HOLD Heart
written by Dekora
the one with the best smile
Notes Revised as of June 2009. I will be picking this fan fiction back up. Thank you for the great feedback on it so far. I appreciate it! (Sorry it took so long for me to get to.)
Warnings This fan fiction will have various pairings of all types (het, yaoi, and yuri).
Chapter One
Of all the things that the king of thieves expected to see when he woke up, she was not one of them. Hovering over him, she was staring down at him, an expression that could only be concern on her face. Her red hair dangled in her face, brushing against his bare chest.
"Are you okay?"
The words she used were not of his native language, and yet he understood their meanings. Masking his puzzled expression with his usual confident smirk, Bakura sat up, brushing nonchalantly at his jacket. Of course he was okay. The question was so preposterous that it didn't deserve a response. Giving the surrounding area a quick glance, he realized that he didn't recognize where he was. As unsettling as that was, he didn't lose his composure, slowly standing, slippers not making a sound as they met the ground. "Who are you?"
Clearly caught off guard, the girl's features quickly turned apologetic. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I am Jounouchi Shizuka." Should she have introduced herself first? She'd been so worried when she'd found him... "I was just walking home and I found you here and..." She was stuttering, she knew, a bad habit of hers when she got nervous.
The name sounded as strange as the other words the girl spoke. Looking up now, Bakura examined the tall buildings that lined the path they were on. They were nothing like he'd seen before. After a pause, he inquired, "Where am I?" As hard as it was to admit that he was lost, what other option did he have? It'd be futile to try and go on without knowing that.
He hadn't given his name in exchange for hers, a fact that Shizuka found rather rude. Still, he seemed disoriented, no matter how hard he was obviously attempting to hide it. Standing now herself, she answered, "In an alleyway on 4th Street." Judging by the other's expression, that location didn't ring any bells. "Domino City?" she offered. He shook his head. "... Japan?" He didn't seem to recognize that name either. "Uh-hmm, well, where should you be?" Maybe she could help him retrace his footsteps?
How did he answer that? Where should he be? Where had he been? His memory was fuzzy. Had he been drinking before this? The sun was just beginning to set so that made no sense. If anything, he should have just been waking up. "Kuru Elna," he answered plainly. Despite being in ruins, Kuru Elna was still home. Even so, he usually gave a generic answer to avoid people asking questions but now? He just wanted to piece together this puzzle.
Clearly, Kuru Elna meant nothing to Shizuka. She didn't know where or what it was. Chuckling darkly, Bakura shook his head. The public hadn't been informed about the destruction of his town. Could he really expect her to know what he was talking about? Then, with a sigh, he simply said, "Nevermind."
The tall buildings around them resembled nothing of his homeland, nothing of anything he'd ever seen. He wasn't at home or anywhere near home. This girl was not going to be able to pin point what brought him here.
She seemed to understand that he didn't want to fool with explaining things to her (though she wondered if that was the right terminology because he obviously was in the dark himself) and decided instead to change the subject. "Where will you go?" If he didn't know the area, would he be stranded here? Shizuka couldn't help but feel compelled to help him, strange as he was. She attributed the desire to the fact that his appearance reminded her of one of her brother's friends, though she was at a blank for the name. She hoped that, perhaps, he was family with the boy. If that was the case, she could get him to someone who would be able to help him better than she would.
With the jewelry around his neck, she was also reminded of the Egyptian artifacts that were common amongst her brother's friends. There was a lot Shizuka didn't understand about them. For the most part, she'd been kept in the dark (ironically, even after her bandages had been removed). Even when her brother had been knocked unconscious, she'd relied mostly on her own intuition to figure out what was going on.
Her question, though, brought up quite a challenge. Where would he go? He didn't have money on him (and for some reason, he doubted the currency here was the same), so renting an inn seemed out of the question. For the first time, he allowed his expression to be puzzled. "I'm not sure."
What Shizuka had determined from watching the duels on Battle City was that there was a higher power at play. Magic. It wasn't until her eyes fell on the Ring at Bakura's chest that she knew for sure that he had something to do with everything her friends had been fighting both for and against.
The idea hatching in her mind really wasn't safe. This man was a complete stranger to her and her mother was away on business. "You can stay with me." She didn't sound sure of herself but how could she? She had very little idea what she was offering.
Shizuka was a young girl; that much was obvious. Bakura couldn't help but wonder how suited she was to offer him shelter. Could he really protest, though? As much as he preferred to fend for himself, he could only assume that it was best to have a home base while he tried to figure out exactly where he was and how to get home.
"Alright," he agreed plainly.
She smiled up at him before pausing. "You never gave me your name."
Bakura blinked in confusion before smirking. "Name?" How had he forgotten to introduce himself? Perhaps it was that he was used to not needing an introduction. Giving a mock (and particularly dramatic) bow, he informed her, "I'm the king of thieves, Bakura."
King of thieves. Shizuka moved her arms to hug tightly against her chest. That didn't sound too promising but...
Bakura, though, was a Japanese name, a feat that only added to Shizuka's confusion. It took her a moment, but she recognized it – that was the name of her brother's friend. This Bakura was stronger, with a dark tan, but the resemblance was now undeniable.
She'd be safe for one night, wouldn't she? Then, tomorrow, she could introduce this Bakura to the others. "It's nice to meet you," she informed him, smile refusing to fade. "We'll go ahead and head home." It wasn't really both of their homes, she realized, though she opted to not correct herself. "Are you hungry? I could cook us something!"
End Chapter One
