7Well, this is the rewrite of Tomorrow's Kings and I have changed a lot of things. Pairings are still likely going to be the same, if I decide to include pairings or not; it might just gloss over the pairings. Kisara won't be in the story exactly as I had her in the last version but she will play a part. This will still include that element from GX as well as an enemy from the original we all love to hate (or, at least, I do). Since I have changed some things to suit the purposes of this story, events of the past will be different. I do know exactly what happens during the Millennium World Arc in Yu-Gi-Oh! but I've taken creative liberty to change some things that happened. The timeline is also the same with the events of GX occurring ten years after Battle City rather than the Ceremonial Duel. I still hope that you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
Note (December 24, 2015): Okay, this is the rewritten version of the first chapter of this story and it is extremely important since there are quite a few changes that I did for the primary purpose of making it more realistic. Therefore, to all who have reviewed the first version of this chapter, if you wish to comment on the new version, just shoot me a PM. I will respond to all of them. Thank you to my beta-reader, EndlessNight025, for the constructive criticism you gave me that I (mostly) followed in the rewrite of this chapter. (I say mostly because I get this odd feeling I've missed some things). The second chapter will be posted after the holidays, possibly Saturday.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Harry Potter. I never have, I never will and I am only saying this once so I will not repeat it in later chapters.
. . .
. . .
Dusk Before Dawn
. . .
. . .
The fates of Light and Shadows intertwine.
False Light and Malicious Darkness unite.
A dangerous game begins in which players
are believed hostages to Fortune's whims.
The Wheel turns.
Darkness begins to fall.
Light shrouds truth in lies.
The Manipulated is shown the truth.
The Keeper faces the darkness within.
The Nameless is given a testing choice.
The Priest removes the veil from his eyes.
The Chosen One faces tragedy or happiness.
The future shall be bathed in the blood of innocents.
Destruction shall rain down like fire,
unless Shadows and hopeful Light unite
to overcome the raging flames of the false Light.
. . .
. . .
1
Reactions
A long, skeletal, pale-white hand tapped slender fingers against the armrest of the throne as crimson eyes observed the ghost-like figure floating in front of him. The figure was a paradox; it was pure light and yet it was shrouded with pure malicious darkness. Its red eyes were the only human feature that remained stable as its form flickered in and out but even they were not completely human; they were pupilless and slanted.
"So do we have a deal, soul-splitter?" the dark-light figure asked. Its voice was rough and deep, though it spoke through no mouth.
"And what shall I get out of this arrangement?" The one termed soul-splitter asked.
"What you desire most of all and more power to accomplish this," the strange figure said, its voice turning silky.
Crimson eyes narrowed and bloodless lips pressed together in thought as the Dark Lord went over the terms of the deal the paradoxical figure had proposed. It seemed as though it could work in his favor and he could use the figure's power because it was one that has never been seen before in the Wizarding World. It would give the soul-splitter an advantage.
And, if worse comes to worse, he did have his Horcruxes to fall back on.
"Very well. We have a deal," He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stated.
"Simply wonderful," the paradox said, a satisfied cackle causing its entire formless shape to tremble. "Then shall we get started, my friend?"
"First, tell me who, what, you are," the Dark Lord said as the formless figure had not told him that. It had simply said, "My identity is not important. My offer is."
The inhumane creature shifted. "My identity is not important, Lord Voldemort. Perhaps I shall tell you someday but, for now, I have something else I must take care of. I shall contact you again soon," it stated and then vanished.
. . .
Dawn rose, shedding rays of sunlight into the small bedroom onto the sleeping white-haired figure who stirred as the sun's rays bathed his face in warmth. Soft, brown eyes fluttered open and Ryou slowly sat up, looking around as he blinked his eyes a few times. He noticed two things: he was still in his clothes from the day before and an expensive-looking necklace was peeking out of the drawer of his nightstand.
"I really shouldn't be surprised by this anymore," he murmured to himself as he got to his feet, stuffing the necklace out of sight before closing the door fully. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, and vaguely aware that his other half was still asleep in his soul room, Ryou walked out of his bedroom, heading toward the kitchen.
As he finished making breakfast and sat down at the table to eat, his phone rang. Ryou glanced at it. A few weeks had gone by since the end of Battle City, and only a few days had gone since Ryou had gotten the Millennium Ring back. He had asked Yugi for it because, even though the spirit of the Millennium Ring was evil, he still felt incomplete without him around.
Strangely enough, things had been rather different with the spirit since then. He seemed more tolerable of Ryou than before. The white-haired boy no longer woke up with injuries nor did he get put to sleep whenever the spirit took control so he felt that was definitely better than their relationship before Battle City.
He walked over to the phone and answered it. "Hello?" he said.
"Hey, Bakura," Yugi's voice sounded over the phone. "Would you like to come to arcade with me and the others?"
Ryou wasn't entirely comfortable spending time with Yugi and the rest of his friends, especially because of the spirit, but he still hung out with them whenever Yugi invited him, mostly because he got bored being home alone and did not want to leave the spirit to his own devices. At least being around Yugi and his friends meant that the spirit was less likely to do something that was liable to get Ryou arrested.
"Sure. Do you want me to meet you there?" Ryou asked.
"If you want. We're just waiting for Tristan to show up," Yugi said.
"Yug! Tristan's here," Joey's voice called in the background.
"Okay," Yugi called back. "We're heading out now. Let's just meet at the arcade, okay?"
"Okay," Ryou said and, after politely saying bye, hung up before hurrying into his room to get changed, making sure the Ring was hidden beneath his shirt. Once he was ready, he grabbed his keys and walked out of his apartment, locking it behind him.
The walk to the arcade didn't take long. It was the beginning of July and it was seriously hot and humid but Ryou had lived in Japan for so long that he was rather used to the climate. He was looking forward to when the first trimester of school ended though as he had gotten a call from his father a few days earlier who told him that he was going to be coming home in time for summer vacation.
The arcade was filled with teenagers by the time Ryou got to it. The air-conditioned room was a welcoming relief from the humidity outside and the light aqua-blue jacket that Ryou usually wore prevented him from getting chilled. He looked around, searching for any sign of Yugi and the others. With how crowded it was, he set out to look for Joey and Tristan as they were the tallest of the group.
He finally spotted them near the back of the arcade and, weaving around the other teenagers, walked over to join them.
Tea spotted him first. "Hey, Bakura," she greeted him.
"Hello, Tea," Ryou replied politely and repeated his greeting to the others.
"Man, I am so looking forward to summer vacation," Joey said. "Serenity's coming to visit after school lets out for her. So you guys got any plans for summer?"
"Working at the game shop basically," Yugi said.
"My mom's taking me to visit a dance school in Tokyo. I'm still thinking of going to America to be a dancer but I decided to check it out anyway," Tea said.
"I've got nothing planned," Tristan said. "Maybe Serenity wouldn't mind if I came over to visit her."
Joey glared at him.
"What about you, Bakura? You got plans for summer vacation?" Yugi asked.
"Well, my dad said that he would be coming home soon," Ryou admitted.
\Hmph, as if he will actually stick to his promise,/Yami Bakura's voice scoffed in the back of Ryou's mind, startling him. He hadn't noticed that his other half had woken up.
\You really need to work on your observation skills, Host./
Ryou didn't respond to that. "So I'm looking forward to that," he added.
"That's good."
"C'mon, why don't we go play a game? I wanna kick Joey's butt on that shooter game Yugi's always beating him on," Tristan said.
Joey huffed. "Keep dreaming, Tristan," he said.
Ryou smiled softly in amusement.
. . .
"Bye guys. I'll see you at school Monday," Yugi said later that day as the group split up to head toward their respective homes. After waving goodbye to Joey, Tristan, Tea and Bakura, Yugi entered the game shop.
"Hello, Yugi, how was your day?" Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Mutou, said, studying an envelope that was in his hands.
"It was good. We just hung out at the arcade and then went to the park. How about you? Get any business?" Yugi asked.
"Eh, a few people. This came in for you earlier though," Solomon said, holding out the envelope.
Yugi reached for it, only for his other half to stir in the back of his mind. \I sense magic around that envelope, partner,/ Yami said.
Is it dangerous, other me? Yugi asked silently.
\It doesn't feel dangerous but I advise caution./
All right. Yugi took the envelope and studied the address, noting that it even had the bedroom in which he slept in the address, which caused him to raise his eyebrow. Just how did they know which bedroom I sleep in?
\Magic?/ Yami suggested dryly.
Ha, ha. Yugi opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of odd material that reminded Yugi of parchment. He unfolded the letter and read it quietly to himself, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Dear Mr. Mutou,
First, I would like to introduce myself. I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. I am contacting you because I was told by an ally that you and three others whom my ally says are allies of yours may be able to help me.
I wish to speak to you in person about this. If you consent to speaking to me, I assure you that you are under no obligations to consent, then I ask that you put down an appropriate time and place on the back of this parchment. If not then I understand and shall trouble you no more. I hope that you will consent to, at least, hear me out though.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster, Hogwarts
Yugi put down the letter and glanced at Yami who had appeared in spirit form next to him. "So what do you think, Yami?" he asked.
\He seems sincere,/ Yami said, studying the letter. \And he is only asking to speak with us. I wonder who this ally of his is that told him about us though./
"Who knows? So do you think we should speak to him and, at least, figure out why he's contacting us and, maybe, just who told him about us? I mean, he's writing from England, though his Japanese is pretty good."
\It would not hurt to listen to him and I can protect us if he proves to be dangerous,/ Yami said.
"Why would he be dangerous? He is asking for our help, after all," Yugi said.
\Lull us into a false sense of security, possibly,/ Yami suggested.
"I think you're being paranoid."
\Maybe. Very well, if you want, we will speak to him,/ Yami said.
"All right. I was thinking tomorrow," said Yugi thoughtfully.
. . .
Seto Kaiba glared at the owl that was currently seated on his desk, holding an opened letter in his hand.
The owl gazed unblinkingly at Seto Kaiba.
Mokuba stood beside his brother, looking from Seto to the owl and back again, blinking every now and then and wondering just what happened. He had come into Seto's office to see if his big brother was ready to get some lunch, only to find him in a glaring contest with an owl.
"You really expect me to believe this load of nonsense?" Seto demanded.
The owl hooted.
Mokuba sweatdropped. "Um, Big Brother, why are you talking to an owl?" he asked.
Seto huffed and tossed the letter onto his desk. "It brought this letter and apparently won't leave until I respond," he said. "If this is a prank from Wheeler…" He trailed off and scowled.
Mokuba reached over and picked up the letter, reading it over silently. He raised an eyebrow. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he repeated. "What's that?"
"It doesn't exist because magic doesn't exist," Seto said firmly.
"Seems real to me," Mokuba said, scanning the letter. "Are you thinking of listening to what this headmaster has to say?"
Seto snorted. "It's just some prank. I am not going to get suckered into believing some prank," he said.
"But what if it isn't?" Mokuba pressed, scanning the contents of the letter .It really did seem as though the letter was true but Mokuba knew that his brother was stubborn to a fault. He cast a sidelong glance at Seto who was still glaring at the owl who remained patiently waiting for Seto's response.
"It couldn't hurt to, at least, listen to what he has to say," Mokuba pressed when Seto didn't respond to his question.
Seto huffed. "I don't care what he has to say," he growled and wrote down a sharp decline and tossed the letter at the owl. The owl hooted, grabbed the letter before it could hit the floor and flew out the open window.
. . .
Marik reread the letter in his hands, brow furrowed before he turned to Ishizu who was reading over his shoulder. "A school of magic," he stated. "I thought all other practices of magic had died out."
"As did I," Ishizu said.
"He's asking for help and wants to talk to me," Marik mused thoughtfully. "Could it have something to do with the Items?"
"Possibly," Ishizu said.
"But I don't have the Rod anymore and how does he even know about the Items?"
"Perhaps that ally he mentioned in his letter."
"The only ones who know about the Millennium Items are members of our Clan and that Shadi person," Marik said, his lips curling a little when he mentioned Shadi's name. He resented Shadi primarily because it was Shadi who told Marik that his father's death was the will of the Pharaoh, which was what started Marik's quest for vengeance.
He pushed those thoughts away and returned his attention to the letter. "None of the members of our Clan would tell anyone about the Items," he said. "So maybe it was Shadi who is this ally Dumbledore mentioned if he sought us out 'cause of the Items. I mean, why else would he think I would be able to help him?"
Ishizu shook her head. "I believe it might be best if we hear him out. His letter does not present much information on his motives and if he does know about the Items, we should figure out just who told him about them. If not then it might be a good idea to figure out just why he thinks we can help."
"Agreed," Marik said and wrote down his response on the parchment before handing it to the owl who took it and flew off. "I hope it's not about the Items though. Battle City was bad enough."
Ishizu silently agreed.
. . .
At the mention of the word 'wizardry', Ryou found himself wondering if the letter was true, if there really was a school for magic in the world. It would be really neat, since Ryou has always bene fascinated by magic and the occult. It was one reason why Monster World was his favorite RPG game. But Ryou had no idea why this Dumbledore thought he could be of help as well as who this ally who told this Dumbledore about him.
\I don't like this,/ Yami Bakura growled. \I don't trust this Dumbledore person, nor do I trust this ally of his. Who the hell asks for help from someone in Japan he doesn't even know?/
But what if we can help him? Ryou thought.
\We don't even know what he wants help with or why he's contacting us to begin with?/
Well, he wants to speak to us. Perhaps we can ask him then, Ryou suggested.
Yami Bakura scoffed. \You really are considering agreeing to talk to this Dumbledore guy, aren't you?/ he muttered.
If he needs help and we can help him then why shouldn't we?
\Because that would require actually caring about this problem of his to actually help, which I most certainly don't,/ Yami Bakura huffed.
It couldn't hurt to talk to him, Ryou thought. And it would be interesting to see if magic really was real.
\Hmph, of course magic's real,/ Yami Bakura sneered.
I meant if other kinds of magic actually exists, Ryou clarified.
\You are just determined to hear this foolish mortal out, aren't you?/ Yami Bakura huffed but thought about what the letter said. What intrigued him the most was the mention of an 'ally' who told Dumbledore about his host and just how this supposed 'ally' knew about him and why he told this supposed 'wizard' from England about Ryou. He may not care too much about his host, as the boy was just a means to an end, but he did not like the idea of someone telling Dumbledore about his host for some reason he didn't know.
Not to mention he hated not knowing things.
Why not? He doesn't sound like he poses a threat, Ryou thought.
\You are far too trusting but fine, we'll listen to what that mortal has to say. If he threatens you in any way, though, I will send him to his own personal hell,/ Yami Bakura said flatly. Besides, I have my own questions for this mortal, he thought.
. . .
To Be Continued
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: okay, I changed a lot of things in this chapter to make it a bit more realistic in terms of the character's reactions. It might still be a bit unrealistic (and some characters coughYamiBakuracough might be out of character in terms of their reactions) but I feel it's better than the first version
Yuri: why did you bother on rewriting this chapter? Just because that little witch told you too
Blaze: Misha did not tell me to rewrite this chapter, she simply gave me some constructive criticism, that I actually really do appreciate, that I decided to take to heart (well, mostly, since I don't believe I hit upon all the points she pointed out)
Bakura: who the hell is that guy?
Yuri: I am Yuri (wanders off)
Bakura: okay then? Ain't he from that fourth spinoff of Yu-Gi-Oh!?
Blaze: yes
Bakura: oh (picks up bazooka and wanders off)
Blaze: you're going to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge, aren't you?
Bakura: well since you stopped me the last time I tried to do that, yes (walks off cackling)
Ryou: (sweatdrops) Personally, I rather liked this version of the chapter
Blaze: (beams) thanks, Ryou (hugs Ryou)
Ryou: (blushes) um, you're welcome
Blaze: well, I hope you enjoyed the rewritten version of this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated. And thank you to the five reviewers who reviewed the first version of this chapter. If you would like to review the new version of this chapter (since I know you can't review on the same chapter twice), just shoot me a PM and I will respond to all of them.
