...here I am again. Chapter 25... So many to go yet... X.x
I got a Xanga weblog in case you're interested... Feel free to read it sometimes if you have extra time in your hands...
Writing this fic this far wouldn't have been possible without my reviewers. Thanks to SoulDreamer (thank you...), Renee the Rabid Squirrel (well, at least the wait wasn't so very long this time... ^^;;), SilverLily aka Blood Moon (...'one of the greatest stories on ff.net'? O.O), YumeTakato (this wasn't very soon.... *sigh* But Jou shows up in this chapter! ^__^), Betrayal (ideas seem to be really elusive nowadays... X.x), firedraygon97 (yeah, it seems that Seto is getting colder, if that's even possible...), Kerena Darklight (I know, the really short POVs were there just to show that I haven't forgotten those characters... ^^;;), Seventh Sage (oh yes, Isis will get in biiig trouble... *giggles* But it's fun to write!), Ly the Werewolf (a dash more S/J... I'm repeating myself, but I have some trouble writing that particular pairing for some reason. But in the end you'll get all the S/J you could hope for... ^.~), Isis (^^;;), Yamis Girlfriend (...one of the greatest stories you've ever read? O.O I seem to be getting this comment a lot these days...), Iyasu (^^;; This isn't so very soon, but at least it's not as late as the last chapter was...) and Nimn (chapter has been sent. ^^)
Slaying the Dreamer, chapter 25: Misunderstandings
---Jounouchi POV---
Well then. One more night ahead of me. I peeked past a corner. Good. No vampires in sight. I could continue.
This whole thing was affecting me more than I would have thought if someone had come to tell me a week ago that vampires existed, and one of them seemed to... like me. I shuddered. 'Like' was such a mild word for it. 'Obsession', more like.
I hadn't had a moment's piece since I had stumbled on Yugi and Yami... Now there was one more thing to be worried of. What was going on here? Yugi had acted so weird these last days... Not to mention Ryou... That possessive bastard that was behaving like he _owned_ him, and Ryou went with him _willingly_! I shook my head. I hadn't thought the guy would have done that.
But then again... I didn't know him all that well. I mean sure, he was there, he was a friend, sort of, but... I never bothered to get to know him better. Perhaps I should have. He could certainly use some help right now... Perhaps I should search him out right now. Yeah, might be a good idea. That Seto guy wouldn't come if I was with Ryou, would he? It's not like I had a problem with him, it was just that he was so confusing...
Yeah, moving on. I probably couldn't get to Ryou right now anyway, that possessive vampire that had dragged him around when I had last seen him outside of school would probably be with him. And they wouldn't want interruptions. I shuddered again. And neither would Yugi and Yami, if I got it right.
Yugi had seemed very tired at school this week. What was he...? No. _I_ was tired at school, too. That didn't mean anything.
But that didn't change the fact that the whole world had gone weird. And a lot more dangerous. What if there were more vampires around here? I had absolutely no way to defend myself against them.
Perhaps that Seto guy could ward them off... He _was_ a vampire, after all.
No!
Absolutely no! Not after what he did last night!
Screw it, no matter what Yugi was doing right now, I was going to him. I couldn't take this isolation.
Hints were plenty, but I had no actual knowledge of what was happening... Yugi wouldn't tell me at school, and neither would Ryou - not that I had tried that hard. One fact that I regretted. It was completely useless to try getting anything out of Seto, and the other vampires I hadn't met besides those few times. Not that I even wanted to, I wasn't sure what they could do if they weren't with their precious little lovers. I couldn't shrug off the feeling that something more was going on than merely several dangerous affairs with very dangerous vampires...
I headed off to Yugi's house.
---Yami POV---
The sound of the doorbell ringing was heard throughout the house. I was suddenly on my feet, concentrating my senses to find out if something dangerous was coming. Thankfully it wasn't the Soul Eater, I would have sensed him long before this - and I very much doubted he would have rang the doorbell... Ishtar had woken from his thoughts, and seemed to be as attentive as I was now.
Yugi and Ryou looked up from their game. Marik continued staring off into space. What was _his_ problem?
No matter. I had more pressing matters to take care of.
"Yugi, Ryou, stay here. I'll go open the door"
Wide violet eyes turned to look at me.
"Okay. You be careful."
I walked out of the room, trying to identify the aura waiting outside the house. I knew I had met it somewhere... But it wasn't Bakura, as I had first hoped. He wouldn't have rang the doorbell either, now that I had had time to think on it. Not to mention there was someone else, too, someone I didn't recognize.
Reaching the door, I stood quietly behind it.
"What's the matter, Yami? Why isn't anyone opening the door?"
I nearly jumped at the new voice coming from behind me. Oh no... I had completely forgotten about him.
"Just slow, Mutou-san."
I faked a smile to Yugi's grandfather and opened the door cautiously. And blinked.
How many persons could I forget existed?
Yugi's mother and his friend, the one called Jounouchi stood behind the door. I sensed trouble... We couldn't afford to include too many people in the prophecy, and if they were around us... well, the results might not be pleasant. The Soul Eater might not spare them if they came in his way.
Yugi's mother blinked.
"Oh, hello. Who are you?"
I cringed. Yeah, it might be a bit weird to have strangers open the door in your own house.
"I'm Yami. Yugi's friend"
Jounouchi raised an eyebrow at this. I ignored him, for now. Sugoroku Mutou took off the explanation from there.
"Yugi has a few friends staying over. They were here yesterday, too."
"Oh. Well, it's good that Yugi has friends!"
She smiled and came in. Jounouchi followed, casting sidelong glances at me.
"I met Jounouchi-kun on the way here. He was coming over, too. Isn't that wonderful? So many friends here tonight. But isn't it a bit late?"
She paused and blinked slowly. I quickly sent a little tendril of energy in her and Sugoroku Mutou's direction, erasing the doubts rising in their minds. We _could_ of course claim we were staying for the night, but then it would get us in trouble when the morning came. We had to leave before that.
"Well, I'll take Jounouchi to the others. It was nice to meet you, Mutou- san"
I grabbed Jounouchi's hand and dragged him in the direction of the living room. He was suspiciously looking from me to Yugi's mother to his grandfather and back to me. Great... Just what I needed. Another suspicious mortal.
But I suspected that Yugi wouldn't take it well if I played around with his friend's mind, he was having enough trouble with me manipulating his relatives. And not just me, Ishtar too. He _did_ have the advantage of the Rod... Sometimes that was really good to have around.
We stepped inside the living room, past Ishtar's emotionless eyes. I could feel Jounouchi draw away from him as we passed.
"Nothing dangerous, just him and -"
"Jounouchi-kun!"
I didn't have time to finish what I was saying as Yugi bounded to his feet.
---Ryou POV---
I looked interestedly as Yugi practically flew to his friend.
"Jounouchi-kun, what are _you_ doing here?"
"What, it's a crime nowadays to visit friends?"
I couldn't help but notice that Jounouchi didn't really sound like his own self. Was something wrong? ...yeah, probably was. None of us were spared some wrongness in our lives.
...where _was_ Bakura right now? Why didn't he come back? I tried not to sigh. Why didn't he come back to me? Did the past really affect him that much? It probably did, now that I thought of it. To have so many memories dragging you down... It must be horrible for them.
I watched as Jounouchi drew a little away from Yugi, a slight frown on his face now.
"Yugi. I know you haven't been so willing to tell me what's going on lately... But I really need to know. I can't take this anymore... I can see things happening, I know that some of them aren't normal... And that my best friend isn't willing to share what he knows isn't making things any better!"
He was really distressed, I could feel it. Even from this distance I felt like his emotions were drowning me with their intensity... Sometimes I cursed this ability. It didn't work when I wanted it to, it didn't cease working when I wanted it to... I had absolutely no control over it.
The small wounds on my neck itched. Were they supposed to do that? Perhaps I should ask someone. But, glancing at Ishtar, who stared at Yugi and Jounouchi impassively, and letting my gaze slide past Yami, who seemed frustrated for some reason, I decided asking either of them wasn't something I wanted to do...
I sighed and tried to follow the conversation. It was the only interesting thing happening right now.
...where was Bakura? I needed him here!
---Shadi POV---
Ah, yes... She was right there, behind this door... The poor thing didn't know that I was here, she couldn't have heard, seen, or otherwise sensed me. I _did_ have certain advantages over common people...
The door opened silently before me. I could see a black-haired woman raise her head from her papers, startled. Maybe she had reason to be. I could sense fear rising in her as she saw me standing in the doorway.
What did she think I was?
She didn't need to be afraid of me. I was the protector... I wouldn't harm her. Too much.
As was the case with the man who had the Eye, she hadn't stolen the Item she carried. I doubted she even knew it had powers. People these days were so ignorant... But perhaps it was for the best. They didn't need to walk in constant fear of the creatures of the night anymore. My kind had done well in exterminating them, besides. I had hardly sensed any unholy creatures beside my prey...
"Do not be afraid, dear. Do as I wish and you will not be harmed"
This didn't seem to calm her down at all; it made her more afraid if anything. What was wrong with people nowadays?
I kept my eyes at her, but probed around the room with little tendrils of energy. She was obviously not going to help me in what I needed to get, so I would need to find it myself.
It took me a while to realize I couldn't sense it anywhere anymore. My attention immediately turned back to her, my understanding of the situation I put her in decreased.
"What have you done with it?"
"Done with what?"
Her calm answer ascertained the fact that she did indeed know how to use the Tauk, and had done something so I couldn't get to it. There simply was no other explanation to this.
"Do not pretend to be innocent, woman! I know you've done something to hide that which is mine. Give it to me now, and I may leave you alive"
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
I could sense a small hesitation in her. That did it. This was a deliberate try to keep me from my goal.
---
AN: Sorry for the shortness, I wanted to get this posted... It's already over a week late... ^^;; At least it's longer than the last chapter... No promises of the next update, but I'm working on it. Please review?
I got a Xanga weblog in case you're interested... Feel free to read it sometimes if you have extra time in your hands...
Writing this fic this far wouldn't have been possible without my reviewers. Thanks to SoulDreamer (thank you...), Renee the Rabid Squirrel (well, at least the wait wasn't so very long this time... ^^;;), SilverLily aka Blood Moon (...'one of the greatest stories on ff.net'? O.O), YumeTakato (this wasn't very soon.... *sigh* But Jou shows up in this chapter! ^__^), Betrayal (ideas seem to be really elusive nowadays... X.x), firedraygon97 (yeah, it seems that Seto is getting colder, if that's even possible...), Kerena Darklight (I know, the really short POVs were there just to show that I haven't forgotten those characters... ^^;;), Seventh Sage (oh yes, Isis will get in biiig trouble... *giggles* But it's fun to write!), Ly the Werewolf (a dash more S/J... I'm repeating myself, but I have some trouble writing that particular pairing for some reason. But in the end you'll get all the S/J you could hope for... ^.~), Isis (^^;;), Yamis Girlfriend (...one of the greatest stories you've ever read? O.O I seem to be getting this comment a lot these days...), Iyasu (^^;; This isn't so very soon, but at least it's not as late as the last chapter was...) and Nimn (chapter has been sent. ^^)
Slaying the Dreamer, chapter 25: Misunderstandings
---Jounouchi POV---
Well then. One more night ahead of me. I peeked past a corner. Good. No vampires in sight. I could continue.
This whole thing was affecting me more than I would have thought if someone had come to tell me a week ago that vampires existed, and one of them seemed to... like me. I shuddered. 'Like' was such a mild word for it. 'Obsession', more like.
I hadn't had a moment's piece since I had stumbled on Yugi and Yami... Now there was one more thing to be worried of. What was going on here? Yugi had acted so weird these last days... Not to mention Ryou... That possessive bastard that was behaving like he _owned_ him, and Ryou went with him _willingly_! I shook my head. I hadn't thought the guy would have done that.
But then again... I didn't know him all that well. I mean sure, he was there, he was a friend, sort of, but... I never bothered to get to know him better. Perhaps I should have. He could certainly use some help right now... Perhaps I should search him out right now. Yeah, might be a good idea. That Seto guy wouldn't come if I was with Ryou, would he? It's not like I had a problem with him, it was just that he was so confusing...
Yeah, moving on. I probably couldn't get to Ryou right now anyway, that possessive vampire that had dragged him around when I had last seen him outside of school would probably be with him. And they wouldn't want interruptions. I shuddered again. And neither would Yugi and Yami, if I got it right.
Yugi had seemed very tired at school this week. What was he...? No. _I_ was tired at school, too. That didn't mean anything.
But that didn't change the fact that the whole world had gone weird. And a lot more dangerous. What if there were more vampires around here? I had absolutely no way to defend myself against them.
Perhaps that Seto guy could ward them off... He _was_ a vampire, after all.
No!
Absolutely no! Not after what he did last night!
Screw it, no matter what Yugi was doing right now, I was going to him. I couldn't take this isolation.
Hints were plenty, but I had no actual knowledge of what was happening... Yugi wouldn't tell me at school, and neither would Ryou - not that I had tried that hard. One fact that I regretted. It was completely useless to try getting anything out of Seto, and the other vampires I hadn't met besides those few times. Not that I even wanted to, I wasn't sure what they could do if they weren't with their precious little lovers. I couldn't shrug off the feeling that something more was going on than merely several dangerous affairs with very dangerous vampires...
I headed off to Yugi's house.
---Yami POV---
The sound of the doorbell ringing was heard throughout the house. I was suddenly on my feet, concentrating my senses to find out if something dangerous was coming. Thankfully it wasn't the Soul Eater, I would have sensed him long before this - and I very much doubted he would have rang the doorbell... Ishtar had woken from his thoughts, and seemed to be as attentive as I was now.
Yugi and Ryou looked up from their game. Marik continued staring off into space. What was _his_ problem?
No matter. I had more pressing matters to take care of.
"Yugi, Ryou, stay here. I'll go open the door"
Wide violet eyes turned to look at me.
"Okay. You be careful."
I walked out of the room, trying to identify the aura waiting outside the house. I knew I had met it somewhere... But it wasn't Bakura, as I had first hoped. He wouldn't have rang the doorbell either, now that I had had time to think on it. Not to mention there was someone else, too, someone I didn't recognize.
Reaching the door, I stood quietly behind it.
"What's the matter, Yami? Why isn't anyone opening the door?"
I nearly jumped at the new voice coming from behind me. Oh no... I had completely forgotten about him.
"Just slow, Mutou-san."
I faked a smile to Yugi's grandfather and opened the door cautiously. And blinked.
How many persons could I forget existed?
Yugi's mother and his friend, the one called Jounouchi stood behind the door. I sensed trouble... We couldn't afford to include too many people in the prophecy, and if they were around us... well, the results might not be pleasant. The Soul Eater might not spare them if they came in his way.
Yugi's mother blinked.
"Oh, hello. Who are you?"
I cringed. Yeah, it might be a bit weird to have strangers open the door in your own house.
"I'm Yami. Yugi's friend"
Jounouchi raised an eyebrow at this. I ignored him, for now. Sugoroku Mutou took off the explanation from there.
"Yugi has a few friends staying over. They were here yesterday, too."
"Oh. Well, it's good that Yugi has friends!"
She smiled and came in. Jounouchi followed, casting sidelong glances at me.
"I met Jounouchi-kun on the way here. He was coming over, too. Isn't that wonderful? So many friends here tonight. But isn't it a bit late?"
She paused and blinked slowly. I quickly sent a little tendril of energy in her and Sugoroku Mutou's direction, erasing the doubts rising in their minds. We _could_ of course claim we were staying for the night, but then it would get us in trouble when the morning came. We had to leave before that.
"Well, I'll take Jounouchi to the others. It was nice to meet you, Mutou- san"
I grabbed Jounouchi's hand and dragged him in the direction of the living room. He was suspiciously looking from me to Yugi's mother to his grandfather and back to me. Great... Just what I needed. Another suspicious mortal.
But I suspected that Yugi wouldn't take it well if I played around with his friend's mind, he was having enough trouble with me manipulating his relatives. And not just me, Ishtar too. He _did_ have the advantage of the Rod... Sometimes that was really good to have around.
We stepped inside the living room, past Ishtar's emotionless eyes. I could feel Jounouchi draw away from him as we passed.
"Nothing dangerous, just him and -"
"Jounouchi-kun!"
I didn't have time to finish what I was saying as Yugi bounded to his feet.
---Ryou POV---
I looked interestedly as Yugi practically flew to his friend.
"Jounouchi-kun, what are _you_ doing here?"
"What, it's a crime nowadays to visit friends?"
I couldn't help but notice that Jounouchi didn't really sound like his own self. Was something wrong? ...yeah, probably was. None of us were spared some wrongness in our lives.
...where _was_ Bakura right now? Why didn't he come back? I tried not to sigh. Why didn't he come back to me? Did the past really affect him that much? It probably did, now that I thought of it. To have so many memories dragging you down... It must be horrible for them.
I watched as Jounouchi drew a little away from Yugi, a slight frown on his face now.
"Yugi. I know you haven't been so willing to tell me what's going on lately... But I really need to know. I can't take this anymore... I can see things happening, I know that some of them aren't normal... And that my best friend isn't willing to share what he knows isn't making things any better!"
He was really distressed, I could feel it. Even from this distance I felt like his emotions were drowning me with their intensity... Sometimes I cursed this ability. It didn't work when I wanted it to, it didn't cease working when I wanted it to... I had absolutely no control over it.
The small wounds on my neck itched. Were they supposed to do that? Perhaps I should ask someone. But, glancing at Ishtar, who stared at Yugi and Jounouchi impassively, and letting my gaze slide past Yami, who seemed frustrated for some reason, I decided asking either of them wasn't something I wanted to do...
I sighed and tried to follow the conversation. It was the only interesting thing happening right now.
...where was Bakura? I needed him here!
---Shadi POV---
Ah, yes... She was right there, behind this door... The poor thing didn't know that I was here, she couldn't have heard, seen, or otherwise sensed me. I _did_ have certain advantages over common people...
The door opened silently before me. I could see a black-haired woman raise her head from her papers, startled. Maybe she had reason to be. I could sense fear rising in her as she saw me standing in the doorway.
What did she think I was?
She didn't need to be afraid of me. I was the protector... I wouldn't harm her. Too much.
As was the case with the man who had the Eye, she hadn't stolen the Item she carried. I doubted she even knew it had powers. People these days were so ignorant... But perhaps it was for the best. They didn't need to walk in constant fear of the creatures of the night anymore. My kind had done well in exterminating them, besides. I had hardly sensed any unholy creatures beside my prey...
"Do not be afraid, dear. Do as I wish and you will not be harmed"
This didn't seem to calm her down at all; it made her more afraid if anything. What was wrong with people nowadays?
I kept my eyes at her, but probed around the room with little tendrils of energy. She was obviously not going to help me in what I needed to get, so I would need to find it myself.
It took me a while to realize I couldn't sense it anywhere anymore. My attention immediately turned back to her, my understanding of the situation I put her in decreased.
"What have you done with it?"
"Done with what?"
Her calm answer ascertained the fact that she did indeed know how to use the Tauk, and had done something so I couldn't get to it. There simply was no other explanation to this.
"Do not pretend to be innocent, woman! I know you've done something to hide that which is mine. Give it to me now, and I may leave you alive"
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
I could sense a small hesitation in her. That did it. This was a deliberate try to keep me from my goal.
---
AN: Sorry for the shortness, I wanted to get this posted... It's already over a week late... ^^;; At least it's longer than the last chapter... No promises of the next update, but I'm working on it. Please review?