What's this? Another update so quickly? Le gasp!
A year ago, everything had still been normal. Bakura and Ryou had no problems together, and Marik and Ryou had a perfectly normal friendship. In fact, the three of them routinely went out as a group. Anyone who saw them would have said the same- that they were a perfectly normal group of friends. But slowly, things unraveled. People changed in that little group, and as hard as they tried, they couldn't reassemble.
It wasn't exactly something that could happen overnight. In fact, it was something that everyone involved had seen coming. It wasn't hard to see at all. Bakura was growing more distant every day, to the confusion of the other two. He routinely picked fights with Marik, who had done nothing wrong. He refused to let Ryou and Marik near each other, but was at Ryou's side every moment of every day.
But things were different between the two lovers as well. No, strange was a better word for it. Those words of love that Bakura had once whispered every day to the boy, as well as the tender embraces and sweet kisses, were growing less and less frequent, eventually becoming no more than a faint memory.
To put it simply, Bakura was controlling, Marik was confused, and Ryou was miserable.
Ryou should have seen it coming, really. All the warning signs were there. Bakura was becoming cold and distant, almost to the point of being cruel. He stopped calling Ryou nicknames, doing anything sweet he had ever done. But it was still a shock, when Bakura hit him for the first time.
It had started out simply enough. Ryou was cooking dinner, and Bakura was relaxing on the couch. Ryou had been planning to cook something extravagant for the two of them. After all, Bakura had been raising his standards for the boy lately, and Ryou wanted to meet them.
"Are you almost done?" Bakura complained. "I'm getting hungry."
"It'll be done when it's done, Bakura. Try being patient for once."
Bakura's jaw dropped. Ryou never spoke back to him. He was supposed to be the kind, submissive one. So why was he acting so strange?
No. It didn't matter why. What mattered was that Ryou had said something that angered him. In a voice that sounded nothing like his own.
"What did you say?"
Ryou turned around slowly. What Bakura saw was enough to send a chill down his spine. Ryou had a thin smile on his face and his eyes were almost completely lifeless.
"What's wrong, Bakura? Do you not like being spoken to this way? Because last I checked, this is how you've been treating Marik and I for the past month. It hurts, doesn't it?"
Bakura was terrified. He had never seen anyone act like this before, let alone Ryou. "G-get back, Ryou."
Ryou laughed, in a way that made Bakura shiver. "Why? Don't tell me you're scared. Or upset. Because you, of all people, wouldn't deserve that."
'" Shut up, Ryou." Bakura gave all the strength he had to not let his voice shake. "Shut up, before I make you."
"You would make me, wouldn't you? You like making me feel pain, right?"
"SHUT UP!" Bakura couldn't stand it anymore. He had no idea why Ryou was acting like this, but he wasn't going to put up with it. He ran as fast as he could towards the boy, only one thought in his head. He clenched his fist and stuck it out in front of him, waiting for it to reach his target-
Thwack.
Bakura's fist reached Ryou's face, hitting him directly in the nose. There was a sickening crunch, and as soon as he pulled his hand away, Ryou crumpled to the ground. Blood was seeping through his fingers as he held them to his throbbing nose. Slowly, he brought up his head to stare at Bakura. His eyes had returned to normal, and they were filling with tears. He had a hurt expression on his face.
"Bakura…" he whispered. "Why…?"
"I had to do it," he said slowly. "I'm sorry, but you were-"
Ryou winced and attempted a smile. "No, I get it, Bakura." Slowly, he stood up and walked away.
Bakura buried his hands in his face. He knew he should feel guilty, but deep down, he felt that this person he had punched had deserved it. Whether it was Ryou or not. And he made a promise to himself- if this side of Ryou ever showed up again, he would make him pay.
Xxx
It was getting dark outside, but Marik had no intention of leaving the park. He had thought about chasing after Ryou, but had decided against it. There was no way that Ryou would want to see him after everything that happened.
It was strange. Why was Marik suddenly seeing this side of Ryou? It hadn't started until recently, so something must have been the trigger. Although with everything that had happened, it was hard to pinpoint just one thing. But one thing he knew for sure- there was no way that had been Ryou.
Marik sighed and leaned back, sinking into the bench. He didn't want to think about it, but… What he had done to Ryou…
It was exactly what Bakura had been doing to Ryou.
Everything was the same so far. Both had started out as happy couples that eventually spun into violence.
"Bakura," Marik murmured, staring up at the starry sky. "Was it really your fault?" It was a thought that had been weighing on him ever since he first saw the other side of Ryou. "Because if it wasn't, I'm sorry." Marik wasn't aware at first of the tears pricking at his eyes.
"If it really wasn't your fault, then will you help me? Help me get to the bottom of this?" He broke down completely, not caring if the few people left hanging around watched.
"I want to save him."
Xxx
Ryou ran as fast as he could away from the scene. He couldn't remember the last time he had run this fast, at any time. Other than when he was running from Bakura.
Eventually, Ryou found a small alleyway. He had heard bad things about places like these, but at the moment, he didn't care. He sat up against the wall, bringing his knees up against his chest.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" he asked himself quietly. "I haven't done anything, have I? So why does everyone always turn on me?" He bit his lower lip so hard it bled, trying to stop himself from crying, to no avail.
"IT ISN'T FAIR!" he screamed out. Some people turned their heads, but he was otherwise ignored.
All of a sudden, it hit him. He wasn't clear on the details, but at that moment he was sure of one thing.
That it was all Touzoku's fault.
Xxxxx
That played out a lot more clearly in my head. And now I'm officially stuck again. Yay for that! Buuuuuut… drumroll please… Reviews help me get motivated to think up new ideas! Until next time!
