Category: Guilty Pleasure
Pairing: Ryou Bakura and Yami Bakura (a.k.a. Tendershipping)
Why: When I typed 'Bakura' into Google Images in the hopes of finding a picture of Ryou to use as a reference while I sketched him, I was surprised to find several images which seemed to imply that he was in a romantic relationship with his dark side. In my opinion, this couple did not make any sense within the show. Unlike Yugi and Yami, who frequently seem to converse within the confines of their shared mind, Ryou and Bakura are rarely seen to communicate with each other on screen, and when they do, the interaction seems far from pleasant. Yami Bakura wrests control of Ryou's body from him without so much as a 'Please?' and proceeds to threaten Ryou's friends. The moment which several fans pointed to as proof for the possibility of a positive relationship was the time Bakura shielded Ryou from Slifer the Sky Dragon. However, Bakura clearly states that he is only protecting Ryou because he needs a functional vessel to complete his plans. That's right, he only wants Ryou for his body… That sounds romantic enough to me!
Why is this couple so popular? Honestly, despite the fact that this pairing is hardly feasible, it's the kind of pairing that people wish was canon. Both Ryou and Bakura are pretty pitiful characters. Ryou's mother and sister are dead, his father is never around, and the last thing he needs is a psychotic alter-ego who hurts him and his friends. All of Bakura's family and friends were slaughtered before his young eyes before he was locked in solitude for thousands of years. There is something deep inside every fangirl that wants these two characters to be OK, to have some semblance of happiness. For this reason, fans reason in their minds, "Maybe Ryousecretly enjoys Bakura's presence, since the main characters are always ignoring him? PerhapsBakura secretly does hold a fondness for Ryou, but his experience as a child has caused him to fear becoming too attached to someone else? Since Ryou was demoted to the status of a minor character, these two are not on screen nearly as much as they were in the manga. This leaves room for speculation about their personalities and relationship. The openness for interpretation leaves fans interested in this couple.
Also…let's face it, this couple is hot. Ryou is adorable, Bakura is smexy as frig, and they form the perfect couple to project the sadomasochistic fantasies of any fan. And that's pretty much why I like it. The imagination must be stretched for it to make sense, but everything is possible in fanfiction, right?
On to the oneshot!
"RYOU!"
Bakura paused.
Nothing.
He sighed, continuing his brisk pace down the sidewalk. The sky was a light grey, completely covered with clouds. It looked like it might rain soon.
It had been more than three hours since Bakura had seen Ryou, and the sun was beginning to set. While it was normal for Ryou to leave the house and roam the city, he never stayed away from home for very long, and he never stayed out after dark.
"When I get my hands on that stupid neko…" He growled, looking frantically in every direction.
"Hey, Bakura, why were you yelling?"
Bakura whipped his head around. He was face to face with his friend, Melvin. He appeared to be taking his own neko, Marik, for a walk. Marik hissed when he saw Bakura, the hairs of his tail standing on end as he crawled behind Melvin.
"It's nice to see you too, Marik," Bakura mumbled.
Melvin grinned, patting Marik on the head. Marik swiped at his hand, growling. Melvin chuckled. "That's just how he says that he likes you." He turned back to Bakura. "Hey, what's wrong? You look more emo than usual."
"I can't find Ryou. Have you seen him?"
Melvin's brow furrowed. "No, I haven't. We've been walking pretty far around town, and we haven't seen him. Right, Marik?"
Marik ignored the question, flicking his tail in irritation. Bakura rolled his eyes at the snooty neko. "Alright. I'll see you around."
"Bye." Melvin walked past Bakura, tugging Marik's lavender leash. Marik growled quietly at Bakura as he passed.
Bakura continued walking. He finally came upon the park in the center of town. "Ryou loves the park. Maybe he's here?" He cursed, feeling a water drop hit his head. Covering himself with the hood of his jacket, he walked along the sidewalk that wound through the middle of the grassy park. As he progressed further into the park, he was distracted from his search by a foul odor. He wrinkled his nose. "I wonder what that smell is…" Coincidentally, his neighbor, Yami, was sitting on a park bench. He didn't seem to have noticed the beginning of the light rain.
"Hello, Bakura. What are you doing here?"
"I can't find Ryou."
Yami's face filled with worry. "Oh, I'm sorry. He must be around somewhere." He flinched. "Aw, it's raining. Yugi, come here!"
A few seconds passed. His neko leaped out of the brush, bounding towards his master. Yami laughed. "It's raining, kitty. Time to go home."
Yugi purred, winding his way between Yami's legs, almost knocking him over. However, he froze when he saw Bakura. Bakura raised an eyebrow. "That's odd. Yugi is usually happy to see me."
Yami sensed Yugi's tension. "Baby? What's wrong?"
Yugi's ears flattened. He sat on his bottom, looking up at Bakura nervously. "A-are you looking for Ryou?"
"Yes. Do you know where he is?"
Yugi's tail flicked. "He…didn't want me to tell you. I think it would be better if I did, though."
"What's wrong? Is he hurt?"
Yugi bit his lip. "He's just…He's in that direction." Yugi pointed behind him. "You should be able to find him."
Bakura nodded, jogging towards the trees. He waded through thick foliage, winding his way around the clusters of trees. It was getting darker, and the rain was beginning to fall in increasing amounts. "I need to find him, and soon." Bakura thought, his face tense with worry.
Luckily, he didn't have to search for too long. He finally found his white-haired neko, curled up under a tree, shivering and sniffing.
"Ryou!" Ryou jolted, quickly standing on all fours. Bakura flew to him, gathering him up in his arms.
"Where have you been? Are you OK?" Ryou blushed, looking away.
"Ryou?" Suddenly, Bakura realized that the intensity of the smell had become stronger than ever. Hesitantly, he pushed his nose into Ryou's hair. He snorted, pulling away and turning his head. Now that he thought about it, Ryou did smell familiar. Carefully, he set the neko down.
"Skunk?" Ryou nodded, still refusing to look Bakura.
"Did the skunk attack you?" Ryou shook his head.
"It just sprayed you?" A nod.
Bakura huffed, exasperated that Ryou had apparently worried him for nothing. "Ryou, why didn't you just come to me?! I know that you don't like baths, but come on!"
He regretted his stern tone immediately. Ryou finally looked up at him with shining eyes. He swung his arms around Bakura's legs, latching on to him. "I-I'm sorry! W-we just…" He whimpered.
Bakura sighed, sinking to his knees. He wrapped his arms around Ryou, trying to ignore his scent. "Oh well, this jacket was getting old anyway." He said, out loud, "Hey, it's OK, Ryou. Just tell me what happened."
Ryou sniffed. "I was going for my daily walk, and I met Yugi as I passed through the park, so we decided to play chase. Then, these boys saw us, and they called us 'freaks of nature' and threw rocks at us." Bakura's arms tensed, but he remained silent. "The boys chased us into the woods. Yugi climbed into a tree, but you know I can't climb very well, so I saw a cluster of bushes, and…"
"The skunk was hiding there, right?"
Ryou nodded, looking down. "The boys ran away when they smelled it."
"Ryou, Yugi told me where you were." Ryou didn't respond. "He said that you told him not to tell anyone."
Ryou sighed. "I just…I just felt so stupid, you know? Anyone with common sense should be able to avoid a skunk."
"Were…Were you just embarrassed?" Ryou's face turned red. Bakura pushed him back, smiling at him. "Did you know that you're cute when you blush?" His face flushed a deeper shade. Bakura chuckled, pulling Ryou into his arms as he stood. "Let's go home, kitten."
(LINE BREAK)
Bakura took no precautions to save Ryou from embarrassment. He had carried Ryou home in his arms, ignoring the dirty looks of passerby. Ryou kept his face buried in Bakura's neck, mortified when he saw someone pinch their nose. As if walking down the street wasn't humiliating enough, Bakura actually carried Ryou into the grocery store so he could buy four gallons of tomato juice. After exchanging threats with the manager, who didn't want a filthy beast stinking up his store, Bakura took his juice in exchange for a bloody nose to the manager.
Now, Ryou sat in the bathtub in a pool of red juice, his ears folded back and tail twitching. Bakura sat next to him on the toilet, a handkerchief tied around his face to cover his nose and mouth, as he poured tomato juice over his head.
"I would punish you for making me worry," Bakura commented, "But it looks like this bath is punishment enough." Ryou growled quietly at him. He could tell that his master was smirking under the handkerchief by the bemused twinkle in his eye. "Aw, don't look so upset, kitten. I'm sure that it won't take too many baths to de-stink you. Maybe just four or five…" Ryou glared at him. He chuckled, before his expression became more serious. "But, seriously, Ryou, please don't scare me like that again. You should always come to me when something is wrong."
Ryou sighed, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry…" He leaned forward shyly, licking Bakura's cheek. Bakura pulled down his handkerchief and grinned, pecking Ryou on the lips. Ryou mewed quietly in surprise. Bakura smiled as he saw red that wasn't tomato juice appear on Ryou's face.
"How about we watch a movie after your baths, Ryou?"
"Can we watch Avatar?"
Bakura laughed. "If we can't get the stain of the tomato juice out of your hair, you'll be fit to be in Avatar's sequel."
Author's Note: So…let's just say that this story contains more than one of my 'guilty pleasures.'
Anyway, this oneshot was somewhat based upon my story Camp Romance, except that this story is set in an alternate universe, and it's Tendershipping instead of Thiefshipping, and Ryou is a neko. So, really, it's nothing like Camp Romance.