Chapter 5: The Path of Darkness

When Ryou appeared, trembling, in the middle of Bakura's bedroom the next morning, he didn't expect to see his god waiting for him, and he certainly didn't expect him to be so cheerful. But Bakura looked like he'd just had a very good night and didn't seem angry at all; in fact, he smiled when Ryou appeared.

"Good morning, Ryou!" Bakura said brightly, swinging his legs off the bed. Ryou cringed slightly as the god stood up and walked toward him. Bakura noticed this. "What's wrong?"

"You're…not…oh Bakura, I'm sorry!" Ryou exclaimed. He leapt forward and hugged Bakura around the waist. "Please don't be mad at me! I didn't want to do it, I swear! I love you, Bakura!"

"Did you find out what I wanted to know?" Bakura asked, unconcerned that his hikari was hanging off his waist.

"Yes! It wasn't Malik after all; the Pharaoh's priests lied. He said he heard Kaiba did it."

"Kaiba? That's odd. What would he want with my Ring?" Bakura mused, running his fingers down his hikari's back, causing the boy to shiver slightly.

"So, you're not mad at me?" Ryou asked quietly. He felt Bakura's body move slightly as the god shook his head.

"No, of course not. You found out what I wanted to know and that's all that matters. Come on, let's go celebrate," he said, pulling the hikari out to the door and down the hall. "I bet you're hungry."

Ryou stared at his lover bewilderedly; he'd expected Bakura to be furious at him for sleeping with Malik, but Bakura acted like it was Christmas or something. And he was hungry…Maybe Bakura was drunk right now or something. If that was the case, Ryou almost hoped his other would get drunk more often. But something about this didn't seem right to him; it felt like he was walking into a trap…and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Bakura led him into the Receiving Hall to the blood fountain where two silver goblets where waiting for them. Bakura dipped both of them briefly into the fountain and then handed one to Ryou, holing the other up to his lips. Ryou stared suspiciously into the chalice, afraid that maybe Bakura had done something to the blood in it.

"Bakura, isn't there a little much in here?" he asked, carefully eyeing to level of the liquid.

"No, it's fine. You haven't had much for the past couple of days," Bakura answered. His gaze held amusement as he watched his hikari stare back into the goblet. "Drink up, Ryou."

Ryou glanced back at him, still suspicious, but his vampiric hunger won over him and he drained half the glass in one go. Bakura's eyes glittered insanely as he watched his hikari swallow the rest of the drink, his smirk hidden by his own. He hadn't forgotten the punishment he'd planned to inflict on the boy, and that punishment was about to take effect.

Ryou suddenly feel to his knees, the chalice clattering to the floor as his hands gripped his head in pain. His clothes became darker until they were almost black, and with a shriek of pain, his wings followed and transformed to be raven streaked with red. His fangs grew longer until they hung over his red lips, and with a flash, his eyes changed to crimson in color. He shut his eyes closed from the pain he now felt through his body, and he suddenly felt hungry, starving, more so than any other time in his life. And he knew what he wanted; it was right next to him, right there.

Bakura grinned as Ryou blinked as if he were just waking up, aware of the dark thoughts that were now swimming through the boy's mind. It didn't surprise him when Ryou abruptly jumped up and submerged his face in the blood fountain, drinking greedily from it; the same thought had passed through his mind innumerable time since he'd become a god. But without warning, the seraph backed off and sank his fangs into Bakura's neck instead, catching the god completely by surprise. He briefly thought to push the seraph off of him, but it was too much fun to see his hikari doing this.

And then he felt a small breeze wrap around them.

The breeze seemed to pull Ryou out of his trance and he pulled away from his yami, blinking in confusion. The breeze continued to blow around them, and only them, and Bakura stared indignantly around him, trying to find the source.

"Oh, Bakura, Bakura…" said a disembodied voice. "Guess who's here?" Bakura smirked as he recognized the voice speaking to him.

"Why don't you just show yourself, Seth, and stop playing around," he growled. "I'm a bit busy here."

"Oh yes, I can see that." The breeze stopped and in its place, a tall, tanned man appeared standing behind Ryou, smirking at his fellow god. The newcomer wore a more traditional linen skirt around his waist and leather sandals on his feet. And unlike the Egyptian stereotype, he had a normal, human-like head with ebony hair that curled delicately around his ears. Seth smiled maliciously as he stepped around Ryou and wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck. "Can't stand him being a light anymore?"

"He betrayed me. This is punishment," Bakura answered, not seeming to notice the body hanging on him. Instead, he was staring at Ryou, who seemed to be just realizing what had happened.

"I…I'm…a vampire," he whispered. "A full one…" He dropped to his knees in despair. "How…could this happen…?"

"Idiot, did you honestly think I'd forget what you did?" Bakura hissed softly. Ryou stared up at him with fear and anguish, tears forming in his eyes.

"Bakura, why…why this…? I…I…" He suddenly broke down and buried his face in his hands, his dark wings shuddering slightly with his sobs. Seth turned his gaze from the seraph back to Bakura.

"He's much more alluring now," Seth said quietly. "Not near as much as you, but alluring nonetheless."

"I've told you before, Seth, leave me and my hikari alone."

"Oh, but–" Seth rested his head on Bakura's shoulder, showing that he wasn't going to leave anytime soon– "you haven't given me what I want yet."

Bakura glared at him. "Do we have to go through this every single fricking day?"

"Do you want to know what's been going on in the world?" Seth answered slyly. Bakura sighed and drew the other god into a kiss, silently relieved that Ryou was too distressed to see; the boy hated when Bakura showed any affection to anyone but himself, even though this event happened every morning. Seth grinned at him as he pulled away. "You should start an afterlife prostitute service or something, Bakura."

"None of my faithful are any good at that."

"But you are."

"Stop that," Bakura growled. He pushed the other god off of him and knelt down to inspect his hikari, slightly worried since the boy hadn't made a sound for a few moments. Ryou instantly collapsed into his arms, whimpering quietly, only now fully realizing that he'd attacked his lover. Bakura glared up at the other god, almost as if he thought Ryou's distress was his fault. "Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Oh, I'm not sure what I've got to tell is worth only one kiss," Seth chided as he sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"You'd better."

"Bakura, that bipolar's kicking in again." Bakura glared at him and he continued, "What I've heard is that you've lost the Items."

"You didn't know that? It's been, what, two days and I've sent Ryou everywhere, and you didn't know that?"

"Watch it, weakling, that tone could get you in trouble."

"Now who's got bipolar?"

"Heh, I've heard a couple of different opinions about what happened to them. The Pharaoh's saying Malik took them–"

"Yeah, I heard that already," Bakura murmured, his voice muffled by Ryou's hair.

"–and Malik is saying Techno-geek took them–"

"Heard that, too. Come on, tell me something I don't know."

"–And Mini-geek is saying that it was the Pharaoh and he's just trying to make you look bad."

"Mokuba?" Ryou murmured, startling his yami. "Why would he say that? Isn't he somewhat friends with the Pharaoh?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to stay out of your stupid mortal affairs," Seth answered, smirking slightly at Bakura.

"And so we have three different opinions, all of which are different," Bakura said. "I wish I could just find out who took my Ring so I could destroy them already." He stood up, pulling Ryou with him, and extended a hand to Seth. "Thanks. Your help is appreciated, as always."

The god grinned as he pulled himself to his feet. "I think you owe me at least a week by now."

"I'll think about that," Bakura answered bitterly. "Once I find my Ring, that is."

"You know I'll hold you up to that."

"Indubitably."

Seth smiled at him and disappeared in a gust of wind, enabling Bakura to turn his full attention on his fallen hikari. Ryou was still whimpering softly into his shirt, muttering every now and then something about being sorry for this and that. Bakura leaned down and hugged his hikari tightly.

"It isn't that bad, Ryou, come on," he whispered soothingly, trailing his fingers up and down the boy's back. "Calm down, hikari, I need you to do something for me."

"I'm not really a hikari anymore, am I?" Ryou muttered, sniffing slightly. He turned his head to gaze mournfully into his yami's chocolate eyes. "Why did you do this to me, Bakura?"

"Because you went off and betrayed me, and you didn't even come back to ask permission!" Bakura answered automatically.

"I didn't think you'd understand–"

"Well, you thought wrong! I love you, Ryou!"

They stared in silence at each other for a few moments until Bakura kissed Ryou on the forehead and said almost apologetically, "But I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" Ryou asked, frowning slightly at the other's tone.

"I need you to go to Elysium and–"

"Elysium!" Ryou exclaimed, his tone brimming with fright. "Please, Bakura don't send me there! Anywhere but there, please!"

"Ryou, I'm sorry, but it needs to be done–"

"But-but…the Pharaoh–"

"I know, all right! I know how you feel you feel about this, Ryou, I do. But you know I can't enter that realm, and you can. I don't want to make you do this, but you're the only one I would trust."

"What about Bruce?" Ryou asked. Bakura shook his head, causing the boy to shout out again. "Please, Bakura–"

"Ryou, I wouldn't ask you to do this unless it was absolutely necessary."

"Yes, I know."

"Then please don't hate me for this."

"I don't. I love you; I always have."

"Good. I need you to look around a bit and find out if the Pharaoh's lying about the Puzzle." Bakura leaned down and kissed his hikari, pouring all of his feelings into the gesture. "You can come back anytime you feel it's necessary."

"Will you change me back to how I was before?"

"I can't do that without the Ring. Besides, Seth was right–" he ran his fingers through Ryou's hair– "you are a lot more alluring like this."

Ryou smiled bitterly at his yami and disappeared. Sighing, Bakura picked up his goblet from the floor and dipped it into the fountain again.

"I can't believe I did that. I'm sorry, hikari."