Blue: ~speaks out to her readers with great cheerfulness~ "Hi everyone! Before I begin with chapter 3, I want to thank my family and friends for their support in my time of misery during this last Thanksgiving Day, but more importantly, I want to thank the awesome Mighty Shade and the lovely Lady Jasmine for my first two reviews."
~She blinks… she blinks some more…her eyes begin to water… and then she throws herself at her computer and starts crying like a maniac~
"Oh, thank you for caring you guys!" ~sniff…sniff…~ "From this day forward I promise to review each and every story I happen read on FF." ~sniff even more~ "You have no idea how horrible it is to hunger for some feedback! Especially when there is a certain someone who won't stop making fun of you by saying that your writing is nothing but a lousy waste of time! Which reminds me…"
~Looks around defensively but finds no one in the empty to room. ~
"I wonder were that sorry excuse for a partner is?" ~she whispers to herself~ "Actually, now that I think about it. I haven't seen my Yami at all this last couple of days. I wonder what he is up to… Oh well, never mind! Lets continue with the story shall we?"
The Prophet
Chapter 3: "Why do I hear laughter in my head?"
By Blue
Téa Gardner was sulking in her Chemistry class while waiting for the teacher to arrive to the classroom. She knew that she had no right to feel jealous about Yugi liking a girl, or even Yami for that matter, but still, she couldn't help it. The situation was just beginning to drive her nuts, as her feelings for the two seemed to increase with each day. The boys on the other hand, where not helping her to decide as both of them seem to care for her very much yet none ever gave any real signs of liking her in a romantic way. As her mind kept wondering off to Yami and Yugi she missed the sight of one of her friends entering the classroom and waving hello.
"Téa? Téa…" Said Ryou Bakura before tapping on her shoulder. Téa finally snapped back to reality and greeted her friend with a smile.
"Oh, hi Ryou!"
"Are you alright? You seemed very worried about something." Bakura asked a little concerned. He didn't expect any of his friends to have a problem on the very first day of school.
"Oh, is nothing really. I was just wondering—Hey! Maybe you can help me!"
"I'll be glad to help you," he exclaimed with enthusiasm a little too quickly.
"With what exactly?" He then asked while sitting in a stool next to her.
"How would you describe your Yami, Bakura? Would you say he is a complete different person or just a different personality?" Bakura blinked a few times before answering. The question had taken him greatly by surprise. For a moment he wondered if his Yami was listening to their conversation, but then he figured that it really didn't mattered at all. He had decided long ago to never let himself be intimidated by his darker half again.
"Well… um… I don't think of Yami and myself as being one and the same person. I mean… I know he is supposed to be like this dark part of me, or something like that. And I know that he hasn't been his mean evil old self since Yugi's Yami told him off but… I don't think I'll ever be as close to him as Yugi is with his Yami." Bakura looked away sadly for a moment and then Téa felt guilty for lowering his mood.
"I'm sorry Ryou. I didn't mean to get you down."
Boy Téa, you can be such a klutz sometimes!
She thought to herself. She knew Ryou was very sensitive when talking about the dark spirit his millennium ring. Even though he had never spoken badly about Bakura they all knew that someway or another his yami had made him suffer.
"I wasn't thinking when I asked that question." She continued with her apology.
"Yeah, I know." Ryou said casually and then snickered devilishly when he realized what was bothering Téa.
"You where thinking about Yugi, weren't you?" He continued to use a casual tone as to trick her friend into talking some more about herself.
"Yeah… Is just that, Yugi is been acting so strong and confident lately, and Yami can be so sweet and innocent at times it makes me wonder if they— Ryou Bakura you slime! You tricked me!" Ryou began to laugh fondly at Téa's embarrassment while dodging her punches at the same time.
"Hey I didn't do anything! You where the one babbling your mouth away!" Téa stopped attacking Ryou to cover her blushing face with her hands.
"Oh my God! I can't believe I said all that!"
"Relax… Is not like it's a big secret. Everybody can see that the two of you are attracted to each other."
"You really think he likes me?" Téa asked very surprised and still blushing.
"Of course…"
"Good Morning students…" They heard the voice of the teacher say as he came walking through the door and towards his desk.
"Good morning sensei" Some students replied while others looked for a place to sit.
"Before we begin, I want you to take a good look at the students sitting at your table, for they will become your assigned partners for the rest of the school year. If any of you wish to switch places with someone now will be the time to do so." Some of the students stood up to change their sits but mostly only those who where sitting by themselves. Every table had space for tree students but most of the groups consisted of only two. Téa and Bakura looked at each other very pleased with their pairing.
"Say, Ryou… Is there someone you like?" Téa whispered playfully but Ryou only smiled at her question. He though she was only tying to tease him.
"Come on, you can tell me! Is it a girl or a boy?" This question Ryou did take seriously as he almost fell from the stool he was sitting on.
"What the HELL makes you think that I would be interested in a BOY?" He spited out immediately almost loud enough for the others in the classroom to hear. Fortunately the students where still making enough noise for his comment to pass unnoticed. Téa looked at Ryou surprised by his reaction and very embarrassed to have offended him.
"Well… I… You remember last weak when we all went to the beach?" She began to say in the form of a confession.
"Yeah… What about it?" Ryou's left eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance.
"Well… there was this time when you weren't around… and Mai commented something about you looking hot in that swimsuit..." Bakura then blushed a little while remembering that he had worn a pair of black tight scuba pants that day. He had barrowed them from his yami, just because he had not found anything else to wear.
"We all knew she had mostly just said that to make Joey jealous, but then the guys and I began to wonder why you have never had a girlfriend or even talked that much about girls."
"And your best conclusion was that I was gay?" Ryou exclaimed in indignation.
"No… that was Bakura's suggestion." Immediately after this was said, Ryou's aura turned black as he heard an explosion of mocking laughter coming from his yami's soul room.
"Why do I hear laughter in my head?"
Now the laughter increased to an almost hysterical level, that he had never heard his yami reach before.
I'm glad that you are amused.
Ryou sent the sarcastic mental message to his yami.
"Don't worry Ryou… I'm sure no one took his comment seriously." Téa also laughed a little at his friend. She had not expected Ryou to be so annoyed by something so trivial.
Now, don't be like that Ryou…
The dark spirit from his millennium ring spoke mockingly to his light by the use of their mind link.
After all… I was only following your advice.
Bakura frown in resentment towards his pestering yet ever present companion.
I asked you to try and have fun with my friends! Not to lie and humiliate me in public!
Ryou blurted out angrily.
Well I for one thought it was fun.
Bakura responded flatly, as if he could care less for partner's angry tone.
"In any case," Téa continued to speak.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"What question?" Ryou asked, while returning his attention to the matter at hand.
"Who is it that you like?" She asked seriously this time. Even though she had mocked him earlier, she really did cared about her friend's feelings.
"Well…" Ryou stalled for a moment in thought.
"I don't think I like anyone in particular at the moment."
"Really? Why not?" Téa asked even more curious than before.
"Well, is not that I am picky with girls, like some people…" Said in a scolding way. The comment was obviously directed to his yami.
"But… I guess I just haven't found the right one." Téa's eyes suddenly sparkled with adoration. She couldn't believe there was a boy who still believed in true love.
"Oh, Ryou that is so sweet!" She said with a deep sigh while Ryou could have sworn he heard Yami Bakura making heaving noises on the background.
"So what kind of girl are you looking for?" Asked Téa with great enthusiasm. She was already planning to match Ryou with some friend of hers.
"I don't know… I just—" The rest of Ryou's words disappeared from his mind as he averted the captivating presence of a new arrival to their classroom.
"Oh yes! I almost forgot." The teacher said after noticing the girl who was standing in the doorway. The girl came slowly inside the classroom and into the view of the rest of the students. Téa them understood why Ryou had been rendered speechless. The girl seemed to have that effect on people.
"Class… I want you to welcome a new student to our school, Miss June Hashikawa…" They girl bowed slightly as she was introduced by her new teacher and promptly directed herself to find a place to sit.
"Just a moment Miss Hashikawa…" She was stopped in her tracks at her teacher's request.
"It is customary for new students to tell the class a little about themselves." The teacher explained.
"Oh… I am sorry." June excused herself for her unintentional rudeness. For such a young looking girl she held in her voice the strength and confidence of a young woman.
"Well… As you may have guessed by now, I am not only new to this school but to your country as well. I just recently moved here with my family, so if you see me acting strange or just plain silly, don't mind me at all, I have jet lots to learn about your customs and social etiquettes. Why, just a few minutes ago I finally understood what sempai really meant. All this while I though it was some kind of cool nickname, or something." She said with a hint of humor making some of the students laugh a little as well as her teacher.
"Miss Hashikawa is actually being very modest." The teacher added.
"This remarkable young lady has never been to an actual normal school before yet she qualified so highly in her aptitude test that it was recommended that she would be placed at least one grade ahead of her age." All the students began to whisper between themselves while June blushed slightly.
"Well thank for your time Miss Hashikawa. You may sit were ever you please. I'm sure anyone would be happy to have you in their study group." As soon as the teacher said this, many of the boys began to eagerly call on the girl to sit at their table. Ryou Bakura would have loved to have her sit at his table as well, but he was still too enticed with the girl's beauty to say anything coherent. At the sight of so many places to pick from June remain hesitant for a moment until surprisingly a girl also spoke out to her from a corner of the room.
"Hey June! Come sit with us! There is plenty of room for you here!" Ryou couldn't believe what Téa had done. Not only had she asked the cutest girl he had ever seen to sit at their table but she had also moved from her original place so June could sit right next to him.
"Téa! What do you think your doing?" Ryou asked quickly but silently.
"Making a new friend…" She said innocently.
And getting you a girlfriend…
She then added silently with mischievously delight. June, recognizing who the girl was, began to walk towards to sit at her table.
"Hi… I don't think we have been properly introduced. I'm June Hashikawa." Said the girl while extending her right hand to shake Téa's.
"Hi, I'm Téa Gardner, and this is my friend Ryou Bakura." June then turned to look at the male student sitting at his other side and greeted him with a timid smile.
"Nice to meet you Ryou!" She extended the straight formal greeting while Ryou on the other hand sounded nervous and almost stammering.
"Nice, to meet you too, June"
Téa observed in amusement, as the two students reacted to each other. They would have probably stayed staring at one another, if not for the distraction of a few ill comments from some of the other nearby male students.
"This is not fair! How come Bakura gets to sit with the two cutest girls in the class." A boy said to another just loud enough for the students to hear.
"Don't worry about Bakura, I heard that he was gay." Another boy said. His comment had been followed by the subtle yet distinctive sound of a wooden pencil braking in Ryou's hand. June tried to act as if nothing had happened while Téa had gasped in surprise and then turned around to glare at the gossiping boys.
"You don't say! Well at least that would explain a few things." Ryou had tried desperately to remain calm but after this last comment was said he lost complete control of his temper.
"God damn it! I am NOT gay!" Ryou said this time loud enough for the entire classroom to hear.
"Mister Bakura!" The teacher said quickly, in a strong commanding way, making Ryou realize his mistake and jump on his sit.
"Would you like to be the first student to get detention this year?" The man threatened.
"Ah—no, no sir!" Ryou answered quickly feeling extremely embarrassed.
"Well then, you better mind your mouth, sit up straight and pay attention!" Ryou immediately lowered his head and did as he was told.
"As for the rest of the class, I want to make very clear that Mister Bakura's sexual preference is nobody's business but his own." Ryou was too mortified to look in anyone's direction. He wanted nothing more than to bang his head against something hard until he lost consciousness.
"Now the next person I catch speaking during my class will be punished with one moth of moping duty, is that understood?"
"Yes Sensei…" All the students answered quickly except for the tree sitting at Ryou's table. The girls wanted to comfort the poor boy, who looked mortified beyond belief, but they where to scared of their teacher to do so at the moment.
Yami Bakura, on the other hand, felt the need to say a few words to his partner.
"Wow Ryou! I have never heard you curse in public before. You make me so proud."
They only thing that could lighten Ryou's spirits at this time would be for the ground to swallow him up, or for his yami to choke on his words and die a painful death.
"Leave me alone Yami! This is all your fault!" He said very angry to his yami.
"Hey! That bit about you being gay was only meant as I joke. I never expected anyone to actually believe me." Said Bakura in his defense. He had come to care a lot for Ryou over the years but he wasn't about to say it any time soon or even admit that he had done something wrong and apologize.
"Besides, I wasn't the one to spread the rumor around the school. You have only your so-called friends to blame for that."
"I told you to leave me the fuck alone!" Ryou shouted furiously through his mind link. His voice made all the walls in his yami's soul room tremble.
"Wow! Two curses in one day? It seems I'm making quite a good influence in you after all."
Ryou then took off his millennium ring to harshly throw it inside his school bag. It was easier for him to ignore his yami and block him out of his mind when he wasn't so close to the magical artifact.
"I guess I went a little too far with that one." Yami Bakura said to himself while feeling some remorse for causing Ryou to speak to him so heatedly.
Of course, this was nothing new. This had not been the first fight the boys have ever had, or the most brutal. It was kind of a routine for them to fight about every little thing now and then. Bakura had even taken a liking to beat Ryou into a bloody pulp, just for the hell of it. But Ryou had never fought back before, or even dared to raise his voice to his yami in the past.
Many things had changed since the Duel Monsters Kingdom Tournament. The boys had become friends of some sort, and the spirit had often wondered why his hikari had put up with his abusiveness for so long. After Yami Yugi had put him in his place, he had kept pestering Ryou from time to time but only because he wanted the boy to develop a stronger character. He cared for Ryou so much that he didn't want anyone to be able to hurt him as he once did. But now that he had personally tasted the results of his work, he felt deeply ashamed of his behavior. Ryou had always treated him with nothing but infinite patience, but even the most kind of people had their braking point. He really wanted to repay his partner for all the kindness he had showed him time over time. He wanted to make his hikari happy. The only problem was that he didn't know what to do, or how to feel.
TBC
Blue: ~ keeps typing down on her computer with enthusiasm when she suddenly she notices his Yami staring at her from the doorway in his signature pose (that is: leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a slight frown in his face) ~ "Oh! Hello Yami! How long have you been standing there?"
Yami Blue: ~ closes his eyes for a moment and answers her question nonchalantly. ~ "For a while… I'll leave if that's what you want."
Blue: ~ feeling a little heartache because of his Yami's aloof demeanor towards her. ~ "Don't be silly Yami of course you can stay. Hey, and guess what! I found out his morning that my story got two very friendly reviews! Isn't that cool?"
Yami Blue: ~ widens eyes for a second in surprise and then continues to stare at her with his usual frown. ~ "Well that depends… are you planning on beating me over the head you with each one of them?"
Blue: ~ blinks a few times in surprise and confusion. ~ "Whatever made you think that I would do something like—" ~ she stops talking after remembering what she had said a couple of days ago. ~ "Oh, yeah… I did say that didn't I." ~ she looks away for a moment in embarrassed and then comes up with an idea to brighten their moods. ~ "I'll tell you what. If I were to turn off my computer right now and forget all the mean things we said to each other that day, would you spent the rest of the afternoon playing with me?"
Yami Blue: ~Yami's heart skipped a beat in delight but felt the need to cover his raging excitement by questioning her proposal. ~ "Do I get to pick this game we are to play?"
Blue: ~Smiles nervously back at him. ~ "Sure… whichever you want."
Yami Blue: ~ softens his features to smile playfully at his hikari. ~ "Then you got a deal." ~Blue pleased by his Yami's answer saves the file she was working on and then turns off her computer. ~