Hello, and happy Halloween to you all! This is Kristen with an update just in time for this spooky holiday! And the theme fits, too! For my G shipping, I've picked Gemshipping (Thief King Bakura and Ryou). At first, I had no clue what to do with this pairing. In the end, I thought of something that would sound like the possible beginning of a creepy, supernatural romance. Because at the time, I thought that would be the only way to make the pairing make sense canon-wise. This pairing can be considered either canon or AU, however. It's your call on that. Okay, now read and enjoy my first. Ever. Yaoi. Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUN!
Disclaimer: The answer is "No, we don't own Yu-Gi-Oh."
The room was bare save for a few unlit candles and a thin box. Stepping into the room was Ryou Bakura. He smiled as he set down a bowl of chips. Tonight, he had invited Yugi and the others to come over and try out Ryou's newest game: an Ouija board. He was certain that an experience with the supernatural would help get their minds off of school if only for a moment.
'There, everything's set,' Ryou thought, a triumphant look on his face as he inspected the room. 'Now, all that's left is for the others to get here.'
Just after having this thought, Ryou heard knocking coming from the front of his apartment. He chuckled in amusement at his friends' impeccable timing before making his way to the door. Upon opening the door, he saw Yugi, Anzu, and Honda pulling along a very reluctant Jounouchi.
Seeing the latter of the group caused Ryou to look confused. Curiously, he asked, "Um, is Jounouchi alright?"
"Yeah, he's cool," Honda replied casually. Then, he snickered as he said, "Jounouchi's just freaking out because we'll be talking with ghosts."
"I am not!" Jounouchi snapped angrily as he glared at his friend. "I just remembered that I had something to do right now; that's all."
It was obvious to Ryou and the others that he was lying; they all knew that the blond—for reasons unknown to them—was terrified of ghosts. However, instead of making fun of him, Ryou said, "Well, you can at least stay for a few minutes, can't you?"
After giving a soft groan, Jounouchi replied, "Yeah, yeah, I can. But I'm only going to be staying for the snacks, alright?"
While Ryou led his friends into the apartment and towards the main room, he chuckled and said, "Alright, Jounouchi, and I promise; you won't regret coming."
Soon, everyone was in the main room. After everyone got seated on the floor, Ryou opened the box and pulled out the Ouija board. It looked harmless enough: a board with the letters A-Z, numbers 0-9, "yes", "no", and "goodbye" on it. However, Ryou was hoping that this was more than just a piece of cardboard with markings.
Suddenly, Ryou sensed his friends looking at the board as well. He heard Yugi ask curiously, "So, is that the Ouija board?"
Ryou nodded, and then as he got out the token that came with the board, he said, "With this board, we should be able to communicate with the dead. I'm sure we'll have fun with this."
After making sure that everything was set, Ryou proceeded to light the candles in the room. It was at this moment that Anzu asked, "So what are all the candles for, Ryou?"
For a moment, Ryou paused. Then, he let out a short laugh and replied, "I guess I just wanted to set the mood."
Soon, Ryou had finished lighting the candles. Then, before they got started, he turned off the lights in his apartment so that the only light in the room would come from the candles and the moonlight shining through the window.
After taking back his seat in front of the Ouija board, he said, "Okay, now we can get started. One of you, place your fingertips on the token."
For a moment, the other teens talked amongst themselves, trying to decide who would go first. After awhile, they decided that Anzu would go first. She and Ryou both placed their fingertips on the token. While Ryou moved the piece in small circles to warm up the board, he told everyone, "Alright, now all we have to do is ask simple questions. If there's a spirit in this room, it will move the token over the letters to answer the question."
"Wait, the spiritmoves the token?" Honda asked incredulously. "Now, I'd like to see that!"
In response to this, Yugi nodded and Jounouchi said, "Me too!"
Ryou nodded, and then, a silence filled the room as everyone waited with anticipation for him to ask the first question. After taking a deep breath, Ryou asked, "Is there a spirit in this room that would like to speak with us?"
The five teenagers waited for some sort of response. Suddenly, just when they thought nothing was going to happen, the token started to move. Anzu gasped while the three who weren't touching the token let out their own surprise by either gasping or (in Jounouchi's case) yelping. As the token moved, Ryou said, "Don't worry; this is how the Ouija board works."
A few seconds passed before the token stopped over the word "yes". Everyone's eyes lit up after seeing the response. With excitement, Anzu said, "That's so cool! What should we ask first?"
"Maybe we should ask the spirit for its name," Yugi suggested.
Everyone agreed, and Ryou asked, "What is your name, spirit?"
Soon, the token was moving again, and everyone watched as it stopped at each letter. After the token finished spelling, Ryou was shocked at the name that had been spelled out.
Amane.
Everyone gaped at the response, and after what seemed like a long period of silence, Honda asked, "Isn't Amane the name of your sister, Ryou?"
Still too shocked to speak, Ryou merely nodded. He had lost his sister to a car accident years ago; he did not expect her spirit to be the first spirit they would make contact with!
Suddenly, Jounouchi said, "Wait, how do we know this ghost is really moving that thing? What if it's you guys moving it? I say we should ask that ghost to show itself!"
Ryou gasped at this suggestion and said, "Jounouchi, we can't do that! If the spirit agrees, there's no telling what would happen!"
"Besides, neither of us were moving it," Anzu added. "If you don't believe me, why don't you try it?"
"Maybe I will!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
After this exchange, the teens took turns with using the Ouija board to speak with Amane. Everyone, even Jounouchi eventually, really got into it. They spent the next couple of hours just asking simple questions to the spirit. Amane seemed to be the most expressive towards Ryou, Anzu, and Yugi. She was a bit shy towards the other two. Still, they all had fun. Eventually, the spirit decided to leave, and this left Ryou and his friends alone to relax. Ryou was so glad to know that his sister was alright; that at least helped him feel better about her passing.
After a pause, he said, "It's getting a little late, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Anzu agreed. "We should probably get going."
Honda immediately got up and said, "Yeah, I've got a test to study for tomorrow. Don't want to sleep in for that."
"Eh, I'd rather hang out here," Jounouchi said, now completely comfortable in Ryou's apartment. "I'd take creepy ghosts over boring textbooks any day."
At this response, everyone laughed. Honda then said, "Well, I can't argue with that. Still, we really do need to get some sleep."
"Fine," Jounouchi said, "But you're not gonna make me waste my day with schoolwork."
Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone in the room, the token on the Ouija board spun wildly before coming to a sudden stop. Everyone stared at the object in shock, and after a long pause, Jounouchi said warily, "Did one of you guys do that?"
"No," The others said in response.
This reaction surprised Ryou more than anything. He had never heard of something happening like this with an Ouija board. He assumed that this only happened because another spirit had entered the room and wanted to make itself known. And what was worse, Ryou couldn't tell if this spirit was a friendly one. Yugi seemed to voice out Ryou's question and asked, "Do you guys think a spirit did that?"
"Well, if it did, why did it do that?" Honda asked.
Anzu added, "Yeah, do you think we should try talking to it?"
Ryou's mental state was telling him they should put away the Ouija board and just leave the spirit alone. However, his internal instincts and natural curiosity were urging him to try and make contact with the spirit. So, against his better judgment, Ryou went up to the board and placed his fingertips back on the token. Then, he said quietly, "Anzu, will you help me? I think we should try talking with this spirit."
Cautiously, Anzu approached him. Before touching the token, she asked, "Are you sure this will be safe?"
Ryou didn't like hearing this; he was already nervous enough about this whole thing. Calmly, he said, "I think so. So long as we're carefully about what we ask and how far we take it, we should be fine."
"Well, okay…" Anzu said unsurely as she touched the token. Yugi, Honda, and Jounouchi, in the meantime, stepped back from the board, worried that something would happen if they stood to close.
Ryou took some deep breaths before finally asking, "Um, spirit, do you want to speak with us?"
Ryou waited, unsure about what sort of response he should expect. Soon, the token was moving, and the teens were watching intently to see the response.
Yes.
Ryou's mind was stupefied. Well, at least that answered that question. Now the only problem was what he should ask next. He didn't have to think long though, because the next to ask a question wasn't actually him. Yugi, who had come a little closer to watch the board, asked, "Okay, how are you feeling right now?"
Ryou, at first, didn't expect anything since the person asking the question wasn't one of the people touching the token, but to his surprise, it began to move again. They watched intently as the spirit spelled out a word, and Ryou was a bit worried by the response.
Mad.
Ryou didn't know much about angry spirits: only that they were usually the more dangerous ones. His friends didn't seem to understand this, for they didn't express much worry at the response: just curiosity. Curiously, Anzu asked, "Why are you angry?"
The token moved again. Ryou and the others hoped that the spirit's reply would explain things. However, to their confusion, the response was incomplete.
I want…
"'I want'?" Honda said. "What does it want?"
"I don't know," Jounouchi said, thinking about what it could want. Suddenly, with a dorky grin, he said, "Maybe the ghost wants an order of pork chops with a side order of fries."
The two boys laughed at Jounouchi's self-made answer, and Anzu groaned and rolled her eyes while Yugi said, "Come on, guys. Be serious, please."
Ryou decided to take a chance and ask the spirit what it wanted, despite the bad feeling he was feeling. Nervously, he asked, "What is it you want, spirit?"
Slowly, the token moved, and Ryou focused more intently than in the past, his gut feeling becoming stronger with each passing second. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, he got an answer. The answer confused him and, in a sense, terrified him.
You.
Ryou could feel his hands shaking from nervousness, he felt a cold chill, and his chest felt like it was beginning to throb. Nervously, he thought, 'What in the world? This cannot be happening. This is not normal!'
"Whoa! Sounds like you have a dead stalker," Jounouchi said with surprise, but also with amusement. Apparently, he found this funny and not terrifying.
"Hey, I've got a question for the spirit," Honda said. Looking back towards the board, he asked, "Can you tell us your name, ghost?"
The token moved, and the response was short and simple.
No.
"That's weird," Anzu said, now getting a little nervous. "Why won't the spirit tell us its name?"
After a bit of thinking, Jounouchi asked with a laugh, "So, ghost, were you a pedophile while you were alive?"
Anzu shot the blond a glare while the token moved again. Everyone else watched the token move, and once again, the answer was very short.
No.
"Hm, is it being truthful, or is it in denial?" Jounouchi asked out loud before bursting into laughter.
"Jounouchi, this isn't funny!" Anzu scolded. "Stop being so immature!"
While Jounouchi calmed down and Anzu lectured him, Ryou thought about what he should do. This whole situation with this spirit was making him really scared. But for reasons he couldn't explain, he was curious about this ghost. He wanted to know who it was, why it was speaking with them and in particular why it wanted him (and what it meant by that). So, although Ryou was scared about what would happen after his next question, he asked the one question that he knew they should never ask a spirit when using the Ouija board. After calming his nerves as much as he could, Ryou asked, "Spirit, can you prove to us that you are here?"
His other friends quieted down and gasped at Ryou's question to the spirit, and while they waited for a response, Anzu said, "Are you crazy, Ryou? I thought you said anything could happen if you ask a spirit to show itself!"
"Relax, Anzu," Jounouchi said, surprisingly calmer than his other friends at the moment. "This ghost probably isn't going to show himself. He seems like one of those creepy stalkers that hides in the dark and never comes out into the open.
As the token moved, Ryou thought, 'Well, although I might've worded it differently, I think Jounouchi's right. Spirits normally respond 'no' to this question a few times as a warning before they actually show that they're there. With the way this spirit's been behaving, I wouldn't be surprised to see it answer 'no'. I mean, the chances are pretty low that it would say—'
Yes.
Ryou's thoughts halted. That was the answer that he didn't want to see. Before he had time to process a response, however, the candles suddenly went out. He and Anzu couldn't help but let out short screams while the other boys either gasped or (again, in Jounouchi's case) screamed. Nervously, Anzu said, "Please tell me one of you guys opened the window!"
"Not me!" Jounouchi exclaimed, backing away from the window right away.
"I didn't open it, either," Yugi said while cautiously going over to the window to check it out. "What about you, Honda?"
"Don't look at me. I've been staring at that board the whole time," Honda replied, backing away from the board.
Ryou was really scared now. This was definitely a sign that a dangerous ghost was in the room; if they stayed in here, he was certain that they'd be putting themselves in serious trouble. If the spirit was strong enough to get rid of all of the candlelight, it could probably cause physically harm, too! Urgently, he told his friends, "We should get out of here, guys."
"You don't have to tell us twice," Jounouchi said in a panic. Before anyone could make a bolt for the exit, however, a sharp intake of breath filled the room. The next thing they knew, Yugi fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Yugi!" Honda exclaimed as he and Jounouchi immediately ran over to their friend. "Yugi! What happened? What's wrong?"
He didn't answer them; instead, he kept trying to get air that—for reasons the other teens didn't understand—wasn't coming to him. While the two boys tried to figure out what was wrong, Ryou stared on in horror. To him, he didn't see Yugi mysteriously collapse; what he saw was the ghostly figure of a man knocking him down and choking him. With horror, Ryou thought, 'Oh my gosh! What do I do?'
The white-haired boy looked towards Anzu who was completely frozen with fear and shaking. From the looks of things, Ryou could tell that Jounouchi and Honda couldn't see the spirit strangling their friend. He wasn't sure if Anzu was able to see or just froze up from the sudden paranormal activity taking place. As for Yugi, whether or not he could see the ghost, Ryou was sure he could definitely feel it. Ryou looked around the room, hoping to find something that could help. Looking at the board, he saw the token and got an idea. Quickly, he snatched the token, looked back at the violent spirit, and yelled, "Get off of my friend now!"
He threw the token and sent it flying at—make that through—the spirit's head. Although it didn't hurt the spirit, it certainly got its attention. Slowly, the spirit turned its head towards Ryou, and the young boy froze with fear at what he saw. What Ryou saw in front of him was what appeared to be an older, tanner, crueler version of himself. Long, white hair decorated his head, and he wore a crimson red cloak over a very, muscled physique. His violet eyes penetrated the young boy's mind, and Ryou could tell from their expression that this man was dangerous and would do anything to get what he wanted.
And he had said himself that he wanted Ryou.
Ryou's heart pounded hard in his chest, and he felt sweat forming. In fright, he backed away, muttering, "You… it… it can't be…"
The spirit let out a malevolent chuckle and said, "Now, why are you so frightened, Ryou? We haven't even started to know each other."
Ryou stammered, not believing what he was hearing. He didn't even process the weird looks and questions from his friends. For his mind, the ghost was the only thing that registered to his mind. Nervously, he stammered, "W-What do you want?"
The spirit looked back at Ryou and sighed for a moment. Then, the spirit finally released his grip on Yugi and began walking towards Ryou, saying, "I've already told you. I want you."
Ryou didn't process the fact that Anzu had left his side to check on Yugi. He didn't process the fact that his friend was now taking very much needed breaths. He didn't even process his friends' cries for him to snap out of it. All that Ryou focused on at that moment was the fact that the spirit was coming closer and closer to him. Ryou tried to speak but felt his voice leave him. He tried to get up and move, but the strength in his legs left him. As he continued to stare at the spirit in fear, the ghost said, "It seems so unfair that your friends get to have you all to themselves, don't you think? I should be the only one to have you: me, and no one else."
Ryou felt his heart stop in its tracks as the spirit stopped mere inches away from his face, and their eyes locked. Ryou felt himself getting lost in that gaze; although the spirit himself was dead, his eyes looked very much alive to the boy. He saw a fire in them that he had rarely seen in anyone before. As Ryou attempted and failed to back up farther away from him, the spirit said, "Come now, where's that energy you had earlier when you threw the token at me? I want to see that fire. I want to see you tremble. I want all of you."
The spirit then moved his face so it was just barely in front of Ryou's. The spirit then did something that Ryou hadn't expected; he moved in for what the boy soon thought was going to be a kiss. But just as the ghost's ethereal lips graced his physical ones, the lights to the apartment were suddenly flipped on, and the spirit disappeared. Ryou was left staring at a blank space. He let out a sigh of relief. He was relieved that the ghost was gone, but who had turned on the lights?
"Ryou, are you alright?"
The young boy looked up to see Anzu standing by the light switch. It was now clear to him what had happened. He then looked over towards his other friends. Jounouchi and Honda were looked at him with curiosity and concern, and Yugi was still taking in some more breaths. After a while, Ryou stammered out, "Uh, y-yeah. I think so…"
"Are you sure, man?" Honda asked. "You seemed to be talking to thin air earlier and you got really, REALLY white all of a sudden!"
"Huh?" Ryou stared at them with confusion, and he asked, "But, didn't you see the spirit? Didn't you hear it?"
"Uh… no," Jounouchi and Honda said in unison. Ryou looked at Anzu, and she shook her head nervously. Then, he looked towards Yugi. In response to this, Yugi said quietly, "Well, I didn't see anything, but I did feel something cold grabbing at me. It was strange; I felt suffocated."
Ryou was put into silence as he wondered, 'Why couldn't they see or hear him? Did the spirit only want to show himself to me?'
"Well, we need to get out of here now," Anzu said seriously. "We have to make sure that we don't have another scare like that."
"I agree!" Jounouchi said immediately, running towards the door. "All who want to go to Yugi's to recuperate and forget this ghost crap, say 'I'!"
Everyone but Ryou said "I"; Ryou just nodded and slowly stood up. As he followed his friends out of the room, he took one last look at the Ouija board and thought, 'That's so strange. Why was I the only one to see that spirit? And what made him want to…'
He felt his face heat up as he remembered their "almost kiss". Whether or not Ryou could call it real, it still left a strange tingle on his lips. He thought to himself, 'I want to learn more. Some other time, though. Not tonight: what happened in that room was too horrifying!'
With that last thought, Ryou followed his friends out of the apartment and down the road. Despite the calmed heart rate and breathing that he now had, however, Ryou couldn't help but feel as if he was still being watched by that mysterious spirit…
Well, there you have it. My first ever yaoi one-shot. And it certainly won't be the last. I hope you've all enjoyed my spooky one-shot. Next up is Kim with the "H" shipping. Have a wonderful Halloween!
