Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ A Pair of Problems ❯ Ryou & Bakura- Chapter Two: Home Pains ( Chapter 3 )

A Pair of Problems: Ryou & Bakura

Chapter Two: Home Pains

~~^~*~^~~

Three motorcycles raced down the Japanese highway. One was black, another red, the last blue. Those that saw them could identify the red and blue as Domino City legends, Kaiba Seto and Mutou Yugiou, but the black was an unknown, although he looked like Bakura Ryou, a friend of the other two riders. They took an exit, the black rider in the lead. A gold bike, Ishtar Marik, joined the three as they hit the main road. The three greatest duelists in Magic and Wizard's history with a stranger leading them. It was a sight rarely seen.

-

Bakura pulled into the Bakura residence and killed his motor as he hopped off his bike. The other three pulled up behind him and followed his example. The four glanced up as the house door opened. Ryou walked out onto the porch. His skin was as colorless as his hair, his once bright green eyes dulled. "Ra..." Bakura whispered, his eyes filling with tears. This was not the way he wanted to come back. This was not his hikari.

Ryou stumbled down the front steps and onto the lawn. "Bakura..." He mumbled, exhausted. He started to fall, but, somehow, his darker half caught him, despite the distance between the two.

Bakura hugged Ryou tightly. "What the fuck are you doing outside, anyway?" He mumbled.

"Arigatou, for coming..." Ryou mumbled, ignoring Bakura's question.

Bakura snorted and placed the Ring around Ryou's neck. "You say that as if I hate you, or something." He growled, picking Ryou up and carrying him to the house.

"You don't hate me?" Ryou asked. Bakura gave him an annoyed look. "Then why have you stayed away?"

"I recall a certain hikari saying something about never wanting to see his yami again." Bakura replied dryly.

Ryou smiled sheepishly. "I lied."

"Obviously." Bakura set Ryou down on his bed, then pulled over a chair. "So..."

"What have you been doing lately?" Ryou asked quickly.

"Teaching in an American high school." Bakura grinned. "I'm a history major, best on Egyptian things."

Ryou smiled. "I never would have believed that you would make a good teacher."

"My students like me. I'm told I'm one of their favorite teachers, unless I lose my temper, which is rare." Bakura shrugged. "They like to argue with me, especially when it comes to Egypt, since I ignore the book a lot and teach them what I know to be true."

"What sorts of things do they argue about?" Ryou asked.

"Today, it was the evidence of magic. I left class with Yugiou after bringing Maryokutai to life."

Ryou shivered. "You'll give them nightmares."

"Nah... They were too excited to know I know the famous Yugiou." Bakura rolled his eyes. "Damned Pharaoh had to be the one to come and get me."

Ryou laughed. "Kami, Bakura, but I missed you!"

Bakura paused. "Could you say that again?"

"What? I missed you?" Ryou looked at Bakura strangely.

Bakura smiled slightly. "Yeah, that." He leaned over and hugged his hikari. "I missed you too, Ryou. I missed you too."

~~*~~

Bakura sighed up at Ryou's ceiling. He wouldn't let anyone know how worried he really was. Through the link he shared with Ryou, he could feel the pain the younger man hid. He stood from his chair, checking to see that Ryou was still asleep, then left the room. He needed to speak with Yugiou. He hated going to the Pharaoh for help, but he had no choice. Ryou's life hung in the balance.

"Bakura?" Ryou's father glanced over the top of the couch at the fiend as he walked by.

"I'll be right back. I just need to talk to Yugiou for a sec." Bakura said, grabbing his jacket. Ryou's father nodded and Bakura left the house, putting on his sunglasses, despite the dying light.

"Ryou?!" A small voice called, surprised.

Bakura glanced over. A small red-haired girl stood in the yard next door, one of Ryou's old teddy bears in her arms. "No." Bakura shook his head. "I'm Bakura."

The girl blinked. "You're the brother Ryou's always talking about?" She asked.

Bakura's eyes widened. ~Brother?!~ He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"I'm ChiLan. Ryou's dying, isn't he?" She looked broken. "He never comes out to play anymore."

Bakura shook his head. "He's not dying. I won't let him."

"Who cares what you will or will not let him do?!" A sharp voice asked. A teen boy came to stand next to ChiLan. "You came back all of a sudden, out of nowhere, after years of ignoring Ryou! You don't belong here! Get away!"

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "I am here because Ryou asked me here. Maybe you should think about the circumstances and the people involved before you start putting others down." He turned and got on to his bike. "You don't understand, fully, what's going on. Get all the info before you act next time." He started his bike, then zipped from the driveway and down the street, ignoring the pain the boy's sharp words had caused.

-

When he got to the Gameshop, he got off his bike and walked up to the door calmly. He walked right in, since the store was still open. Jyou, Honda, Anzu, Shizuka, Otogi, Yuugi, Yugiou, Malik, Marik, and Sugoroku all looked up. Marik, Malik, Yugiou, and Yuugi were the only ones not surprised by his appearance. "Ryou?!" Honda blinked.

"Yami Bakura!!" Anzu realized, paling.

Bakura looked straight at Yugiou. "I need to speak with you, Pharaoh." He growled.

"Yugiou! Don't go with him!" Anzu cried.

"Bitch, go get fucked by someone. You're annoying me." Bakura hissed, his voice sharp. Anzu gaped at him as Yugiou grabbed his helmet and followed the other yami outside.

"Park?" Yugiou suggested. Bakura shrugged and they both got on their bikes and flew towards the park, not racing, yet both going as fast as they could.

-

They walked into the trees once they were at the park. Bakura found a rock to sit on, while Yugiou leaned against a tree. The Pharaoh looked at the thief critically, seeing his worry easily, now that he had the chance. "What's wrong, Bakura?" He asked. He may dislike the thief, but Yugiou knew that Bakura's care for his hikari was genuine, and Yugiou's gut warned him that this was about that hikari.

"I hate myself for this, but I need your help." Bakura sighed. Yugiou rose an eyebrow but kept his mouth shut, wisely. "Ryou's dying, and I know there's something I can do, but I don't know what."

Yugiou's eyes widened. "Well, what do you think you can do?"

Bakura sighed. "That's the problem. I don't have any ideas!"

Yugiou sighed. "Bakura, the most I can suggest is talking to Ryou. He may know something..."

"He won't even tell me when he's in intense pain! He's so damn stubborn!" Bakura exploded. "I can't help him because he won't let me!"

Yugiou frowned. "Would you like me to talk to him?"

Bakura put his head in hands. "I don't know what I want." He stood suddenly. "Yes, go talk to him. I need to take a ride. Thanks." Then Bakura wandered off.

Yugiou sighed and pushed away from the tree. //I'm gonna go try and talk to Ryou.// He told Yuugi.

/Okay. Let me know if you need my help./ Yuugi replied.

Yugiou left the woods and got on his bike. Bakura was long gone. Yugiou sighed and rode his bike over Ryou's house, parking in the driveway. He wandered over to the door and knocked. Ryou's father opened the door, and he looked stressed. "Bakura asked me to speak to Ryou for him about something." Yugiou offered.

The man stepped back, giving Yugiou room to walk in. "Good luck. Ryou's having a fit, saying Bakura's left him again, no matter what I say."

Yugiou rolled his eyes. "I'll handle that. You look tired. Get some rest." Yugiou walked down the hall. He stepped into Ryou's room. The pale hikari was sitting in his bed tearfully, clutching his Sennen Ring. "Ryou, Bakura isn't leaving." Yugiou sighed. "You have the Ring. He can't leave."

Ryou looked up at Yugiou sadly. "Then why'd he shut me out?"

Yugiou groaned and sat on the edge of the bed. "Because you shut him out. He's worried about you, but he can't help if you won't let him."

"Could you talk to him for me?" Ryou pleaded.

"Why?" Yugiou blinked.

"I'm scared. He'll hate me when he learns what happened!" Ryou clutched the Ring tighter, as if it could save him.

"Ryou, I will not tell Bakura what happened. You need to do that. I think that, if you tell him yourself, the rift that was built between you two when you met, and then widened when you separated, can begin to heal." Yugiou hugged Ryou lightly, as a father would do for a son.

They heard a motorcycle pulling into the driveway. "Bakura..." Ryou identified.

"Good." Yugiou stood stretching. He glanced up as Bakura entered the room. "I need to get going." He looked directly at Ryou. "Tell him." Then he turned and left.

Bakura pursed his lips. "You shouldn't have been concerned. I really don't have anyway to get back home. I can't go anywhere."

Ryou blinked. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, yes." Bakura walked over and sat on the bed next to his hikari. "Now, what are you supposed to tell me?"

Ryou suddenly burst into tears. "I can't do it!"

Bakura's eyes widened and he put a hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Ryou?" The hikari moved over so he could lean against Bakura's chest. Bakura froze, then, slowly, enfolded Ryou in a hug. "Hush..." He mumbled. "I'm right here. Nothing'll happen to you, hikari."

Ryou smiled against Bakura's chest. "Arigatou." He whispered. "I-I have something to tell you."

Bakura smoothed out Ryou's hair some. "Don't push yourself. We have a long time."

~He really cares about me!~ Ryou realized. "Do you know, one of my doctors think that this whole illness is due to stress, and my tendency to keep things locked up inside." He mumbled.

"I guess that could be possible..." Bakura mused.

"Well, you see, not too long after you left, something happened..." Ryou bit his lip. He could feel the worry within his other half. But, he still wasn't sure he could tell his yami the truth.

"Ryou, you're braver than you think." Bakura mumbled, sensing the light's unease.

"It's not that..."

"And I will not judge you by your past. You've never judged me, so I owe you that much." He pulled Ryou closer. "Tell me. Please?"

~I can do this...~ Ryou thought, taking a deep breath. ~I will do this!~

~~^~*~^~~

~~A/N: Okay, so this one wasn't as short as I'd originally thought either, but I added as I typed, so of course it'll be longer!! Uhm, Chapter 3 and 4 are done and named, Chapter 5 is in the works, none typed yet. All should be out shortly. (Possibly at the same time as the first three parts, since none of this fic is up yet... -_-*)

Also, you all will probably be killing me by the time we get to the next chapter!! *hides* I didn't mean to do it!!! (You'll see....)

DISCLAIMER: YGO! Not mine. Bakura and Seto are total bishies, but I don't have the money to buy them. (SHIMATTA!!!) Jeorge is mine and, yes, he'll be back.(Well, the character is. I took the name from this guy who sits next to me in Earth Science cause I think it's a cool spelling!! ^_~)

Note: Bakura and Ryou's eye colors are taken from the first season. Yami's eye color will probably be the same, but he looks better with red eyes anyway.... Everything else will, probably, be from the second season, unless I say otherwise.

Another Note: Marik is Yami Malik. I hate typing out Yami Malik everytime, so I'll refer to him as Marik. Also, all the yami's took on the names of their hikaris, except Bakura, who just took on the last name Yami.

One Last Note for Disclaimer: Any OOCness is apologized for, but the prologue was placed about one year AFTER the show(so far) and this is between five to ten years AFTER that. I realize the Kaibas and the Bakuras(I think) go to America after this season. I also realize that the Ishtars go back to Egypt. Guess what... SCREW THAT ENDING!!! This is, hereby, an AU fic. This means it takes place in an alternate universe. Excuse that. I'll try and keep the OOCing to a minimum, though.

Ja!

KJ