Here we have the next chapter. In which, the Ring finds it's way back to its host, and an old friend turns up.
Warnings: In case you are squeamish, there are mentions of wounds, injections and stitches. Might be the odd swearword as well. Plus a pervy old man.
House Party
Unwelcome Returns
Leaving Ryou to be tended by the doctor in the treatment cubicle, Yugi went to call Anzu with the news that things had not quite gone to plan.
Anzu was relieved when Yugi said he was okay, but grew concerned when she heard that they were in the hospital because Ryou had been hurt. "What happened exactly?"
When Yugi started to explain, Anzu put her phone on speaker so that Katsu could hear.
Katsu was furious with them. "Geez Yugi! I didn't ask the pair of you to go risking yourselves for me! What if one of you had been killed?!" When Yugi timidly apologised, she felt guilty for shouting at him. He and Honda were only trying to help. She sighed. "Where is the Ring now? You've got it, right Yuge?"
Yugi perked up a bit. At least the positive thing to come out of this, was that they had got the ring away from Bakura. "Honda has it. He's hiding it in his Dad's safe while we decide what to do next."
"I'll tell ya what to do next. Bring it here! I'm gonna pull it's fucking points off one by one until that evil bastard inside it reverses the spell."
"Katsu!" Anzu slapped her shoulder. "We don't know what that will do to Ryou. You know as well as I do that how deeply connected Yugi and Ryou are to their items."
"Yeah, well, Yugi's spirit is nice. I don't care what happens to Bakura's mean spirit. All he does is hurt Kura and anyone else who gets in the way," she grumbled, with a sulky pout.
Anzu sighed. "What about the other Yugi? Is he okay?"
Even though he knew they could not see him through the phone line, Yugi nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. But he used a lot of energy to defeat Bakura, so he's resting." He felt the spirit nudge him. "Oh! He says hi! And to tell Kastu he's sorry he failed to get Bakura to reverse the spell."
"Nah... That's okay Yugi. The pair of you did your best. Tell him thanks for trying. But next time he does something reckless, without asking me first, I will kick his ass!"
Yugi laughed. "Will do. We will see you after we've finished here. Bakura is just waiting for his head to be stitched. They X-rayed his ribs and elbow, but luckily nothing is broken, just bruised."
"Okay, well, see you soon Yugi." Anzu hung up, turned to Katsu and signed. "It's all my fault. I should never have asked Yugi to go and see Bakura. I put them all at risk, I'm so stupid."
"Hey! It's not your fault, if anything, it's mine for going all hormonal on you." Katsu put her arm around Anzu's shoulders. "You were just trying to help me and I'm grateful. I don't want any of you to take more risks to help me, is that clear?"
Anzu looked at her seriously. "You have at least another three weeks to go. Are you sure you can last that long?"
Katsu nodded. "I guess it's time for me to man up! Or rather, woman up and stop moaning and feeling sorry for myself. Deep inside, I'm still Jonouchi Katsuya! I can face anything they throw at me. And, ya know? Being a woman ain't all that bad. Not when I got the richest man in Domino wanting to date me," she winked.
Anzu was horrified. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"
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At first Ryou was reluctant to remove his shirt and started to make excuses that his scarring made him self conscious.
The doctor just smiled kindly. "I can assure you that I have seen some terrible injuries in my time working here, so please don't be nervous about me seeing them."
"Well, if you insist." He nervously pulled off his jumper to reveal the fresh holes over the top of the previous scars on his chest, where the points of the Ring had punctured him as a punishment for trying to take it off.
The doctor gasped at the Millennium Ring shaped crescents on his chest. Her immediate thought was that he might be a member of some sort of religious sect, or maybe a gang, and that he had been abused in some sort of ritual! Or maybe he was self harming.
She asked him, very gently, how he came to receive such wounds.
Not knowing what else to say, he told her that he had been in a car accident a few months ago and had sustained injuries to his chest.
She looked at him doubtfully and shrugged. "There is nothing in your medical records to say that you were admitted with chest injuries at any time! And some of these wounds look fresh."
Ryou shrugged. "Please don't worry about me. The accident happened while I was in Egypt, and I don't think they kept very good records in the hospital I was admitted to. I also opened the wounds back up when I blacked out and fell down the stairs."
"Have you had many of these black outs? Only, I see that you were admitted several months ago after falling from a chair, impaling your hand and injuring your eye!"
"Oh! No..." he laughed feebly, "That was because the stool I was sitting on had a faulty leg and it broke."
The doctor seemed to accept his explanations, even if she did not quite believe him. Unless he wanted to talk about who was harming him, there was not a lot she could do.
"This might sting a little," she told him. Bakura winced as she injected some local anaesthetic into the cut on the back of his head "It should just take a couple of minutes to take effect." She turned away to prepare the equipment for suturing the wound.
Ryou could suddenly feel a tingling sensation in his abdomen and chest. The familiar nausea as the Spirit from the Ring pushed at his soul made him shudder slightly. The Ring was returning to him. "If you have finished examining me, may I have my sweatshirt back please?"
"Yes, of course." She took his long sleeved under shirt and stripey tee-shirt from the chair, and handed it to him.
Thanking her, he pulled the under-shirt on first and then pulled his tee-shirt on over the top. The moment his skinny frame was covered, the Ring materialised underneath his clothing and settled warmly against his sternum.
He glanced up at the doctor, with a sinister little smirk. She was too stupid to even noticed the very subtle change in his demeanour. "Can you hurry up and stitch my head woman. I would like to go home."
She startled at the sudden harshness in his tone. "Oh! Has it gone numb already?"
"Yes," he lied.
Yugi re-entered the cubicle. The moment Bakura saw him, his features softened again allowing Ryou to regain full control. He did not need any more confrontations with that damned annoying Pharaoh, so there was no point in letting Yugi know he was back, just yet.
Ryou seemed a little confused for a moment, and flinched when he felt the sharp sting of the first stitch going in.
When the doctor asked him if he wanted her to stop, he told her finish what she was doing, he was fine.
The very subtle change in Bakura, might have escaped Yugi and the doctor, but Yami Yugi was watching him closely, and he could swear he caught a glimpse of a snarl on Bakura's usually soft, gentle features. "Did you see that Yugi?"
"See what?"
"I don't know. Maybe I am too suspicious. But I think the Ring may be back."
Yugi just managed to stop himself from making an audible gasp. "So soon! We should check with Honda."
Since he was in the hospital, he had put his phone on silent. And after finishing his call to Anzu, he had checked, but there had been no messages. When he pulled it out of his pocket, he saw that he had just received a rather worrying message from Honda. The Ring has vanished! Check to make sure it is not back with Bakura.
"Is something the matter Yugi?" Bakura felt a little offended by the accusing look that Yugi was giving him.
"It's nothing," said Yugi, forcing a smile. "I was just thinking, that must hurt?"
"I felt the first stitch a tiny bit. The worst part was the injection to numb it."
"There! All finished." The doctor dabbed the excess blood away from where she had placed four stitches in his head. "I would suggest you avoid washing your hair tonight."
"Thank you." Bakura gave her one of his sweetness and like, butter wouldn't melt smiles. "May I go home now?"
"I just need you to sign the insurance forms for your treatment, and then you may go."
Yugi waited impatiently, while Bakura did the paperwork. He was desperate to ask Bakura if the Ring was back.
As soon as they were outside, Yugi turned to Bakura. "You would tell me if the Ring returned, wouldn't you?"
The look Bakura gave him was one of hurt and sadness. "Please believe me when I say that he has no intention to get into any more fights with you and the Spirit from your Puzzle."
"So, it's back again." He was not really all that surprised. "When?"
Ryou hung his head in submission. "Since just before you came back into the room. No matter what I do, the Ring always finds me. It has cursed me since I was twelve years old. I denied it for a long time, but I believe it was even responsible for the car accident that killed my mother and sister."
Yugi was shocked. Bakura had never told any of them about his family. Just that he had been forced to move away from them. "I didn't know they were...! I'm sorry," he said, feeling genuinely sad for his friend. "I thought that you only got the Ring a few months before you came to Domino." Yugi had lowered his voice as they reached the bus stop so that the people waiting for the bus would not hear their conversation.
"It's okay Yugi, don't apologise. I sometimes wish that my father had never taken me to Egypt. But I have a feeling that the Ring would have found its way to me regardless. Just as the Puzzle had always been your destiny."
The bus arrived. They got on and took a seat at the back of the bus, where they were out of earshot from the other passengers sitting nearer the front. "Do you really believe that the items chose us?" Yugi kept his voice low.
"Do you?" Ryou asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yugi nodded. "Yes. I do. I don't understand how or why, and neither does the other Me. But I do have a feeling we will find out, eventually."
"I think my spirit did something terrible during his lifetime, which caused him to end up in here." Ryou touched his chest where the ring lay. "I don't know how your spirit ended up in the Puzzle, but I think He knows," he said, looking down at his hand laying over his chest. Yugi noticed it glow slightly underneath Ryou's clothing. "But he won't tell," Ryou continued, a sad and thoughtful look on his face. "In fact, I don't think he is permitted to tell."
Yugi was quite shocked at that. Since when did the Ring ever obey any rule? He cupped the Puzzle in his hands and felt a gentle warmth radiating through his palms. His other self was listening to every word they were saying, but was not about to try and throttle the truth from the Spirit of The Ring. But since the usually shy and guarded Ryou Bakura was willing to share some of his feelings with them, he did nudge Yugi to ask about the spell that had been cast on Jonouchi.
"About the spell? Can you tell me truthfully if it can be reversed? Or is he threatening you not to tell?"
Ryou gave him one of his all too innocent smiles, that implied to Yugi that his friend was about to lie because he was afraid to say anything that would lead to punishment. "I honestly don't think he knows how to reverse the spell, and if he did, he would not tell me how to do it. From the feelings I get from him, there is no spell that will reverse it as it is one of those temporary ones, that don't usually need reversing because they eventually wear off."
"I was worried you might say that." I guess I should go and break the news to Katsu, gently."
"May I come with you?" Ryou asked, sheepishly. "Thanks to my guilty feelings, I have lacked the courage to face Jonouchi, or rather, Katsu. I want to apologise in person."
"Yeah, sure Bakura." The bus they were travelling on stopped fairly close to Bakura's apartment block, but then went in the wrong direction to take them anywhere near Anzu's house. So, they got off the bus, and took another bus that would take them in the right direction.
In the recesses of his mind, Ryou could feel the Spirit of The Ring lurking. He was very much aware of their conversation and where they were going. But Ryou did not feel any malice or threat. The spirit was being quiet and purposely staying well out of the way, for now.
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Since losing to Jonouchi and then to Yugi at Duelist Kingdom, Mai had been on holiday in Naples. It had been nice to get away from Duel Monsters, and recover from the humbling experience of losing to those two boys.
As much as she hated to admit it, they had made her think quite a lot about herself, her future and her whole attitude towards life in general.
She had always chosen to go it alone and do things her way. And, why not? Her wealthy father had always let her down and her mother was such a poor role model; basically abandoning her infant daughter into the care of the nanny, and then sending her off to boarding school as soon as she was old enough.
Meeting Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu and Honda, with all their teenage optimism and enduring friendships, had made her realise just how miserable and lonely she really was.
Jonouchi had the hots for her, she was certain – after all, most men fancied her, didn't they?
The fun part was always letting them think they were in with a chance and then sticking her nose in the air and telling them to get lost.
The way all three boys had all blushed and swooned when they saw her for the first time as she swept past them to get on the boat to Duelist Kingdom, had not escaped her notice. The way it had made Anzu almost erupt with jealousy, had swelled her pride.
But teasing guys and making their girlfriends jealous no longer made her feel superior. If anything, it was arrogant and made her feel mean and a bit cheap.
The plane touched down on the runway of Tokyo Airport and Mai smiled to herself. The thought of seeing the gang again, almost made her feel happy.
But seeing them would have to wait. First she would head home to her small apartment to shower and sleep off the jet lag after her fifteen hour journey.
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Yugi was upstairs in the kitchen, doing his homework, when Mai walked into the shop.
She had spent most of the afternoon sleeping, and was now that the evening was here she was suddenly wide awake, thanks to her body clock being out of synch.
She did not have any phone numbers or addresses for any of them. The only thing she knew was that Yugi's family owned Kame Game.
So, here she was, walking into a small shop, feeling anxious, in the hope that they might all be there, waiting for her with smiling happy faces. How stupid was she?
Feeling uncomfortable with the idea, she paused in front of the door and was about to turn around and leave, when the voice of an elderly gentleman called out from behind her.
"Good evening young lady! May I help you?"
She hesitated and then turned around to see Sugoroku Mutou leering at her, broom in hand. Why had she not spotted him lurking in the half light, sweeping the paved area in front of the shop?
It suddenly occurred to her that he probably had no idea who she was because his soul had been held captive by Pegasus at the time.
"Oh! Hello! You must be Yugi's grandfather? I was wondering if Yugi was here?"
Sugoroku chuckled, proud that his grandson was attracting such lovely, big bosomed ladies. "Are you a fan of my grandson?" He stepped forward and she quickly moved aside to avoid letting him get too close. It had not escaped her that he was looking at her chest rather than at her face. There was also a naughty twinkle in his eyes.
She seldom felt self conscious, but she was sure he was admiring her breasts a little too avidly.
"I'm a friend of Yugi. We met at Duelist Kingdom. My name is Mai Kujaku," she said, with more than a hint of irritation.
His eyes snapped up to her face but he did not appear embarrassed. If anything, he looked amused. "Yes, I do vaguely remember Yugi and his friends mention you. If I recall correctly, they said you used aromatherapy to win duels." He pushed the door open and gestured for her to enter.
Mai was a little offended that he would bring that up. "Did Yugi also tell you that I nearly beat him? Without using aromatherapy."
Sugoroku laughed. "I like a woman with fighting spirit! I can see that you have the heart of a duelist." He was glancing at her chest again.
"Yeah, whatever." She folded her arms and pulled her denim jacket closed in an attempt to cover up. "Is Yugi in?"
"Wait here, I will get him for you." He went upstairs to find Yugi, who was still sitting in the kitchen with his homework books spread over the table and headphones on, listening to music on his I-pod.
"WHAT?" Yugi shouted too loudly, when Sugoroku tapped him on the shoulder. He pulled off his headphones. "Sorry Grandpa!"
"That's okay Yugi. But I'm not that hard of hearing. However, you will be if you keep blasting your eardrums through those things."
Yugi shrugged. "It's not that loud. Some kids have theirs way louder."
"Yes, well, whatever. Anyway, there's a young woman downstairs, with very attractive assets. She is asking for you. Her name is Mai Kujaku."
Yugi resisted rolling his eyes at his grandfather's comments. He was well used to Grandpa's breast fetish. "Mai?! What's she doing here?" He quickly turned off his I-pod and ran downstairs to see her.
"Hey! Mai!" He called out, as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "I thought you had gone travelling around Europe?"
"Hey, Yugi! I got bored so I thought I would head back to Domino for a while. I remembered that your family owned this store so I decided to come and catch up with you guys. How is Jonouchi doing?"
Yugi cringed slightly and his demeanour seemed to changed slightly. He grimaced. "Erm... He's okay, sort of." He did not really know what to tell her.
Mai looked worried. "What do you mean? He's not in trouble is he?"
"No! Well, not like you might think."
"Yugi! What are you saying? Is he sick? Injured?"
"No, he's kind of busy. I can tell him you want to see him if you like?"
"Duh!" Mai rolled her eyes. "Of course I want to see him! Or is there a problem with that?"
"Not exactly." Yugi glanced at his watch. It was six fifty. He was supposed to be meeting his friends at the arcade at seven thirty. His homework was taking longer than he had hoped, and he needed to get it done before he could go. He did not want to let his friends down. It would be the first time that Katsu had ventured out to the arcade since before the spell had been placed, and it was a big deal for her because it was where they often spent a lot of their time hanging out together.
Many of the staff and regulars at the arcade knew Jonouchi very well. He had a reputation as a tough guy. Katsu was nervous that they might become suspicions and start asking questions.
Yugi did not know what he should do. Should he invite Mai? Or tell her he was busy doing his homework and ask her to come back tomorrow? It would at least give him time to warn Katsu.
The decision was taken out of his hands, when the bell on the shop door dinged and Anzu walked in, closely followed by Katsu, Ryou and Honda.
A bit of a cliff-hanger! If you're wondering how Mai and Katsu will react to one another, it will e revealed next chapter.
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