Target: You
Chapter Twelve
XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD
Sailor Tiamat: What is Zanth or D&D? Here I thought I was being original by making a killer tree. Darn! XD
XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD
No more than a moment after she had fallen into the black abyss, Anzu found herself standing on solid marble floors. A wave of dizziness struck her, and she steadied herself against Bakura who was also using the wall to keep from falling over.
"It can be disconcerting the first time," Seto offered apologetically. Anzu smiled faintly. She was thankful that the temperature inside this supposed palace was much cooler than outside. She wiped her arm across her sweaty forehead and looked at the Prime Minister's son again as he stood calmly to the side.
She was intrigued to find that he had barely spared Chisara a glance; most people at least did a double-take of such a vicious-looking animal following her around as her pet. Seto Kaiba did not seem to care in the least.
Anzu wondered how much he knew about. Had he seen them crash into the lake through some crystal ball or equally strange ritual? Bakura had said the people on this planet were magical. Seto was very handsome, but she didn't look the icy gaze he briefly turned on Bakura; she realized they must have had some past grudge that stood before them. Something about him struck her as brutal.
She glanced at Bakura next to her. He was staring at Seto in much the same way, but Anzu didn't feel threatened by the ivory-haired prince. Suddenly, she spared a minute for the memory that rose up about Malik mentioning his 'sadistic lovemaking,' and she wondered if the blond cousin was merely joking; Bakura had never been sadistic with her except for his forcefulness the first time. Still yet, she had never found herself tied to a bed with him beating her with a whip while he took his pleasure.
She tore her gaze away from Bakura when Seto spoke. He asked, "Shall I have two rooms prepared?"
"One is enough," Bakura replied coolly while tightening his grip around Anzu's waist. She was vaguely aware of the feeling of amusement inside of her.
Seto stared hard at Anzu before nodding. "One room will be ready in the first guest corridor, the fourth room on the left."
"Don't you have to call for someone?" Bakura asked sarcastically with his head cocked to the side.
"I have already informed someone to ready the room," Seto told him in an equally sarcastic voice. "Now, if you'll follow Mischa, she'll direct you to your room, so you may clean up before joining my father and myself in the dining hall."
With that, the Prime Minister's son left Bakura and Anzu alone with the young servant girl, Mischa. She was staring at Chisara, obviously entranced by the sleek cat. Bakura stared at her expectantly, and she silently led them down the hallway.
"I'd say something nasty about Kaiba, but I'm sure he'd hear all of it somehow," Bakura said in irritation. Anzu rolled her eyes.
"And you care?" she asked sardonically. He shrugged.
"You're right; I don't. He's an arrogant bastard with a bad fashion sense," Bakura stated. Anzu looked him up and down; he was clothed in a simple black shirt and equally dark pants. He noticed her stare and ruffled defensively.
"I happen to look good in solid black," he pointed out. She stifled a laugh.
"Maybe you should have started a clothing line instead of illegal trading," she told him. His chocolate eyes darkened considerably and he glanced at the servant girl; she didn't seem to be paying any attention to their conversation.
"My father didn't choose his occupation. He did what he had to when our planet was destroyed," he said curtly before walking ahead stiffly. Anzu blushed embarrassedly. She knew her cheeks were flaming hot. He was right, of course; her father would have done the same thing to keep food in his family's mouths, she was sure.
Anzu and Bakura were silent the few more minutes it took to reach their room. There were only three other doors in their corridor which would be nice for privacy's sake. She was annoyed that Bakura was forcing her to share his room, but she truly didn't mind about the actual sharing part. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen all of her, so she had no reason to be modest. If she was concerned about the amount of space the room would supply, she was almost certain it would be more than was provided on his ship.
Mischa stopped in front of the door and gestured to it. "Room," she said simply, obviously unable to speak very many words in the standard Universal language. Bakura chose to be snide.
"Indeed, this is a room," he replied rudely. Anzu made a disgusted sound.
"Don't be a snob," she told him before turning to the young girl. "Thank you, Mischa." The girl merely nodded with a smile before opening the door to their room and then leaving them.
Bakura strode inside and surveyed the room. He raised his chin a notch. "Primitive, as I said." The room was sparsely decorated, but the nice mahogany wood and finish on the bed and desk did not seem primitive to Anzu.
"The only thing primitive is your attitude. You're practically uncivilized right now," she snapped. He merely glanced at her, unfazed.
"Well, I'm taking a shower," she told him and walked off in search of the bathroom. He scowled after her before heading straight to the tele-com. He knew his cousin would be wondering what became of him.
Flipping it on, he quickly punched in the digits which were easily imprinted into his memory. He only had to wait a moment before his call was answered.
"Ugh, Bakura!" Malik cried as his worried face flashed onto the screen. "I was so worried!"
Bakura smirked. "How touching."
Malik glared at him. "Your ship's AD signal went out, and I couldn't reach you. I feared the worst."
Bakura resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "A lot of good the Auto-Distress signal does when the damn thing is underwater." At his cousin's blank expression, he supplied, "We crashed into the lake."
At that moment, Anzu left the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. She stopped short when she saw who Bakura was speaking with. She sneered.
"Well, Angel, I was worried about you, too," Malik said cynically once he noticed her hateful stare. She laughed.
"Aw, how sweet. You know I missed you, schnooglebuttons!" she replied with false sweetness. Her smile disappeared and she made a sound of disgust before turning away towards the closet in the room.
"Geez," Malik said, annoyed. Then he added with a smirk, "Have fun, Bakura. Keep in touch with me this time!"
Bakura waved and cut off the connection. Pulling his soiled shirt over his head and tossing it aside, he entered the bathroom for a shower of his own.
XDXDXDXDXD
The second Anzu exited the bathroom, Bakura began shaking his head. "You're not wearing that," he told her firmly. She stared agape.
"Excuse me?" she hissed.
He crossed his arms. "You heard me. It's too revealing."
Anzu looked down at herself. The light blue gown she had chosen from the closet in their room was tight, but it flowed all the way to her feet. It had two thin straps to hold it over her shoulders, so it wasn't even like she was going to 'fall out' of the formal gown. In fact, she had spent extra time applying make-up and gathering her hair atop her head. She didn't even like dresses, but she had thought this one was decent. Bakura's less-than-complimentary order hurt her more than she cared to admit.
"You just can't be nice, can you?" she asked in a hurt tone. His features softened slightly. She stiffened and brushed past him. "I'm not changing. I'll wear whatever I want."
"Now hold on a minute, Angel," he called after her, shrugging into his dinner jacket quickly.
"Don't talk to me," she bit out as she impatiently waited by the door for him. He pursed his lips in a tight line before joining her at the door.
"Let's try to act like we're not at each other's throats twenty-four hours a day," Bakura told her seriously. "I have to keep my wits about me as it is with that filthy asshole around."
Anzu felt a strong urge to refuse, just to be able to rebel against him. She would have said "no" to him no matter what his request was, in fact, just to possibly get a rise out of him. Nevertheless, with a sigh, she conceded.
"Fine," she replied curtly. When he offered his arm, she turned away stiffly to open the door, walking out on her own. She didn't wait to see if he followed.
"Angel," he called out warningly. She tossed him a glance over her shoulder.
"I've done you enough favors," she answered, implying that walking with him was doing him a favor; he seemed indignant at that notion.
In distressing silence, the pair made their way to the dining hall, receiving directions from any number of servants; this palace was even more of a maze than Bakura's headquarters. After five or so minutes, they reached their destination.
Inside the dining hall were already twenty or so occupants, including Seto Kaiba and his father. Anzu was disgusted to find that Bakura had been correct; Seto's father was hideously grotesque. His features were not humanoid at all; he strongly resembled a crocodile, she noted. Everyone else present was humanoid, however. Anzu wondered if these magical people were all truly crocodile-looking, but changed their appearances at will to be humanoid. She didn't blame them. She wouldn't want to look like a reptile either.
Every lady present had her nose turned upward and was staring at Anzu with a sneer. On the other hand, the men didn't seem to mind Anzu's presence at all and were, in fact, brazenly looking her over. Surprising even herself, she stepped closer to Bakura. She could practically feel his arrogant grin next to her.
Ever the gentleman, he seated her next to a particularly ugly lady who didn't try to hide her displeasure at a newcomer sitting beside her. Bakura took his seat next to Anzu, and she was satisfied to see that he wasn't anymore pleased about their seating arrangements than she was; he had to sit next to Seto.
Dinner was standard for what she was used to, but she was a woman who liked spicy food; Ascenian food was anything but spicy. The meat portion was sweet, yet course. It took her a few minutes to chew even a small bite.
"I think it's safe to say your meat wasn't prepared right, Prince Bakura," Seto started. He looked at it with a raised brow. "It's practically breathing."
Bakura didn't answer, but instead stared at him with a barely suppressed snarl. Anzu smiled sweetly.
"If it's dead, then it's over-cooked for Bakura," she said. This elicited many laughs which didn't please Bakura. He gripped her hand tightly under the table.
"Charming, isn't she?" he directed to no one in particular while smiling at her in return. She saw right through it though. It clearly said 'you'll-pay-for-that.'
Dinner otherwise progressed without incident. Bakura held up polite conversation when necessary, but Anzu knew he was dying to get away. The lady across from him was practically spilling her breasts to him which angered Anzu--although she couldn't understand why--but Bakura was too involved with his politely verbal war with Seto Kaiba to notice.
In all actuality, Bakura had not given her any opportunity to 'charm' Seto. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that he had interrupted in some subtle way every time Seto had tried to speak to her. She was annoyed to admit that she found this prospect flattering and adorable. Still yet, Bakura couldn't keep every man from speaking with his bounty hunter. Soon enough, she had become the men's favorite subject for conversation, and Anzu felt more and more the hateful stares directed her way from the ladies.
She carried on conversation with the men politely, but they were just as rude as the ladies, only in a more subtle way. Bakura noticed her patience wearing thin as the after-dinner discussion continued on endlessly. After agreeing with Seto and his father to meet at brunch the next day to discuss the contract plans, Bakura stood from his seat.
"I think we will retire for the evening," he announced. He pulled back Anzu's chair, and she fairly jumped out of it in her haste to leave. Grateful for his intervention and not wanting to embarrass him further, she looped her arm through his without him even having to offer it and bid a polite good night.
Once they were safely inside their room, Anzu yanked off her high-heeled shoes and flopped down onto the bed. "I thought we'd never leave. I've never met ruder people than on this planet."
"You just couldn't wait to be alone with me, could you?" Bakura fairly purred. Anzu squinched her lips together.
"Don't flatter yourself," she retorted. She looked thoughtful. "These people certainly seem the type for a shady contract."
Bakura appeared unfazed at her indirect insult. "This contract is legal," he clarified. Anzu seemed surprised.
"Really?" she asked. He nodded. She smiled.
"I'm feeling so irritable after sitting next to Kaiba," Bakura told her purposefully while rubbing her arms sensually.
"Well, I guess we should sleep then," Anzu taunted, turning away from him. He chuckled.
"I don't think so." He pulled her back into his arms. "You know what happens when you disobey me."
She cocked her head to the side. "I end up kicking your ass?" she guessed with a quiet laugh.
He shook his head. "No, I have to punish you."
"No," Anzu said. "You'll do what I want tonight." She rolled him over and straddled his hips. He smirked, any thoughts of seriously punishing her far from his mind.
XDXDXDXDXD
Bakura trailed a finger up and down Anzu's arm as she laid across his chest, her hair splayed out around them. "You can do whatever you want whenever you want, Angel," he joked.
"Anzu."
"Hmm?" he answered sleepily. She turned to place her other cheek on his chest. He looked down at her.
"My name is Anzu. Mazaki Anzu," she told him. He stared into her eyes silently for a moment.
"Are you sure you want me to know that?" he asked even though it was pointless; she couldn't take it back even if she wanted to.
"Yes," she whispered. An expression suspiciously similar to a genuine smile covered his face.
"You looked lovely tonight," he told her sincerely. Anzu kissed him passionately, and he pulled her tightly against him. For the moment, they could forget the unstable state between them.
XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD
Aw, she finally opens up a little. Too bad they still have perils ahead of them... Oh, I just have to go and ruin it by saying that, don't I? XD By the way, I have two new fics I just started. One is a Yuugiou fic although its genres are General/Humor instead of Romance. The other is a Naruto romance fic (Sasuke x Sakura) if anyone likes Naruto.
