Yami was holding his hand tightly as they walked down another street lined with vendors' carts staffed by cat-like monsters, all selling cat ear headbands from their stands.

A couple of children were arguing loudly over a striped fluffy pair while the vendor was behind the cart, frantically sewing another one while the parent stood over them with an anxious look on their face.

The cat paraphernalia is real, Seto thought amusingly as Yami gave him a nudge and pointed at a pair of paw-shaped puffy gloves.

"Want a pair?" Yami asked excitedly, his eyes sparkling, and Seto made a face. Fuck no. He wasn't a cat cosplayer in his previous life, and he wasn't about to start now.

Yami laughed and they continued on their way. Seto gripped Yami's hand tighter as they passed another street lined with stores, and he struggled to read each sign. He couldn't cast the translation magic when they were walking by too fast, and it was frustrating him the more he couldn't read each ornate sign they passed.

I'll speak up just this once, and maybe he can teach me how to read, Seto thought grumpily as he gave Yami's hand a pulsing squeeze, bracing himself to hear his own scratchy demon voice that sounded like a million voices blended together.

"Ya-ami…" Seto began quietly, and Yami stopped walking instantly to pull him against the wall of the nearest building and bend down to his height, giving him his full attention along with a warm smile.

"Yes? I'm listening. Speak freely," Yami said earnestly, and Seto felt his cheeks burn with gratitude and embarrassment as he barreled forward with his request.

"I can't read," Seto admitted furiously. "Can you help?"

Yami's angular eyes softened at the corners, and he nodded, giving the top of his head a reassuring pat as he replied, "yes of course. The main language we speak here is Elvish, but other monst—I mean… there are other dialects in small pockets of the city. I know you're an amazing telepath and you're very good at Mimicking, but try to tell me what your main language is?"

"Japanese," Seto replied, hearing himself make the odd, guttural demonic noise, and he grit his teeth in fury. Okay, that sounded fucking weird coming out of his mouth, and maybe he couldn't speak it anymore.

"Okay, never heard of that one before," Yami said seriously, giving Seto's tiny body and up and down inspection before adjusting the cloak tighter over his shoulders. "Let's head to an ancient scripture library. Maybe they'll have something interesting for you there, and when we get back, I'll see about casting a literacy spell on you, okay?"

Yes, thanks, Seto thought gruffly as Yami gave him a quick pat on the cheek before standing and holding his hand again.

Fuming at being treated like a little kid, Seto clapped a hand to his face and held it there until the odd warmth vanished. Why did Yami have to be so gross and caring?

It was only a short walk to a store where books were set out on tiny carts along the windows, and Seto stared hungrily at the spines when they passed, not recognizing any language, but recognizing that there were…many.

They stepped in through the doorway and a tiny bell jingled overhead, and a booming voice echoed around them, giving Seto a fright. He hissed and clapped a hand over one ear, his eardrums aching. What the fuck was that kind of welcome chime into a bookstore?

"Security measure so we don't steal anything," Yami said calmly, pulling him up a winding staircase until they arrived on the first floor. It was drab, with a low ceiling and books stacked sparsely on the display. The front had looked more promising with the carts of books, it was practically empty in here.

"And …eighteen more floors," Yami said genially as he pointed a slender finger upwards to show Seto the infinite number of floors stretching above their heads, and Seto's mouth dropped open at the way the ceiling magically stretched above their heads the moment the words left Yami's mouth. "Maybe a location spell would be easier. Let's ask the Librarian—"

I'm here… Mage …and… Small child with an odd aura...

Seto whirled around to see a humongous, monstrously bulky figure with no face, but eyes on their shoulders, dotting all down a pair of the thickest, muscular arms he'd ever seen, and finally, a pair of eyes in the palms of their hands. The only reassuring trait about this creature was that it was standing on a pair of human legs—thick, veiny legs looking like they belonged on a competitive bodybuilder.

C-Cool… Seto thought weakly as he clung onto Yami's hand, staring at the nightmarish monster.

"Ah, the Librarian," Yami said calmly, fully aware of Seto's fear when the child's hands became sweaty and vice-like over his fingers, making them sting and throb. "We come seeking a scroll in… Pann-ease…? Seto, a little help please."

Seto opened and closed his mouth, shaking his head furiously. No. Nope.

He was not going to say anything to Mr. Freaky Eyes All Over His Sculpted Body there, because they all blinked at the same time, giving him a chill down his spine.

The child is afraid of me… The monster said quietly and Seto stiffened when he realized he could hear the voice inside his head.

Perhaps come back another time…

"Seto…?" Yami gave the child's arm a little shake and squeezed his hand encouragingly. "Pannese? You want a book or a scroll, don't you?"

J-Japanese and I don't want it anymore! Seto thought frantically, giving Yami another vicious shake of his head. Could they go home for naptime now instead of conversing with this monster?

Ah, Japanese, the monster said knowingly, nodding and holding its palms facing upwards while the giant eyes blinked steadily, and Seto clung harder to Yami, understanding that the monster could hear inside his head.

Seventh floor and…twelfth floor, the monster said thoughtfully, lifting one hand to stroke its chin. May I be of any more help? Would you like other ancient scripts for the demon child to enjoy? We have… English on the fifth floor, German on the second floor… and some French novels… Ah, can't forget, the Chinese and Korean scripts are on the twelfth floor too, by the window. Can you remember all of that, child?

Yes, thanks, Seto replied icily, and he felt the monster smile at him before it lumbered away through the bookshelves.

Great. He was regretting asking Yami how to read.

If 'the librarian' was this terrifying humanoid freak with eyes all over it's upper body, he'd give up reading forever if it meant he didn't have to run into it again.

"Okay, twelfth floor," Yami said cheerily, bending down to scoop a tense Seto up in his arms. "Levitation spell, going up… Hang onto me."

Seto half-heartedly locked his arms around Yami's neck and stared at the ground as it got farther away when they lifted off gently, the various shelves zooming past as Yami tucked his legs gracefully together to avoid kicking or hitting any stray book that was sticking out.

They hovered to a stop at a row of shelves painted dark green, and Seto narrowed his eyes at the dusty old spines, relieved to see he could read some of it, but they were all trash books about ridiculous shit.

"How to properly groom your Pegasus to keep them healthy and happy"

"Watering and firing your brickearth pots (incantation guide)"

"Raising your special elven child on ancient languages they may be babbling."

"Building a safe incubator for your creature eggs—12 step guide! Easy! Fun!"

"Help! My spiderecifficka hatched early!"

"Synchronizing your tongue lilies to each celestial movement"

Were these all common knowledge or…?

Gee, how about Cooking 101 or something?! Seto reeled as they bobbed up and down in the air, with Yami hefting him onto his other side because he was getting heavy.

"Well?" Yami asked hopefully, his fingertips tingling with excitement at all the ancient text before them. This was incredible! If Seto wanted to teach him a few of these languages, he'd gladly learn…

Seto bit the inside of his cheek and asked derisively, "do you care about your tongue lilies?" Whatever the fuck those were.

Oh, maybe it was those weird flowers with wagging tongue flowershe'd seen in the ID building. Maybe?!

Yami tilted his head and blinked, answering, "well, those are notoriously hard to raise, and I don't have the time or patience to keep them. The seeds are expensive too, but if there's a book on their secrets, I'd love to know. A healthy, fully-raised tongue lily can go for 2 gold pieces."

Okay, then one How-To coming up, Seto thought dryly as he picked it off the shelf and held it awkwardly in his hands.

"Inventory," Yami said quietly, and the book vanished out of Seto's hands. "Okay, anything else?"

I'll take the one about eggs…and flying horses because why not, Seto nodded and pulled it out of the shelf, letting Yami vanish it from his hands and they were floating horizontally across the shelves, with Yami leaning him forward anytime he stretched his little chubby arms out to grab something, and Seto began to enjoy it in spite of himself.

There were curious topics about how to braid a proper harness out of poisonous vines, and even some spell books for vitality, state-of-mind…and a large volume of time magic, which Yami made him put back.

The mage had recognized some ancient symbol on the cover and forbade him from reading it until he 'got older', because apparently fucking up time magic had some consequences. Like, gee, who knew. He just wanted to read about it, not perform it, but Yami was firm, and Seto could understand where his concern was coming from, so he put the book back without a fight.

"I think that's enough. We have eight books," Yami said quietly, hugging Seto harder against his chest when he felt the child squirm in protest. Was there such a thing as too much learning? Because handing Seto all of these resources at such a young age felt…dangerous.

I'm not growing up to be a serial killer, Seto replied sourly when he heard Yami's thoughts.

They floated gently to the ground floor and Seto was set on his feet. He wobbled but hung onto the hem of Yami's robe for support, freezing when he saw a thick leg emerge from behind a bookshelf. Ugh.

"And…here it is," Yami materialized the books in a stack and levitated them up one by one in front of the creature as it's many eyes blinked rapidly, taking in each cover.

Seto stared on in horror as the faceless creature nodded and gave him an odd greeting, placing both its palms together and…bowing?

Namu amida butsu, little demon, the muscular creature said quietly, and Seto swallowed thinly, wondering if this thing was a temple monk…or something? But he obliged quickly and snapped his heels together and bowed, replying evenly, "Amitoufo…" and to his relief, the monster radiated joy and backed away respectfully.

Okay?!

Could they leave now?!

That creature was giving him weird monk vibes.

"Glad you two get along," Yami gushed as he put the books back into his inventory and gave the Librarian a wave. "Thank you for your help. We will be back often."

…Or… not…? Seto thought anxiously as Yami led him down the winding staircase and out the door into the sun that was finally setting, giving the sky a dark, burnt orange color, with the other sun still sparkling in the distance like an impossibly bright moon.

They walked together in silence down the empty street, hand in hand until they passed another vendor's cart that gave off such a sweet scent, it made Seto's mouth water, and the moment he saw the tiger-faced vendor holding out an icy popsicle with an inviting, fanged smile, he dug his heels into the ground and gave Yami a pleading look.

Junk food please. While this tiny body could still handle it.

Yami eyed the ice cream and bit back an amused sigh, nodding and walking them up to the booth to let Seto gaze bright-eyed at the rows of options displayed behind the glass.

"What would the little elf child like?" The tiger creature asked kindly, and Yami glanced down to see Seto pointing at a double popsicle in an icy blue that matched the color of his eyes, and the treat was handed to him in the wrapper readily.

"Thank you…" Yami said hastily, reaching his hand out to pay, but the popsicle was shoved in his hand as Seto grabbed the pouch of coins from his pocket and dug around it in noisily, intent on paying for it himself.

"Aw… Are we learning money?" The tiger man grinned as he leaned over the edge of the cart with another smile. "That was two coppers. Do you need help there? I only see you've saved up lottttts of silvers. What a good boy!"

Crap… How many coppers are in a silver? Fuck if I know! Seto smiled shakily at the tigerman and his question was answered instantly in the form of thoughts leaking from the tiger creature above him.

His mage guardian hasn't taught him money? He only needs to give me one silver…

Seto shot his hand out to give the man one coin and listened to the tiger man's thoughts again, his blood boiling at the assumptions the monster was making about him.

Ah... Just a slow child. No matter. It would explain why he's only saved up silvers but hasn't changed 10 of them for gold yet. Perhaps he wants to feel like he has a lot of money in that pouch…

A stack of copper coins was handed back to him, and Seto tried not to wrinkle his nose as he touched each one to count it before putting it back into his pouch.

12 shit-brown colored coins.

That meant 14 coppers made one silver. Whatever.

What mattered was gold.

"It's all there," the tigerman said encouragingly, giving Yami a friendly smile, and Yami gave him a nervous grimace in return, pulling Seto away from the cart, eager to get away because he'd seen the way Seto read the man's mind so openly.

Eager to dig into his cold treat, Seto held it delicately by the wrapper but felt weird walking and eating at the same time, so he scanned an area to sit down. His Japanese habits still dictated the way he acted in this world…

He spotted a large clearing with a crop of trees planted together in an intentional circle, and colorful metal structures that looked like a playground, so he dragged Yami towards it forcefully, feeling Yami stumble after him and stammer, "Seto. We said we'd go home…"

Nope. Park and ice cream. Fuck naptime, Seto thought plainly as he found a log bench with ease and plopped himself down on it, pulling his legs up to sit cross legged and patting the spot carelessly beside him.

Okay, Yami thought warmly as he sat down gracefully beside the child and watched Seto tear the package open with precision and hold the treat out to him with a charming smile.

"It's all yours," Yami beamed, but then he received a scowl from the child that made his blood run cold. What?

It's a double popsicle. You take one side, Seto thought irritably, pointing at the second stick, and watched Yami reach a trembling hand out to grab on, so he wasted no time, twisting it to the side, breaking it cleanly and leaving Yami with one half.

"O-Oh you want to share," Yami flushed and nodded in thanks, placing the treat to his mouth thoughtfully while aiming his gaze out towards the edge of the trees, biting into the sweetness and letting it coat his tongue. The child was kind, it was cute.

Seto bit down into it and felt his teeth ache so he contented himself with licking it, nearly dropping the popsicle in horror when he saw that his tongue was split in half. H-Holy shit?!

Oh god! I have a forked…tongue! I— Seto clapped a hand over his mouth and took a deep breath, wondering why he hadn't noticed sooner. He slowly ran the tips of his tongue over the roof of his mouth, feeling two soft points parallel to each other. D-Disgusting!

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Calm down!" Yami cried anxiously as he watched a dark red aura shrouding the child from head to toe. "What's wrong? You don't like the flavor? I'll eat it for you—"

"Look at this!" Seto raged so loudly, he heard his voice echo in the empty park. "I'm a fucking monster!" And he stuck his split tongue out for Yami to see, only to receive a gentle smile.

"That's normal," Yami ventured carefully, waving his hand over Seto's melting ice cream that was dripping all down his fist, freezing it up again. His heart raced with guilt as he wondered if Seto's dysphoria was caused by the cloaking ring.

"You should take this off when you're alone," Yami said hastily, reaching forward to pluck the ring off of Seto's finger and seeing the black color return to the tips of his little fingernails. "Don't lose your sense of self. I'm sorry for giving this to you—"

Give it back! I want to look human! Seto snarled, nearly clawing Yami as he swiped the ring back and shoved it onto his finger with desperation, eager for his hands to look normal again.

Yami watched with a broken heart as Seto inspected his nails carefully after they turned pink. Then, the child pouched the ice cream in his cheek and chewed it down with a furious energy.

Seto stuck his tongue out again and shivered when he saw the two points sticking out from under his nose and turned to Yami with a furious glare.

Fix it. Your cloaking ring is weak, Seto growled, understanding that this wasn't a good way to ask for something, but he was feeling extremely fragile right now.

"I will mask it for now… But you need to take breaks from wearing the ring, understand?" Yami said desperately, passing his hand over Seto's face and adding the extra layer of magic into the ring's illusion bubble.

Seto stuck his tongue out again and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a normal, human tongue, but when he stuck it back in his mouth, he could still feel the two tips against the back of his teeth.

"Satisfied?" Yami asked anxiously as he got up off the bench and decided he was done walking the child around town, because they were never going home at this rate. "We're teleporting back to the restaurant. Mai won't like it, but you promised me a nap, Seto."

Alright, Jesus, Seto grumbled, hopping off the bench and letting Yami take the popsicle stick from him before his hand was tightly held, and Yami's foot dragged a circle around then in the dirt that glowed bright white, and they were standing on the staircase of the pub, drawing several stares from the patrons, but they went right back to eating after the light around them faded.

Predictably, Mai came stomping towards them with her hair down, looking like a beautiful shampoo ad with the way it bounced around her shoulders, and Seto couldn't help but gape.

"Okay, kid. You missed dinner rush," Mai began while ignoring Yami's steadily darkening face. "Either you leave ten bowls for me before you take off, or you show up an hour early to make them—"

"He's a child. Don't make him work for you," Yami growled under his breath, stepping protectively in front of Seto. "And may I remind you that you are peddling an unregistered, untested product made by a demon child, to the masses—"

"And may I remind you that you're harboring a baby from a demon clan that was supposed to be purged—"

Seto tensed and wondered if he should step in and say something because the moment Mai said the word 'purged', Yami's ears turned dark red, and a strange purple mist was rising from his shoulders. Poison fog? Or…angry aura?

"What if someone has a bad reaction to the potion you're selling as soup?" Yami challenged furiously, hating how they were fighting in front of Seto again. "Don't let your greed blind you—"

"Don't let your big heart swell and explode," Mai shot back cattily, aware that she was pushing Yami's buttons, but this demon baby was really the last straw.

All of Yami's other creatures were 'harmless and trainable', but this one was by far the most dangerous, with thousands of years of violence and reincarnations in their species, who knew just how powerful this baby really was?!

It could be lying about being 30!

And this was the only one that survived magical slaughter?

It had to be dangerous.

I'm hearing her call me 'it' way too much, Seto thought irritably, sticking his hand straight up in the air and waving it, hoping to get some attention.

Yami and Mai both glanced down at him with narrowed eyes, looking eerily similar because their eye shape was almost identical.

"I will make you soup," Seto said carefully, doing his best to mimic their language, and to his relief, it sounded similar enough. If he spoke with intent, it carried through. He was telepathic after all, right?

"No!" Yami cried, reaching down to grab his wrist, aiming to get him up the stairs. "You don't have to use your magic for this. I will pay for your stay here. Don't let this greedy elf exploit you!"

"Greedy elf?!" Mai's cheeks flushed with anger and Seto bit back a tired sigh.

"Please shut up," Seto gave Yami a half-smile and saw the mage blink at him, looking shattered, so he hastily added, "I meant it kindly. I will work for my stay here."

"I like the sound of that," Mai crossed her arms across her large bosom and nodded. "I'm listening. You're finally speaking a language I can understand, babe."

Seto grimaced and spoke quickly to avoid further breaking Yami's heart about this, "any profits you make, I'll split it with you. 20/80, since you're providing the ingredients." Damn, it felt good to talk in a voice that didn't sound like a million buzzards dying.

Mai raised her eyebrows and replied, "how about 10/90 and I don't report you?"

Seto blinked and felt his temper flare briefly, so he bared his teeth and hissed, "how about 40/60—this covers my rent here forever and I don't eat you in your sleep?"

Mai paled and she bit her lower lip prettily as she looked to Yami for help.

"Oh my g—Yami, control him!"

Yami crossed his arms and shook his head shallowly, thinking he should stay out of it since Seto told him to 'kindly' shut up. Besides, it sounded like Seto knew what he was worth, and was being generous. And he was pretty sure demons enjoyed eating boar, not Elven flesh.

This was the first time he'd heard Seto speak so much, it was a little unnerving.

"So. 40/60. Are we in agreement?" Seto asked icily, holding his hand out for her once again and seeing her nose wrinkle delicately. Hey, there was some creature racism going on here. Did she not want to touch him because he was a demon?

"…And you clean your own room. I'm not servicing a room that doesn't exist," Mai added cautiously, eyeing Seto's tiny hand with apprehension. "Then it's a deal."

Deal, Seto curled the corners of his lips upwards as she placed her hand in his and enveloped his whole hand with a warm shake.

"You start now. Get to it," she huffed as she turned away to walk back to the bar, tending to a few customers who were waving her down.

Seto gave Yami an apologetic nod as he walked down the last few steps to follow her behind the bar, and he felt the mage sticking closely behind him, emanating a dark, but protective aura.

"Perhaps I can help, to speed it along, because you really need to nap, Seto," Yami said quietly as they approached the tiny table Mai had set up and Seto gave Yami a reassuring nod over his shoulder.

Fine, yes. He was feeling a bit tired from all his adventures outside, and he wanted to finish this so Yami's elf friend would at least stop hounding him.

He sat down on the tiny stool and started his first bowl by picking up the pouch of spoiled soy and squeezing a bit into it, handing it to Yami who nodded and copied him in his own bowl. A strip of feathered seaweed was added, followed by a dash of spoiled milk, then he placed his hands around the edges of the bowl to bring it to a boil, watching Yami do the same.

His soup lightened in color and looked like normal miso soup with tofu and seaweed while Yami's bowl turned a darker shade of red and a putrid smell emitted from it.

Well, that wasn't right.

"I seem to have made poison," Yami smiled apologetically, waving his hand over it to fan away the fumes that was making the tips of Seto's hair curl at the mere smell. "I don't know what your secret is even though I did it exactly as you showed me!"

It might have to do with having seen miso soup before, Seto thought mildly as he watched Yami vanish the red poison with guilt, and hand him the empty bowl.

"All you," Yami said simply, crossing his arms and standing to lean against the wall, contenting himself with observing.

Mai bustled into the back with an empty tray, and she picked up the one bowl while sniffing the air before turning silently to walk out again, calling over her shoulder, "stop wasting my ingredients!"

"They're spoiled! You were throwing them out anyway!" Yami protested, but she didn't hear him.

They sure love digging at each other, Seto thought grumpily as he wondered if it could be flirting. No, right? He couldn't tell because his perception of relationships was fucked up from the start, but it appeared Mai and Yami were very good, long-time friends that were comfortable with insulting each other constantly.

Must be nice, Seto sighed as he placed his hand around a fourth bowl and brought it to a boil before simmering it down again, wondering if he'd ever run out of magic since he couldn't see his own stats. He added ingredients into the next bowl, and the next, and before he knew it, he was finished.

Seven gleaming bowls of soup sat before him, and Mai was still coming and going occasionally. He could hear her chatting with the patrons, talking it up.

"…All-in-one vitamin boost…! Yep! Secret recipe! Can't say how we made it…!"

Yami bent down to pick Seto up in his arms and marched up the steps, having had enough of letting the child push him around for the day. He said nap time, so nap time was happening.

Seto dared to rest his cheek on Yami's slender shoulder, suddenly exhausted.

He was set down gently on his feet, and Yami's cleaning spell enveloped him from head to toe, leaving him feeling refreshed and light before Yami picked him up again and set him down on the bed, patting the pillow.

"Now, please. And if you tell me to shut up kindly again, I'll be upset," Yami said quietly, watching Seto fall back into the pillow and gaze up at him with his bright, blue eyes.

Yes, got it. Jeez, Seto thought anxiously as he pulled the covers up to his chin and turned over furiously. Just trying to fucking help. The elf was non-stop nagging about him 'being dangerous' when he hadn't done anything to make her think he was violent.

"I understand. You don't want to trouble me," Yami said warmly as he gave Seto's chest a pat through the covers. "But you don't want to attract any attention that might put you…and me, in danger, okay?"

Got it. Got it, Seto chanted, closing his eyes and feeling drowsy at last.

He felt something soft land on his cheek, and he felt Yami's spiky hair tickling his nose, and he opened his eyes instantly, seeing Yami giving him a warm, loving smile before standing up and walking out of the room.

Weirdo, Seto grumbled to himself as he turned over and buried himself under the covers, trying to ignore the furious fluttering in his chest.

Yami headed down the stairs and ran into Mai halfway down, where a bag of money was shoved into his chest while she glared at him.

"Where's the little brat? That's his cut," she said evenly, crossing her arms defensively and looking to the side with her cheeks pink.

Yami weighed the bag of money in his hands, amazed at how much there was, and when he peeked inside, he was nearly blinded by all the gold. W-What…?! This was 40% of it all?!

"How much are you selling the bowls for?" Yami whispered fearfully, tying the bag up again and wondering if he should even show it to Seto.

"Whatever people want to pay for it," Mai replied cleverly as she tossed a lock of her hair over her shoulder, turning to head back down. "They take a sip after I tell them I'm testing out a new recipe, then I ask them, 'how much and would you drink it again? Then they give me what they think its worth after saying 'yes'! Now I'm off to harvest sunset herbs."

Yami nodded weakly and weighed the bag one last time before vanishing it into his inventory, shaking his head as he realized he might have to open up a separate bank account for Seto.

His inventory would explode with money if this kept up.

Author's note:

oh no his inventory would explode with money the hororrrr -sarcasm-