Hi everyone! This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic! This features Ryou and Bakura but this is FRIENDSHIP! NOT yaoi. Well, anyhoo, to the story! By the way, I NEED reviews because I don't get that many. I mean, I get loads of people reading, but barely any of them review! So please review and go to my profile to read my other stories. Thank you.
ESSENCE OF A GOOD TIME.
All you could see of the spirit of the Millennium Ring was a big lump and tufts of with hair sticking out of the covers.
Well, hey, even spirits had days of rest.
Bakura shifted a little and mumbled something barely intelligible in his sleep.
Ryou, having woken up super-early to prepare for today, watched with impatience for his yami to awaken. Having a yami had been scary for him at first, especially seeing as though they barely knew each other. But, one was slowly getting used to the other the longer they spent together. Ryou felt they should get to know each other even more, for they were both woefully ignorant of each other's likes and dislikes etc. Bakura was good at hiding things.
And what better time to do it than in the Christmas holidays?
But Bakura hadn't even opened his eyes yet! And it was ten o'clock in the morning!
There was only one thing for it.
Ryou crept over to the sleeping spirit, snickering slightly. Then he leapt on top of Bakura, screaming, "FIRE!"
Bakura zoomed out of the cosy bed and hit his head on the opposite wall.
"Oh jeez, where?" he muttered groggily, looking up at the sea of flashing lights and grinning Ryous.
"Only joking!" Ryou yelled cheerfully. "I just wanted you to get up! We're going out today!"
"Really? No fire brigades?"
"No fire brigades."
"Well jeez!" Bakura leapt up, glaring at his double. "What did you do THAT for?!"
He stumbled and sat heavily onto the bed. "Can't believe you..."
Ryou tittered.
"Haha. Funny." Bakura squinted up at Ryou, mahogany eyes boring into his hikari's. "This outing had better be good. That's if I can walk."
Ryou shrugged. "You'll live."
"Thanks."
"I'm going to make breakfast now. Want anything?"
"...Cereal please."
"Fine."
Ryou left, practically skipping. Bakura rolled his eyes and winced as he rubbed at his sore head.
"Why is he so excited anyway?" he grumbled to himself, slipping on a pair of grey underpants and dark jeans after discarding his pyjama bottoms. He then selected a black and white striped t-shirt and shrugged on a dark crimson shirt. He combed his snowy-white locks and then put on the Millennium Ring.
Bakura stared for a few moments in the mirror, deemed himself fit for going out and clomped his way downstairs.
Ryou grinned at him as he approached.
"Good morning."
Bakura just grunted in response and tucked into his Frosted Flakes.
Ryou flipped a pancake on to his plate, sniffing its sweet smell in appreciation before sitting next to Bakura and eating his own breakfast.
His eyes roved the kitchen for a while before coming to rest at Babura's feet.
"You forgot your socks again."
"Oh." Was all Bakura said before putting his bowl in the sink and going back upstairs.
Ryou sighed. Bakura was always like this in the morning. He would forget to put on certain bits of clothing. The day before, it had been his pants. As a result, he'd almost gone out of the house in his underwear.
Ryou smirked in remembrance.
Bakura came back into the kitchen, wearing odd socks and a clumpy pair of black boots with laces.
Ryou glanced down at his own attire.
He'd shoved on his favourite outfit; white jeans with a blue and white striped t-shirt and a dark blue shirt. He too had the Millennium Ring around his neck. He really did appear to be the light to Bakura's darkness. Seeing as though they were hikari and yami, they looked the same. Well, except for a few differences.
Ryou's chocolate eyes were wider and more innocent, and his white hair didn't stick up very much. In fact, the top was completely flat. Bakura, on the other hand, had two clumps of hair that stuck out on either side, giving him a devilish appearance. His eyes were the same colour as Ryou's but slightly narrower and showed a lot of wariness. They also gave the impression that he'd seen more than most people. Which he had.
These similarities also meant that they both held the Millennium Ring. After all they might need it at anytime.
Bakura caught Ryou staring and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry." Ryou said, feeling a bit flustered.
"I'm not." Bakura replied, his expression indifferent.
After Ryou had tidied and washed the breakfast things (Bakura had once tried to help but had accidently smashed two plates, forcing Ryou to ban him from helping in the kitchen), they put on their winter coats, scarves and hats and headed out, Bakura locking the house behind them.
Ryou adjusted his grey, woolly hat.
Bakura stopped dead.
"What's this?" he asked in astonishment.
Ryou turned and glanced up at the falling flurry of snow. He'd forgotten that Bakura didn't have a clue what snow was, having lived in Egypt five thousand years ago.
"We call it snow."
"Snow..."
Bakura put up a green gloved hand, extending it so that he could try to catch one of the flakes.
"It's frozen rain Bakura. When it gets really cold, the rain freezes and falls as snow. It'll melt in your hand so there's no point trying to hold one."
"It's really pretty..."
Bakura's words caught Ryou off- guard. He chanced another look at the spirit and saw him revolving slowly on the spot, both hands outstretched, pure wonder etched on his face.
He had never seen him like this before.
Tentatively he opened their mind link.
"Bakura?"
"...Yeah?"
"I didn't know you liked snow."
"It's nice I guess. Can we move on?"
"Sure."
Ryou withdrew, but didn't close it. He trudged onwards, watching the snow stick to every surface of Domino City. He also watched Bakura, seeing him stare around, his brown eyes widening as everything began to turn the same shade as his hair.
"I didn't know everything turned a different colour! Will we get the original colours back?"
Bakura peered fearfully at him.
Ryou snorted with laughter. "Of course we will!"
Bakura smiled in relief. "Oh good."
"He's like a curious child." Ryou thought, forgetting for a moment that their mind link was open. He tensed, waiting for Bakura to round on him.
Bakura just smiled again, his eyes faraway and focussed on some Christmas lights in a shop window.
"I'm sorry, I just...this is all so new to me. We never had Christmas in Egypt."
"You look nice when you smile. You should try it more often."
There was no answer from Bakura and Ryou was suddenly worried that he'd offended him.
But when Bakura finally replied, Ryou got a unique look into Bakura. His voice was soft and subdued as he said;
"I've never had much reason to smile I suppose."
"Do you want to tell me why? I mean you don't have to if you don't want to. It's just that I've never heard about your past before."
Ryou was expecting Bakura to snap at him, to refuse point-blank. But Bakura wasn't being himself at the moment and astounded Ryou again by hesitantly beginning his story.
"My parents never really noticed me. I'm not even sure they planned on having me."
Ryou was at a loss for words.
"I was born among thieves and criminals, so naturally I learnt all the ways of one. Both my parents stole things. They would make me come with them to see how it was done. This was the only time that they gave me their full, undivided attention. I was always grateful for these and cherished every second. It's not like they beat me or starved me. They...ignored me that's all."
Overwhelming pity surged through the only listener.
"If I ever said anything, they would tell me to be quiet. So it became a habit of mine to remain mute. I would often play by myself, making up games and stories to pass the time. Other times, I would leave Kul Elna for a few days to travel to Cairo and stare at the Pharaoh's palace. It was so fascinating to someone poor and young like me.
And so my life passed like that for a number of years. I got to see the Pharaoh himself sometimes when he went out to meet his people."
Bakura's voice had become distant as he relived the memories. Ryou saw flashes of Bakura's childhood as it slipped through their connection now and again.
"And then, just in one day, my childhood was brought to an early end. By the Pharaoh's guards and one of his royal council members, Odion."
Bakura's face hardened and Ryou felt darker thoughts swirl inside their mind-link.
"It was all so confusing. I remember looking out of my room's window at all the soldiers pushing people down the steps of the local temple. They raided homes, including mine. My parents tried to run away to somewhere safe. I don't think they remembered me."
Ryou felt sickened as he felt the abandonment and confusion of Bakura.
"But they got herded in too. I was so scared, hikari. So I hid until they had all gone into the depths of the temple. I managed to slip inside through a gap in the stone wall. I melted myself into the shadows, not wanting to be seen. That's when it all began."
Ryou looked blank.
"When what began?"
"The screaming. The killing and extraction of people's souls. They didn't stop Ryou."
Bakura's voice was coming out strained and uneven. His face, normally pale anyway, was even paler, a haunted expression on his face.
"Not even stopping at the children. They tore souls from every person, right down to the last one. They chanted spells and threw souls into this boiling groove in the floor. I couldn't look away, no matter how hard I tried. Then it was over at last. The Millennium Items were born."
"WHAT?" Ryou exclaimed loudly, coming to a halt and glaring down at the Millennium Ring, causing passers-by to glance at him oddly.
His cheeks burning, Ryou reverted to the mind link.
"All the Millennium Items were created like THAT? They're objects of darkness?!"
"Yes. According to Odion and his followers, the Items were made out of the evil in people's souls. And seeing as my village had become corrupt, they targeted the people. But they have been used for good purposes, as you know well Ryou."
"Oh Bakura..."
"After that..." Bakura, to Ryou's shock, stifled a sob. "I had to fend for myself. I had to resort to stealing too. I swore revenge and did terrible things afterwards. As you're well aware of."
Bakura turned his head away, but not before Ryou saw a single drop make its way down his face. An assault of emotions flooded into Ryou's mind from Bakura, including grief, fear and deep sorrow.
Ryou touched Bakura on his brown-clad arm.
"Hey. I'm glad you told me. It tells me that you trust me. You can cry if you want."
Bakura gave him a shaky, hesitant smile. "Thanks but I'd rather go to wherever we're going to."
His voice wasn't as rough as normal, but it sounded like he had a bad cold.
"Ok! Then off to the mall we go!" Ryou cried and began pulling Bakura along.
"We're going to the MALL?"
"Yep."
"Huh." Bakura shook his head, but didn't complain otherwise. How could he when Ryou was chattering happily and whistling as he walked?
And secretly, he was looking forward to going. He'd never been before. It was something new to explore.
"Hey, by the way, we're getting Christmas presents today too!"
Ryou got a grumpy snort off his yami, but grinned because he knew Bakura didn't mean anything by it.
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That night, Bakura lay in his bed, gazing up at the darkened ceiling of his soul room.
He had enjoyed their little outing.
Choosing the Christmas presents had turned out alright (although Ryou had drawn the line at getting the Pharaoh and Malik a pile of string for Christmas – they had bought a pack of brand-new Duel-Monsters cards instead).
They had both taken turns going to a shop on their own to buy each other surprise gifts. Bakura didn't have a clue what Ryou had got him, nor did Ryou have any idea what Bakura had purchased for his gift.
Then they'd gone to a cafe and talked across a couple of milkshakes and fries.
Trying ice-cream had also been a first for the tomb robber. It turned out to be so brain-freezingly cold that he'd barely eaten any of the stuff.
Nice but cold, in his opinion.
The park had been next. It was the last place they wanted to go as well, for by the time they'd talked and asked questions about each other (Ryou's favourite food was bananas, Bakura had discovered), the sun had began to sink under the weight of the oncoming night.
And Bakura smiled as he checked to his right and found the stars twinkling at him.
He had a great time today.
And he'd discovered a valuable treasure.
Ryou Bakura, his new-found friend.