Author's Notes: Okay, it wasn't very fair of me to ask for a title from you guys after the first chapter, because the rest of the story's very different. But I think Crossover Authoress's suggestion of "The Price of Weakness" was pretty good for what I want. The others were good too! See if you can make even better suggestions after this chapter.
Just to warn you, while this is not an "evil Bakura hurts Ryou because he's evil" story, this IS a "Bakura's mean and he hurts Ryou, but he has reasons for it" story. And… That's all I'll tell you. Oh, and Ryou lives with his uncle because his father's always away digging up things. This starts with Ryou's point of view and switches to Bakura's, and back again, then back to Bakura.
Ankh: Indigo doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. She doesn't get any money from writing either, because otherwise she'd be able to quit her job!
Scale: Heh heh… Warning! Violence, blood, guts, gore, lemony sex (and lots of it), yaoi, racism, genocide, and nuclear holocaust.
Indigo: Scale, how about a REAL warning, like an ACCURATE one, maybe?
Scale: You're SO boring! All right wimps, all this stupid story has is a little violence. Not even until the next chapter! No yaoi unless you're looking for it. And the spirit of the Ring is so stupid, you probably won't understand what's going on half the time! The fool probably couldn't even read Egyptian, much less Japanese. And Indigo's just as idiotic, so the timeline is messed up. The Ring's weakling host is much older than he's supposed to be!
//…// = Bakura's thoughts, /…/ = Ryou's thoughts. Tou-san means father/dad.
The Cost of Weakness
"Tou-san!" the excited boy exclaimed. "You're home! I missed you so much!" He threw his arms around his father in a hug.
"Ah, Ryou, you've grown!" his father said, ruffling his white hair.
"Tou-san, come look at what I've been doing in school," Ryou said, pulling lightly on his father's arm. "I've been doing especially well in history, look at my last test!"
"I'm sorry Ryou," he interrupted his son, "but I have to leave again in a few minutes. I just stopped here between planes to say hello to you and your uncle."
"Oh…" Ryou's face fell.
"I'm sorry Ryou. You know I wish I could stay."
Ryou nodded, avoiding his father's eyes.
"But I got you something from a merchant in Egypt. Look!" his father pulled a package out of his coat and gave it to the boy. Ryou's eyes lit up as he took it. He quickly ripped off the brown paper to reveal a large golden ring with five spikes dangling from it. There was a triangle in the center with an odd eye in the middle. It glowed for a minute and quickly grew warm in his hands. It was so beautiful it took his breath away. "It has something to do with the Duel Monsters cards you like to play with, or so the merchant said. He didn't elaborate, but I thought you would like it," his father said.
Ryou nodded speechlessly. His eyes shone with wonder as he gazed at the beautiful gold object. He hardly even noticed when his father ruffled his hair again, said goodbye, and left.
Ryou wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt a strong desire to kep the ring with him. Always. He fished in a few drawers around the house and finally found a smooth leather cord. He carefully tied it in a circle and looped it through the gold ring. He ran up to his room and was about to try in on, but then his uncle, whom he lived with, came in and told him to get ready for bed. So he hung the ring on a hook by his mirror and went to brush his teeth.
Ryou meant to put on the ring the next morning, but he woke up late and forgot ll about it. He raced out the door without giving it a second thought.
Ryou didn't enjoy school very much. He was rather quiet and didn't like sports much, so the other students either ignored him or picked on him. He didn't have any friends. But he was intelligent and well-behaved, so his teachers liked him. And he and his uncle would be moving in a day or so anyway, so perhaps he would find someone nice at his new school.
When Ryou grasped the ring, it felt like a refreshing breeze to Bakura… a breeze that picked him up and slammed him into the ground. After three millennia of almost complete sensory deprivation, Ryou's presence left him gasping. He could see what Ryou saw, hear what he heard… He had been slowly going crazy, his mind stagnation from lack of stimulation and human contact. This was almost too much to handle all at once. And he was completely attuned to Ryou's mind, his thoughts, his feelings…
Ryou's mind was as soft as Bakura's was hard. It felt warm, fuzzy, comforting, and entirely innocent. In other words, weak. But for a moment, all Bakura could do was sit there and bask in the warmth of the other presence. After a few minutes though, it was cut off, leaving Bakura once again gasping for breath.
But after a moment he calmed himself again. He had figured out that he had a spell on him, and when he saw the Ring through Ryou's eyes, he knew he must be sealed into that. Once again, he cursed everyone he'd ever met, especially the pharaoh and the mage. Unconsciously he berated himself for his weakness and gullibility. But the other one's presence was addictive to him…. He had to have more!
Reaching out into the room he couldn't see, Bakura could just barely sense the other boy. The Ring was at the back of his mind, but his thoughts were on other things now.
//That ignorant mouse… How dare he leave me like this! What's he doing? He's thinking about his education. And other children. Huh, looks like he can't even stand up for himself against CHILDREN. I was right, he IS weak. How pathetic.// Bakura sifted through the boy's uppermost thoughts before withdrawing back into the Ring. It took a LOT of energy to sense the boy when he wasn't right there with him.
//By his age he should have learned to be stronger than this… He'll get killed when he has to go out on his own! His father and uncle certainly don't toughen him up much. Not like mine. Well, since I have to stay with him anyway, I may as well make sure he survives to adulthood…// With that thought, Bakura drifted off to sleep.
Late the next morning, when Ryou had already run off to school, Bakura woke up. The total darkness that surrounded him was so depressing that Bakura couldn't make himself get up for a moment. The mental architecture he had constructed seemed like a bunch of shadows compared to what he had seen and felt those few beautiful moments with the boy. After taking a few minutes to despair at his existence, Bakura got up and began rebuilding the tomb-like structures. They looked more real this time, and Bakura was pleased. He had almost forgotten what the real world looked like. It looked very different from what he remembered, but he could still see how real it was.
Bakura had nothing to do for most of the day. He didn't try to explore the world, because he wanted to save his energy for when the boy got back. He waited very impatiently.
When Ryou got home, he said hello to his uncle and ran upstairs. His eyes lit up as his gaze rested on the Ring still hanging by his mirror. He dropped his book bag into a large packing box and went over to the mirror, putting the leather cord aound his neck so the Ring rested on his chest.
The first time he held the Ring, Ryou had felt a strange jolt, as if his breath was knocked out of him for a split second. This time it suddenly felt like he hadn't been able to breathe before, and now he was able to again. Ryou smiled at the exhilaration.
Ah! The boy was back again! Bakura forgot his impatience and reveled in the feeling. The boy – Ryou was his name – blinked, and Bkaura realized he was looking at… himself? No, a mirror. He had seen small mirrors in town, and larger ones at the Pharaoh's palace, but he had never had the leisure to look into a full-length one such as this before. This must be what Ryou looked like. Almost exactly like Bakura himself… His head was covered in limp spikes of white hair. His wide, content eyes were a deep brown. Bakura's were more narrow though, and his skin wasn't quite as pale as the boy's. Ryou was smiling, admiring his Ring. He looked so sweet and innocent…
…And WEAK! His eyes showed every emotion he felt. They practically screamed 'Take advantage of me'! And he obviously didn't spend any time exercising, or even being out in the sun, to have such weak-looking arms and pale skin.
"Ryou! Are you packed yet?" he uncle's voice called from downstairs.
"Oh! Almost!" Ryou called back. Packed? What was this about? Ryou looked over at the other wall and Bakura saw a mountain of boxes with some symbol written on all of them. He watched as Ryou got a mostly empty box and started loading things into it. There were rectangular things with more strange symbols on them, various pieces of clothing, and some small figures. Pieces of flat stuff that looked vaguely like papyrus and long thin black things followed. Then a strange round box with symbols going in a circle. Something was moving around in it. Bakura didn't like that.
Finally, all that remained in the room was the bed with blankets and a pillow, some clothing, and two different-sized brushes. One was large with black bristles, probably for brushing hair. The other one was very small with soft-looking white bristles, too small, pale, and weak to be useful. Just like Ryou…
Bakura growled softly to himself. The boy MUST be taught to be strong. Ryou looked around, startled.
"What was that?" Ryou asked himself. As far as he knew, he was alone in the room. "Probably something outside… It's almost dinner time! I'd better go set the table." He closed the last box.
Bakura kept silent. Somehow, Ryou had heard him. This could be good… Or it could be very bad. He decided to keep silent for now and see what else he could learn.
Ryou left his room and ran down the stairs. He set out dished and long, thin wooden sticks on the low table. How strange… After a minute he looked up. There was a window showing the world outside. It was getting dark out there, so he could barely see anything. But it was so bright inside! How? Bakura's strong desire to know made Ryou unconsciously look around. There, on the ceiling. It was a globe of brightness. No candle or torch could be that unwaveringly bright. It must be magic. Bakura had seen mages make light before. Ryou's uncle must have some magical talent, because Ryou didn't seem to. Bakura made a mental note to avoid Ryou's uncle. Mages were all alike…
Ryou walked into another room. Through Ryou, Bakura could smell wonderful scents coming from the pot Ryou's uncle was stirring. He couldn't see any fire, but it might be only a small fire under the pot. Or it could be more magic. On the ledge next to the metal think the pot sat on, there was a rectangular black box. There were voices coming from it. At least two people were talking. What was it? How could people fit in that box? What magic was this!?
"Oh, Ryou! Just in time," his uncle said. He pressed the box and it was silent. Then he turned something on the metal thing and it clicked. He picked up the pot and there was some sort of metal grate under it. No fire. Truly this was a sorcerer to be reckoned with. "Would you bring the tea?" He carried the pot to the low table in the other room, and Ryou took a clay pot designed to pour something from and followed.
Careful to guard his thoughts from being overheard, Bakura contemplated what he had seen. While his uncle obviously had control over many great forces, Ryou didn't seem to have much interest in learning his magic. Perhaps he served the mage to gain favor, but Ryou still seemed to lack ambition.
Feeling rather disgusted at his host, Bakura sat back to observe the meal.
Endnote: Poor Bakura! So confused. I think I'm happy with the title, but if anyone can come up with a better one after reading this, let me know. And also, let me know what genre this might be. I have a tendency to stick things in "Drama" and forget about it. Oh, and what's the Japanese word for "Uncle"? I'll be using it a lot, and I'd like to know. Thanks! And... I think I'm going to fire Scale from the "warning" job.
Just to warn you, while this is not an "evil Bakura hurts Ryou because he's evil" story, this IS a "Bakura's mean and he hurts Ryou, but he has reasons for it" story. And… That's all I'll tell you. Oh, and Ryou lives with his uncle because his father's always away digging up things. This starts with Ryou's point of view and switches to Bakura's, and back again, then back to Bakura.
Ankh: Indigo doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. She doesn't get any money from writing either, because otherwise she'd be able to quit her job!
Scale: Heh heh… Warning! Violence, blood, guts, gore, lemony sex (and lots of it), yaoi, racism, genocide, and nuclear holocaust.
Indigo: Scale, how about a REAL warning, like an ACCURATE one, maybe?
Scale: You're SO boring! All right wimps, all this stupid story has is a little violence. Not even until the next chapter! No yaoi unless you're looking for it. And the spirit of the Ring is so stupid, you probably won't understand what's going on half the time! The fool probably couldn't even read Egyptian, much less Japanese. And Indigo's just as idiotic, so the timeline is messed up. The Ring's weakling host is much older than he's supposed to be!
//…// = Bakura's thoughts, /…/ = Ryou's thoughts. Tou-san means father/dad.
The Cost of Weakness
"Tou-san!" the excited boy exclaimed. "You're home! I missed you so much!" He threw his arms around his father in a hug.
"Ah, Ryou, you've grown!" his father said, ruffling his white hair.
"Tou-san, come look at what I've been doing in school," Ryou said, pulling lightly on his father's arm. "I've been doing especially well in history, look at my last test!"
"I'm sorry Ryou," he interrupted his son, "but I have to leave again in a few minutes. I just stopped here between planes to say hello to you and your uncle."
"Oh…" Ryou's face fell.
"I'm sorry Ryou. You know I wish I could stay."
Ryou nodded, avoiding his father's eyes.
"But I got you something from a merchant in Egypt. Look!" his father pulled a package out of his coat and gave it to the boy. Ryou's eyes lit up as he took it. He quickly ripped off the brown paper to reveal a large golden ring with five spikes dangling from it. There was a triangle in the center with an odd eye in the middle. It glowed for a minute and quickly grew warm in his hands. It was so beautiful it took his breath away. "It has something to do with the Duel Monsters cards you like to play with, or so the merchant said. He didn't elaborate, but I thought you would like it," his father said.
Ryou nodded speechlessly. His eyes shone with wonder as he gazed at the beautiful gold object. He hardly even noticed when his father ruffled his hair again, said goodbye, and left.
Ryou wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt a strong desire to kep the ring with him. Always. He fished in a few drawers around the house and finally found a smooth leather cord. He carefully tied it in a circle and looped it through the gold ring. He ran up to his room and was about to try in on, but then his uncle, whom he lived with, came in and told him to get ready for bed. So he hung the ring on a hook by his mirror and went to brush his teeth.
Ryou meant to put on the ring the next morning, but he woke up late and forgot ll about it. He raced out the door without giving it a second thought.
Ryou didn't enjoy school very much. He was rather quiet and didn't like sports much, so the other students either ignored him or picked on him. He didn't have any friends. But he was intelligent and well-behaved, so his teachers liked him. And he and his uncle would be moving in a day or so anyway, so perhaps he would find someone nice at his new school.
When Ryou grasped the ring, it felt like a refreshing breeze to Bakura… a breeze that picked him up and slammed him into the ground. After three millennia of almost complete sensory deprivation, Ryou's presence left him gasping. He could see what Ryou saw, hear what he heard… He had been slowly going crazy, his mind stagnation from lack of stimulation and human contact. This was almost too much to handle all at once. And he was completely attuned to Ryou's mind, his thoughts, his feelings…
Ryou's mind was as soft as Bakura's was hard. It felt warm, fuzzy, comforting, and entirely innocent. In other words, weak. But for a moment, all Bakura could do was sit there and bask in the warmth of the other presence. After a few minutes though, it was cut off, leaving Bakura once again gasping for breath.
But after a moment he calmed himself again. He had figured out that he had a spell on him, and when he saw the Ring through Ryou's eyes, he knew he must be sealed into that. Once again, he cursed everyone he'd ever met, especially the pharaoh and the mage. Unconsciously he berated himself for his weakness and gullibility. But the other one's presence was addictive to him…. He had to have more!
Reaching out into the room he couldn't see, Bakura could just barely sense the other boy. The Ring was at the back of his mind, but his thoughts were on other things now.
//That ignorant mouse… How dare he leave me like this! What's he doing? He's thinking about his education. And other children. Huh, looks like he can't even stand up for himself against CHILDREN. I was right, he IS weak. How pathetic.// Bakura sifted through the boy's uppermost thoughts before withdrawing back into the Ring. It took a LOT of energy to sense the boy when he wasn't right there with him.
//By his age he should have learned to be stronger than this… He'll get killed when he has to go out on his own! His father and uncle certainly don't toughen him up much. Not like mine. Well, since I have to stay with him anyway, I may as well make sure he survives to adulthood…// With that thought, Bakura drifted off to sleep.
Late the next morning, when Ryou had already run off to school, Bakura woke up. The total darkness that surrounded him was so depressing that Bakura couldn't make himself get up for a moment. The mental architecture he had constructed seemed like a bunch of shadows compared to what he had seen and felt those few beautiful moments with the boy. After taking a few minutes to despair at his existence, Bakura got up and began rebuilding the tomb-like structures. They looked more real this time, and Bakura was pleased. He had almost forgotten what the real world looked like. It looked very different from what he remembered, but he could still see how real it was.
Bakura had nothing to do for most of the day. He didn't try to explore the world, because he wanted to save his energy for when the boy got back. He waited very impatiently.
When Ryou got home, he said hello to his uncle and ran upstairs. His eyes lit up as his gaze rested on the Ring still hanging by his mirror. He dropped his book bag into a large packing box and went over to the mirror, putting the leather cord aound his neck so the Ring rested on his chest.
The first time he held the Ring, Ryou had felt a strange jolt, as if his breath was knocked out of him for a split second. This time it suddenly felt like he hadn't been able to breathe before, and now he was able to again. Ryou smiled at the exhilaration.
Ah! The boy was back again! Bakura forgot his impatience and reveled in the feeling. The boy – Ryou was his name – blinked, and Bkaura realized he was looking at… himself? No, a mirror. He had seen small mirrors in town, and larger ones at the Pharaoh's palace, but he had never had the leisure to look into a full-length one such as this before. This must be what Ryou looked like. Almost exactly like Bakura himself… His head was covered in limp spikes of white hair. His wide, content eyes were a deep brown. Bakura's were more narrow though, and his skin wasn't quite as pale as the boy's. Ryou was smiling, admiring his Ring. He looked so sweet and innocent…
…And WEAK! His eyes showed every emotion he felt. They practically screamed 'Take advantage of me'! And he obviously didn't spend any time exercising, or even being out in the sun, to have such weak-looking arms and pale skin.
"Ryou! Are you packed yet?" he uncle's voice called from downstairs.
"Oh! Almost!" Ryou called back. Packed? What was this about? Ryou looked over at the other wall and Bakura saw a mountain of boxes with some symbol written on all of them. He watched as Ryou got a mostly empty box and started loading things into it. There were rectangular things with more strange symbols on them, various pieces of clothing, and some small figures. Pieces of flat stuff that looked vaguely like papyrus and long thin black things followed. Then a strange round box with symbols going in a circle. Something was moving around in it. Bakura didn't like that.
Finally, all that remained in the room was the bed with blankets and a pillow, some clothing, and two different-sized brushes. One was large with black bristles, probably for brushing hair. The other one was very small with soft-looking white bristles, too small, pale, and weak to be useful. Just like Ryou…
Bakura growled softly to himself. The boy MUST be taught to be strong. Ryou looked around, startled.
"What was that?" Ryou asked himself. As far as he knew, he was alone in the room. "Probably something outside… It's almost dinner time! I'd better go set the table." He closed the last box.
Bakura kept silent. Somehow, Ryou had heard him. This could be good… Or it could be very bad. He decided to keep silent for now and see what else he could learn.
Ryou left his room and ran down the stairs. He set out dished and long, thin wooden sticks on the low table. How strange… After a minute he looked up. There was a window showing the world outside. It was getting dark out there, so he could barely see anything. But it was so bright inside! How? Bakura's strong desire to know made Ryou unconsciously look around. There, on the ceiling. It was a globe of brightness. No candle or torch could be that unwaveringly bright. It must be magic. Bakura had seen mages make light before. Ryou's uncle must have some magical talent, because Ryou didn't seem to. Bakura made a mental note to avoid Ryou's uncle. Mages were all alike…
Ryou walked into another room. Through Ryou, Bakura could smell wonderful scents coming from the pot Ryou's uncle was stirring. He couldn't see any fire, but it might be only a small fire under the pot. Or it could be more magic. On the ledge next to the metal think the pot sat on, there was a rectangular black box. There were voices coming from it. At least two people were talking. What was it? How could people fit in that box? What magic was this!?
"Oh, Ryou! Just in time," his uncle said. He pressed the box and it was silent. Then he turned something on the metal thing and it clicked. He picked up the pot and there was some sort of metal grate under it. No fire. Truly this was a sorcerer to be reckoned with. "Would you bring the tea?" He carried the pot to the low table in the other room, and Ryou took a clay pot designed to pour something from and followed.
Careful to guard his thoughts from being overheard, Bakura contemplated what he had seen. While his uncle obviously had control over many great forces, Ryou didn't seem to have much interest in learning his magic. Perhaps he served the mage to gain favor, but Ryou still seemed to lack ambition.
Feeling rather disgusted at his host, Bakura sat back to observe the meal.
Endnote: Poor Bakura! So confused. I think I'm happy with the title, but if anyone can come up with a better one after reading this, let me know. And also, let me know what genre this might be. I have a tendency to stick things in "Drama" and forget about it. Oh, and what's the Japanese word for "Uncle"? I'll be using it a lot, and I'd like to know. Thanks! And... I think I'm going to fire Scale from the "warning" job.