The Little Sprite

Chapter 21

Fairytale

Seto had not thought that it would be easy to make the sprites accept the increased amount of humans in their group. It took some time until Yugi managed to calm his friends down, during which the brunet had leaned against a tree while he watched the proceedings.

Yugi and his four levitating friends were talking in such quiet tones that it was impossible for Seto to know what was being said. He did his best to read to the sprites' expressions to find out how Yugi was doing, however. The shorter tan sprite that Yugi had introduced as Malik, the one with fox features, was very angry. It was a wonder that he was not screaming with the bright red face he was sporting. The taller one of the two platinum-haired sprites, the one with wolf tendencies and the name Marik, was looking around in a bored manner, clearly not interested in how this all ended. He did pet his shorter companion on the head occasionally, however, attempting to calm the other down. Too bad the gesture seemed to only annoy the fox sprite more with every single time it was repeated. The last sprite was the tallest one of the bunch with brown hair and what seemed to be monkey features. Yugi had introduced him as Hiroto and his brows were furrowed into a deep frown as he took turns in scolding both Yugi and the fox-sprite.

"This is going to take forever", Jou commented from right beside Seto and the brunet instantly turned his attention to the blond, who was looking at the group of four with worry written all over his face.

"I'm sure Yugi can handle them", Seto commented in what he hoped was a comforting manner but might have come out as sarcastic instead. Seto paid no mind to that, however, as he looked over the human members of the group who were all waiting patiently or impatiently for the conclusion of the meeting going on out of the hearing distance of all of them.

Yami's right foot was tapping the ground while he stood with his arms crossed and kept his eyes focused intently on his precious Yugi. Otogi was sitting on a rock and staring at the group in what looked like a bored daze while Bakura whispered something in Ryou's ear that caused the shorter boy to blush and slap the other on the shoulder lightly. Seto was certain that he did not want any details about that conversation.

When Seto turned his eyes to Otogi again he suddenly noticed that the raven-haired teen was not bored at all. Actually, the sitting teen looked like he was very keenly interested in the conversation going on. The only problem with that theory was that Otogi could not hear a single word that was being said. This meant that Otogi was interested in the people who were having the conversation and in the boredom of not being in control of the situation Seto became interested in what was going through Otogi's mind.

There was suddenly a sigh from Jou as the blond sank on the ground to sit on his knees. Seto patted the shorter teen on the head, much to the blond's annoyance, as he said encouragingly: "Don't worry. No one can argue forever." And that said Seto made his way to his self-proclaimed friend.

Otogi paid Seto no mind as he continued to stare. Seto observed the other's face closely now that there was not so much distance between them anymore, trying to decipher any thoughts that might be visible on the raven-haired boy's face. Seto soon decided that he was better off not knowing when he noticed that Otogi's lips were slightly parted and a small droplet of drool had gathered in the corner of his mouth. With a frown of distaste Seto turned his head away from the sight and tried to look into the exact same direction that Otogi was looking into. He lifted an eyebrow before glancing back to Otogi and speaking out: "Isn't that interesting?"

"Huh?" Otogi uttered with a blink before turning his to Seto. The brunet glared at the drool still on the other teen's face and grunted out: "Wipe your face, you pervert."

"Eh?" Otogi blinked again before lifting his hand brushing at the wet side of his chin. Then the raven-haired boy turned his attention back to Seto and questioned: "What is interesting?"

A smirk tugged on Seto's lips and the brunet did nothing to stop it. He bit back an amused chuckle however, preferring to simply answer the question: "I simply looked at whatever it was that had your undivided attention." This time Seto did chuckle before continuing: "Was it just my mind playing tricks on me or were you checking that brunet out?"

For a moment it looked like Otogi was going to blush but the teen seemed to regain control of his emotions in time and instead grunted back defensively: "And if I were in fact doing something like that?"

Seto shrugged his shoulders before answering as flippantly as he would, meaning not very much so: "Then I encourage it wholeheartedly."

"You don't have a heart when concerning me", Otogi pointed out suspiciously and Seto simply shrugged again. "You're only supporting me because you're still suspicious of that time I said that I thought Jou hot, aren't you?"

"Perhaps", Seto replied calmly. He was not going to confess to anything but he also saw no point in denying the truth. Otogi was very aware of his he felt on the matter of Jou. That fact was proven to be right even further when the raven-haired boy released a sigh before grunting out: "Possessive bastard."

It was a good thing that Seto had determined the conversation to be over, otherwise he might have been annoyed when the brown-haired one of Yugi's sprite friends spoke out: "Alright then. We will take you humans to our village."

"Great, let's go then", Yami said and made his way to wrap an arm around Yugi's shoulders. Seto knew his cousin well enough to know that Yami had been waiting throughout the entire conversation so impatiently just because he wanted to touch Yugi again.

"We can't just take off so suddenly, Yami", Seto commented firmly. "People will notice if seven students disappear all of a sudden. We are going to need a plausible excuse."

"Who cares?" Yami snapped angrily. "We're talking about saving Yugi's home here!"

"Which will be in danger again if people come looking for us in the forest!" Seto snapped back. That one silenced Yami as the shorter teen grit his teeth angrily. It seemed that Bakura was not convinced with just that as the albino commented loudly: "Then what are we going to do?"

"There is a spell", spoke Jou, of all people. Seto turned to look at the blond boy and was sure that everyone else present was mimicking the gesture. Jou flushed a bright red as he muttered: "There is a spell that makes people ignore the lack of certain people. The name is Forest Song, but I don't know how to cast it."

"I know that spell", spoke out the wolf-sprite, Marik. "I can cast it around the school building and all of its inhabitants." The sprite paused for a moment. "It's going to acquire a lot of energy, however, so it should be performed at night, when everyone is asleep."

"That settles that then", Yami spoke out, taking the lead. "We will pack whatever we think we might need before nightfall. After it's dark out we will all sneak here, to the edge of the forest, and Marik will cast the spell. Then we can go."

"Just one question", Ryou spoke out then. "How does Marik know human magic? I mean, we have lived apart from sprites for generations so how can both Jou and Marik know the same spell? Jou is human, after all."

"Sprites have been turned human before", Otogi pointed out suddenly and immediately everyone looked at him. Seto wondered how the raven-haired teen could possibly know such a thing but his worry about the world ending died as soon as Otogi continued: "There are a lot fairytales about sprites. Some of them must be true and I know one where a sprite woman asked to be turned human. Maybe there are more cases like that and sprites taught the spell to humans."

"Could you tell us this story?" Yugi asked with clear excitement and as Otogi opened his mouth to speak Seto snapped: "It's a freaking fairytale. There's no way it can be true."

"Don't be so sceptical, Seto", Yami spoke then and Seto was certain that his cousin was saying that only so that he was taking Yugi's side, the fool. The thing that really changed Seto's opinion about listening to the story was when Jou walked to him, looked at him pleadingly and spoke: "Even if it's not true, I would like to hear the story."

A heavy sigh escaped from between Seto's lips before the brunet grunted: "Fine", in defeat. Otogi rubbed his hands together gleefully as he smiled with satisfaction before starting his tale: "Okay, so the story starts with a young sprite woman named Hitomi. She was very beautiful and kind but she was very interested in humans, especially this one man who she often saw walking in her home forest. One day Hitomi disguised herself, hiding her ears and tail underneath clothes, and attempted to talk to the human. The man was very friendly with her and told her that his name was Toki."

The sound Bakura let out when he snorted interrupted the story, the noise followed by the albino in question commenting: "What a stupid name." Bakura was instantly elbowed into the side by Ryou, who glared at his companion as he said sternly: "I want to listen, so keep quiet." Bakura complied, even though he did not seem to be happy about it.

"Alright then", Otogi spoke out with a frown as he tried to remember where he had been. Seto was just about to kick one of the raven-haired teen's feet in impatience when Otogi suddenly spoke again: "Okay, so Hitomi met Toki again after that and in time she grew to love the human. To her joy it was revealed that Toki felt the same way when the man proposed to her one day. Hitomi had no problems with leaving her former home behind to be with her beloved but she was struck by a dilemma: she had no idea how she could leave with humans and not be discovered as something else. In the end Hitomi came to a desperate conclusion and decided to pay a visit to the sorceress of the forest named Mai."

"Mai?" this time it was Yami who interrupted. "Is it the same Mai that changed Yugi? In that case, how old is she?"

"She looked around twenty but not any older than that", Yugi replied instantly before turning his attention to Otogi again. "Please, tell the story. How does it continue?"

"Well, Hitomi went to see Mai and told the sorceress all about her troubles. Mai was sympathetic and told Hitomi of a spell that could make her human. However, Mai was not going to help Hitomi for free and so she stated her terms." Otogi paused then, like he was trying to gain effect to what he was about to say. "Mai told Hitomi that she would turn her human in return for her first child born as a sprite. Hitomi agreed."

"What?" Ryou exclaimed suddenly and Seto was about to actually let his annoyance show that time. If they had been so intent to hear the story then why were they interrupting all the time? Still, just like everyone else, Seto turned to Ryou as the boy questioned: "What kind of a mother would agree to such terms?"

"A mother who was not planning on getting pregnant", Otogi replied before waving his hand dismissively. "Now let me tell the story. So, Hitomi was turned human and so she was able to marry Toki. She never told Toki about her family or the deal that she had made and the two of them were happy for years. And then something awful happened.

"Hitomi became pregnant. Toki was ecstatic about this turn of events but Hitomi could not find it within herself to celebrate. Toki was puzzled by his wife's behaviour but did not question it. He thought that Hitomi was merely worried about her ability to carry a child. Then, nine moths later, a boy child was born." Otogi paused slightly, apparently making sure that he would not be interrupted again. "The boy was perfectly healthy, something that made Toki glad. And, as he had expected, Hitomi became happy again as well. For you see, the child was born as completely human."

"Well, that's only expected", Yugi commented suddenly. "Hitomi was human then, so of course her child would also be human like both of his parents." The small boy smiled at Otogi. "I guess the story has a happy ending then?"

"Maybe", Otogi replied vaguely before continuing on: "So, Hitomi also made that same assumption about her children being born human. Because of that she agreed with Toki's suggestion of getting a second child. This time around she gave birth to a girl. She was healthy and beautiful but both Toki and Hitomi received a terrible surprise. The girl had two dog-ears growing from her head.

"Toki was confused and suddenly remembered Hitomi's behaviour during the previous pregnancy. He asked Hitomi if she was expecting something like this to happen and the woman told him her story. Toki grew scared then and together with his family he moved away from their house with the intention of making sure that Mai would not find them.

"It seemed that the plan had worked but five years after the girl's birth Mai finally came to claim what was hers. Hitomi and Toki both tried to resist but in the end Mai disappeared with their child. Hitomi was devastated by what happened but Toki was enraged. The man took his human son and left Hitomi to her own devices, starting to hate sprites for the deceiving nature he now associated with them. Hitomi started the lonely journey back to her old home, determined to find Mai and reclaim her daughter. But to her further despair she noticed that her transformation had taken away the magic she had had by birth and she was now unable to see anything sprite-related. She had truly lost everything."

After that Otogi trailed off and his eyes widened slightly as he stared at something that was on Seto's right side. Seto knew very well that Jou was standing beside him and was about to step forth to punch the raven-haired teen. A sudden choked sob stopped him, however. Seto instantly turned around to see Jou's eyes wet with tears that had yet to fall.

"Jou?" Seto questioned from the blond. "What's wrong?"

"I…I'm sorry", Jou muttered with shame written all over his face. "It's just…the story is just really sad." Knowing very well that Jou was not a person to cry from small discomfort, Seto laid his hands on Jou's shoulders. The blond's tears then finally broke through and Seto pulled the shorter body against his own in a manner that was meant to soothe.

"I'm so sorry", Jou whispered against Seto's shirt. "I just can't stop."

Looking around the group Seto noticed that Jou was not the only one who had been affected strongly by the tale. He saw the forlorn expression on Ryou's face despite the boy's lowered head and Yugi was openly bawling into Yami's chest. Seto frowned in thought before speaking out: "I think we are all thinking that this story is more or less true, am I right?"

There were nods and sounds of affirmation from Yami and the sprites, soon followed by Bakura's reluctant grunt of agreement. Seto turned his attention to Otogi then and the raven-haired boy took that as hi cue to have his say in the matter: "That story was the reason I believed it when I heard you guys talking. My grandmother has told me that story tons of times and she was always saying that the sprite herself told it to her. I never believed her until I heard you guys mention both sprites and the witch Mai at the same time. I'm sure that my grandma was the only one who knew the story."

"So it really is very likely for it to be a true story?" Yami questioned then, not pausing in petting Yugi's head and caressing the boy's back. Otogi nodded his head at the question before answering: "I would say it's definitely a possibility."

"In that case, how old is this Mai-chick really?" Bakura asked then. "I mean, she was in that story that your grandma must have heard many years ago and now she's tormenting Yugi and the rest of the sprites."

"Mai doesn't age", one of Yugi's sprite friends spoke out suddenly. It was once again the brown-haired one, Hiroto. "She's ancient but she stays young by eating souls. That's why she is making those deals, she is gathering people around her so that she can take their souls when the spell making her stay young weakens."

"Why didn't you guys tell me this?" Yugi exclaimed then as the turned to his friends. He was glaring at them through his tears and the sprites did really look guilty, even as Malik answered the question: "We didn't want to worry you with the knowledge. It would have been very likely that Mai would have taken your soul if you had lost her game so we didn't want you to fail because you were nervous."

"That makes things even more difficult", Ryou spoke out then, his tone rather weak from the emotions that were clearly storming inside him. "If Mai has truly been around for that long then she is going to be an even more difficult opponent to beat."

"We can't help it", Yami spoke out sternly. "We decided to do this together and so we shall. We won't back down simply because we find out something new about our opponent."

"Right", that was spoken out by Jou, who suddenly seemed to be feeling a lot better. "We aren't cowards." That statement had Bakura agreeing instantly and soon everyone was back in the high spirits they had been in before. Seto paid the morale no attention, however, and merely marvelled in the feeling of belonging he got when his arms were around Jou's body.

To be continued…

Ending Notes: Before you people start biting my head off for making Jou out of character, please note that whenever I have the characters act in a peculiar manner, I usually have a plot twist in mind that explains that behaviour.