Dancing on the Tide

Summery: (AU Yaoi) AU Yaoi Four boys and four mermen will meet for the first time and set off a chain reaction that could destroy all they hold dear. Pasts will be revealed and the future now looks uncertain. BxR, YYxY YMxM SxJ

Warnings: AU, Yaoi, mild cusses.

Chapter Name: When the Storm Hits

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or the characters.

Author Notes: I love mermen stories so I am typing up a new one! Please support me on this one, Okay? Now here it is my second fanfiction. (Well my other story isn't finished but it will be in time!)

The sun shone through the water, making the coral reefs next to him light up with golden webs that moved with the carefree motions of the deep ocean. The sun was just beginning to rise, bathing him with the rich colors of the sunrise. The water around him was a pleasant, warm temperature as if the ocean had wrapped a blanket of colors around him. It was all as quiet as if the world stopped personally for him and the ocean's currents were like sighs being blown through his hair.

Humph, how poetic.

The only reason he was here, laying on a flat, raised expanse of rock just as the sunrise began, was to get away. From what you ask? Everything.

Bakura lay there, swishing his fin idly around, watching the shadows he made contrast with the light. His arms were crossed behind his neck, acting as a pillow of sorts for his head. This was one of this favorite places because it was alone and secluded. It was at least half a mile from the kingdom borders. He wasn't alone very often so when he happened to find some time for himself, he took advantage of it without second thoughts. He had managed to escape a few hours ago from his guards as they changed stations for the night.

Bakura snorted. Those idiots couldn't guard a sea slug, he thought and he turned on his stomach. The silence was a blessing. He felt his tension drain away and he thought that maybe he could finally sleep more than a few measly hours at a time. Sleep was one of the things that he had been deprived of lately and it was take a toll on his body. Bakura closed his eyes and vaguely wondered when someone was going to show up, after all, his father wouldn't just let him go wander around and cause havoc. It was forbidden to leave the palace grounds without a guard which was one of the amin reasons he did it in the first place.

Bakura felt the ocean currents sift, letting by a school of medium-sized forms moving at a face pace. Bakura opened his eyes to see a school of tuna race past, their scales shining in his face. It was early summer, ideal tuna hunting time and he was hungry. He had fled before breakfast was served, maybe he could…but that would alert others of this presence. He didn't want to get caught but he was hungry damnit! Oh, what the hell. He would just have to cut his time short.

Bakura narrowed his mahogany eyes and they flashed silver. One of the biggest tunas that were swimming near the front of the school froze. Its tail was still flapping as if it were swimming but it was moving in the opposite direction, backwards towards him. A thin layer of silver light covered the tuna, shinning and swirling slightly. Bakura lazily stretched out a hand and, as soon as he grabbed the fish's tail, the light, on the fish and his eyes, disappeared as if it was never there in the first place. He sighed and sat up, using two hands to keep the struggling tuna from escaping. Bakura quickly snapped the tuna's spine and it fell limp, its dead eyes looking at him. He then started the laborious task of carefully removing each individual scale. The maids could do it faster back in the kitchens but he really didn't feel like going back. It would mean to have a lecture again from his father and that took hours not to mention the lectures were boring and pointless. He hated when scales got stuck in his teeth. It took forever to get them out.

It took a while before it was ready but when he sank his fangs into the red meat it was worth it. Delicious really. He couldn't stand all those fancy over-spiced foods back home. Home… it was more like prison, he thought moodily as he picked a bone out of his teeth. Bakura cleaned the bones of any meat before tossing them off the side of the rock. Food for the scavengers or something.

He looked over at his reef. Yes, his reef. He claimed it and he was going to keep it. He didn't like to share, thank you very much. He frowned and closed his eyes. Someone should have picked up his magi signal by now, if there were really guards looking for him all over the place, not that he was complaining. No, he just found it a bit fishy (excuse the pun) that no one had actually found him yet. Well, it didn't matter, he preferred his reef to the palace any day. As long as no one found him-

"Bakura." Maybe if he ignored the annoying little voice it would go away. The current shifted again to accommodate a much larger figure than a tuna. "Bakura, you ass, I know you're not asleep." Go away; you're not here little annoying voice. He felt something sharp poke his bare chest. "Fine, if you're not going the easy way."

He suddenly felt a firm smack on his side that threw him off his rock without warning. Bakura yelped and twisted his body, quickly turning over. His powerful fin pushed and he rocketed back to his rock, seething.

"Damnit, Yami," he snarled and, once he was floating over the rock, he launched himself at the other. He and Yami rolled around on the rock wrestling around and making loud smacking noises as their fins connected with one another. Yami laughed as he pushed Bakura off him with another flick from his tail over the side of the rock. Again. Bakura righted himself before he hit the sandy floor and swam back up. He glared at Yami who smirked back at him.

Yami was one of Bakura's best friends for some weird reason he could not comprehend. Maybe it was because they knew each other since birth. Yami was a lithe, tan merman of seventeen summers. Yami had the weirdest hair in the whole ocean kingdom and he use to poke fun at him when they were younger. His hair was pitch black and spiked into several points that were outlined in scarlet. He had blonde bangs hanging over his eyes as well as a few sticking out on the side and a few also ran into his spikes. His eyes were a shocking shade of crimson that mirrored the colors of his tail.

Bakura sighed, "What do you what, Yami? Can't you see I am busy?" He swam to his original spot and laid back down, watching the ever changing ocean. Great now his side was stinging. Thank you, Yami.

Yami raised an eyebrow. "If this is you busy, I don't want to see you bored." He swam near Bakura and laid down next to him, looking bored. Usually Bakura would just push him off but he was feeling too lazy right now.

"Whatever," Bakura said, shrugging, not particularly caring. His dark silver hair floated in between them like languid seaweed.

"You know, if you didn't want anybody to find you, you shouldn't have used your magic," Yami said matter-of-factly, looking at nothing. "It sends up a flare to others looking for you." He loved riling Bakura up. It was one of the perks of being a close friend to him, he would just maim anybody else.

"I know," Bakura said annoyed. "I'm not stupid." He flipped over to his stomach and watched a small crab scuttle along his rock. He flicked it off with a sharp nail and it floated down sideways. His rock.

"Never said you were," Yami said, looking at Bakura carefully. "Are you all right? You're not usually this bitchy in the morning." Bakura sighed and turned over again. He rubbed his eyes tiredly with his palms. He really did not want to discuss his tendencies right now.

"It's your father again isn't it?" Yami asked, his eyes on Bakura's weary form. It wasn't really a question.

Bakura gritted his teeth and punched the face of the rock which resulted in a large crack running across it. Yami didn't even flinch, use to the random attacks of violence from Bakura. "Isn't it always?" Bakura spat bitterly. "Why can't he leave me alone? I don't care about politics and all that crap." He pushed off from the rock and started swimming around the reef formations as Yami swam next to him like the reluctant, dutiful friend he was.

Yami swam silently, observing his friend, waiting for Bakura to finish his temper tantrum. Bakura was punching random reefs making them shatter or crumble. He needed something to take out his anger on. Why couldn't father just leave him alone? He never asked for all this in his life. He just wanted to have fun like any other seventeen year old merman but noooo, he just had to be born a prince, didn't he? The only heir to the throne of Taikai, the Ocean kingdom and only safe haven for merpeople in the whole Pacific Ocean. He punched the side of an arcing reef and it came crumbling down, shooting out dust and little fishes, who have been hiding in the rock and disturbed by Bakura's angry aura.

Bakura in the last fit of anger, slapped the water with a magically charged fin, causing the water to take the pressure and crash into a nearby black lava reef. The black pieces exploded in a blast, showering the ground with little pieces. Yami whistled, impressed. Black lava was one of the hardest minerals found underwater. Bakura stood there, heaving deep breathes as the lack of sleep caught up to him at last. He sighed and descended to the floor, sinking in the sand.

Yami slowly approached him, making sure Bakura wasn't about to attack anything else and reached down a hand. Bakura reluctantly took it and Yami pulled back him up. "You finished?" Yami asked cheekily and Bakura glared at him. "You know, that fit of anger just released a major magi signal?" Bakura groaned. Perfect, now they definitely know where he is.

"Couldn't you have said that before?" Bakura said, eyebrow twitching dangerously. A sign of danger.

"I could have," Yami nodded, smirking. "That wouldn't be as fun." He snickered as Bakura scowled and flicked him off.

"Whoa! Who let lose the sharks?" Yami and Bakura turned to see another merman join them in the rubble of the once beautiful coral reefs. The merman was tan and muscular. He had major gravity defying dusty blonde hair that went everywhere and violet crazed eyes. His thick tail was a deep amethyst color.

"Bakura just had another temper tantrum," Yami said cheerfully as he dodged the fist thrown by Bakura.

"Ahhh, I missed it?" the merman pouted disappointed then perked back up. "Next time you go on a rampage call me and I'll be happy to help!" The merman started crackling and Yami sighed.

"Only you can truly enjoy the destruction of landforms, Marik" Bakura said dryly, conveniently forgetting to mention that he was the one that destroyed said landforms. Marik was also one of Bakura's friends and was rumored that he was dropped on his head when he was little. Marik liked shiny things.

"Yes! I am unique," Marik declared. More like crazy, thought Bakura. "Any way I was, you know, swimming around when I felt Bakura's magi signal so I followed it but I saw some shiny fish and I chased them but they got away when Bakura's big magi blast scared them. Then I saw guards, you know, swimming and I thought to myself they must be looking for Bakura and he does not like the guards so I came to warn you." He fell silent with a grin.

Bakura and Yami stared at him then each other. How come they have a nuthouse for a friend? Anyway it was better if they got back to the palace before the guards found them. Bakura nodded and took the lead the others followed right behind. The three mermen swam towards the kelp forest near the gate to Taikai. They used the kelp forest for when things like this happened. When they wanted to evade the guards at the gate or sneak in and out, depending on the occasion.

Bakura swam silently dodging the tall strands of sea kelp in the slightly cooler waters. The forest was so thick that most of the sunlight was blocked, making the perfect hiding spot. Yami and Marik kept close to Bakura not wanting to get lost in the sea of kelp that went on for miles and miles on end. Each dark green strand was about twenty feet tall and placed so close together that if you weren't careful a merperson's tail could get caught and trapped. Bakura knew the way not just because he had been through this forest for years before until now but also because he was a prince.

All merpeople know how to use their magic and can recognize each others magi signals from different distances depending on how much control and power said merperson has. But the royal family had the closest connection with the sea. The ocean reacts differently to each merperson of royal blood just like each has a different personality. To Bakura the sea lets his vision and any senses be carried across its currents and waves. He can see from a mile away and feel the shifting of currents even farther when he links up his magic to the ocean. He can use his magic like any other merman when it's on its own but has been know to be more powerful with the ocean.

Bakura slowed down near the end of the kelp forest and stuck his head out, making sure the shadows kept him hidden. He smirked, perfect; there were no guards at the gate. They probably all ran off to see what destroyed the coral reefs. That was a pity though; he had to find another alone place. The large white metal gates were left carelessly open and Bakura gave the OK signal to his friends waiting behind him.

All three shot from the kelp, past the gates silently, and into the city, leaving bubbles in their wake. The whole city was in the middle of the large rock formations that were know as the Leviathan's Hollow because it looked like an underwater valley. All the houses were made of rock, coral, seaweed, marble or any type of stone or plant found in the sea. As the three mermen swan across the city they dodged merpeople at every turn. Most merpeople swam out of the way in seeing the prince, stopped what they were doing and respectfully bowed down. Bakura hated when they did that, it made him feel pointed out and in the spotlight.

A passing by mother gasped softly and made her kid bow with her when the kid protested. He heard the mother scold her kid softly when they passed. Sometimes his status got him things that otherwise he would have never got but when merpeople did that he got the feeling he wasn't one of them. He wasn't, he knew that and he didn't what to be like them but he didn't want to be the way he was now. He wanted to be his own self not a prince.

In the middle of the city was a huge marble palace with two towers on either side. The palace had no windows with, what was that odd human invention called? Ah, yes, glass. Merpeople could just swim in and out of the windows to enter or exit, usually carrying scrolls or baskets filled with deliveries. Bakura decided to skirt around and enter from the back openings so they would have a better chance of not being seen. They were nearing the back of the palace when a bunch of mermaids swam near them, giggling crazily as if giggling was the most fun thing to do. Bakura nearly gagged at the sugary expressions on their faces but forced out a painful smile; his father would hear of it if he scared them away. The mermaids shrieked in delight and fell all over each other. God, what is it with all the mermaids in this kingdom? With the exception of a few.

"Screechy hags blew my ears off," Marik mumbled while Yami grimaced, not say anything but inwardly agreeing with him. They didn't care much for the mermaids either. They swam as fast as they could towards one of the windows near the eastern half of the palace, hiding in the shadows when guards came near. They were pretty good at this, after all, practice made prefect.

They finally came to a big balcony and swam into the room, parting the silk curtains aside. Inside was Bakura's room. The room had a big coral bed with dark gray walls. A mirror and a plain wardrobe also added to the decor. He had a large bookcase that he never used but added it to his room to at least make his father think he was studying. Bakura had firmly refused to sleep in one of those over decorated rooms that did nothing but look pretty when he passed ten years of age. The beds were very uncomfortable as well.

Bakura collapsed on his bed, feeling the silk on his skin. Yami and Marik wandered around as if they were home, completely at ease. All sighed in relief to have gotten inside without being spotted. Last time they got caught things didn't go over so well with the king and the guard Captain that found them, some weirdo named Keith. But at least he would have some time to relax before the guards reported to his father about the damage to the reef and Bakura's magi signal outside the borders. He would fit the pieces faster that an orca after a dolphin.

Marik was looking the mirror as he always does, tapping on the glass. Ohh, so shiny! Marik looked in the glass, ignoring his mirror image and observing the reflections of the others and their surroundings. It never hurt to be cautious.

Yami went over to the giant bookcase and looking for the red spine of the book he was reading. With a victorious look, he spotted it and pulled it out. Bakura glanced around uninterested. Yami was reading one of the books on the shelf, probably the one he has been reading for the last week. It was really big and heavy. About human mythology and transmutation or something.

Humans in the underwater kingdom were considered to be dangerous and unapproachable. The only reason Bakura had the smallest inkling of curiosity about these so-called "magic-blind" is that anything forbidden is bound to piss his father off, something he lived for. He could care less about the two-legs. The mere thought of his father going into a rage sent warm tingles down his spine. So he kept one or two or a dozen books about the arcane just in case the might King decided to drop by (never mind the fact he wouldn't be caught dead reading anything worthwhile.)

He had even gone up there once. He had broken through the surface and felt that odd feeling like a current but with none of the water. He felt the heat of the sun, drying his scales and skin rapidly and saw the surface of the water. It was the most amazing thing he had ever felt and he kept trying to go back. But the ocean pushed him back with invisible hands. That was his father's unique connection with the ocean. The ocean would follow the pattern and shape the king set up like the water was a sculpture that the king was making with his hands. It was as if the surface was hard as stone and he couldn't go break it, no matter how hard he tried. The only time it was let down was when the king lost connection with the ocean for a long time, which almost never happened, or if the ocean needed all its strength for something. The ocean protected those under its waves so when the other elements attacked the ocean fought back.

Bakura was spacing out when the door to his room slammed open with a bang. Bakura sat up to see a tall, fuming and pissed off merman. Seto was the last of his best friends. Seto was taller than all the other mermen in the room from head to fin. He was tan (most of the merpeople are tan) and had thick chestnut hair that feel into his eyes attractively. His tail was a deep azure color. His infamous furious blue eyes glared at Bakura who daintily waved at him.

"Where have you been?" he said angrily, gliding up to Bakura while Yami and Marik moved out of the way. It wasn't wise to be in the way of Seto when he was angry. Merpeople could get hurt. Yami drifted back, ready to enjoy the show,

"Around," Bakura said broadly and he stood up straight looking like he couldn't care less.

"Around!" Seto cried outraged beyond belief, as he pointed a finger that could poke an eye out at Bakura's face. "The palace was in an uproar tying to find you. Again. Do you know how much work I had to do to cover for you?"

"No," Bakura said regally, putting a hand on Seto's shoulder. "But you know I appreciate it." He swam around Seto to the balcony, knowing that Seto was about to blow his top off.

Seto gritted his teeth and ran his hand through his hair, trying not to give in to the urge to strangle the prince. "It was bad enough when you disappeared but when the king got wind of your magi signal outside of the gate near the corals, he went ballistic. He sent twenty guards to get you." Bakura snorted, he could have easily defeated those idiots with his magic. "He's enraged, you idiot. Do you know what he could do to you?" It was just like Bakura to be so damn stubborn.

Bakura folded his arms defiantly and growled, "I don't care what that bastard thinks or does."

Seto glared at him, "Well, you should." Why does he have to be so damn stubborn? He knows perfectly well what could happen.

Yami swam in between them with a palm to each merman, tying to stop Seto from doing anything possibly lethal to the other. It would be bad if he had to explain the mess. "Give him a break, Seto. You know he's stressed out over it," he said softly but Bakura still heard and he bristled. He fisted his hands.

Seto sighed but gave way, knowing the problem was a big thing for Bakura not to mention them as well. "Just came to warn you. The king is not happy and it's almost time. If you want to do something about it, you better do it fast." He directed the last part of his words to Bakura who was glaring at the wall, almost drilling holes.

"I'm trying!" Bakura hissed. "What do you think I've been doing all this time? Painting pictures? A little help would be nice."

"You know we have been doing all we can," Yami said, frustrated that his own attempts to help failed. "But the king knows that you don't want it and he has us all under watch in the palace and we don't have any power to change things if all the Council agrees on the matter."

Bakura threw a punch at the wall in frustration and dragged his nails down the side, leaving gorges. Nothing ever goes right! Damnit all!

"What are you doing Marik?" Yami said, looking for a distraction from the topic and finding it in Marik. Bakura took a break from carving disturbing pictures in the wall and looked over to his crazy friend.

Marik had his pointed ear to the door and had a weird look on this face. "Hearing voices."

Yami frowned, "Voices?" He drifted to the door as Marik sprang back and it opened again after a short knock. Two mermen with metal armor on their chests and the royal family crest came in. Guards. Bakura narrowed his eyes. So, dear old daddy wants to see me again. Let me find a container for my joy.

"Royal Prince Bakura of Taikai," one of the guards said, holding his spear straight as a rod. Marik stuck out his tongue at him and the guard twitched. Ugh, he hated his full title. "King Tsuyoi requests your presence in the throne room." His dad never requests, he orders.

Bakura didn't really have a choice. He couldn't defy his father without having it spread across the palace then, eventually, the city. If that happened his father would punish him again.

"Fine," he sighed and grumbled as he moved forwards, each guard on either side of him. Seto, Marik, and Yami immediately followed behind the procession without question.

He and his friends were escorted down the marble corridors, past servants doing their chores, to a big open arena with a tall ceiling supported by several white stone pillars on the sides. He hates this place with a passion. Bakura swam forward to the middle while his friends stayed near the wall, knowing their place. In the middle of the throne room as a big marble throne. It was a beauty, really, the smooth white stone was crafted to look like the throne had just naturally grown out of the floor with Meridian inscriptions on the armrests and sides. Too bad the throne was sat on by his father.

The guards stopped by the open doors as a flurry of servants were dismissed. Bakura stiffened but swam past them into the room. He was mentally preparing himself for the lecture that was undeniably coming.

The first guards raised his spear as Yami tried to pass, stopping him. Yami narrowed his eyes and fixed them upon the guard, demanding to know why he was being stopped. Seto and Marik also glared.

"Only Prince Bakura was to attend inside," the guard said, looking straight ahead. "All others are to remain behind the doors."

"Shut up, idiot," Bakura barked, looking back at the impudent guard. "I say they can go and they will go."

"Pardon my defiance but King Tsuyoi-"

"I will handle my dear father," Bakura said, snarling. He whipped his head back, knowing that his friends wrestled their way inside. Yami and Seto both have higher status in the Court that normal guards, they should have been let inside without any resistance even if his father said so. As he said, he will deal with him if he complained.

King Tsuyoi was a heavy set man with floor-length silver hair and black eyes that narrowed on his only son, the powerful dark gray tail was moving slowly from side to side. His face was weathered and beaten but Bakura could still see traces of the handsome merman he was when he was younger. The expression on his face made it known that he was in trouble. Bakura glared at his father, not the least intimidated as the heavy stone doors were shut.

"Glad you could join me, Bakura," Tsuyoi said darkly, eyes flickering to his son's friends. They bowed to him and straightened, not moving, showing their loyalty to Bakura by staying.

Bakura didn't say anything, a scowl on his face

"Where were you this morning?" his father asked angrily, the husky voice carrying across the room.

"None of your business," Bakura snapped back, his voice almost the same as his father's. He has no right to know.

"Of course it's my business!" Tsuyoi said, his eyes on his son and not with a nice expression. Bakura stared back, shaking with barely restrained anger. So he thought he could butt in his life. "You're the only heir to the throne. I will not let the kingdom go into chaos because of your desire to remain a child."

"That's all I am to you!" Bakura shouted in his father's face. He had enough. He was going to say what he had been going through all his life and his father was going to hear it whether he liked it or not! "I'm the only heir to the throne not your only son! I never asked to be prince; I just want to live my life not one that you and the stupid Council planned out."

"Well, too bad," his father barked, his eyes starting to get silvery around the edges as his voice rose to dangerous levels. "You were born a prince and that's what you are! You will start acting according to your position."

"No!" Bakura yelled as the water around him started turning silver. His magic was acting up, responding to his emotions but he didn't care. This wasn't fair! He hated it here with his position as the prince, the next unwilling king. "I will not! If acting as you say means living married to that whore I refuse!"

In the beginning of spring Tsuyoi had announced to the kingdom the engagement of Bakura and a high ranking mermaid named Anzu without his consent. Anzu was well known to be a beautiful mermaid with a good blood in her veins as her parents were Council members. The first time Bakura saw her he nearly threw up all over the floor. She was so sickly sweet and kept trying to crawl into his lap and kiss him, rubbing her hand down his chest when she could. Anzu was beautiful but she was a spoiled and awful mermaid, yelling at the servants when they brought her the wrong type of fish at the banquet. She was only marring him to be queen, to raise her status, and he could see that. He hated that, for someone like her to take advantage of him. He had been worrying and stressing out over that for weeks. He wouldn't lower himself as far as to take that slut as his spouse; he would rather live in the Chasm of Salain. At the end of summer the marriage was to take place and he had been endlessly thinking of ways to get out of it. In a simple sentence: Bakura hated Anzu.

"You have no choice in the matter! It's for the good of the kingdom," Tsuyoi roared as he pushed up from his throne to float in front of the prince. Bakura's magic was spreading dangerously as was Tsuyoi's but in greater quantity. Bakura felt so frustrated and angry. Why wouldn't his father listen to him?

Yami, Marik, and Seto looked on worriedly from their position on the wall. With all the magic in the room it was possible for a magical backlash. If the two magics collided, it was going to be disastrous. Bakura knows better than that, Yami thought reassuringly but the scene in front of him was not encouraging.

"All you care about is the kingdom," Bakura yelled as his eyes flashed silver. "What about me! The life of a prince isn't for me!" The two magics were closer together, now on the verge on touching. Bakura's magic coiled and formed figures with sharp edges around him, reacting in being so close to the other familiar magic.

"You're the most selfish brat I have ever known!" his father retorted. "The kingdom is more important than your desires. You will marry Anzu and provide the kingdom a future heir!"

Bakura saw red in an instant. His father didn't care about him; he only cares about the kingdom. He doesn't like his own son just because he was too blind to see him for what he was not his status. He hates his life! Why wouldn't his father understand that simple fact! "Mother would have never force me to do this!" he yelled desperately, playing his last card.

His father's face hardened with fury. "You will not bring her into this conversation!" he ordered.

"Yes, I will!" Bakura said, his hands fisted at his sides. His tail was as rigid as a board with his fin twitching, a sure sign he was angry. "Mother cared for me unlike you! She would never let you do this!" His heart felt like it was breaking at the memory of his mother.

Queen Umi was one of the most beloved mermaids in the history of the ocean. She was the called the most beautiful mermaid in the sea when she was alive. Her kind heart and gentle nature won the loyalty of the merpeople even in her early years of queenship. Bakura remembered that she had long, silky blonde hair with the brown eyes she gave to him. Even the sea mourned her death from the bite of a poisonous water snake and whirlpools sprouted in its grief. She died twelve years ago when Bakura had just turned five years old, never getting to say happy birthday to him. Bakura's best memory was that of his mother singing gently while combing his hair with a coral comb, getting him ready for a formal ball which he really did not want to go to. Sometimes if he listened hard enough in the silence of the palace at night he could almost hear her song again like the ghost of her presence was still housed in the lonely marble walls.

"Children dear, was it yesterday
We heard the sweet bells over the bay
In the caverns where we lay,
Through the surf and the swell,
The far-off sound of silver bell?
Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep,
where the winds are all asleep;
Where the spent lights quiver and gleam;
Where the salt weed sways in the stream;
Where the sea-beasts raged all around
Feed in the daze of their pasture-ground;
where the sea-snakes coil and twine,
Dry their mail and bask in the brine;
where great whales come sailing by,
Sail and sail, with unshut eye,
Round the world foe ever and aye;
When did music come this way?
Children dear, was it yesterday?"

"It doesn't matter what your mother would have said!" his father said strangled. "She has passed on. What matters is that you must do as you're told!"

Bakura couldn't believe it. His father brushed off his mother like yesterday's discarded kelp. Now he definitely was not going to bow down to this idiot! His mother deserved better, he deserved better, the whole damn kingdom deserved better! Bakura sent all his magic charging to his father not caring about the consequences. His magic wailed like an angry beast and reached out with sharp finger-like waves.

Tsuyoi saw the attack coming and sent his own wave of magic which was in much larger in power. The result was a huge explosion that threw Bakura all the way to the other side of the room and against the wall. He gasped sharply as he felt red-hot pain shoot across his back and he slid down the wall to the floor unable to do anything with his eyes seeing white spots. The dust in the water made it impossible to see what happened. I hope I got him good, Bakura thought as he gingerly inspected his back with a glance over his shoulder. He had a large gash going from his right shoulder to his left hip. It was bleeding mightily and he gasped with another wave of pain.

Bakura heard the shouts from his friends on the other side of the throne room but he ignored them as he dust settled. His father was standing in the middle looking furious and his magic curled around him like a shield. Tsuyoi had sent a counterattack and made a shield at the same time. Not even one scratch was on him. He was too weak in contrast to his father.

"You insolent brat!" his father roared at the injured prince. "How dare you go against me? You will bow to my authority." If he had been a real parent he would be worried about his child, Bakura thought acrimoniously as his father shouted at him.

Bakura gritted his teeth as he swam back up, steadying himself with a hand on the wall. Never! He was never going to follow his father! With all the strength he had left he punched a pillar on his right. His fist cracked as he roared in pain but it did what he wanted it to do. A giant crack ran up the pillar and as it reached the top, dust and grit rained down; the punch had split it in half. There was no way it would hold. It came down and without warning as chunks fell off and came crashing into the ground. He turned around and swam out of the arena, biting his lip to keep from screaming with the agony.

"Run Bakura! Don't worry we'll find you!" Bakura heard Yami's yell and he redoubled his efforts to get out of there. The throne room roof collapsed and a great cloud of rubble fell from the palace into the main square of the city with a great boom that could be heard from miles. He heard the shouts of the citizens in panic and surprise as they swam out of the way. It was panic as a section of the palace fell down, squishing everything in it descent. Bakura could only hope that his friend got out safely.

He dashed past the last houses and thru the gates before the guards could react. He heard the shouts from the guards. His back was still bleeding as was his fist. It was dangerous to go to open water bleeding because sharks could easily detect blood in the water but he had no other choice. He had to get away fast. He swam and swam until he could no longer see Leviathan's Hollow behind him.

Even though he was bleeding, injured, and all alone he couldn't help but to feel free at long last. He was going to on new adventure and maybe he could finally be free of this father's rule. He swam into the ocean, as blue as he eye could see. A sudden weight that had been on his shoulders ever since he could remember lessened the more he swam away. It was a glorious feeling and it wrapped him up.

Too bad he never saw the storm boiling above and the tranquil water start to turn dangerously and darkly, the currents getting harsher and faster. He never noticed the rapid decrease in temperature and the sunlight lessening above the surface. And the massive spiked reef next to him.

Whoooooo! Finished! And in one day too. I'm on a roll now. Please review for me. I write quickly with more reviews. The song in my story is not mine. It's called "Rocked in the cradle of the deep" by Emma Milard. Not mine I repeat once again. Thank you for taking time to read this fan fiction.