Ryou sighed softly, curling up on the pale blue satin sheets of his bed, the double sided sea foam green and pale blue comforter draped over him, concealing his thin, and scarred body. Those self-made scars that covered his body made him feel sick, and ashamed.
Laying on his wrist, was his newest one, deep, but not to deep, not enough to kill him. The blood was seeping out of it, dripping onto the soft, cream colored carpet. There where many blood stains on these sheets, and on the carpets. So many painful memories that where crashing back down before his eyes in one quick rush. One after another.
A voice brought him out of his musing, a cold, dark voice, one that he knew all-too well. "Hikari!" It rang from downstairs. "Yes?" His soft, innocent voice replied back.
"The morons are here." His Yami called up to him, he could hear Joey's voice, claiming that he wasn't a moron. Slowly slipping from the cold bed, he went to get dressed and fix up his wrist. Despite how cold that bed was, it was colder when he wasn't under it. "Coming, Yami!" The albino called down as he walked into his private bathroom.
Slowly, he made his way across the cold, white tile and over to the mirror. Brown eyes dulled, and clouded with pain, he reached over and turned on the water. He didn't want his wound infected, now did he? He washed the dried, and fresh blood off of his wrist, the water stinging his wound. Before long, it was clean, and he put Neosporin on it, before wrapping it. Cleaning up in there, he walked out of the bathroom and to his closet to get dressed.
He had pulled out a white, long sleeved, button down shirt, and a pair of light blue swimming shorts, and then over that, a pair of black jeans. Pulling on a pair of socks, he examined himself in the mirror. Good, nothing was noticeable, and he looked presentable… Except for his hair. Reaching over, he picked up a brush and started to run it through his hair.
By this point, he could hear his dark, arguing with the pharaoh, so he finished brushing his hair, before he excited his room.
Slowly, he made his way down the stairs and into the living room where his friends and his dark was. His dark and the pharaoh where arguing over the items again, it was predictable.
"Don't start that heart of the cards, bullshit with me, pharaoh!" His dark growled out. They all where on their way to go to the beach, Ryou was only going, because he wanted to spend some time with his friend, and his dark.
His dark was only going, because he claimed he was protecting Ryou, and to make sure nothing happens to him. Of course, that ended up in a fight with the pharaoh, what else was new?
"Come on." He said softly, almost inaudibly "Lets go." Joey and Yugi both cheered before they got up and all but dragged everyone else out.
It had been a quiet, hour and a half car drive to the beach, for last-warm-day of the year swimming party, everyone was there, Including Seto Kaiba. Everyone got out of the two cars they had to take, and gathered the stuff before walking through the sand to find a good spot.
They had found the perfect spot, and everyone had stripped themselves down, except for Ryou and his dark, and ran towards the water, having forgotten about the two albino's.
Those two sat in silence for nearly an hour, when they seen the pharaoh come walking up towards them. "Ryou." The pharaoh spoke with a smile, ignoring the thief's glares he was receiving. "Come into the water."
The albino boy began to shake his head no. "No, no, It's okay.. I-I'm fine here.." He said, wrapping his arms loosely around himself. He then heard Yugi's voice, urging him to come into the water. He knew that they wouldn't leave him alone until he went, so he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, revealing the many scars he had on his upper half. He heard two twin gasps coming from Yugi and Yami.
"R-Ryou!" Yugi said, his eyes wide, both hands moving up to his mouth. Yami then turned his attention to the more sadistic of the two albinos.
"You did this to him, Didn't you!" The pharaoh asked, in an accusing tone as he reached down and grabbed the black shirt of the thief king and pulled him up so they where eye level. Ryou then spoke, getting up also.
"N-No, Ya-" Ryou was cut off by his darker half.
"And so what if I do? What are you going to do about it, Pharaoh?" The thief's eyes narrowed dangerously as the Pharaoh growled and then punched Bakura. That had caught Bakura off guard, so Bakura just looked at Ryou, before he turned and left.
It was hours later, when the light finally came home, to find Bakura sitting out on the porch, staring at the stars.
"Y-yami..?" His timid voice came. "What is it, hikari?" The thief responded.
"Why did you-… Why did you tell them you did it, when you didn't?"
"Because, Ryou.. They're your friends… I don't care what they think of me, but you care what they think of you.. They'd suspect that you would be lying because I threatened you or something anyways…" Ryou looked at him, half-shocked to hear these things coming from his dark. The thief looked over.
"Are you surprised, hikari? Surprised that I care about you? That I can care at all? Or that it hurts me that you're doing that to yourself, and that there is nothing I can do to stop it? Or that I actually have feelings? I love you, hikari, more than anything, and I am willing to do anything to protect you.." The thief leaned over and kissed him quickly on the lips before disappearing into his soul room.