A/N : Update time! Yay! So yeah... took some time off work to purposely do some decent writing, so I hope its decent! So, it was fun writing this as drama and action ensues, which is genres I do like to work on. I really do hope I've done it justice and that you enjoy! As ever, Reviews are always received with much gratitude, whether positive or Constructive! Xx

Disclaimer : I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 12

Hina sat bolt upright and gasped. For a moment she felt panic rising up in her chest as she examined her unfamiliar surroundings. It took a few moments for the previous night's events to return to the front of her mind and when it did, she sat back and closed her eyes, feeling her heart beating frantically in her chest. She lifted her fingers to graze over her lips. The man who had been the cause of so much evil, so much pain, so much torment… He'd kissed her. Hina wasn't sure how to feel. She couldn't deny something she felt strange as she relived the moment in her mind. She opened her eyes and cringed away from the memory. She knew how to feel, she had reacted. She'd escaped his cruel clutches and if luck continued to be on her side, she would evade him forever. Hina forced her fingers away from her lips and let her hand drop by her side. She would refuse to relive the moment ever again. Hina examined the alley way curiously. Curled up behind a pile of rubble, she'd effectively hidden herself from the eyes of anyone who would be walking along the main street. It was a filthy alley way, with lumps of broken bricks and litter strewn across it. If she wasn't used to this kind of environment, she would have shrunk away from it. There was a foul smell as well, like rotting food, that hung over the alley. Hina's body ached from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Her neck was stiff and her muscles sore. She flexed them, trying to work some warmth back into her joints. She twisted around, getting onto her knee's. She knelt around the pile of rubble, getting a good view of the street beyond. The sun was out in full glow, almost hurting her eyes. She could see the residents of the Kings City walking out, going to work or to get food, or whatever it was they did in this godforsaken place. For a split second, Hina considered returning to the King. She pushed the thought away almost instantly. If she went back there and admitted she'd tried to escape, all that would await her was punishment and pain. Despite everything, it still felt weird somehow, for her to be leaving him behind. No, she'd come this far. It may be a challenge to find her way out of the city, but she would do it. She had to. Hina pushed herself to her feet and regretted it. She winced and stumbled back against the wall for support. The bottoms of her feet were sore. She gritted her teeth and forced herself back up, trying to ignore the pain. Quickly, she began looking around the alley in the hope of finding anything that may help to disguise her appearance. She might be safe for now, but it was only a matter of time until someone figured out she was gone.

Bakura held the golden artifact in his hands with interest, his fingertips brushing over the detailing of the object. It had been a long time since he'd worn his millennium ring. After releasing Zorc, there was no longer any need to wear it, besides his powers and that of Zorc were stronger when all the ancient items were kept together. Now was different, he needed it. A part of his soul was still sealed inside the item and he hoped keeping it close would make him stronger. He'd never needed to force down his hosts soul before, but it had become necessary. A knock upon his door pulled Bakura out of his thoughts. He looked up towards the golden door, pulling the cord over his head and letting the golden ring dangle over his chest beneath his shirt. Already he felt a strong warmth and comfort spread throughout his body.

"What?" He demanded. The door opened slowly, almost tentatively. A man entered the room, his body language giving away the fear he was feeling. Even from where Bakura sat, he could see the man was shaking and had trickles of sweat dotted across his forehead. The man looked pathetic, a snivelling creature with no real use. Bakura glared at him waiting for the man to speak.

"Sir…" He began, his voice trailing off as he rung his hands together nervously. Bakura swung his legs off the table and stood up, already projecting his dark aura towards the man. The guard gulped down and tried again.

"My King, it's… it's… What I mean to say is…" He stuttered. Bakura moved forwards already feeling his temper rising at the man's incompetence to speak.

"What?" He demanded dangerously, a bad feeling already rearing its ugly head in the pit of his stomach. The man was shaking uncontrollably in front of him and the only reason for him to be so shaken, would be if he had to report something really bad.

"It's the… the girl… the slave girl… she's missing." The man eventually croaked out, looking close to passing out. Bakura felt his face grow hot as anger threatened to burst free. He took a deadly step towards the man.

"We… I mean, myself and the Captain… we saw her last… last night… She was going to get you a glass of…water… but…but no one's seen her since…since then," he continued to explain.

"I never asked for a glass of water," Bakura spat the darkness already creeping up around them as his rage bubbled over.

"You mean to tell me… the stupid girls escaped?" He roared, finally enclosed in the shadows. The man fell to his knees shaking violently. Bakura felt a rage of which he hadn't felt in thousands of years wash over him. The foolish girl had tried to escape him? He'd shown her kindness and she had fled? She was his, his property, his to do with as he pleased! How dare she try and escape him! He would rip down every building; steal every soul on this desolate planet until he found the foolish brat again. Then, then he would make her suffer for trying to escape him! While he'd been thinking over these thoughts, he had grabbed the guard by the throat and lifted him up off the ground. The man was choking, struggling pathetically against Bakura's grip. Bakura released the man, where he lay on the ground, spluttering. Bakura crouched down besides the man's head.

"I shall not kill you. No, I shall do far worse." He muttered before straightening back up.

"The shadows will eat away at your soul, slowly and steadily, piece by piece, memory by memory, until there's nothing left." He finished before allowing the darkness around him to leap towards the man, smothering him as he screamed helplessly. Bakura growled as he returned to his room. He strode forwards, taking care to kick the guard's soul less body as he went. He walked out of his room and made his way towards the Captains quarters. The man better have a decent plan in place for retrieving the King's property or else he would make sure an even worse fate befalls him.

Hina pulled a faded and moth eaten curtain over her back and head. Unfortunately she had no mirror so couldn't admire her self-made disguise. She'd found a pair of curtains, both in a bad shape with faded designs and holes in the rotting material. From her alley way she'd been able to discreetly examine the clothes other people wore. Again, like this whole damn place, it was a twist of modern and old, really it was a case of what people could get their hands on. Some people had jeans on with faded t-shirts or strappy tops, others had fashioned skirts and dresses out of bed linens or other pieces of material. They came in all shapes and sizes and, although the material was worn and dirty, Hina thought she'd fit right in. With her slaves clothing, she'd managed to rip the sleeves off and fashion them into some sort of foot wear, anything to provide some sort of protection from the uneven stone. She'd tied the second curtain around her chest, tied around the waist with a piece of fraying rope. She quickly pulled the material over her head, hiding her face from view. Immediately she felt the sun beating down on her making her hot. She stepped out of the alley and joined the few people walking along. No one looked at her twice. Hina smiled slightly. Her plan seemed to be working. She'd been walking for almost fifteen minutes when she heard a siren go. She looked around and saw that everyone else had frozen in place gazing around terrified. There was a woman who clutched her baby to her chest protectively. A man was gazing around the fear evident in his wide blue eyes. A minute or so passed and still no one moved. Hina was becoming increasingly hot under the thick materials. She heard the sound of hooves hitting stone and turned around trembling. Seven guards on horseback were thundering up the main street, forcing people to dive out of their way. Hina glanced around panicked. There was an alley a short distance up the street from her. If she made a run for it, she could reach it! But running would just draw too much attraction to her! She couldn't risk that. The horses got closer. She took a few steps back, making to get out of the way of them.

Still no one else moved! Even the people who'd had to jump out of the way of the oncoming stampede had remained on the floor, as if they were waiting for something. Hina gulped as guards seemed to be appearing as if from nowhere. She took a shaky step towards the alley. She needed to get out of sight. She knew this was all for her. The King had finally noticed she'd gone and this was the result. Hina took another step. Then another group of guards appeared on horseback. How many guards did the King have? At the head of this group was a man Hina recognised. He was looking thunderous. It was the man who'd stopped her last night. She could recognise his cruel features.

"A prisoner has escaped!" He shouted out for the entire street to hear.

"The King demands she be returned to him. If anyone is found to be hiding her, the consequences would be severe! For every moment the vermin doesn't give herself up, by the Kings orders, there will be severe suffering!" He shouted, turning and directing his horse towards the woman with the baby. He reached her and Hina could see the fear evident in her eyes as she gazed up at the brute. Hina felt her stomach squirm and felt sick as she watched. The man reached down and snatched the bundle from the woman's arms. The woman screamed out, reaching for the child. The man kicked out at her and she was thrown to the ground. She screamed out in tears up at the man.

"Please!" She begged him completely distraught.

"A replacement, if the wretched bitch isn't found. The King sends you his thanks," The man sneered. The baby was crying and its distressed cries mingled in with that of its mothers.

Hina clenched her fists under her shawl. She didn't care what would happen to her, but she couldn't stand by and see this happen. She had grown up without parents and she would be damned if she let the same thing happen to that poor child on her behalf. It wasn't right. Besides, what kind of replacement would a baby be? She couldn't imagine Bakura having patience with a baby. He didn't have that quality at the best of times. Knowing her move would probably be suicidal, she moved forwards. She reached the woman and leant down, holding her hand out. The woman took it tentatively and Hina helped her to her feet. It was then that Hina saw the woman was pregnant. A fresh wave of anger flared inside her now.

"Just what do you think you're doing, peasant?" The Guard laughed cruelly.

"Give this woman her child back," Hina whispered angrily, bowing her head as to keep her identity from sight. The man laughed down at Hina.

"Who's going to make me?" He demanded.

"Give the child back, and I shall give you the location of the Slave you're after," Hina spoke again, lifting her head only slightly. She could see the man's leg now, a silver dagger in a holster by his thigh.

"Tell me, then I'll let the brat go," He spoke mockingly. Hina gritted her teeth. Well, there was no use. She'd tried to trick them and it had failed. Hina nodded her head and made to move closer. She pretended to trip over the uneven pavement and fell against the horse and the man's leg. She wrapped her fingers around the knife and pulled it out.

"Disgusting thing!" The man roared, kicking out. Hina moved back in time and he missed. In one swift movement, she pulled the curtain off her head, revealing herself. She saw shock flit across the man's face and smirked at him. She lifted the knife up and held it threateningly.
"She's right here," Hina mused. The man glared at her and jumped off his horse, dropping the baby back into the woman's arms.

"A man of your word, I see," Hina glared taking a step back. She needed to calculate this well. The other guards had stayed back watching there captain sort the slave girl out. Hina couldn't help but inwardly laugh. They still underestimated her. She'd managed to evade capture for ten years! In that time, she'd learnt a few things about escaping. She may not be incredible at these skills, but they were good enough to allow her a whole decade of evading capture. She prayed to the gods they would help her now.

"You stupid bitch. The Kings not happy with you," The man sneered

"Nor I with him," Hina retorted, taking another step back, slowly closing the gap between her and the alley, although she had a fair bit to go before she would be at its entrance.

"Disrespectful whore!" the man spat. Hina frowned.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" She asked preparing to break into a sprint. From what she could tell from earlier, the alley wouldn't be big enough for a horse to fit down. If she could just get through this, she'd be closer to freedom than she'd ever been since entering the city.

"I'm gonna kill you," The guard snarled, "I'm gonna bite and cut at your flesh and watch you bleed out," Hina winced at his words, much to the man's amusement

"Imagining what it would be like?" He laughed harshly.

"No, I'm imagining what the King would do to you if you even tried," Hina replied pulling a 'I'd feel sorry for you' expression. For a second fear and doubt over shadowed the man's confident expression as he contemplated this and realised what the slave girl had just spoken would probably be true. Hina took his moment of weakness as an advantage and span around, bolting towards the alley. She heard the man roar out an order behind her, but ignored him. She was getting closer to the passage. People cried out as she bolted between them, pulling the remaining curtain from her, revealing her torn slave dress. She almost ran into the wall as she turned sharply down the alley. Once in, shadow was cast over her protecting her from the harsh sun. She didn't stop, she sped on faster winding down the backstreet, jumping any litter or obstacles that may be in her way. After several minutes of running, Hina couldn't continue any more. She had to catch her breath. Her heart was beating frantically and her head felt like it was on fire. Her stomach groaned from hunger and she had a nasty headache. She was ridiculously thirsty. She stumbled on down the deserted walkway, clutching at her chest. She could hear commotion going on, but was shielded from sight. If she could get together another disguise, she may be able to sneak back onto one of the main streets, but it wasn't worth the risk. The alley was dark and dingy, again rotten bits off furniture and food not to mention rubble lined the edges. Up ahead, Hina could see a metal ladder leading to a small metal platform with more steps leading upwards. A fire escape? Without a seconds though, she rushed over to it and began to climb.

It was rusted and parts peeled away under her touch. She gritted her teeth and climbed up to the first platform. She hadn't come that far, but as she gazed up she could see it went all the way to the top. Hina continued to climb, a light breeze cooling her down as she went. She quickly reached the top and stepped off onto the roof. She gazed around. It wasn't really the roof she realised. There were still remnants of walls standing and part of the floor had collapsed in towards the centre. Once this building would have stood taller. Hina glanced around, shielding her eyes with her hand. It certainly wasn't the biggest building in the city, others stood taller and some looked almost un-broken. Hina walked over to the nearest wall, which only reached four feet. She sat down and took a moment to hide from the sun in the little shade it cast. She could hear screams from the citizens of this dreaded place reach up to her. She pulled her knees to her chest and bowed her head. People were been hurt because of her. Even so, she still needed to get away. These people had chosen to stand by the King and obey him. If they'd have refused and tried to fight, they could have won against him.

You could just give yourself up

Hina started, sitting straight up and glancing around panicked. Had she really heard someone speak, or had she imagined it. She remained as still as possible, listening intently.

Come back to me

There it was again. Hina sprang to her feet terrified. Her eyes darted over every inch of the roof, looking for the owner of the voice.

If you come back to me now, I may even let you off lightly

"Who's there?" Hina demanded, brandishing the knife uselessly.

You know who it is, and you know you can never escape me

"LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY!" Hina shouted. She'd recognised the voice from the moment it had spoken, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. She was imagining him speaking to her. He wasn't really here, but even so, she was freaking out. She walked to the edge of the roof and glanced down.

Don't.

The voice ordered her as if sensing what she was planning to do. Hina grinned. The building next to hers was only about a meter, meter and half away and one floor down. If she took a run up, she could probably make it and if she rolled with the landing, she shouldn't get too badly injured, but was it worth the risk?

Stop this foolishness!

The voice made the decision for her. Even if it was just a fragment of her imagination, it was worth disobeying him. She took a few paces back, facing the gap. She took a few deep breaths before breaking into a sprint. She saw the ledge coming up and focused straight ahead. She didn't want to look down. She leapt into the air. She was falling the wind rushing up all around her as she sped towards her destination. She touched down and threw herself sideways, rolling with the impact. It hurt and she felt her skin graze, but she was fine. She came to a stop on her back, gazing up at the blue sky. Her heart was pounding and she couldn't keep the grin from creeping onto her face. She laughed out loud adrenaline sweeping through her body. Her situation was precarious, but the rush she got from that simple movement was incredible.

Bakura growled. He was sat atop his own jet black horse. He'd been clutching onto his ring as he reached out with his mind, searching for the girl. He'd found the pathetic creature and had spoken to her, to no avail, but he knew where about she was now. He opened his eyes. He could see people cowering away as they trotted down the street, terrified of his presences. They should be. If he didn't get his property back, he would destroy everything in search for her. He turned to the guard on his left.

"Tell Rokurou she's using the roofs." Bakura snapped. The man nodded his head and directed his horse off in the opposite direction. Bakura gritted his teeth.

I will get you girl, I swear it.