Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Wild Vivid Imagination, shouldn't you be posting White Heart of the Thief before starting anything brand new?" Well, actually I'm just posting this thing as a pilot of sorts, to see if there's any interest in it. It probably won't be updated regularly because this is just a plot bunny that hit me with the force of lightning and refused to leave me alone, and so I wrote this entire thing in like a day. Also it's Ryou Bakura's birthday today and I'd feel bad if I didn't post something. I have absolutely no idea where this fic is going, but feel free to leave feedback if it interests you.

Basic idea: AU where Yami Bakura is a demon and Ryou is a kid who accidentally summons him. Also there's more backstory but I don't want to spoil that. And it will probably be novel-length with tons of more characters, if I do end up ever finishing it. Just read, enjoy, and see where it goes, maybe even leave a review if you enjoyed it!

So without further ado, I present to you...

Sanguinem Magicae

A Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction written by Wild Vivid Imagination

Chapter I ~ Dilectissime Sorori

Wednesday, July 31st 2013

It was, fittingly enough, raining on the third anniversary of Amane's death. Heavy drops of water started falling from the sky as Bakura Ryou walked down the muddy path to her grave. He wished he had brought an umbrella, but the storm clouds had approached much faster than he had thought and he honestly had expected that he'd have the time to get home before the rain began.

The graveyard was one of the few areas in the city of Domino where there were still woods. It was a tranquil place, serene and quiet, a clearing right in the middle of the woods, with the only true gloominess of the area being caused by the fact that it was a graveyard. If not for the fact that it was raining cats and dogs, Ryou would probably have felt more okay with this visit, but the rain did nothing to ease his mood. His clothes were drenched and the flowers he had brought completely soaked by the time he got to the gravestone. He leant down and knelt before the white marble.

"Hello, Amane..." he mumbled, staring at the engraving on it, feeling a desperate longing for her, wondering if she could still hear him from somewhere. He had read the text more times than he could remember, knowing it by heart at this point.

Bakura Amane

Beloved Daughter and Sister

September 2nd 1996 – July 31st 2010

Non est ad astra mollis e terris via

He read through the text a few times, and before he knew it, he was crying. His tears mixed with the rain on his cheeks, tasting salty and cold on his face. The bouquet of flowers fell out of his hands, landing on the ground in front of the grave, the tulips spilling out into the grass, stark yellow against lime green. Amane had loved tulips, especially yellow ones. They had been a symbol of happiness for both of them, and now they were just a distant reminder of something that was lost to him forever. Something that he couldn't get back no matter how desperately he longed for it.

Ryou choked a sob as he zipped the pocket of his jacket open, pulling out the crumbled piece of paper that was the real reason he was here. The rain stained the inky letters and blurred them, but Ryou still placed the letter on Amane's grave, taking the tulips and carefully putting them back into the bouquet, adjusting it so that it looked at least relatively all right. Amane would probably have laughed at his clumsiness. She probably would also have laughed at Ryou's letter and called him sentimental and weird, but that was okay. Ryou would have done anything to hear Amane laugh and tease him again.

Dearest Amane

It's been three years since we last saw each other. I never thought three years could feel like such a long time. It feels like I've lived a hundred lifetimes without you. Not a day goes by when I don't miss you. Every time I think about you I wish I could forget that I will never see that cheeky smile of yours again.

I guess I should tell you how life has been since I last wrote to you. Mum still hasn't come home. They suspect she's gone, too, but her body hasn't been found. Dad is still travelling for work. I think he doesn't want to come home even to see me. He doesn't care anymore. Í always knew he preferred you. It gets really quiet being all alone in the apartment. Even when I try to forget, the silence is there to remind me.

You must think I'm being really negative right now. However, I feel better now than I did lasts time I wrote to you, because now I have hope. Do you remember those stories Mum used to tell us about dark magic and demons? I found her old Ouija Board in the attic. If you don't remember, it's a device used to communicate with spirits. I know you never believed in those stories, but it's worth a try. I wanted to tell you before using it, so when I get home from the graveyard after delivering this letter to you, I'm going to try it.

They say Ouija Boards are really dangerous, did you know that? Of course you did, Mum taught you about them too... If you were still here, I'm sure you'd try to stop me from using it. But I really just want to talk to you again, Amane, even if it has to be like this. I'm willing to risk anything to get a chance to see you, because you're my sister and you're the most important thing in the world to me. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you soon.

Love, Ryou

The wind ruffled the white locks of Ryou's hair, and he finally stood up again, wiping away wet grass from his torn grey jeans. He adjusted his rain jacket a bit, the blue fabric rustling as he did, and began to walk away from the grave. He would've loved to make this visit longer, but he didn't want to catch a cold, and so he decided to go home a lot quicker than he usually did. Not to mention that it was already getting late.

"See you later, Amane", he whispered, his voice hoarse from crying. His sneakers were getting dirty from wading through the mud and he felt cold from the rain that had surprised him. More than anything, he wanted to get home and set up that Ouija Board so that he could start experimenting.

When Ryou and Amane were kids, their mother had always told them stories. Stories that their father had frowned upon and called ridiculous or too scary for children. Their mother, however, had insisted that Ryou and Amane needed to be taught about "the things that lurked in the dark". So she had taught them about ghosts, demons, magic and all those things. Amane had grown out of it eventually, but Ryou had never lost interest. After Amane's death, Ryou felt a bit morbid for still being so fascinated by this subject, but he really couldn't help himself. Because if anything, it gave him hope. Hope that even if Amane was no longer here with him, she still existed somewhere and that there was a way to get in touch with her somehow.

He had managed to find his mother's Ouija Board in the storage room just a few days ago after spending ages searching for it. After her mysterious disappearance on the day of Amane's death, Ryou's father had stuffed all her and Amane's stuff into the storage room in the basement so that he wouldn't have to look at it anymore. However, Ryou had plumaged through it slowly but surely, finding all sorts of interesting things that belonged to his mother in the meantime. But he had finally found it, and now it was time to try it out. To maybe be able to talk to Amane again...

"Ryou! Hey, Ryou!" Ryou stopped dead in his tracks as he heard someone call out to him, glancing over his shoulder. He caught sight of a very short person running towards him, a bright red umbrella clutched tightly in his hands. Mutou Yuugi stopped dead in his tracks, his usually spiked black, magenta and blond hair looking a bit flattened from all the rain. His big amethyst-coloured eyes focused unnervingly on Ryou, a cheerful look in them like always. Ryou wondered how Yuugi, despites being the resident class nerd and target for bullies, always managed to keep that cheerful demeanour.

"Oh. Hello, Yuugi." Ryou wondered what his classmate was doing out in the rain. He was glad it was Yuugi he had run into; Yuugi was probably the one person in his class he felt comfortable enough with to not feel horribly awkward around at the moment. "What are you up to, in this awful weather?" Yuugi let out a sheepish laugh and held up a dripping wet grocery bag.

"Grandpa realised that he'd forgotten to buy milk, on the rainiest day of the summer vacations this far of course, so he sent me to the grocery store to go get some..." He gave Ryou a somewhat questioning look. "How about you, Ryou? Why are you out in the rain, and without an umbrella too?"

"I went out for a long walk and I really didn't expect this weather", Ryou said, smiling friendlily at Yuugi, with distant thoughts of Amane in his mind. Even though he felt comfortable enough around Yuugi, he still didn't want to talk about Amane with him. Amane was far too much of a touchy subject. He didn't even know Yuugi all that well anyway... No one in Ryou's class knew about Amane. He was grateful for that. He already got sympathy for being that shy kid who didn't know how to make friends. He didn't need sympathy for his broken family too.

"Oh, poor Ryou." Yuugi gave him a sympathetic look. There it was; that sympathy that Ryou hated seeing from others. "Do you want me to walk you home? I have an umbrella..." It was a friendly suggestion, of course, but Ryou really couldn't accept such an obvious act of sympathy.

"Oh no, it's all right!" Ryou said, beginning to walk away, waving at Yuugi as he went. "I'm soaking wet already! I'll be fine!" He saw Yuugi wave back to him, a concerned look on his face. Ryou started walking faster, wanting to get home as soon as possible. Being forced to act so cheerful around Yuugi immediately after visiting Amane's grave had worn him out. He shivered, feeling a bit cold despite the warm summer air around him. He hoped he wouldn't end up catching a cold. It was already getting dark outside. He really should hurry to get back home.

It had almost stopped raining by the time Ryou made it back to his apartment complex. When he made it into the elevator, he was grateful that none of his neighbours were around to see him looking like a drowned cat, dripping water all over the hallway floors. He was grateful when he finally made it to the fifth floor and could scurry back into the safety of his apartment. The first thing he did was to run into the bathroom to fetch a towel to wipe his dripping wet hair with. Ryou's hair was long and thick, so getting it dry wasn't an easy thing to do. Ryou dumped the towel on the bathroom floor, deciding to just let it dry by itself. He ended up staring at himself in the mirror, feeling a bit distraught by how white his even usually pale skin looked and how tired his usually bright green eyes looked. He really needed to get this done before falling asleep.

"Guess I really shouldn't be wasting any time", he mumbled to himself, blinking tiredly and rubbing his eyes. He mentally reminded himself to stop talking to himself out loud. It had just started happening lately; being all alone in this apartment made him feel so lonely and talking to himself took away the loneliness just a little bit. Stalking out of the bathroom, his main priority was now to try out the Ouija Board. His heart was starting to beat faster and he was beginning to feel excited; the thought of possibly being able to find Amane's spirit was just too overwhelming.

It was waiting for him on the kitchen table, lying there completely innocently. Ryou took a seat and stared down at it, debating with himself whether this was a good idea or not. He wasn't entirely sure if he knew how to work the Ouija Board, not to mention that he wasn't even certain if it was even possible to actually use it to summon spirits. Was he just being naïve when wanting to believe in his mother's stories?

"I'm going to do it", he decided, already having forgotten about his promise to stop talking to himself. He wasn't even sure if it worked (despite how much he wanted to believe it), but if it did, he needed to prepare it carefully. Whenever his mother had told him and Amane about Ouija Boards, she had always warned them about evil spirits that were drawn to Ouija Boards and could pose a threat to people who used them. What did he need? He thought about all the things he knew about the supernatural.

It hit him. Salt. Salt kept demons away. Ryou leapt to his feet and ran to the kitchen to fetch some salt. He didn't want to waste a lot of it, so he sprinkled it in a thin circle around the board, hoping that it would be effective. He also searched through the drawers for candles, finding seven of them, and lit them, placing them around the circle of salt. He also grabbed an empty glass, holding it upside down over one of the candles to heat it up. He hadn't found the planchet that was supposed to be used with the board, so he would have to make due with a heated-up glass instead. While he waited, he stared down at the Ouija Board, analysing its appearance.

It was clearly handmade out of some very fine wood that looked like mahogany, probably having been very expensive. The standard letters, numbers and words had been painted on it in white, smooth paint, in elegant handwriting. The letters A to Z, numbers from 0 to 9 and the words YES, NO and GOODBYE. It was very aesthetically pleasing to look at; Ryou could have sat beside this table for all eternity, just staring at it. He was beginning to feel nervous, almost a bit scared. What if he did something wrong and ended up summoning an evil spirit instead of Amane? Not to mention he didn't actually know a lot about how to use Ouija Boards... He had warmed up the glass, making it ready to be placed on the Ouija Board. Ryou's hand was shaking as he placed the glass upside down on the board.

"Um..." He cleared his throat nervously, trying to think of a way to begin this. "Are there any spirits here who wish to show themselves?" Suddenly, he remembered a detail his mother had told him which he had forgotten. That no one should ever attempt to contact a spirit on one's own. Especially not by Ouija Board.

For the first few seconds, nothing happened, and Ryou was almost relieved at that. The apartment was completely silent, the only sound being heard being the ticking of the clock. Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc. The glass began to slide, nearly giving Ryou a heart attack. No way. Ryou was certain he wasn't moving the glass. This couldn't be his subconscious messing with him, now could it?

YES

Ryou stared at the answer in shock, trying to comprehend what had just happened. This couldn't actually be working. No way. Had he actually managed to summon Amane's spirit on his first ever attempt? His heart was racing in his chest now, and he struggled to come up with something to say.

"H... hi", he choked out nervously, trying to formulate another question. The glass moved rapidly under his hand, shaping a word from the letters on the board. Ryou read it, feeling completely awestruck.

H-E-L-L-O

Ryou definitely skipped the subconscious theory now. He was certain now; this had to be real. There really was a spirit in the room, talking to Ryou through the Ouija Board, and it could possibly be Amane. Licking his lips, he tried to come up with something to ask to make sure of Amane's identity.

"Are you... Amane?" he asked softly, feeling a bit worried. The glass trembled under his fingers, before moving again. Ryou watched it nervously as it slowly moved to the upper left corner.

YES

"Oh", Ryou whispered, his fingers beginning to shake. He felt amazed, but he wasn't completely certain yet. As far as he knew, it could be another Amane. "Tell me... When did you die?"

0-7-3-1-2-0-1-0

July 7th 2010. The candles flickered a bit as the glass moved over the familiar date that had forever ingrained itself in Ryou's memory. Ryou desperately wanted to believe that it was really Amane, but he remembered that his mother had always said to be wary and not trust spirits that easily. He thought of any other questions he could ask the spirit, just to make sure for certain.

"What are your favourite flowers?" he asked, finally coming to a conclusion. "The ones I put on your grave." The glass moved slowly over each letter, as if wanting to make the next answer very clear to Ryou.

T-U-L-I-P-S

"Oh, Amane", Ryou said, finding himself beginning to grin. He almost felt tears prickling the corners of his eyes at the thought that he was finally speaking to her again. He could imagine her cheeky smile as clearly as day. "You came to see me... What am I talking about? Of course you did..." He smiled fondly down at the glass, a sudden thought hitting him. "Can you show me that you're here in any way? Like, by moving objects in this room around and things like that." This time, the glass moved instantly, not to a letter but to the word in the upper right corner.

NO

"Why not?" Ryou questioned. The bluntness had surprised him a bit. He'd assumed that once he had summoned the ghost of a person, that wouldn't be a problem, because the spirit would already be in his apartment, but apparently not... The glass moved under his fingers against the board again, swiftly and elegantly, shaping a word.

S-A-L-T

Ryou didn't understand what Amane was trying to say at all. The salt? He glanced down at the salt circle that was formed around the Ouija Board and tried to think of an explanation. He'd been under the assumption that salt worked only as a protection to keep demons out, but perhaps it kept all kinds of spirits from completely manifesting themselves? In that case, the salt circle around the board was definitely a problem. He decided to voice his thoughts to Amane, just to make sure.

"Do you mean that you want me to remove the salt circle?" Ryou questioned softly. Immediately as the words had left his mouth, the glass practically threw itself across the board, stopping in the upper left corner.

YES

Amane really seemed eager to see him. Ryou understood that feeling. He wanted to see Amane again as soon as he possibly could. He reached out with the hand that wasn't clutching the glass, and touched the salt line with his fingers, debating if he should wipe it out now or ask more questions first... until he decided that there was nothing to wait for. He wanted to see Amane immediately. There was, however, a nagging little voice at the back of his mind that just refused to leave him alone, as if it was trying to tell him that he was forgetting something very important.

"Oh, Amane..." His hand was shaking as he was trying to decide if he should wipe away the salt or not. "I... I don't know... I'm not sure if I should do it or not. You know, we can talk just fine like this, right? I don't want to..." The glass started moving under his hand as he spoke, spelling out a word.

P-L-E-A-S-E

"I want to, but..." Ryou mumbled, still unable to shake off the nasty feeling that something was wrong. He tried desperately to remember all the warnings his mother had given him and Amane about spirits. There was something he should remember and he knew it. Something very, very important... He thought about it as hard as he could, trying to bring back his mother's advice into his memory.

And then it suddenly hit him exactly what it was. He could remember his mother's words clearly now; the warning she had given him and Amane a long time ago about speaking to spirits.

"Evil spirits will lie to you, Ryou. You always have to order them to tell the truth."

"...I need you to tell me the truth from now on", Ryou said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. The glass didn't move under his fingertips, but it vibrated a little bit, as if making it clear to Ryou that it had heard. "Have you been lying to me about your identity up until now?" For a few moments, the glass didn't move at all. Then, it slowly, almost hesitantly, began to slide.

YES

Disappointment flooded over Ryou, closely followed by panic. If this spirit had been lying to him and wasn't actually Amane, then what was it? Was it something bad? No, that couldn't be, right? Maybe it was just a harmless spirit that had accidentally wandered in... It had to be harmless. It had to.

"Are you... harmless? And tell the truth", he barked sharply, trying not to feel too scared. He desperately pleaded that it was. He didn't want it to be dangerous. If it was dangerous, he didn't know what to do at all. The glass moved slowly once again, to the other side of the board, making Ryou's worst fears true.

NO

"No?" Ryou repeated, staring down at the board in horror. Of course he'd just had to go summon something dangerous on his first try. This wasn't what he had wanted at all. "Maybe... Maybe we should just say goodbye." He hoped that the spirit would comply and move the glass to GOODBYE, but instead, it remained in place, only wobbling a little bit over the NO sign.

That was probably a bad thing. He remembered his mother teaching him that you always had to end the session by moving the planchet (or in this case the glass) to GOODBYE. So if the spirit refused to move it, should he just move it himself, then? He tried to pull the glass, but it remained firmly rooted on the spot, as if it was part of the board itself. If Ryou had had any doubts before, he was now completely certain that whatever it was he had summoned, it was definitely very powerful.

"No way..." Ryou grabbed the glass with both his hands instead and tried to pull it, managing to tug it halfway across the board before it started pulling back with a force that was definitely not human. He wrestled against the glass, desperately trying to move it to GOODBYE even when the spirit tried to pull it back to NO. His heart was racing in his chest, and he was starting to regret ever doing this. He clung to the glass as tightly as he could, but it refused to budge.

He gritted his teeth, before pulling at the glass with all the force he could muster. The powerful force that had previously been holding the glass tightly suddenly let go completely, causing Ryou to use far too much force and accidentally pulling the glass off the board, almost falling backwards off his chair as he suddenly found himself sitting there with the glass in his hands, feeling a bit dumbfounded. Removing the glass from the board was something he really, really shouldn't have done... and then he took a look down at the Ouija Board again, and his heart nearly skipped a beat as he felt panic and regret flood over him again.

"Oh... Oh no! No, no, no..." The Ouija Board had been moved a little bit, and the circle of salt had been broken, leaving him vulnerable to whatever evil creature he had accidentally summoned. He heard the clock chime eleven times, echoing ominously through the apartment.

A/N: As I mentioned, this is just a pilot chapter of sorts, so this is only really some background to the rest of the fic (which doesn't exist yet). Ryou wants to talk to his dead sister, so he tries to summon her spirit with his missing mother's old Ouija Board, but instead summons something he really shouldn't have summoned. Where will it go from here? To be honest, not even I am completely sure, except that there will probably be Tendershipping at some point because I am 100% Tendershipping trash. Also, it's equally probable that this wil become an epic tale of adventure and mysteries. Or, you know, I might end up never finishing it because I'm way too impulsive with my plot bunnies. Tell me what you think of it this far.

Also, a word of friendly advice: Don't be like Ryou. Don't play with Ouija Boards, kids. You never know what'll happen if you screw things up. (Or just ignore my advice. You probably shouldn't listen to this horrible hypocrite. I don't even believe in the supernatural and I've messed around with homemade Ouija Boards many times before just for laughs.)