A/N: Technically I'm cheating and just took the prompts from LJ. I think it is silly that it is so restricted. It is fanfiction. This is a different sort of beginning than most do but you can only write about Ryou receiving the ring so many times before it gets stale.

Ratings may go up later, there may be shonen-ai, ect. but I will warn you at the beginning of each chapter.

Prompt: Beginnings

Rating: K

Pairings: None this chapter

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-gi-oh, I wouldn't be in debt.

Ryou hated the situation. He hated the spirit and he hated the fact that he was standing in front of the teen in solid flesh because the gods had decided he could use a shot at redemption. They had said that without the millennium items, the spirits said he was as harmless as a cat. They had seemed to forget that cats possess sharp teeth and claws and for that Ryou hated the gods too.

Yugi was ecstatic and had reason to be. Atem had decided to return to the present world after a brief period in the afterlife. If only Atem were present, Ryou would be happy for his friend but at that current moment all he wanted to do was get away from the spirit.

"Bakura, can I talk to you for a moment?" Yugi asked Ryou while nodding his head to a place they could talk away from the crowd. Ryou followed and waited for Yugi to begin his inquiry. "Give the Spirit of the Ring a chance? The gods did say he could be redeemed and that he was harmless."

Ryou simply stared at the shorter teen. He knew that Yugi had good intentions and saw goodness in everyone but he hadn't been possessed by the spirit. Atem had worked side by side with Yugi and had some good within him. When the spirit used to inhabit the ring, all Ryou felt was pure darkness which, according to his books, couldn't be dispelled.

"He had reasons to do what he did." Yugi continued after a lapsed silence. "His family-"

"No." Ryou interrupted more sharply than he intended. He had heard about the spirit's predicament and while tragic, he couldn't forgive that easily. His own family had been killed by a drunk driver, and while that paled to an entire village being slaughtered, he did not seek out revenge against the driver. He had learned to survive without letting his hatred grow.

"Bakura-" Yugi tried to reason with his friend but was stopped by Anzu calling out to the pair. She wanted to take a picture of the event.

Ryou grudgingly let her take a picture of him and the spirit who he was surprised hadn't left the area once he was flesh and blood. Ryou had put on a smile for the camera although he was hoping that if the world had one bit of fairness left in it that the film would become exposed to sunlight and ruined forever. He didn't want anything to remind him that the person he hated most was alive.

After the photo-ops, Ryou had said his goodbyes and began walking back in the direction of his apartment. The one thing that Ryou was thankful for was that the Gods had decided to bring the spirits to life in Domino Park. The teen couldn't afford a trip from Egypt to Japan. Arriving in the foreign country would not have been a problem because he was sure that the gods would work someway to get him there even if he resisted.

Ryou continued his walk but after five minutes he realized that someone was following him. He turned around only to be met with the face of the spirit.

"What are you doing?" Ryou asked staring directly at the being.

"Going home." The spirit responded as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"The airport is in the other direction." Ryou responded coolly, knowing that Egypt was not the home the spirit was talking about.

"You know damn well what I mean." The spirit responded in the same cool tone.

"You can't stay with me." Ryou snapped back. "I only have one bed and I hate you."

The spirit only shrugged at his former host. Ryou shook his head and continued walking. He would let the spirit follow him but once he reached the apartment entrance, he would try to get rid of him again. The next five minutes passed in silence. The spirit had nothing to say to Ryou and the thoughts Ryou had flitting through him head was almost guaranteed to start a brawl. One that he knew he would lose.

When they reached the apartments, Ryou had turned around and was about to tell the spirit to leave when the spirit spoke to him first.

"I'm sorry." The words were barely audible and Ryou doubted they contained one ounce of sincerity. They were probably a ploy to receive an easy room but he remembered the god's and Yugi's words and decided to give the spirit a shot. Only one though.

"You can sleep on the couch." Ryou opened the door to the thief. "But one wrong move and I will find a way to remove you from my life permanently."

The spirit shrugged and the two began their climb to their now shared home.

A/N: Bakura will get his name next chapter. Also Yugi is calling Ryou Bakura because that is how it is done. It is polite. I was going expand on this but a lot of it was pointless so that is all there is to it. I'll make my other prompts longer.