A Change of Heart
By: In Fair Verona/Sibby
Summary: Bakura and Tea have had a serious and steady relationship for 1 year, and suddenly Bakura wants to call it off. How will he end the relationship without hurting her? Maybe his favourite card can help.
Rating: PG-13
Shipper: Bakura x Tea
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, cards, settings, or basicly anything else from Yu-Gi-Oh!
A/N: The Tea Chapter.
Reveiwers:
crystaldraygon98- I'm not exactly a Tea/Bakura shipper, fyi. I'm just a huge Bakura fan who wanted to write a fic about him, and Tea seemed like the perfect supporting actress! My only Yu-Gi-Oh ship is Joey and Mai.
Poor Bakura!- Aww, thanks for the compliments!
(no name)- Yep it is sad, isn't it? :)
dark angel bakura- Thankies!
Dark Wings of Faith- Thanks for the reveiw! :D
Guardian Kysra- I didn't know that cutting was common in Yu-Gi-Oh fics to be honest, lol. I've never seen anyway do it in the fics I've read (although I've seen other strange activities...), but I'm not trying to copy or be repitive. I guess the reason why is because in the show Bakura's character doesn't have much but his millenium ring. He's not exactly as tight-knit as Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Yugi. So, in my fic, I gave him Tea. Then he's deprived on that and the one person who loved and understood him, he shut her out and naturally, he's going to be a bit depressed. I think Bakura, being the "bully target" type (Sorry, but it's true.) would have a deeper level of depression than for instance, Yugi or Joey. So that is why I wrote that into my story. Oh, and there's the little fact that it's an imperative part of the plot! Hope that answers your question!
R Amethyst- Well, it is out of character for Bakura to yell, but what about the spirit of the Millenium Ring? ;). Plus, Bakura isn't trying to kill himself. Being a cutter and being suicidal isn't exactly the same thing. Slitting wrists would probably be an act of suicide, but cutting arms and legs (which is common among cutters) can't really kill anyone. There is a huge vein at your wrist that leads to your heart, which is why people slit wrist. Bakura cutting is more of an act of punishment. I have a friend who said something really horrible to his girlfriend once, and cut himself because of it. That's basically what Bakura was doing, but unexpectedly to him, he passed out from a loss of blood. Also, it's pretty essential to Yami Bakura to not let Bakura die just yet.
Hope that answers some questions for you readers!
~*~*~
"Can I get you anything Tea? Coffee? A soda? A cake?" Joey asked, twiddling his fingers. He desperately wanted to help his friend, but showing compassion, unless it was towards Mai, was not his best trait.
"A soda might be good." Yugi added, also feeling very uncomfortable. He curled his hands into fists and then furrowed his eyebrow. "I still can't beleive that Bakura could do this!"
"Tell me about it." Mai commented, walking over. "Just when the women or the world finally think they have a respectable guy, he has to go and change all that. I thought Bakura was a good guy."
"He was a good guy." Yugi said, looking at Tea.
"Yea. Hey- what's this about Bakura being the only respectable one!?" Joey exclaimed, looking at Mai.
"You guys!" Tristan got up from his place at Tea's side, turning around angrily at all of them. "First of all, why don't you give her some room? I don't think a soda is going to heal all this!" He looked at Yugi. "And I don't even want to hear that asshole's name!" His gaze now directed towards Mai, then moved to Joey. "And can't you just not think about yourself for a second!? Leave her alone!"
"Wow. Tristan..." Mai trailed off. "I think I'll go get another box of tissues." Mai said, looking at the floor that was littered with crumpled up Kleenex. She quickly exitted.
"I'll go... find some comfort food in the kitchen." Joey said, turning around and looking over his shoulder at Tristan. Man, was he scary tonight.
"And I'll help Joey!" Yugi said quickly, walking alongside Joey and eventually dragging him out of the room.
"Good." Tristan commented, seeing the room cleared out. "I, will lend a shoulder for support." He turned around and sat down on the couch next to Tea. Placing his hand over her's and trying to be the most comforting friend as possible. It wasn't exactly a Tristan thing to do, like Joey, he was more of the tough guy then the emotional type, such as Yugi and Bakura. However, for Tea, who has always been there, he'd do anything.
"Thankyou Tristan." Tea said, her voice a hoarse whisper from enormous amounts of tears. Wiping her sore red eyes, she stood up, pulling gently away from his touch. "But I... I just want to be... alone." She said, walking past him and grabbing the tissue box out of Mai's hand before bolting to her room.
"Poor girl." Mai said, frowning and walking over to a random chair in the living room and seating herself.
"I swear..." Tristan trailed off. "When I get my hands on Bakura, he's not going to have Tea around to protect him anymore, and it's his own fault. No one hurts Tea like that- no one!" He exclaimed.
"Settle down, Cowboy." Mai said, getting up from her seat quickly. "I'd better go check on Joey and Yugi." She quickly skipped out of the living room and into the kitchen. "Boy, I'd hate to be Bakura when the rath of Tristan crashes." She said, approaching Yugi and Joey. They seemed to be caught up in their own conversation, in a very clandestine attitude.
"You don't think he still..." Joey cut himself off, hearing Mai enter. He looked up at her and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Oh, hey Mai!"
"Hello." Mai said blandly, crossing her arms. "Who still what?" Mai asked curiously.
"Ah, does Bakura still uh eat marshmellows?" Joey said nervously.
"Nice try Romeo." Mai said, glaring at Joey. "Speaking of Romeo, according to Tristan he must die. Romeo that is. Romeo equals Bakura. Uh. Nevermind." She shook her head. "Do you guys know what's up with Tristan?"
"Uh, well, yes." Joey said, not bearing the thought of lying to his girlfriend. Yugi glared up at his tall friend.
"Joey!" Yugi exclaimed. "Don't give it away! It's not your secret!"
"Secrets?" Mai said, she was definitely interested now. "Joey, darling... what secrets?" Mai asked, approaching him slowly.
"Uh...ah... I can't tell you!"
"Joey."
"Tristan used to like Tea!" Joey blurted.
"Joey!" Yugi dug his fingers into his hair.
"You're kidding me." Mai said, shaking her head. "So that's why he was acting so... oh."
"He used to, it was before Bakura and Tea started seeing each other!" Yugi said defensively. "He had liked her for awhile, but surprisingly to everyone, especially Tea and Tristan, Bakura made his move first. Once Tristan saw how happy and in love Tea and Bakura were, he decided to not meddle with it anymore. There was ntohing he could do, and his one thought was just to keep Tea happy. It's been a whole year... we thought he'd definetly gotten over it. He has a girlfriend now, too! But... I guess he's not over it..." Yugi said with a depressive sigh.
"And if his own goal is to keep Tea happy, seeing her like this could drive him over the edge. He's gonna make chopped liver out of Bakura. I mean, the guy deserves it for hurting her, but Tristan won't stop there!" Joey said, waving his arms around in exaggeration. "He'd do this... and this... and then this!" He struck the marshmellow bag beside him, causing it to burst, spreading marshmellows everywhere.
"Gee..." Mai blinked a few times, and pulled a couple of marshmellows out of her golden hair. "That must be harsh. For all three of them. Bakura too, I mean, I think Tristan's feelings for Tea are blinding him from something the rest of us may be considering..." She glanced at Yugi and Joey, hoping they knew what she was trying to say.
"Right... Bakura's side of the story." Yugi said. Joey nodded at Mai, and the three stood there in silence for awhile.
"It just doesn't sound like the Bakura we know..."
"Hmm." Yugi closed his eyes, distraught in deep thought. Could it have been his Yami who broke up with Tea? Yugi awaited an answer from the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle. It could have been, but it seems far fetched. What good is it doing for him just to have Bakura and Tea seperated? It wouldn't make that much of a difference could it? "It could have." Yugi responded. "I think you're underestimating Tea. She really lo-"
"Hey Yuug, are you having one of them conversations with the spirit again?" Joey asked, looking at the Millenium Puzzle.
"Yeah, but-"
"Hey guys? Everything okay in there?" Tristan's voice floated into the kitchen from the other room.
"Just peachy!" Mai called back. She laced hands with Joey. "Come on Yugi, why don't you two talk to Tristan, and me and Tea will have a little girl talk." The three proceeded out the kitchen where Mai abandoned Joey and walked down a hallway to the door of Tea's room. She didn't bother to knock and simply turned the brass knob, pushing the door open slightly. Tea instantly looked up, placing something that was once in her hands, face down on her bed stand. It was a picture frame. "What's that?" Mai asked curiously, walking over.
"Oh, it's nothing." Tea said, shaking her head and wiping her eyes quickly.
"Allright. So, do you need anything Tea? Water, maybe some marshmellows?"
"No thankyou." Tea said, hugging a stuffed teddy bear in her arms. Normally, Mai would've flat out said how pathetic keeping a stuffed teddy at age 16 was, but that would be extremely rude at a time like this. Even though Tea and her hadn't gotten along very well in the past, and Tea's duel monsters were way too cute they were creepy, Mai had to sympathize for her. She'd just gotten her heart broken by a scrawny little dork!
"Do you want to talk?" Mai asked, putting on a gentle voice and sitting down on the bed. "You know, girl talk? I know what you're going through..."
"How do you know what I'm going through?" Tea moaned in depression, dropping her head into her hands. "Joey didn't dump you flat on your face!"
"Well, there have been other guys..." Mai trailed off nervously. "Listen, I've been through the breaking up thing. You just have to learn to move on, maybe Bakura just wasn't the one. There are many other fish in the sea. Such as... um, Tristan?"
"Tristan!?" Tea exclaimed, looking up in surprise. "Tristan has a girlfriend!"
"Who has really trashy hair." Mai added.
"No, Mai... Bakura was the one. He is the one. He'll always be the one. He's the only person I'll ever love, and he just doesn't love me back!" Tea cried, sobbing into her teddy bear. "And, since when have you ever been dumped Mai?" She added through a few choked up sniffles.
"Well, I haven't exactly been dumped..." Mai muttered, chuckling nervously. "I do the dumping, but it's all the same. It hurts both ways. I'm sure Bakura is in real pain after what eh did, we couldn't even imagine it."
"You really think so?" Tea asked, looking up at the older woman.
"I know so!" Mai exclaimed enthusiastically. "Now, why don't you show me what that is?" Mai asked, pointing to the picture faced down on the bed stand.
"Allright." Tea nodded and retrieved the picture frame, handing it to Mai. Mai flipped it over and studied it carefully. It was a picture of the entire gang. Yugi and Tristan infront of Seto and Mokuba, then off to the side were herself and Joey- quite distracted. Then, in the right hand corner, Tea and Bakura. They were smiling, that happy content smile that makes you envy television conventional couples and all their happiness, because you'll never be in love like that. Those types of "I love life" smiles. The "I only have eyes for you" look. These jovial things... the calm before the storm. It couldn't last forever. Mai quickly handed the picture back.
"That's a nice picture." Was all that she could say.
"Thankyou. Yugi's Grandfather took it. Joey, Yugi, Tristan and I all got a copy. Bakura asked if he could have one too, so I got him a copy too. It's probably crammed somewhere in the bottom of his desk drawers, or something." Tea said, shaking her head slightly and wiping her watery eye. "Mai, can I tell you something?"
"Uh, sure Tea."
"I just started remembering... it's sort of a long story."
"We've got the time." Mai said gently, picking up Tea's teddy bear and disposing it on the bedroom's carpet floor. Tea seemed too caught up in her own memories to even notice.
"The end of summer carnival. You must remember it Mai, everyone in Domino City was there. It was crowded and buzzing with people coming to have a good time before the new school year. Of course, Yugi, Tristan, and Joey had all dragged me into coming with them. I wanted to go to the carnival too, but as much as I love my friends, I just needed some time alone. The carnival seemed like the perfect chance to do something for myself. While the guys were enjoying themselves on the merry-go-round, I slipped away. I was wandering around the many booths, games, and rides, when I ran into something. Something strong, and surprisingly soft at the same time too..."
"Are you allright, Tea?" Bakura asked, placing his hands on her shoulders as an attempt to steady her. The girl seemed dazed and didn't respond until a few moments later.
"Oh! Bakura, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." Tea blushed.
"Quite allright. I was sort of caught up in my own thoughts as well." Bakura said kindly. "Shouldn't you be with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan? The four of you are inseperable!"
"Well, I came here with them... but hanging out around the merry-go-round all afternoon didn't sound so appealing to me." She chuckled, kicking her feet into the soft ground lightly as they stood there. "Who are you here with?"
"It's just me." Bakura replied nonchalantly, rocking back and forth on his heels in a nervous manner.
"Just you?" Tea said, as if it were the most unbelievable thing ever.
"I suppose not just me..." Bakura said softly, placing his hand over the chain of his millenium ring. "Just me." He said louder, with a charming smile.
"Do you want some company?" Tea asked, looking up at him. "I mean, it's just you and just me, so it could be just...we?" She let out a nervous laugh.
"Sure. It's much more fun than standing here all alone." Bakura smiled. "Do you want something to eat? Popcorn? Cotton Candy?"
"Cotton Candy sounds good."
"Allright." The two walked over to a booth and loaded themselves up on sugary sweets, fizzy soft drinks, and buttery popcorn. They had an enjoyable and peaceful time walking around the carnival and taking in all the sights. They had tried a few rides too. Bumper cars didn't ride over very well with either of them. Bakura kept continously crashing into Tea, which caused him to blush like mad with embarrasment. Then Tea kept letting go off the wheel every time she saw one of the car antennaes cause a spark against the ceiling. The tunnel of love, they completely avoided, and the moon bounce was too childish. However, this lead them to the best possible ride. The ferris wheel. A nice calm and slow ride to the top, with a beautiful scenery, then an enjoyable way down. Serene, tranquil, with a good view. Perfect. "After you." Bakura said, opening the door to their ferris wheel compartment for Tea.
"Thankyou." Tea said, getting inside. Bakura quickly followed and the two sat on opposite sides of the compartment, eagerly anticipating the ride's start. The ride had started not long after, and as they traveled up, the sun made it's way down.
"Wow, it must be getting late." Bakura commented, looking outside at the dark blue sky and the tiny diamond stars that began to sparkle, and the moon raising itself and casting a silver glow across everything in it's path. Bakura's next thought was how the moon glow illuminated her face perfectly. Tea's face that is.
"It is getting dark." Tea said, frowning slightly. "I've had a great time today, though. I just don't want this evening to end." This comment truly surprised Bakura and his ears perked up as he looked at her. Their cart skidded to a stop at the very top of the ferris wheel, causing Bakura to bump his head on the hard window behind him. "Bakura, are you okay?" Tea asked with concern. Bakura simply grunted as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. Tea quickly crossed over to his side of the cart, plopping down next to him. She gently moved his hand aside from his head and felt the tiny lump beneath his silky white hair with the a gentle stroke of her fingers. "You'll feel that one in the morning."
"Uh, Tea." Bakura began to stutter nervously. His cheeks were burning as she gently stroked his hair, her big blue eyes filled with concern.
"Yes?"
"Um..." He gently clasped his hand over hers, pulling it away from his head and then placing his other hand over both of their hands so that he held it carefully. Tea kept her eyes locked on their clasped hands, trying to avoid the blush in her cheeks and the quickening pace of her heart. "It's getting late."
"You already said that, Bakura." Tea said softly, giving him a warm smile.
"Oh, right. That was stupid." Bakura said, shaking his head.
"Um... is there something you want to say?"
"No. Yes. Yes, Tea, there is something I want to say." Bakura admitted, he absent-mindedly caressed her hand in his, stroking it gently with his thumb while pondering his words. "You're an amazing person, Tea."
"You're an amazing person too, Bakura." Tea smiled, still staring with vivid concentration at the adroit skill of his hand.
"And, I think... I think I can really be myself and at ease when I'm around you."
"...Bakura, you don't seem at ease right now."
"That's because I like you. I like you alot Tea. I've been keeping that a secret... for awhile. I never planned on telling you. I guess being alone with you for so long, made me comfortable enough to just blurt it out. Yeah. I blurted it out. Oh no, I'm babbling..."
"Bakura?" Tea pulled him out of his near-trance, looking into his eyes with a big smile on his face. Her cheeks were bright red and she bit her bottom lip nevously. "Are you sure of anything that you're saying. I mean, since you're blurting it out and all..."
"I'm sure."
"Because, um, Bakura... people don't like me."
"What do you mean people don't like you?" Bakura repeated, his eyes going slightly wider. "That's absurd, what about Tristan and Jo-"
"No, no. I mean, people don't like me... the way I think you like me. The way I think I like you."
"How could that happen?" Bakura asked, blinking once. Tea opened her mouth to answer, but Bakura cut her off once again. "How do you think you like me?"
"I think I like you... like this." Tea said, inching in a little closer and giving him a soft peck on the cheek. Bakura instantly froze which was followed by an immediate flame and electric jolt traveling up his spine. "I can't beleive I just did that. I've never done that before. Besides my father, I mean, but that's completely different and I-"
"You're babbling." Bakura finished the sentence for her. "If it helps, I'll do something I've never down before either."
"What's that?"
"Tea, would you... do you want to, I mean, no... will you- ack. Would you be my, my... girlfriend?" He quickly spit the last two words out, looking up at her. Tea simply curved her lips into a smile and nodded. Bakura let out a huge sigh of relief, as if he had been carrying an incredible weight on his shoulders for a while now. He gave Tea a charming grin and she flung her arms around his neck, giving him a quick hug, just as their cart lurched forwards again. Within a few minutes, they were back down. Bakura helped Tea out of the compartment, and the moment they stepped off they were greeted by three familiar faces.
"Tea, where'd you run off too?" Tristan asked, looking at her. His eyes widened slightly as he saw Bakura standing behind her, studying the ground carefully.
"Hey Bakura! I didn't know you were planning on coming to the carnival, you could've come with us!" Yugi said in a friendly manner.
"Yeah! We had some fun on the merry-go-round!" Joey asid estactically, hopping up and down. "But, uh, yeah- Tea were you with Bakura this whole time!? We spent hours looking all over for ya!"
"Um. I'm sorry guys. I just didn't want to stick around the merry-go-round all day." Tea shrugged, hanging her head in remorse. "But I had a great time with Bakura. I'm sorry for making you guys worry."
"Ah, it's nothing. We actually only spent thje past 10 minutes looking for ya." Joey admitted.
"Joey!" Tea scolded, placing her hands on her hips.
"Guys, we should be getting back... it's really late!" Yugi exclaimed suddenly.
"Right, see ya when school starts Bakura!" Tristan said, giving him a short wave. Joey also gave a quick wave and them along with Yugi began to make their way out. Tristan turned and looked over his shoulder. "You coming, Tea?"
"Just a minute!" Tea exclaimed. She turned around, throwing her arms around Bakura, which surprised even him as well as the other three who had just now turned around too. Bakura, quite embarrased but never happier, wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the soft hug. They entangled themselves and then Tea turned around and fleeted a few steps before turning around again. "Bye." Bakura gave her a simple, silent but meaningful wave and began his own depart. Tea quickly pranced ahead of her friends. They were standing there gawking at her strangely. "You guys! Stop looking at me like that!" Tea exclaimed, turning around and glancing at them. "Just because I spent a nice afternoon with Bakura doesn't mean I'm going to neglect you guys forever! Get those expressions of your faces, now! Last one to the shop is Seto Kaiba!" Tea laughed, spinning on her heels as she ran off into the night. The three exchanged grins and followed her, the four were reunited once again, but Tea had someone new in her heart now.
"Wow. That's really romantic, Tea." Mai said, letting out a soft yawn. "I'm serious. I wish Joey could've been so polite instead of trying to molest me." Mai muttered.
"He was the best... Bakura, that is." Tea said softly, picking her plush teddy off of the ground. Suddenly they were interrupted by the telephone ringing.
"I'll get it!" Yugi's faint voice from the living room floated into Tea's bedroom as the ringing ceased. Outside in the living room, Joey and Tristan sat on the couch while Yugi answered the phone. "Tea's in her room, is there anything I can help you with? What? Just hang on, we'll be right over!" Yugi exclaimed, hanging up quickly. Mai and Tea quietly emerged from Tea's bedroom and everyone stared at Yugi in confusion. "It was Bakura's father! He said Bakura's in trouble!" Yugi said frantically. "I'm going over."
"Me too." Tristan said in a set and determined voice, standing up from the couch. "I've been wanting to have a talk with that pathetic bastard anyway." He slammed a clenched fist into his other palm.
"I'll go get my coat!" Tea said, running over to the closet near the front door.
"No, Tea. Me and Yugi will go, you stay here with Mai and Joey." Tristan said. Tea opened her mouth to object, but Tristan cut her off. "He doesn't deserve to be within 20 feet of you Tea, just leave it to us!" With that, Yugi and Tristan were out the door faster than Tea could say another word and running down the street. Tea turned to Joey, her eyes watering.
"Bakura's in trouble." She whimpered. "And I can't help him." With a downcast look, she silently made her way back into the bedroom, closing the door with a explicit click.
"That's his house!" Yugi yelled, pointing to a house ahead of them as they ran down the streets. Tristan nodded and using his long legs, deserted Yugi and ran for the house. He knocked once on the redwood door before it was answered by Bakura's father and quickly pushed past the older man.
"Outta my way! Where is that filthy shit?" Tristan yelled in an enraged manner. He sprinted up the stairs and to the room he was guessing was Bakura's. He turned the knob to open it, but it wouldn't budge. "Bakura! I know you're in there! We can do this the easy way, or the hard way!" He yelled. There was no reply. Stepping back a couple of paces, Tristan raised his leg, swinging it into the door and causing it to break down just as Yugi came over. Tristan quickly jumped over a chair in the doorway and stumbled into the room. The cream colored walls did nothing to normalize the strange stench floating inside the room. It was the smell of... blood. Yugi let out a soft gasp as the two boys' gazes fell onto the limp body, a massacred crimson arm laying soft over Bakura's heart, staining the clean sweater he always wore. "I can't beleive this..."
~*~*~
Tell me honestly, was the Bakura asking Tea out thing, utter cheese or slightly good? I hate having to write people asking other people out because it's an incredibly hard thing to do in real life and just as hard to make beleivable in fanfiction. The phrase "will you be my girlfriend?" seems very elementary and childish to me, but Tea and Bakura aren't exactly the most passionate or adult in the group. Under the circumstances that Tea and Bakura have a sweet and respectful relationship, taking boundaries into consideration, I couldn't have them spontaneously share a passionate kiss like I would in other fanfictions. Also, they couldn't just proclaim their love to each other, because they're not in love yet. They have a drawing attraction to each other, they like each other. Bakura and Tea probably didn't know what love would be at that time, and it came gradual with them, but the best part is that there love is unfeigned. They don't randomly say they love each other because of good sex or anything possesive. That's what I'm liking the best about this fic.