Yu-Gi-Oh! © Kazuki Takahashi
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Meh. I'm bored again. So I'm reviewing another chapter… okay I'm not really bored. I should be studying or doing something else useful right now, but I don't want to. So here's another chapter XD and now for a bunch of random places and names that I don't even know if they existed ^^' but whatever. At least it works. ENJOY!
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"We captured two of the ring leaders, but Ihab is nowhere to be found," Marcius mumbled under his breath, Zahra giving him a nod as she jumped through the roof and landed on the third level of the complex.
"Good," Zahra huffed, "I figured he'd be gone by then –"
"But before we could interrogate the leaders they committed suicide," he shrugged, "but one of them blurted as he was tortured that the Tariqis are headed towards Teudjoi."
"At least we got some information," she sighed and shook her head, mumbling under her breath about how incompetent the man was. "… You know they're just sending us to a trap –"
"Yeah I know," Marcius chuckled, "but the unsuspecting thing to do would be to continue following them –"
"But not in large numbers like we've been doing," Zahra smirked. "They're playing a game with us, I can tell, but if they won't play fair then we won't either. Send only four to six men into the town as informants. Everyone else will go to the neighboring village called Imu," she told him. "Now I have some business to attend to, so I'll split up from you when we get into Cechous. I'll meet you… say… a week after in Imu… I suppose," she sighed and flipped her hair, noticing a bedroom and walking inside.
He watched as she went through the drawers, smirking when she came upon a small box full of various types of jewelry. "May I ask why –"
"Business," Zahra huffed, "and I want to see if I can find out more about the Tariqis and Ihab. They're sending us on a wild goose chase and I want to find Vitus and Aurelia soon. Even if it's just their bodies I want to find out what happened to them… they could prove useful if found alive," she explained.
"I see," Marcius nodded, "you're looking for clues… well just don't get captured and we'll see you soon."
"Yes we shall," Zahra smirked, slipping the jewelry into her bag and setting the empty box on the counter.
"Oh and by the way, don't take too long," Marcius chuckled, "there's a delivery coming here by order of Daleel and some of its contents are for you."
"Is it now?" she snorted, "Well he better deliver some herbs. I have to remake my medicine again."
"Ran out?" Marcius shook his head and sighed, "Understandable. You go through those things like it's a mug of beer, which I should say I wouldn't mind having right now."
"You can go do that," Zahra smirked and grabbed a large bag from under the bed, looking inside to find a bunch of gold and silver hidden inside, "but I'm going to take off once the sun rises."
"Suit yourself," Marcius answered, grabbing a handful of the gold and slipping it into his pocket, "now let's get going. I think I can hear the guards coming inside."
"Fine," she huffed and swung the bag over her shoulder, "but they're not going to like the surprise we have for them."
"I don't really like it," he shuddered as they jumped out the window and landed on their feet, "I mean gutting people? Why do you always have to do that?"
Zahra smirked, jumping onto a horse they had left by an exit and gave him a wink, "Because they are my enemies and I'm just sending a message that I'm here and planning on staying. Now let's go. I can hear the priest around the corner." Marcius jumped onto his own horse and took off, yelling being heard from behind them as they galloped into the desert.
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A woman pulled her black hood closer to her face, tucking a stray black hair behind her ear as the horse she rode on trotted into the town. At first glance Zahra could tell this town was full of bandits and thieves, a town barely touched by the pharaoh and his men as they laid on the edge of the kingdom. There was a slight frown on her face when she noticed that most of the women were in the streets, trying to woo the men into their houses for a one-night stand. Still there's always someone who has been in town for years without resorting to such defiantly, and Zahra intended to find that person before the day was gone. Jumping off of her horse she tied it up to a post, whispering into its ear that if someone steals him she'll be alright. Then Zahra slipped her hands into the folds of her black belt, avoiding eye contact and walking right into a building towards the end of a merchant district. Noticing a man she raised an eyebrow, the man looking up from his work to start smiling widely at her through crooked teeth. "Should have known your 'ike would be here," he snickered through his teeth, Zahra rolling her eyes and walking right up to his counter.
"I'm not in the mood for games Ngozi," Zahra huffed, then a smirk showed up on her face, "though I'm intrigued to find you here in a scum filled desert like here. I thought you would be traveling down the Silk Road by now."
"Got a little… side tracked," he snickered, Zahra looking over at Ngozi's gaze to see a woman behind a stand selling jewelry.
Zahra smirked, knowing exactly what he meant before looking back over at him with hard eyes. "Whatever your reasons are I simply don't care," she snorted, though Ngozi knew she was interested in knowing how he found that woman, "but I need some information."
"Of course you do," he huffed and grabbed something from behind his stand, handing her a key with a random number on it, "but we're not speaking here. Meet us in the tavern called The Horse's Mane tonight. Go to this room and don't expect a warm welcome. We don't think kindly of strangers here," he smirked, Zahra rolling his eyes and snatching the key from his hand.
"That's why I love this job," she sighed, walking right out of the building and back into the streets. Seeing that her horse lay untouched she untied the reins and rode off, glaring at the men that gave her stares and hoped no one would follow her.
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For the rest of the day Zahra spent her time in the shade of the rocks located far from the town, but not too far so she could see it from afar and watch what was going on. Sadly Ra-To only looked to be a meeting place for thieves, no activities from the Tariqis coming under her radar as she waited for the night to fall. She did notice something; the town became more alive with commotion once Zahra had left. A few men rode off to find her, but instead of looking at the cliffs where she was staying they rode off to the nearest villages and towns nearby. She could tell they were looking for her; she overheard their conversation as she sat in a cave on the side of the cliff and the ground above her. They were looking for a girl with dark black hair, green eyes, and a black cloak… but why was another mystery. It wasn't because of her arrival, but according to two of the men they would be rich if they could find the mystical woman with long black hair, green eyes, a black cloak, and white clothes. She'll have to change her clothes or else she'll be caught, probably forced to do things she would never like to do, and sent in a beat-up package to the pharaoh. If that happened the Tariqis would get a hold of her… and she may never be heard of again. Since it was only her and the horse she thought quickly. After all she had Kalil with Marcius to keep him busy and she was on a business trip of her own. She couldn't be moved away from her goal, she had to talk to this diabound creature. The horse snorted confused as she slipped off her cloak and kicked off her shoes, patting the horse's neck to comfort him as she took off her dress. "Don't be surprised. I just can't afford to get caught right now," Zahra huffed, grabbing her knife from her holster and got to work.
She cut her black cloak into a dress, cutting the dirty and ripped ends off as she wrapped the rest of the cloth around her body. She went with a style that was familiar in Egypt but something she had done many times before, wrapping the cloth around her breasts and slipping only one strap on her shoulder. She cut the white cloth into a long strip, wrapping it around her waist as she did with her black cloth and tying the ends tight. Then she put her shoes back on, slipping the black cloth she had around her waist over her hair and tying it so it hide her face. "There," Zahra smirked happily, "but I think I'll need something else…" The horse snorted in surprise as a portal into the shadow realm revealed itself against the wall of the cave, Zahra humming to herself as a large set of drawers and chests appeared. She pulled out the second to the bottom drawer and revealed a drawer full of jewels, Zahra only taking out a few and setting them aside. "Hey I'm a thief," she shrugged at the horse, "what can I say?" Snickering to herself she closed the drawers and sent everything back into the shadow realm, the portal disappearing as she slipped on the extra jewelry.
"Wow, I always knew my girl would be beautiful, but not to this extent," a voice came from behind, Zahra slipping a silver band on her wrist and giving him a smirk.
"Thanks Seker," she chuckled lowly, "but trust me, I'm not that beautiful –"
"No you are," he shook his head, giving her a worried look, "but won't this attract too much attention –"
"Only as much as I want," Zahra huffed, "and besides this is a side trip. If this diabound creature won't show up to me in a day or two I'll be gone."
"I'll keep that in mind," he nodded, his soul fading away into the shadows till all that remained was the horse and the young woman.
She sighed as she noticed the sun going down, patting the horse on the nose and giving him a tired smile. "We'll leave as soon as the sun goes down," she told him, "and I think I'll let you go so you're not used by these thieves." The horse snorted and Zahra smirked, slipping the remains of the cloth into her bag and threw the bag over her shoulder.
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Zahra chuckled under her breath, her new outfit getting the response she wanted. The men were looking far too much at her body to notice her face, but hey there were far prettier women walking the streets that night then just her. If a man got too close she simply pushed him into one of the whores walking by, smirking under her hood as she slipped into the tavern Ngozi described. As a woman on a mission she slipped past the drunken men into the back of the tavern without being seen, using the key he gave her to open a room and lock it behind her. Then she heard laughter, Ngozi snickering at her as she grumbled under her breath and slipped the veil from her face. "My gods what's this invite?! From the Skia no less!" he laughed, Zahra shaking her head and throwing her bag close to a chair and sitting down on the other side of the table from Ngozi.
"I know the men are looking for me," Zahra huffed, Ngozi's laughter fading away as he slipped a drink of beer into his mouth, "and there's a warrant proclaimed by the pharaoh now, but sadly I have more important matters then confronting a simple king."
"There must be a reason you're here," Ngozi commented, looking at Zahra sternly, "so… what is it this time?"
"Did you hear –"
"That our organization is in jeopardy here because of a group of tax collectors? Yes I do," he smirked, "but they haven't found me yet. Are you hear for that reason –"
"Are they around here –"
"They vanished from this town ages ago," he sighed, sitting back in his chair and looking up to the ceiling, "so I do not know of them. Is that your only reason?" Ngozi smiled, noticing Zahra sighing and looking to the floor.
"Actually no," she huffed, "I'm looking for my past –"
"And you think it's here?" he raised an eyebrow, Zahra shaking her head and slipping her arms onto the table.
"It's a bit more complicated… I'm looking for a certain creature –"
"Oh I see," Ngozi nodded, looking up to see a woman walk into the room and let out a startled gasp. "It's alright Safiya," he chuckled, Zahra narrowing her eyes at him as he continued, "she's only here on business. Which reminds me you have to sign in," he remembered, placing a scroll on the table and a bottle of ink of her to use.
Zahra slipped the knife from under her dress and inked the top of the handle, making her mark on the scroll and letting it sit so the ink would dry. She looked over the woman, who was staring at her shyly and walked over to give her a cup of beer. "Uhh, no thank you," Zahra shook her head, understanding Safiya had gotten the drink for herself and not for this new woman in the room. The woman was beautiful, more beautiful then Zahra thought of herself. She wore a lengthy white dress with blue accents, wearing a few touches of blue jewelry to accent her blue eyes and black hair.
Safiya also looked upon the woman with curiosity, noticing the black dress on her body and the veil on the ground. Her dress was shorter then what Zahra usually wore, cut just below the knee with a slit on the side of her left leg. The silver jewelry she wore Safiya mistake for being fakes, but Zahra was actually wearing authentic silver jewelry she had stolen or received throughout the years. She never collected flashy gems and didn't like to flaunt her wealth, so if she kept something it meant she had some value towards the object or she liked how it looked. Zahra wore the snake bangles she had gotten a month or more ago; thin, loose silver bangles on her ankles to show off her legs. The only thing on her body that looked to have value would be the jackal necklace on her neck; Safiya staring at Zahra's necklace with greed till the woman snapped her out of her thoughts and suddenly stood up. "If this is a bad time –"
"No, no sit!" Ngozi insisted, Zahra eyeing him suspiciously and slowly sitting back down in the chair, "actually I may be able to help you, but you have to promise me something first."
"What?" she sighed, Ngozi looking over at Safiya before narrowing his eyes at Zahra. "We… we have a problem. Only a few days ago our children were taken from us. A two girls, black hair and blue eyes like their mother," he smiled at the thought, Safiya's eyes going wide at what Ngozi just revealed. "If you promise to go find the kidnappers that took them I'll be forever in your debt –"
"There's something else I must do –"
"It's better than hoping for a miracle," he smiled to her, "and I need your help."
"… Do you know of a creature named diabound –"
"Diabound?!" Safiya gasped, Ngozi blinking in confusion before telling his wife to stay quiet.
"Why –"
"Apparently he can help me find my childhood village," Zahra tried to explain, "and I was told to search here. I only have a few more days to gather information from him, but if you know what he is I'll help you find your children –"
"That creature, I hear, is used by the King of Thieves," Ngozi told her, Zahra narrowing her eyes in realization. "I only saw the creature once… but I will warn you to not trifle with that man –"
"I only need to talk to the creature," Zahra snorted. "Now where is he –"
"Bakura plans on staying in this town for a few more days, though I don't know why," Ngozi continued. "He moves from place to place around here so you'll have to listen to those on the streets. If you seek this creature, this diabound, go find the king first."
"Okay," Zahra sighed, sitting back in her chair and contemplating on her new problem. "… Now these children," she decided to ask, "what are their names and do you know exactly what has happened to them?"
"Salidji and Nuru," Ngozi told her, "and the eldest, Salidji, is about nine years of age. There was a group of slave traders that came by the town and I'm assuming they got kidnapped during their stay."
"Do you know where they went?" Zahra decided to ask.
Ngozi simply sighed. "I believe they were heading south, but according to their conversation they will be heading back north towards the Mediterranean Sea in… another week or two. Three tops."
"Okay," Zahra nodded and stood up, "I'll do what I can –"
"Even if you can't, can you find someone who will?" Ngozi stared at her with a pleading look in his eyes. "I'm not asking for a lot, but even if I'm not the biological father I feel responsible for their disappearance. I promised them that if they went missing I would search the ends of the earth to find them… and if my suspicions are correct the traders plan on sending them by boat to Greece," he explained. "That's right where Daleel lives and currently he owes me a debt."
She smirked at his words, "Well as I said I will do what I can, but I have to keep my attention on the Tariqis till they have disappeared from existence. Now if you write me up a list of your demands and the amount you will pay if they are found, I will bring it to the men when I meet up with them and Daleel will be one of the first to hear about it."
"Thank you!" Ngozi stood up, rushing towards a desk with loose papers on top looking for a clean one to use. "Ummm… Safiya, can you get Zahra some new clothes? I don't want one of our best head merchants to be walking around in such a rugged getup."
"S-sure Ngozi," Safiya nodded, but glared at Zahra as she followed behind her and they left the room. Before they went into another room Safiya stopped her, staring her down as Zahra looked at her with hardening eyes. "Ngozi is thinking highly of you, but I don't see why. You're just a thief aren't you? Another one like the rest of this pathetic lot."
"Yes I'm a thief," Zahra huffed back, "but I do more than just thievery now –"
"Why find this creature? Don't you know what will happen to a woman like yourself if you cross with the King of Thie –"
"I have done so more than once and he's weaker than a fruit fly," Zahra smirked, Safiya's eyes widening at her response. "Look you may not like me, but I am not after your man there. You don't have to be afraid of that. Second I have my reasons for finding the creature… I've been searching for eons and come across nothing. This may be my only chance at finding where my family came from and I won't let the moment pass me by," she told her sternly, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair, "and lastly I seem to have a warrant on my head. What? Do you plan on telling the guards I'm here? Do you even know of my work woman?"
Safiya frowned, taking out a key and opening a door that led them into a room full of clothes, jewels, and other knickknacks that they were selling. "… I am sorry," she sighed and rummaged through the clothes, looking for something for Zahra to wear, "I-I didn't mean to insult you… but this is my children we're talking about, not Ngozi's. He… Ngozi tends to talk when he's drunk and he has told me several times about a woman called the Skia Diana –"
"Well that's because we know each other from long ago," Zahra smirked, "and he knows why I'm here and I know why he's here. It's not too hard to figure out, but you'll have to trust me on this… and if you think I slept with him you're mistaken. I'm still a virgin for crying out loud!"
The other woman snickered, "Virgin, you?! How ridiculous –"
"Basically I never found a man that I liked," Zahra huffed, "but it's hard to find good men in a sea of robbers and bandits. Anyways you shouldn't worry about a thing. I'll send a few men to track down the caravan and once I'm done with my mission I will attend to yours."
"Men?" Safiya asked.
She smirked, "Of course. I've done a lot in my life and one of them is command droves of buffoonal men. That is as simple as eating dates. Woman, before you jump to conclusions find out all you know first. It'll save you a lot of trouble in the meantime –"
"Here wear this," Safiya huffed, getting Zahra to quickly shut up. Zahra slipped on the dress, looking at her reflection in a shiny piece of jewelry and smirked. "… Like it –"
"I love it," Zahra chuckled, grabbing a black cloth beside her and slipping it around her neck. "Fits me perfectly, or for the time being. Will I have to pay –"
"For what you're doing I doubt Ngozi will make you pay," she sighed, though Zahra knew the woman was disappointed with the transaction. Deciding it was almost time to go Zahra headed back into the room where her belongings, Safiya following behind her to make sure the woman doesn't do anything funny when she was out of the room.
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Zahra raised an eyebrow, noticing the building she had walked into. "Animals," she grumbled under her breath, sneaking into the back of the room and looking around trying to get her bearings. This was obviously a den for thieves, a bunch of men fucking random women throughout the room as others watched. Either this was an orgy room or this group bought all those women, Zahra didn't know, but she didn't want to stick around to find out. According to Ngozi this is where Zahra should start looking for Bakura, but all she saw was a sea of disgusting men. She slipped into the back where the rooms were and walked down the hallway, stopping at a corner once she saw that no one was coming by and trying to figure out what she should do next. "I wish I had more information," she mumbled under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the wall. Then she decided to pull out her dagger from under her dress, looking at the engravings and noticing the faint glow of the half-man half-serpent on the blade. "Knew it," she smirked, looking up and pulling her hood closer to her face as she roamed further into the darkness of the inn.
As if the soul on the other side was calling to her, Zahra followed the blade's pull till she came upon a cracked door. Looking inside she grimaced in pain, quickly turning her head away and covering her eyes with her hands. "Gods that's disgusting –"
"It's better than doing nothing all night," came a voice beside her, Zahra looking over to find a man leaning against the wall in the same position she was, looking at her with a large grin on his face. She narrowed her eyes and noticed the glow that was emitting from him in the darkness, showing to her as plain as day that he was the creature she was looking for.
"… You're Diabound aren't you?" Zahra glared at the man, noticing his short white hair and bright red eyes staring deep into her jaded green eyes.
He stared back, noticing the curves on the woman and the dark black cloak she had over her shoulders. "Indeed," he grinned, moving his shirt to adjust the gray clothing he wore.
She narrowed her eyes, "Then how come you showed up so quickly –"
"You called," he pointed to her knife, Zahra looking down to see the image of the monster on her blade glowing intensely. "I will be honest," he sighed and leaned over to her, getting a better look of her, "I never expected to see you in this world, let alone running around in a pyramid going after gold. I should have known, but you have more potential then petty thievery."
"What? How do you –"
"Don't you remember the night you raided the latest pharaoh's tomb and ran away from that high priest? I was summoned to stop you, but I have a no tolerance policy when it comes to harming one of my own," he explained, placing his hands in front of his chest and chuckling lowly.
"What do you mean –"
"Don't you know?" he smirked, "You come from my village you see –"
"I get it," Zahra smirked, "you're a patron of a village, meaning whoever is born and lives in your village you are sworn to protect –"
"That's right," he chuckled. "My gods you've grown up! Usually I'd have to explain everything to you, but you seem to be figuring everything out yourself –"
"I'm sorry Diabound," she sighed and shook her head, "but I came here specifically to talk to you –"
"Sure kid," he smirked, "but you could have just summoned me –"
"I didn't know I could," Zahra honestly admitted, his red eyes slowly becoming darker as she continued. "Ummm… you see someone directed me to find you. Do you know who?"
"No idea," he shrugged, "but I should have assumed so. After all I haven't seen you in eleven years."
"… What is the name of the village you look over?" Zahra asked, Diabound letting out a sigh and shook his head.
"Child… what did those villagers do to you?" he frowned, continuing to stare into her eyes. "Something is missing, I can tell. You died that night, but yet you stand before me with flesh and bones. Did they revive you for some reason, for vengeance perhaps?"
She bit down on her bottom lip, quickly turning away and refusing to cry. "So… it's all true."
"What's true –"
"T-those dreams," she sighed, "that I keep having… You… you have to tell me the village. Please I'm begging you! –"
"Stop," he held up his hand, looking over at the door and noticing that the sounds had grown quiet. "… Meet me in the cliffs outside of the town tomorrow night. This time summon me using your dagger instead of wandering into here without any real protection."
"But what if that man summons you –"
"He won't know," Diabound smirked, "but when we meet again I insist you tell me everything that happened… what you're truly here for."
Zahra sighed and looked down, completely defeated. "Yes Diabound –"
"Now go," he instructed, disappearing into the wall. Zahra blinked as she heard voices coming down the hallway, quietly dashing the other way in an attempt to get out of the building as soon as possible.
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A/N: Oh wow! Zahra doesn't seem to put two and two together well ^^' Think of it as a memory loss problem. Anyways I hope you like my Diabound. Yes I have him portrayed as a male… didn't think he'd look too great as a female and I have a lot of feminine roles so far. So yeah! I hope you enjoyed this and I hope to hear from you soon! =D
Ngozi – Egyptian – blessed
Safiya – Egyptian – pure
Salidji – Egyptian – fruit tree
Nuru – Egyptian – born during the day
