*TWHUMP!*

"-And that should be the last one!" Akefia Bakura clapped his hands together, as if to remove the dirt from the moving containers.

"Home, sour home." His younger, half-brother snorted as he kicked a smaller box aside.

"Hey, you wanna kick something, kick a box filled with your crap." The elder sibling warned. He knew the younger Bakura wasn't thrilled with the move, but his patience was wearing thin.

The pale-skinned teen only grumbled in response.

Akefia felt conflicted- his desire to comfort his obviously displaced sibling was tempered by his annoyance with Bakura's attitude.

The harried adult ran a dark hand through his white hair. It had been a rough year for both of them- several months ago, the two siblings had lost their father (and Bakura's mother) in a car accident.

Although both boys had been upset, Akefia was most distraught by his only close family's reaction. His half-brother had never been the 'ideal' student; but ever since the tragedy, it seemed like all he did was skip classes and pick fights. He'd even taken up shoplifting, and a local judge had promised that any further incidents would be met with actual prison time. Eventually, Akefia put his college plans on hold for a while, and moved back in with his sibling.

Things had steadily improved, with Bakura gradually talking more and fighting less. But then Akefia announced that they needed a 'fresh start' somewhere else. Truthfully, he'd run into a bit of a bind when it came to his younger brother's high school enrollment. Bakura had been banned from every school in their current district. Not to mention, their old home was much too large for two boys on a fixed income.

So, the pair reluctantly grabbed their belongings and moved to the nearby city of Kiyoshi. Akefia had found a nice, ranch-style dwelling for lease. The furnished house was situated in a sleepy suburb not far from the local beach.

"Here, this is yours-" Akefia easily lifted a large backpack and tossed it to his sibling, "-take it upstairs and check out your room. It's the first door on the left."

The skinnier boy caught the bag, and muttered something that sounded like, 'fine.'

The twenty-two year old held back a sigh as his half-brother turned to march up the stairs. The moody teen was hard to read, but after several months it seemed like Bakura was finally returning to his usual, 'unusual' self.

Seventeen-year old Ginjiro Bakura preferred to be called by his surname only- he thought it sounded more impressive. He typically enjoyed pulling pranks, watching horror films, and playing gory video games. His dislikes included people in general, and anything he deemed 'educational' or 'healthy.'

'First door on the left...' The frustrated teen stared at the wooden door. The modest house wasn't that bad- so far everything was pretty new and clean. But it was still a step down from their old home.

The door quietly swung open, revealing a somewhat dusty bedroom. There was a twin-sized bed, a small nightstand, several bookcases (Bakura snorted at the books lining the shelves- who would ever want to read that much?!), and a computer desk facing the windowsill.

Overall, it wasn't terrible, although the teen did scowl at the thick layer of dust covering the furniture. The realtor had mentioned something about a 'family tragedy,' which led to the need to rent the home without outright selling. He didn't bother listening to the dreary details- all he knew was that this dingy little dwelling was theirs for the next two years.

'Eh?' Bakura paused. He thought he saw something glinting from down in the musty darkness. The new tenant frowned as he studied the shadows underneath the bed-springs.

"The hell..." Something circular was lying under the bed- the intrigued teen reached underneath the furniture and felt his fingers close around something cool and smooth.

He pulled the object out, hacking as a flurry of dust-bunnies escaped. The object was also covered in a thin layer of dust. It appeared to be a circle with several fake icicle-like pendants. The teen nearly scoffed aloud when he saw the bright gold paint under the dust. Who the hell would put such a flashy ornament on their Christmas tree?

He was about to throw the thing across the room, when he noticed the rope- it was a rough, crude twine ending in a tight knot.

'You're kidding me- someone actually wore this garbage?!' The deviant nearly snorted as he looked over the dirty necklace. There was something odd about the primitive jewelry, though- for one thing, when he first picked up the ugly pendant it had felt cold, like metal. But now he could feel a warmth radiating from the item- even from the dusty areas he hadn't touched yet.

'Weird...'

He slowly lifted the odd trinket, not expecting the weight that seemed to come from the golden object. Bakura was just about to let the cord slip down onto his neck when he was interrupted by a fast knocking on his door.

"Hey, I know you don't wanna unpack, but your boxers really don't add to the décor down here- get a move on already!"

Just before sliding the object back under the bed, the teen marveled at the unusual pattern that adorned the main pendant. It looked like an eye of some sort.

'Really weird...'

For some reason, Bakura couldn't get that unusual item out of his head. The whole rest of the evening he was distracted, grabbing the wrong boxes and even dropping a rather large box on Akefia's foot.

The elder brother let out a string of impressive curses, and after a (somewhat) heartfelt apology, Akefia decided that they were both tired. So the two boys ordered a pizza and threw the rest of the boxes in their appropriate rooms.

"I already made up the beds- we'll deal with the rest tomorrow. I called the phone guys, and they said our Wi-Fi should be set up by mid-afternoon at the latest."

Bakura grunted in reply and turned to head up the stairs. "G'night."

Akefia let out a muted sigh as the vexed boy headed to his room. "G'night, brother."

Several minutes later, Ginjiro Bakura slid under the dark blue bed-covers and grabbed his laptop. It took a moment for the teen to remember that they still didn't have WIFI yet. With no internet on his laptop, there wasn't much to distract the teenaged deviant. Grumbling, he fumbled around with his old saved files before finally shutting down for the night.

Not quite ready to 'turn in,' the frustrated adolescent searched the room. But even in the fading moonlight he could tell that nothing had changed since he first stepped inside. The desk, the books, the lamps... everything was how it first appeared- dusty and drab.

But something... something was off.

He couldn't explain it, but for some reason that 'something' was bothering him. And he had a nagging feeling that he knew just what 'it' really was.

With any annoyed huff, the teen climbed out of bed and reached under the frame. He pulled up the gaudy pendant and sat on his bed, staring at the unusual object.

'Hnn... still don't know why that stupid thing is bugging me so much... huh, it's bloody heavy.'

Bakura felt himself inadvertently slipping the roughly hewn cord over his head. The worn fibers tickled his skin as they drifted down his neck. 'Hmm, maybe it's real gold? That would explain why I found it so-'

'Hello?'

"GAH!" The teen gasped and quickly ripped the ring away from his neck. "What the f***?!"

But there was no response. The room was just as still and silent as the moment he'd first seen it. The panicked youth eyed the strange pendant. It sat, gleaming innocently on the unwashed floor.

Bakura stared intently at the pendant. But nothing happened. He stiffly reached down and picked up the corded object.

He hesitantly slid the old rope around his neck once more- and nearly jumped a second time as the sounds returned.

''I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you! I just wanted to ask some questions.'

A polite voice was ringing through Bakura's mind- but it wasn't coming through his ears. Instead, it felt more like it was coming from within his own body- almost like the internal rumblings of a hungry stomach.

Bakura closed his eyes and shook his head in confusion. "What- the- how the hell am I hearing you in my head?!"

There was a brief pause before the well-mannered voice spoke again. 'Um, I'm afraid I'm not really sure... I don't know what's going on- I couldn't see anything, and then suddenly, I could- and now I can't again.'

The younger sibling was starting to suspect a prank. "What the hell do you mean, 'you could see and now you can't?'" His eyes were still scrunched up in frustration. On a whim, Bakura opened his eyes, and the voice in his head gasped.

'Oh! And now I can again! Apparently I'm looking through your eyes- how odd. Are you a ghost?'

The teen was feeling completely baffled by this insanity. "I was about to ask you that question! NO, I'm not a bloody ghost! I'm alive!"

'Oh. I thought I was, too... how strange. Maybe I'm hallucinating? I know some hospital painkillers can give patients unusual delusions...'

"You're not in a freakin' hospital; you're in a freakin' necklace!"

'A... a necklace? What- how could that even be possible? I was in a car crash...'

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" The wearer hissed warningly at the pendant.

'A joke? No, I don't imagine this is... I mean, one of us would be in on it then, right? And goodness knows I'm not, and you sound pretty clueless yourself...'

Bakura let out a soft growl. "Is that an insult or a statement?"

'It wasn't meant to be offensive, though I can understand your interpretation.'

The necklace bearer snorted. "Why do you talk so funny? You sound like a damn Literature teacher or something."

There was an echo of faint laughter- it was actually a rather pleasant sound. 'I was born abroad- in England, actually. My parents moved to Japan a few years afterwards, but I learned to speak English first. Apparently I've adopted the 'proper dialect' of both languages.'

The ring felt warm again- Bakura was beginning to suspect that he could sense the other being's emotions through the strange conduit. Sadness felt cold and heavy; happiness meant warmth and airiness.

'So, why did you move into my home?'

"Wait, you're the previous owner?!"

'I-I think so?' The voice sounded hesitant again. The ring grew slightly colder. 'Truth be told, I'm not quite sure; I mean, I don't really remember anything factual... but it all seems very familiar. If it wasn't my home then I must have spent quite some time here... for some reason.'

"Right..." Bakura frowned; just what the hell had been in that pizza? "Well, my half-brother and I just moved in. I found this ugly thing under the bed-frame."

'Eh? A 'thing'?' The voice gave an audible gasp when Bakura's eyes drifted over the gaudy necklace. 'Oh! That's mine! I remember now- my father gave it to me!'

"You mean you wore this thing?" Bakura's question was dripping with sharp sarcasm, but the internal voice wasn't discouraged.

'Yes, it was a gift. I was proud to wear it.'

Bakura was surprised by the sudden stubborn streak from the otherwise mild-mannered entity. He felt his face twist in a slight smirk.

"You must've been a major dork."

'Hey! I was not- er, I mean, I don't think I was- oh, nevermind.' The voice fell silent for a few moments. Bakura took advantage of the lull to ask his own questions.

"So how the hell did your head end up inside a necklace? I mean, if you aren't dead, then why are you in here?" The physical teen tapped the surface of the gilded amulet.

'I... I have no clue.' The necklace started to feel heavy again, and a faint chill emanated from the glistening metal. 'I remember being hit by a car... it was all so loud- I remember the screech of the brakes, the sound of the metal bending and glass breaking... someone was yelling for help, and I could hear screaming... but, I don't think I died.'

"But you don't know." Bakura bluntly pointed out.

'No... I suppose not.' The voice seemed to grow softer, and the ring remained cooler than usual. 'I mean, do dead people know they're... gone? I always thought I'd know... somehow...'

Bakura was about to reply, but jumped when he was interrupted by a loud yell from somewhere down the hall.

"Hey! You fall asleep with everything on?! It's already 1 A.M.! Turn your lights off, NOW!"

'Is- is that your brother?' The voice sounded slightly amused by the authoritative threat. 'He sounds pretty stern.'

"Half-brother, actually." Bakura raised his voice to yell towards the door frame. "IN A MINUTE!" His voice lowered again as he added, "But we're close, so I guess 'brothers' is fine. And he's not usually a complete jack*ss- he just worries too much."

'About you?'

"I guess."

Ryou could guess from the flat tone that Bakura didn't feel like elaborating. 'Ah. Well, you should probably head to bed anyway.'

"And what about you?"

'I don't really seem to 'sleep'...in fact, I think I'm only 'conscious' when you're wearing the ring.' There was a weighty pause between the spirit's words. 'So if you take it off, I guess I'll 'go away.' Erm, so to speak.'

The voice sound steady, but Bakura could feel the ring vibrate nervously at the mention of 'going away.'

"Right, well, I can't sleep with this heavy thing around my neck, so I'm taking it off."

His fingers had barely felt the rough rope when the voice spoke again. This time, it was strangely quiet and rather subdued.

'Bakura?'

"Hn?"

'If... if it's not too much trouble, would you mind... maybe putting the ring on again, sometime? In the future? It's, um, really nice... to have someone to talk to.'

Bakura snorted as he took his fingers off the cord.

"Tch. Don't be stupid." He felt another tremor of nervousness. "You obviously don't have a d*mn clue what happened to you. And I'm not such a heartless b*stard that I wouldn't at least give you a couple minutes to check up on the internet or something."

The ring seemed to physically glow with what Bakura assumed was joy. The voice was brimming with emotion, and the entire golden ring felt lighter than air.

'Oh, thank you, thank you so much- I don't know if I can ever repay you, but please accept my deepest gratitude!'

"It's nothing." The teen struggled not to let his own face flush- he wasn't used to such extravagant praise. But apparently the nameless spirit was truly happy to have met him...

"Hey, one last thing- give me your name. I don't even know what to call you."

'I don't remember my full name, but I think I was called... Ryou?'

"Your name was 'Ryou?'" The white-haired youth smirked. "Oh yeah, you were definitely a nerd."

'Hey!'

Bakura snickered as he finally made to lift the necklace back over his head. "G'night then, Ryou."

'G'night, Bakura!' The voice sounded quite cheerful, even as the teen removed the jewelry and placed it carefully on his wooden bedside table.

Akefia was only seconds away from screaming at his little brother- it was nearly 2 AM!- but then the lights suddenly turned off.

The deep-skinned man felt himself freeze- since when did Bakura actually turn the lights off before the fifth time he was yelled at?

Confused but pleased, Akefia calmly stepped back into his room. The two brothers slept soundly that night. Meanwhile, the golden jewelry lay upon the wooden nightstand, gleaming silently in the moonlight.