Note: Thanks for the reviews, they've cheered me up so here's another chapter, and I'm gonna go re-post a lot of my old fics.
Brave New World 2
Yami Bakura POV
I wait in the dark hallway as Kaiba vanishes off into the depths of this huge house to find me something dry to wear. I'm sure he doesn't want me dripping on his expensive carpet, after all.
'A child'?
I sink down to crouch against the wall near the door and rest my head in my hands, a million questions running through my mind. My new 'life' was bad enough to begin with, it seems Ra has seen fit to complicate it further. I hate the gods. I should say that in front of the pharaoh, perhaps my blasphemy will give him a heart attack.
The main question – the thing I most want to know right now – is how does Seto Kaiba know that, should I see fit, I can bear a child for him? Why me, anyway? He could ask the pharaoh or Marik, all three of us have the ability. We are creatures of shadow magic, our spirits are…unusual.
To know of this Kaiba must have been told by either Marik or the pharaoh. Since I do not think he has much contact with Marik it must have been the pharaoh. Perhaps he is doing this to punish me?
Another interesting question is: why does Kaiba want a child? I know that he bought his brother up so he's capable of looking after one, but wanting one? Why doesn't he just adopt, or sleep with a woman?
The lights being switched on startle me and I stand up, taking the clothes Kaiba hands me.
"You can change in here. Leave your wet clothes, I'll have them washed." He says, leading me to a large bathroom. I say nothing, watching him leave before I enter the bathroom and close the door, stripping off. There's a full-length mirror in here and I wander over to it, taking a good look at what has become of the great king of thieves. My hair is a mess, but that's nothing unusual. My skin is pale and soft, not hardened with work and a harsh life in the desert as it once was. A tattoo of the eye of Horus stands out stark black against my white skin, staring blankly from my shoulder. I had it done when I first became my own person, not just hikari's darkness. It was something to distinguish myself from him, if only for myself to see.
Turning away from the mirror I ignore my wet clothes lying in a pile on the floor and inspect the new ones Kaiba has bought me. There's a pair of black jeans and a plain black T-shirt which both must be his because they're too big for me. I put them on, all the time feeling strange that I'm wearing his clothes – it seems too much like something a lover would do.
Ignoring the socks he has left for me I pad out barefoot from the bathroom and head down a long, dark corridor towards a light at the end. I can smell food and I don't remember the last time I ate, sot he sight of Kaiba holding a plate of plain rice and chicken is a welcome one. Upon seeing me standing in the entrance tot he kitchen he places the plate down on a counter and gestures for me to sit at the barstool next to it. I do as he asks and dig into the food like the starving peasant I am.
All the time I am eating I can feel him watching me silently – I hate that I interest him so much and his gaze makes me uncomfortable. I don't like being stared at so closely, I don't like people being able to see so much of me.
"Would you like a drink?" He asks, and I look up at his voice. I was getting used to the surreal silence but if he must insist on breaking it… I pick at what's left of my food and decide that he's going to answer some questions before he can try and distract me further.
"No." I watch him take a seat at the end of the counter; it looks like he knows it's time for answers. "What has the pharaoh been telling you? What exactly is it you want of me?" I look at him with eyes that have never trusted anyone.
"Yami tells me that he, you and Marik can…" he pauses, not sure how to word it delicately.
"Bear children." I growl.
"Yes. Is it true?" I don't blame him for not blindly believing everything the pharaoh says, but unfortunately this time he's telling the truth. Why could he not have kept such a thing to himself?
"Yes. Why do you want a child?" I glare suspiciously at him and he stands up to fetch himself a glass of water.
"Mokuba is away at college, this place is empty without anyone but me. My life has revolved around having someone to look after, I want a child before I let Kaibacorp completely take over my life and end up like Gozaburo." He says, concentrating on filling a glass with water so he doesn't have to look at me. It seems he's thought deeply about this, not that it should matter much to me.
"Then sleep with a woman." I say, and the look of distaste he cannot hide tells me all I need to know about that option.
"No." Is all he says, but no more is needed.
"Then why me, and not Marik or the pharaoh?" I demand.
"I wouldn't want to sleep with either of them." He tells me, and his smile makes me feel weak.
"Adopt, then." I hiss, keeping my gaze locked on my plate. Normally knowing that someone wants me would give me an advantage over them, but not with Kaiba. He is in control here and we both know it. That does not mean that I will just give in to him, though, and give him what he wants. A thief does not do favours for people, especially ones like this.
"I can't adopt. I was granted custody of Mokuba after Gozaburo's death, but there are strict rules when it comes to adoption." He explains. "Besides, I want this child to be mine. My blood." He says vehemently, sitting back down and drinking his water elegantly, all the while staring at me over the rim of his glass with those dark eyes.
"Your blood… and the blood of a thief?" I smirk, all the while knowing deep down that I am weak as a mortal, and he could easily force this on me should I refuse. I cannot tell if he would do that or not, I do not know him well enough.
"Better you than anyone else," He states, and I wonder what makes him prefer me over Marik and the pharaoh.
"Why should I do this for you?" I demand, angry at myself because his hypnotic voice makes me want to agree just so that I can be touched by him. Yet I still hate him, his arrogance grates on me and his eyes make me nervous.
Suddenly he is next to me and I am startled, so lost in my conflicting emotions that I did not see him move. I stand and take a step back, away from him, but he easily catches my arms. I look up at him, glaring angrily, and try to convince myself that the great tomb robber does not fear this mortal.
"I will pay you." He growls. "Whatever you want. All you have to do is stay here until the baby is born, then I'll give you the money and you'll never have to come back here again if you don't want to." He tells me and I shiver in his arms. With money I could get away from here, no more sitting in the rain because I do not want to go back to hikari's house. I could be alone, and all I would have to do is let him…
He must be able to see the indecision in my eyes because he lets go of me and shakes his head.
"Think about it tonight. Come on, I'll show you to your room." He turns away and I follow, my mind filled with the thought that I could even go home, back to Egypt. But I would have to stay here for almost a year first. I would need him, Kaiba. I would have to depend on him. Half the time I do not even remember to eat, I do not know anything about bearing a child other than that when the time comes it will have to be cut out of me.
I follow him up a flight of stairs and along a corridor to a door at the end, which he opens and turns on the light. Inside is a huge bed, a bookcase filled with books, a desk and a double window leading out onto a small balcony. Everything is decorated in dark wood and deep red for the curtains and sheets, a set of black silk night-clothes laid on the bed.
"My room is next door on the right. If you need anything just knock, I'll have your clothes washed and dried for you in the morning." He says, then leaves me in the huge room and closes the door softly.
Alone in this room I walk over to the bed and curl up on it, staring into the darkness beyond the window and losing myself in endless questions. I am afraid, and I hate it. If I say no I will go back to the way things were before this, waiting for this mortal body to die so that I can return to the Ring. If I say yes… I must sleep with him, bear a child and have it cut from me when the time comes, but I will be able to go back to Kuru Eruna. I will be able to leave this place. I have never even thought of having a child before and it terrifies me, but if I die I will still go back to the Ring, and that is what I want in the end anyway. All I must do is become his whore for a while. Is this what the pharaoh had in mind when he told Kaiba that I could give him a child? Is this what he wanted, to see the proud grave robber give in and let some rich mortal use him this way? Perhaps. I could walk away from this right now, I am sure that I could climb down to the ground from the balcony beyond my window.
No. It is still raining and I am tired, so many things are spinning around in my mind that I feel dizzy. I will sleep tonight, and in the morning I will decide what to do. Hopefully if I refuse Kaiba he will let me go. If he does not… perhaps that is what the pharaoh wanted.
TBC