Author's note: Yes, yes, I'm sorry I haven't been updating. The end of the
year stress was getting to me. But I'll be devoting my attention to all of
my fics until they are all finished. The priorities are as follows: Scrolls
of the Past, the First Vacation, Camp Flamethrower, It's a Chibi's Life and
Random Rants.
I'll be working on each fic separately, but that doesn't mean that there won't be updates. While the main fic will receive an update once a day or in two days, there will be one chapter out for the other fics every week or ten days.
Until then - cheers!
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Scrolls of the Past
By Phire Phoenix
Chapter Eleven
Progress Report
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"Ryou! What are you doing??" Zuzumea called frantically, trying to keep up with the British boy. Ryou held her by the wrist, dragging her along at super speed. Casting a furtive glance around them, he answered
"Taking you to someplace secret so we won't be overheard!" It was the end of school. Before Zuzumea even had a chance to say goodbye to Yugi, Ryou had dashed her out of the school building and towards the small forest close to Domino City. Zuzumea panted, out of breath. She wore a puzzled frown on her face, and tried to study Ryou, but his face was blurry as both of them were running.
"We can slow down now..." Ryou told her, and slowed his pace to a walk. He quickly let go of her wrist, blushing, as though just realizing that he was holding on to it. Zuzumea hoisted her book bag further up her shoulder so it wouldn't hurt as much and set off after the embarrassed kid.
"Why don't you want to be overheard, anyway? What's so secret? Is it important?" Zuzumea demanded, bombarding Ryou with questions. The latter simply shook his head and kept going. Zuzumea huffed, and instantly felt Asophyre. Her Yami was laughing. What was so funny, she didn't know, but she didn't appreciate being laughed at. /What?/ she asked quizzically. /Nothing, little miss/ Asophyre told her, still snickering. /Tell me, why don't you?/ /Nope, sorry, no can do/ Snigger. This caused Zuzumea to huff again, sending Asophyre into a fit of giggles.
/Can't you see it?/ The Yami asked in between gasps of laughter. Zuzumea scowled. /See what?/ her Yami tittered and tried to calm herself down. When she started speaking again, it was with an overly patient voice, one that would be used to talk to little kids. /The thing he wants to tell you is obviously romance-related. Either he wants to know who you like, or if you like Yugi, or if Yugi likes you, or if you like him, or he wants to tell you that he likes you/
Zuzumea stopped. /And you would know this, because.../ /Darling, boys are easy to read - especially that one, cute, honest, innocent...well, I don't know about innocent, having Bakura for a Yami and all that, but still/ Zuzumea sweatdropped. To cover her annoyance at being talked to like such a small child, and also that she overlooked such an apparent bit of information, she snapped /I thought Ryou was bad for me! I thought Bakura was bad, bad, bad! Why are you so happy-go-lucky now?/
Her Yami sobered instantly, and retreated. Zuzumea felt a pang of guilt, but before she could say something to the spirit, Ryou interrupted her with a cheery voice.
"Ah, here we are!" Zuzumea looked around. They weren't too far into the forest - she could still see bits of the city through the tree - although it had started to get darker. They were looking down at a sort of little valley. It's about the height of a ten year old, and in the middle of it, a little stream wound its way through. Zuzumea gasped.
"Aw..." she crooned, looking around at Ryou. The boy was standing off to one side, looking extremely uncomfortable. Zuzumea smiled and slid down the small slope leading to the stream, finally sitting down on a rock beside the stream. Ryou glanced at her and followed suit, albeit on the grass. "So!" She exclaimed, and he flinched as though she had slapped him. The girl frowned, but continued nonetheless. "What is it that's so secret you led me all the way to this adorable stream to avoid eavesdropping?"
"Well, I - I, um, well, Zuzumea, I don't know h-how to say this, but, uh," Ryou fidgeted. It would have been quite amusing to watch if she knew what was coming next. And she did.
/Get on with it, you idiot!/ Bakura hissed from inside the soul chamber, startling the good-natured Englander. /You know what I'm going to say?/ Ryou questioned indignantly. /Naturally/ Bakura sneered, and put on a mock sweet voice. /Oh Zuzumea, ever since I first set eyes on you, I knew we were destined to be together. The following week only increased that knowledge and now it is time for me to declare my passion. Will you go out with me, the boy who loves you dearly and is willing to sacrifice everything to protect you?/ Bakura smirked as Ryou paled visibly. Zuzumea, noticing this, leaned towards him.
"Is something wrong?" She inquired anxiously. /I'll even do it for you, if you want./ Bakura told his Hikari airily, and in the moment when Ryou's guard was down, took over.
"Oh sweet Zuzumea, ever since - " /NO!/ Ryou gasped and elbowed Bakura, making him stumble. In a moment, he was in control again, after listening to Bakura's creative gibbered cursing. /I thought you said she's bad for me?/ Ryou shouted angrily at his Yami. /What's gotten into you now???/ Bakura didn't reply. It was vital to the plan that he stayed calm now.
"Ever since what, Ryou-san?" Zuzumea asked, cocking her head to one side in a cute expression that would have made Joey drool, and effectively jolting Ryou from his fight with the evil tomb robber back to the situation at hand. Ryou took a deep breath and braced himself.
"Ever since I met you..." at this point, he stood up and backed away, slowly up the hill. Zuzumea followed him, suspicion in her eyes. What if her Yami was wrong and this was a trick? For all she knew, Bakura could be the one controlling this sweet boy now. /I'm not wrong/ her Yami told her firmly, but she still followed Bakura up the slope.
"Ever since" Step. Step. "I met you" Step. Step. "My heart" Stumble. Turn. "Told me." By now, both of them had reached the top, and Zuzumea was peering intently at Bakura. "ThatIloveyou" Bakura gasped out in one breath. Turning on his heels, he ran for it. He's been doing that a lot lately, Zuzumea thought as she glared at his retreating backside, a glare that slowly turned into a happy smile. If only he opened up more.
"What to do..." Zuzumea muttered to herself as she paced up and down her room. Her Yami, who had been sprawled on her real bed reading a comic looked up with slight annoyance.
"What to do about what?" Asophyre asked. Zuzumea stopped and looked at the spirit, but shook her head. "Oh come on!" Asophyre coaxed. "You can tell me!" Zuzumea gave her a wry smile but otherwise ignored her. The spirit closed the comic book with a small slam and sidled back into the Millennium Pen. Zuzumea groaned.
/Hah!/ Asophyre exclaimed triumphantly. As she tried to penetrate the barrier that Zuzumea had set up around her mind, things began to emerge. "Oh, Yugi is so adorable, and so sweet." "But Ryou's so cute when he's shy" "Then there IS the fact that Asophyre claims that Ryou is dangerous" "Of course, I haven't noticed anything bad" "I can't crush two boys at once!" "Can't I?"
Asophyre snorted. /If you're worried about those kinds of things, I needn't have bothered/ She slipped back out and turned to her Hikari, an all more serious expression on her face. "However, Ryou is dangerous. If you're going to crush someone, might as well crush Yugi."
Zuzumea twirled a strand of hair out her eyes and turned her back on her Yami. "Piss off." She said venomously. Asophyre widened her eyes, but smirked.
"Oooh, I'm soo scared." She mocked, then disappeared. Zuzumea sighed. Why did her Yami have to know her inner feelings? Why can't her Yami just let Ryou be? Why is he dangerous, anyway? With the way these dreams are going, it might be ages before she found out!
The pondering girl sank into her bed, yawning. She'd figure those things out later. Within minutes, she was sleeping.
A pair of brown but cold eyes peered at the unconscious girl and chuckled. "So powerful, so strong, yet so foolish and vulnerable." A shadow glided into the room and hovered above the immobile form. "It had been such a cinch to prevent that spell, yet you didn't see it coming." The shadow was just about to leave when a voice spoke up behind him.
"Oh didn't I?" He whipped around to find himself face-to-face with a glowing Asophyre, fury buried in her eyes and rage written in her stance. "Get out" She spat, calmly but deadly. The shadow looked at her for a long time before finally turning tail.
~* "Hello Asophyre, at the risk of sounding clichéd, I've been expecting you." Yami said with a formality that's way overdone. As Asophyre approached him even further, eyes twinkling, the corner of his mouth began to twitch. Asophyre smiled and all pretence was abandoned. Yami jumped forward and swept her up in his arms, causing her to squeal in surprise and delight.
He led her to a hall, a little off of the throne room. It was decorated in red and gold, and there were various mats stacked around the chamber. "The practice room." Yami announced. "If you're going to be fighting alongside us, directing the phoenix, you'll need to learn how do defend yourself." Asophyre turned to him.
"Oh, and I suppose you'll be teaching me?" she asked playfully. Yami's smile widened.
"Indeed I will. But there's something else still." He clapped his hands and moments later, someone walked into the practice room via the throne room. "Seto Kaiba, high priest of Egypt. I'm sure you've heard of him." Seto Kaiba had brown hair and brown eyes. His mouth was set in a thin line and it didn't look like as though he smiled a lot. His eyes raked her form and she quickly remembered that while Yami may be familiar with her, not everyone in the palace was.
Asophyre bowed low in respect, and heard Yami whispering to Kaiba. When she straightened, Kaiba had a small smile on his face "Seto, this is Asophyre of the Emika Clan, also known as Mistress of Summoning Phoenix, Mistress of Phoenix or simply Phire Phoenix." Kaiba nodded to her curtly, then walked briskly across the practice room towards another door. Asophyre and Yami followed.
"He's a good guy, Kaiba. A bit too serious, but he can loosen up when he wants to." Yami said in a low voice. Kaiba threw him a dirty look and Yami laughed. "He's the first person to be my friend in the palace and I'd trust him with my life." Asophyre looked at the said Priest, eyes scrunched up. Yami seemed to be fairly good at judging people. Seto may be uptight, but if he'd go out of his way to make a boy feel better, then maybe he wasn't so bad. Yami's friend, eh? That meant Seto was on the same terms with Yami as was Asophyre.
Seto waited until the other two had caught up with him before opening the door. It led to a library, the biggest one Asophyre had ever seen in her life. She couldn't help the little gasp of breath that escaped her, but neither of the men accompanying her noticed. There were shelves upon shelves of scrolls. There were small, square compartments in each shelf that held one scroll each. The walls were covered with these storage means and the only uncovered parts were the door, the large window (ok, not really a window but more like an opening) and the brackets for torches.
In the middle of the room stood a long table, littered with yet other scrolls. Four chairs stood to one side, and three of these Seto gathered up swiftly and set them opposite each other at the table. Yami indicated with a hand-movement that they sit down.
For a moment, Seto ignored the two as he deftly sorted through the mess on the table and picked out a handful. The rest he set aside, perhaps for later perusal. He spread the few that he had selected in front of Asophyre and sat down opposite of her.
"These are the most recent records we have of Ryou Bakura and the Dangers of the Desert's doings/" He said, in the tone a professor would use while lecturing his class. Asophyre's heart skipped again at the mention of Ryou Bakura. "There haven't been any big raids lately. Mainly they've plundered small towns, and took food and money, but there haven't been any casualties, just minor injuries. What we want to do is to study every piece of information we have on him and discern some sort of a pattern. We've sent scouts to these towns" he pushed a scroll even closer to Asophyre and continued "to get the details of the raid. We're hoping that you could help us." He stopped and looked at Asophyre. "Did you know him before this?"
Asophyre nodded, her head feeling as though it was filled with lead. The initial happiness of seeing Yami had ebbed away when they started the study session. Ryou Bakura lingered between them like a ghost, cutting them off. And even though he seemed to be a barrier, Asophyre couldn't bring herself to despise him, even though she knew that she would have to feel hatred if her emotions were not to get underfoot in the looming battle.
"Asophyre?" Yami's concerned voice cut through her thoughts and she shook herself.
"Huh? I'm so sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?" Yami glanced at Kaiba.
"Seto wanted to know whether you knew him well, and if so, whether you could tell us about him so we have more information about him." Asophyre steeled herself, and nodded again. She closed her eyes and focused on her hands, and the energy behind them. Concentrating, she pushed all thoughts out of her mind except for one, the spell. Moments passed, and a small blue orb began to sparkle into existence in the palm of her hand. Yami gasped, but Kaiba smiled appraisingly.
The blue orb grew to surround her hand, and it deformed itself according to her hand's shape. Soon, her hand was glowing a faint blue. With her eyes still closed, Asophyre turned to Yami, sensing where he was with the residue of magic that was in her brain. Raising the electric blue limb, she balled it into a fist, but stuck out her index finger. With that digit she pointed at Yami's temple, and a small spark flew off. It hit Yami's forehead full-on, although he felt no more than a tingle. A moment later, it had sunk in completely.
Asophyre then turned to Seto Kaiba and repeated the process. When she opened her eyes again, both men were in a trance. She smiled. The spell, the immensely complicated spell, which she always had trouble with, had worked. She sat there in silence for a few minutes, just contemplating the two. She knew they were seeing scenes involving Ryou and her. They were basically examining their relationship. It was better laying everything bare than to retell the painful tale and leave vital bits of data out.
Seto finished first, to her surprise. But the spell was like reading. The faster your eyes travel, the faster you finish. He nodded to her and smiled again. "Emika magic. Well known around these parts." Asophyre was both startled and revered, but before she could begin to formulate an adequate response, Yami blinked and let a long, deep breath escape.
Asophyre's face held a trace of bitterness while Yami gaped at her. Kaiba spoke up to break the silence.
"Thank you for sharing that with us. Not many people would have chosen the completely honest route." Yami took over at that point. "You could be of great help during our fight against the rebellion. For now, we're trying to formulate a strategy on how to predict his next move, but perhaps it would be better if the three of us worked on a strategy to counter-attack him if he ever rebelled. We can leave the predictions to others." He grinned at Asophyre, hoping to lighten the expression on her face. Asophyre returned it half-heartedly.
*** *** ***
"What's wrong, Bakura?" Malik asked casually as he strolled over to where their leader was sitting. He had broken off the seeing-session abruptly and said he was tired, but Malik, being the closest to the leader, knew that it was something else. And believe it or not, he was worried about him, even if he was careful not to let emotion seep through. The last person who had received visible emotion from him was his sister, Isis. That was five years ago, when he was 11. He had hugged her and told her that everything was going to be all right, after their dad died. At least the old man went in his sleep. Natural causes. Peaceful death. Ever since then he'd built up a wall around himself, keeping hostiles out, but preventing well-wishers from entering as well. His sister was the only one who could get through to him, and even then he hadn't been very nice to him. He'd become bitter.
"Oh, it's nothing." Bakura said, startling Malik, who chuckled.
"Nothing, huh?" Bakura looked up at the tone of voice. Malik had a look of good-natured disbelief. "Just about the biggest understatement of Egypt." Bakura quirked an eyebrow, though his mouth had started to twitch.
"So what is it, oh great and revered leader? Is it, possibly," And here, Malik gasped mockingly, "the pharaoh?" He was the only one who could carry on like this with Bakura. Each was the closest thing the other one had to a friend, and each was the closest thing the other one had to a brother. They counted each other honorary relatives, but no one else knew. Value placed on family could be perceived as weakness.
"Oh, get out." Bakura swatted at Malik, who dodged it, smirking.
"It's that girl, isn't it?"
Bakura's head snapped up. "Quiet!" He hissed, casting an anxious look at the surroundings. If the gang knew their leader was hung up on a girl, that'd be the end of him. Thankfully, no one else was near. He signalled for Malik to follow him and they left the cave in pursuit of privacy.
"How do you know?" Bakura queried once they'd attained a decent distance. "I never - "
Malik waved that away. "It makes sense, doesn't it?" Malik asked quietly. "I'm the only one who knows that was your hometown. Yes, yes, don't act all surprised." He added with a raised eyebrow at Bakura's open mouth. "I overheard you talking to yourself after one of your raids on that town. I don't think anyone else heard. But you stopped dead after you saw a girl in the Crystal Ball. Well? Is it your childhood sweetheart?"
"That's my Malik. Right in one" The blond boy scowled.
"I'm nobody's!!! Not yours, not the pharaoh's, not even Isis'!!!"
"Who's Isis? /Your/ childhood sweetheart??"
"You mean I never told you? Just as well. If I tell you about her if you tell me about that exotic beauty after."
"Deal"
"Isis is my sister" Bakura groaned. The knowledge of a sister in exchange for knowledge of his childhood involving Asophyre? Unfair. But he would have told Malik anyway. He would tell his right-hand-man why he's actually rebelling against the pharaoh. "She's four years older than me, and she always took care of me. My mom died giving birth to me, and my father never cared much, so Isis sort of became my support pillar. She's the only person I love in this whole damned world." Malik looked at Bakura, a glint of defiance in his eyes, as though daring the albino to laugh at this public display of emotions. Bakura, however, remained quiet.
"The girl," he began, "is special. Not only to me, but to that whole village." He took a deep breath, still trying to talk himself out of revealing his feelings. "She could summon birds, but phoenix seem to be particularly loyal to her. One of them, one that she calls Phire, is constantly with her. Most of the children, even if Phire has helped them one way or another, were afraid of Asophyre. Come to think of it, they were afraid of me, too. They seemed to think that orphans were bad to the core." The laugh that emanated from his throat sounded low and scratchy.
"Yeah, it was a snobby village. Rich people, everywhere you went. Good for begging, I must say. But then, by pure chance, I found a job - working in the market - and a small lodging close to her house. That was when I met her. Perhaps it was the mutual fear of the children that brought us together. I wouldn't know. All I know is that those years were the happiest of my life. I'd grown to love her, but I didn't know whether she returned the feeling. The feeling of self-shame started to grow by then. She was the daughter of a famous sorcerer of the village, and a very adept sorceress herself. She was kind, gentle, and here I was, a scraggly orphan. It became so great that by the age of fourteen, seven years after I'd met her, I left. With only a few bracelets that I bought with the measly saving that I had managed to scrape together and a hurried note, I left to make a living in the wild. Who knew the way to prove myself to her would be to overthrow the pharaoh." Bakura laughed again, and Malik winced at the sound.
"Yeah, I'm hopeless all right. But it doesn't matter. At least I have a goal in life." He said quietly. Malik patted him awkwardly on the back.
"We'll get her for you. The pharaoh's rather young himself, barely older than us. Easy enough." The two shared a secret wink, containing knowledge of a dream and a quest, before heading back to the cave.
*** *** ***
"So I'm thinking the easiest way to get to the pharaoh is to raid the snobby city and lay siege to it. From there, we'll stock up on supplies and perhaps willing rebels before charging." Bakura concluded, looking around at his men. A few of them were glaring at the piece of papyrus that he held in his hand, a roughly sketched battle plan. Others were nodding in agreement.
"Hey Bakura!" One of his men, standing further off to the back, called out. Bakura frowned. He didn't like that tone of voice. "How come you get to plan everything? Don't we get a say in this? We risk our neck for you and you get all the fine things in life. A little unbalanced there, wouldn't you say?"
A hushed silence fell over the group as heads turned to Bakura, who was working rather hard to keep his temper in check. He didn't quite manage it, though not for lack of trying. Malik sent a shot of warning at the offender.
" Risking your necks? Why I get the top chair? Is that even a valid question???" Bakura's voice rose. "Each and every single one of you" he looked around at his men challengingly "was hand picked by me. I offered you a chance for survival; I offered you a chance for living. All of us, including I, were nobodies. None of us had money when we began. Most of us didn't even have any skills! I trained you, I instructed you, we shared everything and you have the gall to ask why I get the luxury, as you put it?" He was yelling by now. His hand reached behind him to a secret pouch oh his robes, drawing out a small striking knife.
"If it weren't for me, all of you here would be starving. Is that not so?" More than one person nodded. It was true; Bakura had indeed helped them. "You are fairly new here, fool, and you do not know the ways of the trade as well as you should. Let this be a warning to you." Quick as lightning, his hand darted out and the striking knife flew into the air. Malik knew better than to intervene, and most other people parted. The young boy stood in horror, perspiring like mad as the knife came closer and closer.
*CLANG*
It struck the cave wall, inches from where his head would have been. Bakura leered at him before jumping off the rock he'd been standing on and walking away with Malik. He could hear the boy muttering darkly, but he was quite mad right there and then. He had gone to all this trouble, over two years, to raise the desert's most feared group. He had single-handedly started the gang, and that insolent brat had the gut to question his leadership.
Malik caught up with him, glancing over his shoulder at the boy. "He's gonna be trouble" he said seriously, not looking at Bakura. The leader of the gang snorted.
"I'd like to see him try" *~
*** *** ***
That was one long chapter *wipes sweat* All chapters until this story finishes will be of that calibre. I have everything planned out. And when I say planned out, I actually do mean it
Tell me, does Zuzumea seem like a Mary-sue? If so, I'll work on her characterization...Thanks for bearing with me
Oh, and if anyone thinks my grammar, spelling, punctuation and flow of words is so atrocious they'd like to sacrifice their precious time beta-ing and editing, be my guest. Drop me a line in a review or something
Phire Phoenix
I'll be working on each fic separately, but that doesn't mean that there won't be updates. While the main fic will receive an update once a day or in two days, there will be one chapter out for the other fics every week or ten days.
Until then - cheers!
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Scrolls of the Past
By Phire Phoenix
Chapter Eleven
Progress Report
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"Ryou! What are you doing??" Zuzumea called frantically, trying to keep up with the British boy. Ryou held her by the wrist, dragging her along at super speed. Casting a furtive glance around them, he answered
"Taking you to someplace secret so we won't be overheard!" It was the end of school. Before Zuzumea even had a chance to say goodbye to Yugi, Ryou had dashed her out of the school building and towards the small forest close to Domino City. Zuzumea panted, out of breath. She wore a puzzled frown on her face, and tried to study Ryou, but his face was blurry as both of them were running.
"We can slow down now..." Ryou told her, and slowed his pace to a walk. He quickly let go of her wrist, blushing, as though just realizing that he was holding on to it. Zuzumea hoisted her book bag further up her shoulder so it wouldn't hurt as much and set off after the embarrassed kid.
"Why don't you want to be overheard, anyway? What's so secret? Is it important?" Zuzumea demanded, bombarding Ryou with questions. The latter simply shook his head and kept going. Zuzumea huffed, and instantly felt Asophyre. Her Yami was laughing. What was so funny, she didn't know, but she didn't appreciate being laughed at. /What?/ she asked quizzically. /Nothing, little miss/ Asophyre told her, still snickering. /Tell me, why don't you?/ /Nope, sorry, no can do/ Snigger. This caused Zuzumea to huff again, sending Asophyre into a fit of giggles.
/Can't you see it?/ The Yami asked in between gasps of laughter. Zuzumea scowled. /See what?/ her Yami tittered and tried to calm herself down. When she started speaking again, it was with an overly patient voice, one that would be used to talk to little kids. /The thing he wants to tell you is obviously romance-related. Either he wants to know who you like, or if you like Yugi, or if Yugi likes you, or if you like him, or he wants to tell you that he likes you/
Zuzumea stopped. /And you would know this, because.../ /Darling, boys are easy to read - especially that one, cute, honest, innocent...well, I don't know about innocent, having Bakura for a Yami and all that, but still/ Zuzumea sweatdropped. To cover her annoyance at being talked to like such a small child, and also that she overlooked such an apparent bit of information, she snapped /I thought Ryou was bad for me! I thought Bakura was bad, bad, bad! Why are you so happy-go-lucky now?/
Her Yami sobered instantly, and retreated. Zuzumea felt a pang of guilt, but before she could say something to the spirit, Ryou interrupted her with a cheery voice.
"Ah, here we are!" Zuzumea looked around. They weren't too far into the forest - she could still see bits of the city through the tree - although it had started to get darker. They were looking down at a sort of little valley. It's about the height of a ten year old, and in the middle of it, a little stream wound its way through. Zuzumea gasped.
"Aw..." she crooned, looking around at Ryou. The boy was standing off to one side, looking extremely uncomfortable. Zuzumea smiled and slid down the small slope leading to the stream, finally sitting down on a rock beside the stream. Ryou glanced at her and followed suit, albeit on the grass. "So!" She exclaimed, and he flinched as though she had slapped him. The girl frowned, but continued nonetheless. "What is it that's so secret you led me all the way to this adorable stream to avoid eavesdropping?"
"Well, I - I, um, well, Zuzumea, I don't know h-how to say this, but, uh," Ryou fidgeted. It would have been quite amusing to watch if she knew what was coming next. And she did.
/Get on with it, you idiot!/ Bakura hissed from inside the soul chamber, startling the good-natured Englander. /You know what I'm going to say?/ Ryou questioned indignantly. /Naturally/ Bakura sneered, and put on a mock sweet voice. /Oh Zuzumea, ever since I first set eyes on you, I knew we were destined to be together. The following week only increased that knowledge and now it is time for me to declare my passion. Will you go out with me, the boy who loves you dearly and is willing to sacrifice everything to protect you?/ Bakura smirked as Ryou paled visibly. Zuzumea, noticing this, leaned towards him.
"Is something wrong?" She inquired anxiously. /I'll even do it for you, if you want./ Bakura told his Hikari airily, and in the moment when Ryou's guard was down, took over.
"Oh sweet Zuzumea, ever since - " /NO!/ Ryou gasped and elbowed Bakura, making him stumble. In a moment, he was in control again, after listening to Bakura's creative gibbered cursing. /I thought you said she's bad for me?/ Ryou shouted angrily at his Yami. /What's gotten into you now???/ Bakura didn't reply. It was vital to the plan that he stayed calm now.
"Ever since what, Ryou-san?" Zuzumea asked, cocking her head to one side in a cute expression that would have made Joey drool, and effectively jolting Ryou from his fight with the evil tomb robber back to the situation at hand. Ryou took a deep breath and braced himself.
"Ever since I met you..." at this point, he stood up and backed away, slowly up the hill. Zuzumea followed him, suspicion in her eyes. What if her Yami was wrong and this was a trick? For all she knew, Bakura could be the one controlling this sweet boy now. /I'm not wrong/ her Yami told her firmly, but she still followed Bakura up the slope.
"Ever since" Step. Step. "I met you" Step. Step. "My heart" Stumble. Turn. "Told me." By now, both of them had reached the top, and Zuzumea was peering intently at Bakura. "ThatIloveyou" Bakura gasped out in one breath. Turning on his heels, he ran for it. He's been doing that a lot lately, Zuzumea thought as she glared at his retreating backside, a glare that slowly turned into a happy smile. If only he opened up more.
"What to do..." Zuzumea muttered to herself as she paced up and down her room. Her Yami, who had been sprawled on her real bed reading a comic looked up with slight annoyance.
"What to do about what?" Asophyre asked. Zuzumea stopped and looked at the spirit, but shook her head. "Oh come on!" Asophyre coaxed. "You can tell me!" Zuzumea gave her a wry smile but otherwise ignored her. The spirit closed the comic book with a small slam and sidled back into the Millennium Pen. Zuzumea groaned.
/Hah!/ Asophyre exclaimed triumphantly. As she tried to penetrate the barrier that Zuzumea had set up around her mind, things began to emerge. "Oh, Yugi is so adorable, and so sweet." "But Ryou's so cute when he's shy" "Then there IS the fact that Asophyre claims that Ryou is dangerous" "Of course, I haven't noticed anything bad" "I can't crush two boys at once!" "Can't I?"
Asophyre snorted. /If you're worried about those kinds of things, I needn't have bothered/ She slipped back out and turned to her Hikari, an all more serious expression on her face. "However, Ryou is dangerous. If you're going to crush someone, might as well crush Yugi."
Zuzumea twirled a strand of hair out her eyes and turned her back on her Yami. "Piss off." She said venomously. Asophyre widened her eyes, but smirked.
"Oooh, I'm soo scared." She mocked, then disappeared. Zuzumea sighed. Why did her Yami have to know her inner feelings? Why can't her Yami just let Ryou be? Why is he dangerous, anyway? With the way these dreams are going, it might be ages before she found out!
The pondering girl sank into her bed, yawning. She'd figure those things out later. Within minutes, she was sleeping.
A pair of brown but cold eyes peered at the unconscious girl and chuckled. "So powerful, so strong, yet so foolish and vulnerable." A shadow glided into the room and hovered above the immobile form. "It had been such a cinch to prevent that spell, yet you didn't see it coming." The shadow was just about to leave when a voice spoke up behind him.
"Oh didn't I?" He whipped around to find himself face-to-face with a glowing Asophyre, fury buried in her eyes and rage written in her stance. "Get out" She spat, calmly but deadly. The shadow looked at her for a long time before finally turning tail.
~* "Hello Asophyre, at the risk of sounding clichéd, I've been expecting you." Yami said with a formality that's way overdone. As Asophyre approached him even further, eyes twinkling, the corner of his mouth began to twitch. Asophyre smiled and all pretence was abandoned. Yami jumped forward and swept her up in his arms, causing her to squeal in surprise and delight.
He led her to a hall, a little off of the throne room. It was decorated in red and gold, and there were various mats stacked around the chamber. "The practice room." Yami announced. "If you're going to be fighting alongside us, directing the phoenix, you'll need to learn how do defend yourself." Asophyre turned to him.
"Oh, and I suppose you'll be teaching me?" she asked playfully. Yami's smile widened.
"Indeed I will. But there's something else still." He clapped his hands and moments later, someone walked into the practice room via the throne room. "Seto Kaiba, high priest of Egypt. I'm sure you've heard of him." Seto Kaiba had brown hair and brown eyes. His mouth was set in a thin line and it didn't look like as though he smiled a lot. His eyes raked her form and she quickly remembered that while Yami may be familiar with her, not everyone in the palace was.
Asophyre bowed low in respect, and heard Yami whispering to Kaiba. When she straightened, Kaiba had a small smile on his face "Seto, this is Asophyre of the Emika Clan, also known as Mistress of Summoning Phoenix, Mistress of Phoenix or simply Phire Phoenix." Kaiba nodded to her curtly, then walked briskly across the practice room towards another door. Asophyre and Yami followed.
"He's a good guy, Kaiba. A bit too serious, but he can loosen up when he wants to." Yami said in a low voice. Kaiba threw him a dirty look and Yami laughed. "He's the first person to be my friend in the palace and I'd trust him with my life." Asophyre looked at the said Priest, eyes scrunched up. Yami seemed to be fairly good at judging people. Seto may be uptight, but if he'd go out of his way to make a boy feel better, then maybe he wasn't so bad. Yami's friend, eh? That meant Seto was on the same terms with Yami as was Asophyre.
Seto waited until the other two had caught up with him before opening the door. It led to a library, the biggest one Asophyre had ever seen in her life. She couldn't help the little gasp of breath that escaped her, but neither of the men accompanying her noticed. There were shelves upon shelves of scrolls. There were small, square compartments in each shelf that held one scroll each. The walls were covered with these storage means and the only uncovered parts were the door, the large window (ok, not really a window but more like an opening) and the brackets for torches.
In the middle of the room stood a long table, littered with yet other scrolls. Four chairs stood to one side, and three of these Seto gathered up swiftly and set them opposite each other at the table. Yami indicated with a hand-movement that they sit down.
For a moment, Seto ignored the two as he deftly sorted through the mess on the table and picked out a handful. The rest he set aside, perhaps for later perusal. He spread the few that he had selected in front of Asophyre and sat down opposite of her.
"These are the most recent records we have of Ryou Bakura and the Dangers of the Desert's doings/" He said, in the tone a professor would use while lecturing his class. Asophyre's heart skipped again at the mention of Ryou Bakura. "There haven't been any big raids lately. Mainly they've plundered small towns, and took food and money, but there haven't been any casualties, just minor injuries. What we want to do is to study every piece of information we have on him and discern some sort of a pattern. We've sent scouts to these towns" he pushed a scroll even closer to Asophyre and continued "to get the details of the raid. We're hoping that you could help us." He stopped and looked at Asophyre. "Did you know him before this?"
Asophyre nodded, her head feeling as though it was filled with lead. The initial happiness of seeing Yami had ebbed away when they started the study session. Ryou Bakura lingered between them like a ghost, cutting them off. And even though he seemed to be a barrier, Asophyre couldn't bring herself to despise him, even though she knew that she would have to feel hatred if her emotions were not to get underfoot in the looming battle.
"Asophyre?" Yami's concerned voice cut through her thoughts and she shook herself.
"Huh? I'm so sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?" Yami glanced at Kaiba.
"Seto wanted to know whether you knew him well, and if so, whether you could tell us about him so we have more information about him." Asophyre steeled herself, and nodded again. She closed her eyes and focused on her hands, and the energy behind them. Concentrating, she pushed all thoughts out of her mind except for one, the spell. Moments passed, and a small blue orb began to sparkle into existence in the palm of her hand. Yami gasped, but Kaiba smiled appraisingly.
The blue orb grew to surround her hand, and it deformed itself according to her hand's shape. Soon, her hand was glowing a faint blue. With her eyes still closed, Asophyre turned to Yami, sensing where he was with the residue of magic that was in her brain. Raising the electric blue limb, she balled it into a fist, but stuck out her index finger. With that digit she pointed at Yami's temple, and a small spark flew off. It hit Yami's forehead full-on, although he felt no more than a tingle. A moment later, it had sunk in completely.
Asophyre then turned to Seto Kaiba and repeated the process. When she opened her eyes again, both men were in a trance. She smiled. The spell, the immensely complicated spell, which she always had trouble with, had worked. She sat there in silence for a few minutes, just contemplating the two. She knew they were seeing scenes involving Ryou and her. They were basically examining their relationship. It was better laying everything bare than to retell the painful tale and leave vital bits of data out.
Seto finished first, to her surprise. But the spell was like reading. The faster your eyes travel, the faster you finish. He nodded to her and smiled again. "Emika magic. Well known around these parts." Asophyre was both startled and revered, but before she could begin to formulate an adequate response, Yami blinked and let a long, deep breath escape.
Asophyre's face held a trace of bitterness while Yami gaped at her. Kaiba spoke up to break the silence.
"Thank you for sharing that with us. Not many people would have chosen the completely honest route." Yami took over at that point. "You could be of great help during our fight against the rebellion. For now, we're trying to formulate a strategy on how to predict his next move, but perhaps it would be better if the three of us worked on a strategy to counter-attack him if he ever rebelled. We can leave the predictions to others." He grinned at Asophyre, hoping to lighten the expression on her face. Asophyre returned it half-heartedly.
*** *** ***
"What's wrong, Bakura?" Malik asked casually as he strolled over to where their leader was sitting. He had broken off the seeing-session abruptly and said he was tired, but Malik, being the closest to the leader, knew that it was something else. And believe it or not, he was worried about him, even if he was careful not to let emotion seep through. The last person who had received visible emotion from him was his sister, Isis. That was five years ago, when he was 11. He had hugged her and told her that everything was going to be all right, after their dad died. At least the old man went in his sleep. Natural causes. Peaceful death. Ever since then he'd built up a wall around himself, keeping hostiles out, but preventing well-wishers from entering as well. His sister was the only one who could get through to him, and even then he hadn't been very nice to him. He'd become bitter.
"Oh, it's nothing." Bakura said, startling Malik, who chuckled.
"Nothing, huh?" Bakura looked up at the tone of voice. Malik had a look of good-natured disbelief. "Just about the biggest understatement of Egypt." Bakura quirked an eyebrow, though his mouth had started to twitch.
"So what is it, oh great and revered leader? Is it, possibly," And here, Malik gasped mockingly, "the pharaoh?" He was the only one who could carry on like this with Bakura. Each was the closest thing the other one had to a friend, and each was the closest thing the other one had to a brother. They counted each other honorary relatives, but no one else knew. Value placed on family could be perceived as weakness.
"Oh, get out." Bakura swatted at Malik, who dodged it, smirking.
"It's that girl, isn't it?"
Bakura's head snapped up. "Quiet!" He hissed, casting an anxious look at the surroundings. If the gang knew their leader was hung up on a girl, that'd be the end of him. Thankfully, no one else was near. He signalled for Malik to follow him and they left the cave in pursuit of privacy.
"How do you know?" Bakura queried once they'd attained a decent distance. "I never - "
Malik waved that away. "It makes sense, doesn't it?" Malik asked quietly. "I'm the only one who knows that was your hometown. Yes, yes, don't act all surprised." He added with a raised eyebrow at Bakura's open mouth. "I overheard you talking to yourself after one of your raids on that town. I don't think anyone else heard. But you stopped dead after you saw a girl in the Crystal Ball. Well? Is it your childhood sweetheart?"
"That's my Malik. Right in one" The blond boy scowled.
"I'm nobody's!!! Not yours, not the pharaoh's, not even Isis'!!!"
"Who's Isis? /Your/ childhood sweetheart??"
"You mean I never told you? Just as well. If I tell you about her if you tell me about that exotic beauty after."
"Deal"
"Isis is my sister" Bakura groaned. The knowledge of a sister in exchange for knowledge of his childhood involving Asophyre? Unfair. But he would have told Malik anyway. He would tell his right-hand-man why he's actually rebelling against the pharaoh. "She's four years older than me, and she always took care of me. My mom died giving birth to me, and my father never cared much, so Isis sort of became my support pillar. She's the only person I love in this whole damned world." Malik looked at Bakura, a glint of defiance in his eyes, as though daring the albino to laugh at this public display of emotions. Bakura, however, remained quiet.
"The girl," he began, "is special. Not only to me, but to that whole village." He took a deep breath, still trying to talk himself out of revealing his feelings. "She could summon birds, but phoenix seem to be particularly loyal to her. One of them, one that she calls Phire, is constantly with her. Most of the children, even if Phire has helped them one way or another, were afraid of Asophyre. Come to think of it, they were afraid of me, too. They seemed to think that orphans were bad to the core." The laugh that emanated from his throat sounded low and scratchy.
"Yeah, it was a snobby village. Rich people, everywhere you went. Good for begging, I must say. But then, by pure chance, I found a job - working in the market - and a small lodging close to her house. That was when I met her. Perhaps it was the mutual fear of the children that brought us together. I wouldn't know. All I know is that those years were the happiest of my life. I'd grown to love her, but I didn't know whether she returned the feeling. The feeling of self-shame started to grow by then. She was the daughter of a famous sorcerer of the village, and a very adept sorceress herself. She was kind, gentle, and here I was, a scraggly orphan. It became so great that by the age of fourteen, seven years after I'd met her, I left. With only a few bracelets that I bought with the measly saving that I had managed to scrape together and a hurried note, I left to make a living in the wild. Who knew the way to prove myself to her would be to overthrow the pharaoh." Bakura laughed again, and Malik winced at the sound.
"Yeah, I'm hopeless all right. But it doesn't matter. At least I have a goal in life." He said quietly. Malik patted him awkwardly on the back.
"We'll get her for you. The pharaoh's rather young himself, barely older than us. Easy enough." The two shared a secret wink, containing knowledge of a dream and a quest, before heading back to the cave.
*** *** ***
"So I'm thinking the easiest way to get to the pharaoh is to raid the snobby city and lay siege to it. From there, we'll stock up on supplies and perhaps willing rebels before charging." Bakura concluded, looking around at his men. A few of them were glaring at the piece of papyrus that he held in his hand, a roughly sketched battle plan. Others were nodding in agreement.
"Hey Bakura!" One of his men, standing further off to the back, called out. Bakura frowned. He didn't like that tone of voice. "How come you get to plan everything? Don't we get a say in this? We risk our neck for you and you get all the fine things in life. A little unbalanced there, wouldn't you say?"
A hushed silence fell over the group as heads turned to Bakura, who was working rather hard to keep his temper in check. He didn't quite manage it, though not for lack of trying. Malik sent a shot of warning at the offender.
" Risking your necks? Why I get the top chair? Is that even a valid question???" Bakura's voice rose. "Each and every single one of you" he looked around at his men challengingly "was hand picked by me. I offered you a chance for survival; I offered you a chance for living. All of us, including I, were nobodies. None of us had money when we began. Most of us didn't even have any skills! I trained you, I instructed you, we shared everything and you have the gall to ask why I get the luxury, as you put it?" He was yelling by now. His hand reached behind him to a secret pouch oh his robes, drawing out a small striking knife.
"If it weren't for me, all of you here would be starving. Is that not so?" More than one person nodded. It was true; Bakura had indeed helped them. "You are fairly new here, fool, and you do not know the ways of the trade as well as you should. Let this be a warning to you." Quick as lightning, his hand darted out and the striking knife flew into the air. Malik knew better than to intervene, and most other people parted. The young boy stood in horror, perspiring like mad as the knife came closer and closer.
*CLANG*
It struck the cave wall, inches from where his head would have been. Bakura leered at him before jumping off the rock he'd been standing on and walking away with Malik. He could hear the boy muttering darkly, but he was quite mad right there and then. He had gone to all this trouble, over two years, to raise the desert's most feared group. He had single-handedly started the gang, and that insolent brat had the gut to question his leadership.
Malik caught up with him, glancing over his shoulder at the boy. "He's gonna be trouble" he said seriously, not looking at Bakura. The leader of the gang snorted.
"I'd like to see him try" *~
*** *** ***
That was one long chapter *wipes sweat* All chapters until this story finishes will be of that calibre. I have everything planned out. And when I say planned out, I actually do mean it
Tell me, does Zuzumea seem like a Mary-sue? If so, I'll work on her characterization...Thanks for bearing with me
Oh, and if anyone thinks my grammar, spelling, punctuation and flow of words is so atrocious they'd like to sacrifice their precious time beta-ing and editing, be my guest. Drop me a line in a review or something
Phire Phoenix