There he was.
A painfully familiar environment; swirling shades of cool colors floating and accompanying his own situation.
Was he. . .there?
The pure illustration of nothingness was a subtle relief for Ryou. He welcomed the oblivion with open arms. And yet. . .
If he was there, then where was ~here~?
He somehow understood that it was all somehow too good to be true, and was ready to banish regret by the time he felt his toes touch the ground. Or the Shadow Realm's equivalent, whatever that was.
The nameless, and forever forgotten shadows whispered silence into his ears, urging him to continue forward. So, placing on foot in front of the other in a vaguely familiar motion, he began to walk.
It wasn't too long before he could make out a few shapes in the distance. His pace quickened slightly.
He came upon a forest of silver-sparkled trees, growing oddly out of illusion. Ryou had always felt relatively comfortable in forests, but there was something unnervingly peculiar about this one.
The trees were all exact copies of one another, spaced evenly in never- ending rows, like a child's 'Crayola' drawing of an ideal never to be achieved. They were deciduous, empty branches reaching out with a skeletal quality, completely devoid of an impression of leaves.
With a moment's hesitation of surveying his surroundings, he continued in a straight line, right into the thickening white fog.
It took days of walking, or so it seemed, to come across his unknown destination. He really had no idea where he was trying to walk to, but when the delicate silent stream became visible through the fog, he felt the smallest bit of fulfillment.
"Ryou. . ."
He whirled around in the direction of the voice, faced only with more white. The boy was quite sure that he had not imagined the call, nor the high giggle that followed.
A bit of the mysterious fog parted slightly.
/Her./
It was an appearance that could never be mistaken; lofty robes, perfect golden hair, and a divided appearance of complete contrast. She was knelt down on a rock beside the stream, wings spread out impressively.
The Change of Heart.
"Tell me dear Ryou," she called out "what is it that troubles you so?"
He situated himself awkwardly on a rock, not too close, and sighed in a weary jest of what he truly felt. "Things."
Her lovely eyes went sullen for a moment.
"Your Yami?" she growled in a deeper, more accusing tone. Ryou's body shuddered abruptly at her comment, but he wisely or perhaps cowardly in a sense, stayed silent, only fidgeting distractedly in his lap.
The Change of Heart smiled apologetically, but sharply changed the uncomfortable subject.
"Do you. . .have any regrets? Anything you would have rather not done in the past?" she asked innocently, and patiently waiting for a real answer. The white-haired boy was confused somewhat of its purpose, but a spirit like her did not go off by the same values as most people he had come across.
His head jerked up to face her, only finding that indeed, her inquiring gaze was quite harmless and sincere.
Well, not ~really~ appearing harmless, but the sincere part was real enough.
However it was odd, for this was the same question he had unconsciously been asking himself for quite a while, but did he really have an answer. It was hard to say if his current dilemma was brought upon himself, ~by~ himself, or was it something completely different to cause his sorrow?
Yet he bit his lip in determination and looked inside himself for the answer. He was only greeted with emptiness.
"I'm sure everyone regrets something that they did in their lifetime." He told her "But I try to keep my mind off those things." His gaze averted to an upward posture, somehow searching for the sun and its accompanying eclectic wonders. What he really wanted to admit then, was /at least I try/, but he knew it was useless, both the favor of pity, and the search for the sun.
"I see." Only now did Ryou suspect that perhaps this was only an insane dream, and eventually his sleeping thoughts would revert back to their normal routine of nightmares. . .but somehow, he was convinced that this was not a normal case.
He had always adored the Change of Heart for some reason unbeknownst to even himself, perhaps it was the moment's salvation from perdition when his eyes trailed across the particular card, or its peaceful yet strong and respected abilities. Whatever the reason, his natural reaction as his realizations sorted out, her lovely but great and heavy sorrow concerned him greatly. It was her who spoke the initiative, though.
"That was never true for me." The Hikari soul commented.
"Of course, ~I'm~ not human. ~I'm~ just a monster." The Yami hissed bitterly. Ryou shuddered a bit, now painfully reminded of what he had escaped from. His ring had been abandoned under his old bed, and though it was certainly obvious it would find its way back to him soon enough, it was worth the freedom, however temporary, wasn't it?
He noticed the physical changes she was rapidly undergoing; of narrowing eyes, straightening posture, expanding wings and what would in normal circumstances, be described as distressed floating tendrils.
"But you're not a monster!" he cried with such ferocity he surprised himself. For a split second, he thought of his little outburst was something that his Yami had said. Ryou honestly wouldn't have cared if that was true, but he ~did~ feel strongly about his favorite card's brilliance.
And though it was something that Yugi and the others, including Ryou, hadn't quite understood fully yet, it wasn't just ~believing~ that the cards had a heart, and trusting them with your soul, the cards loved their masters just as much. They only had trouble expressing the bond through any way besides fighting. . .
Change of Heart understood though. It was startling her to see gentle Ryou's reaction, almost suspecting a more sinister influence on his distress. The white-haired boy was someone whom she cared for greatly; masters in the past had never quite been like him.
/How could he care for another's welfare so sincerely, when his own fate is so miserable?/ An ulterior motive perhaps? No. Hikaris would never do anything of the sort. . .even one who had the uncanny ability to walk freely in the Shadow Realm.
His face slowly calmed back to its known state of normalcy, and he gave an apologetic, but sad smile as he stared back at his fidgeting hands. Both Yami and Hikari noticed that if anything, ~this~ was a forced expression rather than the one at the scene of his outburst.
"Sorry. . ." he muttered.
She was unsure of what to do, but she ~was~ sure she needed to do something. The poor boy had not experienced true happiness in a long expanse of time. . .well, why not?! The other half of his soul, that's why, and this angered her even more.
A simple 'duel monster' could not affect reality directly, but in the Shadow Realm, anything was possible. And if a piece of reality just so happened to wander into its depths, well, the Shadow Realm was known to have 'lasting impressions'.
/Master does not want to be hurt./ she could sense that easily. Maybe it was just the fact that she had a Hikari that approved of her Yami, and the same for the Yami, but it seemed unusual for a Yami to abuse to the point of the Hikari able to lose its brilliance. . .
With a wry grin, the being understood a very useful solution. Ryou was completely oblivious, mistaking the Yami's controlled smile as a sneer rather than brilliant idea.
Being that Bakura and Ryou were technically one in the same, she could easily understand their thoughts and the processes in which they applied, for either one of them if she so desired. Though the Yami/Hikari duo loved only one master, Ryou, they understood that Bakura, the seemingly impossibly strong tyrant, had one vital weakness.
She abruptly stood, startling the boy.
"Thank you, Master Ryou, insights are valuable." She spoke loudly and clearly, intimidating him unintentionally. The Change of Heart's robes fluttered with an ethereal quality as she slowly stepped forward, until she was barely a foot away (by reality's fragile standards) from his pointed nose.
"Now, the favor shall be returned." She concluded, touching her palm to his forehead, and before he had a chance to react, she ~concentrated~. . .and. . .
~*~*~*~
Ryou jolted awake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Woohooooooooo! Another one there for ya, hope it was an enjoyable experience! I am desperately in need of advise (aka, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism), and support I suppose. Just took the SAT yesterday, so please. . .help turn me sane, darnit!
Thank you person who did, I'll think about it ^^
If I don't update 'till then, Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
Kuja: Crap, she's getting obsessed with capitalization again. . .
Leon: Hyne help us. . .
giggle: ^^
Toodles everybody!
Disclaimer: ('Cuz I decided to put it at the end. . .) Don't own any of this stuff. . .otherwise Ryou would blush way more than healthy, and. . .and. . .I'd fit Yue in there somehow. . .oO
A painfully familiar environment; swirling shades of cool colors floating and accompanying his own situation.
Was he. . .there?
The pure illustration of nothingness was a subtle relief for Ryou. He welcomed the oblivion with open arms. And yet. . .
If he was there, then where was ~here~?
He somehow understood that it was all somehow too good to be true, and was ready to banish regret by the time he felt his toes touch the ground. Or the Shadow Realm's equivalent, whatever that was.
The nameless, and forever forgotten shadows whispered silence into his ears, urging him to continue forward. So, placing on foot in front of the other in a vaguely familiar motion, he began to walk.
It wasn't too long before he could make out a few shapes in the distance. His pace quickened slightly.
He came upon a forest of silver-sparkled trees, growing oddly out of illusion. Ryou had always felt relatively comfortable in forests, but there was something unnervingly peculiar about this one.
The trees were all exact copies of one another, spaced evenly in never- ending rows, like a child's 'Crayola' drawing of an ideal never to be achieved. They were deciduous, empty branches reaching out with a skeletal quality, completely devoid of an impression of leaves.
With a moment's hesitation of surveying his surroundings, he continued in a straight line, right into the thickening white fog.
It took days of walking, or so it seemed, to come across his unknown destination. He really had no idea where he was trying to walk to, but when the delicate silent stream became visible through the fog, he felt the smallest bit of fulfillment.
"Ryou. . ."
He whirled around in the direction of the voice, faced only with more white. The boy was quite sure that he had not imagined the call, nor the high giggle that followed.
A bit of the mysterious fog parted slightly.
/Her./
It was an appearance that could never be mistaken; lofty robes, perfect golden hair, and a divided appearance of complete contrast. She was knelt down on a rock beside the stream, wings spread out impressively.
The Change of Heart.
"Tell me dear Ryou," she called out "what is it that troubles you so?"
He situated himself awkwardly on a rock, not too close, and sighed in a weary jest of what he truly felt. "Things."
Her lovely eyes went sullen for a moment.
"Your Yami?" she growled in a deeper, more accusing tone. Ryou's body shuddered abruptly at her comment, but he wisely or perhaps cowardly in a sense, stayed silent, only fidgeting distractedly in his lap.
The Change of Heart smiled apologetically, but sharply changed the uncomfortable subject.
"Do you. . .have any regrets? Anything you would have rather not done in the past?" she asked innocently, and patiently waiting for a real answer. The white-haired boy was confused somewhat of its purpose, but a spirit like her did not go off by the same values as most people he had come across.
His head jerked up to face her, only finding that indeed, her inquiring gaze was quite harmless and sincere.
Well, not ~really~ appearing harmless, but the sincere part was real enough.
However it was odd, for this was the same question he had unconsciously been asking himself for quite a while, but did he really have an answer. It was hard to say if his current dilemma was brought upon himself, ~by~ himself, or was it something completely different to cause his sorrow?
Yet he bit his lip in determination and looked inside himself for the answer. He was only greeted with emptiness.
"I'm sure everyone regrets something that they did in their lifetime." He told her "But I try to keep my mind off those things." His gaze averted to an upward posture, somehow searching for the sun and its accompanying eclectic wonders. What he really wanted to admit then, was /at least I try/, but he knew it was useless, both the favor of pity, and the search for the sun.
"I see." Only now did Ryou suspect that perhaps this was only an insane dream, and eventually his sleeping thoughts would revert back to their normal routine of nightmares. . .but somehow, he was convinced that this was not a normal case.
He had always adored the Change of Heart for some reason unbeknownst to even himself, perhaps it was the moment's salvation from perdition when his eyes trailed across the particular card, or its peaceful yet strong and respected abilities. Whatever the reason, his natural reaction as his realizations sorted out, her lovely but great and heavy sorrow concerned him greatly. It was her who spoke the initiative, though.
"That was never true for me." The Hikari soul commented.
"Of course, ~I'm~ not human. ~I'm~ just a monster." The Yami hissed bitterly. Ryou shuddered a bit, now painfully reminded of what he had escaped from. His ring had been abandoned under his old bed, and though it was certainly obvious it would find its way back to him soon enough, it was worth the freedom, however temporary, wasn't it?
He noticed the physical changes she was rapidly undergoing; of narrowing eyes, straightening posture, expanding wings and what would in normal circumstances, be described as distressed floating tendrils.
"But you're not a monster!" he cried with such ferocity he surprised himself. For a split second, he thought of his little outburst was something that his Yami had said. Ryou honestly wouldn't have cared if that was true, but he ~did~ feel strongly about his favorite card's brilliance.
And though it was something that Yugi and the others, including Ryou, hadn't quite understood fully yet, it wasn't just ~believing~ that the cards had a heart, and trusting them with your soul, the cards loved their masters just as much. They only had trouble expressing the bond through any way besides fighting. . .
Change of Heart understood though. It was startling her to see gentle Ryou's reaction, almost suspecting a more sinister influence on his distress. The white-haired boy was someone whom she cared for greatly; masters in the past had never quite been like him.
/How could he care for another's welfare so sincerely, when his own fate is so miserable?/ An ulterior motive perhaps? No. Hikaris would never do anything of the sort. . .even one who had the uncanny ability to walk freely in the Shadow Realm.
His face slowly calmed back to its known state of normalcy, and he gave an apologetic, but sad smile as he stared back at his fidgeting hands. Both Yami and Hikari noticed that if anything, ~this~ was a forced expression rather than the one at the scene of his outburst.
"Sorry. . ." he muttered.
She was unsure of what to do, but she ~was~ sure she needed to do something. The poor boy had not experienced true happiness in a long expanse of time. . .well, why not?! The other half of his soul, that's why, and this angered her even more.
A simple 'duel monster' could not affect reality directly, but in the Shadow Realm, anything was possible. And if a piece of reality just so happened to wander into its depths, well, the Shadow Realm was known to have 'lasting impressions'.
/Master does not want to be hurt./ she could sense that easily. Maybe it was just the fact that she had a Hikari that approved of her Yami, and the same for the Yami, but it seemed unusual for a Yami to abuse to the point of the Hikari able to lose its brilliance. . .
With a wry grin, the being understood a very useful solution. Ryou was completely oblivious, mistaking the Yami's controlled smile as a sneer rather than brilliant idea.
Being that Bakura and Ryou were technically one in the same, she could easily understand their thoughts and the processes in which they applied, for either one of them if she so desired. Though the Yami/Hikari duo loved only one master, Ryou, they understood that Bakura, the seemingly impossibly strong tyrant, had one vital weakness.
She abruptly stood, startling the boy.
"Thank you, Master Ryou, insights are valuable." She spoke loudly and clearly, intimidating him unintentionally. The Change of Heart's robes fluttered with an ethereal quality as she slowly stepped forward, until she was barely a foot away (by reality's fragile standards) from his pointed nose.
"Now, the favor shall be returned." She concluded, touching her palm to his forehead, and before he had a chance to react, she ~concentrated~. . .and. . .
~*~*~*~
Ryou jolted awake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Woohooooooooo! Another one there for ya, hope it was an enjoyable experience! I am desperately in need of advise (aka, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism), and support I suppose. Just took the SAT yesterday, so please. . .help turn me sane, darnit!
Thank you person who did, I'll think about it ^^
If I don't update 'till then, Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
Kuja: Crap, she's getting obsessed with capitalization again. . .
Leon: Hyne help us. . .
giggle: ^^
Toodles everybody!
Disclaimer: ('Cuz I decided to put it at the end. . .) Don't own any of this stuff. . .otherwise Ryou would blush way more than healthy, and. . .and. . .I'd fit Yue in there somehow. . .oO