Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Chale Jao ❯ Friends to Enemies ( Chapter 2 )

The air was hazy as Atemu slipped quietly out of Shimon's home. The sun had not yet risen but it was gray enough out so that Atemu could see where he was going without having to resort to one of his feline forms.

 

He had informed Shimon last night of his and Bakura's plan. Although Shimon was not pleased he agreed to Atemu decision before running off to an emergency meeting with Akunumkanon. Upon returning, Atemu was surprised to find Shimon now in favor of the trip. The Elder had even help packed the worn knapsack that was currently slung over Atemu's shoulders.

 

“Ready to go?” Bakura asked walking over to his friend. Like Atemu, Bakura had a knapsack on his back. They both also wore handed down, loose, brown clothing to help them blend in with their environment.

 

Silently, Atemu nodded his head towards Bakura and the two friends began to walk away from the village and towards the forest. For the trip the pair had decided to walk. Bakura had been practicing a technique of morphing places but could only travel short distances for the time being. He hoped to get some practice during the trip to expand the length he could travel. Regardless, Atemu was stuck walking, as he did not possess Bakura's traveling trick. He hoped however to gain the chance to practice his transformations.

 

The pair continued to walk as the sun slowly rose into the sky. When the sun was directly overhead, they knew it was noon and therefore time for a break.

 

“Food!” Bakura declared as he rummaged through his bag. Atemu noticed that the fire demon's parents had packed a wide assortment of food for their son and he figured they were secretly hoping Bakura would succeed and would be shown not to go back to the village.

 

“This is stupid!” Atemu declared as he dumped the contents of both their bags causing bread, apples, oranges, bananas and other fruit to scatter everywhere. “We're supposed to use our abilities to complete our journey!”

 

“You idiot! That was all our food! Now what are we going to eat?”

 

“Start a fire,” Atemu commanded as he began strolling away from the log that Bakura was sitting on. “I'll get our food.”

 

Transforming into a leopard, Atemu darted off through the forest leaving Bakura behind who continued to grumble.

 

*~*~*

 

Atemu's crimson eyes fell upon the deer that nibbled at the patch of grass. Atemu was down wind and he was remaining quiet so the deer could neither smell nor hear him.

 

The deer looked around at its surroundings before lowering its head to get more grass, which was when Atemu made his move. Rushing forward, Atemu leaped at the deer before it could run off. The leopard's sharp teeth sank into the deer's fleshy neck and Atemu dragged the other animal to the ground.

 

The deer continued to kick and squirm but Atemu held strong with his jaws locked. After a few minutes the deer quieted and remained still. Only then did Atemu get up and begin dragging the animal back to Bakura.

 

*~*~*

 

“Well…?”

 

“You did good Kitten,” Bakura replied as his sharp teeth tore into the deer meat. Ironically when Atemu was in his human form, Bakura had the more animal qualities out of the two of them. Both were sitting side by side on a fallen log in front of the fire that Bakura had created as they ate their food.

 

“See we can do this by ourselves,” Atemu triumphantly pointed out while taking much smaller bites of his own food. “It felt so good freely using my powers without Mahaado around to supervise me.”

 

“Plus you didn't end up with ears and a tail this time…”

 

“That was a minor mishap. You were right, I was stressed out.”

 

“Well I'm glad you're feeling better about yourself. I'll have you overconfident and cocky in no time.”

 

“After we finish eating we should practice a bit,” Atemu suggested, ignoring Bakura's overconfident and cocky comment. “I never was able to spend much time in my leopard form and I know you want to try that traveling trick of yours.”

 

“Fine,” Bakura replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “According to my parents we follow this path until we reach a meadow. We'll meet up there.”

 

“Race you!” Leaping to his feet, Atemu transformed into a leopard and ran off down the path before Bakura could do anything.

 

A smirk appeared on Bakura's face as he stood and accepted the challenge. A circle of fire surrounded Bakura and moments later the fire demon disappeared.

 

*~*~*

 

The two young demons continued to race throughout the afternoon. Atemu would run along the worn path and every so often Bakura would pop up out of the flames before disappearing again. Eventually Atemu grew within sight of the meadow and Bakura was nowhere to be seen, so Atemu hurried along wanting to win the race.

 

Bounding forward Atemu was almost there when Bakura suddenly appeared in front of him. Plowing into Bakura, the two demons tumbled to the ground.

 

“Beat you!” Bakura tiredly declared as he laid flat on his back. Using his powers so much had exhausted him.

 

“Did not! We tied!” Atemu argued. In his human form again, Atemu was already back on his feet but panting from all the running he had done.

 

“You had a head start remember. Therefore I win.”

 

“You were the stupid one who allowed me to get the head start,” Atemu replied as he plopped down on the ground next to Bakura. “Face it, we tied.”

 

“Whatever. I'm too tired to argue.”

 

“We need to keep moving, this isn't the best spot for a rest. With our powers drained, we would be vulnerable if anyone attacks us without the forest to camouflage us.”

 

“Screw it, I'm tired.”

 

“I heard a river before I transformed. It's probably on the other side of this field.”

 

“You're a genius trying to take a fire demon towards water.” Elemental demons like Bakura often had a weakness of another element. As a fire demon, Bakura hated water and getting wet. The only time he willingly went near water was to investigate the waterfall near their village and that was only because Atemu usually fell in. Naturally Bakura would always have a good laugh over Atemu coming out of the water looking like a drown rat.

 

“Lay off the sarcasm. We still have a long way to go.”

 

“There days after today according to my parents. Then it'll be another four days back, where we will be celebrated and honored by our peers. And since we will be considered adults, no more stupid training.”

 

“Plus I will be able to find my parents.”

 

“Trust me you're better off without them,” Bakura said as he sat up. “Kids spend their entire lives trying to get away from their parents and yet here you are trying to find them.”

 

“What else am I going to do?” Atemu asked him while standing once again. “Go home and rot away my life? There's nothing for me there.”

 

“Yesterday you didn't want to leave.”

 

“Yesterday I didn't think I had a chance of ever finding them.”

 

“What if you don't see anything about them? The pool could show you anything.”

 

“I will. I know it!” Atemu turned away from Bakura and looked across the meadow. “I'll meet you by the river. Catch up after you've rested.” Transforming back into a leopard Atemu began running through the meadow before the fire demon could say another word.

 

*~*~*

 

Night eventually fell across the land but that did not stop the two young demons. Walking along in his leopard form Atemu could easily see in the dark. Next to him was Bakura holding the palm of his hand flat upward. A small fire was protruding from his palm that lit their way.

 

“We should stop soon,” Bakura said. Ever since reaching the meadow they had not spoken to each other except for a few words. They were now back among more trees as they continued their journey towards the Pool of Destiny.

 

“Agreed.” Looking sideways, Bakura found that Atemu was once again a human. From the flicker of the small fire, Bakura could see the bright smile of the cat demon's face and knew that his moody friend was feeling better. “We should get moving at dawn again. The faster we travel, the sooner we'll get there.”

 

“Good idea, because as soon as we get there we can turn around, go home and brag about our achievements. I can't wait to see the look on Claudius' face when we get home. Every time he leaves that village I'm going to torment him with my powers an there will be nothing he can do in return.”

 

“Agreed. It will be nice to rub it in the bastard's face. He's picked on us our entire lives. Payback will be nice.”

 

The two friends crackled together as they sat on the ground. They were going to have fun with the freedom they would get from completing their task.

 

*~*~*

 

The next three and a half days passed quickly for Atemu and Bakura as they traveled through the thick bush. Eventually a small clearing appeared in the forest.

 

“There it is,” Bakura said pointing to the clump of large rocks gathered together, sticking out of the ground. Among the rocks the pair could easily make out the entrance to the cave.

 

Igniting both of his hands to use them as torches, Bakura lead the way into the cave. The ground sloped downwards as the pair walked around the widen cave. The two young demons were in awe to be walking in the very footsteps that Messalina walked 8000 years ago. Their goddess had lived and was murdered in that very cave.

 

“It should be soon,” Atemu said from where he walked behind Bakura. In his human form Atemu's eyes were not as well adapted to the dark so he was staying close the fire demon.

 

The Pool of Destiny was actually a small underground lake. Humans, fearing Messalina's powers, tracked her to her home in the cave and struck her down. Messalina's body had tumbled into the lake and as she died the water stained red with her blood. Although all signs of the crimson water was gone it was believed Messalina's powers remained, transferring to the waters from her blood.

 

“There!” Bakura said pointing with a fire finger towards the small body of water. Finding small, unlit torches around the area, Bakura quickly lit them and then waved out the fire in his hands. “Do you want to go first or should I?”

 

“You. It was your idea.”

 

“Okay.” Bakura nodded his head as he took a step forward. Atemu hung back as Bakura continued walking forward until he reached the small ledge at the edge of the water. Bakura then took a deep breath and looked down at the water. Gradually a smile appeared on his face. After a few minutes he backed away and rejoined Atemu.

 

“What did you see?”

 

“Me causing chaos,” Bakura replied with a huge grin on his face. “It was great!”

 

Atemu knew it was now his turn. Taking some slow steps forward, he soon found himself at the edge of the lake. Looking down, Atemu watched as the images appeared in the water.

 

The image of a tall brunet man with piercing blue eyes appeared in the water. A black cat, Atemu knew to be himself, rode upon the brunet's shoulders as he walked through the forest stalking his prey. A jolt of electrically shot up Atemu's back as he watched the brunet, feeling the connection between them.

 

The scene shifted to Atemu, now in his human form, laying on his back on a bed. The brunet leaned over him and they both smiled as their mouths came together. Moments before they kissed, Atemu toppled head first into the water because he had been leaving too far over the edge.

 

“Atemu!” Bakura cried as the cat demon's head popped out of the water. The fire demon rushed forward and Atemu grabbed his hand to help be pulled back onto the slippery, stone ground. “What did you see?”

 

“I don't know,” Atemu admitted as he looked back at the lake. “It was odd.”

 

“Your parents?”

 

“No, it was something else,” Atemu replied with a confused expression on his face. He had no clue who the brunet was and even though it was only an image, Atemu had felt the connection himself and the brunet. It was as if they were bonded.

 

After reaching a certain age, demons were allowed to mate with a human. This event occurred every 500 years. The human would become a demon and the pair would be bonded for life. But Atemu would not be allowed to mate for another few thousand years and it surprised him that he would receive a vision of so far in the future when any other demon would see something much closer to the time they were currently in.

 

“Forget it about it,” Atemu said with a small shake of his head. “We should get out of here and then camp nearby for tonight. In the morning we'll start heading home.”

 

“Alright,” Bakura agreed giving Atemu a concern look. He wasn't too worried though because he could read the cat demon well and knew that whatever Atemu saw it hadn't frighten him.

 

Creating torches once again with his hands, Bakura led them out of the cave. Outside, at the entrance to the cave, they decided they would stay there for the night so Bakura created a fire for them. It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep, as they needed their rest for their trip home.

 

*~*~*

 

Atemu tossed and turned in his sleep. Dreams of the sexy brunet haunted his peace.

 

Awakening, Atemu looked across the campfire to make sure Bakura was still asleep. The fire demon was softly snoring so Atemu too the opportunity to transform into a cat. The small cat then creep into the cave while Bakura continued to sleep unaware what was happening.

 

Atemu knew it was forbidden to take a second look into the Pool of Destiny. Knowing too much about one's future was a bad thing, but Atemu needed to see the brunet again and was willing to risk the consequences he had been warned about.

 

Hurrying through the cave, the small cat soon reached the lake where Atemu transformed back into a human. Walking slowly forward he once again stood on the stone ledge and peered down at the water with a smile on his face.

 

The image of the brunet quickly appeared again. This time he was stalking through some old building. The smile on Atemu's face began to fade however as the image changed to show himself in his cat from hiding from the brunet who appeared to be hunting him.

 

The image changed again, this time to show Bakura. Bakura had a completely evil look on his face, one that Atemu had never seen before. Atemu watched in horror as Bakura smirked in the direction of the black cat. Moments later a fire began spreading throughout the building caused by the fire demon.

 

Stumbling backwards, the images disappeared from Atemu's sight. He couldn't believe what Bakura had done. Bakura had knowingly started that fire in an attempt to kill both him and the brunet.

 

Transforming again into a cat, Atemu traveled back to the entrance of the cave where Bakura was still asleep. Turning human, Atemu stood over Bakura's sleeping form as he thought about what he had seen. Although the brunet hunting him had been disturbing, Atemu was now positive that the man from his vision was his mate. Atemu's heart ached at the thought of losing the brunet, especially to Bakura whom he considered to be his best friend. Bakura would have to be stopped even if that meant they could no longer be friends.

 

Pulling a dagger from his boot, Atemu raised it above Bakura's chest. “I'm sorry but its you or him,” he whispered before plunging the dagger downward.

 

A flame of fire shot up at Bakura before the dagger reached Bakura's flesh. Surprised, Atemu stumbled backwards to avoid the blast. As he did so, Bakura's eyes snapped open and he sat up before firing another ball of fire at the cat demon who quickly dodged it again.

 

“Bastard!”

 

“Bakura it's not what you think!” Atemu protested as he dropped the dagger to the ground.

 

“I know exactly what you were up too!” Bakura yelled. “Traitor!” Again Bakura threw a fireball at Atemu who dodged it for a third time.

 

Transforming into a cat, Atemu hurried off under the cover of darkness. “You better run!” Bakura hollered after him, while throwing another fireball for good measure.

 

Atemu's small paws carried him quickly over the ground. The landscape eventually sloped upwards as Atemu continued to run trying to get as far away from Bakura that he could.

 

As dawn broke Atemu found himself in his human form standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the forest below while wondering what he was going to do. Over the pas few days Bakura had all but perfected his fire traveling technique so there was no way he could get back to Chale Jao before the fire demon. There was little doubt in his mind that Bakura would not immediately return there to tell the entire village what he had done turning everyone against him.

 

Atemu closed his eyes as he stood on the edge of the cliff and mentally cursed himself. He didn't know what had come over him. Bakura was his best friend and he had come so close to killing him. At the same time however there was the brunet. Atemu knew the brunet was his mate. Every demon had the nature instinct of knowing their mate when he or she was found. But Atemu would be ready to mate for a number of years.

 

The petite cat demon felt sick over what he had done. He had betrayed his best friend over a brunet he did not know and would not know for almost 3000 years. A thought of horror occurred to him that the reason Bakura wanted to kill both of them so badly was because of his actions that night.

 

“This is my fault,” Atemu sadly whispered as he opened his eyes and looked down at the trees below him. “If I had never taken that second look, I would have never have known about Bakura starting that fire and wouldn't have tried to kill him.”

 

Atemu felt like hurling himself off the cliff and fall into those trees. He didn't deserve to live. He broke the rules by taking a second look into the Pool of Destiny and he had betrayed his best friends. Atemu deduced his parents must have been shown his fate, which was why they abandoned him, so he would not be an embarrassment to their good name.

 

Closing his eyes, Atemu was about to take a step forward off the cliff, when the brunet's smiling face appeared before him. Atemu's heart fluttered and he felt the jolt of electrically up his back again as his mind drew upon the brunet's image. This confused Atemu again. What he was feeling was what he had been told a bond felt like but there should be no bond until after the mating process. Atemu could feel it though, almost hear the brunet's voice in his head. He could sense the brunet was going to need his help.

 

Atemu's eyes snapped open with newfound determination. He didn't understand how but he knew the brunet's life was going to depend upon his actions. No matter how many years it took he would find the brunet.

 

“I'll find you Seto,” he whispered before transforming into a leopard and began the long climb down the rocky cliff.

 

Fin