Geez! It took me long enough to get this chappie up, ne? *sweat drop* Well, here is Chapter three, in all its badly written angsty-ness! I'm completely sorry I didn't have it up sooner, but I couldn't get on a computer with Microsoft Word to edit it! Never again as it's on one of my home computers now!
Dedicated to my hikari, Reana! I'm coming to see you!!! *grins*
Disclaimer: I. Own. Absolutely. Nothing. *sob*
Warnings: Violence, language, angsty-ness, shounen ai and a rather gag worthy fluff scene!
Ultimate Betrayal
Chapter Three
When the cops arrived at nine, Yuugi told them that he couldn't translate the hieroglyphics. They nodded and thanked him for his time. When he was positive they were out of earshot, he rounded on Bakura. The albino man took one look at Yuugi's face and quickly gave control over to the tomb robber.
Yami no Bakura was so surprised at being willingly given control that when Yuugi came flying at him that he was too late to stop the enraged young man from catching him sharply in the jaw with enough force to actually lift him off his feet a few inches. He fell to the ground and stayed there, looking up at the panting young man and calmly spitting out a wad of blood from his nearly severed tongue.
"I take it you figured it out?" He asked, calmly kicking the legs from under Yuugi and pinning him to the floor. Yuugi struggled and threw a punch into Yami no Bakura's gut, causing the tomb robber to let out all his breathe and collapse on top of the smaller man. Yuugi threw him off and quickly got up.
"No thanks to you," He spat, delivering a swift kick into Yami no Bakura's side. "You knew what it said the entire time, didn't you?"
Bakura took the blow before scissoring his legs and knocking Yuugi to his knees. He quickly had him up against the bed. He slammed a fist into Yuugi's face for good measure before answering. "Of course I did, but you didn't think I was going to ruin the fun by telling you, now, did you?"
Yuugi tried to tell the stars in front of his face to scram without much luck. He finally just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You know where Jounouchi is?" He asked hopefully.
"No," Bakura said truthfully, digging his fingers into Yuugi's shoulders since the shorter man had decided to stop fighting. "But I know where he will be,"
Yuugi squeezed his eyes tighter, refusing to open them and allow Yami no Bakura the pleasure of seeing the hope that would undoubtedly be shining within them. "Where?" He managed to choke out after he had, with much difficulty, swallowed his pride.
"Where all dead bodies go, in the grave," Bakura replied malevolently, a smirk on his lips as he saw the hopefulness on Yuugi's face die and his blazing amethyst eyes spring open.
Yuugi made a sound never meant to come out of a human mouth, it sounded much like a lions snarl, and smashed his forehead into Bakura's, sending the tomb robber backwards. Yuugi was up and on him in a second, pinning his shoulders to the ground and digging a knee between his legs.
Yami no Bakura yelped in pain and wriggled to break free of the infuriated young mans grip, the first hints that he should maybe reconsider his little brawl with Yuugi creeping upon him. He quickly shoved it away and doubled his efforts, even going so far as to bite Yuugi's arm, with no effect.
Yuugi felt the flare of pain in his left arm, a welcome distraction to the pain he felt in his heart. As Bakura started to grind his teeth into Yuugi's forearm, Yuugi focused on the red-hot burning spreading throughout his arm. He grunted when Bakura's unnaturally pointed canine teeth broke through his skin, jerking his arm out of his bite range.
He picked Bakura up by the fabric of his shirt, slamming him back into the ground before picking him up and repeating this same action over and over again. Bakura's head snapped back and forth, his efforts to keep his head from slamming into the carpet ineffective.
Yuugi finally stopped and rolled off of Yami no Bakura, wrapping his arms around his knees and rocking back and forth. He keened, hot tears streaming down his flushed face. Immediately his three friends were at his side - Ryou having possession of his body once again and willing to forgive Yuugi for the now numerous injuries inflicted to him - and wrapped comforting arms around him or simply placed a hand on his shoulder to let him know that they were there.
The Puzzle let out a bright flash of light and suddenly the once-pharaoh held Yuugi in his arms, murmuring words of comfort and reassurance into his reincarnation's ear. The look in his eyes made the others back off, sitting a ways from the spirit, not trusting themselves to say or do anything.
~*~*~*~*~
The phone call came at two o'clock in the afternoon, and if not for the unfortunate breakdown that Yuugi suffered and recovered from, no one would have been able to answer the gentle rings that were so unlike Yuugi's home phone. As it was, Yuugi barely managed to get out of the shower fast enough to answer it with a hasty greeting.
"Moshi-moshi indeed," The voice on the other end drawled. Yuugi's knee's gave out and he collapsed onto the bed, a deju-vu to the first phone call he had received on that unforgettable morning. Yami was roused out of sleep by the cold- no, cold wasn't a descriptive enough word for the absolute darkness and isolation that chilled his bones; and he 8immediatly took over for his light. Yuugi wouldn't be able to handle another confrontation and Yami knew this all too well.
"What the hell do you want?" Yami hissed into the phone, his hands tightening around the phone in a death grip.
A chuckle from the other line, completely devoid of any shred of sanity. "Em sen-jay, Pair-ah![1]" Marik soothed in Old Egyptian. "I was only going to tell your vessel where to reclaim his koiboito," Another chuckle, higher pitched this time but just as lacking in sanity as the first. "You should hear him beg and cry when I tell him time is running out for him and his boyfriend. It's absolute music to my ears!"
Yami grit his teeth and winced when they ground together, something which only made Marik laugh louder. "Tell me what you want and leave us alone," He managed to grate out.
When Marik managed to get ahold of himself he mock-sniffled. "Why, Pharaoh, you've hurt my feelings," Yami no Yuugi snorted and merely told him to get on with it. "In such a rush to find out where you are going to die, aren't we?" Marik mocked, his less than sane grin evident even through the phone.
Yami growled and closed his eyes, trying to make his hand relax when he heard the plastic crunch in his hand. You would have thought they would have had gold phones with the price they were asking for the room, Yami noted absently and for no reason whatsoever other than he didn't want to hear what he inevitably knew Yami no Malik was going to say. "Either hurry up and speak or else I'll enlist other means of help to track you down and finish you off once and for all."
"Tch, tch, tch," Marik taunted, the image of his finger waving back and forth in front of Yami's face like a parent scolding their child painfully evident in the once-pharaoh's mind. "In such a rush to kill your other's koi, aren't you? Tell me, Pharaoh, do you envy the blonde? Do you wish him dead so that you can once again have your little Game[2] all to yourself again?"
Yami was about to speak when he felt Yuugi look up in horror from the corner of their mind he had sought sanctuary in from the voice of the madman on the other end of the phone. No! Yami thought in dismay, Ra knows that it's not true! For Ra's sake, Yuugi, don't believe a word that comes out of his disgusting and filthy mouth!
Yuugi seemed to get the gist of his thoughts without having to snoop and find out if Yami no Malik's accusations had hit a sore spot or if they were completely bogus. /Don't worry, mou hitori no boku[3], I don't believe him,/ Yuugi reassured the spirit, though the hint of doubt that hid within his tone nearly broke Yami's heart.
"I'd wish for Ammut[4] to devour your soul, but even a creature such as her doesn't deserve such a punishment," Yami spat, desperately trying to hold tears back. It surprised him, after all these years, that the simple fact that his other half doubted his word was enough to bring him close to tears.
Maniacal laughter bubbled out of the phone, poisoning Yami and Yuugi's ears with its utter darkness. Marik evidently found what Yami said to be unbearably funny because he continued for a couple of minutes before halting so suddenly Yami couldn't help but wonder if he had literally laughed his head off.
A chuckle came through the line and Marik's voice followed soon afterwards. "Enough of the chit-chat," He said, all business now, though there was an underlying tone of utmost amusement. "Meet me at the well in the Town Square in Old Cairo at sunset and we'll strike a deal."
A click and the dead monotone of the phone signaled that their conversation was over. A sharp crack filled Yami's ears and he indifferently realized he had just crushed the phone.
~*~*~*~*~
When Yuugi's three friends returned, Yuugi explained what they had missed out on and was met with quick and heartfelt apologies for not being there. They all glanced warily at the destroyed phone but wisely decided not to ask too many questions. Of course, a certain tomb robber had different morals and evidently didn't give a damn about emotions.
"So in other words, you're going to meet him at the well, he's going to kill you and then kill that make inu[5] anyway," He glanced at them all with a pointed look. "Am I missing something or is this a suicide mission?"
Yuugi snorted at the tomb robber's antics. "Just because you're scared and doubt our abilities doesn't mean we are."
Bakura laughed, a short ugly bark. "To not be afraid of Yami no Malik is stupid enough, but to be so sure of your victory makes this all that much more suicidal."
Yuugi grit his teeth and tried not to launch himself at the spirit, almost failing when Bakura sent a look that quite blatantly told him he and his koiboito were going to die. The only thing that stopped him was, though it could have been a trick of the light and most likely was, the hint of compassion that he saw in those blood red depths.
"So we have to meet that kisama[6] at the well in Town Square at sunset?" Honda asked. "I don't know about you guy's, but that sounds kind of fishy to me."
Yuugi snorted. "Maybe because we're dealing with a madman?" He looked at them with pleading eyes, though the gleam in them nearly broke their hearts, with the exception of Bakura, of course. "I realize that there is a very slim chance of actually succeeding in this, but are you going to give up without even trying to save Jounouchi's life?"
Everyone looked away and couldn't meet his eyes. It was his turn for a nearly broken heart, though Marik had done quite a fine job on that already, but the look of hopelessness that he glimpsed in their eyes tore him apart.
"Shimatta!" He cursed strongly, throwing his arms up into the air, tears balancing in the corners of his eyes. "I don't know why we're here, it's not like anyone besides me realizes that Jounouchi is our friend!" He whipped around to look at Anzu, his eyes captivating and holding hers despite her strong wish to look away. "Remember when we made that pact way back in the Duelist Kingdom day's? How we promised that no matter what, we would always be there for each other? And, after all we've been through, now you want to give up?"
The tears he had been trying to hold back streamed freely down his face, leaving hot tracks behind that he wiped away with the sleeve of one arm, only to have them replaced by more. The other three in the room glanced between each other but made no move to comfort their friend. His words cut deep, but they were adults now, and little kids hopes, dreams, and beliefs didn't work when you were older. There was a price for growing up, and so many people let go of their innocence without a second thought or regret.
But Yuugi had held it dear to him all his life. Even now, at twenty-one, he cherished that innocence and it had become a strong part of him that would most likely be there for a long time to come.
Yuugi cried silently for a while, the others getting up to go do something else. His heart yearned for the blonde man, who had snared his heart and trust, but his throat had clamped up and no sound would come out of it.
Yami saw that Yuugi was losing hope, and he was pained to find that he was near helpless to do anything about it. He gave a heavy sigh, one that held the weight of the world in it, the same weight that Yami felt was slowly crushing his shoulders and breaking his back. He pulled Yuugi into his soul room and sat looking at his light as Yuugi grieved silently in the main room of Yami's extensive and confusing soul room.
With another heavy sigh, he walked over to his other and touched his shoulder, a simple gesture of understanding and love that loosened Yuugi's throat and allowed him to keen. Every cry tore into Yami's soul, and his soul room mirrored his emotions. Walls collapsed and simply fell into themselves, doors cracked and blew open, stairs that led to dead ends disappeared and some even redirected themselves, and pillars toppled over with a resounding crash; all because of Yami's feelings for his aibou.
Oh, Yuugi, He thought sadly, his own tears streaming down his face, going unnoticed by the crushed once-pharaoh. He wrapped his arms around Yuugi, holding him tight against himself.
Yuugi immediately buried his face into his other's shoulder, clutching to him tightly. Yami had the unnerving feeling that, at the moment, he was the only thing that was keeping Yuugi from losing his sanity. His arms tightened around his light and he buried his face into Yuugi's hair.
"Mou hitori no boku," Yuugi sobbed, his words muffled by Yami's shoulder. "Tell me it's not true."
He sounded so needy, like Yami's answer would decide him. Understanding dawned on what Yuugi was talking about and Yami mulled over the question, making sure to choose his words very carefully. One wrong word would send Yuugi over the edge, he was almost sure of it.
"Shhh, little one," He soothed, rubbing Yuugi's back while his own tears soaked into Yuugi's hair. "Of course I do not wish Jounouchi dead. He makes you happy and that in turn makes me happy, but I do envy him," He said truthfully, Yuugi tensing in his arms. "And who wouldn't? He has such a carefree nature and knows what's right and what's wrong. My little light, there couldn't be anyone more suited to you than that man, and I trust him with my entire heart and soul. You could even say that I consider him to be an extension of you and therefore a kind of foster-other."
Yuugi looked up, his bloodshot eyes looking into Yami's, widening in surprise when he saw the tears streaming down his other's face. "Really?" He asked in a small voice, as if half expecting rejection.
Yami's heart cried out and he kissed Yuugi on the lips, allowing all his love and desire to flow through. When they pulled apart, it took him a moment or two to find his voice again. "Of course Yuugi," He said softly, his other's eyes widening at the use of Yuugi's first name, something that Yami had seldom done before. This alone, though the kiss had definitely helped matters, proved to Yuugi that his other meant every word he said and cared deeply about him.
Yuugi's eyes brightened and he wiped away his tears before launching himself at Yami and kissing all of his other's tears away. Yami kissed his aibou back before holding him out at arm length.
"What say we go and kick Yami no Malik's ass into the afterlife once and for all?" He asked, overjoyed when Yuugi cheered and laughed, wrapping his arms around Yami's waist and pulling him into a bruising and needy kiss that spoke volumes for his answer.
~*~*~*~*~
Yuugi sat on a bench that was directly in front of the well that he was meeting Yami no Malik at, his hands folded together on his lap and his eyes scanning the crowd gathered for any sign of the spiky haired Egyptian maniac that they despised and loathed otherwise known as Yami no Malik.
Looking at a collection of knives and daggers a little ways down the street was Yami no Bakura, his crimson eyes positively glowing at the widely ranged display of sharp objects. Yuugi rolled his eyes as he watched the thief king nonchalantly pick a dagger up off of the table and slip it inside his robe. Thief king my ass, Yuugi thought quietly to himself. If I can see him then the blindest bat on a foggy night can see him.
Anzu and Honda were sitting at an outdoor dining area behind him, their eyes watchful for Marik. They would be downright lying if they were to say they weren't terrified out of their minds. They knew what kind of madman Marik was, and they weren't exactly ecstatic about rushing to their deaths. Though a quick death would be better than this waiting that they had to endure.
Yuugi felt considerably safer with his friends nearby, though he could count on the tomb robber to disappear as soon as trouble appeared or even join up and encourage it. All in all, Yuugi felt safe, but not so safe as to be getting cocky. Who could when they were an hour from meeting the very personification of darkness and deceit?
Yuugi looked around for anything to occupy his attention, finally settling for eavesdropping on a couple of old men sitting on the bench behind him. He was surprised when he found that they were speaking Japanese, obviously not wanting to be overheard. It was also obvious that they were both pissed drunk, and getting drunker as he listened.
"Poor Annette, she never deserved to die at such a young age," One man said, his voice scratchy and his words slurred. "Especially not the way she left."
"Nobody deserves that," The second man agreed, his accent so heavy and his voice so high that it took Yuugi a few seconds to understand what he was saying. He lowered his voice conspiratorially and it was near impossible for Yuugi to make out what he was saying. "I heard that Annette wasn't the only one murdered. There were at least fifteen more people that I heard about."
Scratchy gasped. "All on the same night?" He asked, High-pitched evidently nodding because Scratchy whistled. "Che'[7], and from what I heard about Annette, she was barely recognizable. The amulet that her mother had given her on her birthday was their only means of identification."
It was High-pitched's turn to whistle. "I knew that they had all been mutilated, but not that badly!" He said sorrowfully, taking a swig from his canteen. "Old Cairo just isn't as safe as it used to be," He said sorrowfully.
From there on they were slurring too much to make any sense, and Yuugi tuned out to ponder on what they said, knowing that a key piece of information was hidden somewhere in their conversation.
/Mou hitori no boku, did you find anything weird about their conversation?/ Yuugi finally asked his other, his eyebrows and lips pulled down in a thoughtful frown.
Yami was about to lecture his light on eavesdropping when he was suddenly struck with enlightenment. //Didn't those guards-//
/Police,/ Yuugi corrected out of habit.
//Whatever. Didn't those police say that the bodies were found in Babylon?//
Yuugi's eyes widened before his brow furrowed again. /Those men are drunk; they could have gotten their cities mixed up,/ He suggested, his heart freezing and sinking directly to the pit of his stomach at what Yami was prospecting.
//It may be in our best interest to ask them.//
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 offense, sir, but Old Cairo and Babylon are the exact same. When they built this here city they renamed Old Cairo as Babylon and gave this here 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, having to drag the thief away from the sharp objects that he was so entranced in with some difficulty.
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.
With time running out and the sun sinking ever lower on the horizon, Yuugi drove as fast as he could, his face pale and his hand holding onto the steering wheel with a death grip. Kami-sama give mercy to anyone who stops us, Yuugi thought angrily, pushing down harder on the gas pedal and lurching the Cherokee forward. He had paid the first price that the owner had offered, only stopping at the hotel long enough to dump a pile of cash onto the front desk and to gather their things.
Then they were off, with Yuugi driving, Yami no Bakura as shotgun and Honda and Anzu in the backseat, clinging to each other for comfort. Yuugi wiped a tear out of his eye as he thought about his blonde koiboito.
Still better yet, Yuugi thought grimly. May Ra help Yami no Malik when I get a hold of him. Kami knows there isn't going to be much left of him for identification when I'm through punishing him for all the pain and suffering he has put all of us through.
With that thought at the front of his mind, he once again increased the pressure of his foot on the gas pedal and the Jeep sped up, leaving a cloud of dust behind it, turned into blood by the setting sun.
The race between technology and nature was on.
~*~*~*~*~
[1]Em sen-jay, Pair-ah!- Taken directly out of the Egyptian textbooks here (I'm learning Egyptian! Cheers for me, ne?) Literally translates into: Do not worry, Pharaoh!
[2]Yami no Malik, otherwise known as Marik, calls Yuugi 'Game' for the simple reason that that is what Yuugi's name translates into in good ol' English. I think it's cute, but then again, I am seriously messed up. ^.-.^; *less-than sane sunny smile*
[3]Ammut- The Egyptian beast who devours the hearts of the people unworthy to continue into the afterlife. She(yes, I said she)'ll be mentioned again, so I thought I'd clear this up for those of you who don't know her!
[4]Make inu- Kaiba calls Jounouchi this a lot in the manga. It means pretty much translates into 'pathetic dog' and isn't a very nice thing to say. I would get miffed if I were poor Jounouchi too!
[5]Kisama- I have an entire dictionary full of swearwords from languages all over the world and I love using them! ^.-.^ Can't you tell? *grin* Anyway, kisama is Japanese for 'bastard'.
[6]Che'- Is usually muttered under the breath and is more or less like muttering 'Shit'. The apostrophe is a must-have, or so my hikari informs me. *glomps Reana* Thanks a bunch, 'kari!
And to everyone who reviewed:
Reana1: Thank you so much for all of your reviews, hikari-dearest! You are my inspiration for everything! *glomps* Update!! I finally did!
Guardianangeloflight: Thank you very much! I can't wait to hear from you again! ^.-.^
Osctte BREAK: *laughs* Well, here is your awaited for update! My apologies that it took so long! I should be able to get Chapter four up sometime this week or next! Thank you for the comment!
Koishii No Tenshi: I like my long chapters as well but in my opinion I drag things out way too long! Thanks!
Paper cut16: I think I've said what I wanted to in my e-mails. Kindly refrain from wasting both your time and mine by these pointless flames.
So thank you all! And review again! Compliment, criticize, flame, whatever!
---Jasper
Chapter Four Trailer
Marik's grin was disconcerting and much too wide for it to be completely healthy for the blonde standing nervously in front of him. His tongue poked out from behind his pearly whites and ran itself along his top row of teeth, caressing the Egyptian's unnaturally pointed canines. Jounouchi blanched and decided to redirect his attention somewhere else besides the ministrations of the madman's mouth; his fell on Marik's large hands, which were playing with the Sennen Rod and the understanding dawned on Jounouchi that the actions were highly suggestive. The blonde forced himself to ignore all advances on his personal and avert his gaze to the pupil-less eyes teasing him from behind sun-kissed bangs.
"Touch me..." Jounouchi warned, growling at the insane Egyptian who had seemed to have gotten rather fond of calling him Jackal and quite obviously trying to seduce him - which wouldn't work even when Hell froze over; the noise rumbling out of his throat and ending in a feral snarl. His fingers were curled into claws, his arms hung loosely by his sides in a relaxed but ready-to-fight posture, and his eyes mere slits. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased.
"If that's an invitation," Marik drawled, twirling the Rod in one hand carelessly, a rather direct warning, and just in case Jounouchi still didn't get the idea, the Egyptian slid off the sheath that covered the hidden dagger inside the shaft of the Sennen Rod, motioning at the pissed off and confused blonde.
Jounouchi watched in cautious awe as a stone tablet designed to be used as some sort of table appeared between himself and Yami no Malik, the candles suspended above it illuminating it with a glow that was cruel and harsh in the endless shadows. Engraved into the top was Set, God of chaos and disorder; upon closer inspection one could see that every line was a groove, which all led to lips on each of the four corners of the tablet. Beneath each corner was a large black dish, each one having Anubis painted on in red paint that looked disturbingly like blood. Carved on each side of the tablet was the beast Ammut, her mouth open and ready to be fed every black heart sent her way.