A/N: A christmas gift to my good friend, Anne la Jordanie, up early so that she can review her own story so that I can rewrite it and make it better...XP
Why am I putting a christmas fic up so early? Well...why not? I'm in a writing mood, I don't want to forget about it, and it's one more thing out of the way for the next two weeks...or so. Plus, I was bored. I'm listening to the song from this. Blah.
Notes on the fic...all I was given to work with was, "I want a song-fic to Put Your Lights On by Santana and Everlast ((Disclaimer the First)), and I want it a RyouBakura". I listened, got a haunting, waiting feeling...and came up with this. It's pretty dark for a christmas fic (I was complaining about the dark-ed-ness of this for ten minutes) and I'm hoping I'm not hit over the head for this by Anna, but overall I don't have too many problems with it. Any comments to improve it will result in a reply, along with a cookie. Well, as much of a cookie as one can recieve via cyberspace.
Alright, I'm done ranting. Please enjoy.
Disclaimer the Second: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, the following would occur: Anzu (Tea) and Yami would be killed off, the remaining guys and girls would be paired off with the same gender (the only hope for Yami remaining alive is him being paired with Yugi), and there would be no more of this dueling without losing. However, since Yami continued on his winning streak interrupted by a handful of losses and ties, I obviously do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
Bakura had taken over once again. There was nothing Ryou could do, sitting in his soul room alone. He sat on a replica of his bed, against the headboard. He had his knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped around them and chin atop his arms. He stared off into the black abyss that waited just a few feet from him, crawling up to the very edge of his bed. It surrounded him, the invasion from his Yami's soul room, and kept growing with each passing day.
It was the darkness seeping in through every open area, every crack in the paper-thin wall that seperated him from his other half. With it came the creatures, the monsters that tried to claw at the young teen, little more than a boy, sitting in his room. A flashlight lay next to him, glowing dimly in the never-ending night. It was the only light in the place, a place that used to be so bright and cheerful before he allowed his yami to get to him.
It wasn't like he could help it. Bakura was the only constant in Ryou's life- everyone else left him, like his father did, or ignored him, like his so called "friends" did.
And yet, Bakura was always there. In exchange for using his body, he tried to make Ryou happy. It was an odd logic, but it made him feel wanted, like he had a purpose in life. It didn't matter if Bakura was the monster that everyone feared- Ryou knew better. There was a small, overlooked part of the thief that cared for others. Ryou had seen it. Ryou had experienced it. He knew it was there. Ryou didn't want to be "freed", as the others put it. He didn't care that Bakura sometimes hurt others. Bakura wasn't a monster. He wasn't.
Ryou closed his eyes, missing the flashlight flickering dangerously. When he opened his eyes, it was a faded, steady beam once more.
Everything was so complicated. The two inhabitants of that scrawny, white-haired person were as different as night and day. Even in Ryou's mind, it didn't make sense that he cared so much for someone who would sacrifice a life for personal gain. Everyone was telling him that he shouldn't have been exposed to a sinner like Bakura. They said it had ruined what innocence Ryou had had.
But didn't night and day blend into twilight? Wasn't love a thing that couldn't be controlled, something that just happened? If that was true, what was wrong with Ryou loving Bakura?
He wasn't a monster. He wasn't. If anyone was, it should have been Ryou for letting Bakura get to him. It should have been Ryou that was sneered at and looked down upon, because he didn't tell them that every time Bakura took over, Ryou let him. He hadn't put up a fight since that first time. He was the true monster.
Bakura only tried to help him. Ryou was the one that was making the true decisions, allowing Bakura to have his body whenever he tugged at the link between them. The worst part was, he knew what he was doing- he knew what Bakura was going to do when he left his soul room. Ryou knew everything that happened as well as anyone else did...he only feigned ignorance to keep the others from destroying him. If he died, Bakura would die as well. The younth's eyes hardened; Ryou wouldn't be able to accept Bakura's death.
The darkness leapt forward another inch, growls from the creatures shaking the tiny bed. Ryou closed his eyes and hugged his legs closer to his body, wishing for Bakura to come to him. He knew nothing would happen when he was within the thief soul's arms. His arms were safety. He wouldn't let the darkness destroy Ryou. Ryou trusted him more than anyone else. Bakura would never hurt him.
The monsters began to whisper. Ryou didn't want to hear the words that they spoke- he had heard them before, calling him monster, weak, unworthy of being alive...they were all things he himself had thought, words that were repeated from friends and family. He didn't want to hear what he already suspected. He didn't want to know that others saw him as a monster, just as much as his yami was.
As if it were a summons, a hand touched his shoulder. Ryou's eyes snapped open, his startled gaze lifting to the smirking face of his darker half. Bakura's arms were open and accepting, the darkness retreating from his form. Ryou didn't hesitate in going to that embrace. Bakura's strong arms wrapped themselves around Ryou, the smaller boy fitting into the curves of his body like two pieces to a puzzle reunited once more.
Ryou clutched at Bakura, clinging to him like a lifeline. He knew he was loved now. He knew that his other wouldn't leave him alone, and that knowledge was enough for him to give in to anything Bakura asked for, whether it be the use of his body, or the possession of his corporeal self. Ryou would give everything to his partner.
The creatures grew louder, echoing every thought that Ryou had. Their eyes shifted with a silent power struggle, each vying to be heard. Off to one side, the innocent voice of Yugi turned to a snarling accusation of Ryou killing people. Jounouchi's voice echoed agreement, calling him names that cut into the young boy. Anzu and Mai teamed up with all of the other women Ryou had ever known, saying that a monster like him should have never been born.
Bakura nodded the slightest bit. The abyss leapt foward in triumph at Bakura's consent. It swallowed the two souls with its gaping grin, finally victorious after so long. The voices surrounded them, causing Ryou to begin panicking. What if they were right? He whimpered and buried his head into Bakura's chest, trying to tune the remarks out but failing miserably.
Bakura laughed darkly. He said something too quietly for Ryou to hear. The creatures swept away and left them alone, hissing and whining to the thief lord. Bakura knew who the master of the darkness was, and so did the darkness itself. He made it known to one and all that anyone who touched what was his would die a most painful death.
The flashlight flickered and died as they left the room soul room, Ryou willingly following. What little light there had been disappeared completely. But now, Ryou wasn't afraid of the dark anymore.
Bakura would protect him. He would always be there.
Hey now,
All you sinners
Put your lights on.
Put your lights on.
Hey now,
All you lovers,
Put your lights on.
Put your lights on.
Hey now,
All you killers
Put your lights on.
Put your lights on.
Hey now,
All you children
Leave your lights on.
Better leave your lights on.
'Cause there's a monster
Living under my bed,
Whispering in my ear.
There's an angel,
With a hand on my head.
She say I got nothing to fear.
But there's a darkness
Living deep in my soul.
I still got a purpose to serve.
So let your light shine,
Deep into my home.
God, don't let me lose my nerve.
Don't let me lose my nerve.
Hey now, all you sinners
Put your lights on.
Put your lights on.
Hey now,
All you children
Leave your lights on.
You better leave your lights on.
'Cause there's a monster
living under my bed
Whispering in my ear.
There's an angel,
with a hand on my head,
She say I got nothing to fear.
Se says, la la ha, hey la la
We all shine like stars.
La la ha, hey la la
We all shine like stars.
...And then we fade away.