Here's the next chapter!
And all I can do for this AN is repeat my warning of the last. This is not for those who think Ryou had a good life before he met Yugi and it does have a really strong adult theme in it that I know only the most worthless of parents would think of committing, but let's face it; such bastards just really do exist, end of story.
Okay on with this one,

Venquine1990

Chapter 6
Bakura and Ryou

Bakura's POV

Like that little shrimp who had proven himself not to be the Pharaoh and who had proven to know exactly how to defeat that great and disgusting monster I have had to deal with countless times while here in the Shadow Realm, do I focus on my bond with my Hikari, wondering if I could really be meant for someone so young and kind.
Then the bond proves this to be true as like the Puzzle's Guardian, I too am sent away from the Shadow Realm in a blast of pure light, something I find both intriguing and slightly ironic as I myself am the darkness, yet it is only fitting for the powers of Light to return me to what I now consider my Hikari, Ryou Bakura.
Feeling that it can't be without reason that this boy shares my namesake, even if the rest of his family does as well, do I wonder what life as his Yami will be like, but then I think: "Whatever it'll be like, it will most certainly be better than a life where all I can think about is vengeance and my hatred for the wrong people."
And while I again feel a twinge of pain going through what I can only assume is my actual heart at the thought of me wanting to destroy an entire family for killing of a bunch of thieves, murderers and criminals, do I see something that makes me think of completely other things as I think: "Why am I heading for a hospital?"

And indeed do I feel my spirit arrive in one of the upper floors of a large, white painted hospital building, my room being in the first ten on the left of the twentieth, perhaps twenty-fifth floor and when I arrive there, does my heart skip a beat when I see Ryou, who lies in the bed while motionless and with his eyes firmly closed.
The boy's heart is still beating as I can feel it beat alongside my own thanks to the Millennium Ring and upon closer look can I see the boy breathing, even if his lips are almost firmly closed and there is barely a breath coming through his nose, his shoulders not even moving, yet his chest indicating that his lungs are still functioning.
Looking at the poor young lad, do I remember the Puzzle Spirit's words of our Hikari's suffering the longer our search for the Items takes and I think: "Did I cause this? Could Ryou have been awake and awaiting me had I searched with more passion for the ring that is around my neck? How long has he been like this?"

Then the door to his room opens and I look at it, wondering if one of his friends could be visiting and if so, why they are not at his bed constantly, awaiting the day that he awakes, but then I remember something. "As far as they know, I am evil. Seeing me here will not do their tempers any good and I doubt they will be willing to listen."
And with that do I want to hide wherever possible, when I see that it is not one of the pretty boy's friends, but instead that old man that – if memory served me correctly – is Yugi Moto's grandfather along with two people who somehow resemble little Ryou, even if their facial features make me wonder if they are related at all.
Where Ryou is always looking ahead with a kind smile or an intelligent gaze, are these two with their eyes covered, their lips thin and their entire stances rigged like bricks in a wall as they walk over to Ryou, ahead of the old man who seems to desperately be trying to convince them of something and I decide to have a little listen in.

"Please, you must be reasonable. I have enough on my hands with Yugi and if he hears what you're planning with poor Ryou, you will have two deaths on your hands." This shocks me and I think: "Are members of Ryou's own family cruel enough to get rid of him? Was my time of arrival perhaps spot on then, after all?"
But then the woman on the left, who does have Ryou's long albino white hair, but who keeps it tied up with several white hair bands and hairclips, says: "What we do with our son is none of your business." And while my heart freezes over at the word son, does Solomon Moto shout: "It is if it can send my grandson to suicide."
"We haven't seen your grandson here in at least a fortnight. If he truly cares for Ryou, he would have shown up more." The man says and Solomon angrily retorts: "Like you are visiting trice in three months?" And while a small blush is apparent on the albino skin of the man, do I decide that I have heard enough.

Having concluded that I am still in spirit form as the three of them walked past me without even acknowledging my presence, even Solomon Moto himself, do I focus on the Millennium Ring around my neck as I whisper: "Ancient magic of my Millennium Ring, grant me a body so I may protect that of my Hikari."
And with that – and another blast of dazzling gleaming light – do I feel fluids starting to flow from my heart down to my arms, legs and up to my brain, do I suddenly sense the actual fabric of my shirt and pants on my new skin and do I feel the wind of the open window brush my hair out of my face, while my eyes spot something amusing.
The Bakura parents and Solomon Moto, all of them looking at me in shock and the elder man is the first to respond as he says: "Please, no more Shadow Realm! Not again." But I pass the elder man as I say: "I am not here for you, old man, but I do wish to offer you my gratitude nonetheless." The man looks at me and I turn to my targets.

The two have sunglasses on, but even then can I almost sense their unease as I turn my Death Glare at them and with the death of my anger in my voice, do I say: "I am here because these two are more careless for their own son than my Darkened Spirit was of him when the Memories of Zorc the Dark One had me under their control."
Solomon looks at me in shock and asks: "You were under the influence of Zorc the Dark one? Do you mean, like how the Pharaoh was under the Influence of the Seal of Oricalchos?" To which I answer: "Yes and no, old man. Yes, it felt like that, however no, because it was not the Pharaoh you have known these last four years."
This shocks the man and he asks: "It was not? Then –." He blinks and asks: "Who has been helping Yugi all this time?" And I answer: "Simple, the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, a Spirit Yugi created when he first put the Puzzle back together after the Pharaoh had shattered it to make sure his memories would not unleash Zorc's darkness once more."

The grandfather of little Yugi looks at me shocked and then I turn my grin on the two parents of my little Hikari yet again and ask: "Intriguing, is it not? How a mere boy of only 18 has a better sense of justice than two actual adults combined, adults – if I were to go by your outfits – who apparently enforce justice on a daily basis."
And with that the two take a step back as if hit, but I pay them no mind as my sole reason for being here is still lying on his bed, still motionless bar his breathing and has yet to even respond to my presence, something that worries me as I would have expected a mental or emotional reaction by now and I ask:
"When?" Everyone looks at me and I continue: "When did this happen? Has he fallen asleep like this after going to bed one night? I already know of your little conversation it has been three months since he ended up in this Hospital. However, what I do not know is how he came to be here or when? So tell me and tell me now!"
I demand of the three, the parents taking another step back and Solomon Moto making a scared sound in the back of his throat, proving to me he still fears that I will send him to the Shadow Realm before he says: "He did. He did fall asleep. It was on the boat ride back. We went overnight and when we woke in Japan, he wouldn't."

I nod at the man, while part of me is relieved that it wasn't my long search that caused this and then I ask: "And three months like this is enough for one's parents to decide he should be put down?" My tone of anger obviously meant for the parents and actually making Solomon glare at the two with renewed anger.
"We are his parents and we have such rights." The woman then tells me, but then Solomon angers me as he says: "Not when all reports from the doctors keep stating that he's perfectly fine, you fools! Such rights are only to be given to you when your son is already on his deathbed and Ryou clearly isn't or the doctors would have told us."
He then turns to me and says: "I know now you were created when Ryou first came in contact with you, but I sincerely hope you have been cleansed of all your Darkness as the only reason Ryou was always so quick to give in – was because of those two and their lack of proper care." And he aims an accusing finger at the parents.
"You say we have a lack of care? You're more in the Hospital than your grandson is dueling and you live in a store. How does that make you the better guardian, old man?" And while I hate how the father uses my nickname for the man, do I decide to use their little distraction with each other to my advantage and I approach the bed.

There Ryou still lies calm as a brook on a spring day, his breathing coming out in even pants and his chest barely even moving the blanket over him as he breaths in and out, in and out, constantly, proving with just that little bit of evidence that he is still clinging to life and fighting for a chance to wake up, something that makes me smile at him.
I then gently, not wanting to startle the sleeping body on the bed, set myself onto the bed, the mattress not even whispering in a creak as I do so and I decide to make my first move towards this pretty little light lying here in front of me. I raise my hand ever so slowly, careful to see whether or not he is waking and then touch his cheek.
The warmth of his skin, even against the skin of the back of my fingers, feels pleasant and comforting even when it is just a few of my fingers against his cheek and I feel a happy, content smile grow on my face as I gently let the hand brush down Ryou's cheek, stopping at his jaw line only to move up and over to his hair.
There my fingers almost disappear in the long tresses and while I gently untangle any last curls that could have gotten stuck together while he slept, do I let my hand go past the other side of his face, the bottom of my hand again touching and caressing down his other cheek and then finally do I get a response from the little boy.

With just a small sigh before he goes back to how he breathed in and out before, does Ryou tilt his head to the left and does he actually trap my hand between his cheek and the pillow, yet this is not the sign that I take notice of or that makes me gasp. No, the sign I suddenly see appearing is a serene smile that grows on Ryou's face.
Looking at that one smile, that one turn of his lips that makes them look like a single side of the moon when it's full in its glory, shining up in the night sky, do I suddenly see a vision in my mind's eyes of myself and Ryou, sitting atop the roof of a building with a red-bricked roof and holding hands as we gaze at the night sky together.
The vision disappears only seconds later, however it does not leave me completely empty as I not just feel a strong growing determination to actually see that vision come true, I also feel something else, a group of emotions that I know aren't mine and I think: "Little Hikari, can you hear me?" Wondering if all links have been formed.
Then my eyes widen as Ryou nods only ever so slowly and only once, his movement almost too little for my eyes to see and then I hear his voice inside my head and he whispers: "Take them out." And it takes me only a second to understand who my Hikari could be talking about, yet when I do, do I stand up yet again.

Ryou releases my hand from under his cheek and lies himself in such a way that – had all this not just happened – I would have believed I had dreamed it all happening or something, yet I don't pay attention to this as I focus back on the parents and Mr. Moto, all of who seem to have forgotten us and are shouting at each other.
"And I keep telling you that you can't make decisions like this! Not if even the medical records show that your son is in perfect health!" And while I feel amazed at how violent the man can shout, do I smirk at him and say: "His health is indeed remarkable, even if I can't say that he has his parents to thank for that, obviously."
The two glare at me, but I am not faced in the slightest as the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had much more anger and hatred in his eyes when he glared at me and while I wonder how, do I say: "It is most remarkable but I somehow still have my memories of my time as a Tomb Robber. They have been cleansed, but they are still here.
And I can tell you here and now, even in the times of Ancient Egypt you would not have been honored for your decisions. In fact, if the Pharaoh had heard, you would have probably been thrown in the dungeon, regardless of the fact that no healer then or now would have been able to wake your son from his slumber."

"And why should we care about the Ancient Egyptian times? We're lawyers, not Archeologists." The woman sneers at me and I think: "And you clearly don't know how to keep your behavior as a lawyer inside the courtroom." But then I decide not to share this thought and to just continue with my planned speech as I smirk and say:
"Oh, but you should care. For you see, the Millennium Ring that your husband bought for your son comes from exactly that time and it was filled – with my Ancient Memories." The two look shocked, the man's glasses even going so far as to fall off part of his nose and I ask: "How else do you explain my knowledge of Egyptian customs?"
And the two share a shocked look before I continue and say: "I myself am a spirit turned human, I am the guardian of the Millennium Ring and due to the many years I have served as the Spirit of your son's Millennium Item, has destiny now seen it fit to deem me a new title – one I now see I must take quite seriously indeed."
"And what title is this?" The man asks, apparently not liking the slight I brought in against him as I had glared while stating how I would take my new duties seriously and I snap back: "The title of being your son's Darkness, his Yami and his guardian. And I have living proof that Ryou has accepted this and wishes for my aid."

By now I have everyone intrigued and I send a quick wink at the old man to tell him he should play along before I say: "If you would all just wait outside and watch through the window. Your anger for each other will just cause for you to start shouting again and I cannot have that if I wish to prove to you that Ryou trusts me."
The parents grumble, but while Mr. Moto sends them angry glares, does he send me a questioning glance, one I ignore as I simply wait for them to close the door behind them and by the time they have opened the curtains to the room, have I turned my back to them and walked back to where I sat on Ryou's bed minutes earlier.
I then softly lie my hand on Ryou's and while focusing on the bond that I feel growing between us, do I make sure my voice is loud enough it can be heard on the hallway as I say: "I did as you asked, my Hikari. Your parents are in this room no more. You can wake up now, little one. Wake and open those pretty little eyes of yours."
And while I hear a hum of wonder from the hallway, along with a huff of disbelief, does a smile grow on my face as I see Ryou scrunching up his nose, the appendage moving almost too cutely as if the boy is ready to sneeze or something, and then a pair of chocolate brown eyes slowly open, the boy turning his face my way.

Ryou's POV

I've been feeling all day that something amazing and something terrible would both happen on the same day, but until my parents had come in shouting with Mr. Moto had I been unable to properly understand my own instincts as the arrival of the powerful spirit had made me fear for him to be the something terrible.
However, when my parents had come in, stating they were ready to let me sleep for good, had I done the only thing I thought I could do while my body refused to wake up; I had focused on the magical item I had sensed around the spirit's neck and had reformed the mental connection that we had shared when it was still around my neck.
I had instantly asked for the spirit's protection and had heard him whisper something, something of which I could only understand the last few words: "So I may protect that of my Hikari." And while I wonder what could have happened to the spirit for him to now suddenly call me such a sweet word, had I felt the magic activate.
The body had appeared, I had been able to sense this and I had also been able to hear everything going on as, while my eyes remain closed and my body had not moved an inch in three months, I had still been able to hear everything said around me and sense anyone who had come to my bed, including all of my friends and my current guests.

Then the spirit had – together with Mr. Moto – argued against a decision my parents had tried to make earlier on and when my parents went into the manner of how Yugi was raised, did I wonder if Bakura had suddenly changed sides as from then on I only heard Mr. Moto getting louder and louder as he vocally fought with my parents.
Knowing no one can win a vocal competition against two lawyers had I been shocked to feel a pair of fingers going down my left cheek and I had realized that Bakura had simply lost interest in the argument and had gone to caress my cheek instead, an action that was shortly after followed by him softly petting my hair.
By this time had the shouting between my parents and Mr. Moto gone almost too loud for my ears to take and had it almost caused me to fear the hand in my hair and on my cheek, had it not been for how soft, warm and caring the motion had felt and I had instinctively pushed my face to the right to trap that hand under my cheek.
After this had I received further evidence that the Spirit had appeared in Light of the something good my instincts told me would happen as he again uses that simple title and asks: "Little Hikari, can you hear me?" And I had pushed all of my muscles in my head to nod yes, before I decided to lie my fate in his hands in the hopes of better times.

"Take them out." I had almost mentally shouted at the Spirit, hoping that if I could hear him, he could hear me and while I had felt all kinds of emotions that I simply couldn't understand and that made me realize that there is both a mental bond as well as an emotional one, do I try not to let the Spirit know just how scared I truly am.
Scared, because Yugi had explained me everything and had assured me that the Spirit was gone, even if it was here on the bed with me right now. Scared because I had heard how Yugi and Marik have been going downhill for a long time. Scared because I just don't know how much longer I can stand to live with parents such as my own.
The Spirit had then returned his focus to my shouting parents and had effectively not just silenced them, but also insulted them afterwards, actually throwing in a mental insult as well when mother exclaimed how she and father were lawyers and while I know I would have giggled had I had control of my body, did the Spirit continue.

It had played with my parents, had apparently not even been affected by their anger, which I can understand thanks to his memories of the Millennium Puzzle's Spirit glaring at him rush past my mind real fast – and he even gone so far as to call himself my new guardian, stating that what my parents were planning fueled his need to be one.
Not sure whether or not a Spirit like this one – even if I had by now seen the evidence that he is indeed not the Spirit I had come across countless times over the last four years – can truly be a guardian to me, do I still feel relieved when the Spirit actually tricks my parents into leaving the room before he returns to my side.
There I had felt and heard the evidence that the Spirit is indeed ready to become my guardian as he had laid his hand on mine, the touch warm and gentle and while he spoke to me, had his voice become warm and deep like a waterfall cascading down on the rocky surface of a rainforest river on a summer day and he had told me:
"I did as you asked, my Hikari. Your parents are in this room no more. You can wake up now, little one. Wake and open those pretty little eyes of yours." The idea of him thinking my eyes to be pretty had me weirded out a little, however when I had opened them and I had gazed upon the spirit had I seen something I had not expected.

Warmth. A warm glow seems to radiate out of the Spirit's eyes, proving to me just how happy he is to lock eye-contact with me and the warmth of his gaze almost takes my breath away, his hand squeezing mine happily, do I feel new fear entering my system as my father barges into the room in a rampage and shouts:
"That's nothing! You did absolutely nothing! He woke by himself!" But the warmth is quick to leave Bakura's eyes when he looks at my father and the glare he sends him is almost cold enough to make me shiver as Bakura snaps: "In case you went deaf out there in that hallway, did I most certainly do something, you dimwitted lawyer."
My father looks shocked and Bakura says: "I proved myself worthy of Ryou's trust. Something you can't say you did, because here you are today, willing to kill off your own son for no reason whatsoever. A true father would have guarded his son, sent the best medicals after him and held him close in his arms as he slept.
You barely visited the last 3 months he was here and when you do, you actually have the audacity to call others bad friends for not visiting a few times more. You call yourself a parent? I call you the worst form of a human guardian I have ever seen. And I've seen what guardians can do, I was a pretty bad one myself not so long ago."

And while I want to object to this, do I know I cannot as the times where Bakura had me under his control were pretty bad indeed, but then I remember one time he had me and say: "At – at least –." But my voice fails me and while my father looks at me shocked, does Bakura rush to me, filling some water in a glas and softly raising my head.
Amazed at how easily this Spirit can change between his anger at someone and his care for me, do I give him a weak smile, hating how three months of sleep have weakened my body, even if all my vital organs are still intact and Bakura softly whispers hushed sounds from his lips as he presses the glass against mine to help me drink.
The cold fluid of water feels wonderful to my throat and I happily gulp down the whole glass, Bakura lifting the glass a little here and there to make sure I don't get too much in one go and when the glass is empty, do I smile at him as he sets the glass away, lies my head back down before he lies a hand on my cheek and asks:
"You were saying, Hikari?" And I whisper: "At least you knew when I needed protection." This confuses the spirit and I say: "The first Battle City Finals duel, remember? I was really weakened by that weird stab wound in my arm and you came and took over, so you could take the hit from Sliver instead of me."

At this I expected to see a grateful smile on my Spirit's face, but instead does the Spirit turn his head down and say: "Perhaps, but it had still been my idea to stab you in the first place. It was all part of the idea of me and Marik so that fool could win the hearts of your friends. I was as much responsible for your pain as he."
But to this do I focus all my strength on my arm and raise it so that my finger lies itself against his lips and say: "Yet you never sent my soul or that of my friends to the Shadow Realm, did you? You perhaps once played with us, but that is sincerely the worst I can remember you doing with us. You never truly hurt us."
But again the thief shakes his head and says: "I almost killed the Pharaoh. I actually defeated his Ka-Monster when it was Sliver himself and then made him fall off a cliff after taking his Millennium Puzzle. I did harm your friends, little one, but I will no more. I will not harm them and I will from now on, protect you at all costs."
This makes me smile as I had been trying yet again to gather energy, if only to push myself up so I could embrace him and make him keep silent. The man then goes and pulls the blanket up and over me a little more as he says: "And right now, that means giving you the chance to heal from your sleep as it has drained your body from its strength."
And while I feel amazed that he can actually sense that, does the Spirit turn angry yet again as he turns to my father and says: "I will be here from this day forth until my Hikari has his full strength back. People like you will not be necessary during that period of his life – if ever." He hisses at the end, shocking my father senseless.

"You – you – you can't tell me I can't visit my own son!" The man shouts and Bakura smirks as he says: "I can, because no one who knows Ryou would believe you to be his father. Also, you were the first to ever encounter the Millennium Ring, is that right?" The man looks confused but nods and Bakura goes on as he asks:
"Tell me, did your wife have any contact with the Millennium Ring before Ryou did?" And another nod makes me realize what the Spirit is talking about as I ask: "You – you don't think?" And Bakura answers: "That there is still the darkness of my cursed side possessing your parents' bodies? I have all reason to believe that."
Everyone – including mother and Uncle Moto who have come into the room – look at him shocked and he says: "My Cursed Spirit has proven many a time in the past that it can willingly change hosts. It even once tried so in Duelist Kingdom and part of it took control of your friend Tristan, while another part came to rest inside the Puzzle.
The idea that it had done this long before you even touched it or called upon its powers is not one I find unreasonable, regardless of the fact that that spirit should have been destroyed three months ago, when the Pharaoh defeated Zorc and with that sent my Spirit to the Afterlife for a proper Ancient Egyptian Cleansing of Darkness."

This makes me look at my parents and I ask: "So the chance of them having been affected by the Spirit earlier on isn't all that bizarre to think about, seeing the evidence lying in past events, however because the Darkness was cleansed from you, it should have been cleansed from my parents as well as that happened 3 months ago.
So how is that possible then?" I ask in the end and Bakura sighs as he says: "In all truth, little one, am I simply guessing, hoping to find a reason as to why they don't share your kind heart and gentle soul. To have been cursed by the Darkness of my evil side sounds like the only reasonable one, even if it came undone three months ago."
This makes Uncle Moto and me look down and then father shouts: "ENOUGH ALREADY!" We all look at him shocked and he glares at us as he says: "Cursed Spirit? Evil side? Do you even hear what you are SAYING? You're talking witchcraft, something that disappeared with the bloody Middle ages, how could it happen now?"

But to this Bakura seems to have an explanation as he retorts: "How else do you explain my sudden appearance in the room while you had entered to it being empty bar your own son?" And the man steps back in shock, while I wonder if my headstrong Spirit or Top-Defender Father will win this head-on-head battle.
Then Uncle Moto suddenly steps in as he coughs and says: "Whether or not magic exists is not the matter here. The matter is that Ryou is awake and that he needs rest for his body to heal. It's after all like Bakura said, sleeping this much can actually tire one out instead of letting them rest up. We should all leave and let Ryou rest."
And while my parents glare the man, does Bakura simply seat himself in a seat next to my bed, part of me missing his presence on my bed, and he says: "I stay with my earlier statement; I will remain by my Hikari's side until he has healed. And before you even try, I can simply put the ring around Ryou's neck and vanish inside it."
And while the idea of wearing that ring scares me, even while I know that has been cleansed, does Mr. Moto nod, accepting that he apparently can't change the Spirit's minds and then he asks a question I wasn't expecting: "Tell me Bakura, if you have returned to Ryou, does that mean the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle is back with Yugi?"

Okay, Marik is up next!
He will be a hard one to write about, but after that, do I plan to go back to Yugi. There will still be adventures happening in the POV's of Ryou and the others – and I have another evil parent plan for someone else – but Yugi's bond with Yami is definitely my main source of interest for this story and will have most of my focus.
Now, the reason why Marik will be a hard one to write about. First of all, I really want to express the craziness of the Yami's with Malik, but I don't want to make Malik crazy enough he can get arrested or anything – I need my limits. Second, Marik has been the one physically affected and I need time to write that down.
Wish me luck,

Venquine1990