Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ringlust ❯ Part One: Entry ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: Ringlust 1/?

Author: Tsutsuji

Fandoms: Crossover: Yu-gi-oh! & Lord of the Rings

Rating: NC17 - for m/m sex, some blood, and weirdness

Pairings: Bakura/Ryou, and maybe Bakura/Frodo

Original characters: no

Type: yaoi/slash. Darkfic.

Warnings: slash, dark themes, some blood, pain, and angst....

Status: work in progress

Spoilers: None for Yu-gi-oh. If you haven't seen or read all of LOTR, there might be spoilers here.

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to these characters and I'm making no profit from this fic. I am neither Kazuki Takahashi, JRR Tolkien, nor New Line... that should be obvious.

Summary: Ryou dreams of Rings and Ringbearers.... reality mingles with nightmare...

Notes: This was intended for the Millennium Kingdom Anime Character Crossover Challenge, using the excuse that Ralph Bakshi made an animated version of LOTR back in 1979. But it didn't make it for the challenge. Actually I've been wanting to do this ever since I found out the 13th episode of Yu-gi-oh is called "Evil Spirit of the Ring," being the Frodo-fanatic that I am and all. It bombed on aff.net so I'm trying it out here. Reviews are necessary for its survival.

***

Ryou's body loved Bakura, but his heart was hurting.

When he woke up in the middle of the night with Bakura's sleep-heavy arms and legs pinning him to the bed, he would lie awake and remember... the hot, hungry mouth, the teeth and lips and hands that claimed him, stroked him to madness till he begged for more, and the weight of Bakura on top of him, then inside of him, hard and deep inside his body as the ancient Spirit was always deep inside his mind, and ever deeper in his heart. Then he would imagine gentle kisses and caresses that never happened, soft words he never heard, till his soul hurt with hoping for them, hoping to see something more than need and possession in Bakura's sharp eyes.

Then, lying there with Bakura deep in sleep beside him, Ryou would sigh, very quietly, and tell himself this was enough. It had to be. At least, he told himself, Bakura stayed and never went away.

Fully awake now, Ryou carefully pulled himself out of Bakura's sleepy embrace and stood up. He looked down for a moment at the face on the pillow. Bakura's face looked so much more like his own in sleep, except when the nightmares twisted it. Tonight Bakura didn't dream and his lashes rested on his cheek. The hard lines around his ever-scheming eyes were softened. He looked almost innocent.

With another silent sigh, Ryou turned away and left the bedroom. He walked through the dark house, ending up as he usually did in the game room. Here, at least, he was indulged, almost with affection, at least sometimes. He was good at games, and Bakura was usually pleased with him when he played, and had eagerly taught him a lot more than he ever would have known.

He could hold his own at Duel Monsters, although he knew more in his mind than he could remember when he was actually dueling, so his best games were always played in hindsight. But he still excelled at Monster World, and he still loved to play. His strategies as Game Master were more carefully reasoned than Bakura's, but together with the Spirit's ruthless tricks and twists, they were unbeatable.

He was getting a great reputation among local players. It was nothing like Yugi's reputation among card duelists, and his favorite game was nowhere near as popular, but other kids sought him out to play against him now, and they never seemed to leave unhappy. They didn't mind that Bakura was always there, quietly assisting with a whispered word or two, suggesting ever more diabolically clever challenges and more devious NPC's, and saying much more in Ryou's mind than they ever knew. Their Monster World campaigns were so perfectly challenging and entertaining that the other kids kept coming back, even though their characters often met the most gruesome deaths.

Aside from the sex, this was his favorite time spent with Bakura. It was the only time he felt that Bakura might actually like him for more than just his usefulness around the house and his body. So Ryou went to the game room when he couldn't sleep, when he felt so alone even with the other sleeping beside him in his bed. He would set up a part of a game and replay it in his mind, smiling to himself. Sometimes he wished he could live entirely in that world, where he and Bakura could be true partners in adventure, where others would seek them out not for games but as guides through the dangers of a real, magical world.

Ryou looked into the little buildings and forests of his game world. With his head down on the edge of the table it all seemed so close, as if he could walk into the cobbled streets and seek shelter for the night.

His eyes fell closed....


.... The tavern was noisy, but the air was so filled with smoke that he could barely see the other customers, except for the one who sat across the table from him. He leaned forward on his stool, took a deep draught from his mug of beer (forgetting for the moment that he didn't like the taste), and listened carefully to what the other was saying.

It wasn't the usual sort of information: how to find the treasure, where the monsters would be lurking, the right road to the sorcerer's tower. This time his adventure would be different.

His informant was seated on a higher stool, which put them at equal height across the table, because the other was only half his height. Deep, earth-brown eyes, almost black in this light, looked honestly and intently into his, framed by dark curls around a fair face. (*) He looked young, and yet Ryou knew he was far older than he seemed. Experience, wisdom, and old pain lurked in those innocent eyes.

The hobbit took a sip from his own mug, and then rested his hand on the table. His other hand was out of sight below the table, as he leaned forward to speak with quiet urgency.

"You go not to seek treasure but to destroy it," he said.

"Destroy it?" Ryou said. But he already knew this was the task that was expected of him.

"You must. Its evil will devour you, body and soul. You have to give it up. You have had it long enough, haven't you? Already you feel its grip on your heart. And it is a danger to others as long as you carry it with you. It has to be destroyed!"

The hobbit stared at him meaningfully, then looked down, and Ryou followed his gaze, looking down to where the Millennium Ring lay hidden on its chain around his neck, under his clothes. Something was calling to him, willing him to bring it out, to let the Spirit out to wreck his havoc on the heedless folk of the village.

He placed his hand over it, meaning to cover it up and hold it hidden. But as he touched it he felt something, a tingle in the air. The urge to use it grew stronger.

The hobbit's eyes flashed in warning. And others in the room felt it. The hobbit sitting across from him did not turn his head but his wide eyes darted from side to side in alarm. In the smoke-filled room, Ryou could now see that many other eyes were turned toward their table.

"They feel it. Its presence draws them!" the hobbit warned.

"What can I do?" Ryou whispered in a panic.

"Come with me," the hobbit said, jumping to his feet, and suddenly there was a small, gleaming sword in his hand. "Run! This way!"

They ran. The smoke of the room engulfed him, then Ryou found himself running through misty dark, over uneven ground, stumbling, with the sounds of many footsteps behind him. The hobbit was ahead of him, fading into the mist, and he was being left alone. The pursuers were gaining on him, but the Ring was heavy and dragged his head down so he couldn't run, and the ground wouldn't hold his weight anymore.

He woke up gasping. Bakura was standing over him, a look that might have been concern on his face which was quickly replaced by one of irritation.

"Dreaming? Or just gaming in your sleep?"

"I don't know. I'm awake now," he said in confusion, trying to catch his breath and calm his pounding heart.

"Obviously. Are you coming back to bed or are you going to stay here and play all night?"

"I'll come back to bed," Ryou said. "In a minute."

"Good." Bakura smiled suggestively. "I'll be waiting." He ran his hand through Ryou's tangled hair, then turned and left the room. There was a pleasant, shivery feeling where his hand had been.

Ryou waited another minute until his breathing was normal again, trying to push aside the terrifying images of the dream. He'd been tense as a bowstring when he woke up, but now he felt exhausted, yet his mind was racing with thoughts he couldn't even catch. He thought of the look Bakura had given him, his leering glance. Maybe that distraction would chase away the nightmare feeling that clung to him, he thought, as he followed Bakura back to their bedroom.

He couldn't see the expression on Bakura's face as he slid into bed, but he immediately felt the heat and hardness of his naked body as Bakura pulled him close.

"Still afraid?" he said teasingly.

"No," Ryou sighed, although this wasn't entirely true. He was always a little afraid when Bakura started to make love to him, but it was an enticing fear, like the excitement of starting a new adventure in the game world.

Bakura held him for a moment, as they lay face to face, and he felt the spirit's lips brush across his forehead and then press into his hair. Bakura sighed, breathing in the scent of him; the scent of his fear left over from the dream, Ryou thought with a shiver.

Then Bakura pushed him back, not roughly but firmly, and leaned up over him. In the dark Ryou could see his eyes gleaming, and this close he could make out the devious smile on his face. Bakura's hand ran down his thigh and back up to his shoulder to press him down into the mattress.

"Are you ready for me again?" he asked. "Can you take me again tonight?"

Bakura's knee slide between his, pressing his legs apart. Ryou's heart began to speed up again.

"Well?" the spirit breathed against his cheek, immediately taking his mouth in a deep, prolonged kiss. This gave Ryou no way to answer except by pushing his body up against Bakura's and making a wordless sound in his throat.

/Good, because I want you again,/ Bakura said into his mind.

Ryou felt Bakura's erection already fully hard against his leg. He wiggled underneath him to try and center it, and Bakura laughed, grinding against him but eluding him for the moment, instead rubbing himself against Ryou's thigh. Their hands worked together to get Ryou's pajamas out of the way, and soon he was as naked as the other, skin to slick skin. But Bakura wouldn't allow Ryou to touch himself or his own erection, but only pressed his body onto Ryou, leaving him to rub himself to hardness against Bakura's hip.

Bakura kissed and nipped down from Ryou's mouth and neck to his chest. The Ring lay there between them on its cord around his neck. Bakura kissed around it, nipping at each of Ryou's nipples with his sharp teeth. Then he went further down, but never reached the goal Ryou hoped he was seeking. Instead one hand came up between Ryou's legs, sliding between them to tease him until Ryou whimpered. Bakura paused to wet his fingers in Ryou's mouth and his own and then plunged back to Ryou's opening.

His fingers teased there for awhile, as Ryou tried to raise his hips up to allow him better access, but Bakura held him down, making it more enticingly difficult for both of them.

"Show me you want it," he said in a low growl.

Ryou struggled against him, all but kicking him off in order to give him the room he needed. Bakura laughed quietly.

"Alright. I'm convinced of your sincerity," he said mockingly.

He lifted up onto his elbows and placed himself between Ryou's legs, pushing his knees up and back.

"Better?"

Ryou nodded thankfully as Bakura's wet finger slid into him at last. The spirit's heavy gaze on his erection, with his tongue touching his lips, was nearly as effective as if he felt those lips on him. But that was a rare treat that he did not expect to receive on this occasion.

Bakura arranged himself between Ryou's thighs, lifting and spreading him. He looked down at Ryou for a moment with an eager glint in his eye. He pulled out the single digit and placed his fingers to Ryou's lips, making Ryou taste himself as he added more moisture to Bakura's hand. Then two wet fingers entered him.

Their hard and fast session earlier had left him sore, but now as Bakura pressed inside him again, that pain only seemed to excite him more. He knew this was probably foolish, that he'd likely be quite uncomfortable tomorrow, but he couldn't stop what they'd started. Bakura was unusually patient, in fact, and that made him all the more open to what was about to happen.

Leering down at him, Bakura hooked his arms under Ryou's knees and placed himself over Ryou's body, and pressed his stiff erection in to where his fingers had been moments before. Ryou threw his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling of being held open and entered. Bakura sunk down into him and started to move.

Ryou clutched at the tangled sheets, then at Bakura, reaching for shoulders and arms and any skin he could touch, as their movement sent fire racing through his nerves. Bakura grinned down at him, teeth gleaming, eyes dark and hard as he started to move faster and harder. One arm still held Ryou's knee up, but with the other leg over his shoulder, his hand was free to roam Ryou's body, always teasingly avoiding his erection to play elsewhere.

Ryou saw the look in Bakura's eyes change, becoming harder and darker, and he felt another thrill of fear run through his body. Over-sensitized from earlier, he felt more open than ever to Bakura's invasion, and he floundered helplessly as his own hardness begged for touch and release. Bakura laughed and bent down to catch his mouth in another deep kiss, sucking hard on his tongue and then biting his lip. As Ryou whimpered he laughed again.

Ryou felt fear rising through him, cutting through the fog of his desire and need. Bakura was leering at him wickedly now, licking his teeth, and pounding into him ever harder. His hand wandered over Ryou's chest and came to rest on the Ring. He pressed it down onto Ryou's overheated skin. A new pain, new but familiar, shocked him. The points of the Ring bit into his flesh. He saw that Bakura's lips had blood on them.

Tears sprang into his eyes, tears of pain and betrayal. Sometimes Bakura was rough and harsh in his need, but he'd never caused Ryou this much pain before, willingly and knowingly. And he'd never enjoyed it this much. He begged Bakura in his mind to stop, but the spirit only grinned more widely.

He was open and trapped, and there was nothing he could do. His body still felt the need for release even as the Ring-points pierced him. Warm wetness spread over his chest under Bakura's hand. If the ring-shard went any deeper, he thought, it would stab his heart.

Bakura laughed, and under the laughter Ryou suddenly thought he heard other voices, like Bakura's voice whispering in his mind but different. The voices warned him of his danger, but it was too late for him to heed them. Bakura pounded into him, groaning as he grew close to his release, his eyes gleaming as he watched Ryou bleed. Finally, finally, his hand slid down, slick with blood, and closed around Ryou's weeping erection.

Ryou came screaming.

---

He woke up slowly. He was no longer in their bed, and Bakura was not beside him. He was lying naked on the ground, on his side, in long green grass. Pain wandered through his body as he tried to move, but it eased as he came more fully awake. He was sore behind, as he'd expected, and there was a fiery ache in his chest.

He sat up slowly, looking up in wonder at the green leaves swaying over his head. Somewhere behind him he could hear the sound of water running, as if there was a fountain or a stream close by, but looking over his shoulder he could see nothing except a curtain of deep green leaves.

He looked down at himself. The Ring hung on its chain, dangling heavily against his naked chest. Red welts remained where the points had bit into him, but there was no blood on his skin. He touched the Ring gingerly, wondering why Bakura wasn't here with him, and wondering why he'd hurt him like this.

He looked up as a shadow fell over him.

"Bakura?" he said automatically. But at the same moment he realized that it wasn't the spirit standing next to him. The one standing there had bare feet covered in brown, curly hair.

He looked up into the gentle face of the hobbit, who smiled at him with deep sympathy. He glanced at the Ring sadly, then he pulled off his grey cloak and threw it over Ryou, covering his nakedness along with the Ring. The hobbit then knelt beside him, one small brown hand on his shoulder.

"You understand now, don't you?" he said in his soft voice. "You must destroy it. It will only become more difficult if you delay."

"No," he whispered. Bakura hadn't meant to hurt him.

"The Ring is evil. Even if he loved you as you love him, he could not help but hurt you with it," the hobbit reasoned, as if he'd heard Ryou's thought. "You have to free him as well. You have to give it up."

Ryou felt tears sting his eyes. He had to look away from the hobbit's sad, gentle face. Behind him he now saw a long road that wound out of the trees, leading toward the rocky hills he could see in the distance.

"I can't go that way," he said. "I can't do it. I don't. don't want to."

"Then surely," the hobbit said sadly, "it will be the destruction of us all."

He turned away to look down the long road, and then back, the way he must have come. "I can never go back," he said softly, as if to himself. "There will be nothing to go back to, unless the Ring is destroyed."

"Could you destroy it?" Ryou asked in a whisper. "Because I know I can't do it."

The hobbit looked at him searchingly. Old pain flickered in his deep eyes.

"If I must," he said at last, head bowed. "If you give me the Ring, I will find the way."

Ryou touched the welts on his chest, felt again the sharp pain, along with old remembered pain in his hand and in his arm. It would never stop hurting him, and it would hurt others as well. It held Bakura's soul trapped. Maybe the Spirit could be free if it was gone.

Slowly, he drew the Ring out from under the grey cloak, and held it out. The hobbit sat with his head bowed, and Ryou's heart hurt at the pain he knew must be there in his eyes. But he had to be the only one who could make this journey.

He looked up. Wide midnight eyes gazed into Ryou's. Shadows moved in their depths. He smiled sadly.

"You've made the right choice. The only choice, I fear," he said, reaching for the Ring.

Ryou gasped. The hobbit's hand only had four fingers. The ring finger was missing.(**)

"Wait!" he shouted, but it was too late. The Millennium Ring slid from his grasp into the other's hand as if it was eager to leave him and find a new owner. The hobbit's smile widened into an excited grin, and suddenly Ryou noticed a flicker in his eyes, a red flame in their depths.

"No!" he shouted again, lunging for the Ring. The hobbit whipped it up out of his reach and jumped to his feet, while Ryou was still entangled in the cloak. There was a flash of light and he disappeared.

Darkness fell around Ryou as he struggled to search for the vanished hobbit, fighting a fierce wind that had arisen out of nowhere, whipping the shadowy branches of the trees against his face. He called out to Bakura, but there was no answer. He ran on into endless dark with no idea where he was going.

---

Bakura woke up suddenly. He thought he'd heard Ryou calling, but it seemed to come from far away. He reached beside him, but instead of a warm, pliant, beautiful body or even empty sheets, he felt hard stone under his hand.

He sat up and looked around. He scowled as he realized he was surrounded by almost nothing but jagged black stone, all lit with an orange glow from the heavy clouded sky. A hot wind passed over him, and he realized he had been lying naked on the stones.

It was not the scene of his usual nightmares, except the fiery glow of the sky was familiar. In his dreams there were always flames and screams and shouting, although he could never see or remember who it was who was screaming. In this place, it was strangely silent. The wind on the stones barely made a sound.

"Ryou?" he asked, looking all around. His voice hardly seemed to penetrate the still air. There was no sign of his Other. Bakura thought he would stand out like a beacon in this darkness, if he was anywhere nearby.

Where could he be, and what had brought him here? Some netherworld of the Shadow Realm, or a lanscape in the realms of the Dead perhaps. But the stones seemed more solid and real to his senses than those nebulous worlds, which his spirit had visited in the past. This was different.

Something pricked at his skin, shivers of old fear, as he remembered what he thought had awakened him: Ryou's voice, screaming in pain or fear or something worse. That voice was not supposed to make those sounds. The screams of a nightmare were his alone, and the light in Ryou was his only refuge from them.

He stood up slowly. His body felt heavy and strangely reluctant to obey his will. The hot stone burned his bare feet, and the warm wind flung dust and ashes against his skin.

He became aware that someone was there, a shadow crouching between tall jagged rocks nearby. Too small and dark to be Ryou, he thought, but he felt drawn to approach the small figure anyway.

Bakura saw the figure more clearly as he got closer, but he noticed only two things: a pair of large, deep eyes, earth brown with a reddish gleam in them; and the Millennium Ring that housed his soul, held and caressed in two small hands.

---
to be continued


(*) Yes, Elijah Wood's Frodo has beautiful blue eyes. But Ralph Bakshi's Frodo has warm, beautiful brown eyes, quite like Ryou's eyes in the anime, in fact, which bettersuits this story. I always imagined all hobbits' eyes were brown until Elijah came along. Of course, Ryou had green eyes in the first anime and Bakura has blue eyes in the manga, so take your pick.

(**) "[Sam] sat up and then saw that Frodo was lying beside him, and slept peacefully, one hand behind his head, and the other resting upon the coverlet. It was the right hand, and the third finger was missing." Return of the King, "The Field of Cormallen." The movie changed it to first finger, left hand.