The Purpose of a Heart
Chapter Four:
There was a dull crash as Blair slammed Bakura backwards toward the table. Tripping, Bakura found himself on the floor, backed up against one of the larger machines.
"I see those steroids must be doing their job." Bakura muttered as he started to get to his feet, only to be grabbed and flung back, against the wall this time.
"Don't give me any of your lip!" Blair hissed. "I can have you and your boyfriend killed for you being in here."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Bakura protested as Blair tossed him back again. He sunk to the floor, gripping his arm, which had been unlucky enough to hit the side of one of the machines. He didn't think any bones were broken but he suspected a nasty bruise.
"I don't care who or what he is, I can kill him just the same, just as soon as the boss gives me the right of way."
Bakura glared.
"So, Uzi-boy, what are you doing in here?" Blair asked.
"Would you believe I was checking for termites?" Bakura replied. His comment was met with a kick from Blair, who obviously didn't think it was funny.
As Bakura picked himself up off the floor, Blair watched, arms folded. He was standing between Bakura and the exit to the room, and from the look on his face, he wasn't going to let the evil spirit leave the room in one piece. Bakura glanced around, weighing his options.
If only I still had the Millennium Ring. He thought. I'd dispatch this guy into hell and never have to deal with him again. Drugs don't match up to magic at all. Dammit, I should have brought my Uzi with me too. Why do I always leave it behind at the worst times? That's it, if I get out of here alive, I'm never leaving the thing again.
His thoughts were brought to a halt as Blair snatched the front of his shirt again.
"Bakura, I asked a question, and I want a serious answer. Why were you in this room?"
"What does it matter if you're going to kill me anyway?"
"Because, I want to see what sort of nippity little quip you can come up with in your defense."
"I told you, I was checking for termites." Bakura replied.
"Don't you realize I could kill with one hand right now?"
"And don't you realize just what sort ofdamage termites can wreck on a wooden table?" Bakura asked gravely. "If you want that table to last much longer, you're going to need some help-"
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"
"Then get a sense of humor."
"You shouldn't be making jokes! I could kill you!"
"And I'd like to see you explain to your boss exactly why you killed his expert assassin, when there's still two people left I have to murder."
Blair faltered. Bakura had a point.
That falter was all the time Bakura needed. With a lithe twist, Bakura used Blair's arm to launch himself toward his face and pulled back his good arm to punch. In doing so, he freed himself and landed beside the door.
"You son of a bitch-" Blair swore, one hand clamped over nose and left eye, which were bleeding. As of yet, no steroid had been created that would stop bleeding before it began.
"Well, now you have one hand free." Bakura said. "You said you only needed one to kill me with."
"I'm going to do a hell of a lot more than kill you! I'm going to go after Yami, yeah, I'll kill him, then I'll kill you-"
His tirade was brought to a halt as Bakura's eyes flashed and he moved forward. Blair held out his free hand to block off any attack, but all Bakura did was clamp his hand down on Blair's shoulder. A fiery pain shot through him and he dropped to the floor, writhing in surprise. Pain? How was it possible he was feeling pain?
Bakura eyed him coldly. "You even think of hurting Yami and I can guarantee you'll be the one dying."
"What the hell did you do?!" Blair gasped, gripping his shoulder now.
"Nerve in your shoulder. Everyone knows it's there. Don't you watch the movies?"
"I didn't think that really worked!"
"You need to educate yourself. It's there, it's effective, it's not very pleasant, and obviously your cheap steroids don't work."
"I swear Uzi-boy, I'm going to go to the boss first thing tomorrow, I'm going to tell him you were in here tonight and then you won't be so cocky."
"Tell him all you like. But maybe you'd also like to explain to him about why you were down here in the middle of the night?"
"I saw you on the cameras!"
"The boss allows me free run of the building." Bakura said coolly. "First day here, he told me I wander around all I wanted. So therefore, you can't punish me for walking around."
"But I caught you down here."
"Yeah, and you said you were going to kill me, need I remind you? Making the threat is enough. You don't have the right to kill me, no matter where I might be found, and you just thought that I didn't know that."
Blair glared, hatred reflected in his eyes. "Oh yeah? Well I'll tell you what, smartass, I do have the right to go after Yami. And believe me, I have no qualms about killing him even against the boss's wishes. I don't like gay guys. And I don't care what a freak like you might say you'll do to me."
Bakura narrowed his eyes.
Blair got to his feet, watching Bakura guardedly. "Yeah, that's right. I've got no qualms at all. So you'd better be the one 'watching it'. You got lucky tonight, I won't tell anyone you were in here if you don't tell the boss about what I said. But I guarantee, next time I catch you out-of-bounds…you won't be so lucky." He strode past Bakura and out of the room.
Bakura stood in the doorway for a long time. That's right. Go ahead and walk away. He glanced back toward the machines and considered grabbing a few papers to take back to his room. But that would give away that he'd been in the room, and while he could use psychology on Blair to keep him from hurting him, he was sure that the boss, (who was much more intelligent than his lackey, by far), would not be so easily talked down. So he set the lock, closed the door, and returned to his room to nurse his bruised arm and to think of something to do.
The next morning, when he walked into the dining hall, Louis appeared out of nowhere and slapped him on the arm. Bakura winced, his bruises still sore despite having tied them as tight as he could.
"'Morning." He finally greeted. Louis grinned broadly.
"Oh, it's a good morning alright! Have you seen Blair yet?"
Bakura yawned. "Frankly Lou, I really don't want to see that guy so early in the morning."
"Well, I saw him just now, and he looks like he got into a scuff with a brick wall last night and the wall won."
Bakura raised an eyebrow, pleased to hear that his damage had been substantial.
"Really?"
"Yeah man, his nose is like, broken I think, and his left eye is all bloody and black and he freaked out when this guy tried to tap him on the shoulder. He like, whirled around as if he thought the guy was going to attack him or something-" Full of gleeful energy, Louis spun around to demonstrate. Bakura nodded.
"I see."
"I wonder what happened to him…" Louis said thoughtfully as he followed Bakura to the coffee machine. "I mean, I didn't think anybody in this place could actually get to him in a fight. But then, someone else said that he got so high on his drugs that he jumped off the roof cause he thought he was invincible."
Bakura couldn't help it, he had to snicker at that. "Aw, too bad it didn't kill him." He said, studying the buttons on the machine and selecting one. Doing so caused him to turn his sore arm and he winced again, grabbing it suddenly.
"Hey, are you okay?" Louis asked in concern.
"I'm fine."
"Oh, good. Man, doesn't it just bug the hell out of you? I mean, about what happened to Blair? Cause it was about time someone gave him what for, but they must have been really mad. Gosh, I hope I don't piss them off…"
Bakura took his coffee and glanced around as the college student fell silent. He lowered his voice. "Louis, can you keep a secret?"
"Sure."
"And you swear you wouldn't repeat it to anyone else?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Here's the thing: I did that to Blair."
"You what?!"
"Keep your voice down!" Bakura hissed. Louis clamped his hands over his mouth. "Look, okay, last night I found a room I wasn't supposed to find. And Blair caught me in it. He threatened to hurt Yami, so I had to retaliate."
"Wow. Remind me never to insult your boyfri-"
Bakura gave him a look.
"…Crush I mean, your crush." Louis amended. "Seriously though, you did that to him?"
"You said it yourself, he pissed me off." He gulped down about half his coffee. "Look Lou, the reason I'm telling you this is because, against my better judgment, I've decided to trust you."
"Trust me?"
"You remind me a lot of the people I used to hang around with." Bakura said with a shrug. "They were all cheerful and honest like you are. Normally I hate trusting anyone, but if I ever want to get out of here and back to…"
"Pursuing Yami?" Louis offered.
"Yeah, that…then I'm going to need some help. You wanted to see your family again, right?"
"You bet!"
"Good. So, you like memorizing things. If you ever hear anyone say anything important, you remember it and tell me, okay? Now let me offer you some advice too. NEVER get caught in the basement."
"This place has a basement?"
"Yeah, that was what I said. You get into it by an old stairwell in the back of the first floor. The walls and ceiling look different, I think it was either already here when this place was built, or it was added on. And I think that's where all the secrets around here are being kept."
"Wow."
"I have something on Blair, but you don't. He'd kill you without a second thought, and you can say goodbye to that journalism degree you wanted. So stay away from the basement, got it?"
"Got it." Louis saluted.
"Good." Bakura crumpled up his disposable cup and tossed it in the garbage. "Now, I've got things to go do."
"Okay! See you later!"
What the hell am I doing? Bakura asked himself as he waited for the elevator to arrive. Louis is a college student, he's not an expert at keeping secrets and staying cool. The doors opened and he stepped inside, pushing the button for the third floor.
I never trusted people ten times more stable than him, why did I basically just agree to partner up with him to find a way out of here?
The elevator landed at the third floor and the doors opened, but Bakura didn't bother to get out.
The only reason I'm getting him involved in what I found is because he could be handy down the road, and I know it. It's got nothing to do with his welfare; I could care less if he got back to college. I'm using him just like I've used everyone else I've met, he's just a handy tool, something to utilize if I need. Normally using people like that never bothered me but…what if he does something stupid and gets caught? Blair would kill him in a second. Would that really be the best deal…? Trade in Lou's life in an attempt to save Yami's?
He shook his head and looked down at his watch. Well…I'd trade whoever I had to, that's one thing for a fact. Yami's life is the only one that really matters, but…damn, if only he weren't in the picture, I'd be out of here by now.
Considering that, Bakura finally left the elevator and returned to his room, digging out a piece of notebook paper and a pen.
If I can convince Yami to get someplace safe, then I can crash this place without worry. He decided as he sat down on his bed and scrawled Yami's name across the top of the paper and wondered how to phrase his message in a way that would convince his former-nemesis to believe him. Trying to describe everything going on was out of the question. Really, Bakura thought, no matter how the letter was written, it was going to sound far-fetched. For all he knew, Yami wouldn't even take his advice. But still, it was worth all the shots he had.
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes:
My birthday is today! I posted one day early in celebration. ::throws confetti:: Since I was actually born at 7:30 pm, this will be the last chapter of a fic I will ever post as a fifteen-year-old. Bit weird to think of that.
Also, I'd like to point out that I have created a fanart for this fic. NOTE: IT IS A SPOILER. (In the form of a picture.)Go and view it ONLYif you want to see a scene from much later in the fic, otherwise, hold off if you don't wanta hint at what is coming.I wasn't planning to post the picture so soon, but I liked it since I worked really hard on it, and it's actually better than a lot of things I've drawn. Here is the
About Louis: He's another OC I've tossed into the fray, and is, pretty much, a 'good guy'. (Also, yes, he has a last name, but it's going to be revealed later on.) He's quite likable, and I daresay that you could call him a 'friend' of Bakura's. He's a decent, very honestperson, and I like him. His role at the Compound is primarily to be a get-away driver at murders and whenever he might be needed, and he is now, apparently, Bakura's teammate. He'll be important to the story, keep an eye on him.
I guess it should be obvious that Bakura would make it out alive. I mean, he's the main character, and this is only the forth chapter, so dying now would be rather anti-climactic. And a bit pointless. And Bakura NEVER does pointless things. So, he's safe for now. But for how long? ::cackles:: Sorry…I heard that on a movie preview once. "But for how long…?" Okay, I'll stop it.
What else can I say about this chapter? Not a whole lot, since it was sort of weird. I liked it…but it was like, boom, just ended right smack in the middle of a scene. If this was a manga series, I could use this area to draw in like some manga-ka do. Instead I'm taking my cues from Murakami-sama and typing utter nonsense. Yay! Everyone loves utter nonsense…even when it has nothing to do with the story at hand. Why are author's notes usually dedicated to things having nothing to do with the story? Maybe once I've gathered all the votes for the Why-we-love-people-we-can't-be-with poll, I'll start a new poll for the AN's. ::laughs:: Oh, no need to run away screaming, I was just kidding.
Replies!!
Hershey-kiss: Yes, Bakura has quite the knack for searching out those situations, doesn't he? The guy just can't stay out of trouble. Maybe one day he'll learn…ah, not likely. Yay, you liked the joke! I'm glad…I was rather afraid someone that is a very uptight Christian would come along and ruin the humour. xD That shirt is so FUNNY! I wish I had one of those! Yee, you're curious. Good! Enjoy the twists. ::niko::
You Know Us: Ack! I thought I told you not to get abducted…well, as long as you return and review. ::laughs:: Bakura chose not to take anything along with him due to that any extra gear would weigh him down and prevent a stealthy escape. (Not that it did him much good…) Yes, yes, those are good questions…and I must drag out the answers as long as possible! You must all suffer of curiosity. But until then…::blinks:: Oh boy, I almost forgot about Michelle's fixation on Yami's good health…yikes. That's such a cheerful threat…xD We will see, we will see…
So! Now, I have news! January 29th…mark your calendars…gather up your party supplies…and pray like hell…because I've heard a very solid rumour going around that episodes 163 and 164…WILL FINALLY BE PLAYED ON THAT DAY! W00T W00T! ::parties like there is no tomorrow:: At last! Angsty goodness, Yugi-Yami shippy scenes, one of the BEST episodes in the series, and the return of my sanity shall come!! Squee! On this note, I'll see you all next update, and we shall see where this idea of Bakura's ends up going…