Title: Broken Wings
Author: Cheysuli
Rating: R (to be safe)
Pairing/Bakura
Summary: There is more to life than Shadows. Sometimes, though, Shadows are all we can see.
Warning: Shounen-ai (male/male)
Chapter: Chapter 4
:telepathy:
/yami to hikari/hikari to yami/ (since is FanFiction . Net being mean)
"speech"
'thoughts'

---

Bakura liked school. He'd never admit it and he hated the fact that it started so early; but all in all, he liked school. Especially Math and Literature; those were his best classes. He had always excelled in math (much to Ryou's amazement since the hikari had never been that good at numbers) and the only time he had ever had trouble understanding something was that time the teacher mentioned a connection between mathematics and computers.

Literature was his most favorite class; because, in Literature, he could read as much as he wanted and no one thought anything of it... except the Pharaoh who grew suspicious every time Bakura did so much as blink. Yes, Bakura did love this class... especially when the teacher assigned books that Bakura hadn't read yet.

Janka-sensei was from Hungary and therefore preferred using Hungarian literature in her class. Bakura didn't know where she had managed to find Hungarian literature translated into Japanese, but he supposed it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that he had something new read.

Ryou, on the other hand, didn't seem to like the works of Mór Jókai as much as Bakura did. /Why can't we read Japanese books/ he whined mentally to Bakura as he stared blankly at the novel on his desk. /Japanese books make sense/

Bakura sighed, looking over at Ryou. /Ryou... if you at least try to read past the first page, it will start making more sense/ he answered in amusement before returning to his own book, taking a brief moment to glance towards the Pharaoh, who for once was not glaring at Bakura and was instead staring in confusion at the book the teacher had handed him. /Looks like the Pharaoh doesn't like it anymore than you do./

Ryou frowned, following his gaze before turning back to glare at his own book.

---

Yami hated school - no, he loathed school. The classes, the teachers, the other students - except his friends and especially Bakura - he loathed everything about it. He didn't know why he had promised Yugi he'd go. Ok, so maybe the impossibly large and pleading puppy dog eyes had something to do with it. And maybe the fact that Ryou had somehow managed - and Yami shuddered to think what the delicate hikari had to do in return - to convince Bakura to go as well and Yami wasn't about to let that monster anywhere near Yugi. Who knew what Bakura would do to him in order to steal the Puzzle?

Yami had had nightmares of what Bakura might do if he wasn't around. It was after a particularly horrific nightmare where Bakura repeatedly stabbed the little hikari before throwing him into a vat of hungry piranhas that Yami had finally agreed to go to school. Even though he would have much rather stayed home and watch television.

Television was one of his favorite modern inventions. It was right up there with Duel Disks, video games, and microwaves. He could spend hours lounging on the couch in front of the television, only moving when he got hungry or had to go to the bathroom... or when Grandpa came in ranting about beautiful days before turning off the television and shoving Yami out the door. Yami really hated it when that happened.

But back to the topic of school; more specially, Literature class where he had to read some book about black diamonds. Yami didn't know why he had to read a book about black diamonds, especially since jewelry had nothing to do with literature. And... black diamonds? Who had ever heard of such a thing? Ridiculous.

/Yami, at least open the book and pretend to read it./

Yami grumbled a bit but, after a quick glance to see what Bakura was doing, did as his hikari had said and opened the book.

---

As much as Bakura loved school, he hated free periods... which, for some reason, they always had for the last class of the day. Bakura didn't understand why everyone had to stay in school that extra half hour when they didn't actually use that time to learn anything. He was half tempted to try to convince the principal to move free periods to the very beginning of the day; that way, everyone could get more sleep instead of having to be awake early enough to make it to school by 8:30. But Bakura figured that no one would listen so there was no point in trying to convince anyone.

Now, free periods wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't had them with that Ra damned Pharaoh. Bakura couldn't even read during free period because it would be obvious he wasn't doing it to fool a teacher into thinking he was studying. The Pharaoh would never let him live it down if he knew Bakura actually liked reading.

Which was a real shame since he wanted to read more of Black Diamonds. Janka-sensei always picked out the best books. Classics and not that modern crap with all those space aliens... though War of the Worlds was rather good; one of the few books about aliens he actually liked.

But he was getting off the subject of hating free periods. Especially free periods with the Pharaoh and especially when he felt as if he was being watched. And this wasn't the usual feeling he got when the Pharaoh stared at him or when Ryou was eavesdropping on his thoughts; no, this felt as if someone he didn't know was watching his every move, listening to his every word.

/You're acting paranoid, you know./

Well, apparently part of the feeling was from Ryou eavesdropping on his thoughts. /I am not. Someone's watching me/ he said, looking away from the window he had been staring out of for the past ten minutes and glancing at his hikari.

Ryou rolled his eyes and laughed quietly. /Just me and the Pharaoh, like always, Bakura. There's no one new watching you/ he said, still laughing. /Well, except that bird./

Bakura blinked, turning back to the window. And yes, sitting on a branch of the tree just outside was a large golden hawk. Bakura stared, wondering just how he had missed seeing the bird when it was so obvious now that it had been pointed out to him. And wondering what it was doing here since it was obviously not the kind of hawk native to Japan. It looked Egyptian actually.

And the damned thing just winked at him.

Bakura stared in disbelief as the hawk looked him over before winking once again as it spread its wings and flew away. /Uh... Ryou/

/What/ the hikari asked, not having seen the display.

Bakura continued staring at the now empty tree. /I think... I think that bird just checked me out./

Ryou stared.

---

Yami was confused. He had been enjoying his favorite class of the day - free period, where he didn't have to do anything unless Yugi made him - when Ryou had, for some unexplainable reason, burst out laughing. And it was obvious he was laughing at Bakura, if the way he had stared at Bakura just moments before was any indication.

Yami had tensed, prepared to leap across the room and defend the innocent boy from the raging Bakura. And he sensed Yugi and their friends readying themselves as well. But something happened that they had not expected.

Bakura had not attacked Ryou for laughing at him. He had stared at the boy, obviously frozen in shock, before shaking his head and laughing as well.

Bakura wasn't acting evil and cruel, much to Yami's confusion. He wasn't growling and threatening to send Ryou to the Shadow Realm for even thinking of laughing at him. No, instead he was laughing as well, at himself no less. He was... he was...

He was acting human.

This made no sense. Bakura was evil. Always had been and always would be and there was nothing anyone could do about it. There was no way he could ever be kind enough to be called human.

No matter how innocent he looked when he laughed.

---

A/N: Well, Yami wasn't a complete bastard this chapter. Though he seems to have forgotten that humans are among the cruelest creatures in the world. Anyways, things should pick up a bit next chapter.

Oh, to those who read Little Miracle, I'm planning a sequel. It's still in the research stage right now but I hope to start writing within the next week or two.

A/N: I HATE QUICK EDIT! IT KEEPS REMOVING MY PUNCTUATION! GROWLS