You know some real bad tricks
And you need some discipline
But, lately you've been trying real hard
And giving me your best
And, you give me the most gorgeous sleep
That I've ever had
And when it's really bad
I guess it's not that bad
You're really lovely
Underneath it all
You want to love me
Underneath it all
I'm really lucky
Underneath it all
You're really lovely
So many moons that we have seen
Stumbling back next to me
I've seen right through and underneath
And you make me better
I've seen right through and underneath
And you make me betterBetter... better...
Underneath It All - No Doubt
**Same night as last chapter**
"Why did you come back?"
Ryou looked at her blankly, her fingers pulled back out of his hair as his lips paused at her throat. She pulled away from him, sitting back up and folding her hands in her lap. The question hung in the air, nasty and cruel.
"I came back here for you, Rei."
Her face was skeptical. There was something accusatory in her glance. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed; it seemed as though she knew more than she was letting on. He took a deep breath and waited for her response feeling his palms begin to sweat.
"I mean what exactly made you come back here? Why did you choose the time you did?" Her questions were coming out on rapid fire, she couldn't stop herself. The idea had been looming in her mind the entire time that they had spent together on what was supposed to be a romantic evening. What business did Seto have sending Ryou magazines about their divorce?
"I feel like there's something you want me to say, but I'm not sure I know what," Ryou's words were not entirely true but he was not ready to lay down his hand either. His throat was dry and he could feel the blood speeding through his veins as his heart beat faster.
Reiko stood up fully, snatching a magazine from the coffee table and tossing it at him, "This is what I want you to tell me about."
He stared down at the glossy cover, a picture of Reiko and Seto in a broken heart graphic, "Are you going to tell me how you got a hold of a Japanese magazine if you were in the middle of a jungle in South America?"
"Reiko why are we even arguing about this? Does it matter how I got here or that I'm here?"
She was too busy working herself up over the fact that her ex-husband and the love of her life were keeping things from her and otherwise playing with her life to notice the anxiety that had darkened Ryou's gaze. His hands were trembling where he kept them in his lap and his neck was turning red.
"Ryou, I need to know why you came back."
It was his turn to stand, his voice trembling, "Fine. You want to know the truth? Fine."
Her eyes narrowed and she took a step back, angry but sensible enough to finally see the rage that had seized the usually gentle man. Something in her still made her provoke him, "So?"
"Your Seto Kaiba sent me these," he made a wide gesture with his hands to signify the stack of magazines, "He said you needed closure." He took a pause to capture his breath and scrub his face. "He was baiting me. Obviously. He's never been very fond of him and I can honestly say that I'm not all that fond of him."
"I don't see what this has to do with me. I don't understand why he would track you down and bring you here."
Ryou smiled bitterly, his voice steadier this time around, "Well fuck Rei, if you don't know then I don't. I can tell you one thing, though, and that's that he never lost track of me."
"So did you only come back because he sent these to you?"
She had purposely ignored the other part of their conversation, partly because she was scared to make him angrier and partly because she knew she needed to get those answers from someone else.
"Reiko I came back because I was tired of running away. I have been running for too long now. It's become second nature; I needed to see you and, thanks to Kaiba, I found out that you were free again," his voice was steady as he let it all out. "If there is anyone in this entire world I have ever felt a connection with it's been you, Reiko."
He took a few steps forward, backing her into a corner.
"I don't think that you run away from things," she murmured, her eyes downcast.
"You're lying. Even I can accept it. That's what you learn when all you know is how to hurt people. You keep moving so that you never have to face them again," he paused to grip her shoulders, "I've tried everything. Every treatment possible to get these thoughts out of my head, to get rid of these feelings of guilt inside me. I thought it had worked, but now that I'm back here ... everything is rushing back to me. It's like dying in slow motion, but I'm too afraid to die."
His hands were now painfully gripped at her shoulders and she could feel the heat of the bruises forming. Her mind was spinning, treatments? For what? Her eyes searched his face in the dim light of the living room and she saw how dark the circles under his eyes had become. Her heart was beating triple time - he was too afraid to die?
She tried to say something intelligent, but all she could think about was the pain in her arms, "You're hurting me."
He pulled back, his face darkening as he watched her face contort in thought.
"What do you need treatment for?"
His head shot up and she jumped back a bit in surprise, her body bumping into the wall. "What do I need treatment for?" Ryou's laugh was bitter, "I've been morbidly depressed for years - ever since my mother and my sister died, ever since I was haunted by that spirit, ever since he tried to kill you, Reiko."
"What?" Her fingers trembled as she pushed herself flush against the wall, her body trembling.
His clammy fingers reached out to push her bangs back and brushed the scar above her brow. The scar she had gotten the night of their high school dance when she had been in the terrible car accident.
Reiko almost fell over in surprise when Ryou collapsed in front of her, his body trembling with inaudible sobs. His hands reached out to grip her legs as though to keep her from running away from him. It took her a few moments to free herself from his grip and help him up from the floor and back over to the couch. His sobs had changed from weeping to strained gasps.
"Hey, hey, calm down Ryou it's okay. This doesn't change anything - take a deep breath!"
His eyes were wide and he gulped for air like he had been held underwater, "My pills - I, I ..."
She brushed the hair out of his eyes, "Yes, what pills? Can you tell me where they are?"
"My bathroom," he paused to wheeze, "Upstairs."
Reiko rushed up the stairs and searched through the cabinets, knocking over several prescription bottles until she found one for anxiety. She paused a moment to scan the labels of the other bottles before rushing back downstairs, half tripping on the last few steps until she reached him. His breaths were coming quicker and he looked like he was about to faint.
After he took his medicine she helped him up the stairs to his bedroom where he fell asleep straightaway. Reiko couldn't sleep that night. Her entire being had been shaken by the revelations. She couldn't fathom why she never suspected Ryou might have some sort of medical repercussions as a result of all the trauma he had faced in his life.
Her fingers trailed over the small scars on his chest from the Millennium Ring, the scar on his arm that was the result of some sort of stab wound, and finally she touched her own scar on her forehead. Reiko looked at him in the dim light from his bedside lamp, he looked so worn and tired. His hair was mostly white again and his eyelashes still brushed the tops of his cheekbones, but she could see the frown lines around his mouth and creases in his forehead. She was sick and tired of having other people decide things for her. Neither Ryou nor Seto was going to tell her what to do with her life. She wasn't about to let Ryou run away again and she certainly wasn't going to allow Seto to keep messing with her life.
Seto Kaiba could feel something change in the air as soon as he heard the elevator ding on his floor. A quick glance at his clock told him that it was simply too early to be any of his clients and it could, in no way, be Mokuba who had made it clear that he would simply not make himself available before ten in the morning. So when Reiko Fujiyama walked through the double doors of his office - undeterred by the early hour - he could not necessarily say he was surprised.
"I should really restrict your access to my floor," he deadpanned as he looked up in time to see her frown. His sharp blue eyes honing in on the fact that she had pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail in a way that suggested she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Her jeans were far too casual for her aggressive stance and the way her fingers gripped her coffee cup suggested that she was using it to keep her grip while she formulated her thoughts.
"I don't think that would keep me from coming to see you, Seto."
Her voice was direct and to the point and it sent him into businessman mode in a flash, whatever good humor he had been hinting at dissipating.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
She shuffled into the chair opposite his and took a long sip from her coffee cup before speaking, "I'm here to tell you, for the very last time, to stay the hell out of my personal life."
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Reiko," he was bluffing, but he couldn't think that Bakura would be stupid enough to tell Reiko that he had come back because Seto had sent him a care package. He also didn't think that it would bother her all that much.
"If Ryou and I are going to work, I don't want to know that it's because you're back here pulling strings. I would have liked for him to come back of his own accord. I would have liked for whatever time he spent away from here to be a healing experience, not one where my husband of the time was continually stalking him. I would have liked to think that you and I could be friends after the divorce without all of these ridiculous complications. Were you so jealous of him that you had to keep tabs on his whereabouts?"
Seto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Oh Reiko, do you really think that he would have come back here of his own free will? This is precisely what I wanted you to see. He's not worth it. He wasn't worth it when I found you falling apart over being abandoned by him all those year ago and he's not worth it now. He's not what you need. What happened to that coworker of yours?"
There was hardly a moment of hesitation as Reiko threw her empty coffee cup at her ex's face. Her mouth hung open in shock and disgust. The displeased look on her face did little to appease her as she finally stuttered out her the question she already knew the answer to, "You were behind Jun, too?"
"What's the matter with me wanting you to be with someone normal? He has a wonderful résumé, no health issues ..."
"You think it's okay to play god with my life? Is this your demented way of thinking that you're taking care of me?" Reiko stared at him in disbelief, "I need you to get one thing through your head: I don't need to be taken care of. I can do just fine on my own - I have done just fine on my own." She stood to leave, no longer able to stomach the idea of sharing the same air with Seto Kaiba.
"Fine, I won't interfere. Just don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart again."
"Are you sure about this?"
Reiko smiled at him from over the newspaper she was reading, "Of course I am, silly."
"Won't he be upset?"
"Who cares? He didn't respect my wishes when he was in this position, so why should I respect his? And besides," she paused as she folded her paper neatly, "Kazuhiro has been dying to meet you."
Ryou blushed at the thought. Meeting her son was a huge step. She had been talking about it nonstop since they had gotten over the hiccup in their relationship two weeks prior. He had seen her son in pictures, heard his voice when she called him to say goodnight, and obviously had seen him on television from time to time when his father's bodyguards didn't do their job. But seeing him in person, actually meeting him, made everything seem too real. Reiko had a son. With another man. With Seto Kaiba.
"I haven't see you so pale in years, Ryou."
He blinked out of his stupor to see Reiko smiling down at him, "I, um, I'm sorry love. Just a bit nervous."
"Did you -"
He stood from his seat and silenced her with an embrace, "Yes, no worries." Having her know about his metal illnesses was one thing, hearing her talk about it was another. He tried not to show it, but it unnerved him to think that she might treat him differently as a result.
"Sorry," she whispered her apology into his now fully silver-white hair, and then, louder, "Ready to go?"
The parking lot at the zoo was absolutely filled with people despite the chilly weather and Reiko smiled at Kazuhiro in the rearview mirror. Ryou was sitting in the passenger seat fiddling with the buttons on his coat and Kazuhiro was peering at him with curiosity every time he thought his mother wasn't looking.
All he knew was that his mother had introduced this man as her friend. When his father introduced Katsumi as a friend she ended up living with him. Was this man going to be living with his mom?
As they finally pulled into their parking space Kazuhiro hurried to unbuckle his belt as his mom and Ryou got out of the car. He looked up in time, however, to see his mom kiss Ryou on the lips.
Right as his mother opened the door Kazuhiro fired off his question, "Is he your boyfriend?"
Reiko blinked at the little boy in her arms. Her brain registered that he looked uncomfortable as a result of her holding him at arms-length by his underarms but the question caught her off guard.
His brown eyes peered at Ryou over his mom's shoulder and he half-smiled, the serious Seto Kaiba look dissipating, "It's okay."
After breaking though her shock Reiko pulled her little boy into an embrace, his simple words taking a huge weight off of her shoulders. She put her keys in her pocket before turning around to face Ryou, who was still busy fiddling with his jacket behind her.
"Kazuhiro, baby, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Ryou Bakura."
The boys stared at one another for a long moment, Kazuhiro's face shrouded in scrutiny and Ryou's face pale with anxiety. After another awkward beat Ryou put his hand out to shake Kazuhiro's hand - or something along those lines - but Kazuhiro shocked him by reaching out with both arms.
Reiko watched Ryou's face change to wonder as the little boy embraced him with all his might and she couldn't help the tears that pooled in her eyes. Her heart both swelled with pride at her child's acceptance and kindness but it throbbed with a sad bitterness that came from the knowledge that this could have been Ryou's son.
Reiko smiled at the sight of the two boys sitting on the bench in front of the polar bear enclosure. She had stepped away to use the ladies' room and Kazuhiro had stayed with Ryou voluntarily saying that girls' bathrooms had cooties. As she walked up behind them she heard Kazuhiro ask what sort of cards Ryou used in his deck and if he had ever been in a tournament with his daddy.
She felt her heart freeze up as she saw Ryou tense. She had been about ready to interrupt when she saw Ryou set his shoulders and turn to the little boy saying that he had in fact participated in tournaments with his father and that he would show him his deck the next time he saw him.
"That sounds like a good plan - I'll bring my deck!"
"What's all this about dueling?" Reiko asked innocently as she sat down next to her son.
Ryou smiled over at her, "Just some friendly competition between me and my mate Kazuhiro," he paused to wink at said boy, "We're planning on having a duel, although I am pretty rusty so I don't know what I'm getting myself into."
Kazuhiro laughed and puffed out his chest, "I'm not rusty - I'm the bestest duelist and I will defeat you! I beat uncle Mokuba all the time."
Reiko smoothed down his hair as she asked, "What does the winner of this duel win as his prize?"
"Well, I was thinking the winner could choose dinner."
"I think that I'll pick an ice cream shop," Kazuhiro said seriously, tapping his chin.
By the end of their evening Kazuhiro was completely tuckered out. He was asleep in the backseat as Reiko steered the car into the Kaiba Mansion driveway. She had called Mokuba when they were a few minutes away and he came out to meet her when she pulled into the roundabout.
"Hey," he said as he came up behind her to grab his nephew out of the carseat, "How was the zoo?"
"A lot of fun, Kazuhiro and Ryou really hit it off."
Mokuba paused for a moment, half pretending to search the car for Kazuhiro's belongings and half avoiding Bakura's stare, "That's wonderful, I'm sure he'll tell me all about it in the morning."
When he caught the pained look in Reiko's eyes he decided to be polite and poked his head back into the car, "Nice to see you again, Bakura."
He had started to make his way back up to the steps when Reiko called out to him, "Oh, wait! You're forgetting Jonathan, his elephant."
Mokuba reached out for the overstuffed elephant plush toy, "Jonathan?"
"Jon, for short," Reiko joked as she climbed back into the car. She waited until Mokuba had taken Kazuhiro inside before putting the car in drive and heading home.
There you have it. I'm sorry if it's been super confusing as to what exactly Kaiba did. Mostly it's that he's interfering with lives that don't belong to him. All the angst was making it really hard for me to write this chapter - particularly since I had tons of midterms and papers to deal with in the real world. I hope you all enjoy what came of it.
This chapter is dedicated to CraftyLion because she is so super kind about reviewing my story even when I'm pitiful when it comes to writing reviews for her wonderful, wonderful stories :/ You're the best Crafty!
I hope you all enjoyed the meeting between Ryou and Kazuhiro. I wanted something sweet and lighthearted. Also, bonus points if you recognized Jonathan ;)
xx
Red
Ps. There are TWO chapters and an EPILOGUE left ^_~
