K: Aa~ ^^; Haven't updated this in a LONG while, ne? ; Gomen yo… I was busy writing for all 60-something of my other fics…. ^_^;
Y: Not to mention getting into all those other fandoms, aibou… -_-;
K: Eh heh heh heh…. ^^; Sou desu… Datte- it also has to do with the fact we don't have BLOOD anymore since our rental time was only 5 days, not 6 months… ;
Y: What video store would let someone rent it that long?!
K: My neighbor let me borrow her Diddy Kong Racing game for 3 years…. I still have it….. ; She moved this week, too… ^_^;
Y: -_-; …………………………… no comment.
Disclaimer: Dun own Yuugi-tachi or Saya-tachi. Plain and simple….
Dedications:
- Tora no Kurayami (Hey guys! Stop giving away the surprises!! *mock scowl* Sheesh- you guys make better detectives than Inspector Zenigata… [The guy from Lupin III])
- Cyberkat (Here you go…! ^_^; Sorry it took so damn long… You've all probably forgotten about this by now…. -_-;)
- yamibakuramalik#1fan (*laughs* Glad you like it so far! Naa~ If you like vampires, I have another YGO vamp ficcy, and a Bakuten Shoot Beyblade one as well. They're both on my bio page… ^_~ [And yes, glomping all 3 at once IS possible. ^_^ Glomping all 46 of my muses- now THAT'S hard. *laughs*])
- Platerair Queen (*blushes* I'm glad you think so highly of my writing… I'll try hard to make sure this doesn't end up in the Discontinued Archives as well, k? ^_~)
- SailorMulti (Oh, thank Ra!! *glomps you* Thanks sooooo much for offering to help!! I'll be sure to contact you if I get stuck, ne? ^^;)
Shadows of the Night
Part II: Bloodied Desert Flower
"Naa~ Saya-san? Would you like me to help you around again tomorrow, or will you be fine on your own?"
Though it was spoken out of pure innocence, the brunette couldn't help but seethe at the question. She was NOT a child. She didn't have to be led around like some lost puppy- especially by this weak human. She didn't need his friendship- he would only get in the way later on.
"I'll manage."
She sensed him as he cringed behind her, hurt by her icy tone. He soon recovered, however, and caught up to her stride, a grin plastered on his face. The girl raised an eyebrow- it seemed this boy was used to rejection. How interesting…
"Well then… I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Ja na, Saya-san!"
With that, he turned and started down the sidewalk, his petite frame quickly lost in the sea of students making their way home after classes. Saya gazed after him for a while, then bristled as she felt someone watching her from behind. Without turning from her post, she addressed the one behind her.
"What do you want?"
A chuckle broke through the dull rumble of the city. "Ah- so you did sense me… I must be getting rusty…"
"I said what do you want… Now tell me or I'll leave. I don't have time for this."
"Tsk, tsk… You're not very patient, are you? Is that why you choose to be so mean?"
"What the hell do you know…? Mean? So what if I'm mean…? I'll act however the hell I want."
"Wakata na… Datte…" the figure drawled, then pushed himself up from the tree he was leaning against. "Don't act that way toward Mutou-san. He's been through a lot, and he deserves to be happy, or at least to be treated more kindly…"
"He's been through a lot? Compared to other things, I'd say that's a gross exaggeration…"
"Other things? Like fighting chiropterans…?"
Saya eyes narrowed, and she whipped around to meet the amused gaze of the other. "How is it you know about them?! Who the hell are you?!"
The boy smirked, closing his ruby-red eyes. "Aa~ I know what you're thinking right now… You're thinking- 'Who is this guy? Is he an enemy, or is he to be trusted?'"
His eyes snapped open, sensing the brunette's heated glare. "Isn't that right?"
"Shut up and answer me before I cut you to ribbons." She demanded, her fingers just itching to unsheathe her katana.
"Tsk, tsk… What did I say about patience? You're certainly a trigger-happy bitch, aren't you?" the boy snorted. "Fine, I'll tell you. I'm just like you- a vampire of sorts…"
The girl's crimson eyes narrowed further. "You're lying- David said there were no others. How can you be one if others don't exist?"
The boy frowned. "I don't exist?! Ah- sonnai! How could you have forgotten about the Pharaoh?"
Saya blinked. "You're…. Egyptian?"
He gave her a pointed look that clearly said 'well DUH- where else would you have a Pharaoh?', then nodded. "I'm guessing whatever embassy you're working for never thought about checking the records for Egypt, ne? Otherwise they'd know about me…"
/Sounds plausible… But still- I don't trust him. I need to check with David on this…/ the brunette thought, her hands still on the navy case.
"Look- I'm not asking you to trust me. You don't seem all that trustworthy yourself, Miss Saya… All I'm asking is that you not hurt Mutou. I promised no harm would ever come to him, and it's a promise I intend to keep."
"You're a fool to care for a mortal like that."
"Am I?" he asked, a small, sad smile on his lips. "Perhaps, but at least it still feels as if I'm human that way…"
"You actually want to be human again?"
He blinked. "Don't you? It's better to live a full life than an eternal one… To be given the chance to spend your life with others, instead of watching as they fade away, one by one…"
"You would be weak."
That same ghost of a smile floated to his lips once more. "By some standards, maybe, but at least I'd be happy…"
He turned, hefting his backpack over his shoulder. "Saa~ Ja mata, Saya-san. Please keep in mind what I've said, ne?"
That said, the boy trudged home in much the same direction Yuugi had taken earlier. The brunette idly wondered if he lived near there or was simply going off to stalk the boy and 'protect' him, then banished the notion. It was none of her business, and besides- what did she care, anyway? She had work to do…
~*~
/Hmm… He's protecting Mutou, right? In that case, he should be in the school records…/
She browsed through the dusty books until she found a section that held past yearbooks. Spotting the most recent one, she slid it off the shelf and opened the index in the front.
/Shit. Just my luck- the bastards had to list it by grade instead of class… I hate High School…/
She grumbled in annoyance, then made her way over to an empty table and sat down. This would undoubtedly take a while…
~*~
After 15 minutes of searching through the yearbook, she realized with a start that Mutou was in the Freshman class, and, therefore, wouldn't be listed. That meant Mr. 'Pharaoh' wouldn't be there either. Which meant she just wasted an hour on this wild goose chase.
"DAMMIT!!"
Saya was still muttering curses after she was promptly sent away for her outburst as the Library was supposed to be a quiet zone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K: It was getting too serious… I had to add humor…. XP
Y: You just don't want her to figure out it's Yami…. -_-;
K: It's fun pissing Saya off… ^^; I couldn't help it!
Y: …… -_-;
K: *clears her throat* Anyhoo, I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long! I have an idea as to why Yami promised to protect Yuugi, and why he said the little guy's been through a lot. (Hint: It's also why Saya's been transferred to Domino, Japan! ^_~) Well, I gotta go check my e-mail… Ja ne!