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 Kupfel, 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!

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//It's cold.//

//No shit. . .//

//What's going on?//

//I feel clammy. . .//

//I think it's very warm outside. . .but cold in here. . .//

//Where is here?//

//Here?//

//Here. . .//

//Where am I? Where is here?//

//Here. . .//

//Here. . .//

//Wake up. . .wake up. . .wake up. . .//

"WAKE UP!!!"

Arkana jerked into wakefulness and then moaned when each joint was snapped back onto the surface he lay on. From what he could tell, it was very warm outside and beads of sweat lay dotted on his forehead. . .wait. . .his forehead?

He realised with some horror that his mask was no longer there, and now his horrible scars were revealed to the world. He felt uncomfortable and restricted, and when he tried to move again, he found out why.

Cold hard steel manacles dug into his wrists and ankles and neck, forcing him to remain on the floor, lay on what seemed to be a fur rug. He coughed loudly, the heat making his mouth dry and parched. There was movement to his left, and a sense of dread came over him when he heard the voice.

"Ah. Finally. I was beginning to think my game would never begin!"

Seeker leaned over him, his grin practically covering the lower half of his face. Arkana looked up, his eyes filled with fear, his mouth unable to move with the dry texture of his lips.

"The hunt will begin soon." Seeker told him, offering him some water in some kind of friendly gesture; "The others are already out there, already running scared from the barrel of the gun."

"Wh-what do you. . .mean?" Arkana's voice came out whispering and low due to his throat recovering.

"The hunt. My hunt. My own private GHOUL hunt!"

"GHOUL. . .hunt?"

"Yes. That's why you're all here. I've brought you here so I can hunt and slay the most fearsome of all beasts. . .MAN!"

Seeker made no effort to keep the excitement from his voice, his grin staying plastered on his face. The chained and bound Master of Magicians gagged on the water and then looked up shivering.

"M-man? You're hunting US? WE'RE your prey?" He asked, his eyes wide and scared, his mind registering the severity of this situation.

"Of course. Man is the ultimate predator, doing anything it can to survive, even when survival is not the option. By hunting the most common, yet most feared, of all the beasts, I will prove my worth as a hunter. Of course, it IS a shame to have to have resorted to hunting my friends. . .but that's a small price to pay for my own fulfilment!"

He laughed harshly and insanely, making the smaller male tremble in fear, looking around for an escape, but finding none. In short, Arkana was now at the mercy of someone who was not going to hesitate to put a bullet through his head. He lay chained, bound, exposed on the rug at Seeker's feet, feeling very much afraid - like an animal himself!

"Why? Please. Please don't do this. We're. . .we don't want to die." Arkana knew pleading to be the lowest he could ever resort to, but the situation made it so. Seeker paused in his laughter and looked down, staring at the shivering magician on the floor with cold intelligent eyes.

"No one wants to die, Arkana." He spoke smoothly, as if now thinking of his choice of words, "And I didn't want YOU to die either."

Arkana's eyes widened more than they had previously, listening to the taller male intently.

"It WOULD be a shame to waste someone as resourceful and as talented as yourself." Seeker's voice seemed to suddenly have a purr to it, a dangerous predatory purr. There was a deathly silent pause and then Arkana felt Seeker begin to run his strong hands across the scarred flesh of his back. Biting back a cry of surprise, Arkana let Seeker continue, listening to the ever-purring voice grating into his ears.

"I'll tell you what, Arkana. . ." Seeker seemed to come to a conclusion; humour added into his voice, "I'll let you have two choices. That seems fair, ne?" Arkana didn't reply, letting him continue. "First choice, you refuse all offers, and get released from here, but I'll hunt you down and kill you eventually. But at least you'll be free!" Arkana thought this over whilst the older man continued. "Second choice, you stay here with me, help me hunt down your friends and then get used for my - " One hand was placed in between Arkana's legs, beginning to rub up and down gently "– experiments."

Arkana felt sickened by the offers, feeling Seeker's body pressing closer to his, making his thoughts race, and his body uncomfortable. He hadn't noticed until now that his clothes had been taken from him, leaving him in a pair of shorts that Arkana had assumed were Seeker's. He felt everything in the full; as though his very senses had been heightened by whatever Seeker had drugged the soup with.

"What's your choice?"

As soon as Seeker had spoken these words, Arkana had been ready, springing forth suddenly and making a flawless attempt at subduing Seeker. Clack! Clack! The manacles were around Seeker's wrists now, binding HIM rather than Arkana. He raised one eyebrow delicately.

"This is most unexpected."

He hardly seemed fazed, but Arkana was in too much of a frenzy to listen to his tone. Quickly, he made several small movements over his ankle manacles and then smiled when they clicked free.

"So. . .you picked the locks, eh? What a clever, clever boy."

Arkana scowled at Seeker's patronising tone, pointing at the collar around his neck.

"This needs a code." He stated, eyes locked with his captor's. "What's the code, Seeker? Tell me now."

Seeker was silent and then he asked. "What choice is it then?" Arkana stared. "What?" He asked, uncertain of what was to come. Seeker smiled, looking up from his position on the rug. "What's your choice? Stay here, or run free?"

Arkana rolled his eyes and then punched the arrogant hunter in the face, holding his manacles in one hand, his eyes ablaze. "What do you think it is, Hunter?" The last word hissed like a curse. "I'm getting out of this little hut, I'm going home, and I'm leaving you here like a defeated predator!"

Seeker seemed to smile at this and then his lips curled upwards into an evil curved grin of satisfaction. The Magician stared at him startled, and then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "What the hell are you laughing at?" He snarled, shaking the older man harshly. "The Hunt. . .is on." Seeker grinned, eyes full of what could only be described as joy, "The code for your collar is: 4RK4N4. I suggest you run. Quickly. Before I get up."

Arkana thought nothing of the unusual code as he punched in the numbers, slipping free of his bonds and then leaping to his feet as soon as he was able to move. The door was right ahead of him, and he could hear the sickening sound of the manacles behind him snapping under Seeker's strength. He bolted through the door, down the steps. . .and then stopped in his tracks.

The unfamiliar scents of trees, plants, rivers, and mud floated all around him in the air. The Magician's ears became attuned to the sounds of several birds squawking, unfamiliar birds, and the unmistakable sound of monkeys chattering. It was hot, far hotter than the summers Arkana was used to back in the Japanese Cities. All around him was trees. Greenery. Trees. Birds. Rivers. Strange plants. Arkana leapt back as a snake slithered across his path, looking at him with small yellow slit eyes.

The location of the GHOUL's was far from home, Arkana knew that now, and he had barely begun to work all that out when the manacles that had once held Seeker came flying out of one of the windows of the hut, maniacal laughter following them, the sounds of a gun being loaded.

//RUN!//

Long legs setting a quick pace in front of him, Arkana began to run, straight into the depths of the jungle. He hadn't any time to think about where he was going, or whether he would survive, but his mind was now racing with the thoughts of the others. Surely Lumis, Umbra and Strings were in this area? Unless Seeker had already disposed of them!

Shaking such thoughts from his head, the Master of Magician's hurled himself into several bushes, feeling the horrific feeling of being scratched to death on his legs and arms. Sweat ran down his back, down his legs, all over his face, and once or twice Arkana swore he had been bitten by something.

One thing was for sure; Arkana was alone in a jungle – a man of little experience in this environment. And now Seeker's hunt for the deadliest of predators had now begun. . .