Ryoko Akane was an enigma. A beautiful seventeen year old who just recently moved to Domino City, Japan from America. A lethal duelist, cunning, sarcastic, and possessing a past shrouded in shadows that she keeps carefully hidden.
Seto Kaiba was the...
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Ryoko's sleep was restless. No matter what she tried it seemed impossible that she would get a decent night's sleep, to make matters worse tomorrow she was supposed to head over to Kami Games and help Yugi's grandfather train Joey. Already a bit of a daunting task, the boy had the attention span of a gnat she sweared, that would be made even worse if she was half-asleep. A tired Ryoko equaled a cranky Ryoko, and a cranky Ryoko generally meant no fun for anyone.
~ Apelpa lay back stretching her long legs out as far as she could. She wiggled her toes beneath the golden sand, the rest of her body tingling in delight as her skin felt the warm glow of the Egyptian sun. The feeling was just too perfect and times like this were precious to her. Since the Kul Elna massacre, life had only proved more difficult. She and her childhood friend were constantly on the run, thieving their only means of survival. Some days she truly thought would be her last.
Being the sole survivors, they felt as if it was their duty to look out for each other, even though they would've done it regardless. They had been the best of friends since the beginning and the massacre only severed to strengthen their bond to each other. Learning about Apelpa's special gift to summon the Black dragon had made things much easier for them and she was quick to discover that Bakura had a unique power of his own. All the bitterness, anger, hatred and sadness that they held inside their bodies only made the monsters within them stronger. The two were an unstoppable team and with their power combined they swore to have revenge on the Pharoah who mercilessly took the lives of so many innocent people and completely and utterly ruined theirs. However, there was one problem... King Aknamkanon was no more. Since his passing began the reign of a new Pharaoh, his son Atem. Apelpa didn't really know much about the new Pharoah, but it seemed that he was warm-hearted and compassionate, always doing things for the greater good of his people. Her many trips into the palace providing her with many stories of the new Pharaoh's kindness; though Bakura refused to believe any of it, he told her she was wrong and that those she overheard were lying through their teeth. He warned her not to be fooled by his false displays of kindness, claiming that it was all an act. On the inside, he knew that Atem was just as evil and corrupt as his father. After all, he was the reason that their village was slaughtered in order to create the seven Millennium items.
Apelpa glanced over at Bakura to only find him looking back at her. When her eyes met his, he returned with a gentle smile. She often found him looking at her this way and she never really knew why. Unexpectedly he started to shift closer towards her and Apelpa felt her body go rigid upon realizing that he had one hand rested on her upper thigh. Inside her she felt her dragon stir, aware of her mistress' distress and ready to come forth and defend her, Apelpa silently cooed and stroked her dragon - reminding her constant companion that this was Bakura and he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Her dragon seemed marginally placated but not completely satisfied, she noticed lately that her dragon seemed wary of Bakura and his Diabound. She wasn't sure why, her dragon had known Bakura for as long as Apelpa had and she never acted this way towards him before - her dragon's wariness rubbed off unconsciously on herself and she would often flinch at her friend's sudden arrivals of when he summoned his Diabound where before she didn't.
