Tenshi- tsk tsk, so what's up?
Spirit- anyways heres the next chap for you all.
Shout Out's!-
Saturn's Spawn- that's ok. and of course us girls are annoying. we like to be that way. lol. thanks for checking out my own stories. however they're coming along slowly due to most of my time on these ones. oh well. Thanks for the review!
Hiei's Shadow Tenshi- don't worry, Tenshi will be fine, but when i shall not tell. it ruins the story. and yes that's the saying, and if not,. . . then it can be one you made up! that's always fun! i feel much better and Thanks for the review!
Nyaro (my editor)- sorry i didn't send this chap. by the time i could function i knew it was to late to send it.
Harpygirl91- Well Seto isn't really going to be in this fic so i guess i'll put her with Jabari. yes we girls are truly evil. but they love it! so Bakura should not complain. anyways thanks for the review!
Disclaimer- I don't own either animes/mangas. All I own is the plot.
P.S.- for those of you who read Heavenly Destruction, sorry i could not update it yesterday. I didn't have a chap ready and could think while sick, but i'll have it out on Wednsday.
88 Last Time 88
He stood up but one of the horses reared and kicked him down the sand dune. Tenshi went tumbling through the hot sand. He winced as the grains were pushed into his cut. All the strength he had was draining, he couldn't even stop himself. Instead he let himself keep going till the dune ended. By then however he was nearly unconscious. Without moving he glanced over to where the raiders were. He saw them laugh, grab all his and Corman's valuables and ride off. It was then that the darkness claimed him.
88 This Time 88
Marik wondered around the tombs he was guarding. All was quiet as usual. Rishid was with him, but neither felt like talking. Mostly cause it was late and they were tired. The other reason was, it was to keep that they were there a secret. This was normally the time thieves would come and try to steal from the tombs.
It had been silent however till they heard one of the traps go off. Quickly taking out their swords they ran in the direction it had come from. There they found none other that Bakura with a bag of jewels and gold slung over his shoulder. "Drop it Bakura!" Marik shouted, ready to fight.
"No, sorry. It will take more than that to stop me." suddenly he threw down a small sphere that exploded into smoke. Rishid and Marik had trouble breathing, and when it was clear the thief was gone. That was weird. Why didn't he kill them? He always had killed the tombkeepers in the past.
"Marik. Look at this." Rishid said, picking up a slip of paper on the floor. It was a note from Bakura. Marik read it, and his eyes grew wide.
"Rishid we have to send some guards to the palace at once! The town of Niap was destroyed and the women there captured. Including Isis."
Rishid looked shocked. "What about Hotaru?"
"Probably with her. Come on. I doubt Bakura would have left us alive just for some sick joke, so you and I are going to find them. Even if we have to sneak out of here."
88888
Atem had just gotten back from talking with Anzu. He had asked her if she really wanted to marry him. Of course he had already known the answer. It was obvious the girl loved Tenshi, and he was perfectly fine with that. He only saw her as a friend to begin with, even a bit of a sister. Marrying her would just have been too weird.
Of course when he told his five priests the news, a few had not found this such a good idea. He would have to tell Isis of his decision to break off the marrage later. Hopefully she would not be angry with him for disobeying his father. He doubted it though. Isis was not one to always do as she was told. That's probably why Hotaru mostly turned out the way she was. Hotaru and Tenshi of course would be thrilled to hear of this. Especially this trusted guard. Hopefully he would be back soon. The palace seemed so dull without him pulling pranks on Akhenaden or causing other sorts of mischief.
Laughter then caught the Pharaoh's attention. It was coming from one of the rooms he had given to the survivors of the Black Troop ordeal. He then realized it was the room that held the orphans. Shouldn't they be asleep at this hour? Going towards the door, he silently opened it and peered in. Inside the kids were all crowded around Rei, who seemed to be telling them a story.
It wasn't long before the raven haired girl spotted him. "Well looks like one more kid came to join us. Oh wait, it seems the great Pharaoh is all grown up now, and making his own decisions." she teased, and a few of the kids giggled.
"So you heard?" Atem said, entering the room. Rei nodded and stood up, holding one of the babies.
"Yes, Haruka told me what happened. Would you mind helping me put these kids to bed?" Atem shook his head and began tucking some of the kids in. Soon all the kids were sound asleep and the two crept quietly out of the room. "Thank you. You'd make a good father some day."
"Should I be taking that as a compliment or an insult?" he asked smirking.
Rei smiled. "A compliment. Not all fathers are good ones. So what brings you to this side of the palace?"
"I was just wandering around. Have you been taking care of those children all this time?"
Rei shook her head. "No, Michiru and some of the other maids help out. I usually am the one to put them to bed though. They seem to like my stories of powerful sorcerers and brave kings."
"Speaking of which, have you made a decision? I do not mean to rush you or anything." Rei sighed.
"I know, but the more I think on it the more the decision to stay here becomes difficult. Soon the village will be built and everyone will go home. Looking at them, it makes me fear that they will have no protection against other predators. And every time I walk into that room of orphans it makes my heart ache, for I could not save their families."
Atem looked at her sadly, then rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing though Rei. You managed to save a lot of those people. Get some rest now, it is late." Rei nodded.
"Thank you Atem. Good night." she said as she went down the hall to her room. Atem watched her until she was out of sight then, went to his own chambers to sleep.
88888
Bakura, Jabari, and another thief arrived late back at their hide out. It had taken a lot longer to ditch some of the guards to the tomb then expected. Of course they couldn't kill any since the Thief King promised Hotaru he would get the word out to what happened at Niap. Sighing he dismounted and took off the bridle and saddle of his horse before heading in with the others.
They were passing the dinning hall when Jabari tapped his shoulder. Bakura saw him point at something and turned to look. There he found Hotaru and Makoto asleep at one of the tables. Raising an eyebrow the two walked in and over to them. The waitress, who was finishing up cleaning smiled.
"They were waiting up for you. Both girls were worried when you didn't return sooner." she whispered. Bakura rolled his eyes. Was there really a need to be worried over him and Jabari. He was after all the Thief king, and Jabari was his second in command.
Jabari chuckled some, then went and picked Makoto up bridle style. "I'll take this one to bed. You'll have to handle Hotaru." with that the thief walked out. Bakura glared at his back but shook it off. Hotaru was a lot lighter anyways, so less work for him. Thanking the waitress he picked the girl up and headed for her room.
Upon entering it he found it was pitch black. The candles had gone out, and his only source of light was the moon. Careful not to trip over anything, he made his way to her bed and gently settled her in. The image of her frightened face flashed in his mind. Was this really the same girl he had met in that tomb? She had been so fearless then. She even tried to slap him once when he got her angry. Had her days with those men really changed her this much? If he could, he would go back and kill them all. Most likely they were gone though. Probably off to steal more girls to sell.
Sitting down on the chair next to her bed he continued to stare at her. It really was surprising how timid she had become. She was getting better thanks to Makoto and the other girls. But he could still sense the fear in her every time anyone but him passed her by. The two that attacked her earlier were now buzzard food. Jabari had told him what had happened. Bakura was pissed though, when he found out his friend had already "accidentally" killed the two. Bakura had then told his men not to lay a hand on her or they would be dead by morning. He had made it very clear to them that she was "his".
A smirk formed on his face when he thought of what the girl might say to that. Probably would yell at him some more. Though he knew if it was the old Hotaru, she would probably hit him. That old Hotaru was gone though. With a sigh he leaned back and began to stroke her hair.
"With everything that's happened to you...I'm surprised you still feel the need to live." he said before closing his eyes.
88888
It was late at night when Hotaru woke up. Looking around she found she was back in her bed. Hearing light breathing she turned to see a from sitting by her bed. The moons light made the form glow, and she realized it was Bakura. Sitting up she found he was asleep. He looked...peaceful, just sitting there. Like an innocent child. Though of course she knew the man was far from innocent.
Anyways she saw him slightly shiver and realized he must be cold. Quietly getting up she walked over to the chest and brought out another blanket. As gently as she could she settled it onto him. With a smile she sat back down on her bed and looked out the window. She didn't feel tired, so what was she to do now?
"You seem to hate other men, yet you're kind to me. Why?" came Bakura's voice. She jumped then turned her head to look at him.
"I thought you were asleep." he straightened up some and smirked.
"I was, but you were to noisy opening that chest." she blushed at this and bowed her head.
"Sorry for waking you."
"There you go again."
She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"You're being nice to me. Why? As I recall there was a time you wished to have me hung out a window."
She glared at him and crossed her arms. "That's because you were a pervert. And I'm nice to you now because..." her eyes softened, "you saved me. I would have died if you hadn't shown up."
"So what? You saved me and I was still an ass to you." he said with a smirk. Her glare returned.
"Well I wouldn't expect much more from a thief like you. Especially one as lecherous as you are. You just liked toying with me didn't you? Thought I was amusing?"
He nodded. "Yeah, that's about half of it."
"So what's the other half? A release from boredom? Robbing tombs wasn't enough so you had to pick on the girl that helped you escape?" she snapped. He chuckled at how quickly her temper got the better of her. Maybe the girl he knew was still in there, just buried under all the trauma and fear. And it seemed he was beginning to uncover it all.
"Sure lets say it's that." the girl fumed she stood up, put her hands on his knees, and glared right into his face.
"You are such a child! Has anyone ever told you that? Well listen hear thief. I am not your toy, and I am not here for your amusement! So just cut all the crap and treat me with the proper respect I deserve!" it was then he began to laugh. The girl blinked and looked at him, confused. "What's so funny?"
"That's it." he said taking her chin carefully in one of his hands. He then smiled warmly at her. "That's the girl I know, and love." without saying more he pulled her face to his and kissed her gently.
Spirit- aw, the two finally had their first Romanticish kiss. hey it's better than the ones Bakura used to give her.
Tenshi- yes yes, but what happend to me!
Spirit- you'll find out next chap if you people would Please Review! Ja ne
Death