AN: Up until now I had a very vague idea of the events to come in this story but now, ohhhh now, I know it ALL! Yes, I outlined the whole line of major events. Yay, definite direction! I'm feeling really excited and antsy… I've already started writing out some of the closing scene but I'm getting ahead of myself. We've still got a pretty long trek to go. (Is that good?)
I'm kind of annoyed that I had to split the beach into two chapters. The events of this one was supposed to be only two pages but it just evolved as I wrote it. Oh well, enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Three
The sound of an alarm clock sounded in the small apartment. A groan came from Akeno as she shifted her position on the floor. There was a growl then a crash as the alarm clock hit the wall. It continued beeping much to the annoyance of Bakura who sat up and glared at it.
"Girl, if you don't shut that off right now, I'll smash your skull open with it," Bakura threatened, looking rather tired.
Akeno sighed and reluctantly stood up. She winced as she bent over to grab the alarm; her body was aching badly. She looked pointedly at Bakura as she pressed the button, shutting off the alarm. It's not that difficult…
He ignored her and left the room. Akeno followed behind him to make breakfast.
"What is this?" Bakura asked suspiciously, looking into a bowl.
Akeno blinked. "It's cereal."
He glared at it then at her. "It's cold."
"It's supposed to be," she replied, looking at him oddly. Just how old is he exactly?
After a few minutes of Akeno trying to explain what cereal was, Bakura ended up making her microwave it. He then complained about how it tasted horrible and put a new rule into effect. Akeno was supposed to taste all of his food before him so he knew she wasn't trying to poison him.
"We're supposed to meet everyone at Yugi's by ten," Akeno told him, after they had both showered and dressed.
He grunted in reply, still clearly unhappy about having to go through with this. The walk to the Turtle Game Shop was silent aside from Bakura's impatient comments telling Akeno to hurry up or that she was slower than a dead mule.
She glared at the back of his head. Well maybe if you were helping me carry our bags, I'd be able to keep up! Once the game shop was in sight, Bakura snatched a bag from her hand, the lightest one, she noticed. There was a pile of luggage outside of the shop with a few people hanging around.
"Ryou! Akeno!" Tea waved to them.
Akeno gave her a slight smile but she heard Bakura growl. She looked at him. I don't know how he's able to fool them. He barely even tries to act nice!
"I'm so glad you two could make it!" Tea beamed as they stopped in from of her. "We're just waiting on Joey and Serenity."
Bakura gave her a fake smile, "Thank you for inviting us, Tea. I'm sure we'll have a smashing time."
Akeno gave him a sideways glance then looked at Tea incredulously. Smashing? She actually believed 'smashing'? She's either totally oblivious or an idiot!
"Hey, Ryou, Akeno," called Tristan as he approached. "How are you guys doing?"
"We're just fine," Bakura said cheerily. "Aren't we?"
Akeno stopped herself from sighing. "That's right," she said halfheartedly. "We're spectacular."
Tristan nodded, "Good to hear. Well, I'm going to see what's holding Joey up…"
As he left Bakura turned to glare at her. "If you don't make this believable, you'll regret it. Remember, as soon as this little weekend is over, you won't have these fools to protect you."
Akeno lowered her head slightly. He's right. As soon as we leave them everything will be back to normal… and I'll be at his mercy.
A squeal of tires made Akeno look up. "Sorry, we're late guys!" Joey called, leaning out the window of a minivan.
"Nice wheels, Joey!" laughed Tea.
Joey crossed his arms and grumbled, "It's my mom's…"
Tristan grinned, "Not everyone can have a sweet ride like me." He turned to Serenity in the passenger's seat. "Hey, do you want to ride with me?"
She opened her mouth to speak but Joey cut in. "Are ya nuts! I ain't letting my sister on dat deathtrap with wheels!"
"Your driving's more dangerous than my motorcycle," Tristan defended. "Besides, I have an extra helmet anyway."
Duke came up to Serenity's window. "I'd have to agree with Joey."
"Yeah, dat's right!" Joey beamed.
"No one asked you, dice boy!" Tristan replied, glaring at Duke.
Tea cleared her throat, "Why doesn't Serenity decide?"
Those who had been arguing stopped and looked at the young brunette who blushed. "Well, I was just going to stay here. My big brother was going to give me some driving tips," smiled Serenity.
They all sweat-dropped at the mention of Joey giving driving tips. "Maybe tips for crashing into a tree…" muttered Tristan.
"I heard dat, Tristan!" Joey yelled, shaking a fist. "And dat was only once!"
Akeno smiled slightly. She looked at Bakura as he made a noise that sounded like a growl and a sigh. He was looking at the group disdainfully. "Gods, kill me now," he muttered under his breath.
She frowned at him. "If you hate them so much, why don't you just let Ryou take over for the weekend?" Akeno suggested.
He gave her a stern look. "Because you would enjoy that too much."
A slight blush crept onto her cheeks and she looked away. Okay, so he caught me. Ryou would be much more fun to be around, hell, even Marik would be! I guess I'll just have to try and make the best of it…
Once all of the luggage was loaded into the back of the minivan, they decided where everyone was riding. "Well, Joey's driving and Serenity has shotgun… so I guess four of us will have to cram in the back and someone will have to ride with Tristan," Tea reasoned.
Yugi nodded, "Makes sense to me."
"Tea and Akeno are the lightest so they could just lap it," Duke said. "Unless someone wants to sit with the bags."
"That's a great idea!" Tea beamed, latching onto Yugi's arm, "We'll ride with Joey."
Duke and Tristan blanched as they looked at each other, obviously horrified that they'd have to be that close. Akeno was seriously considering switching with Duke; the prospect of sitting on Bakura's lap for hours really wasn't appealing. But as she was ushered into the van, all hope of trading spots vanished.
She tentatively sat on Bakura's lap, feeling unbelievably uncomfortable. This is worse than the plane ride! This is going to take hours! Yugi let out a yelp as Tea jumped on his lap.
"Sorry, Yug," she said sheepishly.
"I-it's okay," Yugi stammered. "You're just a little heavy, that's all."
Tea blushed and ducked her head. Akeno smiled nervously at them. Boy, it's going to be a long ride…
"Awright, everyone buckle up!" Joey grinned, shifting gears.
"Yeah, remember, Joey's the one driving!" called Tristan as he started his motorcycle.
Joey growled at his friend, "You just wait till da first stop!"
The ride began well enough. Akeno was starting to feel less awkward as the others made small talk. "So, Ryou," began Yugi. "Do you want to have a duel to pass the time?"
Akeno felt Bakura tense up and could hear his teeth grinding. Oh no… if they duel, Bakura might not pass up the chance to take us to the Shadow Realm! He wanted the element of surprise and you can't say that anyone would expect a shadow duel while sitting in a minivan!
"Are you sure that's what you want, Yugi?" Bakura asked, a glint in his eye.
Before Yugi could reply, Akeno cut in. "How about something else! I mean, something we can all do," she laughed nervously.
Serenity turned in her seat and smiled, "Akeno has a point. It's not much fun watching other people duel."
"Whad ya talkin' about, sis?" Joey asked, "I thought ya liked watchin' me duel!"
Serenity blushed and put her hands up defensively. "I do, Joey! It's just… a little boring without the holograms."
"Wha!"
"She's right, Joey," Tea agreed.
"Ya'll are nuts!" Joey exclaimed.
After Tea's numerous attempts to get everyone to sing along, they group fell into a relative silence. Akeno looked over at Yugi and Tea, they both looked like they were asleep. Serenity was slumped sideways against the window, snoring softly. Joey was quiet, muttering to himself now and then. She turned her head to look at Bakura. His head was resting against the glass, his eyes closed.
Is…he asleep?
He didn't move and his breathing was even. Akeno carefully lay back against him, suddenly hoping that he really was sleeping. She looked up at him and he still didn't move. She shut her eyes, focusing on the gentle rocking of the van. He must be…asleep.
"What rest stop!"
Akeno bolted up, panicked.
"Tristan, how far up ahead?" Joey whined into a cell phone. There was a murmur of a voice on the other end.
Akeno blinked and looked around, seeing that everyone else was awake and rather tired looking. She relaxed and rubbed her eye.
"Are we there yet?" she asked lamely.
Bakura snorted, "Does it look like we are?"
"Oh! I see ya!" Joey grinned, closing his cell phone.
They pulled into a parking lot where they saw Tristan and Duke waiting. Everyone practically jumped out of the van to stretch their legs.
"It's about time!" Joey groaned. "My butt was fallin' asleep!"
Tea scowled at him, "That's gross."
"Yeah," Duke added. "Ever hear of too much information?"
Joey crossed his arms indignantly. "You were all thinkin' it," he said. "I jus' said it."
Bakura and Akeno held back by the van as the gang went into a shopping center to buy food. Akeno looked at him apprehensively. The two of them being alone made her feel uneasy. Even though they were only a few feet away, he could still do whatever he wanted to her. If she screamed, she doubted they'd reach her in time.
"Do you want to join them?" she asked meekly, hoping he'd say yes.
He snorted. "If that was a serious question, you're even denser that I thought."
She looked at the ground. "Isn't it a bit odd that we aren't with them? I'm sure they'll notice."
"Don't give them that much credit," Bakura said, leaning against the van. "That lot makes you look like a genius."
Akeno narrowed her eyes at him when he wasn't looking. "So we're going to avoid them the whole time?"
"Do you have a problem with that?" he asked, fixing her with a hard gaze.
She shuffled her feet slightly and frowned. "I just thought being anti-social would make them curious. I mean it's hard enough to pass as a couple, let alone their friends. It probably would have been better if we declined."
Bakura pushed himself off the van with his foot and closed the distance between them. "What do you mean 'we'?" he snarled, "It's your fault we're here! If you had just kept your mouth shut, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Akeno took a step back. "I said I was sorry," she replied quietly.
He snorted and grabbed her wrist, hauling her towards the complex. She stared at him, surprised. "I thought you wanted to stay away from them," she frowned.
"Just shut up," he growled, "And if I kill someone, remember the blood's on your hands!"
She gulped. He's just being melodramatic, right?
Two small tables had been moved together so that everyone could sit in the same area. Joey had taken a seat next to his sister, much to Tristan and Duke's annoyance. Bakura sat furthest from them, forcing Akeno next to Yugi. Halfway through lunch, Tea started thinking aloud, saying how wonderful it was that they were all together and without a care in the world. As Tea spoke, Akeno noticed Bakura reaching for her knife and quickly grabbed his hand, trying to prevent an incident. After which, he nearly crushed her hand just for fun. Akeno clenched her teeth and gave him a pleading look to which he merely smirked.
The bastard… Is he trying to see if he can break my hand before I scream?
A small squeak escaped her lips despite her best efforts to remain quiet.
"Hm? Did you say something, Akeno?" Yugi smiled.
"I…uh was just agreeing with Tea," Akeno replied, pulling her hand from Bakura's death grip. "It's nice to get to know you all better."
They smiled at her. "Yeah, same to you," Yugi replied.
Some time later, they all stood to pay the check. Akeno scowled slightly after Bakura laughingly admitted he couldn't find his wallet. Some boyfriend… "Oh, I'll pay," Akeno said halfheartedly. "Don't worry..."
They all crammed back into the van. This time, Akeno was more annoyed than nervous. She sighed as she reluctantly sat on Bakura's lap. She dodged his casual attempt to hold her hand, hoping he'd give up. He's probably wants to continue crushing my bones! The sick jerk! He'd better not try anything else! It was then that he indiscreetly jabbed her in a pressure point on her side. She suddenly leapt off him with a yelp, hitting her head on the roof of the van and dropping to her knees, holding her head. She glared up at Bakura.
"What was that for?" she shouted, "Why can't you just keep your hands to yourself!"
She saw his jaw clench and she felt uneasy. Van full of people, right… Akeno laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "I mean, uh, there's other people here, sweetie," she hissed, still glaring at him from the floor. "Shouldn't we save that kind of thing for later?"
Bakura gave her a false smile but she could see the malice in his eyes. She flushed slightly. "Of course, honey," his voice dripping with venom that only she seemed to notice. "I'll be sure to remember that once we're alone."
She gulped. Was that a threat? Did I just tell him to torture me later? Please, not again!
"Awright, everybody sit down!" Joey ordered. "I don't need ya's getting' frisky back dere! That goes for you too, Yug!"
Yugi's face reddened. "Wha- me? I-I'm not! I mean, uh, I wouldn't!"
Tea and Serenity laughed at his expression, lessening the tense atmosphere. Akeno hesitantly returned to Bakura's lap, turning away from his harsh gaze. The others weren't aware of the obvious threat sitting next to them. Maybe their presence wasn't that helpful; it wouldn't stop Bakura from doing what he wanted to her, he merely had to wait.
Akeno shivered as Bakura purposefully trailed a finger along the cut on her neck. It was a reminder of what he was capable of. She wouldn't forget it. He turned her face so that she was looking at him. Bakura smirked at the fear in her eyes; it let him know that she got the hint that she was still at his mercy. He forced her head against his shoulder, making it appear to be affection. What the others couldn't see was the wound on Akeno's neck that Bakura had reopened or the tears in her eyes as she silently cried or the satisfied smirk on Bakura's face.