Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot lines shown here and in other fics. Thank you all for waiting patiently for an update and thanks again for reading my fic. Hope you enjoy and have a great day.
HUGE APOLOGIES FOR LATENESS IN UPDATING
A Little Traveling
Bakura slowly open his eyes, for some reason getting a sense of forbidding even before his eyes opened. He could smell her, not to mention feel her and once it sunk in that he wasn't still dreaming Bakura was awake and aware pretty damn quickly. Eyes opening wide he could only stare at the woman wrapped around him wearing only one if his shirts. By the Gods, Bakura thought, going as red as a tomato. As much as he tried not to it was impossible not to see the curves so clearly defined in the morning light streaming through the windows, through his well worn white shirt. And wasn't she just the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Better then any model or pin up Joey had ever shoved under his nose too, Bakura thought, going even redder at the thought. Her raven black hair was all tussled from sleep, framing her perfect face, those luminous eyes covered by incredibly long lashes. Concentrating on her face rather then her body wasn't helping him one little bit. Carefully reaching up to where her arms were wrapped around his neck Bakura tried tugging on them but they seemed to want to stay where they were. Torn between waking her up and dying of embarrassment he wasn't sure whether he was glad or not when her eyes slowly opened, focusing automatically on him.
"Good morning, Master." Freya purred, deliberately leaning closer to nuzzle her face against his neck. He hadn't so much as laid a hand on her during the night. Either she was really losing her touch or she had a true gentleman on her hands. And here she'd thought they'd all died out long ago. Go figure that she'd end up finding the last one.
"Go...good morning..Freya." Bakura stuttered, being referred to as master once again sending him into a tizzy. He was beginning to suspect that that was one of the reasons she did it. He could literally feel his IQ being reduced to single digits.
"So will we be going back to Japan today?" Freya wanted to know, settling against him comfortably. She very much liked her new master's scent and well toned body. He wasn't as muscular as her pharaoh, or as manly but there was something to be said for the more scholarly type. With some training, she could most certainly get to liking him even more.
"Uhm, ya." Bakura agreed, looking down at the dark head resting so comfortably against him. It was kinda nice, being like this with her. When she wasn't trying to undress him or undressing while he was still in the room. There were probably nudists out there who were less secure about showing their bodies then she was. "Our plane leaves at two."
"Man's answer to flying without wings." Freya said softly, pondering the idea that in a few short hours she'd actually be flying over land and water. Literally. "Is it safe, these airplanes of yours?"
"As safe as anything defying the laws of nature can be. You don't have to worry, it will be fine." He hastened to assure her, not wanting her to be frightened about the idea of flying with him. After all she'd come from a time when such things were beyond comprehension, the stuff of myths and wild folktales. "I've flown many times and never had a problem."
"So long as you are with me, Master Bakura, I will have nothing to fear." Freya agreed as she lifted her head to smile at him sleepily with a hint of feline pleasure. "And I have not properly greeted you, forgive me." Freya added, pouncing before Bakura even had time to gasp out a reaction as he landed flat on his back with Freya on top, kissing him in a way designed to completely and totally melt whatever brain cells had managed to survive meeting her. Oh ya..definitely the way to start the day.
"So we will be there shortly?" Latoya wanted to know, swinging her feet slightly in the plush jet currently taking her to her pharaoh's city. The pieces were all falling into place now and she needed to go and seek out her princess with Joshua. There were things that must be done and said before too many pieces fell and buried them all.
"Yes." Pegasus said from his seat beside her, watching her with affectionate amusement. She was like a child trying to wait up for Santa Claus.
"Thank you again for bringing me, I'm sure there were other things you'd rather be doing." Latoya said, turning her attention back to him with a sorry look on her face. "I've been nothing but trouble, haven't I?"
"Not in the least. I'm exactly where I want to be." With you was what he wanted to add but withheld the words instinctively. They were not words he could say right now, even if he did mean them. Time would only tell if he'd ever say them to her.
"You are too good to me." Latoya said softly, giving him her brightest smile as she turned her head and laid it against his shoulder testingly. He seemed to like her affection for him, even though he never returned it. But perhaps, for now anyway, his heart was too damaged to try to.
"I could say the same." Pegasus said softly, hesitantly raising his free arm before shifting so that he could carefully stroke her soft hair, done up in it's usual intricate bun. Yes, she was definitely not a burden.
"So where is it you're going today?" Serenity wanted to know as she sat on her bed, watching Joshua intently. He'd told her last night that there was somewhere he needed to go for a while but he'd been really vague about it, changing the subject. "And how long will you be gone?"
"I don't know the answer to either. The gods will point me in the direction I must go." Joshua said with a shrug, taking a seat beside her on the bed. He wished he could give her a definite answer but in truth he didn't even really know if he'd be able to come back or not. The forces they would face would be strong, terribly strong. He knew not whether he would be given a chance to stand between those forces and his princess but if he could, he would do so without hesitation. He would give his life for her, as he hadn't been able to do before. This time, he wouldn't fail her. Not again. "There are things I must do before I can return to your side for good, Serenity. Things that I must correct this time around."
"What sort of things." Serenity wanted to know, the bad feeling in her gut saying that whatever was ahead couldn't possibly be good.
"A long time ago I made a promise and I broke that promise, even if I never meant to." Joshua said gently, lifting a hand to gently stroke her undone hair, running his fingers through the silkily tresses. "But I have another chance to make things right again, Serenity. I have to do whatever I can to make sure I keep it this time."
"What was it? The promise that you accidentally broke?" Serenity wanted to know, sensing that his promise was the key to understanding what was to come.
"To protect my princess, whatever the cost. To lay down my life for her and see to it that no harm came to her while I drew breath." Joshua said softly, cupping her head to turn it so that he could lay his forehead against hers. "There is one who will take over this duty, I have only to keep her safe until he does."
Kaiba searched through his walk in closet for his new shirt, not at all pleased when he couldn't find it. Where the hell was it? Irritated from a night of little sleep he wasn't at all surprised not to find it. After all, why should anything be easy and predictable anymore. Damn it. Giving up Seto stalked into his bedroom, too annoyed to even pick another shirt out. It was all that stupid dream's fault. He didn't want to see dreams of him confessing his love for Rika. No Ri..whoever the hell she was. He didn't even know anymore. Were the feelings he had inside him for Ri or for Rika? Or were they one person, simply seen at different times in their lives? He'd be a fool if he didn't believe in such things by now after all. But if what he was feeling was real, if he did love her, then where did that leave him? He couldn't tell Rika that he loved her, he barely knew her. She'd think he was nuts, even more out of his mind then Wheeler on sugar. How could he explain everything to her without sounding like a lunatic who needed to be heavily medicated and put away somewhere? And even if he could make her believe...how could he ever tell her that he cared, much less loved her? He'd never told anyone that, never wanted to for that matter. There were times he wished he knew how to be more loving towards his brother but other then Mokuba, there had never been anyone else to have feelings for. How did one even go about doing it? Personally he thought his..the High Priest's way of doing it had been more then a little lacking. It was something to think about...even if nothing came out of it.
"Seto?" Came a hesitant voice and turning his head Seto saw that his door was open a crack, enough for his brother to be heard.
"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto asked, turning his thoughts to his brother as he watched Mokuba come in, dressed and ready for the day. Unlike himself, Seto thought ruefully, as he had yet to get a shirt on. Normally he was dressed and out of the house before his brother even got up.
"Well I figured we could maybe eat breakfast together, since you're still here." Mokuba said with a deceptively easy smile as he walked in, hiding his worry. His brother wasn't even fully dressed yet, Mokuba thought, watching his brother go back into his closet for a shirt. His brother never slept in this late and those were damn weird vibes his older brother was giving off too. Had something happened? Did it have to do with Rika or whatever it was that had Yugi and the rest on edge?
"Yeah, sure." Seto said absently from the closet, choosing a shirt at random before coming back out, slipping it over his head before looking over at his brother. Mokuba was so easy to read, it was a good thing the kid had never shown a real interest in becoming a part of Kaiba Corp. His baby bro would get eaten alive in the circles he himself moved in. "And no, nothing's wrong. I didn't sleep well last night so I figured sleeping in a little was a good idea. I go into the office earlier then everybody anyway and I'm the boss."
"Yeah, I know. I've been pointing that out for years now." Mokuba pointed out, crossing his arms in front of him. "But you never decided that pulling an all nighter was an excuse not to come into work, sleep or no sleep."
"Well maybe I'm attempting to create a healthier life style." Seto shot back silkily, giving his brother an amused look. "Why are you complaining anyway? You should be happy I'm finally taking your advice."
"But you never take my advice when it comes to your health or mental well being."
"Well there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" Seto pointed out as he finished doing up the buttons on his shirt. "Now are we going downstairs to eat or are we going to discuss all the things you think are wrong about the way I live? Knowing you that would take so long I'd never get to the office at all today."
"We're going to eat...and I'll just give you a nice over view of my opinions while you eat. After all I can always eat after you leave." Mokuba said cheekily, grinning when Seto gave him a playful swat to the head as the two headed for the door, side by side.
"Keep this up and I'll cut back on your allowance."
"You don't give me an allowance, remember? You just dump money into my bank account whenever it suits you, Seto."
"Okay...then I'll stop paying your speeding tickets."
"I think you need more sleep, you're still grouchy."
"Shut up."
"I've got to say, that is one hot dream, cous." Mai said as she grinned at Rika with a devious gleam in her eyes. "So then did you guys get naked and roll around in the sand and stuff? I bet Kaiba looked pretty damn good, huh?"
"I knew I shouldn't have told you." Rika said as she buried her blushing face in her pillow. They were sitting on her bed, still in their pjs and Mai just wouldn't let the topic go. She'd been half asleep when she'd told Mai about her strange dream. She shouldn't be held responsible or made to suffer for anything she'd said while barely conscious, right?
"Though come to think of it, I can so see him comparing love to a headache." Mai said with a laugh, trying to tug the pillow away from Rika so that she could see her cousin's face. "And it would be so like you to compare it to a stomach ache too. You two might just be perfect for each other."
"Some how I can't see him agreeing with that statement." Rika said dryly, letting Mai win the tug of war with the pillow. "I think the dream just highlights how bad the odds are that we'd ever make something out of this. We're both loners, hard headed and opinionated. We'd never be able to stand each other for months, much less years. We'd kill each other."
"Or just understand each other better then anyone else ever has or could."
Looking over at Mai in surprise, since that was a very un Mai thing to say Rika was surprised to see Mai looking so serious. Mai wasn't usually serious about anything unless it was really important or involved a dueling match.
"What? I can't be deep and philosophical once in a while?" Mai said with a smile, reading her cousin's expression easily. Okay so it wasn't her style to look or think about things like this deeply, But if her cousin's happiness was at stake then how could she not at least say her piece? "Look I know people are always saying opposites attract and it's a good idea not to get involved with someone like you but I think that being a lot like the other person can be a good thing too. Sure you both have a lot of things about you that aren't exactly positive but that just means you're tough enough to handle it in the other person. There aren't a lot of people that can understand Kaiba, really understand him and what he's lived through and done. Just like the same could be said about you. But I think, personally, that you two get each other really well. Amazingly well in fact. Maybe these flashbacks or memories or whatever you want to call them are fate's way of saying this was meant to be. Not to run away from a relationship which is what you both do instinctively."
"I do not run away...I just avoid." Rika said gruffly, seeing Mai's point and not liking the fact that she had to agree with most of what her cousin was saying.
"You both run away. Mokuba is the only person that matters to Kaiba. The only person he's let matter to him. No one can live like that. No one should live like that, Rika. It took you a while to realize that and make friends with other people but once you did, aren't you glad? For all the worries and troubles having friends has brought you..wasn't it worth it? Aren't they worth it?" Mai pressed, taking one of Rika's hands in hers. "Kaiba has never really made that step, took that chance. Maybe, maybe he can't unless there's someone there to help him take it. Someone who understands how much it hurts to even just try."
A Couple Hours Later
Standing on top of the highest hill in the park Joshua stood there in silence, watching the people go by carefully as he looked for the other two. He knew that Freya had been released which meant that only Sirus remained trapped, awaiting the day where he too would be released. But that could only happen if the three of them were successful in seeing that the darkness their princess had to face was vanquished. Only then would the last entrapped soul be set free from the soul of their carrier.
"Freya is on her way, we can likely start without her." A soft female voice called out, Joshua looking over to see Latoya making her way slowly up the hill, the breeze carrying her voice to his ears.
"She won't be a lot of help anyway." Joshua pointed out with a faint smirk on his face as he moved to lend a hand. "You know she and our Ri didn't get along very well. I doubt very much that that's changed."
"True but if she wishes to remain on this world then she will help us." Latoya reminded him, taking his offered hand with a grateful smile since the hill was just a little steep but perfect for their purpose. "Do you think things will work out? So much is uncertain. If only we could let all the players on the board know what was going on. Our chance of success would certainly triple at the very least."
"If we told them everything then nothing would go as it should. Each of them has something they need to accomplish or accept, whether they know it or not. We can't tell them what they need to do, they need to realize it for themselves." Joshua said as he gave her hand an understanding squeeze. Her wish was his as well, even if they could never be anything but wishful thinking. "All we can do right now is call Rika to us..and hope that she comes."
