AGKamon: Alright, another chapter is here!
Kayla: ...I'm really emotional here, but then again, I hated all those- *gets mouth covered*
AGKamon: *covers her mouth* Be quiet, you almost revealed a major detail of the chapter!
Marik: So, Bakura, which one of us is going to do the disclaimer while the girls are busy?
Bakura: She already gave me the other job...
Marik: I wanted to do that...ah well. AGKamon doesn't own me, Bakura, or anything else related to Yu-Gi-Oh! She only owns Kayla Kossori, her OC. What was the news AG wanted you to share?
Bakura: AG wrote a one-shot that accompanies this story, called A Pyromaniac's Past. It's also her first one-shot, as well as her first songfic. This reveals a lot more about Kayla's past, how she was diagnosed, how she found us, you know, that kind of information. She wants all of you to read it too.
Marik: Oh yeah! But I do suggest reading this chapter first, some past experiences will be a bit confusing without knowing the information from Kayla's dream-memory in the chapter. Start the story!
Kayla's P.O.V.
"Don't worry honey, Ms. Henderson will be here a little while after we leave," my mother comforted, gently wiping a few tears away from my eyes. It was February 8, my seventh birthday, and my parents were once again heading out to work tonight. Then again, who knows if they really worked?
"No, I don't like her!" I protested. The truth was that Ms. Henderson, my babysitter, was supposed to arrive a few minutes after Mom and Dad left, but she never did. The woman came around about thirty minutes before my parents were due home, just so she could collect her payment. I was called a liar whenever I said something about it; this was because Ms. Henderson was the twenty-one year old daughter of my father's boss, if she was fired from her 'job' of watching me, then my dad's boss would fire him. Once again, everything eventually revolved back to the subject of money; I knew that even at the age of seven.
"Stop it, Kayla. Ms. Henderson is a nice young woman," my father scolded. I huffed angrily and crossed my arms, turning my head away from them childishly; I heard my mother sigh. It wasn't surprising that she was probably getting tired of this, as it happened every night when they left.
"Well, alright then. We'll see you in a few hours." I shakily turned my head to face forward again just as the door slammed closed, the 'click' that signaled the door was locked sounded strangely final. As if they were permanently locking me away.
"…Mommy? Daddy…?" I whimpered. A chill descended over me, causing small bumps to settle on my skin. The air was completely silent; I couldn't even hear myself breathing or my heartbeat, but I still knew that both of them had sped up dramatically.
"No!" I cried, rushing to the door and pounding on it with my small fists. I knew by now that the neighbors wouldn't bother coming to check on me because I did this sort of thing every time my parents left. My fears bubbled up inside me until they burst out in the form of tears cascading down my pale cheeks. Sliding down to my knees in defeat, I rested my forehead against the cold wood of the door, slight shivers fluttered through my system every few seconds while my tears continued to fall in small streams.
"I don't wanna be lonely anymore…" My whispered words sounded like shouts in the noiseless house. There were no animals outside making noise, no children or people, nothing. The world felt so big around me, but it was so quiet that it felt like I was the only one left. I had tried imagining up friends, but they always left me, just like everyone else did. What was wrong with me? Why didn't anyone want to be my friend?
I took in a shaky breath and let it out again in an attempt to calm myself. I didn't want to shout for them every time they left, but I couldn't help it. It was instinctive for me.
"Mommy! Daddy!" It sounded absolutely heart-wrenching to me, so why didn't anyone ever come to see if I was alright? Why didn't anyone seem to care?
"Kayla?"
My small blue-haired head jerked up at the sound of the voice, and I tilted it to the side in an attempt to hear better, some of my hair falling away from my ear in the process. I could still feel the teardrops falling uncontrollably from my eyes.
"Kayla, wake up."
It sounded so familiar, but no one talked to me. Who would want to? After all, there must be something wrong with me if no one seemed to want me around. Even my parents took every chance they could get to go out to work, meetings, or some other important happening.
"Come on, Kayla."
"Who is that?" I wondered. I felt like their - wait, the voice was masculine so it would be 'his' - his name was on the tip of my tongue, and yet, I was completely unable to place it. There was a very slight British accent, and his voice sounded rough, as if he'd never used a tender tone of voice in his life. However, I could hear a sense of worry in the tone he was currently using.
"It's me, Bakura."
I gasped.
"Bakura! That's it!" I realized. Suddenly, the scenery around me began to fade away to dark nothingness, and I fearfully stayed where I was while wondering what was going to appear to torment me next.
Bakura's P.O.V.
I sighed as I kneeled beside her. She'd fallen unconscious when we arrived here in the Shadow Realm, and I'd soon recognized the signs of her having another one of her nightmares. Her body would shake slightly, and her lips would move but no sound would come out; I could see barely see tears beginning to form on her eyelashes.
I wonder how long this has happening to her…
"Mom…my…Dad…dy…" The fragmented words caught my attention as it was rare when she actually spoke in her sleep. I settled myself on the cold, dark-purple ground and carefully gathered her into my arms. Her chin set itself in the crook between my neck and shoulder; the unfamiliar sensation of droplets falling onto the exposed skin chilled me inside.
Is she…crying…?
"Kayla?" I whispered, hoping that she'd hear me and awake from her slumber. It was now that I wondered whether I would ever be able to place the reasons for me falling for her. She was a regular-looking and seeming girl on the surface; there was no reason that she should have attracted my attention in the way that she had.
"Kayla, wake up."
I know I have deep feelings for her, but why?
"Come on, Kayla." The cold water droplets continuing to drip onto my skin distracted me from my thoughts.
"It's me, Bakura." Moments later, I felt was seemed to be hair brushing repetitively against my neck.
"…Bakura…?" she asked quietly, her head slightly lifting itself from my neck.
"Mhm, are you alright?" I questioned in return.
"…I…uh, I think so…is this the…?"
"Shadow Realm? Yes." She buried her face in the crook of my neck again and clutched my shirt tightly with her hands.
"Why Bakura? Why do I have to keep reliving it…?" Her voice was hoarse and small-sounding. I didn't have an answer for her; how could I when I was still attempting to put my past traumas behind me?
Kul Edna…
"I can't answer that for you; I still have my own past experiences that haunt me. However, those same experiences made you who you are today; they were obviously painful for you, but Marik and I think you're fine right now. None of us would've met if you hadn't run off like you did, just know that," I explained.
"…Makes sense, but I'm tired of watching myself cry and scream every night when my parents left me alone. Tired of feeling the tiny sliver of hope that bloomed inside me, waiting for my babysitter to arrive when she only came around shortly before my parents were due back so she could get paid. Tired of feeling the loneliness when I didn't have you and Marik to talk to. I'm tired of it all, I don't want to see any of it anymore."
She really is more tormented and in more pain than she reveals, only in these times of weakness can anyone see her true self. It makes me wonder why I was the first to see her like this…
"I've tried so hard to put it all behind me. Cutting off all contact with anyone I ever knew, disowning my own parents…I did everything I could do to bury it all, but these memories keep dragging me back under. I need to be able to move on, but my brain won't let me; it seems determined to drown me in my own pain." The water droplets' speed of falling increased ten-fold, and I sat her up straight to look at her face. Silently, small streams of tears poured from her eyes and trailed down her flushed cheeks, dripping from her chin. She didn't even seem to notice, as if she were used to it by now.
"I just want to forget it all, Bakura…" Her tone sounded pitiful in my ears.
She's running in a race she'll never win. The past will continue to chase her, and she'll continue to run away; her past will always win. The mask she wore in front of everyone is starting to crumble, but she never wore that mask around me. She never felt the need to hide her true self from me since we boarded that blimp. I gently wiped away a tears flowing down her cheek, but it was quickly replaced by two more. She bowed her head, most likely ashamed at how she couldn't stop herself from crying.
"Let it out…" I said quietly. Her body shook as she actually began to sob; I brought her into an embrace, her forehead resting on my chest. I felt sorry for her; I didn't want to pity her, but she was rapidly falling apart in front of me. Normally, anyone who showed this amount of emotion, showed any sign of tears, would be considered weak in my eyes; however, I knew what she felt like. I still woke up some nights in a cold sweat with flashes of everyone I ever cared about, my friends and family, burning up in flames and being melted down into the golden substance that would eventually form the Millennium Items. I never knew that I would be bound to one of same Items, the Millennium Ring, years later.
The sound of sobs filled the silent air, sounding louder than it should've. Honestly, I've never heard someone cry so quietly in all my years of living, but she still sounded loud in the quiet air. I hugged her closer to me; suddenly, the sound of footsteps separated themselves from the cries of the distraught girl I was holding.
"Who's there?" I questioned.
"Bakura, is that you?" I quickly recognized the voice as the Marik I'd left behind here.
"M-Marik?" Kayla stuttered. She sounded tired, as if she were drained of all her energy.
"Ah Kayla! You're here!" Marik rushed over to me and kneeled down beside me, a worried expression covered his features.
"Good to see you haven't been fed to the Shadows yet, Marik," I greeted.
"Yeah…Kayla, are you alright?"
"I'll…be fine. My two best friends are here, right? I'm just a bit shaken up, I think; who wouldn't be after dealing with Dark Marik?" she replied, her tone was lightening.
Either she simply needed to cry out the tears she kept in, or she's not comfortable enough around Marik to tell him the truth about her past yet…
"That's good. What are you two doing here? I thought Bakura was going to save you."
"He did! I'm not around Dark Marik anymore, huh?" Marik raised an eyebrow at her defensive answer.
She's protective over me; she just tried to defend me from Marik's indirect insult.
"I had no choice but to bargain with the monster for her. In exchange for her being able to come with me - we had to come back here, giving him more power in the process," I clarified.
"I see; he's a manipulative, sadistic psychopath, it doesn't surprise me that he'd have you do something like that."
"…Answer something for me, you guys…"
"Anything," Marik replied, and I nodded in agreement.
"Why wouldn't the Pharaoh protect me? I thought he protected the people who needed it, but he turned me away and left me to get captured by Dark Marik."
She was turned away by the Pharaoh…?
"Well, that gives me another reason to hate the Pharaoh…" I sighed, adding 'not protecting Kayla' to my mental list of reasons why I hate the Pharaoh.
"Yeah! I'm gonna' kill him when we get out of here, even if it is him who saves us!" Marik declared. A smile broke out on her lips, followed by a soft laugh.
She changes moods so quickly…
"No matter if you try to or not, the both of you always know how to cheer me up!"
"But I'm serious," Marik said.
"As am I."
"Even so, it's nice to know that you two have my back. It's a comforting feeling."
"Why? Didn't your-" Marik started before I cut him off.
"Don't bring it up, Marik. It's not a good idea, just leave it be."
"Huh? Alright then."
I really am serious; the Pharaoh's going to regret turning his back on her. She may have lied about her identity, but her fear was real. Even he should've been able to realize that.
"Huh…?" A gasp left her lips, and my eyes widened.
"Bakura, what's going on?" Marik asked, his voice was breathless with shock.
"I…I really don't know."
"Help me!" I was forced to watch with Marik as she slowly faded away, only to be replaced with the black and purple scenery that belonged here. Tendrils of black smoke rose from the ground ominously; my instincts were on overdrive by now..
I just got her back…what happened?
"Bakura…"
"What is it, Marik?"
"I don't know what just happened, but I know who has something to do with it." The idea appeared in my mind as soon as the words left the Egyptian's mouth.
"Dark Marik." The name left our lips simultaneously, and a feeling coursed through my veins. A feeling that I'd never felt until I met her; I was scared through and through of what he'd do to her.
I should've known he'd do something like this…
"What is he…huh?" Marik's sudden words brought me back from my daze.
"What? Why are you…?" I started, stunned at seeing him disappearing as well. Starting at his feet and moving upward, the darkness seemed to devour him. Marik's surprised expression slowly turned into a smile.
"Don't worry Bakura, I'll try to protect her!" he reassured just before the remainder of his head vanished. Even with his confident tone, I couldn't help but feel that something here was very wrong. That's when I felt it. A stinging pain ran through my body, and it seemed as though ice had filled my veins. I felt frozen in place, but I managed to bring my hand up in front of my eyes.
It wasn't there.
AGKamon: So what's Dark Marik doing this time? I kind of had a hard time with the middle of this chapter, but I think it turned out alright. Also, Blackmailshipping is now the name of the Bakura/Kayla Kossori pairing!
Marik: I hope the Pharaoh gets his punishment.
Bakura: *nods in agreement* AG, the reviews?
AGKamon: I know by now, you don't have to remind me!
Serenity Williams - I'm glad you liked the first chapter; it's an interesting way to start a story, isn't it?
Serenity Williams (2) - Kayla is crazy (then again, who isn't on some degree?), but it does make her a fun character to write. And yes, if you haven't noticed by now, this is a Bakura/OC story. And thanks for putting Neutral on your favorite story and story alert lists, as well as putting me on your favorite author and author alert lists. Also, you're working the Kayla Kossori fanart, right? I immensely thank you for that! (For those who're curious, can I put a link to it on my profile?)
sorecess of the nile - Yeah, Yami was conflicted. Should he risk his friends' safety and protect Kayla? Or should he take the safer road and turn Kayla away, but risk him being wrong about her - leaving her to get captured? He should've picked the first one, but Bakura wouldn't have gotten his chance then! Yes, I do not like yaoi. I have nothing against two guys being together, but I don't see the appeal of it. Same with yuri. Plus, yaoi takes all the good shipping names...
Bakura: Great, remember to read the oneshot/songfic A Pyromaniac's Past.
Kayla: I feel depressed after reading that... *sighs*
Marik: Read and review! *nudges Bakura suggestively with his elbow*
Bakura: *rolls his eyes, but still walks over and hugs Kayla*
AGKamon: Yay for Blackmailshipping! I look forward to your reviews, my friends!