Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Hunted ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

“Took you long enough,” Seto snapped as Atem walked in with the three boys in tow. “Are these the three vamps you captured early this week?”

 

Atem nodded, “They are.”

 

“Then why is that one in a wheelchair,” Seto questioned.

 

Atem sighed, “Because of a mistake on my part that nearly finished him off. I included my report in the file for you.” Atem slid the file folder across the table.

 

Seto grabbed it and started flipping through the pages, “It seems that you have discovered a new strain of vampire, Atem. But I warn you now if those things get out and start terrorizing Domino, they'll all be put down regardless of their rarity.”

 

The three boys paled. Atem noticed this, “Seto, I wanted to inform you that the boys have been Marked. However, we had to place a Counter-Mark on them as well.”

 

Seto looked from the file, “Explain why.”

 

“They had been Marked before,” Atem explained. “However, this Mark doesn't belong to any other sector nor was it in the Hunter Directory.”

 

“If it isn't of Hunter origin, whose is it,” Seto snapped.

 

Yugi looked up, “The Vampire Lord, sir.”

 

“He Marked us as his `heirs', but once it was discovered that we were different, he removed the power from our Marks,” Malik explained.

 

Seto glared at the three of them, “You three on placed on probation and are not to leave the Mansion until further notice.” He looked again at Atem, “I heard that Duke has been giving you a hard time as of late. Explain.”

 

“He came home and has been taking recent events the wrong way. He even went so far as to accuse these three of trying to poison the team. This was not the case, because had they poisoned us, they too would be affected,” Atem reported.

 

Yugi looked up at Atem, “May I be excused? I'm getting kind of hungry and never got to eat my cookies before Marik stole them from me.”

 

Seto's attention snapped from the files again, “They can eat regular food?”

 

“Yes we can,” Ryou answered. “My name is Ryou Bakura and these are my friends; Malik Ishtar and Yugi Mutou.”

 

“Ryou, why don't you see if you can find something for everyone in here. Malik, you may accompany him if you wish,” Atem told the two.

 

The boys nodded and left. Seto got up and walked over to Yugi, “Open your mouth.”

 

Yugi looked at Atem in fear. “He just wants to see your fangs, Yugi,” Atem reassured him.

 

Yugi nodded and did as Seto ordered. “Those fangs are small, not very well developed for hunting,” Seto mused. “How did you and your friends survive for ten years?”

 

“We preyed on stray dogs and ate only what we managed to get from outdoor markets in the evenings,” Yugi replied. “But it was mostly strays that didn't have collars. We buried the remains to prevent the `others' finding out where we were.”

 

 

Ryou and Malik returned with a tray each. They sat the trays on the table and stepped back to allow Seto to take what he wanted. After he selected a coffee, Ryou picked a cherry Danish out for Yugi and gave him a small glass of juice. “Wow, thanks guys,” Yugi told his friends just before biting into the pastry.

 

Seto watched in amazement while the three friends ate and drank as humans. “I'm going to postpone heading back to the Center for now,” Seto announced. “Is my room still available?”

 

Atem nodded, “Of course. Once a member of this sector, always a member; regardless of position.”

 

“You know that I'm in charge of the Organization, Atem,” Seto snapped. “If it weren't for me, you and everyone else would be out of a job or worse. Now, have someone call the Council to inform them that I wish not to be disturbed unless it's an absolute emergency.”

 

Atem nodded and stepped aside to allow Seto to pass.

 

 

“Yami,” Yugi called out as he wheeled himself into Atem's study. “Are you in here?” No answer. “Huh. I guess not. Now how am I going to get into the lab to get another bag for us? I guess I could ask one of the others to help.”

 

Yugi wheeled himself into the library and saw Duke in there. “Um, can you help me get a bag from the lab,” Yugi asked. “I can't seem to find anyone else.”

 

“That's because they're out Hunting,” Duke snapped. “And no, I don't help vamps with anything.”

 

Yugi cried and left the room as fast as he could, forgetting about the stairs to the first level. Duke heard a loud crash and went running. He wasn't prepared to see the small teen laying at the foot of the stairs or the team's early return.

 

Duke had barely reached Yugi's still form when the others walked in. “YUGI,” Atem and a few others of the team cried out. “What happened in here,” Seto demanded.

 

Duke looked guilty, “Yugi asked if I would get him a bag from the lab and I told him that I don't help vamps with anything. He got upset and wasn't paying attention to where he was going.”

 

Atem lifted the injured vampire from the ground, “I expect you to clean this mess up and fix that wheelchair. If anything happens to Yugi, I'm holding you responsible.” He headed to the lab to tend to Yugi's wounds. Ishizu and Tea followed behind him.

 

The remaining members of the team didn't spare Duke a second look as they filed past him to their rooms. He sighed and went to get the cleaning supplies and the tools to repair the wheelchair. As he started to clean the broken glass and wood, Ryou appeared. “I saw what happened,” he told Duke.

 

“And what, you're going to make me pay for your friend's pain,” Duke shot back.

 

Ryou shook his head, “No, that's not how we treat others.”

 

Silence passed and Duke noticed that Ryou had started sweeping the floor while he was still cleaning the large pieces of debris from the broken table that the wheelchair had crashed into. He looked over at the wheelchair and saw Malik working on repairing it. Duke then felt bad because he had told Yugi that he didn't help vamps, and here his friends were helping him when they should have been trying to injure or kill him. The three worked in silence.

 

 

Ishizu had checked Yugi over for any severe injuries and, aside from a few scrapes and bruises, he was fine. He came to as Tea covered the last cut with a bandage. “Yami,” he asked when he saw Atem pacing. Atem looked at Yugi, who continued, “Please don't be mad at him. I should have paid attention to where I was going.”

 

Atem nodded and left the room to check on Duke's progress. He was surprised to see that the mess was cleaned up; and even more surprised to see that he was sitting between the two vampire teens watching TV and laughing.

 

“Yugi is awake and his injuries were mild,” Atem told Duke.

 

Duke looked up, “Can I see him? I need to apologize.”

 

“Of course. Yugi isn't upset at you,” he replied.

 

Duke nodded and left the room to go see Yugi. As he entered the lab, Tea glared at him, “I hope you don't try to kill him this time.”

 

He shook his head and sat in the chair next to Yugi's bed, “I wanted to apologize for the way I've treated you and your friends.”

 

“It's ok, we're sort of used to it,” Yugi replied. “Or we should be by now, with the `others' hunting us and the shopkeepers throwing large rocks at us. We've learned that people can't accept another if that person is in any way different than them. I've never been one to hold a grudge, besides doing so would only hurt me and not the person who wronged me.”

 

Duke was silent for a moment, “So do you still want that bag?”

 

“If it isn't any bother, then please,” Yugi answered.

 

Duke went to the store room and grabbed a bag for Yugi. “Here ya go, squirt.”

 

“Hey, I'm not a squirt,” Yugi protested.

 

Duke look at Yugi, “I don't know about that, kid. You look like you're about nine or ten to me.”

 

“Only in vampire years,” Yugi laughed.

 

“Oh really now,” Duke teased. “Then how old would you be now?”

 

Yugi stopped laughing and looked away, “I would have been about 25-26 years old. But I'm stuck as a sixteen-year old.”

 

“I'm sorry, Yugi,” Duke said, breaking the sudden silence.

 

Yugi nodded and wiped some tears away, “It's ok. You didn't know.”