While the girthy, ghostly woman approached, the dress swaying at her feet, Touzoku-Ou glared; his stance unmoving. He felt absolutely incredulous over the entire situation. Silence rang throughout the hall, save the gulping gasps of that wretched foreign woman. If looks could have killed, he would have slit her throat from where he stood, which was several meters away.
They expected HER to kill him? Touzoku-Ou would have been enraged by simply the gesture of a foreign woman overpowering him and taking his life. But they had actually sent her forth, with command to kill him.
The worst part was that they actually believed she would end him. Before this moment, he would not have been able to conceive an insult this offensive, even for his line of 'work'.
Darting sights between the cowering crowd, the Pharaoh, his priests, and the Nubian Prince, Touzoku-Ou couldn't help but snort in disgust, which threatened to grow into a holler if he didn't watch himself. To help subdue that screech of fury, he clamped his hands into fists that shook white with rage. Not as white as the distressed foreign woman, but white enough in comparison.
The gathering of those to worship their new God-King all backed further away when that haughty Nubian called out in a language he didn't understand.
"Crush him, Eybora," he snarled, the language guttural, yet smooth.
Before those words could finish echoing throughout the large, stone hall, Touzoku-Ou was instantly thrown off guard. He hadn't even time to blink, to breathe in, as a tremendous force locked with his face, and he was sent reeling in the opposite direction, his feet unable to catch him in time as he stumbled back onto his rear. Diabound, who had been hovering behind him, roared in response to the undefined attack, and lashed out, his snake jetting forward with mouth open wide.
Touzoku-Ou picked himself up from the stone into a crouching position, his hand reaching up to nurse and feel at what felt like a broken jaw. His eyes clamped shut for a moment as he pushed away the pain. Blood began to flow from his lips. No teeth had been broken, but the inside of his cheek had been ripped from front to back.
Touzoku-Ou groaned as he spit at least a cups worth of slime-like red liquid from his mouth. He then allowed his gaze to veer towards where the attack had come from.
His eyes widened, flabbergast at the sight of the foreign woman. She stood with her fists curled so tightly that they could've been rocks attached to her wrists. Touzoku-Ou's sights traveled to the woman's features, and he took in that her persona, which was volte-face. Instead of the agonized mask she had worn as her body had changed and cracked in ways that only a demon could, her features were a mixture of apathy and fury, if the concoction between those two was even possible. Eyes made of what looked like tumultuous waters, the woman stood with an intimidating and crazed air.
With ivory knuckles smeared with a hint of red, and the expression of a drunken state of frenzy on her exotic features, Touzoku-Ou literally forced himself to accept that it was she was the one who had belted his cheek.
However, the fact that she had punched him, with a strength that rivaled at least two men, wasn't what held Touzoku-Ou's now immediate attention; it was that Diabound, who had taken initiative to counter the woman , was failing, and not by his fault.
It was as if the woman wasn't there, as if her white flesh told all that she really was a spirit. Diabound's snake tail lashed and snapped at the woman, but the fangs never struck body, as the snake passed through her like she were made of air.
"You see, there was also another additive in the root that we had created..." The Nubian called out, as if he could read the bewildered astonishment on Touzouku-Ou's now bruised and rapidly swelling face.
"If you can't figure the craft of the spell, then I'll tell you, as you're obviously lower than the commons, and know not of knowledge. It is a permanent protection spell from planar creatures. She only needed to consume it once, and she is now forever protected from your little... 'pet'…" The Nubian motioned towards Diabound, an unimpressed tone in his voice.
Touzoku-Ou raged. PET?! PET?!?! That haughty fool! He'll pay for such a blatant insult! Desire to kill the Nubian before the slave woman was growing. The smug bastard was just another rich man who hadn't experienced the world when it wasn't in his favour.
In mistake, Touzoku-Ou had spent too much time dwelling on murderous thoughts involving the mashed bones of the Nubian prince.
As a result, a huge jolt and explosion of pain erupted from his neck. In his disoriented state, he felt, and saw, the foreign woman remove her leg from his shoulder and neck, poising it to strike him again, the loose skirt of the dress siding up so that her long, white leg was exposed.
Dazed now, he thought in confusion; how was she able to move without his notice so quickly?
While he regained clarity, which took him about a millisecond, he could deduce that she was higher than the sky above on whatever they had forced into her mouth. Alien was the only word to describe her as her pupils nearly encompassed her entire iris. Sweat poured from her brow, and her skin that was once nearly cloud white was flushed and splotched a ruddy, deep pink.
To escape another kick from her legs, which he didn't want to experience again in such a short time, he staggered to his knees, rolling away from the woman's bare foot that had risen to strike him.
Once farther away from the woman, Touzoku-Ou witnessed how fast, and how strong, the kick would have been if she had successfully delivered it. With such force, her heel made contact with the floor, causing the stone to crack under the pressure. Just what did they feed this beastly woman?
Touzoku-Ou gawked as he quickly pulled himself to his feet, yanking a dagger from his belt, seeing as the Diandianhk and Diabound were useless. He pointed it at the woman, who's glazed, frenzied eyes took in the shine of his dagger before returning to his glare.
Her foot slid, gracefully, from where it had just made contact with the now rubble instead of stone floor, so that she could turn to face him, her body on the offensive stance, though motionless for the time being.
Touzoku-Ou made notice of the woman's hands flexing, uncurling, and curling up, maybe twice, before she kept them tight and wound. He wasn't the only one to notice this either, as the Nubian raised his hand to wave at one of his ebony clad servants as he called out in that obnoxious tone of his. His words, again, were in the same language he couldn't understand.
"Finish him, Eybora. Do not make me order you again." The Nubian sounded perturbed, but whatever he had boasted about made the woman convulse for a moment, before she flew forward with inhuman grace and speed. Her mouth had opened in a snarl, to reveal sharp white teeth, and she let off what sounded like a savage cry for his blood. To protect himself, Touzoku-Ou lifted the knife to strike, though the woman's hand caught his wrist before it could slid into her throat.
Their closeness startled him, as Diabound had been fighting for him for so long, that hand-to-hand combat did not feel as easy as it used to be, though that certainly didn't mean he was a novice at it. Her face was inches from his as their grips struggled with one another; the woman's free hand wound up to strike him, but he had caught that in time, too, so that they had held off each other's wrists.
A stale-mate, the both pushing their weight into one another. Being this close, he could see the black of her narcotic fueled enormous pupils, and himself inside them, as he felt her erratic breath, and a wordless hiss at his chin and neck. With her wrist caught in his strong grip, as his wrist was caught in hers, the two continued to growl at each other. The dagger was still in Touzoku-Ou's hand, but posed no threat to her, as he couldn't push it towards her throat with the strength she used to keep his hand at bay.
Touzoku-Ou's growls turned to snarling, down at the woman as he felt the eyes of the court on him, some were even laughing, now! He was no laughing stock! Because he couldn't overpower this woman?! They were making a mockery of him, when he was so far better than they! His plans for snuffing out their pride were ruined, all from this woman and that damned Nubian. Although this woman was only a tool, a slave to them, she was still the undoing of his plan to taunt the Pharaoh and his court. Oh how he hated her this very moment.
Diabound floated overhead, helpless to his cause, his large spirit beast thusly looking out of place when not in action.
Touzoku-Ou, almost at his wits end, leaned his head back, and slammed it forth, his forehead smashing into the woman's white one. Luckily enough, she stumbled back, her grip releasing him as he let her hand slide from his, her forehead covered with a bruise that grew as fast as the one on his cheek, blood dribbling from her crown.
When she had regained her composure, she screeched at him, not in pain, but in an unusual sense of exhilaration, as her voice began a brutal and animalistic chant. The woman lifted her arm as she repeated her mantra in her foreign language, and swung her fanned hand in the direction of Touzoku-Ou.
Before he could realize what could happen, the woman's hair defied gravity and her long curls were tussled right into the air to shiver wildly as a tempest wind erupted from behind the woman only to burst in the direction of himself.
Almost like a wall, the wind hit him, and Touzoku-Ou was sent flailing back, much farther than he had with her punch, his body bouncing against the stone once before he fell into a disheveled puddle of himself.
Was this the barbaric magic the Nubian had spoken about…? If so, then he couldn't win with this woman when she was high on that item they forced into her!
Running away, although he absolutely was entirely against that option, seemed to be the only one to take. To overcome this woman, he would need cunning and the shadows, as well as her to be alone before he could kill her. The court, he could deal with later. Them and their ignorance.
With this woman now here, his plan had been ruined from the get-go. Feeling anger boil within him, he threw himself onto his feet as he sent a death glare towards the woman. What ate at him most was that he had been wrong, and had judged before he should have.
"Make no mistake, woman, I will have your life!" those words shook his vocal cords as he sheathed his loose dagger, knowing it would be of no use to him now.
"Diabound! You may not be able to harm her, but the ground underneath her feet is free for destruction!" His head shocked up to stare at his spirit beast, who only nodded knowingly before it took itself into action. The woman, who was about to strike at Touzoku-Ou, stopped as his spirit beast roared, and dove into the ground at their feet.
Diabound began to thrash, and the stones and rubble from the ground began to bubble up and fly from where they were standing. Taking his que, Touzoku-Ou darted towards the entrance of the hall, where his men waited for him; his spirit beast followed his foot steps while destroying the ground, throwing stone everywhere, in his wake so that a trail of obliterated floor lead out of the throne room.
"Eybora! FOLLOW HIM!" The Nubian had screeched for the woman to finish her orders, though he didn't bother to look back while making his getaway towards the threshold of the throne room.
When Touzoku-Ou had reached the entrance of the area, he turned back, to study the woman fall to her knees, her hands covering her head as rock fell around her.
"GET UP, EYBORA! There is no pain or fear for you!" The Nubian continued to shriek out his orders, though the woman didn't follow them, and instead looked up to Touzoku-Ou, her hands covering her head as they locked eyes. She nodded towards him, mouthing a word, before putting her face back down into the floor, to act as if she couldn't go on further, which was true as two large sheets of floor hit and cut at her flesh, causing bright red to appear on the stone. Nothing fatal, but enough to cause her to stop for the time being.
Had she 'spared' him…? He didn't dwell on it. With the last glance, he mounted up on the steed they had waiting, and made off, furious that the night had had failed, and curious that the woman, who had the power to follow him, and perhaps destroy him, decided to disobey.
It had been weeks now, since the confrontation with that woman, and his fury grew, at the court, each and every passing second. However, no matter how strong he wanted to pay back the insult they had given him that day, he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about how the woman had allowed for him to get away, which may or may not have saved his skin.
He sneered in disgust, sitting in the shadows as he watched her. She was so out of place as she walked down the moonlit hallway that lead to the servant's quarters. Without the root, she posed no threat to him; however, the chances of them feeding her that root were high if he were to show his face. Despite her mercy, she was too much for him to handle.
The sounds of his creeping steps were masked with the sound of the woman's and her voice, who was entirely oblivious to his presence only a few steps behind her. He was pleased that she was as clueless as she was, because it made it all the more easy for him. She spoke to herself as he followed; it seemed she was attempting to teach herself their language.
"Hello… My name… Eybora… What you ask of me…?" She repeated to herself. Well, I'd ask you many things if we weren't in the circumstances that we are, Eybora… He thought to himself, the lecherous undertones of his thoughts risking the threat of running rampant. He wasn't upset with the woman, per se, but she proved to be a problem, and problems must be solved.
She, Eybora, was fat, and strange looking, but not ugly. Far from it, to tell the truth. She was… He thought to himself; like most treasure in the tombs that he had robbed. The more unique the item was in appearance, the more it was worth in the end. She was exactly like the cursed item that sat at the head of the room, glaring at you with jewels and precious metal. Exactly.
His slithering steps carried him faster now, as he attempted to near her so that she wouldn't get to close to where the other servants slept; it would be best if he could take care of her quietly.
"Bakura…" her voice called, in her strange accent, causing his body to falter and freeze in place as his eyes widened.
How on these desert sands did she know he was here…?! Touzoku-Ou's body remained statuesque as he waited for her to turn to look at him; however, she only continued on her slow, hip swaying gait, repeating his name, her tone dreamy as his title fell from her lips. Her hand went up to her hair, and she ran her fingers through it, still saying his name.
He had been stalking her for a week and a half now, and she had not once uttered his name. The only thing he could figure is that she had been told it. It would be the only logical explanation.
Narrowing his eyes, he continued to move again, though he was quick about it, maybe even a little sloppy, as he more or less bolted towards the woman, his body in shadow until he was near.
Just as he was within arms reach, she had heard his movement, and turned back, just to see his large, tanned hand grasp at her mouth in time, which was to stifle the scream that did indeed slip from her mouth, though it was obviously muffled. Unable to slow his momentum well enough, however, the simple quiet-and-throwdown ended up being a full tackle, his body slamming hers down into the ground with much more ease than the first time they had met.
To his surprise, her body was soft, his bare thighs and bottom sitting on her thighs and belly. An accidental and maliciously surprised grin came to his face as he struggled with the now terrified Eybora.
Her hair fanned out like a river in its most urgent flow as she threw her head back; her body arched to remove him from her person. Having never pinned a thick woman, but many others, before, Touzoku-Ou found himself at glee, because no matter where he squeezed and groped to halt her thrashings, everywhere was soft and sensuous, and his rough, calloused hands only sank into her flesh.
With his palm over her mouth, he kept her scream quiet as he studied her face, hair, and skin. Due to her being so ridiculously white, she glowed under the moonlight, and every feature of hers could be seen, unlike his with his deeply sun kissed skin. She possessed no skill in keeping hidden; it seemed, both instinctually and physically.
"So, Eybora…" Touzoku-Ou gloated, causing the woman's eyes to go wide, her hands striking out at him from underneath his weight. As her palms smacked and pressed at his hardened, muscle-lined belly and chest, he had to stifle a contemptuous laugh. Her strength was that of a normal woman, maybe a little stronger, but not stronger than himself. She was so weak and pathetic without that root.
Settling on her amazingly comfortable body, he reached a free hand back to grab a dagger within the confines of his robe, only to bring it out into the moonlight so that the light would catch and shine, to intimidate the plush woman beneath him. He noticed now, that he had been sitting on her for a good minute that she smelled of divine oils and scents. Her aroma was even exotic. When he could over-power her, she suited his tastes incredibly well.
When the dagger had made itself known, the woman stopped struggling beneath him, and laid still. Her legs no longer thrashed, and her hands no longer struck out at his abdomen. Her eyes, however, betrayed her stillness, as they followed the knife when he taunted her with it, waving it in front of her face.
"You see… I can't have you protecting this palace, when they feed you those plants. You're too much of a liability for me. Had we met under different circumstances, I would have stolen you like I've stolen everything else from these god slaves." His words trickled from his mouth in a hushed growl, his fingers tightening over the round of the woman's cheeks. A whimper was her response.
"It is unfortunate that you must die. But, I'll be taking from you your life, Eybora. Not that you matter." Thinking that he had the one up in this situation, since she, most likely, didn't understand a single word that came from his mouth, he lowered the knife to her face as he removed the hand that had been keeping her silent.
As he had expected, tears formed in her weak, mortal eyes, and he waited for her to beg him for her life in her strange tongue. However, what he had not expected, she lifted her neck to him, exposing the rounded canvas of smooth white flesh as she spoke three poorly articulated words in his language.
"Please… Kill me…"
Touzoku-Ou blinked as he withdrew the knife at her talk, his eyes locked with the tear-filled one's of the woman. A frown painted his face.
"You are supposed to want to keep your life." Touzoku-Ou sneered, now that the fun of taking something that someone wanted was no longer there. Part of the reason why he was here, to kill this woman, was because he wanted to take it from her when she so desired to keep it.
"Apology…" Eybora spoke, her horrible grasp at their language almost charming. "My life… Hurt… Please… Kill me… Here… hurts… I no mean hurt you… Apology…"
Although he hadn't meant it to happen, his jaw dropped. She had apologized to him…? Not only once, but twice in a row? And the strangest part of it was that she was sincere. Touzoku-Ou leaned back on his haunches, still seated on the throne of Eybora as his brows went high, hiding behind his wild white bangs while he glared down at the generously proportioned woman. He took the dagger and slid it into his belt, and Eybora gasped , her fingers finding the cloth his thighs as she pleaded to him.
"No! Kill me… Bakura…" her tone was pitiful, anxious, and she looked more horrified that he had sheathed his dagger, instead of when he had taken her by surprise only moments earlier. His name falling from her lips only made this… more… Indefinable.
He wasn't used to such a reaction, and he sat in silence, perplexed. "Please…" Eybora whined, tears coming again. "You want kill me… I hurt Bakura…" She whispered, frantic now as she pressed up against him, clinging to his thighs. Touzoku-Ou leaned back from her apologies as she was able to pull herself from the position she was in so that he was only straddling her legs while he was on his knees, her body sitting before him. Her hands, small fists, were wrapped around the cloth of his scarlet robe, and the only thing he could do was search her, for anything, but he could find none except for the hurt and desire for his blade in her neck.
"Do you…" Touzoku-Ou began slowly, to see if she could comprehend him, "Understand how evil I am…?" he gruffed his question as he stood, his long, sculpted arm reaching down to grab a fistful of the woman's hair to tote her with.
A sharp gasp of pain was her only response as he towed her to the shadows of the hallway, as this was taking longer than he had expected. Carelessly, he tossed the woman up to the sandstone wall, crossing his arms as he closed most of the distance between them, his head bowed while he glared in the direction towards her face, which was now stained with tears.
She, not as agile and alert in the dark as Touzoku-Ou, didn't look to him, but instead to the side, her head resting against the wall as her shoulders slumped.
"Bakura not evil… Mayon spoke story… You hurt from Pharaoh… Bakura want revenge... Kul… Kul Ele… Kul-" Before she was able to finish the word, Touzoku-Ou snapped, his hand shooting forward to grasp at the woman's mouth, his palm clamping it shut once again. Heat smashed at the backs of his eyes, and although the desire to slice this woman's face up was boiling in the pit of his stomach, it would soon pass, as the past was what had upset him, not the woman and her awful language skills.
The Nubian… Had told her…? How had he known? His people and the massacre had been such a well kept secret that most of the current court had no idea such a thing had happened. Reality finally came back to him, and to his dismay, it was hope in the woman's eyes, not fear.
She really did want him to kill her. A pinch of flesh developed between Touzoku-Ou's brows as he tried to wrap his mind around this. He wasn't going to take something she wanted to give him outright. It made him sound like a hero, not a thief.
"I'll be seeing you again, Eybora… May you grasp the language better when we speak the next time." With that, Touzoku-Ou released the woman's face, and backed away, eying her up and down once more before he turned and stalked off into the shadows.
He couldn't kill her. Not now. Not yet.