When the Snow Falls: chapter 5

Truth, part 2

Bakura was unconscious for at least twenty minutes. All through that time, I was freaking out, wondering what I should do. Considering everything that he had said, he was some sort of ghost. A ghost that possessed Ryou. And killed my father for his own amusement. And nearly killed me. Wow, this guy is definitely psycho.

When he finally stirred, his hand twitched, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. My mind was going a million miles a minute, and I was pretty close to losing it. I grabbed the frying pan that was beside me, and clutched it like a life-line. Bakura groaned and pulled his hand to touch the part of his head that I hit. His eyes opened slowly, and I gasped.

"St-stay away from me!"

Bakura looked at me with a pained expression. Something was different about him...again. Then I realized it: his eyes and hair were back to normal! Bakura wasn't in control anymore!

"R-Ryou-kun?"

"Did he hurt you, Akane-san?"

Shaking my head, I replied

"Not really. I hurt him, and you in turn, much worse... I-I'm really sorry..."

Clasping my quivering hands in his own, he delved into my eyes and whispered

"Don't be. This is all my fault. I'm the one that allowed him to take control. I'm the one who lets him do all of the terrible things he does. You probably hate me by now..."

That was just too much. It wasn't his fault in any way! It was Bakura that was the object of my anger. But with Bakura constantly possessing him, I would have been surprised if he wasn't having a bit of an identity crisis.

"No Ryou. None of this is your fault... It's just that-" I was interrupted by a strange light. It was emanating from the Millennium Ring; the strange pendant hanging from around Ryou's neck! He started snickering.

"What an incredibly naive girl..." The voice was low and husky. Familiar to boot.

"Bakura! What did you do!"

"What did I do? You beat me over the head with a pan. We're just taking a little trip to talk. You know, wandering souls, reincarnations; the fun stuff."

A black cloud descended from behind the spirit. The room got cold, and everything changed. Furniture was covered by darkness, and the space became completely foreign.

"W-what the hell?"

"Welcome, my dear, to the Shadow Realm."

"What? Holy shit, what did you do?"

Bakura did his classic smirk. "Well I figured that it's going to get rather loud in here, so I didn't want to raise attention. This, however, is a perfect place where I can conduct my business." He pulled a rather menacing pocket knife out from his back pocket and pushed it to my throat. His eyes bored into me with a 'what-are-you-going-to-do-now?' glare.

He's completely serious... damn, damn, damn! What am I going to do? I have to find a way to protect myself from him somehow! Something...

As if someone was listening to my thoughts, I felt something cold in my hand. I looked down in utter amazement: there was an old, ornate sword in my hand! I didn't even bother to try to figure out the technicalities of the situation, I just held the blade out in front of me.

Bakura was both shocked and bewildered, but he wouldn't let it show. He smirked, and muttered something inaudible. At this point, I was getting just too annoyed by him.

"Bakura, I swear if you don't tell me what the hell's going on, this sword is going straight through that damn smirk of yours!"

He didn't take kindly to my comment. He laughed in retaliation. It wasn't a 'Haha-I-got-the-joke-and-you-didn't' laugh, but it was more like an 'I-was-right-and-you-have-no-hope-left' laugh. Needless to say, it wasn't that funny.

"I knew it. I knew it. The second I saw you I knew there was something familiar about you. The ability to control physical manifestations within the darkness… what a blast from the past." Bakura was still laughing through his words. I stood silent, completely confused. He began pacing towards me, and quite menacingly at that. Before I had a chance to move, he was already upon me, his fingers like claws digging into my shoulders. I dropped the sword, paralyzed in fear. I was lying on the ground with Bakura suspended over me, completely defenceless. Not good. My grey eyes were staring into crimson, completely undisturbed by the surroundings. That didn't last long though.

The silence was broken by a scream. My scream, specifically. A massive pain in my abdomen shook me from head to toe, making me feel like I was being torn to pieces. I looked down rigidly to see the Millennium Ring's needles pierced into by stomach. It was glowing with a beautifully disturbing aura.

"B-Bakura...?"

"Shut up."

"What are you-"

Bakura sighed angrily. "I thought I told you to shut up." He then did something I will never forget for the rest of my life: he pressed his lips to mine and...it was… a kiss?

WHAAAAATTT?

Suddenly the searing pain from the Ring was replaced by a strange warmth. The needles were still stuck into me, but for some reason, it didn't hurt anymore. Everything dissolved in my sight, and I faded into a blur of unconsciousness.

My mind wandered when it was asleep. It delved into my subconscious memories: my childhood, my family and anything else it could explore. But there was one thing that I did not recognize: there was a strange ornate door at the end of a series of smaller doors. As I approached it, I could feel strange energies emanating from it. I knew I couldn't let it alone though; I was completely intrigued. I turned the handle slowly, and pushed the door open, despite the clear resistance it offered.

Sand. Sand from horizon to horizon; and above that was the bluest sky I had ever seen before. It was so beautiful; the absolute silent serenity was soothing to the soul. Pacing aimlessly through the calmly blowing earth, I took to notice something I hadn't before: my usually pale skin was a deep brown, and I was adorned with golden jewellery from head to toe! Ok, now I know this is 100% pure dream.

A name was called. It wasn't what I knew to be my own, but for some reason, I responded to it as if it was. When I turned to look, I saw a young man; about 20 years old, running towards me. He too had dark skin, but his hair was a surprising jumble of white. A gorgeous red cape fluttered behind him and he was also covered in jewellery. As he got closer, I realized that a terrible laceration ran down the right side of his face, covering his eye and features with a layer of blood.

My body started moving on its own, pacing towards the mysterious stranger. I felt like I had no control over my body; it was like I was just watching all of these things take place with a first-person view. My hand gently touched his bloodstained cheek. His rough bronze arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I sank right into his embrace, gazing longingly into his blue-purple eyes.

"Akefia…"

With that little statement, my mind was going crazy. Akefia? This guy looks so much like Bakura though...? What the bloody hell is going on here?

Everything suddenly got dark. The only speck of light was in the sky; two blood-red eyes glaring down at the world below. I stared in terror as the thing pounded towards me. Its unearthly howl shook the land and brought down the surrounding pillars. Glaring down at me, it screeched,

"You traitor!"

Within seconds there was a massive ball of fire in the palm of his hand, illuminating its face slightly. It was a grotesque figure: three huge sets of horns protruded from its face, long pointed fang-like teeth, and skin as black as the night. The fire in its grasp was sent flying in my direction. There was no way I would be able to dodge such an attack, so I braced myself for the worst.

The worst wasn't at all close to the pain that seared through my limbs. I could literally feel my flesh melting off my bones and my blood boiling. I couldn't see, couldn't scream, and I didn't know what to do other than curdle over in pain.

Suddenly, a light pair of footsteps started approaching me. I knew these steps: they were Akefia's. I wanted-no, I needed him.

"A-Akefia…" I whispered, my wounds tearing my voice to shreds. I tried reaching out for him, but instead of the kindness he shared with me, he stamped on my forearm and snarled.

"Don't you even dare touch me. I don't need a Pharaoh's spy to be alive."

I closed what was left of my eyelids in despair, and everything faded away.

A/N:

Riv: Phew. Finally. That took waaaayyyyy too long to write, even by my standards.

Bakura: …did I just….

Riv: Yes. You just won a puppy.

Bakura: -_-' not exactly what I was getting at….

Akane: WTFBBQ KURA? Stabbing people is sooo not cool!

Ryou: NOOO! I wanted to be Akane's first kisser in this story! Damn you, Yami-sama!

Riv: Ah, that reminds me, the poll to decide Akane's fate is still open! I need all of you great and wonderful people to vote who you want to end up paired with 'Kane-chan. It's between Ryou and Bakura!

Akane: Don't call me 'Kane-chan like you know me!

Riv: 'Kane-chan, there's something you should know.

Akane: What is it Riv?

Riv: I came.

Akane: O.o

Ryou: O.o

Bakura: O.o

Malik: I walked in at the wrong time, obviously… *backs away slowly*

Riv: …. MALIK! DISCLAIM!

Malik: NO! IT'S TOO SCARY IN THERE!

Riv: …. FINE! MARIK!

Marik: What the hell do you want?

Riv: DISCLAIM!

Marik: No, do it yourself.

Riv: D: fine. I do not own anything, other than Akane Izumi and the plotline. Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by the great Kazuki Takahashi, and Yu-Gi-Oh! the Abridged Series is owned by Little Kuriboh-dono. If I owned either of these two, they would be filled with yaoi and lemons out the wazoo. Then again, 4Kids wouldn't even be able to dub it, seeing as it would be nearly 100% smut.

Oh yes, you can also send me your vote as a review! I love reviews! If I have ever reviewed any of your work, you will know how much I love reviewing! Getting a review is like a necrophiliac's random dead body. I molest it…Wait. What?