"What are you going to do when this is all over?" Yami asked. Both he and Seto were seated on a fallen log outside the city where they could watch it from a safe distance. Although the air was chilly, the two barely noticed it having come from a far worst climate.
"When Pegasus is dead," the cat demon clarified when Seto did not answer. "Will you keep hunting demons? Will you go home somewhere and live our a normal life? What?"
"I don't know," came the small murmur of a reply. "Home for a while I guess. Visit Mokuba's grave. Why?"
"Could I come with you then?"
"Why?" The hunter asked in surprise.
"I want to pay my respects, if it's alright with you."
"You're a demon, just like Pegasus."
"Hasn't your time in Chale Jao taught you anything?" Yami inquired. "Not all demons are bad. When will you start believing that?"
"And what about the one who aren't good? Like your friend Bakura," Seto sneered at the mention of the fire demon's name. "They're no better than Pegasus. How many Mokuba's have they killed in their life times?"
"Bakura's not like that," Yami argued feeling the need to defend his ex-best friend.
"He tried to kill me."
"Only because I was with you. Besides…you're hardly innocent."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"Only that you could take most demons one on one in a fair fight. Given the chance you could defeat Bakura if you went into the battle with a game plan. Kura hates water. Knowing that you'd set up a trap. Get him wet enough and he won't be able to summon flames at all."
"Are you telling me this so I'll finish what you started?"
Yami narrowed his eyes. "Of course not! Bakura wants me dead, not the other way around."
"Which is why this whole thing started when you tried to kill him."
"Stop being an ass," Yami snapped. Standing up he walked a few feet away and leaned against a tree keeping his back to the demon hunter. He flinched slightly when he felt Seto place a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
Yami turned around and rested his back against the tree trunk. His arms were crossed over his chest as he glared at the brunet. "I'm trying to help you."
"I know. I'm no good with people. You're the first friend I've had since Mokuba died. After that I've only thought about revenge. It's weird having a friend again, especially one who is a demon."
Yami flashed Seto a brilliant smile. "Thank you for thinking of me as a friend." Standing on his tiptoes, Yami gave the demon hunter a quick kiss on the lips.
"We don't have time for this," Seto quietly said against Yami's lips. "We need to keep a watch out for Pegasus."
"I know."
Turning back around Yami comfortably leaned against the brunet who wrapped his arms around Yami's waist and rested his chin on top of the cat demon's head.
Together they silently watched the village for the rest of the night.
The two naked bodies laid side by side in the bed, snuggled together under the blankets.
Pegasus had not appeared that night. When dawn broke the pair retreated back to the room at the inn for some sleep. They were less concerned about a daytime attack, although with Pegasus anything was possible. However, the villagers were awake during the day so they would hear the screams if the demon attacked.
A pounding on the door woke both of them.
Yami quickly transformed into a cat while Seto pulled on his pants. Making sure Yami's clothes were out of sight, Seto hurried over to the door, where the pounding continued and yanked it open. He frowned when he saw the blond traveler on the other side.
His cream colored tunic was brunt around the edges and he was covered in mood. His long blond hair was also covered in mud with the tips of his locks also singed.
"You're the one who was headed to Chale Jao." 'What was his name?' "What are you doing here?"
"You're the demon hunter?"
"Answer the question."
'Malik! His name is Malik!' Seto shook his head and quickly looked back at Yami who was seated on a wooden chair watching intently. He could have sworn he had just heard Yami's voice, but that was impossible since Yami was still a cat.
Turning back to the blond, Malik was busy rambling on.
"Well…about a day after we met, I decided to take a detour and stop at a village I knew. I wanted to visit some friends there and needed to gather supplies if I was going to travel all the way to that village to find Bakura. The place was completely destroyed by the time I got there. I made my way south again and the next village I came across also was destroyed but this time I saw it happen.
"You saw it?"
Malik's head bobbed. "It was a white horse with wings, who did it. The people didn't stand a chance. I hid until the thing disappeared and tried looking for survivors but there were none. I hurried on and eventually arrived here. Upon hearing my tale the villagers told me about you and where I could find you."
"Allow me to finish dressing. I would like to speak to you some more about the creature you saw. Meet me in a few minutes at the tavern where we can continue our conversation."
Malik nodded his head and quickly hurried off. As soon as the door was close Seto turned around to speak to Yami who was back to normal.
"He's coming this way."
Seto nodded his head, deciding it was best not to mention hearing Yami's voice inside his head.
The pair quickly dressed and hurried to the tavern where Malik was waiting for them.
"How long ago was the last attack?" Seto asked upon sitting down at the small table at the back of the room. Yami hopped from Seto's shoulders to his lap where he eyed Malik with his creepy red eyes. Malik tried ignoring those eyes.
"Two days ago."
"I suspect he'll be here soon then."
"You have to do something! All these people will die!"
"I will but I'll need your help."
Malik paled slightly; He was a lover, not a fighter. "What can I do?"
"There's a girl in this village by the name Shizuka. Find her and I want the two of you to work together to evacuate this village. I also need to know more about this creature. You're the only person I've found who's willing to speak. The other's are too scared, fearing Pegasus will return to finish them off."
"He dive bombs out of the sky attacking people with his front hooves before flying high up again for another attack. In panic the people run, trampling over those who fall. The fires are started by the humans in an attempt to hide under the smoke and drive him away. They only accomplish in killing more of their kind and burning down their village. With his flight abilities that thing herded them so they stay inside the village. Most end up burning alive."
"We're a sitting target then," Seto concluded. "The bridge is the only way out of town so he'll have an easy time keeping everyone inside the walls of the town. Go now and find Shizuka. Get as many people out of here as possible."
"Alright."
Malik drowned the rest of his ale, needing the alcohol and then hurried off. Standing up, Seto carried Yami in his arms out of the tavern and towards a small ally where they could not be seen.
Jumping from Seto's arms, Yami turned human. "What's the plan?"
"We need to bring Pegasus down to the ground. I'll need you stationed on the rooftops. While I distract him with arrows, I'll need you to pounce on him in your leopard form. Attack his wings, anything to get him down."
"Won't he see me and suspect something's up?"
"That's why I need you to remain a cat for as long as possible. Just act like a scared, trapped kitty and he'll think nothing of it."
"What of the villagers? What if Pegasus doesn't attack knowing no one is here?"
Seto deeply sighed. "That won't be an issue. There's too many people here to evacuate everyone and I'm sure even if we could, some would insist on staying."
"What else?"
"I'll select two buildings to set ablaze. It'll help conceal Pegasus' vision."
"Malik said that doesn't work."
Seto gave Yami a sly smile. "That's because they probably set any thing on fire. I plan on watching the skies to know what direction he's attacking form and light the fires near there."
"Same Kura still wasn't after us. We could use his help with the fire."
"Leave that to me. Humans are just as capable to lighting things on fire."
Yami nodded his head.
"I need you to now go and scout out the rooftops. Fine a place you like best preferably near the center of the village."
"Alright."
Transforming into a cat, Yami scooted from the ally. He knew they didn't have much time until Pegasus got there.
"What an adorable kitty!"
Yami froze. Turning his head, he eyed a man walking towards him. The man was obviously rich. He wore clothes dyed red where the villagers wore rather plain robes and tunics. His silver shoulder length hair was neat and styled so it fell over his left eye instead of being the normal heap of mess that the other villagers had.
"Meow."
Crouching down, the man petted Yami's back. Yami remained still hoping the man would leave soon. He had too much to do to bother with some human.
The man however had other plans as he picked up the furry body. Yami tensed; he recognized the scent of a demon.
"Leave now while you still can," the man whispered into Yami's kitten ears. He then dropped the black cat to the ground allowing Yami to watch wide-eyed as the man strolled off.
'Pegasus?' He wondered.
Forgetting about his orders, Yami scurried off to find Seto. To his horror he found the demon hunter speaking to the man he believed to Pegasus.
'Seto!'
'Seto!'
Seto shook his head swearing he had heard Yami's voice again. It sounded panicky and urgent but Seto ignored it; he was just imaging things. Instead he turned his attention back to the man in front of him, a wealthy traveler. The man had stopped him a few minutes ago and claimed he had information on the demon known as Pegasus.
Before he could question the man further, the jingling of a bell distracted him. Knowing that it was Yami, Seto turned his head to look for his cat partner and spotted the demon rushing towards them.
Reaching them, Yami grabbed a hold of Seto's cloak with his mouth and attempt to tug the demon hunter away.
"Yami?"
'That's Pegasus!'"What?"
Snapping his head back around, Seto saw that the man was gone. Picking up Yami, Seto carried him back to their room at the inn so they could talk.
"That was Pegasus! I'm sure of it!"
"I know I heard you the first time."
Yami blinked. "Huh?"
"Before when you showed up," Seto clarified before narrowing his eyes at the shorter man. "Why didn't you tell me before you can talk telepathically when you're in your cat form? I thought we decided not to keep secrets from each other."
"But I can't do that," Yami replied with a shake of his head.
"I heard you!"
The words sunk in. Walking over to the bed, Yami sat down. He had heard about demons having a telepathic link before but it was extremely rare. Only a mated pair who had bonded so closely would have the ability to speak with their minds. It would have been impossible for Seto to have heard him. The demon hunter had to be losing it under the stress of finding Pegasus.
"Seto…after we defeat Pegasus you really need to take a break."
"I'm not crazy," Seto replied giving Yami a dirty look. "This isn't the first time it's happen either. Even before Mokuba and our parents died I would occasionally hear a voice calling out my name while asleep. Today I began hearing that voice again and realized that all along it was your voice I was hearing."
"Seto, that's impossible. I don't have that ability. Only two demons so closely connected can have that ability. There hasn't even been a record of two demons having that power in 5000 years."
"I know what I heard."
"Well we could test it…" Yami offered. "See if it works…"
"Alright."
'Seto can you hear me?' Yami watched Seto's face for any sign but found none. "I guess not."
Seto shook his head. "Try as a cat."
Yami sighed but did what he was told and transformed. 'Well?'
Seto growled. "I hear nothing. Are you even trying?"
Yami felt sorry for the demon hunter, he really seemed to be losing it. 'Seto…'
"Ha! I heard you that time! You said my name!"
Yami turned back into a human and frowned. "You're right, but I still don't understand what is going on. My father might."
"We don't have time for that now," Seto said with a shake of his head. "We need to do something about Pegasus. Are you sure that was him?"
"Yes. He told me to leave now while I still could. He's also definitely a demon."
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Find Malik and Shizuka, get them to stop the evacuation."
"But these people will be killed!"
"Pegasus knows we're evacuating, if too many people get away he'll change the target. We can't have that happen. There are too many other villages around here which he can attack."
"But he knows you're here. And he saw me trying to get you away from him so he's going to figure out that I'm helping you."
Seto nodded his head. "I know; I'm counting on it. I'm hoping Pegasus will be so over confident that he'll come after this village anyway. Go now and find Malik and Shizuka."
Yami reluctantly nodded his head. He didn't like it but he knew Seto was right.
Not bothering with his cat forum, Yami hurried off. His short legs carried him fast over the ground, running through the swarms of people. To his relief none were appearing to be evacuating, which meant Seto was right in that most wouldn't believe Malik.
"Malik!" he called spotting the blond. Malik turned to him and gave him a confused look.
"Yes? Do I know you? Look it doesn't matter, trust me on this you need to get out of this village."
"Malik, I know, I'm a friend of Seto's, and there's no time to explain but-"
Yami trailed off as a blood-curling scream was heard throughout the square. Searching around for the source, Yami found an old woman pointing towards the sky.
"Demon!" one by one the villagers began to yell.
Glancing upwards, Yami looked on in horror as the majestic white horse lazily flew in a large loop above the village. "Oh no."
"That's the creature!" Malik said to Yami, his voice a soft whisper from fear.
"Malik you have to hide," Yami quickly told him, snapping his head back around to look at the blond. Malik's lavender eyes were wide with fright. "You saw for yourself what happens when people try to run. Seto and I will take care of Pegasus."
Malik bobbed his head before taking off to the nearest building. Unfortunately this drew him the attention of Pegasus for the other villagers were trying to flee. Swooping downwards, Pegasus aimed straight for Malik's back.
"Malik!" Yami yelled, seeing what was going to happen.
Transforming into a leopard, Yami charged forward and leaped at Pegasus moments before his hooves came in contact with Malik's back. With his sharp teeth, Yami clapped down on the demon's right feathery wing.
With a violent flap of his wings, Yami was thrown backwards and landed hard on the ground. Fortunately it gave Malik enough time to escape indoors.
'Seto where are you?' Yami madly thought as he shook his head to clear it from the dizziness he received from when he was thrown to ground.
Eyeing Pegasus, Yami watched as the demon flew back up into the sky as if he wasn't injured one bit.
A/N - Finally I make use of the telepathic link which was hinted at way back in the first chapter, lol. Alas everyone will have to wait until the 3rd story to find out more about it.
As you can see Malik shoved his way into another chapter. He was supposed to be in ZERO chapters until the 3rd story but I have a soft spot for hot gay guys. Poor Malik, all he wanted to do was go yell at Kura for running off and now he's caught up in this whole mess with Pegasus.
One more chapter to go then the 3rd story can start. I know that's the story everyone has been waiting for (well those who read the preview for it anyway, lol).
Review!