Disclaimer: does not belong to me at all. Belongs to kristin.
Naomi finally finished riding and jumped off the horse. She turned over to Bakura who still had a stunned look on his face.
"He truly is an amazing animal..." Bakura commented.
Naomi smiled and took his hand.
'How would you like to ride him?' she spelled out.
Bakura instantly ripped his hands away and glared.
"Do you not remember what happened earlier? That horse responds to you and you alone!" he said in a deathly tone.
'Bakura, don't tell me that you, the mighty Thief King, is afraid of this beast. If so, it makes me question whether you are worthy of your title.'
(Eee... she went too far. Thats for sure)
Bakura's glare and deathly tone just deepened even more. His normal, violet eyes turned into a deep crimson red.
"Remember you you are for I have shown you kindness and trust to you thus far. But I will not hesitate to remove your head from your body the next time you speak with such boldness. Do you understand?" Bakura hissed which caused chills up Naomi's spine.
Naomi nodded and spelled out her apology in the air. But Bakura simply lowered his head and continued.
"Very well. You can teach me how to get close to him. I know that I can't do it on my own. You must show me how."
Naomi went to grab a bucket of water and two large carrots. She came back out and gave him exact instructions based upon how she achieved this. Bakura nodded and did everything exactly the way he was told. By then, he was already on the stallion's back. The horse rook off far more better than when he had rode Naomi.
They both rode extremely fast with the stars and the moon as their only light. After a while, he came back with a satisfied smirk across his lips.
"This horse is the fastest I have ever ridden! If it weren't for the fact that you were a thief, I would gladly steal him from you and take him as my own," Bakura stated.
Naomi smiled and took his hand.
'There would be no need for my intention was to give him to you anyway. I only ask you take good care of him.'
"You're giving him to me freely?" Bakura asked with astonishment.
She nods.
"I'm afraid I have no understanding of your ways whatsoever. However, I accept your gift with much gratitude. Now, shall we head inside?" Bakura said.
Naomi went to put back the stallion in his stall and they both walked back to the main hall. They stayed at their designated spots for a while. After a couple of hours, Bakura left, as usual, with one of the many women that were around and headed for his room. As soon as he left, a man stood up, stormed over to Naomi, and pulled out his sword.
"All right, imposter! On your feet!" he ordered.
Naomi's eyes widened, but stood up nonetheless. By this time, everyone's attention was toward the two of you. The man continued.
"I know you are no thief! You are an imposter, and it is my duty to kill you here and now! So arm yourself!"
Naomi lowered her head, closed her eyes, and took out her sword. But she still kept the sheath on. She waited and soon heard him coming, so she sidestepped. Naomi opened her eyes and glanced to the side. She saw Denger standing amidst the crowd. While fighting, she began trying to gesture him to go get Bakura. After about ten minutes, she managed to throw the man against the wall and turned to a very confused Denger.
Naomi slowly acted everything out. She pointed toward him, then Bakura's seat, and down at the ground. He finally got the idea and immediately took off after Bakura. Naomi managed to focus on her battle and blocked the man's attack. After about five minutes, Bakura ran in and grabbed the man by the neck and threw him away. Naomi was completely out of breath. She had a few scratched on her arms and back, but nothing serious.
"What the hell are you doing, Joseph," Bakura said calmly. Though Naomi could pick up the rage aura from him without a problem.
"That boy is an imposter! Mostly likely a spy as well. We have to kill him!" Joseph accused.
"Can you prove this matter?"
"Yes. There are two reason as to why I say this. One is that if he really has been here all this time, how is it that no one knew of his existence except for the day we robbed that village? And two. My brother, Timothy, is missing. When we had counted and checked the men, we weren't missing anyone and my brother's body was never found. If he were dead, we would have had one less of men than we do now."
Why does this man seem so familiar to me? Naomi thought as she observed him.
Her memory shot right back to that night when a man was in her room and had attempted to rape her. That man and this Joseph looked exactly alike. She instantly knew that she was the one responsible for his brother's death. Her eyes softened from their normal harsh or emotionless looks.
Bakura finally spoke up.
"You are right... This boy is an imposter. However, he is one that has saved my life and a couple of others as well. He is one who has gained our trust and out hearts. I now consider him as part of our family. If you have a problem with it, then you can leave."
Joseph's eyes were filled with rage. Naomi walked over and everyone turned to her, wondering what she was going to do next. She turned to Bakura and wrote out on his hand.
'Please, I ask of you to translate this message to Joseph.'
Bakura nods and she continued. Bakura repeated everything she wrote out.
'Joseph, I do admit that I am an imposter. However, I am obligated to inform you that I had seen your brother at my last village. And I also killed him. I wish I could give you an explanation as to why I did it, but alas, I cannot.'
By this time, Joseph's eyes had widened.
'I am deeply and truly sorry for what I have done. I hope you could possibly forgive me.'
There was a slight pause before Naomi finally built up her courage.
'However... if you do not accept this apology, then I offer to you my life in place of your brother's. I hope that will make up for what you have lost.'
Bakura looked at her in disbelief, but she had already walked past him and over to Joseph. Naomi took out her sword and threw it aside. She knelt on one knee with her head lowered. Joseph looked at her in shock and took out his blade. The sword was raised, and brought down. There was cutting of the wind... yet... there was no impact. Joseph had stopped right above her neck.
Naomi stayed her in position and heard a whisper of, "Get up... Just get up."
She did as she was told and watched Joseph walk away. But before he disappeared into the crowd, he said,
"I do forgive you. And I want that explanation to be sometime soon." With that, he disappeared.
Naomi stood in her spot for a while, until she heard Bakura.
"That was very brave," he complimented, handing back her sword. "What you did replaces more than a thousand apologies. It also builds trust."
Naomi smiled and bowed her head. She walked away and headed to her bedroom where she sat down yoga style on the floor, sharpening her sword. All of a sudden, her door opens with Bakura walking in. He leaned up against the wall beside the door.
"You, Pentaware, are truly amazing," he said in an unreadable tone. "What you do. What you say. How you act. It's all... amazing."
Bakura stood up straight and walked over to Naomi. She stood up as well and faced him.
"You, Pentaware, have done something no one else has done before. You have gained my complete and total trust. As well as my friendship," he finishes while outstretching his hand toward Naomi's.
Naomi smiled and took it...