...so much for my chapter a day thing...i think i might just mass upload everything and then go back and edit later because i have an excuse this time...for once. I, have been working on ch 16 for you guys and i forgot to get the rest of the chapters up...i hope to finish the chapters by sunday...
Bakura: Could we get on with it?
Yeah, yeah. Just wait a minute. Impatient person. For the shadow 'dreams' I don't have them in italics for a reason that is revealed in eiher chapter 8 or 9...I don't remember anymore. So, I'm sorry for any mistakes that might be in here and such. Feel free to like, review and critize any information I might have wrong here and such. So long as you can correct me, and not my creative lisence.
Seto: Ok, now. Onto the damn story.
Alright, Alright.
Once again;
Seeing as certain symbols don't like to show for me, things are going to get a little complicated;
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
/Ryou to Royko-Bakura/
/Royko-Bakura to Ryou/
-Yugi to Yami-
--Yami to Yugi--
(Malik to Marik)
((Marik to Malik))
(((Author's notes)))
Disclaimer: If I owned YuGiOh, the series wouldn't even be close to being over.
Side note: I'm putting the mind link references up just in case in the future I start using them more often. I perfer to keep things like what's said through the links a secret most of the time...
The Dreams in the Shadows
All throughout the meal Royko could feel Marik watching him, sighing mentally to himself he continued eating the food he had ordered and tried to ignore the guilty feeling he was getting from it all. 'Not only do I have to keep myself a secret from the Pharaoh, but also from my best friends..'
/Bakura, are you alright?/ Ryou had been watching his yami from across the table for awhile now as he picked at his food, and had grown worried at the vibes he was feeling through their mind link.
/Oh, I'm fine Ryou...I only have to keep a important secret from my best of friends, besides you of course../ Came the tomb robber's sarcastic reply, sounding slightly irritated. /..The pharaoh is one thing, but Malik and Marik../ Bakura trailed off, sighing inwardly.
/If you can keep it from Yami, whom you obviously love, I'm sure keeping it from the other two won't be much of a problem./
/You don't get it, Ryou. I keep it from the Pharaoh because I'm almost guaranteed a one way ticket to either hell or the shadow realm if he finds out. Neither seems very appealing to me../
/But he might give you a second chance.../
Bakura didn't seem to hear Ryou's last words as Yami had suddenly reached over and placed a hand to his lover's forehead, making Royko snap out of his trance and look up, confused.
"You're burning up, Royko...Are you feeling alright?" Yami asked softly, a worried expression on his face.
"I feel fine, Yami." The white haired boy stated, sounding throughly confused by the sudden concern Yami had shown. It wasn't until then that he became aware that everyone was watching him with the same worried expressions. 'What is this? There is no way that I could have a fever and not feel the symptoms...They must be trying to trick me or something.'
"You don't look fine, that's for sure...White as a ghost." Malik spoke up, frowning as he saw the look on Royko's face.
"You don't feel any different from earlier, do you?" Marik's voice sounded, barely above a whisper as he locked gazes with Royko for the second time that day. Seeing the guilt in the brown eyes, he frowned inwardly, the Bakura he knew never felt guilt, or he never showed it. 'Perhaps I'm wrong?'
"I...Now that I think about it, I do feel a bit light headed.." Royko stated slowly, a hand slipping into his pocket for a moment, grasping his copy of the ring in hopes that it would
help him, but no such luck. All he felt when he did so was his energy being drained faster. 'What is it trying to do to me?! Taking my energy like this isn't right! I'm supposed to be the one to call upon IT not be called upon by it.' Bringing a hand to his head he quickly stood from the table, his head tilted down. "I'm...Going to go for a walk, alone." He stated softly, sternly as he turned and exited the building.
Yami started to stand, but before he could run after his partner, Marik's hand stopped him. "He said he wanted to go alone..." The blond stated, slightly coldly. "So let me go. I can hide myself easily."
Sighing, Yami nodded, and sat back down. "Very well...You go then."
Giving the pharaoh what he hoped to be a reassuring smile Marik stood and slipped out the door after Royko.
Thunk!
Bakura threw his item against the wall of a ally, angrily. "You're not supposed to do this to me!" He hissed, falling onto his knees soon after. "I can't survive for long without you and you're sucking all my energy out of me!"
Marik watched silently from the shadows, effectively hidden while he watched, frowning. 'How much I would give to run out and pounce him right now...'
After a moment more of yelling at his item Bakura seemed to pull himself together, and snatched the ring off the ground before shakily standing, leaning with his forehead against the wall. "I know you're there...Come out." He muttered, slipping the ring into his pocket again.
"Bakura...I knew the shadows would not hold you for long." Marik slowly walked towards his friend, smiling. "Nothing can hold the King of Thieves."
"As true as that may seem...It's not. I'm afraid my ring can hold me as long as it wishes to now..." The spirit replied, sliding down the wall to a sit again. "Marik, my time of wreaking havoc and mayhem on this world is done...I've decided that I won't be a pawn for fate to play with any longer. You mustn't tell anyone of who I really am. Not even Malik."
"Kura...My friend, why? Why do you keep yourself a secret from everyone?" The blond kneeled down next to Bakura, pressing a hand to his face, it was burning with fever.
"Now that the Pharaoh has his memories back, I wouldn't last a second if he ever found out who I am...His love is for Ryou's twin. Not for a lowlife scum such as my true self." Sighing Bakura, looked up into the lavender eyes that were staring down at him. "How did you know it was me, Marik?"
"When you know someone as well as I know you, it's hard not to recognize them." Marik stated simply before bending down and picking Bakura up bridal style before heading out of the ally. "You rest...I promise I won't tell anyone else about you, but just so you know, you're not scum.."
"Whatever...You say..." The spirit muttered, before he lost all conscious, head resting on Marik's shoulder.
--Shadow Dream Sequence--
Bakura walked down a dark hallway, looking around aimlessly, thinking. 'Where in the world am I?' Hearing his thoughts he stopped, frowning. Why was this place so familiar? "Some thing's not right..."
A small shiver went through his body as he suddenly realized why everything seemed so familiar to him. This was where he had been trapped the last time the Pharaoh had sent him to the shadow realm, where he was before he escaped back to the real world, where he was now living a lie.
"Why am I here?! I've done nothing to deserve this! Not this time! Why did you put me here!?" he fell to his knees, holding his head. Who was he talking to? 'I've truly lost it if I think there's someone else here listening to me yell out at nothing...'
A shadow appeared over Bakura, staring down at his cowering figure. "Why do you always do that? Automatically get so angry about one simple thing..." The Pharaoh's voice reached his ears, causing his head to snap up, staring strait into the violet eyes that looked down on him.
"What do you want, Pharaoh?" He asked, as coldly as he could, as he stood, staring at the wall behind Yami. "Do you really have to punish me further by coming here to watch me cringe?"
"I would have thought that you would enjoy the company, thief. I do not come here to watch you cower in fear of your own crimes," Yami replied coldly, staring strait at Bakura, as if daring him to look into his eyes.
Sensing this, the tomb robber shifted his gaze to a nearby torch, watching the flame dance in front of the ancient hieroglyphics that had been craved into the wall. Why was he back here? Didn't his millennium ring free him of this place already?
Something dawned on him, the ring...The ring put him there, but why?
"Before, you asked why you were here...I'm wondering, do you really want to be reminded of it?" Yami's voice broke through Bakura's thoughts, causing him to blink and shift his gaze to finally meet the Pharaoh's.
Catching the tomb robber's gaze, Yami smirked, locking it into place with his own, almost as if he had paralyzed the thief. "So? Do you want a reminder? Answer me," he demanded as he kept their gazes locked.
"Do not try to boss me around like one of your servants, Pharaoh." A small flame lit up in Bakura's eyes before he replied, a small growl in his voice. He was trying so hard to show the hate he was supposed to have labored for the Pharaoh, to not let the truth slide through his features.
"I'll take that as a yes to my question then. You really should learn how to hold your tongue, thief," Yami stated simply before his eyes flashed, forcing Bakura to be overcome by unpleasant memories of evil deeds he had committed, not all of them, only some.
This successfully brought Bakura to his knees, holding his head again, whispering to himself softly, "No...That's not me anymore. It's not who I am!" He let out a small cry, before remembering the other presence that was there. This was no time to show weakness.
Quickly regaining himself he started to stand, only to feel himself pushed back down, this time into a laying position. Caught off guard by this he didn't even think to struggle against Yami, who now had him pinned against the floor.
"You know...It's alright to be afraid sometimes."
"Says you."
"What's that supposed to..." Yami started, only to be cut off by Bakura's ranting.
"You think you can just come in here and tell me what's alright and what's not? Well fuck you Pharaoh. I decide what's right and wrong for me. Not you. Not fate. And not the damn ring!"
Smack!
Yami's hand connected with the side of Bakura's face, effectively shutting him up, allowing Yami to speak.
"Look. I was only trying to offer some advice. Just because I haven't been here to erm...Visit for a while doesn't mean that I'm going to leave you alone. So why don't you just cut the tough act?" he stated softly before standing, turning away and vanishing without a trace.
Bakura just laid there for a moment in silence, before closing his eyes. "Please let me open my eyes and wake up from this nightmare in my bedroom...Please..."
--End Shadow Dream Sequence--
"..Please..." Royko stirred slightly, turning over onto his back before shooting to a sit, a hand going to touch his cheek where Yami had slapped it in his 'dream'. 'That couldn't have been a dream...It was too real, and my cheek still stings..'
"Feel any better, love?" Yami's voice sounded from the doorway, making the white haired boy look up to where his companion was leaning against the door frame, a rather smug look on his face.
Blinking, Royko took notice of Yami's expression, 'Probably a little left over from his visit...I know that wasn't just some dream, and I have the red mark to prove it.'
With a small sigh he shook his head, rubbing his cheek. "I think I might've hit my cheek on something when I was asleep...It's stinging...Marik must have a hard shoulder," He made his voice sound as innocent as possible when he spoke, automatically coming up with a excuse for the mark before anyone had the chance to see and ask. 'At least this way he won't be able to connect Royko to Bakura as easily..'
"Ah, really? Let me take a look," another voice sounded, this time much closer as Royko felt a set of hands separate his hand from his cheek, and run over the red mark that was left there, thankfully not a hand print. "Wow Royko, looks like you smacked it pretty good."
Royko turned his head slightly, ending up coming face to face with Marik. Jumping back a bit he pulled his hand away and looked towards the clock. "How long was I asleep?"
"About a day, for someone who claimed to be fine, you sure were in pretty bad shape." Yami smiled and moved from the door to the bed, kissing Royko's lips softly before continuing, "But that just gives me all the more reason to make sure you and your brother take better care of each other."
"We take good care of each other already," the white haired teen replied before turning away, trying to advert his gaze from his lover's face, which only ended up with him locking gazes with Marik. "I'm, uh..Still kinda tired...I think I'll go back to bed now.."
Royko started to lay back down before two different sets of hands stopped him, Yami and Marik both stating in unison, "Oh no you don't. You're eating something first." Which, in turn, caused him to curse slightly.
Exchanging glances with Marik, Yami led Royko out of bed and down the stairs into the kitchen, Marik following close behind. When they entered the kitchen Yami automatically released Royko and jumped to the side, allowing the white haired teen to be tackled to the ground by Yugi, Ryou and Mokuba.
"I guess we should've warned you, huh?" Marik stated, laughing softly as he started to step over the four on the ground. Before he could place his foot down on the other side of the pile, a hand caught his ankle and tugged, pulling his leg out from under him, and in turn, causing him to face plant into the cool kitchen surface.
Everyone started laughing when he looked up, his now red face twisted into a irritated expression as he growled and stood up.
"That's what you get." Royko sneered softly, finally managing to get the other three off him so he could stand, automatically being forced into a seat at the table by Seto and Odion. "Ugh. What is this? 'Push Royko around' day?" He asked, slightly annoyed, when Joey, Isis and Malik started setting dishes on the table while everyone else sat down as well.
Yami smiled as he sat down with Royko and Ryou on either side of him, Marik sitting down on the other side of Royko. "I guess you could say that, yes," Yami teased lightly, kissing his love's cheek before turning to look at all the food that had been made, slightly surprised.
Seeing the expression on the Pharaoh's face, Isis smiled. "We went shopping while you and Marik watched Royko," she stated simply before motioning to everyone to dig in.
Royko sat there for a moment, completely stunned by everything, only to be broken out of the trance as he found both Marik and Yami placing food on his plate from each side of the table.
Marik had placed a sandwich of sorts, some potatoes and some fruit salad on one half while Yami put some corn-on-the-cob, a buttered roll, and some regular salad on the other half, the two looked at each other smiling before turning to their own plates.
Royko considered the food for a moment before reaching over his plate and snatching a apple from the fruit bowl, biting into it happily.
Ryou, seeing this, and the looks on Marik and Yami's faces afterwards, burst out laughing. "You two should've seen that one coming," he stated, before also reaching over and plucking a apple from the fruit bowl.
Yami pouted, crossing his arms. "Awh come on Royko, eat more then some apple. Please?" he pleaded.
Royko sighed, finishing his apple before taking the bread roll off his plate and biting into it. Once he swallowed he looked at Yami, "There, happy?"
Marik smirked, shaking his head at the annoyed expression on the Pharaoh's face. "Royko, unless you want to collapse again, I suggest you eat what's on your plate," he stated darkly before continuing to eat what he had on his own.
Letting out a annoyed growl Royko sent a glare at Marik before turning to his plate, frowning at the food on it before he took a bite from the fruit salad. He had always been attracted to fruit, therefore he'd eat that and then pick at everything else. 'Let's just hope that the damn ring won't do anything this time.'
Once everyone had finished eating, and had helped clean up, Royko was allowed to return to his room and curl up under the covers.
He didn't fall asleep, however, he wouldn't let himself. For he didn't want to risk waking up in his previous prison again. 'Damn ring..Why did you put me back there?'
That was when it occurred to him that the ring might have been trying to help him keep his true self a secret, by putting him back into his prison when he slept, at the same time that Yami had come to 'visit'. Instantly, he regretted throwing his possession in the ally way. It had known what was going to happen, and had helped its owner despite his frustration.
Slowly, without realizing it, Bakura drifted off to sleep, or, to what seemed like sleep to anyone who looked at his body. In truth, he had returned to his prison in the shadow realm.
--Shadow Dream Sequence--
"Bakura, are you just going to lay there like that for the rest of eternity?"
"What if I am? I'm tired Pharaoh, go away. Don't you have more important things to do rather then bother me? Like play petty friendship games with those twits..." he trailed off, letting out a small hiss of pain as he attempted to sit up, effectively smacking his head against the sharp corner of a torch holder.
Bringing a hand to the cut on his forehead he cursed slightly before standing, this time careful not to knock into anything. "Damn torch..."
"You could always go somewhere with no torches," Yami stated, smirking.
"I know that. Maybe I like it here," Bakura replied defiantly, looking at his now bloodied hand. 'I hit it harder then I thought...but then again, head wounds do bleed more than they should...' He let out a small sigh before turning to rip some of his robe to dress the wound with, but before he could Yami stopped him.
"Let me do that...It wouldn't be a very good job if you did it blindly, I can see the wound," he stated, pushing Bakura against a wall and making him sit down before tearing some of his own clothing into a long strip.
"Pharaoh..." Bakura started, not reacting as Yami tended to his wound.
"Yes?"
"Why do you do this? Come here...When all I've ever done to you is cause you grief? It makes no sense at all, you know."
Yami smiled as he finished tending to Bakura's wound and pulled away. "Yes, I know. But if I were to leave you here alone, the shadows would control your darker memories, the ones that you are trying to forget. Rather then myself...And I promise you, I would not wish that upon my worst enemy which ironically, is you..."
"Yes but that doesn't mean you must be so..."
"Nice? No, it doesn't, and as you can see from my last visit, I can be mean. But I choose not to be, it's not who I am."
"That makes no sense."
"Yes it does, it makes plenty of sense. You just refuse to listen to it. Just as you refuse to accept help from others. Like it or not, thief, your not as strong as you wish to be and make yourself out to be."
"No one asked you," Bakura growled, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.
The pharaoh merely smirked, "On the contrary, I believe you did ask me."
The tomb robber didn't reply, he merely sat in thought for a moment before frowning and starting another conversation, in the same way as the last one. "Pharaoh..."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you just kill me? You could've killed me and left me to have my heart judged...But you didn't. Why?" 'Kura asked, looking up into Yami's violet eyes.
"Because I didn't think your heart was ready to be judged..." Yami replied simply, leaning against the wall opposite of the one Bakura was sitting against. "I don't expect this prison to hold you forever, thief..."
"You mean there's a way out of here?" Bakura let a bit of hope show on his face, in order to lead Yami to believe he still hadn't found it.
"Other then the way I come and go? Perhaps..."
"And you're telling me this, why?" Bakura looked away, sounding slightly annoyed.
Raising a eyebrow, Yami smirked. "Dunno, but if you really don't want it, I could just make you forget..." He started raising one of his hands towards Bakura, who automatically threw his own hands up protectively.
"No!"
"Didn't think you'd want that.."
"Look Pharaoh, I'm tired. And I want to sleep. So why don't you just leave?"
Yami frowned. "You should know by now that if you go to sleep without me here then you won't get any rest at all. You've already tried that many times, I know because most of the time I'd come in and find you in the midst of a nightmare of sorts."
Bakura merely scoffed, looking away to hide the slight worry in his eyes. "Well what if I'd rather have a nightmare then have you here while I sleep?"
"Well then, I could just give you one right now, while you're awake...It would be more painful and realistic that way." The pharaoh growled slightly, he was getting frustrated with this.
"If you expect me to beg you not to, I won't. But really Pharaoh, I'm exhausted, and want sleep. So why don't you.."
"Then sleep. I'm not going anywhere for now. It's not like I'm going to do anything to you."
Bakura growled slightly. 'Why does he have to be so damn stubborn?!' "Look, 'Mr. High and Mighty', I don't need you here. There's no reason for you to..." He never got a chance to finish, because at that moment Yami had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to his feet before slamming him into the wall.
"Look, thief. Your sense of time might be messed up from being in here so long but mine isn't. Today marks you being locked in here for a year. Which means today you'll most likely be forced into some of your most painful memories if I'm not here," Yami hissed, his violet eyes narrowing as they stared strait into Bakura's chocolate colored ones.
Blinking, Bakura turned his head away, frowning."I never asked you for your help..." 'But I don't want those memories to come back...Why can't I just be allowed to forget...'
"I know you didn't. But I can see it in your eyes that you don't want to be forced to re-experience any of those memories again. So why don't you just let me help you?" With that, Yami released Bakura, letting the thief drop to the ground as he returned to his place on the opposite wall. "Just go to sleep."
Letting out a defeated sigh, Bakura pulled his knees to him again, wrapping his arms around them like before, and rested his head on his knees, allowing himself to slip off into actual sleep.
--End Shadow Dream--
YSF: wow, angel actually did getting better at writing as these...except for changing a few words here and there, all i had to fix was capitalization and punctuation... read and review please!
