Title: Silver and Cold
Chapter: 6/?
Chapter Title: Getting Booky
Current Rating: R (Methinks)
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF
Chapter Summary: Jouno gets another letter, then goes back home to get some manga. He's accosted by his father and uncles, then tells Mokuba a bedtime story. I took some liberties with the "mythology", and none of it's really true.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these wonderful characters... but I really really love them...
Author's notes: For a bit in this chapter I refer to Jounouchi as Katsuya, as there is a prolonged scene with some of his family. (Crossover characters for father and uncles...)
Warnings: For this chapter? Gory letter. Crossing-over and reincarnation. ^^^^ The reincarnated will be a bit different than what you know them as (for one thing, they're older), because they've lived different lives.
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Fushigi Yuugi (reincarnate), and (unknown)
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.
~*~*~*~*~*~
~Darkness pulls me away
I'm falling into nowhere
I can't see anything
I want it
I want it over now
Echoes lurking again
I'm falling into darkness
I can't feel anything
I guess it
I guess it's over now~
~~Falling Into Darkness
'My Katsuya
'Thy tormenter is soon to reach his end. Every drop of blood thou hast shed into his mouth shall be paid for tenfold in his. As my gift to thee, brought to thee for thine own pleasure. The mere thought alone is enough to make me tingle with desire, to see deep red blood darkening those sweet lips. Dripping down thy chin, down thy neck, to the deep gouges, still fresh in the soft flesh of thy throat. How canst one resist?
'The wolf's bones shall be torn from his body, silver imbedded into his flesh. Banshee shrieks of anguish from his throat. Thou wouldst not wish to hear such agony, wouldst thee? Once I've turned thee, thou wouldst likely enjoy it. Possibly even rip his bones out thineself, with those lovely scarred hands. Once thou wert reminded of his trespasses against thee, thou wouldst take to his throat so quickly.
'It would have been a beautiful thing to have witnessed, when young master Kaiba had thee. Unfortunately, I missed this, but the mark on thy neck is all the proof I need, to attest to it. Even if that weren't enough, thine aura reeks of his. Could it be that I had given him too much power? I do believe that the Childe has become a rival of his Master.
'Let us play a riddle game. What did young master Kaiba do wrong, in his attempted disposal of me?'
"Well," said Jouno, leaning back. "That one's easy. He didn't scatter the ashes. That's the only true way to completely be rid of a vampire. Burn them to ashes, then scatter the remains." He propped his feet up on the desk. He was more than mildly disturbed by it all. But he had four more days until Kaiba came back.
In his not-so-humble-opinion, this dude was completely cracked. Sure, the werewolf had bitten him, but the wolf was mad, what could one expect? He glanced out the window, sighing. "You need a therapist, man. Almost as creepy as that one guy, in that manga I was reading last year." He grinned suddenly. "I wonder if I still have that? I think I'll go home, and see if I do... If not, I can just pick up some other manga... or maybe some regular books..."
Thus said, he hopped expertly out the window, dropping the three stories and landing with ease. He grinned, saluting the trees, completely aware that he was still being watched. He danced about for a moment, before breaking into a jog. He'd be out and back, so quickly that Mokuba wouldn't even know that he had gone.
~*~
It was down near the arcade, nearly a block from his own residence that he ran into her. Her shocked exclamation, then her enthusiastic hug startled the hell out of him. "Mai! Mai! Put me down Mai!"
The woman dropped him. "Sanosuke told me all about it! He said Ashitare had gotten to you..." She moved around to face him. "I'm surprised you survived that. He was one of the strongest of Sagara's pack."
Jounouchi pulled back, surprised. "You... How are you connected to that?"
"I'm Head Bitch," she stated proudly.
He blinked. Trust Mai to proudly call herself a bitch. "I knew you were a bitch, but... What?"
"Head Bitch. Of Sagara's pack." She glowered at him impatiently. "You are so dense."
"Well, I gotta go," he said, cheerfully, "Pickin' up some crap from my place."
"Jouno... Wait!"
Too late. He was already running down the block, to his dad's place. His home was a place to avoid, usually, but he really wanted that manga... Hopefully, his father was over at his brother's or his partner's place. Or the bar. Just as long as he wasn't home...
~*~
Jouno pushed the door open, hearing a soft thump as something fell against the wall. Huh? Musta left something on the table behind the door. He took a couple of steps into the hall, frowning as he tripped over something. He fumbled for the light switch.
Once he could see, he groaned. Oh no. His dad was on a rip.
~*~
Books littered the floor, and every other available surface of the Jounouchi household. Jounouchi elder, also known as Jounouchi Tasuki (1), ran across his apartment with one, hoping against hope that it was the one he needed. "How about this one, Oniisan?"
His older brother leaned over. "I think this one's the one we were looking for."
"Chiriko... (2)" Tasuki groaned. "All that trouble, and you say no?"
A laugh from the other occupant of the room. "I think that we should keep it out, just in case Chiriko's wrong... like that'll ever happen."
Jounouchi Chiriko chuckled, "Kouji (3), stop teasing him. We may need that book." He flipped through the pages of the book in his hands. "Breaking curses: Spring of a drowned yeti riding a yak holding a fish in one hand and a crane in the other... How do you drown a fish? Nevermind." He shook his head, deciding not to encourage Chang Kouji's regular fish rant. "Breaking curses: Exorcism of a demon tree... Okay then... Breaking curses: Fairy dust. You know, I don't think this is the one we need..." He threw the book in the general direction of the door.
A pained yelp startled all of them, and before the figure in the doorway had any say in the matter, three paper wards were stuck onto his face... with glue. Kouji pulled back. "Katsuya-chan! What are you doing home so late?"
"I came back for some manga," the blonde boy grumbled, pealing the paper from his face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We live here," Kouji answered.
Katsuya frowned. "Uncle Kouji, you, by all means, have your own place. I repeat, what are -you- doing here?"
"My rent went out six months ago," the black haired man admitted. "I'm like, seriously in debt, here. They kicked me out a few weeks ago."
Chiriko nodded. "He stayed with me, until I too, was unceremoniously dumped back into the streets."
Katsuya groaned. "Why does Dad have to be the responsible one?"
Tasuki scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, why do I have to be the responsible one? I'm the one with the temper!"
Total silence.
Katsuya shook his head. "Nevermind. I'm jes' sayin' that, of the lot of you, he should be the least responsible... And the only thing he -can- keep his mind on is his job! That's why Mom left. And something about 'not touching her the way you used to'..."
His father and uncles gave him the most horrified looks he had seen in weeks. His day was complete. Tasuki's mouth worked silently, finally he managed, "How'd you know about that?"
"Paper thin walls." He kicked over a stack of books. "What are ya lookin' for this time?"
"Werewolf cures for my little Katsuya!" chirped his father. Chiriko and Kouji nodded in agreement.
"Didn't we go over this last time?"
Tasuki and Kouji stared at each other momentarily, "Where'd you put it!?" they each asked, simultaneously.
"Besides, I got worse problems now."
"Huh?" asked Tasuki. "What's that?"
Katsuya sighed, "In the letter, he didn't say that I couldn't tell you guys... just not Mokuba... so, here it goes. I think I'm being stalked by an evil perv vampire. And I think I may be taking too much after you."
"Wha? What's that supposed ta mean?" Tasuki grumbled.
"Things... Well, I kinda went pop on that wolf."
"Eh? You punched it?"
"No... more like, boom boom, where's Smokey?"
Tasuki grinned. "I knew you weren't a null! But what about this stalker vampire?" he asked, casually popping his knuckles. Behind him, Kouji and (surprisingly) Chiriko were doing the same.
Katsuya turned around, fishing the envelopes from his pocket. "Not the letters," he mumbled, "not the sketches... I'll just give them the photos..." He stiffened as he felt a malignant presence behind him, and hollered as two sets of hands dove for the papers, the third set holding his arms to his side. "Let go!! I don't want you guys to see that!" He kicked at them, trying to get loose, yet somehow, they flipped him onto his stomach, with his father sitting on his back, and Chiriko and Kouji crouched at his sides.
Five long minutes of utter silence before the silence was broken by an eloquent curse. Tasuki's hands gripped the papers tightly, a bluish flare of fire appearing around the edges of his hands. Teeth clenched as the redheaded man growled.
Chiriko stood silently, as Kouji muttered, "I think we should be looking to different books."
Tasuki waved his hands out, the flame disappearing with only moderate damage to the edges of the papers. "This... is war!" he declared, getting off of his son's back.
Jounouchi Katsuya groaned. Why did he have to have an obsessive father? "I don't think you should do that." He sat up, rubbing his back awkwardly. "This is fer me and Kaiba to deal with."
His uncle Chiriko spoke, "I think we have a book on the undead under the kitchen table."
Kouji shook his head. "This is a job for the coffee table."
Katsuya whined, "It's not that bad! Leave Book-sama out of this!"
Tasuki shook his head. "Oji-sama is the only accurate resource we have."
The teenager sighed. "Fine... but I don't have anything to do with this, got it? I'm just gonna go get my manga, and go back to Kaiba's..." With that he stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Kouji scratched the back of his head. "So, do you think this vampire perv is right in his insinuations about Katsuya-chan and this Kaiba?"
Gold eyes narrowed on him, and Tasuki hissed. "He had better not."
Chiriko sighed. "Katsuya is not a little boy anymore, Tasuki-chan."
"I've barely met this Kaiba. And from what I've seen on the box, he's an asshole," Tasuki grumbled.
Kouji nodded. "Does it really matter? If Kat-chan likes him, there's little you can do."
Chiriko lifted his head to glance at his younger brother. "How do you know what's on the box anyway?"
Tasuki scratched his head. "Huh?"
"You don't have one."
He blinked. "At work, Oniisan. At work."
"Oh."
Katsuya's door slammed open and shut again. "I'm going! See ya!"
Tasuki shot across the room, coming to a stop between Katsuya and the door. "Book-sama first."
"But!"
"Now. Or else you ain't leavin' this apartment."
"But!"
Kouji and Chiriko grabbed him, and dragged him over to the coffee table. They pulled off the table cover to reveal a huge tome. Opening it, Kouji chanted cheerfully, mockingly, as he took a seat next to it. "Book-sama, Book-sama, show us your wisdom!"
Tasuki smacked him on the back of the head, as he too took a seat beside the book. Chiriko shook his head, sitting Katsuya down between him and Tasuki. "Now, all we gotta do is figure out what we need to know..."
~*~
Jounouchi Katsuya grumbled, staring at the paper in his hands. His father was an idiot. So were Uncle Chiriko and Uncle Kouji. What the hell could a paper ward do for him? Of course, Book-sama agreed, and Book-sama was always right. It was kind of annoying, having a book, no matter how big the book was, interfering with his life.
He wondered what Kaiba would think, if he were to say that he knew of three people in Domino that were more superstitious than him.
It took him about twenty minutes to get back to the mansion, and by then, he was more than ready to just go to bed, so he was as silent as possible, heading back to the room he had been given. It was with a dignified yawn, that he opened the door to his room, thinking to just strip down and get in bed, before he collapsed.
Imagine his surprise, when he found Mokuba, sitting on his bed, glaring bloody murder at him from it. "Uhm..."
"Where were you?" snapped the shorter teen. "I came in here to ask you something, and you were gone! Considering all the trouble you've been getting into lately, for all I knew, you could have been killed! All dead and bloody on the sidewalks!!"
Jounouchi blinked. "I went home to get some of my manga..." He frowned momentarily. "Come to think of it, I would have been better off just grabbing Book-sama," he muttered.
"Book-sama?"
"Huge ass book that Dad uses as a table. It's been there since I was little." He shrugged, "When I left, they were looking up some weird ass incantations or something..."
Mokuba frowned, curious in spite of himself. "What would be written in a book big enough to use as a table?"
Jouno grinned. "All sorts of things. Most of the weird knowledge that I spout off came from it." He attempted to shoo the brunette from his bed. "I'm tired; can you get up, so I can go to bed?"
Mokuba scowled. "Not until you explain why you were gone so long."
He sweatdropped, "Uhm... Dad wouldn't let me leave right away." He sighed. "And my uncles Kouji and Chiriko were there... and they just complicated things... and I ran into Mai on the way there... and... one thing on top of another. I didn't mean to be gone that long, really..."
"Oh." Mokuba's eyes rounded slightly. "Can I sleep with you?"
"Uhm..." Jounouchi blinked again. "Why?"
"Well..." he looked down at his pajama clad knees, "after all that's happened this past month or two, I don't feel comfortable alone... Niisama always let me..." He hugged his knees, certain Jouno would say no.
"Eh... uhm... well, if you really gotta. I used ta let Shizuka sleep with me when she was scared, just... Do you kick?"
Mokuba's eyes widened in a slightly different fashion this time. "You mean I can!? I mean, no, I don't kick. I'm a quiet sleeper!" He nodded emphatically.
"I toss a bit, so if yer sleepin' with me, yer gonna have to deal with that," said Jounouchi, yawning again, stripping off his shirt before going to the dresser to liberate his pajama bottoms. He was out and back in the room in under a minute, dressed in said pj bottoms.
Without another word, he flopped down on the bed next to Mokuba, who stared at him for a moment before asking, "Did you ever tell her stories before going to sleep?"
"Mmmhmm," he mumbled agreeably into his pillow. "Helps you sleep better."
"Would you tell me one?"
"Mmmhmm," he agreed, tossing over to lay on his back. "A long time ago, a boy by the name of Valnir traveled in the far north, in search of his family. He had nothing to go on, didn't know anything about them, not even their names. In spite of this, he was certain that one day he would find them. Traveling far and wide, he encountered great horrors, and great sorrows, but he never stopped, his determination was firm.
"One day, after weeks of hard traveling through the icy northern mountains, he reached an abandoned town. He looked and looked, but no matter how hard, he couldn't find any sign that anybody had been there in years. Valnir had been terribly confused. Everything looked exactly as it should... except there was no one there, and everything was covered in layers of dust. No human life, no animal life, not even bugs.
"Whatever was it that had driven the people who had lived here away, he wondered. It didn't really matter too much, though, and he had free lodgings for the night. He wasn't a terribly suspicious person, or else he wouldn't have trusted his luck so easily.
"He found the town well, and drew water from it. He drank 'til he had his fill, and then had his dinner, which, luckily, he had brought with him. He stayed there a night, and left the next day, to go on searching for his parents.
"Little did he know, the well he had drunk from the previous night had a powerful magic. The Well of Mimir requires a price of those who drink it's waters, and the price requested of Valnir was two things, in return for vast knowledge. His ability to tell anything other than the truth was taken, and when asked a question, he couldn't answer without asking for something in return. Sometimes, he couldn't even control what it was he asked for.
"Eventually, he became known as an oracle, and had many people coming to him, asking questions, until one day, a question was asked, and the asker refused to pay the price asked. The one who had asked was a powerful witch, and upon Valnir's refusal to answer, she grew angry and cursed him.
"He was turned into a gigantic, ornate tome, with covers of Yulewood. Ever since, people have searched for this enchanted book that even still retains the ability to answer any question presented to it, for a price." Jounouchi grinned, "I read that a long time ago."
He turned back over, and was surprised to find Mokuba fast asleep. He smiled, and yawned again. Mokuba was such a cute kid. His eyes slipped closed on that thought. "G'night..."
~*~*~*~*~*~
(1) Yes, Tasuki. From Fushigi Yuugi. Yes, he's Jounouchi elder. For the AU purposes of this fic. =^.^=
(2) Chiriko. He and Tasuki kinda acted brotherly... only thing here, is that they actually are brothers... and Chiriko's older.
(3) Kouji. The semi-adopted brother/best friend/work partner of Tasuki. What are their jobs? Not telling yet.
~*~
Wow!! Here's all of my back reviews!!
Yami Jazz: You wreally like so much. Sankyuu! ^^
Shade25: I'll try to update regularly... And he was watching it in the manga, so why not read it?
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: Yo. I'd have to agree on all...
meloncrisp: Thank you!
Jenniyah: I didn't say why, but they don't know either, so, yer even with the characters... ^.^
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: I'm actually really happy with all these reviews. ^.^ I suppose I'm fairly easy to please. I'm so glad I can see you all!
Tristis Aquilis: I liked the references too, but you really should blame Danyella Skyler Silverfire for about half of them.
BarbedWire23: Seto is a sexy vampire... I like sexy vampire Seto. Heehee.
Esoterical_Angel: Such devotion. Waiting through computer problems for two days... v.v Thank you.
dtamerx: Thank you.
Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: Thank you. I hope you can see your reviews now too. ^^ Here's more.
ruby_lake24: He might! Might have had something to do with the wolf... Or sommat? It suits him so well though...
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: lol Well, here you go! *grin grin* Heh heh. Just wait 'til you find out who the stalker man is... Hee hee...
Ebony Opium: Sano is awesome. =^.^= Jounouchi makes an awesome werewolf, ne?
Butterfly Raven: I love AFI, but I am recently come to actually watching MTV, and the other music channels. And Silver and Cold is the only one I actually got to hear very many times. (The song's beautiful, and that man has a lovely voice.) I used to avoid MTV like the plague. ^^ My brother was always watching rap on it. In the Japanese version of Yugioh, Kaiba is actually a lot more pleasant. He's nowhere near as rude, and all that. (He hardly throws any insults, he's just polite, in a semi-cold fashion.) I admit that I probably did a horrible job with the lyrics... ;.; I had to find them on a lyric search, because his and my accents are so different that I had a hard time understanding what he was saying, even while I loved the song. *bows and scrapes* I may go back some time and fix them up, but for now...! Updating is a bit more important. ^^
Chapter: 6/?
Chapter Title: Getting Booky
Current Rating: R (Methinks)
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF
Chapter Summary: Jouno gets another letter, then goes back home to get some manga. He's accosted by his father and uncles, then tells Mokuba a bedtime story. I took some liberties with the "mythology", and none of it's really true.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these wonderful characters... but I really really love them...
Author's notes: For a bit in this chapter I refer to Jounouchi as Katsuya, as there is a prolonged scene with some of his family. (Crossover characters for father and uncles...)
Warnings: For this chapter? Gory letter. Crossing-over and reincarnation. ^^^^ The reincarnated will be a bit different than what you know them as (for one thing, they're older), because they've lived different lives.
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Fushigi Yuugi (reincarnate), and (unknown)
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.
~*~*~*~*~*~
~Darkness pulls me away
I'm falling into nowhere
I can't see anything
I want it
I want it over now
Echoes lurking again
I'm falling into darkness
I can't feel anything
I guess it
I guess it's over now~
~~Falling Into Darkness
'My Katsuya
'Thy tormenter is soon to reach his end. Every drop of blood thou hast shed into his mouth shall be paid for tenfold in his. As my gift to thee, brought to thee for thine own pleasure. The mere thought alone is enough to make me tingle with desire, to see deep red blood darkening those sweet lips. Dripping down thy chin, down thy neck, to the deep gouges, still fresh in the soft flesh of thy throat. How canst one resist?
'The wolf's bones shall be torn from his body, silver imbedded into his flesh. Banshee shrieks of anguish from his throat. Thou wouldst not wish to hear such agony, wouldst thee? Once I've turned thee, thou wouldst likely enjoy it. Possibly even rip his bones out thineself, with those lovely scarred hands. Once thou wert reminded of his trespasses against thee, thou wouldst take to his throat so quickly.
'It would have been a beautiful thing to have witnessed, when young master Kaiba had thee. Unfortunately, I missed this, but the mark on thy neck is all the proof I need, to attest to it. Even if that weren't enough, thine aura reeks of his. Could it be that I had given him too much power? I do believe that the Childe has become a rival of his Master.
'Let us play a riddle game. What did young master Kaiba do wrong, in his attempted disposal of me?'
"Well," said Jouno, leaning back. "That one's easy. He didn't scatter the ashes. That's the only true way to completely be rid of a vampire. Burn them to ashes, then scatter the remains." He propped his feet up on the desk. He was more than mildly disturbed by it all. But he had four more days until Kaiba came back.
In his not-so-humble-opinion, this dude was completely cracked. Sure, the werewolf had bitten him, but the wolf was mad, what could one expect? He glanced out the window, sighing. "You need a therapist, man. Almost as creepy as that one guy, in that manga I was reading last year." He grinned suddenly. "I wonder if I still have that? I think I'll go home, and see if I do... If not, I can just pick up some other manga... or maybe some regular books..."
Thus said, he hopped expertly out the window, dropping the three stories and landing with ease. He grinned, saluting the trees, completely aware that he was still being watched. He danced about for a moment, before breaking into a jog. He'd be out and back, so quickly that Mokuba wouldn't even know that he had gone.
~*~
It was down near the arcade, nearly a block from his own residence that he ran into her. Her shocked exclamation, then her enthusiastic hug startled the hell out of him. "Mai! Mai! Put me down Mai!"
The woman dropped him. "Sanosuke told me all about it! He said Ashitare had gotten to you..." She moved around to face him. "I'm surprised you survived that. He was one of the strongest of Sagara's pack."
Jounouchi pulled back, surprised. "You... How are you connected to that?"
"I'm Head Bitch," she stated proudly.
He blinked. Trust Mai to proudly call herself a bitch. "I knew you were a bitch, but... What?"
"Head Bitch. Of Sagara's pack." She glowered at him impatiently. "You are so dense."
"Well, I gotta go," he said, cheerfully, "Pickin' up some crap from my place."
"Jouno... Wait!"
Too late. He was already running down the block, to his dad's place. His home was a place to avoid, usually, but he really wanted that manga... Hopefully, his father was over at his brother's or his partner's place. Or the bar. Just as long as he wasn't home...
~*~
Jouno pushed the door open, hearing a soft thump as something fell against the wall. Huh? Musta left something on the table behind the door. He took a couple of steps into the hall, frowning as he tripped over something. He fumbled for the light switch.
Once he could see, he groaned. Oh no. His dad was on a rip.
~*~
Books littered the floor, and every other available surface of the Jounouchi household. Jounouchi elder, also known as Jounouchi Tasuki (1), ran across his apartment with one, hoping against hope that it was the one he needed. "How about this one, Oniisan?"
His older brother leaned over. "I think this one's the one we were looking for."
"Chiriko... (2)" Tasuki groaned. "All that trouble, and you say no?"
A laugh from the other occupant of the room. "I think that we should keep it out, just in case Chiriko's wrong... like that'll ever happen."
Jounouchi Chiriko chuckled, "Kouji (3), stop teasing him. We may need that book." He flipped through the pages of the book in his hands. "Breaking curses: Spring of a drowned yeti riding a yak holding a fish in one hand and a crane in the other... How do you drown a fish? Nevermind." He shook his head, deciding not to encourage Chang Kouji's regular fish rant. "Breaking curses: Exorcism of a demon tree... Okay then... Breaking curses: Fairy dust. You know, I don't think this is the one we need..." He threw the book in the general direction of the door.
A pained yelp startled all of them, and before the figure in the doorway had any say in the matter, three paper wards were stuck onto his face... with glue. Kouji pulled back. "Katsuya-chan! What are you doing home so late?"
"I came back for some manga," the blonde boy grumbled, pealing the paper from his face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We live here," Kouji answered.
Katsuya frowned. "Uncle Kouji, you, by all means, have your own place. I repeat, what are -you- doing here?"
"My rent went out six months ago," the black haired man admitted. "I'm like, seriously in debt, here. They kicked me out a few weeks ago."
Chiriko nodded. "He stayed with me, until I too, was unceremoniously dumped back into the streets."
Katsuya groaned. "Why does Dad have to be the responsible one?"
Tasuki scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, why do I have to be the responsible one? I'm the one with the temper!"
Total silence.
Katsuya shook his head. "Nevermind. I'm jes' sayin' that, of the lot of you, he should be the least responsible... And the only thing he -can- keep his mind on is his job! That's why Mom left. And something about 'not touching her the way you used to'..."
His father and uncles gave him the most horrified looks he had seen in weeks. His day was complete. Tasuki's mouth worked silently, finally he managed, "How'd you know about that?"
"Paper thin walls." He kicked over a stack of books. "What are ya lookin' for this time?"
"Werewolf cures for my little Katsuya!" chirped his father. Chiriko and Kouji nodded in agreement.
"Didn't we go over this last time?"
Tasuki and Kouji stared at each other momentarily, "Where'd you put it!?" they each asked, simultaneously.
"Besides, I got worse problems now."
"Huh?" asked Tasuki. "What's that?"
Katsuya sighed, "In the letter, he didn't say that I couldn't tell you guys... just not Mokuba... so, here it goes. I think I'm being stalked by an evil perv vampire. And I think I may be taking too much after you."
"Wha? What's that supposed ta mean?" Tasuki grumbled.
"Things... Well, I kinda went pop on that wolf."
"Eh? You punched it?"
"No... more like, boom boom, where's Smokey?"
Tasuki grinned. "I knew you weren't a null! But what about this stalker vampire?" he asked, casually popping his knuckles. Behind him, Kouji and (surprisingly) Chiriko were doing the same.
Katsuya turned around, fishing the envelopes from his pocket. "Not the letters," he mumbled, "not the sketches... I'll just give them the photos..." He stiffened as he felt a malignant presence behind him, and hollered as two sets of hands dove for the papers, the third set holding his arms to his side. "Let go!! I don't want you guys to see that!" He kicked at them, trying to get loose, yet somehow, they flipped him onto his stomach, with his father sitting on his back, and Chiriko and Kouji crouched at his sides.
Five long minutes of utter silence before the silence was broken by an eloquent curse. Tasuki's hands gripped the papers tightly, a bluish flare of fire appearing around the edges of his hands. Teeth clenched as the redheaded man growled.
Chiriko stood silently, as Kouji muttered, "I think we should be looking to different books."
Tasuki waved his hands out, the flame disappearing with only moderate damage to the edges of the papers. "This... is war!" he declared, getting off of his son's back.
Jounouchi Katsuya groaned. Why did he have to have an obsessive father? "I don't think you should do that." He sat up, rubbing his back awkwardly. "This is fer me and Kaiba to deal with."
His uncle Chiriko spoke, "I think we have a book on the undead under the kitchen table."
Kouji shook his head. "This is a job for the coffee table."
Katsuya whined, "It's not that bad! Leave Book-sama out of this!"
Tasuki shook his head. "Oji-sama is the only accurate resource we have."
The teenager sighed. "Fine... but I don't have anything to do with this, got it? I'm just gonna go get my manga, and go back to Kaiba's..." With that he stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Kouji scratched the back of his head. "So, do you think this vampire perv is right in his insinuations about Katsuya-chan and this Kaiba?"
Gold eyes narrowed on him, and Tasuki hissed. "He had better not."
Chiriko sighed. "Katsuya is not a little boy anymore, Tasuki-chan."
"I've barely met this Kaiba. And from what I've seen on the box, he's an asshole," Tasuki grumbled.
Kouji nodded. "Does it really matter? If Kat-chan likes him, there's little you can do."
Chiriko lifted his head to glance at his younger brother. "How do you know what's on the box anyway?"
Tasuki scratched his head. "Huh?"
"You don't have one."
He blinked. "At work, Oniisan. At work."
"Oh."
Katsuya's door slammed open and shut again. "I'm going! See ya!"
Tasuki shot across the room, coming to a stop between Katsuya and the door. "Book-sama first."
"But!"
"Now. Or else you ain't leavin' this apartment."
"But!"
Kouji and Chiriko grabbed him, and dragged him over to the coffee table. They pulled off the table cover to reveal a huge tome. Opening it, Kouji chanted cheerfully, mockingly, as he took a seat next to it. "Book-sama, Book-sama, show us your wisdom!"
Tasuki smacked him on the back of the head, as he too took a seat beside the book. Chiriko shook his head, sitting Katsuya down between him and Tasuki. "Now, all we gotta do is figure out what we need to know..."
~*~
Jounouchi Katsuya grumbled, staring at the paper in his hands. His father was an idiot. So were Uncle Chiriko and Uncle Kouji. What the hell could a paper ward do for him? Of course, Book-sama agreed, and Book-sama was always right. It was kind of annoying, having a book, no matter how big the book was, interfering with his life.
He wondered what Kaiba would think, if he were to say that he knew of three people in Domino that were more superstitious than him.
It took him about twenty minutes to get back to the mansion, and by then, he was more than ready to just go to bed, so he was as silent as possible, heading back to the room he had been given. It was with a dignified yawn, that he opened the door to his room, thinking to just strip down and get in bed, before he collapsed.
Imagine his surprise, when he found Mokuba, sitting on his bed, glaring bloody murder at him from it. "Uhm..."
"Where were you?" snapped the shorter teen. "I came in here to ask you something, and you were gone! Considering all the trouble you've been getting into lately, for all I knew, you could have been killed! All dead and bloody on the sidewalks!!"
Jounouchi blinked. "I went home to get some of my manga..." He frowned momentarily. "Come to think of it, I would have been better off just grabbing Book-sama," he muttered.
"Book-sama?"
"Huge ass book that Dad uses as a table. It's been there since I was little." He shrugged, "When I left, they were looking up some weird ass incantations or something..."
Mokuba frowned, curious in spite of himself. "What would be written in a book big enough to use as a table?"
Jouno grinned. "All sorts of things. Most of the weird knowledge that I spout off came from it." He attempted to shoo the brunette from his bed. "I'm tired; can you get up, so I can go to bed?"
Mokuba scowled. "Not until you explain why you were gone so long."
He sweatdropped, "Uhm... Dad wouldn't let me leave right away." He sighed. "And my uncles Kouji and Chiriko were there... and they just complicated things... and I ran into Mai on the way there... and... one thing on top of another. I didn't mean to be gone that long, really..."
"Oh." Mokuba's eyes rounded slightly. "Can I sleep with you?"
"Uhm..." Jounouchi blinked again. "Why?"
"Well..." he looked down at his pajama clad knees, "after all that's happened this past month or two, I don't feel comfortable alone... Niisama always let me..." He hugged his knees, certain Jouno would say no.
"Eh... uhm... well, if you really gotta. I used ta let Shizuka sleep with me when she was scared, just... Do you kick?"
Mokuba's eyes widened in a slightly different fashion this time. "You mean I can!? I mean, no, I don't kick. I'm a quiet sleeper!" He nodded emphatically.
"I toss a bit, so if yer sleepin' with me, yer gonna have to deal with that," said Jounouchi, yawning again, stripping off his shirt before going to the dresser to liberate his pajama bottoms. He was out and back in the room in under a minute, dressed in said pj bottoms.
Without another word, he flopped down on the bed next to Mokuba, who stared at him for a moment before asking, "Did you ever tell her stories before going to sleep?"
"Mmmhmm," he mumbled agreeably into his pillow. "Helps you sleep better."
"Would you tell me one?"
"Mmmhmm," he agreed, tossing over to lay on his back. "A long time ago, a boy by the name of Valnir traveled in the far north, in search of his family. He had nothing to go on, didn't know anything about them, not even their names. In spite of this, he was certain that one day he would find them. Traveling far and wide, he encountered great horrors, and great sorrows, but he never stopped, his determination was firm.
"One day, after weeks of hard traveling through the icy northern mountains, he reached an abandoned town. He looked and looked, but no matter how hard, he couldn't find any sign that anybody had been there in years. Valnir had been terribly confused. Everything looked exactly as it should... except there was no one there, and everything was covered in layers of dust. No human life, no animal life, not even bugs.
"Whatever was it that had driven the people who had lived here away, he wondered. It didn't really matter too much, though, and he had free lodgings for the night. He wasn't a terribly suspicious person, or else he wouldn't have trusted his luck so easily.
"He found the town well, and drew water from it. He drank 'til he had his fill, and then had his dinner, which, luckily, he had brought with him. He stayed there a night, and left the next day, to go on searching for his parents.
"Little did he know, the well he had drunk from the previous night had a powerful magic. The Well of Mimir requires a price of those who drink it's waters, and the price requested of Valnir was two things, in return for vast knowledge. His ability to tell anything other than the truth was taken, and when asked a question, he couldn't answer without asking for something in return. Sometimes, he couldn't even control what it was he asked for.
"Eventually, he became known as an oracle, and had many people coming to him, asking questions, until one day, a question was asked, and the asker refused to pay the price asked. The one who had asked was a powerful witch, and upon Valnir's refusal to answer, she grew angry and cursed him.
"He was turned into a gigantic, ornate tome, with covers of Yulewood. Ever since, people have searched for this enchanted book that even still retains the ability to answer any question presented to it, for a price." Jounouchi grinned, "I read that a long time ago."
He turned back over, and was surprised to find Mokuba fast asleep. He smiled, and yawned again. Mokuba was such a cute kid. His eyes slipped closed on that thought. "G'night..."
~*~*~*~*~*~
(1) Yes, Tasuki. From Fushigi Yuugi. Yes, he's Jounouchi elder. For the AU purposes of this fic. =^.^=
(2) Chiriko. He and Tasuki kinda acted brotherly... only thing here, is that they actually are brothers... and Chiriko's older.
(3) Kouji. The semi-adopted brother/best friend/work partner of Tasuki. What are their jobs? Not telling yet.
~*~
Wow!! Here's all of my back reviews!!
Yami Jazz: You wreally like so much. Sankyuu! ^^
Shade25: I'll try to update regularly... And he was watching it in the manga, so why not read it?
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: Yo. I'd have to agree on all...
meloncrisp: Thank you!
Jenniyah: I didn't say why, but they don't know either, so, yer even with the characters... ^.^
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: I'm actually really happy with all these reviews. ^.^ I suppose I'm fairly easy to please. I'm so glad I can see you all!
Tristis Aquilis: I liked the references too, but you really should blame Danyella Skyler Silverfire for about half of them.
BarbedWire23: Seto is a sexy vampire... I like sexy vampire Seto. Heehee.
Esoterical_Angel: Such devotion. Waiting through computer problems for two days... v.v Thank you.
dtamerx: Thank you.
Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: Thank you. I hope you can see your reviews now too. ^^ Here's more.
ruby_lake24: He might! Might have had something to do with the wolf... Or sommat? It suits him so well though...
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: lol Well, here you go! *grin grin* Heh heh. Just wait 'til you find out who the stalker man is... Hee hee...
Ebony Opium: Sano is awesome. =^.^= Jounouchi makes an awesome werewolf, ne?
Butterfly Raven: I love AFI, but I am recently come to actually watching MTV, and the other music channels. And Silver and Cold is the only one I actually got to hear very many times. (The song's beautiful, and that man has a lovely voice.) I used to avoid MTV like the plague. ^^ My brother was always watching rap on it. In the Japanese version of Yugioh, Kaiba is actually a lot more pleasant. He's nowhere near as rude, and all that. (He hardly throws any insults, he's just polite, in a semi-cold fashion.) I admit that I probably did a horrible job with the lyrics... ;.; I had to find them on a lyric search, because his and my accents are so different that I had a hard time understanding what he was saying, even while I loved the song. *bows and scrapes* I may go back some time and fix them up, but for now...! Updating is a bit more important. ^^
