Yu-Gi-Oh 1. Chapter 1

Just a quick intro to my "chapter" story ... It's a series of prequels to my one-shot _Haunted_. This is basically going to be a series of drabbles/more or less standalone one-shots that fit in with the post-series AU I created in _Haunted_. (And **yes** there is an OC involved.)

I own nothing. The characters are property of their respective owners. I'm not making any money off of this.

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><p><em>I'm risking everything<em>

_And that's alright with me_

The Summer Set "Passenger Seat"

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><p>Ryou hadn't been able to sleep all night. This wasn't exceptionally strange. He was used to staying up late, cultivating the dark circles under his dark brown eyes. He was used to the abuse he – and his darkness – subjected his body to.<p>

What was strange was that he was up because he was thinking about a _girl._

Not just any girl, she was becoming something akin to _his _girl. (At least, she was in his _imagination_.)

The thought rolled through his brain, demolishing the dark thoughts that usually inhabited his mind at these unholy hours of the night.

She had signed off of AIM hours ago – three hours and sixteen minutes, but no one was **counting**. Ryou sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He had been rereading their conversation since she signed out:

**Rei27: **Just keep practicing you're getting a lot better

**Rei27: **Your articles are very interesting, never would have taken that perspective!

**Ryou13:** Oh, well, thank you

**Rei27: **No prob, that's what copy editors are for

**Ryou13:** Right

**Rei27:** & friends

**Ryou13: **You're the best Reiko

**Ryou13: **I mean it

**Rei27:** Haha, you're making me blush again …

**Ryou13:** I doubt it, besides, it's true

**Rei27:** I'm not kidding … you know the effect you have on me :p

**Ryou13:** ?

**Rei27:** Never mind … I should go to bed.

**Ryou13:** Oh, it is getting late, isn't it?

**Rei27:** Yeah, you should come to bed

**Ryou13:** Come to bed? With you …?

**Rei27:** OMG, you should "go to bed"

**Rei27:** Good night Ryou … See you around at school!

_**Rei27**__ has signed off._

The thoughts that ran through his mind now were somewhere between mortification and elation. Had she noticed his attention?

_Obviously._

He ignored the dark whisper and continued to mull over the last few lines of their conversation. She said that he had on "effect" on her – an effect that wasn't fear and revulsion? Was that even possible?

He played with one of the cold spikes of the Millennium Ring pensively. Had her slip up been on purpose? No, she wasn't forward like that.

"My response was **so** stupid."

He announced his conclusion to his empty bedroom, to no object in particular. It was true; he could have said something snappy, something that she would have found enticing. Not answer like a child who thought girls had cooties. Going to bed with Reiko Fujiyama wouldn't be that bad. His mind went on another tangent … how did she wear her beautiful red brown hair to bed?

_You wouldn't know what to do in bed with her._

He ignored that comment, too. Bakura was being awfully pleasant tonight, so it was easy to do. Perhaps the dark spirit was quiet because he had been locking himself away in his soul room, scheming. Ryou wouldn't know for sure until Bakura filled him in on the details.

(Ryou had begun differentiating between himself and the darkness using his first and last name. His mother had always called him Ryou and so he kept that name sacred and to himself. Bakura was his surname, his father's name. Ryou shared some bad memories with his father. He shared some bad memories with the dark spirit. It made sense.)

He sighed and rubbed his eyes one last time, turning off his old desktop computer and moving over to the bed. He pushed some newspapers off of his covers and slid under the covers.

He liked her. There, he thought it. That wasn't so hard after all.

Maybe he _like_, liked her.

His fingers traced the outline of the Ring. It was a big risk. _He_ could hurt her.

He closed his brown eyes and he could picture _her_ deep brown eyes glowing with laughter.

It might be a risk he'd have to take; in the darkness of his room, he couldn't help but disregard the consequences.

The time for fretting was over. Now he had to get some sleep.

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><p>Thank you for reading ... Please review?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Italicized parenthesis are Dark Bakura speaking. Oh, and this takes place quite the while after the first chapter.

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><p><em>And I want so bad to kiss you<em>

_Don't tell me this is wrong_

The Veronicas "Everything"

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><p>Reiko messed with the radio stations, trying to find something that she and Ryou could agree on.<p>

The ride to her house wasn't that long, but she was looking for a distraction. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach growing every time she stole a glance at her … boyfriend. The title still felt so _new._

She had a feeling that he might be "the one" for a long time, but she never expected for her crush to come to fruition. They had flirted back and forth for the better half of their junior year of high school … well, flirted when he actually showed up to school …

His continual absence was one of the reasons that she doubted that they would ever be anything more than casual crushes. He could have easily turned into someone that she thought back on years from now. But she didn't like to think about that.

"Rei, are you sure your parents won't mind us being home alone together?"

_(Oh, you won't be alone, dear boy.)_

Reiko stopped harassing the radio and turned to Ryou. They were at a stoplight and he was looking over at her while undoing the buttons on the top half of his blue school uniform. She was momentarily distracted by the exposure of his pale neck, but recovered and responded promptly, "Oh, no they don't mind. My dad works late on Tuesdays because he has to write out the employee reviews until they hire someone permanently to oversee them, and my mom is glad that I don't have to be alone for three hours for at least one day a week."

She turned her brown gaze back to the radio as he stepped on the gas and turned onto her street. She missed him wince when she said _three hours_.

_(Don't tell me you're already thinking of how to back out of this. You've been "dating" for a week now and this is the __**first**__ time you'll be "alone" together. You're such a coward.)_

"Well then, I'm glad that I'm free this afternoon," he murmured, a distracted smile settling on his lips as the words of the Dark Spirit cut into his concerned thoughts.

He didn't want to be out of it. He was just praying that he could keep _him_ in check for three hours, although it helped to know that her mother would be home in three hours. There would be someone expecting her to be home. _He_ could respect Ryou for three tiny hours, couldn't he?

_(Hold your breath, I dare you.)_

"You're so strange, Ryou. But I like it," she winked at him as she climbed out of his dark blue, four door sedan. "Come on inside."

With a dazzling smile, she walked up to her door, producing a key from her backpack, and inserting it into the lock. "We can do homework in my room," she said as she took her shoes off. Ryou politely following her example.

"Oh, shouldn't we stay out here?" He gestured to the kitchen table, shrugging and trying to be indifferent. She blinked at him, but shrugged. "Yeah, we can work out here. Let me just go change out of my uniform. Help yourself to something to drink," she said, smiling as she reached up into a cabinet.

She had to get onto her tippy toes to reach the shelf and her short navy blue skirt rode up her backside, giving Ryou a nice glimpse of her bottom and the black panties that covered it. Before he could remind himself to look away politely, she had turned around and offered him the glass that she had just plucked off the shelf.

"Be back in just a second," she said as he took the glass, his face hot with embarrassment at his crudeness. Raised in polite society or not, he was still a _man_.

_(Look who just discovered his genitalia. Let's go see if she locks the door when she changes …)_

The blush faded off of Ryou's cheeks as he registered Bakura's lewd fantasies. So _this_ was why he was being semi-compliant about Ryou making personal plans that did not involve lurking in alleyways with deranged psychos or things of the sort.

And while Ryou vaguely agreed that he had little to no idea what to do with her in _bed_, he had a few general ideas about where to start.

Ryou took a deep breath and walked toward the refrigerator, ignoring the snickering in his head. Picking the right beverage was definitely something PG to think about as he awaited his _girlfriend's _return. The word floated off of his mental tongue.

He remembered the precise moment that he knew his feelings for her were more than gratitude and admiration. He also remembered how difficult it had been to get to this point. He was constantly waking up in different places; his least favorite (and most frequent) location seemed to be Domino General Hospital. His fingers absently rubbed his left arm, the scar underneath burning as though the injury were still healing.

He had been terrified to ask Reiko to be his anything. He barely felt safe enough going out with her in groups. Malls were full of people. Movie theaters and arcades were dim. It would be too easy for her to disappear if _he_ decided to make an appearance.

Just as Ryou was spiraling down a dark path, Reiko appeared from down the hall. She was barefoot now, having shed her socks and her feet made tiny slapping sounds as she crossed the tiled kitchen floor to him. "Cranberry juice, that's my favorite," she commented as she picked up the cup off of the kitchen counter and took a long sip.

The fact that they were sharing the same cup so casually gave him the chills. Or maybe it was Bakura and the fact that he was mentally assembling an itinerary for the next three hours. "Are you cold, Ryou?" He glanced down at her and smiled, "Oh, no, no I'm quite alright."

She didn't question him any further and took his hand to lead him to the kitchen table. The next hour and a half were spent in agreeable quiet. Rei was correcting articles for the school paper – now that it was their senior year, her responsibilities had been upped and there were articles littering her side of the table. Ryou had finished his literature homework and was currently trying to focus on his math problems, but he kept stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye.

She had a red pen between her lips and the fingers of her left hand were making a beautiful mess of her hair, her right hand hung loosely at her side.

He wanted to reach out and hold her hand. It was such a simple little task. There it was, dangling within reach; her fingers twitching as though to encourage him. A simple extension of the elbow and his skin could meet hers.

_(What is a touch going to do? You're such a little bitch. I doubt she'll catch your crazy with a simple touch.)_

In all of his introspection, he missed her movement. Suddenly, wonderfully, he felt her warm hand pressed into his own. His gaze met hers and instead of the fear that he had anticipated, he was inundated with a tremendous feeling of being wanted – actually, legitimately _wanted_.

He was certain Bakura was berating him, but all he heard was a quiet, mildly disturbing buzzing somewhere in the back of his mind. Reiko was blushing lightly, and Ryou quickly realized that it was probably because he was staring at her like she had two heads.

"Are you ready for a break? I'm all done correcting these papers," she smiled at him, her free hand slowly placing each paper into a neat stack inside her binder.

As the minutes began to flow more quickly, thanks, in part, to the fact that he and Reiko were now sitting in the living room watching some American program about pregnant teenagers on MTV that he realized how much he really did like spending time with her. Bakura had been exceptionally silent after they had picked up all of their school supplies and headed over to the family den. Had Ryou been paying attention, as he usually did, he would have felt a very necessary sense of foreboding.

While the credits were rolling on the TV screen, Reiko turned to look at Ryou and comment on _something_ (if ever asked what that was, she would not be able to recall) while at the same instant Ryou turned to ask her something (again, something that, if asked to recall it, he would never be able to tell). The result was a very, very light brush of soft pink lips against pale peachy ones.

Rei stayed there, shocked, but pleased with the current position of her lips. Ryou, on the other hand, would have had transformed into a volcano of worry and embarrassment had Bakura not chosen that moment to freeze his body with the threat of taking over and abusing of the current position.

Bakura was very surprised that his Light had been able to hold him back from taking over. Every ounce of Ryou's willpower was being used at that moment to contain Bakura in his Spirit Room. Bakura was about to give one final push, and Reiko was about to pull away (completely humiliated by Ryou's lack of response) when suddenly Ryou leapt off of the couch and hurried off down the hall to the restroom that he had used earlier in the afternoon, all the while telling himself how _stupid_ he was for losing his self control for that instant.

Reiko's fingers found their way to her lips, and despite her slight humiliation, she was slightly amused at his reaction. Her body trembled all over, as if sensing a greater power within the area, but Rei wrote if off as the simple, wonderful, glorious discovery of being absolutely and completely in love with Ryou Bakura.

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><p>Later that night, while lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, Ryou rubbed his forehead (which had been repeatedly slammed against the steering wheel of his car) and thought about the experience.<p>

Reiko had smiled at him when he finally worked up the courage to exit the bathroom, and he had balked slightly. She was about to say something when the door had opened in the foyer and her mother had called in greeting. Rei had blushed and winked at Ryou before announcing to her mother where in the house we were.

He remembered how Reiko had held his hand while she introduced him to her mother and how her mother had smiled and thanked him for keeping her daughter company.

When she had walked him out to the car a few minutes later, Reiko seemed to be walking on air, Bakura was unabashedly checking out her rear end, and he had been trying to deal with the fact that he could feel himself falling for her.

Scratch that. He _had _been falling for her. It had been a year since he had first noticed her at all; he had met her several times but had never taken the time to appreciate what she had to offer.

Staring into the darkness Ryou sighed at the realization that while it had taken him years to notice her, a year realize that he was interested in her as more than a friend and copy-editor, months to work up the courage to date her, it had only taken a few chance moments on an overcast Tuesday afternoon to fall in love with her.

His mind knew it was _wrong_. Wrong, _wrong, _**wrong****_. _**But his heart would be damned if he lost out on his chance with her because he was afraid.

He had already lost so much – too much – because he was afraid.

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><p>Thank you for reading ... Please review?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

_Now would you_

_Love me, if I was crazy_

_Girl, I'm going crazy for you_

_I'm crazy for you_

The Summer Set "Young"

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><p>Ryou Bakura woke up suddenly. The way one usually wakes up from one of those annoying, unavoidable falling dreams – the kind that make your whole body shake and your heart pump. His brown eyes were big as he registered his surroundings. He was in his car.<p>

By far, not the strangest place he had ever woken up.

He calmed himself and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was sunny. What time was it? He looked down at his cell phone and noticed he had a text message and that it was seven in the morning on a _Thursday_.

What the _fuck_?

He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at the street that he was parked on, trying to get his bearings in order to gauge if he was going to be late to school or not. He rather hoped not. Bakura's outings were getting more and more intrusive, effectively stealing time he could be spending with Reiko.

The nearest street sign read _Fujiko Ave._ He was not too far from school, about a fifteen minute drive. He did not need to be in homeroom until 7:45, so he had a nice amount of time to get to school and brush his teeth. (He kept a bag of toiletries in his car and his schoolwork in his car. Just for occasions like the one he currently found himself in.)

He stretched as much as his confined car would allow and decided to read his text message.

_Ryou, that was … well, it was my first time doing that._

_I hope it was okay for you._

_Thanks again for coming over tonight while my parents were out._

_I love you._

_Ps. And for the record, I was impressed ;)_

Whoa. Whoa. What?

He remembered being at her house because he had dropped her off yesterday. She was grounded, but her parents were at home and had allowed him to work on some articles for their journalism class together. He had left promptly at six thirty.

He had left because Reiko's parents were going out and Reiko was grounded …

Fuck.

Shit. Fuck.

Bakura had come back … they'd done something _sexual. _Ryou felt a wave of bile cresting in his throat. He was wrong, he _had_ to be wrong.

His hands were trembling as he ran them through his hair. He tried to focus on taking deep breaths and getting rid of the blush that was on his face. Once he had gathered his wits about him he searched for the car key. Finding it already in the ignition, he hurriedly turned the car on and drove off.

He was absolutely furious, but he couldn't afford to miss class. He also realized that not showing up to school on the day after "he" had done _something_ with Reiko would probably make her feel horribly used. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't control the demon inside of him.

As he pulled into the school parking lot and took the key out of the ignition, he couldn't help but think about the final line of Rei's text … she was **impressed**.

He mulled over what he assumed had occurred between Bakura and his Reiko while swishing some mouthwash. He spit the minty liquid out disdainfully as he realized that something had to be done about Bakura. He couldn't allow him to continue abusing Reiko or those around him. He wanted, above all else, for Rei to be safe from the evil spirit-man's clutches.

So with a final thought, and a faint blush coloring his otherwise pale pallor, he strode into the school to find his girlfriend.

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><p>Review ... Please?<p>

Ps. Thank you to **DarkShadowRose1** and a _HUGE_ thanks to **Crafty Lion **for reviewing all of my stories and being exceptionally great :)


	4. Chapter 4

_We could all go down to Malibu and make some noise_

_Coca Cola doesn't do the justice she enjoys_

_We could all come up with something new to be destroyed_

_We could all go down_

_I love the feeling when it falls apart_

_I'm slow to finish but quick to start_

_And beneath the heather lies the meadowlark_

_And I'm_

_(Slow to finish but I'm quick to start)_

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Desecration Smile

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><p>"Ryou, are you okay?" He looked up at Reiko with a forced smile. He must have thought he was doing a good job because he seemed shocked when she frowned at him. Her eyes betrayed her sadness and concern was etched into every feature of her face.<p>

"I'm fine Rei, really love." He continued to shuffle his papers, adding random punctuation marks at even more random intervals. She narrowed her brown eyes at him, brushing her bangs out of her face. "Ryou Bakura, don't you lie to me. I can tell something is wrong with you."

He sighed, but didn't look up to meet her gaze and her heart clenched in her chest. Had she done something wrong? What could it have possibly been? She racked her brain for an answer while glancing at the standard issue school clock that hung above the whiteboard. There were still eighteen minutes before school ended and then she would be able to talk to Ryou.

She went through and listed the strange changes in him over the past three weeks. For starters, the day after their first sexual encounter, he had seemed flustered and overall one thousand times less confident than he had the night before. He was all blushes and fumbling hands when she had kissed him goodbye in his car that afternoon.

Then there was the case of him avoiding her after school, even after she had been ungrounded. He didn't want to come over and correct papers unless her parents were home. He didn't want to go out to the park or to the movies unless his or her friends were coming. He was basically avoiding any alone time that they could have had; any alone time that they could have used to … well, to relive their hormone-induced adventures of the night three weeks ago.

And then there were times when he looked at her and she could have sworn that it was another man's eyes in her beloved boyfriend's face. But that was just crazy talk.

She gave a frustrated sigh as she corrected the seventh spelling error on the article she was working on. Didn't anyone know how to use spell-check? Or know the difference between "weather" and "whether"?

Her gaze shifted over to Ryou again. He was still shuffling through the papers. Not actually writing or annotating or correcting, or anything that he was supposed to be doing in their sixth period journalism class. His face looked paler than usual, or maybe it was the fact that the circles under his eyes were looking darker and darker by the day. It looked like he hadn't slept in a long time.

That's when Reiko lost it and the insecurities started scraping at the back of her mind. What if Ryou really hadn't liked how she had … performed orally? She had tried her best; it was her first time doing anything of that nature with anyone. He hadn't seemed offended during the act (or after). Maybe he thought it was all a mistake. Maybe he was going to break up with her? Oh God, her first boyfriend and she was going to lose him in a matter of a few months. It was all enough to make her cry.

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><p>The car ride had been silent and straining, just like every car ride had been for the past three weeks. Ryou stared straight ahead at the road and did not reach over to hold her hand like he had done for what seemed like the entirety of their relationship. God, he was going to end it. She could feel it.<p>

"Rei." Her name floated in the air and she jumped in her seat when he whispered it at the last street light before her neighborhood. Oh no, it's coming.

"Yeah, Ryou?"

"I had something I wanted to ask you," he said, stealing his first sideways glance at her in an eternity. She smiled, trying to encourage him to say whatever it was he wanted to say. No matter how much it would change her life.

He pulled up to the curb in front of her house and reached out to grab her hand after putting the car in park. "I know that I've been really out of it lately," he began. She nodded and leaned towards him, listening intently.

"Well, it's really not fair to you or to our relationship. I want you to know that I've not been doing this on purpose. I just have a lot of things on my mind lately." He was making direct eye contact with her and she could not look away. He saw the anxiety and the tightness of her eyes. He was making her unhappy; he could have killed himself.

"Look, I guess what I'm trying to say is …"

His words died on his lips when he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. When he went to speak again, one imperfect drop squiggled down her face and got caught at the bottom of her chin. Her lip was trembling and her eyes were turning red.

"I know, you don't want to be with me anymore."

"What? Reiko, no – that's not true at all love – " he stopped again to wipe away a tear from her cheek, noting for a moment that she was not a pretty crier and deciding in the same moment that it made her all the more beautiful that she wasn't.

She looked up at him, her eyes swimming in saline tears. Her pouted lips parted in confusion, "Then what do you mean?" Ryou leaned toward her in the passenger's seat, closing the large gap between them and planting a kiss on her lips.

It was the first kiss that he had given her so whole-heartedly in a long time.

"I just wanted to say that this should all be over in a few weeks," he searched her eyes. "I've got a few projects for other classes that I've been working on and I've still got some college applications to finish."

He gripped her hands tighter when he felt her grip waning. "I know that I've been neglecting you, but I wanted to thank you for being so supportive and being so concerned for me. And I wanted to ask you if you would go to Winter Formal with me?"

She was gaping at him now, her eyes less teary and her mouth was slowly turning into a smile, "Winter Formal?"

He cracked a sincere smile for the first time in weeks. "Yeah, you know. The dance that is hosted at the end of fall semester - you know, it's one of those things with dancing and dressing up."

She laughed at his sarcasm and the sound was like music to his ears. She hadn't laughed with him in days. "Yes, Ryou, I would love to go to Winter Formal with you!"

He reached across the center console of his car to embrace her tightly. He felt her relieved sigh on his neck as she melted into his arms. He felt so right in this moment; this was exactly the kind of thing that he wanted in his life now. He wanted to be done with worrying, done with causing harm to the people who cared for him. To the one girl who cared for him. The only one who seemed to care for him now anyway.

That was why he had agreed to Bakura's plan and in a couple weeks everything would be set into motion. He would sacrifice a few days of school. He had worked ahead and finished all of his final projects. He would go with Bakura to Egypt so that this would all be over. He would make sure that everything ended and he would come back home and enjoy his time with his girlfriend and he would have his life back.

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><p>"Oh, Ryou," Rei couldn't help moaning at his kisses and caresses. It had been so long since he had held her this way. It had been a week since Ryou had asked her to Winter Formal and she was so happy that everything had returned to normal between them. For the most part.<p>

Ryou tried to be around more, and while the circles under his eyes seemed to be increasing in darkness and his skin seemed to be growing paler, he was overall a lot more cheerful than he had been in a long while. And Rei was taking full advantage of the fact.

The couple was laying in Reiko's bed tangled up in one another. Her shirt was hanging precariously on the edge of the bed and his hand was sneaking its way up under her bra. Rei's fingers had finished unbuttoning her boyfriend's school shirt and now her hand was caressing his exposed abdomen, her other hand reaching around Ryou's neck to bring him closer.

Ryou was trying to retain some self control; he didn't want to make Rei uncomfortable. He pulled her closer to him, removing his hand from her breast and forcing himself into just holding her. She pressed herself against him and noticed the bulge in his pants. Her eyes glowed as she reached down farther than his stomach. At the same moment Ryou pulled her into a kiss and rolled back on top of her.

She shot him a questioning glance, "Ryou?" He kissed her nose and shook his head, nestling himself closer to her and catching his breath. She tightened her arms around him, "I love you-ow!" Ryou faltered, the pain on her face making him scramble to get up.

There was blood on her stomach. There was blood on two of the points of the Millennium Ring. He gripped the rope chord that kept the ring around his neck as Rei's fingers prodded at the small, shallow cuts. "I'm so sorry Rei, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah let me just go clean this up. I'll be right back." She pulled her shirt on and walked out of her bedroom. Out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn she saw the necklace around Ryou's neck glow.

When she returned to her room with fresh bandages on her stomach, Ryou was fully dressed and had all of his school supplies in his backpack. "Oh, are you leaving already?" She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice, but he just nodded and stood up.

"I have some things I have to do," his voice was gruff and Rei simply followed him to the front door where he pulled his shoes on quickly. "Well, we're still going to the movies this weekend, right?"

He narrowed his gaze at her, but then it went away and he muttered, "Sure Reiko." He opened the door and she reached out for his hand, "I'll see you Saturday then?"

He nodded and leaned down to press his lips to hers. They were cold. But she smiled anyway and waved to him as he pulled out of the driveway. She shrugged off his strange behavior and went to call her friends. They were doing some group shopping for Winter Formal tomorrow and she wanted to solidify the plans.

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><p>There you have it. Thanks for reading … please review? And super-special thanks to Crafty Lion for her reviews and support!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

_Say my name and his in the same breath_

_I dare you to say they taste the same_

_Let the leaves fall off in the summer_

_And let December glow feel flames_

Fall Out Boy – I Don't Care

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><p>He was absolutely furious. Nothing had worked out the way he had planned. He had spent so much time, so much money, and so much effort. How could he have failed so horribly? He had been so focused. He had convinced Ryou.<p>

He slammed his fist down onto the table and his eyes landed on a picture of Reiko that was lying beside the corsage that his light had purchased this morning. This morning; instead of going to meet the pilot like he was supposed to. All the groundwork he had laid was ruined. It would take forever to get everything set up again.

He picked up the picture and glared at it. The girl was beautiful, he wouldn't deny it. In fact, he constantly teased Ryou about it and the fact that one day she would realize that she could find someone much better than him. Perhaps it was the teasing that had made him rebel this way.

Or maybe it was the fact that his light _really_ wanted to impress this girl. He wanted her to like him so badly – to love him so badly – that he had crossed Bakura and ruined everything.

As he paced the floor of his light's bedroom, he clenched his fists and accidentally crushed the picture that he was still holding. He smirked as a sinister idea sparked in his mind.

What would his light have to care about if the girl was gone? If she didn't love him anymore, then he would be free to use his light's body without having to deal with his annoying resistance.

He had a few phone calls to make, but he was almost certain that this new plan would work out just wonderfully.

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><p><strong>Your reviews are greatly appreciated :) I love writing the stories, and your comment help make them even better (at least, I think they're good ^^)<strong>

**Special thanks to those who have reviewed before & all of you who have added me to your alerts/favorites!**

**Thanks to: ****_CraftyLion, DarkShadowRose1, and Cadens Stella_****. You guys rock my socks!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Where is your boy tonight?_

_I hope he is a gentleman_

_And maybe he won't find out what I know_

_You were the last good thing about this part of town_

Fall Out Boy – Grand Theft Autumn

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><p>Reiko was lying in a very uncomfortable bed. That was the first thought that entered her mind. It resonated in her empty mind before she could move past it, set it aside and move on to figuring out <em>why<em> her bed was so uncomfortable. She felt her bangs in her face and wanted to brush them away, to find some sort of comfortable feeling in this moment, but her hopes were dashed when she felt her arms restrained, both of them by some sort of plastic strap.

She felt her chest tighten with panic, suddenly noticing the darkness of the room and an infernal beeping. The beeping was getting faster. She slowly realized that the beeping matched the thumping in her dress. The room smelled sterile – hospital-like. She tried to open her eyes and struggled to part them. It felt like she was bench pressing an elephant with her eye lids.

"Oh God, she's waking up. Oh thank God, Reiko!" She recognized the voice as her mother's and tried to piece together why exactly she was at a hospital and why exactly her mother's voice sounded so relieved and scared at the same time. Her vision was blurry, but her mind was running on adrenaline and she slowly realized that she was probably under some pretty heavy medication.

Her mother was standing over her, her father was by her side and they both had relieved looks on their faces, but there was something else, too; something akin to concern, anger. "What happened?"

Her voice was nothing more than a croaked whisper and she winced as she felt a dull pain spreading from the base of her spine and crawling up her ribs. Her mother's brow furrowed as her father spoke up, "Well, that's exactly what we want to know. What happened tonight, Reiko?"

She closed her eyes as she tried to remember what tonight was, what her father expected in reply. She had a faint memory of arriving at the dance. Ryou hadn't been there. Something along those lines – she was with her friends and their dates; they had said something about Ryou running late.

"I, I remember being with my friends – " she cut herself off, not really remembering much after that. Her mother's eyes were filled with tears as she brushed Reiko's bangs from her eyes. Her mom's gentle touch hurt and she couldn't keep from wincing. Her mother frowned deeply and took a step back; Reiko could hear her blowing her nose and trying to muffle her sobs in the background.

Her father leaned in closer. "Reiko, honey," he paused and swallowed hard. "You were in a really bad car accident." She must have given her father an incredulous look because he twisted his lips before deciding to continue. "It turns out that your limo driver was highly intoxicated and it was raining out." A look of anger crossed his face and for a long moment, Reiko thought that he wouldn't continue.

"You hit your head really hard, and your left ankle is broken in two places – probably because of your heels – your arms are pretty scratched up from the glass." He wiped a tear away and tried to smile down at her. Her mother had appeared next to him once again. "We were so afraid that you weren't going to wake up – all of your friends, all of their injuries were minor compared to yours. You were the only one that lost consciousness, Rei."

It took her a moment to realize that there were tears streaming down her face and she tried to move her arms, once again realizing, to her dismay, that they were strapped down. She looked up at her mother, who was now standing over her alone. "They strapped your arms down a couple of hours before you woke up because you started to scratch at your cuts. Your dad went to get the doctor. I'm sure they'll take them off soon baby."

Her mother smiled gently down at her, patting her cheeks dry with the slightly scratchy hospital tissue. "Your friends all got sent home. They wanted to wait but their parents were so shaken up. I told them that you'd understand."

Reiko nodded, trying to save her voice. She opened her mouth to ask about where Ryou was when her mom, reading her mind, smiled and whispered, "He's been sitting in the waiting room this whole time. They would only let me and your dad in because we're family."

Reiko smiled weakly as her father walked in with the doctor.

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><p>After a relatively short examination, the doctor told her that he would keep her over night and release her in the afternoon. He just wanted to make sure that there were no problems with her head injury, which Reiko completely understood. Right as the doctor was about to leave she asked him to send Ryou in; that she needed to see him. The doctor reluctantly told her that visiting hours were technically over, but there must have been something in her eyes that convinced him.<p>

A heartbeat later, Ryou was flying into the room, tears in his eyes as he came to a stop next to her hospital bed. "Oh Reiko, Rei – I'm so, so sorry." He reached for her hand and locked eyes with her as he continued his emotion-induced rant, "Fuck, if I had just done what he said – I just didn't want to break my promise to you – I should have been there with you, if I had been – "

She squeezed his hand gently and he stopped talking to actually look at her. He looked green. His hands were trembling and his cheeks were tinged pink in anger. "Ryou, baby, what are you talking about?"

He frowned down at her. "I know that you might not understand, I know that this is going to sound crazy, but – oh Reiko, there's another person – another spirit – who takes over me." He stopped to clutch his chest and Reiko could see a dim light coming through his clothing. At any other moment she might have flipped out, but the nurse that had come in with the doctor had given her another dose of morphine and she was feeling it coming on.

"I think I know what you're talking about," she whispered, her voice getting quieter, her eyes getting heavier. Ryou squeezed her hand before continuing, "Look, there's something I have to take care of. I'm going to have to go away for a while – I'll try to be as quick as I can. I just can't stay here, I can't let him keep hurting people I love. I – "

Ryou stopped talking when he noticed that Reiko was fast asleep. He frowned and clutched at his chest. He could hear Bakura in his mind; he could hear the laughter and the feeling of accomplishment. It was smothering him.

He leaned down and kissed Reiko's lips for what could be the last time in his life and whispered his love into her ear before setting her hand down and walking out of the hospital room. Out of the hospital and toward the small airport in the next city just outside of Domino. He had a plane to catch.

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><p><strong>I wanted to give you a chapter to accompany the short one before this one because that was more of a drabble from Y. Bakura. I hope that you guys are excited - we're getting some action from our beloved characters and some more damage has been done to Ryou &amp; Reiko's relationship. Unfortunately, we know how it ends because of Haunted, but don't worry lovers, I have many plot twists up my sleeve for before we get there ;)<strong>

**And maybe for after, too!**

**Your reviews are greatly appreciated :) I love writing the stories, and your comment help make them even better (at least, I think they're good ^^)**

**Special thanks to those who have reviewed before & all of you who have added me to your alerts/favorites!**

**Thanks to: ****_CraftyLion, DarkShadowRose1, and Cadens Stella_****. You guys rock my socks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is dedicated to ****_CraftyLion_**** and ****_Cadens Stella_****. Thanks for your continued support!**

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><p><em>Look at me can't you see<em>

_All I really wanna be_

_Is free from a world_

_That hurts me_

_I need relief_

_Do you want me girl_

_To be your thief_

_Aw baby just for you_

_I'd steal anything you want me to_

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Suck My Kiss

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><p>Ryou Bakura had boarded the international flight with minutes to spare. He had his bags waiting for him in the car. They were the very bags that Bakura had packed for himself the day before – well two days ago now. He felt his stomach clench again as he thought about what had transpired between now and then.<p>

He wanted nothing more than to stay with Reiko, but it was exceedingly obvious that his presence in her life was more of a threat than a comfort. He felt tears sting in the backs of his eyes and he felt the burn of bile in his throat. He squeezed his hands into fists and bit his lip to hold himself together.

He was shattering.

The plane was beginning to taxi onto the runway and he couldn't wait until they were in the air. He felt like he was going to be sick all over himself if he wasn't able to get to the lavatory soon.

In between the practical thoughts were the toxic ones. Reiko was lying in a hospital bed because of him. Many people had ended up in hospital beds because of him. Many more had ended up in graves.

The thought alone had him retching, and the poor soul next to him leaned away. He took a deep breath through his nose and heard the captain announce that they were commencing take off. He fought off the wave of nausea, trying to persuade himself that there was nothing left in his stomach to vomit.

He'd been sick four times since eight o'clock the night before when he'd found out about the car accident. Once when he found out; once when he arrived at the hospital and found out she was unconscious and that she had broken bones; once on his way out of the hospital because he was deeply wounded by the thought that he might never see her again if things went bad in Egypt; and one final time before boarding the plane because, for all his life, plane flights had never taken him anywhere he really wanted to be.

Once he might have begged Bakura to take over, to heal him with his dark magic and heavy resolve, but now he faced the torture. He welcomed it as a penance for the sins that he had committed. His fingers trembled to remove the seatbelt once the sign turned on. He quickly headed towards the restroom and locked himself into the tiny room.

He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. He looked gaunt and the millennium ring was very prominent underneath his t-shirt. He felt a chill run through him as the word _destiny_ floated through his mind. He knew that Yugi would be on his way soon.

He knew that it was Bakura's plan that he would be followed by the group. The final showdown was coming, but all Ryou could do was lean over and vomit into the toilet, doing his best not to be sick on his shirt.

There was nothing left in him, nothing but bile and stomach acid. His throat burned and sent a new wave of nausea through him.

He flushed it away and rinsed his mouth; he made eye contact with himself in the mirror and saw Bakura looking back at him. It sent a chill through him, but he pushed the feeling away, finally deciding that he was well enough to go back to his seat.

He had planned on taking a sleeping pill on the plane, but instead, he sat there looking blankly into his lap. He hadn't really told Reiko what he was doing. Well, he'd _told_ her he was going away, but she had been pretty drugged up.

He couldn't believe that he had missed the dance. He couldn't believe that he'd been so weak as to allow harm to come to her. It hurt him even more to know that it was his own body that had been involved in the elaborate scheme to kill Reiko.

As he sat in the small seat, he found himself thanking every higher power he was aware of that she had survived.

_You're forgetting one higher power in particular_.

Ryou ignored the sound of Bakura's voice. He willed it away. He needed these moments; he needed to scrape up the last bits of his sanity.

He had hours of travel left, but he was steeling himself for his arrival at his father's hotel suite in Egypt. He hadn't seen the man in years. He knew that there wouldn't be much expected of him once he got there, and that was why Bakura had not had any qualms about simply staying with the his father.

All he wanted was his freedom. All he wanted was to be rid of the darkness. He wanted to be _normal_. The word didn't sound right when it was directed at himself. He wasn't normal; Reiko was normal. She was pretty and sweet and loved by her family.

He loved her too.

And so he had booked the flight and he would brave the destiny that had been laid out before him. He would not be at fault for injuring anyone else ever again. He'd rid himself – and the world – of Bakura if it was the last thing he ever did.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading everyone. Reviews are very much appreciated :)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

_I just can't close the door on this love_

_I never felt anything like this before, like this love_

_Tell me the truth no matter what we're going through_

_Will you hold on too 'cause_

_Even if I leave you now_

_And it breaks my heart_

_Even if I'm not around_

_I won't give in, I can't give up_

_On this love_

The Veronicas – This Love

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><p>Reiko was sitting in the living room staring out of the window. It was winter break and Christmas and New Year's had come and gone. She had her foot propped up on the arm of the couch she was perched on. She still had a big band-aid on her forehead.<p>

The doctor said it would scar.

She frowned as she absently ran her hands up and down her arms. Her long-sleeved sweater covered the many little lines that healed into miniature scars. They weren't very long, but she felt like they were obvious to people, even though her family had reassured her that they were hardly noticeable.

She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. She hadn't heard from Ryou in days. She didn't know where he was or what he was doing.

He had mentioned something about going away. He had something to take care of. He had been cryptic for a while, but then things had gotten so much better.

She didn't know what to make of his disappearance. Her friends seemed to think that he had run away from it; that he was distraught or something. Reiko didn't really listen to them though. They liked to gossip. They liked to tell her that he had always been weird and that they had heard that he had a record of going from school to school. He was probably just running away.

Something inside of her didn't accept that. There was nothing wrong with Ryou. He was a wonderful young man. He was handsome and sweet and he cared about her. That much she knew.

She hugged herself tighter as she felt something stirring inside of her. She wouldn't allow herself to acknowledge the fear that she felt. What if he didn't come back? What if he was in danger?

He had said something about another spirit – someone that controlled him. A chill settled on her and she felt tears burn in her eyes. He was in trouble. He was in trouble and he was facing whatever it was alone. She looked down at her cell phone out of habit.

There were no messages waiting for her. Her friends were all on vacation with their families. Her parents had gone ahead to a birthday party at her aunt's house. She was all alone and watching the snow come down in little flurries onto the front lawn.

Except Reiko didn't see the snow; she saw the white hair of her boyfriend as it tickled her face as he hovered over her. She imagined the feel of his breath in her ear. She could almost hear him; hear the wonderful, subtle emotion in his voice when he told her he loved her. His kiss-swollen lips warm as they brushed against her ear.

Yes. He loved her. He loved her and he was coming back. He had to come back.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading :) Reviews of all kinds are welcome!<strong>

**Shout out to my regulars, you know who you are ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

_Since you been gone_

_My life has moved along_

_Quite nicely actually_

_I've got a lot more friends_

_And I don't have to pretend_

_Since you're gone_

_Since you're gone_

The Pretty Reckless – Since You're Gone

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><p>Ryou was again seated on a plane. His things were safely stowed away. It had been a little more than a full twenty-four hours since he had been rid of him. Since Bakura was gone. <em>Gone<em>.

He relished the silence. He was **free**.

The words were so beautiful to him. He could hear his own thoughts clearly. He didn't have to actively protect his friends' secrets. He didn't have to be a stranger in his own body.

He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled brightly at the person seated next to him. All his dreams lay before him; the start of a new chapter in his life was just a plane ride away. He couldn't wait to see Reiko. He hadn't been able to talk to her at all the two and half weeks that he had been away and when he had spare moments, he worried over her health.

He was so ready to give himself to her. He was so ready to go off to college and have dreams. To have his dreams _come true_. He yawned and he stretched in the tiny space he had and asked for a pillow. Much to his delight, he fell asleep promptly and without the need of medication. For the first time in a long time he, didn't dream. He didn't need to. Everything he wanted had already come true.

**It was beautiful.**

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><p><strong>Special thanks to <strong>**_CraftyLion _****and lots of love to you readers in general.**

**Now this is where the story starts to reflect the title. The next few chapters (the story is ending at 20) are going to be jagged little memories; they're going to be fragments. So I apologize in advance for their brevity, but this is how the story needs to play out.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Tell me where our time went_

_And if it was time well spent_

_Just don't let me fall asleep_

_Feeling empty again_

Paramore – Pressure

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><p>Reiko grumbled when she heard the doorbell ring. Her parents had just left for the grocery store and she was sitting in her room reading a book for a winter assignment. She carefully pushed herself over to the end of her bed and reached for her cane – it was easier to use inside the house than crutches – and she hobbled her way down the hall.<p>

Whoever was at the door was frantic, alternating between ringing and knocking. She swiped some hair out of her face before she leaned against the wall to peer through the peep hole.

She opened her mouth to scream in delight and excitement, but nothing came out. Instead her body went on autopilot and threw the door open. Ryou was standing there, clean and unharmed and _there_.

She forgot about being angry at him for not calling and allowed the relief that washed over her to be the only emotion on her mind.

He was holding a bouquet of red carnations and his brown eyes were apologetic and loving.

"Ryou …"

He took a step towards the hall and she backed up to let him in from the cold January morning. He was about to lean down to kiss her when she slapped him in the face.

"Where the _fuck_ have you been? I've been so worried about you! Do you know what people were saying?"

He looked at her completely stunned. His cheek was burning and she had tears in her eyes. She was about to hit him again when he caught her wrist, she lost her balance and tottered straight into his chest.

"Reiko, baby …"

He stopped talking when he **felt** her sob. She was clinging to him now. Her cane had clattered to the floor and he held her tight. The bouquet of carnations pressed tightly against her back because it had all happened so quickly. She was mumbling something into his chest, but he couldn't hear her.

Ryou frowned and held her tighter, "It's okay Rei, I'm here now honey, it doesn't matter what other people were saying – they're wrong Reiko, they're wrong about us love."

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><p>Reiko was sitting in his lap in the living room and he was gently stroking her hair as she recounted all of the horrible things that she had dreamt happened to him. She told him about how her friends had started to tell her that they'd heard about Ryou running away from schools before. That lots of Ryou's friends had ended up in hospitals and that she was probably another one; that they all were victims, all because she had dated him and he was cursed or something.<p>

He had sat through it all tight-lipped making small comments when he knew she needed the encouragement to continue, but otherwise he was still and silent and listening to the torture that she had been through at his causing. When she was done and cried out, he straightened her up in his lap and looked into her eyes and saw all of the love and pain …

It took him a few moments to realize that he was kissing her furiously and that she was clinging to him tightly and that her heavy cast-covered ankle was suspended in the air in an impressive feat to push herself closer to him.

He knew in that moment that she was meant for him, that her happiness was his and that he would never do anything to cause her pain or sadness again.

"I love you, Ryou. Please promise not to leave me again. Promise that you'll stay with me?"

"I love you, Reiko." He emphasized the statement with a prompt kiss on her nose and then he leaned in to whisper in her ear because he liked the way it made her shiver. "I'm not going anywhere."

And he wouldn't. He would be there for her through the gossip and the scandal and they would be so happy.

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><p>*<em>Flashing Forwar<em>d*

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><p>It was the night before graduation and Reiko was nervous with excitement. She had been lying in bed for close to an hour trying to get some sleep when she heard her cell phone vibrate. She picked it up and saw that she had a message from Ryou. It read, "Can't sleep?"<p>

She raised a brow at the message and replied, "Yup, how'd you know?"

"Because I've been driving around the city for two hours now –"

She smiled, "Oh really?"

"I've driven past your house a few times, too"

Her grin widened, "Are you stalking me Ryou Bakura?"

"I wouldn't say stalking," he replied and then added, "The lights in the living room are off now …"

She stifled a laugh into her pillow, "What are you insinuating?"

She was already pulling on a pair of Capri pants when he replied, "Wanna watch the stars with me?"

She hugged her phone as she found her moccasins and slipped them on. Her tank top was a bit thin, but summer was just starting and she knew that she'd be okay. She made a quick pit stop in the bathroom to remove her retainers and fluff up her braid.

"Already on my way :)"

She snuck through the hall and out of the back door. She made it to the front yard and there he was parked in front of her driveway, sitting there in his car with all the windows rolled down and some song playing softly in the background.

He smiled up at her as she approached, "Well, what are you waiting for young lady?"

She scurried into the passenger's seat and he sped off, neither one caring about getting beauty sleep for the next day or what would happen if Rei's parents noticed that she was gone.

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><p><strong>Hope that you enjoyed! Please review, and as always thanks <strong>**_CraftyLion _****:)**


	11. Chapter 11

_Oh my God no exaggeration_

_Boy all this time was worth the waiting_

_I just shed a tear_

_I am so unprepared_

_You got the finest architecture_

_End of the rainbow looking treasure_

_Such a sight to see_

_And it's all for me_

Katy Perry – Peacock

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><p>Reiko took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was the third weekend of their first college semester and she was getting ready to surprise Ryou for their first anniversary. She adjusted the placement of her freshly curled hair and sprayed herself with some more hairspray. Next she leaned in closer over the communal dorm sink to check her make-up. Her eye shadow was a dusty rose color that complimented her natural blush. She'd drawn the eyeliner on a bit too think, but there was nothing she could do about it now without starting over.<p>

She pulled out her Chapstick and applied some to her lips before leaning back. Her left eye was a little red because she had pinched herself with her eyelash curler in her haste. She dug through her bag to find her Visine and put two drops into her eye.

She looked down at the time on her cell phone and squeaked – she only had ten minutes to get dressed now! She rushed down the hall to her dorm room and burst inside. She quickly stripped out of her pj's and pulled on her nude colored stockings. She hopped around the room pulling them on while adjusting the straps on the new lacy black lingerie bra she had gone to buy (it was department store quality, but it _looked_ good).

She noticed her fingers tremble as she put on her jewelry, but she let that strengthen her resolve. Boy was she **resolved**. She heard her phone ring and cursed herself for spacing out, "Hi baby, I'll be _right_ there. I'm sorry to keep you waiting, just a minute, I _promise_."

She hung up without really hearing what he had been saying and dashed over to her closet where her dress for the evening was hung up. It was a daringly low cut dress that went down to her knees; the satin of the dress was a deep forest green color that complimented her peachy skin tone.

She slipped her feet into her black kitten heels and grabbed her coat, slipping her phone into her purse before strutting out – albeit nervously – to the staircase.

When she got to the final landing Ryou was standing there, leaning against the wall. His hair looked extra messy and she was sure that it was because he had been running his fingers through it again. Maybe he knew what was coming. Maybe he was nervous, too.

He was wearing slacks and a nice white dress shirt with the green tie that Reiko had given him for his birthday at the start of the month. "You look great, Ryou."

He blushed and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips, "Not half as great as you, love. Are you ready for dinner?"

She smiled and nodded and they got into Ryou's car.

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><p>It was late when they pulled back into the University, even though they were severely overdressed, they had decided to go see a movie after dinner and Reiko had tried to begin her seduction during the previews. She had leaned up close to him and run her hand along his thigh and kissed his neck. Ryou had reciprocated by placing his arm around her shoulders and kissing her head.<p>

Now that they were parked and sitting in his car, Reiko knew that she had to act fast. She turned to him and leaned over the center console; he removed his hand from the door handle and turned to face her. "Ryou …"

"Yes honey?"

She put a hand on either shoulder and leaned in to kiss him square on the lips. Ryou quickly returned the kiss with equal fervor. She leaned closer to him, her fingers working at loosening his tie. He pulled away and raised a pale white brow at her.

"Wanna come up to my room?"

Her question was breathless, quiet. As soon as she said it she wished that she could take it back, but when he smiled at her and kissed her sweetly she forgot all about it.

Reiko hurried up the stairs and Ryou followed close behind, he seemed to sense her anxiety and, to her delight, seemed to be catching her drift.

She unlocked her bedroom door and they hurriedly shut it behind them. Some of her neighbors were playing music across the hall. Her room was a complete mess – something that she had forgotten – because of her frantic beauty routine from earlier in the evening. Ryou perched on the bed while she threw her clothes into the hamper and removed her makeup and hair supplies from the bed.

Once she was done being frantic she stood in front of Ryou. He was swinging his legs back and forth and watching her with an amused grin on his face.

"So …" Reiko began, she had slipped her heels off and was standing in between Ryou's legs. He rubbed her bare arms as she leaned in to kiss him.

It took all of few breathless minutes for them to end up half tangled with one another in the dim glow of Reiko's desk lamp. Ryou had removed his jacket and his shoes and Reiko had helped him dispose of his tie completely. Ryou, in a move that Reiko hadn't expected, had reached around her back and started to unzip her dress.

She moaned as he pulled the fabric down her front and took in her barely decent bra. He was blushing heavily, they had seen one another in their underwear before, they had touched – but the gaze that they shared in that heated moment told them that they weren't going to stop themselves tonight.

Ryou leaned down to kiss his way down her jaw to her neck, stopping just short of her collar bone before trailing down the other side.

Reiko, in the mean time was frantically trying to expose some of Ryou's skin. Ryou paused in his caresses in order to help her remove his shirt, his belt came next, but his pants stayed on. Reiko allowed it for the moment, but mostly because she wanted Ryou's lips on hers.

Slowly, piece by piece, their clothes ended up in a sloppy pile on the floor. Ryou had hesitated to remove Reiko's panties, but she had pulled his boxers down – effectively pantsing him and challenging him.

They were both lying side by side, panting. Their gazes were locked and they were holding one another tight. Reiko could feel Ryou's erection against her thigh and he could feel the hot moisture between her legs. They were locked in a stalemate, however, because neither one of them wanted to pressure the other to go too far.

"Ryou, please …?"

He blinked at her. Once, twice, three times. "What?"

The blush on his face was incredibly endearing, but Reiko couldn't stand his unintentional rejection. She looked down and gingerly touched his manhood. He groaned and she blushed and he understood.

"But, are you sure – I mean," he was cut off by her kissing his shoulder. He was only a man, and he was at his wit's end. He captured her lips in his and pulled himself on top of her. He had never actually done _this_ before, but he was sure that Bakura had used his body for such purposes.

He and Reiko had experimented, explored one another … but never with the lights on, and certainly never with all of their clothes off. She moaned underneath him, her fingers clawing into his back and he pulled her closer, his hands forgetting their journey up and down her sides.

"Do you have a …?"

She didn't need to finish her question for him to understand her; he nodded and hopped off of the bed for a moment to find his wallet. He pulled out the condom and carefully rolled it on.

She was watching him with her big, pretty brown eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked nervous. He was sure the same emotion was etched on his face, but he was ready. Or at least, he thought he was.

Reiko saw his resolve wavering and reached out to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down to her. There was an awkward silence before he kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear, "Are you sure?"

"I couldn't be more certain, love."

He flicked his tongue across her earlobe, "This kinda can't be undone …"

"I am perfectly aware of that."

She took that moment to align her hips with his, making it harder for him to want to discourage her. Harder for him to make sure that she really wanted this, that she really wanted _him_.

"Are you sure you want it to be … to be me?" He almost regretted asking the question, but he wanted to be sure.

She tugged on his hair and made him look her in the eyes, "Ryou Bakura, you are the only one that I want to share this moment with," she wiggled beneath him to emphasize her next statement, "Now … please?"

He leaned down to kiss her, knowing that he was about to cause her some amount of pain and discomfort but his own desire and instinct were taking over. With one simple movement of his hips he was inside of her.

She sighed deeply into the kiss and broke away with a pained expression, but there was something more. She smiled up at Ryou, clutching him closer before nodding her consent for him to continue. There were tears in her eyes, but they weren't all because of the slight pain.

Ryou leaned down and kissed them away, "I'm sorry honey; I love you."

He repeated those tiny, reassuring phrases to her throughout the act. She parroted them back to him, "I love you Ryou, I'm so happy."

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><p>Somewhere an alarm was going off and Reiko wanted to run it over with a steamroller. She was lying in her bed with her face wedged between Ryou's arm and a pillow and while any other time this would not be comfortable it was like she was sleeping in heaven. He was snoring gently and he had his other arm slung lazily over her waist.<p>

He looked like even more of an angel while he was sleeping. She had never been this close to him for such a long period of time before. She was afraid to move and spoil the beauty of the moment. The early Sunday light was beginning to filter in and she hoped that he wouldn't wake up.

Unfortunately, all lovely moments have to end and he began to stir. She closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "Good morning beautiful."

She smiled up at him and kissed his chin, the light stubble that had formed over night tickling her face. She rubbed her leg against his and enjoyed the coarse hair that populated the skin of his calves and thighs.

He was just happy to see her so happy.

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><p>*<em>Flash Forward<em>*

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><p>The sun was peering in through the blinds and was hitting Reiko straight in the eyes. She fluttered them open and saw Ryou staring back at her, his head just inches away from her on the pillow. She grinned after rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Hey there," she whispered, glad that he had stayed the night again – it was the first time he'd stayed the full night since their first time; it had been months.<p>

He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "Good morning beautiful."

And with those three words everything was right in Reiko's world.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading ... Please review?<strong>

**Thanks (as always) to ****_CraftyLion_**** :)**


	12. Chapter 12

_Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul_

_That love never lasts_

_And we've got to find other ways to make it alone_

_Or keep a straight face_

_And I've always lived like this_

_Keeping a comfortable distance_

_And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness_

_But none of it was ever worth the risk_

Paramore – The Only Exception

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><p>Reiko was not naïve. She did not let herself believe that she was the only one that had ever been in Ryou Bakura's life. But she did not like to be reminded that, perhaps, there were a few <em>before<em> her.

She was meticulously destroying the petals of the flowers that Ryou had brought her yesterday.

They were barely half a month into their first summer after their first year of college and there was already trouble brewing. Who _was_ that girl and _why_ was she texting and Facebook messaging him?

She felt her jealousy bubble and froth inside of her.

Ryou was absolutely distraught at how Reiko was reacting. She wasn't very happy with how she was reacting either, but she couldn't help it.

Ryou was _her_ boyfriend. Who did this slut think she was?

She was sitting in her childhood room, instant messaging her friends – who were meticulously Facebook stalking the whore and reporting back to her – while debating if she should just call Ryou back and let him take her out like they'd been planning before this whole fiasco began.

She looked down at her cell phone to see six messages from Ryou. Six _one-word_ messages that read:

_Reiko -_

_You_

_Are_

_The_

_Only_

_Exception_

She blushed. He could be ridiculously sweet when he wanted to be. Deep in her gut she knew that she believed him. Really, he wasn't even the problem. The problem was all the girls out there who _could_ be competition. Girls who didn't care that Reiko loved him with all her heart.

The bitches, sluts, and whores were the problem.

She glanced at her watch and noticed that the movie they were planning on seeing started in forty five mintues. If she knew Ryou, then he was already dressed. Already dressed and already on his way to her neighborhood.

She signed off her AIM and texted Ryou:

_And I'm on my way to believing …_ _See you in five?_

She had just pulled her hair out of the messy braid that it had been in since the night before when her cell phone rang. She answered it without looking down at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Am I here too soon?"

"Just in time, actually," she teased as she slipped on her sandals and hurried out to the driveway.

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><p><strong>Ryou's message and Reiko's response are lyrics from the Paramore song quoted at the beginning :)<strong>

**Lots of thanks and love to ****_CraftyLion _****and ****_darkvampiregirl13_**** :)**

**Review ... Please?**


	13. Chapter 13

_If God is a DJ_

_Life is a dance floor_

_Love is the rhythm_

_You are the music_

_If God is a DJ_

_Life is a dance floor_

_You get what you're given_

_It's all how you use it_

Pink - God is a DJ

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><p>The beach was alive with music. The sun was already gone from the horizon, but the teens showed no sign of letting go of their day. Most of the group was still splashing around in the waves; a small group that had broken off earlier was finishing their third volleyball game.<p>

It had been an unexpected, but pleasant surprise when Ryou had run into Yugi at the grocery store. What had been a quick run for tea leaves had turned into a decent conversation and a hopeful invitation to a day at the local beach. Ryou had mentioned it in passing to Reiko and she had gone on and on about how wonderful it was that his friends wanted to see him until he agreed that they would go.

It had turned out to be a considerable amount of fun. Reiko had gone out to buy him some new swim trunks – swim trunks that coordinated with her new bikini.

Ryou blushed as he was caught staring at his girlfriend (_again_) by Joey and Tristan. Their good-natured teasing made him glow like a Christmas light, but Reiko was delightfully oblivious as she and the other girlfriends ran back to their staked-out spot, chattering about how chilly the wind had become.

Reiko had just finished toweling off when Ryou came up behind her and kissed her shoulder. He was becoming more and more outwardly affectionate and it thrilled her. She had been planning for weeks how to tell him that she was ready to live with him and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

She had gotten a lovely tan from the sun while he had gotten some pretty intense burns on the bridge of his nose and his shoulders. Reiko passed him the bottle of lotion she had bought for just such an occurrence and began to brush out her now frizzy hair.

Duke was working on starting a fire while Joey and Tristan were ripping open packages of hotdogs and buns.

* * *

><p>The teens had eaten their fill of hotdogs and s'mores and they were now lounging around the campfire. Rei was leaning close to Ryou, filling his mind with images of them living together. At first, she had started out jokingly, nudging him in the ribs and skimming her hand just under the elastic of his board shorts.<p>

"We could be tangled up in bed together every night Ryou, can you _imagine_?"

Ryou **could** imagine and the thought made him squirm. He pulled her closer and kissed her hair. There was still a fear in the back of his mind.

Reiko tugged on the ends of his hair, glancing around the circle of friends before planting a kiss on his lips. "We could use the financial aid money to get an apartment near campus and I can work more hours at my work-study job and we can make it _work_."

He brushed the hair out of her eyes and took in her smiling face. The love he saw there was overwhelming. No one had looked at him like that for a long time. He couldn't bring that much happiness to anyone else; it was thrilling. He started going through and thinking about the different things that they could do to make it happen.

"Your parents won't be happy," he said. The statement was heavy; it hung in the air clouding her lovely vision.

Her smile had faltered for just a moment, but as her eyes searched his face she grinned and brightened again. "No, no they won't be happy." She paused to line her fingers up with his, lacing them together. "But I will be."

It was all he needed, the final push to send him towards what he had wanted all along. He was going to make her happy. He smiled down at her, gripping her hand tightly.

"I'll finally have you all to myself, all the time."

He had barely whispered the words into her ear, but it was as if he had shouted them at the top of his lungs. She squealed and hugged him, drawing the attention of the others. She blushed, but didn't say a word and they quickly went back to their own conversations.

Ryou, still enticed by the images that Reiko had been filling his head with, announced that they had to be going. They said their goodbyes and on their way back to the car, he casually suggested that Reiko tell her parents that she was sleeping over at a friend's house tonight.

She giggled and obliged. Her parents had no reason to distrust her and agreed to see her at home the next afternoon.

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><p>Reiko felt beautiful under Ryou's heated gaze. She felt at home in his arms, clinging tightly to him as they moved together under his bed sheets. He was breathing hard and she could tell that he was getting close.<p>

She loved moments like this. He squeezed her hips and moved in that just right way and, suddenly, she was right there with him.

Reiko relaxed against the pillows as Ryou recovered. He kissed down her shoulder as he rolled off to the side and removed his condom.

Reiko blushed at the now common scene. No matter how often it happened, no matter how courageous she was at the start of their sexual encounters, she always ended up a blushing mess at the end of the act. Ryou pulled the covers back up over them both and kissed her gently.

She fell asleep beside him as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. He fell asleep thinking about how wonderfully special she must be to have brought so much happiness into his life and into his home, a place that had, at one point, been the very source of his unhappiness.

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><p><strong>Thanks to everyone who read :) Eternal blessings on those who review ;)<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

_If you were falling, then I would catch you._

_You need a light, I'd find a match._

_Cuz I love the way you say good morning._

_And you take me the way I am._

_If you are chilly, here take my sweater._

_Your head is aching, I'll make it better._

Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am

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><p>Ryou had barely pulled up to the second-hand furniture store and Reiko was already half-way out of the car. Ever since they had agreed to live with one another for their second year of college, he had seen a change in her. She wasn't satisfied with his restrained private affection. It made him a little uncomfortable at first, but the more that he thought about it, the more excited he got.<p>

This was an amazing step in a wonderfully normal direction.

He blinked when he noticed Rei waving at him from the doorway of the store, a frenzied look in her eyes as she pointed at something. He locked his car and made his way over to her, his excitement validated.

Reiko didn't have a lot of money saved up, and her parents weren't very happy that she was planning on living with her boyfriend – especially a boyfriend who had disappeared on her suspiciously after her accident. There had been no evidence to condemn him though, and so they'd never said anything to Reiko directly.

Ryou, on the other hand, had gained access to some more of his trust fund. It was something that was left to him after his mother had died. It had been meant for him and his _sister_.

Reiko threw her arms around Ryou and he was brought out of the sadness. He had been writing letters to his little sister for years, and when Reiko came into his life, he had something nice to write about. He felt a certain peace with Rei. He knew that Amane would have loved her.

"I like this bed."

He looked down at her; she was the very picture of happiness with her ear-to-ear grin. The bed-frame that she was fawning over was a modern twist on a traditional Japanese bed. It was low to the ground with a small headboard; the wood was light and looked to be bamboo (or, at least, a material that was supposed to _look_ like bamboo).

He raised a pale eyebrow at her and pretended to scrutinize the bed, making a show of looking at the price tag. Rei looked at him expectantly, running her fingers over the headboard affectionately.

"Well, alright," Ryou said, looking over at her. She cheered and dragged him over to the front desk so that they could pay for it right away.

* * *

><p>Reiko sat on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs back and forth as she took a long drink from her iced tea. She and Ryou had been unpacking and setting up since the day before and she was exhausted. They had spent their first night in the apartment sleeping on a pile of blankets on the floor where their bed was supposed to be.<p>

It was all coming together quite nicely, though. She had put away their dishes (a plate, cup, bowl, and pair of chopsticks for each of them and a pan, medium sized pot, and tea kettle) and set up their mismatched barstools (they had _character_, as Ryou liked to say) at the breakfast bar that would serve as their all-purpose dining table and desk.

The living room had a small coffee table and a pre-owned, but wonderfully aged, couch against the wall. There was a small television perched atop their shoe rack against the opposite wall of their small living room.

The bathroom had three towels, a floor mat and cleaning supplies.

The final room, Reiko's _favorite_ room, was their small bedroom. It was about the same size as their living room – which meant that it comfortably housed their bed and a dresser – but Reiko thought it was _cozy_. It had a big window that let in sunlight and looked out onto the busy street two stories below.

Ryou was in the bedroom right now, assembling the bed frame and doing something secretive. He'd told Reiko to relax for a little while because he wanted to surprise her.

She heard him rustling through bags and muttering to himself. He had already caught her trying to peek twice and now she was banished to the kitchenette to "relax."

When she had woken up in the morning, she had realized that she had been moved into the living room and that it was much later in the day than she had originally thought. Apparently something had been delivered for their bedroom that he didn't want her to see.

* * *

><p>Ryou smiled to himself as he put the finishing touches on the bed. He had gone out and bought a lovely mattress for them. It was more expensive than all the furniture that they had in their bedroom, but he knew it would be worth it. He wanted nothing but the best for Reiko, and ,unfortunately, rent for the apartment and this bed were all he could afford to give her for now.<p>

That didn't stop him from going out and spending a bit too much on sheets, a comforter, and a ridiculous amount of soft pillows.

He flung the door open and smiled at Reiko, proud of himself for putting everything together.

Reiko, excited to finally see what Ryou had been up to, rushed into the bedroom and was shocked to find a bed worthy of being in a magazine. There were a pile of white and silver pillows atop of a lovely navy blue comforter. Ryou had folded the comforter back to expose the silver sheets. Upon closer inspection Reiko realized that they were silver satin.

Ryou pulled her over onto the bed and as she sank down into the mattress, all she could think about was how much this must have cost – certainly much more than they could _afford. _She gaped up at him, her eyes still wide as saucers. That was what he was looking for, that impressed reaction. The almost child-like happiness that made her whole face come alive. It made _him_ feel alive.

The tea kettle whistled in the other room and Ryou kissed her nose and excused himself to go make himself a cup of tea.

When he returned, just a moment later Reiko was curled up on a corner of the bed, dead asleep. He smiled and set his tea down on the dresser before stretching her out and taking off her ridiculously tight skinny jeans. He managed without waking her, noting (not for the first time) that she was a **heavy** sleeper. He scooped her up with one arm so that he could slip her under the covers.

* * *

><p>He awoke with a start a few hours later. He was in bed – a strange bed? No. No. He looked around; it was <em>his<em> bed. He looked down and saw Reiko nestled beside him. He was okay.

But the _voice..._

He gripped his head in his hands and winced. It was a dream, just a _dream_. Things were different now, things were **better**.

Ryou had to get up and wash his face and count by threes and hold Reiko close and tight and remind himself that this was his life now.

He was close to getting out of bed again, resigned to the fact that his nightmare (he refused to call it a _memory_) had spoiled his rest, but then something happened.

In her sleep, Reiko moved her hand to touch Ryou's face, cradling it gently and tracing a finger down his jaw line. She sighed as her fingertips reached his lips and smiled, _smiled_. It warmed his heart and the fear went away and he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading :) The updates are coming, I <strong>**_promise _****:)**

**Thank you to ****_CraftyLion _****and ****_darkvampiregirl13_****!**

**Want my eternal love? Review please ...?**


	15. Chapter 15

_Use your eyes only to look at me_

_Use your mouth only to kiss my lips_

_We are branches of the same old tree_

_You can laugh only if you laugh at me_

_You can cry only if you cry for me_

_Don't forget that you're condemned to me_

_Can't you see?_

_You always were_

_You'll always be_

Shakira – Rules

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><p>The act is so beautiful now; so tiring and effortless at the same time. They mastered the most beautiful synthesis of primitive pleasure and emotional, intellectual connection. Out in public, they can manage to keep their hands off one another, but in their apartment, their bedroom, their <em>sanctuary ...<em>

Ryou never thought that he'd be this passionate. Reiko never _dreamed_ of it.

But he _is_ and they _are_ and it's _amazing_.

Their daily lives are just busy work; they don't live until they get back to that apartment, back to that bedroom, back to that _mattress_.

They leave the bed unmade.

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><p><strong>I kinda really like this chapter. It's short, sweet, to the point and exactly 100 words :)<strong>

**Thanks for reading, and thanks to ****_CraftyLion_****! If you haven't checked out her stories yet, you definitely should ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

_Don't kid yourself_

_And don't fool yourself_

_This life could be the last_

_And we're too young to see_

Muse – Blackout

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><p>Reiko paced the floor of the handicap stall of the university bathroom. Twelve steps, twelve perfect little steps from one wall to the next …<p>

Reiko tried to take a deep breath, but it came back; the nausea that she was trying to convince herself didn't exist. Because it didn't exist. She wasn't nauseous. She was _tired_.

On her fingers, she was trying to count, but the way her tongue felt so thick in her mouth and the way that the lemon scented air freshener in the corner smelled was making the bile rise in the back of her throat and that, coupled with the way her pulse was racing, made it a little difficult to count out the days on just _ten_ thin, poorly manicured fingers.

It was too much, her head was spinning. She'd been out of class for almost fifteen minutes now, she was sure of it … How embarrassing.

She couldn't hold it in; she was emptying her entire stomach into the toilet bowl. Something about the fact that this was a public toilet made it worse and she threw up some _more_ for good measure.

_Fuck_.

Her hands were shaking and she couldn't deny it as she sat there on the cold tile floor. The nausea was completely gone and, besides the disgusting taste in her mouth, there was nothing preventing her from having that horrible moment of clarity.

She wanted to cry, but she was too stunned.

She wanted to scream, but she had no voice.

She wanted to run away, but she knew that this wasn't exactly something she could escape.

She looked down at her cell phone; her background was a picture of her and Ryou at the beach. They'd taken it with the forward facing camera of their new iPhones and so their features were slightly off because of the way the camera flipped their image.

"Fuck …"

The picture brought a little comfort. She hadn't exactly done this by _herself_. It wasn't one of those one-night-stand-gone-wrong things that her friends told her about so often.

She stood up and made her way out of the stall to rinse her mouth at the sink. It was time to list the facts …

_She had thrown up every morning for the past week and a half._

_She had spells of nausea throughout the day because of certain smells._

_She had been much more tired than usual._

_She hadn't had her period in way over a month and a half._

* * *

><p>Ryou came home at the usual time, tired from working at the school's café. Making coffee and tea all day for grouchy students and professors was no fun, but it had perks. It was work-study, tax-free income and he got all the tea and coffee that he could drink. And so did Reiko (when the boss wasn't looking, of course).<p>

And so, despite the fact that he was exhausted, he opened the front door with a smile and he cradled the iced caramel macchiato in the crook of his arm as he shifted the stack of books over to his other arm so he could lock the door.

There was nothing like coming home. It was so wonderful now, especially now that he had finally gotten used to coming home to someone. There had been a bit of a transitory period, but after the first couple of weeks and especially once the semester started, everything was wonderful.

He set his backpack and books down on the carpet next to the couch and slipped his shoes off. There was something off.

Reiko wasn't waiting for him at their breakfast bar. There wasn't any water boiling for their nightly udon …

"Rei?"

He took a sip of the coffee in his hand as he made his way into the bedroom. Reiko was sitting in the center of the bed mumbling to herself.

He sat down on the bed and when she felt the mattress shift, her eyes opened up and she looked at him. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes and he wasn't sure what that meant. "What's wrong, love?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound escaped her lips. She blushed and leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. When he pulled away, her eyes were pressed shut. She took a deep breath and the next three words she spoke knocked the _everything_ right out of him.

"Ryou, I'm pregnant."

It took Ryou a moment to realize that he had stopped breathing. That his jaw had gone slack and that he had all but thrown the cup in his hand onto the carpet at the foot of their bed. In the back of his mind, he hear a horrible mocking laughter and it made him sick.

He couldn't keep the harshness out of his voice as words began flying out of his mouth – words he'd never, ever imagined using, and much less in direct reference to Reiko.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me? How could this have _happened_?"

He hardly noticed that he was shaking her back and forth, hardly noticed that her eyes were huge and wet with tears and red as a consequence of those tears.

Or maybe he did notice, but there was a cold fear crawling up his spine and taking hold of his heart in a way that he hadn't experienced since _he _was still around. This pregnancy was such a blatant mistake. They were so careful _all the time_. They didn't need this.

He finally stopped when he realized that she was covering her ears with her hands, her eyes shut so tight that her peach colored face was turning white from the effort. He was breathing so hard and so fast that his body had gone completely numb.

It was like an earthquake had happened and his mind was the epicenter. He was completely shaken and he didn't know what to do and Reiko was cradling herself and rocking back and forth and rubbing her arms and mumbling again and he felt sick to his stomach because he had put her into this state –

And the next thing he knew, he was slamming the bathroom door and splashing cold water on his face and gagging on his own tears. He was sick all over himself before he even realized it had happened and he threw his clothes off and got into the shower and turned the water as hot as it would go and pretended that he couldn't hear her in the other room.

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><p>Reiko sat on the bus and looked at the screen of her phone again. She had the address memorized, but she couldn't help but quadruple check. It was still pretty warm for the season but Reiko's fingers and toes were ice cold despite the fact that she was wearing gloves and boots to cover them.<p>

She hadn't taken a bus in a long time, and, after the return ride, she didn't think she ever would again.

She felt sick, but this had nothing to do with the morning sickness. It had everything to do with the fact that she had a large amount of bills in her purse and that she had an appointment at a clinic on the other side of town so that no one she knew or her parents knew or Ryou knew would see her.

She wanted to cry, but she was all cried out. She hadn't known what to do after Ryou's reaction. She gave him time. She tried to bring it up. She tried to not talk about it and go on with life.

But none of those things worked. Ryou didn't get better with time. He didn't want to talk to her about it. And she couldn't very well go on pretending nothing was wrong when there was a _baby_ (or the fetal equivalent of a baby) inside of her, growing and growing in a place where there was no longer love.

Her throat was itchy and she thought it might be because she was so dehydrated, but she knew that was a lie and that it was because she was making herself sick with what she was about to do.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since her abortion and she still could hardly look herself in the eye.<p>

It might have been easier had Ryou not been so cold. He had started working more hours, which made sense at first because she had to stay home from school and work for the first five days. She felt sick and tired and undeniably sad.

Ryou had taken to going to bed later than she did, although in the middle of the night, she could feel him holding her. It reassured her. She knew that he didn't mean all of this; he was just reaction out of fear.

He'd looked absolutely distraught when she came home with a white bag full of prescription antibiotics that were supposed to help her not feel pain or get infected. She hadn't missed the relief in his eyes when he thought that she wasn't looking though.

As she was nearing the end of the second week, she felt stronger. Ryou had insisted upon driving her to the mandatory check-up; he held her hand the whole time, but he didn't really talk much.

Reiko spent a lot of her time praying that things could go back to the way that they were.

* * *

><p><strong>Here it is, the surprise twist. The big reason for Ryou's change in attitude (well, besides the <strong>**_voices_**** - those don't really help out).**

**Thank you all for reading, this is for you, ****_CraftyLion_****- so you can have some reading material while waiting for your flight ;)**

**Love to all my readers - eternal love to all those who review!**


	17. Chapter 17

_Write me off, give up on me_

_'Cause darling what did you expect_

_I'm just a lost cause_

_A long shot, don't even take this bet_

Fall Out Boy – A Little Less Sixteen Candles A Little More Touch Me

* * *

><p>Reiko was sitting on the floor of the shower, crying. She hated to hide from him this way, but things between them had been strained for the past few weeks.<p>

He'd been sitting out in the bedroom, sullenly. She knew he was upset with her, but what was she supposed to have done? It was so obvious that he wasn't ready for the next level. Truth be told, she wasn't either, but she wasn't expecting his reaction to be so volatile.

He hadn't touched her lovingly since; he avoided her advances and it killed her.

He was reverting back to how he had acted when he was … when he was possessed by that evil. He would talk about it in his sleep; he was talking to it … _him_ … whatever it was or had been.

It scared her that he acted this way, but she loved him. It was stupid, but Reiko knew that she couldn't help but love him more for his reaction. He had realized that he wasn't ready, and had wanted to tell her, to express it, but what had come out was so much worse. She could tell it hurt him to have yelled at her.

She choked back a sob and scrubbed her face with her hands. This was obviously just another challenge, they'd been through so much already, there was nothing stopping them. They were both intelligent young adults with full lives and careers ahead of them, and Reiko _knew_ that they would end up together.

* * *

><p>Ryou was sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil; Rei was in the shower and she thought that he couldn't hear her.<p>

He could. He could hear every sob. He wanted to throw up. He felt even worse than he had the day that he had boarded the plane and known that it was his body that had been used to hurt her. His body that had been used to set up the accident that left her scarred and broken. Now he didn't have the excuse. This was what he was doing to her. Not Bakura, not the ring, not anything else.

_You're a fool. I always told you that you didn't know what to do with her_. _I didn't need to try and do anything to get rid of her; you would have done it yourself eventually._

He shuttered and gripped the knife in his hand tighter. The voice was in his head; it wasn't Bakura. It was remnants of the years he'd endured with the spirit.

But he was right.

He heard the bathroom door open and Reiko walked into their bedroom, stepping through the small hallway quickly, quietly. He wasn't able to hold the bile back any longer and he ran to the bathroom.

While he sat there, clinging to the bowl and retching into the toilet, Reiko came and smoothed his hair out of his face and rubbed his back. Over the scent of his own vomit, he could smell her. He could smell her floral shampoo and the sweet lotion on her fingers where she was stroking his brow.

She wiped his mouth with a moist towel and frowned at him. "Ryou, honey, you look really pale …"

He looked into her lovely, loving brown eyes. They were red and watery. Her eyes were swollen and that was only enhanced by the dark circles that had formed in the past weeks. She opened her arms to embrace him, but he just sat there limp, unresponsive, and cold.

As soon as their eyes met, he saw himself in her glassy, dark brown eyes. He looked like he was dead. Her arms fell to her sides and she averted her gaze.

Somewhere inside his mind, he realized that he was killing her. He realized that he was reacting the way he had when she had told him about the baby. He realized that he was losing her; that he had already lost himself.

He closed his eyes and the tea kettle whistled from the stove.

When he opened them again, she was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Sad. Lots of sad. And angst. I know, I know ... I talk all about how Ryou deserves a happy life and here I am destroying all of that -_-'<strong>

**Thanks to ****_CraftyLion_****!**

**Love to all my readers - eternal love to those who review!**


	18. Chapter 18

_If everything was everything but everything was over_

_Everything could be everything if only we were older_

_I guess it's just a silly song about you_

_And how I lost you and your brown eyes_

Lady Gaga – Brown Eyes

* * *

><p>It was late and Ryou had a lot of papers to read, but he couldn't help but peer over at Reiko every once in a while over his steamy cup of tea.<p>

She was sitting on the opposite end of the couch; her fingers were moving over the keys of her laptop at regular intervals, although her backspace key was getting most of the abuse from what he'd noticed over the past few hours. She looked tired and frantic as she flipped through several different articles. Her lips moved gently as she read things to herself.

He felt an ache deep inside; he wanted to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder and carry her into the bedroom. He wanted to save her from all of the mess of the world and of this cluttered little living room and take her to their sacred space.

The ache spread from inside all the way down his arms to his fingertips. He opened his mouth to speak to her, but at that very moment she found what she'd been searching for and she started typing furiously at the keys, a smile on her lips as everything seemed to be falling into place.

And as quickly as his ache started, he stomped it out. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He was resolved, and he was doing this for her benefit.

He wanted to save her from the chaos of studying, from the dangers of the world, but _he _was the one causing her troubles. It had always been him.

He picked up his textbook and started to read again, but the words didn't make any sense. Nothing made sense to him; he didn't know what to do. The easiest thing to do was to continue pretending that everything was alright, but he'd been doing it for so long that he wasn't sure that he could fake it for one more breath.

But he had to make it through the night.

He thought back to their plights. Besides what Bakura had caused them, there weren't many, but the few that did exist had caused them an abundance of troubles: The rumor of him cheating on her with some girl that Bakura had slept with … The failed pregnancy … His overall reaction to her pregnancy.

He looked up at her again through his bangs; she was looking up at him, too. She smiled and leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. Her breath tickled his face and she smelled like a latte. He couldn't resist and he found himself leaning into her, kissing her sweetly before releasing her. _I love you, Reiko_.

He couldn't bring himself to say it. The words died in his throat. But he did love her. That was one thing he'd never questioned. He didn't love _himself_. That was the problem.

She had said something, but he was so lost in thought that he didn't hear. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand before she returned to her paper.

Her smile was a dagger in his heart; he knew that he would be the cause of her tears in just a few hours. By the very same time the next night, she would know something was wrong. She would find out that he was leaving; that he was gone.

He took the pain though; he accepted it for what it was. He didn't deserve to see her smiles; he didn't deserve to have them directed at him. He had caused her so much pain and now he would only cause her more.

She had fallen asleep after printing her paper, her face wedged between a seat cushion and the arm of the couch. There was drool in the corner of her mouth, but she still looked like a princess.

He had been quietly packing up his things and hadn't wanted to move her until he was done. He was only taking the essentials. He'd already been accepted to another university as a transfer. He felt so dirty the whole time, sneaking around like a thief in the night, stealing away all of Reiko's hopes and dreams.

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><p>When his alarm clock went off in the morning, he couldn't believe the time had come. His fingers found the off switch in a half-blind stupor. For a sweet, beautiful moment, his entire reality consisted of Reiko's warm body leaning up against his. Her breath was caressing his chest and her foot wedged semi-uncomfortably underneath his knee.<p>

He pulled her closer, burying his nose in her hair, memorizing the feel of her body against his. When he'd carried her into the bedroom last night, he thought he would lose his resolve. He was so wrong. _This_ moment was a thousand times more difficult to pull himself away from.

He stayed with her much longer than he should have, much longer than he'd intended to. When he glanced at the clock again, he realized that he was going to be late.

He climbed out of bed and she stirred, but didn't wake up. She rolled over and spread out on the bed and all the sadness in his heart couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto his lips.

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><p>As the door closed, he felt the tears. He was certain they'd been there all morning, but now they were streaming down his face, dripping onto the welcome mat in front of their door.<p>

_You're not the man she deserves._

He straightened at the sound of the voice floating across his mind. It felt as though it had been whispered directly into his ear. _Bakura_. Something about him had stayed behind. Or maybe he was just right and Ryou's subconscious was letting him know.

He walked down the steps and looked back up at the window. The light was on and he could see Reiko's shadow as she moved about the room getting ready. He clenched his teeth and took another step forward …

He wouldn't hold her back because he wasn't the man she needed. He needed to find himself before he could ever be enough for her; he needed to love himself – hell, he needed to **like **himself – before he could properly love _her._

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><p><strong>The next one is the last one, because apparently I can't count to 20 x)<strong>

**There will be a special announcement at the end of the next one!**

**Love to ****_CraftyLion_**** :)**

**Reviews? Pwease?**


	19. Chapter 19

_I know I said that I would keep my word_

_I wished that I could save you from the hurt_

_But things will never go back to how we were_

_I'm sorry I can't be your world_

_You know I love you, I really do_

_But I can't fight anymore for you_

_And I don't know, maybe we'll be together again_

_Sometime, in another life_

_In another life (another life)_

_The way you're holding on to me_

_Makes me feel like I can't breathe_

_Just let me go, just let me go_

_It just won't feel right inside_

_God knows I've tried_

The Veronicas – In Another Life

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><p>They <em>always<em> had dinner at this time.

He was always late, but he was always on time for _her_. Especially after the car accident; Reiko shuttered, her fingers brushed over her scarred brow.

She picked up her chopsticks.

Maybe he was running late and his cell phone died and he was rushing to get to her.

She put the chopsticks back down.

Surely he was just running late. Or maybe it was really cold in the apartment. Yes, that could be it. That was why the ramen was no longer steaming hot.

But deep inside, she knew that **he wasn't**.

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><p><strong>I worked really hard to make this only 100 words; hopefully it's as powerful as I wanted it to be.<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story and kept me motivated to keep on writing. Thank you to _CraftyLion_ for being so awesome and loving my story so much! Without her I might have given up somewhere along the way ^^' Her stories have seriously reintroduced me to my love of all things Bakura and I'd be so lost without her. If you haven't checked out her work, well, you're really missing out!**

**And now, without further ado ... The special announcement is that this story is _far from __over_. There will be a sequel to this little prequel! It's going to be called _Kismet_ and I already have some work started on it. It might be about the same length as this little story, perhaps a little bit longer. I will post a preview of it here as chapter 20 at some point this week :) Hopefully those of you who have read this will continue on and read the ending to the love story of Reiko and Ryou, because _really_ it can't just end this way. **

**I love you all for reading :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here it is! The preview to ****_Kismet_**** :)**

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><p>Kismet – kis·met [noun]<p>

_Fate or destiny._

_Belief that your life is already planned. The belief that what happens to you in your life is already planned and you cannot control it._

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><p>In one lifetime, you'll see thousands of individuals. Hundreds and hundreds of people walking up and down the street, hurrying to where they need to go, walking slow and enjoying their time, just wandering. Thousands of faces, different every day, every moment as the crowds move along. What are the odds that one day they'd meet again? Just another pair of faces, another pair of bodies moving through the crowded streets of Domino City … When Reiko brushed past the ash-blond man, their shoulders touching for a fraction of a second, she looked out of the corner of her eye and muttered a rushed apology.<p>

She took another step before something happened. There was a shift in the atmosphere. Something _changed;_ the air seemed charged with electricity.

She spun on her heel, ignoring the complaints of the people moving around her. It was lunch time and everyone was pushing their way through the crowd to find a fast meal before heading back to the office.

He was looking over his shoulder. His chocolate brown eyes met hers and it was as though the universe pulsed. He turned around. Those _eyes_ – he'd know them anywhere. The world disappeared; the noise of the city stopped and all he could hear was his heart beat in his ears.

All those moments they had been apart felt like eons; centuries had passed since they had been this close to one another. Just a few steps and they'd be touching. Panic had rooted Reiko to the spot. She'd envisioned this moment for years. Thirteen years. Four thousand, seven hundred, forty-eight days. Ryou ran a hand through his hair; there was no doubting that she had recognized him despite its short cut and new color. He was closing the gap between them – if someone were watching from the crowd, they'd say that he sprinted the eight feet between them, but to Ryou, it felt like he was moving through water.

Reiko's eyes were glazed over, but she had never seen him more clearly. She was trembling; her heart was hammering in her chest. And just like that, they were standing toe to toe in a crowd of people they'd never see again, finally seeing the only person that mattered. It was fucking kismet.

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><p><strong>I was deliberating on what scene to share, and since <strong>**_CraftyLion_**** was so unhappy with me for ending everything on such a brief, sad note and because I'm not sure she believes me when I say good things are coming, I decided that this was definitely it. I hope that you enjoy the preview and that you "stay tuned" for the conclusion of this little trilogy I've created ^_^**


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