If You Feel Better

Chapter 22

Bakura stalked through the dark, a menacing force in the night. Eyes more than adjusted to the blackness, he faced no trouble finding his way through his latest discovery.

Two of his men went ahead of him, willing to take any hit that might come their way. They were more than willing to sacrifice themselves if necessary for their master. "There are definitely traps up ahead," one said to the other.

The other peered out further into the tomb as far as he could see. "I don't see anything that could be hiding a trap," he disagreed.

"You fool. They wouldn't put a trap where it was obvious. They're always hidden where you'd least expect them."

Bakura was mostly ignoring the ignoramuses arguing in front of him. They were merely there to be meat-shields at it was. He glanced around at the rectangular stones making up the walls, the pathways misguiding travelers to their deaths, and the shadows concealing traps to swiftly introduce intruders to their demise. He had done this many times before. He knew the patterns. He knew what to look out for.

Even so, Bakura didn't feel like himself. He had been feeling distracted as of late, unable to focus like he used to, which in situations like these was incredibly dangerous. Still, he was determined to show himself nothing had changed. Against his better judgement, he set out with a group of his men to a newly discovered tomb to raid it of any valuables the deceased's descendants were foolish enough to leave behind.

"Do you think there's something behind this door? Or is it another false passageway?" The two goons talked amongst themselves as they examined a door against the far wall. It could lead the way to riches. Or it could trigger their deaths.

"It's most likely nothing, but don't open it," the other one ordered, his voice echoing through the empty chamber. "Inspect it carefully first. We can't risk being careless."

Bakura barely heard them, his mind wandering all over the place. He couldn't help but think of the princess. How was she? What was she doing now that she was home? Are she and her father plotting against him at this very moment?

He shook his head fiercely, forcing the thought of Aya out of his head. The only way for him to go back to normal was to not think about her. Every time he caught his thoughts meandering to her, he strained to think about something else. So far, it wasn't working well. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't completely keep his mind off of her.

He stepped toward a dark corridor to his left that caught his eye. His foot suddenly sunk into the ground, snapping him back to reality. The weight of his foot pushed a stone block further into the floor, triggering a chain reaction of sounds. His eyes went wide and he looked around him, panicked. He spun around wildly, searching for the threat that hid in the shadows. He triggered a trap, he knew; anything could be coming at him at any moment.

Two small holes instantly opened up in the walls nearest him, shooting out poisoned darts that nearly grazed his skin as they passed in front of him, but instead imbedded harmlessly into the opposite wall. Unfreezing from his spot, Bakura raised a hand to his temple, shaking away the shock of his mistake.

What's happening to me?! he scolded himself. I never trigger traps! What's wrong with me?! He sneered down at his hands, shaking with anger. I have to focus. I'm going to get myself killed.

Though he pretended not to know what caused his mind to wander, he knew perfectly well.

~

Aya skidded to a halt after the blowback threw her back several feet. She huffed and puffed with determination, gently touching the freshly developing bruise on her jaw. Shada stood across from her, also breathing heavily, fists raised.

It was a blistering hot day, the sun seemingly about to melt the stones the palace was made of. Both Aya and Shada were sweating, bodies drenched from head to toe, but despite the heat, despite the exhaustion, and despite repeated blows, the two continued on.

"Don't allow him to get an opening, princess!" Shada called over to her, the sweat glistening down his ripped, bare chest. "You need to exploit his openings before he can exploit yours!"

Aya had never been taught how to fight. Girls didn't normally do such a thing. If she were a boy, fighting and weapon training would've been a standard part of her education as a prince. She had asked her father before if she could learn, but fearing for his daughter's safety, the pharaoh had adamantly refused. Now, after the disaster with Bakura, he finally agreed the princess should learn how to defend herself. So outside, in the empty soldier training grounds, Shada was teaching her hand-to-hand combat.

Without hesitation, Aya balled up her fists in front of her and said "Let's go again!"

Both she and Shada cried out as they ran at each other full force. Aya threw a punch to his face and an uppercut to his chest, both expertly blocked by Shada. He elbowed her hands out of the way, opening her up for another shot on her jaw.

Aya staggered back again, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away with the knuckle of her thumb, not even bothering to give it the smallest glance.

"We need to build up your strength so you can resist someone just pushing your arms away like that," Shada stated, nervous of accidentally seriously injuring the princess.. "You must be getting tired, princess. Why don't we stop for today?"

"No!" Aya argued. "Bakura won't care if I'm tired, if I'm hot, or if I've had enough! He'll come at me again and again until he wins!" Fighting the intense ache in her muscles, she put her hands up to her face. "Again!"

They leapt into action, fists ready to strike. Aya's fist connected with Shada's forearm, effectively blocking her attempt to contact his face. He attempted to land another shot on her face, but Aya blocked his fist with her arm, throwing another one at him. They threw fists back and forth, Aya landing a spin kick against his temple. Although Shada stumbled, he remained standing.

They planted plenty of bruises on each other, speckling their bodies black and blue. Any opening Aya could find, she landed a hit on Shada, pushing her knuckles as forceful into his body as she could. Unfortunately for her, he did the same.

He landed an uppercut into Aya's stomach followed by a strike to her chest. She staggered back from the hit, panting heavily and gripping her torso where he struck.

"You're getting better, princess," he complimented, relaxing from his fighting stance. "But we should stop before you get hurt any further."

Aya was drained, mouth feeling dry, and limbs feeling heavy. Her body wanted to give up; it told her to give up. No, she thought, resisting the temptation to just collapse. I will not allow Bakura or anyone else to have control over me again. I have to learn to defend myself. I have to become stronger.

She widened her legs and put up her fists. "Again."