Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Anachronism	By : Ochodre Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Het - Male/Female Views: 4984 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, guys, but I probably spoiled you guys with the daily updates. Sorry, I could only do that since I already had chapters 3 - 5 written, I was just waiting on editing them. I can usually write a chapter in a day, but I like to let it sit for a while before I try and edit it. But, eh, I'll try and be pretty regular with this as long as I don't get writer's block, okay?
Limeyness is coming next chapter, which is already half written, so it shouldn't take long to update.
---
If I've gone overboard

Then I'm begging you to forgive me

Oh, in my haste

When I'm holding you so close to me

Would you come crash

Into me?
I watch you there, through the window and I stare

You wear nothing, but you wear it so well

Tied up and twisted the way I'd like to be

For you, for me

Come crash into me, baby...

~Dave Matthews Band, "Crash Into Me"
Loud, frantic bangs woke Ryou up this time.
"Somebody in there?! Come on, I drank like a liter of soda last night! Lemme in!" Joey's voice wailed at the door, and Ryou blinked his eyes open. He started to lift his head, but there was an irritated murmur of protest from the head beside his cheek.
Ryou coughed, recalling last night. His face was hot, and further warmed by the white locks it had buried itself in. "Bakura, we... we have to get up now."
"Feh..." The thief slowly withdrew her arms from the boy and rubbed her shoulder. Though they couldn't have been sleeping for more than an hour or so, the position had left them stiff and sore.
"Augh! I'm gonna break this door down!" Joey threatened, and Ryou jerked upright when he heard solid, angry kicks connecting to the wood.
"Joey, stop! We'll be out in a moment," Ryou promised, shaking his head. "Um, here," he stood and went to his linen rack, setting a few towels on the rim of the tub.
Bakura was still half asleep and muttering about frigid water. He heard the tub start to drain, and made sure to keep his gaze firmly away from it.
"Wait a minute... we?" Joey momentarily forgot his distress as he realized the implications of Ryou's words. Ryou froze when he did, as well.
"Give me a shirt," a tired, female voice demanded of his back, and Ryou took a rumpled sweater from the rack as well, handing it to her without looking backwards.
Bakura soon stepped beside him, wearing a sweater and a long towel wrapped around her waist, old clothing gathered under her arm. She opened the door and glared hard enough at the blond that he stumbled back, and Ryou followed her sheepishly.
Joey's mouth started to open, but Bakura's eyes narrow into such a dangerous slant that it rendered him -- and his two friends, who also stood gaping -- mute. She brushed past them and disappeared into her room.
Three pairs of wondering eyes turned to Ryou, who had no awesome abilities of intimidation. "She... she's not feeling well," he explained shakily, staring at the carpet, "I-I gave her some tea and fell asleep beside the tub."
"So what'd you see?" Tristan's curious voice made Ryou jump.
"What? Nothing! It's not like that," Ryou rubbed his upper arm, and hoped his bangs at least partially hid his humiliated expression.
"Yeah right," Joey snickered, "I think Ryou here got a better show 'en any of us! Hoo man... that's kinna weird though, I mean, her being..."
"Guys, leave him alone," Yugi frowned at his taller friends and patted Ryou's wrist. "I imagine he and Bakura have a bond just like the Pharaoh and I. I mean, he sleeps in the same room as me and you guys don't pick on me for it."
"Yeah, but he ain't a hot chick!" Joey whistled, eyes wandering over to the door of Bakura's bedroom. "S'nough to make me forget she's an evil psycho!"
Tristan nodded and started to add something, but they both suddenly lost their voices when they met Ryou's gaze.
"Ah-heh... yeah, I gotta go use th' little boy's room," Joey quickly excused himself and disappeared into the bathroom. Likewise, Tristan spontaneously decided that the living room was a more interesting place to be.
Ryou blinked and felt the muscles of his face relax. They had apparently coiled in to the faintest of glares without him knowing.
"It's okay," Yugi's voice drew his gaze downward to the small boy's smiling face, "Don't take it personally, they don't really understand. They kind of teased me too until I told them the Pharaoh was like a brother to me," he shrugged shyly.
"Thanks, Yugi," Ryou sighed quietly.
"That, and, um," Yugi grinned a little, blushing, "I feel weird saying it, but she is awfully pretty."
Ryou raised his eyebrows a few degrees, but allowed himself a chuckle. "Yeah," he admitted softly, smiling though his face still felt warm, "she is."
"She is what?" Bakura's voice made him jump again, much higher this time. She had quickly changed into some pants and stood eyeing the two former spirit hosts suspiciously.
"Uh, nothing," Ryou mumbled and moved to join Tristan in the living room, "I've, I've got to clean up."
He started gathering up the wrappers and rubbish decorating the carpet, and Joey emerged from the bathroom.
"Well, ah, guess we'll be seein' you around Ryou--" The blond picked up his backpack and headed for the door, "Maybe we really could duel sometime, but she ain't invited."
"I'll go wherever the--" Bakura started, pausing when she saw that they'd laid waste to Ryou's apartment. Her scowl deepened. "Ryou, drop that, now."
The boy was so surprised by the order that he did as he was told, looking down and grimacing at the new mess he'd made. She strode angrily to the apartment's front door, blocking the way.
"Insolent little brats," Bakura growled slowly, and the three visiting boys gulped in unison. "My landlord is under no obligation to pick up after your worthless selves."
"Bakura, it's okay--"
"Quiet." Her glare briefly turned to him, then back to the cowering trio. "Clean up your own damn mess or you'll wish I could do something so minor as send your souls to the shadows. Do I make myself clear?"
"Y-yes ma'am," Joey managed a weak salute. The three recovered and started scooping up their trash and crumbs.
Ryou blinked dumbly and watched Bakura roll her eyes. She had spoken with a kind of protective possessiveness he wasn't sure he had ever heard from her before.
"What?" Bakura met his eyes and shrugged, a smirk threatening on her lips, "I can't have you dealing with their mess when you're to be making my breakfast."
Ryou shook his head faintly, but he felt a smile on his face this time.
---

Bakura tried to get comfortable on the couch, but it was a futile effort. Though she was no longer pained, she felt an unfamiliar kind of discomfort that she didn't want to think about. She muttered hatefully and gave up sitting, pulling herself to her feet and pacing around the apartment impatiently.
The cheerleaders had gone, and so had Ryou, leaving for the pharmacy to get her something. She hadn't been paying enough attention to his explanation to remember what, but she hoped whatever it was would alleviate this disquieting sensation that was not quite pain nor quite sickness, but a horrible combination of the two. It was made worse by the knowledge that it would be a regular occurrence, and the connotations it carried didn't help.
Until this particular turn of events, she had been mostly able to ignore that particular aspect of her change. It was easier to imagine that there was nothing down there anymore, but what was there would not let itself go unnoticed. Whatever it was sounded far more complicated than Bakura could have imagined, if Ryou's nervous science lesson had been any indication. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with what was between a woman's legs, but to find out that there was a complex array of internal organs attached to it -- ones that regularly mutilated themselves for the sake of fertility -- was simply confusing. Male anatomy had been so much simpler and far less self-destructive.
Her frustration and disgust manifested as violence. She kicked a couch cushion across the floor. It wasn't satisfying, but it wouldn't break any of her landlord's precious antiques or teapots or whimsies. On second though, perhaps she should break something. The thief had a burning desire to pick a fight, and had been sincerely disappointed that Ryou's friends were so easily cowed. She swore and launched the cushion into the kitchen when it occurred to her that Ryou would be no better.
Bakura was not so much angry as impossibly frustrated and full of pent-up energy. It had been a while since she had stolen, and ages since she had been able to have a good brawl, or break something consequential. The most she could do was go on slow, leisurely walks with Ryou. The king of thieves was not a couch potato or a homebody, and right now she felt caged. She was bored, and that was even worse than feeling blood slowly seep out of alien organs.
But something occurred to her. Ryou had those fighting skills that she had yet to witness for herself. Her curiosity was suddenly piqued, and scheming soon followed it.
As if on cue, there was a soft knock at the door. The door clicked open quietly, and Ryou's voice drifted into the living room. "Bakura, um, I got you some... stuff," he spoke awkwardly and entered, obviously still flustered from his trip to the women's section of the pharmacy.
But no reply greeted him. He frowned and set the bag down on the television, scanning the apartment. "Bakura?"
He failed to look behind him.
"Ragh!" Bakura let out a battle cry and launched herself at the boy's prone back, sending him sprawling on the carpet.
"Mmfh, what the?!" Ryou tried to get up, looking back at her in confusion, but she immediately landed on his back and pinned him to the floor. She cackled and pulled his arm back to further trap him, and could not help but grin when he broke out of her grip with an unconscious reflex. He obviously still remembered something from his lessons.
"What's gotten into you?!" The frightened boy managed to dislodge his attacker and dragged himself away, sitting up with his back to the couch.
Bakura snarled, lowering her head like a big cat ready to pounce. "Fight me."
"Huh? No!" Ryou tried to back away further, but the couch blocked his way. "Are you angry with me?"
Her laughter broke her ferocious expression, and she reached forward, grabbing his ankle. "I want entertainment."
Ryou whimpered and tried to regain control of his foot, but she had it tight in her clutches. She slowly pulled away his shoelace and knocked off his sneaker.
"If you're bored we can play Duel Monsters or watch a movie or go for a-- what are you doing?!" He could only watch in horror as she rolled his sock away, pushed up the cuff of his jeans, and sunk her teeth into his defenseless shin. "Ow!"
Bakura snickered around his skin and let go. She had barely left a mark. "I'm tired of all that. I want to do something fun."
"Fun for who?!" Ryou managed to pull his leg back and scrambled to his feet. He made a break for the hallway, but Bakura was quicker. She gave chase and reached out to grab him again, but only caught a handful of sweater.
He whirled around, looking fearful. Bakura smirked when she saw that she had him trapped, and set her hands against the wall to either side of him. He tried to shrink. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry!"
"I'm only going to be angry if you don't spar with me, landlord," she leered, doing her best to look threatening when she only came up to the boy's collar bone. "I want to learn again."
"I could show you some katas or whatever, but I'm not going to hurt you--" Ryou looked intimidated, despite her stature.
"Certainly not going to hurt me if you're such a poor fighter," Bakura teased and grabbed his waist without warning, trying to pull him away from the wall bodily. But it only served to remind her of the limits of her new body, because Ryou now weighed considerably more than she did. Her arms felt weak. She grunted and redoubled her efforts.
"Come on, stop it," Ryou tried to reason with her as he swayed and struggled to hold his ground, setting his hands on her shoulders. They arched defensively, and she glowered up at him. Something in her threatened to be upset at the fact he didn't want to fight -- no, didn't want to play with her.
It must have shown on her face somehow, since he frowned back at her for a moment, before sighing in what could have been defeat. He inhaled deeply and looked off to the side, as if distracted. She leaned forward, furrowing her brow and watching his expression intently, trying to anticipate his actions --
Ryou lurched forward, away from the wall, and suddenly swept her off her feet.
"Landlord!" She yelped in surprise when she was hefted over his shoulder. He laughed quietly, but it cut off when her hands yanked his sweater up in the back. If it had been anyone else, she would have clawed the pale skin, but instead, her fingers ran over it lightly and quickly. Ryou started laughing again, this time louder and unwillingly.
"A-ah! Bakura, stop! I might drop you!" He tried to stifle his giggles and stumbled towards the couch, but the girl he'd carelessly picked up had attached herself to him and would not stop her relentless torture.
Bakura was vaguely aware of the fact that tickling was not a regular sparring practice, but Ryou was not a regular sparring partner. She snickered darkly, until she suddenly felt one of the hands grabbing her side slide under the shirt and return the treatment. Unbidden, she started to laugh with him, squirming and kneeing him in the chest halfheartedly. The thief released her grip long enough for him to put her down, but he didn't pull back his attacking hand.
Bakura did her best to bat his hand away, but she was laughing too hard to concentrate. It worsened when his other hand joined the assault, and she could barely stand. She finally managed to free herself and backed away, laughter fading into chuckling breaths. Bakura fell into a shaky defensive posture, and Ryou advanced, grinning and raising his arms and curling his fingers in a mock threat.
She circled away from him, catching her breath. This was much better than dueling.
The thief leaned back on her ankles. She threw herself at him again, making sure to catch his arms and pinning them behind his back. He tried to writhe out of her grasp, but her hands were fast and managed to outmaneuver his attempts to break away. Failing that, the boy tried to turn around to face her, but she kept at his back so skillfully that he was soon forced to stop for dizziness.
Unfortunately, keeping in his shadow meant that Bakura could not watch her own back, and her waist bumped into the radio clock that sat on the shelf by the television. A burst of static and music surprised her, and Ryou was finally able to slide out of her hands and face her. He took her wrists and loomed over her, but the smile on his face rendered him harmless.
"...got your chain, tied to me tight, tie me up again--..." A soft melody drifted from the radio.
Bakura tried to swoop out of his grasp, but he moved with her and evaded her attempts to push him off balance. When she pushed, he stepped backwards, and when she pulled, he let her tug him back with her. She circled clockwise, and he moved counterclockwise, frustrating her with his compliance.
"Into your heart, I beat again -- sweet like honey to my soul, sweet you rock, sweet you roll..."
A pattern emerged. When she realized he was able to anticipate her motions and was making a point to mirror them, the thief did her best to catch him off guard, moving erratically. But her landlord was a keen observer, and she was having too much fun to hide her intents with stoicism.
The music was catchy, though Bakura thought she was ignoring it.
"Would you come crash, into me?"
The song reached a crescendo. Ryou released one of her wrists and she attempted to twist out of the other, but it was a bluff; she surprised him and caught his wrist instead.
"If I've gone overboard, then I'm begging you to forgive me, oh, in my haste, when I'm holding you so close to me..."
She yanked his arm closer and he stumbled. His concentration broken, he finally resisted, but she simply took the lead and became the mimic. He was even more obvious about his broadcasting his movements than she was, and she easily outpaced him.
"I watch you there through the window and I stare, you wear nothing but you wear it so well..."
At some point, they stopped fighting for control and just tried to keep up with each other. Sometimes the boy resisted, sometimes it was the thief, but more and more each simply complied with the actions of the other. In the back of Bakura's mind, she noted that she had taken hold of both of Ryou's wrists, and he had hers.
Bakura wasn't sure what kind of spar this was, but she was enjoying it.
"Tied up and twisted the way I'd like to be, for you, for me, come crash into me, baby..."
They nodded, they circled, they turned and twisted, fell backwards and forwards. Bakura would raise one of his arms, and Ryou would lower hers. They stepped in each other's footprints on the carpet, getting closer and moving apart.
But if neither of them were fighting, she wondered, what were they moving to?
"Hey, um, I think I left my backpack--" A quiet, intruding voice fell silent.
Bakura had leaned particularly far back, and Ryou had likewise leaned far over. They stood, frozen mid-movement at the sound of the short boy's voice.
Yugi clung to the edge of the door to the apartment, which Ryou had not been able to close. He stared at them, eyes wider than usual, and the two stared back. They both looked like they'd been caught in headlights.
The song ended and faded into a commercial break. Ryou coughed and sheepishly released Bakura, reaching over and turning off the radio. She hung in the air for a moment before remembering to straighten her posture.
"I... uh, maybe I should come back..." Yugi swallowed and brought his gaze to the floor.
"No, no, it's okay," Ryou fumbled for words, suddenly unable to look at the girl. Bakura found herself staring at a wall, feeling strangely exposed. Bitter and unexpected anger suddenly welled in her throat towards the short wild-haired boy, but she swallowed it and settled for scowling.
"Here, is this it?" Ryou found a rumpled backpack that had fallen under the coffee table and handed it to Yugi. The other boy nodded and took it, still frowning uneasily.
"Mmh... Ryou, I, uh, I wanted to apologize," Yugi gripped the strap of his backpack, worrying at it, "We, Joey and Tristan and I... we shouldn't have done that. Bakura was right, we haven't been very good friends to you lately."
Ryou raised his eyebrow and looked at Bakura, obviously wondering what he had missed, but he shook his head. "It's no big deal, Yugi. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I get the feeling the other two talked you into it, besides."
Bakura looked away from the exchange, grumbling to herself and settling back onto the couch. Of course her landlord would forgive them in a heartbeat, that's how he was.
"You guys are, um," Ryou looked over at her, asking something with his eyes, but she ignored it. "You guys are welcome here any time. I don't want you to think I don't want your company, it's just..."
Yugi followed his gaze over to the brooding girl, and he shrugged. "Well, you can't really blame them for still being kind of scared. But... They were able to forgive even Malik, after everything had returned to normal, so we'd... we'd be happy to have Bakura as our friend, too," he said hopefully.
"I somehow doubt your beloved Pharaoh would be so welcoming," Bakura sneered.
"He doesn't bear grudges against you, Bakura, I think... he feels kind of bad for not believing you about Malik the first time," Yugi confided, rubbing the back of his head. "When I got back home, he asked how you were doing. Both of you, I mean."
"I don't want his sympathy," the thief hissed lowly and closed her eyes.
Yugi frowned again, standing silent for a moment, before something else occurred to him. "Oh, I also wanted to ask you guys something. A few days from now, Kaiba is holding a special invitation-only tournament to test out this new dueling technology he's been working on. Would you... like to come? I know you're both good enough duelists to qualify. It's really only us, he hasn't even told the media about his new hologram technology yet."
"What is it?" Ryou sat on the other end of the couch, and could not help but sound interested.
"Well, I think he wanted to finish that virtual reality stuff he was working on before. He said something about it being an all encompassing experience, much more so than just throwing holograms over a playing area like the current duel disks do. He thought adding some RPG elements would add a new dimension to the game," Yugi explained, obviously excited by the prospect, "And there's no Big Five or Noa to worry about this time, so we could actually have fun. He won't admit it, but I think he was kind of inspired by the Pharaoh's Memory World."
Yugi looked between the two, "He even said Joey could come, so I'm sure he'd have no problem with you two. It'd be a chance for us to all hang out together again, and get reacquainted."
"Sounds wonderful," Bakura muttered sarcastically, and Ryou frowned.
"Well, I'd be interested... I've never really gotten a chance to duel with you guys," he said quietly, looking away from Bakura. The girl lifted her head and cast a glance at him, sighing imperceptibly.
"Fine, we'll go to the priest's stupid game," she spoke reluctantly, folding her arms. Ryou looked up hopefully, almost smiling.
Yugi had no such restraint and broke out grinning, shrugging on his backpack. "You guys won't regret it, I know. This'll be so much fun! There's also going to be a party beforehand, so he can explain how the new systems work and all. I'll go back home and call him right away!" The short boy waved happily, before bowing his head and running down the hall. He shouted back down the way at them, "I'll see you guys later!"
Ryou closed the door after the boy had gone, and turned to look back at the girl. She was still sitting defensively, arms and legs folded and stiff. He finally let himself smile and sat on the couch again, this time much closer to her.
"Thank you, Bakura," he said quietly, "I know you don't like them, and... it means a lot to me."
"I have no idea what you see in those idiots," she snorted dismissively and glared up at him, but it softened when she saw his sincere smile, and vanished completely when he hugged her.
"Not as much as I see in you," he mumbled in a mysterious, half-aware tone, as if he wasn't paying attention to his own words. He sounded so damn... happy. Bakura closed her eyes and let him squeeze her.
"To be honest, I'm not sure what you see in me sometimes," Ryou admitted to her hair, voice teetering on the edge of becoming emotional.
The thief blinked against his shirt, surprised at his sudden change in mood. She considered her answer carefully. Ryou was her friend, and someone important to her. She could no longer deny that, not even to herself.
�Well, for one,� Bakura started, �You're not a bad dancer.�
He pulled back, looking down at her with confusion on his face. The thief raised her eyebrows, but didn't meet his eyes.
She let him wonder.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Anachronism