Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. I don't own an Internet screen name. I
use Ego's.
The Evil Laugh: Ha! Another chapter up without fail. I do not even know the meaning of writer's block.
Ego: *turns to readers* Yeah, seriously, she doesn't. But she's had way too much cough syrup at the moment.
The Evil Laugh: Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
Ego: *clears throat* Ehem, what about the words 'cold' and 'sick in bed'?
The Evil Laugh: *stops smiling* That's not funny.
Ego: Yes, but it's true, so go back to your room and for the gods sake, blow your nose.
The Evil Laugh: RYOU, GET ME SOUP!
Ryou Bakura: -_-U *from far away*NO WAY! I'M FIRED, REMEMBER?!
The Evil Laugh: *sniffles snot into her brain* Damn. *starts coughing her lungs out*
Ego: Disgusting, roll fic!
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Yugi, Tristan, and Ryou arrived at Ryou's. They approached the building silently for there seemed to be something eerie about the place. As one, all three boy's eyes followed the many footprints leading to the front door.
"Whoa," said Joey. "Guess Ryou's got a lot a visitors."
"Ya'll they may still be there, look," Joey said pointing at the ground, "None of them lead away from the building."
"Weird," Yugi muttered, "Who would visit Ryou on a school day in such large numbers?"
Tristan and Joey shrugged.
They approach the house slowly. No sounds came from the building. Following the same route as the footprints, they went up the porch and to the door, which was closed. Yugi and the others knocked on it, but there was no sound from inside.
"Yo, anybody home?" Joey yelled loudly.
There was no reply. After a while, Tristan started trying to find another way in. He spotted a window above the porch that was opened. The boy pointed it out to Joey who began to climb the porch support beams.
It was Yugi who came up with the bright idea to see if the door was even locked or not. He grabbed to knob, feeling deep scratches in the metal. He noticed to door was rather beat up, like something had really been trying to get in. Yugi looked down at the footprints. Something wasn't right.
To all three's amazement, the door opened easily. Cautiously they entered the rather dark house. Even Joey and Tristan were wary; Yugi knew that they too had seen the state or the door.
"Ryou, you here?" Joey yelled.
"Yes," came the soft reply that was almost drowned out by Joey's calls.
"Where are you?" Yugi state loudly.
"Living room," replied the boy. His voice sound a bit strange to Yugi at the two words, but the short boy found him soon anyway.
Ryou Bakura was sitting on a recliner in a very dark room. Yugi had to squint to see anything. The recliner was in a corner. The lamp above it was switched off. Ryou sat under it still as a statue. The lack of light made his complexion look even paler than usual and his eyes look darker, almost black, which was kinda creepy. Yugi had though it weird how much Ryou skin contrasted with almost everything he wore. Especially the dark blue Domino High uniform. The only reason that crossed the little boy's mind his friend was wearing his schools clothes. This surprised Yugi. He wondered why Ryou was sitting alone, in a corner with no lights on.
"Ryou, what are you doing?" Yugi asked.
"Reading," was the short answer.
"Wha? How do ya read in this fix?" Joey asked squinting through the dimness.
Ryou didn't say anything, just held up a flashlight. He turned it on and they were all temporarily blinded by the brightness. Smiling, he playfully pointed the beam at Joey.
"Ahhhhhh, my eyes!" he said as Tristan pointed and laughed. The pointy haired boy was next for this.
"Help, I'm blind!" he yelled as Joey recovered and started laughing at him.
Finally, Yugi, who tried to block the light,
"Hey!" he yelled.
Ryou pointed the light at the ceiling again. The other three were laughing at each other. Ryou just smiled at the mirth he had caused without saying a word.
"So," said Yugi recovering, "What were you reading, Bakura?"
Ryou briefly held up a small red book. He put it down quickly; his smile slightly faded.
"Ooo," said the ever-troublesome Joey, "Ya gotta diary or something?"
"No," said Ryou sharply glaring at him.
"Oh, okay, whateva ya say, Bakura." Joey smirked.
The other three gave him equally malicious glares. He shut up instantly.
"Ryou," said Yugi after a slight pause, "Why did you miss school today?"
Ryou lost whatever grin was left on his face after the book question. His skin went paler, which was kind of amazing due to the fact that he was very white already.
"My leg was hurt," he said shortly. Instantly the others eyes went to the boys knees. They all noticed the ice pack now. Joey gritted his teeth,
"I suppose ya Yami had somethin ta do with it all den."
Ryou looked up at him alarmed and nervous. His voice was shaky,
"W-with what?"
"With your not going to school. He could have helped cha out ya know. It wouldn't have killed him," Joey said angrily.
"Oh," replied Ryou, obviously relived.
"Hey, I was wonderin'."said Tristan, "What up with the lights? Kinda creepy if ya ask me. Are you going through some 'dark' phase or somethin'?""
Ryou smirked slightly, "No, the circuits running through the house are kinda messed up. Only a few appliances work. They take up all the working outlets."
"Oh," said Joey, "Guess the heater don't work, den?"
"Huh?" Ryou looked at him confused.
"It's freezin' in here!" the blonde stated loudly.
"It's the air conditioner." Ryou said.
"Why's it set so cold?" Joey asked.
"I-I don't know really," Ryou answered thinking hard. He shrugged, " I didn't notice it really, to tell you the truth."
"Of course you wouldn't." said Joey, shivering dramatically and partly buttoning his jacket, "...you wear your uniform all warm-like."
Ryou nodded.
"Hey, Bakura. What's this?" Joey asked jumping at a small table and lifting an object from it. He held up a small box. It was about as big as CD case, was black, and had carvings all over the lid.
Ryou gasped and grabbed it from the other boy as he began to look inside. Joey's grip was light and the white-haired boy was able to get box without rising. When it was in his grasp, Ryou instantly held it to his chest. He gave the blonde a look that said 'back off'. This startled his three guests.
"Shish, sorry Ryou," said Joey. The other boy just glared at him.
The room became uncomfortable silent. The others shifted uneasily under the look Ryou gave Joey. Finally, Yugi spoke up,
"Um, Joey, Tristan? Maybe you two could go to the kitchen and make a sandwich or something..."
"Sure thang!" Joey yelled as him and Tristan made a mad dash for where ever the kitchen was. Yugi stayed where his was in front of Ryou sitting on the coffee table. After a pause, in which the white haired boy placed the box down timidly on the floor next to him, Yugi spoke up,
"Ryou?"
"Hmm?" replied the other.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Yugi, anything," Ryou shrugged.
"Okay. Can you tell me why you're acting weird all of the sudden?
Ryou looked up at him. There was something small very sad in his eyes that Yugi had never noticed before. Ryou answered firmly,
"I am not acting 'weird'."
Yugi realized his error and grinned a bit to try to lighten his friend's mood.
"Okay, maybe weird was more than a bit insulting."
Ryou was unchanged, which sort of dampened the small boy's act. Yugi looked at him again, avoiding the eyes this time and rephrasing his words.
"What I mean is that, I dunno, but it seems you've changed. Like you're more withdrawn; ya know, all quiet and stuff. It really strange. Ryou, it appears something is obviously bothering you."
Yugi sounded concerned and Ryou didn't doubt he was. But he couldn't tell him. He couldn't tell anyone. If Yugi knew then Yami Yugi would find out eventually. Ryou didn't want Yami Bakura's worst enemy to know the one evil thing he'd never boast about. Yugi's Dark would most likely banish Yami Bakura to the Shadow Realm yet again he would come back made at his Hakari. That wouldn't solve anything, since Ryou was already mad at himself for what he answered,
"Nothing's wrong, Yugi, nothing's changed. You are mistaken."
Ryou lied. He didn't want to, but he did.
"But Ryou." Yugi muttered watching his friend. Ryou looked by pure accident at his eyes. They wanted the truth, the real answer Ryou wouldn't give. The eyes were pleading to know what had made him so cold.
"There is nothing wrong with me." Ryou state in a flat, cold monotone; his eyes hardened a bit. This startled Yugi a bit and he quickly looked away.
Ryou watched his friend's reaction sadly. Great, now he was some depressed, angry person who hurt his friends. Friends that maybe cared about him more than he did himself. Ryou did wish he could let them know; wish that in some way they could maybe be able to help. But he knew they couldn't fix the situation at all. He didn't doubt they'd want to, but wanting to was a lot different than actually achieving something better. Ryou didn't want his friends to worry about him. He didn't need their pity. All that didn't help with anything. He still felt bad about having to lie though.
Ryou watched his hurt friend. Yugi couldn't see, couldn't guess what was wrong with Ryou. Yugi knew he was suffering from something but was denying it harshly in his friend's face. Ryou almost laughed out loud at the idea/fact that he had no will of his own. His Dark controlled him even when he wasn't around. Yugi didn't know THAT. If Ryou kept his lies up and well planned, he never would.
It took Ryou a moment to realize the other boy had spoken, but he caught every word though Yugi was speaking more at the floor than at him.
"Well, if you say you're okay, then I don't doubt it.." Ryou's head screamed angrily; he had hoped Yugi wasn't going to say that. The next words he almost had to gag himself to keep the truth from slipping out, ".you were never the one to lie, Ryou. I was just curious. I guess you really haven't changed. Heh, maybe I was just fooling myself like you said." Ryou's mouth twitched slightly, but Yugi was staring at the floor, ".I believe you." Yugi looked into Ryou's eyes then as he finished.
Ryou looked away guiltily. 'I believe you' echoed in his head. Yugi trusted him. Ryou had used that to his advantage. He watched the hard wood wall, thinking of what a relief it would be to just start smashing his head against it till he'd forgotten everything. Then he'd be in the oh-so-happy reaches if pure insanity.
Ryou thought horrible ways he could destroy himself from the inside out. Sure, it was a simple lie he had just told, but he knew they would accumulate. He would turn from them all, fail to serving his Darkness, a slave to his lies and his Yami. He would become more like the Tomb Robber, lies twenty-four seven. Using everything to keep others from knowing anything, for only what it all did for him: choosing easy over right. Ryou hated himself for lying to them, to himself, and for knowing they could most likely see right through him.
"Yugi, come in here!" came Joey voice from the kitchen, "Bakura's got chocolate ice cream!"
Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes. He got up and headed for wherever the blonde haired boy was. Knowing Joey and Tristan, all that would be left in the kitchen would be the bite of ice cream he wanted Yugi to see.
Ryou watch him go. How long could he really keep this up? Lies were not his best suit, but he supposed it was perfected with practice. He didn't want to find out if this was true. He didn't want fibs to become second nature at all. He feared they might. His friends would believe him. What scared him was when his friends would finally find out like he simply knew they would. None of them would trust him again.
Ryou sat there silently listening to the others gorge on the food his father had bought while he was staying. If he was lucky, Joey wouldn't eat everything like some Food Vacuum of Doom. He looked down at his first assignment and sighed at the title. "Cuban Missile Crisis and How It Affected More Than Just Russia and the United States" Next to it, written in Joey's sloppy handwriting was: Aka: How the Crisis Affected Japan in One- Thousand Pages.
"This is going to take me forever," he muttered.
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The Evil Laugh: Aren't we great writers? *sneezes*
Ego: Yeah, just don't cough on me, kay?
[Ego is too busy hacking her lungs out to respond]
A/N: Sorry ya'll, I do have a cold. No joke, it, well, sucks. I'm afraid I might kill myself with all the aspirins I'm takin along with cough syrup and cold pills. I feel rather groggy. I have to like go and sanitize my computer at home. Ego's 'mum' [sry I wuv da way Ego sayz dat] won't let me touch theirs.
I'm like in shock I got this out by Monday, when I started typing last night! I didn't stop till my nightquill (sp?) kicked into action. It is hard to resist the power of the green [or was it blue?] pill. Good thing Ego is right next door to take my disc and update the story for ya'll. It's good to be back on my seven-page size. I've been stopping at five for a while, ergo, the chapters are long again! And Ego is helping as well, even if she might get sick!
Kay, ya'll read and review. I wuv reviews as well. I need something to read if I miss school tomorrow. *grabs for a tissue as she begins to sneeze*
The Evil Laugh: Ha! Another chapter up without fail. I do not even know the meaning of writer's block.
Ego: *turns to readers* Yeah, seriously, she doesn't. But she's had way too much cough syrup at the moment.
The Evil Laugh: Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
Ego: *clears throat* Ehem, what about the words 'cold' and 'sick in bed'?
The Evil Laugh: *stops smiling* That's not funny.
Ego: Yes, but it's true, so go back to your room and for the gods sake, blow your nose.
The Evil Laugh: RYOU, GET ME SOUP!
Ryou Bakura: -_-U *from far away*NO WAY! I'M FIRED, REMEMBER?!
The Evil Laugh: *sniffles snot into her brain* Damn. *starts coughing her lungs out*
Ego: Disgusting, roll fic!
IJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJJJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJI
Yugi, Tristan, and Ryou arrived at Ryou's. They approached the building silently for there seemed to be something eerie about the place. As one, all three boy's eyes followed the many footprints leading to the front door.
"Whoa," said Joey. "Guess Ryou's got a lot a visitors."
"Ya'll they may still be there, look," Joey said pointing at the ground, "None of them lead away from the building."
"Weird," Yugi muttered, "Who would visit Ryou on a school day in such large numbers?"
Tristan and Joey shrugged.
They approach the house slowly. No sounds came from the building. Following the same route as the footprints, they went up the porch and to the door, which was closed. Yugi and the others knocked on it, but there was no sound from inside.
"Yo, anybody home?" Joey yelled loudly.
There was no reply. After a while, Tristan started trying to find another way in. He spotted a window above the porch that was opened. The boy pointed it out to Joey who began to climb the porch support beams.
It was Yugi who came up with the bright idea to see if the door was even locked or not. He grabbed to knob, feeling deep scratches in the metal. He noticed to door was rather beat up, like something had really been trying to get in. Yugi looked down at the footprints. Something wasn't right.
To all three's amazement, the door opened easily. Cautiously they entered the rather dark house. Even Joey and Tristan were wary; Yugi knew that they too had seen the state or the door.
"Ryou, you here?" Joey yelled.
"Yes," came the soft reply that was almost drowned out by Joey's calls.
"Where are you?" Yugi state loudly.
"Living room," replied the boy. His voice sound a bit strange to Yugi at the two words, but the short boy found him soon anyway.
Ryou Bakura was sitting on a recliner in a very dark room. Yugi had to squint to see anything. The recliner was in a corner. The lamp above it was switched off. Ryou sat under it still as a statue. The lack of light made his complexion look even paler than usual and his eyes look darker, almost black, which was kinda creepy. Yugi had though it weird how much Ryou skin contrasted with almost everything he wore. Especially the dark blue Domino High uniform. The only reason that crossed the little boy's mind his friend was wearing his schools clothes. This surprised Yugi. He wondered why Ryou was sitting alone, in a corner with no lights on.
"Ryou, what are you doing?" Yugi asked.
"Reading," was the short answer.
"Wha? How do ya read in this fix?" Joey asked squinting through the dimness.
Ryou didn't say anything, just held up a flashlight. He turned it on and they were all temporarily blinded by the brightness. Smiling, he playfully pointed the beam at Joey.
"Ahhhhhh, my eyes!" he said as Tristan pointed and laughed. The pointy haired boy was next for this.
"Help, I'm blind!" he yelled as Joey recovered and started laughing at him.
Finally, Yugi, who tried to block the light,
"Hey!" he yelled.
Ryou pointed the light at the ceiling again. The other three were laughing at each other. Ryou just smiled at the mirth he had caused without saying a word.
"So," said Yugi recovering, "What were you reading, Bakura?"
Ryou briefly held up a small red book. He put it down quickly; his smile slightly faded.
"Ooo," said the ever-troublesome Joey, "Ya gotta diary or something?"
"No," said Ryou sharply glaring at him.
"Oh, okay, whateva ya say, Bakura." Joey smirked.
The other three gave him equally malicious glares. He shut up instantly.
"Ryou," said Yugi after a slight pause, "Why did you miss school today?"
Ryou lost whatever grin was left on his face after the book question. His skin went paler, which was kind of amazing due to the fact that he was very white already.
"My leg was hurt," he said shortly. Instantly the others eyes went to the boys knees. They all noticed the ice pack now. Joey gritted his teeth,
"I suppose ya Yami had somethin ta do with it all den."
Ryou looked up at him alarmed and nervous. His voice was shaky,
"W-with what?"
"With your not going to school. He could have helped cha out ya know. It wouldn't have killed him," Joey said angrily.
"Oh," replied Ryou, obviously relived.
"Hey, I was wonderin'."said Tristan, "What up with the lights? Kinda creepy if ya ask me. Are you going through some 'dark' phase or somethin'?""
Ryou smirked slightly, "No, the circuits running through the house are kinda messed up. Only a few appliances work. They take up all the working outlets."
"Oh," said Joey, "Guess the heater don't work, den?"
"Huh?" Ryou looked at him confused.
"It's freezin' in here!" the blonde stated loudly.
"It's the air conditioner." Ryou said.
"Why's it set so cold?" Joey asked.
"I-I don't know really," Ryou answered thinking hard. He shrugged, " I didn't notice it really, to tell you the truth."
"Of course you wouldn't." said Joey, shivering dramatically and partly buttoning his jacket, "...you wear your uniform all warm-like."
Ryou nodded.
"Hey, Bakura. What's this?" Joey asked jumping at a small table and lifting an object from it. He held up a small box. It was about as big as CD case, was black, and had carvings all over the lid.
Ryou gasped and grabbed it from the other boy as he began to look inside. Joey's grip was light and the white-haired boy was able to get box without rising. When it was in his grasp, Ryou instantly held it to his chest. He gave the blonde a look that said 'back off'. This startled his three guests.
"Shish, sorry Ryou," said Joey. The other boy just glared at him.
The room became uncomfortable silent. The others shifted uneasily under the look Ryou gave Joey. Finally, Yugi spoke up,
"Um, Joey, Tristan? Maybe you two could go to the kitchen and make a sandwich or something..."
"Sure thang!" Joey yelled as him and Tristan made a mad dash for where ever the kitchen was. Yugi stayed where his was in front of Ryou sitting on the coffee table. After a pause, in which the white haired boy placed the box down timidly on the floor next to him, Yugi spoke up,
"Ryou?"
"Hmm?" replied the other.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Yugi, anything," Ryou shrugged.
"Okay. Can you tell me why you're acting weird all of the sudden?
Ryou looked up at him. There was something small very sad in his eyes that Yugi had never noticed before. Ryou answered firmly,
"I am not acting 'weird'."
Yugi realized his error and grinned a bit to try to lighten his friend's mood.
"Okay, maybe weird was more than a bit insulting."
Ryou was unchanged, which sort of dampened the small boy's act. Yugi looked at him again, avoiding the eyes this time and rephrasing his words.
"What I mean is that, I dunno, but it seems you've changed. Like you're more withdrawn; ya know, all quiet and stuff. It really strange. Ryou, it appears something is obviously bothering you."
Yugi sounded concerned and Ryou didn't doubt he was. But he couldn't tell him. He couldn't tell anyone. If Yugi knew then Yami Yugi would find out eventually. Ryou didn't want Yami Bakura's worst enemy to know the one evil thing he'd never boast about. Yugi's Dark would most likely banish Yami Bakura to the Shadow Realm yet again he would come back made at his Hakari. That wouldn't solve anything, since Ryou was already mad at himself for what he answered,
"Nothing's wrong, Yugi, nothing's changed. You are mistaken."
Ryou lied. He didn't want to, but he did.
"But Ryou." Yugi muttered watching his friend. Ryou looked by pure accident at his eyes. They wanted the truth, the real answer Ryou wouldn't give. The eyes were pleading to know what had made him so cold.
"There is nothing wrong with me." Ryou state in a flat, cold monotone; his eyes hardened a bit. This startled Yugi a bit and he quickly looked away.
Ryou watched his friend's reaction sadly. Great, now he was some depressed, angry person who hurt his friends. Friends that maybe cared about him more than he did himself. Ryou did wish he could let them know; wish that in some way they could maybe be able to help. But he knew they couldn't fix the situation at all. He didn't doubt they'd want to, but wanting to was a lot different than actually achieving something better. Ryou didn't want his friends to worry about him. He didn't need their pity. All that didn't help with anything. He still felt bad about having to lie though.
Ryou watched his hurt friend. Yugi couldn't see, couldn't guess what was wrong with Ryou. Yugi knew he was suffering from something but was denying it harshly in his friend's face. Ryou almost laughed out loud at the idea/fact that he had no will of his own. His Dark controlled him even when he wasn't around. Yugi didn't know THAT. If Ryou kept his lies up and well planned, he never would.
It took Ryou a moment to realize the other boy had spoken, but he caught every word though Yugi was speaking more at the floor than at him.
"Well, if you say you're okay, then I don't doubt it.." Ryou's head screamed angrily; he had hoped Yugi wasn't going to say that. The next words he almost had to gag himself to keep the truth from slipping out, ".you were never the one to lie, Ryou. I was just curious. I guess you really haven't changed. Heh, maybe I was just fooling myself like you said." Ryou's mouth twitched slightly, but Yugi was staring at the floor, ".I believe you." Yugi looked into Ryou's eyes then as he finished.
Ryou looked away guiltily. 'I believe you' echoed in his head. Yugi trusted him. Ryou had used that to his advantage. He watched the hard wood wall, thinking of what a relief it would be to just start smashing his head against it till he'd forgotten everything. Then he'd be in the oh-so-happy reaches if pure insanity.
Ryou thought horrible ways he could destroy himself from the inside out. Sure, it was a simple lie he had just told, but he knew they would accumulate. He would turn from them all, fail to serving his Darkness, a slave to his lies and his Yami. He would become more like the Tomb Robber, lies twenty-four seven. Using everything to keep others from knowing anything, for only what it all did for him: choosing easy over right. Ryou hated himself for lying to them, to himself, and for knowing they could most likely see right through him.
"Yugi, come in here!" came Joey voice from the kitchen, "Bakura's got chocolate ice cream!"
Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes. He got up and headed for wherever the blonde haired boy was. Knowing Joey and Tristan, all that would be left in the kitchen would be the bite of ice cream he wanted Yugi to see.
Ryou watch him go. How long could he really keep this up? Lies were not his best suit, but he supposed it was perfected with practice. He didn't want to find out if this was true. He didn't want fibs to become second nature at all. He feared they might. His friends would believe him. What scared him was when his friends would finally find out like he simply knew they would. None of them would trust him again.
Ryou sat there silently listening to the others gorge on the food his father had bought while he was staying. If he was lucky, Joey wouldn't eat everything like some Food Vacuum of Doom. He looked down at his first assignment and sighed at the title. "Cuban Missile Crisis and How It Affected More Than Just Russia and the United States" Next to it, written in Joey's sloppy handwriting was: Aka: How the Crisis Affected Japan in One- Thousand Pages.
"This is going to take me forever," he muttered.
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The Evil Laugh: Aren't we great writers? *sneezes*
Ego: Yeah, just don't cough on me, kay?
[Ego is too busy hacking her lungs out to respond]
A/N: Sorry ya'll, I do have a cold. No joke, it, well, sucks. I'm afraid I might kill myself with all the aspirins I'm takin along with cough syrup and cold pills. I feel rather groggy. I have to like go and sanitize my computer at home. Ego's 'mum' [sry I wuv da way Ego sayz dat] won't let me touch theirs.
I'm like in shock I got this out by Monday, when I started typing last night! I didn't stop till my nightquill (sp?) kicked into action. It is hard to resist the power of the green [or was it blue?] pill. Good thing Ego is right next door to take my disc and update the story for ya'll. It's good to be back on my seven-page size. I've been stopping at five for a while, ergo, the chapters are long again! And Ego is helping as well, even if she might get sick!
Kay, ya'll read and review. I wuv reviews as well. I need something to read if I miss school tomorrow. *grabs for a tissue as she begins to sneeze*