Disclaimer: Not an anime here is in my possession. Excuse me if I was a little rude last time!
As you know, last chapter was the battle between Yugi and Michael Seebach, or Schwarzvald as he's known. Now, I tune things down a bit, as two new legendary cards hit the scene. Next chapter, Inuyasha begins building a deck for the tournament, and we finally find out how Yugi and the gang know Yusuke. But before I begin this chapter, I want to put two small questions by you readers: should I do a sequel to this once it is finished, and what should I do for my next big fic? Let me know in a review.
Chap. 9: Checkered past and unclear future
Dark Fortress, Crypt of the Shadow Tyrant
"LORD HIEI! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME! HAVE MERCY!"
The Ogre that had been sent to defeat Seto Kaiba had returned from the battlefront. As can be expected, the Ogre was swiftly beaten by the superior duelist. Also not surprisingly, Hiei was not in a pleasant mood, taking into consideration that his assaults on his opposition had failed three times in one day.
It was for this reason that the servant was being dragged along by three Soul Pipers that Hiei had conjured using his Shadow powers. Normally, such creatures only took the souls of children if their eyes opened, but since Hiei was controlling them like puppets, their eyes were wide open, and they were dragging the ogre into the depths of Hell.
Hiei, of course, was not lamenting the loss of the foul creature. In fact, he was jubilant to see him being dragged into the abyss.
Turning towards the other ogres, the superior demon addressed them with a cold, haughty air, while chuckling as the sobbing one was dragged completely into the vortex.
"Know this, mindless chattels. The poor simpleton I sent to an early and seemingly unjust damnation was punished for two simple reasons: he was flippant, and he failed in his appointed mission. And unless you want to endure the same fate, you will obey my every command from this point onward.
"To this end, I am issuing an imperial decree: from this point forward, all monetary earnings that an ogre gains will be transferred directly to the Royal Treasury. Any ogre found of withholding currency will have their food rations cut by ninety percent. If an ogre should break this command more than once, or if an outside source aides them in any way, the infidels in question will be taken by the Soul Pipers, or worse, my left hand, Yami Bakura, will take you into custody. Any questions?"
An eerie silence had settled onto the vast mausoleum where Hiei usually made his important announcements, yet before long the crowd began to disperse. Slowly but surely the heartbroken wretches were returning to their bleak and meaningless lives.
As the waifs returned to the surface world, several new guests entered in their stead: the Dark Mages, enigmatic sorcerers spawned from the Void of Darkness that served their master alone. These were the most powerful and wicked beings in the Mortal and Spirit Realms, yet their near-limitless power was bound to their overlord's will. Not even Yami could completely tap into their dark magic.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen."
Hiei allowed himself a minute smile at the simplicity of the fools. By simply calling them forward from the Void, I have made them my obedient slaves. Not only that, they have finally procured the two cards I need to finally defeat Yugi and Kaiba. That fool Yusuke I can eliminate without using these cards, yet the others might require them.
Hiei was, of course, talking of the Messengers of Chaos.
The leader of these necromancers stepped forward. Cloaked in a hooded mantle of a silky onyx and wearing obsidian armor in the style of a samurai warrior, the gauntlets of which ended in razor-sharp talons, he was a dreadful sight to behold.
In said claws was a box hewn out of solidified darkness.
Hiei, although he did not show it, was in a state of unbridled rapture.
"Perfect. You have served me well, gentlemen. Now, about this fee of yours, it is a little...steep."
The Mage's voice echoed in Hiei's mind.
I am afraid that the price we originally agreed on stands. You see, in order for my operatives to continue working for you, I must be compensated in full. You may be able to sway the others of my pathetic tribe to do your bidding, but I will not be so easily persuaded.
Hiei turned away from the spell caster. For the second time that day, an infidel was standing up to him recklessly. This time, however, he would take the direct approach.
"Very well, necromancer. I will pay you... BY SENDING YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL! DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME! EMERGE FROM YOUR ANCIENT SLUMBER AND LAY WASTE TO THIS IMBECILE!"
As he lifted his arm to the heavens, it began to radiate a demonic glow. This slowly fashioned itself into the form of a serpentine dragon formed from black flames, which bellowed it's devastating screech for all to hear. As it did so, the dragon converged upon the disobedient mage, who did not have the time to utter a scream.
Within seconds, the only thing remaining was some innards, the armor, and the black box.
Hiei picked up this box, and spoke into his personal intercom.
"Yami Bakura? Bring my inter-realm cruiser, the Des Volstgulph, into the hangar. We're going to Domino City!"
To be continued...
Sorry this was so short, but I'm kinda short on inspiration. We will find out what is in the box next time. Oh, by the way, I'll continue the next chapter, so long as I get at least one review.
Oh, one more thing. If you want to read a great Inuyasha fic, check out "Change of Heart" by SoulofSaturn. It rocks!