Things That Go Bump In The Night
Chapter One- Vivian
A/N: I just found this rotting away on my hard drive and decided to post it...I don't really remember where I was going with it, so please forgive me if it gets a little wonky. And no, I don't have any idea of when I'll update it.
Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh...or ramen.
Vivian watched silently as Bakura read through her journal, trying to ignore the wrenching pain in her chest. She had done nothing to deserve this; she knew that he was just guessing at who she really was. Her eyes started to burn. 'No!' She thought desperately, 'I can't cry! He'll know!'
"Bakura," Joey growled, advancing on the white-haired boy. "Leave her alone!"
Vivian turned her usually piercing yellow eyes on the blond. He felt her gaze on him and turned to see what she wanted. She shook her head slightly, her face emotionless while she fought tears.
"Are you sure?" Joey asked her incredulously.
"Yes," she said flatly, not taking her eyes off of his until he stood next to her once more.
Bakura finally shut her journal and stood up, an evil smirk on his face. "Well," he began walking towards Vivian, "It looks like we have a vampire in our midst."
Everyone but Bakura gasped and backed away from Vivian, horrified.
Vivian lowered her head. 'They always react like this,' she thought bitterly. 'Like I've suddenly become a different person. I'm still the girl they were friends with.' She bit her lip, not noticing that Bakura now stood directly in front of her until he grabbed her wrists.
"You see?" he whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her skin. "They turned away, just like everyone else."
She shook her head. "No," she moaned, feeling the tears beginning to flow, hot and wet, down her cheeks.
"I'm the only one who's never turned away from you," he continued, tightening his hold on her wrists. "And I never will."
'But you're the only one I don't want,' Vivian wanted to say. Instead she let her head rest on his shoulder, an act of defeat.
"I knew you'd come around," he said smugly. He didn't realize that she was crying until he felt her tears soak through his shirt. His expression softened just a tiny bit, and he slid his hands down until he held both of Vivian's hands in his.
Joey suddenly remembered what had happened to Mai when Dartz had tried to take over the world. 'I know how she feels right now,' he realized, startled. 'How could I put her through that?' He was about to take a step forward and apologize when a familiar crimson energy surrounded Vivian and Bakura. By the time it had dissipated, they were long gone.
"She's gone," Tea said in a shaky voice.
Yugi sat down heavily on one of the high-backed chairs. "How could we just let her leave like that?" he asked.
No one answered him.
"Bakura," Vivian mumbled, picking her head up. When he didn't respond, she tugged her hands out of his and backed away from him.
He blinked at her a few times, and she realized that he must have retreated, leaving Ryou to deal with her. "Vivian?" The confused teen stared at her, probably wondering where he was and how he had gotten there. He looked around. "Where are we?" he asked.
They were, in fact, in Vivian's bedroom. A large, dark room, nearly every surface was either a blood red or dark brown, creating the somewhat unsettling illusion that everything was covered in dried blood. Her bed was an old-fashioned four-poster canopy bed, the canopy a rich brown velvet. Matching curtains had been added recently, so that Vivian could have some privacy if someone else was in the room with her.
On the other side of the room was a large mahogany desk, covered in papers and Duel Monsters cards, as well as Vivian's laptop computer. A tall black lamp stood next to the desk, which Vivian turned on while Ryou gaped.
"If you must be shocked, can you at least close your mouth?" Vivian said, half teasing. She was still hurting from her other friends' reaction to what she was to put a lot of effort into acting happy. Her heart felt like it was on fire, something she hadn't felt since Bakura became known as the "Thief King." Just thinking the absurd title brought back painful memories, memories she thought she had buried long ago. They had hovered just beneath the surface ever since the night she had first seen Ryou, who she had thought bore an uncanny resemblance to her old flame. She froze; hand still on the lamp, as those recent memories rushed to the surface.
'It's really cold tonight,' Vivian thought to herself, pulling her long dark green coat tighter around her as she hurried to Yugi's house. She smiled, thinking of her slightly naïve friend- the first she had made in hundreds of years. She pretended it was just the bone-chilling cold that brought tears to her eyes, but deep down she knew what they really were- tears of joy.
She finally arrived at the Kame Game Shop, the store Yugi's grandfather owned. Suddenly nervous, she knocked softly on the door. What if Yugi had changed his mind about hanging out with her tonight? It had happened before. But no, within seconds he appeared, opening the door and ushering her inside with a smile that warmed her more than the shop's heaters ever could.
"I'm glad you could make it," he said over his shoulder as he led her upstairs.
"You're sure I'm not intruding?" she asked nervously, playing with one of the buttons on her coat.
"I wouldn't have invited you if you were," he reassured her.
She stopped short when they got to his living room, seeing four others from their class. She fought to remember their names, which proved unnecessary, as Yugi introduced them seconds later, not noticing (or pointedly ignoring) the look of pure horror on Vivian's face.
"Vivian, this is Tea," he indicated the girl sitting on the couch, who waved, "Joey," the blond on the floor by the TV grinned at her, "Tristan," the brunette with the funny haircut nodded, "and Ryou." The boy with white hair smiled. "Guys, this is Vivian."
Vivian was hardly paying attention to her host. She was staring at the boy named Ryou, shocked. 'He-he couldn't be…' she thought faintly. 'Could he?' She belatedly realized that she was being rude, and felt herself blush. "Hello," she mumbled, following Yugi's lead and taking a seat on the couch. She found herself sitting between Tea and Ryou. She turned to Tea, too unnerved to talk to Ryou at the moment.
"Vivian? Are you feeling okay?"
Vivian jumped. Ryou was standing right next to her, staring at her with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm fine," she said, pulling her hand back. She was unpleasantly surprised when she discovered that she was shaking. That memory had been surprisingly painful- that was the first night she had ever spent with her friends. She could feel herself slipping into a heavy depression, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Do you need to lie down?" There was concern in the British boy's soft voice, which somehow brought tears to Vivian's eyes instead of comforting her. Seeing this, the his eyes widened in alarm. "Do you want me to go?"
"No!" Vivian cried, grabbing his arm as he turned to leave. That was the last thing she wanted right now- for another friend to turn their back on her and walk away, even if it was only to another room. "Please stay," she begged, no longer making any attempt to hold back the tears.
"Alright," he soothed her, still looking slightly panicked. He obviously wasn't used to dealing with overemotional girls. "I won't go anywhere." He eased her bruising grip on his arm and led her to the bed, where he forced her to sit down.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into his chest. He hesitated, then began to stroke her long brown hair with one hand, the other going around her shoulders.
'I thought I was stronger than this,' Vivian thought. 'You'd think that I would be used to this by now.' But it was just the opposite, especially because she had never grown so close to any human.
When Ryou stopped moving, she looked up, confused. From the sudden change in his long white hair, she was willing to bet that she was looking at Bakura right now. Instead of pulling away (which would have been the smart thing to do), she rested her forehead on his chest, listening to his heart beat.
"What are you doing?" he asked, sounding slightly amused.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" she responded sarcastically.
"It looks," he pushed away so hard that she fell over, then climbed onto the bed, "like you're being affectionate."
She turned away from him, knowing that she was blushing. "I wasn't."
He chuckled. "You know I know you better than that," he said, pulling her towards him despite her resistance.
"That's the problem," she muttered rebelliously, trying to ignore the fact that he had pulled her right into his lap.
"Oh? Why is that a problem?" he asked teasingly, moving her bangs out of her face.
Vivian froze. She could hear Yugi and the others coming up the hallway, wondering which room was hers. For the first time, she could feel their emotions- sorrow, regret, and urgency chief among them. They felt bad about how they had reacted to Bakura's news and were coming to apologize. She freed herself from Bakura's grasp and approached the door. She forced herself to wait until they were right in front of it to open it, obviously startling them.
"Vivian," Yugi began, but Tea pushed him out of the way and grabbed one of Vivian's hands.
"We're sorry," the brunette said quietly. "We were just surprised. It won't happen again," she promised.
Vivian stared at the girl. 'She really means it,' she thought, the pain in her chest receding-for now. Vivian purposefully waited before answering, taking sadistic pleasure in seeing them squirm nervously. "I know," she finally said. "It's happened before." 'But this is the only time anyone's ever come back,' she added silently. They didn't need to know that.
Tea smiled. "So…"
"I forgive you," Vivian said, drawing the other girl into a hug. She could feel Bakura growing impatient in the room behind her. Right when she and Tea stepped away from each other, he hopped off the bed and walked towards the door. Vivian quickly slammed it shut, sealing it with her magic as an extra precaution.
Yugi blinked. "Why did you do that?" he asked.
Vivian let out a nervous laugh. "No reason," she said, wincing when Bakura started to bang on the door.
"Let me out, woman!" he roared.
The others stared at her, shocked.
"You locked Bakura in your room?" Tea asked, sweatdropping.
"Uh, yeah."
"Why?"
"Um…" Vivian scoured her mind for something to distract them. "Let's have dinner!" She herded them back downstairs and into the dining room, not removing the seal from her bedroom until she was well hidden in the kitchen's walk-in pantry.
Her efforts proved futile, because Bakura stormed straight into the kitchen and threw open the pantry door. He spotted her almost immediately and dragged her out of the closet.
"Um, hi?" she said hopefully. Maybe he wasn't mad at her.
Apparently he wasn't, because he slid one arm around her waist so she couldn't escape, brushed her bangs out of her face, and gently touched his lips to hers.
Unfortunately, Joey chose that moment to offer help to make dinner. "Whoa!" he shouted, immediately misunderstanding the situation. "Get offa her, ya creep!" His shouts brought the rest of the gang running, and they gaped at the scene before them.
Bakura obligingly stepped back, but his eyes stayed locked on Vivian's, who appeared shocked but pleased. Satisfied, he retreated into the Millennium Ring, leaving Ryou to deal with their friends.
"What happened?" Ryou asked, seeing his friends glaring at him while Vivian zoned out in front of the pantry.
Tea was the first to speak. "You kissed Vivian," she said, having to fight back laughter at the look on Ryou's face.
Ryou put his hands up in an "I surrender" gesture. "It wasn't me!" he cried, horrified. "I swear!"
Vivian smacked him. "Would kissing me really be that bad?" she snapped.
"Um…can I not answer that?" Ryou asked, taking a step back from her.
Vivian took the illusion off of her fangs and grinned at him, almost-but not quite- giggling when his face paled.
"Vivian," Yugi scolded, his voice suddenly deeper than it had been a few minutes ago. "That is not funny."
She put the illusion back in place, pouting. "I'm sorry," she said to Ryou. "Hug?" He warily accepted the hug. Vivian pulled back when he did, but quickly placed a chaste kiss on his lips, her own petty revenge.
Everyone laughed at the shocked expression on the boy's face as they went back into the other room, apparently deciding that Vivian could take care of herself.
The instant they were gone, Bakura was back, smirking. "Did you enjoy my little gift?" he teased, watching her dig around in the pantry in search of her ever-present instant ramen.
"Maybe," she said evasively, emerging with an armful of chicken-flavored ramen packages, which she dumped into a giant pot on the stove.
"There's more where that came from," he said suggestively, dodging the water she threw at him.
"You pervert," she accused, filling the pot up with water (a bit more than necessary because she was distracted) and turning the burner on.
"Naturally," he said proudly, catching her as she walked by him in the direction of the fridge. He leaned in for another kiss, but she wriggled out of his arms.
"I have to make dinner," she said sternly.
"What's taking so long, Viv?" Joey called from the dining room.
Vivian heard Tea hiss, "Joey! It's only been three minutes!" She giggled, imagining the blond sulking in his chair.
Bakura noticed her reaction. "What's so funny?" he asked, tugging her away from the open fridge.
"He called me 'Viv,'" she giggled, not fighting as Bakura pulled her to him. Instead, she slid the box of peas she had taken out of the fridge up the back of his shirt, laying it against his warm skin.
The poor teen yelped and jumped back, causing the peas to fall to the floor. "That wasn't nice," he growled.
"Well, stop flirting with me," Vivian retorted, heating the peas in the microwave. "Go wait with the others." Without giving him a chance to protest, she shoved him out of the kitchen.
A few minutes later she emerged from the kitchen, followed by ramen, peas, and a bowl and chopsticks for each of them, all of which glowed her signature crimson. Sometime between being forced out of Vivian's kitchen and finding a seat at the table, Ryou had been switched out yet again.
Vivian noted this with interest. Why was Bakura so shy all of a sudden? She put the food on the table before seating herself between Joey and Tea. She always seemed to end up next to Tea.
The next twenty minutes consisted mainly of Vivian picking at her ramen and watching as Joey inhaled half the food by himself.
'Why does Bakura want me back now?' Vivian wondered later that night. She lay in her bed, having shown everyone else to the very few livable guest rooms she could find. She jumped when someone drew the curtain back and lay down next to her, only mildly surprised to see that it was Bakura.
"Trying to avoid me?" he asked in a whisper, pressing himself up against her back and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Trying to get you to socialize," she whispered back, feeling herself blush at the contact.
"Hmm."
"She could almost hear him frowning into her hair. She had never really accepted the fact that he was a loner, always forcing him into social situations. "What are you thinking?" she asked, turning herself so that she could bury her face in his shirt. For some reason he always smelled different from Ryou; he had kept his smell, the smell that she loved.
"I don't like the pharaoh or his friends," Bakura said, stating the obvious.
Vivian grinned. "I don't care," she murmured, "You need to be polite."
"Why am I going to be polite to someone I'm going to kill?"
"Because you're in my house, and I say so," Vivian said haughtily. "You're not going to kill anyone in my house." She added, tugging on his ear.
"So I can kill him when we leave?" Bakura asked, grabbing her wrist and holding her hand away from his ear. He hated it when she did that.
"No. You cannot ever kill him," she snapped, pulling her hand in a futile effort to free her wrist. She finally gave up.
"If you say so," Bakura murmured, before gently placing his lips over hers, grinning inwardly when she returned the kiss eagerly.
A/N: Well, there you have it. Please review and tell me what you think. And preferably not just "OMG it's so cute[insert fangirl squeal here" or something like that.