From Dusk 'Til Dawn
Chapter 9
Sacrifices
Saguru carefully ran his fingers down the smooth feathers on Watson's chest. The bird had been a parting gift from his friends at the hunter ring. They had always made fun of how Saguru was always burried in mystery novels, ones written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the most part.
Saguru's friends especially had a blast whenever Saguru had put on his iverness coat. They had actually gotten the blond a deerstalker hat to go with the coat as a birthday present. And as he had left the ring to join the Shadow Wyverns they had decided to name his companion animal Watson.
The joy of getting his own companion was still fresh in Saguru's thoughts. He had been so proud of himself, since animals with enhanced abilities were given only to really gifted fighters to provide them support in the magic area. And, according to his team mates, Saguru was the one person who truly needed support in that department.
The joy of getting the magical sparrow hawk had not the least bit faded when his friends had decided to name the bird Watson without asking Saguru's opinion first. It was not like it was a bad name or anything. Plus, Saguru had actually gotten one on them that day because of that very name.
Saguru's friends had been rolling on the floor with laughter after telling the bird's name to the blond. Saguru had completely ignored them while he looked his familiar over. Then he had waited silently for his friends to calm down and noted in a very serious tone that the bird resting on his arm was actually female.
Saguru's attention was now back on the present as Watson spread her wings, giving Saguru access to caress them for a change.
"You're a girl..." Saguru muttered quietly. "And a beautiful girl at that."
Watson let out a quiet sing at the praises she was receiving from her master.
"And you're smart too", Saguru continued. He was so tired that he was not making any sense to hismelf at all. Hopefully the bird would not mind.
Apparently Watson did not mind her companion's stupefied state as she cooed quietly and bit on the golden locks hanging infront of the boy's face. Her ministrations were affectionate and Saguru smiled.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're part pigeon", he said with a chuckle. There was a slightly stronger tug of his hair.
"Right", the blond said. "Not a pigeon."
Soon Saguru felt his eyelids grow heavy and they started to droop shut. With a yawn Saguru stood up and staggered to his bed. He fell down on the soft matress and was out like a light. Watson eyed her master once more before settling down to sleep herself. As soon as the hawk fell asleep a new feather appeared on her tail.
&&&&&&&
Yugi rushed to his room and quickly closed the door behind him. The base had been a complete mess ever since Hakuba had managed to escape. Anzu was certain that whoever the blond worked for knew the location of their base already and Bakura and Marik were certain that it was an inside job. They had even volunteered to 'dispose' of the traitor when he or she was revealed.
With a groan Yugi turned around to fall down on his bed, only to see that it was already occupied.
"Jou!" Yugi cheered at the blond sitting on his matress. Jou lifted a hand in greeting.
"What's up?" he asked.
There was an exaggerated sigh from Yugi as the shorter boy toppled down ontop the bed. Jou's arms were quickly wrapped around the smaller frame to keep the sweet boy warm.
"Thanks."
"No biggie. Now tell me."
There was a short pause before Yugi decided to come clean.
"Hakuba got away", he said. "No one knows how."
"That explains it."
Both teens were quiet for a while. Yugi enjoyed the warmth Jou provided and Jou enjoyed the feeling of having someone close to him. But their peace was soon broken by urgent knocking on the door.
A disappointed groan escaped Yugi's mouth as he got up to answer the door. Behind the wooden barrier was Kaito, who looked like he had just witnessed the armageddon.
"Yugi!" the brunet hissed. "You have to help me!"
"Why? What's wrong?" Kaito looked just about ready to cry, his calm mask broken by whatever it was that was plaguing his mind.
"Yugi..." Kaito started. "I didn't realize it would be dangerous to us. I really, really, really didn't mean to harm anyone."
"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked. He was starting to get very worried.
"I let Hakuba escape. I helped him out of here."
&&&&&&&
"What do you suggest we do?" Yami asked Kaiba. The two of them were currently in Kaiba's office. Yami had deemed it necessary for them to discuss a matter of great importance to the vampire.
Kaiba leaned backward in his chair, giving Yami one of calculative looks.
"I don't suggest anything", he drawled. "I only order or do myself." Yami's glare was enough of a clue to stop with his sarcasm. The spiky-haired teen had an even shorter fuse than usually.
"You're saying Hakuba is lying about not knowing where the people that captured him are having a base?" At Yami's nod he turned to look out of the window.
"There is really nothing we can do", he said.
"I could sense he was lying!" Yami yelled. "He's keeping information from us."
"He has a good reason, we can both be sure of that."
"How can you trust him?"
"I trust you, don't I?"
Yami was quiet while Kaiba thought some more.
"He wouldn't do anything to endanger our mission", he said. "As long as it's not problem to us, he may do whatever he pleases." Kaiba's voice had such a firm tone to it that Yami would have been a fool to argue.
"Besides..." Yami's sharp ears perked up when Kaiba continued. "That group was also after Creeper. We may be after the same thing, but it might also be a trick. We need to learn more about them to make a final judgement. I think that is why Hakuba is so reluctant to share his information."
"So you're saying that Hakuba might think that they aren't the enemy?" Yami asked.
"Exactly", was Kaiba's reply. "I believe you on the fact that he's hiding something but you can't tell for sure what he was lying about. Perhaps he suspects something but doesn't want to share his opinion."
Slowly, a smirk came to Kaiba's lips.
"It'll be like a game", he said. "A game to find out which side they are on." A chuckle escaped from Kaiba's mouth. Yami hated that sound. Kaiba never truly laughed. He only let out sinister chuckles or manic laughter that would make children cry.
"Alright", Yami finally said. "I'll let the thing slide for now. But at the moment that group becomes a serious threat I'll dig the information out of Hakuba's mind." He looked into Kaiba's deep blue eyes and saw that the brunet was indeed agreeing with him. With a nod he turned around and left the office. There was a low growl from Kaiba; the brunet hated it when Yami marched off like that.
&&&&&&&
"I took him through such a complicated series of turns that I'm certain he was lost", Kaito explained to Yugi and Jou. "But if they have some kind of trackers or location spells they can use them to find out where he was we're busted for sure."
"Agh, don't be such a worrywart!" Jou put in. "If they had known where he were they would have come to bust him out. They would not have let him be interrogated." Kaito's face brightened.
"So I didn't completely blow it?"
"Nope."
Clear relief washed over Kaito's face before Yugi spoke out.
"But the others don't know how he left", the shortest of the trio said.
"Damn!" Kaito hissed. "You're absolutely right." He furrowed his brows in concentration. "What should I do?"
Yugi saw Jou smile before the blond spoke.
"I can say I let him out", he suggested.
"No!" Yugi and Kaito shouted out at the same time. "You can't take the blame!" Jou shook his head.
"Think about it. I've gotten used to changing place constantly. I would have probably continued on soon anyway."
Yugi's eyes filled with sadness and tears.
"So you don't want to stay with us anymore?"
"I was never really staying with you", Jou said. "And I'll come see you again. There's no way I'm abandoning my first real friend."
"Wait a moment!" Kaito suddenly interrupted. "Who said I was going to let you take the blame? I'd never be able to live with myself." Jou reached out and poked the brunet on the forehead.
"Don't...be...stupid." he said between pokes. "The team would be devastated if you turned out to be a traitor. Which you are not."
Kaito looked utterly miserable.
"I sure feel like a traitor", he said. Yugi patted him on the head.
"I would have probably ended up doing the same thing, only more foolishly", the bright-eyed boy said. "It really was kind of cruel how he was treated."
"Hey, let's not make this into a melodrama", Jou said as he stood up and streched his arms out. "So, to whom will I turn myself in?"
"How can you take this so lightly?" Kaito asked. "They will never trust you again." Jou gave him a sad smile.
"They never trusted me in the first place", was his reply. "It's enough that you two believe in me."
Yugi knew that Jou had not settled in or gotten used to their group. The blond probably never would. But still there was a small selfish part inside him that wanted to keep Jou with him, even if it was not the best for either one of them.
"Jou..." Yugi started. The blond turned to look at him.
"Aww, come one Yug'", he said. "Please don't cry. This isn't goodbye, not really. I never belonged to this team in the first place-"
"We could relocate", Kaito said, cutting Jou off. "I mean, we could change our base of operations; that way no one has to sacrifice anything."
"Yeah!" Yugi cheered, immediately in a better mood. "Let's do that!" He was certain that he had not felt this grateful in a long time. Kaito's suggestion was like a gift from the heavens.
"We just need to find a new place for our base", Kaito said.
"There's an abandoned shop right on the next street from the shopping district", Jou said. "It's currently filled with vampires but should be easy enough to clear out." He stood up. "I'll go scout there a bit and see what we'll be up against."
"Alright", Yugi said eagerly. "In the meantime, we'll propose the idea to Anzu."
&&&&&&&
Jou walked down the dark streets of Domino, deep in thought. The shop had around six vampires, eight tops. The Dragons should be able to clear the place out on their own. He had just finished a call in a nearby phone-booth and informed Yugi of the information he had gathered. Now he just needed to get to Yugi to make sure he did not get hurt.
Jou's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of steps. Jou froze in place. He knew very well what had caused the even so slight sound. This area of the city was under the control of the vampires. He had thought he could use the streets as a shortcut without being noticed. No such luck. Hopefully there would not be many of them.
It really seemed like the night was going to continue as lucky as it had been so far. Three vampires came out infront of Jou and the blond could feel two more behind him.
"What do we have here?" one of them asked in a raspy voice.
"It feels strange", another one said in a high-pitched tone.
"I bet it's a hunter."
"Let's kill it!"
There was no way Jou could win again so many oponents, but he would not go down without a fight. He took a battle stance as he saw the first one rush towards him. A male one, apparently the leader.
There was a loud roar from Jou's mouth as a burst of fire shot out from his mouth. Vampires are extremely sensitive to light and heat so the fire on his clothes sent him running away, screaming in agony.
The four remaining vampires looked wary at first, not sure if they should attack such a strong oponent.
"Let's get him! He's outnumbered!" one of them screamed finally. Jou let his hands take the form of black claws as they all leaped at once.
With a quick movement Jou managed to tear a large wound on one of the attacking vampires' chest. The pale man backed away immediately to allow a woman take his place.
The female vampire was a lot faster than her male counterpart. She managed to get a painful kick into Jou's gut before the blond hit her aside with one of his clawed hands. This, however, left him open for attack from the two vampires that were still in full-power.
Jou soon found himself lying on the ground on his stomach.
"We don't know what kind of a freak you are but we're not going to stand you any longer!" came a high-pitched female voice from above.
The blond managed to push himself back up to face his oponents. The two vampires he had hit aside earlier were apparently willing to fight some more. Jou backed against a wall to make sure there would be no more attacks on his unguarded back.
As the four predators approached Jou could feel his insides starting to burn hotter than they had ever burned before. He felt thick smoke rise into his mouth and he proceeded to blow it out. It was so dark grey that it was almost black. The vampires eyed him anxiously.
"Your firebreath won't do you much good", one of them said. "There's too many of us, it won't save you."
'That may be so...' Jou thought to himself. 'But at least I won't be going down alone.'
As the vampires leaped at him once more, Jou let out a scream. It was unlike any sound he had ever let out of his mouth in his entire life. It clearly frightened the vampires and Jou had to admit, the sound frightened even himself.
Right after the scream was a wave of flame. Jou felt his mouth and face burn as red, light yellow, and even white flames burst out of his body through his mouth. When the flames died out, which was suprisingly quickly, all Jou could see of his attackers were four disformed corpses.
Jou was feeling utterly exhausted and he noticed, that now that the adrenaline had faded, how much his back hurt. A cold shiver went up his spine and he realized that he was bleeding. But he was too exhausted to do anything about it, he could barely even stay awake. Just then then blond's legs gave out from underneath him. Correction, he could not stay awake.
To be continued...
