Author's Notes: Well, how was that last cliffhanger, eh? Didn't make you
all wait TOO long, now did I?
Bakura: What are you talking about? You were unconscious the whole time ever since Filia- *is whacked by Yami Cassie*
Y.C.: That's better. My aibou doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor its characters. The only things she owns in this story are Yuumei, Mikomi, Mochidzuki, Faia, Naomi, and any other original characters or revived DM cards she puts in here. And if you're wondering why aibou has been gone all this time, it's 'cause she's been obsessed with beating the game Kingdom Hearts and also concentrating on buffing up for Swim Team.
Author: Sorry to all of those that like Eyes On Me, but Soulmates is the only story I've been able to think about lately. Anyways, on to the reviews! Oh, and thank you all SOOO much for the many reviews! I love you guys!
Akemi- Cool! Oh, guess what?! *fumes* The next FF game will be on the net, and you'll have to pay for it! I looked at the reviews for it and it's got pretty good graphics, but the plot is kinda bad. I've decided to play Kingdom Hearts instead, which I've heard is really good, despite the problem with camera angles. *later on, after renting the game and beating it* That game is AWESOME!!! It is so way past cool!! You HAVE to play it!!! It's rocks- MUCH better than any Final Fantasy game, except maybe FF9.
AKEMI!!! You HAVE to continue your Gundam Wing ficcy!!!! :( I wanna read more of it!! You left me with a cliffhanger where Duo left and Heero actually cried cause Duo said he hated him!!
Bakura: *mutters with a sadistic grin* Looks like she got some of her own medicine.
Author: KISAMA BAKA NE!! *grabs him and begins to beat the tar outta him*
Ryou: Ack! Leave him alone, Cassie-chan!! He didn't mean it! *coughmuchcough*
Author: *pauses and glares*
CheetaCat- *chuckles* Don't worry, I update often. I'm glad you like this!
Raine dragon- Oh, yay! I'm so glad new reviewers are coming!
YamiEmmy- :( I said I'd come back after a month, didn't I? *sniff* You lost faith. :P Just kidding, I'm not sad. I was gone for an awfully long time, wasn't I? Gomen nasai.
Vampire Huntress D- Teehee! I'm so happy you like the chap!
KawaiiBlackMoon- O.O Oh my.
--NC-- of the Unholy Quintet- I will if you keep reviewing! ^_~
Peacenikky- Teehee! Sorry 'bout that.
Jessy- Oh, don't worry. That comes next chapter. *evil grin*
Bakura: What'd you say?
Author: *whistles* Nothing...
AnimeQueen- Wow, long review. ^^ Awwwww, I feel so loved that you like my story so much! ^__^ *hand is grabbed and shook enthusiastically* No, no, no, thank YOU for giving such long, good reviews! I like good, long reviews. (Like yours, Blue diamond, and Chisa & Neko) Oh, yes, indeedy. Bakura-kun and Ryou-chan are so cute together, ne? Oh, no, no headache! ^_^ I love your reviews.
Blue diamond- Wow, I'm glad I surpass your normal standards! I feel special! ^.^ Oh, wow! You say funkish too!! WHEE!! ^_^ I usually say funkified too. :) *stares at poor Bakura, being glomped* Um, well, I dunno about getting brownies, but here's a new chapter for ya!
Shenya- Yeah, it was me that kept saying them as albinos. And, um, if you haven't noticed, they ARE. White hair, and pale skin NORMALLY means they're albino, ne?
CheetaCat- O_O Oh my... *thoughtfully* Didn't I say not to do that at home...? *checks* Oops... LEGOLAS?!?! *zooms off, leaving only a trail of dust marking her path*
Y.C.: *shrugs, teleports, and then comes back with Author in hands* You still have answers to your reviews to finish, not to mention a whole chapter.
Author: Awwwwww, but Yami-chan...
Y.C.: No buts.
Author: *pouts*
Ryuusei dragon: I'm sowwy bout that, but I decided I'd only make this...well, then again...*evil grin* I DO like that couple...
Y.C.: Oh no...
Chisa and Neko- Well, turns out we can't ride on horses. SOOO, we'll just walk around as Ringwraiths!!! BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Y.C.: *blinks*
Yami: *frowns* Bakura...
Bakura: *"innocently"* What??
Y.C.: Have you been teaching her how to laugh evilly?
Bakura: No. Malik and his yami have been.
Y.C. and Yami: WHAAAAATTT?!?!?!?!?
Chisa and Neko- Hitori...er...very sorry bout that...*scratches head, embarrassed*
Crystaldraygon98- Oh, really sorry about that. *blushes* I got obsessed with playing Kingdom Hearts, and also had to go to the Anime Convention #8, PLUS I have to run around the track at school for swim team every day until the end of next week. *makes a disgusted face at mention of swim team practices* Blech. Well, anywayz, I'm glad you love this story! *tear* So many people love it now. *sniffle* I feel so loved. In fact, when I first started Soulmates, I only intended for it to have two or so chapters, and I didn't even think of putting a Ryou x Bakura pairing in here. So, now, when I look back on my first chapter and think of the way I intended it to be, I wonder how in the name of Ra it progressed so far from my original plan. :D
Rage Aomori- ACK!! *dodges speeding basket*
Y.C.: Hey! Quit throwing baskets of rotting food at my aibou!
Rage Aomori- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry- *is cowering behind Yami Cassie*
Sliverlaugh1155- *leg gets glomped* O___O Never thought I'd get glomped in my life. *tries to shake clinging figure off leg* Uh...take? Not sure I understand...*laughs* Alrighty, alrighty, I'm continuing! *tries to move to computer* Ummm...I can't finish if I'm glomped so hard I can't move... ^_^;
Jessie bakura- BWUAHAHAHAH!! I am the Evil Mistress of Cliffhanger Hell!! MWUAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Y.C.: *eyes bulge* O____________O Aibou...?
Sarah- *watches form go up and down* @_@ Dizzy... *LOL* Now-ish, huh? *lol* That's funny! *chuckle* Now-ish it is.
Yuugilover3- Oooo, I'm glad you approve! ^.^ Oh, grr........that's right, I forgot to delete his reply. Hrm. Well, Yuugilover3, he apparently didn't take too well to my story. ^_^ But that's okay. My reviewers and I had fun yelling at him, even though he/she will probably never know. *shrugs cheerfully* But oh well. *LOL* I've been asking the same question of my mother for ages! I can't wait for it and I'm in the same house! O.o
Beverly- We are rather evil, aren't we? It's just so much fun! :)
Asian Angel 12- Hullo! I'm glad you liked my poem, and my stories! I did read "Cant You See? I love you...", and I love it!! You MUST continue. ^_^ By the way, you probably shouldn't put all those "-"s at the end before your Author's Notes, cause it makes the reader lose interest and get annoyed with trying to find the bottom of the fic. I was scrolling through, and I'm like, "Okay, is there even an end to it?" :P Just some author-to-author friendly criticism. I hope I didn't offend you or anything. *grimace* I seem to be doing that a lot lately to people near me...but anyways...
Firedraygon97- *blinks* Okie, now that's weird. I have two reviewers with the word "draygon" in their SN, and at the end they have a number in the late 90s...that's freaky. But, anywhos, my mom is really lenient, and I can really pretty much get on when I want to! Er...sorta. I mean, I do have ta ask and all. *shivers* Woah, that was freaky. Sounded like a wolf howled right outside the window just now. *shudder*
Yu-Gi-Oh: Soulmates
Chapter Eight: Final Test
They leaped.
/Bakura, we're not gonna make it!/ Ryou cried out to his yami as soon as he saw that they began to descend way too quickly.
//Yes we are, Ryou. Believe.//
Was Bakura asking Ryou to believe that his yami wouldn't hurt him? As if. Ryou had already heard that before, right before a beating.
They faltered in mid-air, and began to drop.
//Ryou, believe!! We can make it!//
/I'm trying, dammit, I'm trying!/
//No you're not! You-//
They stopped in "mid-air", hitting what used to be the floor before it began to "crumble away".
"It was an illusion..." Ryou muttered, beginning to laugh from the sheer relief that they wouldn't fall into the lava pit. Bakura appeared above Ryou, looking very angry. Ryou shut up. The look on Bakura's face was the same expression that appeared before a beating. Bakura grabbed Ryou's shirt collar, and lifted him to his feet. It unnerved Ryou to look down and see himself "floating", so he had no choice but to look straight at his yami.
"You didn't trust me. I trusted you."
Bakura's tone of voice clearly indicated that Bakura was accusing Ryou. Ryou suddenly felt a spark of strength appear within him, and he began to scream at Bakura right in the yami's face.
"How am I supposed to trust you at all?!?! When we first met, you began to beat me and whip me without even getting to know me and see if we could become friends!! When Yuumei-san turned you into a good person I was so happy. I thought we could be more than friends. I thought we could be just like Yugi and Yami, protecting each other through the bad times!! But then you had to go and change back, crushing all my hopes and dreams in one single blow with your fucking whip!! How am I ever supposed to trust you again?!?!?"
Every muscle in Bakura's face was frozen.
The silence roared within Ryou's ears, making him very uncomfortably aware that he had probably just screamed a death wish. Used to, Bakura would have killed him for such insubordination.
And speak of the devil.
Ryou cried out in pain as Bakura's hand slapped him hard across the cheek, and he crumpled to the ground at his yami's feet.
"I trusted you, even though you betrayed me! I was nice to you! I saved you, I cared for you, I fucking protected you just like that damn Pharaoh would have done for Yugi! And you fucking betrayed me to that...that girl, whatever her fucking name is! Don't play dumb with me, I fucking saw you two! You say I crushed your hopes and dreams. Well did it ever fucking occur to you that you fucking crushed mine too?!?!?!?" (He likes that f-word, ne? I believe I count 6 total f-words in there.)
Ryou stared. "What does Naomi-san have to do with this?"
Another slap. Ryou refrained from commenting that slaps were issued by girls. "I said not to play dumb with me! I saw you kissing her!!"
Ryou stared once more. "I kissed her?! She's the one who kissed me! I'm the one that pushed her away!"
"That's not what I saw," Bakura hissed.
"Then you didn't fucking look very long, did you?! My heart doesn't belong to her, it belongs to someone else, dammit!" (I think I like this new, improved, cussing Ryou. Don't you?)
"Then who?!" Bakura demanded.
"None of your business!" Ryou shrieked, and he began to sob, pleading silently to Kami-sama (God) for the old Bakura to return, the one that he loved. Bakura tried to remain indifferent to Ryou's sobs, but, eventually, his ears couldn't tune them out, and his hands clenched into fists. He felt his nails pierce flesh, and blood drip down onto the floor, but he didn't care. The pain in his hands kept him from hearing Ryou's crying.
"You have failed the Test of Trust," the ethereal voice came once again. Ryou paused, trying to remain silent so he could hear the woman's voice, which was now outside their minds instead of inside. Two openings appeared in the wall nearest them. One opening shone with light, while the other glowered with darkness.
"The yami is to enter the Door of Kage, while the Ringbearer is to enter the Door of Hikari." (Kage means shadow, therefore, the Door of Shadows.)
Bakura hastily went into the dark doorway so he could get away from his hikari's sobs. Ryou regained his composure before entering the door brewing with light. As he entered, he found that his clothing had changed. He paused, looking down at his new clothing. He wore a blue mage's outfit, which was more like a dress than anything, and a red heart glowed on his forehead. To his astonishment, he felt new, foreign muscles, and when he flexed them, he realized he had angel wings, which allowed him to fly. He smiled, momentarily distracted from the pain in his heart, and he flew the rest of the way down the hallway. He entered a large room, bigger than any he and Bakura had encountered so far, and the floor, walls, and ceiling, all seemed to move. He was dizzy until he reminded himself that it was just moving colors, not a moving room.
He looked around, and was surprised to see Bakura emerge from another doorway, with bat wings, a dark purple robe on, and a broken, black heart on his forehead. As soon as his yami entered the room, a cage appeared around him. He looked around wildly for an escape as the cage floated upwards to the top of a tower which stood in the middle of the room.
"Come, Ringbearer. It is time for Judgment. Do not worry. You will be fine no matter what the outcome. Your yami will hurt you no more."
Ryou relaxed, stretched out his wings, and flew up to the top of the tower.
"Minna?!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw that Yami, Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda, and Yuumei were all awaiting him with sad looks on their faces. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to w-"
Honda's explanation was interrupted by Yuumei, who covered his mouth. She grinned apologetically at Ryou.
"We came to see how you were," she obviously lied. Ryou frowned at her.
"You don't have to lie. It's okay if you came to watch. I'd be curious too."
"Indeed. Well now, Ringbearer, will you stand the Final Test of Judgment?"
"Of course," Ryou immediately answered, gazing steadily at the owner of the voice he had heard most often throughout the entire ordeal. He recognized it as the Empress Judge Card. The Judge nodded.
"My name is Faia, and I will be the Judge of both hikari and yami, the two sides of a heart. Dark and light as one now separated into two will be Judged according to the results of the five Tests."
"Five?" both Ryou and Bakura questioned at the same time.
"Yes, five. The first test was the Test of Strength, in which the yami of the Ringbearer passed, but not without a wound to tell the tale with. The second test was for the Ringbearer- The Test of Caring. The Ringbearer had to prove that he wanted his yami to survive. If the Ringbearer had not passed the test, then the yami would have died, and the Ringbearer would have been sent home without the Ring. The third test was Mochidzuki's Approval. If both of you passed the test given to you, then Mochidzuki would let you inside here, which he did. The fourth test was the Test of Protection, in which the Celtic Guardian tested the yami's reflexes to protect his hikari. The fifth test was the leap of faith, the Test of Trust. The Ringbearer failed the fifth test, because he could not trust his yami for reasons unforeseen."
Both Ryou and Bakura were silent, each wrapped in his own memories.
"According to the tests, the Ringbearer does not trust his yami, but also does not want his yami to die. Ringbearer, would you please explain yourself?"
Ryou swallowed. "Bakura used to beat me. When Yuumei-sama changed him to a good person, after a while he turned evil again, and whipped me. How could I trust someone who did that, even if they were a part of me that I would miss should they be gone?"
Faia nodded gravely. "And as for the yami...according to the tests, he is strong enough to protect his hikari, he has reflexes quick enough to protect his hikari if someone tries to kill the Ringbearer, and he trusts his hikari. You must understand, I have never seen anything like this before. Everything that should be there is there except for the Ringbearer's trust. How can darkness trust the light even though the light cannot trust the darkness?"
Bakura and Ryou were silent. Everyone was silent.
Yuumei finally couldn't stand it. She flew up to Faia, and whispered something in the woman's ear. Faia nodded, smiling.
"In order to have trust, yami and hikari must be one. They must know each other's secrets."
Both Ryou and Bakura paled. Everyone except Yuumei began to protest at Faia, even Yami.
"SILENCE!" Faia roared, and everyone shut up. "Now then, do you all wish to see these two pass Judgment?"
A murmur of yes went through the group gathered.
"Then I shall proceed?"
There was silence.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Even more silence.
"Very well then." Faia gestured with her hands and both albino boys were encased in an obsidian bubble. The bubbles disappeared.
"So..." Anzu began, looking around questioningly.
"I guess we wait," Yugi summed up, sitting down to patiently await the outcome.
==========================================================
Ryou jumped slightly, looking around. After he had been encased in the bubble for a while, it popped and Ryou found himself in an empty room. All along the walls, hieroglyphics had been etched into the blocks of golden-colored stone. Ryou felt himself wondering what they meant, especially since he didn't have his yami to help translate. He moved along the walls, sometimes reaching out a hand to trace the markings.
He froze. In front of him, a drawing of none other than his yami was cowering under the whippings of another man. Above the picture a drawing of the Millennium Ring was carved into the surface of the rock. As soon as Ryou touched it, the wall became instantly blank, void of color or markings. Ryou stumbled back, startled. He sat down quickly to stop his dizziness, and stared at the screen before him.
As he watched, the wall began to take on color, and, before he knew it, he was watching a full-fledged movie. He frowned thoughtfully, watching everything take place.
~A girl and a boy, both with shockingly white hair, were huddling in a corner of some room while listening to the sounds of two adults arguing. Ryou heard a sharp noise, like a fist connecting with bone, ring out. A cry of pain followed. The children winced and trembled violently, mouthing silent prayers.~
Ryou suddenly realized that the boy was Bakura, and the girl must have been his sister. 'So this is a movie...of Bakura's life? This must be what Faia-sama meant when she said "knowing each other's secrets."'
~A man clad in Egyptian clothes suddenly appeared in the doorway. Bakura and his sister began to whimper in fear as he advanced upon them. He grabbed them, one hand gripping Bakura's wrist, the other hand gripping the girl's wrist. Bakura began to struggle violently, while the girl merely submitted, letting herself get dragged along.~
The man shouted at Bakura in Egyptian, but Ryou found himself understanding what was said.
~"Quit struggling, you stupid kid! I command you to submit to me!"
Bakura paid no heed to the warning, and received a hefty blow to the head for it. He collapsed, and the man threw the boy over his shoulder. He carried Bakura and dragged the girl out of the room.~
The screen shifted to another place, one in which Bakura and his sister were put to work in the service of the Pharaoh(Yami's father). Bakura and his sister worked inside the palace, cleaning dishes, washing clothes, etc.
Eventually, Bakura's sister, whom Ryou now knew as Etowa-ru(Star), grew into a beautiful teenage girl. She became too beautiful for slavery. Bakura happened to notice it one day while they were washing dishes. Water splattered onto her face, washing away the dirt, revealing smooth skin and an elegant young woman. Etowa-ru noticed her brother's stare and asked him what was wrong.
~"You're...pretty..." Bakura whispered in a deathly quiet voice. Etowa-ru paled, and covered her cheeks.
"Has the dirt come off?!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone. Bakura nodded. She grabbed at his clothes, trying to get as much dirt off of them as she could. Once she had gotten the dirt on her hands, she rubbed her face with it. The slave master happened to notice the girl's gyrating hand movements, and looked more closely. He realized what the girl was doing and immediately called over a palace guard. He spoke with the guard briefly, and then the guard nodded.
Etowa-ru was deftly snatched away from her brother, and carried away to go to the harem. Bakura called after her, screaming curses at the guard. In a sudden flush of unknown power, he found himself punching the guard. The guard winced under the blow, and glared down at the boy with contempt. Bakura was grabbed by the slave master, and knocked out so he wouldn't struggle.
"It's time to teach this boy some manners."~
==========================================================
Once the bubble encasing Bakura had disappeared, and he found himself in a strange, empty room, Bakura merely sat where he was for a while, reliving memories of all that had happened in this strange realm. He sighed, and stood, beginning to look for a way out. He noticed some Japanese scripture on the walls, and began to move along it impatiently, hoping for something he would recognize.
He paused, staring at a carving of his hikari's face. He peered at the picture curiously until he realized that one half of Ryou's face was his own. Above the picture was a carving of Yuumei in her card form. Bakura reverently touched the part of the face that was his hikari, and the wall blanked for a moment, void of color.
A movie began to appear on the wall. Bakura instantly realized it was a biography of Ryou. He watched as Ryou was born into a world a love and care, until his mother died.
~Ryou stood, sopping wet due to the heavy rain, watching the funeral for his mother take place. His eyes showed nothing. They were completely blank. Only when the coffin was placed silently into the ground did Ryou begin to cry. His father offered only minimal comfort, for even his eyes were void of emotion. The light in their lives had been taken.~
The years progressed, with Ryou growing into a loner day by day. He rarely spoke, he got fabulously good grades, and he was bullied around and didn't care. One day, Ryou's father returned from a trip to Egypt. He handed Ryou the Millennium Ring.
Bakura tried to remain indifferent to everything that happened as the year went on, with him torturing Ryou every chance he got. Only when Ryou had been kidnapped did Bakura allow himself to actually listen to what was heard. When Bakura watched himself burst into the room, glowing with a blue fiery aura, Bakura's eyebrows raised. He really did look scary. (He had any doubts in the first place?)
Bakura watched with impatience. At one point, he listened to Ryou singing "Irresistible". He scoffed. His aibou really could sing. But...why was he choosing to sing a song about a guy?
Bakura ignored his thoughts, bored stiff. There was nothing in this movie he hadn't already seen. Or was there?
Ryou was walking through the park, whistling a random song. He swerved around suddenly, and Bakura realized that Ryou had sensed that he was following the boy that day. Ryou bit his lip, turned around, and began to walk swiftly away. He reached a clearing with a bench in it, and saw that a girl he knew from school was sitting there.
~"Hey, Naomi-chan!" Ryou called, smiling cheerily. "Mind if I have a seat?"
"Not at all," Naomi replied in an odd tone of voice.
"Naomi-chan? Daijobu ka?" Ryou inquired worriedly. Naomi sighed.
"There's this guy I like- a LOT. I've known him for about a year now, and I still like him. He's kinda shy, so I don't know if he likes me back, and he doesn't have very many friends, so I can't ask them."
Before Ryou could figure out why it sounded so familiar, he asked who Naomi liked.
She turned to stare at him for a moment, and then kissed him.
Ryou froze.~
Bakura felt the rage rise in his throat once more, the kind that happens because you're sad and angry at the same time. He forced himself to keep watching the scene.
~Ryou pulled away from Naomi, his eyes wide. He sighed after a while of silence.
"Naomi-chan, my heart belongs to someone else. It has for a long time now. I am truly sorry."~
Bakura's eyebrows raised in surprise, the rage dying down back to its normal soft simmer.
~Naomi's eyes filled with tears, and she fled from the clearing.
"I'm sorry," Ryou whispered. "But my heart belongs to Bakura..."~
Bakura froze, numb with shock.
==========================================================
Ryou bit his lip in horror, recoiling from the scenes of torture that the slave master put Bakura through. Ryou suddenly realized that the master was shouting someone else's name even as he whipped Bakura. Ryou's eyes widened as he recalled Yami's words about Bakura's torturer beating Bakura just because of his own problems with the Pharaoh.
Bakura's life progressed, and he eventually ran away, becoming a tomb robber. He became one of the most renowned tomb robbers ever, plundering and robbing the most well-guarded pyramids known to man. Pharaoh Yami constantly sent out a search party to locate him and to either bring him back alive -if possible- or kill him upon sight. Very few ever returned from their exploits, and eventually Yami gave up. He later was murdered and his soul was sealed into the Millennium Puzzle. The two people who killed him were sealed inside their own Millennium Items. (Malik and Kaiba, I guess)
~One day, Bakura went to Yami's tomb, and found himself tested almost to the peak of his strength. Only when Bakura had reached the actual burial room did Bakura allow himself to rest for a moment. Then Bakura stood, and froze at the sight of mounds of treasures. He smirked maliciously to himself, and stalked over to the nearest item. He touched it briefly, examining it.
A light shone from the item, and a voice said into his ear that he is destined to be sealed inside the Ring. And with a rushing sound, in a blur of light, Bakura's body and soul split apart. The corpse tumbled to the ground beside the Ring, in which Bakura's spirit was now trapped.~
Ryou noticed that his mouth was hanging open, and he instantly shut it. He winced as fast-forwarded images of Bakura's torture sessions with Ryou flashed by his eyes. Then, abruptly, the images came to a stop, and Ryou realized it was the day he had spoken in the park with Yami about Bakura. Bakura suddenly materialized beside him, and raised a hand as if to strike him. Yami snatched Bakura's hand with a deathly strong grip.
~"Ryou-kun.leave us," Yami growled. Bakura gave him a narrowed Death Glare. The Ryou on the screen backed away for a moment, unsure, then turned, and fled.
"What do you want, Pharaoh?" Bakura hissed venomously, mocking Yami's former title. Yami snarled at him.
"I want to know why you treat Ryou-kun so badly. He's just as strong as any of us, only in his own, different way, and he hides it, even from himself. You have no right to call him weak."
"But he is weak!! He flinches from me even before I have struck him!"
Yami's fist connected with Bakura's face, and Bakura hit the ground, hard.
"The only reason he does that is because you have given him reason to fear you before you strike!" Yami narrowed his eyes, and then said slowly, "I'll bet.that when you try to be nice to Ryou-kun, if that were possible, it would still be considered cruel in every religion in the world."
Bakura glared up at him. "And what about you, Pharaoh?! You've given everything up for your aibou, only to have nothing in return!"
"You are wrong, as always. Yugi-chan has given me the light of love in my heart. Once, I was like you, but Yugi turned me into something much better. He may not return my feelings, but he certainly returns friendship- which is more than what you have, Bakura!"~
Ryou didn't know what happened, but there was a slight light from the Millennium Ring hanging from Bakura's neck, but Yami waved a hand and the light died away.
~"I'm not finished with you yet!" Yami declared. "You will not leave until I dismiss you."
Bakura glared in retaliation, sneering.
"I know you've had a harsh, cruel life in Egypt," Yami began softly. "Hell, Ra knows we all have, but that still doesn't give you the right to take it out on the one who possesses your Ring. You keep hurting Ryou-kun, just like the one who used to hurt you for his own problems with me. But, if you keep venting your anger and hatred, you're just going to create another 'you' out of Ryou-kun, and then Ryou-kun will create another, and out of that one, yet another, and another, and then the cycle will continue with all of this pain that you have caused."
Bakura's face was wiped of its smirk, and he stared at the ground intently. Yami sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You may think that Ryou-kun is weak, but he's not. Why else do you think he keeps the Ring instead of destroying it or giving it to someone else?"
Bakura mumbled something inaudible.
"What was that?"
Bakura murmured, "I don't know."
"Good, because I would tell you anyway," Yami replied. "Ryou-kun keeps your Ring because he is afraid of unleashing you upon some other poor soul, who is weaker than he is. He doesn't want to cause anyone the same pain that he is being dealt."
Bakura mumbled something incoherent, then muttered, "Then why doesn't he just kill me or destroy the Ring?"
"Because of the same reason," Yami replied softly. "He doesn't want to hurt anyone."
Bakura looked up at him, eyes wide.
"Including you."~
As the scene ended, Ryou found himself blushing furiously. Another scene came on, and Ryou realized that it wasn't an Angel-Demon he had seen standing in the doorway of the room he had been placed in once he was kidnapped. It had been Bakura. Bakura was glowing with a mysterious blue flame. Yami hastily went over to Ryou's unconscious body, shielding him.
~"Take 'im," one kidnapper commanded, and the group of captors all advanced toward Ryou's yami. Bakura smirked sadistically.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!~
Ryou cringed, shielding his eyes from the bright light coming from the wall-screen as the building blew up.
~Yami let go of Ryou's unconscious body, his shield dropping. Bakura took over the situation, kneeling next to Ryou. He traced a gentle hand over all of the wounds he'd dealt just a day or two ago. There was even one from that morning. Bakura let the tears fall for once, and scooped up the albino boy in his arms, standing and turning towards the exit. Yami picked up Ryou's torn shirt, and draped it over the boy, who was shivering even in his sleep.
Everyone stared as Bakura came out of the building, holding their unconscious friend, and were shocked to see tear trails on his face. Yugi immediately ran to Yami's side.
"Are you okay?!" Yugi breathlessly demanded. Yami smiled slightly, and nodded.
"Bakura did all the work," Yami replied, smiling slightly at the retreating form of the ancient spirit. "I didn't even need to go inside, except to protect Ryou from Bakura's power eruption."
Yugi cocked a quizzical eyebrow, and turned to watch Bakura. Everyone began to follow the ancient spirit, who didn't seem to notice them. It seemed as if he was only interested in carrying his hikari home.
"Alright, I can't stand it anymore!" Anzu finally burst out after a few minutes of walking in silence. Jounouchi, easily telling what Anzu meant, asked the question for her. He ran in front of Bakura, arms spread to stop the spirit.
"We have ta know- did you make those wounds on Ryou-kun?!"
Silence ensued, though only for a moment. It seemed, however, like an eternity before Bakura answered.
"Yes," he whispered broken-heartedly. "I did give him most of these wounds."~
Ryou grimaced at the sound of Jounouchi's fist connecting with Bakura's jaw, and watched as Bakura fell to the ground.
~"I know I deserved that, Jou-san, but can we please settle this." Bakura looked up at Jounouchi, dried tear trails on his face, ".after we get Ryou home and we know for sure that he's safe?"~
The scenes shifted, showing Ryou what happened before he woke up at Yugi's house, and various other things, including one point where Bakura was watching Naomi kiss Ryou. Ryou barely listened to what happened anymore, because he was so wrapped up in the horrors Bakura had gone through during his life. He didn't even hear Bakura mumbling to himself about loving Ryou.
The screen suddenly went dead.
"Both yami and hikari now know all that there is to know about the other. It is time."
A wall behind Ryou slid open, revealing a bright light coming from another room. Ryou stood, and walked over to the door. It opened up fully.
His yami stood in the middle of the doorway, awaiting him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Notes: Oh, I am so bad...heheheheh. This is fun, ne, Yami-chan?
Y.C.: Indeed.
Disclaimers: Um, duh. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. Only Yuumei, Mikomi, Faia, Naomi, Doragon, and the plot are mine.
Oh, and, by the way, I have a new story out. It's a sequel to the Kingdom Hearts game, so unless you have played the game or know a whole bunch about it, don't read my story. Then again, it's supposed to take place during the actual game, so...oh, what the hell, if you don't wanna spoil the game, don't read. If you do wanna spoil some of it, go right ahead and read. For the moment, it's just the opening sequence- the beginning of my very long fic, which will be longer than Soulmates.
Bakura: What are you talking about? You were unconscious the whole time ever since Filia- *is whacked by Yami Cassie*
Y.C.: That's better. My aibou doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor its characters. The only things she owns in this story are Yuumei, Mikomi, Mochidzuki, Faia, Naomi, and any other original characters or revived DM cards she puts in here. And if you're wondering why aibou has been gone all this time, it's 'cause she's been obsessed with beating the game Kingdom Hearts and also concentrating on buffing up for Swim Team.
Author: Sorry to all of those that like Eyes On Me, but Soulmates is the only story I've been able to think about lately. Anyways, on to the reviews! Oh, and thank you all SOOO much for the many reviews! I love you guys!
Akemi- Cool! Oh, guess what?! *fumes* The next FF game will be on the net, and you'll have to pay for it! I looked at the reviews for it and it's got pretty good graphics, but the plot is kinda bad. I've decided to play Kingdom Hearts instead, which I've heard is really good, despite the problem with camera angles. *later on, after renting the game and beating it* That game is AWESOME!!! It is so way past cool!! You HAVE to play it!!! It's rocks- MUCH better than any Final Fantasy game, except maybe FF9.
AKEMI!!! You HAVE to continue your Gundam Wing ficcy!!!! :( I wanna read more of it!! You left me with a cliffhanger where Duo left and Heero actually cried cause Duo said he hated him!!
Bakura: *mutters with a sadistic grin* Looks like she got some of her own medicine.
Author: KISAMA BAKA NE!! *grabs him and begins to beat the tar outta him*
Ryou: Ack! Leave him alone, Cassie-chan!! He didn't mean it! *coughmuchcough*
Author: *pauses and glares*
CheetaCat- *chuckles* Don't worry, I update often. I'm glad you like this!
Raine dragon- Oh, yay! I'm so glad new reviewers are coming!
YamiEmmy- :( I said I'd come back after a month, didn't I? *sniff* You lost faith. :P Just kidding, I'm not sad. I was gone for an awfully long time, wasn't I? Gomen nasai.
Vampire Huntress D- Teehee! I'm so happy you like the chap!
KawaiiBlackMoon- O.O Oh my.
--NC-- of the Unholy Quintet- I will if you keep reviewing! ^_~
Peacenikky- Teehee! Sorry 'bout that.
Jessy- Oh, don't worry. That comes next chapter. *evil grin*
Bakura: What'd you say?
Author: *whistles* Nothing...
AnimeQueen- Wow, long review. ^^ Awwwww, I feel so loved that you like my story so much! ^__^ *hand is grabbed and shook enthusiastically* No, no, no, thank YOU for giving such long, good reviews! I like good, long reviews. (Like yours, Blue diamond, and Chisa & Neko) Oh, yes, indeedy. Bakura-kun and Ryou-chan are so cute together, ne? Oh, no, no headache! ^_^ I love your reviews.
Blue diamond- Wow, I'm glad I surpass your normal standards! I feel special! ^.^ Oh, wow! You say funkish too!! WHEE!! ^_^ I usually say funkified too. :) *stares at poor Bakura, being glomped* Um, well, I dunno about getting brownies, but here's a new chapter for ya!
Shenya- Yeah, it was me that kept saying them as albinos. And, um, if you haven't noticed, they ARE. White hair, and pale skin NORMALLY means they're albino, ne?
CheetaCat- O_O Oh my... *thoughtfully* Didn't I say not to do that at home...? *checks* Oops... LEGOLAS?!?! *zooms off, leaving only a trail of dust marking her path*
Y.C.: *shrugs, teleports, and then comes back with Author in hands* You still have answers to your reviews to finish, not to mention a whole chapter.
Author: Awwwwww, but Yami-chan...
Y.C.: No buts.
Author: *pouts*
Ryuusei dragon: I'm sowwy bout that, but I decided I'd only make this...well, then again...*evil grin* I DO like that couple...
Y.C.: Oh no...
Chisa and Neko- Well, turns out we can't ride on horses. SOOO, we'll just walk around as Ringwraiths!!! BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Y.C.: *blinks*
Yami: *frowns* Bakura...
Bakura: *"innocently"* What??
Y.C.: Have you been teaching her how to laugh evilly?
Bakura: No. Malik and his yami have been.
Y.C. and Yami: WHAAAAATTT?!?!?!?!?
Chisa and Neko- Hitori...er...very sorry bout that...*scratches head, embarrassed*
Crystaldraygon98- Oh, really sorry about that. *blushes* I got obsessed with playing Kingdom Hearts, and also had to go to the Anime Convention #8, PLUS I have to run around the track at school for swim team every day until the end of next week. *makes a disgusted face at mention of swim team practices* Blech. Well, anywayz, I'm glad you love this story! *tear* So many people love it now. *sniffle* I feel so loved. In fact, when I first started Soulmates, I only intended for it to have two or so chapters, and I didn't even think of putting a Ryou x Bakura pairing in here. So, now, when I look back on my first chapter and think of the way I intended it to be, I wonder how in the name of Ra it progressed so far from my original plan. :D
Rage Aomori- ACK!! *dodges speeding basket*
Y.C.: Hey! Quit throwing baskets of rotting food at my aibou!
Rage Aomori- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry- *is cowering behind Yami Cassie*
Sliverlaugh1155- *leg gets glomped* O___O Never thought I'd get glomped in my life. *tries to shake clinging figure off leg* Uh...take? Not sure I understand...*laughs* Alrighty, alrighty, I'm continuing! *tries to move to computer* Ummm...I can't finish if I'm glomped so hard I can't move... ^_^;
Jessie bakura- BWUAHAHAHAH!! I am the Evil Mistress of Cliffhanger Hell!! MWUAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Y.C.: *eyes bulge* O____________O Aibou...?
Sarah- *watches form go up and down* @_@ Dizzy... *LOL* Now-ish, huh? *lol* That's funny! *chuckle* Now-ish it is.
Yuugilover3- Oooo, I'm glad you approve! ^.^ Oh, grr........that's right, I forgot to delete his reply. Hrm. Well, Yuugilover3, he apparently didn't take too well to my story. ^_^ But that's okay. My reviewers and I had fun yelling at him, even though he/she will probably never know. *shrugs cheerfully* But oh well. *LOL* I've been asking the same question of my mother for ages! I can't wait for it and I'm in the same house! O.o
Beverly- We are rather evil, aren't we? It's just so much fun! :)
Asian Angel 12- Hullo! I'm glad you liked my poem, and my stories! I did read "Cant You See? I love you...", and I love it!! You MUST continue. ^_^ By the way, you probably shouldn't put all those "-"s at the end before your Author's Notes, cause it makes the reader lose interest and get annoyed with trying to find the bottom of the fic. I was scrolling through, and I'm like, "Okay, is there even an end to it?" :P Just some author-to-author friendly criticism. I hope I didn't offend you or anything. *grimace* I seem to be doing that a lot lately to people near me...but anyways...
Firedraygon97- *blinks* Okie, now that's weird. I have two reviewers with the word "draygon" in their SN, and at the end they have a number in the late 90s...that's freaky. But, anywhos, my mom is really lenient, and I can really pretty much get on when I want to! Er...sorta. I mean, I do have ta ask and all. *shivers* Woah, that was freaky. Sounded like a wolf howled right outside the window just now. *shudder*
Yu-Gi-Oh: Soulmates
Chapter Eight: Final Test
They leaped.
/Bakura, we're not gonna make it!/ Ryou cried out to his yami as soon as he saw that they began to descend way too quickly.
//Yes we are, Ryou. Believe.//
Was Bakura asking Ryou to believe that his yami wouldn't hurt him? As if. Ryou had already heard that before, right before a beating.
They faltered in mid-air, and began to drop.
//Ryou, believe!! We can make it!//
/I'm trying, dammit, I'm trying!/
//No you're not! You-//
They stopped in "mid-air", hitting what used to be the floor before it began to "crumble away".
"It was an illusion..." Ryou muttered, beginning to laugh from the sheer relief that they wouldn't fall into the lava pit. Bakura appeared above Ryou, looking very angry. Ryou shut up. The look on Bakura's face was the same expression that appeared before a beating. Bakura grabbed Ryou's shirt collar, and lifted him to his feet. It unnerved Ryou to look down and see himself "floating", so he had no choice but to look straight at his yami.
"You didn't trust me. I trusted you."
Bakura's tone of voice clearly indicated that Bakura was accusing Ryou. Ryou suddenly felt a spark of strength appear within him, and he began to scream at Bakura right in the yami's face.
"How am I supposed to trust you at all?!?! When we first met, you began to beat me and whip me without even getting to know me and see if we could become friends!! When Yuumei-san turned you into a good person I was so happy. I thought we could be more than friends. I thought we could be just like Yugi and Yami, protecting each other through the bad times!! But then you had to go and change back, crushing all my hopes and dreams in one single blow with your fucking whip!! How am I ever supposed to trust you again?!?!?"
Every muscle in Bakura's face was frozen.
The silence roared within Ryou's ears, making him very uncomfortably aware that he had probably just screamed a death wish. Used to, Bakura would have killed him for such insubordination.
And speak of the devil.
Ryou cried out in pain as Bakura's hand slapped him hard across the cheek, and he crumpled to the ground at his yami's feet.
"I trusted you, even though you betrayed me! I was nice to you! I saved you, I cared for you, I fucking protected you just like that damn Pharaoh would have done for Yugi! And you fucking betrayed me to that...that girl, whatever her fucking name is! Don't play dumb with me, I fucking saw you two! You say I crushed your hopes and dreams. Well did it ever fucking occur to you that you fucking crushed mine too?!?!?!?" (He likes that f-word, ne? I believe I count 6 total f-words in there.)
Ryou stared. "What does Naomi-san have to do with this?"
Another slap. Ryou refrained from commenting that slaps were issued by girls. "I said not to play dumb with me! I saw you kissing her!!"
Ryou stared once more. "I kissed her?! She's the one who kissed me! I'm the one that pushed her away!"
"That's not what I saw," Bakura hissed.
"Then you didn't fucking look very long, did you?! My heart doesn't belong to her, it belongs to someone else, dammit!" (I think I like this new, improved, cussing Ryou. Don't you?)
"Then who?!" Bakura demanded.
"None of your business!" Ryou shrieked, and he began to sob, pleading silently to Kami-sama (God) for the old Bakura to return, the one that he loved. Bakura tried to remain indifferent to Ryou's sobs, but, eventually, his ears couldn't tune them out, and his hands clenched into fists. He felt his nails pierce flesh, and blood drip down onto the floor, but he didn't care. The pain in his hands kept him from hearing Ryou's crying.
"You have failed the Test of Trust," the ethereal voice came once again. Ryou paused, trying to remain silent so he could hear the woman's voice, which was now outside their minds instead of inside. Two openings appeared in the wall nearest them. One opening shone with light, while the other glowered with darkness.
"The yami is to enter the Door of Kage, while the Ringbearer is to enter the Door of Hikari." (Kage means shadow, therefore, the Door of Shadows.)
Bakura hastily went into the dark doorway so he could get away from his hikari's sobs. Ryou regained his composure before entering the door brewing with light. As he entered, he found that his clothing had changed. He paused, looking down at his new clothing. He wore a blue mage's outfit, which was more like a dress than anything, and a red heart glowed on his forehead. To his astonishment, he felt new, foreign muscles, and when he flexed them, he realized he had angel wings, which allowed him to fly. He smiled, momentarily distracted from the pain in his heart, and he flew the rest of the way down the hallway. He entered a large room, bigger than any he and Bakura had encountered so far, and the floor, walls, and ceiling, all seemed to move. He was dizzy until he reminded himself that it was just moving colors, not a moving room.
He looked around, and was surprised to see Bakura emerge from another doorway, with bat wings, a dark purple robe on, and a broken, black heart on his forehead. As soon as his yami entered the room, a cage appeared around him. He looked around wildly for an escape as the cage floated upwards to the top of a tower which stood in the middle of the room.
"Come, Ringbearer. It is time for Judgment. Do not worry. You will be fine no matter what the outcome. Your yami will hurt you no more."
Ryou relaxed, stretched out his wings, and flew up to the top of the tower.
"Minna?!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw that Yami, Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda, and Yuumei were all awaiting him with sad looks on their faces. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to w-"
Honda's explanation was interrupted by Yuumei, who covered his mouth. She grinned apologetically at Ryou.
"We came to see how you were," she obviously lied. Ryou frowned at her.
"You don't have to lie. It's okay if you came to watch. I'd be curious too."
"Indeed. Well now, Ringbearer, will you stand the Final Test of Judgment?"
"Of course," Ryou immediately answered, gazing steadily at the owner of the voice he had heard most often throughout the entire ordeal. He recognized it as the Empress Judge Card. The Judge nodded.
"My name is Faia, and I will be the Judge of both hikari and yami, the two sides of a heart. Dark and light as one now separated into two will be Judged according to the results of the five Tests."
"Five?" both Ryou and Bakura questioned at the same time.
"Yes, five. The first test was the Test of Strength, in which the yami of the Ringbearer passed, but not without a wound to tell the tale with. The second test was for the Ringbearer- The Test of Caring. The Ringbearer had to prove that he wanted his yami to survive. If the Ringbearer had not passed the test, then the yami would have died, and the Ringbearer would have been sent home without the Ring. The third test was Mochidzuki's Approval. If both of you passed the test given to you, then Mochidzuki would let you inside here, which he did. The fourth test was the Test of Protection, in which the Celtic Guardian tested the yami's reflexes to protect his hikari. The fifth test was the leap of faith, the Test of Trust. The Ringbearer failed the fifth test, because he could not trust his yami for reasons unforeseen."
Both Ryou and Bakura were silent, each wrapped in his own memories.
"According to the tests, the Ringbearer does not trust his yami, but also does not want his yami to die. Ringbearer, would you please explain yourself?"
Ryou swallowed. "Bakura used to beat me. When Yuumei-sama changed him to a good person, after a while he turned evil again, and whipped me. How could I trust someone who did that, even if they were a part of me that I would miss should they be gone?"
Faia nodded gravely. "And as for the yami...according to the tests, he is strong enough to protect his hikari, he has reflexes quick enough to protect his hikari if someone tries to kill the Ringbearer, and he trusts his hikari. You must understand, I have never seen anything like this before. Everything that should be there is there except for the Ringbearer's trust. How can darkness trust the light even though the light cannot trust the darkness?"
Bakura and Ryou were silent. Everyone was silent.
Yuumei finally couldn't stand it. She flew up to Faia, and whispered something in the woman's ear. Faia nodded, smiling.
"In order to have trust, yami and hikari must be one. They must know each other's secrets."
Both Ryou and Bakura paled. Everyone except Yuumei began to protest at Faia, even Yami.
"SILENCE!" Faia roared, and everyone shut up. "Now then, do you all wish to see these two pass Judgment?"
A murmur of yes went through the group gathered.
"Then I shall proceed?"
There was silence.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Even more silence.
"Very well then." Faia gestured with her hands and both albino boys were encased in an obsidian bubble. The bubbles disappeared.
"So..." Anzu began, looking around questioningly.
"I guess we wait," Yugi summed up, sitting down to patiently await the outcome.
==========================================================
Ryou jumped slightly, looking around. After he had been encased in the bubble for a while, it popped and Ryou found himself in an empty room. All along the walls, hieroglyphics had been etched into the blocks of golden-colored stone. Ryou felt himself wondering what they meant, especially since he didn't have his yami to help translate. He moved along the walls, sometimes reaching out a hand to trace the markings.
He froze. In front of him, a drawing of none other than his yami was cowering under the whippings of another man. Above the picture a drawing of the Millennium Ring was carved into the surface of the rock. As soon as Ryou touched it, the wall became instantly blank, void of color or markings. Ryou stumbled back, startled. He sat down quickly to stop his dizziness, and stared at the screen before him.
As he watched, the wall began to take on color, and, before he knew it, he was watching a full-fledged movie. He frowned thoughtfully, watching everything take place.
~A girl and a boy, both with shockingly white hair, were huddling in a corner of some room while listening to the sounds of two adults arguing. Ryou heard a sharp noise, like a fist connecting with bone, ring out. A cry of pain followed. The children winced and trembled violently, mouthing silent prayers.~
Ryou suddenly realized that the boy was Bakura, and the girl must have been his sister. 'So this is a movie...of Bakura's life? This must be what Faia-sama meant when she said "knowing each other's secrets."'
~A man clad in Egyptian clothes suddenly appeared in the doorway. Bakura and his sister began to whimper in fear as he advanced upon them. He grabbed them, one hand gripping Bakura's wrist, the other hand gripping the girl's wrist. Bakura began to struggle violently, while the girl merely submitted, letting herself get dragged along.~
The man shouted at Bakura in Egyptian, but Ryou found himself understanding what was said.
~"Quit struggling, you stupid kid! I command you to submit to me!"
Bakura paid no heed to the warning, and received a hefty blow to the head for it. He collapsed, and the man threw the boy over his shoulder. He carried Bakura and dragged the girl out of the room.~
The screen shifted to another place, one in which Bakura and his sister were put to work in the service of the Pharaoh(Yami's father). Bakura and his sister worked inside the palace, cleaning dishes, washing clothes, etc.
Eventually, Bakura's sister, whom Ryou now knew as Etowa-ru(Star), grew into a beautiful teenage girl. She became too beautiful for slavery. Bakura happened to notice it one day while they were washing dishes. Water splattered onto her face, washing away the dirt, revealing smooth skin and an elegant young woman. Etowa-ru noticed her brother's stare and asked him what was wrong.
~"You're...pretty..." Bakura whispered in a deathly quiet voice. Etowa-ru paled, and covered her cheeks.
"Has the dirt come off?!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone. Bakura nodded. She grabbed at his clothes, trying to get as much dirt off of them as she could. Once she had gotten the dirt on her hands, she rubbed her face with it. The slave master happened to notice the girl's gyrating hand movements, and looked more closely. He realized what the girl was doing and immediately called over a palace guard. He spoke with the guard briefly, and then the guard nodded.
Etowa-ru was deftly snatched away from her brother, and carried away to go to the harem. Bakura called after her, screaming curses at the guard. In a sudden flush of unknown power, he found himself punching the guard. The guard winced under the blow, and glared down at the boy with contempt. Bakura was grabbed by the slave master, and knocked out so he wouldn't struggle.
"It's time to teach this boy some manners."~
==========================================================
Once the bubble encasing Bakura had disappeared, and he found himself in a strange, empty room, Bakura merely sat where he was for a while, reliving memories of all that had happened in this strange realm. He sighed, and stood, beginning to look for a way out. He noticed some Japanese scripture on the walls, and began to move along it impatiently, hoping for something he would recognize.
He paused, staring at a carving of his hikari's face. He peered at the picture curiously until he realized that one half of Ryou's face was his own. Above the picture was a carving of Yuumei in her card form. Bakura reverently touched the part of the face that was his hikari, and the wall blanked for a moment, void of color.
A movie began to appear on the wall. Bakura instantly realized it was a biography of Ryou. He watched as Ryou was born into a world a love and care, until his mother died.
~Ryou stood, sopping wet due to the heavy rain, watching the funeral for his mother take place. His eyes showed nothing. They were completely blank. Only when the coffin was placed silently into the ground did Ryou begin to cry. His father offered only minimal comfort, for even his eyes were void of emotion. The light in their lives had been taken.~
The years progressed, with Ryou growing into a loner day by day. He rarely spoke, he got fabulously good grades, and he was bullied around and didn't care. One day, Ryou's father returned from a trip to Egypt. He handed Ryou the Millennium Ring.
Bakura tried to remain indifferent to everything that happened as the year went on, with him torturing Ryou every chance he got. Only when Ryou had been kidnapped did Bakura allow himself to actually listen to what was heard. When Bakura watched himself burst into the room, glowing with a blue fiery aura, Bakura's eyebrows raised. He really did look scary. (He had any doubts in the first place?)
Bakura watched with impatience. At one point, he listened to Ryou singing "Irresistible". He scoffed. His aibou really could sing. But...why was he choosing to sing a song about a guy?
Bakura ignored his thoughts, bored stiff. There was nothing in this movie he hadn't already seen. Or was there?
Ryou was walking through the park, whistling a random song. He swerved around suddenly, and Bakura realized that Ryou had sensed that he was following the boy that day. Ryou bit his lip, turned around, and began to walk swiftly away. He reached a clearing with a bench in it, and saw that a girl he knew from school was sitting there.
~"Hey, Naomi-chan!" Ryou called, smiling cheerily. "Mind if I have a seat?"
"Not at all," Naomi replied in an odd tone of voice.
"Naomi-chan? Daijobu ka?" Ryou inquired worriedly. Naomi sighed.
"There's this guy I like- a LOT. I've known him for about a year now, and I still like him. He's kinda shy, so I don't know if he likes me back, and he doesn't have very many friends, so I can't ask them."
Before Ryou could figure out why it sounded so familiar, he asked who Naomi liked.
She turned to stare at him for a moment, and then kissed him.
Ryou froze.~
Bakura felt the rage rise in his throat once more, the kind that happens because you're sad and angry at the same time. He forced himself to keep watching the scene.
~Ryou pulled away from Naomi, his eyes wide. He sighed after a while of silence.
"Naomi-chan, my heart belongs to someone else. It has for a long time now. I am truly sorry."~
Bakura's eyebrows raised in surprise, the rage dying down back to its normal soft simmer.
~Naomi's eyes filled with tears, and she fled from the clearing.
"I'm sorry," Ryou whispered. "But my heart belongs to Bakura..."~
Bakura froze, numb with shock.
==========================================================
Ryou bit his lip in horror, recoiling from the scenes of torture that the slave master put Bakura through. Ryou suddenly realized that the master was shouting someone else's name even as he whipped Bakura. Ryou's eyes widened as he recalled Yami's words about Bakura's torturer beating Bakura just because of his own problems with the Pharaoh.
Bakura's life progressed, and he eventually ran away, becoming a tomb robber. He became one of the most renowned tomb robbers ever, plundering and robbing the most well-guarded pyramids known to man. Pharaoh Yami constantly sent out a search party to locate him and to either bring him back alive -if possible- or kill him upon sight. Very few ever returned from their exploits, and eventually Yami gave up. He later was murdered and his soul was sealed into the Millennium Puzzle. The two people who killed him were sealed inside their own Millennium Items. (Malik and Kaiba, I guess)
~One day, Bakura went to Yami's tomb, and found himself tested almost to the peak of his strength. Only when Bakura had reached the actual burial room did Bakura allow himself to rest for a moment. Then Bakura stood, and froze at the sight of mounds of treasures. He smirked maliciously to himself, and stalked over to the nearest item. He touched it briefly, examining it.
A light shone from the item, and a voice said into his ear that he is destined to be sealed inside the Ring. And with a rushing sound, in a blur of light, Bakura's body and soul split apart. The corpse tumbled to the ground beside the Ring, in which Bakura's spirit was now trapped.~
Ryou noticed that his mouth was hanging open, and he instantly shut it. He winced as fast-forwarded images of Bakura's torture sessions with Ryou flashed by his eyes. Then, abruptly, the images came to a stop, and Ryou realized it was the day he had spoken in the park with Yami about Bakura. Bakura suddenly materialized beside him, and raised a hand as if to strike him. Yami snatched Bakura's hand with a deathly strong grip.
~"Ryou-kun.leave us," Yami growled. Bakura gave him a narrowed Death Glare. The Ryou on the screen backed away for a moment, unsure, then turned, and fled.
"What do you want, Pharaoh?" Bakura hissed venomously, mocking Yami's former title. Yami snarled at him.
"I want to know why you treat Ryou-kun so badly. He's just as strong as any of us, only in his own, different way, and he hides it, even from himself. You have no right to call him weak."
"But he is weak!! He flinches from me even before I have struck him!"
Yami's fist connected with Bakura's face, and Bakura hit the ground, hard.
"The only reason he does that is because you have given him reason to fear you before you strike!" Yami narrowed his eyes, and then said slowly, "I'll bet.that when you try to be nice to Ryou-kun, if that were possible, it would still be considered cruel in every religion in the world."
Bakura glared up at him. "And what about you, Pharaoh?! You've given everything up for your aibou, only to have nothing in return!"
"You are wrong, as always. Yugi-chan has given me the light of love in my heart. Once, I was like you, but Yugi turned me into something much better. He may not return my feelings, but he certainly returns friendship- which is more than what you have, Bakura!"~
Ryou didn't know what happened, but there was a slight light from the Millennium Ring hanging from Bakura's neck, but Yami waved a hand and the light died away.
~"I'm not finished with you yet!" Yami declared. "You will not leave until I dismiss you."
Bakura glared in retaliation, sneering.
"I know you've had a harsh, cruel life in Egypt," Yami began softly. "Hell, Ra knows we all have, but that still doesn't give you the right to take it out on the one who possesses your Ring. You keep hurting Ryou-kun, just like the one who used to hurt you for his own problems with me. But, if you keep venting your anger and hatred, you're just going to create another 'you' out of Ryou-kun, and then Ryou-kun will create another, and out of that one, yet another, and another, and then the cycle will continue with all of this pain that you have caused."
Bakura's face was wiped of its smirk, and he stared at the ground intently. Yami sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You may think that Ryou-kun is weak, but he's not. Why else do you think he keeps the Ring instead of destroying it or giving it to someone else?"
Bakura mumbled something inaudible.
"What was that?"
Bakura murmured, "I don't know."
"Good, because I would tell you anyway," Yami replied. "Ryou-kun keeps your Ring because he is afraid of unleashing you upon some other poor soul, who is weaker than he is. He doesn't want to cause anyone the same pain that he is being dealt."
Bakura mumbled something incoherent, then muttered, "Then why doesn't he just kill me or destroy the Ring?"
"Because of the same reason," Yami replied softly. "He doesn't want to hurt anyone."
Bakura looked up at him, eyes wide.
"Including you."~
As the scene ended, Ryou found himself blushing furiously. Another scene came on, and Ryou realized that it wasn't an Angel-Demon he had seen standing in the doorway of the room he had been placed in once he was kidnapped. It had been Bakura. Bakura was glowing with a mysterious blue flame. Yami hastily went over to Ryou's unconscious body, shielding him.
~"Take 'im," one kidnapper commanded, and the group of captors all advanced toward Ryou's yami. Bakura smirked sadistically.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!~
Ryou cringed, shielding his eyes from the bright light coming from the wall-screen as the building blew up.
~Yami let go of Ryou's unconscious body, his shield dropping. Bakura took over the situation, kneeling next to Ryou. He traced a gentle hand over all of the wounds he'd dealt just a day or two ago. There was even one from that morning. Bakura let the tears fall for once, and scooped up the albino boy in his arms, standing and turning towards the exit. Yami picked up Ryou's torn shirt, and draped it over the boy, who was shivering even in his sleep.
Everyone stared as Bakura came out of the building, holding their unconscious friend, and were shocked to see tear trails on his face. Yugi immediately ran to Yami's side.
"Are you okay?!" Yugi breathlessly demanded. Yami smiled slightly, and nodded.
"Bakura did all the work," Yami replied, smiling slightly at the retreating form of the ancient spirit. "I didn't even need to go inside, except to protect Ryou from Bakura's power eruption."
Yugi cocked a quizzical eyebrow, and turned to watch Bakura. Everyone began to follow the ancient spirit, who didn't seem to notice them. It seemed as if he was only interested in carrying his hikari home.
"Alright, I can't stand it anymore!" Anzu finally burst out after a few minutes of walking in silence. Jounouchi, easily telling what Anzu meant, asked the question for her. He ran in front of Bakura, arms spread to stop the spirit.
"We have ta know- did you make those wounds on Ryou-kun?!"
Silence ensued, though only for a moment. It seemed, however, like an eternity before Bakura answered.
"Yes," he whispered broken-heartedly. "I did give him most of these wounds."~
Ryou grimaced at the sound of Jounouchi's fist connecting with Bakura's jaw, and watched as Bakura fell to the ground.
~"I know I deserved that, Jou-san, but can we please settle this." Bakura looked up at Jounouchi, dried tear trails on his face, ".after we get Ryou home and we know for sure that he's safe?"~
The scenes shifted, showing Ryou what happened before he woke up at Yugi's house, and various other things, including one point where Bakura was watching Naomi kiss Ryou. Ryou barely listened to what happened anymore, because he was so wrapped up in the horrors Bakura had gone through during his life. He didn't even hear Bakura mumbling to himself about loving Ryou.
The screen suddenly went dead.
"Both yami and hikari now know all that there is to know about the other. It is time."
A wall behind Ryou slid open, revealing a bright light coming from another room. Ryou stood, and walked over to the door. It opened up fully.
His yami stood in the middle of the doorway, awaiting him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Notes: Oh, I am so bad...heheheheh. This is fun, ne, Yami-chan?
Y.C.: Indeed.
Disclaimers: Um, duh. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. Only Yuumei, Mikomi, Faia, Naomi, Doragon, and the plot are mine.
Oh, and, by the way, I have a new story out. It's a sequel to the Kingdom Hearts game, so unless you have played the game or know a whole bunch about it, don't read my story. Then again, it's supposed to take place during the actual game, so...oh, what the hell, if you don't wanna spoil the game, don't read. If you do wanna spoil some of it, go right ahead and read. For the moment, it's just the opening sequence- the beginning of my very long fic, which will be longer than Soulmates.