Ryou: Rattlesnakes are so scary.
Malik: I hate their eyes. They freak me out.
Yugi: I'd hate to get bit by one.
I know, I've seen some of the shows where people have been bit by rattlers and the images were not pretty.
Amethyst-Jade: Unfortunately, someone's going to get bit.
~.~ Go prank Bakura or something.
Amethyst-Jade: But you said...
GO!
Amethyst-Jade: Alright, going. Geeze!
LINE
Yugi, Ryou, and Malik were heading back to the house with several decent-sized fish. They were laughing and having a good time, not realizing that a rattlesnake was sunning itself near the path. Ryou suddenly cried out as he felt twin pinpricks just above his ankle. Malik noticed the snake and Shifted to his falcon form, instantly attacking the serpent. After killing the rattler, he Shifted back and had Yugi call their brothers.
LINE
As Bobby and the boys' twins approached the spot where the boys were, he heard Yugi and Malik talking.
"You have to suck the venom out."
"You do it Yugi."
"Guys."
"I can't, you do it, Malik."
"No, you suck the venom out, Yugi."
"Guys."
"You do it."
"Guys, please stop. The more you argue, the more I stress. The more I stress, the faster the venom spreads. Please just calm down and stop panicking."
"Good advice, kid," Bobby stated as they approached the younger twins. He noticed the remains of a dead snake not far from the boys, "What happened here?"
Malik spoke up, "The snake bit Ryou."
"I see that. But what happened to the snake," Bobby questioned, not fully believing what he was seeing.
"Bird killed it," was all Malik could say. He caught Atem's silent 'you?', and nodded slightly.
Bobby looked over the bite and picked up the Hikari with ease. "I have some antivenin at the house. Let's get you back there before it spreads more."
He didn't know whether or not to believe that a bird killed a rattlesnake that close to the boys within moments of the snake attacking on of them.
LINE
The three Hikaris were in Yugi and Atem's room, on the queen-sized bed. Ryou was resting after he was given a shot to counteract the snakebite. Ryou was counting his blessings that Bobby hadn't thought to check his pulse, otherwise the man would have noticed the sluggish, if almost-non-existent heartbeat.
"Do you think Yami'll tell them about us soon," Yugi whispered to his friends.
Malik shrugged and whispered back, "Don't know. He could be scared that they might try to kill us."
"Remember," Ryou started, still whispering, "as long as someone's still alive, in some sense, the other two can't die. Someone would have to kill all three in each set at once; Daywalker, Hikari, and Human, just to finish us off."
Yugi shivered but Malik was quick to calm him, "That would be impossible. The timing would have to be exact. One second too soon, or too late, would be our advantage and their disadvantage."
"Beheading us would probably do it," Yugi whispered, terrified of the thought.
Ryou sighed, "We'll be fine, Yugi. If they take it the wrong way, we could run away and contact our brothers from wherever we've gone when it's safe."
The angelic vampires were unaware of someone watching them from the hallway.
LINE
Caleb was curious of the three small males that looked like the boys that he helped to raise. He had thought to ask Atem as the younger man was the leader of his small band of ragtag Hunters. He watched as the three boys laid on the bed in Atem's room, whispering about something. Bakura's copy had been taken to the room with a snakebite, but he seemed to be doing fairly well considering that a rattler bit him on his ankle.
Many men twice the boy's age and size would be miserable, feverish, and wishing to die, even with treatment. But here he was, a small, frail-looking boy, lying in bed, talking to his friends as if he had just sprained his ankle. Caleb brushed it off as it being the boy's friends distracting him from the pain.
LINE
John had been trying to figure out who the three boys were and why they were at Bobby's. He waited until he could confront Atem. His chance came at dinnertime. Everyone had gathered in the living room and partially in the kitchen. Bakura had brought his younger copy down and placed him on one of the couches.
Bobby, Sam, Joshua, and Atem passed out loaded plates to those in the living room. Marik looked at his portion, "Ryou, Malik, and Yugi cook better."
"Suck it up, Mar," his copy retorted. "We cooked breakfast and caught dinner. We might cook breakfast if Ryou's well enough to do so. Until then, you'll have to wait."
Marik pouted and turned to Atem, "Malik-twin mad at me!"
"Stop whining to Atem," Malik huffed. "I'll tell Sister."
"You tell Ishizu, I feed you creamed..."
"You say creamed corn, I swear I won't speak to you for a day," Malik threatened his older twin.
Ryou and Yugi shuddered at the mention of creamed corn. John caught the collective shudder between them and the look of disgust on the three boys' faces. "So who are these kids and what do they have against a corn product?"
"Sorry, Uncle John, meet Yugi Mutou, Malik Ishtar, and Ryou Bakura. Guys, this is Sam and Dean's dad, John." Atem realized that he forgot the other two Hunters, "Oh, and Joshua and Caleb. And as for the corn thing, neither of them can stand creamed corn."
"So how do you know these boys," Josh asked.
Bakura scoffed, "They're our twin brothers."
"They don't look like they're the same age as you boys," Caleb stated as he looked them over.
Malik crossed his arms, "Blame the Angel blood we were given after we were born."
John's eyes went wide. He remembered stealing blood from an Angel that he and Bobby had found. He had stolen the blood in order to save the lives of three newborns that his friends' wives had delivered. He never saw two of the infants whose lives he had helped save, but he had watched their older brothers grow up. Atem and Marik being adopted by other friends of his while Yugi and Malik stayed with their parents, away from the Hunter life. He vaguely remembered a little boy named Ryou, Bakura's minutes-younger twin, but the small boy was thought dead after a tragic outing.
Years of wondering what had happened to the younger halves were brought to an end as they were in Bobby's house, preparing to enjoy a meal of fish, corn-on-the-cob, and mashed potatoes and gravy.
He watched as the boys sat together and started eating their dinner, and some of each others. Malik would steal some of Yugi's fish while Ryou took a little of Malik's gravy for his potatoes. Yugi stole some tarter sauce from Malik, who promptly took a little back. "You took too much," he stated to his small friend.
Yugi grinned, "Sorry, Malik. Want some of my corn?"
Bobby had been watching the scene as well, "You boys eat your own dinners and quit stealing from each other's plates."
The smiles on the boys' faces vanished immediately, and they sat poking at their food. Dean swore he saw a few tears and heard them sniffle, trying not to cry.
"Dad," Atem started, "they are just making sure that they have the same amount. It's a habit that they developed living on the streets before we found them last year. They never eat until they are sure that they have the same, if not close to the same, amount of food. Even though we've tried, it's just something that they'll do regardless of where they are. It was how they survived for so long."
"Exactly how long were they on the streets for," John pressed.
Atem looked over at the Hikaris, "About ten years. They were trying not to lead their kidnappers to their families and were unsure of where they were."
Bobby groaned, "Alright, but don't get carried away."
The boys nodded and resumed picking at their dinners, taking small bites whenever someone stared too long at them.
LINE
Atem examined Ryou's foot in the privacy of his own room to see how the bite was faring the day after he had received it "It seems that your slow heart rate kept the venom from spreading and your healing abilities kicked in almost immediately. You almost didn't need the antivenin," Atem stated as he re-wrapped Ryou's ankle. "Just stay off of it for a day or so."
Ryou sighed, "You know that Bakura's not going to enjoy anyone carrying me around but him or you, Atem. Right, Malik?"
Malik laughed, "You got that right. Just this morning, he threatened to sock Dean in the face just for offering to take Ryou to the couch. John had to send Dean on a food run just to protect him from Bakura's wrath."
"Um, Yami? What's, uh, Dad like," Yugi asked hesitantly. "Are you going to tell him about our, uh, conditions?"
"He's ok, mostly. But as for telling him about your conditions, not quite yet. I asked him a hypothetical question and didn't quite approve of his response," Atem stated.
Yugi sighed, slightly depressed that Bobby might not accept him and his friends. "Have you asked him what he would do if you were Changed and had complete control over what you had become?"
"I hadn't thought to ask that way, Yugi," Atem admitted.
LINE
After talking to the Hikaris, Atem went to question his father. Bobby was in his personal Library.
"Dad, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Go ahead boy."
"I know I asked what you would do if a friend of yours was Turned, but what would you do if it were me?"
Bobby looked up from his book, "Why? Were you?"
"No," Atem scoffed. "But seriously, what would you do if I were Changed and refused to harm people?"
Bobby was getting upset with Atem's random questions, "Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"
"Please Dad, just answer me," Atem pleaded.
"Not until you tell me truthfully what's got you asking these questions."
Atem dropped his head and turned to leave, "Never mind Dad." He left the room.
LINE
The hybrids listened as Atem had tried to ask his father once more to see if he would accept Yugi and his fellow Hikari Vampires, but wording it as Yugi had suggested. Bobby didn't take it as well as they had hoped. The three had heard Bobby's reaction and were disappointed that they would never be accepted into this group with their afflictions.
Yami: When and how will I tell the others about Yugi?
Working on it. I still have a few other loose ends to tie up too.
Dean: What are you whispering about?
Get lost Winchester. A & B conversation, please see your way out of it.
Dean: You're no fun.
Whatever. Sam's way cuter anyways.