Sorry for the delay in updating! My fall semester has started, which means less time to write-or even think about writing fics. I'll try to get chapters written up whenever I can. This particular chapter was harder to write than others, mainly because I was worried whether Seto Kaiba seems ooc. Let me know what you think! :)
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It was easier to move. I had felt like I was drowning, and now resurfaced. And it felt good. I watched in detachment at the tendrils of liquid light swirling around me. Had I paused to think, I would definitely come to the conclusion that I had lost my mind. But I was beyond that. Ishizu's blank eyes flashed in my mind, and my millennium item vibrated more strongly. Damn that woman.
I heard a scream and turned—meeting the gaze of a woman in the formal garb of the Tomb Keeper Clan. I felt a sick satisfaction fill my system as her face twisted in horror and fear as I walked towards her. The betrayer? Did they dare punish me for something I had supposedly done in my past life? I would not tolerate such treatment.
I lifted a hand in front of me and pointed at her. Her screams died away as tendrils of light encircled her throat. It was so easy, so effortless. Just a little more, and I would be able to crush her windpipe completely.
But it was too easy. Bored, I withdrew. She fell to the ground, breathing heavily. I leaned in towards her and hissed, "Tell your kin that I am here for one purpose only: to destroy the Tomb Keeper Clan."
"Please…have...mercy," she gasped. After writhing in my past in that dark room, it felt satisfying to crush another's spirit. Mercy? She wanted mercy? My eyes narrowed. Mercy was not something I had been given. Not by Gozaburo, not by the corporate world, not by Marik and certainly not by Ishizu. It was only right that I give no mercy to others, after all.
To obtain one's goals using any method necessary. That was the truth that Gozaburo had taught me. The truth that I had forgotten these past several months in my false sense of security. Surrounded by those who claimed to have an interest in me. Muto and Pegasus' faces flashed in my mind, and I wondered what had caused me to trust them. Was it because they were there during my moments of weakness? But it had been foolish for me to depend on them. That had led me here, after all. A failed plan, alone…
I swerved to the right as I felt a presence rush towards me. I caught from the corner of my eye the fist I had just dodged. A fist belonging to a man with a tattoo on half of his face.
"You bastard!" I cried, spinning to kick him in the stomach. He doubled back, and I smirked confidently. He was still weak from our previous fight. And with my newfound power, he had no chance against me. I looked down at him, my eyes burning with anger.
"Is that all you've got?" I asked him, beginning to chuckle despite myself. Odion rose to his feet, and came at me once again. I dodged him with further ease. Was there no one stronger here? I wanted a challenge—
I suddenly felt a pair of hands grab me from behind. Odion brought his deadly hand closer to my forehead.
"How foolish. Do you think the same thing will work on me twice?" I asked, emitting a sudden burst of my energy, piercing through his hand. He howled and retreated backwards. I broke myself free of my captor and spun around—to find myself face to face with Shadi.
I extended the tendrils of light from my hand into spikes and fired them forward. A look of indifference passed through Shadi's eyes, which caused me to pause, the spikes inches away from his neck.
"You don't care if you live or die?" I asked.
"I have not been alive for many years, so I no longer know the difference," he replied evenly.
"A ghost?" I asked, a wry smile on my face.
"For my lady Ishizu's sake, yes," he replied.
"What is Ishizu to you?" I asked while simultaneously sending a series of spikes in Odion's direction to immobilize him.
"As Odion was assigned to be Master Marik's protector, I was assigned to be Mistress Ishizu's protector," he replied, still unmoved by the death glare I was giving him.
"A job which you have failed," I said, withdrawing the spikes.
"You want her back, do you not?" Shadi asked me. I hesitated. What did I want now? The anger I had pent up was ebbing away, and I was beginning to feel fatigued once more. I was tired by how little I knew. About Ishizu, and about the Tomb Keeper Clan in general. But I knew one thing for sure. I needed to take Marik down—and I needed to get rid of the baggage I had picked up along the way to do so.
"No," I replied, "I only want to defeat Marik."
"How do you propose to do that?" Shadi asked. I raised an eyebrow. He seemed neither surprised at my declaration nor skeptical of my resolve. In fact, he seemed to be suggesting something to me.
"With the Tomb Keeper Clan, of course," I said immediately without thinking, gauging his expression. I felt the urge to sway, but stood firm, unwilling to show any weakness in front of them.
"What makes you believe that we will follow you?" Odion said sharply. I twirled a new series of tendrils around my arm.
"I am stronger than both of you. It would be in your best interests to submit to me," I said matter-of-factly, crossing my arms, "Or I can have the pleasure of destroying the clan. The choice is yours."
"A strong leader is something this clan has been seeking. I do not oppose your desire for the Tomb Keeper Clan. I believe the trust Mistress Ishizu places in you will not go to vain. However, the rules of our clan do not allow outsiders to even enter the clan, let alone seek leadership," Shadi explained.
"Mistress Ishizu's trust is misplaced. He would become the ruin of us all if he were to become the clan leader. You would be wise to treat him with caution," Odion said in a low voice.
"Your love for Marik blinds you, Odion. I trust my lady's intuition. She will not be pleased when she hears of your treatment of the pharaoh's magi," Shadi countered.
I watched their silent exchange, feeling the tension build in the corridor where we stood. I needed to think of something fast. Although I had displayed my abilities to back my claim that I could destroy the clan, the effort had left me drained—and I was close to passing out. To make matters worse, more clan members were making their way towards us. Escape was not an option for me now.
"What if I said that Ishizu and I were married?" I asked. Shadi and Odion froze and turned to me in disbelief.
"She would never…" Odion began, when Shadi interjected.
"A legal marriage would make you one of our own. One of the clan," Shadi said.
"How do you know he isn't lying? He is too young," Odion countered. My eyes narrowed. Trust Odion to hit the nail on the head. I needed to continue the bluff; I had no other choice.
"I am eighteen now—more than old enough to wed Ishizu. I can prepare the documents you wish to see, if you will allow me the liberty of accessing them myself," I said.
I was digging this hole deeper for myself with each lie I uttered. I still had many months to go before I turned eighteen, and obviously no documents existed for a marriage that had never occurred. But if they bought my bluff, it would give me a chance to contact Mokuba…
"Very well. You will be under constant watch while you—procure the documents," Odion conceded. I could tell from the glint in his eyes that he knew my bluff, and was grabbing the chance to expose my fallacy. A good portion of the clan had surrounded us now, but parted to let me through. They were watching me with wary, yet respectful eyes.
There was the chance I would become their leader, after all.
