AN: Yes, this story IS still alive. Let me know what you think of the chapter!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A long and drawn out yawn escaped Akeno's lips. She ignored the irritated look Bakura shot her and rubbed the sand from her eyes with a loose fist. Bakura had insisted they leave early and take another route to school what with yesterday's encounter still fresh in his mind. Although he was certain no one had followed them back to the apartment or was anywhere within sight, he wasn't going to take any chances. The pair of them walked along the pavement, Domino's morning sun warming their backs and subsequently making Akeno drowsier. She stifled another yawn and stretched, causing her sore muscles to ache.

Geez, my back's killing me! And my feet too! I'll be happy just to sit in a desk for a few hours without having to stand or walk. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay awake. The last thing I need is another detention.

Akeno gripped the straps of her backpack and stared at the cement as she walked.

I can't believe Bakura's making us take such a long route to school. I get that he wants to be careful but this is a little ridiculous. We must've walked in circles for miles! If he keeps this up, my feet'll drop off by the end of the week.

She sighed quietly. Her gaze wandered up from the pavement and over to Bakura. He appeared normal with his confident strides and focused stare but Akeno noticed slight discrepancies from his usual demeanor. His narrowed eyes would flicker occasionally as he scanned the streets and alleys and his grip on Ryou's leather briefcase was tight enough to make the skin of his pale knuckles lose even more color. Akeno's gaze drifted back up and was met with glaring brown eyes.

"What are you gawking at?" Bakura growled.

Feeling too tired to manage a blush, Akeno merely blinked in response. "I wasn't gawking," she defended.

Bakura raised his lip in annoyance. "And now you're contradicting me."

"I wasn't con—" Akeno began then stopped herself. She pursed her lips. The lack of sleep was beginning to make her rather irritable; the added miles of walking didn't help either. Her cheeks started to flush in annoyance and she looked away, trying to calm down. "Sorry."

Bakura glanced around to see that no one was nearby then smacked Akeno upside the head. "Sorry, what?" he growled.

The slap brought tears to her eyes which she blinked away angrily. Akeno balled her hands into fists and gave him a hard look. "Sorry, master," she corrected begrudgingly.

"I told you not to call me that in public!"

"Well, what do you want me to say? I'm sorry, Bakura!"

With a snarl, he roughly grabbed Akeno by her uniform's blue bow. "I don't believe I like your tone, girl!"

"What tone would you like then?"

He tugged Akeno forward, making her stand on tiptoe. "It seems I may have to implement the use of your collar again. If you don't know how to speak to your master, I'll make sure you have no breath to speak at all."

Back off, Akeno! Don't let your bad mood put you in danger! He can actually follow through with his threats, unlike you.

The anger dissipated from her gradually, leaving her tired and defeated. Not liking the thought of wearing that sharp metal choker again, Akeno lowered her eyes. Bakura took the action as a sign of surrender and pushed her away.

"I've been merciful in the past but I won't tolerate your insolence," he hissed. "This is your last warning, girl."

Akeno hung her head as Bakura stalked off. This is a great way to start the day, she thought glumly as she ambled along, dragging her school shoes. All I want to do is go back and sleep. Bakura stopped and shot her an impatient glare over his shoulder. She ran to catch up as he began walking again.

"You choose now to lag behind?" Bakura snapped. "If you get snatched off because of your own stupidity, don't think I'll come after you."

"I'm sorry, uh… Bakura."

Bakura growled in response. It seemed that no manner of address would appease him at the moment. He was on edge and very furious at the idea of someone having the nerve to hunt him. Those men were blundering idiots; he had noticed them almost immediately, even with their sad attempts at being covert. It was insulting to have them entertain the idea that they could track and capture the great Thief King. Of course, he wasn't worried, not for his sake, but the girl already proved to be a simpleton and could easily be picked off by their inexperienced stalkers. Somehow, she had managed to become another burden upon his shoulders. Bakura glared at her, deeming her weary expression idiotic and resisting the urge to smack her again. Had it not been for the people close by, he would have.

They arrived at Domino High without incident, aside from Bakura nonchalantly tripping Akeno in the street several times. Akeno tried the front doors and was met with resistance. "Hm?"

"Weakling," Bakura muttered, pushing her aside and trying the doors himself. He stopped after one try and snorted. "They're locked."

Akeno looked through the small window in the door. "There are lights on… I guess they haven't opened up yet... Huh. I've never been this early before."

Bakura crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. He shut his eyes but an aggravated expression lingered on his face. After a moment of standing there, Akeno sat down on the steps. Their little trip to the theater last night left her with a handful of small scraps on her knees from when she had climbed into the ticket booth. She looked down at the two Band-Aids just above her white knee-highs. They covered the deeper cuts from the glass which, thankfully, weren't too serious.

She rested her hands in her lap and looked thoughtful. "Hey, Bakura… um, I was wondering... I mean, I've been thinking it over and well," Akeno stumbled over her words before finally shutting her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued. "I'm not trying to sound rude or disrespectful or anything but like I said, I've been thinking things over and I believe it'd be in everyone's best interest if you let Ryou have control during weekdays. He'll be able to go to his classes and do his own homework, not that I'm trying to get out of doing it. And you won't have to be bored hanging around school and such. I know five days out of the week is a lot but you'd just be wasting your time in school anyway so …What do you think?"

There was no reply.

Oh, great. Did I upset him?

Akeno hesitantly opened her eyes and turned around to face him.

"Ba…kura?"

He was nowhere in sight. She sweat-dropped and nearly fell over.

He left? Just how long have I been talking to myself?

She stood up quickly and glowered at the wall he had been leaning against.

Bakura, you're such a jerk!

Once the doors opened, Akeno went inside along with a few other early students. She made it to her locker and quickly put her things away. Even though she knew her friend, Emi, wasn't an early bird, Akeno didn't want to take a chance by dawdling in the halls. She hurried to her math class and was the first to arrive, save for the teacher. Mr. Kimura gave her a disapproving look and she rolled her eyes behind his back.

I'm late, he's angry. I'm early, he's angry. There's just no pleasing this guy. Not unlike someone else I know…

"Oh, hey, Akeno!"

Tea grinned as she entered the class.

"Morning, Tea," Akeno replied.

The brunette plopped into the seat in front of her and leaned on Akeno's desk. "So, you ready for the quiz?"

"Quiz? What quiz?"

Tea gave her a surprised look. "We have a quiz in math today on everything we've learned so far," she explained. "There was an announcement yesterday at the end of class. Didn't you hear it?"

Akeno groaned and hung her head. "No! This is just great—I'm gonna fail!"

"Well, I'll let you study," Tea said with a sympathetic smile.

"I would if I had taken notes…" I was too caught up in my thoughts to bother…

"You could borrow mine if you want," Tea offered.

"Don't you need them, Tea?" Akeno asked.

The brunette shook her head. "I did my studying last night," Tea said, handing her a copybook. "You use it."

Akeno accepted the book gratefully. "Thanks, Tea! You're a life saver!"

Tea winked at her. "No problem!"

As the rest of the class filed in and the quiz began, Akeno resigned herself to the fact that she hadn't a chance of passing. She groaned and stared blankly at the quiz, resting her cheek in her palm. A burst of giggling drew her attention to the back of the class. She turned in her desk to see a group of girls laughing quietly and staring at her. Akeno looked at them in confusion before facing forward.

What's up with them? Is my hair sticking up or…? Maybe they can see my wrong answers, she thought dismally, glancing down at her paper.

She sighed, remaining generally bummed out for the rest of class.

"Oh, cheer up," said Tea, as they walked from the classroom.

"It's only the first quiz," Yugi reminded her. "I'm sure you'll do better on the next one."

Akeno smiled weakly. "Yeah… I'll see you guys later."

She left the pair as she headed for her next class. Akeno walked down the science hall but stopped at the sound of crying.

"Hm?"

Curious, she followed the sobs and found a girl hiding her face in her hands. She had long purple hair, pulled up into a ponytail with a ribbon. Akeno recognized her as someone in her grade; a relatively quiet yet bubbly girl.

"Uh… Miho?" Akeno tested, feeling rather awkward.

Miho paused and peeked out of her fingers and upon seeing Akeno, began crying even harder.

Akeno stepped back in surprise, wishing she had just kept walking. "What's wrong…?" she asked, obligated. "Are you alright?"

She was suddenly shoved out of the way as two girls stepped between her and Miho. "As if you don't know!" one of the sneered.

Akeno blinked, confused. "I don't understand… I didn't say anything wrong; she was crying when I got here," she tried to explain.

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Just leave her alone! Haven't you done enough?" she glared, turning to comfort her friend. "There, there, it's okay. See? She isn't even that pretty!"

Akeno walked away from the three girls, wearing a look of utter confusion. I don't get it! Why are they blaming me for Miho being upset? I've barely ever talked to her!

As Akeno seated herself in class, the incident continued to bother her. She bit the inside of her cheek. Instead of trying to figure it out, Akeno immersed herself in the biology lesson, taking extra time to write her notes and diagrams. By the time lunch rolled around, she had nearly forgotten about her encounter with Miho and her friends. It was only when she passed a group of whispering girls in the hall, that she remembered that things were odd today. Akeno did her best to ignore their blatant stares and laughs but when one girl came over to her, she had no choice but to look at her.

"Can I help you?" Akeno asked, annoyed.

The girl was an underclassman, a freshman probably. "Well, I just was wondering if it was true?" she asked, earning a raised brow from Akeno.

"Is what true?"

The freshman fidgeted. "Well… you know, about you and that boy…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't make me say it! I was just wondering if you were really dating or just using him?"

Akeno furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

"You and Ryou Bakura, of course! You did move in with him, didn't you?"

Akeno stepped back. "W-what? How did you?"

Four other girls from the group came up to them, one grabbing the freshman's sleeve. "C'mon, Tsuko, you don't want to be caught talking to her."

"I only wanted to find out if the rumors were true," Tsuko said.

One girl scoffed. "Of course they are—don't be so naïve," she said, turning to Akeno. "I mean look at the state of her knees! Been on them much, Hitoshii?"

They began giggling at the implication and Akeno felt the blood drain from her face. N-no, that's not—I didn't! I—Caught between being horrified and confused, Akeno ran away from their mocking laughter.

Akeno stopped near the cafeteria, trying to calm her mind. I don't get it! Why would they think… How did they know… The only people that knew I had moved in with Ryou were Yugi and his friends but they wouldn't spread this gossip, would they?

She had to find out answers and the gang was probably the best way. Akeno braced herself as she entered the caf. There were a few jeers and cat calls as she weaved through the tables. Tea spotted her first and ran up to her with a worried look.

"Akeno, I don't know what happened!" she exclaimed, leading her back to her table.

"Did you say anything?" Akeno demanded.

"No, I swear! Neither did the guys!" Tea said as they took seats.

"I can't believe this is happening," Akeno groaned. "How did this start?"

Tristan leaned on the table to see her. "I heard that someone was listening to you and Ryou talking yesterday. Apparently, you mentioned moving in with him."

Akeno groaned again, ignoring a few lewd gestures from the people at the table beside them.

"Hey, Akeno," Joey started, glaring at a couple of guys nearby. "You want me to start bashin' in heads or what?"

"That wouldn't help anything, Joey," Yugi murmured.

"Yeah, but it might make her feel better," Joey growled, standing and rolling up his sleeve.

Tristan pulled his back into his seat. "Settle down," he chided, keeping a hold of Joey's jacket.

"What ya lookin' at?" Joey growled, shaking his fist at the next table.

Akeno would have felt grateful but could only manage a grimace.

"They have no right to talk about you like this," Yugi told her. "Do you think you want to tell a teacher?"

Akeno shook her head, slowly. "I think I'd die of embarrassment," she moaned, throwing her head back.

Oh, god, kill me now!

Akeno glanced up to see Ryou come in, looking rather ruffled and uncomfortable. Oh, poor, Ryou! I didn't even think about how he'd be taking this! I can't face him now!

She stood quickly, feeling panicked.

"Akeno?" Tea questioned.

"I'm… going for a walk," she said, pushing in her chair.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Yugi offered but Akeno shook her head.

"No, thanks," she muttered and left as fast as possible.

Any other time, I'd jump at the chance to be alone with Yugi, well, not exactly Yugi… Oh, this ruined everything! I can't believe this got out, that people think I'm some kind of… of… scarlet woman!

Akeno sighed loudly, finding an exit. She had to get away from everyone. She walked some ways out into the courtyard, just on the side of school, opposite the teacher's parking lot. The serene sounds of nature did little for her. A few stray tears ran down her cheeks and she bit back a sob.

As if things weren't bad enough! School was supposed to be a haven from Bakura and now… this might be even worse! What am I going to do? How can I go back inside and face this? I just want to run away…

"Hitoshii."

The male voice startled her and she whipped around. "K-Kaiba?"

He sat not so far away from her, on a bench under a shady tree, his laptop open in front of him. His blue eyes turned to her, impassively.

Suddenly, Akeno felt very embarrassed and wiped at her face.

"No one comes through this way," he told her, going back to typing. "You shouldn't be bothered here."

Unsure, Akeno nodded and walked over to him. She sat beside him and stared. "Thank you," she said awkwardly fiddling with her bow.

Kaiba glanced at her briefly and grunted in reply, turning his gaze back to his laptop screen. "If they see you crying, it'll only get worse," he told her. "Don't let it get to you and it'll pass."

She nodded, taking in his words and wondered why he was being so nice to her. There have been plenty of rumors about him over the years… I guess he knows from experience.

"You might as well stay here," he said, closing his laptop and standing.

Akeno sat up, surprised. "You're leaving?" she asked quietly.

"There's no point in my staying."

"Is it because of me?" Akeno asked, feeling guilty.

"Well, I can't be alone with you here," Kaiba said, giving her one last look before heading inside the school.

She watched him go and blinked. "Well, that was unexpected…"she said to herself. Setting her arms on the knees, she glared at her bandaids. How could anyone say that? It's just been so far blown out of proportion…

Despite Kaiba's advice, Akeno found herself worrying throughout the rest of lunch. The bell rang and she, reluctantly stood and went back inside. She had debated just skipping her last class and waiting for Bakura out front but decided against it.

I'll have to face them sometime.

Surprisingly, her last class wasn't as awful as the others. Since the teacher made the class work in silence, Akeno didn't have to deal with giggling and whispering. In fact, the thick silence and the soft sound of brushes on paper began lulling Akeno to sleep. The weight of worrying and the exhaustion of yesterday's adventure weighed on her and soon, she found herself dozing off.

It was some time after the last bell of school rang and Akeno was nowhere in sight. Bakura growled in annoyance as he had wanted to leave with the crowd of students to avoid being noticed. Of course, the girl would ruin it for him. He waited another few moments outside the gates and when she didn't appear, he realized that he would have to find her.

He entered Domino High and glanced around the empty halls before pulling the Millennium Ring from his shirt.

"Where is she?" he asked the Ring and one of its needles slowly lifted.

He smirked to himself, letting the ancient artifact guide his way. At first, he imagined she was doing something foolish like trying to hide from him but as he walked, he began to think otherwise. Perhaps she had gotten herself kidnapped. The possibility made him annoyed and he found himself walking faster through the halls. It was only when he located her that he grew angry at his concern.

Bakura found her in one of the lower classrooms, sprawled over her desk and sleeping. With a growl, he marched over to her and glared as if the force of his gaze would wake her. Akeno let out a soft snore and his glare intensified.

"Get up, girl," he grunted, kicking her desk.

Akeno jolted up, a piece of calligraphy paper stuck to her face. She regarded Bakura with surprise and then the empty classroom. "W-what happened? Where did everyone go?"

He sneered. "School has ended and you failed to follow my instructions," he reprimanded. "It seems you'll be wearing your collar when we get home."

Bakura had expected her to sulk or even protest but Akeno simply lowered her eyes and nodded. It was odd that she was suddenly so compliant when just this morning she had had the audacity to talk back to him.

"Get your things," he told her. "We have to make up for your delay."

Akeno nodded again and made for her locker, Bakura following closely behind.

Bakura observed her behavior as they walked. She kept her head down and was silent which was unlike her as she normally attempted to make petty conversation. He was uncertain of the cause of her melancholy but wasn't quite sure if he even cared to know.

"I've been so displeased with your behavior, I think a trip to the Shadow Realm may be necessary," he smirked, trying to bait her into fear.

Akeno didn't react. "Yes, master," she deadpanned.

He frowned at her. Bakura grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. "You will tell me why you are being so subservient," he ordered, looking at her seriously.

Akeno blinked. "I… Isn't that what you wanted?"

Bakura glared. "If you answer me with a question again, I promise, I'll throttle you here and now!"

She looked away, still looking as depressed as before. "I'm sorry, master."

He dug his nails into her shoulder. "Answer me," he demanded.

"I just…" she started then winced. "It's just been a long day and… I'm really tired, that's all."

Bakura narrowed his eyes, feeling that she was holding back information. He released her anyway and snorted. "You're weak," he said simply before stalking off.

She continued as she had been and began to fall behind, much to Bakura's annoyance.

"I've told you before," he growled. "Don't stray from me."

"I'm sorry," she replied, stifling a yawn. "I'm just…tired."

Bakura crossed his arms, watching her. She appeared to be dead on her feet, swaying slightly with half-closed lids. He rolled his eyes and sneered, looking around for signs of an ambush.

He shut his eyes in frustration. "Don't get used to this, girl," he said through bared teeth.

Akeno went to question him but he thrust his briefcase at her. "Huh?" she muttered, taking it and looking at him oddly. Begrudgingly and with another snarl in her direction, Bakura got down on one knee before her, signaling her to get on his back.

Heat immediately rose to her cheeks but she complied, tentatively placing her arms around his neck, his briefcase dangling from her hands in front of him. Bakura grunted as he stood, tucking his hands behind her knees. He heard her make a noise of discomfort and growled lowly, hating this perhaps more than she.

Weariness gradually overcame Akeno and she eased into Bakura. She rested her chin on his shoulder and shut her eyes, recalling the first time he carried her like this. So much has happened since then...

Bakura was very aware of her weight, however slight, as she started slipping from his grasp. Annoyed, he hitched her up further onto his back. She murmured something inaudible and to his horror, nuzzled into his neck.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

He turned his head slightly to leer at her but saw that she was sleeping once again. A low growl escaped his throat. The girl shouldn't be this comfortable with him. Bakura would have dropped her on the pavement and kept going but because of the urgency to get the hopelessly defenseless girl out of their pursuers' reach, he tolerated it. The girl 'mm-ed' contentedly and Bakura pulled a face. It was near impossible for the girl to get any more insufferable.

In her sleep, Akeno's fingers relaxed and Ryou's briefcase fell to the pavement. With both hands occupied, Bakura looked from the briefcase then to the girl on his back. He gritted his teeth and wouldn't allow himself to sigh.