Things have been busy since the last update. At work someone suddenly just quit, and I've been having to work most of his shifts now. My regular work day is a twelve hour shift minimum, and now I've got extra hours AND days I have to work. It's been cutting my energy and free time down to zilch, so what little time I have had mostly was going towards resting. Not to mention the little writing time I had ended up going to some deathshipping projects that I've been promising a few people. However, I'm putting that on the back burner because it is unfair to write a cliffhanger and go so long without an update. So I'm happy to present after a weekend spent writing this, the next chapter of Chains of Shadow. And of course, thanks two my two lovely betas who are gracious enough to help me through this.

The show, manga, and concept of Yu-Gi-Oh! does not belong to me in any way. This fanfiction was written for fun and to entertain. In no way is it a claim of ownership, intended copy right, or made for profit.

Chapter 11: Acceptance

The interest in the eyes of Ryou's grandmother was unmistakable. At his confession of dreaming about the man she was drawing before, she peered at him with a very keen curiosity. He wasn't sure he had ever seen her with such an intense and serious look about her before, and it amazed him almost as much as her drawings did.

"You've dreamed about him before?" she asked him. "When?"

"Ah, it was just once," he said. "But it was weird. I don't remember much about it. He was talking funny, and not much happened. But... how did you know what he looked like? Have you seen him before?"

She saw him glance up for a moment and her usually kind expression slowly formed into a frown. She sighed and shook her head, muttering something under her breath about rude house guests. His eyes widened and nearly spun around like a top to look behind him. Nothing was there but empty air, at least nothing he could see. If it had been before he knew he was getting followed around by a ghost, maybe he wouldn't have made the connection, yet it was impossible not to be able to figure it out. After all, all the signs were pointing to only one conclusion.

"You... you can see him?" he whispered out in a soft whisper, as if afraid of being overheard. This conversation was incredibly private, just between the two of them. It was sacred and special, for no one's ears but their very own. "Like... you... can really see him? What he looks like... and where he is? Really?"

"Can't you?" his grandmother asked him, but he shook his head. He felt a bit jealous. He was nothing if not curious about the ghost following him around. If he'd be able to actually look at him... Well, it would have certainly made things easier on him at the very least.

The older woman leaned back and gave a soft sigh. Once again she glanced over his shoulder as she rested against the pillows and stuffing of the couch, seeming to contemplate a few things.

"How did you know he was here?" she asked. "If you can't see him?"

"We've been talking," Ryou said, but he was now completely focused on looking behind him. He tried to squint, hoping to see what his grandmother could, but there was nothing there, nothing at all except the dust floating up in air, seeming to glow in the morning rays of the sun. He felt almost cheated. Why could she see it and he couldn't? "I got the old Ouija board from the attic and we've been talking that way."

"My, you are a smart boy. I had completely forgotten I had left that at your old home when I came to visit. Well, I'm glad you're putting it to good use."

"Can you hear him too?" Ryou found himself asking. If she could see him, surely he could hear him.

"Oh, of course I can," she replied before her eyes narrowed in dislike. She was now permanently staring at the bookshelf, and she was frowning deeply. "But the things he's saying aren't appropriate to be repeated in public anyway. He rants a lot."

"What? Why?"

"Oh, who knows?" the older woman stated, shaking her hand to wave aside the question. "I guess he can only find it annoying he can talk to me and not you. I think he likes you a lot."

Ryou's eyes widened at that, clasping his hands together over his heart and broke out into a grin, while a light seemed to shimmer in his eyes. He seemed pleased as punch.

"Really? He likes me?!" he exclaimed.

Akefia slapped his face at this completely idiotic conversation he was being forced to witness. Ryou couldn't have looked happier that the ghost haunting him seemed to be attached to him. Oh, if only he knew.

Still, it seemed his young little mind had long since forgotten how he'd hurt a whole bunch of people in his defense. Either he had really forgotten that detail, something he doubted given how intelligent he could be when he wanted, or it was starting to bother him less and less.

He didn't even know why he was so mad. This should be a good thing. He had a way to communicate better with the boy now. Anything he could possible want to tell him, he could just tell the old bat. And yet, he didn't want to. He didn't want this woman to be able to see or hear him, even if it meant it would possible give him a better way to connect with the boy.

Which was crazy. Why was it so special to him, Ryou finally being able to talk to him on his own. They had figured out the barriers, and had overcome them together. Who the fuck did this old dried up bitch think she was, just waltzing in and proudly declaring she could accomplish what they'd had to work so hard for? It wasn't at all fair. It was like...

It was like there was someone intruding on them, that their little bond was in danger of no longer being unique or special.

Something like this shouldn't have mattered. Why did it? Why did it bother him that his host could barely talk with him, and this old woman could do it so easily? He couldn't stand it, to think there was something special about her, because it meant... that there wasn't something special about Ryou. He couldn't stand that. Even though it shouldn't have mattered, even though it couldn't have really mattered, it did.

Sighing, he decided just to spend the rest of the day in his Soul Room. He didn't want to allow that old bat to be able to take what wasn't hers, and if that meant hiding, so be it.

"Oh... he's gone," she sighed, sounding a little disappointed.

Ryou turned to her, seeming confused at first.

"What?" he asked.

"That man, he disappeared," she explained. "Oh well, I guess he didn't like the company. It's a shame though, he seemed so lively. Well, I don't think he cares much for me anyway. Not that I'm not used to getting on people's nerves."

She laughed suddenly, seeming more amused by his flight now than as if she'd been foiled. Cackling a few minutes before she realized her grandson was staring at her, she wiped at her eyes and smiled. Patting him on the head, she did her best to look reassuring, and she felt she did a pretty good job of it. After all, she was a grandmother with a lot of practice.

"Now, now. I'm sure he hasn't gone for good," she reassured him. "He's probably hiding and having a good sulk somewhere, though I can't imagine where he could be. It's like his presence left entirely. Maybe he's just out of the house. Still, I have no doubt he'll be back."

"You don't think he's mad or anything, do you?" he asked.

She arched an eyebrow at him, looking at him curiously.

"Now, why would you say that?"

"Well... I don't know," he said slowly. "I mean, you said he was yelling and stuff... but it seemed more than that. Just for a second... I... I felt a bit... like someone was mad at me. I don't know why. Ah... I don't know. Never mind. It's silly."

"Oh no, my dear boy. I don't think it's silly at all," she said, hoping to comforting him. "You clearly have a connection to him, but I think it's something neither you... or even him admittedly, seem to understand. I do know this though, when ghosts follow you, it's for a very important purpose, and I don't think he means any harm. In fact, he reminds me of a dog. He barks more than he seems to want to actually bite."

Ryou chewed his lip at this, unable to quite meet her eyes, but nodded at her words.

"Either way, I think you need to do your best to keep this secret," she said, suddenly serious again. "Ryou, not everyone can notice things like I do, and it seems that you can, though to a smaller extent. Some people don't even believe in it. Now, you haven't told anyone about this, have you?"

"No, Granny. No one at all," he informed her. "Promise."

"Good. You keep it that way, do you understand me. This is very, very important. Don't tell anyone, anyone at all. Not even your father or Amane, and especially not your mother. This is very important that you keep it to yourself."

The young boy quickly nodded. The truth was, he had not intent to ever tell anyone anyway, but the way his grandmother looked so serious made his resolution only resolve. If she thought it was best to keep it secret as well, he definitely knew he'd made the right decision to keep it a secret. She was right too, not everyone believed, and very few would take it too well.

"I won't tell a soul," he said. "It'll just be between you and me."

"Good boy. Now, why don't you run along and get that treat to your sister?" she suggested. "Granny has some thinking she has to do."

"Okay," he said before hesitating for a second. "Uh... just... Can I please ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Can I... well... Do you think it would be alright if I could... have that?"

He pointed at the sketch book she'd been previously drawing in, a hopeful look in his eyes. Understanding filled her face a moment later as she looked down at her sketches.

"You want the picture?" she asked to which he nodded.

"I'd like to look at it more, so I can see what he looks like," he explained.

"Well, I don't see why not," she said with a shrug. "Certainly couldn't hurt anything."

Picking up the sketchpad, she carefully tore the page out and folded up the large piece of paper for him. Sticking it carefully into his pocket so he couldn't get it dirty with his sticky fingers, she smiled and patted his head before sending him off.

As she watched him go, she sighed softly and stared up at the ceiling. Something was definitely going on, something a bit more than she had thought at first. It seemed more important than some random haunting, and why her boy? Why her precious little Ryou? It felt as if she were sitting at a jigsaw puzzle, and only half the pieces were there, giving her no clue on how even to start trying to figure it out, and no idea what the end result would be even if she could get some of it put together.

"Just who are you, you tricky little ghost?" she mused aloud.

#-#

Days passed, all without much incident. Akefia resolved not to leave his Soul Room whenever Ryou wandered around the house, though would gladly talk with him when the boy was in his bedroom, the Ouija board always a welcome sight. He still didn't say much about himself, resolved to keep the boy out of his mission and only use him when he had to, in order to continue his search. He knew telling the boy would only scare him, possibly put him in danger, so he stayed just as determined as before to keep him out of the loop.

He wouldn't have even need the board though. It would have been easy to tell the old woman everything, to have her explain it to her grandson, but for what purpose? If she knew the truth, she wouldn't willing allow Ryou to do anything, not if she was a decent parent figure in any way. She'd try to protect him, and it would turn into one big mess. Besides, Akefia wanted to protect the boy too, and he had no plans to let him get involved more than what was absolutely necessary.

Eventually it was time to leave, their own home ready to be moved into. The thief allowed himself to be outside of the Millennium Ring, mostly because he wanted the old woman to see him leaving. He had a feeling she already knew for sure he would depart with the family, but it felt best to be sure. So far she hadn't snooped around too much, allowing him some level of privacy, but he didn't know how far that courtesy would extend. He just wanted her to see him leaving and then hopefully forget about him, and everything she'd seen.

It probably wouldn't be that easy, but he could hope if he wanted to.

He supposed he just didn't like her on principle, he mused as he waited at the doorstep while she hugged her family goodbye and asked them to come by again soon to see her. Never before had any living being seen him, and he didn't know why that was. Were there others like her? He knew before when he'd been alive he had seen ghosts, the dead of his family, but that was because he had a connection to them, because they were important to him. Sure, they were mediums, but never... EVER had he run into one that could notice him. And Shadi could be seen by anyone he wanted, not trapped in a Millennium Item like he was. Was that the key, because he was trapped in the Ring, making it so only a very special select few could interact with him?

It all made him feel uneasy, an unknown factor, and he had too many of those in his plans as it was. He did not need another one in the works.

So, he was happy to say farewell to the house. He was sure he would be back. They weren't living far from here from what he understood and he was sure there would be plenty of visits. Ryou and Amane seemed nothing if not adoring to their grandmother, so he knew he would be drug back to this house many times. But he could handle that as it came.

He determinedly looked away when he saw her glance up and try to catch his eyes. He had a feeling she was getting just as curious about his existence as he was baffled by her abilities, but he had no desire at all to interact. It would only encourage her, and he was pleased by the little sigh he heard. It sounded as if she were giving up, at least for now and he was more than happy with that.

Finally they all piled into the car and were driving off, the children climbing up into the seat to wave through the back window at their grandmother while she waved back at them from her porch. The thief felt a little pang of nostalgia, finding himself missing his own grandparent, but surprisingly he didn't dwell on it for too long. He found himself thinking about her, not dead, but waiting for him. It was one of the most hopeful thoughts he'd had in years. Yes, his own grandmother was waiting for him, somewhere beyond the veil that separated the living from the dead. She would probably hit him over the head instead of hug him when he got to her, yell at him for taking so long and allowing it to get this far out of hand, but he would look forward to it.

For the first time, in all his years of revenge, he thought past what would no doubt be his final fight and dream... maybe... maybe when this was all over, he'd be allowed to do as Ryou did, and come back home.

Maybe it was because he'd been thinking a bit too much about family lately. As hard as he'd fought it and second guessed every passing second since he'd found his host, he'd been acting different. Frankly, he'd been getting mushy, and he'd felt himself... well, changing. His bond with Ryou was meaning more to him than it should have. When this had all started, the boy was just a host, a mean to an end. He'd tried to stop that, to fight it. He'd said he couldn't allow himself to get attached. He was in a fight that might kill him in the end, might kill the boy if he wasn't careful. If he started to care too much, it would impede him, he just knew it.

Deep down though, he couldn't lie to himself. He just wasn't that good at suppressing his feelings. The same reason he'd tried to make the Pharaoh understand why he was fighting all those times that he attacked. He had a fierce honest streak him... for a murder thief anyway.

No, Ryou wasn't just a means to an end. He was a cute, innocent, if not somewhat weird boy with a twisted idea of what was interesting and what should be feared. His sweet family was something that should affect Akefia postively, not make him think bitter thoughts of jealousy. No longer was he going to look at these people and be reminded of the people he'd lost, and feel anger because the fucking hope was just welling up inside of him, and he liked it despite himself. No more hiding from the shot of contentment, no more getting jealous, and no more telling himself he should be ignoring Ryou instead of cherishing him. He shouldn't be getting angry about how strong or weak their connection was, and if it bothered him that it wasn't strong enough, he'd just find a way to make it stronger.

Because things had long since stopped being simple. Before it had just been a mission. This little boy was his way to fight Zork, once he figured out just how to do it. He was skin to ride, not a person to treasure or have feelings for. But Ryou had tried so hard to talk to him, showed interest and happiness that he could connect with the spirit. For the first time ever since his village's death, he felt wanted. Not as a pawn, or a thief to kill, or Shadi's personal experiment. He was just... wanted. For no other reason than that. As if he was worth wanting for more than just personal gain. As if he could make a good friend, despite being dead and torturing a few people.

It wasn't personal. It was just his mission. A means to an end.

Nothing more than a means to an end.

Nothing.

Sighing, he felt a smile form on his lips. Before, it hadn't been personal, but now those thoughts he'd had before... they didn't mean anything to him anymore. He was glad to be rid of them. He thought back to when he'd been trapped in his Soul Room with Zork, his thoughts going in endless, useless circles and unable to get them to stop. All in all, he was glad to be done with that garbage now. He wasn't going to second guess himself, and keep thinking the same morbid thoughts and worries. His host, his little precious host had changed all that. He was going to start doing things right. He was going to protect this boy, but he was going to care for him too. True, he could never tell him the full truth, never let him lose his normal life, but he'd share in it. He'd indulge himself and enjoy it, and stop worrying so much what would happen if he let himself care.

Because dammit, he was tired of worrying too much. Was it too much to want to be happy?

Well, since connecting to Ryou, he found that... maybe it wasn't.

#-#

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into... Well, Akefia did his best not to pay attention. It seemed as if there was always new things to look at, Ryou's father constantly working hard and bringing back new material. His searches turned relentless, though he did his best to keep things normal. He was patient, he had to be. His search for the Millennium Puzzle, for the Pharaoh wasn't going well, but it would someday. He just had to keep reminding himself of that. He felt the things stirring, changing somewhere far in the background where he couldn't reach. Something was happening, and he could sense it.

He often talked to Ryou, but as always he kept his lips tightly sealed about himself or his past. The boy had long ago accepted this, and mostly talked about himself, as if the thief was his little diary. It didn't bother the spirit at all, though the little reports meant almost nothing to him. He followed the boy everywhere, saw everything he did so the talks weren't really all that needed. But they were still nice to spend the time with him. He could understand the boy better and better with every passing day, able to read his thoughts and moods by the expressions on his face, watching him grow and change, and yet stay ever the same in his actions and personality.

He didn't limit his time to just his host either, wanting to fully enjoy the experience he was being allowed. Occasionally he would pretend to be the boy aside from just nights when he searched Dr. Bakura's office for clues. He would ask the man about his work at dinner, spend time helping his mother with chores around the house. Sometimes he got caught by Amane and was forced to play games, and while he protested slightly as any older sibling would, he found himself greatly enjoying it. It wasn't because she was too cute to say no to, even as she too started to grow older and got less cute and more spunky. It was because the time inside of Ryou's body, able to pretend he was alive in some extension this family was also his was like a hit of a drug. It gave him comfort he'd long had to do without, and he deeply cherished every moment he had with them.

He watched his host growing up into a young teenager and felt proud of him, and it was more than just pleasure that the boy could accomplish more with an older body. It was just enjoyable to see the boy change and grow up into a respectable young man. He noticed things like the little bit of baby fat that still stubbornly clung to the boy all the way into middle school, and how endearing it made him look. When he found Ryou bullied and took the boy over to chase them away, he did it happily because he didn't want the boy impaired somehow by injury or even made unhappy, and because he was being protective. He still kept his promise to not seriously hurt anyone but delighted in scaring off anyone that dared mess with his new family.

Because Akefia had allowed himself to care, and he was just happier for it. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he was the closest he'd ever felt to alive in so many years. He could allow himself to watch Ryou as he slept and feel proud as he got older. He could allow himself to care about the boy, because it just... it was distracting from all his pain and fears from before. His revenge was everything to him, his drive had gotten him through untold years and it was still important, but it didn't mean it had to be the only important thing to him. This possession of the boy was not for pleasure or comfort, not strictly... but he'd enjoy it anyway. He could do both, dammit, and he was going to. He looked back on times when he'd laid in the snow after playing with Amane and smiled, knowing now as important as his revenge was, he could find the balance, care for those around him as more than just ways to achieve his goals.

Maybe it was a weakness and indulgence, but that didn't make him want to stop. He was tired of being alone with his thoughts that weighed so heavily on him. There were fears yes, that this would come crashing down like his village did, but it could come crashing down one way or the other, and he chose to spend his time making good memories instead of pointless worries on what ifs. The feelings on why his connection with Ryou wasn't as strong drove him on to make a deeper connection, to someday make it so they could talk for real someday. He'd make their connection strong enough one day, so they would be able to just talk instead of relying on a Ouija board to communicate.

Time passed, as time had to do. Visits to their grandmother, school, hobbies and daily life went by. Two children grew up little by little, and the thief continued his work. Nothing too exciting ever happened, and nothing really ever changed. He found himself getting less frantic in his search and just continuing it with patience instead of anger, sure one day he'd find what he needed. He just basked in the time he had with Ryou, and enjoyed all the little things like paper still in the boy's possession, now hung up on his bedroom wall with various other pictures and posters, most of them for some silly game where the boy liked to believe he was a hero fighting monsters. A few times he had some people come over to play it, but it seemed like silly nonsense to him, and none of his friends lasted long, coming and going as if they were leaves drifting on the wind. He just wasn't the type that seemed capable of keeping friends, a quality in him that made him easily forgettable to people somehow.

But it was okay, because it wasn't ever going to happen for the thief. He was going to stay by Ryou's side through it all.

The need for a deeper bond had confused him at first. The flare of anger and indignation some woman that meant nothing to him could see and talk to him, yet his host couldn't... it had pissed him off, and he didn't know why. He didn't like uncertainties, and he was never able to ignore them. When he'd been young, when he'd been a little boy, he'd longed for company. Seeing everyone torn away from him, he'd clung to them as ghosts. It was the only thing that gave him comfort, and in his final fight, in his last attempt to kill the Pharaoh, he'd lost them yet again. The pain had been unbearable, even worse than dying himself.
And now... now this little boy who had started as little more than as a body to steal and use, was growing up, and he was getting more and more fond of him. He wanted to talk to him, he wanted Ryou to see him, and he hated the fact that he couldn't. It tore him up inside and for his life, he didn't get why. Was their bond that much to him? If it was, why wasn't it stronger? Why couldn't he do everything with the boy he longed to do?

He told himself it would help whenever he 'spoke' with Ryou, or whenever he played with Amane. He allowed himself to be selfish by getting annoyed when his friends came over, and he felt a longing in his chest when those kids could talk to and touch Ryou yet he couldn't. He clung to the boy and wanted more, and hid from his grandmother in a pure form of sulking, because if his host couldn't see him, then no one else would be allowed to either.

Akefia cared for him, his host. His perfect, precious host who had long ago stopped being some annoying little kid and was instead someone cherished and special. It only intensified when he got older, but Akefia found some comfort in it instead of fear. It really didn't bother him so much. He didn't stop and look at his host and wonder if maybe this existence wasn't so bad. He knew now it was a good one and he planned to savor it for as long as he could. He wouldn't have to think about what would happen when he finally did meet the Pharaoh again, knowing what would come would come but he'd let that be in the future, and just relish the present he had.

It would happen eventually, he was sure. Someday his mission would be accomplished, and then... well, who knew what would happen then? Maybe he'd finally die, all the way dead. Maybe he would be stuck in a little piece of gold forever, but consider its power came from the demon he was trying to kill, he somehow doubted that. Once its power was gone, maybe he would be too. Maybe he could be able to move on and go to his own family, the one that he belonged with.

Or maybe he was stuck with Ryou, with this bond that he wished was stronger for completely selfish reasons. Maybe he'd be with the host until he grew old and died then left Akefia alone. Maybe... shit, maybe the whole world would fucking blow up. He didn't know.

He'd spent too long of his existence planning this out with too many uncertainties, and it had never worked. It had driven him crazy, and grief coupled with anger had made him follow a demon who had slaughtered his family and his happiness. But now he was just going to take it as it came. As Shadi said, fate would attend to itself, and he would search, but he wouldn't forsake the new family he had now. If he lost them tomorrow, it would be hard, but ever moment spent with them would make it all hurt a little less.

Besides, who knew. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad ending for him. Maybe he could hold out for hope, and he'd actually be on the side that won and get their perfect happy endings this time.

End of Chapter 11

I'm much happier with this chapter than the first time I wrote it. Filler chapters can be tough to get right, and this require a few times to make just perfect. It has an upbeat attitude, one I think Akefia has needed for a long, long time. Yes, you wish-washy little ghost. Be happy for once. You deserve it.

Well, please let me know what you think of this chapter in a review. It's greatly appreciated.