Umm...hi! Thanks for bearing with me, and sticking with me so far. My laptop hinge broke so I had to rewrite and revise my chapter...so...yeah. Anyway, I am back for good and shall continue writing and I'm not stopping! Hah!
Welcome to Chapter...I can't remember.
Disclaimer: ...I DON'T OWN DAMN YOU!
Bakura: You wish you did, lazy ass.
Incense for the Murdered
In shock, the group stared at Mai's motionless body, unable to comprehend the madness once more. One would have thought that they'd get at least semi used to this by now, but it appeared that it was not so, although they'd been so numb with the last deaths. Confident, bold, gorgeous Mai, who was at the prime of her life, so much larger than life, they had unconsciously thought she was immortal, beyond the grasps of death…but they were wrong and here she was now, immobile and pale.
They didn't want her out here in the open though, they didn't want to see her rot away so they made preparations to move her, but when they walked forward, a net of shadow magic entwined with another magic flew at them, blocking her from them. Like a shield, it surrounded the stationary girl, burning their hands sharply, like a fatalistic warning of things to come if they didn't heed it.
"What on earth is the meaning of this?" Seto demanded from the others sharply, surprise and wariness filling his cerulean eyes as he looked around warily, bringing Mokuba closer to him so that he could protect his brother if the need arose. Duke, Mokuba, Jounouchi, and Serenity looked at him blankly, confusion swimming in their eyes and Bakura smiled wryly despite the situation.
"So you can see it, huh?" Bakura sounded self satisfied at Seto's question, like a feline and one could almost picture him on an altar, preening himself. "You, Mr. Seto Kaiba, have just proved the Egyptians right, you do have your past rooted in Ancient Egypt, as you can see, Serenity, Jou, Mokuba and Duke have no idea what you're talking about, they can't see the barrier." He flashed Kaiba a bright and cheery grin which looked false and pasted on as he went back to scrutinizing the net carefully, his eyes hardening and looking haunted now that he took a closer look at the net. "In all my years of thieving…" He trailed off softly, his hand resting several inches above the barrier and it shone where the shadow was, crackling though he wasn't touching it. "I've seen this barrier before once, when I was trying to get to the Millennium Items when they first created…the priests used an item to make it but then it disappeared never to be used again. That was the only boundary that I was unable to break." He looked exhausted and somewhat weary, lines of anxiety forming on his forehead as he reminisced about the past confrontation with this particular type of net.
Isis approached the shield apprehensively, wary of what secrets and dangers this great net could hold in store for them, but curiosity was stronger than a sense of safety so she approached, eyes in the form of slits. "If no one can break this barrier does this not mean that we can't move Mai?" She asked demurely, blue eyes blinking in confusion as she studied the net, looking thoughtful and somewhat perturbed.
As if activated by her very words, Mai was suddenly surrounded by a whirlwind of black and white roses which blocked her from view before seeming to settle in the shape of a coffin and imploding on itself, showering every one with the perfumed petals. When they had managed to clear themselves of the petals, Mai was undeniably gone, no trace of her remaining.
An anguished cry was released, and it echoed around the high walls as the people in the room looked down at the person who'd released the cry pityingly. "First dey kill off Anzu, Yami, Honda, and as if dat wasn't bad enough, Mai?" Jou fell to his knees, looking enraged and furious as he pounded his closed fists against the ground, distraught as well. "That rat bastard of a murderer! I swear, I'm going to kill dat bastard for killing my friends and all da ones I loved! Dis can't go on forever, it can't go on any longer, I swear it! I'll-"
"You'll do what, exactly?" Marik challenged the distraught boy callously, looking unperturbed at Jou's aggravated statement and his aggressive manner, being entirely unimpressed and bored with him in a short moment. "Please, do proceed to enlighten my ignorant mind, what on earth do you think you'll be able to do to stop this guy from killing off the rest of us, hmm?"
Jounouchi looked at Marik hatefully out of honey colored eyes, a look of misery haunting his facial features. For a moment it seemed that he had nothing to say for the moment but then a passionate fire lit his eyes so that he seemed almost frightening as he now spoke with a purpose, shaking his fist at the sky which they couldn't see. "I'll kill him and if anyone tries to stop me, I'll kill dem too cause it's for the damn greater good. Do you hear me you bastard, I swear to god, I'll cause you so much pain when you die, you'll die begging me to have mercy and to end it quick!" He bellowed at the rafters of the room with a half maddened look in his amber eyes, causing a few daddy long leg spiders to skitter away from their spider webs as the force of his voice shook the ceiling.
Mokuba clung to his brother tightly, afraid that if he should let go, that his brother too, would disappear in a flurry of petals while Serenity stood alongside them, looking absolutely torn between her brother and Mokuba and Seto. Would she be able to choose Joey over Seto and Mokuba-was it possible?
However, it was Bakura that made the most impact when he stepped forward and proceeded to deliver a sharp and stinging blow to the side of Jou's face and biting remarks. "Look you idiot, you're never going to be able to kill him if you try to kill him in a rage like this, you'll only end up dying yourself! The person who's going to end up killing this psycho maniac is the one with some self control and someone who can keep their head straight. "
Isis saw all this pandemonium going on and sighed, praying for the gods to grant her patience and help as she tried to calm the agitated group. "Come, we're overly upset and should try to calm down and clear our minds, so why don't we have a bite to eat so that we can think this through rationally so that-"
Jou cut her off wildly, the fresh bruise on the side of his face glowing red but that seemed to only cause him only to be more vicious in his attempts at proving a point. "Keep your damn rationality to yourself, it isn't going to help us! I'm going to do it the way we should have been doing it like we should have from the start, with my brain and my heart!" He pounded his chest sturdily seeming like a rabid lion at the moment as everyone just blinked at his energetic display and Bakura just did everyone a favor and knocked him one on the head as the others all proceeded to follow Isis' advice.
However…Yugi couldn't find the strength in himself to keep quiet any longer, no sane person could, and if there was one thing Yugi prided himself on, it was his undeniable sanity. No promise was worth this pain and madness that was dominating them in this mansion right now; he should never have made the promise to Ryou that he'd remain silent about his wrongdoings, what on earth could he have been thinking?
"Guys, I-." He spoke with the intent of telling them in his eyes, but it appeared that it was not to be so; he was immediately silenced by a sudden blockage in his throat, disabling his ability to speak. It was as if someone had suddenly wrapped their hands around his throat in a vise like grip so that he could barely breathe. Violently he coughed and fell to his knees, gripping his throat with his own hand, trying to soothe the ache that was in there, but on the way down, he'd seen Ryou's emerald eyes staring at him with a gaze that spoke of death and intense pain. Gulping heavily, he swallowed his words and he found he could speak now, though a thought ran through his mind, a thought that didn't belong to him. You stupid idiot! I warned you, didn't I? Yugi searched for Ryou's burning gaze, but found a curious absence as Ryou had already decided to disappear into the kitchen. Ducking his head in apology, Yugi proceeded to follow, eyes anxious.
Yugi followed Ryou into the kitchen, virtually unnoticed and as soon as he entered, the door slammed shut behind him to reveal a very calm looking Ryou, whose posture was undeniably terrifying, despite the seemingly mild expression on his face. The voice and tone with which he spoke with, however, disillusioned him of any fantasy that Ryou was anything but angry with him right now. "You promised not to tell Yugi!"
"I know I did, but now this is going beyond you just killing off my friendship, no matter what I might have said! I know I was wrong now, I should never have promised you, I was probably half mad! This is threatening my friendship with Jou and if it threatens the power of friendship I have wi-"
"DAMN YOUR FRIENDSHIP!" Yugi recoiled, effectively shut up by Ryou's angry, terrifying roar of anger and fury, glistening tears shining in his eyes. "Damn you and your friendship, what good has it done to any of the outsiders, t anyone else but your little group? What good has your friendship been to your enemies…WHAT GOOD HAS YOUR FRIENDSHIP BEEN TO ME, TELL ME!"
"Ba-Bakura…" Yugi stammered out, extremely nervous as he stared at this new Ryou, awestruck by all the rage in his lithe form. Intimidated, he shrunk back, terrified as Ryou cast him an evil look which spoke to him of many things that he didn't understand.
"No…it's not Bakura Yugi, it's Ryou." His statement was a little less harsh and less terrifying, but it wasn't any less stirring or powerful. "You never should have tried to tell them Yugi, why did you?" His voice now had a hint of the old Ryou, more patient, and less hateful.
"You're not just killing us any more!" Yugi proclaimed boldly, trying to make Ryou understand, undeniably afraid of what his reaction might be. "You're breaking us Ryou, and that's just plain worse than death!" Ryou cast him an amused look, shaking his head as he chuckled, thoroughly mystifying Yugi.
"Silly, silly Yugi, do you honestly think that really matters to me anymore? I told you not to tell them you silly boy." Ryou laughed to himself quietly as Yugi lashed out at him, thoroughly ending all amusement that may have been there.
"And what, what makes you think I wouldn't tell them about you right now? What makes you think that I won't tell them the truth- that you're selfish and evil, that you're a monster!" Yugi suddenly saw his mistake as an unfathomable expression made its way into Ryou's heated gaze and then his hand had already swung out, making a solid hit on Yugi's tender face. Normally, he would have had to explain this to Yami who would have mind crushed Ryou by now, but he was once more harshly reminded that his protective yami wasn't there anymore.
"How dare you, how dare you call me a monster with your narrow minded opinions and idiotic ideas, where do you think you get off telling me that? Do you honestly believe that you and your yami were pure?" Ryou demanded, rage imminent in every single motion as he glared at the boy hatefully, his whole body shaking with fury and outrage at Yugi's statement. "Well, newsflash-you're not. You've always had it so sickeningly easy, relying completely on luck; do you know how hard other people work to keep what they have and to gain even a little? DO you know how hard it is, and even then we don't even get to keep it all, we lose it all and hypocritical bastards like you tell us its because we didn't deserve it, we didn't work hard enough while you sit all high and mighty on your golden and righteous throne, looking down on us and gaining power by the sacrifice of those who deserve it more than YOU! Your precious yami appeased the angry spirits of the Items with the sacrifices of my family,so that they'd listen and guide him to have absolute, undeniable luck!" At these words, Yugi eyed-no, glared- at Ryou with what looked like loathing and pity in his eyes as he shot words of his own back.
"You really are just like your yami aren't you; you're lying to me and trying to make me wonder if the way I think is really right! Well guess what, I'm not as naïve as you think and you are a monster, you lie and cheat and you kill in cold blood and you don't even care!" This quieted Ryou for a moment, pushing him into his own thoughts and disregarding the monster comment as he smiled dryly before speaking again.
"So, just like my yami, am I?" Was his quiet, thoughtful comment as he spoke and tapped his finger against his chin. "Did you know, I used to loathe Bakura so much that I continued to give you and your yami chance after chance to get rid of him for me, but always so careless and merciful, aren't you? You always failed, and eventually I accepted him for him and we eventually reached an understanding and now finally, I know how much you and your little group lied to me, your friendship was nothing more than a hoax. You might have something going here though, you and your yami are also very much alike, don't you think? In order for the greater good, or even for your own conquest, you won't stop at anything to get what you want, not even if the lives of an innocent are involved, aren't I right?" Ryou smiled at Yugi's shocked expression bitterly before turning to leave with a final threatening comment. "If you try to speak out again Yugi, I'll break you too…and you'll envy the other's deaths." So he left, with Yugi gaping after him, shock shining in his eyes.
"Bakura…" Jou whispered faintly as he faced the ruthless murderer face on and Ryou merely stared back at him with an icy expression in his shimmering eyes.
"No you idiot delinquent, it's Ryou." Jou laughed tensely, his muscles relaxing as he disappeared back into the covers of his blue sleeping bag, refusing to sleep in a bed as he claimed they were stained with blood. Who knew Jou was so poetic, even stupid dogs learned new tricks, I suppose.
"Damn Ryou, you scared the crap outta me like that, don't do that again, okay? Now, whaddya want, I need to get my sleep." Jou rolled over to go back to sleep, yawning slightly as he waved Ryou away dismissively.
"Go away? I don't think so, not after you almost begged for the chance to confront me, what were your words again? I'll make that bastard beg for mercy so that I'll kill him by the time I'm done with him?" Ryou's smile was anything but kind as Jou looked up at him, befuddled for a moment before understanding began to dawn upon him, and then the look on his face began to reflect horror and denial.
"What do you, you mean, you mean you…?" Jounouchi trailed off helplessly as the denial in his gaze was still haunting his features although hatred and fury were also beginning to set in at increasing rates, even more so as Ryou nodded in confirmation, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"You bastard!" Ryou looked suddenly bored with Jou as he shrugged his insulting comment off and began to speak after reprimanding him for a moment.
"So you've called me before, and now as time is short, I really must ask you to be silent now if all you can do is cuss at me." Jou began to hurl insults at Ryou, blinded by rage but Ryou quickly put a stop to that as he began choking soon and Ryou shook his head. "I did ask you not to cuss at me continuously, did I not? What was I expecting though, from a foolish mutt like you, let me inform you though, if you should continue to try to speak, you'll choke on your blood and die before I can tell you other things that you should know before dying." He knelt down and tilted Jou's chin up to face him, the honey hued eyes shimmering with hatred and fury at him which he disregarded although something pushed at his heart for a moment.
"You don't know how much Mai should still be moving amongst us at the moment, you have no idea how undeserving you are of your life right now, do you understand what I'm saying? You have no idea how much she sacrificed so that you might live, you don't know how much she wept for your miserable and undeserving life, she had me kill her before you so that you might have a chance to live, but unfortunately for her, that didn't work either now, did it? She did it all for you because you loved her, though she didn't have to, and do you know why? No, don't answer; it was rhetorical, meaning that you don't answer it., mainly because I'm going to tell you myself." Ryou said almost soothingly, shutting Jounouchi up with a single finger as he shook his head in a reprimanding fashion before leaning forward and whispering something into Jou's ear and leaned back self satisfied although a different emotion haunted his eyes as Jou's eyes widened brokenly.
"Now," Ryou stood up, lifting up a hand, motioning for Jou to stand, which he did, almost sullenly before speaking again as he pulled an object out, a small handgun. "Do you recognize this? Who am I kidding, of course you know what this object is, and even who this gun belongs to, don't you? You killed some people close to me with this gun, and now I'll get vengeance and kill you in return, just like with everyone else." Ryou smiled tightly, his skin stretched tightly across his jaw. "Now let us finish this, shall we, with that awful anxiety and fear haunting your last moments. Good bye Jou." And with the look of utter betrayal and horror on his features as well as fear, the gun went off at point blank, blowing his face in and with his last strength, Jou tried to scream…and couldn't. Ryou sighed, pulling his rubber gloves off of his hands before pulling out a lighter and burning them away. One could never be too sure of exactly how careful they were when dealing with matters of this. And with the acrid scent of burning rubber filling his nose, Ryou left Jou to die with only the fumes of rubber as his incense for the dead.
"Jou!" Serenity screamed loudly, her sobs shrieking and piercing the eardrums sharply, though no one noticed, far too preoccupied with trying to understand as well, especially since the deaths were coming more quickly and fiercely now, with barely a gap for them to recover. "Jou, wake up!" Seto moved to her with Mokuba in arm, wrapping his spare arm around the obviously distressed girl comfortingly, hushing her as well as he could before she buried her face into his chest, wetting his trench coat with her tears.
The Ishtars looked on hollowly, their gazes flat and supposedly emotionless although the horror reflected in their light eyes was all too obvious and even the anxiety in Bakura's straight gaze was becoming more and more imminent, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Ryou's own gaze was strangely even though there was a strange emotion that hadn't been there, one that looked like regret, misery…and confusion…
Seto stood now, frowning as he took on an authoritative voice breaking through the thick yet silent pandemonium going on inside the groups' mind, his cold and blunt way of stating things acting as a fresh and welcome blast of cold air in a humid atmosphere.
"Starting from today, we go around in pairs and we never leave our pairs. That way, if one dies, we know that the other is the murderer, as well as that neither one can be, especially if one goes missing."
Smart...She mused as she read. Very smart of him. Unfortunately, she knew it wouldn't work.
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Well...next update will be as soon as I can finish. By the way, anyone want to be my beta reader?