Me: Welcome to my fist actual story since I lost interest in 'The Medium'. It should only be a three-shot. And If you've read the majority of my stories, they are not overly long chapters. But I'll make an effort on this one. Since nobody is reading my side bit-'How to Survive a Horror Movie' I doubt anyone will read this. But If you do, please review, and vote on my profile poll so I'm not left wondering what you guys want to read.

Count: She owns nothing.

Me: Warning, It's yaoi. Count/Leon & Ryou/Edo. Just because it says the main characters are Edo and Count, it does not mean they are anything more than friends in this fic.

Edo Phoenix had always loved Chinatown. The ornamental buildings, the things they sold…

Contrary to popular belief, he was not arrogant, or rude, or even all that cutthroat. He simply needed to do what he could to keep people away. People, he didn't love. They were greedy, arrogant, and many other things he couldn't put into words.

Someone killed his father.

Someone abused him when he was young.

Someone oppressed and demeaned the few decent people in this world.

Most humans were that way, as he had come to accept. He got along with a few people, other than that, his 'Jerk Shield' as he called it, repelled others. He didn't need to worry about fans, they thought he was cool, even when he was mean. He didn't need to worry about the child molester who had taken care of him for a while when The D thought he couldn't care for the boy, the man was terrified of him now, Phoenix hated humans, did it seem like he would hesitate to fight back?

Yeah, people sucked. Homosexual was wrong, Christian beliefs were all good. That's all those sheep needed to worry about in their everyday lives. He hated them, oh so much. He almost envied the murderers. Prime examples of humanities faults, but at least they went out of their way to destroy the beings Edo hated. Some were innocent, that wasn't good, but most, deep in their hearts, were the people Edo hated and he honestly hoped they suffered greatly in a Hades torture room.

Strangely, he had always felt that way. There were a few decent people, and the rest were scum. Never his father. His kind father who had always done the best thing for Edo, and for other people. He so rarely did things for himself, though Edo believed it was a right to be selfish once in a while, he had idolized his father, whose calm voice he remembered from a time he couldn't speak.

This was the man who had first introduced the Phoenix to Chinatown.

"Look at all of the different buildings, Edo. Aren't they neat?"

"Mmmm, that smells wonderful. Would you like to eat here today?"

"Wow those flowers are lovely, have you ever seen something that shade before?"

It was true, with his money, he could simply go to China, and observe culture there. But, he loved the little towns nestled into a larger civilization. The complete contrast to the outside world was amazing. He loved how this little place seemed to defy the larger cities. Sure, not all of the people here were great, but most were good people, they knew hardship, and the cruelness of this world. And they kept living. It was beautiful to him, The people were almost family, they lived for each other, apart from a few rotten eggs.

So of course, before his big match against up-and-coming duelist Ryou Marafuji, he stopped in Los Angeles, Chinatown, to sooth his nerves. He walked around for the better part of the day, just looking. He stopped in a restaurant to have a bit of some modified type of Goma Ai, filled with fruit, not meat, the Phoenix was a vegetarian. And that was lunch.

A few kind women asked if he was looking for anything, he had replied kindly with the negative. One had jokingly suggested her daughter. He told her he was Japanese. She had giggled and said something about improving relations between the countries. They both laughed, and Phoenix left the group, knowing he had met a handful of good people.

Around eight p.m. He began walking back to the large city surrounding the town. He had a match tomorrow.

The weather was supposed to be clear. At least, that's what the news had said. This was apparently incorrect as the sky began lobbing baseball sized hail at him the moment he got to the middle of town.

He dodged, of course. However, one can not dodge a sky full of icy projectiles, and he had a few bruises, and a slash down one cheek to prove it, when he finally made it to a building with an awning.

He gently swiped his forefinger over the slash, it was shallow, and would probably be gone in a while. Cuts by the head bled more, and it was only caused by a pointy bit of the falling ice. The bruises had mercifully left his face and neck alone. He didn't even want to try and comprehend what the media would make of that.

Mainly his arms, and shoulders. He would be sore, but at least his head was unharmed.

Now where did he end up?

The sign was unfamiliar to him. But knowing Japanese was a good way to understand Chinese, they were close, after all. However they weren't the same, so his rough guess was a pet shop. Eh, it didn't matter, he wouldn't trouble the shop keeper by hanging around inside without buying anything around closing. He was perfectly okay to loiter under the awning until the hail stopped trying to kill him. Sure it was cold, but then, Phoenix liked it that way.

"It is very cold out here, sir. Would you like to come in for tea?"

Edo whipped around to face, whom he guessed was the shopkeeper in the doorway.

He quickly held his hands up in a placating manner, though nothing was wrong, as his eyes widened in a startled fashion.

"Oh! No, that's quite alright, I'm simply waiting for the hail to stop before continuing back to the city. There's no need to go out of your way…"

The strange shopkeeper smiled in a way, that was more beast than human. Not beast as in aggressive human, but like a wolf, or tiger. This should have freaked him out, even if the smile was simply a twitch of lips, with no teeth showing, the mere aura of predator…But the Phoenix isn't normal, and humans bug him, he prefers animals over most people, the smile makes him feel welcome.

"Please, I insist. It's too cold out here for a young man like you to be exposed." There is no room for argument, even if it was stated kindly.

Edo nodded and obediently followed the man into a warm shop, stranger than most he had ever seen. Deep seductive reds cloaked everything, decorated in places by black, silver or gold pieces of art, antiques, or just general…things…

The strange shopkeeper looked at him strangely. "Are you feeling better? Your skin has more color."

Edo blushed heavily, yeah he had color now. Lots and lots of color.

"I'm naturally that pale, I don't get much color unless I'm in a room like this, which makes things look slightly darker, or after a makeup artist finally releases me."

"Makeup artist?" The shopkeeper said interestedly "Why do you have one of those?"

"I really wish I didn't." Wow, blushing this heavily was making him lightheaded "My sponsor insists, and I do like living with four walls and a roof by my on volition."

The shopkeeper nodded "I though you looked familiar, Edo Phoenix. A duelist right?"

"Yes"

"You're…different…in person."

If he was referring to his looks, Edo agreed. Without the lighting and other such things, he looked more slender, his eyes paler and brighter, and rather than grey, his hair was a silvery white. If he was referring to his attitude, Edo didn't want to explain.

"Very." the Phoenix agreed readily.

The shopkeeper blinked and smiled again. A softer one. And Edo indulged a little in the mans odd appearance. He wore a black changshan with red flower designs swirling up his slender sides. He was tall, and his hair fell long, sliding past mismatched purple and gold eyes, to his collar. Oddly, one corner of the gold eye, appeared a vivid green. His pale face glowed every bit as much as Edo's did.

"Count! What did you sell that man? His body is missing all of his fingers and toes. As well as his throat! Was this the man-eating rabbits again?"

The Phoenix simply looked shocked for a moment before hiding his surprise behind a sip of tea. The yelling man walked in. Edo had to admit, if he was into big muscles, the man would be attractive to him. The Count, apparently that was his name, was, in his own way, appealing. Yet not quite to Edo's tastes, more like the eccentric family member or beast friend asked to make a toast at the wedding.

"He bought a dog. Mr. Detective. A very nice one, of a rare species."

"Let me guess, broken contract? Another one dead! Count, how many more contracts are floating around? I just wanna know how many more this week."

He took notice of Edo's slight figure on the opposite side of the couch for the first time.

"Who're you?"

Edo slanted his eyes to slits. So rude. "Edo Phoenix. And you?"

"Leon Orcot." The blonde said with a nod "Careful of anything you buy here, I wasn't kiddin' 'bout the man-eating rabbits."

Edo allowed his eyes to relax into their normal position. He was rude, but he obviously wasn't a bad person. Strange he had met five of them today, the three women, then the count, now Leon.

The count looks surprised for a moment before one long nailed hand wrapped its long slender fingers around the Counts vivid red mouth. "Oh how rude of me!" He exclaimed "My name is Count D. I never introduced myself!"

"It's quite alright." The Phoenix says with a smile. Not the fake grin he gave the cameras. His own smile, soft, small, and unassuming. Completely gentle. And then he stood.

Leon twitched as if to move in front of the count.

Now he saw. They were more than friends. Leon's large build may not be attractive to him, but he saw the sky blue eyes and tanned skin may be something to the count.

He blushed softly "The hail stopped, I can leave now. Thanks for the tea Count-san, sorry for interrupting your date, goodbye." And he slid through the door and speed walked back to the hotel. That damn duel wasn't going to postpone itself for him to sleep in.

Leon looked at the count with wide eyes.

"He thinks we're…"

The count blinked slowly. Such an astute child, he would need to watch out if he ever joined the police. "Apparently…"

"Huh.."

"Mr. Detective?"

"Yeah?"

"There's a thunderstorm rolling in, there will probably be more hail. Perhaps you should stay here with young Chris?"

"Uh, yeah.. Do you have an extra room?"

"No."

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"Sure."

Edo faced down his opponent, Ryou Marafuji. He was impressive. Much like the man Leon from yesterday. Yet, so different. Dark blue hair, and cold eyes of the same color set in a handsomely pale face. He was slender like Edo, and just as tall, despite being two years older than the Phoenix's sixteen years. He had broad shoulders, that oddly, didn't detract from his slender appearance. He saw the same youth and fire in the mans eyes as he himself felt when dueling.

Of course, that faded when the duel ended, the other man was defeated. And the Phoenix felt betrayal, he had felt his cards seemed off, but now he realized he should have stopped, or thrown the duel.

Saiou had done something to his prized deck.

And the one man Edo felt he had a connection to, had been victimized by this spell. The life and joy was gone. And only darkness remained.

"I promise, I'll fix this Ryou….And you'll never see me again, I swear it. Unless you seek me out or watch my duels, even if it means defaulting and losing my rank, I won't duel you and risk this happening again."

He would play Saiou's game a while longer. Then he would fix the darkness. Ryou shouldn't pay for what scum like Saiou did.

Edo Phoenix hated the violent darkness in human nature, darkness was natural, but not this….evil. He detested those who caused it to manifest. But it wasn't Ryou's darkness that he hated, for it wasn't the man's fault, he was a good man normally, he could feel it! No, Edo Phoenix, hated himself.

'I caused this, now I must clean up this mess.'

With anger in his veins, he didn't notice that his eyes flashed a solid, glowing blue, or that as it happened, a vase in his dressing room froze so quickly and violently, that it shattered.

Love it? Hate it? Review! Vote on my poll! Wow! Longest chapter I've ever written! Almost eight pages!