Guardian Ryou

FULL SUMMARY: Ryou hates Bakura and the cold indifference he is always treated to. But when he is murdered, why would he be sent back to be Bakura's guardian angel? And maybe Bakura didn't hate Ryou as much as he first thought... Will Ryou find it in himself to forgive him before Bakura descends into madness once again? BxR, possibly MxM - VIOLENCE WARNING (And hopefully I don't have to warn about the character death).

I know this isn't what you should put at the beginning of a story, but I feel that this is something important that should be said. I've always found Bakura's thirst for revenge to be fascinating. This story and a few others I have planned or have already written (Avenging the Falsebearer fits nicely here) feature this as the backbone of the plot. Yeah, I reuse things. :3 So sue me. Anyway, what I want to explore here is how Bakura, after finally settling down peacefully and regaining at least a bit of normalcy, would react to something so important being ripped away from him. And hopefully as the story progresses, I'll have captured this well. Please give me feedback!

Disturbing stuff ahead. Just read, I guess. And BTW... The violence warning isn't just for this chapter. Wait it out, you'll see.

Heh. I call this warning SB: Separate Bodies. I swear it'll catch on some day!

Thoughts: blah

Ex-Host to Spirit, Spirit to Ex-host: Also blah

Prologue: An Untimely Death

Silence lay thick on the streets. It was almost pitch black; the thick clouds covering the sky like a blanket blocked out the sliver of the moon. The only illumination came from the street lamps that weren't burnt out or simply shattered. The lone man making his way down the road took another swig from his glass bottle before letting it fall to the ground, taking sadistic pleasure in crushing the pieces that had fallen in his way into a fine powder.

There was nothing particularly special about this man. He had short black hair, a bit of stubble, and was in his early twenties; he wore a dark comfortable shirt and slacks, typical of the average man his age, coated in what could easily pass for dirt unless examined properly. He'd burn the clothes later, he decided, and lay low for a while until the inevitable uproar died down. His liquid courage had replaced his doubts with foolhardy 'bravery,' and as he opened the door to the rundown apartment complex with such force that it nearly flew off its hinges, he let out a content sigh. It felt good to be in control.

He finally reached room 266 and without hesitation sent it crashing open as he did the last door. The man's eyes lit up with vicious delight as he caught sight of his day's hard work in front of him, in the form of an unconscious young boy. White hair hung in dirty mats over the frame of the chair; bruises were forming wherever there was open skin, ugly, splotched and numerous, standing out even more against their pale backdrop. His school uniform was stained beyond repair with sweat, filth and blood. The boy's breaths were coming in short gasps - the man had beaten him too hard earlier, perhaps. He wasn't concerned though - it wasn't as if the boy would need medical attention after the man was through with him.

Testing to make sure the gag and the ropes holding him in place were tight enough, the man stumbled over to a second chair behind the first, almost missing it on his first try. After assuring that yes, his firearm was still in place and loaded in his pant pocket, he settled back into his chair and waited for the boy to wake up. It just wouldn't be as satisfying for him if the victim was unconscious, after all.

The man smirked. This kid's gonna die tonight.

-o-O-o-O-o-

Ryou was struggling against his restraints before he was fully aware of them. His eyes fluttering open with great difficulty, he took in a ragged breath - one that sent a fiery pain lancing through his body. Trying his best to ignore his protesting body, he strained against the ropes as much as he could manage. They refused to give way, however, and he finally gave up.

What happened to me... What's going on? Why am I here? Thousands of questions were running through his mind, too fast for him to register all of them. His head spinning, he took another deep breath and willed himself to concentrate.

I was... walking. School had ended a few minutes ago. I had just left the others, hadn't I? And then I passed by that alleyway, and... Darkness. Not good enough! Ryou willed himself to push further until - a shadow. One that had suddenly appeared in front of him, melding with his own, and pain. He had been kidnapped then. Not that he hasn't realized that before, but suddenly it hit him hard - kidnapped. No one knew where he was, and chances were he wouldn't be discovered until -

A limp body washing up at the docks.

Sightless eyes staring out forever.

A wave of nausea hit him hard. Ryou choked and gagged as the taste of bile filled his mouth, barely forcing it back down into the pits of his stomach. Mother... Amane... is this how you felt when you died?

"You're awake? S'bout damn time."

Ryou's eyes widened at the voice - he struggled to turn but the ropes holding him were too tight and cut into his arms and legs. He settled back down quickly. His kidnapper stood up, chair scraping against the floor, and walked into his view. Nonplussed, Ryou knew that he had never seen this man in his life, never mind met him - the man seemed to think otherwise though, and let out a loud snarl as he hit Ryou across the face.

"Don't think that innocent act is gonna let you weasel out of this one, you brat! You're not getting away... Not this time." Ryou let out a muffled whimper as the suffocating stench of alcohol washed over him.

What do you want with me? Ryou wanted to scream, to cry out, to do something, but he doubted anyone was near enough to hear or to help - or if they were, they most likely didn't care.

Didn't care...

There was one thing he still could try - there was still one last, desperate chance. Ryou had his strong telepathic bond, his mind link, with the ex-spirit of the Ring Bakura. If anyone could possibly rescue him, it would be Bakura. But there was one big problem and Ryou hoped to whatever deity existed that it would not come up now.

Bakura did not care about him at all.

Since the day Bakura had reappeared into his life, he had not acknowledged Ryou - not his previous suffering, not his pain, no hint of remorse whatsoever. He never held the door open for him, rarely talked to him, and barely looked him in the eye - not even now, when Ryou provided him food and shelter! He seemed to derive pleasure from acting as if Ryou did not exist. Bakura even went as far as barricading their link daily, so not even the accidental thought could slip past either way - and every day, Ryou would be treated nothing but a cold silence. However, he had no other choice now. As absurd as it was, he was now going to place all of his faith in this one last possibility. Ryou could only hope that maybe, possibly, Bakura might have left their link open. Please Bakura... Please...

Ryou let out a choked sob as his desperate cries bounced off the solid mental barrier and echoed mockingly in his head; for this last terrible moment of his life, he would be completely alone.

He felt hot breath on his ear. Ryou's heart was hammering against his chest, and he was filled with a wild, almost primitive fear. No, not completely alone - but he may as well have been.

"You'll pay for killing Komatsu," the man hissed.

I didn't kill him! The silent scream was useless, and the gun pushed roughly into Ryou's temple with unnecessary force as he struggled to think, the thick haze of fear clouding his mind - and then he was hit with a startling realization. Bakura had killed this man's friend.

He had just moments left to live, and all he wanted to do was laugh hysterically - of course it would be his fault, just like everything else that had gone wrong in his life! Of course it would be Bakura that ultimately led him to his death! And it was inevitable now - this was the end.

For a brief moment, as the bubble of laughter forced its way up his throat and the loud click of the safety catch being released echoed in his ears, Ryou couldn't help but wonder. If he could have changed one thing, would he still be here, about to die?

Bakura...

If only he had gone another path.

How could you?

If only he had stayed behind after school a little longer.

You killed me.

If only Bakura had acknowledged his existence.

I hate you, Bakura.

The last thing Ryou heard was an explosion of sound before pain burst in his head, and everything went black.

This story... is so old.

Honestly. I think I made this when I first came onto this site. How long ago was that? Almost two years, or something? I have to check. ... Eeew. Nasty stuff I wrote. Anyway... I vaguely remember where I was going with this. But please note, this is VERY low on my update list, aka very low priority for me. Yeah, so... be nice, review, whatever. ; Did I mention how old this was? I was frickin' fourteen or something...

Also, can you believe that this was originally going to be a humour story? Well, part humour and part whatever else...

If you're interested enough in what's gonna come to put this on story alert, you're interested enough to review, right? That's what I thought.

Edited (with great help!): May 19th, 2010