Chapter 3!

[frannyan]

~3~

Yuugi sighed as he flipped channels on Anzu's television set. They had been in her room nearly an hour, what was taking--

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Anzu said cheerfully as she appeared. "Ready to see her?"

Yuugi fidgeted a moment, nodding as he turned off the TV and got to his feet. 'For Bakura-kun's sake,' he reminded himself, taking a deep breath and pushing aside his uneasiness.

Anzu turned back towards her room, reaching out to take Bakura's hand and gently lead him forward.

His hair had been brushed soft and was loosely braided, a few strands falling forward to frame his blushing face. Yuugi recognized the top as one Anzu only occasionally wore, a soft blue top she had always complained that no one looked at her face when she wore it. On Bakura, it accented the very subtle curves of her chest, making it had to deny that they were indeed there. The skirt was also of a soft-looking material, dark blue this time, that lightly hugged Bakura's hips before flowing down to past the knees.

Yuugi blinked a few times, staring in utter shock. This-- this was Bakura-kun? No, it couldn't be. Bakura-kun wasn't... couldn't be... His eyes paused on Bakura's chest before looking up at her face again. But it was...

His mouth moved a moment as he tried to find words.

"I think that's an approval," Anzu laughed, putting her arm around Yuugi to give him a sideways hug.

Bakura gave a soft laugh, blushing again. "It still feels a little strange, wearing a skirt," she commented with mild embarrassment. Even her voice was different. Softer and somehow more feminine, even though it hadn't really changed at all.

Slowly, Yuugi sat back down, mind a chaotic jumble. He hadn't thought he could have handled it but already... how could he think of Bakura as anything else but a girl now? Especially when the image of the curves in her shirt--

He shook his head quickly, pushing off the thoughts. No, he was NOT going to have dirty thoughts of Bakura-kun!

"Yuugi-kun...?"

He nearly winced. No, sort this out later. Right now, it's all about what Bakura thinks. If this is what she really--

He was already using female pronouns for her...

He shook his head slightly, trying to push himself back into reality and out of his own thoughts. He gave a small forced smile. "Just-- It's a big change," he finally managed, doing his best to focus on Bakura's face and not her chest. But it wasn't helping too much. "Anzu, did you use make up?" he asked, voice sounding horrified despite himself.

"Just a little," Anzu admitted. "All part of the transformation. Why, can you tell?"

Yuugi shook his head again, putting a hand to his forehead. "I thought you were going to do this slowly..."

"Does it bother you...?" Bakura asked in a small voice.

Yuugi hesitated. Did it? "It's just... it's a big change," he repeated finally. "It's a lot to try and deal with at once. I'm used to t-shirt and jeans Bakura-kun, and now you're skirt and boobs Bakura-chan," he said before going bright red. "I mean--!" he exclaimed, horrified.

Bakura smiled softly. "It's okay," she assured. "It's a lot for me too." She picked at the fabric of the skirt slightly. "Half the time we spent was me staring in the mirror in shock," she laughed, sounding embarrassed.

Yuugi rubbed the back of his neck. That was right... any shock he had, Bakura-kun had to have so much worse....

"Oh! Right!" Anzu suddenly said, breaking the awkward silence. "We need to come up with what to call you now!" she smiled at Bakura, who blinked at her. "Because if we just call you Bakura-chan, there aren't many Bakuras around, right?"

Bakura nodded. "Maybe..." She hesitated a moment before blushing softly. "You could call me Ryou...?"

Yuugi felt his heart skip a beat. Anzu. You're dating Anzu. Bakura is your friend who used to be a boy. He gave a smile. "Un! Ryou-chan it is then?" His face felt warm as if he was blushing. Goddamnit...

Bakura nodded, smiling happily.


Yuugi sat on a bench inside the store and Anzu and Bakura went looking for things Anzu had pointedly told him he wasn't allowed to accompany them to find. Bakura had at least four bags of girl clothes now... Some of which Yuugi knew he'd be having guilty feelings about later. Of course, he'd be having happy day dreams about some of the things Anzu had tried on as well. But why did Anzu insist on encouraging Bakura to buy clothes that she herself would wear? Couldn't Bakura be a girl and still wear the normal clothes he used to wear?

No, Anzu was probably doing everything right, he realized with a sigh. Why would Bakura be a tomboy as a girl when he hadn't been very boyish when he was a boy?

He gave a small smile. Earlier had been so worried that he could never get his brain around Bakura being a girl and now his main worry was Ryou-chan being too pretty. There was no doubt that Bakura was going to go through with the transformation. He didn't think he'd seen Bakura this happy for this long since--

"Hey, Yuugi, who's Anzu's new friend?"

Yuugi's eyes went wide. Oh shit. Honda-kun...

He turned, looking up at his friend, mind racing. What could he say...?

"Got stuck watching the bags, eh?" Honda continued, giving Yuugi a grin before scanning the store. "They were looking at bras and panties, no wonder you got benched."

Yuugi's face went red. Even that far..?!

"So who is she? Haven't seen her around before. She new?"

Yuugi floundered for words a moment. "Ryou-chan? She's been around," he said, trying hard not to stammer. "Anzu's helping her get settled in though." It wasn't a lie... right?

"Ryou-chan, eh?" Honda repeated, giving a small nod as he leaned back on the bench. "I hope she stays here for a while," he grinned. "Nice on the eyes, you know?"

Yuugi nodded, feeling almost trapped and unsure what to do. If Honda realized.

"Aa, here they come!" Honda sat up, straightening his shirt. "Hey, Anzu!" he waved.

Bakura startled a bit, eyes widening slightly as she saw Honda before her expression shifted to a neutral smile that Yuugi recognized as Bakura's 'nothing's wrong. No really,' smile. Hopefully Honda-kun wouldn't...

"What are you doing here, Honda?" Anzu asked critically.

"My sister dragged me out and then ditched me, as usual," the boy replied. "Who's your friend?" he asked, smiling at Bakura.

Anzu almost seemed to get a crafty look. "This is Ryou-chan," she introduced, moving a side as if displaying Bakura more fully. The paler girl blushed softly, looking down a little.

Honda got to his feet, taking Bakura's hand. "Pleasure to meet you," he smiled before kissing her hand lightly.

"Aah, Honda-kun!" Yuugi exclaimed as Bakura's blush grew worse. He wasn't. Didn't he realize that was--

Yuugi watched from between his fingers as Honda none to subtly hit on Bakura.

"At least let me give you my number!"

He sighed. He could only hope that Honda would forget about 'Ryou-chan' and never put two and two together until Bakura was ready to tell him.

Either way, he was not looking forward to school the next day....