SS-So this is chapter…3. Ok…how confusing.
Tym-But it's your story!
SS-It's still very confusing. But I think I'll get a handle on it sooner or later. Anyways, 23 reviews?!?!? WOW! ^^ That's so cool! Thanks everyone!
Tym-Surprising…
SS-Let's thank all you nice reviewers shall we?
Tym-Like I have a choice…even if I am the one typing all this stuff. My poor claws. =(
#Thank you…#
Devilburns, Mistostrap, darkdragon32, Rena star, Vixen-Ra, and Chibi Kitty!
~Porticulis – A hippogriff? Maybe (…yes). Thanks for reviewing again!
~Platinum Rei – Hm…interesting guess. It does seem like that's where things are going doesn't it? Maybe you'll change your mind after this chapter…or at least have more info about what I'm planning. ^^ Then again, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this…I better start planning.
~ChibiDevil Amber*Silver.s – Arghie!! Don't send the devils after me! *hides behind Tym* Don't worry, I'm writing as fast as he can type =)
~Keisan – Yea, they'll be arguing for a while, because usually I read fics where Rei and Kai get along and I figured, why not make things a little more interesting? But sooner or later they will stop…um hm…it's all a matter of time and chapters.
~Admiral2 – Obviously they'll get together, but when? Hm…depends on how fast I can get chapters out ^__^ Yup, Kai's already got Rei on his mind…he just can't stop thinking about how cute he is.
Kai-…ahem…
SS-Eep! Oky, this seems like a good time to start the fic…start Tym! *runs away*
~notes~
[stuffy] Driger talking
{more stuffy} Dranzer talking
~even more stuffy~ …you'll find out who's talking
~*~*~*~
Loving Legends
Chapter 3 – Deals and dragons
Disclaimer: See chapter…uh…the prologue ^^
~[{This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Shadow (aka Stephen), whose birthday is on the 30th, the day before Halloween! (How cool is that?) Happy birthday Shadow! Thanks for keeping me company on-line and for introducing me to YGO.]}~
~*~*~*~
It was a beautiful new day. There was a light bustle outside, mainly the early birds of the town cleaning up from yesterday's festivities. Towards the residential side, things were pretty quite. It was around seven, so it's no wonder most people were still dreaming. The sun however, had other plans. Bright rays slowly crawled across Kai's balcony and streamed through the sheer curtains, eventually stopping on the bluenette's face. He tried to roll away, but to no avail. The light was determined to wake him up.
"Uh…" He pulled the blankets over his face, and then groaned when the rays filtered through them. "Argh…stupid thin sheets." He flung the covers away and sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Normally he was up a few minutes after the sun had breached the horizon, but today he was a little sluggish. "Damn Tyson and his moods…"
Last night his roommate had come home in a rather happy disposition. Chipper than usual. It resulted in staying up late with the television and keeping Kai awake. When he heard him come home he would have sent Dranzer down to take the remote only to realize that his trusty phoenix was resting in the Umber Woods. Since he was rather tired that night, Kai tried to drown him out…it didn't work. He gave up around one, went down to the basement and shut the power off, returning to bed with a sigh. Now he had slept in because of it all, things weren't getting off to a good start.
"Guess I have to turn the power back on." He ran a hand through his messy hair and got up, stretching a little. As he left for the bathroom he whistled on reflex, when no response came he looked back to find an empty perch. "Oh Dranzer…" He stood there for a moment, weighing his options. "She's more important, besides, I'm sure Tyson can figure out how to turn it back on, eventually." He got ready quickly, anxious to have the phoenix at his side again.
~*~
{Rei.}
"Mmm…" He rolled onto his side, curling into a tighter ball. Dranzer pecked at his cheek again.
{Rei-neko, it's time to wake up.} He shrugged her off and tried to bury his head under his arms. {Honestly you are as stubborn as young Tyson.} She nudged at his arm with her talon. {Master Kai will be coming soon, if not already. Please get up.}
"Nn…too early." He was right; normally he wouldn't wake up for another hour or so. And the sun didn't bother him; he actually liked taking naps under the sun's warm beams.
{Please Rei-neko we have to meet master Kai.} Getting very frustrated she grabbed his tail of hair in her beak and tugged at it. {Let's go!} She pulled harder, only resulting in the white wrap it was encased in to break, allowing his long raven hair to cascade over him like a blanket.
"Nnn…what did you do?" She tossed the ribbon aside and poked him again.
{Get up and you'll see.} Groaning, the neko-jin sat up, his lengthy tresses falling in front of his half open golden eyes. He blew some of it away with a breath and then turned to the bird.
"Are you asking to be extinct?"
{We must go. Master Kai is probably already at the entrance waiting for us.} The boy gathered his locks and tossed them behind his head, and then rummaged through his pockets for another band for his hair.
"I told him that I'd drop you off, why would he come here? And at the crack of dawn no less?" She tossed her head towards the waterfall.
{Master Kai always gets up this early, usually earlier. And if he was wary of letting you help me, then he most certainly wouldn't want me to stay here any longer than I need to.} She hopped away, hoping the boy would follow. {Come Rei-neko, we don't want to keep him waiting. Otherwise he might come in to retrieve me.} He sighed as his hand came out of his last pocket, empty.
"Fine, as soon as I get another wrap for my-ow!" Reaching the end of her rope, Dranzer nabbed his hair and began dragging him.
{There's no time. We mustn't keep master Kai waiting.} Rei quickly stood up and held his dark tresses, trying to loosen her hold on it.
"I can walk just fine thank you very much! And why do you keep calling me that?!" She kept her hold, picking up the pace, only letting go when they approached the waterfall.
{You were taking too long. And you remind me of a cat.} He rubbed his head, feeling as if the bird had yanked out bundles of his now tangled hair.
"Well we're here ok?" He looked over to the lake and sighed. "Guess we better get this over with." His gaze wandered to the phoenix. "I'll see you on the other side." Dranzer nodded and flew up, beginning her climb up the tall mountainside as Rei dove into the water.
~*~
Kai had arrived at the entrance to the mysterious side of the Umber Woods a few minutes later than he had expected, having run into a distraction along the way…two distractions actually.
Flashback
Kai left the house quietly, not wanting to wake Tyson and have him complain to him about the power. It was pretty easy considering he went to sleep pretty late and didn't always wake up this early unless there was food involved. Still, Kai was careful. He reached the edge of town soon enough, and was about to disappear into the forest until an annoying voice caught his ear.
"Kai Hiwatari, stop where you are!" The bluenette stopped in his tracks, turning slowly to see a pink-haired girl jog towards him. He wouldn't have, but he couldn't have Mariah following him when he was going to get Dranzer. The last thing he needed was for her to find out about Rei and Max.
"Kai we have to talk to you about something!" Emily came after her, clutching her own laptop under her arm.
"What is it, I'm busy." The oranges –haired girl nodded.
"We know Kai, that's what we wanted to talk to you about!" Mariah looked around to make sure no one was around before whispering her words.
"We know about those creatures you found on the other side of the mountain." Kai inwardly cursed. Did they know? Had Kenny let it slip already? He kept his face expressionless for the time being.
"Yes Mariah, I know you do." She looked surprised.
"You do?" He crossed his arms.
"Of course. Practically everyone knows that I hunt for mythical creatures in the Umber Woods. That's my job Mariah." The pink-haired youth growled.
"That's not what I meant Kai and you know it!" Emily shushed her.
"Kai cut the talk. We know about…those two "special" creatures you found the other day. The ones that are half human." She emphasized the last two words, looking into his eyes knowingly, looking for any sigh of emotion.
'Damn it, I knew he couldn't keep his mouth shut.' The analyzer caught his reaction and smiled.
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone; however…"
"We want to meet them too!" Kai glanced at both of them before turning to head into the forest. Mariah clung onto his arm. "Please Kai?! We'll behave!" He shook his head and tried to shrug her off.
"Come on Kai, it would be such a great experience! You can't expect us to pass up an opportunity like this!" The bluenette tore Mariah's hand off his arm and stared at both of them.
"If you want to meet them so badly," He walked away. "Then go find them yourself." The two girls just followed him, never knowing that he was leading them on a wild goose chase. When he had strayed far from the real path, he ducked away and went towards the waterfall, already painfully behind schedule.
End Flashback
'I hope Dranzer can hear me, and those annoying girls can't.' He gave three sharp blasts, and looked up towards the mountaintop, waiting for a response. 'It could be too far.' He was about to try again, until a splash caught his attention. He turned his gaze to find the boy he met yesterday, Rei, ringing his hair out. 'Looks like Dranzer woke him up. Hm…he looks quite different with his hair down. It looks nice-argh…I have to stop that.'
"I guess Dranzer was right, you don't trust me to bring her back myself." On cue, the phoenix came over the top and screeched upon seeing the bluenette. Kai didn't even need to look, he merely held out his hand and she perched on it, nuzzling his face affectionately.
"I rather do things myself." He stroked the bird's red plumage with a small smile. "Glad to see you got your fire back."
"I told you a day at home would do her good." He walked up to him and reached into his pocket. "But let's not go into that again. It's too early to argue." Rei pulled out a pouch and handed it to him. He accepted it reluctantly. "Some berries, just in case she feels a little weak." Kai gazed into his eyes with wonder; something about the raven-haired boy really fascinated him.
"Hn…thanks." Rei smiled.
"No problem, it was nice having Dranzer around." The bluenette made a mental note to himself, the boy was really nice when he smiled. "Well, I better go." He yawned, covering his mouth slightly. "This is still pretty early to me, so I'm going to go back to slee-" Dranzer intervened with a screech, flapping her wings at him.
"Dranzer what's wrong?" Kai tried to calm her; this was strange behavior for the usually mild phoenix.
{You promised to ask, Rei-neko. Ask him.} Rei sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"But I'm tired." Kai was confused, even more so when his faithful bird screeched again, as if responding to him.
{You said that you'd try, so you must.} Bowing his head in defeat he ran a hand through his mess of hair.
"Only because it's too early to bicker…especially to an Umber Wood creature." He turned to the perplexed bluenette and began explaining. "Um…last night Dranzer and I were talking, and we were getting along fairly well. I guess that gave her an idea because she asked me if I could teach you how to." He tilted his head to the phoenix.
"How to…talk to Dranzer?" He moved his head from side to side.
"Basically."
"You can teach that kind of skill?" Rei shrugged his shoulders.
"Honestly I don't know. I've never tried to before."
"Didn't Robert teach you?"
"No. Robert can't talk to animals, except for Grypholyion of course, but…yea. I don't know how, but I think I taught myself." Kai thought about it for a minute.
"What about Max? You didn't teach him?" The raven-haired youth shook his head.
"He can't talk to animals either. It must come with the package." He motioned to his ears and tail. "It might work. I never tried so I'm not sure about the results." He crossed his arms. "But since you two are so close I think there's a possibility you can communicate with each other. That is…if you're willing to try." It was a very tempting offer, especially to a hunter like Kai. If he could talk with Dranzer, it'd make his missions a lot smoother.
'He could teach me how to understand Dranzer? I can't pass this up. He never tried it before though…so it might not work. Then again, it wouldn't be too bad if it didn't work out. I'd still be around Rei, and after I get his trust, I can ask him to come to the house for one of the lessons and I can hand him over to Tala. It's a win-win situation.' Kai nodded.
"I don't see why we can't give it a try." Dranzer chirped enthusiastically, overjoyed with the thought of being able to really talk with her master. Rei smiled.
"It seems like Dranzer already understands you. This shouldn't take too long. Oh wait, if I do this for you, you have to do something for me." Kai cursed under his breath, he knew there was a catch.
"What?"
"You have to promise me something."
"One thing?" Rei scratched his cheek.
"Well, one or two…or three." Kai glared at him mildly.
"That isn't a fair trade. One favor."
"One…ok I guess that's fair." Rei looked over to the waterfall as he debated over his choices. Originally he wanted Kai to never come back after he had finished teaching him, not to tell anyone about them, and to not hurt Max or Robert. That was a lot to ask for, but his skills as a type of linguist was valuable too. However, he could understand this from Kai's point of view too, so he had to pick one of them.
'Well, I doubt he'll leave us alone after I teach him, so that one's out. And even if he promises not to tell anyone, how do I know he hasn't already told someone? The promise starts as of now, so that would be pointless. The only safe choice is to make sure he doesn't hurt Max. Robert can take care of himself, and so can I, but Max…it's not that I think he's a baby or anything, he can just be careless at times. I know when to get serious, and technically Max is younger than me by a few months and won't be fifteen for a few more weeks. Yea, that works. So even if he sends someone after us, on his word he can't harm Max.' Rei walked over to him and nodded.
"Ok, if I teach you how to speak to Dranzer, you have to promise that you won't harm Max in any way." Kai was a little surprised by that. He certainly hadn't expected that as his favor. "You have to swear on your honor that you won't harm him." He held out his hand, waiting for him to respond. "Do we have a deal?" Kai's gaze shifted from the boy's golden eyes to his hand.
'This changes things a little. If I want to be able to talk to Dranzer and get him to come to the house, I have to accept this. But what about Tala? Will he mind if his order is cut down to one? Well, come to think of it, he didn't make a big deal about Max. In fact, he only handed me a picture of Rei. It didn't seem like he cared much for the blonde. So the reward won't be smaller if I only bring in Rei since Max tagged along. I guess it wouldn't hurt to accept his conditions.' Kai took his hand and held it firmly, sealing the deal.
"Looks like we have an agreement, your lessons for your friend's safety." Rei stared at the handshake and nodded.
"Yea." His eyes met Kai's ruby ones. "And you can't go back on your word." He shook his head.
"As long as you teach I won't." Finally settling that Rei let go and grinned.
"Then we can start in a few hours…after I get some sleep." His serious mood had lifted completely; it was as if their exchange had never happened. "Really, I don't know how you can do this everyday. I'm so…tired…" He yawned again. "Meet me back here in…a couple hours." He tried to walk away, but Kai grabbed his arm.
"Wait." Rei glanced back.
"What?" The bluenette let go of him.
"If the deal is in effect as of now, I have to warn you." Rei's gaze narrowed.
'I knew it, he already told someone about us…that jerk.' "Who did you tell?" It was more of a command than a question.
"I didn't." Kai crossed his arms. "Do you remember yesterday when Max brought Tyson and Kenny over the mountain? He mentioned something about two girls right? Well one of them lives with Kenny, and…let's just say he's no Fort Knox." Rei couldn't believe it, he had only just met them yesterday and already they were breaking promises and telling the town. He sighed and began to think.
"Great…just great…hm…"
"Don't you have some kind of memory potion? Or something like that?" Rei shook his head.
"I'm not a wizard or anything, all the powders I have are from healing herbs in the forest, none of it is magic. I can't just throw something at them, say a few words and their memory will be erased." He bit his bottom lip and walked towards the lake. "Hm…" As he looked at his reflection in the water a shadow soared above him, disappearing behind the mountain. "Huh?" Rei quickly snapped his head up, but the creature was already gone. "Maybe…" Kai looked up too, trying to see what Rei had seen.
"Maybe what?" The raven-haired boy smirked.
"I think there is a way out of this. I'm going to need your help though." The bluenette met his gaze.
"What?"
"I need you to get those two girls here in about…fifteen minutes."
"Why?" Rei smiled.
"Just do it." With that he dove into the water again, leaving a confused Kai and an equally baffled Dranzer alone. Kai tilted his head to the phoenix.
"Do you know what the hell he's up to?" She shook her head. "Well that makes two of us." The bird flew off his shoulder and hovered in front of him. "All right, let's go find those lost geese." He glanced at his watch and then jogged into the forest, it shouldn't take too long.
~*~
"Driger!" He whistled again. "Driger!" Rei was running back to the tree, knowing his blonde-haired friend was probably there sleeping. "Come one Drig, where are you?" Another whistle. "I need your help." Before he reached Max, Driger came to his call, looking a little tired.
[Do you have any idea how early it is?]
"I know, sorry, but I need a favor." He sat down and yawned, bearing his large incisors.
[Like what?] He grinned.
"What do you say to a little trip to the Dragon den?" Driger stared at him in disbelief.
[The Dragon den?! Why do you want me to go there? You know that dragons are rarely there; it's only where young ones are born. And please don't tell me you want me to ask something from a pregnant dragoness.]
"I never said I wanted to find a dragon."
[Then why the den?]
"Because that's where a dragon scale would be."
[You want me to bring you a dragon scale? Why?]
"I just need one…or two." Driger licked his paw.
[What if there are none? You know that area is highly windy, what if a gale swept them all away?]
"Then you'll need to find me a dragon." Driger stood up and shook his head.
[You know how elusive they are, there's no way I'm going to comb through the forest for one.] Rei pushed him along.
"Then you had better hope that there's a scale in that cave. Now go, I have to wake Max." Driger growled in annoyance.
[Fine, but when I get back you'll have some explaining to do.] As the big cat took off, so did Rei. Now that part one was done, he had to start part two. And it he could only do that when he found Max.
"That wasn't too hard." Just as he had predicted, there was the blonde, fast asleep under the mighty oak tree. He reached him in one or two strides and proceeded to wake him up. "Max. Max wake up." He shook the boy's arm, trying to rouse him from his slumber. "Come on Maxie, it's time to get up!" The younger one stirred, but only tried to scoot away from him.
"Nn-o…too early…" Rei wouldn't take that, he had to get the boy up and over to the lake to meet Kai.
"I know it's early, but believe me, after you've taken a dip in the lake you'll be wide awake." Max swatted his hand away.
"Come back later…lots later please…" The raven-haired boy sighed and tried again. This time he used the end of his long locks and brushed them against the boy's nose.
"Wakie wakie Maxie…" Sure enough the blonde started to get agitated and sniffled.
"Ah…ah…ACHOO!!!" He sat up and rubbed his nose. "Ugh…what did you do that for?" Rei tossed his hair back again and grabbed his hand.
"We have to go, I'll explain on the way." He took off with the angel in toe, he didn't know what time it was, so he had to get there as soon as he could.
~*~
[Go to the Dragon den Driger, find a scale Driger, search the forest if you have to Driger…sheesh, what next Rei?] The tiger turned again, the den in his sights. [Sometimes I think you take me for granted little Rei. What would you do if I weren't here?] He quickly climbed up the rocky hill and jumped onto the open ledge, now only a few feet away from the entrance to the cave. [You better have a good explanation Rei; it's too early to scale a hill for a scale.]
He entered silently, in case there was indeed a dragon hidden in the darkness. Sure he was strong, but the tiger knew that against a full frown dragon he didn't have much of a chance. He sniffed the ground, trying to find one that way. [I felt a breeze on my way here, I hope it didn't clean out the cave.] Suddenly his ears perked up and his glanced behind him. [What was that?] He distinctly heard a footstep, but who was there? Forgetting about the scale, Driger turned around and assumed prowling position, getting ready to attack whatever was watching him.
[An adult dragon wouldn't sneak up on its prey would it? I thought they used their brute force to take down the enemy first.] As he neared the mouth of the cave again he spotted a spiked tail poking out from behind a rock. Driger snickered. [This one must be losing their touch.] He pulled back, and then took a few strides and lunged at the dragon.
~Don't think it'll be that easy! Phantom hurricane!~
[What?] Just when Driger was about to strike, an enormous hurricane stopped him, sending him flying back into the cave. [I'm not out yet.] Using all his strength, Driger dug his claws into the floor, standing his ground. [It'll take more than a little breeze to blow me over!] Slamming his tail onto the earth the cave began to shake, the rocks in the den beginning to fall.
~What?~ Driger raced towards him, bearing his fangs.
[Watch out for my tiger claw!] Without hesitation, the tiger leapt up and slashed at the rocks with one paw, and then used the second to attack the dragon.
~Ah!!!~ He tried to evade, but was still hit by the razor-sharp claws, sending him flying off the ledge. Driger landed gracefully, still growling. He knew that a dragon couldn't be taken down so easily, so he approached the ridge cautiously.
[It didn't sound like a female, so what was a dragon doing here?] When he was a yard away a large claw reached up and attached to the rock. Driger backed away and took a defensive position. [I knew that was too easy.] He snarled as the dragon lifted itself back up onto the ledge. It wasn't an adult dragon, which was why the hurricane attack didn't hurt too much. However, it wasn't a newborn, otherwise he couldn't have been strong enough to get back up. And it wasn't female, so why was it here?
~Man…no wonder we leave tigers alone.~ Driger snapped out of his train of thought and approached the creature again. It was a blue dragon, noted for it's spiked tail and extended claws. This type of dragon wasn't able to fly, for it had no wings, but it had great power over the wind, it's natural element, so he didn't need them.
[What are you doing here?] The dragon picked itself up and stood before him. He was taller than him, but not by much.
~I should be asking you that. What's a tiger doing in the dragon den?~
[I came to search for something, and you?]
~It's my job to protect the den and this area of the forest, at least until I am fully matured.~ Driger tossed his head.
[What's there to protect? Hardly any creature comes this far out of the forest.]
~Well you're living proof buddy.~
[And a fine job you did of keeping me from the den.] The dragon glared at him as a breeze began to pick up around him. Driger growled, but it came out like a laugh. [Some guardian. And don't think that those little wafts you call attacks will hurt me. My element is earth; they hardly have any effect on me.] He raised his deadly claws.
~Argh…who are you anyway? What do you want?!~ Driger sat down, a simple act, but a big insult. By doing so, he was implying that the dragon was no longer a threat.
[I'm Driger. And I came here to get something for a friend.]
~To get what?~
[Hold your horses, who are you little one?] The dragon was really agitated now.
~My name's Dragoon, and I'm not little!~ He walked right up to the tiger. ~I'm certainly bigger than you are kitty!~
[Dragoon? How original is that? It's only one more 'o' to dragon. It's like naming a bird biird.]
~WHAT?!~
[And as for your height,] Driger stood up, now only an inch or two shorter. [Just because you're taller,] He slammed his tail against the ground again, creating a small quake. Dragoon faltered and fell over. [Doesn't mean you are necessarily stronger.] The blue dragon was fuming, he summoned a gale to lift him and place him higher than the tiger.
~All right, listen up! Either you pick yourself up and leave, or I'll be forced to do it!~ Driger merely snorted and walked away from the mouth of the cave. Dragoon smirked. ~That's right, just keep walking.~
[I will, and you will too.]
~I-wah? Ah!~ Driger took hold of the dragon's wrist with his tail and began his journey back to the waterfall. ~What do you think you're doing?!~
[I came here to get a dragon scale, but since your breezes have cleaned out the den, I'll have to bring you back instead.] So the tiger kept pulling him along, despite Dragoon's useless struggles and gusts.
~*~
"So now Kai is bringing those girls here?" Rei shook his head as he looked back into the forest, waiting for Driger to return.
"No, they're waiting on the other side of the waterfall."
"And what are we waiting for?" Rei smiled as something caught his eye.
"Driger." Max turned around to see the tiger walking towards them; however, neither Max nor Rei could believe what he was dragging behind him.
~Let go of me!~
[We're almost there just enjoy the ride.]
~Enjoy?! You're practically pulling my arm off! Let go let go let go!~ Spotting the raven-haired youth up ahead he nodded.
[Ok.] With one fluid motion, Driger flung Dragoon over his head and over to the boys. [In coming!] Rei's quick reflexes noticed the creature hurling towards them and knocked Max down before it hit them. The dragon landed in the lake, narrowly missing the mountainside. Rei looked up in surprise.
"What the heck was that?!" He turned to see Driger standing next to him. "Driger, what was that?" As Max sat up, Dragoon surfaced and shook his head.
~When I said let go I meant let go…not throw! You'd think that big cats would have big brains…~
[Watch what you say wind-master, remember that I have a lot of power here.] He jumped out of the water and summoned a gust to dry him.
~Yea yea…~ It was then that he noticed Rei and Max sitting across from him. ~Dang, what kind of humans are you?~
[They are half humans obviously, the taller one is Rei, and the other is Max.]
~Oh yea, I remember Grypholyion saying something about you guys before. If they aren't like you Driger then I think we could be friends.~
[Watch it…]
"Um…Driger, I asked for a dragon scale, not a whole dragon." Driger sat down.
[You said that if I couldn't find a dragon scale I could bring a dragon, so I did.]
~Wait a minute people! You want one of my scales?! Do you have ANY idea how much it hurts to lose one of my precious scales?! I rather have my power stripped from me! There's no way you are getting your hands on me!~ He turned away, very serious about this.
[What a baby, can't even give up one scale.]
~We'll see who cries like a baby when he asks for one of your fangs, buddy.~
"Hold it guys, hold it!" The two creatures glanced at Rei, who was getting confused. "Now, can we start from the beginning?" Max agreed.
"Yea, that would help. Not that I can even understand…" Rei patted his tuft of blonde hair.
"Don't worry, I'll translate." He faced Dragoon first. "Ok, so…you came from the dragon den?" The blue protector nodded.
~Yes. I was on my rounds when I spotted that beast intruding.~ He pointed his claws at Driger.
[On your rounds, pff. Like that area needs guarding.]
~Quit while you're ahead kitty.~ Rei broke the hostile atmosphere to question again.
"So you're the dragon guarding that neck of the forest?" He nodded.
~That's my job.~
[And what a fine job you're doing.] Driger commented sarcastically. Rei ignored the tiger's comment and continued.
"Where are your borders?"
~Um…from the den to…uh…I think the waterfall. Yea, Amphy (1) was sent to another area so I got his territory too.~ Rei smiled.
"So, it's your job to make sure this area is safe from…oh, let's say, humans?"
~Especially humans. If they found the entrance to this side of the Umber Woods no creatures would be safe from hunters.~
"Then you wouldn't mind helping us out, would you?"
~Help you?~ Rei crouched down.
"Yea, you see, this human somehow saw me coming in here through the waterfall, and now I need to stop him from following. That's why I needed a dragon scale. I was planning on making a sleeping powder to use on him, that way he would think it was all a dream and leave. But if you lend us a hand, I think we can come up with a better, safer way of erasing his memory of me." Dragoon scratched his chin.
~You're right; a simple sleeping powder from a dragon scale won't be enough. You'll definitely need my help if you want to get rid of that human.~
"So you'll help?"
~Of course!~ He puffed out his chest and levitated a few feet from the ground with the help of the wind. ~It's my duty to protect this area from hunters! Tell me, when's this human coming?~ Rei looked up to the sky, tracking the time by its position.
"Oh um…in about a minute or two." The dragon fell.
~What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!~ He jumped into the lake in the blink of an eye, leaving a shocked Rei and Driger and a confused Max.
"What did he just say Rei?"
"That he was going to stop the human, I mean Kai. Man, I didn't want him to rush into this." He turned to Driger. "Stay here and make sure Robert doesn't find out. Give me a signal if he starts looking for us ok?"
[Right.]
"Come on Max, we got to do something about Dragoon before he makes things worse." The blonde nodded and went into the water with Rei as Driger ran off.
~*~
(A few minutes earlier…)
It had taken a few minutes of wandering, but Kai eventually found the two girls sitting on a rock near the entrance to the forest. He told them that he had thought it over, and if they really wanted to, he would bring them to see the creatures. He took them the long way seeing as Rei had told him to meet back in fifteen minutes. Emily suspected that Kai was stalling since he was an expert hunter and he should know a quicker way through the woods by now. However she didn't say anything, if she wanted to see this creature for herself, she had to follow Kai's path.
"So, what made you change your mind?" Mariah asked. The bluenette crossed his arms and kept his eyes forward.
"I just figured if I show you now, you won't pester me about it later. That way I can concentrate on my assignment." The pink-haired girl nodded.
"Glad you thought of that. Yes, we would have bothered you all day if you didn't."
"Hn." He looked up to Dranzer who was keeping an eye out for any signs from Rei. 'I wonder what that tiger has planned. He said there was no magical way to clean up this mess, so what does he intend to do?' He checked his watch again; he had a few more minutes. Kai whistled for Dranzer to change direction, hoping that would be the last false-turn they would have to make. The girls followed him, both sighing in complaint. 'Whatever he's trying to do, it had better work. There's no way I'm having these nosy geese asking me to bring them here for visits.'
They reached the waterfall after combing through practically the whole forest; Kai stopped and leaned against a tree as the girls looked around.
"Is this it?" Emily asked. "This is where they are?"
"Well we didn't stop here for the view." She surveyed the area again.
"So, where are they?"
"Just wait." That's all they could do, he was still a few minutes early. So Emily took a seat under an oak across from Kai, with Mariah joining her.
"Wonder what they're like."
"Hopefully a little more talkative than Kai." The bluenette let the comments roll off, he wasn't in the mood to deal with them now.
'After this we can start the lessons, and I can start my plan. Hm, I'll have to tell Tala, this might take a little longer than two weeks. After all, Rei doesn't seem like the type to trust everyone he sees, and we're already off to a bad start so-huh?' He snapped out of his thoughts when Dranzer screeched. "Dranzer?!" Emily and Mariah turned to the phoenix too, confused by her sudden actions.
"What's up with her Kai?"
'That's a good question. Ugh…if only I knew what she was saying. Wait, what's that sound?' Kai looked over to the lake, it sounded like something was coming. Could it be Rei? Was that his plan, to expose himself? He got his answer soon enough when a blue blur exploded out of the still water and hovered before them, a gust surrounding them. When Kai finally got a good look at the creature, his eyes widened. 'A dragon?' Sure, he had gotten a variety of requests over the past year, but he hardly searched for a dragon, mainly because they were very elusive and their numbers were small.
~Three?! Three humans have discovered us?! I thought Rei said there was only one??~ Dranzer flew over to him and began screeching.
{What are you doing here? Dragons are supposed to stay in the forest and protect it.} The bluenette cursed, he really wished he could understand his phoenix.
~A phoenix? Why are you here? These humans can catch you!~
{I already belong to master Kai, now don't change the subject, what the hell are you doing out here?!} As they argued, Mariah and Emily stood up, staring at the two creatures in shock.
"Is that really a dragon Emily, or am I just seeing things?"
"That would make two of us if it isn't. But those aren't the animals we came to see, we walked all this way this early to meet two human-like creatures. Where are they?"
~This is unacceptable, I got to do something right away.~ Dranzer flew in front of Kai.
{If you so much as think about hurting master Kai you'll be the one in trouble.}
~ A threat from a phoenix? Like I should be worr-huh?~ Dragoon moved aside as something else came out of the water, or someone actually. A black tuft of hair broke the surface of the serene lake, soon followed by a yellow puff. ~It's about time you two showed up.~ Kai also acknowledged the boys' presence.
'Rei, Max. What are they thinking? How is this a plan?' Rei didn't notice the two girls or Kai yet; he was focused on the dragon.
"Dragoon, what do you think you're doing?! You can't just burst out here, what if someone sees you?" Max tapped his shoulder.
"Um Rei, I think someone already saw us."
"What?" Rei turned and cursed, the two girls were gawking at him and Kai was shaking his head. "Oh…damn." Mariah squealed as Emily looked like she had just discovered a cave of gems.
"OH MY GOD THEY'RE REALLY REAL!!!"
"THIS IS AMAZING! WHAT A FIND!" They both rushed over to the boys, only to be stopped by Dranzer. She screeched at them, warding them away with her talons.
{Stay away you incessant females!} Rei looked up to her thankfully as he got out of the lake.
"Thanks Dranz." Max smiled and climbed out as well.
"Yea, thank you. I don't know what you said, but thanks."
~HOLD IT!~ Rei snapped his head over to the dragon. ~This has gone on long enough! As guardian of this forest, it's my duty to protect it from pesky humans like them!~ He pointed one of his claws at the girls and then moved it to Kai. ~ And from hunters like him!~
"Stop it Dragoon, you're messing up the plan!"
~I'm not following your plan, I'm going to do this my own way!~ He began to glow, summoning the winds to his aid. Everyone except for Rei didn't like the looks of things; something big was going to happen, something really big.
"Rei, what's going on?" Kai asked, though it was more of a command.
"Take cover!" Was all he said, as Dragoon was ready to unleash his attack.
~Take this you humans, my special erase phantom hurricane!~ Seemly out of nowhere, a mini tornado swept through the tranquil forest and charged at the group.
"Please tell me that isn't real Emily!" The orange-haired girl clutched her laptop to her chest.
"I really hope it isn't!" Max took hold of Rei's arm.
"What's going on?! What did he say?" Rei eyed the incoming twister and then pushed the younger boy into the lake without warning. The blonde coughed and shook his head when he poked his head out above the water. "Why did you do that?"
"Don't worry Max, just go back to the other side, I'll meet you there." Max acted as if he didn't hear it.
"Rei!"
"Just go! Trust me on this one!" He waited until the blonde dove under before he called out to Dranzer. "Dranzer! Your flame saber should be able to take that thing head on!" The phoenix nodded.
{You must have read my mind Rei-neko.} She flew past Kai and the others, facing the cyclone racing towards her. {Your gust is no match for my flame saber!} With a few strong flaps of her mighty wings, a javelin of fire erupted and hit the tempest with full force. Only it didn't vanquish the gale like she had expected, it only mixed with it.
~Stupid bird…~ Knowing what was going to happen, Dragoon beckoned flurries to protect him. ~Now that pyro twister will really hurt.~ Dranzer turned to the fiery windstorm, sure enough, it looked as if it was going to blow any second.
{Oh no, master Kai!} The bluenette didn't understand her, but knew that a blazing typhoon wasn't good. Soon flames began to spiral off it, igniting the trees and brush. Dranzer called out again, unable to move closer without getting swept up in the winds. {Master Kai, please get away!} He didn't move. He couldn't. Rei heard Dranzer's calls however, but thinking that Kai already took off, he got ready to jump into the lake.
{No, master Kai…} She had to protect him, but how could she? Then she noticed Rei. {Rei! Rei-neko!} Her voice caught his pointed ears and he turned to her.
"Dranzer?"
{Master Kai! Rei you must help him!} Rei glanced back and saw that Kai hadn't moved, neither have Mariah or Emily for that matter.
'What's wrong with them, why won't they run?' Then realization dawned on him. 'It must be part of Dragoon's attack. It doesn't affect me because I'm not fully human.' As quickly as he could Rei ran over to Kai and grabbed his wrist. "Kai we got to go!" The bluenette was still in his daze, caught in Dragoon's spell. "Kai! Come on!" The tornado was spitting out more flames, ready to burst at any moment. "KAI! UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR HAIR TO BE BLACK LIKE MINE I SUGGEST YOU MOVE!" With all his strength, the neko-jin yanked Kai from his spot and dragged him to the lake.
{Rei-neko hurry!} The raven-haired boy gasped as one of the stray flames nicked his shoulder, marring his flawless skin. He didn't stop though, and when he reached the lake he jumped in, bringing the bluenette with him.
'Huh…what?!' Hitting the water, Kai finally snapped from his stupor. Realizing he was underwater he tried to swim up, only to find that he was being held down. Looking over his shoulder he saw Rei next to him, keeping a firm grasp on his wrist. He tried to pull away again. 'What does he think he's doing?!' He got his answer when a huge shock wave hit the water, sending them both flying back to the other side of the lake. They surfaced and were met with Max's worried eyes.
"Are you two ok? I thought you were right behind me." Rei breathed heavily, a little surprised by the enormity of the explosion.
"I'm ok, and I would have been right behind you if a certain someone hadn't decided to become a statue." Kai swiped some of his bangs out of his eyes and glared at him.
"It's not my fault I was caught by that dragon's spell." Rei ignored him and looked up at the mountain.
"Hm…you're welcome. We got to go back to see the damage. I think some of the trees caught fire." Max dove in and swam over to the entrance.
"Let's hurry then!" He took a breath and disappeared under the water. Rei tucked the loose strands of hair behind his ear and nodded.
"Right."
"Hold on." Rei glanced at him.
"What?"
"Your shoulder." He turned to his right and noticed the deep, red gash across his shoulder, most definitely caused by the stray flame (2). Trickles of blood were flowing freely from it, marking the rest of his arm and dripping into the clear lake waters.
"It's nothing, besides we have to go with Max." Before Kai could argue with him, he had dove under too. He had no choice but to follow. On the other side, Dranzer was busy putting out the remaining fires, smothering them with a flap of her wing. Dragoon had brought a few drafts in to extinguish the major ones before they had spread.
"At least the damage wasn't too great. I thought an explosion like that would have taken out have the forest." Rei nodded with the blonde, surveying the area. He knew that it was the magic from the forest that really saved the landscape; he just hoped that no one from town had been around to see it. "Oh, what do we do about them?" Rei turned to the two girls, both unconscious.
"I don't know. I'm not sure what effects Dragoon's attack had on them." Speaking of the blue devil.
~It has wiped their memories of us and this place.~ The dragon landed next to Rei, his full height reaching the boy's shoulder. ~If only you hadn't pushed that one into the lake and protected him from my spell.~ He pointed to Kai who had surfaced a while ago and was now walking to them.
"What is that dragon saying about me?" Rei smirked, even though he couldn't understand him completely, he was surprised he had an inkling about what he had said.
"Nothing. He's just complaining that you escaped his spell." He sighed. "We have to get these two out of here before Robert wakes up. No doubt he heard that explosion and is heading here right now."
"How am I supposed to carry both of them back by myself?" Rei crossed his arms and turned to him.
"I don't know but you'll have to seeing as we can't go."
"Can't that dragon help?" Rei glanced at the creature.
"He's already pretty irritated with you, I don't think a favor is the best thing to ask for."
"Then you'll have to help."
"I can't."
"Fine, then I'll just leave them here." He walked past him and headed back for town.
"You can't just leave them Kai!"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Rei hissed and ran in front of him, blocking his path. "Move Rei." Rei shook his head and held his arm firmly.
"You brought them here, you bring them back. The last thing we need are two girls wandering around in front of the entrance." Kai challenged him.
"Make me." The raven-haired boy growled at him, releasing his claws and sinking them into Kai's skin. "Shit…what are you doing?!" Rei snickered.
"Making you, what does it look like I'm doing?" Kai grabbed the boy's hand, trying to remove it. Rei only put his other hand on top of his, piercing that one too.
"Damn it Rei what do you want me to do? I can't carry both of them back! Especially now that a have two injured arms!" On cue two teenagers came running towards them, shouting as they ran.
"Kai! Rei! What happened?!" It was Tyson and Kenny; both had probably heard the explosion a few minutes ago. Rei smirked and looked at Kai with a triumphant expression on his face.
"They can help you bring the girls back. Convenient, no?" Kai growled.
"…No…" Tyson was the first to reach the two tangled teenagers. He took one look at the situation and laughed.
"Man Kai what did you do to tick Rei off this time?" Whether it was for his pride or for lack of a sufficient answer, Kai didn't respond.
"Let go of me." He said each word clearly; making sure the tiger heard him.
"Only if you take those girls with you." Kai just stared at him; the younger boy's golden eyes returned the gaze just as defiantly. Thoughts were streaming through the bluenette's head.
'He has to be stubborn, if he was like his friend Max I wouldn't have this problem.' Rei wasn't fairing any differently.
'I don't get him. One minute he's willing to listen to me, and the next he's
ignoring every word that comes out of my mouth.' They stayed that way for a few seconds, each trying to understand the other, or at least make sense of their actions.
'Then again, he wouldn't be the same if he was submissive. It's part of who he is, and it makes him…a lot more interesting.'
'I guess if he was an open book things would be easier, but then I wouldn't be able to discover things for myself. And where's the fun in that?' They seemed to reach an unsaid agreement in those seconds. No words were exchanged and Rei retracted his claws, pulling away from him completely. Kai didn't even look at his wounds, his ruby eyes still locked on the raven-haired neko.
'What other surprises are you hiding Rei? What other interesting things have I yet to discover?'
'We'll see what I can learn about you Kai, and maybe have some fun in the process too.' Tyson was getting tired of their silent conversation and broke the serenity.
"Hello? Are you guys awake? I asked what went down here!"
[REI!]
"Huh?" Rei finally tore his gaze away from Kai's mahogany eyes and turned to the mountain. "Driger?"
[REI! Get back here quickly! Robert's on his way to the tree!] His words sunk in and the boy cursed.
"Oh damn…" He sprinted off, grabbing Max's hand along the way. The bluenette called out to him before he dove into the lake.
"Rei where are you going? We're not done yet!" The raven-haired neko replied quickly.
"Robert is looking for us! He must have heard the explosion! Hurry, take the girls and go!"
"But-" He wouldn't take arguments, he cut Kai off before he could finish his sentence.
"No, take them and go, now!" With that he jumped into the lake, followed shortly by Dragoon.
~Don't think this is over humans.~ He vanished with a gust, unaware that none of them understood what he had said.
"Kai, what the heck is going on?!" Tyson couldn't take it any longer. "And you better answer me buddy, the power thing already ticked me off." Kai turned away from him, picked up Mariah and walked towards him.
"Just get Emily and follow me." He whistled for Dranzer to come, they were leaving the forest. 'You have some things to tell me Rei, and I expect to hear them during our first lesson.'
"What? Come on, I expected a little more than that."
"Tyson, let's just get back home first. I'm sure Kai'll explain it all to us there." Kenny said as he tried to balance Emily on his back.
"Ugh…fine. Here, let me help you Chief." Steadying her, Tyson held onto her shoulders incase the shorter boy lost his balance.
"Thanks." They didn't say much on the way back, knowing that any further questions would only worsen Kai's mood.
~*~*~*~
(1) I bet you guys know who that is so no explanation needed. All you need to know is that dragons protect different areas of the Umber Woods.
(2) I know that fire usually leaves a nasty burn/scorch mark, but this isn't your ordinary flame. That plus a strong wind can inflict a lot of damage (Think of a fire version of Folborg's stroblitz attack).
SS-Well that was a tad longer than usual (Over 8,000 words on my counter thingy!), it must have been because of the ice cream I was snacking on near the end.
Tym-Ice cream?!?!?!?! =( Where's mine?!?!?!?!
SS-Sorry Tym, maybe next time. Besides, it's strawberry, you like chocolate.
Tym-I can change!
SS-Anyway I doubt I'll have another chapter out before Halloween (Got a few projects to do) so I hope you enjoyed this super long one! And I hope you get a few scares this year minna-san!
Tym-My ice cream…
SS-Oh…*hands Tym the carton of ice cream* there you go.
Tym- HOO – RAH!!!!!!!! ^_________^ R&R FOR THIS YUMMY YUMMY TREAT!
SS-Or just review to tell me how the chapter went. It's not one of my best, but I'll try to make up with the next, after all, it'll be Phoenix talking 101…better than any class at school (With a nice teacher too *wink* *wink*). And just when you think Rei and Kai are on good ground they go and fight again. When will they get along? (Don't worry, they will eventually…) Until next time!
