Author's Note:

The usual. Do I need to say it still?

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Here and Thereafter

Chapter 7: The Mistake

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It had been five days since his descent.

And now, he is suffering the consequences of not listening to the saint.

Ryou was floating in midair, coiled like a baby in his mother's womb. His whole being was siezed with pain, causing him to pulsate an odd warning light. He had weakened greatly. Just last night, hoping to surprise Yugi by passing through walls, he discovered he was no longer capable of performing the feat.

His hands, if possible, had gone more transparent. Ryou knew his time was slipping out of control. He had to get his body back or else disappear forever as if he had never existed at all. The light of the spirits was fast leaving him too…

Domino High was in commotion today. Today the top ten students of each year level for the previous grading period was going to be posted in the main bulletin board. Many were anxious, but a few of the students were excited.

But Téa, Yugi and Joey did not care to join the thick crowd clamoring against the boards. The three were currently in their classrooms, with Téa and Joey dueling before Yugi, who watched the match lazily. As usual, Joey was on the losing side.

"AARGGH! I give up!" Joey whined as he threw his hands in the air.

Téa rolled her eyes. "All right then. Now you owe me 500 yen."

Joey took out his purse and began counting his money. His face went the slight shade of blue. "Uh-oh…"

Téa sneered at him. "Bankrupt, aren't we? If you can't pay me now that will be 1000 yen by tomorrow."

"Unfair!" Joey protested. "Why'd it jump like that?!?"

"Téa's only following the rules of your game, Joey." Yugi answered timidly. "You said that the loser will have to pay, but if he can't pay the due to the winner today it will double the next day, then the next day, and so on and so forth…"

Téa nodded. "He's right, so pay up now."

Joey stepped back, shaking his head. "Well—I'd, uh—I'd—!"

But he was spared from answering by Tristan, who returned from seeing the top ten students. Tristan was wearing that gigantic look of disbelief as he bounded into the room, his eyes wide. But he was grinning so broadly.

"Well? Who won the jackpot?" Yugi asked.

Tristan swallowed. "You wouldn't believe it! Seto Kaiba has been dethroned!"

"WHAT?!?" Joey, Yugi and Téa burst out altogether.

Tristan looked like he was lost for words. Joey grabbed his shoulders.

"Come on, dude, speak up!" he said. "I'd like to know who ousted that arrogant brat, and congratulate him or her for it! Who beat him? Come on, Tristan, spit it out!"

At that moment, Bakura entered the room, backpack hanging from his shoulder. He sat down and immediately took out his books, and started to read. He didn't even look at Joey and the others. Tristan, seeing him, nodded.

"What—? Who—?" said Joey, confused. "What the hell are you nodding for?!?"

Tristan just continued nodding vigorously toward the innocent Bakura. Then comprehension dawned on Yugi and Téa's faces.

"Oh my god!" Téa muttered, a grin spreading on her lips. "I can't believe it!"

Then Joey understood too. "NO WAY! There is just no way!"

Tristan nodded for the last time. "Yes. Beat Kaiba by five points on the general average. I think it's a first ever since Kaiba entered Domino High. Saw him walking in the corridor, seething with fury. Apparently, nobody has ousted him before."

"ALL RIGHT, RYOU!" Joey hollered. "YOU SHOW HIM!"

Bakura looked up from his history book, slight frown on his face. "Huh?"

But it was too late. Téa, Joey and their classmates had flocked around him, asking him how the hell he managed to beat Kaiba. Soon he disappeared under the thick huddle of admiring students. Tristan did not join, and so did Yugi.

"Barking mad, the whole lot of them." Tristan smiled. "But hey, this is the first time…but it's strange…Ryou doesn't even seem to care that he outsmarted the all-time genius boy of Domino City."

"Because he isn't Ryou." Yugi said in a small but audible voice.

Tristan gave a start and turned to Yugi, but it was already Yami who was sitting beside him. Yami's face was drawn into an ugly frown, and he was looking so venomously at the huddle around Bakura that Tristan went nervous in spite of himself.

"Yugi…what did you say?" he asked.

"Because that boy over there isn't Ryou." Yami answered spitefully. "It's that slinking Tomb Robber! If he thinks he can fool me by using my friend's body he's wrong! Damn him, that bastard—!"

"What are you saying?" Tristan blinked. "Of course that's Ryou—it's him, what on earth is happening to you?"

The venomous gaze transferred to his face. Tristan felt an involuntary shudder run down his spine. "Yugi, old dude, don't look at me like that…you're scaring me…"

The Puzzle glowed briefly and Yugi was back. He avoided Tristan's gaze and returned to his seat, rummaging through his books. Tristan did not understand.

"Yugi, if you want to tell us something, then fire away." He said. "You've been hiding something from us, Yugi, and you were never like this. What is it that's bothering you? How can we help you if you don't even utter a word?"

"I can't tell you." Yugi said hysterically. "I can't tell you, because it's out of my control! This is between that boy over there using Ryou's body and my other self! I've got nothing to do with it! Yami told me to never interfere!"

Tristan wanted to ask what was going on, but the teacher prevented any more words as she entered the classroom. Then the hours started to snail by. Tristan kept trying to catch Yugi's eyes, but the latter was determined not to look at him.

Seirin International School was the school for the elite society. It had the most expensive books, uniforms, facilities, tuition fee—everything in plain sight was just expensive. The students in the school were children of zaibatsu, government officials and ambassadors from foreign countries. Luxury and riches were everywhere.

Marik Ishtar was a student of Seirin, in the class of III-2. The teacher was not yet around, so the students were busy showing off to each other. Marik, unlike his classmates, paid some importance on his grades, so instead of admiring the robotic puppy Sayoko bought with her he remained in his seat and worked on his left-out homework.

Prove that in any circle, the midpoints of all chords congruent to a given chord form a circle concentric with the given circle and with a radius equal to the distance of any one of the chords from the center.

Marik frowned at the book. "Hell, what theorem am I supposed to use in this…?"

He started to write a rushed two-column proof for the problem. Sayoko, annoyed by Marik's indifference, went to him. She looked down at the problem, her robotic puppy in her arms.

"Hey, Ishtar, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Brushing my teeth." Marik replied sarcastically. "What does this look to you?"

Sayoko bent forward. "Ne, Ishtar, look at my puppy. He likes you…see?"

A vein throbbed on Marik's tanned forehead. He met Sayoko's black eyes with his violet ones. "Sayoko, if you've got nothing to do other than brag about that stupid piece of welded tin cans, then bugger off. I, unlike you, pay importance to my grades, so would you please leave me alone to study?"

Sayoko hurried away, looking deeply insulted. Marik rolled his eyes and continued his work.

Ryou knew Yami would be angry, but he had no choice. They had to act now. Ryou was fast disappearing, his body now fuzzy and TV-like. Sometimes his legs and arms would vanish then come back, then vanish again. Time was running out very badly, and they needed the Millenium Rod as quickly as possible.

"I can't fly anymore…" Ryou choked the words out as he slowly made his way toward Domino High on foot. "But…I have to…reach Yugi…reach help…"

His legs disappeared. Ryou stopped dead, concentrating with all his might. Please, not now, I need to walk, walk to help, please come back, please…!

His legs returned, but they looked fainter than before. Ryou looked up at the road—he was very near now, as he could already see the rooftops of Domino High's buildings. He walked on, ignoring the people who went through his body as he went. The people would only feel a slight chill where they went through Ryou, but apart from that, they would never know that a ghost was actually on the street, dragging himself to his old school.

"Yami…" Ryou muttered. Even speaking was costing him effort now. "Help…"

The Millenium Ring suddenly blazed to life, it's golden pointers indicating the classroom's windows. Bakura, who was at that time immersed in another stupid test, was shocked. He took the Ring in his left hand, gazing at the warning light it was pulsating at him now.

"What the—?" Bakura said as he raised his hand.

The teacher looked up from his lesson plan and spotted him. "Yes, Ryou-kun?"

"I need to go to the toilet." Bakura replied shortly as he left the classroom.

The corridor was empty. Frowning, he made his way to the nearest window and opened it. The Millenium Ring's pointers turned eastward. Bakura straightened up and followed the lead of his Artifact.

He ran around the school until he reached the eastern wing, which faced the highway. He opened another window and looked out of it. The pointers pointed downward at the streets. Bakura's eyes followed.

And then he saw it.

"The God Anubis sends back this imp from the seven hells!" Bakura exclaimed as he saw Ryou's spirit make it's way into the school campus. "It is impossible! He should have been in oblivion right now!"

Ryou felt it. He sensed the Millenium Ring find him. He stopped dead on his tracks and looked up at the eastern wing of the school building. Fear siezed him from all sides.

His yami was there, looking right into his eyes from one of the windows in the fifth floor. The Millenium Ring's pointers were all locked, pointing toward him. Ryou's mind raced.

Oh god, he found me! Oh god—he saw me!

Summoning some of the spiritual magic left to him, Ryou willed himself to disappear.

"Ch, so now he wishes to navigate in invisibility!" Bakura cursed. "So if that imp is here, the pharaoh knows as well! He knows who I really am! Damn you, Ryou, I will send you back to hell where you belong!"

Bakura broke into a dash, the Millenium Ring pointing him to the right direction.

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Ohh, now this fic is nearing it's end. ^_^ Please leave a review! Thanks!