Sooo... New fic! I'm back!

Ryou stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, water running in the sink and disappearing down the drain. His gaze passed through the water and into the space behind it, hands gripped the square edges of the porcelain sink. His knuckles were white. There was a sound coming from outside of the bathroom, and it had been going for a while, but the boy never heard it.

It wasn't until Bakura touched his shoulder that the world started coming back to the boy. Everything fell into place slowly around him, the cold press of the sink in his hands, the tightness in the back of his legs from standing too long and too still, and finally the cool trail of water running down his cheeks. Air filled his lungs like a rapidly expanding balloon, as if he might pop. He blinked twice before finally sinking back into his own body.

"—ou. Ryou!" Bakura's voice filtered into his ears slowly and it still didn't make sense. He met the taller man's eyes in the mirror; the same shape and color as his own, but so different. Ryou finally let go of the sink, leaving the outline of his hands in heat from his body. He reached out with numb fingers and turned off the water, twisted his body around, and leaned against the sink. Bakura stood close, invading his personal space. Ryou crossed his arms over his thin chest.

"What is it?" he asked, voice hoarse from disuse. The taller man looked him up and down. The two men looked nearly identical. They could be brothers, if not twins, though no one would ever mistake the one for the other. Ryou's features were soft, rounded, feminine. He may grow out of it some day, but he looked sweet and boyish. Bakura looked as if he were a few years older. In a way he was. He held a malice that Ryou never would. His eyes were the same rounded shape, but they looked narrow from his constant frown. Something swam behind his eyes, dark and fathomless. His chin jutted in a sharp angle, like the rest of his features. He had the lean musculature of a swimmer, as if he'd worked his body into something fierce and wild. Both boys had bright, pearl colored hair. They could have been brothers, but they weren't. Bakura was… Ryou had a theory that Bakura was his personal demon from hell. Some entity from a dark corner of the universe, made just for him, just to hurt him.

Ryou fixed his chocolate colored eyes on the floor, away from Bakura. Silence stretched between the two of them, filling the room and crowding them. Ryou didn't want to be this close to his dark spirit. Couldn't stand it actually. His arms pressed close to his chest, shoulders hunching forward and desperately avoiding eye contact with the other man. He licked his lips.

"What is it?" he repeated. Bakura held up a cellphone, Ryou's father's number flashed on the screen, the seconds ticking by in flashing numbers.

"Phone's for you. It's on mute." Ryou took the phone from Bakura's hand, face going a little paler.

"Shit, why did you answer it?" He unmuted the phone and pressed it to his ear, turning away from Bakura, as if that would afford him some sort of privacy. "Hello Dad?" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded tinny, far away.

"Ryou? Can you hear me now? Are you there?" His father was far away. He was in Egypt, far from Japan and far from his son.

"Yeah, yes, I can hear you now. Sorry."

"Ryou?"

"Yes?"

"Ryou, good, I can hear you now. I think I found a good spot. The damned reception in this country is awful. But you can hear me now?" Ryou nodded, then realized he couldn't see it.

"Yeah, I can hear you fine."

"Good. Ryou, we found something in the eastern quadrant. We found some pot fragments and what might be the remains of a well. We could have found a village!"

"That's great Dad. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks kiddo. Listen… This find is too… I'm gonna have to stay for a few more weeks… possibly another few months. I'm sorry Ryou." Ryou held the phone tightly in his hand, pressing it to his ear. He had been staring at the shower stall, but now his eyes flicked over to Bakura. The demon's expression was guarded, blank, and vaguely menacing all at once. "Ryou?" His father's voice pulled him back to the phone.

"That's fine Dad. I understand. Would you like me to send you anything from here? I could put together a care package for you." He forced his voice to remain even. Everything had gotten worse after his father left. At one point Bakura had been nothing more than a whisper in Ryou's mind, eyes in the dark. Over time he had grown. Become more real, till he had become… He didn't used to have a body. When Ryou's father left, he developed flesh and blood.

"How'd I end up with a kid like you?" The relief in his father's voice was palpable.

"Just lucky I guess."

"I guess." There was some noise in the background of the call. "Uh oh, looks like a sand storm is headed for the site, I gotta go put down some tarps with everyone. I'll call you in a week kiddo. Bye for now."

"Bye Dad." But he was saying goodbye to nothing. His father was gone. Ryou stood frozen for a few more seconds, absorbing this new information. Bakura slipped the phone out of his fingers.

"What did he have to say?" Bakura asked, pocketing the phone. Ryou shrugged and dropped his hands down to his sides.

"Um…He's not coming home for a while longer. I'm not sure how long." His voice sounded hollow even to him. He straightened and tried to step around the taller man. Bakura stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"So it's just you and I yadonushi," Bakura hissed. His words came out as a threat, and it was meant to. He was pleased with the turn of events. Ryou forced himself to nod noncommittally. "I'm glad, little Ryou. Aren't you glad?" Again he nodded, trying to keep his face blank.

"Sure." He tried to step around Bakura again, but was stopped by his fist tightening in his shirt. "Bakura, get off of me…" The older man pushed him against the cold tiled wall. He took a step closer, shoving his face into Ryou's.

"Excuse me?" his voice came out as a deep, guttural growl. Ryou glared up at him, pushing the arm from his chest.

"I'm not in the mood, can you just get off of me," Ryou repeated, brushing past him and out into the hallway. He got about halfway to the kitchen before something stopped him dead in his tracks.

Amane.

She stood in the living room, outlined by the light filtering in through the closed curtains. She was wearing the same little yellow sundress with pink flowers on it that she'd worn when the truck ran over her, with the matching pink ribbons in her hair.

Ryou froze, the color draining from his face just as his stomach twisted into a tight knot. His dead sister took a tremulous step forward, hands outstretched toward him. He backpedaled quickly till his back was pressed to yet another wall.

"Onii-chan! Oniiiiii-chaaaaaaan!" Ryou shook his head hard, as if he could clear the vision in front of him by mere force of will. "Onii-chan, I miss you. Onii-chan it's so dark here…" The little girl's voice came out twisted and thick, as if she were speaking around a mouthful of syrup. As he watched a bright spot of crimson flew from her mouth to stain her dress, then more blood came. "Onii-chan come back with me…" Amane pleaded with him, more blood falling from her mouth, she'd caught up with him and wrapped her toddler thick fingers in the hem of his shirt. Ryou turned his head away, a fine trembling spreading rapidly through his whole body. Bakura leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, arms crossed casually over his chest and a wry smirk on his face.

"B-Bakura please…" His voice came out thick and tight. The demon could put images in his head, make him see whatever he wanted. Bakura's smirk widened.

"I'm doing what you waned yadonushi, I'm leaving you alone. Maybe you should tell her to get off," Bakura chided. Amane pulled insistnatly at Ryou's shirt, blood from her dress smearing on his pants.

"Onii-chan, pick me up!" she insisted, trying to climb up his clothes. Ryou pressed his hands and back to the wall, unwilling to pick the girl up but lacking the heart to push her away either. This wasn't his sister. He knew that, but the illusion was so real it was very difficult to remind himself. Tears ran down his face, trailing his cheeks and splattering onto the floor at his feet.

"Jesus Bakura, have a fucking heart!" he growled, forcing himself to make eye contact with his tormenter. Bakura shrugged nonchalantly and the little dead girl in front of Ryou disappeared, still begging her brother to pick her up. As soon as she was gone Ryou collapsed to the ground, his elbows balanced on his knees with his head cradled in his hands. Bakura moved closer, watching the younger boy on the floor and listening to his quiet sobs.

"Don't tell me what to do, respected landlord," he pushed all the malice he had into that one word, then left Ryou to his thoughts.

Review please? :)