Categories > Anime/Manga > Yu-Gi-Oh! > The Dragon Tale
Beyond the Shadows
1 reviewFirst of 3 flashback chapters reveals how Bakura's and Ryou's lives intersect with the world of Harry Potter, and how Bakura became a permanent part of Ryou's life after the final Shadow Game. (Cro...
0Unrated
The Dragon Tale
by Tsutsuji
Rating: PG13 - some dark themes, implied shonen-ai
Pairings: Bakura/Ryou
Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS for the Ancient Egypt arc of Yu-gi-oh and the end of the series, although I've made a few changes for my own amusement (for yours as well, I hope).
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 typos or other errors.
Summary: The story of how Bakura's and Ryou's lives intersect with the world of Harry Potter, and how this led to Bakura becoming a permanent part of Ryou's life after the end of the battle with Yami no Yugi. First of three flashback chapters.
Notes: This story is a crossover of the worlds of Harry Potter and Yu-gi-oh, which means it's not exactly the familiar reality of either world. There are major spoilers here for the Egyptian arc and the end of the Yu-gi-oh series.
I've used one bit of "fanon" inspired by the English dub version of the anime - the idea that Ryou's mother was from England, which happens to be useful in an HP crossover.
I'm certainly not an expert on Harry Potter's world, so if I've got any magical theory, events, or spells wrong, please let me know so I can either fix the error or explain it away!
---
Chapter 2
Flashback: About a year before the first chapter, at the end of the 'Millennium World' Shadow Game....
As a matter of fact, a little less than a year before the dragon landed on his balcony, Ryou had just decided he'd had about enough of the Spirit of the Millennium Ring. He'd made up his mind to get rid of the Ring and its nameless ghost - just as soon as he got control of his body back this time.
He'd had it with the months on end of being dazed and confused, waking up in strange places without knowing how he got there, and losing friends when they fell into comas. On top of that, he'd been poked in the chest by the Ring, stabbed by a toy turret, and slashed on the arm just to impress an even crazier Millennium Item holder. Even his remaining friends, Yugi and Jonouchi and the others, tended to be wary of him, since they never knew if it was really him they were talking to or the Spirit of the Ring doing his flaky-Ryou impression.
The very last straw was finding himself shut out of the chance to enter the world of the Pharaoh's memories, where he might be able to help his friends, and where he might finally find out what this was all about. Instead, he found himself passing out and losing control of his body to the Spirit of the Ring again.
Even the magical protection the Ring gave him wasn't worth it anymore, Ryou decided. In fact, if he actually knew any spells worth using, he'd have used them right then and there. He'd worry about being detected by Dark Wizards later, after he got a few things straightened out with the Spirit of the Ring.
But he couldn't use magic. He'd never learned any spells, except the Occlumency his mother had taught him so that no one could read his mind to find out that he had magic powers. Even the Spirit couldn't reach into those protected thoughts - not that he'd ever shown much interest in what Ryou was thinking, anyway.
Ryou couldn't tell how much time had passed while he was locked deep inside his own mind. He struggled to regain consciousness and take control of his body, knowing that even if he did, he was most likely going to wake up who-knows-where, feeling like he'd had been run through the ringer again....
"Run through the ringer?" echoed the Voice of the spirit. He sounded amused. "There's a charming expression. What does it mean?"
Startled and annoyed, Ryou could only mentally sputter back at him.
"You!" he yelled angrily in his mind.
It wasn't a polite sort of "you," either, but that only made the spirit laugh. Unfortunately Ryou couldn't come up with anything better at the moment. The spirit still refused to acknowledge any name, although Ryou had always had a feeling he should know what to call him besides "Voice," or "Spirit."
Besides that, though, Ryou was surprised that the Voice had even spoken to him. More and more often lately, the spirit had simply ignored him, far more so than at the beginning of their strange acquaintance when he would at least make a sarcastic comment now and then. Ryou had hardly even heard the familiar muttered threats and rants toward the Pharaoh recently.
He was glad the spirit was paying attention to him again now, though, because the mood he was in, he was ready to give him a very loud piece of his mind.
"What are you doing?" he demanded through the mental link. "Where am I, and what kind of trouble are you causing now?"
He tried to open his eyes to pull himself to consciousness, but he couldn't. He wasn't in control of his body yet. The spirit chuckled softly.
"You'll see soon enough, Yadonushi, my host. Just be patient a little longer. It's almost over."
"Over? What does that mean?"
Ryou struggled, pushing back harder than he usually did against the Spirit. To his surprise he felt the hold on his body give way for a second, but then the Spirit's will muffled him again.
"Patience!" the voice snapped. "I only need control of your body for a short while longer. After that, you'll be on your own again!"
That caught Ryou's attention. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. Probably not.
"Why? What's happening?"
There was no answer in words. Instead, after a few seconds of silence, Ryou was suddenly bombarded with a rush of mental images. They poured into his mind, fragmented and strange yet familiar, as if they came from a dream he'd forgotten he'd had and just suddenly remembered.
There was the Pharaoh, the Other Yugi in white robes and gold jewelry, surrounded by six Egyptian Priests... a gleaming Egyptian city, then a ruined village half buried by the desert... a tomb deep underground, squadrons of soldiers, huge Duel Monsters battling each other in the sky... Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu searching through a shadowy stone labyrinth...
Then there were scenes from more recent times: Malik laughing insanely, Ghost Kotsuzaka trembling on his knees next to a broken tombstone, Pegasus with blood on his face and an empty, gaping eye socket.... the Other Yugi again, this time glaring across a table scattered with game pieces... Then suddenly there was the horrible image of a rotting, mummified corpse starting to crumble.
The images passed by too quickly for Ryou to make any sense of them, but in all of them the Millennium Items flashed, and a river of molten, flaming gold flowed through like the thread that tied them together. There were voices, too, speaking words he didn't understand, but beyond all else there was the sound of screaming and wailing, until that slowly faded away into a distant moan, like the wind whistling through the broken stones of an ancient tomb.
"There," the voice sighed as the barrage of images ended. "You'll have to sort it all out later, I'm afraid. There's no time left to explain. At least now you'll know all that I did while I was using your body. And why."
The Spirit sounded weary and shaken. Ryou also felt like he needed to catch his breath, even though he wasn't yet in control of his body. He realized that something very strange must have happened. The Voice seemed weak. This could be his chance to regain control, he thought suddenly. But he didn't do it. Curiosity, at least, held him back.
"Was that - your memories? Why are you showing me all of this now?"
"So you'll understand. When you hear the story from Yugi and the Pharaoh, at least you will know the truth. The Gods know, you are the only one capable of understanding it all."
"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, more surprised and curious than ever. "You never wanted me to understand anything before!"
"Of course not. You'll understand the reason for that as well. All I can say now is that I had my reasons for keeping you 'out of the loop,' as they say. Just as I assume you have had your reasons for keeping your own magic powers so well hidden all this time."
If Ryou had been awake he would have jumped back in shock at those words.
"Wh-what? You - you knew? How did you...?"
The Spirit laughed quietly. There seemed to be only a whisper of his old malice in his laughter.
"How did I know you have magic in your blood? I've known all along! If I hadn't been certain at the start, your appearance as the White Mage in our first little Shadow Game with the Pharaoh made it perfectly clear. That's part of the reason I was able to work through you so easily, but it is also the reason I had to keep you from knowing anything. You might have tried to use your powers in some way if you had known, and that would have been disastrous for everyone - especially you, dear host."
"Me?" Ryou was baffled. The spirit couldn't possibly fear his powers, but that didn't sound like a threat - in fact, he sounded more like he was concerned for Ryou's safety. Either possibility seemed incredible.
"Well, after all, that is why your father gave you the Ring, isn't it? To protect you by hiding your own magic? I'm afraid you'll have to manage without it again, though."
An odd chill ran through Ryou's soul at those words. There was something flat and final about the sound of the Spirit's voice.
"What did you mean, I'll be on my own again soon? What's over?" he asked again.
When the voice came into his mind again, it seemed to be moving away from him. "I've enjoyed sharing your enchanting body, Yadonushi, but it's time for me to leave you now. My game with the Pharaoh... has ended. At last."
Ryou felt the Spirit's will lose its grip on him, slipping away into shadows. Suddenly afraid for some reason he didn't understand, Ryou mentally reached out for it.
"Wait! Do you mean - you lost?"
"In a manner of speaking." The voice laughed again, more softly, coming from farther away. "This is not how I intended it all to end, and yet...."
Other voices, like the ones that had been screaming in the dreamlike vision, seemed to fall away into the darkness with the Spirit, sighing like wind over desert sand. Ignoring them, Ryou called to the Spirit in his mind and strained to hear an answer. It came from a great distance.
"Goodbye, Ryou Bakura! Unless we meet again in another life..."
Ryou woke up.
He pushed himself to sit up, shivering when he felt cold stone under his hands. His mind was clearer than it had been in months, even though he still didn't know where he was or how he got here. But he knew one thing for certain: The Spirit of the Millennium Ring was gone.
---
"Hey, man, you must be glad to finally get rid of that evil Ring, right, Bakura?"
Honda had nudged Ryou's arm and whispered this to him after he handed the Ring to Yugi, the last of the seven Items to end up in his possession.
Without a second thought, Ryou put on the same old cheerful mask he'd always worn around his friends, and smiled back at Honda. For a short time after the Spirit disappeared he'd thought things would change, but at that moment he realized that his life would only go back to the kind of normal it had been before he owned the Ring - a life of being separate and alone. The Ring had shielded him and his secret in more ways than one.
"Yes, I suppose I am!" he said cheerfully. But that wasn't exactly true after all.
Over the last few days, Ryou had started to piece together the memories the Spirit had given him, and to fit them into the story Yugi and the others told of their adventures in the world of the Pharaoh's memories. He soon realized that the Spirit had been right - he seemed to be the only one who could comprehend the incredible evil that had been unleashed in Kul Elna. The others, even the Pharaoh himself, really couldn't understand the horror of the Dark Magic that had been invoked there.
Ryou had spent most of his life hiding and denying his own magic powers out of fear of a man who was said to be the greatest Dark Wizard who ever lived. But even the darkest whispered tales of the one who once called himself The Dark Lord were pale in comparison with the evil deed that created the Millennium Items. Even he had never slaughtered a hundred people all at once, plunging them alive into a vat of molten gold in order to forge them, bodies and souls, into magical talismans.
He now knew that the Spirit of the Ring had been the Egyptian Thief King, Bakura. He finally began to understand Bakura's quest for vengeance, but that still didn't quite explain why Bakura had done all of the things he did. In spite of all he knew now, he still wasn't sure why the Spirit had kept the knowledge of Ryou's own magic a secret. Even if he had been protecting Ryou in some way, Ryou couldn't be certain of his motive. He might only have been interested in protecting the host body he needed to use. But when he thought back to the Spirit's last words, that wasn't what it sounded like at all.
Whatever the truth was, by the time he watched the Millennium Items placed in the stone tablet for the final time, Ryou could only bow his head in silence, with a prayer for the ghosts of Kul Elna and a hope that the Spirit of the Millennium Ring was at peace.
---
Senshiro Bakura left his son Ryou a message on his answering machine, telling him that he was coming to Domino City for a visit and that he had something important and exciting to discuss with him. He was annoyed at first when Ryou wasn't there to meet him at the airport. When he called Ryou's number and got no answer, he began to worry instead. Dusk fell like a bad omen while he made his way as quickly as possible to Ryou's apartment.
Senshiro knocked on the door, only to find it unlocked and unlatched. Pressing it open with a shaking hand, he peered inside. The rooms were dark and silent. Old fear clutched his heart.
"No," he whispered. "Not again. Please, not again!"
He stepped inside and spoke with a tremor in his voice.
"Ryou? Are you here? Please, answer me, Ryou!"
He stopped short as a shadow moved in the room. Through the dim light coming in the windows from the street, Senshiro saw a figure move toward him. The gleam of silvery-white hair made him sigh suddenly with relief.
"Ryou! Why are you standing there in the dark!" he snapped, irritated as only a parent can be that he'd been made to worry. He felt along the wall and found a light switch. When the light came on Senshiro froze again and stared at the man standing before him.
"You're not my son!" he said finally, letting anger mask his fear. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" the man said. His voice sounded similar to Ryou's, but eerily different. He seemed to consider this question for a moment. "For the first time in 3000 years I can answer that in truth: I am Bakura!"
Senshiro stared at him, horrified and uncomprehending. The man looked like Ryou in so many ways, although he was a little taller than Ryou had been when he last saw his son. He was even dressed in some of Ryou's clothes that he recognized, a striped t-shirt and jeans. But his hair was a long, wild tangle, and his eyes were narrowed with a strange gleam in them. He looked, in fact, like Ryou under the control of an evil spell. Seeing that was almost worse than finding his son missing.
"Ryou..." he whispered pleadingly.
The man's strange smile widened a little. "Ryou is not here," he said.
Senshiro stared. For the first time he saw the gleam of blue eyes, rather than Ryou's deep brown. But if this wasn't Ryou, who could he be? It must be a trick, some illusion to trap him. That didn't even matter; he only wanted to know what had happened to his son.
The wonderful news that had brought Senshiro to Domino seemed to shatter like a false hope - the news from Bill Weasley, his young friend back in Egypt, that the legendary Harry Potter had arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and was about to enter his second year there. Already, the stories said, in his very first year, he had faced and defeated a follower of the One Who Must Not Be Named.
Hearing this, Senshiro had dared to hope that things were really safer now in the wizarding world. Maybe Ryou didn't have to hide any longer. Maybe he could stop pretending that he hadn't inherited any of his family's magic at all. Maybe he could even go to Hogwarts himself, as his mother's family had always done.
That was what he'd come to tell his son, after all this time - only to find some kind of Dark Magic had found Ryou first.
With a slow, shaking hand, Senshiro reached into a deep pocket in his coat and closed his fingers around the wand there. He hadn't cast a spell in ages, to say nothing of trying to use his wand against the magic of a Dark Wizard. He knew he was no match for one of them, but he had to do something.
But the man who looked like Ryou was ignoring him now. As Senshiro watched, the stranger raised his hands in front of his face and studied them, smiling as if they were a wonder to be seen.
"And it seems, also," the man said softly, "I am once again sar byt 'nchk - as I was called so long ago."
Senshiro's hand froze in the act of drawing out his wand. The man's words shocked him, but they weren't the Unforgivable Curse words he expected. As far as he could tell, the stranger had spoken in ancient Egyptian. Hearing that language spoken aloud, Senshiro could only stand there and gape at him in awe.
The man dropped his hands and looked at Senshiro again as if he'd suddenly remembered he was there. Senshiro realized it was too late now to cast a spell, even if he could think of one. The stranger's smile grew even wider as he started forward with his arms outstretched.
"Welcome home - Father!" he said, and opened his hands to reach for him.
--
Ryou tried one last time to reach his father by phone before stepping on the plane for home, but his colleagues didn't know where he was, as usual. He'd never told his father about the Spirit of the Ring, but now that both Spirit and Ring were gone, he wanted to tell someone about all that he'd discovered. He had no desire to discuss Bakura with Yugi and his friends, however; anyway, they had more important matters to discuss amongst themselves. On the long plane ride home, Ryou hardly said a word to anyone, but he was sure they didn't notice.
His mask stayed on when they parted ways at the airport. They were all busy making plans to get together and duel again soon, eager to use all that they'd learned about Duel Monsters from the King of Games. Each of them waved goodbye to Ryou briefly, except for Yugi who stopped and smiled up at him as brightly as ever. Only a little line between his brows revealed some concern, making Ryou pause.
"Bakura, you'll come over and play with us too, now, won't you? After all, it will all be different now!"
Ryou smiled. "Of course, I'd love to, Yugi!"
It wasn't exactly a lie. He would like to keep them as his friends, he supposed, even if they didn't understand. But Yugi didn't know just how different his life was going to be now. He wasn't even sure how much longer he'd be able to stay in Domino.
All the way across town to his apartment, Ryou kept feeling like he'd lost something or left something behind on the plane. He checked to make sure he had his bag, his keys, his wallet, and his deck of Duel Monsters cards. Of course, the only thing missing was his Millennium Ring.
He unlocked the door, slid out of his shoes, and dropped his bag to the floor with a sigh. Everything was back to normal - for him. Separate and alone.
Except, he suddenly noticed, there was a light on in the room off the hallway, his game room. He knew he'd turned off all the lights before he left.
Ryou walked over and looked into the room. A wave of confusion washed over him when he saw that there was a man sitting at the table with his back to the door. His first thought was that someone had broken in to his apartment; it was followed immediately by the equally illogical idea that the manager had rented out his place while he was gone. While those thoughts flashed through his mind, another part of him noticed that the man wasn't wearing a shirt, only a pair of faded jeans. Broad shoulders and a suntanned back were half-hidden under a stream of pale-colored hair.
The man turned around to face him. Ryou's eyes flew wide open and his breath stopped. He was staring at a familiar face - his own. Or rather, his own face transfigured with shadowy blue eyes and the faint, white lines of a scar on the tanned skin. Surprise on the bizarrely familiar face became a grin of pleasure.
"Welcome home at last, dear host!" The other Bakura - solid, real, and living - stood up and moved toward him in a swift, fluid motion. "Did you miss me?"
Ryou felt disoriented; his blood pounded in his ears and his vision started to go black. He couldn't find his breath. He felt himself falling, although this time it wasn't any other will that forced his mind to slip away. This time it was only shock, plain and simple.
He wasn't certain, but just before everything went completely dark, it seemed as though a pair of strong arms reached out and caught him.
---
to be continued...
by Tsutsuji
Rating: PG13 - some dark themes, implied shonen-ai
Pairings: Bakura/Ryou
Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS for the Ancient Egypt arc of Yu-gi-oh and the end of the series, although I've made a few changes for my own amusement (for yours as well, I hope).
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 typos or other errors.
Summary: The story of how Bakura's and Ryou's lives intersect with the world of Harry Potter, and how this led to Bakura becoming a permanent part of Ryou's life after the end of the battle with Yami no Yugi. First of three flashback chapters.
Notes: This story is a crossover of the worlds of Harry Potter and Yu-gi-oh, which means it's not exactly the familiar reality of either world. There are major spoilers here for the Egyptian arc and the end of the Yu-gi-oh series.
I've used one bit of "fanon" inspired by the English dub version of the anime - the idea that Ryou's mother was from England, which happens to be useful in an HP crossover.
I'm certainly not an expert on Harry Potter's world, so if I've got any magical theory, events, or spells wrong, please let me know so I can either fix the error or explain it away!
---
Chapter 2
Flashback: About a year before the first chapter, at the end of the 'Millennium World' Shadow Game....
As a matter of fact, a little less than a year before the dragon landed on his balcony, Ryou had just decided he'd had about enough of the Spirit of the Millennium Ring. He'd made up his mind to get rid of the Ring and its nameless ghost - just as soon as he got control of his body back this time.
He'd had it with the months on end of being dazed and confused, waking up in strange places without knowing how he got there, and losing friends when they fell into comas. On top of that, he'd been poked in the chest by the Ring, stabbed by a toy turret, and slashed on the arm just to impress an even crazier Millennium Item holder. Even his remaining friends, Yugi and Jonouchi and the others, tended to be wary of him, since they never knew if it was really him they were talking to or the Spirit of the Ring doing his flaky-Ryou impression.
The very last straw was finding himself shut out of the chance to enter the world of the Pharaoh's memories, where he might be able to help his friends, and where he might finally find out what this was all about. Instead, he found himself passing out and losing control of his body to the Spirit of the Ring again.
Even the magical protection the Ring gave him wasn't worth it anymore, Ryou decided. In fact, if he actually knew any spells worth using, he'd have used them right then and there. He'd worry about being detected by Dark Wizards later, after he got a few things straightened out with the Spirit of the Ring.
But he couldn't use magic. He'd never learned any spells, except the Occlumency his mother had taught him so that no one could read his mind to find out that he had magic powers. Even the Spirit couldn't reach into those protected thoughts - not that he'd ever shown much interest in what Ryou was thinking, anyway.
Ryou couldn't tell how much time had passed while he was locked deep inside his own mind. He struggled to regain consciousness and take control of his body, knowing that even if he did, he was most likely going to wake up who-knows-where, feeling like he'd had been run through the ringer again....
"Run through the ringer?" echoed the Voice of the spirit. He sounded amused. "There's a charming expression. What does it mean?"
Startled and annoyed, Ryou could only mentally sputter back at him.
"You!" he yelled angrily in his mind.
It wasn't a polite sort of "you," either, but that only made the spirit laugh. Unfortunately Ryou couldn't come up with anything better at the moment. The spirit still refused to acknowledge any name, although Ryou had always had a feeling he should know what to call him besides "Voice," or "Spirit."
Besides that, though, Ryou was surprised that the Voice had even spoken to him. More and more often lately, the spirit had simply ignored him, far more so than at the beginning of their strange acquaintance when he would at least make a sarcastic comment now and then. Ryou had hardly even heard the familiar muttered threats and rants toward the Pharaoh recently.
He was glad the spirit was paying attention to him again now, though, because the mood he was in, he was ready to give him a very loud piece of his mind.
"What are you doing?" he demanded through the mental link. "Where am I, and what kind of trouble are you causing now?"
He tried to open his eyes to pull himself to consciousness, but he couldn't. He wasn't in control of his body yet. The spirit chuckled softly.
"You'll see soon enough, Yadonushi, my host. Just be patient a little longer. It's almost over."
"Over? What does that mean?"
Ryou struggled, pushing back harder than he usually did against the Spirit. To his surprise he felt the hold on his body give way for a second, but then the Spirit's will muffled him again.
"Patience!" the voice snapped. "I only need control of your body for a short while longer. After that, you'll be on your own again!"
That caught Ryou's attention. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. Probably not.
"Why? What's happening?"
There was no answer in words. Instead, after a few seconds of silence, Ryou was suddenly bombarded with a rush of mental images. They poured into his mind, fragmented and strange yet familiar, as if they came from a dream he'd forgotten he'd had and just suddenly remembered.
There was the Pharaoh, the Other Yugi in white robes and gold jewelry, surrounded by six Egyptian Priests... a gleaming Egyptian city, then a ruined village half buried by the desert... a tomb deep underground, squadrons of soldiers, huge Duel Monsters battling each other in the sky... Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu searching through a shadowy stone labyrinth...
Then there were scenes from more recent times: Malik laughing insanely, Ghost Kotsuzaka trembling on his knees next to a broken tombstone, Pegasus with blood on his face and an empty, gaping eye socket.... the Other Yugi again, this time glaring across a table scattered with game pieces... Then suddenly there was the horrible image of a rotting, mummified corpse starting to crumble.
The images passed by too quickly for Ryou to make any sense of them, but in all of them the Millennium Items flashed, and a river of molten, flaming gold flowed through like the thread that tied them together. There were voices, too, speaking words he didn't understand, but beyond all else there was the sound of screaming and wailing, until that slowly faded away into a distant moan, like the wind whistling through the broken stones of an ancient tomb.
"There," the voice sighed as the barrage of images ended. "You'll have to sort it all out later, I'm afraid. There's no time left to explain. At least now you'll know all that I did while I was using your body. And why."
The Spirit sounded weary and shaken. Ryou also felt like he needed to catch his breath, even though he wasn't yet in control of his body. He realized that something very strange must have happened. The Voice seemed weak. This could be his chance to regain control, he thought suddenly. But he didn't do it. Curiosity, at least, held him back.
"Was that - your memories? Why are you showing me all of this now?"
"So you'll understand. When you hear the story from Yugi and the Pharaoh, at least you will know the truth. The Gods know, you are the only one capable of understanding it all."
"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, more surprised and curious than ever. "You never wanted me to understand anything before!"
"Of course not. You'll understand the reason for that as well. All I can say now is that I had my reasons for keeping you 'out of the loop,' as they say. Just as I assume you have had your reasons for keeping your own magic powers so well hidden all this time."
If Ryou had been awake he would have jumped back in shock at those words.
"Wh-what? You - you knew? How did you...?"
The Spirit laughed quietly. There seemed to be only a whisper of his old malice in his laughter.
"How did I know you have magic in your blood? I've known all along! If I hadn't been certain at the start, your appearance as the White Mage in our first little Shadow Game with the Pharaoh made it perfectly clear. That's part of the reason I was able to work through you so easily, but it is also the reason I had to keep you from knowing anything. You might have tried to use your powers in some way if you had known, and that would have been disastrous for everyone - especially you, dear host."
"Me?" Ryou was baffled. The spirit couldn't possibly fear his powers, but that didn't sound like a threat - in fact, he sounded more like he was concerned for Ryou's safety. Either possibility seemed incredible.
"Well, after all, that is why your father gave you the Ring, isn't it? To protect you by hiding your own magic? I'm afraid you'll have to manage without it again, though."
An odd chill ran through Ryou's soul at those words. There was something flat and final about the sound of the Spirit's voice.
"What did you mean, I'll be on my own again soon? What's over?" he asked again.
When the voice came into his mind again, it seemed to be moving away from him. "I've enjoyed sharing your enchanting body, Yadonushi, but it's time for me to leave you now. My game with the Pharaoh... has ended. At last."
Ryou felt the Spirit's will lose its grip on him, slipping away into shadows. Suddenly afraid for some reason he didn't understand, Ryou mentally reached out for it.
"Wait! Do you mean - you lost?"
"In a manner of speaking." The voice laughed again, more softly, coming from farther away. "This is not how I intended it all to end, and yet...."
Other voices, like the ones that had been screaming in the dreamlike vision, seemed to fall away into the darkness with the Spirit, sighing like wind over desert sand. Ignoring them, Ryou called to the Spirit in his mind and strained to hear an answer. It came from a great distance.
"Goodbye, Ryou Bakura! Unless we meet again in another life..."
Ryou woke up.
He pushed himself to sit up, shivering when he felt cold stone under his hands. His mind was clearer than it had been in months, even though he still didn't know where he was or how he got here. But he knew one thing for certain: The Spirit of the Millennium Ring was gone.
---
"Hey, man, you must be glad to finally get rid of that evil Ring, right, Bakura?"
Honda had nudged Ryou's arm and whispered this to him after he handed the Ring to Yugi, the last of the seven Items to end up in his possession.
Without a second thought, Ryou put on the same old cheerful mask he'd always worn around his friends, and smiled back at Honda. For a short time after the Spirit disappeared he'd thought things would change, but at that moment he realized that his life would only go back to the kind of normal it had been before he owned the Ring - a life of being separate and alone. The Ring had shielded him and his secret in more ways than one.
"Yes, I suppose I am!" he said cheerfully. But that wasn't exactly true after all.
Over the last few days, Ryou had started to piece together the memories the Spirit had given him, and to fit them into the story Yugi and the others told of their adventures in the world of the Pharaoh's memories. He soon realized that the Spirit had been right - he seemed to be the only one who could comprehend the incredible evil that had been unleashed in Kul Elna. The others, even the Pharaoh himself, really couldn't understand the horror of the Dark Magic that had been invoked there.
Ryou had spent most of his life hiding and denying his own magic powers out of fear of a man who was said to be the greatest Dark Wizard who ever lived. But even the darkest whispered tales of the one who once called himself The Dark Lord were pale in comparison with the evil deed that created the Millennium Items. Even he had never slaughtered a hundred people all at once, plunging them alive into a vat of molten gold in order to forge them, bodies and souls, into magical talismans.
He now knew that the Spirit of the Ring had been the Egyptian Thief King, Bakura. He finally began to understand Bakura's quest for vengeance, but that still didn't quite explain why Bakura had done all of the things he did. In spite of all he knew now, he still wasn't sure why the Spirit had kept the knowledge of Ryou's own magic a secret. Even if he had been protecting Ryou in some way, Ryou couldn't be certain of his motive. He might only have been interested in protecting the host body he needed to use. But when he thought back to the Spirit's last words, that wasn't what it sounded like at all.
Whatever the truth was, by the time he watched the Millennium Items placed in the stone tablet for the final time, Ryou could only bow his head in silence, with a prayer for the ghosts of Kul Elna and a hope that the Spirit of the Millennium Ring was at peace.
---
Senshiro Bakura left his son Ryou a message on his answering machine, telling him that he was coming to Domino City for a visit and that he had something important and exciting to discuss with him. He was annoyed at first when Ryou wasn't there to meet him at the airport. When he called Ryou's number and got no answer, he began to worry instead. Dusk fell like a bad omen while he made his way as quickly as possible to Ryou's apartment.
Senshiro knocked on the door, only to find it unlocked and unlatched. Pressing it open with a shaking hand, he peered inside. The rooms were dark and silent. Old fear clutched his heart.
"No," he whispered. "Not again. Please, not again!"
He stepped inside and spoke with a tremor in his voice.
"Ryou? Are you here? Please, answer me, Ryou!"
He stopped short as a shadow moved in the room. Through the dim light coming in the windows from the street, Senshiro saw a figure move toward him. The gleam of silvery-white hair made him sigh suddenly with relief.
"Ryou! Why are you standing there in the dark!" he snapped, irritated as only a parent can be that he'd been made to worry. He felt along the wall and found a light switch. When the light came on Senshiro froze again and stared at the man standing before him.
"You're not my son!" he said finally, letting anger mask his fear. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" the man said. His voice sounded similar to Ryou's, but eerily different. He seemed to consider this question for a moment. "For the first time in 3000 years I can answer that in truth: I am Bakura!"
Senshiro stared at him, horrified and uncomprehending. The man looked like Ryou in so many ways, although he was a little taller than Ryou had been when he last saw his son. He was even dressed in some of Ryou's clothes that he recognized, a striped t-shirt and jeans. But his hair was a long, wild tangle, and his eyes were narrowed with a strange gleam in them. He looked, in fact, like Ryou under the control of an evil spell. Seeing that was almost worse than finding his son missing.
"Ryou..." he whispered pleadingly.
The man's strange smile widened a little. "Ryou is not here," he said.
Senshiro stared. For the first time he saw the gleam of blue eyes, rather than Ryou's deep brown. But if this wasn't Ryou, who could he be? It must be a trick, some illusion to trap him. That didn't even matter; he only wanted to know what had happened to his son.
The wonderful news that had brought Senshiro to Domino seemed to shatter like a false hope - the news from Bill Weasley, his young friend back in Egypt, that the legendary Harry Potter had arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and was about to enter his second year there. Already, the stories said, in his very first year, he had faced and defeated a follower of the One Who Must Not Be Named.
Hearing this, Senshiro had dared to hope that things were really safer now in the wizarding world. Maybe Ryou didn't have to hide any longer. Maybe he could stop pretending that he hadn't inherited any of his family's magic at all. Maybe he could even go to Hogwarts himself, as his mother's family had always done.
That was what he'd come to tell his son, after all this time - only to find some kind of Dark Magic had found Ryou first.
With a slow, shaking hand, Senshiro reached into a deep pocket in his coat and closed his fingers around the wand there. He hadn't cast a spell in ages, to say nothing of trying to use his wand against the magic of a Dark Wizard. He knew he was no match for one of them, but he had to do something.
But the man who looked like Ryou was ignoring him now. As Senshiro watched, the stranger raised his hands in front of his face and studied them, smiling as if they were a wonder to be seen.
"And it seems, also," the man said softly, "I am once again sar byt 'nchk - as I was called so long ago."
Senshiro's hand froze in the act of drawing out his wand. The man's words shocked him, but they weren't the Unforgivable Curse words he expected. As far as he could tell, the stranger had spoken in ancient Egyptian. Hearing that language spoken aloud, Senshiro could only stand there and gape at him in awe.
The man dropped his hands and looked at Senshiro again as if he'd suddenly remembered he was there. Senshiro realized it was too late now to cast a spell, even if he could think of one. The stranger's smile grew even wider as he started forward with his arms outstretched.
"Welcome home - Father!" he said, and opened his hands to reach for him.
--
Ryou tried one last time to reach his father by phone before stepping on the plane for home, but his colleagues didn't know where he was, as usual. He'd never told his father about the Spirit of the Ring, but now that both Spirit and Ring were gone, he wanted to tell someone about all that he'd discovered. He had no desire to discuss Bakura with Yugi and his friends, however; anyway, they had more important matters to discuss amongst themselves. On the long plane ride home, Ryou hardly said a word to anyone, but he was sure they didn't notice.
His mask stayed on when they parted ways at the airport. They were all busy making plans to get together and duel again soon, eager to use all that they'd learned about Duel Monsters from the King of Games. Each of them waved goodbye to Ryou briefly, except for Yugi who stopped and smiled up at him as brightly as ever. Only a little line between his brows revealed some concern, making Ryou pause.
"Bakura, you'll come over and play with us too, now, won't you? After all, it will all be different now!"
Ryou smiled. "Of course, I'd love to, Yugi!"
It wasn't exactly a lie. He would like to keep them as his friends, he supposed, even if they didn't understand. But Yugi didn't know just how different his life was going to be now. He wasn't even sure how much longer he'd be able to stay in Domino.
All the way across town to his apartment, Ryou kept feeling like he'd lost something or left something behind on the plane. He checked to make sure he had his bag, his keys, his wallet, and his deck of Duel Monsters cards. Of course, the only thing missing was his Millennium Ring.
He unlocked the door, slid out of his shoes, and dropped his bag to the floor with a sigh. Everything was back to normal - for him. Separate and alone.
Except, he suddenly noticed, there was a light on in the room off the hallway, his game room. He knew he'd turned off all the lights before he left.
Ryou walked over and looked into the room. A wave of confusion washed over him when he saw that there was a man sitting at the table with his back to the door. His first thought was that someone had broken in to his apartment; it was followed immediately by the equally illogical idea that the manager had rented out his place while he was gone. While those thoughts flashed through his mind, another part of him noticed that the man wasn't wearing a shirt, only a pair of faded jeans. Broad shoulders and a suntanned back were half-hidden under a stream of pale-colored hair.
The man turned around to face him. Ryou's eyes flew wide open and his breath stopped. He was staring at a familiar face - his own. Or rather, his own face transfigured with shadowy blue eyes and the faint, white lines of a scar on the tanned skin. Surprise on the bizarrely familiar face became a grin of pleasure.
"Welcome home at last, dear host!" The other Bakura - solid, real, and living - stood up and moved toward him in a swift, fluid motion. "Did you miss me?"
Ryou felt disoriented; his blood pounded in his ears and his vision started to go black. He couldn't find his breath. He felt himself falling, although this time it wasn't any other will that forced his mind to slip away. This time it was only shock, plain and simple.
He wasn't certain, but just before everything went completely dark, it seemed as though a pair of strong arms reached out and caught him.
---
to be continued...
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