#and i couldn't think of another way for bakura to reflect on memories of ryou that sparked the muse

[antaresr]

So, I was rambling when my head remembered the prompt that @liberationwasboundtohappen proposed and my brain decided to do it.

So a post-canon where everyone is friends, with game nights and stuff like that, however Ryou every night has nightmares about the shadow realm, things chasing him, the hunger he went through, the hiding places he had to find.

Until he sees him, Zorc, Hunting him, chasing him, cursing him, he hides and finds some water that he drinks, and his reflection is not his pale face with soft eyes, it is a sharp face with terrified eyes, a scar running down his right cheek, large and calloused hands, Ryou is not dreaming of his memories, Ryou does not have nightmares.

Ryou is watching TKB being hunted by things and by Zorc.

He wakes up with a scream when Zorc finds TKB, and it just so happens that it had been a game night, his friends wake up because of his scream and ask him what the hell is going on.

"The spirit of the ring, the thief, he, oh god, I think he's dead."

"Well old man, it's old news, it's been years since that" Jounouchi tells him patting his shoulder, thinking Ryou is just having a breakdown from a bad dream.

"No, I just saw him, Zorc is there, with him."

"Like the giant thing with a dragon thing?" Honda shudders, remembering the past encounter with the dark god.

"I need to call Marik, I need to save him" Ryou hurriedly gets up from his bed, turns on his computer and calls Marik, when Marik answers Ryou doesn't even let him say hello. "I need to enter the shadow realm."

Everyone yells at Ryou for the stupid thing he just said, Marik who doesn't have all the information asks him if he had a screw loose.

"The spirit is in danger, Bakura is in danger."

Marik considers the information "Give me a few hours, I know what scrolls we need and I can find a quick flight there."

Marik hangs up, Ryou trembles in and drops into his desk chair, everyone looks at him like he's crazy for wanting to save the spirit that made his life miserable.

After almost 24 hours Marik arrives in Japan, he doesn't take a break, he goes straight to Ryou's house, everyone is still there, Marik takes out from his suitcase THE BOOK that started all this mess, he opens it directly to the necessary page and Ryou and Marik study the text.

And they realize that there is a problem.

For the spell they need someone who can speak ancient Egyptian and is a magic user, and only Marik can speak ancient Egyptian and only Ryou is a magic user, neither can enter the portal that will come out of the spell because they will have to stay outside to keep it open and stabilized as there are two people and not one.

They need a third one to enter.

They explain what is going on to the others, they all look at each other because why the hell would they sacrifice their life for the guy who was willing to kill them in the dark RPG? Jou and Honda refuse, Anzu apologizes but says she won't do it.

"You guys couldn't anyway, the shadow realm would kill you quickly, you weren't carriers of the sennen Items."

"I'll do it" Yugi straightens up, more serious than anyone would expect.

"You can't be serious" Jou grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him off.

"Yugi is too dangerous, you heard Ryou about the stuff in there" Anzu tries to talk some sense into him, she won't lose her best friend, she'd rather do it herself than let him go alone.

"It's just me left, I don't speak Egyptian, and I don't know how to do magic, but I used the puzzle, I'll survive."

"I won't ask you to do that, I'll find another way and bring it..."

Yugi doesn't let Ryou finish "No, I'll do it, I owe it to him".

No one understands why the heck Yugi says that, but he doesn't have to explain to them the times that The spirit of the ring, Bakura, kept him safe, Yugi will pay his debt, he will save Bakura, he will bring him back.

And if he can't save him, then at least he won't let him die alone.

[pyro-sea]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Yami Bakura Characters: Bakura Ryou, Yami Bakura Additional Tags: Mild Smut, Non-Graphic Smut, Regret, Break Up, past tendershipping, breaking up and immediately regretting it, mildly hopeful ending, Light Angst, Sexual Frustration, Melancholy, Unbetaed we die like men, Tendershipping Week 2021 Series: Part 1 of Tendershipping Week 2021 Summary:

Turning Ryou away was his deepest regret. That offer could've saved him, and now, nothing would.