Sooooooooooo... this is chapter 3. I hope you like it. ^-^

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 3 Tensions

----------------------------------------------Ryou and Bakura---------------------------------------------

As Ryou awoke, tenuous light of the rising sun shone through the window of his bedroom, giving his skin a slight gleam where it touched the pale boy.

Ryou's face was buried in his pillow and his white mane was ruffled from tossing and turning in bed. Yes, vampires were able to sleep, but nobody had said that it was that easy. Constantly, Ryou had woken up and going back to sleep then was difficult for him as he wasn't tired. Of course not. He would never feel again how it was to be tired. Never... He wasn't even sure anymore how it felt to be tired. And the worries he still had hadn't helped him either to fall asleep again.

Sighing, Ryou turned around and looked up at the ceiling. How often had he already tried to sleep like a normal human in the past? Too often. And his sleep had never been like a human's one. He didn't even know anymore how it was to sleep like a human. It was too long ago...

Some time, Ryou would have to realize that vampires simply weren't made for sleeping. But even if he'd realize it, he surely would want to do it nevertheless. He would never accept with pleasure what he was. No, he would always try to be a human. Always, though it was really difficult sometimes and it got even harder the longer he already was a vampire.

After a while, Ryou stood up and walked to the window. He liked this time of the day, when the sky was colored in this beautiful color. Sometimes it was orange, sometimes rose. Everything was quiet, you could only hear the chirping of the birds.

And then it crossed his mind. Everything was too quiet. Ryou hold his breath and listened if there was any sound in the house. ... No, nothing could be heard.

That could only mean one thing. Bakura wasn't at home.

"Maybe he's just gone for a short walk...", Ryou muttered to himself, but in truth he knew why Bakura was out. Not to explore the surroundings of their new home or to go for some fresh air, no, surely not. Bakura was out to hunt.

Ryou closed his eyes and tried to stop imagining the picture of Bakura hunting. Not because of the hunting itself, but because of Bakura's prey. Not animals... but humans...

Ryou would never understand why Bakura hunted them. Ryou himself would never be able to do it. Never. And that was good, because he didn't want to do it. Even if Bakura said it wasn't good. Ryou didn't have to listen to him.

Shaking off those thoughts, Ryou went downstairs and noticed that Bakura had brought the suitcases into the living room before he'd left. Slowly, Ryou went to his the suitcases and opened one of them. Then, he sat down on the floor and looked at the things that were in the suitcase.

Bakura and Ryou had only taken the most important things with them, like always when they changed residence. Some memorabilia and clothes of course. But not too much, because first of all they had to leave quickly and there wasn't enough space in the car to take everything with them and secondly if they needed anything, they could just buy it here. Money was no object, as they had enough of it. It simply had bottled up over time. But they didn't show people that they were rich, because they didn't want to attract too much attention.

Ryou rummaged in the suitcase. Clothes, clothes... and then he found what he searched for. A photo. A photo of him and Bakura. The only photo of him and Bakura they had. On the picture, Bakura sat on a chair and Ryou sat on his lap. The photo was really old and black and white. It was one of the first ones there had been taken.

Ryou stroke carefully with his index finger over the Bakura on the picture, who looked exactly like the one today, besides that he was dressed in really old clothes on the photo. And of course, Ryou wore old clothes, too.

The photo had been taken in 1851 on a special day. On Ryou's special day. No, not his birthday.

Ryou turned the picture round. On the back of it, there was written something in a scratchy handwriting.

For Ryou, my love,

to the three-hundredth anniversary of his death.

~Bakura

5th September, 1851

Ryou smiled as he read what Bakura had written for him back then. He remembered how nervous he'd been when they'd gone to the photographer....

*flashback*

"Where are we going, Bakura?", Ryou asked the boy that looked so similar to him while they walked side by side along the street.

Bakura flashed a smile. "You'll see soon enough", he answered softly.

Ryou sighed, but nodded. Bakura always tried to make a secret out of everything. And besides, he was so unpredictable. One moment, he was friendly to Ryou and the next moment, he wasn't anymore...

After while, Bakura stopped.

"Are we there?", Ryou asked him.

Bakura pointed to a sign that hung at the house on the opposite side of the street.

"Ph-Photographer...?!", Ryou stuttered, nervousness coming up and thoughts of what could possibly go wrong.

Bakura groaned. "Stop being so fearful all the time. There's no reason for that", Bakura told him. "So, come on, this will be fun."

"But... but...", Ryou stumbled. "What if... we can't be seen on the photo?! That will give away that we're not human!", he said the last words so low that no human was able to hear it. "What will happen then?"

Bakura sighed. Sure, he knew, too, that there was a risk. And Ryou's worrying wasn't unjustified. But Bakura hated it that he always expected the worst. Hell, if something should go wrong, Bakura knew exactly what he had to do. //If I have to, I'll kill the photographer...//, he thought as an answer to Ryou's question and narrowed his eyes. He and Ryou were after all the vampires. If any mortal should become suspicious, then it was easy for the two to get rid of them (though Ryou would probably not agree with Bakura...). But he didn't want Ryou to know his plan if they really couldn't be seen on the photo.

"If we can't be seen on the photo, then we'll tell the photographer that his apparatus isn't working, okay?", Bakura told Ryou. "This photo thing is still new, after all, so why should there be no defect or something?"

Ryou pondered for a moment, before he was pulled over the street by Bakura, who didn't want to wait any longer. "Come on", he said, as he grabbed Ryou's hand. Patience had never been one of Bakura's strong points.

"If I have to...", Ryou mumbled. After all, Bakura always knew what they could do and what not, so that they wouldn't take a too much of a risk. He was a vampire for millennia now, anyway, so Ryou trusted him with the things he did, mostly at any rate.

....

After the photo had been taken, Ryou and Bakura had headed home. There had been no murder this day, because everything had worked. Both Ryou and Bakura could be seen on the photo. Ryou was really relieved. His worries had been, as usual, for nothing.

Ryou stood at the window of his bedroom, looking out and watching the people walking along the street, while Bakura had disappeared with the photo in his room.

After a while, a soft knock sounded and Bakura came into Ryou's bedroom, smiling. It wasn't one of his evil smiles, that he usually wore. No, it was one of the kind smiles that he showed very rare.

Ryou raised an eyebrow at his taller look-alike.

"Ryou?", Bakura asked, his voice not cold for once, but friendly, like his smile. "You know what day's today, do you?"

Oh... Ryou looked down at the floor. Of course he knew what day it was. How could he forget?

"Sure", he answered Bakura's question. "Three-hundred years ago... you...", he trailed off, having a strange feeling inside of him. Was it sadness? Was it because of the horrible memory?

"Yes, Ry", Bakura said. "Three-hundred years ago, I bit you." //And, as sad as you may be about that... I don't regret anything//, he added as a thought.

Ryou nodded, still looking down at the floor. He couldn't understand why Bakura sounded so happy at the mention of that. Ryou... would never feel happy at remembering that day...

"Here", Bakura said and reached his hand out, the photo in it. "Because... you've been bearing me for such a long time now... without going crazy", he explained.

Ryou looked up into the other's dark eyes. A look of confusion made it's way on the smaller boy's face as he took the picture. Bakura had never given a present to him before.

"Turn it round", Bakura ordered.

Ryou turned the picture round and read what was written on it's back.

"But Baku-", his response was interrupted as Bakura pressed his pale lips on the boy's ones, locking him in a kiss. As they broke apart, Bakura laid a finger on Ryou's mouth to show him to be quiet.

"I know what you think", he told Ryou. "I know that there's a risk of possessing the photo and if any time anybody should read the text on the back, then we're given away, somehow. But", he paused for a moment. "If we pay attention, then nobody will find it, okay?"

Ryou nodded. "Okay", he breathed, pressing the photo against his chest...

Ryou didn't know why he liked the photo so much. Maybe because it was a memory of the time back then. Maybe because it was a present from Bakura. He couldn't tell.

Two hundred years had gone by since then. And many things had changed. The humans had changed, their way of living, their belief, their nature. But those things weren't the only ones that were different now. Bakura had also changed. Ryou had changed. Their relationship had changed. Why? Ryou didn't know it exactly. Maybe... because of himself. Because he always had doubts and was unsure... about everything. His life... The humans... Bakura... Their love...

//If there ever had been love...//, he thought bitterly.

Just as Ryou put the photo back into the suitcase again, he heard the sound of footfalls. And a split second later, the front door opened. An air draft brought a familiar smell inside, that made Ryou's stomach tense up as it hit him all of a sudden.

Ryou immediately held his breath, his eyes were wide and he knew exactly without turning round who was standing in the doorframe. Bakura.

"Where have you been?", Ryou asked, though it was obvious due to the smell of blood, which hung in the air, what Bakura had been doing. The smaller pale boy clenched his fists to stop the tension that built up in his whole body.

"I was out. Eating", Bakura replied simply and closed the door behind him.

As Bakura approached, Ryou still chose not to breath at the moment and he closed his eyes, as he didn't want to look Bakura into the eyes. They surely were crimson, his eyes. An obvious signal that human blood flowed through Bakura.

When Bakura noticed Ryou's tensioning, he smirked.

"Well, well. Someone's hungry, huh?", he sneered and crouched down next to where Ryou kneeled on the floor. "I told you to come with me last night, but nooo..."

Ryou ignored him.

"How long ago since your last meal?", Bakura asked, grinning evilly. "Two weeks? Three weeks? Or even longer ago?" It was Ryou's own fault. It had been his decision to not eat anything that long.

Ryou clenched his fists tighter and stood up, tired of Bakura's attempt to freak him out. It had worked before, but it wouldn't work today. At least he thought that until now...

As Ryou stood up, Bakura stood up as well, holding to the smaller boy's shoulders with one hand, and shoving the other hand under Ryou's shirt.

Ryou gasped at the sudden touch and forgot to hold his breath. A big mistake...

As soon as air got into his nose and a rusty scent, which was coming from Bakura, got into it, Ryou felt as if he was befuddled. He couldn't think clearly. His instincts were calling... calling for what a vampire needed most.

Blood.

It had been too long ago since his last meal, Ryou knew that. His throat ached and it felt as if it was burning from inside.

The smaller boy turned round, a thirsty look on his face, and grabbed hold of Bakura's arm, facing the other for the first time since he'd come back home.

Ryou's eyes stared into crimson ones and the mere look at Bakura's blood-red eyes made his throat ache more, crying for something to slake his thirst.

Bakura raised an eyebrow looking at Ryou. Then, he smirked and breathed on Ryou, forcing the smaller pale boy to inhale his bloody smelling breath.

Ryou's eyes widened, the burning sensation in his throat got worse and his stomach tensed up tighter with hunger (or/and thirst).

"Not... fair...", he managed to say through gritted teeth.

Bakura smirked. "I've never said that I would ever play fair", he told him.

Ryou leaned forward until his lips reached Bakura's face, on which the bloody smell adhered.

Blood... that was what Ryou needed right now more than everything else...

Bakura grinned as Ryou's pale lips wandered to his own ones. He buried his hands in Ryou's hair and pushed the smaller one closer to him.

Ryou, whose instincts were working instead of his mind at the moment, licked over Bakura's lower lip, and he tasted blood. Delicious blood, still a bit warm, having a sweet rusty taste. But this action somehow caused Ryou to snap out of the stupor of his mind.

//Stop!//, he shouted mentally. //Blood... human... blood...//

As soon as he came back to his senses, Ryou pushed Bakura away and stumbled backwards a few steps, his eyes even wider than before. He stared at Bakura, who was grinning.

"You... did it again!", Ryou mumbled. "I thought you'd promised me that you'd never tempt me to taste human blood ever again!"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Come on... In truth you've never killed a human and you've never drunk human blood. You've only licked it off my lips..."

Ryou growled. "Maybe it's not a big deal for you, but for me, it is! I trusted you! I can't believe that you did it again and that you're still not respecting the choice I've made since the first day of my being as a vampire!", Ryou yelled. "I don't want to drink the blood of humans! It grosses me out!"

For a moment, there was silence.

"I don't understand why you can't respect my will...", Ryou muttered. "Are you not able to respect my will or do you simply not want to respect it?"

Bakura just looked at Ryou. "Ry, we're vampires! Drinking the blood of humans is what we do! It's our nature. You can't condemn me because I do what I am supposed to do."

"Nature....", Ryou repeated. "Nature my ass! And I don't condemn you! It's your decision to kill all those innocent people! If you can square it with your conscience, then okay. I wished I could do something to change your mind, but I can't. But I won't follow your example, because I am not a murderer."

Bakura narrowed his eyes dangerously. "So you think of me as a murderer?"

Ryou looked at the floor. "Well... yeah", he whispered. "'Cause you kill humans..."

"I am not a murderer!", Bakura snarled. "You don't call a lion that hunts an antelope a murderer, do you? Because it's something natural. The lion eats the antelope to survive. And I have to drink the blood of humans to survive."

"It's not necessary", Ryou said. "You could hunt animals, like me..."

"As if I would ever do something like that... They're blood is... dirty!", Bakura spat.

"It's not!", Ryou shouted. "I drink it! And I'm not different than you."

"Yes, you are", Bakura said, his crimson eyes piercing Ryou. "You're much weaker than I am. You're... almost as pathetic as all these humans. And I don't want to be like that."

"What?!", Ryou gasped. How could Bakura say something like that? It hurt...

Bakura crossed his arms, a grin finding its way on his face. "But, honestly... You did enjoy the taste of the blood, didn't you?"

Ryou stared at him in disbelief. "No!", he shouted, though he had to admit to himself that Bakura was right. The taste and the scent of human blood... they were overwhelming. There wasn't anything Ryou could do about that.

"Liar", Bakura grinned.

Ryou narrowed his eyes and stormed past Bakura.

"Asshole", Ryou whispered and then, he went upstairs into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Bakura was left alone in the living room, looking in the direction where Ryou had disappeared. His grin faded, as he began to think. For the first time, he started to put one and one together.

Maybe, it was his own fault that Ryou probably didn't love him anymore. Perhaps because he always tempted Ryou to drink the blood of humans... Perhaps because he always was so... mean and unfair...

Bakura fell down on his knees and tore his hair. He loved Ryou, damn it! Why was he always like this to the one he loved? Why couldn't he show him how much he loved him? Why?

//Well... that's probably not my nature...//, he thought.

And Bakura was sure about one thing. As long as it wasn't too late, then he would have to change... or at least try if he wanted to show Ryou that he loved him.

Meanwhile, Ryou changed his clothes. Now he was really thirsty, because of Bakura. He couldn't wait any longer with hunting. Quickly, Ryou opened his bedroom window and with one swift movement, he jumped through it and landed gently on the grass at the back of the house. With an incredible speed, he ran towards the nearby forest, where he would hunt.

~The next day~

The rest of yesterday, Ryou and Bakura had spent without talking to each other. Ryou had locked himself in his room all day and Bakura had started to unpack the suitcases and place everything in. He hoped, that Ryou would forgive him soon. This wasn't a good start for living in a new city. No, definitely not. But maybe distancing themselves from each other for a while wasn't that bad... It could help them to learn to love each other again. That's at least what Bakura thought or hoped.

As Ryou came out of his room this rainy Friday morning, dressed in a white shirt and a blue pair of jeans, a bag hanging across his shoulder, Bakura was puzzled.

He cleared his throat. "Are you going anywhere?", he asked.

Ryou closed his eyes and went past him to the front door. There, he stopped. "I'm going to school... As you complained so much about having to go to school the last time when we'd moved to England, I thought you surely would be happy if you could stay at home", Ryou said without facing Bakura. "So... enjoy your day. I'm going to school without you."

Bakura wanted to say something. "Ryou, wait, I-" But Ryou was already out of the door, heading off to school alone.

Sighing, Bakura slumped down on the couch.

In the meantime, Ryou went to school on foot. He was still angry at Bakura and he intended to be angry at him for a little longer.

A little later, Ryou arrived at Domino High School. There weren't many people here as it was only twenty past seven and school would begin in over half an hour. Sighing, Ryou headed for the school office to sign up for school. He didn't know, if he could already attend classes today, but it was at least worth a try.

The school wasn't that big, and Ryou found the office easily. He took a deep breath, before knocking at the wooden door.

As he received an answer from inside of the room, Ryou entered.

When the secretary laid eyes on Ryou, she blinked a few times and then, she had a strange expression on her face. Ryou groaned mentally. He'd almost forgotten that. People always liked to stare at him when they saw him for the first time. Though most of the humans always stared at him, no matter how long they knew him. He should be used to that by now. But he wasn't.

"C-can I h-help you?", the secretary stuttered, obviously unable to think clear with Ryou in the same room.

Ryou put on a friendly smile. "Hello. My name is Bakura Ryou. I'm new in town and I'd like to sign up at this school", he said.

The secretary looked dazed at him and it took her a few moments to realize that Ryou had stopped talking already. She cleared her throat.

"Oh, uhm... Sure you can sign up", she told him. "We just have to fill in some forms and then, you can start."

"Great", Ryou said and he began to fill in the forms. After he'd visited so much schools, he was used to that by now.

As everything was filled in and Ryou had gotten a schedule, it was just five past eight, what meant that school had already begun.

The secretary led him to his first classroom. She knocked and asked the teacher to come out for a moment.

"Mrs. Hanimato", the secretary began. "This is Bakura Ryou. He is new in town and has just signed up for school."

"Ah", the teacher, Mrs. Hanimato said. "A new student. Great. Come with me. Don't worry, the other students are friendly. I'm sure you'll find a lot of friends soon."

Ryou merely nodded. He wished Bakura would be with him right now. But that he wasn't here was Ryou's fault. He had told him to stay at home this time.

The secretary left and the teacher went back into the classroom. Ryou waited in front of the door.

"Listen, class", Mrs. Hanimato said. "We've got a new student today. Please be nice. His name is Bakura Ryou."

That was Ryou's cue. After taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped into the classroom. He had a strange feeling when he stood in front of the class. Something in this class was... different than normally. Something was wrong here...

But what?

----------------------------------------------To be continued--------------------------------------------

*gasp* A whole Ryou and Bakura chapter!

I'm sorry that there are only these two in this chapter, but I thought this was a good place to end the chapter and if I would also have written something about Yami and Yugi or Malik and Marik, the chapter would've become to long. You'll see the others in the next chapter again, I promise. ^-^

Well, what do you think is wrong in the class Ryou just went into? Guess!

And can you calculate how old Ryou is? What do you think about Bakura's behavior? Tell me!

And what do you think about the chapter? I hope I didn't confuse you too much. I personally don't like the chapter as much as I liked the other ones. It's okay, I guess, but not super or something. But if you liked it, then that's great and I'm very happy. :)

It would be great if you would review! Tell me what you think about the chapter, because I really need to know that. And if there are grammar mistakes, please tell me!

See you next chapter (or if you review then see you already earlier ^-^).

~Crystal of Moonlight~