Seto felt Yami's hand tighten protectively around his wrist, and the mage launched into a speech he had seemingly prepared beforehand.
"I visited the guards that so rudely entered Mai's tavern," Yami began lightly. "And our presence is requested at their encampment to demonstrate…the…soup-making, and after we…comply, they promise to leave Anja and Mai alone."
Seto narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth as they stopped under the shade of a nearby tree. Yami was treating him like a kid…again. He knew what things were, and now that he knew his soup had great effects for 8 days, it appeared the army wouldn't leave them alone until they had some variation of it.
"Also, you can't leave the safe town without telling anyone," Yami said strongly, and Seto let out a tight sigh, trying to be a good sport about listening to this lecture. "I was scared something had happened to you. Remember you're not a dragon, or an elf, or even a human, regardless of what the cloaking ring may make you feel, you are…you." Yami patted Seto's chest with a firm hand, and Seto rolled his eyes.
Ugh. Fine.
"And that! What is that gesture?!" Yami exclaimed, his heart leaping when he caught Seto's eye roll for the umpteenth time. "I've seen one too many humans do it. Is it an insult?"
"No, it means…" Seto hesitated and barreled on with his explanation. "It means the person already knows what you're talking about. I'm thinking, 'yes, of course,' while you're talking about something boring. That's why I roll my eyes."
Yami gave him a funny look and nodded. He held Seto's hand a bit tighter as they stood by the side of the road, with a couple families walking by with their children in tow, and Seto noticed they all lowered their heads and avoided eye-contact with them.
Was that a sign of respect or…fear?
Wasn't Yami a mage from this district?
"Do you live here?" Seto asked pertinently, and he thought he saw Yami's cheeks redden.
"Once. Long time ago," Yami replied gruffly, leading Seto down the sidewalk as the unpleasant memories came back in a rush. "Not everything is perfect here. Always look beneath the surface, Seto. Don't let the shiny walkways fool you."
Wasn't gonna, Seto thought irritably, giving Yami's hand a reassuring squeeze when he felt a pang of fustration that didn't belong to him, emanating from the mage.
They approached a tall building with towering pillars, where finely dressed elves and mages were standing in an orderly line while groups of people were teleporting out at a magical barrier at the doorway, and Seto's interest piqued.
"What's that?" He gave Yami a tug, and the mage answered him kindly.
"Public portal. Your Elvish has improved so much, Seto," Yami praised, hoping to direct the subject to less questions, and Seto's answer made his stomach turn even more.
"Thanks. I learned from my new friends, Alisse and Porta-Potty."
They inched forward a few steps in line, and Yami tightened his grip around Seto's wrist, chiding him gently, "that boy is from a renowned family in the Elven High Court, so please don't make fun of his name. His father is a strong Hunter—"
"Yeah, whatever," Seto muttered, giving the pavement underneath his feet a kick. Fantasy shit, he wasn't interested—
Yami knelt before him with a serious expression and gripped his shoulders tightly, "Seto. This isn't the forest where you are at the top. There is another world here."
I wasn't thinking that, Seto growled as he folded his arms, but he could feel Yami's concern washing over him like a cold tidal wave. God…dammit. Yami wanted to 'naturalize' him, so he had to show he could play nice in a society—and maybe Yami was partially right, because in societies like this, he was used to being at the top, instead of invisible as a marginalized, near-extinct species.
The line moved up a few more steps, and Seto stared at the portal, his irritation rising. Couldn't they just teleport out wherever they wanted? They did that in the safe town all the time!
He was about to open his mouth to ask when he saw a familiar elf step gracefully out of the portal, and his blood ran hot and then cold when the man spotted him in the crowd and then waved energetically, calling out in an annoying tone, "eeeyyyyy! D'ere's my little Portie's best friend!"
Fuck, fuck, Seto was chanting in his mind before he heard Yami's voice cut across his consciousness. Fuck, fuck—Seto, manners. Treat High Elves with respect.
A ton of people in the line bowed their heads low as Jounouchi made his way down the steps to stand tall over Yami and Seto. Even Yami lowered his head, and Seto bobbed his head awkwardly, more shocked to see Yami behaving that way than anything else.
"Hey kiddo!" Joey cried as he bent down to sweep the little dragon child off his feet and hefting him on his shoulder, feeling tiny arms lock around his neck, giving him a nostalgic rush. "How was teatime? Where's everyone else?"
"He's still doing homework at Alisse's house," Seto said plainly, aware that the entire plaza had stopped to stare at them. "I helped a little, but not really."
"Nice! She has the best snacks, and I know her dad on the Court," Joey said loudly, and Seto winced at the volume, doing his best to keep his mind blank because he felt an insult rushing up.
Yami stood there in shock as he watched the handsome elf handle Seto with ease…and his heart clenched. This was Warrior Elf Jounouchi…who led hunts every solstice…. holding Seto in his arms like he was his own child…
And somehow, once again, he was being dragged into High Court nonsense, when he'd done his best to separate himself from it. Because Seto was prestigious, and it was showing.
"Awh, yeah I heard you're a little particle whiz!" Joey beamed and he set the child down by the feet of the spiky-haired mage who he'd been standing beside. "Whose-a this? Nice ta' meet ya! Ya look familiar…"
Seto bowed automatically as he held onto Yami's hand, introducing him the way he would a business partner by gesturing with one stiff hand across his chest, palm facing up, "Please meet my guardian. He's been training and watching over me before I formally enroll into any academy."
Yami, shocked again at Seto's sudden manners, stiffly nodded and held his hand out for a shake, feeling the elf clamp down on his hand and rattle his bones while shaking his arm up and down, "Gotcha gotcha! I'll put in a rec with the headmaster in a school here in this district when you're of-age, 'mkay?" Jounouchi announced loudly, also making Yami wince. "And come ova for a duel sometime, the both of ye'! You have my location card, kid? Guessin' not. Here ya' go."
Yami swallowed when the elf held out a glowing card with both hands, and he wondered how he could refuse with all these eyes on him, and his amazement rose when Seto reached up both his hands to accept it with a bowed head, acting like another child completely, "Thank you. We're honored."
Joey gave them a blinding smile and waved, swinging his new sword over his shoulder and whistling merrily while people parted respectfully to let him pass, and then when he got further down the street, he high-fived another elf who was also carrying an enormous sword, with a pregnant wife beside him who lowered her head gracefully to acknowledge him, and Joey saluted her brashly with two fingers to his temple.
Ugh. I hate it here. I changed my mind about this place, Seto wrinkled his nose and caught himself, knowing someone was probably watching him.
Yami caught the nose wrinkle and smiled secretly to himself.
He'd praise and reward Seto for that politeness later, when they safely exited this district and were back inside the safe town.
The line moved up fast, and Seto froze when he realized people were parting again for another high-ranking person coming from the street behind them, allowing them to pass through, so he twisted his head around, wondering if Joey was coming back…? But there was no one behind him…
"Please. You both must have somewhere to be," a tall, beautiful man with a sheet of white-blond hair gestured for them to walk ahead of them. "You may have my place."
Shocked, Seto felt Yami freeze beside him and think loudly, "how should I begin to refuse…?!" And the family in front of that family also bowed and stepped aside to let them cut in line. This continued four more times until the path to the stairs up to the portal was clear, so Yami reached down to grab Seto by the arm, half-running him up the steps, catching Seto waving politely at everyone, and hearing a few families gush back at him, "cute boy! Is he a moon elf mix? I see blue eyes!"
Yami grit his teeth and stood at the bevel of the portal, making sure Seto was closely at his side before the light engulfed them and sent them back to the top floor of Mai's tavern.
Seto let out a tiny sigh and dared to relax when he saw the drab, brown walls of his closet-sized room appear through the flash of light, and he sank to the ground to sit down, exhausted.
Yami sat down heavily beside him and glanced around the empty room with a quick pat to Seto's shoulder, "Did that take a few years off your young life?"
"Yeah," Seto muttered, thinking he never wanted to act like his old self ever again if he could help it. The whole point of a new life in a reincarnated body was to be a new person, not to relive old patterns. He'd avoid District 5 as much as possible now.
"Where did you learn how to perform elf manners? Someone teach you back at your village?" Yami asked curiously, and he reached a tanned hand into the sleeve of his robe to pull out the gift he had prepared for Seto, but waiting expectantly for an answer.
"No. It's…past life…stuff," Seto explained badly, hearing Yami's brief thoughts about a present. "What's that? For me? Can I have it? A book? Another Chinese textbook?" Because holy shit, he needed something to think about right now.
"No, it's your favorite," Yami said with a pretty grin, producing two silver bags of premium coffee beans from the café, and Seto's mouth dropped open in shock.
"YES!" He shouted, swiping at the bags and hugging them to his chest, falling back on the ground with a solid thump! so much that his hat fell off his head, and Yami laughed, giving the child's knee an encouraging pat.
"Get off the floor now. It's not clean," he said gently as Seto snatched the hat up and crammed it back onto his head until it crumpled, and he opened the bag with a firm swipe of a claw, taking a deep inhale and letting the wonderful, sweet scent engulf his enhanced senses.
Coffee might taste even better here….!
Thank…fuck!
"You're the best," Seto mumbled, nursing the bag of open beans under his chin and repeatedly inhaling. "I was gonna juice a spider for this flavor."
"I know," Yami said with another small smile, hearing Mai's footsteps coming up the stairs. "Now we have somewhere to be…again."
What? Seto lifted his head out of the bag, seeing Mai open the door with a rough push and stand before them, looking more disheveled than usual, with strands of her blond hair peeking out from the edges of her headscarf.
"Did you fix the problem? And kid, you came back with no furniture!" Mai cried, wondering if the kid really wanted to sleep on the floor. "And you left without telling me you were leaving the town limits! Way to give a lady a scare! What's this revenge for? I feed you every day!"
"I'm sorry," Seto said genuinely, but Yami held up a reassuring hand, defending him.
"I've already spoken about it with him. It won't happen again. We are now off to pay a visit to the District General," Yami said carefully, and Mai's eyes widened prettily.
"So you didn't fix the soup problem," she concluded, crossing her arms over her large chest. "I'm not taking any customers until this is fixed. I'm also doubling down on protective wards on my front door. Visual password is a moon cat, and verbal password is IMEI."
What do any of those mean? Seto wondered and he wasn't answered when Yami pulled him to his feet and began to cast the teleportation spell again.
"Put the beans away in your little pack," Yami encouraged, levitating Seto's satchel off the ground from the corner of the room and frowning. "Mai… Did you give him all the money—"
"Don't know what you're talking about," she answered coolly, stepping out of the room and swinging the door shut behind her with a muffled thump!
"Let's take some of this back," Yami muttered, vanishing the piles of coins into his own inventory and lowering it for Seto to place the beans into the bag, and the child shrugged it on over his shoulders, looking very adorable like he was ready for an adventure.
"So this will be a fun trip. We are visiting the army that protects the towns from magical attacks," Yami declared, making sure his fear didn't show in his voice. "They want a demonstration on how to make the healing soup, and once we've done that, we'll go home. Ready?"
Seto shook his head briefly, and Yami gave him an alarmed glance.
"What's wrong? You can tell me," Yami knelt to rest his hand on Seto's shoulder and watching the child blink rapidly.
"Armies in fantasy universes like this are bad news," Seto said flatly, and Yami sighed.
Seto's make-believe talk was cute until it wasn't.
"Well, unfortunately, we are being summoned, formally, to demonstrate this technique," Yami said seriously, giving Seto's tiny shoulder a warm squeeze. "Follow my lead and we will be fine."
Seto nodded and gripped the straps of his tiny bag, shutting his eyes from the blinding light of the teleportation circle, bracing himself for chaos.
They arrived in a large clearing where tents were propped up in a row, and the largest hybrid monsters Seto had ever seen were milling around fire pits, some openly gambling while others were smoking or honing swords. His stomach churned. Great. Just the barbarians he wanted to avoid.
A giant kangaroo-headed man lumbered towards them with two lizard-headed men in tow.
Seto gaped, and couldn't do anything while they were silently marched into the largest, most luxurious tent set up in the middle of all the commotion.
Two human guards were standing at attention, holding spears which they lowered to let them through, and Seto felt a chill go down his spine when he saw a long table propped up in the center of this enormous tent, along with a row of chairs where several mages and elves were sitting, with their legs crossed and their long staffs set across their laps or leaning against the backs of their chairs.
Yami tugged the hood tighter down over his hair and stood behind the giant metal pot they had prepared, aware that Seto was distressed, so he reminded himself to be a good role model.
Seto was shaken by all the silence, having gone from a busy city to a roomful of adults being tactically quiet in their minds.
Terrifying.
There was one human sitting in the midst of elves and mages, so Seto fixated on him, taking in his brown hair and light brown eyes, trying to guess his origins. Who was the general? Him?
"Welcome," the human spoke and shifted in his seat, gesturing for them to begin. "Please show us how the potion is made, and no need to conceal your identity here with us. You are safe."
Seto blinked and glanced up at Yami, slightly horrified to see that a dark cloud was shrouding the opening of his purple hood, and his anxiety rose to an all-time high.
"I'd rather keep it this way for my own reasons," Yami replied coldly, knowing half the mages sitting in those seats would recognize him immediately, and he had to mask his voice too, aware that he was frightening Seto, but it had to be done.
Seto winced at the odd, distorted voice coming from the hooded figure beside him, and was now properly scared. Hey, these adults were seeing his face. Why couldn't he have a mask as well?
"Very well then," the human said flatly, addressing the female mage sitting at the furthest end of the row of seats. "Please appraise them."
WHAT! Seto raged, and he braced himself furiously for the icy wind that drenched him from head to toe, making sure to conceal everything about himself, especially his age and his species.
Yami swallowed thinly in fear and grabbed Seto's hand, ready to teleport them away to safety, because being suddenly appraised was not part of the deal! They would find out Seto was a demon they had tried to wipe out…
"General," the female mage spoke up quietly, sounding shaken. "Null. In every category for both individuals."
"Nice to know a child is at a higher level than you," the human replied with a sniff, waving at the large pot. "Begin."
Seto grit his teeth, seeing the mage at the end burn with an orange flaming aura of fury, and he grimaced. D-Disgusting…but what could he do other than stand here and survive while following Yami's lead?
Yami's eye twitched and he gently let go of Seto's hand, mentally bracing himself to fight eight high-leveled individuals if things went sour. He cleared his throat and eyed the rotten ingredients that Mai had listed out for them to fetch, and noticed every single item was there. All that was left to do was continue with caution.
"Well," Yami said as he picked up the feathers and dropped them carelessly into the pot, and then splashing a glob of water inside with a careless movement. "Like we said, we find the potion in the forest, so this is our best attempt at recreating it—"
"Wait." The human interrupted him coldly and held up a hand, looking angry. "We were told this was made."
"Of course, but by who?" Yami replied with a casual tone, dropping a glob of whitish mold into the pot, knowing the order was wrong, but he did it anyway. "Someone higher than me, that's for sure, and if your sergeant there can't appraise us, we're wasting time here with this pointless demonstration—add more water, and we think it's this…" Yami levitated a small glob of putrid paste and tossed it in, shrugging. "And boil, but with varying results. Watch."
He clamped his hands down on the side of the pot and after it bubbled, a pinkish, noxious gas emitted from the top of the pot.
Seto clapped a hand over his mouth to keep the smile from showing on his face, and to keep himself from breathing in the fumes, so he looped his hood on too, drawing the flaps around his face. Nice attempt at a fake!
"Then let the child try," the human suggested, looking steadily angrier by the second. "Go on."
"The child is a 30-year-old infant," Yami said with a light shrug, keeping the indifferent tone. "You want us all to die? Very well. Last time I had him try it…better to see for yourself. Go on, step up here…" A tall stepstool was raised from the grassy ground underneath their feet, so Seto walked up dutifully and kept one hand clamped over his nose as he avoided the cloud of poison.
"I'll clear that," one of the mages said, and the pot emptied out, leaving it clear and shiny at the bottom.
Seto glanced uncertainly at Yami, seeing a firm nod, so he lowered his hand away from his hood and began throwing ingredients in haphazardly, accidentally making too much water and splashing some over the side. Then, when the pot was overfilled, he clamped his hands down on the sides and only brought it to a half boil, seeing something bright yellow emerging from the bottom, and he only just leaned away in time before the liquid exploded upwards in a giant sheet of lava.
Yami dashed forward to teleport them out of the tent as tiny fireballs began raining down around them from the burned bits of the tent.
"Good job," Yami whispered, leaning down to dust Seto off even though he was clean, and they hung back by the edge of the tent clearing while the mages and humans also began appearing outside around them in their glowing circles.
The hybrid warriors had all stopped in their tracks to stare at the ruined tent that was slowly crumbling to ash.
Seto gave Yami an anxious smile and saw the human general stalking across the grass over to them, his cheeks red with fury.
"Are you mocking us? That has to be a joke!" The human general cried, pointing an accusing finger at Yami. "This all-status potion is to heal our soldiers who protect this land! Are you not honorable, Mage?"
"We are not the makers of the potion," Yami said steadily, and Seto had to admire Yami's bravery. "No matter how powerful we are, it is a pure substance, possibly made by a dragon! You're looking in the wrong place, General."
And Yami lowered his head in a respectful bow, so Seto hastily followed suit, bending himself in half with his hands pinned to his sides out of habit.
They were surrounded by many pairs of cloaked feet, and Seto tensed, feeling a sense of cold dread settle over him. H-Hey… The last time he was in this position, his entire village died…
"Appraise them. I believe they are lying," the human general said coldly, stepping back out of the circle of elves and mages. "I want results."
Yami inhaled furiously and grabbed Seto's hand, teleporting them away, but his circle was broken by three feet stepping into his space, and Seto even felt the barrier shatter with a tinny sound that made his ears ring. H-Holy shit…! This was how high-level people died! Multiple powerful individuals ganged up on them…under orders, on army ground, where murder happened often…!
"Appraise!" The group chanted in unison, and Seto clamped his hands over his ears, keeling over as the wave was hot instead of cold, burning him from the inside out so much that he let out a pained yell and doubled over, feeling his stomach churn so much, he heaved and vomited an inky dark substance that singed and smelled foul.
"Seto!" Yami threw an arm over him protectively and Seto felt instant relief, shuddering as the feeling slowly came back to his lower body and the back of his throat stung unpleasantly.
That was…cruel of them!
He coughed weakly and dragged his sleeve under his chin, his tongue coated with a sour taste. Yuck…
"A-A DEMON!" The elf closest to him cried, taking a solid step back, and Seto willed himself not to move or appear threatening. He was a kid. Were they really going to hurt a kid?
"And…Mage Atem!" The female mage cried, lowering her hood respectfully and curtsying. "What in the gods—is this a child you saved from…that village?"
Seto glanced at Yami beside him, amazed to see his shoulders burning with black fire as he lowered his hood and glared at everyone around them.
"Yes. His family was killed before his eyes and he's trying to live a normal life," Yami growled, silently casting a protection spell behind his back with three fingers, but before he could complete it, an elf taller than him stepped up from behind to wrench his wrist upwards and pinned his arm painfully behind his back.
"Unhand me!" Yami spat, eyeing the puddle of Seto's black vomit inches from their feet. It burned like potent acid. If he could get his hands on just a tiny bit of it…
Seto took deep shuddering breaths, still trying to recover from the appraisal assault. It felt like he'd been run over by a truck and was recovering from an illness. His limbs were heavy, and his vision was slightly bright at the corners. He felt like…fainting…
The human standing above them was blurring so much in Seto's vision, he was seeing three of him while he spoke, "a punishable offense, Mage Atem. We really expected better from you, because you are…one of the best."
"If they decided to fight back, you know you'd be the ones going extinct," Yami growled, no longer playing nice and deciding to fight his way out of the circle, but a small voice in the back of his head was telling him that…this was how Seto's older brother had died.
"But they didn't fight back, so clearly, we are the stronger ones," the human general said pompously, and Seto felt an alien surge of rage bubble up inside him, and Yami shot him a warning look that made him take a deep breath.
Yeah, fighting wasn't the answer.
"I'm against hurting children with my magic," Yami said firmly, easing into the elf's strong grip and resisting the urge to stamp on the man's pointed shoe. "Unhand me." Elves that sympathized with humans were the worst.
"Promise you'll come quietly and Elf Amias will escort you into a holding cell while a court deliberates your punishment," the general said calmly, folding his muscular arms across his body, aiming a disdainful gaze down at Seto on the ground. "And the boy too."
"He belongs in school, not a prison!" Yami was quick to advocate for Seto's safety, wondering if any magical being in the field had a heart. "Mage Alyd! You agree with me! The boy belongs in school and not a cell. He's learning…our ways! He isn't violent and is obedient! He needs stability and normalcy. Please, hear me."
The female mage shifted uncomfortably and looked to her cohort for help, and Seto felt another surge of anger when there was a long silence. Wow. Shit crowd. Yami had even said, 'our ways' to elicit some shred of empathy and none of the elves or mages in the circle were acknowledging him. This life was about to suck…majorly.
Should I fight my way out? But what then? Seto wondered fearfully as he eyed the tall elf who still had Yami in his grip. If he showed violence, it would invalidate Yami's plea for him to be placed in school instead of prison.
"Fine. The boy will be placed in a school of our choice," the general said callously with a wave of his hand, and Yami was finally released. "Prepare transport."
Yami shoved the elf away, his shoulder stinging as he rushed to pull Seto into a tight hug, his body trembling as he squeezed Seto and whispered in his ear, "don't worry. We have the bracelets, right? And…I have your soul signature," he continued, doing his best to keep his voice even when he heard the rush of wings drawing near from above.
Seto gazed at him with his bright blue eyes, blinking once and nodding, looking confused and scared, making Yami's heart wrench with guilt and shame. He was traumatizing this child at such a young age… But at least they weren't murdering this child like the rest of his species.
"School is going to be…fun. You'll make lots of new friends there!" Yami cracked a smile, hoping it didn't waver, and Seto felt a rush of dread, coupled with fear and nausea. H-Holy shit. Wait. Yami was being taken to jail…now? And he was being put in school…now?
Because a golden carriage had landed with only one winged horse in tow, and a guard with dark maroon robes stepped out, carrying a threatening spear. Wait…. Wait…
"You can visit me on your…school vacation days," Yami said with a firm nod, reaching to give Seto another warm hug and patting the pack on his back, slowly filling it with items while he kept the child in a tight embrace, sending fast, private thoughts to the child to continue reassuring him.
Don't fight anyone. Be a leader of kindness. Stay true to yourself and the ways of your clan, Yami said quietly, and Seto's head spun. He didn't fucking know what those values were! Everyone had been ripped away from him before he could learn so much as a proper greeting!
"Can we ride together?" Seto asked, and the moment he did, he knew the answer to that question was 'no', because a second carriage landed in the grass beside them, and this one was dark blue, and the person that stepped out of it was another High-Elf-looking motherfucker, with swishing robes and hair that reached the ground in a giant ponytail. Fucking fuck.
"You're going to school, okay?" Yami patted Seto's chubby cheek, holding his gaze for a long time and feeling his own composure slipping. He was losing another one. He was losing another baby he'd thought he'd saved from a life of hardship, only to have them be thrown into another hell. But he would fight this fight for species like Seto until the end, silently and with determination. Someday, he might cross paths with Seto again in a few hundred years, hopefully, if Seto didn't get mindlessly slaughtered at the so-called 'school' he was being sent to.
Seto blinked and felt his heart skip a painful beat. Wait.
What the fuck was Yami thinking about? So-called school?
"So am I going to school in District 5? With Porter?" Seto asked loudly, hoping that name-dropping that stupid elf's name would earn him some points, and to his horror, the general laughed, and his laugh was mirrored by the other elves surrounding him.
"He claims to know the Katsuya Family!" The elf that had restrained Yami was jeering at him, his green eyes glinting with hostility. "As if our great leader would associate himself with such f—"
"Don't call him names!" Yami whirled around to shout at the elf, casting a muffling spell around them all so fast, it made Seto's ears pop and hum. "Treat him with kindness—"
"Treat him like he's hostile!" The elf snarled, and Seto let out a strangled cry as Yami was yanked away from him and dragged ungracefully across the ground towards the open carriage, the hem of his robes swishing dirt up giant clouds as Yami put up a kicking fight that resulted in four blasts of light as the other two elves converged on him, hiding him from sight with their tall bodies.
Seto could only watch helplessly, wringing his hands as the smell of something burning invaded his nostrils, and when the dust cleared, he could see the guard in maroon robes hefting an unconscious Yami over his shoulder. The guard tossed him unceremoniously into the seat, slamming the carriage door with a sniff, then the guard bobbed his head at everyone in the clearing and climbed into the high seat, snapping the reins, making the winged horse beat its wings as it took off gracefully.
Seto blinked and blinked again.
He would go after them…at all costs.
He wouldn't let this be his parting with Yami. This was unacceptable.
"Now, for the child," the elf snarled, aiming his gaze down at the kid, who stood his ground and glared at him so poisonously, the whites of his eyes melted into black.
It sent a chill down his spine, and he looked away hurriedly, addressing the school headmaster.
"Master Dartz. Your newest charge," the elf took a step away from the demon child, remembering the numbers he'd seen floating above the boy's head during his appraisal.
The elf with long, silvery blue hair gave Seto one up and down look, his face splitting into a pretty grin that looked positively evil, and he rested his manicured hand atop the mage's hat, feeling broken horns poking into his palms.
"Looks like this one will be no trouble at all," he said smoothly, moving his hand down to rest on the child's back, leading him to the carriage. "Come, child. School awaits you."
Seto ground his teeth furiously and kept his cursing thoughts to himself lest someone could read his mind. Fuck school.
Fuck this place.
Fuck this magical, high fantasy shit. He'd rather be comatose from multiple bullet wounds than entertaining this trash. But his feet were taking him to the carriage steps, and he walked up all three of them and sank into the soft cushion beside the window, which he glared moodily out of, wondering if his eyes could shoot fire, because they were burning so much, they were watering. With tears. And his tears made annoying singing, hissing sounds when they hit the hem of his robes. Fuck.
"And up we go," the headmaster said lightly, eyeing the child beside him who was shrouded in a dark purple aura that was mightily impressive. This one looked like another fun project.
The army was always turning up interesting ones, and this one appeared to be a blue clan demon. What joy!
Author's note:
oh no! seto and yami have a violent parting, and seto is off to school while yami is off to prison for…advocating against genocide of magical creatures.