((Welcome to 'A wish upon a star'! This is my first Ryou chapter fic so I am going to need a lot of encouragement, ideas and reviews to help me keep going! I hope you will enjoy it; all help will be much appreciated. Rose xx))

Summary: have you ever heard the saying "be careful what you wish for"? Well I never really thought it applied to me really. But that was before I wished he didn't exist, when I realised how much one little thing makes all the difference. I realised I didn't really want what I had wished for, but only after it was too late…

Chapter one: Dreaming

It came out of nowhere as usual, the pointless fury that overcame him. I could feel the anger literally pulsing through our link.
I backed away slowly and wondered what may have caused the outburst this time.

"B…Bakura?"

I received no verbal response to my question. However, I appeared to have fuelled his rage further and I felt a sharp slap across my cheek.
The next moment I felt my head hit something hard, probably the floor, and I was blinded by the red in front of my eyes.
The back of my head felt wet and sticky but I made no attempt at movement, not yet. I waited patiently, fighting back tears, I would not cry.

At last, I heard my yami's footsteps as he left the room.
I listened a little longer and heard the footsteps continue out the back door, he was gone.

I gradually raised my head and opened my eyes. The room span around a couple of times, but I was soon able to focus. I carefully pressed my fingers to the back of my head and hissed in pain. When I withdrew my hand, it was covered in blood.
I managed to stand up, and again the room circled me. I placed my hand on the wall beside me for support.

I knew I should probably go to the hospital, but I decided against it. The nurses would surely ask me how I'd received the wound, and I wanted to avoid awkward questioning. Besides, the worst I would get is a slight concussion.

I slowly proceeded up the stairway to the bathroom, and removed a small first aid kit from the medicine cabinet above the sink.
I patched up the worst of the wound and was able to remove most of the bloodstains from my silvery hair.
I took a look at the figure staring back at me in the mirror. Across my left cheek was a huge red hand-mark which was already beginning to purple around the edges, I was pretty sure it would start to swell by tomorrow.

As I replaced the first aid kit into the cupboard again, I heard the tiny 'click' of a key turning in the lock of the front door. I stiffened up, he was back already. I stayed stock still and strained my ears to hear downstairs. He must have known I was in here because he deliberately sat at the bottom of the stairs.

"I want you to get out of my sight for a while." He whispered without even a glance in my direction.

I did as he ordered and slipped down the stairs. He didn't even look up at me as I walked past him; it was if I wasn't there, as if he was far too lost in himself.

Without even grabbing a coat, I crept out of the front door and ran.
I didn't care where I was going, I didn't care that it had started to rain, I didn't care that my blinded running made me crash into someone.
I just wanted to run, run and never look back.

The person I had collided with called out to me, but I ignored them and carried on running. Crystal droplets were now starting to spill from my chocolate eyes.

When at last my feet ached and I had long lost my sense of direction, I stopped and broke down on a park bench nearby.
I curled up into a ball with my knees tucked under my chin, and cried openly to the velvet sky above. This was why he had told me to leave: for he knew I would cry and he could not stand tears. But I didn't care now, I sobbed heavily into my lap.

After all, I had good reason to cry didn't I? Having to put up with loneliness and abuse everyday surely earned me the right to cry. Why did this have to be the way my life was? Why?

"Ryou? Ryou! What's wrong?"

I snapped my head up at the voice, it was Yugi. He had broken me out of my dismal thoughts. But what was he doing here at this time of night? I wonder…

"You looked really upset when you ran past me…" Yugi said

So that was who I had bumped into. He must have realised it was me, and followed me here.

"…so I wanted to check if you were alri-"

Yugi stopped in mid-sentence as he caught sight of my face in the moonlight. His amethyst eyes widened in either shock or horror, I wasn't sure which.

"Ryou! What on earth happened to your face!?" Yugi gasped

Yep, definitely horror. I quickly hid the purple bruise behind my arm by shifting my position on the bench.

"N…nothing! Nothing happened" I stammered.

My voice was croaky; I knew it was obvious I'd been crying. Yugi's eyes seemed to change and soften.
He slowly sat down beside me on the bench, and looked at me with an expression that matched his soft eyes. He seemed to hold his breath for a second, but then he spoke. His voice was calm and comforting now.

"Ryou…did Bakura do this to you?" he asked knowingly

Trust Yugi to guess exactly what was wrong. He nodded gently at me as if he understood, but he didn't. No one could ever understand my insecurities. He didn't need an answer, I knew he didn't. I gave him one anyway.

"He didn't mean it. He just…gets so angry, that's all." I mumbled

Yugi narrowed his eyes. He looked as if he was going to tell me off for defending my darker half, but he thought better of it and just sighed.

"If you say so Ryou" he said simply "but if you want to talk about it sometime…well, you can always tell me."

The words meant nothing to me, but I smiled my gratitude.

"Sorry but I really should head home now" Yugi apologized "but don't worry, okay."

He hugged me quickly then got up from the bench and walked briskly home, leaving me to my thoughts once more.

Still completely lost in thought, I fell into an uneasy sleep on the bench.
I lost all sense of time and reality, and let my dreams consume me. I dreamt I was a little boy again, I was happy and free.
I dreamt about my family, my mother and sister both still alive and unharmed. My father smiling down at us, his face free of any grief or regret. I wanted stay in this dream, but somehow it turned into a nightmare.

They all faded away, one at a time.
Amane told me to keep on smiling before disappearing and mom reminded me that everything happened for a reason, then she too dissolved into thin air.
My father was the last to go; explaining how he had to do something important, and then he became blurred but did not fade completely like the others. I was left alone in the house.

Soon the image of the house began to morph and change into an overwhelming darkness, where I automatically sensed another presence. This presence was just as dark and consuming as the surroundings, it called out to me in a hiss that sent shivers down my spine.

"My host…" it called "my hikari…"

I woke up with a start, cold sweat running down my back.
I tried to clear my head of the horrid images I had seen. As I looked around, it took me a minute to notice that the scene was wrong. I had fallen asleep on a park bench, I was sure of it. Now however I had been tucked up into bed, in the pristine neatness I called my room.

"So you're awake then."

I looked up to see Bakura standing in the doorframe. He had his hands placed casually into his pockets and was looking at me with an un-readable expression.
When I didn't answer, he proceeded into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned forward and brushed his fingers against the mark on my face, almost caressing it.

"I found you asleep in the middle of nowhere" he said "so I brought you home."

That explained how I'd ended up back home, but now my head surged with many other questions. He laughed at the confusion flowing through our link.

"What?" he asked mockingly "I can be nice you know, I wasn't going to leave you out there!"

I retrieved my voice and looked him in the eyes.

"That isn't it…" I explained "I wondered why you came looking for me in the first place, you sent me out, so why?"

He averted his eyes, it was a simple gesture but it made me regret my question. He took a moment to think, and at first I thought he wasn't going to answer.
But then he looked slowly back up to me, with almost apologetic eyes.

"I went to find you, because…well" he paused to choose his next words "Because I wanted to tell you…that I was… well I was…" he sighed "I wanted tell you that I was sorry" he finished.

My eyes widened and I raised my eyebrows, I was completely at a loss for words. As far as I knew, Bakura never apologized, least of all to me. I felt the urge to pinch myself in case I was dreaming. He smiled bitterly at my thoughts and continued to explain himself.

"I don't apologize…normally" he said in response to my thoughts "but I heard you and Yugi talking, I was listening to your mind the whole time and…" he paused again, this time to place a hand on my shoulder "…I heard you defending me Ryou. "

I was a little bit bemused by all of this, but at least I now understood the reasons behind Bakura's apology.

"It was nothing really" I told him, still not completely sure if I was awake or not. He smiled at me, an actual smile, and removed his hand from where it rested on my shoulder. He sighed a little and I couldn't help but wonder why.

"I heard your dreams" he whispered "do you really blame me for all of that?"

The question surprised me, because I truly did not blame him. What surprised me the most was that he didn't sound angry or accusing in any way.

"No I don't blame you!" I reassured him "I just… wish things were different, that's all."

This was true; I didn't blame him at all, not really. I knew everything had to happen for a reason. It was just that those reasons were un-clear to me at the moment.

"You should be careful what you wish for hikari" He told me "because you just might get it all."

With that he exited the room and closed the door behind him, leaving me to sleep...

(End chapter 1, REVIEW PLEASE! xx)