Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Guardians of the Watchtowers ❯ Trust ( Chapter 11 )

Happy Thanksgiving! (Well, for those of you living in the US anyways).

Thank you to Fanfiction reviewers:

Anime Crazed: Yeah, I know it's a bit slow. I'm working on that. Thanks for the review!

SoulDreamer: Thanks for the review!

Dark fairy7: LOL, thanks for the review!

Yugi-Obsessed: No, don't worry, Yugi and Kaiba will just have the wolf ears and tail. For now…nothing too extreme. ;) Thanks for the review!

Fluffy-kins: The language is Elven (the language of the Elves) from Lord of the Rings. Thanks for the review!

Mistress Ethereal: LOL…well, Isabella as Anzu huh? Heh heh…that certainly wasn't my intention. *shrugs* Yups, Kaiba is a bit slow- he'll get better though. Yeah, I get tired of reading fics where Yugi is so "weak". Thought I'd give him some backbone at least. Thanks for the review!

Thanks to Mediaminer reviewers:

Calupe: LOL, I know! Don't ya just love her? ;) Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Yugioh. And this idea comes from LJ Smith's Nightworld series.

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Chapter 11: Trust

Yami slowly rose to his feet, staring at the now-empty ground before him. The stake in his hand clattered to the ground. He had never wanted it to end like this. Not after all that they had been through together…

The crimson-eyed Guardian let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes as he did so. But that was all in the past. Isabella had proven to be too cruel, her thirst for blood and pleasure of seeing others suffer too great. That is, if there even was such a limit…

Arms wrapped around Yami's waist, dragging him out of his memories and thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked down at Yugi's concerned face, and gave a slight smile. "Are you alright?" he asked softly, returning the embrace.

Yugi nodded, lavender never leaving crimson. "I'm fine. But are you okay? You look terrible!"

Yami knew he was referring specifically to his appearance, but sensed a concern about the death of Isabella as well. "I've been through worst. Trust me." He laughed a little.

Yugi returned the laugh and snuggled more into Yami's embrace. "I'm just glad we're back together."

"As am I…"

Raven watched the two with a bit of longing. If only she could open her heart like Yami could. And yet…

"You're hurt."

The soft, deep voice startled her somewhat, and she looked at Kaiba, who had finally activated. He nodded towards her right arm. Raven glanced down. Damn. Her favorite jacket now bore a large rip on her upper arm. Beneath it, she could see (as well as smell) the blood from a long wound. She shrugged. "It's nothing. Just a scratch from a Harpy on the way here. I'll be fine." She tried to keep the throbbing of her arm from affecting her voice.

Kaiba didn't buy it though. He withdrew a dark blue silk handkerchief from inside his jacket, folded it twice over, then silently tied it around Raven's arm.

"Er…thanks," Raven muttered softly, looking at the make-shift bandage. "You didn't have to do that." Her eyes shifted to Kaiba.

"But I wanted to." Kaiba looked into her beautiful golden eyes, feeling something he's never felt before…

For the first time, Raven began to notice how Kaiba's eyes weren't like hard sapphires devoid of any emotion. They were more like the deep blue waters of the ocean at night…

Raven blinked and shook her head. Where the hell did *that* come from? "Uhh…we should probably get going. Before more Harpies get here," she stated quickly.

Yami and Yugi had been watching Raven and Kaiba with some interest. Something was definitely going on between those two. Yami hoped it was something real. He nodded. "Good idea. Let's get out of here then." Keeping a protective arm around Yugi, he made his way towards the door.

Determined not to look at Kaiba and be caught in her gaze once more, Raven followed, stopping only to bend down and pick up her stake, replacing it back inside her jacket. She heard Kaiba following closely behind her.

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The four easily found their way to the lair's entrance, where Spirit and two others awaited. The dark stallion, upon seeing Yami, neighed happily and trotted up to meet him. Yami smiled and placed his hand on the stallion's shoulder. "I'm fine. Good to see you too." He gestured towards Yugi. "This is Yugi. Yugi, this is Spirit, a dear and long time friend of mine."

Yugi gazed at the fiery wings, his eyes wide.

"Don't worry. Spirit would never hurt anyone he doesn't want to. Go on. He wants to say hi." With a gentle shove Yami pushed Yugi towards the horse.

The short boy tentatively reached out a hand to give the horse a small pat. But the stallion surprised him by reaching forward and nuzzling his nose against Yugi's neck. Yugi let out a surprised laugh, wrapping his arms around the horse's broad neck. "Yami!" he gasped between laughs, "it kinda tickles."

Yami smiled, glad to see that they liked each other. He looked at the other two awaiting figures, standing rather far apart from each other. Yami smirked at this, knowing the two never got along too well. Leaving Yugi with Spirit, he walked over to the one clad in rich purple robes, complete with a spiral hat, holding a spellcaster's staff in one hand as he waited. Myrrddin, Eiru's older brother, and his best friend after Raven. "Everything all right?" Myrrddin asked.

Yami nodded. "For now, he's safe. Thank you for your help. I assume there weren't many problems?" he asked with a smile.

The sorcerer smirked as well. "Harpies aren't that powerful. Just annoying as a group."

As they continued to talk, Raven made her way towards the other lone figure, only to be stopped by Kaiba's gentle hand on her good arm. She looked at him questioningly. "You *do* realize that's a *dragon* you're walking towards?" he asked in a concerned voice.

Eyebrows raised at the second time Kaiba showed concern towards her. What was going on here? "Things aren't always what they seem, Kaiba," she said softly. "Nothing is ever certain…" she said in a near whisper, looking away now. After a moment, she glanced back at the tall boy, gently pulling her arm away from him. "Come on. You can come and meet Belinos." /I just hope Belinos isn't in a hungry mood…/ she thought to herself. She knew the dragon liked to "munch" on humans every so often.

The two made their way towards the great white beast, who was currently lying curled in a ball on the ground. He unwound himself as he saw the two approaching. His sensitive nostrils picked up on Kaiba's human scent, and his blue eyes grew wide with delight. Raven was bringing him another human treat!

Raven caught the look the dragon was giving Kaiba, and had to stifle a laugh. She quickly called out to the dragon, "No, Belinos, you can't eat this one."

At her words, Kaiba stopped dead in his tracks. Did she just say "eat"?

Raven continued walking up to the now-dejected looking dragon, and gave him a small pat on his massive head. "Oh, stop being so grumpy. I did just let you beat up on those Harpies now, remember?"

Belinos perked up a bit at the reminder. Yes, that had been quite fun to do.

The dark-haired Guardian turned back towards Kaiba. "Come closer, Kaiba. He won't bite. I promise."

Before Kaiba could move, however, he suddenly found himself face-to-face with the dragon. The dragon had decided to go to him instead. Eyes wide, Kaiba took a step back. Belinos cocked his head to the side a bit, studying Kaiba. Something was…*different* about this human boy. Besides the wolf ears and tail, anyways. Whatever…for some odd reason, he was beginning to already like this strange human-wolf boy. There was a low rumble in his throat as he lowered his head a bit.

Kaiba stared confusedly at the dragon. What the hell was it doing? He glanced at Raven for some help. "It's his way of saying he won't hurt you. Just pat him on the head to let him know you understand."

Kaiba quickly did as she suggested, not really wanting to anger the dragon.

Yami, Yugi, and the others walked up to them, Myrrddin keeping his distance from Belinos. "Everything alright here?" Yami asked.

Raven nodded, then quickly introduced everyone with a unnoticeable roll of her eyes. She hated always having to do the introductions.

"Umm…why is Myrrddin staying so far away from Belinos?" Yugi asked curiously, looking back and forth between the two.

"They never get along," Yami answered with a shrug.

"Because that stupid dragon is always wrecking my spells," Myrrddin added with a grumble.

Belinos let out a small roar of disapproval at being called "stupid". He looked at Raven for some support.

The girl rolled her eyes, this time much more obviously, and sighed. This little "battle" between the two had been going on for quite some time now. "Myrrddin, you know he doesn't mean to. He's just playing around with you. *Lighten* up a bit."

"Hmph," Myrrddin replied. "Well, he should be more careful, at least."

Raven was about to reply, but was cut off by Yami. "We really should be getting off this mountain. You can continue your argument *after* we deal with the Elders."

Kaiba looked over the edge, a straight, if not bumpy, drop to the ground. "And how do you suggest we do that? By flying?"

"Well, yes actually. But we won't be doing the flying." Yami climbed up onto Spirit's back, then reached out his hand to Yugi. He easily pulled Yugi up behind him. Yugi remembered how he had ridden on Yami's motorcycle with him, and figured this was the same thing… almost. He wrapped his arms around Yami's waist tightly, although he knew that neither Yami nor Spirit would let him fall.

With a shrug Raven climbed up onto Belinos's back with some difficulty, her right arm still throbbing a bit. She looked at Kaiba. "Are you coming? Or do you plan on just *jumping* off the mountain?" She extended out her hand towards him.

The blue-eyed boy looked at her skeptically. "Do you really expect me to get on that…dragon?"

Raven sighed as she shook her head a little. "Must you always be so stubborn? Just get on already. We don't have all day, you know." Her hand was still out.

In fact, the dull "sun" was already starting to disappear from the sky. Night was fast approaching.

Kaiba still looked at her uncertainly.

"Trust me."

The words were so quiet, Kaiba first thought he was hearing things. But Raven's look told him that he wasn't. Slowly, he grasped her hand in his, and she helped him to climb up behind her.

"'Bout time…" Yami grumbled under his breath.

The two beasts took off into the air, Myrrddin following, using a spell to levitate himself. They made their way quickly towards the bottom of the mountain, towards the shelter of the forest below. Yugi clutched Yami's waist even tighter as they descended, feeling as if they were on one of those twisty roller-coaster rides at the carnival.

Finally, a clearing was spotted and the small group landed. Yami easily dismounted, then helped Yugi to dismount at well. Kaiba quickly jumped off of the dragon's back, then turned to see if Raven needed a hand. She had already dismounted herself. Myrrddin landed several feet away from Belinos.

Raven looked around the clearing. "Castle Istar is at the heart of this forest. We'll rest here for the night. Myrrddin and I will cast a protection spell, and Yami, you work on getting some light around here. We'll worry about Yugi and Kaiba's…problem in the morning."

The fire-user nodded, easily using his magick to light the area around them. Raven held out her hands and summoned her magick as well. "Amin yala vara tel' seldenire tel' Numen Tirion!" She took out her stake, and with its point began to draw a wide circle on the ground around the group. Blue crystals arose from the ground as she completed her circle. They sparkled slightly as they formed a protective "bubble" of sorts around the group. Raven nodded to Myrrddin, who pointed his staff at the blue bubble with a loud shout, "Ama poldora!" The crystals sparkled brilliantly for a brief moment, then died back down to their original intensity. Raven and Myrrddin nodded to each other, their task complete.

With a sigh, Raven walked over to where Belinos was lying and collapsed onto the ground next to him. She leaned back against him, weary from the spell as well as the day's battle. She noticed Myrrddin giving the others some small tablets. She knew they were "food tablets", sort of like a meal in a pill. It should be able to sustain them for a while. She herself wasn't very hungry; just very tired. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. The water-user closed her eyes, lying down on the ground, using her arm as a pillow. She smiled slightly as she felt Belinos move one of his wings over her, for her "blanket". He also curled his head towards her, so that they were close together.

Yami tiredly laid down as well, next to Yugi, who was already fast asleep. Smiling gently, he took out the fire-pendent from his pocket and fastened it around Yugi's neck. This time, he has strengthened the chain so that it would not be so easily removed the next time. Yami wrapped his arm around the small one's waist for comfort and closed his eyes. Spirit came up to them, lying down beside them and placing one wing carefully over the two. The fiery wing provided a soothing warmth for the two boys.

Kaiba looked at the two groups, wondering where he should go. He shrugged; figures he'd be the one alone. He decided he'd settle down near a large rock, when a low growl caught his attention. The dragon had lifted his wing off from Raven, and was looking at him with one eye open. Kaiba's mouth dropped open a bit in surprise. It seemed as if the dragon was *inviting* him to join them. He wondered if Raven would mind though. He was still rather uncertain as to how she felt about him…

Raven opened her eyes and groaned a bit to herself. She sat up and looked at the tall human-wolfish boy. With a sigh she called out softly, so as not to wake the others. "You can join us, Kaiba. I don't… mind."

Kaiba slowly walked over to them, sitting down next to Raven. She stared at him for a moment before reaching into her pocket. She pulled out the water-pendent that the Harpy had snatched off of him before. "I think you dropped something." She held out the charm from its chain towards him. "I strengthened the chain this time. It'll be harder for anything not human to take off now."

Kaiba silently took the charm from her and placed it back around his neck. "Thanks." He paused. "You can call me Seto, by the way." Only Mokuba ever called him that…

Raven looked at him with surprise, then smiled slightly. "Alright then. Goodnight, Seto."

"Goodnight, Raven."

They both lay down, and after a moment's hesitation Kaiba wrapped his arm around her waist. Belinos grinned to himself and he lowered his wing back down over them. He could tell there was something going on between these two.

Myrrddin sat on a large rock, staff in hand, keeping guard over the others. He didn't need much sleep anyways. He looked deep into the forest, his magick senses picking up on the magick vibrating from the walls of Castle Istar. They were getting close…

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Whew, done! So not much happened in this chapter. More developing (or attempt at developing anyways) of some relationships. Some loose ends tied up. Yeah, you know I think slowly here. Ok, so I know the Blue Eyes White Dragons aren't exactly…er...the "playful" kinda type. But oh well. This one is really young, so he still kinda likes to fool around…whatever.

Translations:

Amin yala vara tel' seldenire tel' Numen Tirion!: I summon the protection of the West Watchtower!

Ama poldora!: Strengthen!

Thanks for reading and please review! ;)