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Chapter Six

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'Speaking in Dragon'

"Speaking in English"

Thoughts

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"Dead?!" Marik demanded "What do you mean they are dead?" he questioned angrily.

"I dunno" a largish man replied whilst wringing his hands nervously in front of the teenager "I just em, dead" brown eyes showed his fear "They were covered in blood 'n' burns, all of em"

Marik narrowed his eyes "Damn, the blue-eyed Hybrid must have survived"

"What shall we do now master?"

"Track him down" Marik snapped in reply "And bring him to me alive"

"And anyone else whose with him?"

"Kill them" Marik replied harshly.

The man nodded and left the room, almost banging into a bald, thin teen with piercings and strange eye makeup "You asked for me Master Marik?"

"Hai" Marik answered "Since the men here are incompetent idiots, I will have to leave this place sooner than I originally planned and round up the other rare hunters, it's time I dropped this false façade and show my true intentions"

"Are you sure that is . . . wise Master?"

Lilac eyes narrowed "I do not have you around to question my orders Strings, of course I am sure"

Strings nodded "I'll . . . I'll go do that then" he answered before wisely backing out of the room.

Once I have the blue-eyed Hybrid things shall change in my favour, within him is the power to take over the entire world, and make everyone quiver at my feet! Marik's bloodthirsty smile broadened No one will dare question me, and it shouldn't take much persuasion to get the blue-eyed Hybrid on my side, after all. I fooled those mortals easily enough with my lies

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Jounochi looked around, taking in how everything looked at night, actually it looked no different than at day, except more scary. Sighing he shifted a little to get more comfortable, he couldn't sleep, even if he tried he couldn't so he had seated himself on a rock and decided to keep watch.

His eyes fell on the two Dragons who were both sleeping, Mokuba was curled up beneath Seto's trench coat, and the brunette was on his back with one arm limply over his stomach, his hair fell in his eyes.

Jounochi was surprised, about half an hour ago Seto had looked so cold and powerful, now he looked like he wouldn't hurt anyone, not even a fly, his face just held that innocent look, just like Mokuba's always did.

Now that he wasn't wearing his coat Jounochi could tell that those markings on his face weren't the only ones, around each arm he had two emerald coloured bands, one was just flat but the one above it was jagged, like little flames. Above both markings on each arm was a thick metal ring.

The brunette had also taken off his brown leather wrist guards, well he hadn't actually taken them off but he had undone all the tiny string crosses so they just lay open beneath his arms, allowing Jou to see green, flame like bands around each wrist. He yawned tiredly and laid on the floor, maybe he could sleep after all.

Carefully he slid off the rock and laid himself on the rough grass. Stars twinkled in the perfectly clear dark sky Man, dis is nice he thought as he stared at the stars I've neva seen summert like dis before, hell I neva even knew a peaceful place like dis existed starting to drop off to sleep he kicked off his trainers and closed his eyes whilst lying on his side and grinning at the child He's a sweet kid he thought Shame about his bro

Jounochi wiped the smile from his face and allowed sleep to take him.

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A loud bang snapped all three awake, Seto was on his feet in front of Mokuba in an instant, his sharp sapphire eyes darting in their sockets, Jou sluggishly got to his feet and stood behind the child, knowing Seto would want him protected. There was another loud rumble in the distance, the ground shook.

Soon Seto and Jou found themselves completely surrounded by people, all wearing strange masks, hiding their faces from view. One stepped forward, he was wearing a white mask which covered his whole face, marked with little red dots, his hair was black and greasy.

"End of the line Dragon!" he snarled "Master Marik would like ta have a few words with you"

Seto gripped his sword in his hand 'I bet he would' he answered tauntingly 'But it will take more than a few Humans to grab me'

"We can either do this the easy, pain free way, or we can do this the hard way, it would be in your best interest to co-operate with us Dragon" said a second man, not understanding what had been said to him.

Sapphire eyes narrowed 'Bring it on and I'll crush you' he hissed, he pulled the second sword from beneath his belt and threw it to Jounochi, several guns clicked "Ah . . . so that's how it's going to be eh?" he questioned in English 'Too scared to use your own strength in a fight' he muttered, reverting back again to his own language just to annoy them further.

"Yeah" a third snarled "That's how it's gonna be"

"Hardly seems fair wouldn't you say?" Seto questioned speaking just in English now, an eyebrow raised, he dropped the sword and pulled out two revolvers from the inside pockets of his trench coat "Y'know you humans have interesting weapons" he stated whilst looking over the guns "These are much more effective than a sword, wouldn't you say?" he chuckled to himself "It's a shame you are so careless with them, I mean leaving them just lying around like that" he smirked "Anyone can get their hands on them"

Jou picked up the other sword and stood with his back to Seto so he wouldn't get caught off guard, it was really an unfair fight, Seto was clearly unused to guns and had probably never fired one in his life, and Jounochi certainly hadn't wielded a sword before. He personally thought it would be smarter to switch weapons but he doubted that the brunette would actually listen to him, they were also greatly outnumbered which also made the fight unfair, Mokuba was shaking a little. Protected by both Jou and Seto.

Seto pointed the guns at the man who had spoken first "Leave now and I'll spare your pitiful life" he snarled, his eyes were very narrow, and from what Jou could see, pupiless.

All the men surrounding them laughed nastily and one raised their gun and shot Seto in his shoulder, the teen winced and turned sharply and was then shot twice in his back, he cried out in pain and staggered forwards a little.

"Ha! You can't keep your eye on all of us!" one mocked.

Seto's face was twisted in pain but he regained his stance and closed his eyes, trying to blot out the searing pain he was feeling, he forced a smirk "I don't have to" he retorted.

"Humph! There's nothin ya can do!" someone snarled.

Another man fired a bullet, Seto dropped the first gun and held up his hand, stopping the bullet in it's tracks "You were saying?" he questioned, gently pushing down the point of the bullet so it flipped over and faced the way it had come, he lowered his hand and picked up the gun again, the bullet started to move and hit the man who had fired it in his chest, killing him "Oops" he taunted.

Mokuba was shaking badly, he had never been so scared in his entire life. His grey eyes were fearful Oh, I hope you know what you are doing big brother

"Last chance" Seto offered, his eyes snapped open and he glared at the nearest man, blood was seeping down his arm and staining the brown leather a dark red on his back "No?" he questioned before shrugging "Alright then" he opened fire upon all the masked men, some tried to retaliate but they found that they were all frozen in place.

Mokuba covered his head with his hands and crouched low, shaking and crying quietly. Seto turned in a full circle with a large smirk on his face, he was clearly enjoying this. Jounochi ducked when the brunette was almost facing him, after the last masked man collapsed with blood seeping out of his chest the guns just made clicking noises, Seto stopped pulling the triggers and stared into the barrel "Shit!" he exclaimed whilst throwing them aside "Damn things are broken!"

Jou tried to comfort Mokuba who was clearly terrified without laughing at Seto "Nah, just outta ammo" he said.

"Ammo?"

"Yah, y'know, these things" Jou replied whilst holding up an empty shell "Ya need more ta keep da guns workin"

Seto kicked one of the guns "Piece of crap!" he snarled before kneeling by Mokuba 'Are you alright?' he asked.

Mokuba uncurled himself and threw his arms around Seto. Crying hard 'Y-yeah' he said through his tears 'I'm just scared'

The brunette gently pulled him to his feet 'Hey don't worry about it, I'll look after you'

'Your hurt' the child said quietly, eyeing the blood.

Seto took the empty shell from Jounochi "These things, they don't cause permanent damage do they?" he asked.

"I dunno, depends where ya get shot. But Seto, yeh'd be better off if ya didn't have metal in ya, trust me" Jou answered.

"Oh screw it" the brunette muttered "Something that tiny shouldn't cause too many problems"

Jou looked strangely serious "Seto . . . if one of those bullets has punctured something then yeh gonna need medical attention, 'n' soon" he picked up one of the guns "Humans use these ta kill each other, dey were designed fer da whole purpose of inflictin pain 'n' endin lives like dat" he snapped his fingers.

Seto moved the thick strap of his top out of the way and examined the hole in his shoulder, he could see a feint gleam of metal "I think my bone has stopped that one" he said whilst standing.

"Well . . . den dat's okay, as long as it don't get infected, but what about yeh back?" Jou asked, surprised it wasn't hurting the young Hybrid. Seto turned and allowed Jounochi to lift his top so he could examine the other holes "Whoa! Yeh lucky Seto, 'n' I mean real lucky" Jou pulled out a bullet which hadn't gone in very far, he tried to find the other one and succeeded, like the first it hadn't embedded itself very far so the blond was able to remove it.

Seto swore and pulled away as he felt a sharp jolt of pain "Sorry man" Jou apologised "But if one of those got yeh spine ya would'a had it"

Mokuba clung to the brunette's waist and cried harder "Thanks a lot moron!" Seto snarled coldly "Just go and scare Mokuba twice as much as he already has been!"

Jou looked at the floor "Sorry" he said quietly whilst watching Seto fuss over little Mokuba, he was surprised how kind he looked, sure his eyes were still icy and cruel but that didn't reach his voice or his facial expression, he had no idea that the young, hot-headed Hybrid could even show kindness Man, he must really hate us he thought But den again, it was us who orphaned da kid he sighed It's no wonder he hates us, his mother is dead, his lil' bro is scared stiff 'n' he's bein' hunted down like a dog

Seto was on his knees,  his arms gently around Mokuba who was crying into his chest 'I want mom back!' the poor boy wailed.

'Yeah' Seto replied 'I know kid' he continued 'And I swear Mokuba, when I find the bastard who ordered the attack I'll wring his neck!' he shifted a little so Mokuba could sit on his knee 'No matter how long it takes I'll make sure that somehow whoever did this pays for what he did'

'I'm scared Seto' the child said quietly, sounding very pathetic, Jou felt his heart ache at the tone. He knew what it was like to be alone, his mother and his baby sister had both been killed in a rock slide after being cast out by Marik, and his father never had loved him 'I don't like it here'

Seto sighed 'We don't have any other choice Mokuba, believe me if I could turn back the clock and somehow prevent all this I would'

'You wont leave me will you Seto?' Mokuba asked.

Seto gently pulled the child off his knee and stood up 'No, never' he answered fiercely 'Your all I have, I would never abandon you' he took Mokuba's hand gently and started to walk off "C'mon mutt, before something else decides to try and kill me" he said.

Jou nodded and caught up with the brunette, he was still holding the two swords but rather awkwardly. Seto walked ahead with Mokuba clutching his hand, his trench coat was flaring out behind him. Jounochi stared at his back and noticed something he hadn't before. Both in his trench coat and top were two largish rips Probably where his wings come out the blond thought.

But then he started to wonder, just where did Seto's wings come from, he couldn't see them now and Seto's clothes were rather tight so he'd easily spot them if they were there, he had a disgusting thought of them literally coming out of his back, tearing his flesh, but then again. If they did that wouldn't he have seen blood?

"Hey Seto!" he shouted, rushing to catch the two up.

The Hybrid turned "What?"

"Well . . . I was wonderin . . . 'n' I hope yeh don't mind me askin' . . ."

Sapphire eyes narrowed "Get to the point!"

"Right" The blond answered "Well, I was wonderin where ya wings go when yeh not . . . y'know . . . all dragony 'n' creepy"

Seto rolled his eyes "In my back moron"

"But how?" Jou asked "I mean I see da rips in yeh coat 'n' stuff, but I don't see any blood . . . so er . . . how exactly do they come out?"

The brunette stopped and took his swords from Jou, shoving them back under his belt "I'd show you" he answered "But i'm too tired" he continued "You're the first one to ever ask about my wings, and believe me, your not the only one who doesn't understand, even others of my kind don't understand"

"So how do ya do it?" Jou asked.

"Well, my wings aren't solid to begin with . . . it's hard to explain really" Seto replied.

Jounochi was still confused "So how come yeh coat is ripped?" he asked.

"Because idiot, I can't open up my wings if my jacket is there can I?!" Seto snapped.

"Sorry"

Seto shook his head and sighed, managing to calm himself down "It's not your fault. Your Human. This is probably the first time you have even met a dragon up close"

"What's da difference between you 'n' other dragons?" Jou asked, he was feeling rather curious right now.

"Well some, like Mokuba, can't actually use their dragon side and the others, the Pure-Dragons can't take on a Human appearance" Seto explained.

"So Mokuba's type are Human?"

Seto shook his head "No" he answered "They still have all the other stuff, like better hearing and sight, they just can't change like I can"

"Oh"

"It's complicated. I know that without these marks we look Human but really we are far from it" Seto continued.

"How'd yeh get those anyways, it is face-paint or summert?" he asked.

"No" Seto responded, he stopped and turned around.

Jou approached him "Yeh wouldn't mind if I . . .?" the brunette shook his head, he could tell that Jounochi was just curious and strangely he felt that he could trust him, even if he was a Human. Jou gently ran a finger across one of the markings, it felt scaly "Weird" he muttered, he ran the same finger lightly over Seto's pale cheek, just to see if it was all like that, it wasn't, he pulled back "Sorry if dat was kinda strange . . ." he said.

Seto shrugged "Doesn't bother me" he answered blankly "You Humans have a tendency to look with your hands and not your eyes"

Jounochi grinned a little "It's cool dat ya know quite a bit about us, well when yeh not bein biased"

"Well . . . truth is I never saw any point in this whole war, sure I don't like Humans. But I figured long ago that they weren't all bad. I mean just like us. Your kind think we are all thieves and murderers, and yes I am ashamed to say that a good few of us are but we're not all like that" he paused "It's like the war has fallen out of our hands, it's like we no longer fight for our freedom, but for the point of fighting"

Jou nodded "I get dat" he said.

"Sometimes I wish that everyone would just open their eyes, it's like they are blind to everything going on. In a way I blame my kind just as much as I blame yours, you see we always retaliate that makes us as bad as your kind are, killing women and children for the hell of it or for petty revenge . . . it's sick, even if they are Human women and children it's still sick"

"So why do you fight?" Jou asked "I know yeh do cuz dere ain't no way a normal guy can wield a sword like dat, dey wouldn't have da know-how" 

Seto smirked a little "I don't know whether to thank you or to hurt you for making that assumption" he said "But your right, I do fight, well I don't really because I was in training" he continued, he stared at the floor "I had no choice"

"Course yeh did" said Jou "Everyone's got a choice"

Seto shook his head "Not me, I'm a Hybrid, and that's rare" he said "We had one other Hybrid in my village, that was it" he paused "And with your guns and . . . that exploding red stuff . . ."

"Dynamite" Jou corrected whilst laughing.

"Right . . . with that we don't really stand much of a chance, sure we've got skill and speed but we need plain, raw power" he sighed "I didn't want to get into it, Mokuba, Akara and I never wanted any part in this stupid war, but from the day they found out what I was I had no choice, I couldn't say no because we needed all the power we could get" he squeezed Mokuba's hand gently and started walking again.

"Yeh didn't wanna let everyone down"

"Yeah" Seto replied

Jou quickly caught him up "How do yeh find out?"

"Find out what?"

"Whether yeh a Hybrid or not? How did ya know?" Jounochi asked.

Seto turned "It was by accident" he replied "Akara, she was my step-mother and Mokuba's real mother, had caught me sneaking out and she grounded me. I was probably about ten at the time, so naturally I got annoyed and I kinda . . . made one of the walls explode"

Jounochi laughed "Really?!"

"Yeah" Seto answered "I thought I was going to get yelled at, but then she just smiled and hugged me" he grinned a little "I thought she'd gone mental, I mean smiling and hugging me when I turned a wall into dust!? Heh, course that wasn't the first time I caused something to explode"

"On purpose?"

"No, not on purpose" Seto replied "I had all this power and no control, normally Hybrids don't have a problem controlling their powers, even when they first find out they have them but . . . well I was different, I had much more power than what was normal . . . plus I have a very short temper, I was really dangerous" he explained "I don't know why I had such a hard time controlling it though or even why the power I had was stronger than everyone else's, it may have been something to do with my parents, but I don't remember them at all, my real parents died when I was really young"

"Yeh still are dangerous" Jou commented

"Yeah, but at least now I have control most of the time. It's only when I lose my temper that things get out of hand, which is why Mokuba is always so quick to calm me down" Jounochi nodded in agreement "So what about you anyway? I've told you all this stuff about me I feel it only fair if you tell me things about you"

"Dere ain't much ta tell" Jou replied "Ma old man served, 'n' still serves Marik" he sighed "He brought me along wit him after Marik sent him on a mission ta destroy a village 'n' leave none alive . . . actually I think it may have been yours" he paused, feeling guilty "I neva met Marik once, I just heard his orders passed on by someone else"

It was Seto's turn to be confused "But if you were travelling with your father, then why were all those Humans out to kill you?" he asked.

"Cuz I wouldn't follow orders" Jounochi answered "We came to yeh village 'n' I saw how many kids 'n' stuff there were . . . kid's who I'd hafta kill once Drake got da dynamite set up 'n' I couldn't do it. Ma old man held out a gun 'n' told me ta make him proud 'n' shoot every dragon in sight, but I wouldn't take it off him, I said I didn't wanna 'n' he called me a traitor, he said I was a lousy son"

"Humph. Some father" Seto snorted.

Jou stared at the floor "I neva thought nothin of it, till night came, all these guys surrounded me, apparently Marik was pissed off at me cuz I wouldn't take part 'n' had ordered me killed, ma old man was dere . . . I only just got away, den I got lost 'n' wound up in da village I neva wanted ta be in . . . da same village dat had caused me ta run fer ma life in da first place . . . den I saw yeh 'n' hid cuz I know a dragon when I see one, I kinda had a feelin dat you guys wouldn't be happy if yeh saw me"

The two fell silent for a moment, then Jou spoke up again "Where are you two goin anyways?" he asked.

"To another village" Mokuba replied "Seto says that ours wasn't the last" Jounochi was a little surprised, he had thought that the child couldn't speak English, and although he had a much stronger accent from the other language than Seto, his words made enough sense.

The blond saw Seto instantly tense, he could tell that some part of the young dragon still didn't trust him and sure enough, the brunette's hand was tightly grasping the collar of his jacket "If you so much as dare tell another Human that there are other villages left I'll make sure to unleash everything I've got on you and send you straight down to hell!" he snarled.

'Seto, calm down' Mokuba said softly whilst gripping his older brother's hand.

Hazel eyes widened "I ain't gonna tell!" he exclaimed "I swear!"

Seto let him go and breathed in deeply to release his anger "See that you don't, if your kind somehow found out about the other villages they'd start looking, and although they are well hidden Humans would eventually find them, and destroy them until either all our kind were enslaved or . . ." he trailed off when Mokuba looked at him with sad grey eyes.

Jounochi nodded, he knew what the brunette would have said. And it pained him. He couldn't believe that most of the things he had been told were false, after believing pretty much all his life that dragons were violent, bloodthirsty thieves with no morals or thoughts for anyone else, he hadn't let that make him hate them, but it had scared the living daylights out of him. He wondered whose poor mind Marik and his army were polluting now . . . he could only hope that whoever it was had the sense not to believe him but Marik had a strange way with people.

The blond had never met him in his life and he doubted that many of his army had either, yet they all treated him with admiration and respect and obeyed him without question . . . well most of the time. Some didn't like Marik, some thought he was a fool but no one ever said that when he could be around, they were most probably scared of him.

TBC

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Jaffacake: Wow, where have I been eh? I think its been at least a month since I updated this. Oh well, chapter 6 is finally here.

I would like to thank all of you for your reviews, I've not had a bad one yet :)

So what do you all say, shall I try and post chapter 7 tomorrow since its half finished now?