So this bitch was acting up all day as y'all probably knew. Beyond pissed I tell ya! But it's up and before it starts being a dick again, I'm updating this! Long chappie for y'all again. Not quite as long as the last one, but 8,000 plus words should suffice right? I do an interaction between two characters I've never done before, so I want to know how I did alright? Things are heating up in this story. Marik and Ryou's POVs are returning next chapter and everyone's on the same day at last. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy! 50 fucking reviews and we haven't even reached 20 chappies yet! I'm just so thrilled! *squeeee!
Endlessly:
I could love you endlessly, I could fall in love with you and we could keep a miracle alive. Every time I look in your eyes, I get lost inside of your soul. What are you doing to me? Don't you know that I hate you? Don't you want my blood on your hands? Don't you want me to scream? Don't you realize that it's too late to bring me back life? I'm already further than death. I'm drowning in my desire for you and my need to kill you. I want my hands covered in your blood, I want your skin underneath my fingertips I want you to reach out and touch me, I want you to burn me alive with your beautiful eyes. I want to hear your voice when I go to bed at night, I want to lie next to you and watch the world go by. I want to end you for good, I want to make you suffer, I want to see the look in your eyes when you look up at me when I hold the knife above your heart. I want you to know that any claims of hope you had of us is nothing but fantasy we'll never have. I want you to be the one that kills me, I want my blood on your hands.. I want you to end me I want to feel your passion. I want to feel your soul wrapping around mine. I want to know if you feel this too. I want to know if I can kill you now. I want to feel you underneath me I want to feel something besides this loneliness I feel inside. I want to bring the demon out of you.
I want to know if it hurts when I cut you up inside. I want to know if you really hate me or if I really hate you. I want to make me scream, I want to feel the power within me grow. I want you to knock me out, I want you to defeat me. I want something so much more from you than I could ever get. I want you to bleed, I want you to scream. I need you to know you're driving me crazy. I need you to know my soul burns passionately for you every time you give me that look I think I'm going to lose my mind. I want you dead, I want your soul to scream, to earn itself to me. I need you to know this isn't a game anymore. And what would you think if I told you that loved you this whole time? What would you say if I told you I never wanted to hate you, that I never loved you at all? What if I was playing with your mind?
What if I was lying right now? What if I told it was too personal to tell you how I felt about you? What if I told you that everything you've done to me was nothing more than just a wicked fantasies you dreamt of? What if I can't take it back? What if I don't want to? What if everything I said wasn't a lie? What if I tried to bring you back? What if I really did love you? Would you love me back, even though you think of me as a fool? Am I fool to fall in love with you? What if I told you that loving you is so impossible, it's not reality. I couldn't take it anymore. You burn me alive, I'd give myself to you if I could.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. If I did, then Yugioh would have ended with Bakura and Yami admitting their undying love for one another and Seto would have pulled Joey into a kiss to shut him up because Puppy and Darkshipping rock!
Warnings: My usual, y'all know what that means, but for those of you who happen to be new to my awesomeness, it means there's lemony goodness!
Summary:
Moments away from destroying Zorc, Yami hesitates, asking Horakhty if she can set Bakura free. She agrees, telling Yami that in order for him to pass into the afterlife, he must break his enemy of the darkness, and he only as a year to do so.
Chapter Eighteen: Dire
[Joey's POV]:
I yawn, stretching. My fist connects to something.
"Ow! Fuck!" I hear someone shout.
I sit up quickly, looking around to see where the voice is coming from. My eyes widened when I see Kaiba sitting up rubbing the side of his face. From the middle of his back down he's wrapped in blue silk sheets. Wait is he? Does that mean I am too? I look down and suddenly I feel a blush staining my cheeks, remembering why we're naked.
"Seto?" I ask.
"What?" he mutters in annoyance.
"Are ya alright, man?" I ask.
"Besides my bruised jawbone, I'm fine." he replies.
"Sorry 'bout dat." I mumble.
"It's fine." he grunts. "I've had worse."
Suddenly, I hear a loud vibration. I jump up, tripping over the sheets. I blindly reach up for my phone on the table beside the bed.
"Hello?" I gasp using my arm to pull myself up. I sit on the bed. I look behind me to see Seto getting dressed.
"Joey!" Anzu shouts. "Where are you?!"
"Umm...at Seto's?" I say.
"Seto? Since when have you called Kaiba by his first name?" she asks.
I blush. "Umm...since...I-"
"Joey, do you realize what time it is?" she asks.
"Umm no." I laugh nervously. "I just woke up."
"Typical." she snorts.
"Hey!" I exclaim.
"It's eight o' clock at night, Joey." she reveals.
"Say what?!" I shout jumping up. I put my phone on speaker phone, throwing yesterday's clothes on.
"You mean to tell me you've been asleep this whole time?! Even Kaiba?!" she shouts.
"Yeah." I say pulling my jeans on. "We're just now waking up. I'll be there in about thirty minutes."
"Tell Kaiba to call Mokuba. He's-"
"I'm already on it." Seto says pulling out his cellphone and walking into the other room.
"Sorry to worry y'all." I say picking up my phone and turning it off speaker phone.
'It's fine." she says. "Just get back here, we've been worried sick about you and Yami-"
"What's wrong with Yams?" I ask worryingly.
Anzu sighs. "I'm not sure. He and Bakura went on a date today and he came back all upset."
"Damn. Alright, we'll talk when I get there." I say.
"Be careful." Anzu says.
"Will do." I say before hanging up.
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[Mokuba's POV]:
I have spent nearly two days with Yugi and his friends. It's about eight o'clock at night and Seto hasn't called me all day! Nor have we heard from Joey. It's strange. I know Seto would want to go to work today, so why wouldn't he have someone pick me up? I would have called him earlier, but I was having so much fun today that it kinda slipped my mind. I guess I shouldn't get mad at Nii-sama for not calling me. It's just out of character for him. What happened between him and Joey?
Anzu walks into the living room.
"So?" Tristan asks. "Any news on Joey?"
"He said he's been asleep all day. He said he'll be here in thirty minutes." she replies.
"What about Seto?" I ask.
"He said he'll be calling." she says.
As if on cue, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
"Hey Seto!" I exclaim happily. "How are you?!"
"I'm fine, Mokuba. Are you ready to come home?" he asks.
"Of course! I've missed you!" I say.
"I've missed you too. I'm sorry I haven't called you. I was asleep-"
"All day?!" I exclaim.
'Yeah." he says. "I'll come get you in about thirty minutes, so be ready."
"Alright I will, and you be ready to talk. I wanna know everything that happened." I say.
Silence fills the other line. I can hear nothing but Seto's breathing.
"Seto?" I ask.
"Sorry Mokuba." my brother says. "I'll be there soon."
"Are you okay?" I ask worryingly.
"Yeah." he replies.
Before I have a chance to speak, he's already hung up. I blink, staring at my phone. 'What happened Seto?' I ask myself.
XXXXXXX
[Bakura's POV]:
We arrive in some landish hotel suite where everyone is pampered. It's sickening how money can make these fools bend over backwards for each other and serve them. The only person that needs to be served is me!
"Greg, take my bags upstairs and make sure Sue has us a nice change of clothes set out." Mai snaps to the man standing beside of a golden cart. He takes her bags and places them on the cart.
"Right away Miss. Valentine." he bows, heading towards the elevator. We reach her room which is on the fifteenth floor of the hotel. My eyes widened as we walk in. The room is huge! I guess this bitch got rich. There's a white leather circle couch with a flat screen TV built into the wall. The 'lving room' is made of carpet, the floor we're standing on is hardwood. There's a kitchen, but I'm sure that's just for show. This is too much for me, and I'm sure there's more to it. After all, this is Mai we're talking about. She always tries to impress with nonsense such as this.
"Thank you, Greg." Mai says handing him a tip. "That will be all."
The blonde haired woman turns, walking towards the large window that's covered by purple curtains. I feel someone tap me on the shoulder.
"What?" I hiss looking over my shoulder at Greg.
He clears his throat nervously, placing his hand on my shoulder. "There's some condoms in the bathroom, sir." he whispers to me.
I scowl throwing his hand off of me and walking away. What an idiot. Thinking I'm going to have sex with his 'master' ha!
Mai turns to face us.
"Greg what are you still doing in here?" she scolds.
"I-well miss I-" he stutters.
Mai steps closer to the fool. "Yes?" she purrs in her sickeningly sweet way.
"I was just telling this man here that the condoms are-"
"Fool we're not fucking!" she shrieks.
"But!"
"We're talking!" she hisses. "Bakura has some decency to treat a lady with class, unlike some men I know."
Greg doesn't look convinced. "It always starts off like that and then-"
"What business is it if we're going to have sex anyways? Which we are not because Bakura here is already in love with someone else." she snaps.
"Oh." he beams. "Alright then I'll just be on my way. I wish you good fortune for you and your girlfriend, sir." he says bowing and turning around to leave.
"Stupid prick." Mai mutters.
"Why do you keep such fools around?" I ask turning to face her.
She smiles smugly. "He's my husband's brother." she replies.
I don't say anything.
"Alright hun. Let's get you out of those wet clothes. See that door over there?" she asks pointing straight ahead. I nod. "There's a bedroom in there and a bathroom. There should be some clothes that will fit you. Leave your clothes in there and the maids will wash them for you." she says.
I walk into the room and Mai walks up a set of stairs that I'm guessing leads to her own person room. I lock the door and turn on the light. The room has a queen sized bed, grey carpet, matching grey dressers. I walk over to a door, opening it. It's a walk-in closet. No surprise there. I pull out some jeans and a black t-shirt. I'm surprised this place even has things like this. I walk into the bathroom. It's huge, what a surprise. Tile floors, double granite countertop sinks. I strip my clothes, walking over to the shower turning the water on. Instant hot water. That's what I'm talking about! I step in, closing the door.
Mai sure has stepped it up in the world. Then again, she's always been that pampered brat. She thinks she's queen of the world. Though, she is older than those other geeks so she'll know how to get them to fall for my tricks. I just have to make sure she believes me. She already thinks I'm in love with the Pharaoh. Ha, I don't know where people get off that I'm in love with that fool, but…
… "I love you all of my heart and soul. I have always loved you…."
That has to be a lie. The Pharaoh can't possibly love me. And even if he did, why would he admit such a thing to me if he fears that I'm using him? He's not stupid. If he thought I was trying to destroy him by getting close to him then he would he tell me something like that? Or does he even know…?
… "I know you don't love me, and that's okay. I just you to know because you deserve to know. I want you to be happy."
He thinks I don't love him. That won't do at all. I need him to know that I do love him. Of course, I don't, but he has to believe that I do so I can destroy him. Still, if he knows of my plan, then why the hell would he say anything to me about how he feels?!
The Pharaoh said he wants me to be happy. Psst. Okay, I don't know what cloud he's floating around on, but he better snap out of his stupidity because happiness is for fools. At least, the happiness he's speaking of. Now, my version of happiness would be seeing him suffer by my hands, to watch him bleed, beg for mercy and death.
"When I look at him, I burn with rage."
"You burn with raging passion." Marik 'corrects'.
I scowl. "Whose side are you on, Marik?"
Marik rolls his eyes. "I'm on your side, but you need to face the facts." he says.
I look up at him. "And what facts would those be?" I sneer.
A grin breaks onto my ex-lover's face.
"You're in love with the Pharaoh."
I slam my fists onto the table the cups rattle spilling the coffee on the table.
"I am not in love!" I hiss.
R-right?
I lean against the shower wall, closing my eyes. The moment I close my eyes, I see Yami's beautiful smiling face. I smile seeing those gorgeous crimson eyes light up when I'm around him. How he looks at me…
My eyes snap open. What the hell is wrong with me?! I have to stop this foolishness! I can't fall for him! No! I have to keep the right mindset and destroy him! I can't be thinking that he's beautiful! He's supposed to fall for me!
The water is suddenly cold. How long have I been in here? Why am I thinking about this shit? It shouldn't matter to me that the Pharaoh confessed to me, but for some reason, it does…
I shut the water off, stepping out of the shower. After I get dried off and dressed, I head into the living room where Mai's waiting on me.
"It's about time you showed up. Sit down and let's talk. Tell me everything that happened." she says patting the couch. I walk over to her, taking a seat. This is going to be a long night.
XXXXXXXX
[Seto's POV]:
Last night was the most amazing night of my life. I fought within myself. Everything was screaming at me to stop, for me not to give into such weakness, but something pushed me forward. Something begged me to make love to him, and I did. I don't regret it at all. I don't remember what happened after that. I just remember feeling exhausted afterwards and collapsing into Joey's strong arms. Then, I was awakened by a fist to my jaw. I can't believe I slept so damn long! I mean Wheeler would no doubt sleep like this, but me? Never! I missed work and everything!
Sue informed me that everything had been taken care of in my absence. I'll check to see if her words are true tomorrow I suppose. Honestly, I don't want to mess with work tonight. Strange. What's going on with me? What, I have sex one time and now I want to forget about my duties? I knew I shouldn't have done something so stupid! Still, I'd do it again. Not just with anyone, only with Joey.
He saw a side of me that even I didn't want to see. I lost control and I loved every second of it. He made me lose control and I made him as well. It was the most amazing experience of my life. Who knew anything so incredible could exist? Still, I feel disgusted with myself because of it.
I had picked Mokuba up about an hour ago. I told him to get in bed and we'd talk tomorrow. He's very persistent on wanting to know what happened. I don't blame him, but like I'll tell him about that he's only a kid! No, that's a lie. Mokuba is fourteen now. He's old enough to know about sex, and I have a strong hunch he already knows I had it last night.
I get up from the couch, walking up the stairs to check on Mokuba. He's sound asleep. Just as I'm about to close the door, he speaks.
"Seto?" he says groggily.
"Sh." I whisper. "Go back to sleep."
He shifts in the bed. "How can I sleep when I'm so happy you and Joey are finally together?" he asks.
"Well try. It's late." I say.
"We're gonna talk tomorrow, right?" he asks.
"I said we would." I say. "Now get some sleep."
"Are you going to bed too?" he asks.
"In a bit." I say.
"Well, you can stay in here if you want to." he says.
I smile. "Alright," I say walking into his room and sitting on the bed. "Do you want to tell me about your day?"
"Well, Bakura and Yami went on a date." Mokuba says.
"Really?" I ask.
"Yeah, but Yami came home upset. Bakura never showed up." he replies.
"Hmm."
"Do you think something bad happened between them, Seto?" my brother asks worryingly. "I'm worried about them."
"I'm sure everything is fine, Mokuba." I assure him. Honestly, I haven't the slight clue if everything's alright and to be quite frank, I don't really care. I have my own problems and my own life to worry about. I don't have time to chase after the Ancient Egyptians because they can't admit they want to fuck each other.
"Why don't you tell me what you did?" I ask.
Mokuba yawns. "Well, we played some games and watches some movies." he replies.
"Watch anything interesting?" I ask.
"Yugi wanted to watch 'Dawn of the Dead.'" Mokuba laughs.
"Didn't he watch that the other day?" I ask.
"He seems to love the movie." Mokuba says.
"Hmm." I grunt. "What kind of games did you play?"
"I dueled Tristan and won." he yawns.
"That's not surprising." I mutter.
"But when I dueled Yugi, I lost...badly." he sighs tiredly. "But I"m not really surprised since he's the 'King of Games' and all."
"That's Yami you're thinking of." I correct.
"I know, but they shared a body for a while and besides, I think Yugi could beat Yami if he really wanted to." Mokuba says.
I scowl. "I doubt that Mokuba. Yugi couldn't duel his way out of a paper bag."
"You don't give Yugi enough correct. According to Anzu, Yugi was the one that dueled against Bakura when he and Yami were separated in his memories and he won."
"Still, he could never defeat me, let alone Yami." I say.
"I think he could." Mokuba says.
"Yami holds the three Egyptian God cards, Mokuba." I remind him.
"And Yugi holds spirit." Mokuba yawns shifting in the bed.
"True, but he'll need more than that to defeat me." I say stroking my brother's hair.
XXXXXXXXXX
[Yugi's POV]:
Seto dropped Joey off and picked Mokuba up about an hour or so ago. The blonde sat down awkwardly on the couch.
"So, did we get laid?" Duke asks.
"Shaddup." Joey snaps.
So much tension's in the air. Joey and Kaiba had sex that much is obvious, but what happened between Yami and Bakura? Before he seemed so happy to be around the thief, now he's...closed off.
"Where's Yams?" Joey asks.
"Upstairs." Anzu replies.
"Is he okay?" Joey asks sitting up. He winces slightly at the movement. He and Kaiba must have had a lot of fun if my friend is in this much pain.
"I'm not sure." I mutter looking up at the stairs. "He came home a few hours ago before you did and never said a thing to anyone."
"Whatever happened, we need to let Yami and Bakura figure it out." Marik says.
"But Yami might need our help!" Anzu exclaims.
Marik shakes his head. "Not this time. He needs to figure this out on his own. Trust me, I know."
"Don't act like you don't know what's going on, Marik." Tristan snaps.
"If it's something to do with Bakura, it has to be bad." Joey says.
"Are you still going on about that?" Marik hisses.
"I'm just stating the facts." Joey shrugs.
"You know nothing about him!" Marik shouts.
"And like you do?" Ryou mutters.
"You may have shared a body with him, but I'm his friend. We were lovers, we understood each other. Yami and Bakura understand each other too. Why do you think they're so perfect for one another? Bakura needs Yami and I'll be damned if any of you take my best friend's happiness away from him!" Marik shouts.
"No one wants to take his happiness away, Marik." I say. "We're just trying to figure out why Yami is so upset."
Marik scowls. "That much should be obvious."
"Then tell us an' stop bein' so damn selfish!" Joey chatises.
Marik stands up. "It's not my job to tell y'all everything. Maybe if you use your brain the right way instead of on stupidity, you'll realize that Bakura is not to blame for why Yami is so upset." Marik says. "And in case none of you have realized since you're too selfish, Bakura is still missing, so that means he is upset as well. So before you put the blame on Bakura, I'd suggest you find out what happened between them because if Bakura's upset that means Yami did something to upset him."
Before any of us can protest, Marik is already up the stairs. We hear a loud bam, indicating the slamming of a door. Silence fills the air.
"I can't believe dat asshole!" Joey growls. "Tryna blame Yams for what happened. Everyone knows it's Bakura's fault-"
"We don't know that for certain." Anzu says.
"What possibly could have happened, Anzu?" Tristan asks. 'We know that Bakura hates Yami."
"Where the hell have all of you guys been?!" Anzu exclaims. "Bakura is our friend!"
"It could be a trick though." Duke points out twirling a lock of his black hair.
"True," I concur. "But like Anzu said, he has changed."
"Lies." Tristan mutters.
"If it's a lie then why are you hanging out with him?" Anzu snaps.
Tristan shrugs. "He just seems like a cool guy."
"You shouldn't treat someone like that, Tristan." I say. "I think what we need to do is get some rest and talk about this in the morning. The only people that truly know what's going on is Yami and Bakura and honestly, I don't think even though know themselves."
XXXXXXXXX
[Yami's POV]:
I ran through the rain and into the Game Shop. Yugi wanted answers, they all did, but Yugi was the only one who asked for them. I couldn't give him any. I didn't want to. It's too painful to think about. I head to our room, locking the door. I slide against the door, bringing my knees up to my chest, sobbing. I'm soaking wet and I don't care. I don't want to move, I don't ever want to leave this room in fear I'll see Bakura again.
How could I be so stupid to tell him that I loved him? He doesn't care about me! He's hated me since the day we met, why would anything change? I knew it was too good to be true when he started hanging out with us. I'm not sure of his plan, but I feel he's up to something. Or is he?
Perhaps I'm overreacting and Bakura does care about me. After all, the way he was kissing me was a whole lot different than it was last time. Or was that just me? Was it truly different than the last time we kissed or is it because I have finally admitted that I'm in love with the thief?
How did I let this happen?! I was only supposed to help him expel the darkness from his heart, not fall in love with him! But I did, and I am, and now I have to accept that fact. But how will the others react? Despite the fact that they're hanging out with my former enemy, I know they still resent the thief. And who could blame them? After everything that's happened between him and us?
When I first woke up in these times and I saw Bakura, I knew he wasn't evil despite the fact he was trying to take my Puzzle and kill my friends and me. Even though I didn't know who he was, why he wanted the items, or who I was, I knew that there was a reason he was doing what he was doing. I wanted to help him, I wanted to hold him and tell him it'd be okay. But it's not okay and it never will be.
After finding out that my family was the cause of Bakura's misery, I made up my mind that I would make things right. Apologizes are weak in the eyes of my former enemy. I know this for a fact. He wants me to suffer, he wants me to pay for what he believes my father did to him. I know it wasn't my father who order that attack, so what really happened? Aknadin admitted that he was the reason the Items were created, but why would he do something so horrible?
Bakura said he watched the whole massacre. I can't even begin to imagine how awful that must have been for him. Being so helpless and afraid. No wonder he craves power like he does. He wants to be in control, he wants to win and with me, he can't. Except on a few things.
He loves exploiting my lesser talents and poking fun at the fact that I can't draw as well as he can. He likes to make me feel miserable because he is. He wants me to experience his pain. The thing is, I do. It's not the same, but when I look into his eyes, I feel like I'm seeing what he's seeing and feeling what he's feeling.
When I'm around him, I feel...alive, complete. I hate feeling this way, I can't have something like this happen. Especially not with Bakura. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. I jump, but don't move from my spot. The door knob rattles.
"Yami, I know you're in there and I'm not leaving until you open up." Ryou shouts through the other side of the door.
Wait. Ryou? I jump up, unlocking the door and opening it. The thief's Hikari is standing before me, his hands on his hips.
"Get your ass out of those wet clothes and in the shower. When you're done, come back in here because we have a lot to discuss." he says walking to my dresser, pulling out some clean PJs, shoving them into my hands and shoving me down the hall towards the bathroom.
"But-"
"No buts, mister! Move it!"
XXXXXXX
[Mai's POV]:
The moment I realized that the boy sitting on the bench in the pouring rain was Bakura, not Ryou, I should have ran. The stories I have heard of this man were terrifying, but for some reason I couldn't. He just looked so...I'm not sure how to describe it. Lost.
After getting a shower and clean clothes on, we're both sitting in my large living room. I know he's uncomfortable, he's not the only one, but I need to know what's been going on. I need to know if it's safe for me to return or if I should wait.
"Alright, spill it." I say taking a sip of my champagne. "What's happened since I've seen Joey and the others?"
"What? You think I'm their ass kisser?" he snarls.
"You sure were up Yami's a lot." I say setting my glass down on the glass table before me. "What with you always persuing him and whatnot." I smirk.
The thief scowls. "I was gathering the items, bitch."
"And now you're in love with him." I say looking at my nails as if I'm bored.
"I'm not in love, he's in love with me." he 'corrects'.
"So how did this transpire?" I ask looking at him.
"We've been spending time together." he replies.
"Ah." I say.
"What is the point to this conversation?" Bakura asks tersely.
"To help you get your man back, of course." I scoff rolling my eyes. "What else?"
"He can come back to me all he wants." Bakura says. "I'm not going after him."
I sit up straight. "That attitude right there is the reason Yami doesn't believe you love him." I chatise.
"I don't-"
"Oh don't even deny it hun. When I first met you I knew you were in love." I say.
"You don't even know me!" Bakura shouts.
"I know more than you think." I say. "After all, I was in the Shadow Realm and I could tell the difference between you and Ryou."
"So some of the geek squad is smart." Bakura leers.
"I'm not part of them." I say.
"Then why do you want to see them?" he asks.
"I just want to see Joey." I blurt out. I cover my mouth with my hands as if I can push the words back in my mouth and stop them from coming out. It's too late for that. The thief smirks.
"So that cat's out of the bag. Does your husband know that you want to fuck the mutt?" Bakura sneers.
"I don't want to have sex with Joey." I snap. "I just want to see how he is. Besides, you said he's with Kaiba so…"
"And?" Bakura snorts. "Do you know how many people cheated on their lovers with me?"
"I'm not like that." I say.
"Sure."
"We're here to discuss you and Yami, not me!" I yell.
"There's nothing to discuss." he growls.
"Oh, I think there is." I say sickeningly sweet. "Now tell me what's been happening. How did you get out of the Shadow Realm, where Ryou is, tell me everything, Bakura." I demand.
Bakura and I stare into each other's eyes for what seems like forever. He's holding so much back. I can see the pain in his eyes. I've always been able to see it, but it seems to lessen. Why is that? What has happened since I have last seen him? It's been years. He's still the same asshole, but…
"Fine, I'll tell you." Bakura snaps.
I smile.
XXXXXXXX
[Bakura's POV]:
I tell big boobed bitch the shit she 'needs' to know in order to 'help' me. She's nothing short of shocked.
"Well, I'll say this is quite interesting." she says taking a sip of her champagne and leaning back against the couch. She crosses her legs turning so she's facing me. "So you want to date him then?"
"Yes." I say through gritted teeth.
"Hmm. He doesn't seem to trust you too much." she says pointing out the obvious.
"Are you going to spend all night pointing out shit I already know?" I spit.
"Cut the attitude. I don't have to help you. If anything, I shouldn't even let you be near me, but you know I've always felt sorry for you." she says.
"I don't need or do I want your pity!" I shout.
"It's not pity when you feel the same, Bakura." she says looking away from me.
"Whatever."
She turns back to me, her violet eyes are blazing in fury. "You have no idea what I've been through or what I've seen. Don't even go there with me. Don't act like you're the only one that knows how it feels to be lonely-"
"I'm not lonely!" I shout.
Mai lets out a chilling laugh. "I don't know who you're trying to fool, but it won't work on me. So cut the shit right now. I'm not stupid, Bakura. I may not know what you've been through, why you hate Yami and why you want to destroy the world, but I know for a fact that you are lonely." she says. "You need to be man enough to admit that and do something about it instead of blaming someone else!"
"What's it to you anyways?" I hiss.
"What's it to me?" she laughs humourlessly. "How about the fact that you're taking advantage of my friends and I won't have it!" she shouts.
"I thought they weren't your friends." I smirk.
"They're the only friends I've ever had." she mutters looking away.
'Then why aren't you around them?" I ask.
"I can only handle so much of that friendship shit." she snaps. "I want to do my own thing."
"And you don't think I do?" I snap.
"Your 'own thing' would be killing Yami where he stands." Mai says.
I lean back against the arm of the couch, crossing my arms over my chest. "And? What's wrong with that?" I snort. "And don't give me that stupid shit about you fools being friends. I don't care about that."
"How about the fact that you're in love with him but are too stubborn to admit it?" Mai says. "You can't keep living in fear, Bakura. Look, I don't know what happened between the two of you. And to be quite frank, I don't want to know. But, I can't let you harm him. Sure, we're not close, but I know deep down inside he's a good person. Why the hell he wants to save you is beyond me, but he's looking past your mask you wear. He's trying to break your walls and help you. Let him."
How? How can I let him help me when I'm trying to destroy him? He doesn't get it. He's been pampered all of his life. He doesn't care about me. He just wants to save me and he's getting confused about being overwhelmed with everything. And I sure as hell am not falling for him!
I look at this woman again. There's so much pain, so many mysteries behind hers. For some reason, I feel like I can trust her. I feel like she can help me. Not just get revenge, but truly help me.
"I know you think that getting revenge on Yami will ease your pain, but it won't." she says.
"And how would you know?" I hiss averting my gaze from hers.
Mai sets her glass down scooting closer to me. She reaches out to touch my face. I flinch, jerking away from her touch, but she won't have any of it. She cups my face in her hands, staring deeply into my eyes.
"Stop acting like this big bad monster that everyone hates and let Yami in." she says.
I jerk away from her touch. "I can't." I whisper.
"Can't or won't?" she asks.
I don't respond.
"Bakura, I'm going to tell you something that no one knows, not even my husband. I'm telling you this because I think it'll help you." she says.
I don't bother looking at her.
"When I was little, my parents were never at home. They ran a cooperation together and left me at home in our mansion. They had my maids and butler watch me. I wanted to go outside so badly, but I wasn't allowed to, but one night I sneaked out. And I wish I hadn't…"
I look up at her. Her fists are clenched. She's staring off into space. I shift, sitting up. Seriousness fills the air.
"I sneaked out my bedroom window. It was easier than I thought it would be. I knew how to get past my father's 'protectors' if I needed to. I walked the streets of my neighbourhood that night. I was eight years old. It was snowing, and I stupidly didn't get changed for the weather. Not like it mattered, I just wanted to get out of my house. I just wanted someone to talk to.
That's when I met him." she shudders. "He picked me up in a nice car. It was blue. He told me he would take me to get some clean, warm clothes and introduce me to his daughter." she pauses for a moment. "We went out for some dinner. He even took me to a movie. He was so sweet to me and I believed all of his words. He told me about his daughter, how she was sick and he needed money to save her life but he was poor and his wife had died a few years back. I told him I could ask my parents if we could help." Mai says. She takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she begins again. "There was no sick daughter, Bakura. It was just him and me. Everything he said was a lie so I could lured in. I believed everything he said, and I paid the price. He took everything from me that night and I vowed never to get close to a man for the rest of my life.
"But then, I met Joey. He was something else." she laughs. "Oh man, that boy has so much spirit. I was drawn to his determination. I wanted to be like that again. I had become stronger, but it was only a mask, a wall of nothing but pain underneath. I didn't want to be like that anymore. Joey and his friends showed me there was more to life than fancy cars and misery. They showed me how it felt to have a friend. I want you to experience that too. I don't want you to end up like I did, Bakura."
"It's too late for that." I spit.
Mai smiles sadly, reaching for my hand.
'It's never too late." she says. "Too late would be you being destroyed and I'm not going to let that happen."
I don't say anything.
"I know this is hard, trust me. I know you've been through a lot, but whatever it is it was not your fault." she says squeezing my hand. "I know you're a good person deep down inside. Let the world know that. You're beautiful hun, stop hiding it. I hid my beauty all these years and it did nothing but leave me with pain. I don't want to see you miserable."
"Don't act like you understand." I hiss pulling away from her. "Don't act like your experience compares to mine."
"But it does." she says. "You were raped too."
I bristle.
"It's okay hun." she says. "I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. Let me help you, let Yami help you."
"Yami doesn't even know." I mutter.
"He doesn't know why you hate him?" she inquires.
I close my eyes, shaking my head. "No, he knows why I hate him."
"Then.."
"I hate him for a different reason than that." I mutter looking away.
"You can trust me, Bakura." she says. "I won't judge you."
I turn to face her. "Why should I tell you something that you're going to use against me?" I snarl.
Mai's back aback by my remark. "Why on earth would you think I'd do something like that?!" she shouts. "I'm not like that. I'm above the common rich folk, I'll have you know. I know how it feels to be alone, to feel so helpless and worthless. That's how Mariku made me feel when he trapped me in the Shadow Realm. I didn't want to believe I was there, I didn't want to believe that you or Yami were real, but you are. And I had to accept the facts." she says. "While I was in the Shadow Realm, all my fears, my loneliness and the memories of that night came back. I thought I would be there forever. Then, I finally was released and instead of staying with Joey and the others to protect me, I went off on my own. I didn't want their help. I wanted to be left alone, to do my own thing. I didn't want to get involved with their friendship squad.
"I tried to forget the pain I was in with dueling. I wanted to forget Mariku's face and how he hurt me, how he made me so miserable! I hated him, I still do. He forced me to remember that awful night with that man from years before and how lonely I was as a child! When I met Valon, I thought I found my answer. I thought that by destroying Joey Wheeler, I could finally put my past behind me. But I soon realized that he was the only real good thing that came out of my past. Don't make the same mistake I did, Bakura. Don't run away from Yami. Tell him how you feel before it's too late."
"I don't love him." I spit. "What makes you think I do, I'll never know."
Mai smiles. "You won't be fooling me, Bakura. I can see it in your eyes. Behind the hate and anger, there's more to you. I saw the way you looked at him. Saw the way he looked at you. You're destroying yourself if you don't tell him."
"I don't care." I mutter. "He was supposed to fall for me not…"
"And he did." she says placing her hand on top of mine. "Look, if you dont' want to tell him right now, then don't. But he needs to know you at least care about him."
"And how do I do that?" I ask.
"Hold him, be there for him. Spend time with him." she says. "Listen to what he has to say. That's what Richard did for me."
"I thought you'd be with Valon." I say.
"How did you know about Valon?" she asks.
"I was around here and there." I shrug.
"And you didn't think of getting revenge on Yami then because….?"
"I needed to set up the game." I reply.
She gives me a look but shrugs it off.
"To answer your question, I never felt that way about Valon. I mean sure, he and I had something in common, but we were just friends. Besides, I haven't seen him since I got out of Dartz's clutches." she says.
I nod.
"I'm going to bed now." she says stretching. "You can sleep in that other bedroom."
I nod. We stand up, heading towards our respective rooms.
"Mai," I say.
"Hmm?" she asks turning around.
"You said that Greg was Richard's brother right?" I ask.
"Yup." she says.
"Then why would he want me to have sex with you?" I ask.
"He thinks I'm a cheating whore and hates how I've taken charge, why else?" she smirks. "We should sleep naked together and see the look on his face when he comes in to greet me, don't you think?"
I laugh. "Good night, Mai."
"Good night." she says.
XXXXXXXX
[Serenity's POV]:
It's been about two or three weeks since I last seen Joey. School started not long ago. I love school, don't get me wrong. I have great friends, it's just...I wish I could go to school with my brother. My mother hates Joey. She believes that he'll end up just like Dad did. I have constantly asked her why she left my brother with him, but all she does is mutter something inaudible.
I chew on the end of my eraser staring at this math problem. I have always hated this subject. Though, I'm much better at it than Joey is. He's never cared about school. I want to get out of America and go back to Japan. Sure, living in California is nice and I have a lot of friends, but it's not the same. I want to be around Joey and his friends. Or, I should say our friends. After all, Anzu told me that we're all friends.
I wonder how everyone's doing. I wonder if Yami and Bakura got together or if Joey and Kaiba did. Mom would kill Joey if she found out he was bi. She's against it. I don't see what the big deal is. I wish I could get away from her. It's amazing she even lets me visit my brother. The only reason she does is because she thinks she 'owes' him for the hospital bill when I got my eye surgery. So to 'keep the peace' as she claims, she allows me to visit during summer vacation. I guess that's better than nothing, but still…
Suddenly, my phone vibrates. I'm in my room and mom is sound asleep. I'm glad for that because the person who's calling I never get to speak to.
"Joey!" I exclaim in a hush whisper. "It's been so long! How are you? How's Yugi? How's Tristan? How's Bakura? What have you been up to? Are you alright? Joey?"
"Serenity," my brother says. "There's something I need to tell you."
XXXXXXXXXX
I think this came out great and we have a nice set of POVs. Joey's, Mai's, Seto's, Yami's Bakura's, Mokuba's, Yugi's. Yup. I just love writing in 1st person. You know a lot of people I know hate it, but I love it. It's just so much fun getting into these characters minds. I just hope I do a good job of it. Alright, I need to start thinking of ways to get Marik and Yugi to interact more. But I have some things to do first. Mokuba and Seto's convo about what happened, Ryou and Yami's convo, and how Marik feels about all of this shit will be happening next chappie! I hope to update tomorrow. I'm on a roll baby! *squeeee! Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed! Review lovelies! :D