Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Somewhere I Belong ❯ Chapter 1

Somewhere I Belong

Ame no Mizu

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

What I thought was never real

I wanna let go of the pain

I felt so long

(Erase all the pain till it's gone)

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

Like I'm close to something real

I wanna find something

I've wanted all along

Somewhere I belong…

Chapter One:

Problem Unsolved

Ryou shivered as he curled into a ball in the lonely corner of his room that was furthest away from his sleeping yami, tears falling freely down his face. His lip hurt; Ryou guessed it had been split open. He hoped he wouldn't need stitches. The hospital had already been asking too many questions. If he showed up with another split lip or broken bone, they'd call child social services for sure. Bakura would be angry. If Ryou were taken away from his father, there would be a chance that he would have to live somewhere other than Domino (where, as Bakura knew, the highest number of Millennium Items resided). Ryou didn't want that to happen. He wanted Bakura to be happy.

He pushed himself up off the floor and stumbled to the bathroom, which seemed like miles away. He leant heavily against the sink, peering into the mirror. He was a mess. Bruises littered his face, and his left eye was steadily turning black. His lip, though it hurt like hell, wasn't as bad as he'd thought it was.

"What the hell… Ryou?"

Ryou gasped and turned his head away from the door, hoping that his face wasn't seen. It was.

"Ryou, what happened?" Yami Bakura gasped, "You look like shit! Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want to wake you up," Ryou whispered.

"What? This is a little more important than sleep! I would've come for you. I could have helped you! You're lying to me. Why did you not call for me? Tell me the truth."

"That is the truth."

"Like hell that's the truth. I won't hurt you, Ryou, we've been through this before. Someone else is hurting you, and you won't let me help you. This is the third time this month that you've come home like this, and you won't tell me anything, not even who's doing this to you. I just want to help you. If you told me who's doing this, I can make sure they never come near you again, baby, I promise."

"No, it's nothing. I can handle this, yami," Ryou said quietly, staring at the floor. He felt soft fingers beneath his chin, and his head was pushed up. Bakura searched his eyes, and Ryou knew he was looking for a clue, any way to help.

He would find none.

"Ryou," he began softly, "If you can handle this, then you're not proving that to me. It hurts me to see you like this and not be able to do anything about it. Please, hikari, I'm begging you; let me take care of this problem."

"It's not a problem you can fix, Bakura," Ryou replied, "Muscles and shadow powers can't help me. This is something I have to fix on my own." Bakura stared at him sadly, but nodded.

"Okay, Ryou. I trust you. But if you need help, I'm just a thought away, alright?" he said.

"Alright, yami. Go back to sleep now," Ryou smiled as the spirit turned away from him and slipped back into the bedroom. He sighed and turned back to the mirror, attempting to make himself halfway decent.

There was a vibration at his hip, and Ryou answered the cell phone, careful not to let his yami hear (he knew nothing of the phone).

"Hello?"

Why hello, kitten. I need you to come over. Now.

"Yes. Of course."

Remember…

"I know. Don't bring anyone, don't call anyone, don't say anything."

Good. I'm giving you ten minutes.

"I'll be there."

He hung up the phone and pulled his shoes back on. He left quickly and quietly, as he'd done the past six months.

He was unaware that his yami had heard the entire conversation.

"Yami! Open the door!"

Bakura shivered as he pounded on the door of the Kame Game shop. He heard soft footsteps, and a very disgruntled Yami Yugi wrenched open the door. The bell on it jingled violently.

"What?" Yami growled. Bakura glared at him.

"I need to talk to you. Let me in."

Yami glared back at him and growled, but stepped aside to let the former tomb robber in. Yami led him into the living room, and motioned for him to sit down. He did.

"What do you need to talk about?" Yami asked, leaning back into the chair, crossing his arms over his chest and his left leg over his right.

"Where's the midget?"

"Nowhere near you. Get on with whatever you need to say."

Bakura glared at him.

"It's Ryou."

"What's wrong?"

"He has a lover."

Yami laughed.

"As interesting as that may be, I don't understand what this has to do with me."

"This lover is hurting him. He came home today with bruises and cuts on his face. He just left to meet him again. I'm concerned."

"Then get rid of this lover. Why are you bothering me with this?"

"Ryou won't tell me who it is. He won't let me help him."

"Not surprisingly."

"Yami, this is serious."

"Fine… so what you're saying is that since Ryou won't tell you anything, you want me to go snooping?"

"He trusts you more, Yami. We both know that. I don't want Ryou hurt anymore."

"I'll help. But let me tell you now-I'm only doing this because Ryou is my friend. You try anything-anything at all-I will make sure you never walk this earth again."

"Whatever. Just get Ryou out of this. I can't stand to see him hurt like this and not be able to help."

Yami stood, telling Bakura, without words, that it was time to leave.

"I will talk to Ryou at school tomorrow. Until I get some information, Bakura, there is nothing you can do. Don't talk to Ryou about it. Try to keep him at home. When he comes back from wherever he's gone, just comfort him. Be there for him. Show him that you care for him. That's the best you can do for him, Bakura. Good day."

Bakura stood and left without another word.

Please, Ryou… be okay…

Ryou sighed as he stepped into his dark house quietly. He listened intently, but heard nothing. His yami was asleep. Good. No strange questions until the morning. He couldn't think of any excuses now. He'd come up with one later.

He slipped into his bedroom, and smiled as his eyes fell upon Bakura, fast asleep in his street clothes, in Ryou's bed. He looked like the very embodiment of innocence. He was, in a way, proud of the spirit. It seemed like he'd changed. He was certainly more caring, earlier that night had proved it to him.

But he had to idea what he was dealing with. Ryou was afraid to tell Bakura about… them. They were too dangerous. Besides, it was Ryou's problem, not Bakura's. The albino light didn't want to get his yami involved. It was all for the better.

One of the leader's spies had told him that he'd seen Bakura go to the Mutou's. That meant only one thing: Bakura heard his conversation on the phone, and now, he was dragging Yami in to help. It was the only reasonable explanation. Ryou, however, decided to keep that information to himself. If it were discovered that Bakura was onto them… all hell would break loose.

He couldn't let that happen.

Ryou changed into his pajamas, and slipped into the bed, wrapping his arm around Bakura's waist and setting his head on his yami's chest. Bakura, still asleep, wrapped his arms around his hikari, his grip protective, loving, powerful.

For the first time that night, Ryou felt truly safe.

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnn………

Hee hee…

Next time: Yami tries to get some answers from Ryou… what's all this about? Also, why can't he ask Bakura for help? Is he in danger?