Target: Destiny
Chapter Four
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A/N: Just a quick thank-you to all of you reviewers who have been with me a long time, from Target: You up until now. You know who you are. Seriously, thanks so much!
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Two weeks had passed, and no more secret admirer gifts had arrived for Anzu. Bakura was finally beginning to come away from his foul mood. Anzu did not seem to care whether or not she had a secret admirer, but she had found it rather amusing seeing Bakura so jealous. He wasn't even so angry when Yuugi shamelessly flirted with her. Anzu mused that she probably would not have found it half as funny if it had been Bakura with the secret admirer.
The entire palace was in an uproar for the princess's eighth birthday which was in a few days time. Ryoko wanted a large party with hundreds of people, but Bakura and Anzu finally talked her into a smaller gathering with their closer family friends and a few select diplomats from other planetsin total, about one hundred people, half of which were children, obviously.
To tend to preparations, the king and queen had left their children in the capable hands of their nursemaids for the past few days.
"Prince Bakura, please stop running!" a robust, older woman with dark blonde hair and shiny green eyes pleaded. The three-year-old continued his full-speed run through the palace corridors, rounding corners at a skid.
"Noo! No bath!" he wailed. His nursemaid sighed and leaned against the wall for a short break. She wiped her forearm across her face and promised herself she would start exercising; the little prince was simply a bundle of energy especially at bathtime.
A shrill scream resounded from the next corridor over. After her heart had firmly lodged itself in her throat, the nursemaid took off at a run again. She rounded the corner into the next corridor to find the prince flat on his behind, staring up at a man and woman.
The woman bent down to help the little boy up. "Are you okay, Baku?" She turned her attention to the man next to her. "Be careful where you pop in at, you dimwit!"
"I'm sorry, Baku!" the man apologized sheepishly.
The nursemaid swiftly approached the pair and took Baku into her arms. "Excuse me, but just who are you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Aunt Mai and Uncle Jou!" Baku responded in an obvious tone.
His nursemaid looked unappeased. A pop sounded and Yuugi appeared from thin air. He pocketed his ITD (instantaneous teleportation device) and straightened out his cape. He looked around at his comrades, Baku, and the nursemaid.
"Why so quiet?" he wondered. Baku glared up at the Earthling prince, having inherited a dislike for the man from his father (although as a toddler, he, of course, had no idea why his father didn't like the other man).
"Prince Yuugi," the nursemaid bobbed a curtsy, "are these people with you?"
Yuugi nervously looked at Mai and Jounouchi again. "Considering the long faces, I'm afraid to say yes."
The nursemaid seemed a bit relieved and nodded. "Excuse me then." She took hold of her charge's hand. "Come along for your bath, Prince Bakura!"
The toddler immediately started kicking and screaming. "No! Aunt Mai!" he cried, reaching out with his pudgy, little arms.
The blonde Earthling smiled sympathetically. "I'll see you after your bath, honey."
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"Ow!"
"Princess Ryoko," the seamstress chided, "if you would stop wiggling, you wouldn't get poked."
The little brunette crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. "Well, you stand up here for two hours without a potty break and let me tell you to stop wiggling!"
The seamstress rolled her eyes with a sigh and continued her prodding and pinning. She needed to get started on the princess's ball gown as soon as possible. She had other orders due by the same night as it was. She loved the business she received when an important gathering was scheduled, but she realized she wouldn't sleep until it was over.
"Okay," she finally said. "You're done."
"Woohoo!" Ryoko exclaimed, jumping down from the table.
"Lady Kaze?" the seamstress inquired, looking over at the waiting area of her studio. "You're next."
A young girl with ivory locks trailing to the back of her knees stood from her chair. Her icy blue eyes sparkled while her mouth formed a pout. "Aw, I don't wanna wear a dress!"
Her father pushed her over to the seamstress with a stern look on his face. "You're wearing one, and that's final!"
"But you'll look pretty in a dress!" Ryoko told her from her place in the doorway. Kaze turned and looked at her in surprise.
"Thank you, your highness," she replied quietly although she still did not want to wear something as girly as a gown. She could hardly fight in such constricting attire!
"Princess Ryoko!" a woman called, peeking her head into the room. "Are you done yet?"
The girl bobbed her head happily and ran out of the room, telling her nursemaid that she needed a potty break, and quick!
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"Lord Malik," Careen said politely, "I really just don't have time for you right now." She smiled sweetly before turning away to continue reading the fashion magazine resting across her lap.
"You're reading a magazine!" Malik replied, a bit offended yet amused at the same time. She looked up at him over her shoulder.
"Yes, but it is interesting."
He raised a brow and plucked the magazine from her hands, curious to see what was keeping the little minx from helping him polish his guns; after all, he thought gun-polishing was very fun indeed! He thumbed the page as his shoulders shook with silent laughter.
"'The female body: not a temple in the twenty-seventh century.' Eh?" He dropped the magazine back into her lap. "Whatever happened to the wanton woman who had never even heard of the word 'feminism?'"
"She put up with too much crap from men." She giggled and pointed at the opposite page of the feminist article. She winked, saying, "But actually, I was reading 'Make him wonder about your true feelings.'"
Malik rolled his eyes and shook his head. He stiffened when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He craned his neck to see who was behind him. An eager looking Bakura was smiling sinisterly at him; he cringed.
"Ah, Bakura! I was just looking for you!" Malik exclaimed anxiously. At Careen's skeptical glance, the blond man shook his head. "No, I wasn't. I've been avoiding you."
Bakura laughed and looked confused. "Avoiding me? Well, I want to know if you found out what I asked you. It's been two weeks!"
Malik cringed again, clearly not wanting to reveal what he had found out. When Bakura and Malik glanced at Careen at least five times each, she rose from her seat. "I just remembered I have some completely irrelevant something or other I have to do."
After Careen had left the room, Bakura rounded on his cousin. "Well?"
"Well, what?" Malik asked innocently.
"The gifts. Where." It wasn't a request.
"Now, Bakura, I want you to know that just because the flowers only grow on one planet, and this same planet just so happens to have a 'Cynthia's Bridal Wear' does not mean a thing," Malik told him purposefully. When Bakura's glare increased, Malik shrank back.
He coughed, "Bleherthig."
"I didn't quite catch that," Bakura ground out. He clamped a hand down onto his cousin's shoulder roughly. Malik sighed, resigned. There was simply nothing for it; Bakura would find out one way or another.
"Earth."
Malik waited for the shouts and curses that were sure to come. When the Bakurian king merely turned around and walked out of the sunroom without a word, Malik was mystified and little more than nervous. After a moment of contemplation, he chased after his cousin.
Malik followed Bakura directly to the royal quarters where he stormed inside and was obviously not surprised to see Yuugi, Jounouchi, and Mai sitting in the main sitting room with his wife and two children. Malik stopped just inside the doorway warily. He did not like the look in Bakura's eyes.
Bakura swiftly approached Yuugi, not sparing anyone else a single look. He grabbed the Earth prince by the collar and hauled him off the couch and onto his feet.
"Bakura!" Anzu cried in shock, rising to her own feet.
"The cute little flowers and necklace I can tolerate, but a fucking wedding dress? You must be insane," Bakura hissed, a mere inch away from Yuugi's face. The younger man stared in astonishment.
"What the..." he trailed off, speechless. "What the hell are you talking about, Bakura?" he spat, pushing away from Bakura.
"Are you out of your mind?" Jounouchi shouted, coming to the defense of his friend. Bakura pointed a finger at him without looking in his direction.
"You, shut up." Jounouchi promptly closed his mouth when the Bakurian king's hand moved to rest atop the gun at his hip.
"Anzu," Bakura started, still glaring hatefully at Yuugi who returned the stare full-force, "your dear friend here has been the one sending you the psycho-gifts."
Anzu's eyes widened, and she looked at Yuugi in shock, almost in a daze. Her former fiancee glanced at her before returning his attention to rival. "I don't have any clue what you're talking about," he responded through clenched teeth.
"You can lie your way out of this, but one day you'll push me too far," Bakura told him quietly. "And when that day comes, you'd better watch your back because my sword will be stabbed through it."
Anzu gasped. "Bakura!" she yelled in horrified shock. She could do little more than stare at her husband open-mouthed while Yuugi stiffly exited the room, hesitantly followed by his two Earthling companions.
"I'll visit later," Mai whispered, looking fearfully from Bakura to Yuugi. She hurried out of the room after Jounouchi. Malik watched them leave before turning toward Anzu and Bakura who were still standing between the two couches, staring wordlessly at each other. Ryoko had a hand clamped over her younger brother's mouth to keep him from asking what was going on in his childish innocence; he was still trying to pry the hand off.
Malik slowly padded over to his cousin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bakura, be careful. You have no proof, and we need their technology."
Bakura's eyes darted to Malik briefly, but otherwise showed no sign of acknowledgment to his cousin's warning. He realized his temper had once again gotten the better of him when he looked into his wife's enormous, blue eyes. "Anzu," he started, reaching a hand out to her. She backed away.
"Malik, please," she said, swatting her hand behind her in motion to the children. He understood and took Ryoko and Baku into the next room.
"You threatened my dear friend's life!" Anzu yelled once she was alone with Bakura.
"Don't yell," he said softly, trying to soothe her. "It's bad for the baby."
"What would be bad for the baby is if I beat the living hell out of you, and I assure you, that is the only thing stopping me!" she shot back vehemently. That got him angry.
"He is treading on dangerous waters, Anzu!" the king spat heatedly.
"You don't have any proof!"
Bakura shook his head. "I don't have it etched in stone, but close enough. He was your fiance, for God's sake! You almost married him!"
Anzu's features softened slightly. In her shock and anger, she had not realized that Yuugi's actions and her defense of them were slowly making her husband wary of their relationship. She replied, "I almost married him, but I did marry you." She stepped up to him and wrapped her slender arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. He rested his chin on the top of her head.
Although no more words were exchanged about the incident, it was obviously not resoved.
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Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Not too much going on in this one though.