Disclaimer: Alright. I understand quite a few people had a bit of a problem with my last announcement. Look, I know I'm VERY luck to even get reviews on my fanfiction. I feel very privileged to have people give me their comments and their feedback. However, I think we all have the wrong misconception about the REASON I want reviews.
Reviews are not to inflate my ego; I have my friends for that. They are not a tool to show off to people; I could care less how many she or he has. Reviews are my way of knowing that I am doing a decent job and also for people to tell me what they like or did not like within my writing. Reviews help me to understand the reader's perspective of my fic and to judge the criticism I receive to make the fic BETTER. Reviews are not for me. They are for YOU.
Hell, I have a nine-chapter long fic and I only have thirty-five reviews for it! But I don't mind because the people that DO review are giving me helpful criticisms that make my writing better each time I update.
So the next time you feel that I'm being selfish about not getting enough reviews for the amount of chapters I have posted, remember that I want you to review because I want to make the next chapter better than the last… either that or I have come to a stumbling point, as I have with THIS chapter, and I need to know where people think I should go from here on.
I really do not at this point in my disclaimer know exactly what will happen with this chapter. It's a bit of 'on the fly' writing. I think you, the readers, deserve a really good chapter after my announcement and I intend to give it to you. So, I guess I should probably just start the fic while I'm on such a great roll with the disclaimer…
As usual, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. That's Kazuki Takahashi's department… But if I did…say it with me… * chorus * Anzu would not exist!
Chapter 5: Throw Me a Grain of Salt
Sunlight flowed into the ruins of KuruEruna with a soft, radiant glow. It seemed to Yami as if the entire city were aflame. His eyes traveled over the broken buildings; for him, it seemed unnatural.
The village was quiet as a tomb, silence emanating from ever pore, every crack, every piece telling its own story in words that he could not hear. As the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, the village looked as if the flames were spreading, engulfing the entire desert with its heat.
Yami dropped to his knees, dust rising about his body. His face wore an expression of shock and dismay. Bakura placed his hand on Yami's shoulder, bending down as he watched his face for signs of emotion.
"…Now, Pharaoh. Do you understand? Do you understand my hatred of your father?" he whispered. Yami shook his hand off, staring at him in disbelief.
"You stupid thief! You expect me to believe that my father did this?! I would not be surprised if it were actually you who burned this village to the ground!" he shouted vehemently, his shoulders shaking with rage. Bakura stepped back, his eyes widening.
"Y-you… You think that I could do this to my own people… my own family?! How foolish can you be?! I know you've lived in a golden-lined cage your entire life, but this is just common sense! How could you…?" he stopped in mid-sentence, turning his back to Yami. The cool breeze that Bakura remembered so well from his childhood blew his long hair back over his shoulders, his eyes hidden from view. Finally, he spoke again.
"…You can go back now if you want, Pharaoh. If I cannot convince you, then it is not my place to keep you here against your will." Yami stared at Bakura's back for a long time. He could go now… he didn't have to stay and be this madman's prisoner anymore… But then it hit him. What if, -and of course, it was a very big if-, his father had burned this village? Why had he hidden it from his only son?
"I have decided, Bakura." Bakura turned and looked at Yami. His golden jewelry glowed in the sun, forming an aura about his body. To Bakura, he looked like a true God, the way he had imagined a proper Pharaoh to look. It made his eyes hurt and his mouth run dry.
"I will stay with you until you show me proof that what you claim is true. However, if you do not give me the proof I deem worthy, I shall have you beheaded for telling lies about my father and for kidnapping me. These are crimes that normally I shall not permit, but…" he stated, trying to sound as royal as he could. Yami stared into Bakura's eyes, showing him who was boss. Bakura gave a small snicker.
"Yes… your royal brattiness." he gave a mock bow to him and began to walk down to the remains of the village. Yami glared after him, wondering yet again what he had gotten himself into.
"Wisdom has wings. Wisdom can fly. Could wisdom come to one such as I? Teacher of Gods, Teacher of kings. Oh, I would learn from Thee, I would earn wings…"
Bakura sat in a small alleyway, eating a piece of bread he had stolen from a local cart. The new city he had entered just this morning intrigued him. But so did all the others. And, naturally, he could not stay in one place for more than a day and a night. Any longer and the taunts began again…
He tore at the bread with his teeth, ripping off a large piece. Bread was not enough… He needed something more. Bakura looked down the street at a meat shop, but it was too risky. If he was caught… Of course, there was a greater risk of actually being caught, seeing as a piece of meat was a bit different than a piece of bread.
His stomach rumbled at the site of a small lamb leg being handed to a customer. It looked so delicious… Perhaps just this once wouldn't hurt…
Finishing the last of his bread, he stood up, stretching nonchalantly. Bakura glanced around a few times before re-entering the busy street, walking through small groups of people, surveying the carts as if nothing was amiss. As he got closer and closer to the meat-cart, his heart began to race.
Bakura wiped his sweaty palms on the sides of his robes, his eyes darting back and forth. Just a bit more… and he was there, standing before the meat-cart.
"May I help you, young man?" asked the vender politely, his eyes giving Bakura a look-over. Bakura smiled, beginning to sweat profusely.
"W-well, um… I'm not really sure… I'm looking for something good. What would you recommend?" Bakura asked. His plan was not going well at all. How could he sneak a piece of meat away with this fool watching his every move.
"Hmm… something good… Well, of course all our products are good" he let out a laugh. "But if I were to recommend something… oh, excuse me." Another customer had come up just as he was beginning to pull out a lamb leg. Bakura seized the chance immediately.
He reached over the cart and snatched the leg from the man's hand, quickly dashing down the street.
"STOP! THIEF! BRING THAT BACK!" Shit. Not good. People were starting to look at him; some men were actually chasing him. Bakura darted back and forth, weaving through the crowds. Unfortunately, they saw him coming…
Bakura felt himself being pushed down into the dirt of the city street. He growled and struggled as the man holding him down tore the piece of meat from his hand.
"What do we have here? Do you know what happens to thieves in this city, boy?" he sneered menacingly, pushing more of his weight into Bakura's shoulders, causing Bakura to cry out in pain. "Well, let me tell you." the man growled, pulling out his knife from his pocket. "…We cut off their thumbs!"
Bakura suddenly felt a rage well up inside his heart, his eyes flaring at the sound of the man's voice. It irritated him beyond belief. He wanted him dead.
Bakura screamed in anger and frustration, moving his head back to where the man's hand was on his shoulder.
"YOU WANT THUMBS CUT OFF, YOU TWISTED BASTARD?! I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU THEN!" Bakura shrieked. He clamped his jaws down on the man's thumb and began to bite, twisting his head back and forth as blood began to run from the man's flesh. Bakura grinned as the man began to scream in agony, trying to pull his hand from Bakura's tight grip; this, however, merely forced Bakura to clamp down harder.
Blood streamed from the man's hand, running down Bakura's chin. People turned away in disgust, nobody wanting to get close enough to even help the man. Finally, the deed was done.
Bakura spit the man's severed thumb from his mouth, licking the blood off his lips. It tasted sweet and bitter at the same time, a new taste, a new sensation. It felt good.
End notes: I know this is randomly and uncharacteristically short, especially for me. This is a first for me, ending my chapter with a flashback that is… I hope you can all forgive me.
I have horrible writer's block at the moment, but this chapter NEEDED to be finished. I felt that I owed it to some people who felt a bit testy about the entire me taking the fic offline ordeal.
I personally like this chapter a bit more than the others. It shows Bakura's introduction to true madness and his sadistic side is shown a bit more. (ie: licking off the Senen Eye after 'removing' it from Pegasus's eye-socket…) It also shows Yami's compassionate side. Awww. However, he still tries to contain his royal composure… hmm… perhaps a bit of spoiler for later chapters?