I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Rhapsody Moonschild and Tat Claire Kokoro
|~*Rhapsody: ~The band is marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah. The band is marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah. The band is marching one by one, the little bass stops and we all run… right into her back, her back, her back…
Tat: o.O";; Rhap-chan, band is over right now.
Rhapsody: I still ran into the smallest bass drum and the third bass ran into me…
Tat: It happens… Glad I'm not a band dork.
Rhapsody: **rubs sore muscles** Anyway, Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn't belong to us. Any rabid lawyers will be scythed, courtesy of Tat-chan.
Tat: **holds up scythe for example…** *~|
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (by Rhapsody)
Yami's POV
There is something very wrong going on, and I am going to find out what it is. Somehow. The sight of my koi in the tomb-robber's arms nearly put me to tears. It is not something Ryou would ever have wanted. Ever.
I actually have a pretty decent idea of what has happened. Bakura has bespelled Ryou into forgetting that I (and probably his other friends as well) ever existed. All he knows is Bakura.
My sweet little innocent Ryou is no longer innocent, no longer happy.
I should have stayed with him!!! All the time!!! We knew Bakura would come back and yet I left him alone…
My cheeks are wet and I realize I am crying. Yes, the pharaoh is crying. And I am not ashamed. I stare with blurry eyes at the poor boy in Bakura's arms. He's not really Ryou. He's… 'Master's slave.'
I would get my Ryou back.
"So, pharaoh, I think it would be best if you left now," Bakura says with a fanged smile. Roughly he strokes Ryou's hair, which has lost its beautiful silvery sheen and is a dull white.
"I want him back," I command. Not that I think he will give in.
"If you don't leave," Bakura continues his thought, "then I might just have to have my dog here chase you away. And you wouldn't dare to hurt a puppy wearing his face, eh?"
"I… I…" I look away. I couldn't. I could never hurt Ryou, he means too much to me.
I hate myself for it, but I lower my head and walk away.
What to do, what to do… I have to get at Bakura when he can't use Ryou as leverage against me. And I have to do something permanent—send him to the Shadow Realm. I know this would be against Ryou's wishes, but I can NOT stop to consider how he will feel without becoming weak. And Bakura can practically smell weakness, and will capitalize on it.
I also have to figure out how to lift his curse. Damn it!!! My tasks pile up before me like an insurmountable mountain.
Is there anyone anywhere who could help me? Yugi would try with all of his little heart, but still he couldn't do much. He'd be something else to worry about.
The other yamis… Marik and Isis and Shadi are the only ones I know. Shadi is unpredictable—I wouldn't be able to count on finding him, much less getting his help. Marik… is crazy. And besides, he's probably amused by this. He's Bakura's lover, after all.
Isis… Would Isis help me?
It's unlikely. But I have to try.
Now that I have a destination, I set my face to the wind and jog with determination down the sidewalk. The wind carries my tears (I am still crying) away.
I WILL save Ryou.