Tarnished Soul

"What is darkness? Merely an absence of light. Or, perhaps, it is when the light is hidden away, to keep it from extinguishing. Darkness, whether good or ill, hides within itself. Maybe to protect itself? For when light comes into a darkened room, see you not how the shadows fall back? Does that not speak of fear, and a fear of being hurt? Many claim to be light, and others dark. Me? What am I but another lost soul looking for truth? Which way do I turn? Who do I follow? None. I shall go my own way. I shall stay in the shadows, neither dark nor light."

Sirithiliel, Jynn A'Tonic

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story plot, world, etc is.

Summary: AU. Dark fic. Bakura, a demon like no one has ever seen one before, arrives in a land already torn by conflict, and it is up to the Angel Prince Atemu and Bakura's long lost brother, Ryou, to stop him. But is there something even darker on the horizon?

Author's Explanation: Now, when you hear 'angel', you probably think of the feather-winged avatars from God, and when you hear 'demon, you think of their evil, dragon-winged counterparts who exist in Hell. These are not those Angels, or those Demons. They are called by such names merely because they bear a resemblance to the mythical creatures. The angels of this earth did indeed have feathered wings, which is why they were named after the icon of purity and goodness. The demons bore the same resemblance to the demons of the religious type, with great bat wings, barbed tails, fangs and claws. But in my story there is no God, no Heaven or Hell. I used the names merely for their resemblance.

8/21/06

Chapter Two

About fifteen minutes away from the town the storm unleashed its fury, harsh winds nearly sent them into the ground, and the downpour of rain didn't help. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled about them.

By the time they landed in the town and found the human waiting for them, they were a wet, bedraggled mess. Their feathers had absorbed nearly their own weight in water, and the three angels sullenly tried to press the moisture out as they sat down in the man's house.

"Don't worry about the water on the floor," the man said, solemnly handing out mugs of tea. He also placed several towels nearby, and went to go fetch more, as puddles were quickly forming on the wooden floor.

"Thank you, Rishid." Atemu said, smiling at him. He was a family friend, someone who had known his father before his father was King, so Atemu had known the solemn human since he was little.

"No worries, young Master." He said, bowing. He went into the kitchen to cook them some dinner while the rain beat the windows and thunder roared overhead.

"Man, glad we're out of that." Jou exclaimed, blowing on his tea. Atemu regarded his black feathered wings with a miserable look, spreading them out slightly and attempting to sop up some of the water with a towel. The ruby and gold tips of each feather were dulled under the droplets.

"Sometimes I think it would be better to be a demon," Honda remarked, holding a mahogany feather that had come loose up before his eyes, "They probably don't worry about water and wings."

"Nope, they probably don't," Jou agreed, and sighed. "So, where are we going from here, O' Wise One?" He asked Atemu, rolling onto his stomach on the bed, his wings dangling to the floor on either side of him. Atemu pulled out the slightly damp and wrinkled map, examining it.

"Well, Rishid invited us to go with him to visit some of his friends in a small village that is a ways over." Atemu said; pointing on the map to the area he was talking about. "He said we might be able to pick up some information there, since some of the people that live there came from that village Hamset."

"Hamset?" Honda asked. "That was the one that had the fires all those years ago, right?"

"Yes," Atemu answered. "That's the one. Anyways, so I figure we'll go see what we can find out with him tomorrow."

"Sounds good!" Jou said, rolling over and falling asleep in the blink of an eye. Atemu raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Honda was muttering curses under his breath as he tossed a soaked towel onto the pile of used cloth, and grabbed a fresh one.

"Give it up, Honda." Atemu commented with an amused smile. "You'll never get them dry tonight."

Honda sighed, deciding his Prince was correct, and tossed the towel aside, spreading his wings like Jou had done. He fell back on the couch, sighing.

"Better go to bed, we'll have to be going tomorrow and I want to get there before noon." Atemu suggested, rolling over and scowling at his damp wings.

"Yes, My Prince." Honda said, "Good night."

"Good night."

- 0-0 -

"Wake up, brothers."

Malik muttered, rolling to the right, away from Marik who slept soundly beside him. He clenched his eyes shut, hoping Isis would go away.

"Malik, get up." Spotting movement, Isis focused on her first victim. When a groan was her only answer, followed by a muffled protest, she sighed. Flipping the sleeves of her Healer robe back, she grabbed onto the bed sheet.

"You should have listened to me…" she warned, before yanking with all her might, her ebony wings flaring to add more strength to the pull.

Both boys emitted a yelp as they were pulled off the bed, and they glared up at their sister, who smiled back.

"Told you," suddenly, the playful sister was gone and the Healer was back. "Now wake up Ryou, we're going to have visitors." She turned and left the room, leaving the two sprawled on the floor and blinking.

"Well, I guess we better get Ryou back to the world of the living." Malik sighed, standing and hauling Marik up with him.

"You fix the bed, I'll wake him." Marik muttered, stomping moodily over to Ryou's bed by the window. There were only two beds in the small room, the larger one claimed by the twins. Their house was small, with the fore section being put forth as the Healer ward for the village, the back half their kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms.

Malik began making the bed, while Marik shook Ryou's shoulder. He received a groan and a low hiss, to which he snickered and doubled his efforts. Finally, with a final mutter and low growl, the white haired demon sat up and yawned.

"What do you want?" he asked, giving the two a weak glare as he stretched; his back and left wing popping. He noted the position of the sun out the window and groaned, curling back up in his blankets. Too early…

"Isis has oh so kindly informed us that we are going to have visitors today," Malik said, folding the sheets neatly under the pillows. "Apparently she wanted us up at a decent hour to greet them." He ran a hand across the bed, smoothing any wrinkles that persisted.

"Great." Ryou muttered, and Marik patted him on the back before turning and jumping on the newly made bed. Ryou snickered while he uncurled and began dressing.

"Marik!" Malik protested, smacking his brother upside the head.

"Ow! Hey!" Marik bounded off the messed up bed and fled out of the door. Malik was hot on his heels, howling about the bed and 'ruined hard work'. Ryou sighed, running a brush through his hair tiredly before following them out.

It was chaos; Marik was fleeing Malik around the table in the kitchen, while Isis ignored them both and studiously cooked breakfast. Ryou inhaled the smell of eggs, bacon, biscuits, fruit, and tea, and gave a great sigh of contentment. There was nothing like a good breakfast to wake you up.

"Alright," Isis interrupted the demon's musings, "Malik, Marik, stop it. It's time to eat."

Almost immediately, the two stopped and spun about, sitting in the chair nearest them.

"Food! Let's eat!" Malik cheered, banging his fork on the table. Isis sighed. Now she remembered why she usually let them sleep until they woke up on their own: after their moaning and groaning about being woken had worn off, they became excessively hyper.

All three of them.

- 0-0 -

Later, Malik and Marik were perched in a flowering tree, eagerly waiting for Ryou to walk by so that they could get revenge on him for stealing all of the bacon that morning.

"Are you ready?" Marik whispered, lilac eyes sparkling with barely contained glee. Malik, who was a bit less enthused, but unable to deny his brother, (and wanting some revenge himself), nodded.

"Okay then."

- 0-0 -

Jou sighed, stretching his arms above him as he reveled in the warm spring heat.

"Man, I love this weather!" he commented, smiling in contentment. Atemu couldn't help but agree. The Kingdom had this weather, yes, but with the bustle it was hard to notice, and the Kingdom definitely did not have beautiful flowering trees, fruit orchards, or the bubbling stream going through sloping hills, sun streaming through the large trees.

It was so peaceful…

- 0-0 -

"Here he comes…" Marik whispered excitedly, peering through the flowered, leafy branches.

"Are you sure?" Malik hissed back.

"Yeah, sure. I see black wings. Means Isis must be with him. Can't hurt to get her too! She didn't make enough bacon, so Ryou stole it all!" Marik responded, practically fluttering in his eagerness. He didn't really see Ryou, but he must be with her. He was, after all, having Healer training with her today.

Soon…

- 0-0 -

Atemu followed Rishid, marveling at the beauty of this place. It was so wonderful…so quiet, without all the noise of the kingdom…what with the market place, the people, the horses, the dogs, the soldiers, and…well, it went on and on.

"I could really learn to like this place…" Honda said, smiling widely, eyeing the tall, silent man leading them. Had he ever seen someone so serious? Yes…that bastard Seto Kaiba and his stupid lordly attitude…

Seriously, just because he was a King at eighteen, and King of a wealthy kingdom at that, he thought he owned the world.

"So, can we expect any - " Atemu's voice cut off with a yelp as suddenly a large amount of what seemed to be pond water was dropped on all four from the branches of a nearby tree.

Yes, it was pond water, complete with weeds, that green surface scum stuff, and one very surprised frog that got tangled in Atemu's spiky hair.

They heard laughter, and two figures swung down.

"We got you Ryou! We…got…" Marik trailed off, eyes widening when he realized what he had done.

"Oh dear…" Malik muttered, backing behind Marik.

"What happened?"

Both of them gulped, glancing over to see Isis standing nearby, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Um…hi Isis!"

"Heh…funny thing…we thought they were you and Ryou…" Marik hastily explained, as Isis led the three sputtering angels and the stoic Rishid inside to dry off.

"Man, and my wings were almost dry from yesterday too!" Jou whined, rubbing vigorously with a towel. Atemu was stone-faced, trying to untangle the frog, and Honda was muttering.

"I'm terribly sorry for my brothers!" Isis said, turning around. When she calmed down enough to actually look at who was with Rishid, she paled and her eyes widened.

"Rishid…" she trailed off. She had been with enough injured/sick people to hear gossip and what the Crown Prince of Kame looked like, and to have him in her house, in her village…

Generally, anyone from a village would not be as welcoming to a person from a Kingdom as they would to anyone else, but to have the PRINCE!

"Marik…Malik…go outside. I will talk to you later." She said, her voice deadly calm even as her eyes stayed glued to the three wet angels before her. Marik knew better than to argue when she was like this, and hastily dragged his brother outside.

"Please, forgive them." She apologized, flinching mentally at the thought of what the Crown Prince might do to her brothers for such an insult…she was an awfully protective sister, and couldn't think of anything to do to save this situation.

"No fear, ma'am." Atemu said with a sigh. He could see the fear in her eyes, and knew what it was for. He absently set the frog on the floor, and it hopped off to some unknown destination.

Isis felt immensely relieved, and couldn't express her gratitude. She had heard that the Crown Prince was not like the usual royals from the other realms, but she hadn't wanted to place to much hope into gossip.

"Thank you, for your generosity. I care for my brothers, though they are slightly…eccentric." She replied, and went to the door leading to their living quarters.

"Ryou! Ryou I need you for a moment." She called, and then went to Rishid and whispered softly with him, gesturing curtly. He could be heard apologizing back, and the three angels glanced at each other.

"Yes, Isis?" came a soft voice, hesitant at the sight of strangers. They turned to look, and had to work hard to stop their jaws from dropping.

Two claws on the wing…red eyes (though they looked a tad on the brownish side).

He moved cautiously past them, eyeing them carefully as he moved towards Isis. His tail, curling and uncurling like a cat's when it is nervous, lashed out as he sidled away. These strangers were giving him the oddest of looks, and it was beginning to creep him out.

And, in his nervousness, the barbs on his tail flicked upright and back down.

They had three bands near the tip, and were twice as long as the demons the three usually saw.

Ryou held a hurried conversation with Isis, before walking outside after the twins.

"Did you guys see that?" Jou whispered; staring wide eyed at the door, left open to the spring breeze.

"Kind of hard to miss when you know what to look for," Honda replied dryly. Atemu was deep in thought, staring out the door.

"He seemed awfully nervous…do you think he's our man?" Jou asked, leaning back on his elbows.

"I don't know…he didn't seem the type…but then again, you can never tell, can you?" Atemu mused, resting his chin on his knee. "Besides, with all three of us staring at him, no wonder he was nervous."

"How do you know if he doesn't seem the type?" Honda asked, blinking.

"It's in the eyes," Atemu said absently. He sensed stares, and looked up, to see both Jou and Honda giving him odd looks. "What?"

"'It's in the eyes'?" Jou repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You can be so weird."

"Well, I'm sorry." Atemu glared, though he smiled. "We'll keep our minds open, and if he seems guilty, we'll get him then, okay?" he shook his head. "But he really doesn't seem like the guy to me, but we'll see."

Isis and Rishid finished up their conversation, Isis looking worried, while Rishid looked like a mix between apologetic and harried.

"Well, I am sorry for my brothers, once again, and welcome you to my house." Isis told the three, bowing her head slightly. "I am Isis, the Healer for this village. My brothers, Marik and Malik, you have met." At this she looked a bit embarrassed. "And Ryou, who is as much a part of our family as I am, you have seen as well."

Was it Atemu's imagination, or did she look a little nervous at the mention of Ryou? Did she know what he was? Atemu's mind said, 'yes', she did…and his instincts were normally very good.

"According to Rishid, you are investigating a murder?" she asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Yes. We believe the culprit was involved in the Hamset tragedy." Atemu explained.

"Yes…we have a few that escaped from there during that night." Isis said, sounding a bit tense. Atemu glanced up, eyes narrowing. Once again, his instincts were telling him something…

"You were there…" he said softly, without meaning too. Isis' eyes widened, and Atemu could've sworn she had paled.

"Yes, I was there. As were my brothers," her eyes slid away from Atemu's intense ones, "As was Ryou…"

The three stiffened at that.

"Do you…know what he is?" Atemu asked softly, unsure if he should be voicing the question. She shot him a startled look.

"Do you?" she asked back, eyes watching him closely again.

"Yes…"

"How do you know?" She whispered; eyes wide again.

"My father told us. We believe the murderer is a Daemon." Atemu explained, and Isis' eyes closed.

"Whatever you think, it is not Ryou." She said; her voice firm. She opened her eyes and they burned with her determination. "Ryou is not the one you seek!" she stood, nodded to them, and headed to the door. "I need to find my brothers before they cause more trouble," she paused, and turned to look at them. "Don't tell my brothers. They don't know. And that includes Ryou."

And she was gone.

Rishid nodded to them as well, and picked up their used towels and went into the back room.

"Do you believe her on that too?" Honda asked, rubbing his head. Atemu, who had been gazing at the floor in thought, looked up.

"Yes."

- 0-0 -

Malik, Marik, and Ryou were sprawled on one of the small hills, enjoying the warm sun as they lay on the green grass. They were on their backs, staring at the clouds.

"What is the big deal with these guys?" Malik muttered, pulling petals off of a daffodil and flicking them away, watching the breeze catch them and take off with them.

Marik sighed, watching as the clouds chased each other across the cobalt sky.

"I heard the local gossip when I was helping Isis with the blacksmith's crushed hand," he said, idly tracing the shape of a duck he saw in a cloud in the air with his finger. The three of them normally didn't go into the village center. Their house was situated on the outskirts, and they preferred the country side.

"And?" Ryou pressed, and Marik realized he had been lost in thought after his sentence.

"Anyways, the nearest Kingdom, Kame or whatever," he blinked away one of Malik's flower petals from his eye before continuing. "Well, its two princes are identical twins, though they are two years apart. They both have black hair, with red and gold highlights."

There was a five second pause, before Malik rolled over and exclaimed a loud "WHAT?"

Ryou stared at the sky, frowning. The angel back at the house did have a regal bearing to him…Ryou just didn't like strangers, and didn't like the odd stares he got from those three.

Malik was ranting in the background of Ryou's thoughts about how he and Marik had dumped pond water on a PRINCE.

"Malik? Is something wrong? I can hear you all the way by the stream."

It was Isis. She calmly walked up the hill towards the three of them, eyeing her youngest brother with concern.

"Isis, did you know that the one in there with the funny hair is a PRINCE?" Malik cried, jumping up and facing his sister.

"Yes, and you two are forgiven." She replied, much to the relief of Malik. Ryou noted her giving him a concerned look as well, but couldn't figure out why.

He hadn't done anything, had he?

"Anyways, it's starting to get dark. Let's head inside, there might be another storm tonight. I invited the Rishid, Prince Atemu and his friends to dinner. So be on your best behavior, okay?" she warned, leading them back to the house.

Dinner was a quiet affair, Malik offering tentative questions on what it was like to live in a big kingdom, which were answered readily by Jou, who had taken it upon himself to speak and attempt to be friendly.

Atemu mused on their problem through dinner, offering a comment here and there during the conversation, but mostly being silent.

Mainly, he was confused. His instincts say that, yes, Ryou was a Daemon. But the Daemon didn't know he was a Daemon, and by way of a hunch Atemu did not think he had done the murders. He was normally right about these things, but he didn't have any proof.

And how was he going to prove it?

After dinner, everyone relaxed in the living room, enjoying a small game of Farkle, each rolling their dice and trying to amount the highest number total. Ryou, Isis, and Atemu were the only ones not playing.

Ryou was reading his book again, curled up in an armchair, tail twitching lazily. Isis was folding bandages in the fore section of the house, while Atemu sat in the other chair, watching the game while he thought.

And his thoughts hadn't reached a possible conclusion yet, chasing each other around in his head and looping upon one another until he was about to drive himself mad.

"I'm going for a walk," he announced suddenly, eager for a breath of the fresh night air.

"Do you wish for someone to accompany you?" Rishid asked, solemnly rolling his dice and sighing when he came up with a grand total of eleven, whereas Marik and Malik had fifteen and nineteen, while Jou and Honda were evenly matched at thirteen.

"Nay, I shall be fine." He responded, standing and exiting, nodding to Isis on his way out.

Walking out under the stars, with the cool spring breeze toying with his hair and feathers, he felt content. The Healer house already being on the outskirts of the village, it didn't take him long to get out to where the darkness seemed encompassing, the lights of the village not quite out of sight, but far enough to give him a sense of being alone in the world, under the stars.

It was a nice feeling.

- 0-0 -

"Ha! Twenty three! Beat that!" Malik crowed, clapping his hands excitedly. Ryou glanced up from his book, before marking his place carefully and standing up, stretching.

"Be right back," He murmured, leaving the room and walking past Isis, outside.

"Okay. Be careful Ryou!" Malik hollered, snickering.

"Yeah, don't trip on your tail and fall now!" Marik shot after, laughing outright.

Ryou sighed, smiled, and shook his head. He walked out, under the stars, and spread his wings to go for a small flight.

How he loved to fly.

- 0-0 -

Atemu was heading back to the village when he paused, cold fear rushing through his veins at a sound that echoed around him suddenly.

It was a low, feral growl.

It seemed to echo from the very darkness around him, and quite suddenly the shadows weren't comforting anymore, and the stars were cold.

He turned, slowly, and looked behind him, into the deep depths of night that extended all about.

Extended all around, except the village's lights over yonder…

Could he run that distance? It would probably be faster to fly, but even then, could he make it?

The growl continued, deepening, and its owner came into view.

Into view being a phrase, as it was dark enough that not much was seen even as the person came closer to the Prince.

Atemu wanted to ask who they were, what they were doing, but couldn't get any words past the lump in his throat. He knew that if he was seeing himself, his eyes would be as wide as Yugi's, his tanned skin pale, and trembling.

The sound made his hair stand up and it seemed as if he was viewing a nightmare, which he could very well be.

The only things that he could see on the stranger was the dim light of the stars and barely-visible crescent moon on his arching wings….which had two claws on them…and his eyes blazed red, glowing in the darkness, and the dim outline of his form, not extraordinarily tall, about Jou's height, and also slender, almost delicately built.

The stars illuminated him a bit further…

…revealing silver hair.

The eyes glowed brighter, and the growl erupted into a full-fledge snarl as he leaped at the Prince, a blade glinting for a moment.

- 0-0 -

Everyone had been enjoying themselves in the game, laughing as it winded down and they cast their final rolls.

But then the screams began.

Startled, they stood and shot out the door, Isis following.

"Atemu? ATEMU!" Jou shouted, and he suddenly collided with the frightened Prince just outside the house, who was pale and wide eyed, muttering something furiously.

About Ryou.

"What happened? Atemu, tell us what happened!" Honda pleaded, shaking his Prince.

"Ryou…it was Ryou." Atemu gasped out, and stared over their shoulders in stark terror. They spun around, Jou and Honda moving defensively in front of Atemu.

Ryou stood there, staring in shock at the scene.

"Ryou, you are hereby placed under arrest,"

- 0-0 -

End.

Thanks to all reviewers: Vitone, Thunderstorm101, koinu27, MIA kenz, Natasha, Kanashimi no Tenshi