So… once upon a time I was reading Michelle West's books Hunter's Oath and Hunter's Death – highly recommendable books, by the way – and suddenly they began to scream at me: 'Write a crossover! Write a crossover! Starring Seto and Jou!' Here it is, finally… Don't worry if you don't know those books, that's not required to be able to follow this. This first chapter is kind of prologue-ish, anyway. It's also quite Seto-centric, but that'll change – I think.
It has been quite long since I read the books, so I'm sorry if there are some inaccuracies. I did my best, but I did face some difficulties…. There shouldn't be anything too bad, though. (At least I hope so…) This might also have some spoilers on the books, but nothing too bad, again.
And yes, I know. It would sound more sensible to have Seto as the Lord and Jou as the thief, but somehow this felt more like it… you'll understand as you read on.
Shounen-ai warning for the later chapters.
I'm still debating whether this is PG or PG-13…
Disclaimer: I don't own either Yu-Gi-Oh! nor any of the works of Michelle West-sama. If you thought I did, go get some help. -.-
A young boy, not over ten years old, was running through the streets of the King's City. It was a busy day and the streets were full of people, making it difficult for him to proceed as quickly as he wanted to, but at least he knew that his pursuers were facing the same problem.
"Sorry!" he shouted over his shoulder as he almost bumped into an elderly woman who was crossing the street. The woman shouted angrily after him as he ran away, but he ignored her, listening keenly for other sounds. The barking of dogs, and… a blow of a horn. There it came, echoing in the walls, announcing a Hunt in the King's City.
Damn… Should have known better than try to steal from a Hunter Lord… He glanced nervously around. He was running so hard that his side was beginning to hurt and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. Think now, think… you'll never outrun the dogs and if they catch you… Well, truthfully he wasn't exactly sure what would happen if he were caught, but he didn't really want to find out either.
He turned suddenly to a side street, a ghost of a plan forming in his mind. He knew these streets well, having lived there for almost a year by now, and he was sure he could lose the Hunter Lord from his tracks, dogs or no dogs. He aimed for a little alley that he knew to be a dead end, and once he reached it he ran to a ladder that was leaning against the wall and climbed quickly to the roof. A little smirk was playing on his lips. I'd like to see the dog that can follow me here…There was a similar dead end not so far from where he was. If he repeated his trick there he was sure that he'd lose the pursuers easily.
-
He was still panting hard as he run over a third roof onto which he had climbed. He hadn't heard the dogs barking for some time, and as he began to climb down he was grinning widely, congratulating himself for a masterly escape. However, the grin vanished suddenly from his face when he heard a voice from below.
"You'd better be careful up there… the last thing I want after all this running is you to fall down and break your neck."
The boy gave a start and glanced down, only to find the Hunter Lord staring up at him, surrounded by his dogs. For a moment he hung frozen where he was, staring at the man and the unnaturally quiet dogs – were they really standing in a formation? – but soon he recovered from his shock and began hastily to climb back up. He hadn't climbed many rungs when the head of another man dressed in the hunters' green appeared over the edge of the roof. The boy started again, lost his grip on the ladder, and – despite his frantic attempts to regain it – fell down.
The Hunter Lord stared a moment at the boy's unmoving body that was lying on the ground, and glared then up at his companion. "You'd better hope he's not hurt," he grunted as he bent over the boy.
The other sighed as he began to climb down. "Me? Why is it always my fault? You could have caught him, y'know."
-
Something smelled good. That was the first thing that he became aware of as he woke up. There was something close that smelled… really delicious. It made him remember his hunger. Carefully he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in confusion. Then he tried to get up from where he was lying but the movement made him realize that besides the hunger, he was also suffering from a very severe headache, and he sunk back to the soft cushions.
Soft cushions?
He opened his eyes again and glanced around. He couldn't be certain but it seemed to him that he was lying on a bed in some inn of a better quality. He really didn't have enough experience of those to know for sure.
"Our guest seems to be awake."
With a start he sat up, ignoring the pounding in his head. There was a man standing at the doorway, looking at him with what was probably meant to be a friendly smile. Another man appeared behind the first one's shoulder, and with a sinking feeling he recognized the Hunter Lord whose purse he had tried to steal. The fact that the Lord looked much more sullen than his companion did not really make him feel any better.
"Finally. I thought you were going to sleep all the day." The Hunter Lord stepped beside the bed looking at the boy who was sitting on it.
The boy had strikingly blue eyes and brown hair – surprisingly dark brown, among the fair Breodani. Otherwise he looked like any other kid from the streets, all skinny and dirty, dressed in rags. Still, he did not look away as the Lord examined him, but stared straight back with a firm, almost angry expression.
The Lord smiled a little. "He seems to be suitable, don't you think?"
The other man moved to stand beside him, shrugging. "Possibly. At least he has good reflexes and he seems to be capable to think, which is quite essential in this trade, given the…"
The Lord snorted. "That's enough. Now if we only get him home in one piece…"
"Home?"
The word escaped him out of sheer surprise, and the boy bit his lip, angry at himself, as both men turned to look at him.
"Yes," the Hunter Lord said. "To Shironouchi [1], to be exact, although…" He cut himself off, staring again at the boy with a thoughtful expression.
The boy was thinking hard as well, or trying to, at least. The headache did not make it any easy task. Anyway, that statement didn't make any sense whatsoever. Why would any lord take a thief from the streets to his home? The very idea was absurd, and it made him wary. There was something going on that he didn't understand, and he had never liked that.
"So, what's your name, boy?"
The Lord's voice cut off his thoughts and made him start once more. For a moment he eyed the man suspiciously, but decided then that telling his name would hardly do any harm.
"Seto," he answered gruffly.
The Lord nodded, looking satisfied. "I was right, you see," he said to his companion, who shrugged again.
"For once."
Seto looked at them in bewilderment. Right? About what?
The Lord turned to look at him again. "You see, we have been looking for you."
"…me?"
"Yes. You… and your brother." He smiled a little as he saw Seto stiffening. "You have a brother, don't you? Called Mokuba if I am not mistaken…"
Seto stared at him suspiciously before nodding curtly. They obviously knew the truth anyway, there was no point in trying to deny it. "Are you going to take us back to him?" The Lord had said something about taking them home… to that… that… Shiro… whatever the place was called, but one could never be sure with lords.
"If by him you mean Master Kaiba, no." He smiled again at the boy's still suspicious expression. "Definitely no, after the trouble we've had in finding someone suitable. We've been through all the local orphanages, but did not find what we were looking for. In one place, though, we heard about a boy who sounded fitting, the only problem being that he was adopted about a year ago. We did some research and found out that the said boy – and his brother – had very soon run away from their adoptive father. Which," he added, "doesn't surprise me at all, from all I've heard about him. It took us quite long to find you from the streets, and some of us were beginning to lose faith. But we did find you."
"Obviously." Seto wasn't sure if he was happy about this.
"Anyway, to finish the introductions… I am Lord Kawai. This," he gestured to his companion, "is Kagemi. He is my huntbrother. Do you know what that is?"
Seto shook his head carefully.
The man sighed. "Do you know what Hunter Lords do?"
Seto snorted. "Of course I do. Everyone knows that." The Hunter Lord looked at him expectantly, and he continued a little hesitantly.
"They… hunt."
Lord Kawai sighed again, and his huntbrother tried to hold back his laughter. "The boy's right, you know. I know from experience that that's pretty much all you do."
The Lord gave him a sharp glance, but didn't say anything. For a moment he stared at the boy quite surly. Seto met his gaze with an equally sour expression, and he sighed third time. "Time for a history lesson, boy."
He pulled a chair close to the bed and sat on it, while the other man sat on the bed beside Seto.
"A long time ago there was a great famine. It was a very hard time for our people… Many died, the old and young alike, and the future seemed very grim. So, the people called for their God for help. The Hunter heard their plea and came to help the people who had always been faithful to him. He taught us the way of the Hunter and gave us the Hunter Lords to feed the people, as well as the first of the hounds, the Bredari. Ever since the Hunter-born have hunted for the people to feed them with the help of their God-given abilities, so that there will not be another famine."
Seto listened carefully, his worries about his thievery forgotten for a moment. If there was something he loved, it was learning new things.
"There is a prize, though." The Lord's voice softened a little. "Once in a year the Sacred Hunt has to be called. All the Hunter Lords and their huntbrothers gather to hunt in the King's forests, and the God comes to Hunt them. Every year, one of the Lords or their brothers dies in that hunt."
He fell silent, and also his huntbrother was quiet. Seto shifted a little, impatient to hear more.
"So… what do the huntbrothers do, then?" he asked finally.
Before the Lord could answer, Kagemi looked up smiling. "Oh, basically, we are here just to remind the lords that there are other things than hunting in the world, and also to shove some sense into their thick skulls when it's needed."
The Lord gave him one more glare, but he just met his gaze smiling innocently before turning back to Seto.
"Seriously speaking, we are meant to be friends and protectors to our hunters, and help them in their hunts… as well as in the social circles. I might add that the vast majority of the Hunter Lords are far better suited to converse with their dogs than with the Ladies of the court." At this point, the Lord had given up glaring at him, and just shook his head sighing defeatedly as he leaned back in his chair.
"Secondly, the huntbrothers are always chosen among the commoners. That is because our presence is meant to remind the lords that it is the common people they are supposed to feed and protect." He paused for a while. "It's surprising how many Hunter Lords end up searching the potential huntbrothers among thieves, though…" He shrugged. "I guess they just like hunting in a city."
Lord Kawai snorted. "Might I continue, if you are finished with your little lecture?" He rose up and gazed at Seto seriously. "My nephew's eight birthday is drawing near."
Seto didn't say anything, he did not understand why that was so important.
"At the age of eight, the Hunter Lord and his huntbrother take the Hunter's Oath," he continued. "There isn't a brother chosen yet for my nephew." Suddenly he smiled a little. "You gave us a good hunt today, and you obviously have some wits about you. So, what do you say?"
Seto looked at him silently, trying to think, but his thoughts were in quite a turmoil. He saw the huntbrother smile and wink at him behind the Lord's back, his expression clearly saying 'this is your chance, boy, go for it'. He licked his lips nervously and said the first thing in his mind, mostly because of the delicious smell that still lingered in the room.
"So… if I agreed to be this… huntbrother… would I get much to eat?"
This time the huntbrother laughed out aloud. "You'd live like a Lord, boy. But that reminds me… you must be starving. I'll go to get you some wood." He left the room, leaving Seto alone with the Hunter Lord, who looked at him expectantly.
Seto cleared his throat staring at the floor. "I guess I'd like to meet your nephew first, before I decide… and…" He looked up suddenly. "What about my brother?"
"You want to take him with you?"
Seto nodded firmly. "Yeah. I'm not leaving him behind."
The Lord shrugged. "He can come with you, of course."
Seto nodded again. "It's a deal, then."
Just then Kagemi came back, bringing that delicious smell even closer, and suddenly Seto had to fight hard not to start drooling.
-
Seto sat quietly holding his sleeping little brother in his arms as the carriage rolled onward. The Lord and his huntbrother were talking about many things, mostly about hunting and some 'Lordly stuff', as he had named it. First he had tried to follow their discussions, but soon he had grown tired of listening to things he didn't know anything about.
The carriage rolled onward, as it had done for days by now, and he was beginning to wonder how long the travel would take. Slowly, this whole deal was beginning to make him nervous. What if, for some reason, they decided that after all he wasn't suitable to be a huntbrother once they reached their destination? He somewhat doubted that they'd get him all the way back to the city… although they did seem to be quite nice. The again, he had realized long ago that in general people weren't nice unless they wanted something from you.
Living in the city wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad either. The societies of the street people did offer some safety after all. There was the den into which he and his brother had belonged, for one thing, although the leader of that den didn't seem to care much of his youngest members. That was still better than living alone on the streets. And definitely it was better than living with him.
Seto frowned a little, wondering why they always had to have so bad luck. He still remembered, although barely, how excited their mother had been when they had left to Breodanir after better life. Couple of years later she had died when Mokuba was born, and just a few years after that their father caught some weird sickness – he still wasn't sure what it was – and died as well. Left alone in a strange country, the boys were taken to an orphanage, only to be adopted by nothing short of a monster. Worriedly Seto glanced at his sleeping brother, hoping for him that they would have better luck this time.
Suddenly he realized that they were now traveling in silence. Blinking, he looked up, and saw the others watch him silently.
Kagemi met his gaze with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Worried, aren't you?" The smile widened a little, but it was still somehow rueful. "I could tell you there's no need to worry, but that wouldn't really help, would it? I remember when I was in your position…"
Seto's eyes widened a little in surprise, and the huntbrother laughed quietly. "All the huntbrothers are chosen among the common folk, remember? So I was in your position once, and quite worried, even without a brother to take care of."
He glanced at his hunter. "And maybe there was a reason to be worried after all… I wish someone had told me what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be his huntbrother."
The Lord gave him one more of his glares. "You just can't stop, can you…"
He grinned. "Of course not. That's not on my contract."
"And what is? To be a constant pain in the ass?"
The huntbrother tsked. "I somewhat doubt that that's how it's put officially."
Seto smiled despite himself, feeling a little relieved. Maybe all would turn out well, after all.
-
Finally, after five days of traveling, the carriage arrived into the yard of a big mansion. Mokuba was watching out of the window with eager anticipation, pointing out everything he saw and making the men laugh, but Seto did his best to avoid looking out. He was trying to look nonchalant, but in truth his heart was beating wildly and there was a bunch of butterflies flying around in his stomach.
The carriage came to a stop, a servant opened its door, and the Lord stepped outside, followed by his huntbrother. Mokuba bounced enthusiastically after them.
Kagemi turned to look behind at Seto who was still sitting in the carriage. "Come on," he said stretching out his hand. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
Seto blushed a little and stepped out ignoring the offered hand. "I'm not afraid," he said, and blushed more when he realized how defensive his voice sounded. The other said nothing and for once kept his smile in check.
They were just about to go inside when a young boy came running from the direction of the stables.
"Uncle!"
In a matter of seconds the boy jumped to Hunter Lord's neck.
"Where have you been!? You've been gone so long…" He looked up eagerly. "Did you bring me anything?"
The Lord smiled down at him. "In a manner of speaking, I guess I did. But what the hell have you been doing? You're mother's going to kill you if she sees you like that…"
The boy looked down a little shamefacedly. He was finely clothed – or probably had once been. Now the garments were dirty and ragged here and there. Dirty was also his face, not to talk about his hands. On the top of it there were few straws sticking out of his blond hair.
"Nothing so much… First we were playing at the stables… the main stable was my castle and I and Jon and his brothers were defending it against the others and first it went fine, but then someone let them in through the backdoors and we had to start really fighting to get them out again and…"
Lord Kawai raised his hands up cutting of the boy's enthusiastic explanations. "Alright, alright, I get it. Is that were you got so dirty?"
The boy glanced at the aforementioned hands before hiding them quickly behind his back. "Well… partly… Old Mathius chased us away from the stable, he said we disturbed the horses. So we thought that we'd go to fish and there were plenty of worms in the stable yard."
The Lord shook his head. "Next time, change your clothes before your games. For now, I'd advice you to get changed quickly. I'm pretty sure that you're mother wants to see you after she's heard what I have to tell her, and as I said… you'll be in trouble if she sees you like that."
The boy nodded. "Okay. It won't take long. But what did you bring me?"
The Lord smiled. "I'll tell you later. Now go to get yourself clean."
"Okay!" The boy ran off.
Lord Kawai shook his head looking after him. "He's quite impossible…"
Kagemi laughed. "Indeed."
Seto had followed the exchange feeling a little worried. Now he approached hesitantly the laughing men.
"Excuse me… but was that your nephew?"
The Lord turned to look at him. "Katsuya? Yes, he's the one. Fine kid, just believe me."
"I think he's funny, big brother," Mokuba piped up.
Funny's just the word... Suddenly Seto heard Kagemi's voice ringing in his mind.
I wish someone had told me what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be his huntbrother...
Do I really want to do this? he wondered as they walked inside.
If I remember right, Jou's mother's last name is Kawai, so I guess that would be her brother's name as well. (That way I don't have to spend any more time wondering what to call him…) As for Kagemi, that name came to my mind when I was going through all the possible and impossible names I could remember (what I don't remember is where I've heard it, or even whether it was a boy's or a girl's name…). Anyway, it was quite fitting here: it means 'the person always at one's side'.
::pokes the fic:: I have a feeling that the beginning was in some places similar to the book… -.-; Can't remember, though, it's been so long since I read it. Anyway, reviews are muchly appreciated. : )