I slowly blink the sleep away from my eyes and wonder, "Who did Ryou kill last night?"
I sit up and my bare feet touch the floor at the edge of my bed. A heavy sigh escapes me. The remnants of a dream still flit around my mind. It was a good dream. A dream of simpler times when Ryou was nothing more than an effeminate boy of pure innocence. Back when I could solve any problem either of us had with the use of brute force. If only things were so easy now.
As I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen I look for clues as to where Ryou could be. I open several of the drawers to find that many of our kitchen knives are missing. The phone rings, as usual it's the local police.
"Hello, Mei speaking," I say politely into the phone.
"We found your brother passed out on someone's lawn. You know he really needs to get on some medication for this sleep walking habit of his," the chief of police states.
I cant help but roll my eyes at his ignorance. Honestly, I thought the police were smarter. Ryou's "extreme sleep walking" was just something I made up when the police discovered him passed out in a gutter the first time. I couldn't believe they were still buying that ridiculous lie.
"Is he ok?" I ask.
"He's fine, we just woke him up. You've told your father about this right?"
"Yes I have. He's looking into medication," I lie. Lately I've been lying so much I can hardly tell what's true. The lies I tell people are a far better reality than the truth.
I quickly change into my school uniform and wait for Ryou's arrival. I know that he won't have any serious injuries. Bakura may be cruel, but he is careful.
Bakura is Ryou's parasite, a spirit that lives off my brother's body. Bakura dwells inside the millennium ring and lets Ryou have control in the daylight, but night is another story. Bakura uses Ryou to kill and torture.
The millennium ring was a gift to both of us from our father. It was a birthday present. I often times lie awake at night wondering what would have happened if Bakura had chosen me as a host instead of Ryou.
The doorbell interrupts my thoughts. I open the door to find a disheveled Ryou standing in its wake.
"Good morning, sis," he says, attempting to sound jovial when in fact he is confused and exhausted. I grab him by the arm and pull him inside.
"Get ready quickly or we will be late for school," I say coldly. I'm relieved Ryou is ok, but there's a small part if me will always resent him. Ryou does as he is told and within a matter of minutes we are walking to school.
"Do you remember anything from last night?" I ask
Ryou shakes his head. "It's hazy. I don't want to remember." I nod silently. I wouldn't want to remember either. A pained expression rests on Ryou delicate features.
"Stop it," he mutters to himself, "Stop talking! You promised you'd let me have a day alone if I did it..."
"Ryou you're talking to yourself," I say, trying to decipher the meaning of what I just heard.
Ryou says nothing. He and Bakura not only share a body, but a mind link as well. They can peer into each others minds and communicate through their thoughts. As a result, Ryou can never be truly alone.
We arrive at school and sit down during home room. I begin a small doodle of the millennium ring in the margin of my notebook. As attendance comes to a close I draw an X over my sketch. It'd be best if that thing never existed.
Classes without Ryou pass in the blink of an eye. Classes I share with Ryou pass agonizingly slowly. I know enough about Ryou's body language to know when his parasite is invading his mind. I'm always watching to see how much pain he appears to be in. The longer he's been wearing that cursed object the harder it is to see his emotions. To someone who was seeing Ryou for the first time, he may appear to be completely normal. But I know better.
Today seems to be a particularly hard day. I watch from the back row as Ryou struggles to maintain composure. I stare in silence as Ryou tries to block Bakura from his mind.
Please Ryou, I pray as I stare at the clock in dismay. Class is only half over. The clock moves horrendously slowly. Ryou starts yanking on his hair.
I stare at the clock. C'mon you bastard move faster! I scream internally. I notice Ryou has covered his ears with both his hands. Our teacher, a disagreeable old woman, begins to scold Ryou for not paying attention. Ryou begins clawing at his arms with his fingernails.
"Boy, what in blazes are you doing?" our teacher asks.
Ryou buries his face in his hands. I can't watch silently any longer. Abruptly, I rise to my feet.
"Leave him alone!" I yell across the room. The stares of my classmates migrate from Ryou to me.
That's right, just stare at me until Ryou pulls himself together, I think to myself. Ryou doesn't pull himself together, rather he loses himself completely.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up," he murmurs.
"I'm sorry boy, what did you say to me?" our teacher, Mrs. Jenkins questions. Ryou doesn't seem to be hearing anything outside of himself.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" his cries increase in volume.
"Ryou..." I wimper, I feel tears come to my eyes. Why an I doomed to watch the person I care for the most suffer like this?
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He screams. Ryou rips the ring off his neck and throws it at the wall. It lands with a clatter onto the floor.
Ryou stands for a few moments, breathing heavily. Then his eyes widen and his knees buckle. He falls into a hysterically sobbing heap in front of his desk.
"Ryou!" I scream as I run towards him. I trip over my untied shoelace and fall face first onto the floor. Rather than stand up, I crawl frantically towards Ryou.
Heavy, salty tears fall freely from Ryou's eyes as I embrace him tightly. The class stares at us, silent and motionless. I let out a small release of air, as I realize I had been holding my breath this whole time.
A scream, that isn't Ryou's, breaks the silence.
"The ring! It's moving!" a girl named Serenity cries.
Everyone diverts their gaze from Ryou and I to the ring. Slowly it rises. All the prongs extend to reach their farthest lengths. It begins to emit a high pitch screeching. Everyone flinches and covers their ears. I do nothing, except stare at Ryou. His eyes no longer contain pain, but fear.
A beam of light shoots from the center of the ring and lands directly in the middle of Ryou's forehead.
Ryou's panicked voice shouts over the screeching. "No. Not now. It's still daytime. IT'S NOT YOUR TURN YET!"
I want to look away. I want to just close my eyes and wait for this to be over. But I can't. I swore I would always look after Ryou, and keep him safe. If I look away, I'm not keeping my promise. The light glows brighter, the screeching grows louder. So loud, that I can't hear Ryou's desperate pleas.
And then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The room is silent once more. The ring goes limp and falls to the ground. I look into Ryou's eyes and my heart sinks into my stomach. Ryou's chocolate brown irises have been replaced with sinister red ones. Bakura has taken control.
This isn't the first time I've seen Bakura, but it's the first time I've seen him in broad daylight. Without the shadows of the night hiding him, it's shocking how much he resembles Ryou. Slowly, Bakura stands up. He opens his mouth and speaks.
"Foolish child! You thought you could get rid of me so easily! Ha! You're even more naive than I thought!"
Bakura turns his attention to me, still sitting on the floor in front of him. I return his gaze. Bakura gives me a menacing chuckle.
"You are an even bigger fool than your brother of you think you can beat me, Mei."
My stare doesn't waver. An icy calm has taken over me. I won't back down. Ryou needs me. I rise to my feet. Bakura let's out a long cruel laugh.
"Maybe I misjudged you. I thought you were smarter than Ryou."
I don't respond. Not because I don't want to speak, but because I know my voice will show fear. I don't want to give away my only advantage. Right now, Bakura doesn't know I fear him.
"What is this sorcery?! Ryou! I command you to sit down right this very instant!" Mrs. Jenkins squawkes from the back of the room.
Bakura whips his head around to face her.
"What did you just say to me?" his voice dangerously calm.
"You command me?" he says walking slowly towards her, his voice increasing in volume.
"I don't think you fully understand the situation, mortal," Bakura says harshly.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small Swiss army knife. He holds just inches from her face, smiling cruelly.
Panic washes over me. I run towards Bakura.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" I scream.
Bakura turns around and lands a swift punch to my face. The unexpected punch sends me plummeting to the ground.
"It must be so hard for you to watch your poor little brother suffer so much," Bakura says mockingly.
"You should stop blaming yourself. Ryou brought this on himself."
My face shows no emotion, but my eyes have a glint of confusion.
"Oh he didn't tell you?" Bakura continues, "He didn't have to accept me into his body. He had a choice. He chose this life of pain."
I close my eyes. He's lying. He must be lying. Ryou wouldn't choose this. He's just playing with me.
"I don't believe you!" I shout at Bakura, " I'll never believe a word you say!"
I feel a tear trickle down my cheek. What did Ryou do to deserve any of this?
"You should know by now that tears do absolutely nothing. You're just as weak as Ryou," Bakura scoffs.
I wipe the tears from my eyes and stand up to face Bakura.
"Ryou is not weak," I say through clenched teeth, "Ryou is naive. Ryou is quiet and awkward around people. Ryou is too trusting and overly optimistic. But he IS NOT weak."
Bakura does nothing but stare at me and laugh. It's a long, maniacal laugh.
Anger overtakes my body. While Bakura is least expecting it, I punch him hard in the nose.
The students let out a collective gasp. A drop of blood from Bakura's nose hits the floor.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT MORTAL!" Bakura shouts, his voice shaking with anger.
With one swift motion he kicks my feet out from under me. As I fall he jumps on my leg. The bone snaps in two. The crunch of bone is the last thing I hear before I black out.
"Mei, Mei, hey Mei, are you awake?"
I force myself awake to find Ryou standing over me. A small, sad smile rests on his face.
"Do you remember anything from yesterday?" Ryou asks.
Yesterday? What was yesterday? My head feels so cloudy it's hard to focus.
"Maybe this will help you remember," Ryou says as he hands me my notebook.
In the margin is the doodle I made of the millennium ring. In the corner is yesterday's date.
"Ryou what is this supposed to mean?" I murmur sleepily.
"Perhaps it's best to tell you when you are fully awake," Ryou mutters, crestfallen.
"Ryou where are we?" I ask. I've just noticed that we are not in my bedroom.
"Erm, we are in the hospital. Your leg was broken," Ryou says, shifting uncomfortably.
I look down at the large cast encasing my leg. Memories of yesterday flood back to me.
"You... Bakura... Is everyone ok?" I have so many questions, but my groggy brain won't put them into words.
"I'm so so sorry Mei! I hurt you..." Ryou says, his voice trembling.
"Your didn't hurt me, Bakura did," I say.
"Bakura used me to hurt you. He swore he'd never do that..." Ryou says his voice trailing off.
A small silence fills the room, until it is broken by a question.
"Is it true that you had a choice? You could have chosen to make Bakura go away?" I ask.
Ryou stares at the floor, "Yes, it's true."
"Then why? Why did you do it? Why did you accept him?" I ask even more puzzled than ever.
"You wouldn't understand if I told you," Ryou answers.
"Then help me to understand, Ryou. I'm begging you!"
"I did it because... because he needed me. Because I couldn't say no. Because I felt sorry for him. Because I thought I could change him," Ryou says.
"Is there a way to get rid of him?" I ask.
Ryou nods his head, "Yes."
"Will you get rid of him?"
Ryou smiles, "No."
It's in that moment that I understand why Bakura chose Ryou instead of me. Ryou is light. He's harmless and loving. I am nothing but darkness. I'm skeptical and and brutal. My strength is my weakness, as Ryou's weakness is his strength. Bakura picked a host that would love him too much to hate him.
"You know that I will always hate Bakura as long as he lives inside you, right?" I say.
Ryou merely shakes his head, " I figured as much."
Another question pops into my mind, "Ryou, tell me, what happened after I blacked out?"
Ryou makes another uncomfortable shift in his position, "I... Bakura was going to kill you."
I nod, "So, why didn't he"
"I regained control of myself and stopped him."
"Ryou that's great!" I say, "I'm so proud of you!"
Ryou smiles shyly, "I guess I can be strong sometimes."
As I look at Ryou, I realize how much he's grown up. He's no longer my little kid brother I have to protect. He can slay his own personal demons, both literally and figuratively.