Aisha: Hi all! It's me again. I'm being forced to stay home by my parents…. That's when you know it's bad. These are the same people who when I was in grade school used to tell me I couldn't stay home unless I was dead, dieing, or coughing up a lung. Well anyways I've run out of DVDs to watch so here I am typing up this chapter. Wee lookit! The room's spinning! The thermometer said my temperature was 95.7, which means I have hypothermia --;; That thermometer never liked me, it always said my temperature was so low I was dead. It's a conspiracy I tell you!!!!!!!!!!!! Cough Don't mind me, it's 11:44am I haven't slept, eaten, or taken any medicine for a good 16 hours! I'm off in LaLa Land!

Responses:

Since I'm posting these two chapters within one day of each other, I'm going to respond to all of the reviews for chapter 6&7 in chapter8. Which Ra only knows, I may end up posting tomorrow night like I usually do. I HAVE TOO MUCH TIME, IT'S DRIVING ME INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S.- I've noticed that just about all of you like the way I do Ishtar and Malik. I'm glad, cuz I thought it was totally OOC and over the top, what with Ishtar and his obsessions.

I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who has put me on their favorites list. I really appreciate it! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Disclaimer: 6 days and counting.

Bound By Our Simple Mistakes

Chapter7: Ruby Eyes

(Yugi's POV) –Note: This takes place before the last two chapters. So basically when Ryou was napping in Bakura's head.

I felt kind of bad about leaving Ryou like that, but he was a big boy, and I was sure he could take care of himself. After all he did have top marks in all of his classes. But now was not the time to think about that, I had a project to do. I was keeping close track of my human, hovering just above the trees, and praying desperately that my protection spell wouldn't give out. I looked around me quickly, trying to map the City out, seeing as I was going to be here for a month.

When I looked back down I saw that the human, Yami, was talking to someone with wild white hair. 'Wait, wasn't that the mortal that was up on the roof? But where's Ryou?' I thought, looking around, and trying to extend my mental senses. I quickly pulled my mental calls back, because something- something that wasn't Ryou, but had almost felt like him- had responded. I shivered, still feeling the dark and cloudy mental tendril calling out to my mind. 'What is that?!' I thought to myself.

Just a friend, little one. It purred in my mind.

'A f-friend?' I was positive that I didn't know that voice, and, by the instinctive reflex I got to fight, I was pretty sure I didn't want to.

We'll meet soon little one, but first I want to find your friend Ryou. It whispered.

'What do you want with Ryou?'

Him and I have a few things to talk over. If I could have seen its face, I'm pretty sure it would have been smirking.

It didn't give me anytime to respond because at that moment, the dark tendril was gone. Panic gripped me, and unknowingly a small part of my senses expanded to find Ryou.

I was surprised when it found him….

……… Right below me.

Looking down I saw Yami and- Bakura, was his name?- still talking, or arguing by the look on their faces. Making sure my protection spell was still fully powered, I landed quietly on the ground near the two mortals. It wasn't like me to take risks, but I was worried for Ryou. Where was he anyway? A protection spell only hides angels from humans, so why couldn't I see him? I looked around everyway I could, but still couldn't find him. Feeling frustrated I sent out a spell which would lock onto certain power signatures, and was surprised when I felt it zoom straight towards the white haired human behind me.

Turning around I looked at him. How was this possible? He most certainly was not Ryou, but the spell was supposed foolproof, on account of the fact that it was un-alterable…. Even if you said it wrong it still worked!

I didn't have anytime to think on that though, because at that moment the two humans broke apart and went in opposite directions. I was faced with the toughest decision ever. Follow the Ryou look alike, figure out were Ryou went, and then face that whatever that wanted to talk to him. Or follow my look alike, and see if Ryou would show up at the meeting place tonight.

Even I don't know how, but somehow the second one won out over the first. So with hesitant movements I slowly spread my wings and flew quietly over the retreating Yami.

After about an hour of following him around town, we stopped at the game shop which, according to the file I had received, he lived at. He walked inside shutting the door behind him, and I felt my nerve leave me. I was willing to track him, but I was not brave enough to blatantly go into his house. I flew around to the back of the shop/house, and perched myself in a tree that had a rather good view of all of the widows. Taking out my pocket computer I started typing up a log of all that had happened that day.

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"Hey, what are you doing up there?" A gentle, but commanding voice inquired form somewhere below me. Opening my eyes I saw how dark the sky was, and cursed myself realizing I must have fallen asleep. I moved forward on the branch a little, and looked down, only to be met with a pair of brilliant ruby eyes that were slowly widening in shock.

Shock? What was there to be…. shocked…. abou- Uh-oh! The situation flooded back to me, and not only did I realize that I was late to meet Adara and Ryou, but I had been seen by a human. "My protection spell must have worn off," I whispered to myself.

"No clue what you're talking about, but could you tell me what you are, and why you're sleeping in a tree," I squeaked loudly when I realized that the ruby eyed teen had climb the tree and was now less then a foot away from me.

"D-Don't hurt me," I whispered frantically, while backing up to gain a little more distance between us.

He frowned a bit, "I won't hurt you, I just want to know what you're doing," his voice was deep and soothing, but I was so far gone in my fear of humans that it truly didn't matter what he said or how he said it.

"I'm not f-falling for it, y-you just want to cut off m-my wings," I was inching backwards, not noticing how there wasn't much branch left before I would fall to the ground. He moved forward a little, obviously noticing that if I kept backing up I would fall off, but this movement startled me, and I began to loose my balance. I was just starting to fall backward when two strong hands shot forward to grip my shoulders. But the second that he touched my shoulders everything around us erupted in spontaneous flashes of gold. The gold was quickly being sucked to his chest, where it was forming an upside-down pyramid with an eye-like symbol on it. Once it was done the pyramid glistened, and it felt as though our bodies were overlapping each other. While this was happening a voice wafted through my senses, speaking words that my numb brain knew, but would not comprehend.

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(Ryou's POV)

When I came to I was greeted with two sets of purple eyes. Yelping I tried to back up but bumped into a wall, wincing from the slight pain it cause to my already sore wings. Looking around I realized that I was on a bed, in a room that looked rather un-lived in, like a hotel room or something. "Where am I?" I asked looking back at Ishtar and Malik.

"Spare room in Bakura's house," Ishtar answered, while eyeing my hair again. Backing myself further against the wall I asked, "And what am I doing here?" I was trying to sound calm, but I was backed up against a wall, with a human that would gladly take me home with him because he like my hair, and a demon that was currently devouring pixie stix like his life depended on it, in front of me.

"Dunno," Ishtar grinned at me, and I got the distinct feeling that he was plotting something against me. Note to self: Stop using conditioner if it makes your hair that shiny.

"I told you before, we need to talk," Malik answered in between pixie stix and random giggles.

Where did all the sane people go?

"Calm down, you're getting that freaky look on your face again," Malik said, actually looking at me this time. His eyes spoke volumes of hyper-activity, but his voice was calm and measured. "You look like a caged animal when you make that face."

"I'm leaving," not a clue where I was going though, and I suppose it didn't matter, because as I made to get up Malik draped an arm around my shoulders, like we were the best of friends or something to that extent.

"But we haven't talked yet," he said, looking at me. "You should try one of these by the way, they're heavenly," he said trying hard not to laugh at his own corny pun, while handing me a few pixie stix. "If I remember my classes correctly, they don't have sugar in the Upper Elements, right?" Ishtar looked horrified at the very thought.

"Uh-huh," I nodded. It was true, the Upper Elements had outlawed sugar, and used some sort of substitute in all food and candy instead.

"You poor thing!" Ishtar cried, sitting down on the side of me that Malik was not, and beginning to stroke my hair again.

"Go ahead, try one," Malik encouraged.

I sighed in resignation, it would take more energy then it was worth to fend the both of them off. Besides it was Malik's job as a demon to get people to do the wrong things, and I'm sure he could be much more persuasive then he was acting at the moment. I tore one open, and let the powder fall into my mouth. My eyes widened as the sweet candy dissolved, sending a rush of……something through my veins. I felt all of my senses jump for a minute, and looked at Malik questioningly.

"It's called a sugar rush," he grinned widely at me. "So, Ryou, how old are you?" Small talk? Whatever, eat a few pixie stix then answer.

"Human years I'm 150, in the Upper Elements I'm 15. What about you? We look about the same age," my speech was becoming faster and more jumbled with every stick.

He smiled again, (I got the feeling that he does that a lot) "I'm 165."

"Interesting," I said distractedly, while slapping Ishtar's hand away from the little pile of Stix that I had taken from Malik. A thought struck me. "What is it that you wanted to talk about, anyway? I'm pretty sure you didn't go to all this just to give me sugar and ask my age."

"You're a sharp boy," he praised slightly, and had I been in the right state of mind I probably would have frowned upon that since it was coming from a demon. "What would you say if I told you that we were related, Ryou?" I dropped the pixie stick that I had been about to open, and looked Malik straight in the eye, not liking what I saw there.

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Aisha: I think, in terms of actual writing that was the longest chapter yet, since I didn't do responses or anything. Anyway Read and Review! Maybe I'll see you tomorrow.

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Chapter Revised: August 4, 2004.