Laura: Helllllllo! MY PUBLIC!((walks out and waves vigourously)) ...HEY! Where is everybody!
Kathleen: They've probably all died from waiting for you by now.
L: ... So... No one's going to read my story?
K: That, and you're a mass murderer.
L: GASP! I'M A WANTED MAN! ...Woman... Whatever.
K: You do that.
L: Well, I suppose an explaintion is at hand. The computer broke. We couldn't set it up until, like, January. Loading up all the docutments back to the computer took forever. I'm mourning the illness of my iPod Mini, Morrissa (Which means I have been stranded without my music for a LONG time. And I'm very attached. I miss Morrissa. ((sob))). Uh... The world forbid me to write?
K: Uh-huh.
L: Well, it SEEMS like they have. The meanies. ((pouts))
K: Just get on with it. Even though I'm sure no one's reading.
L: O-KAY! This is the third chapter of Light Makes Shadows! And, for all those who reviewed, I love you in a non-freakish way, and here are some store-bought cupcakes. ((throws them to you))
Bakura: CUPCAKES! ((attacks the plastic cupcake holder thing)) ... ((notices there are no cupcakes in it)) ... DUDE! Wherehave all the cupcakes gone!
L: Into this new chocolate bar. ((holds up a "Cookies and Cream" bar with "Cookies" scribbled out and "Cupcakes" written over it in Sharpie))
B:T T... Not cool.
L: I gave them to Reviewers. And you can't be here because you aren't formally in the story yet. Which makes many people want to kill me. Just like that time when me and Kathleen and Katie and Ma-
Everyone: JUST GIVE US THE STORY!
K: ((finishes gagging and tying up Laura)) Right. Here's her story.
Akari stood fixated, only seeing the small, white puffs of her breath in the cool air. The girl's line of sight followed up from her hand to Ishara's face. "Who… Are you?"
Ishara glared down, intently studying the girl's features. "By your expression, I sense that isn't the question you want answered." She bent down, bringing herself face-to-face with Akari. "And the answer is yes. I can hurt you. And I will if I don't get my way." Her emotionless words cut the crisp air like an assassin's dagger.
Suddenly felt like she was flying. Long black hair streaming behind her, she let her long legs carry her through the busy streets. This is a dream… This is a dream… Brushing through the thick crowds of people with her eyes clamped shut, she willed herself to get home.
You can't run.
The girl's head jerked up, her eyes flying open at the noise. Standing amidst the crowd was Ishara, fixing Akari with her cold glare. People were bustling all around her, walking right through her, not paying any heed. Barely breathing, she walked forward. Akari gazed at her, fixated on her lifeless stare. Give in…
Breaking the connection, Akari yanked away, running to the side. This isn't a dream… It's a nightmare.
…
Breathing hard, the girl tore up to her apartment building, like she had seen a ghost. Ignoring everything around her, she darted up to the door, ripping it open. Hesitating, she spun around, her wild-eyed search around the street seemed to satisfy her, and she bounded into the building, coat flapping in the quiet wind.
Barely even thinking, Akari tore past the doors and the people she knew, dashing up the stairs. By the time she realised she was going a bit too fast, she found herself sprawled over the steps right before her floor. Crap… Getting up, she grabbed the bag of groceries, cursing over the spilled carton of orange juice. Just what I needed- She abruptly shot straight up, feeling a touch on her shoulder. "What?" Akari tensely asked, tuning swiftly to face the offender.
Standing there was the keeper of the building, a woman in her 70's. From behind her dirty glasses, her brown eyes peered up worriedly. "Akari dear, are you okay…?"
Heaving a sigh of relief, Akari slumped. "Yes, ma'am. I'm okay."
The older woman laughed, bending over to pick up a box of crackers. "That's okay dear, these things happen…"
Akari had to smile. The other's kindly demeanor always held a calming effect on her nerves. Bending over, she put some packets into the bag. "Thank you. I'm sorry I got juice on the floor…"
The older woman continued to pick up the scattered groceries. "Don't worry, I'll clean it up-" She suddenly stopped.
Akari turned to face her. The keeper's face had gone pale, the blood flushed from her usually lively features. Even though she was facing the floor, Akari could see that her smiling mouth had been set in a grim line, and her grey hair had fallen from her bun to over her eyes. "Ma'am…?"
She uprighted herself awkwardly, head still bent towards the ground. She looked like a puppet, like someone was pulling on strings attached to her limbs. Rapidly, she flipped her head up, her deep brown eyes now a pupil-less grey. "Akari…"
The girl dropped everything, stepping backwards. "You…" That voice! It was just like…
The lifeless eyes stared back. "Yes. It's me." Her voice sounded oddly disconnected to her body. "Ishara. And it's time for you to stop running from your fate." The words came out in a hiss.
Stumbling backwards, Akari fought a silent battle with her mind. I thought she was gone! Well, I guess THAT was wrong… "Wha… How… What are you doing!" Akari worked farther up the stairs. The woman was following her, hand outstretched.
She sighed. "Why must you be so resistant? Come… to… me!" The apartment keeper's body fell limp to the ground as Ishara leaped out towards Akari, arms outstretched and glowing with a mysterious purple aura.
Grasping her wit, Akari found the sense to leap up the remainder of the staircase. Flinging the door of her apartment open, she dove inside, the door crashing behind her. Her mother leaned out from the kitchen.
"Akari? What are you doing?" The girl ignored the question, running past in a blur to her room. Her mother stared down the hall at her daughter's door, shaking her head wearily. That girl…
Now in the sanctity of her room, Akari jumped onto her bed and began to sob into the mattress. Wake up… Wake up… Let this all stop…
Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air behind her. Not daring to move, Akari continued to cry, pulling the pillow over her head, attempting to keep the world out. She jerked as she felt a touch on her shoulder. It wasn't like anything she had ever felt. It went right through her body, straight to her soul, like someone was prying to get in.
"Why are you hiding?" It was Ishara's voice again. "Why do you keep running? Are you afraid of what you don't know? Or is it what you do know?" Akari could feel the soft, reverberating air around the spirit next to her ear. "Your thoughts, your feelings, your dreams; I see them all." The girl's prostrate form went rigid. "You are no match to me. I have so much more, so much more power. Why do you think I'm here?"
Akari remained silent, unsure of whether it was because she didn't know, or because she didn't trust herself to answer.
"Come on, I don't just go up to random people to scare them," Ishara commented haughtily. "I need you. So why not make it easier on the whole bloody lot of us and give in?" When there was no answer, Ishara's annoyance turned to rage. "You stupid girl, you think that your life is hard!" She roughly grasped Akari's face, dragging the terrified girl around. "Such impudence for one so privileged… Did the sands of Egypt burn your face every day? Where you to be someone's slave because you weren't as capable as everyone else? Did your one true shot at happiness break your heart for their own selfishness!" Ishara roared, her face echoing wearied signs of loss.
Akari stared back, unsure of how to respond to this. What is she talking about?
Ishara's expression quickly softened to that of steel. "Nothing that you have to know about," she said, answering Akari's mental question. "Now, I didn't want to have to do this, but-" Pushing Akari over, she reached out, sticking both of her hands directly into her back.
"What the—" Akari turned her head to shout angrily, but stopped. Her blue-grey eyes suddenly changed, becoming a dark purple. Her body shakily stood up, threatening to topple like a limp rag doll.
Steadying herself with the wall, she gritted he teeth and muttered curses. Taking a deep breath, she stooped over, eyes closed, face towards the ground, mumbling a quiet chant. Ten seconds in, and I'm already hating being human again. There was a quiet spiral of shadowed clouds around the room as the chants got louder, stronger. And as suddenly as they had arrived, the billows dissipated, dispersing around the room.
Flinging her head back, Ishara stood up. Akari's features had been changed to suit her own. Her black bangs had grown down, covering her left eye, and her right eye was a brilliant hazel. Akari's thin hair had become thick and full, cascading down her slender shoulders. But all my scars have stayed, Ishara thought, frowning into the girl's floor length mirror. Her almost pigment-less skin was blurred by a mess of scratches and healed cuts. Why must the past try to haunt me? Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell.
"WHAT THE—WHERE AM I!" Ishara covered her ears, sighing loudly. She had almost forgotten. Willing herself, she found her soul floating next to a dark, closed door.
"Hush up, stupid. I'm right here," Ishara fought the urge to kill the girl right then. Smoothly, she opened the door, smirking as a bewildered Akari fell out, onto the ground. "And I can here every word you say. In. My. HEAD. So keep it down."
Akari gazed upwards from off the ground. "Uh… Okay, then… Where are we?" She stumbled over her words, working hard to keep herself quiet.
"Your soul room." Ishara answered plainly, glancing around.
Akari frowned. "…And that means…?"
Ishara continued to dodge the question. "It's where your soul is."
"And…?" Wow, she knew how to be frustrating.
"What?" Ishara looked down at Akari, who was fighting her own urge to kill Ishara. "That's about it."
Akari slumped over, imaging herself sticking an Ishara voodoo doll full of pins. "WHY… AM… I… HERE…?"
"Oh. Yeah." She inspected her nails. "I took control of your body."
"WHAT!" Akari sat bolt upright, almost hitting her head on the door frame.
Ishara leaned down, grinning impishly. "I'm your Yami, smart one. Or didn't I mention that before?" She widened her eyes in mock astonishment.
"…No," the girl glared, wishing she could shoot daggers out of her eyes. "What's that?"
"Hm? Overall, I guess it means that I use your body for my home, too. I have the power to control you whenever I like, I can hear your thoughts, such and such," she dismissed the sentence with a wave of her hand. "You're my hikari. So get used to it. Now, first on my priorities, I-"
"Wait," Akari interrupted. "But… Why? And I don't think that's legal at all…"
Ishara huffed impatiently. "Morals aren't the issue at hand. And because I need you for something." She took a breath to continue, but than stopped on a thought. "Well, I guess there's nothing to keep my soul anchored here. I need something… Ah." Waving her hands over one another, she began to recite in a tongue that Akari didn't know. But what was going on was really concerned her.
Between Ishara's hands, something was happening. A beautiful, lilac mist flowed out, encircling tiny sphere of light that levitated between her palms. I swirled around as if trapped in some invisible ball, like a caged animal. Then, the smoke collapsed inward, and quickly vanished. Inside her hand was a necklace. The pendant hanging down was a polished silver crescent, and at its tip was a shining aqua blue gem like none she had ever seen. She watched her reflection in it as it stared back intently. It was so captivating, so beautiful, so… mysterious… Ishara smirked. It was doing its job well.
"Now," Ishara stated, breaking the spell, "You will have to wear this always…" She held the choker up as she walked slowly behind Akari. "It will be the only way I can stay here." Pushing away the girl's glossy locks, she brought the necklace around her neck, pulling the satin sides closely around.
Common sense was screaming to Akari now, but there was something overpowering it, something blurring the clarity of her mind. I have to have it… It has to be mine… She tried to move forward, but an invisible shackle held her to the spot.
Ishara's eyes lowered to slits. So close… "Now, promise me you'll keep it safe." She straightened the straps, smoothing down their immaculate black edges.
No no no no… "I will."
"Good." Ishara clasped the lock, and felt the girl go stiff. Very good.
Akari was falling. Falling though time, seeing things that had been, seeing what other people had saw, feeling what they felt. Her mind was telling her the fog was gone, but she couldn't believe it. Everything her senses said contradicted it. There was a sudden halt, and she could tell that she was floating, but couldn't feel it. Where am I?
Even though it was blurred like a memory, the scene was captivating in Akari's eyes. It was a clear night, the navy sky speckled with stars. She was in a small town, the mud houses reflecting the moonlight beautifully in their stark simplicity. Few lights remained on, peeking through the windows like eyes in the dark. Turning her head, she took it all in. Standing on one of the taller houses' porches, stood a young woman, staring towards the heavens. Something pulling her in, Akari went closer to the scene.
The girl was one of the most beautiful people Akari had ever seen. Even in the faint flame of the candles behind her, she was someone that drew attention. Her thick, black hair reached midway down her back, radiating against the dark glow of her tanned skin. She was dressed in a tattered outfit that spoke of Arabian tones. Her face was her most enchanting feature, though. Although she was off to the side of the girl, her profile was obviously something only a handful of girls could achieve. She would not only draw attention, she would command it, making Akari want to stare at her full, earthly features for hours. The girl closed her eyes and sighed, turning her head to face the ground.
Akari could almost feel her heart breaking as the girl began to quietly cry. Wiping her face in her sheer sleeve, she took a deep breath, eyes still fixated on the ground. She leaned a bit father over the wooden fence. "Hey."
Akari spun around. Coming through the door to the outcrop was a man, a look of discomfort and uncaring hiding his emotions. He frowned, pulling his dark red coat over his strong body. "Why are you outside? It's cold." He stared intensely at the girl, his deep brown eyes seeming to read her every thought.
The girl took a step back, words caught in her throat. "…I… Um…" She stopped, closing her eyes, trying to adapt to the situation. Expelling a deep breath, her entire physique fell, deflating like a balloon. Looking back up, her eyes burned like dying embers as she studied him. "I guess you want me to leave." Her tone had a note of finality.
The man jerked back, some of his short, white locks falling in front of his face. "Leave?"
The girl yanked her gaze from the ground, her shadowed face suddenly animated. "Why not? I messed up the entire day for you. Don't tell me I've done something deservingof your kindness," she said with a good amount of unintended fire. Her expression flashed though emotions as she fixed him with a challenging glare.
The man looked away sheepishly. "I didn't mean that earlier. Well, actually I did, but… I was just angry. Kind of having a bad day, you know?" He sauntered over to her, taking a piece of her thick hair in his fingers. "It's not every day when I find pretty girls to take care of." He smiled, eyes locked on her face.
Frowning, the girl watched him intently, almost searching for something. "I'm not pretty. Poor servant girls aren't pretty." She pulled away, her mind somewhere else. "I'm just some stupid cripple." She eyed him, waiting for what she wanted to hear.
He smirked, knowing she was baiting him. "And I'm a no-good thief." The man strode over, putting his arms around her slim shoulders. "Maybe then," he chided, using a story-telling voice, "We're supposed to be together. Besides, how much more messed up can we both get?"
She laughed, pulling his arms closer to her body. Together, they stared into the vast sky. "Not much," she whispered, leaning back on him. "Not very much."
…
Akari felt like she was stuck in a book. She felt glued to it, like she was a part of it, which she knew was odd because this was the kind of fluff she hated. But something felt so much more real about it, so much more gripping. It was so warm and beautiful, like something she wanted-
"Eh!" Akari spun around and found herself staring into Ishara's hardened face. She looked worn before her years, like she wanted to go back and just change it all. "What are you doing!" Ishara kept her steely resolve, her hand warm on Akari's back. It was all changing. The navy blue sky turned to a dark torrent of colors, dragging Akari from the scene. She was plopped back to where she had started, in her soul room. The girl sat on the cold ground, staring up at Ishara in disbelief, trying to pick up her bearings. "W… What did you do that for!"
Ishara looked in no mood to toy with the girl. "What's done is done. Forget the past." She turned, surveying the expanse.
Akari twitched. Ishara was frustrating. First, she takes over her body and sends her into some random vision. Then, she takes her out and tells her that it meant absolutely nothing. Well, nobody plays games with my being. Growling, Akari grabbed the older woman's arm. Ishara wheeled angrily, peeved that someone dared to disturb her. "Listen, you, nobody does this to me and gets away with it, you-"
Cutting her off with a shrill laugh, Ishara challenged her. "Oh, yes, I've been so horrible to you. Please excuse my bad manners." She took a daring stare into Akari's fiery eyes. "I really have been bad to you," she purred, circling the girl. "You're just some girl with everything she wants, who keeps fighting for the freedom she so craves. You think you're like a trapped animal, destined only to keep staring out the same bars for the rest of time. Hope is only a distant thought for you." Her voice took on a venomous edge.
Akari kept her stance, watching Ishara's every movement. But she was troubled. Ishara had gone onto such a personal level now, like she was reading a page of someone's diary. How does she keep doing that? Ishara chuckled, facing her back to Akari now.
"Ah, the beauty of youth." Ishara put a hand to her face. "Such arrogance. But I guess that everyone's entitled to such thoughts." She paused like she was finished. "But…" she came back. "What if those thoughts are real? What if you are trapped, life being repeated like a tiring mantra for you?" A cold finality hung in the air.
"What's that supposed to mean? I've been trying to break away for my whole life. Nobody near me feels like that." A tiredness washed over Akari. "I just want to go back to my life."
Ishara turned her back to her younger, studying the thin air. "… And what if I say… 'No?'"
Something burst, filling Akari with flowing fury, grief, and emptiness in crushing torrents. "Then I'll take it into my own hands!" All of her lost emotion found an outlet as she slapped Ishara's left cheek. And with that, all of her raw strength fell through, and she sunk to the ground, awaiting fate.
But nothing came.
Blinking back tears, Akari, stared at her hands in her lap. One was red from the force of her hit. There were so many curves and lines to them, almost like a fine painting. A sudden sound filled her ears. It was laughing, but soft, almost musical. And deadly.
Ishara was smiling like a dog showing off its fangs. One of her hands was absently stroking the red blotch on her cheek. "Ku ku… So you are brave." Akari felt herself flinch as Ishara's words fell like raindrops. "Not many people would venture to hit my blind side."
L: NOW WASN'T THAT WORTH IT?
Horde of People: No.
K: ((with torch)) This STILL has nothing to formally do with Yu-Gi-Oh.
L: IT WILL! I SWEAR!
Horde of People: ... ((sharpen their axes))
L: ... Uh... WELL! Thanks for reading thus far and have a happy Saint Patrick's Day! Oh, and for anyone who reads/watches Naruto, I wish a SUPER HAPPY birthday to Kisame! Who I'm sure doesn't want it!
Kisame: No.
K: ... JUST FINISH IT.
L: Eep! Um, and please review, because you all are so overjoyed that Laura has acctually finished something for once that you all fall into comas of happiness. You can review once you get out of your comas.
K: ...?
L: ... Yeah...
K&L: BYE!
