Please pardon if there are numerous grammar errors in this chapter, I've been spending less and less time for writing. As evident, not all of my fictions get updated. As you all know, I'm an amateur writer who just entered the corporate world so I have lots of proving to do to my bosses.
Anyway, I'm glad you liked the changes I made in the initial chapters, TheElegantFaerie! I hope you'll like this chapter too. :D I changed the title and added some heart-thumping scenes so I won't have a hard time establishing the story later on. In short, I cut your second chapter into two. The continuation of Lovers Reunited will be in the third chappie!
Disclaimer: FY and YGO are not mine.
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Mark of the Shogun
By Slavedriver2008
The book dropped to the floor with an almost inaudible thud. Kaiba rubbed his eyes and looked around. The surroundings had come back to normal and the red light was gone—as well as the two girls. The sixteen year old boy walked over the book and hesitantly picked it up. Where had the two disappeared? He eyed the book suspiciously, debating with himself whether to open it or not. What if he got sucked inside? What if something comes out instead? What if…?
Seto… Save me…
Kaiba smirked. That girl called him by his name again. It was the second today and though there was nothing special in the way she said his name, he could not help but smile. Smile? He cursed and decided to stop thinking of the skinny girl. His resolution, however, changed when his eyes landed on the book. Hesitantly, he opened it and put his attention on the opened page. The events that occurred before the book landed on his hands flashed before his eyes like a movie on fast forward.
The boy leaned on the wall, knees wobbling from the way his world suddenly turned upside down. He looked up at the ceiling, watching intently as the events unfold one by one in the blank space. His head throbbed and he could not take the pain, but he continued to watch everything. Yui's tear-streaked face appeared in his view. Her hair was starkly shorter but he could recognize her clearly. He lifted his hand to touch her face.
"I wish to open the seal of Suzaku…" she whispered, voice breaking, tears streaming from her face. But she looked relieved, determined and…contented. "Gaijin…"
A sea of blue light filled his vision and Kaiba closed his eyes. But even so, the memories flood him. He dropped the book and the scenes slowly, painfully, disappeared one by one. A solitary tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it, surprised that something like that made its way to him without his consent. He never cried before. He turned toward the book that was still opened for him. He picked it up and slowly, words formed on the blank page. Chinese characters in cursive print as if drawn by a delicate fine hand. Kaiba mustered the remaining strength left of him and stood up, opening the door of the private study room and locking it.
Head still buzzing, he took out a tiny machine from his pocket and placed it on top of the book. It was Kaiba Corporation's latest creation: an encoder. It was manufactured to decipher the hidden words in cards and though still to be released, he found its most appropriate use at the moment. Kaiba knew his Mandarin perfectly well but his head was hurting; let the machine do the job faster, he thought, they were made for that purpose anyway. With an undefined emotion stirring inside him, the boy began to read.
The former priestess of Suzaku, now a year older, lifted her body from the ground. Her hair was splayed untidily across her face but she heeded no mind. Tears escaped from her eyes when she realized where she was. She was in front of the gates of the palace of Konan. Memories from long ago fleeted in her thoughts and the immediate impulse was to find one man.
Instead, the priestess stood up, knees shaking from the fall. She walked over to where her companion lie, unconscious in the hot Konan ground. With a gentle shove, she willed the blonde girl to wake. The former priestess of the east god gently opened her deep blue eyes, blinking at the sudden light. She sat up tiredly, her beautiful face contorted to a frown.
"Miaka…." Yui called her bestfriend. "We promised to never return here. Why…?"
"I'm sorry, Yui…" Miaka sobbed, embracing her best friend. "I miss Tamahome badly."
"But Miaka—"
"You won't understand because you never left your heart in this place. But I did, Yui—" Miaka cried, moving away from her. "The man I loved most in the world is here…"
Yui looked away, sighing. It seemed that forgetting about the book was as hard as separating oil and water with bare hands. "You don't have to tell me, Miaka. I know you miss Tamahome. I…" she stopped speaking and weighed whether to say the last line of thought out. At the last minute, she reconsidered. "But we're here now so let's make the most out of it, ne?"
The brunette's face brightened and she nodded, smiling wide at her bestfriend. "Thank you for coming with me, Yui!" Miaka embraced the other girl and Yui patted the girl's head. "Thank you, really…"
"Are we in Konan?" she asked, diverting the girl's melodramatic streak.
"Yes we are. We're in Konan," Miaka replied eagerly.
The both stood up and looked around. Yui brushed her hair with her fingers and briefly remembered the very light feel of Kaiba's fingers on her skin. She placed her hand together and very gently thumbed the spots where he held her. A blush formed on her cheeks and she shook her head to dispel the thought of the boy. They were in another world and he was probably left behind. Yui was briefly uncomfortable of the possibility that he was reading the book.
Yui was still deep in thoughts when a group of men walked toward them. She had not noticed them and only turned when Miaka clutched her arm tightly. Her eyes widened when she realized they were surrounded. Her heart palpitated wildly, the familiarity of the scene playing over and over in her head.
"Look what we have here. Two foreigners. We can sell them easily, especially the light-haired one." One of the burly men stepped toward them and the girls stepped back. The men behind them circled in on them and Miaka moved closer to her, trembling.
"Yui…"
The two priestesses trembled as the men stepped closer and closer. Being the smarter one, the priestess of Seiryuu had a plan. She knew the warriors would come save them but had the least idea when they shall arrive. Until they do, they had to take their time and wait. With her companion clinging to her, the priestess knew she had to take matters into her own hands. She does not like the idea but was left with no choice. A painful smile left her pale but beautiful face. And their perpetrators got more enticed to capture the blonde girl.
Kaiba's fist clenched and he cursed. His heart was beating wildly, an emotion he only felt when playing cards and he was close to losing. His insides were trembling with the thought of reading the next scene. He immediately closed the book and rubbed his temple. He was suddenly feeling various different emotions. He was never this emotionally unstable.
"Why…?" he asked, wanting to voice out his confusion. The emotions were overwhelming, it was as if he can feel what the two were feeling. More so, he felt a deeper connection with the priestess of Seiryuu. He placed a palm on top of the book. It was throbbing, as if it was alive.
Seto… Save me…
"Damn it. Why do I have to be the one to save you?" he voiced out, eyeing the book but seeing Yui's face. He could remember her face vividly and her voice was clear, very clear, in his thoughts. The room itself seemed to reverberate her last words over and over. What made it worse was the fact that she mentioned his name. She said the words for him. She pleaded to be saved by him.
Even against his will, Kaiba opened the book and started to read. No new words have been added but the moment he reached the last word, the black ink started to write. His heart beat wildly and beads of sweat covered his forehead.
"Don't do it… Yui…" he whispered, wishing the girl could hear him. But the next words proved otherwise.
The priestess of Seiryuu pulled her friend in front of her and whispered words on the other girl's ears, making the priestess of Suzaku turn with a forlorn expression. She shook her head but the light-haired priestess nodded, smiling softly. The plan was simple, she said. Run and scream. Call for Tamahome. When he arrives, the priestess whispered softly, come back for me.
"Hey, stop talking and come with us so you won't get hurt."
"We're not resisting," Yui said calmly, letting go of Miaka's hand. She walked in front of her bestfriend and smiled at the leader. There were four of them, Yui counted. If Miaka run fast enough, they'll focus on her. But it meant they'll move faster too. Yui cringed at the thought of being abused for real. She smiled and looked up with newfound courage. Tamahome will appear and save them.
"Good then," the leader walked toward her and lifted her chin, scrutinizing her face. "You're a beauty. I can sell you for a very high price. I'll just tell the okami you're a Hin. No one can identify if you're real anyway."
"A Hin?" Yui asked. "Am I too pretty to be a Hin?" she asked, slightly flirting with the man. The latter smiled wider and looked at her lewdly. He let out a deep devious laugh.
"I like you. Maybe we should play around a little," he licked the sides of Yui's face and the girl's stomach knotted in disgust. The other men laughed around them. Seeing her chance, Yui quickly grabbed the man and kneed him. Yui immediately pushed Miaka and they ran away from the circle. "YOU WHORE!" The man screamed, falling down on the ground, clutching the manhood between his legs.
The two girls ran away, Yui trailing behind. "TAMAHOME!" the priestess of Suzaku called the name over and over. "TAMAHOME!"
The men ran after them and Yui screamed in desperation as they moved close. She wanted to scream for Tamahome but another name was building in her throat. A rough hand grabbed her arms and she fell on the ground. Two men loomed on top of her and the familiar faces of the men who tried to abuse her in Kutou returned to her thoughts.
"Ha, we'll try you out first before the boss does!" She screamed as the two men pulled off her uniform, tearing it into shreds.
"STOP!" she screamed, tears falling from her eyes. She could feel the hands of the men on her skin, touching her in places she never let anyone touch. A desperate cry left her and she called one name. "NAKAGO!"
The priestess of Seiryuu struggled as the men unclothed her harshly, tearing her clothes into tattered piles on the ground. At the sight of her pale smooth skin, the desire of the two men peaked and they pulled off their robes, eager to satisfy their carnal desires with the girl's fragile body. Tears flowed from the priestess's eyes and she called out to the man she trusted most in the world. The man whose name brought fear amongst the lands of Kutou and beyond. Nakago.
Anger filled Kaiba as the image of Yui on the ground slowly got drawn on the left portion of the book. An overwhelming power filled him and heat filled his body. He clutched the sides of the book as a painful heat slowly formed a cursive line on his forehead.
"Yui…" he called as the pain reached unexplainable heights. His whole body throbbed and sweat dropped from his forehead to the page where the girl was drawn, with the two men having their way on her. The pain gently subsided but the anger he felt became stronger. He eyed the two men and concentrating the powers in his palm, he willed them to die. Blue light filled the room and Kaiba's fingers lined the girl's crying face.
"YUI!" he screamed and the blue light devoured the room, the book, his consciousness. And he fell down, trembling from the surge of power he never thought existed in him.
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In an inconspicuous almost forgotten town in the hilly side of Western Kutou, the lake which used to feed a now extinct tribe started to swirl, creating a whirlpool in the calm surface. Dark ripples formed and a shadowy figured formed, slowly moving up from the murky depths. The demon, known in the world as Tenkou, lifted his hand and his fist clenched.
"Rise, my faithful servants. Rise and serve me." At the shrill incantation, two figures formed in the waters, one with long gray hair and the other with sunshine golden hair and deep blue eyes.
"We have come, Tenkou-sama," the man with gray hair and eyes said in a cold voice. A blue mark shone on his lower right abdomen and the demon smirked. "We have come to serve you."
"Your powers have shifted, Nakago," the cold dreary voice addressed the former shogun who was kneeling beside the other. The man did not respond and instead, continued to look down at the blue waters of the lake. The demon smiled wickedly. He was under his control. "The girl has returned. Do you remember what I told you?"
"Hai, Tenkou-sama," Nakago said in a stoic voice. "Just say the word and I shall do your command."
Tenkou laughed mirthlessly. "Well then, we shall do the plan. Kill the girl with the blue eyes and the blonde hair. Kill anyone who gets in the way," Tenkou said. The former shogun, devoid of any emotions, nodded and stood up.
"Yes, Lord Tenkou," Nakago replied mechanically. In a flick of the demon's long bony fingers, the shogun was gone.
"Tomo," he called the other warrior and the man he addressed looked up. "Capture the man who inherited Nakago's mark. Soi will assist you. Do not kill him yet. I want his powers. Bring him here instead, alive but weak enough for me to conquer."
"Hai, Tenkou-sama," Tomo replied, an evil smirk moved from his handsome face. "When all is done. Can I get my wish?"
The demon raised an eyebrow and laughed loudly, making the air shift. "Of course. The shogun is yours if you bring the successor here. Alive, of course."
"If he resists?"
"Alive, I said." Tenkou raised an eyebrow and waved the other warrior away. The latter bowed down and disappeared. The waves shifted again and in a few seconds, the demon was gone.
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Kaiba slowly stood up, clutching his head. The pain and the overwhelming power have receded but his body felt numb from the impact. Heaving heavily, he sat back on the chair he occupied awhile ago and his gaze landed on the book. What had been happening to him? He tried to remember what transpired. The moment Yui called a name, a pain throbbed on his forehead and heat filled him. An unexplainable anger washed over him too. And Yui…
The boy's eyes widened when he remembered the situation the girl was in before he lost control. He hastily opened the book and a new drawing caught his attention. It was not there before and it intrigued him. The men were gone from the drawing and only the girl remained, lying on the ground. Kaiba can make out a subtle mark on her forehead and he touched the spot that throbbed painfully awhile ago. Whatever it was, it connected them. And Kaiba felt a sense of relief. He sighed and turned to the blank page, waiting for the words to form itself on the paper.
Rain poured on the girl from another world, seeping through her torn clothing and washing away the remains of blood on her skin. Consciousness was leaving her but instead of seeking shelter, she chose to bathe in the cold drizzle. She had not moved an inch and lied at the exact place, looking up at the heavens. A smile gradually spread on her face as the glimmering mark of the dragon disappeared ever so slowly on her forehead.
"He came…" Yui whispered to herself. She was feeling beaten but her heart felt as light as early morning dew.
"YUI!" Miaka called and footsteps moved toward her, slippers plopping on muddy ground. Miaka's face appeared alongside two more faces. Tamahomes smiled down at her. At the sight of her, he immediately took off his coat and wrapped it around her freezing body, pulling the blonde girl into his arms.
"Yui, are you—"
"He saved me…" she whispered, coherence slowly blurring as her consciousness gave way. "Nakago saved me…" She lifted her hand and slowly touched the earring Nakago left her, tears flowing from her eyes. "Nakago…" she called before darkness consumed her for good.
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A/N: Tell me what you think! I added some dramatic touches. I tend to think up of ideas as I go along so I keep on adding and adding some parts. I'm not sure if I got Kaiba's character right, though. Please please please do rate and review!