A/N: Hey. What do I say after what I did in my last chapter? Umm, I can rant on about how much hotter everyone looks in the Memory Arc (especially Yami since he will be in his Pharaoh form) or how sad the last episodes will be (I only know this because I was a bad, rapid fangirl and looked at pictures of the last show in Japan. Really, it will be sad.) Since I already sorted ranted, let me just say that there will be a whole lot of tendershipping in this chapter. For those who don't know what that is, it is Bakura/ Ryou shipping. Well, on with the show!
Congratulations to GravityGrave for the 300th review. I didn't think that I would ever reach that, when so many more deserving stories get a lot less. Thanks you guys. I feel loved.
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is this story. I don't even own my heart! It belongs to Yami, Bakura, Seto and Anime in general. Doesn't that rock or what?
Warning: Do I really need to put this? We all know after what the hell I did, there will be angst. For those who skip A/N, there will also be some limony shit between Bakura and Ryou, just so you know.
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------ The Burning of the Stem ------
Feather light kisses to the shoulder had woken him up, just as they always do. How he adored those warm, soft lips. He felt Ryou softly push a strand of his silvery hair off of his forehead. And even though Bakura was fully conscious, he kept his eyes closed, knowing that his light could continue kissing his shoulder until he 'woke up'.
"Kura," The younger boy whispered. He only used this nickname in the mornings, after extremely passionate or sensual sex. For this morning, it was for both reasons. "Come on. We need to get up."
Ryou wrapped one leg around the tomb robber's, tugging his own body closer to him. The hikari's kiss flowed over to the yami's neck. But still, Bakura gave no attempt to opening his eyes.
"Wake up, Kura." The younger boy got out before suckling on Bakura's neck again. How the light learned to lick, bite and tease the skin so seductively was a mystery to the dark, though he might have some of the blame. Ryou's fingers breezed over the grave raider's sides; pleasurable goose bumps not far behind.
The light slipped some of the other's skin between his teeth. He licked the flesh softly. Unable to keep up his façade longer, Bakura moaned. The elder teen, having now revealed his awaken state, snaked his arms around his lover's frame. The boy unlatched his mouth from the grave raider. He quickly tossed his head back, his already rustled hair tumbling over his face in thick locks. Smiling, the yami brushed his lips on his fiancé's forehead. A very vague taste of sweat settled there.
"I see you finally decided to get up." Ryou pouted, a mock, disappointed frown buried in his words.
The taller, white haired teen stroked Ryou's cheek with the top half of his hand. "Oh, but I was having the most wonderful dream."
The pale hikari raised one fine eyebrow. "Really? Of what?"
"Just a little kissing between me and a mysterious other. I think he was the Pharaoh." The tomb robber said, a hint of playfulness in his voice.
The light ran his tongue over the side of his lip, attempting to wipe away a smirk. "Yami? Ooh, really? Why him?" His thin legs pulled him so he sat on the yami's upper thighs. The light had his chest hovering two or three inches above his lover's.
His immediate reply was a lighthearted smile. "Well, this other person kissed remarkably well. He did things ever I have never thought of doing. The only guy that could possibly do that is the Pharaoh. Do you have anyone else in mind?"
The younger male traced Bakura's jawbone with his nose. "Hmm… It could have been Yugi. Yami makes it seem that my fellow hikari would be able to blow one's mind. And I know how you like your partners to always submit to you in your liking."
The dark twisted some of his other half's silky tresses between his forefinger and thumb. "Never thought of Yugi. Now that I think of it, this stranger was too tall to be either of to those two. Now, who else?" Bakura's fingertips ghosted over the light's spine.
Ryou brought his lips to the taller teen's. Bakura could taste the essence of both him and his fiancé on the soft skin. / It could have been Joey. / The current uke pushed his light to his back, so he was on top. The two males kissed deeply for five minutes. Suddenly, the hikari separated himself with the dark.
"What's wrong, my sweetheart?" The said sweetheart snapped his head in the direction of the cherry wood nightstand. His grey eyes flickered on the clock there before turning back to meet the yami's own pebble-colored orbs.
The light sighed. "We need to get up if we want to be early to help Yugi open the shop." Groaning slightly, the dark turned his attention to the table by the blue-sheeted bed. It was true. They did need to start getting ready.
"Damn." Bakura licked his lips. "You know what, they won't mind if we are late. It is the morning after our engagement. They probably are expecting us to be late, especially since it is us…"
The light smiled. "Naughty, naughty." The hikari brought his lips to his lover's as the dark pressed his body closer to Ryou's.
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The roaring engine coming to a stop, Bakura tilted his black motorcycle to the left. He felt his lover slide his hands off his hips. He removed the cursed helmet from his head. He preferred not having it, but if he didn't wear it, neither would Ryou. Ryou's safety meant more to him than some helmet hair.
"I heard that. Though I am ecstatic that I mean more to you than your hair, I must say that helmet hair works very well for you." The hikari whispered seductively into the yami's ear. He tugged slightly on a clump of the slivery strands.
Smiling, the dark turned around on the bike. "Really? I'm honored." Bakura cupped his lover's right ear and pressed his lips against Ryou's neck, his teeth grinding against the soft flesh.
"Kura, not here. The children are watching us…" And even if his voice was serious, the younger boy tilted his head to give the dark more access.
"Screw the k-" The older, grey-eyed male stopped and pulled his head back. He received an annoyed whimper, but the dark paid no attention.
"Kids?" At the front of the Game Shop, three, little, probably, fourth graders were all gaping at Bakura and Ryou. One boy turned away, bent over and pretended to purge. The other boy wrinkled his nose. The single girl's green eyes were wide, bless her, and she said "Aww."
The dark could also feel the embarrassment coming from his fiancé. The owner of the motorcycle finished parking it, getting off the bike once he was done. With a peek on the cheek for the light, Bakura walked up to the children, leaving Ryou to his own devices.
The dark, a bit upset at the boys' reactions, bent his knees in front of the girl. She blushed adorably, looking into Bakura's grey orbs, and turned her gaze down at her hands.
"Hello there, little one." The yami used his softest voice, which caused the girl to blush harder.
"Hello." The girl chirped.
"And what may your name be?"
"Estha."
"Well, Estha, why are you waiting out here?"
The short female twisted her hands and played with a stone on the ground with her shoe. "The door is closed and we can't go in."
The dark smiled and straightened up. "Well, Estha, I know the owner of the shop. I don't think he will open the store today. If what you need is important, I am sure you can come by tomorrow."
The two boys grunted angrily, mumbling something about improving their decks, walking away as they did. The still blushing girl stood still in front of Bakura.
"Can you go home by yourself?"
Estha nodded. "I live down the street."
"Well, I suggest you go back. Your parents might worry."
Yet again, Susie nodded. "Okay. Bye-bye." She said and with one swish, she was skipping down the street.
Sighing, the yami turned and finally faced his light. In the boy's grey circles, he saw an emotion he saw oh so many times before.
Ryou wrapped his arms around the taller male's neck. He kissed the dark. "You know, Kura, that you would make a wonderful father." There was a pause where the hikari kissed Bakura again. "And do you know if it normal for me to find that… hot?"
Smiling again, Bakura shook his head. "It is very odd. You are creepy." With the roll of his eyes, the light unwrapped his arms, looking at the door. "So, my light, why in the gods' name would those two not open the shop this morning?"
The shorter male frowned. "You know, if you and your constant pressuring toward Yami led him to… do things he wasn't ready to, I will hurt you."
A short chuckle erupted. "That sounds like fun. I didn't know you had it in you to say something so daring." Ryou frowned deeper. "What would the Pharaoh not be ready to do?" The dark said as he searched for the keys in his pocket.
The light blushed. "Well, with Yami being a—a… a virgin and all, I wouldn't want him to feel obligated to do anything with Yugi."
Finding the correct key for the front door, Bakura slipped it into the lock. "How do you know?" He asked, turning the door and pushed it open.
The light giggled, making his way past the dark. "You told me, silly. Or do you not remember Joey's party? I swear, if you had told everyone right then, I would have let Yami kill you."
"Cruel." The older, white-haired teen whispered, locking the door. He followed his fiancé up the stairs to the second floor, but walked past him as they reached the apartment door.
Knocking on it, Bakura watched his light's movements. "You would make a great father too. Or shall I say, mother. Don't worry, though it is weird, you aren't the only one attracted to that…" Ryou blushed.
They knocked on the door for several more minutes, calling out the Pharaoh and his light's name several times.
"Do you think they might be still sleeping?"
Bakura looked down at his watch. "It's 11:30. Oh shit, are we late. But anyway, they must have stayed up pretty late for them to still be in bed, even if they slept in."
A brief stop in the lovers' conversation as they decided what to do. "I say we go in."
The dark nodded his head and stuck the apartment key into this lock. He twitched the key, heard it unlock and turned the knob on the door. As he attempted to push it forward, it stopped in its hinges; the sound of metal snapping flew in the air.
"What's wrong?" The hikari asked as Bakura looked through the small difference between the actual door and its frame.
"They put the chain lock. Hold on one second." Bakura held out his hand and concentrated, focusing his magic on the chain. His magic was called pretty quickly, and with his magic, he was able to fully unlock the door.
An eerie creak was emitted as the dark swung open the door. It was so… quiet. Sighing, the white-haired yami turned in the direction of the house owner's bedroom, leaving his lover at the door. When he reached the room, he immediately twisted the knob and pushed open the door.
By the state of the room, it was fairly obvious what had happened the prior night. The fresh odor of sweat and lovemaking hung in the air. Two pairs of pants and boxers were thrown everywhere. And from the quick glance towards the white blanket daintily draping the side of Yugi's bed, Bakura noticed a certain, familiar creamy essence blotching the otherwise clean linen. A lotion bottle, fragranced with lavenders, lay on the sheet-less mattress. There was, however, no sign of the occupants of the room.
With a slight blush to discover his close friends' dormitory with their sexual acts clearly written across it, the yami closed the door.
/I think I hear something…/ The younger teen breathed through the link.
The yami turned towards the front entrance, expecting to see his fiancé. But as his grey irises focused in that direction, he saw Ryou softly creeping sideways down the hallway. By the little he saw of the boy's face, the dark could still notice the strange expression of curiosity and what was unmistakably fear.
The tomb robber froze, observing his light's movements. He felt goose bumps wash over his spine, a feeling he had only several times before. The last time he had felt it, he decided to check to see if everyone was okay, using his magic, of course. And that is when he saw the rapped and beaten Yugi, clutched inside of Yami's crying arms. The phone call he made afterward to alert the police still haunted him, and that gory sensation seeping through his bones.
So he stood frozen, watching as his light turned and entered the kitchen.
For several moments, all Bakura heard was… silence. Silence. Silence. Silence. Silence. Silence-
The yami watched in horror as his light stumbled out of the doorframe, tears streaking his pale cheeks. Tumbling with every step, the young boy supported himself up, using his left hand, against the wall. Breaking through his paralysis, the grave raider ran to his lover's side. He gently touched the small of teen's back. "What is it?"
Even before Bakura had finished his sentence, his lover gagged, clutching his lower abdomen. With the second gag, the little that was in the boy's stomach, which was only part of a muffin and both his and Bakura's cum from the night before, was brought back up, slipping out of his pink lips.
The elder of the two, clearly concerned, rubbed the boy's shirt in circles. "Ryou, are you okay?" The yami asked rapidly, totally regretting the idea of actually checking out what had caused such a reaction from Ryou for him self.
But the hikari only sobbed, vomit twirling out from his mouth in pulses. Breathless in confusion, the dark stared hopelessly at his younger counterpart.
/The kitchen…/ The tomb robber heard those two words swept over his mind. And as soon as those two words entered Bakura's head, his hikari fell onto his knees, covering his face within his palms.
Another wave of the eerie sensation crawled up Bakura's backbone. With one last glance down to his light, the grave raider stepped over to the kitchen.
If it had not been for the fact that Bakura had, in the past, killed so many ruthlessly, he probably would have had the same reaction to the scene presented to him as his fiancé.
The first thing he noticed was not the sticky blood blanketing the floor and table. It was not the clothes strewn everywhere. It was not the phone dangling desperately from its stretched cord. Nor was it the pink hand towel thrown carelessly on the counter. Nor was it a boy's bare, tan back crunched over, cradling a body; a body which Bakura could only see the rigid legs and flowing hair
It was the bloodied knife next to the chair. A knife he immediately recognized as his own…
After he saw the stolen piece of silverware, the rest of the pieces to the tiled room were laid inside his mind, clinking together effortlessly.
"No…" The white haired dark whispered. He did not need to see the rest of the body to know what had happened. It was quite obvious by the amount of blood spilled.
Still unbearably breathless, Bakura stepped forward, ever so slowly. Step. Step. Step. He heard as the bottom of his shoes lifted from the tiled floor. He caught ever sound of his clothing rubbing against its self, as there were no other sounds to overpower it.
"Yami." The tomb robber called as he crossed the room. But the other male did not turn, or even acknowledge that Bakura was there.
"Yami."
"Yami.'
"Yami."
The closer he got to his friends, the more unreeled he became. An indescribable emotion of horror and shock had snapped into his mind-set as he advanced upon the non-reacting Yami. Why didn't the Pharaoh turn? Ignoring the soon-to-be conversation was hopeless, so why postpone it? His heart pulsing irritancy, Bakura grit his teeth and said the name of his friend one last time as he stopped behind him.
"Yami."
He waited for it. A movement. A sound. Neither came to him.
Bakura fell down to one knee. He took one look at the form in his fellow yami's arms. His Adam's apple caught in his throat. In a swift snap of his head, the grey-eyed teen stared at the profile of the Pharaoh.
Bringing his hand to the other's shoulder, the grave raider asked, "Yami, what the fuck happened?"
The ancient tomb robber's hand never touched Yami. The Pharaoh twitched his shoulder blades back, letting Yugi slide gracefully out of his grasp and onto the floor. The tan man jumped onto the balls of his feet in an almost feline movement. In the same sweeping action, the Pharaoh wrapped his muscled forearms around his waist, an undeniable cum present on the very top of the boxer's waistband. Soundlessly, he walked over to the sink with his head down and his blonde bangs shielding his eyes.
Not daring to look down at the dead figure of the hikari, Bakura went after Yami. Just as he was about to ask the crimson-eyed boy the previous question, he heard the Pharaoh mumble hastily, "Had sex… Tried suicide… Stopped me… Too late…" The words were only phantoms as they entered the tomb robber's ears.
Attempting to copy the other's usual, collected disposition, Bakura bit his lip. It really wasn't working, but nevertheless, he stood behind the shorter dark. "Look at me, Pharaoh, and repeat yourself."
The teen didn't turn.
Anger and grief bubbling deep within his soul, the tomb robber gripped Yami's naked shoulder and spun him around. It wasn't until then did the white-haired male see the dried blood caked on several clumps of the black and crimson hair.
"Answer me, damn you!"
This time, when the Pharaoh gave his pitiful recount of the night's events in eight, very whispered words, Bakura heard. Though it didn't make the most of sense, the tomb robber still was able to piece together most of it. Another stream of frustration and grief shot through the taller boy.
"What do you mean 'too late'! What, you tried to stop him but you were too late? Fuck it Pharaoh, what do you mean!" Bakura yelled, shaking the shorter boy a bit by the shoulders. He hadn't felt like this in a very, very long time. Ryou's love had eliminated this inner demon of violence. But at the current moment, the tomb robber felt useless, and knew that he was. Nothing would help the Pharaoh or Yugi now.
The Pharaoh' s head bobbed detachedly as Bakura shook his frame. The little sections of Yami's eyes that the tomb robber could see were hazed. The smaller dark's voice was strangely higher pitched, noticeable even if it was jumbled in its own mumbling. "Suicide… I… failed…"
Growling, Bakura gripped onto Yami's left shoulder, taking a fistful of the ebony strands with red tips in between the thin digits of his own left hand. The grey-eyed male forced the Pharaoh to make eyes with him. Staring into those expanded, empty irises caused the grave raider's orbs glaze with tears. The fact that he could feel himself crumbling, after so many years of holding strong, scared him. He couldn't lose it. Not now.
"You fucking failed. Failed…" His voice was cracking as he talked, but he still continued, blinking desperately to rid himself of his own tears. "You allowed your beloved charge to die under your fingers. What kind of protector are you, you cowardly bitch? You said you would do anything for your hikari. During that first month of Yugi's coma, you would isolate all your emotions from us and then, when you were alone at the deepest times of night, moan for his return. I saw you for it all. And yet, and yet you let something like this happen! Why couldn't you protect him?"
Rage-filled tears tumbled nimbly down the tomb robber's cheek. He let them fall, but his expression read as if he hadn't. He slammed Yami against the counter, moving his body away from the Pharaoh's while releasing the shoulder. Bakura, overcome with his own weeping, was forced to whisper the next part.
"Fucking hypocrite. Always telling me to protect your light. And yes, I am grateful for that, or I might have killed Ryou, my only reason to live, with my abuse. But here you are, alone, because you could not follow your own advice.
"I pity you, Pharaoh. For this simple reason: You are absolutely nothing without your light, your innocence. He is what made you whole. You were locked away in the Puzzle, alone and wallowing in the darkness within your own heart. But he changed that, now didn't he? Make you feel like you would never be happy without one more smile. Never be thrilled without hearing the soft melody that is your light's voice. Never feel lust without seeing the gentle, subtle curves on any hikari's body. Never love without a sideward glance at the depths of your better half's eyes.
"Funny. We are supposed to be the ones helping them. But it seems they do so much more for us.
"You should have protected him, dear Pharaoh. He is whole without you, but without him, you don't even exist."
They stood like that, the crying Bakura's fingers wound tightly around the other dark's tresses and the said dark awkwardly pushed against the counter ledge with his eyes staring, for several moments. And just as soon as the tomb robber was about to continue, saying Ra knows what, he heard the very last thing he would had expected.
Laughter.
Not chuckling, or giggling, or even normal laughter. It was loud and woeful. The pitch was also off, but it only added the many chills running down the fair yami's entire body.
The other dark threw his head back, several of the strands within the grave raider's palm ripped. The taller dark grew frustrated quickly with this response. In a fit of lost temper, Bakura slapped Yami with the back of his hand. The tan Pharaoh stopped with his outburst, amusement clinging in his now shining, crimson eyes.
The captive teen brought his hands to his hair and delicately unlatched the tomb robber's fingers. He let all three hands, his two hands and Bakura's, fall to their respected owner's sides. He sighed, concealing his now shining, lively eyes behind his thick lashes.
"And that is exactly what he did. He protected me."
The air was thick with the smell of blood and grief. There were no words to truly capture the horridness of the scene, or the emotions that struck through Bakura. He stepped back, away from the other male, visually paling.
"He fulfilled his duty of protecting his charge at all costs."
Bakura stepped further away from the other male, who was now casually leaning against the table. The crimson eyes, now open, were locked forward, refusing to look toward the floor encircling the table. The tomb robber hit into the counters on the other side of the kitchen. "No…" He whispered, the word barely escaping his lips.
"Yes."
A pair of grey eyes flashed to the body on the tiled ground. Rubbing the entire side of his face, the grave raider's tears momentarily stopped, gathering to form a veil over his sight. His body soon reached the place where his vision was focused on. Clumsily getting down on his knees, Bakura put one hand under the neck of the slightly limp body. Moving his other hand across the naked chest of his friend, he pulled him—it—him close. The white haired male tilted his head slightly into the unmoving boy's hair.
There was a sigh. "When we switched, I received all his memories and all the phantoms of his thoughts." A voice said behind Bakura. The older teen refused to look at the owner of this voice. He would have expected this, a total change of subject and avoid the tragic truths. "I have been looking at them since. They are quite interesting. The memories themselves, and the way his mind arranged them.
"He has his mind split into three, distinct parts. One section that he kept anything good. It has when I finished the Puzzle, when we first kissed and just hanging out on the puny square of grass. The second section is where he put things that he blames on himself. It is quite big, actually." There was a short pause, where the tan boy licked his lips. "Most of those memories are of me. Every time I cried, every time I was sad, when I was rapped… he thought it was his own fault. Because he couldn't protect me…"
Footfalls started up as the crimson-eyed boy walked toward the tomb robber. He knelt down less than half a foot from Bakura's back, The boy slid his arms around the grave raider's waist, curving himself forward so his forehead was pushed into the crook of the neck in front of him. No tears from either one, just breathing. In and out. Constant.
The dark closed his eyes tightly. He clearly felt the coldness from the light teen in his hands. It was expected. The warmth radiating from the body behind him was to be expected as well. However what struck him as odd was how… frosty the crimson-eyed male's breath was against his neck. It laid a thin blanket of ice on his flesh, causing his nerves to prickle. It was absolutely vacant of emotion. There was no anger, or happiness, or love, or even sadness to give the exhalations of life. It was—empty. Just—empty
The shorter teen slightly nuzzled the grey-eyed yami before continuing to breath onto the neck presented to him.
More footfalls were heard. Ryou didn't make a sound as he, from Bakura's guess, stopped at the doorway of the kitchen. By the lack of acknowledgment from the teen embracing his back, the grave raider also presumed that the said teen didn't notice.
Sighing once, Bakura trusted his voice to speak. He lightly twirled a lock of black and red hair with the tip of his middle and index fingers.
"And-" His voice was husky, his past crying clearly obvious. "-What was the last section for?"
A half laugh came into Bakura's neck. "That is where he kept memories like, as you probably already know, knowing you, when Joey told him he was attacked by his father, or when Anzu kissed him." There was another short, pregnant pause. "This is where he put things that he blamed on the… world."
The tomb robber froze momentarily as he heard the last word. "The—the world?"
"Yup. He couldn't find a reason that he could place the fault on, for example, Joey's father. It is not that man's fault that he felt so lonely after his wife, the only clutch of his sanity, left him with his favorite child, the little girl. Or at least, in Ya… his eyes." With that, the tan teen brought his face even deeper into the top of the dark's spine.
Stroking the fragile teen in his arms' neck to the roots of his hair, the grey-eyed male waited a few more minutes before talking to allow the other boy to relax.
'Yugi?"
There was a split second of tenseness from the said boy. He embraced Bakura harder. "I am no longer Yugi. Just as the dark is nothing without the light, the sun nothing without the shadow, I am Nothing, Nobody, without Ya… my Guardian."
"So what do we call you?"
"Do not call on me. As you could not call onto a wall, do not call on me… Well, what do you want to ask me?"
"Where did he put his… his last moments?"
"Hmm… I don't really know for the simple reason that neither did he. In the minute or so he had after he switched, he couldn't pick one section. It's actually floating between them."
"Them… meaning the last two?"
"No. All three."
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A/N: wow. I thought I would never finish this. And yes, I know that it has been a month or so, but school has been killing me. I tried to write as often I could, but even then I could only write a paragraph at a time. Sorry. Anyway, I just want to explain why this chapter's style seemed a bit weird. I wanted to keep it simple, raw and simple. Over explaining things tend to be a problem of mine and, well, I didn't want that to happen. And yes, I do know that Seto and Joey's birthdays are off, but I needed their birthdays to align with my story plot (the little that I have). sigh. I realized how much dialogue is in my story. sorry. (weeps in corner).
Editor's note: Sorry for the slow update of this sad and depressing chapter, but I was going through my documents and opened this chapter every day for a week thinking it was the one before it. I guess thats what I get for knowing whats going to happen in the remainder of this story. my apologies. ifthedeadwerealive
REMINDER: changing the title to this story for the next chapter. look for 'its a wonderful world'. I have already started to write it. it is so funky and great. I'm loving it (didn't mean to steal McDonald's motto).