Prepare to be amazed!
Two of the groups meet in this chapter! (Jaan-Jaa!)
I am soooo happy to have made it this far! I can finally start all those adventures these kids have to go through before meeting Shadi!
Oh, I forgot to make a mention at the end of the last chappy. The face masks Ryuzaki made are like the ones the Youkai exterminators in Inuyasha use, y'know, like Sango's.
Anywho, let's go!
- - -
- - -
Chapter Eleven: Between Slayers and Pharaohs…
Shizuka sat at the base of the tree alongside Atem, while Katsuya lay on his back chewing on a piece of honeysuckle, as she looked over the map.
"How long until we make it out of the Black Dragon region?" The Pharaoh asked, leaning to the side to look at the paper.
"We should be out by tomorrow if we walk through the rest of the day," Shizuka replied.
"Hmm…" Atem took the map to observe their course. "We could probably go faster if we—"
"We don't have any horses," Katsuya said. "And we don't have enough money to buy any either."
Atem sighed, leaning back against the tree. "Can't we use Yuugi's influence?"
"It's a good idea, but we're trying to keep a low profile for now, especially since we're so close to crossing the border between the Red and Black regions," Katsuya replied.
It had been a little less than three days since they had left the capital, and so far things had gone smoothly, Atem simply felt they were moving too slowly. He continued to remind himself that he was not in his realm and that several things were done differently, but he still didn't appreciate the slow pace.
"Well, I think we've rested long enough," Shizuka said, folding the map back up and putting it in her belt pouch as she stood up. "We should keep going."
Atem and Katsuya rose up off the ground, dusting the grass from their clothes, grabbed their bags and continued off down the road.
"You mentioned the border between your kingdom and another?" Atem inquired.
"The Red Dragon Kingdom," Shizuka said.
"Are you at war with that kingdom?"
"Oh no," the young woman chuckled. "Onii-chan…he just over-exaggerates."
"What about?"
At this, Shizuka looked to her brother to answer the Pharaoh's question, at which the blond sighed. "It's nothing serious, or incredibly personal," he said, but the youth that had once housed his best friend continued to stare and wait for a real answer. "They use magic and stuff to protect their villages and their capital from attack by people and monsters. The monsters that eventually give up move on, usually into our region and cause problems to our people."
Atem thought about this. "So you feel the more good they do for their people, they are causing more problems for your own."
"Kind of," Katsuya shrugged.
They continued walking for a little while longer, when Katsuya raised his hand to halt his sister who in turn stopped the Pharaoh.
"What is it?" Atem asked.
"Onii-chan?"
The blond sniffed the air, turning in the direction of the breeze. "Come on!"
They dashed down the road and soon came into view of a small settlement. Making it into the village, Katsuya began asking around about any disturbances, but no one reported any.
"What is it?" Atem asked again, standing closer to Katsuya in the hopes of getting an answer this time.
"I've got a good nose, I can smell blood or any sort of bad smell for miles," the blond said. "I can tell when there's a monster around too. And there's one pretty close by."
Atem blinked. He had heard them talk about this frequently, but he never actually thought he would be witness to a slaying.
Katsuya seemed to find the source of the disturbing smell, which seemed to come from beneath a nearby house. "Shizuka, would you mind talking to the owners while I get everything ready?"
The young woman nodded and tugged on Atem's armband. "Stay with Onii-chan, Atem-sama," she said. "It's a little dangerous for people, having a monster on the loose."
"I can take perfect care of myself, Kawai Shizuka," Atem said crossly, folding his arms in front of his chest haughtily. She shrugged in response and went around to the front door of the house.
After taking a good deal of time convincing the family inside the house to empty it, Shizuka tied up her hair and pulled on the metal face mask Ryuzaki had made for her.
"Onii-chan!" She called, readying her sword. "I'm ready!"
On the other side of the house, Katsuya crouched beside a small fire and a few yards to his left stood Atem in front of a similar fire. "Okay!" He turned to his male traveling companion. "Oi, Atem! You ready?"
The Pharaoh tugged at the bandanna tied around the lower half of his face and eyed the fan in his hand dubiously. "What exactly am I doing?" He called.
"We're smoking the guy out!" Katsuya replied. "The only exits are where the three of us are standing, so if we smoke up the first two, he'll have to leave through the one Shizuka's guarding. If he doesn't decide to stay down there and die."
Atem went rigid. A young woman would be charged with killing the creature? The thought was appalling! There was no way she could do it!
"But why her!" He asked, in the hopes of helping the blond youth to change his mind. "Can't she smoke it out and you kill it!"
"Ah, she'll be fine!" Katsuya said with little if any concern. "Okay, it's starting to move. Start smoking it!" The youth began using his own fan to move the smoke of his fire down into the hole.
Atem had the urge to continue his argument, but with the realization the creature would come for him if he didn't start his part he reluctantly began fanning the smoke into the hole and became very upset with his traveling companions for bringing him down to this.
Soon, a crowd gathered around the house to see what was going on, but the red-haired Slayer continued to usher them back and give her a good amount of room before returning her attention to the hole she guarded. Smoke flooded out her post, and aside from that no other movement stirred her focus.
It was only for a brief moment that she considered the beast had suffocated while attempting to escape.
Without any visible warning, a giant centipede burst out of the hole, breaking off some of the house due to its having grown since crawling into the hole. Shizuka jumped back to avoid being hit and the crowd drew back with screams and gasps.
Atem and Katsuya heard the sound of panic and rushed to the other side of the house.
Shizuka was on the centipede's back, stabbing her sword into its head repeatedly. It screamed at her assault and reared itself up to shake her off, its green blood staining her clothes as she stabbed her sword into it again and held on tightly.
"Do something!" Atem shouted at Katsuya.
"She's doing great!" The blond said, his grin not visible due to his mask still in place. "She doesn't need our help for this one."
"It is not a woman's place to fight such things!" The Pharaoh said, grabbing onto Katsuya's shirt roughly. "She is going to get hurt! There is no—"
The sound of a great mass hitting the ground called the two youth's eyes back to the fight and Atem was amazed to find that the creature on the ground, missing its head. During his brief dispute with Katsuya, Shizuka had pulled out a long metal wire and severed the monster's head; it had flailed around for a little longer before falling to the ground dead.
Atem couldn't believe or understand any of it. "Kawai Shizuka…!"
"I told you," Katsuya smiled, patting the Pharaoh's shoulder roughly. "But don't sweat it! You only underestimate her once!"
The blond dashed off to check on his sister, leaving the Pharaoh rubbing his shoulder.
Honestly, Atem was unsure what to think; what Shizuka had done contradicted what he had been taught since childhood. He had never seen a woman fight, not even Isis; he recalled seeing texts that spoke of female warriors of the highest caliber, but they had been stories from a childhood he barely recalled. He remembered his father telling him that women were never in battle because they were too precious to kill or be killed.
And for a young woman like Shizuka to fight…
It was wrong.
- - -
Without the Pharaoh or his companions' knowledge, a certain pair of pale-haired horsemen were passing through.
"Quite the crowd," Pegasus chipped.
"Do you think someone was hurt?" Asked Ryou.
The one-eyed, silver-haired mage scanned the crowd and deduced that no humans had been hurt, but a Deep forest centipede had been slain. Pegasus sighed at the loss, but understood it happened often in this region with its Slayers. A part of him screamed to confront the killers, but he held himself steady. Not even in his homeland were Deep dwelling creatures tolerated; it had to be the same, if not worse here in the Black Dragon region.
Pegasus started to continue down the street, but paused again when he caught sight of a fiery red top of hair at the center of the crowd.
- - -
Shizuka removed her mask to smile at her brother, but stopped when she saw a shimmering silver just outside the corner of her eye.
Brown met redwood, and a ringing sound filled the air. Neither knew where it came from or when it had started, as if it had always rung and they had only then noticed it.
"Shizuka?" Katsuya nudged his sister. "Oi, Shizuka!"
- - -
"Master Pegasus, are you alright?" Ryou asked as he grasped his mentor's shoulder.
With those two contacts from the outside, the sound could no longer be heard.
'It's gone…'
- - -
"Shizuka, are you okay?" Katsuya asked. "You totally spaced out there."
Shizuka looked at her brother, then back at the silver-haired rider, but he was now looking at his own companion. 'It had to have been a dream,' she thought before looking back at her brother with a smile. "Yes, I'm okay."
- - -
Pegasus also reassured Ryou with his usual smile. "I am alright."
The white-haired youth studied his master's face. "Are you sure?" He pressed. "You looked very… Not dazed exactly, but sort of…happy. Almost like you saw an old friend, but didn't want to let them know."
Pegasus blinked at this, stealing one last glance at the red-haired young woman. He had never seen her before in his whole life; how could he show that sort of expression when looking at someone he had never met?
He shook his head. "Let's keep going," he said. "We should be out of this region before nightfall."
Ryou nodded and the two urged their horses on and they soon left the village.
- - -
Meanwhile, Shizuka, Katsuya and Atem were being praised by the villagers.
"That was incredible!"
"I've never seen anything like that!"
"Amazing!"
The owner of the infested house managed to push his way through the crowd to grasp Shizuka's hands. "If you hadn't come, that thing would have definitely killed me and my family! How can I ever thank you?"
Katsuya scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "Do you have any horses?"
- - -
Even after three horses had been chosen for them, they did not leave right away. By Shizuka's request, they and several villagers took the centipede's carcass and buried it in the hillside.
Atem refused to participate due to his position as Pharaoh, as well as his thoughts on the Slaying stumping him. He would have to discuss the situation with Shizuka and convince her to lay down her sword and leave the way of Slayer.
Katsuya stuck his shovel into the ground and leaned on it exhaustedly. "Finally… Done…!"
The youth probably would have gone on about his sore muscles and exhaustion, but he immediately fell silent when he saw his sister fall to one knee before the mound that covered the slain centipede and bowed her head in prayer. He too fell into a solemn silence and waited.
After a while, the young woman stood up, clapped the dirt from her hands and knees and turned back to her brother. "Okay. We can go."
They mounted their horses and headed off down the road.
When night fell they had made it out of the Black Dragon region and stopped to camp by the road.
Katsuya turned the rabbit he had killed over the fire, checking on it now and again. "It'll be a while still."
'I am in no hurry,' Atem muttered in his brain. Though it he had traveled three days in this same manner, he had not yet come to appreciate camp food.
Shizuka cut off a piece of bread and handed it to the Pharaoh inhabiting her prince's body. "Here, to hold you over for a bit."
Atem accepted the bread, but stared at it between his fingers. Again, his thoughts returned the Slaying, and he chose now was the time.
"Kawai Shizuka—"
"You can just call me Shizuka," the young woman said with a smile.
Atem blinked. "Shizuka… I need to discuss something with you."
"Yeah?" She nibbled on her own slice of bread.
"Why are you a Slayer?" He asked. "How can your society allow it?"
Shizuka blinked, glancing back at her brother. "What do you mean?"
"It is not a woman's place to be in battle," Atem said.
The two Slayers stared. "You're joking, right?" Katsuya scoffed. "Tell me you're kidding."
"I am not!" Atem shot to his feet, towering over the two sitting Slayers. "What can you be thinking, placing yourself in such a situation? I ask—no, I demand that you abandon this Slaying and throw down your sword at once!"
The small camp fell silent, save for the snapping of the fire.
Shizuka stood up. "No."
Atem was shocked, but only for the barest second. "I will not command it again!" His answer was a stinging slap across the face, and the grove fell even more silent than it had been a moment ago.
Now his shock was obvious. He had never been struck, by anyone; yet this girl had done it as if it meant nothing at all.
He touched his cool fingers to his burning cheek and began trembling with fury. "How dare you!"
"How dare you!" Shizuka shot back with equal fervor. "Who are you to order me to change the life I have chosen for myself!"
Atem clenched his fists. "I am the Pharaoh of the Gold Dragon deserts!" He shouted, returning Shizuka's blow with a slap of his own. "What I command is law!"
"Not here! Not over me!" The young woman said, not the least bit fazed from the blow that reddened her cheek. "You are not my King! You are not my prince! You're not Yuugi!" Tears were now trailing down her cheeks, but she didn't seem to notice. "You have no right to demand such things!"
Without another word, Shizuka turned and stormed off into the woods.
"Shizuka!" Katsuya started to go after his sister, but stopped, knowing it would be pointless to try talking to her. He had only seen her in this kind of rage once, and that had been when they were still children; now that she was a woman, there was no telling what she was capable of.
The blond turned back to Atem with a glare.
"What?" The Pharaoh spat.
Katsuya groaned, rubbing between his eyes. "You are really unbelievable, man!"
"It is not a woman's place to—"
"Shut up!" The blond shouted. "Gods! How happy are your people having a King like you!"
Atem bristled. "I do what is best for my people! I have done everything my forefathers have done to the utmost perfection! That is how I know that she is not meant to hold a sword!"
Katsuya sighed, shaking his head. "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable!"
The blond quickly returned to tending to his rabbit before it could burn.
Atem couldn't believe how little they understood; Shizuka could be killed, and not even her own brother seemed to care. He turned away and stormed off in the opposite direction Shizuka had.
He wasn't sure how long he walked, but he eventually came to a small pond and did something he had only done as a child; he picked up a rock and hurled it across the water. For the first time, he wasn't thinking about what the spirits of the past Pharaoh's would think of how he was acting and threw rocks and sticks about furiously.
One rock he hurled at a tree; he hadn't expected it to shoot through the branch and break it off.
Atem froze as the tree's arm crashed into the pond and stared at his hands. Now he remembered why he hadn't thrown rocks since his childhood; he had nearly killed someone when he somehow tapped into the power granted to every Pharaoh.
'Do I still retain my powers?'
Kneeling down, Atem took a deep breath as he reached into his soul.
He could feel every breath, heartbeat and pulse of life that went through the body that was not his own. And he was shocked to hear the traces of the prince who had been stolen.
Atem could almost see him; it was a vague image, but…Yuugi had left some of himself behind.
'You shouldn't make her cry…' the Prince said. 'She's already hurting… You shouldn't make her cry…'
Atem returned to himself, but was somehow not as proud to have discovered he still had his powers as he had been at first. The Prince had made him regret his actions earlier, though he didn't really understand why.
Picking himself up, Atem headed back to the camp. When he again found himself in the warm glow of the pit fire, he found Katsuya cutting pieces of the rabbit off but not eating them.
When the blond noticed Atem's reappearance he chuckled. "I was starting to get worried that maybe I'd be eating alone tonight."
Atem looked around the camp, his gaze ending up on the bedroll of their absent party member.
Katsuya noticed the object of the Pharaoh's attention. "Shizuka hasn't come back yet," he said. "And I wouldn't expect her back real soon. She looked pretty upset."
"Hmm…" Atem took a seat at the fire without any further reply.
"Want some?" Katsuya grinned, holding out the skewered rabbit.
Normally Atem would turn down the offer, as he had the past couple nights, but the empty growl of his stomach made him reconsider. "Yes…"
"Okay!" Katsuya put some of the cut off meat between two pieces of bread before handing it to his companion. "Here ya go!"
Atem accepted the food, and was a little surprised to find it tasted good; the meat was a little tough, but not bad.
"What do I call you?"
The Pharaoh's question was strange and so abrupt Katsuya could only blink. "What?"
"Your sister says I am allowed to call her 'Shizuka'," Atem said. "What do I call you? Katsuya?"
"Don' hoosh id," the Slayer said through a mouthful of bread and rabbit; he quickly swallowed. "No one but Shizuka calls me Katsuya."
Now it was Atem's turn to blink. "Why?"
"What? Oh right…" Katsuya put some meat between two other slices of bread and wrapped it up for whenever Shizuka came back. "Around here, we have two names. Me, I'm Jounouchi Katsuya. The first name you hear, Jounouchi, was my father's name, and it's the name everyone can call me. My given name, Katsuya, is something only specific people can call me by, like family, really close friends or…lovers."
Atem blinked thoughtfully. "And it is like this for everyone of your country?"
"And the White Dragon Kingdom too, I think," the blond replied with a nod.
The Pharaoh looked down at his half-eaten rabbit sandwich. "Then, your sister…"
"Everybody calls her Shizuka, don't read too much into it," the blond said quickly. "She just… She doesn't like her second name."
Before Atem could inquire further, the fiery-haired young woman in question stalked out of the woods and went straight to her bedroll. She sat down and took off her boots before pulling her blanket over herself; this had all been done with her back to the campfire.
"Um… Rabbit's ready," Katsuya said, in the hopes of cheering up his still upset younger sister.
"I'm not hungry," Shizuka replied quickly, still not looking back at the boys. "Good night."
Since it was nigh impossible to tell whether or not Shizuka was actually asleep, Atem didn't ask any further questions about her. And the only thing that followed the young woman's good night was Katsuya's to Atem when they finally lay down to sleep.
- - -
Atem, like every morning since they had set out, awoke to Katsuya's humble snoring.
Back in his kingdom, he was awoken at the same time every morning by his servants; to wake up on his own was strange, yet lightly refreshing. Still, it was slightly uncomfortable to sleep in the same clothes every night, and he hadn't had a bath in a good while.
Recalling the pond he had found the other night, he decided it wouldn't be too much to have a quick bath. Getting up, and gathering a new set of clothes, he set off towards the pond.
What he failed to notice was the empty bedroll and a missing redhead.
Carefully retracing his steps from the previous night Atem found the pond, but he was surprised to find Shizuka kneeling at the water's edge. She was gathering water in her hands and putting it to her face a few times before looking at her reflection.
"Shizuka?"
The young woman turned at her name, but quickly looked away. "What is it?"
"I was…" Atem stopped as his heart hurt, and he recalled the incidents of the previous night. He had to settle the argument. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Okay."
The Pharaoh waited for Shizuka to turn, but she made no move to do so. "I would prefer it if I could speak to your face."
Heaving a sigh and with a great amount of hesitation Shizuka turned to face Atem. And the Pharaoh immediately saw why she had hesitated in facing him: a large, angry bruise marred her left cheek.
"Are you alright!" Atem asked, rushing to her side.
"I'm alright, don't worry," the young woman replied.
Observing her injury, Atem paused. "I did that…didn't I? Last night, when I hit you?"
Reluctantly, Shizuka nodded.
Something in Atem's heart trembled and he put his hand to his breast; the Prince was stirring restlessly, urging him to speak words he had never voiced.
A part of him didn't want to say it. It would be lowering himself. It would be admitting defeat.
'You shouldn't make her cry…' He heard the Prince say again.
No, he didn't want to say it. But a part of him and a part of this body's true keeper knew that it had to be said.
"Shizuka. I am…sorry…"
The fiery-haired young woman's eyes widened and shot to meet the Pharaoh's. She must have heard wrong; she had to have heard wrong. "What?"
"I am sorry," Atem repeated. "For hitting you…"
She had heard right. Somehow, a smile shone on her face.
Like the night before, Shizuka shocked him, but unlike the night before it was not with a burning strike; instead it was with a gentle embrace. At first, the Pharaoh stood completely still, but quickly relaxed into her arms, much the same way he had when Queen Hikari had held him that first day.
"I'm sorry too." Shizuka released him and bowed. "I hit you first. You shouldn't have to apologize."
Atem was again shocked to hear her say that, but managed to stay on his feet and keep a general composure. He again took note of the swelling bruise on the young woman's cheek, and recalling the branch that still drifted in the pond, realized he could likely do something about it.
"Hold still." He placed the same hand he had struck her with on her cheek.
Shizuka flinched, but didn't pull away.
Soon, in the place of the stinging pain came a soothing warmth and Atem watched as the bruised faded back to the proper color of Shizuka's skin.
When he drew his hand back, the young woman touched her cheek with her fingers to find the pain had vanished completely. "How did…?"
"I was surprised myself when I…did that last night," Atem said. "It would seem that I still have the powers I had in my own body."
"Wow!" Shizuka smiled. "Is that how you got rid of your bruise?"
Atem thought back, not recalling healing the injury to his own face and figured that it had happened on its own. "Yes."
"Hey!" The two turned toward the call from camp. "Where'd you guys go!"
Shizuka chuckled. "We'd better head back."
"I was looking forward to taking a bath," Atem sighed wistfully.
"Don't worry," the young woman pat his shoulder. "We'll take a stop at the next town. We can all take baths and maybe sleep under a roof at an inn tonight."
"That would be pleasant."
When they returned to camp, Katsuya was surprised and confused to find his sister and the Pharaoh on friendlier terms than when they had been before the fight, but didn't want to bother asking why or how.
After a short breakfast, the three mounted their horses and continued on down the road.
"Shizuka…"
"Hai?"
Atem thought a moment before continuing. "The women of my kingdom do not participate in battle," he said. "I have been raised knowing that a woman's place is in peaceful surroundings. How can your people not agree to the same standards?"
Katsuya groaned. They had just gotten back on pleasant terms, now he was sure that another argument would ensue.
Shizuka looked at the mane of her horse. "I thought the same thing once," she said, surprising Atem. "But… There was a woman I knew; she was one of the strongest people I've ever met. I wanted to be just like her, but I didn't know how. I asked her about how she could be so strong, because I knew I—as a girl—could never be as strong as a man.
"And she told me that it had nothing to do with being a man or a woman," Shizuka went on. "We all fight the same thing and for generally the same reasons."
"And what are those reasons?" Atem asked.
He was again surprised when Shizuka turned to him with a confident smile.
"I want to protect people," she replied. "I don't want to see anyone hurt when they should be happy…" Shizuka set her eyes ahead. "I don't want to see anyone die when they should live. No one."
Atem couldn't believe how she had such faith and confidence in herself to protect the people she loved. Could she really be strong because of that? Because of these feelings for her friends and family?
A certain three people jumped to his thoughts. 'Malik… Isis… Rishid…'
"Hey," Katsuya interrupted the Pharaoh's reverie as he halted his horse. "Listen."
Atem and Shizuka halted also and listened.
They could just barely hear it over the wind in the trees surrounding the road: angry voices.
Dismounting, they stepped off the road and looked down the hill the road rested on. Further into the forest they could see a group of men, as well as two other pale-haired men standing on barrels.
The severity of the situation was evident from the fact the two men on horseback had their hands tied behind their backs and each had a noose around their neck.
"Well, this looks pleasant," Katsuya said sarcastically.
- - -
- - -
Okay, okay, so the two groups haven't exactly integrated yet. But at least they met earlier. Kind of.
Anyway, next chapter.
Will Shizuka and the others intervene and save Pegasus and Ryou? You know they are, but its fun to ask.
Until next time! Bye-bye!