Ryou bid Bakura goodbye and they parted company. Ryou sighed and looked at
the many trees. "Goodness...its like this place never runs out of
trees...," He said bumping into something as he admired the canopy. "Oh!
Pardon...me?" He said two women standing there, glaring at each other.
One clearly had DUM written on her blouse, the other DEE. "You always copy
my ideas DUM!" One screeched. One looked very much like Mai, the other
much resembled Anzu. "You're just jealous because I thought of it first."
Mai said coolly. Anzu growled, before noticing Ryou. "Well whaddya want?!
Just gonna stand there staring at us all day are ya?" Ryou blinked. "Oh
my...N-no not at all...I was just..." He motioned to Mai. "See? Even he
recognizes good taste..." Anzu turned a few shades of red before steam
rushed out of her ears. Ryou stared. 'Goodness me...I should hope that
she doesn't explode or take her anger out on me...' He thought as the two
women went back to arguing. He started to sneak off. "Hold it right
there!" Both said tapping their feet. "You cannot just barge in here and
start up an argument, then leave on your merry way!" Mai said. "If you
think that you must rethink your thought!" Anzu said agreeing. "You have
to tell us which one is better!" Ryou frowned. "Oh...n-no you see...I'm a
terrible judge of clothes...," He said backing away. In reality he knew
what came of two angry women and a dispute over looks...there WAS no right
answer.
Ryou rubbed his head and sighed. "I knew there was no right answer...women!" He grumbled before sitting down on a log. "Huh?" He said looking up and seeing a few apples growing on a tree. "Oh! I'm starving! How wonderful!" He said getting up and jumping to snatch an apple from the tree. "It would be so much easier if the hare had joined me...he could have jumped and gotten me many apples..." Ryou grumbled trying to jump for another, before sitting down with his single apple and beginning to eat. "I suppose that he was right though...the Hatter did seemed slightly strange...and everything here is SO familiar..." He mumbled, not noticing his shrinking size, until he was only left with an apple core. "OH! No! I've shrank again!" He yelped throwing the remainder of the apple away. "I should shrink down to nothing if I don't watch what I eat here...," He said beginning to walk among the underbrush of the forest. "You should know better than to eat in this strange place Ryou, honestly!" He scolded himself. "You will end up smaller than a speck, shrinking to nothing and putting yourself out like a candle flickers out in a windy room, don't be a dolt!"
As Ryou walked along the ground he bumped into a small flower. "Oh...hello!" The flower said giddily. It's voice was exactly that of Jono's sister!. Ryou sighed. "Hello..." He blinked after a moment. "Did a flower just talk to me?" He said looking over the flower a bit more closely. The flower giggled and nodded. "Hey everybody! Wake up! We have a new flower here!" Ryou blinked. "Who me?" The flower, more specifically a morning glory, nodded. "Yes indeed. You MUST be a flower to be in OUR garden!" A rose said, who's voice resembled that of Yugi's grandfather. Ryou blinked. "Oh...but you see...I'm not a flower...My name is Ryou." He said bowing slightly. "I'm just passing through." A gardenia leaned forward. "Hmmph...his roots aren't connected to the ground! I've never heard of a Ryou before..." It said grumpily. It sounded much like Yami Malik. A few more flowers leaned in and prodded Ryou. "Yes...that is rather strange...What is a Ryou?" They all chattered amongst themselves.
A rather regal looking tiger-lily looked over Ryou. "Can you sing?" it said in Isis' voice. Ryou blinked. "Well...yes I can. But I dont like to sing for others...I'm terribly shy." The flowers all chuckled. "Then let us sing for you!" Ryou blinked, but agreed. They sang to him of the lovely colors of the sun and the great waters of the sky, asking him only once to sing with him. He sang a little quietly at first, shy of critisism...but after a few verses he began singing just as merrily as the rest. They all clapped when the song was over. Ryou grinned. "I never knew that flowers were such lovely singers." He said sitting down and looking at them. "You'd be a lovely flower yourself, if you had more petals." The morning glory said playing with his hair lightly with one of her leaves. "He's definatly got the voice for it." The rose said chuckling. Ryou smiled a little. "Why, thank you." He said getting up and dusting himself off. "How is it that you can move about so freely?" The tiger-lily asked. "I was born that way...I've never really put much mind to it...," Ryou said blinking. The jealous gardenia grumbled. "I bet he's a WEED!" Ryou blinked. "I'm not a weed! I keep a garden of my own and I hate weeds!" He grumbled remembering the pesky, thorny intruders. All the flowers gasped. "WEED?! Oh no!" They all said in unison. Ryou blinked. "Maybe he IS a weed..." They began chattering once more.
"If he IS a weed...we cant have him in OUR garden! He'd choke us all with his greed and carelessness!" They all said turning to Ryou. "Get out of our garden weed!" They all shouted roughly shoving him left and right as he tried to dart out. When he reached the edge of the garden he fell forward and pushed himself up from the ground. "Goodness! I never knew flowers could be such poor hosts!" Ryou grumbled getting up and dusting himself off. "I will remember to pick a few when I get home." He said wishing he were taller at the moment to show then just how un-weed-ish he was...,
It was now getting close to noon and Ryou was beginning to think he hadn't gone more than a few feet from the log. He smiled when he noticed a large mushroom patch. "Perhaps if I wish to be big again I should eat one of those...provided they are edible of course." Ryou said beginning to inspect the largest of the mushrooms. "Nothing bad underneath...now just to check the top. He said hoisting himself up onto the mushroom and meeting a pair of lazy eyes. Ryou blinked. "Whooo are you?" The eyes blinked at him, before Ryou hoisted himself higher to see that in fact, the eyes were connected to Seto...or at least a very close simulation. "Perhaps you should tell me...," Ryou said beginning to think he was going mad himself. "I am the caterpillar." Ryou stared. He didn't look anything like a caterpillar at all. Seto took a drag from a hookah, making smoke rings. He smelled suspiciously of opium. "Oh my..." Ryou said coughing a bit as the smoke rings hit him. It would take weeks to get the smell from his hair.
"You wish to grow larger yes?" Seto said rolling his eyes lazily. "Why...yes!" Ryou said smiling. "You know a way?" Seto smirked. "I know a way." Ryou was beginning to brim with glee. "Oh how wonderful! I'm sick of being so small! Three inches is simply a dreadful height!" Seto glared at him "Three inches if a grand height indeed!" He yelled standing to his full height...which was roughly 3 inches. Ryou blinked. "Pardon me...I just am not used to being so small...I don't like being this way." Seto sat back down and took another drag. "Whooo are you?" He repeated. Ryou shrugged. "At this point...I think I have lost myself. I WAS someone...but I keep seeing my friends as other things...and I'm beginning to think I have lost my own identity in this strange place." Seto yawned and blew more smoke rings. "Who WERE you?" Ryou nodded. "I WAS Ryou...but now I'm not so sure..." Seto chuckled and stretched. "Well, 'not so sure' It seems you are confused..." Ryou nodded. "I am! Its mayhem in here...nothing makes any sense!" He said fanning away a few smoke rings. "You are the one who makes no sense. How can one not know one's own identity?" Ryou blinked. "Perhaps you're right..." Seto nodded. "Of course I am."
Bakura sighed and sat next to his Hikari. "Ryou...can you hear me?...Its all my fault you're like this...I should have been up there to help you." he mumbled. "Just get better...ok?" He added sighing and leaning his head next to Ryou's. Yami shook his head and stopped peeking in at the two white haired teens. "I don't think Ryou's getting better...it's been two days..." Yugi sighed. "I hope Ryou comes out of it soon...Bakura's really beating himself up..."
Ryou rubbed his head and sighed. "I knew there was no right answer...women!" He grumbled before sitting down on a log. "Huh?" He said looking up and seeing a few apples growing on a tree. "Oh! I'm starving! How wonderful!" He said getting up and jumping to snatch an apple from the tree. "It would be so much easier if the hare had joined me...he could have jumped and gotten me many apples..." Ryou grumbled trying to jump for another, before sitting down with his single apple and beginning to eat. "I suppose that he was right though...the Hatter did seemed slightly strange...and everything here is SO familiar..." He mumbled, not noticing his shrinking size, until he was only left with an apple core. "OH! No! I've shrank again!" He yelped throwing the remainder of the apple away. "I should shrink down to nothing if I don't watch what I eat here...," He said beginning to walk among the underbrush of the forest. "You should know better than to eat in this strange place Ryou, honestly!" He scolded himself. "You will end up smaller than a speck, shrinking to nothing and putting yourself out like a candle flickers out in a windy room, don't be a dolt!"
As Ryou walked along the ground he bumped into a small flower. "Oh...hello!" The flower said giddily. It's voice was exactly that of Jono's sister!. Ryou sighed. "Hello..." He blinked after a moment. "Did a flower just talk to me?" He said looking over the flower a bit more closely. The flower giggled and nodded. "Hey everybody! Wake up! We have a new flower here!" Ryou blinked. "Who me?" The flower, more specifically a morning glory, nodded. "Yes indeed. You MUST be a flower to be in OUR garden!" A rose said, who's voice resembled that of Yugi's grandfather. Ryou blinked. "Oh...but you see...I'm not a flower...My name is Ryou." He said bowing slightly. "I'm just passing through." A gardenia leaned forward. "Hmmph...his roots aren't connected to the ground! I've never heard of a Ryou before..." It said grumpily. It sounded much like Yami Malik. A few more flowers leaned in and prodded Ryou. "Yes...that is rather strange...What is a Ryou?" They all chattered amongst themselves.
A rather regal looking tiger-lily looked over Ryou. "Can you sing?" it said in Isis' voice. Ryou blinked. "Well...yes I can. But I dont like to sing for others...I'm terribly shy." The flowers all chuckled. "Then let us sing for you!" Ryou blinked, but agreed. They sang to him of the lovely colors of the sun and the great waters of the sky, asking him only once to sing with him. He sang a little quietly at first, shy of critisism...but after a few verses he began singing just as merrily as the rest. They all clapped when the song was over. Ryou grinned. "I never knew that flowers were such lovely singers." He said sitting down and looking at them. "You'd be a lovely flower yourself, if you had more petals." The morning glory said playing with his hair lightly with one of her leaves. "He's definatly got the voice for it." The rose said chuckling. Ryou smiled a little. "Why, thank you." He said getting up and dusting himself off. "How is it that you can move about so freely?" The tiger-lily asked. "I was born that way...I've never really put much mind to it...," Ryou said blinking. The jealous gardenia grumbled. "I bet he's a WEED!" Ryou blinked. "I'm not a weed! I keep a garden of my own and I hate weeds!" He grumbled remembering the pesky, thorny intruders. All the flowers gasped. "WEED?! Oh no!" They all said in unison. Ryou blinked. "Maybe he IS a weed..." They began chattering once more.
"If he IS a weed...we cant have him in OUR garden! He'd choke us all with his greed and carelessness!" They all said turning to Ryou. "Get out of our garden weed!" They all shouted roughly shoving him left and right as he tried to dart out. When he reached the edge of the garden he fell forward and pushed himself up from the ground. "Goodness! I never knew flowers could be such poor hosts!" Ryou grumbled getting up and dusting himself off. "I will remember to pick a few when I get home." He said wishing he were taller at the moment to show then just how un-weed-ish he was...,
It was now getting close to noon and Ryou was beginning to think he hadn't gone more than a few feet from the log. He smiled when he noticed a large mushroom patch. "Perhaps if I wish to be big again I should eat one of those...provided they are edible of course." Ryou said beginning to inspect the largest of the mushrooms. "Nothing bad underneath...now just to check the top. He said hoisting himself up onto the mushroom and meeting a pair of lazy eyes. Ryou blinked. "Whooo are you?" The eyes blinked at him, before Ryou hoisted himself higher to see that in fact, the eyes were connected to Seto...or at least a very close simulation. "Perhaps you should tell me...," Ryou said beginning to think he was going mad himself. "I am the caterpillar." Ryou stared. He didn't look anything like a caterpillar at all. Seto took a drag from a hookah, making smoke rings. He smelled suspiciously of opium. "Oh my..." Ryou said coughing a bit as the smoke rings hit him. It would take weeks to get the smell from his hair.
"You wish to grow larger yes?" Seto said rolling his eyes lazily. "Why...yes!" Ryou said smiling. "You know a way?" Seto smirked. "I know a way." Ryou was beginning to brim with glee. "Oh how wonderful! I'm sick of being so small! Three inches is simply a dreadful height!" Seto glared at him "Three inches if a grand height indeed!" He yelled standing to his full height...which was roughly 3 inches. Ryou blinked. "Pardon me...I just am not used to being so small...I don't like being this way." Seto sat back down and took another drag. "Whooo are you?" He repeated. Ryou shrugged. "At this point...I think I have lost myself. I WAS someone...but I keep seeing my friends as other things...and I'm beginning to think I have lost my own identity in this strange place." Seto yawned and blew more smoke rings. "Who WERE you?" Ryou nodded. "I WAS Ryou...but now I'm not so sure..." Seto chuckled and stretched. "Well, 'not so sure' It seems you are confused..." Ryou nodded. "I am! Its mayhem in here...nothing makes any sense!" He said fanning away a few smoke rings. "You are the one who makes no sense. How can one not know one's own identity?" Ryou blinked. "Perhaps you're right..." Seto nodded. "Of course I am."
Bakura sighed and sat next to his Hikari. "Ryou...can you hear me?...Its all my fault you're like this...I should have been up there to help you." he mumbled. "Just get better...ok?" He added sighing and leaning his head next to Ryou's. Yami shook his head and stopped peeking in at the two white haired teens. "I don't think Ryou's getting better...it's been two days..." Yugi sighed. "I hope Ryou comes out of it soon...Bakura's really beating himself up..."