Out of the Blue by: Alena S. Anigor (Sanela)
Chapter X – What MattersIt was getting really cold the smaller boy noticed, pulling his backpack upwards a bit to ease the numbness in his back. He couldn’t wait to get home, but he also dreaded the thought of the upcoming conversation with his yami, who, no doubt, wouldn’t be very pleased to hear what had happened in the end between him and Tea...and Yami Bakura, who, surprisingly enough, had decided to be civil, not trying to kill him.
He sighed inwardly; maybe he did make a mistake letting her go just like that, without knowing what he felt for her...but what was he to do anyway? It was evident in every sparkle of her cerulean orbs that she held nothing for him in her heart except pure friendship...he was like a little brother she was looking after constantly, and for a moment he even felt like he was equal to Mokuba, the younger brother of Seto Kaiba, and he shuddered at the thought of the cold and distant CEO.
Spotting the familiar looking house in front of him, he sighed out loud this time, mentally preparing himself for the discussion with his yami. The lights were on, and he took the last intake of deep breath. Opening the door he stepped inside. But as soon as he set his foot inside the house he was left wide eyed, gaping at the amount of people waiting for him downstairs in the Game shop. He could see the questioning looks of every single one of them, waiting for him to say or do something.
He scanned the room, eyes flying from his grandfather, who only sweatdropped slightly, across Joey and Tristan, and finally averting his eyes to see Serenity, Mai, and Ryou standing on the opposite side of the room. Ishizu was standing behind Mai, looking at him with something similar to amusement, while Yami was standing far behind in the corner with his arms crossed and his face serious and almost stoic.
It took a while for Yugi to comprehend that those people were still staring at him, and he closed the door slowly, edges of his mouth curling into an uncomfortable smile.
“Uhm, hi...what are you...all doing here?” He asked after the shock subsided, looking at his grandfather first, who only shrugged innocently.
“Well, waiting for you, what else?” Mai replied, grinning at him. Joey and Tristan nodded, and Ryou raised his eyebrows at him.
“I was told to come here, because you had something important to tell me.” He said in his polite manner, soft brown eyes looking at him in confusion, and Yugi wondered briefly how such a nice boy could have such a terrifying counterpart as his yami. But the other teen’s question finally penetrated his musings, and he lowered his head, not knowing how to begin.
“Okay, I see I’ll have to take matter into my own hands.” Mai said in an almost bossy manner, and put her hands on her hips. “Right, so...as I’ve heard from Joey and Tristan”, on which the two boys grimaced slightly, “apparently, Tea is dating Yami Bakura.” She finished, and the boy next to her almost fell flat on his face.
“What?!” He almost shrieked, and Mai backed away a bit to save her hearing. She grinned, non - the less at him, and nodded.
“That’s right, you heard me – Tea and your yami are dating.” She replied coolly, and Ryou gaped at her for a full minute, until he finally averted his eyes from her, looking to the boy in front of him, asking him for any kind of confirmation. Yugi was still staring at the floor, that same anguish and pain threatening to eat him alive.
“Yugi? Is that...true? Tea and Bakura are really dating?” Ryou dared to ask after a significant pause, still not believing Mai’s words. Yugi’s shoulders shook almost unnoticeably, but Yami still managed to see it. After a while he nodded mutely, not prying his stare from the floor the whole time.
Ryou was speechless after his confirmation, and Serenity raised her eyebrows in wonder.
“I never thought those two would end up together.” She commented, on which Joey snorted. Mai looked at him, eyes glistening with mockery.
“Are you jealous, Joey?” She almost cooed, and he growled, sending death glares in her direction.
Ishizu turned to look at Yami, who was looking at his hikari intently, obviously aware of the fact that it hurt him. She turned her head again to look at the little boy and realized she was right; she could practically feel hurt oozing from him.
Tristan decided to break the silence, and clenching his fist, he turned to his smaller friend.
“And? What did you so? Are they still...dating or what?” he asked, the word ‘date’, and imaging Tea and Bakura with it, was awkward to him.
Yugi choked down on a sob, deciding not to cry; after all he had promised them to do anything to help them, and that was what he had to do right now. Swallowing all his pain and anguish down once again, he raised his head, eyes full of seriousness and something that looked like determination, if there wasn’t for the slightest flicker of doubt in them.
“I want you to listen to me...Yami, you especially.” The smaller boy said, turning his attention to the corner of the room where his yami was leaning on the wall now, slightly raising his eyebrow in attention.
Yugi took a deep breath, and then exhaled; he had to do that, he promised, and he didn’t want to break that promise, not for Bakura necessarily, bur for Tea. If she was happy, then she deserved to stay happy.
“Yes, Tea and Yami Bakura are together.” He spoke, his expression so tense that everyone was left speechless.
“And, Tea...they are happy, so please...except that.” He said finally, forcing himself to breathe and to stay composed. Yami frowned; he didn’t like the way his words sounded, and that meant only one thing in his opinion.
“Then I suppose...you didn’t tell her?” He asked, leaving the support of the wall to stand straight. Yugi was looking at him, trying not to crumble under his almost accusing gaze, and shook his head no. Yami let out an exasperated sigh the moment he shook his head.
“Why?” He asked, his voice rising a bit, but deep enough to vibrate with authority just like the Pharaoh should sound. Yugi was starting to feel lost now. He felt like he was crucified and unable to move anything, from his limbs, to his voice.
He only shook his head again. “Because they’re happy!” He cried out, surprising everyone in the room with the intensity of his voice and his expression. Serenity put a hand on her mouth, when she noticed tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. Joey and Tristan were silent; Mai and Ryou were staring at him perplexed, Ishizu was the only one seemingly aware of the upcoming verbal battle between them. Solomon was equally surprised to see his grandson in such a state. But the most surprised person was definitely Yami. He was truly taken aback with the sudden outburst from the smaller boy in front of him, and with the strength and weakness in his eyes at the same time.
Yugi was crying now, tears falling freely down his face, and he choked on his next words.
“They are happy, Yami...accept that, like I have. There is no other way...I wanted...”, he whispered, loosing the strength in his legs and knelt down, hands falling on the floor in front of him, “I wanted to tell her, to stop that, but I couldn’t...you didn’t see the way she looked.” he sniffled, as Mai knelt beside him and hugged him firmly. Yami’s eyes were wide open in shock and disbelief; he didn’t expect to see him spilling out so many emotions out of him, and he stared at him, at a loss for words. He lowered his head slightly, then disappeared from the room, leaving them alone with the sobbing boy in front of them.
“Hey, Yugi, don’t cry, okay? It’ll be alright.” Mai was trying to comfort him, and, after a couple of minutes, he managed to calm down, wiping his tears almost angrily with the back of his sleeve, angry with himself for revealing his broken emotions once again, and in front of all of them...
Ishizu offered him a handkerchief, and he accepted it, but didn’t use it. She also knelt in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder, and smiled sympathetically at him.
“Little Yugi, you shouldn’t cry so much.” She said quietly, and he raised his eyes to look at her blue ones, looking at him softly, warmness spread over them in a comforting manner. He smiled a bit, and then Mai released him to stand by himself. He searched the room for his yami, but he couldn’t see him anywhere. The others were looking at the floor, lost and confused with the whole situation.
“Maybe we should leave him alone.” Serenity whispered to her brother, and he nodded hesitantly, but Tristan nodded as well, and they headed towards the doors. Joey patted the small teen on the back before he left, and smiled at him encouragingly. Yugi nodded slightly, and they left. Ryou was fidgeting in front of him, still in some sort of daze from the shocking information that his yami was actually dating someone. He approached him, trying to find the right words, but Yugi smiled weakly, and nodded.
“I...I really don’t know what to say, Yugi,” was all that the white haired boy could muster.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything, Ryou, just...” he stopped there, wanting to say something concerning Yami Bakura, but decided to be quiet. Ryou was looking at him expectantly but Yugi shook his head, and smiled again.
“Forget it, doesn’t matter.” He replied, and Ryou’s eyes softened; he already had a clue about what Yugi wanted to say to him, but he only waved slightly and, saying goodbye, exited the house. Ishizu threw Mai one meaningful look and the blond duelist got the picture. She coughed and smiling at Yugi, said goodbye, and reluctantly went after Ishizu. Yugi could hear the comments of the dark haired Egyptian girl, whispering how she felt sorry for the little boy. He was grateful Marik wasn’t here; knowing the blond brother of Ishizu, he had no doubt he’d enjoy watching him cry.
The doors closed with a thud, leaving only one crestfallen duelist and his grandfather behind, who was holding a mug in his hand, filled with hot chocolate. He offered the mug to Yugi, but he refused, shaking his head, and heading upstairs. There was only one person to whom he had to explain what really happened. And he truly hoped that his yami would understand.
Solomon was left alone in the Game shop, looking sadly after the little boy, feeling extremely sorry for him. But he knew that he was strong enough to deal with his problems and, eyeing the hot chocolate in the mug, sighed dejectedly and took a sip.
Yami was standing in the middle of Yugi’s room, staring at the window into the night. He was looking calmly at the street outside the window, but his emotions were making a tornado inside of him, his mind clouded with confusion and anger. He just couldn’t understand how Yugi could let him get away like that...didn’t he know that Bakura was dangerous? Hadn’t he experienced his tricks and games on his own skin already? What was he thinking?
A sound of doors opening with a creaking sound interrupted his trail of thoughts and he turned around to observe his hikari entering, head low and eyes hidden with shadows. He closed the doors behind him, and decided to stay where he was. Yami turned his attention back to the window, crossing his hands on his chest, a classic frown evident on his face.
“Yami...you have to understand.” The small voice behind him spoke, making his calm demeanor snap suddenly as he spun around, looking at his hikari angrily.
“Why?”, he half shouted, making Yugi squirm slightly, “have you lost your mind, Yugi?” he almost spat, glaring at him now. As much as he felt attached to the little boy, he just couldn’t understand his actions sometimes.
“Yami Bakura is a dangerous individual, have you forgotten already?” He added, turning completely to look at him.
Yugi sighed; he had expected this to happen. He raised his head, determined to make Yami understand.
“You weren’t there, you haven’t seen, Yami...you haven’t seen the way he looked at her, the way her every word has an effect on him...I know he isn’t playing any tricks this time...please, trust me...trust...” he halted, noticing the sudden flicker of surprise in Yami’s eyes.
He sat on the bed, looking at him with a knowing gaze; a strong gaze that held a firm belief in what he was saying. Yami chose not to loose his control, and he sat next to him, eyes directed forward, sighing deeply.
He really cared for this little boy, and for all of his friends, and at last, he realized that he was being overprotective and selfish. Carefully he let the words of his hikari sink in, and the replayed them all over again in his mind.
‘They are happy, she is happy, Bakura cares for her...’ all those words echoed in his mind, and he closed his eyes, already prepared to accept the hard blow the whole situation caused.
“And you are positively sure that he won’t hurt her?” he asked him, and Yugi nodded defiantly, any trace of doubt or apprehensiveness gone in his violet orbs.
Yami sighed, defeated, and then nodded finally. Yugi watched him, trying to judge if he could accept the painful truth or if he’d stand stubbornly against them.
After some internal rambling the ancient Pharaoh turned his head to look at Yugi, a small smile on his face. And, although his eyes were still holding something similar to worry and doubt, he stood up, making the smaller boy stare at him in wonder.
“Then...then I will accept...their relationship,” he stated firmly, but his eyes narrowed slightly then, “but if he hurts her in any way, I will make him pay.” He added and, although the last sentence worried Yugi slightly, the teen sighed in relief, smiling at Yami for making the tough, but right decision.
He jumped from the bed and hugged his Yami happily.
“Thank you. Tea will be happy when she hears about this.” He exclaimed excitedly and the next thing Yami knew, Yugi was out of the room, and he was left with cocked eyebrows when he heard his rushed footsteps echoing down the stairs. Sighing loudly, he sat on the bed again, staring at his feet, once again questioning his decision, and hoping he had made the right one.
Tea almost cried out loud when she heard Yugi’s cheerful voice across the telephone, telling her that he had managed to talk to Yami, and that the spirit was okay with it. Bakura eyed the telephone suspiciously, lying on her couch. She winked at him, and he frowned in confusion. Then she turned her attention back to the telephone.
“Uh huh...yeah, sure! That’d be great! ...Okay, see you then, bye Yugi!”
At the mention of his name Bakura’s brows knitted unconsciously in a frown. Tea hung up, letting out a loud sigh of relief.
“What did he want?” He asked her, almost gruffly, and she smiled brightly at him, almost beaming. He was confused, but she sat next to him on the couch and leaning toward him, giggling a bit.
“We’ll all meet tomorrow at the main square!” She exclaimed excitedly, and he almost fell off the couch.
“What? No way!” He replied hastily, and Tea frowned disappointedly.
“Aw, come on! Yugi said that Yami is okay with it, and that we should all meet at the square tomorrow...please, Bakuraaa?” She pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of him, and he was left to dwell whether to say no, and have her sad, or to say yes and make her happy, but spend his day with a bunch of ignorant fools...
Her eyes shone so brightly, full of hope and he sighed, realizing that he couldn’t say no in the end. She cried out happily, and hugged him; almost making them both fall off the couch.
‘Great’, he thought, ‘another trip to hell...’
The morning passed rather quickly, and soon a little group of kids was staring in wonder at the two people standing in the middle of the park. The one of them was a brown haired girl, trying to drag a white haired boy with her. He was fighting back, trying to let go of her hand, but she held him firmly, and started dragging him away again.
“There’s no way in hell I’ll associate with that damn Pharaoh!” He yelled, but the girl was completely ignorant to his complaints.
“Well, what do you know? She actually managed to drag him with her!” Mai exclaimed enthusiastically, noticing them both approaching them. Bakura looked like he could kill the whole square with his eyes, and Tea waved happily to all of them. Serenity waved back, while Joey and Tristan sweatdropped, observing the ancient tomb robber with caution.
Yugi smiled softly at them. Seeing the way she looked happy warmed his heart a bit. Ishizu almost chuckled, seeing how delighted Bakura looked, just to seeing them. He growled silently, wishing he had simply said no, and spared himself the trouble and humiliation.
Tea stopped in front of her friends, saying hi, smiling cheerfully at them all. They all replied back with their own greetings.
“Oh, and, uhm...how’s it going, Bakura?” Joey asked nonchalantly, and then shrank away a bit when he noticed what Bakura gave him as a reply – a glare.
“I’m glad you could make it.” Yugi said, looking at them, and smiling softly. Bakura stood behind Tea with arms crossed, completely ignoring them all.
“I see Bakura isn’t very happy to see you all, though.” Someone’s voice spoke behind them and they all turned around to look at the tall boy, now standing in front of them, a hint of amusement evident in his voice.
“Kaiba?” Joey asked, perplexed. Mokuba peeped behind his brother, waving his hello.
Yugi opened his mouth to ask Tea how she was doing, when someone else asked the same question instead of him. Bakura almost snarled at Yami’s presence, but Tea gave him a warning look, and he only snorted.
“We’re fine, Yami, thanks.” She replied, her features softening at his worried expression. Bakura glared at him from behind, and Yami simply looked at him, something of a warning flickering in his eyes for a second, understandable only to Bakura, and he smirked in return.
“Hey, I brought a camera!” Serenity said, and then asked everyone to stand in front of the fountain. Kaiba muttered ‘No, thank you’ as politely as he could, but Mokuba was happy to jump in for him.
“Will you take the picture then, please?” She asked him, and he eyed her for a moment before taking the camera from her hands and nodding as she left to stand next to her brother. Kaiba stood in front of them, observing the camera, and Tea smiled softly at her significant other, causing him to groan as she pulled him towards the small crowd of people. Kaiba sighed, slightly irritated with this nonsense when he had better things to do, but his brother already took the stance, showing the piece sign towards the camera.
Just when he was about to take the picture a soft voice stopped him, and they all turned to look at Ryou, running down the square. He was breathing rapidly, and Bakura snorted.
“I told him not to come late...baka.” he muttered, and Tea elbowed him gently for his remark. Ryou took a place next to Yugi and Yami, and Mai yelled at Kaiba to ‘shoot’.
The camera made a clicking sound and the picture was taken. Kaiba returned the camera to Serenity who thanked him with a smile, and he only muttered something incoherent.
After that, they were all seated around the fountain, Yami and Yugi discussing about Duel Monsters, while Joey and Tristan were talking with Ishizu about Marik’s whereabouts. Serenity chatted with Mokuba, while Kaiba was glancing at his watch every now and then, wanting to get away from there as soon as possible.
Ryou joined Yugi and Yami in the Duel Monsters discussion. And noon came very quickly.
They all decided to stay together for a while, although Kaiba got up, saying that he had a meeting to attend, and Mokuba waved at his friends, telling Serenity to stop by sometime, which caught the attention of Joey’s ears, as he glared at Kaiba, and then at his sister.
“Oh, please, Kaiba, stay for a while longer.” She said, and, having Mokuba looking at him pleadingly, he had no choice.
Bakura sighed inwardly, holding Tea around the waist protectively. As much as he wanted to go home and leave this bunch of weirdoes and idiot mortals, she was happy being where she was, and he decided to stay for her. She got up suddenly, and grabbed the camera from Serenity’s hands. Joey and Kaiba were in the middle of a verbal sparing match, and she wanted to take a picture of them together.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the fighting duelists, and Bakura almost chuckled in amusement. Something glistened on the sun, and he averted his eyes to the Millennium Puzzle, hanging around Yugi’s neck. He was watching it intently, and the little boy noticed that, covering it with his fingers protectively and eyeing the ancient tomb robber suspiciously. Bakura only smirked, redirecting his eyes to the girl who was currently trying to talk Joey and Kaiba into taking a picture together. The CEO was definitely not delighted with the thought, but when Serenity jumped in, he and her brother had to comply.
Bakura watched the girl in front of him; the way her hair shone on the sun, and the way her cerulean orbs glistened with happiness and life. He almost smiled, seeing her smile like that.
‘And the Millennium Puzzle...?’ he asked himself quietly.
He eyed his hikari, smiling softly at them, and then the brown haired girl, who finally managed to squeeze the two boys together while Serenity took the photo, and then smiled at him brightly.
He smirked back, leaning on the fountain, observing the crowd of people around him.
‘The Puzzle can wait.’
