Disclaimer: I'm hoping you're not that thick...
Ok, so who is the man, and what does he want with Ryou? Find out now.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
He pulled me for a good three miles, out in the now pouring rain. By the time we reached our destination, I was soaked to the bone, and terrified of this
man. He pulled me up the stairs, to a simple two story house. It was dusty inside, very dusty.
"Ryou, do you want something to drink, maybe a little tea?" asked the man, although I was sure he was just putting on a fatherly mask. I shook my
head, and he sat down on the chair across from me. He rested there a few minutes, and then he got up, left the room, and came back with towels, and two robes.
"There's a bathroom over there you can use." He said, handing me a towel and robe. I was utterly confused at this man. I still needed to figure out the
situation. I started the process of elimination. Well, he might be a kidnapper who wants money, that's a possibility. I don't think that the kidnapping was of a sexual
nature, seeing as he seemed to care, but I could be wrong. I really hoped I wasn't wrong. I dried off with the towel. For some reason, the towel, no matter how
soaked I was, never got wet. By the time I was completely dry, the towel was, too. It still had the fluff that towels have on them once you take them out of the dryer. I
put on the robe, securing the knot with a real tight pull, just in case I would eventually need it to stay on.
I walked out of the bathroom, and sat again on the chair. I was on edge, very skittish. He had a glass of brandy, I thought it was, due to it's color.
Remember, my father is an alcoholic. He put the cup down a little forcefully on the table, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"You know, Ryou. You can lighten up. You'll be spending a good deal of time here." He said, leaning back into his chair. I was still waiting for an
explanation from this man.
"Why are you so curious as to why I brought you here? You know, if you were smart, you'd bask in the glory of innocence and ignorance. The fool who
dares to be ignorant is the happiest fool alive, you know." He said to me, with a father like air.
"I would rather know why I was here, no matter how stunning the news is, than to swim in the pool of curiosity that separates me and the bliss of the
unknowing." I said, very surprised I could put such a metaphor together. I was utterly shocked at what next he said.
"Ryou, you remind me so much of your mother." He said simply, as if there was nothing drastically wrong with what he had just said. I stared at him in
utter shock. How dare he, HOW DARE HE, compare me to my mother! I was now outraged.
"Ryou, calm your mind. What I'm about to tell you, you may not understand. It could take you a while to comprehend all of this, but if you are anything
like your mother, you'll understand pretty quickly. She was always really witty with her words." He said, exasperated. I tried to calm down, not caring what this
man wanted me for in the least.
"Ok, Ryou, I'll start at the top. My name will surprise you, Ryou, and then maybe you'll realize why you are here. My name is Bakura. I have long since
lost my first name, so I go as Bakura. I am indeed related to you. I'm your uncle." He said, lowering his eyes from my stunned expression.
"Your mother was three years younger than I, witty, brave, adventurous, everything that would make up the perfect woman. I was so pleased when she
had found someone to spend the rest of her life with, after she came home one day with the news. She was to marry the man she had been dating for about six
months, Erik, I think, was his name, your father. He changed, though. I could feel it when he came with her, and you at Christmas. You were the tiniest thing, three
months old. What surprised me most about your appearance was that you had my hair. It was long by then, about one and a half inches in length, shaggy, and
white. White. I was amazed. No one else had ever, EVER, had my hair. I was instantly attached to you, but soon feared I'd lose you, my only nephew. I could tell,
your mother was slightly afraid of your father. She would stiffen ever so slightly at his touch. After that, I wasn't surprised when she called and told us she had had
to leave the family she loved so much. She estranged everyone. You, our parents, HIM, and me. Naturally, I was worried for your safety, being left with the now
discovered drunk, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it.
Ever since that day, Ryou, I have lived near here, sitting in trees, and watching you grow out of the corner of my eye. You know it, Ryou, all those times
you were sure there was a pair of eyes watching you, yes, it was me. Watching, protecting, always. Soon, though, I noticed. You can't hide superficial evidence
forever; I saw the telltale signs of abuse. You wore long sleeves and pants, even when it was 100 degrees outside; you often rubbed certain spots on your arms
that were extremely tender, no, Ryou. You couldn't hide forever. I realized then you needed to be taken away from him. I waited for the perfect moment for almost a year,
the streets empty, late at night, you walking near somewhere I could speak with you privately, some kind of diversion that would keep us hidden, tonight. Tonight
was the perfect night. Now you're here, and you're safe. That's all that matters to me now. Well, Ryou, now you know. You know everything. What do you think of
your uncle now you know why you're here. If you hate me, I wouldn't care, you have good reason." After the speech, yes, I did understand the whole thing, and I
was shocked. I never had something like this revealed to me so suddenly, it literally knocked the wind out of me. I only had one question for my "uncle".
"Where's my mother?" I asked, not once breaking my stare at nothing.
"Ahh, Ryou, I knew you would eventually ask this. This is the hardest part of the story you have to hear. Your mother died, almost three years ago.
After she left the family, there was no work for her; there was no money to support her, let alone you. She began to sink into a deep depression, and she became
a hooker just to survive. Soon, it was just too much. We found her, in an alleyway. She had taken a lethal dose of depressant medicine, and died in the alleyway.
We found her, in a fur coat, behind a dumpster. The only thing she carried was her wallet. It had three dollars in it, and a picture of you, Ryou. A picture of you
when you were about five. On the back, there were words on it. She had put them there. It said, 'What I live for.' on it. I'm sure, if it weren't that picture, Ryou, she
would have died long before she decided to end it. She did live for you, in hopes of just seeing you again." I was in tears, trying as hard as I could not to believe
what he was saying to me. I buried my face in my hands, trying to get rid of the horrible feeling of emptiness inside of me. He let me sit there; let me get over my
emotions. He walked over to me, and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Your bedroom's the one to the left in that hallway with the bathroom." He said, before picking up his glass of brandy, and going into his own room. I sat
there, I don't know how long. I lost all sense of time and space, as I wallowed in self-pity and utter sadness. I thought to myself often that night, and for years to
come, yes, Bakura was right. Ignorance is bliss.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
I have to admit, I got a little teary writing this chapter. I made Ryou feel as I did when I lost my parents. You do sit there, losing all time and space, and think to
yourself. A lot. This is what really happens to kids, or even teens that lose someone close to them. It hurts a lot. Well, I hope you liked this chapter, and if you did,
please R&R to show your support. Thanks to those who have already reviewed.
Ok, so who is the man, and what does he want with Ryou? Find out now.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
He pulled me for a good three miles, out in the now pouring rain. By the time we reached our destination, I was soaked to the bone, and terrified of this
man. He pulled me up the stairs, to a simple two story house. It was dusty inside, very dusty.
"Ryou, do you want something to drink, maybe a little tea?" asked the man, although I was sure he was just putting on a fatherly mask. I shook my
head, and he sat down on the chair across from me. He rested there a few minutes, and then he got up, left the room, and came back with towels, and two robes.
"There's a bathroom over there you can use." He said, handing me a towel and robe. I was utterly confused at this man. I still needed to figure out the
situation. I started the process of elimination. Well, he might be a kidnapper who wants money, that's a possibility. I don't think that the kidnapping was of a sexual
nature, seeing as he seemed to care, but I could be wrong. I really hoped I wasn't wrong. I dried off with the towel. For some reason, the towel, no matter how
soaked I was, never got wet. By the time I was completely dry, the towel was, too. It still had the fluff that towels have on them once you take them out of the dryer. I
put on the robe, securing the knot with a real tight pull, just in case I would eventually need it to stay on.
I walked out of the bathroom, and sat again on the chair. I was on edge, very skittish. He had a glass of brandy, I thought it was, due to it's color.
Remember, my father is an alcoholic. He put the cup down a little forcefully on the table, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"You know, Ryou. You can lighten up. You'll be spending a good deal of time here." He said, leaning back into his chair. I was still waiting for an
explanation from this man.
"Why are you so curious as to why I brought you here? You know, if you were smart, you'd bask in the glory of innocence and ignorance. The fool who
dares to be ignorant is the happiest fool alive, you know." He said to me, with a father like air.
"I would rather know why I was here, no matter how stunning the news is, than to swim in the pool of curiosity that separates me and the bliss of the
unknowing." I said, very surprised I could put such a metaphor together. I was utterly shocked at what next he said.
"Ryou, you remind me so much of your mother." He said simply, as if there was nothing drastically wrong with what he had just said. I stared at him in
utter shock. How dare he, HOW DARE HE, compare me to my mother! I was now outraged.
"Ryou, calm your mind. What I'm about to tell you, you may not understand. It could take you a while to comprehend all of this, but if you are anything
like your mother, you'll understand pretty quickly. She was always really witty with her words." He said, exasperated. I tried to calm down, not caring what this
man wanted me for in the least.
"Ok, Ryou, I'll start at the top. My name will surprise you, Ryou, and then maybe you'll realize why you are here. My name is Bakura. I have long since
lost my first name, so I go as Bakura. I am indeed related to you. I'm your uncle." He said, lowering his eyes from my stunned expression.
"Your mother was three years younger than I, witty, brave, adventurous, everything that would make up the perfect woman. I was so pleased when she
had found someone to spend the rest of her life with, after she came home one day with the news. She was to marry the man she had been dating for about six
months, Erik, I think, was his name, your father. He changed, though. I could feel it when he came with her, and you at Christmas. You were the tiniest thing, three
months old. What surprised me most about your appearance was that you had my hair. It was long by then, about one and a half inches in length, shaggy, and
white. White. I was amazed. No one else had ever, EVER, had my hair. I was instantly attached to you, but soon feared I'd lose you, my only nephew. I could tell,
your mother was slightly afraid of your father. She would stiffen ever so slightly at his touch. After that, I wasn't surprised when she called and told us she had had
to leave the family she loved so much. She estranged everyone. You, our parents, HIM, and me. Naturally, I was worried for your safety, being left with the now
discovered drunk, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it.
Ever since that day, Ryou, I have lived near here, sitting in trees, and watching you grow out of the corner of my eye. You know it, Ryou, all those times
you were sure there was a pair of eyes watching you, yes, it was me. Watching, protecting, always. Soon, though, I noticed. You can't hide superficial evidence
forever; I saw the telltale signs of abuse. You wore long sleeves and pants, even when it was 100 degrees outside; you often rubbed certain spots on your arms
that were extremely tender, no, Ryou. You couldn't hide forever. I realized then you needed to be taken away from him. I waited for the perfect moment for almost a year,
the streets empty, late at night, you walking near somewhere I could speak with you privately, some kind of diversion that would keep us hidden, tonight. Tonight
was the perfect night. Now you're here, and you're safe. That's all that matters to me now. Well, Ryou, now you know. You know everything. What do you think of
your uncle now you know why you're here. If you hate me, I wouldn't care, you have good reason." After the speech, yes, I did understand the whole thing, and I
was shocked. I never had something like this revealed to me so suddenly, it literally knocked the wind out of me. I only had one question for my "uncle".
"Where's my mother?" I asked, not once breaking my stare at nothing.
"Ahh, Ryou, I knew you would eventually ask this. This is the hardest part of the story you have to hear. Your mother died, almost three years ago.
After she left the family, there was no work for her; there was no money to support her, let alone you. She began to sink into a deep depression, and she became
a hooker just to survive. Soon, it was just too much. We found her, in an alleyway. She had taken a lethal dose of depressant medicine, and died in the alleyway.
We found her, in a fur coat, behind a dumpster. The only thing she carried was her wallet. It had three dollars in it, and a picture of you, Ryou. A picture of you
when you were about five. On the back, there were words on it. She had put them there. It said, 'What I live for.' on it. I'm sure, if it weren't that picture, Ryou, she
would have died long before she decided to end it. She did live for you, in hopes of just seeing you again." I was in tears, trying as hard as I could not to believe
what he was saying to me. I buried my face in my hands, trying to get rid of the horrible feeling of emptiness inside of me. He let me sit there; let me get over my
emotions. He walked over to me, and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Your bedroom's the one to the left in that hallway with the bathroom." He said, before picking up his glass of brandy, and going into his own room. I sat
there, I don't know how long. I lost all sense of time and space, as I wallowed in self-pity and utter sadness. I thought to myself often that night, and for years to
come, yes, Bakura was right. Ignorance is bliss.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
I have to admit, I got a little teary writing this chapter. I made Ryou feel as I did when I lost my parents. You do sit there, losing all time and space, and think to
yourself. A lot. This is what really happens to kids, or even teens that lose someone close to them. It hurts a lot. Well, I hope you liked this chapter, and if you did,
please R&R to show your support. Thanks to those who have already reviewed.