Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Kourui ❯ Kourui, part one ( Chapter 1 )

Kourui.

By Sweetdeily. (http://www.geocities.com/lillyanya130)

This is an AU Yu-Gi-Oh, Yaoi, Bakura/Ryou story and Sweetdeily-chan does not own the characters.

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He had never seen something so unconditionally beautiful in all his long life.

White hair glistened in the cherry sunlight; saturated to pale shoulders by the salt water.

Bakura was moved to speechlessness as he stared at the petit form collapsed on the shore.

Thick lashes rested against pale cheeks. A small, kissable mouth closed as though in pensive thought.

Before his mind could prevent him, the white haired incubi trotted toward the still form and bent down.

Pale, cold skin was revealed all down the beauty's body, uninterrupted by clothing, or the lack thereof.

Bakura touched the soft neck and marveled at the smoothness of the boy's skin. There was no pulse. A sort of desperation took hold of him and he rolled the beautiful form over, tilting the cold head back, locating the child's chest and pushing down.

The mouth opened as if magically and Bakura counted, then he held the cold nose and forced his breath into that chilled mouth.

Pump.

Pump.

Breathe.

Pump.

Pump.

Breathe.

Why did he even try? The youth had probably died hours ago. And even if the body had only just washed up on the beach… there was barely any chance for some kind of rescue…

Pump.

Pump.

Breathe.

Pump.

The flesh beneath his hands seemed to soak in some of his own body heat and to Bakura's relief and astonishment, the chest gave a great heave and the cold throat worked, the mouth gurgled and the beauty choked, body spasming and head moving up to cough up what probably felt like a few gallons of water but was only a few mouthfuls.

Unbelievably gorgeous chocolate eyes opened hazily to stare at Bakura for a moment before the youth passed out cold.

Bakura stared for a few moments longer, but his common sense finally intervened. The incubus lifted the cold form and moved back to his carriage. The black horses snorted, red eyes following the mortal form that their master brought with him.

The doors opened of their own accord and Bakura stepped into the welcome heat of the expensive vehicle.

"Home. And… hurry." He added on finally.

The carriage rushed away from the dawn and back toward the hilltop mansion without a driver and only six black demonic horses steering the way.

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Ryou was having a dream. A dream that was very cold, and very painful, and then it was just blackness and this gradual awareness of a shinning light that was growing and then even that was gone and he was staring at very icy auburn eyes, and those were gone, and it was gradually getting warmer, and white noise swallowed him.

But, now, his dreams were ending, and Ryou was disappointed; although the dreams had been painful, they had been better then the constant beatings and abuse of his waking life.

He found, that although he was wonderfully comfortable-unusual as it was for his bed- he was beginning to shiver uncontrollably. It wasn't that it was cold, he was sure of it… but it had something to do with the numbness in his bones, the ache in all his muscles and the burning sensation in his lungs as he breathed in and out. He knew his body was covered in bruises and scrapes anyway, but they weren't usually this bad. 'How badly did they beat me this time?' Ryou wondered, he didn't feel like he had broken bones, but all the pain might not have kicked in yet; he wasn't moving other then the shivers that wrecked his body.

Recent memories began to resurface and Ryou gasped, groaning. That was right! His father had been too out of it to put up a fight any more and the gang members had cornered him, as usual -but they weren't laughing and smiling like they usually were when they took him and beat him- they were really mad about something, and had sinister looks to them. They'd grabbed him by the arms, punched him around a bit, and then…

Then they'd thrown him into the Dark Waterfall. It was a terrible act to throw someone into the Dark falls, stories told that no one ever survived it, whether they drowned to death or were bashed to death by the sharp, fiend-type rocks.

'I'm dead.' Ryou concluded. 'I'm really dead… damn, it hurts more than I'd expect, and it's cold.'

"Are you waking, bishounen?" A deep, crackling voice inquired.

"For a dead man, yes." Ryou whispered out; his voice hoarse and broken. It was a pity; his voice had always been so melodic in life.

There was laughter and Ryou felt the heat increase around him. His shivering was slowly dying down.

"You are not dead, Bishounen. You are half drowned, beaten within an inch of life and barely conscious, but not dead. Can you open your eyes?"

Ryou thought about this.

He wasn't dead? Damn.

Could his open his eyes? He thought they were open.

Slowly, painfully, Ryou peeled his eyelids open. It was a lot harder than it usually was to open his eyes, but he got them open.

A demon was looming over him. Black wings fanned out behind it, demonic auburn eyes staring at him, white hair spiked out in all directions. The being wore a black tunic, with pentagons woven into the loose shirt in red and Ryou couldn't see below the beginnings of a crimson belt.

"I can't be alive and be in hell at the same time." Ryou croaked out logically.

"Hell?"

"Demons live in hell. You're a demon, I'm damned. Can't still be alive to be in hell." Ryou explained.

"Well we're not in hell, and I'm not a demon… well, techniqually I am, but I'm not bound to any place called hell. This is the Realms. You must be from the human world."

"Realms?"

"Yes. Well, a part of the Realms, you cannot exist in 'the Realms' because the Realms are actually eight realms all linked through portals. Although, the human world used to be linked as well… but then the Christian faith sprouted up and the Guardians of the Portals closed off your realm. It was to preserve the old ways, and to stop magic from dying."

Ryou's head began to ache. "Right. I've gone insane. That explains everything. And my mind has conjured a figment to portray my insanity. You see, really, I'm a blabbering, dishelved madman wandering the streets."

"Why is it so hard to believe what I say is true?" The demon asked in annoyance.

"Seriously? Well, take my history for example; bad childhood, bad life. Now, take in the fact that I remember being thrown into the Dark falls, and no one has ever survived that. Add to this that I'm talking to a demon… it is only logical."

"Oh? Into… the dark falls? Falls as in waterfalls?"

"Yes." Ryou said.

"Well, well, the Guardians are getting sloppy. These Dark Falls of yours are probably a portal. The reason no one survives is because they go through the portal and into the sea. You must have gone through during the storm we had last night, which is why I found you. Do you know how lucky that is, bishounen?"

Ryou swallowed that down, his headache was increasing and his throat rasped painfully, and he was overheated and…

"You're not looking so well, here, drink some of this." The demon took a mug off the table beside the bed and slipped an arm under Ryou's head as the human took the mug in both hands and struggled to raise his face so he didn't choke on its essence.

Ryou noted the warmth in the demon's hands as he used said hands to rest his skull on so he could drink and not choke.

The whitette sipped the fluid and choked anyway.

That which had started out as water had had herbs and some unidentifiable substance added to it. The result was a nasty taste that went right to the back of his throat and the worst aftertaste ever found in any food ever concocted. Ryou immediately wanted to destroy the drink and burn its recipe.

"Alleggggh!"

"Yes, it is quite horrible isn't it? Best thing for drowning victims, though." The demon commented offhandedly.

"Ye Gods! Couldn't you have just given me water?" Ryou spat.

"Probably, but you're throat's cleared up, you've stopped shivering, and your skin is taking a little bit of color already. Water's all well and good, but Uncle Kaiba's brew is second to none on the recovery chart."

"Uncle Kaiba deserves to be shot."

"How can you say that? This potion- despite its foulness- is good for just about any problem! Besides, you haven't even met the man yet and you're threatening his life."

Ryou gave the mug back and decided to change the subject. Talking produced saliva, saliva got the taste out of his mouth.

"What's your name? And how come you speak English?"

"My name is Bakura. And I'm speaking common…. Most of us learn common, although we closed off the human's home-world, you lot are still the main traders of the Realms, it pays to have common ground between all species, bishounen. And what is your name, or am I to just keep referring to you as bishounen?"

"My name is Ryou. What does bishounen mean?"

"Hmm… the best I can do to translate it as is 'pretty boy'."

Ryou blinked. He hardly thought he was a qualifier for the title 'pretty'. He was skinny, covered in bruises and his hair was always getting dirty, these certainly didn't sound like things that were 'pretty'.

Bakura yawned and patted Ryou lightly on his head. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll see the Gods in the morning to see if we can find anyway back home for you."

Ryou nodded, he was tired. "Okay." He didn't realize that Bakura meant gods as in actual gods, but took it as a name of someone.

The demon left and Ryou closed his eyes as the door clicked shut. He was almost instantly asleep, and with the sleep came a dream that Ryou would have sworn was reality.

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Bakura shed his clothing and slid noiselessly and smoothly across the silk sheets, pale hands sliding along the ridges of a circlet that lay in the center of the four-poster bed. He raised the circlet to his brow and lay down on his wings. Magic began to fill the room as the circlet's power was activated.

Bakura's astral form lifted away from his body and slipped through the walls, drifting a short way down the passage before entering a dimly lit bedroom. The candle went out as his astral form entered and only the moonlight was left to illuminate the ethereal beauty sleeping on the bed.

The incubi floated to the bed and crawled over the covers, leaning over the small form under said covers.

"Are you awake, Bishounen?"

Chocolate eyes fluttered open and the small mortal gave a squeak of surprise.

"Shhh, I've come to sooth your fears…"

"Soothe my what's?" Ryou asked blearily, still half asleep.

Bakura answered his guest by silently kissing the boy, smirking as the beautiful Ryou gasped in surprise and unwittingly opened his mouth for more plundering.

And Bakura did plunder thoroughly.

He swept his tongue into Ryou's mouth and tasted the boy, even if he was in astral form; he knew how to manipulate the mental energies. There was an elusive, addictive hitch in Ryou's taste and Bakura pressed closer to play with Ryou's tongue, one forearm resting above the mortal's head to support the astral projection so he didn't fall through Ryou's body.

He pulled back briefly to allow the small form to take in some air before moving in again and tasting that sweetness that dwelled within. Ryou gave a little, delightful moan one hand raising up to try and wrap around Bakura's neck, but his hand fell through the astral form and Bakura gave the boy one last little kiss before he retreated, sending a gentle wave of drowsiness back to the human.

The astral form floated back to Bakura's body and the Incubi opened his eyes slowly, pink tongue licking his lips. It was good that he hadn't gone any further, his control had almost slipped and he'd come close to feeding.

But he knew that taste now.

The taste of a virgin.

The Incubi took the circlet off and placed it on his dresser. Russet eyes closing as he savored Ryou's own personal taste and the sweetness of a virgin. Virgins tasted a little bit like honey, only they were more pronounced, meltier, and slightly more addictive. Ryou tasted like a virgin and apples.

Irresistible.

Bakura congratulated himself on his catch and slipped under the covers of his bed. He would have to play it safe… build the kid up until he was ready to be fed on and in the mean time… figure out how he was going to keep the kid in his company without having the white haired angel suspect anything.

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Ryou watched his savior cut another piece off the apple, dip it in honey and eat it slowly. He was still blushing about his embarrassing dream that night and, although he'd never seen someone eat so many apples and four jars of honey, he was too preoccupied to wonder about the strange craving the demon seemed to have. Besides, it was probably perfectly normal for Bakura.

"You look a bit better this morning, but I don't want you out of that bed for a few days. Do you understand? If you need anything whistle loudly and one of the suits will answer you." Bakura finally said between apples.

Ryou blinked. "I understand. But what are suits?"

Bakura licked his lips and let out a shrill whistle. A second later the door opened and a suit of armor walked in and bowed stiffly.

"They're animated suits of armor, cheaper then servants, but they can't talk. Yes or no questions will let you know if your request is achievable. They are quite intelligent." He waved the suit away and turned to Ryou's stunned face.

"What… who… where… who is in that armor?" the human stumbled out.

"No one. They're enchanted." Bakura surveyed Ryou's half-eaten breakfast of toast, cheese and sausages and clicked his tongue, the toast and the cheese had been nibbled on, but Ryou hadn't touched the sausages, the decorative lettuce leaves were missing completely though. "You won't recover if you don't eat, Ryou."

Ryou blinked slowly. "Enchanted? What, like with magic?" His mind was still on the suit.

"Yes with magic. Eat your food, child."

"But magic doesn't exist! That's just silly wives tales to amuse little girls!"

Bakura stared at Ryou. "You've never seen magic?"

"Of course not! Real magic doesn't exist."

The Incubi was momentarily put off his fixation on Ryou's eating habit and turned to a very determined frame of mind.

"Fine. I'll show you it does exist Ryou."

Bakura stood and moved his chair away, clearing a space for a circle. Extending one hand the demon closed his eyes, pulling the firey spark of protective circle magic that made a circle of command from inside his mind and pushing it down his arm right into his fingertips. Fire burst from his fingers and he moved his arm, spreading the fire around him until it fell in a circle around him.

"What the-?"

"Shh! Don't interrupt me Ryou; be silent while I summon." Bakura silenced the outburst. He brought his fingers inward, toward each other and the five point star appeared inside the circle, leaving him standing in the northern point. He began to murmur in his native language, fingers moving as if playing an instrument then quite suddenly he stopped.

Nothing happened for a few moments, or so it seemed, Ryou looked around, trying to figure out what was meant to happen, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary.

The human rolled his eyes and lifted his hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes; it was then that he realized he was in a snake pit.

Ryou screamed, fear lacing through his chest and speeding up his beating heart, he jumped and squirmed, screaming louder still as the snakes hissed and slithered all over him. He jumped from the ditch where the bed had been and ran behind Bakura, easily breaking through the fiery protections and hiding his head instinctively in Bakura's chest.

Tears fell from his eyes and he trembled all over. He wasn't usually disturbed by snakes or spiders, but a pit of them was just too much, he was fine, as long as the snakes didn't touch him, but he couldn't stand the feel of their scales, all over his body…

Bakura raised an eyebrow at Ryou's reaction and gently hugged the human, not understanding why the white haired boy would panic. "Hush, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong!?!?! Snakes! Bloody snakes! That-that's w-w-what!" Ryou hiccupped, clinging to Bakura as if he were trying to get the feel off his body.

"They're only Lovebite snakes." Bakura cooed; looking at the hurt looks on the snake's faces while he rubbed Ryou's back in circles.

Ryou shuddered and sobbed, not understanding what the hell a 'Lovebite' snake was. "Please take me out of here. Please." Bakura chuckled and waved a hand, banishing the snakes back to whence they came. "Look, they're gone now."

He had to practically pry Ryou off his chest so he could turn the boy around. Ryou shuddered and shook his head. "I don't care! Please don't ever do that again!" he turned his watery eyes on Bakura pleadingly.

The Incubi fought very hard not to just throw the little human down right then and take him. "Hush. I won't. I'll remember that you're afraid of Lovebite snakes, however silly it seems." He rolled his eyes and used his thumb to wipe away the tears on Ryou's cheeks. "Shhh its okay now; let's just finish breakfast, okay?"

Bakura started for the bed but Ryou whimpered loudly. "No! I don't want to go back on there! What if they come back?"

The incubi sighed, and brushed his hand through the mortal's hair. "They won't come back. For heaven's sake, they were only Lovebite snakes!"

Ryou shook his head. There were few things in the world he would flat out refuse to do. This had just become one of them.

"Oh fine. I'll carry you to my room, since it's too far to walk to the others." Bakura scooped the human up with ease, ignoring the surprised whimper that arose from this action.

With a silent command he opened the doors and strode into the hallway, there were two suits of armour either side of the door. "Bring the food." He instructed the nearest one before marching down a few meters and opening his own door.

"I'm not that weak, really." Ryou murmured; he was blushing furiously. It was hard to believe that those were magic suits of armour and didn't have people in them. The indignity of having to be carried he was that weak was humiliating for Ryou, and put together with the embarrassing dream he'd had that night. Ryou glanced at the demon from under his eyelashes, Bakura was attractive… but there was a chaotic sense to him that Ryou found hard to trust. Like Bakura was underhanded and sneaky…

Ryou bit his lip to these thoughts, it was taught by the church that all demons were evil and deceptive and that they seduced their victims before sacrificing them to Satan. But even though Bakura looked the part and felt the part, he hadn't tried to seduce Ryou yet, in fact, Ryou was pretty sure that the demon was only nursing him back to health out of the goodness of his heart. The attraction was all in Ryou's mind.

Which left the angel confused, because he wasn't normally attracted to other people; his rough life had seen to that. So what had his dream meant? The church would say that he was possessed and should purify himself to rid himself of this desire.

"… Mind the doorjamb."

Ryou blinked, realizing Bakura had been speaking, the next thing he knew he's head had an intimate meeting with the doorjamb. Bakura swore and gently put Ryou down, pale hands going to the angel's forehead and gently smoothing the red flesh.

"Baka, I told you to pull your head in."

"I'm sorry, I was so lost in thought I wasn't listening."

Bakura gave a dark little chuckle and rubbed Ryou's head a last time before scooping the human up again and depositing him over the threshold. "Okay, fine, fine. Go and rest on the bed, then. What were you thinking so hard about anyway?"

Ryou took a few shaky steps into the room and gently lowered himself onto the silk covered bed. The bed was very stylish, but it looked as if it got cold at night. His head was feeling a bit light from the exertions of the past few minutes and Ryou took a breath to steady himself.

"I was thinking about what you said earlier… about how you closed off the magic portals to Earth because of the Christian faith. What was wrong with it?"

Bakura accepted the tray of food and came into the room, the door shutting soundlessly behind him as if pushed by invisible hands. He spoke as he set the tray down. "Well, the problem wasn't just the Christian's… but it was mostly related to the zealots of that faith. I don't know where it first came from, but there was once a time when Earth was open to the magical races until a Holy Order was formed… Paladins began to scourge the land of all… 'impurities'… they tipped the delicate scales of good and evil so drastically that it began having a profound effect on the 'good' people. The Gods decreed that Earth- the human plane of existence- was too dangerous and the Guardians of the portals agreed. Many fled and came into the other realms and Earth was sealed."

"I actually understood most of that… but what are Paladins… and what happened to the scale of good and evil?" Ryou laid back, eyes following the incubi's movements as the demon came and sat beside the bed.

"Paladins… they are holy knights, blessed by God, their sole mission is to annihilate all evil, but in doing so they destroy the balance of life. When the evil creatures began to die and flee, the scales tipped in the favor of good. But there must always be good and evil. Zealots emerged, people who thought themselves above all others, you probably hear of the holy wars and the like… those were by-products of these zealots' wishes. Fanatics without leashes are nothing more then common madmen. Christian's were the forefront religion… to be honest, not all were bad, but the ones that were…" Bakura shuddered. "They accused demons of trying to destroy the world."

Ryou blinked. "But aren't demons always trying to destroy the world and punish the faithful?"

Bakura chuckled and took a bite of another apple. "No, of course not! What's there to corrupt and kill without a world? We demons flourish on a flourishing society."

This sent a chill down Ryou's spine. "I think I understand. So basically… when the scales of good and evil tipped, it was too dangerous to be in… my realm?"

"Yes. That is it in a nutshell."

"But the world now seems to have both good and evil equally."

Bakura laughed then, a full throated, sultry laugh, he leaned forward and flicked Ryou's nose. "A world in which an angel such as you is thrown into a death trap is not a stable world. Were I a higher demon, not even I would have wasted one so beautiful to such a fate."

Ryou didn't know what to say to that, so he skipped it entirely. "So, why is the Christian faith worst of all?"

Bakura shrugged. "They're plans of world domination I believe were what did it."

Ryou opened his mouth to argue that, but caught himself. He lived in a remote part of Europe, in a small little village… and even there, the church ruled everything…

"Now, are you going to finish eating that?" Bakura motioned at Ryou's plate.

The human followed the incubi's gaze and blushed. "I'm not really hungry."

"Too bad. Eat up or you won't get better."

"But-"

Bakura growled, dark eyes narrowing and flickering with red. "Don't make me tell you again."

The angel squeaked and picked up his forgotten fork. He'd suddenly found his appetite.

~ To Be Continued…

Sweet notes: *stretches* done! Reviews, kittens?