***Here is a super early update. There are 16 chapters total to this, but the last chapter doesn't really count because it's just a happy ending chapter, so we're almost done with the actual story. Enjoy.***
Zorc wasn't like Bakura. He didn't hide Ryo in the subconscious to shield Ryo from what happened. No, Zorc kept Ryo's mind close to the surface so Ryo could see Kek's tears, so he could hear Kek's desperate pleas – and do nothing about them. Ryo tried. He wanted to fight. He wanted to take control and kiss Kek until the tears dried, but Ryo wasn't strong enough.
Relief overwhelmed Ryo when Bakura arrived. He regretted having to die, but knew it was the right choice. All the happiness he'd felt in the last few weeks, the beautiful joy that Ryo'd cherished since meeting Kek, could go on living for others as long as Zorc Necrophades never made it into the world.
But then Kek ran into Bakura's knife on purpose. Zorc didn't understand, but Ryo did. Kek didn't want to be manipulated. He didn't want to shield Zorc by protecting Ryo, but he couldn't bare seeing Ryo hurt either, so he decided to take himself out of the equation – sacrifice himself just as Ryo wanted to be sacrificed.
When Kek hit the floor, Ryo screamed.
He had to go to Kek.
He had to hold Kek and put pressure on the wound.
He had to make sure Kek didn't die!
Necrophades resisted, fought to maintain control, but Ryo was beyond believing, or hoping, or trusting that it'd work out like it always did before. Something tore in Ryo at the sight of Kek bleeding on the ground.
He pushed Zorc out, screaming until his vocal cords responded to his will instead of Zorc's. Once in control of his body, Ryo gagged. He pressed his hands and knees into the carpet, choking, and retching, and pushing Zorc out until thick, black liquid poured from his mouth. He vomited the entire Shadow out of his body. It shrieked in rage. The sound pierced the air, loud enough to shatter all the glass in the room before Zorc escaped back into the kitchen. Glass-fragments snowed down on Ryo's hair, and he knelt on the floor, trying to catch his breath.
"Kek!" Ryo scrabbled on his hands and knees until he reached Kek.
He pulled the knife from Bakura's hand and cut Kek's shirt to examine the wound. Ryo pressed the excess cloth against the hole to slow the bleeding. Bakura stood above him and watched, pale and in shock.
"I – I can't fix this. Cut's too deep." Ryo gasped, willing himself not to hyperventilate, not to break down. Later, later when it was over he could unravel, but his current focus was Kek and nothing else. "Bakura, call an ambulance. Now!"
They'd put a cotton ball and square of tape over Marik's arm where they'd drawn the blood. Kek needed a transfusion and Marik was the best match since they were brothers – as far as the hospital knew and as far as Marik was concerned. They had to lie. Ryo told the police and paramedics that someone broke into his apartment. It explained the broken glass and Kek's lack of I.D. (since the mystery robber made off with Kek's imaginary wallet). Marik made a mental note that, when he did explain everything to Ishizu, he needed to see if he could get her to obtain proper paperwork for Kek the same way she had to for all the tomb-keepers after the Pharaoh passed to the Other Side.
They sat in the hospital waiting room, florescent lights casting them all in sterile, off-white light. Marik and Bakura held hands. They didn't acknowledge it; they just did it. They needed the support. They didn't fight, bicker, or exchange a single facetious comment to each other. They sat quietly, staring at the floor and holding hands.
When Marik did look up, it was to glance at Ryo. Ryo sat with cloth, thread, and needle in his lap. His hands shook with violent tremors, but his stitching was tight and perfect.
"Ryo," Marik whispered after some time. "What are you doing?"
"Sewing a doll," Ryo answered, and something in his voice made Marik shiver.
"Why are you finishing that thing?" Bakura hissed.
"Because, regardless of how this turns out, I'm going to go home and play Zorc's game. I'll need the doll to summon him."
"Are you crazy?"
Ryo looked up at them, eyes too bright for being such a dark shade of brown. "He wants a game and he's going to fucking get a game. I'll summon him and then I'll send him straight back where he belongs. Don't you see? It's not Zorc we need to fight. We need to fix the tear between the Shadow Realm and our world. The only way to mend that is to finish the closing ceremony Marik and I never could. The only way to do that is to play one last time." Ryo clenched his hands and went back to his stitches. "I'm not standing aside anymore as the people I love get hurt. I'm never . . . never going to watch from my own body without acting again."
Marik swallowed. "Ryo, what if – what if he posses you again?"
"He can't." Ryo spat out the words. "It was my greatest fear and it happened and I conquered it. Zorc can't touch me anymore."
Marik looked at Bakura. Bakura looked back, but didn't say anything. It made Marik mad somehow, the silence, the helpless feeling of sitting there.
"I just hope . . ." Ryo whispered, but couldn't finish the sentence, so he buried himself back into his sewing, stabbing the cloth as if Zorc could feel each pierce of the needle.
Marik balled his free hand into a fist. "He'll be fine, Ryo. Kek's an Ishtar; we're stubborn."
A fragile wisp of smile graced Ryo's lips. "I think he'd be happy to hear you say that – although he'd probably hide it by calling you an idiot."
"He's an idiot," Bakura grumbled to the floor. "Only an idiot would run into a knife."
"It's my fault." Ryo clenched his teeth and pressed his eyes shut. "I should have never let him think that self-sacrifice was an option."
It took two hours before a doctor spoke to them. A handsome woman in her fifties with her hair pulled into a tight, meticulous bun considered her clip board before looking at them. "Mr. Ishtar?"
Marik stood up. He felt guilty that she addressed him when it should have been Ryo, but that would have been uncomfortable to explain, so he stood there and waited for her to speak.
"The knife missed his vital organs, but there was extensive internal bleeding."
Marik couldn't breathe, couldn't feel anything. His mind shut down, trying to dissociate out of the experience. He managed a nod as he forced himself to stay in the moment.
"However, I think we managed to stop it. We expect him to recover."
Ryo excused himself and bolted down the hallway. Marik caught Bakura's eye in a sideways glance and Bakura nodded, disappearing in the same direction.
Bakura found Ryo crouched in the bathroom and having a minor nervous breakdown. Thick, suffocating shame blanketed Bakura at the familiar sight. It was the same response Ryo had every time a new friend went into a coma. At the time, Bakura thought it was fun to put spirits in dolls. In his own way, he thought he did Ryo a favor and the boy simply didn't understand the benefits of having living souls for toys. Perhaps he had changed . . . since then. Collecting souls wasn't something he'd do now. Perhaps this was who Bakura always was before fires and Items drove him mad with grief and rage.
Bakura walked to Ryo, circling around him in order for them to be face to face. He crouched down on the tile and held Ryo's shoulders. Ryo resisted at first, but then leaned against Bakura, and Bakura wrapped his arms all the way around Ryo's shaking frame. Bakura gave to Ryo what nobody gave to Bakura after the fire. A sanctuary. A safe place made of arms and body heat in which he was free to weep his grief and cry his sorrow. Ryo had cast Zorc out of his body, doctored Kek the best he could, and kept a level head while the police bombarded him with questions. He stayed strong through it all, but now he needed to let the trauma of the day run its course – something Bakura never had a chance to do. There'd never been a safe place, never a safe moment. He'd gone straight from trauma to survival mode from age seven to the moment of his death.
It was only weeks ago - in Marik's bed, in Marik's arms - that Bakura had his first opportunity to break down.
Now he and Ryo crouched together. Ryo cried and it made Bakura feel sick to his stomach. When Ryo's tears settled on their own, Bakura broke the embrace, leaning back on his haunches and staring at Ryo. "Now that he's stable, I bet we can see him."
Ryo nodded, standing up and wiping his eyes dry. "Yeah, half a moment."
Bakura nodded and moved to leave the bathroom.
"Hey Bakura?"
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Thanks."
Bakura shrugged. He wasn't good with words, so he waited outside the bathroom for Ryo.
Ryo smoothed Kek's hair out of his face with pale fingers that wouldn't stop shaking. Ryo watched Kek sleep. After a full minute, he turned to Bakura. "Take me home."
Bakura scowled. "What?"
"I want to challenge Zorc now, before he does anything rash since I'm not there."
Marik shook his head. "That's not a good idea."
"Neither is crossing our fingers and hoping he doesn't kill the maintenance man when he goes to fix the windows and replace the carpet." Ryo's brown eyes melted, pleading. "Marik, will you stay here and watch Kek in case he wakes up?"
Marik set his jaw, his need to argue blatant on his face, but he closed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah. I'll stay here."
"Thank you." Ryo turned to Bakura. "Let's go."
Bakura nodded; they turned to leave.
"Bakura." Marik reached out his hand to stop him.
Bakura looked at him. Marik's mouth dropped a bit, as if he'd forgotten how to speak. His lilac eyes glistened – fear, worry, a longing to go with them and to share whatever failure or victory they may have.
Bakura's face shifted from its usual amused mask to something sincere. He cupped Marik's face in his hands and brushed their noses together. "I'll be right back. Promise."
Marik nodded, kissing Bakura's bottom lip. He slipped one of his gold bracelets off and put it on Bakura's wrist. "That's for luck, and I expect it back, asshole, so don't take five years this time."
Ryo stood by the door and looked away as they exchanged a few last kisses goodbye. When Bakura stood beside Ryo, they looked at each other, nodded, and then left the hospital room together. Ryo stopped by the waiting room and grabbed the black doll before he left.
Before they reached the apartment, Ryo whispered. "I'm going to trick Zorc into playing on my terms. Play along, okay?"
"You know I love to role play," Bakura answered.
As soon as they stepped into the apartment, the door slammed and locked behind them. Bakura growled low in his throat. He didn't like to be trapped. Ryo ignored the door and walked to the kitchen. He sat down at the kitchen table and set the unfinished Zorc doll where the dark god could see it.
"It's only a matter of time." Ryo kept his gaze on the ground. "Until you're able to return on your own, but that could take months and you don't want to wait . . . so I'm here to make a deal."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryo saw Bakura standing in the doorway, but nothing else moved or changed.
Ryo continued. "I'm making the doll. I'll summon you." Ryo looked up. "Just leave us alone! Take the world, take it all and turn it into Shadows. I don't care as long as you leave us out of it."
"Ryo are you out of your mind?"
"Shut-up, Bakura! You know this is the only way to save Marik." Ryo turned his eyes back to the empty kitchen. "We're your pets, right? That's all I'm asking to be treated as – a pet." Ryo picked the unfinished doll up. "But you're not a human soul. You're a god. It's going to take all four of us to pull you into the physical world. We have to wait until Kek's out of the hospital and strong enough for the game. Then we'll return. Then we'll play."
Ryo looked around for an answer. He noticed Bakura step back, and then saw his sewing basket sliding across the floor and stopping at his feet. In the rush, Ryo only managed to grab the cloth and one needle to take with him. Ryo nodded, dropping the unfinished doll into the basket and picking it up. He bowed low. "Thank you."
Bakura spat on the floor and walked away. Ryo followed him, keeping his head down, making his body language as subservient as possible. The door unlocked and opened as soon as they neared it, and closed again as soon as they exited.
They didn't speak until they stood in the elevator.
Bakura leaned his head back and exhaled. "Lucky for us, you're so good at the sweet and innocent act that even Zorc couldn't tell you were lying."
Ryo shook his head. "He's going to suffer when I send him back to the Shadow Realm. As much as he made you hurt, as much as he made Kek hurt. I'm giving it all back to him."
Bakura shrugged as he stepped out of the elevator. "I know you want someone to tell you that's not the right way, that you shouldn't sink to his level, but you know I can't say that. You know how I feel about a person's right to avenge their people."
Ryo blinked at him. "If I wanted someone to talk me out of it I'd call Yugi. I was wondering if you wanted to help me."
One moment nothing and the next consciousness. With his eyes closed only dark covered Kek's mind, but he was suddenly aware of a machine beeping, and pain, and a warm hand holding his own. It took a full minute before Kek managed a groan.
"How do you feel?"
The voice made the machine beep faster. Kek feared that Bakura failed and Zorc somehow found a way to force Kek to stay alive, but when he opened his eyes, he realized he was in a hospital. He turned his head and saw Ryo. Ryo. Ryo. Ryo. Ryo. Ryo – not Zorc – Ryo.
"Ryo?"
"Yes. It's me. Really me. I'm right here. Oh, Kek, I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry."
Quiet sniffing, the verge of sobbing being held back by will alone. Kek couldn't help but smile, regardless.
"My prayer . . . I didn't think the gods would listen to someone like me."
"Jackass," a voice cursed, one that could only belong to Bakura. "The gods had nothing to do with it. You did it. Ryo came back to his senses the moment you passed out."
Ryo nodded. "I had to save you, even if that meant saving myself."
"Hey Ryo? Next time save yourself to begin with and save me a trip to the hospital, okay?"
Ryo laughed, happy and sad at the same time. Kek squeezed his hand. "What are we going to do now?"
Ryo smiled. The overhead lights made his hair shimmer white like a mirage over sand. "Well, as soon as you're well enough, we're going to go on a double date."
Kek frowned and wondered what sort of pain meds they had in his IV. "No, I meant, what are we going to do about Zorc?"
"Just what I said. Go on a date. It'll be like our first date – a game of Hide and Seek. Only this time, I'm not going to drop my bottle of salt water."
He heard Marik sigh beside Bakura. "And I'm going to follow the rules."
Kek shook his head. "I don't understand."
Ryo lifted up a large Zorc Necrophades plushie. "He wants in our world, so let him come. Although I don't think he's going to enjoy it nearly as much as he thinks he will."
The next two weeks dragged by as Kek waited for his wounds to heal. Not only did the gash down his center scar, but the knife wound left a mark on Kek as well - as if the gods were compensating for the thinner scars on Kek's back. He wanted to go home, but home was occupied by a dark god, so he settled for Marik's sofa. Kurimu never left his side except for when Ryo walked him.
If anything ever proved that Ryo Bakura loved Kek, it was the fact that he woke up at 6:00 each morning in order to keep the little Shiba on his walk schedule. Ryo didn't wake easily at any hour and preferred to sleep in whenever possible; however, Kurimu didn't miss a single walk the entire time Kek recovered. Kek wanted to do it himself. He enjoyed waking up early and sipping coffee while the cold, morning air woke him up before work, but if he tried to leave his bed the other three would have tied him to it.
As soon as Kek could bare the weight of standing, he started moving around the house. Small things at first, going to the window, brewing his own coffee in the kitchen. He felt sore, and weak, and useless, and it infuriated him, but the only thing he could do about it was follow the doctors instructions so he could heal as soon as possible. The more he moved the better he felt until he finally managed to convince Ryo he was ready to walk his own damn dog. That morning, when he returned, he entered the apartment to find Ryo, Bakura, and Marik, sitting in the living room with grave expressions on their faces.
"Tonight," Bakura said.
Kek nodded. "'Bout time. I want my bed back."