Lion's Mouth: Part I (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Fear coursed through my body as I ran through the woods. I had never experienced such a strong emotion in my life, and there was nothing else I could think about. It took effort to not run into trees. I did not know where I was going, just that I had to get out of there. After several minutes, my mind finally allowed me to think and reflect.

How had I let this happen? I had seen the signs. My mother had told me to listen to my intuition, but I had ignored it instead. Was that any way to honor her memory? Tears filling my eyes, I knew she would be disappointed in me.

But how could I have done anything different? Mom had not prepared me for the danger that lay ahead. She had not taught me how to control my 'powers.' I had no idea how to help Bakura, so I had acted like nothing was the matter. It seemed the only option at the time.

It all started a year ago the beginning of my last year in junior high school. Bakura attended a private school at the time, so we met at one of our house's every day after school. On this day, it was my turn to go over to his house.

"Samia!" he said brightly when he opened the door to let me inside. "Good to see you. Look at what my dad got me on his trip to Egypt!"

I recoiled as I felt dark energy coming from the object around his neck. It was gold and consisted of a circle with a pyramid that had an eye in the middle, and around the edges of the circle were sharp points that hung down. Up until then, I thought that my mother had been exaggerating when she had warned me against magic. I had only ever used my powers to sense others' emotions, but now I could clearly feel something form this object, and I did not like it. "What is that thing?!"

Bakura blinked, confused. "It's called the Millennium Ring. Is something wrong?"

"I – I feel something evil coming from it. You shouldn't have it!" I took a step back into the outdoors.

Bakura frowned. "What are you talking about? Oh, is this because it's from Egypt? I know that has bad memories for you, but not everything from Egypt is evil."

I shook my head. "That's not it. I – I don't really know how to explain it, but my powers are warning me against it."

"Your powers have never warned you against an object before."

"My mom said I can sense magic. This is the first time it's happened."

"Then maybe you're mistaken," Bakura said calmly. He was unruffled by my reaction. "How can you tell the difference between good and evil magic?"

I hesitated. "I guess I can't." Maybe I was overreacting. Could this be because of what happened to my parents in Egypt?

"It's a gift from my dad, so until something bad happens, I'm going to keep it."

I nodded. "O-ok." The feeling subsided as I entered the house, making me wonder if I had been imaging it all along.

I should have trusted my instincts. I should have made him get rid of the object, but I was afraid of disappointing him. As silly as it seemed now, I thought arguing might cause a rift between us. My whole life, all the friends I made ended up leaving me for one reason or another. Bakura was the only one who had stayed with me for so long, so I could not risk losing him.

That was only my first encounter with a Millennium item. While in class sometime the following fall, I felt a similar energy in the room like I had when I first saw the Millennium Ring. There was something slightly different about it, but I was not yet skilled enough in my abilities to be able to decipher the meaning of this.

My eyes landed on my classmate, Yugi Muto. He was talking with three other students, but it was what was around his neck that caught my attention. Like the Ring, it was gold and had an eye in the middle. This object, however, resembled an upside down pyramid.