Heart and Soul
The bully held the younger teen by the collar of his uniform jacket, pressing him against the wall. "Cough up the money, if ya know what's good for ya," the intimidator said roughly.
"I. . . . told. . . . . you. . . . ." the other one choked, "I. . . . . . don't . . . . . have. . . . . ."
"Liar." He pushed the weaker boy harder into the wall, causing him to cry out. But no one could hear him there. This hallway of the school was devoid of people, so no one could help him.
The older one violently threw the other to the side, and he hit the ground with a yelp. Walking over, he grabbed the boy by his white locks, forcing him on his knees.
A smirk developed on the bully's lips. The younger boy feebly tried to free himself from the other's grasp, but to no avail.
"Give it up, Bakura."
"I don't have any money!"
He pulled back on his hair, causing him to cry out again.
"Bakura!" The bully looked up to see four people running towards the two of them. Considering his options, he pushed the other boy down, and took off.
Bakura groaned, rubbing the back of his head as the others ran over.
"Hey, Bakura," Jounouchi said. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "Yes. I'm fine." He gave the others a small, sad smile.
Yugi bent down, helping his friend stand. "Thank you," the other teen said.
"We could have helped sooner if we knew where you were," Honda said.
"Where did you take off to?" Anzu asked. "We were wondering where you went when the bell rang."
He shrugged. "I guess I felt like being by myself for a while."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked.
Bakura nodded. "Yes. I'm fine." He nodded to them, then turned the corner and disappeared.
Jounouchi sighed. "Bakura is still kinda strange to me."
"You just don't know what he's up to," Honda agreed.
"He keeps to himself a lot," Anzu replied.
"He's not strange," Yugi said to his friends. "He's just lonely."
"Why the heck does he feel lonely?" Jounouchi wondered. "He's got us."
"But he doesn't know us really well," Yugi stated. "We just hang out with him, and talk to him, but he doesn't really know us. We've never really taken the time."
His other friends fell silent, the young boy's words sinking in.
"You guys remember when I used to be like that, don't you? I would talk, but mostly keep to myself. It was because I didn't know anyone that well, except for Anzu. But when I got to know Jounouchi and Honda, I opened up more often, and finally got to know you two better. It's the same thing for Bakura. He's quiet now, but if we give him time, he'll open up to us. But we can't force him to do that. He'll do it when he wants to."
The others nodded, unsure of what to say. Then, as if all were thinking the same thing, they turned to go, Yugi following after them. He stopped, though, looking over his shoulder behind him, in the direction Bakura had gone in, before hurrying after his friends.
Around the corner, leaning against the wall, was Bakura. When the others were gone, he too walked away.
TBC