Trackshipping (Yami no Bakura x Shadi)

The Egyptian sun hung low in the sky, as red as a perfectly round drop of blood in the midst of an orange and pink sky. Hm... Bakura rather liked that gory metaphor.

But despite the amusement with words that the sun provided him, he couldn't help but be anxious for the light to sink and leave him in his comforting shadows. After all, sneaking into the Chamber of Souls, at the very heart of his dear town of Kul Elna that practically swarmed with descendents of the Millennium Guardians did not appear an easy task. He ticked off all the eyes he must avoid in his head: in particular a pair of impassive, orange eyes...

"You came much earlier than I expected."

Bakura cursed under his breath, raging mentally against the remaining rays of light that betrayed his shock. Composing himself, he turned to face the owner of the voice, already knowing its source.

Shadi stared impassively out at him, his deep, pupil-less orange eyes a mask over whatever secrets or emotions he hid underneath. The soft, almost boyish features betrayed the power that radiated inside of him, hidden under the folds of his turban and shapeless, canvas-white robes. However, the Millennium Key at his chest betrayed his true strength – to Bakura, at least.

Bakura listed to himself all of the weapons he could have concealed in the long white robe, but if he knew Shadi as well as he thought he did, then the Egyptian boy would be unarmed, believing in the power of the Millennium Key to defend himself.

Fool.

Bakura leaned nonchalantly against the building behind him.

"Tell me," he said. "How did you know?"

Shadi shrugged, the folds of his robe shifting like sand dunes.

"Once a tomb robber, always a tomb robber," he said, in his strange, breathy voice. "You couldn't stay away from Kul Elna if you tried."

Bakura smiled slightly, trying to hide his irritation at Shadi's perceptiveness.

"Well, you got me," he said, mock bowing. "And what do you plan to do about my presence, hm?"

Orange eyes snapped to violet. And instantly, the battle begun.

To a casual observer, it would look like a staring match. But on the spiritual and mental planes, two powerful wills clashed in a deadly battle – soul to soul, shadows to shadows, Millennium Item to Millennium Item. Both minds twisting, turning, sending flurries of thought to batter at the defenses of the other. The whole exchange took mere seconds, though to those involved, it felt like days.

Shadi backed down first, withdrawing into the fortress of his mind. Bakura chose not to pursue him, wary of what would happen if he took the battle into Shadi's home field. Still, he could not suppress his grin – Shadi presented less of a threat than Bakura had feared.

"You have strong defenses," Shadi observed. "Stronger than I realized."

Bakura smirked.

"I have had a few million years worth of practice."

Shadi shifted, a spark of irritation flashing through his eyes.

"Leave here, Bakura. You will not be welcomed here. Kul Elna may shelter tomb robbers, but even they have some code of honor."

"Really, Shadi. If I didn't know any better, I would think that you hadn't forgiven me for letting the Ring go where it wanted."

Shadi's lips pressed together in a thin line, and Bakura grinned. He had Shadi on the defensive now. The Egyptian boy still felt the shame of losing the Ring – of not noticing that Bakura had taken control of fate and forced the Ring to fall into the hands of an archaeologist who had led him to his permanent host.

Their gazes met for another long moment. Again, Shadi backed down first.

He turned with a frustrated snap of his robes.

"I will watch you, Bakura," he said. "Don't test me."

Then, with a quick, determined stride, he vanished around a corner.

Bakura fingered the knife in his back pocket absently. Pity. He had gotten so psyched up to stab someone.

Ah well. He would get his chance later. After all, Shadi couldn't possibly anticipate Bakura's real plan. Only an hour remained until the pharaoh's flight arrived, and the real game could begin.

Bakura grinned. He could hardly wait.

A/N: And another one done! Check it off the list! :D I have a secret to tell you guys: I wrote this entire story with a technique called E-Prime, which means I didn't use a single form of "to be" (excluding this author's note, of course). Let me tell you, that is HARD! And some people actually write entire novels like that, and try to talk like that too! Think about it: you can't use am, is, are, were, was, been, being, become, be...those are a lot of important-looking words. I don't think I'll ever try this technique again (or at least anytime soon) but it sure was interesting! Maybe I'll write the next oneshot in metric prose. X3 Next up is Towershipping (Yami no Marik x Kaiba x Jonouchi). ...on second thought, maybe I'll save the metric prose for Thiefshipping...