A/N: Just to avoid confusion: Ryou is not actually having a mental breakdown. Bakura is real, Ryou just thinks he's going insane.
P.s. Digging real deep into my AP Psych class from two years ago… Plus some Google. Forgive inaccuracies, and tell me about them so I can improve!
It was pretty early for a Saturday, but Ryou felt too awake and refreshed to bother going back to sleep. So he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and hopped out, running a hand through his hair to neaten in out. He gave up halfway down because of the snarls, picking long strands of white hair from around his fingers, flinging them to the ground where he would eventually sweep them up. He slid on a T-shirt and jeans, turning to grab the Ring on his nightstand when he froze and thought better of his decision. He walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. He turned to grab the peanut butter from the counter behind him when his hand went right through the voice. He gave a loud gasp and quickly withdrew his hand as if it had been burned.
The voice was watching him interestedly, a pensive look on his face. He seemed like he was about to ask a question, then stopped and hovered a few inches off the ground, just watching Ryou.
Ryou tried to ignore the voice, but practically felt the breath on the back of his neck. "Will you quit it?" He demanded. The voice looked taken aback.
What did I do this time?
"Just go away. I don't want to be around you. So just go back to the Ring."
…Okay. But eventually, you're going to have to get used to me.
"Not if my psychiatrist has anything to say about it. I'm going to make an appointment today."
You have a psychiatrist? Never mind that, it won't work. Nothing is wrong with you. I don't know how else to say it, but you'll eventually figure it out.
Ryou set the jar of peanut butter down calmly, trying to make his emotions echo his actions. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he reopened his eyes, the voice was gone. He was sane now. He had to act while he had his sanity. He pulled out his battered laptop and started searching for child psychiatrists near him. After a few hours of research, he had a session in five hours to help diagnose his mental problems.
He searched for his backpack before realizing that he had left it at school when his mental breakdown started. He swore and grabbed a plastic grocery bag and stuffed the Ring in it, knotting it closed, and throwing it in his messenger bag.
The five hours passed agonizingly slowly. He arrived an hour early to his appointment and spent the entire time wondering what was wrong with him, what treatments he would need, how it would affect him. Would he be the same? Would it even work? He had heard that a lot of people's hallucinations hadn't gone away, even after treatment. What if he was one of those people? How would it affect his day-to-day life? How would he-
Your anxiety is bothering me. Please stop. The voice was hanging upside-down so that his face was even with Ryou's
Ryou almost let out a laugh but held it in with a great effort.
Wait. Where are we?
He didn't answer. Talking to himself was okay when he was alone, but when he was sitting in a psychiatrist's waiting room with other people, it didn't seem like the best idea.
You made an appointment with a psychiatrist? After what I told you? I'm as real as you are! How many times do I have to tell you that?!
For the first time, the voice seemed… disappointed? Angry? Ryou couldn't quite place it, but it worried him. His hallucinations were getting more complex, which could only mean that his disease was getting worse. He clenched his fists, crinkling his jeans in the process. He glanced at his watch. 5:03. Three minutes late. Ryou took deep breaths, trying to steady his breathing.
"Bakura Ryou? Dr. Takahashi will see you now." A female assistant ushered him forward through a door and down a hallway. "Don't be nervous!" She smiled. "He's really nice, and very skilled." She said kindly. She stopped in front of a plain sliding wooden door and opened it slowly. Ryou stepped through into an indoor zen garden. He stepped carefully along stepping stones to a comfortable-looking couch in the middle of the room. An older gentleman looked Ryou over with a genial smile.
"Hello, young one. Your name is Ryou Bakura, yes?" He had a pleasant voice, with a hint of an Osakan accent.
Ryou nodded once, nervously sitting down on the edge of the armchair.
The doctor smiled wide, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and his laugh lines etching deeper into his face. "Now, what seems to be the problem with you?"
Ryou opened his mouth but closed it again. Emotions started to well up inside him, and tears started pricking in the corners of his eyes. He gulped in a few deep breaths as Dr. Takahashi waited patiently for him to collect himself.
"I- I…. I don't know. I think I've been… well, I don't know. It's…" Ryou grit his teeth. "I think I'm schizophrenic. I've been seeing hallucinations and I've been hearing this voice in my head and seeing it, and I don't know what it is, but it won't go away, and I just want it out, but it won't shut up and-" Ryou started breathing heavier and heavier before Dr. Takahashi held up a hand.
"It's okay, lad. Just calm down. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just to get a little backstory on you. Is your parent or guardian here today?"
"No." Ryou shook his head, "My uncle usually takes care of me while my dad is on his excavations, he's an archeologist, you see, but my uncle is on vacation with his wife. They won a trip to Hawaii, so this was the only time they could go, and I'm pretty self-reliant, so he doesn't need to check in with me.
Nodding slowly, Dr. Takahashi made a few notes on his clipboard. "Has your friend group changed recently? Started hanging out with different people?"
Thinking carefully, he answered, "Well, Kaito just transferred in a few months ago, but other than that, I've been friends with Ayumu since first grade, and Gakuyuu and I have been friends since either one of us could remember. So, no."
Another nod, another scribble on the notepad. "And how about grades? Have they been steady? Rising? Slipping?"
Ryou blushed, "Well, They've been rising a bit. I started a new way to study, and it's been really helping. But it's still not as good as I could be. I spend a lot of time gaming when I should be studying…"
"Ah. So you're very passionate about games? What kind? Video?" He asked while still scribbling notes in his clipboard.
Shaking his head, Ryou started explaining the mechanics of tabletop RPG's until he realized that he had been talking for ten straight minutes, and Dr. Takahashi had barely written anything in his clipboard. He pinked and shut up. "Sorry. I tend to get excited about TRPGs." He said sheepishly.
Dr. Takahashi assured him that it was quite alright and continued his odd line of questioning. Ryou didn't see how all the questions were connected. Dr. Takahashi asked him everything from how Ryou planned his day to if he ever suspected if anyone could read his mind. After about twenty minutes of questions, Dr. Takahashi took off his glasses and set them down.
"So, you say that you have had hallucinations? What kind?"
Carefully, Ryou recounted the strange incident in the classroom, noting that they seemed dead at first until the voice said that it would fix everything. Ever since then, the voice has had a physical form and followed him around. "At first, I thought it was connected to this amulet my father gave me, but that's silly, because it's just a chemical imbalance, right?
Dr. Takahashi smiled and nodded. "Is this voice here now?"
Glancing to his left and nodding, Ryou put his hand through the voice's midsection. "Right here."
"And does this voice have a name?"
Ryou shook his head. "I haven't given him one. I thought it might make me more attached to him. I don't want that."
"Has the voice given itself a name?"
Ryou shrugged. "I don't like talking to him."
No shit. It's like being mind mates with a brick wall. Except a brick wall has personality.
"But it hasn't told me to call it anything, so I just call it Koe."
Dr. Takahashi nodded and made a few more notes. "Well, I can prescribe a mild antipsychotic. You just seem to have mild schizophrenia, so anything more than that can have major side effects. I advise you to take this to your pharmacist and take as prescribed. I want you to come in the same time next week for a follow-up exam, but if things don't get better after four or five days, or they get worse at any time, please call, and I'll try to make some room for you." He said with a smile.
Ryou nodded, walking out of the room with a bow. "Thank you very much. I will be back next week."