Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal
Title: Gilag's Unexpected Job
Characters: Gilag
Word Count: 2,891||Status: One-shot
Genre: Humor||Rated: G
Challenge: Catch The Barian Emperors: Gilag; Diversity Challenge, section D, #7: a one-shot
Summary: [one-shot, Catch The Barian Emperors & Diversity Challenge, Gilag] Gilag isn't a teenager, but he hangs around the school anyway. What happens when someone mistakes him for...someone who isn't a student?
Gilag didn't look like a teenager. There was a good reason for that; he wasn't one. He didn't remember how old he actually was, but there was a good reason for that, too. Time in the Barian World wasn't measured by the rise and fall of the sun. The sun did indeed rise and fall, but when no one aged, there was no reason to measure how many of those one had seen.
But nevertheless, his human form wore a school uniform, for reasons he didn't know. He had no idea of what had shaped his form when he'd arrived on Earth, and if he'd had the chance, he would've had a long talk with whoever made such decisions.
He did kind of like the wings, though. Only Vector had wings in the Barian World, and Gilag found his new little ornaments to be very interesting. Still, he knew what his mission was, and he couldn't play with them constantly. He needed to find a way to defeat Tskumo Yuuma and his allies and save his world.
Unfortunately, that wasn't anywhere nearly as easy as it sounded, and he sometimes wondered if he might have to ask for a little help from the others.
Just a little, though. And not from just anyone. Alit, if he had a choice in the matter.
But he much preferred to accomplish this mission on his own. It wasn't as if it would be that difficult, anyway, not once he really put in some effort, and hopefully found some duelists who could actually do something useful. He'd thought he'd done so before and they'd all ended up defeated by Yuuma and his allies anyway.
Well, it wasn't going to stay like that. Not forever. He'd find someone who could get it done right, even if he had to do it himself!
Which meant searching the school for anyone who had any information that he could use to find Yuuma's weaknesses. Those weaknesses had to exist, and he was very good at finding people who could ferret them out for him. All he needed was just to find that right person, whoever it might be, and all of this would fall into place.
And that meant he spent a lot of his time going around the school and watching people. Most of the students ignored him, save for the occasional odd glance, and after a little thought, he decided that was because he was dressed like one of them. Sure, he hadn't seen any other student who was as tall and built as he was, but humans weren't exactly the brightest bunch, he'd come to realize. If someone were dressed like one of them, then he must be one of them.
That led almost inevitably to the thought of the other Barians dressed like this to blend in and he had to stop and laugh in the middle of the hallway at that. Durbe? Vector? Nasch? To think of any of them dressed like this deserved a good laugh.
The sound echoed off the walls, and drew several curious glances that turned into brief worried looks, and most of the students hurried along, not wanting to get involved with the strange student who stopped in the middle of the hall to laugh at air.
One person drew closer, however, a worried look in his eyes. "E…excuse me?"
Gilag broke off laughing to stare at this stranger. Very few humans had ever actually tried to talk to him before and he wasn't all that good at conversation. Where to begin? Oh, yes. "What do you want?"
Perhaps to his credit, the human didn't back off apologizing at the look Gilag sent him. "I was just…wondering if you're all right?"
A human? Wondering about him? As if something had been wrong in the first place? Gilag started to laugh again, then cut himself off. "What do you mean?" Perhaps this human had some connection to Yuuma and suspected him? Some of them could be very clever when they wanted to be.
"I…I didn't mean anything!" The other started to jump back, then steadied himself, looking this way and that. They were the only two in the hall right now, and that seemed to bolster his confidence. "Look, I've got a question for you. But we've gotta hurry because class is about to start."
Gilag had no idea of what he meant, but he had noticed that people tended to clear the hallways once the bells rang, and it was almost that time. "Get with it, then." The sooner he dealt with this human, the better. He thought he had a plan forming in the back of his mind that might accomplish something, and he wanted to have a chance to work through it.
Again the other checked out the hallway, then inched closer to Gilag. "I kind of need some help. There's this guy who's been pushing me around a little, and he wants my lunch money."
Gilag wasn't entirely certain that he'd just heard that. The words had been simple enough, but he still couldn't guess why the student told him that. "So?"
"I tried dueling him, but he beat me." The boy scrunched his face up. "I'm not really all that good at it. But the point is, he won't leave me alone. So, I was wondering if you'd take care of him for me." He hesitated for a few moments when Gilag said nothing. "I can pay you. It's not a lot, but it's better than always giving my lunch money over to him."
Gilag blinked several times, letting what he said slowly work into his mind. He understood bullies; there were several among the lesser Barians, and so long as they didn't bother anyone that the Emperors needed, they were mostly left alone. But why would this person ask him for help?
"Why me?" That was the only coherent question he could think to ask right now. He'd never met this person before!
The petitioner stared back at him, then rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you kind of don't look like a student. So I figured that maybe you could do that kind of thing. I've heard of…people like that." He glanced around again, more nervous with every moment. "If you are, please don't kill me for this. It would really upset my mom."
Gilag stared at him some more. Here he was, a Barian Emperor, currently the leader of their invasion, whose only goal in life was to destroy the one defender that the humans had and save his world, and this kid wanted him to save him from a school bully?
In the very deepest parts of his soul, the parts Gilag didn't even consider looking at, much less paying attention to, a small desire to help grew stronger and stronger. Gilag paid it no mind whatsoever. He was a Barian Emperor. He didn't help humans.
"Sorry, kid, I've got more important things to do." He didn't wait around to see the other's reaction, but stalked off, trying not to feel as if he should turn around and go back.
After that, Gilag decided that it would probably work out better for him if he hung out-investigated some more of the local areas, all in hopes of finding someone who could serve his purposes. Clearly the local gangs weren't of any use, as he'd already found out the hard way. They were still recovering from their massive defeat by Ryouga and Kaito and wouldn't be of any use to anyone for days to come at the very earliest. Not that he had any time for losers like that.
He needed someone else. Anyone else, so long as they could do the job.
The thought that perhaps he wouldn't be mistaken for some kind of dumb muscle if he located himself where there weren't any teenagers did cross his mind, but only a little.
Which was why he found his way to the mall and started to explore. It had little to do with the bright lights and noises, most of which meant very little to him. He recognized food sellers and entertainment of various types, and stopped to watch a couple of people having a duel in the center area. It wasn't a very high level duel and he amused himself picking out the flaws in their respective strategies. They seemed to enjoy it, though, which was something he couldn't get his head fully wrapped around.
Humans are strange, he decided, and kept on going, trying to find something that could keep his interest for a while. He wasn't going to find any good duelists around here, no matter how hard he looked. He didn't feel like going back to the school just yet, though. Not until he didn't have to worry about people asking him to break other people's legs for him.
Bright and sparkly strains of music filled the air as he roamed, though Gilag didn't pay all that much attention to it. At least he didn't in the beginning, but the longer he stayed there, the more it began to catch at his attention, and he found himself humming it under his breath. The moment it hit him that he was doing that, he stopped in his tracks, spluttering to himself.
What is wrong with me? He'd never acted anything like this in his own world! Was it Earth? Did Earth do things to Barians? Would it get worse? Would he actually start to think he was human?
No. He wouldn't let that happen. He was just…bored. That was the only reason he was enjoying himself at all. Yuuma wouldn't be out to duel until later in the afternoon anyway and until that happened, he didn't have anything else to do aside from try to find someone to duel Yuuma. Boredom was all it was.
Something caught at the corner of his eye and he gratefully turned his attention that way, wanting to look into anything that wasn't …wasn't boring. Something that would hold his attention, but not for too long, because he couldn't let himself get distracted.
He'd seen television screens before, and didn't find them that much different from how the Barians could communicate with one another, so that didn't surprise him. What really got his attention was the figure dancing across the screen in brightly colored clothes, singing with all of her heart.
Gilag stopped. Gilag stared. Gilag couldn't remember what it felt like to breathe. Nor did he feel the need to, not so long as he stared into those amazing eyes and let that wonderful voice fill his ears.
All too soon the song came to an end, and another person popped up on screen. "And that was our wonderful Sanagi, with her latest breakout hit! If you want to see her in person, you can get tickets at—" The rest of that was lost on Gilag as someone bumped into him, and he stumbled a little. He paid no attention to whoever it was, but hurried inside the store the television had been playing in.
Sanagi merchandise filled the shelves. There were other items elsewhere, but none of them meant anything to Gilag as he stared at the T-shirts, buttons, and notebooks with that lovely face looking back at him. He swallowed, not at all certain of where to begin.
"May I help you?" A perky voice spoke in his ear and he nearly came out of his skin. The store clerk stood there, hands clasped in front of her. "I saw you watching Sanagi-chan's new video. Are you a fan?"
"I…uh…" Was he? He'd only just now seen her and yet he couldn't get the pretty girl's face out of his head. He didn't think he wanted to, either. "I guess? I just …this is my first time…" He wanted to remember he was a Barian Emperor. Every time he looked at Sanagi-chan's face, he found that meant much less than it had five minutes ago.
"Oh, a new fan! That's just great!" The clerk bubbled happily, much like Vector when he had some scheme going, but with much less chance of large amounts of damage going on. He hoped, anyway. "Did you have something in particular in mind that you wanted?"
He wanted everything. All of it. When the Barians ruled this world, he would make certain Sanagi-chan didn't come to any harm at all. He'd only heard one song, but that one wrapped itself around his heart and refused to let go.
"I'm not sure…" Gilag hedged a little, wanting a chance to think this through. "I don't…" He knew that humans required money to do things with. He'd seen it already by watching the students. But he'd never bothered with any himself. When one could control the minds of those around them, money didn't matter quite so much.
Yet this was Sanagi-chan. And in these last few minutes, he'd formed a devotion as strong as he'd ever had to anyone. He couldn't just take something that had her face on it. She would stare disapprovingly at him, he just knew it, and he couldn't stand that.
"I don't have any money on me," he said at last, and the clerk deflated visibly.
"Oh…well…whenever you can come back, I think I have a T-shirt that would fit you." She waved her hand toward the shelves. "And I don't think we're going to run out any time soon. We get new shipments all the time!"
Gilag nodded quickly as he started to back toward the door. "I'll…I'll come back." He didn't know if he meant it. He already wanted to come back just to hear the music again. Maybe he could find himself a small television in the meantime. He needed to get a base somewhere anyway, and he could use the television to find other duelists. It wasn't just to indulge himself.
He wasn't sure if the clerk said anything else or not, but before much longer, he found himself back at the school. He couldn't think of where else to go, so he settled himself down on a bench and tried to come up with some way to earn some human money. He didn't even consider taking it from someone. The image of Sanagi-chan's imagined disapproval still burned strong in the back of his mind. He needed to earn this money fairly.
"Time to hand over the cash, Oonishi!" An unfamiliar voice came from a short distance away. Gilag didn't bother to look up until he heard the second one.
"Look, Kinjo, I've told you to stop this! I've got…I've got…" That voice. That voice was familiar. Gilag stood up and headed over to the alleyway the altercation came from. He wasn't surprised at all to see that same boy who'd approached him earlier, facing off one who was much taller and stronger, though not nearly as much as Gilag himself was.
"You've got what?" The bully, Kinjo, sneered at him. "I don't take checks and I don't take plastic. Cash only. Hand it over. Now."
It all came together with a click in Gilag's mind. He wasn't sure of how approving Sanagi-chan would be of this, but it was better than anything else he could think of. He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles in the most intimidating way he could.
"He has me."
Both boys turned at the sound of his voice, and Kinjo's jaw dropped as he stared up at Gilag. "W…wh..who are you?"
"All you need to know is that you're not going to take his money anymore. Understood?" He stared down at the bully, completely confident in his ability to take this child if he had to. And if necessary, he would use his Barian abilities. It would be for the good of the Barian World if this boy simply decided never to bully someone else ever again. Because that meant Gilag could acquire payment for his services, which meant he'd be able to buy Sanagi merchandise, and he'd thus be able to focus more on his mission.
Durbe would've been proud of his logic.
Kinjo's jaw worked a little more, but nothing much coherent came out of it before he jerked himself around to stare at Oonishi. "Fine. You get out of it now." He glanced back at Gilag, then hurried off, still a little paler than the norm, but clearly not going to bother Gilag's new…client.
Oonishi stepped closer to Gilag, breathing harder in relief. "Thanks. I didn't think…" He shrugged. "Well, thanks." He started to dig into his pocket. "I promised you some money, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did." Gilag wasn't going to let that go by. That was the whole point of what he'd done. The fact it felt good in his deepest heart didn't mean anything. "If you need some more help, let me know. Same price."
He accepted the bills gratefully, though he wasn't sure of how much he could buy with them. But perhaps there would be other people around who could use a little assistance with problems like this.
"If you know anyone else who needs help, let me know that, too." Gilag said, before turning around and heading away. He had time to do a little shopping before going after Yuuma yet again.
The End