Duelist's Point
Chapter 2: Renn's Arrival
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A cold, windy day in March, Bakura Ryou opened the door to his apartment, expecting the pizza boy and instead coming face-to-face with his father. As it was the first Ryou had seen of him in months, he stared at him in surprise for a moment before his brain registered that the slender man was not alone.
At his father's side stood a small girl, wrapped in an enormous black coat.
"Hello, Ryou," Mr. Bakura said.
"Hi, Otou-san*," he replied demurely, stepping out of the doorway to let them in.
"Let me introduce you to Lee Renn. Renn, this is your second cousin, Ryou. Ryou, Renn is the daughter of my cousin Tomo. I don't know if you two remember, but you were friends when you were younger." Shrugging off his coat, he added, "Renn will be staying with us for a little while."
Ryou blinked. "Staying?"
Mr. Bakura frowned. "She has no other family but us anymore, Ryou. She'll stay in your room for now. You can have my bed."
"Oh no, Otou-san, I can take the couch. I sleep on a bed all the time anyway, unlike you."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind the couch. It would actually be an improvement from those sleeping bags that I seem to spend all my time in."
Shaking his head, Ryou said, "I'll be fine."
Mr. Bakura smiled. "That's my boy. Will you show Renn to your room?"
Blushing at the small bit of affection he'd received, Ryou nodded and beckoned the girl to his bedroom, his socked feet padding softly on the wooden floors. She followed silently, eyes on the ground. After he showed her where to put her bags, he began straightening out his desk.
Hoping to clear the awkward silence between them, Ryou prompted, "So we were friends? When?" He chuckled a little, realizing how rude he sounded. "Sorry, I've transferred schools so many times that I don't remember."
"It was in Kyoto," she replied, sitting tentatively on the bed. Ryou looked at her, head tilted. Playing with the buttons of her coat, she looked uncomfortable about the subject. "I don't really remember it, either. It was around when I was sent to the hospital in a coma."
"Oh," Ryou said quietly as the truth sank in. As soon as he had begun to talk to Bakura and the two had reached a tentative—if not understanding—truce, he had asked him for an explanation for all of the comatose students he'd had to run away from in the past years. The reality of the situation had shocked him, but Bakura had just been amused. But if Renn was here—and her soul seemed to be intact—then maybe the damage hadn't been too monumental. Relief flooded him at this thought. "I'm sorry," he blurted out.
Renn shrugged and watched as Ryou continued to clean his desk.
"What's that?" she asked, alarmed, when he tried to quickly hide the dagger he'd found lying under a pile of schoolbooks.
"Oh, this old thing? It's just a collector's item, don't worry," he lied nervously, cursing Bakura for leaving his toys around in such conspicuous places. Renn looked slightly worried but let it slide. Several minutes of awkward silence passed by.
"I can take the couch, if you want," Renn said suddenly.
"Oh no, that's fine. I don't mind the couch, and besides, you're a guest."
"Okay," Renn conceded, examining her finger nails. Ryou sighed. It looked like he was going to do all the talking here.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"
Renn shrugged again. "Like your father said, you're my only remaining relatives."
"What happened to your family?"
Ryou swore that she was about to be absorbed into the bed, judging by how low she'd slumped in her seat. "My father just passed away, and my mother left us when I was young," she said quietly
"I'm sorry," he said again, but she just frowned and lay down in bed, facing the wall.
"Lee-san? I didn't mean to offend you or anything…"
But the girl refused to speak anymore.
/Why am I on the couch?/ Bakura asked as soon as he'd taken over Ryou's body.
//Renn-san is sleeping in my bed, so I have to sleep on the couch.//
/A girlfriend, host?/
Ryou laughed from his soul room. //No, spirit, just a guest.//
/Hmm./
//Good night, spirit. Please don't get me into too much trouble. And don't stay out too long, in case Father decides to check on me.//
His only reply a grunt, Bakura crept out the door and leaped off the balcony.
After an awkward bus ride, Ryou showed Renn to the principal's office and left her there with a promise to meet her at the bus stop after school so they could ride home together.
He found himself worrying about her throughout the first three periods. At lunch, he sat alone as usual and found himself wondering where she was. Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice Yuugi joining him at his table.
"Hi, Bakura-kun!" Yuugi chirped.
"Oh! Hello, Yuugi-kun. What are you doing here?"
"You looked lonely, so I thought I'd keep you company."
"How nice, "Ryou smiled, "but you don't need to feel obligated; I'm fine."
Yuugi smiled back. "We're friends, silly. Anyway, we're going to the arcade today after school, and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?"
"Sure," Ryou replied happily, excited to be a part of the close-knit group. He felt like he hadn't talked to them in forever, although it had probably only been a few weeks. "That sounds like fun."
Nodding, Yuugi said, "It is!" He looked like he wanted to say more, but the lunch bell rang and students began scuttling out of the cafeteria to return to their classes. "I'll see you after school, then, Bakura-kun?"
"Yes, don't leave without me!" Yuugi laughed and followed his friends back to their classroom, Ryou trailing slowly behind him.
After school, Ryou sprinted to the bus stop, where Renn was already waiting.
"I won't be riding with you after all, Renn-san," Ryou announced, panting. "I'm going with a couple of friends over to the arcade. Will you be okay riding the bus by yourself?"
"I am perfectly capable of riding a bus," Renn assured him. "Thank you anyway."
"I'll see you at home then?" Ryou smiled kindly at her. Renn's face didn't twitch; she nodded and went back to staring at the graffiti on the bus stop. Ryou sighed in discouragement, but he waved and sprinted back to the front of the school to meet Yuugi and his friends.
As Jounouchi and Honda gleefully shot zombies and Anzu played DDR with a bunch of kids, Yuugi pulled Ryou aside.
"Ne, Yuugi-kun?"
"Has the spirit been bothering you?"
Ryou blinked, startled. "No… Actually, we talked. He's…all right. We made an agreement about sharing my body. I'm tired a lot now, but at least I'm not missing school or waking up in alleys anymore."
"Well, that's good!" Yuugi smiled. "You should talk to him about being tired, though. You look exhausted."
Shrugging, Ryou said, "I don't want to make him mad. I'm just glad that he agreed to letting me have my body in the day." They walked up to a combat game and inserted their coins into the machine.
"No, Other Me, I want to play," Yuugi muttered to himself. Ryou laughed, but a vague sense of envy shot through him. He wished that he and Bakura could be partners like Yuugi and his spirit.
"How is he?"
"Oh, the other me? He's…restless. He thinks that it's too quiet. After the past year, going to school with me is hardly entertaining for him."
Ryou smiled grimly. "I much prefer the quiet." He groaned when Yuugi's character pummeled his and a red "K.O.!" flashed on the screen. Yuugi nodded in agreement.
"Me, too." They started another match. "So what have you been up to lately?"
Surprised, Ryou looked at Yuugi strangely.
"Did I say something wrong?" Yuugi's character was somehow still winning even though he wasn't looking at the screen but instead at Ryou's puzzled face.
"No, no, I'm just…not accustomed to…small talk. I don't have any…" He trailed off sadly, thinking about all the people he'd accidentally sent to the hospital. Renn was only one in many. "Friends" was the unspoken word he was too ashamed to say. He glanced at Yuugi, who bore an expression not of pity but of empathy.
"It's okay. You have me, Bakura-kun."
"No, you don't understand, Yuugi-kun," Ryou said sadly.
"I understand better than you think I do. I didn't used to have any friends except for Anzu until recently. You know, when I completed the Millennium Puzzle, I wished for a friend. And now I have so many. It's really great!" As the screen flashed "PLAYER 1 WINS", Yuugi laid a small hand on Ryou's shoulder. "You have us, too, Bakura-kun. Especially me. If you need someone to talk to or spend time with, I'll be here."
Ryou's heart briefly filled with warmth before the sensation disappeared. "Thank you, Yuugi-kun, but… All my friends always end up hurt because the spirit doesn't like them. I don't want that to happen to you and your friends. I can't accept your offer."
"Oh, Bakura-kun… You don't have to worry. If anything happens, the other me will protect us."
Ryou jolted as Bakura laughed in his mind. /Arrogant midget,/ he chuckled, /I'll come right back, no matter what the Pharaoh does./
"What if he can't?" he said quietly, although he knew that Bakura could hear his every word.
"He will," Yuugi promised, and Ryou wasn't so sure, but Yuugi's large eyes were so full of hope and determination that he couldn't let him down.
"Okay," he said softly, and desperately hoped that he wouldn't regret his words. Yuugi's brilliant grin was too kind to lose.
Ryou came home to the sweet aroma of teriyaki and rice and suddenly realized how hungry he was. Upon entering the kitchen, he was surprised to find Renn in an apron at the stove, stirring soup.
"Hi, Renn-san," he greeted. She turned around and nodded at him before going back to stirring the soup. "It smells delicious."
"Thank you. Your father called to tell you that he will be soon."
Ryou nodded.
It was strange not coming home to an empty apartment. Strange — but nice.
With this thought in mind, he began to unpack his books.
Two weeks later, and Ryou's body ached badly from what sleep he did get in-between school, homework, and Bakura's mysterious nocturnal adventures. He was too tall to fit comfortably on the couch, but he didn't say anything because his father would be leaving again soon. Indeed, Mr. Bakura departed for Africa within a week, leaving Ryou and Renn to themselves.
One day, Ryou returned from hanging out at Yuugi's house to find Renn crying and violently tearing apart a piece of tissue in the living room. Wide-eyed, he asked if she was okay, but she ignored him and continued bawling. Uncertain about what to do, he settled down next to her on the floor and patted her back periodically, eyes filled with concern. At first, she flinched upon contact but then seemed to relax.
Half an hour later, she stopped and had resigned herself to quiet sniffling.
"My father died of leukemia a month ago," she said, out of the blue. "He was a good man. He worked himself too hard sometimes, but he always tried to take good care of me. After Mother left, we went through a really difficult period of time, but he got us through it. He didn't deserve to die. He was a good man."
Not knowing what to say, Ryou just nodded.
"I miss him. I wonder where he is now."
"Wherever he is, he'll always remain in your heart," Ryou said softly, thinking of his mother and Amane. "My…mother and my sister both passed away when I was young, but I still think about them all the time."
Renn looked surprised. "I'm sorry," she said, "Here I am, whining about my tragedies when you've had to live with it for so long."
Ryou shrugged. "Things happen," he said quietly, thinking not only about his family but also about Bakura, and Yuugi, and his friends. "I'm used to it by now."
They sat in a companiable silence.
"You're nice, Bakura-san."
"I try," Ryou smiled. And for the first time, he thought he saw a small answering smile on Renn's face.
"Bakura-kun, why do you wear that weird thing around your neck?"
Ryou blinked, chewing and swallowing his rice before answering. He often forgot about the Millennium Item around his neck; it felt so at home against his chest. For a long period of time, he'd been too scared to wear it, instead just keeping it in his pocket. But after he and Bakura had talked, he'd begun wearing it around his neck again, this time not bothering to hide it under his shirt. He figured that if he got in any danger because of it, Bakura would protect their body.
"It was a gift from my father. He got it in Egypt."
She nodded. "It's really cool. Can I see it later?"
He shook his head. "I would, but it might make Bakura angry, and he might hurt you."
She stared at him, expression reading "What the hell kind of drugs are you on?"
"What?"
Ryou groaned, realizing his careless mistake. "Please forget I said anything. I don't know how that slipped out."
Renn narrowed her eyes. "No, now I'm curious. Why did you just talk about yourself in third person? And why would you hurt me?"
"It's…complicated."
"Well, explain," she demanded, suddenly more alive than Ryou could remember seeing her.
"Really complicated."
"I'm listening."
"I'm…inhabited by an evil Egyptian spirit who was trapped in this thing 3,000 years ago."
Renn choked on her tea and thumped her chest a few times before bursting out into laughter. "Bakura-kun, I didn't know you were so funny."
"I'm not joking," Ryou said seriously. She stared at him, the laughter coming to a stop. "I told you it was complicated."
"It's…evil?"
Ryou shrugged. "He's angry and scary and kind of bloodthirsty. But he's not irrational, just…harsh."
Bakura snorted in his mind. /My, host, glad you think so highly of me. But I do like the "evil spirit" title./
Ryou laughed. He liked it when Bakura was funny. Renn stared at him again. Realizing his mistake, Ryou winced. "He's in my head. We can converse telepathically."
Renn looked skeptical. "Bakura-kun, are you sure that you're not…"
"Suffering from some mental disorder? I thought it was that for the longest time, but… Now I'm sure I'm not, because my friend has a spirit in his Millennium Item, too, and my spirit knows him."
"Are you certain you're not both just…"
Ryou nodded. "I'm sure. I just…know."
Renn nodded in response, but continued to look skeptical and concerned.
"Why was he trapped?" she asked.
"He won't tell me. He wants to kill my friend's spirit and do something with the Millennium Items, but I don't know what or why. I only know what my friend has told me. I…don't ever remember anything that happens when he takes over."
"Isn't it kind of dangerous, having a bloodthirsty evil spirit running around in your body — especially without your knowledge?"
Ryou shrugged. "It scares me, too, but nothing can be done about it, so I just have to live with it."
"Couldn't you get him exorcised or something?"
"No!" Ryou's hand gripped the Ring protectively. "No, I couldn't do that. He's…" He fumbled for words, "he's not pleasant, but he's a part of me."
/I'm touched, host./
//I mean it.//
He felt a sense of satisfaction emanating from the spirit that made Renn's skeptical "If you say so" significantly less frustrating to deal with.
Bakura really wasn't so bad sometimes.
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* Father