Bakura and Duke make their way to the arcade. The sun's rays warm their skin. Bakura walks with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. Duke watches him out of the corner of his eye, but says nothing. They step inside the air conditioned arcade, the sounds of games surrounding them. Duke pays for a bunch of tokens, giving half of them to Bakura in a cup.
"Oh, Dance Dance Revolution! I love that game!" Duke says excitedly, grabbing Bakura and pulling him up onto the dance sensors.
"I don't know if I'm very good at it…" Bakura whispers. Duke smiles at him.
"Won't know until you try!"
They each slip four tokens into the game, and Duke selects the first of two songs. It's slow paced but with a weird beat, and they begin to play. Bakura seems unsure of himself, frowning as he has difficulty hitting the notes. Duke doesn't miss one.
"You pick the next song."
Bakura scrolls through the choices, stopping at the fastest and most difficult song, selecting it. The game loads.
"Uh, are you sure you want to do that one?"
Bakura nods, focusing as the notes begin to appear in rapid succession. He places his hands behind him on the support bar, taking most of the weight off his feet. Duke stumbles over himself, breathing fast as he tries to keep up. A crowd begins to form around them. Bakura is flawless. He moves through the air, sometimes spinning, stepping lightly on each note. Duke watches in awe. He looked amazing. When the song ends, Bakura leans over, gasping for air. The crowd applauds and Duke joins in before putting a hand on Bakura's shoulder.
"That was incredible!"
Bakura smiles, his mood lightened.
"Thanks."
They step off the dance sensors and make their way towards the next game.
After all the tokens are spent, they cash in their tickets. They have just over 5000, and it's enough to get a medium sized stuffed animal. Bakura picks out a black dog with bright green eyes. It reminds him of Duke.
"I should probably be going home now… I can't avoid it forever." Bakura sighs.
"Ok, you know where I live if you need me." Duke hugs Bakura and they go their separate ways.
Bakura makes his way back to the Kaiba mansion. He arrives just as school is getting out, and knows Kaiba and Mokuba will be home shortly. He places the stuffed dog on his bed before going into Kaiba's bedroom. Everything is clean, albeit he was expecting to see blood stained sheets for some reason. He sits on the edge of the bed and waits.
Bakura's eyes dart to the door as Kaiba pushes it, dropping his briefcase and laptop bag on the floor. He notices Bakura sitting on the bed. Bakura stands immediately, making his way to the CEO.
"Kaiba I-" Bakura is silenced by Kaiba pulling him into a tight hug.
"Don't leave me again. I was worried sick about you, Bakura."
Bakura slowly wraps his arms around Kaiba in return.
"I'm sorry… I just- there's so much I need to tell you. Every time I tried you would always silence me."
Kaiba shakes his head.
"Not this time. Let me make it up to you. Come out with me for dinner and we can talk about anything you'd like."
Bakura pulls back, looking up into Kaiba's bright blue eyes.
'Blue Eyes. No wonder he likes the dragon so much. They are both strong, fierce, and cold.'
"Alright. Should we dress up..?"
"No, that won't be necessary. Although, I would prefer if you wore your own clothes and not Duke's."
"Yeah, I guess I should change, huh?" Bakura looks down at his attire. Kaiba nods.
"One moment." Bakura runs out, down the stairs and into his room. He rummages through the new clothes he purchased that are still in their bags. He picks out a tight white t-shirt and black denim pants. He slips out of Duke's clothing and slips on the new ones, pulling his hair out from under the neck of the t-shirt and reaching up to touch the millennium ring.
He runs out to find Kaiba waiting for him at the door, clad in his usual black shirt, pants, and white coat.
"Ready?" Kaiba asks, opening the door. Bakura nods and slips on his new pair of black skate shoes and steps outside. They get into the limo as the driver takes them to the destination.
Bakura steps out and looks up in awe. The restaurant has a French name he can't read nor pronounce. The building is very luxurious, and the people entering and exiting are even more so.
"You told me not to dress up!" Bakura exclaims. Kaiba takes him inside to a candle lit table on the far side of the dining room. They sit across from one another, the waiter placing the menu's on the table.
"Shall I bring you anything to drink, sirs?" The waiter asks. Kaiba smirks and flicks his wrist.
"A bottle of your finest crystal champagne, please."
"M-most certainly!" He runs off to fetch the champagne.
Bakura's eyes skim over the menu and he frowns.
"Is something wrong?"
Bakura looks over his menu to find Kaiba's gaze fixed on him
"Oh, nothing. It's just I can't read French, so I don't know what half of this stuff is…" Bakura trails off. Kaiba stands abruptly and takes a seat in the chair next to Bakura, leaning in close.
"What would you like to know?" Kaiba asks, gaze intently fixed on Bakura.
"Well, what's a 'Boeuf Bourguignon' exactly?" Bakura struggles to pronounce the word. Kaiba corrects him, speaking in a fluent French accent.
"Boeuf Bourguignon is a beef cooked in red wine."
"Okay, and 'Brandade'?"
"Brandade is a seasoned fish."
"What about 'Moules Frites'?"
"Moules Frites are muscles and French fries."
"Hmmm." Bakura thinks intently, "I'll just have the beef in red wine." Kaiba nods and stands, returning to his seat across the table.
"What are you getting?" Bakura asks, folding the menu shut and placing it back on the table.
"Lobster Bisque." Kaiba says indifferently.
"This is all quite expensive. You really didn't have to do this, but thank you." Bakura smiles. Kaiba reaches across the table, placing his hand atop of Bakura's.
"Anything for you."
The waiter returns, interupting them by placing two wine glasses on the table and pouring the champagne into each glass until they are half full. He takes their orders, leaving the bottle on the table before grabbing the menu's and retreating to the kitchen. Kaiba thoughtfully sips at his champagne. Bakura eyes it for a moment before placing the glass to his lips and taking a small sip. It was probably the best thing he had ever tasted, so rich and full of flavor with a carbonated accent.
"Tell me about him."
Bakura pulls the glass away from his lips.
"I'm sorry? Who, exactly?"
"The demon, the one that controls you." Kaiba's gaze is slightly unnerving and it makes Bakura flustered. He knew the question was coming, but still it surprised him. He keeps his eyes downcast.
"I-I don't even know that much about him. I guess it started when my father brought me this back from Egypt," Bakura runs his fingers over the cool gold of the millennium ring, "I began to have nightmares about monsters and pain and sorrow. He first appeared to me in dream exactly one week after I obtained it. He said he was a five thousand year old spirit and that I was his host; he needed me to survive on this plane. He thrives on evil things, like causing pain and committing atrocities. Though sometimes I think he's not entirely evil. He tries to protect me, like you saw from that bully Misha. He used only appear to me in dreams, or speak in my mind, but I fear he's becoming stronger every day, and I can't hold him back anymore. He can take control of my body and trap me within the deepest recesses of my mind, and sometimes even materialize as an entity in this world with a body of his own. At first, he treated me alright. but he became abusive and violent and sadistic. He tormented me from within my mind and sometimes made me do terrible, unforgiveable things. That is part of the reason for cutting myself. He has an insatiable lust and sometimes has had his way with me…" Bakura trails off and rubs his arm, not knowing what else to say.
Kaiba gauges everything Bakura just told him, his fingers folded together.
"I'm so sorry; I would never do anything to hurt you." Bakura looks up at Kaiba, eyes flicking to the thin cut on his cheek. He knows it will scar, but thankfully it will hardly be noticeable.
The waiter returns with their food, setting the plates on the table.
"Bon appetit!" He bows then leaves. Bakura watches Kaiba sip his lobster bisque, blue eyes filled with thought.
"It's a lot to take in, huh?" Bakura asks, hesitantly cutting into his beef. Kaiba says nothing.
"Please say something; you're starting to worry me." Bakura's eyes are filled with concern.
Kaiba sets down the spoon, his gaze meeting Bakura's.
"You think that just because your body is inhabited by some sadistic spirit that I'm going to lose interest in you? Bakura, please," Kaiba crosses his arms, "what do you take me for, some sort of fool?"
Bakura smiles. Even though Kaiba was being sassy, he did admit he wasn't going to leave.
"Thank you." Bakura finally digs into the meal. It's probably one of the best meals he's ever had, and he eats the entire thing graciously. The waiter returns to take their dishes and they decline his offer for desert.
"That reminds me, I have something for you." Kaiba reaches into his pocket. Bakura tilts his head, unsure of what he could possibly be receiving. Kaiba places a bundle of money wrapped in an elastic band on the table in front of Bakura.
"Your paycheque. Don't be spending it all in one place, now."
Bakura eyes widen. There had to be well over a thousand dollars there.
"You're paying me this much?" He asks, shocked. Kaiba smirks.
"Well, you did get a big bonus for being attractive."
