Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Anything For You ❯ Promise Me ( Chapter 33 )

Angelic mouse Girl: I was actually thinking about that. It sounds like a plan sometime.

Negacat: I just thought the idea of a bear and Anzu would be funny…sorry for any confusion. I actually have no idea what would kill her. She'd probably hug death to death or something. "OOO>..Come here wittle reaper!" Ok…I've officially lost it.

AMT: *brings a crate of Malik and Ryou plushies * There. They need all the love that they can get.

Ssjgodesschico: I know. Anzu is definitely scary as a clown.

Falling Leaves: You're not clueless and you Do have a heart! *hugs * Yeah. I loved Seto banging his head against the wall, too. I could so see that.

Ryou's Mistress: I'm sorry. I know you're not clueless. I didn't mean to make you angry…*hands 100 crates of Ryou and Bakura plushies * Does that make you feel better?

Dragondreamer: YUP! 27 DAYS UNTIL I MOVE TO CANADA!!! Tippies! *happy dances * You know, Dragondreamer, we are both bad at keeping secrets…..

Promise Me

Marik's POV

The nurses at the hospital told us that they hoped that Aten would continue to grow stronger after his ordeal. So did I. But Zira came into the hospital room asking to see me and Bakura outside.

Ryou kept rocking holding onto Aten. He eventually also accepted Aria into his arms, which to all of us was a good sign.

Zira looked at both of us holding what I could only assume as Ryou's chart in his hand.

"You know, Bakura, this is the first time I have encountered anything like this case. Do you know how hard we tried to get Ryou to come out of that trance?"

Bakura shook his head. Neither of us were too familiar with modern medicine. All we grew up with was to let the wound bleed because the impurities came out of the body that way. And if a person was in Ryou's state, he was possessed by an evil spirit or the body's internal chemistry was disrupted.

"Does he ever come out of it?" I asked.

"Only when we give Aten to Ryou to feed or when he cries and wakes up everyone on the floor. That's the only time we see any positive change in him."

Bakura shifted his weight uncomfortably. My former lover was not taking this too easy, but I had no way of helping him when I had to sort out my own feelings. "What's wrong with him, Zira? You have to tell me!" Bakura grabbed Zira's arms tightly. Desperation.

"Ryou has a case of post-traumatic stress syndrome and…"

"You modern humans and your syndromes! Just tell me what is going on with Ryou!"

I grabbed Bakura's hand as I removed it from Zira. This was not the time nor the place to become emotional.

"Ryou goes into his trances to forget what happened to him. It's the mind and body's self-defense mechanism. Ryou cannot cope with what happened to him, so he turns into himself. Ryou hasn't told me completely what he saw or what happened to him while in the captivity of his father, but his body certainly tells me more than I need to know."

Bakura gravitated towards me and leaned against me. His lowered head was covered by his white locks.

"How long will it take Ryou to get over this?" I asked Zira rubbing Bakura's back.

"However long it takes Ryou to come to terms with what happened to him and what he saw. We had a psychiatrist come in to speak to Ryou, but all we got was "Do it for Aten.." He repeated that over and over. So, we put Aten with him and, as expected, he

came out of his trance. He told us something of a dark basement with nothing to drink but wine. He remembers waking up with a hangover in another man's bed beside someone called Tim Cinetti. This behavior is not uncommon in people who have gone into shock. As Ryou recovers, he'll remember more and more of what happened. As he remembers, I want you to let us know."

Bakura broke away from me suddenly and paced behind me. Bakura gripped his hair and growled. He clenched his teeth and gave the hospital wall one good kick to relieve his tension.

"Hey, tenshi, it's going to be ok. You, me, and Malik will take good care of him. We'll let you know how Ryou progresses, Dr. Zira."

"No problem. I'm going to give you some sedatives for him and I want him to resume his heart medication. It's obvious he's been without it for a while. Feed him small meals during the day and give him plenty of bed rest. We were lucky to stabilize him when he first arrived here, but it was a challenge."

"Thank you, Dr. Zira. We really appreciate your help."

Bakura re-entered the room without thanking Zira. My former lover must have been in his own little world. Bakura needed some time with Ryou alone when we got him home.

"He can go home, actually. Maybe the sights and sounds of his own environment will snap him out of this. Besides, he's stable enough and with those kids around, Ryou will be more responsive. His home environment would be a better setting for his recovery. It may even increase his rate of recovery rather than remaining in the hospital."

"What about Aten?"

"Aten can go home, too. Feed him little meals, but keep in mind that sensitive stomach of his. Give him bananas, cooked carrots, soft stuff like that. He may be a little more quick to recover if he was home. After all, he has his toys there."

I smiled as I remembered Aten's favorite little monkey doll, the one he never got his hands off of. The one that kept me awake on numerous occasions. "Yeah, he must miss his toys."

"I usually see kids act out aggression after conditions like this. It's their way of coping with being in this situation. Keep an eye on Aria and don't leave them alone together."

"But Aten doesn't have an aggressive bone in his little body! In fact, I'd be surprised if he actually raised a hand to his sister."

"As I said, this is only what I have seen in many cases. This may not even happen at all. I'm just letting you know to keep an eye out for it in case it occurs."

I nodded. "Ok. Thank you, Dr. Zira."

"If you encounter any problems with Ryou. If he doesn't eat, doesn't speak, if he tries to hurt himself or others, you let me know day or night."

"I understand." I returned to the room where Malik was packing Ryou's clothes. Ryou was on the bed playing with the kids. Ryou had both of them in his arms and was kissing their cheeks wildly. Bakura remained in the dark corner of the room. What was it with him and that dark corner?

Finally, we took Ryou home. Ryou held onto the kids tightly in the ambulance as we drove home. Seto and Joey had left after being chased by Anzu out of the hospital. I have to admit…seeing Anzu drop from 40 floors up and bounce off the ground was kind of entertaining. Ryou's eyes kept focused on Bakura the entire time. Everytime Bakura moved his hair back on his shoulders or sighed, Ryou tensed up. Those eyes….those brown eyes..remained fixed on Bakura. We did not know why. Was Ryou trying to open up the link with Bakura? Or did he consider Bakura a threat to him or the children? Ryou wouldn't even let me hold Aten. Ryou didn't let them go.

When we walked into the house, Bakura opened the door. Malik and I walked in, but when I turned, I saw Ryou holding Aria and Aten. He was looking at Bakura with large eyes again almost shaking.

"Ryou? Aren't you coming in?"

Ryou's gaze didn't break from Bakura. "You're not going to hurt the children, are you, yami?"

Bakura squeezed the doorknob tightly. The other yami was clearly becoming impatient.

"Go inside, Ryou. Come on. This is your home, too, you know."

Ryou lowered his head and slowly approached the door. "Move away."

"What?" Bakura asked.

"Move away from the door."

I pulled Bakura away from the door as Ryou put the kids down. Aria held Aten's hand bringing him inside. She immediately took him to her dolls on the floor. Aria handed Aten a doll.

"Angelica weawwy missed you, Aten!"

Aten looked over and saw the monkey on the couch. "MY MONEY!" Aten ran to his monkey doll and covered it in kisses. My son is so cute.

Ryou held his head low as he entered the house. When he looked up it was if he was looking at our house for the first time.

Malik helped Ryou to the couch and told him to lay down. "I'm going to make you some tea. You still want milk and sugar?"

"No milk…please."

"But, Ryou, that's your favorite. You sure?"

Ryou nodded quickly. I went to help Malik with the tea. When we walked into the kitchen, Malik put his arms around my waist and put his head on my chest.

"What are we going to do, yami?"

I took a deep breath. "Just do what we can to make him comfortable. That is all we can do." I gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead to calm my lover down.

I leaned back to look into the living room. Bakura was sitting on the chair by the couch.

"Care to watch some television, Ryou? We always liked to do that together."

"I….If you want to, yami. I can leave you alone if you want."

"No, hikari. I want you to relax. There's no need to be nervous around me."

Ryou curled up again on the couch staring at the television. Aten played with his tiny monkey listening to it clang its cymbals which seemed louder than usual.

Bakura looked at Ryou. "Why do you do that? Hikari, there is nothing to worry about."

Ryou lowered his head into his body effectively hiding his face.

I let Malik make the tea and I returned back to the living room to help diffuse Bakura. Ryou looked up at me. "Did I make my yami angry?"

I brushed his hair back gently. "No. Bakura's not angry. Are you, Bakura?" My piercing glare was shot at Bakura.

"Ryou, please. I'm only trying to let you know that you don't have to fear me."

Aten went to his father and tugged on his jeans. "Daddy, I sweepy. My money wants to go to beddie-bye."

I picked up Aten and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Carrying him upstairs, I saw Bakura join Ryou on the couch. When I got Aten upstairs I changed the sheets in his crib. I placed his toys back inside. His Change of Heart plushie was put right by his pillow where he liked it. I changed my boy into some white sleepwear and covered him with his purple blanket.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Were you happy to see me?"

Happy? He was hooked up to about a thousand machines to keep his heart and his body from starving and dehydrating! His large chibi eyes looked up at me.

"I was afraid I would lose you, son. You don't know how happy I was to see you were going to live." My hand grazed over Aten's tan cheek. "I thought I lost you forever. I don't know what I'd do."

"I dweamed that you camed to see me and you not know who I was. I said `daddy, I'm me!' and you not knowed it was me."

"I would never deny you, son. I love you too much."

Aten smiled and let out a chibi giggle. "I'm happy, daddy."

I kissed him on the cheek. "Get some sleep, son. I'll wake you in a little bit to eat something. The doctor says you have to eat more often to get strong."

Aten brought his arms out of the covers. "I'm getting weawwy stwong! Wanna see?"

Aten flexed both of his arms. "I'm gonna get weawwy big and stwong wike you, daddy!"

He pulled his arms under the covers again and he yawned.

"Sleep well, son."

I walked out of the room smiling as my son fell asleep. Downstairs, Aria was playing dolls with Ryou who sat on the floor. Bakura was not in the living room.

Malik and Bakura were talking in the kitchen.

"Why won't he respond to me? What am I doing wrong?"

"Bakura, Ryou needs time," Malik said pouring a cup of tea for Ryou.

"I know, but I'm being as kind as I can be! I love him! Why isn't he responding to my love at all?"

I leaned against the refrigerator. "Because you raped him. Tim raped him. See the connection? Bakura, Ryou needs time and patience."

"Which I will give him, but he looks at me like he doesn't even know me!"

Malik carried the tea to the living room.

"Doesn't Ryou love me anymore?" Bakura asked sitting down at the table gripping his hair tightly.

"He loves you, but give him some time."

Bakura looked up. When Ryou and I have our time alone tonight, I can show him that I'm not the way I used to be. You got some candles in your room? I ran out."

"We have some cinnamon candles and incense. That'll add some spice to the air, but I don't suggest you try that just yet."

"A nice romantic night alone? Who wouldn't want that? Ryou loved our nights together."

I rolled my eyes. He wasn't listening to me. "Itemri, what am I telling you? Do NOT do anything to Ryou yet! This is not your Ryou anymore. He just saw his dad mummified ALIVE for Ra sakes! He's been taken by Jessica and Tim Ra only knows how many times. He spent the last couple of weeks in dark, dirty, basements. Give him some time to cope with all these events before you go banging him into the mattress."

"I'm not going to do that, Marik! I just want to hold him. I want to show him that I can be gentle with him and he doesn't have to fear me."

I raised an eyebrow. Just be careful."

****************************

Bakura's POV

Malik was happy to have Aria that night. Aten was grateful for the company. The boy and girl slept wrapped in each other's arms. And I knew that Malik and Marik would sleep the same way knowing that all of us were under one roof again.

I bathed Ryou. He seemed to calm down a little as I washed his hair. Even a small smile crossed his face as I washed it. But when I went to wash his back, he tensed and told me to leave because he wanted to wash himself. That was fine. That gave me time to prepare the room. I made sure everything was perfect. I lit the cinnamon candles and dimmed the lights. When Ryou's shower was over, he entered the room and his eyes went wide with the candles.

"Yami? What is this?"

"Nothing. I just figured I would show you that I can be gentle, Ryou." I took his hand and led him to the bed. My hands threw back the covers and I helped him into bed.

His wide eyes returned again as he looked around.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked me.

I slid into bed and I covered us up with the blankets. "Because I want to show you that I love you."

"Why? Aren't you just going to take me again like you did the last time?"

"Ryou, I didn't take you. Tim did. This is me," My hand held his as I made him stroke my face. "This is me. Not anyone else. I would never hurt you."

"Why did you do this to me?" Ryou began to cry.

"Ryou, I did nothing to you." I brought Ryou to my chest and I stroked his hair. Ryou's mind, like his hair, was traveling everywhere.

Ryou began to tremble. "If I do this, promise you won't hurt Aten….."

"I would never hurt him, Ryou."

"I miss my yami."

"I'm right here. How can you miss me?"

"Cold…….Dark……"

This wasn't helping. I kissed Ryou's forehead and he squinted his eyes almost in repulsion.

My lips kissed beside his eye. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ryou. I just want to hold you."

A small whimper escaped Ryou's throat. "Do it for Aten…."

Not again.

"Ryou, you do not have to do this for Aten. I just want to kiss you and hold you. I promise I will not touch you if you don't want me."

Ryou slid onto his back and exposed his neck to me and arched his back as if he were in pain.

"Don't hurt me, yami….please…."

I wrapped my arms around him. "Please, Ryou. I'm not going to hurt you." I kissed his cheek. His fingers dug into the sheets as if I were making love to him.

"Why? Why are you doing this, daddy?" my lover whined with tears coming down his face. What did that bastard Steven do?

"Ryou, open your eyes."

His eyes shot wide open.

"You are in a room with only me. I'm not touching you. I'm hugging you. I'm not holding you down. I'm not doing anything to threaten you. Please calm down. Breathe deeply. I love you, Ryou."

Ryou's face turned away from me. "You only said that you love me. How can you tell me you love me when you do this to me?"

"I do love you. Did someone else tell you they loved you?"

"…….My father."

I should have given Steven ten more deaths instead of one mummification. He deserved ten of them….even more than that. An eternity of torment.

"What did your father do to you, Ryou?"

"Can't tell….daddy would get mad."

"Your father is dead, Ryou."

Ryou shook his head. "No. He's alive."

"How can he be? I killed him myself."

"My father told me he loved me. Jessica told me she loved me. Tim…." Ryou's eyes grew large. "Tim…..he didn't tell me he loved me. He said I didn't deserve it."

I hugged Ryou tightly. "You do deserve love, Ryou. You deserve my love no matter what Tim said. Tim was just an arrogant asshole. Don't listen to what he said. Listen to me, Ryou." I cupped his chin in my hand. "I love you. I love you more than anything."

I kissed Ryou's lips gently and his eyes shot open. He began to quiver. That was usually a good sign with him.

I kissed his cheek.

"Yami?" Ryou asking his voice quivering.

"Ryou? I'm not going to hurt you."

I kissed beside Ryou's eye and he began to struggle with me.

"Let me out! Let me out!"

I pulled back and I saw Ryou fight the sheets to get out of the bed. "What did I do?"

"I have to go! I have to go find my yami! He loves me!" Ryou shook badly.

I threw the covers off of myself. "Ryou, get back into bed, please."

Ryou fell out of bed and backed towards the wall.

I climbed out of bed and walked to him. "Daddy, stay away from me. Don't come near me. Please…." I put my hands on Ryou's arms and he let out a scream that could shatter glass.

"Help! Yami! Marik! He's gonna do it again! Help!"

I tried to cover Ryou's mouth as Marik and Malik ran into the room.

"What did you try to do, Itemri?" Marik said bringing Ryou to his chest.

"NOTHING! I was just hugging him and I have him a kiss on the lips."

"Didn't I tell you that this was a bad idea? You know Ryou's sensitive now!"

Ryou collapsed on the floor in a fetal position clasping onto Malik's leg. "Do it for Aten…Do it for Aten."

Malik bent low to him and kissed Ryou. Ryou didn't move.

"See what you did, Bakura? Help me get him into our room, Malik."

Malik and Marik took Ryou into their room. Malik slept beside Ryou holding his friend. Marik slept beside me.

Well, I didn't sleep. I couldn't. I laid awake in bed thinking that I just made this entire situation worse.

Next Chappie: I'm not sure what will happen next. I know there will be a Marik x Bakura again later and even a Ryou x Malik later.

Updates: I will attempt to update on Sunday. If I get in an update tomorrow, too, I will try. I have tons of work. TONS is an understatement. 27 days until I move to Canada. That is the only thought keeping me going, guys. Really.