The deleting of my fic got me into a real big writer's block.... *sigh*
Well, I'm back now. I _promised_ to finish writing StD no matter what! ^.~
I've been busy doing scanlations of Yugioh, just in case you want to know.
It's very... fascinating. Addictive. For now I've done... Wait. This has
nothing to do with the fic. *points below* Go ahead and read the new
chapter, I worked my ass off for it.
Vampiric thanks to the ones who reviewed StD ch 23 before it got deleted: Yamis Girlfriend, Alana (hey, you got the right answer... I emailed you about it, but either you don't want anything or then didn't get it. Please contact me if you want me to write/draw something for you), Asahi Taiga, Queen Ali B (_now_ I'm on the sixth night, the last chapter was still of the fifth. Heh... You got it right, too... If you feel like it, I can transfer the prize to you if the first who guessed it right doesn't contact me...say, in a week.), Jadesaber, Jadej.j, Chibizoo, Yume Takato, Seventh Sage, Yami Trekkie, Siobhan (oh yes, everything important that happened in the past will be written on Paths of Blood), Betrayal, Labannya, Renee the Rabid Squirrel, jeti, Ly the werewolf and Hotaru the Demon Goddess (Yami's father...? You could try www .yugioh. esmartkid.com. Yami's mother also to be found there... And several other interesting details. For scanlations, find Jenniyah's site! ^.~ )
And a huge thanks goes out to the ones who reviewed after reposting: chibi_ai, Lady Geuna (thank you. And believe me, I've considered AFF...), Shortyredd17 (thank you), Yamis Girlfriend (thank you. I hope you're not too pissed off that I didn't update for such a long while... and yes, this is a new one! ^^), Tjay Motou (thank you! ^^), Yume Takato (...I wish I knew why it got deleted. I'm planning on semi-regular updates now, last time when I planned it this got deleted and it ate my inspiration...), Kendarath, Zypher Dragon a.k.a. Diamond (*blinks* a muse? Well thank you! ^^), Synchronized Love (thank you! ^.^), jeti (I completely agree), Moon Angel (I hope so too... *sigh*), Aisling Kaiba (...*blush* Forgive me for the long break), Sarith McGregor (thank you! *blush* That was needed! ^^; ), Sugar-Goddess (strange? *blinks* Yeah, I know what you mean. But it was necessary for the development of the plot. ^^;; I hope I didn't keep you waiting _too_ long...), Karenu-anime, Seventh Sage (I believe you reviewed every chapter. And you're the only one who bothered to do that. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! *huggles*), Labannya (heh... you don't have to review, of course, but I greatly appreciate every person who does review my fics... Especially in this one!), MaidenoftheMoon (hehheh... *sweatdrop* well, it didn't take _that_ long to repost, it's just that posting new stuff presented a problem...), LiLiachencko-sama (thank you!), Betrayal (thank you! ^.^), Jadej.j (*laughs* actually I'm waiting for that part, too... I've been pretty much neglecting S/J fans in the latest chapters, have I? *sigh*), Tigre MoonStorme, jeanette (...I'm sorry, I like the Ishtar and Marik name-system more. But suggestions are of course always welcome! ^^), Spiget, PanDora, Isis (...I do? I'll go fix that. It's meant to be 'Marik' all the time, I've just read way too much stuff with 'Malik' in it... ^^;; ), Renee the Rabid Squirrel (hmm... I wish I knew, too... But the email I got from the administration didn't really explain anything... *sigh*), tati (...*blush* Thank you... Praise is always welcome! ^.^) and firedraygon97 (well, the fic apparently violated some of the guidelines so it got booted out... *sigh* Shadi after Seto? ...no. Not exactly. You'll know more when you read on... The same thing to your question on Bakura. It's revealed right there. *points to the fic page*) ...only so few? *sigh* Even put together these don't take as much space as in the 'best days' of this fic... *broods*
Slaying the Dreamer, chapter 24: Love of the Present
---Seto POV---
Now really. This was getting annoying. Why the heck did I do what I did last night? I guess I had been somewhat freaked out by the way I had been staring at him without noticing. I wasn't the kind to lose track of myself like that.
But... It hadn't been any justification to treat the human like that.
I groaned. I was starting to feel guilty? Really, perhaps I had spent a bit too much time around humans. I couldn't afford feelings. I couldn't afford guilt, and I especially couldn't afford love. The world was such a place that it didn't allow anything resembling happiness to my kind. Something always comes up. Fear, fights, fury, death. Death by one's own hands. Death by another's hands. Death by old age.
Age. Time... Time was an enemy as was pretty much everything else.
I stood, watching out from a huge window, watching the world beneath my feet. It was getting somewhat late, but people kept walking around, going about their business. Not knowing that there were things in the night that could do a lot worse things to them than their wildest nightmares dared to show. In fact, some of those things _were_ in the dreams, the nightmares, people's minds, searching for something that would keep them alive for the next century or so. Only once I had encountered such a creature. I had barely survived it.
And that was saying much.
I didn't like admitting defeat, but there were things out there that even such an ancient vampire as I couldn't defeat if I lived for yet another thousand years.
I sighed, marvelling how the streetlights illuminated the humans walking by. I could see the light fall to black leather, glisten off a wedding ring, reflect the inner light of white hair.
White hair that looked suspiciously familiar.
White hair soon disappeared within this building.
He couldn't have... He had other things to worry about. He wouldn't have come here. He had no reason. Absolutely no reason.
Or did he have?
Had something gone terribly wrong?
I made myself stand still. If it indeed was him, he would come to me. There was no reason for me to go to him, if he wanted something he'd need to search me out. I didn't want to be looked upon as a servant.
As I thought, very soon I heard footsteps from the hallway outside of my office, and right after that a pissed off vampire marched in.
"What can I do to help you?"
"Shut up"
"Really now? I must ask, what are you doing here if you're merely planning on moodily pacing around my office?"
"I said shut up!"
Now... This was intolerable. I couldn't have him snap at me like that, after showing up from nowhere. Did he expect me to take it just like that?
"Don't take it out on me if you managed to screw up your relationship with that human of yours. I'm sure _he_ is not to blame, I know what he's like and he definitely wouldn't do anything resembling that."
He stopped from the constant walking, fastening his baleful eyes on me.
"I. Did. Not. Screw. It. Up."
I could feel one of my eyebrows rising. Someone had issues.
"That was pointed."
"It was supposed to be"
"That much I understood. What happened."
"Nothing"
He looked away from me, perhaps gazing out of the window. It seemed that it really wasn't 'nothing' that had happened.
"Suit yourself. I'm not your babysitter. You're a big guy - or at least you should be - I'm _sure_ you can handle it by yourself."
I sat in front of my desk and started working. He'd come around soon. He wouldn't be able to take the silence.
Minutes passed. Bakura walked to the window and pretended not to notice me. It seemed weird at fist that he wouldn't have left already, but perhaps his past self had begun to surface again. Now that'd be miracle. Or perhaps not so - who knew what their human halves could do to them?
I was suddenly glad I wasn't involved in this.
I was glad my pharaoh hadn't thrown me one of the Millennium Items.
Even though it had been the thing I had most craved for for so many years...
Yet more time ticked by. He still hadn't said a word. It worked for me, I had things to do. Running a corporation of this size wasn't exactly easy, even for me. It wasn't overwhelming, of course not, but it required a lot of attention.
"I met Yami and Ishtar"
Turning to look at him, I crossed my arms and waited for more. It seemed that I had to babysit after all.
"We had a small fight"
Yes. Last night. There had been a sudden surge in the shadow powers... Not noticeable if I hadn't been looking for it, but it was there.
I waited for more.
"The past came up..."
Ouch. That must've been bad. None of us liked to remember, no matter what appearances we put up to the world. The pharaoh was an exception, of course. Perhaps he liked to torture himself.
"When... when they mentioned some things I completely lost my patience and left"
"And your human?"
"He's with them. I wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave him alone at a time like this."
He laughed bitterly.
"After all, if I am to stay even remotely sane, I need him to stay alive..."
Confusion welled up within me. What...?
"There was a twist in this whole prophecy thing. I think... I think we need all the help we can get to survive this. But then again, Ishtar's convinced we won't."
So... He had come here to beg for help after all. How fitting.
"Don't look at me, you'll have to survive this by yourselves. I have enough problems of my own, thank you very much."
He turned disbelieving eyes to me.
"...what?"
"No matter how much I love to see you asking for help, I have no intention of getting involved. Now, if that was all, you can leave my office."
He looked at me for a while. I looked back. At last he walked away.
I was surprised he hadn't protested more.
But I really had enough problems of my own.
Like the one golden-haired human.
I sighed.
Why did this have to be so difficult?
---Shadi POV---
Yes... Yes, interesting indeed. Last night not long after I had been so near to one of my preys, I had felt an unmistakable surge in power. In the power that could easily wipe out the entire planet, if used in a right way.
They were getting nervous. They knew I was here, just biding my time. Waiting for them to make a mistake. Waiting to kill them, and make things the way they were supposed to be.
I wouldn't do that yet.
I had sensed yet another definite disturbance in the power.
Another.
Another one of those that were mine was near.
Yes, the power to see the future and the past would be very welcome indeed...
I walked on, heading for the source of that power.
---Yami POV---
I looked tiredly as Yugi and Ryou played some game on the floor. Perhaps I should try that one some day. It looked like they were having fun.
Marik sat on a chair to the right of me, reading a magazine. Frankly, I wasn't really interested in what he did as long as he kept his hands off of my Yugi. And Ryou, of course. I wouldn't want the Tomb Robber to try to kill him when he returned. It would only bring disagreement in our little group, and I was sure that Ishtar wouldn't take well to his human being attacked.
But did he have to be so...I didn't even know what I should call Marik. Daring, perhaps. He was very different from Yugi and Ryou. And yet, there was something so similar in all of them... Perhaps it was just my imagination.
Ishtar was standing in the doorframe, lost in his own thoughts. He hadn't spoken much during the time we had been here. Perhaps why Marik had tried touching _my_ Yugi.
I couldn't help it, I had to turn to glare at him again. He glanced up with an arrogant smirk on his face, then went back to his magazine. He was so... so...
Sighing, I turned back to watching how Yugi used clever tactics over and over again to get out of the tough situations Ryou was putting him in in the game.
He was pretty good.
I wasn't exactly sure which one that comment meant. They were both pretty good. But I was sure Yugi would win.
Ryou looked so much like Bakura I had to blink every now and then to confirm I wasn't seeing things. A gentler version of Bakura, certainly, but still Bakura. Perhaps what he had looked like back then, 3000 years ago.
Bakura... where was he...? He had been gone for so long already... Wasn't he going to join us anymore? When he had left, I had been so sure he'd be back soon. It wasn't in his nature to stay away from the heart of things.
Perhaps I was wrong...
That galled. I shouldn't be wrong. Never.
---Marik POV---
I pretended to read the stupid magazine. These people were pissing me off. Didn't they remember anymore what danger we were in? Didn't they remember that we needed to do something about it? So what if one brooding vampire wasn't here, it was no excuse in my mind to delay the inevitable.
The inevitable... the conclusion... the Soul Eater. The destiny. The fulfilling of the prophecy.
I lowered the magazine slowly and stared off to space. Could this _get_ any more serious? I felt so overwhelmed in all this. To think that we had been known so long ago, to think that our lives had been known so long ago. It was so amazing. Made me think what the world really was like. Were most of the people living in ignorance?
Hell yeah.
But it shouldn't be so. It should never be so.
People should know everything, that the world wasn't so safe after all.
---
AN: Ehh... Sorry, the Shadi, Yami, and Malik POVs are pretty short, I know. But you _did_ get a new chapter, so don't complain too much? *big chibi eyes* Please~? And review...? I'll try to be a good girl and write the next chapter soon, 'kay?
Vampiric thanks to the ones who reviewed StD ch 23 before it got deleted: Yamis Girlfriend, Alana (hey, you got the right answer... I emailed you about it, but either you don't want anything or then didn't get it. Please contact me if you want me to write/draw something for you), Asahi Taiga, Queen Ali B (_now_ I'm on the sixth night, the last chapter was still of the fifth. Heh... You got it right, too... If you feel like it, I can transfer the prize to you if the first who guessed it right doesn't contact me...say, in a week.), Jadesaber, Jadej.j, Chibizoo, Yume Takato, Seventh Sage, Yami Trekkie, Siobhan (oh yes, everything important that happened in the past will be written on Paths of Blood), Betrayal, Labannya, Renee the Rabid Squirrel, jeti, Ly the werewolf and Hotaru the Demon Goddess (Yami's father...? You could try www .yugioh. esmartkid.com. Yami's mother also to be found there... And several other interesting details. For scanlations, find Jenniyah's site! ^.~ )
And a huge thanks goes out to the ones who reviewed after reposting: chibi_ai, Lady Geuna (thank you. And believe me, I've considered AFF...), Shortyredd17 (thank you), Yamis Girlfriend (thank you. I hope you're not too pissed off that I didn't update for such a long while... and yes, this is a new one! ^^), Tjay Motou (thank you! ^^), Yume Takato (...I wish I knew why it got deleted. I'm planning on semi-regular updates now, last time when I planned it this got deleted and it ate my inspiration...), Kendarath, Zypher Dragon a.k.a. Diamond (*blinks* a muse? Well thank you! ^^), Synchronized Love (thank you! ^.^), jeti (I completely agree), Moon Angel (I hope so too... *sigh*), Aisling Kaiba (...*blush* Forgive me for the long break), Sarith McGregor (thank you! *blush* That was needed! ^^; ), Sugar-Goddess (strange? *blinks* Yeah, I know what you mean. But it was necessary for the development of the plot. ^^;; I hope I didn't keep you waiting _too_ long...), Karenu-anime, Seventh Sage (I believe you reviewed every chapter. And you're the only one who bothered to do that. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! *huggles*), Labannya (heh... you don't have to review, of course, but I greatly appreciate every person who does review my fics... Especially in this one!), MaidenoftheMoon (hehheh... *sweatdrop* well, it didn't take _that_ long to repost, it's just that posting new stuff presented a problem...), LiLiachencko-sama (thank you!), Betrayal (thank you! ^.^), Jadej.j (*laughs* actually I'm waiting for that part, too... I've been pretty much neglecting S/J fans in the latest chapters, have I? *sigh*), Tigre MoonStorme, jeanette (...I'm sorry, I like the Ishtar and Marik name-system more. But suggestions are of course always welcome! ^^), Spiget, PanDora, Isis (...I do? I'll go fix that. It's meant to be 'Marik' all the time, I've just read way too much stuff with 'Malik' in it... ^^;; ), Renee the Rabid Squirrel (hmm... I wish I knew, too... But the email I got from the administration didn't really explain anything... *sigh*), tati (...*blush* Thank you... Praise is always welcome! ^.^) and firedraygon97 (well, the fic apparently violated some of the guidelines so it got booted out... *sigh* Shadi after Seto? ...no. Not exactly. You'll know more when you read on... The same thing to your question on Bakura. It's revealed right there. *points to the fic page*) ...only so few? *sigh* Even put together these don't take as much space as in the 'best days' of this fic... *broods*
Slaying the Dreamer, chapter 24: Love of the Present
---Seto POV---
Now really. This was getting annoying. Why the heck did I do what I did last night? I guess I had been somewhat freaked out by the way I had been staring at him without noticing. I wasn't the kind to lose track of myself like that.
But... It hadn't been any justification to treat the human like that.
I groaned. I was starting to feel guilty? Really, perhaps I had spent a bit too much time around humans. I couldn't afford feelings. I couldn't afford guilt, and I especially couldn't afford love. The world was such a place that it didn't allow anything resembling happiness to my kind. Something always comes up. Fear, fights, fury, death. Death by one's own hands. Death by another's hands. Death by old age.
Age. Time... Time was an enemy as was pretty much everything else.
I stood, watching out from a huge window, watching the world beneath my feet. It was getting somewhat late, but people kept walking around, going about their business. Not knowing that there were things in the night that could do a lot worse things to them than their wildest nightmares dared to show. In fact, some of those things _were_ in the dreams, the nightmares, people's minds, searching for something that would keep them alive for the next century or so. Only once I had encountered such a creature. I had barely survived it.
And that was saying much.
I didn't like admitting defeat, but there were things out there that even such an ancient vampire as I couldn't defeat if I lived for yet another thousand years.
I sighed, marvelling how the streetlights illuminated the humans walking by. I could see the light fall to black leather, glisten off a wedding ring, reflect the inner light of white hair.
White hair that looked suspiciously familiar.
White hair soon disappeared within this building.
He couldn't have... He had other things to worry about. He wouldn't have come here. He had no reason. Absolutely no reason.
Or did he have?
Had something gone terribly wrong?
I made myself stand still. If it indeed was him, he would come to me. There was no reason for me to go to him, if he wanted something he'd need to search me out. I didn't want to be looked upon as a servant.
As I thought, very soon I heard footsteps from the hallway outside of my office, and right after that a pissed off vampire marched in.
"What can I do to help you?"
"Shut up"
"Really now? I must ask, what are you doing here if you're merely planning on moodily pacing around my office?"
"I said shut up!"
Now... This was intolerable. I couldn't have him snap at me like that, after showing up from nowhere. Did he expect me to take it just like that?
"Don't take it out on me if you managed to screw up your relationship with that human of yours. I'm sure _he_ is not to blame, I know what he's like and he definitely wouldn't do anything resembling that."
He stopped from the constant walking, fastening his baleful eyes on me.
"I. Did. Not. Screw. It. Up."
I could feel one of my eyebrows rising. Someone had issues.
"That was pointed."
"It was supposed to be"
"That much I understood. What happened."
"Nothing"
He looked away from me, perhaps gazing out of the window. It seemed that it really wasn't 'nothing' that had happened.
"Suit yourself. I'm not your babysitter. You're a big guy - or at least you should be - I'm _sure_ you can handle it by yourself."
I sat in front of my desk and started working. He'd come around soon. He wouldn't be able to take the silence.
Minutes passed. Bakura walked to the window and pretended not to notice me. It seemed weird at fist that he wouldn't have left already, but perhaps his past self had begun to surface again. Now that'd be miracle. Or perhaps not so - who knew what their human halves could do to them?
I was suddenly glad I wasn't involved in this.
I was glad my pharaoh hadn't thrown me one of the Millennium Items.
Even though it had been the thing I had most craved for for so many years...
Yet more time ticked by. He still hadn't said a word. It worked for me, I had things to do. Running a corporation of this size wasn't exactly easy, even for me. It wasn't overwhelming, of course not, but it required a lot of attention.
"I met Yami and Ishtar"
Turning to look at him, I crossed my arms and waited for more. It seemed that I had to babysit after all.
"We had a small fight"
Yes. Last night. There had been a sudden surge in the shadow powers... Not noticeable if I hadn't been looking for it, but it was there.
I waited for more.
"The past came up..."
Ouch. That must've been bad. None of us liked to remember, no matter what appearances we put up to the world. The pharaoh was an exception, of course. Perhaps he liked to torture himself.
"When... when they mentioned some things I completely lost my patience and left"
"And your human?"
"He's with them. I wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave him alone at a time like this."
He laughed bitterly.
"After all, if I am to stay even remotely sane, I need him to stay alive..."
Confusion welled up within me. What...?
"There was a twist in this whole prophecy thing. I think... I think we need all the help we can get to survive this. But then again, Ishtar's convinced we won't."
So... He had come here to beg for help after all. How fitting.
"Don't look at me, you'll have to survive this by yourselves. I have enough problems of my own, thank you very much."
He turned disbelieving eyes to me.
"...what?"
"No matter how much I love to see you asking for help, I have no intention of getting involved. Now, if that was all, you can leave my office."
He looked at me for a while. I looked back. At last he walked away.
I was surprised he hadn't protested more.
But I really had enough problems of my own.
Like the one golden-haired human.
I sighed.
Why did this have to be so difficult?
---Shadi POV---
Yes... Yes, interesting indeed. Last night not long after I had been so near to one of my preys, I had felt an unmistakable surge in power. In the power that could easily wipe out the entire planet, if used in a right way.
They were getting nervous. They knew I was here, just biding my time. Waiting for them to make a mistake. Waiting to kill them, and make things the way they were supposed to be.
I wouldn't do that yet.
I had sensed yet another definite disturbance in the power.
Another.
Another one of those that were mine was near.
Yes, the power to see the future and the past would be very welcome indeed...
I walked on, heading for the source of that power.
---Yami POV---
I looked tiredly as Yugi and Ryou played some game on the floor. Perhaps I should try that one some day. It looked like they were having fun.
Marik sat on a chair to the right of me, reading a magazine. Frankly, I wasn't really interested in what he did as long as he kept his hands off of my Yugi. And Ryou, of course. I wouldn't want the Tomb Robber to try to kill him when he returned. It would only bring disagreement in our little group, and I was sure that Ishtar wouldn't take well to his human being attacked.
But did he have to be so...I didn't even know what I should call Marik. Daring, perhaps. He was very different from Yugi and Ryou. And yet, there was something so similar in all of them... Perhaps it was just my imagination.
Ishtar was standing in the doorframe, lost in his own thoughts. He hadn't spoken much during the time we had been here. Perhaps why Marik had tried touching _my_ Yugi.
I couldn't help it, I had to turn to glare at him again. He glanced up with an arrogant smirk on his face, then went back to his magazine. He was so... so...
Sighing, I turned back to watching how Yugi used clever tactics over and over again to get out of the tough situations Ryou was putting him in in the game.
He was pretty good.
I wasn't exactly sure which one that comment meant. They were both pretty good. But I was sure Yugi would win.
Ryou looked so much like Bakura I had to blink every now and then to confirm I wasn't seeing things. A gentler version of Bakura, certainly, but still Bakura. Perhaps what he had looked like back then, 3000 years ago.
Bakura... where was he...? He had been gone for so long already... Wasn't he going to join us anymore? When he had left, I had been so sure he'd be back soon. It wasn't in his nature to stay away from the heart of things.
Perhaps I was wrong...
That galled. I shouldn't be wrong. Never.
---Marik POV---
I pretended to read the stupid magazine. These people were pissing me off. Didn't they remember anymore what danger we were in? Didn't they remember that we needed to do something about it? So what if one brooding vampire wasn't here, it was no excuse in my mind to delay the inevitable.
The inevitable... the conclusion... the Soul Eater. The destiny. The fulfilling of the prophecy.
I lowered the magazine slowly and stared off to space. Could this _get_ any more serious? I felt so overwhelmed in all this. To think that we had been known so long ago, to think that our lives had been known so long ago. It was so amazing. Made me think what the world really was like. Were most of the people living in ignorance?
Hell yeah.
But it shouldn't be so. It should never be so.
People should know everything, that the world wasn't so safe after all.
---
AN: Ehh... Sorry, the Shadi, Yami, and Malik POVs are pretty short, I know. But you _did_ get a new chapter, so don't complain too much? *big chibi eyes* Please~? And review...? I'll try to be a good girl and write the next chapter soon, 'kay?