Chapter 3
(Jenrya: Hi-es! When, one of my buddies, ZenSuicune, gave me one of the root idea's for this chapter. But you'll have to read to find out! Plus, I noticed that I have a habit of putting things in the beginning of a story that I forget about later on, so it lays unnoticed; most of the time, forever. I'll try my utter best not to do that. Anyway, I'm continuing 'Turmoil', but this story goes first, since I think it's better then 'Turmoil'. Anyway, R&R and I hope you enjoy! PLUS, I realllyyy need ideas for Turmoil, or I'll never finish it! ANGST ALERT!!!)
Bakura's P.O.V
"Seto...." A young boy stood in front of me, his eyes as deep and as blue as the sea itself.
"That's not him that you want, kid." Kaiba walked next to the young boy. I noticed that the young boy MUST have been Kaiba when he was 10-ish.
"Do you know were he is?" The young boy asked Kaiba.
"No." Kaiba answered, squatting down to the boys height.
"I suppose I'll never find him...."
"Or myself...."
"Ever again."
~*~
"Set-o! Wake up!" Someone knocked heavily on the door.
'I'm not Seto......I don't have to wake up....' A thick, sleepy voice said in the back of my head. More knocking on the door. I opened my eyes, and remembered exactly were I was. In Kaiba's body. My senses were still clouded and sleepy, but I heard the rapping at the door that caused me to wake up. The dream was quickly forgotten. "I'm awake!" I said, getting up and opening the door. I realized my mistake when Mokuba slowly backed away.
"I'm sorry....but, I just thought....Maybe you forgot..." Mokuba looked up at me. "You're still tired....I'll let you sleep. Sorry for waking you big brother." Mokuba frowned and walked away. I tried to remember what I might have to do today... But I didn't know Kaiba's schedule!
"Mokuba, I did forget, so what did you want?" I asked, trying to make my voice kinder somehow. I noticed as the days went by Kaiba's voice was naturally cold and bitter, and it was really tough to make it sound compassionate in anyway.
Mokuba ran to me, his eyes glittering. "My camping trip, brother! For my birthday!" He chirped happily. It suddenly felt as if someone threw cold water one me. I rubbed my head. I remembered my conversation with Kaiba.
"How about in four days?"
"Convention followed by meeting. Incase you were going to ask, the day after that, me and Mokuba will be going on a camping trip."
"You? Camping?"
"I owe it to him. It is his birthday."
I nearly hit my head against the banister. It isn't four days yet..... "Mokuba, it isn't time for the camping trip yet!" I said thickly; sleep still overcoming me.
"You rescheduled it, remember? You said, and I quote, 'I can't go to a convention AND a camping trip in the same day. I'll move the trip two days before, OK? AND I'll cancel any conventions after that until the big one in Tokyo.' You promised!" Mokuba gave the cutest puppy dog eyes ever. I nodded, and thought for another minute. This must be important for the real Kaiba, maybe I should invite him.
"O.K, but under one condition." I said. Mokuba nodded. "I'll have to invite Bakura." I said, choosing my words carefully. "...because he bothered me during the sleep over, and I told him if he would shut up for the night, I would let him go to the camping trip. I hope it isn't a problem?" I said uneasily.
"No! I really wanted someone else to come with us!" Mokuba's eyes glittered even more. "Can I invite Yugi and the others?" I almost nodded my head, but I remembered how much Kaiba hated them, so I told Mokuba no.
"Please? Older brother!" Mokuba pleaded.
"No." I said, trying to make it sound like the conversation was final. It mustn't have worked. I suddenly realized a throbbing pain had erupted in my veins; in my wrists. But I didn't want to worry poor Mokuba.
"Pleaseeeeee?"
"No!"
~*~
Two hours later
I was dressed in normal clothes, but Mokuba looked as if he was climbing Mount Everest! He had the biggest backpack ever, the cutest little hat, a jacket which pockets were very close to bursting with all the stuff cramped in them, and about eight 2-litter bottles of water, AND a month worth of food in a big plastic bag which I was carrying. Mokuba had talked me into inviting Yugi, Jou, Tea, and Honda on top of Bakura. We were all fitted comfortable in a nice limo, and the drive would take two hours alone.
"Mr. Kaiba, the usual house?" The driver asked. I didn't realize he was taking to me until he said, "Mr. Kaiba, sir, the usual house?"
"Yes." I said, not understanding what as going on. If it was a camping trip, weren't we suppose to be in a forest or something?
I looked right next to me, were Bakura (you know, Kaiba in my body) was sitting. He seemed extremely rigid. I slighted yawned and closed my eyes to sleep, and since no one disturbed me, I slept peacefully, with no knowledge of the terrible dream to come.
~*~
"Did I not tell you to study?!! You horrid, pathetic, awful, terrible, miserable, inadequate boy!" I winced as I saw a boy of no older then 15 being hit on the face by a large fist. I backed away, and bumped into someone. I turned, and saw Mokuba.
"Stop! I stopped him from studying! I wanted him to help me in my math!" Mokuba said, fear vibrating in his voice.
"So it was you, huh?" The man turned to Kaiba. It was present day Kaiba, to. "Tried to cover up for your brother? Now, I'll show you both what lying brings you." The man slapped Kaiba hard over the face.
"Enough!" His blue eyes studied the near-by window. "I'll inflict on you the pain that you dealt to us; a hundred times over." The man stepped back.
~*~
"Hey, Seto, wake up, were there!" Mokuba shook me.
"Huh?" I looked up at Mokuba, who frowned at me.
"You must be sick. You never sleep outside of home. Do you want to go back home?" Mokuba asked me. I shook my head, and as I looked up, the cold hard eyes of Kaiba stared back at me. He shook his head sadly.
Kaiba's P.O.V
2 hours earlier
I woke up the next morning, and I remembered the camping trip. I sat up in bed, cursing. Why did this have to happen right before Mokuba's camping trip?! I went to the bathroom, fixed up, and lazily walked to the kitchen. Bakura's father was already cooking eggs and bacon, and I frowned. I hated bacon. The anatomy of a pig is nearly exact to that of a humans, so when I eat bacon, I feel as if I am becoming a carnivore. (A/N: Actually, some people I know are like that.)
After stuffing down breakfast, I looked at the kitchen clock.. The trip would not start for another few hours. Oh great, my luck really held out, no? I sat there, thinking of my bad luck when suddenly, the phone rang. I ran and got it.
"Hello? Ryou Residence?" I said, picking the phone up. Bakura's father looked at me strangely.
"Ay! Bakura! Can you come to the camping trip with me today? Please?" I heard the voice of Kaiba said back to me.
"Let me ask." I put the phone down very slowly on the table, and turned to look at Bakura's father. "May I please go on a camping trip with Bak - I mean Set - I mean Kaiba." I said, hoping Bakura's father wouldn't notice my stuttering. He luckily did not.
"Fine. Just be back by 5 P.M. tomorrow, O.K?"
"Yeah, fine." I picked up the phone, and said, "I can come. I'll be there in 25 minutes."
"Great. See you then." Bakura said back to me.
"Bye." And with that I hung up. I went up to dress for the trip, and came downstairs exactly 10 minutes later.
"Bakura....may I have a word with you?" I stopped dead in my tracks. What did I do incorrectly? I know that I had the same tone of voice, the same appearance...all that wasn't there was personality! And I was mimicking that considerably well! I turned around.
"Yes father?" I asked, trying to put as much distance that would be safe to muster between the two of us.
"You have been acting very....well, weird Bakura. Ever since you came back from that Kaiba-Boy's house. (My ears flared at being called 'Kaiba-Boy' once again, but I pushed the annoyance to the back of my mind for the time being.) And I'm worried Bakura."
"Why so?" I asked, trying to act confused.
"O.K, you see, there it is. The snob-ish attitude, and you've been calling Kaiba a lot these few days." He paused. I stood there, not fully understanding what to do. Gozaburo was the last closest thing to a father I had, and he wasn't like this. He didn't care. My parents died to many years ago for me to fully remember how to react in a situation like this. So I continued to stand there. "Well? Answer me!" Bakura's father glared at me; but not a hate filled glare, but one that somehow showed compassion. I never got that. At least, I don't remember ever getting that kind of look.
'But he didn't ask a question, how can I answer him?' I thought helplessly. "I – I needed his help over the past few days. With - With home work and stuff." I said, letting the first words to enter my head to be the first words that left my mouth.
"Oh, and Bakura, over the phone now – "
"Yes, what about the phone?" I asked, wincing slightly at the slight flare that appeared near Bakura's father when I must I used, "the snob-ish attitude".
"Over the phone you said 'Ryou Residence'." Bakura's father answered to me.
"And?" I answered, not fully understanding where this was going. In Japan, all families used, "Insert-Family-Name-Here Residence".
"Our family name is Bakura, not Ryou. Ryou is your first name." I frowned slightly. I knew that Bakura was um, Bakura's last name! That is the name the teacher's used for the roll-call!
"Um, I wasn't thinking straight. May I go now?" I asked, looking at my watch. I was 5 minutes late.
"O.K. But remember, be back by 5 P.M tomorrow." Bakura's father smiled at me, and gently pushed me out the door. I was left on the front porch, many thoughts swelling my head. I enjoyed having a parent around... But how?! I forced myself over the years to forget completely of what happened before Gozaburo! That way, my scars might have been able to heal faster... I sat on the porch, thinking of my parents, until tears stung my eyes. It still hurt! I failed at something!! I, quite angry with myself, got up and marched quickly to my home. Maybe I would find comfort at the home were all my dreams were shattered... maybe I find comfort at the only home I have now... But not even Mokuba would recognize me now....
~*~
I rang the bell insanely, hoping that I would be answered soon. After nearly five minutes of ringing, Bakura opened the door. His clothes were extremely....ill. He had my Battle City clothes on; which was fine. But he...had everything extremely lop-sided. The belts, which were supposed to be completely secured on both my arms and legs, was far too loose, and was sliding down to the wrist and ankles. The black turtle-neck shirt was wrinkles, and the turtle-neck was folded badly. The trench coat was the only thing that was on correctly. I frowned, and Bakura looked up at me sadly.
"I can't get any of your clothes on...." He said, sadly. I walked into the house, and locked the door. I walked up the stairs. "Um, Kai–"
"Follow me." I said. Bakura did just that, and I pushed him into a near-by closet.
"Um, what are yo–" I shut him up when I pulled the belts on tightly. Bakura stared at me oddly. I arranged his turtle-neck, and I crouched down and fixed the leg-belts. I got up, and looked at Bakura for several seconds.
"You look just like me now." I said, opening the door. I walked out, and Bakura looked at me.
"Um...thanks." He said, looking at me. "You know, you aren't as bad as most people think." Bakura said happily.
I muttered a, "Thanks", and I tied my long, white, annoying hair into a ponytail. Bakura looked at me for several seconds, and frowned. He pushed me into the office.
"Why did you-" I began, but Bakura interrupted me.
"Today morning, these were hurting me." Bakura rolled his sleeves up, and reviled 4 scars, 3 on the left wrist, 1 on the right wrist. I looked up at Bakura.
"What do you expect? The one on the right wrist is only three months old; scar tissue might be forming." I said, getting worried. "You might have to call Dr. Haragachi. His number is in my address book." I continued. Bakura seemed not to understand fully.
"But my left hand–"
"If I explain the life story of my wrists, will you shut up?" I asked, hoping to get this over with.
"Yes." Bakura answered, eager to know what had happened to me.
"Well, as you can see," I pulled Bakura's wrist toward me. I pointed to the oldest, smallest, thinnest scar on the left hand. "I wasn't very eager to attempt suicide, you know, my parents would not be very happy." I pointed to the second scar, which was the longest. "I thought at this moment that if I cut vertically, I might make a bigger gash, but it didn't work. I just fell into a coma." Bakura gave me a solemn look. I looked up at Bakura. His blue eyes were full of concern, and he opened his mouth to ask a question, but I already guessed it. "Why did I try again? The first time didn't hurt; I passed out seconds after I cut myself. But all the tries after, pain was of little importance to me." Bakura gasped, but waited until I finished. "This one..." I pointed to the third, longest, thickest scar. "This one hurt. I didn't cut the vein correctly, so it never grew normally. I have a metal closure; there was always a slight gap that hurt insanely." Bakura was about to ask another question, but yet again, I guessed it. "A metal closure. I had to have surgery on my left wrist to input a...um...well, a connector. If I didn't close the vein somehow, my left hand would be insignificant, and I need both of my hands."
"You said this one was fresh." Bakura said, pointing to the right wrist.
"Ah! That one did not even touch the vein, do not worry. I'm right-handed, so I fumbled with the knife. Can we move on?" Bakura nodded, but asked yet another question.
"Why? Why didn't you therapy or something?" Bakura asked me, frowning. I paused. I became as infuriated and confused as I was right after I came out of the hospital.
"Mr. Kaiba, we highly suggest therapy." The doctor told Kaiba, walking right next to his bedside. An I.V machine was connected to his arm, and his wrist was heavily bandaged.
"I will NOT pay an old goat to listen to my problems! This country is a democracy; and as long as I am not hurting any individual, it is completely legal."
"But Mr. Kaiba, you are hurting an individual. You are hurting yourself."
"So?!?! As I said before, I do not wish for a man to go up to me, pat me on the back, tell me EVERYTHING will be okay, and charge me 85 dollars a day to pour out all my secrets to him. I have rival companies, you know!"
I snapped back into reality. Bakura was waving a hand in front of me. "Hullo? Hallo? Hellooo Kaiba?!" He said nervously. I , in a quite aggravated mood, pushed the hand out of my face.
"What?!"
"Why didn't you therapy or something?" Bakura repeated curiously. I was truly vexed.
"Because I wanted to die!! I couldn't take it anymore! You have lived my life only a few days, so imagine me! Five years of my life, stolen from me! And a brother to take care of, and four years out of the five were filled with abuse!" I paused, and realized my fisted shaking recklessly. "...And no family or friends to support you when you fall....only those who kick you when you have already fallen. Only those who add to the bruises and blood....and pain. And talk nothing to me of your Yami. You have people to pick you up when you are disheartened. I have nothing." I pushed Bakura out of the way, and walked out of the room.
"....You don't let us Kaiba..." I heard Bakura mutter sadly before he was out of earshot.
Bakura P.O.V
Present
"You must be sick. You never sleep outside of home. Do you want to go back home?" Mokuba asked me. I shook my head, and as I looked up, the cold hard eyes of Kaiba stared back at me. He shook his head sadly. I heard him mutter, "Can't even keep his eyes open for an hour..."
"No, I'm fine Mokuba. I just...." I noticed I noticed five pairs of eyes, all staring at me. "...I just didn't get enough sleep this week. You know, it's been a rough week for me." I said, trying to add effect by rubbing my temples.
"Um, O.K...." Mokuba said, opening the car door and hopping out. I followed him out, already realizing I was messing the whole camping trip up. I cursed under my breath.
~*~
I didn't understand if we would be camping outside, or staying in a cabin of some sort, but my question was answer when we stopped walking just 10 feet in front of a beautiful, cozy beach house. There were about three floors, and my stomach filled with butterflies when I noticed that there might not be enough rooms for six people. But I was soon relived by the beautiful surroundings. Right behind the house was a cliff, and beneath that was a beautiful ocean. There were trees all around us, and the grass was green, and the smell of plants was in the air. All my cares were gone for a minute. Then Mokuba tugged at my pants, and I walked inside the house.
The inside was almost as nice as the outside. "Whoa....hey, Kaiba, I must admit, this house is cool!" Jounouchi said, smiling. I simply nodded at him.
Once everyone was in there room, and set up a few things, we took a nice, brisk walk. Kaiba was right next to me, and we talked the whole way.
"O.K, I really don't think I'll survive this trip...." I said to Kaiba.
"Do not worry! This place is always so.....blissful. Even I am not such a pain in the butt here." Kaiba said, with a smirk on his face. He played with a piece of white hair. Then he looked at me sadly. "Pegusus nearly killed me here...." Kaiba pulled up his sleeve, and was surprised not to find anything. But then he laughed slightly. "I forgot that this isn't my body...." Kaiba pulled my sleeve up, and it showed a dark mark near the shoulder.
"How'd you get this?" I asked, pointing to the scar.
"Jumped out the window. Long story...." And then Kaiba walked away.
'He really seems more lighthearted here! Good for him!' I thought happily, and I walked faster to catch up with Yugi and the others.
(Jenrya: Well, end of another chapter! Hope you liked! Yami Bakura will be talked about next chapter!! And this will NOT exceed 9 chapters (I'm planing about 1 chapter before switch, per switch-day, and an Epilogue.) R&R!!!! I know, kind of OOC, but the switch is now getting to the main characters. OH, dang, I never got a chance to sneak in the idea ZenSuicune! Sorry, I'll sneak it in first thing next chapter! ^_^)