Disclaimer: Hmm...I'm running out of the decent excuses for this thing already...got any ideas? Oh yeah – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.
AN:
Okaaaay...I see that I've managed to confuse some of you now...This is for Ice Ember: No, Seto isn't Amukh...Amukh is someone else...*mysterious gaze* But, I think his identity should be revealed in this chapter, though...^_^ To everyone else: Thanks for your reviews! Oh, and hieiandbotan4ever, (I wrote this right...right?) what is a story without a little suspense? ^_~
The legend of the three souls
Chapter X – Anxiety
-by Alena S. Anigor
-
The night was still chilly just slightly, and the first rays of sun were already evident on the horizon. The usual dark hue of blue was slowly replaced by fiery red and orange, indicating that the dawn was approaching. The desert sand started to glisten under the faint light of the giant star, tiny specks of minerals shining, creating an illusion of the diamonds covering the sandy blanket of the desert.
Everything seemed peaceful and still except for one small part of the desert; the sand suddenly disappearing into the air, creating a faint whirl, and one cloaked figure stepped out of what seemed to be a hole in the sand. It stepped out quickly, covering its face with his skeleton like hand, trying to block the shiny rays. Other figure stepped out after him, but this one looked slightly different. The cloaked figure bowed, however in front of the taller man respectfully. Instead of a cloak covering his body and hood shading his face, the tall man was wearing something very similar to a tunic. The white fabric was hanging loosely around his shoulders, reaching all the way down to his feet. The man seemed to be young, with dark hair and bangs covering his emerald eyes. But his eyes were the most astonishing thing about him – they were sharp and narrowed due to the sun he was forbidden to see for thousands and thousands of years...His skin was still tanned and smooth, his shoulders wide and muscular. He seemed strong and corpulent, and the fact that he was now looking at the desert with eyes wide and full of undistinguished hate and revenge made him look even more intimidating and frightening than he already was. His left hand was occupied by a little clay statue, a bust with a head of a falcon, and with a circle, presenting sun on its crown. The ancient First Soul – the bust of Horus.
After he scanned the desert with his penetrating gaze, he lowered his head to look at the bust, already feeling the immense power radiating from it. The cloaked figure was standing there; his previous minion and servant, now standing and worshiping him again.
"I can feel it," the man murmured, ecstatic laughter filling the, now slightly warmer air around them, "they will not raise again...and I will have the power once again...I will have what belongs to me!"
"Yes, Ancient One," the figure knelt down in front of him, eyeing its master and the bust in his hand, the head of the falcon trapped helplessly between his fingers in a tight grip.
"And then the whole world shall obey me! Once and for all..." He took a deep breath, inhaling the air of the desert, and then frowned. He sensed something strange in the air; he sensed a change he wasn't quite prepared for. He turned to his loyal servant and ordered him to get up. He obeyed, standing up on his feet immediately and bowed.
"Many years have passed...and I have a feeling, you have got to explain me certain things about the world today," he said, emerald eyes narrowing in dislike. The figure bowed again, now becoming slightly agitated already because of the light ball that started shining more brightly now. The taller man looked at him, amused, but ordered him to take them back into the grave again. The cloaked figure nodded with a few words of obedience, and then let his master go first back into the hole where sand was lying just a few minutes ago.
"And tell everyone to start looking for a new place to be," the man added, voice now firm and authoritative, "I am tired of being trapped in my own grave. And with the freedom I posses now...It is time to make something out of it."
With that, the figure jumped in after him, and the hole closed again, sand sliding back into its previous state. The sun was already half visible on the horizon and the silence filled the desert again.
***
The vision was blurry, and Tea had to wipe her eyes for a few times to be able to see clearly. The room she was in looked so familiar and welcoming, but then when her eyes adjusted to the things around her, she realized that her own room and sleeping in her own bed was just a nice dream.
The reality around her was a living nightmare...
She looked around, moaning slightly. Every bone in her body hurt, and her back felt as stiff as the rock. When she wanted to get up, she could hear bones cracking in her neck. Spending the whole night sleeping in the same position was never a good thing, and she knew it, but...there was the thief, sleeping right beside her, and she didn't want to risk the chance of her head falling to the thief's shoulder and have him getting the wrong ideas.
Tea shuddered involuntarily at the thought, wobbling her way up on her feet. The blanket was still around her, and now she felt hot suddenly. She had to close her eyes for a bit to get used to the faint light in the shed. The shiny rays of light were squeezing trough the small window, and Tea looked at her watch. It was past nine and she stiffened a yawn. When she spotted the table, she could only see a candle on it.
The thief was gone, and when she wanted to open the doors to get at least a breath of fresh air, she found the doors unmoving and already imagined the thief sealing her from the outside.
"Figures," she muttered and sighed. Then again, what did she expect? That he would let her walk freely trough the streets?
She let out a tortured sigh and plopped sown on the ground again. When she thought about the previous night, she almost clasped a hand across her mouth. She told herself to stay awake and yet she still fell asleep. Tea shuddered again when she thought what the thief might've done to her during the night. Shaking her head quickly, she repressed the images somewhere back in her subconscious and let out a deep breath.
She was exhausted, tired and hungry...she couldn't even remember when was the last time she had a decent meal...or at least a snack. She wished she could pour herself some milk right now and saturate it with a handful of cereals...
She prayed for the thief to at least bring her something to eat...as long as that something wasn't a rat or something similar to that...
It was silent for a while, and Tea started thinking about everything that happened just a day ago...and just a couple of days ago, she was anxious to finally see Egypt and the pyramids and all the sights...and what happened? She got kidnapped by a thief, and chased down by a group of creepy floating monsters in cloaks...
Tea hid her face in her hands; how she wished that to be just a bad dream...how she wished to wake up in her bed and then take a shower...meet Yuugi and Mai...
A soft noise coming from the outside interrupted her ramblings and startled her. She got up quickly, wrapping the blanket for a moral support around her. The noise was becoming louder and Tea's eyes widened in fear. If the noise was coming from those creatures with cloaks, she was dead. She had nowhere to go and nowhere to run. She backed away from the doors as far as possible and now she was huddled in the corner, opposite of the doors. She doubted she would even have a chance to fight for her life if they would trap her in this shed...if the person out there wasn't Bakura...
The doors creaked open and a mop of white hair shone on the sun for just a second before the doors closed, and the shadows consumed the shed again. Bakura entered the shed hastily, and sealed the doors from the inside this time, the heavy chunk of wood falling across the wooden doors with a thump. Tea sighed in relief, actually happy to see her kidnaper, and without even thinking, she cried out in relief, rushed to the thief who was just about to present her a bag he brought, and hugged him with all her might.
"Oh, thank God it's you!" She exclaimed, holding him tightly, happy that it was him who came back and not the herd of the cloaked monsters.
Bakura was left with raised hand in the air, wanting to say that he had brought her something to eat, but now he was simply left with mouth agape, staring at the girl in shock. He wanted to do something, but he was completely taken aback with the girl's gesture and was completely clueless of what to do. So, he simply gaped at the girl in disbelief.
"I already thought those creepy men came back and..."
A mute and dead silence followed suddenly, in which only flies were heard, zooming outside the shed and around the small room. Tea froze, her whole body stiff and rigid like a statue. It wasn't until now that she realized just what she did, and what kind of foolish thing she just made.
She could feel his breath on her forehead, warm and tickling, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. And on top of it all, she was so close to him that she could sense the muscles clenching underneath his shirt, also stiff and frozen.
Slowly and fearfully, she inched away until she got far enough to see his face that was just a few inches away from hers. She dared to look into his eyes, and swallowed, hard, her eyes wide with fear and shock. Dark, ominous pools were staring back at her, wide and shocked as well.
Bakura couldn't remember the last time when someone hugged him. When he thought about it, he realized that he had never been hugged by anyone in his entire life. And now, this girl locked her hands around his neck and hugged him like he was her best friend...the feeling was intimidating and captivating at the same time. Of course, if someone else had hugged him, he would throw and kick him away immediately, but this...this was something completely different.
Tea opened her mouth to say she was sorry, to apologize a hundred times, to beg for mercy, but somehow she couldn't utter a word. The thief's eyes were more interesting right now and Tea got lost in them. It was now, when she was so close to him that she noticed the dark and mysterious orbs that glistened in the dark, the way his hair fell across his forehead, and the way his skin was smooth and tanned...when she looked at him now, Tea came to the conclusion that the thief was actually quite handsome. Right after that thought she blushed beat red, mentally kicking herself for thinking about him in that way...
As much as Bakura wanted to simply push her away and tell her not to touch him ever again, he couldn't. She was too close not to notice her porcelain like skin, and the way her cheeks were pink, in contrast to her cerulean eyes. Her hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders, dark and silky, and her lips were parted, almost inviting him to...
The bag from his fingers slipped suddenly and fell down to the ground with a thud. Both of them jumped, snapping out of the spell that managed to appear suddenly between them. Tea backed away quickly from him, unclasping her hands from his neck while he leaned down to pick up the brown bag, made of rough fabric.
Tea's face was still flustered, and she wanted desperately to run away somewhere, but unfortunately, that was impossible right now. So, she simply turned her back to the thief, clasping a hand across her face in embarrassment. How that could happen, was beyond her, but...it made her heart flutter for a minute, and that...was not good. She couldn't – he was a thief, and he kidnapped her, and...the only reason he took her was to exchange her life for the bust...
Something sank down to the pit of her stomach and Tea shook her head, telling herself to get real.
Bakura composed himself faster then her, and now he approached the table and put the bag onto it, letting it loose and it opened, three apples rolling out of it.
"Here," he said, snapping her out of her thoughts and she turned to look at him, and barely had the time to catch an apple, aimed at her face. She caught it, observing it for a while, but she was too hungry to think about washing it up now...not that she had a place to wash the apple in the first place.
Bakura snatched his from the table and almost smirked when he saw the girl ravishing the apple. He figured she was hungry, but he didn't think she was that hungry.
Tea enjoyed the sour sweet taste of the apple, almost savoring it. Her expression saddened for a second; she thought briefly about the chance of eating an apple again...then as if on cue, she stopped chewing, and looked at the thief grimly.
"What?" He asked her nonchalantly, but frowned.
"Where did you get this?" She asked him, watching him intently.
Bakura smirked and shrugged. "I stole it, of course."
Tea's suspicions were proven right and now she was staring at him in some kind of astonishment. She just ate a stolen apple...an apple that was stolen from some poor man on the street market, and...she practically became his partner in crime now. Tea let out a strangled choke.
"You stole them?!"
Bakura's eyes narrowed now slightly, and he stopped chewing on his apple. He returned the girl's glare and snorted.
"And what do you think how I'm surviving here, stupid girl?"
Tea was taken aback with his rather mean reply and she frowned now, her eyes blazing with anger and fury. She put the apple on the table, not bothering to eat it anymore...although there wasn't much left anyway. Bakura understood her action and snarled.
"Suit yourself! But don't wail after, demanding something to eat!" He replied back coolly, and snatching the last piece of his prey, he bit into the apple and turned his back to her.
Tea felt a chilly sensation in the pit of her stomach...she couldn't believe that she just ate a stolen apple. But then again, she told herself, what did you expect from a common thief and a fraud...
The sudden feeling sent other repressed emotions back up her throat and she suddenly felt so miserable and pitiful that it made her eyes fill with tears. She forgot just what kind of situation she was in, and now it came back at her again, eating at her from the inside.
She wanted to leave, she wanted to escape and run away...run away from the thief, from the monsters in cloaks, from the museum...she wanted to get on that plane and she wanted to go home...
"I want to go home," she whispered quietly, lowering her head and clenching her fists tightly by her sides. She let one single tear fall down her cheek, and it fell down onto the muddy floor, creating a small dark stain on it.
"I want to go home," she repeated, louder this time as she bit back on a sob, but couldn't entirely repress it. The sob was heard and it made Bakura turn around.
He saw the girl standing in the middle of the shed with lowered head, and a stiff demeanor. He thought he heard her say something, but didn't bother to look. The sob, however, he couldn't ignore.
"What is it now? You regret the apple?" he asked her, mockery evident in his voice.
Tea has had enough. She raised her head sharply, letting her hair jump slightly around her face. The tear streaked face, red eyes full of fury, anger and despair caught the thief off guard.
"I want to go home!"
Her scream echoed slightly trough the shed, and Bakura's eyes widened slightly. She was too loud, and he knew that she was definitely heard if someone passed by the shed near enough.
"Shut up!" He sneered, but that just made her more anxious and angrier.
"No!" She retorted angrily, wiping the tears from her face with her hand, "I will not shut up!"
Bakura growled, gritting his teeth; if she decided to keep it up like that, she could probably wake the dead.
"I hate this! I hate you! I'm sick and tired of this whole thing! I hate it! I hate it! I HATE IT! I want to go HOME!"
Bakura covered his ears in a desperate try to save his hearing. The girl stopped screaming now, but it only got worse – she was crying now freely, sobbing and choking on every word she wanted to say.
"Will you be quiet already?" He snarled, clenching his fists angrily, sick and tired of the girl himself. Tea didn't care; all the anguish, pain and misery were welling up in her for too long, and now, they simply had to get out somehow. And she didn't care if she was crying; she couldn't take it anymore.
Bakura couldn't take it anymore, as well. He retrieved his knife, and was in front of her in a second. The knife was raised in the air as a warning, his eyes narrowed and glistening, his demeanor rigid and dangerous.
"If you want to live, shut up," he sneered, keeping his voice down. Tea's eyes widened for a second, before she hiccupped and raised her head, eyes full of anger and...dare.
"Go ahead! Kill me! I don't want to live! I don't care!"
Her desperate reply surprised him and he was taken aback again...he just didn't understand the girl – first she hugged him, and he actually felt good about it, then she screamed at him and now she wanted to die and she didn't care what happened with her life...
He growled, the sound threatening and deep. He was irritated and annoyed by the girl already and he subscribed her behavior to another annoying thing related to women. He had enough as well, and before she could say anything, he put the knife back into his robes, and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her a few times.
"Now listen!" He hissed, leaning down towards her to glare at her, "I don't care what happens to you. I want the damn bust, and I will get it! And you will help me with the plan!"
Tea was staring at him now, trying to keep her eyes away from his face, and concentrated on the tiny specks of dust, flying trough the ray of sunshine that was casting a beam of light trough the window instead.
"After I get the bust, do whatever you want with your life! Kill yourself for all I care! But until that, you will help me get that bust, and that will be tonight!" He added vehemently, gripping her shoulders tighter, so she almost winced in pain.
"Follow the plan and you'll be free after I get the bust – on that I give you my word...after that, do whatever you want." He finished, breathing deeply and trying to calm his temper. Tea's eyes were shut, another pair of forgotten tears rolling down her, now pale face.
"You're hurting me," she managed to whisper, indicating at the pain in her upper arms where he had a tight grip on her. He frowned now, and loosened his grip slightly on her, but didn't let her go.
"Did you understand?" He asked her, forcing her to look him in the eye. Tea's eyes were almost empty now, the spark of azure gone from them. She nodded mutely, and he let go of her.
"As soon as I'm done with the plan, I'll tell you about it...and you better follow it," with that, he grabbed the brown bag from the table, and went to the doors. He raised the wooden chunk of wood off of them and stepped out. He cast one glance at her before closing the doors behind him. Tea could hear him sealing the doors from the outside.
After she was sure he was gone, she plopped on the ground lifelessly, covering her face within her hands and sobbing softly. She knew she would have to endure the whole thing for the sake of her friends, but somehow...she had a nagging feeling that it won't be that simple...
***
"This is ridiculous!" Seto Kaiba barked and was ready to get up from the table and storm down the hall.
They were all up for the whole night, but Shadi's story and the legend managed to keep everyone awake...they all had large dark circles under their eyes, but that didn't really matter.
"Kaiba, wait!" Yuugi yelled after him, but Shadi was already ready for that. He stood up abruptly, stopping him with a movement of his hand.
"This is about your destiny, and about the future of the world!" He exclaimed, trying to make the impulsive man calm down. Kaiba snorted, and stood up as well.
"It's up to me and me only to decide about my destiny!" He retorted angrily, glaring daggers in Shadi's way. He was ready to leave them all when Shadi spoke again.
"Then you wish to endanger the future of your brother as well?"
Kaiba turned around so swiftly that it looked as if he someone spun him around.
"Don't you DARE involve my brother into this!"
"Your brother is already involved, Seto Kaiba!" Shadi replied, raising his voice for just a bit, "We all are!"
Serenity clasped her hands, and turned to look at the hotheaded CEO.
"Please, Mr. Kaiba," she said softly, begging him to calm down. He didn't look at her, but he stopped with his intentions of leaving for now.
Shadi sighed and sat down again, showing his old chair. "Please, Seto Kaiba, sit down."
Kaiba was standing aside a bit, before he reluctantly sat down again, crossing his arms and glaring at the man with a turban. Serenity sighed in relief, while others were simply watching the whole scene intently.
Silence followed for a few seconds, before Mai broke it, almost wearily.
"So, what do we do now?"
Shadi was looking at Kaiba for a few more seconds, waiting for him to cool down before he redirected his eyes to look at the blond journalist.
"We shall wait," he replied calmly.
Others exchanged curious and confused glances between the two who seemed to be the reincarnations of the ancient Souls and the man who called himself a Prophet.
"Wait? Why?" Tristan asked and Joey and Ishizu leaned forward in anticipation of the answer.
"We shall wait for someone to come tonight," Shadi replied calmly again and almost smiled which made others even more apprehensive.
"For who?" Yuugi asked this time, the curiosity getting the best of him, too.
Shadi smiled this time mysteriously, almost conspiratorially and leaned in his chair, relaxing slightly.
"For the third Soul."
