Authoress' Note: Sorry to have taken so long, but I've had insane computer problems.
Yugi sat at the desk reading the line over and over. With each repetition, the overt threat behind the words grew exponentially. He sat tensely, not daring to even breathe. "Yami…" The pharaoh emerged from the Puzzle, translucent, and leaned against the desk. "Yugi, don't worry about it!" Yami's eyes stopped in mid roll when he saw Yugi's terrified expression. "What?" The boy wordlessly pushed the notebook across the desk to the other. His eyes moved quickly across the text, but Yami's face remained expressionless. Five minutes passed, but still the spirit did not move. Finally, Yugi hesitantly reached out. "What are we going to do?" Yami looked at him and said evenly, "We're going to get her back."
"She actually smiled!" thought Bakura triumphantly. Tea sat, more relaxed now, cradling the large bouquet of roses. And indeed, a faint smile graced her lips. She suddenly noticed his eyes upon her and looked up. Their gaze locked for a moment before the girl's eyes narrowed and she shoved the flowers onto the table. Tea turned her head and stared blankly at the wall ahead. "It won't work, Bakura." She said this as much to reassure herself as to inform him. She couldn't admit it even to herself, but Tea knew she had slipped when Bakura handed her the roses. She could hardly have helped it, though; Tea's subconscious was working against her. To protect itself from the traumatic situation, her psyche was adapting by putting a surreal twist on what Tea experienced. As a result, the consequences of giving in to Bakura were becoming less and less dire by the hour.
Tea, of course, was completely oblivious to the underlying rationale for her strange feelings, but they frightened her more than the spirit that inspired them. A sensation of choking suddenly descended upon Tea; she had to get away from him. "I have to go to the bathroom." she rasped out and promptly ran from the room. Bakura followed placidly. He knew exactly what was going on in Tea's head, and he also knew that she would eventually crumble and embrace it.
A large crash echoed through the house as Tea slammed the bathroom door and threw the deadbolt. She panted shallowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. She could sense his presence outside and she didn't want him to know just how upset she was. The girl closed the lid of the toilet and sat down. "Yami…" He seemed like a nice guy. A little serious, perhaps, but definitely cute. Tea recoiled at the thoughts that were going through her mind; that was not the way one thought about one's husband. She put her head in her hands. "What's happening to me?" A soft knock broke through her contemplation, and then a voice floated into the room. "Tea, may I come in?" Her eyes widened, but she couldn't even say "No" before the door swung inward and Bakura stepped through. "But I…" she started. He grinned and flourished a screwdriver. Sympathy quickly replaced the elation on his face, however, and he crouched down in front of Tea. She stared down at her hands, but he stroked lightly along the length of her neck with his pale hand until she looked at him. The hand moved to the back of her head and held it securely as Bakura leaned in.
Plan F: Find an overhanging tree branch, drop onto the roof, climb in through a window, murder Bakura in the most violent, painful way possible, rescue Tea.
Yami growled and paced the room. Each plan was becoming progressively less feasible, but it was damn near impossible to be objective when that bastard had the woman he loved. The spirit's thin pretense of calm had quickly evaporated when Yugi had objected to simply running out into the night to wreak vengeance upon Bakura. "Yugi, this isn't working! We're wasting time!" Inside the Puzzle the boy was also pacing. "I know, but he's got a plan. If we just wing it, we won't have a chance!" By the end of this sentence, Yugi was shouting and nearly hysterical. The pharaoh buried his hands in his multicolored hair and battled to maintain his self-possession. Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Here's what we're going to do." he said, grimly.
Tea's first thought as Bakura's lips grazed hers was not, to her surprise, to shove him away. The second and third thoughts backed this sentiment up, and after that Tea was no longer capable of thinking about anything more than the feel of his caresses.