Out of the Blue     by: Alena S. Anigor (Sanela)

Chapter VI – No Escape

The streets were crowded with people, little children running around, playfully trying to catch one another, and their mothers reminding them to be careful. It was pretty warm for an autumn afternoon, but that suited Tea just fine. Her companion, however, seemed to be deep in thought, hiding his hands in his pockets, and staring at his feet as they walked down the street.

Bakura was indeed in deep thoughts; for once he didn’t have a clue how to react from the moment they began walking. He was trying to imitate Ryou, and think of something that he would say or do, but it was just...impossible. He was different, and he definitely wasn’t a very social person. So, instead of babbling something completely idiotic, he kept quiet, gazing at his feet, and trying to stay calm. That was somehow hard to maintain because that swirling feeling in his stomach; and the rushed beating of his heart made things a bit more difficult. Not paying attention to where he was going, he accidentally bumped into something small in front of him that let out a pained sound.  This managed to snap him out of his thoughts.

“Oww, watch where you’re going!” The little boy, who was currently lying on the street, glared at him from below, rubbing the back of his arm. Bakura frowned, glaring back.

“Watch where you’re go-” He stopped abruptly, casting a glance at the girl beside him, who was looking at him with raised eyebrows, her mouth slightly agape.

Tea was watching the whole thing from the beginning; she knew he wasn’t really paying attention to the world around him, and she knew he’d stumble across that boy, but she wanted to see how he’d react. And now, her speculations came true, because he almost gave himself away, glaring at the kid, wanting to retort his own insult. Almost.

Bakura noticed the way she was looking at him, eyeing him with eyes full of surprise and confusion. He kicked himself mentally for letting his mask slip, and he turned to the kid, forcing his face to smile, which scared the little boy even more. Bakura leaned down a bit, trying to keep his control, and smiled again.

“What I meant to say was...” he started, his brain trying to come up with adequate words, “well, I didn’t mean to hit you, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

That was said in such a soft voice that Tea almost believed for one second that this was really Ryou, standing next to her. But his eyes were still different, a spark of something mysterious and dark still in them, and she was sure that it was Bakura who was walking down the street with her.

The little boy stared at him for a while, before his mother came and pulled him up, scolding the boy quietly, and looking apologetically at Bakura, who only shrugged. They turned away from them, and Tea could hear the boy saying that it wasn’t his fault. She smiled then turned to Bakura sighing inwardly. At least he had tried to be nice for once.

He turned his head to look at her, and something clenched around his heart; the girl was looking at him with such admiration and pride that it almost hurt. He quickly turned his head away and headed down the street, placing the hands in his pockets again, this time paying attention to where he was going. Tea stood behind him, and then decided to follow, a single thought occupying her mind.

Maybe Ryou was right...he isn’t that bad when you look at him closely.

She smiled, keeping pace with him, as they continued walking down the street.

After they made a few rounds around the main square Tea was starting to feel hungry; besides, her feet were killing her from walking for so long. The only problem was - how was she supposed to tell that to him? They hadn’t spoken one real sentence since they had started walking, and she didn’t know how to start. So she hesitantly tapped his shoulder and got his attention. He craned his neck aside a bit to see who had tapped him and saw her looking at him pleadingly. He stopped walking, wondering what she wanted from him.

Tea smiled, stopping by the fountain in the middle of the square, and fidgeted nervously with her fingers.

“Uhm, Ryou, can we stay here for a while? I’m kinda hungry and my feet are killing me.” She added, casting a glance at her platform shoes, and then back at him. The pleading look in her eyes was becoming too much to look at, and he felt himself getting lost in the blue sea of her eyes. He just nodded, not knowing what else to say, and Tea sat down on the edge of the fountain, stretching her legs forward, and leaning back a bit, but not too close; she didn’t want to end up wet. Bakura was standing awkwardly in front of her, still looking at her. The girl captivated him somehow, and he couldn’t pull himself away. Tea looked at him, the fear of him gone long ago, and noticed that he was still standing.

“Won’t you sit down?” She asked him, and he looked at the fountain edge, and hesitantly sat down next to her. Tea sighed, having had enough of his silence. But, she didn’t want to reveal the fact that she knew who he was, just yet. So she thought of various questions to ask him, questions concerning Ryou mostly.

“So, how are you doing at school? I’ll flunk that History test.” She said in a hopeful voice.

Bakura cringed inwardly. How was he doing in school? What school? Then he remembered that she was asking Ryou, not him. He turned his head and tried to look her in the eyes.

“Fine, I’m doing fine.” He replied in the voice completely identical to Ryou’s. Tea nodded and silence took over again.

‘Great,’ she thought, ‘now what?’

Bakura was cursing mentally, cursing himself for coming here and cursing that damn hikari of his for not being home when she called. But, he cursed those damn feelings he was feeling the most. Normally, he would’ve insulted her by now, or started insulting those idiotic friends of hers. Or he would simply stand up and leave, not wanting to do anything with a filthy mortal like her. But there he was, sitting with her on the edge of the fountain, not knowing what to say or how to act. He felt so lost and confused, like he was trapped in a dangerous trap, and the worst thing was – he wasn’t sure if he wanted to get away from that trap.

Bakura growled inwardly; the girl held him captive in some bizarre way, and he couldn’t get away from her, he couldn’t stay near her either. Her presence was starting to make him feel nervous and edgy, and he didn’t notice when she touched his shoulder and called his name.

He flinched suddenly, and Tea pulled her hand away from his shoulder quickly. He looked at her, staring at her with the look of a trapped animal in his eyes and she realized that he was, as weird as it sounded, frightened.

She was looking at him too, a look of confusion and pain in her eyes. Was she really so repulsive to him that he was even scared of her?

“Wh-what’s wrong? Are you okay?” She asked him in a whisper, eyes full of concern. Those eyes burned through him and all he wanted to do was to get up and run away. But her eyes also held something else, something he couldn’t define, but that something held him in place, and he was helplessly staring at her, lacking any kind of response to her expression.

Tea thought for a moment she was looking at a statue, because he seemed like someone had frozen him. He was looking at her with a weird mixture of confusion, fear and... something bordering between astonishment and need for something. She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Please, tell me Bakura, what’s wrong?” She dared to ask again, and the moment his eyes widened, she realized the mistake she had made. She called him Bakura, not Ryou.

Bakura’s eyes widened when he heard her call his name, his name, not Ryou’s. She knew, his senses were screaming at him, alarming him that she had known that it was him all this time.

“You knew?” He asked, his voice distant, sounding like he was in a trance. Tea put her hand across her lips; that fear and confusion in his eyes replaced by sudden anger and pain. It was her turn to stare at him now, wide – eyed. After what seemed like eternity to him, she finally nodded, eyes lowering down to stare at her knees. She didn’t even blink when he rose from the edge and, glaring at her angrily, clenched his fists. Fear struck her now and Tea also got up, backing away a bit from him, suddenly afraid of him again. His bangs lowered, covering his eyes, and his mouth forming a thin line into a frown.

“You knew.” He said in a low voice. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me...why?” He asked her, eyes revealed again, anger and despise evident in them now. Tea only shook her head, trying to explain.

“I-I didn’t know for real when you first...showed up, I thought...I thought...” she stopped, her voice wavering, and her eyes moist with tears.

Bakura’s eyes softened a bit, but just a bit. She was crying...was it because she was sorry or because she was scared for her life?

He snorted, venom evident in his voice.

“Then why did you pretend that you didn’t know?!” He roared, and a few people turned to look at them.

Tea let out an exasperated breath. “And why did you pretend that you were Ryou then?” She retorted back, fear mixed with her own anger now.

Her question stuck in his head, and he didn’t know how to reply. Indeed, why was he pretending that he was Ryou in the first place?

They were both standing in front of the fountain, people watching with interest, some of them commenting that it was a natural fight among a couple. Bakura scanned the square, noticing the crowd that was staring at them. Tea noticed it too, suddenly feeling exposed and uncomfortable. The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed by Bakura, and he started pulling her away, holding her upper arm in a tight grip. She protested, trying to pull away, but his grip was too strong, and she could only follow him, hearing whistles and cheers from the crowd. She glared at them, until they were gone from the square, him still pulling her behind.

Having had enough of being pulled like an animal on a leash she attempted to snatch her hand away, but he kept his grip on her. She growled angrily, trying all sorts of methods to pull free. They were walking down the park now, nothing but trees and bushes around them, and the sun was setting slowly, signaling that the day was at its end.

“Bakura, let me go!” She screamed, starting to pull away from him, and he finally let go of her arm. That sudden movement caused her to lean backwards too fast and she fell, hitting the grass. Bakura didn’t expect that to happen, but he made no move to help her stand up on her feet. Tea rubbed her back, cringing at the pain and then raised her eyes to glare at him, anger facing his stone cold eyes. He was standing in front of her, arms crossed, and head held high in superiority. Tea stood up, the anger giving her the needed fuel to forget all about her fear.

“What was that?! Why the hell did you do that? I could’ve broken something!” She screeched, clenching her fists, dusting her self off in the process. His expression didn’t change; he was still looking at her like before.

“That wouldn’t be so bad, maybe I should break something in your body.” He replied coldly, and she frowned, the anger completely blocking her fear. His sentence didn’t have an affect on her, and, surprised by her own boldness, she approached him, standing exactly a few inches away from him, looking with fiery eyes into the depths of his.

“Well, why don’t you then?”

A few moments passed in silence, in which they both glared at each other. Tea still hadn’t backed away, and Bakura was still looking at her from above, being taller than she was.

The thought of bones cracking was a tempting idea, but...he dismissed that thought. She was still glaring at him, not turning her eyes once away from his, and the thought of breaking anything on her was making him feel sick. He let his hands fall to his sides, and a flash of slight caution crossed her features. She thought he was preparing to do something to her, but she wouldn’t back away, and she wouldn’t run.

“Go.” Was heard after what seemed like hours, and Tea’s brows knit in confusion.

“What?” She asked, letting her guard down and looking at him, not comprehending why didn’t he do anything to her when he had such a good chance.

“I said go, go home.” He repeated, and then turned around and started walking away, leaving a very confused and astonished girl behind.

Tea let out a breath of relief she didn’t even know she was holding. She turned her head in the direction where he was walking, her mouth open. The night had fallen already, which neither of them had noticed. It became dark, and the streetlights turned on. But trees and bushes shadowed that particular part of the park, and Tea could only make out his figure, walking slowly down the street. Guilt welled up in her suddenly, for lying to him, and for making him so angry. In spite of her mind, which was telling her to go home just like he told her, she started running after him, determined to apologize to him.

“Bakura, wait!” She yelled, but he didn’t stop walking. She continued running, hoping to catch him before he disappeared.

“Bakura, wait, please!” She called again, but again he simply continued walking. She frowned slightly, and, running ahead of him, blocked his path, breathing rapidly, finally making him stop. He was looking forward, not wanting to cast a single glance at her. Why would he? She was just toying with him; she was just like that bastard of a Pharaoh she was always hanging with.

Tea was looking at him, seeing the way he was ignoring her. She dared to approach him again, standing a few feet away from him, thinking of a best way to say she was sorry.

“Bakura, please, I’m...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lie to you.” She finally mustered a sentence, on which he only snorted, turning his head to the other side, stepping aside to avoid her, and headed down the street again. But she was persistent, and, stepping aside as well and blocking his path again, she put her hands on his chest, stopping him from moving.

The touch of her hands sent something coursing through his veins, something electrifying, and he stiffened, looking at her again. Tea made no attempt to remove her hands until he would listen to what she had to say.

She spotted that spark of confusion and fear in his eyes again, and she wondered why he was afraid of her.

“Bakura, I’m sorry, I really am. Please, forgive me for lying to you, but...why did you pretend, too? And why are you so afraid of me?” She asked quietly, looking at him softly.

Her hands, together with her voice and her eyes, made the storm in his body rise again, and he growled, feeling a sudden need to do something, or else he’d explode. Tea was looking at him, eyes full of concern and expectation, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled her hands away roughly, leaning towards her, and glaring at her.

“What makes you think I’m afraid you, you little wench?”

He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. The look on her face made that something clench in his chest again. She was staring at him in shock, eyes wide, and pain so clear in her eyes, tears welling up in them.

She just didn’t understand; she wanted to help him, to apologize to him, she had even admitted herself that she had fallen in love with him! And what did he do? He called her a wench, looking at her with disgust and hatred. All she wanted to do was to apologize, but that wasn’t really necessary now in her opinion. Her words were useless, and her attempts to get through his walls were pushed away roughly. She felt her chest burning from the inside; she could see her vision blurring from the tears, and the next thing she knew, she was running down the street, away from him and away from his words and his glare. She didn’t see the surprised look in his eyes when she turned away and started running, crying all the way.

Something seemed to shatter inside him, and Bakura felt the sudden pain course through his whole being, making his breaths ragged and his head spin. He had made her cry.

“Damn it!” He growled, and acting on an impulse and letting the feelings envelope him, he clenched his fists, giving himself a task to catch her.

Tea was running, just running with no sense of direction where; the only thing she wanted right now was to go home, crawl into her bed, and cry the whole night. She was shaking, every breath coming out as a sob and every whisper coming out as a choke.

“Stupid,” she was mumbling, “you are so stupid!” She managed to choke out, angry with herself for letting him inside, and then being betrayed. It hurt, and she couldn’t make that pain go away. It was coming from the inside, and she could do nothing but cry and sob, running wildly through the streets. She spotted a road that lead to her house, and wanting nothing more than to cross it and run home, she stepped onto the concrete, not noticing the car approaching her. She wanted to go forward, but someone grabbed her from behind, yanked her from the street, and crushed her into a tight embrace. The car passed by, the sound of the siren, echoing through the air, and the street was once again silent. Tea came to her senses when she felt a pair of strong hands circled around her waist and shoulders, and she raised her head to see who was holding her. A choked sound escaped her lips again, and she started pulling away, realizing that the person was the same person who had caused the pain.

Bakura’s eyes widened in horror when he saw her running straight in front of the car, and he managed to grab her and pull her away from it the second before that car would’ve hit her. He held her tightly, breathing rapidly himself, still in shock that she could’ve died if he hadn’t managed to save her in the last moment. But, unfortunately, the girl realized who was holding her, and she started crying again, trying to pull herself away from him, trying to break free. But, this time, he had no intentions of letting her go.

Tea was desperately trying to break free, kicking his chest, screaming at him to let her go, but to no avail. He was stronger, and no matter how much she kicked and jerked, she couldn’t break free.

“Calm down, damn it!” He growled, having had enough of her kicking, but she was stubborn, and she bit his arm, teeth sinking into his flesh causing him to grimace, sharp pain surging through his arm, but he didn’t let her go.

She was still trying to break free, until he had had enough, and, with one swift motion, he managed to grab her wrists in an almost painful grip, pulling her to him.

And the next thing Tea knew were Bakura’s lips, pressed against hers.