A/N: Author's notes have been removed due to ff.net's notice about chat dialogue being used in this.. x.x oy.. gomen-nasai!
Of Angels and Demons
Chapter 6: As Void Engulfs Thy Soul
By: Nadako-Mika
The night had set in and the clouds had cleared. No more tears fell from the heavens above, no more thunderous cries from the Lord himself. It was just silent, so blissfully silent. However peaceful it was.. Ryou couldn't feel a thing.
The night had set in and the clouds had cleared. He no longer shed crytal tears with the angels that mourn. He no longer cried out in frustration at the unbearable pain he felt. He felt nothing. Not sadness, not happiness. He wasn't content. His soul had been locked up and thrown out the very window on which he sat.
Ryou sat on the thin ledge of his bedroom window, which was on the thrid floor of his house. He balanced perfectly upon the rim, not even noticing the great height below him. He stared down the street where his Yami had fled, just thinking...maybe Bakura would come running back to him again. He had sat there ever since his yami had ran out. Each passing minute chased the bits of hope left within him.
Minutes passed and Ryou still hadn't moved an inch. He stared blanky down that road, his dull and empty eyes locked on the exact path Bakura took. Painful thoughts and memories flowed through his mind; he tried his best to ignore them. One thought struck out at him. Could Bakura feel his distress?? It could be possible, he hadn't felt their link slam shut; then again, he hasn't felt anything for a long while.
The boy gave a small sigh, releasing the stress pent up inside him. His mind carried back from his thoughts to reality. He seemed shocked to find himself on such a high ledge. Not daring to move, he peered down. It was awfully high. How was he going to get down? Another sigh.. Did it really matter? Would it matter if he were stuck on the high window for years? Would anyone notice?.... Would Bakura notice?
'No.. He's gone now. He'll probably never come back, let alone talk to me again.' he thought to himself, answering his thoughts.
A single lone star twinkled brightly from the sea of navy blue above. Ryou looked up at it with sad eyes. 'Don't you mind being all alone?' he thought, directing the question to the star.
Wasn't there a little rhyme that went along with the stars? 'How did it go again?' Ryou thought, 'Star light, Star Bright. First Star I see tonight. I wish a may. I wish I might. Have a wish this wishing night.'
A wish? Would his wish come true? Ryou smiled gently, why not make a wish? Just for the fun of it.
'I wish, that...'
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The rain had stopped hours ago, yet he was still soaked. His blouse clung tightly to his well built chest, his dark jacket draped loosely over. His luxurious hair hung limply over his shadowed eyes, granting them a mysterious effect. He effortlessly hauled a suitcase by his side; leaning over slightly, as if the baggage weighed too much for his slim figure.
Where was he to go? He had no home now, no place to sleep for the night. He had left his home for good, he didn't wish to go back.. at least, not yet. Did he have any friends, to which they may offer shelter? He huffed. The only people who were even close to being considered 'friends' was that psychotic pair; Mariku and Malik Ishtar.
'Why not? It's not like I have anyplace else in mind.'
Deciding no better place to go, the depressed yami sauntered down a familiar street. Old memories (sometimes painful) of him and his hikari flashed at him while he walked.
~
"Huh?" a six-year old Ryou backed away in confusion. His ring-pendant he recieved as a gift from his father, started to glow strangely.
A boy who looked about his age appeared next to him. "What is your name?"
"Bakura, Ryou.. Who are you?"
"I...don't know..."
Ryou became a bit confused at the boy's reply. How could someone not know who they were? "Do you have ameesa?" he asked shyly. Of course, he had meant to say 'amnesia', but it didn't quite come out properly.
The boy tilted his head and stared at Ryou in curiousity. "What is... ameesa?"
"You get it when you start to forget important things; like your name, birthday, or even where your favorite bunny is." Ryou answered. "Well.. If you don't remember your name, how about I give you one?"
"I guess that would be alright."
"I'll call you Bakura!" Ryou squeeled with delight.
The boy, now known as 'Bakura' blinked. "But, isn't that YOUR name?"
Ryou smiled and nodded. "It will be alright if you use my name, you look like me so there won't be a problem!"
Bakura didn't quite understand what the boy meant, but decided to nod along.
Ryou gave a little giggle then said, "We're going to have so much fun, Bakura! From now on, we'll be best friends!"
~
Tears brimmed Bakura's eyes; hardly noticeable against his soaked hair. He (his hikari) said they would be best friends.. how horribly wrong he was. Another memory floated by. This time, a few years after his first time meeting Ryou.
~
Ten year old Ryou bounded into his room. Smiling and hopping slightly as he went. He opened the door, expecting to see his yami there to greet him. He was right, Bakura was sitting on his bed. Ryou grinned broadly at his other self, and dismissed the fact that his Bakura seemed...darker.. than usual.
"How was your day. Bakura?"
He only recieved a low growl.
Slightly taken back by the response, Ryou tried to start up a conversation. "Did you go anywhere today?"
"Can a spirit such as myself leave the presence of the Sennen Ring?" Bakura snapped back, rather coldly.
Ryou immediately dropped his frown. "Bakura?... What's wrong?"
Another growl. "It's nothing.."
But the boy wouldn't hear of it. Ryou ran up to his yami, and proceeded to give him a friendly hug. But was shoved back. Ryou stared at Bakura in confusion.
"Just leave me alone..."
"But, Bakura. I can-"
"I don't need your help, baka!"
Ryou inhaled sharply and turned around. He felt something he had never felt before... fright. For once, he was scared of Bakura. His friend. His other self. Bakura's never scared him before.
Bakura lifted his sharp eyes at a strange sound. He heard.. sniffling...followed by constant sobs. He groaned. "Now what? It's enough I have to put up with your constant glee and purity, but now I have to deal with your cries?" he blurted.
Ryou's sobs immediately stopped. He turned around, red eyes filling with even more tears, and looked at his yami. "B-Bakura?..."
Bakura just turned his head arrogantly. Ignoring the fact that his hikari had ran out of the room. But the boy's facial expression softened after his hikari left. Bakura regretted he had said such a thing, it was hurtful and mean. But he couldn't help but think that Ryou had deserved it. There was no reasoning behind that thought.
~
Bakura's feet carried him to the door of a rather old looking house. He absent mindedly climbed up the creaky old porch steps and to the doorbell. He rung the door before dropping his suitcase and waiting blankly for his friend to answer.
Malik bounded to the door. Upon opening it to greet his visitor, his face fell. "Bakura?"
The white haired yami gave no answer.
"What are you doing out? You're soaked! And why do you have that suit case with you? It's getting late, you should really get back to Ryou-"
That last word... 'Ryou'... sent Bakura flying back to reality. He blinked and saw that Malik was looking worridly at him.
"Bakura? Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine.." he croaked. It was a lie, of course. How would you feel if you had to part with your hikari?
Malik stepped aside and pulled Bakura in. "Come inside, you can dry off."
As Malik led Bakura to the bathroom, the depressed yami spoke up. "I need a place to stay," Bakura said dully. His voice was flat and sounded dead to the world.
"Why?"
Bakura ignored the question and asked one of his own, "Do you think I could stay here for a little while?"
"Of course you can," Malik answered. he furrowed his brow, obviously worried. "What happened Bakura?"
"Thank you," Bakura said, completely ignoring his friends question again.
Malik shook his head and stopped at the bathroom. "There are towels in there to dry off, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
Bakura only nodded in appreciation before closing the bathroom door behind him.
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'I guess that's my wish then...' Ryou sighed as he opened his eyes again. It had taken a few minutes, but he finally settled on a wish. He stared sadly up towards the little star in the sky. He frowned as he saw more bright dots accompanying it.
'So you do have friends,' he thought, 'You weren't really alone after all.'
The boy sighed deeply and examined the Sennen Ring that hund around his neck. He could feel (for once) that his connection with Bakura was narrowing. Only fragments of Bakura's thoughts came through, not enough to piece together. Such poor connection only meant that his yami was moving steadily futher from himself. Maybe Bakura was already at the other end of Domino City.
'Bakura where are you?' Ryou's eyes lost their gleam as he fell faint. 'You say this is suppose to be helping me... I'm not feeling any better, Bakura.'
In truth he wasn't. Ever since Bakura's departure, Ryou's energy seemed to be slipping away. Each waking minute a little bit of Ryou's spirit disappears. There was barely enough energy left in him to even lift an arm.
A slight ruffle was heard somewhere outside. Ryou turned his head and stared out into the open. It had sounded like a flap of feathers. He searched the skies, not really expecting to see anything. But his eyes fell upon a small bird soaring uneasily. It seemed to be that very same dove he had seen back in the park forest. It's beautiful white feathers were no longer pure and light, but stained red. It seemed to be wounded, for it's wings were beating unevenly, and it seemed to faulter in it's flight.
Ryou watched sadly as the fragile bird gave a painful cry before plummeting towards the earth. It would never again be able to fly...
'Poor thing...'
Ryou shut his eyes, pondering about what he had just witnessed. Would he meet the same fate? Would he be hurt so badly that he would be forced to fall from exhaustion?
Something light and fluffly brushed against Ryou's face. He looked up quickly and saw that three whitely glowing feathers were floating down gently. They seemed familiar to him... Then it hit him, they were his own feathers. They represented his pain, his torment. The feathers came from his very own wings; wings no mortal eye could see, but wings that still existed.
A wave of pain hit his chest. His body jolted, shocked by the sudden pang of agony that rushed through him. He sat up quickly from the rim on which he sat, soon realizing his mistake. He felt unbalanced on the thin ledge and soon felt the air rush past him. It seemed to take forever to fall through the air.
Ryou closed his eyes tightly, feeling faint and slightly dizzy from the pain. He was aware that he was falling three stories from his room, very aware of it. He ushered no scream or no reaction to shield himself from the impact he would soon meet. Instead he thought.. thought about why this had happened.
'This is your doing, Bakura... You're killing me, and you don't even know it.'
Total darkness was what greeted the frail hikari, as he came towards the solid ground. But as his mind floated into a state of unconciousnes, he thought he heard a frustrated cry from someone other than himself.
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A/N: Author's notes have been removed due to ff.net's notice about chat dialogue being used in this.. x.x oy.. gomen-nasai!