Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Keeper Of The Crown ❯ Hanging In The Balance ( Chapter 9 )

Keeper of the Crown

Chapter Nine: Hanging In the Balance

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Yami blinked a few times, leaning back more against the moldy brick wall of the palace dungeon. "That's it?" he asked, his voice doubtfully. "It just seems too...well...simple. It's too easy, you know?"

Malik glared at him from the opposite cell. "Well, what were you expecting, genius? I only had two days to come up with it!" He looked around towards the guards who were standing a few yards away laughing at each other. "Besides, with these goons guarding the door, this plan is all that we need to get out of here."

The tri haired teen shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so...You have been in here longer than I have, so I guess you'd know better than me."

The blonde growled. "Shut up," he hissed.

Reaching into the back of his pants, he pulled out a bundle of cloth. As he slowly and delicately unraveled the cloth, Yami caught a glimpse of something shiny. And then it was thrown at him.

"Hey!" The shorter cried as the knife landed mere inches away from his right leg. Gingerly picking it up, he questioned what he would need the blade for.

Malik sighed loudly, blowing the long bangs out of his narrow eyes. "Amateur," he huffed. "What do you think it's for?" he whispered. When receiving only a blank stare as an answer, he let out a low growl. "Pick your chain locks, idiot! Then give it back to me."

Yami did as told, not wanting to get any more on Malik's bad side than he already was. "This is difficult," he admitted, trying to fit the knife into the key hole. "Aha!" he said triumphantly, holding one of the empty chains off.

"Don't be so loud," The purple eyed teen warned, motioning to the guards.

Nodding, Yami quickly picked the lock of the second manacle. Then, he tossed the blade back to the other prisoner. "Now what?"

The blonde looked scanned the room quickly. His eyes lit up when a new idea came to him. "Take the knife back," he ordered. The smaller reached through the metal bars and took it. "Now, I'll cause a distraction and they'll open the cell doors. I'll run past them and I expect you to do the same. I'll wait for you outside, okay?"

The tri haired boy nodded, waiting for the older to start the distraction. And distract Malik did.

"Guards! I'm hungry! Get your fat asses over here and feed me something!" he wind, grabbing the door to the cell and pulling on it with all his might.

One of the guards came over, sneering at the two prisoners. "What do you want?" he spat.

"I want food, dumb ass. I believe I said that already."

The other guard came over. "How dare you talk to us like that? We are your superiors, vermin!"

"Superior my ass, you lazy slob. Now bring me some food!" Malik yelled.

"That's it," the first guard exclaimed, opening the door to the cell. "You're getting a whipping for your intolerance!"

Malik took the opportunity and ran, pushing the guards out of his way.

The fatter of the two guards ran over to a bell and began ringing it. "One of the prisoners has escaped!" He screamed. "Send the guards out searching for him!" He came back over to the cells and raised his eyebrows when he noticed Yami wasn't chained to the wall like before. "What are you doing, runt?" he asked, opening the door to re-chain him.

Yami aimed carefully at the guard and threw the knife. It hit the guard right in the upper chest and he fell. Jumping up, the teen grabbed the knife from the man's chest, apologized, and ran in the direction Malik did.

It was a narrow escape from all the other guards, but once he was out of the palace walls, it was much easier to run because there were many more places to run. Spotting the platinum blonde hair belonging only to his fellow prisoner, Yami yelled out for him.

Malik's eyes widened. He actually wasn't expecting the other to make it out of the dungeon alive. He had to give the kid some credit. From the looks of it, he had put the knife to very good use. "C'mon," he whispered. "There are some horses this way."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"You know, this place is rather pretty for a thief town."

Bakura snorted as he and Anzu walked along the Nile's shore. This would be the fifth night now that she had stayed in the Thieves' Quarters. And, surprisingly, she wasn't taking it too bad. She didn't get along well with most of the occupants of the Quarters, since most viewed her as he once had. A spoiled palace brat.

But really, that wasn't anything like her at all. Sure, she could have her bratty moments, but what teenage girl didn't?

She was actually a lot like Teana, and that made her a weak spot for the Thief King.

"You know, Bakura," Anzu said as she skipped along beside him. "I really have been wondering why you hate the royals so much. I mean, what did they ever do to you to cause you to hold such a grudge against them? As far as I know, the Royal Council hardly pays attention to you thieves...unless of course you try to rob us."

The white haired boy didn't answer her for a few moments. Scowling, he brushed past her. "I told you to stay out of my past."

"What do you have to hide, huh? Just answer me that!

Bakura was bristling with anger as he turned to face her. "That's personal," he warned.

The brunette glared back at him, though it wasn't very menacing on her. "I've told you everything about me, so now it's your turn. Why are you the way you are? Now why do you hate us?"

The Thief King pursed his lips, staring at the Princess through the corner of his eyes. Coming to face her completely, he saw the sincere look in her azure orbs. She was dead serious. She truly wanted to know what happened. "I doubt your father ever told you," he began coldly. "He wouldn't want to ruin the image that royals are so good."

Anzu placed her hands on her hips. What was that supposed to mean?!

Bakura looked briefly up at the darkening sky. "Your father is not the good guy he pretends to be," he explained, seeing her confused stare. "Neither are any of the Priests in the Royal Council. No royal is good. No royal ever was good - save for you and your lovely sister, Teana. Although, in the end, Teana did turn away from her natural goodness when she betrayed me."

"Don't talk about my family that way," the Princess warned.

The thief didn't look at all threatened. He chuckled. "I wonder if you too will lose your goodness, Anzu. You have it, you know? You have that goodness, that beauty, inside of you. I have never had it, nor had any other inhabitant that lives here. Yami doesn't have that goodness. You are the only one, Anzu. That is why I was attracted to you, like I was attracted to your sister. We all long for what we don't have." He reached out, as if to touch her face, but then quickly jerked his hand away.

Anzu didn't know if she should be flattered by his words or not. Blinking, she realized that they were way off topic. "You're avoiding my question."

"No, I'm getting to it," Bakura exclaimed. "It's because of the fact that people want what they can't have...that my past is so dark. Your father wanted peace in his country, and the only way he thought he could obtain that peace was by creating the seven all-powerful Sennen Items."

The Princess gasped slightly. Though she knew very little about them, she did know that they held great importance and meaning to her father and the seven Priests in the Royal Council. "What...what do the Items have to do with you, Bakura?"

"Have you ever heard of the village Cluerna?" When she shook her head no, he smirked slightly. "I suppose your precious father would never mention it to you, his little princess. It was a horrible, horrible thing he did, after all."

"W-what did he do?" The brunette asked, fearing the story that the white haired thief was going to tell her. She already knew it wouldn't be very pleasant.

"Cluerna was the thieves' village before we built this one. My father, at the time, held control over the thieves who inhabited Cluerna. We hardly ever focused our attentions on Egypt, since the village shared a boarder with Nubia. Your father should have thanked us for robbing the Nubians, since they were and still are Egypt's enemy. But what happened to my village was completely unexpected. I was only five when the Cluerna Massacre took place."

"M-massacre?" Anzu repeated; a mortified look on her face.

Bakura nodded solemnly. All the usual cockiness was gone from his face and his lips were pressed tightly together instead of twitched upwards in the normal smug smirk. "My parents...as well as everyone in the village were, no matter age or gender, were burned alive by the Pharaoh's soldiers. And I witnessed it all. I witnessed the torture of families being ripped apart and loved ones dying before my very eyes. I-I guess that is what made me the way I am today. That is why I hate you royals. They're all just selfish pigs! They killed all the ones close to me - my entire village they slaughtered just so they could make those items."

"The items protect Egypt."

"Screw Egypt!" The Thief King screamed. "Peace is not worth the lives of thousands of innocents! It isn't!"

Anzu shook her head. "Innocents? They were thieves. You and your people are thieves. You are in no way an innocent group."

"It doesn't mean that we aren't human beings. We did nothing to deserve this. My parents had never even set foot into Egypt in their lives. My little brother was only an infant. He was innocent! They did not deserve to die like they did. None of the Cluerna villagers did. Your father killed them - nay, he tortured and slaughtered and burned my people alive! I will never forgive them, Anzu. I will never forget! Never!"

The blue eyed girl was speechless. Slowly, she lowered her head down to face the floor. She felt ashamed, now, to be in the presence of Bakura with the knowledge that his parents and the people of his town were killed by her father's will. Taking in a deep breath, she addressed him, her head still bowed slightly.

"Is...Is that why you kidnapped me? Is it supposed to be revenge against my father and the Priests?" He didn't answer her, so she got the message. Tears became to well up in her eyes, and she couldn't even begin to fathom why.

For just one moment, she thought Bakura had loved her.

Shaking her head, the brunette glared at the floor venomously. `Why does it matter so much to me? It's not like I love him. I've already sorted out that my feelings for him were only caused by his physical appearance. He's attractive - an asshole - but attractive nonetheless. That's the only reason I got so flustered when I was around him the other day. I love Yami, and I always will.'

The tears didn't stop coming down, though.

`Why does this hurt so much to learn that I'm just part of his revenge scheme?'

Bakura noticed the hurt expression on her face and, though he hated to admit it to himself, that look pained him. It reminded him of how Teana looked...the night of their Shadow Game. The night she died for her love of both him and another man.

Why did this pain him so much? He didn't hold feelings for Anzu...did he?

`No....No! I won't do this to myself!'

But he did anyways. Reaching out, he pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry," he whispered. What surprised both of them was that his apology actually sounded completely sincere. "I did want revenge against the Royals...but at the same time, I wanted Teana back. And I saw you as a way to get both of those. But I know you can't replace her."

Anzu leaned on his as she tried to stop crying. "I'm sorry about your parents and your brother. And I'm sorry about what happened to your village."

The Thief King smiled slightly - an honest smile - and held her closer. "I know."

The brunette sighed. "What was his name?"

"Who?"

The Princess glanced up at him sympathetically. "Your brother," she answered. "What was your brother's name?"

"Ryou..."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"There it is! The Thieves' Quarters!" Malik shouted, pointing to a small oasis in the near distance.

Yami's eyes widened slightly. He had expected something more...well, he didn't exactly know. But he had been expecting more than a little run-down town in the middle of a hidden oasis.

His imagination let it to be something more...extravagant and rich; Bakura had talked about it as if it were such. "Where do you think Bakura will be?" he questioned. The only thing he wanted to do was find Anzu, and if he knew where the Thief King was, she would most likely be with him.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. He personally didn't care about Bakura. The only reason he had risked his life escaping out of prison and braving the desert was to find - and kill - his brother, Mariku. "He may be at his manor, but Bakura hates being cooped up, as you probably know."

Yami nodded in agreement. He knew for a fact the white haired teen hated being indoors or in one place for too long. "Wait, he has a manor?!"

The taller nodded as they entered the small village on their horses. "Yeah. It may look like this place is a real shit-hole, but that's only because the greater status thieves have the large houses. Who cares about these lowly ones in the shacks, they're unimportant and probably very not good at stealing."

"Then why would they stay with a group of outlaws?"

"Protection," Malik answered automatically. "These people are weak. They need the protection of these thieves because they'd be dead in the desert without them. Some cases might be like mine, where you're born into this life and -even if you don't like it- you have to live here. My father wanted me to grow up just like him. Mariku filled his shoes, though, before I would ever have too."

The crimson eyed boy nodded, trying to comprehend this information. "Strange."

"It's sort of like the basic Egyptian society," Malik continued. "The Royal Family, Nobles, and Priests have the large houses because of their wealth. Then there is the middle class, and then at the bottom, there are people like you...the shack-dwellers."

Yami chuckled. "But below me there are people like you...dungeon dwellers," he joked.

The blonde didn't seem to find that very funny. Kicking his horse in the side, he went ahead of the shorter. "We'll look along the Nile. Bakura likes the water."

The peasant rolled his eyes and followed him. They didn't get very far before a tall man with wild blonde hair and insane lilac eyes stepped out in front of them, perched on a steed of pure black.

"Mariku," Malik hissed, his eyes flaring up with restrained rage.

Mariku smirked at his kin. "Why, brother! I haven't seen you in years!" He leaned forward slightly. "How was prison? I heard the one in the Royal Palace is actually quite cozy! I didn't think you'd actually have the balls to escape from there, though. I've got to hand it to you for being brave. Too bad you've risked your life to come here, though."

"Why's that?"

The older of the two brothers sniggered. "Because, dear brother, there is a law here about traitors." He looked pointedly at Malik. "They die."

The blonde growled. "You're the traitor, you sadistic bastard! It's because of you that I got landed in jail! I never did anything wrong. I never did anything to deserve being thrown in that awful place. But it was because of you and our ancestors tarnishing the Ishtar name that I was arrested!" He looked over to a nearby bystander, unsheathing the sword from the man's belt and pointing it at Mariku. "And you'll pay for it."

The second-in-command pretended to look scared. Then, unsheathing his own sword, he pointed it straight back at Malik. "So what are you going to go, little brother?" he asked playfully. "Are you going to stab me?" Malik growled again. "This is my domain, brother. Even if you do manage to kill me... the second you do, the villagers will have your head."

"At least I could die happily knowing I was the cause of your death."

Yami stared between the two, not entirely sure what to do or what to make of the situation. Mariku did have a point about this being his domain and that the people would back him up here. But Malik's words had been truly and passionately inspiring.

They were both evenly matched now. This would be a duel of death. It would not end until one of them - or both of them - were dead.

"Let's dance, little brother," Mariku exclaimed as he hopped off his horse. He hit the ground heavily, taking a chance to look his opponent over. His brother was weak from being fed hardly anything in prison, and he was exhausted from the day's journey in the desert. And yet...there was an aura around him...a very powerful aura, fueled, now doubt, by pent-up anger.

Mariku didn't exactly know if he could with this battle.

Malik took in a deep breath before dismounting the stolen horse from Cairo. He, as well, took the moment to observe the other. Mariku was in good condition. He was healthy and well rested. He was stronger, which put Malik at a disadvantage already. But he knew that he had to do this. He had to right the wrongs Mariku had set in front of him. He had to fix this life...and the only way to do that was to get rid of the one who had ruined it in the first place.

"Let's go."

The fight was a lengthy one. Mariku did have the advantage, it appeared. Because of his health, his build, and because of his familiarity with the terrain they fought on. Every time that he stuck his younger brother, though, Malik would always find the strength to stand up and continue fighting. Yami really admired him as he watched the duel play out.

Crimson eyes shot open wide when it happened. Malik, trying to tack Mariku from behind, was entirely caught of guard when his older sibling whirled around, stepped to the side, and slashed.

It was a quick, painless death for Malik. The shame he must have felt as he lay dying and bleeding, knowing that his death was in vain, must have been what caused his death to be so quick.

Yami didn't know what to think. The situation was even more confusing when bystanders began to laugh at the fallen body. This threw him into an impetuous rage. How could they? How could they laugh when someone had just been killed?! What were these people?

Picking up the sword from Malik's lifeless hand, the tri haired teen turned to fully face Mariku and the crowd. "You killed my friend," he seethed. Mariku stopped laughing, a slightly bewildered look on his face as he noticed how contorted with fury the peasant's face was. "You killed my friend, you sick son-of-a-bitch!" Yami advanced and Mariku, who was confused and tired from his previous battle, was completely unprepared when the other decided to strike. "Bastards like you don't deserve to live!"

There was a sharp scream.

And Mariku was dead.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anzu's head jerked up at the sound of someone screaming. "What was that?" she asked aloud.

Bakura let her go. "That's Mariku's voice. I would know it anywhere," he whispered. Forgetting about the girl, he took off in the direction of the village.

"Bakura, wait!" The Princess called, starting after him.

There was the sound of an approaching horse, and then a deep, thundering voice. "Bakura! Stop!"

Anzu whirled around, recognizing the voice instantly. And there, mere yards away, stood the most beautiful sight she had seen in a long while.

Yami - her Yami! - galloping towards them on a stallion of pure white. The setting sun was burning in his scarlet eyes and his face was nothing but serious. He looked ethereal and angelic....Yet at the same time, he seemed to be more deadly that a poisonous snake.

He was truly a sight to behold.

Bakura stopped dead in his tracks. Turning slowly, he faced the one who had been calling. A frown appeared on his face. "How the hell did you get here?" he snapped.

The tri haired teen stopped the horse when he came close enough. "I had a little help from someone you might know. Malik."

Chocolate brown eyes widened. "That traitor is here?!" he screamed, looking as though he wanted to march off and killed the one named `Malik' right now. Anzu was utterly confused.

"He's dead," Yami informed. "He died trying to kill your second-in-command. He didn't succeed...but I, on the other hand, did. And as you can see, I am still very much alive."

Bakura sputtered out a few words, trying to form a coherent sentence. "You-you killed Mariku?!" That could be. Mariku was just like him...strong and fueled by anger. They were like brothers. Mariku was so strong. He couldn't be dead!

"Now..." The crimson eyed boy pointed a blood stained sword at the Thief King. "I'm going to kill you. For kidnapping Anzu and for landing me in prison." He smirked. Bakura was unarmed and unprepared. The fight would be easy.

The Princess' eyes widened considerably. Yami knew about who she really was. `Oh no...He must hate me for lying to him.'

"So...let's end this." Yami got off the horse and slowly approached Bakura. Bakura...actually looked scared. He wasn't ready to fight. He didn't have a sword of his own.

"Yami!" Anzu came over and put her hand on the tall boy's arm. "Yami what are you doing?"

He turned his sharp crimson eyes on her. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to kill Bakura and then I'm taking you back to the palace."

The brunette shook her head, getting in front of the Thief King. "You can't kill him," she said, spreading her arms out to block Yami from reaching the other.

The white haired teen blinked, confused. Anzu was...protecting him? "Why?!"

"That's what I want to know." Yami looked Anzu over. She was dead serious. She wouldn't let him touch Bakura. "He's a Thief, Anzu. He framed me - his supposed friend - and left me to rot in a dungeon! And he kidnapped you! What in the world is possessing you to protect him?!"

"I-I don't know," the princess replied honestly. "But...I think he may be a good person...deep down. He-he told me about his past, Yami. His entire village was sacrificed to make the Sennen Items that my father and the Priests hold. Because of my father, his family and friends are all dead. I...I can't stand by and let you kill him too. Because he really isn't a bad guy. He told me that, at first, he was using me for revenge against his father. But then he said he began to feel attracted to my inner goodness. I...I can't let you kill him. I won't."

Yami didn't know what to say. He was shocked, to say the least, by Anzu's speech. But he was also very angry. Since he still loved her, though, he would do as she wished. "Fine. But he doesn't get away without anything." He pushed the brunette aside and slashed Bakura in the side.

Bakura hissed, clutching the wound. Cursing Yami, he ran in the direction of his village to get the wound treated. Anzu frowned and turned away. That was...strange. She never imagined Bakura to just...run away.

"Let's go," Yami said coldly.

The brunette nodded and he helped her get onto the horse. It's weird how different it felt than when they first went horseback riding together. The tri haired teen was so rigid now. She could tell he was upset with her. "Yami..."

"What?"

She looked down, wrapping her arms around his stomach as the horse trotted slowly through the sand. "Do you hate me?"

Yami shook his head. "No...I don't hate you." He placed a hand over hers. "I'm just...disappointed."

`Great...that's even worse,' Anzu thought. She then noticed he was still speaking.

"I-I can't believe that you lied to me, Anzu. I thought that I could trust you. I don't even know if you love me or not. I don't even know if I really love you."

"What?!" The Princess gasped, holding him tighter.

The peasant shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure if I fell in love with you...or who you pretended to be. I love Teana, but she was just a fake identity. And also, how do I know you weren't just being fake with me? How do I know that your emotions were real?"

Anzu reached up, grabbed him by the chin, and pressed her lips firmly against his. "I love you," she whispered. "I would never lie about that. Never." She kissed him again, this time softly. "I was afraid to tell you who I was, Yami. I didn't want you to treat me like a royal. You treated me as an equal...like a normal person. I didn't want to lose that, because I liked being treated."

Yami nodded, nuzzling her cheek. "I do love you, Anzu. I always will. I just don't know if we can be together anymore."

"We can. I'll talk to my father about us. He'll have to understand." She blushed slightly. "He was saying I was at the ripe age to marry. Maybe...maybe we'll have his blessing to get married. Then you could become Pharaoh when he passes to the next world."

Crimson eyes were wide. "Me? Pharaoh?" He chuckled, turning forward once more. "I don't think that will ever happen. Don't you have to be of noble blood to marry the Princess?"

"I can convince him. He'll have to listen to me. And if he doesn't, we can run away together! We'll run away and live happily together and get married and have lots of babies!"

Yami laughed again and turned back to face her. "If you say so."

And they rode together back towards the Egyptian capital. The sun had set behind them, bringing the end of an exhausting day. And they still had a few hours journey ahead of them.