Yamato the Vampire Slayer 2
Magic Books
By the Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon or Buffy.
Yaoi and slash ahead! Yamachi/Taito (Matt and Tai), Daiken (Davis and Ken) and remnants of other yaoiness. For anyone who hasn't already twigged, that means Boy/boy in relationships! You have been warned!
Quick summary - Matt Ishida, 16, was called as the new Slayer when Buffy Summers died. He was apparently called because he is a transsexual and because Buffy has already died once, a normal Slayer would not be called. Therefore, the magic allowed Matt to be called. His Watcher, Ms Ishiko Fuyutsuki trained him and tried to keep his friends from discovering his secret. However, this proved impossible when Tai Yagami started nosing around. After he discovered Matt's secret, his other close friends weren't far behind. Soon, Matt had a small army behind him. After a climatic battle with Darla, Drusilla and his once-brother, now-vampire TK, Matt accepted his destiny. At least - that's how it appears.
This contains my version of the Teenage Wolves (Matt's band), Gendo Ikari, Akemi Nakatsuru, Toshiki Miyahara and Istu Katsuragi. They're seriously wacky and moral-free. Oh and they're all bisexual! (I warned you about the yoai/slash didn't I?)
Black. Swirling storm clouds.
'It's very cold out here...'
A sudden woosh of images, almost too fast to catch anything, yet the details clear in his mind.
A girl with swirling, shadow-coloured hair sitting on a sofa, idly twisting a black thread in her fingers. A man standing behind her, young but with silvery-white hair swirling around his shoulders.
A demon attacking a girl with long blonde hair. The girl screaming in pain as a knife entered her hand.
Davis crouched in the centre of a fiery circle, eyes huge with fear, blood dripping from wounds on his hands.
Ken in an alleyway, backing away from an attacking vampire. An explosion of light, blinding with it's intensity.
A kaleidoscope of creatures, vampires, demons.
Matt Ishida jerked away with a start, sweating dripping down his face.
"Jeez," he muttered, curling himself up into a ball "I fight demons enough in the day, do I really have to dream about 'em?"
He went back to sleep and when he woke up, he didn't remember the dream at all.
* * * *
"So remind me again why we're here?" Akemi asked, tugging at the rug that they were all sitting on.
"Because I need an off-day," Matt said "I'm tired, I'm over-exerted and I want a nice day out in the sun."
"Yeah," Akemi said "So why are we by the canal?"
"You have a problem with the canal?" Toshiki asked lazily.
Matt grinned as Toshiki and Akemi began squabbling. He hadn't been out with the band for such a long time.
Well not out with then on a purely amusing trip anyway. If you counted going out and killing demons and unspeakable hell-creatures...well, that was a different matter entirely. Only last night they'd killed a large givlap demon that had been planning on destroying the entire district, following that off with taking over the universe.
Just another Tuesday of Yamato Ishida's life.
On the other hand, the givlap demon had only been about a foot high and had been rather a useless bad guy and had in fact been suffering violent delusions of grandeur. So maybe it was actually an unusual Tuesday night in his life.
Not that it was Tuesday. It was actually Thursday. But it didn't really matter on way or the other.
"Matt, what are you day dreaming about?" Akemi asked, obviously in a mood to be crabby "You're staring off in the distance like a nutter."
"Oooh, are you thinking about Angel?" Toshiki teased.
There was a number of giggles.
"Can it you guys," Matt said "I'm not thinking about Angel."
Angel was a vampire with a soul he'd met just after he'd first been Called. Matt had found him very, very attractive and the two of them had been in a sort of vague relationship that was slightly spoiled by the fact that Angel was completely unavailable as a moment of happiness would take away his soul and turn him into an evil monster. However, Matt had enjoyed his brief and doomed relationship. Unfortunately, the band knew about it and were always teasing him about it.
"What's wrong Matt?" Akemi said wickedly "Is he mooning over his Angel kins?"
"Piss off Akemi," Matt ordered "Or I'll have to thump you."
"You wouldn't," Akemi said "Slayer strength stops you!"
"No, it adds to my ammunition!" Matt said.
"Oh stop it you two, it's too hot," Gendo said, drowsily swatting at them. Matt comforted himself with a filthy look at Akemi, who smiled back sweetly.
"Man, I can't believe that the summer's almost over," Istu said "It's just so unfair! Colour me pissed off."
"Yeah, it sucks," Gendo said "I'm no fan of the excitement of work. Sorry did I say excitement? I meant utter boredom and pointlessness."
"You're just upset because you know that you're in big trouble because you didn't go to summer school which you were supposed to," Toshiki said.
"What, they actually thought that I was going to go to that?" Gendo said "It's not mandatory."
"Actually I think it was mandatory but never mind," Toshiki said "If they kick you out, it's not my fault!"
Gendo shrugged.
"Oh, I'd never get over it," he said "No more school. Agony, pain and horror."
"School," Akemi said with a groan "Why didn't I quit like Matt?"
There was an awkward pause. Matt could feel his smile fading away.
It had been a big taboo subject all summer that Matt had given up school. They all knew that the only way that Matt was going to survive his slaying was to give up school. As it was, he'd only scraped a handful of qualifications, which were all probably useless in the grand scheme of things. But while the band knew that it was necessary, Matt's father did not. And this decision had not gone down well at all.
Matt shivered, remembering the horrible screaming row that had ensured when he'd finally bought up enough courage to tell him. His father had grounded him for a week. Matt had ignored this completely, sliding in and out of window almost every night. Vamps and demons didn't stop when the Slayer was grounded. His father didn't know that he'd done that but it hardly mattered. Their relationship was strained at best. Matt was avoiding being around him as much as possible. But it meant that he wasn't really up for discussing school.
"Sorry Matt," Akemi muttered.
"S'okay," Matt lied "I'm cool with it."
He looked at the murky canal water.
Suddenly he wasn't having so much fun.
* * * *
"Yamato, are you paying attention?"
"Yes," Matt lied.
Ms Fuyutsuki glowered at him. Her Slayer was sitting on her couch twirling a strand of his long blonde hair around one finger, eyes vacant.
"You have been neglecting your studying," she said crossly.
"I hate studying," Matt said "Why does the Slayer have to study anyway? Your books are old, musty and completely impossible. And why do I have to know what the demons are? I can never remember it and anyway, isn't that YOUR job?"
"Ya-mato..."
Matt sighed and looked at his Watcher. She glared back at him, hair in the usual forbidding bun, eyes filled with their normal angry glower. Matt knew that Ms Fuyutsuki disapproved of him and probably wished that she (a) had a Slayer who was actually a girl and (b) had a Slayer who listened to her rules and regulations. Matt was definitely not a girl and he refused to obey about half of the things that Ms Fuyutsuki ordered him to do. Mainly because most of them - in his opinion - sucked.
"Okay, okay, I'm paying attention," Matt said "What thrilling thing are you telling me about?"
Ms Fuyutsuki's eyes narrowed.
"You are neglecting your duties," she snapped "You have not been doing all the practising that you should have been this summer."
"Why bother?" Matt asked "I'll have the rest of my life to train. One more summer to kick about in."
"You may think that you have time to 'kick about'," Ms Fuyutsuki snapped "But evil does not rest!"
"Well, I haven't exactly been kicking around all summer," Matt said irritably "Patrolling every night...killing demons and vampires..."
"Practising music with that idiot band," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Spending time with those stupid friends..."
"They aren't stupid!" Matt shouted angrily "They know stuff!"
He went quiet then. His friends...
Matt was having trouble with his friends. Tai, Ken and Davis completely believed everything that he'd said. They'd seen the chaos the evil caused with their own eyes and had come into contact with it. The others...
Well, they'd been told. But while they seemed to almost believe...
Matt bit his lip.
"Yamato!"
"What?"
"You are still not paying attention!"
"No," Matt agreed flatly "Can I go Slay now?"
"YAMATO!"
"You were the one who said that I was shirking too much," Matt said flatly "Why don't I just go out and change that?"
Ms Fuyutsuki sighed.
"All right," she said "Go. But I want you here tomorrow, nine o'clock sharp. Right?"
"Yes, yes, right," Matt said "See you then."
He grabbed a bag and turned to march out.
"And get your hair cut!" Ms Fuyutsuki shouted after him "It's getting so long as to be ridiculous! It needs cutting! You look like a girl!"
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to be?" Matt flung back over his shoulder as he marched out and closed the door. He then slowly ran a hand through his hair.
It was getting pretty long. Ms Fuyutsuki was right. It was sort of feminine. Maybe he ought to cut it...
Matt slowly ran his fingers through his hair again. It felt...kinda nice...
Matt scowled. Releasing his hair, he marched of down the road, rummaging in his bag for a stake.
"Feel the need to kill the nearest bad vamp," he muttered.
He scrambled into the graveyard and started wandering, tossing the stake up and down and humming.
"Hey vampy, vampy!" he called "Nice tasty blood round here. Come on..."
"Calling me Slayer?"
Matt looked at the vampire. Kinda hunky in a creepy ridged face sort of way. Good body. Wearing a black and red baseball cap.
'I should NOT be noticing this stuff.'
Matt shrugged and waved. Then he sprang at the vampire, kicking and punching. In a few moments, he'd staked the vampire. Bending down, he picked up the only thing left. The black and red baseball cap.
Matt stared at it for a moment. Then he slowly gathered his hair up onto the top of his head and put the cap on top of his head. His hair was now completely hidden.
"Look like a girl my ass," he muttered.
* * * *
"Hey Matt! Nice hat!"
Matt touched the hat a little self-consciously, then grinned at Davis.
"You're a little late," Davis said "We thought you'd be here sooner."
Matt rolled his eyes.
"I had a training sesh with Ms Fuyutsuki," he said "I'd forgotten I agreed to meet everybody. So..."
He shrugged and slowly walked with Davis to see the others. The Digidestined were sitting around. Tai and Ken waved cheerfully. The others all looked a little awkward. Matt felt a pang go through him as he noticed that TK wasn't there. Like he always did whenever he saw the Digidestined now.
He missed his brother so much. It was like a constant ache inside him.
He'd killed his own brother.
Okay, he'd been dead before. But Matt had finished him off.
Matt swallowed and pushed the thoughts away. He couldn't afford to think this way. This was the first time the Digidestined had all been together since the slightly crazy events that had transpired.
"Hey guys," he said cheerfully.
"Hey Matt," Izzy said nervously after a seconds pause.
Matt slowly sat down beside them all. There was an awkward pause.
"So you've really given up school?" Yolei asked, her voice laden with something that Matt didn't understand.
"Really and truly," Matt said
"What are you going to do with your life then?" Yolei asked.
"Slay," Matt said.
He felt a depressed jolt.
"And be famous with the band!" he added.
Tai groaned.
"Honestly Matt," he said "That's all you ever go on about! You will so never be famous!"
"You wound me!" Matt said "I am deeply insulted and will never ever talk to you again."
"Thank God," Tai said.
There was another awkward pause. Then Ken started talking to Kari about something and the silence was gone in a rush of conversation. A rush of conversation that Matt felt strangely excluded from.
It wasn't something he could exactly put his finger on. But somehow it was like being a big group of people who all know each other and somehow ending up sitting on the outside of it, not quite included. He got to speak and people spoke to him but somehow...he wasn't exactly really in the group.
'You're paranoid' he told himself 'You're really, really paranoid. Stupid.'
But the feeling continued, well after the group had broken up and he was walking home.
Then he opened his door and wave of atmosphere was nearly over-whelming.
"Er...hey Dad," he offered.
His father barely even looked up. He'd obviously already made his own food and had eaten. Matt couldn't see anything for himself. Quietly, he walked into the kitchen. He wasn't really feeling very hungry but Ms Fuytusuki was always drilling in how important it was for the Slayer to keep her - his strength up by eating properly. Matt eventually got himself some potatoes and made himself a bowl of mashed potatoes. It was something warm with plenty of energy.
"Is that all you're eating?"
His father sounded disapproving.
"I'm not all that hungry," Matt said "Potatoes are good for you."
"Yes."
Matt looked away and slowly began to eat his potatoes.
"School starts soon," his father said quietly.
"I know."
"You really aren't going back?"
Matt chomped his potatoes viciously before replying.
"I'm really not going back."
"What the hell do you intend to do with your life then?" his father yelled.
They'd had the conversation before. Matt wasn't looking forward to having it again.
"I've told you," he said "I'll be with the band. I'll get money from that. I can get a job!"
"You haven't got a job all summer!"
"I tried! No one needs anybody!"
"Why will that change?" his father yelled "And who will take you without proper qualifications? You're throwing your life away Matt! And for what?"
Matt kept eating his potatoes silently, glaring at the blank wall.
"Dammit Matt, you listen to what I have to say!"
"I have listened!" Matt yelled "I've listened to you loads of times! Dad, I'm sixteen, going on seventeen! You can't run my life Dad! I'm an adult!"
"You are not acting like an adult! You are acting like a child!" his father yelled.
"Well you won't exactly be winning any maturity stakes!" Matt yelled "Why won't you just accept that I am not going back to school! It might not be the life YOU planned but it's the life I'm picking for me! So leave me alone!"
He turned and stormed into his bedroom, exercising enough control to stop himself slamming the door very hard. He didn't want to break it after all. Flopping onto his bed, he buried his head in his pillows, feeling miserable.
He wished that he could tell his father about his Slaying. It would make it so much easier. But Ms Fuyutsuki had expressly forbidden him to even attempt it. Besides, Matt worried about his friends. He didn't want to worry about his father too.
He lay completely still for a while, then reached under his bed and pulled out a small cardboard box. Inside it, he kept letters. Matt removed the first one and re-read it. Angel had been writing to him steadily since he and Spike returned to America. Spike had written to him several times as well but Matt always held Angel's letters in a special place in his heart. His special fondness for Angel still lingered, despite the knowledge that Angel was thousands of miles away.
Matt smoothed the letter gently, smiling. Angel seemed to be managing okay. The world hadn't ended anyway and Angel had mentioned several interesting sounding battles.
So had Spike for that matter.
Matt replaced the letter and then scrambled up and began packing a small Slayer-duty bag. He was sick of lingering inside.
"I'm going out Dad!" he yelled.
"Yamato!"
Matt closed the door behind him.
He wandered through the graveyard slowly, tossing his stake up and down. After a while, he sat on the nearest graveyard, wondering.
His father was right. Where was he going? What has going to happen to his life? His friends were acting...freaky. His father was angry with him. He hadn't spoken to his mother since TK's funeral.
Everything felt so wrong.
Matt looked at his watch. Only two days before school re-started.
Only no school for Matt.
The vampire sprang at him from behind. Without even looking, Matt jerked round his stake, getting it straight through the heart.
"I'm getting good at that," he muttered.
* * * *
"I just don't see why we need to show for school!" Davis was complaining "School sucks! I want to be a proper demon fighter!"
Matt grinned. It was the night before everyone had to go back to school and Matt had decided that he was going to have a small party. The band, Tai, Ken, Davis and Kari. Matt had considered inviting the other Digidestined but Ms Fuyutsuki had said flatly that she was having no more than that group in her house. And Matt was sort of grateful, although he wasn't telling anyone. Things just felt so awkward.
He shook off his funny feeling and nibbled on the tortilla chips, listening to Davis.
"I mean, why can't we just use magic to do our homework?" Davis was saying.
"Because it's not allowed," Ms Fuyutsuki said "And because you can't do magic and you wouldn't be able to anyway."
"I could so," Davis said, looking insulted.
Matt snorted.
"I doubt magic's that easy," he said "Not that my experience is particularly good mind you."
"It's crappy," Akemi said, gulping back some more beer.
"My experience is not crappy! It's just not really very extensive!"
"Will you two stop squabbling?" Toshiki asked "You've been squabbling nearly all summer. It's annoying. Don't."
Matt rolled his eyes and settled back.
"What does magic really entail anyway?" Ken asked "Can anyone do it?"
Ms Fuyutsuki frowned, actually looking like she was seriously considering Ken's question.
"Not everyone," she said eventually "Some people can't do spells at all, others can do small amounts of spells and powers vary from there."
"Can you do spells?" Matt asked curiously.
"A few. Nothing big," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Of course, as I am a Watcher, I have specific knowledge of all sorts of magic, of all varieties."
"There are different types?" Istu asked curiously from where he was sitting.
"Dark magic and not so dark magic," Ms Fuyutsuki said.
"Do you have lots of magic books?" Akemi asked.
"Yes...but don't you even think about it," Ms Fuyutsuki said quickly making everyone, even Akemi laugh.
"Don't worry," he said, amazing everyone "The idea of me being able to do magic? Kinda scary. Although, I would enjoy being able to float things with my mind! I bet that you could really use that for interesting new positions...like for writing a new Karma Sutra."
Everyone stared at him.
"I'll stop talking," Akemi said obediently.
"So where'd you keep your magic books?" Ken asked "I'd love a look."
"I'd rather you didn't," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Some of them are pretty potent."
"Well, do you have anything that's small?" Ken asked.
"Do you want to be a witch Ken?" Tai asked, gaping "And what would you call that? A male witch?"
"Warlock isn't it?" Matt said "Or would it be wizard?"
"We normally just use the phrase Wiccan for all," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Although some people don't mind being called a warlock."
"Okay," Ken said "And no, I don't want to be a witch...wiccan. I'm just interested in the theories."
Ms Fuyutsuki looked thoughtful.
"Well, all right," she said.
She walked upstairs and came down with a large box of books.
"Try this one," she said "History of Witchcraft. It's quite a good one."
"Any spells?" Davis asked curiously.
"No," Ms Fuyutsuki said "That's why it's a good one."
Everyone laughed. Ken started flicking through the book, his eyes taking on the dreamy look that they often wore when he found an interesting book. Davis rolled his eyes.
"Wake up you idiot," he said "We're supposed to be partying."
"Hey look at this one!" Akemi said, sounding excited "A Spell to make you excrete gold coins! Wicked!"
Ms Fuyutsuki calmly removed the spell-book from his hands.
"No," she said firmly.
"Oh please!"
There was promptly a small battle over the book while everyone laughed.
Everyone was watching Akemi and Ms Fuyutsuki fighting. No one noticed Davis quietly reaching into the box and putting several of the books into his rucksack.
* * * *
If anyone had been in the Tsuna Apartment building, they would have witnessed a young girl walking in.
"Excuse me Miss," the lady at the desk said "May I help you?"
"Yeah sure," the girl said "Where's the nearest unrented flat?"
"Er...you can't just walk in," the lady said "You have to apply, have good references, fill in a form..."
The girl looked at her and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever," she said "I've got great references, just gimme the damn keys."
"I'm sorry Miss," the lady said, beginning to feel annoyed "But it doesn't..."
"Shut up," the girl said. She boredly flipped out her hand "God of White, pure and bright, take her mind, to my will bind."
The lady on the desk blinked.
"Hi," the girl said "I'm Zillah Magic, you've got some keys for my new apartment?"
The lady blinked.
"Oh yes," she said vacantly "Here you are."
"Thanks."
Zillah looked at the number on the keys.
"13 huh?" she said "Unlucky for some."
She picked up her bags and took the stairs. Unlocking her new set of rooms, she thoughtfully set the bags on the floor and walked to the window.
"Welcome to your new home Zillah," she said.
She tossed her hair and smiled. Her hair was long, thick and the colour of the shadows.
End of Part 1.
Magic Books
By the Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon or Buffy.
Yaoi and slash ahead! Yamachi/Taito (Matt and Tai), Daiken (Davis and Ken) and remnants of other yaoiness. For anyone who hasn't already twigged, that means Boy/boy in relationships! You have been warned!
Quick summary - Matt Ishida, 16, was called as the new Slayer when Buffy Summers died. He was apparently called because he is a transsexual and because Buffy has already died once, a normal Slayer would not be called. Therefore, the magic allowed Matt to be called. His Watcher, Ms Ishiko Fuyutsuki trained him and tried to keep his friends from discovering his secret. However, this proved impossible when Tai Yagami started nosing around. After he discovered Matt's secret, his other close friends weren't far behind. Soon, Matt had a small army behind him. After a climatic battle with Darla, Drusilla and his once-brother, now-vampire TK, Matt accepted his destiny. At least - that's how it appears.
This contains my version of the Teenage Wolves (Matt's band), Gendo Ikari, Akemi Nakatsuru, Toshiki Miyahara and Istu Katsuragi. They're seriously wacky and moral-free. Oh and they're all bisexual! (I warned you about the yoai/slash didn't I?)
Black. Swirling storm clouds.
'It's very cold out here...'
A sudden woosh of images, almost too fast to catch anything, yet the details clear in his mind.
A girl with swirling, shadow-coloured hair sitting on a sofa, idly twisting a black thread in her fingers. A man standing behind her, young but with silvery-white hair swirling around his shoulders.
A demon attacking a girl with long blonde hair. The girl screaming in pain as a knife entered her hand.
Davis crouched in the centre of a fiery circle, eyes huge with fear, blood dripping from wounds on his hands.
Ken in an alleyway, backing away from an attacking vampire. An explosion of light, blinding with it's intensity.
A kaleidoscope of creatures, vampires, demons.
Matt Ishida jerked away with a start, sweating dripping down his face.
"Jeez," he muttered, curling himself up into a ball "I fight demons enough in the day, do I really have to dream about 'em?"
He went back to sleep and when he woke up, he didn't remember the dream at all.
* * * *
"So remind me again why we're here?" Akemi asked, tugging at the rug that they were all sitting on.
"Because I need an off-day," Matt said "I'm tired, I'm over-exerted and I want a nice day out in the sun."
"Yeah," Akemi said "So why are we by the canal?"
"You have a problem with the canal?" Toshiki asked lazily.
Matt grinned as Toshiki and Akemi began squabbling. He hadn't been out with the band for such a long time.
Well not out with then on a purely amusing trip anyway. If you counted going out and killing demons and unspeakable hell-creatures...well, that was a different matter entirely. Only last night they'd killed a large givlap demon that had been planning on destroying the entire district, following that off with taking over the universe.
Just another Tuesday of Yamato Ishida's life.
On the other hand, the givlap demon had only been about a foot high and had been rather a useless bad guy and had in fact been suffering violent delusions of grandeur. So maybe it was actually an unusual Tuesday night in his life.
Not that it was Tuesday. It was actually Thursday. But it didn't really matter on way or the other.
"Matt, what are you day dreaming about?" Akemi asked, obviously in a mood to be crabby "You're staring off in the distance like a nutter."
"Oooh, are you thinking about Angel?" Toshiki teased.
There was a number of giggles.
"Can it you guys," Matt said "I'm not thinking about Angel."
Angel was a vampire with a soul he'd met just after he'd first been Called. Matt had found him very, very attractive and the two of them had been in a sort of vague relationship that was slightly spoiled by the fact that Angel was completely unavailable as a moment of happiness would take away his soul and turn him into an evil monster. However, Matt had enjoyed his brief and doomed relationship. Unfortunately, the band knew about it and were always teasing him about it.
"What's wrong Matt?" Akemi said wickedly "Is he mooning over his Angel kins?"
"Piss off Akemi," Matt ordered "Or I'll have to thump you."
"You wouldn't," Akemi said "Slayer strength stops you!"
"No, it adds to my ammunition!" Matt said.
"Oh stop it you two, it's too hot," Gendo said, drowsily swatting at them. Matt comforted himself with a filthy look at Akemi, who smiled back sweetly.
"Man, I can't believe that the summer's almost over," Istu said "It's just so unfair! Colour me pissed off."
"Yeah, it sucks," Gendo said "I'm no fan of the excitement of work. Sorry did I say excitement? I meant utter boredom and pointlessness."
"You're just upset because you know that you're in big trouble because you didn't go to summer school which you were supposed to," Toshiki said.
"What, they actually thought that I was going to go to that?" Gendo said "It's not mandatory."
"Actually I think it was mandatory but never mind," Toshiki said "If they kick you out, it's not my fault!"
Gendo shrugged.
"Oh, I'd never get over it," he said "No more school. Agony, pain and horror."
"School," Akemi said with a groan "Why didn't I quit like Matt?"
There was an awkward pause. Matt could feel his smile fading away.
It had been a big taboo subject all summer that Matt had given up school. They all knew that the only way that Matt was going to survive his slaying was to give up school. As it was, he'd only scraped a handful of qualifications, which were all probably useless in the grand scheme of things. But while the band knew that it was necessary, Matt's father did not. And this decision had not gone down well at all.
Matt shivered, remembering the horrible screaming row that had ensured when he'd finally bought up enough courage to tell him. His father had grounded him for a week. Matt had ignored this completely, sliding in and out of window almost every night. Vamps and demons didn't stop when the Slayer was grounded. His father didn't know that he'd done that but it hardly mattered. Their relationship was strained at best. Matt was avoiding being around him as much as possible. But it meant that he wasn't really up for discussing school.
"Sorry Matt," Akemi muttered.
"S'okay," Matt lied "I'm cool with it."
He looked at the murky canal water.
Suddenly he wasn't having so much fun.
* * * *
"Yamato, are you paying attention?"
"Yes," Matt lied.
Ms Fuyutsuki glowered at him. Her Slayer was sitting on her couch twirling a strand of his long blonde hair around one finger, eyes vacant.
"You have been neglecting your studying," she said crossly.
"I hate studying," Matt said "Why does the Slayer have to study anyway? Your books are old, musty and completely impossible. And why do I have to know what the demons are? I can never remember it and anyway, isn't that YOUR job?"
"Ya-mato..."
Matt sighed and looked at his Watcher. She glared back at him, hair in the usual forbidding bun, eyes filled with their normal angry glower. Matt knew that Ms Fuyutsuki disapproved of him and probably wished that she (a) had a Slayer who was actually a girl and (b) had a Slayer who listened to her rules and regulations. Matt was definitely not a girl and he refused to obey about half of the things that Ms Fuyutsuki ordered him to do. Mainly because most of them - in his opinion - sucked.
"Okay, okay, I'm paying attention," Matt said "What thrilling thing are you telling me about?"
Ms Fuyutsuki's eyes narrowed.
"You are neglecting your duties," she snapped "You have not been doing all the practising that you should have been this summer."
"Why bother?" Matt asked "I'll have the rest of my life to train. One more summer to kick about in."
"You may think that you have time to 'kick about'," Ms Fuyutsuki snapped "But evil does not rest!"
"Well, I haven't exactly been kicking around all summer," Matt said irritably "Patrolling every night...killing demons and vampires..."
"Practising music with that idiot band," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Spending time with those stupid friends..."
"They aren't stupid!" Matt shouted angrily "They know stuff!"
He went quiet then. His friends...
Matt was having trouble with his friends. Tai, Ken and Davis completely believed everything that he'd said. They'd seen the chaos the evil caused with their own eyes and had come into contact with it. The others...
Well, they'd been told. But while they seemed to almost believe...
Matt bit his lip.
"Yamato!"
"What?"
"You are still not paying attention!"
"No," Matt agreed flatly "Can I go Slay now?"
"YAMATO!"
"You were the one who said that I was shirking too much," Matt said flatly "Why don't I just go out and change that?"
Ms Fuyutsuki sighed.
"All right," she said "Go. But I want you here tomorrow, nine o'clock sharp. Right?"
"Yes, yes, right," Matt said "See you then."
He grabbed a bag and turned to march out.
"And get your hair cut!" Ms Fuyutsuki shouted after him "It's getting so long as to be ridiculous! It needs cutting! You look like a girl!"
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to be?" Matt flung back over his shoulder as he marched out and closed the door. He then slowly ran a hand through his hair.
It was getting pretty long. Ms Fuyutsuki was right. It was sort of feminine. Maybe he ought to cut it...
Matt slowly ran his fingers through his hair again. It felt...kinda nice...
Matt scowled. Releasing his hair, he marched of down the road, rummaging in his bag for a stake.
"Feel the need to kill the nearest bad vamp," he muttered.
He scrambled into the graveyard and started wandering, tossing the stake up and down and humming.
"Hey vampy, vampy!" he called "Nice tasty blood round here. Come on..."
"Calling me Slayer?"
Matt looked at the vampire. Kinda hunky in a creepy ridged face sort of way. Good body. Wearing a black and red baseball cap.
'I should NOT be noticing this stuff.'
Matt shrugged and waved. Then he sprang at the vampire, kicking and punching. In a few moments, he'd staked the vampire. Bending down, he picked up the only thing left. The black and red baseball cap.
Matt stared at it for a moment. Then he slowly gathered his hair up onto the top of his head and put the cap on top of his head. His hair was now completely hidden.
"Look like a girl my ass," he muttered.
* * * *
"Hey Matt! Nice hat!"
Matt touched the hat a little self-consciously, then grinned at Davis.
"You're a little late," Davis said "We thought you'd be here sooner."
Matt rolled his eyes.
"I had a training sesh with Ms Fuyutsuki," he said "I'd forgotten I agreed to meet everybody. So..."
He shrugged and slowly walked with Davis to see the others. The Digidestined were sitting around. Tai and Ken waved cheerfully. The others all looked a little awkward. Matt felt a pang go through him as he noticed that TK wasn't there. Like he always did whenever he saw the Digidestined now.
He missed his brother so much. It was like a constant ache inside him.
He'd killed his own brother.
Okay, he'd been dead before. But Matt had finished him off.
Matt swallowed and pushed the thoughts away. He couldn't afford to think this way. This was the first time the Digidestined had all been together since the slightly crazy events that had transpired.
"Hey guys," he said cheerfully.
"Hey Matt," Izzy said nervously after a seconds pause.
Matt slowly sat down beside them all. There was an awkward pause.
"So you've really given up school?" Yolei asked, her voice laden with something that Matt didn't understand.
"Really and truly," Matt said
"What are you going to do with your life then?" Yolei asked.
"Slay," Matt said.
He felt a depressed jolt.
"And be famous with the band!" he added.
Tai groaned.
"Honestly Matt," he said "That's all you ever go on about! You will so never be famous!"
"You wound me!" Matt said "I am deeply insulted and will never ever talk to you again."
"Thank God," Tai said.
There was another awkward pause. Then Ken started talking to Kari about something and the silence was gone in a rush of conversation. A rush of conversation that Matt felt strangely excluded from.
It wasn't something he could exactly put his finger on. But somehow it was like being a big group of people who all know each other and somehow ending up sitting on the outside of it, not quite included. He got to speak and people spoke to him but somehow...he wasn't exactly really in the group.
'You're paranoid' he told himself 'You're really, really paranoid. Stupid.'
But the feeling continued, well after the group had broken up and he was walking home.
Then he opened his door and wave of atmosphere was nearly over-whelming.
"Er...hey Dad," he offered.
His father barely even looked up. He'd obviously already made his own food and had eaten. Matt couldn't see anything for himself. Quietly, he walked into the kitchen. He wasn't really feeling very hungry but Ms Fuytusuki was always drilling in how important it was for the Slayer to keep her - his strength up by eating properly. Matt eventually got himself some potatoes and made himself a bowl of mashed potatoes. It was something warm with plenty of energy.
"Is that all you're eating?"
His father sounded disapproving.
"I'm not all that hungry," Matt said "Potatoes are good for you."
"Yes."
Matt looked away and slowly began to eat his potatoes.
"School starts soon," his father said quietly.
"I know."
"You really aren't going back?"
Matt chomped his potatoes viciously before replying.
"I'm really not going back."
"What the hell do you intend to do with your life then?" his father yelled.
They'd had the conversation before. Matt wasn't looking forward to having it again.
"I've told you," he said "I'll be with the band. I'll get money from that. I can get a job!"
"You haven't got a job all summer!"
"I tried! No one needs anybody!"
"Why will that change?" his father yelled "And who will take you without proper qualifications? You're throwing your life away Matt! And for what?"
Matt kept eating his potatoes silently, glaring at the blank wall.
"Dammit Matt, you listen to what I have to say!"
"I have listened!" Matt yelled "I've listened to you loads of times! Dad, I'm sixteen, going on seventeen! You can't run my life Dad! I'm an adult!"
"You are not acting like an adult! You are acting like a child!" his father yelled.
"Well you won't exactly be winning any maturity stakes!" Matt yelled "Why won't you just accept that I am not going back to school! It might not be the life YOU planned but it's the life I'm picking for me! So leave me alone!"
He turned and stormed into his bedroom, exercising enough control to stop himself slamming the door very hard. He didn't want to break it after all. Flopping onto his bed, he buried his head in his pillows, feeling miserable.
He wished that he could tell his father about his Slaying. It would make it so much easier. But Ms Fuyutsuki had expressly forbidden him to even attempt it. Besides, Matt worried about his friends. He didn't want to worry about his father too.
He lay completely still for a while, then reached under his bed and pulled out a small cardboard box. Inside it, he kept letters. Matt removed the first one and re-read it. Angel had been writing to him steadily since he and Spike returned to America. Spike had written to him several times as well but Matt always held Angel's letters in a special place in his heart. His special fondness for Angel still lingered, despite the knowledge that Angel was thousands of miles away.
Matt smoothed the letter gently, smiling. Angel seemed to be managing okay. The world hadn't ended anyway and Angel had mentioned several interesting sounding battles.
So had Spike for that matter.
Matt replaced the letter and then scrambled up and began packing a small Slayer-duty bag. He was sick of lingering inside.
"I'm going out Dad!" he yelled.
"Yamato!"
Matt closed the door behind him.
He wandered through the graveyard slowly, tossing his stake up and down. After a while, he sat on the nearest graveyard, wondering.
His father was right. Where was he going? What has going to happen to his life? His friends were acting...freaky. His father was angry with him. He hadn't spoken to his mother since TK's funeral.
Everything felt so wrong.
Matt looked at his watch. Only two days before school re-started.
Only no school for Matt.
The vampire sprang at him from behind. Without even looking, Matt jerked round his stake, getting it straight through the heart.
"I'm getting good at that," he muttered.
* * * *
"I just don't see why we need to show for school!" Davis was complaining "School sucks! I want to be a proper demon fighter!"
Matt grinned. It was the night before everyone had to go back to school and Matt had decided that he was going to have a small party. The band, Tai, Ken, Davis and Kari. Matt had considered inviting the other Digidestined but Ms Fuyutsuki had said flatly that she was having no more than that group in her house. And Matt was sort of grateful, although he wasn't telling anyone. Things just felt so awkward.
He shook off his funny feeling and nibbled on the tortilla chips, listening to Davis.
"I mean, why can't we just use magic to do our homework?" Davis was saying.
"Because it's not allowed," Ms Fuyutsuki said "And because you can't do magic and you wouldn't be able to anyway."
"I could so," Davis said, looking insulted.
Matt snorted.
"I doubt magic's that easy," he said "Not that my experience is particularly good mind you."
"It's crappy," Akemi said, gulping back some more beer.
"My experience is not crappy! It's just not really very extensive!"
"Will you two stop squabbling?" Toshiki asked "You've been squabbling nearly all summer. It's annoying. Don't."
Matt rolled his eyes and settled back.
"What does magic really entail anyway?" Ken asked "Can anyone do it?"
Ms Fuyutsuki frowned, actually looking like she was seriously considering Ken's question.
"Not everyone," she said eventually "Some people can't do spells at all, others can do small amounts of spells and powers vary from there."
"Can you do spells?" Matt asked curiously.
"A few. Nothing big," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Of course, as I am a Watcher, I have specific knowledge of all sorts of magic, of all varieties."
"There are different types?" Istu asked curiously from where he was sitting.
"Dark magic and not so dark magic," Ms Fuyutsuki said.
"Do you have lots of magic books?" Akemi asked.
"Yes...but don't you even think about it," Ms Fuyutsuki said quickly making everyone, even Akemi laugh.
"Don't worry," he said, amazing everyone "The idea of me being able to do magic? Kinda scary. Although, I would enjoy being able to float things with my mind! I bet that you could really use that for interesting new positions...like for writing a new Karma Sutra."
Everyone stared at him.
"I'll stop talking," Akemi said obediently.
"So where'd you keep your magic books?" Ken asked "I'd love a look."
"I'd rather you didn't," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Some of them are pretty potent."
"Well, do you have anything that's small?" Ken asked.
"Do you want to be a witch Ken?" Tai asked, gaping "And what would you call that? A male witch?"
"Warlock isn't it?" Matt said "Or would it be wizard?"
"We normally just use the phrase Wiccan for all," Ms Fuyutsuki said "Although some people don't mind being called a warlock."
"Okay," Ken said "And no, I don't want to be a witch...wiccan. I'm just interested in the theories."
Ms Fuyutsuki looked thoughtful.
"Well, all right," she said.
She walked upstairs and came down with a large box of books.
"Try this one," she said "History of Witchcraft. It's quite a good one."
"Any spells?" Davis asked curiously.
"No," Ms Fuyutsuki said "That's why it's a good one."
Everyone laughed. Ken started flicking through the book, his eyes taking on the dreamy look that they often wore when he found an interesting book. Davis rolled his eyes.
"Wake up you idiot," he said "We're supposed to be partying."
"Hey look at this one!" Akemi said, sounding excited "A Spell to make you excrete gold coins! Wicked!"
Ms Fuyutsuki calmly removed the spell-book from his hands.
"No," she said firmly.
"Oh please!"
There was promptly a small battle over the book while everyone laughed.
Everyone was watching Akemi and Ms Fuyutsuki fighting. No one noticed Davis quietly reaching into the box and putting several of the books into his rucksack.
* * * *
If anyone had been in the Tsuna Apartment building, they would have witnessed a young girl walking in.
"Excuse me Miss," the lady at the desk said "May I help you?"
"Yeah sure," the girl said "Where's the nearest unrented flat?"
"Er...you can't just walk in," the lady said "You have to apply, have good references, fill in a form..."
The girl looked at her and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever," she said "I've got great references, just gimme the damn keys."
"I'm sorry Miss," the lady said, beginning to feel annoyed "But it doesn't..."
"Shut up," the girl said. She boredly flipped out her hand "God of White, pure and bright, take her mind, to my will bind."
The lady on the desk blinked.
"Hi," the girl said "I'm Zillah Magic, you've got some keys for my new apartment?"
The lady blinked.
"Oh yes," she said vacantly "Here you are."
"Thanks."
Zillah looked at the number on the keys.
"13 huh?" she said "Unlucky for some."
She picked up her bags and took the stairs. Unlocking her new set of rooms, she thoughtfully set the bags on the floor and walked to the window.
"Welcome to your new home Zillah," she said.
She tossed her hair and smiled. Her hair was long, thick and the colour of the shadows.
End of Part 1.