Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ White Shadows ❯ Bakura and Ryou ( Chapter 1 )

This is an idea I had after reading a few Ryou/Bakura beating fics. I wonder if I'll get flamed for this one? Oh well, I hope you enjoy, and please review. It lets me know what I'm doing right!

DISCLAIMER: The characters aren't mine, but the story is.

White Shadows Prologue: Bakura and Ryou

Ryou leaned back against the couch, holding a book in one hand and nibbling on a chip with the other. It was late, after ten, and the white-haired teenager was enjoying the quiet.

He'd been separate physically from his yami for a couple of months - a long two months as the two tried to come to some kind of accommodation with each other. Yugi and Atem made it look so damned easy. His yami tended to be rude, crude and obnoxious when he was mad, which was often. Ryou respected his strength of will; he could tell that Bakura had only the tiniest grip on his formidable temper, so he tried to be as accommodating as possible. He did the cooking - Bakura still didn't know enough about the modern world to be trusted in the kitchen - and the cleaning, and most everything else around the house. To be fair, Bakura went to work while Ryou was in school, although he had never told his hikari what he did all day - only that it paid fairly well.

Flipping a page in the book, Ryou tried to keep his thoughts from wandering. It still didn't seem fair - Bakura came home, threw his stuff on the floor and demanded dinner. Was it written somewhere that the hikari had to be the maidservant?

And then there were nights like this, when his yami didn't even come home for dinner. The last time had scared him - Bakura had thrown open Ryou's bedroom door, snarling obscenities, and promptly passed out on the floor. It had taken nearly an hour to get the drunken yami poured into bed.

Ryou sighed. He felt sorry for Bakura sometimes - there was a great and terrible grief in his heart; the loss of his village, three thousand years ago, had scarred him permanently. He just needed to figure out some way to deal with the pain other than drink. Maybe if he actually would talk to someone…

The door crashed open - Bakura stalked into the room, smelling like a brewery. Ryou sighed and ignored him - with luck he'd make it to the bedroom before passing out this time.

"Where's my dinner?" Bakura stood in front of him, glaring drunkenly.

"Dinner was four hours ago. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you want them." Ryou deliberately turned back to his book.

Pain exploded in the side of his face. He hit the floor on his stomach and rolled to his back, shocked. One hand flew to the abused cheek. "You hit me!"

"And I'll hit you again if you don't obey me, landlord." Bakura snarled. "Now get up and get me something to eat."

When Ryou didn't move, Bakura reached down and grabbed his collar, lifting him to his feet. "DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?" he demanded, drawing back his fist again.

Ryou saw this one coming, so he rolled with the blow as best he could. It still hurt like hell - his stomach clenched against the pain and he tried not to throw up.

He stumbled back into the living room wall, winded. Bakura stalked after him, madness glinting in his dark eyes. "You will do as I tell you, you little bastard! Understand?"

His ranting gave Ryou enough time to gain his balance - the hikari braced himself as his yami swung at him again, a haymaker designed to take his head right off.

Ryou ducked. Bakura howled as his fist connected with the unyielding wall. Clenching his hand into a fist, Ryou brought it up in a straight-line punch with all the strength of his body direct to Bakura's jaw. The former tomb-raider flew back, collapsing on the floor, shocked sober by Ryou's unexpected reaction.

"That's just about enough." Ryou panted. The hikari rubbed his bruised knuckles surreptitiously. "Next time I'll throw you back into the Shadow Realms myself."

"You wouldn't dare." Bakura tried, but his voice betrayed a little uncertainty.

"Bets?" Holding his hands in spread in front of his chest, Ryou called the Millennium Ring. The yami's eyes widened as he realized through their link that Ryou would indeed make good on his threat. Sure now that the message came through loud and clear, Ryou dropped his hands, picked up his book and turned away from Bakura, heading for his bedroom.

No-where was is written that a hikari had to be nice.