Akutenshi

Sequel to Yami Ryuu, Shiro Tenshi- if you haven't read that, read it first. It's good anyways!

Something has happened to Bakura, so Seto- with the help of Yami Bakura- must travel to Egypt to get Shiro Tenshi back...

I hate doing summaries, I'm not good at shortening things, and I can't get the right words in. I usually can't find the right words anyway; the synonyms button really helps... and heightens my vocabulary.

Welcome back to the fic series of Yami Ryuu, Shiro Tenshi. This is the second story, Akutenshi. To those of you who read the first story, arigato gozaimasu for reading this! I know some of you have probably been wanting to kill me for making you wait... I didn't have the inspiration! But seeing other people use my coupling gave me strength. Even though those people took my unique kawaii pairing, arigato to you peeps for giving me the motivation. Dunno how it works, I'm competitive, it happens. But all the other Seto/Bakura fics I've read have been good. I've only read two... but that's beside the point.

This is gonna have more Action in it than the last fic; I noticed how most readers were girls, so I want something to attract more guy readers. Then again, all the guys I've met have had problems or all out refused to read or associate themselves with anything with guy/guy pairings. Those are just guys I know. I think it's cause girls are usually more open-minded than guys, no offense to anyone, I'm just making an inference.

A lotta Yami Bakura-koi in this! Fans of him should like. Hardly any Bakura-koi. It's how it works, k? Icewolf said it was a good fic... Damn, I throw so much emotion into the first chapter... but it works.

So, you people probably want me to start the fic, right? Neh, ok! Ok! Blah...

Chapter 1-

Seto's POV:

I awoke with a start. Sweat dribbled from my forehead. A vibe had woke me up. It can't be, can it? I haven't felt this in so long...

The first thing that actually worried me was Ryou's absence. He wasn't asleep next to me; the covers were shoved away from the indentation of a sleeping form.

I arose and dressed quickly. He probably just went to the bathroom, or downstairs. Maybe he was restless and didn't want to wake me. I walked out the room and into the hallway. Walking towards the open bathroom, I heard a voice call my name. A voice that sounded so familiar, from so long ago.

I looked in and my heart stopped. Ryou was grasping his hands on the sink, breathing hard in short, ragged breaths. It sounded as if he had been crying. His grip was so hard that his knuckles turned white. But that isn't what stopped my heart, it was the fact that it wasn't Ryou; it was his other self, his Yami.

"W-what's wrong?" I stammered the question, fear arousing and gnawing at my stomach, making me sick. "Where is Ryou?"

"He is fading." Akutenshi answered, releasing his grip on the sink. "Soon, he will no longer exist."

I stopped breathing. I couldn't breath, I couldn't do anything as tears ran down my cheeks. It can't be true, it can't. Nothing's happened to Ryou, this is a dream. Seto, this is a dream dammit! Wake up, leave the nightmare behind! You'll wake up and he'll be asleep next to you, in your arms, like always. Wake up dammit, wake up! "N-no he isn't. This has to be a dream! It's all just imagined. He's not gone." It wasn't a question, it was a firm statement.

"No Seto, it isn't." He reached to wipe the tears from my face. I pushed his hand away. He looked back at me, hurt filling his eyes. I had hurt him with my reaction, but I didn't care now. "I'm sorry Seto, he's almost gone." A tear came down his cheek. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

"B-but why?" My voice wavered. My heart felt as if it had been ripped out and stabbed many times by the damn swords of Yugi's magic cards.

"Because he is only a half of a soul, as I am."

"But why aren't you fading then?" His answer didn't make any sense, until he answered.

"My half of a soul is trapped within the Ring. That damn thing is the only reason that I'm still here."

I sank to my knees. "He can't- no." Another onslaught of tears formed and fell, leaving a salty taste in my mouth.

"Seto, I love you..." He whispered, still hurt from me not trusting him.

"I-I know, b-" He cut me off with a finger to my lips.

"Seto, because I do truly love you, I will tell you how to save him. It will be dangerous and possibly life threatening, I warn you."

I looked straight at him, eye to eye.

"Tell me."

A smirk came upon his lips. He got the old look back in his eyes from before he confessed his love for me, the malicious look of a person who jumps at the slightest thought of a possible adrenaline rush. He was Akutenshi.

I called Yugi and told him. He was shocked and worried.

"I'm coming too."

"No, you aren't. Only Bakura and I are going. I just wanted to tell you, in case you were wondering why we were gone."

"Kaiba- Seto, let us come along. We're both Bakura's and your friends, we need to help."

"No Yugi, you've helped me so many times, too many times. I need to do this without you or the others now, to prove it to myself. So, I'm sorry."

His Yami obviously took over, because there was silence and a deep voice said: "Fine, do as you will. Just make sure you get back, ok?"

"Right."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone. And that's all that was said.

Mokuba's POV:

By breakfast, I knew something was wrong. Yami Bakura being there was like a giant neon sign pointing at trouble. But there were subtler signs as well, like Seto's constant fidgeting and silence, or his constant fingering of his ring. What that ring represented meant a lot to him.

Being fourteen, I felt that I had a right to know what was going on. Obviously, Seto at least had partially the same thought.

"Mokuba, Yami Bakura and I are going to have to go on a dangerous trip. We don't know how long it'll take, but you need to take care of the house while we're gone."

"I'm coming too!" I intervened. It was definitely going to be dangerous, and they might need my help. This is where Seto and I had a parting of ways.

"No, it's too dangerous. We're going to have to invoke an ancient spell in a tomb that has been pillaged and ravaged, and possibly cursed, and there's always the possibility of us not getting back alive, making our quest to recover Ryou's soul completely meaningless.

So, that's what happened, Bakura's soul his gone, so his Yami arose. I need to help though, I need to.

"He's my brother-in-law." I pointed out.

He fidgeted, uncomfortable. I was pulling the right strings to get my way. He was giving in...

"No." Yami Bakura countered, a bit of viciousness in his voice. "You are not coming, so sit down and shut up."

You know, now I really want them to go and get Bakura back. I mean, I did anyway, but his Yami was really starting to annoy me. I couldn't stand his darker half, Akutenshi. I was going to object-

"Mokuba, please stay here. Mom and Dad would never forgive me if something was to happen to you, or if you got hurt. Not even Yugi and the others are coming, just us two."

"Fine." I sat back down. "When are you leaving?"

"This evening, hopefully. We've already booked flights to there."

I couldn't help it; I got up and hugged Seto. I love him, my brother. He was my only family, my only friend.

"Hey, you promised you'd always be there for me. You're not off yet." I smirked, as did he. He ruffled my hair and laughed sadly.

"I know." He paused and looked around. "While we're gone, no parties. No friends over and go to bed at 10:30. And when we get back, this house had better be spotless."

"Yeah right."

Yami Bakura's POV:

So, that is what family is like. I felt so distant, hollow. But, I'd know the feeling of love well enough, soon, if we survived. If my unity with my other half succeeds before it's too late. If being the main word used there, if. And I didn't know how long we had, if there was a time limit; I was rusty on unity spells, I never thought I'd need one.

Mokuba left the room to go upstairs, leaving Seto and I alone again.

"So, because Yugi and his other self have achieved a spiritual unity and understanding, he is not fading. But because you two had unresolved conflicts, Ryou did." Seto's voice wavered, showing signs of weakness.

"Yes, and unity will be the case soon with my aibou and I."

Hopefully. I thought. I couldn't stand seeing Seto so depressed, wasting his life away.

We packed clothes and drove to the airport, not speaking the whole way. My eyes were trained to the outside, watching the scenery flying by. Seeing people with each other, seeing so many different faces, what I'd never get to see otherwise. I didn't know whether to be relieved or depressed myself.

Depression set in.

After arriving at the airport, we parked the car and received our tickets and waited. I watched as the plane in the dock next to ours unloaded. People met friends and family members, lovers, husbands, wives, kids, families. It stung my heart. It was as if someone, some infinite religious divinity was pointing at me and laughing at my suffering. As if my life was being moved in some ironic path.

Finally, we boarded the plane to Cairo. It was stopping in Hong Kong on the way, but oh well.

I watched Seto sitting next to me. His face was like carved stone, emotionless and cold. Lifeless.

He had grown even more mature since I had last seen him. That last time had been around four years ago, and now he was on the verge of being a man- he was a man. But the mature I refer to being mentally, emotionally, and spiritually mature. Even though I tried not to let my mind wander to it, I did notice that he had physically matured slightly too, he had a helluva body. But he would probably never lose his youthful appearance.

It's been too long...

He seemed eerily quiet around me, as if I was a phantom or a wraith.

People loaded off at the Hong Kong stop. Some came back to go to Cairo, but we waited the whole time. The plane filled up with new people and took off.

"Seto." I said in a low, almost whispered voice. "I am not trying to take the place of my other half. Don't think I am."

"I know you aren't." He turned to me. "I-it's just that- all this is happening too quickly. One moment, we're enjoying our life together, perfectly happy; the next, you get the point.

I nodded slowly. Yes, I got the point. I had consciously awoken to be in the same bed as Seto, his arms around my waist. I was shocked when I noticed that I felt half empty, then realized that my other half was gone. I had run into the bathroom and saw myself, not Shiro Tenshi.

I could swear I could see tears forming in his beautiful dark blue eyes. They were so deep and mysterious, forbidding.

"Seto, come here." I reached my arm over and leaned his head onto mine. He went along with it. I ran my finger through his hair to comfort him. I don't know if it made him uncomfortable, but it was the only thing I could think of.

The last time I had seen him was probably the best time I had ever had, though perverted it may sound. But that was the only time I had ever felt his actual love. Now, it was sad and pathetic. The almighty Seto Kaiba, reduced to... this.

I smiled grimly. At least he acknowledged me.

People looked at us strangely. Close-minded bastards. I hated people like that, now at least. I realized that I've changed drastically since before Bakura, my other half, my aibou, had met Yugi at the Duelist Kingdom. I had become someone entirely different since meeting Seto. But people change, especially after living certain amounts of experiences. I learned to love.

There was still a ring on my finger, and the Ring around my neck. Ring splayed a big part in both mine and my aibou's life. The ring on my finger probably didn't represent the same thing for me as it did with my aibou. For me, it was a sign of who else I was and who I would become, rather than my other half's commitment. Though I too would have made that commitment.

I guess I fell asleep while I was thinking. Though I didn't realize it until I was suddenly at Cairo. I must have really been knocked out, to sleep that long... but then again, being locked in the darkness is like sleep.

It was the afternoon, the day after we left. Or, was it the same day? I don't know, we traveled with the sun, so... I still don't know.

After asking a few fellow Japanese tourists where a hotel may be, we called a taxi and got there.

The Mena hotel, overlooking the Giza Pyramids. What we were looking for was in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, if memory serves correctly.

I came up to the check in desk. Seto was in front of me, ringing the bell to get the attendant's attention. He looked over at us. "Zayak!" He greeted.

I pulled up to the desk, replacing a confused Seto.

So, they still used Arabic. "Zayak intar." I replied.

I got us a room and a rental car. Two bed room, one bathroom, standard. But, for all Seto knew, I was getting us the honeymoon suite or something like that. We were still speaking in Arabic.

The man gave me the keys to the room and we grabbed the bags and went up.

"Well, that's a definite advantage that Ryou didn't have."

"Well, when you live in Egypt, you have to learn Arabic."

"Do we need to trade Yen for Pounds?"

"No, unless we plan on being good little people and entering the Valley with tour groups and risk getting caught running away from them."

"So, we're breaking the law too."

"Is there a problem?" I asked innocently, making Seto smirk sadly. He was still depressed over the loss of my other half, Shiro Tenshi.

"Seto?" I said quietly. "We'll get him back, this I promise you." I leaned my head on his shoulder.

We unloaded our bags and tried to decide what to do for the rest of the day. Seto really wasn't in the mood to see the Giza pyramids, and neither was I, for that matter. But after this was over, I'd want to tour those grand old monuments.

Song of the Chapter:

How Do I Live

Lee Ann Rhymes

How do I,
Get through the night without you?
If I had to live without you,
What kind of life would that be?
 
Oh, I
I need you in my arms, need you to hold,
You're my world, my heart, my soul,
If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything
Good in my life, and tell me now-
 
How do I live without you?
I want to know,
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go,
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?
Without you,
 
There'd be no sun in my sky,
There would be no love in my life,
There'd be no world left for me.
And I,
Baby I don't know what I would do,
I'd be lost if I lost you,
If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything
Real in my life, and tell me now,
 
How do I live without you?
I want to know,
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go,
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?
Please tell me baby,
How do I go on?
 
If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything,
I need you with me,
Baby don't you know that you're
Everything real in my life?
And tell me now,
How do I live without you,
I want to know,
 
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go,
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?
How do I live without you?
How do I live without you baby?