Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Hunted ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Ryou and Malik stopped by the lab to get their Marks and to see how Yugi was doing. They saw Yugi trying to sit up and helped him. “How are you feeling, Yugi,” Malik asked him after they used some pillows to prop him up.

 

“A bit better than yesterday,” Yugi replied. “Atem said that they wanted to run some tests on us to see why we're different than the `others'. But he wants to wait until I'm better and we're settled in.”

 

Atem walked in with a tray and set it down near the boys, “So, who wants to go first?”

 

“Will it hurt,” Ryou asked in fear.

 

Atem sighed, “Actually, I'm not really sure. The process varies with the Mark used and the vampire it's given to.”

 

“Then I'll go first,” Malik volunteered.

 

Atem nodded, “Where would you prefer the Mark to be?”

 

“The back of my neck since I never get my hair cut short,” Malik replied.

 

Atem prepared the area and pressed the Seal of their sector against the boy's neck. Malik cried out as it took hold. Yugi and Ryou flinched. Then Yugi decided that he wanted to get it over with, but Ryou told Atem that he was ready. Ryou chose the same place as Malik and Atem repeated the process. Ryou steeled himself against the pain that never came. “You're done,” Atem announced.

 

“Really,” he asked in confusion. Atem nodded. “Wow, it didn't hurt.”

 

Yugi looked at his friends, “Can someone take my choker off? I want my Mark to be in the same place as yours.”

 

“But Yugi,” Ryou started, “you never take it off. Why now?”

 

“Because I want my Mark where you guys have yours,” Yugi repeated.

 

Malik sighed, “I'll do it for you.”

 

Atem watched as Malik took off Yugi's collar. Underneath it was another Mark, but this one was not from any other Sector. “Yugi, what is that Mark from,” Atem asked him.

 

“It belongs to the Vampire Lord,” Yugi admitted. “He Marked me as his heir, but I never asked for it. He said that I was one of three that he had Marked. He mentioned that the other two and I were the most powerful he had ever created. But when it was found that I was different, my status went from heir to `pet'. His Mark's powers were removed as a result. So now it's a `dead' Mark.”

 

“I believe we can locate a spell to remove that Mark later,” Atem said. “Until then I'll place a counter on it and then place our Mark on the back of your neck.”

 

Yugi nodded, “Thank you.”

 

Ryou and Malik looked down at the ground. “What's wrong,” Atem asked them when he saw this.

 

Ryou sighed, “I was given the same Mark as Yugi, but on my ankle.”

 

“Same here, though it's on my back,” Malik added.

 

Atem called Ishizu in to do the counter-seal on the `dead' Marks. Neither boy felt pain from the process. When she was done, Atem proceeded with their Seal. Yugi felt a slight sting. After it was done, Atem allowed Malik to replace Yugi's choker. “Can I get up yet,” Yugi asked. “I'm getting bored and sort of hungry.”

 

Atem nodded and helped Yugi up. He tried to take a step and almost fell back into the bed. “It looks like you still need a few more days to recover,” Atem mused. “No matter, we have a way for you to get around the mansion.”

 

Yugi stared at the wheelchair, “Nu-uh, no way are you getting me to use that.”

 

“It's either that or stay in the lab,” Atem pointed out.

 

Yugi pouted, “Fine you win, but remember this was your idea.”

 

Atem laughed and sat Yugi in the chair. Yugi was taken into the meeting hall to meet the other Hunters. There he met Tea, Odion, and Joey. Joey looked at him, “So, what's it like having a vamped version of yourself, Atem?”

 

Atem shook his head, “Joey, Yugi didn't choose this.”

 

“Sorry Yug,” Joey said. “I didn't mean to offend you.”

 

“It's alright, really,” Yugi replied.

 

“So how old are you,” Tea asked.

 

“Regular age, I would have to say about 25-26,” Yugi responded. “In vampire years, 10; and in appearance, I'm stuck at 16.”

 

She looked at Ryou and Malik. “The same goes for us as well,” Ryou added.

 

Just as Yugi took a bite from the apple Ryou got for him Duke walked in, “So I leave for a few days and you decided to let the bloodsuckers out!”

 

He started choking on it and Atem smacked him on the back to get it free. While Atem was tending to Yugi, Joey turned to Duke, “Those three ain't normal vamps.”

 

“Prove it,” Duke snapped. “Nevermind, I'll do it.” He stormed from the room in the direction of the lab.

 

Atem looked at Yugi after getting the apple free, “Are you alright, Yugi?”

 

Yugi nodded, “My throat hurts a little bit now.”

 

Ryou headed to the kitchen and spotted some honey next to the microwave. He returned within minutes, carrying a tray with drinks and a warm tea for Yugi. “Thank you Ryou,” Atem stated as Ryou set it on the table.

 

Duke returned with three bags of blood and threw them in front of the boys. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik looked at the blood and then to Duke. Malik spoke, “No thank you. We're not Thirsty. Besides if there's other choices, we'll take those before blood. Unless, of course, we need it.”

 

Duke looked confused and angry at the same time. He looked at Yugi, who was drinking the warm tea, and then at Malik, who was eating the same apple that Yugi had tried to eat. Before he could call them fake vampires, Yugi yawned. That's when Duke saw the small fangs. “This isn't possible,” he cried out. “These three can't be able to eat or drink normal stuff.”

 

Atem stepped forwards, “They may be a new, unclassified strain of vampire, Duke. We won't know until Yugi is well and they are settled in.”

 

“Those things have names,” he questioned.

 

“Yes. Duke meet Yugi Mutou, Ryou Bakura, and Malik Ishtar,” Atem stated.

 

Duke paled, “Ishtar? As in Ishizu Ishtar?”

 

Malik nodded, “She is my sister.”

 

“I never knew she had a brother,” Duke muttered.

 

Malik replied, “Yugi, Ryou, and I were taken when we were 16, but within weeks of each other. Ryou and Yugi escaped before I was able to, but I never knew what happened to them until a few years after I managed the same.”

 

Ryou spoke up, “Yugi and I had hoped that Malik was spared our fate. But when he literally ran into us a few years after our escape, we decided to stick together like we did before all this happened.”

 

They had waited for Yugi to say something, but when they looked at him, he was sound asleep. Atem wheeled the sleeping boy back to the lab to put him in bed. Duke was surprised that they were even up during the day.