Warning : very mild rape in this chapter and hints of shonen-ai

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Ryou lay in the bed panting he was really awake now; Bakura was watching over him like a guard dog waiting to attack the next person to get too close to its master.

"'Kura," he said weakly gaining the guardians attention Bakura finally tore his eyes away from the door to look down at his hikari his gaze softening

"Is that you?" he asked reaching out to feel the side of Bakura's face and pulled gently on one of his spikes of hair.

"Yeah its me, I'm here to guide and protect you," (1) he said plucking Ryou's hand off of his hair and enclosing it between his spidery thin hands.

"Guide me? where am I?" he said gasping as he tried to roll over and onto his back it hurt to lay either way because when he moved his wounds would reopen a little, he hissed as he managed the would be simple task.

"You are lying in bed in Kaiba's mansion trying to heal," Bakura replied letting go of his hand as the boy moved around.

"'Kura?" Ryou said again

"Yes?"

"Protect me," he said reaching out for Bakura. Bakura seemed confused at first but reached out and gently as he could put his arms around Ryou and eased him up into a sitting position. Ryou buried his face in Bakura's shoulder all of the tense muscles on his back and stomach relaxed he actually felt safe for once in his miserable life his heart froze when he heard Bakura growl audibly, maybe it was all just a dream and Bakura was standing over his sleeping body with his shoe pressed against his chest. Bakura felt it and soothed him as best he could with Kaiba watching; that was the reason he had growled, Kaiba had come through the door and seen the two he was smirking at him.

"Sh, its just Kaiba," Bakura whispered to Ryou who pulled away and turned slightly to see him,

"I told you, you could be a nice guy if you wanted to," Kaiba said approaching the two with tray of food for Ryou he simply handed it all to Bakura and sat Bakura glaring at him

"Are you just going to sit and stare at me or are you going to feed Ryou?" He said gesturing to the poor boy that was now looking between the two, surprised yet confused completely. Seto came around the other side of the bed across from Bakura and started checking over the rest of Ryou bandages to see if they needed changing.

"Well Rou are you feeling better, or do you need some painkillers?" He asked reaching into his pocket and bringing out a small bottle of pills.

"Not really I just ache all over," Ryou said as Bakura handed him a bowl of soup; he looked back to Bakura who was staring back at him

"I'm just a little hungry" he said looking down at his soup.

"Seto, would you please leave for a second?" Ryou asked ducking is head slightly expecting to be hit for asking,

"Sure Ryou," he said smiling slightly and standing, leaving the painkillers there just in case. Ryou just stared at the soup in front of him for a bit,

"I thought you said you were hungry," Bakura said trying to sound gentle.

"I am but I feel like I'm just going to be sick if I eat anything," Ryou replied at the back of his mind he felt a tingling emotion coming from Ryou like he was queasy about something and he reached over and took the bowl away from him.

"it's okay you don't have to eat it if you don't want to but if you want any of the painkillers you must eat something," Bakura said Ryou slowly laid back down on the bed and rolled onto his side facing away from Bakura he let out a piteous moan as a chill ran down his spine. Bakura just patted his back gently and Ryou heaved out a large sigh,

"I don't want to hurt anymore," he said even though Bakura couldn't see his eyes he knew they were filled with sadness.

"I know Ryou not many people do," He said; he should know back in Egypt he had had a less than pleasant relationship with the high priest's whip more than a few times. That was back in Egypt, though, where if you stole something you might as well have been cutting your own hand off, but the times were different now Ryou was a very fragile boy and he was slowly realizing that. Bakura sat there stroking Ryou's hair and shoulder until he heard a small whimper come from him,

"'Kura!" Ryou said quietly, yet sounding urgent.

"Ryou? What is it?" Bakura asked, sensing something was wrong with his little hikari.

"I really don't feel too good now!" he said trying to get out of the bed and hobble towards the bathroom; all he managed to do though, with his injuries, was have his ankles collapse under him bringing him to his knees holding his stomach. Bakura rushed around the other side of the bed and picked him up carrying him the rest of the way to the bathroom where Ryou immediately collapsed over the toilet and threw up whatever was in his stomach; Bakura, who had seen worse than this back in ancient Egypt, could only kneel next to him hold his hair back and try to soothingly rub his back. When Ryou was done he leaned into Bakura, exhausted, allowing the older to clean him up and carry him back to bed almost completely asleep and crying silently. Bakura tenderly brushed the young one's tears away with his thumb as he felt the boy's head with his hand; Ryou had what felt like a slight fever.

"Its going to be okay Ryou you probably just got a small cold from the cold rain on the way here," Bakura said, stroking the side off Ryou's face gently with his long fingers,

"What am I going to do?" Ryou said weakly.

"My dad will kill me if I go home now." he sniffed,

"I won't let you you're not going back to that hell!" Bakura said taking Ryou's hand again, since it was the only part on the boy that hadn't been cut or bandaged, he felt a severe need to protect his hikari and he was going to fulfill that need.

"'Kura?" Ryou croaked bringing Bakura out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Would you please just hold me?" Ryou said blushing slightly

"of course my hikari, you don't have to ask," Bakura said smiling and helping Ryou to slowly sit up, Bakura sat on the edge of the bed halfway behind him and just let Ryou lay back against his thin yet muscular body. Ryou let out a comfortable sigh as he relaxed, feeling the ancient spirit's chest move up and down slowly as he breathed, and heard his heartbeat, low and steady; just a day ago he would have questioned whether the creature known as Bakura even had a heart. Bakura bent his head and kissed the top of his little hikari's head as he gently draped his arms across his lap and slowly rocked him.

Ryou sighed, right now, in Bakura's arms, it felt good, it felt so right to him; his cuts didn't hurt, his stomach was fine, all was right again with the world, no dad, no yelling. And with that grateful though he allowed his eyes to close and fall asleep.

Bakura sat there not daring to move much more, Ryou had finally fallen back to sleep and he wasn't about to wake his little light from the much earned rest he deserved

'My little hikari I want to protect you from everything that could possibly harm you I love you to much to allow…' Bakura stopped in mid though

'Love? Did I just say love?' he thought going wide eyed

'No it can't be it's absurd I can't fall in love with my host!' he thought staring down at the sleeping face of the boy in his arms

'But he is really cute' whispered a little voice in his head

'Yes, I mean, no!' Bakura thought back drumming up a mental argument with himself

'You want to just take him and f-'

'NO!' Bakura roared back at the evil little voice, wondering why he was arguing with himself in the first place he was startled out of his thoughts when Ryou moaned and started to writhe against him.

"No dad, please stop, no, no, onegai, NO! No! Stop! You're hurting me, no!!!" He started screaming and writhing seemingly not aware of the wounds he was reopening as he moved struggling into him pushing his head into Bakura's stomach as he screamed. Bakura closed his eyes and decided to take a look at what his hikari was dreaming about that was scaring him so bad.

Ryou's dream through Bakura's eyes

When Bakura opened his eyes he was looking at a scene that totally turned his stomach he had to resist throwing up then and there; Ryou was lying on a bed covered in blood his wrists were tied together and held above his head with rope his father straddling his waist as Ryou screamed pleading for him to stop as his own father slammed into him

"You are going to learn to do as you are told. You. Stupid. Little. Fag.(2)" He said the last few words every time he slammed into him; he released and landed on top of him almost crushing his son as he drew a pocket knife and slid out of him.

"You are my little whore now," he said turning his bloody son over, twisting his wrists painfully eliciting a raw throated scream from him, and kneeling between his legs he took the knife and carved four gruesome letters on his thigh M-I-N-E he stood and left his whimpering son on the bed to bleed.

End dream

Bakura quickly withdrew himself from the horrible nightmare reopening his eyes to the sight of poor Ryou whimpering into Bakura's stomach with his fingers curled tightly into his shirt. Before the boy awoke, he uncovered him from the knees up and looked to see whether that dream had been a memory or not, Bakura looked closely and yes there on his hikari's leg was that same word 'mine' now only scars on his leg. Bakura touched one of them gently tracing the letters he watched as Ryou's leg muscles trembled and tensed as his legs bent trying to push closer to Bakura.

"Ryou," he said just barely shifting enough to wake the poor boy; Ryou's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up only to cause himself extreme pain as he managed to move almost all his reopened and bleeding wounds he let out a shrill cry and fell back into his original place with his head on Bakura's lap

"No," he muttered curling up on himself. Bakura held Ryou carefully as he watched a pinkish tinge start to bleed into Ryou's bandages Ryou's breathing had gone up.

/Ryou it's all right I'm right here it was just a dream, / he sent through the link along with all types of comfort.

/Bakura he's done it, he's done it again, / Ryou sent back franticly.

/Done what little one?/ he wanted Ryou to tell him, 'get it of his chest' in a sense, there was silence over the link for a while as Bakura stroked Ryou's back; noticing that he was thin enough to see his ribs and backbone slightly.

/Th-th-the, erm, 'dirty deed'/ Ryou sent stuttering and sending a wave of embarrassment.

Okay, now, Bakura is a spirit three-thousand years old, he had yet to hear the different terms for sex or rape, back where he came from sex was sex and rape was rape.

/'Dirty deed'? / He questioned, more silence, he was starting wonder whether Ryou was scared or embarrassed,

/He-he, he r-r-raped me, / he finally cried through the link. Bakura pulled Ryou close to him as he started to cry,

"Its okay now Ryou it wasn't real he hasn't defiled you again you just reopened your wounds little hikari," he said softly, trying to sooth him.

/Ryou I never knew-/

/you wouldn't, it happened before you got me,/ he said his hands finding their way to Bakura's shoulders he pulled himself up slightly curling his legs up next to him as he hissed in pain, he leaned against Bakura's chest; Bakura just put his arms around him and soothingly stroked his back.

"Sh, I've got you now, you're going to be all right, he won't ever do it again, sh," he whispered as Ryou sniffed and hiccupped.

"Thank you Bakura," he finally said against his chest; his eyelids slowly drooping from the exhaustion his pain brought.

/tired, so tired. / He whispered through the link.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" he asked looking down slightly,

/too scared, / he said snuggling down on him.

"I'll be right here to protect you; I'll even sleep here with you when you fall asleep," Bakura whispered as he slowly leaned back with his hikari until they were both lying down.

Bakura just lay there, with Ryou's head on his chest, stroking Ryou's soft hair until his breathing evened out and he let out a low sigh; he had finally allowed himself to fall asleep to Bakura's heartbeat. The old spirit smiled, for once, without his psychotic flare,

'Ryou, for one whose name means dragon you effect me like a kitten, soft and lovable, and are as fragile as one too,' he thought as he slipped back into the millennium ring, replacing his body, to which Ryou clung, with a rich purple body pillow of his own (3); and he watched over his little tenshi from his place in the ring.

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(1) This line is a line he said to Yami in duelist kingdom I love that line so I decide to put it in here with a twist

(2) Yes, I will explain this in the next chapter

(3) I doubt any of you care, but this is oftentimes how I get to sleep its very effective too.

Gruzzee: yep there's chapter 5 to me forever to do I've had a block on most of my stories because of stupid school work and I think those are all the notes

Cazi: my poor over-stressed over-worked aibou would also appreciate it if she wasn't threatened to bring on a new chapter coughpharaohs-slave coughso please be patient with her she's trying to keep up on all her fanfics including Knight in Shining Leather which was postponed because she is dedicated enough to her readers here to try to make you all happy. So neeeeeeea! sticks out his tongue and flies off

Bakura: yeah you tell em' want me to go get the pitchforks just in case?

Gruzzee: thank you Cazi, Bakura that definitely won't be necessary and readers out there R&R and come back for more