KK, its a prologue so its a bit shorter then my other stories.
SUMMARY: I'm basically rewriting Ryou's childhood and giving Ryou a similar experience to Bakura's when he was a child. So when they meet? It's more like seeing double. How will they handle this? Chaos.
Ryou burst out of the gaping black hole that used to be the entry of an apartment complex. Fire and smoke flooded out behind him. He stumbled, his arms covering his head. His face was dirty and his shirt and hair were covered with ashes and dust. An explosion vibrated through the air and jolted the ground, causing Ryou to fall forward. Arms outstretched, he landed hard on his elbows and his face slammed against the ground. Flames reached out like greedy fingers, trying to drag him back into the burning nightmare that stained the night red.
He got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his legs and the numb electricity spreading in his right arm, and turned to face the plumes of fire consuming his home. No sooner had he gotten to his feet when a second explosion shook the building and the door, the only means of escape, collapsed. People were gathering, dashing out from their own apartments, gasping in shock. Even as they surrounded him, he had never felt more alone.
His pain fueled anger at the crowds of people. He wanted to yell at them all, "Don't just stand like there's nothing you can do! There are people in there!" Not just people. Everyone he loved was in there; His mother and his sister; His friends. But he found that he couldn't tell them. His voice wouldn't form the words he needed. He could only stand in shock as his life was devoured by the searing heat and dancing flames.
Sirens wailed distantly, coming to the rescue, but too late for Ryou. He could hear the voices of people he knew, crying for help inside the burning building. The ones who hadn't made it out before the door had caved in. Their voices were small and almost nonexistent over the deafening roar of the massive fire. He collapsed back to his knees and his hands dropped to the ground limply. His eyes gazed disbelieving at the smoke, spiraling into the sky. Signaling the destruction of his family.
He tried to cry. He wanted the tears to come. He wanted to let out the unbearable sadness and pain. It was like a weight, a burden that he severely wanted to be lifted off his shoulders. But it was like he had no tears to give; like he couldn't let himself have the satisfaction of grieving for his lost friends and family. He closed his eyes to the flames, their ghostly reflection shimmering on the inside of his eyelids. And he hung his head miserably, his face crumpled in the pain he couldn't find a way to express.
A few yards away, a woman stood gazing at the destruction. She covered her mouth in a silent gasp. Her own apartment was across the street and she couldn't help but feel gratitude that the gang who had done this hadn't set her own building on fire. They had no right to destroy people's property like this! The police who had arrived a few minutes ago had told her that this was the third building they'd set on fire in a week. They seemed to have no motive, except to burn things for the sake of burning them.
Her eyes strayed away from the burning building and scanned the crowds instinctively for anyone who might need help. People stood in clumps, trying to comfort one another. Many were crying, some just stared in dumbfounded awe. People from the neighboring apartments were talking around, figuring out the details of who might still be inside and who had made it out. It was hard to see in the dark with the smoke obscuring her vision and the glare from the flames casting dark flickering shadows in every which way. But she could see well enough to make out a young white-haired boy. He was behind the biggest section of the crowds, kneeling in their shadows as though he was one. She frowned sadly, sympathetic for his forlorn look. He was covered from head to toe in ashes and his shirt and pants were slightly burned. She realized that he must have been one who had escaped before the doorway collapsed. Quickly, she began to make her way over to him through the mobs of people.
After a few minutes of maneuvering the crowds, she reached where the boy was sitting. He hadn't moved an inch since she first saw him. He just knelt there, staring at nothing in particular. She stood before him for a minute, waiting to see if he would even acknowledge that she was there. When he didn't, she knelt down by him. She winced when she saw a particularly bad burn on his right arm. It was red and blistery and she knew that it would probably scar. A marring flaw to forever remind him of this night. She tried to look at his face, which was mostly covered by his soot-blackened hair, but it was too shadowy to make out any details. She realized that he couldn't have been a year older then eight.
What a tragedy for one to have to go through so young, she thought compassionately. She hoped that his family had gotten out of the building okay. She couldn't see his eyes, but he didn't seem to be crying so maybe he was just trying to accept the fire in general. Of course it was possible he was in shock. She should probably move him to the road so that he could be one of the first ones into an ambulance. He was too young to sit out here alone. And with that burn, he needed some treatment as soon as possible.
The woman sat, at a loss of what to do for the child who insisted on completely ignoring her. She hesitantly reached out a hand to place comfortingly on his shoulder, but as soon as she moved towards him, he jerked away from her suddenly. She jumped at the abrupt reaction.
Ryou glared at the woman first, then at her hand. The stranger pulled her hand away so fast, it was as though she were reaching out to stroke a dog that was suddenly baring its teeth at her. Ryou took grim satisfaction at her reaction. He didn't want her help. He was fine…they should have helped his family. She should be helping them. Maybe they could still get out of the building before it was too late, but instead she was sitting here with him. Why was she? He looked away from her and stood angrily. His eyes burned with unshed tears.
"Ok, hold on." The woman followed Ryou's example and stood. "Wait…" She said again as Ryou was turning away from her, ignoring her patient calls. Totally wrapped in his own thoughts, he walked away from the fire and the woman. "Hey! Hold on for just a minute!" She lunged forward and grabbed the boy's arm before he could walk away. He whipped around and snatched his arm away from her like she was poisonous. She pulled back, realizing she had grabbed his burnt arm by mistake. His eyes were glaring at her, accusing her. She looked at his face. It was angry and held more emotional pain then she had thought possible in one who had seen so little of life. She couldn't understand why he was acting this way. Unless…maybe his family hadn't gotten out after all.
"You should at least wait until the Fire trucks get here. They might still be able to get them out." She said, trying to give him some hope. His face didn't change, and his eyes narrowed in frustration and accusing anger. He couldn't be blaming her for the loss of his family, could he?
"You can't blame anyone for this. The fire just spread too quickly…you shouldn't hold a grudge against people who don't deserve it. Its no ones fault that they didn't make it out. You should be grateful that you made it out safely." She caringly explained to him. She felt that she needed to make him understand. Things like this happened, and he needed to accept it.
He backed away from her a few steps, his eyes hateful. "I blame everyone." He growled at her in a way totally unbefitting of an eight-year-old, and then turned swiftly away and walked off into the smoke-thickened night. She watched until she lost sight of him as he entered the line of trees surrounding the local park. She thought about going after him. He was too young to be wandering and his arm really did need to be looked at. But his words at thrown her, and she rejected the idea. What had he meant? Could he have been serious about blaming everyone for this?
The Fire Trucks were just arriving, pulling up and spraying the apartment down with their giant hoses. The water doused the flames bit by bit and the smoke belched out in great clouds. They sent rescue teams in, but she knew that there was no hope of them finding anyone alive. It was just a feeling, yet she knew it was true.
She hoped that the little boy would be okay. After all, he was so small. He would probably go to some family living near by. She was sure he would accept the loss, however great. He just needed some time.
REVIEW PLEASE! IT MAKES 'KURA AND RYOU HAPPY!
As always, it may CHANGE if I reread it and see something that I don't like.
VISIT my profile to see what's coming soon and to read my other fanfics! (They're all about Ryou and Bakura so far cuz they're my favorite! But I have some about Yugi and also some about the whole Yu-Gi-Oh gang coming as well...)