Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ One More Chance ❯ The Prophesy and The Mysterious Voice ( Chapter 2 )

Bakura was the first to state the words everybody was thinking, even Ryou-"What the fucking hell is this!?"

In case you were wondering, they (consisting of Bakura, Malik, Kaiba, Ryou, Mariku, and Yu-Gi-Oh) were in some strange house. It was large, well-furnished, beautiful, satellite television and everything, lacking in only two aspects: windows and an exit.

"I don't know, but it's your fault," Yu-Gi-Oh snapped. "It was your draw when this happened."

"If it's his fault, why am I here?" asked Kaiba. "Barely two words have passed between us in the last three thousand years, somehow I doubt he would send me-or Mariku, Malik, or Ryou-to some weird house just because you two were out to kill each other again."

"Touzoku Ou Bakura-sama…"

Bakura flinched invisibly and turned his head just far enough to see behind him and not far enough to be noticed. No one was there, and he didn't sense anything either.

'Thief King Bakura-sama…'he thought as he turned back to the others. That was a title no one had used for millenniums, a title thought to be forgotten. Who would call him by that name?

"No matter whose fault it is, we have to get out of here," Mariku interjected, stating the obvious. "We have all three yamis here-not to mention Kaiba. Sooner or later, somebody's gunnu die."

"We're here, too, you know," Malik said.

"You and Ryou can find a nice bedroom and fuck for all I care," snapped Mariku. "Our magic won't get us out, you can't even contact Isis-Hell, the Pharaoh can't even contact Yugi. And they shared a fucking body!"

"We're not in Egypt, Mariku. My name is…" he trailed of helplessly. "I don't have one."

"At-" began Bakura, but shut up when he realized he was about to answer the question. What's wrong with me? He wondered. The Pharaoh never won the duel, I can't tell him his real name! Though I wish I could, just so he would remember…his thoughts trailed off, and Yu-Gi-Oh blinked at him.

"What was that, Thief?" he asked rudely, and Bakura's eyes narrowed.

"Actually, oh mighty Pharaoh-sama," he sneered, using an insult he hadn't used since Egypt, "You do have a name. You just can't remember it."

"Oh mighty Pha-what?"

Bakura grinned, displaying animalistic incisors. He knew that Yu-Gi-Oh really didn't remember anything if he wasn't familiar with that name, but the grin quickly faded when he heard that voice again.

"Touzoku Ou Bakura-sama…The time nears that you shall fulfill the destiny that has been waiting for you all this time…Prepare, Child of Kuru Eruna."

In spite of himself, Bakura trembled slightly. Kuru Eruna…Those words filled him with such a start of excruciating memories it was almost unbearable. The voice was low, harsh, and gruff. Something about it terrified him. That voice, whatever it was, was not meant for human ears.

***

Ryou gazed around at the library, quite admiring. A lovely room it was, beautifully proportioned, graceful in every way. It was the room of someone who had chosen every infinitesimal particle of furniture to work in harmony with every other. There was no intermingling of style, no confusing of period, and the result was brilliant perfection.

And the books! Shelf upon shelf, collection upon collection, everything in perfect order. He could busy himself here for hours, and if he had any luck the yamis would be done arguing by the time he was finished.

It was morning already, and they had all found rooms-beautiful rooms which seemed made for them, with clothes and everything. This was somewhat of a miracle, since it was more of a palace than a house. There were at least a million doors, and some of them didn't even lead to rooms-they led to other times and places, but none of them so far had led to any of their homes. In fact, none of them had even led to Japan.

There was a crash, and he blinked. A book had fallen down. Glancing up and down shelves, he didn't see a place where the book could possibly had fallen from. Shrugging it off as another of the strange miracles of this bewildering house, he bent over and picked up the book.

It was a thick, dusty volume, with a Millennium eye on the cover. The pages were old and yellowed, and the intricate clasp was so rusty it fell off when he touched it. Startled both by this and by the contents, he dropped it and it randomly opened.

The text was smudged and blurred, and it seemed more to be dried blood than ink. Though it was written in a strange and ancient language, he could somehow read it.

And of this massacre that shall create the seven Millennium Items there shall be a single survivor,
a little boy of pure heart and great power. This boy shall bring down a nation, and commit many
immeasurable crimes. And not only become the rightful owner of the Item known as the Millennium
Ring and slay the previous owner, his soul shall be bound to that Item forever. In spite of his sins,
his heart shall remain forever pure. Neither man nor god can slay him, and he shall endure more
suffering than any human can manage. If his item breaks, and the tablet is destroyed, this young
man shall open the gates of darkness, inadvertent though it may be. And though with this act his
many sins will be washed away from his soul, it will be too late. Unless he can be brought to love,
this unfortunate youth shall bring about the end of the world.

Ryou's jaw dropped, for the tablet had broken a few weeks ago (that was how the yamis had gained their own bodies) and Bakura was the one bound to the Millennium Ring.

Can it be…?

He turned and ran.

***

Everybody else was eating breakfast, enough to keep a starving family alive for a week-dripping crumpets, piping hot flaky scones, delectable sandwiches, angel cake that melted in the mouth, it's rather starchier companion bursting with raisins, and fruits of every kind. They (Bakura, Kaiba, Malik, Mariku, and Yu-Gi-Oh, not the food) glanced up when Ryou sprinted forward.

"Um…I think you should see this." Ryou held up the book, and everybody at the table jumped to their feet in shock.

"Where did you get that?!" Bakura cried, once again asking the question on everybody's mind. Breakfast forgotten, he stormed over and snatched the book Ryou was clutching.

Understandably startled by his yami's reaction, Ryou stammered, "I…It just fell off a shelf…I can read it, even though I don't know what language it is. It looks like the writing on the ruins of that ancient temple where the tablet used to be."

"Of course you can read it, it's the language of my village," Bakura snapped. "And it's the same language as the temple, so of course it looks like it!"

"Yeah…Umm…there's a prophesy in it-"

"It's not about me," Bakura replied automatically.

Ryou blinked, astounded that Bakura knew exactly what he was talking about. "But…So much of it fits! The Millennium Ring, the bound soul, not being able to be killed-"

"Listen, you brainless nimrod, twice it mentions a pure heart." Bakura jabbed at the page to emphasize this. "How can it be about me?"

"I don't know, but…who else can it be about?"

"Somebody who doesn't exist? Not all prophesies come true, you know. Some High Priest was there for my birth and he made about a hundred predictions that never came true."

"Well, there's always time. I mean, at this point it can be reasonably assumed that you're going to live forever, since 'neither man nor god' can 'slay' you and all."

Bakura's eyes narrowed and he flung the book as hard as he could, that damned text that all his troubles had stemmed from. "It isn't about me!" he barked, before turning and leaving the room.

***

Bakura glanced around. He was in…an art room, apparently. Shrugging, he clipped fresh paper on an easel and idly began painting, thinking about the last time he had been sent to the Shadow Realm.

It had been at night almost a month ago, right after the tablet had broken and the yamis had gained their own bodies.

Bakura had been thinking about giving up on being evil now that it was impossible to use the Millennium Items without the tablet, wondering if he could have another challenge.

The answer ('no') came when he heard a sound and ran into the forest, running until he reached a small yet fairly deep river and flopped on his back to look at the trees. His eyes softened just for a moment, but it didn't last. He threw a flat stone into the river before walking along, meandering aimlessly.

*Flashback*

Bakura's head snapped up when he heard another sound, and he searched for any signs of danger. But he decided it was just his mind playing tricks on him and resumed his dismal trek.

He heard it again and started running, glancing over his shoulder once or twice to see if he could spot whatever it was that might be following him.

He tripped but got to his feet right away, not even wincing at the sight of one of his pant legs torn at the knee and blood seeping through.

He spun around, expecting to be faced to with his pursuer, but saw no one. The shift in his balance caused him to fall into the river and he tumbled downstream, but quickly caught himself and got back to his feet. He ran as if the hounds of Hell were chasing him, and eventually slammed right into something.

He grumbled as he got up, but turned deathly pale as he realized it was Yu-Gi-Oh he had run into. Anger washed away by fear and panic, he fled with inexplicable terror.

Unable to think clearly, he ran through the twisting paths until they were unrecognizable. He could hear Yu-Gi-Oh behind him. The Pharaoh wasn't panicking-he was obviously confident that Bakura couldn't escape.

Bakura was filled with rage at his confidence, but too terrified to prove the Spirit wrong. So he continued running, not stopping until he came to a dead end as the trees thickened and a boulder cut off the path.

He faced what he knew was coming, masking his fear with rage and unadulterated hatred.

*End flashback*

Bakura glanced at what he had been painting. It was a forest, the colors dark and the aura terrifying. It was blurred, as if somebody was running through it. He sighed sadly.

He had never even seen Yu-Gi-Oh's face, just the Millennium Eye glowing on his forehead before he entered the Shadow Realm. But he knew one thing

Yu-Gi-Oh had not been the one following him, and it hadn't been one of his 'friends' either. In fact, he thought it might be one of the spirits from Kuru Eruna telling him to stay evil.

I guess some of us don't get one more chance…*