Five Years Later
I pulled up to the drive-thru in my shiny, black ferarri. As I ordered my food I thought about my college classes. The studying was hard on me since I worked after classes at the grocery store for a four-hour shift each night. Compared to the teachers though, studying was preschool. They were so strict and straight, that each time they sat down I wondered if you could hear them cracking if you were close enough.
-That'll be four dollars and ninety-five cents at the window, sir. Have a nice day!-
"You too," I said with a bored tone of voice. I drove to the window and paid in exact change, drumming on the steering wheel impatiantly.
"Here you go!… Bakura? Is that you?" The man nearly dropped my meal onto my lap in surprise.
I groaned. "Hello, Yugi. How have you been?" If he noticed my exasperation, he didn't show it.
"Oh fine, it's great working at McDonalds!" said the exuberant former-hikari.
"And how's your grandfather?"
"He's fine, he's just a little grumpy because I work part-time here."
"Really? Is that so?" I pretended to be interested, although I probably could have said something along the lines of 'go and die' in the same tone and he wouldn't have noticed.
"Yep, well how's college?" he asked, apparently happy to be talking to someone who wasn't older than 90.
"Better than high school was, they actually notice if you cut classes." I said, only half-joking.
"Hey, Moto, if your customer has his food, then send him on his way!" shouted a gruff voice.
"Sorry Mr. Miyugi!" Yugi called back. "Well, see ya around, Bakura!"
As I left I breathed a sigh of relief. Yugi's energy was exausting, which was why I had avoided him for five years, since graduation.
'Hmm… was is really that long ago?' I thought. 'Five years… seems like five days…'
I sighed again as I remembered.
(Begin Flashback)
"Hey Ryo!" shouted Yugi, who was waving his diploma around like a child waves around a new toy.
Bakura started at the name, and then he remembered.
"Uh… hi Yugi." he said, trying to slow his heartrate. "How are you feeling about graduating?"
"Brilliant! I got a 3.0, but the most I'll do is work at my grandpa's game shop. Although, I might save up and go to Egypt again. What about you?"
Bakura groaned at Yugi's overenthusiastic attitude. "I'm going to go to college and get a degree in psycollogy." he replied.
"Psycollogy? Why?" asked Yugi curiously.
"If you really want to know then I have to tell you something."
"What?"
"I'm not Ryo." Bakura waited for a reponse nervously.
"What!"
"Ryo was the one who killed your friends. He was mentally and emotionally hurt because of what you guys had done and when you blamed him for your grandpa's heart attack, he snapped." Bakura explained in a rush.
"That doesn't explain why you're here instead though." Yugi looked at Bakura sceptically.
"When he found out what you were going to do, he gave me the body and then went in my stead."
"Why would he do that? How do I know that you didn't force him to go instead of you?" Apparently Yugi still found Bakura's story dubious, even though Bakura was telling the truth.
"A while back, before this development, I had a change of heart. I became good, like you guys, and soon Ryo and I fell in love." Bakura's eye filled with tears as he spoke his beloved's name.
"Wow, and I thought that Atem and I were close!" said Yugi in surprise. "Is that why you want to be a psycollogist? So that you can help people with problems like Ryo's?"
"Yeah."
"Well good luck with that." said Yugi sincerely.
The two former enimies then parted to travel down their separate paths.
(End flashback)
'Yikes!' I thought as I parked infront iof my appartment complex. 'Really need to stop driving during flashbacks. I can't remember how I got here.'
I ran up the stairs after locking my Ferrari, and entered my appartment. The sun had set hours ago, and as I turned on the light, I thought that I saw something move.
"Hello?" I called as I began to eat my ranch snackwrap. "Look, I know you're there, and if you're the plumber come back in the morning."
There was no response so I set down my food and checked all of the rooms, starting in my bedroom.
After a thorough double-check, I safely established that what I had seen had been my shadow as I turned on the light. I walked back to the kitchen, finished my food, and settled down for some hard-core studying.
It was the same nightmare that I'd been having for years, even before Ryo's… departure.
The had fire burned brightly, brighter than before, flickering shapes could be seen in the middle. A voice screamed in pain and fear, begging the enemy to stop. the soldiers appeared, killing everyone. I heard my parents cry out, then everything was cut off and the soldiers fled. The spirits of my family and friends appeared before me, their eyes burning with accusation. Then with one cold voice, filled with hate, they spoke. 'You could have stopped them, Bakura, it's your fault we died.'
I searched for a kind look among them, as I always had, and as always, there was none. The crowd parted and my mother took center stage. 'Bakura, this is your fault. You could have changed everything.' She said, then the dream added something different. Ryo, the reason I lived appeared, his eyes filled with hate. 'I am dead because of you!' he hissed. 'Do not think I will soon forget. We shall see you in hell, Bakura. Pleasant nightmares.'
Then, like so many times before, the fire enveloped me. I then woke in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat.
The coldness of the kitchen reminded me that I should be in bed. Quickly, I put my college books into my bag and ran to the warm bedroom. I changed into pajamas, brushed my teeth, took a shower, brushed my hair, set my alarm, and jumped into my bed. I soon fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
I glanced over towards the window while I was taking notes, and nearly fell out of my chair. Ryo, or someone who looked like him was running their hands over my Ferrari and smiling.
"Excuse me," bellowed the teacher. "Are you even paying attention to the lecture?"
"Y-yes sir," I stuttered. "I just need some fresh air."
"Very well, step outside and I will talk to you after class."
Relieved, I exited the classroom and took a breather. Maybe instead of training to be one, I needed a psychologist. First a nightmare; and then a hallucination. Next I probably would go home and find out that my house was haunted by Ryo's spirit!
Ryo… could that dream have been a vision? Maybe I was going to go to hell…
I shook myself. If I believed that I was having visions, pretty soon I would start thinking that Yugi was okay to hangout with. With a sigh, I waited for the class to end.
Lunch.
It felt like I hadn't eaten for years, and in my last class I had begun to imagine that my different students were meals, mostly ones with meat.
I sat down on campus and began to eat my cold turkey in an almost blissful manner. The only thing keeping me from a totally oblivious bliss was the discussion I had with the teacher after my Bio-Chemistry class.
The teacher had seemed concerned and had asked thousands of questions about my diet and sleeping pattern. I had answered truthfully to everything but the question about any traumas in my past. He wouldn't have understood, or he would have locked me in an asylum for eternity.
I finished my sandwhich and prepped for my Psycollogy of the Mind lecture. I was still famished.
Saturday night.
I was lounging on my couch, trying to gain the energy to move. I had been plaugued by nightmares and hallucinations of Ryo all week and my manager had told me to take a few nights off.
I groaned. What had I been thinking, taking on two college majors? The amount of work I was doing, plus my shifts at the grocery store sapped all of my energy, and I was suffering from sleep deprivation.
There was a knock on the door. I groaned again and went to answer.
When I opened the door, I stumbled back, reeling in shock.
"Okay Bakura," I said to myself. "You are now officially insane and need to be locked up."
"Whatever is the matter, Bakura?" a voice asked from the doorway. "Don't you remember me?"
"You… you can't be here! You're dead! I-I'm hallucinating again! Yeah, that's it, you're just a figment of my imagination!"
"Oh, silly! It's me, and if this doesn't prove it, I don't know what will!"
The figure stepped into the room, revealing white hair, blue eyes, and a pale, bare torso. Smiling, Ryo wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me.
Enjoying the bliss, I began to wonder how, but hey, Ryo was back, so I wasn't complaining.
A/N: I couldn't stand the fact that Ryo was dead so I had to add a new twist. Please comment.
