Angel and Demon, Part 3

Chapter 3: Father and Sons

^Monster talking to master^

^^Master talking to monster^^

[Ryou to Bakura]

[[Bakura to Ryou]]

 Bakura waited for the blow to come, knowing that he must make pensions for what he done, and the best way to do that is for the father of his victim to return the favor. Even as horrid memories of his past washed over him, he stood his ground. This man was not his father and deserves some retribution, after all.

 Malik and Yami Malik were holding their breaths, not sure what to do. Either something must be seriously wrong with Bakura or he finally realized what he did was wrong to Ryou and feels torn that he may never make it up to the young hikari.

 James lifted his fist, his knuckles going white, and narrowed his eyes for a moment, before finally sighing and dropping his hand. Bakura opened his eyes in shock that the elder didn't just do it, watching as those pale blue eyes became sad, full of sympathy. The onlookers just held their breath, waiting.

 "It's not in me to be a child abuser," James finally said, "You have the eyes of one who has been through too much. I can tell you've never had a father that was either caring nor forgiving in your previous lifetime."

 Bakura's eyes widened, shocked that someone can read him that well and knew what kind of hell he went through as a child. Those words were all it took and the great thief broke down, sliding to his knees. The elder took him into his arms, whispering reassurances and telling him to let it all out. Malik looked confused; in all the years he knew Bakura, he never knew the reason why he was such an asshol, let alone going after the Items. He turned to his yami for answers.

 "Have you any idea about all this," he asked.

"No fuckin' clue," the yami replied, "Sure, I knew he was abused when he was a kid; we all were, except for the damn Pharaoh, but I never knew that Bakura's abuse went that far. If I had, his old man would've died a horrible death, I assure you on that one."
 Malik almost smiled at that. Even though the two yamis fought sometimes, there was no denying the fierceness of Yami Malik's care for his friends. The two decided to leave and not speak a word of this to anyone else, but that was blown out the window when Yugi and Yami arrived.

 "Have you two seen," Yugi began but caught sight of Bakura sobbing in James' arms, neither noticing their guests.

 "Not a word to this to the others," Malik growled softly, getting a nod of understanding from Yami. They closed the door and walked off, the rain becoming a light drizzle, as they head towards someplace to get warmed up.

 "What could cause Bakura to break down like that so easily," Yami asked the one question on everyone's minds. He didn't expect an answer, nor was he given one.

* * * *

 Ryou, as a young child, walked through the grey wasteland, watching out for shards of glass and mirrors as he padded along, following a butterfly. He couldn't think of a time when he use to do such a thing, but now felt the time, for it kept the bad pain away.

 Change of Heart watched her little master, worried about him in both his mind and the real world. Master Bakura hadn't come back nor came into Master Ryou's mind to fetch the young tenshi, a mixed blessing and a curse. She wanted to do something, more than anything, to stop her little master's pain, but the farther he went, the less pain he felt as he ties with the waking world were breaking.

 "Is it right to let him venture so far into his mind," she asked no one in particular.

 "It might do our masters some good," Dark Necrophia answered, appeared by the magic card's side, "Master Ryou will get his wish to be happy and Master Bakura will have to confess his feelings for the young one."

 "I'm more worried about the other cards taking an advantage of this," Change of Heart stated, "You know as well as I many of them are not as loyal as you or I."

 "Have no fear young one," the dark fairy assure, "I will make sure they won't harm him. They will pay if they do."

* * * *

 James held the sleeping spirit in his arms, carrying him to Ryou's room. Bakura had cried himself to sleep and now seemed peaceful for the moment, all of his worries put aside until he was ready again for them.

 It took every ounce of him for James to forgive Bakura for hurting his son. It was probably something he didn't want to do again and hoped that the yami really has changed, but one can not be sure until he has awaken. At the very least, he thought, that the white-haired demon didn't rape him and take away the one thing most precious to Ryou, and that he thanked every God out there for.

 Setting him on the bed, James tucked him in and left quietly, going back to his research for the time being. He picked up another papyrus and worked on that, translating and saving it to his files, before he heard a soft cough. He didn't see anyone around and went upstairs to see Bakura coughing hoarsely, a sign of a cold. He went over to see the yami was in a cold sweat, and his cheeks flushed, a sign of fever. James placed his hand on Bakura's forehead just to make sure.

 "You're burning up," he said, pulling the sheets closer to him, "I have to give you medicine. Be right back."

 Normally, Bakura would've taken care of himself and told the elder to get lost, but he just seem to not have the energy to even sit up, let alone get the stuff himself. He waited for James to return with a cup of red liquid, handing it to Bakura.

 "It's Ryou favorite," he said, "and it doesn't taste as bad as the other medicines."

 Bakura nodded and drank the stuff down, tasting like cherries and barely had a bitter after taste. He gave the cup back then found himself drowsy again, barely had time to whisper "Arigatou."

 James just watch him sleep for a minute before going back downstairs to put his things away, wondering if this was a sign that things will be alright from now on.

* * * *

 Yugi, along with Yami, paid a visit to the hospital the next morning, checking to see if there was any changes, hopefully good changes, to Ryou's condition. Since they had visited Ryou before, the receptionist gave them visiting passes without question and they were on their way.

 As they were heading to the room, they saw two other doctors walking in and talking, to which both boys listened.

 "His conscious is pulling away from his body," one doctor said, "All that will keep him alive soon is the life support unit."

 "We may wanna talk to his family about pulling the plug," a second suggested, "but he seems so young. I wonder if it was more than just the accident to cause him to retreat like that?"

 "I agree about calling his family," a third said, "but for them to try and talk to him. Perhaps knowing that there are those that love him and need him will help Ryou Bakura pull through. It has worked in the past."

 "But that's on a 50/50 scale," the first reminded, "However, it's worth a shot. There's nothing else we can do."

 "Oh God," Yugi whispered, tears stinging his eyes.

"I'm going to call Bakura," Yami said, running off to the nearest phone.

* * * *

 James was up early, like usual, and had checked on Bakura to see how he was doing. He was glad that he caught the fever last night, for it was gone now, but the spirit was still coughing a bit and had taken more medicine.

 As the elder went into he kitchen to make breakfast, the phone rang. Not having anything better to do, Bakura answered it.

 "Hello," he said, his voice groggy.

"Bakura?"

 "Pharaoh?"

"What the matter," Yami asked, "You sound like shit."

 "Getting caught up in the storm and living outside for a week will do that to a person," the former tomb robber joked, then grew somber, "What's the matter?"

 "Yugi and I were visiting Ryou this morning," the tri-color yami replied, "when we saw the doctors going into the room. They said that Ryou's consciousness is separating from his body and that his body will soon have to depend on life support. They wanna call you and Ryou's father in to see if you guys can bring him back."

 Bakura was silent for a moment, almost ready to cry again before he started a coughing fit again. James came out to see what was going on and took the phone, Yami explaining the situation to him as well. The white-haired demon disappeared upstairs for a moment while James finish up talking to the yami. As he hanged up, he saw Bakura coming down, dressed in a sweater and jeans.

 "You're still sick Bakura," the elder stated, "You need to rest right now."

 "Ryou needs me," the yami grunted, "My resting can wait. I need to get to Ryou so I can enter his mind and bring him back."

 "Is that possible," James asked, hoping the answer is yes.

"Ryou and I are connected through the Millennium Ring," Bakura assured, "I'll be able to reach him."

 "Very well then," James agreed, "Just promise me one thing: Please bring Ryou back."

 "I will."

* * * *

 Everyone was at the hospital after hearing what happen, trying their best to get through to Ryou, but to no avail. The heart monitor was slower today, a horrid sign that he was slipping away.

 Bakura and James arrived shortly, the looks on their friends' faces telling all. The white haired demon walked over to Ryou, trying his best not to run, and touched his face gently, noting he was paler than normal.

 ^Master Bakura!^ It was Change of Heart.

^^What is it,^^ he asked, ^^Where's Ryou?^^

 ^Dark Necrophia and I are watching him^ the magic card replied, ^but he's traveling too far into his mind. The binds that hold him to your world won't hold out much longer.^

 [[Ryou, come back]], Bakura tried, but the connection was fuzzy, almost as if he didn't, or couldn't answer back.

 "I'm going into his mind to find him," he announced, lying down next to Ryou and avoiding the slings. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and disappeared into the Ring.

 "What do we do now," Joey asked after a minute of silence.

"We wait," Yami Malik replied, "and hope."

* * * *

 Tea was released from jail, thankful that one of her friends bailed her out instead of her parents. She couldn't really explain how all this happen without telling them she was doing some underage drinking. Then, she would really be in trouble.

 "God Tea," her friend Jamie exclaimed, "How can you be so reckless?! Why didn't you take a cab home?"

 "And leave evidence that I was at a bar," the brunette replied, "Forget it. Besides, I think someone's stretching the truth. I think, even drunk, I would've stopped before hitting one of my friends, especially Ryou. How many people do you know have white hair?"

 "Not many," Lisa answered, "Shouldn't you go to the hospital and see Ryou?"

 "I will after a few drinks," Tea said, "The stuff they served me in there was nasty!"

 Unknown to the three girls, someone was watching them from the rooftops. She was small for her age, with long blond hair and eyes as blue as the ocean at night. She wore a silver shirt with blue jeans, and her skin was as white as snow. Accompanying her was a male wearing a golden mask in the shape of an falcon and wore clothing that made him look like an Egyptian God.

 "What a waste of existence," the blond stated, turning towards the hospital not far from the police station, "Are you sure about this, my lord? I mean, he has done enough things in his lifetime to fail the test against the feather of Maat and be devoured by Ammut."

 "All those that see the error of their ways deserve a second chance," the man replied, red eyes shimmering in the daylight, "Even the ancient pharaoh who gave his life for his people thinks so as well."

 "I am just making sure my lord," the girl replied, "Isis may have given them a chance for freedom, but I hope that Bakura does do as he promises he would. That young boy doesn't deserve any of this at all."

 "True," the Egyptian agreed, walking up to her, "His mother thinks so, and all of us Gods agreed to this, so you must head off. If Ryou Bakura doesn't return by sunrise tomorrow, he will face Anubis and the scales. You know as well as I if his heart is lighter than the feather, then he will walk this Earth as a spirit for all eternity."
 "I'm on it, my lord," the girl bowed before him, then disappearing, "I won't fail, Lord Horus."

 "I know you won't," Horus said before getting an idea for the young girl with no love for her friends.

* * * *

 Bakura raced through the wasteland, trying to avoid the mirrors as much as possible. He finally spotted Ryou, or what appeared to be a chibi Ryou, upon the only patch of land with life on it. The young one was chasing butterflies, not having a care in the world, and smiling with such joy that can make even the coldest of hearts melt.

 "Ryou," the yami began, then felt himself shrink to Ryou's size as he came closer to the child.

 "Hewwo," Ryou greeted, running over to him, "I'm Wyou. You wanna pway wit me?"

 "Pway," Bakura repeated, knowing that he must get him out of here.

"Yeah," Chibi Ryou cheered, "It's so wonwy here. Change of Heart keeps me company, but I wanted a weal fwiend, wike me! Pwease?"

 "Otay," Chibi Bakura said, "Wet's pway in my woom. It got wots of goodies!"

 "Otay!"

As the two were about the leave the tiny oasis, lightning flashed, causing the two chibis to huddle, shivering.

 "I pwotect you," Chibi Bakura said, both moving slowly towards the edge. Both screamed again as lightning flashed again, revealing the Electric Snake, advancing towards them.

 "I didn't summon you," Chibi Bakura said, "Go away!"

The snake didn't listen, wanting this for so long. He was never loyal to anyone, waiting for the time to take out the ones that only use him as a pawn.

 "GO AWAY!"

"I'm scawed," Chibi Ryou was crying now, clutching onto this person who made him feel safe. Chibi Bakura was in no better condition, after becoming so small made his old childish feelings return, like fear.

 As the snake was about to attack, an orb of energy appeared and struck it from behind, the traitorous monster hissing as it disappeared within the smoke. The two clung to each other for life until the smoke dissipated, where they saw a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes, her hand outstretched and crackling with energy.

 "Who you," Chibi Bakura asked as the girl walked over to them.

"I am one of many guardian angels that serve the Gods," she smiled softly, extending her hand, "You both can call me Nicki."

TBC

Chibi Ryou: I wanna know what happens.

Chibi Bakura: Me too!

Author: Hold ya horses, okay? No one said working with chibis was easy, especially trying to type what they say.

Duke: What's Horus doing in the story?

Author: You'll find out, have patience

Duke: Fine. I will.