I would also like to dedicate this chapter and the majority of the next to Dukey, Marik, and The Purple Dude. Without these three, I doubt I would have as little as I do. There's something inspiring about a character that you can talk about with your little sister and drive her absolutely insane ("Who's the purple dude? There's no character's with purple hair!" "Yes there are! You're gonna be so mad when you find out who it is!" "TELL ME!!" "NO!!"). Hehe. Do YOU know who the Purple Dude is?
And new thing, new thing! This fic is also archived at destined-dot-to/dytopia!! This is my writing archive, and the only reason I'm mentioning it is because I was going to add illustrations on this site and I want to know which scenes people would like to see illustrated (let's leave out any debates on the quality, please...). Or I would like an expert to give me some tips...
Once again, my thanks to Maruken and Koriaena. The detailed replies are at the bottom.
Thanks to all readers for bearing with me.You have my sincere thanks and apologies.
Chapter Seven: God doesn't dice with the universe...
"Of all the days Tristan could be late," Pegasus moaned, biting his lower lip to contain his smile. Kaiba-boy looked irritated (no surprises there. Kaiba-boy always looked irritated.), glancing at the sky as though to check the time. They all knew that he didn't need to - the boy (and he used the word derogatively) always knew the time, presumably down the nearest second.
Pegasus knew about Kaiba. Knew all that he needed to. Kaiba liked to walk through the town, just to see how everything was running - or so he claimed. In reality it was probably just to get away from the castle. The lilac haired man had come to the conclusion that Kaiba-boy didn't like being cooped up inside stone walls. And he didn't like being surrounded by guards.
That was the reason only three or four people went on these walks. Pegasus, Ishizu, and occasionally the brat. And no matter what, Kaiba would always escape the sight of the adults, leaving them with nothing but his cloak and the jewellery while he sauntered around town with god knows what kind of lowlife.
The brunette let his hand stray to his sword hilt while he thought, then he turned to look at Pegasus.
"Fine. You can stay here. Deal with what ever's so important that it can't wait, then entertain yourself until we return." Kaiba's grin turned feral. "And god help you if you're not sober."
Pegasus let his own grin escape. "Of course your highness," he purred indulgently. "Although you might actually win for once if I were tipsy..."
Ishizu did something strange at that. She jumped and flushed. From her chin to her hairline, her face was suddenly a brilliant shade of red. Of course, that could be guilt for the bottle of wine the kitchen staff reported her stealing... Or it could be memories of what she'd done while under the effect of the wine. It really was quite potent.
The brown eyed man smothered a larger, more malicious smile. He would have liked to see the normally mature and stoical Ishizu drunk and out-of-control for once. It would certainly be amusing...
Kaiba though, had his back to Ishizu, and his face set into a frown with a nearly audible click.
"Believe me Pegasus - " he started. The two men had been engaged in a sort of training/ongoing-duel for a long time now. The two usually spent an afternoon fencing, and Kaiba invariably lost. Although last time he'd come quite close to winning...
"You should go your highness," Pegasus consoled. "You can be defeated later, when you've returned."
Kaiba scowled and sneered, but he left. Ishizu followed, still looking a little pink.
Pegasus watched them leave, then let his face break into a true, genuine smile. Everything was going according to plan. Kaiba and Ishizu leaving, himself left behind. Really, he would have to thank Tristan: he'd unwittingly given Pegasus the necessary excuse.
Now all he need was for that stupid spirit to follow through and Pegasus' ascension was assured.
The cat knew something was up, and was padding around the room warily. He felt a small pang of guilt - he liked cats. Always had. It was another left over from his hikari. It seemed that when he'd been made he'd retained a few parts of him.
Now he scooped up his knife and traced it along the scar on his palm without actually breaking the skin. What he was going to do was both simple and complicated.
And if his hikari knew he was doing it...
He shoved the thought away and pressed down with the knife. Thick black blood followed in it's wake, welling up into his hand.
He crouched and beckoned to the cat. When it came over, he encouraged it to lap up the blood.
In some hands, blood could be used as pure magic.
In these hands, they could be used to create monsters.
Of all the days he could have been late. Market day. The one day a week where it was impossible to get across the square to the castle road.
Tristan growled under his breath then started to backtrack to Téa's. It was midmorning; he could go the long ways through the back-streets and be there by mid- day, he could through the market and be there by there by midnight, or he could...
Tristan's eyes drifted up the tall buildings that loomed over him. Duke and Yami had discovered - without actually consulting each other as far as he knew - the quickest way round town: the roofs. It gave him the creeps just thinking about trying that route.
He'd probably be too heavy for it anyway. Duke had a liquid diet unless Tristan cooked him something, and Yami... He couldn't actually remember the last time he'd actually seen Yami eat. But he'd been drinking like a fish yesterday...
And speak of the devil -
"I can't believe you just left her at Téa's." Yami commented, his long coat flapping around him as he swept by. He was focusing on his companion, and so missed Tristan, but Tristan saw them both clearly and sent up a litany of curses. Of all the days -
"What else was I supposed to do?" Kaiba snapped. "She wouldn't go back."
"What's wrong with her?"
Kaiba sighed, and Tristan resigned himself to tailing them. "She couldn't say. It was something to with a vision that wasn't playing through."
"And for those of us who aren't intimately acquainted with the workings of Seer's minds...?"
The ruler shrugged his shoulders - he was wearing a loose navy shirt today, and matching pants, which was odd seeing as he usually wore all black - and frowned. "She never explained it to me in detail. All I know is that she can only see a vision once - once she sees it completely it vanishes and she won't be able to see it again. If it doesn't play all the way through, then it repeats over and over until it does. Ishizu can't see the ending and so can't get out of the vision."
"What was it?" Yami asked, looking up at the brunette. "What did she see?"
"A shadow," Kaiba growled in disgust. "A shadow and a cat. What sort of threat - "
"That's what - "
"Gozaburo said, I know, I know."
"And look what happened to him!"
"I doubt I'll end up face-first in my dessert Yami. Don't get your hopes up."
Yami chuckled and led the way into the crowd. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, and I'm a dog."
"You have been looking a little furry around the edges," Yami said seriously. "I didn't want to mention it."
Kaiba laughed and elbowed his way to the shorter man, Tristan following close behind, eyes wide. He'd never seen either man joking around like this before. Ever.
"I wonder if Yami knows he's got imitators," Tristan muttered. He could go to work and have this fretting at his mind all day, or he could tail them and get in serious trouble with Pegasus and Yami.
"Pegasus's gonna kill me," the spiky haired boy groaned before taking a deep breath and plunging into the crowd.
"I don't like it."
"You don't have to."
"But it's murder - it's outright murder - "
"Don't be so melodramatic. It's not murder. It's merely pointing someone in the right direction."
"That someone being a known homicidal - "
"Oh do calm down. It's too late to be arguing about it now. What's done is done."
"His sister's going to be devastated."
"His sister's not going to be around to learn of it."
"WHAT?"
"Come now, you knew about all this before."
"Removing the boy because he was a danger to our power yes. But killing an innocent girl - !"
"We're not killing her. We're sacrificing her for the greater good of the community. She's a self-sacrificing little thing, she'll do it willingly."
"But not if it means killing her brother! And did you ask her? I didn't think so."
"We don't need to. She's only a few steps away from the edge anyway. All we have to do is make sure that when she goes over, she's under our control. She won't be harmed. She'll still be the same sweet child you're fussing over so much."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"But can I ask? Why Panik? Of all the people you could have sent to kill the boy why him?"
"Because he's expendable. And who's going to notice the disappearance of a mad man?"
"True..."
She came back to herself slowly, hazel-green eyes still focused on the ball of fire in her trembling hands.
"Did you see anything?" the teacher asked, looking at the tearful girl. Behind her a board read Seeing through fire. "It doesn't matter if you didn't, there's nothing to get upset over - "
"A phoenix." Serenity whispered softly. "A phoenix of blood."
The world swirled around him. He had no more substance than a shadow, but the darkness was that of a starless night. For a moment he hovered, unsure of what to do or what form he should be in - he had a feeling that this living darkness was not the shape he needed - before memory and instinct kicked in.
The master had found him. Almost. It was more the master had unwittingly acquired him, and he had to find him. Well, that couldn't be helped. For now, he was more concerned about the shape that was trying to press itself onto him. He tentatively let it come... And dropped out of the sky as his shadow-substance was substituted for something soft and squishy.
'Flesh.' his mind told him. 'It's flesh. You need a body for this. Stop complaining.'
He looked at his new limbs, flexing them in astonishment, marvelling at the little bumps that poked up from his pale brown skin.
'Goosebumps. You're cold.' His memory fumbled for a few minutes, then offered him a suggestion. 'You need clothes. Find some. Or you'll freeze and have to find a new form.'
Sound advice. Very sound advice. Bits of being human were slowly coming back to him in little dribs and drabs. But those little bits weren't the important thing. What he needed now was to check his strength, in case this shape wasn't good enough.
With barely a thought, he leapt straight up, somersaulting in mid air and catching hold of a branch. He stroked strands of blue-purple hair out of his face, looking at the world around him with the curiosity of a small child. It was very green. And the tree bark felt very rough against his bare skin. But it was all wonderful. All... unusual.
He balanced on the branch, then leapt for the next. It was very easy once he had the knack - you didn't just stop for long. You bounced quickly from one point to another, just giving yourself enough time to get your feet onto the tree before you moved off to the next point.
Once he reached the top, he looked around. On one side there was a long path, glimpsed through the trees. He could see a large dark shape at the end of it, one that he could almost feel pulsing with life and energy.
(And darkness...)
But in the other direction there was smoke. Smoke meant... meant... Fire. And fire usually meant people. And people meant clothes and such.
He let go of the tree, plunging the thirty feet to the ground and landing in a crouch. Then, even as the leaves pattered down around him, he was moving. Running through the woods towards where he'd seen the smoke.
And he knew - knew! - that the master was coming in this direction. All he had to do was wait.
Keith sprawled out on a rock, watching the road with barely hidden boredom. It wasn't his favourite job, but it was close. It was one of the few times where he could lie around doing exactly nothing and not be challenged over it.
He stretched his arms out over his head, enjoying the sunlight. From here he could see most of the valley. And the road, which was the important thing in his line of work.
Bandit by name and bandit by nature after all...
Keith was considering rolling onto his stomach, trying to decide if he could be bothered to move, when the first shocked yells rose up from to him.
For a moment he thought that it was his gang actually making themselves useful and getting the jump on some random idiot who didn't know that this was his territory. But then he jerked up, his hair tumbling out of his bandanna as he realised that it was his gang themselves who were yelling.
"Cygor! Don't let him get past - "
"Too late - "
"LOOK OUT!"
Keith scrambled over to the edge, warily peering down. What he saw was amazing.
Some guy - who'd apparently swiped Cygor's spare clothes by the look of him - was running down the path. No, not running, sprinting. Moving faster than anyone should be able to.
So that meant that Keith's calculations had to be just that little bit faster this time than then usually were so he could pull off his usual party trick.
He leapt up and back, before sprinting to the edge and diving over. He landed feet first, not in front of his victim as he usually did, but right on top.
He ghosted along the roofs, chocolate eyes following the men as they worked their way though the crowd. His work followed behind, mind empty, unable to comprehend anything other than what he wanted it to do. And what he wanted it to do was wait.
After all, Bakura would not be happy if he killed more people than necessary...
He leapt from one roof to another, landing soundlessly. His creation landed with a little more noise, but it wasn't bad for something that was negotiating the transition from four limbs to two.
Finally, after browsing what he considered to be far too many stalls (the brunette apparently agreed, as he told his companion), the men finally moved to the back streets, out of the public's gaze.
Right into his hands...
He dropped into the alley, blocking their escape. The creature followed, landing on the stone behind him. It rose, tail lashing, brown eyes vacant, awaiting his instructions. The two men were deep in conversation, barely aware that their death was calling.
He smiled thinly, giving the final order to the creature.
/Kill./
Tristan hadn't seen the shadow as he struggled to follow Yami. You wouldn't have thought that a guy who towered over half the people around him would be easy to lose, but hey - this was Kaiba. Tristan wouldn't put anything past him.
But he had seen the thing that followed.
It could have been human at one point. It was vaguely human-shaped at least. But the limbs were wrong - the joints in the wrong places, as though this was something that should have been going about on all fours. And it was furry all over. And it had what looked like a weird cross between a cat and a woman.
But what really grabbed him attention, caught it and held it, was the tail. Tails. Plural. One was long and tapering, fluttering around it's shoulders like a woman fussing with her hair. The other...
The other was tipped with what looked like a six-inch knife.
Tristan slammed through the crowd, emerging from it with a nearly audible pop. He sprinted towards them, bellowing at the top of his voice "YAMI LOOK OUT!!"
He sat in the desert, eyes closed, a smile spreading across his face. Everything was going wonderfully. Excellently. The fools were easily manipulated, like pieces in a game. Pieces that could so easily be swept off the board...
He rose, stretching out tanned limbs, before setting off once more. A sandstorm whipped itself up as he moved, folding around his body, obscuring it from view. Unusually, this storm only lasted a few seconds, and when it was over the man had vanished completely. But his footsteps were still there, etched into the sand as though carved in it.
Koriaena: Got it one. Or two. Soon all will become clear...
Maruken: I'm tired too, so I'm not understanding much right now. Therefore, in regards to your comments, I'm merely taking a stab into a darkened room and hoping you're somewhere in there (Don't take that the wrong way, PLEASE. I like you really!) 1: Insanity is more fun than sanity. I never denied that fact. 2: Life leech on Kura... Uh... Not as far as I know... 3: Of course they're cursing it! I curse it and I willingly get up at 5:45! 4: I think Yami scared Ryou. God knows he scares everyone else. 5: There is no five.
That's all from me I'm afraid! See ya next time! Comments and criticism are accepted, along with scoldings for the late post. PLEASE DON'T FLAME!!! (And please make suggestions for the fanart...)