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“Roooooah !”
“Will you … stay still … I need to … remove … this !”
Kaito was finally victorious in his battle against the mop stuck on the scales of the little Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon.
The offspring of his ace monster ran toward his mother, squealing with delight.
Kaito sighed, half-amused and half-exhausted.
“You know, that’s not how you’re going to tame them.” Warned him Mizael.
“Let me figure out how it was possible in the first place to have them. After that, I’ll take care of their education.”
If he recalled correctly, Faker and Byron met a weird man named Yusho Sakaki during one of the World Carnival tournaments. The entertainer was working on a project named Solid Vision, a revolution in the world of dueling. The concept had seduced the two scientists and one day, Kaito was dragged by Chris in the laboratory, his duel disk activated.
“Photon monsters were made by your father. We will maybe understand how the mechanism works.” explained Chris.
“So they’re … real ? Like real ?” Asked a dumbfounded Kaito.
“With mass and everything. We don’t know if they have a soul yet.” answered the older man.
“Kaito, we’ll need to borrow your Galaxy eyes dragon. Will this be okay ?” Requested his father.
“Why not.”
Kaito was a little curious. Just a little.
He always wondered what it felt to mount on a dragon. Mizael had told him many times how amazing it felt the wind in his hair, how powerful he felt, so far away from civilization, head in the clouds. He described the adrenaline as he clutched on Jinlon’s neck when they soared to the sky, but those words seemed tame compared to the light shining in his blue eyes.
“Ooof ! What the - NOT HERE CIPHER !”
One of the little demons, not content with jumping on his lap, was now running on a piece of furniture, knocking over what was on his way. Thankfully, Mizael was already catching every fragile item.
“I swear there’s going to drive me mad.” Kaito pinched the bridge of his nose.
He heard Mizael chuckled.
“I told you. Dragons are best to tame when they're young.”
“I don’t think they can understand basic orders like come, heel, sit.” Retorted Kaito.
“You’ll be surprised. Tachyon !” Mizael called, his voice booming across the room.
A loud roar and then, the Xyz dragon was here, summoned by his master.
“Would you watch after your children, would you ?”
The dragon exhaled, sparks coming out of his nostrils and in a blink of an eye, the three little devils were as motionless as stone.
“Your Galaxy Eyes isn’t doing her job well.”
“I never had the need to tell her anything. I wasn’t even aware that cards could have souls nor that monsters really exist in some kind of parallel universe.” Sighed Kaito.
“That’s why I’m here.” Kaito could hear Mizael’s smugness.
“You know, in this era, we have books. Including ones for taming dragons.”
Mizael raised delicately an eyebrow, offended by the mere thought.
“Show me.”
“Haruto has them in his bedroom.”
“Then, I shall bring your brother.”
Haruto was euphoric to show what he borrowed from the library of Heartland.
“How to train a dragon ?” Questioned Mizael, holding a book which seems more like a child story than historical.
“I want to show it to my friends. I found it during my search and I really liked it.” replied Haruto.
“Fair enough. Choose a book, I have something to retrieve from the kitchen.”
Kaito briefly read the back cover. He never heard of any author, not like he had time to read in his teens. So he settled for one who was supposedly written during the same era Mizael lived.
“Dragons are one of the most intricate monsters which have ever lived. To tame one is a perilous journey that can only be undertaken by the bravest tamer.” Kaito began reading.
He flipped through pages, not finding anything really useful for his task until he landed on the section Training.
“At a young age, dragons can be rewarded by a pat on the head.” He spoke out. “Like dogs ?”
“Why don’t you try this ?” Wondered Haruto. “While we’re doing this, I’m going to search for Orbital. We can take photos and videos with him.”
“Great idea Haruto.”
His little brother gone, Kaito put in application what he read.
“Cipher ?” He called, hesitantly.
The little dragon answered with a faint cry, and Kaito felt Tachyon’s eyes pointed toward him.
“Come.”
He extended his palm, staring in the blue eyes.
The little creature stared back at him, puzzled. It tilted his head, and Kaito came closer, his arm still extended.
He was almost touching the head of Cipher.
The little dragon squealed one last time before sniffing his hand, then pressed his forehead.
Kaito patted him. Then Cipher tried to nibble his hand.
His fangs were small but Kaito knew to not underestimate the force dragons can deploy, even young. He quickly pulled back his limb.
In a fraction of second, Tachyon’s head was just an inch away from his face. He was pretty sure that Photon was just behind him. Cipher had been pushed back with his siblings.
Kaito broke out in a cold sweat.
“What are you … TACHYON ! NO EATING !” Mizael roared, pissed as well.
The purple dragon roared back, and Mizael came closer, before engaging in a somehow discussion consisting of screams and weird breaths.
At the end of it (Kaito thought he was going deaf), Mizael lightly tapped the head of his dragon with a big stick. (Where did he stocked it, Kaito had no idea.)
“He’s a friend. Friends don’t hurt each other.” His voice had turned hoarse.
Tachyon seemed to disagree with it but he stepped back, his murderous aura vanishing.
“You shouldn’t try any quick movement when you’re near a baby. Dragons will interpret it as aggression. It’s a miracle that Tachyon let you near them.”
“Maybe because I’m the master of Photon ?” Tried Kaito, still digesting the fact that his head was within an inch of being decapitated.
“Maybe. Now, let me show you how you do it properly.”
Meanwhile, Haruto and Orbital came into the room.
“Master ! I heard that you needed me, I came as fast as I could ! What do you need me for-”
“Hush Orbital, you’re going to stress them.” Interrupted Mizael. The blond didn’t seem pleased to see him so agitated.
“For your information, the only person who can give me orders is master Kaito !” Fulminated Orbital.
“Do as he said Orbital.” Kaito ordered quietly.
He didn’t make any remarks concerning the fact that Mizael was bossing his own robot. For the moment being, he needed to know how his former rival was going to proceed.
“First, you’re not going to do anything when adult dragons are here. Unless you have a profound desire to die.”
It was a pretty easy step, since both Galaxy eyes were bound to a card. Kaito deactivated his duel disk.
“And then ?”
“Watch and learn.”
Mizael sat down on the ground, a plate of meat in his hands. He kept the wooden stick in his hand.
At the sight of food, the three mini Galaxy eyes ran toward him, but he stopped them by putting the stick between them.
Mizael emitted a low growl, as he cut the meat into proportional parts. When one of the little ones tried to step forward, he gave him a light hit on the head.
“Dragon mothers used this to discipline their offspring. It reminded them how small they are and that they have to listen to their eldest if they want to survive.”
Once he finished his task, he motioned forward to each one, giving them a piece of raw meat. Everytime, he was rewarded with a squeal of delight and soon, the room was filled with noises of chewing.
If Mizael had stopped right there, Kaito would have said that everything was like a standard procedure. But his eyes widened up when the dragon tamer brought the last piece of food to his own mouth. Blood was trickling on his fingers and a little on the corner of his lips but it didn’t prevent him from enjoying the meat.
It was quite a vision, something that was permanently buried in Kaito’s memory.
“So … Sharing food is a thing ?” Asked Kaito.
Mizael licked his fingers, every drop of blood being slurped in a swift tongue movement.
“Of course it is.” He rolled his eyes, like it was the most evident thing in the world. “Food is an important bond and I’m surprised that humans forget it, as you build your trust among those you can share a meal with.”
“But dragons aren’t humans.”
“Dragons are far more wise than your foolish species. Dragons can’t be deceived by lies and they will never betray you. Dedicate your life to them and they will dedicate their life in return.” He said.
The realization of why Mizael trusted so much Tachyon dragon dawned on him.
“But it doesn’t explain why you ate it raw.” Pondered Kaito.
“Dragons like it fresh and I used to do it back in the days. Honestly, it’s such a hassle to use your … your …” He was searching his words, his eyebrows knitted together under concentration.
“A pan Mizael, a pan.” Softly answered Kaito. “Though cooked meat is better digested by human stomachs and you’ll have less chance to feel ill because of bacteria.”
“I still don’t understand how something invisible can cause us harm.” Huffed Mizael.
“Power is not always in the height. But how do you train them to hunt, to guard a city ?”
“Hold on a sec. Dragons aren’t guard dogs by any means. It’s just that only people with enough will can prove themselves to them and by extension, they’ll protect the family of his master. As for the hunt, they have it in their guts. They are better left alone as I can’t keep up with their speed. Let’s say they can hunt game far more longer than I or be more static than rock itself. I would slow them down.”
“But I don’t see how Photons can hunt with such a bright color.”
“Photon uses its light to blind his prey and confound himself with the bright sun. And it’s a species that needs less food than Tachyon. You won’t have to feed them until tomorrow. They’re young, they need a lot of energy.”
“But you should try to give them cooked meat.”
“No chance.”
“I’ll do it then.”
“They won’t like it.”
“Did you try ?”
“I know what they like or not. Did I have to remind you who gave me the title of true galaxy eyes master ?” Beamed with pride Mizael.
As they began to bicker, Haruto asked Orbital to stop capturing the video.
“Young master, should we stop them ?” Asked the robot.
“Nop. Let them be. I still need to win my bet against Yuma.”
“Young master ! What are you talking abo-”
Haruto silenced him by putting his hand on his mouth. It would be too bad to disturb the growth of their relationship.