…
"Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a man's heart."
…
It was just the first day of rehearsals and Bakura was already pissed.
A day was all Anzu needed to finalize the script and another for Pegasus to proofread it. Soon after, the two conducted auditions for the cast and posted the results on the theater's bulletin board the very next day. Pegasus made it clear to everyone that Anzu's word made a huge impact on who would be casted. He said something else about respecting people's intellectual rights but Bakura stopped listening to him after that. Let's just say that the results weren't exactly favorable to him. Bakura had always stayed away from roles concerning royalty and the rare ones he actually auditioned for, he had been rejected without a second glance. Pegasus always told him that he wasn't princely enough so excuse him if he was feeling suspicious of suddenly being casted as one.
"I still can't believe that I'm the prince," he grumbled in his seat, a chair left unattended in the stage's left wing, while watching the stage hands work on their props.
"Well, you better believe it buddy. I'm not changing the cast list just because of you," the guild's resident friendly brunette said. Who would have thought that Domino High's beloved princess would associate herself with Bakura? Definitely not him. Then again, that was before they all got roped in into Pegasus' playhouse. Regardless, here they were now, some form of friendly not-friends co-workers.
With a snort, he chose to ignore her—damn that bitch for sticking her tongue out to him like a child—in favor of watching Malik immerse himself in practicing his piece on the piano, a melodious tune that oddly resembled his sister's lullaby. Huh. Guess Peggy asked him to play that tune for some actual sentimentality. Based on what little he knew of the mermaid, her actor must have been able to dance gracefully and play the piano properly because she'd been playing it since she was a toddler or something. Good thing for them Malik could actually play the piano; then again, even if Malik couldn't play it Bakura was sure they could still find a reason for him to play her. After all, Malik was the best candidate for the mermaid based on looks alone. Too bad for them, they wouldn't be able to hear Malik sing since the play would start with the prince waking up on the shore after being rescued by the mermaid. Damn shame to be honest, he was one of the few who were looking forward to hearing Malik sing for the play. Oh well, their loss.
Resting his arms on the back of the chair in order to cradle his head as he watched, Bakura slowly forgot that Anzu was right beside him. It was around that time that Malik opened his eyes and stared straight into Bakura's eyes. He found himself blushing when he realized just how well the lights appeared to make Malik's hair glow like some sort of halo, making him appear even more angelic. His face grew even hotter when Malik noticed this and snickered at his expense before once again throwing himself to the piano's magical world. Likewise, Bakura also snapped away from his reverie when Anzu spoke once again.
"I know this will be your last time performing with… us. That's why I figured, we might as well make you the prince. Consider it a goodbye/thank you present."
Bakura turned to look at her better and was surprised to see some odd melancholy enveloping her features despite the smile on her face. He supposed that it couldn't be helped. Among all the original members of the guild, only he, Malik, and Anzu were left, Pegasus too if you really wanted to count him. Most of the original crew left as soon as they graduated like that scrooge Kaiba and know-it-all Atem. Some stayed for a while before leaving as well like Malik's sister, Isis, the guild's only true soprano. Throughout the years, their unlikely trio had stuck with each other through thick or thin to keep the theater going. With him leaving Anzu and Malik alone like this, there was bound to be some sentimental shit in there or something.
"I believe it is best for you and Malik to enjoy your last moments together," she said while staring straight at Bakura with a determined face. Call it intuition or whatever it was you people called it, but he felt as if Anzu was threatening him. And so he straightened up from his slouch and said evenly, "Just because I'm retiring doesn't mean that I'll be leaving good, old Mariku behind." He then leaned back as if to warn Anzu to stay away and smirked, "We'll always be together, you'll see."
"If you say so…" Anzu frowned and walked away with a visible less bounce on her steps. She paused slightly and addressed Bakura once more. "By the way, did you know that the original script of the Little Mermaid was actually revered by many as Dickens' secret love letter to a friend of his?"
Scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion, both from Anzu's rather odd behavior and out-of-nowhere question, Bakura shook his head. "You know I'm not much of a reader, Anzu." He smirked before curling his lips up a little. "Now, if you ask Malik that question…" He felt a laugh bubbling in his chest at the thought of his Egyptian friend.
"…You should really read into things more, Bakura."
What was this crazy chick talking about now? He stood up and crossed his arms with a scowl, his very own signature look, before voicing out his thoughts only to be answered with silence as Mazaki ignored his inquiry and continued to walk out of the room. Choosing to pay no further mind to her antics, Bakura turned to watch Malik once again only to see no one by the lone white piano. With stiff jaws and hands clenched tight in his pockets, Bakura left the theater to rest for the day.
This one's a tad short so I'll most likely upload the next one tomorrow.