A/N : Hello! Sorry for the delay in updating, but this chapter proved difficult to write, but it's done. So yeah, a little warning I guess. personally, I feel it gets a little intense and possibly distressing at times, but that could just be me getting in to the story too much, I may not have portrayed the imagery in my head into words as well as I would have liked. As always, you guys can be the judge of that! Overall I am happy with it. Anyhow, as ever your thoughts are appreciated in all sincerity and please enjoy!

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

Chapter 13

Hina stood up as the adrenaline slowed. She caught her breath barely able to believe she'd done what she'd just done. Incredible. The sun was still beating down on her as the day began to meet its middle. Somehow she knew when it hit its peak, the searing sun would easily wear her out and make it all that more easy for her to be caught. She wasn't prepared to give them that chance. Once she was out of this city, she would be on home turf, land she was both familiar with and happier with. Once there, she would disappear and Bakura would never see her again. For the first time since the fateful day her and Osamu had been caught, she felt like the masked girl again. She felt the energy and the enjoyment fill her soul as she evaded been captured. It was almost like old times. She just wished her best friend was by her side to enjoy it. Forcing down painful memories, Hina examined this new roof top. It was smaller than the previous one and the whole far corner had collapsed in. there were the remainder of walls here too, but they were barely a foot tall. The buildings on all sides were taller too. She realised she needed to find a way onwards quickly, or she'd be a sitting duck. She paced across the roof examining all angles. She was unlucky as this building didn't seem to have a fire escape. She stopped for a moment and gazed at the building to her right. It was close, maybe a two meter jump, but it was higher. Even so, Hina could see a gaping hole in the side of it, again one storey below, some sort of material drifting lazily in an invisible breeze. Could she risk it a second time? Hina took a few spaces back. She'd come this far hadn't she? Hina broke into a sprint and leapt into the air. At first it looked like she hadn't jumped far enough, but the momentum combined with her plummeting downwards pushed her the extra bit. She reached out desperately, searching for a ledge to grasp onto. Her fingers found it. Both hands grabbed onto stone and her body pulled on her joints as she slammed into the side of the building. She cried out as a piece of the stone she held onto crumbled away. She slipped, held on by one arm. She gazed down and felt queasy almost instantly. Hina forced her gaze back up. Using as much strength as she dared she pulled herself up. Hina managed it and dragged one leg over the ledge followed by the other, her stomach scraping against cool stone. She rolled into the safety of the building. Again as she lay on her back, she felt the adrenaline pumping through her. It was quite a thrill trying to escape the King. She pulled herself to her feet and examined her surroundings.

It looked like she was in a living room, a moth eaten sofa opposite her, the material fraying and looking dirty. The hole in the wall that she'd just come through had a dirty cream cloth covering it, hiding her from view of the rest of the city. Hina paused listening intently. It didn't sound like anyone was home. Hina quickly made her way through the flat and out into a thin scruffy hallway lit by bright electronic lights. She was completely blocked off from the outside world now. The windowless hall ran the length of the floor. To the far right, a flight of stairs head upwards and to her left, downwards. It seemed she had a decision to make. Even as she stood there, pondering her decision, Hina heard a loud noise emanating from the floor below. It sounded like a bang of a door, followed by screams and shouts. Hina made her decision. She ran to the flight of stairs heading upwards. It seemed the guards had figured out her technique. Hina eventually reached the top floor, hearing the sound of guard voices following behind her as if they were reaching out to her. She was glad when she reached the roof and felt the familiar hot sun beating down onto her. She looked around panicked, trying to work her way off the roof. This building was taller than the first one had been. From here, she could see the wall that separated this city from the desolate ruins. It was still pretty far away, but if she could keep moving in that direction, she would be free in no time. The building just in front of hers was the only way she could go. It was the same height and again about two meters apart. She ran. Soon she was flying through the air again. She felt her feet touch ground and almost forgot to bend her knees. At the last second she remembered and avoided injury. As she did, she heard the guards emerge onto the roof she'd just left. She turned around to see them pointing in her direction.

"She's over there!"

"Get her!"

As she watched, they began to pelt towards the roof. Knowing this had become a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Hina ran forwards and leapt towards another building. It was a couple of stories lower and looked in a bad way. She wished she'd had time to examine it before making the leap, but there had been no time. She plummeted downwards towards it, the air rushing around her, deafening her to all other sounds in the world. She wanted to squeeze her eyes closed, but knew she needed to focus on landing or risk serious injury. One mistake could be fatal. The grey cold tarmac rushed up to meet her. Hina felt her feet touch ground and bent her knees with the impact, her hands reaching out as she pushed herself into a roll. It wasn't a neat landing as she fell sideways, scratching her skin, but nothing had broken and all her muscles were working. Besides, what were another couple of scratches to add to the others? She stood up cautiously; suddenly very aware of how unsteady this building looked. She was surprised it was still standing. She edged forwards, trying to find the most secure looking parts to balance on. Only one corner seemed to be intact, the others all crumbled and broken, creating a deadly looking slide down to the road below. It didn't look like there was any other way down other than to tackle the mountain of debris. She glanced behind her up at the building she'd just jumped from. Even as she watched, she saw some of the Kings pathetic guard glaring and pointing down at her, not one of them dared to take the jump to get to her. Cowards, Hina thought to herself.

She quickly started to climb down the almost vertical and highly unstable wall of crumbled stone. It was nerve wracking work and under the heat of the sun which was now close to been at it's hottest. Halfway down the rock, Hina paused to wipe sweat away from her brow. It was now she realised just how glad she was for making the alterations to her clothes. Although her arms had no protection from bumps and scrapes, if she still had the sleeves, they would have been very restricting. She shimmied down a particularly difficult part, her body screaming at her from the amount of strain it was been put under in such a short amount of time. The make shift shoes she'd made earlier from her sleeves were providing very little protection against the jagged stones, but it was better than nothing. Hina was close to the bottom when the rubble under hand gave way. She shouted out as her heart leapt into her throat as an avalanche of wreckage rumbled downwards with a loud thunder. Hina felt herself come to the bottom and fought her way out of the way as the whole building collapsed. She turned and stared as the thing buckled inwards on itself, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air. Hina cursed under her breath. If that hadn't given them a clue to where she was, she didn't know what would. Without a backwards glance she sped away, back into the network of alleyways and small side streets. She needed to get as far away from the scene as possible. In actual fact, the falling building may work as a distraction, drawing the guard's attention to the spot. It could allow her the time she needed to get away. If she was really lucky, they'd believe she'd gotten herself trapped under the rubble.

Before long, Hina ran out of breath. She came to a stop, panting hard and clutching at her chest. She'd not even checked herself over from the building falling down. She leaned against one of the walls hemming her in. It was a deserted side street. Again, like the rest of this putrid place, broken bits of buildings and rotting furniture lined the place. As she caught her breath back, Hina made a mental note that if she ever did get caught, she'd make sure she told Bakura exactly how rubbish his city was. He could at least have done a clean-up job before forcing people to live here. She smirked to herself as she pushed a few stray locks of hair out of her face. She would never get the chance to tell him that. She would escape. As she listened, she could hear hooves of the horses the guards used. They were thundering along the main roads. It suddenly struck Hina how suspicious it was that no one seemed to be checking the alleys. Were they just waiting for her to appear out of them? Hina decided she'd take a quick peek around the corner. She edged up the side road, which adjoined to one of the main streets. Taking a deep breath, she pressed herself against the wall and stealthily peeked around the corner. She almost had a heart attack and pulled herself back round, pressing her hand to her mouth to stop herself making a noise. Only a short distance down the road was a group on horseback, about six. In the centre of the Kings guard, was the king himself. She hadn't needed to take a long look at him, she'd recognised the white hair, shining in the sunlight almost blindingly. She was lucky he hadn't seen her. Hina very quickly and cautiously made her way back down the small street and hid back into the alley, making her way onwards, determined she wasn't going to run into the king. She'd never see him again.

It took Hina almost another hour before she reached the gates. This area seemed to be more suburban than she remembered from when she was first brought here. The buildings were smaller, less like skyscrapers and more like small apartment blocks. Even so, there were still alleys, although much smaller and easier to see from the main road. She proceeded with extreme caution. The alley came to a stop, with a perfect view of the gate. The wall that ran around the city was made of stone and ran higher than the one back at the palace, except there was no walkway on this one. The large gate looked heavy and was made of wood, but it appeared as though there was a possibility of her pulling it apart just enough for her to sneak through. There were two guards flanking the gate. In their hands were staffs with a blade on the end. It was just another example of the old twist on the modern. As Hina watched, a guard on horseback trotted up the street, stopped before the entrance and spoke a few words to the men before moving back down the main street again. Hina shrunk back into the shadows, hiding herself from view. She watched the two men guarding the gate, they both glanced towards each other before moving to the centre and exchanging a few words. The second man nodded and they both walked away, leaving the gate unguarded. Hina blinked, shocked. They'd left the gate unguarded? Was it a trap? Hina thought so. She waited, seeing if anyone would come back. She expected to see someone running up any second glaring around suspiciously trying to see if they'd managed to tempt her out. When no one did come back after almost fifteen minutes, Hina was beginning to feel uneasy. She wanted freedom so badly, she could almost taste it, feel it, but could she risk it? Should she risk it? After all she'd come through to get here, was it worth it? The broken road before the gate was silent and empty. She didn't have to peer around the corner to know that. She could hear no body in the area. Had the guards simply not expected her to have come this far? Had they gone to help search for her in the centre of the city? Hina got her answer all too soon. She heard boots hitting stone far behind her and whipped around instantly. The small alley she was crouched in ran between two rows of apartment complexes. Almost a hundred meters down the alley the two guards from the gate had rounded the corner onto her hiding place. Her eyes widened with shock as the men's eyes narrowed with a sneer. Hina gulped, realising a decision had been made for her. If she stayed where she was, these men would get her, but if she ran towards the gate, there was still a chance she could escape.

Hina straightened up and glared at the men who were walking towards her triumphantly. Had they really expected her to give up? She almost smirked back at them. Without warning, Hina sped out into the street, the sun beating down on her again. She heard the men shout behind her, but as she sped along, the sound of hooves against tarmac drowned everything out. She was been chased. She knew she was. It was bad, really bad. Hina threw herself forwards trying to run faster than she'd ever run before. She had to make it! She'd come this far! She couldn't fail now! The gate was getting closer, but so were her pursuers. Hina cried out, hoping her shouts would give her extra energy. It was there, the gate was ten meters away! Nine meters. Come on, she had to make it. Eight!

God Damn it! I have to make it!

Seven

So close! Please!

Six.

I'm not gonna make it!

Five.

I have to make it!

Hina threw herself forwards somehow finding an extra spurt of energy. She couldn't feel her legs, she was running flat out. She was so close; she could work out the pattern in the wood on the gate. Just as she believed she was going to make it, her way forwards was cut off. She skidded to a stop and gazed up at two guards on horseback, cutting the way onwards off from her. With determination, Hina spun around. She would run back into the heart of the city. She would disappear and try again tomorrow. She was about to set off into a run. Her heart dropped. She was cut off in every direction.

"No" Was all she could whisper as defeat set in. A small army of the Kings soldiers had surrounded her on all sides, the ones on horseback circling her, making sure there were no openings for an escape. Behind them were dozens upon dozens of the kings citizens, the traitors to society, the ones who had bowed down at the man's feet. As Hina spun around, searching for any way out, exhaustion set in. She fell to her knees trembling. She'd lost. Hina hung her head, her hair falling loose of its tie and curtaining her face from view as tears began to fall from her eyes. She'd lost. She couldn't believe it. After all she'd come through to get here. It wasn't fair! She'd been through so much. She wanted to scream and shout and kick out. It wasn't fair! She needed to shout and scream, she needed some way to release her frustration other than these stupid tears. Her fingers clutched at the hem of her dress, scrunching into fists as she shook through her sobs. Hina heard the horses stop and chanced a glance up through watery eyes. A furious looking white haired man had just slid off a black steed and was walking with a deadly purpose into the centre towards her. Hina bowed her head again, ashamed of her failure. She heard the man's boots stop just before her and sensed the person crouch down before her.

"Foolish girl," The familiar voice hissed quiet enough so only she would hear him.

"Stupid brat." He hissed again, but with a tone of something close to regret in it. He wrapped his fingers into Hina's long locks and pulled back, forcing her face upwards.

"Pathetic creature, getting caught in front of all these people, I have to make an example of your disobedience." He sneered at her. Hina let out a small pitiful sob at his words as he straightened back up, his hand still not relenting on the cruel grip he had in thick hair. He pulled her locks roughly, causing her to cry out in pain at the searing sensation it gave her scalp. She clutched helplessly at his hand, trying to ease the pain.

"Please," Hina whimpered, eyes streaming. He dragged her a short distance across the clearing. Hina felt the uneven surface of the road tearing at her bare flesh.

"This pathetic thing has disobeyed me, my laws and my will. Now you shall bear witness to my wrath against law breakers." He announced to the silent on looking street.

"Humiliation, then pain. This abomination shall receive five lashings. A punishment to fit the crime," He sneered. Hina let the words sink in. He was going to whip her? Here in the middle of the street? Hina felt a cold shiver up her spine at the realisation. No, she needed to get away. She couldn't let this happen to her. The so called King turned back to her. Hina heard the sound of metal unsheathe as he pulled out a knife. Hina cried out and, ignoring the strain on her scalp, tried to scramble back. His hand tightened in its grip and pulled her closer where he then promptly kicked her in the ribs. Hina shouted out in pain.

"Stay still, or else it will be worse." He ordered. Hina stayed still feeling fear gripping at her well and truly. Even if she'd have dared to continue trying to get away, she wouldn't have been able to. All her muscles seemed to have seized up, not allowing her to move. She saw the glint of silver as he lifted the blade up out of sight. She clenched her teeth, waiting for the first cut upon her skin followed by the inevitable blood flow. It never came. Instead she heard the sound of a blade slicing through hair followed instantly by a relief on her scalp. It took Hina a few precious seconds for her to understand exactly what he was doing, but she realised with terror all too quickly as a long black lock of hair fell to the floor before her eyes. She wanted to scream at him, to stop him, but as more and more fistfuls fell to the ground around her, all she found she was able to do was direct her eyes towards the growing pile of hair and sob silently.

The tears leaked profusely from her eyes as the man hacked away at her hair mercilessly. She watched with horror at the on-going down pour of black hair as it fell all around her. She could easily feel the sun burning the back of her neck and even her scalp as she was given her 'new haircut'. She knew with certainty this was the humiliation he had spoken off. She felt him hack the last piece away. She watched as it fell to the floor like a falling leaf in autumn. Bakura pushed the girl roughly away from him, sending her sobbing onto all fours, her fingers entwining into the hair on the ground.

"So all will know of your disobedience and will freely be able to laugh and mock you!" Bakura informed her in a tone that would reach everyone watching on. Hina wasn't listening. She was consumed by her tears. She'd loved her hair, it was all she had left of who she was, but more than that, to have this humiliation of people watching him as he harshly cut away at her as she sobbed her heart out. It was torturous.

Bakura glanced down at the girl sobbing on the ground. He could see her tears rolling off her cheeks and splashing onto the floor. He felt an uncharacteristic stabbing in his chest as he realised he despised doing this to her. It was sudden, but he knew he didn't want to cause her anymore pain. It made him furious to be thinking like this, but he couldn't deny the urge. He'd done the worst of it. He had humiliated her before the crowd of pathetic people. He didn't need to do the rest. He made his way past the girl and back towards his horse.

"What? Can't do it yourself? COWARD!" He heard her cry out at his back. He froze in place, his stomach twisting oddly. Why couldn't the stupid girl just keep her mouth shut? He turned around and surveyed the girl. She was in the circular clearing, tears pouring down her face but a look of hatred in her eyes. She was knelt in a pool of her own long black locks, the hair he'd cut off to purposely humiliate her. He hadn't wanted to see her be whipped, but he needed to send a strong message to the fools who lived in his kingdom. If anyone was to disobey him, they would be punished severely, so he'd given the order for one of his guards to give her five lashings, so he didn't have to. Yet, despite this, she still wanted to intensify her punishment. It couldn't be helped. Bakura walked forwards, back towards the girl. He stood above her and glared at her defiant face. Despite the stream of tears she glared back up at him.

"Do whatever the hell you want to me! I will never serve you!" She shouted up at him the force of the words breaking through her tears. The surrounding area was silent as they watched on. Bakura hit the insolent creature hard. She cried out and was thrown to the side where she landed on the floor. She was up within a second and made to run at him, but two of his guards caught her and held her back from attacking him.

"Bastard!" She shouted out at him real anger alive in her icy blue eyes. She tried desperately to escape her captors. Bakura walked across the uneven floor, ignoring everyone else around him. He stopped before her and smirked at her tear stained face.

"You were promised five lashings. At your pathetic outburst there, you shall receive double by my hand. For each you receive you shall count aloud, for each you fail to count, you will receive twice as many, so don't bite that pretty little tongue of yours off" He sneered, running a forefinger down her cheek and under her chin, the smirk alive in his eyes. To anyone else, it would sound cruel and mocking, but Hina saw the mixture of emotions flit across his face. He was having some sort of doubt about causing her pain. Bakura leant in closer his eyes burning. Hina shrunk back from him, turning her face away from him.

"Don't die," He whispered to her, his voice forming the words in a deadly tone that made Hina shiver. He walked backwards and stopped a few paces away. He held his hand out and instantly another of his men was by his side. He handed across a whip. The king unravelled it and weighed it in his hands as the girl was turned around and forced to her knees. Two of his guards held onto either arm, one hand holding onto her wrist, the other pressing onto her fore arm, pressing her down making it impossible for her to stand and get away. He could hear a voice in his head, almost begging him not to go through with this as he examined the whip. It was made of tough leather and would definitely cause a lot of pain. A part of him was almost begging him not to go through with it, but he just sneered at the voice. The girl had it coming. She could have just stayed quiet. She could have not tried to escape. He'd mistakenly showed her a small weakness and she'd taken advantage of that. Despite telling himself this, he could feel his hesitation as he lifted his arm.

Please, please don't do this

I have to. He brought his hand down.

Hina heard the leather slicing through the air and before she could even comprehend the sound, she felt the pain split across her. Hina was momentarily shocked by the immense agony that erupted from her right shoulder down to her lower back. She could feel the pain choke in her throat, forcing all air out of her lungs. It stung, it really, really hurt. It was agonizing. It seared and burned. A fresh wave of tears brimmed over with no restrictions. She felt the gasp of pain escape her lips without been aware she'd allowed it to.

"One," She gasped out, barely audible as she tried to wrench herself free of the hands holding her in place. She clenched her fists, realising she was going nowhere. That had to be enough. He couldn't expect her to survive through nine more.

"Very good," he spoke and Hina could hear the cruel amusement in his tone. A second later she heard the leather cutting through the air a second time. She tried to flinch away before it hit her, fighting against the men who held her in place. It hit against her again and she screamed out, trying to throw herself out of harm's way. The pain was white hot agony, unbearable. She felt wetness beginning to soak the rags she wore as clothes across her back as a thick coppery scent began to linger ever so slightly in the air.

"Girl?" She heard the monsters voice sneer at her. She sobbed as tears flowed quicker than they ever had before.

"Two…" she choked out, not sure if she could stay conscious for much longer.

"Very good," She could hear the man's grin in his tone. She hated him, hated him more than she'd ever known it was possible to hate anyone. The whip came down a third time and this time she screamed out louder, her body twitching with torture.

"Three!" She screamed out, arching her back. "I hate you" She screamed out, the pain causing her voice to break as her whole back felt like it was on fire.

"I will kill you!" She shouted out livid as the severe pain became unbearable. Her fists were clenched from the horrendous pain and her fingernails were digging into her palms.

"Will you now?" He sneered from somewhere behind her. He laughed coldly before bringing the next one raining down upon her. She cried out again, tears burning her eyes and blurring her vision.

"Four!" Hina whimpered. What did he want her to do? What could she say? She would tell him anything, say anything at all just to make the pain stop.

The fifth came thundering down hurting even more than the previous one.

"Five… P…please…please make it… make it stop," She sobbed losing her resolve, her head bowed forwards.

"I'll…I'll do any… anything… just make it stop…" She pleaded. She felt pathetic, pleading with this ruthless man, but she just needed the searing agony to cease.

"I said ten lashings, and that's what you'll get." His ferocious tone hissed. Hina whimpered, bowing her head. She knew it was no use. She'd have to endure this new form of torture.

By the ninth, Hina could feel the clothing that had covered her back was in ribbons and her back was shredded. She hadn't the strength to hold herself up any more and was purely still upright from the guards holding her. She could smell blood heavy in the air and knew it was hers. She heard the tenth slice through the air and cut into her back.

"Ten." She muttered. The guards holding her up let go and Hina fell crashing against the ground. She could barely keep conscious as the pain threatened to swallow her up. She barely registered someone picking her up and only cried out when she felt something touch the raw skin on her back. It was too much for her to handle. She felt her vision darken and swallow her up. She gladly allowed herself to fall into the pitch black secretly not caring if she never awoke from it again.

Bakura scowled seeing the guard cause her more pain as he'd thrown her over his shoulder. Unfortunately in front of the morons that made up the crowd, he couldn't show any emotion towards the girl. Instead he walked up to his horse and easily mounted it. He trotted around the clearing glaring at the fools he'd allowed to live.

"If anyone disobeys me again, they shall receive worse than that foolish girl." He addressed them harshly. He then stopped besides the guard holding the girl.

"Give the pathetic thing here," He growled. The guard passed the girl to him and Bakura threw her across the horse unceremoniously, but in a way she wouldn't be in more pain. He wanted her near him, so he could watch her. He flicked the reigns and set off towards his home.