Soul Battle
Chapter Three – Dreams
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Yu-Gi-Oh, though I lay claim to the original characters Nia and Kyla, and I'm not making any money from this fic
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Nareen and Ina were standing in the temple. Nareen's arms were crossed across her chest, and her face, as usual, was expressionless.
"Aren't you even a little happy for me, Nareen?" Ina demanded.
"Because you finally managed to ensnare the Pharaoh and get him to fall in love with you?" Nareen shrugged. "Sure, the Pharaoh is the most powerful man in Egypt... But he's still only human."
"So are you and I, Nareen."
"Yeah? Well, that might change," Nareen replied. "For me, at least." And she turned to leave.
"What about Bakura?" Ina called after the woman she called her friend. "You care about him, don't you?"
Nareen paused. "Bakura serves me some purpose," she admitted. "But, as soon as he has outlived his usefulness, I will discard him." And then, she left.
Ina stared after her friend, trembling. "I hope that you learn how to feel, Nareen," she murmured. "Before it's too late." And then she returned to her duties.
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Nia frowned at the report she was writing on her computer. It doesn't look right, she thought to herself. I think that I'm doing it wrong.
Nia typed a few more words, and then leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms out in front of her.
Hm, I wonder how Kyla's doing with her report? Nia thought. She quickly discarded the idea to ring Kyla and ask her for help, though. Kyla was more likely to hinder Nia than help her. The fact that Nia was Kyla's best friend, or the closest thing she had to one, didn't really count for anything.
Ok, I'll call Yugi, then, Nia decided. She picked up her phone, and dialled Yugi's number.
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Kyla woke up aching all over. Her new bruises felt stiff, and she could barely move without wincing.
Kyla slid up the right sleeve of her nightgown, and stared at the new cuts on her arm. "Oh, great," she sighed. "I have to wear long sleeves. Again."
I guess I'm going to be facing more awkward questions today, Kyla thought as she slipped her clothes on, including the necklace Ryou had given her.
That's becoming something like a comfort blanket, Kyla thought wryly, tucking her necklace under her top. I'm always carrying it around with me wherever I go now.
At just that moment, Kyla's phone rang. Kyla quickly snatched it up and put it to her ear. "Hello. Kyla speaking."
"Hey, it's Nia," Nia's warm voice said. "Listen, Kyla, I had this really weird dream last night..."
Kyla bit her lip. No way was she going to tell Nia that she had had a strange dream too! "So what?" she said instead in a cool voice. "Everyone has strange dreams sometimes."
"Yeah... But we were both in it," Nia told Kyla. "And we were in some kind of... temple."
Kyla opened her mouth to deliver a scathing reply, but then, suddenly, everything went black.
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Nareen stared at Ina. "Ritual killings?" she asked. "You mean that someone's been murdering people as a kind of... ritual?"
Ina nodded. "The Pharaoh only just worked it out," she told her friend. "It's a very ancient type of ritual."
"And you think that I had something to do with these murders?" Nareen demanded with narrowed eyes.
"I don't," Ina replied. "But the Pharaoh wanted me to check it out. He figured that if you were the murderer, you'd be less likely to kill me."
"I'm not a killer!" Nareen protested, showing a flash of emotion for the first time in a long while.
"She isn't... But I am."
Nareen and Ina both whirled, and saw a familiar figure standing in the doorway of the temple.
"You!" Nareen gasped.
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