Egypt, 2100 B.C.
"You hear them coming, don't you?" she asked, shooting a glance over her shoulder towards the sounds of the guards searching the tombs.
Bakura grinned at his slightly younger partner, shaking his head hard. His long silver hair flew past his face, bangs slanting into almost glowing brown eyes. "They won't find us. And if they do, I'll protect you. Promise." He was teasing her again.
His partner punched him in the shoulder, dark green eyes flashing annoyance. Bakura frowned, looking down at her a before she glared at the pinpricks of torchlight behind them. They had to keep moving.
"I was only kidding" Bakura pointed out, starting to run again, "They are not going to catch us." He rubbed his arm, "That really hurt, Kara."
Kara rolled her eyes again, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. It was impossible to tell what color it was in this bad lighting.
She stopped, looking back over her shoulder before looking back at Bakura. "They're almost here." She warned, and then looked up ahead at the sudden light that had appeared before them. "BAKURA, LOOK OUT!" She pushed him out of the way, a solitary beam of blue white light flew past his face. Just barely singeing the tips of his hair.
Bakura swore softly to himself, falling back against the wall before looking at Kara. Her whole body was tense, her fingernails lengthening to claws and her teeth becoming more like fangs. She glared, her eyes taking on an almost gold tinge as she looked behind her at the guards, then back at the priests in front of her. Bakura paled. He had seen this form before, and usually the aftermath...wasn't pretty, to say the least.
"Kara..." He said in a soft voice, mentally cursing himself for his lack of courage at this point, "Let's go now. If we leave, we just might get out of this alive."
Kara snarled at him, almost sounding like an animal. "You leave now, coward, and I'll never forgive you," she growled.
Bakura shook his head, an idea forming now. "If I stay, we both die. If I leave, at least I get to live. Hate to leave you this way, Kara, but you are getting in over your head."
"You promised to stay beside me until the day we died!" She snapped.
Bakura could only smirk at her, shaking his head again, "No, I promised until we got caught. We got caught. You're about to die. See you!"
Kara stood there a moment as the shock sank in. Bakura rolled his eyes at the others that were closing in on them, backed up against the wall and disappeared from sight. After all, why should he lose his neck for some girl he barely knew at all?
Kara was to be killed today, buried in the desert to the neck so that she couldn't escape. Left in the heat without water or food while the creatures there feasted on her flesh. It was to be a public spectacle, so that the other thieves could see what happened when they got caught. Bakura watched from the shadows, concealing himself carefully. How better to teach a new partner than to remember what happened to the last one that got caught?
The guards were dragging Kara, leading her in front of them into the sands. Kara snapped off a piece of the shrub from beside her, waiting. Bakura could see it in her eyes, she was just waiting for the right moment. No one dared to breathe. Without warning, Kara broke free of the guards. They had no time to react before she turned on the people, snarling again as the piece of scrub grew into a long spear. Her powers were dimmed slightly in the heat, but she wasn't going to keep the little spear around for long. She whipped around, red hair flying past her face in mere moments.
"Bakura, I know you're here!" She screeched, "I can smell you! Why did you betray me?! Why?!" Bakura thought he saw her look right at him before her clouded gaze shifted.
"WHY BAKURA?!" Her voice was a loud, agonized moan now. The guards came towards her, hoping to restrain her again.
She slit her wrists, the pain causing her barely to wince. Bakura's jaw dropped. She wanted to avoid capture so badly that she would kill herself?! Was she crazy?!
She jammed the spear through her abdomen, another soft moan escaping her as she fell to her knees. All in the crowd drew back. Blood dribbled down between her lips and coated the sand even as the blood from the hole the spear had made soaked through her skin and clothes.
People screamed, mothers clutching children closer to them and husbands holding their wives. Bakura felt tears sting his eyes. He was cruel, yes, but he had never thought he was this cruel. He shook his head, starting towards the body as the other people started to leave. No one touched her as she fell back, laying back in the sand with closed eyes. A necklace with a small, rose-shaped pendant rested in her hand. It was covered in blood as some from her wrists flowed slowly over the pendant.
"Why..." Kara whispered. "Why?"
Bakura knelt beside her, looking at her face. He took up the necklace in his hand.
"Bakura..." Her voice was a mere rasp now as she barely opened her eyes. "Bakura, wait for me in my next lives. Find me again, and give me that necklace. I will remember you."
"Kara, you're supposed to hate me." Bakura chuckled nervously, "You're supposed to say 'My spirit will never rest until you are dead.'"
But he was talking to a dead body. Bakura bit his lip, slipping his arms around the limp body before drawing her to his chest, not caring that she was covered in blood as he started to cry.
"I'll do as you ask..." he whispered, "I'll find you again, Kara..."
Salem, Massachusetts, 1692 A.D.
"Kara Mi...Mina...Minami..." The judge of her trial struggled on the girl's last name.
"Minnamino." Kara finished for him simply, standing a little taller. He didn't respond, just continued with the trial.
"...you have been accused of praying to the Devil, bewitching plants into doing your bidding, laying a curse upon my daughter - Miss Ella Jackson, taking the form of a red fox and taking a fox of your familiar. How do you plead?"
"Plead?" Kara asked in barely more than a whisper. Her calm green eyes grew subtly wider as she looked at judge and jury. "Should I plead at all, I know what shall happen. You'll declare me a witch, and I shall be burned, drowned or however you decide to do this."
"How do you plead?" The judge pressed, the jury leaning forward expectantly. One or two of them crossed themselves.
Kara looked at the floor, her lips curving into a cruel smirk. "I'm not a witch," She said, it was barely audible.
"Speak up," the judge ordered.
"I'm not a witch," she murmured, a little louder this time.
"Speak up!" The judge was getting testy now.
"I'm not a witch." She snarled in a voice that seemed possessed. She looked up, eyes wide. Her nails had lengthened to claws, her eyes almost gold, her teeth long and jagged fangs.
"How dare you demote me to the class of 'witch'?! How dare you accuse me of something much lower than myself?! You wish to know how I plead? You wish to know how I plead?! I AM NO WITCH! I'M A FULL FLEDGED DEMON!"
"Quickly, get the priest!" The judge yelled, one of the jury members nodding and standing. Kara laughed, shaking her head as she held out a hand towards the man fleeing towards the door.
Plants shot out of his stomach in a small mist of blood. She turned on the rest of the people conducting her trial. They drew back.
"Yes..." she sneered, "Now that you know what you're dealing with, run away in fear." She walked towards them, her brown skirts flowing around her long legs. The jury members and judge began praying, but their words had no effect on her.
"Run and hide, snivel for the power you shall never have," She flicked her clawed fingers at a few of the younger men. This simple motion caused the vines to grow out of them, beautiful red flowers blooming amidst the flesh
"Fear for your children and wives, let they be caught up un my reign of destruction. Fear the light you so worship, for this light will not help you this day! Fear those that you do not understand, kill thousands of innocents that I have chosen as my sacrificial lambs." Her eyes looked to the doorway, vines from the plate of cookies on the table appearing to seal it shut. Cookies that judge and jury had sampled just before the trial.
"Fear the devil that you deem as evil, and know that humans are all equal to Satan. Know that Satan is nothing compared to the retribution I rain down upon you."
Men ran towards the sealed doors, plants shooting from them as they fell. She turned on the judge, stepping him with an animalistic grace. She grabbed the front of his robe, lifting him until he hung above her. He sobbed pathetically, groveling and begging for his life. Kara leaned in close to his ear.
"Fear Judgement Day, for it is today. You made a mistake, farmer, in thinking that you could destroy me."
The man exploded with a scream. Kara smirked and dropped the vine-covered body, brushing a bloodstained hand against her cheek as if to wipe away blood on her face. She walked over to the slowly opening doors, taking one solitary cookie from the plate and biting into it.
"The cookies," She whispered triumphantly to herself, "They get them every time."
France, 1792 A.D.
"You, Mademoiselle Kara, were once advisor to Marie Antoinette. You have been charged with treason, espionage and sabotage and found guilty. Do you have any last words?"
Kara arched one red brow at the man speaking her story. "If I di-id," She sang softly, "I would've talked my way out of this by now, wouldn't I? I would be freeee!" The last word was a childish squeal.
The crowd drew back in fear as she giggled maniacally. "Don't be scared." She whispered, looking down at the emerald moss beneath her feet growing between the floorboards. "Don't be scared," She repeated, a little louder this time as she willed the moss to move.
It did, creeping up and around her executioner before she looked at the crowd. They began to run, milling around to try and find a way out of the place.
"DON'T RUN!" She shrieked, moss covering her feet before shooting out and starting to strangle people. "DON'T RUN! YOU'LL ONLY MAKE THIS WORSE ON YOURSELVES, YOU WEAK, PATHETIC HUMANS!"
There were screams of "witch" and "demon." The executioner grabbed her hair. Dragging her from her place to the guillotine. Her head was shoved through the wooden hole. People continued to run as the man pulled the string frantically. Moss stopped it a second, but only a second before the sharp blade fell and chopped through Kara's neck. The executioner held her head up to the crowd, the killer moss becoming normal once again and sliding into its place.
Kara's eyes darted around a moment, watching them all with a hungry light. A light that said she would be back.
No more blame I am destined to keep you sane
Gotta rescue the flame
Gotta rescue the flame in your heart
Domino City, Present Day
Kara looked out at the world from behind clouded eyes, her long red hair falling into those eyes without her caring. Her skin was a pale white now from not seeing the sun in what seemed like forever. She was dressed in a slightly shredded black T-shirt and a long dark green skirt that flared out around her legs where she sat. Her arms wrapped around her knees, drawing them to her chest. She seemed not to blink. Only when the light was just right could one see a small rose-shaped pendant resting at her collarbone, the dark red of spatter and dried blood as well as the stone contrasting against her light skin.
"Bored?" Bakura asked with a small smirk, sitting down beside her. He stretched out his left leg, his right knee resting against his chest, "finally ready to come back to the darker side?"
Memories shot through her head in flashes. Memories of Egypt. Memories of past lovers.
"Tasu...ki..." She whispered, looking straight ahead into the shadows of her room. Bakura looked at her with almost sympathetic eyes, sliding one arm around her shoulders.
"Tasuki's not coming, Kara-chan." He murmured, resting his cheek on her head, "He never existed, he's a character in a storybook. He was made up. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."
Kara pushed him away, glaring at him. Her clouded eyes burned hatred.
"Not you! I want my Tasuki!" she screeched like a stubborn child being refused a toy. "He's stronger than you! He's more loyal! He'll stay by me, no matter what! Not like you, you'll run away any moment that it seems too tough for you to handle!"
The words stung Bakura and he grabbed her shoulder, turning her so that she would look into his furious face. He held her shifting gaze.
"Tasuki...isn't...coming." He stated coldly, emphasizing each word. She shook her head hard, trying to push him away again.
He let go with a small sigh.
"You're lying!" she sobbed, starting in loud wails as she rested her head on her knees. It slowly subsided into being so quiet that Bakura had to see her shoulders shaking to be sure she was still crying.
"They always lie to me..." She said in a shaky voice, "always...always..."
No more blood, I will be there for you my love
I will stand by your side
The world has forsaken my girl
She sat now in a straightjacket, her eyes watching the floor so that no one could see around the curtains of her long red hair on either side of her face. Bakura ducked inside, kneeling down to where she said so that he could see her face. It was contorted in such agony and hatred together that he had to draw back. She didn't seem to notice, closing her eyes as she banged her head hard against the wall she sat against. A dark drop of blood trickled down from the roots of her hair, down the bridge of her nose before sliding down her cheek like a small tear. Bakura grabbed her shoulders, fury flaring inside him again. She was getting so aggravating.
"Kara, stop." He ordered, and she looked at him with eyes that were lost to sanity. She didn't care anymore.
"She won't listen." Bakura turned, seeing Suichi Minnamino standing behind him.
Suichi was average height, his red hair much like Kara's. However, his was pulled back from his face, ending just between his shoulderblades. His dark green eyes sparkled in...was that pity as well as disappointment in his daughter?
"What are you talking about?!" Bakura asked in a low growl, standing as his fists clenched. Suichi shook his head with a small sigh.
"She's lost to this world. Leave her, Bakura."
Bakura thought he saw a quiver of sorrow in Suichi's eyes. Suichi walked over to Kara, gently hugging her. She stared straight ahead, not acknowledging his touch. Bakura didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. After all, Suichi had been the one who told him that the world of Spirits demanded Suichi kill Kara before Kara killed anyone else. Bakura smirked to himself in the shadows. Suichi wasn't going to get that chance if HE had anything to do with it.
I should have seen it would be this way
I should have known from the start what she's up to
When you have loved and you've lost someone
You know what it feels like to lose
Domino City, 2004 A.D.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
Kara was pulled back from the body of her ex-husband, Seto Kaiba. The blood coated her hands as the police struggled to keep her from getting free. She fought harder, wanting so badly to get back at the body of her former lover, to rip him to shreds, to finish him off, even though he was already dead.
"Let go! Let go!" she screamed.
"Let me handle this." Bakura said calmly, slipping his arms around Kara as some of the officers let go of her for the moment to talk to witnesses as she stopped her struggling. Bakura lowered his voice a little so that the officer holding her handcuffed wrists couldn't hear them talking.
"Please...Bakura..." she whined, pleading as she looked up at him.
He shook his head. It hurt him to look into those green eyes. Those green eyes that he remembered being sane and intelligent. He simply held her there, like a brother holding his little sister. Her cheek rested against his chest, almost peacefully as she just let him hold her.
"Kara, I'm not going to let you get yourself killed again. This is bad enough; you don't need the electric chair too. After all, they've tried to give you the lethal injection at least twice, and they don't use the guillotine anymore. Or leave you out in the desert to die. Or burn you to death." He whispered softly into her hair.
She looked up suddenly. She could understand all those words despite her insanity, and every one sounded like a negative answer. She growled, but was wrenched from him by the other officers as they pulled her towards her new home.
The mental ward. Bakura shuddered. How long could she possibly survive there?
She's fading away
Away from this world
Drifting like a feather
She's not like the other girls
"How long will you try to kill her?" Bakura asked, looking at Suichi now without emotion.
"As long as she fights." He responded with a soft sigh, "I never thought she had changed at all after..." He trailed off for some reason, then added, "After Seto. But this..." Suichi shook his head, looking in at Kara, "This is a drastic change."
You have no idea , Bakura thought to himself, looking in at her as well.
"Tasuki, Tasuki." Kara murmured, rocking back and forth with her knees pulled to her chest, just watching the walls with empty eyes and chanting.
"Tasuki, Tasuki."
Bakura looked around the room she was in. It was completely white. Every edge in the room was padded and they had wrapped her in a second straightjacket to keep her from getting free this time. They had taken from her anything that could possibly be destructive, but a small plant rested on the far windowsill. She closed her eyes, as if imagining someone holding her in their lap.
"Tasuki, Tasuki."
Bakura shouldn't help but feel a bit jealous that Kara - HIS partner - was still nursing a false hope that her imaginary lover would come back and rescue her. Then again , he thought to himself, better an imaginary lover than a real one.
She lives in the clouds
And talks to the birds
Hopeless little one
She's not like the other girls I know
Every psychiatrist in the business had said the same thing. It was completely useless to try and get her back to her normal condition. Bakura looked in for that seemed the millionth time this week as Kara looked back at him. A sadistic little giggle erupted from her throat as she looked back at the open window. A bird flew in, landing on the sill a moment before flying further in and sitting on her shoulder.
"Hello, birdie," she chirped like a strange little girl, gently nuzzling the bird with her cheek before it cheeped in response and flew away from her.
As it landed on the sill, she looked at it with a small pout. Her gaze moved to the little flowerpot, from which a solitary vine crept over to the unsuspecting animal. It wrapped around the bird and squeezed. It squeezed harder and harder, until the poor little bird popped in a spray of gore and feathers.
"Oops. Poor birdie." Kara squeaked before bursting out giggling again.
Bakura, who had watched her do this to people before, had to shudder at this. Maybe she was too far into her insanity.
Maybe his partner was already dead.
No more shame, she has felt too much pain, in her life
In her mind she's repeating the words
All the love you put out will return to you
Egypt, 2100 B.C.
Kara looked out at the empty sands, humming to herself. Bakura stepped up behind her with a soft whisper of "boo." Kara jumped before laughing and turning around.
"Why'd you sneak up on me like that?" she asked, tilting her head to one side, "You could've just walked over to me and asked what I was doing."
"Because I'm annoying like that." He chuckled, shrugging, "Come inside, it's cold out here."
"In a minute," she answered, shaking her head as she closed her eyes. "I love this place, don't you?"
He shrugged again. "It gets old, eventually. Why'd you come out here, anyway?" He rubbed his arms to keep himself warm, "It's literally freezing."
"I came to think." Kara answered She was avoiding a direct answer at this point. She pulled off the wrap around her shoulders and handed it to him. He snatched it from her and wrapped it around himself gratefully.
"About what?" He asked, immediately interested.
"Nothing you need to-" She started, Bakura rolled his eyes.
"Worry about? I know, but I want you to tell me."
"I was just thinking about...you." Kara blushed a little, "I know, kind of silly to come all the way out here when I could just go into town and talk to you." she grinned now, "But sometimes I'm just anti-social like that." She mimicked him.
Bakura laughed, looking up at the full moon. It made the sands before them seem to glow in it's silvery splendor.
"Kara...we've known each other a long time, right?"
"Right," Kara answered slowly.
"If I asked you...to stay with me tonight instead of heading home, would you?" He looked back at her.
"Sure, if you like." She shrugged a little with a small smile, "Though, I can't promise I'll be able to keep my hands off you."
"Actually, I was counting on you getting your hands on me," Bakura answered. He then grabbed her wrist, pulled her towards him, and kissed her.
"Kara, I love you..."
I should have seen it would be this way
I should have known from the start what she's up to
When you have loved and you've lost someone close to you
You know what it feels like to lose
Suichi had been gone for months with no word from anyone that he would ever be back. Maybe he had just given up on her now, like he had been trying to get Bakura to do. Bakura still kept an almost microscopic glimmer of hope that there was a sane part in Kara's mind, still.
"Daddy's not coming." Kara whispered, the grin on her face like that of a malicious doll, "I sent him away. I sent him away forever."
Bakura stared at her, his eyes wide.
"Kara, what do you mean?" He asked quietly.
"Oh, you don't wanna know, 'Kura-kun. You don't wanna know."
She's fading away
Away from this world
Drifting like a feather
She's not like the other girls
Bakura was, once again, surprised. He was just getting used to the emotion, but after all that had happened to him after Kara had snapped, he should've been used to it earlier.
"Why are you giving me this?" He asked, gently touching the small pendant of Kara's necklace.
"Give it to the next one, the next one, the next one." She sang, looking up at him from behind long, messy bangs.
"What next one?" Bakura asked, then was suddenly horrified as the realization of what she meant sank in, "Kara, you're not...not going to..." He stammered.
She giggled, nodding. "Yep yep yep. On to the next one, 'Kura-kun. I'm going to do it tonight."
"No, Kara," Bakura stated, "No, you can't do this! I need you here. With me." He knelt down in front of her, hugging her as he started to cry. He hadn't cried since he lost her first time, "I need you here with me so badly it hurts. I love you, Kara. Don't do this."
"I have to..." Kara whispered - sounding almost sane as she looked up at him. She brushed the stray tears off his cheeks, kissing his forehead, "I have to do this. We'll be together again. I promise."
Later that evening...
Kara smiled, letting the vines surrounding her pull apart the knot in her straitjacket and unbuckle the many buckles so she could slide it off. The silly humans, they always made the same mistakes. They just didn't learn. If you give the evil plant elemental plants, she will do something awful. It was a simple lesson, why couldn't they learn? It would make things more interesting. Possibly a fun challenge even.
This is the end , she thought to herself, the grand finale for this life. The big finish, until the next one...hmmmm...slitting the wrists and stabbing? Reminiscent of Egypt. Fun!
She could almost hear Tasuki calling to her across the barriers between the worlds of living and non-existent. I'm coming... She whispered across her broken mind, pulling a small twig from her hair until it grew into a long spear, I'm coming with you this time, Tasuki...and this time, we'll never get separated again.
The men outside only heard the sound of Kara's body hitting the padded floor. When they ducked inside to check, they saw what had happened. Both her wrists were slit, and a long spear of pure wood between her ribs was also pouring blood over the white padding.
"You...could never keep me here...forever..." she rasped maliciously with a wide grin as the blood dripped between her lips, "I always win...always...always..."
She lives in the clouds
And talks to the birds
Hopeless little one
She's not like the other girls I know
Bakura knew it before anyone else did. Kara Minnamino was dead. She had killed herself in the middle of the night, slit her wrists and stabbed herself. Just like in Egypt. He sat on his bed, his soul crumbling. He gently, lovingly stroked the pendant that rested in the palm of his hand, hoping to scrape off some of the dried blood. Useless, everyone had said, it was useless to try and pull her out of insanity. Now he knew they were right.
He could only hope the next incarnation would work out better.
