KD Chapter VI: New Start
It was official; Bakura hated airplanes.
If being two thousand bloody feet above the ground wasn't adequate, the annoying flight attendants were enough to make anyone nauseous.
-flashback-
"Can I get you something to drink, ma'am?" a perky blonde asked Bakura as she walked down the aisle with a cart.
Now, Bakura knew that his long, pure white hair looked somewhat effeminate, but honestly, anyone with a brain could tell Yami Bakura was male. Maybe this lady's brain wasn't functioning that day…
"First off, mortal," Bakura snarled, "I'm a man."
The woman realized her mistake as the spirit spoke and grew a lovely shade of crimson.
"I- I apologize, sir," she stuttered. After a few seconds to collect herself, she questioned once more, "Would you like something to drink?"
Bakura received an idea and gained a frisky smile, stating, "I think I'll have a glass of your finest wine. As red as blood, please."
The woman nodded shakily and confirmed, "Coming right up. I'll just need to see your ID."
"ID?" Bakura repeated, the term foreign to him.
The disgustingly upbeat woman nodded again and explained, "The card with your name on it? With your picture, name, and information? Could I see it?"
Bakura growled in annoyance. So, there was yet another magical card that was the key to the universe that he didn't possess? That was just fantastic…
The yami reached out and grasped the woman's uniform collar and brought her down to his level where he sat. He clarified in a fierce hiss, "Impudent human, I suggest you fetch me my alcoholic beverage before I cast your mortal soul into the shadows. Do you understand?"
Slowly, the woman bobbed her head.
"Good," he approved, releasing her collar.
-flashback end-
Unfortunately, the head flight attendant learned of this and cut Bakura off before he could get sufficiently drunk.
The thief had wanted to forget this day. Forget how the damn Ishtars had literally pushed him onto the plane with a one-way ticket to Japan.
"Meow."
Oh ya, and Marik hadn't forgotten about their little bet. Now, the only thing belonging to Bakura besides the clothes on his back was a little, white kitten.
The yami looked down at the young cat in its carrier on his lap and scoffed at its large brown eyes.
"What are you looking at?" Bakura inquired the kitten.
It blinked at him and cocked its small head to the side as if to answer, A loser.
"I am not a loser, damn cat," Bakura responded to its subtlety, "I've just been going through some hard times… my whole life…"
The kitten licked its paw and began grooming its ghostly white fur.
"Ya, I know," Bakura replied to his new pet, leaning on his hand, "We're both a mess."
Bakura continued having a conversation with the cat the entire plane ride to Japan. Anyone passing thought that the teenager was just talking to himself. But, at least he wasn't threatening anyone's life like earlier…
Bakura's jaw dropped when he heard the loud speaker announce that they would soon be landing in Domino City. (And, not just because a voice was coming from the ceiling.)
But, Bakura learned something. A physco like him could really pass the time by talking to his cat. Maybe Marik's "present" would be more helpful than he thought.
"Now landed in Domino City, known for its beautiful pier and the home of the main headquarters of Kaiba Corporation."
Bakura smirked. Perhaps it'd be nice to be back after all…
The spirit picked up his pet carrier and pushed everyone aside, exiting the plane first.
"'Kura!"
Damn, he'd forgotten about-
Suddenly, Bakura was glomped by his hakari.
Someone, kill me now, he silently pleaded, stiff under Ryou's hug.
The other albino didn't seem to mind that his hug wasn't being returned and just squeezed him tighter, proclaiming, "It's so good to see you, yami!"
"Uh, you too?" Bakura mumbled hesitantly in the form of question instead of a statement like Ryou assumed it was.
Ryou finally released Bakura and said playfully, "Okay, times a-wastin'! Let's go home." He glanced around Bakura as if he was searching for some unknown object. Finally, he questioned, "Where are your belongings, Bakura? Are they still in baggage claim?"
"No," Bakura replied shortly, "I don't have any belongings. Well, except for-" He held up his cat carrier to let Ryou peek inside.
"Awww! 'Kura, that's so adorable! You got a kitten! What's his name?" Ryou inquired, poking his fingers in the cage door to stroke its soft fur.
"Kitty," Bakura answered.
Ryou's wide eyes narrowed, and he questioned, "What?"
"Kitty," Bakura repeated and clarified, "I named him Kitty." Ryou looked as if he was going to comment, but Bakura added quickly, "I'm not very creative."
"Hmm," Ryou hummed, his hands resting on his sides as he mulled over, "Kitty and kitty… It fits."
Bakura hissed, "Who said you could call me Kitty?"
Ryou giggled and informed, "Marik. He's been emailing me ever since he found you."
Bakura muttered curses down upon a certain Egyptian pansy and took off in a random direction, gripping the cat carrier's handle harder. He mumbled behind him, "Com'on, Ryou, the longer we stay here, the greater probability these mortals get to sustaining serious injury."
"Comin', Kittys!" Ryou called behind him in plural on purpose, sprinting after his yami.
-transition-
Ryou's car was his father's. And his father's father's. And so on. Bakura despised the car. The car broke down twice on the way home. The spirit decided to make it his personal secret mission to get Ryou a new car as soon as possible.
Finally, the yami and his hakari made it to where they were going. But, it sure wasn't home.
"Ryou, what is this place?" Bakura questioned, staring ahead at the building in front of them. It wasn't Ryou's little townhouse Bakura was so used to. Instead, it was a large, apartment-like structure.
"Yeah…" Ryou trailed off, his tone hinting that he was guilty, "… About that…"
"What is it now?" Bakura snarled, rubbing his temple with his index finger, "I'm really not in the mood for bad news."
Ryou's wide eyes widened to their maximum length, looking irresistibly innocent. He mumbled, "Never mind then."
"Just tell me!" Bakura commanded, kicking the side of the car in a mix of rage and irritation.
Ryou nodded wildly with sensible fear but notified, "It's a long story."
Bakura leaned the passenger seat back, placed a hand over his eyes, and pointed up as if he was firing a gun off to start a race, ordering in a drained tone, "Begin."
"'Kay," Ryou started, "Well, being that you're going to live with me now, I had to cut down on expenses. So… I had to sell our house…"
"So, now where do we live?" Bakura asked, not taking his hand off his eyes.
Ryou swallowed before replying in a splutter, "Now we live… on campus… Domino High Campus…" he finished, "… as boarding students…"
Bakura's eyes snapped open, and he exclaimed, "WHAT?"
"Well… I can't leave you home when I go to school, knowing the damage you did at Marik's, so you're going to school, too… posing as my twin."
"WHAT?"
"I'm sorry, it was the only alternative!" Ryou hid his face in his hands, afraid to look his yami in the eyes.
It was a good thing, too, because Bakura was livid. He felt the overwhelming desire to send some people to the Shadow Realm growing inside of him. Through barely maintained rage, he asked as slowly and calmly as he could, "Why do I have to go to bloody school? You know I hate school!"
Ryou responded, his eyes cast down at the floor of the car, "I apologize, 'Kura. If there was another option, I would have taken it."
"When do we start?" Bakura interrogated fiercely, his right eye beginning to twitch.
"Monday," Ryou informed, twiddling his thumbs innocently, "That's when school starts again after summer break."
My famous luck is at it again, Bakura thought. He just had to move in at the end of a break.
Ryou's head perked up, and he explained, "I had Kaiba pull a few strings and make up some fake records for you, stating that you're my older twin brother and were at a special private school in Egypt."
"Just perfect," Bakura sarcastically quipped, opening the car door, saying, "Let's go in. Now, Ryou."
"Yes, Bakura!" Ryou answered obediently, tripping after his yami as he trotted into the building. He didn't want to anger him further, knowing Bakura's temper.
The boys rode a painfully slow elevator up to the third floor and found their dorm.
Ryou took out a key and opened their door, revealing a dark, grey area. There were two rooms, actually three if you counted a line in the middle a divider.
They walked into the first room, a damp kitchen with grimy tile. Past the kitchen counter was the bedroom, two twin beds facing opposite each other on either wall. They had light white sheets draped across the mattresses, but that was it. Off to the side was a bathroom (the only separate room), just providing the necessities and some mold.
The darkness made Bakura feel at home, and he easily walked in and dropped onto the bed on the right, mumbling into the mattress, "I could live with this."
But, Ryou walked down the path between the two beds to the only window and opened the blinds, leading the accursed light in as the hakari declared, "Ah, that's better."
Bakura gasped as if he had been underwater and raced to the window, shutting out the sunlight once again. He chastised, "Are you trying to kill me?"
Ryou sighed, "We're living together from now on, 'Kura, so you better get used to it."
Bakura groaned and fell onto his bed once again. At least Marik had lived in complete darkness. That had made life a whole lot more bearable…
"Well," Ryou invaded Bakura's thoughts with his own. He sat down on the opposite bed and continued, "It's Saturday, so we're gonna need to get some décor and supplies before school starts…" Ryou reached into his pocket and retrieved his pastel blue wallet. He walked over to Bakura, saying, "I really hate to do this, but I have no choice…" He dropped the wallet on Bakura's lap.
"What's this?" Bakura wondered aloud, picking up the wallet and sorting through it.
"The majority of my cash, my credit cards, and my license," Ryou reported.
Bakura's squinted eyes widened a little.
"Yeah, I'm surprised, too," Ryou whinnied, "But, I need to go pick up our textbooks and schedules." With lightning speed, the slightly smaller albino scribbled out a list and placed it in Bakura's hand, stressing, "Now, only buy the stuff on this list and nothing else." Ryou locked his gaze on Bakura, questioning, "Do you promise?"
Bakura had to bite his tongue to stop himself from retorting with something sardonic or cynical. This might the last chance he ever had to use a credit card. He was itching to get his hands on that power again. He had the impulse to cackle wildly at how naïve his hakari was. Marik had already made that mistake…
A smile must have escaped Bakura, because Ryou doubled it and teased, "Don't you think I don't know about you're itty-bitty adventure with a credit card at Marik's. He told me all about that little disaster. That is why I'm giving you a list and am making you stick to it. Okay?"
"Sure," Bakura replied easily, admiring the shiny cards in the wallet. Ryou put out his hand, and the thief whined, "Damn it, Ryou, are you gonna make me shake your hand, too?"
Ryou's light eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, but he shook it off and held up one of his fingers, saying with a friendly smile, "No, silly, pinky swear!"
Bakura blinked.
"You're kidding me, right?"
""Com'on, 'Kura."
"No."
"'Kura-"
"No."
"Kitty-"
"FINE!"
He pinky-sweared his hakari with a disgusted expression.
Ryou nodded, content with this, and dropped his car keys in Bakura's hands, reminding, "Now, stick to the list, Kitty."
"Oh, that reminds me…" Bakura turned and found where he dropped the cat carrier on the counter. He sauntered over and unlocked the cage door, letting Kitty walk out of the enclosed space and into his new home.
Bakura stroked the cat once and thought aloud as he wrote on the list, "Cat bed and cat food…"
He stuffed the paper into his jacket's pocket and sprinted out the dorm, yelling behind him, "Don't leave the door or window open or Kitty might get out!"
"Okay!" Ryou called back, giggling to himself as he thought about how a little kitten and his yami had already bonded immensely.
The smaller albino glanced at Kitty and smiled, telling it, "You might just make Bakura a better person."
It meowed and jumped up on Bakura's bed, falling into a peaceful sleep as it waited for its master to return.
Author's Note: Kitty becomes a major character. Plus, he's adorable. :3
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