IkutosGirl: I like the positive feedback, people!

Bakura: It's greatly appreciated!

Ryou: *glares*

Bakura: Gosh dam- What did I do now?

IkutosGirl: Ignore him, he's only evil.

Bakura: Wha- What?

Ryou: *continues to glare*

Bakura's POV

"Ryou… are you okay?" I asked feeling, dare I say, scared.

He was writhing in pain; holding his head in his hands. It hurt to watch, but I felt that I couldn't do anything. I reached for Ryou trying to grab his shoulder for support.

"Don't touch me!" Ryou sneered.

I felt nauseous. There was just too much déjà vu happening at once. The malice in Ryou's voice was obviously not his own. I had to do something quick. What did I do last time to help? What did I do?

…I hugged him… I showed Ryou that I cared and that was enough to help him. But what if it didn't work this time? I had to try at least…

"W-What…" Ryou looked up at me as I inched closer.

And then I hugged him. It was simple enough gesture, but I still began to feel red at the touch. Honestly, emotions were horrible human features that I could have survived without.

Ryou stopped shaking, and I was tempted to pull away to check his face.

"B-bakura…" Ryou whispered and look up at me.

His eyes looked scared and I lessened my grip on him. I wasn't exactly feeling comfortable.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You," Ryou began and there was no wavering feeling left in his voice. "Are a complete fool!"

Ryou pushed me away from him. It took almost all of my strength to keep myself from falling over. I used the wall behind me for support. I felt like I was going to faint.

"Ryou, please stop this…" I begged.

Ryou's POV

"Stop this? Are you really that stupid?" I screamed at Bakura.

I was trying to help him and he…he didn't even care!

"Ryou, you're confusing me!" Bakura cried to me.

He is so pathetic! He can't even realize that I'm only doing this for him!

"Tsk tsk, host, we agreed that you were going to help me… wasn't that the deal.~" The voice called in my head.

I wanted to give it a name, since 'voice' wasn't really appropriate but then again, I don't think it deserves one.

"Why are you being so mean to me, host?~" The voice chimed in my head.

"Stop calling me host!" I screamed at it out loud.

"Ryou… what are talking about… host?" I could tell the idiot couldn't understand.

"Why can't you…" I tried to tell him but hesitation was stopping my voice from sounding.

"'Can't I' what…?" Bakura asked, once again acting like the complete imbecile that he was.

"Why…why can't you just be grateful?" I screamed and sprinted out of my room, down the hallway, and out the door.

Bakura's POV

Be…be grateful?

I shuddered at the thought of the words that had been so intricately carved into the surface of the mirror in Ryou's bathroom. I hadn't thought of them to be of any importance and they disappeared soon after they had appeared.

But he had spoken them.

Was it just a pure coincidence and a bad choice of words? I shook my head and stared at my hands thinking that maybe they knew why everything was going so wrong. But of course, no one knew. No one could help me; or Ryou.

I would have to do it myself, because no one would know how to save Ryou from the monster that was consuming him.

I followed after Ryou, or at least in the direction that I thought maybe he had gone in. I ran for what felt like an hour, but I just couldn't find him.

I walked down countless streets and dark alleyways and even checked the occasional abandoned warehouse. Still, there was no sign of Ryou. I had already even checked the whole area where I had found him the first time.

I was at the end of the line and I knew I had only one option left.

I had to call the Pharaoh and his friends for help. I didn't want to but I knew that they were possibly my only hope if I wanted to find Ryou before he did something…bad. I searched my pockets until I found my phone and pulled it out. I scrolled through the contacts list until I found the person I would soon be, unfortunately, indebted to; "Imbecile".

Yes, I know the great Pharaoh has a name, but frankly, I don't care. He wasn't the only one whose name had been ignored after all. There were "Fool", "Idiot", "Dumbass"…and the list continued until I ran out of insulting titles.

The phone rang twice and finally he answered.

"Hello?" The Pharaoh asked through his cell.

"Get over here now." I told the Pharaoh, not bothering to say who I was.

Then before he could even ask why I gave him directions to my exact location.

"…Who is this?" The Pharaoh asked stupidly (hence "Imbecile").

"Who- you Ra-damned Pharaoh, it's Bakura! Now please get your highnesses royal ass over here!" I screamed into the phone, tempted to throw it.

"Bakura? What's wrong?" The Pharaoh asked, actually sounding sincerely worried.

"I'll tell you once you get here!" I growled into the phone and shut it forcefully, feeling annoyed.

I put my face in my hands and took a deep breath. I felt so… distressed. I could barely stop the urge to run off to a different place just in case Ryou was there. I knew that if I left my spot though that the Pharaoh would most likely not be able to find me.

With nothing else to do, I sat down on the side of the curb where I was standing. I would have felt bored if not for the fact that I was worrying about Ryou. The last words Ryou had said to me flashed through my head. What had brought this all on?

I continued to sit on the curb, wishing for a distraction. Finally I was able to find something to fascinate me as the street lamp above me flickered on and off and I looked at it, blinking in sync with the flashes.

Bakura: *continues to blink*

Ryou: You disgust me!

IkutosGirl: *hits Ryou up-side the head*

Ryou: What the hell?

IkutosGirl: *sighs* Stop picking on Bakura!

Ryou: But…but…

IkutosGirl: *hits Ryou again* But, nothing!

Ryou: … ow…