Hellraisers II: Lights, Camera, BAKURA?

Lighten up!

            “Hey guys? Have you noticed how moody Bakura has been lately?” Yugi asked curiously
the next morning at breakfast.

“Ya think?” Malik scoffed before cramming a heaping spoonful of Cocoa Puffs cereal into his
mouth.

Ryou cast a worrisome glance over his shoulder at Bakura’s closed bedroom door as he
attempted to squirt some honey onto his blueberry bagel. He was still half asleep, and the angsty
sounding guitar riffs coming from Bakura’s room were making him feel a little on edge. “Stress
can have that effect sometimes. Bakura carries a lot on his shoulders, so I’m not surprised by his
behavior.”

Yami arched his eyebrow curiously as he watched sleepy Ryou squeeze honey all over his
scrambled eggs. “Uh, Ryou? Has anybody ever told you that you have very eccentric taste buds?”

Ryou looked down at his food and realized what he’d just done. “Shit.” He groaned as he set
down the honey and picked up his plate. “Maybe what Bakura needs is a little vacation. After all,
he has been working himself ragged lately.” He suggested as he walked over to the trash can.

“NO! STOP RYOU!” Marik shouted as he jumped out of his chair and scrambled to stop Ryou
from scraping the honey covered eggs in the trash. “I’ll take those.” He grinned as he took Ryou’s plate out
of his hands.

Everybody stared at Marik like he’d completely lost what he had left a mind.

“What?!?” Marik chuckled as he scraped the eggs off onto his plate.

Malik groaned as he turned his head. “Ick.”

Marik gave Ryou his plate back and sat back down to eat. He grinned proudly; he knew he’d just
managed to gross almost everybody out. Everybody, that is, except for Yami. Yami seemed to be
off in another world somewhere. “Earth to the Pharaoh, are you reading? Helloooo? Anybody
there?” Marik chuckled as he scooped up a huge fluffy yellow blob of honey coated scrambled
eggs onto a fork.

“Huh, what? Somebody’s bleeding? Who?” Yami perked up, shaking his head a little to clear
whatever thoughts had been going through it out.

“You!” Yugi shouted, acting like he was completely freaked out.

“Where!” Yami exclaimed, looking over his arms and patting his face.

“Just kidding.” Yugi giggled as he scooped another spoonful of sugar onto is Frosted Flakes.

Yami narrowed his eyes and pulled Yugi’s sugar-heaped bowl of cereal away from him. “I’m
cutting you off.”

Yugi’s lower lip protruded and he looked like he was about to cry. “Aww Yami, come on. Quit
being a meany and give me my cereal back...pleeeeeease?”

Yami couldn’t resist Yugi’s uber-cuteness. He caved in as soon as Yugi batted his eyelashes.
“Oh, alright.” He said as he slid the bowl back in front of Yugi. “Just behave though, alright?”

Yugi jumped out of his chair and threw his arms around Yami, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank
you! You’re the best yami in the world! I lurrrrrve you!”

“Oh boy” Malik groaned, staring at his bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

“I think I know of a way to cheer Bakura up.” Marik said out of nowhere.

“Ask Lucifer if he’s willing to give Bakura back his throne?” Malik mumbled under his breath.

“What do you have in mind, Marik?” Ryou asked Marik curiously as he got up to get another
cup of coffee.

Marik swallowed down the last of his scrambled egg concoction than sat back in his chair.
“Well, since we didn’t do anything for Malik’s birthday, why don’t we all go out bar-hopping
tonight. Kill two birds with on stone, figuratively speaking.”

Shaking his head, Ryou sat back down with his fresh cup of coffee. “I highly doubt Bakura
would want to go. Besides, you’re both suppose to work tonight.”

“I’m sure we can get Elf-boy and Pencil-head to fill in for us. I think it would do Bakura some
good to get out.” Marik grinned.

Ryou shook his head. “I honestly don’t think he’ll go for it.”

Marik rolled his eyes. “Too bad for him than, because I’ll hog tie him and lock him in the trunk
of the car if he puts up a fuss.”

“So does that mean we’re all going out tonight?” Yami asked, keeping a nervous eye on a very
peppy little Yugi.

Marik nodded his head. “Damn right. I’ll go call Jou-Jou and Honda right now.

Ryou stared at his coffee and sighed. “I’m not very sure about this, but I suppose I’ll go talk to
Bakura about. I hope he doesn’t bite my head off.”

“This is gonna be AWESOME!” Yugi squealed, totally lit up on sugar.

“Ra save us....it’s going to be a looooong day.” Yami sighed, dropping his fork on the table in
defeat. “C’mon aibou, we’d better get you home...before you...you...scare our friends.”

*~*~* 

            “What are you doing! I demand you release, you demon!” Bakura shouted as he thrashed
wildly to free himself from Marik’s crushing bear-hug. He wasn’t going down without inflicting
some damage.

Despite minor difficulties, Marik pulled Bakura kicking and screaming out of the bedroom. “Just
relax, and quit struggling, fool! You’re going to mess up my hair, and that’s something you
would deeply regret doing.”

Bakura continued to try and fight, but it really wasn’t getting him anywhere. Marik was just a
little bit stronger than him.

Marik quickly grew tired of Bakura’s crap and slammed him face-down onto the sofa, pinning
him to the cushions. He grabbed a rolled up newspaper off the coffee table and used it to swat
Bakura across the ass.

Bakura gasp loudly as the initial shock of being cracked across the ass (like a little kid) hit him.

 “No more bitching now, you got that? I have a newspaper, and I’m not afraid to use it.” Marik
said firmly.

“Fine, I give; I’ll go along, as long as the newspaper stays here.” Bakura growled under his
breath.

Marik set the paper back on the coffee table and cautiously crawled off of Bakura, allowing him
to sit up.

As soon he was sure he had Marik’s trust, Bakura bolted back toward his bedroom.

“Damn you!” Marik yelled as he took off after him.

            A short while later Marik emerged from the apartment with Bakura tossed over his
shoulder caveman style. Ryou and Malik were waiting by the car, both dressed to kill. Bakura
was screaming obscenities and curses at the top of his lungs.

“Quit making such a scene, Bakura. You’re only wasting your time.” Marik chuckled as he
threw Bakura into the open trunk of his and Marik’s ‘new’ car, slamming it closed on the thief.

“You won’t get away with this! Bastard Ishtar! ARGH!!” Bakura shouted as he flopped around
helplessly in the trunk.

“Are we ready?” Ryou asked, running his fingers through his hair.

Marik opened up the drivers side door and nodded his head. “Hell yeah, get in. We are out of
here.”

Ryou glanced at the trunk as he walked around the back of the car. Bakura was still clunking
around and shouting some very colorful insults. “Is he going to be alright in there?”

Malik nodded his head as he opened the car door for Ryou. “He’ll be fine. He’s use to being
locked in dark places. We’ll check on him when we get over to Yugi and Yami’s.”

*~*~*

            “OH.MY.GODS.” Marik drooled as Yami walked out the front door of the game shop,
dressed in tight black leather pants that laced up the sides and a long-sleeved white button-up shirt.

“Hello, love.” Yami winked as he passed Marik and walked around the front of the car.

Marik bit his fist, enamored with how sharp Yami was dressed up. “Wow...Pharaoh...you look
hot.”

“I know” Yami grinned as he got in the front passenger seat.

“Hey guys!” Yugi shouted excitedly as he ran out to join everyone at the car, dressed in a plain
black t-shirt and jeans. “Uhh..where’s Bakura?”

Malik motioned with his thumb at the trunk of the car, grinning auspiciously.

Yugi covered his mouth and giggled as he got in the car. “I take it he didn’t want to come
tonight.”

Ryou scooted closer to Malik to give Yugi more room. “Not particularly.”

“Speaking of the devil, I better check on him. He’s been a little too quiet.” Marik said as he
flicked the trunk release lever next to the driver’s seat on the floor. Marik walked around to the
back of the car and opened the trunk.

“DIE!!!!!!!” Bakura screeched as he leapt out of the trunk, tackling Marik to the pavement. They
wrestled around for a bit before Marik was able to pin Bakura down.

“Gah! What the hell! Get off of me!” Bakura seethed angrily, glaring up at Marik.

Hearing the commotion behind the car, everybody piled out to see what was going on.

“Hey ‘Kura!” Yugi smiled brightly.

“Shut up ” Bakura frowned as everybody surrounded him and Marik.

Malik looked in the trunk and pulled out the rope Bakura had been bound with and looked at it
curiously. “But how?”

“Think about it, imbecile.” Bakura snarled. He looked up at Marik and glared. “Fine. I agree to
go out with you all tonight, but I get to ride shotgun.”

“Sounds reasonable enough.” Marik grinned victoriously as he released Bakura’s arms.

Everybody, including Bakura, got back in the car and headed to their first destination; a small
tavern named “The Last Frontier.” The small corner bar wasn’t very happening, so they only
stayed for one beer and than left. The boring atmosphere was not helping Bakura’s mood. They
found a younger crowd hanging out at a pool hall a few businesses down. After a few games of
pool, Bakura seemed to be in a slightly better mood. A few beers seemed to be lightening him
up.

At pool hall, Marik suggested they go over to the east side of town. The east side was
more like the slums, but it was where most of the night action took place. They ended up at a
crowded 3-level strip club named “Beansnapperz.” It was the raunchiest strip club around, and if
you knew the right people, you could get a front row seat by the stage on the 1^st level. Marik, go
figure, knew the right people; on a first name bases in fact. Interestingly enough, they knew
Malik by first name too. (Hmmm...)

“What a surprise, tonight is co-ed amateur night.” Marik smirked as he lead their way directly to
the bar, holding Yami by the hand. “You should go up on stage and give us a show tonight,
Pharaoh.” He suggested with a cute little wink. 

Yami glanced sideways at a poster tacked up to the on the wall that read ‘1^st prize - $100.00.’ in
bold red letters. “Hmm...”

Ryou nudged Malik and pointed towards the stage. “Hey, look over there.” He grinned, gesturing
at a couple suggestively dancing with each other in a big metal cage suspended from the ceiling
next to the stage.

Malik smiled at Ryou and linked arms with him. “Oooh..let’s do it!”

Bakura pulled up a seat at the bar and ordered a beer. Yugi sat down next to him. Since Yugi
was the designated driver, he ordered a soda. “This place it nuts, a-Bakura?” Yugi asked, smiling
brightly. (He’s such a happy little thing!)

Bakura shrugged his shoulders and stared down at the shiny label on his bottle of beer. “Nn..it’s
okay.” He replied, his voice void of emotion.

Yugi turned and watched the stage. Different colored lights flashed around them, and the music
was so loud you had to shout to be heard. Yugi nodded his head along with the music and tapped
his fingers in the rim of his soda can. “At least they’re playing cool music!” He shouted to
Bakura.

 “Yeah, pretty decent!” Bakura answered as he twisted around to get a look at the action
surrounding him. “Hey, where did everybody go?”

Yugi looked around and started to laugh. “I think they ditched us!”

“Ha! GOOD!” Bakura smiled, turning to look at Yugi. “Feel like splitting a pizza with me?

“Sure!” Yugi exclaimed, smiling back.

            While waiting for their pizza, the deejay announced that all those who wished to
participate in the competition should meet backstage.

Bakura grinned over at Yugi. “You going?”

Yugi shook his head from side to side and laughed. “Nope, I’m worth more than a few dollars
stuffed up my crack, don’t you think?”

“Very true” Bakura smiled as he got up. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go call Katsuya and
what’s his name to see how things are going at the station.”

“Okay” Yugi smiled as he sipped his Peach Crush.

*~*~*

 

            “You’re kidding, right?” Bakura chuckled as he listened to Jounouchi explain to him the
situation down at the station.

//I’m serious! No shittin’ ya! Honda got his wang stuck in a soda bottle and we had to call 9-1-1!//

Bakura leaned back against the wall, smirking as he twisted the phone cord around his fingers.
Hiring Honda and Jounouchi had proven itself a very good business move on his part. They
were the funniest deejays around; you never knew what they were going to do or say next.
“Wow...I’m completely...at a loss for words.”

//Imagine how I feel, that bozo totally upstaged me tonight!//

Bakura stuck his finger into the coin return, hoping somebody left their change. Lucky thief, he
found a dime! He stuffed the coin in his pants pocket and focused back on his call. “Damn, I
hope you got picture for the wall. Listen, I can barely hear you, so I’m going to let you go.
Thanks for filling me in.” With that being said, Bakura hung up the phone. He wasn’t lying when
he told Jou couldn’t hear him very well; the strip competition had just started. The loud dance
music filtering into the hallway from the bar was extra loud. Bakura headed back into the bar to
see if Yugi had waited for him. He was happy to see that he had, and was still saving him a seat.

Yugi smiled brightly at Bakura’s return. “Everything okay?”

Bakura nodded his head as he took a seat next to Yugi. “Yeah, everything’s fine. So what have I
missed?”

Yugi shrugged his shoulders as they watched the stage. “Nothing much, only the first two
contestants. They were pretty bad anyway. By the way...I hope you won’t be mad at me, but I ate
the entire pizza you’d ordered.”

Bakura laughed at Yugi as he lit up a cigarette. He couldn’t believe little Yugi had eaten a whole
pizza, but it wasn’t a big deal. Bakura looked around the crowd in search of a familiar face, but
couldn’t find one. “See any sign of the others?” He asked, referring to Ryou, Malik, Marik and
the Pharaoh.

Yugi shook his head. “Not since we got here.”

Bakura ordered himself another beer. He and Yugi both sat quietly watching the contestants
dance their asses off, none of them all that impressive.

The lights dimmed as a raven haired boy with a mask over his eyes left the stage. He seemed
familiar, but his Zorro mask concealed his identity well. (Oooh... I wonder who!?) A couple
minutes later the deejay announced the next dancer. The music began to play as the lights came
up. Yugi and Bakura both stared at the stage in disbelief as Marik strutted out from behind the
curtain, making a hell of a grand entrance! Dressed in a red leather from head to toe, the
Egyptian claimed the stage. There wasn’t an eye that wasn’t on him as he worked his stuff for all
to see.

*******************************

A/n: Where the hell do I get this stuff? This is going to be one night they'll not likely be quick to forget...*evil
grin*