Author's Note: Wow, I've never cursed so much in a FanFic… But, Bakura brings out the worst in people… XD
Bakura: I resent that!
Anyways, here you go!
KD Chapter V: Fiery Passion
Bakura groaned. It was almost the end of the week. He was going to make it! He was so close! But, so close was also so far away.
The spirit banged his fists against the kitchen table where Marik peaceful surfed the Internet and commanded the Egyptian boy's attention, complaining, "There's nothing to do!"
Marik didn't even look up from his computer screen. He simply reached out to his drink and steadied the glass of lemonade Bakura shook. He began to suggest, "Well, we could always-"
"For the last time, Creampuff, I'm not into that kind of stuff," Bakura shot down, shivering from the assumption of what he thought Marik was thinking.
The tombkeeper rolled his cloudy blue eyes and picked up, "-That's not what I was going to recommend."
"Liar," Bakura coughed.
Marik glared at the albino before continuing, "How about you go for a nice walk? It's really beautiful today."
"I thought you said I wasn't allowed outside," Bakura countered, crossing his arms with a skeptical look.
Marik shrugged, admitting, "There's honestly nothing out there. Your first strike was just an unlucky occurrence of events. We seriously never get visitors. It's pretty safe to say you won't find anything up there. It's just desert."
"Then, what's the point of going?" Bakura inquired, an uninterested expression on his face. He absolutely loathed exercise. And, yes, he counted walking as exercise.
"'Cause, if you don't, you'll just be stuck down here with nothing to do," Marik informed him.
Bakura contemplated this for a moment. He tried, "Any chance you'll let me use the Inter-"
"No."
Bakura huffed, "Fine." He removed himself from Marik's presence and stormed out of the crypt, slamming the tomb entrance doors closed behind him.
The thief had to acknowledge, that after nearly a week of not being outside, the sun's rays on his fair skin felt quite good. He wandered around in the area, kicking up sand with his feet. It was blistering hot. And, the heat was intensifying with every step he took.
Becoming tired, Bakura sunk down against a rock and rested. He swiped his hand over his forehead, whipping some fresh sweat off his brows. It was already soaking his light hair and making Bakura's bangs stick to his face as if they were saturated with glue. The yami grunted with annoyance at this. But, he suddenly recalled a trick to solving this problem when lost in the desert thousands of years ago. He began to take up some sand to dry out his skin.
But, as Bakura began to dig, his ghostly white fingers hit something cool and metal. Curiosity piqued, he continued to free the object from its sandy prison.
Finally, it was revealed.
"Millennium Ring!" Bakura exclaimed with pure joy that was rare for him. He hugged the Millennium Item to his chest as if it were an old friend, cheering, "You're back!" He'd thought he had lost it forever. That damn Pharaoh had made them disappear after he retreated into the afterlife. But the Millennium Items were sneaky and persistent. And apparently they had a sense of humor, giving the ring back to the notorious Thief King.
Bakura began to laugh. It was deep and maniacal, sounding as if it came from a psychotic, evil demon. Probably because it did…
The spirit had recovered his power. The Pharaoh hadn't seen the last of him. No, now plans were swirling in his twisted little mind. Plans of unspeakable horror. They were brilliant and unstoppable.
That is, they would be if the Millennium Ring still worked…
That's right! Bakura thought, Who knows what kind of curses the bloody Pharaoh brought down on my precious items? How do I know that they still possess the power that I need? He didn't know, and that meant he had to find out.
He needed to test it.
But not here, Bakura reminded himself, glancing over the vast desert. No, he couldn't test the power of a Millennium Item in the open. His location was several, several miles from any form of civilization, but Bakura wasn't taking any chances. Marik would never forgive him if he let shadow monsters loose on society. Even though he only had one strike left, Bakura figured Marik would deem the release of shadow creatures as two.
Bakura decided it would be best to test the ring's power in the room Marik had let him stay in.
Now to sneak past the Ishtars…
Bakura strung the Millennium Ring around his neck and tucked it under his striped shirt. Just like the old days… he mused with an unnerving smirk.
Opening the tomb entrance, the spirit skipped down the stairs merrily. Everything seemed just a little bit brighter (or should he say darker?) when he was in the possession of his Millennium Item.
"Hey, 'Kura," Marik rang out, walking up to Bakura with an innocent smile caressing his lips. He perceived, "You seem like you're in a much better mood."
Bakura matched the tombkeeper's smile, but his was much more sinister. He confirmed, "Yep. You were exactly right, Marik. A good walk is exactly what I needed." He silently thanked the spirits that lying came so easily to him.
He actually called me by my real name? Marik observed, He's up to something… But, I'll let him think I don't know. That should be much more fun… Marik concealed a playful chuckle as he replied, "I'm glad to hear that." He gave a small wave and strolled off.
"Sucker…" Bakura hissed like a serpent and slithered off.
-transition-
The thief closed his door behind him and reached down his shirt, retrieving his ring.
"Come to daddy," Bakura purred, stroking the Millennium Item.
Immediately, the ring began to glow an eerie white.
"Yes… Yes…" Bakura coaxed it and commanded, "Give me the power I deserve!"
Suddenly, the glowing ceased and fire spilled from the mystical object onto the floor, setting the room ablaze. The item's rope snapped and let itself fall into the flames.
"No!" Bakura cried, "This can't be! The shadow powers have rejected me!"
The item retreated back into the Egyptian sands, permanently this time. It had decided that Bakura was no longer a worthy item barer. It resided back into the soil to stay dormant until another day.
But, that left Bakura's room on fire.
The spirit fiercely uttered every curse word known to man and decided that the best short-term plan was to get the hell out of the room before he burnt to a crisp.
He shut the door behind him and leaned against its exterior, staring at the floor with defeat. Marik was going to kill him.
"Hello, again, Kitty."
Bakura jumped and moved his head up, seeing that Marik had magically appeared in front of him as if the spirit had summoned him.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Bakura asked, detecting an almost mocking spark dwelling in the Egyptian boy's eyes.
Marik didn't answer the yami's question purposely and asked one of his own; "What's behind your back, Kitty?"
"A door," Bakura answered plainly, self-consciously knowing that he was already doomed.
Marik's grin only widened as he pondered aloud, "Oh really… That all?"
Bakura nodded shakily.
"Hmm," Marik hummed and took hold of the doorknob and turned it, opening the door.
Damn these people for not making their doors open the other way, Bakura cursed.
Marik's jaw dropped.
"You- you-" was all he could stutter, "How- how did you do this?"
"I might have found the Millennium Ring out on my walk," Bakura answered Marik's rhetorical question and added sardonically, "But, that's just a guess."
Marik cocked his blonde head to the side and called, "Ishizu! Odion!"
The two older siblings came running.
Ishizu interrogated frantically, "What is it, Marik?"
Marik simply pointed into Bakura's room that was being engulfed by flames.
The tombkeepers gasped.
They quickly ran back to the kitchen and retrieved a fire extinguisher. Quickly, they brought down the flames. When it was all put out, nothing remained.
Marik walked through the ashes and into the room in a dead silence. Bakura followed at a slow gait, trying to catch a glimpse of his face to try and guess how angry he was. But, a shadow covered the Egyptian's face, revealing no hint of his thoughts.
"Could've been worse," Bakura commented, his tone deceiving that he was more sarcastic than positive. He declared to himself that he had absolutely nothing to lose and inquired, "So… Where do I sleep now?"
Marik glanced up at the spirit from behind eyes of pure, passionate frustration. Bakura had never seen him so furious. In fact, in the dim light, the pansy almost looked like him yami.
"That's it, Kitty," Marik said through gritted teeth, "That was your third strike. And, you know what they say…" He waited for Bakura to pick up the rest of the saying.
"… Sorry to disappoint you, Kid, but I don't know the rest. Remember? I know next to nothing about this time," Bakura dared to point out as he shrugged offhandedly.
Marik looked the thief straight in the eye and shouted, "Three strikes and you're out!"
Author's Note: Aww… Poor Bakura. Off to Ryou's. We'll see how that goes soon. I plan on getting the next chapter up by next week. But, if I get enough reviews, I may update sooner… *hint hint*
Review?... Pwease? *cheesy smile*