Title: Silver and Cold
Chapter: 11/?
Chapter Title: Just What Everyone's Up To
Current Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer
Chapter Summary: Tasuki calls Kaiba, Ryouga gets lost, Sano deals with Mokuba, Akane (Ranma) worries about _things_, and Jouno and Kaiba go to pick up Mokuba.
Disclaimer: Don't own any. Leave me alone about it, will ya?
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999).
Warnings: For this chapter? A bit of weirdness and a lot of Japanese in use.
Crossover Shows: Fushigi Yuugi, Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma 1/2, Gravitation (manga).
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.
~*~*~*~*~*~
~Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real~
~~ Crawling
Tasuki kicked back on the... couch. Which, unfortunately, was the only piece of furniture that was in good condition. Actually, other than the short table in the kitchen, and numerous bookcases, it was the _only_ piece of furniture. There were pillows to sit on, pallets to sleep on, the couch, the kitchen table, Book-sama, and the bookshelves. And _he_ got the couch. It was getting next to three in the morning, and he figured that he should be calling his son... Trouble being, he didn't know where his son went.
With a soft sigh, he decided to ask Book-sama. Really, it seemed that he was pulling that book out for all sorts of reasons this past month.
~*~
The ringing of the phone on his desk caused Kaiba to jump slightly, as he had gotten used to the silence, and Jounouchi's breathing. His hand reached automatically for it, although, he wondered who was calling him at three in the morning. "Kaiba desu (1)," he murmured tiredly.
"Kaiba?" the voice on the other end sounded surprised. Although Kaiba recognized the voice, he couldn't remember who it was.
"Hai (2). And you?"
"Oi. Ore wa Jounouchi desu (3)," the voice sounded too cheerful now. "Is Katsuya there?"
"Hai. Jounouchi Katsuya is here," Kaiba said, still tired. "He's asleep." And indeed, the blonde was asleep, curled against his legs, just as before. The other boy hadn't budged an inch. Kaiba ran his free hand through the sleeping teen's hair.
"Oi... Well, when he wakes up... Tell him that... We got the perv. He's good and aquainted with one of those little quart jars that we kept in the cupboards." There was a short pause, during which Kaiba could hear someone else talking. "Uhm... Sealed the jar, filled it halfway with the _special_ gasoline... and... uhm... Left it on the coffee table. He might feel better hearing that... Oh! And the book's open. Remember that one... And don't wake him up yet." There was a grin in the voice, and then it sobered abruptly. "And make sure he drinks all of that water. Alright?"
"Hai... May I ask?"
"Nani (4)?"
"What water?"
There was silence for a moment. "Does he have a bottle near him?"
Kaiba searched the floor around Jounouchi for a moment, before shaking his head at the phone. "Iie (5)."
"Shit. Make sure he visits home in the morning, ne, ne?" The elder Jounouchi sounded worried.
"Hai," murmured Kaiba, his eyes drifting shut. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and apparently, even vampires needed sleep. "I'll bring him by."
"Arigatou gozaimasu (6)," the man said formally, and then, "Ohayo gozaimasu... Ja matte ne, ne? (7)"
"Hai," he murmured again, hanging up the phone. He decided that he had better get to bed before he fell asleep in the chair, so he carefully lifted Jounouchi, intent on carrying the boy to his room... then realized that he barely had enough steam to make it to his own. He smiled, figuring that a night with Jouno was probably one thing that he truly wouldn't mind.
~*~
A young man with black hair winced in the light of the morning sun. Hibiki Ryouga glanced around the small park he was in, realizing that he had no clue where he was. Taking a deep breath, he let it out of his lungs in an outraged sounding wail, "WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"
He blinked as a small teen that stood in front of him shrieked. Loudly. He howled in response, holding his ears. "Aaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"
"Aaaaoooooooooooooo!!"
A few shattered windows later (there were cars nearby) the young were and the other boy stopped yelling. Then stared at each other for a few long, silent minutes. The other denizens of the park were grateful for the cease in the noise. Ryouga scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say to the shorter teen that stood before him.
So, instead of saying anything, as he rarely knew what to say anyway, he studied the other. The other was shorter than Ranma, and had wide lavender eyes, and dark, almost black hair. They were both hyperventilating, having startled each other quite a bit. The other boy wore a huge white button- down that was meant for a much larger man and jeans. His hair was mussed, and the shirt was partially buttoned, but it wasn't done well.
Ryouga had to resist the urge to fix it, and was unsure of just where that urge had come from. He hadn't had that kind of problem before. He started when the other finally opened his mouth again.
"Ore wa namae Shindou Shuichi desu (8)." The other boy grinned, holding out his hand.
Ryouga stared at it for a moment. Then he nodded, taking the hand, replying, "Hibiki Ryouga."
~*~
Sagara Sanosuke sighed. His zanboto was laying across his lap again, and he was, again, polishing it. He had been having that urge lately anyway. But he was being very bothered by the boy who was clattering around his shop, making terrible racket. Stupid humans.
"Could you stop that?" he asked the teenager.
Kaiba Mokuba grinned at him, "Seto said to stay here, and since you don't have any decent video games..."
"You're bored," Sano finished for him. Mokuba nodded. "If you want something to do, you could organize the shop. I've been meaning to get that done for a long time..."
Mokuba frowned, "What do I get out of it?"
"Well, for one thing, you'd have something to do besides annoy me. For another, you'd get to have a closer look at those knives I saw you eying." Sano wasn't really sure it would be a good thing to let Mokuba near said knives, but if it kept the boy out of his hair... He shrugged at the thought. "Well?"
"Sounds like you'd be getting more out of it than me." Mokuba frowned. "Your gonna have to better than that, if you want me to do free work."
"If you do that... and do it quietly, I'll let you take home... anything that I deem reasonable, by comparison of how much work you do." Sano nodded. All he really wanted was a bit of quiet, and hoped that that would make the young teen be so for at least a little while.
Mokuba appeared to consider for a minute. "Okay."
Sano nodded. "Then, get to work. However well you do..."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
~*~
Tendo Akane frowned. She had just checked the mail, and, once again, there was no word from Ryouga. He was always lost, but they always at least got a postcard every month or so. But he had been gone for over half a year, and there had been only one postcard, and that had been five months ago.
Ranma just shrugged it off, but she could tell that he worried about Ryouga as well. Things had been overtly quiet in the past two months, and she was absolutely certain that _something_ had happened to the lost boy. And they still weren't getting any postcards. The main problem was that no one other than Ranma and her even seemed to realize that Ryouga was gone... and that bothered her as much as the fact that he _was_ gone.
About two months ago, Ranma had flipped. The strange, pervasive silence extended from that time. Oddly enough, he hadn't snapped because of all of his fiancés, it had been something else entirely. And it hadn't been his training, either, although Akane would have understood that. It wasn't the constant fighting, or Genma's idiocy, Nodoka's twisted sense of honor, or even Happosai's perversions.
Actually, it had been Xian Pu's (9) treatment of Mu Tsu (10), that had set him off. It wasn't right, he said, treating an honorable man (even if the man had a strange sense of honor) as one would a slave. He may have terrible vision, and a strange obsession, but that was no reason to treat him with such distain. And so, after Neko Hanten was blown up (for the second time in that particular month), he stormed off, cursing about chauvinistic females.
Since then, no one had dared harass Ranma. They didn't dare harass each other, either, after he blew up on Xian Pu for harassing Ukyo. The silence also extended to the dojo, as well. It had surprised everyone when Ranma declared all of his engagements off, as well, but they were afraid to say anything about it.
Two months of silence. Five months without word from Ryouga.
One of the oddest things about this though, was that Happosai was also being quiet. Which was odd, because, of all of them, he had the least sense of self preservation.
She sighed, resolving to talk to Ranma about this. It was all starting to bother her greatly. She had been _used_ to the loudness and violence of everyday life, and now... She felt on edge, and more than a little frightened, because the silence seemed to say that something big was about to happen. And, in her experience, that feeling never had a good ending.
~*~
Jounouchi Katsuya whimpered. Apparently, he had been supposed to drink that holy water for reasons other than to just discourage the vampire. It was part of the treatment to keep him from turning into one. So, although he didn't think he was turning into one, there may be complications, in accordance to what they had been able to get from Book-sama, who, apparently, was glad to be open so much lately.
He had been skipping school for the past few days as well, and, for some reason, so was Mokuba. He was actually just thinking about taking the tests, and graduating early. Maybe getting some scholarships, to go to college early, as well. Maybe not. Maybe he could just take those strange home college courses. Then he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with classmates.
His eyes narrowed at the thin cop who stood across the street from Sagara's Antiques. He would swear up and down that it was the same one as before, too. "Heya," he said, grinning when the man frowned at him. Kaiba snorted behind him, and the man's eyes drifted past Jouno to Kaiba.
An eyebrow lifted, and Kaiba responded, "You too?" Kaiba's voice sounded mildly curious.
Jounouchi took a closer look at the cop. Many would have jumped, seeing the slight, tooth-baring grin, but Jouno was used to his father, so it wasn't exactly a big deal. "Why didn't I notice that before?"
"Notice what?" replied the cop.
"Vampire. Not that I'm all that surprised. It seems to suit you." He laughed when the cop's expression turned disgusted.
"If you're here to visit Sagara, he appears to be in a very odd mood. If you're unlucky, it may be unhealthy to visit."
Jouno felt more than saw Kaiba shrugging behind him. "I left my brother there."
The cop was silent at that. And then, "You had best get him out of there by nightfall, then. That place is a werewolf haunt."
"I know."
The cop didn't reply, but turned away in an almost dismissive fashion.
So, they went to get Mokuba. When they saw the boy, his arm was covered in Band-Aids, and he was playing with several small children. Sano jumped up from his position at the counter as they came in. He put the zanboto back onto it's hooks, before moving to stand right in front of Kaiba.
With a formal bow, he spoke. "I must apologize for... the cubs. Mokuba was playing with them and they... well... uhm..."
Kaiba blinked. "How bad is it?"
"If the infection doesn't bleed out, he'll be a wolf by this coming full moon." Sano scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "He doesn't seem upset by the idea, though, for some reason."
Kaiba twitched, and Jounouchi winced. "Uhm... So... he's gonna turn too?"
Sano nodded. Unsure of what to say, he stood, waiting for Kaiba's reaction. He was rather surprised when Kaiba sighed. "I think I knew, all along, really, that something like this would happen." Kaiba sighed again. "Come here, Mokuba."
"Seto?" the younger Kaiba asked.
"Yes?"
"Can I have this?" Mokuba held up a sheathed katana for his brother's inspection. "It's got a reversed blade, so I wouldn't hurt anyone with it."
Kaiba took the sword, pulling it slowly from the sheath. He glanced up at Sano, who was still giving him a nervous look. "Is this what it seems to be?"
Sano grinned. "The one and only. I think Kenshin would be glad for this boy to have it, anyway. Not to mention..." he glanced over at Mokuba, who was looking up at him. "He seems to hold quite a few of the same traits as Himura did in his later years." He bowed again.
"Really," Kaiba drawled. "And you know this because...?"
"I used to live with him." Sano grinned.
Jouno rubbed the back of his head. "Uhm... How old are you?"
Sano gave him a blank stare. "Uhm..." He started flicking his fingers, obviously counting on them. "Uhm... 138?"
Kaiba, Jounouchi and Mokuba all settled for just staring. There was no way... Sano looked like he was 36 at most... not... "Anou..." muttered Jouno. "How...?"
Sano shrugged. "I kinda stopped aging, and had to fake my own death several times... Heh. It's kind of annoying, really." He grinned. "I guess it's because I'm a were. Weres, from what I can tell you, age at about..... mmmm... one seventh of the rate a normal human does."
"Eh?"
"Like dog years to a human."
"Oh."
After a long, involved conversation involving the attributes of weres and vampires, they headed off, Jounouchi making mental note of all potentially useful information, and planning on telling his father all about it later.
~*~*~*~*~*~
(1) Kaiba desu. Pretty much, answering phone with family name. Like saying, "Kaiba residence". Only not.
(2) Hai. Semi-formal "yes".
(3) Oi. Ore wa Jounouchi desu. "Oi. This is Jounouchi."
(4) Nani? "What?"
(5) Iie. Semi-formal "no".
(6) Arigatou gozaimasu. "Thank you very much." Very polite.
(7) Ohayo gozaimasu... Ja matte ne, ne? "Good morning... I'll see you later, right?"
(8) Ore wa namae Shindou Shuichi desu. "My name's Shindou Shuichi."
(9) Xian Pu. Shampoo (of Ranma fame).
(10) Mu Tsu. Mousse (Also of Ranma fame).
~*~
Reviews:
FREAK014: lol Poor Treize. lol ^^ I'm enjoying the thought of driving quite a few people insane with this... ^^ (Fav Quote: My day is not complete until I've terrified a complete stranger.) Disney is... scary sometimes, but at others, it can be so kawaii. I might eventually get around to giving the name of Treize's consort, but I didn't think it'd be very important in this story... considering that they're both going to be quite dead soon. ^^ Although, as I'm planning on writing a sequel...
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: You were talking about the vampire stalker, right? ^^ That was Treize Kushrenada from Gundam Wing. ^^ lol
Mistress of Dragons: Heh. I was wondering when someone would say something like that... ^^ Nope. Not Sakurazukamori... (I want him alive, really...) ^^ I like how he says that too... ^________^ He so sexy...
Chapter: 11/?
Chapter Title: Just What Everyone's Up To
Current Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer
Chapter Summary: Tasuki calls Kaiba, Ryouga gets lost, Sano deals with Mokuba, Akane (Ranma) worries about _things_, and Jouno and Kaiba go to pick up Mokuba.
Disclaimer: Don't own any. Leave me alone about it, will ya?
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999).
Warnings: For this chapter? A bit of weirdness and a lot of Japanese in use.
Crossover Shows: Fushigi Yuugi, Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma 1/2, Gravitation (manga).
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.
~*~*~*~*~*~
~Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real~
~~ Crawling
Tasuki kicked back on the... couch. Which, unfortunately, was the only piece of furniture that was in good condition. Actually, other than the short table in the kitchen, and numerous bookcases, it was the _only_ piece of furniture. There were pillows to sit on, pallets to sleep on, the couch, the kitchen table, Book-sama, and the bookshelves. And _he_ got the couch. It was getting next to three in the morning, and he figured that he should be calling his son... Trouble being, he didn't know where his son went.
With a soft sigh, he decided to ask Book-sama. Really, it seemed that he was pulling that book out for all sorts of reasons this past month.
~*~
The ringing of the phone on his desk caused Kaiba to jump slightly, as he had gotten used to the silence, and Jounouchi's breathing. His hand reached automatically for it, although, he wondered who was calling him at three in the morning. "Kaiba desu (1)," he murmured tiredly.
"Kaiba?" the voice on the other end sounded surprised. Although Kaiba recognized the voice, he couldn't remember who it was.
"Hai (2). And you?"
"Oi. Ore wa Jounouchi desu (3)," the voice sounded too cheerful now. "Is Katsuya there?"
"Hai. Jounouchi Katsuya is here," Kaiba said, still tired. "He's asleep." And indeed, the blonde was asleep, curled against his legs, just as before. The other boy hadn't budged an inch. Kaiba ran his free hand through the sleeping teen's hair.
"Oi... Well, when he wakes up... Tell him that... We got the perv. He's good and aquainted with one of those little quart jars that we kept in the cupboards." There was a short pause, during which Kaiba could hear someone else talking. "Uhm... Sealed the jar, filled it halfway with the _special_ gasoline... and... uhm... Left it on the coffee table. He might feel better hearing that... Oh! And the book's open. Remember that one... And don't wake him up yet." There was a grin in the voice, and then it sobered abruptly. "And make sure he drinks all of that water. Alright?"
"Hai... May I ask?"
"Nani (4)?"
"What water?"
There was silence for a moment. "Does he have a bottle near him?"
Kaiba searched the floor around Jounouchi for a moment, before shaking his head at the phone. "Iie (5)."
"Shit. Make sure he visits home in the morning, ne, ne?" The elder Jounouchi sounded worried.
"Hai," murmured Kaiba, his eyes drifting shut. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and apparently, even vampires needed sleep. "I'll bring him by."
"Arigatou gozaimasu (6)," the man said formally, and then, "Ohayo gozaimasu... Ja matte ne, ne? (7)"
"Hai," he murmured again, hanging up the phone. He decided that he had better get to bed before he fell asleep in the chair, so he carefully lifted Jounouchi, intent on carrying the boy to his room... then realized that he barely had enough steam to make it to his own. He smiled, figuring that a night with Jouno was probably one thing that he truly wouldn't mind.
~*~
A young man with black hair winced in the light of the morning sun. Hibiki Ryouga glanced around the small park he was in, realizing that he had no clue where he was. Taking a deep breath, he let it out of his lungs in an outraged sounding wail, "WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"
He blinked as a small teen that stood in front of him shrieked. Loudly. He howled in response, holding his ears. "Aaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"
"Aaaaoooooooooooooo!!"
A few shattered windows later (there were cars nearby) the young were and the other boy stopped yelling. Then stared at each other for a few long, silent minutes. The other denizens of the park were grateful for the cease in the noise. Ryouga scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say to the shorter teen that stood before him.
So, instead of saying anything, as he rarely knew what to say anyway, he studied the other. The other was shorter than Ranma, and had wide lavender eyes, and dark, almost black hair. They were both hyperventilating, having startled each other quite a bit. The other boy wore a huge white button- down that was meant for a much larger man and jeans. His hair was mussed, and the shirt was partially buttoned, but it wasn't done well.
Ryouga had to resist the urge to fix it, and was unsure of just where that urge had come from. He hadn't had that kind of problem before. He started when the other finally opened his mouth again.
"Ore wa namae Shindou Shuichi desu (8)." The other boy grinned, holding out his hand.
Ryouga stared at it for a moment. Then he nodded, taking the hand, replying, "Hibiki Ryouga."
~*~
Sagara Sanosuke sighed. His zanboto was laying across his lap again, and he was, again, polishing it. He had been having that urge lately anyway. But he was being very bothered by the boy who was clattering around his shop, making terrible racket. Stupid humans.
"Could you stop that?" he asked the teenager.
Kaiba Mokuba grinned at him, "Seto said to stay here, and since you don't have any decent video games..."
"You're bored," Sano finished for him. Mokuba nodded. "If you want something to do, you could organize the shop. I've been meaning to get that done for a long time..."
Mokuba frowned, "What do I get out of it?"
"Well, for one thing, you'd have something to do besides annoy me. For another, you'd get to have a closer look at those knives I saw you eying." Sano wasn't really sure it would be a good thing to let Mokuba near said knives, but if it kept the boy out of his hair... He shrugged at the thought. "Well?"
"Sounds like you'd be getting more out of it than me." Mokuba frowned. "Your gonna have to better than that, if you want me to do free work."
"If you do that... and do it quietly, I'll let you take home... anything that I deem reasonable, by comparison of how much work you do." Sano nodded. All he really wanted was a bit of quiet, and hoped that that would make the young teen be so for at least a little while.
Mokuba appeared to consider for a minute. "Okay."
Sano nodded. "Then, get to work. However well you do..."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
~*~
Tendo Akane frowned. She had just checked the mail, and, once again, there was no word from Ryouga. He was always lost, but they always at least got a postcard every month or so. But he had been gone for over half a year, and there had been only one postcard, and that had been five months ago.
Ranma just shrugged it off, but she could tell that he worried about Ryouga as well. Things had been overtly quiet in the past two months, and she was absolutely certain that _something_ had happened to the lost boy. And they still weren't getting any postcards. The main problem was that no one other than Ranma and her even seemed to realize that Ryouga was gone... and that bothered her as much as the fact that he _was_ gone.
About two months ago, Ranma had flipped. The strange, pervasive silence extended from that time. Oddly enough, he hadn't snapped because of all of his fiancés, it had been something else entirely. And it hadn't been his training, either, although Akane would have understood that. It wasn't the constant fighting, or Genma's idiocy, Nodoka's twisted sense of honor, or even Happosai's perversions.
Actually, it had been Xian Pu's (9) treatment of Mu Tsu (10), that had set him off. It wasn't right, he said, treating an honorable man (even if the man had a strange sense of honor) as one would a slave. He may have terrible vision, and a strange obsession, but that was no reason to treat him with such distain. And so, after Neko Hanten was blown up (for the second time in that particular month), he stormed off, cursing about chauvinistic females.
Since then, no one had dared harass Ranma. They didn't dare harass each other, either, after he blew up on Xian Pu for harassing Ukyo. The silence also extended to the dojo, as well. It had surprised everyone when Ranma declared all of his engagements off, as well, but they were afraid to say anything about it.
Two months of silence. Five months without word from Ryouga.
One of the oddest things about this though, was that Happosai was also being quiet. Which was odd, because, of all of them, he had the least sense of self preservation.
She sighed, resolving to talk to Ranma about this. It was all starting to bother her greatly. She had been _used_ to the loudness and violence of everyday life, and now... She felt on edge, and more than a little frightened, because the silence seemed to say that something big was about to happen. And, in her experience, that feeling never had a good ending.
~*~
Jounouchi Katsuya whimpered. Apparently, he had been supposed to drink that holy water for reasons other than to just discourage the vampire. It was part of the treatment to keep him from turning into one. So, although he didn't think he was turning into one, there may be complications, in accordance to what they had been able to get from Book-sama, who, apparently, was glad to be open so much lately.
He had been skipping school for the past few days as well, and, for some reason, so was Mokuba. He was actually just thinking about taking the tests, and graduating early. Maybe getting some scholarships, to go to college early, as well. Maybe not. Maybe he could just take those strange home college courses. Then he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with classmates.
His eyes narrowed at the thin cop who stood across the street from Sagara's Antiques. He would swear up and down that it was the same one as before, too. "Heya," he said, grinning when the man frowned at him. Kaiba snorted behind him, and the man's eyes drifted past Jouno to Kaiba.
An eyebrow lifted, and Kaiba responded, "You too?" Kaiba's voice sounded mildly curious.
Jounouchi took a closer look at the cop. Many would have jumped, seeing the slight, tooth-baring grin, but Jouno was used to his father, so it wasn't exactly a big deal. "Why didn't I notice that before?"
"Notice what?" replied the cop.
"Vampire. Not that I'm all that surprised. It seems to suit you." He laughed when the cop's expression turned disgusted.
"If you're here to visit Sagara, he appears to be in a very odd mood. If you're unlucky, it may be unhealthy to visit."
Jouno felt more than saw Kaiba shrugging behind him. "I left my brother there."
The cop was silent at that. And then, "You had best get him out of there by nightfall, then. That place is a werewolf haunt."
"I know."
The cop didn't reply, but turned away in an almost dismissive fashion.
So, they went to get Mokuba. When they saw the boy, his arm was covered in Band-Aids, and he was playing with several small children. Sano jumped up from his position at the counter as they came in. He put the zanboto back onto it's hooks, before moving to stand right in front of Kaiba.
With a formal bow, he spoke. "I must apologize for... the cubs. Mokuba was playing with them and they... well... uhm..."
Kaiba blinked. "How bad is it?"
"If the infection doesn't bleed out, he'll be a wolf by this coming full moon." Sano scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "He doesn't seem upset by the idea, though, for some reason."
Kaiba twitched, and Jounouchi winced. "Uhm... So... he's gonna turn too?"
Sano nodded. Unsure of what to say, he stood, waiting for Kaiba's reaction. He was rather surprised when Kaiba sighed. "I think I knew, all along, really, that something like this would happen." Kaiba sighed again. "Come here, Mokuba."
"Seto?" the younger Kaiba asked.
"Yes?"
"Can I have this?" Mokuba held up a sheathed katana for his brother's inspection. "It's got a reversed blade, so I wouldn't hurt anyone with it."
Kaiba took the sword, pulling it slowly from the sheath. He glanced up at Sano, who was still giving him a nervous look. "Is this what it seems to be?"
Sano grinned. "The one and only. I think Kenshin would be glad for this boy to have it, anyway. Not to mention..." he glanced over at Mokuba, who was looking up at him. "He seems to hold quite a few of the same traits as Himura did in his later years." He bowed again.
"Really," Kaiba drawled. "And you know this because...?"
"I used to live with him." Sano grinned.
Jouno rubbed the back of his head. "Uhm... How old are you?"
Sano gave him a blank stare. "Uhm..." He started flicking his fingers, obviously counting on them. "Uhm... 138?"
Kaiba, Jounouchi and Mokuba all settled for just staring. There was no way... Sano looked like he was 36 at most... not... "Anou..." muttered Jouno. "How...?"
Sano shrugged. "I kinda stopped aging, and had to fake my own death several times... Heh. It's kind of annoying, really." He grinned. "I guess it's because I'm a were. Weres, from what I can tell you, age at about..... mmmm... one seventh of the rate a normal human does."
"Eh?"
"Like dog years to a human."
"Oh."
After a long, involved conversation involving the attributes of weres and vampires, they headed off, Jounouchi making mental note of all potentially useful information, and planning on telling his father all about it later.
~*~*~*~*~*~
(1) Kaiba desu. Pretty much, answering phone with family name. Like saying, "Kaiba residence". Only not.
(2) Hai. Semi-formal "yes".
(3) Oi. Ore wa Jounouchi desu. "Oi. This is Jounouchi."
(4) Nani? "What?"
(5) Iie. Semi-formal "no".
(6) Arigatou gozaimasu. "Thank you very much." Very polite.
(7) Ohayo gozaimasu... Ja matte ne, ne? "Good morning... I'll see you later, right?"
(8) Ore wa namae Shindou Shuichi desu. "My name's Shindou Shuichi."
(9) Xian Pu. Shampoo (of Ranma fame).
(10) Mu Tsu. Mousse (Also of Ranma fame).
~*~
Reviews:
FREAK014: lol Poor Treize. lol ^^ I'm enjoying the thought of driving quite a few people insane with this... ^^ (Fav Quote: My day is not complete until I've terrified a complete stranger.) Disney is... scary sometimes, but at others, it can be so kawaii. I might eventually get around to giving the name of Treize's consort, but I didn't think it'd be very important in this story... considering that they're both going to be quite dead soon. ^^ Although, as I'm planning on writing a sequel...
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: You were talking about the vampire stalker, right? ^^ That was Treize Kushrenada from Gundam Wing. ^^ lol
Mistress of Dragons: Heh. I was wondering when someone would say something like that... ^^ Nope. Not Sakurazukamori... (I want him alive, really...) ^^ I like how he says that too... ^________^ He so sexy...
