Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness of Winter ❯ Fever ( Chapter 1 )

Darkness of Winter: Fever

I nervously opened the door and peaked inside. Of course, I quickly remembered that Bakura's apartment had a hallway that turned into the main room(1). I walked further into the apartment. I felt like I was entering-

"Into the belly of the beast-"

"-And out the demon's ass."

I blinked, then suddenly groaned. There was only one movie I knew that had that dialogue in it, and if Bakura was desperate enough to be watching that, he must be either delirious or really out of it. I was more hoping for the second. I rounded the corner, and my worst suspicions were confirmed.

Yes, he was watching... The Mummy! That awful, historically inaccurate piece of crap they call a movie, set in, supposedly, ancient Egypt. One look at Bakura, and I can see why he's watching this crap.

He looks bad. And that sentence just won the Understatement of the Year award. His face is all red, and his hair is sticking in sweaty clumps that are peaking our everywhere even worse than usual, and the hair that isn't sticking up is stuck to his skin with sweat. His hair looks like mine on a bad hair day, in the rain, with waaaaaay too much bleach. And he's curled in a midnight blue blanket, under which I'm guessing he's in his boxers. Or at least I hope so. His eyes are also feverish, and completely zoned out. His hands are hanging over the side of the couch like a dead man's. And his tongue is drooping out(2).

I don't know whether to feel sorry for him or throw him in the bathtub. I'll bet he smells.

"Tomb Robber."

His reaction time is so slow it's amusing. It's like watching one of those slow-motion car wrecks on TV. He slowly turns his head to face me, blinks for a very long time, and his face slooowly twists into a scowl. I would have laughed if he didn't look so bad. Finally, he speaks.

"Pharaoh. What the hell are you doing here?" His voice is raspy. I think he has a sore throat, too.

"I'm here to make sure you don't die while Ryou and the others are on their ski trip."

"Go away. I'll live."

"Not for long, in your current state."

"Go away. I don't need you to take care of me. I can take care of myself." He scowled very slowly.

"Like hell," I snorted. "You're coming back to the game shop with me."

"When hell freezes over." He snarled.

"You're coming with me whether you like it or not. I'm not going to leave you here to die, or your aibou will kill me."

"Why did you agree to take care of me, then?"

"Anything to avoid the snow and the cold." I sighed.

"Shut up. I'm boiling worse than the hottest day of summer in Egypt and you talk to me about how you hate being cold?!"

"You hate the cold, too, under normal circumstances. You're not exactly thinking in your right mind today."

"And what makes you say that?" he said, trying to growl but failing miserably.

"You haven't insulted me directly, and you're watching The Mummy."

"I'm watching WHAT?!" he yelped, sitting up. He regrets it, though and falls back down, groaning and clutching his throat. I was right, he does have a sore throat. He looked over at the TV, and immediately shut his eyes.

"It burns! It burns!" he cried. He sluggishly tried to reach over and change the channel on the TV, but he rolled over and slowly landed face first in a heap of blankets on the floor, with not even a cool `thump' to go along with it. He didn't even curse.

That is just so pathetic that I'm starting to feel sorry for him.

"Go get some of your clothes, and I'll take you to the game shop," I sighed, turning off the TV. "It'll be easier to make sure I don't feed you the wrong medicine or step on a knife there."

"Whatever," he muttered, pushing himself up. He looks like a drowned albino rat, but even worse. I'm strongly fighting the urge to laugh.

He pulled the blankets around him in an almost childlike way, and I couldn't help but chuckle quietly. He was acting like a little kid now! If Bakura was going to be almost completely delirious and acting like a drunken kid, these next two weeks might actually be fun! Who knows what I could learn from the thief while he's semi-conscious!

He stumbles into his room, and comes back in a few minutes dragging a bag. He's also swapped his midnight blue blanket for a red one with gold lining, almost like the cloak he wore in Egypt. He starts walking straight towards me, and comes closer and closer until...

Wham.

He walks/slams into the wall next to me. What's worse is he backs up, moves a few inches to the left, and does it again. I sweatdropped, and grabbed his sweaty hand to guide him out into the hall of the apartment building. I made sure the door was locked, and proceeded to half drag a semi-conscious Bakura to my car, which is still parked out front.

I sat him down in the passenger seat, and we had a furious but slow fight over putting on the seatbelt, with me winning because if he yelled anymore he would have passed out. I sat in the driver's seat, convinced Bakura not to lean with his head against the dashboard, and started the car.

As we started driving, Bakura asked me a question. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I hate the winter and the snow, and I'll take any excuse at all to stay back home."

"Oh." He said. He sounded slightly disappointed. What, was he expecting some sort of pledge of undying love? Ack! That has just put some mental pictures in my head that I could do without. I would smack my head against the dashboard, but I'm driving and there's a policeman right behind me. I can see in my rearview mirror that he's already giving Bakura suspicious looks. If Bakura were conscious right now, he'd be giving him the finger.

We finally ditched the policeman (who I swear was paying more attention to us than the road), and pull around the back of the game shop to a hidden driveway. I stepped out, and opened the passenger door for Bakura, who fell out and landed in the snow. Judging from his sighs of pleasure, I doubt he minded the cold.

I pulled him out of the snow before he could finish his mouthful of the Ra-awful stuff and pull him to the front door. Surprisingly, it's locked. Did grandpa go somewhere? I wondered. Oh well, at least I had my key. I unlocked the door, and let us both into the eerily quiet house, despite Bakura's drowsy protests to stay out in the cold.

"You'll be sleeping on the couch, for several reasons: one, we don't have a guest room; two, I don't trust you in grandpa's room; and three, you sure as hell aren't sleeping in mine and Yugi's room."

"Whatever," he muttered. He walked into the living quarters of the house and collapsed on the sofa with an "oomph."

He really is pathetic like this.

"You can watch TV," I told him. "I don't think Ryou's given you medicine yet, so I'll give some to you in about an hour, and I'll also take your temperature."

I threw him the TV remote control, which hit him in the head and bounced to the floor. He really was out of it. I sighed and picked it up and flipped through the channels, finally stopping on one that Bakura seemed to like. It was a fast-paced action movie with lots of explosions and crashes. Go figure.

I wandered into the kitchen, mentally rehearsing how I was going to explain this to Yugi's grandpa, when he got home from wherever he was. I reached for the handle to the refrigerator to get a glass of apple cider, when I noticed a note taped to the freezer and grabbed that instead.

In case you boys return early, this is just a note to tell you not to worry if I'm not there. Since you are both leaving for the next two weeks, I've decided to spend Christmas and the next two weeks in Egypt with some old archeologist friends of mine. I should be back around the same time as you two, but just in case, I'm leaving this note. Ja!

--Grandpa

I stared at the note, horrified. I was going to be absolutely alone in the house with Bakura for two whole weeks!

Bakura's apartment in Shonen Jump Issue 19.

(2) Is anyone besides me half drooling, half `aww'-ing, and half crying `poor, poor Bakura' at this scene? O.O (how'd I get three halves? O.o)