Teratos High: Demon Hunters

Greetings my lovely readers! Yes your eyes aren’t deceiving you. It IS an update. Due to my real life workload and schedule ZB and I agreed that she would take over the bulk of the rewriting for Teratos so that we can get updates out in a timely manner again. I am still very much a part of the story and will be beta-ing her work as well as throwing out ideas of my own, but the majority of the writing will be done by her. It is for the best, and will free me up to work on my other stories again, so a win-win I think. :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and as always thank you to my lovely reviewers for your kind words and encouragement!

And now… on with the story!
--::--

Isis rapped her fingertips across her desk as she looked through the thick files decorating the oak surface. Each one had a face printed on a photo that was clipped to the outside cover to each file. She looked through the papers in each with an increasing sense of foreboding.

These were the old foster families Yami had lived with previously. She and Shadi had worked on getting their hands on a list of names who had adopted the human after much bribing and wheedling from Teana. Then they had made a thorough background check on each of them – a background check that was far more in depth than the kind human laws could reach. Like if they were demons disguised as mortals.

So far the answer had been a resounding yes. Some families were human, but much to Isis’ horror, she had found that many were demonic. And they had been the ones to give Yami more of the physical and mental abuse as their records implied.

This was bad. This was very bad.

Shadi walked in with a tired smile, setting another stack of folders down onto Isis’ desk. The vampire groaned and gave her mate an annoyed look. Just when she had been making a dent in the last group of folders Shadi had given her! It was ridiculous how many times Yami had been adopted, so it was no wonder the human had little faith in those who adopted him.

“You’re wicked,” She murmured as she turned a scathing glare on the folders.

“Sorry love,” Shadi pressed a gentle kiss against her hair, “But one of us needs to run the business while the other does research about Yami’s past foster families.”

Isis nodded but couldn’t quite suppress a sigh, “I never realized how much I relied on my visions of the future until they became muddled and confused.”

‘Or blocked altogether’ Isis thought anxiously.

Shadi squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, “You can’t see what the future holds for our clan so long as Yami remains a part of it.”

“For whatever reason, he seems to cast a shroud of darkness that my visions can’t pierce,” Isis muttered. It was hard for the vampire to accept that her abilities would not be of much use, but she knew it was a risk that could have happened upon adopting Yami. She was glad they had known that much, but that knowledge did nothing to ease the sense of blindness that settled on her shoulders. Being unable to protect and warn her clan of dangers coming in the future weighed heavily on her mind.

“Have you found anything that stands out yet Isis?” Shadi asked, pulling up a conference chair so he could sit next to her.

Isis nodded and pushed two different piles towards Shadi, “I’ve separated the files that are human and demon.” She gripped onto Shadi’s arm firmly, her blue eyes dark. The pile marked as ‘demons’ was much larger than the smaller pile marked ‘humans.’ “They’ve been following him all throughout his life.”

Shadi let out a loud swear, highly uncharacteristic for the Guardian angel. His eyes were dark and he bit the inside of his cheek, “I knew this was going to happen.” He breathed.

“You knew he was going to be adopted by literal monsters?” Isis looked surprised. She stood up to sit on her desk and set a new file Shadi had brought in on her lap. Her lip twisted into a smirk, “I find that highly unlikely.”

The corner of Shadi’s lips curled into a smirk, “Well no.” He admitted.

Isis laughed quietly and began to flip through the folder. There were two pictures clipped onto the cover of the folder and the vampire regarded them curiously. A woman and man. Vivian and Esba Roba, the last foster family to have Yami in their possession.

“Why do you think that there were so many demons adopting Yami?” Isis muttered her dark thoughts aloud, “Some of these made honest and noticeable attempts at killing him but demons are perfectly capable of killing without leaving trace evidence. It doesn’t jive.”

Shadi wove his fingers together and propped his hands just underneath his chin, “There’s a simple answer to that Isis.” He said very softly, “They wanted to nurture a subconscious hatred in Yami towards all things demonic. As far as his conscious mind knows, humans are the root of evil. However–...” He trailed off.

“—His natural subconscious instincts would automatically relate it to demons,” Isis finished. She pressed her lips together into a fine line, “But why? To what purpose would that serve?”

“It would make him eventually filled with hatred,” Shadi shrugged, looking quite disturbed. Such a notion was horrifying for an angel. To fill any living creature with so much negative energy was truly a foul thing to accomplish, “But there’s one thing that’s bothering me...”

“And that is?” Isis asked quietly.

Shadi looked up to pin Isis with a serious look. His eyes never left the calm blue of her irises and he reached forward to grasp her hand tenderly, “It feels almost like someone is working against us...” He said so quietly Isis had to lean in to catch what he was saying.

“These adoptions?” Shadi gestured towards the pile of demons, “It’s ridiculous for demons to go after the same target over and over again, only to fail each time. It doesn’t fit.”

Isis set soothing hands on her angel’s agitated shoulders and rubbed them gently. She worked out the knots which had begun to build between his shoulder blades. “Demons like to play with humans sometimes.” She said softly. “It’s a foul practice, but it’s done none the less.”

For an angel like Shadi, he couldn’t see what drove demons to do the things they did at times. As a fully-fledged angel, Shadi could not commit an evil deed. He couldn’t manipulate another’s life and could walk only a very fine line when dealing with humans and demons alike. He was already toeing a line just by being with Isis – a demon.

They were so different. Shadi was from the divine class and Isis from the demonic class. They had both been humans at one point but the paths their souls had travelled went different ways. Shadi was much older than Isis, a little over five hundred years if one was exact. He hadn’t aged a day since the time of his slaying in the Great War. He had fought as a paladin would, sparing the lives of those he could, healing where he was needed and obeying the king, Atemu. His life had been full of trials and tribulations, but it had been a good one of virtue.

Isis on the other hand was a little over sixty, give or take a few years. She was a vampire born and killed from a bitter life of blood and hardship at her abusive father’s hands. Darkness had stained her soul, turning her into a demon. That was the way things like this went.

Angels, thanks to the purity of their souls thought themselves superior and a cut above demons in comparison to their blackened and sullied souls. The mindset normally went as thus: ‘Angels were the only ones worthy of Heaven and Paradise, while the demons deserved nothing less than Hell.’ Obviously Shadi and his brother didn’t quite fit the mold that was expected of them. After all, both had done the unthinkable and joined a demonic clan, while Shadi mated a demon.

But the contrast between angels and demons didn’t end there. Additionally, since the Fall of Lucifer, the rift between angels and demons had only grown. Before the Great War between humans and demons, there had been an even bigger war between angels and demons which caused an enormous death toll on both sides. Eventually the casualties were too much for either side to take, so a tentative peace treaty was drawn up. Demons and angels could coexist if they had to.

After all, light was only one side to darkness.

That didn’t stop the two sides from detesting the living crap out of one another. That was why there were so few angels currently attending Teratos.

But in truth, everything boiled down to the difference in their souls.

Their fundamental mindset was very different. Their souls defined who they were and what they would become. Only humans with damaged souls could become either an angel or a demon. But those with white and pure souls became angels, while those with black and darkened souls became demons. The process was much more complicated, but it spoke volumes of their core values. At least that was the way things went in a nutshell.

Isis would be more than willing to take a human life if it meant protecting her clan. Shadi couldn’t, not even to protect his clan and mate. Of course there were certain situations where actions like that were permitted, but in general the angel could Fall from Grace for less than that.

Shadi shook his head, “Maybe, but it doesn’t feel right.” He’d concede defeat for now, but something was unsettling.

Did the demons know what Yami was?

If they did, why were they going through the process of adopting him – why not just kill him outright?

He shook his head. No, if the demons knew what Yami was, they wouldn’t risk playing with him. They’d kill him before they stirred the human’s ever present anger. It was more than likely that they simply wanted to play with the human until he broke.

Shadi cringed at the thought and was fathomlessly grateful that Yami was a resilient teenager. Otherwise he would have never survived.

He leaned into Isis’ talented hands with a soft groan and smiled slightly. He was being ridiculous. Yami had been carefully hidden as a baby amongst the other human children in the orphanage. There was no chance that his true identity had been discovered...

--::--

Yami was going to die.

What had possessed him to get into a car with three of the craziest people he had ever had the misfortune of meeting? Yami didn’t know the answer, but it was obvious that this momentary lapse of sanity was going to cost him dearly. He only hoped there would be enough of himself left from the crash that the doctors would be able to reassemble him. Once they pulled the pieces of Yami out of the wreckage of course.

Yugi was happily ignoring every traffic law ever put into existence in favor of speeding through the streets without a care in the world. Yami had pressed himself into the back of the seat as closely as he could go, hoping the cushions would decide to swallow him before they all died.

The other demons seemed utterly oblivious to the apparent danger they were in, apparently long since used to Yugi’s crazy driving by now. Bakura was reclined back in the front seat while Mariku stretched out in the backseat without a care in the world. His legs were resting on Yami’s lap so the irritable human shoved them off. The attempt was futile, as the legs were replaced a second later.

“Turn left here,” Mariku said listlessly, his head turned to look out the window. He was oblivious to the way a swearing Yami was attempting to shove his legs off of his body. Yami was distracted from his attempt to remove Mariku’s legs when Yugi turned sharply, causing the human to jerk into the side of the car.

“What the hell Yugi!” Yami growled, “Take it easy on the gas you lunatic – some of us are mortals!”

“No backseat driving,” Yugi replied flippantly, violet eyes flicking up to the rearview mirror. The bottoms of the incubi’s eyes were curved, proof that he found Yami’s reactions to his driving highly amusing. “If you want to call the shots you’ve got to be a big boy and sit up front.”

“You’re evil,” Yami grumbled as he attempted to peel his face off the window as Yugi took another jerky turn. How had he managed to land himself in this situation? More importantly, why hadn’t they been pulled over yet? The cops should have been crawling all over them by now!

“I’ve been hearing that from Seto for years,” Yugi laughed softly. He slowed the car down to a crawl much to a hyperventilating Yami’s relief, “Is this the place?”

Yami groaned as he picked himself up off the floor of the car and looked out the window to check. He just needed to wait long enough for his stomach to settle down and the world to stop spinning before he could give the incubus a conscious enough answer. Ruby eyes peered out from the tinted glass of Yugi’s car to see where they were.

A small smile crawled over Yami’s face.

He took in the cracked driveway Yugi had parked next to and saw not a poorly paved and worn pathway to the front door, but a trail littered with children’s drawings marked in chalk and memories. The lawn was patchy, filled with dirt, pits of mud, crab grass, and pot holes, all caused by the little feet of orphans which ran around all day long.

“This is it,” Yami breathed softly. A rush of happiness and homesickness struck him at once. This was home for him. No matter who adopted him or at what age, this orphanage would always be where his heart remained. This was always the place Yami could turn to when he thought his world was close to falling apart. It hurt to be away from this place, but being able to visit wasn’t so bad... He had never been allowed to pay his friends a visit before in the past.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, Yami threw open the door to the car and jumped out into the grass. The soles to his shoes sank into the familiar grass but the human paid them no mind. He was just thrilled he was able to make good on his promise to Leo. He grinned and ran up to the front door of the orphanage, leaving the demons behind.

Yugi looked at Yami’s retreating back in surprise before he cast a glamour over his wings to hide them from view. They were currently in a mortal part of town, and he didn’t want anyone asking questions about the wings sprouting from his back.

“He looks happy,” Yugi noted having caught sight of Yami’s smile before the human took off. Bakura nodded and slowly unbuckled himself.

“It’s good to know that grumpy bastard can smile after all,” The chimera smirked as he opened his car door. He slipped out and bounced on the springy grass, his heels lifted up from the ground. He flashed a fanged smirk over his shoulder at the incubus who was still stubbornly sitting in the car and beckoned with his head for the other to follow, “Let’s get going, you know how often trouble seems to find Yami.”

“What do I look like?” Yugi grumbled as he climbed out of the car with Mariku following, “His babysitter?”

Mariku ran on ahead but Bakura waited so he could draw up to the incubi’s side, “Who the hell d’you think you’re kidding pipsqueak?” The chimera said smoothly, a smirk pulling at his lips, “You’ve been keeping a close eye on Yami ever since we dropped by his house.”

Yugi flashed Bakura an annoyed glare but bit his lip to prevent himself from giving away his thoughts. Unfortunately for him, the rosy flush which covered his cheeks spoke volumes by themselves and Bakura’s smirk widened in victory.

“Your silence is suspicious,” Bakura crossed his arms over his chest, “You’ve got a little crush on the human runt, don’t you?”

“I do not!” Yugi denied, but his shouted protest did nothing to stem the flood of color rushing over his cheeks. But even as he objected to Bakura’s accusation, a weight of truth settled onto his chest. The reminder of Yami’s handsome face flashed before the incubi’s eyes and his breath hitched. Those full lips parted, curved into a trademark smirk while ruby eyes glittered challengingly at Yugi.

He shook his head viciously. No, not again! He couldn’t be thinking about that ridiculous human a second time, could he?

The first time he had thought of Yami was during the afterglow after feeding off of Bakura. Not the most appropriate of times to think of another man – even if the moments between himself and Bakura were strictly for Yugi’s nourishment, the whole experience was still strange for him. Yugi hid his burning face in his hands with a groan of despair. He couldn’t have a thing for the human could he? It was doomed to failure at the very start!

Yugi decided that once he got his hands on Cupid, he was going to clip the little bastard’s wings and pull his diaper over his head.

Unfortunately for Yugi, his clan leader was far from done with needling him. The chimera smirked and tugged on the back of Yugi’s shirt to capture his attention.

“So should I take your violent protest to mean you like him?” Bakura claimed, mentally creating a note about this exchange in his head to file away later. It was interesting to see the normally so passive Yugi to react so strongly about this – even if it had been only half teasing on Bakura’s part. The chimera remembered what Yugi’s reaction towards Yami the previous day had been, but hadn’t really thought it to be anything beyond momentary fascination.

“No.” Yugi replied shortly, “You must have read me wrong,” The incubus laughed. However the sound was a bit strained and forced. Bakura’s smirk widened and he let the subject drop for the time being. He’d let the other swim happily in his denial for now so long as he accepted it eventually.

As was a thief’s instinct, he didn’t believe Yugi as far as he could throw him. Even though he knew that wasn’t the best analogy, considering that Bakura could easily throw the incubus more than far enough if he ever felt the need. Instead, he decided to take the incubi’s word for now and get off of his back.

The two demons walked up the front lawn. The soles to their shoes sunk into muddy ditches where children had made mud pies and played with the water hose. Loud giggles came from the back yard, drawing in both demons’ attentions. The laughter sounded like it belonged to children, so using sharp intuition that could only stem from years of experience – IE: They were going off of a bullshitted half guess – they both figured that was the area they should visit first.

When they reached the place where the noise originated from, they were met with a sight neither would have ever expected to see in millennia.

A makeshift playground, worn from years of use was centered in the middle of the yard. Children from all age groups were running around it aimlessly and mostly at random. Not a single child was paying attention to the old jungle gym; instead, they were looking at a figure lying down on the grass besides it, trapped underneath a pile of squirming bodies.

Yami was pinned under a mound of small bodies, each squealing with joy. What was more alarming than Yami being trapped under a mass of prepubescent children was Yami himself. The tan human smiled brilliantly at the kids, laughing alongside them as though he had never experiences anything more fun before in his life. It was a stark contrast to the broody character the demons had grown accustomed to seeing at school. Who was this strange new Yami?

At the sight of Yami’s radiant smile, which was usually hidden behind a mask of cold indifference or a cruel smirk, Yugi felt his blackened heart sear. He wanted so badly to be able to make Yami smile that way at him... His breath hitched in surprise as the dark teenager seemed to lose all inhibitions, showing an almost innocent side in an otherwise callous and world-hardened person.

Yami’s deep chuckle echoed from the squirming mass of bodies and Yugi felt a fist close over this throat. That very fist squeezed as hard as it could while it forced Yugi to breathe in shallowly through his nose. Lord of Darkness and everything in between! The mere sound of Yami’s rich laugh caused his heartstrings to become tangled knots! He suppressed another groan. Could Bakura possibly be right?

No.

Ridiculous.

A tall form rose from the children and Yami emerged with several orphans clinging to his back like magnets. His face was flushed from laughter, and his ruby eyes were bright with excitement. Yugi never expected Yami to be a person to love kids, but he was being proven wrong. Just like he thought the human was only a cranky bastard -- even though he was. Yami let out a Godzilla-like roar and the kids squealed in delight as they all held on tightly. A tiny smile crossed over Yugi’s face.

With some reluctance mixed with genuine eagerness, the incubus crossed over the weedy patches of grass to join the mass of bodies. Part of him actually wanted to play with the orphans and share the moment.

Yami looked up in surprise as Yugi joined their group. A wary sort of suspicious bled into the ruby eyes, assessing whether or not Yugi was a threat to the children. Yami’s natural defense was distrust so Yugi wasn’t surprised the human was exercising it now, however he was genuinely surprised when the doubt faded quickly into acceptance. A small smirk adorned the teenager’s sun-kissed face and cerise eyes flashed challengingly.

“You want to play batboy?” Yami’s slanted eyes caught the incubi’s in a fierce, but welcoming expression. Clearly he was willing to put aside their differences to give the kids a good time, “Think you can keep up with these fireballs?”

That caused a surprised laugh to come from Yugi and the incubus nodded, but not without some hesitation of his own. He parted ways from the Chimera behind him and ventured close to the mass of squirming children.

“I think I can handle the munchkins,” Yugi said with a small grin. The orphans all looked up at their new playmate and laughed at the demon’s statement.

Then in uniformed wave that had Yami chuckling, the children pounced on the surprised incubus all at once.

Bakura gaped as he bore witness to what had to be the strangest sight he had seen in at least a decade. In the short time he had known Yami, he had seen a variety of different faces the human had reluctantly shown. Sarcasm, anger, mischief, fear, disbelief, and pride, but never had he seen the human this happy. In fact, before visiting the orphanage Yami had seemed like he had a permanent stick shoved up his butt. It was Bakura’s only reasoning behind why Yami walked with a swagger.

But now that stick was gone and the human had lost all of his stiff-collared inhibitions. A laughing Yami was dragged back down to his knees by small human cubs and the chimera smirked as he leaned back to enjoy the sight. This was a new and interesting version side to their clansman that had previously gone unnoticed before and he was more than willing to observe. Even Yugi was getting involved and reluctantly having fun, something which pleased the Chimera all the more.

Before he could think more on the subject, a small figure ran past Bakura’s knee, jolting his weight from under his body. A sharp pain jarred his senses, temporarily making him go blind. The Chimera fell down, shocked and more than slightly confused at what freakish force of nature had made him get off balance so badly. Angrily, he glared at the person who knocked him down, but he was surprised to see a human child no more than five years old barrel past him and latch onto Yami’s leg. Stunned and somewhat embarrassed that a mortal five year old could knock a two-hundred year old Chimera over, Bakura kept narrowed garnet eyes trained on the boy.

“Yami!” The human cub squealed. Tiny fists balled up the jeans of the teenager, and much like a monkey the boy began climbing up Yami’s body as though it were a tree.

A glint of vivid happiness stole through Yami’s crimson eyes and he playfully buried a tan hand in Leo’s straw colored hair. There was no faking that type of joy. It was brotherly and almost paternal Bakura noted with keen observation. Slowly the Chimera relaxed, still looking at the annoying bugger with distaste.

It was obvious by the gleam and shine in Yami’s eyes that this boy could very well have been the main reason why the human had wanted to come back to the orphanage in the first place. The runt was his human clan – his brother and family.

“Hey Leo, have you been good?” Yami asked.

“Yup!” A bright reply.

Once again Bakura’s attention was dragged A much taller figure ran into the distracted Bakura but this time instead of the Chimera falling over, the other person merely bounced off of his chest. The human was sent sprawling to the ground in a dazed heap and the Chimera snorted softly. What was with these humans? Couldn’t they watch where they were going? They had two eyes for a reason... Lazily, Bakura directed an uninterested gaze towards the person who ran into him.

A boy, about his age in the equivalence of human years, sat cross legged and dizzy. It took a moment for the teenager to regain his bearings as it was clear he wasn’t quite sure how he had landed on the floor. The Chimera watched with some amusement as the human looked at Bakura’s shoes in confusion, and then slowly his gaze drifted up. Realization and horror struck on the human’s face and the teenager quickly stood up before apologizing profusely to Bakura.

“I’m sorry!” The orphan cried and began to speak very quickly, “I should have been paying attention! I was just giving Leo a bath and he-” His babbles trailed off as green eyes turned to stare at the Chimera with a mixture of amazement and shock. When their eyes met, Bakura’s thoughts trailed off into a blur of surprise and intense shock.

It was like Bakura and the orphan were staring into a mirror. Both had snowy white hair and large eyes, they were so similar, yet so different. The boy had long hair that touched to his back in soft downy locks. Bakura had spiky white hair, cut in jagged layers just below his ears. The boy was pale, a true albino; while Bakura was darkly tanned from his Chimera heritage in the fiery deserts of Hell.

The orphan’s skin was unblemished, small traces of bruises disappearing from his cheeks and neck; yet he looked frail and slender. Across Bakura’s left eye a double crossed scar shot down, a wicked shade of cream that contrasted against the Chimera’s dark skin.

His father had given him the scar when Bakura had attempted to leave his blood clans years ago, a souvenir carved into his face to serve as a reminder to what he was leaving behind. The memory was lost to Bakura as he stared into the human’s clear eyes.

The similarities and differences didn’t end there though Bakura forced himself to take note. The Chimera was also of a strong build, years of hunting and training with the elite of his race and Mariku kept up his stamina and made him alert to everything around him. This boy looked as though he was barely capable of lifting a finger to defend himself. However, there was a will of steel behind those wide doe-like eyes that Bakura’s experienced gaze could pick out. This orphan might not have the build of a fighter, but he was no weakling.

The orphan gazed up at him with wide green eyes, ‘Another difference’ Bakura thought. Compared to the Chimera, the nameless boy seemed so pure, so innocent. Bakura was so dark and tainted. After killing mortals and demons for years, the usually proud Bakura felt like kneeling before this being he barely knew. A pure angel. Could Heaven have cast him out from amongst their ranks? But no, Bakura’s nose twitched. He smelled human... Human, but so ethereal.

An intoxicating scent drifted up to Bakura, and the Chimera realized it was coming from the orphan. It absorbed itself into all of Bakura’s senses and dulled his mind. His mouth began to water as his dark eyes slowly raked over the human’s face in an almost physical caress. His gaze rested on soft, pink-petal lips which were barely parted and was gripped with the sudden desire to taste them. Bakura wanted to know if he tasted as good as he smelled – he knew he wouldn’t be disappointed.

His fingers twitched with the desire to lay hands on this beautiful creature and only Bakura’s distaste for sullying such a divine being kept his desires at bay. The scent was so powerful and intense it threatened to drive the normally contained Bakura into a frenzy. The demon had to quickly turn his head from the teenager to prevent himself from doing something very illegal in public. Each one of the demon’s animalistic characteristics screamed at him to take this teenager for himself. Show him what Heaven, Hell, and everything in between really looked and felt like.

Claim him.

Take him.

“Ah... Is there something on my face,” The orphan asked softly in surprise, lifting one delicate pale hand to his face. A dark flush was creeping across his soft cheeks and he shifted under Bakura’s intense scrutiny. Bakura noted that the orphan couldn’t quite meet his eyes, obviously having noticed the similarities between the two for himself.

“No, there isn’t” He heard himself reply.

Yami jogged over carrying his little-brother piggy back, Leo propped up on his shoulders as though weightless. “Ryou!” Yami smiled, “How’re things over here?”

The orphan, presumably Ryou, tore his gaze from Bakura and looked blankly at Yami. He had to shake his head before coming to grips with himself.

“Oh! Yami!” A sweet smile spread across the albino’s face before he shot his look alike a secret glance. The expression sent Bakura’s heart free-wheeling through his chest and he did his best to mentally strangle the offending organ. “Things aren’t bad! Ms. Teana went on a trip to the Caribbean’s, and Ms. Valentine said we could go out for a bit after lunch!” He shot a playful look at Leo, “So long as no one runs off.”

Leo giggled and clapped his hands as if pleased with his successful escape.

Bakura gazed around choosing to take this moment to distract himself from the alluring human and re-collect his thoughts. He needed to know where his pack mates were, looking for Yugi and Mariku. He frowned.

Bakura hadn’t seen Mariku since they got out of the car, but knowing his friend the vampire was probably watching them all from a well-shaded tree. He saw a sneaker hanging from an overgrown evergreen. Deciding that was probably the Vampire seeking shade, he searched for the Incubus amongst the pile of squealing children. He spotted what vaguely looked like Yugi’s hand sticking out from under the pile. The Chimera smirked. It looked like the incubus was having fun at the very least.

Yami turned towards Bakura and glared, “Hey Bakura! Haven’t you been listening?”

The Chimera turned towards the orphan, forcibly dragging his attention back to the human and smirked, “Not in the slightest bit.”

Yami rolled his eyes and adjusted the child on his back.

“Pay attention for once!” The human snapped. Then Yami turned towards the other orphan –Bakura’s look alike. The Chimera’s interest was immediately piqued.

“This is Ryou.” Yami introduced. The red-eyed orphan jumped up and down, making the boy on his back squeal in excitement at the small bounces. “And this little fellow is Leo.” He grinned at the boy, who was busy tugging on one of Yami’s longer blond locks of hair.

The Chimera flicked one uninterested eye on the toddler, who decided it would be a great idea to stick his tongue out at Bakura and blow him a raspberry.

“Leo huh?” Bakura narrowed his eyes, “What a cute kid...” He rolled his eyes, deciding that childcare for a future career was a bad idea. He smirked at Ryou, one of his fangs glinting in the afternoon sun, “Ryou” He turned towards the albino, a possessive grin on his face, “I like that name.”

Ryou blushed, smiling cutely at Bakura, “Thank you.”

The Chimera's smirk melted into a soft smile, "You're welcome." His dark eyes seemed to lighten in the very presence of Ryou. For a second the demon looked truly happy. For the first time in two hundred years, Bakura could feel his blood stirring in a way it had never done.

It both alarmed and thrilled the Chimera. The way he could feel himself connect to this stranger was enthralling and he wanted more of it. Bakura felt almost as if he needed it. So caught up was he in his inspection of Ryou, he didn’t notice Mariku shift anxiously in his spot on his tree.

Bakura had been right in assuming that Mariku had taken to the tree tops for shade and a good view, but he was wrong in assuming the vampire would be looking off at them. No, instead the vampire’s gaze was focused instead on a sandy haired orphan who bore a striking resemblance to him.

Mariku watched him through a window, his gaze firmly focused on the figure milling around inside. There was a yelp coming from inside the orphanage followed by a plum of black smoke and small explosion. Mariku smiled fondly. The vampire's foot swung lazily from the tree. His lavender eyes were gazing up at the orphanage window, an expression of longing and pained happiness reflecting on his face. At that moment he looked both old and young and so very, very in love.

He had seen this human for such a long time now. Mariku had given up drinking human blood for him, but he would never speak to him. Never talk to him. Just watch and make sure he was safe, because that was the only thing he could do...

Yugi jogged up to the group, looking around curiously after he managed to shake loose the last kid and kindly directed the little one back to the jungle gym with a gentle smile.

“Where’s Mariku?” He asked. Bakura jerked a thumb towards the tree but didn’t reply, keeping his gaze and all of his attention focused on Ryou. The indication that he couldn’t care less what they did was clear on the Chimera’s face. Yami and Yugi exchanged a knowing look as the human hoisted Leo up further on his back.

He offered Yugi a half smile who, after a moment of surprise, returned it hesitantly. Yami eyed his new ‘clan leader’ with interest. Ruby eyes flashed over to Ryou, then returned to the Chimera and he jerked his head at Yugi.

“You want to go somewhere to let these two get to know one another?” Yami suggested to the incubus with a restrained smile.

Yugi blinked in surprise and eyed the distracted Bakura and Ryou. The incubus allowed himself to immerse himself in his incubus magic for the moment and he almost recoiled in surprise under the sexual energy he could feel building up in Bakura. Oh his clansman had found something he was interested.

And the bastard had the nerve to tease him about Yami! Yugi smirked viciously and flashed Yami a smile.

“Sure.”

After all, what could it hurt to hang out with the human for a bit? Besides, he would get to ruthlessly tease Bakura later for it. Something the incubus was very much looking forward to.