Disclaimer: HOMEWORK SUCKS oh and.. I don't own yugioh…
Ann and Phillip stood arguing in the background. It was Kaiba this and Kaiba that, or Kaiba wasn't this and Kaiba wasn't that. Either way, it was something about Kaiba. Danielle and Michael sat there boredly listening to their rant.
"They're all noobs about it. I already know what happens to everyone," Michael started a conversation. "Did you know the spirit of the puzzle was an Egyptian Pharaoh?"
"Really now? That doesn't sound the least bit surprising," Mizu leaned against the wall resting.
"Why is that?"
"Well, he's the hero and all. He also has something to do with Egypt since that puzzle has an Egyptian symbol. I'm going to take a wild guess and say Kaiba is his rival?"
"Somewhat. You're half right. But there's another," Michael corrected.
"There is? Who?" Danielle wondered.
"Bakura."
"Bakura…? The guy who I get annoyed with so easily…? He lost to Yugi already didn't he?"
"He keeps coming back, and he's more powerful than you think. He was the King of Thieves once. Why do you dislike him anyway?"
"He's just as arrogant as Kaiba. That's why," Danielle scoffed.
Danielle groaned and rolled over on her back, opening her eyes slowly. She sat up slowly, but flinched when her head started pounding.
"Ow, ow, ow," she rubbed her head. "I am never head-butting anyone ever again. But I guess it goes to show you how much of a thick head that stupid Bakura is. That was a weird dream, too. Why would I dream about the conversation I had with Michael? I already figured out I'm in Yugioh… Most likely the past, too."
"You're awake," a voice spoke.
Danielle looked up to see Josef standing by the doorway with a food tray.
"I thought you might be hungry," he walked over.
"Thank you," Danielle nodded. "How did Bakura get in?"
"Right… I forgot to mention to lock your window. He tends to… jump in this room to walk straight across to mine since this room is the closest to the entrance," He smiled sheepishly.
"…Thanks for telling me," Danielle gave him the oh-gee-thanks stare.
"I'm sorry. It just slipped my mind, that's all," he defended himself. "I also want to let you know that Bakura doesn't like you now."
"I don't like him either," Danielle scoffed.
"I just want to let you know he might try to pester you a little," Josef warned.
"A little?! You call sitting on top of me little!?" Danielle shuddered from when Bakura had pinned her down.
Josef smiled and shook his head. "Once you've finished eating, meet me outside. We're going to start your training today."
"Already?" Danielle questioned. But she wasn't complaining. In fact, she was excited. Sure, she learned some defense moves from Gym class, but she wanted to learn how to fight for real.
As she sat near the window eating, her mind strayed once more to the dream. Maybe it wasn't reminding me that I was in Yugioh. Maybe it was telling me… that Bakura was Yugi's rival in Egypt? What does that have anything to do with me? "Okay, I'm being paranoid… A flashback probably occurred ever since Bakura popped in uninvitingly. But then again, it's not like I need a dream to remind me how much he annoys me."
"Now you're speaking in a strange language? Aren't you full of surprises," an arrogant voice spoke from… right behind her.
Danielle swiftly turned around an jumped up, ready to defend herself against Bakura. All he did was smirk amusingly.
"What are you smiling about?" Danielle glared at him.
"Feisty, aren't we? Actually," Bakura's smirk faded away. "I'm here to settle things with you. Be lucky I'm not allowed to kill you, but hurting you is reasonable enough with me."
Danielle grabbed for her now new sword, but only to find it wasn't held in her sash. She gasped and looked around.
"Looking for this?" he smirked as he flipped the sword continuously. "It still makes me wonder how Abayomi can give a sword like this to a girl like you. You didn't even realize it was gone."
When did he-!?
He was the King of Thieves once.
…I see. So this is what Michael meant about his strength. I'm at a disadvantage here!
Danielle began to panic in her mind. She had no skills against someone like Bakura, and he's a thief no less! She tried to think of a way to get his guard down like it was last night. Last night was only luck, not skill. However, Bakura didn't seem like the type to let down his guard so easily ever again after what she did.
I'm the one that feels like I have a concussion in the head, and he wants revenge. How immature of him…
"You beat a girl with no skills. Oh yes, that will prove how 'powerful' you are," Danielle mocked him.
"If you had no skill, then you should've thought carefully before you attacked me."
"Well, you pinned me down! You started it!"
"I do whatever I want."
"That's not fair!"
"Life's not fair."
Okay, I'm getting nowhere! This guy is an immature spoiled brat! To think he's the King of Thieves!
Danielle suddenly realized something. She stared at him and her eyes moved down to his chest. He was not wearing the Millennium Ring. She thought it was strange since he had it during Duelist Kingdom.
Maybe he stole it from someone? Why am I thinking about that now!? I have to escape somehow!
Bakura was walking closer and closer to Danielle with the sword in his hand. He was no longer smirking, and his eyes held no emotion. He was seriously going to hurt her.
"Wait! You prove nothing if you hurt me now. Wait until I get stronger and then fight me," Danielle tried to bargain with him.
He stopped where he was and looked at her curiously.
"You? Fight me?"
Bakura busted out laughing like a maniac. To her it was more like a normal evil laughter she usually hears from the show. Danielle growled at the fact that he found her bargain amusing.
"Just watch! I'll have enough strength to fight you one on one!"
Bakura only continued to chuckle. Did she even understand who she was challenging? Did she even know how her strength can't even possibly compare to his? Yet, she made such a claim. Perhaps it was only to prolong his attempt to hurt her, or perhaps she was now furious and wanted to fight him with her strength.
She's either brave or very, very foolish. Bakura smirked inwardly. "All right. Fine. But know this. If you fight one on one with me, there are no rules. And death is certain."
Bakura waited for her reaction. He expected her to back out and beg for mercy from him like every other coward that has challenged him in his life. Even those so called guards did so right after a small "harmless" battle. She looked hesitant and he smirked. In just a few seconds, she'll drop to her knees and tell him to get the beatings over with.
"Fine," Danielle answered boldly. What am I doing?! I just agreed to fight to the death with him! Am I crazy!? If I take it back now, I'll look like a coward! I'm not letting this jerk get all cocky about it!
Danielle seriously had no idea what possessed her to agree to such terms. Maybe she hated him so much that she was willing to go so far to wipe that annoying smirk off his face. Or maybe, she was trying to prove something to him. Either way, she had no way out of this one. What made her even more confused was Bakura's expression. He looked completely blown away. He wasn't even smirking anymore.
His guard's down!
Danielle ran at him and tackled him down, trying to grab the sword. He snapped back to his senses and growled, glaring daggers at her. They both struggled, but of course, Danielle struggled the most since Bakura could practically pick her up from the ground and pin her again. But he didn't. He kicked her off of him making her fly out the window screaming…
Bakura stood up only to realize what he did. He looked down at his hand and the sword was no longer there. Bakura slowly walked to the window to see what had happened to the girl. Not that he cared. It was her fault to begin with. He gazed down only to see her hanging on for dear life having stabbed the sword into the wall. Bakura couldn't help but chuckle amusingly at the pitiful sight.
To think she actually let my guard down and was quick enough to react. This girl isn't like most of them as Josef stated.
"All right. Since you've agreed, I won't harm you until you approach me believing that you're ready for utter defeat. I still don't expect you to win, but if you prove that you can actually fight, maybe I'll have mercy on you. But that doesn't mean I still won't kill you," Bakura turned and began walking away.
"HEY! DON'T JUST LEAVE ME!" Danielle cried out angrily, slowly slipping from her grip on the sword.
"I said I won't harm you until then, but what happens to you in between your training doesn't concern me," he mockingly smirked and walked out of the room.
"WAIT!" Danielle growled.
But before she could spout anything else, the sword began to budge. She gasped and looked at the wall. It was beginning to crack, loosening the sword. Danielle hurriedly looked around to see if anything could save her, but before she found anything, the sword fell from out the wall along with her. Danielle screamed like there was no tomorrow.
Even if she managed to survive the fall, she won't react fast enough and the sword could pierce right through her. She closed her eyes awaiting for the impact. It came all right, but it wasn't the impact she expected. She thought the impact would feel as if she hit the ground like a pancake in a pan. However, this felt more like she fell into some sort of hole that was supporting her. She opened her eyes slowly to see a pair of brown eyes looking at her with worry.
"It's not everyday I catch a girl falling from the sky like that," Josef half joked and half meant it.
"Josef! Thank goodness!" Danielle sighed with relief and fell back in his arms tiredly.
He let her down and looked up at the window seeing a crack right under it. He looked down at the sword which had landed right next to him when he had caught Danielle. None of the men were back yet, so he could only think of one conclusion.
"Bakura pushed you out, didn't he?"
"Sort of…" Danielle shrugged sheepishly. "I sort of tackled him down to get Abayomi's sword back and he kicked me out of the window."
And she was quick enough to save herself with Abayomi's sword like that. Perhaps we should work on her reflexes today and see how quickly she can react.
"I see. Don't worry about Bakura so much. I told him not to kill you, but it seems he still thinks it's okay to hurt you. I'll have a talk with him, so just worry about your training," Josef assured. "And when the men come back, I'm sure you can handle them. After all, you once again managed to let Bakura's guard down to tackle him like that."
"That's… a little comforting," Danielle didn't know whether to feel safe or not.
Josef chuckled at her response. He walked over to the sword, took it out from the ground, and threw it at Danielle. She stood there frozen and flinched as she caught her.
"You can catch it, but you have doubt. We'll work on your reflexes first and if you still continue to flinch, then we'll work on that, too," Josef said.
Danielle nodded with determination. If she is to fight against Bakura, then she needs to work hard. I don't think I should tell Josef about it. But it seems Bakura and him are close, so he'll be informed later… In the mean time. I need to get stronger.
Without warning, Josef aimed a punch at her causing her to jump back and fall backwards.
"Ow, ow, ow," she rubbed her head. "You could have said something…"
"There are no warnings in a battle. If you don't make the first move, your opponent will. You have to be prepared for that. You managed to dodge, but falling back like that will only give them the upper hand."
"First time not perfect," she defended herself with a pout.
"Your speech isn't perfect either." Josef couldn't help but smile when he dodged a rock thrown at him. "Your aim is fine, but not quick enough."
Danielle pouted and stood back up dusting herself off. She stood ready and determined.
If I'm going to beat Bakura and live, then I have to do this to my full extent.
Josef threw another punch at her, which she managed to dodge and not fall this time. But as immediately as she dodged, he kicked her on the side. Luckily, she had tried to jump out of the way, so the impact only had her stagger back and wince at the pain instead of flying back.
"Are you all right?" Josef wondered if he had over done it.
"In a fight, you don't ask the other if they're fine," Danielle tried to smile away the pain. Damn he kicks hard. I'm glad I didn't go flying! He's probably even holding back. I'm glad he's on my side.
This continued for half of the day. If Danielle had gotten hit, Josef would show her how to block it or use it against her opponent. Sometimes, Josef would throw something at her to see how quickly she reacted while he ran to attack her. This needed more reaction and helps you understand and avoid distractions that your opponent throws at you. After a long day of this, Danielle finally fell backwards tiredly. Josef was slightly tired as well, but not as tired as her.
"You did well for your first time," he complimented, walking over to Danielle. "Keep all the things I've told you in mind for tomorrow."
Josef helped her up and let her lean on him as he supported her weight. Danielle was sore all over! She could barely even walk even with Josef helping. She didn't even realize that she blacked out. Josef noticed that Danielle suddenly went limp and turned to see that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and decided to carry her on his back. Josef heard a few horses neighing and turned around to see that the men had come back from the raid. And with plenty of gold, too.
"You took longer than usual," Josef smirked at their arrival.
"Well, we may have underestimated that place a little," the man shrugged sheepishly.
"Hey, hey. What have you got there, Josef?" another man spoke up. "You've never brought home a girl before."
"She's hot."
"All of you believe every women with breasts are 'hot,'" Josef sighed. "She is off limits."
"What? Why?!"
"She is under my care and I am to train her. It was Abayomi's request."
"Train her? You mean to fight? Look at her! She's half dead!"
"Of course. After all, we've been training since morning," Josef said that like it was nothing. A few men had their jaws dropped. "Also, if you try to touch her, you'll suffer the consequences."
"Did Bakura say that, or are you referring to yourself."
"Neither. Touch her and who knows what she'll do to you," he smiled and walked off as if what he said meant nothing.
The men were now completely astonished. What exactly did Josef mean by that? Surely this mere girl can't possibly cause them that much harm. Everyone shrugged it off and went to put their horses away. Tonight was to be celebrated for their mission complete.
As the night went on, the men partied like there was no tomorrow. Some of them had brought back… ahem… other women with them… And many got drunk. Josef stood next to Bakura who sat on a throne like chair and merely watched. Josef rarely ever celebrates with his companions. He's not much of a drinker. Bakura on the other hand usually does, but he didn't seem to be in the partying mood.
"I see you're disturbed with something," Josef snapped Bakura out of his daze.
"You never miss a thing, do you, Josef," Bakura smirked.
"So something is bothering you."
"It's that damn girl."
"Her name is Dalila by the way."
"I don't care what her name is. I want her dead!" Bakura growled.
"Until Abayomi tells me that my duty over her is done, you know very well I won't let you kill her. But may I ask why you dislike her so much? After all, yesterday was only a mishap. You surprised her after all," Josef couldn't help but think Bakura's anger was somewhat amusing. He's never seen Bakura get angry at someone so quickly.
"I don't need a reason to hate her."
(Acting sort of childish there arent you bakura tsk tsk tsk)
"I see. Then if there is no reason, you shouldn't be bothered by it and enjoy yourself like you usually do."
Bakura scoffed. Josef had got him. Josef smirked inwardly. He and Bakura have been friends for a long time and he knew how to get Bakura to talk here and there. Especially if Bakura was being unreasonable, Josef can use that to trap Bakura. There are times where Bakura traps Josef also, but it's his turn this time. Bakura stayed silent for a while, his mind raging every time he thought about that girl.
"Was it what she did this morning that has got you so frustrated?" Josef wondered seeing how Bakura was clenching his hand into a fist.
"We made a deal."
Josef's eyes now widened. First off, Bakura never makes deals. Second, if he did make one, it's never a good one. She must have done or said something to make him so interested.
"And… what was that?" Josef asked hesitantly.
"Once the training is over and she believes she's ready, we fight to the death. She actually believes she can win. How foolish. It looks like I'll kill her whether you like it or not, Josef."
"Bakura! What did you even do to make her say that!?"
"Actually, I was only planning on beating her, but she brought it up first. I just decided to make it more interesting," Bakura smirked, proud that he made such a bargain. Now he can kill that girl without any interruption. Even Josef can't interfere when a deal has been made.
"And she agreed?!" Josef exclaimed. What was Dalila thinking! How could she agree to something like that? It would have been wiser to… Josef slightly calmed down for a bit. There was no way out no matter what when it came to Bakura. Maybe it was wiser for her to actually have a chance to fight back than to endure Bakura's beatings.
Bakura let Josef's words echo in his mind. He stared straight ahead in a daze.
And she agreed!?
If you fight one on one with me, there are no rules. Death is certain.
Fine…
Just watch! I'll have enough strength to fight you one on one!
Her words shouldn't be bothering me like this. It's her funeral, so why am I so damn aggravated?!
Bakura could not think of anything possibly logical to understand why he was angry. Josef observed Bakura's silence. Obviously, she had agreed, but why was Bakura so quiet about it? A moment ago, he was proud that he had a chance to kill her. (yeah we call that major mood swings, hahahaha!)
"You are disturbed that she agreed…?" Josef questioned. That's the only conclusion I can come up with. And there's only one reason behind that. "Is it because she is not like most women who beg for your mercy?"
"You know I hate it even more when I'm read like a book," Bakura growled.
"Then be glad I can only do that, my friend," Josef chuckled. "So I am correct?"
"I've concluded that she's a foolish girl who wants to meet Anubis so badly. Yet, I feel like she defies everything I do just to annoy me. No one has ever stood up to me so easily and that is what angers me so. I'll be sure to make her suffer," Bakura hissed.
Josef felt a little concern for Danielle. She has been the only girl so far to challenge Bakura so carelessly. Even men who thought they could take Bakura on died at his hands. But Bakura's unreasonable anger made Josef wonder. So what if she agreed? Plenty of people have tried to fight Bakura and he merely entertained himself by annihilating them. So why does this girl cause Bakura's blood to boil.
Perhaps it's because Dalila is unpredictable and Bakura could not read what she would do like most of his opponents. It looks like I'll have to train her even harder if she even had a chance of putting a scar on Bakura.
"Well, I wouldn't know the outcome to that Bakura. After all, I've been training her since you kicked her out the window until the men arrived. She's only half dead," Josef began to walk away to check on Danielle.
What!? She survived Josef's by being only half dead!? She should have been unconscious the first two hours! Or perhaps her will and determination to beat me got her so far. What am I thinking? Her determination has nothing to do with it. Josef probably went easy on her the first time. We'll see if you get stronger or not girl, but there is no escaping your death.
Bakura sat back on his throne, smirking at his predicted triumph. Yet, a little of that anger had yet to go away, so that's all Bakura did. He sat there with a frown, no longer smirking as his men partied the rest of the night.
(boy, isn't it weird that Josef who looks like Jounouchi is so smart? Hahaha, and Danielle sure got Bakura going. Anyway, I'll try to update soon, but I've been getting a lot of homework lately…)