Day 6 of my valentine ship prompts!!! Y'all I am so excited for this prompt. I've been waiting patiently because I knew exactly who I was using for this and you all know my brain rot for them is REAL.
Obviously of course I had to do starcrossedshipping for this. Because they're that. They're THE soul mates out of any ship I have okay. I just love them. I love them a lot.
Day One || Two || Three || Four || Five
Bakura had met her by chance when they were still children.
A young orphan girl on the streets, trying to find any way to get coin to help her ailing sister, not caring if she herself was able to get any assistance. She turned up her charm, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she came off as sweet as could be. He had seen what she was doing, what she was failing at in this village -- they didn't seem to care much to offer a kind hand to a random child -- and, by all accounts, he shouldn't have helped. He had to worry about fending for himself out there in the world as he trained to get stronger.
Yet, even still, he stole two extra loaves of bread for her. He didn't know at the moment if her ailing sister story held any weight to it; he didn't until she offered to let him come over and he saw the older girl. They had no parents, only each other, their parents having been taken and possibly killed, accused of crimes they did not commit.
He felt a kinship towards them. He told himself that was why he kept coming back to them every day, using the chance of stealing food and medicine as a way to train himself as a thief. Even then, his Kema still tried to deposit any spare coin she had when he did, to try and help others who were suffering; and Gods did she get upset when he tried to steal some beautiful little trinket for her to wear, as somebody worked hard on those.
The sisters had become his world.
Then, he had to leave town for a few days, being tested by the very Dark God that offered him the chance for vengeance; something he wished later that he wouldn't have done. For, when he came back, Safiyyah was buried and her younger sister was gone, taken for her potential in magic.
He didn't see Kema again until years later, when he had become a man. No, he had become more than a man; he was the King of Thieves himself.
And she was a priestess in the Pharaoh's court.
That had cut like a knife.
He came to her in the dead of night, luring her out of palace walls for answers. She had told him that after her sister died, she'd displayed a great deal of magical potential and this had been noticed by members of the Pharaoh's inner circle. She didn't have much choice in joining their ranks as a student and later high priestess and magician; and, moreover, where did she have left to go? She was alone in the world, with no telling of when the only person she had left would be back. She wanted to wait for him but they whisked her away before she even had time to try and leave an explanation for him to find.
"Would you have stayed if you could?" He asked her, his tone strained. "If I had come back sooner, or if you had an option, would you have chosen me and not the damned nobility?"
In any other case, it would be a selfish question to ask. She had been able to have food and shelter consistently there. She has probably been treated well due to her gifts.
Her hands found his face all the same, her touch as gentle and soothing as he remembered.
"In every lifetime I have, in any and every point of time, until the end of days, I would choose you every single time," she promised and her voice was honey to him. 'I've wanted nothing more than to be by your side again for the rest of my life."
That was the night he told her the truth about his quest; of the Kul Elna massacre and the horrors the royal family and their soldiers had wrought. He told her of his mission, his drive and the dealings he was making to bring those responsible to justice. If there was one person in this world he felt he could trust, it was her.
Her hand found his, even as a look of pain crossed her face at the revelation; for both the agony she knew it had to have caused him and for the realization that the man who had taken her to the court, had set her up with her lessons and had promised her a future place within the court, of a hand in marriage she didn't truly want, was the very man who had robbed him of his world.
Even still, she swore to him she would fight by his side and act as a spy on the inside.
That night led to many firsts for them, but none had been more important to him than their first kiss and the first utterances of I love you.
She was his queen, his wife, from then on. It didn't matter they had no home to move into together and make it official, but he promised they would. Once his quest was complete, once the spirits of his people could know rest, and the damned Pharaoh and Aknadin and the rest of that despicable court were dead and devoured by Ammit, they could put everything else behind them and move elsewhere. They would have a home, live the life together that they deserved; one free of strife, free of anguish and struggle, one their future children could blossom in and that they could grow old and weary in together.
Their plan would take time. He needed to gather his resources, strengthen his numbers and his connection to both Diabound and to Zorc. She needed to find the perfect night to strike, plot the perfect routes and gather everything she could on their targets, namely any changes to their routines or to see if they would slip and let their guard down around her or place further confidence in her. Aknadin wanted her to inherit one of the Items; if she could secure one, that would make one step easier.
They played their cards right. He waited for the night to rob the tomb, on the day before some grandiose event or another where the Pharaoh would hold his court. He displayed his skill, made his intention known, made fools of his court (and especially that damned Priest Set; he knew of the intentions Aknadin had for Kema and him). Having to face the Gods wasn't something he prepared for, but it had been a challenge he nevertheless faced with courage. Kema had her duties; perform her magic to try and weaken their defenses from the shadows, to keep them stumbling and keep a route secured for him to break into the palace later.
Their plans were going well. They were showing promise; they had a chance to reach their goals and it was just within reach.
...He shouldn't have gone for the Ring. He shouldn't have gone back into the tomb to fight off against the stray priest and take the Item.
She had run to get there and stop him. She was determined to save him. She had gotten into the tomb before it was sealed, waiting in the shadows to see what would become of the battle. Kema always had faith he could work things out and come out on top, but it never stopped her from worrying nor did it keep her from wanting to protect him from more damage done to him.
Everything had crumbled around them and she made sure he got out after he fell, before everything tumbled down completely. She shoved him out to where he needed to survive and when he tried to reach out for her, to pull her --
"If one of us survives this, habibi, I'd rather it be you."
He hadn't screamed that loudly or in such a deep anguish since after the soldiers left Kul Elna. Losing her was the pain that caused him to begin to fully lose himself to the darkness that Zorc and the items promised him.
3000 years. 3000 years and he didn't think he'd find her again. The Items had been locked up, guarded, kept out of the hands of most for that long; no one dared to put on the Ring, even as knowledge of what was held inside of it disappeared entirely.
Ryou Bakura was nothing more than a vessel for him to now have to grow into, but, he served his purposes. Meeting Yugi and the gang years later served him the knowledge that the time to re attempt his plans soon.
He worked even harder; after all, he had millennia to strategies strategies come up with an alternative way to win. It served as motivation to keep his spirit strong. The Zorc side of his personality was quite pleased by this and the side of him that was still truly Bakura had become numb; all that mattered at that point was getting vengeance and ending everything.
She looked different, but, then again, it was a new life. He didn't know how many she had to have cycled through, nor could he know if she truly had waited for him in every lifetime and if it had caused a lonely heart.
Her long brown hair draped down her back, a pink ribbon hanging in from the side. She dressed in pinks and creams, a golden locket with roses hanging proudly around her neck while a German Shepherd stood at attention to guard her. Freckles danced across her cheeks and her nails were perfectly manicured.
But those green eyes he'd fallen for were still the same, as was the smile that graced her lips and that heavenly voice of hers.
His Kema was back to him, only now she went by Kat.
If he had a pulse, it would be going 800 miles a second and his heart would clench. He didn't think it was possible. Yet, there she was, defying anything considered impossible.
The Zorc half of him was growing frustrated.
The Bakura side of him, the real him, longed to hold her in his arms and kiss her over and over again.
Night came quickly after she joined with their little group. He waited until everyone was distracted and slipped into control unnoticed. All it took was asking her for help and, next thing she'd know, they were quite a ways away from their camp.
"Ryou?" She asked, stepping closer. "Ryou, are you sure you're okay?"
"Never better," he admitted. The hair began to spike up, his eyes, usually full of anger, softened and he held out his hand. She still hadn't figured it out yet and he couldn't be sure she ever would. But it would never stop him.
He takes her hand and kisses it; there's a look of confusion that crosses her face, but a flash of something in her eyes; like her brains trying to push her to remember what once was. "Hello, rouhy."
