Facadeshipping (Mazaki Anzu/Yami no Bakura/Yami no Marik)
. . .
((this is an older piece, this was originally called Succumbshipping and I wrote it before, now it's name has been changed to Facadeshipping and I'm moving this back where it goes.))
. . .
It was so, so dark in the corridor. It was just her, her racing heart, and her clammy hands feeling their way down the dark stone wall. Anzu Mazaki tried to quiet her breaths, as though that alone would make her invisible. Because she knew, while she could not see in the darkness, there were things here that could...
She didn't remember how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered was sitting on Yugi's bed, waiting for him to come upstairs. He had to help his mother finish cleaning the kitchen, and then he would be right up. And then...he had appeared...
A shudder ran down her spine, and her wrists itched with the memory of the rope she had just managed to escape from. This mysterious castle was exactly where she would imagine Bakura to live in...though she wasn't entirely sure where here was. They could have easily be in Canada as they were in Japan. It was hard to remember much beyond the twisting shadows that Bakura had pushed her into with a laugh...
She shook her head with a sharp jerk. It didn't matter where here was, she had to get out of here, before Bakura realized that she had escaped. Otherwise...she didn't know what.
She crept around the corner, and was nearly blinded by the light of a fire. For a moment, her heart jumped into her throat, convinced that she had been found out. Then she realized that the light was coming from a torch in a bracket above her, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. This hallway was well lit as compared to the last one. It stretched out for who knows how long, with old, faded paintings on the brown stone walls and the ratty remains of a carpet on the floor.
She sucked in a steadying breath, and took one step out onto the carpet.
A door creaked open, slowly, just a few feet away from her. Her heart nearly exploded with terror, and she started to wheel backwards into the safety of the shadows –
And Yami no Marik appeared in the hallway. A tall, tan shadow, eerily illuminated by the flickering light of the torches so that his spiked hair appeared to be on fire. The Millennium Rod gleamed in his hand, held loosely. Easily. He glanced down the hallway, and then towards the shadows where Anzu was desperately trying to hide. Pupil-less violet eyes raked the darkness like the eyes of a predator.
For a long, terrifying moment, he remained in the hallway, looking slightly confused – like he had caught the scent of something that he couldn't quiet place. Then with a snap of his black cape, he disappeared back into the room. The door clicked softly behind him.
Anzu swallowed through a dry throat, the small sound like a hurricane in her pounding ears.
This was even worse than she had thought.
She hugged the corner for a long moment, trying to steel herself. If she moved quickly and quietly enough, she could sneak past that door and perhaps duck into the next one. Maybe she could find a window – there hadn't been one in the room Bakura had left her in. That could be her ticket out.
These thoughts were all that kept her brain under control as she carefully took one step, and then another, across the thin red carpet.
There was the door. She was passing it. There, it was behind her. The next door was just within reach...the intricate bronze knob was just under her fingertips...
And then the door behind her flew open. Anzu yelped, grabbing for the handle – but it wouldn't turn! It was locked!
And then a pair of rough hands grabbed her by the shoulders and whipped her around, pushing her up against the uselessly closed door.
Marik's sharp violet eyes met hers with a malicious glint.
"I thought I heard a little creature sneaking around out here," he said. "Well, well, well. Anzu. What brings you out here?"
"Get away from me!" Anzu said.
She tried to duck under one of the arms he was using to fence her in, but his other hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat, holding her fast against the door. She gasped, as he squeezed just hard enough to make it difficult to breathe.
"Going so soon? We've barely had time to chat," he said with a sneer.
"You – bastard – let – go –"
"And let you run away again? Now what would be the fun in that, Anzu-chan?"
Already the knife had appeared from his cloak, and the golden blade traced the line of her cheekbone.
Oh God – I'm going to die.
"Marik. Let go of her."
The soft, dangerous voice might have been the sound of the shadows itself. Yami no Marik's eyes flicked away from Anzu at the same time as Anzu's eyes.
Yami no Bakura stood at the entrance of the hallway. His black cloak swooped outwards, nearly blending into the shadows behind him, while his mass of white hair almost seemed to glow against the black.
"Ah. Bakura," Yami no Marik said, loosening his grip on Anzu's throat. "I wasn't expecting you back for a while."
"Plans change," Yami no Bakura said with a shrug. "Now, I believe I asked you to step away from Anzu."
Anzu's breaths came in short, suffocating gasps that had nothing to do with the hand on her throat. She was trapped – trapped between two madmen that looked like they were about to slit each other's throats.
Then Yami no Marik's hand released her throat, and Anzu fell to the ground in surprise. Her breath did not slow down – she was going to hyperventilate. Yami no Marik laughed, the sound echoing harshly across the dim corridor.
"How very fascinating, Bakura," he said, baring his teeth in a grin that did not reach his eyes. "So you brought little Anzu here? That was not part of the plan – at least, not part of the plan I knew of."
"You know what I want you to know, Marik. You were under no illusions when you chose to work with me," Yami no Bakura said with a wave of his hand. "I gave you a body of your own, and you help me. In return, you get to kill things. That's what you want, is it not? Now please, step away from Anzu."
Marik grinned again. He folded his arms, the Millennium Rod gleaming in the light.
"What if I say no?"
Bakura's purple eyes flashed, and Anzu could have sworn she saw the shadows move. The stare off lasted for a long, long moment. Anzu could have run away – well, she could have if she knew they didn't have supernatural powers. But the buzz of building power in the air kept her fastened to the ground. She wasn't sure if she could have moved if she wanted to.
Finally, Bakura broke the silence.
"Anzu. Come here," he said. "Unless you would prefer the company of Marik...?"
Anzu still could not move. But as Marik sent the flash of a malicious grin at her, she suddenly knew that staying here was the worse option.
She scrambled to her feet, nearly falling over again due to the trembling in her legs, and shakily walked over to Bakura.
Bakura half-smiled, but there was a hint of annoyance in that smile. Anzu wasn't sure if it was at her, or Marik. And she didn't want to find out. He grabbed her by the wrist and turned her around, so that she was facing Marik again.
Marik flashed a grin at her.
"Don't think that I'll forget she's here, Bakura," he said. "And don't forget that I think she's just as interesting as you do."
Then with a final laugh, he disappeared into the room from where he had came.
Bakura turned Anzu to face him again. He took her chin and forced her to look up at him, into his deep purple eyes.
"Naughty Anzu," he said softly. "Roaming this castle alone is a dangerous idea."
"Anything is better than being stuck with you," Anzu said, trying to regain some semblance of defiance.
This time, Bakura's smile was as it usually was: dark and amused.
"You may say that, Anzu-chan," he said. "But you chose me over Marik."
"Marik would have killed me," she said.
"And I won't?"
A flutter of terror was born in Anzu's chest. She found her tongue frozen in her mouth, and she could not do anything as Bakura pressed his lips against hers.
He drew back, licking his lips.
"Do you know what I call that, Anzu?" he said.
Anzu couldn't reply.
"Progress."
. . .
A/N: Next is Eyeshipping (Yami Bakura x Pegasus).
