Chapter six: Stop short. (The next chapter is the last chapter, and then a possible epilogue.)
Song title: "Who I am hates who I've been"
Disclaimer: ...Purple cows upon you all! ...The real owner is some guy: Takahashi. ...Lucky.
Dedications: I dedicate this chapter to random characters that pop-up out of cyber-space to help, but either don't stick around, or only stay to go "aww!" at the end. Like...well...you'll see.
This story is dedicated to whatever I said it was dedicated to before. I don't actually remember.
Warnings: I had a weird dream. Really weird. Say, isn't the spelling of weird...weird? I mean, you know...strange. -.- SEE? After weird dreams, I'M weirder!
Note: Italics mean flashbacks. For the people who don't know, these words are in italics. :P
Finally, I'd like to mention something. There's been a change. This WAS my original ending song. And the song here was going to be "I so hate consequences". But, I decided to change it. Or...at least...AHHH! This could start a writer's block, so I'll just go.
...-Next day- ...Curse you, writer's block.
...ON WITH THE STORY!
There was a sound of leather, various slams and thuds, colors flying everywhere, though most of it was black, and a few low murmurs and mutters.
The end of the crashing, thudding, gigantic mess, and occasional bi-lingual curses was a dark green duffel bag filled with all of a thief's favorite possessions.
He swung it over his shoulder carelessly, tossed a look around with the same indifference. He really didn't care about leaving this house. It made no difference to him. It was not his home. The Ring was more of a house to him then this place.
And the one from his previous life was obviously nothing more then dust and rubble now, if that much.
To leave this place meant nothing...but, to leave this town...that would be another matter.
Ryou had one of the keys to the house, another was left on the counter with a note in case Bakura didn't talk to him before he left, and the last one, Bakura was carrying.
The note itself consisted of more of Bakura's general casualness, lacked emotion...and completely left out everything he wanted to say.
It was little more then: "Here's the key, here's the house, have a nice life."
Bakura's ivory bangs splayed about his face in the wind as he idly moved them. First stop was Marik's house. He'd tell the old psycho and his hikari that he'd be leaving, and fulfill an old promise he made about if he ever went back to see Egypt again.
...After all, that's where he was headed. Hadn't seen the place in 3,000 years...and he wondered what it felt like to come home after so long.
It would be different, he knew. The Egypt he'd known was long gone. He'd probably leave after revisiting the places he'd been...but, for now, he had a place to go.
After knocking at the door of the Ishtar house, which was conveniently lacking in quantity of neighbors, and having a very frustrated Malik and jumpy, insanity-ridden Mariku answer, he immediately blurted out his good-byes before he even entered the room.
"You're...leaving?" Malik echoed, instantly forgetting his current issues with his yami and dropping everything from his mind but that one concept.
Bakura didn't have much of an answer but a soundless nod and a look of vague resignation.
"Ehhh? It's going to be boring around here without you..." Mariku whined, sticking his ever-present tongue out at Bakura.
"You? Boring? Yeah, right." Bakura snorted, already imagining some of the things Mariku could do, and obviously would do, even without him. And it involved a cat and a blender.
"Where will you go?" Malik interrupted, turning the matter back to more serious concerns.
"Egypt. Where else?" Bakura adjusted his bag strap, signaling the obvious idea that he hated long good-byes.
"Of course. ...Bleh. Well, just write or something. And don't you dare have to much fun without me." Mariku pointed at the tomb robber accusingly.
"I'll try." Bakura muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. So, seeing as he had nothing left to say, Mariku exited with a secret grin on his face. He had gotten away from his hikari...muwah.
Malik couldn't help but feel...uneasy about this. His old friend was leaving...and, what would happen to his new friend when he discovered the old one hadn't just skipped town, but a continent as well! "Bakura, are you sure about this...?"
Bakura nodded, as if that should clear away all doubt. "You know what happens when I've made up my mind about wanting something...I want to leave."
Malik's eyes had the same familiar pleading in them that another teen had, not so long ago. "But...what will Ryou say?"
Bakura didn't miss a beat in his next suggestion. "Hooray?"
"I'm serious, Bakura." Malik eyed him very carefully, pale lavender eyes flashing like the lightning thoughts within his mind.
"He'll feel relieved. He doesn't know what to do about me and I don't know what to do about him. I told him to give up on me, and he accepted, so I'm going to get away from this mess." His own eyes had a telltale flicker of emotion...but it was gone too quickly for Malik to truly comprehend it.
"He...but...you what?" Malik stammered for a moment, trying to regain his words, and after a time he could only shake his head. "Bakura, you moron." He muttered softly, feeling truly sorry for both of his friends.
"What did you call me?" Bakura demanded, a thin eyebrow raised in the beginning of a defensive flame.
"I can't believe you. Lord, Bakura...you told him to give up on you! I'm not that surprised he accepted, I admit, but...how could you do that? After him standing by you...all this time?"
Bakura realized, at this point, that Malik had more flame in him then a forest fire, and it would be foolish to try and debate him.
"What about me, Bakura?" Malik asked softly, looking up into his eyes with purpose. "I never gave up on you. Ryou doesn't want to give up on you. Couldn't you have just...bent a little? I forgave you...and I know Ryou would forgive you...it doesn't have to be like this."
"That's different, Malik. Very different." Bakura crossed his arms impatiently. "Ryou...wants something from me that...I don't think I can give him. So what's the point of trying? And I...I haven't done as much to you as I have to Ryou."
"I forgave my yami." Malik inserted carefully, quietly...the tone in which he spoke these words turned the whole room grave with silence.
There was a considerably, uneasy pause, and the tomb robber's expression softened a little bit more.
"I know. And...you're right. That's a big deal. I just...I don't know. By the way...you guys never told me whether or not you were?" Bakura trailed off, rather suggestively, though intentionally leaving it vague.
"Well, uh..."
Bakura snickered, causing Malik to smack him on the arm. "What? 'Uh' isn't much of an answer."
Mariku re-entered the room at the sound of another well placed 'smack'.
"Are you picking on my hikari, Bakura?" Mariku asked 'intimidatingly', coming behind Malik and hovering over him protectively. He slipped an arm around Malik's shoulders and smirked. Malik blushed and smacked Mariku on the arm this time.
"Hikariiii..." Mariku whined. "That hurt!"
"Oh, shut up." Malik muttered back, glaring at him.
"Aww...how cute." Bakura snickered. "Love patter. I'll just leave you two turtle doves alone."
"Bakura, one more crack like that, and I'll start hitting you with the rod." Malik threatened menacingly.
"Alright, alright. See you two later. I'm out of here." Bakura mock saluted as he opened the door, bag re-slung.
"Don't forget about what I said, Bakura!" Malik called after him as he shut the door, and, finding his job done, he turned back to his yami. "Now, as I was saying...I demand an explanation for your weirder-then-normal behavior!"
Mariku's eyes shifted. "Umm..."
"Mariku, your TV show is on!" Isis called from the kitchen, already making breakfast. (It's like...near sun-rise. ; How on EARTH do I fit in these time-frames!) "Channel four!"
"What show...?" Malik's eyes focused on his yami's which were anywhere but his face.
Malik walked over to the TV and snapped it on to channel four...and collapsed on the floor with laughter. "Oh...my...Ra." He huffed, holding his laugh-sick stomach. "I wish Bakura was still here to see this."
Mariku just stood there, feeling his dignity fall away, dead. Utterly and terribly obliterated.
He felt...awestruck...and at some strange reverence-filled peace. Before him, was a beautiful sight that he had only seen once before in his whole life...and he knew most folks dared to call it ordinary.
The sand that the wind's breath kicked up glittered like diamond dust in the golden rays of the sun, and the shine cast a crimson streak upon the ocean's cheek as if the mighty waters blushed.
It was somewhere around...oh, six-thirty he guessed. He didn't carry a watch. Didn't want to, didn't need to. And right now, more than ever, he didn't care at all.
Watching the rosy fire spread from the sea to the sky as the whole world seemed to glow...just...captivated him.
And he was never more at peace to be a prisoner.
Bakura: I watched the proverbial sunrise, coming up over the Pacific and...
You might think I'm losing my mind, but I will shy away from the specifics...
In such a peaceful state, however quiet, one's concerns will either float away, or bubble to the surface. In Bakura's case, it was the latter, no matter how much he wanted to forget.
Bakura: 'cause I don't want you to know where I am…
'Cause then you'll see my heart in the saddest state it's ever been.
All his pain, his anger, mixing in his head, slowly making a dull ache that just didn't seem to end.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Bakura: This is no place to try and live my life.
He had to get away, didn't he? Yes. Yes…he had to get away. Away from here, away from his pain, away from this land…away from…Ryou.
'Ryou…'
Flash back
"No, I just wanted to see how you'd react."
Bakura: Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.
See that line? Well, I never should have crossed it!
"Then don't. Don't bother me anymore. Save us both the trouble and the breath."
Bakura: Stop right there. Well, I never should have said that!
A door slam…a broken heart…a broken spirit…
Bakura: it's the very moment that
I wish that I could take back…
Bakura sighed, running a hand through his hair…his heart weighed so heavily…
Bakura: I'm sorry for the person I became!
I'm sorry that, it took so long for me to change!
What could he do now, though? 'How can I do anything…? I can't fix this…if I can't solve my own problems, how am I supposed to help someone else? I can't…I just can't…'
Bakura: I'm ready to try and never become that way again,
'cause who I am hates who I've been!
Who I am hates who I've been…
"What do you want from me?" He asked softly, sinking to the ground before he even knew he got there. "What do you want!"
Bakura: I talk to absolutely no one.
Couldn't keep to myself enough…and the things bottled inside have finally begun
to create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up!
He just…sighed. Couldn't stay, couldn't go. Couldn't think…couldn't speak. Not forward…not backward. There was nothing. There was everything. And he hated every bit of it.
Bakura: I heard the reverberating footsteps
Syncing up to the beating of my heart…
And I was positive that unless I got myself together,
I would watch me fall apart!
Like this…he felt so…empty. So broken. Alone.
Bakura: And I can't let that happen again!
And…thinking back to all he was leaving behind…as he looked at the shimmering colors before him…suddenly he didn't need to leave. Suddenly, he no longer needed to feel the sand of Egypt beneath his feet. He didn't need to see his past. He didn't need to revisit his old home…
…This was home.
It was always home.
He'd always heard that "home is where the heart is." If he went to Egypt, he would be leaving his home and his heart behind.
Bakura: 'cause then you'll see my heart
in the saddest state it's ever been.
Bakura shook his head and chuckled…first quietly, then louder, his shoulders shaking, and finally he found himself laughing out loud. "When did this happen…?" He asked himself softly, still chuckling.
This is no place to try and live my life.
"So…what do I do…?" He stood, brushed the sand off his pants, and looked over the waters thoughtfully. "What am I doing?"
Out of no where, as if to answer his question cosmically, or at least heavily coincidentally, a girl with long blonde hair and deep green eyes that looked about sixteen or so, regardless of real age, walked up to him, grinning.
She held a small simple piece of cream-colored paper. Behind her, on the sidewalk was another girl with golden, caramel-coloured hair and sparkling hazel eyes that laughed at the world with a heart-warming mirth.
Both of them stared directly at him, each looking like they had some important purpose for being here. It was the blonde that spoke first.
"I…we," She corrected herself with a pause, and a confident smile, "…have something to give you."
"Look, if you're selling something, I've kinda got more important things to do, so…"
The girl with caramel-coloured hair and hazel eyes shook her head, hair falling around her shoulders. "You're not listening. She said we have something to give you. We don't want your money."
The blonde nodded vigorously, and then, with a soft, muffled giggle, she handed Bakura the piece of paper and walked back over to her friend.
With a grin that simply couldn't get any bigger without being inhuman, she turned to her friend. "Let's go. Our…" Another giggle. "Work here is done."
Laughing to themselves as they went, the two friends went hand and hand, off somewhere…until who knows when. Bakura scowled in confusion, knowing that this must have been something weird, and opened the piece of paper.
His eyes scanned it in suspicion, until he realized what it was. His mouth slowly moved as he whispered the words on the page. He gaped when he was finished…looking up to find the two teenagers, he saw nothing. They were already gone. (1)
Shaking his head in utter amazement, he headed down another road…
He had come to find freedom…and stopped short, realizing that it was already there.
Ryou sat down, legs crisscrossed on the guest bed at the Motou's house, feeling completely and utterly lost. Just like someone else, he couldn't move forward and he couldn't move backward.
Or…so he thought.
Staring out the window, barely remembering today was supposed to be a school day, he let his thoughts pull him away into a different world. He felt less and less like this world was real in his own reality.
Everything was wrong. All wrong.
Like a summer snow, or dead batteries in the family remote…wrong. Just wrong. Like a story with no beginning and no end, like a colorless world…like a light that didn't shine…so wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!
He felt the presence of another person, and heard the soft rustling of clothes…heard soft footsteps and a small voice, kind and soft, like his own. Unlike his yami's, which was dark like tinted glass, and mostly rough and…
"Ryou…are you okay?"
He didn't turn, knowing that it was Yugi, probably in his starry-pajamas, staring at him with concern, wondering if he still had his sanity…well, at least, he assumed that's what his kindly friend was wondering. Everyone wondered that at one point…"the quiet one" was his label, after all.
"I'm fine." He heard his voice reply of, seemingly its own accord. It sure didn't seem like his voice. He felt as if he'd merely heard the words from far away, rather then having spoken them. It was ghost-like compared to his normal cheerful tone, whether fake or not.
Yugi, sensing this was a very delicate moment, exited the room with a soft inward sigh and a murmur of "if you need me or Yami, we'll be here for you." And he quietly shut the door.
Yami waited outside patiently, still wearing his black silk pajamas, leaning against the crisp white wall. "Well?"
The shorter teen merely shrugged. "He said he's fine…but he sure doesn't sound like it."
"You don't buy it either, huh?" Yami asked with a sad smile.
Yugi shook his head. "Nope. Something's wrong…he looks so…lost. What do you think could be wrong?"
"Remember when he left yesterday?" Yami asked, moving away from the hall and motioning for Yugi to follow so that they didn't disturb Ryou. Yugi pattered after him on the wooden floor, trying to remember.
"Yeah…are you saying you think he went to see Bakura?" Yugi blinked up at his darkness thoughtfully.
Yami nodded, not at all surprised that Yugi caught on quickly. "I'm positive. Maybe they finally settled things…"
Yugi's lips drew up in a frown. "Yami, that doesn't make any sense. If they settled things, then why didn't Ryou go home?"
"Because not all stories have happy endings, aibou." Yami sighed and settled on the couch, Yugi following in suit and snuggling in next to him.
"But…can't we do something?" Yugi looked up at Yami's expression, seeing him bite his lip in thought.
"I'm afraid not. It's not our business aibou, and because of that, we might make things worse. Besides, do you really think Bakura wants help from me?" Yami's eyebrow raised comically.
Yugi giggled, nodding. "You have a point there."
Yami took a moment to adjust himself to look more like his former ruler self, sniffing in a dignified manner. "I have many points, aibou."
Yugi nudged him, giggling once again. "And some of them are wrong, too."
Yami snorted. "Since when I have been wrong about anything?"
Yugi put his hands on his hips and gave Yami a oh-come-ON look. "One word. That's all I have to say."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Yami held his head high and proud…until Yugi said his 'one word'.
"Shower." (2)
"Uh…"
And
the pharaoh's long pause of embarrassment set off another round of
giggles that was eventually silenced with the 'thud' of a rather
large pillow and a mock "Oww…"
Ryou's point of view
I could hear Yami and Yugi talking in the other room, just laughing and having fun…like best friends…only more. As hikari and yami. Complete and happy.
And I couldn't help but envy them all the more.
My fists clenched together angrily, but…but why was I angry? Was I angry with Yami and Yugi for being happy? Angry with Bakura? Angry with myself? Yes. I was.
…I felt guilty for the most part. Yugi and Yami should be happy…after all they've done for the world, don't they deserve a little bit of happiness? But…as selfish as it is…what about me?
Why?
I was…envious, and hurt and mad and sad and ABOUT TO LOSE MY MIND! Huh. Screaming really does make you feel better. Even if it's only mentally.
…I just need to cool off, I guess. It's just…it's been so long. I've hoped so long. Can anyone blame me for feeling this way when I know I'll never find happiness? That I'll always feel incomplete? That I'll always feel alone? That no one can ever understand?
I'm not like this though. I'm not the kind of person that gets mad at people for being happy…I'm the one who is always there, always patient, accepting, understanding…
But I'm sick of it!
…Can't someone be there for me? Can't someone understand me? No…no, I shouldn't think like that. My friends are here for me. Yugi and Yami let me in their home…
I just…I need to go for a walk.
Then I'll clear my head…and it'll be okay again. I'll be okay again…even if it's just pretend…I'll be okay. Somehow.
The wind purred as it playfully nipped at the leaves of great tall oaks, which resembled ancient giants in endless slumber. The gray sidewalk led the way to the edges of the earth…or so it seemed. In reality, it slowly brought two souls together…
Bakura was walking back into the neighborhood, and Ryou found himself walking out of it. Each was thoroughly entranced in his own world, so neither looked, nor particularly cared, where they were going.
'So…what now?' was Ryou's mental mantra.
Bakura's was a list of things he was going to do, which always fell short when he got to Ryou. What was he going to do? 'No…no…not what. I know what to do…just…how? None of my ideas seem to…work.'
Considering their minds were so preoccupied, and their walk so thoughtless, or perhaps thoughtful, it was no surprise that, upon heading in the same direction, they bumped into each other. Quite literally.
"Ow!"
"Hey!"
Both made a rather loud 'thud'-ing noise, landing on their butts, and each had his unpleasant thoughts toward the other. Bakura got up first, and, rolling his eyes…trying to dismiss the fact that he believed this was at least half his fault, he stuck out a hand to help the other up. Mainly for the purpose of telling him face-to-face to watch where he was going.
When Ryou saw the out-stretched hand underneath his white hair, which had fallen about his face, he grabbed a hold of it gratefully, expecting an apology and then politely preparing to say that it was his fault.
It was about then when they realized just who they had bumped into.
Bakura, though surprised as Ryou apparently was, ignored it for merely this one moment, and continued to help Ryou up. Though not entirely voluntarily, Ryou accepted Bakura's help.
The younger stared at the older…who paused and stared at the ground. Ryou couldn't seem to find any words to say to his darker half…perhaps there was something to be said…but he could not open his mouth for the life of him.
Bakura, his mind racing, paused on a single solitary idea. He wasn't one to hesitate…and blunt was always his way, so how else could he do it?
"You're going to the club on Friday, right?" He asked in a low, solemn and rough tone.
Ryou, finding the question strange, nodded slowly, still misplacing his words.
"Good." was all Bakura said, before stepping to the right of Ryou, and walking right past him. The bewildered millenium child turned and stared after the ex-thief king, and his eyes fluttered for a moment.
"What on earth was that about?" Ryou muttered, shaking his head, and heading back in the direction Bakura had gone. He still had school…
Friday was tomorrow…perhaps he'd know then.
Bakura: Who I am hates who I've been,
and who I am will take the second chance you gave me.
Who I am hates who I've been,
'cause who I've been only ever made me...
A soft knock on a robin-blue oak door that seemed vaguely harmless set off a chain-reaction of crashes and thuds, and loud angry yells.
'Some things never change…' Bakura mused with his trademark dark smirk and waited almost patiently for his two psychotic friends to answer the door. His sling-bag was now on the ground beside him, and he amazingly remembered to retrieve it after his run-in the Ryou without even thinking about it.
"We're coming!" Malik yelled from inside, grunting either painfully or irritably, and yelling something in Egyptian, which Bakura identified easily as 'Knock it off, you cow!' He snickered.
"Hello?" Malik asked, looking out the door, and gaping. Mariku appeared behind him with an eyebrow raised and his tongue actually inside his mouth for once.
"Cow?" Bakura snickered some more, and gave his 'friends' some questioning looks.
"Yes. He called me a cow. Hikari needs insult lessons." Mariku noted with a firm resolved nod, and a disappointed frown.
"Bakura…what ARE you doing here?" Malik looked absolutely shocked, but slowly, his expression turned to confusion, and looked slightly hopeful.
Bakura bit his cheek for a reply, then shrugged. "Well, I have some bad news for you, Malik. I'm not going to be able to fulfill that promise I made…"
Malik grinned, his face glowing even more brightly then his tan was golden. "Somehow I think I'll live. I'm really glad…'Kura."
Bakura's nose wrinkled. "Arrr…that name again." He muttered, grunting in annoyance. "Why do you call me that?"
"Because it's cute." The Egyptian teen answered simply, brushing back bleached-blonde bangs carefully.
"Hey!" Mariku pouted, crossing his arms and his eyes narrowing, 'to match his narrow mind', as Bakura would say. "You don't let ME call you that!"
"Yeah. Because I don't like you. And I only let two people in this entire world call me that. Ever. If anyone else calls me that, I kill them." Bakura stepped inside and took off his silver and black tennis shoes, as is traditional custom.
"You love me, Bakura. Just stop trying to deny it." Mariku bounced on the couch and gave Bakura a 'purposeful' stare.
"Where does he get these ideas?" Bakura asked Malik, blinking as if he was actually surprised.
Malik snorted. "As if you WANT to know? Heck, I sure don't want to. I'm just trying to keep some of my sanity between the two of you."
Mariku and Bakura both laughed and nodded, as all of them settled on the couch, and both the Ishtars turned to Bakura with utmost attention.
"So, give us the '411', Baku." Mariku prodded, nudging Bakura and smirking for absolutely no reason. As usual.
Malik nodded in agreement, already enraptured in a story he had yet to hear. "Yeah, while we're still young."
Both spirits turned and eyed him. "Okay," he corrected, "While I'm still young."
Bakura shrugged. "It's like this: I have an idea. I am not telling you what it is, but it does involve 'Mystic Dream.' And, I'd like to stay here for the night if you both don't mind. I also need to borrow your soundproofed room and possibly one other thing. If you have it."
Malik frowned at the horribly vague and short explanation, but with a sigh, he nodded in acceptance. "Deal. But do we at least get to see whatever it is you're going to do?"
Bakura's jaw tightened. "You might as well."
Mariku grinned. "Wanna do something while you're here?"
"Mariku, if you kidnap the neighbor's cat again, I WILL make you regret it!" Isis thundered from upstairs. "And Bakura, PUT THAT BACK! That's my favorite earring, and I'm not going all the way back to Egypt for another pair."
Bakura and Mariku both scowled. "Isis is scary…" Mariku muttered, tossing out plan A.
Malik laughed. "No, she's not. At least she's psychic, not psycho. Besides…I love my sis."
After staring at his hikari for a good minute, Mariku smirked and slowly formulated another plan.
Isis then entered the room in khakis and a blue T-shirt, though her hair had its same Egyptian style, and she held the millenium rod in her right hand. "If you even try that one, so help me, I will hit you over the head so hard that it'll take another three millennia just to get your head to stop throbbing." Then, with an acknowledging nod to Bakura and a soft smile to Malik, she exited the room.
"See? Scary!" Mariku hissed quietly.
"I HEARD that!" Isis yelled back, walking back up the stairs to clean up a previous mess.
Bakura and Malik laughed at Mariku's 'so-unfair!' expression, all of them eventually laying back to rest.
"So…what happens if your idea doesn't work?" Malik asked, turning back to Bakura.
"Then Mariku and me will have another reason to hang out. And I'll buy first."
Mariku grinned at that. "And if it does work?"
"Then…I'll be way too busy for that kind of stuff…hopefully." Bakura allowed himself a small, very small grin. "You know, I'm afraid to ask, but why haven't you guys been at school for so long?"
"Didn't you hear? We got suspended for blowing up the science lab." Malik turned to glare at his yami.
"I was trying to burn it down, not blow it up. Something went wrong." Mariku sniffed indignantly, turning his head to the side.
Bakura's head bobbed in cheeky agreement. "Yeah. Something in your head. And nah, I didn't hear about that one. Musta been the week that cold was going around." (3)
"Colds are evil." Mariku insisted with a nod of finality.
Malik gave his yami a hard stare. "And you're one to talk?"
"Hikari meeeean!" Mariku pouted some more, lower lip going at it for additional help.
Bakura stared. "Is he high or drunk?"
"Neither…both…who knows?" Malik sighed, pushing an untamable bang back behind his ear, and shook his head. "I wonder if he's ever sober."
"Hmph. You two are mean."
Bakura paused thoughtfully. "I prefer to call it 'brutally honest.'" He leaned towards Malik. "About that other thing I needed…it's---" He whispered the rest in Malik's ear.
Malik blinked several times, and nodded. "Yeah, I have that. Why do you need it?"
"Confidential information." Bakura replied, re-positioning himself.
Malik chewed on his lip. "Okay, just don't break it."
"Deal. Can I have it now?"
Malik nodded reluctantly, and went upstairs to his room. Bakura followed in suite, noting the ever-interesting décor. There were always interesting things at the Ishtar house. And obviously sturdy if the lasted long enough for you to see them whole. Vases from Egypt, ancient paper, pictures, and of course, normal and modern things. A generous amount of various paints, (especially black for Mariku) to cover up any stains, skid marks, and scratches.
Malik knelt at his bed, which had black and silver sheets with a lavender pillowcase, and reached under it. He carefully pulled out a rich red, wooden box and grabbed an item from the inside, handing it to Bakura carefully, giving him a stare that said 'See this? See how it looks now? That's how I want it to stay.'
Bakura nodded at the silent remark, replying with a casual, yet inaudible promise to be careful, and walked out of the room. He grabbed another item, which he told Malik he needed earlier, and headed for the designated room.
"I can't believe I'm doing this…" He muttered. "Tomorrow it is."
Bakura didn't leave the room for the longest time, except at lunch and dinner, then quietly sank back into the room. Finally he left it for the night. He found Malik and Mariku staring at him.
He scowled. "What?"
"What on earth are you doing in there?" Mariku scowled back at him.
He snorted. "None of your business. Hey, Malik, can I take the thing I borrowed again tomorrow? It'll only be for about an hour or so."
Malik shrugged. "Sure. Just keep it in one piece, and you can hold on to it as long as you need to." He then yawned.
"Hikari…you look tired. How 'bout we go to bed?" (4) Mariku purred, giving Malik a 'sympathetic' look.
Malik snorted. "Like I'll actually get sleep."
Bakura snickered and exited the room, leaving the two to themselves. He entered the guestroom, which was black and white, with a more natural and clean look than most rooms. With a sigh, he sat his sling-bag on the bed and changed into some cut-off jeans and a T-shirt. He fell back on the bed and made it bounce, still unsure if he could sleep.
His eyes eventually closed with one last thought. 'Tomorrow.'
Bakura: So, sorry for the person I became.
So sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to try and never become that way again,
'cause who I am hates who I've been!
Who I am hates who I've been.
1: You know, that scene was never meant to be that long. It was supposed to be "Hello, here's your paper, I giggle, see ya." …And, in case you're wondering, no. Most of you shouldn't know who they are. …Well, granted, you can certainly guess.
2: Inner-fic humor. If you like hetero as well, you can catch the meaning by reading "Just a little push." (A hetero only story, YXA) But, uh…this story doesn't have any hetero pairings yet. If (In) fact, it just plain might not have any. And certainly not Yami and Anzu. I have conveniently and honestly accidentally left Anzu out of pairings. Oops.
3: HINT-HINT! More inner fiction stuff! Muwaha!
4: Warning, implication ahead. Naughty mind. Naughty naughty mind.
Gee…what was this, anyhow?
I dunno. …Review.
REPLIES:
AngelKelley17: -Laughs- Hey, now, guys...be nice to the reviewers. Or else I'll write more mean angst. Glad you liked it. Thanks again.
StormySkys: Yeah, I know it's depressing, but so are their lives. Gotta be true to character. o.O I've seen much worse then this story. Ahhh...well, thank you. I'm glad that the depressing-ness is satisfactory. -Chuckles- Here's a tip: Bakura ALWAYS picks a bad time to be Bakura! Wait no longer. And thanks again.
Shinigami: Patience isn't my middle name either. It's grace. (No, just kidding. My middle name has no revelance.) I'm admittedly surprised you didn't know this was a song-fic. Umm...it should be -somewhere- in my notes. Weird songs?-Blink- I resent that. Anyway, if I'd never heard the songs, this story wouldn't exist. No, I wouldn't, actually. I know the Memory-Egyptian arc. And yes, I know about Bakura too. Zork too. In fact, my friend made a rhyme about Zork. (COPY RIGHT!) "Zorky porky, pudding and pie, kissed all the boys and made them cry. When Yami-kins came out to play, Zorky-porky ran away." Muwahaha. Thanks again. You gave my my longest review yet.
HappyDevil: It's angst. It's supposed to be sad. Thank you very much...
Sand Dancer: Hey. A new name! Pfft. If they just got to be together, this would be a very short and boring story. On the other hand...fan service. Muwaha. Thanks, I'm glad you like it.
ryou's succubi: Admittedly, I have no idea what a succubi is. But nice to meet you all the same. -Laughs- Really? Awesome, I take that as a very big compliment. Reviewers (nearly) crying means I'm obviously getting better at angst. Thank you! -Weak chuckle- Actually, I need to write more about YXY. I've written three BXR stories. But they're only my second favorite pairing. If you like, read "Destiny"'s "Tendershipping" chapter. Or, with your permission, I can e-mail you the link to another BXR story I wrote. Sorry for being a chatter box. Thanks again.
Eyes-of-Crimson: Lol...I wanted to make them jump each other, but no dice. My muse refused. No, I can't. This story was pre-written. And if you don't understand what I mean by that, I mean I finished it before I posted. The next chapter is the ending chapter, and I cannot budge on that one. I'll check out Paper-cut though, and who knows...maybe they'll be a sequel? (Don't count on it.)
Saffron-Starlight: Yup.
Kaaera: I take my reviewers tears as just as much of a compliment as their glomps. Thank you. Of course, another chapter. Next chapter is the last. You've been a very faithful and encouraging reader...thank you.
Kouichi Kimura: O.O Thank you! Wow...I'm turning a bit red now. :) Actually, though, I have to tell you...someone who I personally think is better then me is my beta reader. She's writing a great Halloween fic, and it has YXY, BXR, JXS...and a few others. Interested?
YAMISGRL: Lol...I'm so pleased. I got such an emotional reaction from my reviwers! Thank you very much, and I definitely will.
THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER, possible epilogue t.b.w.