DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh! and all of its characters are owned and copyrighted by Kazuki Takahashi; the only characters I own are my female-version self-insert named Michiru, and any minor characters

that are not part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Series. Barney the dinosaur and it's show are owned by whomever owns it and PBS network. A/n: ("insert words here.")= Bakura's thoughts (current time line)

Chapter 5: Memories...

"Akefia, bring me the supper now!" a tall Egyptian man wearing robes of the Ancient

Egyptian Middle class slave keepers shouted. A little boy of six or seven years came running.

He had light tan skin, big medium-violet eyes, and snowy-white hair; he also bore a T-shaped

scar on his right cheek. His robes were of a burgundy color; it somewhat resembled a

Yukata (informal Kimono used for summer or staying at home; etc). He ran as fast as his

little feet could carry him, holding a tray made of bronze. He knelt quickly at his master's feet

on his knees, the tray on the floor, presenting it to the slave keeper.

*Pant, pant* "H-here is the food you asked for m-master," the little boy spoke, out of

breath. His master looked down at him in a serious countenance; the little boy looked up, his

eyes meeting with his owner's. Suddenly, the other glared at him with a flurry of anger,

smoldering really. Akefia's little eyes held a look of both shock and fear shining within.

He neither cried nor trembled and his eyes didn't water. Yet, he stood there in the same

position as if paralyzed by fear, his eyes quivering as well. Suddenly, the slave keeper kicked

the tray away. *Crash!*

"That is not what I asked for slave!" he shouted. "B-but, you said to bring the cooked

fowl, the bread, and the water," responded Akefia.

"I said...I wanted... WINE!" The slave owner backhanded Akefia; the little boy's eyes

watered.

"I was going to let you out for a while, but you've been a bad boy." He picked up the boy

and then threw him into a cell.

"No supper for you either," said the owner, and he walked off.

"No supper," said the boy," "I don't think scraps is any different from starving." He looked

out his barred circular window at the starry sky.

Warm tears streamed thinly down his cheeks, his violet eyes gazing at the sky. He had

a look on his face that read "broken." Akefia sat on a small dune in the cell and thought;

memories of his mother started to fill his subconscious.

~Memory~

Their family had been a commoner's, but well in living status. However, his father had died in

a horrid war that rose when Akefia was but two lunar years; his mother mother died when he

was merely five lunar years of a horrible illness that had struck the village. Being alone, he

had nowhere to go and therefore by the Pharaoh's decree, "If a child was left without a parent

or guardian to watch over them, they were put to be a slave;" this brings us to where

Akefia was now. It had been two years since his mother's death; he could still remember her:

slim, beautiful, of a light tan-ish skin, autumn sky blue eyes, and raven black hair. He recalled

being at her deathbed by her side.

"Mommy, don't die mommy." "Please, is there a way I can make the sickness go away?"

She was pale, her eyes showed that she was ill and had not slept in a while. She smiled,

trying to see if that cheered up her son.

She held him close. "Do not cry Akefia, my son." "I promise I'll get better; I won't die."

*Sniff* "Will you be okay?" he asked.

"Of course I'll be fine *cough*; I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

He then hugged her tighter this time, as if she were to vanish if he didn't.

~Memory Ends~

Akefia shut his eyes and began to weep; he was alone, cold, hungry, and sobbing.-

*Gasp!* "Hunh?" Bakura looked around; he then sat up. He noticed he had been lying on

the the living room couch and his pillow was damp with sweat. "Did I fall asleep here?" "What

happened?" Suddenly, a memory of the boy, Akefia, popped into his head. His eyes widened

in shock. "Hmm..." His eyes narrowed. The boy's question, he could hear it clearly in his

mind.

"Mommy will you be okay?" "Mommy, don't die!..." Bakura shook his head, dispersing

the thoughts in the process. "Akefia," he muttered, " I haven't heard that name in a long

time." He got up and walked towards the bathroom, stopped, and turned to face Ryou's

bedroom. He walked in and stopped short and looked at the tiny propped up picture frame on

the vanity dresser. Bakura picked it up and looked at the photographs; there was one that

was almost the size of the tiny picture frame and a smaller picture to the right, inside the

frame. The bigger picture was of Ryou when he was five running with his mother by his side

flying his first kite, a look of pure joy radiated from his face. This photo was taken one year

before they had left Britain to come to Japan. The smaller picture was of a ten-year old Ryou

sitting on an old fashioned wooden swing. A smile was on his face, but if you looked into his

eyes, there was a slight sorrow. Bakura looked at that picture, his face set in a serious

countenance whilst somewhat lost in thought.

He thought ("No matter what, in every photo, moment, he's always smiling, but

his eyes say something different; he's holding back his pain...") Bakura put the frame

back on the dresser and sat at the edge of the bed and looked down at his Millennium Ring.

(A/n: Remember, there's two; they each have one when in separate bodies.) He played

around with it a little and then fell back onto the bed, his head resting on his hands. Bakura

looked up at the ceiling, and a memory began to flow back into his mind.

~ London, England, 15 years ago~...

*Doorbell rings* A light tan and blue haired man around his mid-twenties walks up to a

beautiful ranch style house in the neighborhood of a bustling city. He was wearing the clothes

of a safari explorer or an archaeologist; he set down the two suitcases. The man rang the

doorbell and a young woman with snowy, white hair and big blue eyes answered the door

after checking who it was through the door's peephole. Her eyes lit up and she happily

opened the door.

"I knew you'd come," she replied smiling. The man came in with his wife, both of them

carrying the suitcases. "?" "Where's Ryou?" he asked.

"Oh, hold on," she said. The young woman came back holding, in her arms, a seven

month old baby boy. The baby had snowy white, shoulder length spiky hair.

He also had his father's big chocolate brown eyes and the fair colored skin of his

mother. The baby giggled happily when he saw his father.

"Oh, that reminds me." "I brought back a few things I bought at a Bazaar in Egypt when I

was returning from the digs." Ryou's father pulled out a small box and showed his wife as she

opened it, a pair of gold Ankh earrings, the center was adorned with a Turquoise stone lain

inside. Also, inside the box, there was a matching necklace with a car-touche in the center

and strands of gold coming down with Turquoise at the ends.

"They're beautiful!" "Thank you," she said embracing her husband lovingly. Since the baby

Ryou was so close, he reached out and grabbed the hat from atop his father's head and put it

on; the hat was so big on Ryou that it slid slightly, covering his eyes. The father chuckled.

"Oh, I also bought something from a man at the Bazaar." "He said it was supposedly found

within the tombs of Egypt." "I checked found out it's pure gold." "I think it could be used as a

necklace since it hangs from a soft cord and all." From a red, satin drawstring bag, he pulled

out the Millennium Ring. "It's for Ryou," he replied, "when he's older though." The little Ryou's

eyes wondered in awe, the shine of the Millennium Ring had attracted his attention.

He reached out and his father let Ryou hold it while his father held the other part of it

as well. Ryou's mother chuckled, "I think he likes it already."

A seven year old little girl with blue eyes and snowy, white hair came running in.

"Daddy! You're back! She called out happily. The father handed the Ring over for his wife

to hold. The little girl, Ryou's older sister, Amane jumped into her father's arms. He picked her

up, and his daughter hugged him tightly. She saw the Ring and also the gift that her mother

had received.

"Daddy, what did you get for me?" She asked anxiously. "I'll show you," he replied smiling.

The father placed Amane down and from his knapsack, he pulled out a golden

music box. It was adorned with jewels and such; the eye of Hor (Horus) stood at the center of

the lid. The sides had paintings similar to those on the walls of Egyptian tombs. It consisted

of pictures depicting pyramids, palm trees, sand and sand dunes, camels and some with

people riding them, children with their parents, and a few royal figures. Amane wound-up the

little wind-up key on the back and opened the box and heard an Egyptian tune. Inside, there

was a piece that looked like a flower native to Egypt; when placed on the little platform that

was green, the flower would spin around. Her eyes watched it spin in wonder.

"Ooh, it's pretty," Amane said smiling after wards. "Thank you Daddy." She hugged her father

and then ran off to play. Ryou's mother then placed Ryou back in his room with his toys and

the TV on.

She then went to the kitchen to talk to her husband and continue cooking. The young

Ryou began to play with his blocks, but not soon after, an image of the Millennium Ring

popped into his mind. He got up on his knees and began to crawl towards the living room.

Ryou crawled up to the dining room table and looked up; there sat the Ring. He used the

chair to help him stand, and held onto the side of the table with his left hand. With his right

hand, the baby reached for the ring, but it was too heavy to grab with one hand. In response

to this discovery, Ryou swept it off the table with his free (right) hand, and it landed with a soft

*thud* onto the carpet floor. The baby Ryou let go of the table, grabbed onto the chair, and

then plopped himself down onto the floor. With one hand, Ryou pulled the Millennium Ring by

its cord and crawled towards his room, dragging the Ring behind him. His parents never

noticed a thing.

Back in his room, Ryou held the Ring by its cord in tiny hands on his lap. However, as

soon as both his hands had touched the ring, it began to glow. "?" The small Ryou looked at it

in confusion and awe. There was a bright light and something began to take form; someone

stood there, a spirit. The spirit was transparent, but seemed to possess the physical traits of

an older Ryou; however, his features were darker. His hair was wild, compared to Ryou's, and

his eyes were sharper as well. The spirit looked around; he then looked at himself and that's

when he noticed the small Ryou.

"I'm free." "Finally, after 3,000 damn years, I am liberated." "Eh?" *Sees Ryou* The baby

blinks and the spirit then notices that this youth had the Ring. The spirit's jaw dropped.

"D-don't tell me that you're my host..." "Dabigooa," the baby responded in his gibberish,

and then giggled while clapping his hands.

"Oh Ra, just kill me off right now," the older man cringed. "Well, no matter." "You'll be of

use when you're older," replied the spirit. Ryou crawled up to this newcomer and tried to grab

his pant leg, but was surprised to find that his hand went right through it.

"!" The baby did it again and again, and began to laugh happily while clapping his hands.

"?" "You find me amusing, young one?" the older male questioned. Ryou just stared at him

with his big brown eyes. The spirit stared back; they both just sat there staring at each other.

Finally, the silence was broken by the TV's music. The spirit looked at it quizzically. He then

looked back at the baby.

"Judging by this soft thing, he replied whilst picking up the youth's baby pillow, your name

must be Ryou." "Well, mine is Bakura," the spirit said grinning. The tomb robber then sat

down cross-legged on the floor. The baby's face then looked concentrated and focused, as if

trying to remember something. Suddenly, the baby spoke out, pointing to the spirit. "Babuba,"

baby replied. Bakura sweat-dropped. "It's Bakura, but close enough." Bakura turned solid and

then Ryou curiously reached out to touch him. He was surprised to find out that Bakura was

able to be touched. Ryou looked Bakura in the eyes...then he pulled the two side-hairs that

the older male had under his bangs.

"Hey, don't pull." Ryou pulled again. "No.." He pulled again. "Stop..." *pulls* "Ow..."

Ryou giggled and then he pulled really hard. *Pull!*

"OW!" "HEY! I TOLD YOU TO STOP PULLING MY HAIR, NOW STOP!" Bakura yelled.

Ryou dropped his hands to the floor. His big, chocolate brown eyes began to water, quivering

slightly and his mouth started to tremble. "Waahhh!" Ryou began to cry.

"!" "Oh Shit..." No no no no, don't cry," Bakura replied quickly and nervously.("Ra, help

me,") he thought. Ryou was still crying.

("If I don't do something quick, I'll be discovered.") Bakura grabbed a nearby plush toy

of a puppy.

"This doggy doesn't want you to cry Ryou," Bakura said compassionately. (A/n: Wow, he

was nice! 0_o) The baby suddenly stopped crying, and was sniffling. "There," Bakura said,

"Much better right?" Bakura smiled nervously, sweat-dropping. Ryou started to cry again.

"No!" Bakura cried out, "It must've scared him!" He threw the plush toy and started

pressing all the buttons on the TV. Finally, very happy music came up and "Barney" was on.

Ryou saw this and stopped crying.

Bakura sighed in relief and jumped back away from the TV in horror, causing him to

slip on the plush toy and fall straight into the closet, face flat. Ryou saw Bakura's antics and

began to giggle and clap. Bakura, whom was face-flat in a closet with a mountain of toys on

him, mumbled to the plush toy of the puppy next to his face, "...I...hate...you..." As time time

went by, Bakura tried to get used to the tiny hikari; it would take a while. Keep in mind, that

only Ryou could see Bakura when he was in astral form. One day, when Ryou was trying to

walk, he ended up walking and following an annoyed, floating Bakura. Everyone was

overjoyed that Ryou had learned to walk.

Ryou learned to say mommy, daddy, and Amane; his family of course, were more than

happy for this as well. Later on that same day, Ryou walked up to Bakura.

"Ba-ba...Baku-Bakura," Ryou smiled.

Bakura spat out the soda he was drinking; he had a surprised look on his face.

"Hey Ryou, you said it right for once!" Bakura exclaimed in surprise. Ryou made a gesture

with his hands.

"...Hug..." he said. The toddler climbed onto solid Bakura's lap and gave him a hug. Bakura

hesitantly hugged back quickly, and then let go. Bakura noticed that Ryou's grip went

somewhat loose around his waist. He looked down and saw the sleeping baby Ryou resting

his head on the the thief's own chest while sucking on his thumb. The tomb robber remained

silent.

Bakura remembered being there as time went by, through the birthdays, Amane's

death when Ryou was six, and his mother's death when he was living with her in Japan at ten

years old. He could see his Hikari crying at the funerals, or when he felt down. However, the

Yami didn't comfort him. He just stood in the shadows, watching, silent, and emotionless...

~End Flashbacks~

+-End Chapter-+

Michi: So, this concludes chapter 5. Oh, and something else; this also concludes everything

that I had already had written prior to typing and submitting it, 6 or 7 years ago. So, from here

on in, I'll have to brainstorm to see how this story is going to proceed. Anyone who is faithfully

reading this story, wish me luck! I'm going to need it. ^^; I hope you all are liking this story.

This was one of my favorite chapters that I had written eons ago. Let me know what you

think, comment on Deviant art or review on . I'd like to see how you all are reacting

to my story so far. Until next time, catch you later readers! ^_^