Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ White Shadows ❯ Pale Darkness ( Chapter 3 )

Okay, this was supposed to be a sequel to Ryou and Bakura. Think of this as a possible outcome - very AU. This is turning into a much, much darker fic that I thought. I hate it when the characters take over the story.

Trust me; I have no idea how this is going to end.

LEGEND:

<<thoughts>>

{flashbacks}

:mind to mind link:

DISCLAIMER: The characters aren't mine.

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White Shadows Chapter 2 - Pale Darkness

In the darkness of Ryou's bedroom, I rub my wrist and glare at nothing. My little bastard hikari has released all of my bonds except the chain on my right wrist, which still tethers me to the bed. I want to kill him. I really do. It's the only way I can be free of this wretched existence and return to the darkness of death. Even having my revenge on the Pharaoh can take back seat to this…prison. Not the Ring…that I don't mind. No, what I hate is this mockery of a 'life'. And as long as my hikari lives, so do I.

I have a heart now, and a body; blood flows through me. But I don't want it - as long as I was a mere spirit, I had all the power. I could take over Ryou whenever I felt a need to interact with the real world…and ignore it the rest of the time. Now I have to eat and sleep and shit…and remember. I can't lose myself in the dark anymore. Can't drown out the screams…pain…anger…despair…

Lights flickered on out in the hall; Ryou must be awake. The curtains are drawn, so I have no idea what time it is outside - for some reason, Ryou doesn't have a clock in his almost painfully neat room.

Who would have thought the little bastard would have mastered the Ring enough to call a shadow game? And on ME!

But he has, and now I'm stuck in this fucking room until Ryou releases me or a month passes. Those are the rules. I feel the shadows move whenever I contemplate escape. They won't let me cheat; if I try, they will twist my mind and leave my body a writhing mass of flesh, a tether to the real world that will bind me into mad insanity for as long as Ryou lives. Which would be a fate worse even than this unwanted mortality.

Ryou. He is the source of all my troubles. The little bastard wanted me out, gone, so he petitioned the Pharaoh, who petitioned the Gods or something and managed to create flesh to house my soul.

Fucking bastards. No one asked ME if I wanted to live again. No one. I don't want to live - I just want to destroy everything and pass into the darkness. I am the darkness…or I was. This heart, this blood, this body of mortal flesh is binding me into the world more every second. Filling me with emotion when all I want is purest hatred. Strength. Power.

"Good morning, Kura-chan!" Ryou carols as he walks into the room, carrying a tray. Breakfast in bed? I snort in disgust.

"Go away." I growl. Go away and leave me to the darkness…Gods, I hate the little fucker. So light and cheerful and happy all the time.

"Now, Kura-chan, there is no need to be rude." His voice is light, scolding. "You have to have breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day!"

Yuck. I haven't eaten breakfast…ever, I think. Stupid little shit. I eye the tray he lays on the bed. Cereal, some juice, toast and eggs. By Set and Ra, doesn't that kid even realize how much I hate this stuff?

"It's disgusting." I inform him. His lips turn down, irritation flashes through his brown eyes.

"You have to eat, Kura-chan. Or else you might get sick." Ryou pushes the tray closer to me; I ignore it and him.

Pain. My cheek explodes with it suddenly; the force of the blow knocks me to the bed. I regain myself to see Ryou standing over me, a spoon in one hand and his fist clenched around something hard in the other. The little fucker hit me! Again!

His tone is still light, but I can hear the steel behind it. "Eat, Kura-chan, or do I have to feed you?"

I reluctantly pull myself upright, reaching for the tray. I quickly down the food; I refuse to give him the satisfaction of forcing me. But the twinkle of his eyes and the pleased smile on his lips tells me that he's satisfied anyway.

Damn.

When I finish, he pats me on the head. "Good boy, Kura-chan. Do you want to go to the washroom?"

I nod, scowling. Give me a loophole, you little shit. Give me a loophole so I can break you…

"Then come on." He undoes the chain that binds me to the headboard and leads me to the bathroom, attaching the chain to the bathtub. At least he isn't going to watch me while I do my business. That would be too humiliating.

"Take a bath, Kura-chan." he orders me, tossing a towel in my general direction. I let it hit the floor. "Make sure you clean everywhere!" His tone promises an inspection.

<<Kill death kill KILL KILL>> I grab the towel, strip as best I can with one arm chained, and bathe.

My hair is still wet when he walks back into the room. As I expected, he gives me a thorough once-over before picking up a towel and drying my hair. His actions are almost motherly.

{Gentle hands that had fed him, woven his clothing and dressed him, clenching at the sword emerging from her chest…red blood slipping though her fingers to pool on the ground at her knees } I shake my head irritably, trying to bring my mind back to the present. Ryou smacks me lightly.

"Hold still, Kura-chan." He finishes his task - I growl silently at him, humiliation burning like bile in my throat.

"Don't call me that." I hiss.

"Kura-chan? Why not?" He sounds so utterly confused.

"Because its stupid."

Abruptly he spins me around; chocolate eyes glitter with madness in their depths. "But I like it, Kura-chan." he murmurs, softly, gently. "It's a term of affection. I am just trying to show you how much you mean to me, my yami."

I try not to shudder visibly as I nod. He smiles again, but that unsettling glitter still shows in the back of his eyes.

<<He's as mad as people think I am.>> Contrary to popular belief, I am not insane; I just have, what is the term…anger management issues.

Watch your entire village get slaughtered at the whim of a selfish bastard who never even cared about what he had done. Then you can talk to me about anger management.

I will get you, Ryou. You just wait. One month and you are mine.

He looks at me; a smile played on his lips as he dressed me, manipulating my limbs like an oversized doll. He can see the rage in my eyes - I make no effort to hide it. But that damned smile never leaves his face.

When he is done, he unhooks my chain and leads me back to the bedroom.

I am already sick of his room, but at least maybe now he'll leave me alone.

No such luck. He sits on the bed beside me, an inquisitive tilt to his head. "Kura-chan…do you remember the first time you spoke to me?"

"Of course I do, yadonushi." I smirk as he winces at the name. Landlord; I lost track of the times I called him that. Words can be a weapon - the only one I have in this situation.

"You said that you would grant my wishes." Ryou murmured. "But you never granted my greatest one."

I sneer. "You wanted a partner? A helpmeet, someone to guide and protect you? Sorry, yadonushi. You were nothing more than a convenient vessel for me - that's all. A servant for my desires - a rebellious servant, but a servant nevertheless."

"You used to protect me, when we were still one. You used me and you protected me, yami…why?"

"I was protecting myself, baka." A lie - I used to have a bit of gentle feelings for the boy, before he locked me in this damned prison. It's very hard to hate someone whose soul you share. But now all I feel is contempt and hate - for him, or for myself. It makes little difference, really.

"I see." He gives me a bright, brittle smile. "It's almost time for lunch, Kura-chan." I blink at the apparent non-sequitor. "I'll make you a nice, healthy meal and then we'll talk again." He leans over and gives me a brotherly kiss on the forehead. "Meanwhile, I'll leave you alone with your thoughts." The Ring glints in the overhead light as he rises.

I watch as he leaves. That hint of madness in his eyes is growing - why? What made him snap like that?

Me? Possibly - but… I rise and turn off the lights, bathing the room in peaceful darkness. At least this way I don't have to stare at the walls - the blackness is much more restful. I lie down on the bed, close my eyes, enjoy the silence.

Damn it to fucking Set, my mind won't stop working.

Ryou has gone sun-crazy - that is quite evident by his actions. Most people think that insanity is always accompanied by eccentric, violent behaviour. Not always.

The quiet ones - sometimes they're the ones to watch out for.

But what had made him snap like that? Me? No, it couldn't be - I had tried to kill him, yes, but I had a good reason - right?

<<Why in the name of Anubis am I thinking like this?>> Guilt cramps in my gut - like the time Malik convinced me to set Ryou up to take the hit from Osiris the Sky Dragon. Doubt makes my mind run in little circles.

<<Ryou - what did you do to me?>> I shiver - these are not normal feelings for me. I try to summon up anger, hate…but the guilt gets in the way, a wall of blue-white that prevents me from thinking straight. The Millennium Ring - it has the power to manipulate souls. He must have used it on me.

"Bastard." I relax into the gloom, try to draw the darkness into myself.

Too soon Ryou returns with my lunch. I try to refuse; he hits me again, but I can not maintain the shreds of my dignity if I simply give into what he wants me to do. Damn him - the food is tasteless in my mouth - some kind of salad and sandwich. I would rather taste sweet blood pouring from him, bathing my hands in the red liquid…

{Blood like a river over the ground, the earth too rocky to drink it. Red flow from the bodies of my mother, father, sister, brothers…the sweet copper smell mixing with the corrupt stench of opened bowels and released bladders. The knife in my hands as I twist it in the body of the bastard who killed my family, but there are too many. Too many for one boy to kill, so I flee, the scent of death still thick in my nostrils, blood on the blade in my hand. I lick the warm metal; taste my enemy. On the cliff overlooking the village I stop, turning back to see the only home I knew utterly destroyed.}

Bile rises in my throat. I choke on the food - Ryou rubs my back and I jerk away from the gentle touch. His eyes narrow and he slaps me. "That was not nice, Kura-chan." Then his expression changes again. "I'm so sorry, my yami, but I care for you. Please, I just want what's best for you." His large eyes fill with tears - I want to retch again. He is such a whiner.

"Silly hikari." I mock. "Poor, silly hikari. You want what's best for me?"

"Yes, yami."

"Then kill yourself, you little bastard, so I can be rid of you."

His eyes go wide and shocked. "You really hate me that much, Bakura?"

I smirk. <<No more Kura-chan, hmmm?>> "Yes."

He stares at me in open-mouthed shock for a long moment. "But if I die, then you die!"

"Yes." Smart little bastard. I keep the smirk as I suddenly realize a way to win this game before the month is out. If I can push him all the way over the edge… convince him to take his own life… not as satisfying as killing him myself, but quicker.

He's still staring at me.

A giggle escapes his lips.

I can practically see the last strands of sanity part in his mind. <<Perfect.>>

He blinks wide brown eyes at me. "I love you, Kura-chan." He giggles again. "I can't let you die, my yami. I love you - I know you don't really hate me."

This kid is in serious denial. "Yes, actually I do."

A frown. He slaps me. "Bad yami."

I growl. One more hit and Shadow Game or not, he's toast.

Then he leans over and strokes the cheek he just struck. "Oh, Kura-chan. I'm so sorry…I lost my temper. Please forgive me." He kisses my cheek, a tender gesture. I freeze.

<<Ra, no…>> It's too light in here - I can't banish the memories… My breath hitches in my throat, choking me. The face of my hikari is overlaid for a moment with another, older and more grizzled, covered with scars, stroking my bleeding cheek. Speaking those same words.

{"I'm so sorry, 'Kura. I lost my temper. Please forgive me." A hand touches my kilt…I whimper and shake my head in denial. "You have to forgive me, 'Kura. Pretty 'Kura, my little joy…}

I feel warm arms, stronger than they look, wrap around and draw me close. I can't breathe - warm tears flow down my cheeks. I can't help it - the tender touch undoes me.

"Hush, Kura-chan." Ryou murmurs as he strokes my back, coaxes the tears from me. Against my will my body relaxes into his embrace, shame old and new blushing my cheeks as I wail into the soft shoulder.

When the tears stop, Ryou pulls away just enough to look down at my face. "Feel better?" he asks me. I shake my head, still reliving the memories of the bastard who broke me.

He cuddles me against him. I growl, but I don't have the strength right now to fight him off - and a part of me likes the comfort. The other part burns with hatred.

But he did this to me. He made me weak. He saw me cry.

For that, he will die.

I don't care anymore. I will not… No! Memory crashes over me, guilt threatens to overwhelm me… I don't care about the game, or the consequences. I just want the pain to stop…

I reach up and wrap the chain around Ryou's neck, pulling it taunt, spinning him over so he's on the bed, pinned. It's so easy. So easy…His eyes are wide with surprise and pain; I shudder and pull the chain tighter as he claws at the links.

<<Die. Please, Ra, die!>>

"Bakura…" he whispers. His eyes darken, going blank as he struggles for a single sip of oxygen. "I love you…yami…hitori…boku…"

With a scream, I pull the chain as hard as it will go, snapping his neck.

The whole world seems to pause as I stare down at the lifeless form of my hikari, waiting for peaceful oblivion. He is dead - I can die.

<<Please, Osiris, let me die.>> The Shadows wrap around me; darkness suffocates me and I know no more.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAAVAVAVAVA < p>The darkness clears. I find myself in a different place - a royal throne room in the Ancient Egyptian style. I rise from my prone position, looking around for the Judge of the Dead. With the crimes on my heart, I expected Ammet to eat my soul before I woke.

Shadows shift oddly in the room, swirling around the walls, not dispelled by the torches which provide light. Movement calls my attention to the throne on the dais before me.

A figure sits there, dressed in the regalia of a Pharaoh. I swear aloud as I recognize it as Atem. Can I not escape him even in death?

Then I take another look. Wait…that isn't Atem at all. That's Yugi, his baka hikari! He watches me, amethyst eyes cold. A moment later Atem appears from behind the throne, taking the right-hand place of advisor.

"Bakura." Yugi states; his voice rings with authority. "You have broken the Shadow Game, and therefore you must accept your punishment."

"You do not have the right to judge me, little Yugi." I glare at Atem. "What's the matter, Pharaoh? To good to pass judgement over a petty thief like me?" I see the flash of anger in his shadowed violet eyes and smirk. If I get him mad enough to banish me to the shadow realm, I will be free…

"Normally I would set your Punishment Game with pleasure, Bakura, but as your crime is against your hikari, mine has claimed the right of judgement."

Well, this will be interesting. Yugi is - was - Ryou's friend. It is a little surprising that he would override his yami, but at least he should be mad enough to order the same thing that Atem would do.

"Yami no Bakura." Yugi's voice is cold and clear. "You have failed in your duty as a protector and a guide for your other self. You have killed your hikari, and broken the rules of a Shadow Game to do it. For this I will set your punishment."

A third eye begins to glow in the centre of his forehead, through the golden crown.

"You have failed as a protector of the soul. Therefore I revoke your Shadow Magic and the Millennium Ring that provides it." I take a breath and let it out slowly. Not that I will need magic in the belly of Ammet…

"You have failed as a guide for Ryou Bakura, your hikari, and drove him insane in the process. Therefore I bind him to you, until the day that you guide him back to that which you stole from him." A white ghost appears, circling me. I can see the features of Ryou, weeping at my final betrayal.

"You sought to end your existence; therefore, I grant you life eternal, until the day you accept the evil that you have wrought." The third eye glows bright as the sun with the final pronouncement.

I shake my head in denial, horror churning in my stomach. "Oh Ra, no please no…"

"Punishment Game!"

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA VAVA

I wake to find myself in my own bedroom. For a moment, I think that it had been nothing more than a horrible, terrible dream.

Then I hear a whisper in my mind.

:I love you, mou hitori no boku.: Ryou giggles.

I drop my head into my hands and weep at the cruelty of the Light.

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Don't worry - this isn't the end. Stay tuned for the next chapter of White Shadows.