Blood Only Glows in the Dark Chapter 30: 30, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Um...wow. Almost two whole weeks since the last update, eh?

Yeah, usually I try to be better than that...its a real funny story, honest!

Disclaimer: The only things I own are what I invented

(PS: Thunderstorm101 - thanks! I just might be using that soon, too...)

By the time the rest of their group caught up to Bakurah and his servants, the white-haired fiend had reached the end of the street. Thankfully, Bakurah also seemed to have calmed down, though he kept shooting the mortals thoroughly disgusted looks.

"Our target should be just around this corner," the thief said, being mercifully matter-of-fact, "Of course, if anyone was stupid enough to actually walk around the side of this building, a conveniently misplaced net of traps and spells would make quite short work of them, so we're not going to try that way."

"You can't bring them down?" Yami asked.

"Two of Them crumbled into dust when they hit the wards - so I damn well hope you two are fucking happy now," Bakurah snapped.

Wisely, Honda and Jou mutely raised their hands in the universal gesture of surrender. Satisfied with their intimidated state, Bakurah ignored them and gestured to the office building they were standing next to. The main doors had been barred against intruders, but there had been several stores here before and their big windows were now little more than sidewalk smithereens.

"There's a back entrance leading to the garage. Fortunately for us, its completely unguarded right now," Bakurah continued, leading the way inside and talking over his shoulder, "And since the sun has set -"

"How does he know dat?" Jou whispered.

Whatever answer Honda had thought of was turned into a stifled gulp as the fiend glared right at them.

"AS I was saying," the fiend continued icily, "Since the sun has set, it will be staying unguarded for several more hours."

"…How can you be certain?" Ryou dared asked.

Bakurah chuckled. It wasn't a nice chuckle.

"You'll see."

Moments later, Yami was cursing Bakurah's family back to his most distant ancestors. Of all the places to sneak through, why had he chosen a gargoyle roost? The unimaginably foul odor left behind by the roost's residents made Yami reminiscent for the stench of dead mortal flesh! On the positive side - the extremely barely at all justifiable positive side - the fact that no one in their right mind would even consider going this way would ensure that this way was booby trap-free.

But there was something distinctly unsettling about the notion that such fortified defenses as what were being used against them could be so easily bypassed as long as the intruders were all pathetically crazed morons.

Perhaps someone had decided to grant a slight measure of mercy to their suicidal little jaunt, because less than five minutes after entering the roost the group was back out again…although slightly a little more fragrant than before.

Across the street, their target sat, managing to look quite innocent and unprotected. And strangely enough, the house really was nigh on unprotected - unless you counted one seriously overpowered demon overlord as enough of a defense.

"So," Bakurah continued with a conversational air, "We're here. What's the plan?"

A moment of silence hung over the group as the mortals tried to recall what sort of plan they had constructed for this moment. Bakurah's 'almost-friendly' glare shifted into one of his harsher versions within seconds - the 'we are not amused' version, if Yami had to name it.

"You numbskulls want to take out someone as powerful as this and you didn't even bother to make a plan. Please tell me that's not the case," the fiend said in a low, dangerously calm tone of voice.

Yami was drawn away from his contemplation of the house across the street by the feeling of various pairs of eyes watching him. Despite how deep of a hole they had dug for themselves by trying to enter the enemy's stronghold without the slightest clue what to do when they got there, seeing humans so bewildered was as amusing as always.

"The great and powerful Pharaoh didn't make a plan. Be still my beating heart," Bakurah smirked.

'What heart?' were the first words to come to Yami's tongue, though he refrained from uttering them. After all, someone had to be the mature, sensible leader in this motley little gang of theirs. So instead, Yami calmly replied, "You're the one who usually plans this sort of thing, remember?"

Bakurah grinned, flashing a set of very sharp and pointy teeth.

"Good to see that you haven't gone completely senile yet."

As the necromancer-demon began scheming and sketching out a battle plan, Yami turned to see Yugi watching him with a thoughtful expression. Contemplative and neutral, which was new.

"Senile?" Yugi quietly wondered aloud.

Irritated, Yami turned back to staring at the house across the street. On second thought, the mage-demon quietly stated to no one that "I'm only a month older than he is," and Yugi's amused chuckle was unbelievably gratifying.

As a matter of fact, the second Yami knew for certain that Bakurah was going to be tagging along with them through the end of this adventure, he had decided to let the fiend plan the attack at this stage. And usually the fact that Yami could read Bakurah so easily made him feel smug and superior - knowledge of your enemies gave you equal power over them, after all - but this time it made him feel uncomfortable. As if he was ignoring something that required his utmost attention.

It was probably more uncomfortable because that was the truth of the matter. Obsessing over Yugi when he could stay hidden and keep it his private secret was one thing, but publicizing that same information…humans tended to grow positively vicious over these delicate matters, especially when things were mishandled.

Bakurah, on the other hand, had always been as blunt as an axe, for all his incredible skills in sneak-thievery. Either he told you what was on his mind or he ripped out your tongue - or threatened to - for daring to so much as consider asking what he was thinking.

'Not always,' something whispered from the depths of Yami's mind, 'Not with us.'

Idly, the mage-demon watched his claws sprout to their full length and shrink again as he flexed his hand. Wasn't it a thief who had first said to open yourself to another is to point the spot for them to stick their knife into you?

An innocent sold their soul to follow a cutthroat and burned for it. Best not to perpetrate that mistake. Guard Yugi from this threat, then leave and never look back. Even if the idea of leaving makes you feel dizzy and nauseous…

"Oi! Pharaoh!" Bakurah snapped, shaking Yami out of his thoughts, "We're set! Let's go!"

"I can't wait to hear what half-mad plan you have this time, thief," Yami said conversationally as he moved over to join the others.

"Its brilliant, as usual," Bakurah sneered, "Those idiots only made the house impervious to the black arts - that's us - but against the opposite forms of magic, its more fragile than an eggshell."

"And where are we going to find the opposite form, Bakurah?" Yami retorted, his decision of one minute ago inexplicably souring his mood.

Bakurah rolled his eyes and shoved one of the mortals forward.

"Remember our little White Wizard here, idiot?"