A Means of Communication

Chapter 2: Posters

Although it was still early in the spring season, temperatures in Domino City had reached almost record highs. The streets were crowded with the usual traffic and the heat and brightness of the sun made Ryou squint. He stood by the bus stop, tapping his foot on the sidewalk, humming to the beat of nonexistent music, waiting for his bus to arrive.
He was so intent on searching for the public transpiration vehicle that the white haired boy didn't even notice the dark figure sneaking through the crowds of people toward him.

Ryou was practically knocked over by the force of the someone running into him.

"What the...?" Ryou questioned, pulling himself back up onto his feet. He just managed to catch a glimpse of the person's dark eyes and a cool taunting smirk before the figure rushed away again, disappearing in to the crowd.

Something was wrong, Ryou felt as though he was forgetting something. Then suddenly he noticed his backpack was no longer on him. The person who had bumped into him must have taken it.

"Hey you! Stop!" Ryou called running after the thief, completely forgetting about his ride. "Give me back my bag!" But the mysterious figure was already far ahead of him. Ryou squeezed his way passed the crowds of people trying to get to him. "Thief! Give me back my bag!" Ryou cried. More people moved out of his way but the guy was now so far away that Ryou could barely see the back of the thief's head, a black hat on top of long messy white hair.

But now matter how long Ryou chased him; the thief seemed to get further and further away. Ryou was running out of breath, he couldn't even cry out after the culprit anymore.

One hand held over his furiously beating heart, Ryou stopped. He leaned against the outside wall of a shop for support. He looked around but couldn't see the thief anywhere.

Ryou was too out of breath to even curse.

(2.13)
"Shit! That kid was dammed persistent!" the white haired figure swore, watching as the boy he had stolen the bag from give up and finally trudge back down the street in defeat. "Now then..." He took off his black hat and shook out his long main of white hair. The only reason he was wearing the hat in the first place was so the people on the street wouldn't recognize him as Bakura, the lead guitarist in the Descendants of Ra.
He opened the backpack and emptied it out onto the ground. Two binders and bunch of school supplies fell out of it onto the dark alley ground. He scowled at his findings. He scavenged the bottom of the pack and found some loose change, probably the kid's lunch money. He took the small change and then searched the smaller outside pockets. Unexpectedly, his fingers brushed something metallic and smooth, larger than a coin.

Bakura pulled out what looked like a silver cross. It was simple and thin with no engravings and hung on a plain sliver chain. Bakura frowned.

"Junk," he spat tossing the pendent and the entire bag into a garbage bid behind him without a second thought "All junk. What a waste of time..."

(2.26)
"Ryou, what happened? You look awful," Jounouchi exclaimed as his white haired friend entered the classroom a half an hour later than usual.
"I ran into some trouble on the way here," Ryou explained collapsing into a chair and resting his head on his hands. He looked as though he had been run over by a truck. "Some jerk stole my bag and now I have no money for lunch."

Honda sympathetically patted him on the shoulder. "That sucks, man."

"Here, Ryou, you have some of my money for food. I'm trying to go on a diet anyway," Anzu offered dropping some coins into his hand.

Ryou smiled weakly. "Thanks, Anzu-chan." He placed his head back on the table, his mood downcast and depressed. "I can't believe that guy stole my bag, I had all my school stuff in there! What am I going to do?"