Stay with Me
Chapter Three: Pretty Visitors
Ryoua awakes the next day with a thumbing hangover from her previous celebrating with her "beloved" fiance, not quite remember that she had let the most infamous band of thieves in all of Egypt stay the night in her house and was more than startled when she exited her room, finding men askew throughout the grand place. She attempted to find Bakura, but it was to no avail.
Suddenly, she heard a rather loud crash emerge from her closed door, followed by a low groan; the occupants of the main room she had stepped into, although, remained undisturbed from their sleep- snoring and slobber to their heart's content. Ryoua sighed as she tip-toed over various snoring men in trying to get back to her room; upon opening the door, she peered in, at first seeing nothing, then stepped inside her room, cautiously looking around. Spontaneously, Bakura appeared in her line of vision.
The way she gasped in surprise, her hand moving to her heart, which was beating fast, made him through her a tired grin; this made her cheeks grow red and she returned it with "loving" glare.
Bakura yawned, stretching violently, groaning while doing so. Once finished, his eyes landed on Ryoua once more as he stepped forward, towards her, until he was so close that, if she did not feel so assured that she could trust him, she would feel threatened, although, not only because he was the most wanted (and for good reasons), but because of his one-hundred percent physical advantage that Bakura had over Ryoua.
Do not be miss-characterized, though, she was not weak, she could hold herself against any average men of thief; Bakura was exceptionally strong and well-built- muscles for more than just show, although they represented his strength quite well, no doubt. Do not even mention his superior combat skills, either.
Then, he is suddenly grasping her small shoulders, staring into her eyes with more intensity than before. Bakura seemed to be trying to tell her something- something he could not quite express with this own words.
Ryoua had to resist rolling her eyes, saying slowly, "You are welcome."
She felt the tension ease from the Thief King's body, as well as watched. She lends him the faintest of smiles, resting her hand upon his, "My home is welcome to you and your men anytime. You deserve more, honestly, for saving my life, but I am sad to say I cannot do much more..." She says her words slowly, avoiding his eyes almost entirely.
Bakura speaks for the first time that sunrise, "You must not say things such as that," he says his words just as slowly as her, moving his hands up and down her arms in a soothing motion, avoiding her eyes just as she did him, wearing a ghost of a smile. "You owe me nothing." Then, he's leaning down and she's thinks he is going to kiss her and she doesn't want that because of so many reasons, but she's afraid to push him away- afraid he'll hurt her like Atem does. She remembers, though, that this man is, to some extent, a gentleman- and, although very violent, has never actually hit someone because of such things.
So Ryoua puts her hands on his chest, keeping him at a safe distance. "I'm due to be wed," she says matter-of-factly, thinking it might actually do something.
"And?" He says, quirking an eyebrow as he leans in again, but Ryoua evades him with ease.
"You do realize who I am due to be wed to, correct?" She asks, incredulous, as she backs away slowly, her heart beating in her chest quickly. He stops, thinks, then shrugs once more, which makes Ryoua groan and roll her eyes, "So you do not realize? I must tell, should I not?" She against the wall and suddenly he's chest to chest with her, hands grasping her upper arms intensely, but not in anger.
Bakura stares down at her with something unknown, mumbling, "You can inform me, but I am unsure whether or not the information will be valuable..." He suddenly swoops down and right before their lips touch, she yells it out.
"T-The Prince!"
He pulls back violently, giving her a strange look. "...Huh?"
Ryoua blinks repetitively, stuttering, "I-I am to be wed t-to the Prince..." When she is finally composed, she stands her ground, glaring at Bakura with her hands firmly on her hips.
Bakura grins widely down at her, chuckling quietly, surrendering. "Okay, okay," he says, leaning closer once again, "But I will get you to kiss me one day, I can assure you that." Bakura has this determination in his eyes that makes her breathless.
She glares at him, her cheeks red as she runs her hand through her hair, laughing dryly, "You are too damn determined for your own good. It is going to be your ultimate demise- I can feel it."
"Or my ultimate salvation," He suggests, grinning as widely as ever.
Ryoua gives him a doubtful look before asking, "How so?"
Somehow, Bakura's grin gets wider. "Well, you see, Rye bread," he chuckles, "most people are not born, or rather in you case, adopted into this luxurious lifestyle," he waves his hands to show all the luxury items in the room for example. "Most are born of families like mine-"
"Where the hell are you going with this, Bakura?" Ryoua interjects suddenly, impatient.
He sneers at her, but practically ignores her either way, "-in which we have to work our way up to power- to riches." Bakura smiles something crazy, "And I will say, I am doing pretty damn well, if I may say so myself." He rests his hands on hers, which are still on her hips; her heart is pounding in her chest and she did not realize she was not breathing until she sucks in a breath when their lips brush.
"You will get yourself killed because of me... if the Prince ever finds out you held me so close..." she whispers, her chest aching painfully- her gut twisted in foreboding.
Ryoua realizes in that moment as their lips brush, but do not touch fully, and their hands grasp for one another, she realizes many things. She realizes that Bakura was her only way out of this life, whether she was to join him as a friend or a lover. She understands that any kind of relationship between them was dangerous. Ryoua understands that Bakura might just be infatuated with her at the moment, and that it would be equally as dangerous for her to fall for him.
The real question is, is it better to die with lies of love, or die with actual love?
The band of thieves are nearly out of Ryoua's home when a urgent knock sounds through the bottom floor to the top floor.
Ryoua and Bakura exchange glances and quickly hush the loud mutters of the thieves below, who immediately quiet down. She knows who it is and she begins panicking even more so than before; Ryoua sees Bakura rush a further, but he is obviously not trying to stress about it as much as she is. The knocks become more urgent, more angry.
Despite being in the upper part of her home, Ryoua panics when she hears the door open. She panics despite the fact that there is no possible way Atem could know Bakura was here at the moment- that he could not walk in her home and automatically know that the most infamous band of thieves had stayed there the night before.
"Ryoua," she hears Bakura whisper, grabbing her arms and resting their foreheads together, "I will come back you, I promise."
Bakura was gone and Ryoua was left the sound of heavy footsteps ascending the staircase. The worst part was knowing that Bakura would not return, that she would be left there alone, body shaking, trembling, and heart racing from the undeniable fear that shook her entire being to her very core- a fear that would follow her until death, no doubt.
