Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Golden Dance ❯ 8: Into the Dream ( Chapter 8 )

Title: The Golden Dance chapter 8 of ?

Date completed: 3/28/2006 (yep... been a whole year since the last chapter, sorry to say.)

Author: Tsutsuji

Rating: R - M

Pairings: Thief Bakura/Ryou, implied Yami Bakura/Ryou

Warnings: Yaoi. I should probably warn for the cliffhangerish ending of this chapter, too.

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to these characters and I'm making no profit from this fic and intend no copyright infringement.

Spell-checked and self-beta'd. Please inform me of any errors I missed.

 

Summary: Thief Bakura and Ryou get to know a little more of each other when they share a shower and bath, and Ryou gets a confusing glimpse of the thief's memories.

 

***

The Golden Dance, Chapter 8 - Into the Dream

***

While there is time

Let's go out and feel everything

If you hold me,

I will let you into my dream...

- Steve Winwood, "The Finer Things"

 

***

 

Ryou took his baths very seriously. A daily shower was a common necessity, but a bath was a luxury, a tradition, practically a ritual that nothing could be allowed to interrupt. So when he left the bedroom with Bakura, he went over to lock the door and unplug the phone just as he normally did in preparation for his own bath.

 

He did all of this out of habit, but the situation was anything but normal. For one thing, even when he was alone, Ryou was too shy to walk around in his apartment completely naked, and doing so made him feel reckless and sexy. If that wasn't enough, he had the bemused eyes of the thief upon him the entire time. By the time he led Bakura to the door at the far end of the hall past his bedroom, he was already feeling a new flush of arousal.

 

Bakura sauntered in to the bath, obviously as comfortable in his bare skin as Ryou was self-conscious in his. He glanced around quickly at the large wooden tub, the shower stall nearby, and the vanity crowded with bottles and brushes. Ryou wondered what he would make of the brass fixtures in the bath, or whether he would expect servants to appear and pour water over them as he'd seen in pictures of life in ancient Egypt. But Bakura maintained his air of mild curiosity, until he was startled by a sudden glimpse of his full reflection in the large mirror behind the vanity.

 

Ryou glanced that way as well, and a strange feeling came over him as he saw himself standing next to his near-double. It was something like the way he felt when the Spirit of the Ring took over his body, but instead of retreating into some place deep inside his own mind, it was as if he was outside his body looking back at himself. He looked young and pale, fragile, almost ghostly to his own eyes - frighteningly unfamiliar.

 

Ryou blinked and the feeling passed. The thief's expression changed, too. His face had closed down for a second and become expressionless, but then he focused his eyes on Ryou again and smiled.

 

"Well, pretty one, where is the water for our bath?" He peered past Ryou at the empty tub. "Or do you have some other magic that you use to bathe with? I've seen many wonders in this world of yours already! In the marketplace, I heard music and bodiless voices come out of small metal boxes, saw pictures that move and speak, and lights that burn without oil or fire. I even saw people eating fish that had not been cooked! So I would hardly be surprised to find that you bathe without water."

 

Ryou laughed. "Well, none of that is magic, and this isn't either, although it's nearly as wonderful as magic," he said. He turned on the water and the tub began to fill. Watching over his shoulder, Bakura looked mildly impressed to see the steaming water pouring from the tap.

 

Ryou adjusted the temperature to a few degrees cooler than he usually liked his own bath, or Bakura might think he was being cooked rather than bathed. Besides, Ryou was already lightheaded just from Bakura's mere presence, standing so close they brushed against each other easily. It would be just too embarrassing if he passed out from the heat!

 

While the tub was filling, he took Bakura's hand and led him to the shower area. The thief seemed to recognize it as such, and after a glance at the fixtures in the tub, he reached out and turned one of the knobs. He hardly jumped when a spray of water hit him full in the face.

 

Ryou laughed at his grimace; he'd happened to pick the cold water tap. A cold shower was not what Ryou had in mind, however. He adjusted the temperature to be comfortably warm, and then stepped in close and let the soft spray wash over both of them together.

 

Bakura reached up to touch Ryou's face, letting his thumb brush away the wet hair that had fallen over his eyes. Ryou simply gazed up at him for a few heartbeats, before Bakura leaned in and took his mouth in a wet, hungry kiss.

 

"You taste as sweet as your scent," Bakura murmured against his cheek a few blood-rushing moments later.

 

Ryou could have just stood there for hours, soaking in warm water, pressed against the solid, wet warmth of Bakura's body. But a little presence of mind remained, after all. He took a deep breath, vowing to remember the exotic scent of the thief as he was, then reached down to pick up a cloth and soap from the shelf beside the shower.

 

Bakura grinned as Ryou began to wash him. Feeling both shy and bold, Ryou smiled back at him while he washed Bakura's face and neck with the soapy cloth. The thief closed his eyes and stood there patiently, with his hands resting on Ryou's shoulders and a little smile on his lips.

 

While his hands were occupied, Ryou started to remember the questions rolling around in his mind. Something about the thief's presence nagged at him, making him wonder how he and Seth could be here, and why. There had to be some reason. The Spirit had warned of danger, and he probably hadn't meant the danger of Ryou losing his virginity to a past incarnation of himself....

 

Ryou blinked and gave his head a little shake, letting that thought implode under the weight of its own strangeness. There were some more practical things to wonder about before it came to that, if it did. Besides, thinking a little would keep his mind from getting too caught up in the thief's body to finish washing him.

 

When he was done washing Bakura's face and neck, Ryou set the cloth aside and picked up some lightly almond-scented shampoo. He coaxed Bakura to turn around, and only briefly paused to appreciate the gleaming, muscular back presented to his view before he plunged his fingers into Bakura's wet, sun-bleached hair.

 

"What happened?" he asked softly.

 

Bakura half turned and quirked an eyebrow at him.

 

"With Jumoke, I mean," Ryou said, continuing to lather Bakura's hair.

 

It was an odd thing; Ryou knew the Spirit of the Ring was ruthless, and strongly suspected he was capable of murder. He'd hurt Ryou on several occasions, but he'd also protected him too, most recently from Yugi's God Card and then after Marik's evil side defeated him in a horrible Shadow Game. Maybe that was why he believed this Bakura was telling the truth when he said he didn't kill Jumoke.

 

"You didn't kill him, did you?" he said quietly.

 

Bakura frowned and stared at the wall in front of him with narrowed eyes.

 

"Great Priest Seth believes I did," he growled. "Why else would he try to put a knife in my heart?"

 

"He felt terrible about it after you left," Ryou said. "He didn't want to believe that you did it. He said he just went out of his mind for a moment, but he still didn't really think you killed anyone."

 

Bakura grunted and turned away. "He was always a fool."

 

"He said you used to be lovers," Ryou went on, sounding more casual about it than he felt. "He said part of his heart still belongs to you."

 

Bakura said nothing for a moment. Ryou couldn't see his face, and didn't try to look at it. Finally Bakura gave a short, barking laugh.

 

"The stubborn fool," he growled. "In truth, Seth cares for nothing but his priestly ambition. He is besotted with the promise of power and wealth in Pharaoh's court, and he is blind and deaf to anything but the praise of his beloved mentor, Pharaoh Akunadin."

 

Ryou didn't know why he'd hoped it wasn't true that Bakura and Seth had loved each other, and that they still might have those feelings, but he could tell from Bakura's words that it was true. He didn't know why it should bother him. It was none of his concern, really. But then, if it wasn't, why had they suddenly appeared in his life?

 

"What happened?" he asked again. "I mean, why did Jumoke give you the Ring? What did he say?"

 

Bakura twitched in irritation at the question. Ryou continued to massage his hair and began to rinse it. It would need another wash to get all the grit and oil out of it, he realized. He glanced over Bakura's shoulder to see his face. The thief had closed his eyes as the water streamed over his head, and he still frowned, not as if he was angry but as if he was thinking hard about something that bothered him.

 

"Jumoke said there was a danger to Seth, and to all of Egypt. He said some great evil force sought the secret power of the Royal Items, and would use them against the Priests. I didn't know what he was babbling about. He voice didn't sound as frightened as his words; instead, he seemed furious that someone would do such a thing. His concern for the power of the Pharaoh and his priests did not concern me. Nor did his fear for Seth," he added quickly.

 

Ryou was certain that last statement wasn't true, but he said nothing. He added another palmful of shampoo to Bakura's hair and began massaging it into his scalp. After a moment Bakura went on.

 

"He shoved the Ring into my hands." He turned to glance at Ryou and smiled, his eyes glinting. "How could I refuse such a treasure, worthy of a Pharaoh's tomb? But," he continued, his smile fading, "I didn't want to touch it. I know the Items are amulets used by the Priests to call forth spirits drawn from the ka of other men. No one knows where they came from or who made them, not even the Pharaoh's priests, and maybe not even the Pharaoh himself. I would have stolen such a thing from a dead Pharaoh's tomb just for the gold. - I'm not afraid of the spirits of the dead! But this thing felt evil when I touched it. I've never felt anything like it." His eyes narrowed. "No," he added softly. "I felt the same dread when Seth became keeper of the Rod."

 

"But you kept the Ring?" Ryou prompted.

 

"I had no choice. Jumoke pressed it into my hands and left me with it. I stared at the Ring, wondering why I should dread to touch it. When I looked up a heartbeat later he was leaving the courtyard where he'd called me to meet him. The boy, Akiiki, had been playing nearby. Jumoke picked him up and ran from my sight with the smaller one riding on his back."

 

"Akiiki? The one who looks like Yugi?" Ryou asked curiously.

 

"That one. Nkuku, as they call him, the charming idiot boy. I believe Akunadin keeps him like a pet monkey, trying to impress folks with his kindness of heart, but I believe the Pharaoh's true heart is colder than the black of night. Jumoke had befriended the idiot child, and they often played games together. Jumoke had more patience than most, because Akiiki can't speak and only plays games of his own that no one else can understand."

 

Ryou frowned in his turn. He knew the Spirit of the Ring referred to The Other Yugi with mock respect as the Pharaoh. If he wasn't the pharaoh in Bakura's reality, what did he have to do with them and the Millennium Items? And what about the man who was the Pharaoh there?

 

Ryou rinsed Bakura's hair again, then picked up the wash cloth and began to scrub the back of his neck and shoulders. He had to pause again for a few breaths at the feel of the firm muscles, and at the idea of doing this all over the thief's body. Bakura sighed a little and leaned back onto his hands.

 

"Your touch is quite pleasant and stimulating, Ryou," he said in a low voice.

 

"Mmm," Ryou answered, distracted beyond thought for a few seconds. That voice seemed to go right to his groin. He took a deep, somewhat ragged breath and told his body to slow down, at least for a little while longer.

 

"Don't get too stimulated," he said. "Not until I'm done with this, anyway."

 

Bakura chuckled; that low laugh didn't help Ryou concentrate, either, but he gritted his teeth and returned his attention to the task of washing Bakura's back, and also to his curiosity about this other pharaoh.

 

"If Akunadin is evil, why does Seth follow him?" he asked.

 

Bakura sighed, this time sounding irritated.

 

"The Pharaoh treated Seth as a son after he found him at the temple in the north. That was the same temple I intended to rob of its treasures one day, when I found something even more appealing than gold and grain, something I wished to keep as my own! The blue-eyed young priest had been left alone for the day by his old teachers. He was quite innocent, and yet he was not afraid of me when he found me breaking in to the sanctuary. I could see the spark in his eyes, though it was nearly buried; it had never been lit while he was deep in his studies of the rituals of the gods, alone with old men who had turned their backs on the pleasures of the world. I saw Seth's curiosity blossom when he looked at me. I wanted to satisfy his curiosity, and I wanted to learn all about him as well."

 

Bakura's smile was nearly a leer, but there was softness in it as well. Ryou knew for certain then, with a pang in his own heart, that Bakura did still love the priest with more passion than he would probably ever admit.

 

Ryou nudged Bakura to lift one arm, and washed him from shoulder to finger tip, while Bakura smiled at him, and then he closed his eyes again and seemed to give way to pleasant memories of the past.

 

"The temple was isolated from the world. I returned as often as I could to complete Seth's education, telling him of the great world beyond his temple walls, and teaching him all I knew of pleasure. He was a very avid learner."

 

Ryou found it difficult to imagine the upright priest he'd met giving way to any form of physical pleasure. Then again, he didn't really want to imagine what they might have done together. Just as he moved to the other side to give the other arm the same careful treatment, Bakura's face suddenly fell into a frown.

 

"But one day Pharaoh came by with his whole court on some expedition through the northern part of the kingdom. Akunadin spotted Seth and took a liking to him, and said he saw in him the makings of a High Priest. He took Seth with him when he left. But once his real training began, Akunadin never seemed satisfied with Seth's progress."

 

Ryou began to wash Bakura's chest and torso. He bit the inside of his mouth to keep himself from caressing rather than washing as he ran his hands over the broad chest and firm stomach. Caressing would come later, he thought, trying to convince his own body to wait. He was glad Bakura kept talking, or he wouldn't have been able to listen to his own advice.

 

"I followed them back to the palace when I could, but Seth was not sure he was happy to see his old lover the thief, now that he was part of the royal court. He scolded me for daring to break into the palace and lectured me on the rightness of the law! I found out soon enough that Akunadin had become a hard master as soon as he was sure of Seth's loyalty. He was often cruel to Seth, but the fool only became more determined to please his new master."

 

He scowled darkly. Ryou looked up, just as he was beginning to move down to wash Bakura's legs - trying to ignore what waited in between. Bakura caught his hand on the top of his thigh and held him for a moment.

 

"Why does any of this matter to you, pretty one?" he asked irritably. "My concern for Seth is in the past, and all that was between us is dead now. Whatever his guilty heart made him say, I have no doubt he would much rather see me dead than his precious Jumoke."

 

The sharp bitterness was back in Bakura's voice. Ryou stared up at him a moment, painfully aware of the deeper feelings that must lie under that bitterness.

 

Bakura loved Seth, and had probably never stopped caring for him, though he would probably never admit it. Ryou blinked water out of his eyes, feeling another pang of something bitter in his own heart as he realized this. But he realized something else just as clearly: even if this Bakura was some analogy of the Spirit of the Ring, their lives must have been very different. He didn't dare hope that his own Bakura - if that was really his name - was capable of loving someone as this visitor from the past was.

 

Even as he thought this, Bakura the thief smoothed the scowl from his face and smiled down at him instead.

 

"Why should we care what Seth says?" he asked, his voice dropping to a purr. He pressed Ryou's hand against his thigh and nudged it toward his groin. "We have better things to think about, pretty Ryou!"

 

"I'm just curious about what happened," Ryou said quickly, feeling his heart start to pound again. "I think there must be a reason you and Seth are here. People don't just travel through time every day, you know! Aren't you curious about what happened to Jumoke, after he gave you such a warning? Isn't that why you went to his tomb?"

 

Bakura scowled again. "Whatever he may have said, Seth believed I killed Jumoke when he saw me there, because Akunadin has said I did it. Now I know why it was even more of a challenge than usual to evade the palace guards on my way to Jumoke's tomb! If Pharaoh has branded me a murderer, it will become harder still wherever I go. I may have to leave Egypt for a while. I can elude Pharaoh's soldiers for a time, but it will be easier if I'm far away."

 

"You are very far away from Pharaoh," Ryou said softly, catching his gaze, which had gone hard and distant again. "Don't you understand? It's been 3000 years or more since the time you lived - longer than it was from the time of the earliest Pharaohs to your time. Think how their monuments have worn away in those years. We know less of your people than you probably know of them. The Egypt of the Pharaohs no longer exists, I'm sorry to say. We have a few crumbling monuments and tombs, a few treasures, a few cryptic writings, which our best scholars have struggled to understand. Your language has long been lost. That's why Jonouchi and I are so surprised to find ourselves speaking it!"

 

"The Pharaohs no longer rule?" Bakura asked, staring hard at Ryou as this fact finally sank in.

 

"Egypt was overrun by conquerors, a thousand years after you were born. Persians, Greeks, and others. The god that is worshipped there now is one you probably never even heard of."

 

Bakura stared at him. Ryou gave him an earnest, sympathetic look, even though he suspected that the end of the rule of Pharaohs might not bother him all that much. After a moment, Bakura laughed again, a short, bitter laugh.

 

"So things pass," he said flatly. "Even the gods fall before their enemies at last. No one keeps the care of the tombs of the dead? Your world must be overrun by restless spirits!"

 

Ryou shook his head. "I'm afraid most people don't pay much attention to them anymore," he said. He was a little surprised by the sadness in his own voice.

 

"Well, then. What is it you think we are here for?" Bakura asked. "What brought a fledgling High Priest and a tombrobber across time to this world of yours?"

 

Ryou stared back at him, unable to answer. It must have something to do with the Millennium Items - at least, to the Spirit of the Ring, everything centered on them, and on Yugi. But to Bakura and Seth, Yugi meant nothing at all. Baffled, Ryou shook his head.

 

"I don't know."

 

"I thought not," Bakura said with a quiet laugh. He pulled Ryou back into his arms, sliding their wet bodies together under the warm falling water. "Well, the gods of Egypt may have fled in defeat, but the pleasures of Hathor remain for us to enjoy!"

 

Ryou hesitated for a moment. He had half a desire to think more about it all. He was intensely curious about Jumoke's warning to Bakura and the spirit's warning to him, and there were other questions he wanted to ask as well. Concern for the Spirit of the Ring -- and for Seto Kaiba, who he suddenly remembered with a guilty twinge of concern -- remained in his mind. And he wondered more than ever how the Spirit had become entombed in the Millennium Ring in this reality. It was hard to imagine such a thing ever happening to Bakura, the Prince of Thieves.

 

But the room had grown steamy from their shower, and the bath would be full before long. And Bakura's body was hard and warm against his.

 

Bakura tugged the cloth out of his hand and raised it to wipe some of the spray from his face. Ryou closed his eyes without thinking. The clean scent of his soap was now mingled with the scent of the thief's body. Bakura's other hand was around his back, pressing him close, and then his lips were on Ryou's again, tasting the water on his face and reaching for a deeper taste of him.

 

Ryou let his thoughts be overwhelmed by his senses and gave in to the kiss. Bakura rubbed the cloth over his face and neck, gently, while still kissing him, and then moved it lower. The rough, wet cloth brushed over his chest, and Ryou made a little moan in surprise when the warm friction of it rubbed against his nipples. The sound of Bakura's chuckle deep in his throat was even more arousing than the sensation.

 

A minute later, Ryou opened his mouth and moaned aloud, all thoughts and questions forgotten, when Bakura's firm hand wrapped the cloth around his rapidly growing erection and stroked him with it. His knees buckled and he threw his arms around the thief's shoulders to stay upright. Involuntarily, he thrust his hips forward, and felt Bakura's erection prod his thigh.

 

He started to kiss Bakura, initiating it himself this time without even thinking about it. Bakura responded eagerly, but after a few seconds, pushed him away a little and stopped stroking him. Ryou blinked his eyes open, feeling cross-eyed and slightly dizzy.

 

Bakura nodded to direct his attention toward the tub, which was nearly full.

 

"We are already as clean as a high priest at the temple of Ra must be," he said, "so what is the tub for?"

 

Ryou took a moment to catch his breath and reconnect his mouth to his brain.

 

"It is the tradition in this country to be clean and pure before we enter the tub," he said. He thought he sounded like some kind of tour guide. "It feels wonderful! You'll see."

 

Bakura shrugged, looking amused at his struggle to speak and his effort to pull away. At any rate, he had to do something soon or the tub would overflow. Reluctantly, Ryou turned off the water for the shower, and then stepped out of the reach of Bakura's arms to turn off the tap in the tub as well.

 

When he glanced back at the thief again, his head swam for a moment. The Egyptian's body was gleaming wet, and his arousal was proudly evident. Ryou licked water from his upper lip, and then noticed the thief staring at his mouth, amusement turning to hunger. He swallowed with difficulty before he could speak.

 

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand.

 

Bakura came over and held his hand as he climbed into the deep tub. He touched the steaming water and, as Ryou had expected, drew back in surprise. It was quite a bit hotter than the shower.

 

"You get used to it quickly," Ryou said encouragingly. "It won't hurt you! See?"

 

He eased himself down into the water slowly. The pleasure of it made him close his eyes again. The splendid heat seemed to melt through him, and he leaned back, letting his arms and legs spread wide under the water's embrace.

 

When he opened his eyes again a moment later, after he was settled in with the water lapping at his chest, he found Bakura looking down at him with half-closed eyes and a smoldering smile. He suddenly realized how wanton he must look, all spread out like this. Fortunately, he was already flushed from the heat so he could hardly blush any deeper.

 

He reached his hands up and out in invitation. Slowly, Bakura climbed into the tub facing him, and sank very carefully into the steaming water.

 

Ryou had done his best not to stare too long at Bakura's increasingly evident arousal, but as the thief slowly dropped down in front of him, that part of Bakura's body caught his eyes, and he couldn't drag his gaze away again.

 

He felt another wave of that strange, lightheaded feeling wash through him. Staring at Bakura's body, hard muscled and flushed with the heat, and at his erection bobbing in the water as Bakura sat facing him, Ryou was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought of the Spirit of the Ring.

 

Would he look just like this? he wondered. He swallowed hard again at the thought, remembering the odd, faint pressure of the Spirit's hands on him just before he disappeared. He suddenly felt filled with a sense of longing so strong it hurt.

 

"Are you all right - Ryou?" The thief's soft question, hesitating on his name, cut into his thoughts, and a hand touched his cheek. Ryou quickly opened his eyes, though he hadn't meant to close them, and found Bakura staring at him.

 

"I'm okay," he answered. "It's just the heat..."

 

Ryou realized he'd raised his hand to his chest, where the Ring usually hung. There was a breathless, hollow feeling there, under the marks on his skin where the Spirit had claimed him as his permanent host. The lightheadedness had passed, but the feeling of longing remained, swelling into desire as Bakura leaned toward him.

 

"Bakura," he whispered. It was hardly loud enough to hear over the soft lapping of the water against their skin.

 

The thief reached for him. Ryou moved forward into his strong arms. Desire long buried seemed to course through his veins. He gave in to it and slid his hands up Bakura's thighs under the water, and found silky-soft yet firm flesh that swelled deliciously in his hands. This time it was Bakura who moaned sharply and threw his head back.

 

Ryou slid forward until his legs were beside the thief's hips, so he could lean in and lap the wet skin at the base of his throat and then down his chest. Bakura's arms came around him, one hand sliding low under the water to lift him. Soon was up on Bakura's legs with his knees drawn up under the thief's shoulders.

 

He breathed in the clean, heated scent of Bakura's skin, reveled in the taste of him and the firm roughness of his cheek, and then found his mouth again. Although he'd never done any of this before, it almost felt familiar, as if he'd dreamed it would be just like this.

 

Bakura nudged Ryou closer by raising his knees a little, and then reached between them to close his hand around Ryou's, encompassing both their erections together. Ryou gasped, feeling he swell sharply under the pressure of their hands. The blood rushed away from his head so suddenly he nearly did faint. He fell against Bakura with a startled moan, and clung to his neck with his free hand.

 

Bakura's mouth nuzzled his wet hair. His other hand clutched behind Ryou, squeezing gently and encouraging him to squirm even closer. Strong fingers prodded behind him, between his spread legs.

 

"Bakura," Ryou whimpered. "You... ohh... yes!"

 

His head was spinning. He was trying to think, for some reason, as if he suddenly needed to remember something, but he couldn't think what it was. Waves of pleasure coursing through his body tugged at his mind somehow. What was it, what had he forgotten that he needed to know right this second, before his desire could reach its peak?

 

Ryou was flexing, rolling against Bakura. He couldn't help it, but there was something else humming, whispering at the back of his mind. What was it, he needed to think of it, but he couldn't think... The water gurgled softly around them, like the ripple of water against reeds at the river's edge. He caught the scent of heat, of sun-baked mud, the glare of light on rippling water...

 

He realized he was looking into the thief's face, which seemed to float in front of him like a reflection on the water. He was staring at the rugged face, the scarred cheek, the grey-blue eyes glazed with lust. Staring hard, and not seeing what he needed to see...

 

The Ring! Ryou thought suddenly. Sharp pangs of arousal mingled with a sense of panic. That was what he had been trying to remember. Where is my Ring?

 

The heat was intense, making it hard to think, beating down on him as if the sun was just above his head, burning heat making the desert sand seem to ripple before his eyes. He needed to find his Ring, but when he tried to search for it in his thoughts there was a blank place, like a pit of darkness that hid his memory of it. He'd lost something in there, far back in the darkness of his own mind...

 

Ryou was brought back suddenly from his confused thoughts when Bakura pressed into him, a finger, two fingers gently pushing inside of him.

 

"Yes," Ryou whimpered, a pleading sound that hardly seemed like his own voice. "Inside of me...I miss having you inside of me!"

 

"Ryou?"

 

Once again he suddenly found himself looking into the startled, concerned face of the thief, into grey-blue eyes without the gleam of red in their depths.

 

Bakura stared back at him, wide-eyed and questioning, suddenly not moving at all. Even the water had gone still, and silence seemed to echo off the tiled walls. He searched the bewildered thief's face.

 

"Where is he?" Ryou whispered.

 

His heart pounded, his vision swam, and everything suddenly went completely black.

 

---

 

to be continued....

 

(yeah... sorry it took a whole year to get another chapter of this story out there! I can't promise anything, real life being what it is, but I don't think it's going to take that long from now on. I finally figured out the whole plot and I'm on a roll, so if you've been waiting all this time and you're still interested, your patience may soon be rewarded!)