Chapter 3: Battle
Author's Notes: Yes, very slow updates. School is really taking its toll on me... gomen nasai, minna-san!
Yugioh is, duh, not mine.
And, yes, it takes a lot of effort to use the magic for healing, among other things.
General Yami of the black military order, commander in chief of the fifth army of his imperial majesty, Donovan the II, and Kali, his queen, shifted slightly in his saddle. The arrow aimed towards him blew past.
"Clovis," He eyed the soldier coolly. "You need to work on your aim. It's not everyday your general offers his chest as a free target."
"Sorry, general."
"And speed, too." He added. "Everybody! Work on your speed in the future! For now, though, let's move on!"
He nodded curtly and urged his ebony stallion into a trot.
As a speck on the horizon, the enemy's fort grew larger with each passing second. He squinted. Something seemed strange about it. Calling upon a minimal amount of magic, he directed his gaze towards the top. There was something strange about the small figure moving about.
'Could he possibly have magic?' He questioned, but shrugged it off. It was fact that apart from himself, and a handful of others who stayed on his side of the border, there were no mages.
Soon, the others without magic to aid their vision began to see the fort more clearly. A few minutes passed in silence, but for the pounding of feet on the ground, before the first soldier broke into chortles.
Many followed, until the army was at a standstill. Yami turned and glared. The others all stopped, fearful for their lives. "What's so funny?" His voice was commanding, keeping listeners attentive in a way the King couldn't.
There was no response.
The seconds crawled by in agonizing slowness, every soldier holding his breath. Finally, Yami laughed, pearly teeth flashing. "Move on, men!" He shouted simply, and continued.
The men stared at him for a moment, before doing as commanded.
"Look, men. The fort is small. There's no room for many soldiers. This will be an easy battle. If you do it well, we'll be home by nightfall." Yami cast his gaze over the entire lot of foot soldiers, giving the impression that he was looking at each man individually, while really doing no such thing.
"We will charge the fort on my command-" He was cut off by the sound of horses approaching. Spinning around in his saddle, he caught a glimpse of something white charging past him. "HOLD FORMATION!" He roared, knowing that his shocked men would probably pack off anyways. He was shocked, himself. Many of the enemy's number was on horseback, while his own troops were on foot. Well, except for he himself, of course.
He righted himself, and searched for the white _thing_ that he'd seen. Whatever it was, it had that sense of strangeness that he'd sensed before.
The white thing was a horse. Yami couldn't help but roll his eyes... until he saw the rider. Apart from the height difference, the boy could've been Yami's twin, at least, from the back of his head. "Then again, how many men with that kind of hair color do you see?" Yami muttered to himself, slipping out of the swarm of men so he could keep an eye on that boy.
Yugi was frantic. He had never seen such an immense army, or such a well- trained one. He ducked a blade, and shouted a warning to the horseman beside him. Unable to move quickly enough, the horseman soon had no head.
Swallowing, and fighting back the tears-he'd known that man personally-he moved to the fringes, trying to get away from all the death. A man collapsed beside him; it was impossible to tell which side he was on, his uniforme was so covered with blood.
Someone patted him on the back. When Yugi shot him a look consisting of a glare and a plea, Jou shook his head. "You've seen death before. C'mon, you'll feel better if you stay nearer to the edges." He whispered, before being pulled back into the tide of fighting men.
After witnessing several more deaths, Yugi managed to pull himself out of the mess of battle. His clothes and skin were covered with rust-colored stains, and his eyes were rather wide.
Out of nowhere, a soldier from the enemy spotted him. Yugi parried the blow to his waist, and pushed back. The soldier seemed shocked, and let go. The sword pierced through his neck.
Moments later, Yugi was wiping the last of the vomit from his mouth, still feeling queasy. He had killed a human being for no better reason than the fact that he had been born on the opposite side of the border.
Looking up, he spotted trouble. "JOU!" He screamed. Looking up, Jou blocked the sword aimed for his shoulder, and struck back. "Jou, look out!" Yugi leapt onto Harmony, urging her into a full gallop. Jou was standing beside Serendipity, reins in one hand, sword in the other. He obviously couldn't spot the archer aiming for him.
An arrow sprouted through his chest.
Yami watched in a mildly curious manner as the man on the chestnut mare was pulled through the midst of the fighting men, and out of them. The archers that Yami had posted to pick off the men who tried to escape were suddenly attentive.
The sandy-haired man seemed ready to give him mare a rest. He dismounted, and- "JOU!" The boy Yami had been watching suddenly shouted. "Jou" turned around in time to block some idiot swordsman from Yami's side. The archer picked this moment to pick him off. The boy screamed something, and sped towards "Jou". When he reached the limp body, he crouched beside it.
"Fool, that wound was fatal." Yami muttered. He advanced towards the boy, deciding to finish him off while he was occupied. The boy did something with his hands, his back shielding whatever it was from view. The two horses whinnied nervously nearby.
When he was about three yards away, Yami spotted something gold glittering on the boy's shoulder. Yami hissed. "This... this _child_ is the general?" He paused for a moment, considering. He was so inexperienced. He'd put himself at the front of the men while they were charging. He had thrown up when he'd killed somebody. Was it really right to kill this boy?
Then, considering over, Yami continued advancing.
"Jou, Jou! Speak to me! Are you okay?" Yugi was nearly sobbing in his hysteria. The arrow had gone clear through the chest.
Jou moaned.
"Jou! You're still alive!" He snapped the feathered part of the arrow off, and slid the other half out of the wound. Cupping his hands over the hole, his lips began to move silently. Gradually, the blood-flow stopped, and the muscle began to heal.
Yugi began to feel weak. While his mind screamed the importance of healing Jou while he still held on to his shred of life, his body desperately wanted rest. His decision was made for him when the flat of a blade struck him on the side of his head. The world blanked.
Author's Note: Can you believe it? I actually updated! Well, here we are. Don't forget to tell me if you want Y+Y or not. ^_^
Author's Notes: Yes, very slow updates. School is really taking its toll on me... gomen nasai, minna-san!
Yugioh is, duh, not mine.
And, yes, it takes a lot of effort to use the magic for healing, among other things.
General Yami of the black military order, commander in chief of the fifth army of his imperial majesty, Donovan the II, and Kali, his queen, shifted slightly in his saddle. The arrow aimed towards him blew past.
"Clovis," He eyed the soldier coolly. "You need to work on your aim. It's not everyday your general offers his chest as a free target."
"Sorry, general."
"And speed, too." He added. "Everybody! Work on your speed in the future! For now, though, let's move on!"
He nodded curtly and urged his ebony stallion into a trot.
As a speck on the horizon, the enemy's fort grew larger with each passing second. He squinted. Something seemed strange about it. Calling upon a minimal amount of magic, he directed his gaze towards the top. There was something strange about the small figure moving about.
'Could he possibly have magic?' He questioned, but shrugged it off. It was fact that apart from himself, and a handful of others who stayed on his side of the border, there were no mages.
Soon, the others without magic to aid their vision began to see the fort more clearly. A few minutes passed in silence, but for the pounding of feet on the ground, before the first soldier broke into chortles.
Many followed, until the army was at a standstill. Yami turned and glared. The others all stopped, fearful for their lives. "What's so funny?" His voice was commanding, keeping listeners attentive in a way the King couldn't.
There was no response.
The seconds crawled by in agonizing slowness, every soldier holding his breath. Finally, Yami laughed, pearly teeth flashing. "Move on, men!" He shouted simply, and continued.
The men stared at him for a moment, before doing as commanded.
"Look, men. The fort is small. There's no room for many soldiers. This will be an easy battle. If you do it well, we'll be home by nightfall." Yami cast his gaze over the entire lot of foot soldiers, giving the impression that he was looking at each man individually, while really doing no such thing.
"We will charge the fort on my command-" He was cut off by the sound of horses approaching. Spinning around in his saddle, he caught a glimpse of something white charging past him. "HOLD FORMATION!" He roared, knowing that his shocked men would probably pack off anyways. He was shocked, himself. Many of the enemy's number was on horseback, while his own troops were on foot. Well, except for he himself, of course.
He righted himself, and searched for the white _thing_ that he'd seen. Whatever it was, it had that sense of strangeness that he'd sensed before.
The white thing was a horse. Yami couldn't help but roll his eyes... until he saw the rider. Apart from the height difference, the boy could've been Yami's twin, at least, from the back of his head. "Then again, how many men with that kind of hair color do you see?" Yami muttered to himself, slipping out of the swarm of men so he could keep an eye on that boy.
Yugi was frantic. He had never seen such an immense army, or such a well- trained one. He ducked a blade, and shouted a warning to the horseman beside him. Unable to move quickly enough, the horseman soon had no head.
Swallowing, and fighting back the tears-he'd known that man personally-he moved to the fringes, trying to get away from all the death. A man collapsed beside him; it was impossible to tell which side he was on, his uniforme was so covered with blood.
Someone patted him on the back. When Yugi shot him a look consisting of a glare and a plea, Jou shook his head. "You've seen death before. C'mon, you'll feel better if you stay nearer to the edges." He whispered, before being pulled back into the tide of fighting men.
After witnessing several more deaths, Yugi managed to pull himself out of the mess of battle. His clothes and skin were covered with rust-colored stains, and his eyes were rather wide.
Out of nowhere, a soldier from the enemy spotted him. Yugi parried the blow to his waist, and pushed back. The soldier seemed shocked, and let go. The sword pierced through his neck.
Moments later, Yugi was wiping the last of the vomit from his mouth, still feeling queasy. He had killed a human being for no better reason than the fact that he had been born on the opposite side of the border.
Looking up, he spotted trouble. "JOU!" He screamed. Looking up, Jou blocked the sword aimed for his shoulder, and struck back. "Jou, look out!" Yugi leapt onto Harmony, urging her into a full gallop. Jou was standing beside Serendipity, reins in one hand, sword in the other. He obviously couldn't spot the archer aiming for him.
An arrow sprouted through his chest.
Yami watched in a mildly curious manner as the man on the chestnut mare was pulled through the midst of the fighting men, and out of them. The archers that Yami had posted to pick off the men who tried to escape were suddenly attentive.
The sandy-haired man seemed ready to give him mare a rest. He dismounted, and- "JOU!" The boy Yami had been watching suddenly shouted. "Jou" turned around in time to block some idiot swordsman from Yami's side. The archer picked this moment to pick him off. The boy screamed something, and sped towards "Jou". When he reached the limp body, he crouched beside it.
"Fool, that wound was fatal." Yami muttered. He advanced towards the boy, deciding to finish him off while he was occupied. The boy did something with his hands, his back shielding whatever it was from view. The two horses whinnied nervously nearby.
When he was about three yards away, Yami spotted something gold glittering on the boy's shoulder. Yami hissed. "This... this _child_ is the general?" He paused for a moment, considering. He was so inexperienced. He'd put himself at the front of the men while they were charging. He had thrown up when he'd killed somebody. Was it really right to kill this boy?
Then, considering over, Yami continued advancing.
"Jou, Jou! Speak to me! Are you okay?" Yugi was nearly sobbing in his hysteria. The arrow had gone clear through the chest.
Jou moaned.
"Jou! You're still alive!" He snapped the feathered part of the arrow off, and slid the other half out of the wound. Cupping his hands over the hole, his lips began to move silently. Gradually, the blood-flow stopped, and the muscle began to heal.
Yugi began to feel weak. While his mind screamed the importance of healing Jou while he still held on to his shred of life, his body desperately wanted rest. His decision was made for him when the flat of a blade struck him on the side of his head. The world blanked.
Author's Note: Can you believe it? I actually updated! Well, here we are. Don't forget to tell me if you want Y+Y or not. ^_^