Teratos High: Demon Hunters

Welcome to Teratos High! This story was originally posted on fanfiction.net (and is still in progress). Not long ago I became ZombieBlinky's co-author on this project, and she's given me permission to post her chapters up here for her. But that's enough of my babble! I hope you all enjoy, and...

On with the story!

Primary pairing: YamixYugi

~~~~

Two figures crouched from under thick tree boughs. They had been hidden in the foliage for what seemed like hours, trying to hide from their pursuers. Red eyes watched the torches bob further and further away. Were they finally safe?

Only when the last torches disappeared from view, and the angry shouts had faded into faint whispers, did one of the figures, a young woman by the look of her, speak.

“Are they gone?” She whispered softly fear, pain, worry, and grief all mingling in her voice. She shifted slightly, giving the small white bundle in her arms a brief, affectionate look, before hissing quietly as a spasm of pain rippled through her from the bloody gashes that adorned her side. Gashes that would have undoubtedly killed her had she been less agile. Gashes that would still kill her if she did not receive medical attention soon.

"Quiet." Her companion, a young man, presumably her husband, growled crimson eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. Abruptly he froze, completely, his sensitive nose having caught a scent so foul it burned the inside of his nostrils and sent his blood pounding through his chest. No, surely they hadn't sent that beast in!

Garnet eyes shut in despair. He could sense anger and hatred congealing in the air around them. A monster was coming for them. His wife gasped, her identical crimson eyes widening in terror as horrified realization dawned on her.

Her fear was attractive, hanging heavy in the air and mixing with the combined scent of both their wounds. It brought the monster whose scent permeated their hidden place. It knew they were there. A loud growl shook the trees and the leaves quivered on their boughs.

"Go." The man hissed, pulling himself free from the branches. His wife began to protest; climbing down after the man. He shook his head to silence her. The man kissed her gently one last time, and cast a special protection over the bundle in her arms. They knew this was the last they would see of each other in this life. "Go." He said firmly.

Tears sprung to his wife’s eyes, and she gave him one last fleeting kiss before fleeing into the dark night. A sob escaped her lips as she ran from the man she loved. The man, now alone in the clearing gave a final cry as a monster, fouler then the blackest nightmare a mortal could dream, appeared - a snarling mass of fangs and acidic saliva.

The monster, catching his scent lurched towards him. He was no match for it in the state he was in, and both he and the creature before him knew it. The beast turned away, its harsh voice grating in a sick parody of laughter more resembling an orchestra of hell, playing a heathen symphony with the screams of a banshee dripped from every octave, than anything a normal voice could produce. Black eyes eyed the man contemptuously and focused on its real target: the woman and child.

"Try if you want!" The man now challenged drawing the monster's attention to himself, buying his wife and son a few more minutes to escape. He taunted the creature, enraging it. "You will never lay a claw on my son!"

"He will be darker then the soulless eyes of a demon!" The man roared defiantly, "Hidden in the shadows, so none will find him; and should they try, they forfeit their life!"

It became infuriated, rearing back on its powerful hind legs. It raised a massive, metallic, blood-stained paw and brought it in a lethal arc, severing the man into two bloody pieces before he could even breathe.

There he died slowly, detached from his legs and in indescribable agony. The monster looked on haughtily, smug in its victory. Its prey had died, ending his useless squabbles. It turned away, the thirst for blood temporarily sedated. It did not worry about pursuing the woman. Her life would not last long, and the child would be unable to fend for itself. The monster considered its job done.

As the husband's eyes lost life - glassed over with the beginning marks of death, his thoughts echoed in the clearing, 'His name will be Yami, and may he swallow the demons in his shadows...'

In the distance, a baby cried.

~~~~

Seventeen year old Yami sprung from his bed, instantly becoming entangled in his bed sheets. A thin layer of sweat beaded down his neck and coated his lithe body. The dream - or nightmare, startled him so badly from his slumber, he fell from the bed with a loud and painful thump.

Disorientated, Yami straightened himself up. It wasn't everyday he had a dream. In fact, this was the first night in years that he could even remember having one. His crimson eyes closed to better remember the images. Already, the dream had begun to fade from his mind's eye. He couldn't even remember the faces of the two runaways. He cursed his inability to remember, momentarily surprising himself for caring so much. It was just a stupid dream, right?

Granted, nightmares didn't usually come in color, or look so realistic. His stomach twisted, remembering the gruesome demon in fine detail. Fear knotted through his nerves, hands twitching around his covers as though searching for a weapon to protect their owner with.

'It was just a dream.' He told himself firmly, though he had trouble believing the thought.

Strangely, he didn't want the man to have died. He found himself wondering what exactly had happened to the mother and her child named, 'Yami.' The teenager pushed messy blond bangs out of his face, running a tan hand through the locks of black and red spiky hair. He dismissed the name as a coincidence; it most likely had something to do with his subconscious. Perhaps it was something to explain where he came from, who he was, and why he had no parents.

Or maybe he was just losing it.

He frowned and glanced at his clock. '5:20.' He sighed, knowing it was no use trying to go back to sleep. He got out of the bed, gracefully stretching his long legs onto the worn carpet and blinking away the last remnants of sleep from his red eyes enjoying the subtle crack as he retested his tired joints. Deeming himself well and awake, Yami figured he should probably get ready for the long day ahead.

~~~~

Many children were screaming and running around the orphanage he called home. Yami stood stiffly by the doorway with some of the older orphans, occasionally fiddling with the black tie around his neck in irritation.

He despised adoption. To Yami, it was the most grandiose waste of time anyone could ever possibly come up with. He would have liked to punch the man who came up with the idea.

With his grey button up shirt and black slacks, metal studded black wrist bands and chain wallet dangling from his pocket - Yami looked ready to kick ass and take names. He glared at the shy couples that came in, pointing and squealing at some of the younger kids - as if they were some sort of fascinating creature - yet once they caught sight of Yami; decked out in various chains, studs, spikes, and other assorted paraphernalia (most often mistaken as weapons), they tended to scurry away and send him baleful glares.

Yami scowled and crossed his arms in impatience. He just wanted this day to end so he could go on with his merry life, crappy as it was.

"Ow!" He yelped, turning to glare behind him as a sharp pain to the back of his head drew the grungy teenager's attention.

The land lady, Ms. Valentine stood behind him, tapping a fan against her slender arm impatiently. "Play nice." She snorted, large eyes glinting in annoyance. Her dark blond hair cascaded down to the small of her back, the tips curling slightly. She was very... buxom, and to say it lightly, attractive. Most of the male orphans over the age of twelve were in love with her. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your view, Yami had remained mostly immune to her assets. Of course, he was immune to most people's assets so that wasn't saying much.

Yami rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his face, "Make me." He challenged. Ms. Valentine matched his smirk.

"No dinner for you then, Mr. Yami." She said haughtily.

Yami glared, "Cheater."

Her smirk just widened.

Knowing she would stay true to her threat, and not wanting to starve later, Yami jerked his head in a semblance of a nod. Forcing a smile, which looked more like a grimace, Yami turned to the couple that was still eyeing him warily.

"Good afternoon." He attempted to growl politely.

Even more frightened then before, the couple sped to the opposite side of the room, thoroughly scared and about to wet their pants. Yami shrugged, used to that kind of behavior by now. Yami was contemplating his chances of escaping back to his room undetected so he could skip out on the rest of Adoption day; when it happened.

A couple crossed the threshold of the orphanage, clasping hands and eager. Yami froze, his crimson eyes zeroing in on the new couple instinctively. They seemed to radiate cold wind, most unnatural in a place full of warm bodies. Yami had a feeling they were only acting the part of excited parents. A chill, full of experience and remembered pain, crept down his spine.

The man was tall, and interestingly enough bald, with dark green eyes that searched the room pointedly. He was looking for something - or someone specific. Yami fought the insane urge to hide from that searching gaze. The woman had blue eyes and long black hair. She bent down to smile and play with some children before ushering them away. She looked up and met Yami's eyes precisely, as though knowing where he would be before seeing him. As soon as her eyes met his, the man turned his head towards Yami as well. A cold ball of certainty formed in the orphan's belly. They were looking for him. The thought terrified him. He glared at them both defiantly however, he was not going to let them see his fear no matter what his insides felt like.

They both stared him down until the teenager was forced to look away.

'Who were those people?' He thought frustrated as they melted into the crowd quite as if they hadn't spent the last five minutes looking for him or staring him down. The teenager shook his head slightly. The cold dread was gone, and he was beginning to wonder if it had ever been there. Maybe he'd imagined the whole episode and he'd just encountered a couple not so easily intimidated by his glares. The memory of the couple swam before him and he shivered at it. Without another word he turned on his heel and stalked out of the crowded room pulling off his tie as he went. He just couldn't bear it in there another moment.

He was grateful when Ms. Valentine didn't say anything about his sudden departure, or try to call him back.

~~~~

Yami growled in irritation as a splash of soapy water sprayed him full in the face.

"Ha! Yami looks funny!" The excited voice responsible for the now wet, orphan cheered. Yami glared half-heatedly at the splashing figure in front of him. His dark sleeves were pushed up to his forearms, tan arms sopping wet with a limp wash cloth dangling in his hand. Yami currently had the glamorous job of supervising young Leo take a bath. Ms. Valentine's subtle revenge for earlier he was sure. The boy was five years old, with light eyes and brown hair, sweet in every form of the word, and as mischievous as an imp.

Yami pushed aside wet bangs. "How observant." He said dryly. "Close your eyes." He muttered.

Without so much as pausing Yami dumped a bucket of cold water of Leo's head. The child gave a cry before whining indignantly, "Yaaaaaaaaaami!!" The teenager in question smiled at the young boy before wringing out the rag.

"Yes Leo?"

"That was mean!"

"So?"

Leo pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, "Yami is a big meanie-poo! Leo's not talking to him anymore!" Then he promptly turned around and attempted to ignore Yami, shooting him childish glares over his shoulder. Yami fought the urge to laugh at the sight. Knowing Leo he'd wind up with a mouth full of soapy bath water if he did.

Crimson eyes glanced down at his wet wrist watch and sighed, the caretaker would be upset if they spent any more time then necessary in the bath. Yami gazed at the pouting boy and decided to wrap things up quickly.

"Leo," He began gravely, "I am very sorry for being a big meanie-poo." He looked at Leo with eyes full of theatrical sorrow, "Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"

The five year old looked at Yami skeptically before pretending to think about it.

"I don't know..." He tapped his finger dramatically against his chin, "You'll have to play a game with me."

Yami smiled and ruffled the boy's wet hair, "Oh the agony." He sighed, "I suppose I can live with that punishment." He chuckled deeply at the sour expression on Leo's face, "Alright, bath time's over. Time for you to dry off." Once Leo had been adequately cleaned and dressed, Yami gave the young boy a piggy back ride to his room.

"Yami?"Leo asked.

Yami set the boy on the bed, grinned and flipped on a night light.

"Yeah?"

Leo looked down, nervous.

"What is it?"

"I know you've told me before..." The boy trailed off and, Yami had a feeling he knew what was about to befall him, "Where do babies come from?"

Yep. There was the bomb shell.

Yami slapped a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was still much too early to inform Leo of the birds and the bees, so he went with the overused stereotype every parent resorted to, "The stork."

"What's a 'stork'?"

"A bird. It drops babies off on people's doorsteps during the night, and when they wake up in the morning, they're parents." Lying to a five-year old, what had the world come to?

"So the stork is sort of like Santa Claus?"

"Pretty much." Yami lied with a mental wince.

Leo looked at Yami through wide pinkish eyes. Normally Leo wasn't into beating around the bush. He was only five and already he had developed a bad case of 'Diarrhea of the Mouth', so Yami knew he didn't have long to wait before Leo's real question came out into the open.

"But..." He looked at the teenager hesitantly, "Why are we here?"

Another bombshell. Great.

Yami frowned. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to answer this question until the child was older, but Leo had always been observant. And inquisitive... For a moment the older boy was torn between pride in Leo's intelligence, and hitting his head on the wall for a while. Currently, the wall option was looking rather attractive...

In the five years Yami had known him, Leo had become like a little brother. On the night Leo had been dropped off at the orphanage Yami was at the tender age of twelve, and had immediately taken on the job of raising Leo. And, despite Yami's occasional absence - the times where he had been adopted by various psychotic families, then dumped like a used condom - he had done a fine job.

He could never explain why he had such an interest in Leo, but the truth of the matter lay within Yami himself. He hadn't wanted Leo to grow up friendless and without a father figure like he had.

"What do you mean?" Yami dodged momentarily praying he wasn't going to have to try and explain the fundamentals of religion and philosophy to the boy. The wall would definitely be in his future if that was the case.

Leo fidgeted with the buttons of his onesie pajamas, "How did we end up with Miss. Teana?" He inquired, "She's not my mommy, is she?" He asked fearfully.

Miss Teana was the owner of the orphanage. Cruel, evil, and completely insane.

"No she isn't." Yami replied instantly relieved beyond measure.

Leo looked relieved.

He ran his fingers through his hair, "The stork got lost when he was delivering us." Yami tried, "He put us here because he didn't know where to go."

Leo seemed to accept this as a plausible reason. He smiled hopefully, "Will our parents ever come for us?"

Yami frowned. He had no intention of dashing the young child's innocence, but Leo was going to have to face the harsh truth someday: Every person in the orphanage had been dropped off for a reason. But even so it would not be because of him tonight.

"Maybe." He lied again, "But no more questions Leo." Yami eyed the boy who was about to interrogate him some more, "It's past your bed time, and you're tired."

The child fought back a yawn, and lost, "No I'm not." He protested through it. He quickly wiped a tear away.

"Yes you are." Yami stated, smiling.

Leo shook his head in disappointment, "But you said you'd play a game with me."

"I did, didn't I?"

Leo nodded hopefully.

"But not now." He added a paternal smirk crossing his lips, "Tomorrow morning, okay?"

Leo pouted and sunk in his covers.

Before Yami could tuck the five year old in, the orphanage intercom blared.

"Yami, please report to Ms. Teana's office immediately." The voice of Ms. Valentine crackled. Yami and Leo stared at the speaker in disbelief. They were both thinking similar things: What would she need to see Yami for?

"I better go." The teenager said reluctantly.

He didn't want to get Leo in trouble if he was late. Threatening the child was the only way the orphanage could keep Yami under control.

Leo nodded solemnly, "Remember our game Yami-bro!" He said, "I want to learn how to play chess!"

"Chess." Yami repeated flatly. Leo was probably the only five year old in existence that wanted to learn how to play a game most sane people seemed to avoid. He'd obviously been rubbing off on the boy. He rolled his eyes a little, "Right, chess."

Yami finished tucking Leo into bed, got him a glass of water, and wished him good night. He then trudged his way reluctantly to Teana's office, the good mood Leo had put him in already dwindling.

Yami knocked on Teana's gold plated door. He briefly wondered how much it had cost before the owner's overly cheerful voice met his ears, "Come in!"

He walked into the lavish room cautiously, half expecting to be shot upon entrance. Teana was happy? Yami wondered just how many children in the world had to die to accomplish that feat.

"Did your highness ring?" He asked not bothering to hide his contempt for the woman. Short and to the point, that was his style. Yami was mentally going down a list of all the bad things he had done and, more importantly, all the things he could get in trouble for. It wasn't looking very promising. Though he was pretty sure there was no proof he'd been involved with the lawnmower incident...

"Yes," Teana said sweetly, "Come in my dear boy." Yami frowned.

The landlady would never call him 'dear'. 'Demon' maybe, 'Monster' sure, but never 'Dear'. The only time where she would call him 'Dear' would be when one of the following three options was applied: punishment, Capital punishment, or there were potential 'parents' present.

Yami paled.

Judging from the lack of weaponry that was usually present on Teana's desk, like a sick doctor's operation table, Yami could assume option three was in play.

In Yami's opinion, being adopted was by far the worst punishment yet.

He had been adopted once every year of his life: Seventeen times. He had hoped that he wouldn't be adopted again until he turned eighteen. That way, he'd be able to legally live on his own. And good riddance to the whole sorry system.

Who said he needed a family? He certainly didn't want one.

But it seemed as though the gods were not smiling down on him today. As the young couple Yami saw before emerged from behind Teana's desk, radiating the same sensation of cold, the owner smiled cruelly.

“Meet your new family Yami.” Ms. Teana gloated, sure she had finally beaten the orphan.