A/N(1)- This has to be reposted due to FF.Net's deletion of my account. If
you were reading this before, then please review me. And if you weren't,
then review me anyway.
A/N(2)- Er... Yeah... I don't think this has ever been done in this section... Yes... Very odd indeed. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes you might have to endure. Oi, this has been re-uploaded, this time without as many spelling mistakes. Don't worry, all of you who actually ventured here to read this, more stuff will be explained in the next chapter...as soon as I finish typing it...*Sweatdrops*
Disclaimer- You be _very_ stupid indeed if you actually think _I_ own Yu-Gi- Oh.
//...// -- Mind speech. But only because I'm computer illiterate and can't get the italics to work.
The Mysteries of Crimson Eyes.
The first thing he realized when he came to was that he didn't hurt anymore. His head was blessedly free of the throbbing ache behind his eyes, and he could breathe without hearing that horrible rasping gurgle that meant a punctured lung...or worse. Cracking open an eye, Seto blinked in surprise when he realized he wasn't lying in the middle of the street, or even in the city, for that matter.
He was braced against the trunk of a lone tree, surrounded by endless miles of flat plain covered in tall grass that would have reached his knees when he stood. The sky was dark, save for the light coming from the twin moons that hung low in the sky. There were no signs of Domino City or anything or anyone else he knew.
Moving to sit up, Seto froze as the heat pressed against his side and the feel of silk-soft fur on his exposed skin. Looking to the side, Seto felt a spike of fear, and wonder at the sight that met his eyes.
Lifting its head the tiger, with beautiful snow-white fur graced with a spill of elegant ink black markings, turned bright crimson eyes on him.
His breath clogged in his throat, fear gripping his chest. The big cat shifted almost lazily, eyes glinting with what he would have called amusement, if the tiger had been human. He was startled at the almost human intelligence he could see in those painfully familiar eyes, and he knew that he should have been able to recognize those eyes. They called to him.
Closing his eyes, Seto turned his focus inwards, trying to remember what had happened and how he'd gotten to wherever it was he was. Frowning as bits and pieces of memory flashed before him, flitting out of his grasp before he could catch more than a glimpse, Seto felt an alien presence in his mind.
//Run with me.//
Seto started as the words faded from his mind, eyes snapping open.
The tiger watched him silently, the tip of its tail gently brushing Seto's leg.
//Run with me Seto. Run with me.//
"Wha...what?"
He had to be crazy, to think that the _tiger_ was talking to him. Everyone knew that animals couldn't talk. Even telepathically, or whatever that had been. Maybe he'd hit his head harder than he'd thought or something.
"I was in a car crash..." Seto said, as though hearing his own voice would drive the phantom voice from his thoughts.
The tiger cocked its head to the side, crimson eyes questioning.
His attention drawn to the motion, Seto stared at the tiger. He knew instinctively that it wasn't acting the way a normal tiger should. It seemed almost...protective of him. Something that was driven home when he realized that it had been curled around him, using its body heat to keep him warm.
"What happened?"
The tiger yawned, revealing gleaming white fangs, although Seto couldn't find it within himself to be alarmed by such a sight. Somehow, he felt safe with the tiger. As though it wouldn't let any harm befall him. It was an unnerving feeling...Seto Kaiba didn't need anyone or anything to make himself feel safe and secure...he had himself and that was all he needed.
The tiger growled low in warning, crimson eyes narrowed. The tip of its tail twitched almost angrily.
//Is that so?//
The mental voice slithered through his thoughts, tangling with them until he was no longer certain if he'd thought the words himself, or if they'd come from some other source.
//Then why are you still here? Why haven't you left, if you don't need anyone? Why haven't you moved on?//
Seto stared at the tiger, at a loss for words. There was no denying that the tiger was the one speaking to him. Just as there was no denying the fact he had no answer for that question. If that was truly how he felt, why had he stayed where he was for so long? Why _had_ he stayed in Domino City for as long as he had? Even after his little brother had grown up. There was nothing to tie him down anymore, and yet, he still stayed.
"What are you?"
The tiger drew back, ears flattening against its skull in annoyance.
//I am what you make of me, Seto. Don't you know that yet?//
Feeling frustrated and annoyed himself; Seto ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends lightly. _Why_ couldn't he remember what had happened? He remembered being in a car crash, and in his mind's eye he could just make out the form of another presence beside his mangled vehicle. He couldn't see who it was, but his mind told him that it was a familiar and welcome one that set him at ease.
"Why can't I remember?"
If things had been normal, Seto would have found it utterly ridiculous to be talking to a tiger as though it could understand him. As it was, things were far from normal, a fact proven by the tiger leaning against him showing a level of human intelligence in its glowing eyes.
Well...that and the whole telepathy thing. Seto mused sourly to himself.
The tiger got to its feet and walked a few steps away, pausing to look back at Seto.
//Run with me, Seto. Run with me.//
The words called to him, like the tiger's eyes had. The mental voice that slid into his mind was a low, seductive purr, beckoning to him to shed his human body and rejoice in the untamed wildness that lay at his core. The part of him that longed to take off and run until he came to the end of the world.
"How?"
The tiger's eyes seemed to bore into him, and Seto pulled back as he felt mental fingers grasping at his thoughts, at the part of Seto's mind that _was_ him. A wave of reassurance washed through him, and he let go of his fear, reaching towards that maddeningly familiar voice.
//Like this.//
There was a sensation that was like being pulled and pushed at the same time, like being squeezed and stretched all at once. For a brief, horrifying moment that seemed to last for an eternity, there was nothing.
No light, no darkness, no sight, no sound. Nothing. Absolute nothing.
It terrified Seto to the core of his very being. It touched that part of him that feared fire and worshiped the sun. That part of him driven solely by primitive instinct that feared the dark and worshipped nameless gods.
//Here. Follow me, Seto.//
The tiger's voice broke through the barrier that led to the void, shattering the silence and bringing light and sound with it.
Fumbling, frantic, Seto reached for that voice, fear and desperation making him clumsy.
//Where...?//
//Here.//
And he felt the fire of the white tiger envelope him, driving away his fear. Driving away the darkness. Forcing the void back.
//Open your eyes.//
Seto did.
The tiger was watching him, crimson eyes narrowed in a way that nudged at the back of Seto's mind, telling him that he should know that look. But he didn't.
//What...what was that?//
//The void. Nothingness. Death.//
Seto took a step back, and froze as his eyes landed on his body resting a few feet away as though in sleep.
The tiger snorted, crimson eyes gleaming with amusement.
//You're not dead.//
Tearing his gaze from his body, Seto stared at the tiger incredulously.
//But you said...//
Padding over to him, the tiger leaned in to brush its cheek against Seto's face reassuringly.
//You passed through it, Seto.//
Seto relaxed as the tiger's words registered in his mind.
//And if I hadn't?//
The tiger looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
//You know the answer to that.//
Seto did. And the knowledge was like a physical blow.
//Run with me, Seto. Run with me.//
Looking back at the tiger, Seto felt that seductive pull again, and this time he didn't fight it.
//How?//
The tiger's eyes seemed to laugh at him, the tip of its tail twitching in amusement.
//Look at yourself.//
Seto did, eyes widening in something like shock as he finally noticed his new form. It was small and compact, with slender legs and narrow fox-like muzzle. Black and silver fur faded to a light tan on his underbelly, and along his bushy fox-like tail.
//What...what am I?//
//Here, you do not appear as you would in the waking world. Here you manifest in your spiritual form.//
Seto growled low in his throat at the tiger's less than helpful answer.
//What does that mean?//
//You thought that perhaps you would be a wolf, or even a fox?//
Seto nodded. The possibility had occurred to him. He had been called one or the other a great deal of the time in the past.
//You are both and neither at the same time. The wolf is a majestic animal that guards all that he considers his with a savage fierceness and undying loyalty. The fox is a born trickster, quick-witted and sly. You carry those traits...and more.//
Giving himself a shake, Seto glanced down at himself.
//What am I, then? If I'm not a wolf and not a fox, what am I?//
The tiger seemed to smile at him.
//Jackal.//
A/N- Eh, so much for being normal... Review me please. Don't make me get out my Brain Control card again...
A/N(2)- Er... Yeah... I don't think this has ever been done in this section... Yes... Very odd indeed. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes you might have to endure. Oi, this has been re-uploaded, this time without as many spelling mistakes. Don't worry, all of you who actually ventured here to read this, more stuff will be explained in the next chapter...as soon as I finish typing it...*Sweatdrops*
Disclaimer- You be _very_ stupid indeed if you actually think _I_ own Yu-Gi- Oh.
//...// -- Mind speech. But only because I'm computer illiterate and can't get the italics to work.
The Mysteries of Crimson Eyes.
The first thing he realized when he came to was that he didn't hurt anymore. His head was blessedly free of the throbbing ache behind his eyes, and he could breathe without hearing that horrible rasping gurgle that meant a punctured lung...or worse. Cracking open an eye, Seto blinked in surprise when he realized he wasn't lying in the middle of the street, or even in the city, for that matter.
He was braced against the trunk of a lone tree, surrounded by endless miles of flat plain covered in tall grass that would have reached his knees when he stood. The sky was dark, save for the light coming from the twin moons that hung low in the sky. There were no signs of Domino City or anything or anyone else he knew.
Moving to sit up, Seto froze as the heat pressed against his side and the feel of silk-soft fur on his exposed skin. Looking to the side, Seto felt a spike of fear, and wonder at the sight that met his eyes.
Lifting its head the tiger, with beautiful snow-white fur graced with a spill of elegant ink black markings, turned bright crimson eyes on him.
His breath clogged in his throat, fear gripping his chest. The big cat shifted almost lazily, eyes glinting with what he would have called amusement, if the tiger had been human. He was startled at the almost human intelligence he could see in those painfully familiar eyes, and he knew that he should have been able to recognize those eyes. They called to him.
Closing his eyes, Seto turned his focus inwards, trying to remember what had happened and how he'd gotten to wherever it was he was. Frowning as bits and pieces of memory flashed before him, flitting out of his grasp before he could catch more than a glimpse, Seto felt an alien presence in his mind.
//Run with me.//
Seto started as the words faded from his mind, eyes snapping open.
The tiger watched him silently, the tip of its tail gently brushing Seto's leg.
//Run with me Seto. Run with me.//
"Wha...what?"
He had to be crazy, to think that the _tiger_ was talking to him. Everyone knew that animals couldn't talk. Even telepathically, or whatever that had been. Maybe he'd hit his head harder than he'd thought or something.
"I was in a car crash..." Seto said, as though hearing his own voice would drive the phantom voice from his thoughts.
The tiger cocked its head to the side, crimson eyes questioning.
His attention drawn to the motion, Seto stared at the tiger. He knew instinctively that it wasn't acting the way a normal tiger should. It seemed almost...protective of him. Something that was driven home when he realized that it had been curled around him, using its body heat to keep him warm.
"What happened?"
The tiger yawned, revealing gleaming white fangs, although Seto couldn't find it within himself to be alarmed by such a sight. Somehow, he felt safe with the tiger. As though it wouldn't let any harm befall him. It was an unnerving feeling...Seto Kaiba didn't need anyone or anything to make himself feel safe and secure...he had himself and that was all he needed.
The tiger growled low in warning, crimson eyes narrowed. The tip of its tail twitched almost angrily.
//Is that so?//
The mental voice slithered through his thoughts, tangling with them until he was no longer certain if he'd thought the words himself, or if they'd come from some other source.
//Then why are you still here? Why haven't you left, if you don't need anyone? Why haven't you moved on?//
Seto stared at the tiger, at a loss for words. There was no denying that the tiger was the one speaking to him. Just as there was no denying the fact he had no answer for that question. If that was truly how he felt, why had he stayed where he was for so long? Why _had_ he stayed in Domino City for as long as he had? Even after his little brother had grown up. There was nothing to tie him down anymore, and yet, he still stayed.
"What are you?"
The tiger drew back, ears flattening against its skull in annoyance.
//I am what you make of me, Seto. Don't you know that yet?//
Feeling frustrated and annoyed himself; Seto ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends lightly. _Why_ couldn't he remember what had happened? He remembered being in a car crash, and in his mind's eye he could just make out the form of another presence beside his mangled vehicle. He couldn't see who it was, but his mind told him that it was a familiar and welcome one that set him at ease.
"Why can't I remember?"
If things had been normal, Seto would have found it utterly ridiculous to be talking to a tiger as though it could understand him. As it was, things were far from normal, a fact proven by the tiger leaning against him showing a level of human intelligence in its glowing eyes.
Well...that and the whole telepathy thing. Seto mused sourly to himself.
The tiger got to its feet and walked a few steps away, pausing to look back at Seto.
//Run with me, Seto. Run with me.//
The words called to him, like the tiger's eyes had. The mental voice that slid into his mind was a low, seductive purr, beckoning to him to shed his human body and rejoice in the untamed wildness that lay at his core. The part of him that longed to take off and run until he came to the end of the world.
"How?"
The tiger's eyes seemed to bore into him, and Seto pulled back as he felt mental fingers grasping at his thoughts, at the part of Seto's mind that _was_ him. A wave of reassurance washed through him, and he let go of his fear, reaching towards that maddeningly familiar voice.
//Like this.//
There was a sensation that was like being pulled and pushed at the same time, like being squeezed and stretched all at once. For a brief, horrifying moment that seemed to last for an eternity, there was nothing.
No light, no darkness, no sight, no sound. Nothing. Absolute nothing.
It terrified Seto to the core of his very being. It touched that part of him that feared fire and worshiped the sun. That part of him driven solely by primitive instinct that feared the dark and worshipped nameless gods.
//Here. Follow me, Seto.//
The tiger's voice broke through the barrier that led to the void, shattering the silence and bringing light and sound with it.
Fumbling, frantic, Seto reached for that voice, fear and desperation making him clumsy.
//Where...?//
//Here.//
And he felt the fire of the white tiger envelope him, driving away his fear. Driving away the darkness. Forcing the void back.
//Open your eyes.//
Seto did.
The tiger was watching him, crimson eyes narrowed in a way that nudged at the back of Seto's mind, telling him that he should know that look. But he didn't.
//What...what was that?//
//The void. Nothingness. Death.//
Seto took a step back, and froze as his eyes landed on his body resting a few feet away as though in sleep.
The tiger snorted, crimson eyes gleaming with amusement.
//You're not dead.//
Tearing his gaze from his body, Seto stared at the tiger incredulously.
//But you said...//
Padding over to him, the tiger leaned in to brush its cheek against Seto's face reassuringly.
//You passed through it, Seto.//
Seto relaxed as the tiger's words registered in his mind.
//And if I hadn't?//
The tiger looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
//You know the answer to that.//
Seto did. And the knowledge was like a physical blow.
//Run with me, Seto. Run with me.//
Looking back at the tiger, Seto felt that seductive pull again, and this time he didn't fight it.
//How?//
The tiger's eyes seemed to laugh at him, the tip of its tail twitching in amusement.
//Look at yourself.//
Seto did, eyes widening in something like shock as he finally noticed his new form. It was small and compact, with slender legs and narrow fox-like muzzle. Black and silver fur faded to a light tan on his underbelly, and along his bushy fox-like tail.
//What...what am I?//
//Here, you do not appear as you would in the waking world. Here you manifest in your spiritual form.//
Seto growled low in his throat at the tiger's less than helpful answer.
//What does that mean?//
//You thought that perhaps you would be a wolf, or even a fox?//
Seto nodded. The possibility had occurred to him. He had been called one or the other a great deal of the time in the past.
//You are both and neither at the same time. The wolf is a majestic animal that guards all that he considers his with a savage fierceness and undying loyalty. The fox is a born trickster, quick-witted and sly. You carry those traits...and more.//
Giving himself a shake, Seto glanced down at himself.
//What am I, then? If I'm not a wolf and not a fox, what am I?//
The tiger seemed to smile at him.
//Jackal.//
A/N- Eh, so much for being normal... Review me please. Don't make me get out my Brain Control card again...