Nahte: ^_^ Warning—this chapter is slightly bloody at the end!
Cricket: *from outer space* You are a sick-minded bloody idiot……
Nahte: O.o Um…..right…..anyways, let's get this fic started! ^^
Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, obviously. I mean, come on! If I owned it, do you think I'd be writing fanfictions???
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A Knight's Duty*~!~*~!~*~!~*~!~*~!~*
Ch. 2—Beginning of a WarI remember that day so clearly as if it were yesterday…..the day where it had all begun.
I was kneeling down before King Sheraku of Egyptus, listening to his orders.
A new war had begun—Egyptus's [1] mighty warriors against the Man Slayer tribe warriors.
"……Sir Seto Kaiba," he rumbled as he finished giving me his instructions, presenting his jeweled sword before me. "Do you give your honor to complete the mission, to help War-General Shadii save the Southern Border [2] from the upcoming assaults of the Man Slayers? [3]"
I nodded and accepted the sword solemnly without glancing back at the audience in the throne room.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I give you my word, my honor."
Little did I know how I would later regret my decision.
But to continue with my story……
With that, His Majesty dismissed me and the ceremony was over. I slipped the sword into its scabbard, which I had been given to before, and retreated from the throne room, bowing deeply. The royal guards closed the gates after me, and I was alone in the stillness of the hallway.
"So, where have you been assigned to, Knight Seto Kaiba?" came a scornful voice from the darkness of the corridor. I whirled around angrily and found a pair of dog-like eyes staring back at me. I smirked. I should have known.
"Lord Joey Wheeler," I said, giving him a mock-bow. "For your information, His Majesty just had assigned me to the Southern Border." My smirk widened as I watched Wheeler's jaws drop open.
"You're joking—" he sputtered, turning red in anger. "Impossible—only the best of the best gets assigned there!"
"Then I supposed you're not going," I replied in a dignified way as I swept my deep azure cloak up. "Well, good day to you." I was about to turn around and leave Wheeler there when my eyes caught those of a girl's standing behind him. She was wearing a beautiful honey colored dress which brought out her deep amber eyes.
She was the most beautiful girl I have every laid my eyes upon.
A tingle ran down my spine and back and my throat suddenly felt like a mini Sahara Desert. I was unable to speak as we stared at each other for a few too-short moments, her soulful eyes looking back at mine. I could have stared into those honey pools for eternity, but I broke away from our gaze reluctantly as I felt a small blush forming across the bridge of my nose.
For the first time in my life, I was speechless as Wheeler looked at me with his eyebrow raised. His dumb expression brought me back onto earth, and I cleared my throat before speaking again.
"G-good day to you," I repeated as I hurried out of the hallway without looking back, leaving Wheeler speechless, staring after me dumbly. When the two had disappeared from my view, I leaned against the nearest wall, all my strength gone. My heart was racing as if I had just escaped a thousand Man Slayers.
Be still, my beating heart.
Who was that girl, and what had just happened back there…? I wondered as I took in deep breaths to calm my pounding heart.
What's happening to me…?
I forced myself up then left the king's castle as swiftly as I could. But I could not help stealing a glance back toward the hallway, hoping for a second glimpse of her.
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It was a few days after the ceremony, but I was already at the Southern Border in the midst of a bloody battle.
"Front row, columns 1, 2, 4, and 5 archers! Get your arrows ready!" I shouted from the top of the fortress wall to the archers below, waving my sword to the left and right. Swinging their oversized battle maces, the Man Slayers approached the wall rapidly on their monstrous armored horses. Once they were within our range, I lifted my sword up into the air and yelled, "FIRE!" I looked down in satisfaction as arrows flew from their owners' bows and hit their targets perfectly. The opposing warriors fell one by one, and when there were but a handful left, I smirked in approval as I turned to face the great fortress and my warriors that were still standing.
I could feel the relieved tension in the air, and I smiled—first time in a long, long time. I could hear the archers put down their bows, starting to take off their heavy armors, and dreaming about the their sweet homes and families waiting for them with open arms.
They have been here a very long time—now they could finally go home.
Man Slayers were easy to defeat. Almost too easy.
The rumors always said that they were machines of destruction, bringing total and complete annihilation to where ever and everywhere they went.
I shrugged mentally. Who cares? We won, they lost. End of story.
I allowed my warriors about ten minutes of break before giving them fresh orders.
"Great job, now let's—" I began as I sheathed my sword, but was rudely interrupted when one of the royal family's most devoted servants, now under the service for me, by the name of Ignatio, cried out loud, pointing toward the battlefield.
"Sir Kaiba! The Man Slayers—they're coming!"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head without turning back. He was always a bit of a practical joker. I could hear the screams below—why were they playing along with him?
"Ignatio, get a grip on yourself. You are seeing thins. Now, unless you want your head rolling about here," I said smoothly as I began to draw the gleaming blade, just to scare him a bit. "I suggest that you—" I was cut off as he grabbed my shoulders and whirled me around. My mouth dropped open, not caring whether he was defying the law by touching a noble blooded.
"Oh shit!" I yelled, eyes wide, leaning over the protective wall of the fortress. They were coming again—this time, by thousands!
"Damn it!" I yelled again in the midst of terrified screams, eyeing the oncoming troop disbelievingly. "Vile creatures!" I stared at them, dumbfounded, my mind blank, not knowing what to do.
"Sir Kaiba?" came Ignatio's cautious voice through the thick clouds that surrounded my mind. "What—do we do now?"
"What?" I snapped at him, but once his words sunk in, I turned to him and spoke in a grim tone, unsure of myself—for the first time in my life.
"No other choice, is there? Send more archers down, and have them keep shooting at them with the lead arrows."
"Yes sir," he said, bowing down before me deeply, his dark hair dancing with the gentle breeze. After a moment, he straightened up, and then climbed down the stairs into the fortress to carry out my orders, his black cloak trailing after him.
"Are you sure that the move was wise?" a monotonous voice asked abruptly, belonging to War-General Shadii, technically, the other commander of this area. He had been staying quite all this time, and I was quite surprised to hear his voice.
"No," I snapped at him impatiently. "But that's the only thing we can do." I waited for him to snap back at me, for him to tell me that I was being stupid, that I was wrong, but he turned away and continued on with his silence. I let out a weary sigh as I watched more archers swarming down at the wall.
"This had better work," I muttered in an irritated way to myself, hoping that they will work their magic for me once more.
The Man Slayer fighters approached….the arrows once more….
Perfect! Their aims were perfect!
We will defeat them this time for sure.
"Beautiful," I murmured as the arrows soared for their targets with the power of a plummeting comet and the deadly accuracy of a hungry wolf. "Absolutely beautiful."
"Yes," Shadii agreed quietly, nodding his head. "Their aims are precise. But I think it is too early to celebrate," he pointed out. My eyes widened once more to their full extent as I watched the unbelievable scene before me—
"The first troop—they were a decoy!"
"Indeed. The first troop was sent to lower our guards."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?! That they used decoys?!" I yelled as I pointed down at the battlefield. The Man Slayer warriors were dodging the arrows with little to no difficulty….
The opposing force was approaching the wall with astonishing speed. I looked down in despair as they slaughtered my archers, one by one.
My archers….some of their brains were dashed out by the powerful war maces of the Slayers, but mostly, crushed to a pulp.
No, no, no, no!!! This isn't happening, it can't be!!
"This is my first time battling against them, although I have heard many rumors," he said calmly as I grabbed his collar threateningly. "I just hope that the Tamer that I had heard so much about—"
"The Tamer? What tamer?!" I demanded hysterically as I shook him back and forth. He looked at me with his cold blue eyes, and I let go quickly in shame.
"The Tamer," he said quietly as he straightened his clothes out as a faint eerie sound was echoing throughout the battlefield. "You can see him for yourself. I think he's coming out right now."
I looked around wildly for the source of the noise, and discovered a small, dark figure in a distance, standing upon a hill with several rows of black-armored Man Slayer warriors standing beside him, protecting him.
I suddenly felt like lead had replaced my inner organs, a feeling that was weighing down on me heavily.
"Is…..that it?" I said mindlessly as my head was cleared of all thoughts except for one—
'Why do I get the feeling that this isn't going to be easy?"
"Yes," Shadii replied solemnly, looking back at me with those deeply disturbed eyes. "And if what I have heard is true, then this battle might be the end of us—and our kingdom."
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Nahte: ^_^ This is my first ever cliffie. Not very good, I realize….hope you liked this chapter!
Joey: *smirks* Tings are not looking up for Kaiba, eh?
Nahte: ^___^ Nope, and it's gonna get even worse!
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[1]: Egyptus is the kingdom Seto lives in. Ruled by King Sheraku, as mentioned above ^^
[2]: Southern Border is, well….a border. It is the most vulnerable border of Egyptus, so lots of countries attack there. Especially since the Southern Border is near a river called Nilaké River, a very convenient river for transporting goods and stuff, plus the area around it has lots of mines and resources and stuff, so a lot of countries want to take over the Southern Border. King Sheraku, of course, doesn't want to lose this valuable area, so he sends the best of his warriors to defend it.
[3]: Man Slayers—a ruthless tribe of warriors under the rule of a leader nicknamed Grim Reaper. His real name is unknown. They are blood-thirty and are very cruel and destructive. They have fallen many kingdoms and captured countless castles and towns and such, and have slaughtered immeasurable numbers of people. They are one of the best warriors in the world (AU world). Recently, they have recruited a sorcerer called the Tamer—his powers will be revealed in the next chapter.