A TRAIN OF THOUGHTS
Elenion: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I'm so glad you guys liked that last chapter. I love you all –hugs-. Lol, it seems that many people liked the last line of Chapter 11… This is the last chapter, guys. I know it took forever, but I at least finished it, right? Hold onto your seats and enjoy the ride!
CHAPTER 12: Leave My Fears Behind
"Hurry! Hurry!"
The couple was panting heavily, sprinting up the steps as fast they could possibly force their legs to move. The lean male moved faster, tugging along a smaller female by the hand. Distantly, they could hear the telltale whistles of a train ready to depart.
"What if… what if we don't make it?" The female gasped, brushing a sweaty lock of auburn away from her face. "We don't know when the next one might come, and-"
A pair of deep brown eyes whipped around to sparkle at her. "We'll make it, Serenity. And if we don't, what's one more day?"
The whistle blew again as the two hopped up onto the platform and ran past the sign reading: Sado Train Station.
Bakura raced up to the ticket window, pushing some bills beneath the glass. "Two tickets to Domino, please," he said hurriedly, casting a glance at the train that was all too ready to leave without them like a bull steaming at the mouth and ready to charge. They were so close and yet so far. If they didn't get on that train, there might not be another until morning, particularly in this less-than-populated forest region.
The teller smiled at the urgency, and quickly pushed back two tickets and some change.
Bakura gripped the tickets in his pale hand, offered a quick "Thank you," and immediately raced towards the sleek metal doors with Serenity in tow. They were now closing, but relief lit up in his dark eyes as he finally realized that they would make it. The two teenagers slipped skillfully inside the closing doors, making the doors jerk back from the movement as they passed. As if annoyed, a mechanical voice requested for: "All passengers, please stand clear of the closing doors. The train is now departing." But that didn't particularly matter to either of them at the moment. They were alive. They were safe. They had reacquainted themselves with civilization. And they were on their way back home.
Silently, Bakura and Serenity slipped into two seats and sighed heavily. Neither could quite believe it- one, they were on a train again and two, they were actually going home. Home. It was so surreal, such a foreign concept. Yet they were racing towards it at over forty miles per hour.
Bakura shut his eyes, contemplating. Serenity had wanted to wait in the lodge a few days so that he could get well. He had adamantly refused, and at the moment, he felt exhausted. Without a thought, he had paid his respects to Reiko and afterwards, had burned the lodge to the ground. The teenager massaged his temples and cast a glance at Serenity. She was staring out the window, watching the sakura trees race by with a small smile on her face.
A wave of exhaustion hit him, and Bakura felt his eyelids grow heavier. It had been a long hike through the forest. His mud-covered pants could attest to that. Then they'd found the railroad tracks, which inevitably led them to the train station. There had been no time for stopping and thinking. Now, looking at the girl, he felt an entirely new sensation sweep over him…
Peace.
It had been so long since he'd been at peace with the world and –more importantly- himself. He'd always managed to find a reason why he was inadequate, why he should hate himself. In retrospect, his own self-loathing had kept him from ever growing. It had kept him from fighting the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring. It had kept him from his life and had stolen his will to live. But it had come back with a vengeance.
Bakura watched a ray of sun play lazily over Serenity's hair.
Sometimes, all a person needed was a little push from someone else.
A long yawn broke across his face, and Serenity looked over at him and laughed. "I told you we should have stayed a bit longer. But no- you were just too eager to burn the place down."
Bakura winced. "You're making me sound like a pyromaniac."
The girl shook her head slowly. "We have a few hours, so why don't you try and get some sleep?"
"But-"
"I'll wake you up when we get there."
He couldn't argue with that. Instead, he smiled lazily, before drifting off.
The first sounds of the city were the strangest. All the talking, the laughing, the running footsteps of small children in the park. Domino never looked so inviting as it did that day. The clear blue sky without a hint of rain grinned lazily on their tired heads.
"Did Joey ever get your message?" Bakura asked gently.
"I don't know."
There was a small silence for a moment.
"Should we go surprise him?"
Serenity's head whipped around. "What?"
"You know, surprise him."
She pondered a moment, with a big smile on her face, but then shook her head. She pointed at a red phone booth at the street corner. "I think that would be too cruel. Let me call him first."
Ring!
Joey slammed the pillow over his head so he couldn't hear the phone.
Ring!He growled at the persistence.
Ring!Mai sighed and reached over numbly for the receiver grumbling about laziness.
"Hello?"
"Mai?"The sleek blonde woman lost her composure as her behind jumped off the coach with unexpected speed and catapulted her onto the floor. "Ow!"
"Mai? Hello?""Is this a joke?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"I meant it. This isn't some sick joke, is it?"
"Can I talk to Joey?"Mai stared at the receiver in total, utter shock. "Joey?" she called in a meager voice, "there's someone on the phone for you."
"Don't wannit…" came the muffled reply from the beneath the pillow.
Rather unceremoniously, Mai shoved the phone under the pillow where it thunked satisfactorily against Joey's skull. It wasn't unintentional. Joey growled, ready to rip the pillow off his head and give Mai a piece of his mind, but then he heard the voice on the other line…
"Joey?"The blood drained from his face. "No way," was all he managed to croak out.
"What?""Ren?"
"Yes."
"Am I dead?"
"Huh?""Did I die and are you here to meet me in da afterlife?"
"Ummm… no."
Joey shot out from under the pillow, feeling his throat constrict in a rather unmanly reflex to burst into tears. "Where are you?"
"The payphone outside your apartment."
He couldn't remember ever moving so fast as he did in that moment. The blinds practically opened of their own accord. And there she was, smiling and waving from the grungy old phone booth… and crying with the cracked receiver to her ear, looking up into his window. And there was Bakura, his hand resting softly on her waist.
That made Joey pause. "A little too friendly, isn't he?"
"Joey…""I'm coming down."
He flew down the stairs and past the few feet that parted them and swept her up into the biggest bear hug he could muster. She had come back from the dead. His sister had come back to him. And he cried. Oh, how he cried.
When the tears were dry on all four faces, Joey turned to Bakura. "I know about your yami, ya know…"
Bakura smiled. "You won't have to worry about that anymore. Trust me."
Joey stared for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Let's call Yugi."
The four made a perfect little line, linked by their hands as they scrambled up to the small apartment that was sure to hold comfort, joy, and tears for times to come. And even among the frenzy, Serenity turned to give Bakura a positively glowing smile. And Bakura knew it would be all right. He saw the glow of his friend's faces, felt the warmth of their hugs and their smiles, and somehow he just knew… Life was going to be all right afterall, which was more than he'd ever thought he'd achieve in the first place. And with that little thought in mind, Bakura smiled right back.
In the whirling chaos all around them, he grabbed her hand. "Love, I've got to tell you something."
Serenity's heart leapt to her throat. She could feel it pulsing there. Her hand was suddenly clammy in his.
"I wanted to thank you. For everything."
Serenity's stomach plummeted. She squeezed her eyes closed, feeling tears of frustration forming there. "Oh. Um, you're welcome…"
"And I love you."
Her eyes snapped open. "You… what?"
"Oh god, Serenity, please don't make me say it again where your brother might overhear us." Bakura looked over his shoulder at the blonde man, who was currently glaring at him.
Then she leapt at him. Her arms flung around his neck and she kissed him, grabbing the long white locks of hair at the back of his head. Bakura stumbled back but was able to hold her upright. Somehow. He felt dizzy like his hear would suddenly explode. He didn't deserve this; he really didn't. But somehow, he'd gotten it anyway.
When they finally came up for air, their eyes locked. And they smiled at one another, each only dimly aware of Joey spluttering in the background.
Fin.