Much sorrys for the last chapter! (Bows) I wanted two of the groups to join up, but the way I wrote it the rest wouldn't fit just then. And I also apologize for this chapter taking so long!
So here we go!
- - -
- - -
Chapter Twelve: Between Magicians and Bandits…
Pegasus stood atop his barrel next to Ryou, eyeing the noose around his neck.
The day had started off calmly enough. They were riding towards the next town when they came across a robbery in progress; not only were the bandits stealing valuables, but they were attempting to violate the young woman driving the carriage.
Being a gentleman and a believer in justice, Pegasus intervened. However, despite his knowledge in the magic arts, the bandits had threatened to snap the girl's neck if they didn't surrender and managed to bring him and Ryou into their present dilemma.
The bandit leader meanwhile sat on the back of the cart drinking wine from one of the barrels. He was muscle-bound and badly shaven; his messy blond hair stuck out in various places from beneath his bandanna while his eyes were hidden by a pair of dark glasses.
"Did anyone ever tell you that too much alcohol in your diet isn't good for your digestive system?" Pegasus inquired.
The bandit leader belched.
'Men and women of the jury, I rest my case,' he thought with a sigh.
"You don't have a clue who I am, do you fruity?"
"I am married." Pegasus glared at the small pasty bandit that had stolen and now wore his wedding band. "And no, I don't know you."
The man chuckled. "The name's Keith Howard. People 'round here call me Bandit Keith."
'Originality at work,' Pegasus thought, rolling his remaining eye.
"You made a big mistake picking a fight with me and my boys," Keith said. "This here is our turf. When people don't follow what I tell them, they end up dead."
- - -
"This is insane, Shizuka!" Katsuya hissed as he hid in some bushes, while his two companions hid behind two trees.
"There's only four of them," the young woman said as she tied up her hair and pulled on her mask.
Atem stood behind the tree next to Shizuka's, King Mutou's sword in hand. "Are you certain we should be doing this?"
"Atem-sama." Shizuka looked at the Pharaoh, her eyes showing her smile, as she nocked an arrow to her bow string. "Did you forget what I just finished telling you on the road?"
"I don't want to see anyone die when they should live. No one." That was what she had said, and Atem remembered.
He sighed. "You are…serious in this decision?"
"Oh, she's serious," Katsuya said, pulling on his own mask. "Dead serious. You can tell when she ties up her hair."
- - -
Bandit Keith pulled the girl who had been driving the carriage into his lap. "Still, I understand you cuttin' in," he sneered, playing with the ribbon in the girl's hair and breathing in the smell of her skin. "A pretty little thing like this is bound to be a load of fun."
Pegasus clenched his teeth at the sickening display and the girl's growing tears. But he felt a breeze go through his hair and chill his spine. His gaze shot to his apprentice and found Ryou's hair was bristling, but his eyes were closed in concentration as the cold air circled around him.
"I will allow you one chance to release us and the girl," he said in a voice that was slightly darker than usual. "Do it, and I will spare your lives."
The bandits rolled with laugher at his ridiculous threat.
"That's a good one!"
"Hilarious!"
Keith waved his hand and two of his men kicked the barrels out from under the two pale-haired mages.
At the same moment, an arrow shot through the air and cut through the ropes hanging from the branches. Hitting the ground hard, Ryou's hair settled as he passed out and the wind vanished. Pegasus landed on his front, uncomfortably, but not with enough force to knock him out.
He saw the familiar redheaded girl jumped from the bushes, sword drawn, with two other young men at either side as they charged.
The small, pale and sickly-looking bandit was lifted up by the collar of his shirt and thrown into the bushes by Katsuya like he was a sack of grain. Atem took the man with dirty-red hair and small dark glasses, battling him well with the gift from the Queen, while Shizuka stood facing the bigger brown-haired bandit.
He smiled sickly. "Well, ain't you a fine thing? Even prettier than the other one!" He popped his knuckles. "What do you look like without your mask and clothes I wonder?"
Shizuka glared darkly, but waited as the bulk charged before easily moving to the side. Maneuvering her way behind him, she kicked him between the legs.
With tears stinging his eyes, the bandit went down.
Bandit Keith shoved the girl off of him and drew his sword as he ran for Shizuka. He hadn't counted on her brother blocking his blow with his own blade.
"Who the hell are you!"
"Passerby," Katsuya replied.
The blond slayer managed to push the bandit leader back a couple of feet, straightening himself and taking on a better offensive stance. Keith charged, shocked when his opponent knocked his sword out of his hands with ease. However the bigger shock came when Katsuya managed to stab his side.
Keith jumped back and held his bleeding side, trembling with shock and adrenaline. He gingerly touched his injured side and brought his blood covered fingers before his eyes.
Katsuya started forward, but the bandit jumped further back.
"Retreat!" With that order, his men picked themselves up, jumped on Pegasus and Ryou's horses and ran after him into the forest.
Atem and Shizuka returned their swords to their scabbards, but Katsuya had to clean the little bit of blood on his blade. "Sheesh, it was just a little cut."
"You check on the girl," Shizuka told the Pharaoh as she dashed to the two pale-haired men on the ground. "Are you alright?"
Pegasus smiled from his uncomfortable place on the ground. "I'm still here to say otherwise, but I won't."
The young woman quickly untied his hands, allowing him to push himself over and untie his feet as she moved to his unconscious pupil. Untying his hands and feet she rolled him onto his back and removed the noose from around his neck.
"Hey, wake up," Shizuka shook him gently and looked up at the older, silver-haired man as he joined her. "Was he hurt?"
"He probably hit the ground pretty hard," he said and placed his hand on Ryou's brow. "Ryou. Wake up, Ryou. They're gone now."
As if he had been waiting for that, the boy's dark brown eyes opened with a sigh. He looked into his master's face and returned his smile, before he paused and looked over at the young woman leaning over him on the other side.
"Hello…"
Shizuka couldn't help smiling back, though she doubted anyone could see it due to her mask. "Are you okay?"
Ryou sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "A small tumble, but I should live," he replied. "Did you save us?"
"Assisted," Katsuya said as he came over, taking off his face mask.
"Onii-chan," Shizuka sighed. "Be nice."
The four of them walked over to Atem who stood by the sobbing young woman, and obviously had no clue what to do to calm her down.
She looked a little bit younger than Shizuka; her hair was a pale lavender color, held up by a yellow ribbon, and then braided down.
"Are you alright?" Shizuka knelt down beside her, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. She looked up with tear-filled, light blue eyes and nodded. "Don't be afraid. They ran off. You're safe now."
"Barbarians," Pegasus folded his arms crossly. "Taking advantage of a defenseless young girl!"
"You seemed kinda defenseless yourself, mister," Katsuya said flatly.
"We could have dealt with them, but they threatened to break the poor thing's neck if we didn't do what they said," the man replied.
The blond Slayer shrugged. "Whatever you say."
"…Thank you."
Everyone turned towards the quiet voice, finding Ryou with his eyes glued to the ground.
"If you hadn't shown up when you did…those men would have died."
"Don't you mean—" Katsuya was cut off by Pegasus as he held up his hand and shook his head.
A heavy silence settled before Atem piped up.
"Can you continue on your course?" The Pharaoh asked.
"Oh…!" Pegasus recalled the bandits taking off with their horses. "Well… No, I don't think we can."
"Please," the carriage girl hiccupped. "I can drive you to the next town if you need it. It's all I can do to repay your help." She bowed. "I would be honored if you rode with me."
The silver-haired magician smiled. "Thank you, dear."
"We're headed the same way," Katsuya sighed. "We can ride with you; make sure you don't get jumped again."
"Again, thank you," Pegasus smiled.
With the help of Katsuya, Shizuka and Atem's horses the carriage was pulled back up the hill and onto the road.
"Let me drive," Pegasus said, taking the reins from the girl. "You've had a trying morning, you should rest."
"Thank you," the girl sat in the back with Ryou. "My name is Miho by the way. But a lot of people call me Ribbon."
"A pleasure to meet you, Miho. My name is Pegasus J. Crawford."
"I'm Ryou Bakura," the younger mage smiled. "Or Bakura Ryou, depending on where you're from."
"Where are you from?" Shizuka asked as she pulled her horse up beside the carriage. "Your name is like from the Black or the White Dragon regions, but Pegasus-san's isn't."
"Uh… Just around," Ryou replied. "Master Pegasus and I travel a lot."
"Oh." Shizuka jerked and laughed. "Gomen! I didn't introduce myself! Watashiwa Kawai Shizuka desu. This is my older brother Jounouchi Katsuya and…"
She paused, her eyes moving to Atem warily.
"And…?" Pegasus nodded.
"You may call me Yuugi," the Pharaoh said, once again taking on the name of the body he had inhabited for the past few days. "Until I tell you otherwise."
Pegasus shrugged. "Fair enough."
Little bits of conversation were started up, but two people kept exceptionally silent.
Shizuka and Pegasus recognized each other from the small village the previous day, but neither was sure how to discuss what had bothered them. The strange noise…
Both shook their heads and chose to leave the topic alone.
"So, Miho," the girl looked up at Katsuya. "I've always heard Merchants travel at least in twos to avoid robberies and such. Why are you all by yourself?"
Miho cast her eyes down to the floor of the carriage. "I'm doing it for my father…" she said. "He gambles a lot and builds up a lot of debt, this is the only way we can get by."
"Both of you or just you?" The blond Slayer asked.
The young woman remained silent.
Feeling the tension, Ryou clapped. "Why don't…we play a game while we're on the road?"
"A game?" Atem asked. "You can play those while traveling?"
"A couple," the white-haired boy replied. "This one is called Eye Spy. Someone finds something and gives one hint to the others, and they have to guess what it is."
Atem blinked. "I have never heard of this game."
"Really?"
"I haven't either," Shizuka said quickly. "I've heard of…Twenty Questions, but not that one."
"The two are very similar," Pegasus smiled. "I'll go first. I spy something with my little eye something…red."
"Shizuka's hair," Miho said.
"Nope."
Katsuya spotted some small red flowers growing out of the cliff side. "Those flowers."
"No. Give up?" Nothing else red could be found and they gave up. "A bandit."
"Where!" Everyone jumped to attention, their eyes shooting every which way.
Pegasus laughed. "Kidding! Just kidding! Wanted to make sure you're all paying attention."
"Kounou…!" Katsuya's hair ruffled angrily. "That wasn't funny."
"Yuugi-boy, your turn," the mage smiled.
It was strange enough for the Pharaoh to go by another name, but to have that other name spoken so informally was exceptionally strange. Even so, he looked around to start his turn.
Had they looked up to the cliff above them, the group would have seen a shadow pressed against the rocks that followed them, then disappeared.
- - -
It was a couple hours before they reached the town of Cleef. It was after noon and the shops were all bustling with people, sights, sounds and smells. Miho explained that some festival would be taking place in the next couple of days, hence her own travel to the town with what she had to trade.
Katsuya's stomach growled at the aroma of the food stands. "Ne, Shizuka—"
"We're getting a room at the inn first," both the fiery-haired girl and the tri-color-haired Pharaoh said at the same time.
They looked at each other wide-eyed, while Pegasus laughed. "Oh, I see!" He said. "You're lovers!"
"No! No we're not!" They again spoke in unison.
And again, Pegasus laughed. "I apologize for misunderstanding then."
Making it to a public barn, they all dismounted and stretched their sore muscles.
"Oh, my back…!" Pegasus stretched; the front seat was small and he had had to slouch the whole trip to town. "Almost reminds me of my own days as a merchant."
"You traded?" Atem inquired as he stood by his horse.
"Yes, indeed, I did!" The silver-haired man said proudly. "And if I do say so myself, I was very good at it too."
"Why did you stop?"
The man paused, sighing as his smile turned a little sad. "My father died," he replied. "He taught me everything and we traveled everywhere, picking up a few strays along the way…" He looked to Ryou as he helped Miho unbridle her horses. "But when he died… I just didn't have the heart to go on with the family business without him."
Shizuka looked off to the distance. "It must've been hard…"
"Yes, but not unbearable," Pegasus said, perking up a little. "I got married soon after."
The fiery-haired young woman offered a little smile. "…Good."
It took a while, but when everyone had finished with their own little project in the barn, they all took notice of the spiky-haired youth still standing by his horse.
"Is something wrong, Sir Yuugi?" Ryou inquired.
Atem looked at the white-haired youth. "Where are the stable boys? The grooms?"
Ryou blinked. "Public barns don't have any."
"Don't have any?" Atem sounded amazed.
"It's not that uncommon," Katsuya said. "You take care of your own property, especially with these public barns."
"Then I will tend to my horse?" He sounded even more astonished.
Pegasus slowly looked at the inquiring youth. "Yuugi-boy… Where did you say you were from?"
"Oh…!" Atem froze. "The…Black Dragon Kingdom, of course."
The former-merchant stared at the unknown Pharaoh, taking in every detail he could make out about him. His style of dress was a little strange, to say the least, but his manner of speech had surprised Pegasus at first; this was a whole different matter.
"We should…probably get a place at the inn," Shizuka said.
"I have a reservation," Miho said. "And Shizuka-san can room with me if that will help."
"Then the rest of us will take care of our own stay," Katsuya said as he helped Atem unbridle his mount, whispering instructions so that the others couldn't hear.
"No problem," Pegasus smiled.
Thankfully, an inn was structured just across the street from the barn. Inside, people were eating and drinking merrily, their various conversations filling what space their bodies left.
"Sheeze! What is this festival all about that you need to occupy every bit of living space!" Katsuya exclaimed as they pushed their way to the front desk.
A man wearing big round glasses, an orange bandanna and an apron met them with a breathless sigh. "Welcome to the Deru Inn," he panted.
"Busy day?" Pegasus smiled.
"Oh! Dreadful! The other inn across town is filled!"
"And this one? How many rooms are available?" The silver-haired asked.
"Let me see…" The man scanned the pages of the large book in front of him. "Two rooms are available."
Miho pushed to the front. "I have a reservation! My name is Miho."
"Miho…Miho…" The man scanned the pages. "Ah yes! Here you are!" He reached up and handed her the key to her room. "And you will be taking the other two rooms I trust?"
"Of course," Pegasus nodded.
Miho's and Shizuka's room was on the third floor of the inn while the other two rooms sat beside each other on the second. After taking their things up to the rooms they each took turns bathing before heading downstairs for their afternoon meal.
"Aah… Much better," Atem sighed as he met Shizuka in the hall. "I am much more accustomed to bathing every day and night."
The redhead laughed. "You sound like a woman."
"How so?" The Pharaoh inquired.
"You worry about your being clean and stuff, most men wouldn't."
Atem still didn't quite understand.
Making it down to the dining hall, the two joined the others. Katsuya had gone ahead and stuffed his face with what he had been able to order, feeling much more accomplished with himself.
"You eat food as if it were air," Atem said as he sat himself down.
"Leh meh awon," Katsuya said and took a long drink from his cup.
"You're so hopeless, Onii-chan," Shizuka smiled.
Just then, Miho jumped to her feet. "Oh goodness! I just remembered I have to check on my things! You all eat without me, I'll get something later!" She rushed off, almost knocking over a man weighted down with a tray in each hand.
"Whoa!" Shizuka and Ryou were quick to jump up and balance the man, even going so far as to take the trays from him.
"Ah! Thank you!" He smiled. "These are for your table." He was a middle-aged man with almost all grey hair and a mustache that covered some of the smile his green eyes helped to express.
"Oh, thank you!" Shizuka smiled and set the food down, and Atem helped himself to eat what he spotted. "Things must be pretty rough with so many people staying here."
"It's a little hard, but it's like this every year," the man smiled. "I've come to expect it after running this place for over thirty years."
"Yo de enn keeber?" Katsuya asked.
"Yes, my name is Arthur Hopkins," he replied. "I hope you'll make yourselves comfortable and enjoy your stay."
"We will," Shizuka nodded. "Thank you again." Proceeding to fill her own stomach, she caught some of a conversation going on at another table.
"…We were lucky to be able to pull this off this year!"
"Yeah, with those thieving bastards on the loose we were lucky to make it to town at all!"
"What do you think'll happen when the festival's over?"
"Who the hell knows?"
Shizuka glanced over her shoulder at the men talking, but returned to her meal.
"I guess those bandits are a big problem around here," Katsuya muttered into his drink.
"Vagabonds cause similar problems back in my kingdom," Atem said, cutting off a piece of steak and sticking it with his fork. "But tomb robbing is much more severe offense."
Pegasus and Ryou's attention shot to the youth.
"Tomb robbing?" Ryou asked.
The silver-haired sorcerer fixed his eye on Atem as he paused. "I never heard of such a thing happening in Black Dragon regions."
The Pharaoh's breath caught; he kept forgetting that he was in the presence of more than just Shizuka and Katsuya. These pale-haired strangers were perceptive and didn't seem to let a single word slip by them.
"Anyway…" Shizuka put her mug down. "Since we beat that Keith guy we'll likely have a couple of problems on the road later on."
"Y-Yeah," Katsuya nodded and leaned his chair back on two legs. "I did hurt him, so he might take that as a threat. But it was just a small cut, as far as my past injuries go, anyway."
The sound of a glass breaking on impact with the floor startled Katsuya, and as he had leaned back a little too far, he nearly fell over. Luckily, Arthur Hopkins caught his arm and righted him.
"Did I hear you right!" The man whispered. "You actually injured Bandit Keith!"
"Yeah, that's right," the blond replied.
The man was speechless with astonishment. When he again found his voice he had the faintest hint of a smile. "Are you planning on leaving town anytime soon?"
"No… We rented a room for the night," Shizuka said.
"Please, I'm begging you, don't leave the inn!" Arthur said. "I have to go see somebody, but I'll be back as quickly as I can! Don't leave!"
"O-Okay."
The man bowed. "Thank you! Consider your meal paid for!" And with that he dashed away, disappearing into the crowds of people that cluttered the room.
"That was interesting," Ryou piped, taking a bite of his steak.
Just then, Miho returned looking breathless and flushed, but smiling. "I'm back! Didn't miss anything, did I?"
- - -
It wasn't just the inn keeper that had overheard what the group had been talking about, and the other eavesdropper decided to look into the matter further.
- - -
Later, Shizuka stood in Atem's and Katsuya's room sitting on the window sill. "What do you suppose Hopkins-san wants to talk to you about?"
"I have a guess…" Katsuya sighed from his bed where he lay.
"Care to share your thoughts?" Atem asked from his own seat by the room's table.
Before Katsuya had the chance there was one knock at the door and was opened from the outside, allowing Ryou and Pegasus to step in.
"We didn't say you could come in," the blond slayer said, turning on to his side. "What do you want?"
Pegasus shrugged with a smile. "Just to hear what's going to be said. It might be interesting."
Just as Ryou closed the door behind him, as if on cue, another knock sounded. The young man opened it and bowed to Arthur and another man as they entered.
He was tall, not elderly with more than enough white in his auburn hair and was exceptionally well built. His hazel eyes scanned the room and finally landed on Katsuya; he raised one eyebrow skeptically.
"Him? He's the one you told me about?" He asked the inn keeper.
"Yes, Mayor," Arthur nodded.
Katsuya blinked. "Mayor?"
"That's right," the man said. "Arthur told me about you, and I wanted you to get rid of the thieves for us."
'I guessed right,' the blond thought.
"But, Arthur!" The Mayor went on. "I thought the man who hurt the leader would be big and strong! But look at him! He's still a boy!"
'Boy…?' Katsuya raised an eyebrow. Admittedly he had just turned twenty a couple months ago, but he did have the right to be called a man.
"Tell us about the problem," Atem inquired.
The mayor sighed. "It might seem peaceful, but honestly the band of thieves parading around here make it just a dream. They've attacked so many farms, and they also attack traveling merchants and steal their goods and money." He raked his hand through his hair angrily. "And…several women and girls have been kidnapped as well…!"
"Some neighboring villages hired warriors in the past, but…anyone who's tried to fight back has been killed," Arthur took over. "When I heard what you said about injuring Bandit Keith, I thought maybe you could beat them."
Katsuya thought a moment. "About how many would you say there are in the gang?"
"Twenty men, at least," the innkeeper replied.
"It'll be a little tough, but if we use come of our regular techniques it shouldn't be too hard," Shizuka said. "Ne, Onii-chan?"
"That's for drawing out and Slaying monsters, Shizuka," Katsuya said. "But—"
"500 gold!" The Mayor exclaimed, making everyone jump. "I know it's not much but it's all the people could give up to hire someone!"
There was a brief silence as Katsuya blinked. "You wouldn't have to worry about paying us."
The Mayor, Arthur, Pegasus and Ryou all stared in surprise at the Slayer's statement.
"Sorry," the blond chuckled at their expressions and scratched his head. "I'm always a little reluctant to get involved when it's strictly humans. But I accept the job."
"We accept the job," Shizuka corrected as she stood next to her brother.
Only a certain silver-haired sorcerer caught the disapproving look from Atem, but he kept it to himself. Instead, he sighed with a smile. "I suppose I could lend my service as well," he said in mock relenting. "I'd been intending to anyway. I have to get mine and Ryou's things back."
Shizuka's smile brightened. "Great! That'll be much better than just me and Onii-chan!"
Her brother groaned. "But Shizuka…!" He pulled her down so he could talk quietly into her ear. "He'll hit on me!"
Pegasus' remaining eye narrowed. "If you must know, one of the bandits stole my wedding ring," he said and held up his left hand.
"Then we're together in this," Shizuka smiled. "Alright, we'll set out tomorrow."
Atem opened his mouth to speak, when he was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. The man with big glasses and a bandanna who had checked them in opened the door and peered in. "Hello, Mr. Hopkins? Dinner will be served soon, if you want to take your meal."
"We'll be down shortly, thank you," Arthur said, and turned back to the group. "Thank you so much for accepting the offer." He and the Mayor left the room after the innkeeper's servant.
"Shall we?" Pegasus motioned for Shizuka to go first and she headed for the door.
"Shizuka."
The young woman looked back at Atem. "Hai?"
The tri-colored youth stood up. "Tomorrow I can go in your place," he said. "You can stay here and wait for us."
Katsuya groaned and slapped his hand over his eyes. "Not this again…!"
Pegasus wondered why the small youth was against the girl's participation. If the morning's fight had been any example, surely anyone could see she could take care of herself.
"Am I going to have to explain everything to you again?" Shizuka asked with a sigh. "Did you not get what I told you before?"
"I understand what you told me," Atem replied. "But I still do not agree to you fighting." The young woman sighed shortly and shook her head. "Is it that you like to fight?"
"Not particularly," Shizuka said. "But even so, that's not enough to stop me."
"Shizuka—"
"Atem! It's not up for discussion!" She turned and stormed away.
Atem sighed after her, raking a hand through his spiky locks. Back in his homeland the women were much more agreeable; they didn't talk back or argue so much. Back home…
…he was called Atem.
Ruby eyes shot to the two pale-haired men and found Pegasus looking after Shizuka.
"Well, on that…pleasant note…I will descend to dinner, after which, I will retire to bed," he smiled and looked at Katsuya. "Don't try to leave without me tomorrow."
"Shut up!" Katsuya spat as Pegasus and Ryou left the room; the latter paused to bow and close the door after them.
Atem bent over and sighed with relief; they hadn't seemed to notice. It was so strange and difficult here. Back home his life revolved around everyone knowing who he was; now it was imperative that no one did.
- - -
"Master Pegasus…"
"Yes, Ryou?"
"I'm sure you heard what Miss Shizuka said," the youth whispered as he and his master descended the stairs. "She called him 'Atem'."
The magic-user nodded his silver head. "The name of the Gold Dragon Kingdom's Pharaoh," he smiled thoughtfully as he paused. "Now that I think about it...I do believe when my father returned from a visit to the Black Dragon Kingdom that he mentioned the King had a son named Yuugi…"
Ryou looked back over his shoulder towards the top of the stairs. "Which do you think it is?"
Pegasus shrugged. "For the moment, it's not important. Let's focus on the task at hand of getting our things back." He looked back at his pupil. "Okay?"
"Yes, sir," Ryou nodded and they continued down the stairs.
- - -
Shizuka stormed over to the counter in the dining area and propped herself up on a stool angrily.
Miho had been sitting at a nearby table and decided to join her at the counter. "How did it go?"
"We've been hired to take care of the band of robbers that attacked you before," Shizuka said.
Miho nodded. "Is that why you're mad?"
"No, Atem is."
"Atem?"
"Yuugi," the redhead corrected. "He doesn't think it's my place to fight. He wants me to stay behind when the others go out tomorrow."
"Oh…" Miho paused to think a moment. "Why do you want to go?"
"Because they might need my help," Shizuka replied, as if it was an obvious thing. "So long as I'm with them, there's little chance of me worrying so much and we'll have as many people as we need."
The lavender-haired girl stared before a melancholy smile crept across her features. "I envy you, Shizuka-san."
The Slayer did a double take. "What?"
"I'm so weak, I can only worry about myself," Miho said. "You seem to worry about everyone but yourself. You're so much stronger than me…and I envy you a lot."
Shizuka stared at the girl a moment before casting her eyes down. "No I'm not," she said. "I'm not strong at all."
Miho's head shot up, her yellow ribbon bouncing. "You are! You're stronger than anyone I've ever met!" She insisted. "You're a Slayer! You fought those bandits before like it was nothing! You weren't afraid at all."
Again, the fiery-red hair shook. The memories of a Slaying that shattered so many lives, and the prince she failed hovered before her eyes like it a cloud.
'I'm not strong at all…' She was the second person she knew to say that.
"You know, there was this person I really looked up to," she said. "She was confident and determined. It was because of her that I became a Slayer. I thought she was the strongest person in the world, that she wasn't afraid of anything.
"But she would always tell me that it was impossible to not be afraid," Shizuka went on. "'Of course you're going to be afraid,' she told me. 'You're fighting monsters, and that's frightening. It's what comes next that's important. Once you acknowledge that you're scared you can begin to move forward.'"
Shizuka paused. "But then…something terrible happened. And she told me that she wasn't all that strong at all," she said. "That when you lose something precious to you that you finally see how powerless you are…"
Miho was hesitant, but had to ask. "And…you lost…?"
"A lot of people I loved," she replied. "I wanted to become strong to protect what I still had, but the truth is I'm not strong either…"
"Shizuka-san…"
The young woman lifted her eyes to look across from her. "But despite that, I want to try. I'll protect them, no matter what."
Miho looked down at her hands in her lap. "I want to become stronger too. And live somewhere I can learn how…"
Shizuka looked at the young woman and smiled. It was soon that Pegasus and Ryou came down, soon followed by Katsuya and Atem, but no other arguments followed.
- - -
"So, those rats accepted the job?" Keith asked from his seat in the back of the cave filled with his gang.
"Crap!" A young man spat, tossing back his dark brown hair as he bit into a drumstick. The others also laughed.
"Don't underestimate them, fools!" Keith said. "Anyone who can take Sid, Zygor and Bonz—and me—can't be normal guys. Still, having a spy in town is very helpful."
The innkeeper's servant stood before Bandit Keith now. Without his glasses and bandanna his beady black eyes were visible and his grey-lavender hair was loose. "I never thought anyone could hurt you, boss," he chuckled. "Still, I don't think they'll be a match for everyone in one shot."
A black-haired man in a hooded black jacket took a long drag from a cigarette. "What are you suggesting?"
"If you come to the inn at night, I'll be on duty again, I can let you in."
Keith smiled. "We killed off the town's neighborhood watch group, didn't we?"
"The villagers are all cowards," Sid sneered, tossing his straggly red hair out of his eyes. "They won't be able to do anything if we show up in town now."
The man nodded. "A'right. We're gonna have us a huntin' party tonight, boys!"
The caverns echoed the howls of laughter from the twenty bandits as they finished their meal in preparation for the coming nightfall.
- - -
- - -
Uh-Oh! Looks like more trouble in store for our heroes!
This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to leave it here.
Now, mentions:
I'm sure we all know Bandit Keith and his three flunkies from Duelist Kingdom. The rest of the gang is basically comprised of Malik's Ghouls, including the inn keeper's assistant, he's the guy that stole Jounouchi's Red Eyes Black Dragon at the beginning of Battle City.
Miho is a character from the first series, and personally from the screen caps I've seen of her, I don't like her. She glomped Kaiba and I could just not forgive that. However, she did have a short but sweet role in the manga and I decided to include her.
Next Chapter!
A midnight ambush, waking nightmares of blood, and another merging band elsewhere.
That's all! Bye-bye!