I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Rhapsody Moonschild and Tat Claire Kokoro
|~* DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the property of Kazuki Takahashi. It does not belong to Rhapsody Moonschild and/or Tat Claire Kokoro.
We thank you for reading this fanfic.*~|
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO (by Rhapsody)
Yami's POV
I whip around to see Bakura standing there, a murderous half-smile on his face. He's holding his favorite knife, the one with the poison-edged blade, and to prove his willingness to fight he tests the blade on his own finger. He alone is immune to the poison.
"Fight me for my toy?" he offers. He throws his head back and LAUGHS. I watch that white throat vibrate and want to stick his own knife in it. I tense, and Ryou holds my arm in a tighter grip.
"Yami…" he whispers, eyes wide and full of fear. Whether it is fear of the impending fight or of Bakura I do not know. But I do know that this sweet innocent should have no more to do with this. Whatever I do to Bakura I will take the blame for, only me.
"Marik," I say without turning to face the blonde Egyptian, "take Ryou to my home. Yugi will let you in. And neither of you come back, understand?"
"Whatever," Marik mutters, not protesting, but Ryou continues to give me that scared look. It is now I realize… he's afraid of what I will do, of what I am capable of. My koi is scared of me now that I'm angry.
That saddens me deeply but doesn't change the here-and-now. Ryou has to GO.
"Ryou-chan, go with Marik. He won't hurt you," I say shortly, keeping my eyes on Bakura. The yami doesn't seem to be in any hurry to start the fight. In fact, his cold brown eyes are amused as he watches us.
"No…" my koi whispers, the sound breaking my heart. He won't go, I realize, and if he does, he'll simply return. I have no other choice…
I place my hand on his forehead and magically knock him out. Marik catches him as he crumples, and hesitates a moment.
"GO!" I yell, and he does. Bakura watches them go, and then looks at me, still wearing that creepy half-smile. One last time he idly flips his knife, and catches it perfectly. Then he moves into a fighting stance.
I have no knife, no weaponry at all. I usually win my battles by substituting Duel Monsters for physical combat. I have no empty-handed combat training either—pharaoh does not fight his own battles.
All I have is magic, and not much of that. The powers of the Millennium Items are supposed to be able to be bent to any use, but I rarely use them. I curse myself for a fool—I should have anticipated the need of them.
Bakura leaps suddenly at me and I jump back ungracefully. I do have good reflexes and that may be the only way I will survive this fight.
Think quickly, Yami. One spell is probably all I will have time for. And it's got to be a good one.
Thinking of Ryou's scared brown eyes, I hope that the only option will not be exploding Bakura's internal organs or something as gory as that. Strategy, strategy!
All this time I am lost in thought is losing me ground. It is hard to defend against a knife when one has no weaponry at all. I don't understand why I'm even still alive—
I moan a little as Bakura's knife grazes a long cut down my arm. The poison, I'm sure, is quick-acting; I don't know what kind it is but it is guaranteed to slow my reflexes. It probably won't kill me outright—Bakura would reserve that pleasure for himself.
We dance the deadly dance, and soon I feel my limbs becoming heavy. My vision blurs a little and I start to breathe hard. Bakura probably smiles, I can't really see his face.
He leaps at me again and this time I CAN'T dodge. He's on me and we roll over and over a couple times, kicking at least on my part, but it stops quickly when I feel cold steel against my neck. He cuts my buckle off and sits on my stomach dominantly, flashing me that creepy grin.
"Do you concede?" he asks with a throaty laugh, his first words since we began. I gasp a little, having trouble breathing with his weight crushing half my lungs, and do not reply. He takes this as a no, I suppose, and leans down into my face. I can smell his breath. It has the metallic edge of blood in it.
"I guess I'll have to kill you then," he whispers.
No, it can't end this way!!! It can't!!! For Ryou's sake!!!
Somehow I find my reserves and in a lightning-fast move I grab his forehead and throw all my power into one spell.
I make Bakura forget.