Chapter Two… and finally! Took me long enough, ne? And to think I've had it done for little over two weeks! *dodges multiple thrown objects* Well, it's here now!
Dedicated to my Hikari! (No dah!)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warnings: Yaoi, cursing, perverted-ness, violence, mentions of mutilation and rape (You have to look between the lines for the latter). And angst galore!
Ultimate Betrayal
Chapter Two
The next few hours were a blur in Yuugi's eyes. The only thing he was really aware of was receiving reassurance and support from voices that were familiar - though he was in too much shock to place names to them, and rushing around to various places and finally arriving at an airport where they were scheduled to make a night trip to Alexandria before getting a military escort to Cairo. How the arrangements were made, Yuugi hadn't the slightest idea. His world consisted of himself and the thoughts of his blonde koiboito; everyone else was barely acknowledged and he barely spoke to any of them the entire flight.
Yami continuously tried to get his vessel to come out of the protective shell he had wrapped himself in him with no luck. He tried to convince Yuugi to allow him control, but those pleas went through one ear and out the other, if they ever even registered or not was unknown to him. He was sorely tempted to use other means to make his light snap out of it, but he refrained and simply gave his reincarnation a forceful nudge once in a while.
Yuugi had - though he couldn't remember it now, phoned Honda, Anzu and Bakura to accompany him on his last moment journey to claim back Jounouchi. Unbeknownst to Yuugi, his friends had supplied the money to pay all expenses, making the trip a freebie - at least for him.
Flight three touched down in Alexandria at one in the morning, and all of nine people got off. Yuugi and his friends were split into pairs. Honda with Bakura and Anzu with Yuugi, Anzu and Honda agreeing that the spirit's of the two men's item's probably wouldn't like to be cooped up in a relatively small vehicle for half a day. They were loaded into the awaiting Humvee's, their luggage was put in the trunks and they were off, silence hovering over group with only the droning of the engines breaking the tension.
Yuugi stared out the window at the passing scenery - sand and more sand - and tried to keep his mind off of the situation he had been flung into quite suddenly. He hadn't asked to have Jounouchi abducted and he definitely hadn't asked Yami no Malik to come back from the supposed dead and threaten his life and that of his koiboito's. Though Yuugi wasn't quite ready to admit it, he had been falling in love with the goofy blonde.
Looking back, he found that Jounouchi had always been there for him. There were seldom few memories that didn't have the outgoing man in them. Jounouchi had been there for him throughout high school, during all of Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, and hadn't left his side since. Now that he was gone, Yuugi felt incomplete and strangely dirty.
Anzu and Yuugi sat in silence for the longest time before the brunette turned to her former crush - well, the reincarnation of her former crush, to try and get him to talk; only to find that he had dozed off during his remembrance. Heaving a sigh, she turned to look out her own window and wished for Jounouchi's well-being and Yami no Malik's permanent demise. Soon she too dozed off, her head falling back and her breathing getting shallower.
In the other vehicle, Honda and Bakura were discussing Jounouchi. "You'd think he would be able to keep out of trouble, wouldn't you?" Honda was saying, scratching the back of his head in puzzlement. "He was, after all, in a gang not that many years ago. Even though he dropped the gang, the street fighter has always been a part of him. Me and him both I suppose[1]," He said softly, the last part mostly to himself.
Ryou shook his head. "In case you have forgotten, Yami no Malik has the Sennen Rod[2]. With it he could have made Jounouchi into a puppet, to hell that Jounouchi had broken free of it once before. Yuugi isn't there now, so Jounouchi is alone. For now, at least," Ryou said with a hint of bitterness.
Honda nodded. "Too true," He said sadly before looking up. "But not for long. After all, what are friends for if not to help out when you're in a tight spot. And how much tighter can you get then having a death threat over your head and under the hospitality of a madman?"
They rode in silence for a while before Ryou spoke again. "You don't suppose that-" He started before he cut off what he was saying rather quickly and looked down, snowy bangs falling over his eyes.
Honda glanced over at his albino friend. "Suppose what?"
Ryou shook his head. "Never mind," He glanced at the brunette out of the corner of his eye. "Why don't we get some sleep? It's rather early in the morning and who knows what we'll have to deal with when we arrive in Cairo?"
Honda agreed quickly and bid Bakura good night, his companion replying shortly and turning to look out the window, though he showed no intent of going to sleep. Mentally shrugging, Honda settled down and quickly fell asleep. Had he looked harder at Bakura, he might have noticed the glint in the now ruby eyes.
"Yes," Yami no Bakura hissed. "Sleep well, foolish mortal, for just who knows what we'll have to deal with when we arrive in Cairo?" He chuckled quietly to himself and looked out the window, occupying himself in a discussion with the darkness.
~*~*~*~*~
Yuugi jolted awake out of his horror-filled nightmares to see a face swimming above his. Near panic, he only calmed down slightly when he realized that it was the driver trying to get a glimpse up Anzu's skirt. Not wanting to let the driver know he had seen his little perverted activities, he yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily. The driver glanced sharply at Yuugi and visibly relaxed when he fell for the young mans trick, instead making it look like he was about to wake Yuugi up.
"Good, you're up," He said gruffly. "Wake your friend and get out. We don't have time to wait on you any longer." With that, he hauled their luggage into the building they were parked in front of.
Yuugi yawned again - real this time, and shook Anzu gently. She woke with a start but quickly relaxed when she saw Yuugi's familiar amethyst eyes. She smiled gently, not sure if Yuugi had snapped out of his melancholy. Her smile broadened when he gave a weary smile back, not exactly cheerful, but it was more then anyone had gotten out of him since Yami no Malik's phone call.
"We're here," He said shortly, getting out and starting towards the building. Anzu glanced around quickly and, seeing the hungry looks the drivers were sending her way, hurried after Yuugi.
"Sleep well?" She asked as they walked up to what she assumed to be a hotel.
Yuugi recalled the horrors that had flashed through his mind and nodded. "I guess I was too worried to dream or be uncomfortable," He lied easily, plastering another false smile on his face. If he didn't keep up a semblance of normalcy his friends wouldn't allow him to help search for Jounouchi, even if it was him and his other that Yami no Malik wanted.
Not wanting to discuss what was obviously a painful topic for Yuugi, Anzu merely nodded and focused on pointedly not looking around, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Who knew that Egypt was so full of perverted old men?
The two rejoined Bakura and Honda in the hotel, exchanging formalities that were awkward in what usually was a tight knit group - though that had been when Jounouchi had been around. If they took a moment to consider it they would realize that if not for Jounouchi none of the would have met.
After a rather heated argument between Bakura and the front desk - all in Arabian, of course, they managed to get a decent room for a fair price, or so Bakura assured them. "These stupid ahou's[3] nowadays are enough to make me sick," He commented as they made their way up to the second story where their room was located. "If my father ever bargained like that he would make no money at all."
Honda turned slightly widened eyes onto his albino friend. "You mean you conned him out of money?" He asked disbelievingly.
Ryou turned hurt eyes on the brunette. "What? The price he was asking for was outrageous, and we haggled until he was satisfied that I was being ripped off." He smirked. "Of course, he doesn't realize that I had meant Egyptian currency and not Japanese."
He was met with surprised stares. "Bakura!" Anzu exclaimed, a horrified expression on her face. "You barely paid him enough for the cheapest room in this hotel!"
Ryou laughed. " I know, but it may teach that baka[4] to not count his chickens before they hatch," He said rather ruefully, a smirk that would be at home on Yami no Bakura's face slipping quite easily onto his.
Yuugi watched and listened to the entire show with disinterest. All that he cared about was that Jounouchi made it back into his arms no worse for wear than when he had left the apartment the night of his capture.
Yuugi looked up from the floor to find that they had arrived in their room and that his friends were roaming around and looking at the decor. After a moment's hesitation he joined them.
The accommodations were rather expensive, and he had the feeling that the clerk was going to be more than a mite ready to kill them when they were through using the room. The room consisted of three curtained off two person beds, a wide screen television, a wide window overlooking a rather nice view of the city from the sheer cliff they were perched on, two dressers in between the beds, a lamp on each bedside table, a rather nice rug on the floor and some more cheap imitation paintings on the wall.
He poked his head into the bathroom and found it to be lavished with money. The four person hot tub itself was enough to be dropping jaws over, but add the four shelves lined with toiletries, the golden plated everything and the closet full of towels, bathrobes, and washcloth's; add all those together and you had a very ripped off hotel manager.
His lips tugged in what could have been a smile had he put more effort into it. He shook his head and backed out of the bathroom, claiming one of the beds as his own by slamming his suitcase on it with a finality that was not to be argued with.
Honda and Anzu took the middle bed and Ryou took the one by the window. None of them thought it safe to have the tomb robber by the door and they thought that with the two-story drop plus the sheer cliff he wouldn't try the window.
"Who here is starving?" Honda asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence between his friends. Without Jounouchi what they were doing seemed, well, downright wrong.
Everyone put up their hand and Honda ordered some room service, hoping that the food would be a reasonable price and that they wouldn't end up spending more on food than on the room.
~*~*~*~*~
Yuugi wandered around the city, peering at what the street vendor's had to offer, though, like his body, his mind wandered with no direction. As it was, he barely missed a run in with a nasty looking dog who seemed to think that tri-coloured hair and leather was downright stupid. Yuugi was inclined to agree with it, about the leather, at least. He was sweating and finally decided to shop around for some clothing more weather appropriate.
It was while doing this that he bumped into a very old acquaintance that he would have rathered never have seen again.
He was carrying, rather awkwardly too, sixteen robes for himself and his friends - which, he might add, had cost him more then they could possibly be worth; when he ran into something, white robes flying everywhere. He cursed and picked himself up, dusting himself off and cursing some more, his eyes widening when he saw that all sixteen white robes, save one, had landed on the person he had run into. The person sat on the ground covered in fifteen robes with one beside him, the finished effect making him look like a very badly thought out horror movie monster.
He apologized hurriedly and quickly started to take the robes off the man, all the while trying not to die from the heat from both the sun and the blush that was threatening to spread over his cheeks. His mouth dropped open when the last robe had been carefully folded and placed back into the safety of his arms and he abruptly dropped them again when he saw the not-so-stranger's face.
"Sh-sh-shadi!" He managed to get out, staring down at the spirit like he had just seen a, well, ghost.
Shadi took no notice of how flustered he was making the youth nor of the fact he was still sitting on the ground, simply holding out a bag, which Yuugi took from him. "Beware, you should go back," He said in a dead voice. Shadi was the only person that Yuugi knew who could deliver a death warning while sitting on the ground and still manage to be intimidating. "Things are not as they appear here and you are in more danger from yourself then your assumed enemy." He was suddenly on his feet and walking - well, gliding or whatever it was that spirits did, away.
Yuugi took only enough time to gather up the robes, which had eaten deep into his wallet before chasing after the spirit.
"Wait! What do you mean?" He panted as he caught up. Shadi stopped walking and stared forward for a few minutes, taking no notice of the out of breath man beside him. Finally, after what seemed to be forever in Yuugi's mind, he turned and looked down at him.
"Do not open the bag until you find out the truth. Open it too soon, and you and the Pharaoh are done." He said in the cryptic way that, at the moment, made Yuugi want to drive his fist deep into Shadi's face. Warning completed, Shadi disappeared, leaving Yuugi standing lost in the middle of the street holding an armful of robes and a bag that weighed absolutely nothing.
Yuugi started to swear violently in Japanese - several Arabians turning surprised and slightly disturbed eyes on him, and he stalked off to find someone who knew how to speak Japanese. Shadi just had to go and get him lost in the middle of a major city in the middle of a damned desert where he knew no-one except for the other three people who were fast asleep back at the hotel, didn't he?
Growling some more, Yuugi glared at anyone who dared look at him the wrong way. May the gods help the person who made the mistake of asking if something was wrong.
~*~*~*~*~
When Yuugi had gotten back, he had explained about his run in with Shadi, looking straight at Bakura as he explained that the bag the Sennen Ankh bearer had given him was not to be opened under any circumstances by anyone other than himself. He then gruffly told them he was going to bed and not to wake him until the police came to find him. This left them wondering exactly what their friend had done that would have the cops, or Egypt's version of them, after him.
It wasn't until that night that they realized they had no idea as to where they were supposed to meet Yami no Malik. Yuugi screamed in frustration and quite blatantly ordered the tomb robber out of hiding so that he could beat the shit out of him. He gave the excuse for not trashing the room instead of the spirit that he didn't want to pay more than he absolutely had to and once again threatened the spirit of the Sennen Ring's life.
Yami no Bakura came out chuckling. "My, aren't we in a bad mood? What's the matter, shrimp, scared of what the big bad guy is going to do to your pathetic lapdog?"
Yuugi merely grinned and tackled the surprised tomb robber, catching him off guard and driving his fist into his gut, making Yami no Bakura choke and gasp for breath. Bakura's other snarled and tried to squirm out from under the extremely pissed off man that was on top of him, Yuugi fuelled by anger, loyalty and love that made him stronger than the tomb robber could have imagined he could be.
"What's the matter, tomb robber? You aren't going to let a little shrimp like me beat you up so badly, are you?" Yuugi asked bitterly, his fists striking the spirit again and again. Yami no Bakura spat at his rival's reincarnation and, with a little bit of luck, got a leg under the lighter man. With a triumphant grin, he sent Yuugi flying up and over his head, said amethyst-eyed man crashing into the wall with a rather heavy thump.
Honda and Anzu stood helplessly on the sidelines as Yuugi and Bakura went head to head in an all out dirty fight. Yuugi stumbled to his feet after connecting with the wall and flew at Bakura, feinting to the right and connecting with a well-placed left hand uppercut. They continued on for about five minutes when Yuugi used Bakura's own move against him and sent him flying into the wall.
There might have been a lot more had a knock not come on the door. Yami no Bakura quickly gave up his vessels battered body to the rightful owner, though he would be damned if he would ever admit it out loud. Bakura winced as he settled back into his familiar body, with an additional couple of bruises, cuts, and black eye. He made a mental note to remind Yuugi that what he did to the tomb robber did affect the vessel, especially when the spirit made sure that the vessel's body took all the hits.
Yuugi stood up just as the room service boy poked his head in. "Is everything alright in here?" He asked worriedly, looking at Yuugi and Ryou with a pained expression, noting the cut across the shorter mans cheek and the black eye that the albino now displayed.
Honda started to say something when Yuugi cut him off, laughing softly. "Everything is perfectly fine. In fact, things couldn't be any better."
~*~*~*~*~
The tomb robber and Yuugi went at it a couple more times until Ryou stepped in and did as his mental note told him too and put a stop to the entire thing. Yuugi apologized profusely, though he was starting to look pointedly at Ryou more and more, as if daring the spirit to show his face for a single moment.
On the second day, the cops showed up. Yuugi's face paled but quickly filled up with relief when he found out that he was not the cause for their visit, though his face paled for the second time in not even ten minutes when he found out the real reason of the visit.
"There were a number of brutally murders over in Babylon last night, and all of them have had three notes pinned to the bodies in various places addressed to your room number. If you would have a look at them, we would be extremely grateful," A thin man with dull eyes asked Yuugi.
Yuugi agreed cautiously, his eyes widening at the sheer amount of notes that fell out of the bag that the cops partner had with him. "Each body had three notes?" He asked in mingled disgust and disbelief.
The other cop, also thin, though with more lively eyes, nodded. "Yep, so you can just imagine how much we want to catch this guy."
Yuugi idly thought that he probably could imagine twenty times more how much they wanted to catch the killer, because, even though he wasn't one hundred percent sure about it, he was after the same guy - though for a very different reason.
Looking at the notes, he found that, besides his address, there was only one word on each.
/Sweet Kami, he killed someone for every third word, mou hitori no boku[5],/ Yuugi told Yami in repulsed awe. /Just to deliver us a message./
Yami nodded, his words as sharp as knives. //He wasn't kidding around when he said he would kill Jounouchi, aibou,// He reminded his light. //Twenty dead bodies is nothing to him.//
Yuugi nodded, though to the cops it looked as if to himself. He glanced at the notes before looking pointedly at the men. "Do you think you could come back tonight, so that I have some time to look over these and see if I can decipher them?"
The cops excused themselves for a few minutes, no doubt to discuss if they could trust the battered, bruised, and tired man with the only evidence they had of the killer. They came back, the younger of the two looking rather put out. "You have until nine tonight," He complied. "Good luck. You are the only hope we have."
They left and Yuugi spread the notes on the dresser beside his bed, preparing himself for six hours of uninterrupted study of the notes. Of course, he hadn't counted on the spirit of the Sennen Ring.
A pale hand swept off all of Yuugi's hard work two and a half hours into his project onto the floor. Yuugi groaned and allowed his head to fall onto the dresser. "Can't you go pillage some poor street vendor's pockets or something?" He asked in annoyance, glaring up at Yami no Bakura. "Or do you have a death wish?"
Bakura laughed and peered over the youths shoulder. "Looks like Yami no Malik's been busy, anyhow." He looked thoughtful for a moment, a wonder in itself in Yuugi's mind. "I wonder if he needs any help?"
Yuugi picked up the pieces of paper that Bakura had swept onto the floor, putting them back where he thought they were supposed to go. "I don't know, but if you ever find out where he's hiding, let me know."
Bakura snorted. "As if," He said curtly, though whether he was answering to knowing where Marik was hiding or to actually letting Yuugi know was lost to the short man.
Yuugi rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at Yami no Bakura. "Mou hitori no boku says that if you don't get lost in the next three seconds he's going to sick Fluffy[6] on you."
The tomb robber's eyes widened and he quickly relinquished control back to Bakura. Ryou shook his head, confused at the show of cowardice from his other and the urgency with which he had given him back his body. "Who's Fluffy?"
Yuugi shrugged. "I'll be damned if I know, but mou hitori no boku says that we may find out soon enough, if things keep up as they have been." Dismissing the entire thing with another shrug, he turned back to the little pieces of paper in front of him, now over the fact that some of them had drops of blood on them. "Damned pieces of paper, how the hell am I supposed to decipher this?"
Ryou, copying his other unconsciously, leaned over Yuugi's shoulder and looked curiously at the little pieces of paper, his eyes widening. "Yuugi!" He exclaimed, looking incredulously at the short man.
"What?" Yuugi asked, looking up at Ryou's face in confusion.
Ryou groaned and shook his head in disbelief. "It's written in hieroglyphics, how can you read it?"
Yuugi looked from Bakura to the pieces of paper to Bakura again. He shrugged and grinned sheepishly; a light blush covered his features.
Ryou sighed in exasperation and threw up his arms, stalking over to his bed and falling facedown on it. Yuugi shook his head and smiled slightly, looking back at the pieces of paper that looked to have clearly defined Japanese words sprawled across them in spidery handwriting.
"When I find out, I'll let you know," He murmured, more to himself than to the softly snoring Bakura, once again fully concentrating on the little slips of paper in front of him.
~*~*~*~*~
Gentle fingers ran through his hair and Yuugi shuddered, leaning into the touch with a soft whimper. He knew that it was just a dream but he didn't want it to end; being with his koi in nothing but dreams was better than being completely alone while awake.
But as all dreams, his current one faded away as awareness crept upon him and stole him from his peaceful slumber. Moaning in frustration, he rolled over and promptly fell out of bed.
Swearing loudly, he got up and glanced at the clock, eyes widening when he saw that it was nearly eight-thirty. He looked around the room and saw that everyone else had their attention wrenched from what was currently on the television to stare in surprise and mirth at the rudely awakened Yuugi. He glared at them once and cursed again, though this time under his breath, and looked at the slips of paper once again.
It slowly dawned on him that he had completed the message and he pumped a fist in the air before reading the now understandable message. His joy quickly faded away when he realized just what was written.
Time is running out, little Game. Jackal bought you a bouquet of five red roses, did you know that? For your fifth anniversary. How disgustingly cute. By the way, you are to be in old Cairo by nine sharp tomorrow or Jackal here dies. Sleep well, little Game, because I can guarantee you that you will never sleep again. Goodnight.
~*~*~*~*~
[1]In case you didn't know, in the manga, Jounouchi and Honda were part of a gang. They weren't always friends with Yuugi and were actually bullies of his. You should see them fight! The stupid dubbers always cut the screenshots out where they actually connect, but I highly recommend going and searching for some… those two know how to kick serious ass!
[2]Just so you know, I am referring to the Items as the Sennen Items, which is the actual title to them, meaning 'thousand year items', hence the Sennen Rod, Sennen Ring, Sennen Puzzle, etc.
[3]ahou- fool in Japanese
[4]baka- idiot in Japanese, a very strong insult
[5]mou hitori no boku- 'the other me'… what Yuugi calls Yami in the manga
[6]You will get to meet Fluffy in later chapters… I have read two other stories mentioning this name, and in one Fluffy was a Blue-Eye White Dragon and in the other he was a pet snake @.-.@
Review!
---Jasper
Chapter Three Trailer:
Yuugi nodded and turned around. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," He started in Japanese, the two men's eyes widening as they realized that their talk hadn't been as confidential as they had first thought. "And I was wondering if you would enlighten me on something?"
It was amazing at how getting caught doing something could sober a man. They looked at each other, the same thought going through their minds. Cop. Yuugi was willing to let them keep on believing that. "Why, sure, what did you want to know?" Scratchy finally said after High-pitched nodded his permission.
Yuugi mentally rolled his eyes. "From what my sources tell me, the murders happened in Babylon, but suddenly I hear that they were committed here in Old Cairo from you. Care to tell me why they differ?"
He arched an eyebrow in question when the two men laughed. High-pitched finally managed to get himself under control and answered. "No offence, sir, but Old Cairo and Babylon are the exact same. When they built this here city they renamed the Old Cairo as Babylon and gave this city Cairo."
Yuugi's eyes widened and his heart nearly dropped through the bottom of his feet. He quickly thanked the two men and rushed off to gather Anzu, Honda and Bakura.
They were in the wrong city, and had only an hour to get to Babylon, nearly an hour and a half away driving twenty over the speed limit. Needless to say, he was panicked and downright pissed off at both himself for being so stupid not to cross reference their meeting place and at Yami no Malik for purposely leading him around by the nose.