Ryou: YEAH! Bakura loves me now!!!

Bakura: You bet your sweet-.

Bakurasgirl: Um…Bakura, look at the rating!

Warnings:  All Bakura does at the end of this chappie is lovingly stroke Ryou’s cheek when he’s changed back to normal.  I’m not sure if it counts as shouenen-ai, but I’m putting it up so some people don’t hitch a complaint.  This is not yaoi!  No Graphic Sexual scenes or anything which will change the rating of this fic.

AMT: That link isn’t working for me right now, but thanks!!!  I’d love being on your favorite’s list.  I thought I scared my reviewers away with the shouenen-ai scene, but I’m glad to see you back.

Cheesepuff: I’ll tell Anzu not to harass you because you are one of my many great reviewers whose been with me from day one. 

Meaghan: I always personally thank my reviewers and Ryou gives them a hug for me *Ryou hugs Meaghan *  I’m glad you like my story.  It’s funny that I thought about this story in the shower.  Pretty funny, huh?

Invader Mya: I loved the elephant part.  That’s pure comedy. 

Yami Tsuki Tenshi: Yes, more Anzu agony.

Yami Bakura Kia: I’ll have to look into my supposed grammatical or typographical error to see what you’re talking about, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.  It must have not been an egregious error if it made you laugh... Oh wait, I see it!!! HA HA HA !!! I get it!  O.K. I guess I mean to say that Bakura burped Ryou, burped being the verb and then the action of pouring a bowl of cereal for himself.  Thanks for pointing that out!!!   And Thanks for the link.  I’ve seen this page in my internet roamings.  I did your quiz before and I am basically like Ryou *sigh *  .Role Playing?  Cool. I’m Bakura!!! In your next review, tell me how it will work out.  I love role playing games. 

Sarina Fannell: Welcome back.  I hope I made this transformation gradual enough and not like so sudden.

Back to Me

        Bakura packed Ryou’s clothes and formula in a bag and held it over his shoulder.  Ryou had fallen asleep when they returned to the Game Shop so Bakura just let him sleep in the bed.  Bakura didn’t leave Ryou’s side for a minute.  Now it was dinnertime and the sun was getting ready to set.  Yugi and the gang didn’t return yet, probably detained by Anzu’s friendship rants deafening their ears. 

            Bakura bundled Ryou up again and headed out into the growing shadows of the night.  They could hear the carosel music and the popping balloons nearby.  Laughs and screams could be heard against the traffic passing by.  Ryou still held onto his balloon and his stuffed toy.  “Well, Ryou, did you have fun today?”

The baby smiled and nodded.  A cold wind blew their hair as Bakura covered him more with the blanket.  “You’ll get a nice warm bed and a hot meal.  Does that sound good?”

Ryou leaned forward and hugged Bakura around his neck.  Bakura patted his back. 

“Bakura.”  Bakura stopped and turned around.  He heard the woman’s voice from his dream, but he was awake.  There was nobody following him.  Shivers crept up his spine as he remembered her angry voice from his dream.  Ryou’s grip tightened on him.  Maybe he sensed it, too.  “It’s alright, Ryou.  Shh…It’s O.K. I’m here.”  Ryou began to whine.

            He quickened his pace as a man bumped into his shoulder and held his arm tightly.  Bakura spun around only to be tugged into an alley and slammed against the wall.  It was the man from his dream!  Bakura’s lip quivered.  “Give me all your valuables!”

Bakura kicked the robber into the opposite wall knocking him down.  He put Ryou on the ground behind him.  “I’ll get what I want, tough guy.”  The man lunged at him with the small pocketknife.  Bakura grabbed his wrist and tugged roughly.  The man screamed out and swung the blade low missing Bakura by inches.  Bakura slammed the man into the wall and grabbed the hand holding the blade.  The robber head-slammed Bakura causing his nose to bleed.  “I will take what I want!”  Ryou cried loudly as the men slammed, kicked, and punched each other until Bakura fell on the ground.  The man turned to Ryou and smiled devilishly.  The man advanced on Ryou. Bakura jumped in front of his weapon shielding Ryou with his body and whispered, “Aishiteru, Ryou.”   Much to Bakura’s surprise, the blade stopped an inch from the back of his neck.  Bakura breathed deeply and turned around to see the robber frozen as if in time.  Ryou held onto him tightly, tears flooding his face as he squeezed his toy tightly.

“Bakura, stand up,” the woman said appearing again, the robber gone. 

Bakura stood up and took the weeping boy in his arms.  The alley had turned black.  “Where’d he go?”

“He never existed.  He was all part of your test.”

Bakura narrowed his eyes and looked at Ryou nuzzling his cheek into Bakura’s neck.

“That man could have hurt my hikari.  He could have killed him.”

“And you have proved that you are willing to sacrifice everything for Ryou’s life.  If it weren’t for you, Ryou would be dead now.”

“I-I don’t want anything bad to happen to him.”  Bakura looked into Ryou’s eyes.  Bakura wiped one of Ryou’s tears away.  “He is all I have.  I’d-I-d die for him.”

The woman approached Bakura and Ryou.  She planted a small kiss on Ryou’s cheek.

“You’re safe now, little one.”

“Who are you?”  Bakura asked the woman.  “Wait!”  The woman disappeared and engulfed Bakura and Ryou in a white light.

            Bakura woke up in the living room in Ryou’s home.  He had a headache and a little disoriented, but found Ryou missing from his arms.  He ran to the kitchen and didn’t find the baby.  “Ryou!  Ryou, where are you?”

Bakura ran upstairs and found Ryou on his back unconscious on the bed, the rubber toy falling out of his hands.  Bakura sat beside him and felt for Ryou’s heartbeat.  It was strong, but his face still glistened with sweat and his cheeks felt hot again.  Bakura prayed the circus did not make him worse.  Bakura picked up Ryou’s body and put him under the sheets.  He ran to get a wet washcloth from the bathroom.  He rubbed the cloth over Ryou’s hot face.  “Ryou, wake up.  Please, for me.  Wake up, Ryou.”  Bakura’s hands trembled as he stroked Ryou’s cheek.  Night came.  Evening.  Dawn.  Ryou still was not awake.  Bakura did not leave Ryou’s side.  He held Ryou’s hand and gripped it to convince himself Ryou’s pulse was still present.  Bakura sang another song:

May I breathe the sweet air that issues from thy mouth.

May I behold thy beauty every day--that is my prayer.

May I hear thy sweet voice in the North Wind.

May my body grow vigorous with life through thy love.

Mayest thou give me thy two hands bearing thy sustenance,

May I receive it and live by it.

Mayest thou ever call upon my name and it shall not fail on thy lips.

(Actual Egyptian love poem 2000-1500 bc)

Bakura kneeled beside Ryou’s bedside and planted his head to Ryou’s chest.  “Ryou,” Bakura whispered as he felt light fingers touching his hair.  He lifted up his head and saw Ryou opening his eyes to the afternoon sun.  A smile broke on Bakura’s face and he laughed, but he couldn’t stop sobbing.

“Yami?  Why are you crying?”

Bakura wiped his tears away.  “I thought you were gone.”

Ryou smiled at him.  They looked at each other for another moment.  “I’remember, you-you saved my life, yami.”

“You remembered everything from the last couple of days?”

Ryou began to cry into his hands.  “Why didn’t you ever tell me, Bakura?  Why?”

“I don’t know, Ryou.  I guess, I guess I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.  Can you forgive me?”

Ryou smiled at him.  “You’ve already been forgiven, my yami.”

Bakura and Ryou exchanged one more smile as Bakura stroked Ryou’s cheek again. 

“Aishiteru, my sweet Hikari,” Bakura whispered as Ryou fell asleep. 

Bakurasgirl: I can’t believe I’m done this!!!  I loved this fic!!!  I loved this so much, I’m considering doing a final chappie to this with a romantic dinner and another romantic (NOT YAOI!) scene.  This way we have a non-romance and a shouenen-ai ending.  I know it may be confusing, but I wanna do another Ryou and Bakura romance scene. 

Tell me if you want an epilogue with a shouenen-ai dinner.  NOT YAOI!!

Bakurasgirl: If you’re wondering who the woman was in the story, I really don’t know.  Because she called him little one, could mean that she was his mother’s spirit come to teach Bakura to care for her son.  I wanted her to call him her little boy or her little angel or something cute like that.  This is my philosophy only.  My alternative idea was the Lady of Faith, but I didn’t see how this could be possible. 

I have another Ryou and Bakura fic in the works, people, so keep an eye out.