--Ghost—
Author: Dawn
Rating: G
Warnings/Pairings: Shaadi/Amane, aka Mysteryshipping (though, I guess it's a bit more of Amane/Shaadi, really), no warnings aside from possible head-spins due to the oddness of this pairing
A/N: A challenge to write this pairing spawned this ficlet. I think this is the only Mysteryshipping ficlet in existence. ::chestpuff:: If I'm wrong, feel free to point me in the direction of another. I'd really like to see another one. ï Anyway, beware this may cause your head to spontaneously combust from the oddness of this pairing/scenario. And, yes, both Ryou and Yami no Bakura are left out on purpose, aside from being mentioned. Excuse the slight un-canonness that is Shaadi (I really don't know WHAT he is...). Murr....Enjoy, review, all that jazzy stuff. They feed the ego :D
Disclaimer: Dawn doesn't own Yuugiou or any related aspects.
Song of the Moment: How to Be Dead—Snow Patrol
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Ryou Bakura's mind was like nothing Shaadi had ever seen. It appeared normal enough—a simplistic room filled with bookshelves, pictures of the father he never saw, the sister he'd lost, a corner dedicated to table top games—with nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. Yet, out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw the flitter of a shadow, the shift of a shape...it appeared to be a door, but every time he looked at it head-on, it was gone.
He had entered the Bakura's "soul room" when boy's back was turned, sensing powerful and unusual energies coming from him and wanting to decipher what they meant. But, there appeared to be nothing...
A glint of something appeared out of the corner of his eye. Not the disappearing door...something...lighter. An airy giggle reached his ears and he swiftly strode around a bookshelf to see...
A girl?
She waved at him cheerfully, her long silver-white hair swaying behind her slightly. She was dressed normally--a plain t-shirt, pants, and bare feet--but that wasn't what rose Shaadi's eyebrow. It was the fact that her entire body, clothes and all, seemed to almost glow with a constant and iridescent shine. He clenched the Ankh a bit tighter, but he could sense no magical energies, nor any energy at all from this child. She wasn't what he had sensed earlier...but...
"Who are you?" He asked, his tone flat but his mind turmoiled. How did a girl get into this boy's mind? He hadn't seen this happen before. Not only that, but she looked vaguely familiar...
"Amane," she said, her voice lightweight and almost melodical. "My name is Amane. How did you get here?" Her tone was one of pure curiosity that took Shaadi by surprise. Wasn't she frightened in the least? Someone was intruding on the boy's mind she inhabited, the boy who...
Her brother. It clicked in his mind, suddenly. He had seen her face in one of the faded, yellow pictures on the bookshelf. But, the way he had seen it...
"Why are you still alive?" He asked, ignoring her question. She smiled a bit brighter, her voice carrying a light laugh.
"I'm nothing but a memory, kept alive by letters and an undying hope." She smiled distantly, as though remembering something joyful, a hand rested on her chest. "My dear brother..."
"How is this possible?' Shaadi continued, his voice as deadpan as before. "I have not seen this happen before..."
"Ah, you don't know my dear Ryou-chan...he loves me, and his love kept me attached to this world, if only in his mind...in return, I protect him..." Amane trailed off.
"Protect him?"
"Yes...from HIM. He won't leave Ryou-chan alone, but I make sure he doesn't hurt Ryou-chan...even though I can't stop him..." She rested a hand against the wall and Shaadi was surprised to see it 'ghost' right through. "I am only a memory, after all..."
"Who is 'he'?" Shaadi inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him, though his tone never changed.
Amane sighed, her brow furrowing into a frown. "An evil man...his heart is so cold...so dead...it hurts to even touch him..." She paused a moment before walking over to him, her bare feet making no noise on the ground. "But...you feel...different..."
She lifted a hand, resting it on Shaadi's chest lightly, her eyes widening as she saw it did not pass through his robes. "You are..."
He gently lifted the hand from his chest, his expression as empty as ever. "Yes, I suppose I am different. Tell me, who is this one with a cold heart?"
"It doesn't matter," Amane said quickly, her eyes shining with a mix of awe and joy. "Don't you understand? We're the same! I'm not alone..." Her hands came to rest on his shoulders and he flinched slightly under the touch, not used to physical contact. Yet, looking down at her, her face shining with open happiness, he couldn't help but soften slightly.
"I suppose..." he said, his voice a bit quieter. Someone like him? He'd never considered that possibility. What was he but an enigma, keeper of the Items and protector of the fates of darkness? There couldn't be anyone like him...and yet...
She was a memory...barely any more existent than he...protecting the thing she cared most about...
"I suppose..." he repeated. She beamed brilliantly at him and he quirked an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"For a moment there..." Amane said softly, gazing up at him with unblinking emerald eyes. "You looked so...happy."
Shaadi visited Ryou Bakura's mind many times after that.
--Owari--