The moment Seto and the two guards left the room and bolted the door, Higure returned her gaze to Bakura, indignation shining in her eyes.
"You have some nerve. I could've just told them the truth." Higure said coldly, sitting on her knees in front of Bakura's cell. "What if I told them it'd been you before they searched the cells? No ruse would've saved you."
"Why didn't you?" Bakura asked, sitting up and glaring at Higure with his vibrant violet eyes, his lips blood red from biting himself.
"You would've been sent back to the lower dungeons." Higure replied emotionlessly, though Bakura noticed an odd gleam of contempt glowing in her eyes at the words 'lower dungeons.' Then he recalled what she'd been saying to Seto about the torture dungeons, remembered the tone she used.
"You hate the lower dungeons. Do you just disaggree with torture? Or have you experienced it?" He asked sneering, his eyes flitting every now and then toward the ward door in case it opened.
"I spent three months as a guard there."
"Oh." Bakura brought his eyes back to Higure. "You don't seem like the type who'd..."
"I didn't participate in the torturing, I only made sure the prisoners didn't escape. And I would've still been there if I hadn't..." Here she clutched her left wrist with her right hand, shuddering slightly and standing up.
Bakura's eyes widened as he realized what she meant, and he thought of the week he'd spent in the lower dungeons. He never thought of suicide for escape, and he'd been tortured. Though he had the memory of Kul Elna--its horror blocked out the pain and horror of the lower dungeon's torture.
"Why did you get assigned a lower dungeon post?" He asked, surprised by how his voice shook--why did he feel disgusted picturing the woman in the lower dungeons? Why did he feel for the woman at all?
"Did you see the Ka I summoned to stop Seto from attacking you?"
"Somewhat."
"They haven't found another Ka that could escape its detection nor get passed it." Higure knelt back down in front of Bakura's cell.
"No way." Bakura gaped at her. "You can't possibly have a Ka that strong."
"Oh, can't I? This coming from the guy I heard had a Ka that rivaled the gods?"
"I'm different. I'm strong and deserving, you're..."
"It has no relevance if you're strong or deserving. You got your Ka because of that one event in your life." Higure said her eyes intently staring at Bakura, who guessed quickly what event she was referring to.
"You saw my memory?"
"As you saw mine."
"Heh, you pity me. You pity me because of what happened in that memory. That's why you didn't tell them I escaped." Bakura said, narrowing his eyes, anger boiling up inside him. "I hate pity."
"I may pity yuo, but that wasn't the reason I didn't tell. You weren't completely aware when you stabbed Akhenaden."
"Hn. And how do you know if I was or not? I'm never unaware or taken off guard." He snorted, and brought his hand up to lick the blood from his wound, slightly hoping to disgust Higure.
"You called me mother."
"What!" Bakura glared daggers at Higure, but his voice expressed the shock he felt. "I would never..."
"You did. I guess I remind you of her in some way."
"No, I...I don't even remember her."
"Quit lying. You remember her clearly in that one memory if not in any others, which I'm sure you do have others."
"Even if I do, it's none of your business."
"You're right, it's not."
Elsewhere:
Seto stormed through the halls of the palace, eyes narrowed, lips a scrowl; he knew the attacker had to have been Bakura, but he had no proof. Just a few minutes before he'd learned Shada and Isis had caught an escaped prisoner who admitted to the attack, but Seto was sure it was a setup--some plot the wretched tombrobber dreamt up.
Everyone else just sighed in relief when the news of finding the escaped prisoner reached them--relieved that it hadn't been Bakura who escaped.
Though, Seto was sure, the Pharaoh had his own doubts about Bakura's innocence in this scheme, but the Pharaoh wouldn't voice anything when proof pointed to someone else. That angered Seto--if he had his way the tombrobber would be executed right away, without delay.
He'd also have that redheaded bitch stript of her post for allowing Bakura the opportunity of escape, and, though he hoped it wasn't true, for going along with the tombrobber's scheme. Already he thought about the scheme, and realized that if he was right, then Higure had to know the truth--yet she still protected the thief; She was a traitor and couldn't be trusted.
"If she's truly..." Seto muttered, making sure he was alone before continuing to voice his thought. "If she's truly joined the tombrobber's side, then...then it won't be long before she helps him escape--or commutes his sentence to something less harsh." He narrowed his eyes, and clenched his hand tighter around the Millennium Rod--he'd seen her convince the Pharaoh before to lift the harsh penalties of prisoners in favor of lesser punishments; it was doubtful, though, that she'd convince the Pharaoh in Bakura's case, but she'd done near enough the impossible before that Seto worried she might succeed. "I won't let that happen, even if Bakura didn't have anything to do with Akhenaden, he still needs to be destroyed--the safety of Egypt depends on it."
