Title: String of Fate
Author: MiyAsuka
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Kazuki Takahashi does.
Pairing: Bakura/Ryou
Rating: R
Warning: Yaoi (duh!).
Summary: The Ring's gone, and even though Bakura is still there, things can't go back the way they were.
Notes: Sorry about the wait. I've been kinda busy lately (and I started doing cross-stitching) but here it goes: new chapter. There's a lot of flashbacks in this one. Actually, this fic will probably have a lot of flashbacks. As usual, I hope you enjoy. And please, please, try to leave a review?

Chapter 7: Betrayal

"Tell me more about your past self."

"No."

Ryou frowned, displeased by the spirit's straight answer. "But you promised me you would."

"I only said I would tell you about the last few months."

The teen sighed, but he knew better than to press Bakura further. It would only result in the spirit not telling him anything at all and Ryou really needed to know what happened. He needed to fill the blanks.

"Okay." Ryou's voice was shaking slightly, Bakura noticed. He was scared, obviously. Ever since they came to Domino, Ryou had been mostly left in the dark concerning Bakura's actions. And truth to be told, there were parts Bakura didn't remember too well either, like he hadn't been in control all the time.

It was Ryou's first day at the Domino public high school. The white-haired teen surprisingly wasn't as nervous as Bakura thought he would be. The lack of sleep the previous night obviously made his host's mind drowsy, which had been the whole point. This way, the spirit wouldn't have to talk to Ryou too much to appease him. Ryou tended to talk to Bakura aloud and thus was often labeled as strange. And having people from his new school thinking he was a weirdo would only make Ryou uncomfortable, which Bakura didn't want.

Of course, it would have been easier for Bakura to simply take control. Ryou had asked him to, but the spirit hadn't complied, arguing that Ryou shouldn't be relying on him all the time. Besides, Bakura liked watching better than acting. It was much better to watch his host than having him cowering in a corner of their soul room.

Ryou opened the door of the classroom when the teacher called his name. He stepped inside and faced the students. Some girls immediately started giggling and whispering among themselves, which made Bakura chuckle. "Someone's already getting popular," he whispered in Ryou's mind. His host frowned slightly in annoyance which furthered the spirit's amusement.

"Does anyone have questions for our new student?" the teacher asked. Several hands raised in the air, mostly girls'. "Yes Takane-kun?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" A girl sitting in the front row asked. Ryou instantly blushed.

"No, but he has me," Bakura's voice chuckled again in Ryou's mind. Idiot, Ryou thought, exasperated.

"No, I don't…" The white haired teen replied quietly. A few girls gasped.

"You're getting their hopes up," Bakura warned, but he was mostly amused. He knew Ryou had no interest in girls, but it was still fun to watch him struggle in embarrassment.

"Somehow, I knew this question would be coming." The teacher sighed and muttered: "Kids these days… Okay, another question? Hm, yes, Mutou-kun?"

"Do you like games?"

Bakura nearly took over Ryou at that very moment. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't even hear his host answer.

There it was. The thing he had been looking for during thousands of years.

The Millennium Puzzle.

He wanted to walk to the boy and just grab it. But he knew better than to act on impulse.

As Ryou moved to sit, the spirit couldn't look away from the item. The Ring's pendants moved against the teen's skin, attracted. Ryou shivered. Bakura, the teen called inwardly. The spirit never answered.

"So it's really because of Yuugi's Puzzle that you changed so much," Ryou said.

Bakura nodded without looking at his former host.

"I see." Somehow, Ryou felt relieved. He hadn't been responsible of Bakura's changes. "Why were you so very interested in it?"

Why indeed? To open the door of darkness and release the darkness confined beyond? Had it really been his goal from day one?

No.

But revealing the truth was out of question, at least for now.

"The Millennium Items were made… in the village where I was born." Close enough to the whole truth.

"So they were stolen?" Ryou asked.

"I guess you could say that…" The spirit replied quietly. Ryou noticed he sounded sad but didn't press further. Knowing Bakura had a genuine reason for wanting the Puzzle was enough for the moment.

"So, this is why you wanted to retrieve all of them… Why didn't you tell me?"

For days, Bakura had been silent, barely if ever talking to Ryou. "I was… thinking, planning, trying to figure out how much Yuugi could do with the Puzzle…" It had turned into an obsession from the start. If revenge was a dish best served cold, then the one the spirit had been planning was dark and rotten by the centuries.

Something ugly he couldn't possibly have told his host about.

Had Bakura been sheltering Ryou the whole time? Or had he simply stopped caring, too busy focusing on the Millennium Items?

"Yadonushi. Pack your things, we're going on a trip."

Ryou raised his eyes from his homework. He was feeling both relieved by the fact Bakura was paying attention to him again and puzzled by the spirit's unexpected request. "What's up with you so suddenly? A trip to where?"

"Didn't you hear this short classmate of yours? He's leaving tonight."

"Yuugi-kun?" Ryou blinked. "Well, I did hear him talking about a Duel Monsters tournament. But what does this have to do with us?"

"I don't have to tell you," the spirit replied coldly. Ryou cringed.

"Bakura…?"

"We're just going. Stop asking questions."

Ryou bit his lips. He didn't understand Bakura's behavior at all. But if this was what the spirit wanted… The teen stood and opened his closet. Whatever were Bakura's plans, the spirit most likely had a good reason, right?

"Will you eventually tell me what this is all about?" Bakura didn't bother to reply. The teen bit the inside of his cheek. "Why are you interested in Yuugi-kun suddenly?" Ryou asked, half-expecting the spirit to tease him about being jealous.

"Take your cards with you," Bakura said, ignoring both questions. "And hurry up. The sooner we get there, the better."

"Get where?"

"The port."

Ryou stayed awfully silent as he was eating dinner. Obviously, he was taking things harder than it had first seemed. Despite not being in his head anymore, Bakura knew what his former host was thinking. Why didn't you tell me then?

The spirit sighed. "I needed you to go along with my plan. You wouldn't have agreed if I had told you the truth."

"Did you, really? You certainly had no trouble controlling my body and leaving me out afterward."

Ah, a clear reproach. Bakura smiled bitterly. Sure, it would have been easy to simply take possession of his host but for some reason, the spirit had needed Ryou to cooperate. The need for vengeance hadn't been strong enough to make him stop caring completely. But that pathetic explanation most likely wouldn't satisfy his host.

"And that game you played, what was it supposed to mean? What were you planning to do?"

"Bakura! Look."

The spirit moved closer and took a look at the card in Ryou's hand. "Change of Heart?"

"Doesn't it remind you of someone? Or rather, some-two?"

Bakura glanced back from the card to Ryou's face, then back to the card. A demon with an angel wing? Or an angel with a demon wing? Anyway, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure who his host was referring to. But the spirit decided to play dumb. "Not at all."

"Us, silly," Ryou said, pouting cutely. "We're one but are different. We complete each other." The boy gently ran his finger over the dark part of the card. "Don't you think this card is a lot like us?"

Bakura read the card description. Indeed, he was often taking control of his host. "But you're prettier than the card."

Ryou raised his eyes to look at Bakura's half-transparent face. His cheek turned a pale pink and the spirit could feel his host's heart beating faster. "Bakura…" The boy shook his head slowly and lowered his gaze. "You're embarrassing me again."

Bakura chuckled as Ryou carefully placed the card on top of his deck. He wasn't done just yet. "I'm serious though. Do you think I would have chosen an ugly host? Nope, I chose the most beautiful of human beings."

Ryou blushed harder. "Stop that…" He whimpered, hiding his flushed cheeks in his hands. The spirit gently took control of his host's arms and forced him to drop them. He then moved his immaterial face close, kissing Ryou.

"Don't be bashful. You're as beautiful as an angel."

And he is, Bakura thought as he saw the silhouette of the Change of Heart appears before him. When Bakura had turned all the Pharaoh's friends into cards, he had heisted before finally including his host in their little game. Only out of a selfish need of seeing his host as a heavenly being. Beautiful. And his.

Ryou opened his eyes. He felt sad. He wanted to cry. He had seen everything. The whole game. His other half's betrayal. There was only one thing he could do.

The Change of Heart spread his wings. The spirit of Ring watched, fascinated. Ryou's robe moved within his flight, revealing long pale legs. Fly and win this fight for me.

But Ryou had no intention of following the rules of the game. He would cheat, even if it meant betraying Bakura. But it doesn't matter. He already betrayed me. He flew to the Lady of Faith, the only monster on their side of the field. Being a magic card, he only had one chance at this.

"Yuugi-kun, attack me please."

The spirit's eyes widened. What was his host doing?

"I don't care if I'm destroyed. I don't want to be controlled anymore. So attack me!"

Bakura didn't get to react. Just as he was about to try and reason Ryou, a mystic light shone and forced him out of his host's body.

When Ryou opened his eyes, he was surprised to be back in control. He blinked a few times and stared at the game mat. If he was back, it meant Bakura… His pupils dilated in horror. No! With the other player convinced that the spirit was the enemy, Ryou didn't have a chance to stop this.

Bakura!

The spirit scowled. "You betrayed me."

"It wasn't supposed to go like that!" Ryou bit his lower lip. "You weren't supposed to receive the attack. I was. I was only trying to protect my… friends…"

Bakura sighed. He understood Ryou's intentions, of course. But never would he have thought his angel could turn against him. A Change of Heart, indeed.

"It wasn't the only reason…" The spirit raised an eyebrow. His former host's were filled with tears. "You betrayed me first. You lied to me and expected me to…" The boy shuddered. "I thought… I didn't want things to be like this… I didn't want all my life to be nothing but a lie… I'd rather die…"

The depth of the feelings Ryou bore for his other half. How fragile it made him.

"Yadonushi…" the spirit whispered. "Look at me." Ryou raised his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm crying again."

"Nothing would have happened to your friends." A lie. The game had been rigged so Bakura's side was safe. Ryou being in his deck, it had been out of question to put him at risk from the very start. Concerning the Pharaoh's side, however… Bakura had lost, though, so no one would ever learn about the truth. He'd rather lie to his former host than having him getting suicidal.

"Really? So… this was only a set up?" When the spirit nodded, Ryou sighed in relief. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you."

Bakura looked away.

After this event, he had decided to stop involving Ryou directly into his plan.

Had it really been in order to protect him?

Or because he couldn't have allowed any interference?