Hello again! For those of you who noticed, I raised the rating last chapter because of all the blood and junk. I also added Romance to the genres, but don't worry, I don't write lemons, so there won't be anything bad, just sweet, you know? Wow, there were a lot of commas in that sentence. Anyway, I wish I could have my dashes and scene change breaks back. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to think of something else. It seems like has been forcing me to that a lot lately. Enough of my ramblings...ON WITH THE FIC!!!
-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)
Duel 6: Unmei no Kaiba (Kaiba's Destiny)
Arumi ran blindly ahead of her, not caring if she ran into another monster or what became of her in general. Tears stung hot at her eyes as she fled, finally stopping to find herself in a secluded patch of forest on the edge of town.
She collapsed to the ground sobbing. She had trusted him! She had felt safe with him!! She would never admit it, but she might even have loved him. And here he turned out to be some freaky monster himself! But he had helped her too... She was so confused!!! She didn't know exactly why she had run away, except that she needed to be alone. She didn't even know why she was crying. It was all simply too much. First monsters come to life, then some strange Egyptian guy shows up to "weigh her soul," and now this!
It felt like her brain had broken and crying was the only thing she really could do. Feeling betrayed and utterly alone, she leaned against a tree and brought her knees up under her chin and sobbed quietly.
Kurama was having trouble following Arumi. Since she didn't have high spirit energy, it was hard to track her and he was forced to try to find her by smell alone. He hadn't realized how much he liked her smell before, like violets... He shook his head, pushing the thought aside and concentrating. He had to reach her before she got herself into real trouble.
He was able to follow her scent to the forests on the outskirts of the city and felt relieved as the smell grew stronger, indicating that she was close. Slowly, he continued to follow her trail through the trees, refraining from calling to her lest he attract unwanted attention from any near by monsters. He heard something to his right and was immediately doubly cautious, until he recognized the sound.
Wondering if he had heard right, he followed the sound to find Arumi crying brokenly at the base of a large tree. He felt something tug at his heart as he suddenly felt guilty for having scared her so badly. He should have warned her, or else have let Yusuke or Kuwabara handle the monster.
"Arumi-chan?" he finally said quietly, stepping out from his hiding place behind a large tree. Arumi jumped up and backed away, staring at him with large, fearful eyes. She looked as if she might run again.
"Arumi-chan, wait!" he cried, his eyes desperately pleading with her to stay. He had to make her understand. She appeared to comply, but still didn't seem to want him near her.
"What are you?" she finally asked in a pained whisper.
Kurama sighed. "Promise me you won't run first," he said. She stared at him, not sure she should make such a promise, but a part of her still wanted to trust him.
"I promise," she said finally, still watching him wearily.
"I'm a demon that was reincarnated," he said quietly, watching her for her reaction. Her eyes widened and she looked like she wanted to turn and run again, but she held true to her promise and stayed where she was.
"I mean you no harm, Arumi-chan," Kurama quickly assured her, trying to ease her fear.
"When Botan-chan and the others asked for 'Kurama,' they meant you, didn't they?" Arumi said slowly, fear still etched in every feature of her face.
"Hai," Kurama answered. "My true name is Kurama." Tears were forming in Arumi's eyes again. Here brain was almost completely overloaded and Kurama was sure she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Arumi-chan," Kurama began, taking a step forward. But Arumi jumped back, not running, but not letting him get any closer either.
"Arumi-chan, I promise I won't hurt you. I swear it," Kurama assured her. She stared at him, looking for signs of sincerity. She must have been satisfied with what she saw because the next time he took a step forward, she didn't back away. She stared at him for a moment longer, finally deciding she had nothing to fear from him, before the tears broke free and she finally let herself fall to the ground, crying once more. She removed her glasses and put her hands over her eyes, completely oblivious to everything around her.
Kurama did the only thing he could think of and knelt before her and wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed into his chest, choking out apologies for being so babyish, but Kurama just hushed her and let her cry until she couldn't anymore.
"G-Gomen nasai," she apologized again as her tears finally dried up.
"Daijobu (It's alright)," Kurama replied, smiling kindly at her. As she wiped her face and replaced her glasses, he noticed the dark bruise on her neck from the Hitotsu-Me Giant's grip. He uncoiled one arm from Arumi and ran his fingers through his hair, retrieving a small black seed.
"What's that?" Arumi asked, staring at the seed. She now knew he was a demon, but she didn't know what he could do.
"It is a seed from a naosu plant. The liquid it secretes should take away most of the pain and discoloration from that bruise on your neck," he explained, brushing Arumi's long hair behind her shoulders and out of the way. He squeezed the seed between his fingers and a thick, black substance that smelled faintly of blackberries flooded onto his hand. Arumi could only wonder how so much liquid had been held in such a tiny seed.
"Tilt your head up," Kurama instructed. Arumi obeyed, blushing slightly as he rubbed the black goo over her bruised neck. It stung at first, but that quickly passed and soon all pain had vanished.
"There," he smiled at her as he finished and she lowered her head, gingerly touching her neck with her fingertips.
"Arigato," she breathed in amazement, barely believing that the seed had really worked. Kurama smiled and stood up, extending a hand to help her up as well.
"Come, we should meet the others at Genkai-sama's temple. It's safer there," he said.
"Well, alright," Arumi answered, taking his hand and standing as well. "But you have to tell me what else you've been hiding from me on the way!"
Kurama almost laughed. "Alright, but only if you answer some of my questions as well."
Arumi smiled at him. "Deal."
Hiei barely dodged the beast's razor-sharp claws as it swiped one huge forearm at him.
'What the hell is this thing?' he wondered to himself as he balanced on a low-hanging branch, the beast glaring up at him with dark, menacing eyes. The monster, that unknown to Hiei was called Leogun, resembled an animal in the human world that Hiei had heard of. If he remembered what Kurama had told him right, it was called a "lie-on." But this beast definitely did not look like anything Hiei would ever consider lying on!
Although the shaggy main and cat-like appearance did greatly resemble that of the pictures he had seen of this "lie-on," it didn't feel like anything human. Hiei had come to learn that humans and human world creatures had a certain feel to them, and this thing did not feel that way at all! But he was also sure that it was not a demon. He knew that much for a fact. This thing had no demon aura to speak off. In fact, that's what made it so strange, it didn't seem to have any kind of energy at all. But if it wasn't demon, and it wasn't human, what was it? Where was it from? And how had it gotten here?
Hiei decided he would have to leave those questions for a later time as the beast lunged at him again, forcing him to dodge, flipping aerially and landing on another branch higher up the tree. He hated having to run from the thing, even so short a distance as from one branch to the next, but he didn't know how to fight it. His sword didn't seem to be able to pierce the thick hair, even his Fist of the Mortal Flame attack had no effect on the creature, and now he had used too much of his energy to even think of trying the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
He sighed as he looked down at the growling beast once more. It almost made him physically sick to think of simply leaving the fight, it was far to much like running away, but he felt he should now more about this thing before rushing in recklessly head-first. That was much too much like something the detective would do. Much too much! With a final look at the snarling "lie-on" he turned and began his trip through the branches, heading for Genkai's temple. If anyone had answers, it would either be her or the fox. And chances were, both of them were there.
Kaiba stared blankly out of the full-wall windows of his office, Mokuba quietly watching the news behind him. How had this happened? This couldn't possibly be true! Real monsters?! It just wasn't possible!!! But despite all his doubts, all his reasoning, he couldn't come up with an explanation for the dragon he had seen with his own eyes other then that it had been real. But how???
"Kaiba Seto," a cold, eerie voice sounded from somewhere behind the former King of Games. Kaiba whipped around, Mokuba turning on the couch, to see a tall figure in robes and a turban.
"Who the hell are you?" Kaiba asked coldly, wondering how the man had gotten past his security.
"I am Shadi," the man answered, "and I am here to deliver an important message to you, Kaiba Seto."
"How did you get in here?" Kaiba demanded, but the man ignored his question.
"You must know by now that your destiny is linked to that of the Pharaoh's," Shadi stated coolly.
"You mean Yugi?" Mokuba asked.
Shadi nodded before continuing. "The monsters have awakened and the world is in great danger. You know this, and yet you sit here and do nothing?"
"How can I be held responsible for the world? It's not my fault that all this has happened," Kaiba replied, acting, as per usual, as though non of this concerned him in the least.
"No, it is not your fault, but you are still needed to stop it," was Shadi's answer.
"But how can my oniisan stop the monsters?" Mokuba asked.
"I am not yet sure. All I know is that the monsters will not stop until all human life in this world has been destroyed, and we must stop them before that! And you, Kaiba Seto, are one of the few who can do that," Shadi turned his cold eyes on Kaiba once more as the corporate CO stared coldly back.
"If I'm one of the few, then get the others to help you. I have a business to run," Kaiba calmly stated.
"You truly believe that your precious gaming company is more important then the fate of the world?!" Shadi cried, making Kaiba look at him once more in shock, "The others have already been summoned, but it will take all of you together to stop this evil, least the world perish!" There was silence for a long moment as Kaiba and Shadi engaged themselves in a glaring match and Mokuba looked continuously from one to the other.
"What do you want my oniisan to do?" Mokuba asked finally.
"You must go to Tokyo and meet Mutou Yugi and a girl named Nubayuki Arumi at a temple belonging to Genkai-sama. That is all I can tell you, for I know nothing more other then that the three of you must work together," Shadi explained. As he spoke, his outline began to quiver and he seemed to fall out of focus. Mokuba rubbed his eyes, thinking it was an effect from the sleep-loss he had experience. When he opened them again, Shadi was gone, his last words hanging in the air like some strange echo.
Shizuka was standing outside of Yugi's game shop. She wondered at the broken glass in the door, but it was clear that no one was home. Her oniisan had called a short time ago, leaving a hurried message about having to go to Tokyo. She was worried about him, and had been trying to find him ever since. But it seemed that she was too late, and he had already left. She had no money to pay for a taxi or bus fair, and so had no way to follow her oniisan.
She sighed and sat down on the curb. She had been afraid of this. Ever since the Battle City Tournament, not to even mention their time trapped in the virtual world on their way to the finals of the tournament, and especially since she had witnessed her oniisan trapped in the Shadow Realm, she had been afraid something would happen. She had been terrified that something new would come up and he would be hurt or worse, and now...
"Hey, kid. Why the long face?" a familiar voice made Shizuka look up.
"Mai!" Shizuka cried happily, jumping up. She hadn't even noticed the convertible pull up in front of her. Kujaku Mai smiled at her.
"What's up?" Mai greeted.
"It's my oniisan," Shizuka started.
"What's he done now?" Mai asked with a sigh.
"Something's happened, something to do with the monsters popping up all over town, but he won't tell me what. And now he's gone to Tokyo with Yugi," Shizuka hurriedly explained, hoping against hope that once Mai knew the whole story, she would off her a ride to Tokyo.
"Do you know exactly where in Tokyo they went?" Mai asked.
Shizuka smiled. "A temple in the mountains. He said it belonged to someone named Genkai."
Now Mai flashed a bright smile. "I'll tell you what, kid. Hop in and I'll give you a lift. And when we catch up to them, we'll give that little brat Jonouchi hell for leaving us behind!"
"Yeah!" Shizuka giggled as she climbed into the car, fashioning her seat belt after remembering he last taste of Mai's driving.
Arumi suddenly blushed, turning her head as she walked beside Kurama. He had kept his word and told her everything she could ever wanted to know about himself as well as the friends he had that she was sure to meet very soon. It was realizing all that he was telling her that had caused her to blush. She now officially knew more about Shuichi Minamino then any girl at school could ever hope to know, and it made her feel great! Granted, some of his story was slightly scary, such as the description he had given her of his friend Hiei, but she still loved the fact that she knew all of it when so few other people did.
"Don't forget, you promised to answer some of my questions as well," Kurama reminded her, pulling her from her thoughts.
"Okay, shoot," she said with a smile.
"Where did you get that bracelet?" Kurama asked. She sighed as she looked down at the bracelet. Kurama had told her about how it had nearly killed her and that he suspected its true name was the Eye of Anubis.
"I already told you. My otosan gave it to me," she answered simply.
"Yes, but where did he get it?" Kurama asked.
"It's not important," Arumi said quietly, lowering her head.
"Yes it is," Kurama insisted, stopping and turning to face Arumi. She stopped as well, but didn't look at him. "Arumi-chan..." he said quietly, his voice willing her to look up, but she didn't. Then Arumi felt a strong hand take hold of her chin and gently force her to look up. "That bracelet nearly killed you, and whatever Shadi did to it isn't going to last forever. Anything you know about it would help." During all the time he spoke, he kept his emerald eyes locked with Arumi's dark ones. She blushed, but didn't look away. Arumi felt like she could stare forever into those eyes, but she managed to pull herself back to reality just before their emerald depths swallowed her whole.
"Alright," she said finally, breaking their stare and looking at the ground as she tried to control the blush that had turned her whole face almost as red as Kurama's hair. "But we'll have to take a little detour." She looked back up at him to see if he would allow it. Kurama stared at her for a moment, obviously doubtful about whether or not they should delay their arrival at Genkai's any further, but at length he closed his eyes and gave her an approving nod. Arumi smiled and, without even thinking about it, grabbed his hand and began to lead him in the direction of her house. She was glad she was in front of him when the blush returned full-force, her mind having realized just who's hand she had grabbed so eagerly.