Target: Destiny
Chapter Three
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Bakura rubbed his sore shoulder while he glared at Anzu. She lowered her hand to her side after its assault on her husband. Planting her other hand on her hip, she raised a brow at him and tapped her foot irritably.
"Were you going to take credit for this one, too, you sly jackass?" she demanded, holding up the golden chain with a single sapphire dangling from it.
Anzu had received another gift from her secret admirer, this one quite a bit more expensive than the last from what Bakura could tell although he would admit his jewelery knowledge was limited. He had truly had no intention of claiming this gift like he did the flowers, but Anzu had come upon him before he could bring it to her. After receiving a second gift, she came to the correct conclusion that she had an admirer, and the flowers from a few days before were not from Bakura.
"No, I wasn't. And don't hit me, damn you!" he replied tersely. She raised her hand and smacked him across the shoulder again.
"Anzu!" he bellowed heatedly.
She pivoted on her heel and stormed into the bedroom, locking the door behind her. Bakura glanced at the clock which read ten-forty o'clock at night. He stared back at the daunting bedroom door.
"You can't mean to make me stay out here all night!" he said incredulously. After a few moments of silence, he banged on the door. He really did not want to walk back to his office to get his key. She had never locked him out of his own bedroom before!
"Come on. Let me in there with you, Angel," he requested smoothly, throwing in his pet name for her for extra measure. He purred, "You'll be lonely without me."
Her response was to open the door and throw his pillow at him before closing and locking it again. The pillow smacked Bakura in the face before dropping to the floor to reveal his shocked features. His chocolate eyes narrowed.
"I am going get my key, and you'll regret this when I do!" he told her angrily.
"I have your key!" she yelled back with a 'hmph.'
"What!" he demanded. He let out a growl of frustration before snatching up the pillow and stomping over to the couch. He kicked at the button on its side to extend it into a bed and flopped down onto it. He yanked the throw blanket off the back of the couch and threw it haphazardly over himself. With gritted teeth, he fell asleep.
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Tifah entered the main sitting room early the next morning to lay out the queen and princess's wardrobes for the day. She was startled to find the queen curled up into the king's side on the extended couch-bed. Both Bakura and Anzu awoke at the sound of the servant's gasp.
"Your majesties! I'm so sorry!" she apologized quickly, hiding her blush with her hands.
"No, it's all right," Anzu replied sleepily and stretched. Bakura looked down the length of his bare chest at her and lifted a brow.
"I told you you'd be lonely," he pointed out smugly. She 'accidently' elbowed him as she sat up on the couch-bed. Tifah helped her change out of her nightgown and into a daydress before taking it to the bathroom.
"Is today court day?" Anzu wondered aloud. Bakura nodded as he, too, sat up.
"Yeah. We have to listen to bullshit problems from commoners," he groaned. She just looked at him.
"You have no clue how arrogant you sound."
He shrugged. "No, I'm perfectly aware."
She rolled her eyes and left the sitting room to wake up their children.
Walking into Ryoko's room, she found the seven-year-old reading a fashion magazine and trying to apply lipstick; it was smeared across one cheek. She shook her head bemusedly. Ryoko would be eight in a month, but Anzu didn't ever remember being interested in make-up until she was thirteen or fourteen, and even then, she preferred not to use it in her tomboyish ways.
She exited the room and crossed the hall to Baku's bedroom. He was still sound asleep in bed. His head and one arm were dangling off one side of the bed, and his legs were hanging off the other edge. She laughed quietly to herself and crossed the room to his bed. She sat down next to him and brushed his hair off of his pale face.
He slowly cracked open an eyelid, his large blue orb peeking out from underneath. When he realized who had awakened him, he rolled over onto his side, taking the pillow with him and placed it over his head. "I don't wanna get up, momma," he complained, muffled.
Resting on the part of the bed where his pillow laid was a small picture. Anzu picked it up and examined it. She recognized the girl in the picture to be the six-year-old daughter of a count and countess. She rolled her eyes and replaced the picture, mumbling, "Oh, brother." Baku had completely skipped the 'cooties' stage. She could only imagine what a womanizer her son would be once he reached puberty.
"Fine, sleep a little longer. I'll have your maid wake you up in an hour," she told him before pushing off of the bed and leaving the room.
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"Well, we'll certainly look into the matter and get back to you soon," Anzu promised with a gentle smile.
"Thank you, your majesties! Here is a dukryo for your table," an old man said gratefully while holding out a basket with a roasted bird in it. Reclined on his throne, Bakura stared at the basket in disdain while a servant stepped forward to take it from the man's hands.
"If I get one more bloody dukryo for my table, I swear I'll"
Anzu elbowed Bakura as a warning.
"be rendered speechless from the sheer joy of receiving seventeen birds in one day!" he finished with a cheeky, forced smile.
The old man beamed. "I'm glad you like it! I'll bring two next time!"
Bakura gritted his teeth and stretched his smile even wider. "You do that."
After the old man had left the throne room, a soldier entered from a side door with a basket in hand. Bakura glanced over and groaned.
"I swear I'm going to become a vegetarian like Malik!" he complained and crossed his arms over his chest in what suspiciously resembled a pout.
"It is not a bird, my king," the soldier corrected as he bowed before the thrones. This seemed to put a spark of interest in Bakura's eyes. He sat up from his slouching position on his throne and held out a hand.
"Well, pass it over then," he said. The soldier hesitated.
"Actually, your majesty, it is for my queen," the young silver-haired man replied while glancing at Anzu uncertainly. She clapped her hands together eagerly.
"For me? Let's see what it is!" she exclaimed as she pushed herself off of the throne. She accepted the proferred wickered basket from the man and flipped open the lid. She clutched the fabric in shock, paying no heed to the basket as it fell to the floor with a soft thump. She unfolded the dress and held it up by its sleeves.
Bakura swiftly stood from his throne with a furious glint in his eyes. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked lowly. Anzu gulped nervously.
"A wedding dress," she confirmed. He snatched it from her hands and read the tag that was still on it. 'Cynthia's Bridal Wear.'
"Who the fuck is sending my wife a wedding dress?" Bakura growled. He wadded up the beautiful ivory gown and threw it down at the basket which he had just crushed with his black, polished boot. A few nobles stopped their idle gossip to see what was going on.
"Bakura, don't be rash," Anzu chided in a whisper. She glanced around to see who was watching the scene.
He ignored her. "These little gifts are getting out of hand. You're my woman, and I won't stand for someone trying to woo you!"
Anzu carefully squatted down to retrieve the dress. She refused his hand when he tried to help her back up. Holding the crumpled dress to her chest, she hissed, "You're being ridiculous." At his skeptical look, she continued, "They're harmless gifts!"
"You've gotten three in the past forty-eight hours!" Bakura exploded. With that, he stormed out of the throne room, leaving a bewildered Anzu to look after him.
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Malik looked up from some military applications as his door was slammed open by his cousin. He calmly plugged his ears, and Bakura re-slammed the door shut. Carefully folding his hands in his lap, Malik tilted his head curiously.
"Is Yuugi back?" he guessed. Bakura glanced up at him briefly before continuing hs pacing across Malik's personal office. The blond reached into a desk cabinet and pulled out of a bottle of vodka. He tossed it at Bakura's back, and the king reached behind his head to catch the bottle before it smashed into his head.
He popped off the cap and downed a third of the bottle before slamming it down on the desk. His chocolate eyes sparkled furiously.
"Care to talk about it?" Malik inquired.
Bakura whirled around and sat down on the desk, facing away. "She got a bloody wedding dress from that asshole!"
Malik did not need to ask who 'she' and 'that asshole' were. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk.
"This would be the third gift, would it not?" he asked softly.
Bakura looked at him over his shoulder. "How did you know about the second one?" He had not seen his cousin at all that day, and so had not informed him about the sapphire necklace.
"Oh, Careen," Malik answered. Bakura looked away again and shook his head.
"I know it's stupid to be jealous over some nameless admirer, but he sent her a wedding dress for crying out loud!"
Malik stood from his seat and circled the desk to stand in front of his cousin. He shoved his dark hands into his lighter pants.
"Let's find the bastard, behead him, and hang his headless corpse by his testicles from your bedroom window, so that all may know who's the man," Malik suggested seriously. Bakura gawked at his cousin in shock before letting a small chuckle escape his pale lips.
"I'm not in the mood to laugh, Malik," Bakura said ruefully.
"Actually, I was quite serious, but if you think that's a bit extreme, we can leave his head attached to his body."
"I would like to know who this admirer is, so I can have a few words with the brave son of a bitch," Bakura mused. He looked at Malik again. "Would you find out which planet grows blue roses and has a store called 'Cynthia's Bridal Wear'?"
The blond nodded. "Surely."
Bakura hopped off the desk, feeling a bit better about the situation since he would soon find out whose face to bash in. He even managed a whistle as he strolled from the office.
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I expect this story to be pretty short, only about ten chapters. Myself, along with another talented writer, have other stories planned (and partially written) to follow after this one. It's funny; I only expected to write Target: You. Now, there will probably be at least five or six stories in this 'saga.' XD Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter!