Disclaimer: I own pretty much all the characters in this story. But the story is a re-write
of Yuu Watase's wonderful, Genrou Den. I used this story because Tasuki is most like
this character, and I can picture almost the whole story being his life. Well, with that,
enjoy! =-=
"This, is the village? Feh! Looks easy to me..." The boy grumbled as he peered at
the village from behind his silver bangs. This boy was particularly short, he had long silver
hair that fell to his mid-back. His eyes were a juicy purple color, they looked very good
set in his thin semi-slanted eyes. He shifted to balance better on his perch in a nearby tree.
Taking one last look at the village and abandoned his hiding spot. As he walked back to
his make-shift home, he ran over his plan again: The older demons had told him that, in
order to earn the merit to stay in the village, he had to capture the chief of the Village of
Demon Slayers. The boy, opened his eyes and sighed. He had found the village, he was
very powerful and could easily best any man, he had the beauty to charm any female
opposition...but... He had no idea who the chief was! And he didn't speak their language
well enough to ask around... He was in trouble! The boy's beady eyes were quickly draw
to a bush next to him, the young demon stood at the ready as some well-built men
advanced from the brush.
"Oi, whadda we have 'ere?" said the man closest to the front, bending over to look
at the small boy. "Aniki! He's puny, you think he has anythin worth takin?" said a thin
man behind him. "Jes lookit 'im will ya! He's groomed, don't tell me he aint got nuthin!"
the man barked gesturing to the boy with his arm. "H-hai!" replied the thin man in a shaky
voice. "What? Are you all supposed to be bandits or something?" the beady eyed boy
asked, though to the men it was nothing but gibberish. "Hayaku!! The kid's tryin ta cast a
spell!!!! Get 'im!" The front man commanded as the men all lept at the boy grabbing onto
any belonging they could reach. "GET OFFA ME!!!!!!!!" the demon boy cried as one man
tried to steal his shirt.
"Shut that kid up!" ordered another muscular man. They were about to do just
that, some of the man had pulled out knives, one man holding his to the boy's throat. That
was it, try as he might the boy had to fight for his life now. His deep purple eyes faded
into a golden-yellow. His normal ears grew and pointed to make him look almost like an
elf. Not only that but his hair got about three shades shinier too! "I told you to get off...
Too bad, I didn't wanna be distracted, I had some things to do..." the boy grinned, left and
right canines abruptly sticking out. Though they didn't know the boy's odd language, the
man were shaking. but like dogs they attacked when their superior told them to. The
effortlessly knocked one in the face and sent him flying about ten feet. He knocked
around about three or four of the others before the rest turned tail and fled. This was
lucky for him, as he collapsed seconds after they left. He was a powerful demon, but he
couldn't last long in a fight at all.
As the boy lay unconscious, a figure that had been hiding in the bushes emerged
and carried the boy and his belongings away. The man, with hair pulled back into a
pony-tail that complimented his sharp face, stopped at a large strong-hold. "It's me, I'm
back!" the man called to a guard at the top of a tower. "Aye! Good to see you back boss!
Eh-?" he saw the boy, "What's with the brat. Is he a spy ya caught?" The man smiled,
"You'll know soon. Hurry, I wish to retire to my room, I'm a bit sleepy." The guard
opened the gate without question and the man brought him into the fort. The boy began
to stir in the man's arms, he looked at his new surroundings, at the walls and doors that
were so lavishly designed. Then he looked up at the man that had carried him all the way
here. He didn't know what he wanted with him, or what he would try to do with him, but
in his state, the boy didn't care... He shut his eyes and let himself be carried away.
The man brought him into a room and laid him on the bed and called for someone,
but the boy didn't know who, he could barely understand the language at all. Moments
later there was a knocking at the door, the man opened it and called in a tall boy who
looked about two years older than the demon boy. "Ah, Bakura, I'm going to need your
help with this. I found this kid in the forest about a mile away, I think he's a demon but
I'm not sure what kind..." Bakura thumped his fist against his chest and smiled at his boss,
"Sure thing! Leave it to me!" Bakura looked at the boy, still playing dead, through his
shaggy brown hair that covered his face whenever he leaned over. "Ano... Use this, it'll
make your job much easier..." The boss heald out his hand to Bakura who excitedly heald
out his, "Ooooh! What is it? I bet it's some awesome trinket that'll help me sort this boy
out!!!" He flipped his long chestnut hair out of his face and over his sholder to get a better
view of the boss who's face, due to Bakura's over-excitability, had faulted. "It's just a hair
tie..." he said queerly as he handed him the band, which Bakura quickly drew his hair into.
"It's wonderful! Of course, you would only give this to someone you thought was worthy
of it, ne!?" Bakura asked hopefully. The boss sighed and smiled, "Hai, I give you this hair
band because I know you are the only one worthy of it!" This comment made Bakura's
day.
After playing with his hair a little more Bakura resumed searching the boy. "Hmm,
maby we should wake him up, he doesn't even look like a demon!" As if on cue the boy's
eyes opened and he sat up. Bakura stared blankly for a second, "Sugoi..." The boss
walked closer to the demon boy and said slowly, "My name is Ishida, you are in the strong
hold of the Forest Bandits." The boy looked at Ishida and raised an eyebrow. "I don't
understand a word you're saying..." the boy replied in his language. Ishida sighed, "It's no
use, we can't communicate with him..."
Bakura, finally coming out of his stupefied state, suddenly burned with ideas, "I
know just what to do!!!!" Bakura walked over to the boy. He had to bend over because
the boy was so short, "I-am-Ba-ku-ra. Who-are-you?" The boy now looked as if he was
scared out of his whites. "Ba-ku-ra..." He repeated again pointing at himself. The boy's
lips parted and he began to speak, "Ba-... Ba-..." Ishida and Bakura looked at the boy
hopefully. "Ba-... Ba-ka!" the boy smiled pointing at Bakura who began to fume with
rage. Ishida didn't even notice, he had fallen to the floor laughing. Bakura smacked the
boy on the head and said his name again, "Ba-ku-ra!!!" The boy looked up confused, he
thought he had done good learning their language. Despite his confusion he tried again,
"Ba-k-k-k..." he was scared to go on, incase he was hit again. "Ba-ku-ra." Bakura
repeated one last time. "Ba-koo-ruh?" the boy seemed to ask. Bakura grinned widely and
drew the boy into a hug and patted his head. The boy smiled, feeling that he had made
some great accomplishment.
"What's all this racket!?!?" growled a voice coming from the door. Bakura looked
to the door frightened, the boy's head followed Bakura's like a dog with his master. the
two of them saw a girl that looked younger than the boy, with big deep blue eyes and light
blue hair standing in the doorway, tapping her foot. Still hugging each other the boys
looked very odd. Bakura was the first in the room to pipe up, "N-neechan! How nice to
see you! I thought you were sleeping!" He smiled very fakely trying to hide his fear.
Ishida smirked. "I was, until someone woke me up! What's wrong with yo-" the girl
standing in the door stopped when she saw the boy. "Who's he?" she asked. "He's
someone the boss found, I'm teachin him ta talk. Oh, that's cause he's a demon, he doesn't
speak our language. I already taught him my name!" Bakura smiled triumphantly. The
girl looked at him as if he was the ugliest, most pitiful puppy she had ever seen. "Maby
you should learn his language, ne? Ever think about that?" the girl asked, arching an
eyebrow and crossing her arms. The boss, Ishida, beamed at her, "Why I had completely
forgotten, you can speak demon languages can't you!?" Bakura looked back and forth
between Ishida, the girl and the still silent boy, "L-l-lilly can speak that freak talk?" Ishida
and the girl, Lilly, nodded.
The young Lilly took her place beside the boys bed. "Hello, my name is Lilly, who
are you?" she asked in the same gibberish the boy was speaking earlier. The boy replied
with something that sounded like a squirrel with too many acorns in it's mouth. Among
the jumbled words Bakura could make out the boy saying his name. Lilly nodded at him
when he finished and turned to Ishida and Bakura, "He says his name is Chrono, he was
sent to exterminate a village of demon slayers. He was attacked and was able to drive
away the bandits but he wasted too much energy and passed out. Next thing he knew, the
boss was carrying him in. That's it." Bakura shook his head vigorously, "Wait wait
wait!!! I heard him say my name! I know I did!!!!!!" Lilly sighed, "I was hoping I
wouldn't need to add this. When he said your name he was saying, 'Why did that man
have me say bakura? In my language that means ' A man rejected by his family for
homosexuality'...?' I just told him that was the only word you knew..." Ishida slid
between the boy and Bakura, "Well, as good of a name as Chrono is, if people know that's
his name he'll be targeted by slayers everywhere we go... We must give him a new name...
How about Shiro?" Bakura lept forward and shouted, "NO! I have the perfect name!!!!
Now, brace yourselves, how about we call him, Majik!? Ya know, cause he's a demon
and uses magic and all!?" Ishida stared blankly at Bakura who seemed proud of his idea.
Lilly, talked to Chrono a little more as the other two began to argue viciously,
well, actually, it was more like a couple of five year olds... "What kinda name is Majik!?"
Ishida sneered. "Well, it's, ano, cooler than Shiro!" Bakura barked. "Is that all you can
come up with? Why not just call him Fairy Dust while you're at it?" Ishida laughed.
"Yeah well you're a-!" Lilly interrupted him, "Hiead, we'll call him Hiead..." The boy was
smiling behind her as if to agree. The arguing men looked down in disappointment, they
had wanted their name ideas to be the ones picked... "Hai, we'll call him Hiead..." they
both sighed obediently. "Oooook!" Lilly grinned, "Now his name will be Hiead, not
Chrono! I'll work on teaching him our language ok!?" The two men nodded at her, and
Hiead, apparently proud of his new name, grinned widely.
It had barely been four hours before Hiead was following Lilly around and forming
sentences with his new words. "Lilly-chan! Look a window!" he cried as he pointed at
one of the many similar windows that ran throughout the building. Lilly, though Hiead
was acting like some seven year old, smiled happily at him every time he got something
right. "Wonderful! That's right, it's a window!" Every time she told him he was doing
something right, Hiead felt a warmth in his chest. He tried his hardest so that she would
tell him how good he was doing more often. "Door!" he cried as he pointed at a door,
"Neko!" he declared as he aimed his hand at a sleeping kitten, "Hopeless!" he yelled
pointing at a drunk smelly bum. Lilly had to quickly grab Hiead's hand and lead him away
before the man realized what Hiead called him.
They went to Ishida's room to show him how much Hiead had learned. Upon
opening the door Bakura grabbed Hiead's collar and began to intimidate him, "So, where
were you with Lilly? Eh, ghost boy? You weren't in any of the rooms! I checked!" Lilly
ran up and punched Bakura square in the jaw. She was about to chew him out when
Hiead walked ahead of her and with very strained words, as if someone was trying to
force him not to speak said, "Lilly-chan has taught me to talk better. I, can understand
you, and, say things back..." He looked back at Lilly to make sure he said everything
right, which she confirmed with a big thumbs up and a smile. "Lilly, you have really
worked wonders, I never thought he would learn this quick!" Ishida beamed at the girl.
Hiead looked at Ishida smile then, smiling himself, looked back at Lilly, he stopped smiling
however when he saw how happy she looked. She was blushing and her eyes were full of
excitement. No matter how well he put his words together, no matter how hard he tried,
he never made her look like that. Suddenly, he too felt the heat in his face rise, but not for
the same reason as Lilly, he was jelous.
Just as he was being totally devoured by his anger, there came a knock at the door.
It opened and a young girl walked in, she wasn't dressed as nicely as Lilly, but she was
pretty. "Lilly-sama! It's here. You're package has arrived!" the girl smiled as she carried
a small box into the room. "Is it the right one?" Lilly asked eyeing the box carefully. The
girl nodded, "I was just down to see the blacksmith and he showed it to me, it's absolutely
lovely!" Lilly thanked the girl and took the box. As she left, Lilly caught Bakura looking
at the girls skirt which, in it's semi torn state, flipped up every now and then. Bakura
grinned widely and drooled, "Heh heh heh..." Hiead looked up at Bakura's face. He
looked so small compared to Bakura's broad shoulders and large build. Lilly peeked over
at the preoccupied Bakura as well. Hiead looked back and forth between them for a
moment before Lilly pulled out a bokken and smashed it on Bakura's head, "Eichi!!!"
Bakura looked ashamed of himself, and Hiead, who had taken a liking to Bakura copied
his every motion.
Lilly ignored him and turned to Hiead, "This is for you, Hi-ni-chan!" She opened
the box and inside was a very fine leather strap with a glistening silver buckle on it. Hiead
picked it up and admired it. "What is, it for?" he asked, speaking almost fluently. "It's the
symbol of our bandits. A sign to show you are powerful, but respectable, it shows you're
a real ma-" Lilly was cut off when she saw Hiead chewing on the leather strap. "IT AINT
FOOD YA MORON! NOW LET LILLY TALK TO YA!!!!!!" Bakura scolded. Lilly just
cleared her throat and smiled at Hiead before continuing, "All out bandits wear these.
See," she pulled down a part of her high neckline shirt. Hiead saw a collar secured around
her neck. Now that he thought about it, he noticed Ishida and Bakura wearing them.
Hiead got very excited, he snatched his up and put it on immediately. "It'll never break
either. That leather is dragon hide, "Lilly added. Hiead grinned jumped around happily.
Bakura just got jelous.
That night he was told he would be staying in Bakura's room. Bakura protested,
"The HELL!!!!! I just got my own room!!! I aint sharin with him!" Ishida smirked then
replied, "Fine, he'll sleep in Lilly's room... With Lilly." Bakura's face had 'baka' written all
over it, "FINE! He can sleep in my room!" He grabbed Hiead by the back of his
brand-new collar, dragged him to the room.
Once in the room, Bakura dropped him on the floor. "Hey you. Where am I
gonna sleep?" Hiead asked innocently. "ON THA FLOOR!!!" Bakura growled. Hiead
winced and covered his head. "An don't call me you, call me Bakura Aniki!" Bakura
added with a snort, "Oro... How old are you anyways?" Hiead pointed at himself to
confirm, "Me? I'm almost 6,831. I will be in a few months!" He smiled as he finished
talking. Bakura wanted to yell at him, but he was too shocked by Hiead's age, "How old
are you in human years?" Hiead ticked off numbers on his fingers, "I suppose about five-
No, six, I'd be around six years old!" Bakura just stared at Hiead in disbelief, "So, you
were around to see everything for the past six thousand years...but... You're more than
ten years younger than me!?!?" Hiead just grinned and nodded. Feeling agitated and with
nothing to say, he just snubbed the top of his head and lay down. "I-i-i-i-itai! Ne, Aniki,
how old are you?" Hiead stammered, still trying to make friends. Bakura started when he
opened his eyes to see Hiead's beady purple ones inches from his, "I'm 17, what your
problem!?" Bakura tried to yell Hiead away from his face but it only confused him and
made him more curious.
"Aniki? Are you in a bad mood? You seem mad..." Hiead asked concerned, now
closing one eye and peering hard at Bakura's face. "YEAH! I'M PISSED OFF!!!"
Bakura yelled rolling over and shoving Hiead away. "I'm really pissed off..." Bakura had
started to fall asleep when he was suddenly glomped from behind. "WHAT THE HELL
ARE YA DOIN!? ARE YOU GAY ER SUMTHIN!?!?!?" he screeched as he struggled.
He sat up and turned to his glomper. Whap! Bap! Bakura showered Hiead's face with
punches. "Itai..." Hiead moaned rubbing his cheeks, "I was just trying to make you feel
better..." Bakura went SD and pulled a sheet to himself as he inched to a corner, "Hentai
no baka!" Hiead just scratched his head, "Ano, what's hentai?" Bakura mearly bopped
him and lay down to go to sleep, "It doesn't matter, tomorrow you'll be initiated into the
bandits, we'll work from there..." Bakura fell asleep and Hiead did the same.
"Ne! Bakura, Hiead! Time to wake up!!! Hiead you're gonna be a bandit starting
toda-" Lilly stopped once she entered the room. Both boys were fast asleep on the big
bed, Hiead more or less sprawled on his back over the whole bed, Bakura not even
noticing. "Oh, boys are too weird..." she sighed and walked to the bedside. She tried to
wake Hiead up but he was like a rock, a big drooling rock... She gave up and tried
Bakura, he woke up, but wasn't too happy about Hiead laying all over him. Instead of
hitting him, he just threw the sleeping silver-haired boy over his shoulder and walked out
of the room with Lilly tagging along at his side. "The leader wanted you two, he said that
today Hiead was gonna be initiated into the bandits today!" "Yeah, he told us that last
night, Hiead wouldn't shut up about it..." Bakura said through a yawn.
Hiead, still limp over Bakura's shoulder, began to stir. "Hmmf..." he muttered into
Bakura's shirt. He raised his head and looked around. "Huh? Lilly-chan?" he muttered
quietly as he looked to his left and saw the blue haired girl. He watched her for awhile,
but she didn't notice him, she was talking to Bakura. Hiead just sat and listened to their
conversation. "Hiead will make a wonderful bandit don't you think?" Lilly smiled. "Yeah
yeah, well, I don't think the guys'll appreciate some dude who acts gay..." Bakura
grumbled. "Gay? Er, do you mean happy or yaoi?" Lilly asked confused. "Yaoi..." he
replied flatly. Lilly just shut up and looked forward till they got to Ishida's room.
As they reached the door Bakura cleared his throat, "Excuse me" "Who is it?" "It's
Bakura, along with Lilly and Hiead, as per command." "Oh Bakura, you're very welcome,
please come in!" "Why thank you!" From the room Ishida barked, "Just come in already
Bakura!" Lilly staggered back a bit and stared at the still stern faced Bakura, "Ano, what
was that?" Bakura, beginning to enter the room, didn't smile or laugh, "The author just
made me say it, I think it's a quote from her favorite character from Fushigi Yuugi, or,
something...." "Well, what's Fushigi Yuugi?" Lilly asked. "Well it's!............ I dunno..."
Bakura replied very seriously tossing back some stray hair, "Ishida-san! I brought Hiead
and Lilly." Ishida smiled at them, "Good, now Hie-" He stopped abruptly when he saw
Hiead flung over Bakura's shoulder, "Is he alright?" Bakura, who by now forgot he was
carrying Hiead, plucked him away and dropped him on the floor. This caused Hiead to
wake with a start. "Ohayoo, is it morning already?" Hiead mumbled sleepily. From her
spot beside Bakura, Lilly giggled at him, "You sure arent a morning person, are you
Hiead?" Hiead suddenly flushed with embarrassment, he turned his face away so she
couldn't see the air around him nearly condensing from the heat in his face.
The three of them were lead to a large room by Ishida. There he made Hiead take
a place beside him on a stage-like platform. "Proud members of the Forest Bandits!
Today we receive a new member! Let us drink to him and his success as one of us!" With
that, all the men and the few woman that were there, raised their cups and cheered. Hiead
blushed a little, but it got worse when Lilly ran up and hugged him. "This is great, now
you can stay and I'll teach you all sorts of things!!!"
Hiead allowed himself to be dragged around by the blue-eyed, blue-haired girl,
for some odd reason, to him it was a nice feeling that she wanted him to be around her.
"Lilly-chan?" Hiead asked when they had all sat down to eat. Lilly looked up and nodded
to show she was listening since her mouth was full. "What dose it mean when your chest
feels all warm when someone is around you? And when you wanna smile whenever you
see them?" Lilly smiled at him, then held up a finger for him to wait. She swallowed her
food and replied, "It means you love them. But there are different kinds of love, some
people, like brothers and sisters, love each other in a family way. Others like when a boy
sees a girl he thinks is pretty, that's romantic love," she sighed and rested her chin on her
hands, "I hope I find a guy to love like that some day..." Hiead still didn't understand, but
when she said she didn't have anyone she loved right now, it hurt, but he felt relieved at
the same time. "D-do you love me?" he squeaked. Lilly looked at him oddly, then smiled,
"Of course I do!" A wave of hope suddenly washed over Hiead, Lilly continued, "You're
like a little brother to me!" All Hiead's hopes crashed... That wasn't the kind of love he
meant, but at least she cared....
That afternoon, Bakura was taking Hiead out to teach him how to know who to
steal from, and, how to do so without being caught! Bakura was a bit agitated that Hiead
picked up on it so fast. "Well, er, I guess we should give you a test run..." Bakura said
while scratching his head. Hearing the rustling of approaching footsteps, Bakura grabbed
Hiead and jumped into a bush, "When you can tell if he's loaded er not, ya attack! But
remember, if he aint loaded, don't do nuthin!" Hiead nodded to him and waited. As the
man passed, Hiead noticed that he was well groomed, so he waited for the 'right moment'
and struck! He flew out of the bush and like some wild wolf, snatched his coin purse from
his side before he even saw the bush move. The man, feeling a breeze at his waits brushed
at it, then walked on. He never noticed his money was gone.
Bakura grumbled as Hiead bounced around the fort bragging about his amazing
steal. "He never knowed what hit 'im!" he grinned. "Never 'knew'. He never 'knew what
hit him, Hi-ni-kun," Lilly corrected, laughing at him genkiness. "Gomen, I'll remember
that!" Hiead laughed looking embrassed. Ishida interrupted him, "I believe now would be
the best time to tell you about our next heist. We'll be stealing from-" "Don't call it a
heist! You make us sound like bad guys or sumthin!" Lilly joked leaning back on a plush
couch. "All right then, out next, er, mission, will be against the palace. Just outside of
this forest, there is a grand palace, you will be dispatched there to retrieve as much money
as you can." "Yes sir!" Lilly and Bakura chorused, standing straight and holding their fists
to their chests in a kind of salute. Hiead didn't reply, he was too busy being sparkly eyed
about their job, "SUGOI!!! We're going to a castle?" "Yes, a rather elegant one at that,"
Ishida smiled. "Honto-ni?" Hiead cried with sparkly eyes. "Yes," Ishida smiled again.
"Honto-ni honto-ni?" he cried again, now with even more sparkle. "Er, yeah..." Ishida
replied, looking a bit annoyed and weirded out. "Honto-ni honto-ni honto-ni?" he cried a
final time, now with more sparkles than ever. "YES YES YES!!! Just stop saying
'Honto-ni' jeez!!!" Ishida growled. Bakura was cracking up and Lilly was giggling at
Hiead, who was now rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
of Yuu Watase's wonderful, Genrou Den. I used this story because Tasuki is most like
this character, and I can picture almost the whole story being his life. Well, with that,
enjoy! =-=
"This, is the village? Feh! Looks easy to me..." The boy grumbled as he peered at
the village from behind his silver bangs. This boy was particularly short, he had long silver
hair that fell to his mid-back. His eyes were a juicy purple color, they looked very good
set in his thin semi-slanted eyes. He shifted to balance better on his perch in a nearby tree.
Taking one last look at the village and abandoned his hiding spot. As he walked back to
his make-shift home, he ran over his plan again: The older demons had told him that, in
order to earn the merit to stay in the village, he had to capture the chief of the Village of
Demon Slayers. The boy, opened his eyes and sighed. He had found the village, he was
very powerful and could easily best any man, he had the beauty to charm any female
opposition...but... He had no idea who the chief was! And he didn't speak their language
well enough to ask around... He was in trouble! The boy's beady eyes were quickly draw
to a bush next to him, the young demon stood at the ready as some well-built men
advanced from the brush.
"Oi, whadda we have 'ere?" said the man closest to the front, bending over to look
at the small boy. "Aniki! He's puny, you think he has anythin worth takin?" said a thin
man behind him. "Jes lookit 'im will ya! He's groomed, don't tell me he aint got nuthin!"
the man barked gesturing to the boy with his arm. "H-hai!" replied the thin man in a shaky
voice. "What? Are you all supposed to be bandits or something?" the beady eyed boy
asked, though to the men it was nothing but gibberish. "Hayaku!! The kid's tryin ta cast a
spell!!!! Get 'im!" The front man commanded as the men all lept at the boy grabbing onto
any belonging they could reach. "GET OFFA ME!!!!!!!!" the demon boy cried as one man
tried to steal his shirt.
"Shut that kid up!" ordered another muscular man. They were about to do just
that, some of the man had pulled out knives, one man holding his to the boy's throat. That
was it, try as he might the boy had to fight for his life now. His deep purple eyes faded
into a golden-yellow. His normal ears grew and pointed to make him look almost like an
elf. Not only that but his hair got about three shades shinier too! "I told you to get off...
Too bad, I didn't wanna be distracted, I had some things to do..." the boy grinned, left and
right canines abruptly sticking out. Though they didn't know the boy's odd language, the
man were shaking. but like dogs they attacked when their superior told them to. The
effortlessly knocked one in the face and sent him flying about ten feet. He knocked
around about three or four of the others before the rest turned tail and fled. This was
lucky for him, as he collapsed seconds after they left. He was a powerful demon, but he
couldn't last long in a fight at all.
As the boy lay unconscious, a figure that had been hiding in the bushes emerged
and carried the boy and his belongings away. The man, with hair pulled back into a
pony-tail that complimented his sharp face, stopped at a large strong-hold. "It's me, I'm
back!" the man called to a guard at the top of a tower. "Aye! Good to see you back boss!
Eh-?" he saw the boy, "What's with the brat. Is he a spy ya caught?" The man smiled,
"You'll know soon. Hurry, I wish to retire to my room, I'm a bit sleepy." The guard
opened the gate without question and the man brought him into the fort. The boy began
to stir in the man's arms, he looked at his new surroundings, at the walls and doors that
were so lavishly designed. Then he looked up at the man that had carried him all the way
here. He didn't know what he wanted with him, or what he would try to do with him, but
in his state, the boy didn't care... He shut his eyes and let himself be carried away.
The man brought him into a room and laid him on the bed and called for someone,
but the boy didn't know who, he could barely understand the language at all. Moments
later there was a knocking at the door, the man opened it and called in a tall boy who
looked about two years older than the demon boy. "Ah, Bakura, I'm going to need your
help with this. I found this kid in the forest about a mile away, I think he's a demon but
I'm not sure what kind..." Bakura thumped his fist against his chest and smiled at his boss,
"Sure thing! Leave it to me!" Bakura looked at the boy, still playing dead, through his
shaggy brown hair that covered his face whenever he leaned over. "Ano... Use this, it'll
make your job much easier..." The boss heald out his hand to Bakura who excitedly heald
out his, "Ooooh! What is it? I bet it's some awesome trinket that'll help me sort this boy
out!!!" He flipped his long chestnut hair out of his face and over his sholder to get a better
view of the boss who's face, due to Bakura's over-excitability, had faulted. "It's just a hair
tie..." he said queerly as he handed him the band, which Bakura quickly drew his hair into.
"It's wonderful! Of course, you would only give this to someone you thought was worthy
of it, ne!?" Bakura asked hopefully. The boss sighed and smiled, "Hai, I give you this hair
band because I know you are the only one worthy of it!" This comment made Bakura's
day.
After playing with his hair a little more Bakura resumed searching the boy. "Hmm,
maby we should wake him up, he doesn't even look like a demon!" As if on cue the boy's
eyes opened and he sat up. Bakura stared blankly for a second, "Sugoi..." The boss
walked closer to the demon boy and said slowly, "My name is Ishida, you are in the strong
hold of the Forest Bandits." The boy looked at Ishida and raised an eyebrow. "I don't
understand a word you're saying..." the boy replied in his language. Ishida sighed, "It's no
use, we can't communicate with him..."
Bakura, finally coming out of his stupefied state, suddenly burned with ideas, "I
know just what to do!!!!" Bakura walked over to the boy. He had to bend over because
the boy was so short, "I-am-Ba-ku-ra. Who-are-you?" The boy now looked as if he was
scared out of his whites. "Ba-ku-ra..." He repeated again pointing at himself. The boy's
lips parted and he began to speak, "Ba-... Ba-..." Ishida and Bakura looked at the boy
hopefully. "Ba-... Ba-ka!" the boy smiled pointing at Bakura who began to fume with
rage. Ishida didn't even notice, he had fallen to the floor laughing. Bakura smacked the
boy on the head and said his name again, "Ba-ku-ra!!!" The boy looked up confused, he
thought he had done good learning their language. Despite his confusion he tried again,
"Ba-k-k-k..." he was scared to go on, incase he was hit again. "Ba-ku-ra." Bakura
repeated one last time. "Ba-koo-ruh?" the boy seemed to ask. Bakura grinned widely and
drew the boy into a hug and patted his head. The boy smiled, feeling that he had made
some great accomplishment.
"What's all this racket!?!?" growled a voice coming from the door. Bakura looked
to the door frightened, the boy's head followed Bakura's like a dog with his master. the
two of them saw a girl that looked younger than the boy, with big deep blue eyes and light
blue hair standing in the doorway, tapping her foot. Still hugging each other the boys
looked very odd. Bakura was the first in the room to pipe up, "N-neechan! How nice to
see you! I thought you were sleeping!" He smiled very fakely trying to hide his fear.
Ishida smirked. "I was, until someone woke me up! What's wrong with yo-" the girl
standing in the door stopped when she saw the boy. "Who's he?" she asked. "He's
someone the boss found, I'm teachin him ta talk. Oh, that's cause he's a demon, he doesn't
speak our language. I already taught him my name!" Bakura smiled triumphantly. The
girl looked at him as if he was the ugliest, most pitiful puppy she had ever seen. "Maby
you should learn his language, ne? Ever think about that?" the girl asked, arching an
eyebrow and crossing her arms. The boss, Ishida, beamed at her, "Why I had completely
forgotten, you can speak demon languages can't you!?" Bakura looked back and forth
between Ishida, the girl and the still silent boy, "L-l-lilly can speak that freak talk?" Ishida
and the girl, Lilly, nodded.
The young Lilly took her place beside the boys bed. "Hello, my name is Lilly, who
are you?" she asked in the same gibberish the boy was speaking earlier. The boy replied
with something that sounded like a squirrel with too many acorns in it's mouth. Among
the jumbled words Bakura could make out the boy saying his name. Lilly nodded at him
when he finished and turned to Ishida and Bakura, "He says his name is Chrono, he was
sent to exterminate a village of demon slayers. He was attacked and was able to drive
away the bandits but he wasted too much energy and passed out. Next thing he knew, the
boss was carrying him in. That's it." Bakura shook his head vigorously, "Wait wait
wait!!! I heard him say my name! I know I did!!!!!!" Lilly sighed, "I was hoping I
wouldn't need to add this. When he said your name he was saying, 'Why did that man
have me say bakura? In my language that means ' A man rejected by his family for
homosexuality'...?' I just told him that was the only word you knew..." Ishida slid
between the boy and Bakura, "Well, as good of a name as Chrono is, if people know that's
his name he'll be targeted by slayers everywhere we go... We must give him a new name...
How about Shiro?" Bakura lept forward and shouted, "NO! I have the perfect name!!!!
Now, brace yourselves, how about we call him, Majik!? Ya know, cause he's a demon
and uses magic and all!?" Ishida stared blankly at Bakura who seemed proud of his idea.
Lilly, talked to Chrono a little more as the other two began to argue viciously,
well, actually, it was more like a couple of five year olds... "What kinda name is Majik!?"
Ishida sneered. "Well, it's, ano, cooler than Shiro!" Bakura barked. "Is that all you can
come up with? Why not just call him Fairy Dust while you're at it?" Ishida laughed.
"Yeah well you're a-!" Lilly interrupted him, "Hiead, we'll call him Hiead..." The boy was
smiling behind her as if to agree. The arguing men looked down in disappointment, they
had wanted their name ideas to be the ones picked... "Hai, we'll call him Hiead..." they
both sighed obediently. "Oooook!" Lilly grinned, "Now his name will be Hiead, not
Chrono! I'll work on teaching him our language ok!?" The two men nodded at her, and
Hiead, apparently proud of his new name, grinned widely.
It had barely been four hours before Hiead was following Lilly around and forming
sentences with his new words. "Lilly-chan! Look a window!" he cried as he pointed at
one of the many similar windows that ran throughout the building. Lilly, though Hiead
was acting like some seven year old, smiled happily at him every time he got something
right. "Wonderful! That's right, it's a window!" Every time she told him he was doing
something right, Hiead felt a warmth in his chest. He tried his hardest so that she would
tell him how good he was doing more often. "Door!" he cried as he pointed at a door,
"Neko!" he declared as he aimed his hand at a sleeping kitten, "Hopeless!" he yelled
pointing at a drunk smelly bum. Lilly had to quickly grab Hiead's hand and lead him away
before the man realized what Hiead called him.
They went to Ishida's room to show him how much Hiead had learned. Upon
opening the door Bakura grabbed Hiead's collar and began to intimidate him, "So, where
were you with Lilly? Eh, ghost boy? You weren't in any of the rooms! I checked!" Lilly
ran up and punched Bakura square in the jaw. She was about to chew him out when
Hiead walked ahead of her and with very strained words, as if someone was trying to
force him not to speak said, "Lilly-chan has taught me to talk better. I, can understand
you, and, say things back..." He looked back at Lilly to make sure he said everything
right, which she confirmed with a big thumbs up and a smile. "Lilly, you have really
worked wonders, I never thought he would learn this quick!" Ishida beamed at the girl.
Hiead looked at Ishida smile then, smiling himself, looked back at Lilly, he stopped smiling
however when he saw how happy she looked. She was blushing and her eyes were full of
excitement. No matter how well he put his words together, no matter how hard he tried,
he never made her look like that. Suddenly, he too felt the heat in his face rise, but not for
the same reason as Lilly, he was jelous.
Just as he was being totally devoured by his anger, there came a knock at the door.
It opened and a young girl walked in, she wasn't dressed as nicely as Lilly, but she was
pretty. "Lilly-sama! It's here. You're package has arrived!" the girl smiled as she carried
a small box into the room. "Is it the right one?" Lilly asked eyeing the box carefully. The
girl nodded, "I was just down to see the blacksmith and he showed it to me, it's absolutely
lovely!" Lilly thanked the girl and took the box. As she left, Lilly caught Bakura looking
at the girls skirt which, in it's semi torn state, flipped up every now and then. Bakura
grinned widely and drooled, "Heh heh heh..." Hiead looked up at Bakura's face. He
looked so small compared to Bakura's broad shoulders and large build. Lilly peeked over
at the preoccupied Bakura as well. Hiead looked back and forth between them for a
moment before Lilly pulled out a bokken and smashed it on Bakura's head, "Eichi!!!"
Bakura looked ashamed of himself, and Hiead, who had taken a liking to Bakura copied
his every motion.
Lilly ignored him and turned to Hiead, "This is for you, Hi-ni-chan!" She opened
the box and inside was a very fine leather strap with a glistening silver buckle on it. Hiead
picked it up and admired it. "What is, it for?" he asked, speaking almost fluently. "It's the
symbol of our bandits. A sign to show you are powerful, but respectable, it shows you're
a real ma-" Lilly was cut off when she saw Hiead chewing on the leather strap. "IT AINT
FOOD YA MORON! NOW LET LILLY TALK TO YA!!!!!!" Bakura scolded. Lilly just
cleared her throat and smiled at Hiead before continuing, "All out bandits wear these.
See," she pulled down a part of her high neckline shirt. Hiead saw a collar secured around
her neck. Now that he thought about it, he noticed Ishida and Bakura wearing them.
Hiead got very excited, he snatched his up and put it on immediately. "It'll never break
either. That leather is dragon hide, "Lilly added. Hiead grinned jumped around happily.
Bakura just got jelous.
That night he was told he would be staying in Bakura's room. Bakura protested,
"The HELL!!!!! I just got my own room!!! I aint sharin with him!" Ishida smirked then
replied, "Fine, he'll sleep in Lilly's room... With Lilly." Bakura's face had 'baka' written all
over it, "FINE! He can sleep in my room!" He grabbed Hiead by the back of his
brand-new collar, dragged him to the room.
Once in the room, Bakura dropped him on the floor. "Hey you. Where am I
gonna sleep?" Hiead asked innocently. "ON THA FLOOR!!!" Bakura growled. Hiead
winced and covered his head. "An don't call me you, call me Bakura Aniki!" Bakura
added with a snort, "Oro... How old are you anyways?" Hiead pointed at himself to
confirm, "Me? I'm almost 6,831. I will be in a few months!" He smiled as he finished
talking. Bakura wanted to yell at him, but he was too shocked by Hiead's age, "How old
are you in human years?" Hiead ticked off numbers on his fingers, "I suppose about five-
No, six, I'd be around six years old!" Bakura just stared at Hiead in disbelief, "So, you
were around to see everything for the past six thousand years...but... You're more than
ten years younger than me!?!?" Hiead just grinned and nodded. Feeling agitated and with
nothing to say, he just snubbed the top of his head and lay down. "I-i-i-i-itai! Ne, Aniki,
how old are you?" Hiead stammered, still trying to make friends. Bakura started when he
opened his eyes to see Hiead's beady purple ones inches from his, "I'm 17, what your
problem!?" Bakura tried to yell Hiead away from his face but it only confused him and
made him more curious.
"Aniki? Are you in a bad mood? You seem mad..." Hiead asked concerned, now
closing one eye and peering hard at Bakura's face. "YEAH! I'M PISSED OFF!!!"
Bakura yelled rolling over and shoving Hiead away. "I'm really pissed off..." Bakura had
started to fall asleep when he was suddenly glomped from behind. "WHAT THE HELL
ARE YA DOIN!? ARE YOU GAY ER SUMTHIN!?!?!?" he screeched as he struggled.
He sat up and turned to his glomper. Whap! Bap! Bakura showered Hiead's face with
punches. "Itai..." Hiead moaned rubbing his cheeks, "I was just trying to make you feel
better..." Bakura went SD and pulled a sheet to himself as he inched to a corner, "Hentai
no baka!" Hiead just scratched his head, "Ano, what's hentai?" Bakura mearly bopped
him and lay down to go to sleep, "It doesn't matter, tomorrow you'll be initiated into the
bandits, we'll work from there..." Bakura fell asleep and Hiead did the same.
"Ne! Bakura, Hiead! Time to wake up!!! Hiead you're gonna be a bandit starting
toda-" Lilly stopped once she entered the room. Both boys were fast asleep on the big
bed, Hiead more or less sprawled on his back over the whole bed, Bakura not even
noticing. "Oh, boys are too weird..." she sighed and walked to the bedside. She tried to
wake Hiead up but he was like a rock, a big drooling rock... She gave up and tried
Bakura, he woke up, but wasn't too happy about Hiead laying all over him. Instead of
hitting him, he just threw the sleeping silver-haired boy over his shoulder and walked out
of the room with Lilly tagging along at his side. "The leader wanted you two, he said that
today Hiead was gonna be initiated into the bandits today!" "Yeah, he told us that last
night, Hiead wouldn't shut up about it..." Bakura said through a yawn.
Hiead, still limp over Bakura's shoulder, began to stir. "Hmmf..." he muttered into
Bakura's shirt. He raised his head and looked around. "Huh? Lilly-chan?" he muttered
quietly as he looked to his left and saw the blue haired girl. He watched her for awhile,
but she didn't notice him, she was talking to Bakura. Hiead just sat and listened to their
conversation. "Hiead will make a wonderful bandit don't you think?" Lilly smiled. "Yeah
yeah, well, I don't think the guys'll appreciate some dude who acts gay..." Bakura
grumbled. "Gay? Er, do you mean happy or yaoi?" Lilly asked confused. "Yaoi..." he
replied flatly. Lilly just shut up and looked forward till they got to Ishida's room.
As they reached the door Bakura cleared his throat, "Excuse me" "Who is it?" "It's
Bakura, along with Lilly and Hiead, as per command." "Oh Bakura, you're very welcome,
please come in!" "Why thank you!" From the room Ishida barked, "Just come in already
Bakura!" Lilly staggered back a bit and stared at the still stern faced Bakura, "Ano, what
was that?" Bakura, beginning to enter the room, didn't smile or laugh, "The author just
made me say it, I think it's a quote from her favorite character from Fushigi Yuugi, or,
something...." "Well, what's Fushigi Yuugi?" Lilly asked. "Well it's!............ I dunno..."
Bakura replied very seriously tossing back some stray hair, "Ishida-san! I brought Hiead
and Lilly." Ishida smiled at them, "Good, now Hie-" He stopped abruptly when he saw
Hiead flung over Bakura's shoulder, "Is he alright?" Bakura, who by now forgot he was
carrying Hiead, plucked him away and dropped him on the floor. This caused Hiead to
wake with a start. "Ohayoo, is it morning already?" Hiead mumbled sleepily. From her
spot beside Bakura, Lilly giggled at him, "You sure arent a morning person, are you
Hiead?" Hiead suddenly flushed with embarrassment, he turned his face away so she
couldn't see the air around him nearly condensing from the heat in his face.
The three of them were lead to a large room by Ishida. There he made Hiead take
a place beside him on a stage-like platform. "Proud members of the Forest Bandits!
Today we receive a new member! Let us drink to him and his success as one of us!" With
that, all the men and the few woman that were there, raised their cups and cheered. Hiead
blushed a little, but it got worse when Lilly ran up and hugged him. "This is great, now
you can stay and I'll teach you all sorts of things!!!"
Hiead allowed himself to be dragged around by the blue-eyed, blue-haired girl,
for some odd reason, to him it was a nice feeling that she wanted him to be around her.
"Lilly-chan?" Hiead asked when they had all sat down to eat. Lilly looked up and nodded
to show she was listening since her mouth was full. "What dose it mean when your chest
feels all warm when someone is around you? And when you wanna smile whenever you
see them?" Lilly smiled at him, then held up a finger for him to wait. She swallowed her
food and replied, "It means you love them. But there are different kinds of love, some
people, like brothers and sisters, love each other in a family way. Others like when a boy
sees a girl he thinks is pretty, that's romantic love," she sighed and rested her chin on her
hands, "I hope I find a guy to love like that some day..." Hiead still didn't understand, but
when she said she didn't have anyone she loved right now, it hurt, but he felt relieved at
the same time. "D-do you love me?" he squeaked. Lilly looked at him oddly, then smiled,
"Of course I do!" A wave of hope suddenly washed over Hiead, Lilly continued, "You're
like a little brother to me!" All Hiead's hopes crashed... That wasn't the kind of love he
meant, but at least she cared....
That afternoon, Bakura was taking Hiead out to teach him how to know who to
steal from, and, how to do so without being caught! Bakura was a bit agitated that Hiead
picked up on it so fast. "Well, er, I guess we should give you a test run..." Bakura said
while scratching his head. Hearing the rustling of approaching footsteps, Bakura grabbed
Hiead and jumped into a bush, "When you can tell if he's loaded er not, ya attack! But
remember, if he aint loaded, don't do nuthin!" Hiead nodded to him and waited. As the
man passed, Hiead noticed that he was well groomed, so he waited for the 'right moment'
and struck! He flew out of the bush and like some wild wolf, snatched his coin purse from
his side before he even saw the bush move. The man, feeling a breeze at his waits brushed
at it, then walked on. He never noticed his money was gone.
Bakura grumbled as Hiead bounced around the fort bragging about his amazing
steal. "He never knowed what hit 'im!" he grinned. "Never 'knew'. He never 'knew what
hit him, Hi-ni-kun," Lilly corrected, laughing at him genkiness. "Gomen, I'll remember
that!" Hiead laughed looking embrassed. Ishida interrupted him, "I believe now would be
the best time to tell you about our next heist. We'll be stealing from-" "Don't call it a
heist! You make us sound like bad guys or sumthin!" Lilly joked leaning back on a plush
couch. "All right then, out next, er, mission, will be against the palace. Just outside of
this forest, there is a grand palace, you will be dispatched there to retrieve as much money
as you can." "Yes sir!" Lilly and Bakura chorused, standing straight and holding their fists
to their chests in a kind of salute. Hiead didn't reply, he was too busy being sparkly eyed
about their job, "SUGOI!!! We're going to a castle?" "Yes, a rather elegant one at that,"
Ishida smiled. "Honto-ni?" Hiead cried with sparkly eyes. "Yes," Ishida smiled again.
"Honto-ni honto-ni?" he cried again, now with even more sparkle. "Er, yeah..." Ishida
replied, looking a bit annoyed and weirded out. "Honto-ni honto-ni honto-ni?" he cried a
final time, now with more sparkles than ever. "YES YES YES!!! Just stop saying
'Honto-ni' jeez!!!" Ishida growled. Bakura was cracking up and Lilly was giggling at
Hiead, who was now rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.