You know what? Let's just assume all the chapters will be long waits, eh? XD Ffffff... Sorry. OTL Anyway, Enjoy. ^^
XXX
Yami entered his room and walked over to the bed. He gently placed Bakura on the bed, then sat down on the bedside next to him. The silence in the room created an uncomfortable atmosphere and the guilt in Yami's heart didn't help him feel any better. The only thing he could hear right now was Bakura's deep breaths… I can't believe I raised my voice to my friends… yet, I do believe they kind of deserved it, the way they acted…
Yami lifted his hand to see the leash better. His eyes traveled from the tip to the collar, then back to his hand. To have this heavy weight on my shoulders… he thought as he clutched the leash tighter, his face saddening as his head lowered onto his fist, It's too much for me, It's only been two days and already I'm falling apart… Yami stopped himself from thinking for just a moment to listen to Bakura's breathing. He turned slightly to see Bakura trying hard to take back the air he had lost again. I threatened him again… I truly wish he hadn't given me that option… but he-
"Pharaoh…" Bakura managed to say through his breathing.
"Huh?"
Bakura looked at him with weak eyes, and his expression, Yami could not read his expression, it seemed like a mixture of confusion, anger, and a small hint of sympathy… though it was hard to believe that Bakura could be sympathetic towards anyone.
"…Why did you protect me? I'm your enemy, and-" Bakura paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "…and, I know how much you hate me, so why do you bother even trying to change me?"
"Because, I'm not like them… I'm not like my family, I'm not like my friends, I'm not like anyone else you've come in contact with"
Bakura only gave Yami a doubtful look for just a minute or so before looking away.
"You could have lost your friends because you stood up for me"
"If that is the case then they are no friends of mine"
Bakura glanced at Yami, surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth.
"You see" Yami continued, "True friends will stick by you till the end, if they choose to abandon me just because I wish to help you, then they are not real friends"
Yami waited for an answer from Bakura as he watched his confused reaction. From the way Bakura looked at him, it seemed as though he were trying to put a complicated puzzle together, one with far too many tiny pieces to count. All this anger inside of me, it's all because of him… Yami turned away from Bakura and placed his face into his hands, realizing he wasn't going to get through to him, not anytime soon... and probably, never. All he wanted now was to scream, blame someone for his anger and give his anger to someone else. No he couldn't do that, that wasn't like him, not at all. If Yugi and he were still one, he would probably be hearing some helpful advice to calm him down right now, but he wasn't… he had to cope with this anger all on his own now. Though, Yugi had always been the voice of reason for him, always…
Then, Yami felt Bakura's hand touch is arm. He turned to see Bakura now sitting up, only one arm giving him balance, keeping him up. Bakura's hand slid from Yami's arm to his hand as he gently pulled it over to him. Yami had to lean over some for Bakura to pull his hand closer. Once his hand was in front of Bakura's face, Bakura closed his eyes, and kissed his hand softly. Yami watched blankly. Bakura was just trying to get his life restored of course, but, Yami's heart couldn't help but beat faster at this sight. Once Bakura ceased the kiss, he looked up at Yami. His eyes almost seemed enchanting.
"You won't give up on me?" Bakura asked.
"…No, of course not"
Bakura returned his answer with a sly smile, "Well, don't expect it to be smooth sailing from here on now"
Yami smiled back, only his was more kind. It was strange to him, how quickly his anger was fading now, just because of Bakura. He made him feel calm once more, odd how 'Bakura' and 'calm' never seemed to fit in the same sentence before, but now…
"Do you wish for me to help you restore your life?" Yami asked calmly.
"Yes" Bakura replied with no hesitation.
"Very well"
Yami turned his body all the way around to face Bakura better as he leaned in closer to him. Finally, Bakura did not put up any barriers against the pharaoh. Instead, he let him help him. Yami pressed his lips against Bakura's as they both closed their eyes at the touch. It did seem very unnatural, the way they both kissed, it almost seemed... real… but it wasn't. As soon as the sudden realization hit the pharaoh, he felt the guilt and shame grow inside him once more. For a minute there, he actually believed it was real. As much as this shocked him, knowing he felt that way for a moment, he did not pull away from the kiss. His eyes opened slightly and peeked at the red in the leash restoring Bakura's life, it had filled quicker than usual. It wasn't strange as to why… it was Yami's fault, for giving Bakura real affection. As soon as the red reached the tip of the leash, he pulled away from the kiss. Yami looked away from Bakura once more, his elbow on his lap and his cheek in his hand. Why did I think that was real for a second? Yami pondered on the subject for too short of a time before his train of thought was interrupted.
"…How romantic of you" Bakura said sarcastically.
Yami did not bother to look at him, he merely stared at the far wall. He figured Bakura was talking about how quickly he turned away after that kiss, so he answered calmly.
"…What did you expect…? It's not like we actually like each other…"
"Heh, your tone is very interesting pharaoh, but I was referring to that kiss"
Yami blushed only a little out of shame and embarrassment, but at the same time, he pushed away the thought that Bakura actually read him with just a kiss. He looked back at Bakura, curious to what he knew.
"Seriously, you don't think I can tell a real kiss from a fake one?" Bakura continued as he sat up and folded his arms, "Why so romantic all of a sudden?"
"It's nothing…" Yami lied, "Like Ishizu said the more affection we show the better chance of freeing you… and after you're free…" He paused as his eyes turned into a glare at Bakura, "I want you to never come back"
Bakura raised an eyebrow as his eyes widened slightly. Yami's words were cold and cruel. Nothing too unfamiliar too Bakura, but coming from the 'kind' pharaoh himself it seemed a little unlike him.
"Ever since this curse has been placed upon you everything has been worse than they ever should have been… I raised my voice to my friends in order to protect you from them… Something I never thought I'd do…"
"So what?" Bakura interrupted, "You raised your voice to the ones you love, there's no harm in it! Besides if you care about them so much then maybe you should stop trying to protect me. We're enemies after all so I can't understand why it would be so hard for you to just kill me!"
Yami immediately stood up, his glare worsened.
"No! I won't kill you! Besides you're too scared to die in this situation anyway"
Bakura then returned the pharaoh's glare with one of his own as he too stood.
"I'm not afraid!"
"Then why do look it whenever I let go of the leash!"
"Nevermind! Besides you like to play hero, so why don't you do what you've been trying to do all this time and get rid of me? Then you and your friends can live in your happy little world all you want and you won't have to worry about me anymore!"
"I told you I won't do that to you! I said I wouldn't give up on you, have you forgotten already?"
"It was only a few minutes ago of course I remember! But it's clear to me that I'm the cause of all your problems! If you hate me just admit it!"
Yami paused, unable to say anything else. What am I doing? Why am I blaming him for everything…? Yami had to think, how did this fight start again? He couldn't quite remember what he got mad at Bakura for, but the words Bakura had screamed at him woke him completely at that moment. The way the pharaoh had acted, he acted on pure emotion of hatred and fear. Hate for the situation he was in and fear of the fact he could have lost his friends, that is, if they hadn't already decided to give up their friendship with him. Yami lowered his head and stared at the floor, it was times like these that he wished he could simply leave Bakura here and just walk off without his life being on the line. However, he couldn't do that, he couldn't do that to Bakura. Yami sat back down on the bed, his arms resting on his lap as he continued to stare at the floor.
"…I don't hate you…" He said almost too quietly.
"Then why are you blaming me for everything that's happened?"
"I'm sorry… I wasn't thinking right, it's not all your fault"
Bakura lowered his guard and relaxed his stance. Though the anger still showed on his face, it wasn't as bad as when the fight started.
"Hmph… Why the sudden cruel words my way anyway? First you want to help me, and now you're trying to push me away. Is there something you're trying to tell me? Because if there is then please don't hesitate to tell me"
…Something I'm trying to tell him? There's nothing I want to tell him… but he's right, I am acting strange… Perhaps it's all this stress… Yami sighed.
"No, I'm just stressed I suppose…"
The two were silent for a minute. The room was now dead silent, no clock to tick, there wasn't even a sound coming from the heater vent and of course nothing in the hallway, everyone else was watching Joey duel. That's what Yami wanted right now, to watch Joey duel, to cheer him on.
"Pharaoh…"
Yami looked up at Bakura letting him know he had his attention.
"You don't usually tend to confuse me, but in this case you have. I just don't understand it, maybe it is the stress, but then again, something is telling me it's something else"
Yami didn't quite understand why himself, was he mad because he lied, saying that his extra affection wasn't actually real, but only seemed real… when really, it was real? Was he that ashamed of it? Or was it really the stress? Or perhaps, it was something else… Something more?
Yami did not answer Bakura's question, instead he looked away. Even so, Bakura folded his arms and waited for what seemed like hours for honest answer from the pharaoh.
"I'm sorry Bakura…" Yami finally muttered, "I snapped at you because-"
"-Don't bother pharaoh, I already know why"
Yami looked back at Bakura as he stood, trying to hide the surprised expression on his face.
"You do?"
"Yes, You just simply hate me right now because I've been a nuisance to you and haven't done much to try and help you free me… mainly because I don't want to help you but, This curse isn't giving me much of a choice"
Yami felt a little disappointed, this wasn't the exact reason why he got mad at Bakura, but he couldn't stay upset for very long, the smile that had appeared on his face was proof. The real reason he was mad at Bakura was simply because he was mad at himself, then took it out on him. Bakura didn't deserve that sort of treatment, and Yami had no right to treat him that way either. Even so, Bakura recognized his own mistakes, and Yami was proud of him for that. Finally, he felt he was getting somewhere with him. He decided to push aside any previous annoying thoughts that seemed to haunt him just so he could take in this once in a life time moment.
"I'm glad you understand" Yami said with a gentle smile.
Bakura's eyes looked away from the pharaoh, trying to hide the fact that he too was probably beginning to feel accepted.
"Don't read too much into it…" Bakura answered in an almost grouchy tone.
Yami's smile stayed on his face, but only until the thought of his 'real affection' came back. Why did he show Bakura so much affection without meaning too? He tried to think back. The memory lead him back to the kiss Bakura gave him, the kiss on the hand. Why would Bakura treat him with such respect like that? He was probably trying to simply get the Pharaoh to show him his affection so his life could be restored as quickly as possible, it worked too well. As if the thought of Bakura using the old alluring act to get Yami to do what he wanted wasn't bad enough, Yami fell for it. Then again, he did say he didn't know how to show real affection, did he lie?
"Bakura" Yami said, finally.
"Yes?" Bakura replied as his eyes focused on the pharaoh once more.
"I thought you didn't know how to show real affection"
"I don't… why?"
"Then what do you call that hand kiss you gave me?"
"Lucky… Just because I don't know how to show affection doesn't mean I can't try. I have a mind of my own after all and unlike some of your friends, Joey for example… I know how to use it"
Yami didn't like the fact that Bakura insulted one of his friends, but he didn't say anything in return. Yami didn't want to fight at the moment, there was already too much drama as it is.
"Now then…" Bakura continued, "Do you want to watch your friend duel or not? Because I'm getting bored just standing here talking to you"
Though Bakura's words may have sounded like an insult to the simple minded, Yami understood well enough that he was suggesting they go watch his friend out of a hidden kindness he refused to show. Perhaps he was like this now because he respected the pharaoh more, seeing as the pharaoh does not bluff and stands by what he says. It seems odd to one point of view, but when looking deeper into the subject, he could tell right away what was going on.
"Thank you" Yami said, the smile returning to his face.
"Whatever… Let's just go"
With that, Yami headed for the door, Bakura following behind, and exited the room. As they headed for the top of the blimp, Yami decided he should make conversation, hopefully to gain more trust from Bakura.
"So, I have to ask out of curiosity" He said.
"Hm?"
"After you lose life from the curse, I noticed it pains you. Of course, anyone can see that can they?"
"What's your point?"
"…When your life is restored, what do you feel?"
Bakura looked at Yami for a quick moment before looking ahead again.
"I feel good as new. I don't really know how to explain it exactly, but I'll just leave it at that"
"I see" was all Yami said as an answer.
If Bakura could describe it better perhaps he wouldn't have such a boring answer, and probably more questions to keep the conversation going. Then again, he did have one other question. Did Bakura really hate Yami, after all, it wasn't his fault that Bakura's village was slaughtered… he wasn't even in power during that time. He had to ask.
"Bakura… uh, do you-"
"Pharaoh!" Came Tristan's voice from ahead.
Yami glanced at Tristan who ran down the stairs and in front of him.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Yami asked in a desperate tone.
"It's Joey, come on!"
Tristan lead the way as Yami and Bakura followed behind. What could be wrong with Joey? He seemed fine earlier… Maybe Marik has something to do with this!
When they reached the top of the blimp, Yami could see his friends panicking, mostly Serenity. He looked up at the part of the arena where Joey was supposed to be standing only to find he was knocked unconscious. Yami's eyes grew at the site. This is Marik's doing for sure… Yami turned his attention to Marik, but he too was knocked unconscious. This didn't make any sense, what source of power could do this too both of them? Yami looked over at Tea, who seemed to be the calmest one there, besides Kaiba, but Yami knew Kaiba didn't care much about anything.
"Tea, what happened here?" Yami asked, concerned.
Tea glanced at the pharaoh, her eyes full of worry.
"Marik summoned his god card, but… I don't know, something went wrong and then bolts of lightning struck both of them"
Yami looked back at his unconscious friend. He hoped Joey would be ok, but quickly doubt began to take over his mind.
"Dude! Wake up! Joey I swear, if you're trying to mess with us it's not funny!" Tristan shouted.
If anyone could, someone would go up there and help Joey, but Kaiba wouldn't allow it. Yami already knew this. Kaiba was always the stubborn sceptical type. It was either help the duelist and get disqualified, or stay put and stay in the tournament. To someone who didn't know the real story as to why Yami was here, they'd say 'then forget the tournament and help him!', but it wasn't that simple. Marik was here, and even though he was unconscious, he could gain consciousness any second now and win this duel. What exactly Marik wanted was beyond the pharaoh, but he did know it wasn't good, and he had to stop him somehow.
Suddenly, Tea gasped and pointed to Joey.
"Joey!"
He was getting up, normally, as if he hadn't gotten hit at all. Yami couldn't help but smile and sigh in relief knowing his friend was ok.
"Joey! You're ok" Serenity cheered, looking as if she was going to cry happily for her brothers sake.
Joey blinked and turned to look at his friends with a confused expression.
"Huh? What happened?"
"Seriously? You don't remember?" Mai said in disbelief.
"Not really… oh wait" Joey glanced at Marik, who was still unconscious, or so it seemed.
"It looks like Wheeler's the winner…" Kaiba frowned.
Joey ignored Kaiba's disappointed tone, as did everyone else, as he and a couple others ran to Marik to see if he was ok. Joey knelt beside him and placed his head on his lap.
"Hey Marik, are you ok?" Joey asked, concerned for Marik.
Even if Marik was their enemy, it did not matter at this moment, the man was injured and needed help, evil or not.
"Yes, I'm fine…" He said weakly. He was ok, but it was obvious he wasn't as well as Joey, "…but I'm not Marik…"
"Huh? Wha?" Joey replied.
"I am Odion…" Odion barely lifted his hand, "He… is Marik…" he said as he pointed at who they thought was their friend, Namu.
The real Marik looked as if he was in pain as he clutched his head with both hands, as if trying to keep it from coming off.
"Look! He has the real millennium rod" Tea said.
Marik let go of his head for a couple seconds to look at everyone. He grinned and nodded.
"It's true, I am the real Marik"
"Why did you trick us?" Tristan said defensively, "We thought you were our friend"
"Fool, you wouldn't understand, and even if my secret is out now one way or another, I will have my revenge"
Marik's voice just now… Immediately Marik clutched his head once more, but his voice, when he said he wanted revenge, it sounded like another person was speaking as well.
"Master Marik…he…" Odion tried hard to speak, but he seemed to be getting weaker by the second, "He has, a dark side to him… please, help him…"
Odion then closed his eyes and passed out completely.
"Woah, hey man, don't die on us!" Joey panicked.
"No! Go away!" Marik shouted to himself.
Suddenly Marik threw his head back and screamed as if something stabbed him in his brain. Everybody stepped back and away from him, too afraid to approach him like this. Yami knew he couldn't do anything to help, what could he do? The only thing he could do was watch in horror. Wait, he stopped screaming.
Marik lowered his hands, then his head to look at everyone. No, it wasn't Marik anymore, it was the evil that existed in Marik's heart. The grin on his face made him seem unapproachable and threatening, his cruel eyes showed no fear or regret for taking Marik's body. Yami stepped off the stage as Bakura followed while Joey stayed with Odion. The man chuckled as his attention turned to the Pharaoh, then to Bakura.
"I suppose I should thank you both, if it wasn't for Marik's hate towards you pharaoh I would have never came to be… and you, Bakura. You helped feed his anger by joining him in his quest for revenge"
"I simply wanted the millennium items he promised" Bakura said, "This has nothing to do with you"
"How sad, and I was actually thinking of sparing you, but if that's the way you want it, then I'm fine with that too"
"Hmph, It doesn't matter much to me. I don't think you can kill me"
The man's grin darkened and his eyes were sinister.
"Do you think I wasn't watching this whole time through Marik's eyes? You have one major weakness right now" He pointed to the leash in the pharaoh's hand, "Your life is in the hands of the pharaoh, don't you think I can just take it away in your sleep?"
"Such cowardice… Killing me in my sleep?" Bakura growled.
"Call it what you will. If I want something done, I'll do it"
"Not if I have anything to do with it" Yami joined, "I will make sure you bring no harm to Bakura"
"Oh, how cute. The pharaoh is protecting his enemy. Tell me Bakura, how does it feel to be so vulnerable that you need the help of your worst enemy in order to live?"
Bakura's eyes narrowed into a glare, but he did not answer. Though he tried to look as if he wasn't intimidated, from the look on the evil Marik's face, he could tell Bakura was afraid. He wasn't the only one though, Yami was just as worried.
The evil Marik then burst into laughter, obviously enjoying their worried expressions.
"Your feeble attempts at hiding your fear is very amusing… Well, I suppose I will wait until it is my turn to duel" His eyes glanced at Yami who could only glare at him back, "Don't lose now pharaoh, I'm hoping to duel you most"
With that, the evil Marik walked pass Yami, Bakura and everyone else as he headed downstairs. Everyone watched as he left, some with fear, some with hate.
He's not going to make things easy for me… Yami looked over at Bakura, who seemed just as worried, though he tried to mask that fear with hate, he could still see it, I only hope I can protect you.
XXX
Oh my... owo Wait till next update. ^^ Keep the reviews coming please, tis what helps inspire me to keep writing. ^^