Chapter 6: The silent symphony of the rain.
The rain fell just as it had for the past three days. The blessing of a new beginning washed away the scars of battle from many a war zone during the Feudal Era and brought peace and tranquility to a restless soul. Such a dilemma was Ryou Bakura in. Ever since becoming stranded in the past, he had proclaimed it his fault that he misjudged Kagome and her knowledge of the world on the other side of the well.
The rain had begun to cleanse him after the battle with the shadow puppeteer. Ryou had wandered in the rain for most of a day before coming onto a small castle atop a hill. A wealthy noble had position over the land and had offered him shelter till the rains had passed and his obvious emotional scars had healed. Ryou no longer felt the emotional pain he once felt, but the rain continued.
It seemed that such a rain was common in the area where he was staying and that if the rains lasted a day or so longer, most of the area around the castle would be flooded. With the rain continuing to fall, a thought had wondered into Ryou's perpetual chains of thought. That Inuyasha was said to be a powerful Dog demon, and a famous one at that. Famous enough that the noble and his children seemed to be fans of Inuyasha's honorable deeds towards normal everyday people.
But that was beside the point. What bothers Ryou the most was, if Kagome, Inuyasha, and the others in their group had decided to try and rescue him, Ryou's scent would be drown-out by the rain. How would they be able to find him?
Another thing that bothered him, though not as much, was that one of the noble's daughters, a small, black haired girl not even seven years old was quite the artist. She had continuously claimed that Ryou had looked like a powerful demon named Sesshomaru that ruled over the entire western portion of Japan. One morning, that same small girl was boasting to her siblings how good an artist she was, that she had given Ryou a face-paint in the shape of a perfect crescent moon.
Ryou wouldn't have minded it much if the noble had apologized before saying that the paint his daughter used was permanent. So, for the third day running, Ryou stared out from his room at the falling rain with a crescent moon painted to his forehead.
As Ryou sat in his spaced out stare into the rain, a small yet funny idea had crossed him. He wished he still had his wrist watch that fell out of the kimono when he fought with Miroku in order to get his Millennium Ring back into his hands. If he had it, he could see what time it was in the real world and know what classes he was missing back at Domino High. That small thought brought on another. His friends.
Ryou had been gone about four days now and he bet his friends would be worried sick about where he had gone. Mostly that Miho Nosaka girl a.k.a Ribbon, the class librarian. That girl had fallen head over heals for him in an obsessive way ever since Ryou transferred to Domino High from his original private school in England. Ryou had been used to the idea of having to wear a uniform, but he liked it much better when practically none of the students were rich, snobbish brats.
A small knock at Ryou's bedroom door took him out of his chain of thought. The doors were made of rice paper and it was easy to see who was on the other side. Shizuka was the third daughter of the noble of the castle and the eldest of all the six children. Though she looked stunning with her long black, silky hair loose and flowing, she normally kept it restricted to a bun. Bright green eyes decorated her face and shone against her semi-dark skin. She wore a kimono of the brightest and palest purples, her yukata decorated with the branches and fruits of a cherry blossom.
Although she would never put much thought towards it, she was very beautiful. Shizuka slowly opened Ryou's bedroom door and slid it closed just as quietly.
"Shizuka, your father is hosting a very important banquet with his fellow lords, right? Why aren't you enjoying yourself at the party?" Ryou asked, fingering one of the points on the Millennium Ring.
"My father hosts no such banquet. He only called it such to masque its true purpose." Shizuka had a distraught look on her face and confirmed it with a heavy sigh. "My father and the other lords are worried. Lord Sesshomaru, ruler of the western land, you have heard his name many times. The meeting of the other lords and nobles is about him."
Ryou was a bit confused with what was just told to him. Sesshomaru was supposed to be a powerful dog demon, able to protect and destroy, so why were these people worried? "Why's that? What's wrong with Sesshomaru?"
Shizuka looked shocked at his words before jumping to cover his mouth with her hand. "Please do not speak his name without a proper title, it is said his spies are everywhere, looking for anyone who might revolt against him." She removed her hand from his mouth.
"It is said that Lord Sesshomaru is an extravagant collector and will go to any lengths to get what he wants. Many times he has gone on trips to add precious pieces of art or weapons to his collections. It is said that he has his eye set on a powerful demon sword, but the current owner has yet to give it up. A year ago, after returning from trying to retrieve the weapon, he had lost his left arm."
"Most didn't believe it, that a powerful demon such as Lord Sesshomaru could get hurt; much less gets his arm cut off. But when such a rumor had been confirmed, the other lords and nobles became worried. If one day he set out to collect new piece for any of his collections, what would happen if he were to be heavily wounded, or even killed? Lord Sesshomaru is the only one who stands between the western lands and the ruthless and evil lords of the other three lands."
"Lord Sesshomaru is our protector and what my father and the other lords are trying to do is help Lord Sesshomaru produce an heir. If an heir to the western lands came into being, the other lords would not dare to try and invade our lands."
Ryou just let soak in what he was told. During Shizuka's talk she had moved herself over near Ryou's spot at the window, and was now leaning into his chest, looking like she was on the verge of tears. So the meeting was Shizuka's father and the other nobles trying to play matchmaker with Lord Sesshomaru?
Ryou could remember how mad Tea got with Anna Mhigo from Class C, playing matchmaker and trying to pair her with Tristan. Ryou wouldn't doubt for a second that Lord Sesshomaru getting mad wasn't going to be pretty.
"When I first met you," Shizuka began again. "Anzu was the one who noticed that you looked much like Lord Sesshomaru, but I was the once who sensed you were a strong person. Your many scars could only have come from a harsh battle," She lifted up Ryou's sleeve, revealing his arm growing in mussel mass and a dark slash running down from his shoulder. "It was then that an idea had come to mind."
She gazed into Ryou's eyes, tears beginning to form showing stress and desperation. "You are truly powerful and wither or not you are truly a demon, I do not care. I only ask that you take on the title of Lord Sesshomaru's heir. Perhaps your presence would make Lord Sesshomaru acknowledge that fact that our lands need a true heir. I ask you think in the hopes that you may help protect not just our lands but it people and my family.
Shizuka's face was buried in Ryou's chest, small sobs escaping from her lips. "I understand your proposition and have acknowledged that your intentions are pure and come from a worried heart. I shall do my best, and maybe you're right. Maybe Lord Sesshomaru will come to understand your land's need for an heir. I'll do the very best that I can."
Shizuka walked down the halls of the mansion, tears still in here eyes as she neared the banquet area where her father and the other nobles were meeting. She reached behind hear head, pulling out a small iron pin, letting her hair drop down.
"There is a maiden in my village that is a beauty beyond beauty, perhaps who could be of interest to Lord Sesshomaru." A noble offered.
"Lord Sesshomaru would have no such things. It is common knowledge that he despises the thought of a half-breed son." Another countered.
Shizuka just laughed, which brought the attention of all the nobles in the dinning area. "My daughter, this is such a serious matter, why do you laugh?" Shizuka's father asked.
"We no longer need to worry about such things. Lord Sesshomaru has an heir," This caused the nobles to gasp. "And his name is Ryou Bakura."
The lunch bell rang at Domino High, causing the cafeteria doors to open with loud bangs as waves of high school students filed in. The jocks began to group at their usual table, the student counsel sat at their usual table talking about the Halloween Festival and having the lunch room's them being Café-terror-ea, and last, Yugi and his friends grouped at their usual table with the addition of someone unexpected.
"So Marik, how do you like your first day at Domino High?" Joey, being the not so smart guy that he is, burst out.
"Listen you ninny." Marik growled between clenched teeth. "The only reason I'm here is to make sure Ishizu doesn't touch any of my bank accounts, especially the one in Europe. I hate this school and if I had it my way, the next teacher who spoke the word: quadrangle would be sent to the Shadow Realm." Mari's left eye twitched.
"Ya know," Yugi butted in. "That's exactly what Ryou said on his first day here."
"Speaking of the psycho possessed white haired guy, where is he?" Marik calmly asked. "Normally he hands out with you dopes but I haven't seen him for like three days."
"Four." Tea corrected. "His field trip to that Higura Shine was four days ago and he never returned from it. The police have had a search warrant at the shrine the first day we went missing, but since he wasn't there, Ryou's been filed with all the other mission people in Domino." Tea just stared out the window of the cafeteria, a distant look in here eyes as she half ate a French fry. Tea seemed to be the one who suffered from Ryou going missing the most.
Maybe it was because she cared for him like a little brother, or because she helped house his soul after Battle City. But it was obvious that she cried about the loss every night and her condition wasn't helped any by her late night searches. Ever since Ryou went missing, Tea would take her car out late at night, following over the exact same route the bus took.
While Tea took it like a knife to the heart, the others weren't so hurt. Yugi, Tristan, Joey, and even Duke and Serenity who barely knew him had taken it as the loss of a good friend. All the while, Seto, being the stuck up businessman that he was, took it as a loss of a formidable duelist; nothing more, nothing less.
By the end of the day, Tea's mood had not changed. She walked the halls of Domino, getting her shoes out of her locker with her head hanging low. And it broke Yugi's heart to see his best friend since elementary school suffer like this.
/Yami?/ Yugi asked through his mind link with the spirit of the Pharaoh that resided within the Millennium Puzzle.
What troubles you?The spirit asked back.
/Tea has been acting really depressed lately about Ryou's disappearance, you think you can talk to her? She usually calms down when she talks to you./
I could try.
A warm feeling fell over Tea and she began heading to the exit of Domino High. She turned her attention from the floor to Yami, who now stood next to her. "Here." He simply said. His school jacket now rested on her shoulders. "There is no need to be sad over Ryou's disappearance. Even I take the loss heavily."
"I'm not crying over him." Tea protested, and obviously lying. "I'm crying because it's raining. Lots of people cry when it rains."
"In Ancient Egypt we believed that a god watched over each of the sacred tasks of nature, like the fall of rain. Perhaps it rains because you are sad over your loss." Yami sighed. "I can not guarantee that any of us will ever see Ryou again. But I do believe that wherever Ryou is he is safe. Safer that what he faced here with the Shadow Games and all. All we can do now is hope and pray. And you never know. Maybe one day your prayer will be answered and he will return to us."
A single tear fell from Tea's eyes. She managed to mutter the words: "Thank you", before bursting into tears. The rain falling on Domino City falling harder then before.
Xero: Wow. I knew I wanted to do something different with this chapter and I could never think up anything good. I'm sorry if it was kinda slow, but I bet someone out there was wondering when the whole Ryou-The Son of Sesshomaru was going to happen. Well, here it is. Also, when school starts, I might not be able to update for a while. Just FYI. Ja Ne!