They arrived amidst towering trees, and the two suns cast a filter of bright yellow light through the leaves. The dirt underneath their feet was spongy, as if it had just rained, and a heavy familiar scent hit Seto so hard, and he swayed on the spot.
Coffee.
Freshly brewed coffee.
Possibly made with a mouth-watering, premium 7 blend—
"You can smell them from here?" Yami asked anxiously as he could hear a stream of nonsensical thought coming from the child beside him. "You can't eat them, Seto. They're going extinct. Did Mai forget to feed you lunch?"
Yes, she did, Seto replied calmly as he stared at a giant beetle resting on a nearby trunk, its wings giving off a multi-colored hue that made his skin crawl. And I don't want to eat them. I'm craving a drink.
"I'll talk with her about feeding you on a schedule," Yami muttered under his breath, and he pulled Seto closer to his side as they set off through the trees, instructing him gently. "Please don't drink or eat any part of these spiders. They deserve to live, just like you."
Gosh, I fucking know, Seto replied flatly, and Yami gave him a shocked glare.
"Watch your language now," Yami whispered furiously, his anxiety rising. Dear gods. This child had extreme awareness at times, meaning he was going to be a handful. He needed to be an even better role model for this small demon, so Seto could rejoin society…safely.
Seto swallowed thickly when he heard Yami's thoughts and hated how his chest tightened. Could Yami please care less about him? It was annoying!
They ducked behind a thick tree trunk, the scent of coffee beans growing thicker and more suffocating.
Seto sighed, bored.
Yami was on high alert, eyeing two humans with two mages in the distance who were performing a fire spell, setting the entire clearing ablaze, trying to box the spiders into the cave. Getting past them was going to be hard…
Seto sighed again, and his foot squished into a mud puddle. He hissed in disgust, lifting his foot up to inspect his boot, nearly keeling over at the powerful scent of coffee rising from the ground, and he knelt to stare at the mud, only to realize it wasn't mud.
It was blood.
Thick, black, congealed blood.
Shocked and mildly afraid, Seto reached out two fingers to swipe it off the top of his boot and sniffed it. Coffee. It smelled like coffee.
Another drop landed on the tip of his boot, and Seto froze, slowly raising his head to glance upwards, only to see a spider the size of a small building hovering in the branches above.
H-Ho…ly….shit!
Terrified to the core and unsure of what to do other than frantically tug silently at Yami's sleeve, Seto gazed up at the multi-colored orbs of it's eyes, his palms sweating so much, he felt the cloth of Yami's robe turn damp the more he gaped at the spider that was bleeding from a gash on it's abdomen.
And it wasn't alone.
Beside it was another eight-legged monstrosity, blocking the light from the trees above, and Seto reeled when he realized…the entire sky had been filled with these displaced spiders, silently hovering in the branches, slowly biding their time. Some had shiny, white growths on their backs, which Seto realized were their eggs, and others had threatening, pincer-like jaws and knife-like legs that ended in sharp, silvery points.
Okay, yeah.
If he was human, he could see why just glimpsing one in a field nearby would make the real estate prices drop significantly.
"Stop that," Yami swatted Seto's hand away irritably as he watched the two humans instruct the mages to continue burning the clearing with magical fire.
Look up! Look up! Seto cried weakly, and Yami snapped his head up, freezing on the spot when he saw waves of spiders huddled in the trees above, their multi-colored eyes twinkling like mysterious stars between the thick leaves. Oh hell. Had the cavern been destroyed already?
And these were the surviving ones?
Who cares! Just grab these and let's leave! Seto raged as he aimed a thought at the nearest one directly above his head, snapping at it, "is this all of you? We have a new cave. Follow us if you want to live."
There was an eerie silence, and a faint whisper passed through his ears so gently, Seto could barely hear it over the humans shouting in the distance.
"Little demon… We are not so foolish as to follow an enemy mage to a 'new cave'. How can we trust you…you who has aligned yourself with the other side?"
Seto blinked and fired back without hesitation, "this enemy mage is playing both sides, and he's on our side! Die here then. Roast to death in the sun for all I care. Your blood smells like a delicious drink. I'll come back to harvest it in buckets."
The spider above his head shifted indignantly and this shuffle was echoed by several others. They were angry…
Yami tightened his grip around Seto's wrist when he felt a ripple of dissent travel in waves across the herd of spiders. Everything had gone quiet, too quiet. Was Seto…talking to these creatures?!
The spider raised a sharp leg and pointed it accusingly down at Seto, hissing in response, "you are a peaceful species, are you not? How dare you threaten us when we're already run out of our home! We've lost our Mother!"
Seto felt Yami giving him a shake, and he ignored the mage to continue arguing with the spider.
"Boo hoo. Just hatch yourself another one," he said stiffly, and the spider let out an audible sigh.
I see… You are a baby… You don't know about us at all, the spider rustled indignantly. We aren't leaving here until Mother is safe with us. We're not going anywhere without her.
Great, Seto thought dryly as he turned to Yami with a tired frown. "They want their Mother. They won't come with us because she's still trapped in the cave," and probably dead, Seto finished privately in his head.
"Right. Of course, of course," Yami breathed as he tightened his grip around the rough tree trunk, his heart pounding in his ears. He had to distract the two humans and mages long enough to sneak past them.
He glanced up at the monstrous spider and bravely asked, "may I borrow your façade to create a diversion? I'll need a piece of you to do that, perhaps a stray hair, or strands of web?"
What? The spider whispered fearfully, and it backed away, higher into the trees, trying to hide itself behind the large foliage but to no avail.
He wants to make a fake copy of you, so give him something useful to cast with, Seto explained sourly, losing his patience when he could feel the humans glancing over in their direction, but he knew they couldn't see or hear them from that distance. Human ears were feeble and weak.
The spider stared at him silently for a moment before shaking its magnificent head.
No, it replied coldly, inching higher up into the trees while the herd shifted uncertainly. We don't trust that mage.
Seto ground his teeth and turned to Yami with a thin smile, pointing at the blood puddled under their feet, "will that do? It's their blood."
Yami nodded fluidly and knelt to the ground to place his palm into the inky black muck. The stench was heavy around them as he heard the spiders rustling harder than ever in the trees above their heads, but he shut them out.
BETRAYAL! The spider shrieked in Seto's head, and Seto clamped one hand over his ear, baring his fangs in a grimace while the ground shook violently beneath their feet, and a spider larger than all the rest, towered above them menacingly, casting a heavy, black shadow over the ground.
The humans and mages in the distance could be heard screaming and scattering, so Seto whipped his head around to see if it was Yami's handiwork, but Yami had stopped in his motions, gaping open-mouthed at the spider looming overhead.
The hoards of spiders surged forward in a vicious celebration, raising their sharp front legs in a half-wave at the humongous spider.
SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE! They chorused, and Seto's blood ran cold as he gripped the tree trunk to steady himself.
Oh shiiiit.
That was…Mother?!
That spider was taller than three of his skyscrapers put together and wider than anything he'd ever seen. Would Yami's teleportation circle help them escape it's reach?! One of its strides was probably as large as their entire town!
We are so screwed! Seto cried furiously, now understanding what Mai meant when she said Yami always saved monsters 'he couldn't handle'.
Yami ducked his head down and chanted furiously while he felt chaos erupt around him, but he kept his focus sharp, his arm burning as he cast a dome large enough to encase the Mother spider, and they vanished from the clearing in a flash.
Seto's head spun as the ground disappeared from underneath him, and he landed on all fours against a slippery riverbank with rushing water. H-Hey…This place looked familiar…
His stomach twisted when he thought he recognized a large rock against the bank, but Yami grabbed him by the hand and shook him, pointing at the giant spider above, hissing, "now tell them to follow!" And Seto was pulled along in a full sprint, so much that he had to clap his hat down on his head while the wind rushed in his ears.
There was no need to tell the spider hoard anything, because they were giving chase in a hostile manner, screeching at him with their many voices, causing a crippling headache to rip through his eyes, making his vision blur and his chest tight.
DEMON! DEMON AND MAGE! Kept echoing in his ears, and Seto twisted his head around blindly to shout at the monster towering over them, "there's another cave! Don't kill us!"
A sharp leg came crashing down from the sky, nearly stabbing him, but Yami gave him a solid yank that made his feet leave the ground, and he floated for a stomach-churning minute before he landed on the dirt again with a messy spray.
They skidded to a halt at the mouth of a cascading waterfall, and Yami brushed the sheet of water aside with one fluid hand motion and flattened his back against the rock, gazing fearfully up at the Mother spider that loomed threateningly above them.
"S-Seto…Tell them this is their new home…" Yami said encouragingly, trying not to let his fear show, but Seto could feel Yami's hands growing clammy in his. Damn this mage, seriously.
Here! Seto shouted in his mind, thrusting his arm out to gesture at the gaping hole behind the waterfall. Go lay your eggs in there. The mage will cast a protective spell over this area, so hurry up!
And for a moment, he thought they would attack them and refuse the offer, but miraculously, the Mother spider shrunk herself down to a smaller size and scuttled into the dark crevice, her metal legs echoing louder than the water pounding against the rock.
Seto could only gape. So they could change sizes?!
That meant they were only enormous as a fear tactic. And humans were the ones scaring them, of course they'd grow to the size of buildings to protect their nests.
Sure enough, all the large spiders had suddenly disappeared around them, and only a dark blanket of insects could be seen crawling over the rocks and disappearing into the cave.
The last insect skittered to a halt at the rock closest to them, and grew briefly in size, swelling oddly so much that Seto had to look away and grip Yami's hand harder for support.
D-Disgusting coffee spiders…
Thank you, infant demon, the spider sniffed, stabbing its legs stiffly into the wet embankment while trying to keep it's footing on the slippery rocks. Many regards to your clan.
My clan is dead, but sure, Seto nodded anxiously, aware that this was the first spider he'd talked to, only recognizing it by the giant bleeding gash on its side that was still dripping coffee.
How could he politely ask for some? He really missed the taste of 7-blend coffee…
Yami blinked and realized Seto was communicating telepathically with the injured spider, so he took this moment to sneakily cast a healing spell.
"…Heal," Yami muttered, and the spider froze when an icy wave cascaded over its body and closed the wound on its side.
See? Whose side do you think he's on? Seto asked gruffly, but to his dismay, the spider ignored him and gave the mage one last look before hurrying into the cave, shrinking rapidly and vanishing into the darkness.
Yami swept the sheet of water back over the opening of the cave, and Seto watched approvingly as Yami paced up and down the river, casting now-familiar barrier spells, similar to the ones he did in his room. One for quiet, one for a personal alert, and one for making them undetectable to the human eye.
Exhausted, Yami patted his brow and reached to grab Seto's hand, pulling him close, "We did a good thing today, Seto. Now let's head back to see how the humans are faring." And the teleportation circle glowed around their feet, bringing the blinding white flash with it before Seto found himself standing by the old puddle of congealed blood behind the tree.
A human was running through the trees in a breathless panic, shouting, "headcount complete! Commander—"
The human spotted them by the tree, and Seto heard Yami curse in his mind.
FUCK.
"A-A District 5 mage…! W-Was it you?!" The human gasped, clinging to the nearest trunk while his colleagues rushed forward to gape at them. "S-Spiky hair and…and… You-You must be…Atem! Thank you for saving us! What did you do with the monsters?!"
Yami squared his slender shoulders back and replied clearly, "They won't disturb you anymore. I've relocated them safely."
Seto glanced between the crowd of humans and Yami's hostile body language, thinking that the spiky-haired mage might harbor more hate for humans than he let on.
"Please take this as our thanks!" The man held out a scroll with trembling hands, and Yami snapped his fingers irritably to vanish it into his inventory, making all the humans in the group flinch.
Oh, is that a payment scroll like before? Seto thought greedily as Yami reached down to grab his hand and pull him to his side, the ground glowing briefly for a moment before the wash of white light engulfed them, and they were standing in the bedroom in the tavern once more.
Yami breathed a sigh of relief and knelt to run a cleansing spell down their bodies, his blood boiling at having been seen by humans and having to even take their money. If he was seen too often at monster extermination quests, that might raise some flags…especially when those monsters turned up alive, in herds.
Seto held his breath as the bubble of water pooled around his neck and briefly sloshed up against his face, but the air remained clear. How nice. It was like a shower without the hassle of undressing.
After the blood and grass stains had been cleaned off their robes, Yami helped Seto unclip his cloak and hang it on the end of the bed post, his arms heavy with exhaustion. That had been draining. He possibly needed to eat one of Seto's soups to regain his energy….
He led Seto over to the bed and tucked the child in before laying beside him atop the covers and silently closing his eyes, his body shaking with a mix of left-over adrenaline and fatigue.
Seto grimaced and stared into Yami's face for a long time, seeing empty spheres hovering above his head, and he felt a rush of sympathy. Well, that explained all the silence and odd trembling.
He stared intently into Yami's delicate face, watching the spheres slowly replenish the longer he slept, and Seto blinked, mildly fascinated. Yami had a really slender nose… and a pretty jawline….
Footsteps echoed outside the door, and Seto squeezed his eyes shut quickly, hearing Mai ease into the room, leave something on the ground and then exit just as fast.
Opening his eyes, he saw a tray full of food, one of his soups, and a few slabs of meat stuck on familiar wooden skewers. Aw… How nice? Was this food for Yami?
Yami smelled the food and woke up slowly, sitting up to palm his face as he knelt gracefully by the tiny tray on the ground and ate neatly.
Seto watched this with quiet fasciation, understanding the strong but silent friendship Mai held with Yami. That blonde elf was fully aware of Yami's illegal activities as a district mage but supported him with her actions—housing his injured creatures, keeping his brain-damaged dragons, and feeding him when he came back weak and battered from a quest.
Yami finished eating and sat back on his heels with a stressed frown, pulling out the scroll to unravel it, his eyes narrowing into thin, threatening slits so much that it made Seto shiver.
W-What? Was it a low amount?
Hissing through his teeth, Yami vanished the scroll again and gripped his knees in fury, aware that his anger was palpable and possibly frightening the kid, but he couldn't hide his displeasure.
It wasn't a payment scroll.
It was a scroll to attend a mandatory District Party in another dimension, goddammit.
Those sneaky humans saw a high-level mage with an apprentice in tow and this was the 'thanks' he'd got for vanishing those spiders at the cost of nearly his own life—being forced to mingle with other murderers.
So, not money then…? Seto thought crestfallen, and he gripped the edge of the sheets as he gazed up at the ceiling, his blood boiling. Okay, now he hated the humans.
He hated parties. Especially mandatory ones.
It seemed Yami did too.
"Seto…" Yami began, staring at the empty bowls of food on the tray, feeling refreshed, but his heart was still heavy. "…I've been summoned to attend an all-mages party—"
"Your problem," Seto said stiffly, hearing his voice rasping in that demonic quality again, and he clenched his jaws shut. Maybe sometimes he didn't speak enough elvish, so he didn't know enough words…so he would default to his hellish voice.
Fuck. He needed to learn more elf language from Mai. Mainly the bad words.
Yami gazed at the child tucked into the bed and nodded. Of course. He wasn't going to take a baby demon into another dimension to attend an all-magician's party!
That was irresponsible behavior.
Besides, the scroll only had a location tag for one being.
The scroll had also clearly stated, no familiars or pets of any kind.
"I'll be gone for several days, because time works differently in this dimension," Yami said glumly, pulling the scroll out to glance at it in disgust. "Great. And it's an all-human dimension. I've just about had enough of humans."
Baw, Seto thought dryly, turning over onto his side to glare at the wall, his ears burning as he wondered how to feel about Yami's disgust for humans when he still felt quite human at his core.
Wait.
An all-human dimension?
Would it be too much to hope that it could be a timeline close to the one he'd died in?
He bolted up right and flashed Yami a challenging glare with his tiny arms crossed, "you still owe me," Seto said cleverly, hearing his voice fading in and out between elvish and his demon language. "I've changed my mind. I want to come with you."
Yami shook his head stiffly and rose to his feet with a sigh, moving to sit beside him on the bed and materializing an empty jug which he promptly filled with water, and placed it on the ground by the bed.
"How's this as a present? Will this toy keep you entertained?" Yami asked delicately, resting his hand atop Seto's tiny knees and giving him a small smile. "It's a dimension viewer. As long as I maintain my connection to it, you can see exactly what I'm doing at all times. That way, you're not missing out on the party too."
I don't want to go to your stupid magic party. I want to explore the all-human dimension on my own while you're at the party, Seto lowered his chin to his chest and realized this was what he looked like when he was pouting, because Yami was giving him a glowing smile.
"Okay, I understand. You think the dimension is interesting, but I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Yami said quietly as he gave the top of Seto's head a ruffle, exposing the tips of his shattered horns and giving each broken nub a playful pinch.
Seto froze when a jolt of lightning went down his spine when Yami's fingers closed around the stub of his horn, and he sat very still, breathing shallowly. H-Hey… What the fuck was that feeling?! Did he just zap some magic away from Yami?
He frantically checked the orbs floating above Yami's head, but no, all of them remained full.
Weird.
"If you need anything, ask Mai," Yami said warmly, reaching forward to give the child a tight hug. "Don't forget to eat and sleep every night. Conserve your energy and call me through the bracelets if there's an emergency, okay?"
Seto blinked and nodded, his heart skipping a beat when he realized he was feeling Yami's nervousness mixed in with his own trepidation. It was giving him a stomachache. He'd barely seen Yami at all, and Yami was leaving again.
He gave Yami another tight hug just in case, feeling oddly like he was saying goodbye for the last time, and he tried to shake the feeling as the mage casually leaned out of the embrace and ruffled his hair again.
"You're a good kid, Seto," Yami praised, and he got up to stand in the middle of the room, letting the light from the teleportation circle flood out from his feet and illuminate the room in bright, white light.
Seto covered his eyes with one arm and winced, staring at the emptiness in the middle of his room, his heart sinking. Aw man… Come on…
He grit his teeth, determined to keep close tabs on Yami, so he dropped to his knees to stare into the mouth of the jug, seeing a foggy image of Yami emerge before it became crisp as a digital video.
Pleased with the viewing quality, Seto gripped the sides of the jug to stare hungrily at Yami's slender form following instructions from the scroll before arriving at a busy crossing. A familiar busy crossing, with lots of lights, cars, tall buildings, businessmen in matching suits and children in matching uniforms…
This is Japan! Seto screamed silently as he almost dipped his nose into the water in his excitement. Ikebukuro? No, Shinjuku….? But different. The usual mall landmarks were still there, but the scenery had changed significantly from what he last remembered. This was either the future from his death, or the past, and Seto couldn't tell, because Yami was walking too fast for him to even look at a car or anything that would give him a hint about the date.
The mage had neglected to change his robes and was drawing a few stares, but it was mainly ignored. Seto thought he heard someone mutter, "…another rogue cosplayer…" but Yami hadn't heard it. He was intent on getting to his location.
Yami walked down a few more darkened streets and arrived at a small door, unable to read the language on the sign because it was in ancient script, but there was a glowing emblem of a small triangle with the eye of Horus in the center, indicating this was the correct entrance.
The district governors loved pandering to mage interests, but he now had Seto to translate for him, this language no longer intrigued him the way it did before. He would survive this damn party and go back to his normal life. The last party he attended 3 decades ago left a sour taste in his mouth. This one would be no different.
Letting his breath out in a huff and knowing Seto was watching him, Yami pushed the door open and stepped into the dark establishment, taking in the various booths that had glass barriers for privacy, and the humans carrying trays of drink, serving everyone.
Ah. This was why the party was held here.
Human servitude for an all-mage party. Clever.
And the menu items, currency, and language they spoke were all ancient.
It was almost like they wanted the mages to have fun and forget that they were murdering other magical creatures for money.
Well I won't fall for this, no matter how interested I am deep down, Yami growled as he stood by the door, waiting to be noticed. This was why Seto had wanted to come along. The humans were all bowing and acting polite, treating him like royalty, taking his shoes, and giving him a pair of softer shoes to step into before he entered.
He was led to a private booth where he recognized a few familiar faces, and he sank into the plush leather seat, unable to relax as the two mage women sitting at the booth acknowledged him with a nod.
"Mage Atem…"
"District 5, Mage Atem…" they smiled kindly and handed him an empty glass, and Yami could only stare at it, his rage boiling when a human came over to place a napkin in his lap.
Gods… Seto would love this. He could only imagine the child demon's delight at the humans doing this willingly for him.
Back in the tavern room, Seto was tearing his hair out with jealousy as he gazed into the pitcher.
Sake! Premium Sake! And Yami wasn't even touching it!
There was live music in the background, and he was in a private booth, and now they were being served mouth-watering sashimi plates with the fish rolled into artful flowers. Yami's look of disdain at all the raw fish was very visible, and Seto felt a pang of desperation as he pressed a palm to his face, his heart pounding with longing.
He was done watching.
More action was needed.
Jumping to his feet, Seto raced to the door and nearly got caught in the face by it swinging open when Mai peeked her head in to check on him.
"Hey, love," Mai pulled the door back further, noticing the child's chest heaving up and down with distress. "You've been quiet up here all evening—"
"Teach me how to leap dimensions!" Seto demanded, rushing forward and grabbing her apron to give her a shake. "I need to follow Yami!"
Mai frowned and threw a furtive look over her shoulder at the silent hallway before stepping into the room and kneeling before Seto to make eye contact.
"Why? Is he in trouble?" She asked gravely, and Seto shook his head furiously, balling his fists at his sides, hissing, "No. Not yet. But he's at a mandatory district party, and I want to be in that dimension with him."
Mai set her mouth in a tight line and glanced at the viewing jug on the ground by the bed, the mage's cape hung up on the bedpost, and the messy, unmade bed, feeling herself relenting.
Yami wanted to raise this baby demon in their society, right? Then it should be her highest priority to ensure that Seto's interest and attachment to Yami remained strong.
"Okay," she said seriously, resting her hand atop Seto's soft hair, her heart wrenching at the way he was glaring so determinedly up at her with his clear blue eyes. "But you're making me 100 more bowls for the next few days before you leave."
Deal, Seto replied instantly, holding his hand out for a shake, and she gave him another funny look.
"I'm too old for hand clapping games," she replied smoothly, standing and grabbing his hand to lead him out of the room. "Get to work. I'll dig around in my memory for anything that will help you reach Yami, but no promises."
Seto didn't say anything, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself. Mai's energy spheres were roughly the same numbers as Yami, maybe even slightly more in the HP circle.
And she was an elf. Weren't elves supposed to be insanely powerful on the mystical creature hierarchy scale?
I don't know, Seto growled as he plopped himself down in the tiny stool behind the bar and filled all the empty bowls that had been stacked before him.
Mai had an intelligent system organized for him. Empty bowls on one side, ingredients directly in the middle, and a space for filled bowls on the other side. All he had to do was sit down, stare at it all for a bit while cursing about how boring this task was, and all 50 bowls would fill up in time.
Mai appeared with another stack of bowls, and she set them down with a light thunk! before kneeling by the child-height table with a thoughtful look on her pretty face.
"There is one spell, but you're going to need to learn different ways to apply it," Mai said quietly, watching the baby demon grip the edge of the table in furious determination as the bowls filled up lighting fast. "And it helps that Yami is already in the dimension you're trying to reach. So I'd say follow his magical signature and you'll get there just fine."
I already know where this dimension is, Seto thought arrogantly, crossing his arms when he stared at his handiwork before him. All 100 bowls filled neatly with miso paste and seaweed, covering every inch of the knee-height table.
"Okay," Mai smiled sweetly and reached forward to hold his hand, pulling him out of the stool and leading him back up the steps. "If it's an all-human dimension, remember that time works differently there. You'll need to figure that out yourself. I'm not savvy with those calculations."
I love calculating, Seto replied flatly, and Mai gave him an exasperated smile.
"Yes we know," and she closed the door behind them, placing him in the middle of the room and pulling out a piece of chalk from her apron. "Now this is because I'm a novice at dimension leaping, but you'll learn quick. Watch."
She drew a series of characters into the wooden floors, and Seto thought he recognized a few kanji in the giant block of text she was writing, keeping them all in a neat square, and when she was finished, she dusted her hands off and tucked the chalk away.
It wasn't kanji.
It was Chinese in the traditional format.
Crappp…
"Stand there, and you'll have to read this upside down on your way back," she said gravely, sitting back on her heels and keeping her ears peeled for patrons entering downstairs. "I'll wait here until you've completely disappeared. When you want to come back, write it out exactly as I did here, got it?"
Got it, Seto thought viciously, taking a mental snapshot of the Chinese paragraph, and praying he'd get every stroke right upon returning. Oh well. Being stuck in Shinjuku wasn't going to be too bad. Maybe he'd never return and he could start his life over in Japan in this shitty, kid's body.
Mai tapped each character and read it aloud, the lines glowing on the floor as she passed each one, and Seto's ears rang with the foreign sounds while his body grew impossibly light, so he glanced down at his feet, amazed to see them fading. This was great!
The more Mai continued to read, the more his legs became transparent, disappearing easily, so Seto vowed to ask Mai for more magic guidance in the future if he ever returned, because she was proving to be more helpful than Yami.
His waist was gone now, and Seto held his hands incredulously in front of his face, seeing Mai's violet eyes gazing at him from across the room while her lips moved.
She was just about to read the last line when she made sure to add a precaution, talking to Seto's floating head, "Make sure you come back, okay? I don't want to hear about any wild demons wandering in other dimensions. If district guards show up at my door with a Wanted scroll with your face on it, I'm coming after you myself to collect the reward money."
Seto swallowed thickly and grit his teeth.
Fuck…
Fine.
He had to come back?! Damn it.
Mai nodded when she heard the child cursing in his thoughts, and she read the last line of characters without hesitation, sitting back on her heels to watch Seto's eyes widen briefly before the child vanished completely, leaving nothing but a few specks of anti-matter that demons always emitted naturally.
Well, shit I just did something really fucking illegal, Mai thought blithely as she rose to her feet, thinking she might need to cast an anti-tracking spell on the matter that Seto left behind, just to cover her own tracks about sending baby demons into other dimensions without a passport…or a guardian.
Technically, Yami was the guardian…
Whatever! Mai sang as she quickly erased the chalk markings on the ground, hurrying to exit the room for a bucket of water. If Yami ever found out, he'd yell at her for sure about 'being reckless.'
Author's note:
they safely relocate some coffee-flavored spiders and SETO IS GOING IN TO THE HUMAN WORLD!