Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ A Simple Wish ❯ Ch. 7 Bakura's Choice ( Chapter 7 )

Sadly, this is the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for all the encouragement and suggestions.

Reviews:

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Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Yugioh!

I'd like to thank all of you guys who reviewed, especially those of you who reviewed more than once. So I'd like to give a special thanks to: Dark Queen of Roses, Sheyna, Mirakai no tenshi neko-jin, Yami Krissy, Sarina Fannel, ShadowFire, Tsunamimbw, Lizzy9046, Lady Ann Kenobi, Kaiyo no Hime, and anyone else I missed! Thank you guys so much!

Now, for all you loyal fans, here's the last chapter!

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Chapter 7: Bakura's Choice

There was a flash of bluish-purple light, and suddenly Bakura was standing next to Ryou.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked, looking around. "Where am I?"

Ryou took an involuntary step away from Bakura. Unfortunately this caught Bakura's attention.

"You!" He growled, lunging for Ryou.

Ryou cringed, waiting for Bakura to strike him, but the blow never came. Ryou looked up to see Bakura frozen in place, a surprised look on his face. The Being stepped forward and spoke sternly to Bakura.

"You will not harm him here." She said, positioning herself between Bakura and Ryou. "Do you understand?"

Bakura's face showed his confusion. His expression going from surprise, to confusion, and then quickly to anger.

"I'll do what I damn well please with the brat! Now what the hell is going on? Where am I?" Bakura growled, struggling to free himself from his invisible bonds.

"I will free you if you promise not to harm the boy. If you persist in trying to harm him, I will have to take more drastic measures. Do you understand?" She asked in a menacing tone, her aura growing larger, making her look more threatening.

Bakura actually looked afraid. He numbly nodded his head.

She smiled at him, took a step back, and suddenly, Bakura could move again. He growled and muttered under his breath, then looked around him.

"Are you at least going to answer my questions?" He finally growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You are in an alternate plane of existence, much like your Shadow Realm. I brought you here to show you something." She replied.

"And what's the brat doing here?" He glared at Ryou for a moment, then turned his attention back to the Being.

"As this concerns him, and more importantly your relationship with him, he has a right to witness this."

"What do you mean this concerns him? What relationship! Why am I here?"

"As I said before, you are here so I can show you something. Then you are to be given a choice."

"What choice?" Bakura growled, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You will see."

She raised her arm and the mirror appeared again. Bakura turned to it in surprise. The mirror's surface immediately swirled and changed. Showing a scene from when Ryou had first gotten the Ring. They watched as Ryou put the Ring on for the first time, and Bakura appeared. Ryou cringed as his past self was beaten for the first time. Bakura had been less than pleased to have such a weak partner and he had taken his frustration at being stuck in the Ring for so long, out on Ryou.

Many more scenes of abuse played out. Ryou glanced over at Bakura, looking for any sign that the scenes were affecting him. Bakura was simply sneering at the scenes in front of him. He didn't seem to care at all. Ryou sighed, maybe this was impossible.

The Being looked over at Ryou, then looked to Bakura. She knew that he was hiding his feelings. She knew that he did care. He just didn't want to admit it. And until he did, he would continue to beat Ryou.

She spoke, "Do you see what you have done to this boy? You have punished him, repeatedly, for things that he had no control over. Do you think he truly deserved that?"

Bakura turned away from them both, and Ryou was sure that they had failed and that Bakura would only beat him for this when they got home. But Bakura surprised him by actually replying.

"The boy is weak. I'm only trying to teach him how to defend himself. To toughen him up."

"You are wrong, Bakura. Ryou isn't weak. Far from it. He has one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen. Do want to know why he is truly here?" She asked, glancing at Ryou for a moment.

Bakura simply nodded his head, still not facing them. The mirror had gone blank again and slowly dissolved back into a featureless space. Ryou watched Bakura carefully, trying not to get his hopes up. He still wasn't sure that Bakura wasn't planning something.

"He made a wish which I decided to grant. After experiencing the wish, he was given a choice. He could keep things the way they were after I granted the wish, or he could take the wish back and have things return to normal. Do you have any idea what he wished for?"

"How should I know? I may beat him, but I don't make it a point to go rummaging around in his head." Bakura replied, this time sounding almost civil.

"I wished that you would actually care about me." Ryou said before the Being could say anything else. "At first I wished you were like Yami, but I realized that I couldn't handle that."

Bakura turned around and gave him an amused look.

"You think I would ever act like that Pharaoh no baka?" Bakura asked, actually laughing. Then he sobered and asked, "What was your choice?"

Ryou opened his mouth to answer, but found that he couldn't. Even though Bakura was in a good mood right now, he wasn't sure that Bakura would like his answer. The Being saved him from having to answer.

"He decided that he would rather go back to the way things were before he made the wish." She said, smiling at Ryou. He felt that it wasn't right to force you to change. That is why I brought you here. So you could see for yourself what you have put Ryou through. And so I could give you the chance to change. As Ryou wishes, I will not force you. The choice is yours."

Bakura turned away again, seeming to be thinking over what he had been told. Ryou turned away as well, not wanting to face Bakura when he denied him, as he was sure he would. 'He has no reason to care about me. Yugi and the others, my friends, may care. But Bakura has no reason to.'

Ryou started and spun around in surprise when a hand was placed gently on his shoulder. He stood there, too shocked to move, as Bakura smiled sadly at him. Bakura dropped his hand back to his side, just staring at Ryou for several moments. Then, to Ryou's further shock, he reached out and pulled him into a gentle hug.

//I'm sorry, Ryou.// Ryou heard Bakura's voice in his mind. //I never truly paid attention to what I was doing. I wanted so much to toughen you up, so that you wouldn't have to go through what I did. I thought that if I beat on you, you would eventually learn to fight back. I never realized that I came so close to destroying what I cherished so much about you. Can you forgive me?//

Ryou's mind refused to work for several moments. Finally his mind allowed him to fully process what Bakura had said. He smiled up at Bakura, and hugged him back warmly.

/Of course I forgive you, Bakura./ Ryou stated, still smiling. /I've always cared about you, and I just wanted you to care at least a little about me. Thank you./

"I'm glad I could help you realize that you do care about each other." The Being said behind them.

They let go of each other and turned toward her.

"I will return you back to your own world. No time will have passed, but you will both remember everything that has happened. I wish you both well."

"Thank you." Ryou said, smiling at her. "Thank you very much."

She just smiled back and then waved her hand. The light around them brightened to almost painful intensity. Ryou closed his eyes and waited for the light to fade. When it did he opened his eyes again. He was lying in his bed, in his room. He sighed, 'Was that just a dream?'

//No, Ryou. It was real.// Bakura said from his soul room. //Ryou, I can't promise that I won't ever hit you again. But I promise to do my best. Just know that I do care about you.//

"Thank you, Bakura." Ryou whispered.

Then he fell asleep; happy for the first time in a long time and content in the knowledge that everything would be all right.

~Yugi's House~

Yugi rolled over in bed, and opened his eyes. A glance at the clock on his nightstand showed that it was only one in the morning. He sighed. Something had woken him up, but he didn't know what.

/Yami?/ He asked softly, not sure if Yami was asleep or not.

//Yes, aibou?// Yami responded. //Is something wrong?//

/No. Everything is fine./

The Puzzle on his nightstand glowed softly and suddenly Yami appeared next to his bed. He smiled down at Yugi, sat down on the bed next to him, and rubbed his back. Yugi hugged him and smiled.

"Sleep with me, Yami?" He asked, for some reason wanting to feel Yami's comforting presence.

"Sure, Yugi." Yami replied.

He slipped under the blankets as Yugi moved over. Then he wrapped his arms around Yugi and held him comfortingly. They both fell asleep, content in being close to each other.

The End

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Well, I hope the ending wasn't too bad. I liked the way it worked out. Hope you enjoyed it too. Please review!

Translations:

Aibou - partner

Hikari - light

Yami - dark

Pharaoh no Baka - stupid pharaoh

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