Make Yourself
Chapter 04: On the Front Page
By: Shounen Squared

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, any of its characters, or any of the songs throughout this little FANfic.

Subject: Bakura Ryou

Last Saturday, Bakura Ryou (lead singer of hit rock band "The Sleep") shocked a mob of fans when he was seen lip-locking with a teen that was likely several years younger than him. What was really the big surprise is that this teen is a male!

After being spotted and pointed out by an entusiastic waitress at a local diner in Domino, Japan, Bakura was chased from the building along with the man who had been joining him for lunch. They turned into an alley and shouted at the fans to leave at once. That struck everyone as bizzare, for it's always been shown and said that Bakura loves his fans. After calming down a bit, he explained that he wanted to be alone with "his Yo-chan."

As the photograph to the left displays, he shamelessly kissed what could be his boyfriend in front of the huge flock of female admirers. It wasn't long before journalists were swarming them for answers. However, Bakura ignored the unwanted attention and refused to answer questions.

Marik Ishtar (Bakura's best friend and bass guitarist for "The Sleep") hastily stepped in past the huge commotion and eventually shooed away the swarm. Before that, though, this reporter quickly noticed something. When Marik had reached the front, his expression had shown about as much shock as the fans. Then again, for every pair of best friends, there's always one secret.

Many inferences have already been made. One of them is an accusation that Bakura's been so terrible with the ladies lately that he's resorted to homosexuality. Of course, we're sure that isn't true, Bakura!

- Written by reporter Aiza Takashi

Next to the article and underneath the photograph, there was a small, bold-print caption that read:

"Bakura Ryou and 'Yo-chan' share a passionate kiss in front of baffled fanatics."

Mr. Bakura furiously threw the magazine down on the table as soon as he finished reading it. On the next page to the right, it showed some people's opinions--most of them fans of Bakura's band. But Ryou's father could not bear to read anymore material out loud to his wife.

The two looked at each other. A long silence was about them, until Mrs. Bakura finally said something. "How could we have forgotten about Bakura's insane musician career? It was as obvious as his alchoholism, or his homosexuality, or--"

"It doesn't matter," cut off Mr. Bakura, who paused briefly to sip some coffee out of his mug. "Even if we had remembered, them meeting again was something almost completely out of our control. He's a star. He's famous absolutely everywhere. He is everywhere."

"But I still thought the kid was smart enough to heed our words to stay away from our son." persisted Ryou's mother.

"Well, the good thing is that because Bakura is a star, he's never safe from the spotlight. The most elaborate disguises couldn't help him last Saturday. If this 'relationship' with Bakura continues, we'll sure as hell know about it. . ."

His voice trailed off as he heard the distant front door open and close. "I'm home!" cried Ryou happily, setting his school bookbags down in the hardwood floor of the foyer. The two parents looked at each other, nodded softly, and called their son.

"Ryou! Could you come here, please?"

"You can handle this. I don't want to talk about it anymore." Mrs. Bakura walked into their bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Ryou quirked an eyebrow at his father, confused about what they were whispered about, or why his mother left. "Tou? What's going on?" he asked in a very worried, nervous tone.

Mr. Bakura looked at his son. He noticed that Ryou really didn't seem to understand what was going on. "Son, are there any relationships that maybe you forgot to mention to your mom or me?"

The boy didn't respond for a while, for he was lost in thought. What on earth were they talking about? Slowly, he answered, "No."

The father sighed. "Tell me, son. Are you. . ." He wasn't sure if this was the right way to approach this. "Are you gay?"

Ryou drew his breath in. Had the articles about Bakura and him "going out" reached the public already? Oh no... Bakura's going to be so mad at me. He shuddered at having his idol hating him.

"Ryou, we know about your relationship with Bakura Ryou. Homosexuality is an outrage. There's no excuse for it. It's corrupting your mind and your schoolwork. We don't think you should see him anymore."

The teen narrowed his eyes, clearly irritated. This was one of those few times he'd actually sass his parents. "An outrage? How insensitive can you be? I'm only your son." Ryou was too pissed off to even bother showing Mr. Bakura his perfect passing grades.

"Let me rephrase, Ryou. We don't want you to see him anymore."

He groaned and plopped backwards onto the brown leather sofa. After a half-second, he sighed, reminding himself to keep his cool. "Gah! We're not even dating, Tou. Seriously. We're not. Some fangirls were chasing him, so we kissed to make it look like he was gay so they'd quit stalking him all the time. The press bought it, but we'd forgotten about the media."

Mr. Bakura glared at his son icily. "You're a liar. That kid's hanging out with the wrong crowd, and he's fooling you and taking advantage of you. You're not seeing him anymore."

"'Kura would never take advantage of me!"

"You hardly know the guy."

"I know him better than you."

"I swear to god, Ryou, he's using you. And he's going to ruin your entire life and reputation if you don't get out now."

Ryou stood back up and had to clench his fists to avoid using them on his dad. "How do you know? The only reputation you're worrying about is your own! And mom's. You couldn't care less about my happiness. If you did, you'd let me do what I want to do. You don't love me, you love yourselves!"

That struck a nerve in Mr. Bakura. He reached forward with both hands and roughly shoved his son to the floor. Ryou's head slammed backwards against the hard floorboards, and he sat back up, holding his head tightly. He whimpered and curled into practically a fetal position.

"Shut up. I'm your father, and in this house, what I say goes."

Tears were in the teen's eyes from the throbbing pain in the back of his head. What kind of parents do I have? Were they like this before the car wreck?

His father sharply kicked him in the ribs quite a few times. "Is that clear?"

Ryou was crying out from pain and begging for mercy as he flinched. "Aauugh! Awh! Stop! Stop it!" But the more he begged, the rougher his so-called "father" got with him. Harder, harder, and harder. Gradually more agony with each strike.

Once he snatched his head up by the thick white hair and slammed it back against the floor again. So hard that small threads of blood were running from the poor boy's scalp. The wind was so knocked out of him by now that he couldn't scream for help or even breathe steadily. Ryou would continue to hold his head, trying to cushion the horrible throbbing tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump sound that was pounding in his ears.

With his free hand, he would make a weak attempt at grabbing the man's ankles, trying whatever he possibly could to stop his father. However, whenever he was able to grip Mr. Bakura's legs, he'd just shake the hand off and stomp on the fingers until he lost the feeling in them. Red fluid leaked through his once pure white hair. Hot blood was tickling and trickling down Ryou's face, mixing in with his large, heavy streams of tears.

I can't believe this is happening. he kept telling himself through sobs. It's not. This isn't happening. This is a nightmare. An illusion. A really bad, sick joke. This isn't real, Ryou; this is all a lie. It's not true. Don't believe it, Ryou, not for a second. They're tricking you. A variety of mantras went through Ryou's mind, but deep down, he knew they wouldn't save him from anything. And they wouldn't give any comfort or escape at all. He trembled. He felt so small, insignificant. Powerless, helpless. Help me, Bakura, please. Help me. . .

How do I know him? Thinking of him eases my pain. I know I know him from somewhere before that day in the park. I just know it. Just his name warms my fears and scares them away. But 'Kura can't help me now. He feebly would start to crawl away from Mr. Bakura, but then the man would just yank his hair and pull him back into place. Ryou had once learned a tactic for saving himself when someone was pulling his hair, but his head was too banged up to remember or even think of anything much else other than pain. The pain, and Bakura.

Tou and Kaa have always been like this, he admitted at last. He opened his mouth widely to try and take in as much air as possible, but his father simply wouldn't cut him a break. Tou has always hit me, hurt me, abused me, yet I have this sense of rememberence that before the wreck, I always had someone to comfort me and help get me through it. He protected me when I needed it most, and even when I didn't need it. That, I finally know. I finally know why he's so familiar to me. It doesn't matter what our relationship was: family, friend, or more. He saved me from my parents when I was in danger. That is how I know 'Kura. I remember, I finally remember.

'Kura-sama, I love you...

---

Simply put, Ryou felt like complete, utter hell the next morning. He couldn't even remember anything before getting knocked to the floor by his father. Even the thoughts from the previous night.

He wasn't sure how he would explain all these cuts, scrapes and bruises. He knew that while he could get the dried blood off of his skin, he couldn't eliminate the huge black eyes and marks all down his body. Clothes would only cover up so much, and Ryou couldn't even think of a spot on himself that wasn't damaged.

Sure, he'd tried everything to hide his skin from others. He'd resorted to using his mother's fleshtone concealer, but it was too thick. He ran into people and got touched all the time. The concealer would eventually rub off, and even if it didn't, he'd still have to hold back his cries of pain whenever someone even lightly poked him.

But all of that seemed so miniscule at the moment. His parents ordered him to stop hanging out with Bakura.

But how can I? He's a rock star. He's everywhere. How can I not be with him or see him again, especially now that I've warmed up to him? he reflected in distress, his walking pace quickening.

When he finally looked up, he slowed to a stop and stared at the serene, usually rowdy stadium. Dismayed, he sighed and strode stoftly to the secret back entrance. Fearlessly, he opened the door and saw Bakura sitting on his bed, staring at him. "Ryou," he began, but he didn't know what to say.

"They called you, didn't they?" asked his fan, angered at the thought of his parents contacting 'Kura. The star, however, said nothing, so Ryou continued. "Damn them. I don't want to be separated from you just because everyone thinks we're in a homosexual relationship. Even if we were, what's wrong with that? Why is that so bad?" He began to speak in frustrated huffs. Ryou was deeply and truly hurt by his parents' reaction when they thought their son was gay.

If you really love someone, why should it matter? Why should it make a difference if he's a guy or girl? Or if I'm a guy or girl? Why can't they love me anyway? the thoughts ached him to the bone.

Bakura did not answer him. Just gazed at him. He explained to himself that he didn't want to speak. He wanted to hear Ryou get his feelings out first. It would help them both calm down if he got rid of some of their anger.

"Do you think gender matters, 'Kura?" Another thick lull. "Are you really going to let something so trivial and stupid separate us? Do you really not care if you can't hang out with me anymore!"

Finally, Bakura felt the need to speak. "Of course, you are right," he said. "It's ridiculous. It's unfair and cruel. You're a cool, awesome guy, and I have fun with you and everything. But this isn't really about what I want or believe."

"Of course it is!" snapped Ryou. "This has everything to do with you."

"But I am choosing," the vocalist retorted with a slightly raised voice, "to leave myself out of this. For your sake. I see the black eyes, the bruises, scrapes, cuts. Don't think I don't see them. Your parents are very religious and intolerant of diversity. It is their beliefs, and mere words can't change them. The only way for them to come to their senses is to come across this discovery by themselves. But, you don't need to suffer and be hurt because of me any longer. You'll die someday if your parents continue to beat you. Call the police. Tell a neighbor or friend. Talk to someone, as long as you don't just let this shit slide. I'm tired of being the cause of your hurt. So, for right now, I am choosing to say good-bye."

Ryou stared at his idol in disbelief for a few moments before lowering his head in despair. "I see. I never thought of you as the type to give up." He muttered angrily. Just as the night before when he was arguing with his dad, he clenched his fist and shook with distemper. "Fine then, you can live the rest of your life that way. By running away every time a challenge comes your way. Later, 'Kura-sama. Or not." Having not have even walked into the room, he reached for the door and slammed it shut, running away with teary eyes.

A small vehicle waited for him at the curb of the lonely pick-up drive. Behind the wheel were Ryou's parents, who rolled down the window when they saw their son approaching. "So, did you call it quits with Bakura?" hounded Mrs. Bakura almost instantaneously.

"No," answered the teen. "He called it quits with me."

---

His love's words echoed through his head unmercifully.

". . .I never thought of you as the type to give up. . ."

". . .running away every time a challenge comes your way. . ."

"Later, 'Kura-sama. Or not."

You really have no idea, Ryou. I'm not giving up. I'm not running away from challenges. And this isn't the last time I'll see you. he sighed, taking out a cigarette, popped it into his mouth, and lit it. The occasional smoke helped him clear stress without causing an addiction. I'm not afraid of your parents or anyone else who disapproves. I don't give a fuck what they think, and neither do you. Neither of us take shit from anyone. You see? We were made for each other, whether you realize it or not. Bakura exhaled light gray smoke. But even when I know this, the last thing I'd ever want is to hurt or upset you.

Rewinding his memory to not too long ago, he began to imagine the whole phone conversation over again. Ryou was right. His parents had called him. They said the nastiest, most horrible things to him. After all he'd been through as a child, he hated for Ryou to go through equally painful experiences. Ryou's parents were dangerous and downright sadists. He and Bakura both knew it, and if Ryou didn't tell the police on them soon, someone would. He couldn't bear the image that came to mind when he pictured Ryou being abused by those dispicable people.

At the moment, he was just at a loss of control. He'd still regain it soon. He always did, after all.

The same tall figure that had shoved past the crowd on Saturday shoved past the front door of the bedroom. He ran a tan hand through his spiky hair and frowned at the sight of his best friend, who was sitting on his bed in tears. Dammit, Bakura. This kid really means a lot to you, mused Marik, who sat down next to said singer in hopes of comforting him. The only problem was that he wasn't the greatest at making people feeling better. He never knew what to say.

He embraced him with one arm and lightly brought his head to rest sideways on his shoulder. "I heard all of it." he said with little emotion. "I'm really sorry, man. I don't really know what to tell you, except that you shouldn't worry. You're a really smart dude, y'know? No adult could ever outwit you, especially not those braindead phobes."

"Thanks, Marik." he replied just as plainly to his bass player, his small tears now diminishing. "But if Ryou hates me now, that kind of interferes with my plan of getting back together with him."

If you haven't noticed, I edited the chapter. It looks much neater now. So if you haven't noticed, then NOTICE, biatch, and appreciate my hard work :) haha, review, please.