Bakura could see smoke off in the distance; the sky turning a calamitous shade of red. The rumors had come true - Pharaoh Aknamkanon's soldiers were infiltrating the village, but the reason was still unknown to the frightened boy. He ran through the panicked streets to his home, dodging his friends and neighbors who were running frantically throughout the crowded streets. Fire was spreading closer; the smell of smoke was inescapable and Bakura could hear the sound of soldiers nearing his part of the village.
He ran into his mother outside of his house. "Mother, what's going on?" He cried, hoping to find an answer as to why such destruction was happening. She pulled him close to her, embracing him in a wholehearted hug. "Bakura, I love you so much." She whispered sincerely before kissing him on the top of his head.
Bakura pulled away and gazed up at her. She was crying; her eyes red and her face tearstained; he could barely recognize her. She knelt down next to him, putting her hands firmly on his shoulders. "They're coming for us; they want everyone to suffer…" She told him through her sobs. "I want you to run and hide so that they can't find you."
Bakura gasped. "But what about you and Father?" He asked, tears beginning to well up within his broadened eyes. "I'm scared, Mother!"
The sound of screams of fellow villagers echoed in the night. His mother looked around nervously. "Don't worry about us. I want you to be safe. Now run!" She yelled sternly as she forcefully pushed him away.
Not daring to look back, he ran up the street as fast as his feet could take him and his heart raced faster than he ever thought he could run. Tears flowed sideways from his eyes, flying backward as he ran. All that he had ever known was being destroyed for a reason he was still unsure of. All he knew at that moment was that he had to hide, to obey his mother's orders and assure his safety.
"Save me!" He heard as he fled. The sound of helpless cries and clanking of swords and spears were coming from every direction. He wondered about his mother and father, asking the gods what he had done to deserve such a thing to happen to him and his family.
He ran until he found an open door leading into the ground. Cautiously he looked around for any of Aknamkanon's soldiers. Seeing that there weren't any around for the moment, he carefully walked down into the darkness.
The room that the steps led to was lit with torches on the walls and set up for some sort of ritual; a large cauldron placed in the center of the room. Bakura heard some men talking and hid behind a wall, blending in with the endless shadows behind it. His heart felt as if it were to burst when he heard the sound of screams and pleas coming closer, followed by menacing demands of soldiers.
"You filthy thieves! You'll all pay for your crimes!" The soldiers yelled over the pleading villagers, threatening them with their spears.
"Have mercy!" The villagers begged. "Don't hurt us!"
Bakura peered around the corner of the wall, seeing a large group of villagers being brought near the site of the cauldron; soldiers surrounding them, keeping them all in line by threateningly holding their spears to them. Something was now inside the cauldron - a metal of some sort was being melted, and men surrounded the cauldron, looking over it as if it were to cause immeasurable gratification. The pharaoh's brother, Akunadin, stood closest to it, motioning to the soldiers at the front of the line to bring some of the villagers over. Bakura's eyes widened at the sight.
"Please!" The unknown villager called out. "Let us be!"
Akunadin grunted. "You filthy pieces of trash! All you're good for is stealing. Now you'll finally be good for something else." He angrily pushed the villager into the cauldron, who screamed as he burned alive within it.
Akunadin motioned for more villagers. One by one they fell; each one burning alive and becoming one with the bubbling metal. Bakura tried his hardest not to cry, using every bit of effort within him as he witnessed the death of every person he had ever come to know in his life, including his parents. The images of them screaming, falling, melting - they were burned into Bakura's memory as the bodies of the villagers were burned alive in the cauldron. His mother, his father, his friends, his neighbors - everyone was gone.
Bakura leaned against the wall, crying silently to himself as the clanking of the newly made Millennium Items was heard from the other side. Though the ritual was now over, he could still hear the screams. The villagers calling out to him for help . Begging him to set them free - to avenge their death. They moaned and cried, agonizingly repeating his name, wanting help from the useless young boy who could do nothing but sit against that wall and cry, mourning the loss of everything he had ever known.
Ryou noticed his yami tossing restlessly in his sleep beside him. Worried, he sat up and lightly tapped him on the arm in hopes of waking him from his nightmare. Bakura moaned and turned frantically, his eyes clenched shut as if he were in pain which scared Ryou. His eyes shot open and he sat up, breathing heavily. He looked over at Ryou and jumped, letting out a frightened gasp before turning away flustered.
"Are you alright?" Ryou asked caringly, putting his hand on top of Bakura's that was clenching the blanket that lay over the two of them.
Bakura's eyes were filled with tears, some escaping them when he clenched his eyes shut for a moment. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply, now turning to his hikari. "I can still hear them… the spirits of Kul Elna…" He said hesitantly, choking on his words. "I remember that night so well…"
Ryou moved closer to his anxious yami, removing his hand and then wrapped his arms around him. He tried to think of something to say, but none of the alleviating words he was hoping find came to mind. The only words he was able to utter were, "I'm sorry."
Bakura let out a deep sigh and clenched his eyes shut again. "I know you are, Ryou," He whispered roughly. He turned toward his hikari and grabbed his delicate face, then looking into what seemed like his reflection in Ryou's sincere expression. "You were always alone…" He told the sweet boy before him. "And that's what I love about you, Ryou. You know what it's like to be alone and afraid like I was once."
Ryou smiled, satisfied to hear what he had from his yami, and brought his hands up to Bakura's face, gently rubbing his thumbs on his cheeks. "I know, Bakura. That's why I love you. We've both had our share of nightmares, but now we have each other to ease the pain of being shook up in the night," He said, genuinely.
The yami removed Ryou's delicate hands from his face and pulled the boy close to him, Ryou's head then underneath the head of his yami. The sound of Bakura's breathing lulled the boy as he nuzzled his face against the yami's neck.
The sweet scent of his hikari flooded Bakura's mind, calming him with each inhale that he took. He could suddenly feel the presence of relief - that presence was Ryou.
He brushed his hand through the hikari's hair and rested it on his back. "You make my nightmares worth while," He said, rubbing the hikari's slender back.
Ryou raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What do you mean by that?"
Bakura stopped, still keeping his hand on the boy's back. He knew Ryou would ask that - that curious little hikari. Gently, he wrapped his arm around the boy, and Ryou embraced this by wrapping his delicate arms around his yami lovingly once again. Bakura smiled at the thought of what he was about to say to the tenderhearted boy wrapped around him. He laid his cheek atop the hikari's head, closing his eyes. "Because with every nightmare, I'll always have you to wake up to."