R Amythest: I was being really bored, and I came up with
this idea. . . really, it started since Yami Yugi was getting too nice for a
yami, and Yami Bakura was too abusive. So, I thought about a time when they
might've been different. . . Also, Ryou's and Yugi's scenes take place at
different times. So I put the approximate time next to the scene dividers.
*~*~*5:00 PM
A hard blow came, and the wind whooshed out of his lungs as the child's small
form came crashing down from the blow. The house shook; but the yami did not
care, for the boy's grandfather was away. The child trembled in fear, and
backed away slowly, painfully, and fearfully. But he made no attempt to speak,
as that would mean more blows and more pain. The yami went over the boy,
leering over, feet taller, intimidating him easily (and taking advantage of
it.) He squirmed and tried to minimize his form, trying to disappear.
Yami Yugi towered over his hikari, enjoying the obvious terror of Yugi. Yugi
shook, trembling, right beside the sink's counter. They were in the kitchen,
Yugi was hungry from searching for the Millennium Ankh, and he had wanted to
get a sandwich. No such luck. Yami had obviously wanted something soft to beat
at. Namely, Yugi. No longer amused by the frightened bundle, he strode over to
the utensils drawer, pulling it out to full length. Then he drew out The
Weapon, a sharp, ancient-looking dagger with the tip made of diamond. GENIUNE
diamond, mind you; sharply carved to make a strong, efficient torture tool.
This had been the daily routine for a long time. Funny thing Solomon 'Grandpa'
Mutou didn't notice it. The problem was, Yami Yugi acted like some sort of
guardian angel in front of the elderly man, acting 'sincere' and 'honest' to Yugi.
Grandpa evidently didn't notice the bitter looks Yugi gave the spirit. And Yugi
half-hoped he wouldn't notice, for Yami would surely torture Solomon and kill
him. Making things worse. . . by a lot. Another obstacle was that he was
certainly not stupid; he would only hurt Yugi in areas that did not show or
affect movement- he didn't hurt him in the face, hands, or, just in case, the
midriff, and didn't hurt so much that Yugi had to limp or write with his left
hand instead of his right.
Not that it mattered much. No one really noticed Yugi, no one really knew him.
In school he had no friends, and the teacher didn't pay much attention to him.
In some cases, this was almost advantageous, he could skip an assignment and
not get noticed. Unless it was a big one. But Yami didn't take risks, and that
might've been smart for him, if he were to pull this sceme off.
But there was one
being he couldn't hide anything from- Fate.
Too bad he didn't know that Fate had been watching for the whole two years Yami
had done this. And now, as he smirked at the fear of his hikari, he started
riveting the blade up and down the already damaged skin of Yugi's back. Biting
back screams, he tried to endure this once more.
*~*~*9:00 AM
Yami Bakura woke and looked down into his arms, where Ryou was cuddled up,
making soft sleeping sounds. He sighed and snuggled into the hikari, breathing
in the relaxing scent of his silver hair. "He's so beautiful," he whispered to
himself, gently stroking the child's back, "if only he were purer of heart."
Yami Bakura said this because although Ryou might look innocent, he was rather
a spoiled brat. Not to say he was evil, he was just. . . spoiled. He would be
defiant to the maximum, and quite boastful. Though in truth, he was a coward,
and always will, or would in this case, be.
Ryou's eyes shot open and he glared at his Yami. "What do you MEAN, 'if only he
were purer of heart?!'" he demanded. "Do you say stuffs[1] behind my back all
the time like this?! Huh?!" When Yami Bakura tried to reply, his retort was
drowned out by a series of accusations. "What TYPE of legal guardian are you
anyway?! I should've called Uncle Takahashi[2] to come over instead of letting
you stay out all the time and teach you how to operate and all! At least I know
HE loves me!"
Yami Bakura sighed and grumbled. "Shut it, Ry. Now, tell me, WHO was spying on
me, PRETENDING to be asleep so HE could sleep 'til noon?"
Ryou pouted cutely. It was a trick that always worked. "ME, ya gotta PROBLEM
with that?!"
He groaned. "YES!" he said in exasperation. Shaking his head and sighing again,
he continued, "Never mind, just get downstairs for breakfast."
"Okay!" Ryou shouted as he bounced out of the bed, slammed the door, and ran
downstairs, not bothering to change out of his pajamas. He slammed the door
behind him, leaping down the stairs three at a time, as most 8-year-old kids
did. Except he was 14. Yami Bakura grumbled, selecting choice curses and
changing into some clothes in his soul room. Throwing open the door to the
bathroom, he noticed the Millennium Ring by the sink.
"BOTHER THAT KID!" he shouted out of frustration. He threw the ring halfway
across the room, and it landed with a crash into the toilet. He breathed
heavily before picking it out again. "I wish he were more obedient, I wish he
were," he murmured, "but I just CAN'T discipline him. . . more like I won't. .
." Putting the soaked artifact on his neck, he washed his hands, noticing that
Ryou had kept a salamander in the soap bottle, of course- removing all the soap
first. Growling more, he checked the soap bar that was beside the other sink to
find that it was carved, having the clear words, "joey luvs sea horse."[3] Not
minding the carved soap bar, he rubbed some on and continued washing.
When he was done, he wiped his hands on the towels only to find that they had
evidently been painted- when Yami Bakura removed his hands from the towels,
they were a sea green. Baffled, he looked back up to see a handprint shape of a
lime color. He washed the towel in the sink, and it turned out the towel was
originally yellow- it was colored by some type of aqua dye. Thankfully not
permanent. "RYOU!"
"NOT HOME!" was the reply. Cursing, he washed all the towels by hand. It was
nearly noon when he came back down the stairs, with multi-colored hands.
*~*~*5:30 PM
Yugi bit his lip so hard it bled, as red streaks appeared on his shirt. Yami
Yugi laughed cruelly as Yugi's frail body shuddered and whimpered. Suddenly, a
door slammed, and a cheerful cry of, "Yugi, I'm home!" rang through the house.
"Oh shit," Yami Yugi muttered. He jerked Yugi so that he was facing him. "Not a
word about this! Go upstairs and change, say you're taking a shower!" Yugi
meekly nodded, and Yami Yugi let go of him, quickly washing the dagger and
supplying Grandpa with, "He's taking a shower!" Yugi limped upstairs, making
sure not to spill blood. His other half grabbed a paper towel, wiped up all the
blood on the floor, and threw it into the trash. The door to the kitchen was
opened, and Grandpa walked in. Yami Yugi slipped the dagger into his pocket.
"Hello."
"Hi Yami," he cheerily replied, "why's Yugi taking a shower?"
"He wants to go to bed early, there's an exam tomorrow." He said this mentally,
too, savoring Yugi's deep, depressed sigh.
"Oh, that's nice, good to know he's finally focusing on his studies!" Grandpa
took no notice of the slight grin of satisfaction on the sinister dark's face.
"I guess it's about time to make supper!"
Yugi was upstairs in his room, his ear pressed to the ground, listening. His
wounds were wrapped in gauze, and he had a large, billowy nightgown over
himself, to hide the bulginess of the wrappings. He was, in truth, tired, and
flopped down on his bed. But he didn't want to sleep, and with good reason,
too- his Yami would take the time to do the unimaginable in the curtains of the
dark.[4]
*~*~*1:00 PM
"You forgot to put on the ring. . . didn't I tell you before that I'd weaken if
you didn't wear it?!" Yami Bakura scolded. His arms were crossed, and he stood,
glaring- but barely able to keep this stance.
Ryou stuck out his tongue. "Tha's the point!"
Yami Bakura dropped his arms and exhaled, slightly slouching. "Ryou, I know you
don't like being bossed around, but still. . . you're running too far. . ."
"YOU'RE NOT GOINGS TO DISAPPEA'! WHY D' YA CARE?! THIS STINKS!" And with that,
he jumped up the stairs- still skipping three at a time. Yami Bakura sighed and
took the ring off, looking down at it.
"Sometimes. . . I wish I had a different hikari." He looked out the window,
with the bright sun streaming in. "Fate, Destiny, whoever. . . if you hear me.
. . please make Ryou more agreeable, please?"
And Fate heard.
*~*~*5:30 AM
Every morning, Yugi would wake before his Yami and Grandpa and pray. Yami would
still be asleep, giving him this golden time for privacy. The sun would just be
rising, painting beautiful colors across the sky, the gentle wind playing with
the tops of trees. It was a tranquil, exhilarating scene. Yugi's clouded,
depressed amethyst eyes would sweep across the landscape, and recite the same
prayer,
"Please, great Fate,
Change my role
Of Destiny and Time,
Alter the future,
So it will not be the past."
He had been saying this for almost a year now, and yet, no response. He was
beginning to lose hope in this. Doing this ritual again, with a sigh at the
end, he turned away from the window, almost deprived of spirit. But Fate had
heard often enough, and she decided it was time.
*~*~*11:53 PM
A lady turned around, her emerald-green dress sweeping the floor behind her.
Her blonde curls bounced as she walked over to a large loom. There were
multiple strings attached to each end, every one connecting to another at the
other end, with beads in various places, along with curves. Every now and then,
another would appear on each end, and connect. Glancing around with eyes green
as her dress, she gave a quick glance around, then eyed the time. 11:55.
"And what are you doing here, Fate?" a Dark Magician dressed in dark blue armor
asked, levitating close to her.
"Destiny, you have heard the constant prayers by two of the Millennium Item
holders, haven't you?" Fate, the emerald-dress lady, calmly replied, eyeing the
time. 11:56.
"Ah, so you plan to change their destinies?" Destiny predicted, raising his
staff. If he commanded, more strings would rise out of the right end- more
goals.
"No, Destiny, no use to create more destinies." Fate walked over to the
strings, wincing as one labeled 'Yugi Mutou' tightened, and the bead wavered.
She knew
that the length of the string was the lifespan they had- and the bead was how
close they were to achieving their destined outcome. But it the string snaps
before it is achieved, they were. . . gone. The curves marked rough times of
pain. The one labeled 'Ryou Bakura' released more string in the destiny end,
and the bead went back towards the left end- the disappointment end. And there
were almost no curves, only small slopes now and then, while Yugi's was filled
with sharp turns.
A Time Wizard hovered over. "Who didn't call me to the party? Someone not
getting the right time?" He noticed the extremely tight Yugi string.
Fate cast a glance at the time again. 11:58. "Not now, Time! Only two minutes.
. . I need to switch two people's destinies!"
Destiny raised an eyebrow. "Technically, you're allowed to make curves.
Destinies are my job. Of course, you can't CHANGE curves. . . but you can
switch destinies with Origin's and my consent."
"Get Origin, then!" Fate fretted. A Reborn the Monster[5] floated down.
"Me?"
"YES YOU! Do I have you two's consent to switch destinies?!"
Destiny and Origin locked eyes. "I believe," Destiny said softly, "that it is
for the better." Origin nodded, too.
Fate watched the clock. 11:59. . . 55 seconds. . . 56 seconds. . . Fate's hands
gripped the two destinies. 58. . . 59. . . with one quick motion, Fate pulled
both apart and switched the two.[6] She received a shock and stepped back. The
two strings blended together, each whole again. Midnight chimed, and it
appeared the risky procedure succeeded. Fate panted, but smiled. "It worked. .
."
Destiny grinned. "Good job, Fate."
*~*~*12:00 AM
"No, please. . . stoppit. . . stoppit," Yugi groaned, wriggling under his
Yami's heavy grip. Tears welled up in his eyes and he met his Yami's heartless
gaze. Then there was a flash, and a wave of nausea hit him. He moaned, then
blinked worriedly at his Yami.
"What am I doing?!" Yami Yugi gasped. He got off of his hikari. "I'm so sorry,"
he murmured, gently handing Yugi back his garments, "I must've been out of my
mind. . ." Yugi dressed and looked back at his Yami, blinking again with
confusion. Then he smiled.
"Fate finally helped me. . ."
*~*~*12:00 AM
Yami Bakura was suddenly jerked awake by an occult force and looked down at the
peacefully sleeping Ryou. 'That weakling brat!' he thought, surprised by his
own thought. 'Great. . . and I'm hungry, too.' A wicked smile spread across his
face. 'I love room service.' "Wake up!" he ordered, giving Ryou a light slap.
Ryou's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Whaaaa. . .?" he blearily yawned.
"I SAID get UP and fetch me a midnight snack!" Yami Bakura snapped, pushing
Ryou off the bed and onto the floor with a hoarse "Ow!"
"Get me Ritz crackers with Philly cream cheese! NOW!"
"Why?!" Ryou whined, still rubbing his head from the sudden violent outburst.
He barely dodged the kick.
"'Cause I TOLD YOU, that's why!" his Yami snapped back, making sure to hit him
with the kick this time. "And hurry up or I'll beat you when you get back!"
Ryou swiftly nodded and dashed down the stairs. Yami Bakura grumbled and
snuggled into the covers, a slight smile licking his face. Ryou came back a few
minutes later, without saying a word, of fear he'd wake up the monster inside
his once kind Yami. But Yami Bakura was already asleep, and he didn't want to
wake him up, for the fear of what would happen. He quietly set down the tray on
the nightstand and crawled in with his Yami. And somewhat, it still felt safe.
*~*~*~*~*~*Epilogue*~*~*~*~*~*
Two years. Many things can happen through that amount of time. And particularly in this case...
It's eighth period. The gym teacher blew his whistle. "Okay, change into your gym clothes! On the double!" he barked. Students scurried off into the locker rooms.
"I personally can't wait to do this course," Yugi chatted with his friend, Joey, "doing the limbo on some parts is really easy when you're short."
"Well, I got to be tall and now I think I can't," Joey muttered. "The limbo is for sissies, I like soccer, the man's sport!"
Yugi smiled. He made some friends now that his Yami was kind. Because now he wasn't afraid that Yami Yugi would use them as his playthings. His Yami had really opened up to him, and all that Yugi cared about. Joey, Tea, Tristen, and Ryou- who was a new transfer student during the second semester, freshman year. He was eerily quiet and mysterious... carrying a secret buried within his fading eyes.
But it wasn't quite the time for Yugi to worry about him, here was finally something in Physical Education he could excel at! He grabbed his stuff out of his locker and entered gym class.
For 45 blissful minutes, he was free from the teasing insults that usually showered down on him from his peers, and he was almost sorry it was over.
...almost? That's certainly an euphemism.
Yugi was hot and sweaty after the flexibility course, so he went over to the shower room. The air was moist, it appeared that some showers were in use. But he knew his wasn't taken, no one took it anymore, it was scorching hot and there was a LOT of rust. Who else would use it?
He hung his towel up on the holder and flung back the curtain, only to be met with startled brown eyes belonging to a scarred friend...
*~*~*
The room was silent. Ryou's clouded eyes stared straight down at his lap, his bangs concealing his face. Yugi watched empathetically with sorry eyes. Neither of them spoke, tension all but floating in the air. A curious-looking Fate was hovering above them, unseen, as she was a spirit. 'So the two who have switched have met,' she mused, looking back and forth from Yugi to Ryou.
"Ryou..." Yugi said finally, startling Ryou from his reverie. He jolted up in his seat, looking straight into Yugi's eyes. Blushing furiously, he wiped his tears away, only to slouch over onto the table and let the silent tears roll from his eyes. Yugi quietly went over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I-i-it's okay, you don't have to be scared..." Ryou shuddered from his touch glancing up at him, only to roll his eyes back to staring at the table.
"D-d-d-don't t-t-t-tell, o-on-n-ne-gai," he stuttered through sobs. "H-h-he'll k-k-kill me!"
"Who?" Yugi asked gently, patting Ryou gently on the back.
'You've spilled it now!' Yami Bakura hissed in his mind. Ryou shook his head furiously, his silver hair whipping around. "No one, just..." he groped for a subsitute for 'leave me alone!' "...it's all right!" Close enough, but yet so far.
Yugi hugged Ryou gently. "You can tell me..."
Ryou was shaking now. "I t-t-told you, n-n-nothing's wr-wr-wrong...."
The bell rang, marking the end of ninth period. Ryou
abruptly stood up, out of Yugi's embrace. Wiping the remaining tears away, he
bolted out of the room. Yugi could only sadly shake his head. "Believe me, I'd
know...."
*~*~*
"Home, Grandpa!" Yugi called. His grandpa greeted him with a smile and a nod. Yugi didn't notice too much, as he ran up the stairs and locked himself into his room. He flopped onto his bed. In an almost robotic voice, he said, "So that's where my destiny went."
"What?" Yami Yugi came out of the Puzzle and cocked his head. Then his vision spilt. He could still see the bedroom, but he had another sight, of himself. . . drawing a dagger up and down his hikari's back... demonicly pinning him down to the bed... torturing him... Yami Yugi gulped. Yugi opened his mouth to reply, but Yami Yugi put on finger on Yugi's lips. "Never mind. I remember."
Yugi shuddered again and laid back. "Poor Ryou... he has that ring thing, remember? Isn't there a spirit in that?"
Yami Yugi closed his eyes and held his Hikari in his arms. "We can only hope there isn't."
*~*~*
Ryou limped up the stairs, his vision spinning around him. His body stung, and
he felt like just collapsing on the stairs. 'Maybe I should've just told
Yugi... he is my friend,' he thought.
'Don't you dare think it!' a voice hissed in his mind. Ryou sighed. He reached
the top of the stairs and opened the bathroom door. The room had red and pink
wallpaper like the others; it concealed the blood from the many wounds. Ryou
turned on the shower, taking off his clothes while waiting for the water to
heat up. He looked back at the mirror, laying his eyes again upon the
incriminating evidence of two years of abuse. Almost everything about him had
changed. The marks went deeper than into the flesh, it bit down into his soul.
He sighed, depressed, again, as he stepped into the
steaming veil of water. He closed his eyes, letting his mind blank out and his
tense muscles relax. It was a little on the hot side, which made his wounds
sting, but he didn't care. It shifted his attention away from the razor.
Ryou opened his eyes to find them a bit sticky; he had been unconsciously
crying... again. He reached for the shampoo bottle on the holder, accidentally
slipping and letting the bottle crash onto his twisted ankle.
Doing a small hop with a cry, he bent down to get it, allowing the stinging
rays to spray directly into his wounds, allowing some to bleed again. Gritting
his teeth, he resisted the pain, like how he did for quite a while. Always
going along with whatever Fate tossed at him....
'Hurry up,' the voice hissed again, 'I want to PLAY, my puppet.'
Ryou gulped. He knew what that meant. 'H-ha-hai, Yami.' Quickly rubbing the
shampoo into his hair, he relaxed again. The pain in his back became subtle,
and for a moment, it was like he was suspended in time. But a searing pain in
his back brought him back to reality. Squirming to see his back, it appeared
that shampoo got into the cut. Groaning, he leaned against the shower stall
wall.
'Hurry up, before I have to come out and drag you out!' the voice hissed again.
Ryou briefly nodded and rinsed the rest of the shampoo out. 'Don't bother
dressing...' the voice hissed again. Ryou's muscles tightened, but he nodded
anyway. Drying off, he crept into his room.
*~*~*
And at night, when his Yami was content, Ryou would still look up at the stars,
running his dark eyes along the sky and the horizon, remembering the time his
Yami was kind. Looking upon it, he regretted he took full advantage of it,
being the brat he was. Smiling slightly, he would pray his lesson was over, and
that would be able to savor a taste of heaven again. With him. Though he didn't
know whether to seek that dream, or the other- to just leave the land of
cruelty he had known since the day, when both sides had went too far, and Fate
shifted. To leave to a kinder place, now that he had learned his lesson.
*~*~*Reference
[1] yeah, he sounds sorta like someone who was picked off the streets... I told
you he was a bratty kid...
[2] ^^;; familiar?
[3] Seto/Joey Fans: GO RYOU!
R Amythest: SHUT UP! Oh, sure, you peoples love this part, don't you...
[4] I'm not making it R- it's not graphic! I only mention it once or twice,
too! Um... no, around four times.
[5] I know it looks more like a flag than a creature, just make the ribbons
arms, the part under the ruby-thing a dress, and have legs out of it. And the
ruby can be the collar-thing, and have a light-blue-haired gray-eyed girl's
head over the ruby.
[6] For a bit of clarification... they are broken just to the right of the bead
and put together, so it will not affect the past, just alter the future. Oh,
and it had to be midnight because if it were any other time, it has a greater
risk of impairing their souls. (Hey, maybe I should write something on that!)
*~*~*
R Amythest: *silenece* no, this is not the original version. The original version got chewed out by one of ChibiZoo's judges. ^^;; I think I deserved it, but my ego's lying in a hospital right now. *winces* Ow. But I think this is better... right?
