Karneval: Tarnished Silver

Author's Note: Too late to go back and fix continuity now? Turns out I've been putting everything to Gareki's left arm, when it's always been his right. The only time it was his left arm was when Jiki pinned him to the ground. Oops. As always, YogixGareki Always, thank you for your kind words. To my anonymous commenters, many thanks to you as well. AnimeFreakkk, you're officially 'stalking' me now, so I know you're gonna' see this update posted. Thanks again, everyone.

Tarnished Silver

Chapter 10: Prince Yogi

Gareki pushed himself up off the ground, clenching his fists and glaring at the blue haired power holder. Actually, ever since Rinoll, Gareki had been itching for a chance to pay these two back for what happened to Yogi and Tsukumo. On top of that, this whole deal with Yogi having gone missing had given him a lot of pent up aggressions as he was finally starting to realize he cared more about what happened to the people on the Second Ship than he'd ever dared to admit to himself.

Kiharu smirked. "STILL too stubborn to stand down and take a beating, eh?" the power holder chuckled, swinging a punch.

"I'm no stranger to them," Gareki admitted, "But I'll be damned if I'll take one without a fight." He blocked the punch with his left arm. Damn it. WHY did it have to be that arm? He could feel his arm straining to hold back the attack. It wasn't completely because of Kiharu's strength, either, this was more or less due to past injuries. Gareki quickly swung a punch with his right, clocking Kiharu in the jaw.

The power holder staggered back a bit, rubbing his jaw. Sure it hurt, but he was more surprised he had failed to react fast enough to block the blow. Kiharu was swift, one quick move and Gareki took a punch to the stomach, sending him flying back, this time landing him in a large mud puddle. Before he even had the chance to scramble to his feet, the blue haired power holder was on top of him, wailing on him with both fists. Gareki did what he could to block or counter the punches, but there was no chance for him to get away and stand in order to properly defend himself. Meanwhile, Kagiri still had Tsukumo pinned in a position that restricted most of her movement.

Gareki kicked at Kiharu, aiming for his crotch, but hitting an angle that caused him to miss the desired target. Taking advantage of his assaulter's distraction, he attempted to scramble to his feet and get away, only for Kiharu to grab his left arm again. "Gyah!" Gareki let out a yelp of pain as Kiharu twisted his arm behind his back and dragged him back into the mud puddle. "Damn it," he growled, trying to wrench himself free. SLAM. He was thrown into the mud, face first, and found himself being held there, both by the arm twisted at his back and the power holder's hand on his head. Gareki jerked and sputtered, his face had been rammed into the mud without warning, and he'd had no chance to hold his breath. On top of that, he had a few cuts on his lips and cheeks from the barrage of punches Kiharu had just served him, and the cold mud was causing them to sting before they could heal.

"Gareki-Kun!?" Tsukumo called out worriedly, attempting to struggle free.

"Didn't I tell you two blockheads…" a voice hissed as thorned vines seized up the four of them and tossed the two power holders into the crumbling wall of the nearby house, "…that he was not to be touched!?"

"We're sorry, Yogi-Sama!" Kiharu and Kagiri both groveled, bowing as low to the ground as they possibly could.

"Y-Yogi…?" Gareki coughed, sounding as if he'd gotten some of the mud caught in his throat, or perhaps some of the moisture of it caught in his lungs. "… What the hell are you wearing?" The silver haired entity was wearing a dark burgundy pair of pants with a matching military-style dress jacket and a pair of black boots, accentuated with a red and royal purple cape, brass buttons, and several belts. Gareki raised an eyebrow, almost daring to imagine what Yogi was wearing underneath that jacket. However, he thought he preferred Yogi's normal Nyanperowna adorned fashion to this one. He admitted, to himself, the odd sort of irony behind that thought.

A scowl crossed Silver Yogi's face, upon hearing Gareki address him in such a manner. "That's PRINCE YOGI, to you, Little Street Rat!" he hissed, tightening the vines around Gareki, allowing the thorns to rip Gareki's flesh and clothes.

Gareki wasn't sure what hurt worse, the thorns or the fact that YOGI of all people, even the Silver Haired Yogi, had gone so far as to call him such a name. "Street Rat?" he coughed, still sounding like he had water in his throat. At least he hoped that was water and not blood from one of the many blows he'd taken from Kiharu. "You arrogant blue blood bastard, and to think I was worried about you," he growled.

Silver Yogi raised an eyebrow, having ignored the last part of that remark in favor of latching on to the first. "Blue Blood?" The thorns tightened even more and yanked Gareki from the ground, into the air. Gareki flinched and closed his eyes, when he opened them again, he was face to face with the post-human prince. "So, you knew who I was?" He studied Gareki's face curiously.

"I only just found out," Gareki admitted, "Just after our last encounter." Like Yogi had said, Gareki had always been honest with him, when it wassomething that mattered. "But, there's been too much going on lately. Too much has happened too fast to talk about it."

Silver Yogi blinked and tilted his head to the side. Gareki's eyes reflected no deceit. The silver haired entity placed his hands on his hips. "You sound awful, you know that? Did you end up swallowing some of that mud?" Gareki coughed, confused about the sudden concern. As he was about to speak, however, he spat a small trickle of blood onto one of the vines holding him. Silver Yogi blinked and flinched, his violet eyes widening a little in surprise. He knew the thorns on his vines were scratching against Gareki's flesh, but he also knew he wasn't holding the teenager tight enough to cause that sort of damage. His eyes snapped onto the two groveling power holders below. "Kiiihaarruuu…" he growled, lashing a vine across the blue haired power holder's back. "What IS it about this brat…?" Silver Yogi thought, as he allowed the vines to slash several times across Kiharu's back.

Tsukumo had been silent this whole time, watching in surprise. This was only the second time she'd ever seen this side of Yogi, and in both cases, she found it startling. The post-human prince found himself forced to stop hammering the blue haired power holder, when the tip of a real whip lashed across him.

Gareki and Tsukumo both gasped as they watched the impact. "Yogi, stop this at once!" Jiki's voice insisted.

"Jiki-Kun?" Tsukumo called out to him.

"Y-You!?" Kiharu exclaimed.

"NO WAY!" Kagiri insisted, "My Rasudan Bug shouldn't have worn off yet!"

Gareki and Silver Yogi both smirked, when they noticed Jiki's face. "It hasn't," they both said simultaneously. Jiki had removed his glasses. The naturally-grey-haired-dyed-black First Ship fighter had exceptional eyesight, so exceptional in fact that he could see things others couldn't. It was because of this that he wore his glasses, not because he needed them to sharpen his eyesight, but to dull it. Because of this, the Rasudan Bug had effected his duller eyesight while the spectacles were on his face. With them removed, however, he could see just as well as if the attack had never hit him. Behind him, wobbling slightly and using the pole of her scythe for balance was a still blinded Kiichi.

"Yogi!?" Hirato and Tsukitachi called, as they also arrived on the scene.

"Damn… There's too many of them," Silver Yogi relented. He turned a sneering eye to the two power holders. "Kagiri, Kiharu!" His vines cocooned around Gareki and Tsukumo, the one holding Tsukumo dropping to the ground as the pigtailed blonde let out a startled yelp from her sudden unexpected descent. "Our job here is done, we're leaving!" He turned his attention to the Circus members. "I'll deal with the likes of you, later," he hissed, his eyes focusing mostly on the two captains, as if this whole ordeal was somehow their fault. "DON'T FOLLOW US! Or the brat dies!" His eyes turned to the cocoon holding Gareki, with an evil smile.

Jiki moved to lash his whip at Yogi once more, but Tsukitachi held out an arm to stop him. "No," he whispered the order, "We'll let them go for now. There's no telling what might happen to Gareki if we try to fight."

"I knew you'd see it my way," the Silver entity laughed, "We'll be going now. Ciao!"

"So now what?" Tsukitachi asked as they watched Yogi and the two power holders fly off with Gareki in tow.

"Now we dig Tsukumo out of the briar patch," Hirato sighed, looking down at the other ball of thorned vines lying on the ground.

"I meant about Yogi," Tsukitachi sighed, "This WON'T be pleasant to report to command. You know what they'll order us to do if we can't change him back, Hirato!"

Hirato gave a solemn nod. "I'm well aware of what that order will be. Unfortunately, WE can do nothing more for him."

"Wait?" Jiki asked, "Does that mean the next time we see Yogi, we'll have to…?"

Hirato closed his eyes with a sigh. "If we can't change him back, then Kafka has finally succeeded in changing Yogi into a Varuga or a Power Holder. Unfortunately, we ALL know what that means. As unsavory as it is to do to one of our own, it doesn't change the fact that it is our prime directive."

"But…?" Kiichi squeaked, still staggered. Even she, who usually had no qualms with ending a Varuga even when it was someone she knew was close to someone else, felt an uneasy sensation settling in the pit of her stomach at these words. "Akari-Sensei could do something, couldn't he?"

"As corny as it sounds," Hirato sighed, looking in the direction the post-humans had flown off in, "At this point, not even Akari will have any hold over Yogi. We'll just have to rely on the power of love and hope that's enough."