Lace Kyoko- Welcome new follower! I loved the day when you started reviewing all my stories, because I was in classes, and I kept getting emails to my phone. So it made my day way better. Haha- and you even read Havisham! How random! That story is so old. My little sister dared me to write a story based off Great Expectations, and that is what I came up with. Hope you keep reading!
j bear- But missing that last chapter might have been a good thing. That way, you didn't have the horrible cliff hanger, and you were left wondering for two months whether or not Seto would escape. And I am so happy that you really got into the chapter. It took me so long to write because I wanted it to turn out just like it did. Thanks for the review!
Luxord's Xigbar- Okay, so I really want you to review this chapter so you can answer me a question. What on earth does your username mean? Oh, and answering the questions you asked. . . do you really want me to tell you all of that now? Or would you rather just read this chapter and find out? Haha- all of those things you asked are pretty much plot points, which means that you'll find out eventually. And yes, butcher's shops are creepy. Exactly why I'm setting the scene there.
ZQuill- I'm glad you enjoyed the little details. The stair counting thing just really seemed like something that Seto would do on an every day basis, so why wouldn't he do it to measure distance? I hope this chapter makes you love the story even more! (And why won't it let me type your name the right way? It does that every time! Haha)
Chocomintkt- Mokuba getting captured. . . you had to know that was coming. It is like the epitome of that poor kid's existence. Is there a season of Yugioh in which he doesn't get kidnapped? You would think he would learn eventually. And I love Kisara. I didn't originally, but the more I write her character, the more I like her. She is so incredibly creepy, it is fun to write.
Shinryu-Twilight Dragon- Kisara? Creative? Haha- she has a line in this chapter that cracks me up. Like, I based her character off one of these lines. See if you can figure out which one it is. It might not be so obvious, maybe it will be. Haha- . . . . Mako? Haha- I don't get that at all! Where did you come up with that?
Havelock Vetinari- A couple people have asked about the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. I think that I'm just going to be leaving that out in this story. I didn't originally think of it, so I didn't work it into the plot. I had to google LightSworn . . . so no. They won't be showing up. Haha- I don't really follow the card game. And I'm sure I'll explain this somewhere, but the Light and Dark monsters are the main two forces. However, the other ones, (wind, earth, fire, water. . . etc.) are all split between the two. I have a list on my desk of who is one which side, that way, I can keep track of it all.
Teribane- Haha- please don't swear. There is no need to! But if you would like to have a rant about cliff hangers, be my guest. I honestly don't like reading stories that have them, but I understand the need for them. Haha- Seto getting trapped by Kuriboh. You just know that has to happen, right?
AyaseFanGirl- Um. . .Thanks! I'm thrilled to hear that you like it so much. (Want to know a secret? This is one of my favourite stories on the site too. Haha). And I love how you enjoy the cliff hangers. Teribane (Who in case you didn't notice, is the review directly above you) didn't seem to enjoy where I left off. Oh Mokuba, poor kid. I'm so mean to him. And Seto. And another character in this chapter. I just can't write a happy story. Seriously, if you have looked at my other series, From the Dead-Arose Power, then you'd see that. (But I don't suggest looking at it. Haha- I wrote that SO long ago. It doesn't even resemble this story)
Aqua-Princess of Imagination- I wouldn't say that the universe hates them. . . I just enjoy torturing them. Haha- it is so typical of the show to keep them separated, I just became accustomed to it.
Aksehsnarf- Thank you! And you aren't the first to bring up the fourth Blue-Eyes. The way I have this story set up now doesn't include the fourth. However, if I decide to do a sequel, the fourth will be in there. But that is only if I do a sequel. Who knows? Maybe I'll just add the second half on here, or maybe I just won't do it at all. Haha- I can't figure out how the sequel would end. Luckily, that would be a long time in the future, so I don't have to worry about it now.
Note: There were other people who reviewed, but I try to respond just to continual reviewers, or to those who I feel the need to respond to. And for that one completely anonymous reviewer, yes. There will be more monsters.
Minor Edits: 9/30/15
Seto's POV
"I said, who are you?" Growled the voice from behind me. Since the only people I knew who still carried swords had come through the portal, I assumed that one of the monsters was holding the weapon. I tried to turn my head to see who it was, but the blade dug deeper into my back.
So I stared ahead as I responded, "My name is Seto."
"Well, Seto," the voice spat. "How did you find us here?"
"I wasn't looking for you," I said, hoping to feel some of the pressure slide from the blade.
"You aren't here for my darling?"
A hand quickly landed on my arm, gripping it to spin me around. When I was facing my current captor, I confirmed that she wasn't human.
I recognized her. I really did. She had long brown hair with a matching eye color, and she sported a stern glare within them. Her entire upper body was covered in armor, all the way from her neck down to her gloved hands. I had expected to find her legs armored as well, but instead, she was wearing a very short pair of shorts. Around each thigh was a sheath for a knife, and the rest of her legs were covered with a tall pair of boots. But I couldn't place her.
"Your darling?" I questioned. As best as I could tell, she had taken the same claim to someone that Kisara had taken with me. By her darling, she most likely meant her companion.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" she shouted, lifting her glowing blade up to my throat. I held my hands up in surrender and leaned back.
"I don't know who you are referring to," I said as I took a step backwards. She filled the space between us, making sure to keep the sword pressed firmly against my throat.
"You don't? Prove it!" she shouted, and began pushing me back into an adjoining room.
The room turned out to be a walk-in freezer. It stretched about ten feet long and wide, and chains hung from the ceiling, like it had been a butcher's freezer before the monsters invaded. Hanging in the center of the room with both hands latched above his head was Ryou.
"Kaiba?"
"Seto Kaiba then? Liar." She raised her sword in a motion ready to strike.
"D.D.! Please don't hurt him!"
Ryou's eyes were wide with fear as he pleaded with the girl warrior.
"My love, do you know him?" the girl asked.
"Hardly, dear. He is harmless and not here for me," Ryou said, his eyes silently begging for her to calm down.
"Then why are you here?" she asked, repositioning her blade against my chest.
"I was just trying to get off the streets," I repeated.
"Why?" she asked, pressing the blade harshly against me so I had to take several steps back. She didn't let me stop walking until I was standing next to Ryou. I glanced up and saw more chains above my head.
"Have you been out there?" I said, trying to keep as much of the truth from my words as possible. Maybe she could sense the lies like the dragons, maybe not. But either way, I wanted to keep maniac from slicing her sword through me.
She glared at me. Her eyes narrowed with hatred as she did so. It was apparent that she didn't appreciate my sudden presence and that she was worried about the possibility of my taking Ryou from her. I wished that I could explain to her exactly why it was I was running, but my mind had been fast at work. I knew that I recognized her. Over the years, I had developed a vast knowledge of Duel Monsters, so I recognized her as D.D. Warrior Lady.
Attributes, I thought, trying to recall what her characteristics had been.
Then it came to me, but only when she glanced over to Ryou for a brief moment. It was light. She was a light monster. That would put her on the same side as the Blue-Eyes in the upcoming war. If they were on the same side, she might be obligated to turn me over. From the looks of her current attitude, I got the feeling that she would send me back even if she was on the opposite side.
"I don't believe you. You know my Ryou! You are here to take him away from me!" she shouted, waving her sword around while she screamed.
"D, he isn't here for me. Please, my love, you have to trust me," Ryou said.
I remembered Mokuba using a similar strategy when he was talking down Kuriboh. The tone danced the line between desperation and panic, and had traces of begging.
She left me where I stood and rushed to wrap her arms around Ryou's chest. She buried her face into his shirt for a moment, and I thought I saw her smelling him. Once she pulled her head back, she stared up into his eyes as she asked, "How do you know?"
Ryou's eyes flashed over to me as if searching for an answer. I remained motionless since I was still very aware of how dangerous that sword looked.
"Because, look at him. He didn't bring a weapon or anything to remove your chains. He isn't fighting back, even while you aren't threatening him, and D, he really doesn't like me all that much. Don't worry."
Ryou was listing off every reason he could think of on the spot. He had no way of knowing why I had stumbled into this store. For all he knew, maybe I was here for him. But if he wanted me to continue breathing, his current plan was the best way to accomplish that.
She turned back to examine me. After a few seconds, she said, "Put your hands above your head."
I knew what she was planning. The image of my trying to sprint back in the way I had come crossed my mind, but it was promptly followed by a second image, an image where she plowed her sword through my heart. So, knowing that it was a terrible idea, I did as she commanded.
"Lock yourself in," she ordered.
Once again, I looked up above my head to see where the chains were. I hesitated after grabbing onto the first one. As soon as I snapped it around my wrist, I would be trapped here. Even if I wanted to go back to the dreaded roof of KaibaCorp, I couldn't.
She nudged me with her sword. "Well, go on. Prove that you aren't here for my companion."
"Locking myself up proves nothing." All it did was settle her conscious about my being here. The girl was still worried that I was going to try to leave with Ryou and she was taking action to prevent it.
"Why can't you just let him go?" Ryou asked.
"I can't have him running off and telling people where we are. I don't want them to take you away from me," she said, finishing softly.
Ryou and I sent an final glance in each other's direction before I committed to something insane, but it was clear that I didn't have a choice. So I clicked the first cuff around my wrist. With a weighted breath, I reached for the second. It was much harder to get the second chain on my wrist since my left hand was restrained, but too soon, both my arms were locked above me. I gave my arms a slight tug to prove to the monster that they were securely fastened.
"Now then. Again. What are you doing here?" she said. I was glad to see her put her sword in its place on her belt.
"Nothing intentional," I answered.
It was as though she could tell that I was hiding something from her. I wrapped my fingers around the chain and hoped that her questioning didn't get back to anything related to the Blue-Eyes.
"How do you know my Ryou?" she asked. As she spoke, she walked behind me so I could no longer see her face. I knew that she was trying to set me off guard. By not letting me look her in the eyes, she was preventing me from knowing how she was reacting. And if I couldn't know that, I had no way of knowing if she was accepting my lies.
"We went to school together," I said.
I felt her hands come up to the back of my neck. She pulled down my collar for a few seconds, moving it around as if she was looking for something on my back. She let go before continuing her questions.
"And were you friends?"
"No."
"Are you here to take my love away?"
"No."
"Does anyone else know you are here?"
"No."
"Have you been chosen?"
"No."
I answered without hesitation. After the series of questions she threw at me, I had become ready to throw out a "no." I hadn't even paused to consider whether or not I should keep the fact from her. But it was too late to take it back. The lie was my only option.
She walked back around to stand in front of me, placing her body inches away from mine. She tilted her head up so she was gazing directly into my eyes.
"Have you been chosen?" she asked again.
I thought about my answer one more time, not for long, but there was that moment between her question and my response.
"No," I repeated.
She frowned. I watched as she let a hand drift down to her leg. She ran her fingers across the surface of the knife she held there, threatening me. She slipped it out of its sheath, letting the edge trace up her leg while she lifted it up.
"I don't believe you," she said, now holding the very tip of the knife to her lip.
When I didn't speak, she brought the knife to my cheek and began to trace the fading mark Kuriboh had left. She pressed down with just enough force to cause pain, but not quite enough to draw blood.
"How about I reopen this?" she asked while continuing the knife's movements.
"I'd prefer if you didn't," I answered, careful not to move too much. Any large motions might result in cutting my cheek open myself.
"I'd prefer the truth," she said, then reopened the scar in a single motion. Only this time, I could feel the length she added on to it. I gritted my teeth together to keep from expressing the pain. While glaring down at her, I kept my lips pressed in a firm line to keep the blood from dripping inside my mouth.
She laughed.
"D, please don't do this," Ryou whispered. I had been waiting for him to speak up, but now that he did, it just annoyed me. He couldn't have said something before she cut open my face? Now the mark would never heal smoothly.
Maybe if D.D. cut me up enough, Kisara would think that I was hideous and would decide she no longer was in love with me.
"Why? You said he didn't even like you," she said, stepping away from me to walk back over to Ryou.
"But there is no reason to torture him just for walking inside your house, darling," Ryou said, keeping his tone low and even.
"I don't think that I will ever understand you humans," she said, but she did put the knife back in its spot around her leg.
"Thank you," Ryou said.
Then I watched as the girl rose up to her toes to kiss Ryou. She clung to him, as if she was afraid he would vanish from before her. Her fingers ran up through his white hair, grabbing handfuls of it in desperate clutches.
I stopped looking when the kiss continued on for longer than ten seconds. Ryou had started to get into it and watching him make out with a duel monster refused to process in my thoughts.
"I am going to go find someone that can tell me who he is. Don't go anywhere, dear," D.D. said, then stepped back. She blew Ryou a kiss and sent me a glare before walking backwards out of the freezer.
A lock clicked behind her.
"What are you really doing here, Kaiba?" Ryou asked once the girl had been gone for about a minute.
"Trying to get off the streets," I answered, but quickly regretted it. The blood that had been dripping down my face slid into my mouth. I spit several times to try to get my mouth clean of the substance, but I was unsuccessful.
"Sorry about that," Ryou said as he tilted his chin up in the direction of my face. "She has a tendency to over react."
"How long have you been here?" I asked. I leaned my head against one of my arms held above my head, trying to get the blood to flow away from my mouth.
"What is today?"
"Thursday?" I answered, although I wasn't positive myself.
"Then I've been in here for four days," Ryou said.
"How did you end up getting caught?" I asked, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he was going along with the warrior, he wouldn't have gotten chosen on purpose.
"I left during the day to go over to Joey's house. She found me as I was walking over. There isn't really more to the story than that, I'm afraid."
I remembered what I wanted to ask him then. "And the pet names?"
Ryou groaned, then tried to stretch his back. In his current position, the best he was able to do was pop his shoulders.
"I realized very soon on that if I didn't play along, she got violent. I would show you if I was able, but she dealt me a great amount of injuries. So I play along for my own sake, not for her. If she wants to believe that I'm madly in love with her, I am not going to be the person to stop her."
"Then why are you still chained up?" I asked.
"I had tried to run away the first night, which wasn't that long ago. She doesn't trust me yet, I assume."
I glanced over to the door. It wasn't as though I was expecting her to return just yet, but the door seemed to be the epitome of my troubles – closed, locked, trapped.
"Who is she asking about me?"
Ryou gave a slight shrug, which he was barely able to do. "I wouldn't know any more than you. I haven't left this building since she brought me here."
"Why was she looking at my back?"
"Slave traders put a brand on anyone they sell. Some of the monsters put a mark on the people they take in, sort of like a tag we put on our pets. I guess she was looking to see if you were lying to her."
"Did she put one on you?"
Ryou nodded. And after that, we didn't speak. I had no more questions and no motive to continue a discussion. D.D. was going to figure out who I was, then she would send me back. I would have lost everything simply because I entered into the wrong doorway. There was also nothing that I could do for Ryou, so any small hope he might have had was crushed.
So we were content to hang there in silence.
Mokuba's POV
"Your brother loves me, you know," Kisara stated as she sat down next to me. I turned to her, unable to prevent the small smile from creeping onto my lips.
"He does?" I asked, although I knew Seto would never fall in love with a monster, and especially not in a week. This girl had to be delusional, but it wouldn't hurt me to play along. I had been on the roof for maybe a minute and a half when Kisara had told me to sit down next to the entryway, then another minute before she brought up this conversation. It was clearly the main thought on her mind.
"He practically told me. I could see it in his eyes. He can't keep anything from us," she explained with a nod.
I couldn't quite decide how I was supposed to respond to that. On the one hand, the girl was crazy. On the other hand, she was also holding me hostage. Making her angry would not be a great solution, but I also couldn't agree that Seto was in love. When they found him, and I was certain that they would, he would kill me if he knew I was encouraging the dragon.
When I didn't respond, Kisara continued. "He kissed me right before he left. I am upset that he left me, but that kiss was his way of letting me know that he still loves me. But he wanted to find you, that way, we could all be together!"
"He kissed you?" I said, speaking the words slowly to make sure that I had understood her correctly. I assumed that she meant that they kissed, or, she kissed him. But from the little I knew about Kisara, she seemed like the type to over exaggerate events.
"Yes! He did. It was the most beautiful thing," she murmured, letting her eyes fall closed. A gentle smile grew on her lips while she leaned her head back against the door frame. I could only imagine what sort of thoughts were swimming through her mind at that moment.
While she drifted off into a memory, I glanced around the roof. In all the years that I had been a Kaiba, I hadn't ever stepped foot up here. Ever since Marik dangled me from a helicopter during Battle City, I found myself incredibly afraid of heights. So being eighty stories in the air, the edge completely unprotected, I was terrified. The only comfort I found was that I was in the middle of the roof, nowhere near an edge.
I ended up staring out at the distant mountains. From eighty floors up, or from the safety of the ground, the mountains appeared mostly the same. Looking at them reminded me of looking at a window at home. Maybe if I focused completely on their large, looming shapes, I might be able to forget where I currently was located.
"What was it like with Kuriboh?" Kisara asked.
"Did Seto tell you about him?" I asled, curious as to what all she knew.
"Seto tells me everything. We are in love, after all. I even went to your house and got to look around."
I nearly laughed at the concept of Seto sharing all of his secrets with a dragon, even if she was a Blue-Eyes. There was no way that I would be able to keep a straight face much longer.
"Are you going to send me back there?" I asked.
Kisara's face took on an appalled expression. "Of course not! I saw what he did to my beautiful Seto's face, and Seto told me how much you hated him. I'm going to make Krin keep you. Kara would like having two pets I'm sure, and Krin is so power-happy that having two slaves might actually make him smile."
Kisara reminded me of the girls I had gone to high school with. She was so blinded by her obsession with my brother that she wasn't thinking clearly.
I would never let Seto live this one down.
"Uh- thanks then," I said. I didn't mean the words because I wasn't actually grateful. She was still keeping me hostage, and looking for my brother in order to capture him as well. That was all this world now consisted of, jumping from one prison to the next. The warden didn't make all that much of a difference.
"You look sad," Kisara said.
"I miss my brother," I said, although there was more to the sadness than just that.
She nodded in response. "I miss him too. And poor Seto only left a few minutes before we found you. It's really sad."
I didn't get the chance to respond. A roar caused the two of us to turn our heads upwards. Flying above us was another dragon. Kisara went back to her chattering, not seeming to mind if I was paying attention or not. I kept my gaze upwards, watching as the dragon circled through the sky.
Even though I was sure that once the monsters were all gone no one would play Duel Monsters anymore, just looking at the Blue-Eyes made me understand why Seto had been so obsessed with the cards. The card had been powerful, but I was looking at the actual thing. The monster nearly filled up the entire sky above me. The way the light was hitting its scales made it appear as though it was made of silver. It also looked deadly. The claws, the bared teeth, the muscles that could be seen as it raised and lowered its wings – all signs that this beast was created to kill.
There were three of them. And they all wanted my brother.
"Mokuba, why do you think Seto didn't tell us that he owned this building?" Kisara asked, pulling me from the train of thought with which I had been occupied.
"Is that important?" I asked.
I was learning a lot about Seto's mindset from talking to Kisara. I couldn't decide if she was purposefully giving me the information. But I knew Seto, and the fact that he didn't mention KaibaCorp being his meant that he had been hoping to use that to his advantage. But since he had escaped, I guess he ended up accomplishing that.
"You don't think it is? He escaped through the building. He wasn't hiding information from me so he could get away?"
Her words were turning more personal. Originally, she had asked why Seto hadn't told all of them, her last sentence was just about her. She was taking it personally.
"Didn't you ask him what his name was?" I questioned.
"He told us it was Seto. We didn't know that humans all have two names," Kisara said. As she spoke, she slumped up against the wall, letting her back slide down until her shoulders nearly touched the floor.
I just nodded since to humans, that was fairly common knowledge. I considered telling her depending on the culture, humans could have more than two names, but the thought alone might drive her even more insane.
"Is your second name Kaiba too?" she asked, folding her hands across her lap.
"Yes it is. Mokuba Kaiba," I said.
"You aren't as pretty as Seto," she said, and I noticed a great deal of grumbling coming through her tone. She was entirely on the ground now, lying flat against the surface of the roof. It was like she was melting in disappointment as we spoke.
"Thank you," I said, the smile breaking out.
The dragon that had been circling above us began to descend. It moved lower and lower until its feet touched the roof.
"Better close your eyes," Kisara mumbled.
I remembered how she had told me to do the same just before she had transformed from a girl into a dragon. Then once we were back on the roof, she hadn't told me to do so, since dragons can't speak in English. I had felt the sharp pain that time, because I hadn't closed my eyes in time.
So I listened to Kisara. Only I added onto her words and buried my face into my knees. Yet, even with my face completely covered, I could still feel the heat from the dragon's change burning at my skin.
I waited until I was sure that the light had vanished before I looked up. Standing on the other side of the roof was another female dragon. She was nearly identical to Kisara, the same long white-blue hair, tall, thin, blue eyes.
Then I recalled the other dragon who had found me on the ground. Two girls and one boy. I don't know why it surprised me that they were different genders. Maybe I had just always thought of them as 'it.'
Kisara lifted her head up off the ground. "Anything?"
The other girl, who I took to be Kara, stared at Kisara as if she wanted to kill her.
"No, sister. He is gone," Kara spat.
Kisara dropped her head back down. "It isn't my fault! Stop blaming me!" she yelled from her position beside me.
"Of course it is your fault! You let him go into a room, by himself. And this being right after we found out he owned the place? You're a fool, Kisara."
At that, Kisara jumped to her feet. "Stop it!"
Kisara turned down to look at me. Without warning, she reached out and grabbed onto my arm and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled forward, having been caught off guard by the sudden change in position, but Kisara steadied me.
"I found his brother! Seto will come back if he finds out that we have him," Kisara explained.
Kara seemed to notice my presence for the first time since she landed. She quickly glanced me over.
"This is his brother?" she said as if she didn't believe it.
"Yes! He looks just like Seto! You can't see it? Even Krin noticed. And he agrees that Seto is in love with me!" she said, her words became jumbled together at the speed at which she spoke them.
Kara looked more doubtful.
"Is that so, boy?"
I was backed into a metaphorical corner. Lying just screamed bad idea; however, telling the truth would get Seto into trouble later on, well, lying would do that too.
"Well?" Kara pressed.
"Oh yeah, he absolutely does," I said.
While Kisara grinned brightly with my agreement, Kara bit her lip, repressing a smile.
"Where is Krin?" Kisara asked.
"He went to find the slaver. They should be up here soon."
I didn't know who the slaver was, but it didn't sound promising. His name alone made me think back to the slave market and the week I spent there.
Kisara let go of my arm and told me to sit back down. I did as she said, and no sooner had I sat down than the third Blue-Eyes came into view from the side of the building. He landed swiftly and I closed my eyes once more. And I covered my face because it had helped last time.
And then all three dragons stood in front of me in human form. The newest addition sent Kisara a similar glare to the one Kara wore. I tried not to look directly at the angry dragons. Instead, I attempted to melt away into the door.
"The slaver?" Kara asked.
"He is coming up now," Krin answered sharply. His eyes didn't leave Kisara. He gaze was so intense that even she took a step back.
"Don't be mad at me, Krin. I didn't mean to let him escape."
"And yet, where is my pet now?" Kara said, answering for her brother.
"He can't go far!" Kisara insisted.
"It took us nearly a year to find him the first time," Krin said. And although his voice was low, his words seemed to drip with anger. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that he loved me! Ask Mokuba!"
Krin broke his glare at Kisara to look at Kara, who had begun to slowly shake her head.
"Kisara, sister, Mokuba hasn't seen Seto since Krin brought him here to live with us. He couldn't know what Seto supposedly feels about you," Kara explained.
"But he said!"
The argument didn't continue. A figure interrupted by jumping over the side of the building. None of the dragons seemed phased by the fact that the visitor had just jumped eighty floors. I probably would have been in awe if I hadn't recognized him.
Of course, I thought. The slaver.
The man walked over to Krin. "How long has he been missing?" the slaver asked.
"Less than an hour," Krin said.
"Name and physical description?"
"He responds to Seto," Kara said.
"And he has long-ish brown hair," Kisara began, bringing her hand up to her head to demonstrate the length. "His eyes are really blue, like the sky, only prettier. And he is tall, but not as tall as Krin. He has the most beautiful hands-"
"That will be enough," the slaver said, cutting off Kisara.
"Branded?" he asked, this time specifically directing the question to Krin.
"No. Kisara didn't want to 'mar his perfect skin,'" Krin said, and as he quoted his sister, he went back to glaring at her.
"I hold to that," Kisara said proudly.
My leg started to fall numb. Without even thinking, I stretched it out. The movement brought the non-blinking gaze of the slaver.
He raised an eyebrow as if taken by surprise. It fell as his lips twitched up into a smirk. He looked away from me to speak to the dragons.
"That one doesn't belong to you."
Krin shrugged. "And?"
"His master is searching for him."
"His master is a Kuriboh. If you would like, you can send him up here," Kara said. "We will deal with him."
The slaver held up his hands. "I'm not looking to start anything. I was simply unaware if you knew this boy's status."
"We are aware. Just focus on finding our slave," Krin said.
The non-blinking man nodded once. Instead of leaving then, he came over and knelt down in front of me. I wasn't looking at him, but he wouldn't have that. He reached out a hand and lifted up my chin until I met his eyes.
"You have got to be the unluckiest child in this world," he said, laughter coming out between his words.
I didn't speak, a quality I had developed in my week as his captive. That didn't surprise him.
"I will make a deal with you. Stay here. The moment I hear that you are no longer with these three, I will find you. And when that happens, because I will find you, expect to be dragged back to your master covered in enough chains that eventually, you will forget what it feels like to move. Not even you will be able to break out of all of them. Do we have an understanding?"
I turned my head away instead of answering.
"Speaking of chains," he said as he got back to his feet, "would you like me to bring your slave back in them?"
"Yes," Krin said.
"With a leash," Kara added.
"That could be sexy," Kisara mused.
The slaver moved over to the edge. "Very well then. Don't worry," he said, then turned to look at me. "I always find them."
And he stepped off the edge.