Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Stranger of the Duel ❯ Partners in Crime ( Chapter 19 )

Disclaimer: YAAAWN. If you couldn't tell… I'm tired. *grumbles* *mumbles* … yeah I don't own Yugioh…Time for bed.

Partners In Crime

Meanwhile, the two schoolmates were beginning to gather all the food up when Ryou suddenly let out a soft sigh. Cali stopped moving and moved her eyes to him concernedly, but not overly so.

"What's wrong?" she asked when he didn't show any signs of noticing she was looking at him.

"Huh?" He didn't seem to even realize it had escaped. Cali repeated her question, earning a reluctant response.

"Well… I feel like…something's off."

"What do you mean?"

"You were so happy at the hospital, but now… it's like something's missing."

"Oh."

"You don't have to talk about it…" Ryou blushed.

"No, it's okay… Earlier, I was just very happy because Seto and I finally reached a perfect level of our …relationship. Then Bakura… broke us up," Cali said, choosing her words carefully.

"Oh no. What did he do?"

"Uh… well you see…he…I mean, in your body…made me… we…"

Ryou's eyes widened.

"We didn't…"

"No, not that… but almost close. I don't know if we would've if Seto hadn't interrupted."

"Seto was here?"

"Yeah…he was pretty angry…"

"Explains Bakura's black eye. I'm really sorry, Cali, and-"

"Forget it; I know it wasn't you."

"Okay."

They picked up their feast and carried it out to Cali's living room, where Bakura and Calliope had composed themselves and were currently fascinated by MTV. Apparently, Bakura didn't have time for such amusements when he was "out," having to work for Talon and all.

***

Seto had survived the night in his room, as expected. In fact, he hadn't even moved from the bed at all. Again, he was laid back, arms spread, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't going to sleep tonight.

Why? I never thought she'd… I thought we had such a strong connection… Why does she always do this to me? Why do I keep loving her? She's already refused me before! Why do I get myself into this? Dammit…

He got up and went to his little refrigerator, pulling out bottled water from some obscure spring in France. Avignon…I wanted to take her to my house in Avignon…She would love it. Drinking it quickly, he threw the bottle onto the floor, only to pick it up and throw it again. This was how he was venting his anger - however strangely - on Bakura. If only it were he I'm pounding into the ground. I want to kill him! Then, suddenly afraid of himself, Seto threw the bottle out off the open balcony. The sliding glass doors were open, and he meandered out, still thinking, to gaze off to the river below. He was seriously considering jumping off into it again when a light knock sounded on his door.

"Who's there?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's me!" Mokuba's young voice came through the door.

"Come in," Seto said in a somewhat more comforting tone.

Mokuba poked his head in, and then entered his brother's room backwards. This made Seto curious, and he bent his head back to try to find out what was causing Mokuba's strange behaviour.

Mokuba was carrying a tray with a teapot and cups that clinked whenever he moved even the slightest bit. He cautiously carried it in and placed it on an empty table in the spacious quarters.

"I thought we could have some tea!"

Seto put up a sad smile, though fronted, at his brother's efforts to cheer him up. He had been coming in sporadically throughout the night with some sort of new and improved cheer-up. Mokuba grinned hopefully, but then noticed that his latest efforts were too in vain. The smile cracked slowly and transitioned into a frown.

"Seto… I'm sorry… but you really should stop sulking in here. It's almost morning and you have work tomorrow."

"I'm not sulking; I'm resting."

"Resting while you're awake?"

"I can't sleep," Seto shrugged.

"Because you're thinking about her!" Mokuba spat out this last word with distaste. Seto merely turned his head and looked away.

"Fine," Mokuba said, and left the room, only to go to his own to devise a new plan.

***

Now that everyone had settled in comfortably, Cali decided to take charge.

"Now, Calliope, tell me what happened in the past."

Calliope glanced over at Bakura, whose eyes flashed meaningfully. The female spirit, however, simply glinted the flecks in her eyes playfully at him.

"Well."

"Calliope…"

"Let me just warn you. You may not believe what you hear."

"I will. Now just tell me, if you'd please," Cali added sarcastically.

"Bakura and I… were… partners in crime, if you will…"

"Oh, no… what did you do?"

"No, we really were partners in crime. We were thieves-"

"Damn good ones, too!" Bakura interrupted. Calliope laughed and continued.

"Simply, we were the best. We spared no extra detail. We used to have wonderful costumes…"

"Our last job, though…" Bakura unwove.

"Well, we were caught."

"Sort of…"

"I was wearing a priestess' robe…"

"We were robbing some useless temple of their "hard-earned" donations…"

"…and the High Priest walked in…"

"…stupid little blighter…"

"…and thought I was just another priestess…"

"…dummy…"

"…and kept an especially close watch on me after that…"

"Why?" Cali finally got an opportunity to make some input.

"He wanted to be my lover." Cali noticed Bakura's hands form fists and clench so hard his knuckles whitened. No one else seemed to take note of it.

"I thought priestesses weren't allowed to-"

"He was the High Priest; no one challenged him."

"Oh."

"Yes, well… I kept that charade up in addition…"

"Loving him, she means…"

"Calliope…" Cali had a nagging question in the back of her mind.

"Yes, love?"

"It seemed like… it seemed like you wanted me to wait longer to… well, with Bakura…"

"Yes, the High Priest had to see you for the plan to work."

"But it was you who encouraged me to be with him in the first place!"

"Ah, yes. His love for you grew stronger when you were actually together, re-enacting the past. Now that you are apart…"

"He's devastated," Bakura finished with a vicious smirk.

"He's not as… wary of what's going on around him, if you catch my drift…"

"…You only need one Item, Kaiba's technology, and that little microchip of yours."

"I just remembered!" Calliope exclaimed.

Everyone looked at her curiously.

"We can put a shield on any given area and protect it from everything! Your home will become a safe haven to us."

"Fine with me… but what about you, Bakura?"

"Huh? What about me?" Ryou had been listening to this revealing conversation in a daze. It was a lot to digest.

"Well, you'd probably have to come here after school. Is that okay?"

"Yes, it's fine. We can tell people you're tutoring me or something."

The rest of their conversations passed lightly. This one certainly explained a lot- including Cali's half-feelings for Seto. She thought she loved him, but it did feel a little… off, she just realized now. She had thought it was perfect. Still though, she had been feeling a little disappointed in herself for weakening her resolve to finish her quest to reincarnate her father. Now she was free to do that.

She was free to do anything.