A/N: Author's notes have been removed due to ff.net's notice about chat dialogue being used in this.. x.x oy.. gomen-nasai!




Watashi no Tenshi Sukuinushi
(My Angel Savior)
Chapter 5: Loss of Connection
By: Nadako-Mika

The spirit of the Sennen Ring paced in circles around the living room. He was worried for once. He felt his hikari become uncomfortable. He heard Ryou's cautious and suspicous thoughts. What was happening to him? Bakura grumbled in annoyance as he walked to the kitchen and back to the living room unknowingly. Why wasn't Ryou responding to him? Bakura had shouted out at the hikari, but he recieved no answer. Their mind link hadn't been cut for he could sense Ryou's feelings. He decided to try and talk to the boy again.

'Ryou you stupid boy! Answer me!' he yelled harshly. Silence was his only reply. Something wasn't right. 'He must be toying with me. Otherwise, he'd be screaming for my help.'

Bakura stopped his pacing and sat down comfortably on the couch. There wasn't anything to worry about. If Ryou really was in trouble, he'd be shouting out for his yami! The boy was weak, he couldn't defend himself if his life depended on it. But still, a little voice in the back of his mind kept telling him that something was wrong.

The old spirit was staring intensly at the wall, trying to ignore the feelings of his hikari. Nothing was working. He didn't know what was happening to Ryou, or if the boy was just faking everything. Bakura felt frustrated. Anger boiled in his blood as the hikari's feelings grew stronger. He was just about to lash out verbally at the boy when something happened. The link was cut off. He froze when he could no longer sense Ryou's presence. Was this some kind of joke? It must have been. Ryou would never close the link between them if he was in real danger.

'Stupid boy. He must have just closed the link...that's all.' Bakura thought. He relaxed his tense limbs and welcomed the silence in his mind.

As Bakura was close to being whisped away into his subconcious, the doorbell rang. Still half asleep, the spirit stumbled his way towards the door, cursing at various objects he came in contact with along the way. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he opened the door. Standing before him were his two friends, his ONLY friends...that is if you could even consider them friends..

(--Bakura: -TWACK- --)
(--Nadako: +.+ *bump* --)
(--Bakura: *twitch* This is an ANGST story... not HUMOR! *twitches angerly* --)
(--Nadako: GEEZ! I was just trying to lighten the mood...*grumble grumble* Besides...that came out of nowhere... --)
(--Bakura: *points dagger threatingly* Now get writing! --)
(--Nadako: ¬¬ Do you want me to stuff you in the closet again? --)
(--Bakura: O_O *runs back into story scene* --)
(--Nadako: *proud*...*cough* Anyways.. I'll get back to writing...^^; --)

"What do you two want?" Bakura yawned sleepily.

"We came to ask if you wanted to come with us to the mall," Malik asked.

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Bakura looked around the shop, obviously bored. The two Isthars had chosen to visit this jewelry shop, they wanted to get some new chains and other junk for who knows what. Something glittered from a corner of the shop, drawing Bakura's attention. He slowly walked towards the display. He huffed at the sight. There, set in lush blue velvet, was a dazzling ring, with a tiny daimond piece encarved into it. To others it seemed simply wonderful, but to the spirit's eyes, it seemed like a useless mineral.

'Why are they so small?' he thought as he examined the object, 'What good will it do? No one would be able to see such a tiny ornament.' He almost fell when he saw the price tag. '$376 for that little piece of scrap?!'

Another little glimmer caught his eyes. In a display case beside the ring's was a marvelous ruby pendant, strung on a golden thread. Bakura gawked at the thing. He had seen many ornaments of gold and gems, heck, he had stolen them all. But this was different. Something radiated from it, Bakura couldn't quite place the feeling. He just felt like he needed to have it, like his life depended on it.

'Now this...Is real jewelry.' he thought as he placed his hands on the glass case. He wanted to take it, but there were so many people, he would definately be caught. He looked around the room and found that many customers were staring, being disturbed, by two people. Malik and Marik Ishtar. The two were arguing with a clerk about a price of an ornament they wanted. The lighter of the two was waving his Sennen Rod threatingly at the clerk, Marik was just glaring. 'This is the perfect time... Everyone's distracted, I'll go unnoticed.'

Bakura pushed lightly against the glass, and his hand slid through as if he weren't solid. Being a spirit of the Ring, he had Shadow powers. This happened to be one of his abilities. He eyes the pendant hungrily as his hands slowly made for it. Looking around once more, to make sure no one was watching, he quickly snatched the jewelry and pulled it out of it's resting place. He admired his catch, smirking as the ruby sparkled in the light. As he was about to place the object in his pockets, an alarm went off.

'Oh Ra! The thing must have been rigged!' he panicked. All eyes in the store turned towards the tomb robber.

One man shouted out, "Hey! Put that back!" While another employee dialed a number on the phone.

He made a break for it. He eyed his two companions, trying to send them a message. They nodded. All of a sudden, the three teens bolted out the store door and down the mall. Bakura clutched the stone in his pocket tightly, he didn't want to lose it. As they made their way towards the exit, they heard the mall security behind them.

Bakura started weakening. At first he didn't notice it, but then he looked back to find the gaurds close to catching him. 'How do such bulky guys run so fast?' he wondered. It wasn't until he found the two Ishtars far ahead of him that realization hit him. HE was slowing down, the two gaurds weren't catching up... It was strange to him. Usually he would be ahead of the two blondes by a long shot. He was always fast, but...why would he slow down now?

He felt weaker with each step. His breathing was uneven and rushed, and his limbs were giving out on him. It felt like he was running a marathon.

They were out of the mall now, and headed to the parking lot. Bakura tried to push himself faster, it worked for a bit, but he soon lost the energy. He couldn't take it anymore, his body collapsed.

"Stop! Don't Move!" Malik heard one of the gaurds saying. He looked beside him, Marik wasn't caught yet, he was still running beside him. Then who...

Malik insantly stopped his sprinting. "Marik! They caught Bakura!"

"What? Couldn't be! The King of Theifs...caught?"

"W-We have to go help him."

Marik stared at his hikari, did he lose his mind? "HELP, the tomb robber? HELP the all mighty theif?!" he asked in disbelief.

"I know it sounds crazy, but there's something wrong! Bakura's always ahead of us, and he's never the one to be caught. Why would he be caught all of a sudden?" Malik tried to reason.

"ISHTAR!!!" Bakura screamed out while trying to break loose from the death grip a gaurd had on him. Normally he would be able to work a plan out and escape without breaking a sweat, but he didn't this time. He wasn't in any shape to do the sort.

The grip around Bakura's neck loosened suddenly. The gaurd's arm limply drapped around his shoulders. Bakura backed away quickly and looked at the two men. Both of their eyes were glossed over and they stood staring out into the open. Bakura looked towards the two blondes and saw Marik holding out the his Sennen item. Bakura sighed in relief as he slumped to the ground.

"Tomb robber! Why so slow?" Marik mocked as he ran up to the spirit.

"Don't even start..." Bakura answered coldly. He was still confused about the whole ordeal.

"Bakura, what was wrong? You should have easily knocked those two out," Malik asked.

"I don't know," Bakura answered, struggling to stand up, "I just feel tired...that's all." He reached into his pocket and pulled the pendant out by it's golden strings. He sighed in relief. There was something about this pendant...he couldn't quite tell what it was though.

Marik peered over the boy's shoulder. His mouth dropped slightly open. "Wow. Was that your catch today?" he asked.

Bakura jumped, being slightly startled by the other, "Uh.. Yeah." He shoved the jewel back into his pocket. "Look, I need to go. See you two around," he said before turning around and walking quickly out of the mall's perimeter.

He was halfway home when the world around him started spinning. Bakura leaned against the walls of a back alley for support. His breathing was still ragged and hurried. Why wasn't he calming down? It had been nearly fifteen minutes since the mall incident and he had walked slowly from there and he was still exhausted.

'What's wrong with me?' he thought. As he pushed his hand against the wall to stand again, his hand slid right through. His eyes widened at the feeling. He quickly removed his arm and examined his palms. At the very center of his palm, you could clearly see the gravel below him. He turned his hands over and checked again, just to make sure. His hand was still translucent. He looked down to find that his left leg was also slowing disappearing. He panicked.

'What's happening to me?! First I'm slowed and weakened, now I'm losing limbs!' He hurried deeper into the dark alley. What would people think if they saw a man with half a leg that was disappearing? 'W-what should I do? I don't know what's happening to me! I-I need someone who knows about this kind of thing.' he thought deeply, 'Marik! No... He wouldn't give a shit (Nadako: excuse my bad language...^^;) about my problems. And no way in Hell would I turn to that..that.. Item Gaurdian person, Shadi.' He was stuck. Who could he trust with his problem? A thought struck him, 'That sad excuse for a Pharaoh! Of course! He and his hikari already know about the whole Ryou Situation... Since Yami's gotten his memories back he could surely tell me what's happening...after all, he did create those Ra Forbidden items!'

He dashed out of the darkened alley and out into the public streets. He earned a few strange stares from passerbys, but decided to ignore it. He was headed towards the Game Shop, though his mind objected.

'I can't believe it! I'm turning to...to...YAMI for help?' a little voice screamed out. Bakura pushed the voice to the back of his mind and concentrated on his sprinting. He had about two more blocks to run before he reached the shop. His lungs were burning for air and his legs stiff and numb.

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A small tinkle of a bell echoed throughout the small shop. Yuugi looked up from a dueling magazine he was reading. His eyes widened as he saw an unsteady Bakura. Yuugi ran from behind the counter and helped the former foe to a seat. Even though Yuugi was told not to get to close to the dangerous yami, he just had to help the guy, being a kind hearted person.

"Bakura, are you alright?" Yuugi asked quietly and cautiously.

"Go...and get," his voice was slow and agonizing. The running had drained the little energy left in him. "Get...get that damned pharaoh into this room...now!" he managed to snarl at the end.

The little boy scampered off into the back of the shop. He came back dragging a confused looking Yami.

"Tomb Robber? What is it this time?" Yami asked.

"I...I need help."

"No doubt about that-"

"Just SHUT UP!" Bakura yelled, "I don't have time for your insults! Just...just hear me out." Yami only nodded and waited for Bakura to continue. "I..I don't know what's come over me. All of a sudden I feel weak and tired. I've slowed down a lot too."

Yami cocked an eyebrow, "Oh? How so?"

"This afternoon. The Ishtars and I were down at the mall. When we were being chased by the gaurds-"

"Why?" Yuugi asked, "Why were you beings chased down?"

Bakura rolled his eyes at the boy, "We only said 'Hi' to a person in the mall, and the gaurds decided to arrest us!" he said sarcasticly. When Yuugi only blinked in response Bakura finished, "We stole! What did you expect? We're being chased because we were walking around in the mall?!

"Anyways, security was chasing after us and they start to gain on me. At first I thought that they had just gotten faster, but then I saw that Malik and Marik were meters ahead of me. When I looked back, they caught me. I couldn't fight back either. Usually I'd just easily slip away from their grip, but it was different this time. I couldn't do anything, I felt....weak. As much as I'd hate to admit it...I feel weak.."

Yami frowned deeply, he knew what Bakura's problem was. But he doubted that the Tomb Robber would like it.

"So...Can you help me?" Bakura asked quietly. (Nadako: That's not like Bakura...-.- Ah well...)

The former pharaoh nodded. "Well, I do know what's wrong. But...I don't know about the helping part..." he said slowly.

"Well... What's wrong with me?"

"Ryou isn't in possession of the Sennen Ring,"

"What? Is that it? How could that affect me? He's always taken off the Ring," Bakura was getting confused.

Yami shook his head, "He must have had it forcefully taken away." He looked at Bakura seriously, "Ryou needs to get the item back, or you'll be imprisoned in it until he does get it back."

Bakura groaned inwardly. 'Stupid boy. Can't even defend his possessions.' Now he needed to find the Ring and bring it back to Ryou, or his days of freedom would end shortly. Bakura got up from the chair and moved towards the door. On his way out he muttered a small 'thank you' which Yami could barely hear.

He made his way slowly towards the edge of the city, making sure no person saw his fading legs. Just a block infront of him, he saw a large sign stating the hospital that Ryou was taken to. Bakura ran the rest of the way.

On his way through the electronic doors, Bakura pulled his trench coat closer to his body. His torso was starting to fade as well. He walked up to a secretary.

"Hello. May I help you?" she asked in a cheery voice.

"I'd like to pay a visit to... Bakura, Ryou,"

"Ryou? Who wanted to see Ryou?" a voice called from behind.

"Oh. Dr. Kihatensu, this man would like to see your patient," the secretary said.

Bakura turned to the doctor, "I'm Ikusa Bakura, his brother." he lied.

"Oh, very well then. Come this way."

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Ryou was curled up in a corner of his room. His eyes fixed on a spot on the wall. He no longer had Bakura now, he had no one. In a situation like this, he would normally spend his time in his soul room, the one place he felt safe. But now that Kihatensu had taken the Sennen Ring, he wouldn't be able to go back into his soul room. The item was the key to the door of his mind. If you lost a key, you wouldn't be able to unlock the door.

The door creaked slightly ajar "Ryou? You have a visitor," someone announced.

Ryou didn't do anything. He just sat there, eyes staring at the wall. He snapped out of his trance like state when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Ryou?"

The white haired boy turned his head slowly. He knew who that voice belonged to.

"Bakura-sama..." he answered quietly.

"Where's the Ring?" Bakura asked slowly and calmly.

"I-I don't have it."

"Do you know where it is?"

Ryou shook his head harshly. What did the demon want this time? "Dr. Kihatensu took it..."

Bakura punched the wall in frustration. 'That damned doctor,' Bakura thought, 'Taking what doesn't belong to him!' How was he going to get the ring back? By the time he finds the doctor again, he'd be in the ring again. 'Damned! What do I do?!'

"Hikari...Do like this place?" Bakura asked in a sly tone. He recieved a no from Ryou. "Do you want out of here?"

"...Yes."

He lashed out verbally at the lighter one, "Then get that Ra Damned Senne Ring! If you want to see the world again, then I suggest you find it. Or you'll find your self Yami-less."

"W-what do you mean...?"

Bakura took off his coat and revealed his disappearing form. "THIS, is what I mean. Without you holding onto that acursed item, I'm being pulled back into it." He turned to leave the room. "You better find it, hikari..." he said quietly before he left the building.

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"Bakura? What are you doing here again?" Yuugi asked as the spirit entered the door for the second time today.

"Where's your yami?"

"In the back-" Bakura never let Yuugi finish the sentence. Instead, he headed behind the counter and through a door way leading to the storage room. "Yami." Bakura greeted as he saw the ex-pharaoh shuffling boxes.

"Bakura." Yami called back in an equal tone.

"I-I need a favor,"

"Oh really?" Yami was a bit surprised by this. Since when did Bakura need favors?

"Yes... I need you to get the Sennen Ring back to my hikari again."

"And how am I suppose to do that?"

"That doctor...Kihatensu or whatever his name may be, has it. He took it from Ryou." Bakura looked pleadingly at the other spirit, not something he'd normally do. "...Please?" he added in a very small voice.

Yami stepped back in surprise. Please? Did the all too self-confident Tomb Robber just ask him a favor and say ...Please? He stood silent.

"Please, Yami! I..I don't want to leave Ryou's side. I...I...I still need him as a host," Bakura finished quite coldly. "I'd do it myself, but my physical form is slowly shattering."

"..Fine," Yami reluctantly agreed.

"...arigato.." Bakura thanked in a small voice. He headed out again, but before he left he turned around. "Do you...think you could give this to Ryou?" Bakura reached into his pocket and pulled out the ruby pendant he had stolen earlier that day. He handed it to Yami.

Yami looked at it, and his eyes widened. "Bakura! This is-" but he couldn't finish. Bakura'd form was slowly breaking up in front of his eyes.

Bakura sighed in frustration as he felt himself being dissolved into the air. He felt his body being tugged on by the magic from the Sennen Ring. 'I hope Ryou will be alright...' He thought. He didn't know if the person or thing that looked just like him would advance on Ryou when he wasn't there. 'Horus watch over him...'

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A/N: Author's notes have been removed due to ff.net's notice about chat dialogue being used in this.. x.x oy.. gomen-nasai!