He felt hot. It was not a trick of the temperature, nor the symptom of fever. No. What he felt burned into his every pore, seared into his flesh..- Fires seeking a path into his heart, while darkness crowded around him; deathly still in wait of the man that would surely erupt. His thoughts boiled in his ashen mind, as Kaisho Bakura stared forth.. But it was not the bodies in their beds that he stared at. No, in the furnace of his frenzied gaze, he stared at the door, for he knew what sat beyond it.

He had known. He had known, but he had ignored it. He has chased it anyway- the ring. Its whispers still clawed at his mind, and the traces of that dark power that he had so conceitedly tried to possess remained… It tasted metallic upon his tongue, but he could feel it.. He desired it..

No one possesses the ring; it possesses them.

He had known. He had been told. He had been warned.

It had come into the room several times already, gingerly pulling the lever on the door, eyeing him with timid apprehension. It was good at acting, he could admit that..- But Bakura would not be fooled. He would not fall to the same fate as his wife, or his children. He would fight it. He would fight that convincing facade..- but at the idea, his anger was dampened by something both numbing and cold. Guilt.

He leaned forwards, and nursed his head in his hands. He was pulling- tearing at his scalp through his grey hair, groaning. The despair that had been promised had arrived, merely as the consequence to his own actions. Did he have the right to struggle, to fight? Maybe this was justice. He strained to listen beyond his disordered thoughts, to break through the deafening noise of his own mind…- Just to hear the monitors.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

They continued, steady and only barely out of sync with one another. No. This couldn't be justice. He glanced up through glassy, vacant eyes..- Watching his daughter. She was barely eight, and yet.. Such destruction had come to her fragile little body. Bakura leaned forwards and ran a thumb along her swollen, purple cheek. He felt the stitches beneath his calloused digits, where her jaw and lip had been sewn back together..- But they had not been done well, and so Amane's misplaced flesh now drew her young face into a frown. It gave him agony, to know that a frown might be the last thing that he'd ever see on his daughter's face.

".. I forgot your gift." His voice was faint, barely treading above a whisper as he gave the only admission of guilt that his courage could muster. "I'm sorry, Amane.." Tears brewed at the corners of his eyes, clouding his vision while his shoulders slumped forth- trembling.

It was then, as the man gave into his grief, that the door would shudder open once more. Bakura didn't even glance up from his feet, as his legs nervously shook beneath the elbows that he rested on his knees. He knew it had returned, looking to feed upon his despair most likely. He pulled his lips into a thin line, and with a dark voice, he coldly spoke to the ring .

".. Leave."

This time, he did not hear the door shiver on its hinges with the trespasser's retreat. The ring remained in the room with him, hiding behind the door in a way that reminded him of his son. Bakura couldn't help the disdain that sunk into his ghostly features, as he screwed his eyes shut.

"Get out. Leave. You've done enough."

He heard it choke down a sob, but it still stood its ground..- Walking a step further into the room. Fury rose in his chest at that.

"Get out! Get out!" His voice bristled, before rising into a scream. Bakura jumped up from his seat, and pointed with fury to the hall beyond the room. "Get out of my li-" He hesitated, taken aback.

Before him, he saw his son's face redden as hot tears flowed from his eyes and crept down his cheeks. His gaze was wanting, pleading..- Confused, and in pain. Just the reaction that Bakura would have expected from his true son. He couldn't hold himself back at that perfect imitation. It was cruel. It was cruel to him. It was cruel to Ryou.

"Get out!" He yelled, throwing himself forwards with alarming rage. "Get out! How could you do this, how? To them-" Bakura thrust his hand out to his family, "To him! Get out, now! You've done enough!"

The image of his son grew quiet, tears rolling down his face in silence. He said nothing for a few long moments, before glancing to his feet.

"Amane's monitor.."

Bakura went cold as he realised it himself. The steady beeping of the monitor had transformed into a dead hum. When the image of his son realised that Bakura had been frozen by the noise, or lack thereof, he ran and pressed the button himself.

Ryou's head hung between his knees as his entire body was rocked by tremors. Even though he held himself with his arms, he couldn't stop shaking..- Shivering, as he recalled the way that his father had reacted. It had taken a moment for the old man to catch up to the present, but as the nurses piled into the room, he had become manic- hysterical as he screamed.

"Don't take her! You can't take her! Give her back!"

He had marched over towards Ryou, then..- Reaching a hand out towards him with a speed and ferociousness that he had never seen from his father. He had grabbed onto his shirt, and pulled him close..- Spitting into his eyes as he yelled.

"You piece of shit! Leave her alone! She's too young!"

Ryou had tried to beg, to plead with his father..- But nothing he said cut through that hatred on his face. It took a nurse to separate them- pushing Ryou back into the hall. He had pounded on the door for some time, before collapsing in on himself- realising that no one would open it to him. The spirit wondered, as he gazed through his landlord's eyes, at what exactly he was thinking about now. Was there a plan of action, or was he simply going to mope around?

"Amane… Mother..-" His host's voice shuddered, disrupted by inconsolable sobs as he buried his head deeper into his knees. "I.. I'm sorry."

Well now, this was interesting. It had been that easy for his landlord to take the blame of the accident. A few words from his father, and then a few thoughts of his own.. And he was fine with it. The spirit supposed that it was good that his host was so pliable..- especially after the guilt of this incident had finished wearing him down. In truth, this situation was terribly convenient for the spirit. Perhaps he could even reach out to his host and…

A frown tugged at the spirit's non-corporeal lips. He had been trying to communicate with the boy persistently for a week now, but.. It didn't seem possible. He never gave any indication that he heard the spirit, nor that he felt the spirit. In fact, he appeared to be entirely oblivious to the ring itself. He couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen this boy to be the bearer of the ring. What innate power had he sensed? Where had it gone?

"Yadonushi.." The spirit whispered into the sand-swept abyss of his host's consciousness. His words were carried away by swift winds, however- never reaching the young boy. Well, perhaps the spirit would need to be a little more obvious, then…

While Ryou wept, a sudden weight pulled his face fully into his knees..- Smashing his nose in a way that caused his eyes to water. He was dazed for a few moments, thinking that his back had somehow slipped forwards from the wall..- But glancing down, he noticed a faint glow. He uncurled himself, placing a hand over his chest before.. Before then he felt it.

Ryou fervently beat his tears away with the heel of his hand, grasping tightly onto the hot gold that hung around his neck. That familiar sensation returned…- The one from the kitchen, and the one.. The one from the crossing. Both seen and unseen, something that he had entirely forgotten, but now suddenly recalled. When had he put this on? When had he received the ring..-

No, why did he know the name?

No, no..

No...

No!

Memories flashed through his mind. He couldn't grasp onto a single one, couldn't witness them- but he felt them, surging through his soul, tearing holes in his heart. The effect had shaken the boy so thoroughly that even the spirit felt it- terror and agony, sudden… Rushing into his soul, just as it had overtaken the boy's. The spirit had immediately retracted his powers at the reaction- but it didn't stop the boy. His host could see the ring, and he grasped onto it so tightly that the spirit couldn't even hide it again. It was a reflex, a reaction..- But also a danger to the spirit, as he felt shadows dive in on him.

With a hiss, the spirit reached through into the darkness..- Grasping onto the source.

And everything went black for Ryou.

The window slid open with little argument- never having been locked in the first place, of course. The most challenging part had been beating back at the thin curtains, billowing out into the midnight breeze, for they had threatened to throw him off balance as he carefully climbed inside. He wasn't particularly afraid; he had done this many times, after all. But this was his second time in this body, and so he was being cautious..- Adjusting to the way in which it responded to his commands. He had noted how slow it was to transform his thoughts into actions- though he didn't believe that this was a rejection of his soul. Rather, his body was unreactive due to how young it was..- Eleven, maybe twelve- thirteen at the most. Regardless, its motor functions were not as developed as the spirit would've liked for them to have been.

His feet trod silently over carpet that entirely caught the sound of the wooden beams below. It was likely that they would otherwise have creaked beneath him, and so he was fortunate. That was something which the spirit was grateful for in this time period; the abundance of carpet to the average person made his job that much easier, after all. A wicked and malevolent grin spread to his lips, although it felt wrong on this young face. He would have to practise, though not for vanity. Intimidation was important, and could be done even on a face as soft as his host's.

He stopped by the bed, standing over the slumbering kid. Where one might have hesitated, reconsidering their course of action and motives, the spirit instead rejoiced in his potential to inflict misery and punishment. To him, this was how he would pay rent, after all.

The spirit leaned over the bed, slowly wrapping his hand around the kid's jaw..- Covering his mouth. He relished in the way in which the boy tensed, feeling a rush at the fear that he imagined was now turning his blood cold. Oh, this was wonderful.. He had missed this.

He leaned close to the kid's ear, his breath grazing his throat as he'd whisper.

"Take a look at me… And give me a name." He withdrew his hand from the boy's mouth, then..- Stepping back against the moonlight which now traced his dark silhouette with silver. The kid's breath caught in his throat, and his shoulders shook up and down as he turned in his bed..- Gazing at the spirit.

The spirit felt frenzied by the horror that he saw in the child's gaze. It gave him such an intoxicating thrill, to see that expression on somebody who was so unused to it.. Someone who only knew it on the faces of others. He breathed in deeply, relishing every second that he was here, in his host's body, inflicting terror upon the world.

"B..- Bakura..?" The boy whimpered, unsure of himself as his eyes rested on his host's snow-white hair. The spirit couldn't help the elated grin that consumed his face..- Malevolence replaced by sheer pleasure, as he held the ring outwards in his hand.

".. You guessed wrong." Villainous laughter seeped out from between his lips, foul and.. Simply wrong, as he turned his landlord's voice harsh and coarse. Shameless in his glee, the spirit thrust a finger towards the boy who scrambled to his feet..- Running for the door, reaching for the handle, and-

"Penalty game!"

The boy fell with the full force of his weight, slumping forwards into the door..- An empty shell of he who had once been named Masaru. In his host's hand was a doll which now spoke..- but only the spirit could hear him, as he begged to be freed.

The spirit continued to laugh manically- throwing his head back against the shape of a full moon.

"I like this new host body.. I think that we'll be able to do all kinds of terrible things together."

He repeated the words, and wherever Ryou's consciousness slept... He heard them.