a.n. italics are thoughts
/ ... / is thought speech from hikari to yami
//....// is thought speech from yami to hikari.
I just call Y. Bakura, Bakura, and Ryou Bakura, Ryou, though Ryou calls his spirit Yami, unless he's
talking to people other than his yami, during which he calls his yami Bakura like they do.
Choice
By: Crystalin Elf
Chapter 2: Perhaps it was a Dream
He cracked his eyes open and carefully surveyed the room, not trusting in his memories of the
night before, before slowing sitting up. With a swiftness born of fear he gathered his
clothes for the day and ran to the bathroom, hurrying through his morning routine. After another
quick glance outside the bathroom door to make sure he wouldn't be ambushed, he
hurried downstairs to the kitchen to see if his Yami would allow him to eat this morning. And
staring at the table, he felt a shock as great as he had the night before, when he listened to
Bakura promise to show Ryou his true feelings.
There on the table sat a bowl of Ryou's favorite cereal, a piece of fruit, an egg, and juice. And
beside the food sat Ryou's school books, gathered and ready for him to leave this
morning. A boxed lunch sat on top of his schoolbooks, and the clock placed in front of
everything told Ryou that he had plenty of time to eat, then walk leisurely to school. Provided of
course that the clock hadn't been set to an earlier time, to trick Ryou into being late.
His Yami was the only person at home with him this month, and as such Bakura was the only
person who could have made him breakfast and lunch. But why?
Perhaps he really meant what he said... or rather, meant what he hinted at. Can he really
feel something for me besides anger or hate? Dare I hope?
With an occasional apprehensive glance around the room he allowed himself to eat his food
slowly, though he stubbornly crushed the rising hope that sprang into his heart at the
thought of Bakura turning over a new leaf.
I know that he can be patient when he wants to be... this could all just be some sort of new
game to him. No... as much as I want to believe my Yami has changed, I can't. I just... can't.
Once finished, Ryou set the dishes in the sink and slowly washed them. According to the clock,
he still had plenty of time to get to school, and some part of him was hoping that Bakura
would come out and dispel the day's wonderful illusion that the tomb robber was going to
treat him nicely. If this was all a game to his Yami, Ryou wanted to know immediately, so
he could stop his heart from hoping that things would remain as quiet as they were this morning.
Hope is such a fragile thing... if this is a game to him, I wish he'd crush mine soon.
He set the dishes on a towel to dry and picked up his books, staring at the lunch. Maybe he
poisoned the food? I never even knew he could cook! After a moment he shrugged
and headed outside, carefully locking the door behind him. He waited a moment to see if
Bakura would say anything, and when nothing happened he headed on to school.
He could feel his Yami's presence in the Millennium Ring, lurking at the edges of his consciousness,
almost protectively. Protective? Yami? I think I may have finally gone off the deep end today. Still,
he never knew... Bakura was too unpredictable at times for Ryou to know if this were truly a game or
not. Perhaps what I heard last night was an odd dream. Maybe instead, Yami went out, discovered
some bullies plan to beat me to death or something, and decided to protect me. Enlightened
Self-Interest can motivated even an evil spirit to act nicely.
He was jogged out of his thoughts when he bumped into someone, and would have fallen if he hadn't been
steadied by hands on his shoulders. Finally taking note of his surroundings he noticed Jounouchi
and Anzu helping Yugi back up from where he had sprawled on the ground when Ryou had bumped into
him. "Yugi, I'm sorry! Oh my, I haven't been paying a bit of attention to where I was going this morning."
Yugi brushed himself off and smiled, waving away Ryou's apology, "No problem Ryou, I wasn't hurt. Umm...
if it won't get you into any trouble, would you like to tell us what has you so distracted?"
Ryou hesitated for a moment, then followed along side the others as they continued onto the school
grounds. "Last night my Yami didn't administer any... lessons, like he usually does, and I think I heard him
say that he would show me how he feels rather than just reacting to me. I'm not sure what he meant, but
he didn't harrass me this morning, and when I went downstairs to eat, he'd made my breakfast and
lunch for me."
"Ya sure the food wasn't poisoned or nothin?" questioned Jounouchi.
Ryou shook his head. "If he poisoned me, I doubt I'd be walking so pain free to school. And all this
morning, I just get the feeling that he's... watching over me, protectively." There, he'd said what he'd been
thinking earlier. He was sure Y.Yugi would be able to tell him something about his Yami's behavior.
Yugi had a that distant look in his eyes that everyone had come to associate with his conversations to
Y.Yugi, though he no longer needed to zone out entirely to talk to his other half. After a moment his eyes
refocused fully on the here and now. "All Yami would say is that Bakura had an awful life in Egypt, and
that this modern world takes a lot of time to get used to, and that actions speak louder than words."
Anzu slid the door to their classroom open and turned back to Ryou with a bright smile. "Well Ryou, looks
like your own acts of friendship may have finally sunk into Bakura's mind," she said cheerfully, before
entering and taking her usual seat.
"Just one day, I wish she'd refrain from any and all of her friendship speeches," muttered Jou.
"That wasn't long enough to be a speech Jou. Now lets get in before the teacher comes and gives us a
detention!" Honda pushed Jou into the room and to his seat.
Yugi smiled reassuringly at Ryou and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry Ryou, Yami says we can deal with
Bakura together if you want, and that if your life is threatened worse than it has been, he'll find a less
painful way to banish Bakura for you."
Ryou followed Yugi into the classroom and his own seat, his shy smile looking almost sardonic. "Yes Yugi,
a less painful way would be appreciated... no one likes having their soul torn in two."
Yugi looked at him with startled eyes, mouth open to reply as the teacher walked in. Ryou was just as glad
that Yugi couldn't reply to his words, he wasn't even sure why he had said it. After all, Yami Yugi hadn't
meant to hurt Ryou, and probably hadn't even known that Ryou would be hurt. Still, those memories
continued to hurt.
Ryou zoned out as the teacher began talking about quadratic equations, and he opened his notebook to a
blank page. Without meaning to, he head sunk closer to his desk as he fell asleep.
The Ring glowed as Bakura took over his aibou's body, the transition subtle enough that only Yugi really
noticed. He smirked, knowing that Yugi couldn't question him in class, despite his obvious desire to do
so. He picked up Ryou's pen and tapped the empty page lightly, pondering, before quickly scribbling
down a song for Ryou to find when Bakura woke him up again.
I was swallowed by the need
I was hiding in the corner
When a voice called to me
He understood my mystery
Healed the wounds of my despair
And with his grace he tenderly
Brushed the tangles from my hair
I'm feeling better by the hour
I think I just might be o.k.
Though bridges burn and ashes shower
Think I can live with what remains
As I sorted through the wreckage
Sitting in my silent fast
On my bed of hard earned ashes
Still repenting for my past
My body ached and shook with anger
As I walked through narrow gates
Ans I left those walls behind me
And with them my mistakes
I'm feeling better by the hour
I think I just might be o.k.
Though bridges burn and ashes shower
Think I can live with what remains
--Ryou,
hope you like.
--Bakura
He'll be even more confused, but oh well. Bakura thought, turning the page and taking down neat
notes for Ryou, since his aibou hadn't yet woken up. School was so boring.
As the lunch bell rang Ryou started awake, wondering why no one had woken him up when he'd fallen
asleep. Uh oh... Yugi's watching me oddly... I wonder what happened when I fell asleep? He got up
and stretched, hand grazing the lunch that Bakura had made for him. When did I put this on my
desk? He shook his head to clear his mind, picked up the lunch, and walked over to Yugi. "Mind if I sit
with you for lunch today?" he asked softly.
Yugi continued to look at him for a moment, before nodding once and smiling brightly again. "Sure! We're
eating inside today though, to get a start on our math homework."
Ryou nodded, shy smile in place. "Sounds fine, thanks!" He sat down between Anzu and Yugi, to prevent
Jou from 'borrowing' his lunch. I wonder where he puts everything he eats? He opened his
lunch, half expecting it to be empty, or containing only plain rice, and was suprised to once again be
confronted with his favorite lunch time foods. Oh my...
He was startled again when his lunch was ripped from his hands by an eager Jounouchi. "Here Ryou, I'll test
your food to make sure Bakura didn't try to poison ya!"
Before a single bite got taken out of his lunch though, Anzu wacked Jounouchi on the head with a
newspaper she had brought with her to school. "Stop acting like a starving mutt Jou-kun, or Kaiba will have
something else to tease you about."
"Aww, But I'm just looking out for him, ya know! I wasn't gonna eat it all." Jounouchi protested, trying to
grab the boxed lunch back from Anzu.
"So the sniveling pup is actually begging food from it's masters. Nice to know I wasn't wrong about you
Jounouchi." Kaiba smirked as Jounouchi gave an appropriete snarl of rage, but the rumble of his
stomach kept in his seat and relatively well behaved. "Ah, go away Kaiba, I don need any of your insults
right now."
Another smirk from Kaiba as he sat down with his own lunch, "So, you admit you need my insults then?"
"Please try to get along you two, or you may scare Ryou from every wanting to eat lunch with us again!"
Yugi gave them his most sad look, which got an apology from Jounouchi for trying to steal Ryou's
lunch, and one from Kaiba for making Jounouchi scare Ryou.
Ryou just laughed along with Anzu and Honda, not caring to make any further comment on the situation.
But Yugi kept giving him those 'looks', like something had happened that Ryou didn't know, and he
wanted to ask his friend what that thing was. But not with everyone around...
"Yugi, could you come with me while I go buy some juice?" he asked softly, hoping no one else would jump
up to come with them.
Yugi nodded immediatly and stood. "You want us to bring anything back guys?" A chorus of no's met his
question and the two left the room, walking slowly to the juice machine at the opening of the cafeteria.
"What happened to me during class Yugi?" he asked, voice softer than usual incase anyone was listening.
"I think you fell asleep... and Bakura took over your body. He even took notes in class." Yugi's reply was
cautious, in case Ryou hadn't really fallen asleep, but been forced into his soul room.
"I knew I fell asleep, but Bakura taking over does explain why no one woke me up." Ryou contemplated the
unusual event... Bakura hated school, and had always taken naps whenever Ryou was in class.
"Thanks for telling me Yugi. I'd better check my notes to make sure he didn't write death threats in them."
Yugi nodded and got two cans of juice after Ryou fell silent, and trailed after the white haired boy back to
the others.
/Yami? Do you think Bakura could really be changing?/
//I'm not sure Aibou, but if Ryou isn't being hurt, we might as well give Bakura another chance//
/If you think so Yami, than I will./
He waited several minutes after the teacher returned to lunch to look at the notes that Bakura had taken for
him, and to see what his homework was. None had gotten done at lunch, but he hadn't minded. He was
suprised by how neat, and accurate, all of his notes where... Bakura had actually paid attention! Then
he flipped to the first page, where he had left the notebook when he had fallen asleep.
Shock
There on his first page was a song, obviously written by Bakura for him. He stared at the song, reading it
over and over, without paying attention to the passing of time. Before he realized it, the alarm was
ringing, students getting up and leaving as quickly as he could. He stood and left as well, following the flow
of people to the gates of the school. For a moment he stood there, watching others leaving the school,
before finally shaking himself out of his daze and walking home.
** Ryou's Perspective **
I walked home in a daze, one thought running in my mind. Yami wrote me a song! I sit here on my
couch, not really paying attention to the cartoons that I usually wanted to watch, but hadn't been
allowed to before. Or rather, Bakura would let the cartoons play, and beat me during the show, and stop
during the comercials. I'm still in a state of shock, even from the indirect kindness Yami showed me this
morning. I mean, gathering my books, making breakfast and lunch, and not once saying anything about how
weak I am? I didn't think anything could be more shocking, but then I fell asleep in class, and Yami took
over, taking down notes and writing me a song. And now, no beating.
I really, really, want to believe in what his words implied last night, but can I? The pattern of my relationship
with Yami just seems so set in stone, eternal and unchangeable... I know he isn't good with saying what
he feels, and that he is a man of action, both now and in ancient Egypt. I want to believe in the words
his actions are telling me.
I'd always assumed that there was some deep seated pain in his heart, and that beating something, namely
me, was the only way in which he could express that pain. And that is why I endured it all, rather than
even once fighting back. I thought that if I let him beat me enough, he'd eventually be able to let go of
that pain, and live in this modern world, accepting the second chance that Fate had given him.
I want to believe that my wish has been fulfilled, or that Yami has found a new way of dealing with his pain...
Yet as I sit here in this unusual silence, I can't help but wish that he would come out and talk to me. But he
hasn't yet, and he refuses to talk to me through our soul-link. I wish I knew what was going on in his
mind...
Ah well, he'll tell me when he's ready, or do something else to shock me. I might as well enjoy the silence,
and the reprieve, while I can. There's really no telling whether or not he's going to change suddenly
again, and revert back to beating me.
But it'd be nice to have someone to watch cartoons and eat meals with...
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
To Be Continued:
Geez, I think I'm better at first person stories than third... anyway, what do you think? Third person
perspective, first, or like this one which is a mix of the two?
The song in the first chapter is called 'Choices' sung by Heather Alexander, for the Freedom, Flight, and
Fantasy cd. The song in this chapter is called uhh... can't remember, but its sung by Mary Black, a celtic
music artist.
Crystalin: Thanks for reading minna, and for the wonderful reviews last time! I hope this chapter wasn't to
bad, compared to the last...
Rakka: *taps Crys on the head with a rolled up paper* Gain some confidence girl, ya did just fine.
Remember to enjoy what you're writing or it's guaranteed to suck.
*looks at readers* Oh, and since she forgot to introduce me, I'm Rakka, her muse.
*Crystalin nods* Sorry Rakka... now minna, a poll! should this story be yaoi or not? please vote.