Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to Yu-gi-oh, but I did beg wildly for fifteen minutes or so to get Kei-kun to buy me volume 30…
Fairydust
PM: I hope the last chapter wasn't too bad. It was giving me lots of problems… took me over two weeks to write it. I'm also under strict orders not to gripe about the last chapter, nor any other chapters… *pout* So on to this chapter, finally! You have no idea exactly how happy I am! Well, to be truthful, I'm not that ecstatic… this chapter gave me a lot of hell too! -_-;;; But for those of you who have been waiting for Yami no Bakura to show up… well, I hope you're all happy. ^_^ Okay, okay, I'll hush up…
Keel: I thought you were going to leave me alone… *sighs when PM gives him one of her patented 'don't mess with me' glares that can make a dandelion laugh from its pathetic-ness* This chapter also takes place on Thursday night at the same time as the last chapter did. But it's in Ryou's POV.
Ryuuji: *grumbling* I better not be experiencing anymore pain this chapter…
PM *crosses fingers behind back*: Of course not…
Ryuuji *points at the asterisk descriptions of movements*: I SAW THAT!
PM: DANG AUTHOR UNIVERSE! GIVING EVERYTHING AWAY!
^_^ The usual thanks to Mariel, as well as Kei-kun for giving me the confidence to keep this part of the story in. And of course, thanks to my past readers and reviewers. ^_^ You've all been so wonderful (You got it! It's that once again excruciatingly long paragraph! MWAHA!)!
Many thanks to Wildwolf (poor Wildwolf-chan… Don't you know dental floss is good for you? Which is why, of course, I never use it…), Bronze Eagle (Sorry, no Seto thoughts… I actually have a reason for that because I don't want ANY of you people knowing what Seto is thinking until chapter 16… which is the last chappy :P), Amiasha and Sup (I must e-mail you… SO SORRY I've been shirking off!), JediMasterYami (Ryou *sniffles* Poor Seto? What about me?! PM: Urusei…), crystaldraygon98 (*counts on fingers before showing them to CD98* This many chapters!), DragonLUPINzero (wah, you don't need to thank me… ^_~), *i n c o h e r e n t* (Seto really is planning to break the contract! Isn't that sweet? ^_^), Angel-Belle (You find out where Yami no Bakura has been for the past couple chappies… yea! Ryou: I thought you don't like Yami no Bakura! PM: But that fantastic Japanese fanart artist has gotten me hooked on him… *hugs a freaked out Yami no Bakura*), Summer (I use Microsoft Word and upload the chapters in HTML… does that help?), beholder of the shadows (Seto *offended* I have no shield! *everybody bursts out laughing*), ^_^ (Ryou treats him perfectly fine… but I can't control what Katsuya does… *runs away from ^_^* j/k! j/k!), rayemars (*shivers* Then chapter 11 should be excellent, ne?), Crystalline Maxwell (Oh-ye-who-knows-far-too-much? *sniffles* I don't know too much, do I? And as for Noa, you see, I only have the manga and 62 eps for the anime. The anime hasn't gotten to him yet and the manga doesn't have him. I asked Kei-kun for you though and she told me that Noa is Gozaburou's (sp?… Seto/Mokuba's stepfather) real son and that he's dead… didn't quite get that, so if you need more, I'll try to get back to you), tuulikki (I know what you mean… so much to buy… and Yuki is so cute, isn't he?! ^_~ My friends are convinced he's a demon…), V-chan (Wah! Gomen that I haven't been able to e-mail you yet! Just been so busy… but I will do so soon, hopefully… and yes, another fellow victim of Wildwolf-chan, I congragulate your survival! ^_~), sorrowsflight, Indigo Tantarian (the contract is the one at the start of the story that Seto is doing with Yoshizawa-san ^_^), Shinigami (^^;; is the story really good enough for you to be pressing 'refresh' 50 times… eep!), Shamanic Guardian Lena (*bawls and throws self at SGL* WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO RYUUJI IN THE DUB?! *bawls some more*), Nalan Li (uh, there's 6 more chapters, but read the notes at the end of this chapter concerning chapter 11), and Neko-chan (*winces* Another person threatening me about my 'this chapter sucked' thing… eep! The Black Magician*Yami thing was just supposed to be a very small and humorous part… but it somehow evolved into being an actual coupling in this fic. Don't ask me how cause I really don't know… Anywho, I bought the manga at a Japanese bookstore. If you have any around you, try those. If not, you can even try a Chinese bookstore. I stumbled across one over the summer… I've lived here for about 14 years and didn't know it existed until this summer… and it had Yu-gi-oh in Chinese…). ^_^ Arigatou minna-san!
~ Yami no Bakura, the Sugarplum Fairy ~
Once, when oniisan was convinced that I was culturally challenged and needed to be introduced to the great and decidedly vast (too vast, perhaps) world of the classics (despite my arguments that Monster World, DDD, and Magic & Wizards were classics, game-wise at least… for the oddest reason, he didn't like that argument), he happily decided to drag me to a ballet along with his fiancée.
Certainly, he was not at all pleased when I ended up falling asleep for the vast majority of the ballet (although I suppose that is a bit of an understatement, seeing that I've got bruises which still haven't gone away), but I did manage to get the general gist of it. Of course, in no way is this because I happened to read the program before the ballet started and thus figured out what it was about.
Apparently, The Nutcracker was a Christmas specialty. Don't ask me why oniisan dragged me to it… it was summer when he decided to try to culturally advance me. However, there were parts of it that I did remember waking up to watch.
Which may explain why the spirit of the Sennen Ring is now wearing a dress and is sprouting a big pair of fairy wings.
Yami Bakura certainly doesn't look any happier about the situation than I do, and before I know what's happening, he's whacked me with his wand.
"Stop staring at me, baka!" he barks out, causing me to jump, his rage making him shake and causing bits of sparkly powder to fall on the ground, "This isn't funny!"
"What… what are you doing?!" I squeak out, wincing as he smacks me with his wand again. Well, his temper certainly hasn't improved I think to myself as I rub the sore spot where he hit me… twice.
"You think I'm doing this on my own?" he yells, shaking the wand at me and causing more sparkly dust to fall on the ground. At the rate this is going, I'm going to be drowning in sparkles, "Somebody has a sick sense of humor apparently!' He emphasizes his words with some more shaking with suppressed rage, which of course sends another burst of sparkles onto the ground.
Even knowing that I'm just asking for another whack, I can only keep staring at him. This is certainly a picturesque moment though.
It's a really good thing he can't hear my thoughts right now, although judging by the way he's ranting and screaming bloody murder against writers named after yellow electric rats (no, I do not know what drugs he has been taking recently), he is probably too busy to notice.
He suddenly pauses mid-rant as we both freeze at the sound of somebody coming closer. His wings are flapping desperately, as if he's hoping that he'll be able to fly into a corner and die.
Maybe it's just me…
I blink and my jaw drops as I recognize who it is.
"Kaiba-kun?" I ask in shock. Kaiba-kun nods jerkily because… well, it's not really Kaiba-kun. I mean, it is Kaiba-kun but… what I mean to say is that last I remember, Kaiba-kun wasn't a wooden doll!
"What's going on?"
"You think I'd know yadonushi?!" Yami Bakura fair screams as he shakes the wand at Kaiba-kun, the nutcracker prince. An entire cloud of dust falls from it, landing on Kaiba-kun.
Suddenly, in a flash of light, Kaiba-kun the nutcracker prince is no longer there. It's just plain Kaiba-kun. I stare at him, slack-jawed, for several moments before it suddenly occurs to me that it must have been the dust from Yami no Bakura. I turn to say something to him, but he's already gone.
Arms wrap around my wait gently, and I find myself in a familiar position as I blush from Kaiba-kun's breath on my neck.
"You look nice in that dress," Kaiba-kun murmurs before kissing my neck. I freeze. If it wasn't for the nice feeling of Kaiba-kun being here, I would feel like I've fallen through the gates of hell and was currently being tortured in the seven circles of hell. Which doesn't take away from the fact that I am indeed wearing a dress.
The blood is rushing to my face even more rapidly than before. How could I have possibly not noticed before?! It's a long white spaghetti strap dress that is clinging to my body in a most uncomfortable way. The material is soft and silky, but I can feel Kaiba-kun's arms through it quite easily.
Somewhere along this point, I've also noticed that there's quite a bit of that sparkly stuff in my hair. I twist in Kaiba-kun's glance so I'm facing him, rather than having my back towards him. He's also got quite a bit of glitter in his hair, a gift from Yami no Bakura the Sugarplum Fairy, no doubt.
"What is this stuff?" I ask softly.
Seto frowns, looking a bit disappointed at my ever-present imbecility most likely. One of his hand disentangles itself from my body, reaching for one of the silvery strands.
"Don't you know?" at least his voice isn't patronizing… more of a surprised curiosity at my denseness.
I shake my head, and he looks at me carefully with those turquoise blue eyes that make me feel edgy and calm at the same time."
I hate conflicting emotions.
"It's fairydust."
And with that, he kisses me.
~ * ~
"It's about time you woke up."
Otogi-kun is sitting cross-legged, watching me with a critical look that makes me wince and want to shrink back. Not that it's any different from any other day, but the look seems to be more effective than usual.
Of course, that might be attributed to the huge bruise on his forehead… it's a rather ugly bluish-black, causing me to feel very sympathetic for him due to the fact that I'm busying myself by being thankful that he's still alive to glare at me in such a fashion.
"What happened?"
Yes, I realize it's a stupid question. Who's to say that he didn't wake up approximately two seconds before I did? But there's that little bit of hope that's clinging to the thought that maybe he has a better understanding of what's going on than I do, a rather vexatious stubborn optimism that I sometimes believe has no place in this world.
I expect him to shrug or glare at me in a way that everybody does for the sole purpose of making me feel small, insignificant, and quite idiotic. Instead, he runs a hand through his tangled black bangs, letting out a soft sigh.
"I woke up while they were on the phone with your boyfriend," I wince at his term for Kaiba-kun, even though the tone he uses is sincere and not at all mocking. I guess he senses my discomfort as he cocks his head and looks at me as if I'm more simple-minded then even he could have ever suspected.
"If it makes you feel better, it sounded like he was very upset."
"And I suppose they came in and told you that?" I find myself biting out. For somebody who has quite a bit of common sense, romance-wise Otogi-kun needs a reality check more than I do.
"No," before I can reply something along the lines of 'I told you so' (not that I would have, you see, but I'm sure he was anticipating it), "But they were using speaker phone."
Well, I certainly have no argument for that.
"… oh…" I hear myself saying even as questions whirl through my head at amazingly quick speeds, creating a dizzying effect that makes me want to tumble over in shock. My mouth feels dry… although I suppose that it doesn't really matter seeing that I don't think I can voice any of my questions without some serious mental help… and the words seem to stick in my throat before they can fully escape.
"They're working for Big 5…" Otogi-kun's voice trails off as he waits a moment to let that information sink in. As for me, I feel even more like an idiot as I realize that I have no idea what he's talking about…
Wait… weren't they the old board of directors for Kaiba Corporation? I guess that would make sense but that wouldn't explain why they would be doing this. I remember reading in the newspaper shortly after we got back from Duelist Kingdom that Kaiba-kun had fired them for conspiracy and the such.
So why would they be doing something like this?
"He's going to break the contract."
I can only stare at Otogi-kun in disbelief. Is he saying what I think he's saying? I must be getting more delusional than I could have suspected…
"What?" I ask in absolute astonishment. He seriously, seriously cannot be saying that. There's no way that Kaiba-kun will just break the contract after everything he's gone through to keep it.
It just doesn't make sense… I suppose that in a more egotistical sense, the little voice in my head is wondering if it's actually possible that Kaiba-kun cares enough about me to break such an important deal. Logic says no, and I'm going to let it take over for a while. Seeing all the trouble emotions cause me these days.
Otogi-kun hasn't said anything yet, just watching me silently as the whirlpool of information floods my senses. This can't be happening, can it? This just can't be happening.
The week isn't even over, yet everything that I've taken for granted seems to be flipped upside down. It's no wonder that so many people are opposed to change, seeing what pain it can cause to suddenly realize that the things you've thought were true for so long are suddenly… not. It's so much easier to live in the past than to deal with what the future has to bring, and certainly easier than the turmoil of the present.
"He wouldn't," the words come out as a pathetic, defeated whisper. And I'm really not just saying this. Kaiba-kun has the most amazing sense of duty that I have ever seen, and it seems merely common sense that his duty to his company is much greater than his duty to somebody who he randomly chose to torment for a week. I still wonder how he came upon me… maybe he drew names out of a hat or something. That would explain a lot as well.
The world's been spinning out of control since that fateful moment where I opened my mouth and said 'yes', despite a rather extraordinary amount of common sense that I am said to possess. Which once again proves that what people say isn't always true in moments of insanity. Which is certainly what that was, it would seem.
I wonder how everybody else copes with it?
"He would," Otogi-kun looks at me as I sink back down onto the floor, staring at the empty wall across the room, "Why would you think otherwise." It's not a question, but a statement. One that I find myself completely breaking over.
"Because there's no reason to think otherwise!" I'm starting to get a headache, perhaps it's an undesired (or maybe it is desired; who knows what was going through their minds?) effect of the chloroform.
It's times like this where I can only wonder if the whole world around me has gone insane, and I am the only voice of reason. Or perhaps vice-versa.
Why is it that everybody seems to think that it's possible that Kaiba-kun and I can actually be right for each other? It seems impossible to me… a distant dream that aches to be fulfilled but knows that it never will. Otogi-kun has openly told me (multiple times it appears) that the possibility of Kaiba-kun and I getting together isn't that far-fetched, but I don't understand how he could think such a thing. Has Kaiba-kun ever given any reason to act otherwise? Before all of this, I easily could have answered that the only things he cared about was his company and Mokuba.
And as for Jyounouchi-kun… well, he's a little less subtle about it, but sometimes I wonder if his over protectiveness is not enduced merely by his dislike for Kaiba-kun, but for the actual possibility that me might be trying to keep the event of the two of us getting together from ever happening.
In which case, I must wonder if I need to thank Jyounouchi-kun. It seems that he has a better insight than I do to the perils of romantic notions…
I sometimes wonder why I'm such a skeptic of those ideas such as true love and love at first sight. It's nice to dream about these things, but until you actually experience such a thing, you will always remain a skeptic. Until you get into the action, feel all the emotions running through your veins…
I'm the type of person who is always standing on the sidelines. It's not always by choice, but it's where I belong and where I'm most comfortable.
"You're wrong, Bakura-kun." I don't move as Otogi-kun's voice invades my mind and starts doing cartwheels with my sense, "It's right in front of you, yet you don't notice it. How is that possible?"
If I was feeling a bit more vindictive, or if I had become a person that I have never wanted to become, I would have asked him how he could say such things considering his situation with Honda-kun.
But since I'm not that type of person, and I don't want to upset him, I just keep my mouth shut as I once again bottle up my emotions in a pleasant little jar and file it away for safe-keeping.
However, I can't get away from the guilt that is nibbling away at my conscience like a small mouse with cheese. And maybe I don't really want to. Kaiba-kun deserves better than this, deserves better than having to give up something he's worked so hard for on my account.
It's not fair to ask him to do something for somebody who should never have been a part of his life in the first place.
"Bakura-kun… what are you doing?" there's a hint of panic in Otogi-kun's voice that I've never heard before, but I ignore it as I focus my energy on the Sennen Ring. I've never done this before (not voluntarily, at least), and I highly doubt that it will work. But sitting here waiting for everything to happen for me doesn't seem to be a very appealing idea.
Besides, it's time I did something instead.
Ignoring Otogi-kun's surprised shout (he's never been very comfortable with the Sennen Ring, if I remember correctly), I allow myself to be pulled away into my soul room, in order to confront the one person that I have never in my life would have wanted to face willingly.
Yami no Bakura.
~ * ~
Apparently, in the past couple years since I've visited my soul room (or to put it more realistically, was shoved in there by a rather bad-tempered spirit who was more than likely to ignore any arguments I made), not much has changed. Although I guess it's quite possible that these things don't really change that much.
There have been small, subtle changes that I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been here for long periods of time with nothing to do except sit there and stare at my surroundings, worrying my head off that when I was finally allowed back into the world, all my friends would be nothing more than rotting corpses.
It's happened before.
Therefore, it should be of no surprise that I should be a bit more than apprehensive about approaching Yami Bakura, even if I have that rather amusing image of him in a dress and a pair of wings to lighten the mood. Although I know for sure that if the barest mention of that image makes its way to him, I'll be dead before I know it.
It's not that he's cruel or anything. It's just that he's been perpetually annoyed for quite a while, and I've done my best to steer clear of him. I can't say it's always easy, but since Yami-kun [1] decided not to banish him, we've more or less been on a silent agreement to stay out of the other's life.
Although he is liable to break that agreement every once in a while in the oddest ways. Nothing that could be deemed bad enough to catch Yami-kun's attention and send the tomb robber on a one-way trip to hell (no, I am not sure if I mean this literally or not), but certainly… odd. Such as the time when he ran around maxing out my credit card and dumping perfume on Honda-kun, who I still swear has still not forgiven me.
Or the tripping thing just two days ago…
Also, he never really is willing to let his presence be forgotten. Which would certainly explain his sudden interjections of his life philosophies, which are decidedly depressing… of course, I have a feeling that is exactly what they are meant to be (I mean, think about who we're talking about).
I have a sneaking suspicion that he is not about to be ecstatic about what I'm going to ask him.
It doesn't help that I am not at all sure if what I'm asking him to do is even possible.
Inhale. Exhale. The few times I have had to go up against Yami no Bakura, even something as simple as breathing becomes a task to simply remember. Why this is so, I don't know… but it's just his presence. Yami no Yuugi has a calming, confident presence that makes you feel as if nothing can go wrong. Yami no Malik was insanity overdosed with murderous intent wrapped up in a sexy package.
But as for my Yami (I know I shouldn't say that he is 'my' Yami, seeing that he seems to much prefer it the other way around… so I suppose I should be saying 'my owner', which I'm sure will make him happy but at the moment, I really would rather not be catering to other people's… or in this case, spirits'… needs), he's just… cold. He doesn't care about anything if it doesn't effect him, and those few times he does care about me, it's only because my life is in danger and thus his host. Nothing beyond a cold attachment that he would wipe out in a blink of the eye if the opportunity should arise.
In a way, I should be thankful that it hasn't. But then again, who wants to spend his entire life worrying about crossing the line when it comes to a rather psychotic spirit living in the soul room across the hall?
The door is unlocked, something that surprises me even though it shouldn't. I'm just too used to the door being locked because the few times I'm in my soul room was usually due to Yami Bakura throwing me in so that he could use my body to run amuck and cause chaos. Something which I am not particularly fond of.
I'm also surprised that the hallway is there, just as Yuugi-kun said it would be. I've never seen it myself, but Yuugi-kun described it to me once when I asked him. The door is also the same as Yami-kun's door, something I find rather interesting. I mean, consider the differences in their personalities. I would never expect the door of their soul room to be the same.
You can still back out… the little voice in my head is telling me… softly and desperately, although there is no begging involved, It's not too late.
But I have to do this.
I know that while Seto will never give me a second glance at the end of this week, and I have come to accept this. But unwittingly, he has done so much for me these past few days that I couldn't even begin to describe.
It's not my place to expect him to give up his life work because of me. I said this once and I say it again because it's how I feel.
Some of my feelings might be attributed to that blind little hope that something might happen between the two of us. Unrelenting and unwilling to let go of that hope, it's sending me head-first into my own doom.
All I can hope for now is that he is kind enough to make my death quick and relatively painless. Oh Kami-sama, I do not want to do this.
Before I can back down, I reach deep down within for that little bit of courage that has caused me to do so many outrageous things, pull down the door handle (which moves with a long squeak that makes me want to jump), push open the door, and step into the gloom.
The door slams behind me, extinguishing the soft light from the hallway and plunging my senses into total night.
~ * ~
The light flares up suddenly, as if I have been in a dark room for an hour before somebody flips the light switch on in a blinding symphony of brightly colored spots dancing before my eyes.
"What are you doing here yadonushi?" Yami Bakura drawls in that tone of voice which essentially says 'answer me before you're looking at your own intestines'. What a pleasant thought.
I wince as my eyes blink rapidly, still trying to adjust to the sudden light. After several seconds of fruitless effort, his figure starts to become more visible as well as his soul room. My mouth wants to drop to the ground as soon as I get a good look at his soul room.
Like Yami-kun's, Yami Bakura's soul room is an endless maze of staircases and doors. No wonder he didn't have as much trouble infiltrating Yami-kun's soul room…
"Well?" his voice carries a dangerous tone that makes me snap back to attention, blinking at him. This is the first time we've come face-to-face rather than having his disembodied voice speak to me. And I realize with a jolt exactly how much he looks like me... yet how different he can be.
The most striking feature that I can't help but just stare at are his eyes, which are red. My own eyes are light blue, so it's odd to see such a change in eye colors. Yami-kun's eyes are the same color as Yuugi-kun's, which adds to my surprise a bit.
"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot?!" Yami Bakura's enraged voice causes me to jump, once again sending a flood of 'why did I decide to do this' questions racing through my mind.
"I… i… iya… [2]" I stutter. He sighs and looks away, pinching the bridge of his nose as if to show that he's getting an extremely bad headache. I could sympathize, but if there is one being on this planet who looks like he never needs sympathy, it's the one who is standing before me.
"So? What are you doing here? I hope you're not coming to whine to me about my not coming to rescue you when you and Otogi when you two got into trouble." There's a hint of amusement in his eyes, something I usually hear in his voice when he's commenting about Otogi-kun. Why, I honestly don't know, although I have a suspicion that it might have something to do with how he helped Yuugi-kun defeat Otogi-kun at DDD… something that still ticks off Otogi-kun and does not cease to amuse Yami Bakura.
"Anou [3]…" Before I can say anything, he cuts me off.
"It's not as if it was a life-threatening situation anyway… well, not your life at least," he gives me a grin that distinctly reminds me of a savage beast enjoying carnage, "I have better things to do with my time than to watch out for you and your friends when you get into trouble."
"That's not what I came for," the words come out in a small rush. He looks at me for a moment, as if contemplating what I said.
"So what did you come for?" his words are lathered with boredom as he takes the time to inspect his nails, but I can hear a bit of curiosity underneath the layers. I've spent too much time being manipulated by people, so it's only understandable that I finally get a sense of people's true motives.
"I wanted to ask you a favor."
"Hmm…" he holds up his hand to prevent me from explaining myself as he keeps looking at his nails, which are pristine. I wonder if he gets them manicured?
"No," he decides.
"But you haven't even heard what I have to say yet!" I want to smack my head against the wall as soon as I say those words. Can I get any more idiotic?
He glares at me, his blood-red eyes narrowed and his face devoid of any of his previous amusement from toying with me, "I said no, yadonushi. You're in no position to be saying otherwise."
"Can't I just tell you?" I'm begging, but I don't care. I'm used to it anyway.
He sighs, rolling his eyes as he looks at the maze above us.
"I can't think of any way of stopping you if you're so determined… unless I risk causing you a bit of bodily harm," I shiver at his words, bringing back the sadistic amusement to his eyes, "… But that wouldn't look so good in the pharaoh's eyes, so I might as well indulge you this time. That doesn't mean I won't be kicking you back out as soon as you're done… it just amuses me to think that you might be showing a bit of will for once."
Oh joy, thank you ever so much.
"Don't push me."
Apparently, one of his other skills is mind-reading, but I'm not going to comment on that.
I swallow the lump that has grown in my throat, shifting my weight nervously as I try to prepare myself mentally to say what I need to say.
"I needed to ask you something."
"Yes, I believe we have determined that already."
"Is it possible for you to separate and create your own body?"
Yami Bakura freezes from his careful inspection of the number of ceiling tiles there are in his soul room, his eyes narrowing as they rest on me. I suppress the urge to scream in fear and run out of the room yammering like an idiot, but I have a feeling that I couldn't even if I wanted to… I seem to recall the sound of a lock snapping in place when the door slammed shut.
For a moment, he looks like he's going to toy with my mind again, but for some reason decides against it.
"Yes, I can. But it takes much more energy than I'm willing to use, especially if it's for a long period of time. And it's not a real body," he pauses as he lets that information sink in, "I suppose you can say that it's like a ghost."
"Would anybody be able to see you?"
He goes back to his inspection of the ceiling tiles, "I'm sure that if the pharaoh got off his ass and took the time to look, he would. Maybe even your pretty boy lover, but I'm not making any guarantees on that one.
"And before you ask, no. I'm not going to separate from you and lead them here."
There is no way he can not be psychic… unless I'm so pathetically obvious that he can tell before I say anything? What a thought…
"You know where the exit is," he waves his hand at the door dismissively, and the sound of the lock being undone echoes in the empty room.
"Onegai? [4]" I take a deep breath before I repeat my whispered plea, "Onegaishimasu?" My head is bowed so I don't know what type of reaction he has, although I am taking a bit of a fascination with the floor.
Silence follows the soft appeal, and I wait for him to simply shove me out of his room and end the matter. Instead, he surprises me again.
"Why should I?"
To be truthful, I honestly don't know.
Maybe if I was more creative, I would have appealed to his sense of competition. To his thirst to prove himself better than everybody else. To… something other than what I do instead.
"Because I don't want Kaiba-kun to be hurt."
Before I know what's happening, I can see his shoes and his hand reaches out to grasp my face, pulling it up to look at him. I squirm a bit nervously in his grasp, but fight the fear down to a manageable level which allows me to stand there motionlessly. His eyes are even more… disturbing up-close, glaring right through my eyes and into mind as if trying to figure out each and every thing that's running through it right now.
"That's a really bad reason, yadonushi."
I supress a shudder.
"I know."
Well, what else can I say?
His eyes narrow as he throws me back, causing me to stumble. Without waiting for me to gain my balance, he grabs my arm, pulls open the door, and literally throws me back into reality.
~ * ~
"Bakura-kun!"
I groan softly as feelings return to me, and I open my eyes to find myself looking into Otogi-kun's worried green eyes. Well, now I understand what Jyounouchi-kun means when he says that Yami Bakura's eyes are similar to Otogi-kun's eyes… although his are nowhere near as scary as the spirit's.
"What do you think you were doing?!" he yells, although you can tell from his expression that it was more from worry than anger, "The least you could have done was give me a head's up! One second you were thinking about what I said, then your Sennen Ring is glowing and you spend over half an hour zoned out! I thought you died or something!"
"Gomen, Otogi-kun," I apologize quickly… I really should have given him a warning, shouldn't I? But it's too late for that.
"Gomen? That's all you can say?!" Otogi-kun grits his teeth and then shakes his head, obviously giving up on me, "Okay… fine… I won't ask. But may I ask exactly what you were doing?"
That, Otogi-kun, is the question of the day it seems.
"I…" I frown as I contemplate the question. Should I tell him the truth?
Yami Bakura? I think nervously, hoping for an answer. There is none, just dead silence. Are you there?
Ignoring Otogi-kun's stare (for the second time in a relatively short period of time… I will seriously be needing to see a head shrink once this is through), my hands clumsily grope for the Sennen Ring. Much to my surprise, the smooth metal is icy cold, rather than the inviting warmth that it usually emits.
I can't help but freeze at those implications.
Quickly withdrawing into myself, I search for Yami Bakura's presence, only to get nothing but an empty feeling that I never could have imagined.
"Bakura-kun?"
I smile weakly at Otogi-kun, "I do believe I'm losing it."
"What makes you think that?" he drawls, a familiar gesture that makes me feel lonely for the one person who I should never have to be lonely for.
It's amazing how lonely I can feel after I thought I had already experienced the epitome of loneliness. Even odder that the person who had isolated me for so long should cause me to feel this way…
I just smile emptily at him.
"Cause the sugarplum fairy is granting my wish."
Translations and notes:
[1] Perhaps it seems odd that in this story, Ryou applies 'Yami-kun' to Yami no Yuugi while he says Yami Bakura (or Yami no Bakura) completely, but since I have yet to see him address either (well, he calls Yami no Yuugi 'Yuugi', so I don't want to confuse you people on that note), my reasoning is that Ryou would be closer to Yami no Yuugi than to the spirit in his Sennen Ring. It might not make a whole lot of sense (admittedly, it does not make that much sense), but that's just how I see it…
[2] Iya = more informal version of 'no', compared to 'iie'. I wouldn't have mentioned this, but I remembered on how it confused one of my friends, so I decided to make a note on it. Think I used it before though… O_o
[3] Err…
[4] Please?
PM: I more or less wrote the first part three times… the first time was an Alice in Wonderland parody, the second was an extension of the Nutcracker, and third was what it turned out to be. Given my choice, I would probably stick to this one, although the Alice in Wonderland version was also pretty amusing. Still… I changed from Alice in Wonderland to The Nutcracker because I thought that the Nutcracker would help more in the course of the chapter than the Alice one could. Also, the composer is one of my favorites, which also led to the inspiration… I guess the chapter didn't turn out too bad, right?
Ryuuji: Speak for yourself… I was grievously ignored (*Ryou falls over peevishly*) and I have an ugly bruise marring my looks.
PM *sweatdrops*: Uh… whatever. Anyhow, the first half of the story after the first scene was written on one day, and the second half was written on another… so the vast majority of this chapter took me two days to write while the first scene took me several days. Very pathetic in my opinion, but at least this chapter didn't take nearly as long as the previous to write.
Yue: That might explain why it's so bad…
PM: I have enough pessimism without you contributing, you know! Go make out with Touya or something!
Yue: Okay… *he and Touya are shoved out of the scene before they can make the author notes into some rated R make-out scene*
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:
Chapter 11 is a lot longer than I had originally anticipated, and it's taking me a log longer to write it. I made a brief outline and discovered that it's extraordinarily long. Also, I'm not done with the first part… -_-;;; So what I'm trying to say is that I will most likely doing one of two things. One, I might publish next Sunday as usual, but I'll only publish half the chapter. The second choice is that I might not publish the entire chapter for two weeks. I would rather finish chapter 11 and get chapter 12 out of the way as well before 10/10, but as of now, it's not very likely cause I have a lot of schoolwork to worry about. If you people have a preference for one of the choices, please tell me and I'll do my best to accommodate it… otherwise, I'll get to that river when I get to it…
Pikachumaniac