Disclaimer: I'm seriously pondering if I could come with a good excuse for this thing in the future...But for now, you'll just have to be satisfied with an old fashioned 'I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh' disclaimer...
A/N
Ehh...falling behind with the updates again...yes, yes – I know. Please, forgive my posting hiatus...had some personal problems and all, and I still have them but I thought writing another chapter might cheer me up a bit and direct my thoughts away from the current situation. I hope you still like this story and thank you for your support and reviews.
The legend of the Three souls
Chapter XII – Meet the thief
-by Alena S. Anigor
***
People were roaming down the dusty streets, some of them carrying wooden baskets on their heads and some of them dragging little wheels behind them, crammed full with vegetables and other groceries. Women were strolling down the streets, various veils covering their faces from exposure. The only natural source of light and energy was starting to set slowly on the horizon, painting the sky with warm, reddish colors and making the sand glisten on the street.
Tea could see that it was getting dark; judging by the light coming from the small window on the muddy wall and by the way the sky looked like. She presumed it was about seven, eight o' clock in the afternoon and that the night would come soon, and with the night, the thief would also come back and demand from her to follow his ludicrous plan.
She sighed, plopping down onto the cold ground and tightening the blanket around her, trying to find some sort of comfort in it. It didn't matter if the blanket was dirty and torn, as long as it enveloped her and gave her the feeling of someone embracing her, she was feeling content. She was thinking for a while about her current situation, until she let her thoughts wander in other direction...She started thinking about the simplest things that awaited her at home: her house, although lacking other members, but warm and safe...her friends from the college, Mai knocking on her door every day to take her on the ride to the city so they could chat about cute guys...Yuugi, with his face always hidden behind the book about ancient Egypt...
She smiled involuntarily; it was him who introduced her to the ancient Egyptian mythology in the first place, and she was surprised by just how much she got interested in it...
She clutched the reddish blanket tighter around her shoulders when she blinked and the pleasant memories faded away like a beautiful dream. Yuugi was now God knows where, and she wasn't sure if Mai was still with him...and she didn't know for sure if they were looking for her, if they notified anyone about her disappearance. She even missed old grandpa Mutou who would always cause a mess everywhere he would show up...
Now, she wondered if they were really trying to find her or they forgot all about her completely and flied back home, leaving her to rot in the muddy shed, with no water, no food and with a dangerous individual as Bakura.
She let out a sniffle, fighting against the tears that started to threaten to fall, but she didn't want to cry again, and she wiped her eyes angrily, staring sharply at the wall opposite of her. She could see the tiny ray of sunlight that crept trough the small window and she concentrated on the specks of dust flying trough it in order to stop thinking about her friends and how could they all be together now, laughing and making jokes...
She redirected her gaze towards the window to barely see a bird flying by. The sky was now turning into a darker shade of purple and she sighed, taking a deep breath as her chest heaved slightly. She dragged her knees up to her face, enveloping them with her hands and resting her chin on them, observing the sky with a mixture of sadness and longing. She wanted so desperately to get out, to take a breath of fresh air, instead of being trapped in this shed like a bird in a cage.
Tea smiled bitterly; she would breath the air all right when the thief comes back. She remembered his words about letting her go if she followed his plan precisely. She thought for a moment what kind of plan would that turn out to be, because she had a wary feeling about the whole thing.
Just when she was about let out another tortured sigh again, she heard a ruffling sound coming from outside and she quickly stood up, backing up against the opposite corner just in case. When the doors creaked open and Bakura stepped in, her shoulders slumped in relief, her demeanor becoming more relaxed. He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, before he closed the doors and let the wooden chunk fall over them again. The shed was becoming darker by a minute and Tea couldn't see his face clearly; she could only see his slender figure moving around the shed hastily.
When he turned around to look at her, she was trying to see his expression but he was consumed by shadows and she couldn't define a thing on his face. When he approached her however, and grabbed her by the hand, she jerked slightly out of a reflex before he pulled her closer to him. Now, she could see his face very well, and she almost regretted it.
Bakura's eyes were hard and cold, a spark of malice glistening in them and Tea suddenly felt vulnerable and helpless. The fear that crept slowly up her throat was there as well, making the whole situation even worse. She started to shiver slightly, but the thief didn't seem to notice.
Bakura could see the scared expression on her face and almost smirked but decided to stay composed and controlled. In some bizarre way, the look of fright in someone's eyes made him feel superior and made him feel some kind of inner satisfaction that he managed to cause that fear.
The girl was watching him intently, and he could feel a slight tremor surging trough her hand but he ignored it. In the past few hours, he had been strolling down the street, thinking madly about the plan and about the bust, and now, when he had finally managed to come up with one, he could feel a triumphing sensation overwhelming him. The girl would be used as a distraction, and while her buddies would be occupied by her appearance, he would have enough time to sneak into that room and take the bust. The girl would have to play her role perfectly, of course, but he'd make sure of that.
"Now, listen," he said slowly, his voice cold and demanding, "I have come up with a plan, and you will follow it, if you want to see your friends again...understood?"
Tea was staring at him, trying to comprehend the words he was saying, but his eyes captivated her, dark and ominous, making her feel slightly woozy. When his eyes narrowed slightly, she snapped out of her daze, and nodded sharply.
"I understand."
Bakura allowed himself to smirk this time and made Tea gulp. She wasn't sure what was happening to her, but what ever it was, it had something to do with a thief in front of her, and she smacked herself mentally for even allowing herself to let her emotions take over her. Instead, she placed a cool mask on her face, and decided to suppress the sudden awkward feelings that started to make her feel confused and lost. The thief was dangerous, she reminded herself and placing that thought as her main priority, she dared to look at him again to see him looking at her intently.
Bakura was slightly puzzled now; the girl's expression turned from frightened into a calm one, and he was once again left baffled by her changes in behavior. He dismissed the thoughts quickly after that and leaned down to meet her face.
"Now," he almost whispered, making Tea squirm slightly, "listen carefully."
***
The afternoon in the museum passed rather slowly for their current visitors.
While Kaiba was still rather hesitant to stay or to leave the museum, others decided to spend their time by strolling down the corridors and observing the exhibited artifacts. Serenity was fascinated the most by one giant mummy that was lying on a wooden table, protected and shielded by a glass window. Beneath the mummy was a little tag, saying that the mummy was fond near the ancient pyramids. It was brown, almost black, the skeleton lying steadily on the table. The hands of the mummy were lying on his chest, crossed one over another. The expression was somewhat frightening, since the skull looked quite creepy to the younger Wheeler.
Joey and Tristan were debating whether the mummy was a male or a female, before Ishizu approached them, and cleared the situation out, pointing at the skeleton and explaining that the bone structure indicated that the mummy was a male.
Mai stayed in the main hall, trying to persuade Shadi to give her more information about Tea's whereabouts until she gave up, getting tired of his 'you shall see tonight' replies. In the end, she tried to lure him into giving her an interview, which he politely declined. Yuugi was the only one who was the most troubled by the whole situation and was becoming anxious. He couldn't wait till the evening when, as Shadi told him, some things would become clearer to him and the rest of them. He brushed a few bangs from his forehead absentmindedly and was just about to turn behind a corner when he bumped into something solid and hard. When he opened his eyes, rubbing his sore nose, he had to raise his head a bit to see an annoyed expression on Seto Kaiba's face. He greeted him with a half – glare, obviously still thinking that the whole Soul thing was a hoax.
"Oh, Kaiba, uhm...hi," Yuugi mumbled, slightly apprehensive of the young man in front of him. Kaiba crossed his hands and wanted to stroll down the hall past him, when Yuugi suddenly found himself asking him something he just needed to ask.
"What did you see?"
Kaiba stopped in mid track, his demeanor becoming rigid and almost threatening. He slowly turned his head around to look at the smaller young man behind him. Yuugi's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, surprised by his own boldness. Kaiba's eyes narrowed and before Yuugi could say anything, Kaiba threw him a real glare this time and started walking again.
"None of your business."
Yuugi was left with mouth slightly agape, and his shoulders sagged in relief. As much as he wanted to think otherwise, the CEO was simply intimidating sometimes and he wondered briefly, what made him the way he was today.
He turned around, not in the mood to look at the artifacts anymore. He realized after a moment of observing the place around him that he already passed trough that hall at least a couple of times but hadn't noticed that. With a shake of his head, he decided to head towards the main hall. Glancing at his watch, he sighed when he saw that it was past ten and he started feeling anxious again, his stomach tying into knots from the anticipation of the third Soul.
"Oh, come on! Just one word!" Mai was pleading, intertwining her fingers to beg Shadi to spill out some information. The man with a turban simply smiled and calmly shook his head no. Mai frowned, growling under her breath before Serenity interrupted her fruitless attempts to find anything about Tea.
Joey and Tristan followed close behind, the looks of boredom and irritation evident on their faces. Ishizu came out behind the curtain of the hall, carrying a wooden box in her hands.
Mai pointed at her with raised eyebrows.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Ishizu glanced at the box in her hands then nodded. Mai frowned and the guides looked at her oddly.
"What is in it?" Tristan asked, eyeing the box suspiciously.
"The bust of the Second Soul," she replied, putting the box carefully on the table where Shadi was sitting at. She looked at him for a moment, as if asking him for permission, before she reached into her pocket and drew out a small key. Putting the key into the lock, it made a clicking sound before the box opened slightly and she pulled the wooden doors open, taking the bust in her hands. She observed it for a while before putting it cautiously onto the table. Silence followed after that in which everyone stared at the little bust of a man with a scarab embedded into the crown he was wearing.
Somewhere in that time, Yuugi entered the hall, and took his position near Tristan to look at the cause of all their problems. He would never mention that out loud but he almost felt a strange bitterness when looking at the clay - like bust.
When Kaiba entered the hall shortly after that, Shadi fixed his sharp gaze onto him, and taking the bust in his hands, he motioned him to join them. Kaiba, with his hands crossed and wearing his trade - mark glare, reluctantly approached them and would've glared at them all for the rest of the evening if there wasn't for the little thing in Shadi's hands.
Kaiba's eyes widened slightly when he noticed the bust resting in his hands. Almost involuntarily, his hand stretched out, reaching for it as while everyone else gaped at him. Something similar to a smirk was playing on Shadi's lips when he noticed his reaction.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" He asked him and Kaiba snapped out of what seemed a trance to look at him, perplexed and confused.
"What?" he asked him, reverting his eyes from the captivating piece of clay in the Prophet's hands. Shadi was still smiling peacefully and raised the bust slightly in the air to put it back onto the table. Kaiba lowered his hand back to his side again quickly.
"It is..." he started, observing his facial expression carefully, "you in a way, Seto Kaiba."
After that said, another moment of mute silence shrouded the hall again in which everyone stared at Shadi then at Kaiba in wonder.
"Heh?" Joey was the first to recover and now he had a funny looking grimace on his face that was a mixture of disbelief and confusion. Shadi closed his eyes then decided to explain it.
"I told you that the three ancient Gods sealed the souls of those who summoned them into three busts...each representing the God who was summoned," Shadi spoke calmly, his eyes resting on the bust now. "My belief is that it is Seto Kaiba's soul that is resting in this bust...you," he looked at Kaiba now, "are the one who summoned the God of underworld, Osiris and he was the one who sealed your soul into this bust then...I would say that, that was the main reason why you had and still have an odd inclination towards this bust that you can't explain?"
Those gathered around the table, with an exception of Kaiba and Shadi, were looking at Shadi then at Kaiba, following the conversation like a tennis match, expecting the CEO's next move.
Kaiba was still for a while, staring blankly at the bust, and Joey had to shake a hand in front of his face to make him snap out of his daze. When he finally regained his composure, he snorted to everyone's surprise and developed a strange mixture of a glare and a smirk resting on his face.
"Are you saying that my soul is in that piece of mud?"
Shadi nodded. Kaiba let out a chuckle while others gaped at them.
"You are really out of your mind," he replied, crossing his hands again and actually seeming amused by the whole explanation, "if my soul was really in that bust, how can I live then? As much as I know about the mythology, no one can live without a soul." He finished, his expression challenging Shadi to prove otherwise.
Shadi only smiled his usual calm smile and looked at him again.
"I know that no one can live without a soul, Seto Kaiba, but...if I say that a piece of your soul still lives in it?" he replied; now daring Kaiba to come up with an adequate counter attack.
Kaiba frowned, his amused expression replaced by a confused frown. "What?"
"You see...your souls were reincarnated trough out the centuries and millenniums, but a part of you still lives in this bust, Seto Kaiba. It is the main reason why you wanted to buy it, and still is the main reason why you still want to posses it," Shadi said coolly, crossing his fingers. "A piece of you is still locked in this bust...and you can feel it."
Ishizu and Yuugi were watching them with open mouth, while the others didn't comprehend a thing now and lost every bit of track they had on the story.
"I don't get it," Joey commented, eyeing the bust and then Kaiba, his face revealing utter confusion, "you're saying that it's Kaiba who's in there?"
Shadi nodded and smiled. "But not quite...the main part of him and the crucial part of him is standing right here," he added and stretched his palm to show Kaiba whose face was now unreadable. Joey let out a silent 'oh' before glancing at Tristan who shrugged, also clueless.
"And what's with the bug on that crown?" Mai asked, now seeming interested in the whole thing. Ishizu explained instead of Shadi who closed his eyes now again.
"It represents the sacred animal of Osiris, a scarab," she said and Mai nodded thoughtfully. Joey, however snickered, satisfied that he found a way to get back at the arrogant CEO.
"Kaiba is an ugly bug," he stated happily on which Kaiba threw him a death glare.
"Be careful Joey," Yuugi jumped in, smiling slightly, "Osiris was one of the most powerful Gods in Egyptian mythology." The smile vanished from Joey's face and was now replaced by wariness.
Ishizu wanted to say that Yuugi was right and that Osiris was truly powerful but she halted when she noticed Shadi looking at his watch. When he got up abruptly, everyone around the table silenced and sent him questioning gazes.
Shadi smiled politely and raised his hand in the air to calm them all down.
"Don't worry, I'll be right back." With that, he abandoned the hall and disappeared behind the curtain, leaving a stunned group of people behind.
"That man is simply weird," was Joey's statement when he was sure the Prophet left. Tristan nodded in agreement while Serenity wasn't sure what to think of him since she didn't really get a chance to meet him better. Mai sighed and patted her stomach dejectedly, still wishing she could order a jumbo size pizza and have a decent dinner. The only thing she managed to get between her teeth today was a strange meal Joey brought from a nearby store that she barely managed to swallow.
Yuugi was thoughtful for a while, wondering where Shadi went and why he decided to leave them all just like that. Kaiba was staring straight ahead, refusing to look at the bust; afraid that the one more look could trigger the visions he experienced that morning. The last thing he needed right now was an immense headache, and his mind full of weird and peculiar images.
When Ishizu wanted to suggest that they should all go and check out where Shadi disappeared, they heard a tremendous noise coming from somewhere behind the curtain and down the corridor. They were standing still and frozen, listening carefully to the amount of racket from the nearby. Tristan wanted to run and see what happened, but when voices filled the corridor now, becoming comprehensible and clear he stopped in his tracks and opened his mouth in wonder.
The loud and angry voice was nearing them all, and they were already prepared to run in case the cloaked creatures came back but when they heard Shadi's voice as well, they calmed down a bit.
The voices were quite audible now, although not quite understandable. The amount of ruckus from the other side of the curtain indicated that the person who was with Shadi was definitely trying to offer some kind of resistance, although it was clear to everyone that if Shadi could handle a herd of cloaked monsters, then he could as well handle the person with whom he was now.
They were slightly surprised when they heard another muffled voice approaching them, and the anticipation was killing them. Just when Tristan was ready to act and run towards the curtains, someone else decided to seize the moment to use it. There was a startled yelp heard behind the curtain and Tristan stopped but it was too late. He suddenly found himself on the floor with someone lying on top of him. He could hear gasps all around him and when he opened his eyes to look at the person who made his kidneys turn upside down, he gasped as well and then blinked.
"Tea?"
"Tristan!" she choked out and hugged him so tightly that he thought kidneys weren't his only problem. She smiled happily, and then seeing others looking at her perplexed, quickly scurried off Tristan and hugged the closest person to her, which happened to be Ishizu who yelped then stared at the brown haired girl who embraced her tightly. Yuugi and Mai were speechless, their faces totally blank and bare of any emotion besides shock. Joey gaped at her while Serenity pulled at his sleeve and asked him who that girl was. Kaiba was the only one who stayed neutral, glaring at the wall silently.
"Yuugi, Mai!" Tea exclaimed when she spotted her two best friends and hugged them with equal ferocity. Tristan was just about to get up when Shadi suddenly appeared behind the curtain, pushing a young man in front of him and holding his hands tightly behind his back.
Tristan and everyone else blinked at the man's appearance. He was wearing black cotton pants, a dark, long shirt that was hanging loosely down his pants and his white, spiky and ruffled hair was currently spread all around his shoulders, a pair of angry and furious dark eyes glaring death at everyone in the hall.
Shadi was the only one who was holding his usual composed facial expression, while trying to hold the young man still. Then he looked at everyone else, including Tea, who had an almost pleading expression on her face and smiled slightly.
Putting Bakura down on the floor of the hall roughly but still not letting him loose, he fixed his turban. Bakura was jerking like a wild animal, screaming something in language that was not understandable to Tea, Yuugi, Kaiba and Mai, although everyone else exchanged awkward glances.
Shadi scanned the hall one more time before making the introduction.
"Everyone," he said nonchalantly, as if introducing an old friend, "this is Bakura, the third Soul."
