I don't own Yugioh.

So we had an art contest in anime club. This was my entry. It placed second. 'Course, there were only two entries in the writing section but I never stood a chance against Gabby from the first. But Gabby and I are buddies, we're cool. The needless explanations you may notice was just to make it easier on the teachers judging it so they wouldn't be all wtf is this.

"Release him."

"What?" Bakura looked up at Malik in shock. Malik was floating transparently beside him.

"Release your host," Malik repeated.

"I can't. Ryo's hurt," answered Bakura, fingering the bloodstained bandage on his upper arm, his thoughts flickering to the boy whose body his soul inhabited.

"If you don't allow Ryo control, you'll lose the duel," spat Malik. "And if you lose this duel, the deal's off."

Bakura hesitated. He needed Malik's Millennium Rod. But would he put his hikari, his light half, in harm's way to get it?

His crimson eyes shifted to see his enemy and opponent in the duel, Yugi Mutou. Or, rather, Yugi's dark half, Yami, a spirit like himself that inhabited the body of another,

Yami's Egyptian God Card, Slifer the Sky Dragon, was on the field, and Bakura was completely defenseless. He had no monsters, and his only trap card was useless on a god. If Yami attacked him, he would lose, and he would have to kill Malik if he wanted the Rod. Bakura didn't want to do that yet. Malik had his uses…for now anyway.

"Yami won't attack his friend," Malik said, regaining Bakura's attention. "With Ryo hurt like this, a direct attack from Slifer could kill him. Yami will surrender, and you'll win by default."

"Fine!" shouted Bakura, his short temper flaring as he grew tired of listening to Malik speak. He forced soul out of Ryo's body, becoming a transparent spirit like Malik.

The first thing Ryo registered was pain. With a cry, he gripped his wounded arm and fell to his knees.

"Ryo!" cried Yami, immediately sensing Ryo's dark personality releasing control. Ryo clutched his arm tighter and bit his lower lip, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Where am I? What's going on?" asked Ryo. "How did I get this wound?" He took his hand away from his arm and looked at it. His hand was wet with blood seeping through the gauze wrapped around it.

"Ryo!" Yami shouted again, making to run across the arena to him.

"Stop!" shouted the official, Roland. "Contact with your opponent is forbidden while the duel is taking place. If you move, you'll be disqualified."

Yami glared at him, baring his teeth, but reluctantly took a step back. Too much was riding on this tournament.

"Yami. Help," pleaded Ryo, wishing deep down that Bakura would help him, though he had been the one to stab him in the first place.

Bakura watched, indecision flickering in his eyes. Ryo was hurt, and it was his fault, all because of his need of an alliance with Malik, grinning beside him.

Ryo's brown eyes were dull with pain. Yami's eyes showed that he was seriously debating whether or not to attack. "Bakura…help me…" whispered Ryo, barely audible.

"I changed my mind," said Bakura flatly.

Now it was Malik's turn to look at him in shock. "What?"

"I need Ryo to live. Without a host body, I cannot exist outside of the Millennium Ring," Bakura lied smoothly. It wasn't technically a lie, but it definitely wasn't his only reason.

"No!" hissed Malik as he stared to fade as Bakura forced him away. Bakura shot him a death glare before turning to his attention to the white-haired boy.

"I'm taking back over," he said coldly.

"W-what?" said Ryo, turning to the spirit, invisible to all but him. Fear filled his eyes like they always did when he saw the evil spirit of the Ring. "Y-you can't! Y-Yami won't hesitate to attack you! You could get hurt!"

"And if I don't, and Yami attacks anyway, you'll die and we'll both be sucked into the Ring, and I'll be hurt anyway," Bakura snapped.

He forced his way into Ryo's body. Bakura heard Ryo cry his name as he took Bakura's place as a spirit.

Ignoring his pleas, Bakura shouted across the field. "I'm back!" Bakura laughed evilly.

"Bakura!" Yami spat, eyes narrowing.

"This body is very important to me. I won't allow it to be killed. Go ahead, Yami." Bakura smirked and spread his arms wide. "ATTACK ME!"

"No!" cried Ryo, though his cry went unheard to all but Bakura. Bakura ignored him, his face set.

"Very well, Bakura!" said Yami. "Slifer, attack Bakura's life points directly! Thunder Force!"

The great red dragon growled and shot a blazing yellow ball of flame and lightning at Bakura. Ryo's eyes widened. He watched in mute horror as Bakura was hit dead on and seemed to fall in slow motion. He felt himself being pulled to his soul room as Bakura lost consciousness.

He was in the hallway that divided his soul room and Bakura's. Bakura stood in front of him, swearing and muttering death threats to Yami under his breath.

"Are you okay?" demanded Ryo.

"'Course," said Bakura indifferently. "As if he could kill me."

"How could you do that?" asked Ryo furiously. "You woke me from my soul room just to scare me half to death!"

"It is the yami's job to protect the hikari," Bakura hissed. Ryo flinched at the fury in his voice and had a gut feeling that Bakura would hurt him later for shouting at him. "And I did that. So what the hell is your problem? You were hurt because of something I did and it didn't look like Yami was gonna surrender," Bakura shoved his hands into his pockets. "So I stepped in. Sorry for trying to keep you alive."

Ryo's eyes softened. He slowly approached his yami. "I forgive you," he whispered, though he always forgave Bakura for everything he did. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Ryo leaned up and kissed Bakura softly on the cheek. "But don't ever scare me like that again!" Realizing that he had just shouted at Bakura and displayed affection, Ryo squeaked, turned, and ran through the white door that led to his soul room before Bakura could punish him.

Bakura simply stood there with a stunned look on his face. His hand found his cheek and he touched the spot where Ryo had kissed him. He felt strangely happy and…accomplished?

"Tch. Crazy kid," he muttered, shrugging it off and turning to the black door of his soul room. But, despite himself, he looked behind him at the door that held his sweet hikari. "I've gotta get some sleep. I could've sworn I just called my cute Ryo sweet. And I definitely didn't just say 'cute' out loud. Oh, Ra, I did it again."