Chapter 2

It was pouring rain, and Ryou had forgotten his umbrella. Normally this wouldn't bother him so much, but he had also forgotten his taxi money, and thus he had to run all the way home from school. By the time he returned to his apartment, he was soaked to the bone and shivering. He threw his briefcase to the side, wrung out his hair, and began to strip out of his uniform while walking toward his room.

He froze as he passed the doorway to the living room. Someone was sitting on the couch, a stranger—although one who looked vaguely familiar—who stared at him with unblinking eyes. Ryou's jacket fell to the floor from him limp fingers, and his mind urged him to run, run now, though his feet seemed unable to obey.

"Don't worry," the stranger said. "I'm not here to harm you, Bakura."

That's not altogether reassuring, Ryou thought. "Who are you?" he asked, speaking in English as the strange boy had. "How did you get in?" His gaze flitted to the living room windows, but they all seemed to be intact.

The boy smiled and held up a key. "Extra keys under doormats are too common, Bakura. You should think of a better place to hide it. As for who I am…I'm a little insulted that you don't remember me. After all, we were friends, once." He got up and strode closer.

Ryou flinched away a step. "You do look familiar," he said, "but I'm afraid I don't have many friends, and most of them live here in Japan."

"And you like them so much that you conveniently forgot about everyone you left behind in England? I can't say I blame you, really. None of us were well when you left." The boy grinned.

"Then…you…" Ryou felt his insides tighten at the realization, and he groped through his memory for the right name. "We…we went to the same primary school. In…Leeds? You're…ah…"

"Isaac," the boy finished for him. "Isaac Harwell. You'd think that bit of trauma would keep your memory sharp. I certainly didn't forget you."

Ryou flushed. "I'm sorry. It's just…there were so many. Every time I changed schools and made new friends, he—" He bit the sentence off before he said more. Explaining his years of possession to this boy was the last thing Ryou wanted to do now, though Isaac undoubtedly deserved and expected it. "So, if you're awake now, does that mean the others are as well?" he asked.

Isaac gave a half-shrug. "The other girl who was asleep also woke up. I don't know about any others."

"Yokatta…I'm glad," Ryou said, his shoulders sagging in relief. Though the situation was uncomfortable, the news that his (no, not mine) victims had had their souls returned was welcome, and Ryou began to relax a little. "Can I have my key back?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Isaac gave it over. His fingers were cold.

"Thank you," Ryou said. "If you wait here for just a minute, I need to change into drier clothes. Then we can…talk."

"Take all the time you need," Isaac said with a smile, and he moved back to his previous spot on the couch.

Ryou went to his room, feeling a bit disturbed. Who just walks into someone's home uninvited and waits for them to return? he wondered. Then again, it is raining buckets outside, and the wind is blowing it into the walkway. No doubt Isaac hadn't wanted to get wet. But still…couldn't he have called first? He probably got my address from the phone book, after all. A little advance warning would have been nice. Or maybe he thought that I might not want to meet him. That's understandable. Japan is a long way from England, and he wouldn't want to make the trip only to be turned away. He probably wants answers, and I don't know how to give them. I wonder when he woke up. Was it when the Pharaoh defeated Zorc for good, or was it after that Monster World game? I know the locals woke up after that, but did all the souls get released then? I hope so.

After getting into dry clothes, he pulled a towel out of his closet and wrapped it around his hair. Sometimes he considered cutting it, but Ryou actually liked his long hair despite the mess it gave him on days like this. He wrung it out and rubbed it vigorously for a few seconds, and then he tossed the damp towel on his bed and headed back to the living room. Isaac was still sitting in the same spot on the couch, following Ryou with his eyes. Ryou felt the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen, but he tried to ignore it. The fellow had a right to be creepy; he had been in a coma for…how many years? Five, six, seven? Try as he might, Ryou couldn't remember. There were just too many schools, too many victims.

"C-can I get you anything?" he asked. "Tea, though all I have at the moment is green tea…"

"No," Isaac replied.

"Coffee, or water?"

"No."

"Something to eat?"

"No."

Having run out of options for hospitality, Ryou settled into a chair. "Then, what can I do for you?"

"What you said earlier," Isaac said. "Talk. Although…" He gave a crooked smile. "I hear you're quite a duelist. I would love to play a game, if you don't mind."

Ryou winced. "I don't know about that. I'm really not that good."

His guest raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you a finalist at Battle City?"

"Well, yes, but…" That wasn't me. But he couldn't say that. "Okay. I suppose. I don't have the same deck as I did back then, though."

Isaac gave him a broad grin. "Excellent! But are you sure you can't use the occult deck? I had strategies planned out against it and everything."

"I'm sorry, no," Ryou told him firmly. It had been a good deck with powerful cards, but most of those cards belonged to him, and Ryou got the chills just by looking at it. So he had built himself a whole new deck, though he couldn't afford some of the rarer cards he wanted. It hadn't crossed his mind once to abandon Duel Monsters entirely; despite all that had happened, Ryou still loved gaming with a passion. Besides, it was hard to give up dueling when your closest friend was Mutou Yuugi. Ryou stood and went back to his room to get his deck.

Isaac had his deck out and was shuffling it when he returned. Ryou pulled his chair over so that he was sitting on the other side of the coffee table and sat down. "Would you like to go first?" he asked.

"As long as I also get the first question," Isaac said, and he grinned again at Ryou's surprised look. "What, you didn't think I knew you would have questions? An old childhood friend whom you believe is lying in a hospital bed in England suddenly shows up in your home. I would be curious, too."

Ryou chuckled. Isaac's reasoning was spot-on. "Okay then." He shuffled his deck, and then put it down and drew five cards.

Isaac did the same, and then drew one more. He frowned at them for a second, and then selected three cards. "It's a shame the rare cards are so hard to get," he said. "I find it so difficult to build a deck that really seems like me. Some of these cards…they just seem off. Ah well. I place a card face down, and I play Witch's Apprentice in attack mode. Why did you move all the way here?"

Attack mode? But that card is weak, Ryou thought. Granted, there was another card on the field, but it was entirely possible that Isaac had made a rookie mistake. "My father thought it would be best. He thought that if he got me out of the country altogether, the…whatever it was would stop. I put one card face down, I place Mystic Horseman, and I use it to attack your Witch's Apprentice."

Isaac flipped over his card. "You activated my trap, Magic Cylinder."

Ryou cringed; now his Mystic Horseman's attack points—thirteen hundred—would be deducted from his life points. Great way to start off the duel, he chided himself. "I thought you said you didn't have any rare cards."

"I said they were hard to get," Isaac corrected. "I have a couple." He drew a card and played it. "Chain Energy. Now we must pay two hundred life points to play or set cards from our hands. How did that work out? Did you stop hurting your friends?"

It wasn't me, I swear. "…After a time." Ryou drew a card. "I play Ground Collapse; now you cannot use two of your monster card zones; your maximum is three. I also play Darkworld Thorns and use it to attack your Witch's Apprentice." Isaac swept the monster into his graveyard. "Now I attack your life points directly with Mystic Horseman, and it's my turn to ask a question. When did you wake up?"

"Two years ago." Isaac drew a card. "I sacrifice White Magical Hat from my hand to play Invitation to a Dark Sleep, and I equip him with the magic card Black Pendant, raising his attack power by five hundred. Finally, I attack your Mystic Horseman. Also, Invitation has an effect: as long as he is in play, you can't use one of your cards to attack, and I choose Darkworld Thorns for that."

So it was after the Monster World game. So long, and I didn't know. I should have tried to find out something. "I stop your attack with my trap card, Enchanted Javelin. Now the attack points of Invitation to a Dark Sleep are converted into life points for me. Why did you wait so long to come see me, then? Or why come at all?"

"Well done for someone who claims to be a poor duelist," Isaac said, drawing a card. "Now your life points are back up to thirty-eight hundred, while I'm at sixteen-fifty. I was afraid for a long time. Do you remember what happened back then?" Ryou shook his head, and he continued, "Well, it wasn't pleasant. I attack your Mystic Horseman with Invitation to a Dark Sleep. I see you're not wearing that Egyptian necklace. Why not?"

Ryou dropped his monster card as he was putting it in the graveyard. "I…lost it," he said. "I sacrifice Darkworld Thorns in order to play Great Long Nose in attack mode, and I also play Armored Glass, which negates your Black Pendant. Now I attack Invitation to a Dark Sleep with Great Long Nose."

Isaac put both cards in the graveyard. "Black Pendant has a special effect when sent to the graveyard: you lose five hundred life points. How did you lose your necklace? I thought it was a special thing that your father got for you."

"It's…it's a long story." Ryou paused as a rumble of thunder shuddered through the apartment. "But I'm rather glad it's gone. Because I inflicted Battle Damage with Great Long Nose, you have to skip your next battle phase. The card also returns to my hand. I play Dark Gray in defense mode and end my turn."

"Oh?" Isaac drew a card. "And here I thought it was a cherished gift. I play Sorcerer of the Doomed in attack mode and attack your Dark Gray."

Ryou put it in the graveyard and drew a card. "I play Dark Zebra in attack mode and target your Sorcerer of the Doomed. If you were afraid before, what made you change your mind? I mean, I would imagine sitting here, playing a game with me, would be the thing you fear most. You said what happened back then wasn't pleasant…"

Isaac frowned. "Seven hundred life points…I didn't expect to be running out so fast. Well, I play Dian Keto the Cure Master to raise my life points by a thousand, and then I play Convulsion of Nature and Ominous Fortunetelling. The former requires us both to turn our decks over…" He did so, and Ryou followed suit. "Oh…a Swords of Revealing Light? I suppose you benefit from knowing Yuugi Mutou."

"This is Japan. It's Mutou Yuugi," Ryou replied tersely. "And what does Ominous Fortunetelling do?"

"Once per turn, I can pick a card in your hand and guess whether it's a monster, magic, or trap card. If I choose right, you lose seven hundred life points. For example…" Isaac smiled and pointed at the Great Long Nose that Ryou had returned to his hand earlier. "I guess that this one is a monster card."

Ryou bit back a curse; it was a brilliant combo. Isaac would constantly be seeing the card he would be drawing at the start of each turn, so he would always be able to make an accurate guess.

"Finally, I place this monster face down in defense mode and end my turn," Isaac continued. "Why don't you use your old deck anymore?"

"You didn't answer my question," Ryou snapped, taking his Swords of Revealing Light. "I attack your facedown card with Dark Zebra."

Isaac flipped the card over, revealing a Man-Eater Bug. "That's such a beginner's mistake," he chided as Ryou put the Dark Zebra in his graveyard. "I'm not getting under your skin, am I?"

Ryou was more than a little shaken. The Man-Eater Bug had been in his old deck, one that he had put in. For that matter, several of the cards in Isaac's deck were the same, or were cards that he would like. White Magical Hat, Sorcerer of the Doomed, Black Pendant, Invitation to a Dark Sleep, Chain Energy…and then there were the questions he was asking. Not at all the questions he was expecting, like what had happened in that old Monster World game, or why he would want to hurt his friends, or whether it was intentional or not. No, they were all questions about his deck, about his Millennium Ring, about his move to Japan…it all gave him a sense of discomfort that was growing quickly into panic. The spirit's gone, he told himself firmly. The pharaoh defeated him. He's gone, and the Ring is gone, and all my blackouts are gone. I'm free, and Isaac…he's a victim who just wants to know about me. That's all. "I…I end my turn," he said. "And why aren't you afraid of me anymore?"

Isaac picked up the Doma the Angel of Silence that was resting on top of his deck. "How useless. It's a five star card, and I have no monsters to sacrifice to summon it. However, I do get to use Ominous Fortunetelling. Would that be a magic card? Yes? That puts you down to four hundred life points, doesn't it? At this rate, why would I have any reason to be afraid of you?"

"Because I can play this Mystical Sheep #2 and bring you down to a hundred life points," Ryou replied. "Now you can't summon any more cards without wiping yourself out. And that wasn't really an answer."

"No, it wasn't." A flash of lightning came brightened the room, accompanied by a sharp report of thunder. Isaac grinned and said, "I guess it's because I gained a new perspective. After all, it wasn't really you, was it?"

"You know that?" Ryou gasped, his eyes wide and hopeful. So he doesn't really blame me?

Isaac chuckled. "I know that. It's obvious, really. You're too spineless to handle the magic of a Dark Game. At least, you are now."

All the blood drained from Ryou's face. "How…how could you know about…" he started, and then Isaac drew the card on top of his deck, and Ryou saw the one under it.

Dark Necrofear. The one he hated most of all, the one that was his favorite. Ryou dropped his hand and shot to his feet, scrambling for the door. He hadn't even reached the hall when Isaac's hand grabbed his wrist and spun him around, slamming him against the nearest wall. Isaac shifted his hand to his throat and leaned in, smiling. "I really am disappointed that you didn't recognize me, Yadonushi," he said. "We were so close for years."

Ryou managed to shake his head. "Not…possible," he choked out. "You're…dead…the pharaoh…" But he could see it now. That glint in Isaac's eye that was something not-human, something cold and dreadful.

"Do you really think I would let that damned fool kill me?" Isaac (no, it's not him, just like it was never me) hissed. "I have been spinning plans for three thousand years, and I'm not going to allow some tired old pharaoh to have victory. I had a backup, Yadonushi. I used Parasite Mind to implant a piece of my soul within the soul of one of your Monster World friends. When his soul returned to his body, mine went with it." He laughed, a truly chilling sound. Ryou wondered distantly how many times he had sounded like that.

"Why are…you here?" he asked. "You…you already have a host. You don't need…me."

"But I do. I thought this body would do for a while, but it's so hard to move with so many people watching me. This boy was unconscious for years, so he's something of a celebrity where he lives. It's…confining. And the parents were the worst. I ended up killing one of them, and then I knew. It can't just be anyone. It has to be you, Yadonushi. You're the one who made the deal, after all. And it's so easy to do what I want. Everyone wants to help poor, sweet Bakura." He laughed again.

"Deal?" Ryou stared at him in disgust. "I never made a deal with you!"

"Oh, you did. You just don't remember. But don't worry, I'm going to fix that. I'm making no mistakes this time, and keeping you in the dark was one of the worst." He put his free hand over Ryou's forehead.

"No!" he tried to scream, and he struggled, pulling at the other boy's wrists, but Isaac held on with supernatural strength. "Parasite Mind!" he cried, face wild with glee.

The transition was as fast as the lightning that flashed outside. The joyous expression on Isaac's face melted away, and the boy dropped to the floor, unconscious. Ryou stayed against the wall, motionless, half his face hidden by shadow. Inside his mind, however, was a storm that rivaled the one in the skies over Domino City as he struggled against that thing that parasite that darkness that invaded him and pervaded him and crippled him and stole everything from him, even his memories.

That darkness shrieked with laughed. If you are so upset about that, let me give you some new memories to play with. You reincarnations, you don't usually remember, but they are there. Remember who you are, Yadonushi, and know that you have no right to resist me!

Something like a lock clicked in Ryou's mind, and suddenly he found himself surrounded by a horrible scene. This isn't my memory! he tried to scream, but the darkness only laughed and withdrew, leaving him there in a fire-lit room of hell. Screams resounded from the walls, almost drowning out the sound of a bubbling cauldron. Ryou watched in horrified fascination as some kind of soldiers herded a group of people to that cauldron and began to push them in, one at a time. The molten metal leaped and splashed over the sides, and a stench filled the air, the reek of burning flesh and hair and bone joining with the one of the melted metal. Then Ryou realized that he recognized these people (the pharaoh's soldiers), that he even wanted to call out to some of them (that's my father, no that's not right, mother they're killing my mother, but she died already in a car accident), but he feared, oh he feared that the soldiers would find him too and put him in the cauldron with them (gold they're boiling gold and my family).

His scream rose above all the rest, but he wasn't aware of it.

In the living room, Ryou opened his eyes, but it was no longer Ryou looking out from behind them. He otherwise stayed still, for he was still preoccupied with his host's mind. While the conscious part was locked away in his oldest memories, the spirit of the demon that called itself Zorc raked through the other memories, specifically the ones from right after his memory-world duel with the pharaoh. It was crucial that he knew what happened after that, for it would shape all his plans for the future.

The pharaoh is dead! He let out a shrill laugh. He opened the door to the underworld himself and walked right in! The pharaoh is gone! My greatest opponent is no more! What is there now to stop me?

He kept going, and scowled when he ran across the memory of the Underworld Tablet falling into a pit, along with all seven Millennium Items. That was a problem. If ever he was going to resurrect his true form, he needed that tablet. Still, he mused. No pit is bottomless, and I know where to find it. It's all here in my dear yadonushi's memories. All the Millennium Items are there too, which saves me the trouble of hunting them down. If only I had known that all it would take is one little defeat to make things so easy!

Now he did move, stepping over Isaac without paying him the slightest heed. He went to the bedroom first, and after sifting through a few more memories, he pulled open the bottom drawer of Ryou's desk and opened a box sitting inside. "Ah, Yadonushi," he said. "You think you hate this deck so much, yet you can't bear to throw it away. You are more like it than you realize, although I suppose you are realizing that now." He cackled at that and lovingly pocketed his old deck. Reaching into the closet, he pulled out Ryou's long black trench coat and put it on. Then he hunted down the boy's wallet and pocketed that as well.

There was nothing left here to do, so the spirit walked out into the thunderstorm without a glance back. His goal lay in Egypt, and so that's where he was going.

You died too soon, Pharaoh. This time, I win.

* * *

A/N: Urgh, I stayed up way too late to finish this chapter. Normally I don't like end-of-chapter notes, but there were things I wanted to explain, but I didn't want to give away anything too early. First up is the duel. (By the way, this will not become a recurring theme. Bakura/Zorc only took his old deck as a source of magic.) Because I'm a horrible lazy person, I didn't actually put any thought or research into what kind of deck Ryou would build if he could build his own, or what Isaac/Zorc would use. I simply used my two personal decks, which worked fine for Zorc since one of my decks features a lot of the same cards as his. And then I basically dueled myself for the game (and earned a weird look from my roommate). So yes, those were all real cards with real effects, though I toned down Chain Energy for fear of them running out of life points too quickly.

Second, there's a good bit of the series that I haven't seen in English (i.e. the entire Pharaoh's Memory story arc). I've only watched it in Japanese with fansubs, so I'm not so sure about the "official" names for some things (Zorc and the Underworld Tablet, mostly). If I make a mistake that bugs you so much that you'll stop reading or something, put it in a review and I'll fix it. Just please don't tell me to go watch it in English, because the English version is far too mangled for me to enjoy. Did you know that the entire concept of the Shadow Realm was made up for the English version? In the original Japanese, they're always dueling in Yami no Games (Dark Games), but they never mention a specific 'other dimension.' As far as the Japanese version is concerned, Yuugi's final duel with Pegasus was in a giant magic bubble, or something. And I'll shut up about the dub now lol.

Finally, there's Ryou himself. As should be obvious by now, I hold to the theory that Yami no Bakura was really Zorc all along, so I figure this makes Ryou the actual reincarnation of the Thief King. No, I'm not going to have him go on bloody rampages, but he will have a backbone in the future. I've never believed that he was so weak or helpless, anyways. Also, I don't really like the whole "Ryou is British" theory that is propogated by the dub, but it works for this story, so what the hell.

And now I'm done with this ridiculous author's note. The next chapter will feature more Harry, and Yuugi should make his way in, too. And yes, Malik will make an appearance down the road, as well. I love him too much to exclude him. Please review! I love them, and I love you all.