Thanks for the reviews! Yay, it's summer!
Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! of the song
In the beginning half (yes, this is really long), I use the song La Tortura by Shakira featuring Alejandro. So some parts she sings and some part he sings. I provided English translations, but in my opinion, the song sounds a lot better in Spanish.
Sorry if I drabble throughout this chappie…
Oh yes, almost forgot, La tortura means 'the torture' in Spanish. 'La tortura perderte' means the torture to lose you.
I really didn't mean for it to be this long…I just didn't know where to end...X.X
R&R!
"A damned saint! An honorable villain!
...Was ever a book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound? O, that deceit should dwell
In such a gorgeous palace!"
Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
¡Ay payita mía
Guárdate la poesía
Guárdate la alegría pa'ti!
Oh my querida,
Guard your poetry,
Keep all your happiness for yourself!
Nothing.
That was what she was. That was what she felt. That was what she meant to him.
Carla stood there on the beach, her head hanging down; her hair cascading down, hiding her, futilely trying to shield her from pain. Her mind was blank…all she knew right now was that she felt so…empty. Alone. Betrayed.
Meanwhile, Yami looked at her, after they had all come out of the memory, feeling extremely guilty. And fearful for his life.
He expected her to come flying at him with an ax, her eyes wild with rage as she cut Yami up slowly…His alternative guess was the shotgun-hunting-Wami theory.
But what he got was worse. Much worse.
No pido que todos los días sean de sol
No pido que todos los viernes sean de fiesta
Tampoco te pido que vuelvas rogando perdón
Si lloras con los ojos secos
Y hablando de ella!
I don't ask for every day to be sunny
I don't ask for every Friday to be a holiday
Nor do I ask you to come back begging for forgiveness
If you cry with dry eyes
and come talking about her!
"Carla?" Yami asked worriedly at the still form that was a couple of feet away from him. Carla's head fell limp on her head as if it was too heavy to support her while her face was cast eerily in a shadow. All three teenagers looked at her, counting down the seconds to Yami's shotgun-hunting-Wami (I think a taw a wittle Wami wabbit! BAM!) destruction…
Carla slowly raised her head as if the effort was hurting her. She stared at the one who had said 'Carla' with blank, dull eyes. Carla? Who was she? Oh, yes, herself. The girl who had been stupid to believe an equally stupid boy's promises.
Ay amor me duele tanto…
Oh my love, it hurts me so much…
"What?" she asked softly with no emotion in her voice, in blank recognition. In defeat.
And that was what made Yami long for the anger, the attempted murder, something! Something to prove she was still his Carla…
The intelligent, bright light in her eyes that made them sparkle with life…was gone.
"I-I-" Yami started out, unsure how to word his overwhelming guilt, sorrow, and worry. Nina and Bakura stood in the sidelines, silent, as they watched the inevitable defeat like a tennis match. "Carla, I'm just so- I never meant- It's just that she was-"
(Thwack! The tennis ball was headed towards Yami –watch out!)
Carla watched Yami suffer with blank eyes. All she could think of right now was that one damn line of, "You're the only one I could ever love…" echoing her mind.
Me duele tanto
Que te fueras sin decir a donde!
Ay amor, fue una tortura perderte!
It hurts so much
That you left without saying where!
Oh my love, losing you was torture!
"Carla, please talk to me!" Yami said desperately, hoping to snap Carla out of this. But Carla really did not care what Yami wanted her to do right now after he had broken her heart…
Marriage. He is MARRIED. He could have had s-"Did you Do It with her Yami?" she asked icily, as she spoke for the first time since the Incident. Her eyes were horribly blank as her monotone voice called to the pharaoh with undertones of undeniable disgust and if you looked hard enough: anguish. She was nothing to him…
What the heck was Doing I-?
Ohhhh…All three teenagers blushed in varying degrees, but Yami took the prize.
(Yami was panicking! The leering green ball was looming closer! He was fumbling and-)
And he chose to tell the truth.
Stupid.
He blushed furiously as he honestly replied (with Bakura plugging Nina's ears just in case), "I don't know. I-I don't remember. I'm so sorry Carla I-"
Wrong answer.
BAM! Wami was down. And as for that that tennis ball metaphor? Well, Nina and Bakura could both clearly see the ball smacking his head and knocking a clueless Yami unconscious…Bruuiiiisssee.
You see what you get for telling the truth?
Yo se que no he sido un santo
Pero lo puedo arreglar amor
I know I haven't been a saint
But I can fix that, my love
Anger.
Suddenly, Carla had reached past 1st stage of her cheated, brokenhearted state: self-pity. 2nd stage was uncontrollable, raw anger. If he broke her heart, she would break him…
"Save your guilt for Zahara," Carla said bitterly stepping away from Yami as she looked down at the ground. "How does it feel to cheat, Pharaoh? How many times did you have to whisper fake 'I love yous' to make that whore fall in love with you? Why did you have to manipulate me into your sick game! IF YOUR GOAL WAS TO BREAK MY STUPID HEART AND STOMP ON IT TO PIECES, then CONGRAGULATIONS!" Carla's voice raised to a hysterical pitch as she yelled as hard as she could. She took her first step towards Yami as she shook uncontrollably, bitter tears filling her hurt eyes. "GODAMMIT, YOU HAVE WON!"
/Carla, please…I'm so sorry I hurt you and I'll-/
Slam. Carla cut off the link by slamming her soul door as hard as she could in Yami's mental state. Yami changed tactics.
"Hit me as hard as you can, Carla, if it'll make you feel better," Yami said to his volatile, inconsolable hikari girl. He opened his arms, completely vulnerable, and ensuring that one of Carla's famous knuckle punches…would really, really hurt.
Carla even clenched her delicate hand into fists as she gave a small growl…She let her fist fly to Yami's gut while a tense Yami waited for impact. It was about to send Yami reeling with just one more second…before she let it all go in one deep, shuddering breath just an inch away from Yami's stomach. Carla lowered her fist and looked at Yami in disgust, murmuring softly,
"You're not worth it,"
Ouch. Yami winced.
"Carla, please, forgive me for any wrong I might have done to you," Yami pleaded with his piercing, garnet red eyes, begging quietly for forgiveness. Aw, such cute puppy-dog eyes…who could resist 'em?
"Why should I?" Carla asked acidly. Apparently, she was immune to the all-powerful puppy-eyes. Her deep mahogany eyes unreadable, muddled by hurt, rage, self-pity, and above all sorrow. Sorrow for losing the damn bloody bastard she had loved.
"Because," Yami said softly, his voice full of emotion. He took a step closer to Carla, wishing more than ever he could erase all the pain he had caused her. She had asked for nothing, and he had taken advantage of it…he'd forgotten his past, risked everything, all because…"Because I love you,"
This proclamation did not have its desired effect.
Lies! Mentiras! "Liar! You don't love me Pharaoh; you never loved me. You love your wife Zahara," Carla choked out the words as if it were a torture to say it. They probably were, Yami thought sadly. The great Pharaoh of Egypt had never felt more useless, lower than scum, lower than even Bakura (gasp) than in that moment. It was his fault…he had fallen prey to fatal seduction. A Wami rabbit after all was no match for the conniving gray-eyed vixen…-chomp- you see?
"I'm so sorry Carla! How was I to know I would meet the girl of my dreams 5,000 years later?" Yami said desperately. He could feel her slipping from him like a fish in the river. Caught for a moment and then in a slippery escape, gone forever. "As soon as I remembered I should've told you…it was all just a stupid mistake,"
Stupid Yami. Possibly the worst word choice EVER. Right above President Clinton's whole 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman…'
He just sealed his fate. Carla the fish had slipped through his fingers with an angry splash and had brought back 'her little friend.' The piranhas. And Yami the guppie was…well, -crunch munch- you get where I'm going. (a/n: I use a lot of metaphors, don't I?)
She. Had. Cracked.
"MISTAKE!" Carla roared, her temper lashing out at last. "A mistake is forgetting to return the movies at blockbuster! A mistake is forgetting to feed your goldfish! A mistake is using your neon red lip gloss unwittingly because it looked normal in the tube! WHAT YOU DID WAS NO MISTAKE, PHARAOH!"
No solo de pan vive el hombre
Y no de excusas vivo yo.
Man doesn't live on bread alone
And nor do I live on excuses.
Tears slid down Carla's cheek as she gave out ragged breaths. Her lip trembled and her throat burned…and she hated that. She hated knowing that Yami had won. She had effectively fallen in love with him, and had been most effectively dumped.
And that well, uh, sucked.
And having a sucky day can lead to some evil ideas entering your one-innocent mind. So was the case with Carla Sanchez. Yami: (over a lava pit with a wardrobe of leather already melting in it…with a helium-squeaky voice) Help me Carla! Please forgive me! Noooo, not the leather! I promise it was all a mis-
Snap. And that would be when Carla cut loose Yami's chains…Carla smirked at the scenario.
But then her good side in a last-ditch effort to save her, reminded her of an instilled concept that any child of a devout Christian family would have drilled into their heads:
WWJD?
What Would Jesus Do?
Forgive us for our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…That was what Jesus taught in his 'Our Father' prayer…
Solo de errores se aprende
Y hoy se que es tuyo mi corazón
We only learn from our mistakes,
And today I know my heart is yours
So she gave Yami one last chance.
"Do you love her?" she asked softly. Liquid brown pools of light to rival an innocent doe's looked at guilty, hard crimson ruby ones. Hope flickered for a moment across those beautiful brown eyes.
"She's been dead for over 5,000 years! Zahara's a part of the pas-" Yami started out, fumbling. What was she getting at? He reached out to caress her cheek, but he only brushed air as Carla turned away. And then surprisingly she took a step forward until she was practically touching noses (okay, Yami had to lean a bit down but that's not the point!). The picture sent two messages: either Carla was going to make out with Yami in a startling 'I forgive you!' Hollywood-worthy make up…or Carla might bite Yami's nose off. I think we all know which choice it would be…unfortunately, Nina did not…the poor fool.
( "Maybe, they'll kiss and make up!" Nina exclaimed happily, the optimist with starry-eyes.
"Yeah, and maybe Yami will stop using hair gel and you'll be a Playboy bunny," Bakura retorted sarcastically. "Though, you being blonde would save me having to make up excuses for your stupidity,"
'Not like you do,' thought Nina dryly before regaining her starry-eyes. "Look she's leaning closer! It'll be like the movies!" she squealed.
Bakura looked at her with his jaw dropping, "Are you really that stupid?"
"Of course not," she said annoyed. "Just because I thought Playboy was an educational magazine for boys to learn about recreational activities, I really did think they took gullible out of the dictionary…And why do they put CONCENTRATE on orange juice if they don't want you to c- Hey, stop laughing Bakura! Anyone can make that sort of mistake!")
"No, you're not answering the question Pharaoh," Carla said coldly and Yami could tell he was treading on thin ice. "It doesn't matter if she's been dead for over 5,000 years…" Carla let her hand run up Yami's cheek, searching for the truth in his eyes as she gazed into them. "Imagine if she appeared right now. This moment." She stared at him as her voice lost all of its iciness, its manipulability…She was herself behind the façade she had put up: Vulnerable.
Her voice was at its softest as she asked Yami, almost in a plea, "Do you love Zahara?"
And that was when Carla's heart gave up, and turned to ice.
Because Yami couldn't answer.
"I-I-" he stuttered, caught off guard. His eyes were confused; he didn't know…
And thus Carla turned to the second part of the scriptures in the Bible: screw forgiveness! An eye for an eye…her heart for his heart!
So she did exactly what Jesus would do.
POW.
"GO TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!" she bellowed as she sucker-punched him directly in his lower stomach. And then as she could see that her punch wasn't having as lasting an effect as she would have liked…she decided to crush his beaten heart just like he had done to hers…
First she aimed her leg lower and gave it all she got…OW. Yami's eligibility to have children just decreased. Significantly.
"HOLY SHI-" he yelled as he slumped to the ground.
She broke the silver necklace aligned with rubies and diamonds Yami had gotten her and threw it on the prone figure of the wincing Pharaoh.
"Wash your mouth, and you can keep your necklace…It just represents another promise you can't keep," Carla said in her coldest, most chilling voice as the beautiful light in her eyes were gone…replaced by hate.
"But Carla I-" Yami said as he held the necklace knowing that they're gaga perfect relationship was going horribly, horribly wrong.
"IT'S OVER!" Carla said through gritted teeth, tears filling her betrayed eyes. Before Yami could cut in, she retorted scathingly, "GET IT THORUGH YOUR HEAD, NUMBSKULL! WE. ARE. THROUGH."
Mejor te guardas todo eso
A otro perro con ese hueso
Y nos decimos adios…
You better save all of that!
Go to another dog with that bone,
And let's just say goodbye…
She had wanted to run off in a fiery blaze of passion. Like in those Spanish soap operas.
You know, leaving the guy crying after her, "No, Maria! I cannot live without you! Do not gooooo!"
Very melodramatic and all. Carla was a sucker for dramatics.
Instead, Carla realized that if you are in a truly storming off from your ex 'in a fiery blaze of passion'…it's not something that you want seen on public cable.
First off, you can't see where you're going because stinging tears that you try to keep from slipping, blind you.
Second, you're not looking too great with your red-rimmed eyes, snot dripping, and over-all depressing appearance.
Third, your running off isn't all that graceful either due to the first reason. Also, this could account because you just had your heart broken, and you don't really give a damn as to where you're going as long as you're far, far away from the bastard who broke it.
Most importantly fourth, you're torn from beating said bastard up, or having an uncontrollable urge to run…Run far away, and forget everything about him. Carla chose to do the latter.
No puedo pedir que el invierno perdone a un rosal,
No puedo pedir a los olmos que entreguen peras,
No puedo pedirle lo eterno a un simple mortal,
Y andar arrojando a los cerdos miles de perlas.
I can't ask for winter to pardon a rose,
I can't ask elm trees to give you pears,
I can't ask a simple mortal to give me eternity,
And go around throwing thousands of pearls to pigs.
But perhaps there was a fourth reason that no one ever talks about…because it made you feel like a dog. Not the cool ones like Lassie either. No, likea begging one.
Because a part of Carla wanted to believe she was wrong and run back into Yami's arms.
A part of her still loved Yami despite his obvious lies to her.
And that made her feel like a dog begging for a bone. So that was the main reason she ran off; she couldn't be his 'other woman'.
But by Jove, she would miss those buffed, hard abs and those muscular, lean arms he would wrap around her…STOP. She had to stop thinking about the two-timer!
She had to ignore his tempting promises.
"Carla, please!" Yami yelled after her as he staggered upright. "I promise I won't ever keep something from you again," he said as he followed her.
"Yeah, until you see another slut you want to marry," Carla muttered. She glared at the Millennium Puzzle around her neck.
Ay amor me duele tanto
Me duele tanto…
Que no creas más en mis promesas
Ay amor es una tortura perderte
Oh my love, it hurts so much
It hurts so much…
That you no longer trust my promises
Oh my love, losing youis atorture!
Nonetheless, she couldn't bear to chuck it in Yami's face for a reason she couldn't fathom. (Or maybe it was super-glued to her…same diff.)
That was the one promise she couldn't bear to have broken. Dammit, she was going soft and mushy. Damn love.
So caught up in her eloquent descriptions of love (which was a real mother- let me tell you) that she didn't notice what she ran into.
Oof.
Most would define the specimen as homo sapiens, human being. More technically defined as male. If you were into the gritty details, it would be obvious that said male had firm, working muscles throughout his body, had thick hair in the color of blonde, and had penetrating blue irises lined with thick eyelashes. Or if the above description was lost on you…he was hot. Like Surfer-Ken-from-Barbie hot.
Normally, a taken Carla would've made a quick apology and to quote from her rather colorful language 'run the hell away as if a pack of mad dogs were after me' due to the over-protective boyfriend factor.
But a recently single Carla on a vendetta against her cheating boyfriend, Yami…had an entirely different reaction.
"Oh, hey, Charlie," Carla said, looking up, flashing her best smile (a disgruntled Yami thought it looked faker than Pamela Anderson's b-) "I'm sorry I bumped into you," she told her the new, shy barn hand at Orangeville's stable with a worried frown.
"No prob," Charlie smiled handsomely down at the petite girl. "Hey, Carla. Here for spring break, I see- But hey, are you alright? You look as though you've been crying." He asked concerned. Carla's smile faltered for a moment, remembering an ex-Pharaoh kissing passionately his risqué…fiancé.
Okay, she admitted it; she sniffled. But just for a moment.
"Me, crying? Never." Carla said, with her mega-watt smile back on. Yami growled softly.
"Who's your friend, Carla?" asked the blonde Charlie, pointing at starfish-haired Yami who was glaring daggers at him.
"Him?" Carla said. She then looked directly at Yami as she said tartly, "Oh, he's nobody, Charlie. Nobody at all."
"Oh," was Charlie's response to the obvious friction between the two (laser beam: Glare. Zap. Glare.). He quickly decided that a change in topic was needed ASAP. "So…I brought Diablo and Buttercup back if you want to tack them back up again," Charlie motioned to the two horses he led behind him, that Carla had not yet notice due to Charlie's hotness and ex-boyfriend memories.
"But Diablo's still a bit antsy so-" Charlie stated before being interrupted by Carla.
"Charlie, that is SO sweet of you!" she cooed with as much exaggeration as humanely possible. She couldn't resist smirking inwardly at the fact that a disgusted Yami looked prepared to shoot Charlie.
How does it feel now, Pharaoh?
"No really it was nothing-" Two spots of color had appeared on modest Charlie's cheeks.
"Nonsense!" Carla gushed happily as she flung her arms around her new boy toy. "To do something nice for a little 'ol me…" She made sure she purred the next part loud enough for Yami's ears, "Deserves a reward."
By Yami's clenching of his fists as he muttered obscenities…one can rest assured that he heard alright. /You have gone too far, hikari/
No, she told Yami through their re-opened link, Not far enough.
And then she kissed a bewildered Charlie on the cheek as she trailed her hand up his face. Like she used to do with Yami.
There. Now, that's enough. She said to Yami as she turned her eyes slowly away from Charlie to see his reaction. He looked stunned, hurt, and angry…just as she was now with him. She smirked in satisfaction ignoring her screaming sanity telling her that she had stooped to his level.
One factor though still remained that Carla hadn't reckoned with: sheer stupidity. Yami still possessed no tact, and was thus still incredibly susceptible to do some pretty dumb things.
One would be nearly socking pretty boy Charlie in the jaw…Dammit, he dodged.
Another would be feeling the need to put his two cents in the whole 'Carla's vendetta' matter. And sometimes what came from that royal mouth was not all that intelligent.
Shocker, I know.
"I get it Carla. We're even. You win this game." He remarked off-handedly. "Please, just don't go." He would instantly regret his words.
No te bajes, no te bajes
Oye negrita mira, no te rajes
Don't you go now, Don't you go now
Listen, baby, don't be angry!
You know, maybe he really is that stupid. Or perhaps it was desperation.
Heck, it didn't matter. They both didn't work.
"No, you stupid man, we can never be 'even'. I think you never telling me you were MARRIED far outweighs me kissing Charlie on the cheek. At least, Charlie here has a soul. Love is not a GAME, you idiot! You can't start it over! You can't simply sacrifice a pawn! YOU CAN'T ACT LIKE THIS WAS NOTHING! LIKE IT'LL BLOW OVER EVENTUALLY! BECAUSE LIFE DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!" Carla yelled as she snapped. She hopped on Diablo with the ease only an expert horsewoman holds as she grasped the reins firmly. By the hate reflected in her blazing eyes, everyone knew she wasn't coming back.
"Mr. Yami, stop her!" Nina pleaded to the stunned Pharaoh. "That horse is dangerous! And because of you, I don't think she's coming back!"
I think Carla muttering a word that rhymed with buck in relation to said Pharaoh confirmed that fact.
Diablo could care less in the affairs of humans; all he knew right now that his granola bar girl had just leapt on him without warning…and he didn't like it.
So he bucked furiously, demonically as his namesake was, until he realized that the granola bar girl would always stick to him (she's a good rider). He could feel anger radiating from her once-soothing lithe frame…and being a hot-blooded stallion, it fueled him.
As one with the granola girl, Diablo reared into the air, to his maximum height, as he screamed his challenge to the air.
To a frightened Nina, who hid behind Bakura (much to his disgust), it seemed to be an unearthly roar…any minute now the gates to Hell would open up and this demonic monster would lead the way. (Yes, she had seen a lot of horror films due to her older brother…but that wasn't the point! That horse was mad!)
No one could have guessed that what Diablo was really saying was: WHO GOT MY GRANOLA BAR GIRL ANGRY, DAMMIT!
You can tell that he really wanted a granola bar.
"Carla, no don't leave like this; you could get hurt!" Yami cried.
"It's too late for that!" Carla yelled from atop the rearing thoroughbred stallion. "And you know, I feel a hundred times safer upon Diablo than I ever did with you," she said, her chilling voice cutting through the air.
"Carla, I love you. I see the error of my ways! Get down from there, and we can deal with this together!" Yami said, desperation leaking into his once-haughty, proud voice. He didn't know what he would do without that little hikari, both outgoing and brave, constantly being the happy thorn in his life. The great Pharaoh who had existed for five millennia (dubbed version),sacrificing himself for his nationand letting go of a great hikari…just couldn't give this one girl up. Because he well -Radamnit did he have to say the wussy thing, oh fine- he needed her.
De lunes a viernes tienes mi amor
Déjame el sábado a mi que es mejor
Oye mi negra no me castigues más!
Porque allá afuera sin ti no tengo paz
Yo solo soy un hombre arrepentido;
Soy como el ave que vuelve a su nido!
From Monday to Friday you have my love
Give Saturday to me and you'll be better off
Listen baby, don't punish me anymore!
Without you, out there I have no peace
I'm just a repentant man;
I'm the bird that returns to its nest!
(my favorite part to listen to other than the 'la tortura perderte' line)
"It was our destiny to be together," Yami said softly, ended the love tirade on a spiritual unified note.
Carla did not answer as poetically. "Yeah, well what half-assed fortune teller told you that load of bullcrap?" she asked as Diablo kicked his hooves in the front as he pawed the air. She seemed oblivious to the fact that if Diablo went back a fraction more, she would be sent crashing backwards to the hard earth. Instead she resolutely grabbed a chunk of Diablo's black mane while her legs were secured around his middle.
She continued, "I have control over my destiny, and henceforth Pharaoh, it will have nothing to do with you!" Diablo's beautiful and deadly dance ended as he landed hard on the ground. For a single moment, Carla's eyes locked with Yami's, as hikari and Yami felt a pang of loss jolt through them. It almost seemed as if there was still hope.
Were those tears?
Ay ay ay
Ay, todo lo que he hecho por ti
Fue una tortura perderte
Y me duele tanto que sea asi
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, after all I've done for you
It was a torture to lose you
It hurts me so that it had to end this way
Carla blinked away irritation; dammit, the sun was too bright.
She turned her head away and spurred Diablo to a gallop, away from the Pharaoh.
But not before she gave her former boyfriend, Pharaoh Atem of Egypt, an honorary salute in tribute of all the good times they had shared…Guess which finger she used?
She cleared a three foot log fence with an intensity that could only be described as to the equivalent of 'running the hell away as if a pack of mad dogs' were after her. Only more angrily.
"Love's a bitch, ain't it?" she muttered softly to the horse as she disappeared into the forest, a figure lost to the darkness.
Sigue llorando perdón
Yo... yo no voy
A llorar por ti.
Keep on crying for forgiveness
I…I'm not going
To cry for you.
Newton's Third Law of Motion:
For every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction, or consequence.
Today, we can apply this concept to Carla-breaking-up-with-Yami-and-running-off-on-a-wild-stallion episode.
Carla broke up with Yami and fled on the granola-fond horse named Diablo. That was the action. Simple enough, eh?
But even Sir Isaac Newton would be baffled by the amount of utterly different reactions it triggered:
Ra: Nooooooooo! Breaking up Yami and Carla is like breaking up Ken and Barbie: it shouldn't be done!
Hades: You do know that the company broke those little plastic dolls you play with Ra, this year? Anyways, Ra, you should really worry about her fateline, not her lovelife- Great Gods, are you crying!
Ra: (sob) Not my beautiful Ken! I was going to have him move into the Dreamhouse today with Barbie! Nooooooooooo!
Hades: (looking up at sky, praying) Oh, Great God…Have mercy on me and please shoot me.
Others weren't so grief-stricken…
"YES!" yelled the female villain as she pumped her fist in the air and forced her partner into a conga dance. "The bitch- cha cha cha cha cha cha! –is gone!– cha cha cha cha cha cha!" Even when her male partner, who seemed to be lacking in the enthusiasm department, shoved her roughly away from their observing cloud, she still did not let up in her victory dance.
Instead she proceeded to do something that her partner would later reflect was even more creepy than the bizarre football-victory/conga dance of victory: rolling around the clouds, with what the man was sure was drool coming down her mouth.
"Yami is mine! Mine! All mine! Forever and ever and ever…" she continued in bliss.She sighed though and considered the horrendous act she had done...Maybe, she did have a conscious...But then she smirked evilly and cackled, "I can't believe the bitch fell for it! By Ra, manipulating memories is so easy!"It looked like she was about to lock lips with a cloud in her happiness…when the evil man thankfully interrupted.
"Though it's nice to see the Pharaoh suffer…when the hell am I gonna kill the other bitch?" he asked oh-so-politely.
"Eh? Anytime, whatever…just try to make it seem accidental and leave me be," the evil seductress said distractedly as she shooed the man away from her Yami-Is-Mine-Forever acts. As soon as the man left however, she got out her walkie talkie to proceed to phase two
"Will do." answered the man on the other side of the cloud, as he got out his trusty ax. Then remembering he had to make it accidental, he switched to his butter knife he kept for meals.
No one would ever suspect a butter knife related death, right?
"You know, 350 murders a year are butter knife related," Charlie commented randomly, hoping to start a new topic. Alas, this time it did not work.
"Who the heck, cares, boy?" asked an exasperated, frustrated Yami.
"I care. Go on, Charlie," Nina consoled the confused boy as she patted him on the back. She would give Carla five minutes to herself before she went after her. When Yami looked at her, seeking an ally, she sadly shook her head at him, in the way one does to a naughty toddler in need of a timeout.
Bakura stood off to the side, looking off into the sea, seemingly oblivious to the "episode" that had just occurred. Yami swallowed down his pride and his intense hate towards the thief, as he asked innocently, "So Bakura, do you agree with me-?"
"You. Are. An. Asshole." Bakura said in a monotone voice as he turned to face the Pharaoh. Nina and Yami both raised their eyebrows.
"What did I do that was so wrong, I mean-" the Pharaoh asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was technically hitched.
"I'm sorry," Bakura said, surprising all teenagers. Maybe he did actually agree with Yami (gasp)…"Allow me to correct myself. You are an asswipe."
Uh, nope.
"How could you not remember that you were engaged? Are you truly that brainless? I even knew about your wedding! (I should know, I was planning on crashing it by stuffing a frog down the bride's dress and by shaving your head bald…tee hee)" Bakura said quietly but his eyes flashed for a moment before returning to their normal I-so-not-care state.
"Err…I'll just go and check up on Carla," Nina said, interrupting the glaring contest going on between the two Yamis. "Bye Charlie," she said, ignoring the other two Yamis (a/n: she's still nervous around Bakura and she's mad at Yami for obvious reasons)
Before Charlie could even reply, Yami cut in, "Nina, not meaning to be rude, but I think I should be the one to confront her-"
"No, Mr. Yami, I believe Carla made it clear she wants nothing to do with you." She said calmly, but with hints of coolness in her voice, "In fact, all you are good for at the moment is of further proving that no guy is worth crying over,"
Yami felt rather alone; even the push-over Nina was against him. If he wasn't so manly he might've sniffled in self-pity…And just to his credit there is a huge difference between sniffling and whimpering. (Hey, it wasn't even a whimper…more like a cough- yeah a cough! Totally believable...Not.)
"Why am I proof that no guy is worth crying over tho-?" Yami asked, utterly clueless to the fact that he just made himself open to an attack- which Nina gladly made.
"Why? Because if you had truly loved her Mr. Yami, then why'd you make her cry?" she told Yami softly, prepared to leave in a dramatic huff- until she felt a familiar pale arm clasp onto her wrist.
"Bakura… Let. Me. Go." Nina said calmly, feeling fear tug her heart and irritation seep its way through her bubbly self. "…Now." She growled, not so bubbly.
"Oh, come on now, don't be a party pooper!" Bakura said teasingly, "I know you want me," Oh, how he loved annoying her!
"Not even in your dreams, Bakura!" Nina said angrily as she tried to wrench herself away to no avail. She was hoping her anger would conceal the desperate fear in her voice. A normal man wouldn't have detected it, but Bakura, as we all know, was not a normal man. (Ra: He was a male nurse in disguise, tee hee!)
"You're scared, aren't you?" Bakura said with a quiet chuckle. "As I've said before, you are a horrible liar, brat."
Even his goading could not coax an answer from Nina, who was determined not to look at him. She focused on his pale feet instead. This little pig went to market, and went wah wah wah…
"Admiring my feet, little brat?" Bakura said softly, interrupting Nina's feet song, with a smirk. And then his tone became serious. "Afraid to meet my eyes. Afraid to face me, admit it you're-"
"Well, why shouldn't I be, after what you did?" Nina finally answered, in defeat to Bakura's feet. Yami looked as if he was about to stop this conversation, but Bakura's small headshake stopped him. That and those spokes on the Millennium Ring looked mighty sharp to a Millennium-Item-less Pharaoh. Charlie merely stood off to the side, observing the two with stormy blue eyes. One would almost say they were scheming…
"Would you be so kind as to stop having a conversation with my feet?" Bakura asked, annoyed. Before Nina could answer, her Yami had tilted her head up forcefully with his hand. Bakura started whispering in his harsh voice softly enough that the two observers would not be able to hear what was being said. "You say that you are scared of your father's demon inside me?" Nina nodded her head slightly in reluctant agreement, frowning at Bakura.
"But both of us know better," Bakura said pulling his unwilling hikari until they were almost touching, and a confused Nina could feel his warm breath on her face. She tried to recoil away from Bakura, but he just tightened his new grip on her shoulders.
"No, you are truly afraid that that demon may be inside…you."
And then Bakura put the Millennium Ring on her neck and shoved her away as if nothing had happened. Nina looked at him with fearfully pale blue eyes as she touched the Ring warily with clammy, sweaty palms.
She was scared you-know-what-less. Because that supposedly mad tomb robber she had for a Yami, who enjoyed tormenting Gods, and didn't know a thing about social skills…he had figured it out.
"Use the Ring to find Carla," he said shortly to Nina while she scrambled as she ran the hell away as if- and pardon me if this saying is becoming clichéd- as if a pack a mad dogs were after her. Only this time, however much she tried to convince her brain, that she was running from that foul, dangerous tomb robber…she couldn't deny the truth. She wasn't running from a pack of mad dogs or Bakura…She was running…from herself.
Too bad that's impossible.
Carla had managed to keep Diablo at a gallop for approximately a mile before she came to a halt beside an old oak tree in front of a trickling stream.
Now, don't get the impression that Carla had actually wanted to stop. Oh no, Carla would've been fine if they had continued galloping away from a certain Pharaoh for the rest of eternity. But a tired horse finally unseating its distracted rider into the stream had seen to it that Carla be made to stop.
And Carla had certainly been stopped.
"Ewww," she said, spitting out the stream water and sand she had swallowed in her less-than-graceful landing. "Aw, man, now my pack is ruined too. Indeed, the girth strap had not been tightened at all, and it had only taken a light buck to send her, the saddle, and her pack with all of its contents, flying. If Carla had not been so sidetracked by the whole boyfriend-being-married scandal, she might've thought it was all to convenient…almost as if it had been planned…
Somewhere in the sky a feminine voice, hardened by evil, said almost gleefully, as she heard a satisfying crash into the water, "One bitch down, one bitch to go,"
But what she hadn't counted on was Aunt Marie.
"Dammit, my butt's sore, I've been dating a married man, and- I do not have granola bars, Diablo so stop nudging me!" Carla said, frustrated. Diablo immediately backed away, taken aback from the usual coos of his granola bar girl. She immediately felt guilty and grabbed an apple she had been saving. "Here, Diablo. Thanks for getting me away from him- Yuck! Don't squirt the juice on me!"
Carla wiped the apple gunk away from her face and set to fixing her pack. She found every one of her items except the pouch with the sugar. Normally, losing an Aunt-Marie package would fill her with joy, but today, she wanted something sweet, no matter how dangerous its origin, to wash out the bitter taste of loss in her mouth.
Perhaps, the Gods were feeling bad for the girl…or more like Fate was feeling particularly devious…because Carla got her wish. In a way.
"Ah, there it is," Carla said, spotting the blue pouch hidden in the grass beside the large oak tree. She was about to stuff her face with sugar when she heard a weary yet familiar voice behind her, "You better save me some…I need some after all I went through to find you," Half thinking it was Yami, Carla whipped around, determined to kill that no-good basta- "Oh, it's you Nina," she said, half-disappointed.
"Contain your enthusiasm," Nina said sarcastically while she got some twigs out of her tangled hair. Suddenly noticing Nina's harassed state, Carla piped up, "Oi! What happened to you, it looks like you've been attacked by a pack of wolves!"
"You have no idea," Nina said wearily.
Flashback, 10 minutes ago
"Stupid Ring, why does it have to pull so har- Agh!" Nina said as she was being dragged along by the Millennium Ring at an unbelievable pace. Which is not a good thing let me tell you, when she was trying to be infuriated with Bakura.
Who did he think he was? Acting as if he knew everything about her?
'Well, maybe he does…You do share a body, after all', purred an unfamiliar almost catlike voice in her mind.
If there was one flaw in the Millennium Ring, it was this: (and Bakura gleefully didn't tell his hikari)
"Where the heck did that voice come from?" Nina said looking around, as she sprinted through the forest.
Although the Millennium Ring can lead you to other Millennium Items accurately…
"Bakura does not know a single thing about me," Nina continued stubbornly to whoever may be listening. She should have been paying attention to where she was going…
It did not however, tell you about obstacles in your way…
"I mean it's not as if we're soulmates- OW!"
Like trees.
End Flashback
"Here, have some sugar. I think you need it Miss I-Need-A-Happy-Pill," Carla said in response to Nina suddenly shouting out of the blue, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!"
O.O;;;
"Eat It. Now." Carla said, poring, some sugar into Nina's hand. She had already eaten her share, and now, her mouth felt pleasantly sweet. She loved sugar. Sugar would be her new love.
"Mmmm," Nina said tentatively eating the handful (she was not the type to eat sugar alone and get sugar-high), "I've never tasted a sugar like this before. It reminds me of when I was little, and I loved eating sugar cubes,"
"Usually, gifts from my Aunt Marie have bad effects, but I guess this is the one exception- Oh my God! Like neat-o!" Carla suddenly said the last part with her brow furrowed. She hadn't said the word neat-o since she was four.
"You know what, I feel weird Carla," Nina said suddenly. "I feel…giddy," Nina gave a high-pitched giggled and then immediately covered her mouth; it had been so long since she had laughed completely carefree…
Both girls felt a weird tingly sensation travel through their bodies, especially near their mind. But it was Carla who heard the music since she had ate the sugar first.
It was so hypnotic…soothing yet it held an underlying threat.
"Aunt Marie strikes again," Carla murmured dazedly as her vision began to become distorted. The music hummed louder, and Carla realized that it was more of a chant than a song. A death chant. How soothing.
By this time, Nina had begun to hear the chant. Seeing as Carla was further along into the weird spell than she, it was she who realized, "Carla, it's not an ordinary song! It's a riddle!"
Indeed, Sherlock.
You have been given what many sought;
What explorers over which have fought,
Yet a gift or a blight-
An awful curse or a bless'd light?
Whether you like it or not
Feel the effects and to hell with you greedy lot!
"I don't think that's a riddle; I think it's more of a 'hahaha! You fell for our curse, losers!'" Carla said as she fumbled blindly towards Nina as her vision went back and forth. "Neat-o," she murmured as she saw the oak tree go from average size to humongous.
"No, Carla listen to the next verse," Nina said worriedly to her fading friend. What the heck was in that sugar?
Now that introductions have been made,
Quickly, before you fade!
You have one chance since I'm ever so kind-
Answer this to redeem your sorry behind!
"Take this and start writing Carla; you write the neatest! I'll proofread," Nina said urgently, tossing Carla a pen and her scrapbook. She really did not want to 'fade' whatever that meant…
If Carla had not been so detached from reality, what with her changing vision and the prickling sensation filling every molecule of her being unpleasantly, she would have smugly commented on some of Nina's new drawings of a certain thief filling quite a few pages. However, it was all she could doto write exactly what the mocking song was saying.
If you break me,
I do not stop working,
If you touch me,
I may be snared,
But if you lose me,
Nothing will matter.
"Nothing will matter…" murmured Carla as she scribbled messily on the paper. She was finding it hard to focus and write down the riddle. The only way she could describe this sensationwas by saying that it felt like she was forgetting how to write. She handed the sketchbook and the pen to Nina while she thought as hard as she could over the puzzling riddle. What could keep working even if it was broken…But if lost, nothing would matter…
Carla pondered over this and using past experiences of riddles, she remembered what Yami- who although was a cheating bastard, he was the King of Games- had told her about riddles, "The answer is usually right in front of you, querida Carla. You just have to stop thinking so hard, and think logically."
So that meant it should be easy…She looked at the Millennium Puzzle and her heart rate picked up.
It hit her.
"It's a-" Unfortunately, Carla never got to say what the answer was because the tingling sensation had turn into a tingling fire in her throat. When she tried to write it down she realized two things: a) The pen had run out of ink and b) even if it hadn't she wouldn't be able to write the answer down because she had forgotten how to. She was effectively helpless.
She lay her head down on the grass in defeat as a lone tear trickled down her cheek. It was horrible to know the answer to stop this bizarre, unpleasant spell yet be unable to use it. Carla even tried to tell Yami, just for Nina's sake, but the spell cut the link off.
Damn Aunt Marie. Damn Yami.Damn it all!
For Nina, however, all was not done; the music had a special verse just for her,
Listen, you little bratty one,
The final clue lies with your guardian,
Know this and you'll be done!
As her vision started to become distorted as well, she knew she had precious time left. She had to write it down so the Yamis could figure it out. But with what? She had no ink, and she left her other pencils in her luggage. In desperation, Nina thought what would Bakura do in her situation.
She slowly looked at her hand, knowing what she would have to do, but was utterly repulsed at the idea. It was disgusting, barbaric, so twistedly bizarre-!
Bakura would've been proud.
She grabbed the spiral of her sketchbook and untwisted a part so there was a sharp point in front of her. She closed her eyes and jabbed that sharp point into her index finger. Wincing, Nina opened her eyes to feel the warm blood starting to trickle down. She messily wrote out (trying not to think that the red ink was her blood) 'listen, you little bratty one/ the final clue lies with your guardian' into a free page of her sketchbook. And then she lost her train of thought as she collapsed beside Carla, now utterly as helpless as she was.
Now it was up to the Yamis to figure out the riddle and stop whatever this spell was.
Both hikari girls knew they were screwed.
Azure eyes met rich mahogany as both felt comfort in the other while the tingling sensation became unbearable as if it were trying to do something in the world it shouldn't. Before Nina lost complete control of her body, she placed a dainty hand on top of her tanned friend's, and gave a weak smile.
Carla's last thought before the white hot tingling consumed her was an odd one. It was a rather immature one at that and foreshadowed what trouble was to come: 'I hope I take Yami down with me because this is SO not neat-o!'
Off in the distance, the Yamis heard the high-pitched screams of terror. Little did they know, that when they would encounter their hikaris they would want to start bawling with them…
Hmm…Now, what was the spell? (Read back a few chapters; I left you hints!) And if you can figure out the riddle then cookies for you, because I couldn't when I first found it! I know the spell song was bad, but I am not a poet…
Anyways, 'till next time! Next chapter will be extremely funny, I promise (tee hee, the spell)!
Really, if I get enough reviews I will update faster! (Or if I don't, I'll be updating my others, and leave this one off for some weeks…you decide!) Happy Summer to all!
Starlet36
Oh yeah, as a surprise (and as a first) I personally answered all the reviews last chapter! Maybe, I'll do it next chapter too… (Do you like personalized responses? Because I'll stop if you don't)
Horus the bfd lv999: Wow, thanks, I feel special! Oh, and you have my permission to print this out and add it to your book (it might be a tad long though…)! Please keep reading and have another imaginary chocolate chip cookie! Lol.
Theeternitycode::) Thanx for the review! Um, if you don't mind me asking though, do you mean my blobby commentaries or my a/ns?
Chaostenshi: Wow, that must've taken a while! So I'll be sure to update soon,
O
Ok
Oka
Okay! (Maybe that's not the same thing, but I tried!)
AnimeFreak: Thanks for the motivational review! Your reviews are one of my favorites to read!
Yugirules: Thanks for the 'happy birthday'! I know this chapter isn't all that funny, but next chapter (smirk) will be funny…I hope. (Run Yami and Bakura, run!)
Mrs. Bakura: Love the name. And I'm done with exams (Thank GOD!) so I'll be writing more!
TheRhythmofLife: Yay, candy! I love your little equation, and yes, as you can see Yami is very dead or soon will be. Tee hee, go Carla!
GiVeMeThEdAmNsUgAr82: I hoped you liked this chapter too:D
Kawaiilover300: Um, I live in Florida, but I'll leave it up to you to guess everything else, 'kay? Thanks for reviewing!
Sarah the Slayer: Aww, don't feel too bad over them…it's funny! (Bakura and Yami: We'll kill you! Me: Um, maybe I was to harsh? Gotta go!) Anyways, (sniff) thanks so much for the dedication in your story; I feel so special! Good luck to you as a writer!
Asaake: I have updated and will try to update ASAP! Thanks for your review!
Everlyn Chan: Your reviews are probably the most feedbackish (word?), funniest, and one of my favorites to read! I guess I love to make Kura-chan very, ahem, sarcastic and blunt! I was hoping someone would laugh on the Speedo line!
The Incredible Emo Kid: I know how you feel about Spanish; it was my last exam (is that cheating if I'm already Spanish? Eh, apparently I'm only half-fluent and my family says I have an American accent) Thank for the 'happy b-day' and the review!
Panmotto: I even laughed when I read over my ficlet (which is kinda pathetic when you think about it…) Sssshhhh don't give it away; you're too perceptive:)
Pugz: Men: can't live with them, can't live without them! Thanks for the review!
Dreamistress Jade: Thanks for reviewing and I hope you weren't late to school! But um, Nina's 14 as mentioned in the 1st chapter...but age doesn't play a huge role here anyways, so it doesn't really matter!I hoped you liked this chapter too!