This is based on an idea I had while watching the new Ancient Egypt Anime episodes and just had to write it up straight away. I hope you enjoy it!


My Gift to you

Ryou groaned as he returned to consciousness. His head hurt for some reason and his limbs felt heavy and tired. His eyes fluttered open and his gaze landed on the floor. It was hard, bare earth. No wonder his head hurt.

Slowly he lifted himself up onto his knees and looked around. It was very dark and he had to squint to see his surroundings. Old mud brick buildings stood to his right. Most were damaged in some form and some looked like they had been scorched. The few people who moved about were wearing old fashioned clothes and acted as if they were scared of being seen.

To his right was a large wall that surrounded what must have been a very important building. The well crafted stone had large holes in some places so that it no longer looked impenetrable. Claw marks, burn marks and blood also ruined its imposing effect.

Ryou stayed where he was on the ground. The last thing he could remember was being alone in his apartment and wishing he knew what was happening to his friends. They had gone to help the pharaoh regain his memories but that had been ages ago. He'd been waiting for a phone call and when he didn't receive one he thought that they must have forgotten about him.

He'd also been concerned because the spirit inside his Millennium Ring had been quiet for some time. It was very unnerving to not be able to hear or sense the spirit in his mind. He knew that the spirit was evil and would have disposed of him long ago if he wasn't essential to its survival but the presence in his mind gave him some comfort. It gave him some strange comfort knowing that he wasn't alone.

He'd decided to watch some TV and had turned on the news. Reports of tornados, earthquakes, tidal waves and a load of other natural disasters that were occurring flood his small living room. It made him shiver because he knew this wasn't a coincidence. He'd learned a long time ago that nothing was coincidence. Something bad was happening to the pharaoh and the others.

And then he had felt something. A warmth emanating from within the Millennium Ring. Then his body began to tingle. It started in the tips of his fingers and spread to the rest of his body. Soon he'd started to panic and he had trouble breathing. While all this was happening the Ring was getting warmer and warmer until it emitted a burst of light that destroyed Ryou's ability to see and sent him tumbling into a world of darkness.

Ryou took slow, steadying breaths. His recollection had done nothing to help him understand what had happened. All he knew was that he wasn't in Domino anymore.

"Hey! What are you doing there!"

Ryou looked up at the man who had interrupted his thoughts in confusion. He looked like a guard with his long spear and muscular build. He was glaring down at Ryou with suspicion and distrust.

"Answer me – what are you doing?" the guard demanded again.

Ryou looked at him blankly. "I don't know," he answered quietly.

The guard snarled and dragged him to his feet by his hair. Ryou cried out in pain but the guard ignored him. "I don't like your insolence boy," he spat. He stared at Ryou and a twisted grin appeared on his face. "You're quite a pretty boy aren't you? I'm sure the new pharaoh will be able to find some use for you."

The guard relinquished his hold on Ryou's hair but quickly grabbed the teen's wrists and bound them behind his back. Ryou was then roughly pushed in the direction the guard wanted to go.

They walked through what had once been the entrance to what Ryou now assumed was the palace. The gates seemed to have been blown away and were now nothing but splinters. The palace looked as if it had seen better days. What had once been an artist's finest work was now blemished with cracks and stained blood.

The smouldering destruction in the courtyard forced Ryou to look away at some points when he saw what appeared to be human insides that had been torn out furiously from their owner, or mangled corpses that would make even the bravest men feel the need to wretch.

Finally they entered into the halls of the palace. A few torches in brackets burned to shed some light but otherwise there was darkness. The flickering shadows made Ryou more nervous than he already was. He didn't like what was going on and could only hope that the pharaoh the guard was talking about was Yugi's other half and that he still had his memories of the future.

The throne room had the same feeling of emptiness as the rest of the palace. Ryou would have liked to have had a look around but as soon as they entered the guard pushed his head forward into a respectful bow. All Ryou could see now was the floor and his own two feet.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him from moving and then he was forced down with the guard onto his knees. "My pharaoh I found this boy hanging around outside the palace walls," the guard said respectively to the one sitting on the throne. "He doesn't look as if he's from around here and I wondered if maybe he'd be of any use to you."

There was the sound of rustling cloth and footsteps. The pharaoh walked over to him and stared down. Ryou could feel the man's gaze boring into him and it made him shiver.

The pharaoh knelt down and lifted Ryou's chin gently so that the boy could see more than the bottom of his tanned legs and sandals. Ryou gasped when his eyes connected with the new pharaoh's. Deep blue eyes stared into his and he knew that it was the spirit of the Millennium Ring before him.

"I'm glad you made it in one piece my host," the man said smoothly. He then pulled out a dagger and cut Ryou's bonds. He ordered both his former host and the guard to rise before dismissing the guard and walking back to his throne.

Ryou stared at the man on the golden throne. His hair was short and white. His eyes were a deep and mesmerising blue mixed with a light lilac. His body was muscular and tanned to perfection. A double t crossed scar ran down the right side of his face but by no means did it make him ugly. He wore sandals, a long red cloak and a white shenti (Egyptian skirt thing). A golden crown sat proudly in his white locks with the eye of Horus the centre image.

Ryou swallowed before asking, "Who are you?"

The man on the throne smirked. "You know me as the evil spirit of the Ring but here the people call me Pharaoh Bakura."

"That's my last name," Ryou said astounded.

Bakura nodded. "I suppose you were my descendent – the descendent of the child of a whore I never knew about."

Ryou flinched at being described that way. "Why did that guard call you Pharaoh? I thought Yugi's yami was the pharaoh."

Bakura cackled with mirth. "He used to be the pharaoh but not anymore. He went into the World of Memories thinking he would just be learning about his past. The fool never imagined that he would be playing the Ultimate Shadow Game."

Ryou gulped. "The Ultimate Shadow Game?" he asked nervously.

"Yes," Bakura said as he smirked victoriously. "A Shadow Game that would decide the fate of the world. Since he had gone into the past any alterations of events affected the future. That is why it was the ultimate game."

Bakura sat back on his throne and grinned casually. "As you can see the amateur lost the game and his soul was banished to the Shadow Realm for eternity leaving me to take the throne as the new ruler of Egypt."

Fear began to seep into Ryou as he heard the terrible news. "What about Yugi and the others?"

"They tried to help their friend but their pitiful friendship couldn't stand up to my power and skill. Their fate was the same as the former pharaoh's," Bakura answered, an amused grin on his face.

Ryou was barely able to stop himself from quaking in fear. There was no one left to help him. He was in a time he shouldn't be where the only one who knew him was the former tenant of his mind.

"Why am I here?" Ryou asked quietly, his head bowed. "Did you want to have the pleasure of eliminating your pathetic old host as well?" He knew he sounded like he was close to tears but it couldn't be helped. As miserable as his life had been he didn't want to die.

"You're not pathetic," was the softer than normal reply.

Ryou looked up at Bakura, surprised. Bakura was trying not to make eye contact and he seemed…almost nervous.

"You're not pathetic," Bakura repeated. "You're strong and have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. I used to think you were weak but it takes a lot of strength and courage to sacrifice your life for someone."

Ryou looked at him in confusion. "So you didn't bring me here to kill me?" he asked softly. Bakura shook his head. "Then why did you bring me here?"

Unless his eyes were deceiving him Ryou swore that Bakura was blushing. "I wanted to…to tell you that I conquered Egypt for you. It's my present to you." Bakura was definitely blushing now but was trying desperately to hide it.

Ryou found himself speechless for a moment. "Why…why would you do that?" he asked breathlessly.

Bakura fidgeted a bit before standing and walking over to Ryou. Ryou noticed that Bakura was taller than him by at least a few inches. Bakura cleared his throat before looking directly into Ryou's eyes.

"I'm not as brave as you Ryou. You've been hurt so many times in the past and yet you still let yourself be open and let others in. You're kind and forgiving to those who don't deserve it. You're willing to give everything you have to protect those who say they're your friends and yet leave you out of their great adventures.

"I'm not like you Ryou. I'm not as strong as you in that sense. When I was young I witnessed my entire village be slaughtered and was the sole survivor. I never thought about forgiving the ones who had done it and moving on. The spirits of my family told me to get revenge for their deaths. I didn't dare disobey. I grew up with one purpose in life – revenge. I thought that caring about other people was a weakness and because I didn't want to be hurt anymore I stopped caring about people and would willingly kill them all if it would help me achieve my goal.

"When I met you Ryou my resolve to have no feelings for people wavered. There was something about you that made me feel like you would understand and accept me for who I am. But it had been so long since I'd tried to make friends that I'd forgotten what to do. You couldn't hear me yet so we couldn't talk. I tried to give you gifts but my warped sense of humour got in the way and instead of granting the wish you'd made in your mind I isolated you from people and made you miserable. I was still too unacquainted with human emotions to understand your sadness and loneliness so I continued capturing your friend's souls. I didn't mean to though.

"Then I saw the Millennium Puzzle and everything changed. My revenge and new goal to achieve all the items and gain power became so close and I needed to take it. I forgot about trying to gain your friendship because all my mind could think about was the Puzzle. I risked your life for my selfish desires. I'm…I'm…" Bakura took a deep breath before finally saying, "I'm sorry."

Ryou couldn't believe what he was hearing. The evil spirit of the Ring was apologizing? He'd never expected that to happen. He also felt kind of sorry for Bakura. He could understand his hatred for the pharaoh and his reason for wanting revenge. A child always does what their parents want. Bakura hadn't always been evil so something must have happened to make him loose all regard for human life.

"Why were you so evil?" Ryou asked, a little more confident that Bakura wouldn't send him straight to the Shadow Realm for daring to ask such a question.

"Because I was possessed by the god of darkness – Zorc. I didn't realize I was possessed until not that long ago. When my village was destroyed he knew that one day I would help revive him and cover the world in darkness so he possessed me. He was at the back of my mind and could do no more than influence my thoughts and fuel my hatred.

"When I was trapped within the Millennium Ring his influence over me grew so that his darkness tainted my spirit. He was almost completely in control but let me believe that I was the one doing these things so that I didn't try to rid myself of him. He was the one that confused me and tried to suppress my emotions. But there was one time that he couldn't stop me and that was when I learned of his presence. Do you know what it was he couldn't stop me from doing?"

Ryou shook his head.

"He couldn't stop me from saving you. When I fought Yami Yugi in Battle City my mind had a moment of clarity and I saw the pain you were in. I knew that you wouldn't survive an attack from an Egyptian God. But there was a part of me that wasn't willing to take over and save you. That was when I realized that there was something controlling me.

"When the ex-pharaoh entered the World of Memories I followed him and used him to help me bring out the darkness that was clouding my thoughts and vanquish it. They thought that the danger was over and that was when I struck. After Millennia of waiting I was not going to hesitate to get my revenge for my family. That was how I became pharaoh."

Bakura sighed and looked at Ryou with an emotion that the boy could not distinguish. "Like I've said before Ryou I'm not as brave as you. I can't verbally show my emotions that well if they aren't hate or anger. So since I can't say how I feel I was hoping I could show you by giving you a gift and the best gift I could think of was a Kingdom of your own."

Bakura was blushing again but Ryou didn't truly know why. He was confused by what was going on. The way Bakura was acting towards him; the words Bakura was saying to him; his own emotions that were flying about madly inside of him – they all confused him.

"I don't understand," Ryou said quietly.

Bakura looked at him as if he had just made a great decision that he was not going to change. He lifted Ryou's chin slightly and moved closer. "Let me show you what I want to say," he whispered before gently pressing his lips to the startled boy's.

Fireworks began going off in Ryou's head and he felt giddy. Feelings of want and devotion began to run through him as Bakura slowly moved away. Ryou opened his eyes that he didn't remember shutting and gazed at Bakura as his heart beat hard against his chest.

When Ryou didn't react Bakura's face fell as he realized the boy didn't feel the same way he did. He was about to walk away when Ryou reached up and cupped the man's cheek. "I think the words you're looking for are 'I love you'," Ryou whispered before reinitiating the kiss they'd shared moments before.

This time the kiss was more passionate as Bakura sent all his relief into it and Ryou sent all his joy at finally not being alone. When they pulled apart they were both breathless. Ryou's head rested on Bakura's shoulder as the man held him close. The teen trailed a finger down the man's bare chest as a sudden wave of drowsiness came over him.

"Can we go to bed Bakura? I feel really tired all of a sudden," Ryou said quietly as his eyes began to slide shut.

Bakura wordlessly led Ryou to their new chambers, keeping the boy pressed against him so that he could keep his eyes closed. When they arrived Bakura laid Ryou down on the bed and a smile graced his features at how innocent the boy looked. The smile turned into a smirk when he decided he wasn't tired and was up for a game. He was sure Ryou wouldn't mind postponing his nap for a game of kiss the pharaoh.


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