Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Firemoth ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Xpyne: Yay! Another chapter done! This fic has been totally annoying me lately >.< But yeah, I managed to write some more on it anyway.

Yuugi: Xpy-chan does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or much else, hee hee.

Xpyne: You find my poverty funny???

Yuugi: ^^;; Uh, no?

Xpyne: ::grumble grumble:: Short authoress' notes today because I'm grumpy and I have to do my calculus homework still. Well, I hope all y'all readers enjoy this; it took me long enough, sheesh!

Firemoth

Chapter 7

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

"So," the tanned slayer began, settling comfortably against the nest he'd made with Kaiba's cloak. "When are we getting dinner?"

Kaiba glanced back at them in the rear-view mirror, dragged out of the mental stupor cross-district driving produces in the most alert of minds by the question that rang oddly in the lulled silence.

"Dinner? Didn't I already feed you today?"

Bakura yawned, stretching. "Um, yeah, eight hours ago. Pull up at Reteko's. They serve Slayers. Hashburrow exit."

"Fine."

Kaiba leaned heavily against the cool, grimy tiled wall, trying to control his breathing.

[What is wrong with me?] Kaiba ran his fingers through his hair, glancing through his messy bangs at the door, and then at the rest of the bathroom. There were two other patrons, both at urinals. Kaiba raised himself to his full impressive height and placed one hand conspicuously on the gun at his belt.

"I suggest you hurry the fuck up."

The two men fumbled with flies and straps, finishing as quickly as they could and filed out of the bathroom moments later, the door slamming and hitting the slower of the pair. Kaiba turned the lock and growled, punching the cracked plaster and ceramic wall of Reteko Diner's restroom. Pain shot through his knuckles, up his arm and vibrated in his elbow joint. A slight flinch was the only indication of discomfort he gave as he flexed his now reddened and slightly swollen hand.

[I don't lose control. No one makes me lose control. I am in control.] he recited hollowly, staring blankly at the pale, insane-asylum green wall. [He is a name in a file made flesh. He is the end of the goal, not the beginning... I was supposed to find him--he wasn't supposed to exist! Trackers have all been dead for almost four decades... I wasn't supposed to find anybody.] Kaiba clenched his eyes in frustration. The hunt, the hours of research, the obsession: it was supposed to be over. Once again Kaiba Seto had done the impossible; this time he'd procured an extinct species for the fulfillment of his own dangerous scientific theory. The thrill was gone; the prey was caught; the mission was as good as over... Kaiba groaned, unzipping his fly as he moved to stand in front of a urinal. The obsession was supposed to be over. Where was the usual satisfaction? Arrogant complacency should have been stoking his ego right about now: another job, well done.

Kaiba wrapped his fist around his weeping cock. [Who are you?] He stroked himself harshly, abusing both his sex and his bruised hand. In his mind he was being grasped by small pale hands, guided into wet pink lips. [What are you doing to me?!] He thrust faster, a low groan ripped from his throat by the vision. [I don't care about you!] He worked his length with the kind of force he usually reserved for vampires, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. [I don't want to get to know you... I don't want to feel anything for anyone...especially not you...!] His body quaked, knees threatening to give out. Still he stroked himself, caught between pleasure and pain, self-hate and perverse desire. It would be so wrong, to fuck the Project's key component. So indecent, to shove his dick between those small, cock sucking lips. Oh, how exciting it would be, to claim that little boy--to take what every prurient vampire slut in the tri-county area was coveting.

When he had stared into those pained, violet eyes, the light going out of them as the life was strangled out of his body, jealous hatred had consumed him. The idea that they were actually taking him, that he might never have his chance, had enraged the brunette. He knew at that moment something was wrong with himself. Because he knew he could never let this boy go.

He grunted, pumping his cock. [You...slut magnet...you little....with your--and the --oh god--] Kaiba felt his lust spiraling uncontrollably in his gut, the strong muscles of his thighs seizing up, the puckered skin around the scratches on his chest tearing under the stress of his heaving breath. His free hand flew out to the wall for support and he gritted his teeth. [You...] His orgasm was building intolerably within him, the resentment and anger and confusion swelling inside him. [I want you--]

"Yuugi!" he cried, stroking blindly for a few moments longer until he realized he'd come. He gazed down at his wilting member with an expression of mild surprise as he gulped air, catching his breath. Quickly he cleaned up and shoved it back in his bodysuit, crossing the room to wash his hands.

Staring at his reflection, he noted with disgust his clammy, aroused appearance. Mopping at his face with a paper towel, he nearly had a heart attack when someone pounded on the door.

"Kaiba? What the fuck are you doing? Hurry up."

Kaiba froze guiltily. He regained his aloof demeanor quickly, though, and opened the door, causing Bakura to freeze mid-pound, lest he hammer on his irritable partner's chest.

"Ah, there you are. Our food's been ready for five minutes; geez, what were you doing? Wanking it?"

Kaiba gave him an appropriately cold and disgusted look.

"Kidding, kidding," the white haired slayer apologized, leading the way to their small plastic table. "I forgot; you're asexual and robotic."

"Shut up."

Bakura pulled down on the skin beneath his left eye with one finger and stuck out his tongue. They sat down at the table where Yuugi was waiting, munching away on French fries, having already finished his burger.

"Hey," he greeted them brightly between bites. "Do they have ketchup, you think?"

Bakura scanned the adjoining tables until he spotted some and grabbed it, plunking it down in front of the diminutive teen.

"Thanks." The pair of slayers began to eat as well, a comfortable silence settling between them. Yuugi finished before the other two and rose, heading for the bathroom. He'd relieved himself and was washing his hands when something strange happened.

/Yuugi.../

Yuugi blinked, turning off the faucet. Surely he was imagining things.

/...Yuugi./

Okay, something was calling his name in his head. Time to go hide under Kaiba-san's cloak.

/...Please, Yuugi.../

But there was just something mesmerizing--hypnotic, even-- about it... Yuugi took a step towards the high-set, barred window, moonlight spilling over him like diaphanous whispers. His large, violet eyes were nearly luminescent in the pale glow, an eerie light seeming to emanate from their crystallized depths.

/...come here.../

****

"What is taking him so long? You two should start a fucking club. If he fell asleep again..." Bakura trailed off threateningly. He stalked off towards the bathroom for the second time this evening. He returned a moment later pulling out his piece, a scowl etched on his handsome face. "He gave us the slip."

"Nani?" Kaiba nearly spit out the water his was drinking. He quickly followed Bakura out the door, hastily throwing a few microcards as payment at a waitress and yanked his own semi-automatic pistol out of its holster. His dark eyes adjusted quickly to the moonlit night outside and he wordlessly signaled to Bakura to go left while he went right to check around back. The white haired teen nodded, slinking soundlessly off into the shadows. Kaiba drifted like a wraith through the poorly lit alley bordering the diner, trained to roll his weight on his heels adeptly enough to avoid cracking scattered glass if need be, so his approach was utterly silent.

He heard voices.

"...puzzle, but what do you want? Why are you following me?"

Kaiba couldn't make out the reply; he could only recognize that it was Yuugi, and he was not alone. Yuugi laughed at whatever the demon voice murmured, the sound musical and ethereal and completely out of place. The hairs rose on the back of his neck. Kaiba crept closer, flexing his grip on his pistol. He couldn't see worth shit. His breath caught in his throat--he could just make out what the Tracker was saying; his voice had dropped to a low, conspiratorial timber.

"..can't go with you now, what would Kaiba-kun think? Won't you wait awhile?"

Kaiba's jaw dropped. [What the--?]

"Aa, but it's alright, hikari-chan. Don't worry about Kaiba; he knows my secret."

"...Your secret?" came the innocent, curious response.

"That I love you, of course. He won't mind."

"The fuck I won't," Kaiba growled, heaving a detonating solar cube into the blackness as he hurtled around the corner. It was too risky to blast the fucker's head off, considering he didn't know precisely where Yuugi was. There was a cry, presumably Yuugi's, and the sound of metal slicing metal. The cube hissed and exploded prematurely, its full detonation prevented, sputtering and popping as it fell in two neat halves on the concrete. It'd been cut in half in midair. But two pairs of large, shimmering eyes reflected the flare's brief, dying magnesium spark like cats in the dark. The unnatural shadow lifted, revealing one disorientated teen seated on the ground clutching his head.

Kaiba grabbed him by the arm and jerked him roughly to his feet, sweeping him to his side protectively, simultaneously cocking his gun. Yuugi clung to the taller teen's waist, knees sagging. The brunette backed out of the alley rapidly, weapon clutched stiffly, dragging Yuugi with him. He jabbed his communicator.

" 'Kura, get to the van, now!" Yuugi took a stumbling step backwards.

"Wha-what's going--ah!" Kaiba grabbed Yuugi's hand and ran down the dirty boulevard. Yuugi forced his legs to match the lanky boy's pace, clutching the hand clutching his. As the long legged slayer skidded in front of the armor plated van, it roared to life, nearly running over the pair in a blaze of blinding high beams and squealing rubber. It screeched to a sharp stop, hydraulics hissing as the back doors flew open. Kaiba holstered hid weapon and shoved Yuugi first, leaping into the vehicle after him, mechanic hinges swinging shut behind him automatically. The van groaned, tearing out of the parking lot on two wheels.

Kaiba righted himself, to find Yuugi clinging onto him, shoulders shaking. Kaiba's large hands curled around the slender waist, gently attempting to pry the slighter figure off. The boy wouldn't budge, however, holding on to the brunette with surprisingly rigid strength.

"Hey..." Kaiba murmured, unsure of what to do. "Hey, it's okay now." He hesitantly wrapped his arms around the diminutive male. What was he doing? Bakura caught his eye in the rear-view mirror, worry etched on his brow. Kaiba gave him a small shake of his head to discourage any questions he was sure the tanned boy had.

Yuugi's face was buried into his shoulder. He'd stopped trembling, but had yet to loosen his death grip on the other. Kaiba nosed the teen's exotic hair out of the way to whisper in his ear.

"Did it....?"

The tri-color haired boy shook his head in the negative against his collar bone. As Kaiba held him, trying not to enjoy the cool scent of the wild hair too much or the texture the Tracker's crinkled brow pressed intimately against the sensitive skin of his long neck, he suddenly noticed something very strange. He leaned back, his blue orbs sliding into sharper focus, nearly cross-eyed, in an attempt to visually confirm what he thought he had felt against his temple. Yuugi's ears were kind of pointy. Like a vampire's.

Yuugi tensed, seeming to sense scrutiny of some kind. He released the slayer's neck and scuttled out of his lap, pushing his hair from his face so it fell back into place: covering his ears. "Gomen," he near whispered, a shy blush painting the bridge of his nose and cheeks. His wide, violet eyes dared to peek up at Kaiba. "I--I--I didn't mean to; it was like a voice in my head. Telling me it was okay. I'm so sorry." Kaiba nodded. He had experienced vampire persuasion before. The most powerful of them could steal your free will and your very sense of self. Yet another reason Kaiba loathed them.

"What did he want?" At that, Yuugi flushed brightly, eyes dropping.

"Ah, well, the usual, I think," he answered in a small voice, acutely embarrassed. Kaiba felt heat in his own cheeks as well. What would Yuugi say to him if he ever asked him for 'the usual'?

"And he asked you to go somewhere with him?"

"Aa."

"Did he say where? Anything specific?"

"No...he said he would wait for me, until I solved his puzzle."

"His puzzle?" Kaiba repeated incredulously. [What the hell does that mean?]

Yuugi only nodded guiltily. [Maybe I should show him.....no. He would take it away from me.] His thoughts strayed to the little treasure the Darkness had entrusted him with: a strange, angular bit of smooth, solid gold. A piece of his puzzle.

"Kaiba..." Bakura began.

"Aa?"

"There's something on the roof."

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Massive dark purple boots hit the ground as a tall, lanky man stepped out his unit's vehicle. The folds of his matching kimono swirled around his long legs as he approached the seemingly abandoned warehouse. The garment was slit up both sides for enhanced movement, revealing flashes of strong, darkly clad thighs and glistening, pale metal armor circling his knees and legs in a delicate pattern as he walked further from sight of the unit transfer car. The same slender pattern encircled his arms and elbows, skirting up his limbs to be lost under the rustling fabric of smooth violet hugging his broad torso in a facsimile of the traditional Japanese samurai. Plates of deceptively fragile looking armor shielded his bulky shoulders, transitioning seamlessly into his dully gleaming breastplate. Under the moonless night he made an intimidating figure, pausing suddenly, brandishing a long, strange staff in front of himself with one large hand. He lifted his other hand slowly to his throat, pale blue eyes narrowed. He touched himself lightly.

"\ Return to your unit. Repeat: all personnel return to your unit.\"

He touched the silver DP again and slowly, silently lowered his hand again. He cocked his head to the side, a long curtain of soft violet bangs that weren't pulled back with the rest of his lengthy hair falling into his face. He slid his thumb up and down along his staff, waiting. A soft breeze caught his skin, brushing the locks from his face and twisting his skirt around one leg. He inhaled lightly, breathing in the charged scent of the atmosphere. Yes, they'd been here. Closing his eyes, he tried to envision them. Four--no five of them, possibly a sixth who had never left the hearse, the scent of human and inhuman mingled amongst them. The slightly bitter taste of ozone wafting up from the dirt where a sunburst of immense scope had detonated. It must have lit up the night. The tall, slender male exhaled with a sigh. They were expecting him. But... he sensed something here.

He took a step forward. West, they went west. Not towards Nyctomortem. Back home, to prepare for the Darkness, no doubt, he decided. The silver emblem on his collar lighted again. He ignored it, kneeling to examine the various footprints overlapping each other, shuffled in the earth, hardly discernible. But the ones that left the skirmish were easy enough to tell. The stumbling prints of a tall vampire. You could tell it was a vampire because the prints were large and heavy, mainly up on the toes, but so shallow the only way they could have marked the earth in such a manner was if the owner of the prints had been running at super-human speed. He leaned low, gripping his staff for balance, and sniffed the print delicately. Iron. This vampire came from the Kyoshomo shores to the west. He walked often in the abandoned industrial wasteland of depleted beaches, where the iron silt washed ashore and blackened the sand.

He scraped a small sample of the wet black dust and in little plastic tube and placed it in his pocket. He rose, touching his collar.

"Get a full team out here to canvas the area and trace the exiting tracks of a 4088 or 89 F'rd Tank Hearse model and put Intelligence on witnesses. The closet city that might have seen our perps is Bekumn."

"\ Done. But sir, superior Vox demand you rendez-vous with Valentine--\"

"Understood." He shut off his communicator, walking towards his black automobile. He clicked a ring up on his staff and twisted it--twice to the right, back left halfway, another full turn and--the staff retracted to a third its size and he tossed it into his car, following it a moment later. He gunned the motor and pealed away, following the moving coordinates on his GPS. He punched in his partner's code into his consol. After a second's pause, he heard her voice, thin and metallic over the distance.

"\What?\" Valentine Mai demanded.

"It's me, DiMaggio. Have you made contact yet?"

Her laugh was full and self-assured even through the transmitter.

"\Oh yeah. And boy, were our 'friends' happy to see me. Meet me at Safehouse 1050, k?\"

"Alright."

"\Oh, and D-Mag?\" He grimaced at her ridiculous nickname for him.

"Yes, Mai?"

"\Safehouse 1045 was compromised, so be on your guard.\"

"I will." He smiled. She acted like he was so fragile, just because he...well...had had a bit of a reputation at the Nycto Academy. He rolled his eyes. He could take care of himself. But it was nice to know she cared.

"\Hmph. Over and out.\"

He whipped along the deserted highway. If he hurried, he could make it to the safehouse within an hour or two, which was good. He wanted to get to headquarters as soon as possible. Having a Darkness around....jeopardized everything.

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Kaiba tensed, un-holstering a HK-5 machine gun pistol, eyes trained on the ceiling of the van. "Stats?" he asked.

"Urgh, it's generating electronic interference. Heat scanners, motion detectors, and shape monitors all down. It can't fool the weight sensor beams, though. It's 122.4 pounds, distributed over roughly 12 square feet at four pressure points," Bakura answered.

"Electrocute it."

"Can't. It's blocking the equipment with advanced destructive interference waves. We're sitting ducks," he answered in disgust.

"Stay back," the brunette quietly ordered Yuugi, wrapping a hand around the release handle of the back door. He waited, taking a deep breath. Yuugi stared at him with eyes enormous.

He threw open the back door and swung up out of sight into the night. A brief struggle ensued, the sound of bodies thudding against the roof making Yuugi flinch. A moment later, Kaiba's head poked up-side-down into the open back end of the van.

"Pull over," he demanded sourly. A woman's laugh filtered through the rushing wind. Bewildered, Bakura complied, noting a black sedan was following them off the road. When he had eased to a stop, a black clad figure with flowing blonde hair leapt in front of the snub nosed van, followed by Kaiba.

"Valentine??" Bakura stated incredulously. The pair was already climbing into the back.

".....Shouldn't you be traveling with your unit?" Kaiba sneered, gesturing toward the sedan that had pulled over several yards away.

"Good to see you, too. I suggest we get going--"

"I only parked so you could get off the damn roof," Bakura grumbled, revving the engine and pushing a button that slammed the hydraulic doors shut. "What the hell were you doing up there?"

"Hitching a ride," she answered, rolling her eyes. "Trying to make contact with you idiots, what else? Why, might I ask, are the two of you ignoring all urgent requests at communication and blocking all manual transmission attempts? Ishizu-sama was actually afraid you'd been captured, you know."

"Security has been breached. Safehouse 1045 was sabotaged by an insider. Couldn't risk further communication," Kaiba stated, narrowing his eyes in distaste.

"We know about 1045. Jounouchi's on it."

"'Ku," Kaiba snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. Mai frowned at him and glanced over at the diminutive boy in the corner. She blinked. Well wasn't he a cutie.

"Hi there. I don't expect these manner-less boys to introduce us anytime soon, so I'm Valentine Mai, Perimo. You must be Yuugi."

Yuugi nodded. "Mutou Yuugi--um, Tracker, I guess." Mai laughed again, causing Kaiba to scowl. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "What's a 'Permio'?"

"The classification for your general, Academy graduated vampire killer. It's just Latin for 'Slayer'," she replied. "They like to slap tags on everybody. See?" She pointed to a silver 'VP' attached to the black leather corset top she wore. Yuugi felt his cheeks color as she inadvertently directed his attention to her large breasts.

"Right." He looked to Kaiba. [ I wonder what his is for.... KC. Kaiba what? ] "Wh--" paused, choosing his words. "Where exactly are we going?" he decided on.

"Nyctomortem," Bakura answered as Mai replied differently.

"Safehouse 1050."

"Oh really? Funny, cause I'm driving..." Bakura said sarcastically. Yuugi's eyes followed the trio as they argued, remaining unobtrusively silent.

"Direct orders from Intelligence, crypt raider, so you better change destinations."

"We have had enough delays already. We are not stopping at 1050," Kaiba interrupted.

"A second envoy and two security units are meeting us there. It's for his protection," she pointed at Yuugi. "Or don't you think three encounters with the Darkness in two nights appropriate safety measures? I'd like to know what the hell was going on when I showed up ten minutes ago at that diner." She tossed her blonde locks behind her shoulder impatiently.

Kaiba fixed his intimidating "bad-ass" look on her. The tension hung in the air, until a small flashing light interrupted their staring contest. Mai blinked, glancing down at her communicator. She pressed it daintily with one long nailed finger.

"What?" she demanded.

"\It's me, DiMaggio. Have you made contact yet?\"

Mai lifted her eyes to survey the pair of glowering boys.

"Oh yeah. And boy, were our 'friends' happy to see me," she grinned winningly at her fellow slayers. "Meet me at Safehouse 1050, k?" Bakura grumbled, making faces as he punched in the new coordinates into the van's GPS board.

"\Alright,\" her partner confirmed. Kaiba made a face of disgust. It was no secret he and DiMaggio had never exactly seen eye to eye on vampire slaying.

"(Tell that little pansy to watch out for scary vampires....)" the brunette muttered under his breath, earning a shove from Mai as she pushed by him to seat herself shot-gun. She flopped into the chair, twirling a strand of her long blonde hair.

"Oh, and D-Mag?"

"\Yes, Mai?\"

"Safehouse 1045 was compromised, so be on your guard," she warned, staring challengingly into ice blue eyes.

"\I will.\"

Kaiba snorted derisively and turned from her, pushing his long dark bangs out of his eyes. "Your partner should be lair-rooting, not conferencing with his superiors at safehouses."

"Hmph. Over and out." She pressed her communicator again to end the transmission. "He's tracking the Rare Hunters as we speak, Kaiba-senpai, and you should know better than to underestimate him."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes as he stared off at the opposite wall, adrift in memory. His tone was cold when he answered a moment later. "No." He looked away, his hair fluttering down shielding his dark, blue orbs. "I know exactly what he is capable of."

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Xpyne: So how was that, eh? Kaiba self-servin', the introduction of my beloved D-Mag, yay, and more Yami-kun! Heh, I need to brainstorm. This fic is running away from its game plan. It needs to get to some pivotal plot points, damnit! And Yuugi and Kaiba need to friggin' hook it up already!! It's hard when they don't already know each other and have a back history to rely on. x__x;; Aa, well, I'll try to have the next chappie out a.s.a.p.

Yuugi: Please review and say what you think so far. ::smile:: Oh, and don't forget to visit the Firemoth website for art to go along with the story!

Xpyne: Thanks, Yu-chan. ::pets his spiky head:: Oooh, and does any out there know of some good Gravitation fan fix? The only ones I've found so far have, uh, been lacking in quality, so I'd totally appreciate any good recommendations. Thanks!! Ja ne!