Title: A Persistent Shadow (Chapter 18)
Pairing
: Ryou Bakura x Yami Bakura, possible others
Rating
: M
Summary
: The Pharaoh uses a spell to force Yami Bakura out of Ryou's body, but unfortunately for Ryou it doesn't work quite as well as intended.


Ryou fumbled downward for a kiss, moaning into the spirit's mouth as he felt fingers tangle in his hair. He'd gotten so used to having this, having it whenever he wanted. He knew there was some reason he wasn't supposed to have it now, but whatever it was seemed so foggy and distant... Ryou moved his hips downward, needing the kind of physical contact he'd been denying himself for nearly a week now...

...the kind that he'd been denying himself because he was staying at Marik's apartment...

Ryou's eyes flew open. He stilled his body immediately, then pulled out of the kiss, breathing heavily. W-we can't do this here. We're in someone else's house.

The spirit traced Ryou's lip with his thumb. So what? The tomb keeper already assumes you've been pleasing yourself in here. The spirit dropped his other hand from Ryou's hair, running his fingers down Ryou's spine and letting his hand settle lower down.

Ryou's already flushed face turned even redder. That just makes it worse! Part of Ryou wanted desperately to get away from the temptation right below him, but another part just wanted to give in and take what was being offered. The two parts warred inside him, leaving him unable to move away from the touch or into it.

I don't see how, the spirit said, using his lower hand to grind Ryou's body against his in a slow, steady rhythm.

I-it j-just-- o-oh god-- Ryou clung to the spirit's chest, lost in the pleasurable friction created by the spirit's movements. Soon Ryou had force himself to roll off the spirit before things went too far. He lay there on the bed on his back, panting, covers bunched up beside him.

The spirit sat up next to him, running his fingers over Ryou's stomach. If you go out there like this, the tomb keeper will know what sort of state you're in. You may as well save him from having to give you another talk about 'repression'.

It... it can't be that obvious, can it? Ryou sat up and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, then groaned. He'd never really understood what it meant to look 'thoroughly debauched' until now. There wasn't a person on the planet who wouldn't know what sort of thing he'd been up to a few moments ago, and that he was still...

Exactly, the spirit replied, sounding quite pleased with his accomplishment.

Ryou dropped back down to the bed. Sometimes I think you want everyone to know what you're doing to me, he thought, resting his head back on the pillow.

Heh. I would, if it weren't so inconvenient to my plans, the spirit said, leaning down to suck on Ryou's neck.

Huh? Why? Ryou asked, wondering if the spirit's exhibitionist tendencies were even stronger than he'd realized. He hugged his arms around the spirit's back, instinctively pulling him closer.

Because otherwise it's like stealing something valuable and not even having anyone notice it's missing, the spirit replied, tracing Ryou's jaw with his thumb.

V-valuable? Ryou repeated, shying away from the confusing mixture of feelings the word sparked inside him. Th-that doesn't make any sense. You're more likely to get away with it if no one notices.

You're missing half the point of stealing, Landlord, the spirit said. But really, even if the tomb keeper did come into the room, it's not as though he could see me. The spirit lifted his head. "Or hear me, for that matter," he said, continuing out loud instead of over their mental link. He rested one hand on Ryou's stomach, only a slight movement away from where Ryou really needed it.

Don't talk out loud, he thought frantically. Even if he was the only one who could hear it, it still felt more public to have the spirit speaking that way, which only intensified his awareness of where they were.

"Why shouldn't I?" the spirit asked, caressing Ryou's stomach right through the waistband of his pajamas.

Ryou grabbed the spirit's hand, intending to pull it away, but lacking the willpower to go through with it. J-just because, Ryou said. The spirit's teasing was starting to get to him; his resolve was wavering. His concern about where they were was transforming into something slightly perverse – he realized to his horror that the possibility of someone walking in on him like this excited him as much as it disturbed him.

Ryou obsessed over the realization, not noticing that he was allowing the spirit's hand to drift lower and lower...

"Heh. It's really a little unfair, isn't it?" the spirit asked, seizing the opportunity to free his hand and press down. Ryou gasped as the spirit rubbed him firmly, hand moving back and forth, back and forth... "Even if the tomb keeper came in this very instant, he'd only see you here, writhing helplessly on the bed..."

Ryou squirmed helplessly under the spirit's hand, trying desperately to focus on the physical sensations and not on how the words were making him feel.

"What do you imagine he'd think, seeing you like this?" the spirit asked, face directly over Ryou's.

Ryou made a strangled sound, grabbing the spirit and pulling him down for a kiss. His whole body was trembling, he was so close, so very close, he was about to--

The door flew open, revealing a somewhat panicked-looking Marik.

Horror and excitement thrilled through Ryou simultaneously, and he choked, mouth half-open in surprise. He let go of the spirit, instinctively burying his fingers and toes in the sheets, feeling like he was trying to cling to the edge of a cliff after being thrown clear over the top. His head flew back as his body shuddered, and for one long moment Ryou felt as though the intense shock of pleasure would never end.

But it soon did. All the tension left Ryou's body, leaving him collapsed on the bed. He and Marik stared at each other for a few seconds, eyes wide, before Ryou frantically yanked the covers back over himself, curling up in a ball beneath them. If Marik couldn't see him, he wouldn't know he was there. That was how it worked, right?

"Um, Bakura," Marik said, sounding embarrassed. Ryou felt a weight settle next to him on the bed. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Y-you said you wouldn't come in without knocking," Ryou said.

"I know, and I'm really sorry, but I..." Marik tugged on the blanket.

Ryou held it around himself more tightly, backing away to the far corner of the bed. No one was going to get him out of there. "But y-you said..." he insisted, mind locked around that one fact in an attempt to ignore everything else about the situation.

"Yeah, but I, um, heard the Spirit of the Millennium Ring and thought he was in here hurting you," Marik said. "I can see now how wrong I was about that." Ryou heard Marik swallow. "So very... very wrong about that..."

"Y-you can hear him?" Ryou asked quietly, cautiously peeking out from under the covers to see Marik and the spirit sitting on opposite sides of the bed, staring at each other. The spirit's face looked challenging; Marik's just looked stunned. Both pairs of eyes turned toward him, and he fled back under the covers. "How?"

"I made an amulet that reveals any spirit in the area," Marik said. "See?"

Ryou heard a rustling noise, as though Marik was pulling something out of his clothes. "Why did you make it?" he asked, wondering if Marik had been suspicious of him for a while.

"We can talk about that later," Marik said. "Um... Can you come out from under there? Please?" he asked, sounding a bit like he was talking to a frightened child.

"No," Ryou said, voice barely audible. Part of him felt like he should do whatever Marik wanted him to, just to make up for what he had to see, but the part of him that wanted to hide forever was far stronger. He was terrified of what Marik must have been thinking of him right then, given what Ryou had been doing in his house with the spirit of all people.

Actually, I don't believe the tomb keeper is as upset as you're imagining, the spirit said. He laughed out loud, causing Marik to look at him strangely for a moment. If anything, he seems to be enjoying himself.

W-what? Ryou asked, peeking out from under the covers again. He looked at Marik's face, not seeing much enjoyment there. If anything, he looked somewhat embarrassed at the moment, his cheeks tinged a pink barely noticeable over his tan, eyes averted from both Ryou and the spirit. Ryou found it odd to see Marik look that way, but then it wasn't really all that strange given the situation.

Look a little lower, Landlord.

Ryou's eyes wandered downward, brushing over what looked like a small, colorful stone pendant against Marik's chest and continuing on. He stopped when his gaze hit Marik's lap. "Oh." Ryou just sort of froze, unable to look away.

"H-hey--!" Marik pulled his knees up to his chest, blocking Ryou's view. "You don't have to stare."

"Um. Sorry," Ryou said, though he only really shifted his staring away from its original target over to Marik's face. He sat up next to the headboard, keeping the blanket wrapped around his body like some kind of armor against the world.

"It... It's a perfectly normal reaction to seeing something like that," Marik said weakly, hugging his knees tightly. "It's not like I wanted to see it."

"Y-yeah," Ryou said. "It j-just feels a little weird..."

Marik's expression went from embarrassment to disbelief. "Weirder than discovering two people talking about you in the middle of getting off?"

Ryou winced. "Um. P-probably not," he conceded. "Can't we just forget the whole thing ever happened?" he asked hopefully.

"I can try, but I think it might be burned into my brain forever," Marik said, looking slightly traumatized.

"Oh, please," the spirit said. "We weren't even naked."

"That's not—" Marik cut off, looking at Ryou. "How is he even here?"

"Er..." Ryou's heart sank. He'd been too embarrassed earlier to remember his reasons for keeping the spirit a secret, or to think about how Marik would react to having been lied to. "The ritual didn't really work the way it was supposed to..."

"I got that part," Marik said. "So... you were lying when you said he was gone afterward?" He shifted uncomfortably, looking a little guilty. "Did... did you not even want him gone, because you two are...?"

"What? No!" Ryou nearly shouted, immediately feeling embarrassed by his outburst. "I mean, no," he said, more quietly this time. "I wanted him gone, and I thought at first that he really was gone. He didn't show up again until I got home. Th-that kind of thing didn't happen until later."

"So all this time..." Marik said slowly. "Has it been you all this time? Has he been taking over your body without anyone noticing?" The guilt was far more obvious now.

"No," Ryou assured him. "He can't do that anymore. He's just sort of... stuck near me. I'm the only who can see or hear him. Or f-feel him," he added, redness returning to his cheeks. "I'm sorry I lied to you. And the others..." Panic filled him. Marik seemed to be taking everything in remarkably well, considering the circumstances, but he couldn't see the others reacting so calmly. "A-are you going to tell the others? The Pharaoh?" He tried to keep the fear from his voice, but didn't quite manage it.

"I..." Marik seemed to think about it for a moment before responding. "No. I'm not going to tell anyone. Definitely not the Pharaoh."

Ryou sagged in relief. His grip on the blanket loosened a little, but he didn't let go. He glanced at the spirit and saw him smirking, which made Ryou glad that he wasn't actually saying anything to Marik at the moment. "Thanks. I... they never trusted me before. Not really," he said. He found it difficult to confess his reason for keeping the secret, but he felt like Marik deserved some kind of explanation. "It was the first time I'd ever had friends. I just couldn't tell them. I couldn't take them looking at me like that all the time, suspicious of what I might do..."

Marik gave a short, slightly bitter laugh. "Don't worry. I know exactly what you mean."

Ryou nodded. He felt a little better for finally admitting it, even if it was still painful to think about. It also felt good to have someone else in on his secret, someone who seemed far less upset about it than he would have expected.

"Are you willing to come out from under the blanket yet?" Marik asked, sounding far more amused than he had the last time he asked. "We still need to eat breakfast. We can talk more at the table," he said, standing up from the bed.

"That sounds okay, I guess." Ryou let the covers fall to the bed before remembering that he was still kind of a mess from what he'd been doing earlier. He scrambled to cover his lap with a pillow. "B-but, u-um..."

"Or you could shower first," Marik said.

"Y-yeah. That's probably a good idea," Ryou replied, welcoming some time alone before having to face Marik again.

Marik walked to the door. "I'll just be in my room."

"Yes, you should really take some time to relax," the spirit said smugly.

Marik blinked once before recognition hit him. He looked slightly flustered for a moment, then seemed to decide it wasn't worth it. "Maybe I will," he declared, leaving the room.

Ryou buried his face in his hands. Did you have to say that to him?

He says things like that to you all the time. You should be happy he's now had to experience it for himself.

It did feel a little gratifying to see Marik's words turned back on him, but Ryou still wished the spirit hadn't done it. He was only trying to help. Besides, he won't have any reason to say things like that anymore.

Ryou grabbed some clothes to wear and carried them to the bathroom with his shower things. He locked the door and turned to find the spirit in the bathroom with him. He groaned, wishing he could shower on his own just this once. It wasn't like he was the only one the spirit could talk to now.

And here I was assuming you'd want to spare the tomb keeper a conversation with me while I'm naked, the spirit said. Especially if he decided to take my advice.

Ryou had the sudden unwanted image of the spirit walking into Marik's room naked while he was relaxing and then deciding to make comments. Gah. Um. Yeah. S-stay in here with me. Definitely. Marik had really had enough for one day without having that inflicted on him as well.

Ryou turned on the water and shrugged out of his pajamas, shoving them into a pile on the sink. He stepped into the shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water as it washed away the evidence of what he'd been doing earlier. He washed his whole body thoroughly, taking his time to do it. He knew that when he finished he'd have to go out there and talk to Marik some more, and even though Marik's reaction hadn't been all that bad, he wasn't really looking forward to it.

You do realize that the longer we stay in here together, the more suspicious he'll get about what exactly we're doing.

Ryou didn't say anything to that, but he did speed up considerably. He quickly dried himself off and yanked on his clothes. His hair was still damp, making the back of his shirt slightly wet.

He took his things back to his room, putting his pajamas with the pile of other clothes he needed to wash, then wandered back out to find Marik. He checked the kitchen first, finding his friend looking through various boxes of cereal. He noticed Ryou and the spirit walk into the room together and looked back and forth between them. "Is he always in there with you?" he asked, clearly assuming exactly what the spirit thought he would.

"He's naked when I'm naked," Ryou rushed to explain, only realizing afterward that it didn't exactly help his case. "Er-- I m-mean, I didn't think he should wander around naked now that you can see him."

Marik made a face. "Um. Yeah." He shook his head, then pulled a box of cereal down from the cupboard. "Want some?"

"Okay," Ryou said, going to the fridge for some milk.

They got their breakfasts together and sat down at the table, the spirit sitting in one of the other chairs, looking bored. They ate in silence for several minutes, nearly finishing before Marik finally said something. "So, when did you two start... um...?"

Ryou wasn't prepared for the question at all. He struggled not to choke on his cereal, giving the spirit an opening to respond. "Since the last time you saw him become an incoherent mess at school," he said, sounding pleased by the opportunity to gloat about it.

Given what he'd said earlier about wanting people to know, Ryou supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

"That was..." Marik started to say, then put a hand to his forehead. "Of course it was. That explains everything." His face took on a slightly disturbed expression. "Wait, he harassed you into this?"

"Actually, he was harassing me into getting you to let us look at your magic book," Ryou said, feeling nervous about Marik's possible reaction to this. He didn't know where aiding the spirit in accomplishing his goals fell on the scale of objectionable things he'd done. Marik might well consider it worse than what he'd seen them doing. "And later I sort of... jumped on him."

"You jumped on him?" Marik looked like he was having trouble imagining this. "Really?" He glanced over at the spirit, who was sitting there looking satisfied with the memory.

Ryou was a little surprised the spirit wasn't trying to stop him from revealing what he'd been trying to get him to do.

The tomb keeper isn't completely stupid, the spirit said over their mental link. He would have worked it out on his own eventually. It's better that you tell him yourself before that happens.

Ryou supposed that made sense, but he was really just relieved to be able to talk to Marik without the spirit trying to interfere. "H-he was driving me crazy," he said in response to Marik's question, cheeks turning pink. "I couldn't take it anymore."

"You did look like you were going to break down any minute," Marik said, then started to look a little confused. "So you jumped him and then you two just... um... kept with it after that."

"It's an incentive. For his cooperation in getting me a new body."

Ryou hid his face behind his hands, peeking out the space between his fingers. He knew he should probably explain the deal himself before the spirit made it seem even more sordid than it actually was, but it was easier to let him do it.

"A new body?" Marik asked, understanding hitting him. "That would be why you wanted to see the book. But that was over a month ago. What did you have him doing after that?"

"He's been learning to create my form in clay."

"And in exchange for this you... um..." Marik waved his hands around.

"Yes," the spirit said, taking a moment to leer at Ryou.

Marik coughed, still looking at the spirit. "You know, it seems like every side of this deal is meant to work for you..."

Ryou felt the need to protest this. "But he can't even... um..."

"That doesn't mean he isn't getting anything out of it," Marik said, eying the spirit distrustfully. He shook his head, turning to Ryou. "I haven't seen you with your clay all week. Were you working on it in secret?" he asked, sounding more curious than particularly upset.

"Um. No," Ryou said. "He wanted me to, but I didn't want you to find me making a lifesize model of his head and think I was nuts." They'd been arguing about it all week, but the spirit had somewhat surprisingly refrained from actually trying to coerce him into doing it.

"So you agreed to do it this morning?" Marik asked.

"Huh? No," Ryou said, briefly wondering where he'd gotten that idea from.

Marik looked perplexed. "Then why was he giving you your... um... incentive?"

"Oh." It made sense now. "That just sort of happened," Ryou said. "I w-was... I mean I.... I do things in my sleep sometimes..." he stammered, having to explain almost worse than just having Marik walk in and see everything for himself. "And he was right under me..."

"Under you? Why was he under you?" Marik asked, sounding even more bewildered than before.

"Um. I have nightmares?" Ryou said, finding that part difficult to explain in its own right. "I sleep better when he hugs me," he finished uncomfortably.

"Hugs...?" Marik glanced over at the spirit, who was already on the defensive, arms crossed and face daring Marik to say something about it. Marik returned his attention to Ryou. "Was that part of the deal?"

"No," Ryou said, the whole thing sounding bizarre now that he had to talk about it out loud. He'd just sort of gotten used it, thinking of it as almost normal. "That started before the deal."

"So let me get this straight," Marik said, face looking half-frustrated and half as though he was trying not to laugh. "You were just... ah... cuddling him in your sleep, like you normally do," Marik continued, looking as though he still couldn't quite believe that part, "And then you started, um, doing something to him in your sleep, which he decided to go along with, as an incentive for your cooperation, even though you haven't been cooperating for at least a week?"

Ryou didn't know what to say. Put that way it did sound completely absurd. "Yeah?"

"Are you in love with him?" Marik asked bluntly.

"W-what?" Ryou asked, the question seeming to come from out of nowhere and knocking him totally off balance. "I-I..." Ryou knew he should have been able to answer the question instantly, and things were only getting worse as the seconds passed without him coming up with some kind of response. "Th-that's... I..."

Marik's expression softened. "Never mind. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that." He looked at the spirit again, visibly assessing him. The spirit only scowled back at him, not saying anything.

Ryou was still reeling from the question Marik had thrown at him. He desperately wished for the conversation to be somewhere else. "So, um, you aren't angry that I was helping him get a new body?" Ryou asked, preferring even that topic to what they'd just been discussing.

"No," Marik said. "You shouldn't have to be stuck with him for the rest of your life. Not if you don't want to be," he added, sounding a little uncertain. "The Pharaoh may have been more concerned with stopping him, but I was always more concerned with freeing you."

"Oh," Ryou said, the whole conversation making him wish he'd just told Marik the truth months ago. But then, they'd barely known each other then. And if things had gone differently, he and the spirit might never have...

Ryou didn't know why that thought was so painful, but he decided to just be glad things seemed to be working out okay, at least for the moment. He took the last bite of his now-soggy cereal, then stood up, intending to go wash his bowl. He looked to see if Marik was finished and saw the colorful pendant still sitting against his chest, allowing him to see the spirit.

"So, um, why did you make an amulet for seeing spirits in the first place?" Ryou asked curiously, wondering if Marik would be willing to tell him now that he wasn't hiding under a blanket.

Marik put his spoon down on the table. "Right. That," he said, face growing serious. "You should sit down."

"Okay," Ryou said, sitting back down in his chair and putting the bowl back on the table. "Did you think that the spirit was still here?" he asked, though Marik's reaction to the question suggested it was something else.

"No, I had no idea he wasn't gone. I was completely surprised earlier," Marik said. "No... this is for something else," he added, sounding as though he didn't know how to put it.

"Something to do with the Pharaoh, perhaps?" the spirit asked neutrally.

Ryou blinked. "The Pharaoh?" He looked at Marik. "Is it really something to do with him?"

"Yeah..." Marik said, toying with the amulet around his neck.

"You've seemed a little odd around him this week," Ryou said. "Ever since we saw him on Sunday. What happened?" he asked. He knew it had to be something the Pharaoh did when they saw him that day, but he still hadn't been able to figure out what had changed Marik's attitude then, despite being right there when it happened.

"The puzzle didn't glow," Marik said quietly, looking down at the table.

Ryou still didn't know what he meant, but the spirit immediately sat up straight. "Heh. You're right. It didn't."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.

Marik looked up from the table. "On Sunday, when the Pharaoh took over from Yugi. His face changed, but... the puzzle didn't glow."

Ryou thought back to the meeting and realized that was true. Wheels spun inside his head, bringing only one conclusion to his mind. He dug his fingers into his shirt, horrified. "You think... you think the Pharaoh's just taken over all the time, pretending to be him?"

"Maybe," Marik said, not sounding thrilled about the possibility himself. "That's why I made this." He held up the amulet for a moment. "I've been working on it all week. The next time I see Yugi, I'll be able to tell if there's a spirit controlling his body. And if it's true, we can do something about it." Marik sounded like he didn't quite know what that 'something' would actually be.

The spirit laughed maliciously. "There's always what you tried to do to me..."

"That clearly didn't work, though," Marik said.

"Only because you didn't bother to verify that I was in control at the time," the spirit said. "That shouldn't be problem here," he added, pointing at the amulet.

"Wait, you weren't in control?" Marik asked, clearly surprised. "That changes everything. But we'd have to figure out a way to get him in position without noticing what's going on, and he knows exactly what that ritual looks like."

"We can't do anything until we know for sure, though," Ryou said, wondering if the Pharaoh really had taken over, and if so, how long he'd been in control without anyone noticing. Just since Sunday? Weeks? Months and months? He'd always resented his friends a little for not being able to tell when the spirit was pretending to be him, but he hadn't even suspected Yugi might not be himself until just now, after being told something was wrong by someone else. "Why would the Pharaoh do something like this?" he wondered aloud.

"The Pharaoh thinks everything rightfully belongs to him, including other people's bodies," the spirit said disdainfully.

Ryou just glared at him in total disbelief.

"Think what you will about me, Landlord, but at least I was well aware that I was stealing from you," the spirit said. "The Pharaoh just thinks he's owed."

"He was fine sharing a body before now," Ryou protested, though he remembered that the Pharaoh had simply taken over whenever Yugi was in danger. But it wasn't like the Pharaoh had just gone wandering around in Yugi's body without his permission like the spirit had with Ryou's. "Why would he suddenly need the body all to himself?"

"Perhaps that weak fool of a host of his finally refused to go along with something he wanted to do," the spirit said.

"Like what?" Ryou asked.

"Like break into your apartment," Marik said, looking for a moment like the pieces had clicked before he shook his head. "But he didn't have any reason to do that. He doesn't like you, but I can't see him just doing all that damage behind your back for no reason. If he wanted to hurt you, he could just come after you directly, like he does everyone else."

"Er. Actually, whoever broke into my apartment was after the Millennium Eye," Ryou said, remembering that Marik had no way of knowing. "Hey, I didn't even know we had it until it was stolen," he added at Marik's sharp glance.

"I could see him breaking into your apartment for that," Marik said slowly. He turned to the spirit. "Did the Pharaoh know you had the Millennium Eye?"

"Of course not," the spirit said. "I was hardly advertising the fact."

"Even if the Pharaoh did know we had it," Ryou began, "how would he know it was in the cou--" Ryou cut off, eyes widening at the realization.

The spirit scowled. "I cannot believe you figured this out before I did."

"What?" Marik asked. "What is it?"

Ryou swallowed, remembering everything from the way the burglar had seemed so unprepared during his first attempt, to the way he'd run into Yugi just after meeting the holder of the Millennium Key, to the way the burglar had gone directly to the Millennium Eye in its bizarre hiding place, all of it now making a terrible amount of sense in light of one simple fact, a fact he'd known for months.

"The Pharaoh didn't need to know. He has the Millennium Ring."