WSJ: [blinks] Goodness, this is a quick update. At least for me. :) I should be doing laundry and getting packed for Mexico. What am I really doing? ;3 Sitting around in my pajamas, eating chips, and writing.

Ryou: [eye twitches as he glances over the chapter] Did you have to bring me into this?

WSJ: =3 Yes. You're cute. Now be quiet or do disclaimer.

Ryou: [quickly shuts up]

WSJ: [sighs and pokes Hiei]

Hiei: [annoyed glare] Hn. The ningen gaijin onna doesn't own me, the fox, the wolf, or the little white mouse.

Ryou: Hey!

Hiei: Further more, although she wishes she did, she doesn't own any aspect of Yu Yu Hakusho or Yuugioh, for which we characters are very thankful.

Ryou, Kurama, & Bakura: [quasi-Python] Yay.

WSJ: 0o; That was very... thorough, Hiei. Thank you. I do want to add, however, a note about the timeline. This starts up eight years after the previous chapter. Bakura, Kurama, and Yami have all slept for eight years. Ryou's mother is already dead, although his sister Amane is not. Kurama's human father is also already dead. Most of the next few chapters will center on Ryou and Bakura. ;) We'll be back to Kurama and more of both casts soon enough.

Oh, and someone asked why roses would hurt Yami so much. Think about the fact that they're demon roses, grown in Makai. Yeah, not nice. They've got some very nasty properties you'll find out about later on. =D Well, without further ado, on to part 2!

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Like a Thief in the Night

Part Two: Growing Up Human

Chapter 1 -- Awakening

Darkness... For a long time, all he knew was darkness... The shadows had always comforted and hidden him, and now they curled around him and cushioned him from the world. He was safe in their embrace, and for a long time, he was content...

It came so slowly that at first he wasn't even aware of it. A soft light, and a sound, like a voice. It whispered his name to him as the light drew nearer, and he whimpered and shied away, snuggling back against the shadows.

'No... Let me be... I don't want to wake up yet...'

Still the light drew nearer, it hurt his eyes just to look at it, and he whimpered again. He tried to cover his eyes with his hands, but found that he couldn't move. Chains weighted down his wrists and his ankles, and he couldn't move at all.

'Just let me sleep, I'm still so tired...'

But then the light was upon him, and he saw, for an instant, the form that the doppelganger had taken. A human boy, fifteen years old or so. The light shown from behind him, creating a halo so he couldn't see the boy's face. The boy bent down and held out a hand to him, and again he whimpered and tried to back away.

'No! I don't want to wake! Sleep is so comforting, oblivion is bliss...'

But against his own will his hand lifted and took the boy's. The chains fell away, and suddenly they were standing side-by-side. For a moment Bakura saw something, a flash of a scene. Himself, standing with the boy. On the boy's other side, a tall redhead who looked familiar to him. Beyond the redhead, a short demon with black hair. Beside Bakura, a human with black hair and a determined scowl. Next to him, a tanned blond who was neither demon nor human, and a girl with bright powder blue hair.

'What is this? Why am I dreaming now? I've never dreamed before...'

But by then the vision had faded, back into the mists where it had come from. The light faded too, leaving Bakura in darkness once again. But now the darkness was different. It was no longer the darkness of a deeply sleeping mind, but rather the darkness of the inside of his eyelids.

A soft sound reached his ears, like the frieghtened mewl of a cat, and he cracked his eyes open with a groan.

He was laying on a low bed, covered lightly with a sheet. Turning his head he could see a desk up against one wall, and next to it a large mounted bookcase that stood empty. The floor seemed to be covered with sand, and the walls were painted with a mural of desert life, with the great Giza Sphinx and the pyramids directly over his bed. The room was dark, but light was spilling in from a half-open door in one wall.

Standing in that door was a boy of about eight years old. He had white hair that reached just past his shoulders and wide brown eyes. He was dressed in a pair of blue pajamas and was barefoot. His eyes were wide as he stared at Bakura, and for a moment it looked like he was going to bolt.

"Don't be scared," Bakura said in as calm a voice as he could muster, sitting up and trying to be as non-threatening as possible. He didn't know what he'd do if the kid didn't understand the language, but at the moment he was too confused to care. Where was he? The last thing he remembered, he'd snared the Hunter in a briar of his demonic Makai roses, and then stabbed himself and spoken the spell that would free his and Kurama's souls.

Bakura frowned slightly. No, that wasn't all. There were memories after that, but they were all blurs, fuzzy, as if seen through a mist. He had the vague impression that he'd been a disembodied spirit when these memories were created. Faintly he recalled passing between Makai and Ningenkai. Even more indistinct was the image of a child, curled in on itself and sleeping.

That was his host, Bakura realized. He'd made a mistake. He'd planned to enter an unborn child, so the body would be completely his own. Instead, the baby had already been born, and so he'd possessed it. This boy-child of eight must be that baby he'd possessed. He'd been asleep so long... Had it really been eight years? Good gods, that meant they were bonded now! If a demon possessed a human for longer than three years, their souls became permanently attached, and they couldn't be ripped apart without both being killed!

Bakura shook off his thoughts, storing them in the back of his mind for later. The child was still staring at him with wide, wild eyes. "I-I'm scared anyway. Who are you? Why are you in my mind?"

Bakura frowned slightly. "This is your mind?"

The child nodded shakily. "My room's across the hall. I come here every night while I sleep, an' there's a big TV where I can watch my dreams. But tonight there was a door too, so I decided to see what it was. There's a real long hallway out here, and the door to this room is right across from mine. Who are you?" The child repeated his question.

Bakura felt his eyes go wide. This was demon legend coming to life right in front of him! It was said that when you possessed a human both of you were given a habitation in the mind, a "soulroom", if you will. "My name is Yami Bakura," he said numbly, deciding now was not the best time to tell the child he was a demon.

"You look like me," the child said, cocking his head to one side in interest. He no longer looked scared. "Are you another kind of dream?"

Bakura chuckled and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Though the room was dark, the sand was warm under his feet. "No. I'm real."

"Real?" the child asked.

"Yes, as real as you are. You may come in, if you like. I won't hurt you." And Bakura was surprised to find that he meant it. He'd always had a soft spot for little kids, especially after he'd raised Kurama practically from an infant, and Kuronue from not much older than that. And this boy-child was cute and innocent in a way that neither of the demons had been.

The boy smiled and took a couple cautious steps inside. "My name's Ryou Bakura," he said. "You have my name."

Bakura chuckled. "I do, don't I? Bizarre coincidence, that."

Ryou smiled and came closer. "Can I sit down?"

Bakura patted the bed next to him. "If you're not too scared of me."

Ryou sat down, his legs swinging over the side of the bed. "I'm not scared." He placed a hand on Bakura's knee. "You're warm, like daddy. Why would you scare me?"

"I..." Bakura faltered. "A long time ago, I was someone a lot of people were scared of."

"But not anymore?"

"I'm... not sure."

Ryou grinned widely and leaned against him. "Well, you don't scare me."

Bakura chuckled. "Good, because we're going to be together for a long, long time."

"Truly?" Ryou asked, and grinned when Bakura nodded. "Where did you come from?"

Bakura hesitated. "A long way away. You're too young to understand." 'Too pure to understand.' he added silently.

Ryou frowned in confusion, and Bakura ruffled his hair. "I'll tell you when you're older."

Ryou looked up at him with big brown eyes. "So you're going to stay with me?"

"Yes," Bakura said. "Our hearts are one, no matter what."

"I'm glad, Yami."

Bakura winced at the name. His spirit had been around long enough to witness the Hunter's christening of his new name. "Call me Bakura."

"Okay Bakura," Ryou started to say more, but was interrupted by a yawn. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Bakura smiled. "As you wish." Ryou yawned again and laid his head down on Bakura's lap, drifting off into sleep. Bakura leaned back against the wall and stroked the child's back, wondering what to do now that he was finally awake. Well obviously, first and foremost, figure out what he could and couldn't do. If he couldn't manipulate plants, he'd be at a serious disadvantage if or when Yami started coming after him again. And then there was Kurama to think about. If Bakura had awakened, it was probably safe to say that Kurama would be soon, if he hadn't already.

Ryou murmured something in his sleep and snuggled against Bakura. The demon smiled. Yes, things needed to be done and a plan should be formed.

But it could wait until morning.

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WSJ: X3 It's SO CUTE!!!!

Kurama: o0; You do realize, don't you, that you just wrote a chapter of nothing but fluff?

WSJ: Yeah? So?

Bakura: [grumbles] I don't do fluff...

Ryou: [puppy eyes] Not even for meeeee?

Bakura: Okay fine, maybe for you.

Hiei: [hiding somewhere]

WSJ: =3 Reviews please!

God bless minna-san!