Make
Yourself
Chapter
01: Under the Influence
By:
Shounen Squared
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, any of its characters, or any of the songs throughout this little FANfic.
"Bakura. BAKURA!" called Ryou, getting more and more agitated with each time that he called his boyfriend's name. As soon as he saw a spiky cluster of long white hair, he snagged the guy around the shoulders and began to draw him towards the door. However, with the lighting of only a disco ball overhead, Ryou's vision was obscured, and he had no idea that the hair was blonde, not white.
"Hey, you sick faggot! What the hell are you doing!" shouted the stranger in protest.
Now realizing his mistake, Ryou immediately released his hold on him and apologized, bowing his head. He laughed nervously. "Gomen! Gomen nasai! I thought you were my boyfriend! It's hard to tell in this light."
"Whatever, man. Just stay the hell away from me!"
Ryou sighed. Was Bakura crazy? Sure, he liked to party just as much as the older boy, but this club was insane! He'd be wondering around in it looking for his lover forever. Suddenly, he felt two muscular arms coil around his waist, then pull him backwards. "Wha--" He was cut off by a pair of hot lips locking on his mouth.
When Bakura stopped kissing Ryou, he put his own head next to Ryou's and murmured, "Let's get out of here. It's getting boring, and all these people are way too uptight."
"Yea." agreed the younger, recalling what had just happened with an apparent homophobe.
After the light of the two sat in the passenger seat, Bakura put himself behind the wheel. Every once in a while, the thought of that frightened Ryou, but he trusted his boyfriend. And, of course, while Bakura and alcohol were best friends, he was smart enough not to go driving under the influence. So, after Ryou reminding him, he didn't drink a drop of beer back at the club.
"Do you want to stay at my house tonight, love?" asked the driver, keeping his eyes on the road but occasionally looking at the passenger sideways. "There's enough room in my bed for two." A light smirk crossed his lips.
"Gee, Bakura. I mean, I'd love to and all, but, I-I don't know."
The smirk disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "It's your parents, isn't it, Ryou? They hate me, don't they? I've seen the way they look at me."
A tinge of guilt hit Ryou in the heart. "That's nonsense, 'Kura-kun! Why would they hate you?"
"I 'made you gay', I 'turned you into a bad boy', I'm an alcoholic, I'm--"
"--just perfect the way you are." Insisted Ryou, interrupting the flow of Bakura's self criticism. He hated it when the older teen started feeling low about himself.
Bakura still looked distressed, but decided not to argue. Ryou propped his elbow on the car door handle and his chin on his palm, staring out into the darkness of the night. He yawned. To say he was tired would be an understatement. It was almost two in the morning, and that disrupted his sleep pattern, which was very delicate. Once again, he yawned.
"Sleepy, love?" asked Bakura softly.
Wow. Bakura was never this sweet to anyone else. Ryou felt so special that he could see this side of him. "Yes."
"I'm sorry. I'll turn off the radio so you can go to sleep then." He did so, making the car almost dead silent. When he saw his boyfriend closing his eyes and trying to go to sleep, he ran a hand through his hair and said, "Don't you want to lean back? That can't be comfortable with your neck all out of position."
"It's fine. The knob to lean it back is really hard to turn."
Bakura shrugged, and turned his attention back to the road.
A few seconds after, Ryou was abruptly shaken from his sleep. His eyes snapped open.
The car was swerving at the hands of the eighteen year old of the two look alikes. "What the fuck, you stupid crazy drunks!" Bakura screamed out the window, shaking his fist at a nearby car that was driving past. "I'm sorry, Ryou-kun. These idiots are obviously DUI, and I'm trying to keep from getting us killed."
Ryou looked out his window to the left. From what he could see, a red sports car was blazing down the highway, swerving even more than Bakura was. Either the driver was incredibly fickle, lost on which lane he wanted to drive in, or incredibly drunk, not really having a choice which lane they drove in. Either way, the situation was frightening him.
There were four lanes out there on the road: two going each direction, side by side. While Bakura and Ryou were on the innermost lane to the double yellow line, the drunks were on the outside. Inside, outside, inside, outside again. Now enraged, the safer of the two drivers slammed his fist on the horn, which burst into the night like a siren. Once again, he shouted at the red car. "Watch the fuck out already!" Since he wasn't on the side nearest to the lunatics, he had to cry straight up into the air instead of out towards them. But were they seriously that deaf, or just ridiculously stupid?
Several times, Bakura had to slam on the brakes, but even then, he hardly felt safe.
Shit! Isn't there any way to get around this?
Ryou's chocolate colored eyes began to widen in shock. "K-Kura! It's coming ri--" before he could finish his warning, the red sports car rammed right into the car door on Ryou's side with a loud, very loud, crash.
"Ryou!" Bakura managed to scream before he lost consciousness.
The impact on Ryou's passenger side caused the car to flip over a few times, not stopping until the roof of the car had been turned over on the pavement twice.
At that time, he had no idea what had become of the intoxicated drivers. Not that he knew what was happening to himself or his love, either. He didn't understand anything at the moment. All he knew was pain. And then, darkness, as everything around him, including his memory, went black.
So cold. So bright. Where am I? What am I doing here. . .? Who am I. . .? thought the hospitalized teen. I have to know. What's going on?
"Mr. Ryou? Are you awake?"
"Mmmmmph," groaned Bakura, shifting slightly.
"Mr. Ryou, my name is Nurse Akaki. Do you remember anything that happened?"
Okay, so she was a nurse. Well, right now, he wasn't in the mood for this. Despite this, he continued to answer her stupid questions. "Mr. Ryou? Is that my name? 'What happened'? I guess I don't. What did happen?"
Akaki looked down at her clipboard and flipped through some yellow pages. After a few moments, she found what she was looking for, and continued to speak. "You and your boyfriend, Ryou Bakura, were in a severe car accident with some unidentified drunk drivers, dear. According to what a witness has told the police, a red sports car head-on plowed into the passenger side of the car and caused it to roll over two or three times. It stopped with the roof against the road, suspending you upside down for a while, until the paramedics could come in to help you."
The dark brown eyes widened. He remembered it all now. All of it. Every last detail, including the club and the whole whiplash ordeal. His voice screaming at the insane drivers echoed and resonated through his head. He didn't even want to think about it. There were more important things. "Ryou. Where's Ryou!" he demanded, beginning to sound panicked.
Nurse Akaki's green eyes blinked a few times. "Behind that curtain," she explained, pointing to the curtain hanging from a large metal track on the ceiling, "but I'm afraid he cannot be disturbed."
"How-how is he? Bad?"
She frowned. From the expression she was wearing, Bakura doubted his boyfriend was okay. "Not so good. If he was in the passenger seat, it would explain his condition. The drunk's car hit his side. He is also smaller and a bit weaker, making his more vulnerable. It's a miracle we could save him." She sighed and briefly peeked around the barrier divided the room in half. "I'm not even sure if he'll make it through the night." Akaki paused to flip through her clipboard again. "Ah, here it is. Mr. Bakura probably will survive because of his airbag activating in time. His left leg is broken, since it was against the door that the red sports car collided with. The paramedics found him with multiple cuts and gashes because of the broken window glass. He has a critical concussion, so his amnesia will be in effect longer than yours. Quite a bit longer."
"How long? How long will it take him to remember everything?" he asked, worried that he'd have to start his relationship with Ryou all over again.
Akaki sighed. "I'm really not sure, dear. I guess it depends. The sooner you reintroduce him to the things he once knew, the sooner he'll remember all of it."
"May I please see him?"
The brunette nurse gently patted Bakura on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. I told you, he cannot be disturbed."
"Please. I need to see him. I'm so worried about him."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryou." Nurse Akaki made her way to the door after checking some papers on her plastic clipboard. She reached for the gray handle, but turned back once more to face her awake patient. He was looking away, with a wistful, despaired look in his eyes. She felt so increasingly guilty with each second she saw him like this. Now turning her back to the door, she faced Bakura once more. "Ah, well, I guess I could let you see him, for, maybe a minute. But you can't tell ANYONE about this, okay?" Reluctance was thick in her voice.
Not even bothering to reply, Bakura sat up, now remembering to check his own condition.
Ugh. Not so great. He had gauze was patched all over his body, particularly his face and arms. A cast encased his right leg, he wore an eye patch on his right eye, and he had longer white bandages wrapped around his head, stomach and abs.
However, he couldn't let any of this distract him. Seeing Ryou was his top priority. He scanned the flower-printed wall and found a crutch, which he used to make the short distance to Ryou's bed. He pushed away the curtain and immediately checked his love up and down. It was just as the nurse said: only it appeared ten times worse. Perhaps she just didn't want to get too descriptive.
He wore a cast on his left leg, and just like Bakura, Ryou had tiny white bandages and medical tape all over his face, arms, and chest. His stomach wasn't wrapped, but his head was, and more heavily than Bakura's.
The eighteen year old knelt at his bed and grasped the pale, cold hand tightly. "I hope you're okay, Yo-chan. I don't know what I'll do if you don't wake up."
Akaki smiled, not because of her patients' obvious pain, but because she was touched by Bakura's dedication and love. Very softly, she whispered, "I'll leave you alone now."
For about half an hour, poor Bakura had to cry to get his emotions out. He stayed at the bedside on his knees for about two more hours. When he peered up at the clock, it was about 1 in the morning. Exhausted, he slept, but refused to go back to his bed and leave Ryou. Hand in hand, he fell asleep with one arm wrapped softly around his other half, and rested his head against that other half's thigh.
"I love you, Ryou. I don't want to lose you."
-you. Ryou. Ryou.
Who is this calling "Ryou"? Who?
". . .Mr. Bakura? Are you awake?" asked a soft, unfamiliar voice. Ryou shifted with a groan in response. Seeing her patient finally awake, she smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Bakura!"
What's so good about--"Mr. Bakura"? "Ryou"? Are those my names?
"Mr. Bakura, do you remember anything? Anything at all?"
"No."
Nurse Akaki flipped to the same page of her clipboard she was on when she had been explaining things to Bakura. "You were in a severe car accident with some unidentified drunk drivers, dear. According to what a witness has told the police, a red sports car head-on plowed into the passenger side of the car and caused it to roll over two or three times. It stopped with the roof against the road, suspending you upside down for a while, until the paramedics could come in to help you. Now tell me, do you remember any of this at all?"
"No."
Akaki frowned, wondering what to do about this. "I see. Well, a friend of yours was in here very late last night, staying by your side until he no longer could. He's an amazing person. He too was hurt in the accident but has already recovered and left. Your parents are here. Would you like to see them?"
"Yes, please."
She bowed her head slightly. "Okay, Mr. Bakura. I will leave you alone now." She turned around and opened the door. "You may come in now, Mr. and Mrs. Bakura."
Two tall figures rushed in past the nurse (almost knocking her to the floor), and took their son's hand. "Honey! Ryou, are you all right, baby?" said his mother.
Ryou blinked. Was he always this close to his parents? "Uh, sure. I'm fine."
"Thank God." said his father with a relieved sigh.
"Kaa-san, Tou-san. Will you please remind me what my life was like before this accident?"
The two parents looked at each other. Now was their chance. The perfect opportunity to have their son the way they wanted him to be. The old Ryou was a hardcore rock goth, gay, a partier, and just plain disobedient. It was all thanks to his boyfriend, Bakura Ryou. Just because their names were the same but reversed didn't mean that he needed to go in and change him. They didn't like the way their son had turned out, and now they had the chance to go back, rewind, and start over.
Not quite sure what to say, Ryou's kaa-san shifted in her chair and looked at her acrylic nails nervously as if they would reveal the answer. "Oh, I'm not even quite sure where to begin. Maybe your father should explain it to you."
Ryou turned his gaze to his tou-san intently, wanting to remember again. Little did he know that his parents had no intentions of telling him the truth. Still, they had to tell him something true, or he'd never enjoy himself.
"Well, son, you see. You're a big rock music fan, but very conservative and polite. You're into fine art, symphonic music, and such. You're a huge Christian and always know what's right."
Ha! If Bakura had been there to see Mr. Bakura feed Ryou all these ridiculous lies, he would have laughed his ass off. This was not his boyfriend at all! Then again, had Bakura been there, he would have stopped these lies in their tracks. He definitely wasn't the type to put up with this bullshit.
Alas, Bakura wasn't here, but at home, phoning Ryou's house and leaving a message on his answering machine.
Ryou nodded, curiosity gone now that he "knew" what he was like. Satisfied that her innocent son had bought it, Mrs. Bakura left the room to talk about medical bills. Meanwhile, Ryou's tou-san had a certain someone he needed to call. He was almost glad his son got in a car wreck.
Since Bakura had been sitting by the phone waiting for his boyfriend to call him, the phone rang once, and shortly after, he picked up the receiver. "Ryou?"
"Not quite."
"Mr. Bakura!" he said, trying to keep his voice sounding happy and pleasant. "It's nice to talk to you again, sir."
"Cut the shit, Bakura. Ryou's hurt and it's your fault."
"Mr. Bakura, I'm sorry for the confusion. I was completely sober and everything. These DUI's just plowed right into us! I tried my best to save ourselves, but there was no other way to avoid it."
"Quit blaming others, Bakura. Don't even bother trying to speak to Ryou. Don't even go near him ever again. His mother and I have turned his life around due to his memory loss. He doesn't remember you, his homosexuality, or any of his old lifestyle. Don't even ask what will happen if you try to be with him again. He's starting over new, so just fuck off."
"I see." said Bakura quietly, despair quickly taking hold of him. This sucked ass. He could barely comprehend everything happening. "Well, good day to you, Mr. Bakura." With that, he slammed the phone down with a sigh. Bakura was seriously questioning Ryou's parents' sanity. No sane parent would go that far. In the end, eventually, Ryou would remember everything, and Mister and Misses Bakura's efforts would prove futile.
Knowing this, he knew sometime he'd find a way around this. He just wasn't sure how he was going to right now.
I guess I should forget about a full night's rest. he told himself. I've got a plan to concoct.
If you haven't noticed, I edited the chapter. It looks much neater now. So if you haven't noticed, then NOTICE, biatch, and appreciate my hard work :) haha, review, please.