Light Amongst Shadows Part 9

The Dark Necrofear nodded and offered its hand. Jou took it warily, trying not to grimace at the clamminess of the creature’s skin. The moment it had Jou’s hand in its grasp the Shadows swirled around both of them. To Jou’s eyes it seemed like they instantaneously moved from the streets of Domino, to a living room of a house he did not recognise.

“Where...?” Jou asked, looking around and trying to get his barings.

“Oh good. One of you morons is awake.” Jou started as he heard Bakura’s voice. The thief was leant in the doorway, beyond which was, if he was guessing right from what he could see, the kitchen. “I was beginning to doubt any of you would be coherent.”

“Where’re the others?” Jou asked, leaning against the nearby table for a moment as the Dark Necrofear vanished from the room.

“Honda and Mazaki are in the guest room, sleeping like babies. Won’t wake up.” Bakura shrugged, “Found them that way, so I’m assuming the Shadows got to them.”

“And Yugi?” Jou demanded, mentally grimacing as he realised that meant he was probably going to be next to succumb to the effects of the spell.

“Upstairs, first room on your ri...” Jou did not stop to listen to the rest, shooting upstairs and entering the first room on the right, freezing up as he entered the room.

Yugi was on the bed, her torso wrapped in bandages, her breathing shallow, pain obvious on her features, the Puzzle resting on her chest.

“Oh Yuge...” Jou murmured, moving into the room carefully and quietly, his eyes not moving from his injured friend.

“She’s alive. No thanks to you.” Bakura snapped as she entered the room, “I got to the fountain just in time to save her rear. I thought you were her protector. Where were you?”

“I...” Jou hesitated.

“You weren’t there and they nearly finished her.” Bakura snarled, “I’ve waited too long to let some random mooks kill her. I need her alive. I trusted you to ensure that.”

“Le...leave him alone.” Oneesan’s voice, a trembling, pained version of its normal, confident tone caused the pair to turn towards the bed.

“Don’t get up.” Bakura snarled at her, checking her over rapidly and with expert ease. “The healing spell cards have helped. You should be up again in an hour or so. It’ll hurt, but at least it’ll be safe for you to be mobile.”

“We don’t have an hour.” Oneesan shot back, “They could restart their plan at any time.”

“No.” Jou shook his head, “No, Yuge’s still alive, right? And Bakura? She’s still okay?”

“Of course my landlord is okay.” Bakura snarked, “I wouldn’t let her take part in this fiasco.”

“And Yugi’s alive.” Oneesan nodded, noting the relief on Jou’s face, “The Shadows drained her badly, but she’ll be okay.”

“Then we’re still good.” Jou grinned, “As long as we have the lights, they can’t cast whatever it is they’re trying to cast.”

“Well once you’re up on your feet, I’m going to deal with these guys.” Bakura informed Oneesan, “And you’d better not leave this blasted house. It’s my safehouse. It’s warded so heavily nothing should be able to get in without my say so.”

“Bakura...” Oneesan hesitated, “We need to talk.” She glanced at Jou, “Privately.”

“Yuge...” Jou trailed off.

“It’s alright, Jou.” Oneesan reassured him, “I just need to have a quick word.”

“I’ll be on the stairs.” Jou promised, looking between them warily before exiting the room.

“What?” Bakura demanded, letting out a frustrated hiss as Oneesan got out of bed, wobbling on her feet for a moment before getting her footing, “You’re not supposed to be up.”

“I...” Oneesan nearly snapped at the Thief, before letting out a heavy sigh, “Bakura...this is why you hate me, isn’t it?”

Bakura frowned, confusion gracing her features. “What do you mean?”

“I skimmed Imoto-chan’s memories.” Oneesan explained, “They told her what it takes to create a Shadow set. It’s why you hate me, isn’t it?”

Bakura let out a sharp breath. She could not have expected this, not without knowing exactly what the villains were up to. Now she was not sure how to respond. She did not really hate Oneesan, the sons inherited the sins of the father, not the daughters. She had, in fact, been an ally of the Pharaoh’s back in Egypt, working to undermine and destroy Akhenaden instead, before she had been betrayed by men supposedly working under the Pharaoh’s orders.

“It’s a factor.” Bakura allowed.

Oneesan paled as she sat down on the bed, “Did I...? Was it me? Did I order the destruction?”

The vindictive part of Bakura, the part that had merged irreversibly with the Shadows and the demon within when she had believed Oneesan had betrayed her, wanted to drive the knife in further. That was the part of her that screamed at her to lie, to tell her that she had taken an active part in the massacre, that she had even enjoyed her part in it.

The rest of her could not do that. Not just because she needed Oneesan and did not have time to watch her sink into guilt and self-loathing, but because they had once been friends and she could not bring herself to break the Pharaoh like that.

“No.” Bakura reassured her, “But your father did.”

“My Otosan?” Oneesan looked ill, “Why?”

“To create the cursed artefacts that rest around our necks, that’s why!” Bakura settled for snapping at the spirit of the Puzzle, trying to burn off some of the rage she could feel boiling under the surface.

“But...” Oneesan shook her head, “That’s not what I meant. Why would my father create the Millennium Items if they needed...this?” She gestured to the world in general but Bakura knew what she meant.

“How am I supposed to know?” The Thief King snarled back, “I don’t know why the ‘great and all-powerful Pharaoh’ did what he did. I’m not a mind reader.” She managed to make the title sound like an insult, “I was just a child. I couldn’t understand why the Pharaoh’s men were torturing my family and burning my village. All I knew was that the Pharaoh had attacked my home, for no reason except to create seven golden treasures that he showed off to the public!”

“I’m sorry...”

“Sorry? You think sorry is enough to atone for your family’s crimes against my village?!” Bakura lost control of her rage, the Shadows flickering around her as she snapped at the other item spirit, “There is nothing, nothing you or yours can do to even begin to atone for what happened!”

Suddenly she was not faced with Oneesan anymore. Despite her injuries and the currently fragile status of her soul, Imoto-chan had taken over and though she looked just as ill at the thought of what Oneesan’s father had done, she stood and squared off against Bakura. “None of that was Anesan’s fault!” She defended her friend, staring Bakura in the eyes even as she had to use the bed post to hold herself upright, “It’s not fair to hold a grudge against her for something her dad did!”

“You,” Bakura poked Yugi hard enough for her to sit back down, her tone dangerous, “can’t know what I went through, what her father put me through. So stay out of it or you won’t like the consequences.”

“You need Anesan.” Yugi shook her head, still refusing to back down though she could sense Oneesan bristling at the Bakura’s threat, “And we need you. You saved our lives, remember? So for now you have to put your hatred of her aside. I don’t want to lose my home and neither do you.”

The Shadows flared up around Bakura like black flames in response to her anger spiking again at Yugi’s audacity. The heat radiating from them would normally be enough to make Yugi back off and let Oneesan deal with it. However she did not move, not even to escape the Shadows, who, as ever, were drawn to her light.

The black flames swirled around Yugi, burning her soul though she tried to avoid showing any discomfort even as she felt Oneesan rush forward to protect her. Yugi stayed in control, but felt the protective layers of the Puzzle’s magic wash over her, dulling the burning sensation.

Then just as quickly as they had appeared, the flames vanished, leaving a still cross but slightly confused Bakura watching her, not quite understanding why Yugi had not just stepped aside.

“Forgive her?” Yugi asked, “Please?” Bakura turned and stalked out of the room, not wanting to continue the conversation.

“Ow.” Yugi whimpered, slumping back onto the bed, shivering slightly at the pain that ghosted through her.

‘Imoto-chan!’ Oneesan took spirit form, sitting on the bed, concern on her features as she put a spectral hand on Yugi’s shoulder, ‘Are you alright?’

“I’ll be fine.” Yugi tried to reassure her, “I’ve had worse.”

‘I should...’

“You should do nothing, Anesan.” Yugi’s tone brought Oneesan up short, “She’s not the only one who needs to put their rage aside for now. You two can go back to hating each other later. Right now we have to save Domino. Nothing else is important.”

‘But she...’

“I know.” Yugi soothed, “I know. But I’m okay. Or I will be. Let it go, please? She’s entitled to one free shot.”

‘At me, not you. You’ve done nothing wrong.’ Oneesan sighed as Yugi forced herself upright, determined to get herself upright and moving.

“No, but neither did you.” Yugi replied, smiling at Jou as he hovered nervously in the doorway, “But for future reference, your Otosan is a prat.”

“Yes he is, but you weren’t talking to me, were you?” Jou asked, supporting his friend as she unsteadily made her way across the room.

“Nope.” Yugi shook her head, “I was talking to Anesan.”