The Stolen Heart

By Anime-2000

Disclaimer: Ever wanted to poke Bakura's scar before? I mean—no, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. The characters that don't appear in the English or Japanese anime or manga are mine, though.

Ack, Anime is such an idiot. After a quick examination of the storyline here, she realized that there are SPOILERS here. Including why Bakura wants to kill Atemu and his priests. And Kuru Eruna.

I can't wait until the Memory Arc gets dubbed. I am especially looking forward to seeing Egyptian Bakura with an English accent. Unless they wisely change that. We'll see, ne? On a side note, after reading some summaries from janime, I am royally unhappy with Bakura's fate. Isn't it awful when you're obsessed with the main villain of a story? Especially when they're three-dimensional so you feel sorry for them and then grow to love them. I do believe that's how Mana is in this fic. :)

Um… Question: Should I change the rating of this from K+ to T? Bakura's getting a little violent.

I found much of my information from janime(dot)net. It also has a link to a different manga site, but that's not for people in the US, apparently. (sigh) You can also find episode guides and manga summaries there. I am mainly relying on my Shonen Jump magazines. Heheh, sorry for advertising, but anyway, those are my sources. I made up a couple of things here and there, too, but I guess that's allowed, seeing how this is fanfiction, right? But overall, I think I stuck to most of the crucial parts concerning the Millennium Items. If anyone sees anything wrong, tell me in a review so I don't make the same mistake again in the future, please!

"Ahoy," Bakura announced his presence in the darkness of the night. "Did you get all of it?"

The moon was a mere sliver in the deep blue sky, but its dim light fell upon the three figures he was speaking to. One of them snapped her fingers. A fire shot up and roared merrily in the middle of the small circle they made. The identities of all three were revealed, along with the golden luster of a large chamber's worth of treasure. The light from the blaze also fell upon the rocks of various sizes scattered around them, but in centuries, they would be nothing more than sand. The one who had summoned the fire smirked. "See for yourself," Heka told him as she pulled a gilded mirror to her face, admiring her kohl-rimmed brown eyes.

Rasha, who was using a sack of gold to rest his head on, stretched his limbs and yawned. "Great plan, Bakura… Would've been nice to stay and see all the damage you caused, but I guess we can't have everything." With that, he patted his pillow fondly and rolled over and fell back asleep.

Only Hakim, who was sitting on a large, flattened stone, seemed to notice the girl Bakura held at his side. The unconscious girl. The big man sighed. "Where'd you get her, Bakura?"

The white-haired thief looked down at Mana. "Hm? Oh, yeah…" With a careless thrust, he flung her before them, a couple of feet away from the crackling fire. "She tagged along," he said, grinning wickedly. "I'll get rid of her later."

Heka's mirror flew toward him. Had Bakura seen it sooner, he would have done something cool to prevent it from smashing into his face. Alas, he did not…

"You will do no such thing!" the older woman snapped at him as she walked toward the brown-haired girl he had tossed toward them. Bakura glared at his reflection in the hand mirror and set it aside. Mana was stirring. Heka knelt down beside her. "Poor thing…" She whipped her head toward Bakura and said, venomously, "What did you do to her?"

(-)

"…fainted on me!" was what Mana awoke to. Then, there was, "I can't believe you would hurt a little girl!" She blinked a few times and sat up, rubbing her head.

The scary man with the white hair was currently yelling at a girl with long, dark hair. "She had it coming!"

"What did she ever do to you, huh? Care to explain?"

Bakura opened his mouth, ready with a furious reply. He must have thought better of it because he then clamped his mouth shut and looked away without another word. Aside from a faint blush that was staining his cheeks, he was very threatening; he looked absolutely livid and ready to tear apart the next person or thing that decided to pick a fight with him.

The victor of the argument looked back, and Mana realized that she was a woman. A very lovely woman. Who instantly had her in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, you are the cutest thing I have ever seen!"

Mana blinked again, not sure whether she should be trying to struggle out of the woman's embrace or just enjoying the fact that she had been saved from Bakura's wrath.

"Quit it, Heka, you're killing it." The man farthest from the fire said groggily. He pushed himself up and glanced around at the scene. Mana quickly recognized him as the young man who had nearly blinded her back in the former pharaoh's tomb. Apparently, he remembered her too. "Ooh!" he said, rubbing his eyes and taking another look at her. "You're that one girl!"

"Oh, he's right!" the woman said, pushing Mana away enough to get a better view of her face. "So we meet again! What's your name, sweetheart?" The girl's mouth moved soundlessly as she shook her head. Heka laughed and let her go. "Don't worry. No one here is going to harm you. Right?" With that, she looked at Bakura menacingly. She was answered with a snort and muttering. "So go ahead."

"M-Mana," she finally stammered, closing her eyes. "The—the apprentice of Priest Mahaado."

Nodding, Heka murmured, "Mahaado… I think I've heard of him before…" She was thoughtful but then shrugged and giggled, "but I can't remember where."

"He's dead." Bakura had taken a seat beside Hakim. He watched the fire with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. "I killed him in the tomb. And I'll go back for his Millennium Ring later. The workmen will probably start to dig through all the rubble in a day or two, so I'll go pay my 'respects' to the former King of Egypt again tomorrow morning." Heka nodded grimly but kept silent. Mana, on the other hand, could not take his taunts anymore.

She stormed up to the King of Thieves, her blue eyes blazing angrily. "How dare you speak like that," she snarled at him, feeling her blood boil. "My mentor is not some weak little man who could be killed by that! He's still alive, and the Ring is rightfully his!"

For the briefest of moments, Bakura looked surprised at her outburst. Then, the corners of his mouth tugged upward, and he deftly leapt off the rock. A gasp caught in Mana's throat as she stepped back. Bakura leaned forward slightly as he advanced on her. "It's amazing how loyal you are to him. And stupid." He laughed scornfully as she backed away. Mana scowled, furious with the fact that she had been retreating ever since she had met them. "So tell me, how do you think he survived?" Bakura asked her, taking another step forward.

The first time she had triumphed over him was merely out of luck. Mana knew that, but she had never expected to meet up with him again. It was her teacher's job to deal with criminals like him, and she had just assumed that she would be safe with him. But now, she realized that she was in more danger than she could have possibly anticipated when she asked Mahaado for permission to join him on his trip to the tomb of Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen. But she would not allow her fear to surface. Especially not in front of Bakura. "All I know is that he couldn't have died so easily!" Mana retaliated, taking another step back. "He's too loyal to the pharaoh to allow his life to be taken so effortlessly by some petty thief!" Mana was not sure how that made sense, but in truth, words were just spilling out of her mouth without control.

Bakura had that maniacal grin on his face again. The one she had seen in the tomb. His palm slammed into her chest, and the next thing she knew, the soft sand had disappeared from beneath her feet. Mana tumbled uncontrollably down the sand dune. She finally came to a halt when her back slammed into the flat surface of one of the many huge rocks jutting up from the desert ground.

With her head still spinning, Mana pushed herself up with the support of the rough stone. She opened her eyes to see Bakura sliding down after her. In less than a second, he stood before her. His smile was still sinister. "You wanna go back, then? Do you want me to take you to the crypt again, so you can see his dead body there buried under enough concrete to crush every bone in the human body?"

Mana shuddered involuntarily, causing Bakura to throw his head back and laugh. He grabbed both of her shoulders and rammed her into the rocky wall behind her again. "He's dead," he said to her so softly that only Mana could hear his husky voice. It held a quiet malevolence in it. "Face the facts. As of this moment, you are no longer living in the fantasy world of royalty. This is reality."

She looked down. Swallowing a painful lump in her throat, Mana whispered, "You're wrong."

"Denial won't get you anywhere," Bakura said in his regular voice, catching one of her tears on a finger. He flicked it away. "At least it was only one person you cared about. It could have been all of them."

The night air had cooled drastically. But it was not the cause of the chill settling in the bones of all five of them. His three companions stared at him, stunned. They had not heard a single word exchanged between the two, but they knew something was amiss. "Bakura…" Heka murmured softly, but he only raised a hand for silence.

"You got the horses, right?" he said coldly. He took Mana roughly by the arm. "Then we can go."

(-)

It'll soon be all of them, Bakura realized as his stallion raced across the desert land. I swore I'd kill all of them to avenge Kuru Eruna. To have justice.

Mana sat behind him with her arms around his middle. The moon's rays caused the sand to take on a grayish gleam. Her mind was racing as fast as the horse. Her idle stare swept across the silvery sea without interest. She could have leapt off and made a run for it. But this was the desert; it would have been an irrational decision. No supplies, no water. She would have deemed it moronic, once the sun rose.

Atemu fell off a horse once, when he was a little younger. Mana, who was still getting to know him at the time, had seen him climbing on the back of a purebred horse that was given to his father by some foreign sovereign. She smiled at the memory. It was night, like now. He thought that no one had seen him and was riding around the courtyard. Mana remembered being impressed by the way he maneuvered the mare so effortlessly; he was a born leader. Then, he saw her. The image of him falling quickly came to mind. If Atemu could break an arm falling off of a horse that was trotting around within palace walls, then what would happen to her if she leapt off a large stallion galloping at full speed in the vast desert wasteland?

It would be wiser to wait until they reached their destination. Maybe then, someone would come to her aid. She still held on to her hope that it would be Mahaado, but Bakura's remarks did not help.

What was wrong with the man, anyway? Why did Bakura act this way? The brunette girl's eyes glanced up at the mass of silvery hair shining in the moonlight before lowering her gaze back to the desolate landscape. A traumatic past? Mana ventured, heaving a sigh at the brown locks of hair whipping at her face. She wanted to brush them back and secure them under her headpiece, but suddenly she was afraid to let go. But what could've happened to make him this monster?

She lifted her head from the red coat on his back and looked ahead, past him. Atemu's father rested in the fast approaching underground cavern. Mana closed her eyes and prayed with all her might that she would not find Mahaado in there.

(-)

There was some commotion earlier that night, but everyone else had neglected to tell Asan what had happened. He was the newest guard assigned to protect Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's tomb. The others were too distracted and busy to fill him in. All Asan knew was that during an inspection, one of the priests met up with a tomb robber. All details after that were hazy.

He sighed and resumed his task of protecting the dead king's crypt, wondering what whether if there was a point or not. The thief had already stolen most of the treasure that the former pharaoh was supposed to have taken to the afterlife with him; there was no reason for him, or any other tomb raider, to return. And yet, orders were given and the number of guards incremented.

A blur rushed toward him. Asan squinted in the darkness, trying to make out the figure. He blinked his eyes wide open. "Hey—HEY!" he hollered back to the others who were on the night shift as well. "There's something over there!" They rushed toward him, their eyes following where his finger pointed. "Look, it's coming! What do we do?"

By then, the blur had turned into a dot, which grew into a horse and rider. The black horse kicked up a cloud of sand behind it as it raced nearer. "Protect the tomb!" someone shouted as the beautiful, black stallion charged through the crowd. "It's that thief again!"

The horse turned, and the rider jumped off effortlessly. There was someone else with him, but that was all the guards saw before they lunged out of the horse's path again. They sprang up quickly, with their spears ready to defend. Asan recognized the scared girl standing behind the white-haired man. "It's the student of Lord Mahaado!" he cried, jabbing his javelin at her.

"Bakura! He's taken a hostage!" another one of his fellow guards added on.

"Master Mahaado?" she demanded, moving closer. "What happened to him? Is he all right—!"

Bakura snorted and held an arm out in front of her to keep her from taking another step forward. "How dare you accuse me of taking her hostage?" His lips drew back in a malicious smirk. "The great Bakura doesn't need one!"

"Such arrogance!" snarled a well-built guard, and he charged toward the offender. "I can take you on myself!"

The Thief King's smile grew.

In an instant, the man lay prostrate on the ground beside Bakura. The white-haired tomb robber jabbed his spear into the earth next to him and turned his attention to the rest of them. "Now that was arrogant. He had no chance," Bakura said shaking his head in mock pity. "Let's see, three of you left… Why don't you all come at me at once to even the odds a little?" They took no hesitation.

Everything happened so quickly; Asan had difficulty taking it all in. Bakura was swift on his feet. By the time one of them had come within an attacking range, he would dart away and knock the guard behind him into an unconscious state. Teran, who had been kind to Asan, grabbed a fistful of Bakura's red coat in an attempt to keep him in one place for the others to attack. The tomb raider whirled around, grabbed both of Teran's arms and forced a foot hard into his gut. The man uttered a groan and fell to his hands and knees. "Don't touch my coat," Bakura warned him a little too late and spun around, smashing his fist into another guard's face.

After a few moments of 'thuds', 'whams', and occasional 'crunches', all but Asan were on the ground. One of the guards' eyes and mouth were wide open, as if he would have screamed. If Bakura had allowed him. And the rest… Asan could have sworn they were dead.

"One left." Bakura's strong hand wrapped around his throat, and his other wrestled the spear from Asan's hand. "Soon to be none." Cold perspiration slid down Asan's skin. Bakura's stare was relentless. Asan could only hope that his death would be fast and painless. Either his appearance betrayed his fear or the thief had read his mind. With a callous laugh, Bakura raised him higher. "Look at him. Look at the coward sweat and panic. Begging every god who might be listening to save him. Or at least allow him an easy death."

"Stop." Both men looked to Priest Mahaado's student. Her dark skin seemed pale in the moonlight, her sapphire-like eyes large and frightened. But her voice had been strong and commanding. She took a shuddering breath and said, gently, "Bakura, please don't kill him. Put him down." She stared at him pleadingly. "Please."

Asan wanted to shrink, out of his captor's grip, and flee into the darkness of the night. Bakura's gaze was harsh and cold. "Tch. Lucky bastard," he muttered to Asan dropped him. The guard's legs wobbled and collapsed beneath him. Bakura turned around. "Make some use of yourself. Tell the pharaoh I'm still coming for him." He strode past Mana, taking a hold of her upper arm. "Now, let's go before we attract more unwanted attention." The girl looked at Asan, her eyes seemed to beg him to come to her rescue as the tomb robber led her away.

But as the King of Thieves himself decreed, Asan was a coward.

(-)

"What should we do?"

"I can't believe him."

"It's nearly dawn…"

"He won't fall asleep with this failure hanging over his head."

"Someone needs to talk to him."

"Have Karim do it."

"Seto, talk to him."

"…"

"The pharaoh demands it!"

After all that frantic whispering, Priest Seto would have liked nothing more than to leave the problem where it originated. To a certain priest. The Millennium Rod holder sighed silently and made his way to the balcony, where that certain priest stood.

"Well, consider yourself lucky that your ka saved you a moment before it was too late," Seto said, wondering why in Amun's name Atemu would choose him out of all six priests to consol the miserable Ring holder. "All right, so you lost the insolent thief… And your apprentice… And almost your life…"

(-)

Somewhere nearby, hidden from view, Atemu slapped his forehead and let his palm slide down his face. Stupid Seto.

(-)

"…But that doesn't mean you should be mourning over it; it was a ridiculous mistake, which can be corrected if you act quickly," Seto continued with an impatient severity in his voice. The sun was rising slowly, its orange-golden glow spreading across the horizon. He had never taken time to enjoy a sunrise; he did not mean to be disrespectful to Ra, but there was just no time. "Dammit, Mahaado. This is your own fault. Your student did not have to accompany you to see Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's crypt."

Mahaado shook his head slightly to pull himself out of his reverie. Sighing, he agreed, "I know. I must correct my errors. Before more can be created from them." He headed back inside.

Priest Seto folded his arms. "I suggest you become a little stronger before you take Bakura on again. You ka is not strong enough, and neither is your ba! Another battle will yield the same results, if you do not take care."

"Seto." Mahaado stopped walking. He had addressed the other priest simply, with a strangely cold tone. "When Mana was here, I could tolerate you. I suggest that you pray to Isis for a successful search. My patience is wearing thin."

Priest Mahaado left Priest Seto on the balcony, trying to discern what he had just heard. Meanwhile, Atemu breathed a sigh of relief when Mahaado had passed him and had entered another room. He would have talked to the possessor of the Millennium Ring instead. Had he not seen a slightly threatening glint in his eyes.

Atemu was a fearless leader, it was true. But some things he just could not deal with.

(-)

Mana watched as Bakura appeared and disappeared from the pile of rubble. Each time, he seemed to grow more and more frustrated until finally, he came out muttering under his breath. Mana's brows met anxiously. "You couldn't find him?" she asked, her voice rising. She had hoped that if Bakura was right then… If Mahaado really had died, she would have been able to… "What does that mean?" she cried, running up to him as was about to dive in again. "What could've happened?" Her hand caught his arm, and he turned back. His eyes met hers.

"It means," he said sullenly, breaking eye contact for a moment to gaze around the ruined chamber, "that he got out."

Her arm fell from his, limply. "He's alive?"

"He's alive," Bakura assured her through gritted teeth and redirected his attention elsewhere, feigning apathy. If he gave the girl the excuse to, she would gloat over this loss and never let him live it down. Not that she would be with him much longer anyway. But still…

She was silent for a few moments and then sighed. The brunette smiled gratefully and thanked whatever or whoever was responsible for Mahaado's safety. "Great," she said and laughed, relieved. "This is great!" She faced Bakura with a renewed exuberance. "So let's go now! You've shown me what I needed to know, so we can leave this place!" With a slight bow, she added on, "Thank you!"

Bakura nodded and folded his arms behind his head. "Fine." He found it odd that she was thanking him, the guy who was trying to kill her teacher in the first place. But secretly, he was glad that she did not rub it in. Not being able to obtain the Millennium Ring was no big loss to him because he would gain all of the Items eventually. But to Mana, he knew, the priest's escape was everything to her. She cared for him so much. Bakura felt a strange twinge in his chest.

Suddenly, he recognized it as jealousy. He scowled. That noble should consider himself lucky to have someone being genuinely worried about him. But Bakura had Heka, Rasha, and Hakim. They were enough. They cared about him. Bakura's frown deepened. But he still felt as if something was missing. That he forgot about something.

The air was dusty. Mana held back several coughs that had been fighting to escape from her. Something about the silence was sacred. Then again, maybe there was just something horribly intimidating about a brooding Bakura. They had crossed a stone bridge suspended over a dark, seemingly bottomless pit and were now meandering along a small hallway that she did not recognize. The walls were large granite blocks, each lined up with the next, and each at least two times bigger than her. The floor was made up of smaller stone slabs. One of them sank under Bakura's foot. "Ah… Bakura…?"

"What is it?"

"You just stepped on some button on the ground…"

"Oh." Bakura suddenly remembered where he was. He spun around and yelled at her, "Run back! Now!" Mana paused for a second, out of shock, before obeying his orders. That one moment was crucial. Two huge blocks, one on both sides, collided into each other. The brunette had sprang back just before they crushed her. Bakura cursed loudly as two cubes crashed together behind him. Somehow, every time he was with Mahaado's apprentice, something bad always happened. Both of the exits were sealed.

He already knew what kind of trap this was and avoided it last time. Bakura could not believe how careless he was this time. A wall slammed together before him. Bakura stumbled back as dust and sand filled the air. With a glance around his small confinement, the revelation hit him. If any more blocks moved out of their current positions, then the entire hallway would collapse.

And what happened to the girl?

A small voice reached his ears. "Bakura!" Mana called again. Still alive, he thought feverishly. The walls around him trembled. Now or never. Ever. "Diabound!" He did not allow himself a moment's hesitation and rushed forward. His ka would not let him down, and he would get to Mana in time, save both their lives, and he would laugh about this later.

Damn, he had better laugh about it later.

(-)

She whipped her head around, trying to make estimates on which block would move first. Not that it mattered; she would die instantly anyway. Did Bakura abandon her? No, he was trapped like she was. But she had heard a collision from the other side of the wall between the tomb robber and herself. Bakura had the ability to pass through walls, thanks to his ka. He probably left without her. She had been a nuisance to him anyway, so it was expected…

Mana felt angry with herself. Why was she unable to summon her ka? Maybe then, she could rescue herself instead of depending on others so much! I should've paid more attention to my studies, Mana reminded herself bitterly as the two walls at her sides closed in on her. She closed her eyes tightly. I'm sorry, Master!

"Ung!" This was not what she had expected. Not at all. Instead of being crushed by two huge rocks, she had the breath knocked out of her lungs by a thief. His shoulder rammed into her stomach, his arms around her waist. Her skin was tingling from the stone whooshing through her. She felt a sudden exhilaration, excitement. She was passing effortlessly through walls! "Ba—Bakura!" she gasped.

"Shut up!" he snarled back, but unless Mana's ears were playing tricks on her, he sounded glad to see her.

Then, the sensation was gone. It was replaced by a new feeling. Bakura's grip had loosened. "Crud," she heard him say. They were in midair. Mana turned and looked down. Her eyes grew bigger and bigger.

"What happened to the bridge!" she shrieked, clinging back onto her white-haired rescuer.

"CRUD!"

And they plunged into the dark chasm.

Mana's arms tightened around his neck. Bakura cringed. Then he heard her whimper softly, almost inaudibly in his ear, "I don't want to die yet." He relaxed. He remembered the phrase, once using it before. Kuru Eruna. Everyone was dying. Maybe that was untrue at the moment when he had uttered it, but it was an easy way to describe the time. They would die soon anyway. So much destruction. The putrid stench of death lingered in the air. Restless spirits, angry and vengeful. All for seven holy relics. Seven bloodstained items…

He was alive.

They passed through the bottom of the so-called bottomless pit.

No, he would not let her die. How could he? Bakura's foot rammed into a wall. His back met the ground forcefully. After a moment of numbness, pain burned down his spine. The room was pitch-black. He stared up at the darkness. He was still alive… He sighed. They were alive.

Mana opened her eyes. Her head rested on Bakura's chest, her mind registering his slowing heartbeat. She rolled off of him. The sandstone floor was cold against her skin. Mana held up her arms above her and wiggled them. "Huh." She sat up, scratching her head. "So… we're okay?"

"Yeah…" Bakura ignored the pain in his back and said, "We're fine." It was probably just scratched up. He would have Heka look at it later. "You're welcome, by the way."

Even though he would not be able to see in the dark, Mana turned her blushing face away. "Y-yes. I was getting to that." She got up and faced him, with an arm stretched out. "Thanks for saving me. So let me help you up!"

Snorting, Bakura swatted her hand away and got up on his own. "Please, if you think you're getting away so easily with that, you're wrong."

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Mana protested, flushing a darker red. "I just…" She blew a slow, agitated sigh and said, "Fine, never mind!" Bakura smirked and called upon Diabound. His ka's glow illuminated the room. "Well, you could've used Diabound to escape by yourself," Mana started awkwardly and looked away, hiding her smile. "But I'm really grateful that you stayed to rescue me."

He shrugged as he examined the room. "Hmph, yeah." His fingers ran along a beautifully carved box, about the same size as he was in length. He looked around the large chamber. "Looks like they've cleared out everything pretty well. Huh, typical. They left the mummy untouched…"

Gasping, Mana hurried toward him. "Is—is that Pharaoh….?"

Bakura pushed off the lids until he found what he was looking for. He chuckled darkly. "Well, Your Majesty," he murmured to the mummy inside, grabbing one of the white straps of linen that was wrapped around the body of the ruler. "You must be bored. Why don't you come out, and we'll take a ride around the desert, and then we can visit the palace…"

"No, stop!" The brunette's hands flew toward him and clamped onto his arm. She pulled back, but he did not budge. "This is the King of Egypt! Anubis will strike you dead for this! This is wrong!"

He flinched. "'Wrong…?'" he whispered, trembling. His voice was filled with an indescribable rage. Mana stepped back, but Bakura suddenly whirled around and flung her aside. "You know what's wrong?" he roared as she stumbled back. "Storming into a village and killing practically everyone there!"

There was a fanatical gleam in his eyes. She stared, horrified. Mana remembered hearing the name in a conversation between Mahaado and Akunadin. Her mentor had been unusually perturbed for the rest of the day. After pestering him endlessly for a week, he told her that the sacred Ring around his neck held dark origins, as well as the rest of the Items. After another week of her constant questioning, he finally told her the entire story. But how did this thief know that?

Her eyes widened as the simple, yet chilling answer came to her. "You're from that village… Kuru Eruna."

Laughing bitterly, Bakura said, "Oh, so you weren't kept in the dark about it. That's nice." He reverted his attention back to the wrapped body. "Everyone always said he was a great leader, who ruled justly. Heh." He abruptly jerked the former king up out of his casket and shouted, "So where was justice that day?"

Akhenamkhanen's cadaver hit the stone floor dully. Mana screamed.

"We've both killed many people," he said, spite coating his words. His head tilted down, and he closed his eyes. "Our actions are caused by our past. He destroyed mine, and I will never forgive it. He is remembered as a wonderful king and father, and I am evil. If that is what society labels me as because I was the one that revealed a dark past the pharaoh tried to cover up, then so be it."

Stepping past the body of her dear friend's father, Mana said quietly, "Evil?" When she received no response, she stopped before Bakura and looked up at his scarred face. "If you were to be judged by the Millennium Items, would they deem you evil, then?" she asked, stretching her arms up to him. "Well, I think so." His eyes opened to narrow slits as her fingertips brushed against his cheeks. They widened at her smile, her hands gently cupping his face. "The Items can sense evil in a person's soul. But the soul itself is not necessarily evil." He allowed her to pull him toward her, and she whispered in his ear, "I'll tell you a secret!"

A grin fought furiously to appear on his face. "And what's that?" It barely succeeded, as the corners of Bakura's mouth twitched.

"Master Mahaado once told me that negative emotions can be evil, too," she said in her childish voice. Bakura smirked. "When too much anger, hatred, and all those other bad feelings build up inside of you, it creates a pure darkness in your soul. And if you allow more anger or hatred in, then—"

"—then the darkness will increase," he finished for her. He laughed inwardly at her surprised expression. "How do you think Diabound became so powerful?" Mana frowned, either confused or apprehensive about the answer to the question. "Hatred fuels his power. And darkness grows and becomes me." With a sadistic smile, Bakura pulled away and stepped over the corpse. Mana was silent. "What's wrong?" he chuckled enigmatically. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

Concerned, Mana said, "But that's not something to be proud of. It'll ultimately make you a bad person; your soul may not be able to come out of it."

"What if I don't what to come out of the dark?" challenged the thief. "What if the darkness is more comforting and understanding than the blinding accusation of light? Tch, why do you automatically draw towards the brilliance?" he asked her, tauntingly. "Are you afraid of getting lost? Or is it just fear of breaking the rules that your kind created? I guess you're not like the jerk lying next to you." Mana scowled, knowing exactly where this was heading. "Hah! You and your nobles… Making up rules in the name of justice and expecting the rest of us to follow them while you don't because you're above the laws. How hypocritical."

Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen! Mana thought in alarm. Atemu…! "Wait, Bakura…!" Mana gasped, her hands reaching until they found his arm. "We can't leave Atemu's father like this!"

"Hmm?" He shrugged casually, as if the whole scenario had never happened. "In my opinion, we should throw him out to the jackals."

"But…"

Bakura walked passed Diabound and stopped, looking over his shoulder to see the girl's thick, brown hair hovering over the mummy. He gave an amused grunt and said, "Why don't you put him back in his coffin?"

Mana gave him a hard look and said, "Okay… Fine!" She intertwined her fingers and pulled them apart. She repeated the process for a couple more minutes and then, just as she was bending down to pick the corpse up, she straightened, grinned, and said sheepishly, "Actually, I don't think I'm strong enough to lift him!" Bakura snorted and walked over to them

"Liar," he said, scooping the dead king up in his arms. "Most of his innards are in canopic jars, anyway!"

"Oh well…" Mana giggled, "since you're already holding him, why don't you place him back in his respectful place?" With that, she pointed to the royal sarcophagus.

He looked at her witheringly and said, "What are you talking about? I'm taking this thing to the jackals!"

"Bakura!"

(-)

At first, Mana woke up in confusion.

Then she remembered what had happened and looked around the room. She was in one of the mud brick houses that made up made up much of outskirts of the city. They housed mostly farmers, who worked by the Nile waters.

She saw Bakura on a nearby bench with a half-eaten piece of bread in his hand. His gaze was directed toward Rasha and Hakim, who were on their bellies and immersed in an arm wrestling match. The teen grunted, his face contorted in concentration. Hakim, who seemed to have been letting him win, unexpectedly rammed the back of Rasha's hand into the ground. Rasha sighed, frustrated, and sat up. "Sorry kid," Hakim said genially, "maybe you should try again in about twelve years."

"Dangit!" he groaned, running his fingers through his matted hair. "At this rate, I'll never beat Bakura!"

"And you never will," the other two men told him almost instantly.

A woman's voice managed to cut through the laughter, "Honestly, do you always have to make such a ruckus? I'm letting you three stay here in my own house, and all you do is eat, sleep, and run off again!" She entered the room. Mana remembered that her name was Heka. A strange name. "I should start charging you for all the food you consume! Speaking of which, who ate the last piece of bread?"

Mana watched, hiding her grin, as Bakura suddenly crammed the remaining bread into his mouth. Unfortunately, he had been too slow. Heka's eyes darted toward him, and she walked up to him, briskly.

"Take your arm away from you mouth," she ordered him, tugging at the crimson sleeve that hid the lower half of his face. "Come on, Bakura—" She closed in on him dangerously. "You know the rules of this house!"

Rasha and Hakim laughed loudly as Bakura tried to fend off the angry Heka. "I get it, I get it!" Bakura's muffled voice boomed out. "All right, woman, I'll buy more bread!" When she was a little farther away from him, he mumbled under his breath, "Geez, why can't you make your own bread like the rest of the women here…"

Apparently, her ears were as sharp as her eyes. Heka whirled around, her unbound hair flying behind her like a cloak. "Well, if you would like to grind the wheat for the flour I need, I suggest you hurry!" she snapped at him. "Because we're not having lunch until you get that bread!"

"But I'm hungry now! " Rasha moaned from behind. Mana's stomach rumbled. Now that he mentioned it, she was hungry, too.

All of them stared at her. Heka was the first to break the silence. "What's she doing in this room?"

Hakim shrugged. "Well, we didn't want to wake you up, and it seemed better to just let her sleep here where we could keep an eye on her in case anything happened," he explained in his calm, reasoning manner.

Heka nodded in approval. "Oh, fine. As long as nothing happened to her… Meanwhile, Bakura, get the bread. And some dates while you're at it." Bakura's eyes widened, as if shocked that she was ordering the King of Thieves around. His most amusing reaction was when Heka suddenly added on, "One more thing. I'd like some kohl." She nodded toward Mana. "And I'm sure Mana would appreciate it, too!"

Mana rubbed at the skin under her eyes. After a quick inspection of her fingers, she realized that most of it had worn off during the night… and day. Judging by the light in the room, she knew it was close to noon.

"I'm not your servant!" retaliated Bakura.

"Well, you owe me for all the salve you used up! How in Ra's name did you get so scratched up?" Bakura growled and, as usual, did not answer her. Mana felt a twinge of guilt; he had gotten hurt when he saved her. After a few more moments of stillness, Heka said, "Bastet, get him."

Bakura jumped back and swatted at something that had lunged at him. It was invisible to Mana. "I'm going! Call your ka off!" Heka obliged, and he was gone.

Rising to her feet, Mana stretched her arms and headed for the door. "I'll go with him," she said as she left without giving the three a chance to protest.

(-)

The bread and dates were bought at what Mana thought was a reasonable price. Bakura, on the other hand, had been grumbling about the lousy cheaters who had sold the food to them. Mana looked down at the bread in her hands and then up at him. "Tell me, Bakura, if you're a thief, then why don't you just steal what you want?"

"Feh, what do you expect us to do with all the gold we steal? Stare at it? I only steal from nobles. And from others if I don't have any money with me. Or if he irked me." The bandit held his dates up to his eyes and snorted. "We were swindled!"

With a frown, Mana said, "Oh what does it matter? You have enough treasure to last four afterlives!"

"Seventeen," Bakura corrected her, albeit a little too proudly in Mana's point of view. "So now we have to get Heka's kohl… Since you wear it all the time, you should know which are good and which aren't." It was more of a commandment than a question.

"Hmmm…" Mana nodded. "By the way… Was that really Heka's ka that she attacked you with? How big was it? What did it look like?" She smiled at him eagerly.

His white eyebrows met. "It's a cat. Why do you ask? Can't you see it?"

Shaking her head, she said, "No, I can't even summon my own ka. So I can't see the ka of others."

His brows rose. "But you saw Diabound. And that scrawny little mage that your priest sent out…" Mana gave an indignant 'hmph!' at his last sentence.

"My master and I have a strong bond," she explained, pressing her palm to her heart. "I can feel his ka, but I'm still unable to see it. As for Diabound…" She gazed up at the blue sky, her chocolate-colored bangs drifted over her eyes. "Your ka is colossal! Even if I can't make out the details, it's more like a white haze." She blushed and said, "So in the tomb, I could barely see you."

And that's why you clung onto me like the Devourer was after you, Bakura concluded, feeling slightly annoyed. But he was unsure why. Maybe it was because her dependency irritated him. Or was it because that was the only reason she had seemed so close to him in the cavern?

"Yay!" Mana said happily and pointed to a stall nearby. "That looks like a good place to buy kohl!"

"What the—How could that stuff be so expensive?"

Chuckling, Mana reassured him, "I'm good at haggling! Stand back and watch!"

True to her word, she was like a demon. Bakura watched in wonder as she and the shopkeeper erupted into a heated dispute in mere seconds. It was interesting to watch for the first few minutes. The woman selling the makeup was starting to look edgy, but Mana was not willing to back down even a little. After that, it grew dull. Mana still had the upper hand. Bakura wandered away, certain that he would find himself back at the stall before Mana was done.

The afternoon sun gleamed down at the people in the bazaar. To some, the heat was unbearable. Bakura noticed several children trudging around lazily after their parents. Some merchants were even closing their shops earlier that day…

Eh? Bakura squinted at a white-robed figure in the distance. It was familiar. He frowned, recognizing the priest. The bearer of the Millennium Ring was coming closer. Mahaado, was it? The thief turned around and raced back to the stall where Mana stood, concluding her argument.

Bakura did not have time to explain, nor did he want to. He just threw Mana over his shoulder and hurried away.

Heka would have to wait for her precious kohl.

(-)

She was not pleased with Bakura's antics, but she was not furious with him. Although, she almost had that storekeeper where she wanted. It would have been a record bargain! Mana wanted to know what that had all been about, but she would have to wait until Heka was through with him. The woman was far from happy.

"For the love of Hathor, what came over you?" she cried, waving her arms above her head angrily. Bakura stood before her, with his arms folded across his chest and his expression apathetic. He was unconcerned. The raven-haired woman's head barely reached his chin. Unless she summoned Bastet, he had nothing to worry about. "Coming back like angry spirits were after you—what's wrong with you?"

"Ah, if you want, I could run back and get it for you," Mana offered, raising her shoulders in a barely noticeable shrug.

"Tsk." Heka shook her head. "No, it's fine. Thanks, though. I appreciate it." She beamed at Mana and placed a hand on the girl's head. "It's sweet of you; you're just like a little sister I never had."

Rasha snorted. "First it's brothers she had, and now it's a sister she never had. Really, Heka, we all lost someone, but you're the one that keeps on bringing it up!" Hakim and Bakura gave him frightening glares. Heka, however, just flinched.

"I… I suppose you're right," she said, her voice quavering. All of her vigor seemed to have been zapped out of her. "It's no use bringing up the past. Nothing will come out of it other than sorrow and grief…" Heka pressed her fingers to her lips and said, "'Um… it's okay. I think… Well…" She inhaled a shuddering gasp and headed for her room at a quick pace. "…I need some time alone…"

"Moron!" Bakura yelled at Rasha, clouting him. "Fool! Buffoon! Idiot…"

As Hakim placed his brow in his large hand and as Bakura recited every single synonym for 'stupid' known to man, Mana made her way toward the weeping woman in the next room. She had only known her for a day, but Mana felt indebted to Heka. She had protected her from Bakura enough for Mana to get to know him. She had treated her with nothing but kindness and sisterly love. Yes, Mana was very concerned for her.

"Heka…?" she whispered, peering through the doorway. Heka looked up, her lovely black hair veiled her face. "Are you all right?"

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Oh, I'm fine…. I-It's nothing; I… overreacted." Mana took a seat next to her on the soft linen covering her bad. "But I guess…" She burst into tears again and buried her face her in hands. "I'm still not over the shock. I wish…" she sobbed, "I wish I could be as strong as Bakura or Hakim… But I can't! I lost everyone I loved. Everything that meant s-so much to me gone within a… a day!"

Mana put a hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. She was not sure what Heka was talking about, but the answer was obvious enough. "Kuru Eruna?" she asked, leaning closer. "Is that what you're talking about?" Heka nodded pathetically. "Oh…" A hard lump welled up in her throat. "I'm sorry… I know what happened to everyone in the village was unfair… But I'm sure the pharaoh had a reason… a good reason…"

"To protect the…kingdom," Heka whispered. "A magic book… Power to protect Egypt…"

The brown-haired girl stayed silent.

"But… it was no big loss to the nobles," said Heka cynically, her voice growing stronger. "Kuru Eruna was only a city of thieves. It must've been nice… nice to get rid of all of them… Hakim's family, Rasha's father, my brothers…" She sighed sadly. "Bakura's innocence."

"What do you mean…?"

Smiling forlornly, the woman answered her, "He had to watch his entire village being slaughtered. He saw so much blood, so much gore… He was the one that lost truly everything." Mana shook her head in disbelief. Heka placed a hand on Mana's brown cheek. Her eyes held a pained sorrow in them. "Dear child," she said softly. "No one else in the village lived to tell the tale. Other than him…"

"But you… Rasha… Hakim…!"

"I…" said Heka, her eyes misting over, "was in this city when it happened. I had come in hopes of becoming a priestess. Maybe apprenticing a priest, like you did. My parents died when I was little, leaving my eldest brother in charge of his younger siblings, including me. They had encouraged me, seeing that I was skilled magic. I left them, promising I would make an honest living." She sighed again and went on, "Rasha's mother left his father when he was still in her womb. She wanted him to lead a good life, too, but I guess Rasha decided to walk in his father's footsteps anyway, especially after he heard of his fate. And Hakim… He lost his wife, his children… He only escaped their fate because he was taking some wares to sell in a bigger city…"

Stunned, Mana said quietly, "So absolutely no one else whatsoever lived…?" Her voice had all but left her. It was hard for her to believe. She had thought that the four of them had all made it out. "No one except for Bakura."

Heka nodded grimly. "Not even the children were spared. Bakura hid himself and was the sole survivor of Kuru Eruna." Then, with another sigh, she flattened herself on her bed with her hands under her chin. "But on the brighter side, that was how I had met him. Then, we met Hakim and lastly Rasha when his mother died from a fever. But anyway, when I first met Bakura, I was about your age, and I went back to Kuru Eruna as quickly as I could after I heard rumors about an entire village being destroyed. I found him sitting there hugging his legs close to him… He must have been there for days, not eating, sleeping… Just there…" Heka propped her head up with her arms. Mana sat rigidly, feeling warmth drain from her as the woman beside said wistfully, "…absorbing all the hatred, anger, fear, dread, injustice… All those horrible feelings that had lingered in the air just brewing within him.

"He was so small… probably half my age. Poor thing, it took him forever to open up. And after that, all he had in his mind was getting revenge, killing the pharaoh and his priests, all that. It was awful, hearing such hateful words coming from a little boy—he was so small…! And now he's all grown up. He always spoke of it with true conviction. There's no reasoning with him anymore. He can't see past it; it's hopeless for him now…"

Mana held back tears. When she had first met Bakura, she felt the hatred inside of him. She felt it again, when they were in the tomb, except it had grown stronger. If his hatred increased that quickly, it was no wonder Diabound had grown to be such a monster. "So…" Mana swallowed hard. "What's going to happen to him…?"

"Bakura…?" Heka stared straight ahead as if seeing through the wall in front of her and into the future. Mana thought that she could have become Priestess Isis' apprentice. "Bakura will stop at nothing to obtain the Items forged from our villagers' deaths. And when he does, the world will fall into decadence. He will, most likely, bring on the end of everything."

"But that can't be!" Mana cried, jumping to her feet. "He can't destroy the entire world!"

Shaking her head, Heka said, "Oh, I know that. Someone will stop him. But he'll never give up. Until the last moment before eternal death claims him." She paused, her voice grieving. "That is when he'll realize that he will not succeed."

(-)

She had been avoiding eye contact with him ever since she went to talk with Heka. Bakura had noticed. He stood outside behind the house, leaning on its firm, mud brick wall and wondering what Heka could have possibly told Mana. Was it his side of the Kuru Eruna tragedy?

"Um… Bakura?"

He looked to his left to see Mana walking toward him. "Heka… told me what happened. All of it…" Bakura nodded. He was such a good guesser. "And she's also worried about you."

"About my evilness?" he asked, smirking.

"About your evilness," Mana confirmed. Yes, he was a great guesser. "She says if you continue to strive for the Millennium Items, then all you will experience is trouble. Strife." Bakura blinked. He had not known that. But why would Heka keep her thoughts on him secret? Did she not trust his judgement? Did she think that he would do something rash that would end in disaster? "And I'm worried about that, too."

Glowering at her, he spat, "What does she know? What do you know? You don't think like me, so how could you predict what will happen to me if you don't know what I'll do?" He was growing very defensive, and Mana knew what Heka said was true. There was no reasoning with this guy.

Mana sighed and turned her face to the night sky. The dark blue blanket dotted with shimmering stars. Gazing at them gave her hope. "The sky goddess is so beautiful," she whispered, her eyelids closing slightly. Her heart cried for the bandit standing by her, but it was hopeless. And yet, all she could say was, "Her dress is the gorgeous night sky."

Bakura heard grief in her voice. She was attempting to hide it, but it cut through him like a knife. Mana was a strange girl. He frowned, unable to understand her. At the beginning, he had wanted revenge against her; she was one of the pharaoh's friends, so she was no different from the rest of the priests. Now, their relationship had changed so drastically.

She pitied him, and he did not like that. But that showed how much she cared. Even after he had tried to kill her teacher, she still spoke to him warmly. She still smiled at him. The shadows on his face deepened as his scowl intensified. There was a strange feeling in his chest that seemed to eat away at him, seemed to drive him crazy. What was it about her?

Mana spun around, her arms stretched out at her sides. Her eyes were sparkling in the moonlight. Her laughter forced but warm.

That was it.

Kindness. After Kuru Eruna had been destroyed, Bakura had blocked out all feelings and emotions other than hatred. Even Heka had been unable to penetrate through this wall, despite her efforts to. But Mana had been able to. There was something about her childishly pure sincerity that seemed to awaken the child in him, the part of him that was willing to forgive.

"How could he not fall in love with her?"

He closed his eyes, and then opened them again. "What?"

"'How could he not fall in love with her?'" Mana repeated, surprised. "Geb, the god of earth, fell in love with Nut, the sky goddess… Weren't you listening?"

"Oh…" was all Bakura could manage. "That."

Grinning, Mana reached up, stretching her arms to their limits. "Don't you wish you could touch those stars? Eh?" Strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her feet off the ground. Mana jerked her head around to see Bakura's face level with hers. "…"

He smiled at her. Unlike his traditional, condescending grin that he seemed to always have plastered on his face, this one was genuine, not threatening. He was not a big scary man that she had clobbered with a vase anymore; he seemed human. "Try, then," he murmured, his breath tickling her ear, "Steal the stars."

She shook her head, laughing. Mana was content with her head resting on his shoulder. The goddess of the sky could keep her jewels.

(-)

Mana leapt off the black horse as the sun rose. Bakura had dropped her off just beyond the palace walls. "So goodbye, then?" she asked. Bakura said nothing. "Then…" Mana's hands untied the leather string around her neck and held the ends up to Bakura. A white heart weighed down the middle of the string. "Here, take this."

Bakura took it and held it to his eyes. The stone heart dangled from his hand. "Heh." He tossed the necklace back to her. "You can buy these at the bazaar for minimum price," he told her.

"Yes, but," Mana said, looking crestfallen as she caught it. "But would you take it as a keepsake?"

"I don't need to."

Her head tilted to one side, like she was wearing a heavy earring on one ear. "Really? Why not?"

As the sun's golden beams illuminated the desert land, Bakura grinned. "Because I'll see you within the week." Mana's face brightened instantly. He gave her a quick nod and then urged the horse into a gallop. "Hyah!"

"Mana! Is that you?" Atemu's voice rang out across the courtyard. She turned around to see the pharaoh and her teacher running toward her.

When she looked back, Bakura had disappeared.

R&R!