Bloody Birthday

Exhausted, the white-haired teenager entered the tiny, bald shower cabin, which sometimes reminded him of a coffin rather than a shower. Maybe that was one reason why Ryou was not exactly what you could call a fan of taking a shower. It had to be done, was what he told himself when he stood in the confined place.

Sighing, he turned on the water. Cold drops touched his white mane, his face, his chest, his scars. Only slowly, the water got warmer and warmer until the entire shower cabin was filled with hot, white steam, engulfing everything.

Motionless, Ryou stared up at the shower head, which was attached to the wall. Another stressful day had gone by, another day... filled with silence, lies, dread...

He couldn't talk to anyone about it. He didn't have friends, could not have friends, because he would only do them harm. That was all he was good for. And his family... practically, it didn't exist. His mother and sister were dead and his father was never at home, no, not home... He was just not here, where Ryou was. This was not his home. This place... he would never be able to call it home. Ryou had lost his home when he had lost half of his family. That's it, the bitter truth.

However, the teen wasn't alone either. No, he did not have such luck. There was still him.

He was the one who made his life a living hell. He was the one who brought all this misery upon Ryou Bakura, who had never done something wrong. Never.

He didn't deserve this fate. But no matter how often Ryou mumbled these words to himself, nothing changed. For years, this nightmare was his reality. The fear of getting hurt was present all the time, though the fear that someone was getting hurt because of Ryou was a bigger burden to the young man. And there was nothing Ryou could do. He had to live on in this hell. What's left was the hope that, someday, everything would change. Of course, it was just an utopian dream. But it was the only thing that kept Ryou from committing suicide.

This person or rather spirit, Ryou's 'yami', if it knew about Ryou's last hope, his last dream, it would definitely find a way to destroy it. Definitely.

Ryou's yami loved to destroy things, especially when these things were Ryou and his life. Yes, the ancient spirit was a devil, and yes, he knew it. And he enjoyed every minute of torturing somebody. Of torturing Ryou.

"Arggh!", Ryou bit on his lip and punched with his fist against the wall. How much longer would this go on, his life? When would this hell end?

... No one knew, probably. No one...

The spirit had been here for exactly ten years. It had lurked and hidden itself in a present, a golden pendant, he'd gotten from his father. And since that time, everything in Ryou's life went wrong.

Breathing heavily, either because of the hot steam or because of anger, Ryou slid down along the wall and crouched, his arms around his knees.

Why he? Why Ryou? Why not someone else? Why always him?

This spirit... why did it like to possess Ryou and not somebody else? Couldn't it just vanish into thin air?

Ryou kept sitting for a while, the water still running down his body.

Speaking of Ryou's yami... where was he? He hadn't been here for hours... just when would he come back?

Not that Ryou wanted him to come back. He feared his arrival. Who knew what he'd do to Ryou this time?

Slowly, Ryou stood up and then, he ran his finger along all those scars the spirit had decorated him with. There were hundreds of them, some were years old, some only days, hours.

Ryou gulped when he heard steps, approaching. Even under the warm water, he got goose bumps and every cell in his body shouted that Ryou should hide. But that wouldn't help, so why bother to try?

The steps got closer and suddenly, Ryou felt an ice-cold touch at his throat. A knife... and a cold, white hand that kept him in place.

Every muscle in his body screamed to run away, far away, but Ryou couldn't move. The further the knife was pressed against his delicate throat, the more and harder pounded Ryou's heart.

He could imagine the demonish grin on the spirit's face and he squeezed his eyes shut in fear, mumbling "please".

The spirit began to laugh evilly, his eyes filled with a murderous gleam.

He didn't stop laughing when the walls and the shower cabin were bloodstained.

And even after the lifeless body of the white-haired teenager slumped to the ground, he kept on laughing. Before the spirit went out, he whispered "Happy Birthday" into the ears that would never hear a single word again.

And thus, the nightmare of Ryou ended. Five days later, a small side note in the local newspaper told that yet another teenager had committed suicide. The used weapon was found next to the body.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Ryou Bakura and Yami Bakura are property of Kazuki Takahashi.

I hope you liked this oneshot. Please tell me what you think.

~Crystal of Moonlight