It's been a couple of years since I wrote a YuGiOh story. And even longer since I have had a plot bunny for one. This story idea came to me months ago, when I was watching Danny Phantom with my sister. Anyway there is this one episode where Daniel is shoved through a Dream Catcher thing... and I won't give anymore away. I just had this random question. What would happen if Bakura was shoved through it?
This is AU ish though I admit that I am a bit rusty.
Disclaimer: I don't own this series.
Dream Catcher
Chapter 1: A Rather Unfortunate Event
Ryou sighed as the bell rang, signaling the end to another day – and the end of the school year – shrilled loudly. Ecstatic cheers sounded throughout the classroom. He glanced over and saw that Yugi and his friends were looking pretty enthusiastic at the thought of summer vacation as well. He smiled sadly as he packed his bag, thinking about what awaited him at home.
"Ryou-kun," Yugi called turning to him. do you want to go to the arcade with us?"
"No thank you Yugi," he replied with a fake smile. "I have other plans already."
Yugi seemed disappointed. Then understanding dawned in his eyes.. "Well see you later then."
The scenario was familiar to him, as if he was an actor who had read the script one too many times. At least once a week Yugi went out of his way to ask him to hang out. He had turned the other down so many times that the words now came automatically to his lips.
Ryou swung his pack onto his back and hunched forward slightly, before walking out of the room. He had obviously lied to Yugi back there and knew perfectly well that the other hikari hadn't bought it for a moment. On the other hand, Bakura was not expecting him home until the same time as on a regular school day. Ryou wanted to take this time to just be alone for awhile.
Once outside, Ryou allowed his feet to take a familiar path. The park that he was heading to was very woodsy, and had many places within it where one could sit and contemplate about anything and everything. It was less than a block from his home, so it would be easy for him to run back home if Bakura wanted him, or if he lost track of time.
Ryou wandered off the path and headed straight to the darkest section of the park. There was a large oak tree that he loved to sit in to think. Bakura had never found him there, though it would be easy for him to if he wanted to. That's why Ryou always made sure that when he went to this particular areea that he kept track of time. It wouldn't do for his violent yami to find one of his only sanctuaries.
Ryou arrived at the tree and swiftly clambered up into its protective branches. He chose a particularly thick one and settled upon it, each leg dangling carelessly on one side. As he looked out into the park, he spotted the children's play area among a large clearing. At about eye-level, were the many canopies of the surrounding trees. The one that he sat in currently was one of the oldest in the park. The wind gave a little gust and the sweet scent of pine danced through the air.
It would be awhile before he came here again. The arrival of summer meant that he would have the pleasure of being stuck in the house all day. For an evil spirit, Bakura was insanely possessive and would not allow anyone near his yadonushi. The bullies at school left him alone now because of this. Every time one of them approached him, Bakura would either come out of the Ring and beat them up to the point where they ended up in the hospital, or they would fall into strange comas.
On the other hand, his isolation meant that he bore the brunt of the yami's rages. It was not as if Bakura sought him out specifically to take his anger out upon. Ryou was only in danger if he was in Bakura's reach during one of those times. If there was someone else in the room at the time, Bakura would go after them instead of Ryou every time.
Ryou sighed and kicked one of his legs lazily. Maybe he should get a job this sumer. It would take him away from Bakura for awhile and he would have some spending money. The air began to cool down. Being so high up meant that Ryou felt it first. Cautiously, he climbed off of his perch and made his way down the trunk. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he began to walk towards home.
Bakura was out when he got in the door. Ryou slipped off his shoes and set them by the door.
"Better make dinner," he muttered to no one in particular. The echo of his voice in the stillness made him jump and he hurriedly flicked a few hallway lights on. After hanging his jacket in the closet and setting his bag by the door as well, he headed into the kitchen.
Idly, he began to throw together some teriyaki chicken and a simple salad. He wondered where Bakura was. It wasn't like the yami to not be home yet. Ryou wasn't worried though. His yami could take care of himself. If anything, he felt more concern for those who pissed Bakura off in the first place.
Ryou sighed and tossed the salad together while the chicken cooked. At least he got more time to think about a job. He had heard through Yugi that the Domino museum was looking for tour guides about his age. It would be a good experience for later on in life and the exhibit was on Ancient Egypt. The fact that not only was his father an archaeologist, but that Bakura was an Ancient Egyptian spirit would more than qualify him for the job. Though he would make sure not to mention either of those to whomever interviewed him.
Ryou jumped as he heard the front door open with a bang and then slam shut. He tensed as he heard Bakura walk into the living room. Ryou went into the living room to greet him and swallowed hard even though his other looked calm. He would have to ask him first before he would be able to move along with the summer job idea.
"Why so nervous, yadonushi?" Bakura said idly before he could say anything. His eyes then narrowed dangerously. "Were you out with those friends of yours again?"
Ryou shook his head as his yami stalked closer.
"Then what is it?"
"B-Bakura, I was wondering if you would mind if I got a job," Ryou asked hopefully. "It's just for the summer."
Bakura didn't answer him right away. There was a contemplative look adorned the spirit's usually demented face. "Where is it?"
"The Domino museum," Ryou replied. "They have a new Egyptian history exhibit opening up and they need tour guides."
Bakura regarded his host thoughtfully as a plan began to race through his mind. If what yadonushi says is correct, than there is a chance that the Pharaoh may show up. It would give me another chance to snatch the puzzle anyway. He smirked.
"Fine. I give you permission to get a job there, but I will be accompanying you in the Ring."
Ryou nodded. It was better than nothing. Chances were, his yami would be alert for the first few days, and then get bored and not come anymore, or sleep in the Ring all day. That was what had happened with school after all. Bakura only came to school every once in awhile now.
Ryou wrinkled his nose as he smelled something odd.
"Bakura, do you smell -?"
He was cut off by the shrill whine of the smoke detector. "My teriyaki chicken!" he yelped and ran back into the kitchen. Needless to say, they had takeout for dinner that night.
Ryou chose his clothes carefully the next morning. He had to make a good impression after all. It was nine o'clock in the morning and he had to leave in the next few minutes or else he would be late. He slipped the Millennium Ring on and tucked it under his shirt. Quickly, he raced downstairs and grabbed his resume off of the printer tray beside the computer in the living room.
With the sheet of paper rolled up in his fist, he went back up the stairs and knocked on his yami's door. It opened less than a second later to reveal Bakura. Ryou gulped at the grouchy look on his face. The spirit just shoved past him roughly, his shoulder hitting Ryou's as he made his way down the stairs as well. Hesitantly he slipped down the steps after him. Once at the door, Bakura vanished into the Ring, though Ryou could easily feel his presence still perfectly aware at the back of his mind.
The hikari sighed in relief and ran out the door. Now that his yami was taken care of, he felt a mixture of both excitement and nervousness for the interview. At sixteen, this would be his first job – assuming that he got hired of course.
In what felt like no time at all, he found himself in front of the museum. Ryou saw that he wasn't the only one there. Many of the students from Domino High were also there. He even spotted both Yami and Yugi in the crowd. Their hair made it very hard to miss them. Ryou didn't bother approaching them. He knew that Bakura would be mad if he did. Ryou quickly moved behind a group of people to ensure that he was out of their line o sight. He looked up at the doors expectantly.
There were only a few positions to be filled. He hadn't thought that the idea of working at a museum would be so popular. If he was to be honest with himself, there was little chance of him actually getting hired here. Still, he had to try. As he was thinking this, the door at the top of the stairs opened and a man in his thirties stepped out a little so he could be seen by all. The crowd fell silent and everyone looked at him expectantly.
"Hello everyone," he said. "I can honestly say that we did not expect so many to show up. We will still interview everyone. At this time, we will require you all to get into a straight line in front of me. I will be letting you all in two at a time.
Immediately, there was a scramble for spots. Ryou found himself in the middle of the line. Well, he thought. This will take awhile.
He was quite correct about that. Between waiting in line and making sure to duck every time there was even a chance of Yami or Yugi spotting him, an hour passed. Finally, he was at the front of the line.
The man at the top let Ryou and the person behind him inside. His eyes widened in appreciation as he stepped into the immense building. In the middle of the lobby, there was an information desk. A set of stairs was directly behind it, no doubt leading to some of the exhibits. On the walls, there were posters of Egyptian pyramids and Aztec treasures. To his left, he saw the interviewers. There were two of them. Ryou headed over to the nearest one. At the nod of the man's head, he sat down.
"Resume?" the man said shortly, holding out his hand.
Nervously, he handed it over. The man scanned it quickly and then set it down in front of him.
"So..." he glanced down at the paper. "Ryou Bakura is it?"
"Yes."
"Tell me, why do you want to work at this museum?"
"It seems like a good opportunity," he replied. I'll say came a muttered voice at the back of his mind. "I've always been interested in Ancient Egypt and when I heard from a friend that the museum was hiring, I couldn't resist."
"I see," the man mumbled and he wrote something down on the resume.
"Do you speak any other languages than Japanese? We get a lot of tourists."
"Yes, I also speak English," Ryou replied. "I lived in England in my early childhood."
Okay, well you seem to be a good kid," the man said. He smiled. "You're hired."
Ryou smiled widely. Yami Bakura started to cackle wildly at the back of his head. The hikari had to suppress the tingle of fear that crept over him.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"Your first day is tomorrow. You can meet here for orientation and training."
The next few weeks were great in Ryou's mind even though Bakura would not sleep whenever he was at work. It was okay. He did not have to worry about running into Yami and Yugi at work because neither of them were hired. Simply put, only people with the knowledge of a language other than Japanese were hired. Despite his initial fears, Bakura never did anything to inhibit his hikari's ability to do his job, but Ryou did sense that he often looked out at the world through his eyes. It didn't matter. Ryou knew he was up to something, though that was hardly unusual. It was probably another ploy to get the Millennium Items.
So it was on this day, weeks after Ryou had started that the crap hit the proverbial fan. Ryou had just given his last tour of the exhibit and was on his break when a voice heralding from the days when Ryou lived in England called out to him.
"Ryou? Ryou Bakura, is that really you?"
Ryou turned around and felt his blood chill in terror. Standing before him was a face from his past – and one, for her sake - he'd prayed to never see again. She had been the only one of his childhood friends to escape Bakura's wrath when he was first released. It wasn't that she was special or anything, it was merely that she had moved away before he had gotten to her.
"Colette?' he said feigning surprise.
"Oh it is you!" she squealed delightedly. "I'd recognize that white hair anywhere!"
She immediately stepped forward and embraced him. Unused to the sensation of touch anymore, he returned it awkwardly.
It's great to see you too," he smiled. On the inside he was screaming for her to leave. "You've certainly changed.
Please don't hurt her, please don't hurt her, he chanted over and over in his head. He dared not send her away. It would only serve to wake Bakura if there was panic both in his heart and at his lips.
To his horror, he felt Bakura stir at the back of his mind in surprise, and then smirked malevolently. It had been awhile since he had an opportunity to do this. He would have sent Ryou's new friends to the shadow realm as well, but they had that Pharoah protecting them. This however, was a different case. Yami no Yugi did not know of her existence, and Bakura would see to it that his host kept his mouth shut.
Thank you for the suggestion, he all but purred in Ryou's mind. He felt his host shudder mentally in disgust and then forced him back. It was quite a struggle. His little host kicked and screamed all the way down to his soul room.
"So you work here?" Colette asked unaware of the switch.
"Ah yes I do," Bakura replied, mimicking Ryou's smile and voice perfectly.
"When are you on your break? I could come back later, you could show me around and we could catch up with each other," she offered.
"I'm on it right now," he said.
"Really? Do you have anything from North America – preferably from the First Nations?
Bakura quickly sifted through his hikari's memories until he came upon the image of a gigantic hoop with string strung through it's hole in a way akin to a spider's web. He smirked. It was in the store room that Ryou had to clean out a few days ago.
"We don't have anything on display now," Bakura said "But there is something in the back room that I can show you." Consider this the fulfillment of your last request hehheheheheheh, he thought.
"Are you sure you won't get in trouble with your boss?" she asked.
"He is quite fond of me and appreciates any who have interest in other cultures."
"Okay then."
He lead her quickly through the Egyptian exhibit to a door that was on the side marked "Employees Only." Gently, he pushed it open.
"They keep some of the less priceless artifacts in here," he said quietly as he stepped into the softly illuminated room. He walked through the rows of neatly marked boxes to the back. In a dark corner stood the object.
"There it is," he said and nodded to the artifact. It dimly resembled the Millennium Ring due to the fact that it was round and had five spikes dangling from the bottom of it. What made it different was the fact that it also had its own tarnished wooden stand.
"Wow," Collette breathed stepping closer to it and past where Bakura stood. "It's beautiful. What exactly is it?"
Bakura smirked and was torn between answering the mortal's final question and dragging out his host's torment longer, or by just simply ending it there. In the end though, listening to more of Ryou's pleading and sobbing won out.
"It is quite similar to a dream catcher, though this one was made several hundred years ago," Bakura said simply. "The dream catchers that we know of today are used to guard against bad dreams. They allow good dreams to filter through and the bad ones are caught in the net. When the sun rises, it burns them away."
"And what about this one?" she asked.
"No one really knows," Bakura replied as his host's screams grew ever louder and he began to fight for control of the body once more.
"It looks like it could fit an entire person through it."
"Yes," Bakura muttered. It was the perfect time to strike. Her back was turned to him. Smirking, he separated from Ryou who stumbled forward in shock as he regained control of his body. Nothing would satisfy him more than watching his host struggle to save her while he locked her soul away forever.
"Colette! Don't listen to him!" Ryou cried out in panic.
She turned around and then blinked in confusion. "Ryou?"
Ryou whipped around and saw Bakura behind him, a sinister look upon his features. The Ring began to glow.
"You better not try to stop me, yadonushi," he stated and began to walk towards the frightened girl.
"Don't, please!" Ryou begged
Bakura pulled out a blank duel monsters card and ignored his hikari.
"No! Stop!" Ryou begged. "Colette! Run."
The tomb robber ignored him and stepped around him.
"Ryou? What's going on? Who's he?" she asked.
"Heh. Your worst nightmare," Bakura snickered menacingly.
"RUN!" Ryou all but screamed.
"What?"
Bakura lifted the card and faced the confused and frightened former friend of his host.
"Sea - "
"NO!" Ryou screamed once more and with strength lent to him by his desperation, shoved Bakura forward cutting him off. The tomb robber yelped in surprise as he stumbled forwards and through the device.
A blinding purple light flashed through the room. Ryou blinked madly as it faded, trying to comfort his scorched retinas. A dark swirling mass of shadows was hovering over Bakura's body, nearly obscuring it from view. All that Ryou could see was a dull shadow of what he assumed to be the yami's white hair.
How – How did he get through that in one piece? Ryou thought dazedly.
The dark shadow began to lift, as though repelled from around the still form on the floor. If it had a voice, he was sure that it would be grumbling in frustration. Vaguely, he could hear Colette sob softly beside him.
When he got his first glimpse of what was left of the tomb robber, his blood ran cold. A young child lay unconscious in Bakura's place. Yet at the same time, Ryou knew instinctively that the small form that lying there as if asleep, was still his yami.
I know that at least some of you are thinking 'Oh no not another de-aging fanfic. Trust me though. What I have got planned, you guys have never seen.
Feedback would be awesome. I really want to know what people think about this. Also if anyone sees any spelling or grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out.
