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Worthy
of You By: Amphitrite (papervanity@gmail.com) Rated: PG-13 Pairing: Bakura/Yami Summary: Bakura
is yearning for Yami's love, trying to convince
himself that he doesn't deserve it. Meanwhile, Yami's
mind is in a mess after his breakup with Yuugi. But
neither has any idea what Fate has in store for them.
Chapter
1: Loneliness Bakura gazed longingly out
the window of Ryou’s room. “Yami?
Are you coming to bed?” came a soft voice from the
other side of the room. Bakura turned and stared at
his light with emotionless brown eyes. He shook his head. “I can’t sleep.” he
replied. Ryou looked concernedly at him. “Daijoubu?
[Are you all right?]” Bakura sighed. “Yes. If
you’ll please excuse me, I think I’ll go for a walk in the park.” Ryou nodded, understanding. “Okay…But make sure you
don’t get into any trouble!” Bakura rolled his
eyes, but nodded all the same. “G’night,
Aibou.” He said, patting Ryou’s
hair shyly before striding out into the dark night.” “Good night, Yami.” Ryou whispered. *** Bakura sighed and sat down
on a stone bench in the park. Lately, he had just been lonely. Okay, so he
was used to loneliness. What else do you expect from someone who had been
trapped in a Sennen item for three thousand years?
But recently…it just seemed like everyone he knew was drifting away from him.
Of course, they were only his hikari’s friends…but
still. Jou and Seto were together. Everyone had accepted that, though
they were still a bit shocked. He had to admit, though, that it was pretty
damn amusing to watch the two bicker for two minutes and start making out
crazily afterwards. Yami and Yuugi had always been together… And Ryou…his sweet, innocent light…was with Malik. Malik, of all people.
The group had accepted this as well. Bakura didn’t
like this. There was nothing wrong with Malik or Mariku, but it just…he was just… Okay. He was
jealous. He hated to admit it, but he was. Not of Ryou
or Malik specifically…just jealous of everyone in
general. Jealous that everyone seemed to have found their soul mates. The former thief’s
thoughts were distracted at the sound of approaching footsteps. Yami appeared from behind the shadows of the bushes. “What are you doing
here?” Bakura asked, angry that his private space
had been intruded. Especially by the Pharaoh. “I should ask you
the same question.” he replied smugly. “I came here to
think.” Bakura answered, crossing his arms. “Well, I come here
every night.” Yami shot back crossly. Bakura bit his upper lip. Uhm…yeah…his
lips…wait! What the hell am I thinking? Yami
mentally slapped himself for thinking such twisted thoughts. “Fine!” Bakura growled angrily and sat down on the edge of the
stone bench. Yami took a seat as far from Bakura as he could. They sat in silence. Oh joy. Now Mr. I Am
So Great is here. Stupid pharaoh. Bakura thought
bitterly. Though he does look kind of cute when he’s mad…No! I can’t fall
for him again. Not EVER. **Flashback** “We can’t keep
seeing each other secretly!” Yami said, frowning. “Why not?” Bakura retorted. “…If somebody finds
out…” “Stop with the
foreshadowing! Why must you always be so pessimistic?” “But what would they
say if they found out?” “Does it matter what
other people think?” Bakura practically yelled. The
current pharaoh bit his lip and looked at the ground ashamedly. “It matters to me.” **End Flashback** Bakura stared at his
hands. A small dark red cut ran across his wrist. That was his life long
reminder of the time when Yami had given up on him
and he had tried to kill himself… He scooted over on
the stone bench until he was sitting right next to the spiky-haired pharaoh. Yami didn’t realized at first
and when he did, he looked at the former tomb robber and raised an eyebrow. “I’m…cold.” Bakura said. Oh Ra, that was the lamest excuse ever…
But he didn’t need to fake a shiver. It had been many, _many_ years since he
had had the chance to be this close to his supposed enemy. Bakura snuggled tightly next to the former pharaoh. What
came as a shock was that Yami didn’t shove him off. *** Ryou frowned. Something
was different with his yami. He had been distancing
himself lately…always going for walks… This difference was something that he
didn’t like. It had only happened recently, he noted. He forced himself to
think. What had happened recently that had made Bakura
change the way he acted? Well, Jou and Seto had gotten
together…and so had he and Malik…then there was the
whole cookie issue…wait! Malik and me! It must have been! Yami
probably fell left out…Ryou’s face fell. He didn’t like anyone to be left
out, since he had experienced enough of that in his childhood. He picked up
the phone by his bed and quickly dialed Yuugi’s
number. “Hello?” a voice
answered, yawning. Ryou hesitated. “Yuugi?
Did I wake you?” “Uhh…yeah.
Is that you, Ryou-kun?” “Yeah, it’s me.
Sorry about waking you up.” “It’s okay. I’m a
light sleeper.” “Yuugi…I
need your help. How do you cheer up someone who feels left out?” *** Yami said to himself, “Well, it’s late. I’d better be going.” He stood
up, forgetting that Bakura had been leaning against
him, currently asleep with an angelic smile on his face. The thief’s head hit
the stone when the pharaoh stood up, waking him up. “ITAI!” he screamed
into the night. He glared at Yami (or rather his
back), who was leaving. Yami didn’t see and just
kept walking on instead. It wasn’t until much
later that he had realized that he and Bakura had
been together for half an hour…without tossing insults at each other every
second. Chapter
2: Depression (( The next
morning… )) Bakura sat up on Ryou’s
bed, sniffing for the delicious smell of his light’s cooking. But it never
came. The thief stood up confusedly and walked down the stairs dazedly. He
rubbed his head. He winced. Ow. It still hurt from
when he had hit the stone bench. Ryou was nowhere to be seen. The house was
completely empty; Ryou’s father was on another
business trip. He walked into the kitchen, quickly spotting a slightly
crumpled note on the table, along with some coins. On the note was what was obviously Ryou’s writing,
though it showed that he had been in a rush when he had written it. Yami-
Went to Malik’s.
I’ll be back around one. You’ll have to make breakfast yourself, sorry.
Here’s some money for going to the market. Unfortunately, there is absolutely
no food in the refrigerator. (I think Jou at it all
the last time he was here…) Ja ne!
- Ryou Bakura glared at the note. I can’t cook!
Let’s just hope that some of Aibou’s talents have
rubbed off on me. Otherwise…ugh, I don’t even want to think about it. He grabbed
the money and got ready to leave the house when he froze in his spot. What the hell do you buy in a market?
*** The former pharaoh sighed as he got up
from his bed in his vacant room. After taking a quick shower, he sat at the
kitchen table and the memories of the night before flowed into his mind. He
gave another depressed sigh. He hadn’t told Bakura
the real reason he was at the park. Sure, it was true that he went there
almost every night, but that bench was one of his and Yuugi’s
favorite places. Yuugi. The thought of the name just brought
painful thoughts into his mind. His hikari, the one
that he loved with all of his heart, had broken up with him…just yesterday
night. **Flashback** “Yami, we can’t be together anymore.” Yuugi
said bluntly. Yami gaped at him, completely
startled at his partner’s words. “NANI?!? [What?!?]” “You love somebody else. I can tell from
the way your eyes look when we’re together. I don’t want to be in your way if
you really wish to be with another…It wouldn’t be fair to you…or that
person.” “What are you talking about?” Yami questioned confusedly. “I love you.” “And you know that I love you two, but we
both know that things aren’t the same anymore.” Yuugi
said sadly, looking down. Yami gave his hikari a hard stare. “If that’s your decision, Aibou…then I’ll respect it. But I swear that I do not
love anyone else!” The pharaoh exclaimed, still confused. “You may not know now, Yami-chan,
demo [but]…you will soon. I know you will.” Yami
was silent. “Are you mad at me?” Yuugi asked
meekly, mistaking his dark half’s silence for anger. Yami
shook his head. “Of course not! I’m just…confused. Yeah,
that’s it.” Yami shook his head and walked silently
out the front door. **End Flashback** A single tear slipped from the spirit of
the Puzzle’s right eye. He wiped it away quickly, slightly embarrassed. He
buried his face in his arms. Suddenly, the phone rang. Ring ring! Yami just
ignored it and stayed where he was. Ring ring!
Ring ring! Ring ring!
Yami threw a pen at it. “SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU
DAMN PHONE!” Ring ring!
He growled and picked up the phone.
“Hello?” “Pharaoh! Perfect. I will be at your house
in exactly ten minutes.” “Uhh…wh—” Bakura hung up. Yami stared at the phone in disbelief. He shrugged and
went back to moping in the chair. (( Exactly
ten minutes later…)) The back door creaked open quietly. Yami didn’t move. Maybe that was because he didn’t hear
it. Bakura crept up to where Yami
was sitting and yelled, “BOOOO!!!” Yami still didn’t move an inch. Bakura frowned. He had been hoping to make the pharaoh at
least jump…or something! He poked his supposed enemy. Nothing. He poked him
again. Finally, Yami raised his head. “Hello, Thief.” He greeted in a monotone.
He received an odd look in return. “What? That’s it? No insult?” he asked,
slightly curious. Yami was silent again. “…Pharaoh?
Uhh…okay.” He frowned. “Well, we are going
to the grocery store.” Yami groaned. “Why?” “I have to have breakfast, you moron. Hey!
Do you have any food here?” Yami shook his head. “Yuugi
raided the refrigerator yesterday.” He smiled sadly at his aibou’s name. Bakura thought he
was grinning. “Okay, okay. I get it. You love your
light. Now, let’s go.” Bakura dragged Yami off the seat, which resulted with the Puzzle spirit
landing on the ground. Bakura pulled him by the arm
outside and into Ryou’s car, which he had
‘borrowed’. Borrowed was a word that he used often. He shoved Yami,
who showed no resistance, into the passenger seat and got into the driver’s
seat himself. Needless to say, the thief’s driving was
not all that great. He swerved from side to side, ignoring all stop signs and
traffic lights. Yami barely noticed…or if he did,
he didn’t say a thing. They arrived safely (barely) at the local market. Yami turned to Bakura,
finally speaking. “What do you buy at a market?” he wondered. Bakura groaned and slapped his forehead. “You don’t know either? Ugh, you’re
useless.” He muttered. Bakura was sure that Yami had heard every word he had said, but he was still
silent. The pale haired demon frowned. This silent side of Yami was annoying. It felt like he needed someone
to insult him…namely the pharaoh. *** (( Half an hour
later…)) Bakura and Yami loaded
the groceries into the trunk. A bunch of snacks, canned foods, and something
that suspiciously looked like a dead squirrel…nothing special. Yami slid into the passenger seat while Bakura sat in the driver’s. The thief raced to Yuugi’s home, once again demonstrating his great driving
skills and flattening a poor defenseless cat on the way. Yami turned back in his seat to see the squat
of fur on the road. He flinched as several other drivers drove over it. Bakura screeched onto the driveway and parked to
let Yami out. He hesitated, then asked as Yami stepped out, “Pharaoh, not that I care or anything,
but why are you acting so…depressed?” in the least domestic voice he could
come up with. Yami’s eyes watered. Yuugi broke up with me…” he whispered, slamming
the car door shut and running quickly into the Kame
Game Corner. Bakura just stared. Chapter
3: Waterworks The thief pulled up to the Bakura driveway. Yami’s words
ran through his head. Yuugi broke up with me…
Yami was…he was single now. It was a dream come true. Demo [but]…I promised myself that I
wouldn’t fall in love with him again. I can’t forget the past…Bakura thought sadly. He slammed the door of the car,
grabbed the groceries, and fumbled with his keys. After finally managing to
open the door, he ran with the bags into the house and dropped them on the
kitchen floor. Then he ran back to the front door, locked
it tight, and ran back into the kitchen. He grabbed a box of cereal from one
of the bags and went into the living room. He seated himself on the sofa,
starting to surf the channels on the television. Without removing his eyes
from the TV, he grabbed a handful of cereal and ate. Finally, when he was content and satiated,
he lay himself down on the couch and drifted off to sleep. *** (( A little
backwards in time, back to before Yami woke up…)) Ryou sat on Malik’s
bed while his lover dialed the number to the Kame
Game Corner. It rang four times before it was picked up. “Ohayo, Kame
Game Shop. May I help you?” came Yuugi’s
voice from the other end of the line. “Yuugi?” Malik asked. “Malik?” “…Yeah. Can you come over to my house? Ryou’s already here.” Malik
stated. Yuugi paused. “Sure, I guess. Why?” “Uh…I’m not sure. Ryou
says that you’ll find out when you get here. I have no idea what this is
about.” The Egyptian replied. “Okay. Ja.” “Ja.” Malik hung up. “So?” Ryou asked
from the bed. Malik nodded, seating himself next to
Ryou. He was leaning in for a kiss when the
doorbell rang. He scowled darkly and ran downstairs, opening the door. “BAKA [Idiot]! I WAS AB—” He stopped in
the middle of his sentence and looked down to see a smiling Mutoh Yuugi. “Oh. It’s just you. Gomen.”
He apologized. Yuugi shrugged. “No big deal. So what did I interrupt on
that would make you yell so loud?” he asked innocently. Malik
blushed. “…Nothing. How’d you get here so fast?” He
asked curiously. Yuugi raised an eyebrow. “Malik, I live
right by the corner.” He said. The blonde sweatdropped. “Oh yeah. I forgot.” He led Yuugi upstairs to his room, where Ryou
was waiting. “Hey, Yuugi!” Ryou greeted. “Hello, Ryou-kun!”
Yuugi replied. He cocked his head to the side. “Why
am I here again?” Ryou hesitated. “Well…I want to take action on
what we discussed yesterday night. I think what you suggested, Yuugi, is a good idea, but I wanted to make sure there
were no other ideas.” Malik frowned. “Did I miss something?” Ryou grinned sheepishly. He pulled his boyfriend onto the
bed. Malik wrapped a protective arm around his
waist and Ryou leaned his head on his shoulder. Yuugi just sat down on the carpeted floor. He averted his
eyes politely and sadly from the happy couple. It made him think of Yami. Of how they used to cuddle, of their first
kiss…and of Yami in general. Ryou noticed how Yuugi
wasn’t his usual cheerful self and how his eyes reflected sorrow. “Yuugi?” he asked softly. “Is something wrong?” Yuugi bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears that
flooded his eyes. “I…I…I-I-I broke up with Yami…” he said softly and hugged his knees to his chest,
sobbing into his arms. Both Ryou and Malik gaped. Yuugi and Yami…not together anymore? It had been the two Sennen
Puzzle owners that had played matchmaker for the two of them. They had
showed the two of them not to be embarrassed about their sexual preferences. And now…they weren’t even together
anymore? It came as a huge shock. But
something’s not right here. Yuugi said that he
broke up with his yami. Then why is he crying? Ryou thought. “Yuugi?” he
asked. “If you broke up with him…then why are you so upset?” Yuugi raised a tearstained face up and looked at his pale
haired friend. “I didn’t want to. I really didn’t. But
he…he loves another. As in…not me.” At these words, fresh tears flowed down
his cheeks. Ryou rushed to his side and hugged him
in sympathy. Malik sat down on his other side and
awkwardly patted Yuugi on the back, not good at
comforting people. Yuugi looked up at the other two hikaris. “Thanks, guys.” He whispered. They both grinned. “No problem.” “So Yuugi-kun,
you suggested a party, right?” Ryou said
uncomfortably, trying to change the subject. He turned to Malik
for a moment. “Yesterday, Bakura seemed
really…depressed. I think he feels left out. So I asked Yuugi
for ideas to cheer him up.” Yuugi nodded. “We could plan it out and invite everyone.
It’d be fun.” He said, sounding a little more like his normal self. Malik raised an eyebrow. “We?” Ryou smiled sweetly at him. “Yes, we.” Malik
sighed. “Wait, everyone?” he asked. “Everyone, or everyone
everyone?” “…What’s the difference?” Ryou asked confusedly. “One has one everyone and the other has
two everyones so everyone would only be everyone
and everyone everyone would have literally
everyone.” Yuugi said matter-of-factly. Ryou rubbed his head. “Somewhere along there, I got lost. But I
suppose you made some sense. Could you repeat that, onegai
[please]?” “Sure! One has everyone and the othe—” Yuugi started. Malik shoved his hand over the younger light’s mouth. “Forget I ever said anything! So…how are
we going to do this?” “Umm…we need to write invitations.” Ryou said. Malik groaned
impatiently. “Can’t we just call them up?” Ryou shrugged. “I guess. Now who are we going
to invite?” “Yami, Bakura, Mariku, Jou, Honda, Anzu, Shaadi—” Yuugi started to
ramble off names of everyone he knew. Malik
interrupted. “Shaadi? Are you
talking about the Guardian? He lives in “…and your point is?” he asked innocently.
Malik slapped his own forehead and waved his hand
to signal for Yuugi to continue. “—Isis, Kaiba, Mokuba, Shizuka, Otogi, Mai, Pegasus—” “PEGASUS?” Ryou
shrieked fearfully. “Pegasus? As in Pegasus J. Crawford, the former owner of
the Sennen Eye? Why would you invite him?” Yuugi shrugged and went on with the list. *** ((
Eight minutes later…)) “Okay! Okay! You can
stop now!” Malik yelled. Yuugi
stopped and looked at him confusedly. “Why?” “Um, Yuugi? Don’t you want to narrow that list down?” Ryou asked. Yuugi frowned. “Aww…fine.
We’ll invite Yami, Bakura,
Mariku, Jou, Honda, Anzu, Isis, Mai, Kaiba, Mokuba, Shizuka, and Shaadi.” He listed. Ryou
sighed. “Yuugi,
that’s still twelve people, fifteen including us three.” He stated. Yuugi looked at him. “So?” “Are your jii-chan and mother really going to let you host a party
with eleven teens, three spirits from Ancient Egypt, and the Guardian of the Sennen Items, who lives in Egypt?” “Sure. Why not? Jii-chan and Mother aren’t even going to be there.” Yuugi replied confidently. Both Malik
and Ryou sighed, but shrugged nonetheless. “It’s your place
that’s going to be trashed.” Malik said. Ryou tossed Yuugi the phone and
Malik an address book. Yuugi
tossed the phone back to Ryou. “You call. It's your party.” Ryou scowled, but
grabbed the address book from Malik’s hands
nonetheless. He dialed Jounouchi's number. “Ohayo, Jou? Oh, were you sleeping? Gomen
nasai. Let me ask you a question, though. Would you
like to come to a party?” Chapter 4: Preparations “Yami? Yami, wake up!” Ryou gently
shook Bakura. He stirred slightly and slowly opened
his almond eyes. He blinked at his light. “Aibou?” Ryou nodded. “…hi.” Ryou rolled
his eyes and started up the stairs. Without even turning around to look at
his darker half, he spoke. “Oh, we’ll be going to a party at Yuugi’s house tomorrow. Just to let you know.” Bakura’s eyes widened. “Why?” Ryou
didn’t reply, but stopped walking. “Do I have to, Hikari?”
he whined. Ryou continued walking on the staircase.
“Aibou, I don’t want to go!” Ryou
turned around midstep. His soft eyes met Bakura’s. “Yami will be
there…” he whispered and walked into his room, closing the door. Bakura stared blankly at step where the pale haired light
had been standing. “How…how did he know?” he whispered. *** Ryou grabbed the blue phone on his desk and
quickly dialed Yuugi’s phone number. “He’s coming.”
Ryou said bluntly. “Great! Yami said he’d come. Or, he didn’t really say he’d come.
He just kind of grumbled something. I think he was in a bad mood. Anyway,
he’s coming.” The shorter boy’s voice replied. Ryou
nodded, even though Yuugi couldn’t see it. “What about the
party supplies and food and…other stuff?” Ryou
asked. “Oh, that. It’s
already taken care of. We have some old party stuff that I was going to use
for my birthday party last year. I’ll need you and Malik
to help prepare food, set up the stuff, things like that. And I already asked
Mai about the music.” “Okay, good. I’ll
meet you tomorrow at ten to prepare?” Ryou said. “Sure. See you
then.” “Ja ne [Later!].” *** (( The next day…
)) The bell that signaled the entrance of someone in the Kame Game Corner rang. Yuugi
rushed to the counter just in time to see Ryou and Malik walk in. He grinned at them.
“Thanks for
coming, you two.” He said gratefully. The couple smiled and followed their
fellow hikari into the kitchen. “So…umm…let’s start with the food, shall
we?” Malik proposed. Yuugi
nodded. “Great idea. We already have all kinds of
stuff and lots of it, because of Jounouchi. Every
time he comes, he always eats all our food, so now Jii-chan
[Grandfather] and I actually by food for him and leave it here for him to eat
when he comes over.” Yuugi told them, grabbing two
bottles of soda from the pantry. Ryou raised an
eyebrow and Malik just shook his head, an amused
look on his face. “So, we’ll just
order pizzas for lunch, right?” Ryou asked. Yuugi nodded. “Yeah. But it’ll
be quite a few, since Jounouchi-kun can eat…well…a
lot. Plus, it’s for fifteen people anyway.” “I’ll call the
store,” Malik offered. Yuugi’s
smile widened. “Thanks, Malik-kun.” Malik blinked at
the title, then took the phone and a coupon sheet from the refrigerator and
left for a quieter place. Yuugi turned to Ryou. “Can you set up
the decorations? They’re in a box in the living room.” he said. Ryou shrugged and went into the living room. Yuugi took out the cups and plates and started setting up
the refreshment table. He set the cups
and soda at one end of the table and placed the plates at the other end.
Between them sat plates of cookies, crackers, chips, vegetables and dip,
candy, and all an assortment of fruits. Yuugi was
right when he said that they bought extra food for Jounouchi. Yuugi looked at all
the colorful wrappers on the floor and giggled softly. Then he started to
throw them all into a large black garbage bag. Ryou was adorning the
living room with gold streamers and throwing white, silver, and gold confetti
all over the place. He grinned at his so-called artwork. The living room had
been cleared and the couches and tables were all pushed to the side, but you
could still sit. A colorful spinning light that shone out in different colors
was currently on top of the TV, turned off. Stereos that Mai
had offered were next to the television. A stack of CDs was on top of one of
the speakers. Gold and white balloons that he had blown floated around the
ceiling. A banner that had
previously said “Happy Birthday!” was now flipped around and read in green
ink: Ryou, Malik, and Yuugi’s Party! Well, actually, it only read: Ryou, Malik, and Yuugi’s Par because he had
written his letters too big and had run out of space. Oh well. There
was nothing he could do about it. He adjusted a streamer and ran into the
kitchen, wanting to show Yuugi his masterpiece. Yuugi had just
finished placing a plate of chocolate covered strawberries in the
refrigerator when Ryou walked in. “Hey, Ryou! Are you done?” Yuugi
asked cheerfully. The idea of having a party had really cheered him up and
had helped greatly take his mind off of his dark side. Ryou
nodded, just as happy. “Where’s Malik?” Yuugi wondered. The
blonde had been gone for a while. Pizza didn’t take that long to
order, did it? Ryou shrugged. At that moment, Malik walked into the kitchen, grinning. Ryou hugged him. “Where’ve you
been?” he asked. Malik looked at him curiously. “Ordering pizza.
Like I said I would.” He replied casually, looking a little confused as to
why he was being questioned. Ryou raised an
eyebrow. “It takes that
long to order pizza?” Malik fidgeted nervously. “Uh…I got in a fight
with the guy on the other line. He just wouldn’t give me extra cheese!” he
admitted. Ryou just rolled his eyes at his
boyfriend. Yuugi interrupted their ‘moment’. “Hey, we need a
cake. All parties have cake, don’t they?” he asked. Malik
shrugged. “Whatever you
say. I’ll just tell Yami and Isis to get one on the
way over. No problem.” He said. Yuugi and Ryou looked each other, then at him. “Would Mariku really do that for us?” Yuugi
asked. Malik just shrugged again. “Well, not for
you guys, but for me, yeah. Anyway, if he won’t, *** Yami frowned. He
looked at his alarm clock on his beside table. He was in his room and on his
bed. He had been given a room when Yuugi had
‘showed’ him to Sugoroku, but he barely slept in
it. Until now. He preferred to sleep in his hikari’s bed with Yuugi. Or he had
preferred to. Now…he wasn’t so sure. After they had broken up, Yami had moved to his room, which was basically empty. I
mean, what do you expect a former pharaoh to have in his room in the
twenty-first century? Well, there was a really kawaii picture of Yuugi hugging
him that was framed and on the bare wooden desk. He took the photo into his
hands and gently traced the outline of his lighter half, the corners of his
mouth forming into a small smile. He missed his aibou,
but had barely even looked at him ever since that…that night. Last night, Yuugi had told him that there was going to be a party
today. But even then, Yuugi hadn’t looked him in
the eye. It saddened the Pharaoh that his own
partner wouldn’t even look at him. He never thought about how depressed Yuugi must have been. How hurt he must have been… All he could think of was the empty feeling
in him. He longed to see the little one’s beautiful eyes look back at him and
tell him that he loved him. But he shook his head sadly, eyes watering
again. The pain will never go away. Yami
thought bitterly. I’ll never fall in love again. The pain. It just hurts
too much. I’m not going to risk it all happening again. From now on, never
will I love anyone. While the Spirit
of the Ring had vowed to never fall for Yami again,
the Pharaoh had sworn to never fall in love. With anyone…again. Little did either of the two Egyptian
spirits know that these promises would collide…and Fate would intervene. Nothing would ever be the same again. Chapter 5: Impression The doorbell rang. All three of the lights
rushed to the door, grinning. Well actually, only Yuugi
and Ryou were grinning. Malik…doesn’t…really…grin.
Yuugi flung the door open and hugged the person who
stood there. Unfortunately, the person just happened to be… Kaiba Seto. Seto cleared his throat uncomfortably and Yuugi looked up. He let go quickly and flushed
noticeably. He ran quickly into the kitchen. Jou,
who had just arrived behind Seto, stepped coolly up
to his boyfriend. He grabbed the collar of the other’s jacket, which was kind
of difficult, considering that Seto is…very tall. Jounouchi lost his usual friendly expression and his eyes
grew dark as he glared up. “Did I just see what I thought I saw?” he
asked coldly. For once, Seto couldn’t say a word.
“You were hugging Yuugi, weren’t you?” Seto opened his mouth to protest, but the blonde just
shoved him away. Jounouchi stomped inside, cursing angrily
underneath his breath. The CEO followed him in, glaring daggers at Ryou and Malik as if this were
their fault. Ryou moved closer to Malik nervously. Meanwhile, Yami
stood at the top of the stairwell, watching everything and everyone. His
crimson eyes were burning with jealous fury. Yuugi
had embraced Kaiba. His sworn enemy! But
then he remembered that Yuugi was no longer his and
he had no power to stop him from hugging who he wanted to. But did it have to
be KAIBA? He wiped his eyes, as he had felt the
water building up again, and walked back to his room, slamming the door as
hard as he could, like an angsty teenager. Downstairs (where everyone had gathered
except for Bakura, Shaadi,
and the pizza man, they all jumped at the sudden noise as the house shook.
Then they all shrugged at each other and went back to what they were doing. Mai waltzed over to the three hikaris. “Nice party you’ve got going here, Ryou.” She winked at him in a seductive manner. Or at
least it would’ve been seductive if Ryou hadn’t
been gay. Malik growled and shielded his boyfriend
protectively. “Are you hitting on my Ryou?”
he demanded. Ryou blushed and touched Malik’s arm reassuringly. “I don’t—” he started. Mai blinked at the
Egyptian glaring at her. This time, Jou came to her
rescue. Again. “Not unless Mai hits on everyone, Malik. She winks at all of us,” He said casually, gulping
down an entire cup of soda afterwards. Mai slung an arm around Jou’s shoulder and they walked to the refreshments table.
Together. Malik shot the pair a dirty look before
turning back to look at Ryou. He wasn’t there. The Gravekeeper
shrugged. Oh well. I better go and check if Yami
and Oneesan bought the cake, he thought. Seto watched everyone from his spot on the
couch. He sipped his cup of water slowly and spit it back into the cup when
he saw Jou pass by. Mai had her arm around his
shoulder and his – what was he now? Ex-boyfriend? – was laughing at something
she had said. Jou looked at Seto
and smirked. He wrapped his arm around Mai’s waist and they walked away from
his view. Seto balled his hands into fists. Nobody
touched anything that was his except for him. Nobody. That slut is going to pay. The doorbell rang
for the seventh (more or less) time. “I’ll get it!” Malik
shouted. Yuugi nodded, still red from the
‘incident’. Malik opened the door. Bakura stood there on the doorstep, looking exhausted. Malik blinked. “Whoa. You okay?” Bakura shook his head
tiredly and stayed silent. Malik let him in and
closed the door behind them, sending his friend a questioning glance. He
realized that the thief wasn’t going to say a thing and said, “The Pharaoh’s
upstairs, if you want to go find him.” before he left to find Ryou. Bakura stood there, mildly surprised. Why did it
seem like everyone knew about Yami…and him? He
walked upstairs to Yami’s room, since he had
nothing better to do. It wasn’t as if he had even wanted to come to
this gathering, anywho. He thought of knocking but didn’t really
care at the moment (or ever), so he just walked in. Yami was sitting on the floor near one of the
walls, facing it. With Yuugi’s old markers in his
hand, he was writing the words “I hate Kaiba” over
and over again in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Bakura stifled a snicker and said something
instead. “I didn’t know you hated Kaiba so much.” Yami spun around at hearing the familiar
voice. Bakura was surprised, no, shocked, to
see the pharaoh’s eyes streaming with fresh tears. He opened his mouth twice
to make a witty comment, but found that he could. He couldn’t make fun of his
past lover… Not now. Not when he was in need of…of
comfort. So he did something completely unexpected
by both of them. He lifted the former ruler up into his arms and set him
gently down on the bed. Yami stared at him in
horror. Is this Bakura?!??! was his first
thought. Bakura wiped the tears from Yami’s eyes. “Now tell me what’s wrong,” he said in a
soothing voice. Okay, this definitely isn’t Bakura.
But, I’ll tell him anyway. I need to get this off my chest… “I-I…Yuugi broke
up with me.” “Are you still not over that yet? I
thought that it was actually something serious—” He stopped at the look that Yami was giving him. “There’s more, isn’t there?” Yami nodded sullenly. He started to describe everything
that had happened The Night. Bakura stayed quiet
and listened attentively. After he
finished, Yami broke into loose sobs. Bakura scooted over until he was right next to him. He
started to rub his back soothingly, not really noticing that he was doing so. Yami sighed
contentedly, resting in the tomb robber’s arms. His sobs quieted to just
sniffles. It actually felt…nice…to be in the tomb robber’s arms. Bakura was just as comfortable. Demo [But]
wait…something Yami said… ”He (Yuugi) said that I loved somebody else. He said that he
could see it in my eyes.” No…Could…could it
be? Was Yami in love with somebody else? I’ve
failed again…just when I thought I could get him…NO WAIT! Damn it! I made a
freaking promise. I’m NOT going to fall for him again! And even though I am a
yami and (was) a thief…I don’t break promises. “Pharaoh? Who do
you love?” he asked softly, not to startle Yami.
Crimson eyes met dark chocolate. Pharaoh’s and tomb robber’s. “I…I don’t know.
I…I just don’t know...now.” Yami said finally. Bakura nodded, not feeling too well in the pit of his
stomach. He stood up and walked out of the room. On the way though, he
dropped something on the ground before he closed the door and walked back
downstairs. Yami went to pick it
up. It was a photo of him and Bakura. It had been
taken in He smiled
slightly and put it on his desk, next to the photo of him and Yuugi. Then he flumped back onto his bed and tried to go
to sleep. Chapter 6: Jealous Bakura retreated downstairs. It took all his
will to keep from pouncing Yami. But he had to gain
the Pharaoh’s trust before he gained his heart. So much for not ever falling
for him again. He sighed. Every time he tried to say something, it always
came out as an insult. It was rather disheartening. Maybe I should just not talk. At least I
wouldn’t be insulting him without meaning to. Then both of us would be happy.
Well, not happy, but satisfied, I suppose. In The CEO was staring jealously at Mai and Jou dance. Bakura could sense
the fire burning in his cobalt blue eyes. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” Bakura spoke up after a moment of observance. “Nothing,” Seto
replied without even a glance. Bakura smirked. “I thought you were with the little
mutt?” “I was. Until that Kujaku Mai came. Bitch,” he spat. The ancient spirit
raised a delicate eyebrow. “How appropriate. The female dog stole the
puppy.” He chuckled, despite his own situation. “Explain.” Seto sighed, leaning on the armrest on his side of the
couch. “Jou thought
that I hugged Yuugi and he got mad. Call it
overreacting, but whatever. That’s how Jou is, I
suppose. But I know him. He’s only all mushy-mushy with Mai to get back at
me.” The billionaire spared Bakura a glance. “You’re lucky. You’re alone and don’t have
to deal with any of this love shit.” He shot a dirty look at Mai. Bakura looked at Seto. “You don’t know half of it,” he replied
bitterly. “I have to deal with more of it than you ever will have to. Two
words for you. Get. Over. It.” With that, he left and went into the kitchen. “…But that’s three words.” Seto stared at Bakura’s
departing back a moment before going back to his moping. After a while, he got bored, so he stomped
onto the dance floor. He found Jou and dragged him
to a darker corner of the room. “What your fucking problem?” the street
kid spat. “Why aren’t you dancing with your friend, Yuugi? Or should I say boyfriend?” he sneered. Seto looked Jou in the eye. “Are you implying that I love him more
you?” he asked. Jou smirked. “Are you implying that you do love
him, then?” Seto gulped. Wrong choice of words… “I…I…I…” he stuttered. But Jou had already left. He sighed. Today was really not his
day. He slumped back onto the couch, sulking. Not his day at all. *** Bakura wandered to the pantry to get more cups.
Not because he was nice, but because he was bored. He opened the door and as
he grabbed the bag, he just happened to look down and find Ryou and Malik making out. He
dropped the bag on his light’s head and slammed the door after screaming,
“Fuck the cups! Get a room, you freaks!” From inside, Malik
and Ryou raised their eyebrows at each other, both
thinking the same thing. But we are in a room already…Then they
both shrugged and went back to kissing and groping places that they shouldn’t
be touching. Bakura frowned. He was starting to feel jealous
again. Not of Ryou or Malik,
but of their relationship. He longed to be loved. Especially by that hot
pharaoh. It used to be his role to protect Ryou.
It was his purpose. But when Malik
had come along, he had lost that purpose. He didn’t have anything against Malik, but he wanted someone to protect. That someone being Yami.
He sat down at the kitchen table and went to sleep, dreaming about the night
that Yami became his. *** Kaiba Mokuba sighed from drinking his fifth cup of fruit punch.
He was bored. All these older kids were partying and he didn’t know what to
do. Plus, he had the strangest urge to spike Yuugi’s
punch. He sighed again and looked at his older brother. Seto was still
glaring at Mai and Jou. Mokuba
frowned. I thought Nii-sama was with Jou? But why isn’t he with him right now? And why does Jou look so happy dancing with Mai? Did they break
up or something? He ran to the still dancing pair. He tugged on Jou’s jacket. Jou looked down
at the frowning preteen. “Aren’t you
supposed to be with Seto?” Mokuba
asked innocently. “Urusei, you little brat!” Jou
growled. Mokuba frowned slightly. What’s wrong
with him? He had always played Game Cube with him and Duel Monsters too… “Well, aren’t
you?” Mokuba continued to inquiry. Jou scowled and kicked his leg, making him trip and spill
his cup of punch all over Mai. Her face turned a shade of dark red in anger. “You ruined my
new outfit, you little freak!” she screamed. Mokuba
got to his feet and ran out the door, bursting into tears. I’m not usually
this emotional, but this is different! Realizing that
she had water all over her, clinging to her ever curve, Mai blushed and ran
to the bathroom after quickly grabbing her purse. On the other hand, Seto quickly followed Mokuba,
worried about what had just happened. All he had seen
was (ex?) boyfriend kicking his little brother and knocking over the cup of
punch. *** Shizuka frowned at her
reflection in the mirror. She was in the bathroom after excusing herself from
a very boring conversation with Anzu. It probably
couldn’t even be called a conversation because all Shizuka
had done was just nodded politely while Anzu kept
blabbing and blabbing about…she wasn’t even sure what. Probably something
about clothes. Shizuka rolled her eyes.
Sure, the older girl was a good friend and someone she looked up to, but when
she started talking…Oh, she would just keep going, and going, and going. She patted her auburn
hair lightly and sighed. She hadn’t liked what she had seen. The whole Jou-Mai thing. What else? But she, like Seto, knew that her brother didn’t really like Mai
in that way. He was only trying to make Seto
jealous and get revenge. She rolled her eyes
to herself again. Sometimes, her brother was just an idiot. Seto wouldn’t get jealous, just really pissed off and
probably start thinking about killing Mai. Besides, from what a red Yuugi had told her, Seto hadn’t
really hugged him. Yuugi had actually been the one
who had given the hug. But it had been on accident, not like it meant
anything at all. Too bad Jou didn’t know that. She was startled
out of her thoughts by a loud (and desperate sounding) pounding on the door.
She blinked curiously and opened it, revealing a drenched Mai, bright red and
fuming. Shizuka simply raised an eyebrow and voiced
exactly what she was thinking. “What the hell
happened to you?” Mai ran into the
bathroom and flung down her purse. “Kaiba’s stupid
little brother spilled punch all over my new outfit. Now I’m all wet.” Shizuka shook her head and decided to leave the other
girl alone. Mokuba wouldn’t do that on
purpose, I know. So what’s the real story? She left and wandered back to
the living room. Mai swore loudly as she attempted to dry
her top off with the hair dryer. After tedious tries, she just gave up and
threw her jacket, which she had luckily taken off before, over the top. She
shivered slightly, but shrugged it off. She carefully redid her makeup and
hair, which was now a slightly red tint because of the bright red punch. Eww…I really have to wash it when I get home… She smirked at her image in the mirror. You’ve
still got it, girl, if Jou’s come back. Ha! I knew
that Kaiba jerk wasn’t good enough for him. Now I’ve
finally got the guy I’ve wanted ever since that Rishid
incident during He’s always felt the same for me. I know
it. He only dates that CEO-show-off because he can get rich off it. And after
turning down so many dates from a bunch of other cute guys, I’ve finally
gotten what I want. Jounouchi Katsuya. *** Shizuka rushed to Yuugi, who was still faintly red. It’s amazing that he
stayed blushing for that long of a time period. “Where are the Kaiba brothers?” she asked out of curiosity, not seeing
them in the room. “Seto
ran after Mokuba, who went out the door. I think he
was crying,” Yuugi replied. “Why didn’t you go
after him?” Yuugi shook his head and
looked up at her. “Shizuka-chan, do you really
think that Seto would even want me around?
After all, the reason Jou’s like this is my fault.
If only I hadn’t been so careless…” Shizuka put a comforting
hand on another one of her idol’s shoulder. “It’ll be all right. I hope.” Yuugi smiled. “Thanks. Can you go find them for me? I think they went that way.” He
pointed out the door. “Sure.” She nodded and ran out the door. “By the way, have you seen Ryou or Malik? I can’t find them anywhere!” *** Shizuka found Seto at the side of the Kame
Game Corner, trying to comfort a still crying Mokuba.
“Kaiba-san?” She said softly. He turned. “Shizuka,” he addressed stiffly. She nodded
politely and went quickly to Mokuba. “Hey, Mokuba…daijoubu?” He sniffed and nodded, wiping his tears with the back of his hands. She
smiled weakly and handed him a pack of tissues from her sling-on pack. He
wiped his tears and blew his nose before saying, “Arigatou
gozaimasu, Shizuka-san.”
She gave him a small hug. “No problem, Mokuba. Now, are you sure
that you’re okay?” “H-Hai.” He replied. “What did Mai do?” she asked. She really wanted to know. “Mai-san? She didn’t do anything. Jou kicked
me and I spilled my punch all over her. I think your oniichan
hates me…” Shizuka hugged him tightly this time. “I don’t think he hates you. He’s just being a big idiot. I promise
that he doesn’t hate you, okay, Mokuba?” He sniffed
and nodded again, then hugged her back. Shizuka let
go and patted him on the head affectionately. She stood up, looking up to
face Seto. “Kaiba-san, I apologize for Oniichan’s idiotic…ness.” She ran a hand through her long
hair absently and sighed. Seto shook his head. “It’s not your fault…Demo, could you please go talk some sense
into him?” The CEO pleaded, his eyes showing just how desperate he was, even
though he was trying to conceal with his usual attitude. Shizuka
smiled lightly. She knew Seto. “Of course, Kaiba-san,” she replied softly, then turned and left to
look for her brother. Chapter
7: Imprint Bakura awoke from his sleep painfully, suddenly
aware of the tears flowing down his cheeks. He gave a slight sob and glanced
down at his wrist again, the one with the red streak. He had just had a series
of dreams about him and Yami in The one that he had just awoken from had
been a replay of his suicidal attempt. He cringed and tried to push it into
the back of his mind. Ryou walked into the room and started when he
saw the state of his yami. The tomb robber had
salty, dry streaks of tears on his pale cheeks and his eyes were red from
crying. His dark almond orbs were hollow and his white hair was completely
disheveled. The thief’s light walked up to him. “Yami what happened to you?” Bakura
tried to look dignified, but gave up after realizing it was hard to do so
with streaks of tears on his face. He started sobbing on Ryou’s
shoulder. The hikari was startled by his yami’s sudden change in behavior, but since it was in his
nature, he tried to comfort the other nonetheless. He sat Bakura
down at the kitchen table and waited patiently for him to finish. When he finally did, Ryou
asked calmly, “What’s wrong, Yami?” Bakura sniffled and startled mumbling incoherent words. Ryou caught the word ‘Yami’
somewhere in there. “You don’t really hate him, do you?” he
asked softly. There was a long, uncomfortable silence before Bakura shook his head and looked down at his lap in
shame. Ryou grabbed a box of tissues and handed it
to his dark half. The latter took it gratefully. “Hikari? What am
I supposed to do?” he asked. Ryou looked up
and noticed how helpless his yami looked. He gave
him a tight hug before leaving. /Only time will tell, Yami.
Only time will tell…/ “Yeah, that helps a lot,” Bakura muttered angrily, sarcasm kicking in again. He
hurried to the bathroom farthest away from the partying teens, which just so
happened to be upstairs. When he got there, he stared at himself in
the mirror. He looked…awful. He shuddered and washed his face and attempted
to neaten his hair…to its usual state. He knew the red in his eyes wouldn’t
fade for a while and he really didn’t want anyone to catch him showing
any sign of crying, so he sat down on the toilet cover and waited. He propped his elbows on his lap and
rested his head on his palms. He sighed. A headache was starting to form from
all this…stress. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind and relax. It didn’t work. The mental pain only got
worse. I didn’t even know that spirits could get headaches. He opened
his eyes. When his vision cleared, he saw something…odd. In front of him was
a bunch of messy streaks that could actually be someone trying to write Japanese. He squinted. It was someone writing
Japanese! Just not very skillfully. He raised his eyebrow at the messy
scribbles, but reminded himself that he probably couldn’t do much better. He
knitted his eyebrows in confusion. Ryou had taught
him very little of this nation’s language… Bakura. He blinked. Why is my
name carved in Yuugi’s bathroom?!? …wait. There were only four people who could’ve
carved that. Sugoroku was instantly eliminated
because he didn’t even know that Ryou had a yami. Yuugi’s okasan was also eliminated because she didn’t even know Ryou. That left only Yuugi
or Yami. Demo…why would either of them write his
name on the wall? Especially with a knife? Bakura frowned. It didn’t make any sense at all.
Yuugi disliked Bakura
because Yami did. And Yami
obviously hated him to bits. He sighed again. The pain in his head was
increasing. With all of his heart, he wished that it
was Yami. Because, then maybe he had a chance with
the pharaoh… He closed his eyes again, focusing on a
clear picture of Yami. He rose and splashed cold
water on his face again, wiped it off slightly, and inhaled deeply. He
glanced at his reflection. His eyes were no longer red. Good. *** Shizuka walked back into
the living room. She scanned the room for her older brother. He was standing
in the corner farthest away from Yuugi, who was
talking animatedly to Honda. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his
right foot on the ground impatiently, shooting glances at the bathroom Mai
had run into. She quickened her steps and stopped right
in front of him. He glanced down at her and quirked a brow. Shizuka hesitated for a split second, then
decided that however reluctant she was to do this, her oniichan
needed it. She slapped him. Hard. Seto walked in at this time, Mokuba at his side. Jou raised a hand and slowly touched the side
of his cheek, which had just begun to turn purple. “Nani—?” he
started. Shizuka cut him off. “Oniichan, I’m
ordering you to stop acting like such an idiot right now. All you ever think
about is yourself. Just because Yuugi-san accidentally
hugged Kaiba-san doesn’t mean you get to go all
multiple personalities and start hitting on Mai. By now, the entire room was eerily silent.
Even the music had been turned off. Everyone was looking at the two siblings
with curiosity, interest, amusement, confusion, take your pick. “You’re not thinking of how anyone else is
feeling, are you? What about Yuugi-san?” The
aforementioned boy turned three shades of red and looked down at the floor.
“And Seto-san? Ever think about how your boyfriend
feels about you dancing with a girl? Especially that way?!?” Jou turned his head to look at Seto, who in turn looked away at a nonexistent point on
the wall. “And you know, Oniichan,
the way you’re acting, it makes me embarrassed. How could you be so stupid?
You have an absolutely cute boyfriend,” Seto
blushed slightly, “and you don’t even care! Instead, you stick with Mai, who
has already been reserved by somebody else!” Nobody dared asked who had reserved Mai
though Anzu did turn a slight shade of pink. Jou looked down into his sister eyes and sighed. “I…I’m
sorry.” Shizuka glared up at him and pointed to Seto. “Don’t tell me, tell him.” She went
up to Mokuba and started to talk energetically to him,
completely ignoring Jou, Seto,
and anyone else in the room. Jou’s eyes met those of the Kaiba
Corporation CEO’s. He walked hesitantly up to Seto,
whose face was blank. “…Gomen,” he whispered
softly. Seto smiled the tiniest bit. “Forgiven,” he said just as quietly and
held Jou’s held, leaning down to place a soft kiss
on the blonde’s lips. And that was the scene that Mai was met
with when she walked back into the room. She let out a horrified gasp,
running into a guest bedroom nearby with her face in her hands. Neither of the two kissing ones noticed
her. They were too occupied with each other. Soon, the curious eyes of the
others on them departed and they went back to what they were previously
doing. The music got turned back on. Mai was sitting on the bed, crying her
heart out. “Mai-san?” Anzu called softly, not
wanting to startle the older girl. She looked up and Anzu
could see that she was a mess because her redone makeup was smeared once
again. “Are you all right?” Anzu smacked herself mentally. Of course
she’s not all right, what am I thinking? She sat down next to Mai
cautiously. The blonde sniffled. “What are you doing here? I
would’ve thought that you’d be with all your friends out there. Why
are you in here with a brokenhearted girl when you could be out there?” She
spat angrily. Anzu’s eyes brimmed with tears,
threatening to spill onto her cheeks. She looked away, suddenly finding the
armchair very interesting. “Because I care,” she said quietly after a
moment of silence. Mai’s violet eyes shot up,
alerted. “Why?” There was an even longer silence after
that word was spoken. Then… “I…I like you a lot.” Anzu
flushed and averted her gaze. “I mean, I like you a lot.” Mai stood
up, now completely alarmed. She gazed at the brunette. Did I hear right? “W-what?” she stuttered nervously, not
sure what she wanted the answer to be. “I said, I like you, Mai-chan. I-I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way…” She
looked down. “I just needed to get that off my chest.” Mai-chan? Mai raised an eyebrow. When did I earn
that title? She didn’t know what to say. The guy that she
had been totally in love with had practically abandoned her and now this girl
was confessing her crush on her. This is all happening too fast! Her head spun and she thought about it. Do…do
I feel the same way? Because the last time I thought I loved someone…they
didn’t love me back at all. And now… Anzu had started out the door, taking Mai’s
silence as rejection. It was stupid of me to think that I even had a
chance with her…I mean, it’s so obvious that she’s
too good for me. “Wait…Anzu.” Anzu stopped in her tracks and turned to see
Mai walking toward her hesitantly. But without warning, the blonde leaned
down and kissed Anzu lightly on the lips. The
brunette blushed and eagerly kissed back. Mai pulled away reluctantly and
smiled. “I never said no, Anzu.”
Anzu’s eyes lit up and she hugged Mai tightly. Mai
complied and hugged her back. “Should we go back to the others, now?” she
asked, breaking the embrace. Anzu smiled and grabbed Mai’s hand,
intertwining it with her own. “Let’s.” Chapter
8: Silent Bakura stirred slightly, moaning in his sleep.
He blinked his eyes open groggily. The blurry sight of Yami
writing in a notebook met him. He tried to say something, but it came out as
a groan. Yami turned suddenly and looked at him,
his eyes alarmed. He threw the book under the bed quickly. “Pharaoh? What was that book for?” Yami sweated nervously. “Erm…my
diary.” Bakura’s eyes shot up curiously. “You keep a diary?” “Yes.” “Oh.” Yami blinked. That was it? “Aren’t you going to make an insult?” he
asked bitterly. Bakura frowned. “Why?” Yami shook his head. The Thief is really
confusing me… “Never mind.” Bakura nodded. Yami suddenly smirked. “Why don’t we play a
little game?” The Thief’s eyebrow quirked up. “A game?” “Yes. I’ll ask you a question and you have
to answer it truthfully. You can do the same to me.” Bakura
thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure, why not?” Yami smirked widely. I’m going to win this…
“Alright, is your hair really that color?” Bakura looked confused, then
touched a strand of his silvery hair. You’ve forgotten, Yami…my hair used to be one of your favorite things about
me…Of course, you loved everything about me, and me you…Oh, I only wish you
KNEW…He nodded. “What color are your eyes?” he asked. Yami blinked before answering quickly. “Crimson.” Bakura nodded again, but he had known the answer
to that already. Of course. In “Do you believe in love at first sight?” That question took the ancient tomb robber
by surprise. Vivid memories flashed before him; the first time he was
captured by the palace guards and taken to the Pharaoh (Yami’s
father), the first time he spotted the Egyptian Prince (Yami),
the fluttery feeling he felt instantly, and so on. He gulped and whispered
out a weak yes. “Do you?” Bakura
asked back. Yami was silent for a few moments. Suddenly,
there was a memory that flashed brilliantly in his mind. **Flashback** A pale, sickly looking, snow haired boy
stood before the Pharaoh. The guards that had captured him were on their
knees and had their heads pressed to the ground. “Well, slave? Aren’t you going to bow for
your Pharaoh?” The little boy, no more than eight,
scowled. “I’m not going to bow for you or anyone.” The Pharaoh snarled and
the guards leapt to their feet, quickly binding the boy’s hands and feet.
They tied a piece of rope around his neck and started dragging the boy by the
other end of the rope. “Let go of me! Get your grimy hands off!
Stop—” The boy yelped. The door to the right of the throne creaked open. A
small young boy with crazy hair sticking up all over the place and bright red
crimson eyes walked in. He looked up at his father with huge eyes. “Father? I need help with—” he started,
before being cut off by the yells of the silver haired boy. He looked at
where the guards were trying to drag the stubborn boy and gasped at the
sudden warm feeling that engulfed him. The little prince ran up to the other
child. He gently untied all his bounds and undid the
rope around his neck. While doing this, he touched the little thief’s pale
hands. The white haired boy with the large brown eyes shivered slightly, but
recovered quickly. The prince smiled, and nodded. “Go,” he whispered softly. The little
robber gazed into those beautiful crimson eyes one last time before running
as fast as he could out the palace door. **End Flashback** Yami’s throat tightened. “Yes.” I…I loved Bakura in “Thief, I’m going to ask you something you
asked me.” “Yes?” “Who do you love?” Chapter
9: Worthy Bakura froze. “L-l-love?” He looked down. “I can’t
tell you that…” “Why not? It’s not a girl, is it?” Yami asked half-hopefully. Bakura
shook his head quickly. “Then why can’t you tell me? Do I know this person?
Does he know?” “You know him well.” Much more than you
may know…Bakura thought. Yami
blanched. It can’t be Yugi, can it? Eh, probably
not. “So does he know?” Yami
repeated. “No.” Like hell I would tell you…you’d
probably just stab me with a knife and throw me off a cliff. “Why don’t you tell him?” “He’s way out of my league and would never
love me…” Bakura said, eyes closing. “Who is it?” Bakura’s eyes flew open. I have to tell him.
Maybe… “You,” he whispered softly,
eyes looking down at his lap ashamedly. There. I finally said it. I guess
I can throw myself out the window now. Oh, damnit!
Why isn’t he saying anything? Yami’s mind was a blur. Bakura
loved him! Loved him! Do I love him? A few hours ago I was still moping
around about Yugi…and now Thief’s confessing his
love to me. What do I do? Bakura’s mind had made a decision. He was seriously
going to jump out of the window. He walked to it, pushed the glass pane
aside, and threw the screen aside. He took a breath and leaped. He kept his
eyes shut, but on instinct put his left arm out, which held onto the
windowsill. He blinked his eyes open as he realized
that he was hanging between the first and second stories with just five
fingers. He gulped. Shit. Meanwhile, Yami
was still in foggy confusion. He suddenly realized that the other spirit
wasn’t there. “Thief?” he croaked. A breeze of chilly air blew into the room
from the open window. He gasped. “Thief?” He spotted the hand holding onto
the sill and ran to the window. “What are you doing?!?” he cried out. Bakura looked up at him. “Help first, questions
later!” Yami nodded and put out a hand. Bakura took another breath and grabbed onto the hand he
had held so many times before. Yami carefully
pulled him up, struggling slightly when he almost fell out himself. Once the two were safe, Bakura stopped panting and looked up at Yami, who had taken his seat on his bed. “Pharaoh?” “Yes?” “Why did you just do that? You could’ve
gotten rid of me easily.” “Because…I think I love you too.” Bakura’s eyes shot up excitedly. “Are you
serious?” Yami gave him a smile. “Yeah…” The ancient spirit jumped up and
embraced Yami tightly. The pharaoh let out a gasp
of breath before wrapping his arms around his fellow yami.
Yami reluctantly let go. He looked Bakura in the eye. Brown met crimson. “Did we really hate
each other in Bakura averted his gaze from the one he loved.
“No…we were affectionate lovers.” Yami’s eyes lit up. “Really?” Bakura nodded and smiled at the peaceful
memories. “I can show you.” With that, he took Yami
by the hand and his other hand clenched the Millennium Ring. He closed his
eyes and focused both their Shadow energies. They appeared in what was
obviously There, Yami
could see clearly that there were two young teens lying peacefully in the
soft sand and looking at the stars. There was him, about twelve, and Bakura, who looked very similar to Ryou.
Young Bakura leaned over Young Yami
and tenderly kissed him. Young Yami eagerly kissed
back. They appeared in another memory, on the
roof of the palace. Here, Yami and Bakura were only the teeniest older, perhaps thirteen or
fourteen. Their hands were intertwined and their foreheads were touching.
They were gazing into each other’s eyes with affection. Young Bakura
whispered something to Young Yami, who turned a
faint shade of pink and whispered back something that made Bakura smile lightly. Once again, the scene changed. This time,
they were in one of Yami’s bedrooms and sitting on
the floor. Yami was sitting behind Bakura and was playing gently with his hair, which seemed
brighter than usual. Young Bakura had his eyes
closed and reached behind him to caress Young Yami’s
cheek. Young Yami smiled and nuzzled Young Bakura on the neck. The two spirits appeared in a washroom,
where one lone figure stood. The room was lit by scented candles and the
slight silhouette of a Bakura looking almost
identical to the spirit Bakura could be identified.
He held a silver knife in his hand shakily. “He doesn’t love
me anymore. Then there’s no point in living.” He lifted the blade until it
was just above his wrist and dug it in. Spirit Bakura
paled. Yami wasn’t supposed to see this! He quickly
tugged on the former Pharaoh’s hand and left the memory. They returned to Yami’s
bedroom. Bakura flumped onto the bed, letting sobs rack
his body. I didn’t need to see that again…just LOOKING at the cut is
already painful enough, but I just…Oh, now Yami
knows! I was hoping he wouldn’t ever find out, but now… Yami sat down next to Bakura.
“Are you all right?” “Yes…no…I mean, yeah…no…I’m not…” He was
getting himself confused. He fell into Yami’s arms
and sighed. Yami gently put his hand on top of the
tomb robber’s without knowing. “What was that memory about?” Yami’s face looked concerned and troubled. Bakura closed his eyes. “…I…don’t…ohh…” “You don’t want to tell me?” Bakura heaved another sigh. “No, I have to tell
you. If we’re going to really love each other, you have the right to know.”
He buried his head in Yami’s chest. “A guard caught us…ahem…and you were
horrified. You told me that you didn’t love me anymore…that you never loved
me. I…I suppose I took drastic measures and tried to…well, you can figure out
the rest. Of course, I realized what I was doing and stopped the blade, but I
still carry the scar.” With that, Bakura
raised his arm and showed the Pharaoh the red streak on his wrist. Yami frowned. “…I don’t see anything.” WHAT? Bakura looked at his hand…and it was true. There was nothing. Nothing. Not a single scar. No dried blood. It was gone. “The…how…it was just…there…but…oh, Ra…” Bakura stuttered. Yami silenced
him with a peck on the lips. Bakura’s eyes snapped
up and looked into Yami’s gorgeous crimson eyes.
“Mine,” he whispered. Yami smiled softly at him,
admiring his new love’s lovely soft chocolate eyes. Bakura sat up and wrapped his arms around Yami’s waist, gently pressing his lips to the pharaoh’s. Yami looked up at the thief and put his arms around Bakura while softly kissing him back. Bakura
slipped his tongue in slowly, unaware that Yami
gave instant entrance. They stayed like that for what seemed like
forever. The door suddenly burst open, revealing
the three hikaris. Ryou
was smiling innocently and Malik was smirking
widely, with his arms around Ryou’s waist. Yuugi, on the other hand, seemed anything but
happy. His face was a white sheet of shock. He made a few incoherent sounds
and wiped his eyes to check if he was seeing correctly. He was. The short freshman let out an ear-piercing
scream that shook the house and his feet carried him out the door and into
his room, where he slammed the door. Yami and Bakura
barely noticed. In fact, they were unaware of the others in the room. Ryou motioned Malik to leave.
They did, closing the door quietly. Finally, the two lovers let go of each
other. Yami embraced Bakura
and Bakura hugged him back. “I’m not worthy of you, but I swear, by
the will of Ra, that I will love you forever, Yami.” Yami practically melted there. “And I also
swear to love you…always, Bakura.” This is a dream come true. Yami just promised me his love. “We should go,” Bakura
said. Yami nodded in agreement. And with that, they walked together,
hand-in-hand, back to the party. Without knowing it, both spirits had just
broken their previous promises. Yami, who had sworn not to love anyone ever
again, had now promised his love to Bakura. Bakura had promised to himself to not fall in
love with Yami again. But now he did, again. Therefore, the promises did collide
and Fate did intervene. Chapter
10: Together In
the living room, Mai, Jou, Seto,
Ryou, Malik, and Anzu were currently…gone. In other words, they were doing
unmentionable things. Yami Malik was still in his soul room. Shizuka and Mokuba were still
talking animatedly and Honda was sulking in the corner about not having
anyone who loved him. And
Shaadi was still missing. When
Yami and Bakura walked
into the room, their hands linked, they got completely different responses
from each of the remaining people than they had expected. Shizuka stared at them for a few seconds, then smiled before talking with Mokuba
again. Mokuba looked at them and shot the couple a
cocky grin, then went back to listening to what Shizuka
was saying. Tristan
let out a frustrated sound and started muttering about how everyone had a
boy/girlfriend. Then he walked out the door, slamming it as hard as he could. Yami and Bakura just stood there, waiting for
someone to say something, though no one showed any sign of doing that. “So
much for an amusing reaction,” Bakura muttered in Yami’s ear. Yami grinned. “That’s
okay. I bet the others will be surprised,” he whispered back. But something
was nagging him. Why
don’t I feel guilty? Why don’t I feel like I’m betraying Yugi?
Shouldn’t I? Isn’t that how love works? Why? Bakura looked worriedly at him. “Are you all
right?” Yami blinked at him. “…Yeah.”
He sighed inwardly. Yuugi sat at his desk with his head buried in his arms. He threw the last
piece of tissue in the trash can and missed badly. He sighed. His own words
echoed in his head. "You love somebody else. I can tell from the way your eyes are
when we're together." This
was it. Even though he had said that only a few days ago, it seemed like an
eternity. And then he hadn’t known who that ‘somebody else’ was. Now
he knew. And
it was horrible to know who it was. It
was Bakura. The
one that he had thought that Yami had hated the
most… Loved
Yami. But the worst part was
knowing that Yami loved him back. Slowly,
he took opened his top desk drawer and took out a piece of lined paper. He
picked up a black pen and began to write. Later
that night… The
two ancient spirits lay on top of Ryou’s house
roof. After
the party was over, the guests had gone home (obviously). Mai
and Anzu had snuck over to Mai’s place; the Jounouchi and Kaiba siblings
had gone to the Kaiba mansion; Isis, Malik and Ryou had gone to the Ishtar house. Yami had decided
to go home with Bakura. And
now, there they were. Just
lying on top of the roof and enjoying the peace and the night sky full of
stars. Both spirits lay there in silence, just enjoying each other’s company
and the stars twinkling up above. Suddenly,
Yami took Bakura’s hand.
With his free hand, he pointed at the sky when Bakura
looked at him curiously. “Look.
It’s a shooting star.” Bakura scooted closer to Yami
and smiled. “Yeah…” Yami put his head on the
thief’s chest. “Make
a wish,” the pharaoh said. “Why?”
Bakura answered. “I already have all I want. You
and your heart.” He
smiled softly and bent his head to kiss the pharaoh. Yami
smiled into the kiss and flicked his tongue out to lick Bakura’s
lips. Bakura let out a soft moan and wrapped his
arms around the pharaoh. Yami let Bakura’s tongue enter his mouth and
explore every corner. Finally,
they let go of each other. Bakura hugged Yami to him. “Mine. My Pharaoh.” Yami smiled and kissed him on the nose before closing his eyes and sighing
contentedly. “I
love you, Bakura,” he whispered, truly meaning
every word he said. He could feel that the bond with Bakura
that had just been developed was much more stronger
than the one he had had with Yugi. “I
love you too, Yami…” Bakura
said softly before they both drifted off to sleep. And
there they were. Two lovers sworn to love each other forever…always. FIN |