Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I do own my OC, Akunriou / Tory and Kishtoh / Lucca, plus the storyline.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTICES!

MidnightBallad: Any mistakes can be blamed on the website I had to get names from. Happy? I also suggest that, if you're a Bakura fan, brace yourself for this bit, because you mightn't like it. PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Important: If you see 'present' at the start of the chapter, then that means the story is set in 'the now'. If it says 'past', then it is set 3, 000 years ago, back in Egypt.

Past: He Has Left You

As dusk set in, Akunriou prepared herself to leave and see her family. However, there was very little that she needed to do. So, she waited in the entrance hall of the palace for the High Priest Seto. Akunriou waited only a few minutes until he arrived.

'Are you ready to leave?' Seto asked. He was accompanied by another servant, who was armed with a sword (just in case) and wore very light armour. Akunriou nodded. 'Yes.'

She, Seto and the servant left the entrance hall and descended the main stairs. Akunriou counted them as she went down: sixty-two in all. Along the very thick stone railings of the stairs, flares burnt brightly to light up the front of the palace like a Hollywood studio. Akunriou, Seto and the servant each took a horse from the palace, and rode off into the dark of the Egyptian night.

- -

Riding slowly through the rows of mudstone houses, Akunriou became familiar with her surroundings quickly. She recognised some of the lop-sided homes, and way the windows had been shaped, and the speech of some inside. None were her friends – only neighbours that threw stones at Akunriou whenever she passed by.

The High Priest and the palace servant were very edgy. They had never been this far from the palace before, amongst so many commoners – many of whom hated the palace and all who lived in it to the grave.

'Are we close?' Seto asked Akunriou. He jumped slightly as a cat streaked past his horse like a fleeing shadow. Akunriou nodded as she and the High Priest passed a squat well.

Finally, they came to a home that sat in the shadows of a towering sandstone building, as if it sat in the backstreet of a rundown city. There were four windows on the two levels, yet only one was lit by candle flame. A ginger cat lay napping at the front door, the remains of its meal lying forgotten in front of it.

The cat looked up as Akunriou jumped noisily from her horse a little way away from the house – the place she once called 'home'. Hissing, the cat trotted by her, bony body moving silently across the sand. Watching it go, Akunriou said to Seto, 'I would prefer to go in alone. It may help my brother in some way.'

Seto exchanged glances with the servant, who raised his eyebrows. Eventually, Seto said, 'Yes, Akunriou. Shout if you ever need us.'

Akunriou walked swiftly to her old house, leaving footprints in the sand as she went. She stepped up to the front door, and raised a clenched fist to knock upon it –

The door blew open with a loud creak. Frowning, Akunriou stepped inside, feeling her toes become very cold. It usually happened when she was nervous or scared.

Akunriou went into the centre of the living room. She gaped at what she saw: tables had been upturned, fruit lay scattered on the ground, and something dark stained the wall. Something that looked like blood.

Akunriou gasped as she saw it, when the door fell shut behind her. It clunked loudly as it locked. Akunriou whirled around to see –

'Bakura?!' Akunriou said in a shaky voice. 'Heavens, you scared me.'

Bakura stood in the shadows of the doorway like some sort of zombie. He only looked at Akunriou with his dark eyes.

'Wh-where is my family?' Akunriou began. 'My mother –'

'Your mother is dead.' Bakura answered simply. Akunriou looked at the bloodstain on the wall. It looked as though someone had banged her mother's head up against it. Licking her dry lips, Akunriou felt tears welling in her eyes. 'How?'

Bakura stepped forward. 'It was Kishtoh, your brother.'

'Kishtoh?' Akunriou whispered, turning to Bakura. 'Why?'

Bakura grimaced. 'He has become obsessed. He wants you back so badly, Akunriou. He dived into the dark arts to gain the power to save you. He wanted control over the dead, and to do so, he killed his very own mother.'

Akunriou gazed at the blood on the wall, then back to Bakura. She realised something: what the Pharaoh had said about 'dark forces plaguing Egypt'. Was he talking about the same power that Kishtoh was using to get her back?

'Where is Kishtoh now? I have to speak with him.' Akunriou asked.

'You're not going anywhere tonight...' Bakura said quietly. Akunriou saw that look in his eyes. She suddenly remembered something: Mana's palm-reading.

You have an admirer... But it's not a good thing; this man will hurt and lie to you! And another will turn on you...

So, Bakura was the first person Mana had spoken of. And Kishtoh was the second. Does that mean the palm-reading was true?

'Bakura, no!' Akunriou said, stepping back into the upturned table in the centre of the room. 'Stop. You don't know what you're doing.'

'I do, Akunriou,' Bakura said dangerously, coming closer to Akunriou. 'You see, if you possess the powers of the Gods, like so many say you do, then I am lucky tonight. You are alone, and there is no one to come to your aid.'

Akunriou felt her hands sweating. 'There is nothing different about me. Please, you must understand that!'

'You are different. Face it, Akunriou: he has left you. And the only person who can save you now is the High Priest. But he can't hear you...'

Bakura was so close now that Akunriou could see into the darkest depths of his eyes. He reached out and put a tight grip on Akunriou's shoulder –

Whack! Akunriou back-hand slapped Bakura across the face so hard that he fell over. And then she dashed for the door.

But Bakura wasn't finished yet. He leapt forward, seizing Akunriou around the knees, and they both fell to the ground with a crash. Akunriou reached out at the last second and seized the handle of the door, and clasped it so hard that her hands went white.

'It's no use, Akunriou!' Bakura panted. 'Give into me, now!'

Akunriou screwed her eyes up. And then she noticed the candle burning on the windowsill. Biting her lip, Akunriou pushed herself forward, so that the door banged in its frame. The wall shook, and the candle dropped to the floor.

Immediately, the goat-skin rug on the floor caught fire. Bakura let go of Akunriou, who climbed to her feet and wrenched the door open. She spun around to face the thief. 'May you burn in hell for this, Bakura!'

She slammed the door shut. Seconds later, the room exploded as the fire hit her mother's stash of cheap alcohol. Being flammable, the alcohol acted like an explosive and burned the house to the ground.

Tears forming in her eyes, Akunriou dropped back onto the sand, only to be caught by the High Priest. Akunriou gazed up into his eyes, which glowed from the fire, and she whispered, 'Bakura...he tried to... Mana was right.'

- -

The light from the fire engulfed Yami and Tory, and they were sent back to the present in a wave of fiery sparks.

-End chapter eight-

MidnightBallad (hiding behind makeshift shield so that the Bakura/Ryou fans don't eat her alive): I warned you! You're not allowed to hate me if you're not happy! And you'll have to keep reading to see if Bakura lived or not...HAHA! (evil laugh)

...Okay, fine, Bakura didn't die. Really, he didn't. I don't want him to die, he's a good character.

Anyway, please review. And be nice. I accept 'constructive' reviews, but not flames. Thanks!