Bound
Chapter Four
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NOTE: I'll try to answer two questions I've gotten. To answer question number one, yes, Yuugi as in Yami. In the Japanese version, he is not known as simply 'Yami,' but rather as 'Yami Yuugi.' However when he was the Pharaoh, it was simply 'Yuugi' because he wasn't a 'yami' or sennen (millenium) item 'spirit' yet. Hope that helps your confusion! ^^ Now for question number two! Why do people write yaoi or yuri... hmm, I've never really thought about it. I guess some people like some characters better with someone of the same gender. As for myself, my favorite YGO couple is Yami Bakura/Malik, but then my favorite Ayashi no Ceres couple is Aya/Touya -- a hetero couple. So I don't know, I guess it's just a matter of opinion. When there's so many possibilities, it's just more fun that way! ^_~
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Jounouchi stared in disbelief at Yuugi. When Yuugi had requested to speak with him about something of the utmost importance, he had actually been a little frightened. He had feared the worst, that something was wrong. Never would he have imagined this!
"So let me get this straight, Yuugi. You want me to call upon this dancer girl and talk to her and tell you what she says?"
Yuugi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You're my best friend, Jou. I know I can count on you."
Jounouchi rubbed his forehead and looked back at Yuugi. He shook his head and shrugged. "Okay, I don't understand it, but I'll talk to her, Yuugi."
Yuugi grinned. He was an impatient man by nature, but finally he would know about the little minx who had plagued his thoughts for the past few days. All Jounouchi had to do was find out about her past and other little tidbits and Yuugi would be satisfied. He firmly told himself that once he knew about this girl, then he would forget about her. He was just curious, nothing more. He simply wanted to know about a new dancer slave in his court. Jounouchi drew him back to reality.
"But say I find out about this slave for you -- then what?" the blond Egyptian asked. Yuugi shifted uncomfortably and looked away, not answering his question.
~*~*~
Bakura, the proud and noble -- in his mind -- king of thieves Egyptian, sat on the dirty temple floor, scrubbing it with a hard stone block. He sneered at the floor, somehow blaming it for his troubles. He banged the block hard onto the stone ground, smiling as he envisioned the floor being in pain. He knew in the back of his mind that this was nuts and he feared for his sanity, but he rellished in the comfort it brought him.
It wasn't that he was afraid. No way! He hadn't been afraid when his entire village had been slaughtered and he hadn't been afraid when the guards had captured him and traded him to be a slave. He was simply... annoyed. Yes, that was it. He had no one to keep him company besides the other moronic slaves which he had no interest in talking to. He missed the slave girl from the ship, Anzu. She had been rather interesting in the few conversations they had held. He momentarily wondered about her occupation in the Great Palace. She had been taken away with another girl, a beautiful one. Bakura gathered that he already knew what occupation she had been given. Two beautiful girls being taken off together? They were being brought to the harem, he suspected. Or maybe as dancers. He truly wasn't too concerned, but he did wish her the best. Who knew, maybe he'd see her again some time.
His back stiffened as he heard quiet footsteps coming up behind him. He continued his scrubbing, pretending he didn't hear the person, in an attempt to discern what they wanted. When they simply stood behind him, he developed a plan. If this was an assassin, a guard coming to kill him for stealing that ring-thing perhaps, they would be in for a shock.
His eyes quickly darted to his waist where, within his skirt, lain a small dagger. It wouldn't do much to the chains around his ankles, he thought angrily, but it would befall a potential assassin as long as he had the element of surprise.
When the person behind him continued to stand still, Bakura quickly reached for his dagger, stood and turned, and hurled it at the person. The man elegantly dodged it and watched it crash into the stone wall. He slowly turned his head back to Bakura.
"Hostile, aren't we?" he asked amusedly.
"Such a pity I missed," Bakura tutted, shaking his head mournfully. The other man looked around the chamber uninterestedly as he slowly approached Bakura.
Crossing his arms, Bakura warned, "Speak your piece and get out, Malik."
"Oh, you know my name, however I've yet to learn yours. That won't do at all," Malik said as he walked past Bakura and picked up a random piece of stone off of the floor.
"My name is none of your concern," Bakura spat. He turned his back to Malik and silently waited for his next move. He couldn't see it, but Malik's eyes roamed over his bare back and legs which were covered by his cream-colored skirt, the common wear in Egypt.
"You look good in chains," Malik commented. Bakura's eyes widened and he whipped around to face Malik who was studying him intently. He tossed his blond hair over his shoulder and rolled the stone around in his hand. Bakura's eyes roamed the room nervously and it did not go unnoticed by Malik. "Your name?" he asked once more.
"Bakura. Now what do you want?"
"Well, Bakura," he began, adding a strange undertone to his name, "I was simply walking past the sennen items and you came to mind."
"Sennen items?" Bakura questioned curiously.
"Sorry, I forgot your place. The 'ring-thing' you're so obsessed with along with the other six items on that stone table."
Bakura glared at him for his condescending tone, but his curiosity was peaked. "Okay, temple boy, I'm flattered to know that random people think about me when I don't even give them a second thought, but what is your point?"
"Don't even give me a second thought? Ouch, that hurts... here in my heart," he patted his chest, "Not usually one of my most vulnerable spots," Malik said, malice and amusement both warring against each other in his voice. "But I digress. I was thinking about you because maybe we want the same thing. I see it in those beautiful, chocolate eyes* of yours. You want that sennen ring back, don't you?"
The hairs on Bakura's neck stood on end as Malik served him yet another compliment, but he pointedly ignored it and focused on the topic at hand. "And what if I do? Will you have me mummified alive for it? Me and my... 'beautiful, chocolate eyes?'" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"What a waste that would be," Malik pouted, stepping closer to Bakura to run a bronzed hand down the length of his ivory mane. Bakura shivered unconsciously. Malik quickly stepped away again, seemingly uninterested now. "No, I think we can help each other. You see... I want it." He glanced at Bakura. "I want the power of the Pharaoh."
~*~*~
"Lady Mai, you're just in time! Lord Otogi and I were just discussing the Pharaoh's birthday celebration," Shizuka exclaimed excitedly. She reached her hand out and took the slightly-older lady's hand in her own.
"I was just talking to your brother about it, too, but he said he had to do something for the Pharaoh and left," Mai replied. She shrugged before seating herself next to Shizuka.
"No matter," Otogi chimed in. "Let's get back to the preparations."
He held out the papyrus papers which detailed all of their plans thus far. They had scheduled for the dancing girls, some acrobats, flame-controllers, as well as numerous members of nobility from both Egypt and nearby kingdoms.
"I believe we have the guest list completed," Mai observed. Shizuka nodded.
"Yes, we just need to prepare the menus, decorations and whatnot."
"Well, let's get to work! We've become experts since planning your wedding; this birthday celebration should be a cinch!" Mai exclaimed.
~*~*~
The Pleasure Ladies' guards' eyes widened in surprise as they saw Jounouchi approaching the quarters. It was a rare occasion indeed when the Great Pharaoh's most trusted advisor visited himself. Both men stumbled over themselves to get to the doors as quickly as possible for him. They each bowed slightly as the man closest to royalty besides the Pharaoh, himself, passed through the doors.
Jounouchi crossed his arms as he stopped just inside, hardly hearing the golden doors close behind him. He glanced around uninterestedly. Little had changed since the four or so years since he had last visited. He cursed silently to himself when he realized that there were at least twenty girls with brown hair and blue eyes. In all honesty, he hadn't paid that much attention to the dancer girl the few nights ago he had seen her. He couldn't recall what she looked like exactly. He still didn't know what his friend saw in her, but he'd heed the Pharaoh's wish and talk to the girl.
He noticed some of the ladies staring at him with open mouths and he approached one said group.
"Where might I find a girl named Anzu?" he asked of no one in particular. They looked at each other suspiciously before pointing to the window. He knew that they suspected him of calling upon Anzu as a concubine when she was a dancer which clearly showed her as a virgin. He restrained the urge to groan at how he must have looked to them. He nodded his thanks before approaching the window where Anzu sat unexpectingly.
"Anzu?" he asked, drawing her attention to him quickly. She raised an eyebrow as she seemed to recognize him. He waited for some sort of respectful greeting, but none came and his eyes narrowed. He cleared his throat before walking close to her, so that they could speak without being overheard.
"I have been requested to call upon you--" he halted in mid-sentence as her face took on a look of pure horror, "--just to talk."
Her features relaxed slightly and she hopped down from the window, her bells jingling as she did. She studied him for a moment before looking away. "Have we something to talk about? ...My lord?" she added as a forced afterthought.
He shook his head. "No, we don't. However one of my superiors has asked me to speak with you a little. That is all I can say."
She stared at him incredulously. What that all he intended to say? Was she supposed to just follow him after that? She had half a mind to scream her head off for one of the guards. She shifted uncomfortably as she suddenly noticed all of the curious and worried gazes being thrown her way by other worried and curious ladies.
"You'll forgive me for being a little suspicious."
Jounouchi nodded sympathetically. "My apologies for the secretiveness. Will you come?"
She mildly wondered how he would force her if she refused. She decided not to take that path today and nodded her agreement. She could practically see an invisible load lift from his chest as he realized he wouldn't have to force her.
A little while later as Anzu sat in Jounouchi's personal quarters, staring around in amazement, she wondered once more what anyone could possibly want with her. She had only been here a few days short of a week. She smirked as she remembered Jounouchi's guards stuttering and generally making a fool of themselves as they questioned Anzu's presence near the Pharaoh's best friend's quarters and Jounouchi had snapped at them in her defense. She had felt like a princess in that short-lived moment. And what lonely girl didn't dream of being a princess?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Jounouchi walked back into the room with two goblets of wine in hand. She accepted hers and whistled.
"Wow, aren't I pampered lately?"
He chuckled and sat down next to her. "Well, I treat my guests the right way. Now your name is Anzu; how old are you?"
She took a sip of her wine before answering. "I'm seventeen, will be eighteen in three months."
He nodded and took another sip of his wine. "What did you do before you were brought here? Where are you from?"
She smiled to herself and delved into her response. "I'm half Egyptian, half Hebrew. I lived in a small village, with my cousin, just outside the border of Egypt. My parents were both killed when I was young, three or so. My aunt and uncle raised Honda, my cousin, and me until I was fourteen, but then they were killed in a raid. We just survived on our own after this. I miss my cousin," she finished, her eyes taking on a far-off gaze.
"What happened to your cousin?" Jounouchi asked, hoping he wasn't getting too personal.
"He was taken to work out in the fields."
The blond averted his eyes sympathetically, knowing what working in the fields entailed. Most people didn't survive for too long.
"So what about this secret admirer of mine?" Anzu asked, surprising Jounouchi with her boldness. He laughed and shook his head.
"I'm asking the questions here," he replied with an amused gleam in his eyes.
"So no husband or anything, no family alive except your cousin?"
She nodded her confirmation and he supressed the sudden pity he felt for the girl. He admired her will for withstanding such an awful past.
"Now the big question," he began with a feigned solemnness, "what do you like in a man?"
She burst out laughing and with such a lovely sound ringing in his ears, he couldn't help but laugh, too.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
NEXT CHAPTER: Jounouchi relays his findings on Anzu to Yuugi. Shizuka and Otogi get married. Bakura and Malik converse more about their plans, Malik explaining more about the sennen items.
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*In the Japanese version, Bakura's eyes are lavender, however for this story, they will be brown like in the English version.
I'll take the liberty of saying that I think the Malik/Bakura scene in this was so sexy! Sigh... maybe it's just because I love them so much. XD I wish I had more reviews for this story, but that's okay. :/ I start school on Wednesday, so starting then, chapters may not be as frequent. See you next time! ^_^
Chapter Four
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NOTE: I'll try to answer two questions I've gotten. To answer question number one, yes, Yuugi as in Yami. In the Japanese version, he is not known as simply 'Yami,' but rather as 'Yami Yuugi.' However when he was the Pharaoh, it was simply 'Yuugi' because he wasn't a 'yami' or sennen (millenium) item 'spirit' yet. Hope that helps your confusion! ^^ Now for question number two! Why do people write yaoi or yuri... hmm, I've never really thought about it. I guess some people like some characters better with someone of the same gender. As for myself, my favorite YGO couple is Yami Bakura/Malik, but then my favorite Ayashi no Ceres couple is Aya/Touya -- a hetero couple. So I don't know, I guess it's just a matter of opinion. When there's so many possibilities, it's just more fun that way! ^_~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jounouchi stared in disbelief at Yuugi. When Yuugi had requested to speak with him about something of the utmost importance, he had actually been a little frightened. He had feared the worst, that something was wrong. Never would he have imagined this!
"So let me get this straight, Yuugi. You want me to call upon this dancer girl and talk to her and tell you what she says?"
Yuugi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You're my best friend, Jou. I know I can count on you."
Jounouchi rubbed his forehead and looked back at Yuugi. He shook his head and shrugged. "Okay, I don't understand it, but I'll talk to her, Yuugi."
Yuugi grinned. He was an impatient man by nature, but finally he would know about the little minx who had plagued his thoughts for the past few days. All Jounouchi had to do was find out about her past and other little tidbits and Yuugi would be satisfied. He firmly told himself that once he knew about this girl, then he would forget about her. He was just curious, nothing more. He simply wanted to know about a new dancer slave in his court. Jounouchi drew him back to reality.
"But say I find out about this slave for you -- then what?" the blond Egyptian asked. Yuugi shifted uncomfortably and looked away, not answering his question.
~*~*~
Bakura, the proud and noble -- in his mind -- king of thieves Egyptian, sat on the dirty temple floor, scrubbing it with a hard stone block. He sneered at the floor, somehow blaming it for his troubles. He banged the block hard onto the stone ground, smiling as he envisioned the floor being in pain. He knew in the back of his mind that this was nuts and he feared for his sanity, but he rellished in the comfort it brought him.
It wasn't that he was afraid. No way! He hadn't been afraid when his entire village had been slaughtered and he hadn't been afraid when the guards had captured him and traded him to be a slave. He was simply... annoyed. Yes, that was it. He had no one to keep him company besides the other moronic slaves which he had no interest in talking to. He missed the slave girl from the ship, Anzu. She had been rather interesting in the few conversations they had held. He momentarily wondered about her occupation in the Great Palace. She had been taken away with another girl, a beautiful one. Bakura gathered that he already knew what occupation she had been given. Two beautiful girls being taken off together? They were being brought to the harem, he suspected. Or maybe as dancers. He truly wasn't too concerned, but he did wish her the best. Who knew, maybe he'd see her again some time.
His back stiffened as he heard quiet footsteps coming up behind him. He continued his scrubbing, pretending he didn't hear the person, in an attempt to discern what they wanted. When they simply stood behind him, he developed a plan. If this was an assassin, a guard coming to kill him for stealing that ring-thing perhaps, they would be in for a shock.
His eyes quickly darted to his waist where, within his skirt, lain a small dagger. It wouldn't do much to the chains around his ankles, he thought angrily, but it would befall a potential assassin as long as he had the element of surprise.
When the person behind him continued to stand still, Bakura quickly reached for his dagger, stood and turned, and hurled it at the person. The man elegantly dodged it and watched it crash into the stone wall. He slowly turned his head back to Bakura.
"Hostile, aren't we?" he asked amusedly.
"Such a pity I missed," Bakura tutted, shaking his head mournfully. The other man looked around the chamber uninterestedly as he slowly approached Bakura.
Crossing his arms, Bakura warned, "Speak your piece and get out, Malik."
"Oh, you know my name, however I've yet to learn yours. That won't do at all," Malik said as he walked past Bakura and picked up a random piece of stone off of the floor.
"My name is none of your concern," Bakura spat. He turned his back to Malik and silently waited for his next move. He couldn't see it, but Malik's eyes roamed over his bare back and legs which were covered by his cream-colored skirt, the common wear in Egypt.
"You look good in chains," Malik commented. Bakura's eyes widened and he whipped around to face Malik who was studying him intently. He tossed his blond hair over his shoulder and rolled the stone around in his hand. Bakura's eyes roamed the room nervously and it did not go unnoticed by Malik. "Your name?" he asked once more.
"Bakura. Now what do you want?"
"Well, Bakura," he began, adding a strange undertone to his name, "I was simply walking past the sennen items and you came to mind."
"Sennen items?" Bakura questioned curiously.
"Sorry, I forgot your place. The 'ring-thing' you're so obsessed with along with the other six items on that stone table."
Bakura glared at him for his condescending tone, but his curiosity was peaked. "Okay, temple boy, I'm flattered to know that random people think about me when I don't even give them a second thought, but what is your point?"
"Don't even give me a second thought? Ouch, that hurts... here in my heart," he patted his chest, "Not usually one of my most vulnerable spots," Malik said, malice and amusement both warring against each other in his voice. "But I digress. I was thinking about you because maybe we want the same thing. I see it in those beautiful, chocolate eyes* of yours. You want that sennen ring back, don't you?"
The hairs on Bakura's neck stood on end as Malik served him yet another compliment, but he pointedly ignored it and focused on the topic at hand. "And what if I do? Will you have me mummified alive for it? Me and my... 'beautiful, chocolate eyes?'" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"What a waste that would be," Malik pouted, stepping closer to Bakura to run a bronzed hand down the length of his ivory mane. Bakura shivered unconsciously. Malik quickly stepped away again, seemingly uninterested now. "No, I think we can help each other. You see... I want it." He glanced at Bakura. "I want the power of the Pharaoh."
~*~*~
"Lady Mai, you're just in time! Lord Otogi and I were just discussing the Pharaoh's birthday celebration," Shizuka exclaimed excitedly. She reached her hand out and took the slightly-older lady's hand in her own.
"I was just talking to your brother about it, too, but he said he had to do something for the Pharaoh and left," Mai replied. She shrugged before seating herself next to Shizuka.
"No matter," Otogi chimed in. "Let's get back to the preparations."
He held out the papyrus papers which detailed all of their plans thus far. They had scheduled for the dancing girls, some acrobats, flame-controllers, as well as numerous members of nobility from both Egypt and nearby kingdoms.
"I believe we have the guest list completed," Mai observed. Shizuka nodded.
"Yes, we just need to prepare the menus, decorations and whatnot."
"Well, let's get to work! We've become experts since planning your wedding; this birthday celebration should be a cinch!" Mai exclaimed.
~*~*~
The Pleasure Ladies' guards' eyes widened in surprise as they saw Jounouchi approaching the quarters. It was a rare occasion indeed when the Great Pharaoh's most trusted advisor visited himself. Both men stumbled over themselves to get to the doors as quickly as possible for him. They each bowed slightly as the man closest to royalty besides the Pharaoh, himself, passed through the doors.
Jounouchi crossed his arms as he stopped just inside, hardly hearing the golden doors close behind him. He glanced around uninterestedly. Little had changed since the four or so years since he had last visited. He cursed silently to himself when he realized that there were at least twenty girls with brown hair and blue eyes. In all honesty, he hadn't paid that much attention to the dancer girl the few nights ago he had seen her. He couldn't recall what she looked like exactly. He still didn't know what his friend saw in her, but he'd heed the Pharaoh's wish and talk to the girl.
He noticed some of the ladies staring at him with open mouths and he approached one said group.
"Where might I find a girl named Anzu?" he asked of no one in particular. They looked at each other suspiciously before pointing to the window. He knew that they suspected him of calling upon Anzu as a concubine when she was a dancer which clearly showed her as a virgin. He restrained the urge to groan at how he must have looked to them. He nodded his thanks before approaching the window where Anzu sat unexpectingly.
"Anzu?" he asked, drawing her attention to him quickly. She raised an eyebrow as she seemed to recognize him. He waited for some sort of respectful greeting, but none came and his eyes narrowed. He cleared his throat before walking close to her, so that they could speak without being overheard.
"I have been requested to call upon you--" he halted in mid-sentence as her face took on a look of pure horror, "--just to talk."
Her features relaxed slightly and she hopped down from the window, her bells jingling as she did. She studied him for a moment before looking away. "Have we something to talk about? ...My lord?" she added as a forced afterthought.
He shook his head. "No, we don't. However one of my superiors has asked me to speak with you a little. That is all I can say."
She stared at him incredulously. What that all he intended to say? Was she supposed to just follow him after that? She had half a mind to scream her head off for one of the guards. She shifted uncomfortably as she suddenly noticed all of the curious and worried gazes being thrown her way by other worried and curious ladies.
"You'll forgive me for being a little suspicious."
Jounouchi nodded sympathetically. "My apologies for the secretiveness. Will you come?"
She mildly wondered how he would force her if she refused. She decided not to take that path today and nodded her agreement. She could practically see an invisible load lift from his chest as he realized he wouldn't have to force her.
A little while later as Anzu sat in Jounouchi's personal quarters, staring around in amazement, she wondered once more what anyone could possibly want with her. She had only been here a few days short of a week. She smirked as she remembered Jounouchi's guards stuttering and generally making a fool of themselves as they questioned Anzu's presence near the Pharaoh's best friend's quarters and Jounouchi had snapped at them in her defense. She had felt like a princess in that short-lived moment. And what lonely girl didn't dream of being a princess?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Jounouchi walked back into the room with two goblets of wine in hand. She accepted hers and whistled.
"Wow, aren't I pampered lately?"
He chuckled and sat down next to her. "Well, I treat my guests the right way. Now your name is Anzu; how old are you?"
She took a sip of her wine before answering. "I'm seventeen, will be eighteen in three months."
He nodded and took another sip of his wine. "What did you do before you were brought here? Where are you from?"
She smiled to herself and delved into her response. "I'm half Egyptian, half Hebrew. I lived in a small village, with my cousin, just outside the border of Egypt. My parents were both killed when I was young, three or so. My aunt and uncle raised Honda, my cousin, and me until I was fourteen, but then they were killed in a raid. We just survived on our own after this. I miss my cousin," she finished, her eyes taking on a far-off gaze.
"What happened to your cousin?" Jounouchi asked, hoping he wasn't getting too personal.
"He was taken to work out in the fields."
The blond averted his eyes sympathetically, knowing what working in the fields entailed. Most people didn't survive for too long.
"So what about this secret admirer of mine?" Anzu asked, surprising Jounouchi with her boldness. He laughed and shook his head.
"I'm asking the questions here," he replied with an amused gleam in his eyes.
"So no husband or anything, no family alive except your cousin?"
She nodded her confirmation and he supressed the sudden pity he felt for the girl. He admired her will for withstanding such an awful past.
"Now the big question," he began with a feigned solemnness, "what do you like in a man?"
She burst out laughing and with such a lovely sound ringing in his ears, he couldn't help but laugh, too.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
NEXT CHAPTER: Jounouchi relays his findings on Anzu to Yuugi. Shizuka and Otogi get married. Bakura and Malik converse more about their plans, Malik explaining more about the sennen items.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*In the Japanese version, Bakura's eyes are lavender, however for this story, they will be brown like in the English version.
I'll take the liberty of saying that I think the Malik/Bakura scene in this was so sexy! Sigh... maybe it's just because I love them so much. XD I wish I had more reviews for this story, but that's okay. :/ I start school on Wednesday, so starting then, chapters may not be as frequent. See you next time! ^_^