The paramedics came. Although he was unfamiliar with the technology, Bakura left the strange men to their jobs. He answered their questions with short discreet answers. They were fabrications, of course, but still answers. They live together. He had just come home with one of his friends, and found him on the floor. That's when they called for help.
The last answer, though, had startled Yugi. When asked his relationship to the boy, Bakura only answered with one word – Partner. And he insisted on coming with Ryou. Yugi wondered if that one was actually a lie.
Within a few minutes, Yugi was left alone at the apartment. As soon as the door had closed, his yami materialized in spirit form. He bent down to examine the makeshift altar.
"Is it really poison, Yami?" Yugi broke the uneasy silence.
The spirit nodded.
"I haven't seen anything like it in a long time, aibou." He added. "And the same goes for the ritual."
"Ritual?"
"I thought it best not to tell the tomb robber, lest he hurt you." The pharaoh replied. "I'm still not sure what power he is capable of…"
"What do you know?" Yugi's voice was suddenly very stern.
"This poison is part of a complex ritual, meant on restoring flesh to a wayward soul…" he sighed, remembering a few times during his previous life that such a ritual was attempted. "But it is quite difficult to perform. And it requires the total sacrifice of another, the one requesting the ritual, in order to be completed."
"What made it so difficult, Yami?"
"The sacrificial victim must perform the ceremony with only pure intentions at heart…" the spirit reminisced. "And they too must be pure. Anything less, and Osiris will reject both souls. They would both be destroyed… The ritual carries such grave risks."
"But with such risks, why would someone…?"
"So that the one about to be judged would have a second chance…" the yami smiled. "So that when they died a second time, the two souls could be reunited in the Kingdom of the West… and they could spend their afterlife together."
"So that the one they… loved… wouldn't be destroyed…" Yugi whispered.
"Yes, aibou." He replied. "Yes…"
"Then Ryou knew that…"
"Yes… Ryou knew that when I am finally able to rest, and the items are destroyed once and for all, that the spirit of the millennium ring would also cease to exist. And he obviously knew the fate that would befall his yami when that time comes."
"His yami is the embodiment of darkness."
"Yes. A dark spirit, born out of a wicked thief and murderer…" his yami sighed. "Should he reach the test of balance, the gods would devour him instantly, and without question."
"You mean that Ryou…"
"Ryou knew exactly what he was doing…" the pharaoh nodded. "But Bakura doesn't…"
Suddenly, Yugi grew very afraid. If this was all true, then Ryou was going to die.
"Yami… what's going to happen to Ryou?"
"If the ritual works, he'll wander the earth in spirit form until Bakura's new body dies. If Bakura's soul is judged worthy, then they will both ascend. If it is not, they will both be destroyed."
Yugi was surprised that his yami could speak about his friends in such frank terms. But he saw the despair in the spirit's violet eyes. There was a sense of deep regret for Ryou, not only in this life, but also in the next. For a soul as tainted as Bakura's… such a ritual would be foolhardy at best. The pharaoh's pangs of guilt were palpable. He couldn't help but feel that Ryou's desperation was born from his fate.
"Don't say that, Yami…" Yugi wiped a few tears from his cheek. "Ryou won't die…You'll see…"
"Yugi, the remedies from this time are strong." His yami replied, embracing the boy as best he could. He faked a smile. "I hope they are strong enough…"
And Yugi cried.