(disclaimer) not ours. we promise.
::warai::
"But you're just a girl!"
I waited. She got this a lot, when people came to beg her for favors.
"How can a girl help me?" The man folded his arms and looked Aya slowly over. "Oh, a thousand pardons. Are you here to...serve...?"
Now that was a new one. Usually they just muttered themselves into silence until Aya spoke.
"Shut the fuck up," I said, watching her fists clench out of the corner of my eyes.
"Oh!" The man swiveled to me. "Are...is she...yours?"
Aya's hand shot out and caught my hair, pulling my head back. "He is Ours," she said, her words hissing from her lips. "You came for Our boon. Speak."
"I, ah, well, there's a lady...at my home, and...well...I should like her attentions..."
My eyes rolled so far I could practically look at the inside of my head. ::Gods. I could throw him to the ends of the earth. Please let me throw him to the ends of the earth. What a fucking idiot...::
"Pet," Aya said out loud, her fingers tightening in my hair and making my eyes water. "We will take care of this...annoyance...Ourselves."
I glanced over at her. ::No throwing to the ends of the earth?::
Aya released my hair violently enough to snap my head forwards, her other hand rising to the beads hung around her neck. "Stay. Here."
"Yeah, yeah," I agreed, draping myself over her throne and summoning up a handful of fire as soon as she vacated the seat. Her left hand started glowing white, then began rapidly heading for red.
"But you're a girl! You can't do this to me! I demand to see the ruler! You can't do this! You can't yeaaaagh!"
I whipped my fire-holding hand down, creating an impromptu shield to block the flying blood and body parts that went with the particular spell Aya was so fond of using.
"You keep that up, you're going to spend all the treasury money buying new clothes."
Aya stalked over. "I think I'm going to pioneer a new look. Bloodstained." She spat her hair out of her face angrily. "I need a public appearance. That's the fifth one this week."
"First one to think you were a convenience whore to keep them company while they waited," I noted, transferring the fire to the other hand. "That's probably worth going out and inflicting your wrath on the populace."
Aya started pacing. "I gave them homes. I gave them safety and food and work. I took my city back from those who stole it, and gave my people their mage-ruler again. And yet I still cannot satisfy them!"
"Aya. You've been ruler for less than a year." And two years yet to go... "They're not used to you yet."
"Hn." Aya stormed out onto the balcony that overlooked the city. "Give that over," she added, beckoning to my fire. It whirred from my fingers to between her hands, then up into the sky.
"What the fu – HOLY SHIT!"
I dove for cover just as the sky exploded in flame.
"People of Alexandria1, hear me!"
So much screaming...
"I am your queen!"
Sky on fire and everyone screaming...crying...
So much like home...
I curled up under her desk, threw my arms over my head, and screamed myself hoarse.
"Yami!"
Bakura blinked, then kept screaming.
"Yami, shut up!" Ryou clapped one hand over Bakura's mouth and tensed for the expected bite down on his hand. "Not the fangs! No fangs!"
"Mrr?" Bakura blinked, then spat blood out. "Shit!"
"You bite more than Bastet," Ryou complained, jerking his hand away. "What was all that abo – erk!"
There was a pause.
"Yami?"
"Mrr?"
"The affection is nice, but I need to breathe about once a minute. Just letting you know now. That, and my ribs have already been broken twice. I really don't need to crack them a third time."
"Are you telling me to let go?"
"Mmmmaaaaybe."
"How badly are you bleeding?"
"I've had worse. I think you broke some bones in my hand, you hyena, you. Do I just freaking taste that good?"
"Someone's cranky."
"No, really?"
"Okay, fine, I'm letting go." Bakura sat up and sighed, pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them. "What is it?"
"Third night in a row you've woken up screaming," Ryou said shortly. "And not a word out of you on why."
"I wake up screaming all the time," Bakura said dismissively.
"And this should reassure me why?"
"...erm."
"My point exactly."
Bakura sighed. "I'm fine."
"Whenever you go out of your way to say that, I immediately get worried." Ryou raised one eyebrow. "I'm going to go try and stop this bleeding now."
Bakura stared at him until he left the room, then flopped back onto the bed. Flicking his wrist sideways, he managed to summon up yet another handful of fire. "I don't mind waking up screaming...because sometimes I'm home before then..." Another flick and the fire went out. "And sometimes it's just another nightmare." Flick and the fire comes back. "Sometimes I think I've woken up and you've died. It's not me who killed you, though." Flick. "I stopped having those dreams a while ago. But now it's one of them. They hate you..." Flick. "Or, at least, I think they do."
Flick.
Bakura stared into darkness with blaze-blinded eyes. "And I can't kill someone who I've already killed...even if they're still after you."
"I don't have time for this."
Snort. "Th' freak says he doesn't have time for this." A hand grabbed Ryou's hair and pulled. "Masamo said you were the devil incarnate when attacked." He pulled Ryou's head back even farther and whispered into his face, "I know how weak you really are..."
"I. Don't. Have. Time. For. This," Ryou bit out, eyes narrowing. Never should've let yami go after Masamo...should've just ignored it... "Let me go."
"I want to see this 'devil incarnate'." He smiled. "Or are you just too afraid to hurt someone who's actually bigger than you are?"
"All the places I've lived, people end up in comas once they get to know me too well," Ryou said softly. "People die if they get too close."
"Oh, sure." Sneer. "Like your freaky friends aren't alive and in one piece."
Sigh. "Just leave me alone. It's not worth it."
"Sure it's not." He released Ryou and stepped back, arms akimbo. "Come get me. First hit's on you."
Ryou sighed again. "Fine." His hair fell forwards to shadow his eyes as one hand palmed a card out of his pocket.
One step forwards.
Two.
Three.
Reaching up, Ryou said softly, "Broken Mirror," and gently flicked the taller boy on the forehead.
There was a soft gasp from behind him as the boy crumpled to the ground. "What did you just do?"
Ryou twisted around to behold Yuugi. "He wanted me to go postal on him. He wanted Bakura to fight him. I don't have time for this."
"I...I can understand not wanting Bakura to...to...but what did you do?"
"I'll wake him up in a while," Ryou said, his eyes devoid of emotion. "Give him a couple weeks. He's not harmed."
"But...but...where is he? Your yami?"
"Gone," said Ryou.
"Gone? Wh-wh-he's loose?"
"He stopped sleeping," Ryou said bleakly. "Spends all his time obsessing over your yami's father...about Egypt...about how they're going to kill me..."
"They?" Yuugi demanded. "Ryou, oh jeez Ryou, is someone after either of you? Do not tell me he's somehow gotten tangled up in organized crime, because I'll then start laughing hysterically."
Ryou shook his head slightly, laughing. "Yuugi...do you know how lucky you are?"
"...er?"
"You see, there's a tiny little catch that goes with these," Ryou said, tugging at the Ring. "And everyone but you has to deal with it."
"Why? What's the catch?"
"Everyone but you, because your darker half is the pharaoh. A god. The other gods can't punish him like they can...us." Ryou laughed again, painfully. "For all the others, they have to live and die over...and over...and over...until they find us." Ryou tapped his chest. "He died six times. Killed six people who were potential hosts...not under his free will, for once. I'd tell you the story, but it's long and it's pretty horrible. But he's getting sicker and sicker ever since seven years were up, and I don't know what to do!" He gazed over at the boy on the ground. "I can't force him out to fight my battles for me." Softer, "I can't..."
"You don't want me to tell yami, do you?" Yuugi asked softly.
"He hates him." Ryou shuddered. "I can feel the residual hate between them. Can't you?"
Yuugi nodded slowly. "The defacing..."
"The murdering..."
"He's not forgiving that any time soon," Yuugi said waspishly.
Ryou put his hand up. "Hey, I think we win. Kuru Eruna didn't even get buried in the first place."
Yuugi smiled wryly. "What are you going to do?"
"I..." Pass one hand over murky green eyes. "Heh...I'm just going to laugh..."
Whu-BANG.
Ryou jumped.
"What the hell is this?"
"...a newspaper? A newspaper impaled on a knife and flung into the wall?" Ryou clarified.
Bakura glared for a full minute before stabbing at a few small lines of text in the police report column. "Some boy from your school was inexplicably found in a coma!"
"...and?"
"I didn't do it, the blonde crazies didn't do it, the world would have heard if the pharaoh had gotten angry at someone, so that leaves you." Bakura folded his arms and looked expectantly at Ryou. "Especially since you seem to leave a trail of comas wherever you go."
Ryou grabbed the knife and yanked it out of the wall. "That is all your fault!" The newspaper by then had slipped to the ground. "You got your crazy amusement from that!"
"Looks like you're picking up my bad habits." Bakura crossed the room in three strides and grabbed Ryou by the collar. "Who hurt you bad enough that you'd put them out without even calling me?"
"Masamo's friend, Kawahara," Ryou said, the words spilling from his mouth. "Masamo told him...about you. Only he thought it was me. And he wanted to see it. So he called me out and gave me the first shot to do my worst. I didn't want to do anything. He made me. So I put him out." Ryou sighed. "I'll wake him up in a week or so. I'd better mark it on the calendar."
Bakura watched him narrowly as the slighter boy shook him off, crossed the room, counted out ten days with a muttered "for good measure", scrawled a quick note, and then stalked back to the newspaper. "Why do you keep staring at me?"
A mute stare was his only answer.
"You..." Ryou reached out tentatively and touched Bakura's arm. "I didn't ignore you because I didn't want you to...I wanted to...leave you alone for as long as you wanted..."
"..."
"...please say something."
Bakura abruptly reached up and grabbed Ryou's hand on his arm, then took the other one, turning them over to see the bite marks on both palms. "You do this every night..."
"Yes," Ryou answered.
"It's the only way to stop me panicking...to get yourself hurt," Bakura continued.
"Yes."
"Why do you even bother?"
Ryou slipped his hands from Bakura's, looked at the other boy for a long moment, then grabbed him and kissed him hard. His hands slid quickly over Bakura's clothing and tangled in his hair, ripping the bite marks on his hands open.
Bakura froze for a minute, then relaxed, pulling Ryou even closer. "Why do you even bother?" he repeated, breaking away.
"I love you," Ryou said quickly. Kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I love – "
::Multitask,:: Bakura ordered, sliding both hands behind Ryou's head.
Ryou laughed in their minds.
::You want me to what?::
Darien smiled. /Simple. You will be my slave, my whore, my pet. I make no bones about this. You can't run away, now, can you?/
I gaped. ::What...of course I can...I'm the best at...you have no idea how many escapes I've made!::
/I can look it up,/ Darien said carelessly. /You're from a Greek colony. You were a serious troublemaker. There will be information on you./
::And yet you still think I won't leave you,:: I spat.
/Why should you?/ Darien asked. /According to your cute little story, you've got to come back to kill me anyway./
::You don't believe me, do you?::
/Old religion and hallucinations from a homicidal thief mean nothing to me,/ Darien said carelessly.
::You just want my body,:: I said, awed.
/Your body, your abilities, your mind,/ Darien corrected. /You personally...I know you not, and therefore I care not./
I blinked stupidly. I'd seen this behavior before, all over Kemet. And yet, I just couldn't get my mind around it.
/If you're going to be my whore, you won't need clothing,/ Darien added impatiently. /If you're going to be my emissary, you'd better learn to read, write, and speak like a normal person. Your mind is already warped enough. You'll kill on command, little spirit. You've nothing better to do and no scruples to tell you no./
::But I...I only...when I...::
/I'm not assuming you're a cruel and heartless monster,/ Darien snarled. /I'm saying that you'd better get used to that description, because it's going to be your life! What, were you expecting this to be on your terms?/ He laughed aloud. /You've already had a full life, spirit-whore. Now I get to live mine./
"You are so cheating!"
"No, I'm not!" Bakura looked mildly indignant.
Giggle. "You keep sending your drinks to the Shadow Realm instead of drinking them!"
A disdainful look. "Oh, come on, we're drinking cheap wine coolers. Take pity on my taste buds, dammit!"
"Ohhh no. No fair. Absolutely not." Ryou glared.
"Please. How're you gonna make me drink this shit? Why couldn't we get something worth using in a drinking game?"
"It's this or 'tousan's lite beer from the party eight months ago." They both looked furtively at the refrigerator, as though the aforementioned drink would come leaping out of the box and attack them.
Well, you never know...
"I could've stolen something good."
"Pfft. Then you'd just drink it."
"Uh huh!" Bakura nodded vigorously. "That's the point!"
"Hey, he squeaked again! Take a drink."
"Make me."
Ryou grinned, took a drink, then whipped around and kissed Bakura deeply. "Gotcha."
"I vote we change the rules of this game," Bakura said cheerily. "We replace taking a drink with that, and then keep working our way up."
"Yamiiii!" Ryou wailed.
"This was your idea," Bakura pointed out.
"No...you wanted to get thoroughly drunk, and I know the InuYasha drinking game. Therefore, we combined cheap wine coolers with...ah...this classic television...and here we are. Slightly tipsy if anything. Damn wine coolers," Ryou said, glowering at the three empty bottles.
"Are you suuuuuuure I can't just go get something worth drinking?" Bakura asked.
"Yes. I'm comfortable," Ryou retorted. "Therefore, you stay put."
"Hmm. A downside of being completely entwined," Bakura said meditatively. "I need a drink. A real one."
"You wanna chance the beer? 'Cause I can summon up the Earl of Demise to get it," Ryou offered.
"Mmm...nah." Bakura shrugged and quietly rearranged Ryou on his lap. "I don't have that much of a death wish. I just wanna get trashed."
"And you really want a hangover, because you just loooooove those," Ryou added mischievously.
"Nah, I just get off on you playing nurse," Bakura retorted.
Ryou tilted his head back and glared up at Bakura. "I feel oh so offended."
"Can I kiss you?" Bakura asked abruptly.
"...wha?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"Sure, why not?" Ryou replied agreeably.
"Not just five minutes of making out," Bakura clarified, looking vaguely awkward.
"...er, okay...?" Ryou shrugged. "No idea what you're on about, but hey, I'm game. You get me drunk purposely for this?"
"No," Bakura said simply. "This is a product of me being mildly inebriated."
"And you wouldn't offer if you were sober?" Ryou inquired.
"I'd be too scared," Bakura said cheerily.
"Of me?" Ryou looked as though he'd just witnessed Seto Kaiba running shrieking in terror from a ladybug. "What the hell's in this stuff?" he demanded, examining the label critically for any lurking fine print.
"Exactly what I'm wondering," Bakura said, raising one eyebrow. "I'm acting a lot more drunk than I am."
"So about that kiss-and-see-what-happens thing," Ryou said. "I'm all for it."
"Really?"
"Promise," Ryou said with a grin. "C'mere."
"Deal!"
Manda Podima: Maybe someday I will do fanarts...but until then, Darien stays that lucky. Damn him.
Higashikaze: Eheh. That was my idea when I started it too. Ooops.
Liviania: But the imagination is your FRIEND. And...um...shadow realm clean kitty litterbox?
Bakuras-Hell: In retrospect, I should've known that announcement would've had this effect.
Sailor Comet: Well, consider their ages...well, Ryou's age...and Ryou's...Ryou-ness...and Bakura running around being STABBY THINGS kinda...made him too busy...and I suck at backstory.
QueenOfGames: He's not sick, just...not well, either. Does that make any sense?
Fire of the Angel: :blush: thank you!
viva rose: I have taken SO sodding long...and I wrote this long before it got updated. I am a bad, bad person.
Kerei Kitsune: Yepyep!
Terra: Someone else understands! I swear this one is happier! Happy! I feel...happy....!
Hotoke-sama: But...but this way, no one is offended really, since it's their imagination, and some people is like XXX NC-17 RAWR and some people is like g. (and my grammar sucks tonight)
DreamingChild: I finish my doujinshi of One Hundred first though.
SweetMisery: :watches him go:
Yami hitokiri: About time, yeah? Oooh, I have screencaps from that episode. It's sexy. :nod-nod:
Shinnyu Kudzu: Ah, coffee, how I love thee...let me count the ways.
Inverse-chan: :broods: XD Glad you like.
please keep up the lovely reviews...
