I don't own Yugioh. I'm just playing on the monkey bars.

Beta'd by my writing partner, Kitty.

Warnings: Shonen Ai, Het, Yaoi, Abuse, S&M, Lime

There will be a special warning if a scene becomes more graphic than I am currently intending for this story. I will also provide an author's note in the story stating, "Here there be dragons," indicating that, from here, you proceed at your own risk, or to skip ahead to the next scene. Any vital information will be repeated elsewhere in the story.

Pairings: Ryou x Bakura, Ryou x OC, Seto x Joey, Yugi x Many

This story is dedicated to my Uncle Tim, who died of aids before he could realize his dream of becoming a professional writer.

Author's notes: First, I would like to thank everyone who gave such kind reviews for my last story, All Hollow's Eve. It has been so long since I've had anyone comment on my writing that I can't begin to say what they mean to me. bows at the waist Domo Arigato Gozaimasu.

Also, for those of you who have read my one-shot, All Hollow's Eve, this is its companion story. Enjoy, and please, don't feed the Kuribous. They tend to multiply. Later.

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A Midsummer's Eve

By

Leilith Dakforest

Prologue

Farewell Bakura

Moonlight pooled on the worn brown carpet, reflecting off the facets of the millennium ring where it rested peacefully on the little table. The leaves of the gardenia plant shivered in the cool night breeze, the threadbare curtains shifting before the open apartment window. A single bloom looked out upon the full moon and the view of Kaiba Corp Headquarters in the distance. Even from here, the entwined KC of their logo could be clearly discerned amid the many lights of midnight Domino.

From that single bloom, a single petal fell, only to be swept up by the wind. Drifting languidly into the room, it came to rest on the sandy colored bed sheets, almost silver in the moonlight. The sheets swelled upward, and the petal was thrown off to drift serenely to the floor, alighting on a thin, pale sweater. A sharp gasp lingered in the air as the sheets shifted again, rolling gently like the waves on the sea.

There, above the sandy horizon, course strands of silver spilled down to graze the soft material, spreading out like rivers across alabaster skin and toned muscle. The sheets continued to move languidly, billowing forth and falling back, rippling with the motion. A whimpering moan drifted up from the pillows and a small, frail hand reached up to burry itself in the course, sweat damp tresses. Its companion dug deeply into the flesh of the muscled back.

Bakura continued his slow, tender movements; his gaze riveted on the array of emotions playing themselves out, so plainly, on his hikari's beautiful face: adoration, love, pain, pleasure, need, trust, pain, ecstasy. Ryou gasped and arched beneath his yami, clinging desperately as his eyes rolled back into his head, the sensations so intense, yet oh so gentle. Sweat trickled down his temple and pooled in the little hollow running between his nose and upper lip.

Grinning predatorily, Bakura leaned down to take that lip into his mouth, tasting the exquisite, salty essence. He nipped sharply at the tender skin, tasting blood and enticing up a needy whimper from his timid counterpart. Licking and sucking lightly on the broken flesh, he leaned down further, trailing kisses over his hikari's jaw and down the side of his throat. Ryou's hand again found Bakura's hair, and fisted there as he felt the sharp teeth bite down on the arch of his shoulder, crying out even as he opened himself further to his life, his darkness, his love.

Time did not matter as their gentle grunts, moans, cries and gasps danced together in the air around them, growing slowly in urgency, though they were never hurried. Panting soon joined them as the rippling of the sheets became more pronounced, billowing upward as the frail one struggled and cried beneath the onslaught of powerful feeling and emotion, helpless as they continued to grow in strength and intensity. Tears streamed over his moon pale skin while tender lips and sharp, gentle teeth plucked them from his face.

There was no sudden scream, nor desperate thrashing to mark the night's climax, only a sudden stillness and a piercing, silent scream. Slowly, Bakura lowered himself down, nuzzling his still young hikari's face, rumbling in his chest as Ryou burrowed into the hollow between his neck and shoulder. Slowly, he rolled them onto their sides, and cradled his light close, drawing Ryou's leg up over his hip, maintaining their union, uninterrupted.

They lay there for some time, Ryou clinging to his darkness, while Bakura ran his free hand over Ryou's shoulder, arm, side, hip, anywhere he could reach. At rhythmic intervals he would grip the young, pale flesh, so hard that he left bruises in his wake. He savored the little mews and almost timid moans that he was able to entice from his lover's throat with these gestures, all the while rumbling soothingly in his chest.

Finally, Ryou emerged from his burrow in Bakura's shoulder, and leaned back just enough to gaze into his lover's eyes, the moon reflected in his own. Smiling almost wonderingly, he reached up to brush his fingers over Bakura's face, ghosting them over the yami's hardened features. How Ryou blessed the day he had admitted his innermost feelings for his yami, the ones that he had kept hidden for so long. Ever since that day, during the battle city finals, everything began to change, and he had never been happier.

Now, they were home, free at last from the terrors of the Orichalcos. With the loss of Yugi, Yami had been left vulnerable, and a few harsh, but well chosen words from Bakura had found their mark better than anything anyone else had said to the Pharaoh. In a single breath, Bakura had forced the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle to examine the truth of what had happen that caused him to lose Yugi to the seal, forced him to acknowledge the core of it, and given him the fire he needed to rescue his hikari, regardless of the cost to himself.

Since then, an understanding, if not an alliance, had been forged between the two ancient spirits. Though they were, by definition, enemies, they now tolerated each other easily when in the same space, so long as they were not engaged in combat. Understanding the extent to which the Orichalcos was a threat had spurred the Tomb Raider to join the fight, and though they were never fighting side by side, there was something there that developed between the two spirits. That something, whatever it was, existed even now, after the Orichalcos' defeat, and the Lost King of Atlantis had returned home.

And here they were, sharing in their love, and for the first time in his life, Ryou felt safe, felt home. He let himself drown in his yami's eyes, taking in the clarity that they held now, the peace. Squeezing Bakura's hips with his legs, he settled himself down again, and began to trace absent patterns on the toned, alabaster chest before him. He sighed, content.

"I still can't believe it's finally over," he murmured at last, his voice as gentle as the wind stirring the air in their room.

"What is, Beloved?" Bakura's low, grating voice soothed over Ryou's skin.

"We don't have to be afraid anymore. The Orichalcos is gone. The Leviathan has been sealed. The oldest, and greatest of the shadow monsters has been defeated. All those souls have finally been aloud to find their rest. It's so nice, knowing that I don't have to worry about looking over my shoulder anymore, waiting for the next calamity to fall on us." Ryou smiled, his voice drifting as his eyes grew heavy. His hand still continued to draw lazy circles on his lover's chest.

"It's not over yet." Bakura's voice was monotone, distant. Ryou smiled.

"I know. Yami still needs to recover his memories. But we already have everything we need for that. That will be easy enough," Ryou's eyes continued to weigh him down and eventually fell closed. "We don't even need to get involved…" he trailed off as sleep reached out to embrace him. A moment later, his drifting hand leaned limply against Bakura's chest. A large, strong hand reached out to hold it, lifting himself up onto his elbow as he carefully freed himself from his Hikari. Looking down into Ryou angelic face, Bakura's eyes were dark and troubled. Slowly, he lifted Ryou's small hand to press it to his lips.

"You will never know, Beloved, just how much I wish that were true."

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The stone bridge trembled beneath their feet as Zork continued to wreak havoc on the kingdom above. Around them, the darkness of the cavernous room writhed with the subtle presence of Shadow. Their own voices echoed around them, reflecting back upon them again and again. The air was heavy with the tension of combat, the knowledge that this duel, this fight, here and now, could be the deciding factor in everything. How the pharaoh faired above was irrelevant if Yugi could not win his name in combat. Before him, Bakura laughed manically as he summoned still more Necro Wall tokens to his side of the field.

"Bakura PLEASE! Stop this!" Ryou cried, his voice ragged and hoarse as he fell to his knees, his now desperate pleas falling on deaf ears. How could this be happening? Why? Why was Bakura doing all this? He had thought they were past this. He thought…

"Save your breath, Ryou. That bastard's been toying with us since the beginning!" Tristan barked, his voice thick with hatred now that he had been released from the Tomb Raider's possession.

"No!" Ryou pleaded, looking around at them helplessly, "Please! This isn't Bakura! I know it isn't! Yugi, Please!" Tears flowed freely over Ryou's white face as he turned back to the duel. This couldn't be happening. Oh God, Please, this couldn't be happening!

Bakura sneered as he looked over his opponent's shoulder at the filthy, pathetic youth on the ground behind him. "You were always so pathetic, Ryou. Always so needy and pitiful." The spirit's voice turned high and mocking, "Oh, Bakura, I love you so much, hit me again! HAH! You're weak! Poor little Ryou, all alone in the world. Not even his own friends understand him. Face it, your nothing more than a container, Ryou, a puppet, a marionette bound to my strings. You mean less than nothing to me, Brat! You're an albatross around my neck that I must tolerate because I need your body. But you have outlived your usefulness, and when I am done here, I will show you just how much I care!"

"No! Bakura, you can't mean…"

"That's ENOUGH!" Yugi shouted, moving to place himself between Bakura and Ryou. "Your battle is here, with me, Bakura, and no one else!" The spirit sneered.

"Oh, how cute."

Behind him, Ryou fell forward onto his hands and knees, stricken by his Yami's cruel words. Tea knelt by his side, but he did not see her.

"Please. Please stop this. Please oh please…" Ryou whimpered on, wrapping his hands around his chest, rocking himself as he cried.

"Come on Yuge, wipe da floor wit' him!" Joey screamed, every aspect of his being radiating hatred and The Fight. "I know there's gotta be somet'ing in dat deck of yours dat can beat 'em!"

"FOOL!" Bakura roared. "This duel is already over. The end has come! The world as you know it is about to end, and the reign of Zork shall cover all the lands in eternal darkness. You've lost, Yugi! And with you banished to the Shadow Realm, the Pharaoh will never receive his true name and all his efforts will be in vain." With that, Bakura ended his turn, and sneered at Yugi. "I knew it all along, of course. You never had a chance. Without your precious pharaoh, you are just as pathetic as that brat on the floor behind you. You're nothing, Yugi, and you have lost!"

"Don't listen to him, Yugi. We're all here, right behind you. We believe in you. Take him DOWN!" Tea shouted from where she knelt next to Ryou, her hand still on his shoulder.

"Yeah, Yuge. Mop da floor wit' him! That traitor is just tryin' to psych ya out, Man. You're da greatest duelist d'ere is. You're da King of Games, an' you ain't ever lost a duel yet! You can beat him. Remember, it ain't over yet till da Fat Lady sings!" Joey cheered, thrusting his fist into the air, willing his friend to win, Tristan right there at his side. On the floor, Ryou had never felt more lost and alone as he looked up at the duel again, at the cruel smile playing itself over Bakura's face.

"I'm only being honest with you, Yugi. I've been there ever since the beginning, remember. Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, the Orichalcos. Every duel you ever fought that had anything at all on the line was fought by the Pharaoh, while you hid behind him, clinging to the hem of his shirt like the child you are. The Pharaoh is the true King of Games, and you're just his lackey."

Yugi found his gaze dropping to the backs of his monsters on the field. Could Bakura be right? No! He's not! Yet… He always thought that he was with Yami during all those duels, standing strong at his side. Now, though, he realized that he's always just been chasing after him, trying vainly to reach what Yami was, and always, always being left behind.

Suddenly, Yugi jerked as he heard someone call out his name, far away. Darkness enveloped his vision, and was replaced with the royal palace, now little more than ruins as Zork devoured the remains of the Egyptian Gods. Then he saw Yami, the Pharaoh, falling to his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face. And as he felt himself reach out toward that image, he heard Yami's voice, heard him begging, praying.

"I can't do this. I can't do this, Yugi. Help me. Yugi, I need you, please. I can't do this without you."

As Yugi looked on at the fallen pharaoh, he felt his resolve return. No, he wouldn't accept this. Bakura hadn't won yet, and he will not win. He had promised the Pharaoh that he would find his name and bring it back to him, and that is exactly what he intended to do. As the vision began to fade, he called out to his Pharaoh.

"Hang in there, Yami. I'm coming." Then it was gone, and he stood upon the stone bridge once more, staring down the traitorous Spirit of the Millennium Ring.

"You're wrong, Bakura. You've never understood what the Pharaoh and I share, and you never will. I will defeat you. Yami needs me, right now! I've got better things to do than to waist my time with the likes of you!" Behind him, he heard his friends cheering him on. Yet, beneath their cheers, he heard something else as well, and felt his heart break. 'Forgive me, Ryou. I'm sorry.'

Bakura threw his head back, laughing, as Yugi drew the last card in his deck. "Is that so, Little Yugi? Then tell me, what the hell do you expect to do with one card? This duel is over." He said, rocking back onto his heals and folding his arms, waiting, amused, to see what the little hikari would do next. Yugi looked down at his last card, and smiled.

"I sacrifice Marshmallon and Silent Magician to the card graveyard, and Summon to the field, Gandora, The Dragon of Destruction!" Yugi cried, and with a grand gesture, slapped his last card onto the field.

"What!"

"Way to go, Yuge!"

"Take him down, Yugi!"

"We believe in you!"

Yugi looked on at his opponent, taking in Bakura's shock as the dragon appeared on the field. "It's never over, Bakura, until the last card is played. And now, I have the power to defeat you, once and for all!" Bakura covered his shock with his menacing sneer.

"Is that right, little Yugi? I wonder, though, just how you intend to do this, when I have twelve monsters on the field, and you only have one."

"Like this! I activate Gandora's special effect, 'Boundless Giga Rays!'" Yugi thrust his hand outward as the dragon took flight, unleashing its devastating attack on Bakura's monsters, destroying them all in a single assault. Bakura had to fight not to be thrown back, shielding himself with his duel disk. The dragon settled back into its place at Yugi's side of the field and the winds fell silent.

Bakura lowered his arms, and looked on as the dragon vanished from the field, sent to the graveyard as a consequence of its special effect. The spirit started to tremble, his body shaking as his head fell forward. Behind Yugi, his friends began to cheer and celebrate. Ryou could not take his eyes off his yami, his heart strangling in his chest. Suddenly, Bakura threw his head back and released a howling, maniacal laughter. Joey demanded to know what's so funny. Bakura looked across the field at Yugi again.

"You are a fool, Yugi! This game is over and you have lost. My life points are intact, and you have no more monsters on your field. You're last card has been sent to the graveyard, and you have nothing more to play!" With a flourish, Bakura bowed mockingly to Yugi. "Enjoy your 'victory', Fool! It is your last!"

Ryou watched, despairing, as the other's realized the truth of the traitor's words. He could not take his eyes off his Yami as he began to rise from his bow, though tears blinded his vision. Suddenly, Bakura jerked, and a new, evil laughter filled the chamber as Bakura appeared to struggle with something. Everyone watched, confused and alert, as Bakura screamed, throwing his head back as black smoke poured out from his mouth, nose and eyes, gathering as a writhing cloud in the air. A black face made itself known in the smoke before it dispersed, the echoing laughter dying with it.

Ryou found himself unable to breath, body tense as he watched the smoke rise up from Bakura, unable to take his eyes from the spirit's face. He saw the exhaustion begin to take form there, but more than that, he saw the first hints of sorrow, shame, and regret. That was all the incentive Ryou needed. Heedlessly, he lunged forward, flying across the field to catch Bakura as his knees gave out and he collapsed onto the stone bridge. He was only barely aware of the others calling out his name.

"Bakura! Bakura are you all right? Answer me, 'Kura. Please. Speak to me." Ryou cried, tears flowing anew as he cradled his darkness against his chest, stroking back the coarse hair from his face. Desperately, he leaned in to kiss him deeply, his tears smearing between their cheeks, trying anything he could think of to bring his lover back. "Bakura, please. Please don't leave me. I love you. I need you. Please, come back!"

Across the bridge, the others all watched the scene play out before them, surprised at the vehemence in Ryou's voice, and uncertain of where they now stood. Yugi still held his duel disk suspended before him. The pharaoh's hikari needed only to imagine himself in Ryou's position to feel hot tears spilling past his own cheeks. Suddenly, Yugi caught a movement from Bakura, and watched as the yami slowly lifted his hands toward Ryou's face, sinking his fingers in the soft strands of silver silk he found there.

Ryou choked out a relieved cry and buried his face in his lover's hair, sobbing. Bakura looked torn between his joy at being with Ryou again, the need to care for his hikari, and intense shame, sorrow, and regret over what had just taken place, and everything he had done. Looking over to meet Yugi's eyes, he shifted himself forward and took Ryou into his arms, holding the youth close. Yugi waited, patiently, his duel disk still suspended before him. Behind him, Yugi's friends all seemed at a loss, waiting instead to see what would happen next.

Finally, Ryou calmed enough for his sobs to abate, but did not release his hold on Bakura's chest and shoulders, face still burred in the hollow of his neck. Satisfied, Bakura turned his attention to Yugi across the field. Yugi stepped forward, neither hatred nor forgiveness written in his features. His expression was unreadable, his judgment reserved.

"Care to explain, Bakura."

Bakura wrapped his arms tighter around his hikari, but did not take his eyes from Yugi, his shame and his regret written plainly for the Pharaoh's Vessel to see. When he spoke, there was no great strength in his voice, no pride, no hatred. There was only defeat.

"I hated him," The Yami started quietly, "the pharaoh who ordered the destruction of my village. My people were slaughtered in the night: men, women, children; even our dogs and our cattle. Nothing was spared. The priest summoned something in our village that night, and used its power to fashion the Millennium Items. It did not like being summoned, and resented being so close to this world, yet so far away." Bakura's gaze grew distant as he looked into the past, analyzing, perhaps for the first time, what had truly happened to him that night.

"It must have been while the items were being created. Perhaps it chose me because my family's blood was among that used to summon it. Perhaps it was because I was the only survivor. Regardless, I heard a voice speaking to me in my hiding place. It said it didn't have much time. It said that it had great power, power it would grant me. It said it would help me avenge my people's slaughter. Did I want revenge?

"I had watched as they raped my mother before murdering her, heard my sister's screams as she was defiled. I hated them all. I accepted its offer. The hatred I felt that day never left me, never weakened. It was with me always, a dark, crimson fog in my thoughts. I later learned that it was that same hatred that the voice had anchored itself to, and as I grew stronger, so did my hatred, and so did its connection to me." Bakura hung his head, leaning in to rest his temple on Ryou's hair.

"Five thousand years is a long time to hate. I began to hear the voice again, while I was trapped. It told me of what must be done, of what I needed to do. I did not question it. I willing obliged its wishes, as they meshed so nicely with my own." He turned to speak to his Hikari. "You save me, Ryou. Do you know that? You taught me what friendship was, and love. I didn't want to follow its orders after that. I resisted it, and, I think, it let me, while we fought the Orichalcos. But afterwards, I heard its voice even stronger, but I told it that I was not its pawn anymore. It… proved me wrong. By the time the Pharaoh had descended into this world, I could not control the hatred that the thing had fired up in me. I couldn't hear you, Ryou. I couldn't see you, see anything but the hatred." Bakura fell silent after that, burying his face in Ryou's hair.

"And now?" Yugi pressed.

"Now it is done," Bakura said, his voice harsh once more, a deep pain in his gaze as he turned back to the Pharaoh's hikari. "I have fulfilled its purpose for me. It is finished. Zork… has won." Yugi looked long at Ryou's Darkness, his usually kind gaze hard, measuring and passing judgment. Judging… it was something Yugi never did, but here, knowing what must happen, he needed to know. He needed to decide, and accept the weight of that decision, whatever I may be. His honor, his heart, would never mend if he allowed himself to summarily dismiss Bakura out of hand.

The feather weighed the scale down and Yugi closed his eyes, accepting the burden of what must be done, alone.

"You're wrong, Bakura." He said simply. With that one breath, he stilled the entire chamber. His friends stopped fretting behind him, their panicky voices silenced. Ryou stopped his trembling in Bakura's arms. Indeed even his breath had ceased as he waited for Yugi's next words. Bakura looked sharply up into the Game King's eyes, half hopeful, half disbelieving.

"How do you mean?" he demanded, hoarsely.

Yugi opened his eyes to look on at the pair before him, and felt his heart break for them both. He wondered if he would be able to bear the weight of what must be done, or if it would destroy him. He looked Bakura in the eyes.

"I believe you, Spirit of the Millennium Ring, but this 'thing' is not over yet. Ryou… I'm sorry." Yugi's voice fell to something less than a whisper, carried only by the absolute silence that filled the chamber beneath the pharaoh's tomb. Bakura's eyes widened, his shock the only thing that allowed Ryou to escape his grasp. With lightening movements, Ryou stood, defiant, before Bakura, arms outstretched.

"NO! I won't let you, Yugi. I won't let you banish him!" He screamed, a fire in his eyes that Yugi had never seen before.

"Ryou," Yugi tried, reaching for his fellow.

"No Yugi! I won't let you. You'll have to take me to, do you hear me. You'll have to kill us both!"

"Stop this Ryou!" Bakura said, but Ryou just whirled upon his rising yami.

"I won't! Don't you understand, Bakura? I can't go on without you. I…" Ryou was silenced by Bakura's strong arms around his waist and hard lips devouring his. Over Ryou's shoulder, Bakura looking into Yugi's eyes, and was understood. Yugi turned to look at Joey and Tristan. Bakura turned his gaze on his light. He pulled away just enough to speak.

"I should have told you, My Hikari, every day, long before now… I love you, Ryou. You saved me. Ever since that day, atop Kaiba's blimp, the hatred has never been the same, and before I realized it, it began to slip away from me." Bakura shifted his hands to Ryou's upper arms, gently, before steadily clamping down on them so hard that Ryou had to fight not to cry out. The hikari's gaze did not waver, did not turn away from Bakura's intense gaze. As Bakura spoke, his hands tightened down even further, and Ryou did once complain.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Ryou, a blessing for which I am unworthy, a gift I do not deserve. There isn't a moment that has passed since our first union that I have not regretted every time I made you feel lost and afraid. You are strong, Ryou: stronger than you give yourself credit for: stronger than, I think, you will ever truly realize. I will never forget you, Ryou." Before Ryou could respond to that, he pulled his hikari forward into a crushing, bruising kiss, biting down on Ryou's lips hard enough to fill their mouths with blood. A tremulous whimper struggled up in Ryou's throat as he leaned into Bakura's kiss, only to be swallowed by Bakura's lips. Hot tears spilled over Ryou's swollen cheeks as he closed his eyes.

Then Bakura was gone. He lost his footing, and felt himself falling, only to land on strange, unfamiliar arms. Ryou looked up to find himself leaning against Joey and Tristan, blood coating his mouth, oozing down over his chin from the broken flesh. Joey was so enraged at the sight that he almost lost his grip on the hikari when he turned, struggling to get away, to stop Yugi, to protect Bakura. However, regardless of how strong he was in spirit, Ryou's body had always been weak. All he could do was struggle against the teens' unyielding grips, screaming at the top of his lungs for them to stop, for Yugi to please not do this. Behind Yugi, Tea could only watch as Ryou struggled and screamed, blood trickling over his chin and falling to the floor.

Bakura stood at his end of the field, arms lowered to his sides. Both he and Yugi staunchly put Ryou out of their minds. Yugi was right. This thing was not yet finished. It was only then, as Bakura turned his gaze back onto the field, that he realized that Yugi's Silent Swordsman had returned to the field, with an attack of 4500. It was more than enough to wipe out all of Bakura's life points. Then he smiled, and remembered. Gandora had been sent to the graveyard, and that had released the seal on the Swordsman. Closing his eyes, Bakura breathed and accepted his fate. He looked out onto his opponent again, his eyes again the eyes of a yami. A small, peaceful smile pulled at his lips.

"Listen to me, Yugi. Zork is an incredibly dangerous opponent. More so than anything else you've ever faced before. You must be cautious. The magic around this chamber has protected us from the assault on the Kingdom above, but with the end of this duel, that magic will also disappear." Yugi nodded.

"I understand."

"Good. Then take what it is you have fought so hard for, Game King. His name… is Atemu." A great pain settled itself over Yugi's features as he closed his eyes, bowing his head. He would not cry. He could not cry. It was not over yet. He was needed. He had to be strong. Straightening himself again, Yugi squared his shoulders and looked across the bridge at he whom Yugi would have been proud to call friend. Bakura smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry for all the damage I have caused, Yugi. Please, tell the pharaoh that for me. I know 'sorry' will never be enough but…" Yugi cut him off.

"You're wrong again, Bakura." Yugi said, smiling regretfully at him, "Sorry, if meant from the heart, is always enough." Yugi held out his duel disk. "Are you ready?"

"NO! Yugi please, don't do this, please!" Ryou screamed, struggling harder than ever against his two friends. "Bakura, Please, just forfeit. It's not too late."

"I wish you were right, Ryou." Yugi called out across the bridge. "I wish that was all that needed to be done, but it's not that simple. My turn is still in progress. A valid forfeit can only come at the start of one's turn. It's far too late for anything Ryou. I can hold off the end of this duel as long as I like, but we cannot afford to wait here for the next five thousand years. There is still a war to be won. Ryou… I'm sorry." Yugi's voice touched something in Ryou, and the hikari's struggles stilled. Yugi met Ryou's gaze.

"I look at you, Ryou, and I see myself in your position, and it is all I can do to keep my heart intact, keep the tears away, knowing there is nothing I can do to prevent this. I can only hold it off, and we have no time." Bakura turned and gave his hikari a rare, proud smile.

"I believe in you. Be strong, beloved. Survive. I will never, ever, be far from your side." Bakura turned back to Yugi. "I'm ready." And Yugi called the attack. Ryou's scream tore at all their hearts as Bakura endured the attack in silence, and was enveloped by the Shadows. The protective magic shattered, and the cavern collapsed. The group only just made it out in time.

Blood spattered the sand as Ryou threw himself upon it, screaming, beating, hurting, and knowing it would do no good. Bakura was gone, banished, forever, to the shadow realm. Yugi knelt before him and placed his hands on Ryou's rapidly bleeding fists. Though he desperately wanted to pummel his fellow, Bakura held in his rage, and did not meet Yugi's amethyst eyes.

"Bakura is bound to the ring, Ryou. That has not changed. His banishment is also restricted to the ring, and so is his hell. It's not over yet. Ryou, there is still time to save him." Slowly, Ryou looked up into his kindred's face, hesitant, hopeful. Yugi continued, "If we destroy the ring, Ryou, then Bakura will be set free. He cannot come back to us, here, in this plane, but we can, at least, release him to his rest. We can still do that for him. He has been bound for far too long." Crimson tears streaked Ryou's red cheeks as Yugi's words sank in.

"But… Yugi, to do that, you would have to…" Strangled with the weight of it, Yugi could only nod, knowing the full extent of what must be done in order to set Bakura free. Suddenly, all Ryou's anger and sudden hatred for his fellow evaporated, and he fell forward into Yugi's arms, where he cried for them both. Yugi let him, as he could shed no tears himself. There was still far too much to do. It wasn't over yet.

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Well, there it is. Reviews and comments are more than welcome. I shall try to keep the maturity level with the range that I have established here. Should it go beyond that, well, you know. I'll respond to comments at the end of each chapter, rather than at the start. As always, flames are used to roast marshmallows and soften chocolate for smores.

…

Watches, warily, as an unusually large pack of Kuribou's show up at the mention of smores.

Glares pointedly … Thanks guys. Really.