A Little Fall of Rain

Summary: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

Rated: T

Genre: Supernatural/Romance

Author's Note: I had planned this chapter a little differently, but decided to edit it last minute. I was struggling between two choices: A final Bakura and Ryou moment, or giving Ryou a significant part in the sequel (that's right, I said it). Hopefully you won't be too upset with my decision. Oh, and don't forget to give me one last review!

Disclaimer: (blink) After thirteen chapters you still think…? (kick) GET AWAY FROM MY FIC!

Turning

Bakura was greeted with a strong stench of blood upon entering his dormitory, the sheer intensity causing him to gag a little. Throwing his case aside, the young medical student rushed into the bathroom, already knowing what he would find.

"Marik…you bastard!"

He flung the door open and fell to his knees, crawling over to Marik's bloody form. The blonde had three very deep gashes on each of his wrists, all of which were still bleeding profusely. Marik himself seemed to be very conscious, but also very frustrated, as if he had encountered an unsolvable math problem.

"How many times are you going to lie to me," Bakura panted, tearing off large pieces of gauze with his teeth. "You promised me that you'd stop doing this! This is our third year here, grow up!"

"You promised me eight months ago that if you'd ever found me dying you wouldn't try to save me," Marik growled in his low voice, which seemed more dangerous than ever. "Why can't you understand that I'm not happy being here?"

"You're kidding yourself," the pale man scoffed, wiping Marik's blood off his face. "You think Malik would be happy to find out that you screwed up your entire life? He told you to move on Marik!"

"I CAN'T!" Marik roared, snatching his arm away from Bakura. "YOU DON'T GET IT!"

"I get it more than you think," Bakura spat. "You think you're the only who wanted to escape all this shit and misery in hopes that you'd find something better on the other side? I used to cut all the time before I came to college because I thought that wherever I'd end up would be better than life without him beside me. I was wrong Marik. There were still so many people who needed me to stay here; by killing myself I was shrugging off all my pain and giving it to them. My parents, my friends… Why do you think I decided to take medicine Marik? Why do you think an alcoholic, lazy, germ obsessed freak like me would even attempt to take this hellish course? TO HELP PEOPLE! TO STOP PEOPLE FROM DOING WHAT I WAS DOING TO MYSELF! You still have people in this world who care about you Marik, despite what you think! Malik knows this…and you know it too!"

"Nothing I do works," Marik said helplessly, running a bloodstained hand through his long spikes. "Pills, slitting my wrists, sticking a knife into the light socket… Why won't I die?"

"Are you even listening to me?" The medical student said incredulously.

"Something's not right, I should be dead now…"

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"The angels must be responsible for this," Marik hissed, his eyes darkening. "And I bet Ryou's the ringleader! That little waste of breath would do anything to keep me and Malik apart!"

"Listen to me," Bakura said angrily, cupping Marik's face in his hands. "You can't continue living like this; your mother, what will she think?"

"She's got a boyfriend, she'll live," the blonde replied, laughing a little. "She doesn't need me."

"Marik this is getting really annoying…"

"Then kill me! I'm obviously too useless to do it myself!"

Bakura bit his lip and knocked the razor away from Marik's side, tears streaming down his face. "There's obviously someone out there who doesn't think you should go yet, and if you won't listen to me, then at least listen to them. Marik, I'm not going to kill you, and I'm sure as hell not going to get you kill yourself." He looked down and sobbed before bringing his head up, face contorted with pain. "I'VE ALREADY LOST MY BIG BROTHER TO SUICIDE; I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE YOU TOO!"

"I need to speak with Malik."

All eyes focused on the angel's young face, narrowing suspiciously. Ryou blushed but didn't turn away, instead tightening his grip on a large item tucked under his arm. The bar patrons looked at each other, muttering harshly under their breaths. Ryou gulped. Malik, Seto, and Jounouchi were the only demons he had any real contact with, and judging from what the other angels had to say, those three were relatively tame compared to the rest of the population.

"I…I don't mean any harm," he tried to say pleasantly. "I just need to talk to him briefly…to ah…to clear some things up?"

When he still didn't get a response, Ryou opened his pearly wings to their full extent, hoping that they would be intimidated. "O-Okay demons, listen up! If…uh…if you don't tell me where Malik Ishtal is I'll be forced to…to uh…hurt you very badly!"

"You've gotta wonder why angels try to fluff themselves up so much," Varon sighed indifferently. "I mean, we're the ones with the claws and teeth."

"Eh…that's right, isn't it?" the angel laughed hesitantly, his wings drooping.

"What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar voice said from behind. The angel whirled around and met the amber eyes of Jounouchi, who was holding what looked like a small black powder puff. His expression was unreadable; he certainly wasn't happy to see Ryou, but he didn't look too upset about it either.

"Nice to see you again," Ryou smiled, bowing. "Jounouchi, wasn't it?"

The blonde stared at him intensely before lowering his gaze. "If you're looking for the kid he's upstairs. But he isn't in any state to talk, mind you." The small creature in his arms made an odd noise. "He's been a little…off lately…"

"Off?" Ryou repeated, tilting his head to the side.

"You'll see." Jounouchi shrugged. "What's that you got there?" He pointed a clawed finger at the concealed item Ryou was carrying.

"Nothing special," the angel chuckled, shaking his head. "Just something I wanted to drop off. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. I'm sure you'd try to kill me again if it was though…"

"I can't say you didn't deserve it…but I'm sorry for trying to rip your heart out last time," the demon pouted, like a child apologizing for pushing someone on the playground. "That doesn't mean that I like any of you white winged feather heads. Though honestly, you're the most tolerable."

"Thanks…that means a lot coming from you. By the way, where's Seto?"

"I bet he's scrounging up some newspaper so we can start housetraining this little guy," the blonde grinned, holding up the dark puppy. "I've been wanting a new hellhound ever since my old one was killed while were stealing the mirror."

Ryou smiled at the other's excitement and bowed once more before ascending up the wooden staircase. Again, he clutched his parcel firmly, as if he was afraid it would disappear in an instant. What really frightened him was what he may find when he opened the door to Malik's room; would he be attacked? Surely the young demon wouldn't easily forget that it was him that shattered his pearl. He stopped in front of an ornate wooden door with what looked like a griffin carved onto the surface. Raising his pale hand tentatively, Ryou steeled his nerve and rapped the door three times.

"It's Ryou," the angel said clearly, bracing himself for a punch in the face. "I…err…I have something I wanted to give you Malik!"

There was a light shuffling from the other side of the door, and slowly, it began to open, revealing a single lilac eye peering out tiredly. Ryou was relieved that Malik wasn't in a particularly violent mood.

"Good day…or, is it night? It's kind of hard to tell around here, it's always twilight. May I come in? I promise I won't be long…"

Malik disappeared momentarily, but the door swung open, allowing Ryou into the large room. He looked around interestedly, surprised that the room had fairly normal décor, save for a large sword collection hanging over the dresser. The blonde demon was sitting on a large bed, long bangs covering his left eye. Ryou bowed and set his parcel on the small boy's lap, taking off the cloth to reveal a brand new All-Seeing Mirror. Its gold frame was decorated with more demonic images, but otherwise it appeared exactly like the mirror Jounouchi had broken. Malik's visible eye widened before looking to the angel in confusion.

"The All-Seeing Mirror, a device used by angels to keep watch over the human world. This is how you found Marik again, isn't it? I first saw Bakura through one too…when he was a child. He was…well, maybe I'll tell you some other time. …I asked our smith to make two," Ryou smiled. "I didn't tell him what I was doing with the other one. Consider this a formal apology…I…I had my reasons for doing what I did, and I know you did too. But I still feel really horrible for breaking you two apart. So…friends? Or…are we at least on good terms?"

He extended a white hand towards the demon, who looked at it fearfully.

"Ah, right! The burning thing…um…" Ryou wrapped a part of Seto's blanket around his palm and repeated the gesture.

Malik stared at the fabric-covered limb for a long time before finally extending his own hand and giving Ryou a firm handshake. The angel laughed lightly, amazed at how soft Malik's skin was. He always had the impression that demon skin was rough and flaky…

"You haven't said anything since I've gotten here," Ryou said suddenly. "Is something wrong?"

The blonde withdrew his hand and looked at Ryou head on, his left eye clearly visible under his pale hair. While the other orb remained a warm lilac, the scarred eye had turned a deep shade of red. Coupled with his scar, Malik's scarlet eye gave him a considerably more evil look. The angel drew back in shock before leaning in again, inspecting the oddly colored iris closely.

"You gave away a part of your soul, didn't you? And…your voice went along with it…"

Malik nodded silently.

"Wha…why? What in the world would possess you to…?"

The demon tapped the surface of the new mirror and drew his clawed finger around for a bit, searching for something. Finally, he stopped and turned the mirror over to Ryou. The white haired cherub took the glass and looked into it desperately.

"That's Bakura!"

"What the hell do you think you were doing? You promised me you'd never do it again! What the hell is wrong with you?" The spectral Bakura shrieked at an unseen person, tears pouring from his eyes. "You're…you're such an idiot!"

Marik emerged from the shadows of the darkened room, dried blood still visible on his wrists.

"It didn't work anyway," he said monotonously, plum eyes glazed. "I've been trying for months, and nothing I do seems to succeed."

Bakura cried out before slapping his indifferent roommate. "YOU NEED TO STOP! I CAN'T STAND SEEING YOU LIKE THIS! I WORRY ABOUT YOU EVERY SINGLE FUCKING MINUTE OF EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY! STOP TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF MARIK, PLEASE!"

The angel turned the mirror over, unable to watch any more.

'Who could have informed Malik about what was happening in the human world? Unless…' Ryou's heart skipped a beat. 'Yami must have said something to Malik before he was destroyed!'

"You gave apart of yourself to the shadows so Marik couldn't commit suicide," Ryou said breathlessly. "So no matter what, he won't be able to die by his own hand… But, but what if he tries to get Bakura to do it for him?"

Malik smiled innocently.

"You'll just give away more of yourself…won't you?" The angel whispered.

"How dare you trick my charge into such a one sided deal," Seto growled, azure eyes blazing.

The other figure chuckled darkly, teal hair falling over his oddly colored eyes. "Seto, you know that I never approach my customers…they come to me. I'm just doing whatever the young one tells me too."

"I doubt Malik knew what he was getting himself into," the brunette retorted. "What exactly were the grounds for this exchange?"

"All I received was his voice, nothing more, nothing less."

"Then why is he branded with the red iris?" Seto pressed, circling the man with a threatening air. "I know you…you only leave that mark on demons that will eventually have their entire soul taken away. Malik wouldn't have made this agreement if you'd been telling him the truth."

"But I did tell him the truth," the demon grinned. "Every time that human tries to take his own life, I get another portion of Malik's soul; it's as simple as that. Eh…however…" He put a pale finger to his thin lips. "There was one minor detail that I may have forgotten to tell him…" Upon looking at the brunette's face, his expression became more gleeful. "That human's living on borrowed time; he should've been dead after his first suicide attempt. Malik's soul is the only thing keeping him alive, when that goes, so does he. So in the end…" He laughed. "When that fool finally makes it down here, Malik will already be long gone."

Seto blanched and extended his claws. "I knew it. I want that deal nullified Dartz, you hear me? It was staked on a misunderstanding!"

"If I do that then the human will die," the older man replied, frowning. "And according to the agreement your adorable little child signed…if that human dies because of a contract breach, he will go to neither Heaven nor Hell. Those two lovebirds would be separated forever, and it will be all your fault. Would you be able to live with yourself, knowing that you denied that poor boy happiness? Strike that; would you be able to live with yourself knowing that he hated you with every bone in his body?"

Bead of sweat formed along Seto's hairline, his mind struggling to figure out a way to save Malik and Marik from their foolish decisions. He was trapped on all sides, helpless to do anything but watch as the tragedy wrote itself out; he wasn't used to being so powerless.

"Why…why would Malik agree to such a thing?" Seto breathed, unable to comprehend anything anymore.

Dartz smiled again; blue and gold eyes both shining brilliantly under the flickering torchlights. "Love," he drawled, his tongue seeming to enjoy the flavor of each word he spoke, "has an evil power that can drive even the sanest man to resort to desperate measures."

Malik sat on the roof of Marik's house and watched the setting sun disappear behind tall mountains, bathing the once blue sky in various shades of gold and pink. He knew that it was bad to look directly at the star, however he couldn't help but marvel as the fiery sphere sank out of view, making his surroundings look like something out of an old watercolor painting. Malik sighed and turned to the snoozing eight-year-old on his right, whose blonde spikes fluttered ever so slightly with each passing breath. Biting his lip contemplatively, the younger boy extended a small finger and softly prodded Marik's shoulder, waking the other boy in mid snore.

With a loud snort, the older child woke up, opening hazy plum colored eyes wearily. Malik snickered silently, turning back to the sunset in order to hide his laughter.

"What happened? Why'd you wake me up?" Marik moaned irritably, rubbing his head.

"I just thought you might want to say goodbye to the sun before it left for the day," the seven-year-old said airily. "Plus the sunsets around here are really special. I've never seen so many colors all at once!"

"Yeah, I guess it's kinda cool," Marik shrugged, sitting up. He had seen the sunset countless times from his bedroom, but something about this one felt particularly special. "Why? Haven't you ever seen one before?"

"My room faces the other way," Malik said simply, drawing his knees closer to his chest. "The only things I can see outside my window are the incoming shadows."

"Heh, then I'm glad you were able to see your first sunset with me."

"Why's that?" The small blonde asked curiously, looking at the older boy.

"Well…because we're best friends, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Everything is better when you're doing it with your best friend," Marik reasoned, wondering why his cheeks felt so hot as he said this. "That's just the way the world works, isn't it?"

"Hee, I guess you're right," Malik giggled.

The sun had completely disappeared from view, the sky now filled with swirling clouds of lavender and dark purple. As the last of the light faded away, Marik pointed to a smaller puff and grinned. "That cloud's the same color as your eyes!"

"And that cloud's the same color as yours," Malik laughed, pointing at the larger cloud next to it.

Their eyes met briefly before turning back to the sky, watching the two clouds drifting slowly beside each other. Suddenly, a violent gust of wind separated the two, pushing the smaller one further ahead while the larger floated sluggishly behind it. The breeze blew harder, and soon enough the two clouds were even farther apart. A final sigh of wind caused the lighter colored cloud to disintegrate completely, leaving the darker one alone and lost.

Malik felt a strange sadness welling up inside of him, and he instinctively scooted toward Marik, hoping his friend would be able to alleviate the horrible feeling. Marik was now observing the city, watching how white lights seemed to appear simultaneously in short bursts. Eventually, all of the buildings lying before him glowed with an artificial light, drowning out the spotted stars that were only just beginning to appear. Marik remembered longingly when he and his father would drive out to the province to stargaze, the celestial bodies shining even brighter without any false illumination to compete with their natural brilliance.

"Marik?"

The older boy was jarred out of his thoughts by Malik's soft voice. "Huh?"

"You and I…we're best friends, right?"

Marik nodded slowly, noticing the younger boy's eyes seemed to shine as he spoke. "Yeah…we are."

"And…no matter what, we'll always be best friends, right?"

"Of course Malik… Why're you suddenly so–?"

"D-do you promise?" Malik said almost desperately, clinging to the denim of Marik's jeans.

The older blonde blinked confusedly before a kind smile graced his unblemished face. Throwing a tanned arm over the smaller boy affectionately, Marik responded in a reassuring whisper.

"Promise."

To Be Continued in Wilted Rose...