Title: String of Fate
Author: MiyAsuka
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Kazuki Takahashi does.
Pairing: Bakura/Ryou
Rating: R
Warning: Yaoi (duh!), probably some sexual references and a lime or two in the later chapters.
Summary: The Ring's gone, and even though Bakura is still there, things can't go back the way they were.

Chapter 1: Noise

When Ryou woke up, night had just befallen Domino. The crash into reality hurt. It always did, ever since he came back. Every single time, he remembered that he was alone.

"Bakura..." A sad whisper.

Ryou buried his head into his pillow, his hand fisting the blanket. Once again, he was crying. Unbeknowst to him, Bakura was watching him. The spirit felt powerless and that annoyed him to no end.

"Come on, aren't you tired of crying all the time?" Bakura saw Ryou's back shudder. "You've got absolutely no reason to cry. I'm here, can't you get it in your head once and for all?"

"Shut up!" Ryou screamed, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"No, I won't. You're going to listen to me now."

"Shut up!" Ryou repeated. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He repeated the same words over and over, like a litany. Bakura waited calmly until he was done. When Ryou seemed to have somewhat calmed down, the spirit spoke again.

"You tell me to shut up. That means you're aware I'm here."

"Shut up! You're no-"

"Here, you're doing it again." Bakura smirked, feeling satisfied. The more he tried, the more Ryou was becoming responsive to his provocations. "Now, are you going to listen to me?"

This time, however, Ryou chose to remain silent.

"Shit, and here I thought we were making some progress." Bakura sighed. It looked like a lost case, but he wasn't anywhere close to giving up. "Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" Not that he disliked it. In fact, this particular trait was what had attracted him to Ryou in the first place. Well, this and that pale and delicious-looking body. Bakura licked his lips but he was soon forced to put an end to his lust-filled memories. Now was not the time. "Come on. I just want you to realize I'm here. Is that too much to ask?"

A long silence followed. Ryou's breathing became so calm and regular Bakura thought he had fallen asleep again. He was proved wrong when all of a sudden, Ryou sprang out of the bed and left the room.

Upon arriving in the living room, the boy noticed the blinking red light of his answering machine. He walked to it and pressed a button.

"You have one new message."BEEP "Ah, Bakura-k-" BEEP "Message erased."

Next, Ryou headed toward the bathroom, removing and discarding his pajama top on the way. Once in front of the shower stall, his pants followed. Ryou stepped inside and turned on the water.

"Ryou! What's with you all of a sud-" Bakura stopped short when he saw Ryou's naked silhouette, water running along the pale skin the spirit knew so intimately well. Damn, hadn't he been a ghost of sorts, he would have gotten an instant hard-on, that for sure.

Ryou started washing his hair and soon his back, chest and forearm were covered with foam. Bakura forced himself to look away. Not in order to give the boy some privacy for Bakura had seen Ryou's naked body plenty of times already. The spirit just couldn't stand staring at what would probably remain out of his reach forever.

Ryou rinsed his hair, put some shower gel in his hands and began washing his body. He was thankful that the voice had become quiet. Maybe the side-effects from the antidepressants had worn off. Strangely, Ryou felt a pang of disappointment seize him. Maybe a part of him had hoped it was real, that Bakura was still there with him.

But he wasn't.

Biting back a sob, Ryou finished washing, staying under the hot pouring water a bit longer than necessary. Ten minutes later, he stepped out, careful not to slip on the tiling. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his bony hips. He took another one and dried his hair with it.

Bakura watched him from the corner of his eyes. Ryou really looked miserable. All his gestures looked like he was set on some sort of auto-pilot. Yet, Bakura was convincing himself that he wasn't responsible for all this. It was just Ryou's fault. The brat just had to turn around and look at him. Why wouldn't he?

The towel Ryou had been drying his hair with fell to the floor. The teenager looked at all the boxes of antidepressants that he had left on the sink earlier. One by one, he threw them in the bin.

"It amazes me that you didn't do that sooner," Bakura said.

Ryou's face grew pale. "No..." It couldn't be. Why could he still hear him? "Please no..." His body trembled. Bakura could see the goosebumps form on his skins. He kept silent for a short while, amazed by the effect he had on his former host.

"Ryou-"

"DON'T!" Ryou shouted, clasping his hands over his ears. The towel around his hips slipped. It fell silently on the floor.

Bakura had expected Ryou to react this way. He rarely called Ryou by his name. Whenever he did, Ryou always reacted strongly. The kid wasn't used to hearing people call him by his first name.

The spirit glanced at Ryou's reflection. The boy had his eyes screwed shut and was slightly trembling. It reminded Bakura of the time he had first presented himself to Ryou. Despite everything, it remained one of Bakura's best memories. Because Ryou looked so beautiful like this, his anguish freely showing, breaking apart the mask he usually wore all the time. How Bakura wished he could just feel Ryou's emotional state once more. He longed to feel that heart beating so fast, borderline hurting. Right now, all the spirit could feel was frustrating hollowness.

And it would most likely remain that way forever.

No.

"JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Bakura screamed, losing patience.

Ryou whimpered. The hands on his ears barely stifled the spirit's roar. Ryou pressed them harder.

"Stop that! Just turn around and look at me!"

Ryou did open his eyes. However, instead of doing what Bakura had just asked, the boy bolted outside the bathroom.

Bakura groaned in exasperation. What the hell was Ryou about to do this time? Pissed off and maybe – just maybe – a bit worried, Bakura followed the teen and found him inside his bedroom. The spirit froze when he saw what Ryou was holding in his hands.

"Shit. You're not going to-"

As fast as he could, Ryou put the headphones inside his ears and pressed the play button of his iPod. The music instantaneously drowned out Bakura's voice. Ryou sighed in relief. He sat down on the floor, resting his back against his bed. Suddenly, out of the blue, Ryou began laughing. It started low, so low Bakura didn't hear it at first. It grew increasingly louder. Soon, Ryou was throwing his head back, sounding even madder than his dark self.

Bakura couldn't tear his stare away from Ryou's naked body, from the pale chest heaving in time with his crazy laughing. Was this all Bakura's doing? Had he turned Ryou insane?

Bakura was waiting. He couldn't do anything else. Ryou never removed his headphones. He had put the music so loud Bakura could hear it clearly. The spirit wondered how Ryou could sleep. Unless he was faking, but his snores sounded genuine enough. Bakura smiled. His anger had worn off a bit and now, he found himself watching Ryou sleeping... again. Damn, he looked cute. His right arm was hanging from the bed, while his left hand was holding protectively the music player against his chest. His mouth was slightly open. His eyelids were trembling, indicating that the boy was probably dreaming. If only Bakura had still the ability to mess with Ryou's dreams.

The ghostly form remained unmoving for a few hours. It was ten past four when what Bakura had been waiting for finally happened. The music stopped. The iPod's battery was empty.

For a few seconds, Bakura hesitated. Ryou looked so peaceful. How could anybody in their right mind be considering what Bakura was about to do? Well, it's not like Bakura wanted to do this. He had to.

"WAKE UP!"

Ryou's eyes opened. He didn't feel good. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it would burst. His head couldn't comprehend what was going on. It didn't took him long however to finally figure it all out.

"Now, you're going to have to listen to me."

Ryou stared at the music player in his hand. No more battery. "No..." His voice sounded so broken. Bakura winced. Ryou left his bed and began searching through the bag he had taken with him to Egypt. He had barely touched his contents since he came back.

Bakura sighed. He knew exactly what Ryou was looking for. "And what are you going to do once you get that thing's charger? You can't keep running away from me forever you know." Bakura tried to sound calm, but his voice had a hint of urgency.

Ryou tried hard to ignore the voice. He couldn't lose his mind now. Not when he had found a way to fight back the illusion. "Please..." he whispered. "It must be somewhere..." He froze when his fingers came in contact with something familiar he hadn't been looking for. Ryou's lips began to quiver as he tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill once more. Slowly, he pulled the large black coat out of the bag. It was all wrinkled from being stuffed carelessly at the bottom of the bag. Ryou hugged it against his chest and closed his eyes. A single tear managed to escape.

"Bakura..."

If the spirit had still had a real heart of his own, he probably would have felt it shatter.

Ryou sobbed.

Bakura knew there wasn't anything he could do to help. Not until Ryou came to his senses and realized Bakura never left him.

"I'm here. I know you don't believe it. But I'm still here."

"N-No..." Ryou slowly shook his head. "Y-You're just something I made u-up... because it's t-too hard to accept the truth."

Sighing, Bakura realized he wouldn't be able to change his former host's point of view. Not tonight at least. Maybe he should leave Ryou in peace until morning. The kid looked like he needed it.

"Go to sleep," he said, the sentence in-between an advice and an order. He hadn't expected Ryou to nod though.

The teen stood, still holding the coat. Bakura watched him return to the bed and slide under the sheets. Ryou buried his face in the soft fabric of the coat.

"Good night, Bakura."

Bakura didn't answer. He knew Ryou wasn't really addressing him.