Author's Notes:
Very special thanks to the following people: Princess Krystal01, iluvkaiba, Fluffeh, Yutaan, S.A Bonasi, AnimeDarkside, Marikzgal4eva, LinkGirl, insane penguin and Yami Bakura's little thief.
Thanks also to other people who are reading this.
Enjoy reading!
=====================================================================
Here and Thereafter
Chapter 3: The Problem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yugi sighed anxiously as he arranged the pell-mell things in his locker. It had been six week since Ryou had been hit by that truck (time flies, doesn't it? 0_o;), and the last time Yugi saw him he was still in a dreadful comatose. They haven't visited him for a week now because the examinations were coming, and the pressure on their shoulders was overwhelming.
Yugi stole a glance at his schedule. His next subject after lunch was World History. He groaned; he had always been poor at memorizing names, and their topic today was about the ancient Roman emperors. He wished he had Yami's outstanding memory with him, but then, his dark side was still in a deep hibernation.
Yami had been inactive for three months now, and Yugi was getting nervous. At times he would meditate and knock at Yami's door, but no answer came. Yugi was sure that his darker side was still alive because every now and then his Millenium Puzzle would give him a reassuring glow. Yami doesn't even have an idea about what happened to Ryou.
"Hello, Yugi…"
Yugi gave a start and looked around. He gave a strangled cry and all his things came spilling to the floor.
"Bakura?!?" he gasped, eyes widening.
(Yami) Bakura tilted his head on one side and flashed Ryou's smile at Yugi's direction. "What's the matter, Yugi? You look like you've seen a ghost."
But it wasn't just Yugi who had that reaction. The whole corridor had gone quiet, and every eye was on Bakura. Yugi still could not speak. Something wasn't right here. Ryou Bakura stood there plainly in Domino High's blue uniform, hands in his pockets as if nothing bad had ever happened to him. The doctor clearly said to Yugi that Ryou was expected to be in a comatose for a whole year, and now this.
"It's impossible…" Yugi stammered, looking up. "The doctor said—said that—"
"I'm supposed to be in a coma for a whole year, perhaps?" Bakura finished the sentence with an amused sigh. "Aren't you happy to see me recover this fast? Just a month and I'm all right!"
Yugi had far too many experiences with the powers of the devious Millenium Ring to buy this excuse. He shot another nervous gaze at what seemed to be Ryou's gentle face.
"I—I'm afraid I don't trust you." Yugi said in a small voice, avoiding Bakura's brown eyes.
This imp has a fast mind, Bakura thought. His smile faded a bit, but he hitched it back in place. "I need some explaining to do, huh? Well, let me tell you."
Yugi met his gaze. Bakura was just about to talk when the bell rang. Yugi bent and picked up his things and quickly scuttled away without a second word. He left his locker open. Bakura's face gave way to his trademarked frown.
"I can't sense the pharaoh." He mused. "And the Millenium Puzzle's aura is going haywire…what is going on?"
Then he remembered something. He was supposed to be in Physics class. Bakura shrugged and walked toward the classroom without any trouble at all, thanks to the scraps of Ryou's memories. He went into Ryou's class, and he was yet again met with the same dumbfounded gazes. He sat at the farthest corner of the room.
"So this is what Ryou calls high school." Bakura gave a hollow laugh as he surveyed the teenagers around him. "Too many young people, but too few to steal. This is boring."
He shifted in his seat and felt stinging pain erupt from his back.
"I've got to go back!" Ryou burst out frantically, wringing his hands. "You can't have that person walking around in my body! This will bring about total chaos! I have to go back!"
Saint Peter looked at the panicking white-haired boy behind him. "What? You want me to throw you back down to earth?"
Ryou shook his head and made to grab the saint's shoulders, but his hands just passed through. He looked at his digits in absolute terror. Saint Peter sighed piteously and rolled his green eyes.
"Calm down, boy." He said. "Sit down—err, float, if you like."
"But I can't calm down!" Ryou shouted, his voice echoing loudly like a gong. "You have no idea—there inside my body—he'll kill them all!"
"I SAID CALM DOWN, BOY!" Saint Peter shrieked. Somewhere, thunder rolled.
Ryou cringed and breathed deeply, still looking at the computer's monitor, where he saw his yami pretending to take notes on the Laws of Thermodynamics. He reached up and started biting his fingernails. He had never been so afraid like this before for his friends.
"You're dead, boy, and what you're asking for is too complicated, do you understand me?" Saint Peter spoke in a milder tone. "I can't just push you back into your body! Things have become complicated, do you get that? That Ring your other side has is the one responsible for your untimely death! There is only one way to bring you back, and that is through the power of another Artifact!"
Ryou reached up and covered his ears. He shook his head, his long, white hair flouncing on his shoulders. "It's you who doesn't understand! I don't care what it takes—but you have to return me there!"
"Only the Millenium Rod can return you to your body, boy!" Saint Peter yelled.
Ryou's shoulders fell helplessly. "The Millenium Rod?"
Saint Peter nodded. "Yes, and nothing else. But I doubt if Marik will help you in any way…"
"But he's got to!" Ryou wailed in his inhuman voice. "Marik has to help me!"
"It's impossible, boy!" Saint Peter shouted above his wails. "You can no longer come back! You're dead!"
"I don't care if I have to become a poltergeist!" Ryou yelled back. "I'm going back there!"
"Wait—wait, boy!" said Saint Peter, but it was too late. Ryou had soared back to the tunnel. "Oh, Christ—!"
Ryou soared back the tunnel in full speed. He had to come back. There was no other way to save his friends, much more save Yugi. But he had forgotten one very important thing, though. Time counted against spirits. He only had two weeks to make everyone realize what was going on—or else he would vanish forever.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Téa felt a vein throb on her forehead. Joey and Tristan were bickering behind her as they left their classrooms, and the noise was finally getting to her. She spun around, Algebra book in hand, and thwacked Joey and Tristan on the head with it.
"What was that for, Téa?!?" Jono grumbled as he clutched a bun-sized lump on his head.
"That hurt, you!" Tristan snapped.
"JUST SHUT UP!" Téa bellowed at the two. "I CAN'T STAND IT—YOU TWO ALWAYS BICKERING—AAARRGGHHH!"
Joey and Tristan recoiled in fright. "Calm down, girl, we'd shut up now! Promise!"
Téa flipped her hair and regained her composure. "One more fit and I swear it's the trash bin to you two!"
"By the way, where's Yugi?" said Joey, changing the topic. "We haven't seen him the whole day…"
"Hey there, guys!"
The three spun around and saw Yugi running toward them. It would have been okay if Yugi was smiling, but Tristan quickly noted the terrorized expression on his face.
"What's the matter, old dude?" Tristan asked. "Somebody bullied you again?"
Yugi grabbed his shoulders and shook his head. "N-no—it's—it's—!"
"Hey you guys! There you are!"
Tristan, Joey and Téa looked up. Like what Yugi expected, their jaws dropped open. Bakura came running toward them, smile still in place. The thief came to a halt before them, clutching a stitch in his chest and wincing.
"Horrible day, isn't it? So many…uh…missions!" Bakura said in a falsely cheery voice that didn't suit him. "I wonder what's for dinner?"
He was answered with stunned silence. Bakura straightened up, looking from one stupefied face to the next.
"What? You look like you've seen—" he began.
"A GHOST!" Joey shouted, completely losing his wits. "AAAAGHHH! A GHOST!"
"Stop it, Joey!" Yugi called. "It's Bakura!"
Bakura nodded. "That was rude of you Joey. What a nice way to greet a friend…"
"What—are—you—doing—here—?" Téa asked jerkily. "You're—you're supposed—"
"To be in a comatose, yes, yes, I know." Bakura said brightly. "A miracle happened you know, and it's thanks to my Ring here that I found myself sitting up, alive as ever!"
Tristan and Joey exchanged shocked glances.
"Are you sure you're Ryou at all?" Joey asked. "You could be—could be—"
Bakura pouted convincingly. "It is me! You've already gotten rid of my yami back in Duelist Kingdom! I tell the truth—the Millenium Ring healed me and now I'm back here with you guys!"
Once more, the four exchanged disbelieving looks. Bakura looked at them hopefully, bouncing slightly on his heels.
Tristan swallowed. "This is freaky…"
"Unbelievable." Joey agreed.
"Oh, crap, I've got to go home." Bakura said disappointedly as he checked his watch. "Well, see you tomorrow!"
And he flounced away like a five-year-old boy.
"I don't trust him." Téa piped up at once. "It isn't the Bakura we know! Nobody's stupid enough to believe this!"
"But it can't be the evil Bakura—we've finished him already!" Joey argued.
"But this is still too fishy!" Tristan snapped. "You're too stupid sometimes, you know, for once in your life can you think straight?!?"
"What do you think, Yugi?" Joey asked, turning to their friend. "Yugi?"
But it wasn't Yugi that they found standing next to them. It was already Yami, whose eyes were so puffy with too much sleep.
"So you're awake now!" Téa said. "What do you think?!? Is that Ryou or his yami?"
Yami turned to them, his face quite slack. "I don't know…what I sense from him is completely and truly Ryou. That's not his yami at all."
"Are you sure of that?" said Tristan. "I don't like that look on your face."
Yami blinked in a dream-like manner that was so unlike him. "One hundred percent sure that that is Ryou. Not his yami, but Ryou."
"We'd have to trust Yami, guys." Joey said. "If he says that's Ryou then that's him!"
The Millenium Puzzle glowed briefly and Yugi was back.
"I don't know, guys," he said. "I wouldn't count on Yami's word these days…something's wrong with him as well…"
"But if we can't trust the Puzzle, whom would we turn to?" said Téa.
She was right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry if this chapter sucked… 0_o;