Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.
Enjoy.
She had heard he was back in town.
It was raining hard that night with little sign of stopping.
The message had not been relayed directly to her, but the protracted grape vine of information managed to run seamlessly through her companions and sometimes even the folks of Domino City. Anzu was not too bothered by the situation- him being in the city was a far cry from worrying to her. And unlike her friends who had taken a certain measure of precautions to fill in the 'what if's' and other petty excuses they had of being robbed or murdered, Anzu had not.
She refused to let the presence of a certain white headed male dictate how she spent her life in the city.
Anzu was a free bird. She liked a sense of freedom and liberty in her life- she often found that she took great pleasure in dictating the situation her way. And perhaps it was that asinine reasoning and that zealous attitude of hers that had landed her in the current and rather unanticipated situation. And maybe, if she had not decided to take cover on a ship that storm ridden night- the same night a certain white haired man was roaming the streets- she would find herself drinking a warm cup of tea on her living room couch. Perhaps even indulging to a nice hot bath or yielding to Mai's many requested 'girls-only' sleepovers.
Maybe.
But all those thoughts had abruptly ceased to exist the moment she set foot on that ship. She hadn't planned on staying of course. It had been a short sighted, in the moment decision when Anzu had rushed onto the anchored ship, fully intent on not getting caught in the storm. She had quickly nestled herself well below the deck in a corner cabin that reeked of old fish and sewage as the storm waves rocked the ship eternally. Time passed slowly and the rocking ship had picked up a steady rhythm that had Anzu's eye drooping and body relinquishing the cold steel floor beneath her. She couldn't have determined at what point she had fallen asleep. But Anzu recalled, quite clearly, hearing the sound of heavy footsteps moving with increasing momentum on the deck above as she had begun dozing off.
Who else was moving around at this hour?
The question invaded her mind briefly before she let sleep consume her.
Anzu let out a muffled groan as she squinted her eyes at the strong rays of sunlight falling from the tiny metal bars of a window located on the wall. Letting out a large yawn, she tried to push herself up, but failed with no avail. Muttering curses under her breath, she further opened her eyes, trying to get a clear grasp on her surroundings. "Wha-huh?" Her eyes shot open when she noted her lack of recognition of the surrounding. She gave a painful gasp, and clutched her back in discomfort. What had she been sleeping on?
Slowly and carefully, Anzu brought herself to her feet, making sure not to pull any part of her muscles that would cause more strain to her sore body. She took an inventory of the small room she was in: for one, it was all metal from ceiling to floor. That certainly explained her rather uncomfortable sleeping experience and painful aftermath. Aside from a small window, the room offered a rather dull sight that consisted primarily of dusty old crates and ragged looking cloths that did little to cover anything except some dust here and there.
"Is anyone there?" Anzu was not expecting a response; her question hung in the air like dead weight. A quashed silence fell over her again.
It didn't last for long.
Panic spread through her body like waves of fire when she heard a small creak and the slight shuffle of feet behind the shadows of the crates. Spinning around in the direction of the source, she steadied herself and backed away, as slowly as possible. High on alert, her voice came out stronger that she expected. "Come out, I can hear you."
Holding her breath she conjured up her thoughts of the footsteps she had heard before sleeping. Evidently, whoever it was had clearly stayed the night as well and that only made Anzu feel all the more perturbed by their presence.
Minutes of silence passed before Anzu was beginning to feel silly for being so hyperaware of someone that probably wasn't even there. Perhaps she was seeing things. Sighing in relief, she rubbed her forehead and released her rigid stance. That's right, there's nothing here she reassured herself, stretching a bit before deciding to head back out to the city and check the storms damage. Her thoughts were quickly cut short.
Another crack - louder this time - had her eyes widening once more.
She didn't speak this time, aware that she was no longer alone in the cabin. In painstakingly slow movements she turned around, jaws hanging open in shock and her saucer like eyes widening even further. Mouth agape, she pointed an accusing finger at him, "what're you doing here?"
Bakura's eyes glared at her with a strange mix of amusement and annoyance. "I should be the one asking that." His voice came out cold, harsh and low, and Anzu almost shuddered at the sound of hearing it again after so long.
"How long have you been there?"
"long enough," he replied, avoiding her nosy questions.
He stepped out of the shadows and leaned casually on the wall, taking in the appearance of the shaking woman before him. He smirked when he noted her lack of proper attire: shorts, a plain navy t-shirt and a large coat over it. Well, if anything the coat indicated that she had been prepared for the rain, and her short clothing suggested that she had originally been dressed for something along the lines of 'boiling hot'.
"Not dressed for a ship I see."
His off-handed comment caught Anzu off-guard yet did little to ease the growing- and somewhat existing- animosity between them. She stared at him through jaded eyes, her stance once again rigid both out of fear and lack of words exchanged. Anzu couldn't recall the last time she had seen him- it had been too long ago and she was certain whatever vague memory she held of him was nothing worth remembering. Despite this, Anzu had immediately recognized his arctic snow hair and steel brown gaze that divulged her nothing. She noted he had grown considerably taller and once again held a seemingly great air of mystery about him. Not lost in her own musings, Anzu saw the he had silently been watching her as well. Her eyes followed his to the wetness that was her clothing.
She quickly zipped up her jacket, ignoring the redness crawling up her cheeks. Anzu glanced back at him through her damp bangs, "I need to go."
Being decidedly shocked by his presence, Anzu was eager to leave his monotonous company and although she wouldn't verbally admit it to a living soul, quite frankly, he scared the crap out of her. His permanent frown and hardened face accomplished little in slowing her rapid heart beating. It was almost embarrassing, even more so if he could hear it.
She glanced up at him through her long lashes only to find Bakura still assessing her as though he were working out some complex mathematical formula in his head. She swallowed before slowly making her way around him, silently hoping her wouldn't maniacally lunge at her and murder on the spot. He did nothing of the sort.
"You can't." His deep voice rumbled through the walls of the small cabin.
Anzu whipped her head around, her gaze drawn questioningly to his passive face, "What do you mean I can't leave? Of course I can leave," she responded, as her voice rose another octave.
This time he turned to face her, "No you can't woman."
Woman? Anzu eyes narrowed at the amorphous use of the noun.
Veiling her fear, Anzu steadied herself and glared at him, "I'm leaving. Don't try and stop me." Without another doubt or flicker of hesitation, Anzu made her up the small set of stairs leading to the main deck. Upon reaching the top, Anzu was faced with a confusing predicament that left her mouth agape in horror.
"If you're looking for land, its 200 kilometers behind us," Bakura's cold voice drawled from somewhere behind her. He had silently followed her out of the cabin below, knowing the full scope of what was yet to happen. Anzu closed her eyes and absorbed the sounds around her; seagulls, the sound of slamming waves and that peculiar, yet oddly amiable smell of the ocean was not lost on her. Her eyes shot open at the sound of his feet moving once again.
She gripped the railing tightly to steady herself as Anzu came to terms with the situation. "Wh-why are we out here? Why aren't we back at the city port? Where is this ship headed?" Her questions came out breathless as she slowly turned back to her reluctant companion who looked equally displeased at this point.
"Always with the questions," Bakura hissed, growing impatient, "we aren't going anywhere woman. This is my ship, which I control, meaning that you are a stow away who I found sleeping like the dead in my cabins." Anzu stared at his, eye widening in fear, as she understood the meaning behind his words.
"You're trespassing." His tone was cold, clipped and too the point.
Anzu took a steady step back towards the ships rails. "I didn't know someone was using this ship."
"Well that's too bad." He took a step forward, closer to her.
Her breath hitched in alarm as she watched him, "this was the only place I could run to at that moment," she argued.
"Bullshit. If you had walked further you would have found a place."
Anzu clutched the lapels of her coat, drawing them closer around her. "I can't stay here," she muttered looking away.
"Then jump."
Her cerulean blue eyes snapped back to meet the hard brown ones that were boring into her skull. "Never!" She shouted indignantly, "take me back."
"What?" Bakura asked, thinking he had misheard her absurd request. It occurred to Bakura that she was under the deluded impression that he was personally going to take her back to that god forsaken city for reasons even he could not come up with. He inwardly scoffed at the idea. She's full of it.
She nodded slowly and fiddled with the button on her coat, "take me back, I mean, we can't be that far from the port!" Her statement was simply challenged with a raised brow.
"Okay, fine, we're far from the port, I get it," she muttered, "but I can't stay here-"
"Whether you like it or not woman, you're stuck here with me," he interrupted smoothly, ignoring any pitiful reasons she had. Anzu stared at his seething face with something along the lines of shock and growing anger, "But who knows how long you're going to take, and I don't even know where you're going and-"
"I'll drop you off at the next island port. As for where I'm going, that's none of your concern," Bakura growled.
A look of something akin to horror dawned her face, "what do you mean drop off?"
He gave her one last cold stare before walking away. "You came here by your own will. I'm not your baby-sitter friendship preacher." Anzu nodded numbly, knowing that this was the best she could get out of him without putting her life on the line- more so than it already was.
She bit her lip in nervousness and rubbed her arms as though she were suddenly cold, "w-what do I do in the mean time?"
"I don't fucking know. Just don't get in my way." And with that, he stalked away, his footsteps slowly faded as he disappeared down into the dark halls below the deck.
This time, Anzu did not follow. She merely slumped her body against the wall and let of a deep sigh. It occurred to her that he referred to her as something she hadn't heard in a while- friendship preacher. She would have laughed, if the situation weren't so serious. She was currently stranded on a boat with the one person she wanted to avoid and it seemed, that if she didn't take great precautions now, he would probably get around to killing her too. Anzu silently wondered why he hadn't already. She sat there bewildered by her own thoughts- was she disappointed that he seemed uninterested in her and apparently showed little signs of violently disposing of her?
Holding in a groan, Anzu threw her head against the wall.
What have I gotten myself into?
Author Note: This story might look very familiar to some of you and that's probably because it it, however I hadn't updated it for over a year and I never came back to it until now. I've rewritten most of the chapters and plot has slightly shifted, hence the repost. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, please don't forget to REVIEW, COMMENT, or leave any questions you have, I'd like to here your thoughts on this story so far, old readers and new.
As always, thank you!