Ryou wanted to cry. In fact, he probably would cry, except that he wasn't in control of his body at the moment. He was tied to a chair, his friends positioned around him in the back of the Kame Game Shop. The group was looking decidedly unfriendly at the moment, and for good reason. Ryou was constantly surprised at the acerbic things his Yami said sometimes. It was in a moment of silence, when Yami Bakura had crossed the line from insulting to downright cruel, that Ryou looked through his stolen eyes at those around him.

There was Yuugi (or rather, his Yami informed him with a hissing thought, the Pharaoh,) looking cruel. His hands were twitching, and something glinted through the sheen of sweat on his forehead when he tilted his head just so.

Jounouchi, to the left, was glaring feircely, his one eye nearly swelled shut. Hence the reason Bakura found himself bound. The definition of "roughed up" Jounouchi's blazer hung off one shoulder, and his hair was matted with the blood still trickling from his eye. Ryou could feel a distant ache in his fist through the bond. The blond stood protectivly in front of Anzu, who was shaking. Close to tears, the girl hadn't bothered to rebutton her vest, the yellow undershirt untucked from the skirt. Ryou felt a wholly amoral thought from his Yami, and was disgsted anew at what the spirit wanted to do (nearly did) to the girl.

On the other side stood Honda, eyes hooded and mouth pursed tightly. It was he who tied Bakura, and he had lost his trench in the process. It lay a few feet away, a beige puddle on the linlium floor. His arms crossed and propped against the wall, he looked the picture of the Yakuza it was rumoured he was once part of.

((Insert melodramatic dialogue that Jacq doesn't feel like writing here. While this is going on, Y!Bakura is working on the knots at his wrists.))

Jounouchi was disgusted. "You parasite. Taking over Bakura's body, it's terrible."

"Is it so wrong to live?" Yami Bakura spat, "I didn't choose to be locked into this godawful object." Honda raised his head, watching Bakura for the first time, but only Ryou noticed, his Yami fully engrossed with glaring at Yuugi. "But you already knew that, didn't you? Better a parasite than a symbiote, eh?"

Yuugi's boots clicked with an odd finality as he stepped to Bakura. Livid, he cupped his chin, violet eyes burning. Ryou jerked back from the ferocity, but his Yami met the Pharaoh stare for stare. The sennen eye shimmered, "You're almost not worth it."

"Neither are you." Yami Bakura sneered as the rope dropped to the floor. Exploding out of the chair, he decked Yuugi. Ryou cried out at the pain from his already injured hand. He pounded out of the shop and into the street, knocking Sugoroku over on his way.

It was raining hard and the sun was just setting, lending the streets an ethereal air, like a mirage. Bakura turned a corner and slowed, walking aimlessly as he turned his thoughts inward.

The street bobbed in nothingness, but neither of the boys were paying much attention. Ryou was terrified of his Yami, who was pacing and ranting. Suddenly, Y!Bakura whirled, descending on Ryou with a shaking finger, "I was THIS close."

Unable to help himself, Ryou blurted, "You're terrible."

"No." Y!Bakura replied, suddenly disturbingly calm, "I'm greedy. I want that girl. She's something I'm not supposed to touch."

"That's so...wrong."

"Is it, then?" Y!Bakura giggled, "Is it so wrong to want to have something? Everything that I've wanted I've gotten. I wouldn't keep her, you understand. She's not shiny enough, doesn't suit my purposes, but she's pretty. Not as pretty as the Pharoah's little toy, of course... Anzu is controllable."

Ryou could think of nothing to say. It didn't matter to his Yami, though. After waiting a beats time for a reply that wasn't there, he went on as if he wasn't listening. Which, really, he wasn't.

"It's all about control, you understand. Why I'll not bend to that bastard Pharaoh. I control the Realms with this ring." It glinted as he manifested it in his hand, its dangly bits making music that didn't belong in this room. "And people. Like you, little Ryou."

Ryou swallowed, emboldened by his Yami's complete (if momentary) seperation from reality. "It controls you too."

"Only because of that bastard Pharoah, which is why I need the other items. The Ring and Eye are useless without the others." Growling, he tossed the thing away. It clanged once on the colourless floor before dissapearing.

Ryou watched his Yami's back arch a hint, his shoulders shake as he chuckled, "Control, you understand? With the Ring and Eye I have the Shadow Realm. With the others I shall have time and consciousness at my command. But all of these aren't solid. They're merely an illusion. Like all of this" He gestulated. "With the Puzzle, I'll have that blasted Pharaoh, and control it all."

Y!Bakura's cackle echoed through the space, (something Ryou was sure he did on purpose) but it was cut off as something knocked the physical body to the ground. With a growl, Y!Bakura focused himself outword, his body dissapearing and leaving Ryou once again alone, looking at window of grey asphalt.

After a split-second hesitation, Bakura began to struggle, cursing. Honda tightened his grip, growling in return as he straddled the smaller boy. Twisting as he was, Honda allowed Bakura to flip onto his back, before pinning his arms at the side of his head once more.

Glare met glare, sneer met sneer, and hairpoint met hairpoints. "Get OFF of me!" Bakura yelled, struggling futilly against Honda's size and strength.

"Like hell, you bastard." Holding Bakura's arms above he head in one hand, he drew back and punched him. The back of the silver-haired boy's head cracked loudly against the street, but he seemed only incited by the action, wriggling his arms free. He grabbed Honda's conveniently handle-shaped hair, and used it as a grip while he fed the larger boy punches.

Having none of this, Honda whipped his head back and forth, freeing himself and on the process headbutting Bakura. Blood trickling from both their noses, Bakura snaked his hands around Honda's neck, squeezing. "Game over, punk."

Blinking away dots, Honda brough his own hands up, pulling at Bakura's arms. Slowly, Honda's strangth outlasted both his own asphyxiation and Bakura's grip. He once again pinned Bakura to the road, their faces an inch apart.

"Never call me a punk." A beat, then another. The two boys' chests heaved from exertion, and suddenly Honda was pressing his lips against Bakura's in a kiss so bruising his head smacked the asphalt again.

Struggling, Bakura returned the kiss in kind, biting down on Honda's lower lip until he could taste blood. Moaning, Honda forced his tongue inside Bakura's mouth, forcing it through the boy's teeth pushing deep, as if he were marking territory. One hand released its grip, clutching Bakura's hair, wrapping around the back of his neck as he drew the boy closer. Bakura's free arm encircled Honda's shoulder under his trench, kneeding his back as he strained upwards.

Leaning back and taking the smaller boy with him, Honda, blinded by something close enough to animal lust, brought his other hand around Bakura's waist. Clumsily, never breaking contact, they stood, Honda clutching Bakura as if he were a coveted object, Bakura alowing this just barely.

Realizing himself, Bakura pushed against Honda, trying to break the kiss. Honda clutched tighter for a moment, biting Bakura's upper lip hard, than pushed him away forcefully.

Falling backwards, Bakura glared up from the ground, gaze feirce and face bleeding from three different places. Honda glared down at him, licking that last bit of blood from his lip. Disdainfully, as if the silver-haired boy wasn't worth his time, he turned on a heel and walked away, trench blazing.

Ryou's head was spinning. Er, well, his head inside his head which was, oh dammit, he was confused. "What, exactly... What was that?"

His Yami chuckled. "It's all about control, you see."

Getting to his feet, Bakura began the long walk home, dripping blood and rainwater.