::ATTENTION:: Hiya...I need to clarify two things. One: the poem in this story is not mine. I have no ownership over it. Two: It's bolded and italized. the bold part is for Kura. the Italized is for Ry. With that said, do carry on readin'.
6. Things you shouldn't Say to the Jury
"How do you plead?" a monotonous voice inquired.
Bakura looked down unsure of how to answer. He was innocent due to the fact that Ryou wanted him to commit the act but he was guilty to the point where he had done it. He writhed his hands together; entangling his fingers with one another.
"…Gu—"
"He's innocent!" a voice gasps as a figure stumbles into the courtroom.
All heads turn to face the boy who trips into the room. White hair blocks the beautiful emerald eyes that stare up at the judge. Ryou scrambles up to his feet and again charges the two pedestals where Bakura and a blonde man is standing. That man was Malik.
"He…He's…Inno—innocent!" he pants with a cough. Yami runs in behind him, but the body guards grab him and hold him at the door.
"Tell them! Tell them that poem you wrote!" Yami shouts at the panting boy.
With a solemn nod and a determined gleam in his eyes, Ryou turns and faces Bakura. The only thing that stops Ryou from doing so is the look on his Malik's face. The whole rest of the spectators are standing to see exactly what's going on.
"Ryou, what are you doing?" Malik inquires in slight shock. He was now leaning forward over the pedestal confused.
The boy looks over his shoulder half ashamed. "I…I can't have him put in prison. He's innocent. I wanted to die. But when it finally happened, I…I didn't want to leave Bakura's side…"
"But I made you want to die. I am guilty," Kura attempts to reason. He slowly approached the crazed teen.
With a stubborn shake of his head Ry declines. By now the entire audience is mumbling in frenzy. They all wanted to know exactly who the young boy was and possibly why was wearing a hospital gown.
"No! I want everyone to lis—" Ry demands before getting cut off.
"Silence! Everyone quiet!" the old judge yelled. He wasn't very happy with the out burst but he was curious. It was always the same thing every 6 hours. One case in, one case out. This made him curious. "What do you need to say? Since you're a wake 2 weeks late, it probably won't make a difference to the jury, but take a shot."
"Thanks your Honor. Everyone," Ryou announces turning to the jury's side of the court, "I wrote a poem to signify how my life is with Bakura."
The 17 jurors lean forward, seeming interested. Eight females accompanied by the nine males, all quiet down as Ryou clears his throat. The dominance of the women seemed a little helpful to Ry's cuase.
"My English teacher, Mr. Peterson, asked me to recollect my thoughts and plot them on paper. I choose a poem because they have so much meaning to me. Here it is, my poem titled, Fallen Angel."
Bakura stops breathing as the poem is read aloud by the secretive love of his life. Ryou peeks over at Bakura's reaction. A small blush colors his nose and cheeks. He could tell from the speechless expression that he had read the poem and knew that he was about to say.
"I wasn't always so alone, I was happy once I swear. But life has devastating turns and now, no one seems to care. I was always quite alone, though long ago I had a life. But years of darkness do corrupt, now my closest friends a knife. I spend my present crying out for love. Trying to flap my shattered wing; I am the demented dove. I spent my past drowning in a shadowed flood. Trying to keep my tattered mind, I'm thirsty for your blood. I thought that you would love me; I'm your half to hold. But after so much pain and gore I know your heart is cold. I thought that you would hate me; I'm your half to fear. But after so much pain and gore, I know I need you near."
The words filter out of Ryou's mouth enchantingly. Ry's voice was perfect for the job; the light British accent caught the other's attention fully. Bakura thought he had the meaning when he read the poem, but hearing it—by the hurt child who wrote it—changed it dramatically. Holding back the want to hold the upset boy in his arms Kura tried to look busy and distracted. Although his chocolate eyes, hidden by his pallid locks, kept a lustful watch on Ryou's shimmering green ones.
"Ry…what does that last sentence refer to?" Malik asks after the odd silence settles neatly over the jury.
Tears sting his eyes as the answer reaches his trembling lips, "He beat me. Since I was near him, he took the opportunity to beat me. That's all."
"Your Honor, we've come up with our verdict," a juror states standing up. Her voice was quiet as if not to disrupt the tender atmosphere.
Nodding his head the judge turns to Ryou, "I'm sorry son, but your words can't change the inevitable. Please have a seat in the spectators section."
Ryou sniffles more but complies and follows the orders to sit in the back. His sad jade eyes stare intently on the floor, hoping to drown out the expected judgment for Bakura. Yami sits next to the crying boy. Unsure of what to do to console the hurt teen, Yami wraps his arm around his shoulder. But out of some sort of habit Ryou shoves him away.
"We, of the jury, find Bakura Makoto guilty," the juror whispers. She looks at the floor to avoid any accusing glares.
All the reality whirls around in Bakura's mind making him dizzy. He wasn't guilty of the crime, only guilty of letting Ryou down. Too many thoughts of his past life came rushing back. It wasn't fair, he loved Ryou and now, he'd never be able to get it out to him.
"Bakura Makoto, we sentence you seven years in prison and a possibility of parole. After the prison sentence we restrict you by come coming within 200 ft of Ryou. But by the look of it, I think the restraining order will be the worst thing of all for you two," the judge states with a sigh. It was like, he sounded as if he felt bad, but really didn't.
Kura looks up angrily, "And by that your honor, you'd be correct." He sadly looks back at Ryou who's having a total breakdown. Yami and the others around him attempt to console him, but Ryou is too strung out to accept the help.
"I want Bakura! Don't touch me!" Ryou sobbed miserably. Sorrow had overtaken him for the last time, this was the last straw. Ry stood up and shoved his way through all the people. Scrambling towards the pissed Defendant, a bodyguard snatches the upset boy away. Ryou wriggled and squirmed around to get out of the CEO's grasp but when it came down to it, he used his last resort. Slamming his right fist into the nose of the officer, the boy pulled away and latched onto Bakura. "No…Bakura they can't…they just can't do this!" Ryou wept leaving tears stained onto the light grey jacket. He gripped the fabric for dear life, praying that Kura would say something to him.
"…" The teen said nothing but grasped the boy tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes and threatened to fall. 'Ryou, there's nothing I can do,' he thought desperately. But he had to comment on Ryou, he wouldn't let him go without a word. "Ryou, I have to go. What I did was wrong," Kura stated sternly.
White hair covered the boy's hurt expression, "Please don't say that Bakura. I can't let go. Not now, you know all the reasons why." His eyes were renewed with fresh tears. "I know you're sorry…I know you never meant to hurt me! Please…don't let them take you away…"
"Yes I am. But you are also aware of the reasons I must go away for awhile. I'll make you a promise Ryou." Bakura whispered; his lips rubbing on Ry's ear.
"What is it?" He asked, calming down dramatically. This promise would be the only thing that could save Ry's life. Without it, he wouldn't be able to live.
"Wait for me. Stay in that house throughout my sentence. There's nothing I can do about that part, and because of that restraining, you can't come visit me. But once I'm out of that prison, I'll come home. A piece of fucking paper can't keep me away from you Ry. You have to remember that. I'll come back for you. I…I love you," Kura murmurs slowly pulling back.
Ryou's eyes stare at him, the beautiful green orbs surrounded by their red swollen lids. He could tell Kura was serious, something inside told him to go along with the plan; it would work.
"I will wait for you. I'd wait forever Kura!" Ryou exclaims in a mere cry as his arms encircle his neck. Bakura smiles and pecks the silky lips in front of all the witnesses. But Ryou moves a bit and it shifts the folded paper in his pocket.
Bakura looks down and sighs, "Use this to remember my feelings ok? And everything else I did…"
The boy pulls away to allow Bakura access to his pocket. Reluctantly pulling the folded note from his pants, Bakura hesitantly hands it over to Ryou's quivering hand. The younger male stared at the note and shoved it into his own pocket due to Bakura's orders.
"Read it when you get home," Bakura replies as he embraces Ryou for the last time.
Both stood ignoring the stares from around the room for the hugging couple. Malik had looked away, as if upset by what he had did. Malik had taken Bakura to court but Yami had informed him of what was happening to Ryou. Malik was so mad at his friend that he immediately filed a report and sent his best friend to prison. He never even bestowed Ryou's thoughts. He felt horrible, what was he supposed to do now? Maybe if he would've listened to Ryou on that day two years ago…
Flashback
"Malik! Please don't leave him here alone with that guy!"
"What? Calm down Ryou, it'll be alright. You have to give him a chance."
Pulling away slowly he bobbed and said, "I guess so...bye Malik," as the blonde stepped out the door.
End
Slouching dejectedly into his chair, Malik looked up to the shouts from Kura to Ryou.
"Keep our promise Ryou. I WILL come back for you!" Kura shouted desperately as the officers pulled him away into the back room. He fought them hard enough to where they stuck him in handcuffs and pulled him harder.
A sad nod followed Bakura's last words as the distressed teen spun around to face Malik. Green eyes stared into the plaintiff's purple ones. Malik stumbled forward to apologize. Ryou stood his ground and once Malik was close enough, he slapped Malik hard across the face.
"Malik," Ryou began, "take me home."
Watching the boy walk through the crowd confidently, he becomes curious toward the matter of their 'promise.' Malik's thoughts were making him unaware of the other's shoving him. But finally, one person knocked him out of his clouds. He reaches out and pushes open the glass entry doors of the court.
Exiting the building, the teen stops short. Ryou stops by Yami who stands outside the building. Looking to his friend, he walks up to him.
"Yami, I love Bakura. I'm sorry I can't love you," Ryou tries to apologize. He gently touches the boy's hand but only to have it ripped away.
Yami doesn't move, but sighs deeply. His chest moves up and then back down in exasperation. His arms crossed idly; eyes closed, shielding his red orbs from view. The sound of the doors next to him opening again caused the spiky haired teen to look up.
"You ready, Ry?" Malik asked shoving out of the camera's view finders.
Ryou glanced at Yami before nodding, "Yeah, let's go. I need to go to bed." He turned to Yami, who seemed to be ignoring him, and said, "I'll see you school okay? Bye." What else could he possibly say?
Yami replied by silence and his 100-yard stare into the parking lot and beyond.
'Wake me up inside, wake me up inside. Call my name and save me from the dark. Bid my blood to run before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become. Bring me to life,' Amy Lee's voice came out of the speaker. The radio edit was a bit fuzzy as it faded in and out.
Malik sighed and hit the 'seek' button to skip a few stations. He looked occasionally in Ryou's direction to see that he's alright. When he peeked over at the boy Malik noticed that he was fiddling with a folded piece of paper.
"What do you have there?" He asked sounding uninterested while in fact he wanted to know.
"Why are you so curious? Bakura said all that's on this paper reflects on what our relationship was like for beginning to its postponed end. Yami told you about what happened to me…but he didn't know everything. No one does," Ryou growled slightly.
Malik bit his bottom lip, unsure of what to say. So he held his tongue and said nothing. The rest of the road trip remained silent.
Heaving a sigh, Ry looks out his window and stares at anything that may cross his line of sight. But the ominous black clouds that hang overhead, grip onto his curiosity. He grips onto the armrest with a quiet moan. By the looks of the sky, it was a guaranteed storm.
Thunderstorms terrified Ryou as much as the next person. He had always been afraid of them after arriving to the orphanage. Maybe it was the fact that Ryou didn't have a mother to comfort him when he needed it the most. Other than that, no reason can occur to explain why he's so scared, one lone memory of Bakura does. Ryou remembers all the teasing, ranting, taunting, but most of all he remembers the way Kura would sigh and keep him company.
Flashback
The young teen lay on the couch, a red plaid blanket covering his body. Some old black and white horror movie was playing on the screen. As the show neared the infamous scene with the lady and the slow shadow behind her, a loud snap broke all thoughts. The blinding light came soon after.
Ryou nearly jumped out of his skin. With a shriek of displeasure, he covered his head instantly with the blanket.
Bakura, who was in the kitchen, peered his head out of the door to see the shaken boy. "Wuss," he snorted.
"Hnn…" Ryou whimpered. The cover pulled tighter as the thunder crashed again.
Rolling his eyes Bakura turns around and walks back into the kitchen but the last sign of light is the one that flashed through the air. That's when the house went black. A sudden loud smash omitted from the kitchen.
"Shit!" Kura groaned. A large plate had been dropped and obviously shattered on the tiled floor.
Ryou stole a quick peek from under his shelter, before letting a small laugh escapes his throat.
"Shut the fuck up Ryou! Don't make me come out there!" Kura hissed walking out into the dark room; whatever light there was flickered in his eyes angrily. But Ryou couldn't help but laugh. He had dropped so many plates before, but when Kura did it, the thought was too funny to bear. But the giggles came to a halt when Kura leapt towards Ryou's spot. Landing directly on top of the boy the older teen grasped his wrists tightly. Ryou looked up and burst out laughing again. It was a cute sight to Kura to see the young boy laugh, but he couldn't let it show.
"That's it!" Kura howled. Unfortunately the thunder roared again, followed by the flashed of light.
Only when the lightening flashed, Bakura gazed into Ryou's jade eyes. They were closed and tears had welled up around his lashes. The moment that Kura took notice, was the same second Ryou jumped and attached himself to Kura's torso.
"Please. Please, Bakura, hold me. I want to feel safe and I always do when you're around. Just hold me this once," Ryou sobbed.
Taking a sort of pity on the boy, the teen laid on the couch next to the quivering boy. "Okay Ryou. I'll hold you this once. But only until the storm stops."
Even though he wanted to hold the boy forever more, he just curled next to him. Ryou still clung to his white under shirt, building the warmth between them. The scent of the two together was intoxicating. Both lay, high, with each other's smell. Kura sighs contently when another clash of thunder sounds. Ryou, again, pulls himself closer.
Resting his head upon Kura's chest, he listens to the relaxed sound of his breathing and the light thumping of his heart. With that comforting rhythm, the smaller boy relaxes a bit before drifting off into a light sleep.
After feeling the body go limp from sleep, Kura tightened his grip. Bring the frail body closer into him. Soon realizing that Ry had a good idea, Bakura nuzzled his nose into his hair. He recognized immediately how soft it was. He smiled and inhaled up the scent of coconuts. A small smile spread across his face as he too, fell asleep, forgetting about the raging gale outside.
This wasn't the first time Bakura had felt anything kind towards Ryou. Something about seeing him
End
"Hey Ry, wake up," Malik nudges the shoulder of a sleeping Ryou. "You're home. Ryou get up."
Blinking his droopy emerald orbs, Ryou glances up at his house. The same old white manor that sat the end of the park, greeted him once again. But this time was different. Ryou felt no sense of fear, excitement, or sadness…he felt alone. Malik may have been sitting in the car less than a foot away but, the boy felt unaided.
"You are going to be alright by yourself?" Malik asked looking at Ryou, prepared to cut the engine.
"No…but I'll be okay. I need to get some sleep. I might even attempt getting to school tomorrow," he exclaimed shoving the wad of paper into his pocket.
"Okay then. I'll call you after work tomorrow okay? We can go out and get something to eat," the blonde offered.
A barely visible nod is saluted as the boy opens his door and climbs out of the vehicle. He heads up the steps and stops at the welcome mat. Its straw form was ruined; frozen by all the snow. With a sigh Ryou crouched down to lift up the mat. He pulled it up and flipped it over. He was concerned about two things. 1: Slipping and 2: Stepping inside of the house. By flipping over the mat, he was delaying the second one.
After dropping it to the ground, Ryou swung open the screen door then gripped the cold handle of the big door.
'Please be locked please be locked…' he chanted in his mind. But when he twisted the metal knob, it turned effortlessly. After shoving the door open, Ry turned to wave a Malik who waved back at him before pulling out of the driveway.
Gracias para los revisiones! Okay, I've been hanging around the Foreign Exchange kids too long. n.n In other languages, thanks for the reviews! I'm so happy to see everyone enjoying my story. Even for those of you who don't leave comments. For shame…tsk-tsk-tsk
Now, some personal thanks:
Youko's Kitsune Girl: Thank ya, kindly. I'm glad you liked it. 'Scuse me, LOVE it. Lol. Trust me, it only gets better. I hope it meets your standards. Hehe…
Love'sBakura: To be honest, my story is done. I took it off coz I get upset with FF and took all of my stories down. Now I spend my days editing this story just to please you as fast as I can!! Well gee, you must be loved. Lol. And if it has a happy ending you GUESS it'll be okay? Ha, I'm messin'. You'll have to stay in touch to find out! (Thanks for the add)
Steph: I'm glad you like it to. And I didn't end it there to be cruel on purpose, I swear! It's called…I can't remember, but I learned it in Creative Writing class. I'll let you know what it is…once I think of it…
Hmm…yea…I think that's all from Chap. 5 reviews. Leave a comment, and I'll get back to you!
Next Chap: Suddenly Ry has began to question the validity of his love for Kura. :gasp: But Yami and Malik still think that he still loves Bakura fully; no questions. So, what exactly do they have to say about the two for them being together? And how do they feel about Ry living alone on a promise that can never be kept? Oh yea, and how do you think Kura is holdin' up in prison? Will he really return and love Ryou? Or will they relive the past for the rest of their lives?