Title: The Key to My Heart – Chapter One

Author: Erudit

Pairings: YY/Y; S/J, M/B mentioned

Genre: Romance

Warnings: Shonen ai, AU!

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Atemu left... that's all I have to say. Would he have done that if I had anything to say on this matter. No! So: no I don't own anything. This is written for the sole purpose of making me and whoever likes my stories happy.

Intro: There are two kinds of demons: Those that never learn to love and have one affair after the other because of their cravings for sexual contact and those who once in their life meet their soul mate to cherish and keep safe. Atemu, who is mostly just known as Yami, always knew he belonged to the second kind. Ever since he has been born, about two thousand or more years ago, amethyst eyes have hunted his dreams.

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Blablabla- Thoughts

/blablabla/- Yami and Yugi talking through mind link (won't be happening for a while)

"blablabla"- normal talking

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Prologue:

Blazing red and yellow flames shot out of the carriage as it tumbled heavily down the hill after a brutal impact. Anguished cries could be heard from the inside. The door was forcefully broken open, a young woman tumbled out of it, a small bundle cradling in her arms. Two men followed with raised swords to defend the small group from the attackers.

The two black horses which had minutes before pulled the carriage uphill tried to get up from their fallen position to escape the flames. An old man, his tricolored, slight greyish hair stood in all directions and made him look like a porcupine, did his best to cut the horses loose. When he finally succeeded, they stormed off and disappeared into the forest, running back to their stables.

"Come on, father! Hurry up!" One of the younger men yelled.

The old man followed the other three people, limping. He had hurt his leg in the fall. They tried to hide in the forest.

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Up on the hill a small group of men watched the happenings with evil laughs.

"I didn't know how great this new power was until I saw what it did to this carriage." A dark-haired, slim man stated, his eyes resting on his raised right hand thoughtfully.

"Did you see their faces?" Another yelled with a shrill laugh. "I'd like to drink in their fear. Nothing's better than that!"

"Then kill them." The slim, black-haired man stated, turning his back to the fire that still burned down the hill. "I've no more need for these mortals anyways. All I wanted to do is test my new power." He left the group, walking in a slow fashion, almost as if he was already looking for some other people to bring pain to. "Don't take too long." He reminded the group.

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"Yihaaa!" The group of thieves yelled, all of them laughing wildly as they reached the mortals they'd been hunting.

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"I think I like this new power." The dark-haired man up on the hill said, looking once more at his right hand. Flames danced across his fingers. He watched them with mild fascination, intense grey eyes glowing red from time to time. Then he vanished into the night.

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It had been much too easy to kill the two men with their swords. Metal was no use against magic. The small group of thieves was now searching for the other two people, the old man and the woman. One of them sniffed the air. "I think they are over there. I can smell the fear." A hysterical giggle could be heard.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Another dark voice teased. A sob could be heard to their left. With a grin the group stepped closer to the origin of it. The woman broke out of the bushes, trying to run away. She was easily caught. The bundle of clothes flew out of her hands as she fell with a scream. Her blood drenched the clothes.

The group turned away, some of them laughing, others licking their lips and basking in the fear that now rested in the forest. They were about to go searching for the old man when suddenly a child started to cry softly right next to them. They turned around surprised, a sick smile on their faces.

In the bundle, carefully wrapped up in clothes, lay a young boy, not even one year old.

"He's mine. He'll taste delicious. You can have the others." One of the men said as they slowly closed in on their newest victim.

"And on what right do you base your silly claim?" Another asked.

"I'm second in command."

"Maybe the boss would like it himself. We should bring it to him as a gift."

"He didn't appear to be interested."

"Give it to me!"

"NO! It's mine!"

They started quarrelling.

They boy stopped crying and watched them with big, bright amethyst eyes. He began sucking his thumb.

Then somebody stepped out of the forest and picked up the young boy softly. He was cradled in strong arms and fell back asleep.

"Fools." Crimson eyes flashed dangerously.

The person and the young boy had long since disappeared when the group of thieves had finally decided on who would get the child.

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"Where have you been, Yami?" Seth, also known as the high priest, wanted to know. "I've been looking for you everywhere." He gracefully jumped down the rock, his blue cloak propelling around him. Without a sound he landed right next to the other.

"Obviously you didn't look everywhere." Yami corrected amusedly. He continued walking back to the palace.

"What do you have there?" Seth, asked and indicated to the red-brown bundle of clothes in Yami's arms. Yami shifted the bundle so that the face of a young boy appeared. Said boy yawned cutely as he woke, and rubbed his eyes.

"Who is that?" Seth exclaimed in surprise.

"That's the boy I told you about." Yami said. Crimson eyes turned soft when they met the boy's amethyst ones.

"That's him? He's already born? Why didn't you tell me?" Seth bent down to closely examine the boy.

"I did. You just never listen." Yami stated. He smiled when the young boy suddenly started playing with one of his golden bangs.

"He's cute. If I didn't already have a pup to take care of…" Seth trailed of. Crimson eyes narrowed as Yami growled at him. "Woah, woah. Chill out. I'm not so stupid as to touch something you've been looking for all this time."

"Good. You wouldn't live for long if you tried." Yami stated. "And I really don't want to deal with your heart-broken boyfriend."

The high priest chuckled.

"What is my father doing right now?" Yami asked, but he didn't sound all-too-interested.

"Either he is killing one of the lower demons or he has once again called out for one of his whores." Seth stated crossly.

Yami sighed. "I wish he wouldn't do that." It was a well-known fact that those demons that were able to fall in love couldn't understand how others just slept around.

"You could just kill him, you know." Seth reminded him gently. As demons didn't pass away it was customary in the demonic realm that the prince eventually killed his father and took over the throne himself. At least if he was strong enough to do so. And Yami most certainly was. He was the most powerful demon that was currently walking the earth.

"You know fully well that I have no desire to sit on the throne." Yami said crossly. They had had this talk too many times. "I rather travel around with you and the others, fight those lowlifes that think they can overthrow us, and improve my knowledge and skills than ruling this country myself."

"You may one day need to sit on the throne if you want to keep him save." Seth stated, and indicated the child in Yami's arms. The arms tightened protectively.

"If the need arises, I will kill my father, rest assured. I will not let anybody hurt this one." Yami said grimly, red eyes glowing dangerously with the promise. He would kill anybody that even just thought about hurting the boy.

Seth smiled. "Should we show the others?"

Yami shook his head. "No. I don't want anybody to know about it yet. Will you keep it a secret, from Jou even?" Seth looked unhappy but nodded anyways. He always kept his promises. Nobody would find out about this boy's importance.

"Thank you." Yami looked at the boy once more, a pensive look upon a face. "Do you think it's true?" he then wanted to know. "That we can only fall in love with one person in our entire life?" Seth didn't answer. He couldn't honestly say. But from what others had told them it was true.

"It would mean that whenever our loved-ones die, we would just wilt away. It is said that you cannot live with a broken heart." Yami continued.

"He won't die." Seth assured.

"What if they try to use him against me?" Yami asked unsurely.

"You won't let that happen. You'll keep him save." Seth reassured. "And we'll teach him magic. He'll become strong. He'll defeat those that threaten his life. Don't worry. You should be happy to have finally found him. You've been looking for so long."

Yami nodded. "But I've felt his presence for some time already. It's strange…he is still so small and already I can feel how he affects me."

"That's because you are bonded with your soul. His soul automatically responds to yours. That's what true love is about. It doesn't matter how old the other is, what the other looks like…as long as he is safe, you will be happy." Seth explained softly, his eyes turning distant as he thought back to the time when Jono had been born.

Yami smiled. "One day I'll tell him my true name. And with that I'll be bound to him forever." In the demonic realm the name gave you power over a person. You could only call those by their real name that were beneath you in station. Yami's real name was Atemu. Everybody knew it but nobody dared to call him such. It would mean death. Atemu would not tolerate being called by his real name by any other than the little boy in his arms. Not even his father dared to offend him such. It was their way to show respect. He was called Yami, just as Seth was called Seto by those beneath him. Ryou was mostly called Bakura, even by Yami and Seth although they were his friends. Some also called him tomb-robber. It was a title he had gained a long time ago. Back then, Seth had also been called high priest. Jou could also be named Jono, and the last of their group, a sandy-haired boy with lilac eyes was called Marik. Nobody remembered his real name anymore. He even forgot it himself. Some would call him grave-keeper, though.

"Where will he live until it is time?" Seth wanted to know.

"I already have a plan." They entered the castle and Yami directed their steps into the dungeons.

"To the whores?" Seth asked surprised.

"To my mother. She will care for him." Yami explained. "No whore will dare to touch him that way. You know she is the highest-ranking concubine in the palace."

"That's because she is your mother. She should have been queen." Seth stated heatedly.

Yami just smiled wryly. "Yes. She should have. But maybe one day she will be queen-mother."

"Why don't you give him to some higher-ranked demons, though? He would be safer then. You know your father wants to sleep with all his whores." Seth objected.

"He would draw too much attention to himself. People would wonder why I was interested in him. I want him to be safe. My mother will keep him safe. I already told her about it." Yami answered tensely.

"You already talked to her? When did that happen? You just told me about him now! Why am I always the last to know the important things?" Seth began whining.

Yami chuckled softly at his friend's antics. Sometimes you couldn't tell that they were already several thousand years old. "I told you, remember? You just never listen to me when Jou is in the room."

Seth blushed. "Sorry about that. I suppose I'm not as good a friend as I always think myself to be."

"Don't worry, you are." Yami assured.

"You will soon experience this, too, you know." Seth added with a grin. "Once he is a little bit older, I'm quite sure you'll be distracted."

"We'll see." Yami said. They reached the concubines' chambers and entered. They stopped talking immediately. Most whores couldn't be trusted. They'd do anything for money.

"Yami!" Luckily Atemu's mother was the first who saw them. Most of the time it was Teana, and Yami wasn't really fond of the girl. It was clear that her wish was to become his queen. Yami didn't like people who were only after money or a title. Sadly, the concubines were taught from early on that the only way for them to survive was to find a man. They couldn't stay concubines forever. Even demons grew older (slowly but steadily), and eventually there would be better-looking whores, and especially not as experienced whores to replace them. Teana was still young, as she was about thousand years old, but she had already pleased a lot of men, and was slowly becoming unattractive for the more powerful demons. For those demons that used to sleep around, it was a thrill to sleep with a virgin. They preferred those to the more experienced ones. One day Teana wouldn't have any customers left.

"Hello mother!" Yami greeted. Even though his mother had been the one to name him Atemu, she wasn't allowed to call him by his birth-name.

"Is that him?" She stepped closer, her crimson eyes smiling softly down at the child in Yami's arms. "What's his name?"

Yami thought about it for a few minutes. He knew as a fact that the boy's family hadn't had time to name the child yet. "Yugi." He then finally announced. Game. That would make a splendid name. Yami loved games.

"It's a beautiful name." Yami's mother agreed, a smile playing on her lips. "Do you like it, too, little one?" she asked the boy. Little Yugi just looked at her with big eyes, and then he began sucking his thumb again.

"He's pretty quiet." Seth stated disappointed.

"Well, I would have liked to see you talk great speeches in his age." Yami mocked. He handed the little angel to his mother.

"Bwhoo." Yugi protested, and stared accusingly back at Yami. Seth laughed while Yami looked down at Yugi, guilt already plaguing him.

"Let's get going, or you'll never leave him with your mother." Seth exclaimed, and dragged Yami outside. "Besides, I think Teana is about to return to the chambers." That had the desired effect. Yami didn't even think of remaining in the concubines' quarters.

"We will meet again, Yugi. When the time is right." He softly said, as they went to their own quarters to pack their things. It was time they left the palace again. The pharaoh was really getting on their nerves.

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So, I really hope you like this story as much as you like my others! I think it is a really nice-sized chapter, too. Not too long and not too short.

Please review! (I won't put up the next chapter unless I get at least ten reviews! Erudit looks at audience with big puppy eyes.)

In case it was unclear (which it probably was), I'll tell you once again the characters' real names and the names they can also be called by:

Real name: ------ Other Names:

Atemu------ Yami, Prince (later on: Pharaoh) Yami

Seth ------ Seto, High Priest (and many other names by Jou)

Jou ------- Jono (mutt, pup and others by Seth)

Marik -------- Grave-Keeper

Ryou --------- Bakura, Tomb-Robber

I'm sorry I make everything so complicated, especially as I sometimes used Egyptian names as the real ones and then I used the Japanese as the real ones…sigh. Actually I just wanted to have those names that I like better to be the ones they were named by. Most of the time they'll be called by the first names (except Bakura: he will be called Ryou only by Yugi, and Yami: only Yugi will be allowed to call him Atemu). When the group talks to strangers, though, they will mostly be called by the other names. In my story they won't have a last name.

If you have any other questions, please tell me. I'll try to answer them either in my story or as an answer to your reviews.