Jungle Fever – By ashford2ashford AKA: The Mini Arkana

Disclaimer: I'm sure you're all fully aware that I don't own any of these characters, so I can just skip this part!

Pairing(s): This even I don't know! I think it's got a slight hint of Strings/Arkana but also a touch of Arkana/Seeker. . .*shrugs* try to enjoy!

Dedications: This is dedicated to Knupfel, and also my little Pookie Drew! ^__^ Without them, this idea would have never formed in my head!

Other Notes: This is a Rare Hunters fiction. This is the first of hopefully many chapters! I'd say there was hardly any yaoi in it, but I can't make that kind of promise for later chapters. This is my first YuGiOh Fic for fanfiction.net, and I only want to make Rare Hunter fans happy! Well. . .even if you're not a Rare Hunter fan, you'd be glad to know that Mariku, Malik, Rishido, and Ishizu make it into later chapters (Probably chapter four if I get good press for this ^_^) so there you go! I seek to please everyone!

Without Further Ado, Please Enjoy!

~~~~~~~

Arkana coughed, his eyes fluttering open, his mouth dry. One arm lay over his face, his body aching to move, the other hand dangling over the couch, soft moans coming from his lips. Lay on the couch in a drunken stupor, his mind racing, his heart beating loudly in his ears. "Shut up.", he told it, wincing as his eyes came into contact with the bright light pouring in through the open window. He was in his more or less wrecked apartment, several bottles of alcohol strewn about the place, his lanky form dangled over the couch – where he had spent all night after staggering in and tripping onto it.

His mouth tasted bitter, his skin all clammy and chapped, and each muscle screamed in pain every time he dared move. In short, the Master of Magicians had had a very bad night at work, and had taken to drinking away his sorrows.

After a while of recovering, he glanced around his room, his eyes rolling at the mess in there. A sigh of defeat hissed from his lips and then he sat up, staring around with bloodshot eyes, the burn scars on his face red with scratches. "This is not my day. . .", he murmured, coughing a little, feeling the parched feeling in his throat, ". . .Why me?" Arkana staggered to his feet and padded over to the kitchen, kicking cans out of the way as he did so. Thirstily, he gulped down a bottle of spring water from his fridge and then leaned back on the kitchen counter, grabbing a packet of cigarettes from the shelf. He stuck one of them in his mouth and then lit it, coughing with the smoke and then trying to at least smoke one. Truth be told, Arkana wasn't used to smoking. He'd only just started really. And it was all thanks to his job that he had begun!

Another sigh, much more saddened than the first, escaped his lips once more and then he clutched at his throbbing temples with one hand. How had he ended up in that job anyway? He remembered Battle City, the defeat against Yugi, being trapped in the shadows for what seemed like forever, and then waking up to find that his job as a GHOUL was no longer available. After that. . .what had happened? He had lived on council pay checks and took residence in a sleazy little flat, where each neighbour had stared at him like he were a three course meal. That was the apartment he now resided in. And then. . .

"Kaiba.", Arkana remembered. Seto Kaiba himself had found the location of Arkana and had offered him a job. When Arkana had asked what the requirements for the job were, the young CEO had merely laughed and then whispered, "Experience." It had turned out that the 'job' was underneath a small bar called the "Ritz Aria" and it was none other than one of Kaiba's prostitution dungeons. Kaiba hired people to whore themselves out for money, sit in rooms and strip to please their audience, take requests from customers and fulfil them, no matter what the fetish. . .and, finally, swallow their own pride and do as their masters commanded. Arkana had been ready to decline as soon as he was shown around the place, turning away in disgust, his eyes narrowed at what he saw, but then Kaiba had flashed a cheque for 10,000 yen in his face, telling the Magician that this would be his nightly pay if he took the job.

//And the next thing I know, I'm lay on my back in the middle of a mirrored room.//, Arkana recalled bitterly, //People all around me, watching me from behind two way glass, my instructions being told to me through a small speaker, listening to cheers, whistles, and cat calls. . .//

The blue haired magician leaned over the counter and stubbed out the only half smoked cigarette with one hand, uttering a choked sob and covering his mouth with one hand. He was shaking, his eyes closed tightly with each memory of his time at Kaiba's club resurfacing. His body felt unclean, he felt. . .like a dirty little whore. With a small cry of rage, he threw the empty plastic spring water bottle across the room and slid down the kitchen cabinet, curling into a ball at the bottom of it, his head between his legs and his arms wrapped around himself.

And he lay there shivering and sobbing, unable to control himself any longer.

RING

He looked up. Listening to the vaguely familiar sound of the phone ringing.

RING

It had been so long since anyone had rung him. The last phone call he had ever had was weeks ago – from Kaiba, telling him to meet him for a discussion about the job which Arkana now hated with ever bone in his body.

RING

He sighed and waited for the answering machine to come on, hoping for it to be a wrong number.

RING – click! Hey, this is Arkana. I'm not in at the moment, so leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Bye! – click! – BEEP! "Hey there, sweet cheeks!"

Arkana's head jerked up. He knew that voice! Even as it hissed down the phone he knew who it was; he could picture the tall gangly figure in front of him: The burning cigarettes, the smell of tea and deodorant, the sound of the 'click click' of the laptop keys, and the wide manic eyes followed by the evil stretching grin.

"Pick up the phone, Boy! I know you're there! Come on. I got 'business' matters to discuss. I'm warning you, Arkana - "

Click.

"H-hello?" Arkana shakily spoke into the receiver, his lower lip trembling. The voice at the other end of the line snickered, amused. "Hey there, Boy. It's me Seeker. Did you miss me?" The hissing voice sounded in Arkana's ears, making him shiver. "Not really.", he replied, his fear fading somewhat, "I've been busy. I haven't had time to think lately." "Really? Well isn't that a damn shame? Heh. Well I got some news for ya. Me and the other GHOULS are getting together for a little gathering. We were wondering if you wanted to come. Say at. . .ooh. . .midday tomorrow?" "I'd love to, but I'm busy." "Oh no, you're not. Come on out of hiding! You don't work until late anyway! I'm going to expect you to be there. Goodbye."

Click!

The line went dead and then Arkana stared, his hands shaking.

//How does he know about my job!?!//

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was about half past twelve by the time Arkana reached the small café, and the signs of fatigue were showing on his tanned face greatly. For the little gathering, he had decided to wear his white suit, still keeping the mask on of course. As he fumbled into his chair, he cast his eyes around at the people with him.

Lumis and Umbra, the double duellists, had decided to wear suits as well. Both of them in matching suits, one black, one white. //How typical.//, Arkana's train of thought turned to the obvious, //Even at social gatherings they keep the dark and light in their name.//

Next to them sat the Silent One, Strings, who had chosen to wear baggy knee length combat shorts, a black vest top, and an array of collars and piercing. //As per usual, keeping the whole silent slave act, even when our master is gone.// Arkana had always considered Strings as his closest friend. The two had been forced to share a room in Battle City and like it or not, the Magician had grown attached to the Mime. //He'd always listen.//, Arkana thought respectively, //Even though I often figured him to be under Malik's control, he'd still smile at me warmly whenever he saw me.//

Then there sat; in all his habits of showing off; Seeker. //The main attraction...// He sat there in a nice blue suit, his hair tied back, his skin clean, teeth white. //Sickening.//, Arkana failed to be impressed. The rumours were that Seeker had gone back to his days of poaching and hunting. Going back to hunt the rarest of animals as well as the rarest of cards. Although Arkana didn't exactly forbid hunting, the thought of some beautiful creature such as the powerful white tiger falling to the bullets of Seeker's gun made him cringe.

"I ordered us some soup." All eyes turned to look at Seeker, still sat there smugly. "I hope you all like cream of tomato." A murmur ran across the table, save for Strings. Lumis and Umbra nodded and both murmured, "Yeah. Our favourite." Strings simply nodded softly, his eyes wide and staring at Seeker. Arkana shrugged : "Yeah. It's alright."

Seeker smiled and then lit up a cigarette, passing the pack round. Lumis and Arkana were the only two to take one, both leaning forwards to have Seeker light it for them. As Arkana had his lit, his eyes glanced upwards into Seeker's, his heart jumping at what he saw. Such lust and unforeseen passion lay in those eyes, staring directly into Arkana's, making him feel much like the deer who stares down the barrel of the hunter's gun before being shot.

Seeker then leaned back, and the feeling was gone, Arkana sitting up hastily, breathing in the smoke gently. The magician shivered, noticing Strings' inquiring look and how Lumis and Umbra failed to notice what the mime had noticed. Arkana nodded gently to Strings, a motion that had been used between them for a while now, simply meaning: "I'm okay."

After a while, an awkward moment of strained conversation and confused glances, the previously mentioned soup arrived. Lumis and Umbra attacked it like wolves, relentlessly tearing bread, slurping soup, all the while being watched by Seeker, as if they were but game to him. Two wolves facing the hunter's watchful eye. . . Strings stared at his soup and then stared at Arkana, noticing how the other man simply rolled his bread around in the soup a little, slightly put off by the fact that he wasn't hungry at all.

Arkana looked up, caught Strings' gaze and then smiled. "Eat up.", he mouthed, "I'm okay." Strings looked down at his soup again and then shook his head. Arkana raised an eyebrow and then bit into his soup red bread gently. Strings copied, both magician and mime staring at each other as they did so. The blue-haired magician smiled, and then began the slow process of eating the soup, only so Strings could. If Arkana stopped, Strings would stop. If Arkana ate the bread, Strings ate the bread. It was like eating in front of a mirror.

"Well, now that the snacks have been taken care of, does anyone fancy a drive? I've got a new jeep I'd like to show you all. After all, let's make the most of our time together, hm?" Seeker spoke as if he were taking some amusement in his own words, everyone else failing to see the joke. However, everyone piled into the jeep without much complaint, Arkana sitting with Seeker in the front, Strings on his own in the seat behind Arkana's and Lumis and Umbra together on the back row.

They had barely driven five blocks when suddenly there came a duet of short sighs in the back of the jeep. Lumis and Umbra lay slumped, Strings' eyes going wide, before fluttering with sleep. Arkana panicked, his eyes wide, feeling sleep nearly overcome him. "What. . .did you. . .do?" The question was strained, slurred from sleep- lusting lips. Seeker cackled slightly. "I wouldn't worry about that right now. You won't wake up until morning."

Arkana strained to ask what he meant before sleep overcame him and he fell against Seeker's arm, feeling something touching his face. . .