A/N : Hello! so yes... escape time. Erm, a little confession... I've never actually wrote an escape type thing before, so generally don't know how good this is going to be. So if it sucks, I apologize in advance. any how, saying that, please enjoy! and Reviews are always appreciated, good or constructive! Also, hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween and a brilliant costume! Xx

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 11

Hina quickly fled from her stone cell. She couldn't think about it for the risk she might change her mind. She needed to get as far away from the man as possible. She'd get out of the palace, then out of the Kings City and beyond the wall that separated the dead ruins of vast cities. She'd get away and walk for as long as it took to put as much distance between herself and the monster that inhabited the land. Hina reached the brightly lit hall way and paused. It was all good and well planning it out, but how was she going to get away. Hina forced herself to calm down and started walking down the corridor. She just needed to focus on the task at hand. If she could get to the kitchens, she knew there was a door leading out into a small court yard although she'd never been through there. Hina almost jumped when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She found herself praying as the sounds got closer.

Please don't be him. Please don't be him

At the end, Hina saw two men round the corner, dressed in guard uniforms. She caught one of their eyes as they walked closer to her. Hina was about to continue on walking past them when one of the men held out his arm, blocking her path. Hina stopped, her heart beating frantically. She glared at the men. One was quite tall and broad with harsh features. Hina suspected from looking at him he liked his job, he hadn't taken this position for fear of the king. He'd taken it for the power and for the enjoyment of causing pain. The second man was different, Hina could tell, it was in his expression.

"Excuse me," Hina spoke politely.

"Where do you think you're going?" The first man asked his eyes dark. Hina gulped. She could either play this quietly, or she could play it strong. She needed to play it strong.

"The King sent me for a glass of water." Hina said coldly, looking the man dead in the eyes. She saw the smug arrogance falter in his expression. He may be a cruel man, but the King still struck fear into all his people. For once, it seemed to come in handy. The man moved his arm reluctantly.

"You are to go there, get it and return. No detours." He snapped at her.

"naturally." Hina replied coolly. She continued on down the hall, feeling the guard's eyes upon her. When she turned the corner, she exhaled with relief. That could have gone a lot worse. She quickened her pace, thoughts whirling round her mind now. She may have just limited her time for escape. What if the man asked Bakura about requesting her for a glass of water? Then he'd know she'd lied and Bakura would know something was wrong. If he caught her, Hina dreaded the consequences.

Hina reached the kitchens rather quickly and without any further disruption to her journey. She pushed open the heavy wooden door and found herself stood in a large darkened kitchen. She didn't risk switching the lights on, not wanting to attract any attention. She knew the slaves quarters were attached to the kitchens and waking them was not a good idea. There was a large work table before her and she could just about see through the dark it was cleared. A work top also ran around the entire room, lining the walls. There were three doors leading off from the kitchen. One led to the quarters, the second to the walk in freezer and the third at the far end of the room led to the outside world. Hina quickly wound between the wooden work surfaces her eyes fixed upon the target. She reached the door and pulled. She half expected it to be locked, but was pleasantly surprised when it swung open with ease. Hina almost laughed with gratitude and stepped out into the night.

The night air was cool and refreshing upon her skin. She inhaled the cold air and gazed around. Before her was a large open grassy area. Across the grass stood the wall standing almost thirty feet tall, a walkway built into the top that even as Hina watched, a guard walked casually across. Hina gulped, her eyes scanning the wall for any possible way out. There was none. She would have to do this the hard way. She'd been climbing before. She and Osamu had climbed up many dilapidated walls and quickly to aid in their escapes. Now she would use that skill to escape again. Ducking low to the ground, she ran across the expanse of greenery, avoiding any light as best as she could. She didn't stop running until she'd run into the side of the wall. Hina straightened up and pressed herself close to the stone, gazing back at the monstrosity of a castle. It really was revolting. From what she could see, there were no look outs from the building. The only look out for intruders or escapee's would be upon the wall. Hina turned back towards the rock and ran her hands over it. It was fairly smooth, but the edges of large stones still provided enough of a foot hole to make it possible to climb. Hina exhaled with fantastic relief. Luck was on her side today. Hina began to climb.

It was hard work. She felt the sweat dripping down her brow and had to pause in a somewhat semi comfortable position just to catch her breath. Her fingers had blisters bubbling up on them and the muscles in her hand were screaming, not to mention the pain in her bare feet. She took a moment to glance down, seeing how far she'd got up. She couldn't tell exactly how high up she was, but knew it was high enough that if she should fall from this height, it would cause some serious damage. She was more than halfway there. Hina pushed off the rock with her foot and reached up with her hand, managing to find a decent grip. She took a deep breath and pushed up again, crawling vertically.

Just a little further

She tried to push herself on, knowing the top was in sight, but the thought occurred to her then what if she ran into a guard up there? She'd have nowhere to run or hide. She'd be taken back to that monster and then god only knows what.

No, I can't think like that

She couldn't allow her mind to become weak. She needed to keep on going. She wouldn't stop until she was far away from here. He would never find her again. Hina felt her fingertips clasp at the ledge. She exhaled relieved. She was at the top. She pulled herself up, her feet desperately finding as much grip as possible. She managed to pull herself over the ledge, and with one final push, she was on and rolled off the ledge onto the walkway. Hina exhaled and lay on her back, gazing up at the night sky, panting. Her fingers burned and were covered in blisters, her feet stung painfully. After a few minutes passed by in an almost peaceful like silence, Hina knew she had to move. She forced herself to sit up. It wasn't over yet. She knew there was a lot more to go before she would be safe. She glanced across the walkway atop the wall. The wall seemed to run in a complete circle around the mansion where the King lived. At intervals along the wall, there were small rooms built upon it, sectioning parts of the wall off. Inside she could see electric lights and could almost imagine the guards sat with a drink before their next patrol. Hina couldn't see any guards close enough to cause her harm. They were probably just taking a short break. She used the ledge to pull herself to her feet. She winced as she put pressure on her sore soles. Hina stood still for a moment enjoying the cool air on her skin. She had to think things through. She could risk it and wander along the wall for a bit, trying to find a way down, or she could climb down. Hina didn't have time to look, she knew she would have to climb down. All it would take was for Bakura to decide he wasn't done with her and send for her. Then they'd know she'd escaped. Hina gulped, her body already shaking and feeling weak from her first climb. She walked across to the other side of the wall. She gazed out across the Kings City. It was as horrifying as she'd first found it. Lights were on in the streets and she could see a few, but not many, people winding along the broken roads between crumbling buildings. Electricity shone out of the dark, illuminating thousands of squares across the city. She wondered idly if they still had TV. She remembered it a little from before the darkness had swept across the land ten years ago, but most of her memories were from finding these large flat pieces of black glass. Osamu had told her about them and once, their little dysfunctional family had found a broken one. It had just been the frame, but they'd stood it up, balancing it somehow and they'd all taken turns to go in it and entertain the group. The memory flitted across Hina's mind as she gazed at the city, not truly seeing it. She smiled sadly. She missed her friends.

The memory only worked in pushing her forwards. Hina's expression hardened. She, without hesitation, clambered over the wall and began her shaky decent down. This time it was harder. Gravity was pulling her downwards putting more strain on her already aching muscles. She gritted her teeth as she held her self still as her foot dangled, scraping against the stone, trying to find some hold. Hina continued to climb down, taking longer than before. Each time she worked herself another foot down, her body became weaker and it became harder to hold her weight up. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on. She glanced down and was relieved to see she was close. She grabbed hold of a piece of stone that jutted out of the wall. She then let go with her other hand, intending to move down, but as soon as she did, she regretted it. The rock wobbled, then broke. Hina had to stop herself from crying out as she lost her grip. Her legs went weak and slipped. She fell, her hands scraping against the stone, desperately trying to find some grip before she hit the ground. In the back of her head she knew if she hit the ground from this height, she'd break something. At the last second, her fingers found a small ledge. Her weight pulled on her arm and her body hit against the rock painfully, but her grip remained. She gasped out as her muscles screamed at her. She would be lucky if the escape alone didn't kill her. Gingerly, Hina lowered herself to the floor. When her bloodied feet touched ground, she couldn't help but sigh with relief.

Hina took in her surroundings. She was stood on an empty street. Opposite her was another street, this one lit by street lamps. There were a few people strolling down it, but not many. Hina wondered where they'd been. After everything the King had done to the land, would people still have jobs, places to go to work and earn a living. She supposed so, but where and doing what exactly. So many questions were whizzing around her head it was making her feel dizzy. Hina tried to straighten out her clothes, but with little effect. She straightened up and set off. She had an entire city to get through to find the way back into the ruins beyond. She silently cursed herself for not paying more attention when she was brought to this abdominal place. Every step sent pain through her feet and it was already becoming increasingly difficult to walk. She forced herself on, trying not to look around in horror at the place. Lights shone out of glass less windows, almost as if they were trying to invite her in, but she couldn't allow herself to. If she had to walk the entire night, she would. She was getting out.

Bakura scowled at his reflection. He wasn't usually one to look at his reflection, but right now he needed to. He needed to remind himself who he was. He needed to remind himself of who he was not. He turned away from the mirror in his bathroom and quickly exited the room. He walked over to his bed and lounged across it idly. He'd kissed the slave girl. He'd actually shown some stupid affection towards her. It was foolish on his behalf. He should be better in control of the damn owner of the body he inhabited. For whatever reason, his control over the body had become weak, or his host had become stronger. This was... disconcerting to say the least. He would need to change that. He needed to gain total control again. It was as if his soul blended into the boys. It was becoming increasingly difficult to figure where his emotions ended and the boys began. All he needed to know was for some reason he had a strange ach in his chest when it came to the stupid girl. Bakura gritted his teeth in frustration. Even now, he could sense the presence of the owner of this body, just lying beneath the surface. What would cause him to fight so hard now? Well, whatever it was, it wasn't going to work. He'd fought too hard to beat the Pharaoh and his foolish friends. He'd worked hard to gain power. Even if he had to kill the girl to regain control, he would. Even as he thought those words, he knew he could never do it. He may have put it down to her intriguing him before, but he knew it was more. Her soul was oddly attractive to him. It may have been the fight in her or the refusal to give in to him, but he could no longer deny he liked it.

Hina limped forwards, almost finding her aching unbearable. She passed a few people in the street, getting odd looks from them, but nothing more. No one tried to stop her and no one she recognised. She hadn't recognised any of the slaves in the palace either, so she presumed what had once become her family were now probably dead. She was an orphan and the though scared her. She had no one. The only person she had was the monster she was trying to escape from. God, her feet hurt like mad. She stumbled over the uneven floor, tumbling to her knees. She wanted to cry, scream and cry all at once.

"Fuck," She breathed, pouring all her frustrations into that one word. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to her feet. She stumbled again but managed to keep up right. She continued to walk along the now deserted street, a breeze sending her long hair flying in every direction. She was tired and it was having an effect on her. She wanted to sleep. Without realising it, she made a decision to find somewhere away from the main part of the town and have a nap. It took her almost ten minutes to find a darkened alleyway to settle down for the night. She walked along the tiny path and settled to the floor behind a pile of rubble and out of view from the street. She rested her back against one of the buildings hemming her in. Hina closed her eyes and it didn't take long for sleep to overcome her.