Chapter Sixteen, as promised.
Guess what? June 6, 2006, today, is my birthday! I am now 19 years old! How cool is that?
Oh yeah! Oh yeah! It's my birthday! Uh-huh!
But again, you're not here for me. On with the story!
Oh.
I don't own Yu-Gi-OH!
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Chapter Sixteen: In Between…
The rain came down hard, despite the cover of trees that surrounded the group as they tried to find their way through the forest. Shizuka cast her brown eyes to the cloudy sky above and allowed the rain to hit her in the face, despite the intense weight of the water.
The harshness of the rain reminded her of the days that had followed Rafael's attack on the castle weeks ago. The sky had burst, as though it was mourning for the loss of the region's prince.
'Yuugi, wherever you are…please be safe.'
"Oi! Shizuka!"
Torn from her reverie at the sound of her brother's voice, she turned to look back at him. "Eh?"
"Don't zone out like that!" The blond called to be heard over the rain. "We have to get outta this storm! Hey, Pegasus! Which way now?"
They had hoped to be out and at the city of Dora by now, but due to Katsuya's forest navigation skills—or in this case, lack thereof—they had been turned around and became lost. Hence, Pegasus was now in the lead, followed by Shizuka and Ryou, tailed by Katsuya and Atem.
Shizuka saw the silver-haired sorcerer tilt his head, as though listening to something and nodded before he looked back at the group. "This way!" He directed them to the right and they all struggled with leading their horses through the rain and thickening mud.
Soon, they came to a cave where they tore off their cloaks, heavy with water, and draped them over the saddles of their horses.
Pegasus wrung his hair out before holding the reins of his own mount to his pupil. "Take care of him for me, would you?" The youth nodded eagerly. "I'll get a fire going."
Shizuka tied her horse's reins around a large rock and started to wring out her own fiery locks, but stopped when she saw Atem standing at the mouth of the cave, staring at the ground as rain water dripped from his gold bangs. She walked over to him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder and making him look up into her smile.
"I'll take care of your horse, if you want."
The Pharaoh stared at her face a moment tiredly, as if trying to comprehend what she said, before surrendering his reins to her and walking further in to the cave to sit by the fire pit Pegasus had dug. He watched as the man made a small flame in his hands and blew it into the pile of wood and grass he had stored in his saddlebag, and stared at the growing fire.
Shizuka watched the youth sadly. She never would have thought she would ever see Atem so despondent, so tired.
"Leave him alone."
The redhead turned to her brother as he came up beside her.
"He has to learn to accept that things are different here," Katsuya said. "He's been too close-minded to last much longer out here."
"You can't blame him for that," she said with a small glare. "He was brought up that way. It's his way of life; you can't expect him to just accept it like its nothing."
Katsuya would have argued, had Ryou not come up between them. "Please don't argue. Can we please rest?"
Shizuka nodded and turned to allow the white-haired youth to pass, sending a small glare at her brother before heading to sit by Atem.
Of course, she had been angry with how the Pharaoh had tried to force his way of life on her about women, but she didn't want to hurt him by disregarding his heart. 'Maybe…I'm being a hypocrite…'
"So!" Pegasus made them all jump when he spoke with a cheerful clap of his hands. "The real Yuugi that our little Pharaoh is replacing for the time being, what can you tell me about him?"
Katsuya set his bag down angrily before he leaned back against the wall of the cave. "You already know about him, don't you?" He said accusingly.
"I found out about your situation, not the boy himself," the man corrected. "Tell me about Yuugi, about yourselves."
Katsuya scoffed and looked away.
Shizuka sighed. "I am willing to talk to you, Pegasus-san, but I have to admit that it seems unfair to talk of ourselves when you already know quite a bit, and we know nothing of you."
Pegasus brought his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "That is a very good point, Shizuka…" He smiled. "Alright. Ask me anything and I will do my best to answer."
"Tell us about your wife," she said. "You said that she was in a similar situation…?"
Pegasus nodded, his face going solemn as he fought to keep his smile in place. "My wife, Cyndia…was attacked and has fallen into a coma. Ryou and I left the kingdom to perhaps find a cure, if one existed."
"Cyndia…" Shizuka repeated softly.
"That's the same name as the Red Dragon Kingdom's Queen, isn't it?" Katsuya asked, opening one eye.
The silver-haired sorcerer smiled proudly. "That is exactly who she is."
Shizuka and Katsuya stared wide-eyed. "Hontou…?"
"Truly," Pegasus nodded. "Isn't that right, Ryou?" The man's pupil smiled lightly and nodded.
'Three royal families attacked by the same force…' Shizuka looked at Atem, but he didn't seem to be paying any attention to the conversation.
She felt bad; knowing the full impact of his lack of power in the world at large had finally hit him, she was worried that perhaps she had not been sympathetic toward him and respected his feelings.
Shizuka opened her mouth to speak to the Pharaoh, when a sudden tremor cut through her and she felt her eyes burn. She quickly covered the upper portion of her face with a hiss of pain.
"Shizuka?" She felt Katsuya place his hand on her back. "You okay?"
"Something…"
"Something's coming," Pegasus said.
At his words, the redhead managed to open her eyes and looked up to find the man standing and casting his gaze all around the cave, as if expecting something to lunge out of the shadows. She too looked around, this time to the mouth of the cave at their five horses which were steadily becoming restless.
Suddenly, Katsuya's mount screamed as something wrapped around its middle and pulled it back out into the storm.
"The Hell?" Katsuya grabbed his sword and dashed after his horse, followed by Shizuka and the others.
Emerging from the shelter of the cave, and exposed to the painful storm, the group found themselves faced with a shapeless, black creature with long tentacle-like appendages which was soaking with rain water as well as the blood of Katsuya's now dead horse.
"What the Hell is that thing!" The blond Slayer exclaimed as he and the others drew their weapons.
At their voices, something in the creature moved, and the black peeled aside to reveal a large red eye that focused on the group.
- - - -
Seto tore at the hair binding his shoulder, but it only trapped his other hand and then refused to give at all. He was soon stuck with his right hand by his left shoulder and his left hand around his waist, making it so he could not connect his hands in order to use his Alchemy.
"Dammit!" In the stead of Alchemy, the prince drew the short sword resting on his right side and attempted to cut his way out. "Goddamn monster!"
- - -
Down below him, Malik and Rishid attempted to quiet Isis' frantic rambling, until finally, her younger brother took her by the shoulders and shook her.
"ISIS!" Malik exclaimed, finally silencing her. "Tell us what happened. What did you see?"
The woman's eyes cleared somewhat and she fought to control her breathing before speaking. "I saw…fire…and-and blood…!" She said and tears began to spill down her face and mingle with the rain. "People lying in blood…! Men…women…the old…children…!"
She began gasping frantically for air. "White-haired…children…all dead!" Isis gripped her hair. "Slaughtered before my very eyes! Not a bit of mercy toward them or anyone!" Her eyes became clouded again. "Animals! All of them! They killed my family! ANIMALS!"
A resounded slap across her face silenced her cries. Malik and Rishid stared at Mokuba who still held his hand out from his strike on Isis' face.
"Pull yourself together!" The black-haired boy exclaimed. He hadn't understood what she was saying, but he could clearly see how panicked she was becoming and knew that he needed to stop her before she made a whole different situation that took them away from their current problem.
Isis put her hand to her reddening cheek as she finally met the boy's eyes.
"Look, I have a plan to save my brother but I need your guys' help!"
- - -
Seto stabbed into the hair binding his wrists, but found the creature's tentacles had grown stronger since its first assault and would not cut.
He was suddenly thrust upward and held upside down above the monster. He looked down as the black again peeled away to reveal the large red eye, this time focused solely on him.
Gazing back into the blood red depths of the eye and his head began to pound painfully. It felt as if someone were hitting him continuously and each blow was getting more agonizing, and he closed his eyes.
'My skull is going to split…!'
He opened his eyes again, his gaze falling into the red one. Suddenly, amidst the red…
- - -
He saw blue.
He saw his mother's blue dress…then looked up to see her, sitting beside him at the long dining table…smiling…
'Mother…?'
She stopped his small, nine year-old hand as he reached for his glass, her smile slipping a moment to reveal an unfamiliar expression: panic. Her smile quickly returned as she took his glass and gave him her own.
'No…! Mother, don't!'
She rose from her seat, raising her replaced glass as she looked toward her husband, and again, her smile slipped to reveal another strange expression directed at the man at the head of the table. Spite.
The King's blue eyes widened with shock, then narrowed with anger, but he said nothing.
'Mother, stop!'
His mother looked back at him and smiled, brightly with a bare hint of sadness as she brought the glass and its red substance to her lips.
'STOP IT!'
- -
The pain retreated as the familiar thundering of horses brought him back from the abyss and Seto looked down toward the ground to see Alumiss and the other mounts rushing out into the rain.
The creature also caught sight of this and several tentacles formed, shot out and grabbed one of three unfamiliar horses. The mount screamed as the creature's hold around its middle began to constrict and crush it. Unable to watch, Seto looked away.
In doing so, he caught sight of his brother and Malik clambering out of the structure hole of the roof, both trying to keep their own torch burning despite the harsh rain coming down on them.
Malik hurled his torch at the creature, catching it in its open eye. Screaming in pain, it writhed as it flailed around to get the torch out and its hold on Seto loosened, actually dropping him on the roof. Trying to get his brain clear, having rattled it from the fall, he realized his brother was shouting at him.
"What?"
"Transmute the water!" Mokuba called. "Transmute the water it's absorbing into alcohol!"
Seto quickly tore free of the hair loosely wrapped around his arms, legs and throat before facing the creature and clapping his hands together fiercely. The memory the monster had forced him to recall still fresh in his thoughts, the prince slammed his hands against the beast and it was wrapped in blue lightning for a bare moment.
"Get back!" Mokuba called and waited until his brother moved before throwing his own torch at the monster.
It immediately burst into flames, and Malik jumped past the black-haired boy to the creature, sliding to a halt before it as he brushed his hands together, calling out in his mother tongue before thrusting his hands out. Gold light outshone the roaring fire and wrapped around the deformed burning beast.
"Isis!" Malik called his sister's name to the ground below where she knelt in the mud.
The woman rose up and held her hand out to the sky in an offering gesture and the clouds immediately parted in a perfect circle in the sky, letting in a bright light that seemed to rival a summer sun. The rain ceased to fall and in its stead came small specks of gold light came drifting down like snow.
Mokuba caught one of the lights in his hands, and was surprised when he opened them to find it still glowing in his grasp.
Seto stared and watched in a combination of confusion and amazement as the light wrapped around the creature, turning the hair white and making fall from the lump until…
He gasped as a small girl was revealed amidst all the hair, her face buried in her hands as she cried. Her skin was as dark as Malik's, but her hair was the purest white Seto had ever seen.
"Don't cry…" Malik said in his native tongue, causing the girl to look up. "Everything's alright now. You can go."
The girl looked around with tear-filled, ruby red eyes as the specks of light grew more numerous as they fell around her. She watched the light, and a small smile pulled at her face; turning to Malik, she gave a small laugh.
She rose up to her sandaled feet and began to fade into a gold light, but looked to Seto with apologetic grief before she faded away. The fallen specks of light all gathered themselves up and reversed, drifting back up to the sky they had fallen from; Mokuba blinked as the light in his hands also flew away to join the others.
Once all the lights faded into the light above, the clouds returned and with it the hard rain.
Seto and Mokuba looked from the storm-raged sky to each other, neither holding an answer to what just took place.
Malik heaved a sigh as he sat down, allowing the rain to soak him completely. But he had a gentle smile upon his face as he looked up toward the sky.
'Good luck, little one…'
- - - -
Katsuya flew back into a tree, falling to the ground coughing from having had the wind knocked out of him from impact with the tree as well as having had their shapeless opponent knock him away. Having been in a rage over his dead horse, the blond had made the mistake of charging the beast head on.
"Onii-chan!" Shizuka dashed to her brother's side.
The creature then set its single red eye on Atem. The spiky-haired youth, winced as a slight pain began to build in his head.
My baby! A voice called out in agony. Give my baby back to me!
Distracted by pain and the strange voice, Atem didn't take heed of the tentacle that shot out from the monster, directly toward him.
"Look out!" Ryou ran and collided with the Pharaoh, sending both of them to the ground and avoiding the hit from the creature.
Finding that her brother wasn't badly hurt, she ran back to the creature as she drew her sword and leapt into the air. Coming back down, she landed on it and stabbed the blade into the large red eye.
It immediately screamed and flailed about, throwing the young woman off and right into Pegasus, and together they flew backwards until they slid to a stop in the thick mud.
The two gathered themselves up from the heap of limbs of and mud they had fallen into, and Shizuka gave a light curse when she saw that the creature still had her sword. It continued to thrash around frantically, and some of its tentacles wrapped around the blade; some strands were slit in the act of trying to pull it out, but it eventually withdrew the blade from its now ruined eye.
"Tenacious, isn't it?" Pegasus coughed.
"You're a sorcerer, aren't you?" Shizuka shouted, sitting up and turning to face the man she had landed on. "Can't you do something?"
"I have no idea how it would react to my magic!" The man said. "I could risk making it more powerful if I'm not careful!"
-Fire-
Both blinked at the unexpected echo in their thoughts. 'What?'
-Fire-
The single word rang through their minds, too strong to ignore and they picked themselves up.
"Ryou!" Pegasus called, and his pupil sat up with a start. "Summon the most powerful fire spell you can!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shizuka ran to her brother's fallen horse and began rifling through the saddlebags in search of her brother's flares. Finding the foot-long rods, she broke them open, instantly summoning red flames, and hurled it at the monster.
The combination of the flares Shizuka tossed and the fire spells of the two sorcerers, the creature began to burn. Writhing and screaming, the shapeless monster fled into the woods, tearing down the trees in its path to get away.
Panting and shaken from the fight, the group found they could only stare after it in confusion.
Katsuya finally managed to rise to his feet, with some effort to stay there due to the pain in his back. "We should…get outta here, guys…" He groaned. "Don't know if that thing'll come back…"
"Good thinking," Pegasus said, rushing over to help the youth. "You all get our things together," he told Ryou, Shizuka and Atem. "I'll tend to Jounouchi until we head out."
Nodding, the three dashed back to the cave to gather their things back up. As Shizuka removed her brother's saddle and bags from his dead horse, she noticed Atem standing at the mouth of the gap the creature had made in the forest in its escape, just staring into the trees.
"Atem…?"
The Pharaoh looked back at the redhead with a start, as if he had forgotten he was not alone.
"Are you alright?" She asked, rising up and joining him at the edge of the trees. "Are you hurt at all?"
Atem shook his head before he looked back to the hole. "Something about that creature…it was so sad. Like it was in constant mourning…"
Shizuka placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?"
He sighed. "I believe so…" He turned to retrieve his own horse before he suddenly stopped and turned back to the girl. "I am…sorry, Shizuka."
Before she could ask why, Katsuya jumped up with more energy than he had had in days and rushed to take his things from his sister. Quickly following that, they all mounted their horses—Shizuka shared hers with Katsuya now—and rode out to find a new, safer place to rest.
- - - -
The rain let up early the next morning, allowing the sun to break through the clouds.
Seto and his brother still shared shelter with the Ishtars, though few of them had slept and only for a few minutes due to their re-gathering of their scattered supplies and horses.
Mokuba looked from the sleeping Isis—hidden in her bedroll—before looking back to Malik as he roasted a couple of rabbits they had brought back from a hunt for breakfast. "Ne, Malik, will your sister be okay?"
The sandy-haired youth nodded. "Isis needs rest now," he said. "After…she be…alright."
Mokuba sighed. "That's good."
Seto came into the circle and set his little brother's bag down. "Your clothes will need some washing," he said and smiled a little at his brother's mud-caked face, "as will you as a whole, but I think you'll survive until we get to town."
The black-haired boy rubbed at some drying mud on his face with the back of his arm. "If there was a river or something nearby, I could clean up easy."
"I would prefer that you wait until we're in an establishment with hot water," Seto said, receiving a nod from his brother. "Good." He turned to take care of his own bag.
Mokuba turned back to Malik. "Ne, Malik?"
"Hm?"
"What was that thing you and your sister did last night to that monster?" The boy asked, and he noticed his older brother's halt in his activity, but pressed on. "What was all that light and stuff?"
"Mokuba…" Seto hissed warningly.
"Is alright," Malik smiled. "But is…hard to say in…your language…" He scratched sandy-blond hair as he thought. "Ohh…was spell," he said. "Special spell…sends sad spirit…away to…afterlife…"
"To the afterlife?" Mokuba repeated, receiving a nod from the desert youth. "So, you're saying that monster was actually a ghost?"
"Not ghost…lost soul…" Malik went on. "Lost soul become monster…I heal lost soul…Isis send on its way."
"That's a load of bullshit."
The two boys turned to Seto, who sat glaring at Malik. "All of it," he went on. "It's all bullshit."
"Don't know…bullshit…" Malik said quirking an eyebrow.
"You're lying," Seto said. "You can't 'send souls on their way'; there's no way. If souls actually exist, they're totally intangible."
Malik shook his head. "Isis and I can," he said. "Isis was Priestess, she know how to do. I just Shamanist…though not supposed to…"
"What's a Shamanist?" Mokuba asked.
"That's enough, Mokuba!" Seto snapped, making his brother jerk slightly.
"H-Hai," the boy cast his eyes down to the fire.
Malik looked from Seto's back to Mokuba's somewhat crestfallen expression; needless to say he was somewhat confused. The sound of slow hooves announced Rishid's return and Malik jumped up to meet him as be came around the pile of rock.
Seto moved to sit next to his brother. "Mokuba, I don't want you talking to him about that anymore," he said quietly. "No more questions about the monster, the light or the girl—"
"What girl?" Mokuba blinked.
The older of the two started to answer, but shook his head. "Just don't talk about it anymore."
"Okay…" The boy sighed.
Seto sat back, folding his arms across his chest. "I would, however, like to inquire as to why you came outside when I specifically told you to stay put?" He saw his brother slump further. "It seems you've been disobeying me more and more lately…"
"Gomen'nesai, Nii-sama…"
Mokuba finally looked up when he felt his brother's hand settle on his head and he met his matching blue eyes. "Despite how you ignored what I told you, I am proud of your quick thinking. It saved me."
The black-haired boy's face brightened with a smile and a slight blush at his older brother's praise and he scratched his ebony head sheepishly.
"Kaiba."
Seto turned to Malik who motioned him over and he joined him and Rishid.
"Rishid…able to get all horse but yours," Malik said, pausing to listen to the man as he spoke. "He see horse, but run off…and Rishid unable to catch."
Seto nodded. "I was actually expecting that," he replied. "Alumiss can be pretty elusive to people he doesn't recognize. I'll go find him."
Malik watched as the brown-haired, blue-eyed youth headed outside before telling Rishid to look after Isis and Mokuba and dashing after Seto.
"I can go alone," the taller youth said, glancing sideways at the desert youth.
"I needs talk with you," Malik said. "I know you lie…about light and…chimes."
Seto's look turned to a sideways glare and he quickened his pace without answering.
Nonetheless, Malik followed after him, undaunted. "Why you lie? Is…dumb…to lie for something…will find out soon."
Again the prince did not reply.
"You feel lost soul come," he went on. "I feel also. Deep in heart. You too?"
"I heard it moving above us in the rain," Seto replied at last.
Suddenly, in a burst of speed, Malik was in front of the taller youth, meeting his sapphire-rival gaze with his own firm amethyst. "You lie again."
The two stood staring at each other, Seto with somewhat of a glare while Malik's was open and somewhat interested.
Finally, for the first time in many years, Seto looked away, pushed Malik aside and continued on his way. He was a little angry with himself for actually conceding to someone else's gaze, and thus didn't look back as he pressed on to look for his horse.
The desert youth watched after Seto's retreating back, with next to no idea of the secret prince's feelings—much less the fact he had pulled off a feat that even the late King Gozaburo had been unable to ever do.
And with his lack of knowledge, he sighed and scratched his sandy-blond head before heading off in a separate direction as Seto to look for the elusive battle horse.
- - - -
The morning sun began to change the sky to a gentle lavender before it had even peeked over the horizon, and the sound of a waterfall a few yards away mixed with the songs of waking birds.
It had been decided that watches would go on in pairs until everyone was rested from the previous night's battle—and the ensuing retreat—and all were ready to continue through the woods.
For the fire-maned young woman and the silver-haired sorcerer keeping watch, it was a long awaited moment of conversation.
"So…you did feel it."
Shizuka nodded. "I felt it deep down in my core, and right after that, my eyes started burning."
Pegasus cupped his chin thoughtfully. "Could it be you have a special power to—"
"People of the Black Dragon region don't have magic," Shizuka said. "It's common knowledge."
The man nodded. "True, but perhaps your parents were not of Black Dragon origin…?" He noticed the girl's apprehensive expression and decided push the subject aside. "In any case, our visitor last night bothers me. I like to pride myself in my knowledge of Deep dwelling creatures, and I have never seen anything like that in all my days."
"Me neither," the girl nodded. "But I am sure that I felt it coming somehow…"
"I believe I did as well."
Shizuka looked up in his visible rosewood-colored eye and they stared at one another in silence for a time.
"Shizuka…when we first saw each other, in that town before Cleef, did you sense anything? Anything at all?"
The young woman thought back. "It was strange…" She said. "There was light…just a little bit of light, and this sound… It was like a bell of some sort. I can't really describe it…"
"A very clear sound," Pegasus said. "Like a crystal bell. And it didn't suddenly start ringing… It was as if it was always being struck, but I didn't notice it until then."
Shizuka nodded. "Exactly."
The man leaned his chin in the palm of his hand thoughtfully. "It's strange, but I remember something like it has happened before."
The girl straightened. "Really?"
"It was a long time ago," Pegasus nodded. "I was still in my teens and traveling with my father. We were visiting the White Dragon Kingdom, the royal castle in fact. Our foreign silks were very popular, especially with the Kings wives."
"Wives?" Shizuka's eyes widened. "Plural?"
"Plural," the sorcerer nodded with a sigh. "Actually, one of them was a Mistress, but everyone referred to her as a Wife because she and the King's lawful wife got along rather well.
"In any case, at that time, I was permitted to stay in the garden while my father did business," he went on. "And that was when I saw them. Three boys playing amongst the roses, all covered in grass stains…all with the bluest eyes I've ever seen…"
He paused, thinking back to that day. "One of them turned to me, and when his eyes met mine…I remember that sound and that light… But it faded when his brothers pulled him away to continue with their games, and I went back home with my father."
Shizuka remembered the desert native at the inn. "I met someone else I felt it with too!" She said. "I crossed paths with a boy back at the inn in Cleef."
Pegasus contemplated a moment. "Was this…just before you and the others left the inn?"
She nodded.
"Strange…" He murmured. "Very strange, but at the same time rather interesting, because I heard the sound at that same time."
Again, they fell into a pensive silence, both wondering what it all meant.
However, they had little time to contemplate together when Katsuya sat up groggily. "Hungry…"
"There's some leftovers you can eat, Onii-chan," Shizuka smiled. "And since you're up, you can take my place for watch and I can go get cleaned up."
"I think you look rather cute covered in mud," Pegasus smiled.
"Thank you, but I prefer being clean," Shizuka said as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Constant hygiene," Katsuya mumbled sleepily as he took Shizuka's previous seat by the fire. "Couldn't you wait until we all got to town to clean up? What if someone sees you?"
"Who would?" Shizuka asked.
The blond's brown eyes narrowed on Pegasus.
"I am a married man, thank you," the sorcerer declared, again holding up his left hand to show off his ring. "And before you accuse Ryou of such perversion, he is the perfect gentleman; he would have a heart attack if you even mentioned it."
"There, you see?" The fiery-haired young woman smiled. "Don't worry, Onii-chan. Even if someone happened to be around here, I can take care of myself." And with that, Shizuka headed off for the waterfall that rested nearby.
- - - -
Seto looked back toward the way he had come, content to no longer be able to see the ruins or Malik, as he knew the desert youth was no longer following him. He didn't want anyone else learning how to catch Alumiss that shouldn't.
He reached into his belt pouch, withdrew a whistle and blew into it. A sound similar to a Kingfisher's song rang out, but as he waited nothing stirred and he continued on to another spot to call for his horse.
- - - -
Shizuka wrapped her black cloak around her now clean—if naked—form like a towel and took down her hair, letting it spill down her shoulder as she bent forward to clean the remaining mud from her fiery locks. Looking down at her reflection in the water, she let her mind wander back to Pegasus words.
"…perhaps your parents were not of Black Dragon origin…"
She straightened and held a handful of her hair, simply staring at its unique color. It was true that she and her brother were adopted by the late King Mutou, but she was sure that they were of Black Dragon origin. She could never remember being anywhere but in places of the Black Dragon region, so she was sure her mother was from there…
...but she couldn't be sure. About her mother, or her father.
Most definitely not her father. She had no memories at all of him throughout her short childhood. The only logical explanation she could come up with was that she and Katsuya's father had left them. But something about that always left her curious: Why then would Katsuya keep their father's name?
Sighing, she was once again left with no answers about her father and again chose to leave his non-existent memory in the dark.
Dipping her head into the water, Shizuka caught the sound of something moving behind her and whirled around.
But she found herself relaxing upon the sight of a beautiful black horse trotting toward the water's edge. Turning all the way around to face the animal, it stopped and watched her warily.
From her place about five feet from the horse she couldn't make out much about him, but she most definitely knew a beauty when she saw it. It was pitch black and fetlocks fell around the animals large hooves; she had always loved the pictures she found of these types of horses, but found actually seeing one was a true blessing.
She also took note of the reins and saddle, and cautiously made her way through the pool toward the horse, tightening her cloak around herself.
"Hello there." The horse started to draw back at her advance. "It's alright," she said gently and held out her hand. "Don't be afraid."
Surprisingly, the horse stopped backing away. Shizuka still kept her pace slow, keeping half an eye on where she stepped for fear of tripping on a rock or something. But the horse stayed put, even when she came to the edge of the water and placed her hand on his nose.
"You are a beautiful boy, aren't you?" She cooed, and the mount butted her with his head. "Now don't be fresh with me."
Taking hold of his reins, Shizuka stroked her hand down his neck and pat him gently. Now closer, the girl was sure that this lovely beast belonged to a noble of some sort from the look of his saddle; it was black and had metal engravings of white dragons all along it.
"Too bad, I was hoping I could keep you," she told the horse. "But I'm sure your owner must be missing you terribly."
Suddenly, a sound that made her think of a Kingfisher sang out and the horse looked back into the forest. When it called out again, it moved away from Shizuka and she released the reins with a small smile.
'Maybe it's the owner's call…'
The horse stopped midway to disappearing into the trees and a figure in blue appeared by its front.
And Shizuka's eyes widened as a faint ringing sound reached her ears…
- - - -
Seto blew the whistle and caught sound of a single hoof step back. Whistling again, he heard his mount approaching. Catching sight of Alumiss, he stepped out of the forest and took hold of his reins.
"Don't even think of smiling," he told the black war horse. "You caused me a lot of trouble, you know."
Moving around to mount the saddle, Seto caught sight of a figure with red hair and turned all the way to see a young girl standing in a small pool of water a few feet away.
- - - -
Blue that rivaled the sapphire sky and brown like fresh earth met and the bell rang out as light erupted around their vision.
- - - -
Pegasus jerked and shot to his feet, looking around.
"Mhat's mong?" Katsuya asked through a mouthful of food.
The sorcerer didn't reply as he looked toward the way Shizuka had gone, and recalling what she had told him about the boy at the inn back in Cleef, he dashed toward the waterfall.
"Hey!" Shizuka's blond brother leapt up, grabbing his sword and chased after Pegasus. "You better not be peepin' on my sister, you—"
- - - -
Malik spun around as he caught the sound of the strange bell on the air caught his ear and his amethyst gaze shot around him. Finding the direction it was the strongest, he dashed toward it.
- - - -
"—asshole of a fruit basket!"
Shizuka and Seto were snapped from their trance at the loud interruption and looked toward its source as Pegasus and Katsuya broke through the trees.
The silver-haired sorcerer caught sight of the boy and his mount and his eye widened when his blue eyes caught his rosewood. 'That boy—'
"YOU!" Katsuya interrupted Pegasus' thoughts as he drew his sword and pointed the blade at the brown-haired, blue-eyed youth. "YOU ARE DEAD!"
Seto blinked then looked back at Shizuka as she looked back at him. He finally took note of the fact the fiery-haired girl was wearing nothing but black cloak, wrapped around her like a towel, and realized his precarious position.
"Oh Hell!"
"Hell is right, you bastard!" Katsuya splashed in the water as he ran for the stranger. "And that's exactly where I'll send you!"
"Onii-chan, wait—"
The blond ignored his sister as Seto leapt onto his horse's saddle and kicked it into a run. "Matte!"
"Onii-chan!"
But her blond brother was gone, disappeared into the trees in his pursuit of the horse and its rider.
She slowly looked back to Pegasus. "Did you…did you hear it, too?"
The man nodded.
- - - -
Seto had to admit that he was impressed with his pursuer, not many could keep up with Alumiss on horseback; on foot was purely incredible.
"Get back here, you bastard!"
Seto shielded his face from the branches of trees, and his blue eyes widened when he saw Malik perched on the branch of an upcoming pine tree.
When he passed under it he turned in his saddle to look back. When the blond sword swinger came under it, the sandy-blond swung down and delivered an effective kick to his face. As he flew back, he skidded along the muddy ground and gradually came to a halt; after a moment of waiting—by Seto on horseback and Malik still hanging from the tree branch—it became apparent the sword bearer was unconscious and the desert youth touched down on the ground.
"You get troubled?" He asked as he clapped his hands to rid himself of flakes of pine stuck to his skin.
"Something like that…" Seto replied with a sigh as he turned Alumiss toward the desert youth.
"Try to…rob horse?" Malik pointed to the black war mount.
At that the blue-eyed prince shook his head. "No. No it was…" his cheeks pinked slightly, "a misunderstanding."
"Don't know…miss…under…standing…"
Seto smiled, shaking his head, and offered his hand to the youth. Malik at first stared at it with a blink, before comprehension dawned on him and his face brightened with a smile as he accepted the offered hand. Pulled up onto the saddle behind Seto, the two of them rode back toward the ruins at top speed.
Malik smiled at the feeling of the wind in his face, but found his thoughts more occupied by the strange sound he had heard twice before. He was sure that Seto had played some part in its ringing out again, but chose to leave the subject be. 'He might get upset again if I bring it up,' he thought.
They soon arrived back at their camp, they found Isis was awake and Mokuba was helping her to fold up her bedroll while Rishid returned their bags to their horses' saddles.
"You found Alumiss!" Mokuba dashed to greet his brother and rubbed the horse's face. He stopped when he saw Malik hop down from his place behind Seto and stared after him as he went to help his brother and sister pick up camp. 'Nii-sama let him ride…?'
Looking to his brother as he dismounted, the black-haired boy took note of his somewhat flushed state. "Nii-sama, daijoubu?"
"Eh? Ah, hai…" Seto ran his fingers back through his hair. "Why?"
"You look really flushed," Mokuba replied. "Your face is really pink."
"I was…I had to chase after Alumiss," the older prince replied, covering his face in an attempt to hide his blushing.
Mokuba quirked an eyebrow. "That doesn't make any sense…" He then smirked devilishly as he followed his brother back to their own bags. "I bet you got some girl out in the woods pregnant or something!"
Seto nearly collapsed and leaned against the wall for support as his face burned with a hotter shade of red at the memory of the girl at the pool. 'I must be losing my mind!' He hefted his bag onto his shoulder and hurried to put it up on Alumiss' back.
However, his little brother caught sight of Seto's blush and his eyes widened. 'Did he actually get some girl pregnant in the woods!'
Shaking the thought out of his thoughts, he loaded his own things onto Valent's back; Mokuba led his horse out to the others before he mounted. In doing so, he saw that Isis was now riding behind Malik, since her horse had been killed the previous night by the monster.
"So where are you headed, anyway?"
Malik looked from the boy to his sister, clearly not having caught everything he had said, and Isis answered, "We are going to the West."
Mokuba smiled. "How about that? So are we!"
"Really?" The woman blinked and looked to Seto as he mounted Alumiss. "We do not know our way, would you permit us to follow you until the next…town?"
Seto looked from the woman to her sandy-haired brother who simply stared, waiting for his answer.
"Nii-sama…!"
His attention was then drawn to his little brother's beaming face.
"Onegai…?"
With a small sigh of resignation, Seto turned his eyes to the road ahead. "Until the next town," he said. "Then you're on your own."
"It is appreciated," Isis bowed. She then relayed the conversation to Malik and Rishid and they both nodded; her younger brother, however, looked back at Seto with smile.
Shaking his head lightly, Seto cracked Alumiss' reins and together they all headed out.
- - - -
"Itai!"
"Oh, don't be such a baby!" Shizuka scolded her brother as Ryou cast the healing spell upon his injured face. "Maybe if you hadn't let your anger get the better of you, you wouldn't have run into that tree."
"I did not run into a tree!" Katsuya said angrily. "Some guy swung down from a tree and kicked me in the face!"
Ryou finally completed the spell and handed the blond Slayer his handkerchief to clean away the blood of his mended nose. "Well, whatever you were chasing that man for, I'm sure you didn't have to resolve it by drawing your sword."
"The guy was a frickin' pervert! Spyin' on my sister like she was—" He was cut off as Shizuka hit him in the back of the head with her bag.
"I keep telling you, it wasn't like that!" The fiery-haired young woman said. "He just stumbled across me when he found his horse. Perhaps if you would stop and listen to what people say to you, you wouldn't have chased after him with your sword and ran into that tree!"
"A guy swung down from a tree and kicked me in the face!" Katsuya asserted. "I did not run into a tree!"
Shizuka shook her head with a sigh as she went to put her bag on her horse and slowed as she looked in the direction the boy she had met had run off in. Whoever he had been, he was connected to whatever it was that she and Pegasus and maybe that desert native were also a part of.
'But what is it?' She wondered. 'What is it we're all connected to?'
Sighing again, she put her bag up on her horse and went to wake Atem. They would leave soon.
- - -
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So, whaddya think? Please review.
Oh. On another note, I have to explain what the Deeps are.
I've mentioned it more than a couple times, and I'm sure some people out there think I'm making a typo, but I'm not. I keep telling myself to explain it in the story, but I can't find a point where I could possibly put it, so I'll explain it here in Author Space.
Deep forests, Deep Mountains and such are places where monsters come from. Monsters wander from the Deep into human areas and cause general problems; like raccoons, except the monsters tend to eat people rather than their garbage.
No one wanders into the Deep if they can help it, because the strongest types of Deep Dwelling monsters never leave the Deeps.
This will become a point of debate between several characters in the future, but I felt that I needed to explain that before I got into it.
Bye-bye!