Letters and Candles

Chapter 3

Encounter
Disclaimer- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh for if I did my friends might attack me...

Bakura's Point of View

"Snow, snow, and more snow! Why can't this shit just disappear already?" I shouted to the sky. It instantly caught the attention of a few passer-biers below. I stalked back into my apartment from the balcony.

My apartment was large and homey- if you wished you lived in a cave. Black, silk curtains defiantly covered gray-flecked walls. The bed was king-sized and covered in luxurious, silk sheets and black pillows were hidden under blood, red shams. One sham slumped oddly to one side; no black pillow lay beneath.

A maple, two-drawer nightstand sat beside it. It had been stained a deep, cherry-red color many times over it appeared; for now it almost matched the shams. On it a black lamp with gold trim and a picture frame. The frame contained a picture of two, white-haired teens and two blonde, spiky-haired teens. (Three guesses who they are and the first two don't count!)

The only other piece of furniture in the room was a large stereo with ten speakers; mounted randomly throughout the room. Alongside it five, 50-slot, CD racks that held about half of my collection the rest lay piled in a corner.

I watched the delicate little snowflakes cling to my window. They looked so tender, so delicate. It truly disgusted me. The stupid stuff had been coming down harder and harder all day! Naturally, I had to go out in the shit. I pulled on my favorite trench coat and walked out the door. I unwillingly trudged past the bike Marik and Malik had loaned me; I didn't dare face their fury if I wrecked it on the ice.

Ten minutes passed before I entered a true part of the town. I had rented a cheap apartment in the far outskirts of the city. The first thing you hear after getting through the alleyways, everyday is the happy ringing of bells. I despise that sound. I walked past a man dressed in a red Santa suit. He was ringing one of those damn, bells and yelling about giving to the needy.

"Sir, would you like to make a donation to the Domino Homeless Shelter?" He said that in a way to cheerful tone to actually be human. The next thing he did sealed his fate. He got up in my face with that bell and rang it. I growled at him and he backed away.

"What do the homeless do for me? Besides annoy the hell out of me with carolers, happy Christmas lights, bastards like you and bells each year!" I spat back. He looked taken aback and I continued on my way; unfortunately for him he was in it.

Ten minutes and a ruined Santa suit later…

I headed down the road passing by couples, with and without children, singles, teens, and elderly without a second glance although I know they were staring as I passed. I was used to it and really I didn't blame them. I was wearing a black trench coat with 'Demon' in printed clearly on the back. I wore black pants complete with chains and studs and a black silk muscle shirt. Around my neck was my copy of the Millenium Ring. I don't dress for the weather, I know.

I continued down the ice-coated sidewalk, ignoring the heads that turned my way. I was lost in my own memories, one of Ryou and I last Christmas.

I was headed out the door to go meet Malik and Marik at our favorite place in town, a club known as The Void. Ryou had never even been there before; he had spent most of his time at some coffee shop on 163rd street.

"Bakura-Sama!" He grabbed onto one of my trench coats sleeves. I turned and sneered. Ryou pulled his hand away muttering apologies. "It..it's way to cold out there. You'll get sick… If you go out… like that," He stumbled with the right words. He looked up pleading with his eyes that he had not offended me in any way.

I threw him up against the wall and held him there. I put my arms on either side of him blocking any escape route. "Something wrong with the way I dress, Ryou?" I felt him shiver and all at once the tears came pouring.

"N..n…no, Yami," he muttered through choked sobs.

I removed my arms and headed out the door. Ryou moved over to see me out the door. In one swift movement I turned and sent him to the ground. A red imprint of my hand was welting up on his left cheek. I smirked watching his tears fall to the carpet, "Never, try to tell me what to do, Hakari. I am the one who controls you." Ryou sobbed harder than before; each one shook his thin, frame. I had left then, strolling out of the building whistling.

I had beaten him for it, I had beat him for caring about me. I had gotten my own version of a punishment, a cold. Now being locked away for 3000 years in a ring with no diseases; your immune system is pretty easily overpowered.

A little girl, no more than five, screamed as she and her mother passed. Snapping me back into reality.

I stopped in front of the diner; staring at the boisterous neon sign carrying its name, Emerald Gardens. It had been a diner Ryou and I had eaten at many times before. It was cheap- all you could eat for $10.98. It wasn't a bad place; it just had a shitty name.

An elderly woman was sitting, at one of the green-rustic, iron tables placed in front of the diner. An empty plate sat in front of her and a man was sitting on her right. She was overweight and the out-of-date mink coat wasn't helping. The man was also about to pop out of his gray suit. He had a matching gray fedora leaning to one side of his head and was wearing a, very out-of-style, green and orange, polka-dotted tie.

The woman was whispering, loudly, to the man about how I must have escaped somewhere considering my outfit.

I sneered. 'You're right hag, I escaped from the apartment where barricaded myself in for a month.' I laughed in spite of myself, turning to face the old woman. "Yeah, you're really one to talk. Where'd you escape from a petting zoo?" She gasped and the man beside her stood.

"That's my wife, punk!"

I gave a smirk then frowned. "I feel sorry for ya. I donno what would consider marrying that!"

His eyes grew wide. "I'm warning you, kid. I've had enough crap from you, foul-mouthed hooligans." The man shook his head and smirked; he seemed to feel he was in control of the situation.

I laughed; the fool didn't know whom he was talking to. "What are you going to do? Huh, Old Timer? Call the cops on me?" I felt the sarcasm cling and drip from the words.

The gray-haired man grinned; he felt power it seemed. "As a matter of-fact I'm friends with the head sergeant at the station…"

The woman interrupted, "Henry, lets just go…" He pulled some change and went to a pay phone. He held up the quarters for me to see; then dropped them into the phone. I pretended to care.

"Oh, please don't call the cops on me, Sir," He looked up at me waiting to see what my next move would be. "I'm sorry I was just having a bit of fun. I'll never do it again! Promise!" I strained to maintain an innocent yet sorry tone and even worse, innocent face.

He took his fingers off the buttons and held them over the receiver, "Are you truly sorry?" Something in my head reminded me of an anime Ryou and I had watched. Anytime someone said something stupid the characters fell over; legs in the air, twitching. This was one of those moments.

"Honest, Sir! Never again. Cross my heart and hope to die." He pressed the receiver down and hung up. The anime characters in my head were falling over, like something was killing them off. I decided to test my luck, "Besides it would be a waste of your time, sir." I laced the word with malice. "The cops gave up looking for me after the first few dozen complaints on hags I've complemented."

The thing was I wasn't lying. This was normal for me; in fact you could go to the cops, give them my description and they'll give you my name. Then to top it off every-time someone reported me they'd say to go to this small desk in the back of the room; and ask Cami, their secretary, that you would like to file a complaint. She'll say she'd add it to my record. Guess what? She has dedicated an entire 3-drawer filing cabinet to me.

He picked up the phone and dialed away. I watched a smirk playing on my face. I listened as he began talking, a low, bored I-really-don't-give-a-damn voice came through the phone. I knew that he was talking to Cami. I snatched away the phone and pressed it to my ear. "Hey, Cami."

"Hey, Bakura!" Her tone quickly changed. I had met Cami at a bar before she became the secretary for the station.

I watched as the man sank to his knees and the woman fainted as I continued a complete conversation with Cami.

After two minutes the payphone asked for another deposit. 'Typical.' The woman was just waking up; I grinned walking over to her. "Hold on, Cami."

She looked at me like I might have just killed someone. I grabbed the half-awake woman's ugly, yellow, purse, snatched her wallet and walked back over to the phone. I put in the correct amount of change and handed the phone to the shaking man on the ground.

"Ask Cami to file a new complaint against Bakura," I said. I flashed his wife's wallet in his face before stuffing it into my pocket and sprinting down the street. The man sat there flabbergasted and the woman screeched in a horrid note, "I've been robbed!"

5:48 p.m.

I ran six blocks knocking over a little girl and running through a couple who were holding hands before slowing down. I laughed pulling out the wallet to see how much I had snagged while catching my breath. The cool air felt like spears to my lungs.

"Two-sixty-seven and some change, "I said stuffing the cash into my own wallet. I didn't care about the credit cards; I didn't understand how the things worked anyway.

I tossed the now nearly empty wallet into a garbage can I passed. The snow was beginning to really pile up; my feet were sinking down up to my ankles in the shit. I looked up to a small brick apartment complex-Ryou's building. Sighing I thought of yesterday. It had felt so good to be back in that room. I had left that picture on his desk; hoping and praying he knew what I had meant. I had noticed on thing in particular, my pillow was on his bed. I continued my search of the room; his pillow was stuffed away in the already stuffed closet. It triggered something in my mind

"Has he seen it yet?" I thought aloud. 'He must have, Ryou can't miss seeing something like that in his room.' I changed my view up to the sky watching the gray clouds release the frozen droplets. The clouds floated overhead each one darker than the last. 'We're about to get one hell of a storm.'

I turned and ran again, neon Christmas lights flashing past in assorted colors. I was headed to Malik and Marik's place. At least I could stay there till the storm blew over. My apartment was useless in heavy storms. The windows flew open even in the lightest of breezes. I was halfway there when I ran around a corner and straight into someone. I was hurled back a good eight feet. Expecting it to be some bratty kid I ignored the person that I had just sent flying.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

I paused from dusting snow from my trench coat and held my breath. I knew that voice. It was soft and gentle; the voice of pure innocence. I felt my heart pick up a few missed beats.

"Are you alright?" 'It can't be him, it just can't be.' I closed my eyes and turned around. The other, my other fell to the ground. 'It is him.' I felt light-headed as my brain registered the information.

"B...Bakura..." his voice echoed pure disbelief. He fumbled for the right words now. Looking for something to define what he wanted to say.

End Bakura's Point of View

The light stood and moved forward holding Bakura in a tender hug. Bakura made no move to stop him. He wrapped his arms around the light's waist, holding him there. Ryou, shaking and sobbing could think of nothing that could define what he was feeling; so he settled for the closest thing.

"I missed you so much," he whimpered into Bakura's damp, trench coat.

Bakura flinched then sighed, tightening his grasp on the shaking boy. "I missed you to, Ryou."

Ryou felt a rush of emotions as he heard his name. His name spoken from his Yami's lips. It was the tenderest thing Bakura could have done for him. He coughed through his form-racking sobs.

Bakura lifted his head as Ryou coughed. It was a startling sound, it was a dry cough coming from deep in the boys chest. Bakura pulled back and looked down at his Hakari's flushed face. His hair clung to his forehead, damp with sweat. Bakura pushed the locks back from Ryou's face; Ryou was scorching.

Bakura pulled his hand away, placing it on Ryou's shoulder. "You have one hell of a fever. What are you doing out here!" Bakura's voice startled Ryou. It wasn't that it was harsh, it was that he sounded truly worried. Ryou blushed crimson through his pale face.

"I had to go to work.." he started.

"Like hell you did!"

Bakura pulled his hands from Ryou's shoulders determined to make a point. Ryou swayed dangerously to one side before stumbling to catch himself. "See you can't even stand still!" Ryou blushed harder looking down to the icy ground.

Bakura sighed. 'Oh well there's one way to get him home. Without risking him getting hit by a car or fainting and freezing.' Bakura swooped down like a hawk on a mouse. Scooping up Ryou bridal style. Ryou yelped as he wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck. Bakura smirked at his foolish light.

"Like I'd really drop you," He said then he staggered forward and acted as though he would. Ryou closed his eyes, holding his breath. When the impact never came he looked up. Bakura was actually smiling. Then he started running.

Ryou gaped like a fish, "Where are we going?"

Bakura whispered, "Home."