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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAY ONE – Running Scared
(Arkana)
The sun shone relentlessly down on me. Even with the shade of the trees to protect me, I still felt my skin burning and the sweat dripping into open wounds. How long had I been running? My thighs ached and my legs screamed for rest.
Looking around, I dove through more trees and then ran a little further, praying that Seeker was only joking. . .only messing around with us. I hoped to every God and Goddess I dared name that Seeker hadn't brought us into a jungle, that there wasn't a barrel aiming at the GHOULS, that he was just playing around.
A loud shot rang out behind me, and I heard several birds take to the tree tops, squawking and flying in a panic. How far away it was, I couldn't say, but one thing was for sure, something had caught the hunter's attention long enough for me to slip away.
Not long after the shot that shook the trees, there came an unusual sound, one that chilled me to the bone when I realised what it was. It started off quite quiet at first, a low whining moan, rising then to a deathly shriek and a scream of pure terror and agony. I could picture the person now. . .
Umbra.
The shot must have been aimed at him. Seeker may have intended to leave him fighting until the end like a wounded animal, but one thing was for sure, if the shotgun shell had connected directly in any way with the smaller duellist's body, then he would not live to see tomorrow if Seeker didn't finish him off first.
Another shot rang out, another scream, and then rustling to my left. My eyes widened, I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, making me chose between staying and fighting, or running away.
Nevertheless, I chose to run, diving into the tall bushes next to me, looking out of them occasionally to see what it was.
It came as shock and relief when a bloodied Lumis tore through the bushes, no one behind him, but his eyes wide in a deathly panic. Instinct seized my very actions and I found myself lunging forwards like a leopard springing on it's prey, dragging the smaller male into the bushes opposite, lying there silent and still with my hand clasped over his mouth.
"It's me, Arkana." I whispered, feeling him trembling and shaking uncontrollably. I could have warned him beforehand that it was me and what I was going to do, but time was a factor at that point.
"I'm going to get you out of here."
Lumis calmed somewhat and then nodded in agreement, allowing me the time to take my hand from around his mouth. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, listening to the sounds around us. The jungle was silent, too silent, marking the death of one of the members of GHOULS.
For Lumis, it was the death of his own flesh and blood.
We sat there for what seemed like hours on end, the smaller GHOULS shaking with fear and sorrow. I looked up, at the blackening sky, and then sighed.
"Looks like we're gonna have to wait until morning." I growled.
Lumis didn't reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAY TWO – Feverish Eyes (Arkana)
I was woken up with a start, feeling ever so slightly dizzy as I was brought into consciousness. Lumis was in a blind state of panic, his eyes wide with what could only be described as pure terror.
"What's wrong?" I asked, rubbing my eyes, my voice sounding like a thumping drum in my head. I felt sick. My eyes hurt, my head hurt, everything just ached and hurt. Lumis looked down at me and then coughed gently, his eyes still wide. "Seeker. I heard him! Oh gods! Arkana, I heard him!"
I sat bolt upright and then winced in pain. "Seeker? Hm. We'd better get moving then. I don't want to be around when he gets here. C'mon." Staggering slightly, my thin legs dragged my body upwards and my eyes watered in pain again.
The slow process of making it through the jungle began shortly after my moving, and the very jungle seemed aware of our presence there. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and there was an annoying swelling on my left arm, itching like hell! As Lumis led the way, I scratched at the swelling, nearly gagging when I felt my skin burst and the horrible pus oozed from my arm. I coughed, trying to keep my vomit in my body.
The swelling was bleeding now, my blood scraping off on the plants at the side of me. If Seeker were as good a hunter as he claimed to be, then that very blood mark might give me away, so I snatched up the bloodied leaves, shoving them in my short's pocket.
It was warm again, I can remember thinking that, as my vision swam with the illness inside me. I felt like hell. . .and probably looked it too. "I wanna go home." I murmured, following Lumis into a small clearing in the jungle.
(Lumis)
I stared over at Arkana from time to time, noticing his decline in health. Hell, he might as well have been a zombie the way he was walking now. His eyes were bloodshot, sleep oozing from the corners of them, his face was a sickly pale colour, his entire tan fading behind the illness. His lips had long since become dry and parched, his tongue licking at them from time to time, giving them what moisture he could.
Come to think of it, neither of us had drunk anything for a while now, and my own lips were starting to become dry also. I glanced over at him once more and then sighed, stopping after we had passed the small clearing. "I think we should try and find a river of some sort, or. . .I dunno. . .a lake in the jungle?" I shrugged softly, unable to think of which way to go in our search for water. Breathless behind me, Arkana replied, his voice raspy with the lack of moisture. "That's. . .a good plan. We. . .should. . .move soon. . ." He trailed off, breathless again, his breathing harsh.
It had been quiet that day, we hadn't had any trouble aside from the panic this morning, and Arkana's ever diminishing health. The air was still hot and sticky; I had taken to tying the ripped shirt that Seeker had placed on me around my waist, wiping sweat from my brow occasionally.
We walked a few extra miles. I knew we had walked that far because as the sky turned bright pink and purple with the setting sun, the sounds of the crackling of Seeker's log fire and the sounds of the birds in the trees had long since gone. I checked my watch, which to my own surprise was still in working order. It turned out that we had been walking for around 9 hours now, with only a few breaks in between the travelling.
It had also become a habit of mine to occasionally swivel round and check on the limping Magician behind me. Arkana had hardly spoke to me all day, save a few strained sentences of conversation. We had spoken a little about why we had joined Malik in Battle City, having never spoken before. Frankly, when he was strutting around wearing that red suit underneath his cloak, smiling, grinning, always joking, well. . .it had gotten on my nerves a few times.
Without that suit on though, without the mask, with his burn scars left to the sweltering heat, he was much more easy to talk to. I had told him of my own reasons for joining Malik, listening intently to his when I had finished. And then I guess we had walked a while, walking in silence as we often did. Another rest, I think that was around noon-ish, and then we had spoken about relationships a little, Arkana really too tired to speak. I had led the conversation for him, speaking about the tight bond that my brother and I had once shared. It brought pain to my very heart and soul to talk about him, I found myself whimpering and sniffling a little between sentences. All the time, Arkana just listened and seemed to understand. Umbra and I had been close. I was the younger brother, and he had looked out for me. I felt sick, slapping at a few mosquitoes every now and then. I think that's when we walked again, for more hours, for longer this time.
Now we sat listening to the sounds of the jungle as the whole place seemed to be preparing itself for sleep. The birds had stopped, along with the monkey's chattering and the soft sounds of other animals that I had never heard. Now there were insects everywhere, making that small buzzing noise as I watched Arkana drift off to sleep after clearing an area of insects and leaves. "I'll take first watch." I stated, knowing Arkana had already decided that.
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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAY ONE – Running Scared
(Arkana)
The sun shone relentlessly down on me. Even with the shade of the trees to protect me, I still felt my skin burning and the sweat dripping into open wounds. How long had I been running? My thighs ached and my legs screamed for rest.
Looking around, I dove through more trees and then ran a little further, praying that Seeker was only joking. . .only messing around with us. I hoped to every God and Goddess I dared name that Seeker hadn't brought us into a jungle, that there wasn't a barrel aiming at the GHOULS, that he was just playing around.
A loud shot rang out behind me, and I heard several birds take to the tree tops, squawking and flying in a panic. How far away it was, I couldn't say, but one thing was for sure, something had caught the hunter's attention long enough for me to slip away.
Not long after the shot that shook the trees, there came an unusual sound, one that chilled me to the bone when I realised what it was. It started off quite quiet at first, a low whining moan, rising then to a deathly shriek and a scream of pure terror and agony. I could picture the person now. . .
Umbra.
The shot must have been aimed at him. Seeker may have intended to leave him fighting until the end like a wounded animal, but one thing was for sure, if the shotgun shell had connected directly in any way with the smaller duellist's body, then he would not live to see tomorrow if Seeker didn't finish him off first.
Another shot rang out, another scream, and then rustling to my left. My eyes widened, I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, making me chose between staying and fighting, or running away.
Nevertheless, I chose to run, diving into the tall bushes next to me, looking out of them occasionally to see what it was.
It came as shock and relief when a bloodied Lumis tore through the bushes, no one behind him, but his eyes wide in a deathly panic. Instinct seized my very actions and I found myself lunging forwards like a leopard springing on it's prey, dragging the smaller male into the bushes opposite, lying there silent and still with my hand clasped over his mouth.
"It's me, Arkana." I whispered, feeling him trembling and shaking uncontrollably. I could have warned him beforehand that it was me and what I was going to do, but time was a factor at that point.
"I'm going to get you out of here."
Lumis calmed somewhat and then nodded in agreement, allowing me the time to take my hand from around his mouth. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, listening to the sounds around us. The jungle was silent, too silent, marking the death of one of the members of GHOULS.
For Lumis, it was the death of his own flesh and blood.
We sat there for what seemed like hours on end, the smaller GHOULS shaking with fear and sorrow. I looked up, at the blackening sky, and then sighed.
"Looks like we're gonna have to wait until morning." I growled.
Lumis didn't reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAY TWO – Feverish Eyes (Arkana)
I was woken up with a start, feeling ever so slightly dizzy as I was brought into consciousness. Lumis was in a blind state of panic, his eyes wide with what could only be described as pure terror.
"What's wrong?" I asked, rubbing my eyes, my voice sounding like a thumping drum in my head. I felt sick. My eyes hurt, my head hurt, everything just ached and hurt. Lumis looked down at me and then coughed gently, his eyes still wide. "Seeker. I heard him! Oh gods! Arkana, I heard him!"
I sat bolt upright and then winced in pain. "Seeker? Hm. We'd better get moving then. I don't want to be around when he gets here. C'mon." Staggering slightly, my thin legs dragged my body upwards and my eyes watered in pain again.
The slow process of making it through the jungle began shortly after my moving, and the very jungle seemed aware of our presence there. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and there was an annoying swelling on my left arm, itching like hell! As Lumis led the way, I scratched at the swelling, nearly gagging when I felt my skin burst and the horrible pus oozed from my arm. I coughed, trying to keep my vomit in my body.
The swelling was bleeding now, my blood scraping off on the plants at the side of me. If Seeker were as good a hunter as he claimed to be, then that very blood mark might give me away, so I snatched up the bloodied leaves, shoving them in my short's pocket.
It was warm again, I can remember thinking that, as my vision swam with the illness inside me. I felt like hell. . .and probably looked it too. "I wanna go home." I murmured, following Lumis into a small clearing in the jungle.
(Lumis)
I stared over at Arkana from time to time, noticing his decline in health. Hell, he might as well have been a zombie the way he was walking now. His eyes were bloodshot, sleep oozing from the corners of them, his face was a sickly pale colour, his entire tan fading behind the illness. His lips had long since become dry and parched, his tongue licking at them from time to time, giving them what moisture he could.
Come to think of it, neither of us had drunk anything for a while now, and my own lips were starting to become dry also. I glanced over at him once more and then sighed, stopping after we had passed the small clearing. "I think we should try and find a river of some sort, or. . .I dunno. . .a lake in the jungle?" I shrugged softly, unable to think of which way to go in our search for water. Breathless behind me, Arkana replied, his voice raspy with the lack of moisture. "That's. . .a good plan. We. . .should. . .move soon. . ." He trailed off, breathless again, his breathing harsh.
It had been quiet that day, we hadn't had any trouble aside from the panic this morning, and Arkana's ever diminishing health. The air was still hot and sticky; I had taken to tying the ripped shirt that Seeker had placed on me around my waist, wiping sweat from my brow occasionally.
We walked a few extra miles. I knew we had walked that far because as the sky turned bright pink and purple with the setting sun, the sounds of the crackling of Seeker's log fire and the sounds of the birds in the trees had long since gone. I checked my watch, which to my own surprise was still in working order. It turned out that we had been walking for around 9 hours now, with only a few breaks in between the travelling.
It had also become a habit of mine to occasionally swivel round and check on the limping Magician behind me. Arkana had hardly spoke to me all day, save a few strained sentences of conversation. We had spoken a little about why we had joined Malik in Battle City, having never spoken before. Frankly, when he was strutting around wearing that red suit underneath his cloak, smiling, grinning, always joking, well. . .it had gotten on my nerves a few times.
Without that suit on though, without the mask, with his burn scars left to the sweltering heat, he was much more easy to talk to. I had told him of my own reasons for joining Malik, listening intently to his when I had finished. And then I guess we had walked a while, walking in silence as we often did. Another rest, I think that was around noon-ish, and then we had spoken about relationships a little, Arkana really too tired to speak. I had led the conversation for him, speaking about the tight bond that my brother and I had once shared. It brought pain to my very heart and soul to talk about him, I found myself whimpering and sniffling a little between sentences. All the time, Arkana just listened and seemed to understand. Umbra and I had been close. I was the younger brother, and he had looked out for me. I felt sick, slapping at a few mosquitoes every now and then. I think that's when we walked again, for more hours, for longer this time.
Now we sat listening to the sounds of the jungle as the whole place seemed to be preparing itself for sleep. The birds had stopped, along with the monkey's chattering and the soft sounds of other animals that I had never heard. Now there were insects everywhere, making that small buzzing noise as I watched Arkana drift off to sleep after clearing an area of insects and leaves. "I'll take first watch." I stated, knowing Arkana had already decided that.
