Chapter Seven: Mother
-Teishin Manor-
Marik helped Bakura out of the car, trying to keep the small child asleep. However, when Mr. Teishin slammed the door on the other side of the car, Ryou jolted upright, causing Bakura to wince in pain.
"Oh, so sorry," Mr. Teishin said blandly before walking off to his 'side' of the mansion.
Marik seethed quietly as Bakura and Ryou both got out.
"It's fine," Bakura said, limping ever so slightly. Ryou looked worried at his new soon-to-be brother.
"Sowwy…" Ryou whispered, his face red with guilt.
Bakura gently rubbed Ryou's back, consoling him as Marik helped him towards the elevator. (Yes, there is an elevator inside the manor. If I recall correctly, his room is on the second floor)
When they finally reached Bakura's room, he collapsed on his stomach on the bed with a sigh.
"Bakura, I still need to put some salve on your back," Marik reminded him, reaching for the bottle of medicine.
Bakura grumbled as Marik unscrewed the bottle.
"I wanna help," Ryou commented shyly, staring at the floor with his hands linked behind his back. "May I?"
"Sure kiddo," Marik said, winking. "I could really use your assistance." With that, Marik and Ryou went to go wash their hands. Afterwards, he told Ryou to go get a bowl of water and many clothes from the bathroom. When the boy eagerly went out his post, Marik made his way back to Bakura and began the hardest part of the job.
"Brace yourself," Marik whispered as he entered the room, picking up a pair of scissors. Bakura just scoffed, but Marik saw his hands clench.
Slowly, Marik started cutting off as much of the remaining torn up shirt as he could. Bakura flinched as Marik pulled off the rest of the shirt, which stuck to his wounds like a suction cup.
-Near the bathroom-
Ryou quickly grabbed the bowl and placed it under the sink. He grabbed many towels and placed them near the sink, ready to go as fast as he could. However, the sink seemed to disagree with him. The water came out at a trickle, making Ryou impatient.
While waiting for his water, Ryou looked around nervously. A picture caught his attention.
Framed with an expensive frame, the picture was obviously high quality. In the photo was a beautiful, tanned woman with Egyptian features, and a stern, albino man with glasses and a tie. The smiling woman had a giggling boy in her arms.
Kura… Ryou gently touched the picture with yearning. His mom…is so…pretty…
A gurgling sound brought the child back to life.
Ryou quickly grabbed the full bowl, closed the water, picked up the towels, and began his slow and precarious trek back to Bakura's room.
-Bakura's Room-
Bakura slipped in and out of conscious as his wounds were tended. Marik quickly and carefully finished, and Ryou lent a hand when he bandaged Bakura's back. Ryou tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes many times, but it was evident that he was tired. Marik didn't blame him. It was around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning after all.
Done, tired, and pleased with his work, Marik sat on the edge of the bed, regaining his thoughts. Ryou joined himself soon thereafter, but the child fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the sheets.
Marik grinned as Bakura sleepily opened an eye. Bakura smiled back. He pulled himself higher onto the bed and settled near a corner. Then he placed Ryou in the middle, and pointed to the empty end of the bed to Marik.
The tanned driver was about to refuse, but the thought of sleep swayed his decision.
The three forms slept peacefully until late noon.
(AN: No nasty thoughts! Keep it that way!)
-Noon…Late noon-
"Crap!" Bakura said, carefully rolling out of his bed. The two other occupants shook awake as he attempted to stand by himself. He didn't succeed. Instead, he buckled back onto the bed.
Ryou quickly got up and hurried to Bakura's side. "Kura, no moving! Mawik said no moving!" he said hastily, checking the bandages like Marik had taught him to do.
"But it's past noon! I'll be late!" Bakura complained.
Marik firmly placed a hand on Bakura's head.
"Dude, what the heck? I can't be late two days in a row!"
"It's fine Bakura. Don't fret, the hospital does not close after noon, or there would be some serious issues. Besides, it's not like your mom's going to hate you for being late." Marik smoothly aided Bakura onto his feet. "Ryou, grab any shirt from his dresser, please."
Ryou did as he was told, and came back with a gray long sleeve one.
"Thank you." Marik took the shirt and assisted Bakura with putting it on. "Ryou, go change in the bathroom, brush your teeth, all that jazz," Marik said, guiding Bakura to the door. "I'm going to help Bakura into the car. Take your time," he added quickly as he saw Ryou's frightened look of being left behind. "Bakura's going to be like an oooooold man, aren't cha?"
If looks could kill, Marik would've died. Laughing, Ryou still hustled out of the room and towards the restroom.
"You are going to die."
"Yes, isn't every one?"
Bakura's eye twitched. "You'll die a painful death."
"I love you too, Bakura." Marik grinned, but it didn't last very long as he had to duck to avoid the oncoming fist.
-In the car-
"Kura?"
Bakura turned towards the timid voice. "What is it, Ryou?" he asked, picking the boy up and placing him on his lap.
Ryou squirmed a bit. "Does it huwt when I sit here?" When Bakura shook his head, Ryou's face brightened a little. "Um…"
"What's your question?" Bakura smiled, entertained by Ryou's shyness.
"Why is your mom in the hospiwal?"
This wasn't what Bakura was expecting. "Where'd you hear about that?" he asked.
Ryou's face turned a darker shade of red. "In your room, when you and Mawik was talking about being late."
"Oh…" Bakura looked up thoughtfully, thinking. Marik's grip on the steering wheel tightened. Would Bakura blow him off, like he did every one else? Ryou saw Bakura's hesitation, and softly placed his hand on top on Bakura's.
"It's otay. You don't have to tewl me," Ryou whispered as he looked his shoes.
"Some idiots from school came by and decided to sneak into our huge backyard. My mom was out there pretty far, watering the plants. She uses this special substance that kills the germs instantly, but it's really expensive and dangerous. They were kept in fragile tubes near the entrance to the garden." Bakura paused. Ryou slowly raised his eyes as the teen continued. "The intruders got in, but set off the alarm. My mom ran out of the garden, and collided with the kids. One of them panicked and ran into the tubes…of all the tubes, only half of them broke." Bakura took a breath shakily. "Most of the kids were on the ground. Some had already left. My mom was the only one that got hit. The substance hit my mom in the eyes, making her to scream. That alone was good enough to make her blind. It didn't stop there, though. Another teenager pulled out a gun when he heard police sirens. When the officers tried to calm him down and draw my mom into safety, the trigger was pulled. The bullet hit the closest person, my mom, in the head…"
Ryou gently placed his head on Bakura's chest and closed his eyes. "Will she…wake up?"
Bakura reinforced the dam that held his tears. "I hope so," he said, stroking Ryou's head unconsciously.
Marik felt something inside of him loosen. I hope so, too.
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-AN: This chapter wasn't exactly my best. I couldn't work on it all at a time. I had to write a sentence, do something else, write maybe two sentences, save, go to w/e, etc, etc. It was really annoying.
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