by WSJ

This is a direct switch from my normal, angsty Ryou fics such as Ryou's Eyes of Blue and the soon-to-be-posted Visions of the Heart. Several people have reviewed/e-mailed me and said that the Bakura-beating-Ryou thing is soooooo old and Bakura is not that mean.

Well, I don't agree with that, I happen to think he is that mean and Mutilation, by White Angel, is my favorite story of all time.

But this story is for all you who believe that Bakura is nice, no matter how deep it's buried.

I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the books I mention.

Quote of the fic:

I know we can believe in him because Heero is the type of person that can give everyone hope. -- Relena, Gundam Wing

()()()()()

Ryou groaned to himself as he felt the Millinium Ring glow beneith his shirt. His yami couldn't have picked a worse time. Sniffling, Ryou swiped at his stinging eyes with a sleeve as Bakura emerged from his soul room.

The white-haired yami stood looking at his crying hikari for a moment, his head cocked slightly to one side and a questioning expresion on his face.

"Hey, Ryou, why are you crying?" He noted Ryou's possition to see if he was hurt. No, he was sitting normally, curled up on the livingroom couch with a book open on his lap.

Ryou didn't answer immediately, not trusting his voice. Finally he could no longer ignore Bakura's gaze and choked out "This book is really sad!"

Bakura blinked as he saw Ryou was on the last page. More puzzled then ever he sat down next to his hikari on the couch, trying to peer over his shoulder dispite the fact he couldn't read English. "But you're on the very last page! What can be so sad?"

"Well," Ryou said. "It's a fantacy book called Taliesin, by Stephen Lawhead. It's about these two lovers, Charis and Taliesin. Charis's father forbid them from getting married, so they elope. Now it's about a year later, and they have a son. Charis receives word from her father that he's repented, and they can come home. But on their way they're attacked by a band of maurauders and Taliesin is killed." He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes again. "It's so sad it's making me weepy."

"What is this 'weepy' that's making you cry?"

"Weepy is a term used sometimes by two of my friends, Sakura and Rosie (guess who! ^_~) to mean embarrassingly or unneccissarily sad. Books tend to make them weepy a lot, and now I see why the term fits. I'm not sorrowful, nor am I sad, really, just," Ryou shrugged. "Weepy."

Bakura's face took on a distressed look. "But, that cannot be the end of the book! I thought all stories had to have a Happily-Ever-After at the end!"

Ryou chuckled and closed his book, laying it on the couch beside him but keeping a protective hand over it almost unconciously. "I wish that were so. But the sad truth is, life never ends happily-ever-after for anyone except a chosen few. Yes, books usually do end happily, but only because the writer knows that since life can never end that way, then by any right stories should, especially fantacy-type fairy tale ones. Either that or it's one of Wingleader Sora Jade's 'romantic' songfics."

Getting up, Ryou walked over to the tall bookcase set in the oppisite wall, still talking over his shoulder to his yami. "Taliesin is one of the few fantacy stories that actuallly has a real-life air to it." He selected a book off the shelf and tossed it at Bakura, who caught it and began to look it over.

"This is another, Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher. It's about a young girl who finds three baby dragons, or draclings, in her care. At the end of the book the draclings have to go home across the sea with the rest of their dragon kin. If someone else was writing it, WSJ especially, she'd find a way to get the little ones at least to stay. But that's not how real life works."

"This 'WSJ' you speak of, I take it she's a bad writer then?" Bakura asked.

"Not bad per say, just too optomistic. She wants every story, every life, to have a happily-ever-after at the end. Sure, she writes a lot of angst and death, but at the end of every single one she always puts an extra paragraph along the lines of 'ghost looks down, ghost sees mourning family and/or friends, ghost goes to comfort them, they're comforted'. She always has it turn out happily."

"Doesn't sound too bad to me." Bakura said as Ryou joined him on the couch again.

"Yes it sounds great, but it's not realistic! (Jeez, does he ever sound like my best friend!!!) She's got to learn that life hurts!"

Bakura's eyes saddened slightly. "You shouldn't talk that way Ryou. If she's trully that innocent then leave her be. Let her dream in peace, at least for a short while. The world will come crashing down around her ears soon enough."

Ryou blinked in surprise at his yami's words. "I never really thought of it like that before, but I suppose you're right."

Bakura turned and wrinkled his nose at him, but there was a smile on his face. "Of course I'm right. I'm always right aibou, and don't forget it!" The white-haired yami winked before disappearing back into his soul room. Ryou sat staring off into space for a moment before the reality of Bakura's last statement reached him.

"Wait, did he just call me...!?!"

()()()()()

There! Short, I know, but I can't help it. It just popped into my head as I was reading the end of Taliesin and I had to write it. ^_^ *looks over at Bakura and Ryou* How'd you two get on the subject of me, anyway?

Ryou: *shrugs* You're asking us?

Bakura: *suspiciously* I happen to know for a fact that you aren't really that innocent.

Me: ^_^;; Shhhhh!!!!!!!!!! Do you want the readers to hear?!?!?

Yami: *walks in, looks at the last paragraph, and suddenly bursts out laughing* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAKURA CALLED RYOU AIBOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bakura: *seriously ticked off* Shut up Pharoah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *steals WSJ's Akane-size Mallet and begins to chase Yami around with it*

Yami: Eep! *runs like heck*

Ryou & me: *sigh* -_-;;;

Me: Ten bucks says Yami grabs the Frying Pan of Doom and turns the tables on Bakura.

Ryou: *digs around in his pocket* Deal.