A/N Yes, I am posting two chapters at once, given that the next chapter, however short it is, is tendershipping and I know that's not everyones cup of tea. This is AU, what would have happen if Yami Bakura had beaten Yami. While I'm at this, I just want to think everyone who has reviewed! It really means a lot! =) Oh and this chapter includes death, both implied and remembered. Nothing gory though, MAYBE a 'T' rating.
Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something. ~ Francisco Villa
Ryou was losing. Which was fine with him because he hadn't expected to win anyway. He was still riding the wave of utter awe at what the spirit had done.
"Any last requests, yadonushi?" The spirit had asked.
(Ryou couldn't help but be bothered by the fact that he had called him yadonushi even though they were no longer sharing a body. Force of habit, he assumed. Like the way Ryou still referred to him in his head as the spirit even though the spirit was just as much flesh and blood as Ryou himself. Or how Yuugi had whispered "Yami" to the Pharaoh just as he died even after they had gone through so much trouble to find his name.)
The answer had come swiftly from Ryou's mouth, before his brain had anytime to process it.
"One last game!"
"Any preference?" said the spirit.
"No dueling," Ryou said, for obvious reasons.
"Anything else?"
Ryou shook his head and even though he wouldn't have been able to see his hand in front of his face, Ryou could tell the spirit was grinning.
"Let's begin."
And now they were sitting opposite each other, a game board in between them and only the smallest of candles lighting the pitch blackness that now consumed the earth.
Oh, and of course the spirit was winning.
"It's your move," he said, smirking.
Ryou shouldn't have be surprised because smirking seemed to be one of the spirit's defining attributes, yet the look in his eyes (his eyes this time, the eyes of the thief king) was just monstrous. And that surprised Ryou because lately he had been tricking himself into believing the spirit exactly might of had a soul.
(Everyone makes mistakes, he guessed.)
Ryou took the dice in his hand, and rolled a seven, much to his dismay. Not expecting yourself to win was one thing, but to lose so fast was disheartening. Even though absolutely everyone he had ever cared about was gone, Ryou didn't want to die. Especially not like some prey of a cat who had decided to play with its food before eating it.
It seemed fitting though. Whereas Jou, Honda, Anzu, and Yuugi had all died in a valiant way – refused to let go of their light and hope even as the last of their blood was drained. The Pharaoh hadn't died like that though, the spirit wouldn't allow it. He had died suffering with guilt and pleading for his friends to be spared.
The spirit wouldn't allow Ryou to die nobly either. No, Ryou would die here, alone in the dark, much as he had lived every since he got that ring.
Even though he literally had but minutes to live, Ryou couldn't help but appreciate the irony.
"It's your move, again," The spirit snarled, his impatience seeping out of him.
"I'm thinking!" Ryou snapped.
It was odd but the close proximity of his death was giving him courage. Not courage to fight the spirit, but to defend himself against him. Before when Ryou thought he had a chance, he would never dare saying anything to displease the spirit, but now… what was worst then death? Sure, the spirit could make him suffer but Ryou figured he was planning to do that already. Even though Ryou was to die a full blown traitor, he might as well die just a tiny bit of a coward.
Ryou moved his tiny lead figurine stopping on the square covered in candle wax.
"Can I ask you something?" Ryou whispered, not daring to look up.
The spirit pursued his lips. "What?"
"Killing myself, would that have made any difference?" Ryou was quivering, not wanting to know the answer but knowing he needed to.
The spirit paused, eyes flashing – not a dangerous way, but calculating.
"No."
Ryou looked up, and for the first time ever looked straight into the spirit's eyes.
"You're lying," he muttered, in shock. For why would the spirit resist taunting Ryou about the part he played in Zorc's return?
The spirit's eyes narrowed but simply said, "It's your turn. Probably your last."
Ryou, trembling, leaned in and curled his hand over the dice, clutching them close to him.
"I hate you," he said, surprised at how much truth could be in three words.
"I know," the spirit said, bored. "Roll."
Ryou did. Leaning in closer to the candlelight he saw snake eyes.
The spirit's eye twitch and Ryou himself gasped in amazement.
"It seems you'll last another turn," the spirit scoffed and Ryou nodded his head numbly in agreement.
The spirit rolled.
"You lose," he said.
Ryou didn't hear him. Ryou couldn't hear anything other than the beating of his heart. The loud banging in his ears, the sinking sensation consuming his whole body. Ryou couldn't hear anything but fear.
The spirit leaned in to extinguish the candle.
"Wait!" Ryou screeched. His mind simultaneously screaming I don't want to die and I don't want to die like this.
The spirit glowered. "I already granted your last request, yadonushi."
"Please," Ryou begged, only now realizing his was crying, "I don't want to die in the dark."
"Too bad."
And the candle went out.
