Hullo everyone! Thank you all so much for your reviews! Makes me even more motivated to climb over and dominate the Writer's Block I'm currently facing in my sequel .. Here's the next chapter~
22. The First Happy Dream~
"That sneak!"
Kinou had just finished telling Lonu about her attack; they were sitting on a hospital bed, Lonu trying and failing to put a bandage on Kinou's cheek as she was talking.
"I seemed to be the only one who noticed that he was different," said Kinou, causing the new bandage Lonu had on her cheek to peel off and fall. Lonu cursed and picked it up.
"I know we need to talk about that, but I need to find a way to heal this!" she said exasperatedly.
"And these," said Kinou, pulling up her shirt slightly to reveal the large bruise above her hip, as well as the ones on her arm and the long scratch on her left shoulder.
"Goodness, child! How did you ever get away alive?"
Kinou shook her head and pulled her shirt back down. Lonu sat beside her and looked at her cut some more. "Why won't you let me give you stitches? They'll heal it faster than any bandage and you'll have an anaesthetic to block out any feel—"
"I told you, no," said Kinou firmly. "We had this argument on the way down here and there's no way you're coming near me with a needle and thread to sew my skin together. Got it?" She glared at Lonu, who looked at the floor. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she reached up and ran her fingers delicately across her cut. "I'm sorry, Lonu… I've been in a horrible state since Emily's been missing and I've hardly shown any compassion towards anyone. I know you're just trying to help; I really appreciate it and all, it's just that I can't stand needles. If you want to just save yourself the trouble and not do anything—"
"Heavens no, child! I'm going to find a way to make this stick and heal that gash if it's the last thing I do!" cried Lonu, and with that, she stood up and rummaged around in a cabinet for more supplies. Kinou couldn't feel more grateful towards Lonu, but she still could feel the need to be alone growing steadily stronger. As Lonu moved things aside, looking behind them, Kinou reflected on her time in Kaiba's mansion. I haven't been by myself for a really long while… everything's been happening all at once and I haven't had any time to just sit and think like I used to.
"I'll be right back, dear," said Lonu. "I don't have anything that could possibly be useful in here; there's probably something in another room." She walked out.
Kinou immediately got up, thanking whatever kept hearing her thoughts and answering them, and left the room as well, heading towards hers. When she arrived, she went and lied down on her bed with her hands behind her head. Before she could think about anything worrying her, she was asleep.
A wonderful warmth flowed through her body, and she opened her eyes to find herself in a beautiful garden, lying back on a bench. Sitting up, she noticed that she was now wearing a long, billowing sari wrapped around her; the fabric was silky soft and its light blue colour was only interrupted by the white sash around her waist that was holding it to her. She stood up and a light breeze played across her cheek, bringing the sweet scent of lilacs with it. A gurgling stream was to her right, and she walked over to it to let the water flow over her fingers, watching as the ripples she made gracefully distorted her face. Leaning forward, she realised her hair was down, something she had not seen in a long time, and marvelled at how pretty it made her look. A shadow came across her and she saw another face behind her in the reflection in the water. Looking up, she saw Marik.
Though she was terrified of his Yami, he did not bring her fear as he stood above her, a true smile she had never seen before playing across his lips. He was garbed in silk, tan-coloured pants and sleeveless shirt; a red sash encircled his waist. Another light breeze blew by, making their garments blow elegantly around them, and Kinou felt completely at ease. She wanted this to last forever; she wanted the wind to keep blowing, she wanted them to keep staring, almost lovingly, into each other's eyes…
Marik walked over to her and gently took her hands in his. "Kinou…" he murmured.
Kinou nearly fainted from how beautiful he was; that was the first time he had ever said her name, and she wanted him to say more, his voice was so intoxicating to her. She looked up at him and almost leaned in for a kiss before he spoke again.
"This is not a dream, either, Kinou." He spoke delicately, weighing each word as if he wanted to make everything perfect for her. His eyes never left hers as he let his words flow out. "I am in your mind; I am real. When I was expulsed from my body, you were the nearest carrier that I wanted to be in; I've been residing in your mind and watching over you."
"Were you the one who saved me from your Yami?" she asked in a whisper.
He bowed his head, wrapping one of his arms around her waist and using his other to gently stroke the side of her face with the cut as he continued. "I was there when you found out about your power; I tried to stop him from hurting you, but I failed in my attempts and had to watch it happen. I wouldn't allow myself to let it happen again, not when I could easily save you. Though, when I took over and fought back—" he paused to place his fingers on her cut "—I didn't keep some things from happening." He looked deep into her eyes. "I've always wanted to protect you, Kinou. That's why I came to get you in the first place."
Kinou blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Sit down," he said. She did so in the gap of the roots of a blossoming tree, and he sat next to her, putting his arms around her and holding her close to him. His heart was beating softly in his chest, and she closed her eyes, listening to it as well as what he said. "I was friends with Tanurah in my childhood after I ran away from home. He and his family practically raised me, since I was so young, and he and I became very close. At one point, my Yami took over me and began bringing out the darker side in him as well. He was still very young, so he had almost no resistance to his evil. By the time I was able to take control of my body again, Tanurah was already corrupted. I fled from him, not wanting to ruin any good he may have had left, and did not speak to him for nearly seven years. Later on, I happened to be eavesdropping on a conversation about KaibaCorp teaming up with Tanurah's medical practise, and about the rumour of children with powers residing in the mansion. Before I could stop him, my Yami took over once again, and went to visit Tanurah to make an alliance with him. They agreed on a plan: my Yami would help the doctor take over KaibaCorp completely if he, in return, would let him use one of the children for his own purpose of getting the pharaoh's power. The young boy, Terry, was the first that was brought here; Yami transported Tanurah to get him and bring him back, since he wasn't exactly up for using the little energy he had left after a recent fight over my body with me. As Tanurah began experiments to test the boy, Yami became impatient and told him to speed up the process, so Tanurah devised a formula to inject the boy with to strengthen his power. It made him half-insane, and it looked as if it was having the same effect as Yami's on Tanurah, for he had an alter ego that started to emerge and influence him more than anyone else. When you were discovered, Tanurah decided the boy was too unstable to continue, so he tried to dispose of him. He did not succeed, but he managed to hide him away until Kaiba's mansion had been searched; only then could he find a place in which to lock the boy up. He lied about him to everyone and he didn't bother to tell Kaiba the same thing, because he knew that Kaiba didn't care enough about the boy to investigate any holes in his story. When I saw what had happened to the boy, I couldn't let it happen to you; ever since I first saw you…" He paused, reminiscing. "I was watching through the eyes of my Yami when Tanurah showed your picture to him. I could sense his want for you, and I knew that if I did not intervene, he would not only use you for the pharaoh's power, but also for something much worse. I managed to take over again just long enough to take you from your world; I planned to take you somewhere far away from Domino City, away from harm. But, as you undoubtedly saw, my Yami began to take over again once I had you near me. My feelings for you only deepened, and they confused me, for I had never felt like that before for another, and I acted without thinking. I only used the excuse of wanting the Millennium Puzzle to hide my true intentions." He squeezed her gently and whispered into her ear, "I have always wanted you to be safe; I have always loved you, Kinou."
They sat in silence for a while, Kinou pondering all the new information that had hit her all at once. It all made sense, everything seemed to fall together at last, and she could understand the strange events that had been occurring ever since she had arrived. She nuzzled her head into his neck and whispered, "Are you the echo I've been hearing in my mind?"
"Yes. I have been trying to communicate with you, but you've been blocking me out somehow, and no matter how hard I've tried, I can't seem to get through."
"You tried to talk to me when Seto had me on his desk… What were you trying to say?"
"I knew he would hurt you; he refused to believe you when you tried to tell him Kantugo was a fake and mocked you for being afraid of what could happen. That was the first time I took over, but it was out of anger; I wanted to hurt him as badly as I could for speaking to you that way. But I only caused more harm to befall you…" He put his other hand on her left cheek, warming it. "And when he accused you of trying to attack Tanurah… He had said horrible things to you, and I didn't believe in his desire. I was trying to keep you from falling under his spell."
Kinou's heart lurched. But I loved him before then… I already felt the need for his touch, his compassion, his voice—
Marik sat up and stared at her. "You love him?" he asked.
Kinou blinked in confusion. "I didn't say that."
"Remember that I am in your mind; I can hear your thoughts as plainly as if you speak them aloud. You say that you love him, and I do not believe you. He has crushed your happiness by bringing you here, he has mocked you when you were in need of comfort, he has mocked you for your fears; how can you love someone who treats you so?"
She looked away and closed her eyes. "I… I don't know… He has such power over me… I can't explain it at all, it's like the energy he gives off pulls me towards him and won't let go."
"Kinou, he will never love you the way I do," said Marik, reaching out with his hand. As he cupped her face in it, she gasped, for it was very cold, completely the opposite of what she had felt when he touched her cheek moments earlier. His face started to swim before her eyes and he called out something softly to her as she felt his warmth leaving her: "I'll always be here; just open up your mind to me and I will be with you…" Kinou reached her hand out to try to keep him from leaving her, and she felt it hit something in front of her. As Marik disappeared, Kaiba's face loomed above her, his hand upon her cheek, and her hand grasping the front of his shirt. She blinked, completely confused as to what had just happened, and Kaiba put his other hand over the one she had upon his chest. She drew her hand back and sat up, putting some distance between herself and Kaiba, not wanting to be thrown into another whirl of sexual desire. He moved over on her bed and stroked her arm with his hand, making her shiver.
"There's no risk of being interrupted this time, Kinou," he murmured. "I've locked your door so that people won't be able to barge in."
She looked over and glared at him. "How the hell is that supposed to make me feel better?"
He chuckled. "You're just too scared to admit you want it to happen."
"No, I really don't," said Kinou sternly, shrugging his hand off of her. I can't let him get to me… I don't want to hurt Marik, not after what he's just done for me. I can't let him win.
Kaiba, however, wasn't showing any signs of backing down. He crawled over to her and leaned her back, holding her chin and kissing her. She stiffened her arms to keep him from getting her flat on her back, and he drew back slightly, looking annoyed at her resistance. Staring straight into his eyes, she said forcefully, "You may think I want this; I don't. I did, but not now."
"Why?" he asked, trying to lean into another kiss. "A feeling like that just doesn't leave, it stays for a long time."
"Stop," she said, turning her head away. "It's because I—"
Her words were cut off when he roughly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, kissing her. His grip was extremely strong, and she could barely resist all that he did. Part of her wanted to give into him, to just let herself go and let him do what he wanted to her. She was about ready to start responding to one of his deep kisses when Marik's echo stirred once again in her mind. Instead of ignoring it, she tried to focus on what he said and not on the sensations Kaiba's tongue was making in her mouth. His calls began to become clearer to her, and she could discern what he was yelling: "Don't give in!"
She was jerked back to the situation at hand when Kaiba started to run one of his hands down her side, reminding her all too much of what Yami Marik had done, and she whimpered, drawing back. Kaiba was just about to open his mouth to protest, when there was a large crash against Kinou's door and it completely fell out of the door frame, the dry wall surrounding it crumbling and blowing dust everywhere. Both Kaiba and Kinou stood up and faced the doorway, not seeing any movement coming from it. They heard a few shouts from some guards who had been attracted by the noise, and they were all cut short; gagging noises replaced their yells and they heard several large thumps on the floor as they hit the ground. Kinou was frozen with fear, but Kaiba stepped forward, towards the dust cloud.
"Show yourself!" he yelled.
Someone started laughing. "That would be quite impossible," a voice returned—a voice so cold and cruel, Kinou did not recognise it at all. Suddenly, Kaiba was thrown off his feet and slammed into a wall, held in place by a glowing aura, and Kinou cried out as the Millennium Rod gleamed out of the now settling dust, clasped by Yami Marik.
"For you see," Yami Marik said, his voice sounding less frightening compared to the first, "There are two of us."
"Who's with you?" cried out Kinou, glancing helplessly at Kaiba, who appeared to be struggling with all his might against the dark force keeping him in place.
"You should know by now, Kinou," came the cold voice again, and Kinou saw movement behind Yami Marik. Tanurah stepped out and fixed her with a look that sent shivers throughout her whole body; his eyes were almost completely surrounded by a dark shadow. Continuing to come towards her, he raised his hands, manifesting that he held a length of rope in them, and Kinou backed, horrified, into a wall. As he came closer and closer to her, getting the rope ready, he smiled cruelly at her. "And it's time we had a little fun."
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Don don don!!!!!!! Heh, gotta love cliffies, ne? Just wait~ it gets better!