Yami no Koi: Darkness of Love

A/N: I figured it would be a good idea to start the next chapter right after the last one, as then I'm more likely to keep going. Saying that, it may be the holidays right now but I have tonnes of work I haven't even started. Either way, I'm screwed ahaha. So here's chapter 18!

Chapter 18 – Looking For Angels

Bakura pressed his palm against the symbol and shuddered as the flaking metal rubbed off onto his hand.

This is the one.

I never really believed in angels. You'd think, with me being a demon and all, that I wouldn't need to believe in them; after all, if there are demons and hell, there must be angels and heaven. Through my entire life, I'd never seen an angel, not one. That was until that faithful day…

Suddenly, I remember now seeing him for the first time; a lot earlier than he thinks. Must have been about ten years ago, so he was only five years old. I had taken my feed, like any other night. She'd had my eye for a while, so I decided to take her. She was so young, yet she had brilliant white hair, much like my own. I'd taken every last drop of her blood and had planned to leave soon as; but before I could even remove my fangs, he came. That small child had looked at me with such terror, didn't even dare look away to what was left of his mother. Before he could even breathe I left. So nothing special… I wonder why it's only now that I remember that. I guess it seemed like such an insignificant memory… why would I connect it to him?

Then, ten years later, I saw him again. At first I thought the attraction was to blood, but after one day of watching him made me realise it was deeper. As I watched him from behind, I could practically see his wings. They shone, but dimly as they were broken and beaten. Keh! This talk of him having wings… it makes me laugh, but I'm certain that that's what I saw.

Ryou…

My little, lost angel…

A loud screech echoed through the new found blackness as metal pushed against metal and the light from the hallway tried to enter the room. Bakura's eyes strained to see though the black that even the light couldn't penetrate. He narrowed them and still could see nothing, even with his refined vision. He listened, trying to stifle his own breathes in order to hear any sound that may come from within the darkness. He continued to stare, intensifying his concentration more and more as each second passed, until…

"He….l…." Bakura jerked as the silent breath broke through the dark room. He barely recognised the voice, but it was definitely Ryou. The demon clenched his fists and ran into the room. Hopefully, there would be nothing here that would become a hindrance to his rescue plan. He was surprised how deep this room appeared to be, and now the only sound that could be heard was his feet hitting the floor. The silence was so immense, it was unnatural and sent a ringing sensation through the demon's ears.

"He…..he…..l…" The breathing came again. It was much clearer this time.

"Ryou?" Bakura called out. There was no reply.

"Help." The voice repeated. Bakura looked in the direction it had come from and gasped as he saw the outline of a figure curled up on the floor.

"Ryou!" He knelt down before the figure, even in this darkness he could only just see Ryou's outline… but why was it… that he seemed to have a dim glow about him?

"Help." The voice spoke. It was so clear as though being spoken right beside him, but it wasn't coming from Ryou. Bakura's heart skipped a beat as he realised that this voice was different to the one he's heard.
"Ry…" He pressed his palm against the teen's stone cold cheek and flinched as he felt something brush against the side of his hand. "Wha…?" Some strange tentacle like thing covered Ryou's mouth, and it was moving

"Help."

Bakura froze.

"Help."

The demon slowly rose to his feet.

"Help."

He turned his head slowly.

"Help. Help. Help." Bakura's pupil's visibly shrunk as he stared up at the bizarre creature that hovered before him: its tentacles seemed to ooze from what must have been the main body. Its spongy skin was a deep shade of purple, making it barely visible in this darkened room and a small beak like mouth continued to open and close as it mimicked Ryou's voice. It appeared a very simple and harmless creature, but Bakura knew better. It was a Soul Taker. The demon had only seen one of these things before… and that had been at some random human torture show that Malik had dragged him to. They were nasty things; invading an individual's mind and plaguing it will darkness as it fed off the victim's soul; and this one had Ryou.

"You mother FUCKER!" Bakura yelled as he charged at the creature. It merely moved back a little and missed his attack, but he wasn't finished yet. The demon gripped his fists and grit his teeth. A deep cry burst from his lungs as his wings ripped out from his back and his tail soon shot out from behind him. Fangs bared, Bakura prepared to attack again. As he took leapt into the air, the Soul Taker hovered closer to Ryou's body and slunk another of its gruesome tentacles around his form. Bakura spun in the air and slammed his tail into the creature and made to dig his claws into its flesh. Two more tentacles sprouted from its body and attached themselves to his wrists. Kicking out violently, Bakura pushed the Taker back and they began to drift away from Ryou's body. The demon raised his tail and shot it forwards and impaled the creature's soft surface. The point of his tail went all the way through it and pulled back. As it left the wound, black liquid began to spray out of it. The Soul Taker screeched and coiled away momentarily, allowing Bakura to release his wrists. Again, he raised his tail I preparation for another attack as the creature regrouped itself. The black liquid continued to spray out of its side, and a few drops splattered on Bakura's face. He smirked:

So stupid…one more wound like that and it's be done. The demon removed the layers of skin that hid the needle within his tale and was ready to make his final attack.

"Bring it, fucktard!" He yelled, and the Soul Taker lunged at him in an almost clumsy manor. He shot his tail at it, stinger already dripping with a deadly dose of the poison inside. The needle came into contact, but as it was about to penetrate, the creature fell onto its side. It cried out as the deep scratch caused more black liquid to pour from its flesh. Bakura jerked as he realised where the stinger was now headed. The dimly lit figure of Ryou lay directly in its path, but it was too late for him to react. The stinger hit the teen's arm, pinning it to the group with the stinger at an awkward angle.

"Ryou!" Bakura cried. He ran over and watched as the venom seeped out of the wound. He attempted to remove his tail from the human, but it was lodged in to the stone floor. Bakura quickly turned around as the Soul Taker cried out again and was struggling to move closer to him. The venom that had gone into its wound was slowly killing it, but it was still willing to fight. The demon quickly looked down at Ryou, searching for the tentacle that was still feeding from his soul. He saw it, pressing it's way into the back of the teen's skull. With one swipe, the demon removed the tentacle from Ryou and the Soul Taker began to waste away into nothingness. Its horrific screeches continued to echo throughout the room at a deafening pitch. Bakura desperately covered his ears as he watched it writhe in agony on the floor, until it faded away to nothing.

Gasping for breathe, Bakura turned back to see Ryou still lying there lifelessly.

"Shit." He muttered as he managed to struggle his tail from the stone floor and Ryou's arm. The wound was horrible… it would never heal completely. Tears brimmed the demon's eyes.

How could I have been so reckless? He thought. Cradling the teen's limp form in his arms, Bakura lifted the injured arm and pressed his lips against the fleshy opening. He let his tongue slide over it, washing away the poison that remained on the surface. Slowly, he began to suck on it, tasting the bitterness as the venom was pulled out of Ryou's blood. The body twitched each time, and tears rolled down the demon's cheeks as each twitch filled him with great pain. After a few minutes, Bakura felt that he had removed the most of the poison, but at the cost of taking a large portion of Ryou's clean blood. He cussed, but if he hadn't then he would have definitely died. Silently, the demon stood up, carrying Ryou in his arms and he headed for the small light, which led him to the exit. The teen's skin was cold, too cold and he showed no signs of life other than the slow, shallow heartbeat that Bakura could feel.

Once they were out of the dark cell, Bakura slammed the door shut and placed Ryou on the ground. He was completely naked, and his skin was much paler than usual. His lips appeared to be tinted a pale blue and red rings surrounded his swollen, worn eyes. Bakura clenched his jaw as he could not bare the sight… seeing Ryou like this… seeing the scars and wounds from what Yami had done to him…

"It's… it's…" Bakura struggled to hold back his sobs. "It's unforgivable!"

"Don't worry, Ryou." Bakura huffed as he carried the teen on his back. "We'll be out of here in no time." The boy made no reply as he remained cold and lifeless. Bakura was walking down the hallway, hoping that maybe there would be an exit at the other end. He would have tried to break the walls again, but he was too warn out; and what if Ryou got hurt in the process? He had already caused the boy too much damage. He glanced at the tourniquet that he had made from a piece of material he's ripped from his trench coat. It appeared to already be clogged with blood.

"Just a little longer, Ry. Then we can go home…" A small smile came to his lips. "And you can tell me off for trying to kiss you again… and we'll watch horror movies and stay up all night… everything will go back just to how it had been. Back to how I had planned it to go." The demon stopped and bowed his head so his bangs covered his eyes.

Yami ruined it all… His hands gripped tighter around Ryou's legs and he grit his teeth. Suddenly, he began to sprint down the hallway, his eyes set dead ahead in search for an exit. Don't worry ,Ryou. I'll save you from this hell.

And so he ran, and ran. Even when his legs began to ache, Bakura continued to run down the corridor. It spanned forever, and there were no signs of an escape. The only things that branched off from the long winding hallway were the many cell doors that ran along the left wall.

Eventually, Bakura had to come to a stop when he was completely out of breath and his lungs burnt for oxygen. He placed Ryou on the floor gently and slumped onto the floor beside him. He closed his eyes while he composed himself; then glanced out of the corner of his eye at the still unconscious boy beside him. Bakura sighed heavily, and sat up properly so he cold face Ryou. A frown plagues his features, and the boy's expression remained blank.

"Ryou…" The demon whispered as he let his hand touch the ice-cold cheek. "How did I let this happen to you?" He muttered. As he looked over the teen's beaten body, he recalled how content he'd been with things the way they had been. Sure he would probably have killed to see Ryou with no clothes on then, but now he'd give anything for everything to return to how it had been then. Back when you was so shy and even if the demon just touched his arm, a bright blush was cover his face; and his ears… those snowy white ears that had held his innocence. They were gone now… just adding to the changes that had happened in such a small span of time. Bakura held the boy's hand gently and rubbed it reassuringly.

"We'll be okay." He muttered as a sad smile appeared on his face. The demon moved closer and wrapped his arms around Ryou, pulling him into his chest and embracing him lovingly. He held him there, taking in the wonderful feeling of having him there. So long he had wanted to see him, to hold him, to kiss him… he never imagined that Ryou would be in this kind of state.

The body began to twitch slightly, and a small croak came from Ryou's raw throat. Bakura's eyes snapped open and he pulled away to look at the teen.

"Ryou?" He whispered. His body moved some more, and after a while Ryou's eyes began to slowly open. Bakura couldn't even breath, he couldn't believe that this was happening. This has to be a trick. He thought. This isn't… is he…?

"Ba… Baku…" A small voice spoke. Bakura's vision became misted with tears and his fingers gripped Ryou's shoulders. "Bakura?" The teen looked at him with misted eyes, his pale lips slightly parted as small, dry gasps for air escaped them.

"Ryou." Bakura choked as he held on tightly to Ryou, his arms wrapping up the petit frame that shivered under his grip. "I can't… you're alright." The demon gasped, unable to hold back the flood of tears that were being pushed out by his happiness.

"Bakura." Ryou said again, his voice becoming clearer now. "You… you came ba-." The small teen began to choke on as his dry thought struggled under the strain of his words.

"Hush." Bakura breathed. He slowly pulled away and looked into Ryou's eyes. "You don't have to speak…" And gently, he pressed his lips against Ryou's. The flesh was still frozen, both inside and out. Bakura tried to warm him, holding him tightly in his arms, letting his tongue warm the inside of the teen's mouth and breathing heavily over him. Ryou's fingers gripped meekly onto Bakura's sleeve as he submitted to the loving touch. In suddenly realisation, Bakura pulled away and took off his trench coat, wrapping it around the teen's shaking form. Ryou looked at him questioningly as Bakura smiled reassuringly and picked him back up.

"I'll take you home." He whispered into Ryou's ear. The demon let his wings and tail once again be released from their hiding place and spread his wings as wide as they'd go. His tail lashed out and hit one of the walls, causing a crack to appear. Bakura glanced at it as he noticed the break, and began to beat the wall more vigorously with his tail. He continued to beat at the old stone, until it crumbled away, and just like last time, a blinding light burst through it. The demons stood with Ryou in his arms, staring into the light. The teen curled up in his arms, and gripped onto his shoulders, and Bakura began to step forward, determined to save the one person he'd ever loved.

A/N: Now wasn't that a good chapter? Eh? Eh? I thought it was pretty funky and smexy! Oh well I updated didn't I? And the end is coming soon! I still need to finish the final chapter but I should leave it for a while because I keep writing stuff in these chapters and then I think… damn I need to mention this stuff fin the last chapter. I'm sure it will all turn out ok. I've enjoyed writing during this holiday because I've been so stressed out and miserable.

Bakura: Yea, yea we don't need you to drag all that shit up.

Bak'240: Fine, I'll just kill you off to release some of the tension then.

Bakura: Wait! No! You can't kill me off! I'm too smexy!

Ryou: And he just saved me… if he dies who will save me?

Bak'240: … I will. Yes I will suddenly appear in the final hour and save you for I am the writer and what I say goes MUFAFAFA!

Bakura and Ryou: oo;;