"You son of a bitch." I spit at him. I can't move. I can't believe they used my own Shadows against me... I can't believe that my own Shadows are against me. It's of no use to try to wrestle myself free; once caught in these dark bounds, it's impossible to escape. "The both of you," I snarl. I can't stand their faces and how smug they're looking down upon me. Pharaoh and Tomb Keeper, the most unbelievable, most unfortunate thing had happened: they worked together to trap me, the Darkness itself, and bind me with my own beloved Shadows.
Malik takes it as a compliment, of course. His stupid grin widens; one would interpret it as wolfish, deranged, but I see the eagerness and the greed behind it. I don't understand. In all my plans, I never factored in these two working together. Malik's weaker self, before he got taken over by his aggressive, dominant other personality, had hurt the Pharaoh's precious vessel, Yuugi, before. Not even I had been that bold; the thought had come up in my mind, as endangering the vessel would certainly bring out one pissed-off, over-protective Pharaoh. I never had need of the vessel, I had need of the Pharaoh.
He stares at me, with those narrow reddish eyes, face frowned as if he has to take a difficult decision. I wonder what's going on in his mind for a brief moment, before I squelch that thought. I want to know how they have managed to find each other and come up with a plan to restrain me. I must know. I am the Darkness. These bounds should mean nothing to me, yet they hold me firmly in place. The Pharaoh and the Tomb Keeper don't speak. Is this some kind of mind game? Are we playing a game at this very moment, with my life at stake? I can't die in the Darkness. But to stay here forever, bound and immobile, isn't a very appealing one.
"Get out of my sight," I say with more bravado than I actually feel. If they leave, I'll be all alone. It doesn't matter. I want them to leave. Those betraying bastards! I growl.
"You heard him." The Pharaoh speaks. The height difference between him and Malik is comical and I want to laugh. I want to mock them, this unholy couple, this unfortunate pair, as it dawns to me. How stupid must I have been, to overlook one of the most basic principles in this world, in any world? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Of course..! I should've included it into the many options I considered, but for some reason, I thought that Malik hurting the Pharaoh's precious vessel would rule out any kind of collaboration. It's pissing me off; all that hard work and centuries of patience for nothing!
They don't leave, not yet. Malik of all people, turns towards the Pharaoh and puts his arm around him, pulling him closer. My eyes widen. What the..? My eyes are deceiving me, my Shadows are lying to me. Malik's darker personality, the embodiment of anger and pain, being affectionate? But I see it happen, right in front of me, that he leans into the Pharaoh and kisses him; not the tender, gentle kind, but a forceful, overwhelming one. He holds him tight at the waist so the Pharaoh can't get away, but to my dismay, the other doesn't protest... he answers the kiss, tilting his head slightly and apparently complete comfortable with the way he's ravaged.
To my dismay. Why would I feel this way? Why am I feeling this way? He means nothing to me. He's my goal to destroy, my enemy to exact revenge upon, why should it bother me that he's being kissed? And Malik... well, Malik's obviously crazy. I stare at the both of them; mesmerized, fascinated. I don't want to admit that a lunatic has what I wanted to have: the Pharaoh to himself. Patience, sweet patience, I've been patient for so long. One day he will be in my arms and when I kiss him, I'll take his last breath with it. I watch intently, a little too intently, perhaps. My body starts to react and I turn my head away. What kind of torture is this?
"I'll see you soon," Malik's dark half promises the Pharaoh and the Shadows swallow him. He's gone. I turn my head back to face the Pharaoh, slowly.
"What did you promise him?" I ask. I must know.
He doesn't answer immediately. "My body," he finally says. I bark a short laugh.
"Fool!" ...but I don't know who I'm referring to. He takes a step closer and involuntarily, a gasp escapes me. I've studied him for ages, I know how he looks like. But he's never been this close to me before, and it's like... a frightening beauty that I'll never be able to grasp, that I'll never be able to understand. My earlier annoyance and anger dissipates. He raises his hand and cups my face. I hiss as if his touch is burning me. It does, in some way. It's my enemy touching me. On the other hand, his fingers are cold, freezing cold - the Shadows aren't a welcoming, warm place.
"I promised him he could do to me whatever he wants," he says, his voice low. I find myself leaning into his touch. What the hell's going on with me?
"Release me," I say, breathily. "Release me, and we'll destroy him together."
His thumb slides over my skin. I want to taste him. "What do I need to promise you?" he asks.
I want your body too. "I have never harmed your vessel," I say. "I would never harm him."
"You raise a strong point." I can't read his eyes. Those reddish eyes, framed by those long, dark lashes. I know how he looks like. I've always known how he looks like. My stomach ties itself into knots. I never really paid attention to... physical reactions before, but now it feels important. I'm worried. I'm worrying. If he leaves me here, I'll be alone. I don't want to wander the Shadows alone for millennia again. "He is very important to me."
"I have only harmed myself," I say. "My yadonushi-sama is also very important to me."
"I know." Does he stand on his tippy-toes, as his face is almost on equal level with mine? "You took Osiris' attack just to protect him."
"I did." I sound almost relieved. "See how important he is to me? See how much I understand you?"
"Bakura." He whispers my name with such intensity that it scares me. Me, Darkness itself, scared? It's a kind of fear that I can't describe well. I want his lips to touch my skin, yet my bound hands are itching to grab his throat and choke the life out of him. All my carefully laid out plans, my endless patience, everything is ruined because I didn't want to consider one possibility, one option that I had rejected because it had been too absurd for words.
He's so close that I can smell him. The desert, rough and hot, cruel and merciless. Had I been so wrong? Had all his preaching about friendship and justice and how he would save the world been a facade? How patient had the Pharaoh been? I can't come up with an answer. My churning stomach and my heart beating like crazy add to this confusing mix. Where did I go wrong? Had everything been in vain? Had he seen through my strategy even before I started to make my plans?
"Work together with me," I say and I don't care how I degrade myself by pleading. "We can get rid of Malik and end the threat he poses."
"Threat?" The Pharaoh still has his fingers on my skin, touching, caressing. Cold and hot, and it's tearing me apart. "Do you really believe that Malik is a threat?"
"He has the Sennen Rod," I manage to answer. It's the first thing to come up in my mind and it sounds pretty stupid, even to my own ears. The Items aren't the standard of power here, they don't weigh into the balance at the moment. I know, and he knows, and he smiles at me. A knowing, I-have-got-you-right-where-I-want-you-to smile, devoid of any kindness. I've seen his Other smile, this Yuugi kid, all warm and happy and friendly. It made me sick. Now it makes me sick that I rather want to see that smile than the one of the Pharaoh; his eyes don't match the coldness, they even surpass that coldness. How can anyone with such fiery red eyes look so cold? So void?
"He has nothing," he answers and I believe him. Malik is a fool. He probably thinks he has the upper hand because of his Item, or because of his aggression. He thinks that the Pharaoh is meek and obedient as long as he doesn't hurt his precious friends. Oh, what a fool. I almost envy him. For all that he's worth, Malik's darker personality is a simple, one-track mind: total devastation, temporarily sidetracked because the object of his revenge promised him some playtime. The object of my revenge as well, who's standing calmly in front of me. And I was wrong, so wrong. I wasted millennia on careful plans, on being patient, on gloating over my intelligence and how I had anticipated every move and countermove.
"Don't leave me here," I say. I can't move. My breathing is erratic, my chest heaving. He's going to leave me here, without a chance of escaping. Without any chance of help. I'm helpless and I want to scream, spit, cry, laugh and howl at the same time. I have killed. I have murdered. I have betrayed. I have mocked and I have manipulated, all for my own gain, all for my own goal. It slips through my fingers, out of reach. I actually don't blame myself for my mistakes, and I don't blame anyone else. I don't even mind a setback. I can always adjust my plans and continue. But now that the Shadows are against me, holding me back, I... can't. And I wouldn't mind that either, if it weren't for me being alone. I don't want him to leave me. He's the last... human I'll ever see.
He doesn't kiss me. His smile intensifies, just as the harsh chill coming from him. "You think I care about my vessel?" His voice is even colder than his eyes. "Do you think I care about the pain Malik can inflict on him? I only need him to be alive. That is all."
I want to shake my head. He presses his fingers painfully into my skin. "But you, Bakura of Darkness, you are much more dangerous. What you can do to my vessel, is to destroy him with your delicious Shadows. You can take him to a place he never will be able to return from. You are capable of destroying his mind, and that is something I do not want to happen. I need him to retrieve my memories, not to wander around like a mindless madman."
"That's you," I say. "You're the one whose mind is wandering around."
"Perhaps. Are we not all crazy?" He shrugs. He withdraws his hand abruptly. "I will recover my lost memories. I will find out who you really are and what you have done to me... or what I have done to you. I commend you for your perseverance, Bakura of Darkness. But your menace ends here."
"You can't..!" One more tug, one more struggle, but the Shadows don't budge. I want to lunge at him but I can't move an inch. He doesn't even flinch or take a step back. "This is your idea of justice, isn't it? You'll tell yourself you did this to protect your vessel and your friends, but you're nothing but a killer! A murderer! Your 'justice' is worth shit!"
For a moment, I think he's going to hit me in the face, but in fact he brings up his hands to button up his jacket.
"I have to go," he says. "My vessel needs to do his homework and he has agreed to meet up with his friends later today."
"Don't you dare leave me!" I roar as the Shadows start to shroud him, taking him away from me. I don't know how long it's going to take me to break myself free, if it's possible at all, and I don't know how long I can resume my previous plans - but I have been alone in the Shadows for so long as well, and I don't want to do it all over again. Of course this is what he'd choose for me as his judgment and punishment. Hatred consumes me, but it's not enough to drown out the fear. Not enough at all.