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!), sexual references and a lime or two in later chapters.
Summary: The Ring's gone, and even though Bakura is still there, things can't go back the way they were.

Chapter 3: Feeling

"Thanks for listening to me," Ryou said before taking a spoonful of whipped cream.

"It's nothing," Honda answered. He just regretted he had offered to pay the bill. Ryou had just ordered his second strawberry parfait and Honda wondered how much food his friend was planning to eat. "You know, you should also tell Yuugi."

Ryou kept the spoon in his mouth. His throat hurt when he swallowed the cream. No, he could never... It was too much for him. He didn't want to face Yuugi about Bakura. It would feel way too awkward.

"I can't..."

"It's just going to be worse if you keep silent." Honda rubbed the back of his head. "You know, Yuugi's worried sick about you."

"Just tell him I'm fine," Ryou said dryly.

"Even if he believes you, it would still be a lie. Why don't you tell him everything? It makes you feel miserable keeping silent."

Ryou bit his lips. "I... thought he would have understood..." Those words fell from his mouth like acid. "Bakura was the half of my soul. I thought Yuugi would have understood that better than anyone else." He clenched his fists under the table.

"So you call him 'Bakura'," Honda noticed.

Taken aback, Ryou felt his sudden anger vanish. "Y-yes..."

"You know, I can honestly say Yuugi has no clue he hurt you. After all, he is clueless about a lot of things when games aren't concerned. If you don't tell him, he most likely won't figure it out by himself."

Ryou sighed, almost in defeat. "I'll... think about it..." He wished Bakura was still here to tell him what to do. Ryou always found it difficult to make decisions by himself.

"Okay," Honda said. "I'm not forcing you to either. I just think it would be best for the two of you."

Ryou just nodded in acknowledgment. "You know..." he said after a few seconds. Honda raised an eyebrow. "… I still hear him... I know he's not here anymore but... It almost feels like he is. It frightens me..."

Honda didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. Maybe the prospect that the spirit of the Ring was still here scared him.

Ryou finished his parfait in silence. Once he was done, he stood. "I should go, I don't want to disturb you any longer. You probably have things to do." It was Ryou's way of saying he wanted to be alone. Honda understood that.

"Okay. See you on Monday at school."

"… Yeah... at school..." Ryou wasn't really eager to return to school. But he couldn't keep locking himself at home all the time. And going outside seemed to make him feel more... sane? He hadn't been hearing Bakura for quite a while now.

Bakura...

Again, that same twinge of sadness. As Ryou stepped outside the café, he suddenly felt colder and wished he had the black coat with him. He put his left hand in his pocket, fingers grasping the receipt from the cleaner's.

Come back to me.

Bakura noticed Ryou's footsteps just as the teen stepped out of the elevator, even though the spirit was inside the apartment. He was boiling in anticipation. This time, Ryou wouldn't be able to consider him as a mere figment of his imagination anymore.

It felt like the key of the apartment took forever to unlock the door. Bakura was ready to strike. Ryou finally stepped inside.

"I'm home..." the white-haired boy said, mostly out of habit.

"Welcome back home," Bakura said, loving the way Ryou let his bags fall on the floor. "Had fun outside?"

Ryou's face turned pale. "No... It cannot be..."

"Oh, you father called," Bakura continued, almost matter-of-factly. "He wanted to know if you've gotten your birthday present."

The white-haired teen looked like he was frozen on the spot. Still, his legs moved toward the small table in the living room where the answering machine sat. A hand raised, shaking. Ryou was scared to press on the button. The red blinking light looked almost aggressive. He held his breath.

"You have one new message." BEEP "Ryou, it's me. Happy birthday. I'm sorry I didn't call before, I haven't been able to, forgive me. I mailed you a present, I hope you got it. I'll be staying at the hotel for a few days, you can call me if you want. I hope you're okay." BEEP

Ryou didn't realize he had fallen on his knees. It just couldn't be... And yet, there could be no other explanation. It had to be the truth.

"Believe me now?" Bakura said with satisfaction.

The boy turned to Bakura but he still didn't dare to look. He was afraid. "It's you... It's really you, right?" His voice sounded desperate yet hopeful.

Bakura groaned. "Of course, yes. That's what I've been trying to tell you for fucking days. I'm here!"

Ryou's body began shaking. "B-Bakura...!" He burst into sobs.

It took a while for Ryou to stop crying. Bakura waited, forcing himself to stay patient. The white-haired teen rubbed his eyes.

"Look at me," Bakura said. Ryou complied. Bakura smiled, with a smug look on his face. "Finally. Was it that hard?"

Ryou shook his head slowly. "But... how?"

"It looks like I got expelled from the Ring," Bakura merely said. Ryou looked at him almost in disbelief.

"That's it? That's all the explanation you have?" Bakura shrugged. "What does this mean?" Ryou continued to question. "What's going to happen now?"

"Nothing."

Ryou blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Aside from the fact I'm not in the Ring anymore, nothing changed." It was a lie. It changed a lot of things. But Bakura couldn't bring himself to say it.

"So... does it mean I can still feel you?" And yet, Ryou was unintentionally forcing him to spit out the truth.

Bakura had tried to touch Ryou to get his attention. It hadn't worked. They couldn't feel each other anymore. With the Ring, he had been able to 'touch' his host, the artifact probably tricking Ryou's nerves in order to make him feel the inexistent touch, making it real. But now...

"… I'm sorry..." Bakura said.

Ryou's eyes widened. "No... Please... Bakura, I need it...!" He raised his hand in order to cup Bakura's cheek. The spirit made to move away but wasn't fast enough. The hand went through Bakura's face. And Ryou could feel nothing. "No..."

"Don't start crying again," Bakura hissed. He didn't want to go back on square one.

"Why, Bakura?" Ryou begged. "Why?"

"I'm... more like a ghost now."

"A ghost?" Ryou began shaking. "So... you're dead?" Bakura opened his mouth to answer but Ryou didn't let him. "He killed you! Yuugi-kun killed you!"

"No, he didn't."

"But-"

"No buts!" Bakura shouted. Then, more calmly, he explained. "My physical body died thousands years ago, when my soul got sealed up inside the Ring. Nobody killed me."

The white-haired boy looked very confused. "You mean you were once human?"

Bakura nodded. "I'll tell you everything... later..."

Ryou realized he knew almost nothing of Bakura's past. During all the time they had spent together, the spirit never told him anything about it. Somehow, it hurt. "You don't trust me?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with you." Bakura sounded irritated. "Stop blaming yourself about everything."

"I'm sorry." Ryou suddenly felt very cold. He shivered. He desperately needed Bakura's warmth. Was it really impossible for them to touch?

The spirit sighed once more. "I'm here so what's with the long face?"

Yes, Bakura was here. Even if he couldn't feel Bakura, he could still see him and hear him. Ryou managed to smile. "I missed you."

Ryou's smile was beautiful. The fact Ryou was smiling to Bakura made it even more dazzling, the spirit realized. He had finally won. Ryou wouldn't ignore him anymore. That made him feel warm. Could he still feel like this?

"Bakura?" Ryou said.

"Hm?"

The two of them were watching television. Ryou was curled up on the couch and Bakura was hovering next to him.

"If you're a ghost, does it mean everybody can see you?" Ryou would never admit it but he didn't want to share Bakura's presence with anybody.

"No," Bakura groaned. "You're the only one. That's why I was fucking pissed off that you wouldn't listen to me."

"Oh." Inwardly, Ryou was smiling. Bakura was still all his. Good thing. "Sorry about this. I really thought you were gone and I was losing my mind." He turned his head to look at Bakura. "I'm really glad you're still with me." He wanted to move his face closer to Bakura's, but he knew he would just feel emptiness. "Can we still both go inside my soul room?" Ryou asked, though he already knew the answer.

"I can't do that anymore," Bakura said bitterly. Ryou bit his lips.

"Are you sure there is no way for us to...?"

"I don't know. I wasn't exactly given a ghost for dummies book."

"So maybe there's a way!" Ryou exclaimed, his eyes full of hope.

Bakura shrugged. "Maybe." He doubted it but kept his skepticism to himself. Still... it would be nice if there was indeed a way.

"I'll go to the occult shop and make research!"

The spirit rolled his eyes. "Half of the stuff there is pure junk."

Ryou pouted. "Spoilsport..." He yawned. "I'm tired..."

"Go to bed. It's late." Bakura began to smirk. "Unless you plan on staying up to watch a porn movie in the middle of the night." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Ryou's face instantly turned red. "B-Bakura! You...! That's...! How can you say that? Especially when you... when we... GAH!" The boy turned off the television and bolted to his room.

Bakura couldn't stop laughing. Hell, it had been a while since he had last teased Ryou about that subject. Ryou's reaction was... cute. Bakura's laughter increased.

"That's not funny!" Ryou shouted from his room.

"Oh! Come on! Don't tell me you're not used to it." He floated to Ryou's room. The teen was in bed, hiding under his comforter. "Stop that."

Reluctantly, Ryou poked his head out. He stuck out his tongue. "You're mean."

"You love it."

Ryou couldn't deny it. For that reason and a lot more. He closed his eyes. "Good night, Bakura."

Bakura didn't answer. A few minutes later, a song murmured in a foreign language could be heard. This song had lulled Ryou to sleep countless times. He had never asked about its origin, afraid that Bakura would stop singing it. The lullaby sounded nostalgic and almost too sweet for a person like Bakura. There was really a lot of things he still didn't know about the spirit.

Ryou let sleep overcome him, wishing Bakura would never sing this song to anyone else.