wash the city clean of its sins, the
torrents of water enough to strain even the omnipresent umbrellas
that the students held as they emerged from the halls of Domino High
School and onto the streets, swarms of teenagers in blue uniforms for
the boys and blue and pink for the girls. Yuugi pulled his street
shoes out of his locker and slipped off the school shoes, tucking
them inside. A moment later his umbrella joined them as he looked
around for his childhood friend, Mazaki Anzu.

The pretty brunet stood over with a
gaggle of her friends, all of them gossiping as girls were wont to
do. Yuugi smiled and watched them. Anzu was his closest, and in fact
only friend. She lived next door to the Game Shop with her parents,
who ran a shop that catered to the tourist industry. It had been
natural that they would play together as children, since their
families were so close and both in business.

He watched her toss her hair, arms
crossing gracefully as her features took on the familiar stubborn
look that meant she was arguing a point, her dancer's legs shifting
under the blue skirt. Blue eyes flashed as one of the other boys made
a comment and she shot one back, so full of life and verve. As his
runners splashed through the puddles in the courtyard, he wondered if
her parents were still pushing her to marry him when they came of
age. That would be so weird.

“Out
of the way runt.” Yuugi didn't see the taller student until it
was too late. A shove from Ushio sent him sprawling in the puddles,
rainwater soaking into his uniform. Titters of laughter sounded from
different directions as he pushed himself up from the ground. Rain
flattened his hair against his skull and face, hiding the flush of
shame as he managed to get to his feet again.

“Yuugi-kun,
are you okay?”

Looking up as the rain suddenly
ceased to pound on him, he found Anzu watching him with a concerned
look in her blue eyes. “Yeah. I'm fine.” He gave the
other a sunny smile, ignoring the shivering of his now chilled body
as the wind seemed to cut right through his soaked clothing.

“If
you're sure... that Ushio! He's such a bully. Even the teachers don't
stand up to him. Cowards.”

“Shhh...”
he ducked his head and rounded his shoulders, waving his hands for
her to be quieter. “You don't want him to hear you.”

The brunet glared after the
retreating teen, two years older and four times as large as Yuugi.
But she also lowered her voice. “You have to stand up for
yourself Yuugi, or you're going to get walked on.”

“Anzu-chan...”
he sighed and ducked his head again, finger combing his wet bangs out
of his eyes. “You know I don't like to fight.”

She glanced down at him again, and
her gaze softened. “I know. Are we still going to your place?”

“Yep.”
Yuugi smiled softly up at her and ignored the titters from the other
students, especially the girls of the 'in crowd'.

Anzu didn't; she gave them a
defiant look and took Yuugi's arm. “Let's go.” She only
paused to let him gather up his fallen bag and umbrella before
leading them out of the school yard and into the street. “Ignore
them, Yuugi-kun.”

“It's
okay, Anzu-chan. I know you're my friend, and it's even nicer that
you are still my friend when they laugh at you for it.”

“I
wouldn't have it any other way.” The pretty brunet smiled, her
blue eyes soft. “You're my best friend.”

The smaller teen's cheeks turned
pink again, and it wasn't just the bite of the air. “Anzu-chan...”

She laughed softly and ruffled his
silky hair. “You're cute when you blush, Yuugi-kun.”

They walked in silence for a while,
except for the steady beating of rain on fabric and the splashing of
their footsteps. It was Yuugi who broke it as they crossed the
street. “Have you heard from that dance school, Anzu-chan?”

“No...
but the letter might not even have gotten to America yet.”
Anzu's gaze turned distant. “I will get there though. I was
even thinking of getting an after-school job to raise money for it.
Living by myself in New York isn't going to be cheap after all and my
parents can't support me AND their business too.”

Yuugi's smile softened and turned
brighter, despite the chill. Anzu was so strong and practical too. He
frankly admired her, and envied her outgoing personality.
“After-school jobs aren't allowed by school rules, Anzu-chan.
You could get in trouble.”

“Well...” She
winked at him. “I talked to my mom about it and she said that
it was okay with her. What the school doesn't know they can't expel
me for, right? As long as I keep my grades up, it should be okay.”

“That's
great! You'll have to let me know where you get a job so I can come
see.” Yuugi wished her the best of luck. She was pretty, smart
and graceful. Likely someone would hire her even part time. No
running around after hours in illegal gambling dens for her! Here and
now, in the bright light of day, Yuugi could scarce believe that he'd
had the courage to do it. It was almost like another person, a braver
and stronger version of himself who had done that.

The game shop was open, his
grandfather working the front. Yuugi pushed open the door. “Jii-chan,
I'm home!”

“Welcome
home.” Mutou Sugoroku greeted from behind the counter where he
was pricing a stack of new games. “Hello Anzu-chan.” The
older man smirked appreciatively, his gaze lingering on the girl's
bust line. “Still growing I see.”

“Jii-chan...”
Yuugi blushed. His grandfather was such a hentai old man. He tucked
the umbrella into a stand by the door where it could drip dry. “We'll
be upstairs. Can we have some snacks?”

“Of
course.” Sugoroku ruffled his grandson's hair as he let them
through the shop to the living area behind. Anzu playfully swatted at
a groping hand as she slid her shoes off and followed Yuugi up the
stairs.

“Your
mom's not home?”

“No...
she had to take a job after Tou-san got fired. It's really wearing
her out... I try to help out with the chores after school, and
stuff.”

“Aww.”
Anzu smiled. “You're such a sweet person Yuugi. Almost too
sweet to be real.” Her laughter bubbled up as the smaller teen
blushed again. “Now if you weren't as much a hentai as your
grandfather...”

“Anzu-chan...”
He paused mid-lament as he opened his bedroom door. “What's
this?” A package had been set on his bed, dark brown against
the blue bedspread like a squat square Kuriboh. He padded over and
picked it up, looking at it. “It's heavy... from Industrial
Illusions?” Hope brightened in his brown eyes. “Oh
wow...”

“Isn't
that the company who sponsored that contest you entered a few weeks
back?” Anzu asked curiously.

“Yep.”
He shook it and something faintly rattled. “Wow, I wonder what
I won?”

“Probably
the grand prize!” Anzu sat on the bed and nudged him. “Go
on, open it, I want to see!”

Yuugi laughed and tore open the
tape holding it closed. Inside, he pulled out a wad of packing paper,
and a small, but very heavy for it's size golden box. “Wow...”
he murmured, turning it over in his hands. The gold shimmered,
exquisite and seemingly brand new. “Egyptian... look.” He
pointed to the pictographs that covered three of the four sizes. The
fourth side held only a few symbols, dominated by the Wadjet Eye
which seemed to wink at them in the grey light coming through the
rain-washed skylights. “I wonder what it is...”

Anzu fished through the discarded
paper and found an envelope with Yuugi's name written on it in Romaji
letters. “This came with it... it'll probably explain.”

Trading the box for the letter –
though he found the gold reluctant to leave his fingertips –
Yuugi peeled open the sealed envelope. It was written in English;
thankfully Yuugi's grasp of the language was good. “Dear Mr.
Mutou.” He read. “Industrial Illusions is proud to inform
you that you have won our Puzzle for Life challenge!” Yuugi
grinned. “Oh wow, I won!” He hugged the letter and
bounced on the spot.

“Keep
reading!” Anzu laughed. “Of course you won, you usually
do.”

“Well,
this one was really hard.” Yuugi admitted, and turned to the
letter again. “The grand prize is US$50,000 and this, a rare
and ancient, unique artefact from the sands of Egypt.” He
stared, then looked in the envelope again. Sure enough, there was a
certified cheque for more money than Yuugi had ever dreamed of
having. This would be enough to pay for his schooling and still have
enough left over to pay off the worse of the shop's bills... enough
maybe a chunk of the mortgage. “I can't wait to tell Kaa-san
and Jii-chan!”

“Oh
Yuugi! I knew you could do it... and that's much better than taking
your chances with gamblers in the worst part of town.” She gave
him a look; only Anzu had been in on his scheme to get money for the
shop.

“I
know.” Yuugi grinned at her. “No more gambling for me for
a while! That'll make Kaa-san happy too.” He smoothed out the
letter had had crumpled in his excitement. “'This ancient
artefact is a puzzle, which not even the best minds have been able to
solve. I wish you all the best of luck with it. Yours in good health,
Pegasus J. Crawford, President, Industrial Illusions.' Puzzle?”
Distracted, he put down letter and cheque as Anzu worked off the
tight fitting lid. “Wow...”

“Gold
puzzle pieces.” Anzu took one out, turning it over in her
fingers. “Look, it's so thick. This must be one of those three
dimensional puzzles.” It couldn't be real gold; it had to be
plate. No way that they would give away a fortune in precious metal
atop the prize money.

“Yep.”
Yuugi took the box from her lap and dumped the pieces on the bed,
mind already gearing up to meet the challenge. “I wonder what
it'll look like..?”

The brunet smiled and rose, heading
down to the Mutou's kitchen. She knew that look... Yuugi loved
puzzles, games of all kinds. If his parents could have afforded it,
he might have gone to Go school. Hopefully he could make some kind of
career out of it anyway. Like her love of dance, spending the rest of
your life doing what you loved was the best. But it also meant that
for today, if she wanted any pop and snacks, she'd have to get them
herself.
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Shadow Wars