Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Redemption ❯ Justice ( Chapter 32 )

AN:

 

I know, I know, this is so extremely late it is not funny. But here is the truth, pregnancy makes you tired, your brain scrambled and I just did not have time, energy, or inspiration to continue this. However it was never abandoned, I wouldn't do that to you. I am now 33 weeks pregnant (oh hell not long now) and have changed my working arrangement so I now have time, I now have energy, and as a result I am trying to get through my existing projects and finish them, so after baby is born its all new ones to work on. So many apologies, but have fun, I know I have writing it.

 

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The next few weeks were odd ones. Ryou continued to heal, and to say that things between him and Malik had changed was an understatement. Malik had slowly begun to ask questions about Marik, about what had happened after he'd been hit by the car - oh that had taken a lot of courage on his part to explain and a lot of failed attempts, but eventually Ryou had managed to get what it was he was trying to stammer out and just answered the question - or did bit by bit. It took quite some explaining, all the details, all he had learned in his brief visit to Heaven. Though he did gloss over the fact about himself, about having part of Kisara's soul, and what would come next for him when his life did come to its natural end. But everything else came out, the Battle of the Heavens, God's punishments, all these little details. It took time for Malik to accept it all, but he did, and he certainly did not question Ryou again.

 

Ryou was getting his strength back little by little, and his hair had grown enough so that he could have it cut more evenly and not have to hide where the surgery had left him bald in places for a while, though his now shorn cut did look alarmingly like Akeifa's when he caught a look unthinkingly in the mirror. But considering everything, the passing likeness should not be so surprising he guessed. He was beginning to look forward to moving back into his own apartment again, and starting short shifts at the library, his boss having been extremely understanding - he did wonder if that was more divine intervention - now that his strength was returning. And with it came more time with all his friends. But the only trouble with spending time in a group was that it slowly became obvious, no matter how he and Malik tried, that Joey and Yugi were out of the loop.

 

So the two of them arranged a night in together, much like they used to have before all this started. And between them they sat down and told Yugi and Joey. They were less sceptical than Malik had been, though that might have been because Malik had been telling the story too. Then again both of their friends had always been pretty open minded in the scheme of things. Yes it was hard to swallow, but in the end they did.

 

Joey sighed heavily, his head spinning.

 

“You know, I really shouldn't be believin' this, but considering how Seto was and all, it actually makes sense.”

 

Yugi nodded.

 

“So does that card trickery now. I knew I had seen a shadow or something. I wasn't just imagining it.”

 

Ryou smiled softly, feeling sympathy for them both.

 

“What makes more sense now is why you wouldn't let us badmouth Bakura,” Joey went on. “You know that really messed with our heads, but we didn't wanna upset you or nothin'.”

 

Ryou chuckled.

 

“I know, it was obvious you were humouring me. It hurt, but I couldn't hold it against you, I mean, it's not like you knew what was going on.”

 

“Its harsh, you guys… well you love each other right? And you don't get to see each other again, I mean… well it's harsh.” Words failed him, they really did.

 

In a way he was in shock, so was Yugi, though Ryou's story explained a hell of a lot of Seto's little idiosyncrasies. Well just look at how he was with appliances, now he at least understood. The real shame of it was that these were the very things that had attracted him to the tall brunette. The way he was so sure of himself, and yet, so very naïve. The combination had been so damned cute on occasion it simply wasn't funny. And Ryou's story… how Seto had lost the one he loved… well that explained the way he'd reacted to the kiss. Talk about carrying a torch, how many years had it been? Thousands. Thinking about it did funny things to his head. But it did ease the pain of how they had last seen each other.

 

He hadn't liked to talk about it, but going home to an empty house after leaving Ryou at the hospital, to find Seto gone, the keys on the table… it had hurt. And damn it he missed him. He missed that stupid aloof attitude, he missed the sneering looks, and he missed the warmth that had been coming into those ice blue eyes towards the end. Oh yeah Joey, you really have it bad, for an angel no less, who you are never going to see again and who would never look at you twice because he's pining for a dead girlfriend. Oh this was surreal. Then he was roughly shaken out of his thoughts by Ryou calling his name.

 

“Joey, are you alright?”

 

He managed to grin regardless of the mixture of feelings he felt right that moment.

 

“Yeah, just getting my head round it all.”

 

Ryou knew better, he didn't say anything, wanting to give his friend some privacy. Of them all, Yugi looked the least affected by this, maybe because he and Yami had only just started to tentatively date, and he hadn't gotten so emotionally involved. It was to Yugi he looked, who still was looking a little strained with all this knowledge. Though he didn't have to say anything to Yugi, his small friend already smiling softly.

 

“I'm okay Ryou, just a lot to take in. And I guess I thought there was a chance I might see Yami again. But it's best I know, not much point in hoping for something I can't have.”

 

Ryou and Malik exchanged a look. Malik nervously shifting in his seat.

 

“Well in your case Yugi, that's not entirely true.” Malik said softly.

 

Yugi and Joey looked at the two utterly intrigued, Ryou sighing as he knew he had best take this on.

 

“Well you see…”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Miserable. There was no other word for it. Akeifa stood observing the dejected figure by Heaven's watching pool unseen, unnoticed. The fact that the moping figure had not sensed his presence and his aura was by far the biggest indicator of the angel's mood, if you didn't take into account how dull his aura had become. Akeifa sighed, walking slowly to join his friend, placing a hand comfortingly on his back.

 

“Were you this much of a mess after your banishment?”

 

Bakura didn't even look up, his eyes on the image in the pool, which unsurprisingly was of Ryou.

 

“Yes.” He said dejectedly.

 

Akeifa stifled the chuckle that was bubbling up in his throat. Not good timing. He had been inconsolable too if he had to be honest.

 

“Well at least we know it will pass in a few years. You got over me eventually.”

 

Suddenly Bakura rounded on him, feathers bristling in annoyance.

 

“I don't want to get over him,” he hissed, for all the world looking like a territorial swan with his wings arched as they were.

 

Akeifa swore Bakura would kill him if he told him just how adorable he looked right now.

 

“I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been quite so frivolous,” he apologised softly. “You know I hate seeing you upset.”

 

Bakura deflated, going back to looking morose. Oh this really wasn't getting him anywhere.

 

“Bakura, you know you will see him again at the end of his life, he will ascend and then you can be together forever.” Akeifa said softly, stroking the long hair back. “And he certainly wouldn't want you to be doing this. Look at him; see how strong he's being, just like you asked him to be. Is it so much that you do the same for him? It would break his heart to see you like this.”

 

Bakura sighed, a sound with so much weight it seemed impossible.

 

“I just… I miss him so much.”

 

Akeifa smiled softly. He could understand that at least.

 

“And I hate seeing him struggle back to health all on his own.”

 

“He's not on his own Bakura, he has his friends round him, and they are doing a wonderful job.”

 

“I should be there for him,” he protested.

 

Oh sweet merciful Lord, Bakura was pouting. But under the frankly silly behaviour was something else, just a thread of it tracing through his aura.

 

“Alright, let's stop beating about the bush, what's this really about?”

 

Bakura sat quiet, refusing to comment. He knew Akeifa had this nasty habit of seeing right through him at the best of times.

 

“Revenge is an ugly thing Bakura. In the end the thing that led to Ryou being hurt is the very one that will mean you can be together into eternity.” He reminded him. “Contemplating revenge on the one who hurt Ryou is not going to get you anywhere.”

 

“Are you saying I should be grateful to the bastard?” Bakura snarled, making Akeifa sigh.

 

“Maybe a little, yes. Far better than eventually having to walk out of Ryou's life and never seeing him again. He would have ascended and you would never have known.”

 

Okay that was a little catty, but Bakura's mood was getting to him. It was one of his more human moods which made it harder for him to understand and be sympathetic. That and this had been going on for months now. Seriously, enough was enough.

 

“Bakura, what is it that you want?”

 

He might as well try and get to the bottom of this.

 

“Apart from the next however many years to be over in an instant?” was the sulky retort he got back, but he weathered it. After a moment Bakura deflated. “Justice,” he said softly. “He's been through so much because of that bastard. You never met him. He tried to buy me `Keifa, tried to find my price to leave Ryou and hurt him. He's a nasty piece of work, and not only has he hurt Ryou but probably a whole host of others over the years, and yet he gets away with it because he has money. And that's not enough for him, he has to go on hurting people. I just… I want justice, for Ryou, for all that bastard has put him through.”

 

Well that was a rant, but it at least got the truth out in the open. It was interesting though, seeing Bakura like this. Had he not been so preoccupied he would have realised that their conversation was being observed. But in his emotional turmoil he wasn't noticing things around him like an angel should. Then again, he had not been an angel for a great many years, it was taking some getting used to again Akeifa imagined. Not that he dare ask about that and set Bakura off once more. He turned for the briefest of moments, steel grey eyes meeting ice blue before shifting his attention to Bakura again.

 

“Well we can only see what the Lord has planned. It is not for us to decide such things. Now come, you need a flight, or a walk at the very least. You certainly aren't getting anything done moping like this. You can watch Ryou again later, he's not going anywhere,” he promised.

 

Bakura narrowed his eyes in annoyance for a moment before letting the emotion go again. No, this wasn't getting him anywhere, he was simply moping and that was not helping anyone, least of all Ryou. So he let Akeifa draw him to his feet, the two walking away, Bakura still unaware of the third presence near the pool. When they were gone Seto stepped out from where he had been quietly observing. It would have surprised Bakura to find out that the Avenger had similar feelings to his when it came to Duke. Ever since he realised part of Kisara's soul resided within Ryou he had come to feel protective of the human.

 

To tell the truth, it took a bit of getting his head round that Ryou would ascend in time, that in a way he would be looking at Kisara again, and yet she would remain forever beyond his reach. He had done wrong by Kisara in her life, even if it had been doing his duty to the Lord. Even if she was beyond him forever he would do right by her this time, and that meant looking after Ryou in his human life and after his ascension. Thoughts of justice had been in his mind for a while now, but hearing Bakura's impassioned speech about it made him all the more certain. He would approach the Lord and see what could be bargained for. Though before he turned to leave an image in the pool caught his eye. He paused for a moment, the softest of smiles going unseen, as was the softening in his eyes whilst he gazed upon the face of the one who had started to melt his heart after all these millennia.

 

Suddenly realising what he was doing, he shook it off, his expression returning to normal, before sweeping away, the image of Joey in the pool fracturing as his wing caught the surface of the water. He had things to do, and Duke was living on borrowed time.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Said human had never been quite the same since shooting Bakura in the alley. If asked, his staff would say that he had become paranoid. Not that any of them knew what he had done. But he had suddenly become a recluse, much to the curiosity of the media. Truth be told, he was half expecting to have the authorities knocking on the door any day to arrest him for the shooting. The fact that Bakura or Ryou's friends had not reported him was very suspicious in his mind, and he knew they hadn't, he had hacked into the police database so he could know when they were coming for him. He had taken to doing things in the middle of the night, his staff seeing him slinking around. It had started with him stripping and dismantling the gun, disposing of it piece by piece so it could not be traced back to him. Then there was the burning of the clothes he had worn that day to destroy any traces of gunshot residue on him. And of course at night his staff could watch what he was doing less, couldn't see things he didn't want them to see.

 

But the real reason that he was doing things at night was the nightmares. He was struggling to sleep, his eyes taking on a hollow look, dark circles beneath them. He was not plagued with guilt for shooting Bakura, the bastard had been in his way, but Ryou's broken form in the middle of the road… the blood, the awful concavity in the back of his head… now that haunted him. He thought it might have improved since Ryou actually recovered and left the hospital, but he was having no such luck. He still had Ryou followed, kept tabs on his progress, though he wasn't quite sure why. He had no desire to approach him now, not when it could land him in hot water with the authorities. Not that there was any proof that he had done it, he had destroyed it all. But what was worrying in the reports about Ryou was that Bakura was glaringly absent from them. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.

 

That was what he really feared, that one day Bakura would appear out of the darkness seeking retribution. His disappearance had him on edge, meant he could never relax, and only ever fell to sleep out of exhaustion, then to be plagued by nightmares. In short, this was why he was a paranoid wreck, and his staff did their utmost to avoid him if at all possible.

 

So it was one night he was sat at his computer, the room dark apart from the glow from the screen, giving his skin an eerie pallor, accenting the dark circles under his eyes. Then it was like his worst nightmares as a figure melted out of the shadows. Duke was on his feet in an instant when the figure in white became apparent, moving slowly. But it was immediately obvious that this was not Bakura. The figure was too tall, too thin, with short chestnut hair. But those eyes, those sapphires that burned with icy fire, boring into him, harder than diamond… Duke was frozen to the core.

 

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” He demanded hotly, a hint of panic in his voice.

 

He had a panic button under his desk which would call security and he was seriously considering using it right now. Especially as he noticed that the willowy stranger wore a sword on his hip, under the long white coat.

 

“Who I am does not matter.”

 

The voice was as cold as the eyes, and Duke decided not to wait to find out what he wanted, lunging for the button, to have the man apprehended immediately.

 

“It won't work.”

 

Duke of course ignored the flat comment only to find that he couldn't depress the button at all. The man smirked, the expression cold and frightening. For him to be frightened of anything was big, but at that moment he was terrified, the cold certainty that this stranger intended him harm on a grand scale had hit him square in the gut and he found his knees shaking. He was beginning to wish he had kept the gun and that it was in his desk drawer like it used to be.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Damn it, his voice was not shaking. But the stranger was smiling, and he didn't like it, something about it made him sick to his stomach. Seto on the other hand was rather enjoying being menacing. He was enjoying it all the more when he could feel the presence of two demons turn up in the shadows behind him, unnoticed by his prey. So he had an audience, oh well no matter.

 

“What I want does not matter.”

 

“Then why the fuck are you here?”

 

Then even more chilling than the eyes, the smirk, or the smile, was the laugh.

 

“I am the Avenger, and I am here to dispense justice.”

 

The eerie sound of steel against steel as the sword was drawn, Duke staggering back in fear as the blade shone with blue fire, the icy flame illuminating the room in a baleful flicker. Oh fuck, he was so dead. Duke did what all spineless bullies do in nasty situations like this, he ran. But the problem was the door wouldn't budge, not even the handle, which was fucking odd considering he hadn't locked it. But that left him in the room with the sword wielding figure and he knew his number was up. He cowered frightened against the door, frozen in the absolute certainty that he was about to die. He whimpered as the avenging figure in white advanced on him, and there was no avoiding it. His only saving grace was that he didn't wet his pants awaiting his fate.

 

His attacker wasted no time, and he screamed as the sword was plunged straight through his belly. Surely someone would hear his scream and come. And oh fuck it hurt, it hurt so bad, the flames searing him as the blade cut him, but it hurt twice as bad as the sword was pulled out again. He instinctively clutched at his gut, expecting to feel the warm rush of blood, to have to try and hold in his innards after being run through, only to find that there was not a scratch on him. He was running his hands all over his front incredulously as he found that not even his clothing had been cut. But he had felt it go through him, the pain… the pain had been incredible. Just what the hell was going on? But the figure was stepping back, sheathing the sword, obviously feeling it was a job well done. Okay, so now he was starting to think he was going mad, that he was hallucinating from lack of sleep.

 

But cerulean eyes still bored into him, watching, waiting… and then it came, the first whisper in his mind. Duke shook his head to clear the sound, more convinced than ever that this was an illusion due to lack of sleep, though if he was asleep and having nightmares again, he really wouldn't mind waking up right about now, this was creeping him out big time. But the whispers started to come in a rush, multiplying into a flood of susurrations, actually becoming loud enough to block out all other sound. Forgetting about the man who had run him through… or had he…? He staggered to lean against the desk, one hand on his head.

 

The whispers transformed into cries, so many voices in pain, crying, in distress and he realised to his horror that he recognised them, voices from his past. Then it wasn't just their voices in his head, he felt his heart clench as he began to feel their distress. It was only a little at first, but it grew and grew and grew in an unstoppable tide, the voices now a crowd so loud in his mind. He clutched at his head, trying to shut them out but it was impossible, moaning as the mounting tide of distress and pain he felt tore at him. He was blind to all else as he staggered round the room, tears running down his face unheeded, as all at once he was made to feel every pain that he had caused others down the years, hear their cries of distress, collapsing to his knees, beginning to wail desperately under the onslaught.

 

It was at this point that Marik and Yami came out of the shadows, watching impressed as Seto basically tortured him with what he had done to others in his life.

 

“Creative.” Yami praised.

 

“Got to hand it to you Seto, you haven't lost your touch when it comes to dishing out vengeance.” Marik agreed.

 

Seto snorted, mostly on principle as he was not supposed to approve of the daemons in any way, shape or form. Yami whistled as Duke screamed as he was forced to live through the physical pain he had either inflicted through his orders, or had inflicted himself.

 

“Oh now that's a nice touch.” Yami grinned. “Though you have a flair for the dramatic.”

 

“It is what he deserves, justice and nothing more.”

 

“Well killing him would have been simpler.” Marik agreed. “But this is so much more poetic. You know this is going to send him out of his mind now don't you?”

 

Seto smiled cruelly.

 

“He won't be hurting anyone ever again.”

 

The two daemons nodded. He would live out the rest of his life tormented by his own deeds. That was going to hurt for a very long time, quite the punishment indeed. But Yami was looking to Seto.

 

“Though the sound effects… If I didn't know better I'd say you wanted to scare him shitless before you administered punishment.”

 

Seto permitted himself a small smirk, hand resting on the hilt of the sword. It had no sheath, so the sound of steel on steel as it was drawn was entirely fabricated. Marik was chuckling.

 

“So you have a mean streak, not that we didn't know that of course.”

 

Both daemons realised that Seto had taken this personally. It was the revelation about Kisara's soul obviously, it just showed how deep his feelings ran. But the Avenger was speaking.

 

“A harmless indulgence, nothing more.”

 

Yami laughed.

 

“I'm not sure he'd agree with you.”

 

But the three remained for a little while longer, Duke now writhing and screaming on the floor under the weight of the sins of his past. But it was Seto who broke their silent watching.

 

“I think it's time we left him to his new life.” He said sternly.

 

The two daemons didn't need any translation, time to push off, Seto was about to let time restart again. And so the portal between dimensions was opened, and the three flew into it, time reasserting itself in the wake of their departure. Now Duke's screaming could be heard, bringing his staff running to his aid, but it was too late. His mind had already broken, having been forced to feel all that he didn't care about all at once, and he lay there on the expensive carpet, a gibbering wreck. No-one would know what had happened to him of course, but had they known, they would have said that justice was served.