- - -
- - -
Chapter Fourteen: Between Magicians and Shamans…
Leaving their horses in the woods, Shizuka and the others climbed the rocky mountainside, following the map to the waterfall supposedly hiding the cave with bandits' loot.
"Thanks to those other bandits we have been able to avoid their traps, but don't any of you think that this has been a little too easy so far?" Atem asked. "Shouldn't we have run into some sort of adversity by now?"
"I agree," Pegasus nodded. "We should have at least encountered an—" The finish to Pegasus' sentence would have been 'Ambush,' and that was exactly what cut him off.
Several men leapt out of the trees, each holding the edge of a net, and the group was immediately weighted down by it. Pulling at the woven net, they were surprised to find it was made of steel and cut their skin when it came in contact.
"Hah! Knew that would hold ya!" One man sneered.
"The boss may have run out on us, but we can handle you bunch without him just fine!"
Shizuka tested the ensnarement and the men laughed. "You can't hope to get out of that! It's pure steel!"
"Just steel?" Before anyone could answer her inquiry, the young woman drew her sword and cut through the net, snapping the threads of metal like hair.
As the bandits drew back in shock, Shizuka drew three gas bombs from her pouch and hurled them at the bandits. While they were enveloped in the smoke, she quickly pulled the rest of the net from her companions.
"How on Earth did you manage to cut through this!" Pegasus asked, holding up the damaged net.
"Do you really think steel can stand up to Black Dragon metals?" Shizuka asked back.
The smoke from the young slayer's bombs cleared and revealed the unconscious bandits on the ground.
"Those bombs were filled with a type of herb used to knock out patients for surgery," Shizuka said in response to the curious looks the three gave her. "They won't be waking up any time soon."
"That's good," Ryou sighed, but stopped and counted when he looked back at their fallen quarry. "But…weren't there more than this?"
Looking back, the others could see that a few had escaped. "Don't worry, if they inhaled any of the gas they won't get too far," Shizuka said.
"Shizuka and I will restrain these four and track down the escapees," Atem said, indicating to the fallen bandits. "You two go on ahead to the waterfall."
At this the fiery-haired slayer smiled, though one could only tell by looking at her eyes. "Is that okay with you?" Shizuka asked Pegasus and Ryou.
"We can handle ourselves, thank you," replied the master sorcerer with a grin. "Come, Ryou. Our audience awaits."
"Y-Yes, sir…"
And together, the two pale-haired magic-users continued the march up the hill as the other two proceeded to use the rope and any other restraints the men had on them.
- - -
The two bandits left to guard the outside of their hideout bickered with each other about who had won the roll of dice.
"Can I offer some advice?" Pegasus stepped out of the forest and the two men drew their swords as he leaned over to inspect the bowl holding the dice. "Ooh! Not a good roll! You should really try a more efficient game, like a card game!"
The two other men would have skewered the silver-haired man, but their eyes became heavy and started to droop when a glittery red mist touched the air around them. Within moments they collapsed, having fallen asleep on their feet.
"That was beautiful, Ryou!" Pegasus turned around to greet his pupil as he too emerged from the trees.
Ryou nodded. "It's one of the best ones I know."
The youth's mentor clapped a hand to his back. "You'll have yourself under control in no time with how fast you've been progressing these days!" He smiled. "Come, there shouldn't be many more."
However, entering the cave, the two magic-users were surprised to find it empty; there were no vagabonds anywhere in sight.
"Could they be hiding anywhere?" Ryou whispered.
"Let us see…" Pegasus knelt down to his shadow and his Doppelganger's glowing eyes popped up where his would be on the shadow. "Can you sense any bad people here?"
The eyes looked around, and Pegasus' shadow shook its head.
"Thank you." Standing back up, he shrugged. "I guess the others ran away."
"I recall one of the men Miss Shizuka knocked out said that Bandit Keith ran away," Ryou said. "Perhaps the others went with him."
Pegasus nodded. "I suppose. Well, let's find the bandits' loot."
The two set to doing just that, checking the various caverns that turned out to be bed areas or store rooms. However, the time finally came when they moved aside the flap to another cavern, and they stopped dead at what they saw.
Women and girls clutched each other tightly as they whimpered and cringed at the light from moving the curtain. Aside from a lack of nourishment, it was obvious from the torn state of their clothes what they had suffered at the hands of their bandit captors, and Ryou could only stare in shock. So his master took the initiative.
"Mistresses…" Pegasus stepped further inside and they drew back, so he knelt down in the middle of the room. "Do not be afraid. We have been sent by the village to come and take you home. We're here to help you…"
Ryou watched as the women began crying, from relief or the horror of it all he wasn't sure, but the same smell of broken hearts filled the air. The same smell from back then…
- - -
He finally emerged from the secret hideaway behind the bookcase in his father's study.
His home lay in ruins, objects and furniture smashed to pieces littered the floor and the curtains were torn from the windows. This was how he saw the evil past his own four walls; blood filled the streets like fallen rain and several houses were burning.
But he turned away and ran up the stairs to find his parents. He froze upon reaching the top step and found his father lying in a pool of his own blood.
Running to his side, despite the crimson substance of life standing the floor he hoped to rouse him. When the white-haired man did not stir, he began to cry, and as he raised his eyes to wail upwards, he saw into the room his father lay outside of.
He could barely make out the woman on the bed wearing a torn nightgown, her white hair spread out like a blanket as it mingled with the blood of her slit throat.
Sadness and rage overwhelmed him and he screamed as tears poured down his face.
They wouldn't get away with this. He wouldn't let them. He would never forgive them.
- - -
"We should be able to take them with us," Pegasus said after he looked the girls over. "Some can ride our horses while the rest should be able to walk."
No reply came from behind him.
"Ryou?" The master sorcerer turned, but his snowy-haired pupil was no where to be found.
- - -
Bonz, Sid and Zygor stopped to rest from their hard dash.
"Dammit! We didn't grab nearly enough!" The big bulky member of the threesome griped
The lanky redhead panted from beneath his heavy load of stolen riches. "If any horses had been left for us we might have been able to. But those two guys from before showed up! I saw them!"
"Probably came to get their junk back," Bonz chuckled and looked at the ring on his finger. "But this was the only decent thing in their stuff!"
The three laughed as they each examined their own stash.
"So, where should we go?" Sid asked. "Not to any town near here."
" How about a place that is far away and very near at the same time? "
The three turned and looked back down the path they had come to find Ryou standing no too far from them. Drawing their swords, they dropped their bags of treasure.
"Well, looks like we get to skewer you after all," Zygor laughed.
A wind picked up and the young sorcerer's hair rose. The air became heavy, but not hot; it was so cold that the three bandits could see their breath.
" I won't forgive you… " The youth said. Some of his hair stood like horns and the three bandits drew back. " I won't forgive you… "
Finally, he raised his head and opened his eyes, revealing the almost white lavender color that replaced his natural brown and the slit pupils filled with hate that focused solely on the three of them.
But it wasn't until a smile pulled Ryou's mouth that the bandits could see the thirst for blood in his eyes.
- - -
A series of blood curdling screams cut through the forest and Shizuka and Atem jerked to a halt in their climb toward the hideout.
"What was that?" The Pharaoh put his hand to his pounding heart to steady it.
Shizuka dashed into the woods, dodging trees and jumping over stones to get to the source of the cry of torment. And when she found it, she jerked to a halt.
Ryou stood with his back to her as he stared at the torn bodies of the three bandits she had met the previous day with Bandit Keith now laying at his feet. The white-haired youth turned to face the slayer and she saw the blood covering the front of his clothes, his hands and face. He stared at her with strange eyes, showing no emotion on his handsome face.
" One Heart… One Blood… One Memory… "
Shizuka stared, not understanding what he had said. "Bakura?"
Ryou blinked and his eyes returned to brown and his hair fell back, as if waking from a nightmare at the sound of his name. He looked down at his hands, seeing the blood that stained his front and began trembling as tears filled his eyes.
"N-No… No!" He said. "It…it wasn't going to happen again! I-I-I promised…!"
Atem finally caught up with Shizuka, halting when she held out her arm, and froze at the sight of Ryou and the three bandits.
"I…I did it again…" the youth breathed shakily. "I couldn't stop him… I didn't…want to stop him…!"
Shizuka stabbed her sword into the ground and removed her face mask, letting it hang around her neck. "Bakura, what happened? What did you see?"
"The…the women they took…" he said. "Th-They…raped them…! They used them like they were toys! Just like…! Just like…!" Ryou choked, unable to speak. Only when Shizuka took a few small steps forward did he thrust out his hands. "No! Stay back!"
"Bakura," she took another step forward, her arms out at either side away from any of her kunai. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He gave a hysterical laugh filled with grief. "D-Don't come near me…" he said. "I'll…I'll end up killing you, too… I'll kill you…"
But Shizuka pressed forward and grasped the young man's hand gently, disregarding the blood entirely as she held it in both of hers. "I'm not afraid of you, Bakura."
His big brown eyes widened.
"You were angry, you were scared," she said. "You couldn't help yourself."
"B-But…!"
Shizuka took the young magic-user into a gentle embrace, startling the traumatized youth and Pharaoh. "I know what it feels like. To be faced with something so horrible you can't understand how it can really be happening. You can't think. You just lash out."
Ryou trembled in the girl's embrace.
"It's alright, Bakura," she whispered, hugging him tighter. "It's okay. I'm not afraid."
The youth stared, not understanding how this could be true, but could feel no deceit in her words or her embrace. His eyes filled with more tears and he leaned his head down on her shoulder as he wrapped his own arms around her, wailing like a lost child. His legs gave out and Shizuka fell to her knees as well, never letting Ryou out of her arms.
Atem could only stand staring wide-eyed at the sight. He had been appalled at the sight of Ryou and his victims, while Shizuka was unafraid. He couldn't understand what had happened, but Shizuka did somehow.
"I guess it's so she could understand the pain of those who fight more." That was what Katsuya had said.
"Yuugi-boy!"
At the play name, Atem turned to meet Pegasus as he slid down the rocky hillside. "Pegasus…"
The sorcerer paused at how slowly the young man had spoken his name, and felt his heart stop at the sight of a sobbing Ryou being embraced by Shizuka. He stopped when he finally noticed the blood covering his young pupil, and then the bodies of his victims.
'Oh God…!'
Atem rubbed between his eyes as he fought to straighten his thoughts. "We should…gather what we can and head back," he finally devised. "If everything is safe we can come back with the men of the village to help us."
"Uhh… Yes! Right!" Pegasus' own head started to clear. Gathering the distraught Ryou up, they took him and the abused women back to Cleef.
- - -
At the same time, a certain pair of blue-eyed princes were resting their horses, allowing them to drink and eat.
"So, how long until we reach town?" Mokuba asked his older brother.
"Not long," Seto replied. "Just wait a little longer; you'll be sleeping in a decent bed soon enough."
The black-haired prince sat down next to the river with a content sigh. "I don't mind sleeping outside," he smiled. "I like watching the stars at night; you can't see them very well back home." Mokuba laughed. "You remember… Do you remember when we and Noa would sleep out in the gardens? The maids got so angry; our clothes were grass stained so bad!"
Seto nodded, but didn't smile at the memory. Those times had been before his mother had gone mad, and before Gozaburo had named Noa as the successor to the throne; after those events, Seto had felt the necessity to distance himself from his half brother.
Whether it had been to protect Noa or himself, he wasn't sure. He had never really thought about it, and he chose to avoid it now.
He turned to get something from his saddlebags, when a sudden splash and a gasp from his brother made him whirl around to find a black-haired man holding a knife to Mokuba's throat while a second held the reins of his horse and they were all standing in the river.
"One move and the kid dies!" The one holding the knife pressed the blade further against the younger prince's neck.
Seto's eyes flashed a burning blue and the two bandits shuddered under his glare. But they recovered some of their courage and smiled sickly. "Hey, if the kid's death means nothing to you…" A small cut and a red drop ran down the blade.
"But if it does, drop your sword," the other, bald bandit said. "With your left hand!"
Seto bristled at the slight injury to his brother's person, and Mokuba's infuriated eyes moved from his captors to his brother with no sign of fear.
"Drop it!"
The older brother slowly unbuckled his sword, holding it with his left hand, and held it out as if for them to take it.
"Throw it towards us!"
Seto cast a glance to Mokuba, who nodded. He dropped his sword and while it fell he kicked it at the man holding Mokuba's horse, forcing him to fall back and release the mount which quickly dashed away. While his companion was distracted Seto drew a small dagger from his belt and hurled it at him. The man cried out as the projectile embedded itself in the hand holding the knife, making him drop it, and the black-haired prince took the opportunity to elbow him in the stomach and then kicked him in the back of the knee, causing him to collapse.
When his brother was safely behind him and beside his horse, Alumiss, Seto clapped and slammed his hands to the ground; blue electricity spread down to the river and it suddenly froze solid, holding the two bandits in place. With an incredibly dangerous air, Seto strolled over and stood on the ice. Looking down at the assailants he smiled.
They had no idea who he was, but Prince Seto of the White Dragon Royal Family was known to have a smile like a poisonous flower in bloom in the winter time. It was beautiful, cold and very deadly all at the same time.
And somehow, the two bandits realized that they had made a grave mistake in deciding to try and rob this strange, blue-eyed youth.
"When you threatened my brother, I wanted to kill you," he said in a voice like black velvet. "But you went so far as to actually cut him." He tilted his head and the two cringed. "Do you know what that means?"
The bald one swallowed with difficulty. "Y-Y-You're going to…k-k-ki-kill us?"
Seto's deadly smile broadened. "YOU. WISH."
- - -
The stolen families of the village of Cleef were returned and their belongings followed with the second expedition when the men of the village were brought to carry what the hired help could not, by which time the sun was setting.
Upon returning, Ryou immediately left to clean himself up and had not come out for a couple hours.
"I hope he's okay…" Shizuka said to Atem as they took a rest from unloading the stolen treasures from the carts.
"I find myself having some concern for his sanity," the Pharaoh replied.
Shizuka jerked. "Excuse me?"
"The way those men were apart…it was rather frightening."
The slayer glared indignantly. "It was a natural reaction to something violent," she said. "It wasn't completely intentional."
"You can't be sure of that."
"You're impossible!" The fiery-haired slayer turned to storm off, but froze when Atem grabbed her arm.
"I need to know something," he said, making Shizuka look back. "You told Bakura that you know what it feels like to do what he did. How?"
Shizuka flinched and looked away. After a long while of silence she lifted her head as she took a deep, almost steadying breath.
"It was my very first mission as a Slayer," she said quietly. "It was a big problem, so even a newbie like me had to come along with all the veteran slayers. A village had been overrun with undead, a Village of Death as we called them because there were no humans left…"
She took another breath. "There were even more than we thought. It was too much, even for the oldest Slayers to handle; they all ended up dying… That's why most of the strength of the Black Dragon Kingdom are all still young men."
Atem did recall vaguely wondering where all the men were.
"I watched several of my friends get slaughtered right in front of me, and I…I was too scared to move at first, so more died because of me… But then…" she gripped her arm as it began shaking slightly. "When certain creatures are backed into a corner, rather than bowing down in defeat, they lash out uncontrollably…"
- - -
Gold curls shimmered as they moved, but the bloody sword caught more of the blazing fire's harsh gold rays.
Past the hair, Shizuka saw the face of her friend and teacher contorted in rage and hate.
But despite her ceaseless slaughter, tears trailed down her cheeks, smearing and mixing with the spattered blood on her face.
- - -
"For me…" Shizuka went on, "…it was brought on by my desire to live, to survive. But…it was different for her."
Atem blinked. "Her?"
"Surviving was just the eventual outcome," the girl went on as though she hadn't heard him. "It's mostly just a disjointed series of images…but…I don't think that survival occurred to her in any conscious way. All she wanted was to kill them all…" Shizuka choked and finally met Atem's gaze with her tear-brimmed eyes. "It's my fault that she became like that…because I wasn't strong enough to lift a finger until her brother was dead…!"
The Pharaoh could only stare, unsure what to say.
"That is how I understand what happened to Bakura," she said. "And that is why I fight. I'll fight to protect everything that's precious…to everyone." With that, she turned and walked away.
Atem sighed. "I understand…but at the same time I don't."
"Things were simpler back in the desert lands, eh?"
"Much…"
The Pharaoh froze when he realized someone else had spoken, and that voice belonged neither to Shizuka nor Katsuya. Slowly turning, Atem met Pegasus' smiling face.
"I had been hoping to talk with you about this," the sorcerer said. "Lord Pharaoh, yes?"
At first Atem was startled, but his unease ebbed away, almost vanishing from his thoughts completely. He barely acknowledged to blue-green glow wrapped around the man's hand before it disappeared.
"Why don't we grab a cup of tea and you can tell me about yourself, hm?"
- - -
Ryou finished drying his hair and looked at the fogged over mirror listlessly.
The room was filled with a sweet smelling steam, but it did nothing to cover the stench of blood lingering deep in his skin. As he had always done, Ryou had scrubbed hard and until his skin hurt, but even that failed to help.
The blood of his victims had always been there, covering every inch of his body.
The youth gathered his ruined clothes to be disposed of, as well as the gold ring he had retrieved from one of the bandits. It was Pegasus' wedding band; perhaps the most important thing to him next to Queen Cyndia herself. Ryou had meant to return it to his master earlier, but had decided to clean it first, quietly hoping the blood hadn't ruined it at all.
Flashes of memory from that nightmarish moment made him cringe and he quickly left the bathing room. He quickened his pace as he headed down the hall, as if to get away from the deeper memories creeping up from the dark.
But they caught up with him…
- - -
His parents, his friends, all the people of his village were dead. Killed at the hands of ruthless barbarians, and even now the houses were dying in the flames of their slaughter.
He hated them.
He hated all of them.
But he was alive. He was alive and would make sure those murderers paid for what they did.
Rushing down to his father's underground library, he tore through the bookshelves of knowledge and forgotten manuscripts. His father had been the head of the village, so most of the sacred and forbidden material was here.
Whether he spent hours or days in the dimly lit chamber he was never sure, but he finally found what he needed.
He was very strong in the magic arts, matching his father, but he was still just a boy. He needed a strength surpassing his own, but fueled by the same hate.
He cut his hand, drawing the array in his blood, and cast the spell. A whirlwind of purple fire ignited, making the lamps go out and loose papers scatter.
The fire was intense, but there was hardly any heat at all. Shielding his face with his arms from the more violent winds, he managed to look up. And in the fire, he saw a figure rise up.
It was a man; his skin was the dark color of a desert-dweller and his eyes were the same color of the fire surrounding him. But his hair matched the same pure white as the boy who had called him.
The spirit and the boy observed each other in silence, but somehow they understood they were the same.
Kneeling down, the man took the boy's cut hand in his own and lay a gentle kiss on the injury. The man vanished and the boy felt as though he had been hit in the chest by a charging horse and collapsed.
But he never felt his body impact with the floor, it was as if he was eternally falling into an empty void and he was afraid. But his fear instantly turned to torment and he let out a scream of agony; he felt like blood had been replaced with the essence of a volcano and was dying within his own skin. Suddenly his scream halted in his throat and he found he couldn't breathe, as though he were drowning, and tears poured down his face and out his mouth.
And then, just as suddenly as the torment took hold of him, he was released.
He lay breathing for a few moments, coughing to allow air to enter his lungs, and was sure that he wouldn't be able to move for a great while.
We can get up.
And just like that he felt his body stand upright, still a little winded, but with next to no pain or difficulty. He suddenly realized that he couldn't feel his hands or feet, or any part of his skin for that matter; it was as if he was dreaming and watched from the back of his thoughts.
I will find them… The voice from before spoke again. I will find them and kill them for you.
- - -
Ryou shut his eyes as tears burned them.
Shizuka had been partially right, but not completely. He had gone after the bandits with the intent to kill them. Just as he had hunted for the murderers of his people back then.
He wasn't innocent of anything. He was a murderer. He was a monster.
Turning a corner, Ryou collided with a firm body and would have fallen, had the person not grasped his arm and the corner to steady the both of them.
The stranger released a breath as he righted himself and let go of the magic-user's arm. "Be careful!"
"S…sorry…"
The apprentice sorcerer met a pair of amethyst-colored eyes set into a dark face framed by sandy-colored hair.
Malik blinked when he saw the tears on his collision mate's face. "Are you alright?"
Normally, especially when faced with a stranger, Ryou would have nodded and continued on his way. But seeing the concern on the desert youth's face granted him a strange sense of security. And he recognized it as the same feeling from when Pegasus had found him all those years ago, and when he had been in Shizuka's arms earlier that day.
Realizing that, he bowed his head and allowed himself to cry, feeling he wouldn't be hurt in this stranger's presence.
Malik, sensing the youth's pain and unsure of what else to do, stood with him and waited.
- - -
Katsuya held his arms up until Shizuka finished changing his bandages. Despite how he had been told to rest, the blond slayer felt better than he ever had, even with regular wounds. And it was only eight o'clock of the day following his injury.
"Atem can sure do a good number on a guy, huh?"
Shizuka didn't respond as she gathered the old strips of cloth and threw them into a wastebasket.
Katsuya blinked. "Somethin' wrong?"
"Just the usual," the young woman replied.
Her brother sighed. "Atem?"
"Atem," Shizuka nodded.
As if on cue, the Pharaoh housed in their prince's body burst into the room, panting and sweating. It was obvious something was wrong.
"Atem, what is it?"
"We must leave. Now," he said.
"Why?" Katsuya slung his legs over the side of the bed so that his feet were on the floor. "What happened?"
"Pegasus, he…" Atem shook his head. "I'm not sure how, but I told him the truth."
"WHAT!"
Shizuka crossed the room, closing the distance between her and the Pharaoh. "What did you tell him?"
"Everything," he replied. "My coming into this body, the loss of your prince, our quest…!"
"Why?"
Atem shook his head. "I don't know. While he inquired, it was as though nothing was wrong and there was no reason to keep the truth from him. But…when he left, it was like waking up and I realized what happened. I…!" He bowed his head.
Shizuka looked to her brother as he joined her and the Pharaoh. "Onii-chan…?"
"It must've been a spell or somethin'," he said. "I've heard of stuff like that with magicians."
"But what do we do?"
"We'll leave," Katsuya replied. "Gather our stuff; we'll head out after dinner."
Nodding, Shizuka dashed out of the room to carry out her brother's directions.
"You too," he told Atem. "We'll need to leave quick."
Atem continued to stare at the floor. "I don't understand how he did that to me…"
"Magic itself is hard to understand, and that makes it harder to fight against," Katsuya said as he pulled on a clean shirt.
"I am Pharaoh!" The youth shouted. "I hold the status of the Gods themselves! Nothing is meant to be outside my control!"
The blond looked at the king trapped in the body of his best friend and prince. He moved and placed his hand on the spiky-haired youth's shoulder.
Atem looked up at the contact and saw a strange calm not often seen on Katsuya's face.
"I won't pretend that I can tell you how you can deal with this," the slayer said. "But you gotta understand that there are things in life you have no control over."
Atem shook his head, not willing to believe.
"Atem, it's true," Katsuya went on. "When you accept that, you can understand where the rest of us are coming from."
The Pharaoh lowered his eyes. 'I want to return home…'
- - -
"You're leaving?" Miho asked as she watched Shizuka gather her things. "How come?"
"Something came up," the fiery-haired slayer replied. "I was looking forward to the festival, but we have to get going."
The merchant girl cast her eyes down the floor as she gripped her hands against her chest. She made her decision and straightened. "I've decided to leave, too."
Shizuka turned. "What?"
"I…I've decided that I want to get away from my father's business and go somewhere safe," Miho said. "And I want to go to your hometown. I'm sure I can be happy there."
The slayer sighed and scratched her head. "It's not all it's cracked up to be," she said. "But…when you get there, I'm sure they won't turn you away."
The girl smiled gratefully.
Shizuka wasn't sure she was doing the right thing by sending Miho to her home, the life of a slayer was hard enough for her who had decided when she was fairly young; there was no telling for Miho. But she would help as best she could and send her on her way.
- - -
Malik and Ryou sat in the hall. The illegitimate shaman was still somewhat confused, but had thought it would be better not to leave the boy to cry alone.
Ryou's sobs had died down and he finally calmed his breathing. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"What about?" Malik inquired.
"For sitting here, wailing like a heartbroken woman…" the white-haired youth replied, pulling his knees up to his chin. "I'm sure I've bothered you…"
The desert youth considered this as he leaned his head back to look up at the ceiling. "Well, man or woman, anyone who is broken-hearted should cry if that's what they need," he said. "Admittedly, tears do little in the face of animosity." He looked back at the white-haired youth with a smile. "But I still like to think that it helps to relieve some pain."
Ryou looked up at his sitting companion curiously. He had always heard that the desert folk were hard warriors, never failing to bring down a weak enemy; for this young man to tell him it was alright to cry… It was strange.
His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he felt something tugging on his pant leg. He looked down, at his shadow and found a pair of yellow eyes in a rather obscure place. Recognizing the gaze belonging to his master's doppelganger, he leaned his head back against the wall and made a shadow for the creature to move up and whisper in his ear.
"Ryou," it spoke in Pegasus' voice. "Best gather your things, we'll be leaving shortly."
The apprentice sorcerer nodded and the eyes vanished. "I apologize for bothering you," he said to Malik. "We're complete strangers, but you still… Thank you very much for you concern."
"It's fine," the dark-skinned youth said.
Ryou got to his feet and dusted himself off before bowing. "I have to be going now. Sorry again for troubling you."
Malik also stood. "It was nothing," he replied. "Good luck to you."
The sorcerer nodded and headed off down the hall.
Malik sighed as he watched after him and headed downstairs. As he headed down the hall towards the dining area, one of the rooms ahead opened and out stepped a fiery-haired young woman with a bag slung over her shoulder.
He had never seen hair like that before in his life, it was such a strange and entrancing color. But what made him pause in his walk was a strange ringing sound.
It was very a pretty sound with a clear tone.
- - -
Shizuka paused as she closed the door to the room she had shared with Miho when she heard a familiar ringing. 'That's the same sound from…'
It sounded very close and came from her right. She turned, meeting the amethyst gaze of a pale-haired desert youth standing not too far from her.
- - -
It was as if a bell had been struck and the two were surrounded in the clear tone of it.
- - -
Pegasus paused in his packing when he heard something akin to a bell ring out. He immediately recognized it as the same sound from when he had first seen Shizuka.
But it sounded different somehow.
"Master?" Ryou hefted his bag onto his shoulder. "Is something the matter?"
The sorcerer thought a moment before facing his apprentice. "Are you finished packing?"
"Yes, sir."
Pegasus slung his own bag over his shoulder. "Then let's go."
- - -
"Shizuka!"
The young slayer and shaman were snapped from their trance and looked further down the hall. Katsuya stood at the end of the dining room waving to his sister.
"Come on! We gotta grab somethin' to eat and go!" He called.
"Okay!" The young woman called back.
When her brother turned away, Shizuka looked back at the sandy-haired desert youth, who stared right back.
No sound came at their meeting of eyes this time.
Confused and unsure as to what it all meant, Shizuka turned and dashed away to join her brother in the dining hall filled with people celebrating the return of their families and belongings.
- - -
Malik waited until the fiery-haired girl disappeared into the crowd of people before turning back the way he had come and dashed up the stairs.
'What was that…?'
- - -
Shizuka finished saddling her horse and led it out of the stable to join her brother and Atem in the street. It was dark, as the moon hadn't risen yet, and a gentle late-summer fog filled the streets.
"Got everything?" Katsuya asked.
"Ready," the young woman replied, mounting her horse. She looked to the estranged Pharaoh, mounted on his own horse and noticed his lost expression. "Atem? Are you alright?"
He sighed, bowing his head as he closed his eyes. "I've…I've never had a spell on me before," he said. "I've never been in a world where I had no control."
"Atem…"
"It's not always possible to go through life without trial and change, my Lord Pharaoh."
Everyone turned to the new, but familiar voice and found Pegasus and Ryou standing a few yards from them in the fog holding the reins of their retrieved horses.
Shizuka moved so that her horse was positioned between the sorcerers and Atem, while Katsuya glared angrily at the new arrivals.
"Omae…!"
Pegasus merely smiled. "I heard your story, and after much consideration, I have decided that Ryou and I will be joining you."
"WHAT!"
"Our situations seem rather similar," the man went on, leading his mount and Ryou closer to the trio. "My wife was attacked and has fallen into a deep sleep. Ryou and I set out to find a cure of some sort to wake her, and have met you. I highly doubt that this could be mere coincidence."
"You say that, but how can you expect us to trust you?" Katsuya asked and pointed an accusing finger at the silver-haired man. "You put a spell on Atem, made him tell you everything!"
The Pharaoh cast his ruby gaze aside.
"I do apologize for my rudeness—"
"Rudeness!" Katsuya spat.
"—earlier, but I was doubtful that he would have spoken truthfully otherwise," he finished coolly. "I can assure you that I would never to any harm to any of you."
"And you just expect us to believe you?"
Pegasus directed his remaining eye to Shizuka. "You believe me," he said, making her stiffen. "Because you know it to be true."
The fiery-haired slayer didn't want to oppose her brother, but she did believe what Pegasus said. She didn't know why, but she trusted him as much as she trusted Katsuya.
The sorcerer stepped closer to the girl, but her brother quickly cut in front of him.
Even so, he kept his gaze fixed on Shizuka. "That moment we shared, when our eyes first met. That light and sound…"
Shizuka went rigid.
"I don't know what it was, but I feel that there is something important between us. I know there is."
"What are you talking about?" Katsuya demanded. "What light? What sound?" He paused, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he reached for his sword. "Just what happened between you and my sister?"
Pegasus groaned. "Nothing I'm certain your mind is giving your apparently dirty teenage mind ideas about."
"I'm TWENTY!" The blond exploded. "I am not a teenager, you fruity asshole!"
"And I am a married man, as I mentioned before," the sorcerer returned, holding up his left hand to show off his wedding band, which Ryou had returned to him.
Katsuya opened his mouth to snap back, but never had the chance to speak when Atem cut in. "Let them come with us."
The blond turned to face his travel mate. "After what he did!"
The Pharaoh looked to the girl beside him. "Shizuka, do you trust him?"
The young woman looked between Atem and Pegasus, hesitating a long moment before nodding.
"You trusted me before, so I will stand by your decision to trust him."
Katsuya growled, but slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Fine! They can come with us."
Pegasus and Ryou mounted their horses, but Katsuya caught the master sorcerer's arm, stopping him as he started to ride past him.
"I'll put up with you," the blond said. "But I don't trust you, and I don't like you either. Got it?"
The silver-haired man smiled sweetly, making the slayer cringe before releasing his arm. After which, Pegasus looked to Atem and bowed. "Again, I apologize for my earlier actions."
The Pharaoh looked away. "I do not forgive you," he said. "However, I will…overlook…your actions for the moment."
"Thank you, Yuugi-boy!" Pegasus smile broadened at the somewhat startled look he received from Atem. "If you intend to go by an alias, you need to exploit it better."
Together, the mismatched group from three kingdoms departed from the small town of Cleef.
- - -
- - -
Wheet-whoo!
That took forever! But I got it done!