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The Demon in the Sword

Chapter Four-The Prisoner From Far Away

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By Tariki Rania

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Disclaimer: If I owned YGO would I post this? I believe that it would be internationally shown on TV.

NOTICE: the Malik in this story is the hikari. The yami comes later.

/blah/ - thoughts

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"What do you mean?" Malik asked with a surprised look on his face. Bakura sighed.

"I mean exactly what I said. What's it matter to you?" Bakura snapped. Malik looked at Bakura with a sympathetic look and sighed. Bakura twitched. "What's with you?" He growled. Malik smiled in a funny way and replied,

"You really need someone to hug," He said with a smirk, "You're so cold, someone should help you... ... ..." He said hugging Bakura, as if to tease him. Bakura hissed and pushed the sniggering Malik away. However, inwardly, Bakura thought to himself,

/That would be nice... ... .../

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Yami waded around in the cool waters of the Nile and drowsily and gently scrubbed the dried blood off of his tanned skin. He took a gulp of air and slid into the water, disappearing from sight.
Another figure adorned in a heavy black cloak quickly sloshed in after him and whipped out a hidden sword adorned with rubies. It nervously moved through the water, feeling around for any signs of disturbance in the water. Malik and Bakura watched eagerly from the north tower, another figure peered over from the temple of Osiris, a priest probably. The spectators were eagerly awaiting a slaughter. The hooded figure moved around nervously searching for the 'unsuspecting' prince.

Silently, the figure started wading into deeper waters. He/She was so nervous that they didn't notice Yami slowly rise up behind him/her. Yami grabbed the person's hand (the one with the sword) and put it to their throat.

"I just want to know who sent you!" Yami growled as the struggling figure was pushed underwater.

"I'll never tell! But I swear! Osiris shall take all your happiness! Just you wait!" He/She shouted. Yami snarled and pushed the assassin under water again.

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"Zarbo [1]! They're doomed!" Malik cursed. Bakura sighed,
"Time to get a new assassin." He said. Malik and Bakura took one last look at the drowning assassin and hurried off.

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Yami's eyes widened. Some other danger was approaching him. Fast. He quickly grabbed the barely alive assassin and held them up as a shield.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" The assassin yelled as an arrow pierced their heart. Yami frowned. The arrow had come from the Temple of Osiris. He was sure of it... ... ... He stopped pondering this when he saw a flash of golden light where the assassin had been. He gasped; he/she was gone! He looked around hesitantly. It still didn't feel safe. He slowly got out of the river and made his way toward the palace, looking over his shoulder.

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Meanwhile, near the Temple of Osiris, Seto exited the ziggurat.

"I can't believe we had to kill the sacrifices using bows and arrows just because some stupid prime minister came to visit... ... ..."

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Later that day, word got out that Chimeisho's scouts had caught a person from another province. This person was charged of mocking the royal family, although, barely anyone knew how they had done so... ... ...

The prisoner sat inside the dungeon, he sniffed slightly and wiped a tear away from his emerald colored eyes and looked out the window, the dust particles were catching the sun's life giving rays. He sighed. He had to escape, not just for himself, but also for the royal family of Shaherazad [2]. He bit his lip; a distraction was almost necessary. Now, what could he do?

Yami yawned boredly as he and the rest of the royal court and family waited in the large meeting room. They were waiting to meet the prisoner, so that they could learn some information. A few seconds later two guards walked in with a young boy whom was restrained with ropes. The court gasped, Bakura hissed slightly. What mockery was this? Who dared to imitate his appearance? Who the hell was this little nobody? That's it. He was nobody. Well, he must be good at disguises and make up in order to pull off having white spiky hair.
The prisoner stared straight ahead firmly, although, Bakura could tell that this boy was extremely nervous.

"State your name," the Pharaoh ordered lazily. The boy didn't respond. A guard snarled,

"When the Pharaoh tells you to do something you do it bastard!" he yelled as he struck the boy across the face. The white haired boy was knocked over by the powerful hit, he whimpered as he tried to pull himself up to his feet; yet, he'd landed on his hip. Now he couldn't even stand. The guard approached him unmercifully with a sword in hand.

"Stop," the pharaoh said. The guard gaped,

"But sir, he defied your orders! Surely he must be punished!" He protested. The pharaoh rolled his eyes.

"And yet, you defy my order to you as well?" He asked with a knowing look. The guard silenced himself. Probably a smart choice, Bakura thought. He began wondering what kinds of torture would await the prisoner when suddenly someone calling him jerked him back into reality.

"Bakura?" The Pharaoh called out. Bakura blinked,

"Yes father?"

"Help the prisoner get to his feet." He ordered. Everyone's jaws fell open, what the hell was going on? Bakura, giving his father a queer look bent down and helped the boy up. The boy gave him a meaningful look and whispered in a soft trembling voice.

"Thank you... ... ..." Bakura was going to give a sarcastic remark, but instead, shrugged it off. There was an uncanny silence before the pharaoh asked in a casual voice,

"So, boy, what is your name?" The boy blinked and looked over at Bakura before answering.

"Ryou. Ryou is my name." He said slowly. Malik raised an eyebrow,

"Just Ryou? Isn't there a family name to go along with that?" He asked suspiciously, Ryou just sighed and shook his head.

"I used to have a family name, but when the heirs to Shah –"He abruptly stopped speaking and looked down at his feet, perhaps he'd said too much.

Yami frowned at this,

/Only people who've been exiled lose their family name, can't see what he did though. I mean, people who're thieves get their hands cut off, and people who speak against the governments get their tongues cut off [3]. Yet, he's not missing anything, so what did he do to lose his family name? /

"What was your name prior to losing your family name?" Yami asked curiously.

Ryou blinked then shrugged,

"I suppose it's okay to tell you that, my family name was Arukab, but I'm not telling you anything else." Malik scribbled the name 'Arukab' onto a piece papyrus paper, and then he asked,

"What was your occupation? And where are you from?" Ryou frowned, why couldn't they leave him alone?

"I was a priest, and I am from another province that descended from the Persian Empire." Ryou replied stiffly. Malik proceeded to scribble notes down. Seto frowned and asked,

"What temple did you work most often in?" Ryou thought for a minute before answering,

"I worked in the temple of Astarte. [4]"there was more scribbling from Malik. The pharaoh sighed; this person's land could a potential threat as well as opportunity. Yet, he still didn't know where Ryou was from, there was many a land from Persian decent. He would need a more thorough investigation. So he turned to a twitchy maid and ordered her to bring some clean clothes for Ryou. The maid squeaked and hurried off. A few seconds later she came back with a white tunic and matching pants. The pharaoh smiled 'kindly' at Ryou and said,

"Why don't you freshen up in our springs? You must be very tired and dirty after your long trip." The pharaoh said as he handed the clothes to Bakura. "Bakura will help you!" He said pushing his son toward a suspicious Ryou. Bakura sighed and led Ryou out of the room. The pharaoh turned to Malik,

"Get all the information and do as much research as possible!" He ordered, "We must discover where he's from!"

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Bakura led Ryou through the hallways of the palace until they were outside by a waterfall. Ryou looked around the springs; everything was sealed off by means of a large stone fence. Ryou sighed, there was no way he could escape, especially with this Bakura fellow watching him. Speaking of Bakura... ... ...

"What are you so upset about?" Bakura asked with a frown as he put Ryou's new clothes on a nearby bench and handed Ryou a fluffy towel. Ryou looked over the fence longingly and said,

"I just want to go home, after all, they're probably worried about me... ... ..." Ryou said glumly as he sat down on a stone. Bakura glanced at the miserable boy for a second before sighing and scratching his head,

"Who's worried about you? I thought you were in exile," Bakura said narrowing his eyes. Ryou's eyes widened, he'd blabbed! He gave Bakura a guilty look,

"Uh, my friends are worried for me . . ." Ryou said lamely. Bakura gave him a suspicious look and muttered,

"Defying me is dangerous, but lying means certain death." Ryou gulped and murmured,

"I can explain... ... ...You see... ... ..." Ryou was about to answer when Bakura's hand was placed over Ryou's mouth. Ryou did the first thing that came to mind and licked it. Disgusting, yes, but Bakura found this action rather amusing. He smirked.

"Well! You've got some spunk... ... ... Fine, don't tell me, at least not yet." He said, Ryou smiled impishly and proceeded to undress. Bakura's eyes widened at a large scar across Ryou's back, from his right shoulder to a little above his waist. "Where... ... ...where did this come from?" Bakura asked his suspicion was peeking. Ryou bit his lip as Bakura ran his fingers along it.

"I-I got this when I left the province from which I lived... ... ..."

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Two people sat on a cloth in the middle of a large wheat field. They were both short; one was a man, the other a female. The man wore richly made royal attire and a headdress that assessed his importance; he removed his headdress and wiped his brow. His spiky black and garnet hair stuck out at all sides. His wife wore similar clothes; her waist length black hair and golden bangs glistened in the sun. Between them sat a young boy, with clear violet eyes and spiky gold, garnet, and black hair. They were the royal family of the province Shaherazad. Under their rule Shaherazad was peaceful and serene, the people were happy and fond of their royal family, their Pharaoh, Maaraw [5], the queen, Hikaru, and the young heir, Yuugi. They were happy, until one day, everything went wrong... ... ...

"Oh! Ryou, you got temple duties off?" Maaraw asked, as he set out a picnic blanket in the middle of the wheat field as the white haired youth approached him. Ryou nodded and smiled. He was wearing a pale blue tunic with silver tassels and dark blue Capri pants with silver decorations; both article of clothing bore the Shaherazad symbol, the golden sun (A/N: I love that game ~^-^~) with a scroll behind it. Hikaru smiled happily at Ryou and told him that Yuugi would love to see him, the sound of cherubic laughing came from the stables as Yuugi came riding in on an a horse driven by a boy with messy blonde hair and playful amber eyes.

"Your majesties," He said bowing, "I present to you, the heir to the Shaherazad, Prince Yuugi!" He said as he helped the boy get off of the white horse. Yuugi smiled at his friends and family and began laughing when he saw Ryou fall to his knees and 'beg for mercy'.

"Oh Jounochi, you silly ibis!" Yuugi said pushing the general playfully. Ryou chuckled and got up and brushed the dirt off his silk pants. As he watched Jounochi run from Yuugi he thought he saw something shining off in the distance behind Maaraw and Hikaru. He shook his head and sighed, it must have been the sun's glare off the shining wheat. Speaking of wheat... ... ... Ryou snatched a ripe handful and snuck up behind Yuugi and tickled his exposed neck with the harvested stalks. Yuugi burst out into laughter as he and Jounochi grabbed their own stalks to fight back with.

"Mama! Papa! Look at us!" Yuugi called out to his laughing parents. He turned to feast his eyes on his friends who were diving in and out of the wheat like fish. Suddenly, he heard a scream behind him; he turned. He screamed his parents were slashed and were lying in a puddle of their blood and tears. A figure dressed in a black cloak holding a sword wet with crimson blood rose out from the ground and pointed the sword at Yuugi. In a voice that was neither male nor female he/she said,

"You're next!" With that he/she began charging at Yuugi, blade first. Yuugi screamed and tried to scramble away, but tripped. He felt someone scoop him up and run, fast.

"R-Ryou!" Yuugi sobbed, "m-m-my parents!" He cried into Ryou's shoulder, Ryou was crying hard too, but was focusing his sorrow on running.

"Ryou!" Jounochi yelled as he passed by the sobbing youth on his horse, "hurry!!!" Ryou nodded and started running toward the horse, but was cut off by the murderer whom ran between Ryou, Yuugi, and Jounochi's horse. "Noooooooo!" Jounochi screamed as the murderer lunged at Yuugi. Ryou's eyes widened.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Two screams filled the air. Jounochi lowered his bow, and carefully got off his horse and ran toward Ryou and Yuugi. He had shot the figure with a poisoned arrow through the heart. Yuugi was weeping hysterically over Ryou. As Ryou, in an attempt to save the heir had turned so that Yuugi didn't suffer the blow. Ryou had turned and gotten his back slashed by the figure's lethal blade. (A/N: I almost typed "the figure's lethal bladder" ^~;)

"Ryou... ... ...A-are you okay?" Yuugi wept as Ryou wiped his tears away hastily and ran a hand over the wound in his back. Ryou bit his lip as he looked at the blood trickling off his pale fingers. He sighed and tried to get up, but winced and collapsed landing on his back Ryou's eyes bugged out as he screamed in agony. Jounochi quickly helped Yuugi pick the twitching Ryou up and load him on the horse. They started running out of town toward the forest when they heard someone yell out at them,

"Run! Leave, if you come back, you'll have the same fate as those idiotic rulers!"

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Bakura frowned as he saw tears well up in Ryou's eyes, normally he would have scowled at Ryou's exposure of emotion, but in this case, he pushed his nature aside and muttered,

"It's okay... ... ...You can tell me later... ... ..."

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[1] -This is Arabic for shit.

[2] -Shaherazad is actually the Persian princess from the story "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights", but for my purposes, it is another town.

[3] -These were the original Babylonian punishments

[4] -Astarte is the daughter of Ra, she was one of the Egyptian battlefield goddesses and one of the astral goddesses. She was also the daughter of the moon god, Sin. She is also known as _Ishtar_! *Squeals* Malik and Isis are named after a goddess!!!

^-^ I told you that Yuugi would make an appearance! And, if not better, Ryou and Jounochi came in too!!!!!!! Please review; it makes me happy!

Shadowed figure in the background: *grumbles* I was so sure she wouldn't put them into this chappie...

Rania: *sticks tongue out* Nyah nyah!

Shadowed figure in the background: *cries* another shadowed figure got killed!

Rania: ^o^ Lookee! A bunny wabbit!!!!!!!!!

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