Disclaimer: I still don't own it.
Chapter 11: Set it off
The day had been exactly what Joey had figured it would be… chaotic. Higurashi had naively thought that it would be a grand idea to have everyone battle against each other in groups. He actually thought it would run quite smoothly. How wrong he was. Joey shook his head as he watched Bakura tackle Duke. Apparently the two of them were paired together to battle, and it was running smoothly until Duke made the mistake of pointing to a random spot and telling Bakura that there was a bloody piece of meat over there. Bakura being in wolf form could not help but look in that direction and received a blow to the back; signaling his defeat of that round. That didn't set well with the spirit of the ring. Some people never learn Joey thought with a sigh as he turned back to his battle at hand. He was paired with Seto of all people.
He didn't want to hurt Seto, yet he didn't want to seem weak either. He knew Seto was powerful but then again… so was he. The two prowled around one another; waiting for someone to make the first move. I'll have to be careful… the puppy has a slight advantage over Me. Seto confirmed with himself as he watched Joey. Joey almost fell backward when Seto threw the Hiraikotsu at him quickly, but was fast enough to adjust and concentrated. With that he was able to send Seto's weapon of course; away from him. Higurashi walked up to them. "Ah, very good. Seto you need to make sure that you are ready in case someone brings the Hiraikotsu back at you. And Joey as time goes on you'll need to be able to do different techniques. Ok?" He said as he walked off to coach the others. Seto walks up to Joey. "Good Job puppy, you finally one upped me." Joey rolled his eyes.
"Yeah and it won't be the last time either. You'd better be careful." He bragged, sticking out his chest. Seto shook his head. "Is that a threat?" He said in mock disbelief. Joey's reply quickly turned into a squeak when he felt grab his ass. Joey blushed a nice shade of crimson as Seto chuckled. "See, now we're even." He said walking off proudly. Joey stood there for a few seconds before yelling, "HEY THAT'S CHEATING!" walking faster to catch up with the other boy. The final training battle of the day was Duke against Joey. Duke tightened his grip on his knives. The point was to not STAB Joey, but to catch him off guard. Joey cracked his knuckles before moving in front of Duke.
"Let the battle begin." Higurashi said signaling them to start. Duke (A/N: you'd think he'd learn by now -- ;) charged towards Joey. Joey blinked as he Duke quickly side stepped and tried to knock Joey off his feet. Joey, whom is faster than Duke, concentrated his mind into the ground, and a large force of telekinesis hit Duke; knocking him into the air. Joey sweat dropped as Duke landing about five feet away. "Uh…. Sorry?" He said with a sheepish shrug. Bakura and a few others chuckled as Duke was helped off the ground by Ryou. Higurashi cleared is throat and was awarded with silence.
"Ok everyone. That's enough for today. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow." He said as everyone went back to there little living quarters to retire for the night. Joey sighed as he snuggled into Seto's arms. "This isn't so bad is it hmm?" Seto said; kissing Joey solidly on the lips. Joey smiled into the kiss; pressing deeper with need. They would have loved to remain that way but because of air they had to separate. "Yeah… it isn't so bad." And together they entered the land of dreams.
Seto wasn't sure what he was hearing. He knew it was probably late at night, but he swore he could hear someone talking. He finally opened his eyes to see what it was and saw Joey mumbling in his sleep. It sounded around the lines of "Castle KuKuri" and "Beware of the shadow." Seto supported himself on one elbow as he began to shake Joey's shoulder in an attempt to awake the sleeping blond. It wasn't until Joey started thrashing and moaning in pain that Seto became worried. He bent over the blond and began to shake him harder calling out his name. Seto nearly had a heart attack when Joey shot up with a scream. "Joey what's going on? What's wrong?" Joey bit his lip.
"I saw it…" He said in a quite, almost haunted voice. Seto's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Saw it? Saw what puppy?" he asked confused. "The shadow… it was after me… it wanted to kill me. It was almost suffocating me." Joey said as he felt around his neck, hissing in pain. Seto gasped as he finally noticed a large, dark bruise around his neck and collarbone. Seto got up and rushed to get Higurashi. When they returned he went up to Joey and examined the bruise. "So what exactly did you see?" He asked. Joey took a deep breathe. "Ok. I saw a dark castle… someone saying it was called castle KuKuri. And then we were inside the castle and I saw the shadow. It was shaped like the grim reaper and it had a bony hand. It grabbed me by the neck… that was all until Seto woke me up." He said a bit shaken up. Higurashi nodded as he finished putting ointment on his wound. He stood and left to leave, but stopped at the doorway. "We'll have to talk more about this in the morning." Then he left the two alone. Seto sat next to Joey.
"It's almost morning… you want to try going back to sleep?" Joey shook his head.
"Nah, I'd rather not relive the dream. Besides, it IS almost morning." Seto nodded as he put his arms around the golden teen. "So what shall we do until then huh?" Joey smiled as an idea came to him. "Let's…talk. We don't really know each other that well. And if we were to become serious… I'd like to know you better." Seto nodded again. "Good idea."
That Morning
Everyone had settled into Yugi and Yami's tent for breakfast. They had all heard from Higurashi that there would be a change of plans. After everyone had finished eating Higurashi stood up to speak. "What's going on Higurashi?" Yugi asked concerned. Higurashi turned to them. "It seems that you all will have to start your journey a few weeks early." The group, minus Seto and Joey, stared at each other in shock. Ryou was the one to express concern. "But why? We aren't ready yet." Higurashi sympathized with the teens. "Yes, I know. But Joey had a vision last night about the shadow and where it is. It did do a little bit of damage to him. This tells me that it is getting stronger. You must stop it in its tracks. So that's why you must leave early. But I know that you can do it." His last statement was ignored as the others started to talk all at once. Joey bit his lip before speaking. "If I may say somethin'…Um. I know it will be hard. But if we just use what we have learned yesterday and continue to train… I think we'll be fine. But hey, what do I know?" He said before quieting down again. Everyone contemplated this before agreeing. Higurashi smiled down at Joey. "And that is why you are the leader. Now, lets get you all settled. I will give you all some healing potions, herbs and other necessities. When you run out, you'll have to fend for yourself." He then began to help everyone get ready. After and hour of preparation, the group stood outside near a sign that was in front of a path that led into a forest. Higurashi smiled at them.
"Well, this is it. After this you are on your own. Be careful and stay together. Good Luck." He said as he slowly walked back to the village. Joey sighed as he read the sign.
"Dark Forest. Great, that sounds exciting…" he drawled. Everyone gathered together towards the sign. "I guess we'll have to follow our instincts then, let's go." He said and the group followed into the unknown.
End chapter 11
I hope this makes up for the short chapter 10… so did ya like it, hate it? Tell me in your review. Thank ya'll. Throws Seto/Joey plushies into the crowd